Paulson Party

Happy Thanksgiving from Joe

2010-11-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

Background vocals provided by Kathrynn Bossy Pants. :)

Recap: Joe's First Day of School

2010-11-18T09:06:00.001-08:00

Joe started Kindergarten this year and was SO excited - he was counting the days for months.

Showing off his super-cool Toy Story shoes. By the way, that is his 'too cool for school' face.. he was talking all morning about how all of the girls were going to fall in love with him. :)

With Kathrynn. Don't you just love how she looks like a little mommy? :)

With Mommy.

Heading out the door.

I have to say, I did very well for sending my oldest child off on his first day of school - didn't cry at all when I dropped him off. I got it all out of my system the night before. :) I felt much better when I saw other parents - even dads - getting choked up in the classroom. Joseph has LOVED school and is doing VERY well. And though not all of the girls in class want to marry him, he does have is very first crush on a very cute girl. :)

Recap: Favorite Picture of the Year

2010-11-18T08:59:00.001-08:00

I'm obviously behind on blogging, but rather than going over EVERYTHING that has happened over the last year, I'm going to share a few gems.

This is my favorite picture of the last year. It was taken on a family fishing trip. Such a fun day!

33

2010-11-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

I recently celebrated my 33rd birthday. Though I love birthdays, this one was not the most joyous occasion. It was spent in bed, with 103 degree temperature and involved getting a shot in my bum which the nurse described as "pushing peanut butter through a syringe." Oh, and I felt like I had razor blades in my throat. Ah, the joys of strep throat. But that's not the point of this post.

32 was a big year for me. Nothing truly notable happened, but I think I learned more this last year than any year of my life.

When I turned 32 I had a goal to be at a healthy weight before my 33rd birthday and I met that goal somewhere in the middle of the summer. Getting there was pure, well, you know. Would I have done it again? Yes, but in a different way. I successful lost 32 lbs in three months on a very restrictive, very very low calorie diet. Then I got a little sick and realized that what I was doing to my body was not healthy and changed my ways a bit. I gained some of it back but am healthier than I've been since I've been a mom. This leads to lesson #1 that I learned this year:

Our bodies are a gift and we need to respect them.

I look at what I put into my body and how I treat my body so differently that I ever have. We are literally what we eat. If we eat well, we are healthy and strong. If we don't eat enough we don't have enough to give those around us. If we eat junk, well...
It's important to keep our bodies strong - there is so much they are capable of - we need to respect that.

Lesson #2..

Time is a gift.

I don't have a lot of free time these days. I run a daycare in my home, I have 2 active little kids, one who is in school now, and a husband whose schedule could put some of the busiest people to shame.
I do my best not to waste a lot of time these days. Every moment is precious and important. We only have one life. It's best not to waste it away doing meaningless things.

Lesson #3
No Excuses

I learned this year that the easiest and happiest way to live life is to take full accountability. Your difficulties are very rarely another person's fault. Once I was able to embrace this fact, I became a much happier person.

Lesson #4
Love Yourself

When I was in high school I was so in tune with who I was - I knew it and was sure of it and loved the person I was. Adulthood has a way of instilling self-doubt and self-loathing. Through a lot of prayer, scripture study, and just time exploring who I am I've really been able to reacquaint with myself and develop that self-love again. And, let me tell you, once you love who you are, all of your other relationships become AMAZING. You're able to see just how much others love you and return that love a hundred fold.

Lesson #5
Cherish all of the Little Moments

We're busy people. We don't have time for big moments around here. But, I have learned that there is so much joy to be found in those little itty bitty moments. Hugs are wonderful. Little "I love you" moments. Cuddles, snuggles, the list goes on. I used to think that big monumental things were what made life special.. they're not. It's those little tender moments that make my world go 'round.

Lesson #6
Be Grateful

I found myself counting down. Counting down until Steve's done with school. Counting down until we move to Logan. Counting down until... This was big during the summer. I was counting down until the summer was over - I don't like hot weather and there were other things that were just kind of driving me crazy. Then I realized - I am counting down the last days I have Joseph at home before I lose him to school and responsibility forever. That's when I stopped counting down and started counting my blessings. I would write in my journal everyday 3 things I was grateful for, whether it be a hug, a cool morning, or a call from a close friend - I recognized my blessings was grateful for each and every one and stopped waiting for life to be the way I wanted it - I decided to want the life I have right now and cherish every second. Joseph will never be 5 again. Kathrynn may possibly be less obsessively a mommy's girl one day (though that's hard to imagine). These days are precious even if they're not perfect, and I'm grateful for each and every one of them.

Here's to another great year!

So Beautiful.

2010-05-05T09:35:00.000-07:00

This amazing woman has been an absolute inspiration to me. I've read her blog for about a year now and she has been able to make a very real change in my heart by sharing her experiences and love for the Savior so freely. Please take the time to watch this video. It's wonderful.

To visit her blog, go to http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/.

Update. Update.

2010-02-04T19:24:00.000-08:00

I just got the kids to bed and was on the way back upstairs to do a little bit of clean up and some working out when I realized how much I've missed my blog. So, I'm going to squeeze in a little somethin' here so you can all know that we are all still alive and well.

What we've been up to (again)...

Steve

Hardest worker in the universe.
Still working full time and going to school nearly full time and taking on a part time job on top of all of that.
Has been forcing me to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation during the times when he is home.
Is the sweetest, most thoughtful, extremely patient man imaginable - I'm so lucky to have him - we'll be celebrating 7 years next week!
Surprised me with a copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Julie

Has been conditioned to fall asleep during Star Trek, no matter what time of day it's on.
Day Care is up and running - I have 4 kids in my care - all under the age of two.
Will go gray within the next two years, I'm sure.
Is exhausted.
Has tinkered with the above mentioned cookbook a bit and LOVES it!
Pinched her dang sciatic again a couple of weeks ago and recovery has been frustrating, to say the least.
Is juggling everything remarkably - I'm not sure how, but everything's getting done.
Really looking forward to our upcoming anniversary - need that date night!

Drew

Busy being a4th grader and super cute.

Gandalf

Absolute lazy bum.
Is making the dog's life a little more endurable.
But, still enjoys cornering him and listening to him whine until one of us comes to the rescue.

Joe

Biggest sweetheart in the universe!
Just found out he got into The Ogden Preparatory Academy for next year and will be there with a bunch of his little friends.
Wrote and illustrated a book today. Very cute and pretty creative.
Runs laps inside the house everyday - I think he's as ready for spring as I am.

Kathrynn

Growing more and more beautiful each day.
Is still a professional two year old - she's living it to the fullest.
Has officially entered the 'best friend' phase.
Says words like "actually," "extremely," and "absolutely."

Chu Chu

Is being a good dog, finally.
We love him.
Looks good in dog sweaters.
Quite often doubles as a vacuum cleaner.

Until I Have Time for a Real Post...

2010-01-30T16:41:00.000-08:00

I've noticed that my comment section for the my last post has been taken over by spammers, and I'm assuming that that's because it's been SO long since I've posted, so I'm filling the space to scare off those dang spammers because they are so not welcome here.
Don't worry, a real post will come soon. I've been impossibly busy. Between the day care which is up and running, and Steve never being home because he works 2 jobs and goes to school, I have very little time for this kind of stuff, but I have lots of good posts brewing in this head of mine and some miraculous day I will actually post some of it. :)

Oooohhhh!!!

2009-10-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

So, I have this dream. I want to find a cabin somewhere and lock myself in for an entire weekend and do nothing but make stuff. I have so many ambitions - so many new things I want to try, cute little things I want to make for my kids, quilts to sew, cutesy little kitchen towels to make... the list goes on and on. BUT I have a house that I need to keep clean, 2 kids who starve for my attention even though they are far from being attention-starved by any shape of the imagination, a needy dog, a spoiled cat, and a husband who works harder than any living being should... oh, and that whole daycare thing I'm trying to get up and running.. more on that later. (Need an awesome daycare?! I know of one!!!)
OK, maybe I need to lock myself up for a week.. or a month.. oh, but what would happen to my house? Or I could just stop sleeping. I've actually considered that.
Anyway. I saw these tonight and almost DIED.

CUTEST CLIPPIES EVER!!!!!
Let me just say that having a little girl has forever shifted my ambition to make cute little crafty things. I REALLY want to make these!!! They are SO CUTE!! I got it at this website - Little Birdie Secrets. Awesome awesome awesome blog that walks you through - or at least points you to someone who will - darling projects.
Insomnia for the purpose of making cutesy little things, here I come! :)

My New Food Blog

2009-09-17T16:25:00.000-07:00

I love to cook and I really enjoy trying out new recipes regularly, so I decided to start up a new food blog. It can be found here --> www.paulsonpantry.blogspot.com.

Enjoy!

Princess Spunk and Other Stuff

2009-09-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

It's another Steve-free night :( - he's out helping a family remodel their bathroom - so I'm taking some time out to blog about what's been going on, post some DARLING pictures, and watch So You Think You Can Dance - so glad that's on this season!!!

So, in the next two weeks, the house will get a fire inspection and a health inspection and after that we're DONE getting ready for the daycare and I'll hopefully have that license in my hand.

There are SO many things I need to blog about.. like the fact that we have a dog. Or our INSANE garden. I think I've picked like a thousand cucumbers and have more peppers than I know what to do with. And, I was totally amazed this year by how many tomatoes a single plant can yield. And, don't get me started on the spaghetti squash. Or my infatuation with fall and how I'm counting the days.. but tonight it's all about Kathrynn, my spunky little princess (don't worry, Joe will get his own post, too). She's been so cute and so sweet lately and has been a total HAM for the camera, so I've got some good stuff to post. Plus, she just had a really bad night tonight. She was sad and uncomfortable and went to bed early.

Anyway, less talk, more action...

Here she says she's a baby. :) This is one of my favorite facial expressions!

Having so much fun!!!

Reading "Go Dog Go," her favorite book - I have to read it EVERY night and several times during the day.

I just love this little girl - she has so much light and is full of love - and she's fun and spunky and just hilarious. Tonight, she was pointing out my eyes and nose and cheeks and chin and then looked up at my hair and said, "Mommy, you're a chocolate head." (She had just asked for chocolate because she was trying to go potty.) She is an absolute mommy's girl and I just love that. She brings so much joy into my life. :)

Because I'm a Nerd Like This...

2009-09-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Nie.

2009-09-12T19:58:00.000-07:00

I have become consumed by a blog that I somehow tripped upon a few months ago - The Nie Nie Dialogues. There's something so unique and beautiful about it and it seriously touches my heart. It's written by a remarkable mother of four who was in a terrible plane accident a year ago and suffered burns on 80% of her body. I've read the story of the accident and her life since, but have been curious about her life previous to the accident, so about a week ago, I decided to start from the beginning - she's been blogging for about four years. And, I have to say, that just from reading her blog, a change has come in me. I'm about 18 months from her current post, so I haven't read everything yet, but what I have read has truly touched my life for good in so many ways.
She has such an optimism, such a true love and spirit for motherhood and for being a good wife and homemaker. Her focus is on the joy that her family brings her and the simple and beautiful things in life. She has brought out things in me that I've been trying to bring out on my own, and through the inspiration that I've received through her blog and her amazingly sweet spirit and strong faith, I find it effortless to do the things necessary to complete the day to day tasks in my life while maintaining a sweet spirit in my home. My love appreciation for Steve and our children has grown exponentially. I see so much more in them than I have before.
Steve is truly a knight in shining armor - though a humble one. Any problem always seems instantly resolved when he comes into the picture. And he always helps everyone so willingly, and I'm more in love with him than I can say I've ever been. Joe and his amazing spirit and raw talent and pure little testimony of Christ. Kathrynn and her amazing spunk and LOVE for life. You can see it in her eyes all of the time - she loves life and she means to live it to the fullest. And Drew, with her longing for peace and comfort and her gigantic heart.
I just needed to express my gratitude for the things she has shared with the world and for the amazing life she has lived and created for her children. She has also taught me not to take a single moment for granted. I'm able to see now the work I am here to do and don't want to lose a single moment idly standing by.

