Happy Birthday Kristin!!

I can't believe Kristin is 14! I remember when she was born. We were lucky enough to get to hang out with Kristin last weekend. We went to Cafe Rio for lunch and then to the zoo. We had a lot of fun!!

The white alligator it really cool. There are only a dozen in the world and they all came from the same nest of eggs. They're mostly protected because they sort of stick out in the wild and can get burnt by the sun.

I loved how this bird was sitting on top of the Rhinos.


Every time Hannah got out of the stroller she just started running. She keeps us busy!

Spring Fever

A few weeks ago we were outside enjoying the warmer weather and made a fun discovery:

~Tulips~!!!

The kids really enjoyed being outside. You can see Hannah saying "cheeze." This is her usual reaction to seeing the camera.

We have two trees. One is dead (and now in the garbage).

The other is cute and alive:)

Hannah braving the snow.

Our backyard. Looking towards the house.
I should take some more pictures now that the snow has melted. The grass in the back is completely dead so we know what our first spring project will be. We are going to till, rake, and seed as soon as it gets warm enough. For now Owen loves being able to dig in the dirt and mud. And I love the hours he spends doing it:)

This Kid...

Owen loves to tell me stories and explain things to me. Usually these things don't make sense, but it is fun to see how his mind works. Some days I almost go crazy with his non-stop chatter, but usually I enjoy it. He was on fire yesterday and so I decided to share a video of one of his stories.

Living the crazy life

We are so happy to be in our new house. I love every moment of it. One of the best things about where we live are our awesome neighbours. We love the couple across the street who are in their late 60's, Dennis and Joan. Even before we had closed on the house they came over while we were doing the inspection and gave us lots of information about the area. They also got our phone number and called us a few times to see if we needed anything. (Before we could close we had to do some painting on the exterior because of pealing paint. With FHA loans they are strict and there was no way around this. Usually the seller takes care of things like this, but in our case we were working with a relocation company based on the East coast and they were selling the house "as-is". So we either had to get a loan that didn't require such a strict appraisal or go paint.) We needed a ladder and Dennis let us borrow his, which worked perfectly. The day we moved in he cleared our driveway of snow and has everyday since that except for one day that I beat him to it. They got us a ward directory and have told us about every person that lives on the street. They are the kind of people who I wish I could be more like. We are so lucky to have them as neighbours.

Other than that life has been extremely crazy this past week. We moved most of our stuff on the 29th of January but left enough there that is was a pain to figure out how to get it here. Once Jeff started his February rotation he was completely out of the picture. One evening I went and packed everything else up, and then after a busy day at work for Jeff we ventured to move everything else at 8:00pm with the kids in tow. I managed to forget the keys to the apartment and had to run back to the house, but eventually we got everything out. When we got home we were too tired to unpack it all, so I ended up doing it the next day. That night I had to go clean the apartment after the kids were in bed. Then the next morning I checked out of the apartment for good (yeah! goodbye forever!). But when I returned home to unpacked boxes and cranky kids the euphoric feeling was gone. To make things worse the comcast cable guy came to fix some things and was here for 3 hours!!!!!!! And he was rude, stinky, and sort of scary. I couldn't leave. Hannah couldn't nap because of his banging. I honestly couldn't figure out what was taking him so long. It was awful.

Since then we've managed to unpack a lot and Jeff has a day off tomorrow (Yes!!!) so hopefully we can get a lot done. We're anxious for the snow to melt so we can see what our yard looks like. We sort of had to have faith it wasn't too bad.

Anyway sorry for the babbling, just wanted to give an update. We can't wait to have everyone over. So call us up if you're in the area.

The BIGGER purchase

I've been dying to post about this but I had to wait. Yesterday at 10:00 am Jeff and I signed way too many legal documents. Then today, January 25, 2008, at 5:05pm we got the keys to our first house! We can't believe it. We absolutely love it and can't wait to move in. I forgot to bring my camera tonight but I'll post a few shots from the listing and last week.

