Blake & Brit

These Two . . .

2012-02-09T21:40:00.001-08:00

. . . Are going to get in a lot of trouble together.

Watching TV together. Jacob is wearing a collared shirt backwards under his sweater. I think there are two other shirts under there too.

Jacob likes to tickle his brother. Colin? He doesn't like it so much.

Christmas Eve in their new jammies.

Jacob always asks if he and Colin can eat next to each other. This means that his chair and the high chair must be touching. Preferably with no leg room. Colin's high chair gets pulled everywhere. I am often required to sit in one of Jacob's chair formations so all our chairs can be touching.

Um, so little brother is loud and dramatic. I think this is for self-defense.

Jacob Loves His Dad Best

2012-01-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

I was half asleep this morning while Blake was getting ready. Jacob was keeping him company, since that little boy wakes up as soon as he hears his dad in the morning. I had had a rough night with Colin, who usually is a great sleeper, but last night had decided 2:00am was a good time to be up.
I heard a little boy climb into bed next to me. I open my eyes to see Jacob's sparkling eyes and smiling face. He pulls in next to me and wraps his arms around me. After cuddling for a couple seconds, I try to wake up and respond to the sweetheart next to me.
"Jacob," I tell him, "Do you know you have handsome eyes?"
He thinks about this. Then responds.
"You want to go to work today? I way like Dad."

Tidbits of Fall

2011-11-11T15:26:00.000-08:00

Jacob had a brief stint with layering clothes. I think he has about 4 sweaters on in this picture. We've now limited the clothing he can wear to 3 shirts and hidden his shorts since it's cold now. Maybe trying to hide that he is skinny?

We went for a drive up in the mountains to see the fall leaves, and couldn't help but get out for a few pictures. Jacob keeps asking to drive up again, but the leaves are gone up there.

Jacob turned 3! He was so excited.

Jacob loves to draw. He made all the invitations for his party with his friends. It ended up being a little crazy with a bunch of little kids over, but I think Jacob liked it. He had 3 parties for being 3--one with Blake's family, one with mine, and one with friends. He was ready for another one the day after the last one. We are grateful for all the friends and family who spoil him.

Colin loves his food. Here I was feeding him while having a dance party. By myself. He loved it a lot. It's nice to have a good eater after Jacob. Colin frequently out-eats him and its beginning to show.

See what I mean? Jacob is still taller, but Colin is definitely catching up. Jacob decided that he needed to help Colin eat his bottle. Colin wasn't sure about it. We switched to formula this month, and Colin also loves that. Fill his belly and he's happy.

Colin got to be a bear for Halloween. One of the meanings of his name is actually "little cub," and we've always liked to refer to our boys as our baby bears, so it seemed appropriate. Plus we already had the costume from Jacob. He hasn't figured out real crawling yet, but he is a pro at the army crawl. The faux belly on this costume gave him a lot harder time with crawling.

Jacob was a dog. He probably spends about 50% of his normal life as a dog named Mitzi, so we thought it was appropriate. He already knows how to be in character! He crawled around his Grandma R's office to get candy from the ladies there, and at his Grandpa S's office he performed a special puppy dance about 6 times. Lets just say it was a big hit.

Jacob got a bike from his Grandpa R for his birthday, and he has loved it. He went on a 3-mile bike ride with my mom, and has been riding in circles around our house. This week he was circling through the leaves in our backyard a couple hundred times. There ended up being a pretty clear pressed leaf trail by the end.

We are sad that fall is leaving soon!

Beautiful Boys

2011-09-13T23:52:00.000-07:00

The Dining Room

2011-09-13T23:01:00.003-07:00

Before:

After:

The dining room is finally done! Here are the things that we did in this room:

Removed the wallpaper
Scrubbed the walls
Painted the crown molding and baseboards
Painted the walls
Created a stencil
Stenciled the walls

The stenciling took a lot longer than I thought, but I love how it turned out.

Frog Creek

2011-09-13T23:01:00.001-07:00

Jacob has been into making forts lately. They consist of collecting every possible linen found in the house draped over a larger object. He made the first one over his bed a couple of weeks back and named it "Frog Creek." We let him keep it up for about a week, despite the fact that it meant all of his bed linens (and often ours) were draped off the side of his bed. He decided he didn't need to sleep with covers or a pillow. Everything was sacrificed to Frog Creek.

I finally took it down because of the disgust that it caused in my heart every time I looked at the pile of blankets and thought about the collection of toys that were hiding under them. J cried. "But I love it so, so, so much!" He told me, barely able to get the words out between his sobs.

I finally finished my stencil job in the dining room, which means my mess got moved out. Into the living room. That's the next room on the agenda. Blake moved all the couches away from the walls so I could access them more easily. Then he took the large rug from off the floor and draped it over the tops of the couches, coffee table, and end table.

"Look, Jake! It's another frog creek!" He told our little boy.

I think he did it so I will finish the living room quickly. (Not really.)

Jacob even pushed his little brother in to see the fun.

In the meantime, I will continue to rescue my dish towels, bed pillows, paint supplies, and other odds and ends from the slum town in my living room that is Frog Creek.

Garrett Family Reunion in Duck Creek Village

2011-07-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we attended a family reunion at Duck Creek. It was a very interesting village, where some of the roads are for ATVs only. In fact, in their 4th of July parade we attended, everyone rode on ATVs for the parade.

About 63 people squished into the lodge for the reunion.
Duck Creek is near Cedar Breaks National Monument, as seen below.

Colin has been shy towards strangers in the past, but for this weekend, he was fortunately very friendly to everyone.

Jacob, on the other hand, was not as friendly (at least not towards other little kids). He seems to be struggling with pushing and hitting lately. Even one of the 6 year olds that was there told his mom that Jacob was mean to him and had kicked him. Jacob didn't nap during all three of the days of the reunion, and that certainly didn't help things. Any tips for helping Jacob push and hit less?
The highlight of the trip for Jacob was throwing rocks in the lakes we visited.

On one of the days, the whole family hiked to Cascade Falls. The views along the trail were spectacular.

Overall, we had a terrific time at the family reunion, but it certainly felt great to get home yesterday and be able to sleep in our beds last night.

Remember when we used to write on our blog instead of just posting pictures?

2011-06-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

This is not one of those times. But enjoy the pictures anyways!

The Rule bears

2011-05-23T15:39:00.000-07:00

Our trip to California

2011-05-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

In March, we went to Southern California for a week. It was Jacob's first time to fly since going to Europe with him when he was one. He thought the plane was really cool.

For the first few days, we stayed at Britney's aunt's house in La Costa. The first evening, we went to Ponto Beach, nearby.

The next day, we went to the San Diego Zoo, which Jacob loved. I'd never been there before, so I really enjoyed it as well. On the way back to La Costa from the zoo, we walked along the beach at Torrey Pines.

The following day, we met up with the Schetselaars in San Clemente, where they rented a big house near the beach for us to stay in. It was a really nice house, and we had a great time staying there for four nights. One evening in San Clemente, Jacob caught his first fish from a boardwalk (a local fisherman let him reel in a sardine-sized fish). He was really excited!

We spent two days at Disneyland while we were there. Jacob's favorite ride was the Nemo Submarine ride, which he went on both days we were there. We also went to several beautiful beaches along the coast in the Laguna area.

In total, we had a very good time on our trip. For the first month home, Jacob talked about how he wanted to go back to Disneyland almost every day. I have a feeling that we will be doing a trip similar to this one again in the next couple years.

Wake-Up Call

2011-02-26T12:31:00.000-08:00

Blake had to work on President's Day. I drowsily woke as he got ready for work. I changed my Colin's diaper and soiled clothes (again!), and cooed at him for a while, enjoying some fabulous little grins. Then, since that cute baby had not gone to sleep until midnight, curled back up in bed with my little babe and went back to sleep. I was exhausted.

About 9:00, Jacob came trooping in, dragging his plasticized golf bag behind him ($5, Wal-Mart). I remember thinking it was incredibly cute through my sleepy stupor. When Jacob usually appears in the morning or after naps, it usually comes with an enthusiastic "HEY!" which is the antithesis to my sloth-like morning mood. I am not sure if he said it this morning because I was too tired at the time.

I must have fallen back asleep, because I was awakened by Jacob shoving a toothbrush in my mouth. Blake and I got the same toothbrushes at the dentist last visit, so I cannot tell if it is mine or his. It has no toothpaste on it.

I go with the flow (usually my way of choice) and obediently open my mouth for my son to brush my teeth, reminding him to do so softly. But the toothbrush tastes slightly funny.

It must be Blake's, I think, that he used before he left for work. What would he have had for breakfast that would have tasted like that? I am unsure, but allow J to continue brushing my front teeth. So nice of him to help me get going in the mornings.

Then I realize what the taste is. I have never tasted this particular taste, but I have smelled it. I jump out of bed and run to the sink to begin washing my mouth out.

HEMORRHOIDAL OINTMENT!!!!*

I have never liked the movie Rocketman, but at this moment I remember the poor man, Rocketman's fellow astronaut, who finds himself in a similar situation and feel a wave of pity for him.

After my mouth has been sufficiently washed out and washed out again, I turn to Jacob and ask him if he has eaten any of the "toothpaste."

"Yes," he says. I smell his breath and hands. Luckily he is lying.

And then I try to get rid of the taste further by self-medicating with Andes mints.

*Lest you think I keep poisons and medications where my son can get them, just know the ointment was on a high shelf above my bathroom vanity, where, apparently, he can get them. I thought we had removed all such things from that shelf, leaving only real toothpastes and lotion, but obviously. . . .

Luckily, J applied the "toothpaste" sparingly.

More Cuteness from the Boys

2011-01-13T17:58:00.001-08:00

I think that one is my favorite.

Birth of Colin

2010-12-29T19:33:00.001-08:00

New Arrival

2010-12-29T14:54:00.000-08:00

Colin Douglas Rule was born 35 minutes ago. Brit and the baby are both doing very well. The inducement started at 12:30 PM, and Colin came very quickly. He was 7 lbs, 1 oz, and 18.5 inches long. He has long, wavy black hair. We are thrilled! I will post pictures soon.

Christmastime is coming, the goose is getting fat

2010-12-20T10:22:00.001-08:00

Well, maybe it's not only the goose who's plumping up. :)

This baby could be here any day. I'm hoping that since he's waited until now, he won't mind waiting an extra week. I would like to be a part of Christmas, and my doctor is out of town this week. But if he comes, he comes, and I'll be excited to meet him. It's also nice to know that the longest I'll have to wait to meet him is 9 days! He should be here on the 29th if he doesn't show up sooner.

