Give Thanks! And a broken finger!

This Thanksgiving has been one of my most memorable in a long time. It was so much fun! My parents reserved the church and we set up all the tables so we could eat "Family Style" with about 25 or us. It was a blast! Thanks mom and dad!

One thing about living far away and not being able to come home very often is that all my nieces and nephews grow so much. I was blown away with how grown up everyone is getting, especially Jenessa, Ali and Emily. They are teenagers and they are gorgeous girls!!!

This is a picture of Thatcher and Regan meeting for the first time. They were born 3 days apart.

After dinner, we set up a game table and everyone played and played. It was one of my favorite things. We also played basketball (lightning is a family favorite), volleyball and a highly dangerous game of base soccer (or kick ball) as Jason calls it. All the adults joined in and we started making rules like: if you kicked it off the walls and someone caught it you are out, if you hit the backboard on a fly it is a home run, if it hits the ceiling then you are out. Everyone started kicking so hard and trying to ricochet the soccer ball off 2-3 different walls...anyway, it was while I was trying to catch one of these that I actually broke my finger!!! It hurt soooo bad. I immediately ran out of the gym because I didn't want everyone to make a big fuss and stuck my finger in the drinking fountain. After about 5 minutes I could tell it was swelling up so badly, that I decided I needed to wrestle my wedding ring off before it would need to be cut off. It took me a few minutes and a lot of pain but I was able to get it off. I waited to go to the doctor until we got home to Seattle 5 days later and had it x-rayed. Sure enough I had broken it. This was my first official broken bone. (I think I broke my pinky toe in high school because it hurt like "another brother's mother" for about 6 months, but I never had it x-rayed and so I am not sure.)
After games, we had a really really fun family talent show. I didn't get a picture of everyone but this is a picture of Ali doing a ballet routine. I think everyone did something...except Jason!!! How ironic is that?!?! One of the most talented people I know and he wouldn't participate. :) jk. I think it was because I didn't give him much time to prepare. That afternoon I think I said something like "So, what are you going to do for the talent show?" His response was, "What talent show?"
This is a picture of Boo (Danielle) singing a song. She was really good! I did the Fools Lip Sync with my sister, Kelly and my niece, Jenessa. (Its my old standby, good in a pinch talent), Dallin sang the ABC's and said the first Article of Faith. He also learned how to run and jump off the stage from my older nephews. One thing is for certain, that boy is NOT afraid of jumping!

I know, I know - here it is December and I am finally blogging about Halloween! Ha, how do you like that?!? It seems like I didn't blog for awhile and then it got to be that I had too many things that I needed to blog about. And somehow, blogging seemed to slip from the list of "things I want to do" to the "another thing I have to do" list. So here I sit (on the floor in my bathroom of all places) and on December 2, 2007 I can put a check mark next to the...To Do: "blog about Halloween" list.This is a cute picture of Dallin and Thatcher at the Halloween Trunk or Treat at our new ward, Issaquah 6th ward. Dallin is now so happy because he gets to go to nursery with his best friend Preston Matthews. Dallin was spiderman and Thatcher was Robin.
Dallin loved the kids costume parade. He would walk across the stage and everyone would cheer and then he would run around and get back in line. He must have "paraded" 4-5 times.
During the month of October, Susann was on a trip to the Cambodian orphanage for 3 weeks and so Jason and I were in charge! :) We got a feel for what it will be like to have 4 kids and to have a couple pre-teens. It was fun! Jacoba and Kooper are really really great kids. This is us carving pumpkins.
A few days before Halloween we were "Boo-ed" with Halloween Oreos. This is a picture of Dallin trying to hoard the cookies and stash them while I was in the shower. Caught red handed!
Thatcher's great discovery this halloween was CANDY! I don't think I let Dallin have ANY candy until he was almost 2! This is a picture to show how standards can relax as the number of children increases. Thatcher is 9 months old and is now addicted to suckers. If he happens to see a sucker or see anyone with a sucker, he morphs into this crazy, lunatic baby trying to do everything he can to GET TO THAT SUCKER! If this behavior persists I am going to have to search for an S.A. group. Sucker's Annonymous. It's almost that bad. :)

Caution...not for weak stomachs (or noses) but very funny!

The other day our attention was piqued when we heard the toilet being flushed and so Jason went to investigate. Turns out our little guy went potty by himself! Jason was really excited and said "C'mon lets go tell mommy!" Dallin answered with an emphatic "No! I have to wash my hands first!" I was listening from the other room and when I heard Dallin say this I dropped to my knees to give thanks! Usually I have to wrestle him up onto the counter and force his hands in the water. As he came out of the bathroom he walked over to me (naked from the waist down) and announced, "Mommy, I went poo-poo!" I was trying to be very excited and give him lots of praise..."Ahhh! Oh! What a BIG BOY you are! I am SO proud of you to go POTTY! AND you even WASHED YOUR HANDS! Let me smell!" After hesitating for only a second, Dallin turned around and bent over for me to smell his "you know what!"....Jason and I about fell on the floor we were laughing so hard! What a cutie!

That's a first!

About a week and a half ago I took Dallin and Thatcher to McDonald's. Dallin had so much fun playing on the playground that he only had about 2 bites of his hamburger. Well, I wasn't about to chuck the perfectly good hamburger in the garbage, so instead I wrapped it nicely up and tucked it into my purse; figuring he would eat it later that day. Well, we went home and I completely forgot about it! I found the thing a week and a half later, (still good, I might add) in the dark abyss of my purse; thankfully it didn't attract bugs. As I pulled the hamburger out I thought..."What's this?!?! ..Whoa! I just found an old hamburger in my purse. That's a first!"

Dallin's first trip to the dentist...

