Chris is 30!!!

Chris is like a Scrooge when it comes to his own birthday. He doesn't like it at all and this year was the big 3-0. All year I've been fretting over what to give him to make it special and memorable. I mentioned to my mom that the thing he'd like most would be a get away with me but I wasn't sure who I could get to watch my kids. She volunteered to come out and make a visit to us around that time, perfect! Now work... Who would I talk to? Ideally I'd like to take him away and fly somewhere warm. I'd been feeling him out for awhile trying to see how much time he could take off from work and it wasn't looking good so I opted to stay local and do a one night escape.

I had everything set for a Friday. I'd go into his work around 2 or 3:00 and steal him away for a romantic dinner and night:). Well, the day before he started feeling sick with chills and sore throat. It reminded me of my strep throat I'd had earlier in November so I immediately insisted on taking him in to be checked. Sure enough it was strep. We got him on antibiotics and he should be feeling better and not contagious within 24 hours. Bummer, I couldn't surprise him from work but at least we caught it in time.

All day Friday he looked and felt horrible. I kept waiting for him to turn a corner but he never did. I called the place we were staying at to see if we could move our reservations to Saturday instead and they said yes. So I left it up to Chris. Said, "surprise" told him my initial plans and asked him his preference. He chose to defer to Saturday.

By then he still wasn't feeling the greatest. His throat still hurt so he didn't really enjoy dinner but we still had a wonderful night and slept til our natural alarm clocks woke us up (8:00).

For his actual birthday it started with gifts then off to work.

At work I had a surprise lunch party set up for him and some of his closer co-workers. Chris was surprised and didn't suspect it at all. Our getaway distracted any thought he may have had towards a "party". His reaction wasn't big and I only got a little clip before the camera died, but here's what I got

I had 30 pictures up of him where people could guess his age in each picture. It was fun to see Chris through the years.

Michelle, Jason, and Landon (Goose Island root beers:)

Omar, Angela, and Anne

Keith

Last year Chris requested Boston Cream Pie and he seemed to like it so I made it again this year.

Later that night he wanted to go to Zoo Lights. It was a beautiful evening and we all enjoyed.

You've still got it at 30 Babe! I love you!

Chris left a little later for work this morning...

He got a little distracted... The boys didn't have school today:)

10 Year Reunion

Ten Years already? I guess after 7 years of marriage and 3 kids it's okay to say Chris is 28 making it 10 years since he graduated high school. This is who turned up:

We drove pretty much non stop to get to the reunion. We missed the Friday night event but went to the Saturday night dinner and Sunday family lunch. All I have are pictures of the dinner.

Chris and me

Ashley and Joe Atkin, Sean Diehl, and my man:) (he went golfing with buddies that morning and got roasted!)

Joe was one of Chris' best friends in high school

They crack me up

Another friend Matt Stenshoel

I didn't get enough pictures, but despite the lack of pictures it was fun and good to catch up. I liked being from the same hometown. It wasn't awkward for me and I knew a lot of the people so it was fun for me to catch up as well. In a couple years it'll be mine.

Sick House

We got back from Utah/Idaho Sunday evening and Jared was sick. He slept for an hour and a half on the plane and woke up throwing up. He threw up like five more times before we landed (about an hours time). He continued to throw up frequently through the evening so finally between 10 and 11 I took him to the ER. There they gave him Zofran which helped immediately and we got home around 1:00 AM.

All Monday he seemed much more himself with a couple naps but lots more energy. The next morning at 5:50 AM I heard Spencer on the monitor throwing up. Ran downstairs and rescued him from his sickened state. I'd much rather have Jared sick then Spencer right now. Spencer cannot aim and doesn't even try. Luckliy he only threw up 5 times in a four hour period of which I was able to catch two of them in my shirt and the other two I had to clean up (first one was in his bed). I also felt worse when Spencer threw up because he doesn't understand what's going on and it scared him and he'd say mommy in between heaves; broke my heart.

So Chris and I thought we were in the clearing but Chris woke up this morning sick as well, after a rough night with the boys... (When Spencer wakes up Jared somehow helps him get out of the crib. This happened for the first time last night but twice, grrrr. This cannot be happening with the baby coming in six weeks! Jared was in a toddler bed and potty trained at Spencer's age but I don't care, Spencer is a different child and I am totally content with him in diapers and a crib for awhile after the baby is here.)

