Timeless Love

"So, what's the chance of a guy like you and a girl like me ending up together?"

"...Not....Good."

"Not good like...One in a hundred?

"Not good like...One in a million."

"So you're tellin; me there's a chance! Alright! I read ya..."











Four years and counting..............










Who would have thought...



Happy Anniversary Sweetie!

When Things Settle Down a Bit...WAIT! THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE NOW!

This is one quote that I found myself saying a lot this week! "I will find time for this or that when things settle down..." Well let me tell you sister...they won't! Now that the stress of Christmas is over, finals are done, homework is done, the house is in a-we'll say generally clean stage, visiting teaching is scheduled, laundry is going, dishes are done, Walker is in bed asleep and Jason is busy entertaining his brother, I can finally get some blogging going!
To start out where I should have: Hawaii was a blast! Many of you ask how is it that I was able to go in such a disheartening bikini body? Well, pregnant women are not supposed to fly after 36 weeks. The day we left Boise, I was 35 weeks and 36 when we came back. I had a doctor's note that said I could travel without restriction, but I was surprised that no one at the airline asked to see it.
I had no problem fitting into my bathing suit. It is a tankini that is usually a bit long to cover the midsection, and it did like to creep up my belly, but it wasn't anything a safety pin couldn't handle. Kauai really is beautiful! The whole island is like the North Shore of Oahu and made me feel right at home. The first day we were there, we tried taking a "stroll" down to the beach, but it ended up being a mosquito infested hike with mud and loose rocks. I managed to slip and scrape the top of my foot, but I was more concerned about the mosquitos. They LOVE to eat me alive. As far as I am concerned, they are one creation God could have done without.
The town of Hanalei was about a five minute drive from the timeshare and I love the feel of all the little local shops. Jason amused me by browsing in the Salvage Pearl Shop. They had an Australian pearl necklace priced at $35,000! These pearls were HUGE! Eat your hear out Betty Rubble-is all I have to say.
One of our days was spent beach hopping to all the 'gem' beaches. They are all pretty secluded and hard to get to, but they have good snorkeling and boogie boarding. Jason was proud of me for being a trooper on the hiking bit. To be honest, hiking is one thing that I would almost say I dispise, but I quite enjoyed hiking in and out of the beach areas. I must say, now that I think about it, I am really surprised I had the stamina to get through the day.
The biggest highlights of our trip I would have to say would be beach hopping, the hostel, Bubba's Burgers, driving up the Waimea Canyon (the Grand Canyon of the Pacific) and the helicopter ride....You heard me! Helicopter Ride! After all I did have that doctor's note that said I could fly! %80 of the island is only visable from the air, so I'll just say it was well worth it.
It was so good to come home to Walker. He was at Don and Mary's house for the week with his two cousins, Cade and Savannah. I think he liked staying there considering he barely made it two hours without asking to go back to Papa's house. Thank you so much Don and Mary for being so accommodating. I know Walker loves you guys.
Not even a full day back from Hawaii, my tests and vocal jurys caught up with me. I had a voice lesson that Sunday, Spanish test Monday after 8 hours of work, piano test and doctor appointment Tuesday, work Wednesday, vocal jury Thursday and work on Friday. Included in that was a take home final, 10 page essay and oh! jet lag to boot! Oddly enough my voice teacher said I appeared to be the most rested of her students. It's hard to think that all this was only a week ago.
For this week, we have had my family here for Christmas. Although Annie couldn't come, it was nice to be together. Christmas was a lot of fun. Walker finally figured it out this year, but we had to teach him that the presents under the tree weren't ALL for him. I really enjoyed watching his face light up over 'puppy' (a Scooby Doo stuffed animal Santa put in his stalking) and a Thomas Train.
Like I said, now that this is all past, I am thinking more and more about our little baby. Mostly how unprepared I feel. I have the nursurey all put together, but have yet to get the hospital bag and Walker's over night bag put together. I guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow. My anxiousness is growing. I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl and I'm constantly running names through my head. Anyone have any last minute inputs for names? I've been moving slower and s-l-o-w-er and s--l--o--w--e--r, but mostly at night when I have overdone myself. I will most definitely be blogging more often (how could I do it less often, right?) and we will post soon about our new family member!

More pictures

here is a view from the air

A picture in the hot tube at the resort.

HAAAAAAAALELUJAH!!!!!

Jason has recently won the most points on the "Cool Husbandometer" Game. I couldn't be happier with him!
Last night he left the house the second I got home from school-really! He was waiting in his car, parked on the side of the road waiting for me to park my car in the garage and grab Walker out of his car. The hurry? He was picking up a few things from craigslist. He went and got Don's truck (thanks Don) and made his stops. My lovely sweetheart backed up into the driveway with a truck full of......Drum roll please........a dryer, a free queen bed, and the dining room table he bought on the day after Thanksgiving! Way to go, sweetie!
For those of you who weren't aware of the fact, These were all top items on my Christmas list. Usually I am a stingy one when it comes to opening Christmas presents early, but these are definitely the exception.
Thanks Jason! You win my heart. Thanks for playing the "Cool Husbandometer" Game.