I had everyone at church asking if I was ready for Christmas. And I feel like I am. I have a couple of things I would like to finish up, but nothing I have to do. I'm feeling especially at peace because of the nursery. Remember it? This is what it looked like when we moved in:

Well, you can take a deep, relaxing breath when you walk in there now, because this is what it looks like now:

Doesn't that just feel good? It's done! It's done! I started working on this room in May when we moved in, and between pulling off the wallpaper, texturizing and priming a wall, painting the trim, scrubbing off the wallpaper glue, and deciding to paint 3 other rooms in the meantime, it has been a really long project. But I love it now. Green is a hard paint color for me to get right, but I love how this turned out. The cards hung on the wall are Eric Carle's animal ABC flashcards. They are cute and they were easy, unlike the art project I am still working on for Jacob's bedroom walls.

See, baby! We are ready for you to come!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

Jacob and I visited Grandma today at her work to Trick-or-Treat. I almost feel a little bad when I've been telling people my son is going to be a nerd for Halloween. Almost.

I guess I'd feel worse if it wasn't so dang cute.

Some of the Work on Our House

2010-10-12T14:47:00.001-07:00

We've been working hard on our house these past few months. While, as you will see from the pictures, we haven't figured out how to decorate all our rooms yet, we have been working on getting some of the larger, sweatier projects done so that when our new little guy gets here we will be able to settle in for a little while. Here are the 4 rooms that have undergone the largest transformations:

The office:

This room is north-facing, meaning it gets no direct sunlight. While the original dark brown wasn't a bad color, it didn't make the room a friendly place to be. I decided to go with a pale yellow. We don't currently have office furniture, but that will come someday. I also had to paint all the trim, since it was previously the same color as the walls.

Jacob's new bedroom:

This room wasn't bad--just plain. The white walls are blue now, and the dark blue trim is white. I'm currently working on an art project for the walls. He's been doing great sleeping in his "big boy bed" in here!

The guest room:

This room was a horrible shade of peach. I don't think the before picture really does it justice. Blake and I found it pretty nauseating. We were so excited to paint it something neutral, and change that trim from peach! Proper bedding for the guest room is still forthcoming. But it already looks so much better.

The nursery:

I am the most proud of this one! The last of the horrible wallpaper just came down yesterday--one of the celebratory reasons for this post! Just in case you can't see the first picture, it had plaid on the top 3 feet of the room, a flowery border in the middle, and dark green and white stripes all over the rest of it. I am so glad that I am done. This transformation has taken the longest of all. I started it first and finished after all the other projects were done. I am now just working on finding a nice nursery paint color and figuring out some decorations for the walls! And that is much more fun than wallpaper removal! (Oh, and I guess one wall needs to be texturized, but that shouldn't be as big of a deal.)

We love our new house, and it is fun to see all the changes as they take place and as we make it our own!

This is quite possibly my favorite Jacob picture ever :)

2010-09-21T16:18:00.000-07:00

You may have heard this already . . .

2010-08-23T12:24:00.000-07:00

But if you didn't, we wanted to announce that we are having another boy! Jacob will have a baby brother in January! We are so excited to meet this little guy.

You might remember that we always called Jacob George before he was born. So far, we haven't found a prenatal name for this baby that is sticking. Anyone want to give suggestions? :)

What happens when you eat blueberries off a high chair tray like a dog?

2010-08-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

(and try to take pictures without a flash at night)

Blueberries: still one of Jacob's favorite foods.
We still strip him down to eat them. The reason is obvious, right?
And before I touch him afterwards I give him napkins or rags to clean up the mess. I figure it at least saves some of my clothes.

Apricot Picking

2010-07-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

It must be summer. All our apricots have ripened.

See those little apricots Jacob snatched from the picking bag?

And the robin sitting on the telephone wire, totally annoyed that someone is interested in the tree that he calls home?

There certainly are a lot. We've picked a lot, but there are still tons and tons and tons left. I just need to figure out what to do with that many.

This little boy couldn't be happier.

At least he's eating those instead of the unripe grapes he insists on picking and eating daily.

Hawaii

2010-06-28T09:08:00.000-07:00

With #2 on the way, we decided to go on a vacation that was a bit more restful this year. As a result, we left Jacob with Brit's family for the week (thank you Brit's family!!!) and went to Kona, on the island of Hawaii. We stayed with some of my family in a timeshare. Not having Jacob for a week was nice. We were able to sleep on the beach, rather than chase Jacob up and down the beach (which would have also been fun, but not as relaxing).

The beach at Kua Bay was one of the most beautiful we've ever seen.

We also really liked Hapuna Beach.

Punalu'u, the black sand beach in the background, was also really cool.

On the rocks near Punalu'u

We drove the Saddle Road that goes between the two +13,000 ft. volcanoes one day, to Volcanoes National Park. The lava wasn't flowing particularly well while we were there, so we didn't get to go right up to lava, and we didn't pay to do a helicopter ride to see lava flows. It was still a vert cool park though.

In the park, we did a three hour hike called the Kilauea Iki Trail, which goes along the top of this crater, and then down into it and through it.

Here is Britney looking down into the crater we hiked through.

Little rock piles make out the trail for you along the crater floor...

and there were also steam vents along the floor. It was cool.

The best way to describe the Saddle Road we took to get there would be a roller coaster for your car. We had to pull over towards the end because the twists and turns were starting to get to Britney. Before going to the National Park, we went to a couple of waterfalls. At Rainbow Falls above, you can see that Britney still looks a little pale from the car ride. That was the only time during the trip that she felt sick though, which is really good for someone still in their first trimester.

There was a beautiful, short hike to Akaka Falls.

Akaka Falls

On one of the days, all the guys played 18 holes of golf on an oceanside course near our timeshare while the women shopped. It was a lot of fun.

I think that the highlight of the trip though for me and Britney was the snorkeling. We went to 3 really great snorkeling spots during the week:

we followed some big sea turtles around for about 30 minutes on the first day of snorkeling, at Kahalu'u...

...we saw tons of colorful fish in Honaunau Bay...

...and probably the coolest part of the trip was renting sea kayaks and kayaking across Kealakakua Bay, above, to Captain Cook Monument. There, the snorkeling was probably the best we've ever done. We saw two different species of eel, and tons of beautiful, colorful fish. The coral there was terrific as well.

In all, we had a fabulous time on Hawaii and we were sad to see the trip come to an end. However, we were really excited to come home to our little boy. He was really happy to see us when we got home, and now that we've been back for about two weeks, I think that he's totally adjusted to us being back. In all, things went really well and we would love to go back to Hawaii again someday (hopefully sooner rather than later).

Introducing . . .

2010-06-23T07:35:00.000-07:00

Announcing baby #2, expected January 2011! We are so excited!

Pacifiers

2010-05-20T15:38:00.001-07:00

Jacob loves to eat yogurt...

...and he loves to read books (small young adult fiction books seem to be his favorites to flip through). But most of all...

...he loves his pacifiers! He only gets them in his crib. As a result, sometimes he likes to hang out in his crib, just for fun. In fact, he commonly likes to try to climb IN to his crib. He won't be satisfied when in his bed if he only has one, he needs one for each hand, if possible. He switches them in and out as if they all have a distinct flavor.

As a result, putting Jacob down for naps and at bedtime is a cinch. So why not letting him keep having them?

Grain Crazy

2010-05-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

Have I told you about my mom?

Here she is. She is crazy about healthy foods and good grains and things that are good for your body. I decided she needed to start a new blog to keep track of her recipes.

Do you like things that are healthy?

Do you want to eat less processed food? More grains?

Be healthier?

Or just like new recipes?

I thought so. You can see her blog here at graincrazy.blogspot.com.

It's awesome.

We're buying a house!

2010-04-02T07:49:00.000-07:00

Down, down, down the slide

2010-02-17T08:53:00.000-08:00

Jacob LOVES slides.

Barcelona - the final stop

2010-02-09T11:58:00.001-08:00

Our cruise disembarked in Barcelona early in the morning. We were sad to leave the ship and accept the fact that our adventures were coming to a close. We took a taxi to our hotel and dropped off our luggage, and then spent the day sightseeing in Barcelona. Early in the morning, we wandered the streets admiring the strange modernism architecture the city is famous for. Above is the famous Casa Mila, and below is the Casa Batllo. They are on the same street.

From there, we took the metro to the 2nd most amazing cathedral I've ever seen (St. Peter's Basilica is better) - the Sagrada Familia. It was definitely the most original and strange cathedral I've ever seen. It has been under construction since 1882 and will not be completed anytime soon, even though they are always working on it.

Above is the backside of the cathedral, the Nativity facade. Below is the Passion facade. As you can tell, the design styles have changed over the years. The cathedral in general is a smorgasborg of modern design styles. It's weird.

Inside, there are beautiful stain glass windows, and the ceilings are very high and flowery. The inside is designed to feel like a celestial forest. It's crazy.

We rode the elevator to the top of the towers and enjoyed a closer look at the towers and a view of the city.

The Nativity facade contains tons of animals. At the base are turtles. Jacob is somewhat scared of turtles, so I teased him by putting my hand into the mouth of the turtle and quickly pulling it out, pretending that the turtle might eat my hand. Jacob then cautiously approached the turtle and did the same, entertaining a group of about 15 Chinese tourists. As they pointed at him and laughed, he got really excited and began to giggle and get braver, such that at the end, he was just holding his hand in the turtles mouth and smiling and looking at everyone, feeling that he was being admired by all for how cool he was. It was funny.

After the Sagrada Familia, we ate at a little sandwich shop for lunch and took the bus to Parc Guell, a famous modernism park area overlooking the city. It had lots of random modernism stuff.

From there, we went to the famous street, Las Ramblas. It has people dressed in strange garb doing weird things.

Also, they sell things along the street, like birds, art, and flowers.

At one end of Las Ramblas is a monument to Columbus (above). At the other end is the city square, full of pigeons for Jacob to chase (below). He loved this!

It was Christmas time, so there were booths set up for selling Christmas decorations on the street.

Also, there were nativities set up throughout the city. Crowds flocked to look at the nativity scenes here in front of the city hall (below). We saw no sign of Santa Claus anywhere on the streets - it definitely felt like the Spanish had a better understanding of what Christmas was about than we Americans do.

We ate some tapas for dinner, as well as paella. Our paella contained mussels, squid, and prawns (we followed the waiters recommendation and that's what he suggested). It was better than I expected.

In total, Barcelona was a fun city to visit. We really liked Spain in general.