More to come of our last week's adventures...

Happy Father's Day Chris!

You know you're a good dad when you share half of your breakfast in bed with your kids and...

at the end of the day they curl up beside you and fall asleep.

I'm so glad they have you for their dad!

Just Because...

... he's a good dad. I wanted to post some pictures of him and the boys. They really love him!

Adjusting to a Hard Working Man

So it's been about a month since Chris' work has really picked up and kept him busy. During that time we're ReallY lucky if Chris is home by 6:30 (mainly only Monday nights). The rest of the time it's either right before the kids go to bed or just late. The kids probably see him two out of the five nights of the week and occassionly three. At first when this routine started I honestly didn't know how long I'd last. Can I just say that having an amazing husband/father makes it way hard to not see him, especially the kids! They adore Chris and would often cry/complain when I told them he was coming home after they went to bed (this is mainly Jared). And lately Jared has been sleeping in til after 8:00 so he doesn't see him in the morning either.


The first week I was really worried how long I could last. Quite frankly I disliked it and I know Chris did too (as far as not being with his boys) But the good thing is the boys and I have adjusted quicker than I thought. Jared doesn't complain near as much and is able to cope with what I tell him better. I've learned to just expect a late evening so I'm not disappointed. Another good thing is Chris is sensitive to both the kids and me. If I sense that Jared needs more dad time I just tell him tonight you need to be home for dinner and he comes, and if I've had all I can have then he comes and rejuvinates me.

As much as it stinks not having our dad/husband around as much we are so grateful he does have a job and for the most part enjoys it. He doesn't come home complaining (yet) and still makes a valiant effort to be with us when he is able to. I guess now we've just hit "real" life! I know tons of other people who do this and have done this for years. To excel in anything you have to put in the hours, do the grunt work, and be a hard worker to reap the dividends. I love him dearly and so grateful that even though he's busy he still comes home and makes me happy and smile. I don't know how I got so lucky to have him!

Good Lookin Lawyer

He's past the test, he's held his arm to the square, he's taken the oath and now he is a lawyer:) Yesterday I dropped the boys off at a friends and enjoyed (knitted during) the swearing in of this soon to be hardworking man (right now I am enjoying him leaving for work between 7:30 and 8:00 and coming home between 5:30 and 6:00, I don't think this is what I should be expecting but for now I'll take it!) and followed it up with lunch with two other couples whose husbands were also sworn in.
Today we received a delivery for Chris congratulating him. His mother knows him well. The white and brown are choclate covered bananas and the all brown are chocolate covered apples. The gift also came with choclate dipping sauce for the other fruit. Thanks Jim and Cherie it is almost all consumed already!
I know Chris is going to be a great lawyer and do well. He's a wonderful father and husband and I know he'll continue to be so no matter how busy he gets. I'm proud of you Chris and I love you!

Mud+Football=Happy Man

Chris this Saturday got together with about 13 men from our ward to play football. He came back looking like this:He was gone for about 2 hours and I was starting to get frustrated because we were going to go shopping and I was ready to get going. But when he came home he was grinning from ear to ear:) He had a fun time with the guys and it was a good rejuvinating activity for him.

I loved seeing this sexy man dirty and only wish I could have seen him in action! The only bad thing is he is now paying for it through sore muscles and a cold/chills that come and go. I'm sure though he'll recover enough to be out there again next Saturday:)

Graduation

Three years that went too fast! Mixed feelings are shared between Chris and me as we look back. Chris loves school so much that he's sad to leave it behind and enter the real world. I'm sad to leave behind "happy valley" and all our friends. On the other hand we're both ready to get an income.

Commemoration was great though. I enjoyed all the speakers and it was quite insightful and inspiring. There were a few times I almost caught myself from crying I was sad that graduation was "the end". I loved going into law school with the boys to visit their dad and got to know quite a few students and was sad to know we won't be making that trip anymore at least it won't be the same anymore.But celebrate we did, Chris style. We had a barbecue with avocados, pineapple, bacon, grilled onions, specially seasoned patties and brats.

Pictures to document the event!

April Fools!!!!

Right as I was getting ready to put the boys down for their naps today I thought about giving Chris a scare. Before today I had often dropped hints that there's no way to know if we are pregnant or not. There's times when I psyche myself out thinking I'm feeling the way I did when I was pregnant and therefore psyche Chris out as well.