Other things...
Remodeling our home is nearly complete, though not quite all of the way complete, which is why pictures haven't been posted. I'm getting a lot of grief for not posting said pictures, though, so I may just give in and do before and almost afters.
We are inches away from starting the day care. My fingerprints finally came back (sent the first batch in in March), so now we're just ironing out the last few details and I'll be turning in my paperwork hopefully in the next week or two. And away we go...
Steve has started school this semester, working on his pre-reqs for Nursing school. He is the busiest person in the world right now and every moment I have with him is treasured.
This is totally the beginning of a new phase in our lives. It feel like we're walking into a tunnel and there's a big giant light at the end of it, but it will be a couple of years before we get there. I can say with assurance that this will all be worth it and that Steve is going into the best possible field for himself.
I've felt so many little changes within myself - all for the absolute best. Little ways to take care of my family better, like focusing more on having whole foods in our home and making everything I can from scratch rather than buying processed, ready made foods. This will definitely change things in my coupon adventures, but I think the benefits will be worth it.
And, best of all, I feel fall coming in. The light is different, leaves are starting to hint that they'll be changing color soon and the wind won't stop blowing. It's almost like it's blowing the new season in. I love fall. It is my favorite season, hands down, and it's the time of year that I feel most alive.

We Are an OCD Family

2009-08-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

The Culprits:

The Acts:

First, we have all of the yellow toys together...

And then the pink toys...

And this little number - I was just informed that it's a workshop. :)

The Night Joe Duped Me

2009-06-29T19:59:00.000-07:00

So, I was putting Joe to bed and he was gathering up all of the animals that he sleeps with when he asked me where his cat was. I told him that I didn't know and maybe he should do without it tonight, but he looked so bummed out that I went looking for it. After a good 10 minute search, I went back into his room and told him that I couldn't find his cat and that we could look for him in the morning. He looked heartbroken. And then, he got this sly little look on his face and pulled the stinking cat out from under his covers and just laughed and laughed and laughed! It was there the whole time!!! He totally got me! He's ONLY FOUR!!!!!! :)

He's just like his daddy. :)

YEA!!

2009-06-01T19:24:00.000-07:00

I'm sure this is old news to a lot of you, I'm just SO excited that the New Moon trailer is out!!!

In Case You're Wondering What We're Up To...

2009-05-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Since it's been forever since I've graced the pages of my blog or facebook page.. here's what's happening with the Paulsons...
(I'll go oldest to youngest just for fun)

Steve:

Is seriously a stud.
For the last month or so has been going to a night class Monday-Thursday and hasn't gotten home until 9:30 each night.
In his 'free time' has been remodeling our house, including creating a pantry, rewiring and redoing the plumbing in our basement, creating an entire new room and closet which will be the play room for the day care, building a fence, putting sod in our back yard, creating a grape arbor in the back, planting the grapes that will go with the arbor, building an awning in the back so we can have a little shade, etc. More will happen this weekend, including planting honeysuckle, raspberries, and blackberry bushes.
Has LOVED having a grill and takes over dinner most weekend nights, which I have loved.
Gave me a rose bush for Mother's Day. So sweet. :)
Gave me another Mother's Day surprise, which landed him in the emergency room - he had severe abdominal pain that came on fast and turned out to be a kidney stone. Not a fun few days for him.

Julie:

I've finally found that "click" that involves having a consistently clean, together home. Amazing the correlation between lack of time spent on the internet and cleanliness of my house.
Have gotten a little too involved in my calling. I'm an Activity Day Girl leader (8-11 year old girls) and have been SO busy with it. We just did a big mother/daughter dinner/program for mother's day and I seriously thought I was going to lose my mind before it was over. We had another activity last night that I ran - I think I'm done planning activities until summer's over.
Although, my class has sharing time this Sunday, so I'm not totally off the hook.
I've been trying to help Steve as much as possible with the house stuff. I even dug a post hole - I have a lot of respect for how hard he works for us.
I've been painting the playroom during Kathrynn's naps.
Have been taking names in my quest to get back down to my pre-Joe weight. I've lost 16 lbs since I started trying (like MONTHS ago..) and am lighter than I was pre-Kathrynn. Only about 10 more lbs to go. :)
Have been loving having the piano - I've been able to sneak a little time in here and there to play and it is just wonderful to have around.

Drew:

Is very excited to summer vacation and spending a couple of months at our house.
Has mastered the pogo stick.
Makes Steve consistently nervous as she grows cuter and cuter and more and more comfortable with boys. :)

Gandalf:

Is loving the warmer weather and spends all night outside hanging out with the "Yowler."
Which leads to him sleeping all day long.
Scratched the heck out me the other day when I was teasing him. I had it coming.

Joe:

Has been betrothed to the cutest little girl in the world. :)
Is enjoying the idea of irony. Just as I was putting him to bed tonight he told me it would be hilarious to go to sleep with his sunglasses on and did and laughed and laughed and laughed.
Is SUCH a great helper.
Informed me the other day that I don't get stinky. I appreciated that. :)
Has been showing some serious talent with music and art. We hope to hook him up with some piano lessons some time in the near future.

Kathrynn:

Is an obsessive hugger. It's seriously sweet most of the times, but gets to be a little too much at bedtime when she needs like 20 hugs in order to be satisfied or in the middle of the night when she's crying because she wants a hug.
Is seriously ready to potty train. I'm just not so ready. Scared out of my mind, really. But, she talks about it, is enamored with her new "big girl pants" and even sets up a diaper and wipes in the usual changing spot when she's ready for a new diaper. I need to just bite the bullet and get her going. Maybe next week.
Is a button pusher. A big one. If there's something that irritates a particular person, namely Joseph, she will do it. Over and over again. And laugh hysterically. We need to find something to channel that energy into.
Loves to play "Ring around the rosies."
Oh, did I mention that both kids got croupe the day after our little emergency room trip. Fun times.

Picture time.
Kathrynn's favorites napping position...

Steve's home.. More pictures later. :)

Our Beautiful New Addition

2009-04-23T16:35:00.001-07:00

No. Not THAT kind! We got a piano!!!

First, I have to say, I love my husband!!! He picked it out all on his own - can you believe that?! It's gorgeous! He found it on KSL (for those of you not in Utah, it's a newspaper website that lists free classifieds, so anything you want to buy is basically on there because everyone lists) for a STEAL and tried to track me down to get me to go look at it with him but I was was out and about on the impossible mission of finding the right shoes for our kids - hard work. I have the pickiest boy in the world and one of those girls who has to try on EVERY shoe in the shoe aisle.
So, he went without me and told me that he knew, without a doubt, that I would love it - and I DO!

It's an antique and is in AMAZING condition. It's an upright grand piano - it was originally a player piano, but that part was removed and the doors for the player part of permanently closed. It still have the original finish and doesn't have a scratch or nick on it - and it's beautiful. It sounds wonderful, too! I haven't had a chance to play it yet. The kids jumped on as soon as I put the bench under it.

I'm so excited! And, you'd better believe they are too. :)

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

Just Let it All Out

2009-04-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

So, today's definitely a tantrum day for Katie. She's two and making sure we're ever-aware of it every second of the day. Today's tantrums, so far, have consisted of (this is in the last 3 hours alone..)
1. Waking up
2. Wanting a pillow on the couch
3. Wanting a second pillow on the couch
4. Wanting a third pillow on the couch
5. The frustration of not being able to fit on the couch with so many pillows
6. A pillow falling off
7. Being put back in her bed for the ridiculous tantrums
8. The fact that I went into the bathroom and actually shut the door *gasp*
9. Something that happened downstairs with Joe that I didn't really bother to check on because I'm a little burnt out on the tantrums already this morning
10. Wanting to play with Cootie
11. Wanting eyes on the Cootie
12. Wanting the eyes off of the Cootie
13. Wanting to move the shampoo bottle
14. Being put back in her room for even more ridiculous tantrums
15. Blocking the door when I tried to open it to let her out

And now we're calm.. for now. I give it 15 minutes. Is it a full moon or something? Maybe the psychotic weather changes. Probably no rhyme or reason. She's just 2.
I've been doing what the pediatrician suggested and just let the tantrums take their course and not reinforce bad behavior. It's just getting a bit ridiculous.

Don't Lick Shopping Carts

2009-04-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

...especially WalMart ones.

Ugh. Joe. Joe is going through a whole "nonsense is hilarious" stage where he does and says things that make no sense because he thinks it's oh-so-funny. Well, on Tuesday he decided that it would be just hilarious to lick the shopping cart at both WalMart and Costco. First of all, WalMart is the grossest store in the world in my view and secondly, Costco definitely has it's share of little kids gracing its carts. I warned him that he would get sick, that he would throw up, but did he listen? Nope.

Is he listening now? Oh yeah. He's gone all atomic on me again and is throwing up every couple of hours. That'll teach him.

I know, I'm not sounding very sympathy. He's getting more sympathy than he really needs when he does get sick and is getting a big cartoon day on the couch with his trusty bowl, I just wish he wouldn't have gotten sick out of sheer lack of intelligence on his part. He SOOO knows better.

All About Steve

2009-03-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

He never reads my blog, so I feel allowed to do this.. though I think he'd kill me if he saw it, so that's more motivation to get a few new posts up. :)

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? Man Vs. Food or How It's Made -- I love the first one, the second puts me to sleep in a matter of minutes
2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? cucumber ranch
3. What's one food he doesn't like? Olives. Weirdo.
4. You go out to eat. What drink does he order? Diet Coke
5. Where did he go to high school? Provo High and the one in St. George that's not St. George High.. Ugh! What is it?!
6. What size shoe does he wear? 12
7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Norman Rockwell pictures
8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Philly Cheese Steak
9. What would he eat every day if he could? Something really bad like Hostess cupcakes.
10. What is his favorite cereal? Cookie Crisp
11. What would he never wear? Skinny Jeans
12. What is his favorite sports team? He's not into sports (thank goodness), but will support the Jazz and the Spurs.
13. Who did he vote for? Obama
14. Who is his best friend? Joe (not our son, Joe, his best friend Joe whom our son Joe was named after)
15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Get all girly-emotional.
16. What is his heritage? Dutch, Mexican, major church history ancestry.
17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? His favorite was the mint-chocolate chip ice cream cake I made one year.
18. Did he play sports in high school? He played tennis. He's really good at it. That's why we never play together.
19. What could he spend hours doing? fixing our house.. well, that's what he DOES spend hours doing.. :)
20. What is one unique talent he has? Steve is exceptionally talented at cleaning and organizing, and transforming so-so homes into masterpieces. I'm SO GRATEFUL for him!

Update

2009-03-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

I've been unable to update for the last while because the whole sleep deprivation thing is still going strong. I took Kate to the doctor for her well child appointment on Monday and learned that all of this is totally terrible two related. Kathrynn DOES have eczema, I learned, but it's not bad enough for the whole not sleeping at night thing. I'm sure the first night when her rash was full blown it was, but I think she enjoyed the comfort me of holding her all night so much that she wants me to do that every night all night regardless of whether or not she needs it. So, after a little chat with Kate's doctor, Steve and I decided that it would be best if he slept in the spare bed downstairs for the week while I retrain Kathrynn in the fine art of sleeping her own bed all night long. Some nights have been pretty good - 15 minutes of crying and done. Others, like last night, not so much. I'm really hoping we get back to normal. I miss sleeping. I miss falling asleep next to Steve. I miss being able to get up early and go to the gym. I haven't been to the gym in 3 weeks. That stinks. I can't tell you how much that stinks. I haven't gained 20 lbs or anything, I just miss the focus and energy that I normally have.

