Chris and Elise Hansen Family

January Update

2012-01-31T22:41:00.000-07:00

Where did this month go? It hasn't felt like January to me-- probably because it's freakishly warm for Idaho, and because we've been busy enough that the month has flown instead of crawled by. I have never been a huge fan of this month, but if it goes by like this, sunny and eventful, I could be easily swayed.

My wonderful grandparents and mother-in-law still read this sorely neglected blog, so this post is an update for them.

Thomas has had a busy month. He started swimming lessons again and absolutely loves it. He told me tonight that he might not pass his class (they're learning the butterfly--sheesh!), but I think he wouldn't mind taking it again. While he swims, I sit up in the loft bleachers and watch him gleefully jump up and down as he waits for his turn to dive. He is so much more at home in the water than I have ever been and I love that he has found something active that he enjoys so much.

Chess club started this month as well, and he still has piano and orchestra and scouts. He keeps plenty busy. I'm glad that he is busy because it's also been a tough month friend-wise-- Tom's best friend, Nathaniel, moved to Norway mid-month, and he is kind of at a loss. Unlike Gordon, Tom doesn't have a bunch of neighborhood buddies, and it seems like that awful middle school caste system has slowly started to form in 5th grade. Tom is friendly to everyone and I know that most of the kids in his class like him, but he just doesn't gel with anyone else the way he did with Nathaniel. Right now, I am praying for a good friend for my sweet little guy.

Speaking of scouts, last week our cub scouts had their annual Pinewood Derby. Can I just say that I am not a fan of the derby? Tom hasn't really cared about it either, which means that all three years, we've kind of just thrown together a car at the last minute. This year, Tom made the "Nintendo World Tour" bus-- a silver bus with pictures of Nintendo characters on the side. We all thought it looked pretty cool, but it didn't go very fast and Tom was momentarily disappointed that he lost every race. That is a bummer. Luckily, Reed's Dairy ice cream cures many a Pinewood Derby disappointment.

Earlier this month, a friend of ours took Chris, Tom and Gord up in a little airplane for a short flight around the Snake River Valley. The boys had such a fun time (minus the few minutes of turbulence near Palisades), and it was a really fun memory for them. They started in Idaho Falls and flew North over Rexburg and Ashton and around near the Tetons, then ended up right over our neighborhood on their way home. What a fun adventure!

Gordon has been really busy this month as well. In December, he started practicing with his team for the basketball season and this month they had their first game. Unlike the other sports he has played, Gordon hasn't had quite as easy of a time getting into the game. I think it's a lot harder handling the ball, dribbling, shooting, and passing, and having to struggle a little bit has been really frustrating for him. Luckily, he's getting into it more and Chris has taken him to the church to practice indoors a couple of times. The season lasts through the end of the month, so we'll see how it goes.

Gordon is such a funny thing. I've mentioned before that he and I have our challenges, and it's something I think we'll both have to work on for a long time. Right now we're trying something new-- we're both trying to have "good days" where he practices being obedient and helpful, and I practice not yelling. We agreed that we both have to help each other. It is a lot easier for me to keep my voice calm and positive when Gordon responds to what I am saying the first time, and it is a lot easier for Gordon to be cheerful and helpful when I am in a good mood. Every day we have a good day, Gordon gets a sticker. After 10 stickers, we do something fun together. We started this on January 1st and today, the 31st, we got to do our first something fun. It's a work in progress.

Gord couldn't wait until after our other activities and dinner were finished, so while Tom was at swimming lessons, we went to Wal-Mart, bought a little Lego set and a Valentine candy, and called it good. I would have liked to do something a little more one-on-one fun, but Gordon really could not wait and I could see that a fight was brewing, so Wal-Mart it was. Luckily, Gordon was super excited about his Legos and is already talking about what we're going to do in ten more days.

Neil just loves to play and play. His recent obsession is with the movies "Cars" and "Cars 2", and he loves to play with his little diecast figures from the movies. He takes his Lightening McQueen(s) and his Finn McMissile(s) with him everywhere-- they even sit on the bathroom counter while he uses the facilities.

I gave the two car toys the extra "s" because of this: Neil has two of each. Since he takes them everywhere he goes-- in the van, in Dad's car, in his bedroom, upstairs, downstairs, etc, etc, etc, he also loses them constantly. And the first thing he says when he wakes up in the morning is "Where's McQueen? Where's Finn McMissile?" So, when he lost the originals, we picked up a couple more. Then we found the originals (in the van and under my bed, respectively) and now he has two. Can anyone say "spoiled"?

Neil graduated from Nursery (the 18-month - 3 year old class in church) to Sunbeams (the class will all turn 4 this year), and after the third week, his teachers informed me that he is a bit of a bully. Apparently he has thrown crayons, hit and threatened to hit, and stepped on childrens' coloring pages. Neil isn't around kids his age very much, so it's always a shock to me when I hear that he isn't a perfect little angel. Okay, not a total shock, but still.

The last thing I want is for one of my kids to be that child, so every day last week, Chris and I talked about how important it is to be nice, how we shouldn't hit or throw crayons, etc. I think it sunk in-- after church this Sunday, I asked his teachers how he was and they both said that he did great. YAY! The one did mention that he touched her leg, which was bare beneath her slightly over-the-knee skirt, and said, "it's poky." Grimace.

At least we're making progress.

That's it for this update-- it's 10:40 and we have another busy day ahead of us!

YESSSSSSSS!

2012-01-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

I finally finished posting my reviews on my 25 Books in 2011!!

Now it's time to start on my 25 in 2012. Today one of the worst things happened at the library: I went to pick up my books on hold and I have three, all of which are 14-day new releases and all of which have super long waiting lists. It's so hard to choose which one to start first, but I had to go with Alice Hoffman. You can't go wrong with Alice Hoffman. :)

2011 Storyboard

2012-01-01T23:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a resolution: blog more! More on that later, though. Tonight I want to wrap up our year with a little (kind of messy) photo collage. Lots of smiles, lots of fun. So long 2011!

Routine

2011-09-20T23:03:00.000-06:00

We're in our fourth week of school here and I'm finally feeling like we're getting into a routine. It's true that I still couldn't find a better time to blog than at 10:30 at night, but still, things seem less hectic than they did a few weeks ago. Here's what we've been up to:

We spent Labor Day in Teton National Park hiking, picnicking, skipping little rocks and climbing on big rocks, water-bending, and enjoying the beauty of nature. Our only complaint was having to get back to real life the next day.

A 3+ mile hike satisfies some Webelos requirements!

Gordon practicing his water-bending skills

Since school is back in session, the boys no longer have the luxury of staying up past a certain time every night. It doesn't really seem fair to send all three boys to bed at the same time, though, so usually we've just let Tom stay up and read in his room for a while before he has to turn out the lights. For the last several nights, though, Tom has been going into his room at the same time as the other kids, waiting a few minutes, then sneaking back downstairs to play a game with Chris. They usually play Mastermind-- it's quick and fun and they can get several games in before I send anyone back upstairs. It has been fun to see these two enjoy some one-on-one bonding time.

Gordon is playing soccer and had his first game last week. He loves it, of course, and has been negotiating his reward for if/when he scores a goal. So far, we've agreed that we'll go out for ice cream after the game.

It seems a little bit cruel to post a picture of us in all of our red gear after such a painful game (painful even for the winners) on Saturday, but I would be remiss if I didn't share that football season is alive and well in the Hansen home. Chris had the boys singing "Utah Man" and marching around in their matching shirts all day long. Little goobers.

I need to update my book list with some books I've read over the past little bit. My favorite of those has been The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma. Additionally, Gordon and I have been reading books from the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems and they are just plain awesome. Five stars, thumbs up, and huge recommendations from me-- if you have an early reader, they are a must.

Favorites

2011-09-04T22:43:00.000-06:00

The first week of school has passed and it's official: the boys love it! The homework hasn't been too much (so far) and Tom has a class full of old friends while Gord is busier than ever making new ones. They wore shorts every day last week which makes the transition from summertime to school time a little easier. Here they are on the first day...

When asked what his favorite parts of his school day are, Gordon replied, "lunch and recess." No surprise there, although he is a very good student. Tom enjoys writing and decided to bring home his journal with the first week's entry, titled "Ten Years from Today."

"Anything could happen ten years from today! Flying cars, mutated animals, and probably some new restraunts! Nobody really knows if those things will exist in ten years. All I know is that I'll be twenty years old! I'll also be an inventor! First I got to go to college. Wait, college is an estimated ten years from now! Perfecto! What kind of college, you ask? I know I live in Idaho at the moment, but I'm going to Utah Utes College. I'm going to live in Utah, too! Go ahead. Boo all you want." (Okay, so a couple of small spelling/grammar issues, but isn't that cursive lovely?)

I know it's a proud mom thing, but I am completely in love with Tom's writing! It just cracks me up! I love all of the exclamation points (I wonder where he gets that?) and his little defensive strike against any Utah naysayers. I think I should make him journal every day.

At home, our cherry tomatoes are ripening and I am loving going out for mini harvests every day. I'm trying to perfect a sweet balsamic vinaigrette (hint, hint Nonny & Debra!) to dip them in. They're as delicious as they are lovely and even though we have so many, they don't last long.

Chris and I were in Teton National Park, one of our favorite places on Earth, with the Crawfords, some of our favorite people, to celebrate our anniversary last weekend. It was the perfect little get-away, and the perfect way to relax a little bit before jumping into the madness that is back-to-school.

Lucky for us, we get a Labor Day break and we're going back to the Tetons tomorrow, this time with the boys. Can't wait!

The Duck Song: Robot and "Cool" Versions

2011-09-02T08:49:00.000-06:00

Tom and Gord love The Duck Song. They have all of the lyrics memorized and even made up their own versions of it. It's pretty funny.

Don't mind the moving car...

It's Game Day

2011-09-01T22:46:00.001-06:00

Just in case you're confused about who we root for in this house, you could always drive by...

or ask one of the kids...

Go Utes!

80...81...82....

2011-08-22T23:34:00.000-06:00

Summer is almost over and I really am so sad about it. I haven't bought a single item of new school clothing, nor have I organized the school supplies or written names on anything. I just can't do it. I'm not ready.

Even though I've been a hideous blogger for our 87 Days of Summer Vacation, I have been taking pictures. I have taken SO many pictures! So many, in fact, that my Google albums want to charge me to upload any more. While I'm deciding whether or not to fork out for extra online storage, you can still check out the remaining June and first half of July photos over on the sidebar. Every photo has a story, of course, so let me know if you want to hear. There are just too many to blog.

Here are a few of my favorites that haven't made it to the Google album yet:

Gordon has learned to ride his two-wheeled bike and asks at least once a day if we can go for a ride. Tonight we did a little bit of back-to-school prep and timed ourselves riding from our house to the school. If you don't count the few minutes of arguing over who gets to go first through the under-road tunnel, then we should be able to make it in about 20 minutes. I think a morning bike ride will be a perfect start to a new school day, don't you?

Chris has been in Phoenix for the past three weeks and will finally get home on Friday. I can't wait!

Lucky 13

2011-08-21T22:07:00.000-06:00

I've always liked this picture of Chris and me. It was taken outside the Idaho Falls, ID Temple right after we were married thirteen years ago today. No one had a digital camera at the time, so almost all of our pictures from that day were taken by a professional photographer and almost all of them were posed. I'm kind of jealous of today's brides with their zillions of great candid shots that they can post all over wherever, while I have just a handful of not-so-natural-looking hard-copy photos. But that's what I like about this picture-- even though we're getting ready to pose, the looks on our faces isn't contrived at all. We're looking at each other and I'm laughing and we look really, naturally happy. I love it.

Every marriage has its ups and downs, and ours is certainly no different. We definitely have those times when we're just trying to get through, sucking it up, gritting our teeth, and forcing a smile. We both fill a lot of different roles and sometimes it can feel like we're so caught up in making things work that we forget to enjoy it.

But then there are moments like this one, maybe when we're getting ready to go on to the next seemingly important thing, when we have a chance to look at each other, laugh, and just be happy together. Those little moments make everything else worth it.

Chris is good at bringing out those happy little tidbits for me, and today I feel really lucky, and grateful, to have thirteen years worth of memories with him. Happy Anniversary, Hunst. I love you!

PS-- I took this picture of the boys yesterday-- so cute!

More summer fun! (Days 6-14)

2011-06-28T18:42:00.001-06:00

Day 6-- June 8th: Frisbee Fun

The reason I need to keep up with this 87 days of Summer thing more regularly than I have been is that the days all blur together and I forget what happens on the individual days. On day 6, for example, I'm sure we did something besides play frisbee, but since I didn't take pictures, I no longer remember. That's kind of sad.

But, I did take pictures of these two playing an impromptu game of frisbee while Chris and I got dinner going. I'm constantly nagging Tom and Gordon to play together, work it out, include your brother, etc, so the fact that they decided to go outside and actually play together without parental prodding makes these pictures all the more priceless. Plus, they look adorable.

Day 7-- June 9th: Swimming

We had several stormy days during the first couple weeks in June, and this was one of them. Luckily, we had buy-1-get-1-free tickets to the indoor Aquatic Center left over from Gordon's birthday party, so I took these boys swimming. My kids are part fish and all three of them loved jumping around in the water. I had quite the workout trying to hold onto little Neil-- he doesn't understand the concept of not being able to breathe while under water and tried to swim away from me every chance he could. Little booger. We were right to go swimming inside, though-- it hailed on us on our way home!

Day 8-- June 10th: Backyard Yoga

I watched my sister Ann-Michelle's four children for three days during this week, and on Friday, it was finally warm enough to break out the pool. The kids played outside for hours, ate lunch and had popsicles, then played some more. I took a bunch of pictures, but this one is my favorite-- Tom leading his cousins in some yoga. Namaste.

Day 9-- June 11th: The Scottish Festival and Trilobites (pictures coming!)

We went to Utah to visit Grammuh and Grampuh, but like a moron, I forgot my camera. Luckily, Gramm is a fabulous photographer and got all sorts of good ones from our day at Thanksgiving Point. Some things I want to remember about our wonderful day: Gordon falling in love with the bagpipe bands at the Scottish Festival (he informed us that he wants to play both the drums and the bagpipe when he grows up), tasty shortbread at one of the booths, the boys loving making trilobite molds just like a real paleontologist at the Museum of Ancient Life, and the huge and delicious sundaes at the little ice cream shop at Thanksgiving Point. What a great day!

Day 10-- June 12th

Gordon got his face painted at the Scottish Festival and was so excited about it that he asked if he could paint his own face with watercolors after church on Sunday. He's our own little Braveheart.

Day 11-- June 13th

The boys were invited to a friend's birthday party at a cool outdoor family fun park, and I took a picture of Tom climbing the rock wall with my phone. It was cold and rainy (you can see how cloudy it is in the background), so we didn't get too spend too much time outside, but the boys still had a blast. The Idaho Falls YMCA runs a rock climbing gym that I'm hoping to take the boys to sometime soon. It seems like something we'd all enjoy.

Day 12-- June 14th

Another day where I'm not sure what we did. All of my pictures are for digital scrapbooking stuff except this one of cute little Gordon. Man, those eyelashes! And sigh, that underbite...

Day 13-- June 15th: Tee Ball

Gord is playing tee ball this summer with a fun group of boys in our area. Most of them live within a few blocks or so, so every Monday and Wednesday, the boys have kind of a play date while the moms sit on the bleachers and visit. It's really fun. Go Yankees!

Day 14-- June 16th: Sand Art

We watched my friend's son while she and her husband spent a weekend in New York (lucky ducks!!) and since it was another kind of gloomy day weather-wise, we decided to do some crafts. After a fun filled lunch at the indoor playground at Arctic Circle (I had no idea they give you a free kid's cone when you stay for lunch-- sweet!), I took the boys to Wal-Mart and let them choose $10 worth of crafts. After much deliberation (and me saying, "okay, it's time to choose" about twenty times), they finally decided on a sand art kit. It was a little bit messy, but pretty fun, and the boys ended up with some cool art and father's day gifts. Just what every dad wants!

Coming soon: Fathers & Sons, more Tee Ball, the Backyard Science Fair, and more! Summer is so fun!!

87 Days of Summer Vacation-- Days 1-5

2011-06-09T23:01:00.000-06:00

We're big fans of Phineas and Ferb around here. The boys discovered it on Netflix and they're not the only ones who love it-- Chris and I get a huge kick out of this clever kids show, too. The first line of the title sequence goes, "There's one-hundred-and-four days of summer vacation..." and the boys and I are feeling a little gypped that we've only got 87. That 87 includes the last day of school (the first official day of summer, starting at 2:21 pm) and weekends.

Since we're trying to jam all the fun we can into those 87 days, my goal is to take at least one picture each day and make a summer scrapbook. If you are into scrapping or photography, you've probably heard of Project 365, where you take a photo a day for a year. I'm not quite at that point myself, but I think Project 87 is a good start, don't you? And there's nothing like a scrapbook to remind you how much fun you had! :)

Day 1-- June 3rd: The last day of school/ First day of summer. I picked the kids up from school and we went to Baskin Robbins where we enjoyed tasty kid's cones while we looked at the end-of-year reports. I'm happy to say that both boys really improved from the beginning of the year to the end, and that they are both well above average. Of course, I don't need a school report to tell me that!

Chris and I thought it would be a fun tradition to have a backyard campout on the last day of school, but when we were talking about it, we must have forgotten that we live in Idaho, where it regularly snows in June. Last year the boys ended up camping in my parents' shop, and this year, we set up the tent in the basement. Instead of falling asleep watching the stars, the boys had Toy Story 3 and the dimmer switch on the lamp. The backyard campout may have to wait for better weather, but I think the fun sleeping arrangement tradition is here to stay!

Day 2-- June 4: I have big plans for running this summer. No more 13-milers, though, you can be sure about that! Still, I plan to run a couple of 5Ks, a 5-mile leg in a relay, and hopefully a 10K at the end of the summer. I'm also taking a running class at the gym, so I'm hoping my times and endurance will get better as the summer progresses.

My first official run of the summer was the Melaleuca 5K on Saturday. I ran with my mom and some of our great friends from our ward and neighborhood, which was so fun. Running with people really makes a difference.

In mid-May, our church group had a 5K fun run and my time was not great, so I was very happy that I came in at 5 minutes faster than that previous time. Not a personal best, but still, I am pleased with how it turned out. My one goal was to run (jog) the entire time, and I did. Hooray! My friend won an iPod, too, which is pretty darn awesome-- maybe some of that luck will rub off on me for our next race!

Day 3-- June 5: I decided to just to un-do all of that good calorie burning by making a delicious, completely un-nutritious dessert on Sunday. I think we're calling it "Strawberries and Cream Pie" and the recipe was given to me by my friend Jeanette. It's light, summery, and decadent-- perfect for a Sunday afternoon! I'll post the recipe on Culinary Collie Sue in the next day or so. In the meantime, you can drool over this picture...

