The Pendletons

Mondays at the zoo

2012-02-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

People keep telling me this weather is not normal, but I don't know any different so I just think that Oklahoma is AWESOME. Any place that has 75 degree days in January is a-ok in my book. To top that off, the zoo is free every Monday through February. So take a sunny Monday and combine that with free zoo admission, and you have one perfect day.

The Oklahoma City Zoo is not too shabby. To be honest, I don't love zoos. I don't mind going every once in a while, and I like watching the kids reactions to the animals, but I generally find them smelly and kind of boring. But it just so happened the zoo is full of babies right now, and seeing all the miniature versions of the various animals was really sweet.

I loved this baby elephant (9 months old). The workers were teaching him different tricks, and he'd try so hard to do them but just couldn't quite get it. He was so adorable.

We walked past the lions twice, but they were up on a hill so we couldn't see them. Lame. Instead we played on the lion family statue.

We also played on the gorilla statue. The little girl in stripes is our friend/neighbor. We are so lucky to have already found such great friends here.

This gorilla was hilarious. She just sat and stared like this the whole time we were in the exhibit.

This is the face I get 95% of the time I ask Savannah to smile.

If I'm lucky, eventually she'll crack one of these.

Isabelle enjoyed the day, too.

On Modern Family the other day, Phil referenced how great it is that kids can make friends in a matter of seconds, whereas adults require years of slow assimilation to build friendships. I totally agree. These two are best buddies after just a month of playing together.

In other news, Isabelle spilled a glass of apple juice on my keyboard and the keys stick horribly now. So forgive me if I am less than inclined to blog until I can replace the keyboard. Just want you all to feel my pain. :)

Leaps and bounds

2012-02-02T14:47:00.002-07:00

My kids are getting so big. Sometimes children grow up gradually and steadily, and you don't notice the small achievements as much. But sometimes they seem to grow up in chunks, suddenly learning how to do 10 new things overnight. This month has been one of chunky growing (that sounds kind of gross-- but you know what I mean). I love that they are becoming more independent, but hate the reminder that they will not be babies forever. Here's what I mean.

Savannah has (finally) learned to do her own carseat buckles, just in time for her to graduate to a bigger seat in a couple months when Isabelle outgrows hers. Since we have one sliding door that is automatic, Savannah can get herself into the car and buckled in completely on her own. That is heaven on earth for a mother.

Logan started piano lessons. He has wanted to learn to play for so long, I just hope his excitement lasts. His teacher is a cute high school senior that lives in our neighborhood. I thought about teaching him myself, but decided it would probably be better if someone other than "mom" was nagging him about practicing.

Logan and Savannah now share a room and I swear it makes them play better together. At least I don't hear, "Get out of my room!" like I used to. I know it isn't kosher to have brothers and sisters share a room, but until Isabelle gets a little older this works and I only wish I had started it sooner.

Savannah earned a new apron (a.k.a. a Christmas present that never got made) for going to the bathroom "all by herself." She is notorious for making other people help her do things she is perfectly capable of doing herself, but now she goes without reminders (mostly) and takes care of everything herself right down to the hand washing. This is a big accomplishment for her, and a necessary one for when she starts pre-K next year. She is also getting better and faster about getting herself dressed each morning.

Both kids are becoming expert bed-makers. I've had to resist going in and remaking their beds after they are done, but there have been days when each of them have done such a good job, I could hardly tell they had made them instead of me.

One day when I was deeply involved in a book, I was sick of the kids pestering me for lunch and told them to go make it themselves. Five minutes later, I found them eating their "creations" in the kitchen. They actually did a pretty good job, although Savannah did rip a hole in her bread with the peanut butter knife. (I can't blame her, I've tried at least a dozen different types of sandwich bread out here and they are all flimsy and suck. Oh Grandma Sycamore, how we miss you.)

Last weekend we had some visitors. Jeff's cousin and his wife (from Arkansas) came to stay so they could go to the temple. They are our closest family now so we were glad to spend some time with them. They brought their little dog, Charley. Over the few days they were here, both Logan and Savannah became SO much more comfortable around him. Logan loved him from the get go, but was pretty skittish at first. Savannah wouldn't leave her safe zone on the couch. By the time they left, Logan was carrying Charley around the house, and Savannah even let him lick her hand.

As for Isabelle, well, I am intentionally not teaching her to walk. If she wants to grow up, she'll just have to do that all on her own.

OKC Temple

2012-01-27T12:10:00.000-07:00

Our Sundays are a little longer than we're used to now that we don't have extended family around to share them with. And since we're out of church by noon (we just finished a year at the 9 am block and then we moved into a ward that was just starting a year of the 9 am block - don't get me started), we have a lot of time to fill in the afternoon. So this past Sunday we drove out to the Oklahoma City Temple to show the kids our new temple.

As members of the LDS church, our temples are really important to us. The fact that the only LDS temple for hundreds of miles is in Oklahoma City is one of the major reasons we decided to move here over some of our other choices. Traditionally, temples are much larger than our standard meetinghouses. Not so in OKC. The meetinghouse next door to the temple actually has a bigger footprint than the temple! The temple is so small, but very intimate. It actually looks much bigger in these pictures than in person.

Here's Logan pretending to be the angel Moroni (gold statue behind him).

It was super windy that day, if you can't tell.

What has Isabelle been up to?

2012-01-26T21:40:00.001-07:00

Perhaps the better question is, what has Isabelle been IN to?

Answer: EVERYTHING!

In the past month, Isabelle has gone from a tentative crawler to an active, mobile, mischievous monster! Gone are the days of leaving cupboards and doors open. And not only is she fast, but she puts absolutely everything in her mouth. My other two never had much of an interest in eating everything they touched, so I've had to train myself to always be aware of what's in Isabelle's mouth. I've pulled out Legos, marbles, candy, toy rubber tires, plastic Angry Birds, and coins. I have to be diligent about keeping the kitchen floor swept or Isabelle will find herself a snack pronto. The older kids are constantly complaining about her hands getting into their games. I remind them that they used to love playing with her, but I guess that was only when she stayed in one place. She pulls herself up on everything and has a much longer arm span than any of us ever anticipate.

Isabelle is also very destructive. She loves emptying her shelves of toys or knocking down anything Logan builds. She is fascinated with ripping paper. On our most recent flight, I kept her occupied for over a half hour by giving her a napkin to rip into dozens of pieces. Her latest venture is a perfect example of her capabilities. It was a double offense-- not only did she unload half a roll of toilet paper, but she ripped it into a billion pieces, several of which ended up in her mouth.

Of course, throughout all this terror and destruction Isabelle remains eternally happy. She always has a huge smile on her face (unless I am fishing something out of her mouth). She especially loves two things right now: her blanket and the bath. I frequently have to change her pajamas twice at night because she heads back to the bathroom after her own bath to play and splash with the older kids while they bathe. But once we get her dry and start towards her room, she will nose dive out of my arms to get to her blanket in the crib. I never tire of watching her cuddle with it. I just wish she loved cuddling with me as much as her blanket. :)

New Years in Wyoming

2012-01-26T20:53:00.001-07:00

As we were planning our drive to Oklahoma, Jeff's sister planted a seed of an idea to visit her in Wyoming along the way. At first we dismissed it, because "on the way" really equated to a seven hour detour. But then we remembered that we wouldn't be seeing family as frequently as we were used to, and decided a couple of days in Wyoming were just what we needed. Besides, I didn't want to be unpacking on my birthday. :)

We made it to Wyoming three days after Christmas and stayed until New Years. We had a lot of fun that mostly involved playing games, watching movies, eating delicious and not so nutritious snacks, and staying up WAY too late. Amy and Joe have always been our role-models in the marriage/child-rearing categories because they had 4-years experience on us when we got married. We laughed at the end of the trip that we had had "couples counseling" every night we were there as we shared our struggles and helped each other think of solutions. Amy planned a fabulous birthday for me, starting with a dance party first thing in the morning! We went bowling (the only time I actually got my camera out) and celebrated the day away with numerous renditions of "Happy Birthday." The Katschkes treated me to a new shirt and sweater as well as some new glasses (Joe is an optometrist) for my birthday, all of which I have loved. Jeff (with the help of Joe) got me some prescription sunglasses. I can't believe I've gone this long without them; it's been years since I've been able to wear real sunglasses (as opposed to the kind that clip on to your regular glasses). It was a wonderful birthday and I'm so glad I got to spend it with family.

Logan had some awesome bowling moves. Sad thing is, he beat me twice in a row.

He did this one several times. I think he calls it, "the bowling pin."

Savannah couldn't bear to watch her ball. She'd run away as soon as she let go.

I had to throw this last one in because it really shows Savannah's knobbed knees. It cracks me up because my legs are bowed so if you put us together you might actually get straight legs!

Saying goodbye

2012-01-26T20:19:00.000-07:00

The last night before we started our drive to Oklahoma, some amazing friends took me out to dinner. I have been so blessed to have wonderful friends, and I already miss these women so much. We have had so many good times together, and they have always been supportive and understanding when I have needed them. Lucky for me, if there is one thing these friends are good at, it's keeping in touch. Thanks for everything, ladies!

Family 2011

2012-01-26T19:52:00.001-07:00

That last post was getting a little long, so I decided to give these pictures a post of their own. What would Christmas be without a few family photos? We did our best to take these right after church while everyone still looked good and before the kids got cranky. Did we succeed? Mostly. :)

The whole gang

Oldest brother + family

Other older brother + wife (soon to be four!)

Me + family

The original six Mackay children

Grandma + Grandpa + grandkids

What happens when somebody passes gas

A Cabin Christmas

2012-01-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

Since none of us have a place big enough to house my entire family for Christmas, we found an awesome cabin in Duck Creek, UT to spend Christmas at. It was spacious and beautiful and none of us had to deal with the clean up when we left. My sister-in-law brought some entertainment for the kids, including a cardboard house and rocket that they could color on and play in. We have a lot of little grandkids in my family, so when we get them all together it inevitably equates to a fair amount of whining and crying. But this Christmas I couldn't believe how well they all played! It was so nice to just let them enjoy each others company while we enjoyed each others company.

We also spent a lot of time in the snow. The steep roads in the neighborhood made for great sledding hills. We only had a couple of tumbles, all of which involved Savannah, and one of which was definitely my fault. (Just before we went down she told me, "Not too fast, Mommy!" Of course I ignored her request, and we ate it bad at the bottom. Luckily she was mostly scared and not hurt, whereas I still have scars from that fall.)

The kids loved sledding so much that the next day we took them to Brianhead, a nearby ski resort, and rented them skis and snowboards. We played around on the ski school hill for an hour or so, then hiked a little ways up the bunny hill to let them experience a real incline. They all picked it up super fast. I was so proud of my little snow bunnies. My nephew was the real showstopper that afternoon. At 4 years old, we can already tell he will be the athlete of the family. He has amazing dexterity and balance for such a small kid. The first time we sent him down on the hill he started bunny hopping and catching little bits of air! Not to be outdone, Logan had to try it as well. At the end of the day, they all claimed to like snowboarding better than skiing. (Score: Mom-1, Dad-0.)

As a slight variation of the traditional Christmas Eve nativity dialogue, my mom had the great idea to make nativity sock puppets. They turned out so cute and will definitely be used for many years to come.

Our last day of the trip was Christmas Day itself. Christmas morning was even more of a tornado than usual between trying to open all the gifts, prepare and eat breakfast, and still get to church on time. I loved having Christmas on Sunday, though. I wish we always had a church service on Christmas Day. I think I will make an effort in the future to attend something a little more sacred on the day itself instead of cramming it all in on Christmas Eve and ignoring the Savior on Christmas Day.

Teeth

2012-01-26T15:32:00.000-07:00

The dentist has been a bit of a sore spot in our family. Let's just go down the line, shall we?

Jeff, who has an aversion to doctors and dentists alike, refuses to go at all. I've tricked him into going to the dentist once during our entire marriage. As a compromise, he agreed to use a Sonicare toothbrush so I can at least hope his teeth and gums are in good shape.

I, on the other hand, go every 6 months. I really don't mind having my teeth cleaned and as often as my insurance will cover it, I'll be there. I brush twice a day and floss every day the way the hygienist showed me. Yet, somehow, I still get cavities! I asked the dentist when I was there last if there was ANYTHING else I could do. He suggested mouthwash, specifically Listerine Total Care. If you've tried it, you will know it burns like nothing else and you have to swish it around for a minute! Now I will do a lot to avoid a filling, but the daily burn is just not worth it to me.

On to Logan. I took him and Savannah to a pediatric dentist almost 2 years ago. It was a horrible experience and I walked away wondering how I was ever going to be able to bring them back. Fast forward to this past summer. Included with Logan's Kindergarten paperwork was a recommendation that all incoming Kindergarteners see a dentist before starting school. I resisted and ignored it, but one day out of the blue Logan told me he wanted to go to the dentist. So I took him in. I had the lowest of expectations, but he did GREAT! He let the hygienist clean and floss his teeth and was stoked to get a new Diego toothbrush. Which brings us to...

Savannah. At Logan's appointment, Savannah noticed the new toothbrush and sticker Logan got as a reward and decided SHE wanted to go to the dentist. So a few weeks later I brought her in. At first she was awesome. She lay back as the hygienist covered her teeth in that nasty grainy stuff and started polishing. I couldn't believe how mellow she was being. Then for no reason at all she freaked out. And that was that. We couldn't get her to open her mouth for anything. She sobbed the rest of the appointment, but still got her Dora toothbrush.

Finally, we come to Isabelle. No dentists for her, but she does have 5 new teeth! The first two made an appearance in early December, followed by 2 more just after Christmas, and now another is peeking through.

If you would have told me 5 years ago I'd have that much to say about teeth, I would never have believed you. That's just the way my priorities have gone. :)

Scenic runs

2012-01-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

I feel like every post lately has some reference to running. I don't mean to mention it so much, but this past year has completely changed my outlook on running, and now it is on my top ten list of favorite things to do. Before Savannah was born, I had never run more than a few miles, and I had hated every minute of it. A few years ago a friend helped me surpass that mark and I started running 4-5 miles once or twice a week. But it wasn't until I committed to and started training for a half-marathon this past summer that I got "the bug." It also helped that I found some good running buddies to help pass the time.

Here in Oklahoma it is my running routine that I miss the most (behind family and friends, of course). I am still managing to get out and run, but I miss my running buddies and I miss the routes that I used to run and love so much. The streets here are narrow without shoulders and sometimes without sidewalks, so it makes it tricky to run long distances on the streets. And Oklahoma is FLAT. There are no mountains to escape to or hiking trails to run on. One of the last runs I did before we left Utah was the L.A. (Lactic Acid) Freeway on the foothills of Provo. Halfway through the run I had to stop and take a couple pictures on my phone because the view was so breathtaking. We'd had a light snowfall the night before and I felt like I was in a Thomas Kinkade scene. I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss the snow. I don't miss shoveling it, but I miss the pretty white blanket that covers all the ugly dead bushes and grass.

Now is the time of year to map out next summer's races. I'm pretty sure I'll be back in Utah for at least one race, but I'm open for other suggestions. Who's in?

Thanksgiving and Pre-Christmas 2011

2012-01-19T12:25:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving with both sides of our family this year. I started my Thanksgiving morning with a run with friends. I think I may have to make that a Thanksgiving tradition: it gets you up and going, you get to spend quality time with good company, and you burn a few calories in preparation for the big feast! We then spent the morning baking and prepping before heading down to Spanish Fork to do what we do best... eat! The only picture I got all day was this one on my phone, but I think it describes the afternoon mood perfectly.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we celebrated Jeff's grandma's 80th birthday. It was a well attended event with most of her posterity and a small gathering of friends. We held the "Dale Smith Academy Awards" in commemoration of her legacy. The party doubled as an excuse to start singing Christmas carols, and no Smith holiday party would be complete without a lively musical rendition of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."

The next few days we quickly put up our Christmas decorations. I wanted to get them up early because I knew we would have to take them down quickly after Christmas. What I didn't know is that we would end up taking them down just 12 days later! If you think it's depressing putting Christmas away after the holidays, try putting them away before the holidays! I feel like our Christmas season was shortened this year, so I'm glad we got the little bit in that we did.

The finished product. Not perfect by a long shot, but perfect to me because of the little hands that helped me decorate. :)

We did manage to squeeze in one Christmas party the weekend before the moving extravaganza began. We went to the overcrowded, under-planned BYU employee Christmas party. The games were a joke and the line to see Santa was longer than any line I've ever seen at the mall, so all we really did was visit Cosmo. The kids didn't care-- they loved it anyway.

Half-marathon: take 2

2012-01-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

Soon after I ran my first half marathon back in August, I convinced my mom, brother, and sister to run another one with me in November. At the last minute my sister couldn't get work off, but my mom, my brother and I met in Mesquite to run in the Mesquite Half Marathon. As we stood at the starting line, I was feeling good. It was a beautiful morning, and I had even gotten a full night's sleep the night before. My brother was pretty excited, it being his first half-marathon. My mom, however, was not so great. She was fighting off a sinus infection and had not been able to get much sleep. But trouper that she is, she lined up with us on the starting race, determined to go the full 13 miles.

Don't you love my awesome tape? It's called KT Tape and is fabulous for sports injuries. My uncle is the president of the company, so of course I'm biased, but it has done wonders for my runners knees. End of shameless plug.

Within minutes of the start my brother left us in his dust. My mom and I took a more conservative pace. We were chugging along for the first few miles and I was thinking that we were making pretty good progress. I was chatting away, trying to get my mom to get her mind off the physical strain her body was in, when I noticed her breathing sounded funny. She was getting really wheezy and almost sounded like she had asthma. We started walking periodically, but she wasn't sounding any better. I kept talking to her, still trying to be distracting, but her responses were getting shorter and less coherent. She was running and walking really strangely and she was swerving all over the road. When we came to the aid station around mile 8 I made her stop and drink some energy gel.

