The Queen of Kings

Just cute

2012-01-31T19:47:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness Josie takes pictures of my kids because heaven knows I don't.

That's why Macy is Emma's bestie, she's always there to lend a hand.

His crazy is starting to mellow and he is definitely turning up the cute.

Temple Lights

2012-01-31T19:32:00.000-08:00

We made it to the temple this year and enjoyed it with the Hisermans. Always fun.

The highlight of the evening was definitely when the live nativity wasn't going to start for a few minutes, and they were nice enough to start taking parts of their costumes off to let our kids do their own. It was adorable.

Jacob refuses to show his teeth when he smiles. Drives me crazy.

Our picture from the top of the temple. I love that Parker is burying his head into my leg and Jackson could not look more put out by the whole thing. These kids are too funny.

All in all, it was a good night spent with good friends.

Gilroy Gardens

2012-01-31T19:07:00.000-08:00

We made the trek to Gilroy last month, it was our first time. We went with our friends the Moores, so fun! It was really empty and FREEZING! We were not adequately prepared. The sun went down and I thought I was going to freeze to death right on the spot. Somehow we survived and managed to enjoy ourselves.

Jacob, Addie, and Parker meeting Linus.

There was even a ride Emma could do all by herself. She was in heaven.

Jacob and Jackson on the Banana Split. If only they had fun.

The guy let them stay on and go over and over because no one was there. I taught them well that the back is the best place to ride.

The gang. Half frozen. Still fun.

Ice Skating

2012-01-31T19:01:00.001-08:00

Over the Christmas break we took the boys ice skating for the first time and had a really good time. By the end, they had the hang of it pretty well. Jacob has been asking to go back every week since. Aunt Lauren was here last week and he finally got his wish. She took them both again, and again, they both loved it. I think we may have finally found an interest for Jacob outside of video games. It only took 87 tries.

*not sure why I look like I'm in the throws of plotting some evil scheme, I really did have fun...

Thank you Aunt Lauren

2011-11-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

For my DARLING new dress!!

It's funny to us!

2011-10-30T15:16:00.000-07:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Happy Halloween Weekend!

2011-10-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

This is how we have been enjoying the Halloween season.

Our annual trip to the pumpkin patch with Josie and kids.
(feeding the nasty goats)

I only got a few of pictures before my battery died. It's fun to see Emma getting big enough to take part in the fun.

Our church Halloween party. Jacob and Jackson racing to finish their doughnut.

Our crazy bunch.
(In case you're not sure, Jamie and I are dressed from the movie Dodgeball, Jacob is Jango Fett, I made Parker's Angry Bird costume before I started treatment again, and Emma is our darling ladybug.)

Our Potato Head pumpkins, so much easier than all the carving and scraping. We'll save that for when they are older.

We've had fun so far and look forward to the big day on Monday ...now if you'll excuse me, I need to go pilfer through my children's candy.

2011-10-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

When you're tired ... you're tired. Even if you might run the risk of wooden beads falling on your head, you sometimes just don't care.

"Best Buds"

2011-10-18T14:03:00.000-07:00

I feel truly blessed that Jacob has such good friends that are good kids. They get along really well, if you couldn't tell, and can't seem to get enough of each other. Even when he'll play with one or the other for HOURS, he is always so sad when it's time to go.

*and what are the odds they would both have glasses?

2011-10-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

You think my kids play too many video games? So much so that even my one year old knows how to play with her brothers?

... that's weird, why would you think that?

He's a Big Deal

2011-10-15T13:28:00.000-07:00

Last month we celebrated Jacob's 8th birthday. This is a birthday that has extra meaning. In our faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, children are not baptized until they are 8 because we believe that is when you are old enough to understand right from wrong and be held accountable for your actions. We were very pleased with Jacob and his decision to be baptized. It was such a great day!

Jamie and Jacob just before the big event took place.

The friends that were there to help celebrate and congratulate him.

Emma, always being so easy going.

My parents, Jamie's mom (we missed Jamie's dad, but the Ambassador was needed elsewhere), and Jamie's younger brother and his family all came to make the day even better!

The cousins had too much fun and could not be bothered for a photo.

The family was in town the whole weekend and we had such a good time. We played, did a little swimming, played some more, made it to the beach, I started more chemo ... all in all, it was really fun. I was totally wiped and slept until about 10am the next few days, but I would do it all over again.

Jacob is amazing. He is such a sweet boy with a big heart. He is very aware of others and is truly thoughtful. He's especially amazing with little ones. He LOVES being a big brother. He could always get Parker to laugh more than anyone else and he loves that Emma is getting big enough to actually play with him now. I have told Jacob often that I'm pretty sure Parker and Emma chose to come to our family just so that they could have him as a big brother.
He has always had a great laugh that I just can't get enough of. Jacob is kind, tries really hard to do what is right, and is such an important part of our family.

We love him dearly and are so proud of him!!

I got a pill for that!

2011-08-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder what your bathroom is going to look like when you're 80?

About like this.

I just continue to collect lotions, potions, and tonics as we move along. I have a pill for just about everything, so drop me a line if you need anything from my pharmacy.

Time Warp

2011-08-14T20:43:00.001-07:00

Charlie and Jacob, 2 years old

Jacob's little sister and Charlie's little sister, not quite 2 years old.

(Gotta love a good set of Costco chairs. 8 years and still going strong.)

Is there anything this man can't do?

2011-08-13T20:31:00.000-07:00

If there is, it's not much. Glad I married him 12 years ago.

Happy Anniversary Jamie!

The help that has come and gone...so far

2011-06-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

As we have traveled on this long journey called cancer, we have thankfully not had to do it alone. We've had a revolving door at our house with all the family that has come to help and we love it!

My niece Shadow.

My sister Cynth.

My sister-in-law Stacey.

My sister Lauren.

My mom and dad.

My mother-in-law.

We so greatly appreciate every load of laundry you washed, every meal you made (even had some left in the freezer for later), every floor you swept, every dish you washed, every bath you gave, every rough night you endured with Emma, every morning you got up with the kids so Jamie could sleep a little longer, every outing you took the kids on, every ride to school you gave, every medication you administered, every errand you ran, every book you read, every game you played, every hug you gave.

Thank you.

*Chelsea lived with us for 3 months, but do i have any pictures of her? No. She was usually the one taking them. Don't think that means we love you any less though, Chels!

Emma's One!

2011-04-17T17:22:00.001-07:00

Okay she's been one for over a month now, but we were thrilled nonetheless. Emma is such a fun addition to our family. She has a sweet personality that is getting bigger all the time. She loves her brothers. Parker can always get her to laugh and often makes her cry. She has two teeth on the bottom and four on top. She is a mess when she has teeth coming in, more so than either of the boys were. She's a pretty good eater and is getting better at trying new things.

She is very much a daddy's girl. Emma can't get enough of Jamie. She is often grabbing at his legs to be picked up and her favorite place is in his arms.

Emma did a pretty good job with the cake.

I went pretty simple on the smash cake, but I thought is was cute.

Turns out, Emma loves bubbles.

Her butterfly cake that Jamie made. Designing girl cakes will add a new element of challenge in his cake making career. So far so good.

It was fun to celebrate her and we were happy that despite Parker's best efforts, she survived the first year.

My Story

2011-03-11T22:17:00.000-08:00

It was four months ago today that I first heard the words "concerning for cancer".

I had been having some pains on my right side over Halloween weekend and after seeing my doctor and being sent for an ultrasound because of suspected gallstones, they saw my gallbladder was clear but that I had lesions on my liver. That started the flurry of tests and procedures that would lead to my surgery in November where about a foot of my sigmoid colon, my right ovary, and 14 lymph nodes were removed. It was not longer after being home from the hospital that I got the phone call confirming that I had Stage 4 colon cancer.

This is a picture of my first round of chemo on December 14.

I had round #7 this week. My treatment is FOLFOX (an acronym for my 3 chemo cocktail) plus Erbitux. I go in every week for Erbitux, which is a growth inhibitor (stops new cancer cells from growing) and every other week for my actual chemotherapy. On chemo days, I'm in the chair about 5 or 6 hours. By the end I've had up to 7 IV bags infused into my port-a-catheter -- the awesome device surgically implanted under my skin on my chest, it saves my veins from getting stuck every week.

I'm expecting to have a CT Scan done next month to see where things stand. My blood work shows that it is going in the right direction and we are cautiously optimistic. I have no idea how many rounds I have left. When we first met with my oncologist, she said we just treat it until it's gone. I thought that sounded like a pretty good plan. She said it would be at least 10 treatments, maybe 20.

At this point, I live pretty day to day. I try to enjoy my kids on the days I feel good, and sleep on the days I don't. I have so many pulling for me and that means the world. I know I have many, many prayers going out on my behalf and on behalf of my family and I am so grateful.

Thank you. Thank you to the many that love me, love my kids, love my husband, bring us food, send notes, emails, texts messages, flowers...the list goes on. I am humbled by your support and love, it makes me stronger and fight harder.

