Bawden Behaviors

Some news

2010-10-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

So I figure I better give you all an update since it's been like 10 months since I have posted anything here. Calling is going well. Keeping me busy. We have 5 babies due in our ward in the next 4 months. One of them is mine. Another boy. We are very excited but haven't been able to come up with a name that we all agree on. He's expected to arrive around February 5th. I'm getting big and now that I have a camera that works I might get around to posting some pictures soon. Maybe. George is completely discharged from the navy now. He's working, going to school, and doing an internship program so we see him for a couple hours a day. He does have every Sunday off after 7 AM so that has been a real blessing for us. He definitely didn't get that in the Navy. Nate is in 1st grade. Loving it and loving learning how to read. Andy is speaking very well for a 2 1/2 year old. I can understand almost everything he says and he speaks in complete sentences. Lately he's been saying, "That's not very nice." That's what he said this morning when he saw the snow on the ground. Other than that there's not much to tell. So hopefully I will get back on here before 10 more months goes by.

It's been a while, and might be longer!

2010-01-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to let you all know why I've been neglecting my blog. First, Facebook. I think that's all I need to say about that. Second, some of you may know this, but I recently was put in as Relief Society President. So I will be spending a lot less time on Facebook too. So, if I don't post for a while, now you know why. :)

Homemaking? No. Enrichment? Nope. What do we call it now?

2009-11-20T21:16:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah. Just "Relief Society". I get to be in charge of our activity tomorrow. So we decided to make toys for the Humanitarian Center. I looked on their website and found the pattern for these puppets. I made a couple examples and my kids have had a lot of fun with them. They were so cute I had to share.

I just love how short kids' attention spans are. Five seconds later and notice where the puppets are:

Halloween

2009-11-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

Nate brought home the flu and a cold from school. George and I got the cold and Andy got the flu. Nate had both and missed about a week of school including the Halloween parade. I think I was more sad than he was. Anyway, we're all better now. We tried to make the best of Halloween and took the boys to the trunk or treat at the church. The boys weren't that into the walking around to the strangers to collect candy so they stayed in the truck where George and I handed out our bowl of candy (which took not more than 30 minutes) and then we came home.
Here are the pumpkins that we finally carved. The boys had a great time!

Here's Andy the duck:

Nate was spiderman.

And I was a fly caught in a web. (George did dress up as a mechanic, but we didn't get any pictures of him.)

Maybe next year will be a little better and the kids can have the full Halloween experience.

Decor

2009-10-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

I decided to give my house a more "seasonal" look. So here are a few pictures so you can enjoy my hard work! The first two pictures are some of the projects Nate has brought home from school.

These others are ideas I got from some of my friends. Thanks Nicole for the paper pumpkin idea.
And thanks to Jennifer for the pattern for the eyeballs for my monster piano...

...and my cyclops fridge.

Pumpkins!

2009-10-13T14:12:00.000-07:00

We got to pick out a couple pumpkins from Great Grandpa's garden. So for FHE we painted them. Nate wanted to cut them, but it's not close enough to Halloween yet and I didn't want them to spoil before then. So we will probably carve them in a couple weeks. Anyway, here are a few pictures:
Nate got really into it giving up on the paintbrush.

Andy didn't use a brush to begin with. He had a little help from Dad though. (thank goodness for "painting shirts")

The finished product! George put the face on Andy's (left) and then let him touch it up. So Nate wanted to put a face on his too. He's gotten pretty good at the smiley faces!

In the meantime...

2009-09-28T10:34:00.000-07:00

I have been totally slacking. It's been so good having George home that I haven't really thought about updating the blog. So now we are settled into a routine with him and Nate going to school and Andy and me staying home. So here are some pictures of what we've been doing for the last month or so:
Drove George back from San Diego for the last time!! The kids were great. I'm sure it helped that we swiped my mom's portable DVD player on the way down too. ;) Thanks mom!

Horsey rides to bed...

Fishing with Dad...

A "new" (new to us anyway) truck for Dad...

Helping Dad with his homework...We went up to Layton for a 1K kids run. You can tell how thrilled Andy is to be there!

George has also started to pay people back for all the service they did for us while he was gone. Most recently he helped my brother in law Dan get a stump out of his back yard.

A time for change!

2009-08-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Before:

During:

(some help from the Young Women and their leaders in my ward)

(and my sister-in-law Carolyn in the black t-shirt)

(and my siblings Anna, AJ, and Matt)

Almost done!

After:

The quote on the wall I got for my birthday from my sister-in-law Tina. It says, "Real love stories never have endings." Just in case you can't quite make it out.

I had to get a hair cut too. My bangs were driving me crazy! It's a little shorter than I'm used to, but fun to have a different style!

And the biggest change is yet to come!! Stay tuned for George's return!! (I won't be posting that until after Labor Day. Because that's when we'll all be here together!!!)

A glimpse in the life of Andrew:

2009-08-06T22:05:00.000-07:00

I just had to put this on here. There's no sound, but he was trying to get the last crumbs of cake off the plate and at the end you can see him say, "All gone!"

It's official!

2009-08-05T21:58:00.001-07:00

Nate is in Kindergarten. He has had 5 full days of class and it has been quite interesting. So far he has gotten 4 red cards and 1 yellow card. We are working towards green cards. He's in all day kindergarten and has been struggling with getting along with the other kids. What can you do? I've just been trying to discipline him the best I can and stick it out till George gets home. I do love that Nate comes home and sings songs that he has learned. I also love that he can ride a bike while I walk. It is about 1 1/2 miles one way to his school and I get the round trip twice. It's nice in the mornings, but by the time school gets out, it is HOT! Well, here is a picture of him on his first day.
It took...

a few shots...

to get...

a nice picture...

but, we did it!

What I did this summer.

2009-08-05T21:25:00.000-07:00

Good times in Richfield:
Walked in the children's parade with my sister and our kids.

Nate learned how to ride a bike so he rode in the parade.

Andrew learned how to walk so we put him in the diaper derby. He got 5th out of 5 in his heat, but he was sure adorable!

I actually ran a 5k! You will have to see Sandra's blog for pictures of that. After the parade and other festivities we watched fireworks. We all piled in the back of my dad's suv and lit off our own little show.

Nate and Andrew showed how nice they can still be to each other. Once in a great while.

My brother AJ got home from his mission and started school right away. Andrew wanted to go with him. (I guess he thought that Andrews should stick together.)

Then we came home and immediately went with my inlaws up to Bear Lake.
We had to make the usual stop at First Dam for some fishing. Of course the kids did everything except fish while Grandpa and the uncles caught fish. They got some pretty big ones too! Didn't get pictures though.

Here I am sporting the "I'm at Bear Lake and don't care how I look" look.

The boys had a great time being outside and playing on the camp chairs. They were actually pretty nice to each other most of the time.

We took the boogie boards out into the water and caught some "waves". (I can't wait to go back to the beach in California.)

Here's Nate all bath-ed and pajama-ed. We didn't want him walking through the dirt in his pjs so we put his shoes on over them. He actually ended up sleeping with his shoes on that night. That's what I get for SENDING him to bed instead of TAKING him there.

Andrew didn't want Nate to miss one minute of fun! Wake up, big brother!

Crazy Nathan!

2009-07-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

Nate is a crazy funny kid! Here are a couple examples of his weird things he comes up with:

My brother Daniel and I were sitting on couches opposite each other when Nate grabbed one of each of our hands. He got this look on his face like he was getting a great idea, smiled, and then said, "Okay guys. This is going to be so much fun! Ready? Now PULL!"

