Brian, Jen & 2 Boys

2010-04-27T22:52:00.012-06:00

What We've Been Up To - Part 1

I'm being VERY quiet, trying not to wake up the baby sleeping in my living room. (I've been lucky enough to babysit a two month old the last few days!) I thought I'd blog, since some people claim to be interested in what our little family is up to. :)

Right now we're in full-on sports mode. The boys and I are at swimming, soccer or gymnastics every night M-F. I cook in the afternoon for people to eat whenever they roll in the door! Saturdays we spend at the soccer park, Sundays are church and then we start all over!

So. Christmas is a big event, let's start there.

For the first time since we bought this house we were actually here for Christmas morning. We missed the craziness of family but enjoyed waking up in our own beds!

We took the boys shopping individually to buy for each other. They ended up buying the EXACT same gift for each other. (There are Nerf darts in every corner of our house!)

Alex's loot.

And Jason's loot. It was a Lego Christmas at our house!

The day after Christmas the boys and I packed up and drove to Canada. Brian conveniently had to work, so my plan to get a bunch of reading done fell through! Luckily we stopped half way in Idaho and forced Jared to follow us. It was an easy trip, just long and COLD.

The boys were excited to get to Grandma & Grandpa's. More presents! (I think they opened presents at least three separate times this Christmas!)

We left my parent's house and moved to the big city of Lethbridge. Our hotel was awesome - the boys spent as much time as possible in the water park there!

Aw! Aren't they cute? Brett (my little brother) married AJ in the freezing cold Alberta winter.

The reception was at a carriage house in Cardston. The boys and I took the tour - it was interesting!

Can't leave your car over night or it will freeze and die, and you'll be stranded in a country with no road signs!

Proof that we had finally arrived back in the US of A. This sign is at a gas station in MT. I made Jared take his rifle back to the car.

There! That concludes 2009. I'll be back eventually with news from 2010!

2010-01-03T09:40:00.008-07:00

The problem with my mother-in-law...

is that she can't remember my name. No, seriously, the problem with her is that she's so amazing there's no way to equal it! I saw this knitted advent calendar and joked about her making it for me... and then at Thanksgiving it was mine! Click on it to get the full view. It looks perfect under my snow village!

What do your boys do when they get bored? Our boys decided to climb Mike's house. (Notice that this is the one adventure Mike isn't participating in!)

The younger boys liked the snow so much they laid down to eat it...

... and sleep in it!

Careful with Izzy Kris!

Alex reads Daddy's birthday card to him. (Brian's birthday always falls right around Thanksgiving... so he always gets presents when we go home for Thanksgiving.)

2009-11-13T22:41:00.010-07:00

Blackmail!

I've been told that the only way I'll get Thanksgiving dinner is to blog. So, here it is, my quarterly blog!

We are done with soccer! I miss it, but it's nice to be home more than one night a week. We're still doing some kind of sport three nights a week, but that's so much better than it was. Alex started gymnastics last week and Jason is swimming with the swim team for the winter. I'll try and get some pictures of that soon! All of our recent pictures can be found on my Facebook, at the end of the album.

2009 Pics

For the first time ever, the boys carved pumpkins. First they were to little, and then carving season always came during soccer season... but this year we made time! They had a blast, and the pumpkins turned out great. I can't wait until next year!

Our Halloween pictures leave a lot to be desired. Jason had his final soccer game, and then his soccer party. THEN we rushed home and got ready for Trunk or Treat. It wasn't until we got home from there that I managed to get pictures! (Candy haul this year - 13.4 pounds total!)

Sinda was not a fan of her costume.

Harry & Ron. Alex's sweater is brand new - Mom knit it in no time flat when we asked her!

2009-08-19T10:47:00.006-06:00

Back to School!

Well, it's the day Moms around the world (or at least, my school district) have been waiting for. It's back to school time. It's not all it's cracked up to be for me this year. Brian is in New Mexico, and the house is just too quiet with Sinda and I all by ourselves. I had to turn on the TV just to have some noise.

I'm sure it will only take one fight tonight before I change my mind. Looking at them though, I can't believe they ever fight!

I will miss summer, and our ability to just do whatever. This was our "I know, let's paint pots and go get flowers to plant!" day.

And in a neighborhood of almost all boys... water fights were a must.

2009-07-14T10:36:00.002-06:00

The best part about cruises...

I'm trying to get everything ready for our "Hurricane Special" cruise in September. I was looking at deck plans, and Alex came in. After trying one more time to get himself included in our cruise he said, "You know what the best part about cruises is? We don't even have to hang out with you guys!"

Children have a special way of making you feel loved, don't they?

2009-04-21T07:44:00.006-06:00

Easter
(And they say I never blog!)

Once again, Easter was celebrated at our house. It was a really fun weekend, even if we did freeze half the time! That's Brian & Mom, taking a break from being the paparazzi for just a second.

Trisha didn't let Maggie hunt eggs last year. Something about six weeks old being too young for chocolate. She got her share this year though! It was so fun to watch!

80% of the grandchildren!

They're too cute together. The wedding is JUST around the corner!

Yeah, I don't know what to say about this either.

2009-02-11T16:54:00.001-07:00

A Dinner Conversation

Alex: Mom, could they make you and Dad get divorced?
Me: No, I don't think so, could who make us get divorced?
Alex: Them! Like if Jason and I were really really bad and blew up the entire neighborhood, could they make you get divorced?
Me: No, we'd be in big trouble, but we could stay married.
Alex: Oh, OK.
Me: Why? Do you want us to get divorced? (Thinking maybe he'd found a new improved Mom somewhere.)
Alex: No, I think you & Dad are good together.

PS. I'm blogging about the books I've read this year on my long neglected personal blog.

http://jenthehousewife.blogspot.com/

2009-01-26T16:21:00.005-07:00

X Games XIII

The planets somehow aligned perfectly, and Brian was off on a Saturday when we had nothing else scheduled. I heard on the radio that the X Games were in Aspen... so off we went!

Mike & Steve came to join us. I spent the entire day with a whole TON of testosterone, but it was fun!

This is after all of the boys tried their hand at "riding the hot sauce" in the Taco Bell stand. When we left, Steven had beaten the record of 41 seconds. Mike, I'm sad to say, didn't last as long as the boys!

Brian & Jason outside the City Market in Aspen. I wish our city market was as pretty as this one!

See that bag Brian's holding? Not only did he take me to Lush and not say a word about how much I spent, but he carried my bag for me. Until... he left it sitting next to that bench! When we realized it was missing an hour later he went back - and the bag was still there!

Our last event of the day was the snowmobile racing. Even I thought it was really fun! Here's a little video to get an even better feel.

The entire set of pictures is on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=49248&l=18944&id=602912324

2009-01-13T09:56:00.008-07:00

Carnivores!
(And an update.)

I decided this week, for some reason, to cook a turkey. The boys were SO excited to eat the turkey legs! I did teach them table manners, I promise. (When they dug in grabbed my camera and took pictures, THEN I decided to remind them of how we eat!)

In other news... the most exciting thing is of course the new baby - Isabelle! Jason and Alex aren't that impressed. In fact, Jason's comment was "No offense, but she's really little."

