Eric + Nakita = Reese & Ivan

Newport/Huntington Beaches 2012

2012-02-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

About a month ago we went on a road trip with Micah and Rachel to Newport Beach, CA. I'm stealing this excerpt from an email Eric sent to his brother Dan who is on a mission, because I think he summed it up nicely.

"Last week they (Micah and Rachel) invited us to come on a Road trip to California. I got back from Casper Wyoming Friday afternoon and Nakita had already packed our stuff...20 minutes later we were headed down to Provo to meet up with them. Rachel had borrowed her Mom's SUV so we all packed in and headed for the coast. We arrived in Newport Beach on Saturday at around 6am. We parked on the side of the beach and watched the sun come up. Ivan and I went on a walk when it came up and I got to see a Dolphin swimming near the shore as a fisherman was meandering down the beach periodically casting out into the surf trying to catch something. It was a great switch from the frigid coldness that I had just been experiencing out in Casper!

We stayed in Newport at a nice Hotel and boogie boarded near the pier in Huntington Beach while a surf competition was going on."

The part Eric kindly left out was the fact that he hadn't slept in over 24 hours and had been putting in long days of hard manual labor in the freezing cold for the few days prior to the trip so I was SUPER impressed that when Ivan started squealing as soon as we stopped the car for Eric to sleep a bit when we arrived in Newport Beach, he took Ivan out of the car to go on a walk, so everyone else could get some sleep. I will never forget that. What love!

This girl....

2012-01-24T15:20:00.002-07:00

Reese turned 3 at the beginning of the year! She is such a lover doll! I don't know if it is because she spends every waking moment with me, or because she is my blood, but I see so much of my younger, more innocent and naive self in her. This assists me in parenting her because I know what would and wouldn't work for me when being punished, being taught, and being loved.

She is such a sweet older sister, I'm so glad she is my oldest! She is so motherly, so intuitive, and so responsible and yet only three years old!!

We had lots of family in town over her birthday so we had a big party!

Reese sang the happy birthday song along with everyone else, since it is one of her all time favorites! She sang it for a few consecutive days making sure to say "dear Reesey" instead of Ivan like she had been prior to her birthday week.

She was spoiled!!

Last week when we had the first accumulating snow of January, we went outside and built a snowman, with a parsnip for a nose and chocolate chips for eyes and the mouth. Ivan HATED the whole experience. He did not want to be outside! I think it may have been nap time. Anyway, we made the snowman, sang "frosty the snowman" to it, per Reese's request. It was darling, and I decided I ought to get a pic of Reese by it. I told Reese to keep singing to the snowman while I ran inside to get the camera. When I came back out she was frowning and the snowman was toppled over with her hat laying next to it. Supposedly she had gotten to the part of the song that talks about placing a hat on his head and he began to dance around, took her hat off and tried to put it on the snowman's head and knocked him over in doing so. So we quickly re-built him while Ivan screamed with anger at being out there yet again.

Reese loves dressing up in her princess dress-ups. And although she usually ends up with them on backwards (I actually think she thinks this pink dress is supposed to go like this), she is adorable! She also LOVES her baby dolls, the baby doll pictured is her "chubby baby".

Reese now picks out her clothes and gets dressed on her own! HOLY MAKE MY LIFE SO MUCH EASIER! I can tell her to get dressed while I get Ivan dressed and we're ready to go in half the time. Sometimes I have to veto outfits, like shorts and tank tops when it is snowing, but most the time she does a good enough job.

I had to snap some pics of this outfit because she pulled the shorts up high AND they were on backwards.

We babysat Micah & Rachel's baby Kaylyn the other night. As mentioned above, Reese is so motherly! She talked sweetly to Kaylyn the entire time and made sure all her needs were met. She even held the bottle the majority of the time Kaylyn was eating. I'm sure these two will be great friends despite the age difference.

A Christmas Picture

2012-01-12T14:45:00.000-07:00

I was looking through the pics on my other camera and found that I DID take a picture on Christmas. One picture (below) and a video of Reese opening a present. So I'm not quite the loser I thought I was, still bad, but a little better :) Reese in her cute princess dress backwards by our Christmas tree that has be re-decorated multiple times by both my kids (mostly Reese putting ornaments higher when Ivan knocks them to the ground and Ivan pulling the tinsel stuff down.)

Holidays

2012-01-10T15:26:00.003-07:00

Reese likes to bathe in the sink, she'll stay entertained for long periods of time in here.

I am SO beyond lame, I took zero, yes zero! pictures of Christmas and New Years! I keep thinking pictures are going to show up somewhere because that is so unlike me to fail to take any pictures of fun events like these. I could kick myself. So a summary:

Christmas Eve:
- Went to my grandparents' annual German breakfast and gift exchange.
- Annual Messick shepherds' meal.
- Opened PJs: Reese was in LOVE with her Yo Gabba Gabba jammies.
- Spoke to Daniel over video skype; was kind of weird because it was all of the families and no one seemed to want to say anything in front of everyone else maybe, he looked good though and it was fun nonetheless.

Christmas:
- Reese wanted to open everyone's presents. Loved that this year!
- We opened 1/2 the presents, went to Christmas sacrament service, opened the other 1/2 (except Ivan who wanted to nap instead and opened the rest of his presents a few days later).
- Reese woke up at 2 in the morning and stayed a wake for over 2 hours, she was that excited.
- Headed down to Provo for a prime rib dinner with my family and gift exchange.

New Years Eve:
- Showed up at mom's while Eric finished working at Emily's house. Mom gets tight chested feeling and calls Dad (who is at work), Dad tells me to call 911 and have paramedics come. They come, dad and mom head to the hospital where they find out mom's gallbladder is filled to the brim with stones and the pain is radiating into her chest and shoulders. Surgery follows a couple days later.
- Met up with friends for dinner at Cafe Rio, which was a bad idea considering that we had planned for a lot of food at the party that would follow, and no one was hungry.
- Had our annual friends New Years party, this time at Lindsay Graulings house, the majority of the attendees were our family members (Emily, Jacob, Rachel, Brian, Kristen, and all their kids, David & Nicole,+ Micah and Rachel).
- Played XBOX Kinect, which is so totally fun.
- Missing the countdown like EVERY year but luckily (like every year) having DVR so we could rewind and pause while we filled the glasses with Martinelli's in preparation for the countdown :)

New Years Day:
- Attended Lindsay's sacrament meeting in our jeans, because we weren't originally planning on going to her ward.

Our holidays were FILLED with family, which was SO fantastic! Everyone was in town helping out on Emily's house, and thankfully that time overlapped with all the holidays, so not only did we get to spend a lot of time with my family but also with Eric's side of the family! We feel blessed for such good family, for good health, for the gospel, our Savior Jesus Christ, and for the many blessings we experience constantly!

Dream

2011-12-20T22:39:00.002-07:00

My kids make me seriously happy! Yes, things are a bit crazy around here, but that's what I love about my life. I'm living the life of a wife to a wonderful husband and a mom to 2 youngsters and I don't wish for anything different. This is what I've always wanted. I'm living my dream.

This year I am BEYOND excited for Christmas. It is so fun to see Reese start to grasp ideas. We went to Temple Square last weekend and Reese could see the Christus through the window (the building was locked because it was getting late). She told me what she remembered from last time we visited, "Jesus has spots, they're owies, he died, he's alive, he's wearing his jammies (the robe he has on - haha)". We had a little talk about Christ again and a couple days later I heard her telling my dad, "Jesus died for me, now he's alive."

My thoughts have been turned to the Savior more this holiday season then I feel they have been in past years. I'm grateful for that. I feel my heart growing with love for others, finding love in my heart that I didn't know would or could ever exist.

On a 'worldly' note :)...When I ask Reese what she wants for Christmas from Santa she tells me, "a mermaid toothbrush". I think Reese is going to be really into opening gifts this year. I have butterflies thinking about Christmas morning, I'm so excited for her to have her first "exciting" Christmas morning.

Ivan's a charmer! He MELTS me with his sweet personality, quick smiles, and the way he instantly starts playing with my hair when I pick him up. These days he looks so much like his daddy I can hardly stand it!!

update

2011-12-10T08:27:00.001-07:00

Lately my schedule has been so skewompous (sp??). This is by my own choosing. Eric is working in Orem, so many days of the week I'll go down with him and go to families' houses to hang out, help out, or whatever else. Lots of evenings, especially when Eric gets off late, we end up bunking up at my parents house since it doesn't seem worth driving all the way back to SLC just to go to sleep and head back the next morning. I spend at least 1/2 my time at our house, but since it isn't 95% I feel like I'm so crazy with cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, etc on those days that I don't get around to blogging and such. I probably ought to figure out a better schedule.

I'm excited to be at home today. I'm excited to take the kids to the "fish place" (Living Planet Aquarium), switch out our books and DVDs at the library, and get some Christmas presents wrapped. Ah, I love being a mom!!

Ivan is 1!!

2011-11-20T22:24:00.001-07:00

Today my baby turned 1!! When I woke up this morning and saw that the clock said 6:30 am I was FILLED to the brim with sweet memories. I remembered the 4 am birth of my sweet boy. It was so rewarding having to work so hard for a brief time to bring my little guy into this world. The thought makes me want to give birth over and over and over again. Seriously, it was such a rewarding, spiritual, and connecting experience. I remember being full of energy for about an hour after his birth and looking at him thinking "I cannot believe I just did that. I just did that!" I was in love with that little guy from the time I found out I was pregnant with him, and the love just grows exponentially. There is something about a mother's love for their sons. It is truly indescribable. I recalled having an extreme amount of fatigue come over my body after that first hour postpartum. I laid in bed, with Eric next to me, Ivan squeezed in between. We all slept deeply and I felt so fulfilled, thinking of my wonderful husband and beautiful children.