Later he was playing with a sticky hand and flipping it around. He flipped it up and it hit him in the back of the neck. He said, "Ouch! I forgot to duck on that one!"

Funeral= Family Reunion

2009-06-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

We will miss my Grandpa, but it was wonderful to gather with my family and celebrate his life. I had forgotten that he knew Philo T. Farnsworth (the inventor of the television)! There are many things that he is remembered for, but the most important thing is family. Here are my dad (middle) and his siblings on the left and cousins on the right.

And for the second time ever, we had all of my siblings in one place! Here we are with our parents:

In order from oldest to youngest: Daniel, Angela, Mark, Maria, Jacob, Naomi, Sandra, Andrew, Anna, Matthew, and Joshua.

Had to have some fun! Poor Daniel!

And all the rest of the spouses and grandkids who were able to be there:

Here are two stray nephews we couldn't find for the group picture:

I love family and I love it when we all get together. There's nothing else like it!

Haircuts

2009-06-18T21:44:00.001-07:00

It was time. Nate almost couldn't see anymore, and Andrew was getting curls. So here is the finished product!

Grandpa's obituary

2009-06-17T22:25:00.000-07:00

Anyone who is interested to get a glimpse of who my Grandpa was, check out his obituary. It makes me proud to be part of such a wonderful man's life. I'm a little bit sad that he's gone, but my knowledge of where he is now completely outweighs my sadness. We will miss him, but we will definitely see him again! I don't know how people deal with death not knowing that it isn't the end. If anyone doesn't know what I'm talking about, check out my church's website. I LOVE THE GOSPEL!!

We'll miss you Grandpa.

2009-06-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

This morning my Grandpa Henry passed away. He was a wonderful man with a great sense of humor. He will be greatly missed by those who knew him. Here are a few pictures I was able to find. This first one is of him and my dad.

Here he is helping my older sisters take a picture.

Together forever!

Here are my Grandma Wimmer, Grandpa Henry, me holding Nathan, and my dad.

We love you Grandpa!

Graduated!!

2009-06-11T13:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Nate's preschool graduation. They sang some songs to show us what they learned this year. Then they were presented with their certificates.

After the program Nate helped get the snacks out.

Then he found the markers and drew a monster for me.

Here is the finished masterpiece:

Family birthday party!

2009-06-09T14:38:00.001-07:00

On Sunday I had a bunch of family over to help me celebrate my birthday. If I can't have George here, I might as well try to make up for it with as many other family members able to make it! All together there were 22 people here! We had dinner and then cake and ice cream. Angela made the cake which was DELICIOUS! Then we played a good game of Mad Gab. If you are going to have a party, that is the game to play!! It was soooo much fun! Here are the only two pictures I took the entire time. (And I didn't even take them!) ;) The first one is a three generation picture--a lucky accident.

After I blew out the candles I had to light them again so Nathan could have a turn blowing them out too.

Thanks for everyone who could come! And thanks for all the birthday wishes!

Girl's Night Out

2009-06-04T21:48:00.001-07:00

I had a good time with some of my friends tonight. We went to the Lion House restaurant for dinner. We brought the cake that my friend made for me and it was delicious! After that we went to Gilgal Sculpture Garden. It was pretty neat to see the different ways Mr. Child portrayed his interpretations of some scriptures. In the picture are: Carolyn (George's sister), me, Vickie, Caroline, and Jennifer (all in my ward).

George sent me these flowers. Aren't they gorgeous!

Before we went out I had some time to myself thanks to my inlaws. So I decided to do a little yard work. There were a bunch of huge flowers overtaking my sidewalk so I decided I needed to get rid of those and put some smaller ones in. I like the hollyhocks though so I left those in. I still need to get some new flowers to put in, but it looks a whole lot better than it did before!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-06-03T23:31:00.000-07:00

It brings warmth to my heart to think that this will be my last birthday that George will be gone for because of the Navy! We've been together for 3 of the 6 that I've had since we got married. Only 11 weeks left!! (if he gets the terminal leave that he should)

Sharing, sharing, that's the thing to do!

2009-05-31T21:24:00.000-07:00

This is one of Nate's favorite things to do. So he had to teach Andrew too! Boys...

Can't play with a spray bottle without spraying someone at least once!

This is how the "Pros" do it

2009-05-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

I got the pictures of my hair modeling thing from my friend. The first picture is my favorite one because it's the only one I was smiling in. (People always look better when they smile in my opinion.)

This is the one they chose to "touch up". Here's before retouching:

And here's after:

Is it conceited for me to say I like the "raw" photo better? I think it looks like they gave me a fat lip. It also reminds me of this Dove commercial. This was a fun experience but it just confirmed my belief that I could never be a model. I just don't have the personality for it. We'll leave it to Tyra Banks!

I guess it's time...

2009-05-18T20:12:00.001-07:00

for me to finally post again. Sorry I've been slacking. So here are some pictures:

Andrew's actual birthday when he swiped an ice cream cone from Grandma.

We went to San Diego and found "Lonesome George" at the zoo. (The turtle)

Wild Animal Park where Nate was nervous to get in the wet zone.

About 30 minutes later he finally got brave.

Andrew just crawled around enjoying the sunshine.

Had to get some pictures of the rest of us too.

Went to the park where Andrew swung for the first time (besides in his baby swing).

Daddy had to take the boys down the slide.

We went bowling where Nate had a great time!

Hoping for the perfect strike!

Can't go to Cali without a trip to the beach! Surf's up, dude!

We brought George home and the first thing they did was make a tent just big enough for the three of them.

George is gone again so now I can dress my boys alike and he can't do anything about it!

U is for UPSIDE DOWN!!!!

2009-04-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday for preschool Nathan's class was learning about the letter "U" and they were supposed to bring something to class that started with that letter. He didn't mean to do this but I thought it was hilarious! He put his shirt on UPSIDE DOWN!

Here he was just being silly.

He thought it was pretty funny too!

We decided that he should take his umbrella instead of wearing his shirt upside down so he would be a little more comfortable.

TA DA!!

2009-04-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

I got my hair cut!! My friend Audrey is a student at Cameo College of Essential Beauty. It's the biggest cosmetology school west of the Missippi. She needed a model so I was glad to help her out! I think she did a great job. She had to present her work in front of a room of people (which included some people from Vidal Sasoon) and describe what she did. All the models also had their pictures taken by a photographer from New York. It was pretty fun and I got to put to the test all the tips I've gotten from watching "Top Model". ;)

George's visit. All in all a great weekend!

2009-04-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

George came Friday night and left this morning. So we decided to celebrate Andrew's birthday between sessions of General Conference. Andrew wasn't making much progress opening his presents.

Nathan was more than happy to help out! This one was from Mom and Dad:

This was from Nathan:

And a fun boat from Grandma:

The cake (decorated by me) and the best photo we got of George this weekend:

Gotta love that face! He wasn't sure about the whole candle thing. We helped him blow it out.

Nate had to have the eyes! Poor Mickey's blind!

"What's going on? Why is everyone looking at me?"

"Are you sure I'm allowed to eat this?"

Watching Nathan and Uncle Robert play Super Smash Brothers on the game cube. He was shouting and getting all worked up watching them play! It was hilarious! Also, the best picture we got of me this weekend.

(You might notice something different about me. I will post more later about that though.)

