The Bird's

funny

2012-01-12T16:02:00.004-07:00

Our little cross-dressers. They thought this was the funniest thing ever. As did I.
Like father, like son. This kid is a sucker for electronics as well. Adam was very proud to show me how he would turn his head to keep his eyes on a football game. I do love having a baby in the house again. Although at night you wouldn't hear me saying that. I don't think Isaac got the memo that he is almost 4 months and should be sleeping for 6 hrs at least! This kid is so dang lucky to have Lily and Jackson. They love him so much and he knows it! It's almost easier when they are home because they are like little babysitters and will entertain him for me if I need to do dinner or clean. Or blog.
I tried to make the big 3-0 special for Adam, but as usual the execution of my plans were lacking. First was to surprise him at work with his most-requested amaretto chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream. What I failed to take into account is that his office has a funeral-like atmosphere. It didn't help that Adam saw me, then said "well go ahead and cut and serve it" then tucked back in his office to talk to someone on the phone. I asked him later if it was always that boring and he said that as soon as I left they got the trampoline out and had a real party. Second was a plan to surprise him after our date on Saturday night with a group of friends to have cake with. Lots of fun to sit around and talk with the Groves and the Parkers, who we've known since moving here. I had told him I wanted to skip dessert and celebrate with the kids at home, which he agreed to but then ordered something anyway. So the oreo crusted white chocolate mousse torte that I made wasn't as special as it could have been. Third was a birthday dinner with Matt and Jana (McKay and the Hendershots couldn't make it). I highly enjoyed Adam's birthday weekend, and hope he did too. The kids gave Adam a dancing game for the xbox. I had a lunch playdate and was talking upstairs with the other moms when Lily asked to put it on. I said no. Ten minutes later I went downstairs and found this. What a little party organizer! A few minutes after this she started screaming and I found her with a bloody nose because one of the younger boys had accidentally kicked her. I went to take her upstairs and she pushed me away so she could continue dancing. So dedicated! As a side note the demographics have definitely shifted in our neighborhood. All of Lily's girlfriends started kindergarten and so little boys for Jackson are all that are left. Doesn't stop her from putting on a princess dress though.

at home for christmas

2011-12-26T11:59:00.001-07:00

...for the first time in our marriage! The first time in 7 1/2 years! It was very exciting for us. I was worried Adam would want to go to St. George at the last minute but he started planning a great day for the kids and agreed that traveling for Christmas wouldn't happen this year!
Lily and Jackson were so darn excited to see Santa at the ward Christmas party. Lily asked for makeup and Jackson asked for gum. Santa delivered.

(with Jensyn and Hurley Parker)

This year we got the kids involved in giving presents to each other. It was so darn cute. After they wrapped the gifts and put them under the tree they were so excited! Jackson got home from school and I pointed out his gift from Lily, and he immediately looked at Lily and said "gun?" Which lucky for him Lily got him a ton of bullets so close enough. I was absolutely amazed that they lasted until Christmas morning without getting peeked at. Early one morning I heard some rustling and Adam ran out to see Lily "just holding" her present from Jack (which was a fairy doll). They were so excited for Santa, and we sang Christmas songs every night before bed.
This year Adam got a second wife (isn't that what people call their husbands' obsessions?). An x-box. Seeing as how he has wanted one forever and is always disappointed, I thought with him finishing the requirements for his CPA, the fact he's turning 30!, his promotion, and don't tell him but he spoiled me like crazy this year, I figured why not? A few days after Christmas we were walking in Costco and I saw a pea coat. "Oh right. That's what I wanted this year." To which he replied, "Oh yeah? Well I wanted...." Haha!! That moment right there was worth the $400.
Santa came with lots of balloons (and an allergic reaction that basically made me rethink my entire existence), a beautiful set out breakfast table (crepes, egg sandwiches, orange julius), and lots of treats and toys. We spent the week after Christmas in St. George. So nice! Bike rides, time with both families, dinner out with no kids and no babysitting fees ("Oppa!" for flaming cheese), our first movie since Isaac (MI4), and a day trip to Zions with Mom and Dad. Lily was not impressed and wasn't feeling too well during the "LONG" (1/4 mile) hike, and declared that she wanted to come back there "zero times!!!!" Coming home was a bit more difficult than usual.

fairy garden

2011-12-12T09:07:00.005-07:00

Lily turned 5! We planned a fairy garden birthday party. Lily seemed super excited and I found some good stuff online to make it pretty cool (in my opinion). Wings and wands for all the little girls, fairy cupcakes with fairy dusted pink and purple frosting; and fairy games - 'flower flower who's got the flower' and 'duck duck goose' (Lily is informing me that it was 'duck duck goose'. I was thinking it was 'fairy fairy princess' or something).
Here is the gorgeous girl. She is such a big helper; so nice to her brothers; loves to make people laugh; likes to play games; and she says she likes to have cupcakes and have a lot of fun. She has always been such a joy to have as a daughter. With two boys now I am reminded a lot of how lucky I am to have this sweet girl to keep me company.She says she likes to play with her brothers, and she loves her brothers. She really is an amazing big sister! Sometimes she is reluctant to share and not tease Jackson, but she usually is so willing to play nice. Isaac loves her so much and she can get him to laugh and smile so big! Sometimes it is easier to have her at home than at preschool. We are so lucky to have her in our family.
We love our little Lily!

positives and negatives

2011-11-28T13:56:00.006-07:00

I have to admit I was very nervous about Thanksgiving this year. Last year was a nightmare; when asked why from my aunt Denise, I replied that the fight with Adam was so bad that Isaac would be a few months older if it hadn't happened. Whether it is fighting over whose house to be at, or the stress of driving home in a snowstorm that extended the drive 3 hours, it just hasn't been my favorite holiday weekend.
Anyhow here are the positives and negatives of Thanksgiving holiday this year:
-Adam passed his last CPA exam!!! He is done!!!! I think this fact alone kept us in high spirits.
-Jackson suffered his 1,638th almost-concussion right before we left Ogden. Smacked his head on the concrete floor of Cafe Rio. Adam had me try and wake him up every 45 minutes of the beginning of our trip to make sure he was okay; cue me yelling his name, slapping him, pinching him, etc etc with no response for 3 minutes until finally he would barely open one eye. Stressful!
-Engine failure in the Subaru. Right around midnight - super stressful! Jack was still out like he was in a coma, it was freezing outside and I was so worried all 3 kids would wake up cold and crying.
-We were near Fillmore and Alicia's mechanic father, who the tow-truck guy knew so gave us a 'discount' (Adam suspects he says that to everyone).
-I am apparently terrified of tow-trucks? I cannot believe how scared I was to get up there and ride the 20 miles to Fillmore. I kept on imagining the car just sliding off the truck and all of us diving into the ravine.
-We got Jack to wake up completely, telling (shouting to) him that we were on a tow truck. Definitely no concussion! He was wide awake until we got in bed at 2 a.m.
-I realized the extreme pain I had experienced throughout the day was mastitis, and the flu symptoms were manifesting themselves right while we were trying to get settled into the hotel room.
-Jon and Natalie Zempter were willing to pick up the van from Ogden and bring it to us so we could finish our trip to St. George. Lifesavers!!!!!!!! Also the kids were great during the wait; thankfully we had my bike and Adam gave them rides on the handlebars.
-The Subaru is finished. Maybe I would be a bit more sad if it hadn't broken down in the middle of a cold night in between Beaver and Fillmore. Adam is talking about getting a Tribeca but I feel betrayed.
-Mom and Dad are letting us use the van until we can get something else. Talk about being generous! We would be in deep trouble without it.
So anyways, all of the crappy stuff got out of the way before we even got to St. George, and it ended up being a wonderful trip. Mom and Dad of course took us out to eat to celebrate Adam passing the Audit section, which was fun. We had Thanksgiving dinner with the Bentley's at the ward - YUM! And this year we stayed for the entire talent show, including Lily and Jackson's somersaults. Yes, pretty sad as I didn't really prepare them, but knew they wanted some candy so I suggested that. Wonderful memories come from Bentley Thanksgivings. I got in a ton of time shopping with my mom, the world's best person to go shopping with as things you are looking for magically appear right in front of you and they're on sale! I got to go running outside, and Adam and I went on my first official bike ride on my new bike! Postpartum exercise is very exciting. We only went 7 miles but it was wonderful. Plus some family time, just us, to the crack and the St. George Temple to see Christmas lights.
The kids spent most of their time over at Mimi and Papa's new house that has a swimming pool. Lily's tiny fingertips all have blisters on them from being prunes that were rubbed on the side of the pool all day long. They also have a little tramp and playset, and Jackson was just in heaven.
We also had the chance to bless Isaac while we were there, which was nice; I didn't have to worry about an open house as the Bird's took care of everything, and Adam was able to have all of his brothers and dad with him. We also got Isaac together with Crew, Ezra and Jet, his other cousins born this fall. So fun!

So all in all, things turned out great. We were so blessed in a situation that could have had a much worse outcome. Happy Thanksgiving!

kids

2011-11-28T12:33:00.002-07:00

Also in Logan we went through a cornmaze. The kids were beyond excited for the first 10 minutes. After that, it was suddenly the most awful and cruel thing we could ever do to them to get them to follow us without whining, crying, and asking to be held. I love how Lily, even though we were done with the maze, is hiding from the camera she was so mad! So much passion in such little people.

worth remembering

2011-11-11T15:28:00.005-07:00

Watching Daddy pitch for the JD Clark softball team

There are quite a few things that happened after Isaac and during October:

~ Big shout out to Adam for again being an absolutely AMAZING birthing partner! I kept on thinking afterward "I can't believe we did it again!" He's such a huge part of me being able to get through those labors. And I have to admit that I am a nerd and LOVE thinking that he is proud of me.

The dentist! They did awesome and were so adorably nervous.

~ My neighbor Laura who had the kids before Amanda picked them up called me at the hospital. She commented on when she answered the door Amanda was like a ray of sunshine coming into the house. I agree. Trying to describe how grateful I am for her would be a complete waste of time. She made that first week of postpartum a breeze. I cried the night she left and now that I am thinking about it.

Jack's FIRST time off the bus. Mimi was there to greet him too. It is the neatest thing to see him so excited about school (albeit a few weeks of forcing him to go was necessary, not anymore and he always is happy and will say "ride bus" when he gets off. So cute.)

~ Each day that passes makes me think that two kids was definitely my challenge so far. With both Lily and Jack in school 4 days a week (overlapping 3 of those = 2 hrs Mom can do whatever the heck she wants when Isaac is sleeping) I definitely lucked out on the timing. Some effects Isaac had on the kids:
Lily: SO excited. She actually still waves down strangers asking if they want to see her baby brother. When he cries she will rush over to him to calm him down. Always kisses and hugs. It's awesome as I can take showers while she talks to him in the bouncer and keeps him happy. An amazing big sister.
Jackson: From observing Lily, pretty excited as well. Whenever Isaac cried the first few weeks Jack would quickly look up at me and say "cry!" and run over to him to calm him down (not so much anymore). He loves helping with diapers, will get them and wipes for me, help me undo buttons, then exclaim "big poop!", and will throw diapers away. Downside is tantrums are a bit more frequent, I suspect from checking to see if we still will pay attention to just him. Not too difficult to handle.

Jackson was so excited about this wagon at the fruit stand on Highway 89. Yeah for cheap fresh peaches! Definitely a last minute pregnancy craving.

After 4 years, I am finally done working at Alpine. They have been telling me they want me to stop for the past three years, then asked me to come back to train more times than I can count. Perfect timing, and what a perfect place to work while staying home. Never more than 5 hrs a week and most of the time less than that; super nice administration; I went whenever I wanted; and when I have babies I can bring them until they're old enough to be babysat without a bottle. The extra income has been a blessing, not to mention the little break I got each week. Apparently I will return in January for a few weeks when Jennie has her baby, but besides emergencies I'm pretty sure this last week was the last. Bittersweet.

~ I missed the end of summer while in the hospital, and I still feel cheated. The autumn leaves were amazing this year. We were able to take our traditional trip to Logan this year to drive through the canyon, get some Aggie ice cream, show the kids some landmarks of my alma mater, and get some yummy food. Although this photo is at Pineview Reservoir. Check out those colors (and beautiful kids)! Totally doesn't translate through a camera - it really was incredible.
~ I may be biased but dang! Those have to be two of the cutest outfits out there. It was very difficult to keep Lily out of her ladybug costume every day - she thought she was beyond beautiful and would go up to anyone saying "do you see a cute ladybug anywhere?" Adam said the crayon costume was the only one Jackson would even consider. Halloween was the normal nightmare with candy for meals for about 3 days straight, but I got to go house to house with the kids the year (first time), and it was hard to make them go home they were so cute and excited.
~ Another dinner to see my Dad recognized for being a great person. He has represented a bunch of teachers in Washington County, so the UEA put him on their 'honor roll'. I drove down to Salt Lake with the kids, dropped them off at Aunt Carol's so they could be in heaven at her super kid friendly house, and had such a great time with Dad and sleeping Isaac. It's always so fun to spend time one-on-one with Dad, and I'm so glad he invited me to come. ~ Isaac went to bed and this picture makes me want to go and wake him up. This morning he smiled at me for the first time; I was pretty excited. He is a wonderful baby and I am such a lucky mom. Plus! These babies bring such blessings. Adam got promoted at work - pretty huge as the last time they promoted someone to this level was three years ago, AND they didn't even go through the interviewing process. They just picked him. Nice to see his hard work appreciated, he really deserved it.