Setting the Alarm

So some of you know that I don't exactly like to set my alarm. Ever. It didn't use to be that big of a deal, but in the past couple of years, I have done almost anything in my power to NOT use an alarm clock. Hunting? yes, I enjoy it. But not if I have to set my alarm. Fishing? Yea, it is alright too. But only if I can do it say, after 9. The few exceptions in recent years have been these:
A. catching a flight to somewhere cool, i.e. Hawaii or Mexico

B. Day-after Thanksgiving Sale, of course!

I know that some of you aren't nearly as excited as I am about it. Who in their right mind gets up at 3 a.m. to go shopping? I guess I am one of them. I do like to save money. In years past, I have purchased, a laptop, a t.v., and various other items such as nice wool socks, etc. This year my big purchase was quite a bit different. Yes, I got my wife a kitchen table. I don't have pictures of it, so I guess you will just have to stop by the house if you want to see it. Among some of the other things I bought yesterday were BSU sweatshirts (the nice $50 ones for $15), Garmin Navigation system (Normally $350, on sale for 200) and various and sundry other things. To make things even more different this year, I didn't set my alarm. Like I said, I avoid it almost any cost. Instead, Randy, Scott and I just stayed up all night instead of going to bed. We were able to take a nap in the afternoon though, to make up for lack of sleep.

Now another thing that might surprise you, is that I have, in fact, been using my alarm clock. What's that you say? After talking so much about NOT using one, you say that you have been using one lately? Well I will let you in on my reasoning. Ready for it? Okay here goes:
I decided to start training for some MMA. For those of you that don't know what that is, I will give another hint. UFC. Still don't know what it is? Okay, Ultimate Fighting, does that help? If you still don't know what that is, follow this link.

It has been about 2 weeks since I started training. I have mostly been going to get in shape. The trainings I have been going to have been quite a bit like wrestling practice back in high school. We start off with about 45 minutes of conditioning, doing push-ups, jumping jacks, stretching out, etc. Then there is about 10 minutes of technique training, where we work on kicks, punches, grappling position, arm-bars, etc. The workouts are a little bit more intense than wrestling was. And instead of just normal old crunches and push-ups, we use weights and do "T" push-ups, and we use medicine balls for sit-ups, etc.

Sarah is cool with me going. She likes the fact that I have been trying to get into better shape. I keep telling her that I am not gonna have an actual fight, that I am just going to get in better shape. I guess when I come home some Thursday night with a big old black I, she will finally know the truth.

New Picture

Okay, so since Sarah won't post a nice PROFILE picture, I am gonna have to do it myself. She likes her picture to be a little off of the profile shot, because she says it doesn't look as big. Anyway, so here is a better picture, in my opinion.

Better late than never Right?

Okay! Better late than never right? I feel like blogging has been at the bottom of my 'to do' list now for way too long! I should have posted this little video almost two weeks ago. Anyway, for Halloween, Jason and Walker were both pirates. We spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out where Walker's old spider costume was. Lo and Behold, last week while I was...um....we'll say nesting, I found the costume in none other than the 'baby' boxes! Walker loved getting 'kacky" from everyone and the weather was so nice that I was able to take Walker trick-or-treating in my shorts! It has since gotten a little too cold for that now.

Out of many requests for updated pictures, here you go folks! This was taken last week at 31 weeks. Wanna take a guess on how many are there are? I still feeling wonderful and in my mind can still conquer all chores, but at the end of the day my body wins and gets to relax a little bit. I am still taking five classes and working at the bank. I am currently working on memorizing a few songs for my voice lessons. Here is a link to one of them being performed.

http://auv.blogspot.com/2006/07/as-promised.html


Thanks to Jason I have a lot of help with doing laundry, dishes, taking care of Walker, cleaning the house, and many other things. I couldn't do everything I do without him.

Awards Ceremony for the Woodburys

So I was going through one of our many still unpacked boxes today, and came across something. I had been planning on posting something for several days now, but hadn't gotten around to it:

Most of you know that I went to BYU-Hawaii for a year. Most of you also know that Sarah and I met in Hawaii also. Here is a picture of what won her heart. If it wasn't for this, who knows what would have happened?


Yes, instead of laying out on the beach, learning how to surf, going snorkeling, etc. , I was busy being the "Employee of the Semester" at the Cafeteria. Of course, being 1 of 3 or 4 Native English speakers out of 60 employees, definitely helps with my customer service, right?

Okay, so that is more of a joke than anything. But here is the one that I wanted to post about Sarah.


And here is a better look at it.



They gave this out to the top 1 or 2 tellers with the most Sales, in the Division. (She has been in the top for pretty much 3 or 4 years now, but before she never really got any cool plaques or anything)

Congratulations Sarah for being so Amazing!!

You're Invited!

We are having a house warming/open house party this Saturday from 5-7. Everyone is invited to come join the fun. If you need the address, give Jason a call or write an email. See you there...er uh...here!