The next morning we caught an early flight home.

We hope you enjoyed our posts about our trip. Now we can focus our posts about other crazy things that have been happening in our life since we arrived home from this trip, 2 months ago. :)

Vermin and Fowl

2010-02-08T12:40:00.001-08:00

Blake and I grabbed turkey (fowl) sandwiches on our way into "Fantastic Mr. Fox" (vermin). No time to eat them, so all 8 inches a piece came in with us to the movie. We tried to sneakily eat them through the trailers and beginning of the show. Mr. Fox (vermin) and his friends (also vermin) outsmarted farmers (neither) to get their fowl. One of the best, and funniest movies we've seen in a while. Gotta love those dance scenes.

After the movie, we went to McDonalds for a little sweet snack, where we laughed at one of the items prominently displayed on the menu—"50 Chicken Nuggets for $9.99" (fowl)—until we realized from the 10 packets of sweet and sour sauce that the 4 teenaged kids in front of us were ordering that very thing, along with french fries and a fruit smoothie. Laughed harder as we watched them waddle out like they had just eaten Thanksgiving dinner. We figured that if the girl had eaten 9 nuggets, which is a pretty healthy amount considering the fruit smoothie was hers, then the boys must have had about 14 nuggets a piece. 14!

Driving home, a very unfortunate vermin crossed our path--a skunk. What could we do but laugh as we realized the seriousness of the situation and the stench that was filling our car.

It was a jolly night.

Malta

2010-01-27T19:26:00.001-08:00

Blake tells me my fans are waiting for this post, but I have a feeling the fan he is talking about the most is himself. Either way, I hope you are enjoying this long series of vacation posts!

The view of Valletta as we pulled into port.

Malta is an beautiful island nation in the Mediterranean. The people actually speak a variety of Arabic, but they use the Roman alphabet. The port was absolutely beautiful--white stone buildings sitting on cliffs above a beautiful Mediterranean blue. And tiny. We were impressed that our captain was able to navigate his way into it.

The narrow entrance that our boat navigated to get into the port.

We decided not to do a tour in Malta, but just wander the little cobblestone streets and explore its capital, Valletta, which was just a short walk from the boat. And it was beautiful weather, especially since December in Utah is not even close to this nice.

A beautiful garden overlooking the harbor that we walked through.

St. John's Co-Cathedral

We next went to St. John's Co-Cathedral. The inside was marvelous! Since we didn't have expectations of the church, the painted ceilings blew us away! It was far more impressive than the Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately, since there was a service in process, we were only allowed to stand in the back for a minute. I am sorry that the outside gives no hint of what was inside. But if you ever go there, be sure to check it out!

Our next stop was the Grandmaster's Palace, the capital building of Malta. (The Grandmaster is Malta's equivalent of a President.) It was an impressive building, and we got to learn a lot about the history of Malta, and see a lot of armor from the Knights of St. John.

Ceilings in the Grand Master's Palace.

We wandered around the cobblestone streets, which were decorated for Christmas, and visited St. Paul's Shipwrecked Church, since the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked and bitten by a snake on the island, and found ourselves some traditional Maltese sandwiches for lunch. Mine had olives, capers, tuna, and tomato sauce on their traditional bread. It was delicious.

After that, we enjoyed the beautiful weather and sights some more. It was a gorgeous place and a wonderful day.

The beautiful narrow streets.

Jacob playing with a Maltese boy in front of St. John's Co-Cathedral. He is the tiny one.

Mmmmm. Absolutely beautiful.

Jacob loved Malta!

Next installment: Barcelona

Life On Board the Norwegian Jade

2010-01-12T11:35:00.000-08:00

So I know that the next post was supposed to be about Malta, but I thought this might be a decent time to interject and post about life aboard the ship. We had five days at sea during the cruise, and we didn't get bored once.

We ate most of our meals in the buffet during the cruise. We thought that the buffet food was great. We only tried to eat in the main dining room once because Jacob was horrible the time we took him. However, the lady in charge of the dining room agreed to let us come down each night and order from the main dining room (which is where the particularly good food is) and have it delivered via room service to our room. As a result, almost every night, we ordered from the main dining room and it was delivered to our room 30 minutes later. In this picture, Britney is eating a particularly delicious lobster dish.

We usually ate dinner in our room around 6:00, and afterwards, we took Jacob to the buffet and fed him. If we had any room leftover from dinner, we would usually visit the buffet's crepe station, chocolate fountain, or ice cream bar. Britney's goal on the cruise was to "put some junk in her trunk." We both ate a lot, but I don't think either of us gained any weight during the cruise...

...because we were taking care of Jacob. Chasing him around and carrying him all over burns a lot of calories. He loved the chocolate cookies from the buffet and the chocolate mints left on his pillow each night.

Jacob's favorite method of exercise while on the ship was running up and down the long hallways. This was exercise for us, too.

At the end of the day, Jacob took advantage of the fact that his bed was right next to ours - he always insisted at some point during the night that he needed to sleep with us. We gave in, and he developed the habit of sleeping in our bed (which we weren't able to break him of until a couple weeks after the cruise). Personally, I really enjoyed having the little bear cuddling up next to me each night while on vacation - before the trip he wasn't very cuddly. He became cuddly during the trip, which was fun.

The days at sea were great in that they gave Jacob a chance to take good naps. While Jacob napped, we either watched movies, read books, or played board games (we brought Dominion and Agricola with us).

In total, the cruise ship was great. It wasn't a party ship (which was a good thing for us), it had several other kids on it that were Jacob's age that Jacob could play with (in the "Under 2 Zoo"), the food was good, the room service and cleaning people were great, and it was very casual. Overall, we really enjoyed our time on the ship.

Egypt: Day 2

2010-01-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

The next morning we woke up to this wonderful view outside our hotel room! We felt so lucky to see morning over the pyramids. We were up early to see the city before heading back to our ship.

Here is the view over the Nile with the morning fog/smog.

Our first stop of the morning was the Mohammad Ali Mosque (no, not named after the boxer, but an Egyptian king).

If you weren't dressed properly, they made you wear one of these to cover yourself up a little more.

The inside of the mosque was spectacular. Our tour guide told us that most mosques don't have a lot of ornamentation to keep your mind on the service rather than the walls. However, Mohammad Ali was from Istanbul, and he wanted a building that reminded him of his hometown and Hagia Sophia.

Next we stopped at the Bazaar in Cairo. It was still early, so the shops were just opening, but we still enjoyed bargaining with vendors. But we only bought one thing--a little pair of blue pajamas with camels on them for Jacob to remind him of his adventure.

Next we headed off to the Cairo Egyptian Museum. It was a funny place. All these amazing artifacts are just thrown in there in a jumble (or so it seemed) with little labeling or informative signs. The best part was the room with the treasures of King Tut. Here is his solid gold funerary mask.

We also saw the mummy room where they have unwrapped the mummies of several of the great pharaohs. Blake wanted me to post a picture of one of the mummies, but when I looked for one on google, they were way too gross. You're welcome.

After a lunch, it was back to the ship! And thus ends our Egyptian adventure!

Next stop: Malta

Egypt: Day 1

2010-01-05T21:20:00.000-08:00

Egypt was the crème de la crème of the trip--one of the main motivators for going on this trip. Both Blake and I never really anticipated going to Egypt in our lifetime, mostly because it is rare that one plans a trip to just Egypt. It did not disappoint.

The ship stopped overnight in Egypt, and since the drive from the port in Alexandria is 3 hours away from Cairo, we spent the night at a hotel in Giza near the pyramids. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The tour we scheduled picked us up in Alexandria, and we headed straight for the pyramids. The landscape of Egypt was fascinating. In some ways it was just what you would expect--dry, dry dirt, brick buildings or cinder block buildings, and palm trees. Jacob didn't like being on a bus for 3 hours, but luckily the bus was big enough that we could move around. He would have rather moved around by himself, but we did our best to keep him occupied.

Our tour went straight to the pyramids. They were stunning. Sometimes when you see famous or often talked about monuments, your expectations are so high that it is a disappointment (such as our experience at the Sistine chapel). The pyramids did not fall into the same category.

They are huge! And although signs forbid from truly climbing the pyramid, it appears that you are allowed to climb all over the bottom of it. So we did!

I am actually standing on some of the pyramid stones here. Don't you just love how small Jacob looks? It makes you realize how large the stones actually are and how amazing it is that it was built in a time when they didn't even have wheels.

You can see us standing up on the pyramid. Just look for Blake's "where's waldo" striped shirt. We are near the entrance of the pyramid. We didn't go inside. Apparently it takes a while, is cramped, and there is little to see. I did go in a smaller pyramid later to get the full experience.

We drove around to the panoramic view, as seen here. Isn't it incredible? It's hard to believe we were actually there.

And from there, we hired . . .

. . . the camels! Jake really wasn't sure of them at first, so Blake was trying to balance a squirmy boy on an unusual animal--quite a feat when you realize that camels start out on the ground and have to stand up. It is not at all like riding a horse.

We went on about a 15-minute ride from the panoramic viewpoint down to the side of the pyramids. Our camels were led by a young Egyptian boy, so no, we did not have to control them ourselves.
Here we are in front of the Sphinx. We wish we had gotten a little closer.

Next we traveled down to Memphis. Here is the great statue of Ramses.

And here is a sphinx of his (I think).

The drive down to Memphis and Saqqara was fascinating. This is a picture of the river running down the center of the road. And the trash that has been caught against a bridge. Our tour guide told us "Up river, you will see, it is much cleaner. People wash their clothes in the river and swim." We saw them washing their clothes and swimming and even fishing, but the water didn't look much better. And we did see a couple of dead animals in there too. No wonder we were told not to drink the water.

Another interesting thing you can see from this picture is the unfinished building. As we drove along, we noticed that almost every building was unfinished. Either it looked like it was still awaiting a top floor, or windows, or any number of things. Apparently if your building isn't finished, you are not yet required to pay taxes. Therefore, why finish a building?

In Saqqara, we also visited the step pyramid of King Djoser. It was the first pyramid ever created. We also saw a tomb with ornate carvings (wherein pictures were not allowed) and I went inside a pyramid.

We decided not to worry about the dinner cruise or sound and light show and just get our buddy to bed that night. So we did. We were not brave enough to try the Egyptian food at the hotel after seeing that river, so we just ordered room service's grilled cheese, french fries, and chicken strips. All deep fried, all safe.

And then we fell asleep.