Day 4-- June 6: I've been watching my sister's four kids three days this week, so we've had kind of a crazy week. Gordon had his first tee ball game (Go Yankees!-- they're ADORABLE) but I didn't feel like I could take my eyes off of the other six kids for too long and decided to leave the camera at home. Luckily, we have several more games and I'll have fewer little bodies in my responsibility next week. Gord played pretty well and afterward commented, "Now I remember this game!" and played even better on Wednesday.

Late Monday night, Thomas came downstairs with a little problem-- he'd been chewing on this little scarf that belongs in a magic kit and got it stuck on his braces. It was easy enough to pull off, but I thought it made a pretty funny picture. Apparently in addition to taffy and chewy caramels, he should also avoid chewing on magic scarves.

Day 5-- June 7: In typical Idaho fashion, Tuesday was cold and rainy, so we had to stay inside for most of the day. Luckily, I had a backup plan: Spore Creatures.

We have this funny computer game called Spore that the kids just love-- you create your own weird monster thing and make it dance and move. I thought it would be fun to make our own 3-D Spore Creatures with play-doh and the boys agreed. They invited some friends and we got to work.

Next time, I think I'll go right for the modeling clay. Play-doh doesn't stick as well and we had to use wooden skewers to help the limbs stay stiff. As the creatures have dried, some of their extremities have fallen off. Oh well, live and learn. The boys LOVED this rainy-day project, so I am sure we'll try it again.

Tom's Creature:

And Gord's (love the title):

Most of Neil's ended up in little bits on the floor, then into the garbage when I swept. He still had fun and I am pretty sure he didn't eat any.

That's it for the first five days-- I have more pictures to share, and I'll post a link to my scrap pages when I'm done in case you want to see how our summer scrapbook is coming along. Good times!

Come on, Summer!

2011-06-02T15:26:00.001-06:00

It's June! Tomorrow is the last day of school! My sweet little tree in the backyard really looks like popcorn popping! My garden is planted! So come on, SUMMER, what are you waiting for?!

When my grandparents were here, we discussed the fact that no matter where you live, you pay a price in some regard or another. Here in lovely, low-cost-of-living, great family community Idaho, the price we pay is in the weather. Or rather, the wind. And the cold. I feel like winter has lasted about four months too long, and I am ready, ready, ready for summer.

Yesterday I expressed my happiness at the first of June (for reasons of impending summertime) and Chris replied with, "Yeah, only three months until football season!" Sheesh.

Anyway, it's windy here, but at least we have a kite, a huge field outside our back gate, and little boys who can stay entertained for hours.

We're all getting very excited for summertime, and I'm going to do my best to make sure that this summer is one of our best ever. On the docket for summer activities: camping, hiking, swimming lessons, tee ball, bike riding, and family visits. We can't wait!

P.S. I updated my book list!

Tidbits from a month of life...

2011-05-17T20:30:00.000-06:00

Ah, the blog. It's been pretty nuts around here lately, and I've neglected my little blog. I have taken all sorts of pictures, though, and it's about time I updated. Here's a quick run-down of what we've been up to, pictures included!

My brother and his wife were in IF for a couple of weeks before Tanya's internship in Arkansas, so we had a lot of fun hanging out with them. They arrived a couple of days before Easter so I took Tanya shopping with me when I bought some new clothes for my little crew. Tanya was a lucky charm-- I found cute, inexpensive, matching Easter outfits for all of us! I am sure that my time for dressing the boys in matching outfits is quickly running out, so I take advantage when I can.

The next week, I took Thomas to the orthodontist for his last of a set of three appointments in April-- and this one was to get his braces. Even though it might seem early for braces, we're actually hoping to correct and prevent with "early intervention". So far so good-- he looks adorable and he has been a real sport with all of his new food (candy) restrictions.

While Jake and Tanya were here, we had plenty of fun excursions. I'm sure Chris would say that his favorite of these trips (mostly involving eating) was to Sammy's-- a little diner/shake place in Rexburg. We actually discovered Sammy's on a trip to Provo a few months ago and Chris became an immediate and diehard fan of their famous "pie shakes". Chris described learning about a shake made with vanilla ice cream and a whole slice of blueberry pie as a nearly spiritual experience. He said something about how he had always known it was true, just hadn't realized it until someone told him. Hilarious.

Thomas participated in a day-long chess tournament hosted by his school. He has been in the chess club since first grade and is really starting to get pretty good-- I think. I have to admit that I don't actually play chess myself. I should probably start. Anyway, one of Tom's friends described him as a "baiter"-- he uses one of his pieces as bait to trap his opponent into making a fatal move. Sounds pretty clever to me! Tom earned a participation ribbon at the tournament, which means he wasn't in the top 3, but he had a great time playing and hanging out with his fellow chess-players.

My grandparents, Nonny and Bob, were in Idaho for a few days early this month. We always enjoy spending time with them! It seemed like a really short visit, but luckily, we'll see them again in just a couple of months.

Gordon's kindergarten teacher sent home a note saying that Gordon was invited to share his reading skills by reading a book to his class. We picked a fun and simple book, then Neil and I went to the class to see him "perform". He did such a great job-- he is a very confident kid and seemed at ease reading to his whole class. I am thrilled with how much he has learned this year and it was fun to see him show off his skills.

This last week, we celebrated for three days for Mr. Gord-- he turned 6 on Sunday! On Friday we brought treats to his class, then on Saturday we went out for breakfast, had a lunchtime party at the Aquatic Center (with sixteen kids... holy cow), then extended the party to the slip and slide and sprinklers in the backyard. On Sunday, his actual birthday, we had another yummy breakfast before church, then a birthday dinner and ice cream and Ghirardelli brownie sundaes for dessert. Whew-- I think I put on a pound for every year of Gord's life!

My friend Becca wrote a fantastic article/post about her son, Brigham, who I really think was cut from the same cloth as Gord. I know for sure that I'm in "Parenting 505" with Gordon-- and where Becca is probably getting an A, I'm hoping to squeeze by with a C-! Case in point-- she shares about a day where she prays to be able to get through the evening with her rambunctious kiddo; I was thinking about how most of my end-of-day prayers are those of repentance for not quite making it without losing my temper!

While Nonny and Bob were here, we were discussing Gord's insane energy, stubbornness and determination, and when I complained about my parenting difficulties, Nonny said, "yes, but he is growing up to be such a neat, neat person." That comment has really stuck with me and has helped in the past couple of days when birthday-boy-brat syndrome has shown its ugly face. Gordon can be a very challenging child, but he is also an incredibly sweet, intelligent, friendly, and wonderful little boy. He truly is a neat person and I'm so glad that we have the opportunity to learn and grow from each other.

Finally, we're down to the last few weeks of school and a countdown to summer. I am SO EXCITED for this summer-- Neil is finally emerging from baby-hood and I think I can take him places without a stroller, and Tom and Gord have been busy planning all of the outdoor activities they want to do. Gordon got a new fishing pole for his birthday and Chris has already logged several hours checking out the local trout ponds. Plus, last weekend, a glimpse of summer weather blessed us for a couple of days and we took advantage in the back yard!

Oh, that sun felt goooooood. It's chilly and cloudy again, of course, but just knowing that warm weather is just around the corner is enough to make everyone smiley. Let the countdown begin!

One more picture-- our cute neighbor boys and my boys are thisclose (they even fight like actual brothers) and they all got Club Penguin toys for Easter. I don't particularly care for Club Penguin, or any video game for that matter, but the boys were very excited about their little plush toys. They played outside all day. Cute, cute, cute.

SLC Half Marathon & Utes Spring Scrimmage

2011-04-20T13:50:00.000-06:00

I'll be perfectly honest: I am not one of those people who has a lifelong goal of running a marathon. Or a half marathon. Or really anything with -athon at the end. It's not that I'm not goal-oriented or driven in any way, I'm just not really driven to run. I think it's high time that I admit this to myself, and I'm recording it here so that the next time I'm tempted to sign up for 13.1 miles of torture, I'll remember how I really feel.

Okay, okay, I'm making it sound much worse than it actually was. Even though it's Wednesday I am still in a little bit of pain from my run on Saturday (I think it's achilles tendonitis), it did feel really good to cross that finish line, and I am proud that I can count "running a half marathon" as an accomplishment.

By the way, when I say "run", what I mean is "jog/walk". Just so we're clear.

Last Saturday, the 16th, my mom, our friend Heather, and I met in the lobby of the Sheraton at at bright-eyed-and-bushy-tailed 5:45 am along with our friend Sarah and her sister who ran the 5K. We took the TRAX train up to the University of Utah where we joined 8000+ people for the Salt Lake City Marathon/ Half Marathon. The energy at the starting line was palpable, and it was really fun to take part in such a big event.

My mom broke her arm in a skiing accident a couple of months ago and just got her cast off last week, so we agreed to take it easy. This was also my first (and probably last) half marathon-- the greatest distance I'd run until Saturday was a 10K back in November '07. Needless to say, I was glad to have a partner in taking it slow!

I actually felt really good (not fast, but good) through mile 10-- so good, in fact, that I took a little picture of the mile marker and thought, "hey! Only 3 more miles! I can do this!" I'm pretty sure those were my thoughts about 10 seconds before I completely hit a wall. Those last three miles felt like another ten! After what seemed like an eternity of robotic slow-jog motion, I finally reached the finish line, finally crossed it, and finally got my little medal that proves that I did it. Yay! Whew!

I'm purposely not sharing my time-- if you've run a half marathon, you'll laugh, and if you haven't, it won't mean anything to you anyway. Let's just say that slow and steady will probably not win the race, but it does finish. Eventually. :)

After the race was over and I had guzzled two little chugs of chocolate milk, we hurried back to the hotel so I could shower and meet up with my boys for our traditional Utah Spring Scrimmage day.

We met Gramm & Gramp at Hire's, then went up to Rice Eccles Stadium to watch next season's Utes. I didn't watch a lot of football because I was busy watching these little stinks:

Grammuh let Gordon use her camera-- brave!!-- and he was so excited to take pictures of the players.

After the game, Tom and Chris went down on the field (Neil was asleep in my arms, I was too sore to move, and Gordon was in trouble) and had fun seeing the field up close.

We visited Chris' grandpa that afternoon, but I was with a sleeping Neil in the car most of the time and didn't get any pictures. I'm hoping Gramm will pass some along!

Family Dinner: Nannified

2011-04-13T13:19:00.000-06:00

I am a big proponent of the family dinner. When everything works out right, there is nothing better than sitting around our square table, three little boys, one big boy, and me, eating something tasty and talking together. The dinner table is almost always a place of smiles, laughter, and satisfaction, and rarely sees arguments or tears. I am also pretty sure that 90% of the compliments I receive as a mom are given to me because of something served at that table. (The other ones come on Sunday mornings when Chris says, "tell Mom that she looks pretty" when I'm ready for church.) And, to back up my love of dinnertime, studies have shown that children who eat regular sit-down dinners with their families enjoy a better sense of belonging and fewer instances of drug, alcohol and promiscuity. I'm in!

But, read the above paragraph with that little caveat: when everything works out right. That's the hard part. Life is busy, our budget is tight, someone is going here or there, and I haven't planned the menu enough to shop for it. When that happens, it's either running to the store at 5:30pm to grab something quick and easy, or worse, running by a fast-food place for takeout. You know you're not on the right track when one of your kids says, "McDonalds again?!" (By the way, the kids getting sick of Mickey-D's hasn't actually happened since we lived in Logan and I was working full time, but still-- I remember the sting well!)

I tend to shy away from books and sites that help with meal planning, mainly because I am not wanting for recipes. In my cookbook cabinet, along with my selection of favorite cookbooks, I also have a folder full of recipes I've gathered over the years, plus three + years subscription of my favorite food magazine, Everyday Food. My wonderful maternal grandmother, Nonny, who is an equally wonderful cook, is sending me her recipes so that I can compile them for posterity. And, in case you haven't noticed, this blog has links to some incredible recipe sites, including Culinary Collie Sue, managed by my sister-in-law, Emily, and Bex Box, where my delightful friend Becca shares delicious recipes and fabulous recipe cards. So, recipes are not the problem.

For me, the biggest challenge with family dinners is the planning. For some reason, even with my abundance of recipes, when it comes time to plan for the next week or two, I tend to draw a blank. Even though there are plenty of things we love and would love to try, I often end up making the same old stuff because that's all I could think of at the time.

Enter the Food Nanny.

When we were in California, my sister-in-law, Heidi (also an excellent cook-- see, I have inspiration everywhere!), introduced me to the idea of meal-planning, Food Nanny style. The idea is pretty simple: each day of the week has a theme, and you plan your meals accordingly. It seemed pretty elementary-- almost too elementary, in fact-- but then Heidi mentioned how the idea is actually working really well for her family. So, I decided to give it a try myself.

Last week was our first week, and here's what we (I) came up with for our nightly themes:

Sunday: Family Traditions (meat & potatoes, traditional Sunday dinner stuff)
Monday: Mexican
Tuesday: Italian
Wednesday: One-dish/ Crock Pot/ Simple
Thursday: Asian
Friday: Fish
Saturday: Kid's Faves (pizza, mac & cheese, grilled cheese, etc)

This picture has nothing to do with this post, but I think it's funny. I guess I could say that Neil is so excited about dinner that he jumps down the stairs?

I was surprised at how easy it was to come up with a menu, and in fact, I came up with weekly menus for six weeks. That's 42 different meals without a single repeat. If I didn't have the little paper in front of me, I wouldn't believe it myself. The ease came from narrowing down my thought-process into a single category-- instead of trying to brainstorm everything I could possibly make, I just focused on the one theme. Mexican: enchiladas, fajitas, sweet pork salad, white chicken chili, shredded beef tacos, etc. You get the idea.

I can also see how flexible this schedule is-- I kept some of my themes pretty generic to fit around our lives. Wednesdays, for example, are always a little crazy around here, so it makes sense that our dinner would be easy to prepare and serve. And we sometimes go out on Friday nights, so I put "fish" there, since I don't have quite as many fish recipes as some of the other categories.

Here's how it worked last week:

Sunday: Glazed salmon with Rice Pilaf
Monday: Chicken Fajitas with oven-roasted vegetables
Tuesday: Spaghetti (I tried a new homemade sauce and added sweet onions) with breadsticks and peas
Wednesday: Pulled Pork Sammies
Thursday: Sesame Chicken
Friday: Dinner out at Morenita's (I was tempted to get something with pesce, but I can't resist their tacos carnitas!)
Saturday: homemade pizza

It was a really good eating week, and even though nothing major happened at any of our dinners, it just felt good to be together. We're trying this system again this week and I find myself looking forward to our themed nights. Yum yum!

These boots were made for walkin'

2011-04-07T22:48:00.000-06:00

Or dancin'...

Neil loves my knee-high boots. The past few days, the first thing he does when he wakes up is ask "where my boots?"

I usually say, "those are my boots," to which he replies, "no, they MY boots."

Once he puts them on, he'll say "I'm Woody" or "I'm Spiderman" (pronounced pydoman) then walk around the house. He's gotten pretty good at walking up and down the stairs and even dancing. You go, Pydoman!

Our Mini CA Vacation

2011-04-05T22:19:00.000-06:00

Even though the drive was way too long and our trip seemed to go by way too quickly, our visit to California last week was just wonderful. Since we planned the trip with pretty short notice-- Chris was there for four weeks for work, and the kids and I decided to visit him when he got the assignment-- and because we weren't there for much longer than an extended weekend, we didn't really do anything really touristy. We were mostly just excited to be with Chris and to enjoy a little bit of warm weather.

Here's the abbreviated travel log:

Friday-- early, early, early getting on the road. My mom came along, so there were two adult drivers, but the kids still had to quiz us on what either of us would do if we felt tired. We had an uneventful drive, including a safe but snowy passage over the Sierras. The most annoying part of the trip was being stuck in traffic when we were just five minutes away from my grandparents' house. We dropped my mom off at her dad's, then drove to Livermore to meet Chris at last! Hooray!

Saturday-- rainy and chilly. We dropped the boys off with my mom and Poppa and Sue, then Chris and I went up to Folsom to the Sacramento Temple. It is absolutely beautiful and I'm so glad we got to go. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating, so I missed getting a nice shot of the two of us there. Still, I think this one is kind of cool.

After a short but sweet visit with my mom and grandparents, we took the kids and headed South on I-5, where we made a very sweet little stop.

Mmmm... Ghirardelli. They have an outlet just south of Stockton, so we stopped for sundaes and a pound of those yummy chocolate squares. Thomas discovered his new favorite candy: Ghirardelli milk and caramel squares.

Saturday night-- pizza and root beer in our hotel room, just the five of us. It was so fun.

Sunday-- church with the Myers family, a delicious dinner from Heidi, and cousins, cousins, cousins. We're lucky to have such great kids in our family!

Monday-- Sunshine! Capri Pants! Hooray!!!

It was such a beautiful day, so we spent a lot of time outside. We had a delicious breakfast with Heidi and her boys at Denica's, then took our boys to Oakland to see the Oakland Temple. We toured the visitor's center and enjoyed the beautiful view of the city and the bay.

My parents were married in the Oakland Temple in 1978, so it's kind of cool to visit.

It was so lovely outside, so we decided to have lunch at a park in Danville. It was perfectly warm, without being hot, and everyone was in a good mood. The boys played for more than an hour and I took picture after picture of warm, smiley faces. It doesn't get much better than this.

We spent Monday afternoon and evening with the Myers family and went to a cool shopping center in Danville with a pond and lots of ducks. Heidi had containers of bird seed for everyone and the kids had a great time. It made me excited for summer, when it's warm enough to feed the ducks on the riverbank here in Idaho Falls.

Tuesday-- time to head home. We said our good-byes to Chris (luckily for only a few days!) and headed to Elk Grove to pick up my mom. It was fun to spend a little bit more time with Poppa and Sue and we took some fun pictures of everyone together.

I was able to meet up with some of my Creative Team members for lunch in Roseville, then we drove to Elko, NV for the night, then back to Idaho. The warm weather had melted nearly all of the snow, so our passage through Northern CA and Nevada was smooth.

So, there you go-- our short but fun trip. Luckily, we're planning another visit in July for my grandpa's 80th birthday and a lot more cousin time. We can't wait!

Chris flew home on Friday and we spent a lovely relaxing weekend together. It's so nice to have him back.

My favorite

2011-03-31T22:49:00.001-06:00

We're back from a too short but very fun trip to California-- and yay, Chris comes home tomorrow!! It's too late in the evening to write much about our trip, so I'll just post my favorite picture of the last week: cousins.

Did you know that I don't actually have a single biological cousin? It's true-- neither of my parents have nieces or nephews and my grandparents' only grandchildren are my siblings and me. I think this may be a pretty sweet benefit from the spoiled grandchild perspective, but I do kind of wish I had the fun cousin relationships that my kids have. They love their friends and they love each other (mostly), but they really, really, really love their cousins. It is always so fun to watch them interact-- they are best friends with the benefit of being related. Even though I don't have my own cousins, seeing these cute kids together makes up for it.

