What's New in the Land of Crazy?

It's Coming......

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, we haven't announced a name for the baby yet, and we are working on it, but we only have until tomorrow to decide before we have to go to more trouble and file things ourselves. So needless to say we will be deciding today what this little baby boy will be named. We have gotten many tisks from everyone for keep baby #3's fans waiting. Oh, and I will post a few pics when we announce the name. Zack and I were laughing that everyone will probably be disappointed after all the suspense and hype, it will just be...."oh. huh." Ha, ha.

Life has just been so crazy since coming home from the hospital with basically everyone in the house being sick with a cold and a new baby, and 2 other kids to take care of and Zack starting teaching his 2 classes. I think naming baby was sort of moved down on the list of things to do.

So until tomorrow.....

Pregnancy is winning......but not for long!

2012-01-11T12:09:00.000-08:00

I went to the Dr. yesterday and I am 2.5 cm dilated, 80% thinned out and I'm 100% uncomfortable, and 110% sick of being pregnant! (Zack is now rolling his eyes, he doesn't believe in 110%, for him it ends at 100%. So sorry to all of you that think you gave 110% in your running, job assignment, church calling......Zack just doesn't believe you!) But in this case I think there is exception, I think the last week or so of pregnancy you deserve to say that you are 100+ whatever done being pregnant. In my opinion it's what has to happen in order for you to actually be okay with labor and delivery. You get to the point that you are SO sick of it that you don't care, you just want to get it OUT!

I have been thinking a lot the last couple of days about how crummy pregnancy is. I'm tired, I'm huge, I'm uncomfortable, I can barely bend over. I just feel like an old lady. I crack and creak and pant going up stairs or heck even walking on flat surfaces. I have to make a 20 point turn to roll over in bed at night. It takes me about 5 min. to hoist myself out of the couch. I waddle, yes, I waddle. The list could go on, I'll spare the annoying details. Let's just say, I am looking forward to baby #3 coming out just for the mere fact that I hopefully won't feel like a decrepit old grandma anymore. I can't wait to bend over and not groan or to jump up and do.....well anything.....there is not jumping up for anything at this point. It's amazing that we ladies actually consent to do this more than once! Okay, well maybe the smart ones don't. ha, ha.

But the beauty that I am hanging on to at this point is that I have a date set. I'm going in next wed. to have this baby unless it comes on it's own before then and it will be all over! Happy Day! Let the coundown begin!

Of course then I have to take care of a baby. Dang. It's not really looking like a win-win at this point. Hmmmm......anyone else realizing that this phase of life is extremely exhausting? But seriously, we are excited and more than a little bit scared to become a family of 5, but I'm sure it's all going to be great! But most importantly I will hopefully start feeling myself again!

Anyone else curious to see what this baby is going to look like? Or what his name is going to be? I know we are! Maybe he will come out with a name tag on! Wouldn't that be awesome!

And because no post would be complete without a little adorableness.....

Happy New Year!!!

2012-01-05T10:15:00.000-08:00

I wanted to add this picture Oliver drew for Thanksgiving, I thought he did a great job!

Well Happy New Year one and all! I think 2012 is promising to be a wild year for our family. We've got baby coming soon which always seems to turn life upside down and then Zack scouting out for a job in academia that will hopefully be taking us somewhere for the fall time and who knows what else will happen in between! There is a lot of anticipation of the unknown going on around here which is both exciting and scary at the same time! So here we come 2012.....

But of course I'm always behind and therefore recapping, so here goes a little of Christmas. I don't have the best pictures because most of them are on Zack's camera which I don't know how to download on this computer. But here is what happened. No presents were put out before Christmas morning for the above pictured reason. Ruby strikes again, no present would have been left unopened if she could get her hands on it.
In fact this sweet face pretty much is a toddler of mischief and if there is something she can find to get into, well......consider it done! 5 packages of fruit snacks anyone?
We made some "gingerbread" houses which was a highlight for Oliver.
Ruby's was a bit.....unique......but look at that pouty face! Just imagine a little voice saying, "I do it."
Dad tried to help, but every effort was thwarted. Maybe next year!
Here is Ruby sporting her new dress from Bubbie and Grandpa and a new frog too. Thank you!
Remember Glamour Shots? This picture sort of looks like a Glamour shot, it cracks me up! Why were those SO popular? Anyway, we had a fun Christmas morning seeing what Santa brought and then going to church and then just hanging out at home with a few friends, not to mention a cameo appearance by our friend Chloe! All in all it was a great day. But we did miss our family.

Ruby wearing her "Wonder Pets" hat as she calls it.

So anyway, I can't promise more updating in 2012 since it all depends on how baby #3 finds his place in our family, nor can I promise a lot of goals to be set and accomplished since there are so many new factors at play this year, but I do hope to have as much fun in 2012 as 2011 with friends and family alike and I wish you all HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Naming Sickness

2011-12-15T12:51:00.000-08:00

We are living in the sick house right now. I think for the past month, someone has been sick. But now finally this last week I have been sick and it has been completely miserable. I'm sure not only for me and my 8 month pregnant body, because I know we have been, but also for my poor kids getting a grouchy non-responsive mom and for Zack who comes home to a disaster everyday followed by kids needing some serious attention, followed by no dinner even started yet, and then a night full of me coughing in bed. Not to mention the seriously HUGE pile of laundry that is taking over our bedroom. Hey at least there are clean clothes right? I think that's a least something.....I think the count is up to like 7 loads all sitting there piled up. Yikes. Summary: Pregnancy and sickness should not be mixed. The poor baby is probably wondering (if they can wonder at this point) what in the world is going on, what's all the shaking during his nap time. I sort of feel like Santa Claus when I cough, which is constantly, my belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly! sigh. Sickness please GO AWAY!! Ugh.

But otherwise on my mind is the fact that we have no name for our child that will be here in 1 month. I mean this isn't really unusual for us, we are not thus far pre-birth namers, nor are we in a hurry post birth but with the first 2 we at least had it narrowed down to 2 names before going to the hospital that we liked and wanted to pick from. This kid? We got NOTHING. I'm afraid baby #3 is going to be a no name for awhile if we don't figure something out! We don't even really have a list of possibilities. It's kind of sad. I mean we have written a few down, but there is nothing on there that either of us is really attached to, I think most of them are on there because we don't want the paper to be blank. SIGH. Boy names stink. Any suggestions?

Well no one has come up with anything yet except for Oliver. His votes are either "Mr. G" or "City Kid." For no apparent reason, those are his picks. So there you have it. I think we will go with City Kid since Mr. G just sounds like some sort of thug or rapper. Won't the nurses be surprised when we tell them that City Kid has arrived! ha, ha. Well I guess here's to hoping we come up with another alternative!

A New Nephew!

2011-12-02T12:14:00.001-08:00

I forgot to mention the most important news of November except my birthday of course! And that is that we have a new nephew and cousin!! My brother Greg and Kris Tina had their baby boy at long last on Nov. 19th! That's a pretty big deal for me since he's my only sibling, of course Zack has a big family, but I don't, so it's fun to have a new addition on my side. Now I get to share my birthday month with a cute little guy. His name is Henry and in true family fashion he's got some wild hair but unlike our kids it is blonde. It will be fun to have our 2 boys so close in age. So welcome little guy, we look forward to meeting you someday! And congrats Greg and Kris Tina!

(And I promise I will get your baby gift sent off before Christmas......what can I say? I'm 8 months pregnant! :) )

Today is THE day!!!

2011-12-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

Today is the day that SCHOOLS.....OUT.....FOR......EVER!!!! (for Zack that is!) Today he is defending his dissertation and that is it. Done. Finito. No more school. How exciting is that?! It's only 200 pages long if anyone wants a copy! Who knew you could say so much about dirt! ha, ha. We have been married for almost 9 years and he has been in school for the whole of it and now today Zack becomes a man. Okay, just kidding he was already a man, but today he becomes a Doctor! Dr. Zack, how about that. (Well technically graduation isn't until spring time, but that's just a formality.) So I'm sure he would like it if all of you would start referring to him as Dr. Zack! ha, ha.

So:

Congratulations Zack!!! We love you!!! We are so proud of you!

And good luck on the job hunt!

And of course what's a 2 month absense of posting without a few pics of the kids. And apparently we have no photos in Nov, so here is Halloween time. Oli the pirate and Ruby the pumpkin!

Some treats that grandparents sent for the kiddies were a hit.....
Me preggy at the ward party in the costume parade with Ruby stealing someone's gun in the background!

Balloon Boy!
Kids had fun carving the pumkin

Trip to the Bershire's

2011-10-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we took a little trip to the Berkshires. It was just a little over night trip to a place that we had been wanting to see since we moved to Mass and since it could be our last fall here (job options unknown) we thought this fall would be a good time to check it out. The Berkshires are only about 2 hours from where we live, so it wasn't far to go, but it was really beautiful and since the leaves were starting to turn it was fun to drive around all the little towns. We did some apple picking at a farm and of course some apple cider donuts to go with them and Oliver and I went on a tractor ride around the orchard. Then we went on a "Scenic" train ride. We thought the kids would really like that. It was fun to go on the train, but unfortunately the scenery wasn't quite what we had been hoping for! On the 1st half of the ride (40 min) we were only going at 10mph which was seriously slow considering that we were basically riding through the underbelly of some podunk towns. You know, where the train tracks usually run-- not through the pretty part of town. And then at the very end we broke out into some countryside for about 10 min. The we had a short break at a station and then got back on to some home. Thankfully on the ride back we were going about 20 mph so it passed much more quickly and seemed more enjoyable. But Oliver seemed to think it was fun for the most part. I just don't think it should be marketed as "scenic" but hey, who asked me?!

The next day we went to a fun pumpkin farm and the kids had fun looking around and doing some of the various activities there like a pumpkin car race and a hay ride. We also drove up to the top of Mount Greylock. Doesn't that just sound cool? And kind of spooky? It did to me. It was pretty at the top and they had a large memorial up there you could climb up. The leaves were pretty and it was a fun drive. We also went to a neat college in Williamstown that was a really cool college town with a neat old downtown where we ate lunch and then went to their art museum which had a really amazing collection despite the fact that it was a pretty small museum. But we made it through without the kids breaking anything, so it was a success!

All in all it was a great trip and fun for us to get out as a family.

(By the way- for parents- I think if you click on the individual pictures you can see them larger.)

Growing Up

2011-10-19T07:13:00.000-07:00

Do you ever have those days when you realize your kids are getting big?! I mean suddenly you look at them and they aren't babies anymore, they are just growing up! This has happened a lot to me lately. Oliver and Ruby are doing so many new things and changing all the time and as people always tell you when you have little kids, it's happening all too fast. (Excpet on those days when they are driving me crazy, and then I wish they could grow up a little faster! ha, ha.) So I thought I would do a little update on what they are both doing.

Oliver: He is getting SO tall and he is just looking like a big kid. Since starting Kindergarten he has learned so many new things SO fast. It's kind of amazing. In the last few weeks he is really getting good at writing his alphabet letters and he is even starting to spell some words on his own. His words he "knows" how to spell and write on his own according to him are: I and See. But he actually knows a few more since he likes to ask me how to spell things and then write them down. His favorite topic to do this with is superheros of course. I can't tell you how many times I have spelled S-P-I-D-E-R-M-A-N. He also likes to make Christmas lists a plenty!

He is also working on counting. Wow, there is a lot of counting going on at our house. A common scene going on around here is either Zack or me walking around the house doing something being followed closely behind by Oliver as he, "31-32-33-34-35-36-37-38-39- what comes after 39?" One of us, "40." Oliver, "40. 41-42-....." He is up in the hundreds now with a little help here and there. I can't say that it's not cute, because it is, but after a couple of hundreds following you around it can get on your nerves a little! So usually we have to impose a cut-off limit. Which is usually followed by Oliver saying, "but I just CAN'T stop! I just love to count!" How can you say no to that?

He also loves to have us make up "books" where we do pictures and make our own story. It ususally consists of a story about alien brothers and Christmas somehow. It's pretty cute. He loves to do crafts and art projects, too bad I'm not a more kid craft minded mom, I'll have to work on that! :) He love to play with other kids and is getting a lot less shy about making friends at the playground and places like that. All in all he is just a sweet, loving, sensitive child that loves his stuffed animals and has a real love of learning.

(These pictures were taken at Sturbridge Village near our town. Basically an Old village with all kinds of fun homes, blacksmith shops, general stores, etc....from back in the day. Anyway, Oliver I think had the most fun trying out one the the Children's games rolling the hoop with a stick. He did pretty good with some practice!)

Ruby: Oh Ruby, Ruby, Ruby....sigh. So adorable and yet such a menace! Wow, how 2 kids could be such opposites is kind of mind boggling! She is in many ways the complete opposite of Oliver. She is so snuggly and affectionate and yet she can find or make trouble faster than I can usually keep up with! She too is getting to be so tall, and of course she's always been a little chunky, so we are glad that is sticking around! :)

She loves to sing. Often in the car she will just start singing back there making up her own tunes and she usually sings herself to sleep in her crib. She can sing the alphabet song which is pretty adorable. (I need to get some video of that.) She also loves Twinkle Twinkle and Popcorn Popping.

She LOVES Oliver. Anything he does, she wants to do, anything he says she wants to say. She just loves him. She even loves the cartoons he likes just I think just because he likes them! Unfortunately the feelings aren't mutual with Oliver, but we are hoping that comes with time! ha, ha.

She loves to play hide and seek and of course she loves stuffed animals just like her big brother! She really likes to take off and put on clothes. She can do most things by herself and I often come in the room to find her dressed in Oliver's clothes! Recently she has been trying to jump, stand upside down, and she is such a funny runner which is pretty adorable since she just screams and throws her arms out!