My name is Sarah, and I have an addiction...

to HGTV that is. One of my favorite tv shows is 'Designed to Sell". A professional realtor will come to someones house while they are absent and will go through the house with the cameras and tell them why their house isn't selling. Having looked through SO many houses this past year, I could apply for this position as 'Critique' and do just as good of a job. Every time Jason and I watch it together, he says, "you could do that!" Honestly...almost every episode is the same! Step #1: De clutter! #2 Hide the kids toys. #3 Add some color #4 De personalize
So one of my long term goals, now that we have a house, is to bring these steps into action.
Jason and I have spent the last week painting, painting, painting, and oh! did I mention painting? When I say we, I really mean HE. I only helped by doing the trim and putting up decorations. Jason did the rest. So here is the before picture:










We painted the mantle black to match the temple frame that we have, and Jason surprised me last Sunday by having painted three of the accent walls. He stayed up until about 4am working on it. The next morning when he told me he stayed up too late I thought it was because he was watching Sports Center or something stupid like that ; ) Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised when I went downstairs.
Jason put up the curtain rod, and hung the temple picture above the mantle. I hung the drapes, spray painted the rod iron art piece, and did the rest of the decorations. Here is the finished product.






















And after a long day of work, Jason finally gets to relax.

Things that we still need for the house

I know, I know. You are right. Everybody kept telling us that when we got a house, we would soon realize all of the things that we need to go with it. So, here is a list of things in no particular order, that we still need. Okay, some of them are not so much needs, but wants.
1. lawn Mower
2. Weed eater (maybe a trimmer, what's the difference?)
3. ladder
4. Tape measure
5. level
6. Stud-finder
7. Paint (We, meaning I, started painting the living room, now Sarah gets to trim it up.)
8. Queen bed for guest bedroom
9. small table/desk for the computer nook in guest bedroom
10. computer desk for my Office (or as Sarah says it, "our study", but really MY office)
11. Bookcase - Probably 2 or 3, actually
12. Kitchen Table and chairs
13. Clothes dryer (we already got a washer, but I spent too much, so we have a drying rack.)
14. coffee table for the formal living room
15. Drill Set (and other tools)
16. gardening tools, i.e shovel, rake, trimming shears etc.
17. hose attachment/s for watering once the irrigation is shut off.

That seems like a pretty complete list for me. Sarah may think otherwise. Does anybody have any suggestions of things that we need that we don't know about yet?

Odds and Ends

here are some of the things going through my head, but addressed to all of you out there:

Summer is over (Pest control Summer that is). It was a good summer. As always, it could have been better, but I am pleased with how things turned out. To everybody that was there with me, thanks for the good times that we had.

Buying our house is done!! At least I think. Thanks Chancey, for helping me pack all of our stuff into a trailer, so that it can be unloaded as soon as we hear back that everybody has received their money. Hopefully that happens tomorrow, and we can unload the trailer into our new garage, and can start unpacking the boxes. It will be great to sleep on MY bed. WITHOUT Walker in the same room. I think I am looking forward to that more than anything else. Thanks Mom and Dad, for letting us crash at your place, and take up WAY to much of your space. 2 bedrooms and half of the garage is probably enough. (oh yea, and the storage unit)

The ManCation was awesome. I have been wanting to go backpacking for a long time. It has been about 10 years. Seriously. Kyle, thanks for starting that tradition. I caught 11 fish. zzone of them was under 12 inches, and the rest were between 12 and 18. Check out Kyle's Blog and link to see the pictures. Why do I always look retarded in these pictures? Oh, and from now on, I am definitely taking my hammock with me. It took up quite a bit of pack space, but it was so comfortable. I would have to say swinging on the hammock watching the wind blow the waves in the perfect 65 degree weather was extremely relaxing. Laying in my sleeping bag on the ground was not as comfortable. (in 30 degree weather.) Needless to say, I am so looking forward to next years pack trip. I will have better shoes, a better pack, be in better shape, and have better fishing gear. The food was good, and the company was great. Thanks to all who went.

The Hunter family reunion was fun too. Seeing my wife and son after (what seemed like) forever was fun. Though Walker was suffering from some sort of sickness, which happens any time he travels, it was pretty pleasant. My one regret from the reunion was not swimming. Yea, I got in the water up to my knees, but I didn't actually go swimming. I wish I would have. it was nice to see all of you that I haven't seen for a couple of years, and to meet a few people that I hadn't met before.

I will have to admit, staying home and playing with Walker is pretty fun. He has been cranky, not sleeping enough (he is just too excited to see me every day to want to sleep) but I've had a blast. He loves looking at the pigs, Swinging on the tire swing, and seeing Puppy. Oh, and jumping on the trampoline. He loves that too. Another of his favorite things it see 'Pampa' (Grampa Woodbury)

I suppose that is all for now. We will keep you updated on the projects for the house.
Oh, and golf. I parred twice on Monday, and am going again on Friday.

The Itsy Bitsy Spwaaaaah!

While Walker and I were at the family reunion, the last rainy night I was getting Walker to bed. Silly me, I forgot to bring any 'beeps' or books, so I was trying to sing a few songs to Walker. We did Popcorn Popping, and Row, Row, Row your Boat, and then he put his thumbs and first fingers together and said, "Mama, Ants!" At first I didn't understand, but then I remember that any 'bug' he sees is called an ant. Looking at his hands I realized he wanted to sing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider" His spider was ready and I got my spider ready and started to sing, "The Itsy Bitsy...." Right as the word Spider was about to come out of my mouth, out of the corner of my eye, I see a pretty good size spider sneaking across his pillow. Of course as I see it, the word that was working its way out of my mouth turned into something like, " Spwaaaah!" as I flicked it off the pillow. With no one else to laugh at me, I started to chuckle with Walker. He muttered something that I didn't understand so in response, all I could say was "yeah, Mama's silly, huh?"