Developing talents

2011-03-23T16:15:00.000-06:00

Thomas has been taking violin lessons this school year. He seems to really enjoy it-- especially when he learns a song and can play it well. His latest favorite is "Go Tell Aunt Rhody". Here's a little 1 minute video for you to enjoy (and don't mind his technique-- I can only say "waterfall" so many times!)

I'm taking an online photography course, mainly so that I can use my camera with some degree of understanding. I did a lot of research when I bought the camera, only to find out that my skills with it are a bit beneath its capabilities. So, it's Digital Photography 101 for me! This is the first of a four-week course, and I've learned quite a bit already. I'm going to post my assignments here just for kicks.

Our first assignment is to control our flash use-- usually, when I'm shooting everything in "automatic", the camera decides when to flash or not. I decided to take pictures of Murray, since he was in a good spot for demonstrating the use of the flash and because I could get him to hold still.

I'm excited to learn more about how to work my camera and hopefully take better pictures. I think this picture of Murray turned out pretty cool, too.

And, while we're on the subject of Murray (again... I'm really not cat-obsessed!), I took a little video of him uh, protecting our yard. I'm just going to post the link-- it's a little bit gross. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bgFl6Jq4M8

Another Sunday update

2011-03-20T23:48:00.001-06:00

Hooray! Another week down-- only two to go! Here's another late Sunday night post for our travelin' man. :)

This week seemed to go by much faster than last-- a good thing, for sure. We've kept busy with meetings and lessons and birthday parties and a visit to the vet. Murray caught some kind of rodent in the back yard, an experience that both pleased and disgusted me. Thomas beat Bowser on Super Mario Galaxy, and Gordon asked if we can go on a ride in a blimp for his birthday in May. Except for missing Chris, it was a pretty good week.

Last week, I brought a box of clothes labeled "Neil < Gordon" inside and we've been having fun discovering some old/new clothes for Neil. I'm not really an obsessive name-brand shopper, but I do have to say that getting out these hand-me-downs does put some of those more expensive brands in a good light. There are a few items that belonged to Thomas and are still in good enough shape for Neil to use. Putting on all of these three-year-old clothes does make baby Neil look like such a big boy, too!

Our favorite discovery from that box are these little green fuzzy sleepers that Gordon got for Christmas one year. They zip all the way up the front and have little footies and all three boys think they're hilarious. Most of Neil's pajamas are those snug-fitting two-piece sets, so this full-body style is something new. I tried to get some cute pictures of Neil in his new jammies, but he wasn't having any, so instead, I took a bunch of pictures of him whining at me. I'm a mean mom. :)

You can see that he finally gave up and just stuck his tongue out at me.

Gord had a fun week and has been running back and forth from friends' houses nearly every day. He joined the jump-rope club at school and had his first meeting on Monday. Like everything else, he is very intense about the jump-roping, and he practices in the kitchen every day.

We've been struggling a little bit with the concept of patience lately. Since most adults I know struggle with that same thing (myself included), I have a feeling that we'll probably battle about just waiting a minute (!) for a while. I'm still just not sure why my picking up the phone is a signal to start screaming.

Gordon wanted me to take some pictures of his bath toys... funny boy.

We made Tom's favorite dinner tonight-- crispy Ritzy chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls and "Better than Everything" cake-- which earned me a "best mom ever". Who knew that was all it took?

The boys were patient enough to indulge me for a few pictures this morning before church. Even though church itself was kind of hectic, looking at these sweet boys in their Sunday best makes those annoying moments of crayon-throwing seem not so bad.

You love my skirt, right?! I went to a thrift store this week, hoping to find a desk for the family room. No luck there, but I did pick up this fabulous skirt for $5.00! Sweet!

This upcoming week should be fun-- four days of school, new tires and an oil change for the van, then packing up and heading out to California to meet Chris for Spring Break! Hooray!

Fight, fight, fight...

2011-03-17T19:31:00.000-06:00

Thomas just saw me upload this picture and laughed. He said, "Oh, I love those fighting pictures!"

Really? Because even though the pictures are funny, I have to say, I'm getting pretty sick of all of the fighting that goes on between these boys. Someone once joked that the only time their kids got along is when they were asleep, and that joke is starting to feel like my reality.

Does it seem like they fight more when I'm the only referee, or is it just me?

I decided to take some pictures of the fighting, rather than intervene, and if you look at Tom, you'll see a few smiles for the camera. Afterward, I made them hug while I counted to 100-- I started again twice when they broke their embrace.

Hopefully someday these two will be the best of friends and laugh about all of the times they spent picking on each other. Until then, let's just hope they both make it out alive!

One down...

2011-03-13T22:24:00.000-06:00

Three to go. This post is mostly for Chris, who is away on a work assignment, to see what we've been up to.

Let's start with the smallest member of our family: Murray, the cat. Chris already knows this, but Murray has earned his keep this week. Murray spends his nights in the basement (the kids are still a little nervous about him prowling around their beds at night, so we make sure he's fed and litter-boxed and shut the door to downstairs) and the other night, I noticed that he was perched on the windowsill, looking out the window. We keep stuffed animals on that windowsill, so I thought he was just getting cozy. When I noticed him there the next day, intently looking into the window well (such a great view), I looked a little closer. To my absolute disgust, there were not one, but TWO mice inside the window well, and Murray was completely captivated.

Side note: apparently mice in window wells are not an uncommon occurrence in cold Idaho winters. The mice climb into the well to get closer to the warm house, then they can't get out and eventually die. Sick.

Our well is covered and pretty deep, so I didn't want to put Murray through the top in the fear that I couldn't get him back out. So, I pushed open the window, punched out the screen, moved back so Murray could leap through the opening, and shut the window. (By the way, this story is great told live because I have hand actions and sound effects for the above sentence.) Anyway, I'm not really into watching the food chain in action, so I went to a friend's house with the boys. When we came back, though... let's just say that our window well no longer houses mice. And Murray was as pleased as punch. Good kitty.

Murray and the boys are also getting used to each other and, aside from a few little jumps and exclamations here and there, seem to have accepted the fact that they share a house. Tonight Gordon and Neil even entertained Murray with his toys, then sat and pet him while he purred and closed his eyes.

The next little family member, Neil, has had quite a week. I think it's harder for Neil to have Chris gone than the other boys, because he doesn't quite grasp where he is or when he is coming back. Today we sat in our usual spot at church and Neil looked around and asked, "Where's Dad?" He was super grumpy today, too, but I think that may have had something to do with the time change as well as his missing Chris.

Can I just say that I LOATHE daylight savings time? I know I'm not alone in this sentiment-- pretty much every other parent feels the same way. So why are we still doing it? Erg.

Anyway, Neilna-- he's been really into taking off his diaper and using the toilet lately. Yesterday I got the "big boy undies" out of storage and let him try them on. The older boys thought that this was hilarious, but I decided to put him back in a diaper because even if he's showing signs of readiness, I'm not. Selfish, huh?

On to Mr. Gord-- this week we had parent/teacher conferences at school and I was reminded, once again, why I love kindergarten so much. It is just so much fun, and the conference with his fabulous teacher was just a smile-fest. I love that they aren't graded really, that they are just there to learn as much as they can-- and I can't lie, I love that Gordon is a little smarty-pants. It makes me feel like I am some kind of a parenting success to go to his class and hear about how wonderful he is. Never mind that he was calling Tom a stupid-face on the way home afterward.

I mentioned that we've been watching MegaMind A LOT, and Gordon has been going around saying "Yah, I'm like your Space Dad" all day long.

Tom's PT conference went well, too-- he has improved in all of the areas he needed to, and only slipped in one subject-- but it wasn't quite as glowing as Gord's. I don't think that's because Tom isn't a good student, I just think 4th grade is a lot harder. Especially for the parents. I miss the days of happy-go-lucky learn-while-playing school where your only homework was reading a fun book before going to bed. Sigh.

Still, Tom got excellent marks in math and spelling, and his teacher went on and on about his awesome creative writing ability. She sent home some essays and I'm putting them in the "save forever" box because they really are great.

One of these days the fact of Tom's perpetual milk mustache will dawn on him and he'll start taking care to wipe it off before a girl notices. Until then, I like the little token of his innocent oblivion.

As for me, I feel like I've been in constant cleaning mode this week. I clean, the boys unclean, and I clean again. Yesterday I did some extra spring cleaning and took our paper snowflakes down from the window-- I decided that they were encouraging winter a little too much. So, farewell snowflakes, and farewell to the melting snow.

I went for a walk outside today and it was sunny and melty and almost warm. Even if the nice weather is just a respite between cold spells, it is just what I need right now.

So, another week ahead with busy, everyday life. I'll be here, plugging away with my cute boys, and missing this:

Monday

2011-03-07T22:28:00.000-07:00

The boys were out of school today, so we had a pretty relaxed day around the house. One thing I love about school is those few precious hours where the only person actively messing up the house is Neil. It's much easier to pick up after a two-year-old-- or better yet, lay him down for a nap!-- than it is to restore order to a home that has been subject to the day-long imaginations of Tom, Gord and friends. Luckily, I did make brownies for FHE which served as bribery for cleaning up the family room. Whew.

I am not at a point in my self-confidence that I would dare take or post a picture of my messy house, so I'll just leave this funny one of Neil and his fists full of love.

Everyday life

2011-03-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

It's been fun playing with my camera. We haven't done much out of the ordinary in the past couple of days, so I've been taking a lot of pictures of the boys just playing around in the house. Of course I think pictures should be taken at events and outings, but there is something kind of fun and smile-inducing about seeing photographs of just everyday life. So, here are some of my favorites from this week.

Neil is TWO. Each of those letters are capitalized on purpose. He is a sweet boy, but man, he whines a lot. I am sure there is something about being the youngest and his having to defend himself more often than the other two, and probably something more about me giving into his fussing way too much. Ah, well. They don't call it "terrible twos" for nothing. This picture makes me laugh and I suspect that it will make me laugh even more after he has grown out of this phase.

I love this picture of Tom not so much for the great expression on his face, but for the story behind it. Gordon had been watching Over the Hedge in the family room while Tom was doing homework, and Tom overheard the part where RJ, the raccoon, is explaining that humans have food "out the wazoo". I was messing around with the camera and took this picture right after I answered Tom's question: "What does 'wazoo' mean?"

Homework break: jumping off the couch.

These two look like a couple of little conspirators, don't they? Little devils.

Since it arrived in our Netflix envelope yesterday, we've been watching MegaMind almost non-stop. A couple of friends had told me how much they enjoyed it, and I completely agree. I think it may be one of those movies like The Incredibles that I just don't get sick of, no matter how many times I see it. I love the witty dialogue, and the fact that it isn't filled with bathroom humor, and I love the fabulous expression in the characters. And the music-- awesome. Two thumbs up from this chica.

Murray the Bengal kitty

2011-03-01T23:29:00.003-07:00

For quite a long time now, I've been pining for a nicer camera. I kept saying, "the next time we have some extra money..." and planned to buy an entry-level DSLR. I did all of the research and found what I think is the best camera for my needs-- the Nikon D3100. And finally, with our tax return, I bought one-- it arrived today!

Chris isn't as needy and materialistic as I am (also he doesn't care as much about taking good pictures), but he did want a little something, too. His prize of choice? A cat-- specifically, a bengal. These babies are expensive-- a kitten can cost more than my fancy camera!-- so we were looking for possibly an older cat or one that needed a new home because of a move. We didn't find anything on craigslist or on KSL, but when we did a google search for bengal cats in Idaho, we found a breeder in Pocatello who had one of her own pets available for adoption. He is more than a year old (we think almost two), doesn't have as vivid markings as some other, more expensive bengals, and he has all of his shots and neutering done. This afternoon we drove out to take a look, and we came home with a new little family member.

Meet Murray:

I'm not really a huge pet person myself, but I could tell from the first moment that Chris was crazy about him. And honestly, I can't help but love him, too. Our last pet, Schroeder, while absolutely adorable, was not very people-friendly when we first brought him home. He actually spent his first night meowing sadly in a space under the unfinished laundry-room wall. Murray has been the complete opposite-- he has spent most of this evening in his new little cubby in Chris's office downstairs, but then sat with Chris and me while we watched "Bones" reruns for an hour or so. He looked around the couch and the family room for a bit, but seemed mostly content just to cuddle up to one of us.

Chris is in heaven-- I had kind of forgotten how much he loves animals and it's no wonder Murray has warmed up to him so quickly.

One of the cool things about bengal cats is their coats-- Murray's is extremely soft and has a range of colors. He has cool black stripes on his tail, spots on his back and belly, and a lot of orange in his fur. We also like his green eyes and his "mascara".

The boys have been pretty receptive to our new pet-- Tom even included Murray in a short story he wrote tonight. Gordon is an animal-lover, too, and even Neil let go of me for a few minutes to say good-night to the kitty. The boys got a kick out of watching Murray play-- I think he'll be a great fit for our family.

Did I mention that I love my camera? I do. I am thinking about taking an online digital photography course this month. I should mention that I am not interested in becoming a professional photographer or anything, I'm just excited about being able to take better pictures of my own family and use the camera in my scrapbook design business. So exciting!

I love these close-ups-- can't get enough of those eyelashes!!

And with such great subjects as these two cuties, I think this camera is going to get plenty of use!

President's Grandparents' Day

2011-02-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

Hooray for President's Day-- a little 3-day weekend right in the middle of February is just what we needed! And better yet, we had two fun visitors!

Chris's other siblings all live in pretty large metropolitan areas where there are lots and lots of fun things to do on any given day. Although we love our hometown, we realized that Idaho Falls doesn't have a lot to offer on winter days-- especially federal holidays. The two museums in town were closed and it was too cold to venture out into the great outdoors, so the entertainment options were scarce.

Luckily, Grammuh and Grampuh are happy just to hang out with us and the kids were thrilled that their hotel had a pool. The boys had a great time swimming-- and I had fun sitting on the sidelines taking a few pictures.

After a tasty lunch, we took Gramm and Gramp to Sarah's Candy Cottage for a fun sample session. We loaded up on truffles and licorice, while the boys picked Lego candy and golf-ball-sized jawbreakers. My favorites are the sea salt caramels-- yum!

We enjoyed a quiet afternoon playing Wii and Carcassonne, eating some of Grammuh's sugar cookies (as if we didn't have enough sugar in our systems), and visiting. We loved having Grandparents' Day and hope they'll come again soon-- maybe when it warms up a little bit!

Close up

2011-02-16T20:57:00.000-07:00

I should have knocked on wood when I gloried in that Spring yesterday. Winter is back and it sounds like it's blowing down the house! Ah, well. It's February and in Idaho, February means Winter.

Here are a few sweet little pictures of the boys up close. They are cute, aren't they? Don't say otherwise.

Thomas is currently reading a book called 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents, and he is perfectly thrilled that the book includes the list of 101 ways at the back. I've been hearing giggles coming from his room for the past 20 minutes.

Funnies

2011-02-15T19:10:00.001-07:00

Happy belated Valentine's Day! We didn't do much-- Chris took the boys to Sarah's Candy Cottage where, out of all of the delicious candies to choose from, Gordon and Tom chose candy buttons. Gross.

Chris and I did have a very fun pre-Valentine's Day weekend-- we ate A LOT, which is our favorite activity-- and spent some quality time together and with my newlywed brother and sister-in-law. I think I gained about four pounds over the weekend, so I'm trying to dedicate this week to losing that. Hmph.

I am in a very good mood this evening for two reasons: 1) our taxes are finished and we're getting a refund. Hooray! Even if you are expecting a refund, which we were, there is always a certain amount of anxiety that comes with tax preparation. I've been thinking/stressing about it for a couple of weeks now, and after a kind of brutal three hours today, I can push taxes out of my brain for another year. Another hooray! 2) Today we had a tiny taste of spring here in the frozen tundra that is Idaho. Now, I'm not saying that winter is over-- the snow has not relinquished its grip on our lawns or roads, we're all still wearing coats and hats, and I could still see my breath when I stepped outside. Despite all of this, that painfully icy bite is gone from the air, and I could smile outside without hurting my teeth. Ahhh. Spring. Soon.

Usually people post their most adorable pictures of their children on their blogs. I don't have any of those ones to share today. While I do think that my boys are darling, especially when they are really smiling, I'm pretty sure Tom could win some kind of ugly photo contest with this face. Scary.

He thinks he's so funny.

25 Books in 2011

2011-02-08T21:10:00.006-07:00

If I had nothing else to do, no kids, no husband, no jobs, no house to clean, no laundry, no e-mail, etc, etc, I would love nothing more than to sit somewhere comfy and read all day long. I think I could read a hundred books in a year, probably more if I really didn't have any other responsibilities. Unfortunately, there are enough other things that demand my time and attention that I have to align my priorities a little differently.

My book-reading personality is such that once I get into a book, I'm hard-pressed to put it down. The aforementioned responsibilities go by the wayside, as does sleep and eating anything healthy. (I do eat snacks while reading, since they usually don't require me to set my book aside to prepare or eat!) So, when thinking about my reading resolutions this year, I decided that I can justify neglecting every other aspect of my life say, twice a month. Even though I'd love the number to be higher, I feel good about committing to 25 books this year. Yes, that looks good, and reasonable.

I decided to document my list here-- and on Goodreads-- because lists like this are fun. Also, if you love reading as much as I do, you might appreciate knowing what's out there.

1. Edible Stories: A novel in sixteen parts by Mark Kurlansky. *** (some adult content)

I went to the library to see if I could find my book club selection, Room (see below), but the waiting list was a billion people long. I am opposed to leaving the library empty-handed, so when this predicament occurs, I like to browse the new-release section and see what I can find. In this case, I always judge a book by its cover. And can you really resist this marvelous cover?

I know! Also, I really love short stories, especially when they all tie together. Short stories help with the neglecting-life thing because you can kind of start and end quickly.

I was not disappointed in this pick-- it was funny, quirky, and full of mouth-watering descriptions and weird characters. All of the chapters are named after food, although the stories themselves are more about the people and their relationships. There is no hero or heroine in these stories, but some characters are much more likable, and forgivable, than others. And I can't give away the crazy little twist in the last chapter, but let's just say-- I think Margaret kind of deserves it. :)

2. Room, by Emma Donoghue ****

Sherrie picked this book for our January book club selection, and it was a good one. Told in the voice of 5-year-old Jack, who lives with his mother, a kidnap victim, in an 11 X 11 room. Born in his mother's prison, Jack has never seen the outside world except through television, and tells a very complex story though the simple language of a child. While there are some adult themes in this book, the main character's innocence keeps everything very implicit. This book spurred a great discussion about the powers of motherhood, sacrifice, choices, and love. My heart was pounding at some points, and I think I cried a little bit, too. I really enjoyed it.

3. The Underneath, by Kathi Appelt *****

I still had some time before the end of the month, so I decided to pick up this youth novel recommended by my friend Becca. First off, I should tell you that I haven't read a book about animals since I was required to read Where the Red Fern Grows when I was in Junior High. I was pretty concerned about cheesiness and silliness and animals that talk in squeaky voices like on Cinderella. Luckily, Becca is a girl I can trust and when she says "... a book everyone should read," I take her word on it.

Of course, she was right.