We've also been busy renovating the house to be day care ready. I'm really excited about the plans that we have - everything's going to be wonderful and really nice. I'm SO grateful to have a husband who knows how to do this kind of stuff. We're building a cupboard, making a play room from the random nothing-room in the basement, putting up a fence in the back yard, putting in grass, etc. Lots of work, lots of fun. :)

We're also having some beautiful spring weather. Too bad it's going to snow this weekend..

OK. I'm tired. New pictures below. Enjoy. :)

Our Little Girl is Two

2009-03-19T22:03:00.000-07:00

Seriously, the last two years have FLOWN!
Our spunky little princess turned two last Saturday. It's amazing to me to see how strong and vibrant she is. Unbelievable to me that she spent the first five days of her life in NICU as I see her run around like a maniac with so much energy.
Kathrynn really is a princess. She is a total girly girl - she loves clothes, loves dressing up, has to have her shoes on as soon as she's dressed, loves having her hair fixed up - the works. :) She ADORES her brother and I'm so grateful that they're such good friends.
I love our little girl and am so grateful for her!

Kathrynn's Birthday Party

2009-03-19T21:46:00.001-07:00

Joe Boxer

2009-03-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

The kids had fun with Steve's new boxing gloves. :)

I love this face. :)

A Beautiful Blog

2009-03-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

I found this blog a couple of weeks ago and I highly suggest that you go read it, too. It's written by an amazing woman who was in a plane accident last summer - she has the most beautiful spirit and I love reading what she has to write. It really uplifted me this morning after another sleepless night. (By the way, we're on our way out the door to the doctor to find out what the heck is going on with Kathrynn.)

On the Mend

2009-03-12T14:08:00.001-07:00

Well, we found the culprit of the rash. A new container of a certain detergent I'd been using for quite some time that didn't sit well on my little girl's back. This particular shirt tipped us off. She was trying to rip it off the entire day and I realized I had washed it in that detergent before switching back to Tide. I had been getting sick of the old stuff - it was making all of our clothes dingy, so I switched last week. We changed her into something fresh from her birthday party (more on that later) and she was miraculously better. She slept ALL night that night!
So, on Monday, I washed ALL of her laundry - clothes, bedding, blankets, towels, socks, etc. in Tide and no more crazy itching! Her back is a mess from all of the scratching, but she's feeling much better. The two of us have been catching up on lost sleep all week. Of course, now she has decided that she's above napping - like hasn't napped in WEEKS. I'm attempting to get her to take one now. We'll see how that goes. And, she gets really hurt feelings when it's time for bed, so I've had to hold her and rub her head and play David Lanz until she falls asleep the last few nights. Lots less mommy time, but I think I'll take that over getting 2 hours of sleep for the night.

First Sign of Spring

2009-03-12T14:00:00.001-07:00

Sure, we got a foot of snow this week, but look what I found in the flower bed when it all melted!!

Baby Tiger Lilies:

Baby Tulips:

I can't tell you how long I've waited for this day. :)

To Sleep.. To Dream

2009-03-06T19:00:00.000-08:00

I'M SO TIRED!

First off, I hope I don't sound like I'm whining about being a mom. I love being a mom more than anything and I adore my children. I'm just really really tired.

Let's just say that if you're female, and live in my house, you haven't slept a lot this week. The last 4 out of 5 or 6 (I can't remember any more) nights have been awful. Kathrynn has a rash on her back that is causing her a ton of discomfort and we just figured out what was causing all of this yesterday.

Kathrynn typically doesn't wake at night, but when she does it's usually very easy to get her to go to sleep. Not this week. A typical night starts with her going to bed easily, but is followed, several hours later, by a blood-curling scream that can only be comforted by holding until she falls asleep - which can take anywhere between 1 and 3 hours.

The first night I thought it was just a bad dream, but was floored by how difficult it was to get her to sleep. The second night I thought maybe it was 2-year molars coming in. The third night consisted of two 3-hour holding episodes with a 1 hour break for sleep between them. At this point I was still thinking maybe it was the molars and tried Infant IB.. didn't work. Then yesterday, I was getting her dressed and noticed a huge rash on her back (that a couple of days before was a dry patch on her shoulder). I called her doctor and the suggested Eucerine for her back, so I rubbed her back with it for like half an hour last night - let me tell you, SHE LOVED IT. But, then it came time for sleep. She woke up at 1 a.m., screaming again. I held her until 3, when she finally fell back asleep and put her to bed. Half an hour later, we were back up until about 5, then up again at 5:30 until 6 or 6:30. That last time I rubbed her back with more lotion and put her down. She slept until 10, so that helped a little this morning since she's decided she's anti-nap now, no matter how tired she is.

The problem here (besides the obvious lack of sleep), is that you have the GIRLS of the house sleep deprived. So, we have Kathrynn, who is being hyper-sensitive about everything because she so wiped out and me, who usually does EVERYTHING and can currently hardly function. Ugh.

Our wonderful doctor called this morning (she is seriously awesome) to check on Kathrynn and suggested Benedryl, which we will try tonight to see if we can get some rest in. Wish us luck! :)

Can't Help But Smile

2009-03-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

Steve just emailed me the cutest thing in the WORLD. You can find it HERE. It's a "screen cleaner."

What a Gentleman

2009-03-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

When I was in college, I dated a guy for the sole reason that he held down the button on the water fountain for me to take a drink. I'd never seen anyone do that before and it totally blew me away.

Well, the other day, we were in the church building and Kathrynn wanted to get a drink from the water fountain - it's a new found obsession of hers now that she's figured out how it works. Well, she stepped up on the stool, and what do you know, Joe held down the button for her. I actually gasped. He is a natural-born gentleman. He pushes his chair in when he leaves the table. He willing shares his toys with all girls (except Kathrynn.. sisters are the exception, I think). He even used to give his food - hand fed to her mouth - to his favorite little friend in San Antonio.

I'm so grateful my little guy is such a sweetheart. I REALLY hope it sticks - between his consideration for girls and his need to have everything neat and clean, he's going to make some woman very happy one day.

On that note.. there's a little girl in our ward who has had a crush on him since the fall. I didn't know that 4 year olds could hold on to crushes that long, but I asked her mom yesterday after watching her follow Joe everywhere and she confirmed it. She's still "in love" with Joe. That's how she announced it to me and Steve in church one day, "I'm in love with Joe." :)

The Night I Almost Peed My Pants

2009-03-04T06:59:00.000-08:00

I had a fun little experience last night that will forever go down in laughable history.

I had put off taking the garbage cans out during the day and went outside at dusk to do it. It was a GORGEOUS night! Not even a chill in the air. So there I was all la-di-da down my loooong driveway with the recycling can when I see this car drive slowly in front of our house, pass the drive way, back up, and then pull IN to our drive way. Now, I totally am a fan of Ogden, but it doesn't come without fear, especially when it's getting dark and I'm out alone. So, my thoughts were: 1st - they're looking at the house next door (it's for sale), 2nd - Um.... 3rd - Oh Crap! I'm usually not that paranoid, but I didn't recognize the car and the way he passed and pulled back to pull into my drive when he saw me freaked me out. So, there I stopped dead in my tracks by our front porch stairs as the car pulled up to me. The window rolls down and this HUGE guy leans out and says "Hi." (By the way, I can't see jack when it's getting dark..) I respond, very nervously, "Hi..." and he replies with "Is your husband home?" "UMMMMMMM..." At this point I had backed up completely up the stairs with the recycling can between me and the car and, depending on the next question, was ready to make a run for it. Then he leaned out his window a bit more, and said "It's Gary." Ugh! Gary is Steve's friend who he goes boxing with (one of Steve's new things that he LOVES!) and he came by to see if Steve would go to the gym with him. I proceeded to tell him how much he scared me and led him into the house.

The irony of it is that Gary is a police officer, so I couldn't have been more safe! Steve thought it was all very funny and came home from boxing with some good self defense tips for me to use next time I'm in a 'questionable' situation. :)

Kathrynn's First Trip to the Potty

2009-03-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

I almost feel embarrassed for her, posting this, but it's a highly exciting thing! Kathrynn used the potty for the first time today! You can't even know how excited I am about her being willing so much earlier than Joe was - he was such a battle. By the way he's been potty trained for quite some time now. I finally told him it was up to him, totally and he never turned back.

Anyway, trying to spare you the details, it was quite obvious that she needed to go potty, so I sat her down on the special toilet cover that we have for her and there she went. All the while, Joe was cheering her on, letting her know how big she was and how he wanted her to go potty like he does and the ever so memorable "Poopies are brown and yucky!" to which Kathrynn would reply "Eww! Goss!" (she says 'goss' instead of 'gross') It was all very amusing.

I'm not going to push her too hard on this, but I have a feeling she'll be much quicker than Joe was. What, with Joe cheering her on and her enthusiasm to do everything he can do, we can't lose. :)

Utah, the State of Highly Motivated People

2009-02-25T07:20:00.000-08:00

Every morning I get up way earlier than I would like to go workout at the gym. And, it's not like I jump out of bed, filled with enthusiasm and energy, or that I am by any means a morning person, it's just the only feasible time for me to do this.
So, this morning as I got to the gym I noticed that the parking garage was remarkably full. Then, when I walked in I saw a TON of people working out. What was the deal?! It was 6:15 a.m. So, as I checked in at the front desk, I mentioned to the guy working this morning that it was really busy and he told me that when he got there to open the doors at 4:50 this morning that there was a line of about 25 people at the doors. And, since then he had had over 200 people check in. That's 200 people in an hour and half BEFORE 6:15 a.m. HELLO!!!!

Maybe this is why Utah is so high up in the healthiest states list.. and why they can charge so much more for memberships in Utah than they do in Texas - the demand is higher, so they can push the prices up so much higher, and NOT provide free childcare like they do in Texas - which is the only reason why I go at 6, by the way.

Now, sure, I am one of those crazy people who gets up ridiculously early to go work out every day, but I HAVE TO!! I was just amazed at how many people were up and out of their beds at the gym this morning!

Utah Food Co-Op

2009-02-21T12:32:00.000-08:00

One of my friends introduced me to an organization here in Utah that does a food co-op that is just AWESOME! I got everything above for $23. Everything is local, so you're supporting local organizations and you get everything for about half the normal cost. Best of all, everything was GREAT quality.
This month's shared includes:
2 lb chicken breasts
1 lb beef stew meat
1 lb pork spare ribs
1 lb lean ground beef
5 lb Red Potatoes
6 oranges
6 apples
1 bunch green onions
1 head red leaf lettuce
3 artichokes
1 package mushrooms
8 kiwi
1 loaf Stone Ground Artisan Wheat Bread
16 oz rice

There is no hardship requirement to join this group - all that you have to do is dedicate 2 hours a month to service to qualify. Most church callings more than cover that!
If you're in Utah and want more info about it, go HERE.

Kids at Play

2009-02-18T20:11:00.000-08:00

This is Joe's new favorite thing to do to Kathrynn. Lucky for him, she worships the ground he walks on, so he can get away with it. :)

Every week we make a run to Costco for milk, bread, eggs, etc. and every week the kids have a heyday with the boxes. They're pretty creative, I have to give them that. :)

Valentine's Festivities

2009-02-18T19:52:00.000-08:00

We had a fun time this Valentine's Day! Joe was SO excited about a new holiday and we were busy making and delivering valentines and treats.