My amazing baby

2009-04-01T21:31:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pictures we have taken in the last couple weeks. Nate took the first one:

Andrew knows how to climb down from the couch, bed, stairs, etc. So he plays on the couch a lot and likes to look out the window. He's a little more daring than I like, but how else is he going to learn?

He has been standing on his own for short periods of time, but I haven't been able to catch it on camera before today. It's so exciting to see your kids learn something new and become confident in their abilities!

See how proud of himself he is?

By the way, he took a couple steps two days ago! Just wanted to have that documented. :)

Happy April Fools!

2009-04-01T21:20:00.000-07:00

My funny story for today: My brother stayed here last night and got a message from our other brother this morning. The message went something like this: "Guess what! I'm getting married! And I'm pregnant! Just kidding. I just LOOK like I'm pregnant." There was more in the message, but I can't remember it. Funny thing to hear from a brother with a pot belly though!

Some of you have asked what I did with my free time. I just relaxed and watched Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson. It is one of my favorite movies that George and Nathan don't like to watch with me. Their movie of choice is usually Star Wars or something like that. Which I also like, but...well...YOU know what I'm getting at. I also arranged for a girls' night out with some of my walking buddies. We went and saw Bride Wars at the dollar theater. It was pretty funny and I would say go see it if it weren't for the "bachelorette party" scene. They could've done without that part in my opinion, but the rest of the movie was good. It was nice to get out of the house with some friends and just have fun! We went and got ice cream afterwards too. I'm thinking we will make it a monthly thing, if not more frequent. I have been so much more patient with my kids! So all you moms out there, find someone to watch your kids for a couple hours and get out and do something for YOU! It will make all your lives better!

Yikes!

2009-03-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

More often than not, this week I've felt like this:

Needless to say I was glad when my inlaws came to pick up Nathan to sleep at their house tonight. I just hate to think how I would've felt if my mom hadn't been up here to help me Tuesday, Thursday, and today! I know I'm not the only one out there feeling like this. I was discussing this with my "walking buddies" and they were saying how glad they were when their husbands came home and they could hand them the kids and take a few minutes to calm down. Then I realized that I needed to hand MY kids off to someone so I could calm down! So I called my wonderful mother in law and now Nathan is at her house!! YAY! AND Andrew is asleep! YAY!!! Now, to do something that I like to do!

Sweet's Candy Factory Tour

2009-03-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

You know cinnamon bears, candy pebbles, and saltwater taffy? Well, we got to go with Nate's preschool today to see where all the magic for those candies happens! It was great fun. They would only let us take pictures in the lobby though. We got to sport the amazingly flattering hairnets. They even had one for Andrew!

Here are Nate's classmates and teacher showing off the free samples of the candy pebbles we got.
One of his classmates isn't pictured because she was done with pictures by the time I got my camera out. And don't worry, I didn't really let Andrew eat the candy. He just played with the package before we opened it. ;)

Green!!

2009-03-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

Some pictures from St. Patty's Day!
Have some green fruit loops!

Hey, Nate! Your eyes are closed!

There!! Is this better?

Oh baby!

Thanks for all the stickers, Nate! (He got them at school from the treasure hunt and decided I didn't have enough green on.)

11 months old....Where did the time go?

2009-03-15T22:29:00.000-07:00

My baby is now 11 months old! Some things he has learned in the last while: clapping hands, waving "hi" and "bye", Saying "Grandma", "grandpa", and "cracker" (which all sound exactly the same ;)), he also has been standing on his own (when he doesn't realize it). It reminds me of those cartoons where they walk off the cliff and don't fall until they realize they aren't on solid ground. (By the way, the thing in his mouth is the button from our couch that you push to put up the foot rest. Nate and I were cracking up when we were taking these pictures!)

Draper temple open house

2009-03-11T14:51:00.000-07:00

We got to go to the Draper temple open house yesterday. I took the boys and went with George's parents and one of his brothers. It was really neat. Even though it hasn't been dedicated yet, you could feel how special and sacred that place is. I love the temple and all of the things we learn there. I would have to say that my favorite thing about the temple is the promise that we can be with our families forever!

On a lighter note, I asked Nate what his favorite part of the tour was, and he said, "The cookies! I want some more cookies!" (After the walk through, they have you go to the church house across the street for refreshments and to talk to missionaries if you had any questions about what you saw or felt.) I guess I was hoping he had gotten a little more out of the experience. ;)

Progress, sick kids, and stress!

2009-03-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

My sister and her husband each came down different days this week to help with the bathrooms. They are amazing! They have been helping us with pretty much every bit of remodeling we have had to do in this house! They were able to get two more layers of mudding on the new sheetrock and Dan got the rest of the grouting done on the tiles. George's dad and brother came over last Monday and fixed the bathtub drain. That has been great to be able to get a shower when I need one without having to leave my house!

It seems like 75% of my friends' blogs have had a post about sick kids this last couple of weeks. Well, add us to the list. Nathan missed school all this week because he has been coughing like crazy and we didn't want his classmates to catch it. I already told you about his 5 year checkup. Well, the next day Nate started complaining about his ear hurting. And of course it was after regular clinic hours so we had to go to the ER. The doctor prescribed some antibiotics and Nate and Andrew both came home with a new stuffed animal! Well, Andrew has started coughing too. So here we are at home on a Sunday instead of at church! Add the stress of being put in charge of the main course for the Relief Society birthday dinner (last minute because of another illness), and you get a sick mama too! Thanks to a couple of my friends and some good organization by the "sick lady" we were able to get everything done on time. Or at least early enough that everything else went smoothly. Hopefully we can kick this sickness and get back in business this week!

Nathan is 5!

2009-03-04T20:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Nate's 5th birthday! He got a new pair of shoes, which he wore to bed tonight because he likes them so much. He went to the doctor today for his check up. He is 36 lbs and 43 1/2 inches tall. He got his pre-kindergarten shots. He got "poked" three times. After the first one in his leg, he gave the nurse the dirtiest look you could imagine and said, "NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!!" as she gave him the other two in his arm. He sat on the table and cried inconsolably for a few minutes until I was able to help him limp out of the office. So I took him to Arctic Circle for one of their complimentary ice cream cones and to play in the Play Zone. He didn't show any signs of pain the whole time we were there, but when it was time to get ready for bed, it suddenly started "hurting" so bad he almost couldn't move. He likes to dramatize things like that when it works to his favor. So now I've been a mom for 5 years, and it still seems so new. But then I can't imagine life any other way! I love it and I love my little "drama king"! Happy Birthday Nathan!

Suprise!! (but not the good kind)

2009-03-01T21:03:00.000-08:00

George came home this weekend just to spend a quiet day or two with us away from the ship in San Diego. Last weekend I had a bunch of people at my house (see Sandra's blog for details) and one of them (my brother Jacob) found a leak in our bathroom sink while he was shaving. I mentioned it to George and he said he would check it out. Long story short, we got to remodel our bathroom--but not because we wanted to. He took out the vanity and found mold. Nate took this picture of it. (Any black you see is the mold.)

So George cut away the sheet rock to get rid of the moldy part and the drain pipe FELL OFF!!!

We had to take up 6 layers of flooring which consisted of, in this order: linoleum, plywood, linoleum, more linoleum, more particle board, and finally a layer of some sort of wood that came up in sheets.