Yes, the animals do communicate, but it is not silly or juvenile, but sweet and real. This is what they would say if they could talk. And the story, filled with ideas and themes that we can relate to our human world, is both touching and profound. I loved the tone and rhythm of the writing-- such excellent story-telling!-- and the sweet characters made me want to love my own children with all my might and maybe get them a pet. We'll see.

4. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand. *****

Becky chose this book as February's book club pick, and I'm so glad she did. I don't normally pick up books like this-- Chris is the WWII buff and I tend to go for fiction-- but I really enjoyed reading this true-life story of Louie Zamperini, an American athlete who was captured as a Japanese POW in World War II. The facts in this book are astounding and I appreciate the research that the author did to tell the story to its truest. The main character is as likable as they come and I couldn't help but cheer for him throughout.

This book is not for the faint-- it's a long, sometimes very tough read. It's an excellent book, though-- well-written, interesting, and overall redemptive. The pictures are fantastic and give a great authenticity to the story. Great story.

5. My Perfect Life, by Lynda Barry. ** (some adult content)

After the intense, real-life misery in Unbroken, I wanted to read something light and funny. This little comic book (... or graphic novel... I'm not sure of the right genre... ) looked promising. I peeked at the front cover at the library and actually laughed out loud at the drawings and nicknames of the main character's teachers. That part was pretty hilarious. For me, it kind of went downhill from there. I admit that maybe I didn't get it, but there were just too many sad and ugly parts of the book for me to find a lot of humor in it. Four out of four Amazon reviewers gave this five stars, though, so what do I know?

6. The Rehearsal, by Eleanor Catton *

Are you ready for my description of a good book? I think I can sum it up in one word: anticipation. I like books that make me anticipate-- whether that's excitement over what's going to happen next in the stories or what words the author will choose to describe a character. Anticipation is what keeps me turning from one page to the next, and what causes me to pick up a book again if I've had to put it down. One more thing on good writing-- the best writing, for me, is when I'm so engrossed in the story that I don't think about the writing itself.

Another random library pick, this one was not as pleasing as the last (although the cover is pretty cool). As for anticipation, this book was really lacking. I think the author was trying to sound super intelligent and unique with her crazy characters named things like "the saxophone teacher" and "the Head of Movement" and her completely random and hard-to-follow sequences and headings like "Thursday" and "November". I've read books that have complicated timetables and that don't necessarily go in sequential order, but most of those have arrived at a satisfying conclusion that makes the whole story fit together. This book felt like it was just trying too hard-- way too hard--, and at the end, all I could think was what? It gave me a headache.

7. The Thirteenth Tale, by Dianne Setterfield ****

Oooh, a good one. Thank you, Elena. This book was just what I needed after a reading slump in March. It was beautifully written, mysterious, and just the right amount of creepy.

I LOVED the author's language-- there were so many phrases that I thought, "ooh! I need a highlighter!" In The Thirteenth Tale, a woman is writing the biography of a novelist, and both women's (and the authors) appreciation of good literature is apparent throughout. The plot kept me guessing until the end, and I wasn't disappointed. Okay, so the wrap-up was a little cheesy, but I liked it. Great read.

8. Agnes Grey, by Anne Bronte ***

In The Thirteenth Tale, Jane Eyre was mentioned enough that I desperately wanted to read it. (I plan to, by the way, before the end of this year.) Unfortunately, I couldn't get a hold of a copy (our library only has one... what?!) in time for a trip, so I decided to bring this little gem by Charlotte's sister instead. I really enjoyed it. I haven't read a classic for a while, so it was fun to get back into the beautiful language and propriety of this kind of book.

Poor Agnes decides to become a governess, which I can only imagine is one of the worst jobs ever. Agnes (and I suspect Anne, who wrote many of the experiences in this book after her own life) and I have something in common: we don't like other people's children. This is not to say that I don't like your children-- I do, if they want to come and play with mine for a day or the weekend, or if you need me to watch them for a while. What I mean is that I could never run a day care. Zzzz. Agnes would understand.

I love the innocence and sweetness in this kind of love story, and Agnes Grey was a quick read that left me smiling.

9. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire ** 1/2 (adult content)

So far, everyone who I've told that I've read this book has said, "You really should see the musical. It's so much better." And even though I've never seen the musical (on the to-do list, though) I have a feeling that it would be better-- at least more satisfying-- than this book. It's not that I didn't like the book, it's just that I still feel a little confused and frustrated by it.

Gregory Maguire created a very fantastic fantasy world that honestly lost me sometimes. The main character, Elphaba, while smart and sassy and every bit deserving of cheer, was ultimately an utter disappointment. I kept hoping that somehow she would get something right, but it seems like she was doomed to failure from the beginning. Depressing. I would like to talk about some of the political implications with someone, though, but not enough to suggest we read this in book club.

Again, I hear that the musical is really good-- and with a happy ending.

10. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, by Grace Lin *****

I saw this book recommended on Amazon, so I picked it up at the library and read it out loud to Thomas and Gordon. What a wonderful book! All three of us loved this sweet story about a little girl who follows her father's stories to the Old Man of the Moon to try to change her family's poor fortune. The story is interwoven with short fables that the boys just loved, and I loved the simple but lovely language. I also loved that Gordon would ask to read "Minli" every night and that both boys wanted me to keep reading once I had started. I got a little bit choked up at a couple of parts (I think there is something about reading about families while reading with your family) and I was sad when the story ended. I would recommend this book to anyone-- read it to your kids!

11. The Know-it-All: One man's humble quest to become the smartest person in the world, by A.J. Jacobs ***1/2

I like A. J. Jacobs. He is funny, honest, and a fabulous writer. I do wish, though, that I had read this book, where A.J. reads the entire Encyclopeadia Britannica first, then read the more profound, though-provoking The Year of Living Bibically next. That's not actually A. J.'s fault-- he did come out with this one first, I just read them in the wrong order.

The Know-it-All is funny and clever, but I didn't get the same satisfied feeling at the end as I did with his other book. A lot of this book talks about the difficulty of retaining all of the facts he read in the encyclopedia, while I felt like there was a marked and more permanent change in the other book. Maybe something about spiritual vs. secular? That's another topic for another time. Anyway, I did enjoy this book.

12. Midwives, by Chris Bohjalian **

I bought Midwives at a garage sale. I had heard about it before but couldn't remember if a recommendation came with it or not. The cover did, however, have a giant "O" and "Oprah's Book Club" stamped right on the cover, so I figured I couldn't go wrong for a quarter. Plus, I like putting new things on my book shelf. I think my review is a little bit spoiling, so if you're set on reading this one, don't read the review.

I have kind of mixed feelings about this book, leaning towards the negative. The story was pretty riveting and had plenty of discussion material. My problem was with the very last chapter. See, when I read a book, especially if that book is written in first person, I, like most readers, develop a relationship of trust with the main character. If the main character tells me something is the way it is, then it is, and I feel and see things through their eyes. I think this is how it's supposed to be. So, if I read 370 pages of a person's story, feel like I know and believe in their perception, and trust that the plot of the book happened as said, I feel really upset-- violated, even-- when in the last chapter, I find out I've been lied to for 370 pages!

I'm positive that Mr. Bohjalian thought this was a really shocking twist, and it kind of was, but I felt more angry and annoyed than shocked and awed.

13. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See ****

Ah, 19th Century Chinese women and their cat fights. Just kidding, but only sort of. At lease this first-person main character admitted that she was a mean hypocrite right up front!

I actually really liked this book. I love the idea of a secret women's writing. I kind of feel like women do have a way of communicating that men don't quite understand even now, but it's much more special and romantic to have secret notes on a fan.

Snow Flower is a book about friendship and I could see parallels to some of my own relationships as I was reading it. Women are catty and gossipy and cruel to each other in every culture, and I loved how these characters were very real that way. I also thought that this book made me think a lot about pride and how it affects the way I see myself and others. It was a good read.

14. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, by Beth Hoffman. *

Ugh. I couldn't even really get through this one. There were a lot of really great reviews and it was on my recommended list at Amazon, but I just could not get into this book.

First of all, the main character is supposed to be... twelve? What? I'm sorry, but I have never met a twelve-year-old with that much maturity, even the really mature ones. Really hard to believe. And were there no men (excepting CeeCee's conveniently absent father)? Or children (excepting CeeCee, who, as mentioned, was not really a child)? And money just flowing freely? Why do I not live in this world? Oh, right, because it's make-believe.

The thing that really got me was that this book was supposed to have taken place in Georgia in the 60's and there is a part where the black housekeeper and her two friends take CeeCee, a twelve-year-old white girl, on a trip to the coast with her aunt's priceless vintage automobile? WHAT?!? Sorry, but that would not happen. The Help was a much more believable, interesting, and satisfying book about life in the South in the 60's.

15. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte *****

A classic! I am ashamed to admit I'd never read Jane Eyre until now, but enough mention was made about it this year that I couldn't avoid it.

Poor Jane is an odd one-- and apparently not attractive-- but she is independent and strong-willed and I loved rooting for her.

This was probably my most challenging read so far. I had to really pay attention to the very long sentences-- and sometimes re-read them-- to make sure I understood what was being said. Chris interrupted me once and I read him the next sentence I was about to read. The sentence itself was a paragraph long and by the end, Chris was saying, "okay, okay, I get it!"

Despite that, I found myself reading at every spare minute and staying up late to read just one more chapter. I loved Jane Eyre and would recommend it to anyone.

16. The Gentleman Poet: A Novel of Love, Danger, and Shakespeare's The Tempest by Kathryn Johnson *** (some adult content)

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. The story was interesting and the characters were mostly engaging, although I was kind of annoyed that the purist heroine did a moral 180. Well, I guess they were stranded on an island.

17. Mermaid: A Twist on a Classic Tale by Carolyn Turgeon. * (adult content)

Maybe because I was really excited to read this book and had too high expectations, or maybe because it really was that bad, I am giving this book only one star. Boo.

This book is Hans Christian Andersen's classic tale re-done-- except that it's not really re-done. It's the same story, the only "twist" being the added perspective of the other woman. I would have been fine with that being the twist, except that the writing was just okay and aside from that one addition, the story really didn't have any imagination for me.

I have a real hang-up with the Prince in this book-- he is supposed to be the one that these two women are willing to die for, and he's a complete jerk. He is, of course, amazingly handsome, and aside from that, he's a good hunter, he likes sex, and he's mad that his dad (the king) doesn't trust him to make his own decisions. Sounds like a winner to me.

And the mermaid-- when the sea witch takes away her voice, she says something like, "don't worry, you'll come up with other ways to win the prince." And what does she come up with? Sex. That's it. She has absolutely no personality, no spunk, no nothing, except her beauty (of course), and her willingness to go for whatever the prince is up for in the bedroom. I think that's pretty darn pathetic. Even Ariel had a sweet charm and cuteness that made her loveable, and she was a cartoon.

In the end, I think the author is confused, as are a lot of people, about the difference between love and sex. I'm interested in reading an actual love story, so this book was not for me.

18. The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma ****

Don't let the title fool you-- this book isn't about books. It's about a father who read a lot of books-- in fact, he read to his daughter from one every night for several years-- and his daughter and their relationship. It is a book about a very imperfect parent and his very imperfect child, and their struggle to maintain a loving relationship through some difficult times. It's a great book, and I'd definitely recommend it.

Alice's dad is a struggling single father with two daughters, and I definitely admired his tenacity in keeping their reading promise. But it's not so much the reading that impressed me-- I was more touched that a man who isn't touchy-feely and clearly has difficulties understanding teenaged girls (and who can blame him) goes to such lengths to make sure that their one connection, books, remains unbroken. His efforts, and his daughters' successes because of them, gave me a lot of hope for imperfect parents everywhere-- and made me want to read to my kids. :)

19. The Walking Drum by Louis L'Amour **

Mysha picked this book for book club, and even though it was crazy eights long, I read it. That's right, I read a Louis L'Amour. I'm feeling pretty diverse in my books this year! Ha!

I thought that I hadn't read Louis L'Amour before, but when I was sending a book club e-mail and looked up his name to make sure I was spelling it right, I noticed the title Hondo. I read Hondo in high school, and I feel like there are some pretty similar themes-- heroism, toughness, the insanely lucky ability to pick a fight with the right bad guys at the right times. I also really love (ahem) the way that the ladies just fall over the hero, like they can't control themselves.

Even though this book was a huge bestseller, and the (male) librarian told me that it was his favorite book ever, I didn't like it. Sorry, L'Amour fans, I just couldn't get into it. Kerbouchard was annoying and arrogant, I'm not really interested in a lot of fighting, and I just didn't feel very passionate about the quest. Even though there were a few lines that I underlined, as a whole, I just didn't really like this book. And I probably won't pick up another L'Amour for a while.

20. The Maze Runner by James Dashner ***

The Maze Runner was another book club pick and I mostly enjoyed it. It's a young-adult book, set in the dark distant future, and the characters are all in a dangerous maze and have had their memories wiped. I wasn't crazy about their slang or their violence (read: Lord of the Flies), but the book was definitely action-packed and I sped through it pretty quickly. I haven't gotten to the next two books (it's a series of three, as apparently all young-adult books are now), but I just might. Not bad.

21. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka ***

Here's another book that I judged by the cover-- look how great it is!

This book is written in first-person plural-- "We"-- and I really, really liked that, but was very confused and annoyed when, in the last chapter, the "we" changes from the group of Japanese picture brides to the white people they left behind in California. I wanted to know what happened to the Japanese women! I had to look it up on Wikipedia! Come on, Julie Otsuka!

22. Entwined, by Heather Dixon ****

Here's a riddle for you: my sister-in-law's sister-in-law's student wrote this book. Emily, my husband's sister, recommended this book, written by the former student of her husband's sister, Lisa. In fact, the book is dedicated to Lisa. Cool, huh?

This book is a take on the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale, and after Mermaid, I was a little bit wary. Luckily, Emily was right on-- this book was great. I loved the characters, especially that the author was able to give distinct personalities to all twelve sisters (okay, so their names were a little bit cheesy), and that the story was about more than just finding a handsome prince. I loved the descriptions of the kingdom, the coolly evil Keeper, and the great, quirky men that fall in love with the princesses. Such a fun read!

23. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton ****

This book was kind of reminiscent of The Thirteenth Tale, and I realized again that I really like this kind of gothic fiction. This novel jumps through three different women's stories in three different time periods, and I felt like the author tied everything together nicely. I love a good little mystery, and a little love story, and this book did not disappoint. Great read!

24. The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman *****

Several of my friends recommended reading this book, and I'm so glad I did. I've seen the movie about a hundred times-- I can quote it-- but reading this book was even better. William Goldman is hilarious, and the characters are even funnier and smarter than they are in the movie. It is fantastic. Five stars!

25. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin *****

This book was the perfect thing to read between Christmas and New Year's Day. It's a memoir about a woman who wants to be happier and the research and steps she takes to do it. I absolutely loved this book-- first, Rubin is a fantastic writer and she is fresh and honest about her project. Second, I love that she focuses on small steps she can take to be happier-- this isn't a book about leaving your life behind and discovering yourself, it's a book about choosing to be happy where you are. I love that-- it's real.

Rubin gives so many great suggestions and pointers in this book that I'm actually planning to read it again soon. Two thumbs way up!

Bed Head

2011-02-04T10:43:00.001-07:00

Cute little stinker. :)

Jake's wedding & the Pinewood Derby

2011-02-03T13:29:00.001-07:00

Two totally unrelated subjects, I know. Since I'm blogging again, I thought about posting a huge long update of November, December and January, but I decided that it would probably be too long and boring for both readers and myself. So, I'm just going to post about two fun events: my brother's wedding in December and the Pinewood Derby last month. I'll try to keep better up-to-date from here on out. Ha ha!

There are six DeArton siblings, but Jake is the only boy. I think we can all agree that being the only male child in a large family can have its pros and cons. You get a special status that your sisters can never touch, but the older ones will probably dress you up in girl clothes until you're big enough to fight back. I never did that, of course, but it could happen. Anyway, I've always been a little bit nervous about the girl my brother would marry because she will forever be our only sister-in-law. Luckily, I didn't have anything to worry about-- my brother's new wife is beautiful, kind, and everything I could hope for in a sister. And they are just completely in love, which is a dream come true.

Aren't they gorgeous? The wedding was absolutely perfect and we were so thrilled to be there. I bought the boys new suits, too, and they looked pretty adorable if I don't say so my self. Goofy, but adorable.

As for me, I wore orange... as did Allison.

We spent several days in Salt Lake City with Chris' wonderful parents and his sister, Emily, and her family, but I managed to not take a single picture. I'm kind of in a weird in-between-camera stage right now-- I'm borrowing my dad's fancy Nikon D5000, which I LOVE, and using Tom's little Kodak while saving up for something fancy of my own. Until then, sometimes I take pictures, and other times I just forget. Nevertheless, we did have a great time celebrating Christmas in Utah.

Now that we have a year of Pinewood Derby experience under our belts, Chris and Tom decided to get serious. Tom designed his 2011 car, named "Mario Tom" (do we see a hint of narcissism in his car-naming pattern?) and he and Chris visited an incredibly generous neighbor to cut it out with his fancy saws. I am sure they have fancy names, but I'm pleading "girl" on this one. Anyway, they cut out the car and Tom used our neighbor's belt sander to smooth it down into a classy-looking little car. Tom was very specific on the design-- white with a black stripe and the initials "MT" in red. Simple, classic, could be in a Mario Kart game.

We learned last year that weighing in at a mere 2 ounces would hurt our competitive chances, so Chris borrowed my mom's food scale and made sure that this car was up to snuff in weight. He ended up dripping holes in the top, filling them with little b.b.'s and bolts, and some glue. They also got some graphite stuff from some other neighbors and sanded down the tires.

I should note that our neighborhood is full of engineers, so even though it seems like (to me anyway) a lot of trouble, our car actually ended up in 3rd place in most of the races, and ended the whole thing in the bottom 3/4 of the pack. The Pinewood Derby is pretty serious around here.

Luckily, all of the boys were just there to have fun-- and they really did have a great time. Tom had a blast and has displayed his car and little trophy at the house. He even already has some new ideas for next year.

Okay, I lied-- I do have a couple of other pictures to share that aren't related to either my brother's wedding or the Pinewood Derby. Since Neil isn't in any of the above pictures (he was kind of freaking out while waiting outside after the wedding... it was cold), I thought I'd post one of his latest. He's in a really cute, very talk-y stage right now. So fun!

And then a funny picture of a pile of boys. :)

Blogger identity crisis.

2011-02-03T12:54:00.002-07:00

Annoying.

I decided that I really can't mix my design business and my life into one blog. Switching back to two. Sorry. :)

Balance

2010-11-10T13:50:00.000-07:00

I love this art by James Christensen-- it's called "The Responsible Woman." My mom had a print of this piece when I was growing up, and I remember thinking that I wanted to be the woman in the painting. I love the way she is carrying so much, yet she doesn't look tired or frustrated, but just carries on with her head held high. And I love that, even with all of her heavy load, she still thought to wear red shoes.

