The Christensen Clan

Job and stuff..............3 of 3

2012-01-30T17:56:00.000-08:00

Now for the conclusion of my boring blogs.

So many times we are drawn to a job for money, or theprestigious status of it or other reasons. Very few people can say they havetaken a job because they loved it. I have a few examples:

· I have a family member who got hired on for acompany right out of College and has never worked for anyone else, they have madea career out of it and even when they were getting laid off in one field of thecompany, they got hired on in another field of the same company.

· I alsohave a family member very similar to me who jumps around from job to joblooking for money and does not have the education.

· I alsohave a family member that works at a dead end job just because it was the firstthing he could find after being un-employed.

· I also have family members that love their joband those that hate it.

· I have a family member that went through collegeand is doing exactly what he wanted to do and got a degree for.

· On the other hand I have a family member whowent to college, graduated and is not even doing anything related to theirmajor.

· I have a family member that is deep intoschooling and working towards his dream.

· I had a co-worker once that had been an operatorat the hotel making the same wages for 25 years; he never wants to be promotedand never wants to work anywhere else.

These are some great examples and not-so-great examples; Ithink we need to remember a few things to truly be happy at a job and moreimportantly a career.

1. EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT AND ESSENTIAL. If you canconvince me otherwise, I would love to hear. I know that you can make itwithout it, because I have done it for a long time, and always focused onmaking money for my family, but education can only help you more in the longrun. You can only go so far without an education.

2. IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT THE MONEY. You do not haveto make a set amount of money to support a family, or “survive”. Obviouslythere is a point where you struggle, but struggles only make you stronger andyou can make it on very little.

3. DO NOT GET FRUSTRATED SO EASILY WITH A JOB. Donot get frustrated when things aren’t going your way with a career or job,after all you are the one that selected it.

4. BE WORTH YOUR PAY. Be deserving of what youmake, if you want to make more, do more to deserve more pay. This does not meanto only do the minimum that is required based on your pay. Work ethic issomething that can greatly change your life!

5. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE YOUR JOB FIND SOMETHING ELSE.If you hate your job, don’t just always complain about it, for two reasons.Reason one: there are thousands of people who would love the job you have justto put food on the table. Reason two: it brings down everyone around you. Justfind a new job and make room for someone who will love yours.

6. IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT IS. If onthe first day of work you see three people quit, it probably is a horrible job.If there turnover rate is 90% it is a horrible job. If you get hired on the spot,that means they are desperate. It means that they need a quick fill not aqualified quality person. With as many un-employed people you should be waitingweeks to get a good job so they can sift through the applicants. If you are theonly one that applied for the position then it is a job no one wants. If youare getting paid a lot per hour and not on salary, there are some stipulationsthat could keep you from making that much. Or if there are commissions involvedask what the requirements are to reach goal to receive those commissions. Thereare always stipulations to every job’s pay.

7. FIND OUT WHAT YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP.The last and most important would be to find out what you want to be. Mostpeople in their 20’s either know for sure what they want to do and are workingtowards that, or have no clue. There is none of this in-between time, move onwith life, forget high school, college and start your career, the quicker youdo it the faster you are to retirement.

Breakthroughs

Like I mentioned before I have had a few breakthroughs. Thefirst one came before I started at Adobe and was the strong desire to go backto school and work my butt off to finish and get my degree in OperationsManagement. The second one was areconfirmation from 5 years ago when I was first married. I was sitting in aclass at then-UVSC and my professor mentioned an opening at the Provo Marriott.I had an overwhelming feeling and once I was hired I knew that I wanted acareer in hotels. I have lost track of that many times since then, but now I ammore determined than ever. The third would be the most important. I get boredin a job, or more importantly lose sight of what is important. I slack offimmediately when things are not going my way.

So, I put in some action plans. Even though I hated workingfor Adobe, it worked really well for me to be able to go to school. I finishedan entire year of school while working there. I could work in the morning andgo to school at night. I have never doubted the decision to go back to schooland finish. I have this semester and fall semester and then I can transfer tothe U and start working on my degree. I should finish it in two years from thatpoint. I never have had the desire or willpower to go to school. I am not booksmart; I am a hard worker but not when it comes to school. But, I am determinedto never stop going to school until I have that degree, and now there is apossibility for a master’s program further down the road.

I started my current job three weeks ago today and haveloved every minute of it. I make less than what I made at my last 4 jobs, but Ilove my job. I have only missed one half day to tend to my hospitalized nephew(totally worth it) and that is it. I wake up in the morning and am excited togo to work. I not only have a great manager, but there is also room forpromotions and once I get my degree I have a career with Hilton.

When I originally worked for Hilton in downtown, I appliedfor their Manager in Training program and was accepted, but they canceled itdue to the slump in the economy. This program allows you the opportunity tospend 3 months at a property that they choose anywhere in the world. You spend three months being a manager inevery single aspect of the hotel, so you spend 2 weeks as director of financethen 3 weeks of director of front office. You even spend a week as GM of thehotel; of course you are supervised by those current managers. You getfirsthand experience in each area and then they tell you how you did in each andtell you which one they want to place you in. Once you are selected to aspecific department you are then given 5 options and you go and interview ateach one. You get offers from them and can choose for yourself. Well, I waspretty sad when they canceled it, but when I started at the Airport Hilton, mymanager made me apply and I was immediately accepted because I had previouslybeen accepted. So, next year at this time I will be spending three months at ahotel somewhere in the world being officially trained as a Hilton Manager. ThenI will be placed where I choose. I am soexcited and on top of that they are going to pay 90% of my schooling at thatpoint! I love my job, I love that I can come to work and work my 40 hours aweek and go to school full-time as well. I love that I have the support of mywife and kids and I love that my parents have always pushed education on me. Yes,Mom and Dad, it finally sunk in! I appreciate the family members that havealways told me they were proud of me and what I was doing for my family. Myin-laws have never doubted my dedication to my family as a father and a breadwinner (or least they are good at covering it up!). For all of those people whodoubted me, I hope you eat your words, because I am into school and I am goingto finish it, and have the foundation of a great career started.

If you are like me and do not have a college degree and havejumped from job to job, not getting into that career you have always wanted, Iencourage you to sit down and decide. Decide and go get a college degree.Decide and get the job you want to have a career in. If it takes the educationfirst then work your butt off to do both. It is not easy, but it can be done.Do not talk yourself out of it, just do it and get it done so you can move onin life, and have a career and make your dreams come true.

Job and Stuff.................2 of 3

2012-01-27T18:16:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is 2 of 3.

Hilton Salt Lake City Center

3 years ago, January 2009 I wasworking for Hilton Salt Lake City Center. I had already been there for nearly ayear and enjoyed my time there but struggled because I was not going to getpromoted because of a snag in my credit background. They loved me and weretrying to make an exception to get me promoted. I worked with them most of 2009but then I applied for a new hotel in Park City.

Waldorf Astoria Park City

I applied and washired the next day at the Waldorf Astoria Park City. That was October of 2009and I started my tenure in Park City. Once again, I loved it mainly because Iwas getting more money, but soon realized it was not worth it, especially forthe drive each way back and forth from Eagle Mountain. It was horrible on gas,our crappy car, and life at home. On top of that I was the first person in thatposition and I was a little minion in their grand plan of things. I was doingthe work of three people, but when they finally noticed how busy I was, it wassummer so it was dead and there was no budget to hire new people. Anywho, tomake a long story short, I did not feel appreciated and found that I was notfulfilling my priesthood responsibility within our new home in West Valley orwith my calling in the church. So I has some faith and quite August,2010.

Not Really ACS - Just what the place felt like!

So on to unemploymentwhich was horrible, me thinking I had all of this hotel experience havingworked the last five years at three different and well known hotels. I thoughtthat I would have a job quick with a hotel. Well, I thought wrong. I ended upbeing un-employed for nearly 2 months and finally got on with ACS-VerizonWireless. This was my first official call center job and I had pretty muchsettled by this point as no hotels were hiring, or the positions that were thatI was more than qualified for required a college degree…. Frowny face! So my shortest lived job—ACS—lasted a totalof 4 months, which 2 of those 4 were training. I got let go from them due toleaving a shift to go to Provo and give my brother a priesthood blessing as he layclose to death in a hospital bed…. (Okay, that was a little dramatic, but itwas serious and I tried to tell someone before I ran out and the on-callsupervisor said it was fine—apparently not!)

Looks nice on the outside but it is horrible on the inside

From there I immediatelyfound another desperate call center job making good money plus commission. Iwent to work for Adobe through Teleperformance. When I applied I was told thatthe average sales agent made anywhere from $2,000 to $4,000 in bonuses in amonth on top of a decent hourly salary. So I said yes seeing those dollarsigns. I spent from March to December fighting my way to get those bonuses andmy highest ever was $900 and came my last month there after working 40 hours ofovertime and taking way too many calls. I fought my thoughts of quitting everyday. I hated it—I was not respected byanyone and was never given the opportunity to grow. I called in a ton because Ihated it so much and was always applying for other jobs the entire 10 months Iwas there. Then the day after Christmas I was laid off along with my entireshift. The time frame fit for the same time I was hired on; come to find outAdobe does it every year to keep the bonuses down. So, I didn’t stress and hada couple of breakthroughs that I will talk about later.

So, an average tenure for my age group is 3.2 years, and inthat same time frame of 3.2 years I had 5 different jobs. Since I startedworking at the age of 14, I have had 16 different jobs. 7 of those jobs beingin the last 6 years and 5 in the last three years, and don’t forget that Iserved a two year mission which brings that to 12 working years for 16 jobs.You do the math because I suck at it.

To finish out today, here is a digital scrapbook of my work history in honor of Jessica's favorite new change to facebook.

Job #1

Job #2

Job #3

Job #4

Job #5

Job # 6

First Job Post Mission
Job #7

Job 8 & 9 not included
This is Job #10 - Stouffers

Job #11 - Provo Marriott

Jobs 12 - 16 from above

Here is my current job, job #17 and future career. I will explain tomorrow with my last post.

Job and Stuff.......1 of 3

2012-01-26T22:22:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take a moment and blog about something that Ihave come to realize. It has to do about jobs and having a career. Also, lovingyour job because you love being there every day or loving it only because youmake good money.

First, let’s get the statistics on an average Americans jobtenure:

Statistics show that for my age group (25-34) the averagejob tenure is 3.2 years.

*From the Bureau ofLabor Statistics*

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/tenure.pdf

Tune in tomorrow for my own personal stats! Plus some realizations and rants!

Wordless Wednesday: Breakfast Buddies

2012-01-25T07:45:00.000-08:00

(Picture taken by Kyle)

Wedding Bells are in the Air!

2012-01-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

My little brother, Nathan and his fiance, Kari

These two crazy lovebirds are getting married soon...March 15, to be exact.

I've been helping them plan their wedding, because neither Kari's mother nor our mother currently live in Utah (which is where the event will be taking place), and my mother has asked me to step in and provide a little guidance (or, at the very least, a little more organization).

Anyway, this post is not actually about them...even though they're the ones getting married. It's actually about me, because I am awesome. :)

Kari is from Idaho, so after they have their wedding and reception here in Utah, they are heading up north to have another reception in her hometown. She decided that she wanted to use artificial flowers for her wedding so they look good at both receptions and will travel well between them. We were lucky enough to find pretty much all of the flowers that she wants and needs on Saturday, and for a steal of a deal. Because I'm overbearing and typically have nothing else important to do (besides clean my house, and, really, who wants to do that?) I sat and arranged her bouquet and the throwing bouquets for her receptions yesterday. I'm extremely pleased with the way they turned out, especially since I've never really arranged flowers before.

I also sat and arranged the decorations for their refreshment table and one of the table centerpieces.

One of the table centerpieces. Kari absolutely loves Jones Soda and wanted to use the bottles for her centerpieces.

The decorations for the food table

Everything is coming together quite nicely. My lovely, talented sister-in-law Brittany is making the bows for the bouquets and for the food table decorations, lest you think that I've completely taken over and intend to do it all myself.

Seriously though, I've kind of taken over. I'm grateful that Kari doesn't slap me and tell me to mind my own business (I told he she could if I ever got too overbearing or obnoxious. So far, so good, though). She's totally awesome for letting me hone my creative decorating skills at her expense.

30 Down, 10 to Go

2012-01-20T12:48:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm 3/4 of the way finished with what seems like the fastest pregnancy ever. I'm starting to panic a little bit, because if the next 10 weeks go by as quickly as the last 10 weeks, I'm going to have a new baby before I know it. Plus, I feel SUPER un-ready right now to be a mother of 3, especially on days like today when I take the other two to the grocery store by myself and I'm ready to tear my hair out after 15 minutes (but that's another story).

Anyway, I took a belly picture with my other two pregnancies at 30 weeks, so I kept with tradition and snapped a photo this morning. Here it is, along with my other two for comparison:

30 weeks with Kyle

30 weeks with Lucas

It's so weird to me how different I've looked with each pregnancy. With this one, I think it looks like I have a basketball stuck under my shirt--my belly looks distinctly more spherical than with the other two.

I've now gone to two-week appointments with my doctor, and at my appointment last week I was checked over initially by a student doctor (my doctor ran out to deliver a baby). She joked a little bit about how inexperienced she was while she was measuring my fundus (FYI, my doctor never "measures"--he's been practicing so long that he just palpates and can tell if it's within a normal range), and then she said something really strange:

Student Doc: "Have you been feeling the baby move?"

Me: "Um, yeah...all the time."

Student Doc: "Well, that's the most important thing."

Ok, she said this WHILE she was feeling my belly, so I'm thinking, "What's that supposed to mean? Am I measuring too big? Too small? Is there a problem? Should I be freaing out right now?"

It's a good thing my doctor came back in time for the tail end of my appointment, because he measured my fundus himself and reassured me that everything was fine...minus the fact that I'm measuring possibly as much as 3 weeks early. Um, what? The doctor didn't seem concerned at all; he just speculated that this baby (and I quote) "probably will be the kid who has to stand in the back row for his class pictures."

And yeah, I know that fundal height isn't an exact science and doesn't necessarily mean that this baby is coming early...but, what if he comes early? My brother is getting married two weeks before I'm due, and I'm absolutely terrified that I'll either go into labor on his wedding day or just before his wedding day so I have to miss his wedding. Plus, this is like the only time in the history of the world that a woman isn't hoping for her baby to come early, so I just know he's going to be a stinker and throw a wrench in the works. But, I guess I should just relax and breathe, because my track record speaks for itself: my babies stick until I force them to come.

I'm still trying to decide about when a good day for an induction would be, by the way. But, that's a post for another day...

Why Numbers Shouldn't Matter

2012-01-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

Numbers on the scale, that is...

This is obviously not the right time for me to be thinking about weight loss (or maybe it is, now that I think about it...). I'm 30 weeks pregnant and my waistline is, and should be, expanding to accomodate another person. However, it's January, and one of the most common resolutions made is to lose weight, so I'm being inundated with commercials for gym memberships and weight loss plans. It's hard to keep it out of my head.