To any "pest control" friends who might ask, "What kind of spider was it?"....Who cares?! When camping, a spider is a spider.

I should be packing and cleaning...

I should be getting ready to drive back to Idaho, or taking a nap, but seeing as how it will be a little while before I post again, I decided to indulge myself in some ME time. Looking through everyone's blogs, I discovered I had been tagged! (sorry it took me so long Marcie.) So here we go:

3 Joys:
1. Spending time with Jason and Walker. It doesn't matter what we do as long as it's together.
2. Reading. This usually gets me tired, so I should say reading/sleeping.
3. Seeing the looks in peoples eyes after doing service for them.

3 Fears:
1. Feeling Alone. I always like to know I can call anyone, anytime.
2. Car Accidents.
3. I am afraid of not living up to my own expectations. I set my standards, and must meet them.

3 Obsessions:
1. Jason would shoot me if I didn't put down Laundry and Dishes. He is not allowed to fold laundry because I like it done a certain way and he always puts the dishes in the wrong place! Like one time, I went to make dinner and was looking and looking for my blue casserole dish. I could not for the life of me find it, until the last cupboard door opened and on the very top in the furthest corner, lay my best cooking buddy. Since Jason put it all the way up there, I called him into the kitchen (he now has the "what did I do" look on his face) and just pointed to it for him to fetch down.
2. Jason and I have moved so many times that I have packing down to an art. There is a magical way to make everything fit into so many suitcases.
3. I have to get ready in the same order every day: Shower, get dressed, breakfast, makeup, hair.
(I'm sure there are more obsessions, but I think these are the most obvious)

3 Surprising Facts:
1. Both Jason and I have had plastic surgery. He on his nose and me on my thumb.
2. We have moved 10 times in the less than four years we've been married.
3. Well, it's not a SUPRISING fact, but a fact nonetheless. I love my family very much!

Passing the torch:
Star Wiley
Jodie Borg
Jentri King

I am turning into my Mother...

For those of you who don't know my mother, Andrea, I will let you in on what I am becoming. My Mom has her Associates Degree in Accounting/Bookkeeping, but also has always been very proficient in grammar and proof-reading. While living at home as a teenager I would always hear her correct my brother, "Mike and I", instead of "me and Mike". Or if I answered the phone, "this is her", she would quietly correct me, "this is she". I could go on and on for hours on proper grammar, but I know I would lose your interest.
For the past three and a half months we have been living with the Standlee family. Their daughter, Sariah, is only five years old and has the grammar of...well...a five year old. I constantly find myself correcting her. Hearing phrases like, " he takded that away", "her brought this for me" and "I gotted a new toy" are making me cringe. Of course her mom and I correct her as much as possible, but there are just too many hours in the day to do that. It makes me realize how much I appreciate the (for lack of a better word) Nagging my Mom did in order to save her ears and to help me at least sound more intelligent.

Thanks Mom!

The Scores...

Walker-2 Sarah-0
Haven't we seen this before? Let me think...Ahh! Yes!









I believe it was when Walker was eight months old! Now I understand why sometimes I can't get him to listen....He has so many Q-tips shoved into his ears!

A New Stage....

Different parts of our family are at different stages in their lives...

Jason has been waiting and waiting for that first flutter that he can feel in my belly. He can't feel it yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before he wishes he couldn't feel those kicks to his back in the middle of the night. He is so happy and is working so hard for our family.

I am anxiously awaiting the end of summer. I have little activities spaced throughout the summer that I use as mile stones. One of those events was seeing my sister, Annie, last week. About a month ago she found out she would be coming to Chicago for a Pampered Chef convention and asked if I wanted to do something. Last year I missed the opportunity to go see the play, "Wicked", and did not want to make the same mistake this year! Her hotel was about a mile from the theatre, so I couldn't miss the chance. My friend, Andria, and I rode the tram into town. (I mean, we almost MISSED the tram into town). Her husband and Jason met the three of us gals at the hotel and we all walked to Navy Pier for dinner. Earlier, I had chosen Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. to eat, knowing it was close...and that's what I started craving. MY BAD! Note to self: Do not plan on a fast meal at a restaurant that sits at the front of the line of the "Batman" Imax Premiere event!

There was plenty of walking after dinner. It is a good mile or so from the pier to the theatre. I was pooped! The play was amazing! I love musical theatre and I am so glad I could share something special with Annie. She and I both played the cello in high school, and I have deepened my love for music in singing. This was the perfect play to take her to. My only regret is not being able to sit closer. I recommend it to anyone with a young heart.