'he laugheth'

2011-10-07T15:30:00.007-06:00

Tuesday was a good day. I had lunch and subsequent long play date for the kids with a good friend, a quiet afternoon followed by dinner - one of Adam's favorites; not pasta; and made by me (those average about once a month). The house was clean, dishes done, laundry caught up; Lily was rewarded with $1 for finishing a homework packet and so I took the kids to the ice cream and candy shop so they could pick a treat out.
We then headed to the church where I put in September's Visiting Teaching report, went on a little drive with Adam, then while he and Lily worked on her next homework packet, Jackson and I tidied up the outside of the house to prepare for fall (not so many toys and gardening tools everywhere). Went through the bedtime routine, which I ended with "See you guys in the morning," whereupon I had the thought that maybe I shouldn't have said that.
After we got in bed I noticed some contractions, and thought I should time them. After 30 minutes of being 5-6 minutes apart, I woke up Adam, he gave me a beautiful blessing, we called Betty, then off to the hospital. We were admitted around 11:45 pm, and then after they set up the antibiotics on the IV for strep b, left us alone for Adam to lay on the couch and me the bed until my water broke at 1:45 am. It was very quiet and dark and peaceful; I was so grateful for that.
My midwife was called down, they set up the room, I realized I wasn't getting the 5 minute breaks between contractions like before, and I asked, I believe, "what the effectiveness of drugs through the IV would do to help take the edge off" which was followed quickly by a "too late! you're past a 7 and the baby is almost here." Then after working very hard to relax through the contractions and let them do their thing, pushed through 4 or 5 (no tearing! yeah! and I only swore once this time and it was in German) and our little "Baby Bird" was born at 2:31 am on October 5, 2011. He struggled for a bit but was soon with us to meet. He weighed in at 8 lbs 15 oz and 19 1/2 inches. Adam was able to get a few hours of sleep before going home to get the kids and bring them back to meet their new brother. They were so cute and excited. Then they left for a fieldtrip with Lily's school to the fire station, and Adam went off the work while the kids went to Laura's until Amanda came to pick them up. Mom and Dad drove up to see the baby and help out Amanda, who apparently didn't need any help with 3 toddlers and a 15 month old, and so they left the next morning - soon to return, hopefully.
We got home the next night and was welcomed by a yummy dinner and this beautiful cake that Amanda made with the kids. Who does that??? She is amazing.
Today Amanda informed me that my kids were a lot calmer when I wasn't around. This is their first night with Mom being gone all day - doesn't look like they were too upset.I feel so incredibly spoiled to have so much support right now. I am just loving having this little guy around, he is so much fun to hold and wonder at. And, after much deliberation and some help from Lily and Jack, we finally filled out the birth certificate papers. So welcome to the world, Isaac Thomas. We are so happy to have you here.

belly

2011-09-24T11:43:00.000-06:00

38 wks and 2 days. from lily's point of view.

so much

2011-09-22T13:28:00.006-06:00

Jackson turned 3! I can't believe what a difference this birthday has made. We found some underwear small enough for him and he was potty trained by the end of the week. He started talking practically overnight - as in he will repeat words we say or say words he knows without prompting, instead of using one word for 14 different things or just getting really frustrated. We have been waiting and working for that throughout the past year! Next step is connecting words to make sentences. But seriously I can't believe how relieved I am that his little brain turned the switch. We had his birthday celebration at the splash pad, where the kids enjoyed the water and playgrounds and I enjoyed not having to come up with games and just sitting with the other moms. And with Britt's help I made his cake, with just a few bouts of hyperventilating to keep the oreo crumbs in line for the road. He was very excited about the "Cars" theme. He certainly is such a joy to have in our family!
And here is miss Lily on her first day of preschool. She loves the one we are trying out this year, I am so grateful for neighbors who helped me decide on where to send her! She has been so excited and I absolutely love the teachers and set up and everything. Although this week I am almost expecting DCFS to make a visit - last week Lily hit her cheekbone quite hard while playing downstairs, and the bruise is to the point where it is huge and colorful. Add that to barely giving me a kiss she's so excited to go to class, and complaining to her teachers she doesn't want to leave yet when I come to pick her up.....
And here she is again with her backpack outside of her school. She is at that fun age of wearing the same outfit again and again and again. She hides it behind a chair in her room - I assume so that I can't wash it. And the shock of the year for me! Since Jackson started talking so much more, the speech therapist recommended Early Intervention Preschool. I had resisted, but with MUCH persuasion from Mom, decided to try it out - for Tuesday and Thursday instead of Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri. Also I said I would drive him instead of have a bus come pick him up. Look at how tiny he is - can you blame me? We were pretty apprehensive of how he would handle the situation as he still screams his head off when we mention nursery at church (although last week we sent him to Primary with Lily and he was very happy - now we are anxious for him to start Sunbeams in a few months), but he was such a trooper. I of course almost cried when his teacher took his hand to lead him inside. Lily and I stayed for about 20 minutes to observe and when we left he watched us leave and was apparently very good! Today when I went to pick him up he was quite upset he couldn't get on the school bus, so we'll be starting that next week to see how it goes. He seems to absolutely love it, and gets excited when we talked about school. It is only 2 hours a day and to me it's like he knows he's such a big boy. I have to admit it seems almost too good to be true to have a bus pick him up and drop him off, and Lily is at a preschool down the street. Hopefully that will help with the stress of having a newborn, but I guess you never know how things will really turn out. Until the baby is born (I am at 38 weeks today - sorry Amanda and Liz no picture yet) I will have 2 days a week with an hour and a half with no kids. This morning I was quite productive, which was awesome, but such a strange feeling having them at school instead of a babysitter or something.

As for Adam, he still has the Audit section to pass for the CPA. We found out last week he got a 74 when he needed a 75. So depressing! It has been a year since he started the process so is very ready to be done. He is amazing, that is all I can say.

things to remember

2011-08-21T21:30:00.005-06:00

Last week we helped with the South Ogden Stake cleanup project which was scheduled for 3 hours but the kids and I lasted one. We mainly weeded the entire time, and at one point Adam asked Lily to go past some bushes to get some weeds, could she do that? Lily answered "Not very often." Later she commandeered the broom and swept for a good 20 minutes before we bribed her with playing on the playground so we could finish up. Jackson held on tight to a little shovel and followed Adam around to help shovel weeds into the garbage. How can these kids have gotten so big?
Our usual wake up call is Jackson climbing in bed at about 7:30 am to cuddle and/or tease Dad so he'll get tickled, so it was pretty fun to see them like this - I never had before, and wonder how often it happens.
In order to escape my house whose messiness is really, really bothering me for some reason, we have gone to Salt Lake a few times. Really, I don't know why I have been getting so annoyed - once I clean it will stay good for a few days, but then it will be super messy and I get in a really bad mood. It's a cycle that is of course familiar to me as a mom of toddlers so I don't know why it seems so much more of a pain. Adam noticed the insanely thick dust on our ceiling fans, and asked if this was my nesting phase. Hopefully it is just hormones - so easy to blame it on that!
Here we are watching the Tour of Utah bike race - this day it was a 15 circuit course that Adam was determined to wait for the last round before we could leave. The kids loved it and it was pretty exciting - especially over by the University where the bikers would zoom down the hill around a sharp turn and were followed by the cars whose tires were screeching to keep up.
Jackson has found that licking, unlike biting, will annoy someone but not get him in time out. Here Lily thinks it's pretty funny though.
One Sunday I particularly wanted to get away so I took the kids up to the duck pond to go look around. We walked slowly and stopped to look at everything they found interesting - it was so nice to go at their pace instead of rushing rushing rushing which is usually the case. Sometimes the observations were ducks, sometimes butterflies, sometimes to smell the flowers or watch the little stream go under the bridge. A beautiful afternoon, unfortunately cut short by the demands of the potty. ;)
It rained this year at the Rodeo, perfect weather so we didn't sweat like crazy. I kept on sending Adam to get treats with the kids, hoping he would return with Indian fry bread with honey butter, but no such luck. Snow cones and candy - boring sugar. Easy to say no to though, so probably I'm better off.
Adam didn't want the garbage cans, but I took the picture anyways. His company is a big sponsor of the rodeo.

The last time I asked Adam to take a picture of my belly it ended up just being my chest up so I dropped that idea. But apparently I am pretty big as I'm actually getting strangers commenting on the size - didn't happen with Lily or Jack. I feel like we're on the homestretch with only about 7 weeks left - I'm getting very excited, but the idea of having a newborn again seems so foreign! Lily is going to be a fantastic helper though, she can't wait to have a baby brother and is always reminding me how good she is at taking care of babies. She is quite jealous of her friend who just had a baby sister and is always asking why they got a girl and we are getting a boy, and why they got their baby before we did. The other day Jackson jumped straight on my belly while I was laying down, so who knows what his thoughts are.

We attended a baptism yesterday for two teenagers in our ward. We were able to have them meet with the missionaries in our home a few times, which was a neat experience. I helped put the program together, so nonchalantly put myself down to play the piano.....I sat down at about 10 minutes to 4 pm and was playing prelude music until 4:45 pm. Holy smokes! It was awesome going through so many hymns I haven't played in forever, but my back and my fingers were shot by the time I was done. And of course had little slip ups on every verse when it was actually time to accompany people singing. Why is it so different?

I turned 29 the other day - very pleasant day. I started out with a walk and some weeding (never happens so my cleaner yard made me very happy), got a call from Mom and Dad in France, had waffles for breakfast, got a springform pan from Jack, and a skirt from Lily (Adam told me later I should just let him clothes shop for me - I totally agree! I hate shopping but love his taste), had some kids over to entertain my kids for the morning, then Adam came home early so we could head to lunch, and then Salt Lake where we did a few errands, went to a matinee at the dollar theater (Kung Fu Panda 2), and went to the Spaghetti Factory where we requested to eat in the little trolley which Lily and Jack went nuts over and actually ate the food we ordered them. When we got home I felt like I had returned from vacation - it was such a great day! Amanda's birthday is today and I have to admit that when you are the youngest and are reminded so quickly that you're two years younger than your closest sister, it is hard to feel old. I actually can't believe I'm not 30 yet.

Cannon Beach

2011-07-25T08:17:00.001-06:00

The almost-annual Cannon Beach trip! So wonderful as always. We missed Nathan, Alicia and Eve this year but had an entire week with Mom and Dad, along with Liz and Amanda and kids (instead of just passing by each other for a day or two like last year).
Adam was AMAZING! He drove the entire way while the kids and I slept most of the time. We started out at 4 am and got to our midpoint in Pendleton, Oregon by noon. Because the hotel pool was closed we went to the city water park - no pictures but it was so fun, even though they wouldn't let me down the slide because of being pregnant. :P The next day we stopped at a fish hatchery outside of Portland, so the kids could run around for a bit. Jackson was quite excited by the big fish and all of the waterfalls, and Lily was super ticked because her legs and feet were getting spots of dirt on them.
Mom and Dad rented a great house that fit us all perfectly. Beautiful views of the ocean, which was only a block away. All of the grandkids were in heaven! Luckily Liz brought a bunch of dump trucks/tractors and it took quite a lot to get Jack away from the sand.
Our requisite trip to Tillamook for some cheese and ice cream! Amanda was at home throwing up, which seems to also be required for family reunions (although thankfully this time it didn't spread).
Adam and I were able to take so many walks, it was wonderful! Before this trip I would lose my breath going up the stairs so it was great to finally have time to get exercise.
The first day was rainy and windy, but soon enough we had quite a few beautiful, warm days! Lily was determined to get her swimsuit on even when it was freezing though.

We celebrated Dad's birthday a week early. He had requested a ton of Louis Lamour books and got most of them. By the time he was done opening them the kids were pretty bored at his presents...
Daytrip to Seaside! Along with a carousel ride, Lily and Adam went on the bumper cars, and Jackson and Adam went on the Tilt-a-whirl. I was so worried he would get sick/scared half way through! He looks so tiny in line.
It was pretty funny though - he wanted to go again afterward, but Adam had gotten so sick he was complaining for the rest of the day. Liz got pretty sick as well, the other adult that went. She asked if Adam had pressured me to do it and I laughed and replied I can hardly be the passenger in a car I get so motion sick.
Lily was NOT HAPPY we made her come home with us instead of Liz, who required Lily to wear a jacket but she wouldn't. Adam calls this her "Sunset Face". Speaking of sunsets! I love the beach skies. Once again Mom and Dad made it possible for us to actually go on a non-St. George vacation; it doesn't happen often and we are so grateful for it.
Jack took this picture of Adam with his new phone. Yes, he finally has a data package. Before he would call me throughout the day to check his email but no more - I hardly hear from him now. He actually asked for a pair of earphones the other day so he could listen to "This American Life" at the grocery store. I told him if he continues with that kind of loser behavior I will take the phone away.

some summer

2011-07-13T07:02:00.009-06:00

On one hand, I am very disappointed that my low-functioning brain cannot remember much about summer except what has been documented with the camera. But on the other hand, I am quite enjoying this summer as things have definitely slowed down from the rush of the school year - even though Lily was only in preschool!
It has been a long time since I have really craved doing nothing on a daily basis - especially with the kids who always seemed to need social interaction or stimulation or something. I am just loving these ages though - they have so much fun together! They can just play and play for most of the day without me having to settle (too many) fights, they clean up their play areas with prompting (and bribes), they are still cuddly and will sit on my diminishing lap to read books any time of the day, and are such big helpers - it's so fun to work with them instead of because of them. Now I just spend most of my cleaning time picking up after Adam.
This picture pretty much sums up Jack's attitude towards his Dad. He thinks he is the greatest thing ever and I love watching them interact and form their relationship.
Much like Lily. Lily still loves to make people laugh and is such a goof. She and Adam often argue who is the funniest person ever.So I'll start the simple labeling. Here we are celebrating Adam almost becoming a CPA. He passed the REG section but failed Audit. Crossing our fingers on August 1st! Adam was very adamant that I NOT attempt to make an ice cream cake but to get one from Baskin Robbins. And I must admit that it was very yummy and nostalgic - Mom got those a lot for Dad's birthday when we were young.
Adam wanted to make sure we had good documentation of his mustache before he shaved it off. Oh my gosh I missed that face! I tried not to seem too elated when it was gone - don't want to give him that much possible ammunition for later! This was at the Mayan in Salt Lake. The kids seemed to REALLY enjoy watching the divers - it is pretty amazing what they do. Adam will say that I will never go there again. Might be true as we paid $8.00 for a mini quesadilla with french fries for the kids. Such a rip off food wise. When we saw the bill we told the kids to sit back down, we were going to wait for another show. We had gone south for Jon and Natalie Zempter's wedding. So fun - weddings are few and far between now. PLUS they had eclairs at their reception. Adam laughed pretty hard at my reaction to that, because I was really, really excited.
Visit from Britt! It was so nice to have her and her cute kids here! She helped me out so much; babysitting for a few RS visits, totally made it possible for me to finish a crafty VT project (I seriously couldn't have done it without help), and cooked most of the meals (all of which Adam approved of! Quite different from the norm around here). It was awesome to see the kids play so well together - like I said, such great ages!
Here is our first big batch of strawberries. Lily had been so excited to pick them, and she and Eleanor were able to harvest quite a few as well after this bowl. Who knows if we will ever have enough to do jam or something like that, they are just too tempting right from the garden.
I tried so hard to keep him awake so he could go to bed after dinner. It's nice he still needs naps occasionally, otherwise he just goes to bed easier. Although the terrible 2's do make an appearance every so often.
Lily finished her year of tumbling. It was so cute to see her perform. Like so many other areas of her life that I am finding myself inadequate in, I'm hoping to be able to help her find an activity she really likes doing. She seemed to be getting tired of tumbling.
Adam really wanted to take the kids to Kennecot to see the Bingham Canyon Mines. I was a bit apprehensive but it was really neat, and the kids thought it was so cool, especially Jackson. This wheel is for the dump trucks.
Jackson's reaction to this showcase was priceless.
Two Sears Towers can fit in there. It was so big!
So I'm sure as soon as I hit Publish Post I will remember many other things I wanted to say. Like, we're having a boy! There's one. And we went to Idaho for July 4th and to celebrate Adam's Grandpa's birthday, and actually stayed up to see the fireworks that Ogden and South Ogden DON'T do on July 4th. (??? We were quite shocked, but I guess they focus on the 24th for Pioneer Day). Luckily aerials are legal and so the kids were able to see quite a few anyways. Well, that should be most everything. Hopefully.

two graduations down, how many to go?