I'm imagining what The Responsible Woman would look like if she were me-- cut off all of that hair, subtract the dog, add a computer, some balls and Legos, and two more boys (I imagine Gordon would be trying to swan dive off of my backside)-- I don't know if I keep up the steadfast look as well as this woman does, though. My picture would probably have me gritting my teeth, just trying to get through the day.

I've decided that I'm tired of whining about how busy I am-- it's nothing new to most of my readers, who are also extremely busy! If you're like me, there are so many things you want to do in a day, and you tend to get discouraged if you don't get to everything. I'm trying to rid myself of that discouragement, though, and just try to be happy with what I did do-- and look forward to tomorrow.

I'm working on delegating some of those extra things-- I "hired" two fabulous people from my Creative Team, Heidi and Debbie, who will help me with some of the promotional and administrative work in my digital design business. You might have noticed Heidi's Sneak Peek earlier today-- she's doing a great job already!

I'm also delegating some housekeeping duties to Tom and Gordon with a job chart. Their rooms get ridiculously messy in such a short time-- and it's time to crack down on that little problem!

And finally, I'm delegating my guilt, harried-ness, and general whininess to anyone who wants to take them. :) Wish me luck!

Party, party, party

2010-11-03T20:36:00.000-06:00

We had a wonderful Halloween week filled with costumes, parties, and way too much candy! I'm still recovering!

Countdown to Halloween

2010-10-25T20:56:00.001-06:00

This time of year is so much fun! Halloween festivities are everywhere, so we're taking advantage with a week-long celebration. We kicked off our fun plans with a trip to the pumpkin patch on Saturday morning. It was kind of chilly and windy, but this is Idaho and we're used to a cold end to October. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's going to snow by Halloween. Psh.

Pumpkin patches are so much more fun than just picking up a gourd at the grocery store. The boys loved tromping through the rows of pumpkins, while Neil had a great time being pulled in the wagon. Everyone had a stipulation for the type of pumpkin he wanted: Chris likes a huge one for his annual large-mouthed jack-o-lantern (see below) and he likes to have a handle; I like short, fat, round ones; Thomas wanted the first pumpkin he saw; Gordon required a pumpkin that was "all orange, no green"; and Neil wanted a "baby". Lucky for us, we hit the jack-o- jackpot!

You can see how windy it was by my Trump-inspired comb over!

A pumpkin is no good for Halloween until it's carved, so our next festivity meant a lot of work for Chris, and a lot of fun for everyone else. Chris loves carving pumpkins and readily volunteers to do all of the dirty work-- including carving the boys' hand-drawn faces. Gordon drew three faces, while Thomas drew one face, then a bunch of other stuff. My pumpkin isn't pictured, but Chris punched out a bunch of little holes in the pumpkin and I put white Christmas lights in them to make something that looks a bit like Cinderella's coach. So fun!

We started the week off just right today by making caramel apples-- yum, yum, yum. I'm a purist when it comes to caramel, so I made my own (no Kraft here!). The boys dipped their apples in assorted sprinkles and toffee bits and they turned out so tasty. I think a new Halloween tradition was born.

Mmmm... Baking!

2010-10-20T11:48:00.002-06:00

The older boys are at school and the youngest is fast asleep (ah! I love it when they still take naps!), so what's a girl to do? Bake, of course!

We got Boo'd last night-- a fabulous tradition that makes me just love our neighborhood all the more. Today, of course, it's my turn to make some treats and pass them to three unsuspecting families. That part will wait until tonight, when I have pint-sized accomplices, but today, during my quiet time, I'm doing the baking.

You know I have a penchant for peanut butter treats, so I stuck with my favorite theme and made the Reese's Chewy Chocolate Cookies from the recipe found on the back of the peanut butter chips bag (and at the Hershey's site). Oh yum. It's a good thing that I'm giving most of these away today because otherwise, I'd eat the whole batch myself. I love how they're almost Halloween-y, too, with the orange and brown. Delicious!

Soccer Mom

2010-10-12T23:31:00.000-06:00

That's Soccer Mom with a capitol "S". Somehow, last Spring, when I signed Thomas and Gordon up for Fall soccer, I managed to check the wrong box in the "are you willing to be the coach?" section. Actually, I don't think I checked the wrong box at all-- I think no one else volunteered either, so they just picked the first person to respond to their e-mail! Whatever happened, I'm coaching a U6 team, the "Rockets", and I *mostly* enjoy it. I'm pretty sure I would enjoy it even more if Gord could have played more than 1/4 of the very short season!

Since I have never played soccer, and don't know much beyond the rule that you can't use your hands, this has been a real learning experience for me. Here are a few tips I've learned for the soccer mom/coach:

1. Offense, Defense... whatever. In U6, as long as your kids are all kicking the ball in the same direction, you have a good thing going. You'll notice in the picture above that this isn't happening at this point in the game! I've yelled, "The other way! The other way!" at pretty much every game. Ha!

2. Don't EVER forget the water. Despite their seemingly endless amounts of energy, five-year-olds will actually drop like flies if they aren't properly hydrated. They will also whine the entire time.

3. Even though you have a bag with enough balls for everyone, after a couple of practices each player will have picked "their" ball. Trying to give the wrong ball to the wrong person is not a good idea.

4. Coaching your own kid is both really fun and kind of tricky. You can't play favorites, and you also can't be harder on your child than anyone else. The good news is that you can take your own kids out for ice cream after the game, and that pretty much ensures that you'll be their favorite coach ever.

5. Two-year-olds are especially cute cheering on the sidelines. This one loves to say, "GOOOOO!"

6. No matter how hot, tired and thirsty they are after a grueling 32 minutes, a cheer for the other team, high fives and "good game", and, most importantly, treats from one of the parents will restore all of their energy and team spirit in no time!

One more game this Saturday-- and I'm going to try to get more action shots of my cute Gordon.

GOOOOOOO ROCKETS!!

We love the fall!

2010-10-06T21:34:00.000-06:00

And we love having a couple of trees in the yard that give us enough leaves to jump into!

Happy Birthday to two cute boys!

2010-10-05T19:56:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to two of my favorite people on the planet: my wonderful hubster, Chris, and my little stinker, Neil. Before I forget, if you want to see a truly awesome montage of these two, be sure to check out my mother-in-law's blog here! Such great pictures-- aren't they handsome?

Two years ago, I secretly wished that our third little boy would be born on October 4th, Chris's birthday. I thought it would be fun to have a double celebration every year. Instead, Neil was 90 minutes late and now has his own day, which is really even better. Now we get back-to-back parties!

Last night, we celebrated Chris's 34th (man, he's getting old!) with a delicious dinner followed by three kinds of pie. And today, we had a fun birthday cake with yummy fudge frosting for 2-year-old Neil. Such fun, and Neil has almost figured out how to sing "Happy Birthday to you!"

For the past week or so, we've been teaching Neil to answer, "I'm TWO!" when you ask, "How old are you?" In his baby babble, he also says something that sounds like capisce (ka-peesh), so we've taught him how to say it like an Italian gangster. "I'm two, capisce?!" It's pretty funny.

I love these two and I love celebrating them two days in a row! Happy Birthday boys!

September Recap!

2010-10-01T22:32:00.000-06:00

I miss blogging. Sure, I enjoy sharing little bits of my life with all of you (ie: Nonny), but even more than that, I miss having a regular journal to look back on. The other day, the boys were looking at old pictures and videos on the computer. It was so fun to hear them laugh at themselves and remember all of the fun they had on this occasion or that. The moment reminded me why I enjoy pictures, scrapbooks, and yes, blogs, so much in the first place-- it's all about creating memories.

So, in that spirit, I'm going to try harder to keep this online journal updated more regularly. And you, my bloggy friends, are welcome to read along.

It's October 1st-- I can't believe it! This year is flying by way too fast! We did have a very fun September, so I thought I'd document a few of our memorable moments tonight.

First off, the boys went back to school. Well, Thomas went back and Gordon started for the first time. Things are going really well in the school department. I feel very fortunate that both Tom and Gord love to learn and that they both enjoy participating in their classes. And look how cute they are on their first day!

Gordon was quite the celebrity on his first day of school, due in part to his charming personality, but mostly because of this...

Yep, that's right-- he broke his leg. It actually happened a couple of weeks before school, but he wore his cast until a couple of weeks ago. Despite the stress and anxiety, mostly felt by me, I think the whole broken leg mess may have actually taught us both a little bit of patience. Funny how that works sometimes.

Having a broken leg was a bit of a problem for Gordon's soccer team. I'm the coach (don't ask me how that happened, I'm still not sure!) and it has been kind of sad to have my own kid sitting on the sidelines. Luckily, he's back in motion and has been okayed to play in his last two games. Hopefully we'll get some good pictures to share!

Tom is playing soccer, too, and is on the "Meteors" team with one of his best friends, Nathaniel. These two are a couple of peas in a pod and they have a great time together. Neither is very aggressive when it comes to soccer, however, so we've resorted to bribing them for just kicking the ball. No goals have been scored yet (that would equal a giant king-sized candy bar!), but at least they're both trying. And most importantly, they're both having fun and being great sports!

As for me, I've been keeping busy with a few active outings of my own. A couple of weeks ago, some friends and I hiked Table Mountain, a pretty grueling, not-recommended-for-children hike on the West side of the Tetons. It was tough, and long (more than 12 miles total), but man, it was gorgeous. I'm talking about take-your-breath-away beautiful!

I did this hike once before-- I think I was 17-- so I *kind of* remembered how difficult it is. Even though I had seen it before, though, the view from the top of Table Rock was just as glorious and awe-inspiring as ever. I am sure that I don't want to wait another 13 years to do it again-- in fact, these ladies are already talking about next year.

Some of the same group also teamed up for Idaho Falls' 4th Annual Run for the Cure. It was a 5K and my goal was to run (er... jog....) the whole time. And yay-- I met my goal! I felt pretty good, too, and I think I may have gotten a decent time. I would post it, but the race organizers still haven't posted the results. LAME. It doesn't really matter, since my goal had nothing to do with time, but still.

That's about all I had time for this time-- it feels good to get a little bit caught up!

Last year's first day (scrapped!)

2010-09-02T15:07:00.000-06:00

Now that I have two kids in school in the afternoons and one kid who takes afternoon naps, I *think* I have enough time to start scrapping regularly again. Yay! It's really therapeutic and fun for me, plus I really think it helps me keep things in perspective.

I love designing at The Digichick for a lot of reasons, and one of my favorite perks is that I get to try out others' designs. I'm especially loving templates lately-- they make it so quick and easy to put together a really classy page. Today I used a template from the "Scraps to Go" collection by the amazing Jennifer Fox. Love it!

Here's my page from Gordon's first day of pre-school last year:

All paper and elements from School Days by Jennifer Fox. Template from Scraps to Go 6 also by Jennifer Fox. All at The Digichick! Font is Pea Christen from Kevin and Amanda.com

While browsing for pictures for this page, I came across this little gem from September of last year...

Where has my long-haired emo baby gone? Don't you just want to run your fingers through that luscious hair??? Ugh, me too!

2010-09-01T21:27:00.000-06:00

Oh summer, leaving so soon?

I just returned from back-to-school night, where I met the two fabulous women who will be spending a lot of time with my two fabulous boys for the next nine months. We've been lucky thus far with our great schools and great teachers, and I'm feeling very grateful that my children are being taught and cared for so well. I'm excited for their new adventures in learning!

I'm pretty sure that I say this every time I post, but life is just so busy! I find myself worrying frequently about overdoing it with the lessons, sports, scouts, activities and whatever else it is that finds its way onto my packed-to-the-gills calendar. Then, of course, I worry that I'm not giving my kids enough opportunity to discover talents, meet friends, and have fun. I'm sure it's a classic double-edged sword of worry that most parents deal with. For now, I'm letting them do the things they want to do, pushing them a little bit, and trying hard to relax as much as possible.

Life is good. Busy, of course, but good.

Summer 2010 (part 1)

2010-08-09T22:15:00.000-06:00

I got that "memory card full" warning when I was trying to take some pictures the other day, and it made me realize how terrible I've been at updating this blog with our summer adventures! I don't feel too badly-- hopefully you're so involved in your own summer fun that you haven't noticed my little hiatus.

We're always busy, of course, but we've been having such a great time this summer. I have been doing my very best to battle the B-word ("bored") and with the help of our fun neighbors, friends and a visit from cousins, we're not doing too bad. And rather than give you a big long travel log (even though I know some of you like that kind of thing...), I'm just going to post some postcard shots of our Summer 2010 over the next few days and catch up.

Today: Part 1-- from top left corner: Sprinklers! (and slip & slides, and little pools); (top middle) relaxing in the hammock at Chris's parents' house; (bottom middle) Thomas LOVED watching all of Gordon's tee ball games; Gordon and his cousin David are two little peas in a pod-- it's so fun to watch them together (and only a little bit rowdy)
Bottom left: Thomas and his cute cousin Audrey; Gordon and Mom spelunking at Craters of the Moon; two little buzz-heads and their buddy Nicolas at the sand dunes

Happy Summer!

Last day of school recap!

2010-06-15T16:19:00.000-06:00

Blogging is a lot like laundry-- the longer you let it go without doing it, the harder it is to do! So, here I am, catching up again! Grr!

Summer has been in full swing here and we've been having such a great time. Before the great time, however, we were getting rained out of pretty much everything. Let's start with Tom's last day of school, when I had volunteered to help with their field day: rain, rain, rain.

First off, I should say how much Thomas has loved Westside. We were a little bit (okay, a lot!) nervous about switching schools-- our school in Logan was so wonderful and I had a hard time imagining that we could like another school even half as well. While there are still a lot of things that I miss about EBLS, Westside has exceeded my expectations. Tom had a darling, energetic teacher, made lots of new friends, and most importantly, really loved going to school every day. And, I must brag for a minute, he did end the year with straight A's! ;)

On the last day of school, the field day was rained out and moved inside. We still managed to have a great time, though. My favorite parts of the day included playing a game with the kids that involved holding hands and getting a hula-hoop around the circle of kids, the absolute hilarity of "Extreme Simon Says", and hearing the whole elementary school sing along to "Fireflies" during the end-of-year slideshow.

Thomas was a little bit emotional, but I promised that we'll meet up with some of his friends this summer and we'll see them all next school year. He'll definitely miss his cute teacher, Mrs. Cassidy, but I'm sure they'll say "hi" in the halls. He had a great 3rd grade year!

For the last day of school, Chris had promised the boys that they could sleep out in the tent in the back yard. The rain was too heavy, but the boys were sad not to sleep in a tent, so Chris compromised and set the tent up in my parents' large shop. We had an indoor BBQ with hot dogs and hamburgers cooked on the George Foreman grill, and s'mores made with marshmallows roasted on the stove top.

The kids and Chris were really comfortable in their indoor tent-- they actually slept in pretty late! What a great way to kick off the summer!

{Almost} Summer!

2010-06-03T09:35:00.000-06:00

It's the final countdown-- the last day of school is tomorrow, then summer will be officially underway! I've been pouring over our calendar, confirming dates, looking up destination information, and getting excited for a fun three months! And did I mention the added summer benefits of not having to drag Tom out of bed at 7:30 every morning? That's something to look forward to, too!

Before summer kicks off, though, a lovely Memorial Day weekend, a couple of graduations, and a visit from Nonny and Bob. I didn't take any pictures over the Memorial Day holiday-- we went to Salt Lake City to visit Gramm & Gramp, and Marilyn has a fabulous new camera that was much more fun to play with than my own. I'm sure she'll post some pictures of our adventures soon. We had a great time!

Gordon is all ready for kindergarten in the fall. He had his immunizations (a fun-filled experience that included two screaming kids, and embarrassed mother and a very calm, very strong nurse), he is registered at the school, and he passed all of his numbers, letters, and other pre-requisites with flying colors. Now all he had to do was graduate from pre-school! The graduation/singing performance was last week and, in true pre-school form, it was adorable. The kids sang several songs and I loved watching Gordon on the top row, singing his little heart out and following along with the actions in his bold, energetic style.

Gordon has had a great year at Smart Start. His teacher, Mrs. Taft, has been wonderful and he really looked forward to every day at school. We'll miss his cute teacher and all of her creative energy!

My mom gave Gordon $1.00 as a graduation present. I love that when you're in pre-school, getting a dollar is not only satisfactory, it's thrilling!

My youngest sister, Allison, also graduated this last week-- but her graduation was from high school. I'll admit it: the best part of her graduation was the fact that my grandparents, Nonny and Bob, came to visit for the occasion! They've been out of the country since the end of last summer, so it was very sweet to see them and catch up. Gordon, Neil and I had the pleasure of spending Tuesday afternoon with Nonny and Bob, eating lunch at the Olive Garden (have you tried the roasted chicken flatbread? Yum!), then visiting the Museum of Idaho. The museum has a fun dog-themed exhibit-- "Wolf to Woof"-- and our animal-lover Gordon was in heaven. (Neil stayed contentedly in his stroller.)

Nonny and Bob are such good sports and crawled around with the kids in the children's area. Gordon is still carrying the tickets, illustrated with different dog pictures, in his special tote!

Graduations are always a cause to celebrate and I think Allison was especially thrilled to be finished with high school. We enjoyed a family dinner at Allison's choice, Red Robin, then I went with my parents and grandparents to the graduation ceremony. It was long-ish, the benches were uncomfortable, and the seniors were a little on the unruly side, but finally, diplomas were awarded and the class of 2010 was on their way into the real world-- after a stop at an all-night party, of course.

My sister, Ann-Michelle, me, and Allison (yes, she has blue streaks in her hair) at Red Robin

The graduation attendees-- me, Nonny, Mom, Allison, Dad, Bob

Allison, the happy grad! She'll be going off to college at the end of August and my parents are going to have a very empty house.

Happy Birthday Gordon!

2010-05-17T12:34:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, my little Gordon turned five! It's hard to believe my funny little boy is growing up so quickly. Gordon is a darling little devil and he really does add so much joy and energy to our everyday lives. Here are five favorite things about Gord:

1. Everything Gordon does is done with gusto and enthusiasm! Even his fits are full-blown, which is super fun for his parents. It's fun to be around Gordon because his energy is so contagious.
2. Gordon gives the best, most heartwarming hugs. He is completely in the hugging moment, so you really feel like he means to give you all of his love.
3. Gordon is a clever little thing. He has an uncanny memory, especially when it comes to promises about treats!
4. Gordon loves holidays-- especially Halloween. We probably have a conversation about which holiday is coming up next and what we'll be doing on that day at least once a week.
5. We're starting to see some musical talent emerge from Gord. He loves to play the piano and sing-- my very favorite is to catch him singing when he doesn't realize that I'm listening!

I love my little Snuggle Puppy and I'm so glad he's mine! Happy Birthday, Gordon!

One, two, three, four... FIVE!

2010-05-14T16:23:00.000-06:00

Oh, five. Such a glorious, adventure-filled age. Especially if you're Gordon, for whom everything is just plain awesome. He really is an excited little guy-- always! I barely have enough energy to keep up with him, which is why I'm SUPER excited for kindergarten. I'm also excited to leave the glue supervision to someone else for a little while!