We had heart pancakes with strawberry syrup and pink milk for breakfast. Pink milk is now Joe's new addiction. He has to have it every day now. :)

The kids and I made brownie hearts for their friends. They had more fun eating the leftover batter than they did making the brownies. :) I, unforunately, forgot to get a picture of the brownies before dropping them off, but they were way cute! :)

The Place Setting Story

2009-02-17T18:33:00.000-08:00

I just saw this picture and just lit up! This is how I learned to set the table!! Well, sort of.. my story was that the evil fork guy was trying to get to the spoon princess and the knife knight was protecting her. Everyone laughs at me when I tell that story, but it works! I've never forgotten how to set a table! :) I'm so happy to see that someone out there has the same mentality! :)

6 Years Ago...

2009-02-13T16:01:00.001-08:00

..I married the best possible man for me. I remember when I introduced him to my best friend's family, her mother told me, "Julie, you just couldn't do better." I know, that almost sounds like an underhanded insult, but if you know her, you know it was said with all of the sweetness and sincerity in the world. And, you know, she was absolutely right. I couldn't have done better because Steve is the best person out there for me. I'm SO grateful that I married him and not someone else. We do push one another's buttons on occassion, but what married couple doesn't? What is important is that we love each other and he has helped me grow in to the person I am growing into and has all of the strengths that I need in a husband.

We were sealed for time and all eternity in the Houston Texas Temple. It was a beautiful ceremony. We had only a few family members who were able to attend the actual ceremony, but in the place were the dearest friends in our lives who are, definitely, more like family to us than they are just friends. If it were a perfect world we would all live on the same block and I'd be able to see each and every one of them every day. The people who were in that room with us when we were married mean the world to me.

I'm so grateful for the last six years and look forward to the rest of forever with my wonderful husband. :)

A Present from Me

2009-02-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

The first five people to comment on this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year (hopefully sooner than later.)
4. You will have no clue what it is going to be.
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
The catch? Oh the catch is that you must re-post this on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me you did will win a marvelous homemade gift by me!

Let the games begin!!

Tuckered Out

2009-02-10T13:52:00.001-08:00

We all had a really long day yesterday. The kids and I went to the Treehouse in the morning for Toddler Time.. Kathrynn actually screamed and ran up to the storytime guy like he was a rock star at the beginning of storytime - pretty hilarious - and quite suprising considering she still has a considerable amount of stranger anxiety. After Toddler Time we tromped around Ogden in the driving snow to accomplish some essential errands and went home to do some post-weekend clean up. Busy day.
Well, I was wiped out and laying on the couch by 7 p.m., hoping to just fall asleep. Kathrynn climbed up and snuggled with me, Steve was laying on the other couch and Joe was keeping himself busy doing this and that, doing everything in his power not to appear tired. Then he got really quiet. 8 p.m. rolled around and I got up to put Kathrynn down and walked in to the dining room to find this:

It's like he just gave up mid-walk and couldn't take anymore so he just passed out on the floor.

Steve carried him off to his room and got him in jammies and he didn't even stir.

I told Joe about it this morning and he looked at me like I was crazy and said, "No, mommy, only animals sleep on the floor." :)

First Born Quiz

2009-02-04T06:44:00.001-08:00

Here you go mommies - a different kind of survey for a change - it's all about your first born! Just copy and paste it in a new note for yourself!
Let's see how much you remember!

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED? Yes

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME? Yes

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS? thrilled and in awe

4. HOW OLD WERE YOU? 26 when I found out.. 27 when he was born

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT? Pregnancy test. :) We were trying to get pregnant and I was sure I was, but Steve was away on a business trip for a few days and I promised him I wouldn't take the test until he got home, so I took it first thing in the morning the day after he was back. It actually was negative after the first three minutes then we looked at it again and it was a bright, shining positive.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST? Steve. He was there with me looking at the test.

8. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX? Absolutely

9. DUE DATE? 11/26/04

10. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS? YES! It was triggered very easily, Steve would burp and I would throw up, the smell of people heating up food at work would make me sick and a lizard that the cat brought into the house sent me running for the bathroom. :)

11. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE? It went in waves. At one point I could only eat potatoes. Then it was fruit, then hamburgers, then salads, then chocolate. The chocolate stuck throughout most of the pregnancy. I couldn't eat cherry jolly ranchers - they tasted like play dough.

12. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST? Nothing that I could remember, but I was HIGHLY emotional. :)

13. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX? boy.

14. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING? No, I was thrilled to be having a boy!

15. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY? Ugh. 55. Still fighting that off. See #11.

16. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER? Yes, two. One from my friends, one from my family.

17. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW? I knew - I was so busy at the time that they had to schedule with me.

18. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY? Pregnancy was perfect. Delivery was another story.

19. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH? Methodist Hospital in San Antonio, TX.

20. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR? 21 hours.

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH? Steve and my wonderful doctor and the nurses.

23. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION? C-section.

24. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN? ABSOLUTELY! I originally planned on going with no medication at all, but am so grateful I didn't or the c-section would have been a bit complicated.

27. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH? 7 lbs 8 oz

28. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ? 11/24/04.

30. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER? Joseph (after Steve's best friend) Benjamin (Steve's middle name)

31. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY? 4

More Pictures

2009-01-30T18:54:00.000-08:00

It's not even 8 p.m. and I'm the only one awake in the house... it's been a long week.

Anyway, I missed a few cuties, so I wanted to add them now, since I have some well-earned quiet time. :)

Isn't this a hilarious picture? It's from way back at Halloween. Joe was at a Treehouse party and had been chowing down on a toffee lollipop and was zoned out on something..

Kathrynn at the piano. Whenever we go to Steve's parents' house, she goes straight for the piano. Music flows through these kids' veins. I love it!

These are some I took for a little project I'm working on..

I love my munchkins. :)

Our Budding Musician

2009-01-30T07:48:00.000-08:00

I had to make this a separate post because I just love this video! Steve's mom has some ukuleles at her house and Joe will pick them up and strum and sing. I love it when he does that! I'm so grateful to have music in our home. :)

The Great Picture Dump

2009-01-30T07:08:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to post pictures FOREVER, but haven't been able to take the time to download everything on both of our cameras. We have two cameras now - a really nice one, and the one we got when we found out we were pregnant with Joe, so organizing the pictures is a little more complicated now. Anyway, here they are. Enjoy! :)

I'm in love with these aprons! My friend Sandra made them for me and the girls and I wear mine all of the time. Whenever I put it on, Kathrynn immediately reaches for hers and has to have hers on too. :)

Our Christmas Tree:

These are the stocking I made for the kids this year:

Santa came!

Steve and Kathrynn Christmas morning.

Gandalf hiding under some wrapping paper.

We went up to Logan on Christmas day and got snowed in for a few days - 18 inches of snow! Check out these icicles!

We got a new vacuum cleaner and Drew decided to make a train out of it. She named it the "Lightening Bolt Train," but when I looked at it I thought it said the "Shining Butt Train." We all got a really big laugh out of it. :)

The kids are becoming such good friends!

My little monkey.

I think there's a picture of me just like this when I was Kathrynn's age.. I think I was even wearing a similar sweater. I need to find that picture! I guess we had the same obsession with hats. :)

Joseph is very intelligent with conceptual activities - here he make a picture of "Mommy, Daddy, Joseph and Kathrynn."

I love it when Kathrynn reads to her bear - it's so sweet! :)

What a good sport!

This was my first attempt at a funky hairstyle on Kathrynn. I thought it was really cute and it actually stayed in the entire day. :)

This is Kathrynn saying "Cheese." You can see her spunk oozing out. :) Incidentally, this picture led to her raiding the fridge for cheese. :)

Recipe Review - Asian Grilled Chicken

2009-01-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

I made Asian Grilled Chicken last night and it was TO DIE FOR!! I marinated mine overnight and broiled it in the broiler and it was so so so good and juicy!
I found the recipe at Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes - this is a great resource if you're counting points or just trying to watch what you eat. The recipe can be found here. I highly recommend it!

Note: If you choose to broil chicken, I STRONGLY suggest covering your broiler pan with nonstick foil and cutting slits in it so it can drain into the drip pan. It leaves virtually no mess to clean up and, let me tell you, cleaning a messy broiler pan is a pain in the rear!!!

Hey Baby

2009-01-26T16:08:00.001-08:00

I just read this on my friend Emily's blog, and since I'm currently listening to my MP3 and Kathrynn's taking an extra-long nap (yea!), I decided to do it on here. :)

**RULES:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag some friends
5. Everyone tagged has to do the same thing.
6. Have Fun!

1. If someone says 'are you OK?' you say? Angels - Jessica Simpson
2. How would you describe yourself? Beverly Hills - Weezer
3. What do you like in a guy/girl? Only One - Lifehouse
4. How do you feel today? Wreck of a Day - Anna Nalick - that's hilarious! It's actually been a pretty good day, except for the family cold. :)
5. What is your life's purpose? Take a Bow - Leona Lewis
6. What is your motto? Middle Man - Jack Johnson - that's pretty funny, too. :)
7. What do your friends think of you? The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face - Leona Lewis
8. What do your parents think of you? Starlight - Coldplay
9. What do you think about very often? Jessie's Girl.. oh, that's awful...
10. What is 2+2? Look After You (my MP3 doesn't list the group, can't remember this one)
11. What do you think of your best friend? Come Down to Me
12. What is your life story? Wind It Up - Gwen Stefani - I like that one. :)
13. What do you want to be when you grow up? 42 - Coldplay :)
14. What do you think when you see the person you like? Girlfriend -Avril Lavine.. now, that's an oximoron. :)
15. What will you dance to at your wedding? Cold Cold Heart - Nora Jones - hahaha :)
16. What will they play at your funeral? Turn Me On - Nora Jones
17. What is your hobby/interest? One Fine Day - Natalie Merchant
18. What is your biggest fear? In God's Country - U2
19. What is your biggest secret? Underneath it All - No Doubt - OK, this one had me rolling.. :)
20. What do you want right now? Put Your Records On - Natasha Beddingfield :)
21. What do you think of your friends? Simon - Lifehouse
22. What will you post this as? Hey Baby - No Doubt - totally misleading post title, sorry about that! :)

I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you want to do this, go for it! :)

Jazz Game Date Night

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

Regrettably, no pictures.. :( And, after what we saw, we TOTALLY regretted not taking the camera with us (they're not permitted in the Energy Solutions Arena anyway, but it would have been worth a try!).

Steve got some AWESOME tickets to see the Jazz play tonight, so we went and were 10 rows from the floor - best seats ever at an NBA game! It was such a good game - really close the whole time and I don't think I've ever gotten so worked up at a game before. We had tons of fun! But, the highlight was definitely all that we were able to see that we normally wouldn't have been able to. We could see everything that was going on with the Cavaliers' time outs and got quite a view when LeBron James was standing there picking the heck out of his nose! Oh, to have had our camera. He would seriously pick, and then look at his fingers, and then pick again. Here's the superstar of the sport right in front of us, picking his nose! Insane!

Anyway, the game was great.. we lost. :( We had tons and tons of fun, though. And, we won a t-shirt, thanks to Steve's height. :) They were sent down from the ceiling of the arena with little parachutes and he was able to grap one.

We also went to Crown Burger before the game which was super yummy. I wasn't even able to finish my Jr. Burger.. good stuff! A little tip for those of you going to Jazz games out here - if you go to Crown Burger before the game and spend a minimum of $14, which is totally easy to do with 2 people, you get free parking in their lot. Pretty sweet and totally worth it.