George figures the pipe had been clogged for at least 5 years and the water had corroded the pipe. So we had to go all the way to the crawl space and put new sub flooring down. We ended up doing the half bath too since it shares a wall with the full bath, thus getting moldy too.

The new plywood with a coat of water sealant (just in case something like this should happen again.)

The new pipe.

We stopped for a couple of hours yesterday to celebrate Nate's birthday with part of the family while Dad was here. Nate's birthday is on Tuesday so I'll post more of that later.

This is what us "womenfolk" worked on while the "menfolk" were working:

We even squeezed in a quick trip to the park. Andrew didn't like the prickly grass on his bare hands.

Nate hit a few baseballs that he got from his dad for his birthday.

And then back to work.

And now this is the current condition of my bathroom.
A new vanity is waiting to be put in, the toilet for the half bath is still out back, and George discovered at about 10 pm last night that the bathtub drain has the same problem the sink did. So until we can get that fixed too, we will have to bathe at Grandma and Grandpa's house until they get sick of us.

A Mouthful!

2009-02-17T22:01:00.000-08:00

Andrew loves putting things in his mouth.

I think it's hilarious when he starts crawling around with them! He reminds me of a little puppy!

Thankfully he can't fit the whole thing in there!

Funny Boy!

2009-02-11T20:27:00.000-08:00

Nate started in the "telling jokes" stage when he heard a joke on the pbs kids show "peep and the big wide world". Here are a couple of jokes he has modified to make them his own:

Q. Why did the chicken cross the road?
A. Because he wanted to go on the other side!

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?

(repeat the above until everyone is laughing hysterically--usually about 7 times-- then continue)

Knock knock.
Who's there?
Sheep.
Shee.....
BAAAA!

What a great helper!

2009-02-08T20:24:00.000-08:00

While I was doing this:

Nate was helping out by doing this:

Virtuoso Pianist

2009-02-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

Andrew has loved exploring his new domain. He was very happy to find the piano and even happier when he was able to make noise with it!

And I just had to throw this picture in. This was seen on our way up I-15 Saturday morning. IT IS COLD!!

How Delicious This Fish Is!

2009-02-04T17:24:00.001-08:00

There's nothing like tasting the fruits of your labour! Before we moved back to Utah, George helped Nate fry the fish he caught and then showed him how to get the meat off the bones. George got 1 or 2 bites and then Nate ate the rest of it! Which is saying something because it's usually a fight to get him to eat anything new. I see more fishing in Nathan's future!

Does this look familiar?

2009-02-02T21:53:00.000-08:00

Once again we find ourselves at the airport, sitting in the same chairs, saying goodbye to George. It was a lot easier this time, not because we will miss him any less by any means. No, this time we know our neighbors, we know they are amazing, we have family close again, Andrew is older, we have a routine, and George isn't leaving on deployment right away. So we know what to expect, not to mention the end of our Navy career is in sight!

Lake Cuyamaca

2009-01-24T22:32:00.000-08:00

Some guys from George's work told him about a benefit dinner up in Julian tonight so we decided to make a day of it. We packed up all our stuff and headed up to Lake Cuyamaca for some fishing fun. It was soo cold! It must've been in the low 50s or maybe in the high 40s! ;) I spent 99.9% of the time in the car with Andrew. (George took full advantage of the $6 fee he had to pay when we got there in addition to his one day fishing licence he had to buy. He fished from about 10 am until after 3 pm!) Nate loved running back and forth between George to fish, and me to warm up and eat candy in the car. During his second stint of fishing he caught one!

Then we went to Julian and had some famous apple pie a la mode, changed into some non muddy/fishy clothes and went to the dinner. They had an auction too, but we only stayed for the dinner since it was already 6 and we still had an hour to drive home. It was a fun but cold--okay, okay--COOL day. I just hate to see how we do in a week when we finally get to Utah and its sub-freezing temperatures.

And I just had to add this adorable picture of Andrew. (He's leaning against the couch. And yes, I put him there.)

Time is limited!

2009-01-17T12:05:00.000-08:00

For all you San Diego friends, we will be moving back to Utah in 2 weeks. So if we haven't gotten to hang out yet and you want to, give us a call! (same number as before, but if you don't have it leave a comment and I will give you a call.) I would love to hang out with each and every one of you. My schedule is very open right now so let me know!

George's birthday

2009-01-16T11:25:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was also George's birthday. (yes I did 2 posts today.) We had a good time. We went to the park and watched the kids play. (sorry, no pictures of that.) George opened his presents.

And after dinner we had birthday cake!

It must've been a good party!

9 months old!

2009-01-16T09:41:00.000-08:00

Andrew turned 9 months old yesterday. I just love his little teeth (except when they are coming in and hurting--like the top four are right now.) In addition to saying "mama", he now says, "dada" and his latest is "naynan". He started saying that about a week ago, but I didn't realize he was referring to his big brother until a few days ago. It is adorable!

Yesterday morning I was getting Andrew dressed and he escaped to go see Nate who was still in bed. It's so fun to see how much they like each other!

And of course it is almost impossible to get them to smile at the same time for a photo op.

I can just hear Nathan saying, "Mom! That's enough pictures right now!"

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home!!

2009-01-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

Sea World!

2009-01-07T21:04:00.000-08:00

Today was the last time for us to take advantage of the "free" admission to Sea World. And of course I forgot our camera. We had a great time. Nate went on the Wild Arctic ride with me and was terrified. It is a simulated helicopter ride where they "fly" you around a glacier to see the different wild life. After the ride you get to walk around and see in real life some of the animals that were featured in the ride. Nate loved watching the polar bears swim around. We got to see all the shows that we wanted to. The Sesame Street playground was amazing and Nate wanted to spend most of the time there. You know the kids had a great time when they fall asleep on the way home. Another clue was when we were walking to another ride and Nathan said, "This is the most fantastic day ever!"

Who's in charge here?

2009-01-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

Today Nate found a hammer that George hadn't put away after fixing something. He held it up and said, "Dad, I have a job for you!"

Later, Andrew woke up from his nap and Nate heard him. So he said, "Dad, will you go get Andrew please?"
So, you tell me who the parent is here?

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T18:23:00.000-08:00

We didn't do anything special last night. George had duty yesterday so he had to spend the night at work. I put the boys to bed at about 8 and then I stayed up to watch the ball drop at "midnight" which was really 9 for me. Then I fell asleep on the couch. I woke up at about 11:45 and found out that the same thing was on that I had already seen. So I went to bed. Pretty boring, but I probably would've done the same thing if George didn't have work. I must be getting old.

Yay Christmas!!

2008-12-26T17:35:00.000-08:00

I didn't get a shot of the Christmas morning before we opened our presents. The boys had a great time though. They totally got spoiled! Just see for yourself.

And yet, the most fun they had all day was just playing with the carseat! So typical.

I won't bother telling you everything we got. The best thing about Christmas is that we could be together!

Lookin sharp!

2008-12-23T10:04:00.001-08:00

I always did love it when guys would dress up in their white shirts and dark pants.

And here is Andrew doing his latest "trick".

2008-12-19T09:07:00.000-08:00

My baby is growing up. Since he started crawling he has learned how to kneel, sit, and pull himself up to furniture! The other day I went to the bathroom and instead of Nate banging on the door, it was Andrew! He had followed me down the hall and was banging on the door while saying, "Mama! Mama!" He's 8 months old now and at the rate he's going he will be walking at 9 months like his brother! It just reminds me to hold on to and record every memory while it's fresh.