The people at the aid station were really concerned about her, and when she nearly collapsed on one of them, we helped her lay down in the back of an SUV parked there. Her face was bright red and she was definitely not "all there." I tried to call my dad to have him come pick her up, but I kept getting his voicemail (10 times in a row!). (I should cut him some slack. He was watching ALL of my kids while we ran. Thanks, Dad.) Well, long story short, after about 20 minutes of hydrating, resting, and sugarizing my mom, she was looking and feeling much better. She said she couldn't remember any of last 10 minutes or so before we stopped. We still hadn't gotten a hold of my dad, so we started back on the road, walking/jogging at a slow pace.

The rest of the race was slow going, but we were bound and determined to finish. I kept a close eye on my mom from there on out to make sure she didn't slip into crazy runner mode again, but she did much better. I can't even remember what time we crossed the finish line. At that point, time was irrelevant. The important part was we finished! I was so proud of my mom for pushing through such a tough ordeal. We are already planning for the next race, for which she promises she (a) will be healthy, (b) will be rested, and (c) will have carb-loaded the day before. :)

By the way, my brother (the one who flew past us in the beginning) finished first in his age division! The results page is down right now so I can't look up his time, but I think it was around 1:40. Nice work, Curtis!

Picture potpourri

2012-01-09T18:23:00.002-07:00

Before I begin blogging about Christmas/New Years/our pilgrimage, I have some miscellaneous pictures of the kids that have been waiting for a mashup post to get them up on the web. In no particular order, here they are.

Savannah is adjusting well to the move, for the most part. She has already made a new friend just down the street (whose name also starts with an S and is the name of a city) and seems to enjoy sharing a room with Logan. During the weeks that we were between homes, Savannah struggled a little bit with homesickness. On Christmas Eve, she broke down because she wanted to go home, and I had to tell her that we weren't ever going home (at least to the home she was thinking of). I felt like Judy Garland in "Meet Me in St. Louis" singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" to her distraught little sister. I half expected Savannah to run outside in her nightgown and start beating snowmen with a stick. But since then she's been more or less back to herself.

Logan misses his friends. He talks about them all the time and writes them letters whenever he can. I thought my kids were at a good age to transplant (and they are -- they are very resilient) but I did not expect them to feel the loss as much as they do. He was very anxious to make new friends, and asked me if we could go meet our friends within 5 minutes of pulling into our driveway for the first time. If you ask him how many friends he's made, he'll tell you "17" (the number of kids in his Kindergarten class).

Isabelle figure out how to crawl the week that we moved out of our house. Between now and then she's become extremely mobile. She pulls herself up on anything and everything. She has also discovered a talent for screaming and uses it to get our attention. I have never heard such a shrill, ear-piercing scream out of a baby. Baby Belles will soon be toddler Belles, and it breaks my heart to see her grow up so fast.

I am so smitten with my children. They truly make my day, every day.

Our home

2012-01-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

As we prepared to rent our home in Utah, I finally got around to taking pictures of the house we had lived in for the past 3 1/2 years. We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into our home, and a part of me is glad we still own it, even if we aren't living in it. I know the family we rented to will take good care of it for us. Who knows? Maybe one day we will live in it again.

~The Kitchen~

What we did: repainted cabinets, wood floors, canned lights, whole home audio

~The Living Room~

What we did: repainted (twice), wood floors

~Theater Room~

What we did: tore out fireplace, recarpeted, new baseboards, new electrical hardware, repainted, canned lights, surround sound

~Master Bedroom~

What we did: nothing!

~Master bathroom~

What we did: ripped out old shower and a closet to install jetted tub/shower

~Backyard~

What we did: where to begin?

~Patio~

We installed a brand new patio one month before we found out we were moving. This was a heartbreaker to leave for sure.

~Savannah's Room~

This was a big project that I never really finished. I loved how it turned out and was really sad to leave it. The project started a few months before Isabelle was born when I decided to shift all the kids' rooms. This used to be Logan's blue room. I loved his room, but I wanted something brighter and lighter for Savannah.

No matter what anyone's blog says, board and batten takes a LONG time. But I love it.

Ikea mirrors + scrapbooking paper = cheap artwork. I can't remember whose house I saw this in. Would someone please take credit for the idea? (Summer Village people - it was one of you.)

My mom helped me with the pillows and windowseat. The windowseat used to be covered in carpet, but when I was working on the board and batten I pulled up the carpet and painted the wood beneath. What an improvement!

I never got around to taking pictures of the other kids rooms. But Logan's new room looked a lot like his old room (even same paint color) and Isabelle basically just had Savannah's hand me down nursery. Well, that's our Utah house is a nutshell! Oklahoma house pictures coming soon.

Home Bittersweet Home

2012-01-06T13:05:00.001-07:00

We are here. We are alive and well. We are even starting to feel rested. The past few weeks have been, without a doubt, some of the craziest of my life. Since my last blog post (Dec. 9), we:

rented our home,
moved out in less than a week,
took a trip to Oklahoma to try and find a house,
came back to Utah, then drove down to Duck Creek to spend Christmas in a cabin with my family,
spent New Years in Wyoming with Jeff's sister and family,
drove to our new home in Edmond, Oklahoma,
unpacked and repacked the car 3 times (barely fitting each time),
ate a lot of fast food,
unloaded our truck,
and have unpacked about 75% of our things.

The month of December is always busy and stressful, but this year there were moments where I honestly forgot it was Christmas altogether. Now that it is (almost) over, I am finding joy in the "normal" things in a day. Sleeping in my own bed, fixing my kids lunch, using a closet instead of a suitcase, to name a few, are things I am no longer taking for granted.

Our first impressions of Oklahoma are mixed, but overall I think we will like it here. The weather was a pleasant surprise. We have hardly used a coat since we got here. Yesterday we took a break from unpacking and walked down to a nearby park. We would NEVER be able to do that in Utah in January. Logan loves his new teacher and school. The market for used appliances, however, has been disappointing. The price of milk is higher than I am used to. There are no Costcos. (That is probably the greatest mark against Oklahoma in my book.)

I have lots of catching up to do, but there are still boxes that need to be unpacked. I promise more is coming soon. In the meantime, here's an old picture in case you forgot what we look like.

Our first (and maybe last) UEA

2011-12-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

Blogging has dropped to the very bottom of my priority list this month. Even as I type this, there are a million other things I should be doing right now. But let's be realistic-- there are always other things I should be doing. And things are going to get worse before they get better. So I am going to blatantly ignore my 3 page to-do list and take a moment to document a little trip we took back in October.

This is our first year with a child in school, so it was our first experience with UEA, a two-day holiday for Utah schools in the fall. The week of UEA I realized that Logan's fall break overlapped with the day I had cancelled my class at BYU. I asked Jeff is he could get the days off, and before we knew it we had an unexpected 4-day weekend and nowhere to go.

With basically no itinerary or travel plans, we started driving south. We stopped the first night in Cedar City. We spent a day there swimming and playing at the park, then headed to Vegas. We kept driving from city to city, looking up family-friendly activities at each place. On the way back we stopped in St. George and visited a park I have been trying to go to for years. In all honesty, 90% of the things we did we could have done right at home, but it was nice to get away and spend some quality family time together. It was actually on this trip that we received the offer and decided to take the job in Oklahoma.

Here come the pictures. Brace yourself.

At the park in Cedar City: This was such a fun park-- similar to the Discovery Park in Pleasant Grove. The weather was absolutely perfect that day. Even Isabelle enjoyed it. She may not move much, but she sure makes a lot of funny faces!

Children's Museum in Las Vegas: This museum was a lot like every other children's museum I've been to: dirty, crowded, and overpriced. But the kids loved it nonetheless. Logan especially liked the auto mechanic store and the airport. He manned the ticket counter for a good 20 minutes, checking in each kid that passed through. It was so funny to me that he knew to have them take their shoes off at the security checkpoint.

Hiking in St. George: We finally made it to Pioneer Park in St. George so I could hike "the Crack." Logan and Savannah went up it with me while Jeff took Isabelle and met us at the top. We met a little girl about Savannah's age coming back down with her dad in tears so I was a little worried my kids wouldn't make it, but they did great. I am so excited to take them on longer and more exciting hikes as they get older.

Swimming in Mesquite: We swam several times over the course of the weekend, but this particular swim was monumental in that Logan swam across the pool without his floaties. My kids love swimming, but they are very cautious and require some sort of floatation device at all times. I am excited to get him really swimming next summer.

A season for change

2011-11-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

As we walked home after dropping Logan off at school one day, Savannah stopped at every lawn to look for dandelions to blow. With our lives being so busy and hectic lately, her youthful innocence reminded me to take time for simple things. The seasons are changing for our family, both for us and our extended family. A lot of new and unknown things await--some exciting and some not so exciting--and I am ready for them, but for now I just want to hold on to this moment.

Deja vu

2011-11-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

The other day I walked around the corner and saw this:

It struck me as odd, not only because Savannah was asleep in a toy meant for infants, but also because this was not the first time I have found a child asleep in the exersaucer. Remember this?

That was almost 3 years ago. I still don't understand how either one could fall asleep in such an awkward place, but maybe it's because I've never tried to sleep in an exersaucer before. Maybe it's more comfortable than it looks.

But I doubt it.

Family and friends

2011-11-10T10:46:00.000-07:00

Back in September my parents were able to come visit for a week or so. It was so nice to have my mom here in the midst of my chaotic 2-job month. Logan was still a novice school attender so it was a comfort to have my mom drop him off and pick him up when I couldn't. They just happened to be here on my Dad's birthday, so we celebrated with cake and pie. My dad has been on some crazy diet for awhile now (and looks great!) but we made him take the night off to enjoy his birthday dessert.

At first he didn't seem to happy about the growing older reminder...

...but he was a good sport about it...

...and blew out his candles to humor us.

We always love it when my parents come to visit, and this was no exception. I'm excited to see them again in just over a week!

Towards the end of September, I got to see another special person in my life. My freshman roommate, Laura, had her first baby, a darling little girl, and I was able to visit them in the hospital! Laura and I were a random match--we didn't know each other at all until we moved into our dorm room together--but it was definitely a match made in heaven. I couldn't have asked for a better roommate or friend than Laura. I know our friendship will be one that stands the test of time, and I love that she lives close and I was able to share this special time with her.

A week or so later, Laura came by so I could take some pictures of her sweet baby. This is one of the reasons I take pictures--so I can spend quality time with my friends and their newborns!

Welcome to the world, precious Brooklyn!

First day of school

2011-11-07T11:01:00.002-07:00

On August 30, Logan went to his first day of Kindergarten. I thought I was going to have to miss his first day of school because I was supposed to go into work that day, but I switched my schedule around and stayed home to be with my firstborn on his first day of public school. I'm so glad I was there, although I'm pretty sure Logan wouldn't have even noticed if I had not been.

At Logan's school they didn't have the parents bring their child into the classroom, they just had the kids line up outside and then the teachers walked them in. I had hoped to be able to see him settled at his desk, but in a way this was probably less painful (for me -- again, I don't think it even phased Logan). I only started to tear up once when I saw him standing there with his backpack looking so grown up.

Logan has now been a Kindergartener for 2 months and still loves it. Every day he tells me about something new he has learned or some new friend he made. His favorite part of the day is recess, but I can tell he loves his class time, too. :) Let's just hope this love of learning continues as long as possible!

Savannah funnies

2011-11-07T10:20:00.000-07:00

Savannah is at the age where almost everything that comes out of her mouth makes me laugh. Even perfectly normal things sound funny coming out of her little 3-going-on-16 self.

For instance, the other day she and Logan were watching Newsies, specifically the King of New York scene where they take over a cafe in song and dance. Savannah turns to me and says, "What?! They're dancing on the tables? That's not nice, huh, Mommy."

Or another example is when we were coming home from the babysitters where Savannah had been watching Gnomeo and Juliet. She wanted to tell me all about the movie.

Sav: Gnomeo is blue, and the girl is red and they looove each other and they KISS. That's gross.
Logan: It's gross unless you're a grownup.
Sav: I don't want to grow up.

The last one is funny, but also timely and almost made me cry. This was a conversation she and I had over lunch a few days ago.

Sav: I have lots of friends. And Logan has lots of friends, too. Do you have friends Mommy?
Me: Yes, I have friends.
Sav: And Daddy has friends, too. But Isabelle doesn't have friends. [pause] Yes, Isabelle does have friends! She has baby friends!

She then proceeded to list all of her friends and Logan's friends and Isabelle's friends. Yes, we do have lot of wonderful friends and it will be so hard to leave them! But Savannah's innocent comments reminded me to be grateful for all the relationships we cherish, both friends and family. Isn't it crazy how the words of a little girl can make me laugh, cry, and reflect all at the same time?!

Belle

2011-11-03T10:04:00.002-06:00

It's time for a Belles update. This little monkey has been growing like a weed. She will be 8 months in a week and it is killing me that she continues to get older! Stop growing up, Isabelle!

In all sincerity, though, I love the first year of a baby's development, and this year with Isabelle is no exception. She has such a delightful personality. I've heard of babies that are happy all the time, but I never thought I would actually have one. She is so easy to please and eager to please. All it takes is a look in her direction and she is all giggles and grins.

Logan and Savannah LOVE Isabelle, and Isabelle loves them as well. It is nice that she is small enough that their relationship with her is all play and fun instead of crying and fighting. I love that the older two can entertain Isabelle just by letting her watch them play.

Isabelle pretty much lives in her exersaucer. With wood floors in the bulk of our living space, it's hard to just let her play on the floor. She has mastered the art of jumping during her time in the saucer and has extremely active legs because of it. Even when lying flat her legs are constantly moving and kicking. Despite her limited floor time, she has figured out how to roll over and sit up. But she is not crawling yet, and I am just fine with that.

Around 6 months I started Belles on solids. She took to it right away and has been eating like a champ ever since. (My kids have never had eating issues. I think they get that from me. I'm a really good eater... probably too good.) I also started her on a sippy cup at the same time and have been amazed how well she drinks from it. Savannah had a hard time transitioning to a sippy cup at a year, so I wanted to start early with Belle to make sure she had mastered it by the time I was ready to wean her off her bottle. I had no idea she would have it mastered in a week!

Isabelle's hair has been a great tragedy to me. She was born with a full, thick head of hair. It was soft and beautiful and I loved it. For two months I coveted her gorgeous hair. Then she started rubbing. And her hair fell out. I would find so much hair in her crib that I would have to wash her binky every time she spit it out because it would be covered in hair. I had to take packing tape to her sheets to try and pick up the excess hair after each nap. It was crazy how fast it was falling out. By four months, she not only had a bald spot, she had a bald patch. It spread from ear to ear across the back of her head. These pictures are prior to the worst of it; she literally was bald except for the top part of her head.

It is gradually growing back now, but I still feel longing when I look at her newborn pictures and see how much hair she had at one point.

(Isabelle's week old head of hair.)

4 month stats:

Weight: 13.9 lbs (56%)
Height: 25.5 inches (90%)
Head: 16.25 inches (60%)

6 month stats:

Weight: 17.5 lbs (75%)
Height: 25.5 inches (35%)
Head 16 inches (5%)

This just goes to show you can't trust the measurements at the doctor's office. We switched doctors between these two visits, and the nurses at the new doctor didn't take very accurate measurements. I'm pretty sure Isabelle's head did not shrink between 4 and 6 months.

We love you, Babylicious!

Hobble Creek - the race

2011-11-01T21:18:00.002-06:00

Exactly one week after the Gracie's Gang 5K, I ran in another race. This one I ran for purely selfish reasons. About a year ago, I had an idea that I would like to run a half-marathon. At that time, I was newly pregnant and so I knew it wouldn't be anytime soon, but I set a goal nonetheless. I looked ahead and calculated exactly how soon I could run a race (given my due date, time for recovery, and time for training). Mid-August seemed about right.

Fast forward to August 20, 2011. My friend Chelsea and I woke up early (4:45 am!) to drive down to Mapleton. We waited in the dark for an hour and a half to board a bus that would take us 13 miles up Hobble Creek Canyon. We were on one of the last buses, so we had just enough time to walk up to the starting line, look around for a bit, and then the blowhorn sounded. I can honestly say I loved the first 10 miles or so of this race. The course meandered down the canyon on a slight decline-- not enough to hurt your knees but enough to give you a little extra boost. Chelsea and I managed to stay just under a 9-min mile pace which was where we were aiming to be. Around mile 10 we came out of the canyon. The remaining 3 miles looped through town and ended at the city park. Those 3 miles, contrary to the first 10, were miserable. I was so tired and wanted to slow down so badly, but Chelsea wouldn't let me. She stayed just a few feet ahead of me, motivating me to keep up. I pushed through the pain and exhaustion, and eventually the finish was in sight. Knowing the finish line (and relief!) was just around the corner, I found a little extra strength and was even able to sprint the last 100 yards or so. My official time was 1:55:41. I had hoped to run it in under 2 hours so I was very, very happy with that finish.

It's funny, but I am actually almost more proud of training for this half-marathon than actually running it. Finishing was definitely an accomplishment, but the race itself was only a one-time, 2 hour event. Training for the race included 12 weeks of consistent running, something I've never been very good at. Prior to training for this race, the farthest I had ever run was 6 miles, but during training I ran several long runs, including a 12-miler and two 10-milers.

I had a blast and would definitely do it again (in fact, I just signed up for another half-marathon in November). I have developed a love for running that increases every time I go. I hope this is something I can keep up for a long time.

Candy and costumes

2011-10-31T21:58:00.000-06:00

My mom is anxious to see some Halloween pictures, so I am going to take a detour from my massive-blog-catchup-2011 and post something recent.