We had a combined birthday party. My dad's birthday was the day before, and Amber's birthday is the same day as Ivan's. It was fun and COZY with all the family at our place for soups, cake, and ice cream.

Benson

2011-11-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Our friends, Brad and Shanda, came up for dinner the other night with their 2 cute kids. Reese and Benson had a fun time watching Monster's Inc., drinking LOTS of chocolate milk, and building blanket forts.

Best pals

2011-11-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

These two are the best of pals. They definitely know how to push each other's buttons, but for the most part play good. It makes my heart SO happy when I see them playing and giggling. I am excited to see these two grow up together, being so close in age.

FYI: Reese is feeding Ivan nerds in this pic. She loves to feed him things, and is learning to quickly remove her fingers from his mouth since he now has 4 top teeth and 2 bottom teeth. Ivan also likes to feed Reese, when she'll let him. That blue dress Reese is wearing is her "dancing dress". She insists on wearing it the most part of every day. I need to get that girl in dance lessons!

moto ride

2011-11-10T07:36:00.000-07:00

Near the end of October, Eric and my dad went on a long motorcycle ride. They said they froze the majority of the time but still had a good time. Crazy.

They went to quite a lot of cool places and saw many neat things.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T08:01:00.000-06:00

Ivan = Shark

Eric = Shark Fisherman

Reese = Sheep

Nakita = Shepherd

You should have seen me sewing Reese's costume. It was pretty hilarious. I made it the shape and size I thought it would need to be, then I tried it on Reese and cut and sewed different places multiple times to make it fit right. It still wasn't fantastic, but it worked.

Our ward Trunk or Treat was fun, except when they had the kids all line up and go outside together, and by the time I got out to the parking lot I found Reese wandering around trying to find me. One of the parents was dressed as Darth Vader and was next to us as we trick-or-treated through the parking lot. Reese was a little freaked of him and kept squealing and saying "aaah, scary guy!" every time he came near her. Someone had a bubble machine that blew fog filled bubbles - AWESOME!

We went trick-or-treating, on actual Halloween, around my parents' neighborhood. Reese was wiped, tripped before we even got to the first house and then continued to trip periodically and freak out when both Eli and Chelsea weren't holding her hands. She kept saying "I want to go back to papa's house". Next time we'll make sure she's well rested for trick-or-treating so she can enjoy it a little more. Ivan was totally happy about being outside walking around, but then again, he had 2 naps before we went out.

Cornbelly's and Carving Pumpkins

2011-10-31T13:37:00.001-06:00

We went with Micah, Rachel, and Kaylyn to Cornbelly's this year. Eric and I had never been there but I had heard good reviews. It is like Disneyland, but cheaper, and probably colder. Definitely wonderland for mom's of energy filled kids - that is, if you can keep up with them running from one fun thing to the next. Reese was in heaven with jump houses, slides, wooden trains/tractors,etc that you could climb in and on, electronic animals performing songs (while Reese watched super intently - maybe she thought they were real? - and clapped her hands and kicked her legs excitedly, LOVE this age!), and all the room in the world to run free.

Princess land was a HIT. I was honestly shocked at how Reese reacted. She ran into the dress up room and picked out a pink princess dress, smiled from ear to ear while looking in a mirror the entire time I was getting her dressed in it, and then ran onto the stage and danced to the princess music....like not for just a minute either. She was SO into it. I thought she'd be bashful since it was only her on stage with us adults just watching her. But no, she was beaming and danced her little heart out. I wish I had had my video camera with me.

Last week we had the Christensens and David and Nicole up for pumpkin soup and pumpkin carving. Kaylyn is such a good baby - she just chilled and didn't mind Reese's constant doting.

The sawzall was the best idea of the night. Made short work of cutting the tops off of the pumpkins!

Wal-mart didn't disappoint once again. ANY pumpkin for $1.80?? Yes please!

4 of the 6 finished pumpkins. Eric's is the 2nd one from the left - the Grim Reaper. Mine is the one on the right - hello kitty.

September - 1st week in October

2011-10-29T11:15:00.000-06:00

Eric went glassing with Taylor prior to the elk hunt. I hear it was bitter cold - sounds like fun ;)

My sister Aubrey had her 3rd baby. A baby boy named Micah. Reese loves him! It is funny how much she loves babies. She is definitely a born nurturer.

Speaking of....whenever Ivan is crying hard (due to a reason other than something inflicted purposefully by Reese) Reese wants to hold and comfort him. It is so cute. This picture is of when they were playing next to each other and I hear "Yook mom, I hold Ivan" Sure enough, she had gotten him in front of her and layed him down on her lap.

Talented Eric made an art easel for Reese. I love when he makes things because we get to design it how we want it. I still haven't put the roll of paper on it, simply because I keep forgetting to order it, but Reese is enjoying drawing, coloring, and painting on it (and me too, since she usually invites me to join her)!

Evening

2011-10-11T14:48:00.000-06:00

Reese is in love with 'baby bottle pop' candy, and it never fails to make her mouth a lovely shade of blue (or red, but usually blue since that is the one she picks out most often since it seems to be her favorite color).

Now that the weather is cooling down we can go on more evening bike rides. It was just too flippin' hot too late into the evening during the summer months. Eric caught this cool picture from the overpass we drive over on the way to "Sugar Park" (as Reese calls it).

Life is full of uncertainty but God is constant. I'm glad we have him to hold onto and look to. This rings in my mind almost constantly these days :)

Caineville

2011-10-04T15:46:00.000-06:00

Our friends, the Kennedys, invited us to their annual friend dirt bike get together in Caineville, UT. Holy! I haven't ever seen such dirt bike enthusiasts. I love dirt biking, but I didn't realize there were other people, like Eric, who LOVE love it and could and would dirt bike all day every day if possible. Eric was in heaven!

We only went for Friday and Saturday, but it was still awesome and we got a lot of riding in. We camped at the "meet up" spot and enjoyed an incredible wind storm during the night. BLAH! I hate wind storms while camping - they seriously freak me out!

Sadly I didn't get a whole lot of pictures of Eric since I was with the kids when he was riding, or riding along with him once while our friends watched the kids.

The riding is like riding the sand dunes but the ground is hard. Meaning that you can ride up and down most anything, not only on set single track trails. There are tons of places to ride and unlike the sand dunes, can be ridden by all skill levels and all types of bikes. Pretty much the perfect place to take anyone.

I rode Daniel's bike, since it is faster and more powerful than the bike I normally ride. Daniel, if you read this, your bike worked great, nothing is broken, and don't worry, Eric will insist on taking you dirt biking here the second, ok maybe hour, you get home :)

Eric made us dutch oven biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Stupid me moved the dutch oven at some point in the afternoon and didn't cover all the briquettes with dirt. Reese stepped on them with her bare foot and burned the arch of her left foot (and her pinky finger a bit when she confusedly tried to semi-crawl away) and was out of commission the rest of the day. Standing in the cooler, sitting on chairs with a can of cold soda on her foot, etc. Then, unfortunately, a guy - not with us - cased a double bad! The ambulance came because the guy had a big gash in his head and broke his collar bone, but then he ended up being air lifted out of there. Hillary Kennedy asked the EMTs for burn cream for Reese and brought it back. That made her feel lots better and she was active the last 15 minutes before we had to leave. Poor girl!

Near sighted

2011-09-28T13:37:00.001-06:00

Right now I'm looking down from my computer chair at Reese, wearing her backwards foam filled fluorescent pink and purple swimsuit, sitting right next to Ivan on the floor pretend eating his hands while he laughs hysterically at her with his little squinty eyes and w-i-d-e toothy smile. I must always remember to love the here and now, and not be wishing for the next great thing, because really - right now is amazing!

I've felt so inspired by Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk from this last weekend's General Relief Society Conference. I'm sure you've seen lots of links to this talk. Why? Because it is THAT good! Listen to it and life will become much more beautiful!

Donut Falls

2011-09-24T12:05:00.000-06:00

We hiked to Donut Falls a while back while the river was still so high that you couldn't get to the regular base of the falls and there was so much water volume that you couldn't tell there was a "donut" in the rock formation of the falls.

So we went back last month once the water had eased and it looked like a totally different place. It was a beautiful cooler day, perfect for a hike!

Eric is the only one who ventured to the top, which ended up being a great idea since you have to free climb some areas, and that just doesn't work when you're holding kids :) Plus, Reese enjoyed sitting at the bottom of the falls throwing rock after rock into the river.

The "donut".

We found a little bird by the side of the trail on the way back down. We stopped for a while to observe it.

And the moose that ran in front of us as we were driving from the trailhead to the main road. All that searching in Yellowstone for Moose paid off when we spotted one in our backyard mountains. Ha ha, that scenario seems to play out all too frequently:)

Dew Tour

2011-09-18T19:56:00.002-06:00

The night before the Dew Tour, we went to The Gateway to check out a couple stores. We noticed something going on at the Energy Solutions Arena, it was a pre-show for the Dew Tour. By the time we did our Gateway excursion and headed to the arena, the show was over. But.....they did still have free Mountain Dews and tickets to the Dew Tour for the next day.

Eric has 2 favorite sodas, at least that we stock up on regularly. Orange and Mountain Dew. So, of course Eric and I each grabbed a can, and of course Reese had to have a swig (or fifteen) of Eric's in front of the Dew Tour sign...since she doesn't get soda very frequently, but LOVES it!

We got 5 tickets so we invited who else but the two we know are up for most things, even last minute or semi-unorganized things....Micah and Rachel. Rachel was such a good sport walking around so much in the heat with her overdue baby in her belly, which she had 2 days ago! We LOVE that baby!!!!!! I'm afraid I might become annoying with how much I want to see and hold that sweet little thing!

