Five Weeks and Smiling

Sunday was a depressing day for me. After five weeks, my mom left. Help! To make matters worse Chris left for a business trip in Rhode Island. Talk about being drop-kicked into reality. I was determined to take my kids to church even though I would be doing it alone. Happy to say I made it with only a few outbursts in sacrament meeting. It was a little stressful at times but we survived.

When I got home I called Chris on his cell phone. We talked for a while then he instructed me to go out to the mailbox where I would find a surprise. I took the phone with me and we kept talking. The mailbox was empty. I was then instructed to look east. Oh yeah, a treasure hunt! Just then our little tan Corolla came up over the hill and Chris was driving! Turns out his flight was cancelled and the next flight would not get him to the meeting in time for it to be worth it so he decided to stay home.

This week has been extremely busy with the three kids. However, I have been ok. I have just been pretending that having three kids is no big deal. Fake it 'til you make it, right?

Jack turned 5 weeks on Tuesday and he greeted me that morning with his first smile (this is not a picture of his smile). He smiled at me about half a dozen times. So cute. It's nice to get some feedback.

Juggling Act

Jack is a week old. It makes me laugh to think of myself as a new mom with one child. One seems so easy now. When I had Kennedy I stressed over everything. I called the nurse advice line at least once a week for several months. I remember calling one time about her sucking her thumb and she had a sore on her thumb from the sucking. Who calls about things like that? A crazy, stressed-out first time mom, that's who.

Two was ok to manage and it got pretty easy as Tristan got older. It was nice for them to start playing together. It would have been easier these past few months had I not been pregnant. How funny I must have looked at 8 months pregnant running down the street after my toddler who could outrun me by a mile.

So far having three is like a juggling act. One is always up in the air. . .at all times at least one of my kids needs something right now. I wonder how I will manage when my mom leaves. . .

So far though, Jack has been a heavy sleeper. I have to force him awake sometimes just to eat. He was gaining weight really well at first but the past few days he has slept almost the whole day. And, in spite of a rough first night home from the hospital, he has done really well at night. I feed him before I go to bed and he wakes up half-way through the night and then again in the morning when it's time to get up. I take him for a weight check tomorrow to find out how he's growing.

A Day in the Life. . .

A few weeks ago my sweet neighbor asked me if she could send her 11-year-old daughter over once a week to be a "mother's helper" for a few hours. Um, yes. I wasn't going to turn that one down. Her excuse was that her daughter needs to learn responsibilities and that she might learn better if she is helping someone else out rather than doing her assigned chores at home. I think she could see my edemic ankles and knew with my ever-growing stomach that I probably can't bend over very well right now. Either way, I love the help.

Katherine has been over twice now and she is a super helper. She washes windows, cleans out my cupboards, mops my floors, whatever I ask her to do. I should have thought of this before!

Here she is doing my least-favorite chore. Ok, so they are all my least favorite. I live the life of a maid. Clean, clean, clean.

Today I had a day that no "mother's helper" could help with. I hate to complain about being a mom because I looked forward to it and hoped for it for so long. However, some days are just really difficult.

My day started at 5:21 a.m. with Tristan pounding on his door and crying for "mama". Oh, that's me. I thought I better go in and get him back to sleep so he didn't wake up the rest of the sleepers. Fat chance. He was ready for the day. That's ok, I thought. I will just get up and get my chores done and take a nap while he takes a nap.

As chance would have it, Kennedy was ill today. I encouraged her to rest on her bed while I put Tristan down for a nap. She actually fell asleep. That rarely happens anymore. Just as I finished my lunch and headed upstairs to take my nap while all was quiet, I heard a lurching sound coming from Kennedy's room, followed by some cries. I went in and there was her lunch all over the floor. That's ok, I thought, I will give her a bath, clean up the mess and turn on the t.v. for her. Then I will take a little nap.