Snow

Since snowstorms were so rare in Pennsylvania I didn't think I would ever get sick of the snow again moving back to Utah. But it's happened. I'm sick of it. Today I had to run to the store and when I got to the car I realized there was at least a foot of snow covering it. I thought it had maybe snowed a few inches, but a foot? And since it hasn't warmed up for a month here the parking lots here are such a mess. They plow the side walks, but not the parking spaces. To get your car in or out of a spot you have to make sure no one is in sight and then gun-in to make it over the huge mess. I have always, always been a true winter lover. Snow of Christmas Eve is perfect, the first few snow storms when you get all bundled up and go sledding is awesome. Or cosy days where you sit inside and watch it fall and feel lazy. But for now I could use a break! Or maybe a chance to go skiing. Anyone up for watching two kids tomorrow?

The big purchase

I am sorry blogging world for ignoring you. I wish I could say that I have a good excuse but I don't. I just haven't felt like doing it. And now that I am doing a real post I should put up some cute pictures of the kids from Christmas. Especially Hannah who is such a cute one-year-old. But instead I am going to post about the big purchase that took us two weeks to find. I started to get to know the electronics workers at Target I was calling them so often. And last Tuesday we finally found one (I was honestly starting to doubt their existence). So now you can all enjoy silly pictures of my family until I feel up to posting something else! Dodgeball and boxing were the favorites.

Mom killed us ALL at bowling.

Kristin has a sweet way of boxing. She went crazy moving her hands as fast as she could. We all died laughing!

And Jon ended up with the high scores on most everything...but we will rematch soon.

Everyone should read this

Better duck — if you're a Mormon

By Doug Robinson
Deseret Morning News

Published: January 8, 2008

I missed the memo that said it's A-OK to make disparaging and often erroneous statements about Mormons.

Apparently, they are fair game.

Sure, these are hypersensitive times, when name-calling or perceived bias against any group will get you the Don Imus treatment, but you get a free shot with Mormons. You can say what you want about them with impunity.

If you denigrate a racial group, you're racist.

If you denigrate women, you're sexist.

If you denigrate Mormons, you're hip.

No one would openly suggest that you shouldn't vote for Hillary Clinton because a woman can't lead the country, especially an ornery one.

Nobody would dare say that you shouldn't vote for Barack Hussein Obama because he's black, or of Muslim descent, or because he has a name that sounds like a terrorist. One Clinton worker even apologized for alluding to Obama's use of drugs as a youth, so apparently it's wrong to disparage former drug users, too.

But nobody is shy about saying you shouldn't vote for Romney simply because he's a Mormon. It doesn't even register on the PC-O-Meter.

Just like that, 6 million Americans have been virtually disqualified from running for president. They've been rendered second-class citizens. They're foreigners living in America. They face a glass ceiling.

How un-American is that?

It would be one thing if most of those who oppose Romney did so because they disagreed with his politics or character. But Romney is one of the few candidates who has no character issues, a "squeaky clean" man who has a distinguished record of accomplishments, success and service, with no divorces, no affairs, no scandal. The only thing opponents can say about him is that he belongs to a church they don't understand.

A Harvard law professor called Romney the most qualified of all the candidates and "the perfect candidate for this moment in time." But there is his Mormonism, he noted.

Even the self-styled PC chief of police, Al Sharpton, once jumped in on the action, saying, "As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways."

Mormons don't believe in God?

For his penance, all Sharpton had to do was endure a family home evening in Utah.

It's open season on Mormons. A few days ago, Miami Herald columnist Dan Le Batard stated on ESPN and in the newspaper that part of the reason fired coach Cam Cameron failed was because he got stuck with a Mormon quarterback — not a rookie quarterback (which he is) but a Mormon quarterback.

"And you'll have a hard time finding a leader anywhere in sports who was as unlucky this year as Cameron," Le Batard said, noting that because of injuries, Cameron was forced to play "a United Nations huddle of a Mormon quarterback, Mexican receiver, Samoan fullback and some guy named Lekekekkkkerkker."

Now Mormons are foreigners?

Ignorance makes no difference. You can say Mormons have four wives or that they aren't Christian, and no one cares.

Imagine the uproar if Le Batard had written that the Dolphins suffered because they had to play a black quarterback for part of the season? Or a Catholic?