2011-06-02T11:52:00.002-06:00

Lily was in preschool and Joy school this year, and so she had two graduations. Pretty crazy. I was surprised at how much seeing her in this grown-up roll effected me. She is getting to be such a big girl, and I keep on hearing the horror stories of teenagers and how great the toddler years are in comparison.
Here is the Joy school group (with some younger siblings) at the Dinosaur Park.
For graduation the families made flags to show and explain. Jackson always came up to the front with me and Lily. Poor Lily, we were the only ones that didn't do a cloth flag. I fear this is a sign of things to come, as in me not being crafty enough for future school projects she needs help with.
I handed out the diplomas and report cards (my only responsibility). They were so cute! All of the other moms did so much to prepare for the ceremony.
Here we all are. Delena and Joseph are moving in a month and so this picture makes me pretty sad. I am in denial most of the time.
The kids sang a bunch of songs. I can't get over how beautiful Lily looks in this picture.
Bravo's graduation was super cute as well. They sang songs and did a little play.
Lily also played a little piano solo - that is her teacher Ms. Hill. I had asked Lily in the past if she was playing the piano at school, and she never said yes. After the graduation I asked why she hadn't told me she was working on the piano, and she said that it was a surprise.
Showing Dad her book and diploma. She wasn't too sad to not be going to preschool anymore. A little down about no more Joy school though. She had a ton of fun at both graduations so that probably helped. We are so excited for summer and the lazy days ahead. Probably me more than the kids. :)

mother's day

2011-05-15T08:20:00.000-06:00

Granny Lilly was in St. George for Mother's Day and so everyone gathered for a visit. I have to admit I was very reluctant as I had missed Relief Society so much, but I am so glad I didn't send Adam alone like I was contemplating. Lily got up to sing in Sacrament meeting with the Primary, and we got to hear Terrel speak as well. Another quite memorable moment was Oaks, who had a humongous blister along the entire bottom of his foot from stepping on a hot coal from a dutch oven dinner. Someone was describing how "Kurt told him about a hundred times not to touch the coals" and Oaks interjected very angrily "It wasn't a hundred times, it was only three!"
Lily was very excited to meet "Grandma Lilly" and gave lots of hugs throughout the trip. She thought it was great that they had the same name.
All of the grandchildren with Mimi and Granny. Jack was being especially cooperative as he had a Nintendo to play with.
And all of us! I really love this family. Maybe because we don't live in St. George? haha j/k We spend enough time there to practically live there.

I also got to go with my parent's to see Amy graduate from Dixie. She was chosen to be a speaker and it was so neat to hear her! She is so amazing, and has worked so hard along with Phil.

some wonder

2011-05-05T19:41:00.000-06:00

I finally feel like the garden/outside is finished! Four years later. Lots of lessons learned, perhaps the most prevalent being that I have no natural instinct whatsoever for gardening! Anyhow, there are our strawberry blossoms in the area that was overrun with a useless ground cover plant that looked awful in the summer and that took me forever to clear out. The kids now know to kill the "evil yellow flowers" that pop up around the bird bath.
We took out the huge pine tree that I was constantly cleaning needles and pine cones from - really brightened our yard a ton! Although I doubt I am going to get much (or anything) from this area, I 'tilled' (slowly loosened the soil by hand) soil pep in to balance out the acidity and planted a few veggies. The kids are such a huge help in the yard, we love to be outside.
I just thought this was neat enough to share. Janet and Terrel found a hummingbird nest and we got a few shots of the mom, the eggs, and the babies after they were born. Fascinating! So tiny.
And lastly I have to include this picture of my dad as I am reminded of it most times I glance over at Adam and realize how big his mustache has gotten.

"i didn't realize you were that pregnant"

2011-05-03T13:32:00.009-06:00

That is what Britt said when I went to visit her to apparently just sit on her couch the entire time (she had other ideas). So, quite a few things have transpired these past few months. The Ogden Temple closed, so the kids and I went to say goodbye. Lily also had a small program at school - we are trying out a different preschool next year that I am very excited about, and so is she. She continues to love love love tumbling - the balance beam is her favorite and she can go the entire length without help, and will even dip her toes down when she demonstrates on the top of the couch for us.
Adam passed his second CPA section - Financial. Half way done! It is very exciting. He took another section last week and is studying for his last to take in St. George over Memorial Day weekend, so he is a busy guy. To celebrate that and the fact that I wasn't spending all of my days on the couch being sick and lazy, he bought me a bike! I know, not that great for him but we had been going out to eat for the past 2 months straight since my desire to cook went down the drain, so we were at a loss as to how to celebrate. We have taken the kids out once in the bike trailer and hopefully we can do more of that before my belly gets too big. (Isn't it gorgeous?)
This is what it looked like the first half of April. I was so worried about my bulbs but they managed just fine. Just a few small outside projects this year to do - it's so nice to have the backyard done! And let's be honest, nothing big is going to be accomplished during this pregnancy (besides the obvious, and hopefully good, outcome).
Yesterday Jackson was tested to see if he qualifies for Early Intervention preschool. Because his comprehension skills are so high the average with the speech is borderline, so we are still waiting to see what our options are. Today he was tired so went and put himself down for a nap; he spends 100% of his free time outside trimming with my clippers, filling up his dump truck with gravel, leaves or dirt, or soaking his shoes, socks and pants with the hose while 'watering' the garden (i.e. watching it slide down a hill of dirt or the sidewalk so he can say 'wheee!').
If he ever gets a hold of the camera he goes nuts. Adam directed him to take this one, which cracks me up every time I see it.
I'm sure my neighbors think I'm nuts (proof: the cops checking up on me a few months ago...) but my kids play outside a lot, and a lot of the time I'm not there. But Sunday I was at some meetings and when I got home found out that while Adam was watching TV, Lily walked up to Delena's house (about 6 houses up), knocked on the door and asked to borrow some stickers. Delena called and asked Adam if he knew she was there, and the answer was no. So at least that has never happened with me! :)
Side note: Every so often in Lily's play she will ask me to babysit her kids to she can go to a meeting at the church. I am so glad they are usually on Sunday so Adam can be home with them (I canceled the TV).
Which brings us to Easter! We went to St. George and had a ton of fun spending time with family. Jackson was in heaven as he had free access to desert sand and dirt pretty much whichever house we went to. After the weekend Adam headed home and I drove on down to California to visit Britt. With no air conditioning in the car, but oh well. It was hot but not nearly as bad as it would have been in the summer.
A few mishaps occurred which raised my stress levels a bit higher than I like (Adam's Honda breaking down without me to help out with transportation, for one), but it was wonderful as always. Britt used a pass of hers to get us into the San Diego Safari Park for cheap, and the kids loved it!
I remember taking this safari ride when I was younger, and I couldn't believe how much more space the animals had compared to Hogle Zoo. I love how the giraffe's necks are all stretched out instead of bent over. A few fun things we saw: a flock of flamingo's taking off from the lagoon; 2 of the last 9 white rhinoceroses left in the world; a tiger actually moving instead of just sleeping; a baby elephant have it's first dip in the water - it was so teeny tiny, I couldn't believe it.
We also saw a bird show (after a volunteer was chosen, Lily kept on asking me when it was her turn to go up there) and went to the Butterfly Garden where the kids walked around with their arms stretched so a butterfly would land on them. It was really neat and the flowers and butterflies were gorgeous! All in all I was exhausted from pushing the stroller up and down those hills and felt like crap from not eating enough (although I ate all of Britt's snacks she brought) but it was definitely worth it.
The next day I made it very clear I wanted to go to the beach and that was it. This year was opposite from last; Jackson got one feel of the water and ran back up the sand to the umbrella saying "cold!", but Lily was playing in it with Eleanor for most of the time. It was super windy and I had clothes on, so I didn't put sunscreen on my legs or arms. Bad idea! I got burned pretty bad in a few areas. After a while Jack realized he was missing out on playing with all of the water available to him, so he yelled for me to come and get his bucket. I asked if he wanted some water in it and he said "yeah", pointed to the ocean and then turned around and walked back to where he was playing.
The ride to St. George went super well and I had a day to rest before leaving for Ogden with my Mom to help me stay awake. We met Dad at the Hansen's for a lunch with most of Mom's siblings, then headed over to Draper to meet Adam to listen to Dad give a speech in a contest for Toastmasters. Adam has been growing his mustache and loves to get attention so be sure and comment if you see him! I wasn't giving him enough feedback so one day he used my mascara to darken it so I would be sure and notice.
April and May get me so homesick for St. George, we have been lucky to spend so much time with family these last few months. Plus I got a call from Amanda last night saying she wants to come and visit in October after the baby is born!!!!! I get excited just thinking about it!!!!! Good food, good babysitter, good conversation! I can't wait and if she changes her mind will probably go deep into depression. (yep, totally a threat)

february

2011-03-15T15:04:00.006-06:00

I missed posting in February. Here are the highlights:

*Lily bore her testimony in Sacrament meeting. Totally caught me off guard! She told us she wanted to, and I immediately asked what she was going to say; she said a few things that were on the right track, so I said okay (since she wanted to do it by herself - no way I was going up there with her). So she marched up there, and said right into the microphone "I know this church is true. I know Heavenly Father is true. I know Jesus is true." Then came back and sat down. I was floored! For one thing, talk about bravery! Just a few months ago in November she wouldn't even rehearse her one liner she was supposed to do, much less repeat what her teachers told her when it was time. So I was super impressed.
*We went to the Winter Festival downtown. I'm glad we made it this year, the kids loved watching the snowmobiles zoom down the street. We also saw a live band that the kids danced a bit too.
*We spent two one-week periods in St. George. Got sick both times. I'm never going in February again! Got to see Amanda whose two boys were a lot sicker than we were. Also Liz and family - so sad that we weren't feeling better. Someday we will get better at these family reunions.
*My parents bought a replica of some dinosaur bones for the Dinosaur Museum in St. George. The Dabney Dinosaur! It is the first set of bones that they have there, so the museum was pretty excited. I got to go to the luncheon where the Professor in charge of the museum explained the history and details of this particular dinosaur and it was fascinating. Dad said it isn't every day you can buy a dinosaur!
*Lily currently LOVES drawing, and she is getting so good! I love to hear her explanations and stories of what she draws and colors. I'm trying to be better about having her pick up after herself so hopefully she can get some good habits of tidiness - not really possible if she hangs around Adam too much.....
*Jackson's current obsession is hitting you and then kissing it better. He thinks it is pretty funny. Tomorrow Adam and I are meeting with the school district to look over what options we have with his speech therapy and possible preschool with early intervention. He has been such a trooper through all of our bugging him to say more words.
*I got home from being gone most of Saturday to see Adam with a shaved face - except for a mustache. I asked him about it and he said he forgot to do that part. He kept it for a few days until we had this conversation:
A - You get upset at everything I do.
S - I do not. I'm not upset at your mustache.
A - (kind of concerned) You're not?
S - No. I think it's hilarious.

The next day it was gone.

a new start

2011-01-24T08:52:00.006-07:00

Adam turned 29 - thanks to the Markland's for forgetting a pack of firework candles! Now that the Slemboski's, Matt's family and Mckay are up north, I finally got to throw a proper birthday for Adam. The lucky boy got a Kindle which I think for the first time in our history together he was PLEASANTLY SURPRISED!!!! I am seriously so clueless when it comes to gift giving.
Lily is back in school and surprises me every day with how much she has grown up. Jackson has engulfed us all in the terrible 2's - but he always comes back around with kisses and hugs.

I was released from Cub Scouts and called to Relief Society President. I was very surprised and Adam laughed. It is so neat to see everything that goes along with the calling. The few times I have spoken with the Stake RS President, she has said "This is going to be the busiest time of your life, but also the most cherished."
It seems like I've heard that before.

wrapping things up in a tired sort of way

2010-12-29T09:02:00.006-07:00

This was our last Christmas in St. George. It was fun while it lasted but hopefully we will be able to stay home next year. Today was a pj day where we did nothing - sorely needed! So here are a few tidbits from the holidays:
All of the Cub Scout leaders (and Lily), making cookie jars for the parents. I admire and appreciate these women so much.
The boys at the Christmas Village. A few weeks later we went to Jaden's Eagle ceremony, where the Ogden Nature Center brought a live bald eagle - pretty nifty! Any parent who doesn't take advantage of the Scouting program is crazy.
Bob the Builder Snowman, although Lily didn't like his name. Jackson was totally obsessed and was always running around back or looking out his window at it. He was especially concerned when it started melting the next day and fell over.
Jack will no longer wear his boots or gloves and Lily won't try out her snowsuit so time outside has been limited as it has been between 10 and 20 degrees for so long. Adam took Lily out sledding (Jack and I stayed in the car b/c he was sleeping and I was reading) and it was so cute.
Lily had her Joyschool Christmas Party, where she was a shepherd who wouldn't wear her costume and went around sucking on her fingers. She is so funny when she knows people are watching her perform.
Joseph, Lily, Jensyn and Brayden (then Dallin) in their adorable aprons that Delena, Amy and Jenni made for them. I signed up to be a rotating teacher, and am pretty nervous but Lily is super excited so hopefully she won't turn on me when it actually happens.