As chance would have it, Tristan took a one-hour nap and was up and ready to go again by the time I got Kennedy settled in front of the t.v. So I bagged the nap and powered through a bunch more chores. I made four meals to put in the freezer for future use (after the baby comes) and also made a meal to feed the missionaries tonight. I also cleaned up the mess, read some books to my kids and sat down for 5 minutes.

Tomorrow I will prop my feet up and coast the rest of the weekend. . . .

A List

It turns out Chris finished up his residency just in the nick of time. We were always really careful with our money during our student years but somehow managed to get the things that were absolutely necessary. I always had a mental list of things I was going to do or buy when Chris finished his schooling. However, that list has kind of faded to the back of my mind as the replacement of necessities have taken its place. There are so many things we have had to replace the last few months and there is no way we could have done all that on our previous income. Here is a list of a few things that we have had to replace in the past few months:

• computer--our "old" computer was purchased during medical school. We bought one that fit our budget which turned out to be already outdated and not a good computer in the first place.
• filling--I was so bad with my teeth when I was younger, even in high school when I should have known better. I used to buy 100-count boxes of Blow Pops and eat at least one a day. Needless to say, my teeth are pretty silver! I had my last dentist appointment in November and the dentist told me I would need to have a particular filling replaced soon. I never made the appointment, that is, until it started giving me trouble.
• bed--we bought a bed shortly after we moved to NC. The house we purchased was new and we received incentives along with it, one of them being a gift certificate at a local furniture store. Again, we purchased a bed that was in our budget. Lately with my pregnant body and Chris's bad back, we are not getting much sleep. Off to the store this weekend to buy a new bed--this time a better quality that will hopefully last more than 4 1/2 years.
• van--this is not necessarily a replacement but a required upgrade. With #3 on the way there was no way we could fit three car seats in our Corolla.
• vacuum--we received a vacuum for our wedding (12 years ago this Sunday), a Eureka that we used from the time we had our first apartment until we moved into this house. It recently died but I thought 12 years was pretty good for a vacuum cleaner. I started doing some research and found that most vacuums in that category don't last nearly that long. It was difficult to find a vacuum that didn't cost $500 that sounded like it would be a good quality machine. I only have carpet in the upstairs and didn't need the fanciest model. I finally settled on another Eureka. Hopefully it will last another 12 years or so.

I feel incredibly blessed that all these things lasted as long as they did and that we have had the means to replace them all. We have so many other blessings to be thankful for too. This is by no means a brag list but an acknowledgement that we are blessed and I know He is watching out for us. It's good to make a list sometimes. . . .

Southern Hospitality

I have often been asked of the "southern hospitality" here in North Carolina. "Don't you just LOVE southern hospitality?" I've heard people say. Well, let me just tell you, I haven't really noticed that people here are any nicer than anywhere else I have lived. Here is an example of the "hospitality" that I often encounter.
The other day I was grocery shopping with my two children, not my favorite activity. I had a cart full of groceries and proceeded to the checkout. There was only one line open as the store was almost empty of customers (I could hear crickets in the background). The light above the counter read, "EXPRESS LANE 15-item limit". I knew I had more than 15 items but since it was the only open line and there were no other customers, I pulled my cart forward and started unloading. This is the conversation that followed between me and the checker:

Checker: "Good morning, Ma'am. Uh, how many items do you have in your cart? Oh, you have more than 15-items. You can't come through this line."
(crickets)
Me: "Well, this is the only open line, where am I SUPPOSED to go?????"
Checker (to another employee): "Hey, David, are you open?"
David: "I will be in a minute, I am just opening my register."
Checker: "You can go to the other line. Sorry for the inconvenience."

So, I put my items back in my cart and wheeled it over to another counter and waited for the register to to be put in working order. After a few of my items were rung in the checker from the Express Lane came over and started bagging my groceries!
So much for hospitality. . . .

How Did That Dinosaur Get Under My Lip. . . .And Other Random Thoughts

Here are some thoughts I wanted to write down this week but have been "consumed" by life and haven't made my self sit down to write a full blog about each.

