A B C D

Funny. Plus you can see the color I painted my front room and the color in the hall. Notice the nice white baseboards.

Terrible Twos?

I know I probably shouldn't laugh, but.........

"A Crunchy Day"

Aiden has been begging me to do this for weeks. She likes to make up stories that go on and on and it's really obvious she is making them up on the spot. I mean, what does she take me for? (they remind me of Jordan's never ending Family Home Evening lessons with the felt board--remember those people?)

Heartbreak in China

If you are a sportsfan at all you probably already heard that the US women's soccer team lost today to Brazil in the semi finals of the World Cup. Not only did they lose, they lost 4-0 which is huge in soccer. Lewis and I have been able to keep up with the World Cup since it was on so early every day and we have loved watching the games. The US women were ranked 1st and Brazil was ranked 8th. It was a rough start BEFORE the game even started with the US coach switching goalies. The own goal didn't help. Neither did the bad call leaving the US with only 10 players. Neither did Brazil's Marta who played a great game. I am not sure what happened, but it was so sad to watch. Now they have to get it back together for the 3rd place game against Norway on Sunday (at 5am!!!!!). GO USA!!!!

In our soccer news, Aiden didn't make it to her game this week because of a prior commitment. We had to go to Lewis' program director's house for dinner (with the other interns). In the email invitation he said to bring your wife and family, but they looked a little surprised when we showed up with our kids. And seeing the house full of fragile treasures placed right at 2 to 4 year old height I was wishing we hadn't brought them too. Believe me. But, they were nice and even found a few toys for the kids to stay busy with. It was awkward and uncomfortable as you would probably expect, but it was nice to meet them. When we pulled up Brooks just kept saying "big house big house". It was great.

I have been wanting to blog this week, but Lewis has had the computer at work and I have been painting. I need to sand and texturize the dining room still and then I'll be done for a while. I am really happy with the colors, I always love a new coat of paint. If I was going to get down to it I COULD blog about:
my new Ikea catalog that I have been memorizing,
the great deals I got at Target and Pier One kids this week (pier one kids is going out of business so if there is one near you hurry over before everything is gone, it's all 75 percent off),
President Bush saying he will veto a bill to increase funding for the SCHIP program which helps kids who don't qualify for medicaid but can't afford insurance because he thinks it is fiscally irresponsible, but he continues to spend millions of dollars a day on a war that he won't even talk about anything but "staying the course"(sorry for the run-on that makes no sense, but I don't like to go back and edit),
the presidential race and the candidate that many people I know are supporting but gives me the HEEBIE JEEBIES (sorry),
or how nice it was to have Lewis not on call at all last week --- this week he is on call 3 nights and that means he is gone for 48 hours three times. And yes he has to work 12 or 14 hours even the days he is not "on call" and yes being on call means he doesn't sleep. and NO he doesn't get to come home the morning after he is on call.
BUT I won't bore you with that............ha ha ha. I still got my two cents in (but really are you surprised?)

Soccer Part Deux

Sorry for the annoying commentary. She was having a SERIOUS breakdown every time she lost the ball or anyone else scored (including her own teammates), so I was trying to cheer for her a lot. She is maybe SLIGHTLY competitive, don't know where she got that, and she came running off the field over to me SCREAMING, BAWLING, and with the LARGEST scowl on her face EVER each time there was a goal. She didn't score and I thought this was it for soccer. At the last minute (the very last minute) Lewis came running over to the field and she was instantly happy and had a great time kicking the ball around with him for a half an hour. The only way I got her to keep playing was by telling her they only gave the juice boxes and treats to kids who don't quit. I can't wait until next Tuesday.