And with all the writing and counting Oliver has been doing, she often has to do her "work" as well with markers and crayons, pens and pencils. She also loves Sesame Street which makes me happy and randomly The Gumby Movie on netflix, she loves that movie?! I don't get it, but that's kids.

She is quick to forgive and even quicker to tell you she loves you. Now if we could only get her to stop being naughty!

Soon to be outnumbered

2011-09-15T05:52:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like Ruby and I will soon be officially outnumbered in our house! Come January we will be welcoming a new baby boy to our house! Boys will rule the roost! Those for toilet seats left up as apposed to those for toilet seats left down will be out voted. (Well not really, I think Mom always gets the biggest vote in this right?)

Yes that's right, for those of you who didn't know I was expecting again, well, surprise! I'm expecting again. And for those of you who I haven't told the sex of the baby yet, well, surprise, IT'S A BOY!

We just found out last week. To be completely honest, Zack and I both had a twinge of disappointment that it wasn't another girl, but that quickly passed. (Don't feel bad kid, that has happened both times with the other kids too.) Now we are excited for a new addition and a baby brother! Oliver was VERY excited it was a boy. Not really that we are having a baby in general, but that it will be a boy. I think so far having a sister hasn't seemed to cool for him. Someday, someday! (we hope.)

So now we are starting to process of name picking. Is it me or are boy names WAY harder than girl names to pick out?!

Anyway, that's our news! Wish us luck as we approach going from a family of 4 to a family of 5!

First Day of School and Update!

2011-09-07T09:56:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Oliver's first day of School! I can't believe he's old enough to start kindergarten! When did he get so big? This wasn't the greatest picture, but in true family fashion we were of course running late and were hustling to get us all in the car so we didn't miss the first day of school! (Trying to start the year out right you see....) So far we haven't gotten to much out of him about how it was, Oliver is not a sharing kind when it comes to things like this, he likes to keep some things to himself. SIGH....parents want to know everything, doesn't he get that?! Anyway, he said he didn't think he was actually at school for 6 hours, he said it seemed shorter, so I guessed from that that it must have been okay! But I did get a big hug when I picked him up and he continued to hug my leg the whole way to the car. So I guess it was fun, but familiar is always good too! ha, ha.
Also yesterday we got 2 packages for Ruby's birthday. One from each grandparent! My parents sent her a little set of stroller, baby swing, and crib for dolls (or stuffed animals!) and Zack's parents sent some stuffed animals for each of the kids. All the gifts were well loved and played with immediately as you can see from this picture. A perfect gift pair! Even Oliver thought the doll stuff was pretty cool and wanted to play with it too. Thanks grandparents!!
Also, this weekend (Labor Day) we went with our ward on a camp out to Camp Joseph in Vermont. It is right next to the birth place of Joseph Smith. Above is a picture of the Monument.
Surprisingly and thankfully both the kids had a blast camping and both slept really well. I was really worried about that before heading out. Plus it is a 3 hr. drive to get there, but the kids did great!
We don't actually have a tent, so we opted for the luxurious cabin option. Don't get to excited, it's just big enough to fit 2 bunkbeds and a folding chair in between! No big, but it did the job. The pack and play fit just between the beds so we were all snug in there like little bugs.
Oliver was always looking for the perfect marshmallow stick for roasting and he and the other kids had fun, and A LOT of sugar! We camped 2 nights and 3 days and had a blast. It was fun to spend time with some people in the ward and also the camp was really beautiful. We didn't get to many pictures, I kept forgetting to carry around the camera with me. Oh well. On Sat. afternoon they put out a huge slip and slide for everyone to dive down. Oliver actually went on it! He's kind of wimp in that department, so I was surprised to look over from the playground to see him going down! He went down several times and thought it was a total blast! If it had been warmer, I may have gone myself! It was tempting! ;)
Also last week was Ruby's birthday! She turned the big 2! We didn't do much for her birthday except bake a cake because it was Sunday and there was a hurricane warning all day, so not too exciting, but look at those faces! Are they just the cutest or what?! Oliver was helping her blow out her candles.
And I couldn't help but put this picture in because I thought it was just cute. Oliver is talking to Grammie and Grandpa on the phone and I think they were telling jokes. It's hard to have family far away, but it's nice that he is getting old enough to talk on the phone!

Well that's my little update. Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!

Sickness and Boredom

2011-08-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Not much is going on at our house these days except for the past week Ruby has been extremely sick. Therefore, our past week was ruled by a baby terroriest that was very grumpy. She started throwing up last week and then started in with a really high fever. This coupled with something going on every time she went to the bathroom made for many a sleepless night for Zack and me. She was waking up every time she went to the bathroom and sometimes in between that. Well the throwing up ended but the fever and diaper problems kept on. Then finally on Sunday night the fever seemed to go away but something was still bothering her when she went to the bathroom and she was getting so upset. Luckily I had just read a scary article in my Parents Magazine about Urinary Tract Infections which said all the symptoms of a UTI are fever, throwing up, and loss of appetite. It got me thinking, and 3 doctors visits and a urine baggy later we had confirmation that it was a UTI. So she has been on antibiotics for 2 days now and we have a much happier baby on our hands. She is almost back to normal that fast! WHEW! Who would have thought? I sure am glad I read that article the other day. I mean a lot of the time the article just freak me out because you realize how many things can go wrong with a baby/child, but this time it actually helped!!

So last night we all got a whole nights rest and it was glorious! We sure are glad our little cutie is feeling better.

On the other hand, since Ruby has been sick for a week, the rest of us (mainly Oliver) have been super bored since we couldn't leave the house. This is no way to spend the last weeks of summer. So hopefully we will be back on track now and ready for some fun come the weekend!

That's why I finally changed the background on our blog! It's only been like 3 years or something. Well I just picked one because I'm kind of slow when it comes to computer stuff, but I did manage this one. So for now it will stay, hopefully I can learn some new tricks and spice it up a little!

Anyway, hope everyone is enjoying summer's last hoorah!

Fun in Utah!

2011-08-12T08:42:00.002-07:00

We are back from Utah, our vacation sadly over. Sniff.....but I guess don't feel too bad for us since it was a 5 week stay! It's good to be home and back in our own beds and able to get back to our usual routine. With that said, we are missing our family and friends already. It was a LONG flight, but eventually we made it home safe and sound. Utah, you were a good time!the kids had fun playing with all the "new" toys at Grammie and Grandpa's house.
We also took a fun, but rainy trip to the Hogle Zoo where we met Maggie and Porter once the rain let up. It was good to see them, even if it was short!
The kids took a ride on the carosel and of course Oliver chose.....
the PANDA! Big surprise. ( Ruby, was too scared to ride.)
Mostly we had fun just hanging out with family doing everyday things. I think my mom is explaining the war in Iraq here to Ruby. (Good luck with that Mom.)

The kids both loved seeing their cousin Gage, they had a lot of fun playing together.

Oliver and Uncle Greg both have a love of Star Wars and Legos making them a great pair, and a perfect birthday gift!! Oliver turned 5 while we were there and we had a fun party in Provo Canyon, pinata and all. Fun was had by all. We miss you all!

Oops......revisiting Easter and Mother's Day!

2011-07-20T12:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, we all know I'm slow and I would have just skipped some of these pictures and moved on since it is WAY past but some of them are cute and deserve a little recap!!! Indulge me.....

Grammie and Grandpa sent us an Easter package that had some funny bunny ears that we had a lot of fun wearing around

And they sent a new back pack for Oliver filled with fun easter things! Plus candy for us all to share! Yum. Thanks!
Oliver at the ward Easter Egg Hunt

It was rainy so it had to be moved inside at the last minute. Bummer. But it was still a hit.

Moving on to Mother's Day, we had the Wulf's over for dinner and Maggi brought a tasty ice cream cake.
Here Phil is feeding some cake to a very eager Ruby! If you think this is bad, you should have seen her attacking the steak that he shared with her! This girl loves to eat, and apparently loves steak! Sorry Phil, I think he may have only gotten 1/2 of his steak after sharing with Ruby!
That's the price you pay for sitting by Ruby.....food WILL be shared!
This is a dress I made for a baby shower for my friend Amber, I thought it turned out cute, but my model wasn't really working with me! How do people on blogs get their kids to do all those perfect pictures???

Well that's my old picture update. I'm catching up, we are on vacation in Utah and so hopefully I will get us back on track for current events! Stay tuned!

Some pics of my little cuties......

2011-05-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

The weather has finally gotten good enough to make some trips to the park!! Yay springtime!! Ruby and Oliver have been really enjoying the playground. Oliver has been making new friends with kids and having fun, and Ruby is discovering a love of the slide!!
This little girl love a good slide! She has to be torn away when it's time to go home.
Oliver finally discovered that he was "big enough" to climb up all the at the playground and it's made the park much more fun for all of us!

I guess wild hair runs in the family! Ruby sort of looks like one of the Beatles!

Hmmmm.....what can I say? I seem to get this face a lot! ha, ha

Our First Field Trip

2011-05-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

Oliver and I went on our first school field trip of his academic career!! It was so much fun. His preschool teacher got a grant for the local Ecotarium and the Audobon Society to come to her class and teach the kids a number of times during the year about nature and animals, and then at the end of the series the kids got to go on a trip to each of the places. So first we went to the Ecotarium. It was a quick trip since preschool only lasts 2 1/2 hours and you have to travel to and from, but the kids thought it was AWESOME!!! I think they were more excited about riding on the bus than anything. They were cracking me up. They were all just chattering away about riding on the bus and how cool it was and how big it was and how they didn't have to wear seat belts, etc.... pretty funny.
They got to take a train ride around the grounds and see a few of the outdoor animals. They thought that was pretty fun.
I was worried the whole time this little girl was going to jump out of the train! She has a lot of energy and little fear!
Is there anything sweeter than little kids holding hands? So adorable.
They had a tasty snack of gold fish and orange juice that the school provided. I use to love to get a "field trip" school lunch when I was little. They always had good cookies as I remember.
They got to look around the museum quickly at all the neat exhibits. This one was about wind.
All and all they had a good time. (The above picture just reminds me of a little oreo cookie! ha, ha.) I can't wait for more field trips in the future! It's so cute to watch little kids get so excited about things at this age. Everything is cool to them. I'm glad I got to share in the fun!

Some Face Time with Ruby!

2011-04-20T10:42:00.000-07:00

Well I thought it had been awhile since we had any videos. Probably because we hadn't taken any really, slackers. So we have taken a few of Ruby lately to try and showcase that she is saying more words now, but of course the camera comes on and she doesn't want to say anything, oh well..... Hope the grandparents enjoy!!

She's BAAACCCKKK!!! But the plot thickens!

2011-04-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

Just when we thought the stolen car thing couldn't get any stranger, there was a plot twist that was unexpected! We had no word all week about the car from the police so we kind of just figured it was gone, sold for parts or something. Then Sunday night the police showed up at our house at like 7:30 at night and said they had found our car. WHAT??

Apparently it was sitting out in front of an apartment complex and so they had stationed a police car there to watch it until we went to come pick it up. So since the kids were already in bed, Zack called our friend Phil and they went to go pick it up. This is where it's kind of strange.

So the police had said that they had just happen to spot it parked out on the street, but they had talked to some of the neighbors and it appears that whoever stole our car has been joyriding around in it all week. The neighbors said the person had driven it a lot. (Really? I mean what did they think they were doing? Didn't they think they would get caught? Who just drives around a stolen car to run their errands or whatever? Strange, strange.) So at this point Zack is thinking, okay so they are going to figure out who it is and arrest them right? I mean it would seem that the neighbors either know who the person is, or at least they could pick them out in a line up for sure. But when Zack got there all the police said was to check the car and see if anything valuable was missing and then he could just take the car. Ummm.....really? I mean who knows who this person is, what if they had come out guns a blazing while Zack is getting in the car? I mean that's unlikely, but still.....and there was no mention of even trying to catch the person at all, even though they were probably standing right in front of their apartment!!! What??? Really? I mean it was car theft, isn't that a pretty big deal?

We all thought that was strange. So Zack checked the car. Of course he never really left anything of value in the car because he can't always lock his car since the outside lock doesn't work on one side and the other side often jams. So he just doesn't leave anything in there, except garbage. Which the person who stole the car had neatly cleaned his car and put it all in a big trash bag that was sitting in the back seat. How kind of them to clean up his car for him!! ha, ha

However, Zack was devastated to find that they had taken his Cup O'Noodles that had been in there. How dare they!! So rude. ha, ha. But he didn't think that would count as a legit compliant for the police, so he kept that to himself. (Later we did realize that they had thrown out a booster seat we had for Oliver. That I am kind of mad about.) And of course Zack had just filled up his car with gas right before it was stolen and it was on empty when he got it back. Not cool, don't people know how much gas is these days?

They also left a little present for Zack- an ashtray full of ashes, and a car that wreaks like cigarettes. Gross.

So anyway. That's the story. The glorious Chariot is back where she belongs. She seems to be happy to be reunited with us and of course we with her. She may be old, but at least she runs, well, most of the time.

But we are thinking, how easy would it be for that person to come back and steal it again? Zack has had a few suggestions that he should get "The Club" for his car. Somehow it just seems kind of silly for a 21 yr. old car, but hey, maybe it's not a bad idea.

I guess we owe the police of Craziville a big thanks, but hopefully they aren't always so cavalier about all their cases. In the end I guess it's all worked out......But does anyone else find it all strange? We certainly do.

Chariot La Rue, Where are you?

2011-03-30T13:12:00.000-07:00

Anyone seen a white 1990 Toyota Camary rolling around Craziville unattended? If so, please tell the meany-heads that stole it to give it back!!! That's right, our beloved Chariot La Rue, our proud steed was stolen at Zack's school on Monday. He came out to go home and then realized that it wasn't where he parked it. Hmmmm.....where did that car go? A talk with the campus police and a very unhelpful/unfriendly lady in the office and Zack was without a car. He filed a police report, maybe it will turn up? But seriously, who steals and old 1990 rusty car that doesn't start most of the time and has NOTHING valuable in it? They must have been pretty desperate. Jokes on them when they can't get it to start......ha, ha, ha. Ok, I guess maybe they scraped it for parts and got some quick cash, but HOW RUDE.