What a wonderful Christmas season, when we got to see so much family and so many friends in St. George. Santa did a wonderful job and the kids were so happy. We have been so blessed this year and are so excited to see what 2011 will bring.

a little lift

2010-12-15T07:52:00.002-07:00

We just found out that Adam passed the Business Environment and Concepts (BEC) section of the CPA! On the first try! That means he is 25% done and only has 3 more to pass; also that the clock has started to tick on the 18 month time frame to pass them all. I'm sure most of you have heard from me what a strain it has been to have him studying so much so this was such good news. :D

what i'm thankful for

2010-12-07T19:48:00.008-07:00

my beautiful children

that Lily turned 4, enjoyed her party, has good friends, and is delightful 95% of the time.
that Jackson is doing well with his speech therapy and although the 'terrible twos' show up occasionally, i'm pretty much still wrapped around his little finger.
siblings that feel comfortable taking pictures of me eating while commenting I will want to have documentation of how much I ate for junior's first trimester (nope! not pregnant), chubby nephews, two brand new nieces.
Adam's idea for family night to go downtown to the Christmas Village. The kids were so excited to see all of the little houses decorated and the lights.
this big helper.
naps that are few and far between. also tools, except when used to make dents in the wall.new chairs for the kitchen.
also re: thanksgiving. i am thankful for
being invited to the delicious homemade dinner by jesse and mindy
mindy being pregnant. more children should definitely go to moms like her
my kids (and nephew cole) were so wonderful on the 9 hr car ride from st. george to springville/ogden
not sliding off the road, not getting in an accident
dare i admit? - plastic cheese whiz that kept people happy (and me and cole busy making cheese sandwhiches) for about 45 minutes

witches say boo!

2010-11-01T07:31:00.002-06:00

Every time Jackson sees a witch now he says "boo!" This Halloween was tons of fun with two kids that knew what was going on. And boy did they have the opportunities! Last week was so crazy, this was our schedule:
Monday: Lily's Preschool Halloween Carnival
Tuesday: Only 'free' day. Lily was a bit sad she couldn't be a dog that day.
Wednesday: Ward Halloween Trunk Or Treat. From here on out my kids had candy with/for each meal and in between.
Thursday: My work Halloween party - I brought the kids and they ran around everywhere showing off their costumes. That afternoon was Lily's Joy School party, where the kids did a Halloween Parade, then sang songs (last night for FHE Lily chose the closing song for her to sing "I'm a mean old witch with a hat." She sings in a crackly voice and it is so cute.), and handed out cookies. So cute!Also Thursday night was our Haunted House for pack meeting. Wow! It was awesome. All of the other leaders except for me put in so much work - seriously. I had my boys make cookies a few weeks ago that we froze, and that's it. I called Adam to stop studying and come go through it with me - he is always wanting to do scary things with me for some reason, and this totally counted for me but apparently not for him. Which kind of makes sense as there were 4 year old kids going through.Friday: Adam's work party. Another Parade of all of the kids there. I was impressed as Jackson left to follow everyone once Lily held his hand. Once they circled around, I couldn't stop laughing. They both looked stunned and stopped in their tracks once they saw us. Friday night wasn't a Halloween activity but still worth mention: Dad was awarded a Gold Lifetime Membership award to the NAACP and we and the Nay's went to the dinner down in Salt Lake. So neat - it's always a good reminder to me of what an amazing life my parents have led and continue to lead.
Saturday: After some shopping with Mom, off to Orem for Peter's blessing, then to Alpine to visit the Slemboski's before heading home for trick or treating! I couldn't get a picture with both kids smiling. But here is Jackson with his cap and Lily with her ears (that broke later).

fall festivities in not much of a fall

2010-10-25T15:06:00.004-06:00

We did not make it to Logan this year. Adam is pretty much non-existent while studying for the CPA, so I am trying to still get the kids out of the house for activities. These happy moments in the leaves lasted about 5 minutes and the kids were crying to be carried back to the car which was a 3 minute walk away. Not my idea of a autumn hike but oh well.
So we felt so super lucky to have him take a day off of work for Lily's field trip to the Pumpkin Patch! That day was much much too short - it was the perfect day for me to have help though. I don't know what I would have done be cause Scouting can sometimes take up your entire life.
The farmers offered fresh onions and carrots to the kids. Lily didn't want anything to do with either of them. I snatched up a carrot when offered, which unfortunately got eaten by a lucky donkey whom Adam wanted to feed despite my protests.
Jackson and Lily loved feeding the llamas.
Here is a good representation of my neglected mothering these past few weeks (or maybe months?).Yep - cheese through the garlic press. I think I was contemplating either weathering our side door, mowing the back lawn, caulking all of the windows and door in the basement, planting bulbs in the front yard, figuring out what to do with the 30 green tomatoes still in my garden....and so I sat down and read a book instead, wondering why the warm weather would not cooperate and put a nix to my procrastination by snowing.

colorado trip continued

2010-09-13T15:28:00.008-06:00

And so we were off! I left Amanda's house at about 2pm and got to Moab around 8 pm. The kids did wonderful as always and it was so fun to talk to them about my Moab memories. Jackson set himself up to watch TV with his milk bottle a little too easily, I thought. We went to bed way too late. It was fun having a 'sleepover' with the kids, with all of us in a king bed.
Jackson turned out to be as uncomfortable to sleep by as Lily was when she was his age. I woke up many times with his feet or hands or head on top of me. After our continental breakfast, which has never been as awesome as it was when you're traveling alone with two picky eaters trying to save money, we headed out to Arches National Park. I told Lily we were going on a hike, then tried to explain it as a long walk, then as exercising because she has been on an exercising kick lately (except when her legs hurt...). She immediately exclaimed, "But Mom, I don't have my bike!"
But regardless, she kept (mostly) entertained by telling me and Jack that if we did good, she would give us some candy when we got back to the car. Jackson just hopped on the trail and started walking with that swinging arm of his. Super cute. He did awesome although every few minutes would drop to the ground to start playing with the sand and dirt. I would love to go back to Arches with Adam, as the park is basically a bunch of super tiny hikes to the arches, and so gorgeous!
We chose the Double Arches hike. It was about 3/4 of a mile and took us 45 minutes. I only carried Jackson twice for a few seconds each time because of slippery rock and sand. So they did it all by themselves!
We then jumped in the car and got on our way to St. George. Adam had taken the shuttle down that morning and we talked to him for a bit. He told Lily he was going to St. George too and she said "We're going to beat you! We have been in the car for a LONG TIME." Hilarious. She was probably wondering why we weren't there yet after so much driving.For this trip the Whitman's were driving through so we took them to the sand dunes in Snow Canyon. The kids had such a blast and I think we should probably make it a more prominent activity as it is so close to Kayenta.
Adam wanted me to make sure I included his photography. We also went downtown to the water park. The kids have been here a lot but I've never taken pictures. I kept on wishing the kids would get down from the rock steps and hopefully SOME DAY I will actually pay attention to those promptings as (of course and as always) Jackson fell a few minutes later and got a HUGE goose egg.He slept the entire way to Salt Lake.
As always when I travel, which is a big reason why I'm always going out of my way to do it, I get so much motivation to be a better mom to my kids. It's so nice let go of what sometimes becomes the 'daily grind' and just have fun. So thank you to Amanda and her family, to my wonderful husband who lets me do whatever I want, and to my amazing children for being so much fun to be with.

peter nay

2010-09-13T15:03:00.005-06:00

I told Amanda I would come visit after her baby was born. Now that Jack is 2, the thought of paying for 3 plane tickets, getting to the airport, having Amanda pick me up, etc etc, was just not as easy or cheap as driving sounded. So I drove!
Right about when I got onto 1-80 about 5 miles from my house to head for Cheyanne I began repeating in my mind "What on earth was I thinking?" The drive was 8.5 hrs + 1.5 hrs at rest stops, so a total of 10 hrs for the trip to Colorado Springs. 9 am to 7 pm. I was a bit traumatized after arriving, and that night when falling asleep would jerk awake b/c I would be dreaming I was still driving. But man! Newborns are totally worth it, especially cute ones like Peter that I don't have to wake up in the middle of the night for. Jackson and Lily just loved him too. Jack was very concerned every time Peter dropped his binky or didn't have a blanket on or wasn't swinging as high as Jack believed he could. They also loved spending time with Henry - what a cutie, although half naked from potty training most of the day... After the first day or two of lots of crying, they got along wonderfully.
Amanda let me cook anything I wanted, and although I almost cried at the thought of no fresh garlic and only 'lite' olive oil, it was so nice having happy customers.Amanda totally didn't need any help - she was pushing to get *me* out the door every morning. And at night Tyler didn't. complain. when we would take the big kids to the park or to get the most amazing Italian gelato I've ever had (the one time I felt guilty that Adam wasn't there) and left Peter. I was super impressed. I think I helped a few times by holding Peter - what a tough job.I also got a good wake up call as to keeping my house cleaner. Wow they were tidy! Tyler actually skipped out on Sunday School to come home and scrub the sinks. Amanda told my kids about every 30 minutes that it was time to clean up, and the habit has kind of stuck with them! It is great. Amanda really knows how to make things fun (even brushing teeth, which occasionally I have to sit on my kids to do, but not any more!) and I miss living closer to her so much. She is second only to Adam in getting me to laugh.It was a wonderful vacation for me besides the fact that the closer my departure came the more high strung I was because I was so terrified of making the 12 hr trip back to St. George. Finally I faced the fact the I couldn't do it, so I checked mapquest and saw that Moab was about 30 miles off the freeway but at the halfway point, so I decided to go for it.

for some reason i don't feel ready

2010-09-08T09:07:00.005-06:00

Actually I know the reason(s): Today Jackson poured out an entire new bottle of baby wash down the bath drain; pushed his dirty diaper halfway down his bum and smeared poop all over the front of his shirt (but being the tidy boy he is took off his shorts before they got dirty); and when finished with his drink after lunch headed for the bathroom to get more drinking water from the toilet (I *barely* caught him with the cup at his lips).(In Colorado. I can't believe how old my 2 yr and 3 yr old look!)

Regardless, my beautiful little baby boy turned 2 on August 24. Which would maybe be a tragedy if he wasn't still so beautiful. Not to mention reasonable, brilliant (without talking! it really is amazing), cuddly, always willing to give kisses, hasn't woken up at night on his own for over a year or something, loves broccoli, and can I mention reasonable again?

2010-08-25T08:26:00.002-06:00

I had so many different ideas of what to name this post.
-seriously?
-really crappy timing (i mean, what are the odds?)
-karma (for sneaking out on monday night to go and get my birthday ice cream cone alone? never leave your family on fhe)
-good thing the kids weren't in the car
-mom said it was divine intervention and i would have gotten killed at the next light otherwise
-i REALLY value my alone time (i still got ice cream regardless)
-that scene in 'benjamin button' is still stupid
-seriously? (i think that's my favorite)

But really - how would you label this event: I was driving down Quincy, and bam! the passenger rear window shattered. From a guy trimming his yard.

So here is proof of my procrastination of telling Adam. I called but he didn't answer. Secretly I was glad b/c otherwise I wouldn't have been able to keep on going to Baskin Robbins. It was quite the internal debate.

the last of the lazy days of summer

2010-08-13T15:08:00.006-06:00

At least for Lily! She starts preschool on Monday and it is so darn exciting.
She finished swim lessons a few weeks ago - did fantastic! I can't wait for her to be more comfortable in the water.
My work gave free tickets to Lagoon for me and Adam, so we just had to pay for the kids. $60. I'm never going with kids younger than 8 again. Lily had a blast but Jack missed his nap and so he was a bit apprehensive. Adam and I alternated going on Colossus once, and I went on the Rollercoaster right before we left. So fun! I wish we could have done more.
Lily's new hobby is taking blankets, pillows, toys and food up the slide to her 'house'. So cute. Adam and I were inside and went to check on them and saw this.
I love that Dad's birthday lands on July 29th during his Salt Lake trips at the end of the month. Lily is having issues with birthdays - mainly that her's isn't right now. I hope that cake and ice cream for mine next week and Jack's the week after will make up for it.
Delena chopped Jack's hair yesterday. Adam's reaction: "What did you DO???" I swear he is living vicariously through him.
My 3 'pride and joy's. My garden was pretty successful this year. I feel like crying happy tears every time I go out there to see my basil going crazy (I have made pesto TWICE this summer!), parsley always ready to snip, tomatoes ripening faster than I can eat them plain (last year they never made it to the kitchen), zucchini! beans! onions! It is very exciting to me, and I'm very happy Adam and Mckay didn't demolish my boxes along with the deck.
As for me, I have found plenty of house projects to keep me busy and am excited to spend more time in the yard as the weather cools down.

And Adam? He is lucky we are still married with how much he plays Starcraft II. Can someone please tell me that there is an end? I can't discuss the subject with Adam without swearing at him.

On a (slightly) more positive note, he gave me a 'compliment' the other day. A co-worker's wife was in labor for 24 hours and had 3 epidurals; Adam followed that with "I could not handle that. You know? That would be awful. I just don't think I could ever do that." I didn't have a reply (not having been in the tough husband position during childbirth) and he said he was giving me a compliment.

Yeah. I missed it too.

summertime fun

2010-07-28T16:27:00.008-06:00

Peanut butter and jam sandwiches. I left the room for a minute - you'd think I would get suspicious of silence a lot faster than I do. But still. This picture kind of embodies for me the fact that my kids can do quite a lot on their own and have fun and play together and are happy without me. It is awesome in a bittersweet way.
Lily started dance classes! So cute. She is getting so big and it's so fun to see her jump around in ballet/tumbling. She starts preschool in a few weeks and we are both so excited! She is going to do awesome as she responds fantastically to other authority figures.
Jackson set up his 'bed' outside one night. We spend most of the afternoon shade every day out front so he probably thought this was the next probable step.
For July 4th we went to Lava Hot Springs and visited Grandpa Ronald and Zelpha with Nate, Mckay, Matt and family, and Terrel. I love love love having family visitors. The boys went on a bike ride in the morning and we had a big breakfast when they got back. Also Matt and Jana moved to West Jordan so we're excited to have more family close!
Cub Scout Camp at Camp Kiesel! Here is "Kong's Fortress" as Scott put it. I finally have a grasp of this calling and I am absolutely loving it. This place was so beautiful and the activities were lots of fun: row boats with lots of water splashing; BB gun shooting (I hit 3 out of 4 targets!); and others. The boys had so much fun and I am now a huge fan of the Venturing program in Scouts.
Here are most of us with our Wolves and Bears.
We finally made it to the zoo. Adam has been wanting to take the kids forever. Unfortunately this Carousel shot shows the last happy moments we had. After it was done Lily threw a major tantrum to go again and ended up screaming all the way out of the park, to the car, and to where we went out for lunch. Wow.
But the kids really loved it and it was a blast seeing them get so excited about the animals.
Ogden Pioneer Day Rodeo! We went with the Cub Scouts this year as we got in free with our uniforms. I can't get enough of those Ogden mountains. Also you can see a bit of Lily's tattoo. The Sunday before she gave her first talk in Primary (with Adam's help - she specifically requested him) and for some reason I can't fathom he put this tattoo on her arm right before.
Here are a few shots of our Cubs getting ready for the flag ceremony.