I decided early on that I wanted Halloween to be low key this year. I wasn't going to make any costumes, and we would reuse anything we could. Logan wanted to be a red Power Ranger, and I lucked out by finding his costume for $4 at a garage sale in September. (A little steep for a garage sale, if you ask me, but still better than buying it new or making it.) Savannah--always having to keep up with her brother--wanted to be a pink Power Ranger. Well, I wasn't as lucky with her costume. I never did find anything at a price I was happy with, so I convinced her being a super girl was just as good.

Isabelle got to wear Logan's old duck costume. I am pretty sure this is the warmest Halloween costume alive (it's practically a snow suit). Go figure Halloween was the warmest day we've had in weeks. She was sweating when we took it off.

Our niece was in town so we got to share the excitement with her. I love her roar. Isn't she the cutest tiger you've ever seen?

We went trick-or-treating to a few neighbors while it was still light out. I love trick-or-treating early; you don't have to be afraid of things jumping out at you AND you get first pick of the candy. :) We scored some good treats... a couple full size candy bars and a HUGE bag of kettle corn. I love my neighborhood.

Gracie's Gang - the race

2011-10-30T21:17:00.000-06:00

Several months ago I posted about a race I was helping organize to raise money for a family member with leukemia, but I never came back and wrote about the actual race day.

On the morning of August 13, the Gracie's Gang 5K for Leukemia Awareness took place. It was a great day for a race, and despite a few minor hiccups, everything went off extremely well. The support and encouragement we received from all avenues was incredible. It was such a sweet tribute to little Gracie, who has already endured so much in her short 2 years. Our family really bonded together during the planning and execution of the race, and I can't thank them enough for all their hard work. Unfortunately, cancer has hit home once again, as my father-in-law was recently diagnosed with rectal cancer. At this difficult time, I think back at how our family rallied together for Gracie, and I know we will do it again for my father-in-law.

Now, for some fun pictures from the day of the race.

My amazing sister-in-law, Amy, who had the drive to get this whole idea off the ground, sorting through shirts with my brother-in-law, James.

Jeff's cousin, Landon, setting up the balloon arch in the windy hours of the morning. The greatest challenge was keeping the wind from blowing the arch into the grass and popping the balloons.

Me in all my glory.

Our amazing sponsors. The logo in the middle was designed by my sister, Paige.

The kids getting ready to ride the race course. Did I mention it was windy?

Picketing for Gracie. :)

And we're off!

Our very official race timer.

The finish line. I was so pleased with how the balloon arch turned out!

Raffle prizes. Orange is the color for leukemia, so our race was had a lot of orange in it (shirts, ribbon, table cloths, etc.).

My uncle's company makes KT Tape, a must if you have any sports injuries. He was gracious and donated several rolls of tape as well as enough samples for all our participants.

Gracie's Gang was a huge success, one that would never have happened without the help and hard work of tons of people. I learned a ton in the process, but I think my race organizing days are done. :)

P.S. A huge thanks to my sister-in-law, Katy, who took all these pictures.

Change

2011-10-28T22:26:00.000-06:00

I had intended to save this post until I had caught up on the rest of my blog, but that could be weeks away and this is something that I need your support and help with now. This year has been one of many ups and downs for our family. I haven't blogged about it too much because it seemed too personal, but now that time has softened the memory, I am ready to share our story with all of you.

Back in May, Jeff abruptly and unexpectedly lost his job at Gexpro. It it still painful to recall, but the bitterness has mostly faded and now I just feel sadness when I reflect on the events that took place. The whole experience was so strange, and so uncalled for, that we strongly believe this must part of a broader plan that we just cannot understand yet.

For three months Jeff sought work, but in today's market, every position had hundreds of applications. Finally in August, he had three offers come through at once. We spent hours weighing each position, trying to decide which was best for our family, and finally chose a job with Praxair. It was a good, stable job, but it came with a 45+ min commute (something we were no stranger to).

As the weeks went on, I could tell Jeff wasn't happy at Praxair. Don't get me wrong - Jeff is the greatest provider in the world. He would work at a sewage plant if that's what it took to provide for his family and he would never complain about it. But Jeff has always had big dreams when it comes to careers and when his job is not challenging him or providing him with social stimulation, it really affects him. He really tried to give this job a chance, but we both knew it was never going to be everything he hoped for in a career.

Well, not long after beginning at Praxair, the idea for a new opportunity was planted. Jeff's cousin had recently started working for a company called Imagine Learning and had nothing but good things to say about it. He recommended Jeff apply for one of the sales positions. Interested, Jeff began the application process. After a looooooong string of interviews, we finally had an offer letter in our hands. This job was totally different from anything we had ever known before. It was going to require our family to come together like we had never needed to before. It was exciting and new, but also unknown and intimidating. For three days we discussed and researched and prayed and searched like I have never done in my life. (Seriously - even more than when I decided to marry Jeff. I guess that was an easy decision. :) ) And at the end of it all, we decided to take the job.

So why am I telling you all this? I realize this is dull and depressing to most of you. And you could probably not care less what job Jeff has, as long as he has one. Well, here's the kicker: this job in not in Utah. Despite a million ties we have to our currently location, we are going to pick up everything and move our family 1300 miles east to a place we have never been. It breaks my heart to think of the family and friends we will leave behind, but I know this is the right thing to do. We still haven't decided on our exact location, but it will be somewhere in Oklahoma or Arkansas. Right now our top choices are Tulsa, Oklahoma City, or NW Arkansas (Bentonville/Fayetteville area). We could really use some insight if you have any, especially into the Oklahoma cities. Our expected arrival is early January of 2012.

I am so grateful for the internet and the ability it has to make the miles seem a little less. I know there are days ahead when I will feel alone and will regret having given up the wealth of friends and family we have here. But-- as silly as it seems-- to know that I will be able to read your blogs and see pictures of those I hold dear is such a comfort to me. We are really looking forward to this move and the changes it will bring, but I will need you to remind me of that when the bad days come.

In the meantime, maybe I should just take a vote. Should we live...

...here? (Oklahoma City)

...here? (Tulsa)

...or here? (NW Arkansas)

July in a post

2011-10-28T21:24:00.005-06:00

I'm beginning to realize I'm never going to get my blog caught up if I separate each and every event into its own post. So here's a random conglomeration of some random things we've been up to that have no relationship to each other except that they all happened in July.

First off, I spent a night with some of the greatest ladies in the world. Back before we had kids, Jeff and I bought a townhome in a neighborhood where we didn't know a soul. In the two years we lived there, we made lifelong friends with our amazing neighbors. Even though it's been almost 3.5 years since we moved out of that neighborhood, we still keep in touch and get together frequently. We have shared a lot and come a long way since we all met, and I'm pretty sure we will continue to do so forever. I was so giddy in anticipation of this "slumber party" that we had together. It was like Jr. High all over again. And it did not disappoint. Great food, great company, and nonstop laughter = perfect girls night.

Did I mention we stayed in a beautiful cabin overlooking Scofield Reservoir? Perfection, I'm tellin' ya.

Next up: t-ball pictures. When the day of t-ball team pictures came around, I kind of spaced it and forgot to order any. Logan was distraught, so I told him I'd take some pictures of him when we got home. I've mentioned it before, but I loved watching Logan play t-ball. I thought it was going to be totally boring, but it was so fun and the games actually went by really fast. I am looking forward to many more years of Little League.

Of course, Savannah wanted her picture, too. Don't you love her wild hair? Poor child got my unruly genes.

Lastly, we took advantage of a free coupon to go visit the Kennecott Copper Mines. I've lived in Utah for 9 years now and this was my first visit. I was a little disappointed in the whole experience; I had hoped to get a little closer to the trucks and the mine itself. I guess I understand why you can't, but it is hard to get a feel for how ginormous the trucks really are without standing right next to them. Oh well, the kids enjoyed it and it was free, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

That was our July in a nutshell. Now I'm only 3 months behind on my blog!

P.S. Did you notice my new blog header? My cousin took some amazing family photos for us and I am so, so pleased with how they turned out. There are more where that came from and they WILL end up on the blog, just be patient!

4th of July Hike

2011-10-16T18:26:00.000-06:00

The morning of July 4th, we woke up early and met up with some family to hike to the "the cross"-- a metal cross perched on a hill behind my in-law's home. As part of the group were some of Jeff's aunts (his mom's sisters) who are all somewhat twisted-ankle prone, but we took the steep parts slowly and somehow made it up and back without a single injury. It was a great, albeit windy, way to start our Independence Day.

The whole gang, minus Jeff, who was taking the picture.

Heading back down. Not sure what Jeff is doing, but I am sure he was trying to be funny.

Aunt Dalene taking the "slide" approach to a particularly steep stretch.

Summit

2011-10-10T17:52:00.000-06:00

For years now Jeff and I have talked of hiking Timp together. Yet each summer comes and goes, and we never do it. This year, I was determined to go. We tempted fate by waiting until October to hike it, but we made it just in time. The weather was absolutely beautiful that day. We started hiking just before sunrise. The first hour Jeff had to corral me along so I wouldn't stop every 10 feet to take pictures. The leaves were showing the first signs of fall and I just couldn't help myself. We decided to hike the Timpooneke trail--I had only every hiked the Aspen Grove trail--and I think it was definitely the prettier way to go.

About halfway up we ran into a surprise--my brother! He and his friends had hiked to the top for sunrise and were now on their way home. Shortly after that we made it to the meadow, famous for it's plentiful wildflowers. Unfortunately, we were a bit late in the season for flowers, but it was picturesque nonetheless in that it gave us our first view of the peak. Here we are in the meadow with the peak behind us on the left and the saddle on the right.

Some treacherous switchbacks and a few mountain goat sightings later, we found ourselves at the saddle. Many hikers stop here and turn around, and I understand why. The views were amazing, and the trail only got worse from there. I have always teased Jeff for having a paralyzing fear of heights (he gets sweaty palms in Spiderman movies), but I didn't realize I had a pretty bad fear as well.

(View from the saddle, looking down on Utah Lake.)

We stood there looking at the trail to the summit, contemplating whether it was worth it. From what we could see, there were steep drop offs on either side, and it wasn't a short hike. We still had about 45 minutes to go.

I knew if I thought about it too long, I wouldn't go, so we took a leap of faith and started up. We soon encountered "the stairs," a set of short, steep, and sheer switchbacks. I had to crawl on all fours the whole way up! My blood was pumping so hard I could hardly keep from shaking. Ironically, Jeff was totally fine through this section.

The rest of the trail wasn't as bad after the stairs. Our aching legs forced us to concentrate less on the height and more on getting to the top. Willpower and determination eventually got us there.

Even resting at the top my legs were still shaking. I tried to capture the view looking over the edge, but this still doesn't do it justice.

It was pretty spectacular to look over the valley and mountains from up there. Timpanogos is the second highest mountain in the Wasatch Range. We felt like we could see forever from up there. I have heard it is notoriously windy and cold on the top of Timp (my one other time up there testified to that), but it was calm and warm for us that day.

Looking down on our house (and Provo, Orem, and Pleasant Grove).

We thought we had accomplished the hardest part by making it to the top, but coming down was much, much harder. Strangely, the steepest parts weren't nearly as scary coming down as going up. But the hike was physically harder on the way down. Neither of us had good hiking shoes, and our feet were crying out in pain with 2 hours left to go. Plus, we packed too much water, and Jeff's shoulders were feeling the effects of carrying it around all day. (For future reference, on a mild day, 3 water bottles per person is plenty.) When we finally made it back to our car, we both nearly cried in relief.

Despite the physical strain, it was a memorable and amazing day. I loved having 8 hours with my husband, away from kids (thanks Grandma and Grandpa for keeping them!), work, home, football, and any other distraction. I would love to do it again, but probably not for a few years. :)

Back

2011-10-08T11:20:00.002-06:00

I can't believe I've gone a whole month without posting on my blog. In the 4+ years I've been blogging, I have NEVER gone an entire month without a post. I am so behind now I don't even know where to begin. I don't think I can blog chronologically - there are too many recent events I want to blog about before I forget them. I guess I'll start with the reason I've been MIA for the last several weeks.

Around June, I started contemplating returning to work. For the past 18 months, I had been a 100% stay-at-home mom. Having now done both, I can authoritatively say that being home with your kids the entire day is way harder than being in the office. Although I loved being home with my kids, I also missed the intellectual challenge and social interaction of working. I thought if I could find some part-time (<15 hours/week) or maybe even temporary (1-3 months) work, it might be enough to satisfy my working needs (not to mention boost our savings) without taking me away from my family too much.

I sent off two emails to previous employers. One was to my old manager at the LDS Church. When I quit my job there, I had mentioned that I would be interested in short-term work in the future. In my email, I asked if he had any small projects that I could come work on for a bit. I didn't hear anything back from him, so after a few days, I tried another avenue-- I emailed the head of the Statistics department at BYU, Dr. Scott. I asked if he had any evening classes that needed teachers. This time I got a response almost immediately. He asked if I could come in and talk to him.

A few days later, I found myself in Dr. Scott's office. He explained to me that he had several daytime classes that needed professors and would I be willing to teach a class during the day. The idea appealed to me and seemed to fit well with my kids schedules, so I agreed. This was just what I had been looking for, and I was really excited (and intimidated) by the thought of teaching.

Shortly after accepting the position at BYU, I got a phone call from my manager at the Church. One of the women on his team was having a baby that week, and he needed someone to fill in for her until she came back from maternity leave in 2 months. I was torn; this, too, was a great opportunity, but the timing was not ideal. If I were to work this position, there would be a month of overlap between the two jobs. But I wanted to take it for several reasons, one of which was to keep my skills sharp so if I ever needed to reenter the industry, I'd be able to. So I decided to do it. I knew September would be a crazy month, but it would only be a month. Often in life when approached with hard things, I just remind myself that I can do anything for an hour/day/week/month (select appropriate period of time).

Last week I finally wrapped up my job at the Church. It was such a great experience and I am so glad I did it. I was able to work with the Missionary Department, one of my favorite customers. I was surprised how quickly things came back, but also how much had changed. Both my manager and I came away from this experience already planning how we could arrange a similar setup again in the future. I am glad it is over because it really was too much to work both jobs, but I would do it again if I had to.

Meanwhile, teaching at BYU has been a huge learning experience. I am teaching an introductory course on Bayesian statistics. I've had to really study and prepare for each lecture, and there have been a few times in class that I've had to admit that I didn't know the answer to a question, but my students have been great and the other professors have been a huge support.

It is such a relief to have more time in my day again. I have great hopes to have my blog updated soon! Stay tuned for more to come!

Quick update

2011-08-27T15:10:00.000-06:00

I have at least 10 blog posts to write, but I am realistically looking at the next several weeks and realizing that I will not even have 5 minutes to sit down and write a single one. So as not to totally neglect the blog, here is a quick update of what we've been up to in the last few months. Detailed blog posts will hopefully follow soon.

We celebrated the 4th of July by hiking to a cross on the hill above my in-law's home.
I spent a weekend with some of my best girl friends by Scofield Lake.
We visited the Kennecott mines copper mines. The kids loved the bus ride and the huge trucks.
I won $100 from the city for having "clean" trashcans!
We spent a weekend at Fiesta Days in Spanish Fork over the 24th of July.
My sister-in-law and I organized and executed a 5K to raise money for a family member with leukemia.
I ran in the Hobble Creek half-marathon and beat my goal of 2 hours by finishing in 1:55:41.
Jeff started a new job at Praxair.
I went back to my old job temporarily at the LDS Church.
My cousin came to visit with her family. It was the first time I had seen them in over 4 years and we had so much fun catching up.
Isabelle learned to roll over and has succeeded in rubbing off nearly ALL the hair on the back of her head. She is still an angel baby.
Savannah developed separation anxiety when I went back to work and now refuses to go to Nursery, friend's homes, or let me leave to go anywhere.
Logan passed his Kindergarten testing (phew!) and will start Kindergarten next Tuesday.
I will start teaching a statistic class at BYU on Monday.

See you in a month when things settle down a bit!

7 years

2011-08-07T14:45:00.000-06:00

In October 2003, I met the man who is now my husband.

On July 16, 2004, we were sealed for time and all eternity in the San Diego temple.

We went on our honeymoon to Cancun, Mexico.

Our first year was blissful. We lived in San Dimas, CA for the first month, then moved back to Provo for another year of school.

We spent a summer in Richmond, VA, then back to Utah to finish school. In April 2006, we graduated from college, Logan joined our family, and we bought our first home, all within a week.

In 2007, we celebrated our 3rd anniversary, finished our basement, and I started this blog.

In 2008, we sold our townhome and bought a new house closer to Jeff's work. We also went from having a child to having children.

In 2009, we celebrated 5 years of marriage by going on a cruise.

In 2010, we returned to our honeymoon destination, Cancun.

And this year, we celebrated 7 years and another baby.

Our marriage and family has come a long way in 7 years, and this is just the tip of the iceberg! (I'm referencing our time together, not number of children. In that regard, the iceberg is just about fully exposed.) When I look back at the start of this journey together, I am amazed at how much has changed, and also how much is still the same. It has been a wild and crazy ride--and it will probably get more so as our kids get older--but I wouldn't change a minute of it. One day, I will document our 50 year anniversary, and these 7 short years will seem so fleeting, but for now they are by far the best years of my life.

Three

2011-08-02T21:39:00.002-06:00

Just over a month ago (yes, I am super behind in blogging), Savannah turned three. She begged and begged for a castle cake, and trying to be a good mom, I attempted to make her one. I found a simple looking cake made with ice cream cones and thought to myself, how hard could it be? Well, those of you who know me well know I am NOT a baker. I am not even much of a cook. So despite my best efforts to keep things simple and fail-proof even for a baking dummy like me, Savannah's cake was an epoch FAIL.