Thank you to my army. I love you.

Emma

2011-03-07T21:18:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken about a month ago to document her standing. Now she is practically running, or at least she thinks she is. She started walking about 3 weeks ago and her speed and stability continue to increase. We think she figured she needed to be able to move quicker to stay out of Parker's reach. So far it hasn't really helped, he still gets her.

Parker is Finally 4!

2011-02-13T23:03:00.000-08:00

How cute is this 4 year old?

Parker has been asking several times a day since before Christmas if he is 4 yet. His Birthday couldn’t have come soon enough. He has been “3 and ½” for so long. To celebrate, he wanted an “Angry Birds” party to represent his favorite game on the iPad. We had a fun time despite trying to keep it fairly low key. Parker was in heaven.

Angry Bird Toss in the Backyard

A raucous game of “Stomp the Pig”

A wild game of “Bird, Bird, Pig”

A fun King Pig cake with Angry Bird Cupcakes

Happy Birthday Parker!

De-evolution of a Goat

2011-01-30T20:56:00.000-08:00

Jamie was really bored around Christmas, so he decided to grow a goatee for 2 weeks. When it was time to say goodbye to his new found friend, he shaved it off in stages resulting in various looks that will never again be repeated. Warning: Viewing these pictures will cause nightmares.

The Goat / Evil Jamie

The Dodgeball
80’s Metal Band

Molestache / 70’s Bike Cop

The Westley (from “The Princess Bride”)

This just emphasizes why you always need to keep your husband busy doing something constructive, although I will miss Evil Jamie a little.

Chillaxin' at the Dentist

2010-12-07T22:12:00.001-08:00

If my 3 year old can be this relaxed, there should be no complaints from grown ups about a trip to the dentist. Oh, and this was his first time ever to the dentist. He just needs a remote and a (root) beer.

2010-11-07T19:16:00.000-08:00

There will be a short intermission as we re-group from the last several weeks. It all began when my grandma passed away the first weekend in October. A week after returning from her funeral, I got mastitis. The next weekend I had severe pain and will soon have an ultrasound to determine if I have gallstones. Parker got a peanut M&M at our church Halloween party (we didn't need to go to the hospital because I think we caught him on the first M&M) and then this weekend he fell off the toilet and hit his head on the tub. He was knocked out cold. We took him to the ER and had a CT Scan done. Thankfully, there was no internal bleeding or injury, but he did have a concussion. He wasn't able to keep anything down for 2 days and we began to worry about dehydration. He seems to have almost entirely recovered tonight and will just continue to get his strength back in the next few days. Of course, throughout all of this, Jamie was traveling 4 days a week for the last 3 weeks.

Know that we are okay, just tired and a little overwhelmed. We are grateful that nothing was worse than it was and that each of these events were over a weekend so Jamie was home at the time.

Bring on the holidays!!

I think it's funny...

2010-10-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

Maybe you have to be a Sara(h) to fully appreciate it.

Let us bask in the glory of her cuteness!

2010-10-19T16:30:00.000-07:00

We went to Josie's House of Photography for her 7 month shoot. They turned out great as always!

Emma with her bestie, Macy.

Thanks again Josie!

Emma has started real food.

2010-10-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

She started cereal a few weeks ago and quite enjoys it.
As you can see, she was so intent on the whole process, she went cross-eyed watching the spoon.

Parker, the ever helpful one.

A happy cereal girl. We are just keeping fingers crossed that no allergies show up with this one!

No teeth yet so it is a lot of spitting and gumming to get the food down.

Jacob's 7th Birthday (a month late)

2010-10-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

We are to the point that we are on the every other year rotation. One year we do a family party and the next is friend. This year was family. We celebrated a couple days before because Jamie was going to be gone on the actual day. When we asked Jacob what he wanted to do ... shocker, he wanted to go to the Lego store.

He then wanted to go to Taco Bell and get the 10 taco party pack for lunch - he is so Jamie's son.

On the day of his birthday we asked Josie and her kids to join us for cake and ice cream.

I can't believe it has already been 7 years! He is so mature for his age and I sometimes forget he is still just a little boy. He is an amazing big brother and such a thoughtful person. I feel blessed that he is our first.
I love you Jacob!

Did we see him at Costco?

2010-10-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

I love conference weekend. The kids, not so much. But we did get a kick out of Parker when Elder Packer started his talk and Parker asked, "Did we see him at Costco last night?" The best part was that Parker was asleep in the cart at Costco the entire time and we weren't even sure if he knew where he was. And no, we didn't see him at Costco.

2010-09-08T13:49:00.000-07:00

What do your friends do when you leave on vacation? Mine give my room a MUCH needed makeover. I guess that's why my friends are better than yours.

BEFORE
(in the middle of packing for said vacation)

AFTER

Gorgeous right?

Thanks again Josie and Chelsea!

First Day of School

2010-08-31T20:09:00.000-07:00

Well...here we go again.

Jacob started 2nd grade last week (hence the two fingers, that was the best I could get out of him). He got the teacher that he wanted and is in a 2/3 split class. There are only 9 2nd graders and the rest are 3rd, we'll see how that goes.

We got there in time to walk with our friends from Kindergarten.

A quick shot before we were shuttled away.

Parker started today. He could not have been more excited! He's been asking me for days if he was going to school today. A few days ago when I could finally say, "Parker, you go to school in 2 days!" He answered, "I go-a school tomorrow next week?!?!"
They do group snack at his preschool, but because of his allergies, he just takes his own everyday. Which means we had to go get him his own lunch box. Again, could not have been more excited! He was carrying it around all morning and loading it with everything he could find.

In the classroom checking stuff out before they started. They weren't letting parents in, so we have crappy pictures through the window.

This is when I picked him up. Don't be fooled by his face, that was just because he wasn't sure about who was taking the picture for us. He told me about going outside, singing the monkey song during circle time, how much of his snack he ate...way more than I got out of Jacob when I'd pick him up.

So far so good for both of them. I already don't like helping Jacob with his homework because he has the attention span of a gnat and I'm terrified about letting Parker out of my control because I dread getting "the call" that he ate something he shouldn't have.

Other than that, they are off to a great start and I am so proud of them for how well they handle facing their new situations.

*An update on Parker and his asthma: he is doing better. I take him into the Dr. tomorrow to see if we need to continue the breathing treatments every 4 hours around the clock, or if we can lengthen them out a little. We have rescheduled the appt at the allergy clinic for next Tuesday and we go to the pulmonologist in few weeks to begin figuring out his asthma plan.

Thank you so much for all of the continued prayers and well wishes. It really does mean so much to me when people are going out of their way to check in and see how he is doing. We'll keep you posted!

How we ended our summer

2010-08-24T22:51:00.000-07:00

The plan was to do some really fun things with our last few days, like join my friends at the beach today, and to collect all the school supplies together to make sure we have everything.

Instead, we spent two days in the hospital with Parker.

It started this weekend when his seasonal allergies were really bothering him and because we had an appointment with the allergist, we couldn't give him anything to get it under control. It then triggered the upper respiratory stuff that we love so much and we were back on the nebulizar by Sunday evening. After lots of breathing treatments and a really rough night, we headed to the doctor to see if it was something more. Once she listened to his lungs and after an additional treatment in her office, she said that was the tightest he had ever sounded. She sent us to the ER.

Seven hours in the ER, 3 more breathing treatments, 2 continuous hour long treatments, and a chest x-ray later...he was admitted and put in the pediatric ICU. They continued his treatments and added some more medication. He and Jamie had a sleepover in the hospital that he was not very excited about. He just kept saying, "I wanna go home". It broke my heart every time.

The nurses and staff all loved him and thought he was so cute. He was very good about taking his medicine and putting up with the whole ordeal. When all was said and done he was officially diagnosed with asthma. One more piece to his complicated little puzzle. I'm just glad he is home and we know what we are dealing with and have a plan in place.

Thank you Chelsea for everything you did for the kids and the house, (you don't really need to go back to school, right?) and thank you to the friends and family that were praying for us.

So not quite like I envisioned summer ending, but I certainly won't forget it anytime soon.

Our trip back east ... there are a lot of pictures!

2010-08-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

We spent about 10 days back east at the end of July/beginning of August. As always, we had a great time and saw lots of family.

We started in Virginia for a few days with Jamie's parents and brother and family. Then we headed to Pennsylvania to my brother's to take part in my newest nephew's blessing. We then went to my sister's beach house and then back to Virginia for a couple more days before heading home.

This is my nephew Max holding Emma.

Here is Elliot James, the man of the hour. He looks like an adult baby, not an old man, just an adult. He was so cute and little. He was a very good boy for his blessing.

Jacob and Parker playing with their cousin Isaac. It was really nice to see my brother, Doug, and his adorable family. I didn't get pictures of my brother or his girls, but trust me, they were there and it was fun.

This is the Virginia part of the trip.
Jamie's brother, Nate, held Emma and even got her to fall asleep. I thought they both looked quite comfortable, it was pretty cute.