During Intermission is when I learned of Walker's new stage. I sent a text to my babysitter asking how things were going. This is what I got back...
"Ha, yeah great! Your son has officially learned to crawl out of his crib."
Greeeeeeaaaaaat! I felt so bad for her. She said it only took him four trips back to the crib to figure out that she wasn't playing. So this is our new stage: Walker is ready for a toddler bed and we leave back to Idaho in a few weeks. This should be fun....

Snap, Crackle, Pop!

Our 4th of July was a BLAST! Spending most of the afternoon at Taste of Chicago was exactly what made the whole family happy. The majority of the time was spent standing in line, but after ice cream cones, it was well worth it. We only bought two ice cream cones, and I was unfortunate enough that mine was the only cone Walker wanted.
After most of our food ventures, we spent some time letting Walker run around in the 'Stadium' at Millennium Park. That was his favorite part-running AWAY from me. Another lady who was watching said, "That's one fast boy!" I asked her if that meant I was a fast mom...she laughed and said, "absolutely".
At first sight of the fireworks, Walker was scared to death. Jason tried to get him to watch, but as you can see, that didn't work really well. Walker stayed hidden for the whole ten minute show. For some strange reason, on the way home, he wanted 'more' (fireworks that is). With eyes shut tight, head against his car seat, he said, "Momma". As I reply, I look over at him only to see his two little hands signing for 'more'. He did that quite a few times on the way home, and still, a few days later when we drive in the car, asks for more fireworks!

Our Wacky Week of Fun!

Well, this little outing was the week before last, but I thought I would include it. All the salesman and their wives got together in Lisle for the weekly Saturday night dinner. We had a really yummy barbeque by the pool, swimming, and games.
Last Saturday, 'the office' (as we wives like to put it) did not go out all together as we usually do. The family that we live with, the Standlees had already planned to go to Chuck E Cheese. Lately, Walker has gotten so used to having the other family around that when they leave without him he cries like he is going to die. "Auntie, Eeeee, Sissy!" Short for Andria, Eli, and Sariah. To avoid all this drama, I decided that we would go with them. ( Which is usually the case). Much to my pleasant surprise, the play area at Chuck E Cheese is FREE! Walker occupied himself (well, Jason did play with him a lot) for a good two hours! How Awesome is THAT!?
Later that evening Jason and I went to see Wall-E, and we both loved it. It appeals to such a large audience and has a lot of simple humor.

Sunday after church, Jason secretly planned an all day 'stroll' to Burr Ridge. Our strolls have always consisted of looking at houses. The one he showed me blows all of them out of the water! I couldn't even fit the whole house in one camera shot.











I had no word when I saw this!








So the rest of the week has been spent at the Splash Park, taking Walker to see Alvin and the Chipmunks for the dollar special at the theatre, going to the zoo for FREE and having a wonderful time!


So this is for my husband (or anyone else reading this) I DO NOT sit on the couch at home all day eating Bon-Bons!

Things I Love about my Wife.

As life blows past me, I often get caught up in the little things that aren't that important. I realized a couple of days ago, I have been so busy in the daily grind, that I haven't expressed my love and appreciation to Sarah very well. So here is a list of things that I love and appreciate about my beautiful bride.

She is a great cook. - she follows the example of her dad (or so she says) about using 'some of this and some of that' in her recipes. She likes to make stuff up, and she does a great job with it. Or she will find some sort of recipe and modify it to my liking. Oh, and I am fairly picky about stuff like that.

She is patient. Ok, so most of the time she is patient. She is great with Walker. She takes him on walks, plays with him, etc.

She's crafty. (Not the Beastie Boys style of craft.) She makes all kinds of decorations for our home. She made a clock that looks great, many pictures, etc. She is also good with doing flowers for weddings, hair or prom. How many of you have been on the receiving end of one of her crafts or flower arrangements?

She is a loyal friend. I don't have any stories or anything for this one. She just is.

She is quick to forgive. Like when I slip up and tell people that she is pregnant before I am supposed to. Or when I say something to offend her. When I do or say something that I shouldn't, she doesn't hold a grudge against me.

She is clean. Walker and I can tear a house apart in 2 minutes flat. Enough said.

She doesn't let me do the dishes. Apparently I put them in the wrong place. So I am no longer aloud to do them. Darn it.

She likes to vacuum. (ok, that is a joke. We have a roomba that does all of the vacuuming for us.)

She is very musically talented. She is a great singer.

I could probably go on, but you get the idea. Sweetie, when you read this, Just remember how much I love you. Thanks for choo-choo-choosing me!
Jason

Consider this the official announcement!! Part II

We are having another baby!!

Yes, I know that a lot of you that are reading this already know. I don't have a whole bunch to write about this, but we are pretty excited about it. For Mother's Day, all I got for Sarah was an EPT test. We were pretty sure that she was pregnant even before the test. I didn't want her to be tempted to tell anyone yet, soI told her that she had to wait until after her brother's wedding before we could find out. (I caved in early, I know.) So, We have already told a few people, some on accident, others on purpose, but this is the OFFICIAL Announcement. This is Sarah's present to ME for Father's Day. I get to tell everybody, instead of her spreading the news. Cool gift, eh?