CAR STEALERS, YOU STINK.

I would have put a picture but well I couldn't take one. But a moment of silence for our beloved car that is no longer with us......

How babies are like pets!

2011-03-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

So you know how funniest home videos always has videos of people doing this to their dogs and cats? Well it's equally as fun to make your baby chase a smiley face flash light up and down the wall! Zack and I had a good laugh. Hope you do too! (It may be hard to see the light in the video, but it's there! And yes, this is what we do for fun around here! It's the end of winter, what can we say? We've been indoors too long!)

Calories thy name is LIFE RUINER!

2011-03-11T11:18:00.000-08:00

This is what I wish I could be doing instead of working out! Don't you love that robe?
I wish I looked this cute while working out with my head phone on!

So I realize that I have been extremely lucky to have had 26-30 years of virtually care free eating and movement, but then all the sudden a few years later and 2 kids the wiser and my body is not being so forgiving as it once was. SIGH. So I have had to start exercising *GASP* and looking at just how many calories things contain. Even Bigger GASP! Are you people aware of how many calories things contain??? What the WHAT???? (Ok, probably you are, I have just been clueless and maybe in just a little bit of denial.) Zack has seriously become a huge downer for me in this area, always telling me how many calories things have in them. I mean I love him, but couldn't he have let me live in my ignorance? (I know he's just doing it out of love, and to be that slap in the face when I need it! Which is a good thing. ha, ha) That is what indifference has given me......a seriously RUDE awakening! Now I find myself thinking things like, "hmmmm.....those 4 pieces of licorice is like 15 min. on the elliptical." UGH......that's just ludicrous! 4 pieces of licorice! So wrong. So rude. So not fair.

Did you know that like 2 TBSP. of Peanut Butter is almost 200 calories?! That 1/4 cup of M & M's is 210 calories?! That's like 20 some minutes of exercise. All that work for one little handful of M &M's? Oh man. Cutting calories is not going to be easy.

But cutting calories is only half of my problem. For any of you that have lived with me, you know that I don't like to exercise. I mean really dislike it. I laughed in it's face for years! Now who's laughing? Not me as I lace up to get on the elliptical. It's so hard not to put it off. Trust me, I try. "I'll do it at nap time.......I'll do it after dinner.....I'll do it after we put the kids to bed....." but then I go to grab that piece of licorice and sigh, "I'm going, I'm going."

What are the chances that I'm going to start enjoying working out? Good? Maybe? I hope so. Because let's face it, I like eating too much to give it up! Just not going to happen. So hears to hoping that it starts to get a bit easier! So far I am doing 3 miles on the elliptical per session. I thought that was pretty good for a start 3 times a week? I don't know.....it's something. Ok, that's probably nothing to all you awesome marathon runners and what not, but.....you have to start somewhere right?! Wish me luck!!!

The slacker returns!!

2011-03-10T16:51:00.000-08:00

Well I know I was suppose to be blogging every week. And so like 2 months later here I am. Oops. Well all I can say is that I will try to be better! So what have we been up to? Still cold here, yep, still cold. Ruby has been drinking out of a cup a lot and is pretty good at it now.
Oliver and Ruby have more moments where they actually like each other and play together. There is hope! Usually one is pestering the other, but there are the moments. Makes a mama proud!
Ruby is always sad to be left inside when anyone else gets to go out. She usually gets ready just in case there is the off chance someone will give in and take her out!
All in all we are just trying to keep busy until the weather turns warmer and we can go outside and enjoy the sunshine!

The crew working on some lego stuff.
Lumber Jack Oliver
Zack feeding the kids shredded cheese! It was sort of like a petting zoo!

Scone Recipe

2011-01-19T07:33:00.000-08:00

Image from Smitten Kitchen

I got this recipe from a foodie blog, maybe you have heard of it, maybe not. She makes a lot of great stuff, some of it kind a little gourmet for my tastes or to bother to make, but she also makes just a lot of tasty stuff that is simple too. She also is entertaining to read about her cooking process. Here's the link: Smitten Kitchen

Also a note- it was snowing obviously when I made these, so I just used what I had, just regular apples, not tart ones, and just plain old shredded cheese from Walmart instead of sharp cheddar. They still turned out great!

Apple and Cheddar Scones
Barely tweaked from The Perfect Finish

Makes 6 generous scones

2 firm tart apples (1 pound or 2 454 grams)
1 1/2 cups (6.75 ounces or 195 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar plus 1 1/2 tablespoons for sprinkling (total of 2.2 ounces or 63 grams)
1/2 tablespoon (7 grams) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (3 grams) plus additional for egg wash
6 tablespoons (3 ounces or 85 grams)unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes plus additional for baking sheet if not lining it with parchment
1/2 cup (2.25 ounces or 65 grams) sharp cheddar, shredded (white is recommended, I assume for aesthetics)
1/4 cup (2 ounces) heavy cream
2 large eggs

Position a rack at the center of oven and preheat oven to 375 °F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Peel and core apples, then cut them into one-sixteenths. (I assumed this meant chunks, not slivers.) Placed them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake them until they take on a little color and feel dry to the touch, about 20 minutes. They will be about half-baked. Let them cool completely. (You can speed this up in the fridge, as I did.) Leave oven on.

Sift or whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together. Set aside. Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, along with cooled apple chunks, cheese, cream and one egg. Sprinkle flour mixture over the top and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. Do not overmix.

[Don't have a stand or hand mixer? I'd rub the cold butter into the flour mixture with my fingertips or with a pastry blender, hand-chop the apples coarsely and mix the rest together with a wooden spoon until combined. It might feel awkward, but it should all come together. Again, don't overmix it though it will be harder to do this by hand.]

Generously flour your counter top and place the scone dough on top of it. Sprinkle with flour. Use a rolling pin to gently roll (or use your hands to pat) the dough into a 1 1/4-inch thick, 6-inch circle. Cut circle into 6 wedges. Transfer them to a baking sheet that has either been buttered or lined with a fresh sheet of parchment paper. Leave at least 2 inches between each scone.

Beat remaining egg in a small bowl with a pinch of salt. Brush the scones with egg wash and sprinkle them with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake until firm and golden, about 30 minutes. With a spatula, lift them to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Before you eat one, make sure you realize how addictive they might be. Once you’ve got that down, go for it anyway.

Do ahead: Scones are best the day they are baked. However, they can be made ahead of time and stored unbaked in the freezer until you need them. Simply brush them with the egg wash and sprinkle them with sugar, and bake them still frozen for just a couple extra minutes. This way they are always freshly baked when you want them. These scones were passable on day two and terrible on day three.

HUGE Snow Storm!!!

2011-01-18T09:31:00.001-08:00

This last week we had a HUGE snow storm!! It was crazy! Some parts of Craziville got up to 2 ft. of snow! 2 ft. It was basically the first really snow we have had all winter here. So it was kind of amazing to have it all dump at once. And poor Zack had to shovel A LOT of snow! Not to mention all the people he helped dig out of the snow banks. Of course he did have Oliver to help him! Oliver loved shoveling and had a great time, Zack said he actually was a pretty good helper. Zack however, had a less fun time and an aching back as a trophy! And Ruby was DYING to get out there in the snow with Dad and Oli. She just stood at the window and said their names over and over on her little stool. Pointing and crying. So sad. But it was fun to see all the beautiful whiteness out there (from my cozy view inside) and enjoy a fun snow day! We watched a movie, read some books, made some delicious scones. All in all, not to horrible in my book! Looks like today we woke up to more snow. It's still going out there, we'll see if it matches last week!
Oliver getting ready to go shovel outside. Is that a lumberjack face?
A view down our street with all the snow
Relaxing, reading some books with Dad
Our backyard covered in new snow, with some little squirrel tracks around our plants!
The post shoveling shot
And our delicious Apple and Chedder scones.......MMMMmmmm....so good. If anyone wants the recipes, let me know. (It may sound strange, but they were seriously tasty!!

Christmas Recap!

2011-01-11T07:02:00.000-08:00

I was going to do a December/Christmas Recap, but then I started adding pictures and I had to many to do the whole month, so I just went with Christmas morning for this post. Are you catching a theme here? Shannon is trying to catch up on her blogging. It's one of my new year's goals, to blog once a week. So I thought I would kick off this week with a little catch up of what we have been up to the last few months. My parents came for Christmas which was SO much fun to have them here for 2 whole weeks. So great. The kids loved it, we loved it, I think my parents loved it! We mostly just hung out and enjoyed being together. It sort of puts a wrench in going out plans when it's super cold outside and you have one more person than will all fit in one car. So either you have to take 2 cars everywhere or one person has to stay home. Ruby offered, but we thought that was unwise! ha, ha. So we for the most part stuck around home. But had fun in the process. And I have to say it was seriously nice to stay put and have people come to you. No airport/flight with 2 kids and loads of stuff because it's winter and Christmas......sorry family, but people coming to us, we could get use to that!! ha, ha.

The kids got spoiled for Christmas from all the family, so thank you to all! Heck, so did Zack and I! So Merry Post Christmas Everyone!!
Ruby got a grocery cart that she love, and a bunch of stuffed loveys, which she LOVES!! Especially a certain Polar Bear, thanks Greg and Kris Tina!
Santa brought Oliver a little hot wheels racetrack which he thought was pretty awesome!

Polar Bear mentioned before! Front row seating on the booster seat!
Oops, didn't look at this one closer before I posted it on here, Zack and Ruby both sort of look drunk! ha, ha
My dad sporting his new ninja/winter hat!
Oliver slurping some juice from a coconut! A dream fulfilled! Oliver wrestling my mom to the ground! This happened a lot over the 2 weeks they were here! Oliver sort of likes to take you by surprise sometimes. Good thing he had Grammie to give Mom and Dad a break!! Sorry Mom. Well I hope you all had as fun a Christmas as we did!!

Thanksgiving Recap??

2011-01-11T06:40:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of a fall pillow that I sewed, the unfinished version since it doesn't have a back on it, but now it does. Red and white polka dots to be exact. A little fall fun for my Thanksgiving post!

Ok, So I realize that Thanksgiving is LONG gone and I'm a slacker, but I just thought I would post about it anyway! Only because it was such a good time! Or friends the Wulfs had a rockin' party at their house and fun was had by all! It was fun to spend time with some great friends, especially when our families are so far away! On the way home Zack said it was the best Thanksgiving he can remember having in a long time. Kudos to Maggi! We ate, we ate, we played, then we ate some more! Sounds like a great Thanksgiving right?!

Ruby diving into some dessert! This girl loves to eat!

Phil displaying some Turkey artwork the kids had a contest decorating them, so cute.
The kids table working on their turkey art.
The mature adult table!
The Less mature adult table! ha, ha, just kidding!

Thanks Wulfs for a great party!

Last Pictures of Fall

2010-11-29T11:55:00.000-08:00

I realize these pictures are a little behind the times, but I thought I would post them as the last memories of fall fade and we start moving on to the Christmas season. A few Halloween pictures and some playing in the leaves. November was a good month for us. Oliver is loving preschool and making lots of friends and Ruby is toddling around like crazy now. She is also learning how to fight back with Oliver which is both good and bad! Happy November, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!

Sick Torture!

2010-10-26T07:28:00.000-07:00

Does it seem like we are always sick to anyone else? Sigh. I feel like since Ruby was born we have been in a perpetual state of sickness. It's like dominos, one of us gets sick and the rest follow one by one. Sometimes we all get sick quickly and are suffering together, sometimes it's all drawn out where one person is sick one week and then the next the next week and it becomes a month long thing. Needless to say, we are all sick right now. For some reason this time has been really hard. It's just a cold, but Ruby has been waking up at 3:30am every day for the past while. She was doing it before she got sick, I assume because she is a) getting her molars and b) she is learning to walk and c) she is learning to talk. So she had been waking up and wanting to play and talk and giggle and fuss at 3 or 4 am. This as you can imagine is not going over well with us. We tried rocking her and ignoring her and just getting up with her. None of which were great solutions. But then she got sick and it was even worse.

To give you an idea of the torture, let me run down our night:

3:30am- Wake up to hear Ruby talking away in her crib.

I go in an try to rock her.

4:30am- Still in there talking laughing fussing jumping on bed.......

I try to rock her again. No use.

5:30am- She is finally winding down. Praying she will go back to sleep.

5:45am- Hear Oliver crying because he has wet the bed. Go in change him and bed. He starts coughing.

6:00am- Stop hearing Ruby, she has gone back to sleep. Oliver is now coughing continuously.

6:20am- Zack finally gets up with Oliver and lets me finally go to sleep.

Now keep in mind that Zack and I are both sick too. So of course we feel like junk and want to sleep but can't. Good thing Zack is so nice and let me sleep in, I don't think I would have made it through the day if he hadn't. I seriously at one point just about got up and opened the window and threw both of our children out of it! FEND FOR YOUR SELVES, I"M DONE!! But then I pictured their sweet faces and had to stop myself. This is why I put some pictures of their adorable faces at the top of this post. To remind me!

*Last night Ruby finally slept all night! Felt SO good to sleep!

Peace Pagoda

2010-10-21T12:23:00.001-07:00

We went with some friends of ours to a Buddist Peace Pagoda here in MA. It was such a nice day and it was fun to get out and do something different. We have lived close to this place for the past 3 years and never even knew it was there! It was really pretty. It is also all taken care of by volunteers, so if anyone is working for a service project..... :)

Yes, Oliver's hair is seriously sticking up in the back, not sure what happened there? OH well it's character right?

