Well, in honor of pioneer day (I know, it's a stretch), Stephen had his very first bean burrito for lunch. Pretty monumental day, eh?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Bean Burritos
If anyone knows my family well, they know that we all ate a lot of bean burritos growing up. We had them for lunch nearly everyday - with Rosarita refried beans and La Victoria taco sauce.
Well, in honor of pioneer day (I know, it's a stretch), Stephen had his very first bean burrito for lunch. Pretty monumental day, eh?
Well, in honor of pioneer day (I know, it's a stretch), Stephen had his very first bean burrito for lunch. Pretty monumental day, eh?
Sunday, July 20, 2008
A little break ;)
Last week I was released from the YW presidency. Even though I was technically released, I was in charge of the YM/YW activity last Tuesday. But now I'm officially on break ;) The bishop said it was going to be a pretty short break so I'm just waiting to see what the next adventure will be.
YW was fun - I am really going to miss the girls. But I gotta tell ya - that is one time consuming calling! RS presidency was stressful to be sure - lots of responsibility. But YW presidency has got to be the most time consuming calling a woman can have in a ward. To make it just a tad more difficult, Dan's callings (Exec. Secretary and now High Council) always seemed to conflict with mine as far as meetings, etc. So I was always the lucky one who took Stephen to activities, meetings, class, etc. It wasn't so bad when he was little - but lately it's been a little hairy.
It's been a long, long while since I have been callingless. This morning was so nice. Poor Dan has his very early morning meetings but Stephen and I got up at around 8 and had a very leisurely morning. No meetings for me, no lessons to prepare, no handouts to make, no girls to call - I could do what I wanted. So I sat down at the computer and caught up on reading family and friend blogs. Then we went to church at 11 - I'm sure everyone was shocked that we walked in before the opening song ;) After sacrament meeting I took Stephen to nursery - since he is still a month away from being "official" and since I had no other responsibilities, I stayed with him.
So my whole afternoon is open - no BYC or other meetings, no weekly YW e-mail newsletter to write, no handouts to run around to girls who weren't at church. I'm really loving this break! I think I'm going to take a nap and then, who knows . . .
YW was fun - I am really going to miss the girls. But I gotta tell ya - that is one time consuming calling! RS presidency was stressful to be sure - lots of responsibility. But YW presidency has got to be the most time consuming calling a woman can have in a ward. To make it just a tad more difficult, Dan's callings (Exec. Secretary and now High Council) always seemed to conflict with mine as far as meetings, etc. So I was always the lucky one who took Stephen to activities, meetings, class, etc. It wasn't so bad when he was little - but lately it's been a little hairy.
It's been a long, long while since I have been callingless. This morning was so nice. Poor Dan has his very early morning meetings but Stephen and I got up at around 8 and had a very leisurely morning. No meetings for me, no lessons to prepare, no handouts to make, no girls to call - I could do what I wanted. So I sat down at the computer and caught up on reading family and friend blogs. Then we went to church at 11 - I'm sure everyone was shocked that we walked in before the opening song ;) After sacrament meeting I took Stephen to nursery - since he is still a month away from being "official" and since I had no other responsibilities, I stayed with him.
So my whole afternoon is open - no BYC or other meetings, no weekly YW e-mail newsletter to write, no handouts to run around to girls who weren't at church. I'm really loving this break! I think I'm going to take a nap and then, who knows . . .
Friday, July 18, 2008
BOY!!!!
We just had our 20-week ultra sound and found out that we are having another boy. We're really excited. Stephen would be excited too if he knew what was going on ;)
Instead of posting the very "telling" ultrasound shot, we thought we'd just put up the one that looks closest to an actual fetus
Instead of posting the very "telling" ultrasound shot, we thought we'd just put up the one that looks closest to an actual fetus
Dad's new toy
For Father's Day my dad got a new camera. Since he loves taking pictures of his grandkids, we thought it would be good to get him a camera that has a lens perfect for taking portraits. The camera takes great shots and Dad had fun trying it out on many occasions. We may have created a monster but it's too soon to tell . . .