So, a few days after Dallin turned 3 I took him to the dentist for the first time. I know that in all the baby magazines it says "After your child turns 1, you should take them to the dentist for their first check up." Well, being the eager first-time mother that I was, when he turned 1 I looked in his mouth and was stumped. I couldn't figure out the reasoning behind going to to the dentist at age 1: was it to check his 4 teeth that had only been out in the free world for 3-4 months for cavities?!?! I think not. Especially considering his diet consisted of milk, bananas, apples, mixed whole grain cereal and a few veggies. Well then, it must surely have been to get him familiar with the dental procedure so that he would feel comfortable in the big chair as a toddler....right? Wrong! There was no way my 1 year old was going to remember the big comfy chair at the dentist and feel at ease in it 6 months later.

So call me neglectful, call me uncaring, lax, delinquent or abusive. I chose to wait until he was 3 yrs old for his first check up. (Honestly, who takes their kid to the dentist when they are 1? Really, I would like to know. I think its just a ploy and all dentists are in on it...but that post is for another day.)

That morning, we showed up at the dentist and played with all manner of nasty, germ infested toys in the waiting room before venturing into the big chair. The girl that showed us into the room was really nice, I could tell she was inexperienced because she exuded nervousness when trying to talk Dallin into the chair. I was starting to think "Oh, boy....this isn't going to work." Dallin could smell her uneasy demeanor as soon as we walked in. I picked him up and plopped him into the chair. I think she was trying to lighten the mood because she started showing him the instruments....the little mirror and the water gun (he liked those ones, but from there it just went downhill). The next instrument she held up was the buzzer (polisher), the drill and last the best of all the game. The HOOKS they use to dig out and scratch off all the plaque on your teeth. Well, that did it, Dallin was up and out of the chair in 2 seconds flat. This really wasn't going well. I used all manner of trying to coax him back into the chair (except for bribing him with candy...I didn't think that would go over very well) and I started mentally kicking myself for not going to the pediatric dentist down the hill. After a few more minutes, I almost gave up and said never mind just do my teeth instead, but an older woman came in started taking over. Now here was the voice of experience and confidence and Dallin totally responded to that. He let her brush his teeth, polish them with the buzzer and floss them as well. I was SO impressed. This lady did some smooth, fast talking and Dallin walked out of there proud as a peacock because he had been so brave. I was really proud of him.

As we were leaving, the dentist mentioned to me that I should start flossing his teeth everyday.....I did have good intentions. I kept it up for about ...oh....maybe 2 days. I guess it's just going to take some serious cavities to get me serious about dental care, but when you get your first cavity when you are 27 years old...it's hard for me to put it up there on the high priority list, you know? Knock on wood.

Dallin turned 3!!!

I really can't believe that Dallin is 3 yrs old. So many people have asked me if he is in Pre-school this year and I thought "WHAT?!?" NO Way, he is just a baby." But, really....I guess he's not. That's hard for me to remember. :)

We were planning on being on vacation over Dallin's birthday and so we actually celebrated a week before the actual day. That morning we decorated and hung streamers. Thanks Kiera, for the idea or running through streamers to get to the birthday room; we had hours of enjoyment with this later in the day!

Dallin had a blast opening presents and wearing the birthday hat!I thought this picture was funny. Apparently Kooper was pretty excited that Dallin got his own army guys. Probably because Dallin will no longer have the desire to sneak into Kooper's room to play with his army guys. Why is it, that other people's toys are always better than the one's you have?

Jason got pretty involved in the whole army guy thing too...:)

Later in the day, Dallin helped me bake his birthday cake....He licked all the frosting he could and even got a little carried away. He starting eating the scraper too. :)

Can I just say that I love this child to pieces. He cracks me up! I love all the toddler lingo we have around our house. He is a great snuggler and he just melts my heart when out of no where little gems like "Thank you, thank you mommy!" pop out.

I am so blessed to be a mom, especially to my little "tiny". I can't imagine feeling complete without him in my life.

I've been tagged...Our Dating Story!

1. Where did you meet your husband? I first saw Jason at a BYU swing dance. I was there with my younger brother Mark, who had just got home from his mission, and I was trying to get my bro to ask someone to dance. He was being a little shy (Oh, that's an oxymoron....shy=mark). Anyway, he wouldn't go and ask anyone to dance and so I was trying to show him how to be gutsy and I picked out a really cute guy that danced like a dream, swallowed my Adam's apple (because it had somehow made it's way up into my mouth) and went and asked him to dance.
I then spent the rest of the dances of that fall semester trying to get my boyfriend to go ask someone else to dance, so I could go and conveniently stand in the vicinity of where Jason was standing and look AVAILABLE.
2. What was the first thing you said to your husband? Wanna dance?
3. Where was your first date? Our first date was to a fireside at the Tabernacle in Salt Lake to hear Neal A. Maxwell speak. Poor Jason was so tired, he could hardly keep his eyes open. Then we walked around all the visitor centers until we ran into a guy that I had dated a few months back (left him high and dry).... It wasn't a pretty sight. :)
4. Where was your first kiss? There was this trail head up on the east side of the mountains in SLC that had a huge parking lot and it overlooked the whole valley. (Great place to watch fireworks.) Anyway, we were sitting there ...overlooking the valley when he smacked 1 (or 2) on me. ;) There was also a guy a little ways over that was sitting on the hood of his car playing his bagpipes...it was pretty cool!
5. How long did you date? Our first date was in January and we got engaged August 1st. So about 7 months.
6. Did you have a long or short engagement? It was short... 2 1/2 months.
7. Where did you get engaged? Jason proposed at a candlelight dinner that he had made himself. Chicken Alfredo with salad and cheesecake for dessert. Complete with candles and sparkling cider in plastic goblets. He is such a romantic and I love it! We went to a mountain overlook with a picnic blanket and picnic basket this time in Provo and ate our dinner. After dessert he gave me a speech that was so cute and popped the question with a ring and all! I was so surprised. I thought he was going to say I love you so much and lets start praying about whether or not we should get married. But, no, he was ready and willing to take the plunge. :)
It quite possibly couldn't have had anything to do with the fact that I tried to break up with him 2 days earlier because he just couldn't make up his mind about whether he was ready or not. This was just the reaction that I was hoping for! :)
OH! and the best part was that Amber and Gayla were hiding in the bushes about 20-30 feet away and video taped the whole thing. Thanks guys! That was awesome!
8. Where were you married? Salt Lake Temple
9. How did the reception go? We had 2...1 in UT and 1 in AZ. They were both awesome and both a blur. After our first reception in UT, I just remember being so sad that I was leaving such a big mess for everyone to clean up! I started helping clean the tables and Jason was like "What are you doing?!?!" "We are supposed to leave so that everyone can chase us in their cars!" oh....I didn't know that. :) It was a fun chase.
10. How was the honeymoon? Fab-o! We went to Vegas, then to a beautiful bed and breakfast called The Blue Dolphin Inn at Cambria, CA, then on down to Disneyland for a couple days then over to AZ for the next reception. I think the best part was all the time that we got to spend together in the car. We had spent so much frantic time working and trying to plan the wedding that it was nice it was all over and we could just spent time together. We talked and talked and laughed and ate mini sandwiches and leftover eclairs from the reception until we were sick. :) Good times, good times.
11. Now I tag: Shannon, Katie and Mark and Ashlee!