Of course, there are questions that I am sure most of you will ask, so I will clear them up early. She is 10 weeks along. For the most part, she has not had any sickness-just a lot of being tired. She is hoping for a girl, of course. I ordered a boy, so that is what we are gonna have. (it's like burger king, you can order it your way.) Besides, we need another boy to wrestle around with Walker, right?
Any questions?

I know my husband procrastinates when...

I get my Mother's Day present two days before Father's Day! Ha! Ok. Ok. I can't put this all on Jason. He is such a hard worker and does so much for Walker and Me. Thinking back on it, this present was WELL worth the wait!
There are only two pedicures a year that I look forward to. One is in January for my birthday and the other is during the summer when all the stay at home wives of sales reps combine babysitting strength to take turns to go get pedicures. Jason told me this would be my Mother's Day present, but between lots of people planning it and time constraints for work, it just didn't get done until yesterday. Thank you Jason and Kyle for all you do. I know my feet appreciate it!

Consider this my official Graduation Announcement

I am now officially smart!
I will impart of my new-found wisdom and intelligence to those of you that are not on the same very high pedestal I have now put myself on. Feel free to shower me with praise, oh yea and lots of gifts. (That's a joke, in case you can't tell.)

Here is a list of observations taken from the 6 years of University Learning:

1. Nobody actually knows what they want to do "when they grow up." If they do, it changes.
2. Nobody really "grows up."
3. Does anybody actually use their degree anymore?
4. Universities are in the business of making money, not of educating students.
5. Good teachers make a huge difference in the classroom. (and in G.P.A.)
6. Some teachers like to make class as hard as possible.
7. Some teachers like to simplify the class as much as possible. (Thank you)
8. Some of the best lectures have nothing to do with the class.
9. You can watch movies for 2 days and get an upper division credit.
10. You can go to Costa Rica for a week for 3 upper division credits.
11. Teachers are people too. Sometimes they even understand when your son throws up all over your take-home test.
12. Credits don't transfer all the time. Then you retake the class and it is the same thing.
13. English 102 was easier than any english class I had in high school.
14. Some friends come, some friends go. Some friends are friends for life.
15. People make a lot of stupid decisions.
16. Study groups are awesome, if you get a few good people to study with. (not too many)
17. I don't do morning classes.
18. Try something new.
19. I like art and music. I wish I had any talent in those areas.
20. No matter what happens, your family will be there.

So there is a little bit of what I learned from school. Not to mention developmental biology, biochemisty, comparative anatomy, muscles, bones, alcohol dehydrogenase, hemoglobin, acetyl co A, credits and debits, birds, physiology, enzymes, magnetism and light, electricity, evolution, genetics, etc.

From those of you that are fellow grads, add any comments (lessons that you learned that I haven't put up yet.)

One Busy Weekend

For those of our family friends who aren't aware yet, my brother, Orlin was just married this past weekend to the sweetest gal, Rachel! They were married in the Bountiful Temple on May 17th. It was a wonderful ceremony, reception, and family get-together. Jason and I were able to fly from Chicago to Salt Lake to attend.
The night before the wedding, some of our extended family went together to the temple with some family names to do sealings. (Before her death, Grandmother Clements had done MOUNTAINS upon MOUNTAINS of geneology and left the names to be done by family). We were even able to seal a family of 8 all at one time. It was a short little vacation. I left Thursday, Jason left Friday, the Wedding was Saturday, we left shortly after the reception that night to drive my car back to Chicago and we arrived back in Chicago Sunday night. Here are a few pictures.

I was also able to do the flowers for Orlin and Rachel:

Many Thanks!

Well, we've finally reached our destination...Chicagoland! We certainly wouln't have made it here without the help of many of our friends.
Thank you all (you know who you are) for the dinners be it leftovers or not, free babysitting, packing help, moving help, social brakes to keep our sanity, soccer games...have I mentioned free babysitting? Everything on this list and so much more helped us out during our move. Thank you all.
We are loving it here in our new area. We are sharing an apartment with a great family which has two kids, 3 and 5. We are living in downtown Geneva close to all the shops, malls, library, parks, and river. There is so much to do. I love all the old architecture in our neighborhood, it has so much character.
Our ward is amazing. We are already becoming active in any service opportunity available. All our friends from last year remember us and are so excited for us to be there.
All in all this is a great place to be right now, but we miss all our friends. Keep in touch!

I just thought this was funny

Walker thinks he is just SOOOOOO funny sometimes. Sometimes he is right. (as those of you with children already know, kids will be cute, funny, or smart, until you bring out the camera/camcorder.
Oh, and I saw the "picture face, double picture face" from somebody else's video. I don't remember who it was. maybe somebody remembers?

Happy Birthday Walker!!

My Little Boy is all grown up! We celebrated his 2nd birthday today!
We had a lovely time listening to General Conference both here and over at Jason's parents' house. During the morning session of conference, Walker lead the music for each song. Every week he watches me lead the music in sacrament meeting and likes to imitate. I caught a glimpse of it on video:

He knows that when the song is done that it's prayer time. I think that's why he folded his arms when he knew I was watching. After the first session, we headed over to Gramma and Pumpa's house to have a barbeque and to watch the second session. Walker slept through the majority of the session and was ready to play the second he got up. He loved the "Diego" tricycle Gramma got him, and squeeled like a pig with laughter while on the trampoline.
We sang "Happy Birthday" with most of Jason's extended family there, and as you can tell, he really liked the balloons made out of frosting! After coming home and sitting down to write this, I realize that I haven't even given him OUR presents to him! Aaaah! Aren't I such a horrible Mom? Well, tomorrow he will have an activity book with crayons and also a Cars Magic coloring book.