We visited the Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum with Nate, Denys, and the kids. There were lots of cool planes, a space shuttle, even the Enola Gay.

Nate has a fancy camera that he does cool stuff with, including tricked out light saber photography. You can only imagine how much Jacob enjoyed that.

Of course Parker got in on the action too.

The group shot with Jamie's family after church.

Emma and I enjoying their neighborhood pool. We went there just about everyday and loved it.

This is the time spent at my sister Lauren's beach house. It happened to be my birthday so of course there was cake involved. It was a Parker friendly cake and you can see how excited he was that he was going to be able to take part.

We had some gorgeous beach days. My parents were there too which was very fun to get to see both sets of grandparents on the same trip. Lots of hanging out with cousins, digging in the sand, delicious food, with a little outlet shopping on the side. I do love Bethany Beach, DE!

Emma napping in her own beach tent.

Jamie sculpted Jacob into a Lego brick.

The older boys "built" a fire pit behind the house for roasting marshmallows for our s'mores. They were the biggest marshmallows EVER and oh so tasty!

The kids did a pretty good job despite the fact that they didn't go to bed before 10 every night and were up with the sun each morning. There was a fair bit of driving too. We visited 3 states but drove through many more, and they took it all in stride.

Parker had the toughest time. He got a peanut butter cracker, an ear infection, upper respiratory stuff that required breathing treatments (we now own 2 nebulizars) , and his seasonal/dust mite allergy hit him pretty hard too. A trip to the ER, an urgent care clinic, multiple drug stores, and lots of medication later, I was happy to get him home. But, despite Parker's best efforts, we had a really nice visit.

Jacob and Emma watching a little Star Wars on the flight home, Jacob put the headphones on Emma so she wouldn't miss anything. Always the thoughtful big brother.

I Like Friday the 13th

2010-08-13T17:36:00.000-07:00

But mostly because that was the day we were married ... 11 years ago.

Happy Aniversary Jamie -- you still make me laugh!

It's been awhile

2010-07-27T17:19:00.000-07:00

She is the reason why.

Everything certainly does take a little longer with 3, especially since I feel like I'm stopping every 20 minutes because she needs to eat again. Emma is such a good baby and none of us can get enough of her.

Thanks to Chelsea and Josie for the darling pictures.

2010-07-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

It makes taking a bite of an apple a little more difficult.

To the fathers in my life

2010-06-20T16:04:00.000-07:00

Thank you.

Does anyone know where May went?

2010-06-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my lack of posting, let the re-cap begin!

Most importantly, we blessed Emma. Thank you to everyone that came to celebrate with us. Along with the friends that were there, we had both sets of grandparents and the boys were in heaven.

Jamie gave a beautiful blessing about Emma being thoughtful and having faith. He also mentioned her following the example of the strong, righteous woman in her life, namely her mother and her grandmothers. He always does a great job. They are a cute pair.

Our new family. Maybe one day I'll get a picture with everyone looking at the camera and smiling, but I'm not holding my breath.

Seriously, how cute is this baby?

The dress that Grandma B bought and added a little lace to because, "it just needed a little something more".
Thanks Mom.

It was such a nice day.
I feel so blessed to have Emma in my life and to have so many friends and family that are excited about her too.

2010-06-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

Following the blessing we were able to spend separate time with each set of grandparents. I know the boys really enjoyed their time with each of them and were sorry when they had to leave.

My parents with the kids.

We spent an afternoon at the Bay Area Children's Museum. It had lots of fun things to explore and play on. Grandpa showing Jacob how to make repairs on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Parker painting on the window, only this time with permission. (Mostly because somebody else cleans it up.)

A very serious Jacob concentrating on his block building.

It was nice of the weather to be warm and not foggy. I would have more pictures, but I'm getting worse about remembering to take them. I bring my camera with me, just forget to use it. Just trust me, it was fun.

2010-06-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

While we had Jamie's parents, we went to Happy Hollow in San Jose. It is a cute park for younger kids. It has fun rides, a big playground, and a petting zoo, as well as a puppet theater...what's not to love?

Parker giving his dad a ride.

It's not everyday you get to ride an eagle. Parker loved the carousel, every time the bell would ring indicating that it was about to start, he'd jump and get a big smile because he knew the fun was coming. Pavlov had something there.

A quick lunch break and then off for more fun.

Jamie's mom with Emma.

We wish we could see the grandmas and grandpas all the time, but we certainly appreciate them making the trip to see us.

Trevor and Shadow

2010-04-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

My nephew and his wife came to visit ... but they were here on different days. Trevor came up on Sunday night and we had to take him back on Monday night.

In the short 24 hours he played at the beach with Parker,

played Wii with Jacob,

and loved on Emma, lots. He even changed her diaper, twice!

Tuesday morning his darling wife Shadow had a 10 hour layover at SFO.

We did a quick pedicure,

and then just took it easy.

It was the shortest visit ever, by both of them, but we had a great time. They are so good to my kids. It's fun to watch them play and see how much they love them. The feeling is returned!

Come back soon guys!

The Bath

2010-04-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

Emma loves her tub time. She is completely relaxed from the minute her feet go in the water. It won't be long before we can no longer use the kitchen sink though.

Emma's First Day at Church

2010-04-29T12:48:00.001-07:00

She was very popular!

How Stinking Cute is This?

2010-04-07T22:36:00.000-07:00

Proof that at one time he liked his sister and was nice to her. Having two older brothers myself, I can vouch that you never know how long that's going to last. (For those of you who can't tell, Parker is singing "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree". )

2 Week Update

2010-03-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we reached the 2 week mark of having Emma. We are all doing well. Jamie and I are quite tired, the boys are still excited to hold her and kiss her, and Emma is thriving. She really is a good baby.

This was the first night in the hospital. The strange thing is that I can no longer use the term "my boys" and refer to the rest of my family.

Emma was five days old when Josie came to do her first photo shoot.

She got some good ones!

This is our sunbathing beauty. She had a touch of jaundice and needed to spend some time in the sun to help her through it. Thankfully that was enough to take care of it.

Unlike her big brother, Jacob, that had to in a baby tanning bed to get rid of his jaundice.

They can't get enough of her.

She already looks so different. It's amazing what 2 short weeks will do. Two weeks ago I was pregnant, I only had two kids, and they were boys, and I had no idea how much I would love having a daughter (that has already joined me on two shopping trips).

Emma

2010-03-17T21:40:00.000-07:00

She finally made it! Emma was born on March 15th. She weighed in at 7 lbs 1 0z and is 21" long.

She is perfect!

Everything went well. I was induced so the labor took a little longer than I would have liked, but still not bad.
We had a good couple of days at the hospital that were a nice balance between visitors and resting.

We are home now and the boys are excited to have baby sister around, we'll see how long that lasts. I'm excited to not be pregnant any more and that I have this beautiful little love that I get to stare at in amazement and snuggle all day.

Welcome to the Kingdom, princess!

Still no baby

2010-03-13T13:14:00.000-08:00

But you get more from my shoot with Josie.

And yes, I'm already a little annoyed with my daughter for her unwillingness to cooperate. I'll admit, I thought it would have taken longer to get to that point.

Days before ...

2010-03-10T23:26:00.000-08:00

Josie is taking a photography class and I get to benefit! She came over and took a few pictures to document my final days. I have a new appreciation for good lighting and good angles!

Parker is 3!!

2010-02-18T17:19:00.001-08:00

This post is a little late, but here it is.

Here is a one month old Parker and a very little Jacob.

This is about a year and a half and we were beginning to realize he would keep us busy.

Parker's birthday was last Saturday. We are now on the every other year rotation. One year is a friend birthday and the next is a family. This year was family. We went to Chuck E Cheese to get it started. We just bought a bunch of tokens and played until they were gone.

The 3 boys playing some Mario Kart.

Parker not sure what he's doing, but enjoying himself thoroughly.

After "the Cheese" we asked him where he wanted to go for his birthday lunch and he answered Taco Bell, his father has trained him well. So after lunch and a good nap, he opened his presents from Grandma and Grandpa Bingham and Chelsea. Then he got his big one, a new bike (which I don't have a picture of yet). He was very excited and couldn't wait to take it outside to ride, literally, he kept climbing on it and riding it around in circles in the house.

We topped the day off with some cupcakes and a little singing. All in all, I think it was a pretty good day. It was a relaxed day and nice to have just us to celebrate Parker and what a fun addition he is to our family. Sure he's a little crazy, okay a lot, but he's ours and we love him!

Happy 3rd Parky-do!

First Night in the New Bunkbeds

2010-01-30T21:04:00.000-08:00

They were both very excited ... too excited. There was lots of giggling, lights being turned on, and more giggling. It was all fun and games until Jacob finally fell asleep. I think Parker felt a little nervous about his first night out of the crib and that he could no longer see Jacob. He came out and told us, "I no yike my bunk bed, I go sleep in my crib". Thankfully, Jamie tucked him back in and laid down with him for a little while to put him at ease.

Wish us luck on naptime tomorrow.