I've posted before about my relationship with diet, exercise, and self-esteem. I'm a woman, and, like 99.9% of all women, it seems that insecurity about the way I look is written on my DNA. I don't think it's a battle I will ever stop fighting in this lifetime.

Here's where I stand right now. Before I got pregnant this time, I was the heaviest I've ever been. I had 30 pounds to lose to be at the TOP of my normal BMI range. Yeah, it was that bad. I typically lose all of the weight I gain during pregnancy within the first 6-8 weeks postpartum, so assuming that is the situation, I'll still have about 30 pounds to lose after Matthew is born. But, here's the thing:

I'M NOT ALL THAT FUSSED ABOUT THE NUMBERS.

Let me tell you why. After having Kyle, I got back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. But, none of the clothes I wore before he was born fit me anymore. After Lucas was born, I gained 15 pounds. All of the clothes I was wearing before still fit the same way. I was also told, quite frequently, that I didn't look like I had gained that much weight.

Basically, the point is this: what I see on the scale doesn't necessarily reflect what I see in the mirror, or what other people see when they look at me. OBVIOUSLY, being overweight is not healthy or desirable. I know that I need to lose weight. However, in my experience, focusing on the numbers too much causes a lot of discouragement.

For example, let's say I had a great week: I was conscientious of what I ate, I exercised a sufficient amount--I was generally more healthy than I am on average. But, when I got on the scale, the number I saw didn't reflect all of my hard work. Maybe it even went up a little. Who wouldn't be discouraged by this scenario? I'm doing all of the right things, so where are the good results? I've experienced this in my battle with my weight and for my health, and it's been a major deterrent for me.

Here's the thing about weight: it's a terrible indicator of health. I have a friend who I consider to be in very good health--she jogs/runs daily, she eats healthily...but, if you look at her, you'd never know it. She is not what society would call "healthy" because she doesn't look like Jillian Michaels. She might even look overweight by some people's standards. I have another friend who is very thin and looks to be in excellent shape. However, she has serious health issues that affect her every day. Focusing too much on a "goal weight" or how many pounds to lose negates the more important issue: attaining a healthy, active lifestyle.

So, even though it's still a few months away, I'm trying to commit myself to this: when the time comes for me to get in shape, I'm going to focus on changing my lifestyle rather than reducing my weight. Living a healthier, more active lifestyle will, by default, bring my weight down, but bringing my weight down will not necessarily bring a healthier lifestyle.

Christmas 2011 in a Nutshell

2012-01-18T08:58:00.000-08:00

December is always a crazy month, and this year it was made crazier by Nathan getting home. As always, I apologize for the dearth of pictures. I'll try to skim over the non-media-aided sections in an attempt to reduce general bored-ness with this post.

The month started off a little early with some early decorating. Because I'm totally lame I didn't take pictures of our setup, so you'll have to just take my word that our house was festive and fun for the holidays. I even made a few things that I'm very proud of...but, I only managed to get one cell phone picture:

One of my aunts made this cute block last year for everyone and I really wanted to think of some way to use it as a decoration. I found some printables on this website that I thought I could use. After a little adaptation and some embellishment, I had something I was reasonably pleased with. It ended up being perfect for one of my credenza holes.

We had our ward Christmas party the first weekend in December, complete with a visit from Santa. I didn't get a picture of the kids with the Jolly Old Elf last year, but (surprise, surprise) we forgot our camera. So, again, all I have is a cell phone picture. I'm quite happy with how it turned out:

I love it when one (or both) of my kids scream on Santa's lap. I also find it comical that Kyle and Santa have the same facial expression. Kyle was actually pretty excited to sit on Santa's lap and he proudly recited his huge Christmas wish list before I pulled him away to give another kid a chance.

We had my extended family's Christmas party on the 17th in Payson. Every year at this party we do a treat exchange, where we all make a treat for all of the other families and end up taking home a bunch of different types of treats. This year I decided to dip pretzel rods in caramel and chocolate (which didn't go as well as I'd planned, but that's another story). I wanted to make a cute container for them, and I found this idea on Our Best Bites (which is one of my go-to websites now):

A little tissue paper, some Mod Podge, ribbon, and some die cuts made the perfect containers, which also happen to be festive luminaries. Holy awesomeness, Batman!

We spent Christmas Eve with my immediate family. We had a GREAT Christmas dinner, exchanged sibling gifts, and opened a few from my parents. My sister-in-law Brittany made me the cutest plate where I can write down what's on our dinner menu for the week (I've been really into meal planning the last couple of months, so it was the perfect gift for me!). My sister Stephanie got Cole a super awesome shirt (she works at Eddie Bauer and gets a killer discount) and a nice laptop bag. We gave Stephanie and Chris gift cards, since they were entirely unhelpful about what they wanted for Christmas. :) We all got matching jammies from Grandma and Papa--the little boys got fuzzy footie pajamas with guitars, and we got pajama pants that literally look like distressed blue jeans (totally awesome!) We also let the boys open their big toy present from Grandma and Papa, and they were ecstatic. Kyle got a Thomas the Tank Engine gold mine playset, and Lucas got a little shopping cart--he's been totally into pushing things around for a while now, and he absolutely freaked out the whole time Cole put the cart together because he was so excited to play with it.

Then, we headed home, put out some cookies and milk for Santa (homemade sugar cookies, natch), and hit the hay. The next morning we got up bright and early so we could open our presents before Sacrament meeting at 11.

Lucas enjoying the Goldfish from his stocking

Kyle opening presents. I actually had to open most of Lucas'--he was fairly uninterested

Kyle with his Thomas playsets all connected. The gold mine was from Grandma & Papa and the pirate ship (behind him) was from Santa

Lucas' present from Santa

Lucas' shopping cart from Grandma & Papa. Yes, he did try to climb into the front seat, which was quite comical.

After Sacrament meeting, some lunch, and a nap, we headed back to Sandy. Cole's little brother Adam and his wife surprised the family by coming into town for Christmas, so we wanted to take the opportunity to see them as much as we could. We played some cards and enjoyed one another's company and opened a few more presents.

The next day, Cole's family got together for our Christmas party. We exchanged gifts, enjoyed LOTS of yummy food (fish tacos and chicken taquitos--yum!) and had lots of fun!

Christmas was a wonderful mix of family, food, giving, and the Savior. I tried really hard to help Kyle understand the real Christmas story (especially since he was kind of a gimme monster this year and I wanted to nip that in the bud) and I think he began to understand what Christmas is really about. We're so grateful for Jesus Christ and His life, and we're grateful for the holiday season in which we celebrate His birth.

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

2012-01-17T09:40:00.000-08:00

I mentioned that I'm planning on redecorating the nursery for new baby when he comes. One of the ideas I had is something I NEVER thought I'd consider, mostly because I think it's super trendy and I usually poke fun at trendy stuff rather than embrace it. But, for some reason, I'm a little jazzed about this. I want to put a vinyl saying on the wall that has something to do with little boys. First of all, is this totally lame? Second of all, if it's NOT totally lame I have a few ideas, and I want to know what y'all think is the best. Also, if you have any good suggestions, I'd appreciate them.

#1: "God made the little boys for fun, for rough and tumble times of play." ~Edgar Guest
#2: "A boy's will is the wind's will. And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts." ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
#3: "Mothers of little boys work from son up until son down." ~Unknown
#4: "My lovely little boy, My hope, My nap, my love, My life, my joy." ~Guillaume De Salluste Du Bartas
#5: "With little boys, you always know where you stand...right in the path of a hurricane." ~Erma Bombeck
#6: "Two small arms to hold you tight, two small feet to run, two small eyes full of love for you, one small son." ~Unknown
#7: "There never was a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
#8: "A boy is truth with dirt on his face, beauty with a cut on its finger, wisdom with bubble gum in its hair, and the hope of the future with a frog in its pocket." ~Alan Marshall Beck
#9: "There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life when he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure." ~Mark Twain
#10: "Nobody knows what a boy is worth, And the world must wait and see; For every man in an honored place, Is a boy that used to be." ~Phillips Brooks

Christmas in January!

2012-01-12T08:36:00.000-08:00

Cole and I don't typically exchange gifts for Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Neither one of us is particularly big on giving or receiving gifts as a sign of affection or devotion (which is one reason why we are quite perfect for one another); plus, we don't always have an abundance of money to spend and what we DO have we'd rather spend on the kids. However, every now and then when we have a little extra we splurge on something we both really want.

Cole and his brothers all enjoy video games. It's one of the ways in which they bond and enjoy one another's company. After spending some quality time together during the holidays, Cole was pretty enamored of the new XBox 360 with Kinect. So, being the awesome wife that I am, I told him he could buy one for himself. I don't think I've ever seen him get so emotional (even during the births of our children!). Seriously--if he could have promised me his firstborn son as repayment he would have (which wouldn't have made sense anyway, since he already belongs to me and some days, I'm not sure I want him). Instead, I settled for his eternal soul and some desires of my own heart.

Since this baby is our third boy and I'm a frugal sort of person, he'll probably spend most of his life wearing and playing with hand-me-downs. I really wanted him to have something special, just for him, and I found the perfect bedding set. It's green and brown and totally adorable. The set came with the comforter, fitted sheet, dust ruffle, bumper pads, a soft fleece blanket, a diaper stacker, a valance for the window, and three coordinating wall hangings.

Wall hangings

Diaper stacker

Bumper pads

Comforter

So, this bedding set OBVIOUSLY didn't cost as much as a new XBox. Don't worry. My end of the deal was more than fair...because I also picked up a new ride for the boys...

Joovy Caboose Stand On Tandem Stroller in Appletree

We've needed a new stroller for a while now, but I was super reluctant to go the traditional double stroller route--they're either too wide or too long to be manageable. I'd seen the Baby Trend version of a Sit 'N Stand stroller and fell in love with the style, so I shopped around a little and found this one. I LOVE the color, it had overwhelmingly positive reviews, and it was a great price. When it arrived yesterday, the boys were just as excited as I was--anything with wheels gets their motors running. They watched impatiently as I put the wheels on, then had a great time climbing in and out of both seats. With all the excitement in the air we just had to take it for a test drive.

The sun was in Kyle's eyes, but check out the pure joy on Lucas' face!

Lucas in the front...

Kyle in the back

Our first ride was a success! It was pretty easy to maneuver, and both boys had a great time! I foresee lots of long walks with this baby.

We've now met our gifts quota for the next five years, so it's a good thing we are enjoying our selections!

Returned with Honor

2012-01-07T08:15:00.000-08:00

On December 7, we began our holiday celebrations a little early. My younger brother, Nathan, returned home from serving in the Sierra Leone Freetown mission!
We were quite the spectacle at the airport. My mom and sister made several (read: a bajillion) signs for us all to hold--much to Cole's chagrin. My mom had balloons in the colors of the Sierra Leone and the US flags. Plus, with 7 adults and 3 boys under the age of 5, we really were a spectacle without all of the extra paraphernalia. Apparently we were too much for one lady, who spent quite a lot of time muttering angrily into her cell phone and glaring in our direction. :)

Anyway, I was a little bit worried about how Kyle was going to react to seeing Nathan again. They were pretty close before Nathan left, but two years is a long time for a little kid (especially since Nathan was gone literally half of Kyle's life!). I needn't have worried...

Don't mistake the limp arms for apprehension...he was just trying to keep hold of his sign

As soon as Kyle saw Nathan get off the escalators he ran straight for him and gave him a big hug! He spent the rest of the day glued to Nathan's side.

After we had our loud, obnoxious reunion in the airport and picked up Nathan's bags, we draped him in a heavy coat (he was FREEZING--guess it's quite an adjustment going from 70+ degree humid Africa to dead-of-winter-dry-freeze Utah) and headed home. We spent the afternoon listening to him tell stories and jokes in his accented English, playing games, and just enjoying being one step closer to having our whole family together again.

A New Year, A New Blog (Commitment)

2012-01-03T08:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I've been a royally terrible blogger as of late. I apologize, especially since I get so annoyed when other people neglect their blogs (since the only way I experience real life in any form is vicariously through others) and I've been the biggest offender.
Typically, I'm not really big on making New Years' resolutions. To me, it's cheesy, and trite, and insincere, and I pride myself on not being any of those three things (ha!). However, my parents just moved to Oregon for the next 3-5 years (I laugh because this sounds more like a prison term than a countdown to retirement), and I promised my mom that I would update the blog so she knows what her most cutest grandsons are up to (note: they are usually up to trouble, no-good-niks, and various other hijinks). So, to keep me out of trouble, I hereby promise to blog at least once a week (even though it MIGHT just kill me). I make no guarantees on the quality of the post or the cuteness of the subjects, so call that a disclaimer.

In addition, since a blog is not a blog without a picture (and I also promised my mother to document our lives through photographs since she won't be here to witness them firsthand) , I hereby commit to take at least ONE semi-decent picture (most likely of the chilluns) and post it along with my obligatory weekly post. Again, I make no guarantees on, well, anything.

You guys, I'm seriously getting a stomachache thinking about all this commitment. I better not resolve to make my life better in any other way, because it might just kill me.

(Although, I probably should resolve to limit my parenthetical interjections to 1 or 2 per post--this one has 9, including one in the title. Yikes.)

Also, there are update posts on our holiday festivities forthcoming.

CHANGES IN THE AIR

2011-12-12T20:51:00.000-08:00

So the number one thing you think of this time of year at least for me is the change in weather. Well, that isn't happening for us here in Utah, we are stuck in an awful inversion with no end in sight. It has made me think as I begin this week of the changes that seem to be afoot.

Not only are we over due for a huge ginormous snowstorm, but it is the final countdown to Christmas. Aside from that as my wife always says once I get set up on direct deposit at work it usually means it is time for me to change jobs..... Also speaking of ginormous and changes afoot, my wife is huge and we have our third baby boy on the way. Lucas is our little sunshine boy and sometimes it seems hard to imagine another child smaller than him, but alas Matthew Tanner Christensen will join our family sometime in March.

I have also officially passed my first Math class as a College student and made plans to apply to the University of Utah at the end of next year. I was told to take the least amount of classes next semester, and what do I do, I take 19 credit hours. Maybe I will re-think that once I finish my last two finals and I get my final grades for this semester. I am very proud of myself for how I am doing in school and look forward to attending the U next year.

Besides a possible new job, school and baby, some new adventures and opportunities await me in the coming weeks and it scares the HECK out of me. I have never been the type of person to talk about what I have done with my life and want to do with my life, but I am very optimistic about these next few weeks and through the beginning of 2012. I have hope and courage even though it scares the HECK out of me.

This year has been a very difficult but refining fire type year. I am proud to say that I am refined and in the best place I have ever been. I know that this next year will be a better, busier, and more rewarding year for us. I just hope I can make it through the next coupe of weeks.

This is kind of my emotions at this point, a mixture of the following:

Rant for the Day

2011-11-30T10:04:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I make a bad habit of reading the comments posted on KSL.com stories. This is a bad habit because it turns me into a ranting maniac...especially since I seem to gravitate towards articles about parenting and pregnancy, and I can't help but feel strongly about those topics. Cole sent me a link to a story which, upon reading, I found hilarious and spot on.