Sshockxs!

For a while now, Walker has known his letters, and has been using more words lately. Once he finds out the connection of a word to what it is, he uses that word to no end. One thing I don't get though, is the way he says "socks".
"Walker what does the 's' say?"
"Ssssss"
"What does the 'o' say?
"Aaah" (for those of you who don't have 'Letter Factory' memorized, they use an open O.)
"Walker what does the 'k' say?"
"K"
"Walker, say 'socks'."
"Sshockxs"


To follow up on the previous blog, my other surprises have been: a picture frame, cookies galore, an Easter balloon, strawberries with a can of whip cream, a bottle of lotion with a coupon to the Jasonbury Spa that entitles me to 3 hours of massage, fresh tulips, and an Easter basket full of goodies. My sweetie gets home tonight and I am sooo excited to see him! We've done the week or so without each other before, but not with no communication. (Remember, Jason was in the middle of the Costa Rican wilderness.)
So our next step this week is to sit anxiously by the phone and wait to hear about the house. No news yet, but hopefully this week we will have word.

Is it Birthday Week Again?

No. But it sure feels like it. Jason, as you all must know by now is in Costa Rica, but before he left I think he arranged to have some friends, on different days, bring me a surprise of some kind. So the other night, Shae and Wes brought over some teeny Ben & Jerry's ice cream. They had turned over all the top labels to wright out a message that said " I - Miss- You". On Saturday, Shae, Wes, Brady and Katie show up with a symphony candy bar, chocolate coins and gerber daisies. They kept me company for the evening.......THE FRIENDS, not the chocolates. And yesterday, I went out to Jason's parents house for dinner. Heather just got back from Ecuador and brought back a few things for our family. Here is where Jason doesn't find out what she got for him until he gets back! Mua ha ha! So on my way back home I was parking the car in the parking lot and I noticed my friend, Kristin, waiting for me. She had brought for me a yummy pear green candle wrapped in tissue paper and raffia. I love it! No surprises yet today, but I do have dinner at a friends, card making on Tuesday, and Enrichment on Thursday to keep me busy. I guess life does drudge on without the ones we love.
I couldn't let the week go by without posting Walker's "cute thing" he just learned. The story goes way back when we got our Roomba. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is my slave. It is our robot vacuum, and I love using it. With Walker afraid of the loud vacuum, it is so much easier to clean up and not have to hold Walker while I use it. At first the Roomba startled him, but we tried to show him that it couldn't hurt Walker. As we moved the Roomba toward us with the remote, we would pat our legs and say "here Roomba". (Like a dog). So the other day, I was sitting on the floor and Walker wanted to go outside. He grabbed my hand and dropped it a couple times but then he looked at me bent half way over and started patting his legs! I could just imagine him saying, "here Mama, come here!"

Little news lately

So there has been very little to update on the past couple of weeks. Just more of Sarah going to work, me playing with Walker, etc. etc. However, I decided that since I will be gone for the next couple weeks, I would write a little something on here. I will be in Costa Rica for a Biology class, counting and identifying migratory raptors. (hawks, eagles, turkey vultures, etc.) Didn't know that raptors migrated did you? So, to top it off, I will leave little picture for you.
I will be on the southeast side, near bribr'i. It is called the kekoldi watchsite.
Anyway, Sarah may be updating you all on her little surprise that I have waiting for her while she is gone - you all should call or email her, to say hi. (Heaven knows she won't know what to do with her time, since she won't be cleaning up after me.)

Tag! You're it!

One of my good friends, Suzie posted her answers to the tag on her blog, and has now passed on the torch to me. So it is with great honor that I graciously accept this challenge and let you all know a little bit more about me.

1. How long have you and your significant other been together? Married 3 years known each other about 4
2. Who eats more? With seemingly constant dieting I am enduring, I would have to say Jason
3. Who said I love you first? Jason
4. Who is taller? You mean, who is shorter? Tall does not exist in this family. I am shorter by 7 inches
6.Who does laundry? Sarah. Jason is not allowed. He hasn't learned how to do this chore the way I like.
7. Who does dishes? (See #6) He washes them pretty well, but has no clue about kitchen organization
8.Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Sarah. I claim the middle too...
9. Who pay's the bills? We share different ones
10. Who mows the lawn? I am allergic to grass so it's not me. And by the time we have a lawn, I will assume Walker will be of age to mow it.
11. Who cooks dinner? Me, me and me!
12.Who drives when you are together? Jason.
13. Who is stubborn? It's certainly not me and if you say it is me, you're wrong!
14.Who is the first to admit they are wrong? That will always be Jason. He would rather be happy than be right.
15.Who's parent's do you see the most? Jason's
16. Who kissed who first? Jason kissed me first, but the feeling was mutual. He just acted faster.
17.Who proposed? Jason proposed to me at Initial Point in Kuna on the coldest day that fall.
18.Who is more sensitive? definitely me!
19.Who has more friends? We have about the same amount of friends and seem to find someone we know, no matter where we go.
20. Who has more siblings? We have the same. Jason has 3 brothers and 1 sister and I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters
21. Who wears the pants? Jason wears the pants in the family ...I just tell him which pair to wear.