Reese got her first temporary tattoo, ha ha. I don't know that I'm a fan of those these days. I used to buy bazooka bubblegum ALL the time at Day's market, when I was young, so I could get the temporary tattoos inside and put them all over myself. These days permanent tattoos are so "in". We believe that our bodies are special gifts to us from our father in heaven and the leaders of my church have discouraged us from tattooing them. So... I don't want Reese thinking it is ok to ink her body all up. So....this may not only be her first but her last temporary tattoo - we'll see, call me a prude if you must.

Ivan doing his tricks!

I'm goin' to Jackson...

2011-09-09T21:49:00.002-06:00

Eric's mom was in Utah for a couple weeks. At the conclusion of her stay we all (Eric, me, Ivan, Reese, David, Nicole, Amber, Eric's mom) met up with Jackson (Eric's dad) in Jackson, WY - yep this post might get confusing with all the "Jackson"s in it. Jackson and Jill's purpose in going was to see the Bar J Wranglers concert. Eric and I decided that the kids might get a little crazy at a long concert, where you are seated the entire time, so we explored Jackson and enjoyed a free concert in the park (I know - typical us and our free entertainment - I LOVE it!!)

This bear was gigantic! I can't even imagine coming face to face with one of these beasts. I could curl up in a ball and fit inside it's head.

There were lots of cool little shops and allies.

Johnny Cash and June Carter's "Jackson" was in my head the entire time we were on vacation. No worries though, I love that song, and still love that song - not really the story line of the song, but the tune and the voices of both Johnny Cash and June Carter reeling through my mind.

The next morning we headed to Yellowstone. I have always wanted to go to Yellowstone, and this was my first time. Eric guided in Yellowstone for one summer so he was excited to be with me for my first trip there. It did NOT disappoint. I didn't even know how cool it would be. What with all the colorful hot pots, gorgeous forests, fantastic mountain scenes, and Old Faithful. How did I not at least know of all the things Yellowstone was going to offer me?? We definitely need to take another trip there but devote a week or more so we can do some of the hikes.

Oh the Tetons! Fondly reminded me of our week long adventurous journey along the Teton Crest Trail with little Reese in a backpack. While reminiscing, I frequently thought how glad I am that she didn't weigh as much as Ivan did at the same age. Ivan swam with sharks at 6 months, Reese hiked the Teton Crest Trail at 6 months - no big deal :) We have a lot to live up to with any additional kids.

Some of these pots were boiling! What in the world!! One had even cooked up a nice little mouse - yum.

Old Faithful. I know I've heard stuff about it, but to be honest, my memory isn't the greatest, because I couldn't remember what exactly it was. I was AMAZED that the geyser, and the predictable nature of it, is all natural. SO neat!

While waiting for Old Faithful, we walked around and hung out in the lodge. It is so intricate - Swiss Family Robinson on major steroids.

There she blows!!

Reese was without a nap and NOT wanting to stand at the edge of the walkway to get her picture taken. You'll thank us one day Reese ;)

The Grand Prismatic Spring - again, super neat, mineral colored, hot pots, though so totally different than the ones we saw earlier.

If real estate wasn't so darn expensive, I think I'd be pushing to move to Jackson - or to Yellowstone - if that was a possibility.

East Canyon

2011-09-04T12:47:00.002-06:00

We like to drive. Or rather I like to sit in the seat next to Eric while he drives, and he rather enjoys driving. So, when we have nothing else to do in the evenings we drive. A couple weeks ago we drove up East Canyon. Have you seen the town of Coalville? It is darling! As is Porterville, where we found this gem of an old building - a church, built in 1898.

East Canyon Reservoir. We didn't get in the evening we drove up, I regret it. Eric, however, drove up here on his motorcycle a couple days later while me and the kids were at Amy's bridal shower. He went for a swim and reported back that the water is rather nice.

Reese is SO into being a big girl and doesn't want help with anything. She was stressing me out the whole time climbing on the rocks, but kept reassuring me, "mom, I be careful, mom, I be careful".

We sure do live in a beautiful state!

Farewell concerts in the park

2011-09-02T11:03:00.001-06:00

We're sad that the free concerts in the parks are pretty much (or maybe completely) done for the season. We went at least once a week to a concert, sometimes multiple times a week. Now we'll have to find something else to do....maybe start biking again since the weather is cooling a bit.

At this Twilight Concert Series concert Reese almost got crushed twice by 2 of the 3 fights that took place right in front of our blanket. Luckily I have cat like reflexes :) No worries though, the lady in front of us, with spiky hair and a bandana wrapped around her forehead, took care of one of the fights. She grabbed the 2 guys' heads and hit them together, and then pretended to punch them in the face while cursing at them to get out of there. We had never had problems with fights at the concerts before, but for some reason, this concert drew out the haters....? We ended up scooting back a ways, next to a tree and other blankets with little kids.

Here is Ivan doing his trick! While at Bear Lake, our friend Jared Swanson showed us the tricks his 15 month old could do, which consisted of standing on Jared's hand and then balancing on a single leg and switching between legs. He said, "let me see Ivan" and lo and behold, Ivan stood on Jared's hand. Eric practices with him. Ivan's pretty great at it and is SO proud of himself. He just giggles and waves his arms while you clap for him.

Reese enjoys the people watching just about as much as we do. And she TOTALLY grooves to the music. I don't know where she gets her rhythm, but she got it good!

Bloomington Lake

2011-08-25T22:03:00.001-06:00

The last few years, when we go to Bear Lake, our friends' families' annual Bear Lake trips overlap with ours a day or two so we'll see them in town or meet up for a quick get together while we are there. This year both Micah and Rachel's family and the Swanson family had their vacations the same week as us. It was fun getting together to hang out. On Sunday afternoon we were able to go to the Swanson's for Derek and Becky's baby Ruby's blessing.

Later on in the week we met up with Micah and Rachel's family for a trip to Bloomington Lake. You drive north to the town of Bloomington, ID, head up Bloomington Canyon and then hike a short, but beautiful, trail to Bloomington Lake. The lake is cold and has a couple of rope swings into it. Of course as soon as Eric heard the words "rope swing" he was ALL in! I'm glad, because it truly was fun and gorgeous.

Eric

Micah

Nakita

Eric again, mid-backflip

Rachel's family

And last, and most importantly, Rachel and her 8 month pregnant belly. I love the way she held her belly as she went into the water. And I also love that she was strong enough to go on a rope swing with the extra belly weight - impressive :)!

This hike will now be part of our annual Bear Lake trip!

Bear Lake

2011-08-21T16:37:00.001-06:00

I'm just getting further and further behind on my blogs - OH boy! At the first of August we went on the annual Messick/Roberts/Remund/Carter/Kimmel Bear Lake trip. As always, it was fun to catch up with so many people we see so infrequently. We were planning on staying only a night, that turned into the whole week. It was so fun to be able to stay the whole time!

The weather was warm but rained and stormed a ton. One night, our tent was literally folded on top of us, the only thing keeping it up was the playpens and Eric's leg sticking straight in the air, while laying in bed. Kind of scary, but cool, and the kids slept right through it somehow.

The wind made for great kite flying.

Escalante/Wide Hollow Reservoir

2011-08-15T09:48:00.001-06:00

At the end of July we went to Escalante with my family and camped at Wide Hollow Reservoir. On our way there, our GPS led us astray and took us on a 50+ mile dirt road. Eric is good at driving fast on dirt roads so he ended up shaving off 1 1/2 hours off the estimated trip time. That was nice. It was actually quite pretty driving on that road. The different elevations brought different landscapes. There was a memorial at one point that continues to impact me. The plaque told a story of a family whose truck broke down at that point on the road, during the winter, on their way to visit some family. The dad started walking the road to find help. The mom became desparate while waiting in the truck with the baby and started walking towards an area with a ranger station to see if she could call for help. She padded her feet with pillows and took off into the woods with her baby. She was later found dead with her body wrapped around her alive and warm little baby. The story is haunting but also displays the love of a mother.

Anywho... onto a lighter subject... it was a blast camping right at the reservoir. The weather was hot and sunny so whenever we felt too warm we just ran over and jumped into the water. Swimsuits all day long - that always equals a fun trip.

One day we hiked to Upper Calf Creek Falls. It was crazily hot hiking in, so the cold water was totally welcoming and refreshing. I only wish I could've bottled up the coolness and saved it for the hike out because oh MY, it was exhaustingly hot.

The kids both sacked out on the hike out. They were obviously extremely tired, because I don't know how someone could fall asleep in that heat.

Fundraiser for Ruby

2011-08-10T21:35:00.001-06:00

Have you heard about little Ruby? She needs a liver transplant and is fighting hard!!

First and far most, PLEASE keep little Ruby and her family in your prayers. It is truly heart wrenching, what they are going through and they need all the help and peace available right now.

You can read their story here.

There will be a fundraiser for her and her family August 15 - 22, see the flyer below. Please spread the word.

Back at the end of July

2011-08-10T15:06:00.001-06:00

Camla came up and stayed with us and we decided we'd show her the awesomeness of SLC by taking her to the nightly musical entertainment. The concert was at the main library and when I looked online before going, it said that the entertainment would be "family friendly". So....we went, and it was more like R-rated-friendly - not cool - and although Reese didn't comprehend the lyrics, and was enjoying head banging and grooving to the tunes, we decided to go play in the water and walk on the top of the library instead.

A couple days later Camla had her 15th birthday! She really is the best!

And the most fun to spoil :)

Pics

2011-08-07T21:06:00.000-06:00

B-Money's birthday party at Red Robin

4th of July BBQ and fireworks at Lindsay Grauling's.

Weekly trips to 7 peaks with Naffzigers and Kristin.

Cousin Eli, who always wants to hold Ivan.

A few more

2011-07-28T23:56:00.001-06:00

Here are a few more pictures from our Timp Caves trip.

On our way up we ran into the Bells.

This was everyone in our group. Rachel's brother in law and his son were the ones that hooked us up with tickets so we wouldn't have to go super early in the morning to reserve them, since all the "buy early" tickets were sold out.