Jackson was pretty happy for the most part - check out those dimples.
But he can pull a pretty good pout as well.
Traveling to St. George - Adam and I were laughing so hard at Jack who was still doing the motions to lick his sucker even though he was beyond exhausted.

slow and steady

2010-07-01T11:56:00.006-06:00

Wasatch Back Relay ~ Logan to Park City
188 miles ~ June 18-19

What an incredible experience! I am so glad I was able to be a part of this. Some things I learned:
*Utah is super green after such a rainy spring. The scenery was amazing!
*You shouldn't expect to get a tan on your legs when you haven't had them out in the sun for a few years; instead expect to get burned really bad on the front thighs and calves.
*My body shuts down at 10:30 p.m. - like I felt it all. over. and took it out on my team by hogging the back seat of the suburban for the majority of the race.
*Morgan at midnight is DARK. No street lamps, nothing. I had a 2 ft diameter beam from my head lamp and that's it for my second run. (Also: even when I'm freaked out from darkness I don't run faster than normal)
*A single blister can cover the entire ball of your toe, reaching down towards your foot and can actually form *around* your toenail. (Plus: I have no idea how to use mole skin)
*The aforementioned blister can make the last 6 miles of a run really long (luckily a guy named Andy came along and asked to run with me - I laughed when he said he had been pacing me the entire time because I was alternating running and walking up the freaking huge hill so much.)
*When my body is so tired and I start running up a steep hill I laugh out loud and silently swear (probably Tia's influence) because it hurts so bad.
*Water stations every 2 miles aren't enough - thank heavens for my van who brought me gatorade regardless.
*Hotels that you think are for those reasons because they are so cheap are really that crappy inside - but paying $7 for a super painful shower where I thought my aforementioned calves were bleeding whenever water ran down them was super worth it. So was holding my bladder until we got to a toilet that worked.
*I cried twice - once when Lesa got to see her husband and kids, and once when I saw Boualay in Park City and she was going to Cafe Rio and I had 3 more hours until my team came in. So, apparently I love my family and Cafe Rio. (Also: I don't push myself *that* hard)
*Speaking of family, Delena is a wonderful babysitter and Adam is a wonderful Dad. I was gone so long and my kids were very happy the entire time.
*Ragnar is kind of like giving birth. I remember very clearly during the race that I had no idea why I had signed up, and there's no way I would ever do it again because it was so uncomfortable. But now it's over I'm so glad I did it and kind of want to do it again.
My stats: Runner 3 - 18.4 m total
1 - leg 3 - 5.6 m, 61 min, ~10:45 min/ml, start 2 pm (HOT and SUNNY)
2 - leg 15 - 4.9 m, 56 min, ~11:30 min/ml, start 11:45 pm (cold and BLACK)
3 - leg 27 - 7.9 m, 1 hr 48 min, ~13:30 min/ml, start i don't know because i was so nervous and delirious by then. but it was in the middle of the day and hot and windy and the hill climb was a 'beast', or so people told me who got to drive up it.
And here are all of us Rockstars: Trina, Lesa, Tia, Lisa, Kathy, Carla, me / Amanda, Lori, Erin, Celeste, Kristin. Thanks for the good times.

essential oregon

2010-06-16T14:02:00.000-06:00

Flying with two kids - lots of fun with extra space from Lily's seat. Unfortunately we didn't take a stroller and Lily brought shoes that were too big for her so that was a challenge getting to the car rental. At one point I was in the long line sitting on the (carpeted) floor because both kids wanted to be held and Adam was laughing over in the corner with the luggage, and told me across the room "You look desperate." About two hours to Cannon Beach, driving through rain and green green green. I was thinking it is strange that there are so many environmentalists in Oregon because you'd think since they are constantly surrounded by trees they wouldn't be too worried.
Those present were Mom and Dad, Liz and her four kids, Amanda and Tyler with Henry, and later Nathan and Alicia with Eve.Activities including waiting for it to stop raining so we could go outside; Tillamook Cheese Factory for a cheese sandwich and ice cream; watching 7 grandkids being mesmerized watching the glass blower for 30 minutes; playing soccer; playing on the beach; running on the beach (one of my all time favorite things to do, ever); Ecola State Park which I haven't been to since Nathan and Alicia took me there about 9 years ago; and of course enjoying some quality family time discussing controversial political and societal issues with Mom and Adam yelling back and forth until the cookies made by Amanda came out of the oven and we turned our attention to inhaling them even though she didn't follow a recipe. Good times.

10 years!!!!!!

2010-06-08T07:33:00.001-06:00

After camping, Adam sent me off by myself to St. George for the week (it was really his idea). He returned for our 10 year high school reunion on Saturday. We went to the free get together at the park, which was a lot of fun. I am cheap; I just couldn't bring myself to buy dinner tickets for $40. Instead we went out to eat with Mindy and Jesse and went to a movie and spent $40. I did get to go out to lunch with Britt and Trav, though. So much fun. We seriously need to do that more often! Topics to remember: almost making Britt cry from laughing so hard about my pregnancy with Jack when I was so depressed I considered on a regular basis putting my kids up for adoption because Adam and I were going to get divorced because he thought I hated him and therefore didn't talk to me for 9 months; also Trav always coming out on top - NO MATTER WHAT. :D

we are not campers!

2010-06-06T07:22:00.000-06:00

During Memorial Day weekend we drove down to Posey Lake near Escalante and went camping where there was still snow on the ground. It was cold. And screaming windy (all night long). But it was like a Bird family reunion since everyone was there but the Hendershots. Luckily Adam is not the only camping pansy in his family; when Jesse bailed the first night, as soon as we had scarfed down the amazingly delicious dutch oven dinner that Kurt made while I was sitting in my car with the heater and the kids, I had that car packed within about 2 minutes. Okay maybe 10. But to make some excuses, I forgot pillows - again. And Lily was scared of the toilet. And the fire (which would have been okay if it hadn't been freezing). But here are some happy pictures.
We saw about 5 deer on the way home, one of which stepped into the road and gave us the adrenaline shot to stay awake for the rest of the trip even though we were both dead tired.

i am copying britt...

2010-05-28T07:29:00.000-06:00

...who taught me you can procrastinate blogging. I have such a back load of things to post, I'll start out with where I left off.
May held our 6th wedding anniversary. No communication there! We basically did nothing, but a few days later I remembered I had an idea like 6 months ago to surprise Adam at work, because I always wanted him to do that when I was working. I dropped off a flower (iris), some chocolate turtles, and a love note for the secretary to put on his desk. I hope it was embarrassing; I love him but seriously it's not like we've been married for 20 or 30 years and he can get by without doing anything.

conversation in sunday school

2010-05-20T10:09:00.000-06:00

Sabrina: Why don't you get your scriptures from the car.
Adam: I've read them so much I have them memorized.
Sabrina: Your memory is not that good.
Adam: Yes it is, Jane.(When Adam has the camera he will take about 50 photos of me to go through and delete later. I now suspect he prints them off to look at them before coming home from work so he can recognize who I am)

just the three of us

2010-05-19T12:53:00.006-06:00

Adam and I were in Reno during Mother's Day the first year we were married. We called Janet to talk to her, and she said she was in California celebrating with some friends - which I thought was pretty awesome. Fast forward 5 years and I have been bugging Adam to go to Southern California for all of them and he refuses because of 'the traffic.' Since Britt is pregnant and I desperately wanted a non-St. George vacation, and after Deena suggested that I "road trip it" instead of fly, I asked Adam if I could take the kids to California for Mother's Day. So off we went!
5 hours to St. George the first day, and the second day we left for Irvine - 7.5 hours, about 1.5 out of the car. I had grand ideas of stopping at all of the old stops of my high school days: Krispy Kreme runs with Vickie to Mesquite; milkshakes in Baker where the world's largest thermometer is; shopping at the strip mall in Barstow. Well Mesquite doesn't have those donuts anymore, and since Lily said she needed to go pee in Vegas we stopped and had our yearly allotment of McDonald's, which the pidgeons got 1/2 of anyways. Then the kids slept for about 4 hours and we were in the valley by then. What great travelers! I am thinking of lots more trips to go on with them.
My kids got so much sugar. Have to go crazy every once in a while, right? We went to the beach pretty soon after we unloaded the car at Britt's. We waited in line for about 1 1/2 hours to get a table on top of Ruby's Diner at the end of a pier. The kids seemed happy - they all were sticking their heads through the slats to look at the water, totally freaking me out as Jackson is quite the risk taker. I was beginning to get a vague suspicion that my Southern California vacation would be similar to visiting Nathan and Alicia in San Francisco, where you EXPECT it to be cold. Luckily Britt had extra coats for everyone - I refused to believe that I would need them on the beach in May! (I was wrong).
Not that the beach wasn't awesome. Just cold. Lily screamed bloody murder when I tried to walk with her in the water. She wouldn't have anymore of that but loved the sand.
Jackson of course was much more willing and even laughed when the tide rushed up and almost knocked him over.
Free kid attractions: escalators and fountains. The kids loved this place.
As soon as Jack felt comfortable enough (i.e. after dragging me back and forth like 10 times) he tried out the stone path at the koi pond by himself. And yes, he fell in one of the cracks up to his thigh. He and Lily thought being able to see the fish so close was soooo cool.
Sprinkles cupcakes in Newport Beach. The vanilla were definitely better than the chocolate that day. So good. We also made it to Trader Joe's where I spent a ton of money on treats and specialty foods - later I told Kurt we couldn't go to Disneyland because I spent my budget on groceries.
Here we are right before I left. Along with Eleanor's arm.
Mother's Day itself was interesting. Lily went up to the front in Sacrament meeting to sing with the Primary, and she came back and peed on my purse. So although I had planned to attend the rest of church, I spent the last two meetings calming myself down (I was so. ticked) outside with Jackson. Which was super nice as there is honeysuckle and birds of paradise everywhere and the Newport Beach temple was across the street of the chapel. And along with some always appreciated, practical, important, and desperately needed at the time advice from my mom, got the motivation to get over it and move on, trying to be better.
Because my goodness. I am so grateful for my two babies.

once in a blue moon...

2010-05-03T12:43:00.004-06:00

...BOTH kids take naps at the same time. So instead of sitting on the couch in shock like I normally do, I am trying to be productive and catch up on a ton of pictures and events. Like Lily eating blue candy in her white Sunday dress. This is what happens when I leave Adam alone with the kids to go visiting teaching.
Jackson and Henry - precluding the week of hell in St. George that I didn't talk about much on here because honestly I don't think I will ever think it is funny.
Work on the back yard begins (back in March)! Mckay was so awesome to come up and help Adam take out the deck.
And here it is all cleared out - there was about 40 huge beer bottles and tons of garbage underneath - so nasty.
Free babysitting! Jackson and sometimes Lily were so entranced with the workers back there - especially when the little mini tractor made an appearance.
And finished! It is much greener now, and we absolutely love it! Our yard is 3 times as big now, and I still have my vegetable boxes.
National Bring Your Son and Daughter to Work Day. I took advantage again, and was so impressed with how good they were for the ~2 hours we were there (I made sure there wasn't too much work to do before I brought them).
Of course drawing is always a favorite - Jackson was COVERED in highlighter on his shirt and stomach. Lily loved the balloons from Diane and Jackson was very excited he could reach up to desks and get down scissors and staplers. Fun toys!

Adam graduated! Now he has a nifty Masters hood. Pretty cool. He was super happy to not have to go to school anymore - I am still holding out to fully celebrate once he passes his CPA tests.
Here's the hard worker with his favorite cheerleaders, although Lily looks a bit unhappy because it was raining.
Date night at the Jazz Playoffs in Salt Lake. Can I just say I love having other people put my kids to bed. (every so often)

via ferrata; klettersteig

2010-04-20T19:21:00.004-06:00

When Deena told me about klettersteig, or the style of climbing with the use of steel ladders, I thought it sounded perfect! Rock climbing made easy. She and her husband Eli outfitted me completely, and even gave me a ride as someone had slashed our Honda's tire the night before, and I wanted to leave my saint of a husband the Subaru since he was babysitting the kids for half the day. Deena didn't mention the initial 2 mile uphill hike to the bottom of the climb, but luckily I didn't exercise that morning so I was ready to burn some calories. And although she kept on asking me if I had updated my will, and saying she hoped I wasn't afraid of heights (I am), I wasn't too nervous until I saw how far apart the steel ladders sometimes were. I am not the best rock climber and kept on having flashbacks to the one other time I went in St. George like 8 years ago.

The climb is in Waterfall Canyon - it was an awesome view. Both Eli and Deena took lots of pictures and videos - so fun to have it documented! On their honeymoon they went to the Alps to use the klettersteig there.

And almost to the top - apparently it is about a 700 ft climb. It certainly was an adventure! I am hoping to tone my climbing skills so next time Deena doesn't readily say yes when I asked if it was a relaxing and leisurely climb for her....Here is River, one of my Cub Scouts, with Ogden behind. He and little 18 month old Bjorn (in Eli's backpack) made the trek too, but hiked while we climbed.

And here is a small clip to give a taste of my speed (slow) and a bit of height perspective (very high).

neglect and easter in the desert

2010-04-14T08:02:00.007-06:00

I am sure Adam was trying to tell me something else besides what he wrote. I left it up there for a long time, as the last time I received something in writing from him was Valentine's Day 2009.
I went downstairs one morning to do laundry and came up to an empty house. Outside I found my kids parading up and down the sidewalk with the markers that read: "Caution Buried Gas Line." Unfortunately I failed to see exactly where they came from...
And also Jack with no pants on with snow on the ground. I have to keep the doors locked to keep him inside, he doesn't care a bit about being cold.
The Bird's had a nice Easter egg hunt out in Kayenta. The kids were very excited and so cute. Lily ran around with her cousins and Jack was content with his two eggs. He would only allow candy in his basket - no eggs, no wrappers, no money.

And there's our Easter Bunny. He kind of went nuts at the store and spent $50 on candy and toys. Seriously? I was pretty ticked, and confiscated everything I could and returned $20 of it, but still.

kids

2010-04-05T17:23:00.007-06:00

Lily drew on some paper today and brought it to me. She said she made it for me and it said "Lily Bird love you, after you mean." Followed by "You need to be nice."
Does everyone have kids that think their parents are nice when disciplining? Am I really screwing up that bad?