The Salt Lake Tribune has had a field day for more than a week since learning that Mike Leavitt and some of his like-minded cohorts met early in the morning to discuss Mormon theology and governance while he was Utah's governor. What if it had been a Bible study?

Nobody seems to mind when former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says his religion "defines me." Or when Obama says his church guides "my own values and my own beliefs."

People worry that Romney will take his orders from his church leaders. They don't worry that Obama will take orders from his church, whose "10-point vision" includes two references to its "non-negotiable commitment to Africa," with no mention of America. Oh, and the church statement begins by noting on the Trinity United Church of Christ Web site, "We are a congregation which is Unashamedly Black."

It's a different set of rules for some out there. You can print newspaper cartoons disparaging Mormons. You can harass their families as they walk to their biannual conference with all sorts of foul language. When someone commits a crime, you can note the criminal's religion, but only if he's Mormon. You can make them a one-liner on Leno. Good luck reconciling all this with the paranoid political correctness that's so in vogue.

Meanwhile, the most politically correct presidential election field ever assembled — a woman, a black, a Mormon, a Baptist, etc. — has gone politically incorrect, but only when it comes to you know who.

---

Doug Robinson's column runs on Tuesdays. Please e-mail drob@desnews.com.

© 2008 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved

sledding ect.

I love Christmas Pajamas, but mostly the kiddos in them.

Kristin came down for the weekend and we all went sledding while Hannah took a nap.

At Heritage Park we went to see Father Christmas. (He was good! He was totally serious and had Owen believing he was the real one)

Owen got up before us the other day, and when we went to get breakfast this is what we found. My favorite part is the 4 on the Christmas tree (since he is 4).

Snow!

We had a beautiful snow storm a few weekends ago. This is one thing I always missed when we were in Pennsylvania. The snow/ice storms just aren't the same as here in Utah.

Tag-and not the kind I play with Owen

I'm not very good at responding to tags. But since Melanie tagged me and even left me a comment on my blog (part of the rules) I guess I'm a scrooge if I don't do it.

The Rules:
1. The player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves - try to find 6 you haven't already posted about!
2. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names, and then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog for the rules.

1. I love blogs and I hate them at the same time. I think it is fun to read about other peoples lives and sometimes I am inspired by what I read and see. I like to keep in touch with friends and family and it is just a fun unique way to communicate. But sometimes I waste a lot of time looking at blogs, linking way beyond my circle. And other times I get depressed reading peoples blogs because they portray their best (who doesn't) and then I turn around and see a messy disgusting apartment, grumpy kids, and a lot of areas I fall short in.

2. I love love LOVE fresh Christmas trees. It has always been my favorite part of the holidays. I try to get it the day after Thanksgiving and leave it up until New Years. That way I have a tree in my house 1/12th of the year. Some of my favorite tree memories: When Jeff and I were dating over Christmas break we spent a lot of time lying under his childhood (artifical) tree that sung, twirled in a circle and had dancing lights. We would talk for hours and make the lights do all sorts of crazy things. Our first year in Pennsylvania we went and pre-tagged a tree and then Jeff went and cut it down and brought it home to me and newborn Owen.

3. I love dancing. I'm not good at it, but I love learning choreographed dances from movies. Like the one at the end of Ella Enchanted. Other movies like any Wiggles, Newsies and Hairspray are good dancers. I love the reaction I get from the kids and especially Jeff. That is about the extent of the people I dance for.

4. During a sociology course my first semester of college the professor read us this magazine article from the 1950s. The subject was how a woman can be a good wife. One piece of advice stated that you should 'prep' yourself a few minutes before your husband arrives home for work. "Touch up your makeup, brush up your hair, and tie a bow in it to make your husband happy to see you." For some reason this stuck with me and sometimes when I know Jeff will be home soon I think sarcastically 'should I go tie a bow in my hair?' Maybe I should try it sometime when things are crazy. If the bow was big enough Jeff might not notice the piles of laundry, or crying kids. I am so glad this is not the 1950s!!!