Next post: Egypt: Day 2!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2009-12-26T09:00:00.001-08:00

Ephesus, Turkey

2009-12-22T09:35:00.000-08:00

Ephesus and Turkey were fascinating! We had a wonderful tour guide here who told us a lot about the climate, crops, exports, industry, and anything else we wanted to know about Turkey. He also was an archaeologist who works excavating the city of Ephesus during the winter months.

Ephesus used to be a port city in Roman times. It was the 3rd largest city in the Roman Empire. But the silt from the river dried up the port, and the city was abandoned. Because of this, no one ever built on top of the ruins like in Rome or other cities, and many of the ruins are in place. The archaeologists have been working to put the puzzle pieces back together for the last 30 years or more.

Here is Blake and Jacob on the main road in Ephesus. The view of the sea would have been in the background in ancient times. The road would have been lined with shops.

The best part of Ephesus was the Terrace Houses. These rich apartments, which would have had a sea view in ancient times, were covered by a hill, protected from the elements. The mosaics and marble frescoes are being put back together piece by piece under a state of the art covering. We were lucky to go in here. Not all tour groups get to come in. It was incredible.

One of the mosaic floors of an apartment.

The cats roaming Ephesus kept Jacob interested during most of the tour. Apparently they feed them and make sure they get there shots even though they are technically wild.

This facade is of the old library in Ephesus. Apparently it was one of the largest in the world at that time. Of course, like most libraries, it burned.

Look at the amazing detail of the stone.

The amphitheater in Ephesus. This is where the Apostle Paul preached against Diana, and there was almost a riot against him after the people yelled at him for two hours "Great is Diana of Ephesus!"

We loved the "Genuine Fake Watches" for sale.

These are the ruins of the Great Temple of Diana--one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. Most of the stones have been carried off to use in different things now.

Turkey is famous for it's Turkish rugs. They took us to a place trying to sell us rugs, but it was pretty interesting.

At the end of our tour, we needed to find an ATM to pay our tour guide, so we went wandering down a little Turkish street. It is so fascinating to see different cultures! Turkey is definitely (and surprisingly) a place we would like to go back to again some day!

Athens

2009-12-20T11:08:00.001-08:00

At Athens, we decided to do the city on our own. Athens doesn't have as much to see as some of the other cities we visited, and it's relatively close to the port. Unfortunately, we didn't count on part of the train being down and it taking an hour and a half to get the 6 miles from the port to the Acropolis.

Either way, we made it. And we still had plenty of time to see what we wanted to see. Our first stop was the Acropolis and nearby Agora.

In front of the Parthenon.

Blake and little Jacob budding at the front and more complete side of the Parthenon. They have been working on reconstruction for the past 20 years, apparently.

One of the 2 theaters on the Acropolis. This one would have been indoor.

The iconic shot.

The view of Athens and Mars Hill from the Acropolis' front porch. It was so green and beautiful for being December. We were also surprised at how high the Acropolis hill is.

After seeing the main sights, we wandered the city's shops for a while. Here is Greece's capital. We also walked around some nearby gardens, saw a mansion, and the Temple of Zeus.

Rome

2009-12-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

In Rome, we took a private tour with a group of about a dozen people. Rome is a city that Brit and I have always wanted to go to, and we were not disappointed. It was unlike any city we’d ever seen before, and we really liked it.

Our tour first took us to the Vatican. We felt like we were cattle herded through a mile of very crowded hallways before we arrived at what everyone in the halls really wanted to get to – the Sistine Chapel. We took turns carrying Jacob and carrying the stroller (he didn’t want to be in it at that time) through the Vatican Museum, and perhaps it was because of how exhausted we were and how sick we were of being in such crowded hallways that made us not think the Sistine Chapel was quite as cool as we’d hoped.

The herd moving through the Vatican Museum

Shortly after the Sistine Chapel, we went inside St. Peter’s Basilica, and it was well beyond our expectations. I thought that St. Peter’s was by far, the coolest cathedral I’ve ever been in. It was phenomenal.

I loved how the light came through the windows while we were there

I can't believe how they sculpted this giant slab of marble to look like a sheet!

After St. Peter’s, we started walking through the city around some fountains and shops, and we went to the Pantheon and ate pizza outside at a small sidewalk café. After the pizza, we got some delicious gelato.

The Pantheon

Next, we visited the Trevi Fountain, another thing that exceeded expectations in Rome.

Britney threw a coin in the fountain to ensure her return to Rome.

After that, we got back into the tour bus and we drove around the city a bit. We passed the Forum and wished we had another day here to visit it. Then we stopped at the Coliseum, and due to lack of time, were only able to walk around it.

Overall, Rome was a wonderful day. Of all the places we went to on the cruise, this was definitely the one where we wish we could have had more time. Hopefully Britney’s wish she made for 10 euro cents at the Trevi Fountain will come true for us.

Next stop: Athens

The Trip of a Lifetime

2009-12-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

Soon after our move to Utah, we hopped back on a plane to head out on a wonderful, crazy, happy trip. We took a Mediterranean cruise that left out of Barcelona and took us to Rome, Athens, Ephesus (Turkey), Egypt, and Malta. And . . . we took that crazy little boy we call our son.

We had a wonderful time, and except for a little bout of croup that Jacob had while we were on a small side trip to France, everything went really smoothly. We survived 2 long plane rides, jet lag, and Egypt's food (unlike some of our unlucky group members). We also usually had to have our ship room vacuumed twice daily due to the efforts of Jacob, and convinced the ship's main dining room that we needed special service to bring our food to our room rather than brave the dining room with our wiry one-year old.

Before the cruise ship left, we decided to take a road trip up to Carcassonne, France, to see a castle there. Blake has always had a hankering to see a big, real life castle, and Carcassonne is billed as one of the best. Plus, we may have also had an interest in it because we are fans of the game Carcassonne. (I know. We're geeks.) It has a moat, 2 lines of city walls, a small city inside, and a castle.

Walking along the ramparts. I don't think they would ever let you just do this unsupervised in America!

The view from the chateou.

Walking along the inner city walls.

The city all lit up at night.

We really enjoyed this part of our trip, other than Jake getting sick that night and the fact that we still have no ability to pronounce French, and therefore communicate with the French people. It was such a neat place!

Next up: Rome

Washington Brown Bear

2009-11-11T10:10:00.000-08:00

Species: Brown bear, or Ursus arctos

Native to: Washington

Approx. age: 1 year

Characteristics: While this bear looks cute and cuddly, efforts to hug him usually result in pushing away. The bear would rather be playing than snuggled in an embrace.

News Update: Currently, this Washingtonian Brown Bear is relocating permanently to Utah to be near its Grandmas. It is bringing along its mother and father as well to reside here.

We've moved!

Ch ch ch ch changes

2009-10-16T13:45:00.000-07:00

From this. . . .

to this. . . .

I think it was about 15 inches overall.

Jake's Birthday Party in Utah

2009-09-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

I loved his crown. What a cute boy!

Four Thoughts for Tuesday

2009-09-02T18:15:00.001-07:00

1. Jacob is walking! He doesn't do it consistently yet, but he is getting a lot braver. Last night he went 64 steps in a row without help! They were very small steps, however, so he didn't go very far.

2. Blake is in the throes of busy season right now. I'm glad to have a little buddy with me now while he is gone at work.

3. I canned approximately 45 jars of peaches this past week. No one told me beforehand that 3 boxes was a lot. But I got it all done, and it felt like a really big accomplishment to learn how to do it and finish all of them.

4. We've moved. Yes, again. Cheaper rent was calling our names, so we left our old place. If you need our new address, let me know.

I'm not sure why it was so funny . . .

2009-08-31T11:06:00.000-07:00

The Tornado Hit

2009-07-24T16:38:00.001-07:00

If you wonder why our books look like this . . .

and this . . .

and this . . .

Well, now you know.

He wouldn't even interrupt his playing to turn and look at the camera. Too busy, Mom. Too busy. I've let him enjoy unloading the DVDs onto the floor, but I think it will have to stop soon. He's getting too good at it!

We are switching to a new apartment in a week (still in our ward), and we have decided that as many bookshelves as will fit are going in the closets.

The Month of July

2009-07-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

We've been busy so far this month. Here are some of the things that we have been doing.

We went to the zoo for the first time. Our favorite thing was the bears. They were up roaming around in all their huge glory. We are a big fan of bears in this family.

The birds at the Willawong Station were also a big hit. We fed them seeds on sticks and tried to keep Jacob from grabbing them. He loved them.

We went to Victoria next! Here we are riding the Clipper .
We saw the Parliament building.

And we went to Butchart Gardens! Here is the amazing Sunken Garden, built in an old limestone quarry.

Blake and Jakey in front of some gorgeous Delphinium.

The Rose Garden was spectacular. We were there at the perfect time of year.

Jakey was really good. I think he likes to travel.

We let Jake try to feed himself. Prunes. He wouldn't eat, so I let him try. It didn't go very well, and it ended in a bath, something he loves.

Blake and I got to go see Coldplay at the Gorge at George. The location was amazing, and the concert was wonderful.

And we played with this little boy. He's standing, walking along everything (even preferring that to crawling, and getting into anything he can. He is so much fun to play with and we love him lost and lots.
Hope you are doing well also!

Strawberries for Sale

2009-06-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

I decided to make strawberry jam for the first time today, and although the jam seems to be going great, I bought way too many strawberries. Does anyone want to buy a flat off me? I got 4 lbs at Costco for $5. I'll drop it off if you want it!

They look really good!

Day at the Park

2009-06-24T14:26:00.001-07:00

Can you tell we had a good time?

Swingin'

Playin' with the toys.

Playin' in the grass.

Watchin' the dogs.

Climbin' the stairs.

Tryin' to eat the wood chips. (Actually, it looks like he might have succeeded there.)

And goin' down the slide.

You better believe he didn't last the 2-minute drive home without falling asleep.

Too good of a deal not to share . . .

2009-06-21T20:30:00.000-07:00

Our little bear Jacob is happy.

Or, at least he should be. Because he just got this!

While Jacob is not out of his current car seat, Blake and I have been keeping an eye out for a larger car seat for him. Well, today I found a deal for $50 of a purchase of $150 on Britax car seats. On amazon.com, the Bellamy (tan) color of car seat was only $159.99, bringing the price down to $110. Shipping was free, and taxes brought the price up to $120. I had $15 worth of amazon gift cards from swagbucks.com, so the total price was $105! I don't think I've ever seen the seats this cheap before, and I wasn't planning on getting a Britax because they are usually so pricey ($200+), but they are supposed to be the best, and for this price I couldn't resist! It's good until June 27, but I'm not sure all the models will be available for a long time.