Jump Fighting

2010-01-20T22:49:00.000-08:00

Another reason we are looking forward to having a girl.

What started as them getting pajamas on led to running through the house with Jacob being "Captain Underpants" and Parker being "Super Diaper Baby". From there, Jacob grabbed 2 light sabers and told Parker, "let's fight". They both climbed on Jacob's bed, started jumping, swinging their light sabers at each other, and telling me they were jump fighting.

...and chances are, if you ask them to put pajamas on, they will end up in their underwear jump fighting wanting weapons to go with it.

What?

2010-01-11T20:03:00.000-08:00

This is our baby girl. Cute huh?

I am 31 weeks and while I'm surprised I only have 9 weeks left, I can't totally remember what it's like to not be pregnant. The uncomfortable is setting in more and the mundane tasks of bending over and standing or sitting up are getting harder and harder.

I did have another ultrasound just before the new year and all continues to be well. She is still measuring small (in the 25th percentile) but that seems to be normal for my babies.

It is beginning to feel more real and we just keep getting more excited. And no...we have no idea what we are going to name her, although Jamie wants to name her "What" because anytime we talk about having a girl he gets a confused look on his face and says, "a girl...what?".

Now that it is the New Year, I will tell you about Christmas

2010-01-04T21:30:00.000-08:00

We began the Christmas season by going down to Palo Alto with Josie and crew to have lunch with Ronna and her family and then it was off the annual creche exhibit. It is always beautifully done and the boys were happy to be with friends, as were we.

Dylan and Parker laying on the floor in the children's room (it was the only pose they would both smile and look at the camera).

Jacob, Charlie, and Luke in front off the Lego nativity. It was pretty cool. I don't think I was supposed to take a picture of it, but the volunteer that was close by was good enough to look the other way. Charlie was directing the shot, telling the other boys how to stand, and of course, Jacob looking no where near the camera.

It was a short afternoon, but we had a good time. Thanks again Ronna for having us down and for making your delicious potato soup!

2010-01-04T21:20:00.000-08:00

We go see the temple lights every year with Merrill and Lisa and have done so for 8 years. The only 2 years we didn't was when we lived in Utah. Come to think of it, one of those years, Lisa was in Salt Lake so we went to see the lights at Temple Square. By now, it is definitely a tradition.

Our ever growing group.

The 4 and 1/2 of us.

The kids, minus William, on top of the temple. Maddie was funny, she couldn't get enough of Parker and kept trying to pick him up and offering to carry him. This was another attempt.

Another tradition (though we are willing to break this one) is finding the worst place to eat after. Sometimes because the food is bad, but mostly because we always manage to find the place with the longest wait time. This year it was Fenton's. The kids actually did a pretty good job considering the wait was supposed to be 15-20 mins and it was an hour and a half. Jamie got the worst of it because he had Parker on his shoulders for a lot of the time. Parker has a tendency to pull hair, smack his face, and stick his fingers in Jamie's mouth. All of which he does over and over again.

We finally got our table and the kids were so tired and hungry they just sat and ate. It was nice to be able to have a conversation with Lisa and Merrill despite the 5 kids at the table. They even had a sorbet that was dairy free so Parker got to have a treat too.

It was another good trip and we look forward to next year. In the meantime, we will try to find a better place to go after.

2010-01-04T21:10:00.000-08:00

We had a fantastic Christmas! We stayed home for Christmas this year, traveling great distances is getting a little harder for me. All four of us stayed in our pajamas all day and just ate and relaxed. It was nice to have such a low key day and fun to start to figure out our own traditions.

Bright and early Christmas morning in front of the tree. Jacob woke up first and climbed in bed with us. We held him off as long as we could, then finally let him wake up Parker to get on with the festivities.

The only gift Santa brought us this year was a Wii and there were no complaints. Jamie and Jacob have spent plenty of time playing the Lego Star Wars game my parents gave us. One day they actually played for 7 hours. You read right, 7 hours. It was getting annoying by the end, but I let them play on since the opportunity doesn't come along too often, or ever again.

Parker was entirely thrilled with his new Thomas set from Jamie's parents. We have such a random collection of tracks, that not all of the trains work on, we decided to streamline it and ask for one type of track that will replace the rest and all the trains will drive on. The cutest is that Jacob got excited about it too and will still help Parker set up tracks.

It was a really nice couple of weeks. It was fun do have Jacob home from school and Jamie took a week and a half off from work. The boys got along really well and their behavior was even pretty decent. We took a couple of outings to the movies, a museum with a Lego exhibit, to buy Jamie and I a new king size bed, but mostly we just hung out, together.

Thanksgiving was awesome...

2009-12-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

my pictures were not. So I will just tell you about it. We spent the day in Napa with our dear friends, Lisa and Merrill. We had a relaxing morning of eating and cooking, a delicious dinner in the afternoon, and went to the movie and had pie in the evening. It was a good day. Lisa is such a fabulous cook, everything tasted amazing! It was such a relaxed day, we didn't even use a tablecloth. That's right, no formalities that day. In the next couple of years we will probably each have a fork and eat straight out of the pan. That will be awesome too.

The next day Jamie's aunt and family came by for a visit. They had been in Sacramento visiting family and used a day to come down and see us. We had a really nice visit. It was good to see them again and nice to have some family around, even if just for a few hours. Again, no pictures, but they were so kind as to bring us a gingerbread house the we put together on Sunday. The boys loved it!

They would put one candy on the house and then two in their mouth. The usual gingerbread house building process.

It was cute to see Parker figure it out and start to really get into it.

The finished product. We were all very pleased with how it turned out. My favorite, was when Jacob told Jamie to put 158 on the front. When Jamie asked why, he was told, "because that's their address". We asked him if he wanted to use our number instead and he said, "No, because their address is 158." How dare we question.

I love that it is Christmas time and I love that I have my stuff together a little more this year so I can enjoy the season as it comes, instead of wondering where it went.

We are so blessed and I truly am grateful.

The One You've All Been Waiting For

2009-11-04T17:46:00.000-08:00

This sums up our week in Hawaii. We did everything at the speed of chill and did our best to do everything with "Aloha". (We decided that this is their catch-all word that could mean anything, like "Smurf".)

For those that haven't talked to me in the last year to hear me talk about going to Hawaii, in August Jamie and I had our 10th anniversary and to celebrate we spent a week on the island of Kauai. My parents flew out and stayed with the boys so it was truly a vacation!
Of course, we had a great time. It was so nice to have concentrated time for just us and uninterrupted conversations. It was fun to reminisce about the last ten years and talk about where we were and where we are now. We were gone long enough that I actually missed the boys. Sadly, I can't say that about every time I am away from them.
One of the nights we were there we went to a luau. I went to Oahu about 12 or 13 years ago to be a bridesmaid for one of my roommates (rough I know). At the luau especially, it brought back some fun memories of my previous trip. One of which included the groom's aunt trying to teach me and my friends the "Sophisticated Hula" to perform at the reception. Let's just say the 10 year old in the picture below, did a much better job than we did. Of course the pig was delicious and Jamie has now tasted poi.

This is the salt water lagoon at our hotel that was one of our favorite spots to relax. I especially enjoyed the nice girl that walked around asking if we needed anything. So of course I got a delicious fruity drink to enjoy while I sat in paradise. There were hammocks behind us that Jamie took advantage of, but in my current condition, they were a little tricky for me.

Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It was beautiful. I loved the green mixed in with the red rocks and the contrast of the blue sky.

Tunnels Beach where we did some awesome snorkeling. We spent our last day beach hopping on the north side of the island. We snorkeled at 2 different beaches and just enjoyed another one or two.

This was our last sunset on the island. We were at Hanalei Bay and it was amazing. The sand was so soft and because of the small bay, it was a little more protected and the waves didn't get as huge. At this point we look like we had been on vacation for a week. A little sunburned, quite relaxed, and enjoying our last night responsibility free. There were even a few times Jamie turned his Blackberry off and left it in the hotel room. That's how I knew he was serious about enjoying this time together and a much needed break.

A huge thank you to my parents, because without them, this week would not have happened! Thanks also to the many people that were willing to help my parents if needed and those that took Jacob or Parker to give my parents a little break.

Such a great week, too bad we waited 10 years to go!
Aloha!

Happy Halloween ...

2009-10-31T09:41:00.001-07:00

from Indiana Jones and your friendly neighborhood garbage man!

And how awesome are our Mr. Potato Head pumpkins? They were 10 minutes start to finish, no clean up, and the boys actually helped instead of Jamie and I scraping and carving for an hour. Good thing the boys liked them, because you know I'm using them year after year.

Happy Trick or Treating!!

Oh Boy, Oh Boy ....

2009-10-23T11:01:00.000-07:00

It's a Girl!!

What?! I had kind of been thinking it was a girl but wasn't going to be surprised if it were a boy. Instead, I'm actually quite surprised it's a girl. We are very excited, especially Jacob. He has been wanting a little sister. Everything looks good. Strong heartbeat and everything where it is supposed to be.
Today is my half way point. 20 weeks down, 20 to go.
(Isn't she already so cute all curled up in a ball and snugly?)