Thanks Erin for the reminder to put a few names on so everyone knows who these cuties are. I put the initials of the parents after the name.
Ella (T&L)
Damian (M&S) Essie May (M&S)
Joseph (K&G)
Thanks Erin for the reminder to put a few names on so everyone knows who these cuties are. I put the initials of the parents after the name.
Gordon (T&L) Stephen
Ella (T&L)
Damian (M&S) Essie May (M&S)
Joseph (K&G)
Independence Day
Stephen and I had a very quiet but fun 4th of July. Taylor and Laura had the opportunity to move from a 2-bedroom apartment into a 3-bedroom apartment in LA. They jumped for it but it meant that they needed to travel back to LA and make the move over the 4th of July weekend. My parents went with them to help so that left Stephen and I all alone in the big house all weekend long.
It wasn't too bad, though. My friend, Rhonda and her 2 sisters came by the night before the 4th for a BBQ and pool party. Unfortunately after we finished eating the hamburgers a big storm blew in and so we watched a lighting storm instead of swimming.
The next morning - Stephen and I woke up early and decided to go on a little walk to the park before it got too hot. Stephen still loves wearing his leash and couldn't wait to get out the door on our walk!
Even though I brought lots of water and we kept to the shade as much as possible - it was still really warm and on the way back poor little Stephen didn't quite have the pep he did when we left 40 minutes earlier.
We talked with Daddy a lot on the phone and I watched a few episodes of THE REVOLUTION on the History Chanel while folding laundry. It was a pretty low key day which is how I like it. I usually like to spend most of Independence Day alone or with just my close family while I ponder over the many blessings we have in this great country and the lives of the men and women who have made it possible. Then, every year around 5 or 6pm I get this itching to be with a big group having a BBQ and watching fireworks. Well this year when that little itch started I got a phone call from my friend, Rhonda. Since the swimming didn't work out so hot the night before she wondered if we could give it another go. So we had a fun night eating pizza, laughing and playing in the pool (after Stephen went to sleep). It was a fabulous day!
It wasn't too bad, though. My friend, Rhonda and her 2 sisters came by the night before the 4th for a BBQ and pool party. Unfortunately after we finished eating the hamburgers a big storm blew in and so we watched a lighting storm instead of swimming.
The next morning - Stephen and I woke up early and decided to go on a little walk to the park before it got too hot. Stephen still loves wearing his leash and couldn't wait to get out the door on our walk!
Even though I brought lots of water and we kept to the shade as much as possible - it was still really warm and on the way back poor little Stephen didn't quite have the pep he did when we left 40 minutes earlier.
We talked with Daddy a lot on the phone and I watched a few episodes of THE REVOLUTION on the History Chanel while folding laundry. It was a pretty low key day which is how I like it. I usually like to spend most of Independence Day alone or with just my close family while I ponder over the many blessings we have in this great country and the lives of the men and women who have made it possible. Then, every year around 5 or 6pm I get this itching to be with a big group having a BBQ and watching fireworks. Well this year when that little itch started I got a phone call from my friend, Rhonda. Since the swimming didn't work out so hot the night before she wondered if we could give it another go. So we had a fun night eating pizza, laughing and playing in the pool (after Stephen went to sleep). It was a fabulous day!
Water Fight
Since there are lots of birthdays and anniversaries in our family during the summer months - we decided to have a big birthday/anniversary celebration on a Saturday in June. We picked up around 30 water guns at the dollar store and then went to the park for water games. The games were fun but in the end - the all out water war was the best part. I think it lasted over an hour.
Stephen and I were spectators most of the time. We were smart and stayed in the shade since it was 113 degrees that day. I held little Jefferson (Summer and McKay's baby) and Stephen had a great time trying to make him smile and giving him lots of hugs.
After a while Stephen got a little bored and decided to join the fray. He wasn't scared at all to run right into the mass of people shooting each other. We both got pretty soaked but Stephen sure had fun so it was worth it.