Link for car seats.

If you want to know more about swagbucks.com, it's just a site that I use as my search engine, and they randomly award me swag bucks as I search. You can turn the bucks into things like gift cards, and I've found the $5 amazon.com gift cards to be the best bang for my bucks. I'm almost to a fourth one, and it really works! I just do my normal searching with their site (which isn't the best, but, hey, for money I'll use it) and voila! Click on the link below if you want to try it.

Exploring Canada

2009-06-09T12:48:00.001-07:00

A few weekends ago, we went to Vancouver, British Columbia on a Friday night, just for fun. We drove up after work and we stayed in a cheap Holiday Inn we got through Priceline. Jacob was great on the drive up (and the way back). He's a very good traveler. Saturday, we went to:

-Queen Elizabeth Park

-Van Dusen Botanical Gardens

(which had a very fun hedge maze)

-Stanley Park

and a few other things. While living in Seattle, we've always heard about how beautiful it is in Victoria, but we had no idea that Vancouver would be so beautiful. It was spectacular. We had great weather and we really enjoyed our trip.

First Haircut from Mommy

2009-06-01T22:10:00.001-07:00

Jacob has had a couple of trims from his Grandma Schets already, but this week I decided to give him a haircut myself. There's only so much hair over the ears that I can handle :) I did it all by myself! I started when he was asleep, and it worked all right. By the end he was ready for me to stop touching his hair. Now ha can have a hairdo just like his Dad!

Washington D.C.

2009-05-15T13:43:00.000-07:00

We went on vacation to Washington D.C. a couple of weeks ago for 7 nights. We had a blast. We flew into Baltimore and rented a car and we stayed in Rockville, Maryland. Each day, we took the train into the city. We did tours of the White House, Supreme Court, U.S. Capitol, and Pentagon, and we also visited Mt. Vernon, Gettysburg, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, all of the monuments in D.C., Ford’s Theatre, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Museum of American History, Natural History Museum, the National Art Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Holocaust Museum, the National Cathedral, the temple, and the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. In all, we had a spectacular time. Each night after sightseeing we went back to the hotel and crashed. It was excellent exercise for everyone except Jake, who rode around enjoying the sights and sounds of D.C. all day in his stroller.

Who'd Ya Think's Excited for Them Celts?

2009-05-09T00:39:00.000-07:00

What Happens at the Rain Forest? Why, It RAINS!

2009-05-07T23:49:00.000-07:00

My family was able to come up and visit us during April. We decided to spend some of the time out in the rain forest on the peninsula. Well, we should have thought about that. Because what happens in early spring in a rain forest? It RAINS. THE WHOLE TIME.

We still enjoyed ourselves, but I think next time we'll skip the ponchos and go in the summer.

The Hall of the Mosses in the heart of the rain forest. I thought it looked rather otherworldly.

Jacob cuddling with his Uncle Derek. Derek takes such good care of him.

Me and Blake on Ruby Beach.

My sister Kirsten and I getting ready for a hike to a waterfall. Jacob is in his wrap peeking out the armhole of the poncho. Have you ever tried to wear a poncho half sideways? Quite fun. :)

Jacob didn't mind it. I know my hands look a little odd, but I was trying to keep the poncho away from his face and still have it cover him, not attack his head.

All of my family that came. This was the largest spruce! And it looked a lot bigger in person too.

Newest Quilting Project

2009-03-21T16:13:00.000-07:00

I found a pattern in a library book that I really liked, and decided to try. And it's finished! It was a relatively quick project (compared to other quilts, but not really that quick.) Here it is!

The circles are just from leaving spaces in the machine quilting. Here's a closer-up view.

The middle of the circles were supposed to have swirls in the middle, but I got a bit more creative. My circles have flowers quilted into them. The Dahlia above is one of my favorites. I also have, among other things, a rose, Cosmos, Lotus, and a Purpleheaded Sneezeweed—I didn't know the name when I put it on there. The cool part about this quilt is that the purple quilting is not visible on the back, and the white flowers are only slightly seen on the front. They do show a bit on the back, but because I didn't pick a solid purple, they do blend in more than I thought they would.

Yea!

Pride and Joy

2009-03-21T16:08:00.000-07:00

Results of My Giveaway!

2009-03-19T20:47:00.000-07:00

I figured that I better post the winners of my contest so I don't feel gulty ever time I look at this blog, and so I can actually post about other things. It's been long enough, don't ya think?

So, without further ado. . . .

I picked 13 Rook cards, one for each of my 13 comments.

And then drew 3 randomly.

Congrats to Ellen, Tim, and Tiffany! Look forward to something rather splendid.

Checking Out

2009-02-27T13:38:00.000-08:00

And it wasn't even nap time yet.

Singing, Singing All the Day . . .

2009-02-09T15:49:00.000-08:00

Since I responded to Melynda's giveaway, I promised to do this. Mine is a little different than hers (i.e., you don't have to repost it), but no less as great. The winners will be chosen at random.

Three people to respond to this
post will receive something made by me to you.
My choice.
Made especially for you.
Of course there are some restrictions and limitations:
1 I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2 What I create will be just for you.
3 It will be done sometime this year.
4 You have no clue what it will be. . . . it may be a story. It may be poetry or an article on properly cleaning your face before a masque. I may draw or paint something. I may bake something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, thats for sure.
5 I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The winners will be chosen at random, because I know not everyone checks blogs everyday.
Just leave a comment (only one please) before February 18.
Lurkers welcome.

Our little Cuteheart

2009-02-09T15:43:00.000-08:00

I am unabashedly naming this boy the cutest little boy in the entire world.
Age: 4 months today!

25 Things about Me

2009-02-02T13:26:00.000-08:00

I got tagged on Facebook to do this, but I'm a little more comfortable in the blogging arena, so I'm doing it here.

I hate the feel of cotton balls. Especially if I have to tear them. I get the biggest goose bumps you have ever seen up and down my arms if I do. I have no idea why.
I love to quilt. I just started a new one this week and I am so excited about it.
I can't sew anything but straight lines though, so forget about anything more complicated, like clothes.
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a mother when I grew up. But the editing was really fun too.
"I love [my baby] best when [he] is asleep and better still when [he] is awake." He just fell asleep in my arms, and he is beautiful. Ten points if you know what book that quote is from. (Kristin, you better not fail me:)
The aforementioned book is my absolute favorite secular book. I've read it dozens of times. (Okay, its Anne of the Island. Beautiful!)
I love to read but don't often read books. I shirk every responsible activity in my life until I've finished one, so I seem to have gotten in the habit of never reading them.
Blogs have taken the place of books—I can read them in short pieces and still do the things I'm supposed to.
I think that's the reason I became an English major in college. I got to read books for homework!
I adore young adult and children's fiction.
I'm an editor, but I can't spell. Isn't that what spellcheck is for? Whenever Blake and I play games like Cranium, he has to spell all the words. He (an accountant) is really good at spelling.
When I was in college in my editing classes, I would have spelling tests. My lovely roommates decided to have backwards spelling bees amongst themselves with my spelling words that I was having trouble spelling frontwards. And they were really good at it too!
My birthday is on Valentine's Day, and growing up, I always loved that. Even if I never had a boyfriend on those days (and I never did, until Blake) the day was always wonderful. Now that I'm married, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting cheated out of a great holiday.
My mom and dad are wonderful. They always have let my birthday usurp their holiday.
I can hula-hoop like a champ.
Blake and I have really gotten into Euro-style games. We play them a lot.
My husband is my best friend.
I don't really like dogs. Sorry if this offends you, but I don't. I don't like when they lick me or touch me with their wet noses that have been who knows where. All I can think about is how germy I'm getting. I am pretty positive my children will never have a dog while they live in my home.
I played the violin in my junior high and high school orchestra. I rarely practiced, but I loved being a part of making such beautiful music. Mostly I just sat in the back of the second violin section playing my little notes and listening to the amazing music that was coming out of everyone else's instruments.
I wish that I had practiced more then. Because now the orchestra is gone and I can't make the same beautiful music with the violin that is under my bed.
When my brother was a baby and I practiced my violin, he would wail. I'm afraid to practice around Jake for fear that he will get that same pitifully anguished look on his face.
I adore just about any music that has piano in it. The piano just kind of sucks me in.
I am highly competitive. There are a couple of games that I can't often play with Blake because he beats me too badly and I get upset. If we are in a group setting and there are other people losing as well, then I don't mind at all.
I really can't think of two more things!
So there!

Our Little Bear

2009-01-24T15:25:00.000-08:00

I love this little boy. This is one of my favorite Jake outfits.

New Blog!

2009-01-20T12:25:00.000-08:00

Hooray! This is to announce a new blog I am running called SeattleMoms! It has been a long time in the planning and I am so excited to have it finally up and running. It will (hopefully) be a treasure trove of tips for moms, fun things to do in the area, and spotlights on local businesses and moms.

Please get the word out! Put a link for SeattleMoms.blogspot.com on your blog, tell your friends about it, and become a full-fledged fan (if you please!).

And get ready for some great information!

Greetings from Planet Jake

2008-12-10T03:25:00.000-08:00

Yup. Two months old is pretty cool. And my baby is brilliant. See? Smiling for the camera at such an early age.

Here is a video of Jake using his new-found babbling skills. I'm sure most of you won't feel you need to see a minute of my baby making sounds, but consider this posted for the grandparents who will want to see it.

I Knew What I Wanted

2008-11-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

I was going through my computer's files today and found this:
What? Who's Alonzo?

Well, when I was in my freshman year at college, my roommates and I decided that we needed code names for our future husbands. Think about it. Which would you prefer?

"When my future husband and I. . . ."

or

"When Alonzo and I. . . ."

You're right, the second is much better. There was one rule to this:

1. Your code name had to be an unusual name. What if you chose the name "John," for instance, and you casually mentioned that one day you would be married to John and then your friend John walked by? Awkward.

I chose Alonzo. How likely was it that I was going to meet anyone named Alonzo? (There was only one Alonzo in the BYU student directory at the time. I checked.)

So, one night after I had convinced all my friends that they needed code names too (sample: Jajuan, Jaden--this name was not popular at the time yet, and Xavier), my friend Joanna and I were watching a chick flick and decided that we needed to have pictures of these mystery men. So we each drew one. My picture hung on my wall during my freshman year, confusing the boys who would come to visit.

Yes, I drew the above picture 3 years before meeting Blake.

In fact, I think Blake looks more like my drawing of him than I look like my drawing of myself.
I guess I knew what I wanted. And he's perfect.