The 3 Things You're Allowed to Say to a Pregnant Lady

Anyway, like the idiot I am, I read the comments on the story, and I found one that bothered me a lot:

"...I have admittedly never understood why pregnant women are uber-sensitive about their perceived hugeness. I haven't experienced it so it makes no sense to me, but from my perspective there is little in this world that is more beautiful than a pregnant woman--swollen ankles and all. In my own struggles, there has been nothing more painful than an empty womb and knowing that I can never give life and will never be a mommy."

AND....now I'm going to be insensitive. I don't like to be insensitive, but this is MY blog and I'm saying what I feel. If you don't like it, don't read it.

First of all, this comment is borderline threadjacking. It's not entirely relevant to the subject and just screams for a story of its own. Common internet courtesy prohibits (or, at least, strongly discourages) threadjacking. Threadjacking bothers me.

Second of all, it is a BIG pet peeve of mine when people turn every conversation into one about them and their trials. Guess what? EVERYONE has trials. EVERYONE thinks their trials are harder or more important than anyone else's. NO ONE wants to hear about how you think you're worse off than everyone else.

Third of all, it makes me feel guilty for something that is completely out of my control, and that's unfair. I don't know why God decided I could have children and you could not. All I know is my own situation and how it makes me feel. Just because you're upset about your own situation does not make my feelings or emotions any less valid because you'd give an arm or a leg to be in my position.

*sigh*

I have been SO fortunate to have easy, problem-free pregnancies, labors, and deliveries. I've borne two healthy boys, and I am carrying my third with every expectation of a positive outcome. You don't need to tell me how lucky I am. It is something I thank God for every day of my life. It is NOT something that I ever take for granted.

My heart aches for all of the women who struggle to have their own children or who are never able to have children on their own. I will NEVER understand exactly how you feel, but I can imagine how I would feel in the same situation. If I could choose, no woman would ever suffer from infertility. No parent would ever have to outlive his/her child. I pray often for the women around me, especially my friends, who have experienced these trials because they are not something I would wish for anyone to have. I hope my comments haven't offended any of them, because they are women whom I admire and respect for their positive outlook on life and quiet strength in times of suffering.

I promise never to be purposely insensitive again if everyone else promises to do the same. Everyone in the world could do with a little more understanding for those around us, no matter our individual situations.

"Jesus said love everyone;

Treat them kindly, too.

When your heart is filled with love,

Others will love you."

Gobble 'til You Wobble

2011-11-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking lately that Thanksgiving is a totally underrated holiday. Lots of yummy food, lots of fun family time (or fighting, as the case may be), no pressure to buy gifts or decorate excessively...plus, who doesn't need a specific day to think about all of the things with which we are blessed?

Anyway, our Thanksgiving this year was great! We spent the day at Cole's parents' house, who started out bright and early with breakfast, Christensen-style (aka cereal, donuts, and chocolate milk*).

*FYI, the Christensen men PROBABLY corner the market on grown adults who still enjoy cereal with cartoon characters on the box, and many of us wives have picked up the habit as well--my sister-in-law posted this facebook status a little while ago:

Order in which we spend our money:
1. Rent
2. Cereal
3. Gas

:)

But I digress...

After breakfast, we relaxed, played games, and enjoyed one another's company. My nieces and I made these little babies:

Oreo Turkeys! Instructions found here

We sat down to dinner around 3. Everything tasted WONDERFUL. Since we were all assigned a part of the meal, it seemed extra special. We all ate until we were about to explode, and then some of us (read: me) ate a little bit more. Then came the best part of Thanksgiving: the women sat and relaxed while the MEN DID THE DISHES. :)

A few games and several hours later, we busted out the pies. This was MY assignment for Thanksgiving, and I may or may not have gone a little overboard. Even though there were only 8 adults and 8 children (4 of which are under the age of 2), I made 6 pies: 2 pumpkin, chocolate buttercream, coconut cream, banana cream, and Dutch apple. I wish I would have gotten pictures, because (if I do say so myself) every pie was rather spectacular. Besides 4 of the crusts (which I bought--I'm not quite up to making crusts myself!) I made everything from scratch, and I'm incredibly proud of that fact. You see, I have this inherent (insane) desire to overachieve when I'm cooking for others, so instead of taking the easier, faster route (which, I have to admit, is usually my MO for cooking) I have to do everything the hard way. So, it took me 7 hours on Wednesday, but I made 6 fantastic pies. Too bad we were all too full to enjoy very much of them...

After dropping by my parents' house and leaving some pie with them, I came home with an entire pumpkin pie, half of a banana cream pie, and about a third each of coconut cream, chocolate, and Dutch apple. Guess I'll be having a lot of pie in the next little while. :)

My mom also helped my boys make turkeys out of apples, which turned out really cute:

All in all, we had a fantastic Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for each other, for our health and strength, for our family, and for the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are so blessed, and we're grateful for the opportunity we had to think about all of those blessings this past month.

Breaking Dawn: Part I

2011-11-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

I'm not a Twilight fanatic by any stretch of the imagination. Sure, I’ve read the books, I’ve seen the movies, but honestly, I’d prefer reading Wheel of Time any day. However, I had a strange desire to see the 4^th movie, Breaking Dawn: Part I. My sister and one of her friends have made a tradition of seeing all of the movies at midnight the day they come out, so I decided I wanted to tag along. We invited my sister-in-law, Brittany, and decided to make it a girls’ night.
I was surprisingly stoked about the whole thing. Usually I’d avoid scenes of excessive Twilight fangirl-ism for many reasons. Maybe it was the promise of a night out with my sisters—away from kids and cleaning and responsibility—that was so appealing. Maybe I didn’t think my quota for ridiculous, screaming girls was quite full enough. Whatever the reason, I anxiously awaited Thursday night and my temporary Twilight fanaticism.

We got to the theater in enough time to find a good parking space but not so early that we’d have to sit and wait surrounded by all of the crazies.

Our coveted (or maybe not) tickets

After we picked up our tickets and followed the swelling crowds toward concessions, we passed a display that got my (temporary) inner Twihard hot and bothered:

They ACTUALLY wore these clothes in the movie! *SWOON*

After snapping a few pictures and garnering several strange looks (because OBVIOUSLY I was the strangest person there) we entered the mile-long queue that was the concessions line. The only way I was going to make it through the movie was with a turbo-sized tub of popcorn and a gut busting Diet Coke. At the front of the line, I made the impromptu decision to buy this little baby:

It's like two Kit Kats in one! Jackpot!

After loading up on sustenance (read: crap) we searched for a place to sit down and wait out the 40 minutes until our movie started. Brittany and I dashed away for a minute to take pictures next to the movie poster:

Note my burgeoning belly

As we waited, we speculated about the logistics of portraying Bella’s pregnancy and hellish delivery of her “demon spawn,” which prompted me to take a picture of my own gestating spawn:

Again, the belly

FINALLY the time came for us to take our seats. As the theater darkened and the screen flashed to life, I found out exactly why I paid nearly $10 to see this movie:

I may or may not have teared up during this preview because I'm SO excited!

I almost considered getting up and leaving, because seeing that trailer on the big screen was TOTALLY worth my money. But, I would have had to wait for the other girls, so I sat back and prepared for the worst.

I can’t say that I had high expectations for this movie. All of the previous Twilight movies were overhyped and underwhelming. However, I only found myself laughing at a few of the “serious” parts and cringing only half as much as I expected. I can honestly say it’s the best movie of the series. Of course, it was probably so enjoyable because I was surrounded by some of my closest friends, we were saturated with caffeine and artificial butter flavoring, and it was after midnight. But, whatever the reason, we had a most excellent time and are already planning a girls’ night for the release of the final movie (a year from now).

Maybe by then we’ll have worked ourselves up to dressing up for the occasion (NOT LIKELY).

Wordless Wednesday: New Best Friends

2011-11-23T11:56:00.000-08:00

Matthew's Photo Shoot

2011-11-22T13:00:00.001-08:00

We had our official midterm ultrasound on Nov. 15. Even though we already knew the gender of the little munchkin, we were still excited to get a more in-depth look at him and make sure that everything was growing properly.

CLEARLY he's still a boy...and not the slightest bit shy

If you look closely, you can see him giving us a thumb's up here :)

We were happy to find out that everything is looking great and measuring right on course. I was even happier to find out that the boy is already head-down, face-down—in other words, he’s “assuming the position” for labor and delivery, which generally indicates a faster, easier labor (and who wouldn’t want that?!?!?). My doctor said he’s unlikely to change position from here on out, so fingers crossed for that.

My doctor tried for about 10 minutes to get a good profile shot, but because he's face- and head-down, it's virtually impossible. So, he settled for a pretty cool one of his spine

The little guy was kicking up a storm during the entire ultrasound, and I remembered how surreal it is to simultaneously see the baby moving on the ultrasound and feel him moving in my belly.

The only downside to the appointment? Finding out I gained 8 pounds in the last month. 8 POUNDS! But, since I lost weight in the first trimester, that only puts me at 10 pounds so far for this pregnancy (not that I’m stressing about weight gain, because I’m totally not).

He's Coming Home!

2011-11-21T13:57:00.000-08:00

My aunt posted this video to her blog the other day, and I sobbed like a baby the whole time I watched it. It's so hard to believe, yet so exciting to think, that my little brother, Nathan, will be home in 16 days!

I'm so grateful for the missionaries of the Church and for their sacrifices to bring people to the gospel. I'm so grateful for the men in my life who have served missions, because I know it has made them better men. I'm so grateful to have sons who will serve missions when their time comes.

And...I'm crying again. Must go find some tissues...

First Snow of 2011

2011-11-21T13:00:00.001-08:00

Usually I absolutely DREAD the first snowstorm of the year. My biggest (and only, really) complaint with living in Utah is the virtual non-existence of Spring and Fall, which happen to be my two favorite seasons. Instead, we get a transition from WINTER-ICE-COLD-FREEZE-YOUR-EXTREMITIES-OFF to SUMMER-HOT-MELTING-PERPETUAL-GIANT-POOL-OF-SWEAT. Winter extends from September to May at times, followed quickly by a meteoric jump in temperatures and sweltering heat until the cycle begins again.
However, this year, we enjoyed a most spectacular fall with beautiful cool weather. So, when the first major snow fell on Nov. 5, I can honestly say I was excited about it.

Cole and Kyle, of course, were over the moon. Kyle has loved playing in the snow ever since he was barely 1, so when Cole went out to shovel our driveway, Kyle was hot on his heels.

This kid would live outside in the snow if I let him

Last year, Lucas was too little to go outside, so I decided to bundle him up and give him his first taste of winter.

All the boys hanging out in the snow

He is truly my son, because he was less-than-thrilled about it.

He's sitting REALLY still here...perhaps he's hoping that someone will take him inside

He wasn’t used to walking in all of the bulky snow gear, so he fell over a lot. Plus, he’s not a fan of anything cold (he refuses to eat popsicles and ice cream), so overall, the snow didn’t really leave a great impression on him.

He couldn't even stay vertical when he was sitting down...

That’s ok, though. I could use a buddy to sit inside with and drink hot chocolate.

Still, he makes a cute little snow-buddy!

November Decorations--Give Thanks

2011-11-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

I was super excited for November to come this year so I could try out my new Thanksgiving decorations. I still don’t have a TON, but fortunately, a few things from October could be re-used since they were more “fall” than “Halloween”.

My cute sister-in-law Brittany called me a week or so ago because she bought an extra Thanksgiving craft from The Wood Connection and wanted to know if I wanted to come make it with her. We had a ton of fun making our cute turkeys together, and now I have one more thing to add to my meager collection of Thanksgiving decorations.

Even though I don't have a lot, I still feel mighty festive!

The entire bookcase

The charger I made for November

These blocks were too big to fit in one square, so I had to split them up...

Recycled pumpkin from October and cute Thanksgiving sign

Reused "FALL" letters from October

The cute turkey that I made with Brittany!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I know Halloween is SOOOO passé now (since it WAS more than two weeks ago), but I had to update for posterity’s sake…and also because my kids had the coolest costumes this year.

We had gone back and forth about what Kyle wanted to be for Halloween. His dominant request? A Power Ranger. I was less than happy about that choice, so we tried to encourage him to choose something different. After a few different ideas (including Larry the Cucumber from Veggie Tales and an M&M) we finally settled on something we could agree on:

Kyle absolutely LOVES playing Angry Birds, so this was a winning choice. Wanting to stick with the theme, we decided Lucas would be the king pig. Thank goodness for my super awesome mother, who whipped these costumes up (without a pattern, BTW) in less than a week.

Kyle knew he was the shiz and strutted around proudly; Lucas was less-than-thrilled with the costume, but we made it work.

Saturday the 29^th our ward had its annual Trunk-or-Treat at the church, so the boys got a test run for their costumes.

SIDE NOTE: Regrettably, we were S-T-U-P-I-D and forgot to take our camera and my parents’ camera mysteriously ate the pictures they took, so all we have are these pictures of questionable quality from Cole’s phone.

Monday the 31^st we headed into Sandy to trick-or-treat in Grandma/Gammy’s neighborhood. My mom helped me take the kids around, and I have to say, we had a lot more fun than they did. Lucas wasn’t allowed to get out of the stroller, mostly because he couldn’t walk very well in his costume and it’s nice to prevent injuries whenever possible. We also took a stroller for Kyle in case he got tired from all of the walking. After about two streets, Kyle was fairly reluctant to get out of the stroller at all and asked me, “Are we done yet?”

After trick-or-treating we headed to Gammy’s house to show off the costumes and to claim her annual “grandchild goody bag,” which is always quite spectacular. We hung out for a little while then called it a night.

Marketing Class

2011-11-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

So as part of my marketing class, I am doing a proposal for new product. I do need some help with a survey in my research. Please follow the link "Salad Survey" to participate and comment on this post if you have any thoughts.

Thanks, Cole

Salad Survey

Texas Trip 2

2011-11-13T18:58:00.000-08:00

****Addition****
I had to add some additions from my previous Part 1!
So Adam brought up some points that I had forgotten. First, was when I took that picture of Adam riding the bear, it was the second picture, as Adam ended up jumping on the first time and totally missing and falling off. Then there is the spooning at Grandpas house, although it never happened as Adam smelled horrible, so I decided to sleep on the couch. Third was driving through Navajo country which was a long part of the trip and worrying about breaking down. I was picturing us getting out of the car to see what was wrong with the car and having the part stripped down immediately. Lastly, was when we stopped for dinner in New Mexico, and as we were coming out to get in the car this guy drives up and starts talking to Adam. I didn't want to talk to them so I just went over to the car. Adam felt that as his wing man I abandoned him, but in fact I was in a strategic place if in fact they did attempt to kidnap. Turns out, they were just pimps trying to make a living in this tough economy selling perfume. The problem with this was that Adam really did stink the rest of the trip as he had tried some of the perfume. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk to strangers?

***Original Post***
Before going into detail about my amazing time in Texas, I have to discuss a disputed animal fact from our trip. While taking this trip I really wanted to see an Armadillo, I mean come on it's Texas I should see an Armadillo. I did not even see a dead one on the side of the highway like Adam said I would. The debate comes in on what sound an Armadillo makes. Adam and myself came to an agreement that is sounds like this:

rarr.....rr.....rarr.rr...raarr

Joan on the other hand thinks an Armadillo sounds like a baby dinosaur......... I don't know!