I decided to have my friend that was pregnant take a pregnancy test for me. I made sweet and sour chicken which I hardly ever make. I set the table and used the cloth napkins rolling the test in Chris' napkin and holding it together with a ring. I got Chris to open it up by asking him to show Jared how to use a napkin. It fell on the floor and he looked down and kept saying, "Are you serious!" over and over again. I wish I had the camera on from the beginning but got a few camera shots and then switched to video mode. I got three different videos and will just post all of them:)

I first told him April fools and then a little later said I was serious and made up the story to make him think April fools but in reality I was serious. Poor guy. I loved it though:)

Sorry for the delay, I had to use you tube to finally get it to work.

Boys and Forts

I don't know if I lack creativity or if my creativity is hindered by the fact that I don't want to clean up the mess that I've "created". So because I don't create too often I have a husband who does and I still get to clean up most the time:) Their latest creation was a fort.
What boy or child has not created a fort in their lifetime. I totally remember throwing blankets over items and crawling inside. Jared loved it and when dad's not home he asks to make a door because Chris always told him to use the door to enter. I'm so grateful for Chris and his young mind. I love to see him play with Jared and do things I wouldn't initially do. My boys are so lucky!

Our Goings On

So much has gone on but so little time (or lack of motivation) to record it. Here are a few things I've lacked posting about lately:

Jared:

• Swallowed one of those round decorative rocks that look like flattened marbles. Chris told me he put one in his mouth and when I went to retrieve it he gulped! My immediate reaction was, "Say Ahhh!" and it was gone! I was trying not to laugh when telling Chris he swallowed it. Thank goodness he was more serious and didn't laugh but sent him straight to his room for time out. I called a nurse and she said what I assumed, but I just wanted to check, that I needed to wait for it to pass and watch for it. So he swallowed it this last Friday and I still haven't seen it. But it may have passed because one time when he did his "job" he was getting up from his potty and while I was reaching for a knife to probe the feces someone flushed the toilet and Jared picked up his toilet seat think and dumped it in the toilet while exclaiming, "Good job mommy!" while I was wailing, "Noooooooooo!" So I hope it passed with those droppings but at the same time I hope it comes out the next droppings for my piece of mind. If I don't find it will he need an x-ray? I guess I'll be calling the nurse again soon!
• Fell asleep on the couch. Is was talking to one of my sisters and was on the phone for about 30 mins Jared had come to sit by me on the couch and laid down on his belly. When I got off the phone I looked over and he was out cold. This never hApPeNs! This was like 10 or 11 in the morning mind you and his naps are at 1:00. So I didn't think he'd take a nap that day but I went ahead and tried around 2:00. He didn't fight me so I laid him down and he would call for me every 10-15 but he was being good so I didn't go in and he ended up falling asleep I would guess around 2:40ish and slept till 5:00. Let's just say I got a lot done:)

Played with a dog. We visited my little sister and one of her roommates has a dog. Jared loves dogs but usually from a distance. Not this dog. He loved it! Jared loves to be chased and this dog trotted after Jared making it feel like a tag game to Jared.

• Jared loves TV and has learned how to not only turn it on but surf through the channels until he gets to a cartoon channel. I’ve been able to detour him by turning off the power strip that I plug the TV into. Well, he has been watching and even though it was tucked away he found it and knows if the light is not on then the TV is not on. He also uses this to his advantage when he doesn’t want us to watch TV. He turns off the TV and then goes and turns off the power strip little smarty.
• Went to a Valentines play group. Just before we went I went to the store so he could pick out a treat to share. He wanted suckers and he held them till we got there and continued to play with one hand while tightly grasping the suckers in the other. Luckily he eventually wanted two hands and gave them to me where I quietly dispersed of them to the other kids' moms.
• Friday night Jurassic Park was on and Jared was enjoying it. I didn’t have a problem with the portion of movie that was currently showing (the beginning part) but as it got to the point where T-Rex gets out and they’re in their cars feeling the tremble of T-Rex nearing I said ok enough! But Chris insisted he was okay. I tried even harder to stop Jared from watching when T-Rex was going to eat the man sitting on the toilet but Chris assured me they didn’t show it. WRONG! They showed the whole THING! Jared’s eyes were huge and Chris made light of it with him laughing and saying things like, “Cool, Did you see that?” I think Jared has survived but I still think it’s not age appropriate for a two-year-old unless his dad can make him laugh through T-Rex and Raptors eating people and other animals. Boys…
• Yesterday before church Jared got some nail polish which I saw. But I learned today that he knows how to untwist the cap and thus spill the lovely red color on the carpet! I immediately got out nail polish remover first cleaned up Jared before he made more of a mess and then dabbed at the spots and ended up pouring it straight on the areas with polish. Lastly I cleaned up myself