Mike and Pam make cute kids, don't they? She's almost a month old already. I'm very excited to buy lots of pink things for her!

The boys both received awards for the second quarter. Jason's was a "PAWS" award, basically for good citizenship. They were focusing on "Always Being Honest" for the second quarter, and that's always been one of Jason's strengths. (See the comment about Izzy above!) Alex's was an award for being improved. He's worked so hard to pay more attention in class and not be a disruption, we're so proud of him!

The pictures in the gym are horrible, so I decorated and took pictures!

One final picture. Alex spent two days building this little town for Thomas. The marshmallows were all supposed to be people. (And the town became a ghost town roughly ten minutes after our pictures were taken!)

2008-12-16T07:47:00.003-07:00

I think there might be something wrong with Brian.

He had to leave even earlier than usual this morning. At 4:15 am he was almost bouncing around the house, happy and chipper like it was noon on a beach somewhere.

I said something sweet and ladylike, something along the lines of, "what the heck are you so cheerful for at 4 in the morning?"

He said, "there's three inches of new snow on the ground!"

Only Brian would be happy about THAT at 4am!

2008-12-01T01:20:00.002-07:00

They're training them young now, aren't they?

Just down the street from us lives the most adorable girl named Caitlin, she happens to be just about exactly Alex's age. They are fast friends, and occasionally in love. I had a birthday card laying around that was blank - I found it in his room the other day. He had written "I Love You Caitlin" on it and taken it to her. She wrote "I Love You Too" and brought it back. (Yes, he's only 6, not 16. Yes, I know I'm in for an interesting ride for the next 20 or so years until he finds himself a wife!) I'm waiting for a good time to snatch it for his scrapbook!

Anyways. Today after church he went up to fetch her and walked her back to our house. Being a frequent guest at our house, she's completely comfortable. She grabbed an apple and sat down at the counter to help Jason build a little Christmas house and watch Alex play the Wii. Jason, being all boy, abandoned his house to the female and went to "give Alex advice" on the game play. Alex turned him down, and they started arguing. Before I could do anything, Catilin stepped in.

Caitlin: Alex, stop being a jerk.
Alex: I'm not being a jerk.
Caitlin: Yes you are, he's your brother and he's trying to help.
Alex: I'm NOT being a jerk!
Caitlin: Alex, quit being a jerk or I'm going to beat you up.
Alex: Ok.

And then a normal evening of playing and hanging out ensued, while I marveled at how easily this little girl could bend Alex to her will!

2008-11-09T19:43:00.013-07:00

Playing Catch Up - Part Infinity

We are all still alive - just busy! The boys are enjoying a quiet half hour relaxing with their Dad, watching him play video games before it's bedtime. I just heard a sound I know to mean "You Died, Game Over" followed by a huge sigh from Brian. Alex, ever the smart 6 year old, said, "Is it time to take a break?"

For some reason this fall I've been uninterested in taking pictures, which really doesn't help the status of the blog! BUT - here's what we've been up to.

The boys did start school, and this year I remembered to have my memory card in the camera when I took pictures.

Jason started Cubs and it's his favorite thing ever. If he could, he'd spend all day every day getting things signed off! Here's his first big event, the Raingutter Regatta.

We lost our first pet, the amazing lizard Spotpit. I couldn't believe how sad I was, he was such a great pet. We took him down to the "woods" and buried him.

The boys thought they'd missed their annual lake trip with Nana & Granddad, but in September they decided to go! I even let Jason miss his first day ever of school to go.

We drove to meet them, and actually had fun waiting. Here's a picture of them pretending to be sad while they waited!

And they we had Halloween!

I'd promise to do better about updating in the future... but it's the holidays, so who knows what will happen!

2008-11-05T14:52:00.002-07:00

Ok, no more election commentary.

I did take this interesting quiz today, trying to find the "perfect" spot for me to live in.

http://www.findyourspot.com/

Here's my top 12:

1. Grand Junction, CO
2. Moab, UT
3. Cedar City, UT
4. Estes Park, CO
5. Coeur d'Alene, ID
6. Moscow, ID
7. Toole, UT
8. Salida, CO
9. Springville, UT
10. Bozeman, MT
11. Page, AZ
12. Hickory, NC

So either I'm skewing my results, or we found the perfect place!

2008-11-04T10:17:00.002-07:00

Election Commentary - from me!

I'm not going to go on and on about politics, if you'd like me to, give me a call, you know it's not hard to get me started! Right now I'm trying to decide if I should brave the crowds and chaos and go see John McCain speak with the boys. I want them to know how important it is to choose great leaders for our country.

Whoever you are, wherever you are, go vote! Even if you're not voting for my candidate, make your voice heard!

I thought I'd share one video that I've watched several times this election season. In college I spent some time with a group of men who had been forced to leave Iraq. They didn't talk much about it, but the little bit I did hear broke my heart. Most of them assumed they'd never get to see their families again. Saddam Hussien was a terrible man, and even though it's been a very bumpy ride, I know that we've given their families, and many others, a chance to be free.

If you have an extra minute, read his comments at the bottom, posted today.

2008-11-03T16:25:00.002-07:00

Election Commentary - from the Munchkins

We try to be "fair and balanced" around here with the boys. They know we're voting Republican (well, we already have voted) but we've been careful not to bash any candidate or idea. In fact, I've spent the last couple of weeks trying to get Jason to stop believing the crazy ideas he comes home with. "Did you know if Obama wins he's going to turn all of the white people into slaves as payback?" "Did you know Obama wants to take everyone's guns?"

Anyways, in light of the historic election tomorrow, I thought I'd post some interesting conversations!

I was watching a Youtube clip (you know the one, about Obama's plan for the military) and Alex came in. I stopped it but he'd seen enough to ask, "Is Obama really going to get rid of the army?" I told him that he plans to cut funding for the military and stop the war in Iraq, but that we'll still have a military. He said, "that's OK, Canada will protect us!"

We were in the car discussing who Jason was going to vote for at school. He said he was voting for John McCain, and then Alex, to be contrary, said, "Well, I'm voting for Obama." I told him he'd probably end up with the winner and then I asked him why he preferred Obama. He said, "Well, I just disagree with McCain on policy and stuff." I asked which policies he disagreed with and he said "You know, the ones about people and stuff." I guess they DO listen, at least a little, to the grown up political conversations!

2008-09-05T09:40:00.006-06:00

Jason's Big Day!

As I've mentioned before, Jason turned 8. I'm still not sure I'm grown up enough to have an eight year old... but he is!

We waited until August to have his baptism so Grandma and Grandpa could come from Canada. There were plenty of guests, and I think we all had a great time!

We started the day with a picnic in the park. Jacob enjoyed the Doritos!

Then we headed off to Bananas to play. Everyone was too busy having fun to get many pictures, but there is a video of the big boys playing golf with Megan!

That evening we headed to church for Jason's baptism. Naturally, we were behind schedule and only had time for a few quick pictures of Jason with Steven.

And this is our group. Jason was so so blessed to have so many people come to share his special day with him.

One of the neatest things, for me, was to see six of his great-grandparents there.

We were all starving after the baptism, and headed to Red Robin to eat. I manged to get a little video of my grandparents - who traveled from NY state and Canada just to be here!