San Diego Zoo

2008-12-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

We went to the zoo last Wednesday. It was nice and warm. We didn't even need our jackets! Far cry from today though. It's rainy and cold today. It's not even going to get into the 60s today! (And all you Utahns are going, "BOO HOO! Cry about it why don't you!" With all the sarcasm you can muster, of course. ;))

Santa!

2008-12-12T06:52:00.000-08:00

We got to see Santa last Saturday. Andrew still isn't at the "stranger anxiety" stage yet, but hadn't seen anyone with a beard like that before.

Nate was so proud of himself because he wasn't scared either. Last year we had to take him to the mall to see Santa 3 or 4 times before he would sit on his lap.

I was just looking at last year's pictures of Nate with Santa and can't believe how little he was! Check it out!

Andrew was still pretty small too! ;)

Haircuts!

2008-12-07T16:27:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures of my boys. You can't tell a big difference with Andrew (he just had some weird long baby hairs that hadn't fallen out yet), but Nate OBVIOUSLY needed a haircut! I decided that a new style for him was in order too.

What we did this week

2008-12-06T16:03:00.000-08:00

Sunday:
Went to church. Met our new ward. Saw old friends from a previous ward.
Monday:
Bought a REAL Christmas tree. Andrew learned to scoot. Realized none of our Christmas lights work anymore.
Tuesday:
Andrew learned how to crawl. Andrew and I went to a baby shower for one of my friends who I saw Sunday while George stayed home with Nathan. (George doesn't feel ready to watch both kids for longer than it takes me to shower.)
Wednesday:
George had duty so I hung out with the kids all day. Pretty boring. We went to Enrichment night at church where we put together Christmas boxes for military personnel overseas.
Thursday:
George and Nathan went to the store and bought new lights for the tree. I gave all three boys haircuts. George wouldn't let me take pictures of him, but you can use your imaginations. (Apparently the picture uploader is having troubles right now so I will post pictures of the boys later.)
Friday:
Hung out with George. Started decorating the tree to realize some of the lights don't look that great after all. (White cord not recommended if you aren't going to use flocking on your tree.)
Saturday:
Went to the Ronald Reagan Christmas party. I forgot to take the camera but they had a photographer there to take the pictures with Santa. Andrew fell asleep in the stroller. Enjoyed the wonderfully warm San Diego sun! I baked cookies (today is my sweets day;)) and posted my 100th post!! (this is it if you were wondering.)

See how happy I am?

2008-12-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

That's cause this guy is back!

He actually got back about 2 weeks ago, but we have been busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest! We had the first couple days just with us and the boys. Then that Saturday we had a family get together with all of George's siblings and their spouses and kids (those who have them anyway). The next week we were busy packing up to move to San Diego. We left Salt Lake on Thursday and went to my mom's house to visit with all my siblings who could make it. We were only there for a few hours and then we continued on to St. George where we spent the night. Friday we drove the rest of the way to San Diego and moved in to our apartment here. Now we are finally settled a little bit and have been able to see some of our friends and will hopefully get to see everyone here before we have to pack up and move back up to Salt Lake in a couple months.

Time to get a lock on Andrew's door!

2008-11-19T22:19:00.000-08:00

I put Andrew down for his nap today and then jumped into the shower. I got out of the shower about 20 minutes later and heard Andrew crying. So I went to investigate. I found Nathan holding the camera in the crib with Andrew. Later I found these pictures that Nate had taken. SOOO glad George is coming home!

By the way, layovers are the worst! George made it to San Diego in plenty of time to catch his flight, but the plane had "mechanical problems" and was delayed 45 minutes. Not that big of a deal, except that his layover in LA was only 38 minutes and of course there wasn't another flight from LA to Salt Lake tonight. So he gets to spend the night in LA in a hotel room when he was originally supposed to be here this morning (Wednesday) at 9:15. Can this last few hours possibly get any LONGER???

The "official" after picture

2008-11-18T14:40:00.000-08:00

Okay, here I am this morning in the same outfit. Didn't Nate do a good job taking the picture?
After:

Before:

Also, remember the CHAIN? There's only ONE link left!!!! We get to go to the airport tomorrow night to pick up George!!!!

Challenge conclusion

2008-11-13T22:01:00.001-08:00

Okay. The challenge officially ended on Monday, but I have been a slacker. I did really bad with exercise last week so I decided to try the "last" week again. I did take some pictures though. So I guess I will post them. There's not much difference between the two though. Maybe you can tell if you look closely. Just remember it was only 5 lbs and 3 inches. So the results aren't that obvious at a glance. My brother in law did ask a funny question the other day. He said, "Hey! Where did your belly go?" So I guess you can tell a little bit. I do weigh less than I have since highschool! I think I will keep up my new lifestyle. I might change my mind though. Let me know what your results were whether you were trying to lose or gain! (That's for my preggo friends.) :)
So here's before:

And after:

(Looking at these pictures reminds me of those "find the differences" games in kiddie magazines or the comics. lol!)

Fourth of the fourth (of the fourth)

2008-11-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

I'm sure some of you have seen this tag. It's where you take the fourth picture in the fourth file on your computer and tell the story. Well, my fourth of the fourth was another folder so I did the fourth picture in that folder. Hence fourth of the fourth of the fourth. Anyway, here it is:

You gotta love the total CHEESE that Nate is emanating. This picture was the one we sent out with our Christmas cards last year. If you look closely you can even see Andrew! He is the lovely bump in my midsection. Pretty good timing for this picture with the holidays coming up! And that reminds me, I need to get crackin' on this years cards!

voting booths

2008-11-08T15:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, I have been thinking about this since tuesday and want to find out if anyone else feels the same way. With these new machines, where I voted they were right out in the open. Not that I'm ashamed about who I voted for or anything, but I just felt kind of weird knowing that people could be looking over my shoulder and see everything I was doing. What happened to the booths with the curtains? Isn't voting supposed to be anonymous? They could easily put up curtains around the machines. I don't know. Am I just being silly and vain to think that anyone else would even care enough to see who I voted for? What do you think?

What's this white stuff again?

2008-11-06T21:20:00.000-08:00

We haven't lived in Utah during the winter since we've been married. Sure, we've visited when it has been snowy, but we only stayed for a couple weeks at the most. Nathan associates snow with Utah because that's the only place he's seen it. So through the summer he kept asking me when we were going to go to Utah. I tried to explain to him that we WERE in Utah and he would say, "But Mom, it's not cold!" Well, if he didn't believe me then, he sure believes me now! Of course he had to go out and play in it today. (He was sick yesterday when it was snowing so I didn't let him go out.)
And what's the first thing that every kid does? "Mom! Snow tastes like ICE!!"

Soon we will be heading back to sunny California and go from this:

to this:

One more week

2008-11-03T11:18:00.000-08:00

How are you all doing on your challenge? I have struggled a few times in the last couple weeks, but now it's the home stretch! So far I've lost 5 lbs and 3 inches on my waist. I think I've pretty much reached my goal. Now the real struggle will be to maintain through the holidays! So if you've all but given up, give it one last try this week and see how it goes!

Time to "fall back"!