This Is What I Do Late at Night when I'm Feeding the Baby . . .

2008-11-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

I look through lots and lots of cool websites. I have decided I would love to have this spice rack full of sprinkles some day in my kitchen. Preferably against this cool purplish color of wall. Or yellow. If they were candy, I'd eat them all up, so sprinkles seem like a great alternative. This blogger also has a great collection of beach sand in little jars.

And then these are cool too, albeit too expensive for me. Tattoos for your plain white bathroom tiles!

Or what about this chalkboard shirt?

Yeah, fun times.

Bravery

2008-11-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

This past week, we were really brave.

Well, maybe some would call it stupid.

We took our 3-week-old baby on a plane trip. (Really.)

Blake's sister Emily was got married this past weekend. We had thought that we had no chance of going. After all, we weren't sure that Jacob would even be born as of late October, and we also weren't sure if he would be healthy when he came. Since we were pleasantly surprised on both counts, we bought tickets to Utah.

We are happy to report that all went well. Jacob was happy to stay covered up the entire time in the airport, and I don't think he even noticed he had left the ground. We also managed to avoid all the illnesses that were going around down there, although it did take a bit of switching our plans at times.

Emily was beautiful, the wedding was beautiful, and they even got married in the same room Blake and I got married in two years ago, which made it really special for me. The weather, also, was beautiful. Especially for a day in early November.

We were happy to find out that our baby is a relatively patient one. He celebrated his first Halloween and met all of his aunts and uncles (Except Erin. We missed you!). He did great being left with my mom for the ceremony and the luncheon. It seems he will accept a pacifier even if he is hungry and allow himself to be held and bounced out of the idea of eating. My mom worked this several times in an effort to hold him longer. One morning I fed Jake around 6:00 and them took him to her so I could go back to sleep. She didn't return him (and wake us up) until 10:40! My fail-proof alarm of a baby, and my expectation that I would wake up at 9:00, didn't really work that morning!

When we left Jacob for the luncheon, we came back to find him exhausted. My four sisters and mother had spent the time we were gone doing a "photo shoot." The pictures were lovely, including this one,

and the one Blake posted in the blog below. This one is when he protested the whole adventure.

Apparently no one listened to his little baa-like cry. Poor boy. The next photos show him resignedly asleep. (He's wearing a doll's hat. Real baby hats are too big for his head.)

Our last adventure while in Utah was blessing our sweet little boy at my parent's house. We wanted to bless him down there because then we could have both Blake's mom, my parents, four of Jake's great-grandparents, and a smattering of our siblings there.

Our little boy got to wear the same outfit as his daddy wore for his blessing. Here is a three-week old Blake to compare to a three-week old Jacob:

Same outfit, see? (The sweater Blake is wearing seems to have been lost, but everything else is the same. Even down to the blue-striped socks.) The booties were made by Jacob's Great Great Great Grandma Moser. How cool is that? Yes, Blake was about 2 lbs. heavier and a lot more hairy at 3 weeks, but the outfit still seemed to fit perfectly. Blake gave Jacob a beautiful blessing.

I think I've kept you reading long enough.

The End.

Looking good

2008-11-05T16:24:00.000-08:00

Tradition Lake

2008-10-27T18:15:00.001-07:00

Blake and I decided to take a little walk yesterday at Tradition Lake. It's a nice trail, smooth enough for a jogger stroller, very flat, and short. We have been on this network of trails before (although we took lots of random turns, on purpose, and took a big loop around the lake, so it was really long) and although it was beautiful then, it was even prettier now. It was late in the evening, so the light wasn't very good, but we did manage to get a couple of pictures before our camera battery died. But the pictures don't do it justice.

Notice that little Jake is cuddled up inside our wrap. We love that thing, and it seems he likes it all right too. The flash makes Blake look ghostly—just in time for Halloween!

It was so peaceful that we could hear the leaves falling off the trees. You could hear them break off and then hit the other branches and leaves as they fell.

To find Tradition Lake, take Exit 20 off I-90. Take a right and then a right. The trail head will be at the end of the road. To see the prettiest leaves, follow the signs to the Bus Trail. (There is actually an old bus that somehow got into the trees. Only the frame is left, and it's all rusted, but it's still pretty cool. I keep missing getting pictures of it.) Later, follow the signs to the Around the Lake Trail. Or, in other words, just stay on the nice trails—the smoothed ones.

Don't you just love autumn? It's my favorite season.

Sprayed!

2008-10-21T17:35:00.000-07:00

Jacob has decided to time his bathroom duties with a diaper change four times in the last 24 hours! And the 24 hours are not up yet. I have not been a casualty yet, but I certainly seem to be doing a lot of laundry. Is there a trick to this thing that I am missing?

Such a cute little guy. I guess he can't help it!

More Jacob

2008-10-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm looking at Jacob's picture that we posted earlier and it doesn't seem to look like him! He's changed a lot in the last four days already. Here are a couple of our favorite pictures from the last couple of days. Jacob and his grandpa cuddling on the couch. We were happy to have both of my parents there for his birth and for a couple of days afterwards. My dad went home tonight, but my mom is still here taking care of us. She's good at taking care of us and fattening us up.

Jacob and I cuddling at the hospital. Sorry, Blake, you're not the only boy in my life any more.

Baby's first bath in the hospital. He stuck out his foot for the picture.

Love it.

George is here!

2008-10-09T13:03:00.000-07:00

Jacob was born this morning at 4:37. He is perfectly healthy and weighs 6 lbs, 8 oz and is 19.5 inches long. The labor went more smoothly than we could have ever imagined. Brit was induced at 9:30 PM last night, so it went really quickly. Thank you to all who prayed for us. We were shocked at how much weight he gained in the final two weeks. We are extremely grateful. We'll post more pictures later.

Mount Rainier Day

2008-10-02T16:01:00.000-07:00

Blake, being an accountant, was forced to take his Labor day sometime other during the pre-Sept.15-deadline rush. We took it in late September, and decided to spend the Tuesday visiting Mount Rainier. It was a beautiful day (as you will shortly see from these pictures!).

Does anyone else feel like singing the songs from the Sound of Music?

Don't worry, we only did short walks instead of real hikes. I'm conserving my calories for George.

Note: George hasn't made an appearance yet. I'll probably be induced next week, so expect more news then!

Overheard at a Stake Youth Dance while Chaperoning

2008-09-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

"But, Dawn, I LIKE you!"

--As yelled by a 14-year-old boy as his substantially taller object of affection fled to the women's bathroom for the second time (at least) that night. Blake and I were glad to remember that we are not, and never will be, teenagers again. :)

.

Generous Strangers

2008-09-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

My knitting adventures weren't really going anywhere these last couple of days. I had tried and tried to figure out the books I had gotten from the library--comparing pictures, attempting what I thought they had said, all the time recognizing that if I could just have someone show me a couple of times, I would be able to figure it out. But who?

I went and bought a bassinette off of craigslist a couple of days ago, and found the answer. She had a weaving studio set up in her front room! She showed me the basic stitch and then even let me try a couple of stitches myself on the cute little socks she was making. She made me feel so loved in just the few minutes I was there! It inspires me to treat other people like that.

Now I just have to figure out what to do with all these little blue squares. . . .

Aren't they cute?

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For Kirsten

2008-09-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

I think the one at 34 weeks must have been taken at a funny angle. I don't feel that big! And I'm really not sure what happened with the color.

A Couple of Things . . .

2008-09-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

1. We moved about a month ago. It's just across the parking lot from our old place, but we needed an apartment that had two bedrooms. If you have my old address, the only thing that has changed is the apartment number. It's now F-32.

2. Do you know anyone who has written a book who would like it to be professionally critiqued? I haven't been able to work as much lately, due to some financial problems at the company I usually work for, so I am looking for freelance work. If you know anyone who might like that sort of editorial service, have them give me a call or send me an email.

3. Blake and I very much enjoyed the BYU football game on Saturday. So fun to be able to attend away from Provo! And we won!

4. I'm attempting to pick up knitting. So far, not so good. But I'd really like to learn!

5. I'm still feeling great at this point in my pregnancy. Five weeks to go! Baby George is apparently on the small side (as in 5th-percentile weight) so they have me on a high-protein, high-calorie diet to fatten him (and me) up. Another cheeseburger, anyone?

6. No, we are not planning on naming him George. I'm just having a little fun. Speaking of fun, did someone have a little too much fun with our poll? It jumped at least 20 votes in one day--all voting for George.

7. I don't mind if you call him George anyways. Even after he is born. Just know that he will have a regular, proper name.

8. It's Blake's busy season and he's been working a lot. Most of the busyness will end after September 15th, and the rest after October 15th. He's hanging in there.

The end.

George's Pictures at 30 Weeks

2008-08-26T13:09:00.000-07:00

I promised my sister I'd load these up here. They are the 3-D ultrasound images of our baby. As you can see from Blake's baby picture below, he already looks like his Dad. Or, at least he will have his Dad's nose!

So cute!

The Perils of Leaving a Nesting Woman Alone

2008-08-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

I had already spent the last couple of days doing this:
So yesterday I masked up,
Readied my artillery,
And started painting!
By the time Blake got home, he caught me, red-handed, finishing the last square. (Don't worry, he knew what I was planning ahead of time.)
Then we decided to switch a shade of green. Blake helped. We ended up switching two colors. George probably likes yellow better than brown.

Ta da! George now has his own place to sleep!

Paint Request?

2008-08-01T15:53:00.001-07:00

Does anyone have leftover blue or green paint from an old painting project that they wouldn't mind parting with? I would like to do some sort of painting project on one of George's walls with big squares of blue and green, but I can't really buy too many cans of paint that I'll only use parts of. I've been looking at "oops" paint at Home Depot so far, but I'm not sure that's going to cut it.

Franklin Falls

2008-08-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Here's another one of Blake and Britney's hike adventures. This one was really easy--only about a mile long and basically flat. I think that's about the hardest I am up for these days. It was a beautiful waterfall, and you could get right to the very bottom, which always makes it even more fun. Perfect hike for a hot day.
The water in the river beside the trail was perfectly clear and a little green. We ate lunch out on this rock in the middle of the river.

Blake by a smaller fall by the trail.

Another waterfall along the river. We just kept finding these pretty places all over!

Franklin Falls!
George and me at Franklin Falls. It makes George look like he's getting a lot bigger.

I just thought this one was funny and had to post it. I think I look like my body was cut in half and the top half of me slid over about 6 inches! It's like the top and bottom don't match!

A Couple More Florida Pictures

2008-08-01T15:20:00.000-07:00

We just got our underwater camera developed, so I wanted to post a couple more.