Here is what an Armadillo really sounds like and some various pictures of what they look like as I did not have the privilege of seeing one for myself.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/armadillo/

They are so cute all rolled up

Wish I could have seen one

I was even promised a dead one, but no go

Tribute to an old favorite show

In addition, did you know Armadillos have milk? You can milk anything with nipples, here is the proof:

This is real armadillo milk

Texas is where we really started having fun. We went to this place called "What a Burger" but Texans call it "Water Burger" at least that is what it sounds like. It was really good, and not badly priced. Adam and Joan then took me around town showing me the different sites. We got to see the historic stock yards, and got to walk around downtown Ft. Worth. They know the way to my heart and took me into every hotel in downtown Ft. Worth, it was awesome. We even went through some of the shops and I got some souvenirs for the boys. We then decided to head back to there place and rest for awhile before heading to the rodeo. Well, we got home and we all crashed and by the time we woke up it was late. So, we stayed in, Joan made an awesome dinner and they taught me a new game called Cribbage, The thing is, I kicked their trash! The next day it rained for the first time in like 40 days in Texas, and we headed to Six Flags Hurricane Bay. It was the perfect day to go, and we had a blast. The main reason why they wanted me to come with them to Six Flags was the fact that they could go faster on some of the rides due to my weight. So, we flew on some of the rides especially the Tornado where I screamed like a little girl all three times we did it. Adam also dragged me up to the big drop ones where I freaked out a ton, I have never done anything like it so I was proud of myself. We had so much fun, we spent all day in the park, from opening to closing only stopping once to experience authentic Texas BBQ, which is fabulous.

This is the Tornado, super fun

The big drop one, I may have peed myself

This one is called the banana

We ended the day by driving by the most beautiful stadium in the world, I wanted to stop and lick it!

We stopped for some dinner and then headed home, where we all crashed for the night.

I had the opportunity to video chat with my family through out the entire trip which was great but probably super annoying for my hosts. This was the first time that Jessica and I had been apart in five years of marriage, and the longest time away from my boys. I was not home sick or anything, I just missed them a ton. I am also not one to complain or intrude on someone else, and I hope that didn't convert to me looking like I was bored. I wanted to be a guest in there home and let them do there thing. They probably got very sick of me saying that I could fly home at anytime. I was so happy to be there with them, but would understand if they wanted me to leave.

All in all the traveling was great, I had so much fun being on my own, flying back to my family, but bitter sweet as I had a great trip with Adam and Joan. Thank you guys for everything from the bottom of my heart, and good luck in Texas. Adam, you still owe me one Armadillo.

Texas Trip Part 1

2011-11-12T15:00:00.000-08:00

So, I have been trying to get this blog post up for quite sometime now but have failed multiple times. I even had it completely done at work, and forgot to save it when I closed my computer. My trip to Texas was a cross country drive with my brother. We took this trip to move him to Ft. Worth Texas where his wife already was for 2 or so months. *****UPDATE***** (He is already moving across country again for Medical School, So I should have another blog like this next year.

So, it starts a bunch of months ago when Adam said that he was going to drive from Utah to Texas by himself at the beginning of August. This was cool for two reasons, the first being that I think it would be awesome to drive across country either by myself or with my family, just enjoying the outdoors and sights. Second, the thought of moving to a new state away from my extended family being completely on my own with my own little family is super appealing and Adam is the first of possibly many of my brothers to do this. So, I offered to go with him and fly home. At first Adam wondered if I could make it financially like he always does, but I reassured him and he agreed.

My main reason for doing this was because I wanted the opportunity to spend some time just with my brother. I have always gotten along best with Adam, ever since I left on my mission he has been more grown up, bigger, better and more focused on what he wants in life. So for me it has been hard to have a strong relationship with him as we really are not at the same place in life. But that being said we have always found time to talk even though it is usually while we are in the bathroom and we usually leave really awkward voicemails. From way back when we shared bunk beds together and had the worlds messiest rooms, (trust me, ask Adam about a hanger and TV instance). We have always been close. Now we don't really have a super close weird brotherly love, but we know that we love each other and I myself would do almost anything for him. We have had our rough patches, and one monster fight caused by me, but we always get through it and forgive and forget.

So, the day for the trip arrived, we met at our parents house were he had been living for awhile. We started packing his car, and for those who don't know what his car looks like, here it is.

This is not actually his but dang close

We stuffed most of Adam's junk and my backpack and cooler into his car and said goodbye to my family and to Mom.

Mom and her boys

The two of us climbed into the yellow banana of a car and headed towards Grandpa Buddies house in St. George. We stopped at a couple of places for some more goodbye's and some gas and goodies, but made it to Gramps' place by nightfall. After some great rounds of cards with Gramps and Grandma, we crashed for the night. After some great sleep and some breakfast we were off to Texas. Well for us we headed to Arizona and took a little side trip to Lake Powell. If you know the Christensen's you know that Lake Powell is a coveted place. So of course Adam and myself pulled up to the lake, stripped down and jumped in (with swim trunks of course). We took some pictures and sent them to all of our brothers and parents. They were all incredibly jealous. We then continued on to Flagstaff Arizona for a quick stop and then headed towards Texas. This was the longest part for the drive as it was mostly at night, but so worth it. We drove through Arizona then I drove through New Mexico, then we continued through Texas to our final destination of Ft. Worth Texas. We got to there place right after Joan had left for work, so we both crashed hard. When Joan got home form work we started our adventures in Texas.

Adam riding the wildlife at our first stop

This is Adam's car stuffed full

Adam at Lake Powell wondering if it is deep enough to jump in

Well, you only live once!

Censored to protect the innocent and those with weak constitutions

Ditto

Lake Powell

Well that is it for part one, tomorrow it will be part two. Plus, we have a bunch of blogs coming up including our new van, Halloween, first snow and mch more.

Family Pictures!

2011-10-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

We got family photos taken a few weekends ago, and I've been waiting with bated breath to see the proofs. Here's a few of my favorites (poached from the photographer's website).

I don't care who you are...you have to admit that I have some of the most beautiful boys in the world.

In Case You Missed It...

2011-10-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

on Facebook, we found out the gender of our third little munchkin yesterday.

It's a BOY!

We couldn't be more excited about having another little man.

We took the big brothers with us to the appointment so they could "see" the baby. They were so cute--Kyle watched so intently, and even Lucas pointed and babbled about the screen. I think they're going to be great buddies/partners in crime.

We've already had a few people express "condolences" because this baby isn't a girl. Honestly, I haven't felt any disappointment whatsoever. Perhaps I haven't really thought about the energy it will take to chase THREE boys around. :) However, we already have two of the handsomest boys in the world; why not add to the earth's beauty by having another? ;)

4 Years Ago...

2011-10-18T06:34:00.000-07:00

I became a mommy.

It was a long, hard wait, but you are worth it.

Since then, you've grown faster than I hoped you would. Every day I'm amazed at how much you learn and absorb from your surroundings.

You love to sing Primary songs, and you know every word of all of our program songs. I think that is pretty impressive.

You love books, letters, and words. Everywhere we go you try to sound out the words you see, and if you can't figure it out, you ask us to help. I'm confident you'll be reading by the end of the year or shortly after.

You love your brother.

You may not always get along, but I know you're best buddies.

You're affectionate and attentive to others' emotions. Whenever I'm having a hard day, I can always rely on you to climb in my lap to snuggle and give me a kiss. You're not embarrassed to tell me that you love me where everyone can hear you...yet. :)

I couldn't have chosen a better son than you, Kyle. No matter how big you grow, you'll always be my little boy, and, to quote a book that you love but I can't ever read to you without sobbing,

"I'll love you forever,

I'll like you for always.

As long as I'm living,

My baby you'll be."

Happy 4th birthday, Kyle!

Fall Has Fallen at Our House!

2011-10-11T11:43:00.000-07:00

Ever since we moved in to our own place, I've been DYING to have decorations for all of the seasons of the year. Unfortunately, I'm not particularly crafty, nor am I particularly wealthy, so I've gone pretty decoration-free for the last year.

Luckily, this year will be different, thanks to some very talented ladies in my ward who hold boutiques in the fall. I spent a little bit of money but got a LOT of good things. I also tried my hand at being a bit crafty and I'm happy with the result.

I'm not really keen on going over-the-top on my holiday decorations. That works for some people (like my mother-in-law, who seriously goes ALL OUT and it looks awesome), but I'd rather keep them to one specific location. Luckily, I have a nifty bookcase with little nooks that is just perfect for this type of thing. So yes, even though it may pale in comparison to some holiday displays, I feel quite festive. :)

The complete bookcase

"Eat Drink and be Scary!"

This is the bit of crafting I did myself. I have one for Thanksgiving, and I plan on making one for just about every month of the year because they're so easy.

Why I Wouldn't Hate...

2011-10-02T07:58:00.000-07:00

having another boy...

I've had several people ask me if this baby is a girl lately (I guess I look large enough to be midterm). I've spent a lot of time thinking about what gender I "want" this baby to be. After having two high-energy, messy, loud, destructive boys, sometimes it seems like having a girl would be a much-needed break (although, with my luck, she'd end up being a tomboy). However, I've found there are many reasons that I'd actually want to have a third boy.

1) No need to buy new clothes. I have boxes and boxes of little boy clothes in every size for both seasons (since Kyle was born in winter and Lucas was born in summer). HUGE money saver!

2) I know how to deal with "boy" drama. We had a family get-together at my in-laws' last night, and I observed how different "girl" drama is from "boy" drama. It's not necessarily any more dramatic--I just know how to handle a dramatic boy and I have NO CLUE how to handle a dramatic girl.

3)I don't have to wake up earlier to get places on time. I'm already chronically late (church is the worst, BTW), and I have a hard enough time getting myself ready. Boys are pretty much wash-and-go, which leaves me plenty of time to take care of myselfe. Cole and I have already vowed that if we ever do have a girl she will always be fully decked out. In order for me to accomplish that, I'll have to plan more preparation time...which generally means less sleep in the morning. And I'd be totally insane to want to sleep LESS.

(These are all tongue-in-cheek, in case you couldn't tell. If this baby is a girl, it will seriously be no trouble at all making the adjustment.)

On a more serious note, this is something I have been REALLY thinking about lately. It seems to me that people I know (both close friends and distant acquaintances), especially members of the church, have been having a disproportionate number of boys lately. I wondered if this was just random chance of if there was actually a greater explanation.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE GOSPEL OF JESSICA AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED ACTUAL FACT

It's no secret that we live in the latter days. We all know what kinds of prophecies will be fulfilled, quite possibly in our lifetime. I am personally of the belief that the Second Coming of our Savior is a lot closer than we expect. Before that, the gospel will be spread to all kingdoms and nations of the earth. This is going to take a SUBSTANTIAL missionary force. I fully believe that the surge of little boys being sent to this earth is in preparation for that need for missionaries.

When I think about these boys and the responsibilities they will face, I'm reminded that it is my responsibility as their mother to train them up in the way they should go. It is my job to teach them the gospel and prepare them to serve the Lord. It's so humbling to me to think about the important role I have in the future of the church.

This is why I wouldn't mind having another boy. I would love the sacred opportunity to prepare another one of Heavenly Father's choice spirits for service in His kingdom. I only hope that one day, my sons can look back and say of me, like the stripling warriors in The Book of Mormon, "We do not doubt our [mother] knew it."

Advice From the Experts, Please

2011-09-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

So, I was blog-stalking on my phone the other night before falling asleep when I came across a post that particularly caught my interest. The weird thing? I don't think it would have done so even as recently as a couple of weeks ago. What was this post about, you ask?

CLOTH DIAPERING.

I have friends and family members who have made the switch and have loved it, but every time I've heard about their successes, I've always thought, "Yeah, that's just not for me. Plus, there's no way I could get Cole to do it." So, it surprised me when I actually took some interest in this blog post. It surprised me even more when Cole peeked at what I was reading and told me he'd be on board if we switched to cloth diapers. Um, WHAT?

So, what I'm asking for now is any advice, recommendations, warnings, etc. from anyone who has tried cloth diapering, even if they've hated it. I'd love to know what has worked, what hasn't, what kind of supply we'd need for a toddler and a newborn (in March), what the starting costs are, if there are any deals or discounts offered...basically, I know nothing.

Thanks for your help!

First Trimester Thoughts, take 3

2011-09-20T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ugh. I'm so ready for this trimester to be over. That about sums it up.

I'll "officially" be out of the first trimester somewhere between tomorrow and Friday*, and I'm hoping and praying I'll bounce back, like I did with my other two pregnancies (but I'm also not holding my breath).

*Okay, explanation here. My LMP started Wednesday, June 22, which would make me 13 weeks tomorrow. However, when I went to my doctor the first time, he calculated my due date as being two days LATER than 40 weeks after my LMP. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe I just look like I should be pregnant for 40w2d. So, I vacillate between Wednesday and Friday as my week-milestone day.

So, a little explanation about how this pregnancy came to pass (besides the OBVIOUS, because I'm sure no one needs/wants that information!). My body was INCREDIBLY efficient at keeping me infertile while I was nursing. I stopped taking hormonal birth control in April because I didn't like what it was doing to my body, and I started practicing more of the FAM (fertility awareness method). Anyway, I knew that I was not ovulating (most likely due to the nursing), and so I didn't worry about getting pregnant. Then, Lucas turned 1 at the end of June, we celebrated our 5th anniversary, we celebrated the 4th of July--we basically were really busy and I may or may not have forgotten to chart my BBT for a week or so. I wasn't too worried, because everything I had read or seen indicated that a woman's return to fertility after experiencing nursing amenorrhea was a gradual thing--sometimes taking months or even a year or more. I figured I was still relatively safe. After everything normalized and we returned to our daily schedules, I resumed charting my BBT. Then, about halfway through July, I looked at my chart and realized it had a distinct pattern that I hadn't seen since before I got pregnant with Lucas (for those of you unfamiliar with BBT charting, a biphasic pattern indicates ovulation and a "normal" menstrual cycle. No pattern indicates an anovulatory cycle). And, the day before I ovulated, well...let's just say the damage had been done. I was floored. Apparently my fertility came back full-force in 1 MONTH. I freaked a little bit, because we weren't even going to THINK about another baby for at least six months, and here I was, most likely pregnant. Cole was remarkably calm when I told him, and we figured it was obviously supposed to happen this way. Sure enough, the hpts I took at 15 and 16 DPO were positive. Ergo, baby on board.

Anyway, here are my observations about this pregnancy so far:

--I feel gross. It's not always necessarily nausea, although that is definitely there. I just don't feel like eating ANYTHING. Nothing sounds appetizing. I honestly have to force myself to eat. My poor family has suffered, because when Mommy doesn't want to eat, Mommy doesn't want to cook. That means we've had a lot of fast food, mac and cheese, cereal, and "fend-for-yourself" kinds of dinners. I'm starting to get a little better, and I sincerely hope it goes away this week as my first trimester ends.

--Sugar makes me queasy. Sometimes, I think that I want chocolate, but every time I actually eat some, I regret it big time.