Gordon's actual birthday isn't until tomorrow, but we had his birthday party today. First off, I should note that a long time ago, I vowed not to have anything other than a family party for my children until they reached a certain age (not 5), but when I asked Gordon what he wanted for his birthday, all he could talk about was a party. So, I gave in and got him a teeny little present and a big ol' party. Now that it's over and it appears that everyone had a blast, I'm thinking birthday parties are not such a bad idea. I'm not sure what my problem was to begin with, but I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the mess.

So, here's a rundown of our fabulous 90 minutes: Pizza! Dinosaur Pinata! (and thank goodness for ages 5 and under who don't hoard the candy but make sure even the little guys get some) Presents! Presents! Presents! Cupcakes with trick candles! Trick candles?! I know, I had no idea! Help us blow the candles out!! Okay, stomp the candles out! Cupcakes! Party horns! Party horns on the trampoline! Sticky, squealing, happy children all over the yard! Hooray!

And that's about it. An hour and a half is just about right-- and I'm feeling pretty safe in betting that most of those kiddos (especially the ones in the younger age group) fell asleep on the way home.

Right now we're dealing with a bit of birthday-boy-bossiness and older-brother-jealousy, but aside from that, I'd say it's been a really fantastic day. Certainly a "best day ever" in Gordon's book-- and it's not even his birthday yet!

Mesa Falls

2010-05-11T13:51:00.000-06:00

Spring is fighting back here in Idaho (although it did snow last week-- boo!) so we took advantage of the balmy weather and spent Saturday out in nature! We followed my parents, sister, and my brother and his cute girlfriend to Mesa Falls in the Targhee National Forest. It was a perfect little outing-- a short hike with stairs, a couple of lovely waterfalls to ooh and ahh over, and of course, a fabulous bunch of people to share the day with!

The boys were thrilled with the water, and with Chris, who threw giant snowballs over the edge of the path into the water below.

M&M cookies at Mesa Falls, then a stop at the "Frostop" for hamburgers and fries made for a perfect little outing! I'm excited to return to Mesa Falls this summer for an overnight campout!

Mother's Day weekend was glorious, if a bit gluttonous, too! We enjoyed family, no extra church meetings, and food, food, food. Food highlights: pizza and treats at Freed's on Friday, the aforementioned Frostop and my dad's famous teriyaki chicken on Saturday, enchiladas and fried ice cream on Sunday with the whole family. Uh. Yeah.

The good news: I've been super disciplined with my eating and exercise this week! Ha!

This week, I'm working on planning our summer adventures. I did this about 5 years ago, when we were in Logan, and we really had such a fun time that year! Since then, I've been a bit of a slacker and with moving, etc, last year, I felt like our days off have been wasted in doing nothing. So, last night I made a list of everything we'd like to do, then poured over maps and the calendar to see what we can squeeze in. I'm excited about the possibilities we have to look forward to!

Finally...

2010-04-14T13:21:00.000-06:00

Okay. Okay! Blogging at last!

I've debated about this for the past while and decided that I'm going to go ahead and combine all of my stuff-- life, digital scrapping, cooking, reading-- onto this one blog. I figure that it's pretty reasonable to be able to keep up with one blog, so hopefully consolidation is a good thing in this case. Life has been good. Busy, of course, and crazy, but good.

Spring is almost here in Idaho (although it did try to snow yesterday, nothing stuck, so ha!) and I'm so very ready to get outside. Tom fished his bike out of the storage shed and has been riding back and forth along the little gravel road beside my parents' yard, the dog racing not too far behind. Gordon likes to play in the front yard with the rocks (and yes, we've gone over the rules: you cannot throw rocks at people, animals, or cars), and the dirt, and the bugs... you know, boy stuff. Neil is obsessed with balls ("bah!") and got so excited over this one at Target that I couldn't resist.

So very cute! So, there's my life update for the moment. Tomorrow I'll post about some of my

Pardon my dust!

2010-03-14T22:33:00.000-06:00

I'm making some fun changes to my blog-- including a new address www.elisespieces.com and a pretty new look! So, please don't mind the mess while I'm rearranging!

January Wrap Up!

2010-01-31T22:05:00.001-07:00

We're in the last couple of hours of January and I feel like I should say a big "WHEW"-- I made it! I don't know why January is such a hard month for me-- after all, several of my very favorite people were BORN in this very month-- but every year I find myself trudging through it. This year, though, one of my resolutions was to change my attitude about the month of January and I think I did pretty darn well. Not that I'm sad to see it end!

So, the end of the month and a few more pictures to share!

January 23rd-- Date Night!

Since prior to January, Neil needed me to coddle and care for him nearly every second, Chris and I only used my family babysitters on a very emergency basis. For some reason, weening Neil has made him much more friendly to people other than me, so we were able to leave all three boys with my parents and go out with some friends. I love the opportunity to get a little bit dressed up and have some adult conversation! And I love our great friends! I think I may have to make another resolution not to wear out my welcome, so to speak, with the babysitting though!

Earlier that day...

Remember when I mentioned that much of our activity in an Idaho winter centers around playing in the snow? It does. Luckily, snow play can get pretty fun, especially when you include a nice gradual slope, cousins, and some slick sleds. Gordon is not a huge fan of sledding, but he likes to race on foot. I think he was mad at me because I said it was time to go home, but Tom and Dal sure look happy!

Speaking of winter play, I really want to try snowshoeing. In my head, it seems like the perfect winter sport-- kind of like hiking in the snow, right? I want to try it before this winter ends and see if it's something I could get into!

January 27th-- Pinewood Derby

Thomas (with the help of Chris) entered his first Pinewood Derby this year. Here's something I didn't know about the Pinewood Derby: they give you a box wherein lies a block of wood and some wheels. The rest is up to you (and your dad). We're not really tool people, so it was interesting to see Chris get creative on helping with this baby! Thomas drew the design, Chris cut it out and sanded it, Tom pushed the button on the spray paint, Chris finished spray painting and attached the wheels, Tom drew the smiley face, and some guy in the ward added some graphite. Oh, and I taped about $1.50 worth of coins on the bottom when the car weighed in at a mere 2 ounces.

The outcome: Tom's car, named "Tommy", won 4 races and lost 1, ending up somewhere in the middle. Perfect!

On the way home, we figured out that with the spacing of our boys, we'll be attending Pinewood Derbies for the next eleven years without a break! I think we're going to get pretty good at this!

January 28th-- Story Time

Gordon and I have been going to pre-school story time at the library on Thursday mornings faithfully since we moved here. It's a fun-filled half hour of stories, songs, and a craft, then we go to the children's section and pick out our books for the week. This month, my dear friend, Sherrie, who recently moved to IF (yay!) has joined us with her daughters. Now, most of Gordon's friends are boys, so it's been very fun to watch him interact with a very girly girl. He's a much softer version of himself, even though I still have to loudly whisper not to run and to use inside voices in the library. Cute little devil.

January 29th-- Big Judd's

Speaking of friends, a large group of friends from our ward went to Archer to the famous "Big Judd's" last night. It was so fun to hang out with some new families and eat really bad-for-us food. Later, Chris and I both felt a bit sick. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but I capture this moler shot of Gord and one of his new buddies.

Wrapping up, I have to say that this January has been one of my favorites in memory. We're loving Idaho, our friends and family, the crystal clear air, even the snow. I think I could even love January! Who knew?

Thoughts on a Monday

2010-01-25T22:50:00.002-07:00

I've decided that what I really need is an extra 4 or 5 hours in my day. Today, for example, I actually got a lot done-- I went visiting teaching, light grocery shopping (where I actually used a coupon-- perhaps I'll get on that couponing kick one of these days!), back and forth to schools, plus I washed, folded and put away two loads of laundry! Anyone who knows me well knows that I battle with laundry, so I'm chalking that one up to a major personal victory. Despite these accomplishments, I'm still feeling the pressure of the huge list of things I didn't get done today.

And now it's nearly 11 PM and I'm tired and ready to cash in for the day. Sigh. Maybe tomorrow I'll be Wonder Woman. For tonight, I just have to be satisfied with clean laundry.

Neil is the star of the show!

2010-01-21T21:58:00.001-07:00

I just downloaded a bunch of photos and Neil is the subject of a huge percentage of them. Yes, he's a darling boy, but I don't think it's his looks that make him the star of the show. With Thomas and Gordon at school and Chris at work, I can't help that this little sweet pea is my almost constant companion. He's growing up so fast, though, and I'm glad I'm capturing the last few bits of his babyhood.

January 11th-- Golden Boy

I like crafty stuff and I've managed to accumulate quite the collection of supplies over the years. Neil really loves to peruse the little portable drawers I keep by my desk-- most contain harmless things like stamps and ribbon. Unfortunately, on this day Neil discovered the drawer that keeps a bunch of shimmery powders used for embossing and adding shininess to paper crafts. Apparently he liked the gold one best.

Lest you think I am one of those "nothing-ever-bothers-me" kind of moms, I'll tell you that I was EXTREMELY irritated while cleaning up this mess. I took a picture just because gold lips are kind of funny. Little stinker.

January 13th-- Neil's last morning in Mom's bed

It's been a mildly tough week for Neil and me, as we (I) decided to do what I jokingly call "breaking up". Basically, Neil has become an independent toddler-- he eats normal food and he sleeps in his own bed all night long. I honestly thought he would be a little bit more upset about our breakup, but he seems to be just fine. I, on the other hand, am still enduring the physical discomfort of weening and the slight emotional sadness at losing my human teddy bear.

January 16th-- Window Seat

I think that living in Idaho in January automatically equals lots and lots of snow pictures, because there isn't much else to do. It is pretty fun to watch the kids play from my nice, cozy perch inside. Neil likes it, too.

January 18th-- Thomas

Hooray-- a non-Neil picture! I love this random picture of Thomas-- he is becoming such a handsome boy. I love that he has Chris's green eyes and those long eyelashes, and I love that he has my nose and lips.

Happy Birthday Caitlan!!

2010-01-16T15:25:00.001-07:00

Today my sister, Caitlan, is 21 years old! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Next month, Caitlan is leaving for her 18-month LDS mission to Honolulu, HI. While no one regrets the location she'll be serving in, I'll miss having her here in freezing cold Idaho. It's been fun to hang out with Caitlan, eat her tasty and adventurous cooking, let her take the boys to the store (she asks to take them!), and give her all of the unsolicited life advice I can think of. She'll be a great missionary and I'm excited that she gets to have this fun experience. If I write any more, I might start to bawl, so I'll just stop, say that I adore my younger sister, and go upstairs and make her a spice cake. Yum.

Every day has a story

2010-01-16T14:21:00.001-07:00

A bunch of my digi friends are tackling the 365 challenge where you try to take a picture every day for an entire year. I think this is an excellent idea, in fact, I even designed a few 365-themed scrapbooking products. As for me, though, let's get real-- it is taking me forever to finish big projects these days, and frankly, committing to this particular one feels like admitting you're a failure before you even start.

So, rather than commit to taking a picture every day, I'm committing to trying to take more pictures of everyday life. I've skipped a few days here and there, but I've also taken a few pictures of moments I wouldn't necessarily have thought of. It's been kind of fun and here's what I've realized: every day is significant. I like that idea-- it helps me feel like my life is blessed and meaningful, rather than just a jumble of hours, days, weeks.

I'm also trying to become a better point and shoot photographer. I'm going to believe in photographic karma-- if I can show that I am willing to put time and effort into my inexpensive P&S, I believe that the universe will reward my efforts with a much more expensive SLR. One can dream, right?

Onto my first few photos of the year!

January 6, 2010-- Snow Angels

It's freezing outside-- I mean literally FREEZING-- but that doesn't stop the boys from donning their snow gear and playing until they can't feel their noses. In fact, I think the fact that they get to wear layers and layers of extra clothing makes outside play even more fun. And they seem to play together so well when they're outside (maybe because they know they might have to huddle together for warmth!), so I'm all for it.

I think this may be one of my favorite pictures-- it's blurry, but you can still see the pure joy in Gordon's face as he chucks a snowball at me. I told him he could throw it, and I think being given permission to do something you might normally get in trouble for is all the more exhilarating.

One of these days, hopefully this next week, I'm going to try to get a photograph of our sunrise when I go out to warm the car up before school. It is amazingly crisp and clear, and the colors have been stunning. I didn't think it was possible at this time last year, but I may actually be enjoying January.

January 7, 2010-- Cupcakes

They're almost too pretty to eat-- almost. There is something about sprinkles and colorful frosting that make an ordinary Thursday afternoon just perfect.

January 7 (again)-- A light in the darkness

January 10, 2010-- Noodles

Neil is a very good, but very funny eater. He will eat nearly everything, but it must be on his terms-- sometimes he'll like something, then the very next day he won't even try a bite. I have yet to find anything consistent, except maybe macaroni and cheese and those mini clementine tangerines. On this particular day, he was happy to slurp spaghetti noodles, as long as Chris fed him like a little bird.

Christmas.

2010-01-05T15:38:00.001-07:00

I'm so far behind in my blogging that the whole task is starting to haunt me. It's kind of depressing how often I think about blogging without actually doing it.

I wanted to give a recount of our Christmas adventures, but thought a chronological travel log would be a bit boring. So, I'm mixing it up and just sharing a few favorites by person. Here we go!

Neil is at that wonderful age where he really doesn't care what is going on, as long as I'm holding him. Actually, he's gotten better over the past couple of weeks-- he's walking! It's so cute, and I love the freedom his new skill is giving him (and me!).

Neil's favorite part of Christmas was the breakfast we had-- particularly the strawberries. He is becoming quite the independent eater.

What else to say about Neiler? He wasn't interested in the presents, although he did like to rip the paper. He grinned during the caroling, and loved eating the little mandarin oranges. Neil whined in the cold weather, but cheered up quickly when offered hot chocolate. He's a pretty easy-going little boy.

Gordon was disappointed to learn that despite the two pages of elf costumes in his favorite catalog (Oriental Trading Co.), we would not be dressing up for Christmas. He reminded me several times that his favorite holiday is Halloween and what he really wants is candy.

A couple of Gordonisms from the Christmas season:

When asked what he wants for Christmas: "Some fake smoke and some fake fire." On another occasion, "A dog I can stand on."

"We wish you a merry Neil-Na, we wish you a merry Neil-Na, and a Happy Neil-NA!"

When we went to see the lights in Salt Lake City, Gordon was beyond thrilled to ride on the Trax train. Just look at that smug satisfaction!

Actually, there was a little bit of dressing up for Gord-- he and his pre-school classmates got to wear reindeer antlers for their program. I love pre-school programs-- they are SO cute! Gord and his class acted out the Gingerbread Man story and Gordon was the gingerbread man himself! I think we have a little actor-in-training-- he sure loved being the center of attention!

Gordon enjoyed Christmas morning and probably liked the act of opening the presents even more than the presents themselves. He does love his camo-print jammies.

Overall, I think Gordon was pretty satisfied with his gifts, especially the candy in his stocking. Maybe next year I'll honor his wishes and let him dress up like an elf and go knock on peoples' doors. They'd probably get a kick out of it.

Thomas had a really fun month. He spent nearly every free minute playing with friends and cousins, eating the treats people brought over, and begging me for a Nintendo DS. My answer was, "nope," every time, but as you will see, I'm a pushover.

Tom is still young enough to gladly accept his role as "Joseph" in our nativity reenactment, but too old to smile like a happy little kid when asked. I'm already saving money for braces.

Another cute Christmas jammies picture... at least I think it's cute...

Ah, Christmas morning. Well, we didn't just present him the DS right away, which I think was very smart. After all of the other presents were opened, Chris told Tom to look behind the chair for one more present "we forgot about." He was so thrilled to open the DS-- and I definitely appreciated the very sincere thanks. It turned out to be the gift of the year as he has been pretty much glued to it ever since. Don't worry-- I'm not just letting him sit and vegitate-- he has to have all sorts of chores and practicing done before he can play!

Elise-- don't worry, I'm not going to talk about myself in the 3rd person.

I love Christmastime. I love the decoration, the food, the merry-making. It's such a fun time of year. This year was a little bit hard for me, mostly because I'm not in my own space. I didn't get my own ornaments out, and only some of my own decorations. Don't get me wrong-- my mom has really cute stuff, and much more than I have. But I missed my little things and the traditions that I've started with my own nuclear family, and I'm excited to get back to those next year.

I did make my traditional caramels, though, and they were fabulous. Mmm, I wish I had some right now.

I love being close enough to Salt Lake City to visit and see the lights on Temple Square. It was freezing, but there is nothing like lots and lots of little lights to get you in the spirit of Christmas.

My in-laws, Gary and Marilyn had Chris and me as their give-to couple this year. When Marilyn asked what we wanted, a thought immediately came to mind: a Nativity. We did have a teeny (as in less than 1" high) Nativity that we bought our first year of marriage, but it didn't survive our last move and I have been ready for my own large one for a while now. Marilyn asked what kind I wanted and my only specification was something unique.

The Nativity that showed up at our house (beautifully wrapped, of course) is absolutely perfect-- in fact, I don't think I could have picked a better one myself. My very favorite thing about this beautiful scene is the faces on the people-- so sweet, so pure... they remind me of my favorite Christmas hymn, O Come, All Ye Faithful. Don't they look adoring?

I love my sweet little scene and I know I'll love getting it out every year.

Speaking of in-laws, while visiting them in the early part of the month, Marilyn and I made these sweet felty trees she saw in a Garnet Hill catalog. Hers turned out pretty darn amazing, while mine is a bit Dr. Seuss-y, but I love it. Even more, I love that we crafted together-- it was so fun and festive. And now I have a cute new decoration!

Christmas itself was all sorts of fun this year. We ate tasty foods, drank hot chocolate, and enjoyed being with my whole family. Kristie made me some pretty bracelets-- aren't we cute?

I complained a while ago that I always stuff everyone else's stocking but no one ever stuffs mine, so Chris made up for his earlier lacking tenfold. Not only was my stocking full of my favorite things, he also had a half gallon of hand-packed Baskin Robbins' Peanut Butter and Chocolate ice cream sitting on the front porch just for me. Heaven.

My very favorite part of the holiday season was getting to spend time with my fun family. The kids always have such a great time together and we all enjoyed games and food and just being together.

Chris had a lovely holiday month, due in great part to the fact that for the first time in five years, he was able to take Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years day off. I have to say, I really don't miss the newspaper business! Chris also had a great time in December because he got to hang out a lot with my dad, my brother, his dad and his brother. He's a guys' guy, what can I say?

On a snowy Saturday in early December, Chris and my dad drove up to the Island Park area and picked out a lovely tree right out of the forest. The height limit was something like 12 feet... oops. After some adjustment, they put the tree in the living room, where it was just perfect. It's still there, actually, and still as green as can be.

It was just before Christmas when the Utes won their bowl game (Hooray!), but Chris was rooting for them long before that. He even made sure our gingerbread house was decorated for the right team.