If you ignore the cake poking through the frosting and the lopsided cones and squint really hard, you might just see a slight resemblance to a castle. Then you might also notice that the entire cake is leaning to one side. But all of that might have been passable if it weren't for the back...

Wow. I am impressed anyone wanted to eat it after seeing that. If I had been graded on this cake I'm sure it would have received an F. Well, maybe a D- because Necco wafers are pretty awesome.

Of course none of that really mattered because the birthday girl thought it was just terrific. She showed her cake to everyone who came over that day and is still talking about it a month later. She even licked all the nasty strawberry frosting off one of the castle turrets.

I don't know how I got so lucky to have such a sweet little girl. She has the biggest personality I have even met in such a little body. She is so funny and loving and mischievous and creative. I love that I get to see her in both the little sister and big sister role. Savannah is a little firecracker and has us alternately red with frustration then red with laughter. One of her favorite phrases is, "You want a piece of me?" She loves to sing and will sing at the top of her lungs all day long.

Savannah is incredibly accident/sickness prone. In the weeks leading up to her birthday, she had a cough, fever, ear infection, huge plantar wart, allergies and horrible congestion. Then, to top it all off, she fell on her foot and wouldn't walk on it for two days. Weeks later, she was still limping on it. All this happened during the two months that we had horrible insurance, so I didn't want to go to the doctor if I could possibly avoid it. It got to the point where I would wake up in the morning and wonder what new symptom she would come down with that day. Thankfully, we were incredibly blessed and she was able to overcome everything without a single doctor's visit. Let's just say that every day is an adventure with sassy Savannah!

Savannah at 3 years: 28.5 lbs (33%), 36 inches (37%)

I love to see the temple

2011-07-29T11:58:00.000-06:00

(I'm having trouble coming up with blog title posts that aren't songs from the children's song book. I think I've been in primary too long.)

A few weeks ago we were able to meet my brother, Matt, in Salt Lake while he was here for a work trip. He chose temple square as the meeting place so he could have an interesting subject to test out his new camera on. Matt and I both have a photography fetish, so when we get together we almost always end up shooting together. However, my camera quickly lost interest in the temple and found new subjects (namely, my kids). Not that the temple isn't beautiful-- they were just being so funny. Despite the dozens of pictures we took in that hour, I didn't end up with a single one of Matt. Go figure.

First picture of all three kids that has semi-turned out! And it only took 4 months to get it.

Poor Savannah had horrible allergies for several weeks this spring/summer. Her eyes were super red for days on end. Thankfully, they seemed to clear up on their own, which was a real blessing because we've had some really crummy insurance this summer and I've been avoiding the doctor's office as much as possible.

Thanks, Matt, for the fun evening! Come visit again soon!

Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

2011-07-19T22:17:00.000-06:00

As much as I complain about the challenges of rearing children, there is nothing I would rather do than spend time with my family. Especially when we are doing something fun. I can see why parents spoil their children: a happy child is so much more fun to be around. This summer we have been taking advantage of some unexpected free time to do lots of things together as a family. Here is just a sample of what we've been up to.

Hiking the Grotto

Ever since I heard about this short, but pretty hike, I've wanted to go as a family. One day we just woke up and decided to go. (We're very spontaneous like that; we never plan anything.) I realized just minutes before we left that we didn't have a carrier for Isabelle, so I started calling everyone I could think of to find one we could borrow. I didn't have any luck, so Jeff ran into Shopko on our way out to buy one. I've owned a cheap infant carrier before and hated it, so I was a little skeptical of buying another less-than-reputed brand. I was very pleasantly surprised, however, with what Jeff picked out. It was the same brand as the one we had before, but everything ties instead of buckles. Isabelle loved it and it didn't hurt my back or shoulders at all! Score!

The hike was beautiful. Savannah and Logan loved crossing the river on log bridges. The actual grotto was small, but we had it entirely to ourselves to play in. We made such fun memories and will definitely go back again.

T-ball

I signed Logan up for a city t-ball team as a last-minute decision. I was hesitant to try another sport with Logan because soccer had just about done us in. T-ball turned out to be a nice change of pace from soccer (fewer games and a shorter season) to my relief. We need to work on Logan's form (he is always trying to run like Dash from The Incredibles) and his swing (it generally took him about 3 tries to hit the ball off the tee), but he loved playing and I even enjoyed watching his games. I will definitely encourage baseball over soccer in the coming years, something I never thought I would say 5 years ago.

Preparing to "run like Dash."

Lagoon

A few weeks ago our stake had "Lagoon Day." As of the night before we had decided not to go, but when all our neighbors were packing up to leave that morning, it just sounded too fun not to join them. Our kids are total roller coaster junkies, and Lagoon did not disappoint them. Logan was just upset that he wasn't tall enough to go on the really big rides. It cracks us up how quickly he will jump at the chance to go on tall, fast roller coasters but won't even think about riding his bike without training wheels. He also loves water slides (we've been taking advantage of our season passes to our local water park) and will go down the big slides by himself. Crazy kid!

And lest you think I've forgotten her, here is a picture of the happiest baby on earth, who goes along with all our activities and never complains EVER. Ok, well, mostly never.

Censoring

2011-07-09T15:40:00.001-06:00

The other day I was watching a movie while I fed Isabelle. Logan had wandered in and was watching parts of it with me. When one particularly vulgar scene came on, I paused the movie and told Logan to go play.

"Why?" he asked.
"Because there are some bad words in this movie and I don't want you to hear them."

"Why not?"
"Because then you'll learn them and say them."
"Oh, only you say those words?"
"No, I don't say them either."
"Then why are you watching the movie?"

Touchè.

Parenting was sure a lot easier when my kids understood less.

Tired buns

2011-06-30T12:56:00.000-06:00

Even at three, Savannah still needs a nap every day. If I don't catch her tired signals in time, she will take matters into her own hands and find some random spot to fall asleep in. I've found her asleep on the floor, her window seat, the kitchen counter, and sometimes even in her bed (shocking). But when I found her passed out and bottom-less on the bathroom floor, I knew she had reached a new level of tired. Apparently putting her underwear and shorts back on after going to the bathroom was just too much effort.

Just for the record, I did get her fully dressed before moving her to a more comfortable napping spot. I'm not that negligent.

There and back again

2011-06-27T17:25:00.000-06:00

At the end of May we took a quick trip to visit family in San Diego. The kids and I drove out first, then Jeff met us a few days later. I was a little nervous about making the drive alone, but my kids are avid movie watchers so a good supply of DVDs kept us well entertained. There was one instance where Savannah needed a bathroom pronto and I wasn't sure we were going to make it, but some quick maneuvering got us to a McDonalds in the nick of time. I am thinking of patenting the awesome pulley system I designed to hand things to Logan in the back seat. I wish I would have taken a picture; it was pure awesomeness. It took us 12 hours to make the typically 10-hour drive, but all things considered it went really well.

While there, we did what we do best: hang out with family. We barbequed, swam, played at the park, watched movies, played games, and enjoyed being with each other. My mom agreed to brave Legoland with me, making Logan's ~~day~~ year. Legos and Star Wars top his list of current obsessions, so the fact that Legoland had a special Star Wars theme going on just about put him in seventh heaven.

The weather was gorgeous in San Diego (usually in May and June it is permanently overcast) and I was able to start my half-marathon training while I was there. Despite the hilly terrain, there isn't much that beats running with ocean views. It was definitely just what the doctor ordered.

Gracie's Gang

2011-06-22T09:58:00.001-06:00

About 2 months ago, Jeff's cousin's daughter, Gracie, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Since then, we have stood together as a family and watched while Gracie, still 4 months shy of her second birthday, has endured the grueling and traumatic first phase of treatment. It has been heartbreaking to watch Gracie suffer things at such a tender age that most adults will never have to endure. Her parents have been incredible through it all; they are amazing examples of faith and peace in the face of adversity. You can read more about Gracie's journey here.

Shortly after Gracie's diagnosis, Jeff's sister and I had the idea to organize a 5K to support Gracie. It has been a bumpy road getting all the approvals and pieces together to make the race official, but now that everything is in place I couldn't be more excited! Now the time has come to petition you, my blogging friends, to come and support Gracie in the Gracie's Gang 5K that will be held on August 13. It will begin at Sharon Park in Orem, UT at 9 am. Here is the link to the registration. Adult runners are $25 and children (12 and under) are $15. We are making some awesome t-shirts so if for no other reason, come run to get a shirt! We want this to be a family friendly race so bring your spouse, push the kids in a stroller, and/or encourage your older kids to run with you!

I have never organized anything this big before, and I really, really want it to be a success. Please, please help our cause and come run with us! You won't regret it!

New do

2011-06-07T16:21:00.002-06:00

Do you see that? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is a pony tail in my 2-month-old baby's hair. I probably could have done this on day one in the hospital, but I've been wary of pulling on her tender head. Finally I couldn't resist the temptation any longer. I had to try, just to see if I could. Turns out I can.

Coming soon: french braids.

Quick trip

2011-06-07T16:02:00.000-06:00

A while back the kids and I tagged along with Jeff while he went to St. George to play in a golf tournament. I love visiting St. George in the Spring; it reminds me what is in store just around the corner. It was a quick trip, but we soaked up the sun every minute that we could. Someone had recommended this splash park downtown. We will definitely make a point to visit again on future trips. We even came back the next day--equipped with swim suits that time--and played again. The icing on the cake was Isabelle, who gave us her first 12-hour night while we were there. Seriously, she is the perfect baby. :)

Friends and tulips

2011-06-07T15:27:00.000-06:00

I have a problem. I have the best intentions to get on here and update my blog, but I can't begin blogging without first reading all of your blogs first. And by the time I get through reading all of your clever/hilarious/informative posts, my time at the computer is up and I have to get on with my day. Yes, I know I could cut back on the 170+ blogs I subscribe to through Google Reader, but instead I'm just going to ask if y'all wouldn't mind holding back on your postings for a few weeks so I can get caught up?

Yeah, I didn't think you would agree to that. Ok, well I'll try to make some progress anyway. Here goes.

Back in April, the kids and I went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point with some of our best buddies. The weather was beautiful (a rarity this Spring) and our timing was perfect. It seemed every tulip in the 55-acre gardens was blooming. We spent almost two hours wandering the grounds and finished off the day with hot mini-donuts. My favorite part was a true-to-scale solar system set up in the middle of the gardens. In case you didn't know, the sun is REALLY BIG. I have never really comprehended how big until I saw it next to the other planets. I have wanted to go to the Tulip Festival since I came to Utah nine years ago, and I'm so glad it didn't disappoint.

Not sure what's with the faces here. Apparently I was the only one having fun.

I have to mention our friends that came with us. I met Jen and her family shortly after moving into our home three years ago. We were both expecting baby girls within weeks of each other, and our boys became immediate playmates. Since then, our kids have played together at least twice a week and are now the best friends a 5- and 2-year-old could hope for. I have Jen to thank for getting me into running, though she is way too much of a superstar for me to ever keep up with her.

In January, Jen's husband left for basic training with the National Guard. In the months that she was alone at home with her kids, I never once heard her complain. She is an amazing example of selflessness, service and endurance. Her husband just returned home and I am so happy for them to be together again.

Isabelle at 2 months

2011-05-15T21:40:00.000-06:00

Two months have passed since our family of four became five. Yet I can hardly remember what life was like before baby Belles was in it. She is such a dream baby, and the fact that she hardly does anything is rather refreshing after a day with the other two. Her gummy smiles make my day, and though she gives them freely it's taken me weeks to get one on camera (see picture below). She sleeps like a champ, and I am a happier mommy now that I can get 7-8 solid hours of sleep at night. (Well, I would get that much sleep if Savannah didn't get up every night.) Her only vice is that she spits up profusely, but I am managing that by keeping a pile of burp cloths near by after a feeding.

Isabelle rarely cries, and when she does she is easily comforted. The only time Isabelle has cried inconsolably since birth was the afternoon of her 2-month checkup. Her shots must have been bothering her, because she screamed for 30 minutes and nothing I did would quiet her. It broke my heart to see her react that way; I have never had a child be so miserable after their immunizations. But true to her good nature, she fell asleep a little while later and woke up happy as could be.

Here are the stats from her checkup:

weight: 12 lbs (81%)

length: 23.5 in (89%)

head circumference: 15.5 in (68%)

personality: perfect!

Perceptions

2011-05-11T12:43:00.002-06:00

Logan brought home an "About My Mom" paper from preschool for Mother's Day. Probably the best Mother's Day gift ever.

About My Mom

How old? 21 [So I was 16 when you were born...]
How tall? 22 ft.
Weight? 22 pounds [I'm flattered.]
Dress size? really big [Scratch that.]
How many brothers and sisters? a lot
Where was she born? San Diego [Correct!]
Favorite food? all the fruits
Favorite TV show? commercials [What?!]
Favorite thing to do? clean up her room [I do enjoy a clean room.]
Best friend? Uncle James [Interesting...]
List a talent? making cookies and presents [I make a mean chocolate chip cookie.]

So there you have it. All you ever wanted to know about me and more. I have a feeling the next several Mother's Days are going to be my favorites. :)

Seriously?

2011-05-05T15:18:00.001-06:00

Savannah is at a very destructive age. Combine that with her natural ability to cause me grief and you get a rough couple of ~~weeks~~ months. In the past few days, she has:

- emptied an entire spray bottle full of water (thank goodness it was only water) in her room, including her bed, play kitchen, carpet and window seat cushion.

- gotten a comb stuck in my hair so badly I had to rip it out, losing several chunks of hair in the process.

- pulled all the clothes out of Isabelle's closet for me to find in various locations throughout the house.

- emptied half a container of baby wipes when I asked her to bring me one.

- filled every sippy cup she owns full of water then left them with lids unscrewed in places where they are likely to be tipped over.

- emptied hotel-sized bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion all over the carpet.

- crumbled an entire loaf of zucchini bread throughout her bedroom and play kitchen.

- colored on herself and her cousin with highlighter.

- stuck one of Logan's legos up her nose.

The last one was a real kicker. She came to me telling me something was wrong with her nose. When I finally though to check if anything was up there, I could see the distinct shape of a lego way up in her nostril. We finally had to take her to our PA neighbor where we pinned her down and extracted the lego with tweezers.

Sometimes I just wish I knew what was going on in that little head of hers.

Blessed

2011-04-27T08:36:00.000-06:00

My parents were in town this weekend for my brother's graduation (congrats, Byron!) so we took advantage of their visit and blessed Isabelle while they were here. It was a busy day, being Easter Sunday, but it seemed appropriate to celebrate this precious new life on Easter. Both of Isabelle's grandfathers, four of her uncles, her great-grandfather, and her father stood in the circle while she was blessed. It was a marvelous gathering of priesthood holders. Her blessing was beautiful as was she.

A word on Isabelle's blessing dress: I had intended to use the dress my mom made for Savannah's blessing. It is in mint condition and I wanted to see it used again. However, my mom had been cleaning out some storage boxes before coming to visit and had found an antique blessing gown. We're not sure whose it is, but it is probably 80+ years old and most likely a family heirloom. It was in fantastic condition so we tried it on Isabelle just to see. It was so beautiful and perfect for our little Belle. It just seemed to fit the old soul that I swear is in her tiny little body. I hope one day to discover whose dress she wore, but for now it is enough to know that Isabelle now has a tie with one of her ancestors.

A photo log of all those who attended Isabelle's blessing:

My family. My whole life I've been told I'm a spitting replica of my dad, but lately I've heard more and more that I look like my mom. What do you think?

Isabelle's Pendleton grandparents

Uncle James and Aunt Katy

Uncle Michael and Aunt Ashley

Yard work

2011-04-26T09:05:00.003-06:00

We have a big yard. It was a major selling point for us when we bought our home. We wanted a place for our kids to play, a place to entertain, a place to have a garden. What I forgot to account for was that a big yard = high maintenance. The first year, we tried to keep it up. The second year, we gave up and let it grow wild. This year, we decided it's time to make it more manageable. We picked a section of our yard that needed to go, then enlisted the help of our families to rip it out. Over a grueling Saturday, almost a third of our backyard went into a dumpster. Rocks, trees, old firewood, bushes, even dirt ended up getting trashed. It is refreshing to have such a large blank canvas to work with-- now we just need to decide what to do with it!

My mom took it upon herself to transplant all the bulbs we ripped out to the front yard. It's amazing what a little color can do to improve the curb appeal of a house. Thanks to everyone who contributed in the back-breaking day!

Super birthday

2011-04-25T13:58:00.003-06:00

After months and months of counting down, Logan finally made it to his 5th birthday. He turned 5 on Tuesday, April 19, and two days later we hosted a birthday party for him. This was the first time I planned and put on a birthday party other than the usual cake-and-ice-cream-with-family celebration. I let Logan pick the theme, guest list, and cake. He chose a superhero theme and I had the idea to make each guest a cape and mask. After I had made the first one, I was questioning whether it was really such a good idea, but I had already bought the supplies so I was committed. It took one late night to get them all finished, but they turned out super cute and were a huge hit at the party.

A few days before his party, I realized I had invited 10 kids over (not including my own) and no adults. Jeff would be at work that day, and I would be on my own. In a panic, I called my brother and sister to see if they could come help. Thankfully, they both were available that day and came to my rescue.

For two hours we fed and entertained the hyper, cape-clad group. The kids decorated their super-emblem and then we played pin the emblem on Mr. Incredible. My amazing sister, Paige, whipped out the drawing during the first 20 minutes of the party. The kids were gathered around her the whole time, fascinated with her artistic creation.

We also played game involving stuffing balloons into oversized clothes to create muscle men. It took a little convincing to find two kids that would let me put Jeff's shirts and pants on them, but everyone was in hysterical giggles by the end of the game.

When they weren't eating or playing games, the kids were chasing my brother, Byron, and attacking him with balloons. I don't know why, but Byron always ends up getting attacked when he is around kids. He's such a good sport.