• I found out this week that the preschool I took Kennedy out of is closing the end of May and will not open next fall. I know some parents are upset because all the other preschools are full now but all the same, I think it's for the best. I think there is one original teacher who will finish out the school year. Some of the teachers have turned over twice. There is obviously something going on with that place. I know that this is not solely a consequence of our situation but I am sure it was one more thing to add to the list. From what I have learned, the pastor has not been happy with the director this year, neither have I.
• My garden is doing really well. Strawberries have blossoms, peas are over a foot tall, ferns finally poked up and the raspberry bushes are really starting to get some good leaves.
• I took Tristan to his 2-year check up last week and there is only a 5 pound difference between him and Kennedy. Last year she could still wear size 3T and he is now in size 3T. He was 97th percentile for weight and about 95 for height. It is funny to watch him tackle Kennedy and wrestle her down. She won't be bigger than him much longer if he keeps it up.
• Saturday we had a nice little gathering to celebrate Tristan's birthday. He was a little intimidated by being the center of attention (something Kennedy never shies away from).
• Kennedy is turning out to be quite the orator. A few weeks ago we got a book on CD from the library, "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs", my favorite when I was a kid. We had only had it for about a week when Kennedy started reciting it back to me word for word. I was amazed and she has told the whole story several times. It's not a short book either. Her mind amazes me.
• You are probably wondering where my title came from. Chris has been having trouble with his back again and took some pain medicine one night before going to bed. He dozed off while saying his prayers and I had to wake him up and help him into bed before he fainted. In the process he looked up and asked, "How did that dinosaur get under my lip?" I don't know sweetie, maybe the tooth fairy put it there.

Our New Boat

A week ago Saturday I went out, by myself, to test drive minivans. I stopped at the Toyota dealership first and tried a 2007 Toyota Sienna. It was nice but didn't have all the options I wanted. I visited the Honda dealership next and drove a 2005 and 2006 Honda Odyssey. Very nice, right price but didn't feel right. After driving the two types of vans I decided I would rather have a Honda. I know a lot of people with Honda Odysseys and they all love their vans. I took home some information to my dear husband and we thought about it for a few days. I have been wanting a minivan for a long time but when it came down to it none of the three vans I tried on Saturday felt right. I started looking online for used Odysseys and found one I really liked. I got really excited and called the dealership first thing Monday morning. I scheduled an appointment to see the van on Tuesday when Chris could come with me. However, when I checked back with them that afternoon the van had been sold. DARN! Back to square one. After rolling it around in his head for a bit, Chris decided that a new 2008 van would be an option. He did some homework and found some tips online for buying a new car. He calculated approximately how much the dealership paid for the vehicle, added about $500 and said he would not take a higher price. We scheduled a babysitter and headed out to the Honda dealership. Chris drove the '06 and liked it. Imagine our surprise when we went in to discuss prices and the sales manager offered a new van to us at $25 below the price we previously agreed would be a "good price". Before we could commit to anything, he came back and offered an even lower price. The only haggling that took place was with the price on our trade-in, a 1993 Honda Civic hatchback. All in all we got a great deal, stayed within our budget and got a brand new van for only a bit more than the "06 would have been. We are happy.

Conserving Water

You wouldn't think that a state like North Carolina would have a drought. However, in the past five years that we have lived here there has been a drought almost every summer. Some years we hear more about it on the news that others. One year we had a nice rainstorm and the anchor on the news made a comment to the weather man, "One more storm like that and we'll be out of the drought." I never heard things like that when we had droughts in Utah.
Last summer North Carolina had the worst drought in recorded history. The whole state is in a panic. They have never had a problem this bad and are not prepared for no rain. The lakes that supply Raleigh and surrounding areas literally dried up. Reports of 34 more days of water circulated the news. So many laws have been set up since last summer in regard to conserving water. Businesses were ordered to decrease water usage by 50%. That's pretty drastic.
Today I went to Duke for a doctor's appointment and experienced one of the ways businesses like this cut down on water usage. I walked into a stall in the ladies' room and noticed the toilet handle was green. There was a sign above the toilet that basically said this:

Push up for #1

Push down for #2

Generator

Hey, I like this family blog. I'm glad it's working! I loved the videos, posts and pictures.
Last week Chris took a day off. Yes, this is an occasion to blog because he hasn't taken a day off in a long time. Anyway, for a year we have been talking about getting a generator. We are on well water so when our electricity goes out we don't have water either. How do I know this? Our power has gone off several times over the past year for one reason or another and we have experienced the no water.
It took a lot of research, saving and feet dragging to get the job done but last week we finally got it hooked up. The reason Chris took the day off was so he could be here when the electricians showed up to hook it up. It went without a hitch.
After the electricians left we set Tristan up with a movie in the house (Kennedy was at her last day of preschool) and we went outside and hooked up the generator to test it and make sure we knew how to hook it up. It took us a few minutes to figure things out and we missed a step so we had to start over but we got it to work and I actually think I could do it myself. We feel much better knowing that if we were in an ice storm or hurricane that we could still have some power.
Here is cute Tristan on his couch where I found him after we figured out the generator. Isn't he cute? He fell asleep watching "Cars" his favorite movie.

Bread Baking Class

I had another class at Williams-Sonoma tonight. This time it was bread baking. We learned how to make brioche which can also be made into cinnamon buns. I really learned a lot from the class and how all the ingredients work together to make bread. I guess the most enlightening thing I learned was how much temperature makes a difference throughout the process. The teacher checked the temperature of his ingredients and dough several times throughout the process. It was very interesting. Of course I had to buy a digital thermometer after the class so I could come home and put to use what I had learned. At least I got a 10 % discount.

The Moral of the Story is. . .

"I think I just ate a booger!"
Let me back up a few steps. It was Saturday morning. I usually make a special breakfast on the weekend but we were having someone over for lunch so I wanted us to be good and hungry when our guest arrived. Thus we had cold cereal for breakfast.
Tristan and I had Mini Wheats, Kennedy had Lucky Charms and Chris had Grapenuts Trailmix Crunch. We were all done eating by the time Chris started his breakfast. Tristan was crying and fussy for some reason so Chris offered him a bite of his cereal. Tristan happily agreed and climbed onto Chris's lap.
I started cleaning up and preparing for our lunch. In the meantime, something planted itself on Chris's shirt that could have been mistaken for either a morsel of Grapenuts Trailmix Crunch or, that's right, a booger! Assuming it was the former (not even thinking it could be the latter) Chris ate the unidentified object. As described by Chris, "it was a bit too salty and gooey to be a Grapenut morsel."
The moral of the story is: Don't by cereal that could be mistaken for a booger or vice versa!

Wrong Line

I always pick the wrong line when I'm checking out at a store. It could be the shortest, fastest-moving line but as soon as I get in line something happens that slows me down. Today I went to Sam's Club. I dropped by just before picking up Kennedy from preschool so I had limited time. It was very busy for a weekday. There were probably 4-5 lines open and each line had about four people already. I picked one that seemed to be going fast. I didn't realize the lady in front of me had two packed-full carts. They were filled with breakfast-type foods: grits, eggs, sausage, etc. One cart was filled with 5-6 boxes, not cartons, of eggs. She must run some type of business. Anyway, my clock was ticking and it was minutes before I had to leave or be charged for picking up my daughter late. I thought about changing lines but by then the other lines were long enough that it wouldn't be worth it. I only had three items and was a little annoyed that the lady in front of me didn't let me go first, especially since she was cooing at my fussy toddler just before her turn. I don't know how this happens to me all the time. I'm just not a good line picker. What's the secret?
Luckily my transaction didn't take much time at all and I made it to the preschool just in time. Kennedy wasn't even the last one to be picked up.

