I thought I knew.

In an effort to completely mortify and embarass my husband...:)

14 years ago, I thought I knew who you were. I thought that I knew the type of person you were. I thought I knew how kind and...perfect (for me) you were.

11 years ago, I thought I knew why you were worth moving for. I thought I knew the man you were becoming. I thought I knew just how complete you made my soul.

9 (almost 10!) years ago, I thought I knew what our marriage would be. I thought I knew how great a husband you would be. I thought I knew what an amazing father you would be. I thought I knew how much you loved your family. I thought I knew what sorts of incredible and selfless things you would do with your life.

Turns out, I had no idea.

You are much more than I ever thought. Than I ever dreamed. Than I ever thought I knew.

I never imagined the patient, kind, funny father you would be. I never knew the incredible teacher that our children would have in you. I never imagined how it would make my eyes sting with tears and my heart overflow with emotion to see our children run to you at the end of the day or to see you comfort them.

I never imagined that you would grow into a man so strong, so kind, so selfless, so full of integrity, so gentle, and so loving. I never knew just how much you would affect those around you. I never knew just how you would excel at your job--how many families and children you would impact.

I never knew the service you would lend within our church. I never knew how quietly and humbly you would accept the duties and service asked of you. On the day (this past Sunday!) that you were called upon to lead the Young Men, I never would have imagined the quiet pride I would feel as I watched you stand to accept this calling. I never imagined the deep gratitude I would feel for your example in faith--to me, to the youth, and to our children.

I never knew that someday, I would be breathtakingly grateful for our relationship. That I would feel blessed beyond measure by our partnership and our love. I never knew that I would be filled with amazement and wonder at the amount of work we put into us and the tenfold return we receive.

I thought I knew who I had married. What I was marrying. How it would all turn out.

Turns out, I was wrong. You are more than I hoped. More than I dreamed. More than I imagined.

You are everything. I love you Spencie. Happy Birthday. :)

What to do when it's -14 degrees...

1. Find your air popper. You know, the one you haven't used in say...6ish years. Giggle a little when you explain (while searching for the popper) that, no, you are not looking for a BIG HUGE popper like the one they use at Target (in the food court).

2. Take the kids on a very short (no one wants to pile in and out of the car multiple times in weather this cold!) trip to get some popcorn kernels.

3. Laugh and feel slightly ashamed that they cannot believe that popcorn really looks like "those little seeds". Yes, my children totally thought that all popcorn either came from a movie theater or magically grew from little bags in the microwave.

4. Pop away. Be sure you have real butter on hand for the finished product.

5. Cover the living room floor in blankets, give the kids each a gigantic bowl of their own popcorn, and watch in wonder as they proceed to have a library-book-a-thon of sorts for a full HOUR together while eating their popcorn.

6. Laugh when one of your children (Milo) frantically runs to the kitchen when he hears you putting away the popper. "Mom wait! We have to put this one back in!" (Holding up a half popped kernel.) Laugh even more when, after explaining that you don't put half popped popcorn back in the popper, your child says, "But Moooooom, look at it! It WANTS to pop!".

Later, when it's more like 17 below and it's now dark, you should invite some friends over, read Christmas stories to all of the kids, watch a clip about the birth of Christ (emphasizing that the most important Christmas story of all is the story of Christ's birth and his life), then help the kids make super cute ornaments (thanks Melissa), and eat soooo much homemade gingerbread with applesauce and whipped cream. Yum. So fun.

Best Ever Gingerbread

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour, plus more for dusting pan
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
8 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted, then cooled to room temperature
3/4 cup mild molasses
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of 11 by 7-inch or 9x9-inch baking pan; dust with flour, tapping out any excess.

2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and cocoa in medium bowl.

3. Beat butter, molasses, and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat in egg until incorporated. Gradually add buttermilk and milk until combined.

4. Add dry ingredients to liquid; beat on medium speed until batter is smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Do not overmix. If using fresh ginger, batter will be lumpy. Scrape batter into prepared pan.