--The combination of the above two have resulted in my losing 3 pounds so far in this pregnancy. I've NEVER lost weight in a pregnancy before. While I'm not necessarily "happy" about it, I'm also not disappointed. I actually started this pregnancy 15 pounds heavier than I was before Lucas (I was not a lucky weight-losing nursing mom. I was an unlucky weight-gaining nursing mom).

--I'm TIRED. I'm sure it has to do with chasing two kiddos around and trying to grow a baby, but still. I get tired so easily right now. I can basically do one big thing a day, and then I'm pretty much worthless for the rest of the day.

--I'm BLOATED. At least, I hope that's what it is. I've seriously been "showing" for 5 weeks now--I had to bust out the maternity pants at 8 weeks. DEFINITELY a change from the last pregnancy, when I didn't really show until 14 or 15 weeks.

--My hair and nails look awesome. Usually my nails go through a cycle: grow out and look good, one breaks, so I cut them all short because I can't stand them to be different lengths. I haven't broken a nail in WEEKS, and they look really pretty. My hair is shinier and looks nice (when I actually drum up the energy to do something with it besides a ponytail).

--I have acne like a 13-year-old. I have been pretty fortunate to have pretty clear skin my whole life. Now, I'm getting all of the zits that I never got as a teenager.

--No cravings. Remember--all food sounds gross to me. However, when I eat fruits, it really hits the spot. My visiting teacher brought me some HUGE peaches from her tree, and they were fantastic.

--I cry. A lot. At everything. At Primary songs. At commercials. I'm basically a big, weepy baby.

--Kyle thinks this baby is a girl. He already talks about his "baby sister" in my tummy. I've tried to explain to him that it could be a boy, but he always tells me, "no, Mom, it's a sister, because I already have a brother." It could be wishful thinking on his part, because we told him if it's a boy he'll have to share his toys with both Lucas and this boy--I guess he didn't like that idea.

--I think this baby is a boy. That could be me trying not to get my hopes up, because I would REALLY love to have a girl. But, another boy would be great too. I already know how to handle boys, and I have a LOT of baby boy stuff. We MAY be able to find out the gender at my next appointment. It won't be my OFFICIAL midterm ultrasound because I'll only be about 17 weeks, but my doctor told us we could take a peek and, if the baby cooperates, find out the sex early. We were able to find out with Lucas at about that point in my pregnancy, too. That's one reason that I really like my doctor. :)

Anyway, even though I feel pretty rotten most days, I'm so grateful for this little life that's growing inside me. I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time at my appointment yesterday, and it was so calming and reassuring. It's so nice to know that everything is okay.

And there's all that you need to know (and probably more than you wanted to know) about me right now. Cole is currently working on a few posts documenting his trip to Texas, and I'm hoping to get a post up about Kyle's trip to Disneyland with Grandma and Papa. Hopefully we'll get those up soon so we don't have another 3-week lapse in blogging.

Why I Lack Motivation...

2011-08-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

for blogging, that is.

Have you ever noticed that during the summer blogging frequency decreases, even though there's MORE to blog about? I think this happens for several reasons:

1) You're too busy with vacations, activities, parties, etc. to have time to blog

2) If you HAVE extra time to blog, you'd rather spend it doing something outside before the nice weather goes the way of all the earth (which, let's face it, could be at any given time...at least, in UT)

3) You're so exhausted from all of your activities that there is little, if any, energy to be cute and captivating in a blog

4) You're too busy having fun to take any pictures...and who wants to read a blog without pictures? (okay, maybe that's just us. Everyone else seems to have little trouble taking pictures)

Additionally, my blogging motivation comes in spurts. As one can probably assume, two weeks ago I had a fire in my belly. I intended to do a series of posts about different parts of my parenting philosophy (in fact, there are drafts for about 5 posts currently saved in my posts list). Then, complete apathy hit. Okay, I wouldn't call it apathy as much as misplaced inspiration. Suddenly, those posts didn't seem like such a good idea, and my motivation fizzled out. I'll probably return to that idea sometime in the future when the inspiration returns. This is another explanation for the dearth of posts on my blog.

There are several other reasons for my lack of blogging, described in no particular order:

1) I've become hopelessly addicted to this show:

I've been catching up on the third season (thank you, hulu plus!) so I'm up to date when the fourth season starts next month. I only have two more episodes left before the wait begins.

1.5) Cole and I also harbor addictions for pretty much any show with Gordon Ramsay. Hell's Kitchen is currently our favorite, and Kyle can be heard yelling, "Shut it down!" a la Chef Ramsay at any given moment.

I also enjoy Bachelor Pad (and even though he'll deny it vehemently, Cole gets a kick out of it as well). It sufficiently fills my drama quota.

2) Cole went to Texas with his younger brother a couple of weeks ago, so I got to experience single parent-hood for a few days. Let's just say I'm extremely glad I have someone to tag in when the kids get taxing. I didn't really have a lot of spare time to myself in those few days he was gone, and I MIGHT have been a few bricks shy by the time he got back.

3) In the midst of Cole's trip and after his return, we were hit with a pretty nasty stomach bug. Lucas is actually still experiencing its effects two weeks later. After being thrown up on one too many times, he and I took a trip to the Instacare on Sunday night.

4) Cole started classes again last week. He's really excited about his classes, and I think he's going to take them all by storm this semester.

5) I took a trip to the doctor a few weeks ago and discovered I had developed a rather serious medical condition:

Okay, this is not actually our munchkin...but I couldn't find our ultrasound pic and this is about what ours looked like anyway.

We are expecting our third child near the end of March! It was a little bit of a surprise, but we're definitely excited! Lucas and this baby will be 21 months apart, which is a bit closer than we originally planned, but I know it will turn out just fine. Better women than I have had children that close (or closer!) together and have fared just fine.

I've been a little sick this time around, but it's been less like morning sickness and more like my normal body reactions are just accentuated (i.e. things that made me sick before my pregnancy just make me MORE so now). I've also had a really hard time finding things that sound appetizing, so I have to force myself to eat sometimes.

I've also been more tired this time around. I'm sure this is a combination of the pregnancy and having two very active boys (one of which is still pretty dependent on me a lot of the time).

One thing that's been different? I haven't sliced open any appendages or fainted (two things that have happened with both of my previous pregnancies--here is the story from Lucas' pregnancy). I think Cole has been grateful for that.

Anyway, that's why my blogging has been sparse lately.

Parenting Philosophy, Part I: To Shelter or Not to Shelter

2011-08-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

I was perusing KSL today (Cole has turned me into a bit of a news junkie) and I ran across an interesting article:

Why I Banned Barbie

Reading this article (and a few others in a series called Motherhood Matters) opened up my blogging possibilities and gave me the idea for a new series of posts about my parenting philosophies. Here is the first.

As my kids are growing and beginning to understand more of the world around them, I've thought a lot about how closely Cole and I should monitor the things that they watch and read and hear and play with. So far, the only thing that I've come up with is that I need more time to decide.

Don't get me wrong--it's very important to me that my children are protected from the poisonous things with which we are surrounded these days. But, at the same time, I can't protect them forever, and what happens when that day comes? How will they handle the onslaught of worldly influences that will surely come when they venture out on their own? Isn't it smarter for me to teach them how to handle the unsavory things of this world rather than try to shut them out completely?

From my experience, banning anything (be it toys, or movies, books, or TV shows) makes it that much more alluring to children--so much so that they may seek it out without your knowledge. If my children are going to absorb information, I'd rather be there to answer their questions and address their concerns rather than let them try to do it by themselves.

Now for the confessions...

Kyle watches Power Rangers. One of his favorite movies is The Sandlot (those kids have POTTY mouths!). I admit that we are not particularly vigilant about what he watches, i.e. there is nothing that he is expressly prohibited from watching. He is not particularly violent, he doesn't use bad language, and he is a generally mild-mannered child. I fully believe it is because we have been able to teach him what is right and what is wrong based on what he has seen. If we heard him repeating an off-color phrase from a movie, we explain to him that it's something we don't say in our house. We explained to him that Power Rangers don't use their karate moves to hit their brothers--only bad guys (I guess we'll handle what constitutes a 'bad guy' later). The concepts of 'right' and 'wrong' are still so abstract to a child Kyle's age, and we've used the things he's seen in movies and on TV to help us make those concepts more concrete.

Do I feel like a bad mom? No, I don't. I look at it like a general waging a war against evil. A general doesn't fight a war only by fortifying and defending his troops. He sends spies to observe the enemy's tactics so he knows the enemy's plan of attack and can better plan his defense. I'm doing the same thing: if I know how Satan is planning to attack my family, I can better plan a defense and teach my children how to defend themselves against his advances.

I don't always know what I'm doing as a parent and I can't say that I have a definitive plan when it comes to being a parent. However, the one thing I want more than anything is to be able to have open lines of communication with my children as they grow. I want them to be able to come to me with ANY of their concerns with the knowledge that they will never be criticized, belittled, or judged. I feel like the best way to develop this relationship is to start by being as open and honest as I can with them, no matter the question or issue.

Check back later for a post about discussing the birds and the bees with your kids.

Breastfeeding and Me, Part IV

2011-08-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

I couldn't consider this series complete without discussing my thoughts about weaning. Since I'm currently going through this process, I thought I'd share my experiences and ask for any advice/input/experiences from others.

(For links to the rest of the posts, check here, here, and here.)

I had been asked how long I intended to nurse Lucas. To be honest, I never really had any firm idea. At first, I was hoping to make it more than 3 months (longer than I made it with Kyle). Then, I wanted to make it six months. Then, I hoped to make it to a year. My goal length kept increasing by tiny bits.

Then, Lucas turned one. He was really only nursing between 2-3 times a day, and usually only to go to sleep for his nap or for the night. Occasionally he would want to nurse other times during the day (especially on days when he was having a particularly rough time with cutting new teeth), but it was usually only when we were at home. Plus, he still seemed so young and dependent that it broke my heart to think about cutting him off when he still needed me so much. So, I decided I'd hold off on actively trying to wean him and take more of a "don't offer, don't refuse" stance. I even went as far as thinking I would nurse him until I got pregnant again (which we were planning for sometime during the next year).

Basically, I was avoiding trying to actively wean him. I was afraid that it would end up being a huge fight...and why make my life harder when it wasn't really hurting anything to keep nursing him?

Then, last week, Lucas started walking. On Saturday, we moved him into a toddler bed and into his brother's room. These little assertions of his independence changed the way he nursed. Instead of nursing to sleep before his nap and before bed, he would nurse for a minute, and then fall asleep on his own. In fact, he wasn't even mad if I DIDN'T nurse him to sleep--it just didn't seem to matter as much to him. He hasn't really asked to nurse at other times during the day either. So, I took that as a signal that weaning him wouldn't be such a battle.

Sunday night was the first real time that I tried putting him to sleep without nursing. He cried, but I think it was more because he was overtired and was fighting sleep. After a few minutes, he fell asleep. I was totally amazed. Yesterday for naps he cried even less before falling asleep. It's been far easier than I thought it would be. I either underestimated Lucas' ability to adapt to change or I overestimated his attachment to me.

Am I sad? A little bit. Nursing Lucas has been such an enriching experience. It's made me feel powerful--after all, I was MAKING FOOD for another human being for an entire year. It's a singular experience, and I feel so privileged to have been able to breastfeed Lucas for so long. I hope that I'll be able to be as successful with the rest of my children.

Of course, I certainly won't miss the nursing pads (because yeah, I needed them ALL the way to the end), the intermittent soreness, sharing my body all the time, and the extra 10 or so pounds that stuck around because I was nursing (I was not one of the lucky ones who shed pounds without effort because of breastfeeding. I was just the opposite).

Breastfeeding moms, how did your weaning experiences pan out? What worked for you? What will you try differently? How did you feel when your child (or children) weaned?

Room-Sharing, Yard-Work, and New-Found Mobility

2011-08-01T12:18:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Cole convinced me to move the boys into the same room so he could turn the extra room into an office. It took a lot of cajoling, because it also involved moving Lucas into a toddler bed...Lucas is only 13 months old--barely a toddler! I was pretty reluctant to let my baby grow up, but I grudgingly agreed.

The boys were thrilled to have their beds in the same room...

Lucas especially liked how easy it was to jump on his new bed.

The last couple of nights have actually gone a lot better than I thought they would! Kyle only got up once, and he settled back down pretty easily because we told him he couldn't leave Lucas alone in their room (FYI, usually Kyle sneaks into our bed at least 3 times a week). Lucas didn't wake up at all! We're still making the adjustment from crib to toddler bed for Lucas, but it's been easier than I thought it would (especially since I'm weaning him at the same time...but more on that some other time). I'm sure we still have some challenges ahead, but so far, so good. Plus, we have an office, which is definitely nice. Cole might actually get all of his homework done on time now! :)

In other news, we've been waging a war with our yard. Every Saturday, we all head outside and spend several hours maintaining our front yard (which is actually looking pretty decent right now--someone in our ward even told Cole that we have the nicest yard in the neighborhood!) and overhauling our backyard. We've still got a long way to go, though. Hopefully we can get most of the tearing up done this summer so we can start in on the actual landscaping and beautifying. We've got a lot of cool plans, and I know that Cole has been documenting our efforts for a post of his own later on. The boys love all of the time we spend outside, and they even try their hands at "helping" us.

Kyle thinks the drainpipe is a fireman pole...

Lucas LOVES to play around in (and eat) the dirt...

We're also happy to report that Lucas has finally started walking! He's been cruising for months and months, and a couple of months ago he was really big on walking while holding our hands. But, if you tried to let go, he promptly sank to the floor. Well, last week, my mom and sister were over and between the four of us we managed to get him to take a few steps. Since the adulation and cheering were plentiful, and Lucas is quite the attention lover, I think he decided that walking wasn't too bad. Now, he's toddling everywhere, and it's so dang cute! Unfortunately, we haven't been able to catch it on the video camera--he stops walking every time we pull it out. We'll keep trying though, because that much cuteness just has to be shared.

Controversy, My Old Friend...How I've Missed You

2011-07-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

I’ve been spending many of my idle moments thinking about a controversial subject, and I’m about to say something that may earn me a lot of criticism from many people:

I believe “being gay” is a choice.

Now, before the torches and pitchforks come out or the ACLU calls, let me clarify my position. I fully believe that there is a difference between “being gay” and “experiencing homosexual impulses.” I believe one can experience homosexual impulses and not be gay. One cannot choose what impulses they experience, but one can choose how one acts upon those impulses.

That being said, I believe that people are born with a predisposition to experience homosexual impulses (aaaand, here come the torches and pitchforks from the OTHER side…). I believe it’s similar to having a predisposition for alcoholism, or sugar addiction, or weight gain. Anyone who has watched The Biggest Loser or has conquered addictions or seen loved ones conquer addictions know that genetic predispositions don’t have to control lives! It’s all about the CHOICES.

So it is with homosexuality. There is someone in my life to whom I am very close who has experienced same-gender attraction. He has made conscious choices to avoid giving in to the impulses he has experienced, most likely, for his entire life. I would not for a second classify him as “gay.” He experiences same-gender attraction, yes, but he does not engage in same-gender relationships. In fact, he will most likely be getting married to a woman in the next couple of years and will have a loving, fulfilling relationship with her.