Saturday Yard Work

We had a beautiful day today. We spend the morning preparing a bed for some raspberry bushes. It's not quite time to plant yet--a few more weeks--but we ordered some plants and bushes through a catalog yesterday and thought that since it was such a nice day today we would work in the yard.
Kennedy and Tristan enjoyed playing outside. Kennedy has her own garden tools and enjoyed digging in the dirt with us. Tristan, on the otherhand, looks at the dirt and thinks, "buffet". When will he stop eating dirt?

Weekly News

My internet connection hasn't been working well so I missed a few posts but here is a quick catch up.

Preschool here is pretty crazy. Some people start sending their kids to preschool at age 2. I think that's a little early and couldn't let my Kennedy go that soon. She has enjoyed going this year, however. This is her at the little school she goes to. It's not far from our house but she won't be going back next year.

There is a really good school downtown that so many people want to send their kids to that the school has to do an admission lottery. Kennedy didn't get in last year. We tried it again this year though and got in. The lottery is kind of stressful because there are some intense parents there. In years past people have had multiple family members come to draw more numbers for one child. I don't think that happens anymore.

I'm excited for Kennedy to go to this new school next year. She is a bright girl and I think she will be more challenged there.

The other night we were sleeping soundly when in the wee hours of morning a loud chirping alarm woke us up. I immediately knew it was the smoke detector. I sent Chris running down the stairs to check things out. Meanwhile both kids woke up and my heart was in my throat! Nothing like a potential emergency to keep you from going back to sleep at 4 a.m. Obviously nothing was wrong. We don't know why it went off though.

Ahh Nuts!

When Kennedy turned one I started giving her peanut butter because I though PB & Js were a staple for kids. Soon after, she developed what I thought was a peanut allergy. When I told the doctor about the rashes I found she told me to wait 6 or so months before trying peanut butter again and explained that some children grow out of these early-onset allergies. However, six months later she still seemed allergic. I have never taken her to get officially tested but have just assumed she was allergic and have avoided making some of my favorite goodies that included peanut butter.
Last week when I went to the beach for my quilting retreat I made a big batch of my favorite peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (recipe courtesy of my lovely sister, Alison). Incidentally, I left a few behind for Chris's lunches, stored in the freezer in snack-size Ziploc baggies. You can guess where this is going. . . .Mom out of town, unlabeled cookies, Dad's first time ever being left in charge for more than just a few hours. Kennedy had downed about half the cookie before she told Chris, "Daddy, I think there is peanut butter in these cookies!" Chris panicked but, being the doctor he is, kept a close eye on her. Nothing happened. We thought our troubles of the peanut allergy were over.
This weekend I made one of my favorite desserts that I haven't made in a very long time: Peanut Butter Pie. I thought this would be a good way to ease Kennedy into the life of peanut butter. After all, I didn't want her to be afraid of peanut butter just because we had been telling her for her entire life that she had to avoid peanuts and peanut butter. I was right, she ate her whole piece of pie then asked for more.
About an hour after dessert I started getting the kids ready for bed. Kennedy came to me complaining that she itched everywhere. . . .even in her bum. Poor thing was miserable. She had rashes all over. I quickly ran downstairs and grabbed the Benedril and asked for "the doctor" to come check her out. We agreed that this was probably due to the peanut butter and decided that there would be no more peanut butter for Kennedy.
You would think this would be enough to traumatize a four-year-old but she seems to take it all in stride. This morning she told us, "No more peanut butter for me until I'm an adult!"

My New Computer

This is my new computer. Yes, it's red. I'm so excited. I hope I can be a better blogger now that I don't have to work on my dinosaur. It should be easier for me to upload pictures and that's more fun for a blog.

What You've Missed

I just wanted to post this picture of my friend Rachel. I wrote about the quilt I made for her several months ago. She is seen in the picture with me. She tied it with her mother and I finished the binding for her.


Life has been busy lately but I thought I better blog so I can get some of it recorded anyway. I don't know why it's been so hard for me to blog since we moved. I am blaming it on the fact that our computer is in a different place and not as accessible.