Pictures of Thatcher!

I was looking through my blog and I realized that I have been blogging about everyone in our family except Thatcher! So here are a bunch of pictures of the little guy!

Thatcher is 8 months old now and I can't believe it! I remember when Dallin was a year and a half old and I started thinking about having another baby. I felt like I had just gotten Dallin to a point where he was somewhat independant as far as walking and feeding himself and the thought of starting completely over with a tiny baby again was exhausting. OF COURSE I wanted more kids.

Having a tiny baby in our house again has been absolutely wonderful!!! Thatcher is a complete ANGEL. He hardly ever cries, he is always smiling and laughing and he has been a complete joy in my life. I have absolutely loved having a baby in our house again. My only complaint is that he is growing too fast! :) I love being a mom to 2 of the greatest boys ever!

Dallin and Thatcher love each other soooo much. They have such a great relationship and I hope it continues throughout their lives. When Jason blessed Thatcher, he blessed him that he would always have a close relationship with his brother and I can see it already. Thatcher is all smiles and laughs whenever Dallin is around; and Dallin is so protective of Thatch. He has never been jealous of mommy bringing home a new baby.

When Thatcher cries Dallin says, "Mommy mommy, Baby Thatch is crying. Go get him mommy, go get him."

Thatcher barely started rolling over at 8 months. When Dallin was a baby, I was so eager for him to learn a new trick and get to the next stage, but with Thatcher I am not pushing him at all. I am savoring the baby stage as long as possible and loving it!

Last week as I was making dinner Thatcher decided that he had had enough of trying to entertain himself. So he said "mmmmmm." "Mmmmmmmmmmmmm." "Mmmmm mom." Instantly my heart melted and I ran over to him and scooped him up. I think he liked my reaction to his new "m" sound because he was all smiles and has since used that same sound to try to get my attention. It works everytime.

It's moments like these that wipe away everything that's hard about having children.

Baby Proof

In reading this book I hit a first. I DID NOT LIKE THIS BOOK. Rare for me, I know. Baby Proof by Emily Giffin was about a career minded woman (Claudia) that did not want children. After a few dead end relationships she finally met this guy, Ben, that was soooo great. Her soul mate! AND the great thing for her was that he didn't want children either! They were soon wed and life was great. After the first couple of years, Ben changed his mind and really wanted a family.

Now, I am nothing like Claudia...family and children are what it's all about for me. And this isn't the reason that I don't like the book...the reason is because they have 1 huge fight about having/not having children and she leaves in the middle of the night, goes to her friends' house and files for divorce the next day. I kept thinking, "There is no way that she will go through with it" after all, they are so right for each other in EVERY other way. Couldn't they just talk it out and compromise somehow? Sadly she does go through with it and spends the last 7/8ths of the book, first trying to spite him, then trying to make him jealous and finally kicking herself for the decision she made. Hello this isn't Jr. high...this is marriage and that's what I hated. The attitude that people have now days about marriage and that it so easily dissolvable. I just couldn't understand that.

Oh! AND she throws her perfectly good and perfectly expensive platinum wedding ring off the Brooklyn Bridge. Hello! She could have sold the thing on EBAY and bought herself a new car!

The Devil's Arithmetic

The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen was a teen book about a Jewish girl that lives in New Rochester NY. Her family celebrates all the Jewish holidays and she goes along with it, even though she doesn't really understand why or what is so important about being Jewish.
At one point in a ceremony she is supposed to walk to the door and open it to see if the prophet Elijah has come. She begrudgingly flings the door open and is suddenly whisked back in time.
She is now a Jewish girl during the time of the Holocaust. After just a couple days her family is taken to a concentration camp and we learn with her through her experiences there. Overall, I thought it was a good book to introduce the tragedy of the Holocaust without going into too much of the horrific details. I was a little disappointed with how it seemed to brush over some of the everyday life of the prisoners and it didn't seem to pull me in emotionally, but in that way it made it appropriate for a younger audience. I liked the overall message of the importance of remembering and honoring our heritage.

We Believe...

Every night before Dallin goes to bed we have a little ritual. We kneel down by the side of his bed and we quote the first Article of Faith which is:

"We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in his Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." (This is a video clip of his doing it a couple mornings ago.)

Then we help him say his prayers, we read 4 books together and that usually does it. As in ...Jason or I have fallen asleep by then. :) Dallin falls asleep a little while later...usually after he has gotten out of bed and played legos! jk What a cutie! I just LOVE being his mom!

While I am on the topic of Dallin, he has said some funny stuff lately that I wanted to share! Here are the top 3 phrases:

1. Mommy! Mommy! Thatcher's trying to nurse the bed!

2. Come mere mom. Lemme show you sumpin. ...It's way way magic!

3. Dang it! (Where he heard this...I just don't know! Jason?)

Look at that face! Now, for all of you wondering if I am taking pictures of my "neked" child the answer is no! I was changing the sheets on my bed and Dallin (wearing his swimsuit) came running in from outside. He had just been playing in the sprinklers with Jacoba and he plopped himself down on my bed and I just had to grab my camera.