2008-11-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

I hope you all remembered to change your clocks back an hour! If not, you'll be an hour early to church! The thing about daylight savings time is that kids (and especially babies) don't care what the numbers on the clock are. They will get up whenever they want! So instead of getting an extra hour of sleep, I just have an extra hour to be tired today! Personally, I don't understand the whole "saving" part of it. It doesn't matter how much you change your clocks, there is still going to be the same amount of daylight during the day! It's just one more thing that we have to worry about and one more thing to confuse everybody. It's hard for some people to understand that when you go down in numbers, you are actually GAINING an hour and when you go UP you LOSE an hour! It always confused me when I was traveling across the country trying to figure it out. We are pros at it now though having lived on both coasts. My favorite thing involving time zones was when Nate was born. We lived in South Carolina and he was born at 12:14 AM so when we called our families to tell them he was born March 3rd, it was still the 2nd where they lived! And now I've used up the "extra" hour I got with this silly mess.

Halloween fun

2008-10-31T22:09:00.000-07:00

I think this is the 5th of 6 Halloweens that George has missed since we got married. Despite that, we did have a good time. Nate dressed up as Batman...

and Andrew was an Elf.

I decided to be an oriental girl.

Trick or Treat!
MMMMM....Candy!

Thinking inside the box...

2008-10-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

Or rather, SLEEPING inside the box. For those of you who remember THIS post, here is one more strange place Nate fell asleep recently:

He was mad at me for sending him to get his pjs on and was hiding from me when he fell asleep. It was a pretty good hiding place because I almost panicked when he wasn't in his bed when I checked on him.

8 the great tag

2008-10-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

8 Favorite TV Shows:

How it's Made
Heroes
Myth Busters
Eli Stone
The Office
Word Girl
Bones
CSI Miami

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

Went for a walk
took a shower
read part of Brisingr
emailed George
registered to vote
took a link off our countdown chain
crossed off a day on the calendar
washed my dishes by hand (no dishwasher yet)

8 Things I Look Forward To:

George coming home
moving to San Diego for the winter
getting a dishwasher
my hair being long again
sweets day
seeing family
seeing friends
sleep

8 Favorite Restaurants:

Ruth's Chris (best steak ever, but pretty pricey)
Olive Garden
Cheesecake Factory
Arctic Circle (complimentary ice cream cones)
Texas Roadhouse (second best steak ever, reasonably priced)
Pepperbelly's
my mom's house
my mom-in-law's house

8 Things On My Wish List:

new dishwasher
new cookware
a walker for Andrew
plane ticket from San Diego for George
maintenance free house
green grass
a cook
a maid

8 People To Tag:

Sandra
Maria
whoever wants to (but only 6 of you so that it makes 8 ;)

Procrastination has its perks!

2008-10-20T21:57:00.001-07:00

I went to the county clerk's office today to register to vote. When I got there, there was a line of cars that stretched through the parking lot and around the corners of both sides of the block. I got really worried that I wasn't going to find a parking spot and that I would have to drag my kids several blocks. To my suprise and delight there were people outside handing out registration forms to the people in their cars and telling us to fill out the forms while we inched forward. They also collected the completed forms so we didn't even have to get out of the car! Experiences like this make me want to procrastinate more often! But procrastinating can wait until later. ;)

bundled up!

2008-10-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

So I finally downloaded the pictures from last weekend when it was so cold. I had to bundle Andrew up really warm when I went walking. It got warm enough by Friday though that I almost didn't even put a jacket on him! If you don't like Utah weather, wait five minutes.

5 months down...

2008-10-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

George left 5 months ago today. I can't believe it's been that long, but then again I can. Just thinking about the fact that he has only spent a week in this house, where it seems like we have lived forever, puts things back into perspective. Also, Andrew has grown so much in the 5 months that it makes me sad to think about everything George is missing. Nathan has gone through some changes too, but more for the better than otherwise. He started preschool which has helped with any behavior problems that might have come up. I'm sure that a big part of it is the more structured environment. Let's face it, when you are in the same place all day long with the same person telling you what to and what not to do, wouldn't you start acting out too? Anyway, enough babbling. We all miss George and are excited for him to come home. We are counting down the days. Still.

I just have one more thought. It seems like ever since George and I met we have spent an unusual amount of time apart. While dating and engaged I lived in Ephriam and he lived in St. George--about a 3 hour drive (for him anyway-the speed demon.) Four months after we were married he went to boot camp for 9 weeks. We did have the next year and a half pretty much together, but with long hours for him at the navy schools. Then we moved to California and since then we have spent more time apart than together--not counting regular work days that normal couples go through(he will correct me if I'm wrong because you can bet he's figured it out many a time). So for any of you who have a loved one who is away from you, I feel ya. Any single moms out there, I feel ya too--though my situation isn't quite the same, I feel like a single mom most of the time. I guess that was a little more than just one more thought, huh.

Lonely once again.

2008-10-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

My house has felt very empty now that Sandra and Emilie have gone home. I wasn't the best at getting my camera out so if you want to see some pictures check out her blog here.

As for the challenge, I am only 2 lbs away from my goal weight with 4 1/2 weeks left!

Visitors!

2008-09-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

My sister (who is a fellow Navy-wife) came to Utah for a visit while her husband is out at sea. She brought her two year old daughter and I can't believe how cute she is! She follows Nate around (when he isn't following her) and copies everything he does (when he isn't copying her). Sometimes it's good, but most of the time....well, I'm sure you can imagine. Emilie taught Nate her "scary" face:

It's so fun to have them here. I hadn't seen them for almost a year because I lived in California and Sandra lives in Virginia. It's hard to coordinate visits, so that's just one more bonus of living in Utah while George is gone--I'm already here when they come! Here are a couple more precious moments:

By the way, we are half way done with the challenge! I have lost 3 inches on my waist and an inch on my thighs! How have you done so far?

5 weeks down, 7 to go!

2008-09-22T19:20:00.001-07:00

How are you doing on your challenge? I am proud to say I have only cheated once on the sweets part! I haven't done the 5 vigorous workouts every week, but the least I've done in a week is 3! Way better than before we started this challenge! If you have fallen off the bandwagon, don't despair! Just get back on and start anew! Thanks for all the cheering you have done for me. Keep it up!

I can't touch my shoulders!

2008-09-18T20:59:00.001-07:00

One of the things George and I do to pass the time while he's gone is get in shape. This time I think he might have taken it to the extreme. He has informed me that his workouts have gradually increased to TWO HOURS A DAY!! Well, this is the email I got from him today:

So there I was working out. My shirt was all frumpy. I don’t know if you know what frumpy means but the definition in this case is that is was not hanging on my body just right. So I went to move it around so it would fit right and I tried to do what I normally do when this happens. I usually grab my shirt at the shoulders with the same side hand. The problem was that I couldn’t reach my shoulders because my biceps wouldn’t work that way. I tried again. You know that thing that you tell people to do like lick their elbow or something like that. That’s what I looked like.

I haven't seen any pictures yet, but I want to now!

Nyeahh!

2008-09-10T23:31:00.000-07:00

One of the things I love about babies is when they start figuring out that they actually can control things their bodies do. Today Andrew discovered his tongue. It was sooo cute! He was sticking it out pretty much all day. Nate saw him doing it during lunch and couldn't stop laughing. He had to turn away from Andrew so that he could get his composure. I love moments like that!