Rachel's nephew, Tanner, was a hoot! He is SUPER friendly - to everyone, loves The Magic School Bus, is super smart and knew all about cave formations and such (from Magic School Bus), and insisted on being in an Ellis family picture. We'd adopt him any day :)

Timp Caves

2011-07-27T21:42:00.002-06:00

After having lived in Utah for 22 years, I FINALLY did the whole Timp Caves thing. Eric had never done it either, so we were both really excited to experience it. The day before Eric and I drove around for close to 4 hours trying to find an open campsite up American Fork canyon. We ended up finding a spot by Cascade Springs, so closer to the Sundance side than the American Fork side. Some of our friends met us there for a fun evening, a sleepover, and dutch oven biscuits and gravy for breakfast (Eric's delicious specialty)!! Lindsay had to go home in the morning, but the rest of us, including Jeremiah, Rachel, and Micah headed to the Timp Cave visitor's center to start the trek.

It was a lot more grueling than I had in mind. There was an old woman who reminded us of the tortoise in the tale of the tortoise and the hare - slow and steady wins the race. I couldn't believe her ambition!

The trails are freaky. There are shear cliffs on one side of the trail at all times. Most of the trail has no barrier between you and the cliff. I've had many nightmares since about Reese running off the trail. My advice - make sure your kid is either in a backpack strapped to you, hold them, or insist they hold your hand at all times. I'm surprised they haven't put guardrails up along the whole trail.

It was neat! Reese loved hiking around through the cave and shining her flashlight at everything.

Even pregnant Rachel hiked it like a champ! Ah, her belly is darling and although I don't carry my babies as elegantly as she does, it does makes me excited to be pregnant again one day :)

Finally a barrier! I can breathe easy for a moment!!

Concerts in the Park

2011-07-27T10:17:00.000-06:00

Salt Lake City has SO many fun [and free] activities. Pretty much every night (and in actuality probably every single night) they have some sort of concert/movie/show that is free. Some end up being awesome, others not so much. This event, a concert at Pioneer Park, provided us with fantastic people watching. Do these people really live in the same city I do?? Awesome!

I LOVE these two little munchkins. And can I just say, it just gets more fun all the time! I love seeing them interact. Ivan now pulls himself everywhere - and pretty quickly too - and loves climbing all over Reese trying to get whatever treat or drink she is enjoying. They play really well together and he completely idolizes Reese. He laughs and laughs at her and watches her every move. Just watch out, he LOVES hair and pulls it any chance he gets, and if you aren't quick when giving him a treat, he'll snap down with his two sharp bottom teeth that he acquired a couple weeks back. I think Reese is learning to keep her hair far away from his fingers and toes and to be quick when feeding him treats. The first few months when you have two little kids vying for your attention and one of them being too young to do much interacting with other kids is so worth it once you hit this point. I'm loving this!

Can you tell Reese loves these glasses? By the fingerprints on the lenses, you can tell they receive a lot of love from her.

Mirror Lake Highway Drive

2011-07-27T10:04:00.000-06:00

The other day we went on a long drive. We started up Parley's Canyon and drove up and down Lamb's Canyon and then headed over to the Mirror Lake Highway. We stopped at Provo River Falls - it is ROARING!

We drove by TONS of beautiful lakes (if I remember right, below is Brown Lake) and checked out the numerous campsites for future camping trips.

We stopped off at Mirror Lake, it was so swampy because the water is so high.

It was gorgeous. The temperature was much cooler than in the city - in the 60's in the higher elevations, and everything is so wet and green.

We stopped off at a ranger station that has a little display of the logging that used to take place up there, drove all the way through Christmas Meadows (precisely named with all the pine trees in the area) and a few miles into Wyoming, at which point we turned our GPS on and had it route the shortest distance - which usually means back roads. It led us on Chalk Creek Road, a dirt road that led to the darling town of Coalville. Pretty sure I wouldn't mind living there, it is so quaint.

2011-07-26T22:05:00.000-06:00

Eli finally got to ride Frisco

And then we went to Kangaroo Zoo for a whole TON of fun! The kids were literally bouncing off the walls for 4 hours straight. It was great!

Saltair

2011-07-21T14:34:00.000-06:00

2 nights in a row! The water was just too pleasant to only go once - plus Camla had never been so we took her along for the 2nd trip. She got to experience floating in the extremely salty water.

Reese was in heaven walking through the water, but especially once her skin dried off and she got to lick the salt off - she's maybe somewhat addicted to salt!

Brigham Young's Cemetary

2011-07-21T14:24:00.000-06:00

We found out Brigham Young's family cemetery was near by so we took a Sunday evening drive to check it out. It was neat to see the old grave stones.

Kids in jammies, singing "Come, Come Ye Saints" - adorable.

Afterward, we drove through the avenues. I can't believe the size of most of those houses! SO fun to just look at and critique them all :)

Snowbird Concerts

2011-07-18T12:01:00.001-06:00

Every Thursday evening, Snowbird has a free outdoor concert.

- fun music

- great people watching - including but not limited to a creepy old man going between the 2 different ladies dancing by themselves, seeing which would reciprocate the interest

- fun rides if you buy tickets before the ticket office closes, we weren't so lucky

Don and Amy

- I had to crop this from a bigger picture, candid interactions always make the best photos.

Will and Whitney

My happy boy!

Miss Social Butterfly - found a friend with almost her same name - Rishi (pronounced Reeshey)

Flaming Gorge 2011

2011-07-14T10:31:00.000-06:00

Over the 4th of July weekend we went to Flaming Gorge. David and Nicole came along and we had a grand weekend. We made sure to take a stop at Dinosaur National Park. Reese enjoyed looking out the windows for dinosaurs.

It was blasting hot out!...at this point.

The Dam - always makes for good conversations using the word "dam" to describe everything.

David and Nicole "Toad" - as Reese calls her.

The weather ended up being pretty nice for the most part. It was plenty warm just filled with rain showers here and there. The water is still really cold so we didn't really swim.

Eric, David, Nicole, and Reese ventured on the kayaks for a bit.

Reese dragged her arm in the water and became so relaxed that she zonked out! She didn't even stir when we lifted the kayak into the back of the truck.

We took a drive through Sheep Creek Canyon one day and made a few stops at different beautiful places - one being Brown Lake.

Breathtaking!

Eric took a swim in the freezing cold water. I was tempted, but after getting up past my knees decided against it.

The kids played on the shore throwing rocks and striking model poses.

In the evening we ate good food, sat around and learned new things about each other, played a lot of Bocce ball, and enjoyed the sunsets. I was pretty proud of the menu we planned. It is nice to car camp because you can make yummy stuff. Some of the highlights: dutch oven peach cobbler, dough on a stick with honey butter, mountain man breakfast, and Navajo Tacos.

The rain storms created some beautiful skies and rainbows.

On the 4th we hung out for a while, throwing rocks in the lake, and then packed up and started driving home.

These 2 have a special relationship! So sweet!

My handsome boys!

We stopped at Fort Bridger. They were having a fourth of July celebration. We put Reese in the pile of wood shavings to look for money with the other kids but she wanted nothing to do with it. We had woken her from her nap just minutes earlier so she wasn't too enthused.

Cabin

2011-07-09T13:48:00.000-06:00

My great grandpa Austin built a cabin near Sundance many years ago. Thankfully it is still in the family for all to enjoy. My parents were up there for a bit in June and we went up on my mom's birthday to celebrate the wonderful angel she is!

Tamla (in Reese's words) is the most amazing aunt. She is extremely involved in all the neices' and nephews' lives and I trust her with my kids more than almost anyone. She is so good with them and they adore her.

Aubrey made "slime" for the kids to play with. It was a hit! Not only for the kids but us moms too.

The bell is always fun! What kid doesn't like being able to make loud noises with the pull of a chain?

I don't know why I was blessed with such a great family - but I was. My dad is as involved a grandpa as I know of - and yes, the kids (and parents) adore him!

Getting ready to cook some dinner over the fire. Will recently got off his mission and is living back with my family again. It is great having another "brother" around. Don is engaged! Yep you heard it right - engaged - to the beautiful little lady sitting in the chair. We love Amy! I can't wait to have another sister-in-law, especially one as sweet and darling as Amy. I think September can't come soon enough for those two lovebirds :)

My mama! I can't even explain how amazing she is. When I think of her and the love she has for the gospel, her family, and life, my heart fills with overwhelming gratitude to have this lady as my mom.

I love all the kids helping Grandma blow out her candles :)

Aubrey and Chels. Chels so reminds me of Aubrey as a little girl and it brings back such fond memories of growing up with Aubs.

I don't know that Aubrey knew how to pull off the "rat face" like Chels. Chelsea is seriously a total sweetie and complete hoot all in one.

Reesey babe is beyond happy whenever she gets to hang out with "Mamma and Papa", "Tamla, Don, Mamy (Amy), Aubee, Jemy, EI, and Telsee."

If you are at one of our family functions, there will be kids crawling all over you at one point or another.

I LOVE this man of mine! Again, why am I so blessed?

In case I haven't mentioned it, Aubrey is going to have a baby boy - due in October :)!! She's reeeeal excited that Don and Amy planned their wedding within a couple weeks of her due date ;)

RMR

2011-07-07T20:31:00.000-06:00

This year we bought the Salt Lake Pass of all Passes, which includes entry into some of the events at Rocky Mountain Raceway. We went to a race back it June. I had never been there before and it was a lot of fun. Seriously a fun night out. Reese had a riot. She loved the loud engines, the $4 miniature bag of popcorn (or however much it was - way too much regardless), rootbeer, and hanging out with mom, dad, and Ivan.

This girl loves her dad. Can't say I blame her!

I love this picture of Reese covering her ears.

Ivan enjoyed watching the cars for the most part, but once he passed the "beyond tired" point, he was done with it....and since it was definitely too sporadically loud for him to fall asleep and the mosquitos were biting, we left a little early.