So, that was our night. It was SO fun getting out just the two of us with no kids in tow. I'm so grateful to have found a good sitter whom the kids love! I've needed a night like this for so long!

Guess How Much I Spent on All of This

2009-01-14T09:37:00.000-08:00

FIVE BUCKS! Can you believe it?! This is definitely my new record. The original price before sales and coupons was $110 and I spent $5. Awesome!

By the way, I DO plan on posting a real post soon. I've been super busy with sick kids, the holidays, Joe getting sick again, and just trying to get my life in order. But, I will post soon. :)

When it Rains, It Pours

2008-12-18T14:19:00.000-08:00

I took my kids to the doctor today because they've both been a little under the weather with coughs and sniffles and complaints. I was really hesitant to go earlier because I've gotten so much flack about being an overprotective mom. Well, I don't care anymore. I'm going to be overprotective and anyone who has a problem with that can just deal with it. :)

Turns out both of them have tonsillitis. Joe's is pretty intense and on the edge of being something serious. Joe also has croup. And Kathrynn also has both an ear infection and a sinus infection. Keep in mind, I HAVE kept them both home since the first sign of any illness showed up, I didn't want to cause any other kids to get sick.

I've pretty much had it. It's been a REALLY long time since we've had a problem with illness in our house, but since September we have invested hundreds - I mean HUNDREDS of dollars in our kids and their illnesses. And it is almost always because another parent was too free to let their sick kid interact with other kids at preschool, playgroups, and church. Kathrynn was hospitalized with a nasty stomach virus because she played with a boy who had been throwing up the day before (I found out after the play date). Joe spent all of his birthday and Thanksgiving unable to keep anything down because he played with a boy who announced the very next day at church "I threw up last night," after his parents had assured me that he was no longer sick.

And now, both kids are just suffering because of much of the same. I've had it. I'm seriously considering keeping them under quarantine for the next couple of months. I know, that's just ridiculous, but seriously, if you have a sick kid, KEEP HIM HOME!!!

I don't get it! I keep my kids home whenever they seem sick and I'm being overprotective. How did doing something good become perceived as bad and why do all of these moms who send their sick kids out and about think that they're some kind of supermom for doing this?

Anyway, that's my rant to the blogging world. Here's hoping that both Joe and Kathrynn are better by Christmas. We've had way too many special events ruined because of things like this.

The Christmas Village

2008-12-16T14:16:00.000-08:00

Ogden has the coolest thing ever - this little Christmas Village in the heart of town. It's a bunch of small houses decorated for Christmas and is just so festive and cute!

Joe's preschool went to the Christmas Village last Friday and I was able to get a few pictures - though they don't do it justice. First, it was daytime, so no lights, and second, I took the not-so-great camera with me because I didn't trust myself with the nice one while toting around 2 kids and trying to keep like 10 others under control with the other moms.

Here's Joe enjoying his freedom and running around like a maniac. :)

This is a little Elf Chapel of Love. :)

This is Mrs. Clause. She gave the tour. Very patient woman. :)

Here's a series of pictures as we were trying to get a decent group shot of the preschool. It just turned into a bunch of pictures of the moms trying to corral all of the kids. I was cracking up the entire time. :)

This was my favorite house - a little diner where some snowmen went to eat, but the middle one had chili, and, well, you see the results. I love the looks on the other snowmen's faces.

And, um, yeah... Kathrynn has pretty bad stranger anxiety right now.

And here they are, subdued with candy and ready to go home. :)

Joe Said...

2008-12-04T16:05:00.000-08:00

So, I gave the kids ants on a log as a treat today - you know, celery, peanut butter and raisins. I think they're yummy and was wondering if I could pass something healthy off with them. Not a chance.
Joe told me "I can't eat this. I don't like celery." I asked him why, to which he replied "Because it's too good for me!"

At least he's honest. :)

Wordless Wednesday - Cat Nap

2008-12-03T06:48:00.000-08:00

The Biggest Loser

2008-12-02T08:31:00.001-08:00

So, I have a new addiction - I LOVE to watch The Biggest Loser and totally look forward to Tuesdays now so I can watch it. It's actually been really good for me and totally motivating and I've lost more weight while watching it this season than I've been able to all year.
There is, however, a thorn in the side of the show. Her name is Vicky. She's pure evil. Steve and I look forward to her elimination with elation.
I saw a video on Yahoo this morning about her that sums it all up. I seriously had to share it with you all.

Biggest Loser 6: Vicky Gives 'Em Hell @ Yahoo! Video

Wordless Wednesday - Happy Thanksgiving! :)

2008-11-26T14:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday, Joe!

2008-11-24T20:05:00.000-08:00

My little guy turned 4 today. FOUR! I have a four year old. That's unbelievable to me! He's growing up so fast and I just love him more everyday than I did the last. I'm so grateful to be his mommy and to have the connection with him that I do. He is just the funnest little guy with his random songs and the funny things he tells me. He's grown to be a wonderful big brother and is so sweet - well, most of the time - to Kathrynn that it almost brings me to tears. He is the biggest helper in the world and actually cleans up after himself without being asked - I love that! After every meal he always takes all of his dishes to the sink. I love that he does this, though it does force me to make sure he ALWAYS has plastic dishes. :) Joe gives the best hugs in the world and is really so generous with them. He makes friends so easily and already has a little girlfriend (who very openly told me and Steve that she's "in love with Joe.")

I am so grateful to be Joe's mommy. He has the sweetest, most compassionate spirit. He really makes my heart melt. I love him so much.

Happy Birthday, buddy! :)

Hello, Guilt.

2008-11-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

I don't know if it just comes with being a mom or a woman who is constantly trying to better herself, but I have become well aquainted with guilt lately and today it came in a flood.

I've been called in our ward to work with Activity Day girls (8-11 year olds) and we planned a big mother-daughter party for our activity today. Unfortunately, I gave Kathrynn a cold that I developed on Sunday and she had this nasty yellow-green stuff coming out of her nose, so I decided that it would be best if I did not come tonight. Her immune system is weak and I just can't deal with another major illness in our house right now - and EVERYTHING is in the air right now. Plus, I didn't want to get anyone else sick, or gross any of the girls out. I made this decision a few hours before the activity, but had an impossible time reaching one of the other leaders to let her know. I left a message with her husband, but, as much as we love them, I think we all know they aren't the best at relaying those messages. So, I finally reached her about half an hour before we were due to be at the church to set up and felt just HORRIBLE. I was totally stricken with guilt the ENTIRE night over this. I'm not a slacker in my callings. I just didn't want to take my sick child out.

THEN... Steve went off to Young Men's and showed back up at our house with a couple of young women who were doing a service scavenger hunt, looking for food to give to people for Thanksgiving. First, let me say, I am HORRIBLE at doing anything on the fly. I'm a total OCD control freak "D" personality who needs to know exactly what's happening like 2 days before it happens. My brain literally does not function when something is put before me in a matter of seconds. Something I definitely know I need to work on, don't worry. :) Anyway, they handed me this list and I took the girls down to our food storage pantry and put a few things in a bag for them, all the while having a funny little banter with them about the insane amount of sugar cereal we have in our storage. OK, I buy things when I can get them ridiculously cheap, and that opportunity has come very often in the sugar cereal department. I'm officially no longer buying cereal because of it. Anyway, one of the girls comes from a family of 8 and was talking about how they don't have anything like that at their house and how they have to eat gross stuff - like oatmeal - for breakfast. I'm actually good friends with her mom, so this made me laugh, but that the same time I felt guilty. We are totally spoiled. Totally. We have tons of sugar cereal in our food storage. We have anything we may want or need at our fingertips and there are so many people who don't have anything. We have a surplus. Yes, we are exceedingly blessed. But at that moment, I almost felt bad for it.

Then I started feeling guilty that we only have 2 kids and are holding off a little longer before we even start thinking about a third. There's my friend's daughter.. my friend who is only a few years older than me and devotes her life to her 8 children. Of course, she has been married a LOT longer than Steve and I have and it wouldn't be physically possible, well it would, but not comfortably, for me to do the same, but I don't have a huge desire to jump the gun and get pregnant again. I want the dust to settle in our lives. I want our kids to not have stress for a while. I just want things to be consistent and peaceful before we have another baby.

Then the girls left and I realized I only gave them a few things and got the REAL picture of what they were doing and wished I had opened more of my pantry to them. I regretted not giving them the chicken in our freezer and thought of all of the people who had so much less than us in our own community.

To top everything off, I accidently poked Joe in the eye right before bed. That sent me over the guilt edge. He has this thing about grabbing my back pocket or the back belt loop on my pants and being my little train and I thought it was his hand, but it was somehow his face that I grabbed, poking him in the eye and leading to a good 10 minute cry on his part (and profuse teasing from Steve about how it'll be OK if Joe goes blind). I felt so so so bad! Of course, it didn't help that he was VERY tired and had been begging to go to bed like 30 minutes earlier. He's just been the sweetest, most fun little guy ever lately, and I hated ending his day that way. Today, we went the grocery store and in the produce section he started singing this song he was making up about all of the fruits and vegetables at the top of his lungs, causing everyone to giggle. He didn't need me to poke him in the eye. :(

So, that's my day. I'm hoping I get my fill of guilt for a while because it's exhausting.

Wordless Wednesday - Pure Joy

2008-11-19T06:44:00.001-08:00

My Silly Little Guy

2008-11-16T19:23:00.001-08:00

Joe had me laughing harder tonight that I have in a long time. He came up to me and started to tickle me and said the following:
"I tickle slow," then he sped up a little,
"I tickle fast," sped up some more,
"I tickle faster," sped up even more,
"I tickle CRAZY!"
I could not stop laughing! He thought he was doing a pretty awesome job tickling mommy - he was just hilarious! :)

Picture Tag

2008-11-15T22:00:00.001-08:00

Here are the rules: 1. Go to your pictures 2. Upload the fourth picture from the fourth file 3. Post 4. Tag four friends

Wow! This is an old picture. This is Steve's mom, Steve, and me holding Joseph when he was like 7 months old. I loved what a chubby baby he was! He was so cute!
I tag Kara, Sarah, Crystal and Emily.

Huge Twilight News

2008-11-14T11:30:00.000-08:00

I'm way excited about this!

See article below:

Twilight Sequelizes

Fri Nov 14, 10:17 am ET E! Online – Twilight Sequelizes(E! Online) Los Angeles (E! Online) – What fanggirls want, fanggirls get.

While there's still a week to go before Twilight opens in theaters, producer Summit Entertainment is already sinking its teeth into more installments of the vampire romance, acquiring the rights to the next three novels in Stephanie Meyer's series.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the studio has also secured the services of Twilight screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg to pen New Moon and Eclipse, the second and third installments of the would-be blockbuster franchise.

Further ensuring squeals from the masses: Lead bloodsucker Robert Pattinson is also on board for the first three films.

The principals have not yet signed for the fourth installment, Breaking Dawn (SPOILER ALERT—the one where regular teen Bella and her vampire love, Edward, finally tie the knot), but presumably that fact is still a significant number of years away from being a worry.

Twilight opens—as if you needed reminding—Nov. 21. (Check out the latest movie stills in our Twilight gallery.)

Wordless Wednesday - I Can't Get Enough of this Little Personality

2008-11-12T13:43:00.000-08:00

Katie Kat

2008-11-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

Just a cute little note about today..

Kathrynn meowed through the entire closing hymn of sacrament meeting today. I guess it's her way of singing. I thought it was absolutely hilarious and had a hard time holding my composure. :)

What We Did While We Were Offline

2008-11-08T21:38:00.000-08:00

Last you all really heard from us was way back in July when we moved into our house. Soooo much has happened since then, so I'm going to give you the quickest version of it that I can.. :)

*Steve upgraded our electricity from 30 amps for our entire house to the normal amount for a house the size we live in, allowing me to use our dryer, among other things. I'm so grateful to be married to someone who knows how to do these kinds of things.