Kennedy started preschool at the beginning of the month. She is so cute and loves it. I am enjoying the one-on-one time with Tristan but it seems most days are filled with naps or busy errands. I have managed to take him tot he park a few times though.


Last week was our women's conference. I was in charge providing two quilts for the service project. My mom donated two pieced quilts and made it that much easier for me. We had an activity where several women from the ward showed up to help tie. I had two more quilting sessions at my house. They are done and they were the cutest ones (if I do say so myself, thanks, Mom) of the group.


We have finally saved up some money to buy some new furniture. Our first project is the dining room. We purchased a table and some chairs last weekend and look forward to their arrival. It will be nice to start decorating our new home that we've lived in for almost six months now!
The furniture doesn't look very exciting from a tiny picture but in real life it's really nice. Simple but elegant. I am going to have a deep red and gold fabric on the seats. Fun stuff.

Still Here

I'm still here. I haven't forgotten about my blog. However, with a fan base of about four people I have a hard time motivating myself to write sometimes. I know I should just do it for myself. After all, I did start the blog so it would be a fun way to journal. I would like to include some more interesting tidbits like recipes or pictures but I haven't really tried anything new lately and it's very difficult to download pictures onto my computer. I have had a few thoughts lately that I would like to include.
I hate August. It is the January of Summer--you know, when all the fun and excitement is over and there is not much to look forward to in the near future. The weather is at it's peak--we've had 100-degree weather for a week. On Saturday we only reached 93, which felt pleasant. When has 93 ever felt pleasant?
Anyway, the heat has killed my not-so-productive garden. I've decided that it's very difficult to garden here. My zucchini plant is the only thing that has been really productive. We did get one cucumber that was delicious before the heat killed everything. The beans could have been good if the infestation of the Japanese beetles had not occurred. I think next year I might stick to herbs. That was the only other thing that the deer didn't eat. If it's not one thing it's another, I guess.
Saturday we had a minute to go to the farmer's market. Almost every booth looked like they were set up to make salsa. We bought a few pounds of tomatoes, some jalapenos and some peppers. I came home and found a recipe online (which I won't be sharing. . . .keep reading) and bought the rest of the ingredients at the grocery store. It could have, should have been delicious. However, the total yield did not quite add up to what the recipe said. I was supposed to have four pints at the end and only had 3 1/2. I don't know if the recipe was wrong or if I messed up (I think a little of both) but the salsa is horrible. It tastes like vinegar with a little bit of vegetables added. What a waste. I hope there is a way to salvage it.