In a different thread, I was born with the predisposition to be attracted to males. Does this mean I HAD to form a lasting relationship with a man? No. Sometimes I think there would be many advantages to being in a relationship with a woman (for instance, it would be really nice to have a second set of knockers for nursing the babies…just sayin’) rather than a man. I could have chosen that route, but I didn’t. For someone to say that their choices are completely determined by their genetics undermines our ability as humans and as children of God to use reason and agency.

Now, any choice made by my friend or myself isn’t necessarily the solution that will work for everyone. However, it’s not my place to judge what choices anyone else makes because it is impossible for me to fully understand the situations of others. The only Person qualified to make those judgments has much more power, compassion, and knowledge than I do. All I can do is try my best to be kind to all of God’s children, regardless of their sexual orientation or choices.

I’ve also spent a lot of time thinking about the issue of gay marriage. I know the leaders of the Church have encouraged us as members to support constitutional amendments that define marriage as being between one man and one woman, but I don’t think I would be a good member of the Church if I didn’t think and pray and figure out what Heavenly Father would want me to do. I trust that the leadership of the Church receives revelation from God, but I also know that I can receive personal revelation for myself. That being said, I do know that marriage is sacred and should be between one man and one woman, and this knowledge comes not only from statements from the Church but also from my own personal experiences and dialogue with Heavenly Father.

Now, on the other hand, I believe that every person in this country, regardless of sexual orientation, has the right to be happy with whomever they choose. It is none of my business whom my neighbor chooses to spend his/her life with—that choice does not infringe on any of my rights, so I have no right to deny him/her that choice. Advocates of same-sex marriage say that marriage is a civil right; and I agree.

How can one person have two opposing views? How can I be for the preservation of traditional marriage and for same-sex marriage? Now you understand why I’ve spent so much time thinking about these subjects. I’ve felt a lot of turmoil and confusion. I’ve alternated between feeling like a bigot and a bad Mormon. I’ve read and thought about countless solutions that would put my mind at ease, but I know it’s only going to get uglier. The Church has said that they would not prevent legislation from passing that would allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions, so that’s one possibility. Of course, then we’re faced with the issue of two things being “separate but equal”, which, let’s face it, was a huge bust when it was tried before. I’ve read people suggesting that since our country is such an advocate of “separation of church and state” that we take it one step further and completely separate the civil and religious aspects of marriage—in other words, require all people, regardless of the orientation of the marriage, to have a civil ceremony performed separate from any religious ceremony. There are so many countries around the world that already do that (The United Kingdom, for example), and even though it would be more of a hassle for people who would desire a religious ceremony (a sealing in the temple for Church members, for example) I think it would be a viable solution. The country would only recognize the civil unions performed of both heterosexual and homosexual couples (which would eliminate the “separate but equal” problem, since they would literally be the exact same thing), and churches could continue to perform marriages only for those whom they deem appropriate (allowing the Church and other denominations to preserve their definition of marriage being between a man and a woman). I’m sure this isn’t a perfect solution, but knowing that there IS a potential solution puts my mind at ease.

Ultimately, the most important thing for me to do is simply have faith that everything will turn out fair in the end. I know it sounds like a cop-out, but this concept brings me peace. There is so much turmoil and strife in the world right now, and it’s only going to get worse as time goes on. My knowledge that Heavenly Father loves me, and that He loves all of His children regardless of the choices they make, helps me remember that this life is but a small moment in the timeline of my life, and all I can do is be the best person I can be. Everything else will figure itself out.

4th of July

2011-07-22T10:43:00.000-07:00

Every year, Cole's family gets together for the 4th, and this year was no different. Our numbers were a little sparse, but we had a ton of fun! Gammy and Bumpy busted out the kiddie pools and the waterslide for the kids to enjoy, we had a fabulous dinner, and spectacular fireworks! None of us was willing to fork over the large amount of cash needed for aerial fireworks, but we benefited from the extravagance of others--we were literally surrounded by awesome displays of aerial fireworks (I think we counted 12 different places around us). The kids had a lot of fun wielding sparklers and rating the various fireworks for their coolness factor. Lucas wasn't really sure what to think about all of the fireworks, and he ended up falling asleep halfway through the show so I got some killer snuggles. :)

Cole's brother, Adam, brought out his whips from Hungary and put on a little show--he's WAY cooler than Indiana Jones! We all got up to try our hand at whipping, but none of us were nearly as awesome as Adam is. I was a little apprehensive to try it--I figured I'd probably hit myself in the face before I ever cracked the whip. But, after a littler coercion from Cole, I gave it a try:

(The sound isn't great, but if you listen closely, you can hear the whip crack all three times that I tried it. For a good laugh, look at my face every time--it's pretty comical.)

Needless to say, I was pretty proud of myself.

Another reason I was proud of myself? The patriotic dessert I made:

Red, white, and blue funfetti cake balls

They turned out quite delicious, if I do say so myself.

What I Made Monday

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

My ward had a Relief Society craft night last Tuesday, and I signed up to make a few things.

Now, I'm not really a crafty person by nature. But, if someone provides me with the materials and the instructions, I'm totally a fan! So, this craft night was right up my alley. My mom and sister came with me, which turned out to be a really good thing because I would have been crafting at the church until midnight if they weren't there to help me. That's what I get for signing up for too many projects.

First up: family blocks. I was also supposed to sand the blocks and rub stain on/off, but that was a little outside of my skill level. :) I still might sand the blocks a little bit to give them a more worn look.

Even though these will be outdated as soon as we have another child, I figure I can turn the ones that don't apply to face backward...or get new vinyl letters cut for them.

Next: cutesy wall hanging. I can't really take credit for this one, because my mom made the entire thing. I still really like it, though, and it'll bring some life to my kitchen.

Last, my personal favorite: Bless This Home With the Music of Laughter blocks. Perfect for sitting on my piano.

I'm super excited to have more cute things for decorating my house!

Fun-Filled Weekend-Palooza

2011-07-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, so you know why I'm a terrible blogger? We go out and do a bunch of fun stuff, but do I ever take any pictures? No. I'm too busy being busy or having fun to actually take pictures...which, I guess, is the point of doing fun things, but it sure makes for boring blog posts. So, I apologize in advance that this post will contain only borrowed pictures to break up the monotony of my commentary. Moving right along...

As was previously mentioned, June 30 was Cole's and my 5-year anniversary. We don't usually make a big deal out of our anniversaries, but since this one marked FIVE WHOLE YEARS, we decided to do something a little bigger than usual. The boys got to spend the night at Grandma and Papa's house, and we stayed overnight at the Anniversary Inn, something we haven't done since we got married. Before we checked into our room, however, we spent Thursday afternoon getting pampered here:

Image from here

We indulged in a couple's massage and pedicures, and let me tell you, it was totally worth it. It was so nice to relax, forget all of our worries, and let others take care of us for a few hours. Cole was a little bit apprehensive at first, but he emphatically decided that we should make it a yearly tradition.

After our pampering at the spa, we headed over to the Anniversary Inn. After much deliberation I chose the Tuscany room for our stay, and we were not disappointed. The room looked like something right out of old Italy, which was right up my alley (FYI, Italy would be my absolute DREAM vacation). There was even a fountain in the room, which I insisted we keep on all night to maintain the ambience.

Check out more pictures of our awesome room here

Unfortunately, the sound of running water kept Cole up during the night running to the bathroom. Oops.

Sanctuary was running a promotion with their couple's massages that included a $100 gift card to Fleming's Steak House on which we decided to capitalize, so we got all dressed up and headed there for dinner.

Image from here

The food was absolutely fabulous! We ate until we were stuffed, and the chef sent us out a little box of truffles in honor of our anniversary. We were only a little dismayed when we realized that the meal for the two of us used up our ENTIRE $100 gift card (and then some)--but, since it was a special occasion, we figured it was ok (incidentally, I can't BELIEVE people frequently spend so much money just for food!)

We headed back to our hotel room and enjoyed one kid-free night of sleep--possibly the best part of the whole outing. The next morning we scarfed down the wonderful breakfast provided by the Anniversary Inn, checked out, and headed to pick up the boys. It was a fun couple of days, but we had to get ready for our next adventure: camping with the fam.

We spent Friday-Monday camping at Payson Lakes (I'm convinced there's no prettier place on earth) with almost my entire extended family.

Image from here.

We spent all Saturday at the lake, enjoying the sun and the downtime. I spent most of the time under the awning and away from the sun, since my lily-white skin burns if I even THINK about the sun. Even so, I managed to get a pretty uncomfortable burn on my shoulders because I didn't move my chair as the sun moved throughout the day...even though I had sunscreen on. My aunt and uncle brought several home-made kayaks (which were totally awesome) so we all took turns on the lake riding around in them. Kyle absolutely loved it, and would go out with just about anyone. Overall, Kyle really loved the lake; he even got in, fully-clothed, on Friday night, even though the water couldn't have been any warmer than 60 degrees. Lucas, on the other hand, was not really a fan. We put him in his little floatie, but he freaked as soon as the cold water touched his legs. He enjoyed crawling around in the dirt and eating every snack he could get his hands on, though.

We spent time playing games together and laughing around the fire and having an all-around good time. My mom is the ultimate s'mores lady--she brought up 6 different kinds of marshmallows to toast (FYI, toasted coconut marshmallows make THE best s'mores, no contest). She also brought Reese's PB cups in addition to Hershey's bars to put in the s'mores, which I heard was pretty scrumptious. The weather was beautiful and the company was great. It was the perfect way to end our 5-day weekend.

Lucas' Birthday Party and Cars 2

2011-07-09T15:13:00.000-07:00

Ok...so my friend Danielle called all her blogger friends out for not blogging enough...guilty as charged--especially since I promised to blog about all of the stuff we've been up to. My bad.
So anyway, on Saturday, June 25, we had Lucas' first birthday party. I'm not really one to have a big fancy shin-dig for several reasons:

1) I'm lazy
2) I lack the creativity to plan and execute a cutely-themed party
3) Lucas is too young to care anyway

so we kept it pretty simple. We went to McDonald's for lunch and took my family to see Cars 2. For those of you keeping track, yes, we went to McDonald's twice in one week. Hey, the kid likes chicken nuggets; what can I say?

We all really enjoyed the movie, even if I did have to stand the whole time bouncing Lucas (FYI, I wasn't the only parent bouncing a baby/toddler in the alcoves, so I didn't feel too bad).

After the movie, we headed to my parent's house to have cake and open presents.

This was the extent of our party decorations: a sign...

and some streamers that Cole and Kyle piled on top of Lucas. Note that Lucas' romper says "lil' cake monster." This proved to be extremely accurate.

Even though our decorating skills left much to be desired, I made a pretty awesome cake and cupcakes. I got the recipe from here and they turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. :)

Lucas' 4-inch personal birthday cake

The inside of Lucas' cake

The cupcakes

and...the cupcakes' insides

We got Lucas strapped into the high chair and let him at his birthday cake. Unlike his older brother, who had a tantrum of epic proportions (as seen here), Lucas double-fisted his cake and made short work of it.

Lucas' first look at his cake...wondering if we're actually going to let him tear into it

Stuffing face

All that was left after Lucas was finished

After we enjoyed our cupcakes, we scrubbed Lucas down and started in on the presents. Lucas wasn't super excited about tearing the paper off. Luckily, he has an older brother who would open presents for a living if he could, so Kyle offered his services.

You can tell from Lucas' expression how excited he was about opening presents.

One of the toys Mommy and Daddy got for Lucas: a shape-sorter house (we love IKEA).

Truck from Uncle Chris and Aunt Brittany--it makes truck sounds and shakes!

Little People zoo (also from Mommy and Daddy)

Present from Grandma Great--he can sit and ride on it...

or stand and push it around.

Kyle "sharing" Lucas' wooden train and tracks (also from Mommy and Daddy, courtesy of IKEA)

Lucas sure is one spoiled boy! In addition to all of the stuff in the pictures, he got summer pajamas from Grandma & Papa and Uncle Chris & Aunt Brittany, two pairs of shoes from Grandma & Papa, two outfits from Mommy and Daddy, and this little winner from Grandma & Papa (I wish we would have gotten pictures or video--this was easily his favorite present of them all).

We're so grateful for all of the family that loves Lucas so much!

Fish, Penguins, and Chicken Nuggets

2011-07-06T09:08:00.000-07:00

I'm going to forgo Wordless Wednesday this week because I have approximately a billion posts to write about our super busy couple of weeks. However, to prevent information overload and to heighten anticipation, I'll only blog about one event per day, m'kay?

So, to start: Lucas' first birthday was Thursday, June 23. Cole decided to take off work so we could do something fun for the day just as a family. We decided to take our very first trip to The Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy.

A friendly tortoise that swam by while we were looking in his tank

We had a lot of fun! Lucas was, actually, fairly unresponsive to the fish (he had fallen asleep in the car, so I think he was pretty groggy), but Kyle had a blast! His favorites were the penguins and the jellyfish that "changed colors" (they don't actually change colors, but the light in their tank does). Cole really enjoyed the section they had of South American insects and reptiles--it reminded him of being in Brazil (and eww, gross, they had some of the nastiest cockroaches!). I was amazed and slightly disgusted at the sight of the octopus--watching it move was surreal. I also really enjoyed watching Kyle try to pet the stingray. :)

He couldn't really reach all the way into the water to pet them as they swam by, but one of the stingrays kind of "climbed" up the side of the pool (that's the only way I can describe it) and he was able to pet one. He may or may not have shrieked the first time. We all took a turn petting the stingrays--even Lucas got a hand on one (he was less than impressed). FYI, stingrays are a lot more slimy than they appear.

Kyle was so excited. He kept saying, "This is AWESOME!"

This was Lucas' face pretty much the whole time. He did like hanging out in the sling, though.

Kyle standing by a penguin--his favorite part of the aquarium

After we'd had our fill of fish, we headed over to McDonalds for lunch--Lucas loves him some chicken nuggets! Lucas even got to play on the playplace for a little while...my baby's getting all grown up! It was a great way to spend Lucas' birthday.

Five

2011-06-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Five years ago today, I married my sweetheart...and the time has flown by.

It's a good thing eternity lasts so long!

I love you, Cole.

Wordless Wednesday: A Camping We Will Go

2011-06-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Lucas-man!

2011-06-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

Today, our little Lucas turns 1. This has, quite possibly, been the quickest year of our lives--it seems like just yesterday that we were heading to the hospital to bring him into the world! Now our little baby isn't a baby anymore.

-Lucas still LOVES to eat, and almost always out-eats Kyle. When he's done eating, though, he'll let you know, usually by throwing whatever food is left in front of him.

Doing what he does best...eating cookies!

-He still loves to nurse, but typically only to go to sleep. It's getting less and less frequent, so I'm putting off actively trying to wean him because I think it'll happen by itself before too much longer.

-He loves to crawl up the stairs, but can't get down them. We'll often find him at the top of the stairs whining to get down.