These two were the real superheroes of the party. Thanks guys, I couldn't have done it without you! (Paige would only pose for this picture if I promised to make a shout out on my blog. No worries Paige, I would have mentioned you anyway!)

Logan at 5 years: 40 lbs (48%), 42.5 inches (68%)

Enjoying every moment

2011-04-20T13:00:00.002-06:00

It's a busy week this week with Logan's birthday, my brother's graduation, Isabelle's blessing, and Easter, but I have to take a moment to blog about my sweet baby. A stranger told me yesterday that looking at Isabelle made her baby hungry, and I thought to myself, "I'm baby hungry-- and I have a baby!"

At 1 month old, Isabelle doesn't do much. She eats, sleeps, gets mauled by her brother and sister, and spits up. A lot. Her eyes are definitively blue, but her hair hasn't shown any sign of lightening. Speaking of hair, Izzy's locks are her defining feature. Nearly everyone who meets her says the same thing: "Look at all that hair!" She has enough hair that I can actually put hair clips in it, and not just the itty bitty clips, either. We're talking full size bows and flowers. I could probably even manage a tiny ponytail, but I haven't tried it yet. Savannah loves Isabelle's hair and is always telling me, "Her hair's so squishy, huh?!" She reminds me of the little girl in Despicable Me who declares her unicorn is "so fluffy!"

I don't know what it is about this third baby, but I have really enjoyed every moment. Maybe it's the noise and chaos that comes with the other two that makes me appreciate the peaceful nature of a newborn. Anytime I can, I sneak away to a quiet corner and spend some time with just me and my baby. I could cuddle her forever. Don't grow up too fast, Isabelle.

Projects

2011-04-06T12:05:00.000-06:00

My parents left to go home on Monday. My dad had only been here for a week, but my mom had stayed for over three weeks. I can honestly say it has never been so hard to say goodbye. (And they'll be back in two weeks for my brother's graduation!) My mom was so much help while she was here and I loved having so much 1-on-1 time with her. The month or so before she came (before Isabelle was born), I was super-nesting. I like to think I was making up for the inability to nest with the other two kids since we moved the weeks of their births. Both Logan and Savannah moved into new rooms, and the nursery needed some sprucing up. I had a list a mile long of things to get done before the baby came, but I only accomplished about a third of it. That's when my mom showed up.

My mom is the best project-finisher in the world. She seems to have never-ending energy when it comes to projects, and she never cuts corners so the finished product is always perfect. For the three weeks she was here, I ~~helped~~ watched while she finished every item on my list. I still have a few things left to do in the kids rooms (like decide what to hang on the walls) so I can't post pictures of the rooms in their entirety yet, but here are some glimpses of all the things my mom made while she was here.

1. Kitchen curtains

2. Matching valance (this wasn't even on my list! She just whipped it up out of extra material.)

3. Valance for Savannah's room

4. Window seat cushion

5. & 6. Quilt and dust ruffle

7. Pillows

8. More pillows

9. Valance for Isabelle's room

10. Recovered chair for Isabelle's room

And all that doesn't include the day of yard work when she gave the front of my house a facelift. (More on that later.) I am seriously in awe of all she did. It would have taken me months to accomplish half of what she did in a few weeks, and then the quality would have been seriously lacking. And lest you think she is only a minor miracle worker, let me add that she also single handedly took care of my older two children the whole time, allowing me to focus on Isabelle. This included waking up early with them and letting me sleep in, feeding them, dressing them, getting Logan off to preschool on time, helping Logan with his reading homework, doing Savannah's hair (no small feat), grocery shopping, and even letting them sleep in her bed when they woke up in the middle of the night. If I can only be half the mom she is...

But let's not forget my dad. He was able to spend the first week of his spring break with us, during which he and Logan bonded over Angry Birds. The iPad hardly left my dad's hands the whole time he was here, and he was kind enough to alternate turns with Logan on each level.

Thanks for everything, Mom and Dad! We miss you already!

Going green

2011-03-29T13:09:00.000-06:00

Having Logan in preschool this year has really put a kink in my never-tell-my-kids-about-holidays-so-I-don't-have-to-do-anything-for-them plan. Each day he comes home from school bursting with information about Halloween/Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years/Valentine's Day/fill in the holiday here. I should have known I was in trouble when a few days before St. Patrick's Day, Logan wouldn't wear his green pants because he was "saving them." Sure enough, on March 17th Logan came upstairs dressed in green pants, a green shirt, and a green jacket. After school he insisted on a green lunch, and since breakfast was overlooked, he helped me make green pancakes and eggs for dinner. We also made green sugar cookies for him to take to preschool as the class snack that day. My favorite part was watching Jeff and Logan debate the existence of leprechauns over dinner. Jeff finds such joy in bringing out Logan's passions. :) I was pretty greened out by the end of the day, but I'll admit it was fun watching Logan experience such a simple holiday for the first time.

Reuniting

2011-03-27T12:20:00.000-06:00

Last month we held our first ever Pendleton reunion. We went to a cabin near Heber and stayed for a long weekend. There we did what we do best - eat and play! We Pendletons have a real weakness for snack foods. So each evening we would break out the treats and games and play until all hours of the morning. One night we played Fear Factor. I'll confess I was dreading this game as the show has always made my stomach turn. The first round involved lots of gross foods. There were:

lemons

"dog food"

jalapenos

"pig's blood"

and lots of funny faces!

Another round involved standing in a bucket of ice water while fishing out marbles with your toes, but in my opinion the final round was the worst. Someone on your team had to reach into a bowl full of crickets, pull out stickers, then run over and put the stickers on their teammate! I was grossed out just touching the stickers that had been in the bowl, much less putting my hand in there! Ugh!

Our days were spent playing in the snow, playing on the Wii, or swimming in the hot tub. Logan preferred the Wii, while Savannah loved the hot tub, but both LOVED playing in the snow. They would play outside for hours with their cousins, never getting sick of it. You'd think they'd never seen snow before!

I love how Jeff and Logan have the same facial expressions in both of these pictures. Like father, like son.

I couldn't believe how brave my kids were when it came to sledding. They would go down any hill by themselves without any hesitation. Logan even strapped on his cousin's snowboard and came down the driveway on it. When they got tired of sledding, the "big boys" came out and helped them build a snow cave. I don't know who was more proud of the cave, the grandkids or grandpa. :)

Some of the other reunion highlights were:

Our cooking and cleanup assignments. Who knew dishes could be so much fun?

Singing songs together.

Listening to Grandma Smith tell memories of her early years.

All of us receiving the much fought over "golden child" award.

Thanks, Amy and Joe, for a great reunion! We had so much fun and can't wait to do it again in two years. We're in charge next, so if anyone has some good ideas of where to go I'd love to hear them!

The name

2011-03-18T14:15:00.002-06:00

I can't believe my baby is already a week old. The first few days fly by so quickly. Already she is more alert, reminding me how fleeting this time is. Before long she will be smiling, laughing, crawling, and doing other blogworthy things, but for now I want to share the story of how we chose Isabelle's name. It was a long and sometimes torturous process-- one that deserves sharing.

Jeff and I have a policy that we won't name our children until we've seen them. We don't call them by name in the womb, and we don't commit to a single name until our babe is in arms. With the first two, however, we were able to narrow it down to two names pretty quickly. Once we saw our babies, one name seemed to fit better than the other, and voila! Our children had names.

With Isabelle, it was not so easy. For months we deliberated, adding names to the list, taking them off a few days later, then adding them back weeks after that. Our list was long--at least 10 names at any given time--and none were standing out as real winners. With a month left before my due date, two names came to the surface, but neither felt right.

When Isabelle was born, I took one look at her and realized we could name her anything. It wasn't a matter of finding the right name, it was just a matter of choosing a name. It didn't matter what we named her, but she needed a name. Several hours after her birth, Jeff and I sat in the recovery room going over our name list one more time. We went back and forth between our top two names, but then Jeff threw in a wild card: Isabella. It wasn't totally out of the blue--it was our backup name for Savannah--but I had long ago discarded it because it ranked number 2 on the 100 most popular names of 2010.

I sat for a long time thinking about the name Isabella. Could I do that to my child? Could I give her a name that every third little girl will have? Could I doom her to a life of being called Isabella P.? Could I name her after the trendiest vampire character of the decade? But I did love the name, more than any other we had come up with thus far. So after much discussion and agony (at least from me, I don't think Jeff agonized much), we compromised. We'd name her Isabelle instead of Isabella. It only ranked 36 on the list of 2010 names (I know-- still pretty popular) and besides, it sounded better with our preferred middle name: Kate.

And so I did something I swore I'd never do: I followed the fad. Already I've noticed that every time I tell someone her name, they feel inclined to tell me about their daughter/granddaughter/friend/little girl in Primary who also is named Isabelle, or some variation of Isabelle. I find myself calling her Belle more and more often, just to give her a chance of being unique in the world of Isabelles, Isabellas and Bellas.

Now that I've had some time to get used to it, Isabelle Kate is just perfect for our little monkey. She is the sweetest newborn I could ask for, and I love that she has a sweet name to match. Now I just hope and pray that if another baby is in our future, it will be a boy so we don't have to come up with another girl's name.

Isabelle's arrival

2011-03-15T16:05:00.000-06:00

Each pregnancy I think to myself, "Maybe this time I won't schedule an induction. Maybe I'll wait and see if I go into labor on my own." I think this all the way up until 36 weeks or so. And then I can't schedule a date soon enough.

With this pregnancy, the last few weeks were especially uncomfortable, so I began taking measures to try and induce my own labor. I walked, I took the steps two at a time, I deep cleaned my house-- I really tried everything short of castor oil, but aside from one night of really strong contractions that eventually went away, my body refused to cooperate. And so on March 10, two days shy of my due date, we drove to the hospital for an elective induction.

The morning went as follows:
5:20 am - Can't sleep anymore so I call the hospital to check if they will be able to fit me in. They say I can come at 6. Hooray!
6:15 - Jeff and I leave the kids at home with my sister and drowsily make the 5 minute drive to the hospital. Realize we are pathetic for not being able to make it on time.
6:20 - I am admitted and set up in a delivery room.
6:40 - The nurse picks up an irregular heart rate from baby. Every so often her heart would beat a bit early, sounding like a gallop. At this point I am dilated 4 cm.
7:00 - Start the pitocin. Bring it on.

8:15 - My doctor arrives and breaks my water. He attaches a fetal monitor to the baby's head to track her heartbeat. He's only mildly concerned about her arrhythmia and expects it will resolve itself with the baby's first breath, but calls for a pediatric cardiologist to be in the room at delivery.

8:45 - Epidural. Oh happy day! I am dilated to 5 cm.
9:15 - Jeff turns on ESPN to track basketball coverage. I start feeling queasy. Coincidence?
10:00 - Still only dilated 5 cm. I begin to worry how long I might be in labor. The nurse ups the pitocin dose.
10:30 - Nurse checks and finds I am completely dilated! Wahoo! My doctor, however, is at another hospital delivering another baby, so the nurse tells me to "try hard to rest and let the baby descend." Jeff thinks this is hilarious for some reason. Something about how I need to work hard to rest.
11:20 - My doctor arrives and I begin pushing.
11:42 - Baby is here!

I found I was much more composed and involved with this delivery than I had been with the other two. I could anticipate what was going to happen next and watch for it. I was able to witness the moment when my stomach "deflated," and I made sure I was positioned so I could see my baby even before she was all the way out. (Too much information? Sorry.) The nursery staff cleaned her up quickly, checked her heartbeat (still irregular), and weighed her. I have now delivered three babies with three different doctors, and each has waited around to see what they weigh. I am actually starting to get a little bothered by all the comments from hospital staff about how big my babies are. Even big newborns are still small, and since I just pushed that thing through my birth canal, I'd rather not dwell on the size right away. Is that so much to ask? :)

Still, I am pretty proud of my big babies. I thought this would be my biggest yet, but at 9 lbs 5 oz, she was 1 oz short of Savannah's birth weight. I got to spend the first blissful hour with her in my arms before the nursery came to clean her up just as the BYU game started. Perfect timing. (Note to self: don't have babies in March unless you want to spend your entire hospital stay watching basketball.)

The rest of our time at the hospital was uneventful. We spent the first afternoon picking a name (we really struggled to name this baby - more on that later) and finally came up with Isabelle Kate. Isabelle had lots of visitors her first day which helped the time pass quickly for me. I let the nursery take her for the night but still slept restlessly. The next day was loooong. I would have gone home after 24 hours, but our supplementary insurance required a 48 hour stay. As evidence of how bored we were, we spent a couple hours making a lifetime financial plan with everything from the monthly budget clear through retirement.

Saturday morning we packed up and came home. Today Isabelle is 5 days old and I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Logan and Savannah adore Isabelle and I feel as though she has always been a part of our family. I am so grateful for her safe and healthy arrival. At the doctor yesterday her heart sounded completely normal, so now she is 100% perfect and can't wait to meet all of you!

This is the best family picture we got. My kids are so silly, but at the same time it's so them.

Special delivery

2011-03-12T15:15:00.000-07:00

She's here! Isabelle Kate joined our family on March 10. She fell just short of the family record but still impressed the delivery staff at 9 lbs 5 oz. Isabelle and I came home this morning and are enjoying a few hours of peace before the other kids come back from Grandma and Grandpa's. I'll post details of her delivery soon, but for now, I'm going to go kiss those squishy cheeks.

Jeff

2011-03-10T10:10:00.002-07:00

I am writing this post while I lay in a hospital bed, awaiting the arrival of our baby girl. Normally I would save blog posts for after delivery, but I couldn't spotlight each member of my family and not include a post about Jeff. After all, he will be the most neglected after the baby comes, so he deserves the most attention now.

The other day I was listening to the song Lucky on the radio. I realized how lucky I am "to be in love with my best friend," as the song says. I have many dear friends, but none can make me feel as comfortable, loved, and entertained as Jeff can. Lately he's been working really long hours, and I find myself missing the time we usually share in the evenings.

Jeff is a great dad. He sometimes complains about kids in general, but I know it's just a front. He adores our children, and they worship him. When he gets home early enough to play before bedtime, our house is full of giggles and yelps as he chases them around the house. I know he must be exhausted from a long day of work, but he's never too tired for a round of hide 'n go seek.

Jeff never misses an opportunity to teach our children, even if the subject is a little mature or over their heads. For Family Home Evening this week, he caught me off guard by stating, "Tonight we are going to talk about the birds and the bees." He then proceeded to tell them how babies are made ("When a mommy and daddy love each other...") and ended with the schedule for the next few days, including when they would get to meet their new sister. Throughout the whole lesson, Logan kept asking when we were going to talk about the birds and the bees. Finally Jeff gave in and they had a quick conversation about hummingbirds and honey bees.

I'd write more but my phone is hardly a word processing device. We are so lucky to have Jeff as a husband/father, and I am exited to have him once again welcome his little princess into this world (hopefully in the next few hours)!

Logan

2011-03-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Savannah had her post last week, so this post is dedicated to Logan.

It seems like you hear a lot about the terrible twos, or the horrible threes, but no one says much about the fours. Maybe because that's the point at which things start getting better/easier. I have loved having a four-year-old. The tantrums and stubborn fits have started fading out, and in their place I find a willing, capable boy who learns to do something new for himself everyday. He recently moved into the basement to make room for the baby, and I was surprised at how smoothly he transitioned. I was nervous that he wouldn't like being so far away from us, but it was his idea to move and I think he likes the independence.

Despite his initial disappointment at not getting a brother, Logan is eager and excited for his new baby sister. For months he has been asking me when she is coming, and I've always told him, "Not until March." Last week I picked him up from preschool and he came running to the car. "Guess what, Mom! It's March! March 1! So is our new baby coming today?" I think he is as ready for this baby as I am! He surprised us the other day when Jeff asked him if he knew where baby sister was. He quickly pointed to my stomach, then said, "She's in Mommy's tummy, but her spirit is in Heaven." We then had a quick lesson about spirits and bodies, during which Logan knew most of the answers before we could ask the questions. Thank goodness for good Primary teachers!

Logan loves watching shows and playing games with the adults. He has been an avid American Idol fan for some time now. I didn't fully realize how much he was absorbing until I found him playing "top 20" with his cars and trains. He had separated his toys into a boy pile and a girl pile. Then he would take them two at a time and announce them: "Here we have Thomas the Train and a red car. The person moving on is... Thomas!"

As Logan gets older, he is becoming more inquisitive and manipulative. He is constantly asking me what a word means or how to spell something. I try not to get burned out too quickly, but sometimes I have to tell him I'll explain it to him later. It's exhausting trying to keep up with his curiosity! He has also developed a bad habit of blaming others for all his shortcomings. At first it was just his animals ("I didn't hit her, the doggie did!"), then it was his sister ("Savannah bumped me and that's why I spilled the milk.") and now it has extended to his parents ("Mom, you forgot to get me my pajamas so I can't put them on!"). We are working on getting him to take accountability for his own actions. :)

I can't wait for Logan to start Kindergarten in the fall, and not just because of the 3 hours each day I will be down one kid. He has loved preschool and thrives on the things he learns there. As much as I love sweet babies and chubby toddlers, I really think I will enjoy the next 10 years of child-rearing the most. Logan has given me a glimpse into the future, and I like what I see there.

Savannah

2011-03-03T14:40:00.002-07:00

A false alarm the other day made me realize how little time I have before my life is consumed with diapers, feedings, burping, and cute pink baby buns. Although at times I wish the next 7 days would pass in an instant, other times I find myself clinging to these precious moments. Today, while Logan was at preschool, I took a few minutes to cuddle and laugh with Savannah. In an effort to savor the moment, this post is dedicated to her.