Outings

2011-07-06T14:56:00.000-06:00

Strawberry Days Rodeo with Micah and Rachel. Kids were a little worn out but it was still a good time.

Liberty Park with Kristin and Terra + kids. Fantastic hanging out like old times + 2 baby boys. We did get rained and hailed on for a while, but once it stopped it made for the perfect temperature and overcast skies for playing.

The whole group

Reese loves friends so she was in HEAVEN when she had 2 friends to play with in the water and on the slides.

Ryker and Ivan. Only 1 month apart.

Cuties!

We've gone on a lot of drives up Big Cottonwood over the last few months to check out the snow levels, river levels, etc. The river has been ROARING with all the run off. It is cool to see the water ripping through trees and banks where you can tell it doesn't normally.

6 months and Antelope Island in May

2011-07-05T19:27:00.001-06:00

Ivan and Reese are 22 months apart with only a 5 lb difference (as of Ivan's 6 month check-up a month ago). At 6 months Ivan was 19 lbs 6.5 oz and 27 1/4 " long. These are both considered 75-90th percentile. His head was in the 50-75th percentile. I like to have these numbers recorded because it is fun to compare with Reese's numbers and will be fun to compare with our future kids' stats.

We went to Antelope Island in May. The gnats were hatching so there were SO many bugs! We wanted to walk down to the lake but after stepping out of the car decided against it. Here's the view through our bug gut encrusted windshield.

The driver/adventure finder - love him!!

The lake was beautiful.

Our car was in need of a good "shave" after driving to the island, so on the way home we took it to a car wash where Eric scrubbed the front with soapy water and a big push broom and then took it through the automatic car wash. I always get excited to go through the automatic car washes. I've always loved them - especially the ones with brushes. I equally enjoy watching Reese's eyes get wide when the water/soap/brushes/etc hit her window.

Reese wasn't super excited about getting her picture taken on the buffalo, most likely because she was sniffing in gnats left and right.

Ivan grew a goatee :)

We put this ladder up to our kitchen window so Reese can climb up and "order" snacks, toys, or other things she wants outside with her. When it is time to clean up she likes to take one thing at a time, climb up the ladder, and push it through the window.

Saying goodbye to Belize

2011-06-30T09:40:00.000-06:00

Most mornings we enjoyed banana bread for breakfast. Their banana bread is to die for delicious! The previous morning we had banana bread and meat pies for breakfast. We decided that was our breakfast of choice for our last morning in Belize, except twice as much as we ate the day before since it was so divine.

We walked around the streets and beach looking for the banana bread man but couldn't find him. We went into a supermarket and asked if they knew where he was and they informed us that there would be no banana bread today because the island was out of sugar. Bummer! Turned out to be ok though because we found this taco stand and got some yummy beef and chicken tacos for breakfast. Not the tastes I associate with breakfast, but that's ok because it was super tasty and we got to experience a little family's business.

The mom was the one cooking/assembling the food. The dad was out on the street advertising for the business and telling people to come get some yummy breakfast. The kids were sitting by the side and the youngest in a box - her playpen. I love how family oriented everyone (and all the businesses) seem to be.

We waited in the shade on the bleachers at the basketball court (where guys have games at night once the sun is down and it cools down a tad) for our water taxi back to Belize City. We enjoyed some mangoes, of course, and Eric chatted it up with this Spanish speaking couple visiting from Nicaragua, I believe. It was funny because the lady could speak English and was a chatter box (with the man sitting quietly looking down) until Eric said something to the man in Spanish, then the lady continued to be quite the talker, but the husband became equally chatty with Eric. I picked up bits and pieces of what they were saying, but it really made me think that I ought to learn Spanish. It also made me realize that the man I'd first observed as being shy was in actuality just unable to speak in English, but as soon as he was comfortable (by knowing someone spoke his language) he was funny, educated, and totally sociable. Another example of why it is a bad thing to judge.

Getting on the airplane to Texas.

Goodbye beautiful Belize! I hope to enjoy your beauty again one day!

We flew to Dallas, where my friends, the Mansells, who were in my ward growing up and I used to babysit for all the time, picked us up. They took us to their house, where we experienced some of the world's best hospitality. It was so fantastic to see them - I miss them terribly! They took us back to the airport the next morning and we excitedly flew back to SLC to be back with our sweet Reese. We were so ready to see her!!

More Caye Caulker

2011-06-22T13:51:00.001-06:00

"Amigos Restaurant & Bar" was one of our favorites on the island. It was actually a Chinese food restaurant, despite the deceiving name. We went there 2 times, almost 3! That's saying something since we wanted to try out lots of different places. There are a lot of Asians in Belize and this restaurant was ran by an Asian family. Eric and I ordered honey chicken and chicken lo mien both times - best best best I've ever had! The honey chicken was like the most divine chicken fingers you've ever had, served with fried rice one night/fries the other (no rhyme or reason), and you dip the chicken in just normal honey - but oh my! It is goooood!

This lizard liked sunning itself on our porch. This reminds me,while out swimming one day in Placencia, we saw an iguana that wanted to eat all the flowers off of this one bush. The bush's branches aren't all that thick, and the iguana was really large. It looked so clumsy trying to get to the flowers. I was pretty excited about seeing an iguana in real life.

Here are a couple of pics inside of our house on Caye Caulker:

Mine, Eric, and Ivan's bedroom. King sized bed = happy sleeping with 3 in one bed.

The exterior. I wish we had a picture of the top balcony.

We rented bikes for the last 2 days. Such a good idea! The island is just long enough that it gets kind of annoying having to walk for as long as you do to get anywhere. The bikes speed things up. We only got one bike per couple and were quite the sight. Micah and Rachel found out that it was illegal to have more than 1 person on a bike on their last day - funny law.

The bikes made moving our stuff from our house to the condo Eric and I stayed in the last day (because Micah and Rachel were leaving a day earlier than us) much less painful.

At the south end of the island, the hurricanes took out some land to split the island into 2 on that end. It is rightfully named "the split". It is a fun place to go hang out and swim. Eric and Micah went there on Micah and Rachel's last evening and had some hussies trying to pick them up and a man try to pick a fight with Micah. Apparently night life is much different when you're a couple of single men (or women) walking around, rather than when you have a baby and pregnant wife in tow.

On the day Micah and Rachel left we went to the split to swim/snorkel before their water taxi took off.

Eric, Ivan, and I spent most of the rest of the day at the split, meeting people, enjoying the water, and soaking up some rays. Ivan hung out with a Belizean man who wanted to hold him and take him around to meet other people [thankfully this wasn't my first day or I may have had a freak attack - not used to such hospitality], and then was so worn out that he fell asleep out at the split.

The condo was completely air conditioned. Sweet relief after being outside for a good part of the day.

Back to the split for an evening swim.

At the split their is a grill and tables in the water that you can hang out on. Pretty picturesque.

Since Micah and Rachel left, we used their bike until the rental time was up. Eric and I explored and enjoyed our last warm evening.

We ate fried shrimp and fish and chips at a sports grill that night, enjoyed a funny conversation at the table next to ours, (I) got creeped out by some cockroaches, and started playing some trivia game they had going on. I'm sure it would have been funny, seeing as everyone else there was drunk, or would be soon, but they took like an extra hour to get started and we were worn out so ended up going back to our condo before it really got going.

San Pedro

2011-06-21T15:38:00.002-06:00

We spotted this boy playing on his front porch. He was excited about us taking his picture.

Canuck cottage - picture taken by Rachel in honor of Eric, a true canuck

This man was singing a song about "..you wonder why I shiver, it's because I fell into the river, because the sombrero I got for Christmas is too big..." and so on with multiple verses.

One day we decided to take the water taxi to Ambergris Caye to hang out in San Pedro for the day.

Ivan thought Micah was funny cooling off by the fan

The ride there was REALLY warm. Ivan wasn't too excited about that. We had to stick him out of the window a bit to get some air to cool him down quite a few times.

Sweaty, sweaty, sweaty

First thing when you come off the dock you see....the LDS church. Sweet!

We stopped at a pastry shop to get something to eat as well as cool down, since the building was air conditioned. It was a super nice little shop and the treats were yummy, not super sweet, but tasty nonetheless.

We rented a golf cart for the day and drove as far as we could north and south in the time we had before the evening water taxi back to Caye Caulker took off. It was fun to see as much of the city as we possibly could. There were lots of super fancy resorts in San Pedro along the coast.

We took some relaxing stops,

enjoyed the funny signs throughout the city,

and ate at this great grill on the water. You can even float in inner tubes while served liquor if you want. We opted for normal seating, and non-alcoholic drinks. We had some delicious grilled fish tacos and onion rings.

There are cool cabanas on the water everywhere. The law is that owners of property can build these but that they are for public use. So most of them are really well kept and in beautiful locations, and anyone can enjoy them.

Someone Rachel knows told her that while on Ambergris Caye we had to stop at Manelly's Homemade Ice Cream. We tried homemade coconut, banana, mango, and Dulce de leche ice creams. I always have to endure through the first minute or so of eating items out of the country that contain dairy, because they always have a slightly different taste, but once I get used to it I SO enjoyed the ice cream. While there a little boy was trying to sell me some jewelry. He was however being super sneaky and told me that he has to just pretend like we're visiting because the owner of the ice cream shop doesn't like him selling in there and keeps looking at him. He would open his pocket for me to peek in and see what he had - though I couldn't even see since it was pretty dim in the room. Sadly, by the time we finished our ice cream we were too rushed to get to the water taxi for me to actually look at what he was selling.

On the way back to Caye Caulker.

Mangoes and Snorkeling

2011-06-09T21:27:00.002-06:00

Mangoes are delicious fruits. Luckily Belize is chock full of them and they are dang cheap and even larger and tastier than what you can get at the supermarket. The only flaw to the fruit is its stringy-ness, which if you aren't careful can land you with teeth full of strings.