Something’s missing…

2009-09-27T20:03:00.001-07:00

Jacob lost his first tooth today. He could not have been more excited. It was loose enough that it practically fell out on its own. After lunch Jamie pulled it out and Jacob barely even noticed. He was excited to slurp the spaghetti we had for dinner through the hole where the tooth used to be. Before bed tonight, he wrote a note to the tooth fairy to see if she would be kind enough to leave the tooth but still leave him money anyway. He said he wants the money to help buy more Legos and that he was ok if she had to take his tooth as long as she left the money.

He's officially a big kid.

Isn't This How Everyone Watches TV?

2009-09-22T11:14:00.000-07:00

You know what they say, "If the bag fits ..."

*I took this picture a couple of hours ago and after taking a break and playing for a bit, I just now turned to look at him and he is sitting watching TV, in the bag again. I guess he has a new preferred spot.

Go Jacob!

2009-09-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

Guess who just read a book all by himself? No, not Jamie. I know I have a thousand other posts to do, but Jacob read Green Eggs and Ham all by himself tonight and we were so proud that we had to let the world know. Jacob was obviously very proud of himself and had a big goofy smile on his face when he finished and said "Who wants to give me a hug?"

Another Parker First

2009-08-13T16:31:00.000-07:00

(Sorry about the picture, it looks like I scanned in a torn photo and it's blurry. Did I mention I don't like our camera?)

Parker had his first slice of pizza a couple of days ago. I discovered Little Cesar's doesn't have egg in their crust, so I ordered him a sausage pizza, without the cheese. It looks a little weird because it is just sauce and meat, but Parker was so excited!

It's not uncommon for us to do a movie and pizza night and Parker has always just had to look at everybody's plate with a delicious slice while he was eating chicken nuggets or a hot dog, again. When I told him we were getting pizza and that I was getting some for Parker too, he just looked at me confused and said, "no have pizza, has cheese and milk". I mean seriously, how sad is that?

He started jumping and yelling, "I yuv pizza!" when I explained to him that they were making a special Parker pizza that didn't have any cheese or milk. He was still so excited about it, that that was the first thing he told his dad when he got home from work, was that he had some "Parter Pizza".

It seems strange to be so excited that may son can eat pizza, you don't get more common, but I am thrilled to add another item to his repertoire.

A Kick Off To Our Summer

2009-07-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

This is a pitiful representation of pictures from our trip, but I was too busy enjoying myself to pick up the camera. Besides, my bro-in-law got some great ones, I just haven't bothered to get them from him.

The day after school ended, we loaded up the car and headed to St. George, Utah. It was my family reunion. All of my siblings, their spouses, and kids were there, including my nephew and his new wife. In total, we had 36 people, it was awesome! It was so fun to be together again and renew friendships.

My niece, Cecily, with the boys. She couldn't get enough of Parker, but I was happy to let her try.

It has been YEARS since I've been to Southern Utah. I forgot how red everything is, even the dirt. It's very pretty though with lots of fun places to explore.
Jamie and Parker on the Red Hills with the St. George temple in the background.

Who knew Jacob would love so much climbing? Almost everywhere we went, he was at the head of the pack, trying his best to keep up with the big boys and going up every rock that looked even a little bit possible.

Mason, Parker, and Micah in their "Man Cave". All of the cousins were so good to my boys. Since I'm the youngest in the family, most of Jacob's and Parker's cousins are a bit older than them older. They were all so cute to them and willing to help out.

Our least favorite part of the trip was when Parker ate a peanut. It was our last day there and the entire crew was getting ready to leave for Zion's Nat'l Park. Jacob came to me and told me that Parker ate a peanut. I ran to him but he had an empty mouth. I asked Jacob if he saw him eat it. He told me no but that he saw a broken peanut on floor by him. I then found an open trail mix bag not too far away. About 20 minutes later, Parker had a few red bumps on his face and he started to just look different. I said, "Parker got a peanut, here's Jacob and some snacks, we'll call you when we are done and meet up later," and we were off. We selected "Hospital" on our GPS and we got there in about 8 minutes. Every minute that ticked by, he got more swollen, more uncomfortable, and scratching lots. It was so sad.

Here he is in the ER bed, asleep, with his IV because the last time we had to do the steroid orally, he threw it up. I was very sad to miss the big day together, but so thankful, once again, for family that we could just hand Jacob off and know that he will be loved and taken care of. Parker recovered well and was playing that afternoon like nothing happened.

We had a great trip! My brother did a great job planning it and made me wish, even more, that my boys had cousins and/or grandparents around. Not as an exception, but as a regular thing.

My Brother Came to Town

2009-07-16T15:43:00.000-07:00

I have a brother that lives in Oregon. He and his family had finished a family vacation with my sis-in-laws family in San Diego, and we were their pit stop on the way home. We only got to have them for a couple of days, but it was really fun to hang out with my big brother again, even though he still calls me "Brat" and torments me a little.

We had a picnic lunch at the park by the Palo Alto Children's Museum and then headed over to check out the museum itself.

This is my brother, Devin, helping Parker figure out how to make the ball go up. I love that Devin has his fist clenched too and moving it in a circular motion, it really did help:)

Parker spent awhile at this exhibit. I only encouraged him, because maybe one day he'll be on The Price is Right and end up playing Plinko! You never know.

My darling nieces with the boys.

We had a little Don Pico for dinner that night, put a movie on for all of the kids in my room, and the four adults watched "Kicking and Screaming" in the living room. It was a fun and easy couple of days. We love time with family, in any time duration we can get!

July 4th and more Parker sickness

2009-07-16T15:21:00.000-07:00

I threw my last party as Activities Chair for my ward. We had a 4th of July Pancake Breakfast, complete with flag ceremony and children's bike parade.

I didn't get nearly as many pictures as last year, but I was sure to get a picture of the tables that I arranged as a flag. I thought it was very clever even though I don't think many people got it. There were even stars on the blue tables in the corner, courtesy of Chelsea.

The very next day I was called as the Primary President. I enjoyed the party planning, but I know Jamie is glad to be done with it because let's be honest, I made him do a lot too. I've been in the primary for a number of years and it is fun to be back, just taking me a little longer than I expected to find my groove.

As for Parker, another ear infection led to more junk in his lungs and more breathing treatments. This is Jacob being the awesome big brother that he is and helping out. Notice neither one is taking their eyes off the TV though. Priorities, after all.

He did it!!

2009-06-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

My first born graduated from Kindergarten today. I am officially a parent of a 1st grader!
(Wish me luck!) There he is with his fabulous teachers and principal.

*Do you like the serious face? I had to yell at him to come back for the picture because he took off as soon as they gave him his certificate, already too busy for mom.

Jacob's Play

2009-06-05T08:52:00.001-07:00

Jacob's kindergarten class had a unit on teamwork last month, as part of that, they put on a play. They preformed "Three Nanny Goats Gruff".

He was one of the narrators and it was darling! He did such a great job, as did the rest of the class. They had all memorized their lines, they needed a little prompting from time to time, but they are 5 and 6 after all. There were lots of songs too that everyone sang together. They even painted the scenery, it was all too cute.

It was really fun to watch and I was so proud of Jacob for all of his hard work. We got the whole thing on video if anyone would like to come over for a personal screening.
(Thanks to Lisa, Josie, and Ronna for coming to watch and support my boy!)

A Little Disturbing, Isn't It

2009-05-28T14:46:00.000-07:00

I find it sad that when I saw my son on the couch last week, just relaxing and enjoying some Dora, all I could think of was George Costanza, and now, that is all you will think about too. You're welcome!

My Unexplained Absence

2009-05-10T20:36:00.000-07:00

You may or may not have noticed that I haven't blogged in awhile. Our computer has a bunch of viruses and we can no longer get online. It is thanks to Jamie for being home long enough that I can use his laptop to let you know we are still around and our life is still as uneventful as ever.

We are working on fixing the problem and in the mean time, I will leave you with this:

I had a wonderful Mother's Day! I had a day off yesterday, then woke up to breakfast in bed, darling cards, and a pound of See's. I had a nap after church, read for bit, and was treated to a delicious steak and artichoke dinner. It was while I was reading that I realized how hard Jamie had worked to help the boys understand what the day meant. Jacob was running down the hall and stubbed his toe. He started crying and when I asked him what happened, he said, "I hurt my toe and you can't help because it's Mother's Day and so you are taking the day off and can't do anything!" I told him I can always help him, no matter what day it is. By then, however, Parker had done something to make him laugh and he was over it. Awesome!

My boys are amazing and I certainly felt loved!

Engagment Picture

2009-04-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or does this look like a glimpse into my son's future? At least I like the girl and her family.

She's Gone

2009-04-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

Chelsea actually left this time. She has gone back to school in Idaho, and even though her original plan was for her to return about 3 months ago, we loved that she stayed as long as she did.

I've known Chels since she was about 13. She is easy to hang out with and fun to have around.

