Lainey said...

We were in the car driving to an appointment this week. Brady was getting tired and was fussing. I hear Lainey talking to him, and after a few minutes, I tune into what she's saying. Do you think she might have heard this before?

Lainey: Brady, you need to use your words.

Brady: More fussiness

Lainey: No, Brady, those aren't words. You need to say words!

I wish he knew what she meant, too! Although she was pretty bossy, at least I know she hears what I'm sayin sometimes.

My little guy

Brady had his 15 month (yes, I know, he is actually much closer to 16 months. I seem incapable of getting kids to their check ups exactly when they are due) well baby check up on Friday. In honor of Brady, here are some pictures of the chunk of cuteness.

Some fun things about Brady:

• He is very helpful. He would rather put toys away than dump them out (for now).
• He eats more than Lainey all the time. And he always will eat more food if I put it in front of him. I don't know if Brady has ever been full.
• He sleeps like a rock, which is more than can be said of her sister who would still wake up nightly at this age.
• He is so happy and easy going. I love that.
• He has a major sweet tooth. He will get all tense and clench his fists then screech loudly if someone else is getting a sweet and he isn't.
• He has 7 teeth.
• He loves to put batteries in his mouth. (this isn't good, I know. Somehow he always finds one on the table or computer desk...)
• He and sister don't always get along, but they can make each other laugh harder than anyone else.
• He loves green beans and grapes.
• He dances by bobbing his head forward, its hilarious. Hopefully he'll get more rhythm when he's older.
• He loves to swing.
• He splashes a ton in the tub. Literally, water everwhere.
• He loves legos.
• His Mommy, Daddy, and sister, Lainey love him lots!

More reunions in Utah!

Just in case anyone was wondering, the new mattress last night was divine! We both slept like rocks. Love it! Part 2 of our trip: The Utah stop. On our way down to Utah we passed Tyler's brother and sister-in-law (Kevin and Kristen) as they were heading to Boise. Grabbed a bite with them and caught up. We haven't seen them in a year! YIPES! Here they are with the kiddos:

Wish we saw you guys more! Then we headed to my sister's house. We stayed with them for a couple of days and got to see my adorable niece, Lucy. What a cutie! We had loads of fun. It doesn't hurt that Betsy is an amazing cook. Wowzer, we ate good. (Betsy, what was the name of that salad we had the first night? Or at least the month it was in Cooking Light and I'll look it up). We went to the park and fed ducks while the boys went fishing. We also checked out the new IKEA, swam at the pool, and visited Tyler's Grandma Dora, whom I adore. Lainey gets confused with the whole Dora the Explorer bit. She was a little disappointed that we weren't visiting the Dora we see regularly in our home via Nickelodeon. The kids didn't last long, but at least we got to introduce Brady to his great grandma!

Lucy and Lainey feeding the ducks. I think Lucy wants to share her bread, eh?

Lainey, don't fall in!!! She had so much fun feeding the ducks. We don't really have a place to do that around here.

Don't know if you can really see it here, and Betsy might not want me to share, but can you see Lucy eating the bread? What you don't know is that she fell and the bread had dirt all over it (the kind of dirt that comes from yucky duck feet, etc. You get the idea?). Betsy explained that the ducks liked the dirty bread anyways, so apparently Lucy thought 'If its good enough for the ducks, its good enough for me!' Hee hee.

Gotta get a shot of Bets in here. Does this not epitomize all we know and love of Betsy or what?

Where you beginning to wonder if Brady was actually there? He's not in any of the pictures I posted before, so I thought I better produce some evidence that he's still alive. What a cutie, eh?

The Millers (plus Lucy) with Grandma Dora. I wish we could've visited longer. I didn't realize just how difficult it would be with the kiddos. We love you, Grandma!

Can you believe they were still smiling after our marathon day of IKEA, Grandma, AND swimming? Lucy cracks me up!