*Had A/C and a new furnace installed (our old furnace was from like 1953). Summer was hot and our house is all brick and basically turned into an oven. It was awful.

*Decorated our house. Through this learned that nails don't like plaster walls and Steve has a really good eye for drapes. :)

*Worked on the disaster that is our yard and planned our garden for the spring. There's still yet a lot of work to be done in this area.

*Put a kitty we rescued down. It was so so so sad. She was in a lot of pain though, and it was totally necessary. We had a little funeral for her in our backyard and she has a little grave where we plan on planting some roses in the spring.

*Steve discovered, through a close encounter (it jumped up on his leg) that we had a black widow problem in our garage. He has had a bit of arachnaphobia since then. We bombed the garage and thoroughly sprayed our house to kill the little buggers off.

*Reworked our front flower bed. I dug up a bunch of shrubs that just weren't working and planted a bunch of tulips and tiger lilies and we moved a pear tree that was there to our back yard.

*Started going to our new ward which is great and met some wonderful people there - we've made some great friends already.

*Discovered the wonder that is Kid to Kid. I'm in love with this store.

*Read Breaking Dawn in about three days. Got a lot of teasing for this one.

*Got the kids memberships to the Treehouse Museum. Coolest place ever! We go every week for Toddler Time.

*Reinstated my Gold's Gym membership and started going at 6 a.m. every morning. Check out the building it's in: Salomon Center.

*Joe started going to a preschool that the moms of 3 and 4 year olds in our ward put together and he LOVES it!

*Did the preschool at my house and had a headache that lasted several hours. :)

*Admitted Kathrynn into the hospital for an overnight stay due to a nasty stomach virus that left her badly dehydrated. Good news: she's all better and got her new favorite snuggly stuffed animal out of it. Bad news: severe separation anxiety. She was a little traumatized from the whole experience.

*Kathrynn had her speech explosion and started talking in sentences. It's seriously awesome that she's already able to communicate as much as she is.

*Kathrynn got all of her molars. Now THAT was fun.

*Went to a neighbor's birthday party for their son where there was only one other person who spoke English. :)

*Got a van. Mostly so I could have something to drive around during the day - but it will be so nice to have when we expand our family in the future.

*Got cable. Seriously, it was just so we could watch conference, but it's been nice to have. This is the first time we've had it in the almost 6 years of our marriage. We also got a DVR which I LOVE.

*Became addicted to The Biggest Loser.

*Lost 5 lbs and counting! :)

*Joe got a nasty ear infection which scared me a little more than normal due to the Kathrynn hospital thing.

*Joe has progressed with potty training but isn't all the way there yet. We've got #1 down, still working on #2.

*Got like 8 inches of snow in October.

*A couple of months after the initial bombing of the garage, etc., we found a black widow INSIDE our house. At that point I pretty much freaked out and said that we had to call an exterminator or move. We called the guy and haven't seen anything since.

*After 3-4 basement floods called Rotor Rooter and they pulled a 3 foot root out of our main line. Apparently we have a root problem there. He fixed it and put some root killer down there so we should be good for quite some time now.

*I turned 31. Not nearly as traumatizing as 30.

*Celebrated Halloween. Kathrynn was a darling little witch and Joe was a dinosaur. Pictures to come.. :)

*Went to the most insane trunk or treat ever at our Stake Center. There was a line around the side of the church. Not for the faint of heart.

I think that, for the most part covers it. :)

Glad to be back!

And... We're Back!

2008-11-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

We decided to re-install our internet. We actually made it FOUR MONTHS with no connection! That's like living without electricity these days! We decided that it was time to rejoin normal society since we have both learned that we really dont need it. But, I have missed keeping up with all of my friends and filling you all in on the oh-so-interesting details of our life (there's been some pretty good stuff that's been missed on here).
I'm going to try to not be as frequent a blogger - not because I don't enjoy it, but because I have found so much more enjoyment in things that don't involve the computer. You know, clean house, happy kids, etc. :) But, I'll log on every so often to keep y'all up to date with our ever-constant adventures. :)

PS - it's cold and dark here. Sun's set by 5:30 and, well, I'm freezing my bum off. :)

Still Alive and Kicking :)

2008-10-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

It has been completely impossible to get to the library by myself with no kids and, let me tell you, blogging with kids around in a quiet atmosphere is impossible (well, at least keeping them quiet is..). It truly is a miracle that I'm here now and is absolutely the act of a merciful, wonderful husband. Joe has been sick with an ear infection that is seriously kicking his bum since Friday night and I REALLY needed to get out of the house because I've been living and breathing sickness in my home. Kathrynn was a little under the weather Sunday and Monday, but is better now, thank goodness, so it's been a fun few days.

Other than the current state of health in our family, we are doing GREAT! You know, I was really nervous about Ogden before we moved here, but I just love it! Our house is darling (now that it has an air conditioner and reliable furnace and proper electricity - yea for being able to use our dryer!) and we love it and our ward is just awesome! We have the most down to earth, warm people around us - we really love it here. It's been a billion times easier for me to make friends here than it has been in any ward we've been in. Joe's in a mom-run preschool that those of us who have 3 and 4 year olds have put together and is just thriving in it.
Kathrynn is growing and growing and spunkier than ever. We had a little health scare about 6 weeks ago - she had a stomach virus that sent her to the hospital. It was a terrifying experience and left her with some severe separation anxiety, but we got through it and I love her more than I ever imagined I could.

Let's see.. what else can I post really really fast? We got our first snow this last weekend - totally insane. We got like 6-8 inches at our house. It's all gone now. It was like 88 degrees 2 weeks ago. It's amazing what the weather does here.

Life internet free has actually been kind of blissful, though I have stunk at keeping in touch with everyone (well, anyone). It's amazing where my times goes now and how well my house is kept and how happy my kids are. And, I actually have some fun hobbies now - love it!

Hope you're all well! I'll post another update whenever I can pull myself away from my kids again. :)

It Just Gets Better and Better

2008-07-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

There's a new Twilight trailer out! :)

Our New Home

2008-07-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

...well, new to us. :) The house actually falls under the 'vintage' category - it was built in 1924 and is in excellent condition and is just darling.
Ugh, I wish I could photoshop myself out of that picture.. I've gotten pudgy this year. I'm currently negotiating gym memberships with Steve. :) Anyway...

What are we doing moving again, you ask? Well, we can't very well stay settled in one place for more than a few months, can we?! ;-)

No, we decided that it was FINALLY time to get closer to Steve's work, so we decided to move to Ogden. We're not moving into the high-crime zone, but we're not in the happy-valley-esq parts of Ogden, either. It reminds us a lot of San Antonio, which is good. The whole Mayberry feel of everywhere we've lived in Utah has been almost creepy for us and made us feel like we're in the Twilight Zone. :) We're excited for the diversity and the humility that we're expecting out of the area and the opportunities to serve and help make the place better. That being said, it is still a pretty nice area - it's quiet and everyone we've come across has been very friendly.

We close on our house TODAY! We're way excited. We move in on Saturday and that will be the final move for YEARS, thank you very much. :)

We've decided to shut off our internet during the move. Shut it off for good. It's too distracting for our family and we have some goals that we'd like to reach and just don't need it around. Don't worry, the library has computers. I'll still update the blog when I get a chance. I'll email all of those of you whose email addresses I have our new address and phone number (though please don't call for the first week unless you want to talk to stressed-out-Julie - she's not as nice as normal Julie). If you don't get an email, post your email address in the comments (I'll delete it as soon as I see it), and I'll send it to you, too.

So, how about a tour?

This is our front door.

We bought the house from flippers (who are the nicest people ever) and they put in this seriously luxurious carpet with a massive pad under it. You could seriously sleep on the floor comfortably. :)

View out living room window:

Other cute little windows in our living room:

This is the view from the living room into the dining room. We have a huge dining room - something that really sold me on this house.

The arch is from when the house was originally built - you see those a lot in the 1920s houses up here. I LOVE the windows in this house. They're original, too, and have that sagging that the old windows do, which I think is way cool. I love how they swing open - just too cool! :)

Here's a better view of the dining room window (though, all of the windows open like this).

That's the wife of the couple we're buying the house from.. and me and the little munchkin.. she's getting SO BIG!!!

This is our kitchen. We DO plan on doing a lot to this room.

The upper cabinets are antique. I'm still not sure if we're keeping them in the long run. We plan on pretty much ripping everything out and making a U-shaped kitchen, and it will probably be impossible to match those cabinets.. I don't know, I think the space will be worth it.

Kitchen going into the dining room:

Here's the other side of the kitchen, with the pantry, cute little spice cabinets which were part of the original house (which we will ultimately be ripping out for our new kitchen), and a door to the mudroom and basement.

This is the corner of our bedroom - some of the antique hardware is still on the doors.

Kathrynn's room:

View into the bathroom.

It's teeny and there's only one, but we have room downstairs to add another if we need to.

The showerhead that I'm ridiculously giddy over..

Window in the mudroom looking out to the backyard. We have massive plans for the yard, too.

Stairs down to the basement; door going outside:

Unfinished part of the basement. We've thrown around ideas to make this into a craft area for me..

Joe and Drew's room:

This is only half of the room. It's insanely huge. So is the closet. It goes down the length of the room. I think it was originally meant to be the master bedroom, but it doesn't meet Steve's height requirement. :) He can't stand perfectly upright in this room.

So, there you have it. :)

Breaking Dawn

2008-07-17T09:19:00.001-07:00

Get this widget!

Chatty Kathy

2008-07-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

The kids were playing "cars" in a couple of boxes in our living room, when Kathrynn started doing her "vroom vroom" noise, so I decided to quiz her on camera. I love her response time! :) Please ignore the massive mess in my living room. My two children combined have a tornado like force, which is why I wait till they're not playing to clean up. It seems to take up less of my time that way. :) Enjoy! :)

Tagged.

2008-07-04T14:53:00.000-07:00

I keep commenting no all of my friends' tags, so I thought I should add this to my blog as well. :)

Here are the rules:

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, if we’ve actually met in person or not, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments. So...let's hear it!

Tag! You're it! (All of you!)

My Little Guy

2008-07-03T07:05:00.000-07:00

This is Joe. He's 3 1/2. And, he actually set the table like this all by himself.

Joe is a really unique little guy and I absolutely love the qualities that make him that way. He's very neat. He likes things clean. He actually cleans his room - without being asked - and other rooms in the house. He once yelled at me because a room was a mess (it was winter and Steve came in exhausted and just peeled his winter gear off and threw it on the floor). He LOVES to help around the house. He puts dishes away - mostly containers, pots and pans and silverware (which he gets in the right slots). He helps with laundry - he even folds clothes with me. He takes his shoes off before he gets on a bed or couch. Last night he even helped me bring groceries in and put them away.
Aside from the cleanliness, he's also very sweet and compassionate. He's been very aware of my finger and is so sad that I have an owie.
He really is everything I hoped for in a little boy when I was pregnant with him. He's going to make some woman VERY happy when he's all grown up. :)

And She's Walking

2008-07-01T16:58:00.000-07:00

Kathrynn's an official toddler now! Watch out world! :)

200 Things I Have and Have Not Done..

2008-07-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don't
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed some one's mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn't need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in an historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo's David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone's life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a campfire
189. Kept a blog
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter's Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik's cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Commented on a friend's blog

What I Have to Reckon With

2008-06-30T14:48:00.000-07:00

I ran downstairs for a minute, just to take the laundry out of the dryer when I heard some suspicious activity upstairs. I ran up and this is what I found.