On Christmas Eve, Chris spent a good hour putting Neil's little push toy together. I really do appreciate that he did it instead of me-- little plastic parts tend to frustrate me. Luckily, on Christmas morning, all of the boys were thrilled with their gifts and Chris was able to relax and joke around with Jake.

A few years ago, I bought Chris an atomic clock for his bedside. The boys thought it was pretty great and, after quite a bit of roughhousing, the LED nightlight stopped working. This year, I bought a new atomic clock and it's pretty cool. I like the fact that this one tells the inside and outside temperature, but the coolest feature is the projection of the time onto our wall or ceiling. Right now, Chris has the time positioned between us on the ceiling, and I love just opening my eyes for a minute to see it in the middle of the night.

Chris deals with a lot of confidential information with his job, so when he is done with it, he is supposed to shred it. Well, he doesn't shred-- he goes out to the fire pit and burns (insert Beavis giggle here). After all of the presents were opened on Christmas day, rather than fill the garbage can, Chris shared his burning habit with the brothers. Another Beavis giggle. Heh heh heh... Fire.

Here is the story of why I don't have any awesome photos from New Year's weekend at the Hansen's: the kids were in the car and Chris was anxious to get going to Salt Lake City on New Year's Eve. I was frantically looking for my camera-- I have a bad habit of putting it in strange places. Chris, finder that he is, finally located it and hooray! we were off. Ten minutes later, when we were on the freeway, my sister called to say that I had left the camera on the couch. "I thought you had it!" Hence, no pictures, but luckily, some very, very fun memories!

December already?

2009-12-01T22:44:00.001-07:00

I have been such a horrible photographer lately! Honestly, I just emptied my little memory card, and this was the only blog-worthy picture:

At least he is the cutest little stink bug in the world, though!

I am blaming my lack of pictures partially on my sister, Caitlan, who, after using my camera to take some pictures of herself to send in with her mission papers, accidentally left Idaho with my memory card. I am too cheap to buy another one, so I borrowed my dad's for a while until Hooray! she gave my card back this weekend. Caitlan, by the way, received the most enviable news, and I'd like to think that her fabulous pictures with my camera helped.

Anyway, I didn't take any pictures of our weekend, but we really had the most splendid Thanksgiving. My mom made the turkey and it was divine-- probably the best turkey I've had in years and years. Her trick? She let the turkey sit under its little foil tent for an extra 30 minutes. That's it. My contribution to our Turkey day, aside from some darling (if I don't say so myself) little place cards and napkin holders, was the gravy. This was my very first time attempting a real (read: not from a packet) turkey gravy, with drippings and everything, so I was a bit nervous. But, success! Compliments even! I may even be able to make a homemade gravy again! Next time I'll have to take a picture.

So I don't forget...

2009-11-06T19:25:00.001-07:00

Between chasing the kids and making half-hearted attempts to clean up around them, I've been reading a new book today. The book is a collection of short stories (I'm drawn to short story collections lately, in case you hadn't noticed) and is extremely well-written. The stories, though, are all about failed relationships-- divorce, death, loveless marriages, dysfunctional children... all very real, but kind of depressing. This afternoon, as I started yet another short story of a woman who wanted-- needed-- to get out of a bad situation, I started feeling really depressed. Do any of us have any hope at all? I wondered, and feared for myself and for my children, who haven't experienced any real loss in their lives yet. This hopeless feeling engulfed me when I went to meet Chris for a little date.

While I sat with my husband in a quiet place, another couple came in and started talking to us. They were celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary. Fifty-nine years. Isn't that amazing?

Even more amazing, touching, and ultimately quieting to my soul, was the sweet way the husband escorted his wife, the way their eyes glimmered when they told us how they had woken up this morning, looked at each other and said, "well, it's been a nice 59 years."

There are a lot of terrible things in this world, and my children will probably have their precious hearts broken once or twice. But there is also enough love to keep a couple together long enough that the hard times seem like a far-distant memory, and there is plenty of hope.

All the Hallows...

2009-11-05T17:57:00.001-07:00

Oh, the Halloween festivities! We had such a great time this year-- no wonder it is Chris's, and now Gordon's, holiday. We had a very fun and candy-filled week last week, starting with "Boo at the Zoo". We met my sister, Ann-Michelle, there with her kids-- cousins always make every event that much more fun.

Boo at the Zoo can be summed up this way: a visit to the zoo in the freezing cold to show off your costume and get a bunch of tootsie rolls. Okay, so the candy was sub-par, but I would definitely consider our zoo trip a success. Unlike our trips in the summer, when most of the animals are just laying around in the heat, nearly every exhibit we visited was full of very active animals. Gordon was especially impressed and frequently remarked how "awesome" all of the animals were. I loved his enthusiasm, especially considering that it was for something other than candy!

Our little troupe of zoo-goers (and yes, Thomas does that pose in every picture-- apparently that is what the "real" Luigi also does...)

In addition to candy stations, the zoo also had a little play area set up in the petting zoo. Gotta love hay!

On Friday, my first task was preparing for, then supervising Tom's class Halloween party. At the beginning of the year, I performed a stay-at-home-mom duty and showed up for a PTO volunteer tea... and somehow, I became the room mother. Super. I was pretty stressed about the whole thing until Chris reminded me that I was planning a party for a bunch of third graders and that they'd be happy if I just brought treats. He was right-- they had a blast decorating cookies, playing Halloween Bingo, and just enjoying an hour without schoolwork. I had fun, too, and now I even have some ideas for our Christmas party in December.

Gordon came along-- there is something about being in school that makes brothers sudden best friends.

On Saturday, we all headed to Salt Lake City to meet Chris's parents at a fabulous little restaurant downtown. Marilyn posted a review of the Basil Leaf Cafe on her blog-- and it really is that good! I had a delicious steak sandwich, but I think the winner was Marilyn's adobo chicken. Yum. Go there. Tell them we sent you.

After a tasty lunch, we went back to the brown house to relax, watch college football, and prep for trick-or-treating.

I think this was a pretty awesome year for costumes. First of all, I only bought some black make-up for Tom's face and a long-sleeved green shirt. I don't particularly mind spending money on Halloween costumes, but it just worked out this year that I didn't have to, and that came at a very nice time.

Love this little joker!

Gordon's costume was the best-- he wore this incredible dinosaur costume that Marilyn made for Andy 25-some-odd years ago. It fit Gordon perfectly and he made the most adorable dino! I did carry his long tail everywhere, but it was kind of nice to have a little leash!

Thomas, as mentioned, decided to revisit last year's theme as Luigi. His idea, really. We still had the hat and overalls, which now fit instead of being too big, and he was as happy as can be. I wonder if he'll be a Mario Brothers character next year? Bowser?

My little Neilbit is now the third Hansen child to wear the fabulous Tigger costume, and he looks just as cute and snuggly as his brothers did. The thing I love about this costume is that it's like wearing a full-length fur coat-- it's so warm and cozy. Unfortunately, most of the pictures I tried to take of this little squirmer look like this...

We went trick-or-treating in the neighborhood Chris grew up in, which made him really nostalgic. It made me want to live in a similar neighborhood and stay there so our kids can grow up with other kids and create those same kind of memories.

Later that night, we returned with an impressive candy stash and three happy little boys. Apparently a piece of Swedish Fish is all it takes to get a smile out of Neil!

Pumpkins

2009-11-02T22:33:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween!! We had a wonderful one-- I'll post all about it tomorrow! For now, let me just say that I'm thankful for these cute little pumpkins and the cute boys who carved them! :)

Must love books.

2009-10-16T15:16:00.001-06:00

Gordon, Neil and I went to the library yesterday, as is our Thursday tradition. I do love the IFPL-- I have such fond memories of spending time there "researching" in junior high and high school, and now love going there each week for pre-school story time. If you live in Idaho Falls, have a child between 3-5, no other plans on Thursday mornings, and are NOT taking advantage of this fabulous half hour, well, you must come. This week's topic was Autumn and we read books, sang songs, did finger plays, and, of course, made a fun leafy craft.

While at the library, I was reminded that I've been wanting to recommend a couple of good reads to you. I wish I had a book club here-- I may just start one. Both of these books were great in that I wanted so badly to discuss them with someone right away.

The Year of Living Bibically by A.J. Jacobs, was actually given to Chris by a former co-worker at the HJ in Logan, but I'm the one who read it. The book is about what it sounds like: A.J. Jacobs commits to living the laws of the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He is a self-proclaimed agnostic at the beginning of the book, and reading his memoir is both hilarious and touching. I adore his writing style and found myself both laughing out loud and thinking those deep, self-introspective thoughts long after I was finished reading.

I was absolutely impressed with Mr. Jacobs' dedication to research-- the man read several different translations of the Bible, spoke to leaders of different sects, even participated in some eyebrow-raising rituals in his efforts to understand the literal meaning of Biblical law. (Sidenote: this sounds like my Father-in-Law, Gary, who could rival A.J. Jacobs in his own Bible studies!) My one criticism is that he never fully engrossed himself in the New Testament side of things, but I thought that was understandable given that his background is Jewish. I felt very satisfied with his conclusions, particularly his respect and humility for his own forefathers and their faith.

I had to wonder: do we, as religious people, give as much time and true dedication to living our own religions as this man did to his year? Sure, he did have a book deadline and most certainly a hefty advance riding on his account, but don't we have something even more important... I don't know, say eternal salvation? Anyway, if you were sitting here with me, we could discuss.

P.S. A.J. Jacobs mentions, in his section on vanity, his propensity to Google himself, so if he happens upon this post in one of his ego-building sessions and wants to leave a shout-out to a Mormon chick in Idaho, that would be sweet!

My second book, Shakespeare's Kitchen, by Lore Segal, was one I picked up randomly on one of our recent library trips (okay, so I was drawn by the "Pulitzer Nominated" sticker on the front cover) and another I definitely recommend.

This book is actually a collection of 13 short stories, all related to each other. It reminds me a little bit of Interpreter of Maladies in the short story aspect, and in the way that it was moving in a very subtle way.

Here is something I loved about this book: there are no "good" or "bad" characters, or even events. I would even go so far as to say that there is no real protagonist or antagonist either, just a mix of characters who are very real in their actions and motivations. I know this sounds so vague... what I really want is for you to read this book, then call me up so we can talk about morality and justification and loss and friendship.

I did get another book yesterday, but so far, I'm not enjoying it. I was looking for a lighter read, but I think I may have gone too far and gotten something just plain dumb. I know, I'm a snob. I can't help it! But hey, at least I'm not posting the title and a snotty review! I'll keep my eye out for some other good reads and let you know when I find them.

In the mean time, anyone want to start a book club?

It's October 11th...

2009-10-12T21:34:00.001-06:00

I suppose I should blog. I love October-- it's such a great month. College football is in full swing, the air is nice and crisp (if a bit freezing cold here in Idaho... sheesh, who knew that a couple hours North would make such a big difference?!), James Taylor's October Road is playing in the background, and I'm wearing sweaters. The kids are all set for Halloween and we're eating yummy warm comfort foods like chili and shepherd's pie. Life is good.

Last week, our neighbor invited the boys over to pick from her plethora of pumpkins (I know, so fun to write and say!) as they're the only young children in the neighborhood. They were thrilled, of course, and quickly found two very worthy gourds for our front porch. We're waiting to carve them a few more days so they'll last until Halloween.

Brotherly love looks a bit exaggerated in this picture, don't you think? It's almost as if someone said, "Pretend that you like each other so I can take a picture!"

October is a birthday month for us, too. Chris celebrated his 33rd with a big waffle breakfast followed by a big chicken dinner and a better-than-Caitlan (my sister) cake. Hee. Yum, yum! No pictures, though.

Neilly celebrated his very first birthday just like his brothers with his very own chocolate cake. He spent the first fifteen minutes or so just trying to pick off all of the sprinkles, then just dug in enough to squish the cake between his fingers and throw it to the dog. Little stink bug!

I can't believe he's a year old, both because the time has flown by so quickly, and because he still seems so little to me. I keep saying that I'm going to ween him and stop coddling him, but I don't really want to. He's my baby-baby, and I want to keep him little for just a while longer. I've spoiled him rotten, but I kind of don't care. :)

Tonight we went to Pocatello for our good friends' annual Halloween party. The boys tested their costumes (Luigi, an awesome dinosaur, and Tigger), and Chris and I relaxed and laughed with our friends. It was a great night.

A fond farewell to summer

2009-09-30T10:58:00.001-06:00

Brrr! Yesterday was COLD! It's not quite so bad today, but there is definitely a new chill in the air and I'm positive that fall has officially arrived. It's also the first day in three months or so that I've worn socks.

Luckily, we were able to squeeze on last perfect weekend in before we have to start bundling up. Can you imagine anything more perfect than a warm September morning in Millcreek Canyon?

Let me back up a little bit, and tell you about our whole wonderful weekend. Chris had been in Pennsylvania for work for two weeks and flew back to Salt Lake City on Saturday, so the boys and I took advantage of the opportunity for a mini-vacation. We drove to SLC on Friday night and spent the night with Grammuh and Grampuh. Gordon has repeatedly asked why we can't just move in there.

The next day, before Chris' flight arrived, we went to This is the Place State Park in Emigration Canyon. We had originally planned to go to the zoo, but after being diverted by the crazily long lines, we were happy to be at a place with a low visitor count but still plenty of great sites. And really, when you're with your grandparents, any place is the right place to be!

Also, if the place happens to have a train... well, it's just perfect.

After we filled a couple of bags with candy from the General Store, we hurried to the airport to meet Chris. Hooray! Homecoming!

There were some LDS missionaries on their way home from their missions and I think seeing the families at the airport made Chris extra emotional. I don't know if you can tell, but his eyes are wet in this picture. So sweet. We're so glad to have him home.

Chris and his dad went to the Utah game (hence all the red) while the boys, Grammuh and I just hung around the house and enjoyed the warm back yard.

On Sunday morning, to celebrate Grampuh Gary's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMPUH!!), Chris's birthday, and Neil's birthday, which all fall within a few days of each other, we went to Millcreek Canyon for a picnic breakfast. The weather was absolutely perfect, the breakfast was delicious, and we were the only people there. Add that to a bunch of rocks and a stream to throw them in, and we were in heaven.

I'm so glad that we were able to spend such a lovely time with Chris' parents and that we sent summer off in perfect fashion!

This week has been fun and busy as usual. The boys are out of school for the weekend, so I'm making them clean up! Mean!

Gordon learned about the letter C this week-- "Clowns"-- and looked so stinking cute with his hat and little red nose that I have to share.

And last night I got brave and cut off all of my hair. I'm a pixie! Don't worry, it will grow back eventually. :D

Neil's Hair Story

2009-09-23T23:42:00.001-06:00

Here's the story about Neil's recent haircut:

First of all, I normally don't make a habit of cutting my children's hair. I do it occasionally out of pure desperation, but I generally trust the trimming duties to someone else. In this case, however, I was getting one too many comments about my baby's long hair (my own mother called him a beatnik baby) and I think it was getting hard for the poor little thing to see.

So, I got Neil's head wet, set him down on the bathroom sink, and took one last picture...

... then proceeded to cut. My idea was that I would keep it sort of long, just trimmed, thereby holding on to those precious locks a little while longer. While I was cutting-- and picture giant tufts of light brown hair falling all around-- I was thinking about how it wasn't really that hard to cut a baby's hair. When I was finished, I thought, this actually looks pretty good!, and I stuck him in the tub.

Very cute.

After his bath, when his hair had completely dried, I realized that I had turned my child from long-haired hippie into a kid who looked like his hair was attacked by his 4-year-old brother. The hair on the left side was still quite long, while the hair on the right side was short and blunt. And the back... oh my. No one even saw and I was embarrassed. Apparently I'm not the next Vidal Sassoon.

So, I got out the trusty clippers and buzz, buzz, buzz... now all of the hair on Neil's little head is the exact same length.

And he looks exactly like my other boys.

Luckily, he's still the same sweet boy with and without his luscious long hair.

An entire month.

2009-09-22T22:32:00.001-06:00

That's how long it's been since I've blogged. Amazing, and terrible.

I am sure I don't need to tell you that it's been an extremely busy month, to the point of being overwhelming. I can't really remember a time when I've felt as stretched and overextended as I have in the past few weeks. Still, I find myself accepting more responsibilities, as we silly humans tend to do. I even said, "Of course I can (fill in the blank)! What else would I be doing?" as if I just sit around and paint my toenails all day long. My toenails, by the way, have not been painted in the year since Neil was born, and that time they were blue.

I don't mean to bemoan by busy-ness. We're actually having a lot of fun, and despite the fact that I'm finally packing a month's worth of blog in at 10:45 PM, I think things might be about to settle down. Maybe.

Here's a little overview of my life in the past month:

1. Another picture from our anniversary day. Gord cracks me up! We ate at Chili's-- mmm, romantic-- then came home and finished packing.

2. We moved. Between a huge U-Haul, our van, and the back of my dad's Tundra, we managed to transport all of our stuff to Idaho Falls. Some very generous guys (and one woman) from our new ward came to help us unpack and we divided everything between our new basement "apartment" and my parents' storage shed. Then, I spent the next week going between the two places to get everything in its right spot.

3. Chris started working and Thomas went to school.

That was a stressful day, but don't they look cute?

Actually, it was probably more stressful for me than it was for them. We all woke up early, having not slept altogether well the night before, and got through the day on anxious energy. I think first days are hard, but we made it.

Thomas is loving 3rd grade. I was very nervous about sending him to a new school and all that a new school entails, but he has proved the "children are resilient" maxim very well. He has already had a couple of play dates and is his normal school-loving self. Tom's teacher is delightful and I've been impressed with the school so far.

4. Gordon and I explored the town. We've established a little routine for our week where we do something different every day. On Thursdays, we go to the public library's pre-school story time. It is fabulous! The kids are entertained with a half hour of reading and songs, then a fun little craft. Afterward, Gord and I have been browsing the kid book section for 4 new books, then up to the DVD section for another Thomas the Tank Engine rental (for which I can thank the extremely annoying song running through my head right now), then up to the grown-up section where the selection of new releases makes me a bit giddy, then down to the koi pond, then out the door and across the railroad tracks. I can't think of a better way to spend a Thursday morning.

Our other new favorite thing to do (Fridays), is to go to the greenbelt and feed the ducks and geese and annoying young seagulls that camp out there. We've been saving the heels on all of our bread. Gordon loves this little adventure and it is so pleasant to be outside. I kind of forgot how much I enjoy being by the river.

Sometimes, we'll go on a little walk and cross the street. Gordon makes sure that all of the cars know we're crossing by vigorously waving the orange flag. It's worked-- we haven't been hit!

5. Thomas was baptized.

In our faith, we believe that children are able to understand right from wrong at the age of 8 and at that time, they're given the opportunity to be baptized. A lot of times, people refer to this age as the age of accountability, which I think means that they're old enough to be accountable for their actions. For me, though, Thomas turning 8 suddenly meant my own accountability to him as a mother. I gave a little talk about baptism during the program and looking at Thomas, so sweet and smiling in his little white outfit, I felt very overwhelmed at my responsibility to be a good parent to him and to the other boys. It was a touching moment for me, and I vowed to try harder for them.