Here is Jackson's latest hobby - taking off his diaper. During this post I have put it back on 4 times.
On the back porch at Grandma and Grandpa's new house. Jack is pleading for the railing to be removed.
And obviously cute! This is a favorite of mine:

Lily was leaning her head on my lap and started to make snoring sounds. After a few seconds she jumped up and yelled "Wait a minute! You're not a bed!"

thresholds, and a recurring theme of my quick temper

2010-04-05T13:31:00.005-06:00

In high school, I took Adam to Preference. We were talking after the date and I had bruise on my leg that Adam kept on poking - it was getting annoying so I very lightly slapped him.A few months ago, we were on a date. I don't know how the subject came up, but I asked him if he thought I had a high pain threshold. He said no. I was about to walk out yelling "why don't YOU try giving birth to a baby over 9 lbs with no pain medication and see how high YOUR pain threshold is!" But curiosity (and the fact I hadn't gotten dinner yet) won so I asked why. He referenced the story above, which apparently in his mind made me pretty wimpy, no matter what happened after that.
A week before this triathlon, I got really mad at a van door for not closing all the way, and subsequently closed the door with all my might, hitting my knee in the process. Dr. Kim said it was a bruised tendon and to "ice it, ice it, ice it." I did a few times, and cut out running for the week. It still hurt.
During the triathlon, the swim was good, the bike was good, the run not so much. But then during the second lap, I connected the initial bruise that Adam thought was so trivial, to my bruised tendon, and decided if I stopped favoring my knee it would be like me enduring Adam's poking 10 years ago, and maybe he would be forced to admit I have a high pain threshold. He said I did a good job.
But being always hard to please, he followed that up with saying that I need to work on my transitions, as I took longer than Mindy both times. *shrug* There's always next November.

I was very pleased with myself. I cut off 8 minutes from last year. Here are the times:
400 meter swim - 8:22
transition 1 - 4:02
10 mile bike + transition 2 - 42:35
3 mile run - 30:33
Total - 1h 25 min

is that wrong?

2010-03-12T12:34:00.003-07:00

For FHE the kids and I left Adam at home to study while we went to the mall. Lily carried my purchase for me, and then we spent some time going up and down the "moving stairs" in Dillard's. It took a few times for Jack to be confident enough to step on them himself, but he kept asking for more anyways.

So far this year, I have documented that the only time something blog-worthy occurs, we are in St. George. Three out of four posts, anyway. Hopefully I can get around to changing that.

In other news! I was released from my calling as Activities Day leader and transferred right over to the boys! I am now the Cub Scout Den Leader. I spent over a week complaining to everyone who asked me how it was going (sorry), and now that that is out of the way, I am very excited to get to work and learn everything I need to do. As a farewell, my girls made me some cards to say good bye. One of my favorites was Felicity, who said "To Subrina, I will miss you because no one else cares! Just kidding!" I laughed so hard. I was so lucky to work with such a beautiful and unique group of girls.

yes, my number was 1

2010-02-28T20:47:00.007-07:00

All of us women who have married into the Bird family did the Tuacahn Duathlon on Saturday. 5K run, 24m bike, 5K run. I had such an enjoyable time: amazingly beautiful scenery, perfect weather, my body felt great, and I finished the race. In two hours and thirty-six minutes. I was shooting for under three hours so I was very happy. Courtesy of Ashley and Kurt, here are some shots:I don't think I could ever get enough of that Snow Canyon rock. You forget you are exercising it is so gorgeous!
Mindy looking awesome.Peggy waiting for us to finish - she came in at 2:09! Very inspiring.
Jana happy on her bike! We had a little scare when she almost collapsed after finishing - not enough calories. Made me feel a bit less embarrassed that during my huge breakfast Adam asked me if I was maybe eating too much? Audrey has a 3 month old and is 2 months pregnant. I kept on waiting to get a call from her saying she wasn't going to do the race. Pretty darn tough!Finished! At least Mindy and Peggy were at this point. I was about 13 minutes behind. All of us but Peggy, who was getting ready to leave us in the dust. Thanks to all of them again for going along with my idea. I am so grateful that I have such wonderful in-laws.

sweet week

2010-02-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

I spent last week down in St. George to get out of this icky inversion. And Adam's busy season (he's not around much from February to May). It was wonderful! The kids got to see lots of their grandparents (especially Mimi), and I got a ton of stuff done. Highlights included going to the temple with Mom ("that doesn't look lone and dreary - that's beautiful!"); having a nice long visit with Amy, one of the bravest women I know; <$100 expense for townhome repairs; late night movie with Nancy with Mom calling at midnight telling me she's going to bed; attending Dad's social security hearings; hanging out with Becca, ReAnn and KelliAnn while our kids couldn't have cared less if we were around; Ashley's bridal shower (cake pops!); Krave for a girl's night out ("who wants a skinny, enhanced grandma?"); and to top it all off! I biked to the top of Snow Canyon in ~30 minutes with Mindy, Peggy and Audrey. So awesome I didn't die! Thank you to Sarah, I was using your bike. I hope that's okay.
We were all super excited to get home. Adam seemed resigned to the fact we were back - he spent part of the night reminiscing about all of the things he did while I was gone that I wouldn't have approved of...which is fine with me since he's working so hard all of the other time.

back to the beginning

2010-01-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

Lily loves pasta. And cheese. :)

January has been a slow whirlwind - lots happening, but time is crawling. I can't wait for spring! Here is a smorgasbord of random pics:Stepping up the snow to get the mail with the delightful inversion as a backdrop. On a happier note - Jack helping Dad with shoveling during a storm. Can you tell he has an older sister and we're too cheap to buy him his own gloves? He is always opening the front door, then grabbing his coat and shoes and bringing them to me so he can go outside.Amanda posing for Lily, who loves taking lots of pictures. Amanda had an awful lot of baking energy for being pregnant! We made a crazy buttery chocolate cake for Adam's birthday (28! He informed me yesterday that this is the last year he is eligible to audition for American Idol). My hips still haven't recovered. The only nice thing about Amanda being gone was that I wasn't doing dishes 5 times a day. (Good luck, Tyler!) While she was here I found out that Britt is pregnant too! Being engulfed in all of these pregnancy hormones made me wonder if I should get going or something, but then 5 seconds later those musings ended abruptly.At the Spaghetti Factory, before the airport. Henry ate everything in sight, it was pretty funny. Shopping with Amanda in Salt Lake made me wonder less that people grow up and live in the same place as their family. She is so fun to have around! I was so spoiled to get her and Liz to visit, along with a big break in St. George, within two months.Matt's Homecoming dessert spread - this is after distribution of treat platters around the house. Nicole's mint brownies are some of the best things EVER. Family get togethers like this make me feel like I'm 12 again and should be running around the Hansen house with my cousins eating rolls and treats. Adam quells those reminiscings quick, especially since the football games determining the Super Bowl contestants were that afternoon....And here are our two bath-obsessed cuties. They will stay in there for so. long. It is wonderful.

welcoming gifts of 2010

2010-01-05T12:26:00.001-07:00

Jack got a black eye. Symbolic of things to come? Probably with how much this boy loves climbing.
Lily is getting a week+ with Amanda, who is sick and pregnant and who I'm supposed to be taking care of, but like always she is doing much more for me.
And I got a midnight kiss from this charmer, who is posing for a shot from the front of the line for the blockbuster "Sherlock Holmes." We are such nerds for getting there so early, but we blamed St. George for having lines for movies that really shouldn't.

ending 2009

2009-12-31T12:07:00.000-07:00

Adam and I went to Vegas a few days after Christmas (my present to him). He had a dream he was going to win $5 million dollars, so of course he had to try out the slots. He sure was itching to go on the tables though, where his true talent shines!
"Sabrina, don't put this up on the blog."
At 'trevi', the fountain of the gods.
Lame! We leave our kids for the night and end up spending time in F.A.O. Schwartz.
On our arrival back in St. George, Dad was moving his office. He sold his practice and is "retired." Ha! He has yet to take even a half day - he was even in the new place most of Saturday. It felt like the end of an era. I spent hundreds of hours looking out those doors when I worked as his secretary.It has been a good year. Lily and Jackson are at such a fun age. I love this picture of them switching roles - Lily was pushing Jackson last January!

Santa!

2009-12-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

This was Lily's first year not screaming her head off - unfortunately Jack seems to be heading in that direction.
"See? Look how nice he is! He's giving candy canes to all of the kids!"Jackson was pretty ready for a nap."Where did Mom and Dad go?""... and ummm, I want pink toys!"And it begins. Although to be fair, Lily was a bit wary of this Santa as well.Every time someone asked her if Santa visited, she said she didn't like the Santa at Mimi's house - she liked the one that gave her candy.Adam thinks this shot of my double chin is pretty hilarious, so I thought I'd share.

just about the cutest

2009-12-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

Liz came to finish her Master's degree, and we got to enjoy the rolls on this kid.

It's so cute seeing Jackson intrigued by little babies, like he knows there is some point to them but can't quite figure it out. Lily faithfully followed in my bossy steps, taking control of which toys Chase could play with and other details.

mischief

2009-12-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

Jackson is the one whose idea it was to go behind the tree. I thought their legs sticking out were pretty cute, so I took some pictures.I should have wondered why she was trying to hide.Right about now is when I realized they had crayons. Which I'm pretty sure were Lily's idea, although she tells me it was both her's and Jack's. Adam and I got a good laugh out of their fancy artwork on the walls. It's so fun seeing them work together, even if it does mean mischief!

As a side note to their getting older, I realized today that this is the first time since March of 2006 that I am not pregnant, nursing, or both. Wow. I feel like going to Italy (without the kids).

pretty pink birthday princess

2009-12-07T11:36:00.000-07:00

Lily is now 3 years old! What a gem. She's been so sweet this week, I'm sure it helps that my stress levels are significantly decreased from Thanksgiving being over.
Boualay took these pictures. We apparently haven't showed her how to smile for the camera.
And here she is blowing out her candles - and maybe hoping someone would put the cake in her mouth?
Prior to last Wednesday, if anyone asked if she was 3 years old she would say "Not yet! December 2nd." It is so fun to have another person around to talk to. If I ask her to help me with something or if she would like something, she answers "yeah sure mom!" most of the time. I have to say I am excited she is not 2 anymore.

Thanksgiving...

2009-12-01T08:27:00.000-07:00

was also the Dabney Family Reunion this year. Everyone in my family was there - that hasn't happened for over 3 years or something. A long time. It was awesome seeing all of the little cousins together.Apparently it wasn't quite awesome enough for me to take more pictures of them together, though, as this is the only one. Here is Amanda, Henry, Lily, Nathan and Eve at Pirate's Pizza. And here is Jackson. Boy was he determined to get that token in the slot!

We had the main Thanksgiving dinner at the ward house with the Bentley's - it is always nice to return back to that tradition, no matter how crazy and big it gets. And this year was especially neat, as Lily is getting older and to the age of participating in the Talent Show just like I did when I was a little girl. ReAnn and KelliAnn got together a bunch of tutu's and put together a little ballet dance for all of the young girl cousins to do - it was so awesome.I was so impressed! I mean, we did tell her she would get a treat if she did it, but I couldn't believe how good she was with following the older girls and doing all of the moves! I thought she would just stand around.All the other girls exited but Lily came straight back and to the treat box.

We ended the weekend with a marathon temple day, switching back and forth with babysitting. We were able to do temple work for relatives, which was amazing! Mom's artistic photography. This year I was so grateful for my family being able to get together. A boy Adam and I knew in junior high and high school died the day before Thanksgiving and left his pregnant wife and 13 month old daughter. It was very humbling to get a clear view of how blessed we are to be together.

what i did on saturday

2009-11-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

400 m swim, 10 mile bike, 3 mile run. 1 hr, 33 min, 57 seconds.
Anyways, it was fun training.

And getting to ride with Mindy was pretty cool too. She was nice to stick around with me. It looks like I am daydreaming - probably as I was very happy whenever the road was flat.

compensation

2009-11-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I made rice krispie treats and actually ruined them! The sugar almost burned so they are a bit too crispy. I was telling Liz and she said she didn't know it was possible to mess them up, so I thought I would focus instead on some accomplishments of some people I'm related to.
Lily is pretty much potty trained, which is awesome. She occasionally has an accident (only wet, thank heavens!) and is such a trooper. It's pretty weird going on car trips to Salt Lake, Bear Lake, etc and having her in dry panties the whole day. She is getting so big!
Jackson is reading! No wonder as he adores his dad, who reads EVERY CHANCE HE GETS.
Terrel turned 60! He and Mckay did the right thing by visiting us to celebrate!
And last but certainly not least, as it is the reason we have a roof over our heads, is Adam got a promotion to Senior Accountant. Look at that fancy office with a window! He is amazing - I can't believe he hasn't gone crazy with how busy he has been this semester.

a cheerleader and another monkey

2009-10-31T22:28:00.000-06:00

Mckay came to hang out this year. It is always so fun to have him around; Xbox and all.
Some things to remember for future Halloweens:
"I want to wear a monkey suit like Jack!" (Lily)
"Sabrina, we are NOT going to be the lame family in the neighborhood and run out of candy. We need like 5 more bags."
Adam doubled over and me laughing so hard I cried at the replay of my attempt to play Halo.
And synonymous with Halloween: Britt's birthday. She doubled the long drive from CA to SG to visit us a few weeks ago. It was so neat to see her, Eleanor and Greg.
I love love love having company. Having excuses to cook and sit around doing nothing but talking is my kind of weekend!

last night

2009-10-30T14:40:00.000-06:00

It was late, and I was tired. Adam wanted to contribute to the pumpkin carving contest at his work. (Unfortunately the StrongBad one he did with Lily a few weeks ago was too wrinkly.
We didn't get to bed until 11:30 p.m. Lily woke up at 3:00 a.m. wanting a drink of water.
And again at 3:30 a.m. and wanted to use the bathroom. I went in to get her and Jackson was awake. That never happens, so I got him out of his crib. He was covered in throw up.
So the nauseating smell, throwing up, crying, bottom wiping, laundry, diaper changing, discussions of what Jackson ate, etc etc took up the next hour.
I was putting new pajamas on Jackson and Adam put his hand on my arm and said "This is sure fun, huh?" And then he smiled.
And I smiled back and thought, it certainly is with you.

and he only has four teeth to brush

2009-10-25T14:23:00.000-06:00

togetherness and other activities

2009-10-09T09:10:00.000-06:00

Jack got his first haircut, so Lily had to follow suit:

We trimmed their locks to prepare for our family pictures out at Antelope Island. We saw a bison! It was super exciting - Adam took this picture of me immediately following his comments to "move over, he's walking towards you" - hence the worried eyebrows. We thought it was pretty funny (me after I was back in the car).