Savannah has a fiery spirit. It is the source of her tantrums and stubbornness, but it also gives her passion and vivacity. She coddles her baby dolls with tenderness, but also disciplines them with a firm hand. She throws fits in the middle of the night that are exhausting, yet wakes up at 7 am as though she's had the best night's rest ever. When things are going her way, she can be the sweetest little girl in the world. But when things don't go her way... watch out.

On a recent trip to a cabin, Savannah discovered a love for hot tubs. She is more of a fish than Logan by a long shot, so it shouldn't have surprised me that this was one of her favorite activities. She is also an avid singer. She knows the words to nearly every song on my iPod playlist, and sings them at the top of her lungs whenever I have it playing. While driving in the car she will pick up on the chorus of a song and start singing along, even if she's never heard it before. When she's serious about a song, she'll close one eye halfway and tilt her chin up.

Savannah's hair is getting so long-- in many ways it is the length of her hair that reminds me how old she is getting more than anything else. We call it "Rapunzel hair" because it is long and golden and magical (at least that's what we tell her) and I have an aversion to cutting it. I love coming up with new ways to style her hair, but she hates having her hair done. On the flip side, she likes brushing my hair, which is fine by me. When I'm working at the computer, she'll get the hairbrush and stand on the chair behind me, "hmm"-ing to herself while deciding what to do.

Savannah loves snow. She loves sledding and braved hills by herself that I would never have dreamed sending her down. Her snow clothes are all too small this year and so she would end up with snow down her boots by the end of the day, but still she was happy as a clam.

Despite her passions, Savannah is still my little darling. She is never too busy to give me a hug, and she loves to be held and cuddled. Lately, I've had to tell her I can't hold her because the baby in my tummy is getting too big. She takes this in stride, and tells me frequently that "I can't hold you because baby in your tummy, but I can hold Daddy!" (She still gets her subjects and objects mixed up.) The other day I told her the baby was coming soon, and she said, "Wahoo! Then I can hold you!"

Savannah is a dutiful little sister. She loves playing with Logan and will go along with just about any game he comes up with. I am sure she will be a good big sister, too, if we can just make it through the first year in once piece. To me she is still my baby, as I think all a mother's children always are. I love her just as she is and think she will be a fun one to have around as she gets older.

Remembering to be grateful

2011-02-23T10:39:00.001-07:00

A lesson at church last week on service reminded me of an experience I had several years ago. It happened before I had started blogging, and I don't think I've ever recorded it elsewhere. The details are blurry, but I want to document it before I forget altogether.

When Logan was about 8 months old, he came down with something (can't remember exactly what) and I needed to take him to the doctor. My car was in the shop, but the doctor's office was just across the street so I figured I could walk. In theory, that should have been fine, but (a) it was the middle of winter and had started to snow that morning, and (b) the street I had to cross was a four-lane highway. Nevertheless, I bundled us up and started the short walk. Instead of cutting straight across the street, I headed up towards the nearest traffic light so I could use the crosswalk. As I got closer, however, I realized there was no crosswalk at that light. I began to panic a little bit, wondering how I was going to dart across the busy highway while holding my not-so-little baby without slipping on the fresh snow. I thought about turning back, but just then a car pulled over with an older couple in it. They asked where I was going and offered to take me there. Gratefully, I climbed into their back seat with Logan on my lap, and they safely delivered us to the doctor's office.

Had that been all, I would have had plenty of reason to be grateful for the kindness of strangers and the love of a watchful Heavenly Father, but it doesn't end there. A few weeks later I related this story in Relief Society (a church meeting), more as an example of my own stupidity and recklessness than anything else. After that meeting, one of my friends approached me and said that she had seen me walking on the sidewalk that day. Concerned, she turned around as soon as she could to come back and pick me up, but by the time she got there I was gone. I was touched by her thoughtfulness, and once again reminded that Heavenly Father knows our needs. A day or two later, I received a phone call from another friend who had heard my story in Relief Society. She asked when it was that I had been stranded in the snow, and when I told her, she related that she had felt that she needed to call me that day. I hung up with her and sat for several minutes, overwhelmed with gratitude.

I knew this was the hand of the Lord in my life, but I couldn't believe how many people He had sent to help me. Friends, neighbors, strangers... He made sure there were enough that I would not be left alone that day. That day I saw a tiny glimpse of the immeasurable love He has for each of us. He does not leave a job half done, and nothing goes unnoticed in His eyes.

Logan and I, January 2007

And they just keep coming...

2011-02-10T15:12:00.000-07:00

I honestly am not trying to make every post revolve around my pregnant self, but my being large with child seems to be the source of a lot of amusement for my family. I don't mind being the source of the joke, as long as I get to post it here and share it with all of you.

Savannah is always trying to get something or get out of something. She has mastered the art of manipulation, and she pretty much gets everything she wants because of it. So yesterday, when Jeff asked her to take some toys to her room, we shouldn't have been surprised when she put her hands on her hips and said,

"Ugh! I can't! They're too heavy and I have a baby in my tummy!"

Then she stuck her stomach out and patted it with her hands, showing us the "baby" that was preventing her from carrying her toys. We stared at her in disbelief, amazed that she had stooped so low as to steal my line. Then we laughed for a good two minutes, at least, which only encouraged her to ham it up even more.

You know what the craziest part is? I can't remember for sure, but I don't think she ever did take those toys to her room.

And if that didn't make you smile, here's a picture Logan drew of me today. Notice the circle on my stomach. I'll give you one guess...

I don't know what the goatee thing is on my chin. I promise I am not growing facial hair.

Lonely Logan

2011-02-08T17:25:00.000-07:00

I've reached the point in my pregnancy where I am too uncomfortable and have too little energy to do much of anything, and some days I just give in. Today was one of those days. When Savannah fell asleep after lunch, I spread myself across the couch and prepared for a nap of my own. Logan, however, had other plans. Immediately he was in my face, asking if I could get the markers down, or if I would print a paper for him, or if he could play games on the computer, or if I would get him a snack, or.... you get the idea. Since getting up from the couch was exhausting just to think about, I told him I was tired and not feeling well and he would have to just find something to do that didn't need my help.

Then I fell asleep. An hour or so later, I woke up to some talking in the kitchen. I dragged myself up from the couch to find Logan playing Go Fish on the kitchen table with an invisible man. He had the invisible man's cards laid out across from him, and every so often, he would ask, "Invisible man, do you have any stars/moons/diamonds?" If I didn't know better, I would think he was trying to make me feel guilty for abandoning him with no one to play with but imaginary friends. But Logan, bless his tiny heart, thought it was a great game and was genuinely trying to entertained himself so I could rest.

Thanks, sweet boy.

To laugh or cry? That is the question...

2011-01-25T21:45:00.002-07:00

I could have a whole blog dedicated just to the funny things Logan says. Here's another good one.

The other morning Logan woke me up to tell me he was hungry and would like some breakfast. I groggily rolled over to face him, causing the covers to slip back just enough to reveal my swollen belly (the belly that my PJs don't exactly cover anymore). Logan gasped, then said loudly,

"Mom! I see your HUGE BODY!"

You would have thought I had just turned into a green hairy monster, the way he reacted. In response, I rolled back over and told him to go get his own breakfast.

Sometimes

2011-01-24T09:49:00.000-07:00

"You're a good mom," Logan told me the other day. I was really surprised and flattered, as my children are not the complimentary type.

"Really?" I asked him, warmed to the core by my sweet boy.

"Well, sometimes. Like when you don't get mad and yell at us." And there goes the sweetness.

Oh well, at least I'm a good mom sometimes.

It's what's for dinner

2011-01-18T12:40:00.001-07:00

We brought home a cow last week. Well, half a cow, technically.

353 pounds of beef. I still am a little bit in awe every time I open our freezer.

In those 353 pounds, we have 15 roasts, 80 steaks, and 87 lbs of ground beef. I figure that means that each month we will eat 1 or 2 roasts, have steaks 2 or 3 times, and go through 7-8 lbs of ground beef.

Thank you Bessie, or whatever your name was. It's going to be a good year for beef.

Sorry to all you vegetarians out there. But this right here is what it's all about. Mmm...

More than meets the eye

2011-01-18T11:31:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I took Logan to Target to spend his Christmas money. He chose Battle Blade Bumblebee, a Transformer. He wanted a "good" Transformer (Autobot) so that it could fight the "bad" Transformer (Decepticon) his grandma had bought for him while we were in California. While in the store, I noticed that Transformer toys have ratings telling you how difficult they are to manipulate from their vehicle stage to robot stage. The Decepticon Logan already had was rated "easy." Battle Blade Bumblebee was rated "advanced." I didn't think too much of it and it was a pretty cool looking toy so I let him buy it, despite the package rating.

24 hours later I have transformed and retransformed Bumblebee at least 10 times, and though it gets a little easier each time, it still takes me at least 15 minutes. The first time I had to find a video on You Tube showing me how to do it because the instructions weren't making sense. I know Logan won't figure it out on his own since even I struggle to maneuver the pieces in the right way, so I have now committed myself to being available whenever Logan wants to transform his Transformer. I can't blame anyone but myself, but I have to wonder, what was I thinking?

Somewhere warmer

2011-01-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

As my birthday present this year, Jeff arranged for the kids and me to spend 10 days in San Diego at my parents' house. It was a wonderful, relaxing, carefree trip. We had no specific plans, we just decided what to do each day as it came. Truthfully, most of the time we just hung out at the house, working on projects or reading. All of my other siblings were either back at school or out of town, so we didn't even have to share Grandma and Grandpa. It was bliss and just what I needed.

It was cold for San Diego in January, but pleasant compares to what we left behind. So even though it wasn't swim suit weather, we spent one afternoon at the beach and had a blast.

This is the best picture you are going to get of me for the next two months.

We also visited the Mormon Battalion Visitor's center with my brother, Dustin, and his wife, Ashley. We had a couple of potty incidents with Savannah while we were there, one of which involved poop on the sidewalk, but I'll have to save that story for another time.

One night we tried our hand at crab bisque. I don't think we'll be making it again, but it was definitely an adventure working with whole crabs.

This was the sunset one evening looking out from my parents' balcony. Although I don't know if I'll ever make it back to San Diego to live, it sure is nice to have family there to visit!

Questions

2011-01-14T10:11:00.000-07:00

Logan has been very interested and curious about our new baby. It is fun to have a child that is old enough to share our anticipation and excitement, but I knew that one day I would have to answer the question every parent dreads. With less than two months to go, I thought I might have avoided it altogether, but yesterday, out of the blue, I was sideswiped.

Logan: Mom, how did baby sister get in your tummy?
Me: Um, well, uh... I have lots of eggs inside of me, and sometimes one of them grows into a baby.
Savannah: [interrupting in a scolding voice] No, Mommy! You no have eggs in a basket!
Logan: [ignoring Savannah] You have eggs?
Me: [worried that I have dug myself in a hole] Well, not eggs like we eat. They don't have a shell. They are special eggs that grow into babies.
Logan: Oh. [short pause] Did you know hot lava comes out of volcanoes?

I have never been so grateful for the short attention span of a 4-year-old in my life. Now if I could just find a good answer for the "How will the baby come out?" question.

Christmas and more

2011-01-10T11:18:00.001-07:00

It seems like I haven't had much to blog about lately (hence the scarcity of posts) but right now I feel like I have too much to blog about! I'll get to it all eventually, but for now I really need to get a post about Christmas up before I forget everything we did.

We stayed in Utah for Christmas this year, and though we initially weren't expecting them, last minute the Katschkes (Jeff's sister) were able to make a quick visit. They made it into town the afternoon of the 23rd, and that night we hired a set of babysitters to watch our 7 kids so we could all go to the temple together. It was the perfect way to get in the Christmas spirit, and I couldn't think of a place I'd rather be with family. Later we were able to relax, play games, and sing Christmas carols at the piano. Being with family is my favorite part of Christmas, so I really loved this special day.

For Christmas Eve, we loaded up the car and spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa Pendleton's house. Logan loved everything about Christmas this year, especially Santa. We ended up going to see Santa 5 times this year (most of which were unplanned) so Logan had lots of opportunities to tell him what he would like for Christmas.

Logan was very concerned that Grandma and Grandpa didn't have a fireplace, but we explained to him that Santa was magic and would find a way in. Here is Logan's letter to Santa and Santa's letter back.

Christmas morning I was having trouble getting comfortable (baby is getting big!) and my tossing and turning was driving Jeff nuts. So at 7 am he got up and sat on Logan trying to wake him up. By 7:15 we were all upstairs ready to open presents. The theme this year was electronics; Jeff got an electric toothbrush, Grandpa and I each got a new phone, Logan got lots of movies, Savannah got a Tag Reader, and even my niece Avery got a laptop! Logan's favorite gifts were his Woody and Buzz action figures while Savannah's was her set of Disney princess dolls. I do have to admit, though, that Logan's best reaction ("You've got to be kidding me!") was to a coloring book. Hmmm.

Later that afternoon, Jeff and Grandpa took the kids sledding in the backyard. They had a lot of fun but were out and back before I could come out to take some pictures. I guess the stamina of 2- and 4-year-olds just doesn't amount to much.

The Monday after Christmas we had a family Christmas party full of food, games, and more presents.

The highlight of the evening was a series of Minute to Win It games. Among others, we played:

Bounce the pencil into the jar.

Roll the whiffle ball down the measuring tape into the cup.

Get the cookie from your forehead to your mouth without your hands.

Balance the candy canes on the line.

It was a magical and family-filled Christmas, just the way I like it!

Greeting cards have all been sent...

2010-12-22T14:47:00.001-07:00

and here is your digital copy. Enjoy!

Caroling

2010-12-15T10:55:00.001-07:00

Logan has really loved getting in the Christmas spirit this year. He especially loves Christmas carols and sings them constantly. When he comes to a part where he's not really sure what the words are, he makes his best guess. Some of his interpretations crack me up.

Jingle Bells:
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Ooh-ma-ha it is to ride one hope sleigh.

Angels We Have Heard on High
Glo-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-re-ah. Let no beanie yang-ya. [This actually changes every time he sings it.]

Drummer Boy
They told me rum-pu-pu-pum. They told baby Jesus rum-pu-pu-pum. Mary came to find Jesus rum-pu-pum.

He and Savannah also love singing "When Christmas Comes to Town" from The Polar Express (first song in our playlist). But they don't have to make up any words to that one. They've watched the movie enough times in the last month to have memorized every word.

Babies don't really need names, right?

2010-12-08T17:01:00.001-07:00

Growing up, I always dreamed of the day I would have a baby to name. There were so many fun and unique names that the only hard part would be narrowing it down. What I forgot to anticipate is that in order to have a baby I would also have a HUSBAND who would share in the naming process. And that said husband would have a VERY STRONG OPINION on what we would name our baby (babies). Which is fine, since I also have a strong opinion about it. It would just be nice if our opinions matched every once in a while.

Naming our children is a 9-month ordeal. From the positive pregnancy test until the blank birth certificate is in my hand, I stress and worry and contemplate what we could possibly name this child. And even if I were to find a name I loved on day 2 of the pregnancy, by the time of delivery I would have changed my mind 30 times over. I have poured over baby name websites and even downloaded a 50,000 baby names app for our iPad. I'm pretty sure I have read every single one of those 50,000 names (well, at least the 25,000 girl names) and I don't feel any closer to naming this child than when we started. 90% of the names I suggest, Jeff shoots down immediately. And I shoot down his suggestions likewise. The other 10% sits on the list for awhile, but ultimately they have all ended up in the discard pile for one reason or another.

Today I remembered how a friend had opened up her naming struggles to her blog followers several years ago. Out of curiosity, I found the original post and checked the comments to see if she had picked one of the names suggested. Sure enough, the name of her son was included in one of the comments at the bottom! So, out of hope and desperation, I would like to try the same thing. Here are some guidelines to get started, although nothing is really out of scope at this point.

1. We like names with some substance, and are not afraid of long names that will most likely be shortened.
2. No weird spellings.
3. Can't start with a "P." (Would you give your child the initials of PP?)
4. Nothing on the top 10 list. But also nothing so unusual you don't know how to pronounce it.

That's about it. Should be easy, right? Maybe you can accomplish something I have failed at for over 2 months now. My baby counter is now in the double digits (94 days and counting) so it would be nice to have a few solid options within the next month.

Here's a totally unrelated picture I took for a project I'm working on of the two kids we have successfully named. Gotta love toddler hands.

1991

2010-12-02T09:40:00.003-07:00

I came across this picture of my family from 1991. Nearly 20 years later, as a family we have produced:

1. six high school graduates

2. three (almost four) college graduates with two more on track

3. four full-time missions

4. three spouses

5. five (almost six) grandchildren

and that's just the kids. My parents' accomplishments include multiple business start-ups, six houses, back-to-school for my dad (who already had a doctorate), trips around the world, and FINALLY becoming legitimate empty nesters.

Nice work, family. Here's to 20 more years.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

My family was here for the week of Thanksgiving and the only picture I took the whole time was this:

I guess you can tell where my priorities lie. :-)

We really did have a fun filled week, and if anything, my lack of pictures are proof of that. The more fun we have, the less I think to pull out my camera. It was especially fun to see my brother Dustin and his wife. They are so busy that any time we get with this is special. Dustin is an illustrator so Logan was in heaven with all the drawings he commissioned Dustin to make for him. The truffle picture above is one of Ashley's creations. I asked if she would teach us to make them while she was here. I can't wait to make another batch; these didn't last more than 3 days.

Thanksgiving itself was a bit of a whirlwind. We bought tickets to a 4 o'clock movie thinking we would be finished eating in plenty of time. As usually happens, the turkey took a little bit longer to cook than expected and when we finally sat down we had 15 minutes before we needed to leave. The first group headed to the movie while Ashley and I stayed behind to let a pie finish baking. I think we must have broken a record for the fastest clean-up ever! Between the two of us, we put all the food away, washed all the dishes, cleared the table, had the dishwasher running, finished baking a pumpkin pie, and still made it to the movie before the previews had ended. Amazing!