Mati's Blessing

We had a great weekend. Lewis has both Saturday and Sunday off, woohoo, so we decided to party it up. So Lewis drove down to Auburn for the football game with some of his senior residents and had a great time. I hope he'll post about it because I still don't get the whole "war eagle" thing, I thought they were the tigers. Anyway, it was a 21/2 hour drive each way for him. When he got home we piled in the champion honda civic (remember we have 2 kids and an extra large dog) and drove the 41/2--well, it was actually longer due to traffic--hours up to Beaver Dam. We had a great ride up because our kids slept most of the way which is quite a feat for them. Our kids don't sleep very often in the car for some reason. It was a short trip, we left Sunday around 3:30 but it was so great to see Jackie and Brian and of course the girl of the hour MATI!!!! She is so cute and I can't believe how different she looks in only a month. Brian's parents and one brother and his family are members of the branch there and it's in a cute little church that they rent. I think we, along with Brian's sister and her family, doubled the number of people in the branch. Lewis even got to say the prayer in sacrament meeting. It was great and Aiden loved the one on one attention in Primary (there were 3 kids total). We are so glad that we live within driving distance of family and love spending time with these guys. We had a great weekend!! I couldn't resist posting this picture from Hartford, Kentucky. It's the town right next to Beaver Dam. Oh yeah, the kids had a great time swimming in the cold pool, 73 degrees!!!! I forgot their swimming suits so Brooks had some diaper issues. I know, I know, I have tried to tell him to "Just say NO to crack", but isn't it the cutest thing you've ever seen? Honestly.

"Farmer's Market and Craft Fair"

Well, I need to get on the blogging here, my DAD is putting me to shame. Lewis got to go to the Auburn vs. Mississippi State football game on Saturday ("WAR EAGLE!!!!!") so I decided the kids and I needed to have an adventure too..... Why do my great ideas bomb? I don't know, but long story short we drove FOREVER trying to find this "farmer's market and craft fair--lots of fun for the whole family" and ended up at this TINY town with about 5 kiosks of food and crafts. Whatever. The kids were just happy to get an apple and I was just happy to be able to drive with the windows down!!HOORAY for cooler weather. It was 67 sat. morning and the kids and I were COLD!!!

Missing In Action

Yesterday evening I was trying to put together a list for soccer before Aiden's game (her first one and she scored 3 goals-2 for her team and one for the other) and my kids were following me around as usual. Aiden saw some silly putty that I had tried to hide from her and wouldn't stop asking me over and over for it. Finally I gave in so I could finish the stinkin list and I gave each kid half of the silly putty from the little egg thing. Well, somehow they started fighting and after I broke it up only one half could be found. I searched for a LONG time last night and still no silly putty!?!?!? They were on my bed (what was I thinking?) and I went to bed sure I would wake up with silly putty in my hair. It still hasn't showed up. Where is the silly putty?????????????????????

update: it was in the laundry hamper and LUCKILY I found it BEFORE I started the laundry. Sweetness. I have washed the stuff before and it's not pretty coming out of the dryer.....

I heart Jim Halpert

Don't you?!?!?!?



I bought this today (The Office Season Three) and I can't wait to watch the last 2 episodes over and over and over!!!! It took some serious hunting to finally find it, but well worth the hunt. Lewis and I got hooked on the BBC version before they made it in the US. We got them from the library and loved it. The US version is also very good. I think we preferred the BBC one but now I am so excited about the Pam and Jim relationship. I even dream that I am in their little world. OK TMI. ANYWAY, it will be sad to start this season without our trusty "the Office" friends Matt and Anna, but we'll save them a seat and maybe they'll stop by sometime....... So hurry and go get your copies, I promise you won't be disappointed.

"Leaving on a jet plane"

This was at the airport when Lewis was heading off to Thailand for his mission 10 years ago. Aiden was looking at it and she said I look the same (ahhhhhhhhhh mannnnn) but that she didn't recognize Lewis. What do you think? I personally am diggin my nice tucked in look, very snazzy. AND P.S. for all you worried people out there, we are NOT touching, it's an optical illusion, I am actually leaning behind him so calm down and don't call the BYU honor code or MTC no touch police or anything. Isn't it a cute picture though? Click on it for a better look.