Ruby trying to escape. She's so naughty. So much more adventurous than Oliver ever was! Just just looks sneaky in this picture!
Oliver had fun running around the gardens and checking out the water with his stick.

After we visited there, our friends knew of a fun bookstore/restaurant in the area. It was a tasty end to a fun trip. Plus it's always fun to look around an old used bookstore! All in all a fun day! Thanks Koppners!

Walking and Preschool!

2010-10-02T12:57:00.000-07:00

So Ruby has FINALLY started to walk a little. I say finally because by 1, Oliver was almost running. But Ruby has been more resistant to walking, she's really into the crawl I guess. So we've been in intensive training for the past little bit and she has finally started to take a few steps on her own. Mostly if you hold out some food for her to get, she will give it a go! So Ruby. That girl loves to eat!! I can't wait until she can walk! It's so hard to take her anywhere because she always wants to get down, but can't walk which means she gets filthy crawling on the dirty ground or floor. However, I'm sure I'm forgetting the new set of troubles walking brings, but for now: GO BABY GO!!

As for Oliver, he started Preschool last month and has been LOVING it! He can't get enough! In fact he is seriously angered when he finds out it's Saturday and there is no school! Ha, ha. I hope that enthusiasm lasts for years to come. His teacher is Miss Sandy and she is really creative and fun. He has informed us that "Preschool is for fun and playing, Kindergarden is for learning!" So heaven forbid that you ask him what he learned about at school. Lesson Learned. Now I ask what he got to "play" at school that day. Anyway, he is loving it and it's so adorable to watch all the kids line up in the morning with their little back packs on following their teacher and waving goodbye to their parents. So cute. And it's cute as the kids have gotten to know each other a little, after school they are all waving goodbye to each other as we all walk out to the parking lot. So fun.

One funny story about preschool that Miss Sandy told me:

Eden (a girl in Oliver's class) to Miss Sandy: Miss Sandy, can I tell you a secret?

Miss Sandy: Of course.

Eden: I think Oliver is Handsome!

Miss Sandy: I think he is too!

How funny! Of course we think he is extremely handsome, so we found this story super cute! But what can I say? We are his parents!

Utah part 2

2010-09-07T07:15:00.000-07:00

So below are some pics from August. We were still in Utah during the first 1/2 of August having fun with the family. Oliver had his b-day which was super fun to go up Provo Canyon and play at the park and go fishing. He had a lot of fun. I can't believe he is 4 now! Time has flown by. He is such a smartie pants, he is constantly amazing me. He also has an incredible memory, which as a parent can seem good or bad depending on the situation! ha, ha. In August he took some swimming lessons at the P.G. pool with his friend Kate, they had a lot of fun and on the last day he even got to go down the big slide with his teacher, which I think he thought was horrifying and slightly fun. But it was good because he got in the water which was a big step for him and he enjoyed it, so all in all it was a good experience. (Ruby also had her b-day in August, but that was talked about before.) Also on our trip, Ruby learned to drink through a straw and she has been in heaven ever since. She loves it, she doesn't care what is in there, she just wants to use a straw! We're just hoping this doesn't turn into a drinking problem given all the guzzling she is doing!

Pics from August!

2010-09-07T07:13:00.001-07:00

Our trip to Utah- Part 1

2010-09-05T19:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, yes we have been back from Utah for like 3 weeks now, but I'm just getting to the posting of stuff. We had such a good time in Utah just hanging out with family and being together. So here are some pictures from July. Oliver had fun running around in his underwear for some reason and loved my parents garage. I don't know what it was about the garage that was so alluring, but he was always wanting to go out there! And Ruby was overwhelmed at first by the largeness of my parents house compared to our house in Craziville, so it took her a bit, but once she mastered the art of going down the stairs backwards, she was a wild woman! She roamed till her little heart was content.

Zack actually went to Japan during a part of July for what I'm choosing to call a "research VACATION." (notice my emphasis on the vacation part!) But while he was gone I saw a lot of my old friends for high school and college, so that was great. So fun to catch up with people. And the kids were in the Children's 24th of July parade that Zack's parents ward has every year. They enjoyed that a lot. They also had fun over at Bubbie and Grandpa's house playing with Striker and Gage and all the neighborhood kids running around that place! Oliver was in little boy heaven! So enjoy some of July's pictures and look forward to some from August in a few days! (I know, the suspense will be killing you, with those adorable faces, who can blame you? ha, ha)

July In Utah!!

2010-09-05T18:57:00.001-07:00

Ruby Turns 1

2010-09-02T07:11:00.001-07:00

For Ruby's Birthday we went to Newport, RI for the day to have a little fun in the sun! We walked around town and ate lunch, then we headed to Goosebury Beach. It was fun to play at the beach, the kids had a blast, and it was a perfect day to be out in the sun! Then we had some birthday cake at home! I can't believe our little girl is 1! It's crazy! Seems like the past year has just flown by! We love you Ruby!

Our Vacation to Maine

2010-06-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

If you have never been to Maine before, let me tell you, you need to make it your next vacation destination!! Hopefully the pictures below will convince you of that! We went on a vacation there at the beginning of June. This was Zack's 2nd and my 3rd time in Maine, but the other times we had just gone to the very bottom where it borders MA and only for a day trip. This time we went for a week and rented a cottage on the harbor. In a word, it was AWESOME!! It seriously was so beautiful. We loved all of it, excepting the rain and a bit of cold weather. First of all, our cottage was super nice which is always a plus when you get somewhere and it's nicer than the pictures looked, besides it was on the harbor and it was beautiful amazing views right on the water out our windows. Plus the place had an indoor pool and hot tub we could go to just a little walk down the street which was fun. I think Ruby was ready to jump in the water and cruise around, she loved it. Oliver spent most of his time on the side of the pool shooting us with a water gun and throwing balls to us in the pool.

The vacation started out a little rough since Ruby and I started out with a cold, and it was Ruby's first time sleeping in a pack and play. The coughing and pack and play were not happy combinations for Ruby so the first night we ended up doing a lot of rocking and basically holding her all night. But after that night, they progressively got better. Whew! The first night we ate on the harbor at an outdoor food shack. We had clam chowder and Oliver had a lobster! Ha, ha I'm kidding he had a hamburger, much more the speed for a 3 yr. old! Oh, and we stopped at an outlet mall on the way to our cottage in Edgecomb. Had to get some shopping in sometime on the trip right? Mission accomplished.

The next day it was suppose to rain, so we decided to take a drive to Camden and Rockland. The drive there was beautiful and the towns were fun little places to look at. I also got an awesome bowl of Creamy wild rice chicken chowder for lunch at a fun restaurant. Oh man, it was good. I wanted to get an IV and pump that stuff in! I think what Zack had was good too whatever it was, but all I remember is the soup. Anyway, Camden was fun to walk around and we got to see lots of boats and Oliver found his first seashells, he was very excited.

We did a lot of driving on this trip which we thought was going to be a little scary, but since Ruby was sick, she basically hit the car seat and was asleep most of the rides and Oliver usually took a nap every day as well. Can I say that this was the best part of the trip?? It allowed Zack and I to do what we love best, and that is to wander and see what we can find and view the beautiful scenery. This is one of our favorite pre-kid past times. And there was plenty of breathtaking views to be had in Maine!

We visited Boothbay Harbor and that was fun, but honestly most stuff was closed because it wasn't a warm day and it basically runs on people coming for good weather. That sort of happened a lot on this trip, so we missed the crowds, but at the same time there was less open. We managed to have a great time anyway. We visited a lighthouse, I forget the name, it's in the pictures. It was so pretty there. I wish it would have been a little warmer so that we could have climbed on the rock a little longer. But we had some fun there and enjoyed watching the water crash the rocks.

That night we ate at a restaurant called Sarah's near our cottage. I got the Lobster Quesadilla, ho man, it was good! And there was a ton of lobster in it. I know because Zack kept telling me so as he was trying to steal food off my plate! Once again, I picked the superior menu choice!! Way to go me! And they had some seriously good desserts there. Yum. So good that we went back the next night for dinner there.

We went to Augusta, the capital. It was fun, we went to a museum that had a little bit of everything about Maine's history. Oliver really liked it, Ruby not so much. We went on another drive when the kids fell asleep and saw some beautiful coast and lots of fun houses. Had dinner at Sarah's, and took a walk around town, threw some rocks in the harbor, you know, the fun stuff........ :)

Our last day there we went to Popham beach which was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL beach I have ever been to. Wow, Wow, and more Wow. It was just so fun to have tons of sand, plus rocks and landscape. Anyway, it's hard to describe, hopefully the pictures do it a little justice, but not really. Unfortunately it was really cold when we got there. (Even though the weatherman said it was going to be nice and sunny........errrrrr.) But we decided we would walk around. Oliver jumped right in and started to dig, build, and enjoy the sand, cold weather or not. He had been itching the whole trip to get to the beach and build a sand castle. So he played and then we walked the beach and collected seashells. It was fun. It was cold. Then the mist rolled in and it warmed up a little before we had to leave.

Then we headed over to Phippsburg, which was about 30 min from the beach where one of Zack's students lives. He had invited us to come over to his parents home there and have a lobster dinner! So there was no way we were going to turn that down! Let me tell you, they had such a great house! In the front across the street was the harbor and in their back yard was a freshwater lake! Wow, it was gorgeous, where do we sign up to live in a place like that? They were having a get together with other friends so we joined in with Greg (the student) and ate lobster, clams, corn, fruit, and all sorts of other delicious food. Oliver was in heaven since Greg had a huge bin full of legos and Ruby was in heaven because Greg's mom just took her and loved on her the whole time. And Zack and I were in heaven because we were eating lobster dinner in a beautiful home with a beautiful view, with no kids to bug us while we ate!! ha, ha. We had fun talking outside in their yard down by the water. Oliver fed bread to the ducks on their dock and even got to fish a little bit. And Ruby tromped around in the grass getting her face licked by their dogs and getting passed around to all the ladies. The people there were super nice and it was so fun we hated to leave and start the drive home. It was definitely a good ending to the trip.

Maine how we love you, we will miss you and hopefully we will visit you again soon!

Sorry Mom and Dad, you may have lost us to Maine! If anyone is wanting to visit Maine, we would be more than happy to come along!

** I know this was a long post, and there are a ton of pictures, but hey, I needed to gush about Maine.

2010-06-16T17:28:00.001-07:00

Personal Day

2010-06-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

I like being a mom and I like being with my kids. Most of the time I don't miss working one bit, it's awesome to have your own schedule and not be bored sitting at some desk job somewhere where someone tells you when you can eat your lunch and for how long. However.......jobs do have their advantages at times......
Don't you just wish that sometimes as a stay-at-home mom you could just take a Personal Day? I mean when you are working at a job there are usually the sick days, the vacation days, and you get the occasional personal day as well. Once in a while I would like to cash in on ANY of these days honestly, but..... there are times when I would really like to say "Hey, I'm taking a personal day today" and do this:
instead of this:

Unfortunately stay-at-home moms don't usually get that luxury. Sigh.......that should have been written in our contracts. For now I guess a box of BonBons will have to do! ha, ha. Better yet, does anyone want to watch our kids for us while Zack and I both take a vacation like the first picture??? Wouldn't that be dreamy? Not the beach, but no kids for more than a day!!! Any takers? Just asking...... :)

2 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

2010-06-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

This is one of Ruby's favorite things to do with Oliver. Sorry about the shaky camera work. Even getting close to a bed with Oliver on it Ruby starts to squeal. This is a favorite pre-bedtime ritual! You know, get them nice and calmed down for bed! ha, ha.

BOSTON!!

2010-06-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

Ruby after she went to town on an Oreo cookie!!

A few weeks ago we decided to take a day and go to Boston with some friends of ours the Wulfs. We had a fun day just enjoying the sunshine, walking the freedom trail, eating and riding a taxi boat! It was a fun day although I always forget how windy Boston can be. We were dressed for the heat, good thing we took some jackets with us! It was breezy. It had been awhile since we had been to Boston, so it was fun to get back. Zack and I had some clam chowder and Japanese food. Quite a combo, I know. But it was all tasty. I think the boat ride was the biggest hit! Here are some pictures.

Around the House

2010-06-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

Just some fun pics from around the house. Of course I still have to get our vacation pictures on here. But this is the kids just kind of chillin' around the casa! I'll try to get more on tonight.

Party in the tub

2010-05-23T18:31:00.000-07:00

This was Oliver and Ruby's first bath together! It was so much fun. The first video was kind of calm, and the second is when things really got going! Ruby was in heaven just crawling around in there with Oliver. So funny. Enjoy! (Wait, scratch that, after previewing this I got the videos in the wrong order.)

Happy Birthday Grammy!!

2010-05-06T12:01:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Grammy and Mom!! We hope you have a wonderful day, we all love you so much! Hope you enjoy some of the pictures from when you were here visiting a few months ago! (And some new ones too.)

What's New?

2010-05-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

Well so it's been awhile since I have blogged mostly because I kept meaning to download some pictures onto the computer and just never did it and thus kept putting off posting things. So I decided tonight I just needed to post w/out pictures to get the ball rolling again. So I thought I would update what we have all been up to lately!

ZACK: He has been busy working on his dissertation at school. Getting participants to come and do his experiment. So far so good. Genius on the rise! ha, ha. He has also been keeping very busy with the YM in the ward and even went on a 15 mile bike ride with the scouts that was VERY hilly. And seeing as he hasn't been on a bike in probably 3 or 4 years I thought that was pretty awesome!

SHANNON: I've been doing dishes and laundry! And tons of it! Ok, maybe it just feels that way, for some reason they never seem to end. Just when you finish, you turn around and there is more! Sigh. But otherwise I've been enjoying the sunshine and planting some flowers outside, and cleaning out the basement! I'm getting myself ready to do some craft projects but I'm trying to decide which one to so first. Otherwise just taking care of the kids.