Among other things, we visited lots of family, did some shopping (of course), saw the lights at Temple Square, played games, made caramels, and stayed up way too late every night. It was a great week and I was sad when everyone left.

I lied. I took one more picture. Logan needed to dress up like an Indian or pilgrim for his Preschool Thanksgiving dinner. We improvised last minute and made him a paper bag Indian vest. He decorated the vest and feathers himself. I think he makes a pretty cute Indian.

Wood

2010-11-29T11:39:00.001-07:00

Ever since we moved in to our house two and a half years ago, I have been wanting to update the flooring. I love the look of hard wood and have dreamed of putting it in, but other projects took priority and we have had to be content with our worn, stained carpet. My living room has always been a sore spot, which drives me nuts because it's the first room you see when you come into our house. Even the wall color (which I had picked and painted) was just not doing it for me.

The stains in the entry and hallway were especially bad. I also hated the peel-and-stick laminate entry.

Our kitchen floor was no better. It never came all the way clean, and I felt that the transition from carpet to vinyl was making our house feel more segregated than it already is.

Well, after months of complaining, Jeff finally told me to save the money and do it. Two weeks ago we finally had enough saved up and the demolition began. It made a huge, HUGE mess (so glad we decided to hire it out!) but I LOVE the results. The wood we picked has a slight sheen to it that the camera can't capture, so you're just going to have to come visit to get the full effect.

The green walls of the living room looked even worse with the new floors, so we quickly repainted to a neutral brown.

Side story: see those flowers on the fireplace? Well, when we got the quote for the floor it was a little bit more than we had saved. I started scavenging for anything we could sell on KSL to make up the difference. One of those thing was our Wii. The guy that bought it took a little longer to pick it up than he had originally told me. He felt bad and wanted to thank me for holding it for him, so he brought me flowers (apparently he works for a florist). It was a little weird and creepy, but the flowers were really pretty so I got over the weird part.

No more stains or ugly transitions! One room flows into the next.

Stupid entryway is gone. Even though it was a small area, the room feels bigger and more open now.

We painted the kitchen, too, and I love it now. Next on my project list is to paint the railing the same color as the cabinets. Oh, and to replace the counter tops. And maybe get a new sink and appliances. And... you get the picture.

Here is a closeup of the wood. I wanted something with a lot of variation in color and texture. I tried really hard to adjust the color in Photoshop but it still looks orange in this picture. Like I said, you'll just have to come see it in person to really appreciate it.

Remembering

2010-11-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

In the few minutes before I got out of bed this morning I remembered an experience I had in college that eight years later still makes me pause and appreciate all I have. It was a few months into my freshman year. I loved school, I loved being on my own, and, truthfully, I was having too much fun to miss home very much. Then one weekend I caught the flu. It was just the 24 hour stuff, but it knocked me out pretty good. I spent a whole day stuck between bed and the bathroom, and for the first time since I'd moved out I really wished I were home. I called my mom and she offered sympathy and remedies, but at 700 miles away she couldn't do much more than that. I went back to bed and slept as much as I could and eventually I started to feel a little bit better. About that time, a friend knocked on my door holding a thermos. She explained that she had been home that weekend (we were from the same town) and my mom had asked if she would bring something back for me. I took the thermos and opened it up to find my mom's homemade chicken noodle soup. That alone warmed my heart and stomach but here's the real kicker-- it was still warm. It was at that moment that I knew without a doubt that I have the BEST mom in the whole world.

Thankful

2010-11-10T11:05:00.001-07:00

As much as I would love to post daily about things I am thankful for, I know I would never be able to follow through for an entire month. But I do want to take a moment to reflect on the things that I have to be grateful for, even if this blog post is all that ever comes of it.

1. First and foremost, I am grateful for family. My family are my best friends. I can't begin to go into all they have done for me -- my parents, siblings, in-laws, even my nieces and nephews are such a blessing in ways they will never know.

(Yes, I know my kids are missing from this picture. They were home throwing up. So just pretend they are sitting next to us.)

2. At the moment, I am grateful to have TWO potty-trained children. For the next 4 months or so, we are a diaper-less household!

3. On that note, I am grateful for a (thus far) uneventful pregnancy. My 20-week ultrasound a few weeks ago confirmed that all is well with our baby girl. Although it took a bit for me to warm up to the idea, I am so excited to have another girl in the family. I dream of days when I can take my girls on shopping trips, or to the Nutcracker, or just out to dinner for a girls-night.

4. I am especially thankful to have a husband with a job that allows me to be at home. These past 6 months have been a time for me to focus on my home and family. I realize that in this economy I cannot take any employment for granted and there is always the chance I could need to go back to work, but I am thankful that for now, I can just be home.

5. I am grateful for festive decorations! Silly and trivial, I know, but I worked hard to make my home look cozy for Thanksgiving since most of my family will be here, and every time I walk into the living room it makes me smile.

6. I can't not mention the beautiful weather we've had lately. I have complained a lot about the weather over the past several years, but this year I really couldn't have asked for more. Summer was everything I hoped for and I was actually ready for fall when it came. But what I am really thankful for is that fall STAYED. Usually we only have a week or two of fall before it feels like winter. But this autumn has been the perfect mix of warm and cool and has lasted over two months!

7. And finally, although this really should be first, I am grateful for my Savior. Although I have been a church-goer my entire life, I now understand why many people "discover" religion when they have children. I want so much for them to know their Heavenly Father and live the kind of life He would want them to. When Savannah points to a picture of Christ and exclaims, "Jesus!" with the recognition and excitement of seeing her best friend, I have to wonder if maybe she knows Him better than I do. I pray that my children will always know how much I love and honor our Savior, and how grateful I am for all He has done for us.

Round 2

2010-11-02T13:30:00.000-06:00

We've started round 2 of potty training Savannah this week and it is going much better than our first attempt. I've only cleaned up three accidents in five days and yesterday she even took her nap in underwear. It turns out candy is a good bribe for going potty, so our Halloween stash is quickly depleting and Savannah is on a continual sugar high.

I'm not really sure where to go from here. Logan pretty much potty trained himself so I consider myself a novice in the training department. Now that Savannah has mastered going on demand, how do I teach her to recognize when she needs to go? For now I just make her sit on the toilet every hour, but at some point I hope she will tell me when she needs to go instead of the other way around. Any suggestions?

A rainy Halloween

2010-10-31T19:44:00.001-06:00

What a Halloween! After weeks of anticipation and preparation, Halloween got rained out. :( We were all ready to attend our church trunk or treat. I pulled out the camera to take some pictures and had about 3 minutes before the light drizzle turned into pouring rain. (Hence why the picture of me is in the garage.) They ended up moving our 3 ward trunk or treat inside-- talk about standing room only! It was absolutely insane so once we felt like we had a good candy supply we took off. By the time we got home, the rain had almost completely stopped, so we trick or treated to a couple of neighbors houses to end the night.

Gotta love trick or treating in Utah - every costume has to be modified for cold weather. I'm just glad Savannah wore the Tinkerbell costume I spent hours making. The day before she would have nothing to do with it!

A month or so before Halloween I tried to convince Logan to be a sheriff again since his costume still fit. He agreed, so long as he was Sheriff Woody. He wanted a few modifications made to make it more Woody-ish, but I was saved from that by a friend that had a Woody costume we could borrow-- much more authentic and Logan was one happy cowboy. He especially loved his "Woody curl" that I had to gel and hairspray to death just to last 5 minutes. His best buddy was Buzz Lightyear so they were the perfect team.

Last year I saw someone dress up as Juno for Halloween and thought if I was ever pregnant enough to be showing over Halloween I would try it. Jeff wimped out and wouldn't be my boyfriend, and without him I don't think many people even knew I had dressed up. Oh well, at least I was comfortable!

First snow

2010-10-27T12:11:00.001-06:00

What is it about the first snowfall that is so magical? Logan woke me up this morning shouting, "Mommy! It's Christmas! I see snow!" No matter how many times I explain to him that Halloween AND Thanksgiving have to happen before Christmas, he still asks me everyday if it is getting close.

His excitement is contagious, though, so even before breakfast both kids were dressed in snow gear and building a snowman. I love the first snow of the season because it is so clean and fresh. For the past few years, I have been a real grinch about winter. But this year I have loved fall, and am even looking forward to cooler weather. I suppose having something to look forward to in March helps.

P.S. The ongoing struggle with Savannah continues. It's such a rollercoaster with her because one minute she will be screaming and throwing a royal fit and the next she gives me a look like this and I just melt. How can you love a child so much yet be so consumed by frustration with them at the same time?

Ready

2010-10-25T20:56:00.000-06:00

Pumpkins have been carved, costumes have been sewn, candy has been bought. We're ready for Halloween, how about you?

My girl

2010-10-22T12:14:00.000-06:00

Savannah and I have had a lot of one-on-one time lately now that Logan spends so much time at preschool or playing at friends' houses. Although most of the time she is physically and mentally exhausting, it seems when it's just her and I we get along just fine. Maybe she just needs a little TLC.

Yesterday while she and I were home alone, I realized I hadn't heard from her in awhile. Usually this means she is playing in my make-up, so I headed straight for my bedroom to see what she was up to. This time she had gone for my jewelry box and had put on every single bracelet I own. When I asked what she was doing, she showed me her wrist and said, "Pretty!"

I really do love Savannah to pieces, even if she is 10 times more difficult to parent than Logan has been. Since my last post, we've come to an understanding that she is going through an independent phase and I just need to let her try and do things herself. It takes a little longer for her to get dressed or fed or buckled in the car, but hey, at least I don't have to do everything for her anymore.

On another note, I made this rug awhile back from leftover fabric scraps for Savannah's room. I kind of like it and it's making me reconsider the makeover I was going to do on her room.

Who are these kids?

2010-10-13T20:03:00.002-06:00

Boy, have we been having FUN lately. (Sarcasm intended.) I don't know what's gotten into my kids, but just when I think I know how to handle them, they morph into kids that I swear I did not give birth to. I've decided that being a mom from 9 to 5 isn't bad. If it were just a typical job I could handle it. It's the 5 to 9 part that kills me.

Savannah seems to have just realized that she's two, and therefore should be terrible. Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) is a battle. She wants to do everything herself and bedtime is a nightmare. She whines and cries all the time-- just like she did for the first 18 months of her life. Ironically, I was just telling my mom the other day how I thought she had outgrown her difficult-ness and was finally a pleasant child. Ha!

Logan, in his defense, actually tries really hard to be good. But he makes the most amazing messes! I have completely given up any sort of cleaning because I just can't keep up with him. He always needs something--a drink, a snack, something off a high shelf, some toilet paper, to know how to spell a word--the list goes on and on. As I write this, he is asking for juice and a piece of bread. I usually have about 10 seconds before he will ask again if I don't get it right away; such is the patience of a 4-year-old. Oh, and he is also an incessant tattle-tale. Sometimes I have to put myself in time out just to get a few minutes of peace!

I have resolved not to complain so much, and obviously this post is not helping that resolution. But I want to remember the good and the bad. That way when I read this back in 6 months, I'll be able to put things in perspective and feel like we've made progress (hopefully). And to be honest, there are still good moments among the not-so-good. Like Savannah actually going pee in the potty ~~three~~ four (!) times this week (when we're not even technically potty training). And like Logan presenting me with a painting he had done by bowing. Where does he get this stuff? I wouldn't give him any tape, so he had taken other pieces of tape from old art projects to tape it up. At least he's resourceful.

In closing, I need to state that all of these complaints have mostly surfaced in the last week. It is possible that this is a fleeting stage and it will all be over by next week. At least I can dream.

Full house

2010-10-04T13:13:00.000-06:00

Our house has been full of visitors the past week or so. We love it when any family comes to visit, but this time we were extra lucky and got a double dose! First Jeff's sister, Amy, came with her family for a whirlwind 48 hour stay. Her four kids spent the day with us while their parents went to a wedding. My kids were in heaven having so many cousins to play with. Somehow during their short stay we also managed to squeeze in a photo shoot, picnic, and double birthday party for Jeff and his brother, James. We always love it when Amy comes to town and this time was no exception!

I can't believe how old these two are! They were 1- and 2-years-old at our wedding, and it still surprises me to see that they have grown up more each time I see them!

Hours after Amy and company left, my mom and sister-in-law, Jen, arrived. Jen brought her three kids, so Logan and Savannah were once again surrounded by cousins. We did lots of fun things during the week they were here: Museum of Paleontology, ice cream at BYU, Jumpin' Jacks, horseback riding, This is the Place, birthday dinner for my mom, more photo sessions, and lots of movie watching! My brother flew in on Friday, so we had 5 of my 6 siblings together for the weekend. It was such a treat and although I am physically exhausted from too much fun, I am glad our family makes the effort to spend time together, even though we live far apart.

This little lamb had the sweetest face. It kept coming up and nuzzling my leg. Almost makes me want one.

Poor Ruby wore her daddy out. :)

I am pretty sure I have some of the cutest nieces and nephews in the world. Seriously. I don't usually like to self-promote on the family blog but you have to check out more from this session on my photo blog.

Imbalance

2010-09-23T18:36:00.000-06:00

We have a delicate truce at our house right now. Two girls, two boys; two parents, two children. When the boys want to go to the football game, the girls bake cookies or do some shopping. If the kids throw simultaneous tantrums, we can each take one and get through it without too much trauma. I get to shop both sides of the childrens' department. It's a happy life.

But the scales are about to be tipped. In about 5 months, the boys/parents will be the minority. Poor Jeff and Logan looked pretty devastated at the ultrasound. Logan was really hoping for a brother and Jeff was really hoping he would only have to pay for one wedding. I'll admit I, too, was hoping for a boy for some trivial reasons, but I am excited either way. That said, our little girl was being pretty modest, so we didn't really get a good shot and there's still a chance it could be a boy. In a few more weeks we'll try again to get a more definite confirmation, but for now I will start brainstorming girl names.

And let's be honest... how could I not be excited for another one of these?

My stats

2010-09-17T08:25:00.003-06:00

A fellow blogger introduced me to Blogger's newest tool: Stats. In reviewing my stats, I have learned a few things about my blog and who reads it.

1. I have readers in Luxembourg, Latvia, Australia, and Germany, among other places.

2. Internet Explorer is still the most popular browser. (Trust me, people. Anything is better than IE.)

3. My third most read post is title "Another picture-less post." And I always thought you people liked pictures! Good to know...

4. This one cracks me up. My most popular post ever (well, at least in the 3 months Blogger has been tracking these stats) is "Twilight critique," written over 2 years ago. 6 of the top 10 searches that land people on my blog have to do with Twilight. In fact, if you search "twilight critique" on Google, my blog is the 3rd listing! If I would have known that, maybe I'd have spent a little more time writing it. :)

Thanks for reading. Even with the occasional strange comments, I love knowing that I can connect with friends, family, and random strangers via the blogging world.

My take on a wedding

2010-09-13T12:31:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago Jeff's sister, Ashley, married Michael. As with most weddings, plenty of things didn't quite go according to plan, but despite everything, it was a beautiful and memorable event. As I reread this, I realize it sounds melodramatic and woe-is-me-ish, but I really am only posting it here because it is borderline comical in retrospect. The timing of all these events baffles me. One day shifted and it all could have turned out so differently.

Driving to the temple on the day of the sealing, there were thick black rainclouds across the entire valley. At one point it was raining so hard I couldn't see more than 10 feet ahead of me on the road. When we went in for the sealing, I was already making a back up plan for where we could take pictures indoors. An hour or so later when we came out, the sun was shining and nearly all the puddles were dry. I wanted to cry with gratitude and relief.

Side note: isn't Ashley beautiful? I have loved watching her grow from a teenager to a woman over the 7 years I've known her. I was so honored that she trusted me with her wedding pictures. Maybe she shouldn't have... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The reception wasn't until the next day, so we all went home that night to rest up. Well, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I woke up that night feeling queasy, and I knew I had caught Savannah's stomach bug from two days earlier. Jeff took the kids to help set up while I slept the whole morning, trying to recover as quickly as possible and reserve all the strength I could. In the early afternoon I finally got up and took a shower, but just that took so much energy I had to lay down again right after. By some miracle I was able to get dressed and dry my hair. Around that time I got a call from Jeff telling me both our kids were throwing up. With a doggie bag on the passenger seat, I got in the car and started driving.

I had planned to get to the reception an hour early to take some pictures, but as soon as I got on the freeway I hit a dead stop. I found out from the radio that there was an accident about 2 miles up the road causing hour delays. The next exit was still a half hour away in this traffic. There was nothing I could do, so I sat there, feeling weak and dizzy, until I finally made it to an exit. Even taking back roads, I barely made it 15 minutes before the reception was supposed to start.

We took pictures as quickly as we could, and it was one of those times where you make it work because you have to. I actually love the pictures we got in those few minutes and I'm not sure I would have gotten many more had we had the full hour. Partway through the reception, Jeff and I headed back to relieve his aunt who had mercifully stayed behind with our sick kids. We came back down just in time to see the bride and groom cut the cake and have their first dance. After that we loaded the kids and drove home. I felt terrible that I hadn't helped at all with the setup and now I was bailing on clean up, but we had already exposed too many people to our bug and I could hardly stand up as it was.

Again, I hope this doesn't come across as whiny and self-centered. This is only my reflection of the event, and you would hear an entirely different story from anyone else who was there. In the few minutes I was able to take a break and scan the scene, I witnessed a beautiful reception with great food and a relaxing atmosphere. Mostly, I was just sad that we couldn't celebrate with Ashley and Mike like I had wanted to. At least four other family members got sick over the next week thanks to our lovely little bug. Logan got it again as recently as last Friday. I can't tell you how sick (no pun intended) I am of cleaning up throw-up!