Thanks Chels for all the times you helped me and always being so willing to just hang out with us.

Jacob and Chelsea finishing dinner at the Pancake House (this was her good-bye dinner the second time she was supposed to go). Every time it was time for her to go home Jacob would grab on to her legs and yell, "No, I don't want Chelsea to leave. She is supposed to stay for a sleepover!"
Reading stories to Parker before he went to bed, he was very into the story.

My boys think the world of her and so do I. We miss you Chels!

Don't Look Now ... But I am Updating My Blog!

2009-03-29T16:41:00.001-07:00

We went for a quick trip to Tahoe this weekend and it was fun! The weather was perfect, we were actually warm out on the hill. The drive up took too long because of typical Friday afternoon traffic, but we pushed through and were just happy to arrive. We checked in and went straight to the pool. It was heated but still cold so we spent our time in the hot tub. We had an early night so we would be ready for sledding.

Jacob couldn't wait for the sledding hill so he climbed on the huge snow drift just outside our window. I was actually inside when he did this and all I saw was my son slide down and get stuck in between the snow and the window. He paused for a second and scrambled back out.

Jamie and Parker on their first run. Parker didn't think it was quite as fun ...

and it wasn't because of this. He was already crying before the sled tipped.

Jacob was a natural. He had his serious face on most times he went cruising down, that kid is all business. My favorite was when he was going so fast he went all the way to the bottom and kept going up the dirt hill at the end. I watched the whole thing from the top and laughed the entire time.

Chelsea came too and we loved that she did! She is so fun and the boys just love her. I loved the time I fell off and she was right behind me so she crashed into me less, but glad to have her none the less.

It was a quick trip because Jamie had to fly out Sunday morning for work, but I thought it was totally worth it. Jacob keeps talking about the next time we go to Tahoe. It is a lot of work to get ready to play in the snow though. It takes a lot of stuff, (thank you to everyone that lent us snow gear!) willingness to spend a long time building snow people, and the possibility that your 2 year old will not enjoy any of it. All in all, it was a great trip and I am glad we went, but I think it solidified that we are a beach family.

The Big 2

2009-02-13T08:27:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARKER!!

We have survived another year, allergies and all. It was two years ago today that my water broke, I drove myself to the hospital, and at 1:42pm, this little love joined our family.

Parker is so fun. He loves his big brother, trains, and rockin' out to some good tunes. Just a few pictures to see how he has grown.

You are such an important addition to our family, Parker. We love you!!

Let's Just Be Friends

2009-01-29T19:59:00.000-08:00

Now I know that Jacob and the garbage have been together for a long time, a really long time, but people change. They grow apart. It's not you -- it's me. The last few weeks I've begun to witness something I wasn't actually sure was ever going to happen. Jacob doesn't wake up on Tuesday morning and remind me that we take out the garbage tonight because tomorrow is garbage day. You don't always find him at his perch bright and early Wednesday morning, sure there were those first few weeks after the split body truck came, but the spark seems to be gone. Most amazing of all, the garbage cans are still at the curb on Wednesday night when Jamie gets home from work.

Now I'm not saying that there isn't still excitement to see trucks on the street, or that he doesn't still pray for our garbage man, by name, from time to time. Just that maybe garbage and Jacob aren't quite as tight as they used to be. It seems odd, it's like breaking up peanut butter and jelly, but these things happen.

This isn't a bond that goes away over night, but for now, I think it is safe to say, they are at a new point in their relationship.

You'd Never Know it was Janruary

2009-01-23T15:38:00.000-08:00

For our Martin Luther Holiday we went to the beach. Isn't that what everyone does? It was a gorgeous 75 degrees. We went with our good friends, Josie and Justin. As you can see, Parker was enjoying himself thoroughly.

Jacob and Charlie playing one of their games that I never fully understand.

The guys, minus Jamie.

It was a perfect day, other than the fact that we were expecting it to be colder so I was in jeans. That part sucked. Other than that, it was a pretty good way to spend a day off.

I wonder why they weren't falling asleep...

2009-01-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that even though it was about an hour past their bedtime, Jacob decided to put every blanket, pillow, and stuffed animal into the crib and then climb on in himself. I mean, that would be nothing but soothing. They obviously had plenty of room to lay down and sleep too. Weird.

Because You Are Dying to Know

2009-01-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

I give you, my Christmas post. We really did have a great holiday season with some favorite traditions and experimenting with new ones.

Ronna and I took the bart into the city to get the husbands from work and go to dinner. It was fun to be with friends and enjoy Union Square.

As we have done for many years, we went with the Hisermans to the Oakland Temple to enjoy the lights and getting to hang out.

And yes, even though we live 60 miles away from each other, we still managed to show up wearing the same sweater. Great minds I guess.

We spent Christmas Eve together, just our family. We had dinner, went on a drive to look at Christmas lights, and read from the scriptures. It was a nice night followed by a fun day. Jacob was excited from the minute he woke up and Parker was excited because Jacob was.

This is the after. Lots of presents, a big mess, and totally content.

We went over to Ronna's for dinner that night and once again enjoyed a fun, non-stressful event.

Continued

2009-01-06T19:03:00.001-08:00

The day after Christmas we drove down to So Cal to visit Jamie's younger brother and his family. Jamie's parents flew in too. We stayed for 5 days and then headed back. It was a great trip.

Jacob was enjoying our new car and the rear entertainment system. He and Parker watched movies and he even played his new Star Wars game. Jamie and I enjoyed the wireless headphones.

Jacob and his cousin John. They had this awesome firetruck that they drove up and down the street, I don't know how many times. Jacob tried to ask if we could borrow it and bring it home. I don't really blame him for trying, it was pretty cool.

We also went to a darling amusement park. It was perfect for our young group. Jacob could do ALL of the rides, and the younger ones could do most of them. The weather was beautiful too.

Parker loves him some choo choo.

The boys are always excited to see Grandma and Grandpa, even if they are not always excited to hold still long enough for a picture.

We came home on New Year's Eve, went to bed early, and still had a few more days to enjoy no work and no school. We had a really great Christmas and hope you did too.

Ward Christmas Party

2008-12-10T22:12:00.001-08:00

So this is what has consumed me for the last month. I am Activities Chair for our ward and we had our Christmas Party last Saturday. We had a Night in Bethlehem. I was really pleased with how it all came together.

Clay Collins is amazing not only because he built this for us, but he put it together in about an hour. It was perfect for our program at the end of the evening.

We created an open air market to serve dinner. I thought the booths looked very cool and I was so appreciative of the people that came to help me set up.
We had tables set up, and also had lots of families that sat on the floor, on their blankets, to eat dinner. I think the kids, especially enjoyed this.

It went well and I think most everyone had a good time. I was kind of a zombie on Sunday though. We came home from church, had lunch, I put Parker down for a nap, and then took a 3 hour nap myself. I woke up a whole new person. I am excited for Christmas, excited for new and old traditions with my family, excited for parties, excited to focus on the birth of our Savior--it is such a fun time of year!

Thanks Lisa

2008-11-29T20:49:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was AWESOME!! Love you guys!

Strep Throat

2008-11-23T20:41:00.000-08:00

Last Monday, Jacob woke up with a scratchy throat and by the end of the day his voice was worse and he had a fever. I took him to the doctor Tuesday morning where they did a strep culture and sent it to the lab. Because we it went down to the lab after 11 o'clock (I looked at my watch as she was taking the culture and it was 11:05), we had a to wait an extra day for the results.

The good news was that Friday afternoon, the doctor called and said it was negative. He didn't have strep. I was relieved that whatever the bug was seemed to be gone and we could attend the weekend's birthday parties and church without worrying about infecting others.

The bad news was that Friday afternoon, the doctor called and said it was negative. He didn't have strep. He had missed almost an entire week of school for a cold that, looking back now, was cleared up by Wednesday night. He missed his Thanksgiving feast at school on Friday morning and we were stuck in the house all week under quarantine.

Friday was a day of mixed emotion. I am happy to report that he is doing great and will be heading back to school in the morning.

Jacob and Charlie: Take Two

2008-11-18T17:45:00.000-08:00

This is the age Jacob and Charlie were when they met. It is so fun to watch Parker and Dylan and see so many similarities between them and their older counter parts. Sometimes I wish I knew what these two were thinking ... sometimes.

May the Force Be With You

2008-11-04T20:49:00.001-08:00

I'm not sure if you noticed, but we went with a Star Wars theme this year. Jacob decided he wanted to be Darth Vader (which I thought was odd because he has never actually seen any of the movies) and the rest just fell into place. Parker was a pretty cute Yoda, I felt I rocked the Princess Leia, and Jamie made a dashing Obi Wan Kenobi (even though he was too cheap to spring for the Jedi robe).

On Halloween night, we went to a friends' house for some delicious dinner and then it was off to pound the pavement.

This was the crazy group we ran with.

Yoda was a little behind for most of the evening, but he held his own. He caught on really quickly to mumble something, hold out the bag, and have treats dropped in. The saddest part is that he is allergic to 98% of the candy. Thank goodness for suckers so all of his efforts weren't wasted.