Afterward we headed back to the house for a BBQ, birthday jello and lots of swimming in the pool. Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary to everyone this summer!
Stephen and I were spectators most of the time. We were smart and stayed in the shade since it was 113 degrees that day. I held little Jefferson (Summer and McKay's baby) and Stephen had a great time trying to make him smile and giving him lots of hugs.
After a while Stephen got a little bored and decided to join the fray. He wasn't scared at all to run right into the mass of people shooting each other. We both got pretty soaked but Stephen sure had fun so it was worth it.
Afterward we headed back to the house for a BBQ, birthday jello and lots of swimming in the pool. Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary to everyone this summer!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Stephen and Gordon
I'm so glad that Taylor's family was at my parents' house while we were. Not only do I love hanging out with them, it was good for Stephen to be around Gordon and Ella since he usually just spends most of his time with me. Although there were a few sparks now and then, most of the time Stephen and Gordon had a good time together.
It's hard to imagine anything that a boy loves more than playing in the rocks! Luckily Grandma and Grandpa Earl have lots of rocks in their backyard ;)
Stephen hasn't had much exposure to babies and so I wondered how he'd react to little Ella. At first he just studied her but then he got used to her. After a few days we had to keep him from hugging her too much since his hugs can quickly turn a little more like smothering.
I was very glad that he did so well with both Ella and Jefferson since we'll have our own little bundle in just a few more months!
It's hard to imagine anything that a boy loves more than playing in the rocks! Luckily Grandma and Grandpa Earl have lots of rocks in their backyard ;)
Stephen hasn't had much exposure to babies and so I wondered how he'd react to little Ella. At first he just studied her but then he got used to her. After a few days we had to keep him from hugging her too much since his hugs can quickly turn a little more like smothering.
I was very glad that he did so well with both Ella and Jefferson since we'll have our own little bundle in just a few more months!
Visiting Arizona
We were home from Virginia for a week and then Stephen and I flew down to Arizona to surprise my mom on her birthday. My sister-in-law, Summer, had planned a great surprise birthday party for mom - she made sure that all of the kids were home because she knew that mom would love that better than any present.
Stephen and I ended up staying in Arizona for about a month. It was fun but it was also nice to get back to Utah. My mom kept saying that she was designing a "grandma house." Well parts of it definitely are for kids and then there are some parts that are just for grown-ups. It seems Stephen loved all the grown-up places that have lots of stuff he can break or places he could fall down from. It kinda felt like I chased him around for an entire month keeping him from committing suicide! ;) So much for having a little rest at Mom's.
Taylor and Laura and their two children, Gordon and Ella, were also staying with my parents during the summer. Taylor is clerking down there in between semesters of law school. It was great for Stephen to have a chance to be around his cousins. He also was able to be with Summer and McKay's children as well as Kimball and Genny's kids on occasion. So he had a blast being with cousins! We also got to go swimming quite often and he LOVED it.
So the next few posts will be full of pictures of our trip to AZ. (And as a reminder for those family members new to blogging - if there is a picture you'd like to see a little larger, just click on it.)
Stephen and I ended up staying in Arizona for about a month. It was fun but it was also nice to get back to Utah. My mom kept saying that she was designing a "grandma house." Well parts of it definitely are for kids and then there are some parts that are just for grown-ups. It seems Stephen loved all the grown-up places that have lots of stuff he can break or places he could fall down from. It kinda felt like I chased him around for an entire month keeping him from committing suicide! ;) So much for having a little rest at Mom's.
Taylor and Laura and their two children, Gordon and Ella, were also staying with my parents during the summer. Taylor is clerking down there in between semesters of law school. It was great for Stephen to have a chance to be around his cousins. He also was able to be with Summer and McKay's children as well as Kimball and Genny's kids on occasion. So he had a blast being with cousins! We also got to go swimming quite often and he LOVED it.
So the next few posts will be full of pictures of our trip to AZ. (And as a reminder for those family members new to blogging - if there is a picture you'd like to see a little larger, just click on it.)
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