OLIVER: My goodness, this boy is cuter than ever! He has been running around outside loving life and having a backyard!! He has also been golfing up a storm in the backyard. He is becoming ever more independent and wants to do everything himself and help me with everything. That can be adorable or really frustrating. He is potty training really well, like a pro. He has been really into numbers lately and is learning how to read the numbers on signs. He is also learning the value of money and has decided that he wants A LOT of it. (Don't we all kid!) And Oliver has discovered his groove. He has been dancing up a storm lately and let me tell you it is both adorable and hilarious. If we can manage to get some video of it I will post it. He's got some great moves and even a little break dancing. He also has a crush on his primary music teacher. He loves primary but her really loves music time. He thinks she is the coolest and has wanted to take her some special things to show his affection. So cute.

RUBY: "Little Miss Ruby" as Oliver likes to call her has been crawling up a storm! And she is FAST. She is into everything and especially loves to chase Oliver around. She is getting so big, it's crazy. She is starting to "talk" a lot, I'm afraid we are going to have another chatterbox on our hands. She is also starting to pull herself up on things, she's going to be walking before we know it! YIKES. But she smiles and smiles and smiles and that makes her a lot of fun. She's a happy little baby.

We have also had a loss in the family, a beloved stuffed animal panda bear lovingly named Pandy has been lost. We have no idea what happened to him but he is gone. So far Oliver is coping but Zack and I have been waiting for it to sink in and the horror of it all to begin. Hopefully it won't but it just seems like that would be to easy. If you are out there Pandy, come home, we miss you!

The Big 7

2010-03-27T14:15:00.001-07:00

Well, here are some photos since it's been awhile and since we are now getting some sleep (YAHOO) I don't really have any excuses not to update a little more often. Some updates: Ruby is sleeping pretty good and has finally taken to sleeping in her crib for naps more often. I think we are breaking her down. Take that baby! And Oliver has conquered his fear of the big potty and has gone diaper free outside the house all week now with no accidents! Now we just have to conquer the #2 issue. Life's little victories.

Also today is our Anniversary. 7 years we've been married, that's crazy to think. I can't believe it, and at the same time it's hard to imagine ever NOT being married to Zack. (In a good way of course.) I guess all I can say is, Oh how I love that man of mine!!

Where's my personal trainer?

2010-03-20T12:43:00.001-07:00

So lately we have been doing a lot of training. We have been potty training Oliver. (Yes, I know he is 3 1/2 but it just didn't happen before this point for various reasons.) And his potty training is actually going pretty well. He took to it pretty well I assume because he is so old and knows when he needs to go and when he is going. However, the problem is that he is scared of the big potty and so he has to wear a diaper every time we leave the house because he is scared to use the big toilets. Our other problem is that he is scared to go #2 on the potty. He has managed to go twice on the potty, but I'm pretty sure those were flukes. But all in all he is doing a good job and we are proud of him. (If anyone has suggestions for our problem areas, please feel free to offer them.)

And Ruby has been in sleep training, FINALLY!! We started 2 weeks ago and finally in the last few nights she has settled down quickly and woken only a few times during the night to eat. HIP, HIP, HOORAY!!! Unless you have lived through holding your child for every nap time and all night every night for 6 months (which we have done now twice, Oliver was equally as bad) then you do not know how magical it feels to put your child in their crib at night and have them go to sleep and then to sit with the lights on in the living room and actually talk to your husband or do whatever you want until you want to go to bed. And then to go to bed and LIE DOWN, not sleep sitting up holding a baby all night but actually lie down and sleep. To get more than 2 hours of sleep at a time, it's a beautiful thing. It sort of feels euphoric and unreal at this point, but we are enjoying it. (That's sort of an understatement!) It's pure bliss! It has been a really tough road for us and I'd like to say it will never happen again, but seeing as both our children have been horrible sleepers, if we decide to have another, who's to say that they wouldn't be the same. But I really truely hope that it is a trial we won't be repeating a third time. The down side is that Ruby is still having a hard time sleeping for nap times in her crib, so we are working on that one. She has taken one or two naps on her own, but short ones and sort of broken. But she is improving slowly, so there is hope.

Now if I could get my own personal trainer to get me back in shape. Ugh......post baby weight hard to get rid of, especially when you have little kids to take care of. Time is limited and I'm tired. If only someone would show up and whip me into shape. Alas, I think the only trainer available at this point is working on child issues. Oh well, one can dream right?!

Valentine's

2010-02-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a fun Valentine's Day! We had fun making cookies and Valentines for all of Oliver's friends at church. Ruby enjoyed the stickers!!

Too Smart for our own good!

2010-02-13T05:48:00.000-08:00

Recently Oliver has been afraid of just about everything. But most of all he has been afraid to be alone. He flips out if he is left in a room by himself for more than a second. Thus we have been spending basically all of our waking and sleeping time constant company. (Not Cool.) So yesterday I was upstairs with Ruby and Oliver of course came too, but he forgot his stuffed tiger down stairs. So he was upset, and I told him, "Well just go down and get it." Of course he said, "No, I can't go down alone! I can't do it!" and a tantrum ensued. So then I started cheering, "Go Oli!!! You can do it!!! Get the Tiger!!! " So he got all excited and went and got it. When he came back up he was really upset and started to whine on the bed. I said, "What's the matter? You did it! You got tiger all by yourself!" To which he replied, "YOU DISTRACTED ME, YOU DISTRACTED ME!!!"
Shoot, how did he know that? I had and it worked, but he realized it after. Darn he's onto us! He's just getting to smart for his own good. Too bad we can't convince him that there's nothing to be afraid of in the house. I might actually get to take a shower in peace!

More pics

2010-02-10T17:24:00.000-08:00

Just some pics, some old,some new

2010-02-10T17:22:00.000-08:00

Kolob Street

2009-10-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Lately Oliver has been picking out words in our reading that he doesn't know the meaning of and asking what they mean. Which can sometimes be tricky to answer because it's hard to explain the meaning of say: simple, galaxy, unruly, etc.... Those seem simple to explain, and maybe they are to some people, but when you actually try and do it with a 3 yr old, it gets kind of complicated. And it also leads to a lot more questions and then it sort of snowballs and ends with me saying, "ok, we just need to finish the story." Anyway, he has also been picking up words from music that we listen to or that I sing to him and asking what they mean. (It amazes me that he can do this first of all because I am notorious for getting music lyrics wrong, just ask Zack. I have many embarrassing stories of when I thought a song said one thing and well, I was WAY off.) So today I was singing songs to him before nap time and I was singing If You Could High To Kolob (hey, I'm sick of twinkle, twinkle, little star) and Oliver asked what Kolob was. Hmmm.....how to explain this. I said it's where God lives. He said, "like in heaven?" I said, "well heaven is a big place and God lives in heaven in Kolob." I could see this was confusing. It's like explaining we live in the United States and Massachusetts and Craziville, it's complicated to the 3 yr old mind. So I explained it's like we live in Craziville, but we also live on Psycho Street in Craziville. So I explained that God lives in Heaven which is a big place and he also lives on Kolob Street. (Yeah, I know, not entirely true, but hey do we really know how it works? I know I don't.) So Oliver said, "Does God live with the Angels on Kolob street?" I said, "Yes." Then Oliver said, "Does God drive an angel car?" Hmmmm....does God drive an angel car? I don't really know, but it was funny none the less. I told him that maybe God drives an angel car, I don't really know. He seemed pleased with that, I'm sure in his mind he is imagining God riding around on Kolob Street in some hot rod car! Hey, it makes heaven sound kind of fun doesn't it?! I guess I need to work on my gospel teaching skills!

Bum Teeth and a Hair Cut!

2009-10-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Oliver with his new Batman toothbrush! The reason he got a new toothbrush was because the other night while he was in the bathtub I gave him his toothbrush so that he could brush his teeth before bed. I turned around to do something or put something away and when I looked back, he was brushing his bottom with it. (Not just the cheeks mind you, in the crack.) I immediately said, "WHAT are you doing???" Silence. I then said, "Why are you putting your toothbrush in your bum? That's gross! Toothbrushes are for you teeth not your bum." To which Oliver replied, "I was brushing my bum teeth." I then had to explain that we don't have teeth on on bums (thank goodness) and that if we stick our toothbrush in our bum then it is going to get gross and dirty. To which he cooly said, "ok" and that was that. Sigh. Where does he come up with these things? Needless to say, that toothbrush went quickly in the garbage and thus the new Batman toothbrush. I guess it could have been worse, he could have tried to brush......no wait, your bum is basically the most disgusting place you could put your toothbrush. Mission accomplished Oliver!

As for the haircut, Zack and I finally caved to just use the clippers on Oliver's hair. His hair is so wild with callicks and it grows so darn fast that it's annoying to have to keep paying for haircuts and I haven't been able to keep up with it since being pregnant and now with a new baby and often when we were out somewhere I would look over at our adorable son and think, "man he looks kind of crazy." So we gave in and finally gave Oliver the haircut that basically ever toddler boy is sporting, the buzz, in order to avoid having our child look like a total ragga-muffin. So for better or worse there you have it. It may be a little uneven since he was screaming the entire time and I was just trying to hurry, but oh well, it's better than it was!

*Update: I wrote this post awhile ago and never got to putting it on, so now Oliver's hair is sort of grown out in the picture. Time for another cut!

It's a strange world....

2009-09-23T11:50:00.000-07:00

So I just thought I would share a crazy experience and also a random thought. I'm no Jack Handy, so they won't be deep, but how deep can a person be expected to be when they are only getting like 3 or 4 hours a sleep a day??

My story:
So we were at the park the other day, and it was busy because it was the weekend. Now lets keep in mind that we had to go to a park in Craziville because the one we normally go to was too far to go with our allotted time. (Normally we head outside of Craziville to avoid ghetto park experiences such as when my car got kicked in and dented by someone with a big foot, person still unknown, dent still there.) So we picked the lesser of the ghetto parks for this particular day. But of course going to a ghetto park also insures that you get some good people watching. Zack and I love to people watch. Well on this day we found ourselves a douzy of a suspect! This woman had I believe one child with her, not sure as a few kids sort of drifted in and out of the picture. She was wearing an ever sporty crop top/hoody jacket. So from chest down we were bare until you hit the insanely tight jean shorts and the kicker was the awesome eighties ratted hair on top! So that alone was catching our attention because she just looked so great! (Her entire show takes place while she is pushing kids on the swing.) So I look over and she is pushing kids on the swing while talking on her cell phone, no biggy, parents do this all the time. Nothing says quality time like talking on your phone while playing with you kids! So then I look over again and she is now eating a bagel while pushing kids, I look over again and she is now talking on the phone while smoking while pushing kids. Yeah, smoking at a playground with TONS of kids around. Hmmm....I'm pretty sure that's taboo. So then she gets off the phone and is smoking over by the little toddler playground area, not cool, but to make matters worse, instead of holding the cigarette up high above the little children's' heads, she is holding it down way low, so she doesn't get the smoke in HER face. NICE. She about gave Oliver a cigarette burn when she was bending down holding her smoke behind her not watching and Oliver came around to get on the stairs. Needless to say, we moved on from that spot quickly. But my other favorite part was when she started talking to her friend who was then lifting up her shirt to put healing cream on her new tattoo that was across her stomach. I mean just a couple of real classy ladies. I was going to get their number to see if they wanted to start a play group or something, but unfortunately we had to go then.....

My observation:
So I am driving to the grocery store today and I notice on someone's back window one of those Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbs) peeing on something. And I just thought to myself, "Really? Are people really still putting those on their cars?" Because this was a newer looking car. I mean hasn't that whole thing gotten old yet? I remember those back in like Jr. High and that was almost 20 years ago! I mean it's not funny to me at all I've always thought that was really stupid, but can it really still be that funny or cool to other people? It amazes me that it's still so popular and apparently funny/cool. Does anyone else agree? I mean what is the deal? I guess I'm just not a bad apple! If I were a bad apple I would have a picture of someone or something peeing on my car. I guess I have enough children peeing on me in real life and in my car (in their diapers of course) that it just doesn't seem cool!

At Long Last.....

2009-09-05T14:44:00.000-07:00

So our little girl was born and she has been a complete doll! Such a good baby. She does have her days and nights sort of mixed up, so the nights have been a little rough, but honestly she is so much better than Oliver was that it just seems crazy to us! Zack and I keep thinking at some point she's going to turn into a nightmare baby like Oliver was with sleeping. But so far so good, hopefully it keeps up!
And most importantly, after a week of diliberation and much pier pressure we have finally named her. We decided not to go with "Sister" as Oliver voted, but instead we have named her RUBY KATHLEEN. So there you have it, a baby, a name, and actually we moved 2 days before she was born, so a new apartment as well, all within a 10 day span. It's been a busy 10 days, but wonderful too, I'm just glad my parents were here to help us!

He's Back!!!

2009-08-13T10:01:00.001-07:00

Well Zack has safely returned from Japan! We are so happy to have him home with us, even if he did leave behind some really beautiful places. Here are some more pictures that I failed to put on before of his stay in Japan. It really does look like such a gorgeous place! Maybe he will take us back someday with him now that he's practically a native!

Zen Garden
Zack eating a little Tofu lunch at a nice restaurant.
View from their table. No wonder it's a popular place to eat!
Outside view from the restaurant. How beautiful.
Zack trying to blend in by acting like he knows how to use a cell phone!

Not sure what Zack was doing in the Geisha district?
This picture is to prove that Zack actually did do some semblance of work while in Japan, it wasn't all fun and games!!

Karaoke Anyone???