And here are two shots from dinner - one from each end of the REALLY long table.

2008-08-24T09:44:00.004-06:00

The Long Trek North

Every summer the boys are lucky enough to spend some time in Canada with my parents.
This year we drove to Montana to meet Grandma & Grandpa since they were bringing the boys all the way back. It was a long drive, but we had fun!

I had planned to stop several times, take pictures as we headed into each new state... but we didn't leave early enough! We didn't even get to our hotel until 10pm. By then the boys were both tired AND antsy, so we spent the next two hours in the pool. The nice thing about swimming until midnight is that you have the pool all to yourself! Naturally, they wanted to be in different places. Alex couldn't stay out of the hot tub, and Jason wouldn't leave the pool!

The other nice thing about swimming until midnight? Once it's time to finally get in bed, you're TIRED!

The second day I finally got a "sign" picture. Here we are crossing the Continental Divide.

2008-08-19T14:29:00.002-06:00

I've been a bad, bad blogger!

At 7 something this morning, my phone beeped with a text message. It was Kris, and it just said "you need to update your blog!" I guess if Kris can be up that early, I can update my blog. :)

I wasn't sure exactly where to start... but I already had video from the 4th of July uploaded, so the 4th it is! (Most videos are very, very short!)

Here's a general idea of how our 4th was - easy, mellow and calm. Well, as calm as it can be with the boys around anyways! (And by boys, don't think I mean just the small ones. The big ones can cause a lot of ruckus too!) We boated, we hung out, we talked, we played in the water. It was perfect. Mike's "girl" mix CD was the perfect soundtrack.

Mike has muscles, and he isn't afraid to show us all.

Jason & Caleb attempt to catch a lizard.

The big boys are, well, boys!

The little boys had a good time too! Jacob had fun in the dirt...

And Jason had fun paddling around in the water. He says his spine doesn't ever quite feel right if he's not in the water.

Alex caught a dead fish, and Daddy took it away. :(

But, this is ALEX, and just a minute later, he had it again.

Maggie is unreasonably adorable.

We ended the day with the grown ups totally exhausted, half asleep waiting for fireworks. The little ones weren't quite over the excitement though!

It really couldn't have been a better day. Thanks to everyone who helped make it so much fun, especially Mom & Dad for supplying the main attraction - the boat!

2008-07-27T22:01:00.003-06:00

Remember me?

I don't! I've been too busy to.

The good news is that the painting is finally done. Well, mostly. Brian still feels the need to paint some trim, we'll see if it gets done, he's running out of time! Now I just need to put our house together and do some yard work, laundry, dust, vacuum, make some sense of my kitchen cupboards... my company arrives in three days, maybe I don't have time to blog!

Of course, there's bad news too. My dryer died. Just quit working, I can't get it to turn on. Of course, it is older than I am. (No, seriously.) When we got married Grandmother bequeathed her set to us, the washer quit a few years ago and now the dryer has gone that way too. Brian could tell I was about to have a total nervous breakdown, so he rushed off to Lowe's and bought a new set for me. They'll be here tomorrow, I'm excited!

But you didn't come to listen to stories about painting and the dryer, did you?

So here are some munchkin pictures! First, taken the day before we left for Canada. The day I said, "This is your only set of clothes, don't get them dirty, I need almost everything to pack!" Fifteen minutes later...

Alex says the title of this one is "A Wet Moment." Not very creative with captions yet... give him time though!

They seem to be enjoying themselves in Canada. They entered several things in the local fair... here are pictures, sent to me by a very nice foreigner...

I'll try and get more pictures when I can... until then, stay tuned for (very late) 4th of July pictures and pictures of our trip to Montana!

2008-07-15T01:21:00.002-06:00

Summer is hard work!

I had fully intended on getting my 4th of July post up before I left for the Long Drive North, but it just isn't going to happen.

Instead, here's a picture I took of Alex a few weeks ago. Summer is just so hard, even though we try and stick to a schedule.... it's summer! This picture is a few hours after soccer camp. Alex was just so tired he couldn't handle it anymore. He laid down on the floor and took a 2 hour nap, right in the middle of the living room and all the commotion.

When I found him he was completely spread out, like he was trying to do a snow angel in his sleep. Naturally he moved before I could get a picture.

2008-06-30T20:12:00.009-06:00

Family Reunion '08

Ready for an epic length post? It's been more than a week in the making, and it's long! (Watch the videos though, none of them are very long. It's just that there's a bunch!)

Every summer Brian's extended family (his great-grandmother's children and on down) gathers together "up on the mountain" for dirt, fun, and catching up. It's a really neat tradition, SO many people come. Here's a quick video look at the campsite, so you can see how many campers there are! And this was Friday afternoon, so I don't think everyone was even up yet.

*****

For my two little ones, the weekend was all about their dirt bikes. They rode every second they could! I'm amazed at how good they are, and how cute their little bikes are.

Here is Jas, with his Dad and a few uncles, in a picture I like to call "How many boys does it take to air up a tire?" I'm sure there's a joke to be made somewhere.

Alex zips around on his bike. He's quite careful, I was impressed. His little bike is kind of hard to handle, so he takes it pretty easy.

And then there's Jason. Remember my cautious son? He's not so much on his bike! By the time we left the reunion he was already looking for jumps. JUMPS!! Just like the ocean, his dirtbike seems to bring out the speed gene in him.

Here are the little boys and the big boys, getting ready to go on a ride. The big boys were nice enough to take Jas & Alex along. They felt so grown up going on a real ride!

Not enough bike for you yet? Watch this short video of the 5 boys taking off.

*****

We managed to do a few other things while we were up there. Brian caught a cool bug. We looked at it for a bit and then Jason found somewhere safe (away from Alex and his feet!) to release it.

I got to spend time with Maggie. (I'm her favorite aunt, she told me.) Want to see a video? Of course you do!

Krissy is all grown up now. I'd be sad if I wasn't so stinking proud of her. (I think Kris on the 4Wheeler should be a new required family reunion pic for my blog.)

*****

Saturday was Jason's birthday. He's 8! How did that happen? Every time I fold his pants I marvel at how BIG the kid is. (Less than a foot until he's as tall as me, he thinks it's the funniest thing ever.)

We sang Happy Birthday to him during breakfast.

And then we opened a few presents. Presents from Nana are always a hit.

But Brian had a surprise up his sleeve, and outdid Nana. (Even though it wasn't the Ipod Grandad thought it would be!) There were other great presents too. Cool dinosaur toys from Mike & Pam, a Sigg bottle (with candy!) from Trisha. He's loved, and it shows!

*****

And then, the final big event of the reunion, fish pond. I think they liked their prizes!

Steven was concerned that he wasn't getting anything, so we made sure he got a little something.

And Maggie got to do her first fish pond ever!

*****

All in all, it was a great weekend. There were bugs, my hair didn't get washed the entire time, cooking in the camper is a pain, but between the great company, the conversation and the exciting games of Settlers... who had time to notice? I'm already planning for next year.

2008-06-17T16:50:00.004-06:00

My camera is finally back!

After entirely too long in California, my camera is back and it actually works now. :) Here's the very first picture I've taken with it.