-He LOVES to push cars on the floor. He'll either crawl and push a car at the same time, or he'll push one across the floor and crawl like mad after it. He keeps himself entertained quite well with this stunt.

-He's not quite brave enough to take steps on his own yet. He cruises all over the place any chance he can get, and he loves to walk while holding on to someone's hands, but as soon as you let go, he'll immediately sit down.

-He LOVES music and dancing.

-He still thinks his brother is the funniest person alive.

-He has six teeth: two on top and four on bottom.

-After months of prompting, he signed "please" and "more" the other day all on his own.

-He is super chatty, but isn't quite up to saying any real words yet.

-He loves to be outside and crawl all over the place.

Chillin' on the grass (before a much-needed haircut)

-He has the most infectious laugh.

Lucas is our little sunshine boy, and we've absolutely loved having him in our home the last year. We're looking forward to many more years of his smiles!

His toothy grin that will melt anyone's heart

WE LOVE YOU, BABY BOY!

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-22T12:50:00.001-07:00

"Coo-Kie!"

2011-06-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

Lucas jabbers a mile a minute, and always wants to eat. Here is him doing both. I had to upload a video using my new video camera I got for Father's Day.

We are looking forward to an event filled two weeks. Lucas turns one on Thursday and we are going to Cars 2 on Saturday to celebrate. Then, next weekend starts on Thursday with us celebrating our five year anniversary in great fashion. We went all out with spa appointments, movies, hotel reservations and even a jeweler thrown into the mix. Then we leave on Friday to go camping with the family for the weekend, only this time we have all our own camping supplies including a killer tent. To top it off on the 4th of July we get to celebrate in style at Bumpy and Gammy's house with great food and better fireworks (Especially this year). I am sure we will have many blogs to follow as we kick off our summer.

Wordless Wednesday, Plus an Overdue Update

2011-06-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

My living room rug was turned into a parking lot...and we realized just how many vehicles our boys have.

Does anyone else go through periods of time where their "blogging muse" takes a vacation? I've kind of been in that situation the last few weeks. I've had PLENTY of material to blog about; I've even had 3 or 4 blog posts take shape in my mind...but my drive to actually blog has been absent. I get this "blogger's block" every now and then...but, I figured all 3 of my readers deserve to know that we're still alive and kicking, so I decided to taint my wordless wednesday this week with an update.

Cole's still going to school and working. He's busy and tired and enjoying every minute of it. He finished his first class two weeks ago and kicked its trash--he got a big, fat A. Now, he's got three online classes left to finish this semester, including his dreaded math class. After the semester ends, he's road-tripping with his younger brother, Adam, who is moving to Texas, and he's super excited about it. When he's not studying, he's outside maintaining our yard (which does look pretty fantastic, if I do say so myself), playing with the boys, or sleeping. I let him buy new clippers the other day, and he gave himself and the boys super-short summer haircuts.

I am finding, more and more, that I don't have enough time in the day to do everything that I want to do (which is probably another reason my blogging has suffered lately--I just don't ever get to it). I had my first Primary activity on Saturday, and, because of the help of my wonderful presidency, it went really well! I've started doing Zumba twice a week, which is awesome! It adds variety to my exercise routine and is a LOT of fun. I've recently become addicted to Castle--I watch it while I'm on the treadmill. I learned how to make cake balls, which are super easy but look super impressive.

I didn't actually make these--I stole the picture from my sister-in-law...

The only problem with cake balls? They're supremely addicting. I can't eat just one. So, I'm not allowed to make them unless it's for a specific event for other people. Eating 49303856 cake balls would surely be detrimental to my health. I figured out how to curl my hair with my CHI straightener, and it works way better than any curling iron would! I finally figured out how to put eBooks from the library on my nook, so I've been reading voraciously again.

Kyle just keeps getting smarter and smarter every day. His new favorite word is "Why?" This can be both amusing and irritating at the same time, and I've found myself saying "Because I said so" way more than I ever thought I would. He's also started asking what letter things around the house begin with...and then he sounds it out for himself: "Mom, what letter starts 'bed'? Buh...buh....B!" It's really cute, and it makes me super proud. I'm confident that we can have him reading and writing before he goes to kindergarten (which, really, shouldn't be that hard since he'll be almost 6 when he goes to kindergarten). Kyle has become really affectionate lately, so we've gotten lots of hugs, kisses, and snuggles. He's also really big on the fact that we're a family, and he tells me that fact constantly. We're working on developing empathy and learning the Golden Rule (since he's become fairly possessive of 'his' toys and is quick to yank them away from his brother).

Lucas just keeps getting bigger and bigger! With his new haircut, he officially looks more like a little boy than a baby. He's turning into quite the dramatic--whenever he doesn't get what he wants (which is usually me constantly holding him) he THROWS himself on his belly and cries. It would be completely heart-wrenching if I didn't know that he was putting on an act. He's a master at crawling and is getting brave enough to stand by himself for short periods of time. He'll walk if someone is holding both of his hands, but if you try to only hold one, he immediately sits down. He loves pushing cars and crawling after them, and he's an expert at getting into my tupperware cupboard and spreading everything all over the house. He recently took a trip to the ER in the middle of the night because he woke up with a fever of 105. He was diagnosed with a severe ear infection and a viral infection in his chest. Cole took him while I sat at home and ate half a pint of Ben & Jerry's while I worried (ironically, it was Late Night Snack).

Cole took this picture at the hospital. Doesn't he look so sad?

After a few days of antibiotics, he's perked back up and has returned to his happy albeit slightly dramatic self. We can't believe that he's going to be a year old in a week!

So, that's what we've been doing. Maybe this post will be enough to coax my blogging muse back from vaycay...

Marriage Monday

2011-06-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

Okay, so you got to hear about me a couple of weeks ago. Now I get to tell you the real reason I do those things that Jessica talked about. This will be a cheesy post I know, but deal with it.

Let me tell you about Jessica. Jessica does her best every day, she deals with two very active kids, deals with the responsibilities of being a wife and responsibilities outside the home. Jessica has many titles, they are:

Wife
Jessica is a great wife, she puts up with a ton of grief from me. She sticks in there and does everything a loving wife is supposed to do. You know in school/church when someone would say to you, "This is a quality that you should look for in a wife"? Well, she has all of those qualities and more. She has only ever told one big lie to me, and it still makes us laugh cause I actually believed that she was telling the truth. We won't go into that. She is awesome, she is always there for me and our family. It has not been easy at all the last five years, in fact life has sucked all the way around. The only good thing has been our strength as a couple and looking out fo our little family. Every time we get close to swimming we get pushed back under the water to the point of drowning. With no relief of our trials and struggles in sight, she stays optimistic, even more than me (Usually the rolls are reversed). It has come to a point in my life that it takes everything in my power to keep moving forward. Jessica and my boys are that reason. Jessica is so wonderful to me, and I am thankful for that. I love you Jessica!

Mother
Although our kids can be hyper, they are very polite and know to listen to their Mother. Jessica is a wonderful mother, I am so grateful that we made the decision for her to stay home full time. It not only has improved Kyle's behavior and growth, but has made it a ton easier for me to go to work each day. I love the fact that my son's can be home with there Mom everyday all day. Now, Jessica probably gets frustrated with the kids and wants to scream by the time I get home after school, but she never complains, she just goes about doing what she does best. I come home and she asks me how my day was, she doesn't complain about her day. I love her for the great mother she is.

Primary President
Jessica has been Primary President since the beginning of the year and does an amazing job doing it. She worries so much about the kids and teachers. She loses sleep over it, but she still pulls off amazing sharing times and a killer primary activity (The kids are still talking about it). She has great counselors and loves doing it. She once again never complains about her heavy load. This takes away any time on Sundays that she would have with me or for naps, which she loves so much on Sundays.

Daughter/Daughter-in-law
I think she is a great daughter, I can't speak for her parents but her mother did rave about her in a recent blog post. If I were her parents, I would be proud of her many accomplishments. She has graduated from BYU with a "very smart degree" and married in the temple and has 2 beautiful grandchildren for them, including the first grandchild for them.
She is an example that could be followed by all of her siblings, she makes great decisions and loves her family very much.
As for being a daughter-in-law, once again I can not speak for my own parents, but I can say the same as above. She also is the mother of the first Grandson of my parents. That is a big thing I think, but alas I think she is a great daughter-in-law.

Friend
To be honest neither myself or Jessica have many friends, and none of those being married friends. But, the people that call or have called Jessica a friend know what I am talking about, she is very thoughtful, a very good listener and very enjoyable to be around.

All in all, she has her crap together, she knows what she wants to do, and develops on her little hobbies everyday. I am a work in progress and especially now I am very grateful for a wonderful wife. Thanks babe! Lets go for a better next five years.

Thankful Thursday

2011-06-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

Today, I'm thankful for this crazy guy...

This is his go-to picture face. I can't even count how many pictures we have like this.

He took a huge step toward the future and started school again last month. This is a big deal for him, because he's not really the book-learnin' type. Sitting in a classroom is not his cup of tea--he'd much rather learn in a hands-on, real-world setting. But, he recognized the value of a college education, figured out a way to fit it into his schedule, and enrolled in classes. I can't even begin to describe how PROUD I am of him. He probably gets sick of hearing it--I tell him about 7,000 times a day.

This is what a typical day looks like for him: get up at 5 to get to work by 6; work until 2:30; come home to play with the boys, have a quick dinner, and finish up any homework; get to class by 5:30; get home from class at 9:30, help get the boys down for bed and do homework; hit the sack around 11:30. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I'm not really sure how he's functioning...especially on so little sleep. I can't drag my sorry behind out of bed if I get less than 8 hours of sleep these days (LAZY!).

Did I mention that he's doing this so I can continue to stay home with our boys? Yeah, I think he's Superman.

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday: Grandpa Buddy

2011-06-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

The boys absolutely loved hanging out with their Grandpa Buddy!

We took advantage of the long holiday weekend and road-tripped down to Hurricane, UT (about 25 min. north of St. George) to visit Cole's grandparents. The kids did surprisingly well in the car on the way down--probably because they were coming off a Thomas the Tank Engine high (another post about that some other day). We got there late Friday night and spent a couple of great days with "Grandpa Buddy" and "Grandma Sandy." The boys absolutely loved all of the attention they got! It was a nice, relaxing weekend; besides dinner out on Saturday night with one of Cole's best friends from high school and his almost-fiance, we mostly hung around the house and played cards (I learned I'm crazy awful at spades).

I'm really glad we took the time to visit them, because I feel really strongly about my kids developing a relationship with their great-grandparents when they have the opportunity. When I was growing up, we lived close to one of my two living sets of great-grandparents, and I have a lot of cherished memories of spending time with them. I want my kids to have the same fond memories of their great-grandparents as well.

Wordless Wednesday: All Boy

2011-05-25T11:44:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-05-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

Monday's Memory: First Kisses

2011-05-16T11:01:00.000-07:00

I've spent a lot of days lately marveling at how fast time flies (all of you who are more mature than I will laugh at this because, let's face it, 26 isn't exactly over the hill). Yesterday, I realized that it's been 10 years since I got my first ever kiss. After shaking my head in amazement at how long ago that was and, really, how NOT long ago that was, I spent a little time reminiscing about the 5 "first" kisses of my life. All names (except for Cole's) have been changed to protect the innocent, and, also, because it's just so weird to think that I kissed guys other than Cole and changing their names makes it seem less awkward to think about (although, those of you who know me best know who they are, so it's not like it's secret). So, without further ado, I begin:

First Kiss #1: I was 16 years old, and it was the summer after my sophomore year in high school. I was lucky enough to have snagged Topher as my first bona-fide boyfriend. He was pretty much the cream of the crop in my social circle, and most, if not all, of my friends admitted to harboring a secret crush on him at some point during our high school careers. Anyway, we had been dating for 4 weeks, and, as cheesy new relationship rules dictate, we went out for an "anniversary" date. To this point, Topher had kissed me several times: on the cheek, the forehead, the hand...you get the idea. Honestly, I was both annoyed and enchanted about this: enchanted because it showed he wasn't just trying to put the moves on me, but annoyed because COME ON! I waited 16 years to date and have a boyfriend, so it was about dang time that he kissed me! That night, I got my wish. It was the stereotypical "kiss at the end of the date on the front porch" scenario. Sweet, appropriate, and very cliche.

Topher: as in "Topher Grace"--nerdy, kind of boyish, but with an inexplicable charm that no woman can resist.

First Kiss #2: I had just begun my sophomore year in college. Topher (First Kiss #1) had been on the mish for about 5 months and I was pining and counting down until the time he'd get back. Enter Kevin, one of the guys in my FHE group. I found myself, for the first time in 3 1/2 years, feeling those first exciting feelings of crushdom. Kevin and I started to spend a lot of time together and I found out he reciprocated my feelings. Everything came to a head in the breezeway that separated the boys' apartments from the girls' apartments one night--Kevin laid a huge, wet one on me. Now, even though I had only kissed one boy to that point, I was no slouch when it came to kissing, and I knew that this first kiss was slightly less-than-enjoyable. Turns out I was the first girl he had ever kissed. He even made a "VL Club" card to give to me, since I was the one to take his "Virgin Lips". Cute, but very dorky.

Kevin: as in "Kevin James"--funny, sweet, awkward, but extremely dorky.

First Kiss #3: It was May 2005. I had been helping out in the store of some family friends off and on since Christmas, and Diane, the owner, just happened to have a son coming home from his mission. The problem with this scenario? I knew this guy. We had essentially grown up together, and neither one of us had given the other a second glance in high school. In fact, my friends and I secretly called him "Franken-Cole" because his haircut gave his head an oddly square quality and because he kind of clomped down the hallways at school. He said his fair share of things about me in high school as well--none were extremely complimentary. Needless to say, I was extremely uninterested in being hooked up with Cole. But, Diane just kept pushing, and by May, when Cole got home, I was at least a little intrigued. Cole, of course, helped his parents out in their store, so we had several brief and awkward interactions that only increased my interest in him. One day, he came into the store while I was working and asked me out. He was so awkward and nervous--it was adorable. We went out and had great chemistry the entire time. I could tell that something magic was happening, and I knew that if he wanted to kiss me at the end of the night that I'd let him. We got to my front door (yes, another cliche front porch scene) and it happened. One word: FIREWORKS.

First Kiss #4: Cole and I dated for a tumultuous couple of months, and ended things rather amicably with a mutual break-up. The months that followed that break-up were less than positive. He rather quickly (if you ask me) found another girlfriend, and tensions between Cole and I were high. Things between us were chilly at best and downright hostile at times. Even though I was still in love with him, I had completely given up hope that anything was ever going to work out for us. Then, in January, he moved to Provo to start school. I "ran into" him in the mall where we both worked, and he (having ditched his heinous girlfriend several weeks prior) asked for my phone number so we could hang out. I gave it to him, and he texted me that night. We went out on what we now call our "second first date" and had a marvelous time. Over the next 3 days, we spent every waking moment possible together, and we decided we wanted to give our relationship another try--but on a slower scale than before. That lasted about five minutes. We were sitting on the couch in my apartment, talking, and it was like no force in the universe could keep us apart. The fireworks from our first kiss paled in comparison to our earth-shattering "second first kiss."