2009-08-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

So for Zack's farewell party, the other grad students had a night of Karaoke!! I'm pretty sure that was Zack's idea! (Ha, ha) I guess it's a must in Japan. To my surprise, Zack managed to do several musical numbers both as duets and solos! Oh how I wish I had some video of this. His set list consisted of:

Welcome to the Jungle- a duet with Tomo (I think)

Yellow Submarine- solo

Octopus Garden- solo

Some Unknown Monkey song- a duet

Free Bird- Solo (a long solo)

and the piece de resistance

Ice Ice Baby- Solo

I think he had a lot of fun, and he said it was such a funny thing to be there listening to everyone really get into it. In fact the Professor that he worked with while he has been there did some numbers where he has taken a popular song and made his own Psychology related lyrics to go with them. I'm not sure how these went over, nerdy comes to mind, but then I'm not a part of the psychology world! What Zack found very interesting was that there were about 30 rooms for people to sing with their groups and when they were walking by, there were people that had a room all alone. Hmmm.....interesting. And then he said there were quite a few rooms with only 2 people in them. Talk about an awkward first date!! Solo anyone? Anyway, enjoy the pics......

A little G-N-R duet! Welcome to the Jungle!
A Little "Free Bird" by Lynard Skynard. I mean you can't do Karaoke in Japan and not do Free Bird! It's a must.
I don't know that I've ever seen someone sitting down to Karaoke! But who am I to judge?
Ice, Ice, Zacky! Apparently this one brought the house down! He had the whole group rockin' to Ice Ice Baby. He said he did the dance moves and all! I have to say, this is a new side to Zack that I guess the Japanese have been able to draw out!
I'm sure this is the other students cheering on "Vanilla!"

Japan/Zack Update by picture

2009-07-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

As you can see, Zack's research trip to Japan has been just awful! Just slaving away in a foreign land!
When in Japan.....

Which of these things is not like the other??
Zack eating at a Korean restaurant. He had many interesting things like intestines, liver, heart, and tongue. He was a little scared at first, but said it was all really good! Here he is cutting up some beef.
Apparently the Japanese are very hospitable! Here Tatsuya is cleaning off Zack's shirt for him. I thought only I could do that! ha, ha.

More pictures to come.....

Some pics from our Utah trip!

2009-07-08T11:35:00.000-07:00

Playing blocks w/ Grandpa D
The Three Amigos at Cafe Rio
Giddy Up Cowboy!
Seafood anyone?
Oliver and Granpa B

Fishing in Provo Canyon
Cousin Gage and Oliver

Just a little golfing out on the green!
Grandpa's Caddy!

Some pictures of the Golden Temple in Kyoto

2009-07-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

A True American!!

2009-07-04T15:24:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th of July to all! I just wanted to share some patriotic tidbits that Oliver has expressed recently to kick off your holiday: While in Utah he must have been struck by all the republican talk radio that my mom listens to each day. So we were at the post office waiting for my mom to mail something inside and he saw the flag outside waving in the breeze and said, "Mommy is that the American flag?" I said, "Yes it is." Then a few minutes later he said, "Mommy is that Barack Obama's flag?" Laughing, I said, "Well I guess it is!" It was truly funny, and I'm not really even sure how he remembered Obama's name, but none the less, he feels he is a True American! Eat your heart out Glenn Beck! Then a week or so later, Oliver and I were driving in the car to Zack's parents house. Oliver was telling me he wanted a present because we had wrapped one to give to Grandpa. So I had been telling him that he would get a present when it was his birthday and then I asked him what he would like for his birthday. He thought for a minute and then said, "Ummmm......maybe a Statue of Liberty toy? And a McQueen car, no 3 McQueen cars!" Where he got the idea for a Statue of Liberty toy I have no idea, and I really have no idea what a Statue of Liberty toy would do, but he wants one none the less......I guess it just shows how patriotic our son is. What can we say, he loves his country! So may you all strive to be as into America as Oliver is on this great day!! :)

Sidenote: Apparently Zack has taken our camera cord with him to Japan, therefore I can not download any pictures from the camera to our computer even now that I am home. Sigh. Thus I only had an old picture to put on this, but Oliver is wearing red! Errrr....Zack, you are totally busted!

He's off to JAPAN!! Our Happy Daddy!

2009-06-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

Well no pictures because I'm still at my parents house and don't know how to get around their computer well, so pictures will have to wait. But in other news, Zack is now in JAPAN!! On his summer of research! So far he has been delayed by a Volcano, refused tea, coffee, and beer, taken a Japanese bath (I haven't found out exactly what that entails yet!), almost been inducted into some kind of cult, left jilted by his host family at a tea ceremony, and to his pure joy discovered that he could get normal icecream and coke there. And he's only been there a WEEK!! Imagine what can happen in the next 6-8 weeks! So far, so good. He's had many a discussion about mormons already, I told him he needed to find some missionaries there and get himself a stack of Books of Mormon and just start doling them out! :)

And while Zack is in Japan, we have continued to enjoy or last few weeks in Utah with our family and friends. I feel like I have grown a belly to rival Santa Claus in the time we have been here. And I think Oliver has grown a foot taller! (Ok, not really, but he is getting tall!)
Mostly I just wanted to tell Zack that we hope he had a good Father's Day!!! We love and miss him. (I say it in past tense since he's already onto Monday in Japan now.) Singing "Halloween Cat" just isn't the same without you!

HELLO UTAH!!!!

2009-05-26T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well, It's been quite awhile since my last post, but I've become sort of a slacker since being pregnant. But now we are in glorious UTAH visiting family and escaping Craziville! Can I just say how wonderful it is to be in Utah again? Their slogan is right, "Utah, a pretty great state." Indeed it is. So far I've been loving the lack of trash all over the streets, the smooth roads, the beautiful mountains, friendly people, bulk grocery items, parking off the street, and not a triple decker in sight!! (Triple deckers are 3 story apartments that basically make up Craziville and they are all 100 years old and mostly ugly.) Not to mention the fact that we have already spent lots of time with our families which of course is the cherry on top!! I will post some of our pictures when Zack gets home since I need him to figure out how to do it on our parents computer. But if you are in Utah and want to see us, please email us!!
Oliver has been having a blast here, he thinks he just got like 10 new best friends! In fact today when everyone has been gone to work or busy he keeps telling me, "I miss my friends." And then he gets this really sad face, and even shed a few tears. I guess one friend isn't enough for him anymore! :) He is basically in toddler heaven, with 2 sets of grandparents to adore him, cousins, aunts, uncles, etc... He is such a social child that he is just eating it up! It's like an endless party for him. I'm afraid for when we go home, he's going to think being with just mom is a real drag! ha,ha.
Anyway, life is good, pictures to come...

Our Vacation in Philly and D.C.!!

2009-04-14T17:55:00.001-07:00

We recently took a trip to Philadelphia and Washington D.C. since Zack had a conference he had to attend in D.C. It was a lot of fun and here are some pictures highlighting our trip. Oliver had a good time and traveled well, thank goodness. We got to see some of Zack's mission friends in Philly and the we got to see our friends Shiloh and Andrew in D.C., and then more of Zack's mission friends in CT on the way back home. So it was an action packed trip for the 3 of us!

Extra! Extra!! Read all about it!!

2009-04-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

Well I figured it was time to announce that I am pregnant, and we found out last week that we will be having a GIRL! We are excited and a little scared about crossing over to the pink side, but I'm sure it will be fun. I know that some of you knew I was pregnant, to others this may be a surprise, but I'm due in late August and I hope all goes well. Zack and I thought it would be funny to just show up in Utah with me 6 months pregnant and shock everyone, but I decided that we might get a little chastisement if we did that. Now all we have to do is convince Oliver that having a sister will be fun! :)

Oliver Pictures

2009-03-24T18:18:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've posted any pictures of Oliver. Mostly because I haven't been very good at taking any lately, but here are a few for the grandparents to admire!! Enjoy!

R.I.P. Mr. Binks

2009-02-17T11:36:00.000-08:00

Our house is on a binky bann. I took Oliver to the Dr. last week and he said his teeth were starting to move because of his binky. GASP!! Well the last thing I want is a buck tooth funny smiling baby, so therefore the binky had to go. Of course I had thought about this problem over a year ago, but if there is one thing that Oliver loves, it's his "binks." So month after month we whimped out and the binky remained apart of our daily lives. I know Oliver really loved it, but honestly I have to say it was a favorite of mine as well. He could go from cranky to happy with one pop of the binky in his mouth, it was a wonderous thing. We knew it was going to be hard and probably ugly. He was hooked, I mean really hooked on binky. It's like ripping away your child's best friend with no toddler worthy reasons. But it had to be done. So I thought I would try the old snip a little bit off at a time method. This was a total bust. It was like chopping off your favorite stuffed animals head and then giving it back to him as if nothing was wrong. He wanted no part of it. And so our efforts went from gradual wheening to cold turkey good bye. And just like that the binky was gone from our lives forever. (Or at least until the next kid.) Of course it did not go that smoothly, there were many tears for 2 days, we were geared up for a real fight. But after 2 days, it was over!! I was astonished! Could it be so easy? It didn't seem possible. We waited for a few days to congradulate ourselves in case it was all a sick joke and the binky loving child immurged, but it didn't happen. He is over it. Sometimes at nap time he has a hard time falling asleep, but otherwise, it's been pretty amazing. So I have to say R.I.P. binky friend. You will be missed, but apparently quickly forgotten. We hope you find a good home at the recycle center to which you have gone. Goodbye old friend, thanks for the good times we shared!

The Glove

2009-02-14T18:23:00.000-08:00

The other day Oliver got his hand caught in the elevator door as it was opening at the library. His finger got a little scrape, that is all, but boy did he wail and scream. So when I finally got him out the door, I put his gloves on. Little did I know that one glove would not be leaving that hand for some time to come.....
When we got home he refused to let me take off the glove from the "injured" hand. So I let him eat lunch with it on and then he took his nap with it on. I thought after the nap he would be over it, but no, he was very much in need of the glove still since he said his hand hurt. Needless to say, the glove made it's way to making pizza for dinner, eating dinner, tub time, bowling, and bedtime. The glove did finally come off the next day around noon when he suddenly just pulled it off and said, "kiss it better Mom." After I did, it was all better, and just like that the glove was a thing of the past. So here are some funny pictures of our day with "The Glove."

Just Chilln' with the glove

Showing off his gummi bear in the tub
High fiving Mom
Bowling with Mom

Hello??

2009-02-14T17:53:00.000-08:00

Hey, if anyone is still out there actually reading our blog, let me just say that we are still alive and well!! I know it's been awhile, the last few months have been kind of hectic and full of sickness, thus blogging was not the top of my list of things to do, but now things have calmed down and we're back!! I hope everyone had a great Christmas (yes, that's how long it's been!!) and I wish you a Happy Valentine's Day today!

Turkey Day!!

2008-11-29T17:16:00.000-08:00

Well I hope everyone had a Superb Thanksgiving!! We spent a quiet Thanksgiving at home flying solo. (Well we actually had a woman over that we barely know, one of the missionaries investigators but otherwise solo.) Besides the fact that the chicken (our turkey stand in) wasn't done in time to eat with the rest of the meal, dinner went off without a hitch. I also made my first ever pies from scratch! They were amazing if I do say so myself. So much better than store bought. I thought I would have a few tragedies to report, but the pies both turned out well. Whew! Oliver had fun helping me make the pie crust. And now we are continuing Thanksgiving weekend by enjoying all the leftovers. Family and friends, we miss you, but at least we have good food to keep us company!

The Cooks!!

The Pies! Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie with cornmeal crust and Almond Coconut Peach Pie. Oh yeah, I know you're jealous!

I have to say that I put this video on even though I'm not looking my best. But Oliver looks cute and is talking, so there you have it.

Adventures in Tubbing

2008-11-12T16:29:00.000-08:00

Why is it that every time I get in the bath tub, I am always accompanied by a 2 year old that wants to poke, splash, and play ball. Can't a woman get some peace?? It's not like I don't plan for the right moment, because I do. I wait until Oliver is very into whatever he is doing, playing with his toys, running around, bouncing his ball, whatever. He will be totally engrossed and so I think, here is my chance to get in a quick bath, so I run and gather all my stuff and get in and the POOF, there he is next to the side of the tub. "What Mommy doing?" Peaceful relaxing bath officially over. Our last tubbing experience involved 2 large knitting needles. Oliver found said knitting needles and of course brought them into the bathroom where he first poked me with them for awhile, followed by putting "pins" in my hair. Hmmm.....OUCH! Then he threw some of his other tub toys in the bath with me so he could then fish them out with his new knitting chopsticks and finally it ended with us having a knitting needle sword fight. (He lost by the way.) Needless to say, my bath time is usually cut short and most days I opt for the shower instead. But for some reason I continue to test the waters as it were....maybe someday I can fly solo!! Oh well, I guess these are the moments that I will miss someday.

He did it for the CANDY!!

2008-11-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

O.K. so this post is a little late since Halloween is officially gone and over with, but oh well I guess I'm a little slow on the photo downloading! Oliver was Baby Elvis this year thanks to last years b-day gift from Uncle Greg and Aunt Kris Tina! He was a hit and did a mean lip curl! He didn't actually want to put the costume on until I informed him that if he did he would then get CANDY from people. Then there was no stopping him. Oliver loves candy. Sigh. He sported his costume to the playgroup at the library and got some treats, to our ward party (at which he wouldn't talk to anyone and was acting shy until someone gave him some candy and then he was all smiles and chattering away), and then on Halloween night. I think you can see from the video that he was in total awe at the amount of candy that was in his possession at one time! Good thing he's still at the age when the candy can magically disappear overnight and then Mom and Dad can enjoy it. Anyway, Halloween was a hit in Oliver's book and even when the older kids we trick or treated with were tired and wanted to give up, Oliver was still going strong spurred by the fact that he could get even one more piece of candy in his bucket, not to mention the fact that Zack kept hoping for the butterfinger jackpot!