These days are over...

Hallelujah! These days are almost over. Just in the last week Dallin has really caught on to "going" on the potty. I hope I never have clean out dirty underwear again.

Introducing....the Fools!

This is what we do in our free time up here in Sammamish. I think we are going to take the show on the road. ha...just try to guess which one is me.

Ode to my Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday!!! For those of you that know her, already know what a beautiful person she is inside and out. For those of you that have never had the opportunity to meet my mom....let me paint you a picture.

My mom and I had a great relationship growing up. Sure, we hit a few bumps in the road as all mother/daughter relationships do, but overall she was the type of mom you just loved to stay up late with and have "pillow talk". My mom has a lot of fabulous gifts. She is talented, artistic, smart, funny, the life of the party, an ABC woman, a very hard worker, organized, trendy, fun, compassionate, service-oriented, honest, a person of high integrity and she is an amazing people person.

A few years ago, Jason and I decided to be adventurous and move to Washington. Well, it has been these last 3 years of living almost 1000 miles away from my home town that I feel like I have gotten to know my mom so much more. How is that possible you ask? You know that old saying "You don't really know a person until you have walked a mile in their shoes"? Well, I suppose my appreciation of my mom increased 10 fold when I started down my own path of motherhood and took a walk wearing a pair of my mom's very fabulous and very trendy shoes.....(my mom has great shoes).

I remember when Dallin was only a few months old and I was still adjusting somewhat to the new demands of being a mother. I had just finished changing his diaper when I started thinking...."I bet I have changed at least 10,000 diapers in the last 3 months".....as my thoughts lingered on how much my own life had changed, I suddenly had a change of heart when I was reminded....that someone else had done that same thing for ME! I had to call my mom right away and say, "Mom, thank you for changing my diaper like a million times! I really appreciate it!" Better late than never.

Well, mentally this little thought got the ball rolling and I started comparing my mother to the type of mother I was shaping up to be. And boy, did I have a rude awakening. I don't remember EVER hearing my mom complain about how hard her life was. No siree, my mom was the kind of mom that did everything and anything for anybody and never complained about it. I sometimes wish that I could go back. ...okay let me rephrase that because I would never want to go back to being a child again, but I just wish that I had been a little more helpful, a little more grateful, and a little more accustomed to making her life easier.

I had an amazing childhood. There was always a sense of safety and protection in our home. Sure, us kids, had some hair-raising battles, but I guess my sanctuary came in the relationship my parents had with each other. My parents were truly each others best friends and after being married over 40 yrs they're still going strong. In fact, they just played in a couples bowling league this summer and won the championship!!! How cool is that?!?!

My mom had this extraordinary talent for creating fabulous traditions for us, especially around the holidays. We always had something to look forward to and with a new holiday in almost every month we had a lot of fun. No holiday was considered too small to celebrate. The decorations and traditions were just as important on Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day as was Christmas and Easter. For each holiday our home was transformed into a magical kingdom where porcelain bunnies and elves came to life each night and danced around, spreading their pixie dust on the sleeping children there. Our house, inside and out was completely gutted and made-over to depict the perfect Haunted House or 4th of July Celebration. Only later, did I realize that this enchantment didn't just happen magically, but it was painstakingly created for us down to the minutest detail by someone who loved us very much. And what beautiful memories she created...

My mom was the type of mom that all my high school friends adored. I would constantly get comments like "your mom is so cool" and "I just love your parents." They don't know this but when I was dating I would invariably use them as a secret weapon. Whenever I was trying to get a guy to really like me, I would bring him home to meet my parents. Most people now days dread this meeting with foreboding, but my experience was just the opposite. If I wanted a guy to really like me, one evening at home with mom and pops and I would have him....hook, line and sinker!
Probably one of my mom's greatest qualities is that she is genuinely a people person. She befriends people wherever she goes and she relates well with people of diverse backgrounds. I have greatly admired this quality in my mom because it is something that I hope to achieve someday as well. My mom is always the first one to offer a shoulder to cry on and a sympathetic ear to the those that just need to talk. She empathizes so well with people and she always knows the right things to say at the right time. Building relationships is also one of her strong qualities. I love how she takes time to build a strong relationship with each of her grand kids. She absolutely keeps things in perspective. She is so genuine.

On the day that I was married, my mom and I shared a special moment in the bride's waiting room. Meaningful words were expressed back and forth and I echo some of those same thoughts again today as "I hope to be just like her." I love you mom, with all my heart and I hope you know how much of a powerful influence you have been in the lives of many but more especially that you have consistently been a woman of strength and compassion and I will forever look to you and be grateful for what you have meant in my own life.

Happy Birthday!

Last night I had a vision....

Okay, so maybe it wasn't a vision but definitely could be in the same category as "grave omen."

I had a dream that I was asked to speak in General Conference.

Would you just die?!? I know I about did!

They told me that my topic to speak on was "kites." Hmmm nothin' strange about that. So I accepted. Except before standing up there I decided that I didn't have enough material. I made a last second addition to my talk and decided to sing "Lets go fly a kite." It went rather well, if I may say so myself and then I commenced with my talk on kites. Well, I ended up going 10 minutes overtime and everyone was so mad at me because I threw the whole thing off schedule.

So I want everyone to be sure to watch this coming session in October and tell me if you like my talk. Oh, and you better be nice to me or else I'll use you for an example and not change your name to protect the innocent.

PS I know this picture has absolutely nothing to do with the post, but there wasn't much to choose from. Sorry.

Family Search!

Okay, I have to admit, I have never been one to get into genealogy stuff. I did take a class in college on how to do it and I learned a lot about the program and how to get family names temple ready etc. Unfortunately I didn't retain ANY of it. Once I walked out the door on the last day of class, one of those brain sucker things landed right on my head and "slurp" the information from that whole semester was sucked right out never to be heard from again.

I have tried to go back a couple of times and search stuff online but I just can't figure it out. Maybe if I was really motivated to do it, I would re-take a class or something but honestly, that kind of stuff is just so hard for me to get charged about. Plus, my family history is researched back a long way already.