Mom and Dad were here and we took a little trip to Salt Lake to see Aunt Carol, who has the coolest piece of property ON THE PLANET (in my opinion). Just like when I was a little girl, Lily got to gather eggs with her 2nd? cousin Brooklyn, and Jack had fun watching (being mesmerized by) the chickens and playing in the sand.

Getting flu shots and suckers.

Macey's is our favorite place to shop cart-wise, followed by Smith's which has the little kid cart that Lily pushes around while I hand her food and she replies with "thanks!"

Adam is busy busy busy. It's nice having these two to keep me company.

in motion

2009-09-20T20:44:00.000-06:00

Two weeks in St. George (with a 2 day break in Ogden for Activities Day and work) got Jack on his feet.
It also gave Lily enough time to learn how boring her mom is compared to her Aunt Amanda.
St. George gave me time to fall in love with this little chunker and his mom's cooking, and a whole week with my mom and dad(happy 40th!) not at the office. I know, pretty crazy.
I got home bracing myself for a day getting caught up from so much traveling. Instead I found scrubbed sinks and counters. Clean floors. Laundry and dishes done. BEDS MADE (that seriously never happens). Flowers on the counter. I spent a day in shock from that gift from my mother-in-law, who was in town since Terrel got sent to the hospital from a crash in the Lotoja, with fractured ribs and a punctured lung. Seriously, she remembers being a young mother and boy does she know how to relieve the pressure points.

And being able to kiss this guy after a 6 day hiatus?

Icing on the cake.

why my sister makes me laugh

2009-09-19T21:19:00.000-06:00

Quotes from this weekend~
"Am I going to be renumerated for this sandwich?"
"AMANA'S EXPERIMENTALIST VIDEO"
At nice resturant: "Where do you get your chickens from?" "What are the ingredients in your house dressing? Apple cider vinegar?"

Jackson was born a year ago

2009-08-24T09:07:00.001-06:00

Crazy!!!! He's got his 2 upper and 2 lower teeth - Adam calls them 'chicklets.' He's been taking a few steps at a time, but refuses help and still prefers crawling, thank heavens. That kid is going to be a tough one to catch.He got a little chocolate cupcake that he ate half of before throwing the rest on the ground. Lily helped him blow out his candle, and would only eat her cupcakes after blowing out a candle for each one.
We had a wonderful day yesterday. We celebrated last night instead of today because Adam is starting school and will NEVER BE HOME.

Happy Birthday Jackson. We love you so much.

27

2009-08-18T08:58:00.000-06:00

Celebrations:
~went to a spin class
~phone calls with lots of friends and family
~beautiful gladiolas from Laura
~date with Adam

Pretty casual, but I enjoyed myself as always.

more weekend travels

2009-08-17T11:26:00.000-06:00

On Saturday we drove up to Idaho to visit Adam's Grandpa Ronald and Grandma Zelpha. I got to listen to the men's very interesting conversation, and Zelpha got her kitchen ransacked by the kids.On our way home, we stopped in Eden to check out the Balloon Festival's glow at dusk. I'm so glad we went! Lily was so excited to see all of the big balloons with the 'fire in them.'
Jackson was *so* excited. He just stared and stared, and started wiggling around wildly when the fire lit up. He also showed us his dance moves when we got close to the music stage.
It was a beautiful sight once the sky got darker.

eating oranges

2009-08-10T11:53:00.000-06:00

We are back to babysitting with the Markland's. Lily and Joseph get along fantastically - they are SO quick to give hugs and kisses and say sorry. It is crazy. These two are such cute friends.

Lily is getting to be such a big girl. She is talking like crazy, and is so willing to help out with anything and everything. She is following in her father's footsteps to be a big tease, and will giggle and laugh so easily. She is really good at including Jack, and is so darn independent. Last night I was hurrying through bedtime, and put her toothbrush in her mouth. She spit it out on the ground and yelled "My do it!". And although she can be cuddly sometimes, apparently we are too affectionate: lately when Adam goes to give her a good night kiss, she stops him and says "Just one Daddy! Just one kiss." I really need to get it on film so we can show her when she's dating.

busy

2009-08-09T11:54:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a pretty good day, except when I ran over a dog. Adam and I went to Huntsville in the morning and went on a short bike ride up to the Monastery. It is so beautiful up there.Later that night we went back up to Eden to go to Music in the Mountains. Jon Schmidt was playing, it was so awesome. Both kids were very happy and hyper the entire time, despite me trying to keep them wrapped up since it was a bit cold. Lily was all over the place, and was a chatterbox the entire way home. I tried to get Adam to admit how cooler that activity was than watching a movie.
But he was a bit reluctant.

Stupid Ogden Valley needs to stop naming things after wolves. I followed signs to Wolf Creek, thinking it would take me to Wolf Mountain; on the way to fix my mistake I ran over a beagle. It was very terrifying, but apparently this one was like a brick. I talked to the owners today and they said the vet just popped a dislocated tendon/shoulder back in, and that was it. He sure did a number on our fender though, much to Adam's dismay. In other news, Jack had quite a week. I'm sure this will make me sound pretty stupid, but really, Lily did not give me any practice for this kind of thing. He is such a climber - always wanting to get higher. He has been playing in the dishwasher for a few months now, but he almost fell off the other day. He figured out how to get out of a number of buckles - shopping cart, feeding chair... yes, he fell off the counter after climbing out of his chair. He got stung by a wasp. He threw his first significant tantrum after I brought him inside - he LOVES to be outside. He's also working on his 4th tooth. So I'm thinking I really need to get my act together.

Mom and Dad came up to visit a while ago. We celebrated Dad's birthday - 66 yrs! It was so nice to have them here. Lily gets so excited to see them, and I love to have the company. I'm hoping we'll have more visitors soon. I can't believe summer is almost over.
Here is the birthday boy - he is extremely happy to be getting his social security checks in just a few months!

celebrating utah

2009-07-27T13:31:00.000-06:00

Some Pioneer weekend festivities:

Ogden RodeoLily with a teensy shot of the Budweiser Clydesdales - such beautiful horses!Jackson happy to be almost home. Both of the kids were pretty good
considering how late we stayed up.Lily was SO excited when the motor bikes did their jumps. She
talked the entire way home about how high they flew and how they
finished with a "slide."

Free Bagel Friday at Einsteins. We bring our own juice and cream cheese. Lily gets so excited to go out for breakfast. It was nice that Adam didn't have to leave for work like normal. Lily thought that was pretty cool he wasn't going 'bye-bye.'Sparklers! My favorite.

We went to Salt Lake on Saturday for a wedding shower for my cousin Shawn and his fiancee Mady. So beautiful, with such yummy food. We came down a bit early and spent some time at Liberty Park, then took the kids to Monsters vs. Aliens. They both fell asleep.

Adam isn't too happy about having a 5 day work week - it's been a while for him.

jumping the gun

2009-07-21T14:33:00.000-06:00

Last week Adam wanted to buy a front facing car seat for Jack. I said we should wait until he is a year old, and Adam replied "He's practically a year old. Do you think they cross some magical threshold on their birthday?" I personally would enjoy having him the age of "zero", like his cousin Claire says, for a bit longer.Because this boy has me wrapped around his little finger.

au naturale

2009-07-21T14:16:00.001-06:00

My mom says that she wishes she wouldn't have forced Nathan to get dressed every day when he didn't want to. So I figured I would learn from this and therefore Lily is naked most of every day we're at home. She is totally in her element without clothes. In St. George she took them off at the wedding, and pretty much every where we stopped for more than 30 minutes. She thinks she is pretty tricky - she spills water on herself and then gives the excuse that her clothes got wet.Last night for FHE we went downtown to walk around and look at the Pioneer Day horses, and to play some games at the arcade. Lily and Jack saw the fountains outside of the Salomon Center, and of course wanted some water time. Lily immediately took off her dress, but we pulled the plug when she wanted her diaper off too. She screamed the rest of the way home - I asked Adam if he thought it was normal, or if we deprived her too much, or if it was maybe a bit extreme. He thought it was extreme - he was a bit ticked after the first 15 minutes of her tantrum, while I was just happy to have an adult to talk to so I could completely ignore her. :) I like to think it is normal, you just never see other kids like that because their parents take them out of public. Right???

going, going, and gone

2009-07-20T14:54:00.000-06:00

Last week at a neighbor's birthday party, someone joked about losing brain cells from nursing. I turned to Adam and said "It's totally true! Just wait until I'm done with Jackson, I'm going to be quick as a ...[wait for it]... wit!"

Adam enjoyed that one immensely.

swim swim swim

2009-07-19T20:20:00.000-06:00

Lily and Jack's recent favorite activity. We spent quite a lot of time at the Slemboski's pool in St. George last weekend. Jack loved the slide, and once Lily was in Jack's holder, she loved it too. I was hiding inside with the air conditioning. I can't believe how freaking hot it was down there. I felt like I was constantly drinking. One night we had Janet babysit and we went up to Skyline to look at the city and enjoy some ice cream. It was around 10 p.m. - I guessed it was about 90 degrees - Janet's car said 101. The original purpose of our trip was to see Jordan and Brook get married. So nice, except for we brought a play-keychain that Lily pushed right in the middle of the ceremony so there was a nice 'death ray' sound before Brook said yes. Adam insisted on bringing the kids - I was fully against it. :)

We also got to see our now 2nd most recent nephew, Jesse and Mindy's son Lincoln Hunter. He was still in the NICU when we went to visit, but what a cutie. So tiny. We're (hopefully) not going back until September, so I was happy that we got to see him. And we're so glad he's home now. Congratulations to his parents!And Liz had her baby, too! She was at the hospital at 10:05 p.m. and had him at 11:05 p.m., but managed to get an epidural. I really really hope I forget that fact the next time I'm in labor... I haven't seen any pictures, but they named him Chase Sterling. I can't wait to meet him!

To Mom, From Lily: While You Were Nursing

2009-07-13T16:41:00.001-06:00

how many times before it's a tradition?

2009-07-08T17:17:00.000-06:00

When I was younger, and we went to St. George from Salt Lake for vacations, we always stopped in Fillmore to eat fried chicken and potato wedges. Back when they had one gas station with the bathrooms outside, and us girls would freeze while the men breezed in and out. Adam and I have stopped for fried chicken a time or two, but it's not really our thing. So we have started stopping in Santaquin at the Red Barn on our St. George trips, and it is wonderful! (Adam and Lily sharing some squeaky cheese - Jackson and I were in the car playing and eating ice cream)

All of the yummy taste tests, fresh pressed apple juice, little spoons of *Aggie* ice cream - the kids love it, and we let them stretch out a bit. It is the perfect little rest for them, we fill up the car with gas, and we haven't had to make a second stop since.

So much nicer than screaming!

too much time inbetween

2009-07-06T15:00:00.000-06:00

Nathan and Alicia finally made it to Utah! So we were able to meet little Eve. What a beauty! She didn't warm up to me too much (I got to hold her once)....and cried a lot when Jack tousled her hair or yelled at her....and didn't really appreciate Lily taking her toys and yogurt puffs....but it was so neat to see her. And her parents, who brought me gorgeous earrings as a thank you for having them stay here. I can't wait until Thanksgiving; I think Eve, Jack and Henry will play really well together.

Here is Nathan wishing he had had twins:But he'll probably settle for just having 2 more real fast so he can have lots of moments like this.Just kidding. (Especially since they pay ~$15 an hour for babysitters!!!! Thank heavens for 11 year old girls.) I totally didn't think to get a picture of Adam and Eve. Maybe in November!

storm views

2009-07-01T09:36:00.000-06:00

I am really missing June. That rain was wonderful.
I love our front porch view. It is so nice to sit outside on spring and summer nights and enjoy the perfect Utah weather!

front row view

2009-06-30T10:57:00.000-06:00

Jackson loves being outside and LOVES watching his Dad do pretty much anything. I wasn't dressed yet (hence the screen) so this was my solution to not having a fussy baby inside with me. Lily just loves strollers, so she joined the ride.

remembering

2009-06-21T20:04:00.000-06:00

A long, long time ago, when Adam and I were just starting to hang out together, I went to his house to pick him up. Some kids came to answer the door, with Adam following them. One of them pushed the screen door open, and Adam stood behind one of his nieces, probably Berlyn, to tell me he was almost ready. As he talked to me, he put his hand on Berlyn's head while she stood there, and I was kind of taken aback by how gentle the action was (we were in high school - I didn't see too much softness in the boys I hung out with). Years later, when we were talking about getting married, I kept on thinking back to that memory and how much that small gesture touched me - looking back now, it was a major factor in making the decision to marry him; I wanted someone who would be a good father and remembering that time seemed to seal the deal for me.(Lily is perpetually naked except for shoes so she can go outside. She hides in the bathroom and puts her clothes down the laundry chute - the only times I'm not grateful for not having to haul dirty clothes downstairs)

So here we are two kids later. I have watched countless interactions of him with Lily and Jackson that show the same tenderness that impressed me then and lifts my heart with love for him now. I am so glad he is the father of my children. He has lived up to my expectations of being a great dad. I love you Adam, and hope you had a wonderful Father's Day filled with reminders of how much we appreciate you.

one cute bather

2009-06-10T12:57:00.000-06:00

When Amanda was here, she bathed Henry in our sink. I had totally forgotten that option! Poor Jackson only gets to shower with his Dad "occasionally" (read: not often enough). So a few days later we tried it out with great success.
I forgot some last minute details after taking off his diaper. He currently loves playing in the dishwasher.The kids *love* playing on our bed, especially now that we have our summer time satin sheets. Helps out with having no air conditioner.

company

2009-06-09T13:11:00.000-06:00

Amanda and Henry have come and gone. It was such a great week! It was so nice to have someone around to go on walks with, cook with, and just talk to. We made a bit too many treats, but went on long walks by the river and Beus Pond to (partly) make up for it.One of Amanda's favorite (I'm pretty sure it was her idea) games to play when we were younger was "Queen Sabrina." :D It was an awesome game. I'm sure that is why she is such a good cook today - she would obey my every command, including making treats for me. So I tried to switch roles last week, and it was totally working until a chocolate cake we made spilled *way* over while cooking and suddenly I was on the phone and she was scrubbing my oven. I guess some things never change. I hope the fact I did the dishes all week, including all 30 bowls she used to make strawberry cupcakes, was a nice break for her (I tried to commandeer the cooking after that).Lily absolutely adores Amanda. She thought it was pretty darn neat every morning that she and Henry were still around.We successfully got all 3 car seats in. That means no van for our next baby. Yahoo!

flying high

2009-06-04T21:56:00.001-06:00

Lily loves loves loves swinging. Jackson loves wood chips. I love Saturdays when we have a plan to spend time as a family. Adam loves having weekends at home instead of traveling.