Alex would like you all to know the title of this picture is "A Muddy Moment."

They were outside for roughly five minutes when the doorbell rang and there they were. Click on the picture and view it full size, to truly understand the scope of HOW muddy those two were!

2008-04-27T12:59:00.001-06:00

More video!

Brian took the boys sledding, and I keep forgetting to add the video, so here it is!

Of course, we don't have snow anymore, but they had fun when we did!

2008-04-24T11:36:00.002-06:00

He's home!

After 2 years of life in Puerto Rico Steve finally came home. He's still roughly 14 feet tall but SO skinny! I'm going to have to bake him cheesecakes every time I see him for a while. (Although I did see protein powder and some other supplement type stuff appear at Mom & Dad's the very night he came home, so I'm sure he'll have other help!)

We drove out to see him Thursday after soccer. After months of looking at the calendar and pointing out the day Steve came home Alex was not going to wait. So we made it to Vernal about 11pm and left the next morning at 11am. We spent Friday afternoon packing and then drove back to Vernal on Saturday! It was a lot of driving, but a lot of fun, and absolutely worth it to see him.

2008-04-15T12:12:00.003-06:00

I caught a black widow today.

Except, it wasn't. I saw this black spider in my scrapbook room and thought, "it's a black widow! I must catch it to save my children from it, even if it bites me!" So I dumped out a container of American Crafts felt and caught... a harmless wolf spider.

2008-04-13T10:56:00.002-06:00

A little bit of video...

I just uploaded a bunch of stuff from the video camera, now it's time to get caught up! Here's Alex, boxing on the Wii. For Alex, at least, the Wii really IS a good workout! (The video is only 26 seconds long!)

2008-03-31T07:56:00.003-06:00

Miss Maggie

March 15th we finally went to meet little Maggie! Here she is, 10 days old with her cousin who shares her birthday. He found her interesting for a few minutes, but really they just don't understand why she's not walking yet. Jason said at Easter "she's not even crawling yet!"

2008-03-24T00:21:00.003-06:00

For the Record...

No, I am not considered legally handicapped because of my height. Kristine was wondering, so I was afraid the rest of you might be too.

2008-03-10T11:27:00.004-06:00

More artwork, this time courtesy of Alex...

I love the teachers these boys have, and the amazing things they have my children create and bring home.

If I had $100.... I would be a rockstar.

Of course he would. What else would he do with $100? Is anyone else impressed with the detail of the stage?

I feel happy when... I snowboard.

The boys had a snow day this year, and they were lucky because their Dad did too! His location was too remote to get to with all the snow. So what did he do? He took them for their very first snowboarding lessons! They both had a good time, but Alex LOVED it. It came pretty easy to him, and of course Alex loves all things "cool" so he's a mega snowboarder in his own mind now! I have pictures, but there are only two and they're on a disposable camera, so I have to finish the roll!

I feel proud when... I spell Jason.

He might torment him non-stop, but he really does love his big brother SO much.

2008-03-05T08:17:00.002-07:00

She's here!

At 9:05 pm last night, Maggie was born. I have a niece! Break out the pink!
7.5 lbs, 22 inches long, tons of dark hair. I'm trying to talk myself out of jumping in the truck and driving to SLC right now!
Alex is SO excited that he and his new baby cousin share a birthday.

2008-03-04T10:23:00.008-07:00

I'm alive! (Well, mostly.)

First, our little family (all four of us!) got hit with the nasty cold/flu stuff that seems to have been going around the entire country. Then, my evil virus, the one that's been dormant half of my life, decided to reappear in my eye. But I'm back, and I'm going to try and be good about updating.

Jared, being the ever helpful little brother, did send me a disc with Christmas pictures. It came when I was only half alive though - and when I brought it inside I put it... somewhere. When I find it, I'll post pictures of Christmas. (Finally!)

For now, I give you pictures of Alex's birthday party. We had 13 little ones at Banana's. It was complete chaos and total fun. All he really wanted for his birthday was a big party - and he got it!

First, we hung out in the arcade. That was crazy, but fun! The kids all had a great time, and only a few of them ran out of tokens.

After our arcade time we sat down and ate pizza. The pizza was a hit, but the unlimited root beerwas what REALLY got their attention. Keeping their cups filled was a full time job!

Mmmm, pirate cake!

Opening presents with some help!

After presents we hit laser tag and the bump & jump. I wish I could have taken decent video of those little guys running through the laser tag maze.

My two boys closed out the day with another round of bumper boats. It was warm for March... good thing since they were SOAKED!

2008-01-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

So... I'm still waiting for Christmas pictures.
Any update on that Jared? Huh?
I thought I'd take a break from all of the videos (partially because I don't have any more edited yet) and upload some artwork Jason brought home this week.

It's a book he made, and I loved it so much I had to take it apart and scan it. :) Enjoy!

My name is Jason. I like static electricity, my dog, my lizards, my family and Pokemon.

My brother's name is Alex. He likes firetrucks, getting hyper, Yugioh, losing his manners and Pokemon.

My Dad's name is Brian. He likes tools, adventures, dirt bikes, motorcycles and our family.

My Mom's name is Jen. She likes purple, spanking us, her treadmill, shopping and our family.

When my Dad has a day off we like to watch TV. My Mom likes it. Alex likes it. Spotpit likes it. My dog really likes it. We all like it! We also like to go camping.

2008-01-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

Christmas Videos - Part 2, Christmas Eve

Well, we made it to Idaho. In Idaho it is COLD in the winter. And there was snow. Lots and lots of snow. And... I hate my voice in all of these videos, but what are you going to do? *sigh*

First the cast of characters for the weekend.

Next, a look at all of the snow. I think it snowed non-stop the first 24 hours we were there. This video was the first night, I should have taken more when we left!

I have a confession though. That WASN'T mom and Jared. I found out when they got closer, and looked at me like I was crazy. Oh well!

Next, you'll see how much food my Mom brings - for 10 people!

And last, sprinkling reindeer food in the snow just before bed.

2008-01-01T18:35:00.000-07:00

Christmas - Videos Part 1

Can you believe I didn't take a single picture the entire time? I was so busy playing with the new video camera. Luckily Jared took some, and stole all of Mom's from her camera, so he's burning me a disc. So, those will come later.

So, here are videos from Vernal. Lots of them. The video camera is new, what can I say? :)

Lolly Leis from Maui & Val!

Trisha & Dad help Jason with his new microscope.

Caleb's sleep walking story.

Brian cheats at Guestures. (While the girls were busy gabbing he gathered all of the props you see him use.)

Caleb plays Guestures and fails. (Did I mention harassing Caleb was the in thing for Christmas 2007?)

Dad demonstrates beating.

2007-12-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas From Alex

2007-12-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

We finally have a bit of snow, there are a million little things to do, AND I'm starting to really freak out! Must be that time of year!

We've had our church Christmas party, the company party is this weekend. The tree is decorated, and the kitchen is full of of stuff to make goodies! The Hiding Spot is full of presents to wrap and there are even a few under the tree.

And here's the $30 picture with Santa. Why won't these kids smile on cue? It's Christmas!!!

2007-11-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

Catching up!