The little stinker's been learning how to climb and doesn't hesistate to get into EVERYTHING. This is why I'm grateful she doesn't take more than three steps at a time right now... and also why I'm constantly saying she's not as innocent as she looks. :)
She looks pretty proud of herself, though, doesn't she. :)

Face Transformer

2008-06-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

I found this link (here), and had WAY too much fun with it!
You add your picture and it will transform your face like crazy.
Here'a my original picture:

I started off morphing my age.
Baby Julie:

Child Julie:

Teenage Julie:

Old Julie (this one made me want to cry):

Here's what I'd look like if I was Eastern Asian:

...if Modigliani painted me...

If I was a Botticelli...

And Julie in Japanamation:

Fun, huh? :)

My Little Accident

2008-06-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

Isn't that pretty?
Yesterday we packed up the kids and headed down to Ogden to run a few errands. We had a really fun day and were done with everything we set out to do. I packed the kids in the car and Steve was a couple of car lengths away, talking to someone. As I shut Joseph's door, I somehow missed the fact that my pinkie was still between the door and the door frame when the door actually shut. Note: please always be sure that you don't have finger/hands/appendages in the door when closing a car door - it really hurts.
Anyway, mommy adrenaline forced me to yank my finger out after I shut the door on it. We're still not sure if this made things worse, but Steve's still in shock that I actually did such a thing - you know, rather than calmly opening the door and taking my finger out. The doctor said she doesn't think it would have made a difference, the damage was already done. I broke my fingernail down close to the quick and bled profusely all over the street. It was lovely. Steve asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital in Ogden and I (thinking it couldn't be that bad) said "No, let's get the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's house and go to the InstaCare in Logan." I was crazy. So, we wrapped my hand in a diaper (they are, after all, very absorbent) and drove back to Logan.
After several hours of numbing, prodding, x-rays, etc., we learned that I broke my finger in two places and cut it down to the bone (we actually SAW my bone). Amazing, huh? So, they took my entire finger nail off and I got 5 stitches in the tissue under my fingernail. So, I have a nail less, broken pinkie on my left hand (I'm left handed). It'll be about a month's recovery - when I can take the splint off - and a couple of months before I have a whole fingernail again. I'm forbidden to get it wet, which means I have to wear a latex glove on my hand when I shower and I can't bathe the kids or do dishes or anything like that. Darn. I'm also on antibiotics and some serious pain medication. I haven't felt too much pain since they wrapped it yet, but we haven't changed the dressing yet (which should be horrible) and my nerves haven't started healing.. I heard that should be pretty bad.

So, that's my story. I'm pretty good at hurting myself, huh? :) I have to say, though, Steve was awesome and totally there for me through the whole thing. He was very helpful and put a lot of effort into making me laugh. I'm so grateful I'm married to him. :)

Congrats Spanks!

2008-06-12T10:09:00.001-07:00

We had a little pizza party at my sister-in-law's house (because we're losers without cable..) to watch Spanky on Deal or No Deal last night. It was awesome - and surprisingly emotional. :) I loved seeing his best friend from high school, Chip, there for him - it meant a lot to me that they are still close and still a big part of each others' lives. Spanky, of coarse, had us rolling - he's just a naturally hilarious guy. But, there were also times where I was almost moved to tears - and also wanted to reach into the TV and strangle him. :) He's a good bluffer.
Anyway, he did AWESOME and came home with quite a bit of cash.
We're so happy for you, Spanks!! You did awesome and totally deserve your success!

Go Spanky Go!

2008-06-07T18:38:00.001-07:00

Gotta say, I love the Boy Scouts get up. :)

"I'm NOT Tired!"

2008-06-01T20:17:00.001-07:00

We came home from Steve's parents house about half an hour ago and Joseph was ranting about how he wanted some ice cream and how he was NOT tired. So, we gave him some ice cream (he ate all of his dinner, after all) and put Kathrynn down and took care of some other things. I checked in on him about 10 minutes later and found him passed out on the table, ice cream untouched. Classic. :)

Four Hours of My Day

2008-05-31T20:14:00.001-07:00

This is what I did..

Steve was helping our niece design/start to build a super cool bed she's designed, Joseph was hanging out with his beloved Aunt Liisa, and Kathrynn was asleep for 3 of the 4 hours (spent the last hour in her stroller, thoroughly amused by me). So, I was left alone with my garden to shovel, till, rake, yank and plant for four hours in the blistering 80 degree heat (hehe) - OK, it's the hottest it's been in like 9 months! It was really fulfilling and I feel a great sense of accomplishment.
I wish I had taken a before picture of it. It has two nasty logs on the side that I hated with these awful, thorny things taking up residence by the fence (Steve was kind enough to rip them out this morning) and lots of rye grass and weeds. This is the best before picture I can provide for you: BEFORE. Yeah, take away the snow, and that's what it looked like.

I'm just happy that my garden is finally in!!

Oooooo Look at THIS!

2008-05-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

For you fellow Twilight fans out there, I found a little jewel this morning! EW.com has posted an excerpt from the first chapter of Breaking Dawn!! I was a little pumped about it and now REALLY can't wait for the release! Here's the link: CLICK ME.

Our Little Susie Lou Who

2008-05-28T09:03:00.000-07:00

Just loved this picture!! This was my first attempt getting her hair up.. not without effort. :)

Still Here.. :)

2008-05-24T00:04:00.000-07:00

Why is it when I haven't posted in a week I feel like I've fallen off the face of the blogging world?
Just been busy... and easily distracted. I think that's a better way to describe myself - I'm actually busy BECAUSE I'm easily distracted. :)

I do still take picture of my kids and have some cutes ones to post. Just have to actually sit down and download them onto my computer.

Speaking of the kids - they're still doing great and as spunky as ever. Joseph's new thing is blocking the door whenever I go outside and saying "Hold it right there!" Cracks me up. He's also started allowing Kathrynn to play with him, which is SO nice! I can actually have a half hour to do something without having someone hanging off of me because they're entertaining each other. I LOVE having two kids! :)

Kathrynn is growling nonstop (very effective way of showing her true colors, I think) and is starting to stand with pretty good balance. My life will forever change in probably a few weeks. I'm glad my kids are slow to walk, I don't know what I'm going to do with her when she starts. She's a crazy one.

I actually get to see my husband for more than an hour a day now. YEA! :) The sell of our house meant that he no longer HAD to take remodeling jobs in the evenings, so he actually comes home and doesn't go anywhere. Wow, it's awesome! :)

And, me, I'm just hanging in here and lovin' it. :) The weather's a little fickle, but I think I'm actually enjoying it. I can't say that I've ever lived in a place where it's snowed and had 90 degree weather two weeks later, followed by weather in the 40s and 50s. Crazy, crazy Utah.

Hope this all made sense and that I didn't have too many typos. It's 1 a.m. and for some crazy reason I'm still up. Just felt like blogging a bit. :)

Great News.. and A Little Bit of Murphy's Law..

2008-05-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed in my last post, we sold our house!! We closed today and the financing completely went through, so it's no longer ours! YEA! What wonderful freedom - we no longer have to pay a mortgage and rent at the same time.
I didn't want to post anything about it until we closed because the housing market down in San Antonio is a little crazy right now and our realtor warned us about people entering contracts and flaking out half way through. We were afraid that would happen, so we didn't spread the word out far and wide like we would have liked to.

On the other hand, it didn't go as smoothly as we would have hoped. LAST NIGHT (of all nights) lightning struck a neighboring house and completely FRIED our garage door opener. Nice timing, huh? So, we have to pay to get that replaced, but at least that will be the last that that house will see from our pocketbook.

PS - We also sold our truck a few weeks ago, so we're free of all of that stuff! YEA! :)

Where was I...

2008-05-15T17:01:00.000-07:00

20 years ago I...

1. Was 10 and WAY excited about the double digits thing.
2. Went swimming constantly and actually had a tan.
3.Knew how to ride a bike. Believe it or not, that's something I forgot..

10 years ago I...
1. Was a junior at Southern Utah University, majoring in interpersonal communication and broadcasting - changed to advertising later that year.
2. Met my favorite roommate in college (Rosi). :)
3. Worked as a morning show co-host at the college radio station, KSUU.

5 years ago I....
1. Got married. :)
2. Lived in New Braunfels, TX.
3. Lost a lot of weight really easily. It was awesome, wish I could do it again!!!

3 years ago I....
1. Had Joseph. :)
2. Quit my job doing Public Relations at Frost & Sullivan.
3. Sang at the San Antonio temple dedication ceremony.

1 year ago I....
1. Had Kathrynn. :)
2. Moved from San Antonio to Logan.
3. Flew by myself with two small children.

So far this year I have...
1. Moved 4 times.
2. Gone back to work doing PR and quit my job.
3. Learned how to be a better homemaker.

Yesterday I...
1. Was kind of a bum. It was rainy and that kind of weather always makes me want to be a bum. :)
2. Went to a hot dog/marshmallow roast a some friends' house.
3. Successfully roasted a hot dog over a fire pit while holding Kathrynn.

Today I...
1. Pulled weeds in our yard.
2. Went to the library.
3. Signed the papers to close the sell of our house - yea!

Tomorrow I will...
1. Hopefully no longer be a home owner. :)
2. Go to the park with the kids.
3. Have pizza at a friend's house.

In the next year I may....
1. Recreate stability in our family.
2. Build up our food storage.
3. Get back in shape.

In the next 5 years...
1. Get into a (hopefully) final house.
2. Have another baby.
3. Have a calm and serene life.. keeping my fingers crossed for that one. :)

On Our Quiet Little Street

2008-05-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

So, last night after we got the kids to bed, Steve and I sat down to watch a movie. We just got through the previews and to the beginning of them movie when I heard this loud plastic bang/crunch sound. I didn't know what it was, but it sounded big. My immediate reaction was to say, "What was THAT?" and I went upstairs to check things out. My first instinct was to look out our side door, thinking maybe our trash cans mysteriously were knocked over, when to my shock, I saw a car flipped over on our street. I couldn't believe it. I yelled for Steve to come and told him what happened, grabbed the phone and we ran out to see what we could do to help. I called 911 (the first time I've ever had to call) and forgot my own phone number because I was so flustered.. :-S Luckily, the operator was very patient. There were police cars, a firetruck and an ambulance on our street in a matter of minutes. Steve managed to get in the car with the guy and was trying to help him get out - he was hanging upside down by his seatbelt (lucky for him) - and trying to see if he was hurt - it took a few police officers to get him out of there, but mostly because he was so stunned.
Well, also for another reason, he was a DUI. So sad. There was a man in a van who was a witness to it and said he almost met him at the intersection, but stopped driving because he was swerving. The guy in the car swerved and turned left through the intersection, then basically drove up the side of two cars and flipped his own. He didn't leave a scratch on either car, but caused about $10K worth damage in one of them because he pushed the tire up and broke an essential part of the vehicle (as you can tell, I'm SO mechanical). What's sad is that person's car was a parent visiting her child who just moved into the aparment of the house next door. Poor thing started worrying about the neighborhood at that point - the whole DUI thing (and us not being to reassuring that it's not a problem in this area..). We sat out there talking to them for like an hour (it was cold!) and got to watch the tow truck flip the car back over, which was really interesting (Steve LOVED that part).
So, that's my exciting Friday night. :) My street really is VERY quiet, and it is actually a pretty good neighborhood, and I was shocked that something like this did or even COULD happen. But it did, and I'll never forget it.