I am currently having a beautiful week with Amanda, who is visiting from Colorado. I am really enjoying having her around.

my "baby"

2009-06-02T13:33:00.000-06:00

Lily is 2 1/2 years old. She is still such a joy to me, while of course exercising her right for "opposition in all things," keeping my sanity on edge with her toddler ways. Sometimes to tease her I will hold her like a baby and sing "Rock-a-bye Baby" - she thinks it's pretty funny, and will sometimes hold her doll or even our shampoo bottles in the shower and sing to them, too. And even though she can drive me crazy (all day if we are in the right mood), I can't remember what life was like without her and I can't believe how much more I love her than when she was first born. That said, thank heaven for prayers - who knows what life would be like without being able to ask for patience.

"5 OK years"

2009-05-26T11:08:00.001-06:00

That is Adam's reply to how long we've been married. We got so incredibly spoiled this weekend. Janet used her discount to get us a free room (it was 150 sq.ft. bigger than the apartment we lived in for two years) at Green Valley Spa for two nights, and offered to babysit the kids. WOW. Talk about relaxation. Two nights in a row with absolutely no danger whatsoever of being woken up. Going out to eat without having to protect the salt and pepper shakers, drinks, hot plates, etc etc - and having a normal conversation. Being able to empty my purse of diapers and wipes and toys and snacks and nursing covers - for TWO DAYS. Two mornings not having to get the kids ready. Two days of changing 1 diaper instead of 7 or 8 (we went back and forth so I could nurse Jack). Two days of my brain not being frazzled by two-year old tantrums. I got to sit in a hot tub. I can't remember the last time that happened. It was seriously an incredible weekend. I was able to just sit and do nothing. So awesome. Not to mention how beautiful it smelled at the spa. There was honeysuckle EVERYWHERE. It was amazing just to breathe.Lily couldn't have cared less that we were gone. She had tons of cousins to play with and tons of treats to eat. So I totally agree with my mom - "That Janet is a saint." She was also taking care of a few other babies while their parents were off relaxing as well. Here's to Mimi and Papa! Thank you so much for everything.

long gone

2009-05-26T10:56:00.001-06:00

For our anniversary and to celebrate not having a humongous bill from Jack's hospital stay, Adam surprised me with a new do. He apparently was attached to my long hair, and also didn't trust that I could spend enough time on short hair to look good. "You know, you're going to have to spend more than 5 minutes on it." I was so nervous, but after a week of having my hair down and Jackson and Lily yanking on it every chance they got, I was ready for a change. I also ended up being able to donate my hair to Locks of Love - that made it so much easier! 13 inches - although if I had cut it before nursing Jackson it probably would have been twice as thick.

marathon

2009-05-26T10:26:00.000-06:00

Mckay and his roommate ran the Ogden Marathon last weekend. Mckay took another friend's spot last minute - he decided the night before he would run it. Crazy!We also made a last minute decision to go and see if we could find him downtown. We had no idea when the race started or how long it would take, but he came through the finish line within 10 minutes of us getting there.Lily was very upset that Jack was in the stroller. She finally relented to walking only if she - and ONLY she - could push him. That was a long walk back to the car.

wide open spaces

2009-05-15T22:17:00.001-06:00

It is finished.

Particularly the bathroom. Here are some before and after pics.Two and a half years and tons of help and work. I could hardly breathe I was so excited once the carpet installers left. The kids seem pretty happy about it too.

desert bloom

2009-05-13T22:14:00.000-06:00

I love St. George in May. I don't think I ever noticed how colorful the flowers can be this time of year.

in other words....

2009-05-12T22:49:00.000-06:00

Adam has been working until 9 pm for the past few weeks and I haven't bothered mowing the lawn.
He asked me the other day if I thought that maybe this weekend would be a pretty good time for him to work on the yard.
I said only if he felt like it.
Lily loves dandelions. I would be very happy for her except she thinks it's cool to bring them in the house.
Yes that is a screwdriver. She was helping me fix the vacuum.

sg

2009-05-10T21:30:00.000-06:00

We are back from St. George once again. I "surprised" Adam with tickets to Brian Regan out in Tuacahn. His family had all bought tickets so he guessed what it was back in April though. It is hard to be tricky with him. It was pretty neat, although Adam and I liked the pre-show comedian the best. It was wonderful being back at Tuacahn. You can't beat the beauty of that back drop (or Ashley's gorgeous hair!). It was such nice weather too. I remember when I was younger I would sweat so bad when I went to shows out there - but that was later in the summer.We took the kids swimming out in Kayenta and at Mom and Dad's. Lily was pretty apprehensive the first time, but once she was with her cousin Brooklyn she was much less scared. Jack was easy breezy both times. He is quite a cutie and it is so freaking nice that he's not sick anymore. Janet and Terrel have a golf cart to drive to the swimming pool, and Lily loves taking rides in it. Adam lets her help him steer and choose which way to go, so she gets very involved.We got to see the Tyler's as well. Here is my cute pregnant sister Liz. Always in maternity fashion! The St. George City Library has some super fun fountains to help cool off in the heat. It was nice to be down there. I got to spend some time with my parents before Adam arrived, which is always a treat. I also got to spend an evening with Janet, Natalie, Ashley, Becca, and Mindy. We were going to go to Confessions of a Shopaholic, but the theatre was closed so we went to TJ Maxx and out for frozen yogurt. It was a lot of fun! I love girls' night out and afterwards was kind of glad the movie thing didn't work out.

fruits of fall

2009-05-01T22:10:00.000-06:00

This pictures makes me so happy. After planting bulbs last fall with Ethan and Brooklyn, I started waking up at night having panic attacks that while helping me they put the bulbs upside down. (I have quite a few issues about gardening.)

work

2009-04-23T20:13:00.001-06:00

Today was Take Your Sons and Daughters To Work Day. I took advantage to save some babysitting hours. Plus Lily apparently liked the idea of going to "Mom's work". It would have been awesome if I hadn't forgotten the wall plug for her DVD player. Good thing it was a short day!
Here she is enjoying the horses in Brigham City.

catch up

2009-04-20T14:24:00.000-06:00

We spent the weekend in St. George. Yesterday I was glad to come home. Jack is still a bit under the weather, which means I get no sleep, and I don't feel too great either. So it wasn't the best vacation - although I think Adam would disagree:Here's Adam after 5 hours of paintballing. I couldn't believe the welts on his legs and arms! Later that day he took Lily to the Kite Festival while Jack and I napped. Lily loves spending time with her aunts and uncles. (Thanks Mindy for the pictures!)
I have to admit - Lily was amazing this trip. Usually it is a nightmare to get her to sleep when we're in St. George, since there's so much going on and she *hates* the pack'n'play. This time I set aside a spot on the ground for "Lily's bed" and when she wanted to go to bed for a nap and bedtime, she would.
And here is spoiled Jack. He got up so much at night I brought him in the king sized bed. He liked taking naps here, and slept good during the day.
This was my last weekend with Amanda before she moves to Colorado. It's so sad to think about. Adam said as long as we're living away from family, we might as well live in New York or something. I kind of agree.

did you hear anything?

2009-04-08T20:11:00.000-06:00

Today was demolition day. My cousin Andrew and uncle Kevin came and took out the tile in our basement. It involved a jackhammer and a LOT of noise for about 6 hours. Lily and Jack didn't really mind. They both took naps during the racket - I couldn't believe it!Sunday night was actually the first night we attempted to have them in the same room. After today, I don't know why I was so worried about them waking each other up. It has been okay so far, and now that I know what Lily can sleep through, I'm going to let Jack cry himself back to sleep if he wakes up again.
I love having them together. I think the older Jack gets the more fun they are going to have when they wake up in the morning. I also think Lily likes not being alone. They are good kids.

some really, REALLY, really happy thoughts

2009-04-01T09:06:00.000-06:00

~ I slept in my bed from 10:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m. last night after being awake with 2 or 3 naps since 1:00 a.m. yesterday morning.
~ When I am holding Jackson he doesn't have an IV set up taped to his head with the tube attached to a machine, or an oxygen tube taped to both sides of his head coming down to his nose, or a tube attached to his foot to monitor his oxygen levels and heart rate. That was tricky walking around!
~ I got "free" breakfast, lunch and dinner - I totally take advantage of that food at Ogden Regional. Salmon, soup, salad, dessert, juice - I really piled it on. So yummy.
~ We got "free" Pampers diapers and wipes.
~ We don't know what our bill will be yet.
~ Jackson is nursing after not eating for 12 hrs straight yesterday.
~ Adam apparently thinks I am emotional supermom. When I went to call a neighbor to come sleep with Lily while we went to the ER, he said "You can go - I'll stay here." (I take that as a compliment).
~ Jackson's spinal fluid is clear - no meningitis! The pediatrician said he likely has a virus going around like RSV that lasts for 4-5 days - we only have like 1 or 2 left!
~ I have a slightly larger capacity for compassion of parents with sick kids. I can't imagine how it would have felt if something had gone really wrong.
~ Lily was good for Tamara yesterday - all 11 hours. (Or so she said...)
~ We have amazing families. I love my siblings.
~ Adam is my comfort haven. I could not have survived yesterday without him.

who knew?

2009-03-22T12:34:00.000-06:00

Adam and I were talking today, and at one point I asked him how he came to a certain conclusion - "Is it intuition? A feeling?" He replied, "Yes. It's my eighth sense."

sometimes it feels like i have 3 kids

2009-03-22T12:25:00.000-06:00

Today in RS we talked about the importance of Sacrament meeting; women were giving some really nice ideas for keeping your kids reverent and feeling the Spirit, etc. So right before the water was blessed, when I leaned over to tell Lily to fold her arms, I was pretty excited to see she was already doing it. Before I could be too proud of my reverent family, though, Adam leaned over and whispered "Do you think that (a certain neighbor) could do the bald thing?"

avoiding bedtime and having to wake up

2009-03-20T12:41:00.001-06:00

Lily would read all night with us if it meant not going to bed. She was sleeping in her big bed for a while until Adam said no more - she would fall asleep on our floor once we were done reading at 10 pm or so. Jackson loves his sister. I wouldn't be surprised if these guys don't nap because they're constantly trying to wake each other up to play. (Although Adam is the one who put Jack there to wake up Lily.)

oddities

2009-03-13T13:19:00.000-06:00

I have been tagged a few different places for some random facts.

1. I skipped 2nd grade.
2. I LOVE to dance, play soccer, and swim, but I'm not too hot in any of those areas.
3. I was Mathematics Sterling Scholar in high school, got my bachelor's degree in English Literature, and am currently working in the science arena making dietary recommendations. I like to think this makes me well rounded, but in reality it just accentuates my inability to focus.
4. I am incredibly gullible - really. I will believe almost anything until I repeat the story and realize how stupid it sounds. This goes for anything but politics. Then I don't believe anything.
5. I have taken classes at 5 different colleges.
6. Besides the hormone imbalance and inability to exercise, I love the last month or two of pregnancy.
7. I streaked my hair purple (Wild Flower) when I was going to school in New Hampshire. Hey, at least I didn't shave my head like Liz did in Massachusetts. We Dabneys seem to have hair issues.
8. My mother-in-law was my Young Women's leader - I only attended Sacrament during that time, and she centered an activity around bringing me back into the fold. Although I'm pretty sure they like me now, I will never believe they weren't worried when Adam wanted to marry me.
9. I worked as a secretary to the Presiding Juvenile Court Judge in Salt Lake. After a year in Juvenile Court, not much surprises me about human behavior. (For the defendants or government workers.)
10. I don't worry much about my appearance - I don't wear makeup most days and put my hair in a bun 6 out of 7 days a week. I think this stems from Adam still kissing me when I was pregnant with braces. I am so lucky.

back

2009-03-09T13:54:00.000-06:00

I just got back from 7 days in sunny St. George. Perfect time to leave the north. It was a crazy busy trip, but I got in some visits with my cousin Amy, some fun conversations with my sister-in-law Peggy about our husband-brothers and met my newest nephew Charlie, visited Vickie and her 3 day old son Liam, and visited Trav and Harmony and their week old daughter Alida. So many babies! Also I got to go swimming and tried out my first spinning class with Dad, which was pretty awesome. Plus my cousin Alex miraculously retrieved our data off of our crashed hard drive so I picked that up - hooray! Other than that, Lily and Jack spent 4-6 hours a day with their Mimi while I drove between Kayenta, Dixie Downs, Lowe's, Home Depot and Jones Paint and Glass about 23 times racking up about 300 miles on Janet's Audi. I was double homesick for this trip. It is hard to see our first home in someone else's hands without lots of possesive feelings.

It is super nice to be home. Even nicer to sleep with Adam instead of Lily, who invariably ended up on my pillow with at least part of her body slumped over my head a few times a night. She was very confused last night when we wouldn't let her in our bed. Adam had the house cleaned and dinner made last night - so wonderful!

cousins

2009-02-13T14:23:00.000-07:00

Henry and Jack.

Meanwhile, I was hanging out with my cousins and sister (*so* wonderful that Adam watched Lily all day - although listening to their itinerary I got a bit jealous they did so much. Maybe I should try throwing some tantrums when Adam attempts to read and he'll plan some fun activities for us). Fun times. I realized this morning that Amy is moving to St. George this month, Amanda to Colorado in May, and Jenny to Wisconsin in August. So sad!

issues

2009-02-09T20:03:00.001-07:00

Jack is now sitting up. To celebrate, I bought him a floor gym.

In other words, I think I am unconsciously delaying my children's development because I refuse to accept the fact that they are growing up.

(Plus, Ikea had these cute floor gyms for only $25, and we didn't have one).

final (almost) farewell

2009-01-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

Lily is down to only having her binky while she sleeps. Just about 8 months late, but oh well. It has been wonderful having her talking more - her frustration from not being able to communicate is vastly lowering.

So farewell to the binky ever being in the play area. :)