Ivan fell in love with the mangoes. While on our trip he got to eat a lot of mangoes and drink a lot of water from our water bottles (in order to stay hydrated). Every time he'd see a mango or water bottle he'd start whining because he knew what they were all about.

On our 2nd day on Caye Caulker we decided to go on a snorkeling tour. Micah read reviews online the night before and in the morning we went and talked to a couple of the shops to see what they had to offer. We decided on French Angel, and can't say enough good about it. I have yet to get online and give them the fantastic review they deserve, but I will.

Zach was our tour guide. There is an owner and a worker at French Angel who lead the dive, snorkel, and fishing trips. Zach is the worker - and I'm so glad that he was the one who got to take us out.

Our guide had magical eyes and could spot things so easily. It was crazy! On the boat ride to our first destination we saw dolphins and tarpons, which are big fish.

We ended up doing a full day snorkel trip with stops at Shark Ray Ally, Hol Chan Marine Reserve, and Coral Gardens. It was incredible! We saw and swam with rays, nurse sharks, sea turtles, moray and spotted eels, billions of different kinds of tropical fish, and my all time favorite and dream come true....Manatee. I seriously still think about the manatee and think "seriously, did I really get to swim next to a manatee!?!?" As a kid I almost switched my favorite animal from a wolf to a manatee. That's a big deal you know, switching your favorite from one thing to another. I even did a report on them in elementary school, that's how fascinated I am with them.

Ivan came along in his floaty. He was a good kid. The other guided groups were snapping pictures of him. Our guide was so awesome. He pretty much forced me into letting him hold onto Ivan's floaty, insuring me he had 2 kids of his own and that he is good with babies, all so I could enjoy the snorkeling. Ivan would cry and Zach would give him his binky, shush him and tell him "Oh E-on, don't cry". Ivan's name was either pronounced I-Van, or E-On by the people in Belize, I liked both pronunciations :)

Zach was even so kind as to force me into giving him Ivan to hold in the boat so I could go out snorkeling. If there was something particular that Zach wanted to find for us he would go find it with the group and then come back to the boat and tell me to go see it. I couldn't believe how awesome he was. Don't worry, we gave him a good tip, since he wasn't only a guide, but also a babysitter.

This picture is totally fitting because Ivan and Zach are holding hands, they became good buddies. During the rest of our stay on the island, whenever we'd see Zach, or the owner of the shop, they'd say "Hi E-On/I-Van!"

By the way, Ivan is red in tons of the pictures, he wasn't burned, just super hot! It wasn't until the last couple of days that we all finally acclimatized and he was no longer a sweaty red baby constantly.

Caye Caulker

2011-06-07T21:14:00.001-06:00

Caye Caulker was our final destination, where we'd spend the next 4 nights. It was A-Mazing!

The island's modes of transportation include walking, biking, or driving in a golf cart. We saw one truck on the island, moving some lumber, and something explaining that if you wanted to bring a car onto the island, you have to go through a big approval process. One of the street signs said, "We have 2 cemeteries and no hospital on this island." Apparently the golf carts sometimes run people down. Our snorkel guide's son was one of those people, he had to be flown to Belize City to go to the hospital and is now recovering from a broken leg.

Once again, they make darling babies over their in Belize :)

Check out the kids all having a bath in the yard. How fun would that be?

Here we are, having just arrived at our house. It was so so pretty and had a/c in the bedrooms. Sweet relief.

The roof had some sweet chairs and a bed thing with a net screen surrounding it, which made me feel like royalty. The moon was super red, though you can't tell in the picture.

During our first (of MANY) walk we were startled by something running by our feet. It was a large crab. There are tons of crabs running around. The blue crabs are considered the land crabs, which a boy, named Peter, informed us they don't eat - some are VERY blue. Though the crabs typically run from you, you still have to be on the watch since there are so many.

We found a fun place to eat. We had an amazingly good fish burger, chopped steak sandwich, and fries. There fries really are so good - thick and crispy. I ordered a watermelon liquado, which the waiter told me was really good. It tasted just like watermelon, problem was that they blended the seeds with it and I'm not a huge fan of watermelon seeds. Mine however was better than Rachel's drink. She ordered grapefruit juice, which tasted just like 409, or so I suspect.

While walking down the street, Eric picked up one of the crabs. Mind you he grew up on Vancouver Island and has picked up trillions of crabs. A man next to him started chewing him out, telling him to be careful, and that he'd hurt Eric if the crab hurt the baby. He told us that he was once pinched by a crab and that it hurt so bad that he couldn't even get tears to come out of his eyes. I loved his concern for Ivan and just laughed at his distrust in Eric.

Swings aren't for swinging? Go figure.

LOVE the signage everywhere.

Walking down the street.

Dangriga

2011-06-07T20:51:00.001-06:00

On our way from Placencia to Belize City we stopped in a town called Dangriga to attend church. It was in such a cute building, there is obviously a lot of pride taken in its upkeep! Sacrament meeting was conducted by one of the missionaries. It was a super good service and we were very impressed by the missionaries and the translation into English that took place. It was inspiring and uplifting to see these good people attend church; some having traveled quite the distances, some attending by themselves, and a young girl, whose parents aren't members, having brought her younger siblings to church. Such faith and devotion!

All throughout Belize there are orchards. We saw a lot of banana, mango, coconut, papaya, and citrus trees. As well as some random ones.

We purchased some mangoes from a few girls standing on the side of the road. We gave them each a "tip" (which was a small small amount) and they had grins ear to ear as we drove off. We stopped off at a school to enjoy those, as well as some chicken tamales we picked up. The tamales were delicious, but due to our geographical location, contained chicken bones, which threw me for a loop when I bit into one. I tossed the bones and savored the corn meal covering, seasonings, a leftover chicken pieces. Eric was pretty much in love with the corn meal part, and wasn't turned off by the chicken bones, since he had experienced that multiple times before.

I went around the corner of the school and spotted this little-ish guy. Micah and Eric went and took its picture. It then ran away and, according to them, had fully extensible legs and could haul.

I was impressed to see that lots of the little kids' graffiti on the school walls said "I love Jesus". The posts that held up the porch roof had dark rings around one general height, where we assumed the kids would hold onto when spinning themselves around the posts. I can't imagine going to school in the wet heat with no a/c. Eek!

We stopped off at Blue Hole (not the "Blue Hole" out in the middle of the ocean off the coast of Belize), and walked down to the water to cool off and check out what it was all about. It was gorgeous! The toilets, on the other hand, not so gorgeous. The seats were set so far back on a wood bench that you felt like a little kid all over again, with the wood coming so far out that your knees can't bend and your feet are a couple feet off the floor. It was a great reminder of childhood.

On the road we spotted this truck chock FULL of people, who looked like they'd just got done swimming. I liked how family oriented everyone seemed to be.

Once in Belize City we had a little bit before we needed to turn in our rental car and catch the water taxi to our next destination. We found some roadside stands selling lunch. Micah got BBQ chicken, his usual choice. Eric and I went to a different stand and got what was dubbed Belize's "typical lunch". It contained stewed meat, a rice and bean mix with spices and peppers, and potato salad (containing much sweeter and all together different seasonings than American potato salad). It was different, but tasty.

We so enjoyed the A/C in the car. Ivan enjoyed driving around unconfined. I'll admit that I liked it quite a bit too because I could easily feed him, change him, and rock him to sleep. No need to pull over or strain my back trying to feed him while he is still in his car seat to avoid pulling over.

I will get the blogs done about this trip someday. There is just so much I want to remember, though sadly I'm already forgetting SO many details, so I'm going to keep pounding them out whenever I have time. And then I can get caught up on my day to day blogging that I've been putting off.

Another day in Placencia

2011-05-30T21:46:00.000-06:00

In Placencia there is a little sidewalk located half way between the main [only] street and the beach. From that sidewalk you have access to a lot of restaurants, beaches, and stores. We ate some divine fish and chips, fish burgers, and a papaya banana smoothie at this beach restaurant. When we were finishing up, a man walked up from the shore to the side of our table. He pointed to our food and said, "can I have some of that, just kidding." We had actually just been talking about the large portion sizes and that we ought to give the rest to some kids or something. We said, "actually, you can if you want, we were just talking about how we had too much food." He asked us to grab him a napkin, he opened it and than asked us to load the food into it. He told us he was in a drum band that was playing that night at the "Purple Monkey" (a bar and grill) and that we ought to come see him. He then headed over to a mid-20s girl laying on the beach and started chatting it up with her. It took maybe 30 seconds before the girl's boyfriend/husband came ripping out of the water to break up the conversation. Hahaha. That night,we did end up walking by the Purple Monkey and listened to the band for a few minutes.

Here's the sidewalk. See all the signs pointing to different stores and restaurants? We stopped at some of the stores to look for souvenirs. It seemed that the majority of them were being run by kids, sometimes as young as maybe six. They were darling!!! and so friendly.

There is a lot of damage in Belize from the hurricanes that occurred not all that long ago. In the picture below you can see the footings of a dock that was destroyed.

These parrots were outside of the bank. There was a sign on the bank that said something about beware of guard dogs. I wondered if these were their "guard dogs". Seemed pretty friendly to Eric.

We bought some guava and mango jams (and probably some Maria's cookies, since I seemed to need a new package every time we stopped at a grocery store) while we were out, so we walked around searching for a bakery to get bread to eat it with for breakfast. We were pointed to John the Bakerman's place. It was awesome! The bakery was connected to their house (as are many of the stores, etc) and had really cool old black stoves.

The highways have "Speed Humps" everywhere. You'll be cruising at a pretty good speed and have to slow way down for these humps, since they are rather large. Many of them serve as a crosswalk as well.

The people are beautiful. Especially the darling children. It's such a different world down there, things are so minimal, yet everyone seems so happy and, for the most part, carefree.