OH See? do you see how I am trying to justify my lack of accomplishment in this area!?!? Unbelievable!

Anyway, I no longer have the guilt that sits on my shoulders from sins of omission in this area! Last Sunday, a high councilman was speaking in sacrament meeting. I don't even know what his name was, but between trips to the bathroom, changing a diaper and nursing in the mother's lounge I happened to hear him mention how easy it is to become a volunteer indexer for familysearch.org. He also mentioned that there was a great article in the August Ensign that talked all about it.

Well, on Monday night as I was getting ready for bed, I remembered that talk in sacrament meeting and so I went hunting for the August Ensign. I read the article and I got REALLY excited about it. I would have logged on right there and signed up except Jason was working on the laptop. Anyway, the next morning I signed up (it was so easy, all you need is your email address and a computer) I read through the tutorials that help you know how to work the program and decipher some pretty funky handwriting and voila I got started right there. That first day, I remember feeling such a sense of the spirit, it was like going to the temple, or "gasp" working on my family history. :) Even though I'm not furthering my own line I am making it possible for others to find their family members and it feels so good.

Everyday, I can't wait until Dallin and Thatcher go down for their naps so I can run to the computer and index. It's crazy. I have already done 600 names and it hasn't even been a week. No, I'm not telling all of this so that I can give myself a big pat on the back, but because it is part of the reason I have been absent from the land of "blog" and because I am so stinkin' excited about it.

I don't know what it is about it that I love but, when I start typing in people's names and where they lived and whether they were married/single/widowed or how many children they had and their ages...it's like I really start thinking about PEOPLE that lived a really long time ago. It has information on whether they could read/write and their occupation and it's just so awesome thinking about them and what their lives must have been like.

The best thing is that you do it from your own home and on your own time. If you don't have time to do it one week, no problem. You download 50 names to your computer and you work on those until you are done and then submit them back. If a week goes by and you didn't finish the names, they will go back automatically and go to someone else to be indexed. No Problem. If you sit down to index and your baby wakes up crying after 5 minutes then you just save and come back when you can. It's so user friendly and that's just what I needed.

I guess the 2 main things that I love about it is:
1. it's like detective work, when you can't quite make out the dates or the exact spelling in their name then you get to research....just call me "Sherlock".
2. it makes me feel like I am doing something important for someone else ...at my own convenience, of course. :)

To blog or not to blog...

I feel like I have been neglecting my blog lately and I'll tell you the reason why. ...It's because our digital camera is broken. Okay, well, it's not broken it's just that we can't find the battery charger. No charger= no battery= no camera. I have been putting off buying a new one because I have been certain that it is just going to show up one day. About 6 months ago, when it was lost it showed up a few weeks later in one of my shoes in the bottom of the closet. How it got there, no one knows...I'd venture a pretty good guess has something to do with a guy that is about 2 yrs. old.

In the meantime, all these great opportunities have been going by that I need to be capturing. I have used my camera phone a number of times...but it doesn't take very good pictures (every picture has a "pink" overtone), so it's just a pain.

I broke down though and ordered a new one off amazon the other day. So it should be here in 7-10 days and then I should be blogging back to normal. :) (It's just not as fun to read a post that doesn't have a cute picture to go along with it). Of course, the day after it arrives I will find our original charger behind the toilet or something, Murphy's Law.

Jumping on the band wagon! Twilight Series...

I just finished the 3rd book in the Twilight Series which I read in 2 days. And yes, it is that good. When my sister first called me a few months ago our conversation went a little like this:

Jen "Hello?"

Kelly "Omigosh, Jen?"

Jen "What? What is it?"

Kelly "I just read the BEST book ever and you have to go out and get it LiCkEtY SpLiT and then call me TOMORROW when you finish it so we can talk about it!!!!

*Now for all of you that have written Twilight off as a weirdee vampire/teenage love story just keep in mind that my sister is 10 years older than me.

Jen "WOW! What is it called?" I am really excited now because I LOVE good recommendations.

Kelly "Twilight by Stephanie Meyer"

Jen "Well, what's it about?"

Kelly "It's about this girl who moves to Washington and she falls in love with a vampire."

Jen ".....hmmmm, sounds.....good." Honestly this is not really sounding like my type of book, but to appease my sister I put it on hold at the library.

Next day...

Jen "Hello?"

Kelly "JEN! Did you get the book?!?"
Jen "No, I haven't gotten it yet. I did put it on hold for me at the library..maybe I'll go and get it this week."

Kelly "NO, Not this week. TODAY. You have to get it today!!!"

Jen "Okay, Okay...I'll go get it....gees."

Next day....

Kelly "Hello?"

Jen "KEL, I finished the book!!! It was SO GOOD! I have to go out right now and get the next one!!!

Next day...

Jen "Jason!!! you have to read this book, it is soooo good!"

Jason "What's it about?"

Jen "It's about a girl that moves to Washington and falls in love with a vampire."

Jason "......(crickets chirping).....doesn't really sound like my type of book."

Jen "I know it doesn't, but I am going to get the book on CD for you from the library and make you listen to it, so we can talk about it!!!"

*Now for all of you out there who are wondering...Jason did actually listen to the first book on CD, but he didn't exactly jump on the band wagon like I did. I guess he didn't really relate to the whole "girl getting swept off her feet" type story. But, for all of you hopeless romantics...wait a minute...you don't even have to be a hopeless romantic. For all of you females out there ages 10-99, this book is for you. :)

I've been liberated!

I just had a completely liberating experience. I don't know why, but I usually put off doing the grocery shopping until it is absolutely necessary. Probably because it is so hard to do it with the kids in tow. I don't really like to go on the weekends when Jason is home because I don't want to miss out on being with him for one minute.