And a special note for Jentri, Star, and Sheila...Tag! You're it!

Sarah's newest love

So for those of you that don't already know, we have been house hunting for a while. I think we've looked at half of the homes in the treasure valley, but maybe I am exaggerating a little bit.
We saw a house listed for a pretty good price, and thought we would check it out. Click HERE if you want to check out the pics.
It seemed to good to be true - and it seems like maybe it is. It was listed for $10000 less than others that were built at the same time, with lots of upgrades that the others didn't have. It also has never been lived in, but is a short-sale (close to being foreclosed on). The problem is that it is priced way below what the bank will accept for it, I assume. The bank and the owner will not tell the listing agent how much is owed, so the price was just an arbitrary number that she listed it for. We are planning on making an offer, but more likely than not, it won't go as we hope it will. We will keep you updated!!

Come Play With Us!

This picture says it all! This kid is ready for some serious snow playing! We have had a fairly good snow year so far this winter, and it has seemed never ending. ( I LOVE IT! ) A few inches here and there and all of a sudden we had about six inches to play in. Of course I didn't want Walker going outside with it being too cold, but Thursday it warmed up enough to let us all go outside and play. Walker doesn't know what to think about his new gloves. They completely swallow his hands and don't allow any escape. The snow pants are the best thing ever invented, and his hat?...well, let's just say that by the time I finish crocheting the hat I started, it will be summer time, so we compromise with one of Jason's.
With Jason's help Walker knows how to throw snowballs. (With pretty good aim I might say). And with my help, Walker know how to get hit by snowballs. Yep, that's right. I was aiming for his feet, and kinda hit him right on his chest. It was a soft snowball, so the second it hit it splashed up into his face. Poor kid! He didn't know what we were laughing at.
There really is no other way to describe our day so here are some pictures:

Adaptation to Birthday Week

Well, I again decided to take after Kyle, and started birthday week this year. I guess the real reason I did, is because I couldn't think of a single good gift to give Sarah for her birthday. All I could think of was several smaller gifts, stuff that I know she has wanted for a while. So with no further ado, Here is the list:
Day one: bombay jewelry box, to replace the 10 miniature jewelry boxes that she already had.
Day two: a paraffin wax foot spa, and a hand-held vibrating back massager. You know that one is her favorite!!
Day three: a set of matching glass-ware for dinner. the set of 6 we got for our wedding is down to 1 glass. So yea, we needed it. I also got her a 3-pack of dvd games: Who wants to be a Millionaire, Family Feud, and Deal or No Deal.
Day four: I got her the ever-coveted salt and pepper grinder. She's wanted one of those for EVER. I also got her a nice cutting board, that has the little indention in it to keep the juices from spilling.
Sorry that I don't have any pictures. I guess if you want to see any of them, you will have to come visit!!

New computer, fun with Walker.

We got a new computer, with a built-in camera. I have been playing with it a little bit, and figured I could try and show you a little bit of Walker and I. I did of course edit out some stuff, but I think I got most of the good stuff. For some reason, it cut off the bottom of the video a little bit, and doesn't show all of Walker's face.
anyway, here are the videos. If you can't tell, he likes to see himself on the screen, and gets distracted easily.



P.S. As a little side note, I would like to offer some advice: We followed Kyle and Michelle's example (the ever-so-brilliant parents) and got a portable DVD player. Walker absolutely LOVES it. I haven't had so much peace since before he could crawl. Seiously, he watches "the letter factory" about 10 times a day. We used it at dinner the other night, and he was an Angel. The Miracle of Technology. I would recommend it to any parent - get one about the time they are 18 months, and then just wait until they are ready for it.

P.P.S. random little side note** I just cleaned the blankets out of Walker's Crib - all 6 of them. He likes to clean his room by putting everything in the crib, and we are fine with that. But 6 blankets? Holy Cow!!

Aren't you glad you got a little glimpse of our life?

A Look Back on Christmas

There was no mistletoe with us, but I guess Shae was in the Holiday Spirit. Jason and I along with Wes and Shae took an evening and went around the valley looking at Christmas lights.



Christmas morning, Walker woke up and went to the tree. Not to unwrap every present in sight, but to climb the mountain of boxes and see if he could get high enough to reach the forbidden candy canes!

The excitement is killing me!Jason got me a really nice robe that is SO cozy. This is the smile I give him that says, "you know how to treat a lady."

Jason 's Mom surprised us with this painting. It is absolutely gorgeous. I never would have gotten it myself. I thought it was too expensive, but Mary is the bargain hunter and can find a sale anywhere!
Christmas afternoon Walker got sick. This is what he did all day. Poor guy! He had no energy to play at all.

I think this picture describes how everyone feels after the holidays. Pooped! Oh wait...that's a different picture.
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and make this New Year a good one!