Snorkeling together.

Shark! This guy wasn't the biggest we saw.

Back on the boat at Bahia Honda after snorkeling. This is when the waves were choppy and George decided to do somersaults.

The boat we got to to on for a day. We are getting back with our kyaks. I'm wearing an extra shirt over my shoulders so they don't get as burned.

Horseshoe Crab! He's upside down with his tail curled over. Look a little scary, but they don't hurt people.

Hotcake Blake. :)

Summer Flowers

2008-07-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

We are very proud of our little "garden" and wanted to share this little bit of sunshine with you. The Black-Eyed Susan are just starting to come out, but the Phlox and Hydrangea are in full force. And there is even more Hydrangea blooms on the other side of the plant!

Gone Again?

2008-07-23T16:32:00.000-07:00

We were planning on staying home most of this month. After returning from some rather long trips in the previous couple of months, we were content to stay at home.

Or so we thought.

That was until the 6th, when we noticed that I had received my frequent flyer credit from Southwest. Oops. Things like that burn holes in your pockets. Blake already had one. Since we had been planning on getting those, we had thought about some trips that we could take next year with baby George tagging along. But isn't it better to vacation with him when he's properly fed and safe inside my belly? And where is the farthest possible place you can fly?

By the next day, Monday the 7th, we had flights, hotels, and boss approval to leave for Tampa, Florida, the following Tuesday the 15th! Although Blake is now in the hole for vacation days, we had a lovely week-long trip to Florida. Although many of our pictures from this trip are on a waterproof camera we bought, here are some of the documented highlights:

One of our first adventures included the rental car. We are learning that rental agencies DO NOT care if you have requested a certain kind of vehicle (i.e. an automatic on the scary, left-handed roads of England that was not available). In this case, we had requested a compact for great gas mileage. Of course, none were available, and we were given the biggest grandpa car that you have ever seen. Seriously, the trunk was as big as my car's back seat. While comfortable, it was not what we were hoping for.

Then we got a couple of miles down the road.

Our car began flashing us a warning signal that something was going wrong. However, since the warning was in Spanish, we only had a vague idea of what it was talking about. We decided it was telling us there was low tire pressure, so we called up the rental agency. They told us we could trade in the car at in the Ft. Myers area, since we were already on our way there. We thanked them and kept driving.

Then the low tire pressure turned into a flat.

Luckily, a handy government "Road Ranger" pulled up behind us almost immediately after we pulled over, and the wonderful lady changed the tire for us! Hooray! We definitely felt like we were being watched over. Luckily, the people at Fort Myers had a better supply of cars, and they were feeling sorry for us, so we got this:

Where is there a better place to have a convertible than the Florida Keys? We were so delighted that it was almost worth the trouble of getting a flat. And it sure was nice driving along the Keys highway, where you can't go normal freeway speeds, enjoying the ultimate sun roof.

Next stop—Alligators!

We went to an alligator farm in the Everglades the next day where we were able to ride on an airboat through the swamps, watch them feed their alligators in the breeding pond, and even hold a baby alligator! Here's me getting ready to take off on the airboat.
It was really loud, so we had to wear these ear protectors the whole time. They said the ride was partly to see wildlife, but my guess is these boats scare off just about everything in the near vicinity. But we really enjoyed the 360's. Blake sure is a cuteheart!
The baby alligator! He has his mouth taped shut so he couldn't bite us. It was a little strange picking him up because he had a soft little underbelly. Blake afterwards described him as "cuddly." :)

I wasn't as good at cuddling him as Blake. I'm just trying not to squeeze him too hard.
After the Alligator farm, we decided to go see some in the wild. We had heard that the Anhinga trail in the Everglades was a good place to see them. Unfortunately the mosquitoes had heard the same thing. We had bug spray and still kept getting bitten. Since mosquitoes would be the most likely thing someone would torture me with if I had been a character in 1984, I was not very excited about this. But then the rain came!

Hooray! We got soaked but had a lovely time. The rain also was beautiful across the lake. The people huddling under the shelters must have thought we were crazy, but we were delighted. In this picture, there are some alligators in the water behind us, but unfortunately they don't show up in the picture.After our Everglades adventure, we headed down to the beautiful Key West. After enjoying a convertible sunset ride down the night before, we headed out on one of the coolest boats ever—a giant sailboat. They took us kayaking in a Mangrove forest where we saw little sharks and held a baby jellyfish, hermit crabs, and even a horseshoe crab! So fun. They also took us snorkeling, which happens to be one of Blake's favorite pastimes.

Apparently waves make beaches, and since there are basically no waves in the keys, there are also no beaches. Bahia Honda actually had a little one. We took another snorkel charter out of here to Looe Key, where we got to see sharks, barracuda, tarpon, and all sorts of tropical fish. Blake and I were fixing our masks in the water at one point, and when we went back down in, there was this 4 or 5 foot shark swimming towards us. It went directly underneath us. Pretty much an adrenaline rush. We had been warned that there were sharks, but that they wouldn't hurt us. By the time the second one that came by, Blake followed it around for a little while. He was hoping he could see it eat something. Fun fact: More people get killed in Florida by coconuts falling on their heads than by sharks! Here's Blake at Bahia Honda.
We ended up taking a small side trip up to Miami to South Beach after the Keys. Unfortunately, we saw a little too many unclothed persons to ever want to go back there again. I did enjoy the architecture of Miami though. I didn't know that was where the Art Deco movement started. It was funny seeing rows of buildings lining the streets of South Beach in the Art Deco style in the ice cream colors of pink, green, blue, and yellow. Here is Miami Beach, with no naked people in the background, for your enjoyment.We finished up our trip with a two days in Tampa. I taught Blake how to spend a day at the beach (sit under an umbrella, build sandcastles, and jump in the water as desired) instead of beach hopping to see all the pretty sights. Apparently he had never partaken in this joyful experience before. Unfortunately, that did mean he came home with a pretty yucky sunburn.

Did you make it through all of that? If so, 10 Brownie Points for you! We are home again and happy, and (really) not planning to leave town again months.

Blake's Little Boy

2008-07-23T16:26:00.000-07:00

Blake just so happens to be a huge Celtics fan. He actually has been one since he was a little boy, in the good old days of Larry Bird, so he was ecstatic when they won the championship this year. And he's planning on passing the legacy on. Look what he bought on ebay! :) He's such an excited daddy. Baby George should be ready to start watching the games with his dad in a year or so!

Snoqualmie Falls

2008-07-09T12:04:00.000-07:00

We always take people that come to visit us to Snoqualmie Falls. We never realized that the view from the bottom was so cool though. We hiked down to the base of the falls for the first time two Saturday's ago, and really enjoyed the view. The walk to the base wasn't bad. However, we found out afterwards that you can drive to the base of the falls so you don't even have to do the trail going down to it. It's definitely something we'll do again.

Ze Bump Has Arrived! Month 6

2008-07-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

I had someone ask me if I was expecting for the first time on Sunday. Month 6 and counting!

2008-06-10T13:47:00.000-07:00

Blake and I got to see him today! George really is a boy! He appears to be completely healthy. We are so excited!

Deals

2008-06-05T09:58:00.001-07:00

Those of you who know us well know that we are both (but especially Blake) very excited about finding good deals. This last weekend proved to good for us in that area. Our finds:$50: A barbecue! Blake has been wanting to get one of these for a while, and he found a good one on craigslist this weekend. He can cook some mean steaks on this thing. (Pictured.) We can finally put to use that nice barbecue utensil set Blake's work gave him a couple of years back. I think Blake also wanted you to notice the beautiful hydrangeas that are growing next to it. It has at least six big blooms and about ten more that are on their way.

$40: A really large map! (Some day we'll have a house that actually fits it!) Right now it is sitting above my desk and dominating a wall in our bedroom, along with the 15 other pictures that grace our bedroom walls. (No, I'm not kidding. There are exactly 15 other pictures on our walls, with only one smaller than 8.5x11. Someday we'll have room in our house for those too! The others aren't as nice as this one though.) It's a beautiful map of the eastern United States in 1850 that we got at a local garage sale with an incredible frame. I felt like we got a steal of a deal. Its the width of my desk and it barely fit in my car, but we think it will look perfect in a future office. Yea! Blake wants to cut the nice frame job open in the back to see if the map is worth anything, but I don't want to ruin the framing! Any suggestions on how we can see what it is worth? We've found a much smaller (probably original, from the 1850s) version online that retails for about $600 without a frame. I don't think ours is that old, but you never know. The guy who was selling it had bought it at a garage sale himself, so he didn't know that much about it.

$20: Last purchase—We didn't take a picture of this one, since it's not that exciting to look at yet, but we also got a plain stroller frame to snap an infant car seat into. We haven't bought much for our baby yet, since we aren't sure of the gender yet, but since we found it for a good deal, we decided we should get it. Check back on Tuesday afternoon for ultrasound results! See if George is a boy or a girl! Any guesses?

Memorial Day Hike

2008-06-05T09:51:00.001-07:00

The lovely woods.

We saw a snake! (We identified it afterwards as harmless, but I stomped it away before Blake could get a picture, because I was scared and not thinking.)

Blake found some leaves for Adam and Eve to cover up with. They look like they'd be big enough, as long as you got the spiders off.

Pretty Scottish Broom that grows everywhere. It's kind of a prettier form of sagebrush.

Getting tired. Can we go home now?

Fun stuff

2008-05-21T12:32:00.000-07:00

This past week, we've done some fun stuff.

Last weekend, it was really hot. On Saturday, we were optimistic that the snow would have melted off of the lower trails near Snoqualmie Pass, so we went near there to see some waterfalls. We enjoyed the cool weather there, but unfortunately, we weren't able to drive close to the waterfalls because of the snow. We'll have to try again in a few weeks.

Our hydrangeas are beginning to blossom.

Last Sunday, we went for a walk on a trail that was out of the snow, along the Snoqualmie River. The river was really high, and the first trail we were planning on taking led right into the river, so we had to pick a different trail.

In all, we are excited for spring/summer to finally be hitting Seattle!

Mother's Day

2008-05-14T10:55:00.001-07:00

Blake sure knows how to take care of me. I had a lovely first Mother's Day thanks to him. These are the flowers that he brought home on Thursday as a surprise. We also picked out a new maternity dress, he made me food, and he totally cleaned up the house, top to bottom. I love you, Blake!

Also, for those who think that I don't have any baby belly, I decided to post the pictures I have been taking of my belly's progression. First picture is 1 month along (i.e.--nothing showing), then 2 months, 3 months, 4 months. I know he's not huge, but George is there!