Last Saturday, Thatcher had just eaten lunch and had gone down for a nap. Dallin was watching/memorizing his latest Disney flick and Jason mentioned that he needed to do some work. So, I thought, I guess this would be a great time to go grocery shopping, considering there wasn't a slice of bread in the fridge. It was a completely foreign thought to me because I haven't been grocery shopping alone in months...maybe years. I don't know, I'm probably exaggerating. Anyway, it's been a really long time.

I ran upstairs grabbed my purse, my grocery list and my shoes, said goodbye to Jason and ran out the door. I walked to the car and got in...Right then, I had this feeling of euphoria. Does heaven get any better than this?!?! I just ran out to the car and got in and it took me less than 1 minute. I sat in the seat before starting the car, almost having a moment of silence to honor the new me (well at least for the next hour). I have been so used to: making sure everyone is fed, packing a diaper bag with diapers, wipes, snacks, jars of baby food, spoons, extra baggies to put soiled things in, an extra pair of clothes for Thatcher at least, a couple of toys. Making sure everyone has shoes and socks on and making sure to bring a blanket. I strap Thatcher into his infant car seat then load up my arms with: the diaper bag, my purse, a 20 lb "baby" in his car seat...hauling it all out to the car while holding the hand of my toddler, load and lock everyone into place only to find that it's been 45 minutes and you know as soon as you get to the store the kids will be hungry again.

So you can see why I shed a tear as I backed out of the driveway and peeled out while driving away as fast as I could. Barely noticing that I didn't even buckle my seat belt. Watch out Seattle! New Wanda is on the road!

When I got to the store, I strolled down every aisle taking the time to get EVERYTHING on my list and compare the price of each brand of each item. I couldn't help but smile as I passed other mother's trying to muscle their kids all back into the grocery cart. Shopping alone was almost as relaxing as strolling down the sidewalk on a warm spring day, wearing my favorite Easter dress and holding the arm of the man I love. Only in this case the man I love was a grocery cart and my Easter dress was a pair of jeans and a Care Bear T-shirt. No matter, I didn't have to chase Dallin down any aisles, secretly hide from the candy, or discreetly put items back on the shelf that he had been dumping in the cart. When I was done shopping, I walked to the checkout and the cashier probably wondered why I was openly weeping as I ran my debit card and pushed all the buttons myself.

In that hour, I managed to make it to the bank, Costco, Albertson's and even stopped to get gas and still made it home 2 hours earlier than usual!

When I pulled up in the driveway, the garage door immediately went up and Dallin raced outside yelling "Mommy, Mommy!!!" with his arms outstretched. My heart melted and I dropped to my knees to gather him into a huge bear hug. I left all the groceries in the car to go sit in the rocking chair, hold my precious boy and snuggle as we read books together. I realized I missed him so much! And while it was great to get out by myself for a bit, it was even greater to come home.

The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

I finished the book on CD today called The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. It was a Newbery Award Honor book in 2006. I actually really like the Newbery Award books because they are usually geared towards the "coming of age" audiences intertwined with deeper themes that can actually be very thought provoking. And some are just fun stories.

Anyway, this book is about a girl named Miri, who lives on Mount Eskel with her older sister and her father. The people of Mount Eskel are quarry diggers and they mine for linder, which is a certain type of valuable rock. The Priests in the Lowlands divine that the Prince's future bride is from the small and very poor town of Mount Eskel. So the King sets up a "Princess Academy" for all the girls ages 12-17 that live in Mount Eskel to learn how to be a Princess. They learn to read and study subjects such as diplomacy, commerce, the art of conversation and various other princess bowing and dancing feats. The girls are all to attend the academy for 1 yr before they are introduced to the Prince at a ball. Sounds familiar, right? Wrong.

You may think that this is a typical Cinderella story but what I thought was going to be a very predictable book actually had a few twists and turned out completely different from how I initially thought it would. Perhaps, that's what made it enjoyable. Some of the underlying themes were that people aren't always what they seem on the outside and that labels we may put on people aren't always fair and aren't always correct. Also, a child can gain so much confidence in herself when she knows that her parent(s) love her.

The unabridged sound recording of this was fun because it was read by a cast instead of just 1 narrator. Overall I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

A tiny miracle

Yesterday at church I witnessed a tiny miracle in Dallin's nursery class. Two of the leaders in the nursery were on vacation and so that left 1 lady in there by herself with about 8 kids. I peeked in there "oh so discreetly" about 10 minutes after nursery started and poor Sister Day frantically motioned for me to come in. As I stepped inside I noticed 4 things right off the bat:

1. Chaos.

2. Sister Day awkwardly sitting in the rocking chair trying to soothe a very loud, frantic thrasher, who happened to be having separation anxiety.

3. 2 other boys having a matchbox car throwing contest.

4. Dallin walking toward me like he had just ridden a horse for a week straight because he had peed clear down into his shoes.

Rats! I was hoping to make it clear through our meetings with no accidents. I guess I was too optimistic.

After striping Dallin down, putting a diaper back on him and rounding up all the other kids to sit at the table for snack time, Sister Day asked who would like to say the prayer. A little boy named Andrew volunteered right off. Sister Day said, "Okay everyone fold your arms and bow your heads." I looked around as the prayer started (yes, I know, I had my eyes open ;) and every little kid was folding their arms and bowing their heads. It was so cute. I was on the opposite side of the table from Dallin, sitting between the 2 matchbox car throwers, when I looked over at him. Dallin didn't say a peep the whole time, he kept his arms folded and his head bowed....he actually looked....reverent. It was a miracle - because it wasn't a short prayer either. I don't know if it was peer pressure or what but this is how prayer time usually goes at our house:

"Come on Dallin time to say prayers."

"No!" Dallin screeches as he runs to his bed and does a face plant in the pillow. I follow him over to his bed and reach for his arms. My grasp is thwarted as he violently kicks his feet at me. I change my reach to hold his legs instead and he squeals with delight because he thinks he is being tickled.

"Don't tickle me, don't tickle me!"

"I'm not tickling right now sweetie. We are going to say prayers with Daddy. We need to say a prayer and tell Heavenly Father how much we love him."