What Oliver has been up to lately

2008-10-09T11:28:00.001-07:00

Burning the Midnight Oil

2008-10-09T11:20:00.001-07:00

REQUIRED

2008-10-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I have never been what one would call "athletic." I sort of have bad hand eye coordination, which makes it hard to excel in most sports. But I have recently found a sport I am really good at! Kitchen Baseball!! Oli pitches to me and I hit the ball. I am getting really good, I hit probably 88% of the balls thrown at me which is pretty good considering a 2 year old is the one throwing it. It has become his favorite activity the last 2 days. Watch out world series of kitchen baseball, here I come!!

*Since it's hard to take a picture of myself, and Oliver isn't capable of it yet, I had to settle for a cute picture of Oliver playing Kitchen Baseball instead.

My birthday wish: I've decided that every new mom and old mom for that matter should be issued one of these when they leave the hospital!! I mean seriously, who doesn't need a good massage like 5 times a day! And frankly Zack and I are too tired to give one to each other, but if we had one of these bad boys! Oh Yeah!
I'm thinking we could just stop eating for a month or two or five and then we could get us one of these chairs. When you sit in one at the store, it almost seems worth it. Almost.

A Trip to the Zoo

2008-09-25T11:58:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to the Zoo in Providence, RI. It had been a long time since either of us had been to a zoo and after going we remembered how lame a zoo can be when basically none of the animals are out for viewing. Oh well. The animals we did see were fun and Oliver liked them. Of course his favorite thing at the zoo were the construction trucks working on a new home for the elephants! Go figure!

Just ignore the fact that I'm still eating my lunch in this video!! I didn't realize Zack was filming me as well!

New PJ's from Grammy and Grandpa

2008-09-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

Coy Oli

Reverent Oli

Sorry this video is kind of dark, but thanks again Mom and Dad for the new PJs. Oliver loves the fire truck!!

Welcome to Mass

2008-09-13T14:13:00.000-07:00

Any time you go to the DMV, you now you are in for a real treat. Either you get to wait for a long time for them to call your number, or you don't have the right stuff with you so you have to come back and do it all over again, or they charge you an arm and a leg for some stupid paper which in turn totally kills your day, or if you're really lucky, they do all three. There are so many things that can happen, but none of them are really good. I went to the DMV on Friday because I finally broke down and got a MA driver's license. I had been avoiding this for the past year I think secretly in hopes that we would somehow not be staying here and so I wouldn't really need one. But after a year, our car insurance wouldn't renew if we didn't get MA licenses. UGH. Sigh. I guess we're staying. But I had low expectations since I have already been there about 5 times since we've moved here for various things so I was prepared for the line, I had looked at the list of needed items again and again to ensure that I would have all the right things. I was prepared.
I got my number, I waited, and waited, and waited. Over and hour I waited. Then Happy Day! They finally called my number. I quickly collected our things and was dragging Oliver at a clipping pace behind me to get to the window on the opposite side of the building. I walk up and the woman in the picture above greeted me by asking what my number was. I said, "206."
This is our conversation:
WOMAN: I don't know what you've been doing lady, but I've already called the next number.
ME: Excuse me?

WOMAN: I called your number 3 times and you were too slow, so I called the next number, you need to pay attention.

ME: What??? (It seriously took me less than 2 min. to get over to this window.) Well I was on the other side of the building and I have a toddler, so I walked over here as fast as I could. (Meaning I dragged my 2 year old behind me as fast as I could.)

WOMAN: Well I already called the next number so you're too late.

ME: ARGGGHHHHH!!!!! You are kidding me. (I'm thinking I'm going to have to get another number and wait all over again.)

WOMAN: Just wait over there until I help the next person and then I can help you

ME: (Thinking to myself, why didn't you just say that in the 1st place?) OK.

She helps the next person. I wait there fuming.

WOMAN: Ok, come on.

I give her all necessary documents, without talking to her since I am still fuming. I take the vision test. I can barely smile in the picture because I'm still urked.

WOMAN: That'll be $90.

What the? $90? Just to transfer over a license? This is highway robbery. But I write out a check for $90 and give it to her.

WOMAN: (Imagine her speaking in a totally monotone voice without even looking up at me.) You will get you license in the mail in 10 to 14 days. Here is a temp. Sorry about before, welcome to Mass.

ME: Thanks. (I can feel the love already lady.)

The End. Couldn't be more pleasant! Really rolled out the red carpet for me lady!

On My Mind

2008-09-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

First thing on my mind was that I have never seen anyone take a leaf blower to their entire lawn after they have cut their grass. Sure I've seen it when it's fall and the leaves have all fallen off the trees, but this was certainly not the case. They guy across the street from us (in all his shirtless, tattooed, beer bellied glory) was literally blowing his whole lawn. I guess to free it from the haircut he had just given the grass. Of course all those clippings are now still on the sidewalk right next to our car. Yeah, that looks much better! Which brings me to the second thing on my mind.

2. The junk the people that moved out of that apartment left on the sidewalk which is now stylishly adorned with the grass clippings, also next to our car. Why do people do that? Why do you put out junk that no one would ever want as if you are offering good free stuff. It's total junk and it's broken. And again we have to park by it and look at it from our windows. If you have good stuff, sure- put it out there, it will be gone in a heartbeat, but junk, well that's just rude. Besides, I'm tired of looking at it.

3. Is it ever appropriate to ask someone if they are growing a gut? I think not. Zack had someone ask him this the other day and both of us just thought there is no conceivable reason that you should ever say this to anyone. Luckily we both know that Zack does not have a gut, nor is he attempting to grow one and we also know the person that asked him this while he may have been serious, it just extremely rude. (Wasn't his first rude comment and I'm sure won't be his last.) I told Zack he should have asked if said person was looking for some competition?

4. Is it disturbing to anyone else when you see an older woman shopping in the underwear section?? I don't know why, but it just seems like they should be sticking to the granny underwear at that age. Nothing lacy, leopard, or with floss should be in their hands and/or shopping cart if you catch my drift.

5. At the library yesterday I witnessed many strange and sad things. Most exciting was that a security alarm went off and they didn't know why and everyone had to evacuate. I never found out what it was. I was hoping it was a bomb or something since I was standing near the windows. I also witnessed a woman or girl rather asking another girl if she had some deodorant and the other girl pulling out a stick and giving it to the first girl who then proceeded to raise her arms above her head and put it on in front of everyone evacuated outside the library. She could have at least gone around the corner or tried to be a little discrete. I wish I could say "kids these days" but I doubt she was much younger than I am. But my favorite library moment was two moms who were both yelling at their kids and being really ugly and mean to them. And in the same breath one of them turned around to a little girl playing with a puzzle and so sweetly talked to her and helped her. It was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I thought, "boy, you should try and be that nice to your own kids!!" I felt sad for their kids, and there were a lot of them. And then I wondered why people like that keep having kids when they clearly just treat them like they are a huge burden and annoyance. Probably to get back at their cheating boyfriends that they still love. I have one word: Adoption.

6. Should I be trying to potty train Oliver?? And at what point should I put him a toddler bed? Soon? Later? I guess I better start investigating into some of these issues.

Just some random thoughts.

I'm in LOVE

2008-08-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

Last week we took a day trip to Maine and New Hampshire since we live relatively close to both of them. And let's just say, I fell completely in love with Maine!!! And New Hampshire isn't chopped liver either. We just went to the bottom of Maine, it's about 2 hours away from where we live, so it was a doable drive with Oliver. Over all he did a great job, there were some sketchy moments in the car when all was not well, but they passed and we enjoyed the beauties of the seaside. We went to we went to several coastal towns in Maine and it was simply one of the most beautiful places either of us has been. We just loved it. All the rocky beaches and lovely homes. They were exactly what you would picture some New England towns to look like. I asked Zack if he could commute to school from Maine, but he said no. Oh well, I guess we will just have to go back and visit. We also went to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It was a really fun town too. It has a lot of shipyards in their port which makes it kind of interesting. (Especially to Oliver!) And we ate at a really good Mexican restaurant there. YUM. Anyway, it was a great trip, and we would love to take any visitors there should they come to visit us. HINT HINT!! Enjoy the pics....

This is the most photographed lighthouse in the United States. Yeah, that's right, we went there, and you should too! So come and visit.

On our walk to the beach in Kennebunkport, it was really fun to see all the marshes and homes.

The sandy beaches at Kennebunkport. The sand was super soft! And the water was really cold!

I think this was Oliver's favorite part of the trip, the lollipop Zack bought him!

The beaches in York, a little more crowded, but pretty.
Nubble Light just outside of York. It was really pretty. Too bad Oliver had fallen asleep in the car, so we couldn't really spend a lot of time there.
This isn't actually where we ate, but we did eat at a lobster place in Maine.
And this is the lobster we ate!!
Oliver loved the ships in Portsmouth and the place we ate, was outside right on the port. It was so fun to watch Oliver ooohhh and ahhhh over the boats.

Playing at the neighbors in Utah

2008-08-16T13:08:00.001-07:00

Having fun at Concert in the Park with Grammy

2008-08-16T13:05:00.001-07:00

Zack the Scouter

2008-08-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure this is how Zack appears out on the mountain tops of Massachusetts today. I can picture it now, Lady Liberty's got his back! He is on a scout camp today much to his dislike. Well he doesn't dislike the scouts themselves, just the act of camping and "scouting" as it were. His Young Men are attempting to do a 50 miler involving hiking, biking, and whitewater rafting. Sound fun? Unfortunately it has been pouring rain on them. Poor guys. Just the fact that Zack is at a scout camp is a big deal for him. His idea of roughing it involves a dumpy motel near a forest. Not really scouting material, but he's trying. He isn't actually staying with them except one night and then to follow them in a car while they ride their bikes tomorrow, in case something happens and they need help. I'm sure there will be horror stories to tell when he returns. That's my man!! Hope he has fun! What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the tent wall! he, he, he :)

Reading in bed with Grandpa

2008-08-08T14:02:00.000-07:00

Not only did Oliver get up every morning with my Mom while in Utah, but often he got to read books before going to bed with my Dad which Oli loved!! Talk about the royal treatment as parents!! Sleeping in everyday for 2 months!! Heavenly! Oliver had a blast! Sorry I got you in your PJ's Dad!

Catching Up the Blog

2008-08-08T13:34:00.000-07:00

WE'RE BACK!!! (Okay so this picture isn't really us coming back since we flew, but seriously it felt like we had that much luggage at the airport! Good thing the person picking us up had a mini van because it was FULL!!) So I know, I know, it's been a while since I've posted anything on our blog. This is largely due to the fact that we were in Utah for 2 months. Yes 2 months, visiting family and just getting out of Craziville for awhile. It was a much needed break and we really enjoyed it. I could have been blogging all a long there, but instead I sort of went on a computer hiatus and just relaxed and thought I could catch up when I got home. But then we got home and I didn't really feel like doing anything on the computer for awhile, and then I did, but I couldn't get the computer to download all our pictures from Utah, so then I thought that it wouldn't be as good to tell about what we did in Utah without the pictures.....so here we are. I will just have to do some catching up. So bear in mind that when you read most my posts in the next few days it will sort of be in flashback fashion.
As for being home in Craziville? Well it's still Craziville. In true Craziville fashion we went to pick up our cars the night we got home (we had parked them at our Bishop's house to keep them off the streets for 2 months) and the Toyota wouldn't start. Dead battery. UGH.....which then took us 4 trips to their house to finally get a new one installed. Two trips were just dumb, and 2 trips were us just being dumb and forgetting things like tools to get the old battery out and the new one in. Duh. But finally today the Toyota is up and running again with it's new battery! Now Zack said it's making a funny noise. Cars. It's always something.

We also have an endless construction going on right outside our house. I mean right outside our house. It's been going on since the day we got home and there is no end in sight. Zack actually heard one of the workers say this morning that they just wanted to give up on the project and just let it sit there. Not a good sign that they will be leaving anytime soon. So from 7am to 5pm we have our trusty workers beeping and pounding away out there. Luckily Oliver has been able to sleep through it all. Thank goodness. And actually Oliver has been in his own little boy heaven because anytime during the day he can look out our windows and see dumptrucks, backhoes, concrete crushers, and whatever else is out there. Plus our own personal policeman. So he has been loving it! He will just sit and watch them sometimes, it's pretty cute.
Otherwise, not much else going on here for us. Just getting back into the old routine. It's been exactly a year since we moved to Craziville, MA and I can't really say it's been a good year, but it's been an interesting year. I'm just hoping it will get better and not worse in year #2 here. At least fewer car related incidents! Here's to hoping!!

You scream, I scream, we all scream for.....

2008-07-14T13:36:00.001-07:00

Here are some fun pictures of us having some ice cream on a semi-warm day. I think Oliver was really enjoying himself. It's pretty rough as a kid! :) He likes ice cream just a wee bit!