The Spankster on Deal or No Deal

2008-05-10T07:53:00.000-07:00

If you know Spanky, then you probably already know that he's going to be (or was, it just hasn't aired yet) on Deal or No Deal. Isn't that crazy?! Anyway, the episode he's on will air on May 22nd, but you can see a clip of it here: http://www.nbc.com/Deal_or_No_Deal/video/#mea=249312
How much fun!! Congrats, Spanky!! :)

EDIT: Spanky's episode will air on June 11th, not May 22nd. :)

Notes from the Changing Table

2008-05-06T08:23:00.000-07:00

Have you other moms of kids still in diapers noticed that Huggies has Winnie the Pooh on their diapers now? I think they just changed over from Mickey Mouse. Now, I know that diaper companies will get contracts with kid-oriented companies to advertise on their diapers - like Huggies with Disney, but why'd they choose Pooh? He's really cute, and my kids love him. There's just something unnerving about saying, "Yes, honey, there's Pooh on your diaper."

What Goes Around...

2008-05-05T21:41:00.000-07:00

I have learned, probably a billion times, that what goes around definitely comes back around (and I've had that Justin Timberlake song stuck in my head for like the last HOUR because of this post.. ugh!).

It seems like any time I've ever been rude to anyone or judged anyone harshly I always get it back - almost to the exact circumstance. Not necessarily from the person that I was unkind to (to their face or otherwise), I just have a learning experience. The only times that are still fresh in my memory relate to motherhood, though I've had this experience in several different circumstances.
Examples:

"I can't believe she used an epidural. I want to experience childbirth naturally." Yeah. I lasted 2 hours into the really bad contractions and was sobbingly begging for the epidural. On top of that, I've never experienced natural childbirth at all. Due to complications, Joseph was delivered C-section. Same story for Kathrynn, just so we were on the safe side.
"I can't believe she doesn't breastfeed her baby. I'm going to nurse my babies for AT LEAST the first year. I want them to have the very best no matter what the sacrifice is on my part." Not if it's not physically possible for me to do so..
"I'm never going to be one of those moms who ignores their kids when they call for them." You know what I'm talking about "Mom. Mommy. Moooooommmmmmm!!!!" Yeah. I'm there right now.

Joseph has officially entered the phase of yelling "Mom" constantly, mostly for non-urgent stuff. I really try to be patient with it and give him the attention he's seeking. After all, I don't want him to feel ignored. But, after a while, I start to lose it and just really really don't want to respond - I'd rather hide in my closet until he gets over the mom rampage. The mom phase started off reasonable. "Mom, you my milk." (Translation: Mom, will you get my milk for me."), "Mom, look at the bird." "Mom, where are my crayons?" etc. But, lately it's been getting a little ridiculous.

The other morning, a weekend morning, mind you Joseph woke up before everyone else in the house. He came in to get me with the usual "Wake up, Mommy." I promptly hooked him up with a Sesame Street tape and jumped in the shower, stressing to him that he needed to be as quiet as possible because everyone else was asleep. As soon as I turned the shower off he was at my door yelling, "Mom! Mom! Mom!" like someone was trying to saw off his arm. As soon as I got out of the bathroom I asked him to keep it down and what was wrong. His response: "Big Bird lost Radar. He can't find him." (Radar's Big Bird's teddy bear.) Ugh.

So, here are I am, Karma biting me in the bum for ever judging moms who ignore the incessant yells of "Mommy." Now I understand.

On the other end of the spectrum - I was a total punk in middle school. I was a great kid in high school, but middle school - I was just a punk. I remember one time (clear as day, actually) my mom telling me "I hope you have kids just like you." And, the smart alec I was, I responded "So do I, because they'll be perfect." What did I tell you? I was a punk.

Well, my mom got her wish. My little girl is just like me and set out to be total trouble. Oh sure, her spunk is totally cute, but there are parts of her personality that seriously frighten me when I think of the future - particularly the middle school years. Example: in church on Sunday, she repeatedly tapped Joseph on the head with her foot and it was obvious that she was doing it because she knew it would annoy him (luckily he's very patient when we're at church). I know she was doing it on purpose because I tried moving her away from him and she strained to keep tapping his head with her foot. SHE'S ONE! A one-year-old purposefully trying to annoy her brother - and that wasn't the first time. She totally got that from me. But, I don't think I did that kind of stuff that early.

She's also insanely sensitive - one of my major weaknesses. Not normal sensitive, but someone walks out of the room she's in and she starts crying sensitive. It doesn't even have to be someone she knows.

And, don't even get me started on how stubborn she is. Of course, we have the two most stubborn children in existence, but they also have two very stubborn parents, so there's no getting around that one.

She also loves to tease everyone! Anything to get a rise out of someone. When I come in to get her in the morning she stands at her crib, like she's ready for me to get her and then dashes to the far end of her crib just as I'm about to hold her. There's a lady in our ward who is enamoured by her and always wants to hold and she constantly acts like she'll go to her and then turn away really fast and hold on to me (and giggle).

But, on the other hand, she's extraordinarily strong. Not just physically (though, I inwardly call her the bionic baby), but she has an emotional strength that you can actually see in her, even for her age (that is, unless you walk out of the room). She has been through so much this year and has handled it with so much strength and adaptability. She's definitely a trooper. And that little girl loves with all of her heart. She's very outgoing and seems to be very sure of who she is already.

So, even though I was a total punk when my mom wished it upon me, and I have a lot of work in store for me (especially in about 10 years from now), I wouldn't trade my little girl for the world. And, maybe it's a blessing that she is so much like me. It'll help me relate to her better. :)

OK.. longest blog post ever.. :) Had a lot on my mind, I guess.

Oh. My. Heck.

2008-05-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

The Twilight teaser trailer is out. I almost peed my pants. You can find the link here - LINK.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :) I'll be revisiting that link now, I think..

Mr. Picasso Head

2008-05-03T14:27:00.000-07:00

I found this really cool website today (because I'm being a total slacker because it's Saturday..). It's www.mrpicassohead.com. You can make your very own Picasso. :) Here's mine: LINK. I couldn't paste the actual picture to my blog, but I'm hoping the link stays good.
You guys should go there to waste time like me. :)

Happy May!!

2008-05-01T08:13:00.001-07:00

This is outside our kitchen door this morning. :)

This is Awesome! :)

2008-04-29T16:41:00.001-07:00

Tagged Again :)

2008-04-24T20:43:00.000-07:00

Sarah tagged me like a week ago.. I've been a total slacker and am just getting to it.. mostly because I've SO not been a slacker in every other part of my life than my blog.. I've been really really busy this week. :)

OK, so here's what I do.. The rules are as follows:1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

The facts:
1. I have a perfect, pin-sized whole in the center of my right index fingertip. I had my finger ex-rayed once because I sprained it and thought it was broken (don't ask..), and my doctor pointed it out to me. He said that you actually could thread a pin straight through my finger. Gross, huh? :)

2. I have a ridiculously clear memory when it comes to certain things. Like who said what 15 years ago and where I was standing when I heard it and what they were wearing and what their hair looked like, etc. I'm also able to remember details of a room in almost a photographic nature. As long as I've put something somewhere, I know where it is. This particular skill comes in handy because I'm married to Steve. He can never remember where he puts anything. :) Now, short term remembering to take something with me somewhere memory, I don't have that at all. I always forget SOMETHING whenever I go anywhere.

3. I have eyebrow dimples. I hated them until I had Kathrynn. She has them, too and I think they're adorable on her, so I love them now. Funny what you offspring can do for your self perception. :)

4. I got appendicitis the night before my first ever college final. I spent the entire finals week in the hospital and got out of all of my finals, thanks to the mercy of my professors. And, bizzarely, most of Ricks College somehow knew about the fact that I got my appendix out and people actually came up to me on the plane ride home to ask if I was that girl who got her appendix out (probably because I was limping around like I was in some serious pain).

5. I have expensive hobbies. So, unfortunately I am unable to do those things I can do particularly well. I love tap dancing and have done it off and on since I was 10 - most recently in college and, let me tell you, I was in the best shape of my life. I miss it terribly and still have my shoes, but can't justify the $50 a month studio fee. I also took up pottery in college and love and miss that too, but pottery gets VERY expensive. Steve's promised me a wheel and kiln when we get older and more financially secure, but it's out for now. So, for now, I TRY to garden and make quilts and cook yummy things and read fun books and keep this beast of a blog up. :) Oh, yeah, and hang out with my cute kids and husband. :)

6. I was a ridiculous over-achiever my last few years of college. I went to school full time, worked part time and took on insane amounts of different kinds of extra-curricular activities while maintaining church callings and a rather interesting social life. I think I averaged 4-6 hours of sleep a night then and never stopped moving. Maybe that's why I'm so tired now...

7. On a good week, I do a MINIMUM of 10 loads of laundry. I've done 11 already this week (since Monday - no backlog of laundry, it's all completely clean at each day's end). Isn't that insane?! I think I did 1, maybe 2 loads a week when I was single. I blame it on Steve - he's 6'5" and two entire outfits can make a load sometimes. Plus, it's winter.. wait, it's spring, but it's acting like winter.. so, we're all in bulky clothes and wear lots of layers and sleep with several bulky blankets, so that doesn't help. It should tone down if it ever gets warm.

OK, the people:
I tag Emily, Sally, Nissa, Paige, Jackie, Christine, and Nicole.

If You Complain About Something Enough...

2008-04-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

...it'll happen anyway.

Looking outside as Steve was getting ready to leave for work this morning..

Looking out my kitchen window at lunch..
The pictures don't really do it justice. It looked like I was sitting in a snow globe at lunchtime.

So, I've decided I DON'T CARE ANYMORE! It can snow every day for the rest of my life. I've come to accept that notion, because it surely seems like that's what's going to happen. Steve and I were talking about it this morning (while shaking our heads) - he said it was never this bad in St. George. I remember it never getting this bad in REXBURG! It's end of term and I remember wearing sandals up there before coming home. Ugh.
So goes the saga of our weather woes in Logan, Utah.

More Twilight Stuff

2008-04-21T19:43:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm a total Twilight freak, I admit it. :) Summit Entertainment, the group that's putting the movie together, posted a promotional video on MTV.com this week. Instead of posting the video here, I'm posting the link to the article that takes you to the video HERE (mostly because it drives me insane when videos automatically play on their own when I go to my blog).

I'm way excited! Trying not to be too impatient for December, though. It's too soon to think about the beginning of snow season since we're finally getting out of the end of it. :)

Mitt Romney's Top 10 Reasons for Dropping Out of the Campain

2008-04-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

I thought this was pretty hilarious! #5's my favorite. :)

(If you didn't catch it, #5 was in reference to Al Gore.)

Any Good Book Suggestions?

2008-04-17T10:54:00.001-07:00

Steve keeps telling me that I should get books on CD from the library and I keep thinking, "Well, what's the point in that?" :) Well, I was blog lurking a minute ago and saw someone who said that she listens to them while she cleans - what a great idea!! Have something totally distracting me when I'm doing something I don't really like to do. So, I've put the obvious books on CD on hold at the library (Twilight series.. I'm trying to catch everything I missed the first read through), but I'm like 30th in line for all of them.. surprise! So, I'm looking for others that I might enjoy listening to, too. Any suggestions?

Utah or Texas?

2008-04-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

Hmm.. which am I more of?

how much utah are you? Your Result: very much utahn well you know everything about this place. you must live here or know it very well. you know where to go to have fun and that this is the only place to party.
not so much utahn
how much utah are you?

You are 77% REAL Texan!!

You're way more Texan than average. You're parents were probably from here too. We're glad to have you. You probably go to the border for Christmas shopping and are well versed in BBQ, Mexican Food and .. well thats pretty much it.

How Texan Are You?