Ok, so I'm a little behind. I'll start with the most recent and then go back and pull out anything important I've missed from the fall. I thought I'd have more time when soccer was finished, but now I'm full on into the Christmas Panic season.

First, Brian is 30!! Yay! Now I'm not the only one. We had a great night last night. He came home, we gave him presents and then we all ate lasagna and cake. Perfect!

And... Thanksgiving! It was just the four of us, which was strange and sad and really great all at the same time. Instead of making everything I asked everyone what they wanted most, and just made those. There was still a TON of food though. It was great, we set the table (see the cute dishes from my Mom and my favorite orange glasses from my awesome friend Jenn?), lit candles and ate at the table for once!

And that's about it! I'll update more later!

2007-11-04T09:50:00.001-07:00

A conversation with my children.
(Looking at stamps for Trisha's baby shower invites.)

Jason: Is that girl pregnant?
Me: Yes she is.
Alex: What do you mean, pregnant?
Jason: She has a baby in her tummy, see?
Alex: No.
Jason: See how big her tummy is?
Alex: Nope. Hey, what if a baby came out two?
Me: You mean, two babies? Then you'd have twins!
Alex: No, just the baby came out and it was two, not a baby.
Me: Babies are born at zero after they spend nine months in the Mommy's tummy.
Jason: That's only 3 months less than a year!
Me: Yep, it takes a long time. Trisha's been pregnant forever, right, and it's not even close to time for her to have her baby.
Alex: Maybe Trisha will have two babies!
Me: Maybe! How long has Trisha been pregnant for?
Jason: Who knows? I don't keep track of that, I only keep track of soccer goals!

2007-11-01T09:57:00.001-06:00

You know, I've always wanted redheads.

And here are the boys as the Weasley's for Halloween this year. I didn't get any decent pictures, this was the longest I could get them to hold still!

2007-10-28T11:10:00.000-06:00

I do NOT live in the city!
A few weeks ago the boys and I drove home to see Pam & Mike's fabulous new house and enjoy a Sunday in Vernal. (Have I mentioned how much I miss Sundays in Vernal?)

On our way we got caught in a cattle drive. Twice! Hundreds of cows... they were just being herded down the road. We sat and waited as the cows just strolled right past the truck. The boys wanted to get out and touch the cows... I said no!

A real life cowboy! The boys couldn't get over it. They talked about it all the way to Vernal!

And here are the boys, enjoying a fabulous desert after a perfect Vernal Sunday dinner!

2007-10-01T18:09:00.000-06:00

Who does this remind you of?

Yep! Like father, like son. :) As you can see, the whole "I love anything with a motor, but I love taking things apart even more" gene did NOT skip Alex. How cute are they? They were out there for EVER one night just taking stuff apart and putting it back together. I couldn't stop watching!

At least the 3 car garage is good for something, I've given up hope of a car or truck ever residing inside! It seems to be a bikes only garage.

2007-09-20T23:20:00.000-06:00

This is Spotpit.

Spotpit is a lizard, and in this picture he was a VERY happy and very full lizard. Why? Because he ATE his friend Mr. Black. Alex woke up one morning and went to look at the lizards. "Wow, Spotpit is really full, look at his tummy." I looked at him for a second and tried to figure out what he could have eaten. One of the shells in his cage maybe? Some wood? Then it dawned on me... the friend we'd bought him a few weeks before. After we searched the cage for Mr. Black and couldn't find him our suspicions were confirmed. Mr. Black was no longer with us.

Naturally, Alex thought it was hilarious. He wants us to buy MORE lizards for Spotpit to eat. He's even volunteered his own money. Jason was sad though. He loved Mr. Black.

2007-09-16T11:11:00.001-06:00

(Not) The first day of school...
The first day of school pictures are lost, so here are my staged ones! This is roughly their tenth day of school. They were even less impressed this time than they were on the first day!

2007-09-01T12:08:00.000-06:00

First day of school.

I've lost the pictures, I can't find them anywhere. *sniff*

2007-08-13T00:07:00.001-06:00

It's official - I have competition.
This is Brian's new love, posted especially for Mike!

2007-08-01T22:28:00.000-06:00

Accio Book 7!
Or, proof that their Mom is a big dork.

July 20th we made the trek into Grand Junction for the release party for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I couldn't decide if the boys should come or not, it was a VERY late night for little guys and a lot of waiting in line, but they did great! We were in line at about 11:20, but out of the store by 12:10. It was a fun night, but very bittersweet. I'm going to miss reading about Harry and the rest of the gang.

2007-07-28T00:04:00.000-06:00

San Diego Part 3 - San Diego Zoo

Our last day we went to the "World Famous" San Diego zoo. My friend Taunja drove down from the wilds of the LA area to hang out, it was great fun! We saw flamingos and their nests, TONS of reptiles, monkeys, zebras, giant pandas (my favorite) and just too many more to name!

Jason's favorite part, the reptile house!

Waiting patiently (mostly) for Mom to bring lunch!

Hangin' out on a giant turtle!

Alex made friends with a goat in the children's zoo. He would have stayed there forever, he even tried to feed the goat his shirt!

Taunja, the pumpkins and a mysterious extra visitor! (I really need to learn to use Photoshop!)

2007-07-24T12:35:00.000-06:00

San Diego Vacation Part 2 - Seaworld

Our second full day was spent at Seaworld. The ENTIRE day! We went to a few shows, saw a lot of the animals, went on the VERY fun Atlantis ride and ended the day watching fireworks.

We were able to feed the seals... the boys thought it was the neatest thing ever. I happened ot think it was the SMELLIEST thing ever.

The dolphins say hello! This was our first show, and we loved it!

Shamu! All of the shows were so neat, and we all had different favorites. I loved the Cirque De Le Mer, Jason & Alex liked the sea lion show (it was funny!) and Brian's favorite was Shamu.

We somehow found this completely secluded part of Seaworld right next to the harbor (or bay? one of the two.) It was SO nice after the huge crowds. We spent about half an hour here relaxing while the boys hunted for rabbits - there were TONS in the bushes.

It only took 20 or so shots to get one in front of the mini palm trees that looked half way decent! I have about 8 of Alex being goofy and Jason trying to stay patient with the "just one more"!

2007-07-21T13:51:00.001-06:00

San Diego Part 1 - Legoland & The Beach!

Better late than never, right? Most of our first day was spent traveling, by the time we were all in San Diego and had the car and hotel squared away we were ready to just relax! We did manage to eat at the famous In'N'Out, but that was the most exciting part of the day. Our car was fun too - they didn't have the car we'd reserved, so we were given a convertible for the same price! Cruising around California in a convertible is fun, everyone should do it! My brilliant husband also rented a GPS. We will never, ever vacation in a city again without one. It made everything so much easier!

And now, on to the pictures. After a quick stop at Walmart on our second day (we needed towels!) we were off to Legoland, Jason's favorite part of the entire trip.

They had a little kid-powered section of rides, on this one they had to pull themselves all the way to the top!

I absolutely loved Miniland. Maybe it's just because I have a 7 year old who is obsessed with Legos, but all of the models were just so detailed.

And this was their favorite part... playing in the water. They would have stayed all day if we'd let them. We could have just taken them to the splash park here and they would have had just as much fun!