Then and Now

(I don't know why there is a white block under the pictures, but I'm leaving it because I have already spent hours trying to scan and upload and yada yada so I guess we have to live with the white blocks.)
Well sort of, the now was taken last summer, the last time we were all together. (This is me and my siblings) The first picture was taken at John's baptism about 6 years ago, John seriously has the best smile when he shows all his teeth!! It makes me smile too. When did my "little" brothers become MEN!?!?!?!!?!?!?!? It's crazy. Lewis is looking a little like Fabio with that hair dontcha think? I think it's hot. And was this the year of the dreads Jackie?
I was talking to Kip on the phone today, he is starting his 2nd semester at BYU and I can't believe it was 11 years ago I was starting there. We had SO MUCH FUN that first year. 2 BYU police visits, lots of lobby lovers and trips to the creamery. Don't forget the tricky stix from pizza pipeline(and the HUGE pizza). Oh, I could go for some of the cinnamon ones right about now.........

Labor Day

On Labor Day we headed over to the Botanical Gardens to take a walk and here are some cute photos Lewis got of the kids.

Am I creating bad habits?

When Lewis is at the hospital overnight I bring the kids into my bed with me. It's huge and I like having them in there. So get over it. Anyway, the other night I came in to go to sleep and this is what I saw. It's cute huh!

SOCCER!!!!!!!!!

Aiden started soccer this week. I knew I wanted to sign her up for soccer because she loves to be busy and have lots of things to do. Plus, I knew I would be in trouble with at least one member of my family if I didn't. Jordan has been doing soccer drills with Aiden every time she sees her since Aiden could walk. When she was 2 Jordan told me to lie about her age to get her in to the city league. So see, I had no choice but to sign her up. Let me explain. So, I come from a family that loves soccer. I started playing at the age of 8--I think--with my sister Jordan who is 2 years younger than me. My dad signed us up for an 8 and under boys indoor league and bribed us with donuts. We had no idea what we were doing and couldn't see over the wall to figure it out. We just went in when they told us and ran around like crazy. It was fun though and I can still remember what that place smelled like. Jordan was better than me even then, but I kept playing until 9th grade when I switched to running cross country and track. My dad has always coached us and has a great grasp of the game, he loves loves loves it. He coached us in rec. leagues, competitive, and also coached high school, they loved him. My mom has also coached us and has spent many many hours watching soccer as well as playing chauffeur up and down Parley's canyon. Both of my sisters played in college and Jordan was her conference player of the year at William and Mary. Jackie went to Western Kentucky where she helped start up their women's soccer team. If you girls will email me a picture of you in your soccer garb I can add it to my blog. Anyway, back to my point. Aiden started soccer this week.
She was so excited about it she has been begging to wear her shinguards and cleats all week. I was worried that her expectations would be much different than her experience and that would make her frustrated. On Monday Lewis talked to her about playing sports. He told her that it isn't really important who wins, but when we play sports and we get tired we just "keep on going". She keeps reminding herself of that over and over and reciting it to me. At practice, she ran, she kicked, she passed, she dribbled (sort of), she tried and tried to score. (Brooks kept getting in the way while trying to join the practice and has actually been kicking the soccer ball around a lot the last few days). Her team voted and decided to be called "Red Fire" (their uniforms will be red), and I even volunteered to be the team mom and assign treats. When it was all over her cheeks were red and she was tired. When I asked her what she thought of it she told me that I could call her coach and tell him she wouldn't be coming back. WHAT?!?!?! But it was so fun (and we already paid and bought you all that gear)! "But I was just so hot and I couldn't score". Oh well, I guess we'll see what happens next week.

Sunday Photos

Hope y'all are having a great weekend. Lewis left the camera here today (not sure if it was an accident or not), so I decided to try and get some pictures of the kids. How come it's always harder to get great pictures when you are trying to? They were having a hard time COOPERATING with me, seriously you would think they were 4 and 2 or something. Oh, wait........... ANYWAY I was worried about how church would go today since taking a few pictures was nearly impossible, but I am glad to report that it was good and Brooks only cried for a few minutes in the nursery. HOORAY!! AND the other great news is that Lewis is no longer hospital resident, it's back to the dental school for him this month so he won't be having to get up so early (he has been leaving between 3 and 4:30 this month). He can probably leave at 5:30 most days now. He's going to be loving life with that extra sleep and going back to 95 hour weeks. The 100+ weeks are tough. But, he loves loves loves the work. And that makes all our lives much happier!