It was really fun to go with a group, both for the kids and the parents.

Hope you had a Happy Halloween too!

The Parties

2008-11-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

We had so many fun parties for Halloween this year (I definitely got my money's worth of the boys' costumes). We had our church party the Saturday before which was a lot fun. I may be a little biased though because I was in charge of it.

Two days before Halloween, we headed to Napa to party with our friends. Here is Jacob, Charlie, Maddie, and some little boy. (Sorry about the terrible picture, I did well to get them to hold still this long.) Lisa had planned a really great afternoon. The kids had a costume parade then came back for a few snacks. There were lots of games and treats. We stayed late and had dinner with our friends we miss so much. We had a great time, right up to the point the next morning when I realized I left the boys' costumes in Napa. Lisa was kind enough to meet me in Vallejo for the hand off. Thanks again, Lis. You saved Halloween.

Jacob had his class party that was really cute. Way too much food and a costume parade on the playground led by the local high school's marching band. The lovely butterfly is one of his teachers, Mrs. Cooper.

We also managed to squeeze in the Goblin Grotto put on by the city the night before. We went with our friend Ronna and her family. There were lots of cute games to play and they even had cardboard fronts to represent lots of the businesses in town. Doors had been cut into them for the kids to trick or treat.

Guess which one was Jacob's favorite.

We had a busy week and I'm not sure that we have all recovered, but it was definitely fun!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-04T20:14:00.001-08:00

It was October so it was time to head to the pumpkin patch. Josie and I and the boys went to Half Moon Bay about a week before Halloween.

The little boys in the bouncy house.

The slide we all went down a million times. It was the end of a slow day so the guy let us go down as many times as we wanted without paying -- it was awesome.

No really, Parker had fun.

We go to this same pumpkin patch every year and the boys always have a great time. Sometimes it is cold enough to get some hot apple cider and sometimes it is so hot we get water and a cookie. Either way, we ride some horses, pet some nasty animals, ride the train, hang out with our friends, and then go to Safeway to buy our pumpkins where it is cheaper. Good times.

Girls Weekend

2008-10-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, I left the boys behind and headed down to Arizona. I met up with 3 of my old college roommates and we had a great time.

Me, Megan, Tiffany, and Julie

The weather was hot and so was our car. I figured if I was doing a kid free weekend, I needed to do it right, so I rented this beauty.

Jules had tadpoles that she was going to share with us. She washed out a shampoo bottle, put two little guys in it, and wished us luck. The flight home did not agree with them.

It was really fun being with people I care so much about and haven't seen for a really, really, really long time. We ate, swam, enjoyed some Cafe Rio, went to the Mesa Temple, shopped, went to a movie, and laughed. Thanks girls for a great weekend, let's do it again, but let's not take another 10 years!

Oh Yeah, And Strawberries...

2008-10-21T22:45:00.000-07:00

For those of you at home playing "Parker Allergy Bingo", the next item is strawberries. Strawberries. And yes, we found out the hard way. An ER trip and some Benadryl later, he is dong fine and ready to discovery his next allergy. To recap for those of you in the Bingo hall that fell asleep: eggs, peanuts, milk and now strawberries.

Tagged -- All about my husband

2008-10-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

1. Where did you meet?

What a cute story – who would have guessed that on the same day we would both go to the same AA meeting and meet with the same parole officer? It was a magical coincidence and a sign that it was just meant to be (side note: I totally got off parole before he did).

2. How long did you date before you were married?

Is the answer supposed to be in hours or days?

3. How long have you been married for?

9 years, but to me it feels like FOREVER.

4. What does he do that surprises you?

Anything useful.

5. What's your favorite feature about him?

His ridiculously bowed legs. He’d be 2 inches taller if they were straight.

6. What's your favorite quality about him?

He is always very serious.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? What is it?

Baby Mama

8. What's his favorite color?

Any color he can recognize (he is partially color blind and still thinks taupe is a made up color)

9. What's his favorite food?

Free.

10. What is his favorite sport?

Hockey. 50 pounds and many moons ago he played for BYU.

11. Who said I love you first?

We are both still holding out on that one to see who breaks first.

12. When and where was your fist kiss?

On a date and on the lips.

13. What's your favorite thing to do as a couple?

Not be with the kids and regain what little sanity we have left.

14. Do you have kids?

We have 2 boys. I wish someone would ask us “when are you going to have another”, because we NEVER hear that and we wouldn’t have another kid otherwise.

15. What's a hidden talent that he has?

Sewing. He sewed my wedding dress and ½ the clothes in my closet. His favorite is macramé.

16. How old is he?

32 going on 81. He is old and busted. His warranty ran out a while ago and unfortunately we lost the receipt.

17. What's his favorite type of music?

Anything in an elevator. Sometimes he will ride to the top and walk down a couple floors just to finish the song.

18. What do you admire most about him?

That he was smart enough to marry me.

19. What's his favorite past time?

Civil War reenactments; although, when he is on the South side, it is the “War of Northern Aggression” and they came in a close second.

20. Do you think he is going to read this?

He is illiterate, but he might look at the pictures.

(For those of you that know Jamie, it will come as no great shock that he had a hand in writing this -- okay, he wrote the whole thing.)

Jacob's 5th Birthday

2008-09-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was Jacob's birthday. He had a great day that included a Spongebob party, complete with this awesome cake that his dad made.

Let's take a look where this 5 year old, garbage, shark, Spongebob lover came from. This is when he was just a few days old and had jaundice. We had to stick him in baby light box for a week to help his billiruben levels go down. I did not enjoy.
Our good friend Cheri took Jacob's 1 year pictures. (If you are in Utah and you need an excellent photographer, look her up. www.cherirodasphotography.com) I love that he looks like one of his stuffed animals.
This was Jacob's 2nd birthday. After I took this picture, I could finally understand why everybody told me he looked just like his dad.
Three year old Jacob with his good buddy Charlie. (Yes Jacob is in his underwear and yes Charlie has a sad little cast.)
4 and a big brother.

Jacob is so sweet. He really is very thoughtful and loves being a big brother. He knows what he likes and good luck getting him to decide otherwise. He is quite a chatter box, but I almost always know what he is thinking. I love you Jacob! I am so glad Heavenly Father sent you to our family!

And yes ...

2008-09-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

even at the beach, it's all about garbage!

The rest of our trip

2008-09-10T23:35:00.000-07:00

I even made it to a wedding in between beach trips. My darling nephew (he is the oldest child of my oldest sister) got married in the Nauvoo temple and all of my siblings, except one older brother, was there. It was an almost perfect two days! My sister and I jumped on a plane early Thursday morning and flew to St. Louis. We drove up to Nauvoo and spent a couple of hours enjoying the history and sights, especially because we were both kid free.

This is Trevor and his cute, new wife, Shadow. Yes, Shadow. The darling one in red is my oldest sister, LeAnne, and this is her family. She has five kids and now a daughter-in-law -- crazy!

This was our ride. We rented a Spyder and it was a ton of fun. We even had truck drivers honking at us. It was perfect convertible weather.
The Nauvoo temple quickly became a favorite. There is so much history and it has a unique beauty. I gained a new appreciation for the early Saints and all that they sacrificed.
This is me with my three big sisters! They are each different and amazing and I love them. L to R (which also happen to be oldest to youngest) LeAnne, Cynth, Lauren, and me.
That's my cute mom in the middle and this is what we did A LOT! Just laugh.

It was so fun to be with my family and just enjoy them. We are all spread coast to coast and it kind of sucks. We just hung out the rest of Thursday as people starting rolling in. The ceremony was Friday morning and then we had the wedding lunch. From there we said our good-byes, made a quick stop at Carthage Jail, and then it was back to the airport (with a quick stop to shop first, of course). We got back to Virginia late, late on Friday night, I slept at Lauren's and then headed off to join Jamie and crew Saturday morning.

Back to the Beach

2008-09-10T23:33:00.000-07:00

We were able to spend a week with Jamie's whole family, it was great! We were at the beach for a week and then a couple more days at Grandma and Grandpa's before it was time to head home. Once again, Jacob was in cousin heaven. Between Jamie and his two brothers, we have 7 kids, the oldest celebrated her 7th birthday last week (Happy Birthday Ashley!). Lots of little kids = crazy.

We even managed a family picture.

It was lots of digging in the sand ...
and playing in the waves. Kudos to Grandpa, he was in the water with the grandkids almost everyday and almost everyday he got wrecked by the waves. He kept going back for more just because his grandkids asked him too.
We also went to a water park that was perfect for our little group. It was very age appropriate for the kids we had. It wasn't too big, so it was easy to keep track of them. Nothing was very deep so they were comfortable to play and explore. They had this awesome tube slide that Jacob went on, by himself, over and over.
There was also a little slide that Parker was all over! He would climb the stairs and wait for his turn. The lifeguard was too cute, he would help Parker on and give him a little push if he needed it. Jamie would catch Parker at the bottom and he'd be ready to do it all over again.