Spencer:

• Laughing more often when being tickled
• For about two or three weeks he hadn't sucked his thumb and I thought that's how it'd be but he has re-found his thumb
• I’ve been working on getting rid of cradles cap and it’s not going away!!! I haven’t tried Selsun Blue yet. I’ve just been scrubbing hard during baths and throughout the day occasionally scrubbing it with baby oil.
• He still spits up excessively. While telling my cousin of this she told me of something she used and still had almost a full bottle because she didn't need it anymore. I have yet to pick it up and try it but that would be awesome if we could cut down on the white stuff!
• Trying to learn how to sleep through the night (I put down between 9-10) Every other night has been Excellent and the other nights good. On the good nights he'll wake up between 4:45 and 5:00 AM and then on the excellent nights he wakes up between 7:00 and 8:00. The hard thing is every once in awhile we have to let him cry and I hate it. I've gone out to the couch but I don't sleep at all. but I guess a few hard nights are worth the eventually more continuous good nights!

Marjorie:

• I went to a baby shower at Olive Garden for two of my cousins. It was so much fun to talk to lots of my cousins and aunts especially knowing I won't get many more of these opportunities since we're moving to where no family is.

• Went shopping with Camille when I went to visit her in Salt Lake and then I went shopping again within the next few days with Ashley Atkin. I had Way too much fun and spent way too much money; but I saved a lot too! The bad thing is I went shopping with the intention of buying clothes for my boys but I couldn't resist looking at girl stuff so when I found a good deal it was just too good to pass up! I only ended up taking one thing back too which is good for me. I had bought Jared some Lightening McQueen shoes but they didn't have his size so I bought the smallest they had, size 11. He's currently wearing size 6 maybe 7 so Chris said that was way too early to be buying size 11 and I eventually agreed.

• As mentioned above I got to visit Camille and then she got to visit us twice. I'm so happy to have her close by even if she's still 40 mins away that's a lot closer than 3-4 hours away. Pictured below is her quaint little house and some pictures of her room.
• I got up the motivation to run once las week and again this morning after two weeks off. I can't wait for warmer weather. Right now I try to go to the Smith Field House indoor track Mon, Wed, and Fri mornings with Chris. We try to leave around 7:20-7:30ish to beat the rush of students headed for their 8:00 class but sometimes I'm not so motivated or one of the boys decides to sleep in making it hard to go. tBut as stated earlier I can't wait for warmer weather when I can go anytime and enjoy more scenery!
• Gave a relief society lesson yesterday and I tell you what I really struggled with this weeks lesson. Not the topic but how to give it. When I first found out the next two years we'd be teaching from Joseph Smith I was ecstatic! But I think I had envisioned something different then what the lessons are. I think I was thinking the lessons would be on the life of Joseph Smith and his character but understandably the lessons are more doctrine and so far broad, big doctrinal topics. Hindsight it makes sense to have lessons on things such as the first vision, and Christ our Redeemer since Joseph brought back so much truth to topics like these but I'm finding it a challenge to teach on it. I feel like the lessons are very broad and sometimes not always connected smoothly from point to point. So I try and do additional reasearch to backup the manual and by the time I try and bring everything together it's difficult for me to arrange it smoothly. I've enjoyed studying the topics sometimes I just don't feel like I'm able to convey what I've learned effectively when teaching.

Chris:

• For two weeks he's been playing basketball on Wednesday with a group of law students
• Three - four weeks playing tennis with fellow law student Derrick on Friday mornings
• One week going snowboarding on Tuesday(wants this to become regular)
• One week playing doubles in tennis with fellow Jeromites on Saturday evening
• And I think he's also been studying:) along with playing hard with his boysJ
  

So that's everything in a nutshell!