First Kiss #5: June 30, 2006. We knelt across the altar in the Salt Lake Temple from one another. We had just finished making sacred covenants and promises to one another, and our sealer had just pronounced us married for time and all eternity. In front of our family and friends, we kissed for the first time as man and wife--the first kiss of the rest of my life.

Not-So-Thankful Thursday, or Why the DMV and I Aren't Friends

2011-05-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

*DISCLAIMER* This post is far longer than I originally anticipated. I apologize for writing a novel.

I turned 26 this year...along with many other things, this means I got the opportunity to renew my driver's license. Getting a tooth filled without Novocaine (which I have done, btw), having my eyebrow hairs plucked out one by one, and appearing in public in the nude are all events that appear higher on my "What I Want to Do in My Spare Time" list than going to the DMV, so naturally, I was less-than-excited for the task. In an attempt to get it over with sooner, I dragged my sorry self and all of the requisite paperwork to the DL Division at the end of February. Conveniently, Cole needed to renew his license as well, so at least I had a buddy to commiserate with.

My mom told us the DL Division at Point of the Mountain was better than most--because of its remote location, the wait was bound to be less than at, say, the DL Division in West Valley (which was also bound to be overrun with miscreants), which is closer to our house. We heeded her advice and took a trip south. Unfortunately, the whole "less-crowded" assumption was wrong. The parking lot was full, but we grimaced and groaned and headed inside.

We had the foresight to print the application off the DMV website to speed up the process. We took our place at the end of the queue and waited for our turn. Surprisingly, the line moved much more quickly than we anticipated, and before we knew it, we found ourselves handing in our paperwork and posing for the camera.

Speaking of the camera, why is it that everyone looks about 20 pounds heavier in their driver's license photo? Even the svelte Audrey Hepburn would come out looking like this:

We accepted our numbers then took a seat to wait for them to be called. Fortunately, we didn't even sit for 2 minutes before they were both called. "Finally, a bit of luck!" we thought. For me, that luck seemed to run out as soon as I reached the counter. Cole breezed his way through, but the gentleman (I use that term very loosely) who was helping me brusquely informed me that he was unable to renew my license at that time. Apparently my license had been suspended in July 2010 because a ticket I received hadn't been paid in full (oops...:S my bad). Before I could get my license renewed, I had to pay off the ticket, get a clearance form from the traffic court, and pay a reinstatement fee. Okay, yeah, that was all well and good. The problem with the situation was how PATRONIZING the man was.

Cranky DMV Guy: Didn't you receive this letter from us? *sneer* *shows me the letter on the computer screen*
Me: Well, no, because I haven't lived at that address for a few years (the address in question was where we lived when we first got married...3 moves ago)
CDG: You KNOW it's your responsibility to update your residential address with the DMV within 10 days of moving, right? *sneers again*
Me: I've always had a mail forward to my current address, so it should have gotten to me anyway. thinking: Because I don't have a kajillion other things on my mind while moving to a new place...OBVIOUSLY I would think to call the DMV and give them my new address before I notify my friends and family.
CDG: Until this issue is resolved, I'm unable to do anything to help you. I'm sorry (he's CLEARLY not sorry). *sneers some more*
Me: Okay, well, thanks. thinking: his face is going to be stuck like that if he keeps this up...but maybe that would be an asset, since he works at the DMV and they're unpleasant on principle.

Yeah, I know, it was totally my fault--I should have remembered to pay the ticket. But seriously, did the guy have to be so SNOTTY? It's not like I killed a guy or anything.

Incensed by the whole exchange, I immediately called the traffic court and paid the citation. Unfortunately, the office was closed for the afternoon so I wasn't able to pick up the clearance letter necessary to continue the whole ridiculous process. What was even more ridiculous was what I found out when I picked up the letter the next day: "Oh, you probably don't really need that. As soon as you paid the citation it was updated in the system and the DMV would be able to see that."

I got my stinkin' letter anyway. I didn't want to take any chances with the extremely hospitable DMV employees.

Instead of heading back to Bluffdale and risk a second meeting with Mr. Personality, I decided to visit the West Valley DMV. *shudder* It was packed despite being 11:30 on a Thursday afternoon. I took my number, sat for a bajillion years, then finally got my turn at the counter. The woman helping me was slightly more personable, but did she ask me for the clearance letter? OF COURSE NOT. I paid my reinstatement fee and my renewal fee, and everything seemed just peachy...except for two things.

ONE:

I asked to have my maiden name removed from my renewed license.

*BACKSTORY* When we first got married, I was still in school, and a lot of important things were still associated with my maiden name. Rather than carry my marriage license with me everywhere and whip it out at the slightest doubt that I was "Jessica Kenner" and not some nefarious imposter scheming to take over her life, I left my maiden name on my driver's license.

Now, there's really no need for my maiden name to be on my license anymore so I asked to have it removed. Plus, it's better if my DL matches my SS card, which does not have my maiden name on it. Easy, right? You'd think I asked the lady to cut off an appendage.

DMV Lady: Oh, I'm not sure I can do that. Is it your middle name? after I already explained that it's my maiden name
Me: Um, no. It's my maiden name. I don't use it anymore. I want my DL to match my SS card.
DMV Lady: Ok, well, let me ask if that's ok. *calls a supervisor*
DMV Supervisor Lady: I'm sorry, but we can't take the name off your license. We're required to leave all middle names...
Me: But it's NOT my middle name! It's my maiden name, and I don't use it anymore.
DMV Supervisor Lady: Oh, okay. Well, then, that's fine. We can do that.
Me: *relieved* Thank you.
DMV Lady: *types for a million years* There...that's all taken care of. Oh, just one more thing...

TWO:

I had to take a quiz.

She told me that because my license had been suspended for more than x amount of time, I had to take a 25-question test on the driver's handbook. "Awesome," I thought. "It's only been 10 years since driver's ed; I'm SURE I remember all of the answers." Lucky for me, it was open book. I only had to get something like 80%, but I had this irrational desire to get EVERY question right. I didn't want the lady manning the desk thinking I was an imbecile as well as a delinquent. The quiz took me longer than it should have because of my craziness, but I got all the questions right. I rolled up to the desk, extremely pleased with myself...until she printed out my temporary license.

"JESSICA KENNER CHRISTENSEN"

There it was, right at the top: MY MAIDEN NAME...after I expressly asked to have it removed.

Me: I talked to the lady who was helping me before, and she told me that my maiden name would be removed from my license.

DMV Lady #2: Oh, well, we're not allowed to remove middle names from licenses.

Me: *feeling a bit like a broken record* It's NOT my middle name. It's my MAIDEN name, and I don't use it anymore. I'd like it removed.

DMV Lady #2: Ok. Let me call someone and make sure that's all right.

DMV Supervisor Lady #2: We can't take middle names...

Me: IT'S NOT MY MIDDLE NAME! IT'S MY MAIDEN NAME!

DMV Supervisor Lady #2: All right. Do you have a middle name?

Me: No. I have no middle name. My name is Jessica Christensen. That's it.

DMV Supervisor Lady #2: Okay. *looks doubtful* We'll go ahead and take it off. is it really so unbelievable that I don't have a middle name?

Me: Thank you.

She printed out a piece of paper showing me what my REAL license would look like, and told me to expect it in 4-6 weeks.

I waited. And waited. Cole got his license a week and a half later. I got nothing.

Six weeks later, I called the DMV. I was told my license had been sent to my mailing address in Springville.

UMM, WHAT?

Yeah. Some genius left my 5-year-old address as my mailing address, and now my license was who-knows-where with who-knows-who. Awesome. The employee told me I had to wait another 2 weeks in case the license came back to them, at which point they would re-send it to my correct address. I triple-checked the name that would appear on my license: "Jessica Christensen." Good--it would be just my luck to get my new license and have it STILL bear my maiden name even after asking two employees and two supervisors to change it.

Two weeks came and went. No license. I called again. This time, the employee was extremely pleasant and told me she'd get one sent out right away.

And...three weeks later, I still don't have a license. I called this morning and was told there was no record of a second license being sent out (thanks a lot, good-for-nothing, albeit pleasant employee!), and the lady I talked to today said she'd put the request in and get one sent out...yeah, we'll see how that works out.

So, the DMV and I aren't friends right now. My question is, how long do I wait before I beat down the door and demand they make me a copy on the spot?

P.S. If my new license still has my maiden name on it, I MIGHT burn the place down. Just sayin'.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day this year. It actually started on Saturday night, because Cole was too excited to wait until Sunday to give me my present...which, by the way, was a TOTAL surprise. We usually don't really make a big deal about giving gifts to each other, so I didn't really expect anything. He came back from a late-night grocery run (he was in charge of making Sunday dinner at my parents' house and he went to get the materials) and told me, "I have a confession to make."*

*A couple of years ago, he started using that statement as a preface to anything he had to tell me that he thought I wouldn't like. Now, it's turned into a running joke between us.

I groaned and rolled my eyes like I always do when I hear those words and followed him into the living room. Then, he said, "You'd better sit down for this one." I started to get worried--usually his "confessions" aren't very serious, but this one sounded more ominous. "So, I got a bonus at work that I didn't tell you about," he said. I was confused; usually, getting a bonus at work can be classified as a good thing. I asked him what he did with it, thinking that would be the "confession" part. He told me to look behind me. Hidden beneath the throw pillow was one of these:

Total shock and speechlessness on my part...not necessarily for the gift, but for the fact that Cole kept this a TOTAL SECRET from everyone. We both are notorious for being bad secret-keepers, so it was a surprise that he kept it to himself. I was obviously not angry about THIS particular confession. :) I've been saying for a while that I need to always keep a book in my purse (I read voraciously)...so he got me a book for my purse! :) I've spent a lot of time playing around on Barnes & Noble's website trying to decide what books to get first...I may not get anything done this week around the house.

Sunday morning was nice and leisurely, because the bishop canceled ward council for Mother's Day! Kyle had a sleep-over with Grandma and Papa, so it was quiet around our house. With one less kid we managed to get to church EARLY (this is a nearly impossible feat at our house). Cole taught ALL of the youth Sunday School classes during the second hour--he was the only teacher there! We were hoping to sneak out after the second hour to my parents' house so we could catch the tail end of the phone call to my brother, Nathan, but one of my counselors went home sick, and I knew it was important for me to stay and help out in Primary. Fortunately, Nathan understood and was proud of us for magnifying our callings. :) Plus, he'll be home at the beginning of December, so we'll see him before we know it.

After church, we raced home, changed, grabbed the stuff for dinner, and headed to Sandy. Cole and Chris kicked the women-folk out of the kitchen and whipped up a fabulous dinner--tortellini alfredo, grilled chicken, Caesar salad, mixed vegetables, and garlic bread. Yummy!

We had some time to kill before Daniel was calling, so we opened Mother's Day gifts. We bought my mom Bones season 5. Stephanie didn't want Mom to know what the gift was, so she cut an insert into the pages of a ginormous book she got from the DI and put the season inside. It did the trick; Mom was pretty confused when she opened her gift. Kyle and Lucas made me cute little stepping stones for the yard, and my parents got me some really pretty flowers to plant to go with the stones. Kyle also made me a gift in Primary

Around 8:15, we gathered around the computer to Skype with Daniel. It was so much fun to see him! He had just gotten transferred, and we found out just how small the world is: his new companion is the brother-in-law of someone I went to high school with! Lucas hammed it up in front of the camera, so Daniel got a good look at him (he hasn't seen Lucas since Lucas was 3 months old). Kyle started out being really shy--he wouldn't even go in the office. Near the end of the call, though, I managed to get him to sing "If I Listen With My Heart" for Daniel, and he even talked a little bit. Dan got to talk for a couple of hours, so we all got a chance to chat and laugh.

All in all, it was a great day. I'm so grateful I have the blessing to be a mother to my two wonderful boys, and I'm so grateful for my mother, mother-in-law, and all of the other "mothers" I've had throughout my life.

Wordless Wednesday: Best Mother's Day Gift Ever

2011-05-11T10:09:00.001-07:00

Peanut Butter Egg recipe

2011-05-05T10:25:00.000-07:00

Okay, since I want to remain friends with Natalie--where would I get all of my parenting advice? ;)--here's the recipe for the peanut butter eggs I made for Easter...check them out here.

1 lb. butter or margarine (I used margarine, and I would recommend using margarine. There is a noticeable taste and texture difference if you use butter--they're a little bit drier)
3 c. creamy peanut butter
3 lb. powdered sugar
Chocolate for dipping

Peanut Butter eggs:
Cream margarine and peanut butter together until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar slowly, mixing after each addition (I ended up mixing in the last pound of powdered sugar by hand because my electric mixer was getting burned out).

Your peanut butter mixture should be about the consistency of Play-Dough. Form into desired shape--I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the mixture before shaping so my eggs were of uniform size (It's best to do this several hours before dipping in the chocolate. Also, if you refrigerate the peanut butter eggs, make sure to let them get to room temperature before dipping in chocolate...otherwise, disaster will occur, trust me).

Dipping in chocolate:

I would recommend using chocolate specifically meant for dipping; the chocolate sets pretty quickly and the eggs look smooth and more professional. I used Wilton's light cocoa Candy Melts (you can get them at Wal-Mart for about $3 a bag), but you can get Wilton's Candy Melts in many different colors if you want to mix things up.

One 14 oz. bag should be enough to dip all of your peanut butter eggs. You can also get dipping chocolate at places like Orson Gygi or Zurchers. If you don't want to use dipping chocolate, you can also use Hershey bars--just be aware, it takes a LOT longer for the chocolate to set.

If you have a double boiler, you can melt your chocolate on medium in it. You can also melt your chocolate in a glass measuring cup in the microwave or over a pan of boiling water on the stove top. If you choose either of these options, BE EXTRA CAREFUL! It's easy to burn chocolate in the microwave, and you run the risk of shattering your measuring cup or contaminating your chocolate with water if you use the stove top. I used the microwave, and (even though it's tricky) I'd recommend that method. When you melt chocolate in the microwave, always use 50% power or the defrost setting, and never put the chocolate in for more than 1 minute at a time. Stir the chocolate completely after each turn in the microwave. I microwaved my chocolate for 1 minute, then for 2-3 more 30 second intervals until I could stir it smooth.

After the chocolate is melted, dip your eggs. Let excess chocolate run off, then place the eggs on wax paper to set. After my eggs set up, I used a clean set of kitchen shears to trim the edges of the eggs so they looked more neat. You can put those chocolate trimmings back in your chocolate pot to melt and re-use.

Embellishment:
The woman I got the recipe from makes frosting flowers using Royal frosting (I doubted my flower-making abilities, so I took an easier route). I used candy cake decorations in Easter shapes to decorate my eggs. I think next year (if I have time) I might pipe on frosting decorations.

the finished product

Yield: one batch yielded approximately 7 cups of peanut butter mixture. I made sixteen 1/4 c. eggs and sixteen 1/6 c. eggs (with a tiny bit left over) but you can split out the mixture any way you want.

It sounds intense, but really, it's pretty easy. Plus, you look SUPER impressive when you roll in with these babies. :)