In case I didn't mention it, we had an amazing 3 weeks! Thank you to all the family that housed us and the cars you lent to us. Jacob is still talking about our trip. Can't wait for the next one!

Parker's First Cookie

2008-09-07T22:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight Parker was able to enjoy a chocolate chip cookie with the rest of the family. There was an article in a recent BYU Magazine that talked about a mom that created an allergen free cookbook after discovering her daughters numerous allergies (thank you to the friends and family that thought of us and guided us to the article). The cookbook is Sophie Safe Cooking and it has a lot of great basic recipes. Parker can now have pancakes, muffins, cookies, and much more. All the stuff I thought he would never get.

Thank goodness we are here together and we benefit from each others experiences. Like Emily Hendrix that spent hours and hours testing recipes. There are so many moms like me whose burden she eased a little.

Unexplained Absence -- Part 1

2008-09-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Remember that time I posted almost nothing in the month of August? Yah, we were gone. Where and for how long? (That's kind of you to ask.) We headed to Virginia to visit family and we were gone for almost 3 weeks. It was a blast!

We started at my sister's house. We spent a few days at her house and then it was off to Bethany Beach, DE to her beach house for the weekend. I realized I didn't actually take that many pictures, I was too busy just hanging out and relaxing.

This is Jacob and his cousin Mitch. They are only a month apart and they are too funny. Mitch was giving Jacob pointers on riding the waves. It ended up being Jacob mostly just standing on the board in the surf. When the wave would wash back out and move him an inch, he would come running back, shouting, "Mom, did you see me surfing?"

Parker enjoying some snacks. This was a lot of what he did the whole time, but seriously, how cute is this kid?

The boys burying Mason (the oldest of my sister's boys) then dumping water on his head. Good times, good times.

We got back from the beach and just hung out some more. We went to a really cute park that was huge and even had this fun carousel, for free! Unfortunately, it was hot as blazes and we didn't last as long as we would have liked.

While we were there, Jamie and I celebrated our 9th anniversary. We left our boys with my sister and went out to dinner. The restaurant was very fun, the food was delicious, and the conversation was uninterrupted. It was a really nice night. (We actually spent a lot of it talking about what fun trip we could take for our 10th anniversary!)

We really did have a lot of fun and loved that we got to see so much family. The boys and I were loving being somewhere else and having fun people to hang out with. Jamie worked a little less and sort of got to relax. We did get to see him more and we all enjoyed that. All in all, it was 3 crazy fun weeks.

(Don't worry, there is more to come!)

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

2008-09-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

Jacob had school this morning, nothing out of the ordinary these days, except that this was the first school day that was also garbage day. I was dreading the fight it would be to get him to go to school when he realized there would be a chance he missed the garbage man. I was pleasantly surprised when there was no argument when it was time to leave. There was still discussion about the garbage and all it entails, but no freak out.

It seems ridiculous, but it was a huge relief that I didn't have to fight him over this, let's just say he is highly opinionated about the garbage. My relief was a little short lived, however.

I spent most of my Jacob free morning watching Parker run to the window when he heard what he thought was the garbage truck, pretending to be interested in all the garbage cans he could see on the street, and reading one Jacob's trash books over and over. That's right friends, I just might have another one. When we told Jacob he needs to be an example to Parker, this is NOT what we had in mind.

Already

2008-08-29T09:50:00.001-07:00

Jacob is in Kindergarten! Yesterday was his first day of school and we all survived. He was moving a little faster that morning, getting in the car and buckled before the rest of us were in the garage. He even had a little extra bounce in his step as we walked towards the school. I kind of laughed at this and asked him if he was excited. He replied, "Nope, just nervous."

When it was time to go into the classroom he was a little apprehensive to let me leave, but reluctantly, he finally did.

Jamie had meetings in Redding (just below the Oregon border) the day before and the day of Jacob's first day. He couldn't stand to miss it though, so he drove home late the night before, came with us to school, and then headed straight back. What a dad!

I was anxious to hear how Jacob's morning went. I stood around with the other parents waiting the arrival of our new Kindergartners, when I see my son with a goofy expression marching towards me. I knew he had a good day.

Later when he called his dad to tell him how his first day went, he told him, "It was a little scary, but pretty great." We are excited for Jacob and all of his adventures, both scary and great, that lie ahead. Mostly, I just can't believe that I am a parent of a school age child, already.

30 and still got it!

2008-08-03T22:08:00.000-07:00

Turns out it was my birthday on Thursday and I turned the big 3-0!! When Jamie asked Jacob what he wanted to get me for my birthday that I would like, Jacob said "How about me and Parker in a box?" Jamie agreed that I would like that but wondered if he had any other ideas.

This is what he came up with. (I love that my boys know me so well.) So, I got a pound of See's and some Dr. Pepper from Jacob and Parker.

I had a small party the week before and went out to lunch with some girlfriends on Thursday afternoon (I forgot my camera at lunch and the only picture that was taken is on a camera in Vegas).

On the night of my birthday, Jamie and I went to dinner at Kincaid's in Burlingame. My steak was delicious and we had a table by the window so we could enjoy the view of the bay. Then went to see Batman. (Thanks again Laina for watching the boys and thank you Ronna for letting Jacob come over that afternoon!)

This was my gift from Jamie. (Any suggestions? I'm leaning towards the Honda Pilot.) I know, I did good in the husband department.

It was a great birthday and I felt very celebrated. Thank you to my dear friends and family for the calls, cards, gifts, and well wishes. 30 is bound to be a great year with so many amazing friends!

Utah Report

2008-08-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

We were in Utah a few weeks ago because we needed a Grandma fix. We always have a great time. My sister and her family live there and Jacob loves that he gets to play with cousins too.

We went to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. Jacob made a mold a of a T-Rex tooth, build canyons in the sand, and ended with a dinosaur dig, good times.

I got together with few friends from high school, me, Maggs, Missy, and Lindsee. We went to lunch at an old favorite and then took the kids to the pool. We only had an afternoon, but it was fun to catch up.
The town I grew up in had a celebration each year of the city and we ended up being there for the festivities. We missed the parade, but a favorite of mine was always the carnival. It was fun to be there and take the boys. I had my nieces to go on the "big" rides with me.
Grandma (my mom) even read a bedtime story to everyone one night (Jacob made sure he had the best seat).
Just before we headed for the airport, we went up to the canyon for lunch. We roasted hot dogs, made s'mores, the whole nine.

It was a really fun trip, just not quite long enough.

The Obsession Returns

2008-07-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

The funny thing about Jacob and his love for all things garbage, is how long it's been going on. Honestly, one of his first words was "tash" (trash). He's been going pretty strong ever since. He would pick out a garbage can a mile away. Even while watching TV, he would always find the garbage can.

For the last few months, however, the obsession has backed off a little. Not quite an obsession, but still more than a hobby. He was still interested, but if he didn't see the garbage man come his world didn't end, nor did he have to bring in the empty can the second we got home. I've started to notice a slight increase and after yesterday, I think we might be back.

We had a pretty relaxed morning (Jacob finally changed out of his pj's around noon) and the boys were just doing their thing. It was only at the end of the day that I really stopped to think what Jacob had been doing ALL day.

It started when he climbed in bed with me at 7 o'clock and said, "We need to take the garbage out today." I reminded him it was only Monday and we wouldn't do that until tomorrow. He then asked to watch the movie his cousin, Max, gave him for Christmas a couple of years ago. "Wink and Blink, A Day in the life of a Garbage Truck". He watched it over and over, all the while he had a couple of his own trucks and a handful of garbage cans out playing garbage. As the day went on, he moved from room to room playing various forms of garbage. Some were recycling, some were green waste, but most involved clamp trucks (he likes those the best).

Considering our day so far has gone pretty much the same, with an intermission to go to see cool animals with Charlie in Half Moon Bay, I'm thinking we may not have moved on from garbage like I once thought. If you've never witnessed it first hand, you are missing out.

Scraggly No More

2008-07-12T21:05:00.001-07:00

I FINALLY got Parker's haircut. This was the first cut and it was long overdue. He had mangy curls all over and it would get all matted in the back. No so cute.

The Before

(Sure he looks cute just when I don't want him to because I am trying to prove a point. Already defiant.)

The during.

(He did a great job and was totally digging the car he got to sit in.)

The after.

So clean, so cute.

Jamie's Big Day

2008-07-08T11:53:00.001-07:00

Today Jamie turns 32 and where he would much prefer to be able to let the day slip quietly into the night, he should have known better when he married me. Although, I am honoring his request for no party, I will not let the day go by without giving him some acknowledgement (it's killing you, isn't Jamie).

In front of the banker's heart outside his old building.

He teaches the boys to appreciate important things early in life.
After an alumni hockey game at BYU.
Nothing beats coming home from basketball all sweaty and gross just to have your newborn spit up all over you -- he's such a good sport about it.

Jamie keeps us all laughing and we love him for it.

Happy Birthday Jamie!!