I think he looks like a little angel.

It was a really special day for our family and one I hope Thomas will always remember.

6. Gordon went to school. On Mondays and Wednesdays, Gordon attends preschool. He absolutely loves it and I am completely thrilled with the school. One of the kids in the class has already spent a little bit of time in the "time out chair" and Hooray! it wasn't Gordon!! :D

He is having such a great time making new friends and doing lots of projects with glue. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this or not, but I am not a glue kind of gal. I love the fact that he gets to use it at school and that they get to clean it up-- that alone is worth the monthly tuition!

7. We played with friends. This is one of the huge benefits of moving back to IF-- I already have some built-in friends. One of those is my dear friend, Becky, who I've known and adored since elementary school. She has a little boy just a couple of months younger than Gordon, so we've decided to make a weekly play date. It's been wonderful to catch up with her and to let our kids play. Hooray for friends!

8. Allison (my sister) went to homecoming. Cute!

9. We got an offer on our house! YAY!!!!! We are set to close on October 15th.

This picture has nothing to do with that, but I cut Neil's hair this week and I just need to get another shot of my long-haired baby in here before the buzz-cut boy makes his appearance. So sad.

I think that's it. I'm really going to try harder to update this more regularly, especially so it doesn't take an hour to do each time!!

Elevensies

2009-08-21T11:30:00.001-06:00

August 21, 1998... oh, so sweet...

August 21, 2009... interrupting a Mario Kart 64 Marathon to take a picture...

Today Chris and I celebrate eleven years of wedded bliss! As each anniversary rolls around, I always feel a little bit impressed with myself. I used to compare us to the famous celebrity marriages ("we've been married longer than Tom and Nicole!"), but those don't seem as formidable as they were when we only had a few months under our belts. Now that we're settling comfortably in the double digits, it's less about the number of years we've racked up, and more about the fact that we actually still enjoy our day-to-day lives with each other. Eleven years of hanging out with the same guy-- you have to admit, that's pretty cool.

Moving is kind of like taking a treacherous hike along your past-- it's amazing the kind of junk you dig up. It's impossible for me to clean out a closet or a drawer without getting momentarily sidetracked by its contents. Yesterday I cleaned out our "etcetera" drawer, the place where we put things we're not sure what else to do with. In addition to random batteries, Sharpies, buttons and leftover Jack-o-lantern tea lights, I also found a few old pictures. One was of Chris and me in Ensenada, Mexico, where we ate incredible fish tacos and churros, and Chris discovered the real reason why people warn against drinking the water. Another was us with big smiles and matching tee-shirts at a family reunion in Colorado, where we spent an unplanned $300 and spent nearly a week without a car because of a leaky "fuel intake valve"... whatever that is. And another was a fuzzy black and white image of almost nothing... that almost nothing that somehow turned into Neil.

I stopped my packing up for a few minutes to watch our Ten Year Slideshow and had so much fun reliving all of those different moments. It's fun to think about all of the places, the food, the friends, and the laughs we've had, not to mention the three amazing children! How can I not be impressed?

I love that Chris and I have eleven years worth of pictures together, and I love even more that each of those pictures carries a wealth of memories that sometimes only we know about. I love being reminded, again, how truly lucky I am to share my life with such an incredible person.

I love you, Hunsty!! Happy 11 years-- here's to an eternity more!

Moving is stressful.

2009-08-20T14:25:00.001-06:00

One week from today... YIKES!!

Just a little update...

2009-08-10T19:56:00.001-06:00

One of these days, I'm planning to do a fun little post about all of our "stomping grounds"-- places we've lived together. Since we're on the cusp of another stomping ground, it seems fitting to do a tribute to the other wonderful homes we've had. But, that will have to be on a day when I have a little more time. For today, I am just doing a little clarification/update.

First of all, yes, Chris did get a job in Idaho Falls. It's a career change, in fact, and we're both very excited about it. His first day is August 31st, which, coincidentally (or not), is also Tom's first day of school.

I've been practicing this sentence: "I'll take care of the dishes if you'll get the kids ready for bed." Since Chris has worked in the evening for more than 9 years, I don't get to say that nearly as often as I'd like. I can't wait!

We're packing up the house now, but it's still for sale. We know that there is someone out there who needs our house, so we're just praying that we can find them soon. It's a little bit stressful, but I'm really trying hard to practice the art of faith. We're moving on the 27th into... my parent's basement! Hooray!

Actually, that's not sarcasm-- I really am excited to move in with my parents. Their house is nice and roomy, especially now that almost everyone has moved out, and we'll be able to live there while we sell our house and save up a bit for something in Idaho Falls. I'm impatient and would like to buy something right away, but we realize that we'll probably be in our next house for a long time, so it's smarter to wait a bit and find the right place for the right price. Luckily, my parents are laid back and patient, two qualities I should probably try to emulate a little more!

I'll find out this week exactly which school Thomas will be attending, but I've already secured a pre-school spot for G-Man. I think I actually knew the girl who runs it in high school, but I'll know that for sure when I take him on the first day. I'm going to have to get used to the high school de ja vu, because I have a feeling it's going to happen a lot. Good times.

We're definitely going to miss Logan-- it really is such a great town. Idaho Falls is also a great town, though, and we feel like this change is a good thing. This isn't a reason to move or anything, but I am SUPER excited about having a Target in town! Whee!

So, that's our story for now. More to come, I'm sure!

DeArtons Unite!

2009-08-10T19:30:00.001-06:00

On Saturday, Chris and I tackled the fun and exciting job of cleaning out our crawl space. I re-packed the box full of old journals, yearbooks, dance pictures--ah, the hilarity!... I think I am actually glad that Chris and I didn't know each other in high school and therefore didn't attend any high school dances together because he had posing issues... I should really do a blog post about that because I guarantee you would be laughing! Anyway, I couldn't help but read some old journal entries and thinking the "little did we know..." thoughts. Would I really have used an entire two-page journal spread writing my name with a certain boy's last name attached if I had only known that eleven years later, my initials would be ECH instead of EC...? And could Chris have imagined, when he wrote about a letter he received from a redhead in Idaho, that someday he'd be wrestling with their three sons? It's kind of fun to think about.

The real subject of my post, though, is not us, but my parents. Little did they know that nearly 31 years after their marriage that they'd be standing in a picture, wearing funny red shirts, and that all of these people would, in some way, belong to them...

That's right, there are 19 people in that shot. Little Brynnie was asleep in a tent nearby, so counting her, there are 20.

Granted, two of them are my grandparents, so not progeny, but still. Pretty impressive, don't you think?

We're big enough now that we need to have our own reunions, and this year was our first! We spent a weekend camping at Cherry Hill in Kaysville and it turned out to be so much fun! Of course, we DeArtons are very good at having fun, so that part certainly wasn't a surprise!

The cousins had a blast together! Here they are in the back of the van, playing with some light necklaces my dad brought back from Disneyland.

Nonny and Bob brought the little girls these adorable headbands from somewhere in South America. I really wanted to steal one for myself, but couldn't really picture anyone taking me seriously. Oh well. Doesn't Dall look stinking adorable?!

My parents were assigned the fun job of a morning devotional on Saturday morning, so they had us write nice things about each other. These guys look like they're concentrating pretty hard.

Most of Gordon's nice things included the word "enthusiastic".

Nearly our entire day on Saturday was spent in Cherry Hill's water park. Since my camera isn't waterproof, I had to make do with some "before" shots. Gotta love goggles!

Thomas did have a fun little event-- he lost another tooth! Little pirate! He was sitting at the table, nonchalantly eating some chips, and I came up to ask the whereabouts of something I can't remember. His reply: "First, I have an announcement," and he held up his tooth.

Our reunion ended on Saturday evening/Sunday morning, and though it was short, we agreed that it was the perfect amount of time to spend. Everyone had fun and everyone left happy and smiling-- not too shabby for 31 years, Mom and Dad! Can't wait for next year!

Tidbits

2009-07-29T22:37:00.001-06:00

In the past couple of weeks, we've done a lot of...

silly smiling...

splashing...

swimming...

relaxing...

hiking (and baby-lugging)...

reading...

celebrating...

swimming some more...

playing...

and hugging...

... whew! It's been such a fun summer!

More pictures and such to come, but for now, I'll fill you in on our latest adventure-in-the-making...

That's right, we're moving! We'll be IF residents at the end of next month! I keep thinking of one of my favorite Bon Jovi songs (and you know how I feel about Bon Jovi ♥) "Who says you can't go home?"

By the way, if you know anyone in Logan looking for a wonderful little house, let me know. I have a fun little blog set up, but for privacy reasons, I don't want to link this one and the house blog to each other (this one has our names, that one has our address...).

JULY!

2009-07-08T18:59:00.001-06:00

We're only a week in and already July has been jam-packed! Of course, it doesn't help that we have a huge holiday within the first few days!

I'll get to our 4th in a minute. On the 1st, the boys and I went down to Provo where we met up with my BYU friend, Ashley to hang out with her and her cute son, Jaxon, and take advantage of her sweet photography skills. Ashley showed me one of the many reasons why I will never be a professional photographer: patience. While the kids ran around, whined, ate sticks, and were just general stinkers, and while I sat, sweating profusely in the summer heat, Ashley maintained an absolute cool and just kept clicking. That alone is amazing, but the girl has talent to boot! Check out these fantastic pictures of my kiddos on Ashley's photography blog. LOVE HER!

After the picture visit, we separated so that I could take the boys to Seven Peaks, a water park in Provo. To my utter and grateful surprise, the boys were actually more interested in swimming in Caitlan's apartment pool than going to a water park, so we saved the money and had a blast! College kids really do make the best baby-sitters-- I think they may even have had fun. The boys just loved jumping into that pool!

Caitlan (and friends) graciously watched all three boys so that I could meet back up with Ashley and our other friends, Amy and Laurie, for dinner. It was so fun to catch up with these amazing girls-- women!-- and just enjoy each other's company. It was such a refreshing evening for me and it reminded me that I need to do this more often!

On Friday night, we all went up to Idaho Falls to spend July 4th with my family. I love this holiday-- I just find the whole day so much fun! Chris is not a big fan of the summer, but even he has to admit that Independence Day is great fun.

We started the day off bright and early with the "Firecracker 5K" on the parade route. My time was regrettable, but hey, at least I ran/jogged/walked a 5K, right? :) Plus, I got a tee-shirt. It's a fun tradition that I hope to repeat, and hopefully with a better time next year!

Here are the runners (and walkers): Andrew (Jake's friend), Dad, Mom, Caitlan, Jake & yours truly

After the 5K, some resting and picnic prep work, we went to Freeman Park to set up for the rest of the day. I love being by the river and watching the hoards of people who also gather there. And, without fail, I always run into at least one person from high school.

Thanks to an early afternoon rainstorm, the park wasn't too crowded and we managed to find a pretty sweet spot. We cooked hot dogs and hamburgers, played Power Grid (I won! woo hoo!), lawn games like Bocce and croquet, and just hug out. And, to top it all off, the weather was perfectly mild.

I'm so grateful to live in a country where I have the freedom to make my own choices for me and for my family. I'm so glad that we could honor our country's birth and the people who still protect and defend us today. Happy Independence Day!

Summer book reviews

2009-06-30T10:45:00.001-06:00

This summer, we're trying to make a weekly trip the library. The boys love it and it makes me feel like I'm doing my part in helping them be better readers. We decided to review their favorites for this week and we'll try to make this a weekly tradition as well. I typed the boys' answers as they said them.

Thomas

Snow Globe Family by Jane O'Connor, Illustrated by S.D. Schindler

What is this book about? It's about people who live in a snow globe.

What was your favorite part? There was a big baby that was outside the snow globe and she shook the snow globe around. Then the people in the snow globe were going like "whee" and they went outside and went sledding.

Who was your favorite character? The baby in the snow globe.

Is there anything you didn't like about this book? No, I liked it.

Would you read another book by this author? Yes I will!

Gordon

What's Wrong, Little Pookie?, written and illustrated by Sandra Boynton

What is this book about? There's a little pig that is sad and his mom is checking if he wants something.

What was your favorite part? When those green elephants stole those cookies from that pig.

Who was your favorite character? The little tiny pig.

Is there anything you didn't like about this book? No.

Would you read another book by this author? I would read a different kind.

(Mom's note: we LOVE Sandra Boynton around here!! A definite recommend for any age-- she's hilarious!)

66 days, 2nd grade and, uh, 30

2009-06-29T20:50:00.001-06:00

It's a numbers post today, my friends!

I was thumbing (digitally) thought my photos and found three sets to blog about today. The first set is from April, when we went to Salt Lake City for the day. Each Spring, as I have mentioned before, Chris likes to attend the "Spring Preview" football game-- it's the last practice before Fall training, and a chance for fans to come and support the team, get autographs, and watch the Utes win no matter what. :)

When I say that Chris is a Ute fan, I sometimes think that people don't realize the extent of his love for his team. Sure, he's like your average sports fan-- he likes to watch the games, cheer for the team, and question the refs. But his fanaticism goes a bit beyond that. Let me point out a few examples:

About 85% of Chris' wardrobe has a Utah logo on it. And we're not just talking t-shirts, either: the man has socks, pajama pants, even pillow cases.

Every morning, Chris has a routine that he goes through online, consisting of browsing different local newspaper sports sections, sports websites and blogs, all discussing the Utes. There isn't a whole lot going on in the summer months, which is why I think he starts to get a little antsy this time of year.

He has a post-it note countdown set up at his desk at work (think Christmas advent calendar)-- as of today, there are 66 days left until college football starts.

Anyway, back to April-- here we are in everyone's favorite color: RED!!

After the game, the fans are invited onto the field to meet and greet the players and coaches. Chris really wanted one autograph-- head coach Kyle Whittingham. We waited in line for a while, then the coach graciously signed the boys' shirts, Neil's little hat, and a ball for Gary. Very exciting!

I think this is what Chris' heaven looks like...

My next set of pictures is from earlier this month when Thomas finished his last day of 2nd grade! WOW!! He had a fantastic year. I really don't know many other children who love school as much as Thomas does.

The funniest thing about this picture of Thomas and his friends is that they're all making the same dopey face. Gotta love 2nd graders!

Tom's great year is due in no small part to his amazing teacher, Mrs. Wallin. He has been very lucky in having such great teachers and Mrs. Wallin is no exception. I was impressed this year by her creativity, persistence, and patience with her budding minds. We'll definitely miss her!

We have a last day of school tradition of going out for something cold and sweet to celebrate. We gave Tom the choice of Aggie Ice Cream, Casper's Ice Cream, or snow cones. And, in typical 2nd grade style, he chose snow cones. So here we are, on the side of a busy street, enjoying syrup-filled crushed ice instead of gourmet ice cream.

Sigh. I don't feel old enough to have a child who will be in 3rd grade!

And yet, here I am. Which leads me to my next set of pictures...

That's right, I had a birthday.

I'm 30. Chris jokingly said that now that we're both in our 30's, we can relate better to each other. Ha ha!

My birthday was actually really fun. Chris took me out to lunch at the Olive Garden, then my mom and sisters took me to the Cheesecake Factory on our way to our Park City shopping weekend. I think I ate about 1000 calories for every year of my life!

I didn't take many pictures in Park City (too busy shopping, I suppose), but I did manage to capture Caitlan in this dashing little number at Coldwater Creek. I like to call it "Sheer Inspiration":

It's Haircut Day!

2009-06-18T21:11:00.002-06:00

Today the boys and I went to Pocatello to visit my cute sister, Kristie. While we were there, she cleaned the boys up for summer. I think they look quite fetching, don't you?

Tom Before:

After:

Gordon Before:

After:

And Neil Before (oh my!):

After (I can see! I can see!):

Orange you glad...

2009-06-17T20:16:00.001-06:00

Look at me-- two posts in a row! Maybe I'm back on this blogging thing? :)

For Easter this year, I chose Orange. Chris is a good sport and I realize that my days of dressing the boys alike is quite numbered, so I take advantage where I can. I actually bought these shirts for the boys last year, right after we learned that #3 would join the boy ranks. I'm love the way they look so cute!

Of course, getting a picture as cute as their outfits was another story. And clearly, Neil needed a haircut.

This picture was taken on Saturday-- it's haircut time again! Luckily, we're doing it tomorrow. Maybe I'll even blog again!

Try-it-Tuesday, More Vacation Rewind, Funny Gord

2009-06-16T19:47:00.001-06:00

I've been wanting to participate in Elena's now famous Try-it-Tuesdays for a long time, and finally I'm posting something on a Tuesday! Tonight we had breakfast for supper ("It's your favorite, Puppy!" Ha ha ha!)-- deliciously good French Toast Waffles. They are so easy and so very tasty. A definite must try! Thank you, Emily! ♥

I'm finally finishing up posting about our CA trip in April. Heidi, I'm burning you a CD of all of our great pictures! I love looking at our pictures because it reminds me how much fun we had!

Here's my final, quick little recap (and favorite photos):

David and Gordon are just two little peas in a pod. Sure, they did have a couple of disagreements and a minor (ahem) head-butting incident, but I have a feeling that these two will just grow stronger in their bond. They've been writing (coloring) little letters to each other since we've been home and it's just too cute.

On our second full day with the Myers family, we drove into San Francisco to enjoy the city. It really is a lovely spot and we loved the slightly overcast weather. Chris, if I need to remind you, has an aversion to the sun and I'd rather not deal with sunscreen if I can help it. :) Anyway, our first stop was Ghirardelli Square and McCormick and Kuleto's for lunch. Sophie and I both ordered the salmon and it was definitely the best I've had since we lived in Washington. Mmmm.

After lunch, we took a ferry ride around the bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge. I had actually been under the bridge before with Nonny and Bob, so it was fun to reminisce and make new memories with my own little family.

We finished the day with sundaes at the Ghirardelli ice cream shoppe. The sundaes were huge and amazingly delicious-- it really isn't just your average chocolate! And what a perfect way to end our day out!

I can't forget a picture of the two littlest Hansens-- for now at least. They're going to be pushed out of their baby spots any day now! I love Garrett's curly hair and mischievous smile!

On our way home, we stayed in Elko (fun, fun, fun) and stopped at a park in lieu of another hotel swimming pool (someone read the description wrong). It wasn't really that interesting, but I do love this picture of our monkey Tom.

What a fun vacation we had! I'm hoping we can go back to California next year-- it's on Tom's list of favorite locations! Next up on the rewind posts: Easter, the Utes Spring Preview, and Gordon's birthday!

Before I go, I'll leave you with a couple of funny Gordon-isms:

We've been listening to BNL's Snacktime CD a lot lately (thanks Hij!!), particularly an alphabet song that the boys find hilarious. Gordon sang, "'R' is for 'Army Guys'."

In school, Thomas learned to say the Pledge of Allegiance in sign language and he practices it around the house sometimes. Tonight Gordon came up to me, gave a soldier's salute, and said, "Pledge to the American States, the flag, blah, blah, blah, Animusic One and Animusic Two. AMEN!"