Running late

2008-09-07T18:13:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up at 730. Bad idea when you have two kids and yourself to get ready for 9 o'clock church! I got myself ready and then realized that I needed to get Nate up too. By that time it was 830 which is usually when I feed Andrew right before I walk out the door in the hopes that I won't have to take him out during sacrament meeting. So we did a rush job getting Nate's clothes on and hair combed etc. We started out the door when I realized none of us had eaten breakfast yet. (Yes it is the day of fasting, but with a nursing baby I am not in a condition to participate in that part of the day.) So I grabbed a corn muffin for Nate on the way out the door and realized that probably would be really messy in the church and there's not enough time for him to finish it on the way there. So I grabbed the next thing I saw: a bag of cookies. Not as healthy, but less crumbly. So we sneak in the back while the bishop is reading the announcements and sit two rows behind his wife and 5 year old boy. Nate is eating his cookie and I'm praying he won't show it off to anyone, but of course having cookies is a novelty and as soon as he saw the bishop's son he says, "Hey Joey! Look!" and holds up his cookie. I am just mortified at my son at that point until Joey holds up his poptart to show Nathan! Of course the bishop's wife is mortified as well and tells him to sit down, but I am feeling much better about myself in knowing that I wasn't the only one in that situation. So thank you Laurie for letting your kid eat breakfast during sacrament meeting so that I don't have to feel like a total failure!

Confession

2008-09-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

I have to confess. I splurged this week. I had sweets two days instead of just one. I almost had sweets today too, but I resisted! One you have cheated on your diet it's just that much easier to do it again. Tomorrow starts a new week so hopefully I will do better!

Let me know how you are doing with the challenge! And just remember: You don't have to be perfect tomorrow, just be better today than you were yesterday!

Yay September!

2008-09-01T23:13:00.000-07:00

This morning I realized that this is the FOURTH TIME I have changed the calendar since George left! September also marks ONE YEAR LEFT in the Navy!! Not that we don't enjoy serving our country, but some people can handle it a lot longer than others. WE are some of the others. ;) Enough of being apart. I got married so I could be WITH my husband forever! (of course what's 6 months when compared to eternity?) And so the countdown continues....

Progress!!

2008-08-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

"Good habits result from resisting temptation."
~ Author Unknown

I saw that quote on my friend Heidi's blog. I think it about sums up what I am trying to accomplish with this challenge. Today, instead of having a cup full of m&ms I decided to have graham crackers and milk. I don't know if I actually cut calories with that exchange, but the point is I resisted temptation! (Patting myself on the back at this exact moment.) I also worked out VIGOROUSLY 5 days this week! I think I am definitely going to be able to meet my goal by the end of this 12 weeks.

Other progress we have made this week:
My dad put up shelves in my laundry room today! I love them! Now I have somewhere to put my 5 years worth of cleaning supplies so that people won't see them every time they go in my kitchen! He also put longer hoses on my washing machine so that we could switch places with it and the dryer. Hopefully this will make my life more enjoyable as I persevere in the never ending task of laundry doing. "Your laundry is never done until you are standing naked in front of the dryer!" ~college dorm laundry room wall

Nate completed his first week of preschool! He loves it and doesn't complain when I have him get his clothes on (which is usually an hour long struggle). Of course we had to get him a backpack and of course he wanted a spiderman one. You can't really see it in this picture, but he takes it everywhere with him!

Part of our success is the more firm schedule with Nate in preschool three days of the week. I have never been good at making or keeping a strict schedule, I guess you could say I'm a "go with the flow" kind of person.

Tell me some of the progress you have made this last week!

Here we go again!

2008-08-18T22:39:00.000-07:00

There is just enough time left before George gets home for another 12 week challenge! So I have made some new goals and my sister Maria is going to join me. I am going to do more vigorous workouts this time and also limit my sweets intake to one day a week. So once again, feel free to join me or just cheer me on in my efforts to be in tip top shape by the time George gets back! I might as well have the best me waiting for him, right?

One more thing, if I feel good about the results, you will get a before and after shot at the end of the twelve weeks, but not until then.

Halfway party

2008-08-16T22:40:00.001-07:00

This is going to be quick because I am worn out from today. I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who got to come help celebrate the halfway point for George's deployment. I felt a little bad that I didn't get everyone invited that I wanted to but my house was pretty crowded as it was so I guess that was a blessing in disguise. We had lunch and let the kids play in the little kiddie pool in the backyard. It was really fun and I'm glad that I was able to celebrate (even though I would rather have a "halfway till George comes home" party every day instead of three months after he left). Yes it is hard for me to have him gone, but at least I have family and friends around to help me through! Yay for living in Utah!! Of course I was too busy playing "perfect hostess" to take any pictures or anything so I don't have any visuals for you. You will just have to take my word for it. Anyway, Happy Halfway!!

PS Just a shoutout for all you Michael Phelps fans: Eight gold medals!!! Go Michael!!

Chains

2008-08-13T14:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Nate asked me, "Can you get married again so Daddy can come home?" So I explained to him that his dad and I got married a long time ago and we don't need to do it again. Then we made a countdown chain. It is a lot longer than I want it to be, but at least it will just get smaller every day!

I also got out Andrew's link toys. Nate wanted to see if they would float so he took them into the bathroom and filled up the sink. It's nice when kids are curious about things that are harmless like that!

Multicolored

2008-08-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

I was looking at Nate's hair today and noticed how many colors there are! I guess he has spent a lot more time outside lately since we have a back yard. I couldn't get a picture of it that does it justice, but this is the best I could do.

Andrew found his feet the other day. He loves chewing on them! It always amazes me how flexible babies are. It looks like he prefers feet to binkies!

I love hand-me-downs!

2008-08-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

Nate got bunkbeds today! He loves them. We inherited them from George's parents. After his grandpa and uncle got finished setting them up Nate said, "I love my new bed!"

Andrew also tried out his "new" highchair. (It's a hand-me-down from Nate.) He'll actually get to eat in it pretty soon! He'll be 4 months old on Friday.

Thanks

2008-08-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say thanks for all the positive comments. I will definitely continue taking my kids to the movies and just keep all those helpful comebacks handy in case someone else decides to make smart remarks. Speaking of movies, I took Nate to Wall-E today (to the matinee again, but I was able to leave my baby with my mother in law this time--thanks Donna!! It's always good to have one on one time with the older kids so they don't feel like they are being pushed out by the baby.) Anyway, it was really good and when it comes out on dvd you can bet it will be added to our collection! If you get a chance, go see it! Pixar always does a really good job, in my opinion.

movie etiquette

2008-07-31T22:41:00.001-07:00

I went to the matinee of Prince Caspian today with a couple friends and our kids. It was a good movie, but not the most entrancing one for the kids. Needless to say they got a little restless. But I wasn't about to get a babysitter for a couple hours in a day when I was just going to pay a dollar to see the movie. Well, on the way out of the theater a lady said to me, "That's the nice thing about theaters; you can leave your kids home and they can scream all they want." I couldn't believe she had the nerve to actually say that! I could still hear the movie and the kids were right next to me! We were in the very back and there wasn't anyone for at least three rows in front of us. Was I wrong to take my kids? Or should I just tell people like her that when they arrange for and pay for my babysitter, I will leave my kids home. Isn't that the whole idea behind matinees too? So that you don't have to worry about disturbing other people who also only paid one dollar to get in? Let me know if I'm wrong so that I can change my ways.

Andrew's "Linus" blanket

2008-07-30T21:51:00.000-07:00

Andrew loves this little bear blanket. Thank you Sister Hoch. I don't know how old babies usually are before they get attached to things, but I think it's adorable! (Until we leave it somewhere or can't find it, that is.) One day he was crying and I had tried just about everything. Finally I put him in his bouncy chair and handed him his bear blanket and he immediately stopped crying! He loves rubbing it on his face, which I can't blame him because it is very soft. He also likes to suck on the ear. Way too cute! The good thing is, it's small. So when he walks around with it (if he still likes it when he walks) it won't drag on the ground!