5. Bake until top springs back when lightly touched, and edges have pulled away from the pan sides (or until wooden skewer, inserted in middle, comes out crumbless), about 40 minutes. Set pan on wire cake rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm, or at room temperature with applesauce and whipped cream. (Gingerbread can be wrapped in plastic, then foil, and refrigerated up to 5 days.)

Vegas Rocks

Vegas rocks. As in, the rocks in Vegas. Actually, northeast of Vegas to be exact.

For Spencer's 30th birthday (next week), we flew to Vegas (without the kids--first away trip of more than 24 hours), met his brother Josh there and spent three days hiking and rock climbing. Well, they climbed. Me? Not so much. Turns out, my fear of heights and of dying at a height greater than 4 feet is still paralyzing. At least I didn't cry...this time.

Spencer and Josh, sizing up a climb.

The trip was amazing, amazing, amazing. We had so much fun just hanging out and exploring. We did very little of the Vegas strip scene. We did a little research, found some incredible restaurants (the best Thai food of our lives!!) and just enjoyed hanging out. It was nice to be "unplugged", so to speak, for that long and Josh even turned off his Crackberry--er, I mean Blackberry for long periods of time. ;)

Spencer at some ridiculous height. Most of the time, I was either not watching or watching while holding my breath.

Me on our hike up to the climbs. It was a lot of steep scrambling and incredible scenery.

When we were at the airport getting our rental car, some older man came up to Spencer and started patting his backpack and inquiring as to what we were there to do (climb? hike? backpack?). When Spencer told him we were there to climb, the guy gave a HUGE smile and nearly shouted, "That's great!!! My daughter has been looking for someone to climb with! She's right over there! I'll go get her!".

Now, honestly, I don't know whether this sweet old man (80ish) was hoping to hook his daughter up with a date or a climbing partner but, either way, it was a little awkward. She ended up spending the day climbing with us on Thursday. She was a nice enough person but, apparently, has been to France, Costa Rica, Switzerland, and a whole number of other countries in the last few months to ski, climb, surf, and complete triathalons. We--okay I--felt very out of her league. The humor of the awkwardness of the situation only intensified when we ended up taking the super-duper-long way on our way OUT and ended up hiking down in the DARK (okay there was a full moon) for 2.5 hours.

Spencer on another climb.

One of our only "Vegas" moments--watching grown men ride a mechanical bull. Embarassing? Yes. Hilarious? Yes. Pathetic? Sort of.

Spencer and I at some of the coolest rock on the hike. It was striped and covered in polka dots. Crazy.

This pretty much summed up how Spencer and Josh felt about the bells and whistles of Vegas. Josh: mildly amused. Spencer: in awe at the ridiculousness of it all.

This trip was so fun, so needed, and such a good workout. My calves are still hurting. We missed the kids so much and--I swear--they grew half a foot while we were gone!

*Thanks to my mom and dad who selflessly watched the kids for us. They endured more cartoons, pancakes, McDonalds trips, Dollar Store sprees, preschool parties, Santa visits and all manner of dressup and pretend play than you can shake a stick at! They're probably still trying to sleep it off. :) Love you guys.

Spinning...

What do you--rather my children--call a bunch of Weebles spinning in endless circles on our wooden floor? Spinning class.

Do you think that they really think that's what I do at spinning class on Tuesdays and Thursdays??? :)

I misjudged you.

Dear Dr. Mehta's Sinus Rinse,

My most sincere of apologies. I completely misjudged you. When all of your loyal followers went on and on (and on) about the Neti Pot and the sinus rinse, I scoffed. When Andrew stole Angela's teapot on The Office and attempted to use it as a Neti Pot, I merely laughed. I may have even referred to you as a "nasal enema" and vowed never to use you. Even after my dear husband bought me one for my birthday in a sincere attempt to help me overcome my allergies/chronic sinusitis, I was not sold.

Turns out, I was wrong. You are like crack. But in a good way. I just can't get enough now. My day is not complete without you.