And now, for some ocean pics. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip, even though I hadn't been excited about it to begin with. It was actually quite interesting, Jason was VERY daring and Alex was cautious. Quite a switch for my boys! I'm excited to take them again in a few years, once they're half decent swimmers. Alex is excited to take Granddad's boat into the ocean. He seems to think we'll be able to borrow it and drive it to California!

The boys meet the ocean...

Run away, it's a wave!

2007-07-12T00:11:00.000-06:00

4th of July - community style

Our little neighborhood has started a tradition of community bike parades, with activities in our park after. The boys think that decorating their bikes is the greatest thing EVER. They all ride behind the fire truck, twice around the block. Afterwards prizes are handed out, games are played and we all barbecue. It's something the boys will look forward to every July now.

This is the "I'm not going to smile for the camera or acknowledge that you're taking a pic but I'm still going to look as cool as possible" look. (He couldn't find his bike helmet, so he was stuck with the dirt bike helmet instead. Luckily the colors worked!)

Playing in the bubbles...

Stopping for a snack!

The leader of the pack!

And off they go! That's Jason at the front, riding the bumper on that fire truck as close as he possibly can. A future tailgater?

Waiting to launch water balloons from the sling - which they ended up snapping a few turns later! I felt bad for the men holding it, it didn't look like it felt good.

2007-07-05T09:45:00.001-06:00

The annual Bigelow reunion - Iron Springs

We've been home since Sunday night, it's now Thursday and I JUST finished the last load of laundry, so I figured it was time to actually post about it!

The reunion was nice, especially since it's the only contact we have with a lot of the extended family for the entire year. I managed to do the two things I really wanted. I had made smores, and I played Settlers. (Even if it wasn't with Dad like I wanted!) But the nosebleeds and the lack of a shower didn't make for an entirely happy Jennifer! Brian spent as much time as possible on his bike, he's still recovering, and claims he's more tired than when we left because he played too hard!

The boys, however, claim it was a week of pure heaven. To spend the entire day outside, ride bikes, get dirty, have a built in group of playmates right outside the camper door.

We were "in charge" this year, so it was up to us to pick a spot, make signs, keep everyone informed, do the kids craft etc. I think we did all right - and I'm glad we get a 2 year break!

And now, a ton of pictures:

Comparing bikes and getting to know each other again the first day.

Alex explains... something important to a group of cousins.

Even the dogs seemed to enjoy themselves more than usual.

Craft time for the kids - we made little frames from Model Magic.

Alex fishes for toys

Jason fishes too!

And his reward! He had fun playing "fetch" with Mike. Sometime he'll have to learn to throw it himself though.

Kris & Mike

Alex attempts to eat his body weight in watermelon.

Taking the cups away didn't keep the little kids away from the home made root beer! They were sticky little things by the end of the day.

The traditional Bunco game gets underway!

Two very tired boys on the way home!

2007-06-24T13:20:00.000-06:00

Museum of Ancient Life - Thanksgiving Point

Before the boys left for Canada Trisha & I took them to the Museum of Ancient Life. It was a blast, but my pictures are not the best! I can't wait to go again when they're a little older, so I can stop and read as we go!

2007-06-16T01:00:00.000-06:00

The munchkins play ball!

Baseball season was a hit for the entire family. The boys had a good time, and I think they'll be excited when tball starts again next year. All of the families on our team were a ton of fun, I hope we'll bump into them again. There's a video I put together, but I can't get it uploaded to the internet at a decent quality. Here it is anyways!

2007-04-27T19:27:00.000-06:00

Preschool Easter Party

We love Alex's preschool. The teachers are just so good, he learns so much. And it's obvious they love my little boy. When parents spend the day there we're just in shock. The kids are so well mannered and polite. At snack time they sit with their hands in their lap until everyone is served, then they say the sweetest grace and everyone eats together. They ask permission before they get up... I can't say enough about this school. His last day there is going to be a sad day for both Alex and I.

The class sits down together to check out their loot.

It's necessary to inspect the eggs as soon as possible after finding them.

2007-04-27T19:17:00.000-06:00

Have fun, learn good habits, don't kill each other.

The last 3 months the boys have been taking climbing classes at the gym. They love it! The class is full of really active little ones, it's kind of frightening but the teacher does his best to keep it under control. "Have fun, learn good habits, don't kill each other," those were his 3 goals for the class. I think it worked! Jason and Alex both loved it, and they're hoping to do another 3 months sometime.

Did I mention he might be a monkey? Notice that there's no rope. Alex would boulder to the top of the wall if we'd let him.

The top of the wall seems VERY far away for Jas!

2007-04-27T18:58:00.000-06:00

Party #2!

On March 17th we threw a party for Alex and some of his friends from preschool at Kidzplex, a fun indoor play area. They had a great time!

He might be a monkey. I think Alex spent more time climbing the sides of the play area than he did playing!

The cake!

He's five!

The boys chow down!

2007-04-22T17:33:00.000-06:00

Sunday evening walks...

the thing I miss most about Vernal has to be the Sunday evening walks. Here are a few pics of the last one we took, just before we came home that weekend.

Jason treks along with his bow.

2007-04-22T13:24:00.000-06:00

Hi, my name is Jen and I'm a slacker.

Let's try and catch up, shall we? I'm only four or so months behind!

Ok, so first... a trip home. We went home in March to visit and to celebrate a handful of birthdays. Since there are so many of us living away from home, we have to celebrate in chunks. It was so nice to be home though. Vernal's the first place I've lived in long enough to get homesick for! (Also, spending time with some GIRLS was fun too, since I spend almost all of my life being the only one around. I love having sisters!)

Pam plays the guitar. :) I love to sit and listen to her. Maybe I should make a video tape to get me through the 18 months she'll be gone!

Trisha cross stitches - and now she has me hooked again too!

Krissy ditches us to go to a dance.

Alex the birthday boy/fireman inspects his balloons.

Just for Alex - a TMNT cake made by his Nana!

Just in case you can't tell, Alex has the ENTIRE head of his ninja turtle to eat. Naturually it was Nana who gave it to him! He ate every last bite of frosting but left most of the cake.

He might be a little bit spoiled. Do you think so?

Granddad had presents too, but he wasn't nearly as spoiled! :)

2007-01-01T22:03:00.000-07:00

Build A Bear

Santa put a gift card to Build A Bear Workshop in each of the boy's stockings. Since there isn't one here, we went on our way out of Salt Lake. It was SO fun. Jason picked a snow leopard and named him Meat Eater and Alex a husky named Sammy... it was just cute and fun. Almost a week later they're still taking very good care of their new "pets." Jason actually keeps telling me to be more careful of Meat Eater . "He's just a baby Mom, he was just born 3 days ago!"

2007-01-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

Christmas Day

I'm always disappointed with myself for lack of Christmas pictures. This year was a TINY bit better, but really no exception. So here's the best of what I have...

Alex's Santa present was a hit! He bounced on it a TON at the hotel! The games are really fun, you'd be amazed at how fast he can get 100 bounces in. Daddy needs to put it back together, so he can bounce on it at home.

And then, Christmas stopped entirely for Steven's phone call. Pretty impressive Elder Cochran, to keep 13 people from opening their presents for more than an hour!