Are you comfy?

2008-07-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

I realized a while ago that Nate has fallen asleep in some strange places, as I'm sure all kids do at one point or another. I think it's because we have been so busy since we moved here. I just look at him and think, "That CAN'T be comfortable!" So here are a few examples that I have caught on camera:

We're a puzzle family.

2008-07-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

So one of my friends was talking about games on her blog so I wanted to share this little tidbit about us.

When George and I first got married we were glad to find out that we had the same taste in games. Phase 10 was the first one that we tried out with just the two of us. It turns out we are both very competitive and at that time I was a pretty sore loser. (I have since become WAY more mature and have the rule in our house that if you get mad playing a game we have to stop. Games are supposed to be fun and make you happy whether you are winning or not!) Anyway, by the time we got to phase 7 we weren't even talking to each other. So we decided that we needed a new family activity that we could both feel good about when we finished. That is when we figured out that we are a puzzle family. Until we get to the last piece that is...

Are you serious?

2008-07-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

So I got out an outfit the other day to put on Andrew and was about to put on his booties when I realized something. They are way too big! I don't mean too long, because they are the perfect length. I mean they are too wide and the cuffs are too big! What, do the manufacturers think my baby has cartoon feet or something? And I have never seen ANY baby with ankles ("cankles" if you will) big enough for these cuffs. Have you ever seen any baby feet that would fit in these? At least the onesie and the bib fit!

Bear Lake

2008-07-13T18:59:00.000-07:00

We got to go to beautiful Bear Lake last week. We were there Monday thru Wednesday and it was so much fun. We camped at "Cottonwood Camp" on Rendezvous Beach and it's not named that for nothing! There was cotton everywhere. It almost looked like snow! One thing, it has forever cured me of ever wanting a cottonwood tree in MY yard!

We played cards (Andrew played on Uncle Robin's team)...

and had water fights (though they seemed to be a little bit one-sided at times)...

and played a little soccer...

Andrew loved being outside and did great sleeping in his bouncy chair at night. (We were going to bring his pack 'n play but forgot to load it into the car before we left.)

Here's Andrew all snug as a bug:

And what's a trip to the lake without getting in the water or playing in the mud?

Here is a less than flattering picture of me but it's the only one with me in it so deal with it! (That's more for me than any of you readers.)

My brother in law Robert started making a mini "Egypt" so I helped him finish. It's not the best picture but there are four pyramids and even a little sphinx.

Here's my sister in law Carolyn in the kayak that my father in law built. Gotta love the orange color!

All in all it was a great family reunion. The only thing that would've made it perfect is if George had been able to be there...We're shooting for 2010...

Memories

2008-07-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

One of my friends had this on her blog and it sounded like fun!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Happy Independence Day!!

2008-07-04T22:19:00.000-07:00

We had a good time today at the inlaw's house. I put my boys in their matching outfits (which just happened to be red white and blue) and spent the day with their Grandma and Grandpa Bawden. Nate loved doing fireworks and liked the sparklers the best. I hope you all had as much fun as we did!

Nate fell asleep after dinner and before we got the pyrotechnics going. He wouldn't wake up to pose for the "twinner" pictures. (Sorry George. I was bound to make them match one of these days. It was only a matter of time.)

He finally woke up with enough time left to do a few fireworks.

This was the first year that he was awake when it was time for fireworks. So he was very excited but still very careful.

mommy tag

2008-06-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

1. What is something mom always says to you? Don't even do this.

2. What makes mom happy? When I'm happy.

3. What makes mom sad? Doing bad stuff.

4. How does mom make you laugh? When mommy is silly.

5. What was mom like as a child? Sleeping.

6. How old is your mom? twenty-twelve

7. How tall is your mom? 54 pounds.

8. What is your mommy's favorite thing to do? Play games.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Be all alone.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Staying here.

11. What is your mom really good at? Doing computer.

12. What is your mom not very good at? Not playing games.

13. What does your mom do for her job? Read books.

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Milk and juice.

15. What makes you proud of your mom? Play my game.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Mommy, a show

17. What do you and your mom do together? Play games.

18. How are you and your mom the same? We read books.

19. How are you and your mom different? She's a girl.

20. How do you know your mom loves you? She says thank you.

We tag Emily, Adam and Hannah, and JR and Sierra.

Success!!

2008-06-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

I finally figured out what was going wrong with my bread! I had tried two more times after Nate "helped" me with the exact same result. So this time I tried using different wheat and this was the result:

Nate and Andrew

2008-06-24T09:46:00.000-07:00

The other day Nate was trying to get Andrew to smile. I think he did a pretty good job! Though Andrew looks like he's got something else on his mind altogether in the second picture. ;) It's fun to see them together when Andrew isn't barfing all over Nate and Nate isn't squeezing him to death or doing "head bonks". It sure is a lot different having two than it is just one! It's way more fun!!

2008-06-20T15:37:00.001-07:00

You Are Cinderella!

Dignified and hard working. With a gentle and soft-spoken manner you have something many people don't. Patience. Even through the moments of heartbreak you're still able to hold onto all of your hopes and dreams. Bide your time; your dream will come true.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

"ABC" Tag

2008-06-17T19:26:00.000-07:00

ABC's "getting to know you" TAG. Complete the ABC's of you. Then, each player tags 3 people and posts their names, goes to their blogs and leaves a comment letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

A- Attached or single: Attached. Been married 5 years!
B- Best Friend: George!
C-Cake or Pie: Cake.
D-Day: Sunday. I get to go to church and then hang out with my inlaws!
E- Essential Item: Cell phone. You never know when George might be in port and try to call.
F- Favorite Color: Purple.
G-Gummy Bears or Worms: Gummy bears. It takes me back to 3rd grade when I would get 5 of them for getting 100% on my spelling tests.
H-Home town: Richfield.
I- Indulgences: Sweets.
J- January or July?: What about JUNE??
K-Kids: Nathan and Andrew
L-Life is incomplete without: Love
M- Marriage Date: May 3, 2003
N-Number of Siblings: 6 brothers, 5 sisters
O- Oranges or Apples: Depends on the day.
P- Phobias or Fears: That I will lock myself out of the house or the car with my baby inside. (Nate is big enough now that he can open the doors for me.)
Q- Quote: You don't have to be perfect tomorrow, just be better today than you were yesterday!
R- Reason To Smile: Living.
S- Season: Spring (in San Diego. Utah doesn't really have a specific "spring" it's either freezing or burning.)
T- Tag Three: Sandra, Candi, and Nicole G.
U- Unknown fact about me: I like to eat M&Ms by color until there is an equal amount of each.
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I wouldn't say I'm an oppressor but I do NOT want a pet.
W- Worst Habit: Procrastinating (Admit it, we all do it!)
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: I've had both. X-rays: at the dentist and chiropractor, Ultrasounds during pregnancy
Y-Your favorite food: I really like pasta. It's quick and easy.
Z- Zodiac Sign: Gemini: Adaptable and versatile, Communicative and witty, Intellectual and eloquent, Youthful and lively. On the dark side....Nervous and tense, Superficial and inconsistent, Cunning and inquisitive. I'll let you judge how accurate that is.