Oh sure, the first time I used you, I felt like I was drowning--but in a good way I swear. Sure, the first time I used you I probably looked like a fool. Spencer probably would have asked me to close the door to disguise all of my disgusting noises and gasps as I tried to figure the dang thing out; however, he was far too afraid of me by that point. Weeks of sinus infections make a girl rather grouchy. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

You are no longer a desperate measure. You are a lifesaver. And for that, Dr. Mehta, I thank you.

~E.

Holy Moly Guacamole

In a nutshell, our trip to Utah was eventful. We did tons of hanging out, reunited the band (Rockband that is), went on an adventure to the Gateway Discovery with Shikay and her kids, saw Madagascar 2 with Amy and her family, saw Four Cristmases, ate way too much food, ate more food, hung out some more, visited grandparents galore, hung out even more, and then--for good measure--ate some more. Whew.

The day that we left, the kids' preschool put on a Thanksgiving Lunch for the parents and grandparents. Spencer and my mom had to work so it was just my dad and me. The kids were so excited and so cute. They had talked alot about manners before we got there and, apparently, I was slurping my soup. Isabel was kind enough to lean in and whisper some helpful hints in my ear about how to properly eat my soup. :) (In this picture, they are standing in front of the list of "things to do" to get ready for our lunch.)

On to pictures of the Discovery Gateway...

This had better be the closest that we ever get to a Life Flight chopper.

Why are there only two pictures of Milo and one hundred pictures of Isabel? Because, it is difficult to take the same picture over and over again and make it look interesting. Milo spent the ENTIRE time operating this crane and playing in the water table. Isabel on the other hand? Well, see for yourself...

"Have a nice day lady" and "Oh, sorry, I'm all out of stickers for your cute kids" were two of the things she said to me while I was "paying" at the "caster rester".

Isabel delivering the mail--she LOVED this. The place is scattered with mailbox and she made it a point to deliver mail to every one of them.

A very serious take on the gigantic xylophone.

Kennedy (Shikay's oldest daughter) and Isabel trying out their future careers--news anchor (Kennedy) and "weather girl" (Isabel).

Me and (my sister-in-law) Melissa after our Turkey Trot. We rocked the trot. Well, she rocked the trot. This was her first 5K ever and, after very minimal training, she ran every step of the stinkin' thing. Every step. And she wasn't even out of breath or wanting to kill me when we crossed the finish line. So fun. She has no idea what lies ahead for her. ;) I have big plans. HUGE plans.

Oh, and we got passed by some guy who was wearing a loincloth and a headdress. And nothing else. Except shoes. I think he had shoes.

Aaaahhh Turkey Day. Isabel at the kids' table. We had Thanksgiving at Melissa's this year and, honestly, it felt a little bit like we were playing make believe. We're not old enough to host Thanksgiving--let alone have kids at the kids' table. Right?

Olivia and Lyla having naked Thanksgiving. They were COVERED in sweet potatoes and cranberries by the end. SO CUTE.

Milo at the aforementioned kids' table.

You get alot of attention when you roll with these cuties. I'd forgotten what a double-stroller does for your celebrity status! ;)

Grandma Cathryn is always up for a good boardgame with the kids.

Milo, Royan, and Isabel.

Going to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square is absolutely magical for me. We rode the light rail train downtown and walked around with the kids. Shikay and her family joined us. After freezing their Texas/Vegas selves to death last year, they were NOT making that same mistake this year. This time, they all came in big warm hats and snowsuits. Only problem? It was about 50 degrees this year. :)

Isabel, Spencer, and Milo cuddling at Temple Square. Cuddling...getting put in a headlock by your dad...it's all the same right?

Looking up at the temple.

There was so much more fun had. Isabel continued to develop her love affair with American Girl dolls (thanks to kind aunties who let her play with there old ones--very carefully and in full view of all adults), Milo honed his Lego Star Wars skills, Spencer watched some football with his dad, Melissa and I snuck an entire Crown Burger meal in to the movie theater, Amy and Bryan made us laugh when we SO needed it, Josh did his darnedest to cement his place as most indulgent uncle, Melissa continued to amaze us with her strength and we just had an all around busy and exhausting but good time.