5. I loved cats growing up. I think I had about four but they all had fateful endings. Midnight was run over by my Dad (with our huge Dodge Ram van). I still remember the babysitter leaving and then Dad and Mom taking me up to their room to break the news to me. This orange cat I had crawled up into the hood of the van to stay warm on the engine (since our cats were not allowed in the house) and probably fell asleep. Then when my Dad started the car it got it's front paw cut off by the fan belt. I remember the vet telling me he could live with three legs, but would have a hard life. So we put him to sleep. One of my cats had kittens and my little sister Elizabeth hugged two of them to death. And last but not least I watched as a neighbour dog chased my cat up a tree and then caught it and...killed it. I gave up after that.

6. So growing up I had two older brothers that I tagged along with. Sometimes they let me be partners in crime with them. Like when we would watch the Simpsons (banned in our house) in the basement, or once they let me come toilet papering with them. Unfortunately I wasn't the best secret keeper and told my parents what we did. This resulted in all of us being grounded from t.v. for months at a time and other harsh punishments. One day when they were doing something in the basement I asked if I could join in. They both turned on me and started chanting "tattle-tell, tattle-tell" until I was pushed into a corner crying. I am sure I deserved it and I think it actually did me some good because I was more careful about what I said to Mom and Dad.

People I tag: Kristin, Laurissa, Kanien, Jordan, Heidi, Cassie

Preschool reasoning

Me: "Owen, you've lost your chance."
pause and he thinks about it
Owen: "How do I find it?"




I had to laugh. Sometimes I think he is so grown up, but look at him

Intern year

I've decided that intern year really stinks. Okay I decided this a long time ago. There are about a million reasons why, but don't worry, I'm not going into that. I really just wanted to tell you (blog, internet, cyberspace...whoever you really are) that in a few more weeks Jeff will be half way. That's right. Six miserable months done. And the next six months will be split up with a wonderful trip to Hawaii in April. SO HA intern year, we will conquer you!!!!

Party Month!!!

We decided to make all of November a party since Hannah's birthday is the 4th and Owen's is the 20th. We had a total of 4 parties. But it's okay because I love birthday parties!!! Especially first birthdays. I had so much fun making cakes, cupcakes, blowing up balloons and singing 'Happy Birthday' (especially to Hannah who always got a huge smile on her face). Things were a little tricky with Jeff's busy schedule so we decided to hold an extended family party on the 10th to celebrate both birthdays. But then I felt like we couldn't do nothing on their real birthdays.

Now the fourth party was a little surprise. I had talked about doing a friend party for Owen, but never really got around to it. Jeff was on-call working all day and night on Owen's real birthday, and since things had been crazy that day I decided to scrap it. Then when Owen went up to ask the neighbour boy to play I heard him telling him and his mom that he was having a party later on, and he asked them if they could come. They quickly accepted and so I went up and told them we had sort of been planning on one, but that I wasn't sure..... but the look on Owen's face helped me say maybe. All day I tried to talk him out of it, but he really really really wanted it. So at 4:30 we rounded up all the kids we could and had a party. Luckily there were leftover cupcakes from the night before and I had tons of fruit snacks which I wrapped up a bunch of times and we played the wrapping game. Owen also had fun showing his friends his new train.

Anyway here are some pictures from all the parties.

Hannah on her real birthday.

Family party:

"sea of balloons"
Highly recommended. Lizzy seemed to like it more that Owen and Hannah.
(I know these are blurry)

Owen on they eve of his birthday since Jeff was working the 20th.


And last but not least: the improv friend party!

Soap box

Do you think people would by upset if suddenly Women couldn't vote? Or maybe we decided anyone with blue eyes couldn't vote? Salt Lake City had a good turnout for voting today. 35% I think that's pathetic. Now that everyone in this country can vote everyone takes it for granted, and 2/3 of the people sit at home and watch Dancing with the Stars instead of taking 10 minutes to vote. And then we all complain when someone like Rocky Anderson tries to ruin Salt Lake City. Another thing that is really bothering me? Referendum 1. Let's just say the state of Utah failed it's I.Q. test. All the opposition to this was a bunch of garbage and I can't believe so many people were misled. The fact that we won't have vouchers isn't as big of a deal to me as how uninformed people can be. I went to a debate on this issue and anyone with a High School education could see that the opposition's arguments were unfounded and untrue. So I hope you voted today.