I loved our trip. Was it a lot in six days? For sure. But for once we can say we did everything we wanted to and saw everyone we wanted to see. It's hard not to look back and miss family and friends that we can't see often. I never thought I would be homesick for anyone but my mom. I was wrong. I miss my girlfriends, I miss Tyler's family, and I certainly miss hanging out with my sister. Life goes on, I guess we just have to roll with it. Luckily, I roll easily. And can I just say thank heavens for modern technology? Think about how easily we got to see everyone? What if we had to travel the 850 miles in a wagon? I can guarantee we wouldn't be making that trip often if ever. And the internet! We say it all the time, but I am so happy to be connected to my friends and family through myfamily.com and email and blogging! You are just a click away! Yeah! Anywho, have a great weekend everyone. Enjoy the pictures!

Reunions!

So we just went to Tyler's 10 year high school reunion. Tyler got to see old friends and I got to meet some new ones.

Try as I might to get some dirt on the Tyler of yester year, no one would dish. So here is what I know of Tyler's high school days: he took lots of AP classes, lots of art classes, did many different sports, but LOVED soccer. He had long hair for a period of time (hilarious). He was a twig. Yes, I know, anyone who knows Tyler post-mission may find this hard to believe, but its true. He was a domestic diva, helping at home lots. He had quite a few girlfriends, none of which I met, unfortunately (Isn't that why wives attend? To see the folleys of their husbands ways and to prove that of course they are the better woman?).

We also got to see my old friends from our days in a little town called Kuna.

Lainey played with her little boyfriends and I caught up with my best friends. It was so much fun. Thanks, girls!! Here are some more shots of our adventures.

Yes, they naturally posed like this, without prompting. Maybe Lainey and Carter do remember their days playing together!

Chaser! What a babe. His new nickname: California. His hair is so blond he looks tan. What a babe!

Hayden, the heartbreaker. At one point in the adventure, a shirtless Hayden snuggled right up to Lainey and put his arm around her while they were watching a movie. It was adorable. Unfortunately, by the time I quit laughing hysterically, the moment had passed. Maybe this is foreshadowing to the future. A mother can hope, right? Lainey couldn't do better, I'm already sure of it. Hee hee.

Little Natalie. She's changed the most since we moved away. She was only a baby when I left and now she is all girl. And adorable!

And of course we can't forget our fabulous Idaho family. We had a great time chillin with the Millers and ate tons of good food thanks to the talented Marvel! We got to meet new family namely Jody (Tyler's step sister) and their kids and our new nephew, Collin, featured in these pics.

What a hunk of cuteness! And he really is asleep in the top photo. 11 weeks old.

Here's some pics of the rest of the clan. I've got the best in laws- really. I love em! Thanks for making time to see us everyone! We miss Sunday dinners, birthday parties, and all the other family fun that comes with living close.

This is going to have to once again be a two parter, because its nearly 11 and Tyler got us a new mattress today. After sleeping on the one at Papa and Tutu's we couldn't go back to the lumpy, dumpy thing in our room currently, so I gotta go help haul it upstairs and get bedding on it. The Utah portion of our trip coming soon!

Just about perfect

Do you ever capture a moment...That just makes you smile? Lainey was helping Mommy trying to get Brady to smile by tickling him. Classic. Danner says thats just so Brady. And it is, really. He's a happy, giggly, joyful little man!

Do you ever cheer ...

For the winning team? We went to a Colorado Rockies game with Danner and Rachel and they beat the Milwaukee Brewers 11 to 4. It was a great night. The Rockies had two five run innings and we had a ton of fun. Love baseball games!

Do you ever try...

Something new? My piano lessons started this week. I'm LOVING it! Ack! I can't wait till I'm good! Seriously. Why can't a be a concert pianist, like, yesterday?

Do you ever get so nervous...

That instead of biting your nails (a habit which you quit over six months ago, and are committed to NOT reestablish) you bite and chew a straw to pieces? We caught this flick last night. I'm a huge Matt Damon fan (I love him. Really. I love him.) and a huge fan of this trilogy. Loved this movie! Wowzers, it was good!

Do you ever score...

Something amazing for nothing? Tyler's job certainly has its perks (the Rockies tickets and now this). He got wind of a classified ad for a free swing set before the paper printed and it totally hooked us up with this! Can you believe our luck? Lainey's luck, really. It's still in a few pieces in our yard, but as soon as Daddy can spare the time, we are going to have a park in our backyard!