Dallin answers by rolling away from us as we kneel down by the side of the bed. "Come on over and kneel down by us." Jason tries to persuade, but not persuasive enough, I guess because Dallin is just laughing and shaking his head in an emphatic NO.

"Okay, well Mommy and I are going to say a prayer and you can join us if you would like."

As we begin, Dallin slides off his bed and walks around to our side of the bed. My hopes are high and I cross my fingers that he will kneel down beside us...but no. Instead he climbs up onto Jason's calves and from there up onto his back. Jason is kneeling across Dallin's bed and so his back is relatively flat. Gradually, he stands up on Jason's back and inches up toward his shoulders. Neither, Jason nor I, try to pay any attention to him, in hopes that we send a message of the importance of reverence during prayer time. Once Dallin is actually standing upright near Jason's shoulders he jumps off his back as if it were a spring diving board and lands safely on his bed. He rolls over with a big grin on his face and yells, "AMEN!"

So you can see how, in Dallin's nursery class last Sunday, I witnessed a miracle as I watched him quietly bow his head, fold his arms and reverently say "amen" at the end. What a guy!

My new haircut!

When Jason came home from work today, I was in an incredibly good mood for it being the end of the day. It seems like by dinner time I am pretty well spent and I am invariably looking for Jason to be my relief pitcher the moment he walks in the door. But not so today. Thatcher and I met Jason out in the driveway with a hug and a kiss, ...a wink and a smile. I chatted away happily as we walked inside, asking how was his day (or more importantly), how was wake boarding this morning. He then commenced to ask about our day and so I rallied off a list of different adventures (including Dallin getting poop on the wall...yeah there's another one to look forward to, Amber :) but then I stopped mid-sentence and our conversation went like this:

Me "I cut my hair today."

Jason "Oh yeah? It looks good!"

Me "Hon....(pause) my hair is in a ponytail..."

I had to laugh but it was a good thing I was in an exceptional mood. :)

Our favorite blueberry smoothie...

We have been smoothie crazy here at our house lately! We have had one everyday whether it's for breakfast, lunch, snack, dessert or midnight indulgence! We do like to experiment :) but here is my favorite recipe so far...

1 banana

1 cup blueberries or any berry

1 cup soy milk (regular milk is just fine too)

1 tbsp honey

a handful of ice

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy!

Let me count the ways!

I have to be the luckiest girl ever because I married a total dream-boat. I was just sitting here thinking about what a wonderful husband I have and how lucky I am that I talked him into marrying me. (Couldn't have done it without you Amber, Thanks!)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

1. He gives me back rubs.
2. He is the most patient person I have EVER known.
3. He is such a wonderful Daddy and his sons just worship the ground he walks on. Honest! Dallin seriously cries when he goes to work.
4. He always tells me how wonderful dinner was even when it's not.
5. He helps me keep perspective on life
6. He never raises his voice.
7. He never has said a mean thing to me....ever.
8. He looks good in anything....and nothing.
9. He is a huge support to me when I have a recital or performance to play in.
10. He is a DANCER! (oh, that one just made all the girls jealous, I know it!)
11. He can engineer the dishes in the dishwasher to hold about 50% more than I can!
12. He never talks mean about people.
13. He loves to go out on the weekends.
14. He is supportive of whatever my latest feats happen to be.
15. He helps me keep a positive attitude and be happy.
16. He tells me he loves me everyday many times over.
17. He makes a pretty mean fruit smoothie.
18. He tells me I am beautiful (even when I am not) and means it.
19. He works very hard.
20. He is always willing to help anyone that asks him.
21. He makes the bed when he is the last one out.
22. He still lets me cut his hair even when I occasionally make mistakes.
23. He is always the first one to jump up to get me a blanket when I say "I'm cold."

I Love you, honey!
What do you love about your dream-boat?

Mastering the "Imperious" curse!

Don't Worry, No Spoilers!

I just finished the last Harry Potter book a few days ago and I can't even begin to imagine the kind of pressure that it would be to know that the whole world is waiting for you to wind up this fabulous saga that has had so many people on the edge of their seats for years! Whew!

In the Deathly Hallows, Harry says that "you have to mean it when you are trying to execute a curse." This was the exact little tidbit of information that was just what I needed to hone my own magical powers.

You see, last Friday Jason was working late. Not just an hour or two...but about 9 hours late. His boss had been out of town for the past few weeks visiting family in Turkey and so his whole team was trying frantically get caught up to where they needed to be by the time he returns on Monday. Finally, by about 3 am he was home and we could go to bed. I don't know what it is about being home alone at night, but I kept hearing subtle noises downstairs, I was anxious and sleep was eluding me. After finally going to bed, I slept like a baby because the mantle of defender and protector of the family was no longer on my shoulders....it was on Jason's. Though I don't really think he noticed the mantle because he slept like a hundred year old man that had fallen and was not gettin' up any time soon.

The next morning came all too quickly and it's just our tough-luck that Dallin is so conscientious about getting up every morning at the same time. Even when I keep him up until almost midnight the night before to help me safeguard our home against impending destruction, he is at my bedside at 7am....bawling. This kid wanted apple juice and he wanted it yesterday. At roughly the same time, Thatcher started crying in his bed. I jumped up and in a very soothing voice tried to explain to Dallin that Thatcher was crying too and I needed to get him up before I could get Dallin some apple juice.

Well, this sort of reasoning just doesn't sit well with an ornery 2 year old. I picked Thatcher up out of his crib and immediately took him to the changing table where I was able to asses the situation. Dallin was still howling at my feet and I realized that Thatcher was wet through his pajamas. Chaos. The great thing about having 2 kids in our home, is that there are also 2 parents and so I decided to call in reinforcements. "Jason?....Hon, can you please get up and get Dallin some apple juice while I change Thatcher? Jason lifted his head up off the pillow, looked at me and even responded "sure." There was absolutely no action, other than laying his head back onto his pillow and letting his eyes roll back into his head. By this time, Thatcher had joined in the wailing because he realized that he hadn't eating in about 12 hours and he was dog-hungry. So I tried again. "Jason" I said a little louder, "can you help me?" After all, I had stayed up until 3 am also, and I was still able to function. This time he didn't even move. Just as I was about to be engulfed into an element of "Woe is Me" I heard a voice in my head. I recognized the voice to be none other than that of Harry Potter. He said to me, "Use the Imperious Curse."