On the road Updated

2010-09-08T20:40:00.004-06:00

It's time for another "my kid says the darndest things" post. Only two this time, though, and both happened while in the car.

A few weeks ago we had picked up Jeff's brother and his wife and daughter to carpool. Logan ended up sitting next to his 1-year-old cousin, who was babbling incoherently at him. Logan was enthralled by it and told us all that Avery was talking to him. When we asked what she was saying, he replied, "She says, 'Oh Logan, you're so handsome!'"

Another time in the car I wasn't paying attention to the cars in front of me and had to stop abruptly. Apparently, I do that a lot, because Logan told me that "Daddy's a good stopper, and a good driver, but you're not a good stopper or a good driver!" The sad thing is, I probably agree with him. :-)

*Update: one more...

This might get a little confusing with all the dates, so try to keep up. On Wednesday, Logan asked when he could go to preschool again. I told him, "Tomorrow." So when he woke up on Thursday, he asked if today was "tomorrow." I understood what he was asking, and told him that yes, today was tomorrow and he would get to go to preschool.

Later on Thursday, he asked when his soccer practice was. Again. I replied, "Tomorrow." He looked at me with confusion and exasperation and said,

"But, Mom, it is tomorrow!"

Milestones

2010-09-03T10:35:00.003-06:00

We've had a lot of changes around here lately. My babies are growing up, whether I like it or not. Last week Logan started preschool. Last year he participated in a neighborhood preschool where we moms took turns teaching, but this year he is attending a real bona fide preschool... and he couldn't love it more. His teacher is Miss Ann (he thought her name was Miss Aunt at first and was confused why she was his aunt). She came highly recommended to me and so far she has met all our expectations. I can tell kindergarten will be an easy transition next year.

The same week, Savannah got her first pair of briefs. I knew I was in trouble when Logan was so easy to potty train. Any child would seem difficult compared to him. After a week, I am exhausted and Savannah is still having more accidents than successes, so I've decided to put it on hold for a bit.

Lastly, Logan had his first soccer game yesterday. My biggest worry was that he would quickly tire of the game and not want to play (as he did all summer at soccer camp). I guess the excitement of the game and a bright new uniform helped motivate him, because he loved every minute. He's not very good (just ask Jeff-- I might have to ban him from future games for his sideline comments) but he had a blast. I think we lost 2-17, but every kid out there had a smile on their face.

Mesa Falls and Big Spring

2010-09-02T07:26:00.002-06:00

Our last day in Idaho we visited Mesa Falls. Although smaller than the falls we had visited in Yellowstone the day before, they were breathtaking in a different way. The surrounding area was so green and lush I felt like I had traveled to Ireland. My family graciously found activities we could do that didn't involve a lot of hiking so the kids could come along, but I never expected to see such beautiful things just by driving up to them.

For three days my mom had been on a quest to find huckleberries. She finally succeeded at the falls. Here she is showing me her find.

After the falls we stopped by Big Spring, the source of the Snake River. It, also, was gorgeous. It's amazing to think how much water is produced every day by this spring. We contemplated collecting some water in our water bottles to see how fresh it was, but since my sister was home sick that day after drinking bad water, we decided against it.

This trip was so peaceful and relaxing. It was just what I needed in between two very hectic weeks. I'm so glad we went, even though we were all a little sick and Jeff had to stay behind. I hope to go back some day soon.

Yellowstone

2010-08-31T17:24:00.002-06:00

Two days after returning from California (just enough time to appreciate my bed, get the kids in to the doctor, and do some laundry), we loaded the car back up and drove to Idaho with my parents and three of my siblings. We stayed in a beautiful cabin set in the scenic town of Island Park. The first day there the kids and I stayed behind in an attempt to get well from our coughs and pink eye while the others went hiking. We did take a little time to explore the area surrounding the cabin. It was so peaceful and quiet and cool-- just what the doctor ordered!

This is the pose Logan gives me 9 times out of 10 when I turn the camera on him. It reminds me of Kurt from Glee. Maybe we should stop letting him watch that show.

And this is the smile Savannah gives me. What's wrong with my kids?!

Logan took this picture. I'm not intentionally pointing at anything, I think I was just trying to tell him where the button was.

We could only fake being well for so long. Eventually our energy would run out and one of us would collapse like this.

To add insult to injury, Savannah fell off the steps in the cabin and bruised her foot pretty badly. She wouldn't walk on it for a day and a half, but luckily we'd borrowed a backpack for her. She loved hanging out in it and thankfully there were lots of shoulders to carry her so no one had to bear the brunt of her weight the whole time.

The second day we drove into Yellowstone. We stopped at the first set of geysers we came across-- not fully understanding that we'd see them EVERYWHERE.

A little ways further we drove into the parking lot of Old Faithful-- just in time for it to finish erupting. 90 minutes of waiting later, we had a front row seat for the next eruption. It was pretty amazing how accurately they could predict the next eruption based on the duration of the previous one.

A post card I had seen while in the Old Faithful giftshop was the inspiration for another stop at the Lower Falls. They were so beautiful.

And of course, Yellowstone wouldn't be Yellowstone without the wildlife. We mostly saw the typical animals: bison, deer, elk, and some birds. It was pretty funny when we came across a line of stopped cars taking pictures of a single bison. After waiting through the line, about 100 yards down the road we saw this:

There were so many bison I couldn't even begin to count them. What was even more amazing than the animals was how close people would get to take pictures! I understand that the wildlife in Yellowstone are used to people, but I still wouldn't want to get too close to one of those suckers!

We also saw some elk-- some females walked right alongside our car as we drove in, and a male on our way out.

I couldn't get over how beautiful everything was. I couldn't believe I was only a couple of hours from home.

Of course having these two cuties along helped make the trip that much more enjoyable. Logan picked up a Jr. Ranger animal worksheet early in the day and loved checking the animals off the list. He was a trooper (for the most part) when it came to walking, and even Savannah was more pleasant than usual, despite her hurt foot.

I have more pictures, but this post is getting awfully long, so I'll save them for another day. :)

Homecoming

2010-08-27T11:05:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago my youngest brother, Curtis, returned from a 2-year mission to India. To welcome him home and spend some time with family, the kids and I drove down to California for a week. The kids battled fevers and coughs the whole week, but we managed to have lots of fun anyway. We spent a beautiful morning at the beach with cousins, soaking up the sun in perfect 70 degree weather. It was such a nice break from the hot yet rainy days we left behind in Utah.

It seemed like we had our swim suits on nearly every day. First it was the beach, then we went to a splash pad, and we finished off the week with a trip to the waterpark. Logan and his cousin, Dallin, found a slide that was just their size and spent the whole day on it. It made me excited to use the Seven Peaks passes I bought for next summer.

On Friday we met up with Jeff who flew in for the weekend. We redeemed our Disney give-a-day passes for a day at Disneyland before rejoining my family in San Diego. We almost bagged the Disneyland idea when Logan woke up with pink eye the day before, but he claimed he was well enough to go so off we went. We only spend about 5 hours at the park--by far the shortest trip I have ever made to Disneyland--but it was perfect. I didn't feel too badly about it since the only ticket we paid for was Logan's. Logan was tall enough to go on every ride in the park except for Indiana Jones. His favorite ride of the day was Buzz Lightyear, but he was pretty upset that I wouldn't wait in line to meet Buzz himself. I did, however, wait for 30 minutes with Savannah to meet Tinkerbell and Terence while Jeff and Logan rode the Matterhorn. Nothing I could do would get Savannah to pose next to them, though.

You can't tell in the picture on the left, but Savannah is actually driving the car. I guess there's a reason you have to be tall enough to see over the steering wheel!

We ended the week by attending Curtis' homecoming address, then loaded up the car and began the long drive home. Despite being sick and tired most of the week, it was worth it to be with family.

A Funeral, a Birthday, and a BBQ

2010-08-24T17:37:00.003-06:00

I never blogged about Jeff's grandpa's funeral, and although it is still a tender subject, I would be contrite not to remember such a beautiful and touching weekend.

It was a whirlwind of events, as funerals usually are, that brought every single one of Grandpa's posterity together, including one grandson from China. Every member of the family participated in the service except for the great-grandchildren, but they were able to sing to Grandma at the dinner served afterward.

Since this all fell the week before my sister-in-law's birthday, we threw together a quick surprise party for her. She was certainly surprised (and perhaps a little embarrassed we hadn't let her change out of her swim attire) but it was all in good fun.

We took to opportunity with all the family in town to have a BBQ in the park. By that point I was camera-ed out, but I did get this one shot of Logan watching for tadpoles. One of the older great-grandkids had scooped up a whole carton full of tadpoles and was gifting them to the other kids in small cups. Ours, at least, found its way back to the stream before we headed home.

Will it ever end?

2010-08-23T10:51:00.002-06:00

I knew the past month would be busy. We had booked ourselves solid with vacations and family plans, and I was prepared for that. What I wasn't prepared for is that we would be sick the ENTIRE TIME. It started the day after our first family guests arrived. The kids started having runny noses. Within a week, coughs and fevers had set in. From there it was just one thing after another-- and I'm not talking little nuisance sicknesses. At one point Logan was diagnosed with bronchitis, sinusitis, and conjunctivitis all at once. As soon as one kid would improve, the other would get sick, and if both were looking better, Jeff or I would get it. Luckily I was home just long enough between trips to get them both on antibiotics, or we would never have survived. However, the day before my sister-in-law's wedding, when we were all actually on the mend for once, Savannah started throwing up. She spent the day running yet another fever while I prayed as hard as I could that she would be healthy so we could make it to the temple the next day. By some miracle she woke up feeling better, so we had one day of health before the inevitable happened-- I caught her stomach bug. Within a few hours, Logan was throwing up too and Savannah had a relapse. All three of us were sick as dogs - and we still had the reception to go to that night. The reception I was supposed to be taking pictures at. All I could think was, "What have I done to deserve this?"

I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say we made it through and I finally felt it was safe to say we had reached the end of this long month. That is until this morning, when Jeff woke up feeling nauseous. Now I'm not so sure.

He makes me laugh

2010-08-16T15:33:00.002-06:00

So much to blog about and no time to do it in! I probably won't be able to post again for at least a week, but Logan has been so funny lately I have to dedicate this quick post to him.

Last week we were in Yellowstone visiting Old Faithful (more about that later). I took Logan to the restroom and told him I needed him to try and go potty because this was probably the last bathroom we were going to find. He looks at me confused and asks, "In my life?" I started laughing and reassured him it was only going to be the last bathroom before we got home, not the last bathroom EVER.

One of Logan's favorite things to do is type on my phone's keyboard. He's getting pretty good at sounding words out, but most of the time it's just jibberish. Today he showed me the screen and asked if I could read it. This is what he had written:

hshdntnt

"Logan, that doesn't say anything. That's not a word."
"Yes it is! Try it again." I looked harder but still couldn't make out what he was trying to spell.
"Sorry, Logan, I really don't know."
"It says, 'Head, shoulders, knees and toes!'"

I looked closer and laughed in surprise. I was pretty proud of him for putting the "sh" together for shoulders. I can't wait for preschool to start next week. This kid is like a sponge.

First haircut

2010-07-30T11:48:00.002-06:00

My hair has been a blessing and a curse my whole life. More of a curse and less of a blessing. It's thick, wavy/frizzy, and full of cowlicks, and poor Savannah inherited at least the last two in that series. I can already tell she is going to hate me for it. I have been struggling lately to know what to do with the parts that curl and the parts that don't, so when my sister came to town I enlisted her to find a cut that would make her look a little less straggly.

I won't bother posting before pictures because they probably wouldn't look any different to most, but here are the after shots. Trust me, it looks better. Savannah was a dutiful subject (thanks to Toy Story playing in the background) and Paige was a willing and capable hair stylist. Paige cut Logan's hair too, but that's not news worth documenting, although I will note that after 4 years he will finally sit through a hair cut without any crying, complaining, or tantrums. Hallelujah.

Grandma's are the coolest

2010-07-22T12:51:00.002-06:00

My mom is the best. When we had a family emergency come up the week we were going to Cancun, my mom flew into town at the drop of a hat to help take care of our kids. She stayed a few days on the tail end of our trip just to play and have fun. Every time my mom comes to town, things get done. Projects, teaching moments, and just plain fun things - nothing gets missed. This trip she helped Logan make a volcano. He though it was the bee's knees. She also taught him to put his seat belt on by himself. With the help of our new van and it's automatic doors, Logan can get in and out of the car and buckle himself in without any assistance from me. It's heavenly. Thanks, Mom.

Iron Anniversary

2010-07-19T08:36:00.002-06:00

On Friday, Jeff and I celebrated anniversary #6. Apparently this was our iron anniversary. Who comes up with these things? I almost gifted myself a new ironing board cover since I really need one and it kind of seemed to fit.

It seems like every year we end up doing something big near our anniversary (this year it was Cancun), so our actual anniversary is low key. Nevertheless, we were able to get out for dinner and a movie, which was a much needed date. Other than our trip, I can't remember the last time we had a date night, and I don't anticipate another one anytime soon. In the next five weeks, we have a big family holiday, three road trips, one missionary homecoming, and a wedding. So I was glad that we got to have at least one night to just appreciate each other, and everything we've learned over the past 6 years.

I have never been one to sugar-coat marriage; it is by far the most difficult thing I've done in my entire life (well, it's up there with parenting). But it is also the most rewarding, and I've grown more together with Jeff than I could ever have done on my own. It is amazing to me how well we complement each other. His strengths are my weaknesses, and vice versa. He is constantly pushing me to be better than I am. I know I am not the easiest person to put up with, but he does it with finesse and somehow convinces me that he loves every minute of it. I've said this before, but Jeff is truly my best friend. I'm so glad that we get to share our life together.

Fresh air

2010-07-12T08:38:00.003-06:00

A little over a week ago we had the opportunity to go 4-wheeling in the mountains. Jeff took me 4-wheeling on our first/second date (it depends on who you ask), and there is just something about wrapping my arms around his waist while riding on dusty trails that takes me right back to that day. This time we brought both kids with us. Savannah did great, and Logan even drove for a few feet at a time, under Grandpa's close watch. The highlight of the trip was coming across a bear near the top of the trail. It was so close I actually got a little nervous! As much as I complain about Utah winters (and I know they are pretty mild, all things considered), I absolutely LOVE Utah summers. If only they lasted a little longer...

Grandpa

2010-07-05T09:15:00.005-06:00

Leslie Bernell Smith (Grandpa) – 1928-2010

by Jeff

How do you measure the effect of one man on his posterity? You don’t. If you could, Grandpa’s numbers‘d stack up against the greatest men of any dispensation. But then again, some things aren’t meant to be measured they are meant to be expressed. You see, it’s been just 5 short hours since I received the news that Grandpa had passed. The reality is beginning to sink in but it’s hard because not 6 hours ago I shared space with him on my parents' couch for the last time. I have been lost in deep thought over the last few hours pondering how to adequately express the impact of such a beloved man on my life and the lives of so many he has touched in just 82 short years.

For most people when they’ve died, friends and loved ones stretch to assign kind adjectives as descriptions for their dead while struggling to find life instances to substantiate the kindness given. This is far from the case with Grandpa Smith. Words like kind, loving, endearing, steadfast, and patient only begin to scratch the surface of the depth of his character. He was a man of God and never did I feel it stronger than I did today.

It is often said to live life without regrets, but today, at this late hour I acknowledge a mountain of regrets with Grandpa.

I regret not having a pen handy when he would lower his voice, pull me close and enlighten me with his latest epiphany.

I regret not having a camera close when he informed Carly that there would be no such thing as “in-laws” in his family. To see her face as she chuckled at the suggestion and then to see it change as she realized that he was about as serious as she had ever known anyone to be was priceless.

I regret not writing down the way to solving our country's problems; for surely he divulged that to me almost in the form of a scripted handbook.

I regret moments of reckless abandon where I may have tarnished his name or his legacy.

I regret not taking time to cherish his moments of praise for he knew not flattery. His words were sincere and you could feel it.

I regret not taking the time to walk with him out to the car tonight and watch as he gently kissed my daughter on the cheek in a moment of farewell no one could have predicted.

Regrets I have.
For many of them, please forgive me Grandpa.

My regrets ultimately are small when compared to those moments that created who I am.

I do not regret the many road trips we took in which I can still hear his voice saying “just because it’s the speed limit doesn’t mean that it's safe to drive that fast.”

I will never regret the moment he held my newborn son in his arms and gave him that look of “your father is young, but he’s a good man and he will try hard.”

I will not regret the respect he taught me for sacred things.

And I do not regret how he let me watch the way he treated Grandma. I have yet to know a man who loved his wife as much as my grandpa loved my grandma. That example alone is more than I could ever hope to offer anyone in my own posterity.

Grandma and Grandpa at a grandchild wedding last week.

The original Smiths: Grandma, Grandpa, and their five daughters.

Just a handful of Grandpa's posterity.

Dinosaur Train

2010-07-01T16:29:00.003-06:00

My kids don't watch much TV (mostly because they prefer movies), but when they do, it's almost always a PBS show called Dinosaur Train. I knew Logan was really getting into dinosaurs when he used his chore money to buy plastic dinosaurs, but I didn't really understand how much he was learning until he brought me a picture he had drawn today. He pointed out three dinosaurs he had drawn, identifying them as Tyrannosaurus Rex, Deinonychus, and Kentrosaurus. When I went to Dinosaur Train's website to verify that he wasn't just making those names up, I found that not only are they real, but he was pronouncing them amazingly well, particularly for a kid who still calls yesterday "lasterday." While on the website, he identified several others, including Pteranodons, Archaeopteryxs, Troodons, and Brachiosauruses. What ever happened to good ole' Brontosauruses and Pterodactyls? It looks like we may have a paleontologist on our hands!