More present opening! I did not get the traditional boys + piles of loot shots. :( We were SO full of stuff in that suite that everyone just got their presents put away as fast as possible.

The lights at Temple Square. My photography skills need work, I don't have a single pic that does it justice at all.

The boys with Pam & Matt at Temple Square. Cool shot, good job Brian!

2007-01-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we all arrived at the hotel. It was complete chaos and TONS of fun! Some people decided it was a great idea to go swimming, the rest of us were smart enough to know that December in Utah isn't really pool weather!

Caleb in super-hot orange swim trunks. Really, who WOULDN'T marry him?

There was a loft in the suite that Jason & Alex just couldn't stay away from.

We were lucky enough to get a little bit of music out of Pam - not enough, but some!

Caleb and his better half. Sadly, no orange swim trunks in this picture.

2006-12-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

My camera is back! I missed it. I have a few pictures taken with the old, icky camera, but I don't want to post them. They're horrible! Anyways - I'm sick so I'm neglecting my housewifely duties to post recent pics of the boys at the climbing wall this weekend. Alex, of course, LOVED it. And Jason, ever the cautions one, had a good time but was pretty scared. He's on the waiting list to take a class though, so I'm sure once he feels more comfortable he'll be more inclined to take a few risks.

2006-10-31T22:54:00.000-07:00

ARRR!!

2006-10-31T22:43:00.000-07:00

More of my soccer stars.. special guest photographer Pam...

They're getting so much better! Jason is an amazing goalie and Alex... well, Alex is starting to focus a little more on the game. :)

2006-10-31T22:18:00.000-07:00

Pumpkins - in a pumpkin patch! We had a blast at the pumpkin patch with the other Mommies & kids from church. The boys had a blast and somehow ended up with WAY more than the 2 kids per pumpkin limit!

2006-10-05T11:20:00.000-06:00

Soccer stars in the making... This is the second year of soccer for Jason and the first for Alex. They're having a great time, and learning a lot. The 4 year olds mostly just run around the field in a pack after the ball, but the 6 year olds are really starting to get it. It's so fun to watch them!

2006-10-04T16:30:00.000-06:00

First day of school, August 21st. Such big boys, starting school on the same day! Jason is in first grade and Alex is in his last year of preschool.

2006-10-04T15:39:00.000-06:00

Nana & Grandad's marriage turns 30! And we celebrated at Lagoon. Because really - isn't that what every couple wants to do for their anniversary, spend the day at a theme park watching their grandkids so the "big kids" can ride rides! We made tshirts with their wedding photos, and printed shirts for the 3 little grandsons that said "My Nana & Grandad have been married for 30 years!" They seemed to have a good time, and we really enjoyed throwing them their Hawaii themed bash. I can't wait until they actually GO to Hawaii, I'm hoping they'll stalk the cast of Lost for me!

2006-10-03T16:25:00.000-06:00

Camping in Grand Mesa National Forest... Almost 2 months ago we headed up into the national forest and found the most amazing campsite. We had this grove and little lake all to ourselves. We rode our bikes, hung out and made S'mores. A perfect camping trip!

2006-09-27T10:11:00.000-06:00

Catching up on summer adventures... because I've been a slacker! Now that it's almost October life has slowed to a normal pace. As normal as we're ever going to get anyways! Summer was great! The boys went on to Lake Powell with Nana & Granddad all by themselves. And we had a house full of company for a week! The grandparents from Canada came along with two uncles, and then Grandma & Grandpa Hulbert brought Holly from New York. Here are some pictures of our trip to the Colorado , right here in Grand Junction.

2006-07-22T18:29:00.000-06:00

Off he goes!

Alex has taken one more step towards being a full fledged "kid", he's not my little toddler anymore. Brian decided it was time to take off his training wheels. Just a little while later, my big boy was riding like a pro.

2006-07-22T18:15:00.000-06:00

I have BOYS.

We have had a lot of rain the past few weeks. The other day the boys were playing in their rooms, it was raining and I was making dinner. It was a perfect, quiet, peaceful rainy evening. And then - from outside - I heard Alex go "wa-ha-hoooo!" Anyone that knows Alex can imagine that noise! I looked outside and there he was, covered in the mud. So I grabbed the camera and let Jason go out too. It's just as easy to clean two boys up as it is to clean up one!

2006-07-10T01:21:00.000-06:00

Rain, rain, go away!

The rain spoiled our plans to go to the lake today - but we had fun anyways. We decided to go to the dinosaur museum - again. Those two boys could spend an entire day between the water station and the "dig." The best pictures - in my humble opinion - came from the truck on the way there. A front double bi AND the famous ninja eyes in one picture. Priceless. :)

2006-07-08T17:35:00.000-06:00

4th of July!

We started the 4th with a fun bike parade for the kids in our neighborhood. Our new little neighborhood has a few retired women who love to organize events and this one was perfect. Led by a fire truck the little kids rode around the block and through our HOA. The boys were so excited to ride behind Drake - our 11 year old next door neighbor that they worship.

Alex's favorite part was the tour of the fire truck after the parade. He was in there for half an hour asking questions about everything. Now he's even more convinced than ever that he's going to be a firefighter when he grows up.

2006-07-06T19:10:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Pumpkin!

Jason spent his birthday in Canada, but we celebrated when he came home. :) After months of begging we granted Jason's wish and took everyone to Bananas. It was a blast! We all rode the gocarts, played in the arcade, drenched each other on the boats... and watched the big boys get in trouble - when telling us how NOT to drive the gocarts, the instructor used Mike as an example.

Pam & Jacob weren't there, and Steve of course is in Puerto Rico, so we weren't complete, but it was nice to have that many of us all together.

2006-07-06T15:09:00.000-06:00

Mike the Headless Chicken Festival - May 20th 2006

One of the reasons I fell in love with this town is the quirky festival they call "Mike the Headless Chicken Festival." Apparently there was a chicken that survived a beheading 60 or so years ago. And so naturally there's a festiaval celebrating him. The boys had a blast riding the rides, but the best pictures are of them with their new friends - the chickens. Alex cried all the way home because he had to leave his chicken there. "I want to take him home and take care of him!"

2006-05-02T08:49:00.000-06:00

Take a picture of US! They were jealous that the sprinkler system was getting all of the attention. And really - how can you NOT take pictures of them? Look at them, they're perfect!

2006-04-18T00:34:00.000-06:00

Hooray for everything going wrong... For WEEKS Brian has been trying to get going on the sprinkler system. But something always went wrong. It was too muddy or he couldn't rent the trencher or we had to run to Vernal. Well today we are grateful for all of those hiccups! Friday our irrigation water was turned on and a decent sized sink hole appeared in our "yard." Today they came to dig it up - sure enough, that pipe is BROKEN. So now they'll fix it and THEN we can do our landscaping. I'm so glad we don't have to replace parts of the sprinkler system - or worse - curbing!

And that is my last post tonight. :) In the next day or so I'll post pictures of the house so far - because Trisha keeps asking for them!