For those of you that don't know, when you hex someone with the Imperious Curse you can make them do whatever you want them to do...but you have to mean it when you cast the curse. So, dropping my voice an octave lower I spoke as if a voice from above was summoning, "Jason, can you please get Dallin some apple juice from downstairs." Immediately, Jason threw back the covers and with eyes half-closed, jumped up and took 2 steps toward me then stopped. He hesitated for only a moment then turned on his heels and went downstairs. He got Dallin some apple juice, walked back to bed and flopped back in the covers. I was amazed! It had worked and I didn't even have a wand! The great thing about the Imperious Curse is that later he didn't even remember what I had made him do!

Hogwarts here I come!

Uncontainable....

Dallin has reached a pivotal point in his life where I can no longer contain him. :) It happened one morning about a couple of months ago when I was taking care of Thatcher. I left Dallin watching a movie and went into my bedroom to to change Thatcher's diaper and help him fall asleep for his morning nap.

Now, let me just explain something...a good friend of mine told me that the trick to potty training was to let your child run around naked because he won't like the feeling of "going" on himself and after just a few accidents, he will catch on.

Well, this particular day I was trying the "naked potty training" trick. After getting Thatcher to go to sleep, my instincts kicked in as I realized that ....it was very quiet. That only means 1 of 2 things to a mother of a 2 yr old boy: either he is getting into something he shouldn't or he is making a big mess. I got up quickly and started walking stealthily through the house. I like to sneak up on him and quietly watch from behind a corner so I know what he has really been doing. If he hears me coming, he tries to conceal the evidence before I get there.

As I went from room to room, I suddenly began to worry as I realized he wasn't in the house. I ran to the backyard and called his name....nothing. I ran to the front door, but the child-lock door knob was still in place and the dead bolt was locked. My next thought was the garage....as I neared the door, I noticed the child-lock handle had been taken off the door knob. My heart began to race as I thought of all the cleaner, WD-40 and yard chemicals that were still on the floor of the garage because I just hadn't made time to find a child-proof place for them to go yet. I flung open the door and found, to my immense relief, my sneaky guy perfectly safe and riding his bike commando style!

Since this happened, Dallin has mastered the art of taking off the child-proof door knob and sneaking outside. I just can't contain him. There have been many times since, where I have found him in the front yard, helmet on his head and riding his bike out in the cul-de-sac. All I can say is ....at least he has the good sense to wear his helmet.

JENOFARC

There have been many times when I have given my email address or my user name out to someone when they have asked, "Jen O Farc? What's Jen O Farc?" Which then I have been inclined to correct..."Not Jen O Farc, ...Jen Of Arc, you know, like Joan of Arc."

You see, back when I was in college (Utah State Rules) :) blah blah blah I was on the ballroom dance team. I soon learned that ballroom heels were very challenging, to say the least. We were in the middle of an intense choreography session of a Mambo routine and we were starting from a move we all called the Joan of Arc. From there the girls were to take 3 steps backward and pull our partners toward us in a "come hither" manner. During the steps backward, we were also changing formation and my partner and I had to move very farrrrrrrrrr. It was a good thing I have long legs or we never would have made it :) Anyway, Mambo is fast and so along with moving farrrrrr we had to to it very quickly. So we started, "Okay everybody, from the Joan of Arc. 5...6...5.6.7.8.1 .....and as I went to take my first very farrrrr and very fast step backward, the heal of my fabulous Latin shoe caught on the flare leg of my dance pants...and down I went. Flat on my back in a HUGE crashing sound. And because I had a hold of my partners hand at the time, I pulled him down too! In a kamikaze effort not to do a flying superman right on top of me, he dove and did a somersault right over my head! But, don't worry we weren't hurt. I was just mortified. And that doesn't even seem like a strong enough word for how embarrassed I was. I really just wanted to .....well, to die, to put it bluntly.

After jumping back up to my feet and assuring everyone, yes yes yes! we were alright! The director said, " Okay everyone, lets try that again! Take it from the ....Jen of Arc". And in my own secret way of using the pseudonym over and over again, I will never live it down.

Like Father, Like Son...

So Dallin is doing pretty well at potty training lately. It's just so hard for him to go ...how shall I put this...number 2... on the potty. Well, one evening, just after dinner I caught him in the act and so I immediately rushed him off to the bathroom, just hoping that I caught him in time. Well, it turned out that I did (I think my Mother Reflexes have really started flourishing since having a 2 yr old). I told him to come out and announce the grand news to everyone and relish in the glory of his monumental accomplishment. He puffed out his chest and swaggered back to the living room where he announced to everyone, "I did a big one....(pause) LIKE DADDY!"

On The Map...

So, for the longest time I figured that we were covered on the "our family has a blog too" status because Jason has done such a fabulous job at keeping everyone up to date with his blog and pictures of our family. And I guess we are covered in that area but, I still felt a longing....almost a "hey, I want to be included in the oh so popular blog group thing too!" Not that I was waiting for an invitation or anything, (Jason already gave me plenty of those) I just didn't have the right motivation until now. Well, I will let you all in on a little secret of mine. :) And it starts with these little words, "I am an addict." It's true. Actually I call it more of a passion, but Jason insists that it's a sickness and it's called books. That's not the secret. The secret is that I have had this life long ambition of someday writing a book ....and last week I actually started. About a week before that I checked out a few books on writing fiction from the library and one of the first points in there is that you need to write and write and write. You know, like exercise and practice makes perfect. So here I am...blogging. I don't really know what kind of blog this will be...family blog? WA Olson's blog? Jen's innermost thoughts blog? Our cute boys are funny blog? hmmm probably all of the above. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy! OH And PS Jeremy and Amy you are officially invited to the wonderful land of blog. :)