Travel Log

I didn't mean for this to be a travel log but I have to write about my trip to Utah. We had such a great time and each year I go I remember why I make the trek out every summer.
First I have to say that my kids did great on the flights. It was such a long day travelling it would not have surprised me if they were miserable. We held it together until the car ride from the Las Vegas airport to St. George. Kennedy was just getting over a cold and I think that combined with the ear pressure from the airplane, the long day and sitting in the back seat of the car was just too much. As we turned into the Target parking lot in St. George she threw up. Poor thing. She was much better the next day and we were able to have a healthy trip the rest of the time.
Our first major event was preparing for my niece's baby shower. Tyffanee is expecting her first baby, a girl, and we decided at the last minute to throw a shower for her. Even though she isn't from Beaver we have a lot of relatives there and we had a good turn out with a few out-of-towners, including her mom, sister and mother-in-law. Since we decided to host the shower last minute (five days notice for guests) we gave the option of going in on a group gift. This turned out to be a great thing because we were able to get her a Pack-n-Play, a Baby Bjorn and a high chair. She also got lots of cute clothes, blankets and other fun things. I'm so excited to see my cute niece be a mom.
Our next great adventure was celebrating Pioneer Day. My sister came to town and Kennedy enjoyed playing with her cousin, Megyn. My niece, Alyssa, also stayed with us along with her friend Mary. We had a houseful but the more the merrier. Beaver starts Pioneer Day off with their own tradition. At approximately 6 a.m. dynamite can be heard in intervals all around town. Wake up! Time to get ready for the day. After listening to this for about 15 minutes I am ready to get up. My sister and brother-in-law head to the high school track to do the 5K. Alison and I walk because I am usually not in shape for it. It's a fun time to have with my sister, however.
After the 5K we rush home to shower and get ready for the parade. This year Beaver was hosting a little league tournament so a lot of the floats were trucks filled with cute little baseball players from all over the country. The rest of the parade was unremarkable. I was a little disappointed this year. After the parade we head down to the city park where there are kid's foot races (which we never do because I hated them when I was a kid), snow cones, hot dogs, moon bounce and slide, and old friends. Everyone who left Beaver comes home for Pioneer Day and we hope to see each other at the park. It's our yearly reunion. I saw more friends this year than usual, which is fun.
After the festivities at the park we made ready for a family cook-out. We were going to head up the canyon but it turned out to be a rainy day so we went to a local park instead. My mom and her two sisters still live where they have always lived--within two blocks of each other. They all gather their families together and we have a potluck. My cousin, Wade, brought his pony and cart to take the kids on rides. Kennedy loved that. Meanwhile, my dad and I went to check out some antique cars parked along the block--about 7 or 8 cars all belonging to the same man. He happened to pull up in his 1922 speedster and offered to take me for a ride. I love antique cars so I took him up on it. He couldn't convince me to drive it though. That was the highlight of my day.
I told Kennedy that if she took a nap she could stay up for the fireworks. She thought that was a great idea until they actually started. She wanted to go home right now. She then told me that the next time I tell her that she can stay up for fireworks she WON'T take a nap. She made it through and I enjoyed the show too.
I was able to visit with some of my dear friends whom I don't get to see very often. I was able to visit my old high school friends Melanie, Kerrie, Debbie and Alison. I met Lucy at Thanksgiving Point and we went through the Dinosaur Museum. We had a nice visit from Chris's brother and his wife. They spoiled the kids for a whole day. My mom and I took the kids to the "This is the Place Pioneer Park" which was fun. My sister and her kids volunteer there. It was a fun place to spend the day. We also met Nana and Poppa at Thanksgiving Point for a few hours and toured the beautiful gardens there. We had such a good time and it was nice for the kids to see the Kelsey Grandparents since they haven't seen them for a year. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. We feel so loved when we go back to Utah.
Some other highlights of the trip were shopping at many quilt stores, reading the final book of Harry Potter, going on walks with no humidity, and just relaxing a little bit. Now it is time to get back to reality.

Normal People

I've really slacked in the blogging department since we moved to our new house. I can think of two reasons:
1. Our computer is in an upstairs location just outside the kids' rooms. So, when it's nap time I don't usually get on the computer anymore.
2. Life has been really busy!
Almost two weeks ago we took a trip to Washington D.C. I want to write more about that when I am able to download some pictures.
This past Friday Chris finished his residency. . . .just like that! After almost 12 years of knowing him he has finally reached the goal he had in mind when we met. It's been a long haul and we have had some ups and downs but it's finally here.
I was invited to attend the departments end-of-year luncheon. I made arrangements for Tristan to go to a friend's house and I took Kennedy with me. It was a nice buffet-style lunch with a lot of the people from the department there--mostly physicians, residents, techs and some support staff. Chris was awarded an outstanding research award which I missed because I was taking someone to the restroom. The residents presented him with a nice gift certificate to Orvis. Some of the doctors stood up to say some nice things about Chris. Then Chris got up to say a few words. He said he wanted to thank three people. He thanked me first and much to my surprise he got emotional. That made me get teary eyed too. Then he thanked one of the secretaries and his mentor Dr. Marks. He presented Dr. Marks with a quilt I made for him. Again, I will write more on the quilt when I'm able to download the picture. It was a nice day and I had such a giddy feeling in my heart all day long. So glad he's done.
He started his new job yesterday and had a fabulous day in the clinic. After almost 12 years of having smaller goals to reach and moving every 3-5 years we aren't sure what to do next. I guess just live like normal people!