2006-04-18T00:25:00.000-06:00

Colorado Has Easter Too... It is very, very, very strange to have a holiday outside of Utah. Saturday after Grandma Bigelow's funeral Mom, Dad & Kris came home with us. They stayed over and went to church with us the next day. We came home and there were clues for the boy from the Easter bunny. How interesting that he does scavenger hunts at Nana's AND at our house!

Dinner was fabulous - and the company was even better. There were only seven of us, it seemed very quiet and very small. We missed Trish a lot - she still hasn't seen the house, and Easter in Colorado was her idea to begin with! Pam G., Pam C. & Mike still need to come visit too! Hopefully we'll have a bunch more for the next Colorado dinner - Jason's birthday in June.

2006-04-17T23:54:00.000-06:00

On loan to Puerto Rico... 3 months and one day later than we expected Steve entered the MTC. I'm getting a lot of use out of the word "bittersweet" these days. In the back of my mind on the way home I thought it would be perfect if Steve was waiting at home for us. Can't you picture someone with authority saying "your family has been through enough. Steve's mission can be here with you. It is enough that you were willing to send him." Hey, it worked for Abraham. Oh well. Justine's not old enough to marry him right now anyways!

In all seriousness, I'm surprised at how hard it still is days later. The memory of those awful weeks is still very fresh to me. Every time I look at pictures of Steve I'm reminded of how completely terrified I was that night at the hospital in Roosevelt. And yet here he is - 99% recovered and ready to serve the Lord for two years. He's a living testament to the power of prayer and healthy living.

2006-04-17T23:37:00.000-06:00

Bittersweet Sunday... The last Sunday dinner with Steven for two years. I'm not good with change in general - but this is even worse than normal for me. Sunday has been my favorite day of the week for years now - all of us invading Mom's house for dinner, the Sunday afternoon walk... these are the things my boys will remember forever.

We were lucky enough to witness the fabled Easter scavenger hunt. The Easter bunny came to Nana's house a week early so Steve wouldn't miss out. I was lucky enough to help out with the clues - I even hid all of Kristine's. What a fun tradition! (I still think that the married kids should get something. Maybe we should start a petition!)

2006-04-17T22:52:00.000-06:00

Early Easter Egg Hunt.... April 8th there was an Easter Egg hunt at Cross Orchards - a "living history" museum. They aren't open yet, but I'm excited to take the boys there and show them how they did things back in the day of real cowboys. The boys had a blast, but they both had upset tummies. Daddy let them eat candy in the back of his truck - and they took full advantage of the opportunity. Of course - even getting sick on candy one day didn't diminish their desire for it just a few days later!

2006-04-17T22:35:00.000-06:00

Finally. I'm an aunt. Jason & Alex made everyone else aunts and uncles - but now Brian and I get to join the club. Meet Jake. He's adorable, his Mom is doing a fantastic job, and I can't wait until he gets a little bit older and RSV season goes away so the boys can really get to know him! Isn't he PERFECT?

2006-03-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

Slowly starting to look like a house...

But there are still stacks of boxes everywhere. And no furniture AND no blinds. Our couches and chairs are in, but no kitchen table. We just have to figure out how to get them from their warehouse to our house. OR pay $160 for delivery - but even then they won't come until the kitchen table is here.

And the blinds? Well - we'll be living in a fishbowl until April 3rd! I wanted to stick sheets up for now but Brian has forbidden it.

2006-03-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure how it happened...

But Alex is 4. His little celebration was at his Nana's. He had a blast, and completely scored in the loot department.

Trisha gave him a badge that said "Birthday Boy" and he wore it proudly that day. Mom took him to the store and said he walked around with his chest pushed out so everyone could see it.

He's a character that one! Watching him grow and learn and explore this world is almost always an amazing adventure. And some days it makes me want to check myself into a mental hospital, but we can't have good days every day can we?

Pam's baby shower was that day too. It went well, everyone seemed to enjoy it. All of my pictures turned out horrible though, so I have none. (Feel free to send me some Trish!)

2006-03-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

Goodbye House

Our very last day in Vernal. What a crazy day! We weren't 100% sure that things were going to go through. At 11:49 am the day before we had to be out we knew for sure it was a go. CRAZY I tell you! We got everything out in record time.

The night before we left was very sad. I don't think I can explain
with words how strange it was to think that we wouldn't live there anymore. Jason was only 6 months old when we moved in. Honestly, the 5 happiest years of my life were in that house.

I wish I'd taken a picture of the playhouse before we left. Brian put his heart and soul into that thing - it took him an entire summer. That and the boys' handprints in the cement - the two hardest things for me to leave behind.

2006-02-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

Next time I'll listen to him....

All day Alex has been asking for a haircut, I kept telling him I'd take him on Tuesday to Randi. I went in his room and there he was, the middle of his head completely buzzed. I had to buzz the rest. He cried for AGES - it probably didn't help that when I was finished I laughed a little. He's OK with it now though. He's very excited that he has whiskers where his hair should be.

2006-02-23T20:54:00.000-07:00

More Pics of the New House

The kitchen and the dining room. Brown, like the rest of the house! I like it though. From this anle the pantry looks kind of funny because the celings are so high. LOVE the stainless appliances, now I just have to convince Brian that I need a stainless fridge to match! Wish me luck! The dining room is really casual, but I think that's perfect for our family. It will suit the super-casual "man couches" Brian picked out for our great room. When he said he wanted new furniture, I thought he meant CUTE. But what he really meant was "this is an opportunity for me to get something that reclines"! The dining room set is cute though. And I'm hoping to make the slouchy couches look good somehow! I'll have to have some outside help.

2006-02-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

The Winner

We put in an offer on this house today. I think (Ok, I hope) that it will all work out though. It's the most perfect house inside. 1900 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths... finished beautifully. The kitchen cabinets are awesome, the celings are 11 feet high. All of the fixtures in the house are unique and gorgeous. I wish I had taken more pictures of the inside. I was kind of preoccupied though!

The lot leaves something to be desired. There's not a lot of "play" room for the boys OR the overgrown canine. We're not sure what we're going to do about that. I guess we wait and see if our offer gets accepted. And then after that - we go from there.

2006-02-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

And just like that.... our house is sold. No, seriously. We're closing in 18 days. We didn't even expect to be on the MARKET in 18 days.

2006-02-05T19:20:00.000-07:00

How we spent our vacation....

Brian has been home for 9 days and we've spent the entire time getting the house ready to sell. We've cleaned and purged and thrown stuff away, but the biggest project was finishing the downstairs bathroom. Steve & Bri framed the walls ages ago, but this week Brian has done the tile (looks amazing! and it was his first time tiling!), installed all the fixtures and the plumbing. He finished the door today, and then we painted a little bit more. This is the best picture I could manage of the bathroom. I love the shower curtain almost as much as I love his tiling!

Jason is very excited to have his "own bathroom." At least for a few weeks. :)

2006-02-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

Sick Pumpkin :(

Poor little guy. He clearly didn't get his Nana's immune system. It seems like the poor kid is constantly fighting one bug or another. He's just too cute asleep though - even when he's sick.

2006-02-05T17:52:00.000-07:00

Someone to Love

The boys with Pam's new best friend. After the last few months she really needs someone to keep her company. His name is Corky and we all adore him - even Brian and I who aren't really small dog people.