Do you ever think that your life is just about perfect? Sometimes. But maybe not all the time. Even so, we've had some great moments this past week in our just about perfect life.

What a man.

Don't know if you heard. President James E. Faust (2nd counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) passed away in the early hours of this morning. Click here for the official press release from the church. He was a completely wonderful human being. Cliche, I know, but I can't think of any other words to describe him, maybe one of you will.

I don't have anything profound to say, but as I've been thinking about him as I ran my errands today, I thought of how much I have learned from him. Just this past year, I have been able to read his words frequently. While serving in Relief Society, I put together a program (from an existing one) that allowed me to scour the Conference articles for inspiring words for the sisters in my ward. Every topic I looked up, there was a remarkable thought from Pres. Faust and many directed at the women in the church. He was so inspiring and loving and I felt like I knew him more by reading so many of his conference talks. So, as we celebrate Pres. Faust and his remarkable life, here are some thoughts he had for the women of the church.

"As daughters of God, you cannot imagine the divine potential within each of you. Surely the secret citadel of women's inner strength is spirituality. In this you equal and even surpass men, as you do in faith, morality, and commitment when truly converted to the gospel. You have 'more trust in the Lord [and] more hope in his word.' This inner spiritual sense seems to give you a certain resilience to cope with sorrow, trouble, and uncertainty.

You sisters do not know the full extent of your influence. You sisters enrich all of humanity. All human life begins with you. Each woman brings her own separate, unique strengths to the family and the Church. Being a daughter of God means that if you seek it, you can find your true identity. You will know who you are. This will make you free- not free from restraints, but free from doubts, anxieties, or peer pressure. You will not need to worry, "Do I look all right?" "Do I sound OK?" "What do people think of me?" A conviction that you are a daughter of God gives you a feeling of comfort in your self worth. It means that you can find strength in the balm of Christ. It will help you meet the heartaches and challenges with faith and serenity.

I wonder if you sisters can fully appreciate the innate gifts, blessings, and endowments you have simply because you are daughters of God. A woman can and must have an identity and feel useful, valued, and needed... She must feel that she can do something for someone else that no one else ever born can do."

So, what's your favorite talk by Pres. Faust? Here's one that I have been contemplating lately.

Spinach/Spanish

Hee Hee! This made me laugh so hard, and these kids are so CUTE!




Best line: "We're doin business here."

Attitude change...

So I've had a day that could be considered a page out of this book:

I won't go into details, except to say that my day involved letting down a friend and two accidents by two seperate offenders. Much like my friend, Alexander, my bad day was more in relation to my reaction to the no-good things happening. And much like Alexander, I did want to escape to Australia to get away from it all. But I sat down to check my email and found this little tidbit among other lovely things:

"Remember, a good attitude produces good results,

a fair attitude fair results, a poor attitude poor results.

We each shape our own life, and the shape

of it is determined largely by our attitude."
M. Russell Ballard

Ah, what more can I say? Shape up, Carrie! You've got a great life! Luckily you don't have gum in your hair, you didn't trip on a skateboard, you don't have a cavity (that you know of), and you don't HAVE to wear train pajamas. Luckily, your dear, sweet husband said you can go to Old Navy tonight without the kids and fill your stuff-and-save bag, and he is giving you a much needed break to type a ridiculous blog post! Maybe I won't need Australia after all...

Tag! You're it!

My cousin Megan tagged me! Tagging means that I do my "top four" in the following categories, and then tag four more people.

Favorite four jobs I've held:
BYU Creamery on 9th- Didn't necessarily enjoy the job, but I met the greatest guy there- TYLER!
Wasatch Mental Health- Stressful, but rewarding job. If I was still working, that job is probably what I'd be doing!
Huckleberries Paper Patch- a scrapbooking store, need I say more?
Stay At Home Mom.