More France pictures, just for kicks

2008-05-05T16:57:00.001-07:00

Time to Post

2008-04-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

Um, so this is destined to be a really long post, so I'm just warning you ahead of time. I haven't posted for a long time, and that is precisely because we've been so busy! So, lots of things to tell you guys about!

1. I got to go to Utah for two days! Blake had to do some recruiting there, so I decided to tag along! You all know how much I enjoy being alone. :) Plus it was a good excuse to get in a little visit. My fashonista sister, Deanna, and my mom helped me go shopping for maternity clothes. While I didn't go for all of Deanna's fabulous, fashion-forward advice (such as a really cute, but really impractical, short-sleeved hot-pink windbreaker--really, it was great, but when am I going to need a windbreaker when my arms won't be cold?), I spent too much money. Which is a good thing, because I only have one pair of normal pants that still fit! Also, I got bangs. Blake has been having fun going around quoting Napoleon Dynamite's Pedro all the time--"I like your bangs," in a thick Mexican accent.

2. We've had a little more fun with hikes up here. We did one recently that was a little more strenuous than we'd planned for (the one we'd planned on going on, the easy one, was pretty much closed because, apparently, there's still snow in Snoqualmie Pass) but had a beautiful view at the end. I did make it up, but the only problem was that Blake let me have most of our meager supply of water to prevent me and George from being dehydrated, and ended up dehydrated himself! There was a beautiful view at the top to pay us for our efforts though.

3. Well, when Blake and I found out that we were expecting, we decided to do something that we might not have the opportunity to do in the near future--go to Europe! Neither of us have ever been there before. We just got back Monday night, and we had a wonderful time. We survived driving on the left side of the road on the left side of the car in a manual, Paris while being unable to even pronounce more than a couple of words of French, and finding that all the bathrooms in Versailles had closed early, both in the palace and gardens, while we were about two miles away from civilization on the edge of the gardens. And the cart guys wouldn't give us a ride. :(

We were able to spend about three days in Paris, three days roaming the English countryside (following a fabulous suggested itinerary from incredible Beth) and another three days in London. And since I always post lots of pictures, here you go!
In Paris the first night.

I just liked the fact that this said "pain" on it. The sandwich was actually very good.

We killed our feet at the Louve. I'm actually surprised that we are smiling! We were about ready to fall over.

The Rodin Museum. Oh my!

Blake at Versailles.

Baby George at Versailles. I know that people wouldn't look at me and say, "Hmm, I wonder if she's pregnant," but there is a little bump. My mom sent Bryce pictures of me when I came to Utah, and he merely wrote back, "Britney's chubby." Huh??

This was our favorite place on the whole trip--Stourhead Gardens. It was incredible. If it looks familiar, this is where they filmed Mr. Darcy's first proposal in the newest Pride and Prejudice.)

A beautiful day at Tintagael, the castle that King Arthur is supposed to be from (but not). We actually ended up getting sunburns this day!

Coming back from St. Michael's Mount. It's actually a tidal island, so when we got there, the tide was out and we walked to the castle. On the way back, we needed a boat. It looked like something out of a fairytale.

Fighting of the French at St. Michael's Mount.

The Roman baths at Bath.

Blake actually drank a full glass of the "healing" water from Bath at the Pump Room. It was disgusting. I did not. Blake, have you been feeling healthier lately?

The London Temple.

Cutie Blake in London.

Yea for London! They speak English here!

Whew. The End.

Sisters, sisters . . .

2008-04-07T10:36:00.001-07:00

This past week I got to have my sister Juleen come into town. It was her last spring break as well as Blake's busy season (which happily wasn't as busy as we had planned), so we thought it would be fun to have her come out and see us! She's never been to Seattle before, so we had a nice time exploring the city while Blake worked.

The Tacoma glass museum. The coolest part was the Hot Shop, where you could actually watch artists making glass sculptures. Blake got to come with us on this day.

Juleen fighting the fisherman in Gig Harbor for his nets.

Pike's Place Market

We went up to Deception Pass one day. It was beautiful!

Juleen on a rock, also at Deception Pass.

The daffodil fields near Mt. Vernon.

Twin Falls! We went after Blake was home from work, so it was almost dark, so we kind of ran to get there and back in time. I'm not sure baby George likes running, but he put up with it all right. (No, I don't know if it's a boy or a girl, but since it's named George for the time being, I refer to it as a boy.)

We had a really fun time! The weather didn't cooperate as well as we might have hoped (it was snowing when Juleen came in—and it almost never snows here!), but I think we had a nice time anyways!

Preview of What's to Come . . .

2008-03-19T15:38:00.000-07:00

I have had waaay tooo much fun looking at pictures of Blake and me from when we were babies. And dreaming. I just wanted to share them with everybody so you can have a little fun too. Who doesn't like babies?

Newborn Blake--How is that not the cutest picture ever?

Baby Blake

Newborn Britney

Baby Britney

So the question of the day: Do you think our baby should have any hair?

Hiking!

2008-03-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

With Blake's birthday money, he bought a book for hikes in the area. We are really excited about it because if gives me the chance to make sure the hike will be easy enough for me before we get in the middle of it. I'm not doing as good at walking as far as I used to be! Here are some pictures from our recent hike to a waterfall:

I'm Pretty Sure George Is Coming

2008-02-29T13:06:00.000-08:00

Who's George, you ask? Well, that's what my family had affectionately called my future offspring for the last couple of years. And I think George (or Georgina) is coming.

Why do I think that? Because I saw him on Wednesday. He was a little dot, but he had a beating heart. Even after seeing it, it still feels a little imaginary. I'm only 6 to 7 weeks along, so he's pretty tiny. And I haven't been sick, except for little twinges here and there. But, I think he's coming! Hopefully he gets here safe and sound.

Due date: mid-to-late October. I calculated it as the 14th, seven weeks along, but according to the ultrasound, it is the 21st, and I am 6 weeks along. Sometime in there. Blake and I aren't very good about secrets, so we just decided to tell you all as soon as we saw George was really there.

Blake and I are super excited! And yes, I also think it's crazy and weird and happy at the same time. Yea!

Recent Adventures

2008-02-12T12:27:00.000-08:00

1. It's now warm enough for long walks outside. Blake and I walked around Lake Sammamish for about 2 1/2 hours on Saturday.

2. I've been enjoying going to the Relief Society scripture class on Tuesday mornings. It's fun for me to get out of the house and study the gospel.

3. I also started volunteering at the elementary school on Fridays in a kindergarten class. I get to do fun stuff like cut out pink paper hearts and quiz the kids on their abc's.

4. Blake and I joined Netflix recently and have enjoyed new movies more often. I think it will stop once it stops getting dark so early, but it has been a nice winter diversion.

5. Blake's busy seasons is starting to pick up a little. But we did convince my sister Juleen to come out for a week at the end of March to keep me some company. We still think Juleen needs to move here.

6. We are both surviving Seattle winters. If it's not snowing and 50 degrees, who are we to complain?

My Turn!

2008-01-31T18:55:00.000-08:00

I have always had a secret desire to be tagged! Silly me. I considered doing it without really being tagged, but that seemed a little silly. Here you go:

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago.
1. Attending 8th grade at Mountain Ridge Jr. High and turning 14.
2. Getting my first CD player (I wrote in my journal that I wanted Mom to take me to Media Play so I could get the Men in Black CD. Huh?? I think that was peer pressure).
3. Reading "The Children of the Promise" series (an LDS series about WWII).
4. Collecting porcelain dolls.
5. Not realizing that I was a huge geek. Of course, that was a good thing, because I had enormous self-esteem for a 14-year-old.

5 Things on my to-do list today.
1. Work 4 hours. (Almost!)
2. Go to the dentist to get my retainer refitted. (It hasn't fit since I got a bridge last month.)
3. Go to the optometrist (two appointments in one day?) to get my eyes dilated.
4. Watch Blake at his basketball game.
5. Figure out how to get a load of laundry to stop smelling like mildew. How does one forget there is a load of laundry in the washer for a whole week?

5 Snacks I enjoy.
1. Chocolate
2. Ice Cream
3. Anything involving cheese
4. Anything that doesn't take more than 5 minutes to make
5. Anything sweet

5 Things I would do if I were a Billionaire.
1. Probably be really overwhelmed at such a large sum of money.
2. Give the money to the care of my really good personal accountant, Blake.
3. Then, Blake would say things like "I think we should buy a new house," and I would say "Well, I want a blue or yellow one with white trim and a yard, and it should be a cozy house, with a place we can plant flowers with mountains and water nearby." Then my accountant, Blake, would have lots of fun looking for a house, and I would go along with him to see them and help him decide which one we liked best.
4. Then, my accountant would say something like "I think we should go on a trip," and I would say, "I want to go to Spain and England and Brazil and Hawaii and everywhere." Blake would say "ok," and then we would go.
5. I don't know. I don't want anything else that money can buy. So I'd probably donate a lot of it.

3 Bad Habits
1. I waste a lot of time. A lot.
2. I am addicted to the internet.
3. I make piles of clothes in my room instead of hanging them up right away.

Jobs I've had
1. Nanny for the summer
2. Cleaning houses for the underpaying neighbors once a week
3. Editor for Sister Woodger, BYU Studies, and Inscape (a creative writing journal) at BYU
4. Intern at the Friend Magazine
5. Assistant Editor/Managing Editor/Freelance Editor for Leatherwood Press. My current, and favorite, job.

5 Things people might not know about me
1. When I sleep, I have to pull the covers above my chin--as high as they will go without impeding my breathing. It does not matter if it is hot. I still have to do this.
2. I am currently writing two books. The first is one that my work is making me do that is very boring, especially when you have to write for 4 HOURS a day. The second is a story from when I was little that my company also wants to publish. (Even though they haven't seen it yet. I hope it is okay.) It is supposed to be a children's picture book.
3. Some of you will know this, but I have been the featured cook on "Good Things Utah" (a morning talk show) twice. I did cooking segments on the "Googly Eyeball Cake" and the "Kitty Litter Cake." Heehee!
4. I have been in two pageants. I did not win in either, but I thought both were very fun.
5. If I am talking to you and there is a mirror in the room, I will unconsciously look in the mirror at myself instead of at you. I think this is because I find it fascinating to see what everyone else sees all the time when they talk to me. Blake does the same thing, so we fit together really well.

Yea! All done!

Pictures

2008-01-27T15:34:00.001-08:00

Here are some favorite pictures I felt like posting, just for kicks.