North of Placencia is SO different. There are gigantic mansions being built in a Venice-like area, where you access the houses via canals.

We got a kick out of their very secure scaffolding {cough cough} and the sticks they use for support.

Belize: the first 2 days

2011-05-24T14:12:00.002-06:00

The conception of this trip was due to air miles burning a hole in our pockets. We knew we wanted to go on a trip with Micah and Rachel soon, but didn't know where or exactly when. A week before our trip, Micah's passport came through, we finalized plans, and booked our tickets. The car/home rentals would be figured out via email while traveling - classic Micah/Eric trip :) We decided we'd only take Ivan since we'd have to buy Reese a ticket too and we didn't know what to expect (whether she'd eat the food, if she'd get sick off of it, how safe it is, etc). That was a good idea, but we missed her dearly!!

Sadly I didn't remember that my maiden name is on my passport, so we booked the tickets with my married name. When we were checking in at the airport the lady working told us I wouldn't be able to go due to the differences in name. Luckily I had Eric with me who doesn't take no for an answer. After questioning the lady over and over as to how we can fix the problem, she finally changed the name on the ticket, charged a fee, and we were on our way.

We had an overnight layover in Dallas so we found a hotel, hit up Denny's for a late night dinner, and made last minute phone calls before going out of the country. The hotel we stayed at had a shuttle that not only would pick you up/take you to the airport, but anywhere else you wanted. It was pretty cool.

On the plane ride from Dallas to Belize City we sat next to a kind lady who moved over a seat so Eric and I could sit together. We chatted quite a bit. Ivan was somewhat fussy, which I felt bad for. I'd apologize to her and she'd just say, "It's OK, I don't have to do anything about it, so no worries." So I was already feeling indebted to this lady and then the worst happens. I smell a slightly weird smell, I look down at Ivan, who is sitting peacefully in my lap, and see yellow stuff running down my thigh and all over the plane seat (the side near the lady). OH MY GOSH, let me hide in a cave! Eric grabs the wipes out of the overhead bin as well as the onesie I packed for Ivan (I had a feeling to pack an extra outfit for both me and Ivan in our carry on in case something like this happened, but opted out of packing one for myself). All 3 of us walked back to the bathrooms, as people notice my mess and quickly moved their elbows out of the aisle as far away from me as possible. I use many wipes trying to get Ivan clean (of course there was almost nothing in his diaper, just all over his clothing) and then go to work on myself. I'm a mess! I have it all over my left thigh and all over the front of my shirt. Awesome! Cute! I wipe away as much as I can, but the mustard yellow shines bright on both my dark blue jean shorts and my blue shirt. Once back to my seat I do a secretive change out of my shirt and into my fleece jacket, glad we're going to one of the warmest, most humid places :)

We got a rental car at the airport. I've never felt such humidity before. We were all soaked the instant we stepped off the plane. And yee-haw, I've got a fleece jacket on! Thankfully the car has a/c! I was told that I could only pack a car seat if I wanted to carry it on my back the whole way so I didn't pack one. Ivan liked the change, I got used to it and then wished it weren't so necessary to use car seats since it is great to just feed on the road, without pulling over. I'm also glad I didn't bring it because the majority of the time we were walking, biking, or in taxis, boats, or golf carts.

The drive from Belize City to Placencia was a few hours long, but it was so neat to see all the jungles and little villages.

They do a lot of controlled burning in the jungles. It was crazy how many fires there were.

So we got to Placencia and found the house we had rented. It was way bigger and way nicer than what I was expecting to be staying in. We had the top floor, which looked like a cabin inside.

It had multiple balconies and beautiful views, only problem was that there was no a/c. It didn't matter all that much because we spent most of our days outside anyway, and at nights we'd blast fans straight on our bodies to keep us cool.

Placencia is known for great diving, snorkeling, and beaches. Sadly there weren't many public beaches, the nicest ones were at the private resorts, and other than that they were in short supply. Nonetheless, they were breathtakingly beautiful. The snorkeling off the shore wasn't great, the clarity wasn't good while we were there and since there is no reef there aren't a lot of creatures to observe. While in Placencia we didn't go on any dive or snorkeling tours, I'm sure if we did we would've seen more impressive things. We did learn, however, that in just a few days tons of people would be flocking to Placencia for the full moon when the Whale Sharks can be seen.

Ivan liked his floaty. He especially liked to lean forward and get tastes of the salt water. We had to re-situate him many times to keep his body laying backwards so he couldn't drink the water. I think he'd purposefully spit his binky out so it'd get more salt water on it and he could have another taste when we popped it back into his mouth. When we'd get him out and hold him, he'd lick the salt off our skin.

The first night we ate at the Hungry Gecko. It was delicious and had such a fun atmosphere. One of my favorite things about going on trips is the food. I have an obsession with exploring new flavors and menus. I had beef tacos, Eric had a fish burger, and we both had panadas, which was like a scone with chicken and salsa on it. The food in Belize has flavors that remind me of mexican food and cajun style food mixed. Eric of course got his glass bottle of orange fanta, which is classically Latin/Central American. Though English is the primary language in Belize, our waiter only spoke Spanish. Thankfully Eric did all the questioning and ordering. I always enjoy hearing him talk to people in Spanish, and love the way the people's eyes light up when they feel the relief of someone being able to converse effectively with them. Eric ended up having to use his Spanish a lot on this trip.

The table next to us was filled with 8 or so men playing poker and smoking their cigs. We chatted with them for a while. One guy was from BC, like Eric, and the rest were self-dubbed "Belizeans". They had retired and moved to homes in Belize. What a life.

The next day (or maybe the same day, it all kind of meshes together) we decided to try out a different beach. This one was behind a church and right next to a resort beach, so the beach was combed and the water was cleared from seaweed.

Eric and Micah snorkeled some more and Rachel, Ivan, and I enjoyed the shallow water, beach, and the little white fish that would nibble on the backs of our legs.

Naptime

2011-05-04T15:51:00.000-06:00

The last few days we've struggled with naptime. It's been a fight to get Reese to finally fall asleep. Today, after many attempts and quite a bit of lapsed time, I said heck with it and let her stay up. I googled when kids typically stop napping, and the majority stop by the time they're 3. Just last week I thought to myself, "this girl definitely still needs her naps". But then this week I've had my doubts.

Well, looks like she can't last a whole day without a nap. I turned on a movie a little after 3 while I started preparing dinner. Within 3 minutes Reese said, "Mom, I tired...no, I cold, blankie??" I got her her beloved blanket and asked her if she wanted to go sit on the couch. She said, "mommy do it?" So I carried her over. I walked over to the kitchen and then looked back at her maybe 15 seconds later and this is what I saw. Haha, tired little girl, you still need your naps.

2011-05-03T15:53:00.001-06:00

I now understand why mothers are so protective of their sons when it comes to dating and such. For so long you are the only girl in their life and they adore you, but one day another girl catches their eye and your no longer the only one. I know that day will come too soon, but for now I'll just snuggle and kiss his chubby little face all I can and not worry about that day.

Reese likes to do her make-up while I do mine. She found the blush today, showed Ivan how to apply it to her cheeks...

and then applied it to his.

The weather is beautiful today, and since this semester is winding down, our whole family was able to enjoy some play/relax time, and lunch on the lawn. Reese liked playing in her jungle-gym-turned-into-fort and Ivan got to laze in the hammock with Eric.

Ivan is the smiliest little kid I know! He gives them out freely, which familiars and strangers thoroughly appreciate!

Father - child time melts my heart more than ANYTHING!

Happy Birthday Eric!

2011-05-03T14:37:00.001-06:00

AGENDA:

Good morning starshine. How about some scones for breakfast??

And then maybe you can take a break for once, seeing as you've been so busy with finals and such.

Reese will enjoy the sunshine with you! And after you feel rejuvinated, we'll go run some errands while on a leisurly walk in the nice warm weather.

Then we'll go with your parents on a hike up Ensign Peak. We'll even spot a tarantula, just because it is your birthday :) YIKES!

Then your parents are going to take us all to Smash Burger for some greasy deliciousness and fantastic conversation.

As you know, no one can outdo Dairy Queen's ice cream cakes, so we'll get you one of those to enjoy.

And then you can help the little girls do their hair.

Sound exciting?

May not have been anything exotic, and the "surprise" motocross date I had planned for us the next evening got rained/snowed out - but I hope you know we love you more than anything and we hope you felt extra special on your birthday.

Easter Farewell

2011-05-03T14:27:00.000-06:00

Reese is getting a bit better at looking at the camera and Ivan started eating big boy food. He eats like a big boy too, a couple of the medium sized bottles of fruits and vegetables, after breastfeeding. However, I think I'm going to take him off of it for a couple weeks so that I don't have to pack any when we go on vacation in 1 1/2 weeks.

We went swimming at the pool near us. It is disappointing. You can't use any of your own floatation devices, only their life jackets. You can't go down their water slide with a child on your lap. And it is in need of some quick and inexpensive re-vamps. Not only that, Ivan got a rash on his belly, I'm pretty sure from the amount of chlorine in the pool. Reese, however, loved trying out her new goggles, and she looked darn cute in them too :) We'll chose a different pool to visit next time.

Happy Easter! Our Easter was a busy one. Camla and Dan both slept over and I made Kneaders Overnight Chunky Cinnamon French Toast. We did easter baskets super speed in the morning before 9 am church. Then we got ready and went to church where we thouroughly enjoyed listening to my brother-in-law Dan give his farewell talk and Eric speak on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was a fantastic meeting and it was fun having lots of family there.

After church we headed down to Orem for a farewell party for Dan at Eric brother's Jared's house. There was SO much yummy food and Reese got her first bee sting (on her cute little ankle) while playing in the yard barefoot. Sad :(

A little vacation

2011-04-18T21:50:00.002-06:00

Eric had a conference in St. George for school last week, so we took full advantage and made a vacation out of it. We arrived late Saturday evening and decided to hit up Zion after church for a couple leisurely hikes. It was a bit cool, very wet, and we ended up getting our shoes quite muddy, but it was oh so beautiful.