Four movies I can watch over and over again:
Pride and Prejudice (AMC version)
Pride and Prejudice (Kiera Knightey version)
Sweet Home Alabama
Pirates of the Caribbean

Four places I have lived:
Lake Stevens, WA
Provo, UT
Boise, ID
Denver, CO

Four t.v. shows I watch:
Ack! This is going to be tough! We've been taking a major hiatus from tv this summer!
What not to Wear
Scrubs
How I Met Your Mother (HILARIOUS!)
The only show I ever truly watched faithfully was Gilmore Girls, but it just ended. I can't think of any more. Does Dora or Backyardigans or Wonder Pets count?

Four places I've been on vacation:
Australia
New Zealand
California
Washington
(man, I need to get out more.That was too hard and all of those are from 5 or more years ago, except WA)

Four favorite foods:
Skinny cow ice cream sandwiches, yummy!
Peaches
Ice cream
Bacon (I know, this is bad as a favorite food, but dang its good!)

Four websites I visit:
Well, I don't check too many sites regularily, but if I venture from the norm, I probably go to
http://www.youtube.com/
http://www.amazon.com/
http://www.lds.org/
http://www.babycenter.com/

Four people I'm tagging now:
Jeanine
Lori
Tammy (if she checks this...)
You! The anonymous reader reading my blog! If you don't have a blog, post a comment filled with your tag answers!

Blog Therapy Part Deux

So I've been contemplating my latest obsession a lot lately. I love blogging, reading blogs, etc. A few times I've even wandered through other bloggers' links to discover other fun and insightful blogs. And I've been wondering why I'm so hooked on blogs. Why is blogging so much more fun than calling a girlfriend on the phone or emailing a pal?

Here is what I've come up with. In my daily life as I try to decipher the utterances of my three year old and the indescernable syllables that stutter out of my one year old, I find that there is a nagging desire to connect with other people. I would probably feel this way even if I wasn't a stay at home mom. There is just something about pushing that little publish post button that is indescribably satisfying. I mean, think about it... my thoughts are 'published'! How fun (and also scary) is that?

I also realize that blogs give me a way to find out about other people's lives and connect with people I don't normally chat with. That is probably more than half the reason I started this, so others would start and I could read theirs, too! So thanks everyone who has jumped on the bandwagon, before or after me.

So as I pretend to be mildly entertaining and witty, I've discovered that blogging is therapy for me, therapy that not only provides me with connection, but also with a better life. And here is why: my friend, Jeanine, shared these quotes a while ago on her blog and they have inspired me to be active rather than passive in my life. On jouranling from the lovely Brad Wilcox:

"Thoughts are created in the act of writing. [It is a myth that] you must have something to say in order to write. Reality: You often need to write in order to have anything to say. Thought comes with writing, and writing may never come if it is postponed until we are satisfied that we have something to say.... The assertion of write first, see what you had to say later applies to all manifestations of written language, to letters... as well as to diaries and journals."

And...

"Writing, like other arts, is a representation of life. Thus, the writer is compelled to live life more consciously. Journal writing will not make passive people miraculously more active. However, regular writing does make it harder for us to remain passive."

And honestly, how many of us have said, "I gotta get a picture of this to write about on my blog!" I know I have! So happy blogging, and hope everyone's therapy session is great today!

Meatloaf

No, not this guy:

But my recipe (but I'm sure we all enjoy his musical stylings, yeah?). I'm sure it's nothing special, but so many requests I thought I'd share!

1 beaten egg (sometimes I make a 1 and 1/2 lb meatloaf, then I use an egg and 1 egg white too)
1 slice of bread crumbs (if you use dry use abt 1/4 c)
1/4 c milk
1/4 c finely chopped onion (here is the happy mistake I made the other day... I had no onion so I used a packet of onion soup mix, whoa it was good!)
1/4 c finely chopped celery (or grn pepper or carrots or mushrooms)
1/2 tsp basil
1 lb ground beef
the second secret ingredient (thanks, Mom for this tip): I add a little pork sausage, maybe like 1/4 of a lb

Mix egg, bread, milk, onion, celery, basil, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper

Add the beef (and pork) and mix well. I know this is gross, but I've found the only way to really get the sausage mixed in well is by using my hands. Haven't you ever noticed that sausage tends to clump together?

Put in your loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes. I put it on a platter and then brush with a couple tablespoons of bbq sauce (I know, its not much, but makes all the difference)

Enjoy, friends!