A lesson from my Mom

2008-07-08T13:07:00.001-07:00

Since being in Utah, I have listened to A LOT of talk radio!! Not because I like talk radio, but because my Mom has a bit of an addiction to it. If it's talk radio, it's for her. So of course most of them have been talking politics and immigration, gas prices, etc... I guess the usual subjects that are going around right now. But yesterday a caller made a comment that really struck me because I had been thinking a lot about it lately. I think they were talking about gas prices and how some people were really struggling because the prices were so high. And this caller commented something to the affect that maybe we are all getting a slice of humble pie because now were are having to cut back and take a better look at our spending and our priorities. And he went on to talk about how so many people now really confuse needs and wants, and that what people think they need now, it took our parents or grandparents a lifetime to acrew. So that got me thinking about all the little luxuries that we enjoy now that we consider to be needs, but in reality, they are totally wants. Sure it's hot outside and air conditioning is nice, but didn't we get a long without for many a year? Fans. Sure having new furniture that all matches is nice, but does it really matter? If it's comfy, it works just as good matching or not. Sure an epilady would be great to allow me to not have to shave my legs as often, but should I run out and get one today because I decide I want one? I guess I can shave for awhile longer. Anyway you get my point. Another reason I've been thinking about this is being with my Mom, and not for talk radio this time. She's a funny lady, she often has a really strange Christmas or Birthday list that includes things that honestly most of the time I think to myself, why did you wait until Christmas to ask for an oven mitt? Just go and buy one at the store, I mean they are like $5. Or she had an small umbrella on her list for about 3 years in a row, again you would think she would just go and buy herself one. But instead, Zack and I finally broke down last year and got it for her. (Mostly I think because we were all sick of it being on the list!) It was a happy day!! So I've been thinking about that. It made me realize that I have become spoiled. Okay, not outlandishly spoiled because I think that would be hard considering we live on a student income right now, but in reality, I am. I wouldn't have thought twice about just picking up a new oven mitt or umbrella, or pair of socks at the store for no particular occasion. But I should. I think it's the consumer hungry society that we live in now that tells you just to buy, buy, buy. There is no need to go without something, just get it. What happened to waiting and putting something on your birthday list? Or saving up for something? Okay, I'm not saying I would save up for an oven mitt, but I should for a kitchenaid, or food processor that I seriously wanted and was just going to buy for myself given the opportunity. I think back when I was little, and we didn't just get a new toy whenever we wanted, or new clothes, or whatever. Those things came on gift giving holidays and rarely inbetween. And we survived just fine. So I've been thinking that I might need to gear my thoughts back to that way of thinking rather than filling my cart with my wants during my weekly store visits. Just a thought. I'm glad I can still learn a lesson or two from good old MOM! (Whew, that was long!)

Boston Baked Beans

2008-06-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post some pics of our few adventures before coming to Utah. We went to Boston one day to have some fun and in true MA fashion, of course nothing goes smoothly since we moved there, we ran into a few snags. We had picked out a subway stop to park at and go into Boston on. But of course once we got there, it was closed down for the day. ARGG.....but luckily a worker was there to help guide us to somewhere else and it ended up that we could catch a bus into the city a little further. And then we found out that the subway was still running in Boston, just not in the outer areas. Whew, disaster averted. So finally we got there, and managed to have a really nice day. And for once, the weather was nice which hasn't happened once on an outing so far in MA. We went to the Christian Science center something, something....which has this really cool 30 foot world globe made out of stained glass built in the early 1900's. It was really cool, but we couldn't take pictures of it inside. But you stand in the middle of the globe on a clear bridge, it's pretty fun. Then we walked along some of the fun streets in Boston with all the shops, went to a park, and then made it in time to see a little of the Fine Arts Museum before it closed. All in all it was a fun Family Day!!

A really pretty picture outside of the Museum.

Talk about a big baby head!

Oli having some snacks out side the Museum, Me having a big yawn.

This is inside the globe place at this great hall they have with all sorts of ispirational quotes floating around the room. It was kind of cool. This picture is actually of the light fixtures they had in the room. I thought they were neat.

This is the Church next to the Christian Science whatever.

In the Land of Milk and Honey!

2008-06-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

Hey all, it's been awhile since I've posted anything. This is largely because Zack finished up his first year of Grad school in MA and so has been home more to play with us! It has been great! Then shortly after that, we took the first plane out of Crazyville and headed to Utah for some fun in the sun! We are enjoying being in Happy Valley once again with all the things it offers, mainly FAMILY! After having no family or friends around and living in a gross dirty city, we sort of feel like we have come to the Land of Milk and Honey here in Utah. It's great! I haven't seen one piece of trash lining the streets and people actually have yards! Not to mention the fact that they have some delicious mexican food, and lots of icecream! And I haven't seen many run down factories which is always a plus. I haven't downloaded any pics yet of our trip here, but I will. Oliver is having the time of his life with 2 sets of grandparents to adore him and cousins to play with. I think he may have even forgotten that Zack and I exsist! Anyway, here's to Utah: A Pretty Great State!

Cape Cod!!

2008-05-16T11:09:00.001-07:00

We went to Cape Cod on Monday for a fun day trip!!! Unfortunately as you can see, the weather was rather COLD!!! Good thing we had a back up plan besides just going to the beach! We went with our German friends that are in Zack's program at school. Martin and Carmen wanted to swim, but quickly saw that only the polar bear club were swimming that day!! So we visited the Heritage Museum in Sandwich. It had a car museum and really beautiful ground to walk around, which we did very quickly since it was freezing. They also had an old carousel that we got to ride as much as we wanted!! How about that? Oliver wasn't sure he liked it, but he rode it anyway. Then we had a little picnic on the beach, we braved the cold and ate quickly! Looks fun eh? ha ha. The we visited the Sandwich Glass Blowing museum. It was fun to watch someone demonstrate how to blow glass. He made it look so easy! Anyway, it was a fun day, I guess you have to learn to live with freezing in May when you live in MA!

The Battle at Lexington and Concord

2008-05-16T11:01:00.001-07:00

In April we went to the Reenactment of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. It was also a cold day, but not as cold! I kept meaning to post the pictures, but just got around to it. It happens on Patriot day here in MA. It's the day we officially kicked the Brits hinny's!! So we missed the real battle with the Paul Revere ride and the "shot heard round the world," mostly because that was at like 5:45 am. But we did go later to the reenactment. It was really interesting to see and it was fun because as the battle moved, everyone had to kind of move along with them along the road. It was amazing to see how different war was back then. All the soldiers staying in formations and taking turns firing. It was really interesting and best of all they shot off the cannon a few times! And I guess we showed them whose boss!! Get out of here you Red Coats!!

Pringles anyone?

2008-05-06T11:19:00.000-07:00

Let me see....how many "rules" are being broken in these pictures?? No food out of the kitchen, no shoes on the couch, no eating on the couch, no watching T.V., no junk food........what can I say? We aren't very good enforcers. I guess it's hard to say no to that face!! We just came into the living room and there he was all set up with his Pringles lined up on the couch watching some Sports Center. I can see I've already been outnumbered! sigh.

A rather delicious meal!

2008-05-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

So now that I actually feel like eating something, I tried out this recipe yesterday. It was really good. I have never been a huge meat loaf fan, but this one is seriously good. Zack and I both really enjoyed it. It was easy and tasty!

Turkey and Roasted Red Pepper Meat Loaf

1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey
1 small yellow onion, chopped*
1 egg, beaten
1 cup grated Parmesan
2 T Dijon mustard
1 cup flat-leaf Parsley, chopped
1 7 oz. jar roasted red peppers, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Heat oven to 400F.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Shape the meat into a 7x11 baking dish.** Bake until no trace of pink remains, about 45 min. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest 15 min. before slicing.

* This was quite a bit of onion, it tasted good to us, but if you're not huge on onions, I'd cut down on this a little.
**You could do it in a loaf pan like usual, but the tip on the recipe siad that it isn't the best choice for baking meat. It said a larger pan would allow the heat to circulate over the meat, cooking it evenly.

The house of sickies

2008-05-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've posted anything because Oliver and I have been sick this last week and I just haven't felt like doing much of anything. And Zack has been busy with this insanely long stats final and has been gone all week working on that. So I thought this story sort of summed up our week:

Oliver woke up one night coughing and crying and since I was on my death bed, Zack got up and was trying to rock him back to sleep. He kept coughing and then throw up all over Zack, I mean he really got him. So the next day he is telling the guys at school about it and how gross it was and then he said, "I even found throw up in my belly button when I took a shower this morning!" They were of course thoroughly disgusted. But I thought it was really funny. Anyway, that's about the high and low of our past week, hopefully this week will get us back on our game!

Cutest Kid on Campus!

2008-04-18T10:43:00.001-07:00

This one and the one below are the total money shots!! I finally got him to smile while I took a picture!

We went to visit Zack at school since he has been at school pretty much all day every day this week. And since the weather has been incredibly nice this week (FINALLY!!) we hung out on campus. I took a little ball for Oliver to play with, which then turned into many awkward situations. Mostly because he thinks everyone is his friend, or potential friend and that everyone wants to play with him. There were all sorts of students out on the grass enjoying the long awaited for nice weather and thus a virtual smorgusboard of choices for Oliver. I tried to head him off by pointing out things, trying to play catch with him myself, but it wouldn't do. And so there were many a "whap" or "thunk" as Oliver chucked his ball at some unsuspecting student in his attempt to play catch with them. Sometimes it fell short, but most the time hit the poor student somewhere, a few times on their head. A little awkward for me, but fortunately he is cute, and charms them into forgetting about it. Many a friend was made, let's just say he didn't inherit my shy genes.

Easter Video

2008-04-17T11:28:00.001-07:00

WARNING: THIS IS A REALLY LONG VIDEO!!
It's mostly for Grammy and Grandpa since they gave Oliver these books and live far away, they wanted to see some footage. So here it is. Not the most exciting video, but it's Oliver and he's cute, so therefore.....

Musical Monday!

2008-04-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I love this band, and I hope you will too!

THE AVETT BROTHERS

If you haven't heard of them, then you should. If you have heard of them, then you know how totally RAD they are!!
One of the Young Men that Zack taught at Church in Georgia traded Zack for some new music and he gave us our first taste of this North Carolina band with their CD Emotionalism. We loved it! Then recently I got one of their other CDs, Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions. Both are seriously so so good. I pulled these quotes from their web site that try to describe them a little bit. Because it's true, they are hard to pin down into one genre.

"It is not New Year's, and it is not a political convention. It is neither a prime time game-show, nor a music video countdown, bloated with fame and sponsorship. What you are hearing is the love for a music. It is the unbridled outcry of support for a song that sings to the heart, that dances with the soul. The jubilation is in the theaters, the bars, the music clubs, the festivals. The love is for a band."

"The songs are honest: just chords with real voices singing real melodies. But, the heart and the energy with which they are sung, is really why people are talking, and why so many sing along."

"The Avett Brothers, is a mixture of old-time country, bluegrass, pop melodies, folk, rock n' roll, honky-tonk and ragtime. Listeners merely need one spin through the album to realize the breadth and depth of the Avett's music. The overall sound is without the need of a label, because frankly none would do the music the justice. It's simply left up to each person to extract his or her own account from the Avett's music."

It may be shocking to see country in their line up of descriptions since I really, really don't like country. But honestly, to me they aren't country at all, or if this is country, why doesn't other country sound like this? I guess the key is "old-time country." In any case, seriously give these boys a listen, you'll be hooked!

What has Oliver been up to lately?

2008-04-09T10:18:00.000-07:00

A little reading...

And his new favorite thing- The Step Stool! He figured out that he can see things and get things that he normally couldn't with the stool. So now he carts it all over the house getting into stuff. I guess it's time to "stool proof" the house!!

Totto we aren't in Utah anymore!

2008-04-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

So this is a flyer that Zack brought home from school. And yes it was approved from the school to be posted around campus. WOW. I think that is all I can say. WOW. I think I was blushing just reading it. Some worry that Clark University is to liberal for a Mormon. What would ever make you say that? So it was a tough debate: General Conference or option #2? Luckily General Conference won.

*I hope this wasn't too shocking for anyone. I do like to keep a clean blog, but this was to absurd to pass up.

Time to De-Robe

2008-04-04T10:58:00.000-07:00

The robe is off!! Finally the weather has taken a steady turn to the warmer side and rested in the 40's during the day! For the past 5 or 6 months I have been wearing a robe basically all day. It's kind of a sad state of affairs when your house is so cold that you have to wear a robe all day. Sometimes it was worn with my pajamas, and sometimes it was worn over my wool sweaters, but it was a constant by my side. Now for the past 2 or 3 days, it has hung on it's hook in the bathroom!! It feels great! Not that I don't love my soft and comfy robe, but after a while it gets kind of bulky and you just wish you didn't need it. Well the time has come! See you next winter friend!

Isn't our Baby Talented?!

2008-04-02T13:10:00.001-07:00

Why waste your time with one binky when you can have two?

5 Years of Wedded Bliss!!

2008-03-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

So today is our 5 year wedding anniversary!! 5 YEARS!! It's crazy that we have been married so long and yet so short a time! Some days it seems like we were never not married, and some days it feels like yesterday when we were dating and getting ready to be married. It's so much fun to be married to your best friend who is a dreamy tall dark and handsome chap. The other night we were reminiscing about our first date. We went to the Chihuli art exhibit that was going on during and after the Olympics in SLC. I remember thinking to myself, "I wish he would hold my hand." It was a fantastic date which also included my first "Mr. Freeze." (Basically a root beer float, but blended up, so delicious.) So I thought, being our anniversary and all, I would tell some fast facts about Zack and Shannon:
1) We both love cats. The first time we talked about cats, we realized that we both had a cat named Pepe. How strange, destiny? I think so. To bad his Pepe was super cute and loved to crawl all over you with purrs and kisses, while our Pepe hated us and hid under the bed all the time or we might have gotten them together!!

2)Both of our favorite Author is Thomas Hardy. Although we now read very different books, Zack reads mostly psychology stuff out of necessity, and I read whatever people recommend me, but we always have a place for Mr. Hardy in our hearts.

3)We both love to eat! Particularly ice cream. (Okay I love just about anything as long as it's food, and big plus if it involves sugar or bread.) Zack L-O-V-E-S ice cream. I think he could eat it twice a day and still want more. I have always liked ice cream, but not to this degree. However since our marriage, his influence has been to my ice cream demise.

4)While on a food note, I like to cook, and Zack likes to eat what I cook. It's a good partnership.

5)We love music. We like to hear it, talk about it, and look for it. I think if we were stranded on a desert island and could have one thing, it would be our ipod (with endless battery supply of course.) We like to make up songs about our cat, Oliver, each other. We like to dance in our kitchen to it, etc.....

Anyway, those a just a few of the things that we enjoy together and what makes us a working team. I LOVE YOU ZACK!! Let's shoot for 5 more!

*The photo is old, but fits the occassion!