We did the Weaping Rock hike (more like hop, skip, and a jump) and the Emerald Pools hike. After Emerald Pools we enjoyed a little time at the Lodge.

We brought Camla along to keep me company while Eric was away and because we all just absolutely adore her and love being with her. It was so fun having her there. We did lots of strolls down Main Street, to Jud's Candy Shop and the water park on Main. Reese LOVED playing in the water ponds/rivers that run through the courtyard area by the tabernacle and city office buildings. I'm sure she was freezing because although sunny, soaked in cold water in 70 degree weather isn't exactly warm; regardless, she wanted to stay all day long!

On Monday, after the conference, we headed to Red Rock Recreation Area. Eric had found this cool hike on some random person's blog a while back and then saw a picture of the destination on a Utah road map and has been asking around to find out where it is. No one seemed to know. He made a bunch of calls on Monday to all kinds of people, and finally someone said a name that sounded familiar to him, so we jumped in the car and started our fun adventure.

It was seriously one of the best hikes ever. SUPER pretty, pretty easy hiking, totally family friendly, a little challenge with crossing on the "native footprints" while holding onto a rope, water crossings, and pure beauty!

Reese loves "Tamla"! And gratefully, Camla loves her too, so didn't mind playing with her most of the trip.

On the way back we took a little eat/change pit stop for Ivan. He was a happy camper. He is such an easy baby. As long as he's strapped to or being held by someone he is content.

A little father-son play time.

Reese was an amazing hiker. She hiked almost the whole trail, and would have had we not put her in the backpack for some of the river crossings and such. When I was little I was hiking at Snow Canyon and my dad said, "wow you are good, you are my little mountain goat." From that point on I hiked even faster and harder than ever before, because I was so proud of myself! Reese acted that same way. We told her she was doing so well and she'd start going faster and climb up steeper rocks, go off the trail and push her way through bushes. It was funny and darling. She'd huff and puff as she showed us what a good hiker she was.

She hiked up to a little cut out in the wall and stood against it. I told her to come back down so we could keep hiking. She said "picture?" That's totally not her usual request, she's camera shy, but obviously was totally proud of her accomplishment :)

The next day we went to Snow Canyon where she hiked pretty much the whole thing on her own again. The weather was gorgeous! The trip was just the right length and full of fun!

April kid update

2011-04-07T13:55:00.000-06:00

This happy little guy rolls over! He's been so close for so long, but he's finally succeeded :) First time was 2 days ago. Way to go Ivan man.

Ivan's eyes are dark! I love staring into them! I still don't know what color to call them. They are mostly grey, but if his pupils get really small, the inner portion of his irises are actually a brownish grey. I wonder if they will stay this way or change.?. Eric's dad's eyes are grey, so you never know.

I've had he and Reese sleeping in the same room this week. I think it is starting to work out. At first Reese kept waking him up with her hollers for chocolate milk or just to see a friendly face at her door. I think he is getting used to her noises, because heaven knows that Reese hasn't changed her habitual hollering while she is working on falling asleep.

Some interesting facts about Reese:

- she has an extra tooth. See on the left (her right), there are 2 small teeth next to the big front tooth. According to her dentist, one of those is an extra. I love this little quirk about her. Sadly (maybe fortunately for her) there most likely won't be an extra permanent tooth to take that one's place.

Reese has super long eyelashes. And they are really thick. I envy them!

She is beyond curious about everything. Her new thing is to always ask "huh?" after everything you say. Sometimes I think she just says it for fun, but other times she looks at you really curiously, like she wants you to tell you more about whatever it is. Even the most mundane of phrases gets a "huh?" from her. If you repeat your phrase she'll continue to ask "huh?" but if you go onto explain things more in depth she usually is satisfied and doesn't ask again.

The other day she was playing with one of the neighbor girls and kept asking her "huh?". After about the 20th "huh?" I could tell the neighbor was getting annoyed, so I intervened and changed the subject.

I've been watching KSL like a hawk lately to find Reese a fun play gym or slide. Well I FINALLY scored and got a fun gym WITH a slide for a steal. Sadly the weather has been so windy and pretty cold so she doesn't get to play on it as much as she'd like (which is ALL the time). But come warm weather, we're all going to be LOVING it! She can play while Ivan and I catch some rays :)

Frisco

2011-04-03T12:52:00.002-06:00

There once was a man, who was getting very good at woodworking. He had an idea. He purchased supplies. He sawed and glued and sanded and waited.

He built and welded, researched, learned equations, searched all over the land for parts and assembled. He ran electricity and installed lighting.

His creation began to come together and his daughter approved of his work.

The assembly was successful.

He drew, cut, and sanded many more parts.

He stained, painted, varnished and buffed.

He cut pieces of leather, punched holes, created attachments.

His wife and he hoisted the heavy beast up to the living room for his daughter and all the visiting children to enjoy.

And Frisco was born.

luv 'em

2011-03-24T11:49:00.002-06:00

I adore these babies of mine! Pure joy, I tell you!

Ivan had his 4 month checkup today:

- 17 lbs
- 26 inches
He is a large boy!

Poor Reese was sick again, hence the chapped lips...I swear 2 of 3 times she goes to nursery, she contracts something, which is completely unfortunate since she craves nursery! Yesterday I took her running with me, we went past the church and I pointed it out to her. She started crying when she realized I wasn't taking her to nursery.

I also adore Eric. Sadly I only seem to take pictures of us adults when we're on vacation and things. Luckily we are going to Moab this weekend, so I should have some pics of us for the next post. He's a darling, he got a movie just for me at Redbox last night. I thought that was very thoughtful - getting a movie that he knows I will like but he won't. So, I just put the kids down for naps, and I'm going to lounge on the couch and watch my happy-go-lucky chick flick :)

Oh mother.

2011-03-15T19:49:00.002-06:00

Sometimes being a mother is a walk in the park, other times it is the most difficult thing I've ever had to do. With Eric having midterms and papers due, the last couple of days have felt like I was a single mother. I don't know how single mothers do it. My neighbor is a single lady who adopted her friend's daughter's baby 3 months ago. I was talking to her today and she said "it's nice that you have your husband so you can take off every once in a while." I rarely take off without at least one of the kids, but at least there is the option.

I've been pondering a LOT lately. It humbles me. I'm glad, because I feel that with all the pondering and inner questioning, eventually some positive changes will take place. Motherhood teaches you how little you know and how much you have to rely on a divine source of knowledge. I'm struggling with Reese becoming an older child. I know nothing of disciplining a child with a personality like hers. What discipline works, what is detrimental? I'm slowly learning how to teach her things: right from wrong, colors, games, words. I'm having a hard time getting Ivan on a good nap and nighttime sleep schedule, I've forgotten all the "tricks" :). Thankfully, this is what I'm supposed to be doing. This is my calling, my job, my responsibility - and God knows all. I'm trying to learn from Him how I can be the best I possibly can in all these new challenges in life.

It is a wonderful thing to have angels in your home to humble you. Thank you Reese and Ivan for being those angels. You've taught me what "mother's love" is. And you're allowing me to find my weaknesses so that I can turn to a higher source for strengthening.

rain to shine

2011-03-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

In one day we made the decision to go from:
-Trying to entertain ourselves while being cooped up in our house
-Avoiding the cold outside

-Pretending it is Summer and trying on all of our swimsuits

To...Eric driving through the night so we could enjoy:
-Sunshine
-Cousins
-Spending the majority of the day outside
-Racing electric 4 wheelers around the cul-de-sac

-Happiness and smiles galore

It was so nice to get away from the yucky weather! A great break from reality, soaked up some rays, spent time with family, a date night for just Eric and I on the strip, family night on the strip, fantastic food, lots of dirtbiking for the guys, and a much needed vacation! It was wonderful!

It's already March??

2011-03-01T14:39:00.001-07:00

It may have something to do with February having fewer days than the rest of the months, but I swear it never happened. Where did the month go?

Reese is TOTALLY ready to be potty trained. She sits on the toilet, un-prompted, by herself multiple times a day, and even goes to the bathroom sometimes. I don't even know how to potty train a kid, but I better figure it out quick since she is so interested. Any pointers?

She is a total goof in front of the camera these days. As soon as a pull it out she puts on a solemn face. Oh well, she is still cute.

She LOVES nursery. She runs from sacrament meeting into nursery and happily says goodbye to Eric when he drops her off. I'm glad she's warmed up to the idea so much!

Ivan is the happiest baby I know, which makes me happy, and which thankfully makes me feel like one day I will want another :) Just not for a while. He is too long for his bassinet now. Time to do the room switcharoo, move Reese downstairs, and him into a crib in Reese's current room because his feet kicking his wicker bassinet at night is enough to make me not sleep soundly. I don't know why but I'm hesitant though because I have a hard time being OK with Reese sleeping so far away from me - dumb I know, but both beds won't fit in the upstairs room :(

We've got some cool projects coming down the pipeline. Eric is making something cool (I won't give it away until it is complete though, in case he wants it to be a surprise). I'm going to be making part of our basement into a cool play room. I'll do a before and after of that and her room when I'm done. I'm excited.

Colors, Crafts, Sleep and Such.

2011-02-23T20:01:00.002-07:00

I've been trying to be better about providing Reese with learning activities and such. Keeps the both of us sane. Right now we're focusing mostly on colors. Sometimes this consistes of mixing cornstarch, water and food coloring to paint with and learn about a color. Sometimes it's holding a handful of mini m&m's and making her say the color of the m&m before she eats it. Today I decided to go to JoAnns and buy some crafts for Reese. They have the BEST $1 section. Tonight she got to paint a plaster magnet. She liked it, but definitely didn't like the taste of the paint. I wasn't watching closely enough and she said "hot", I look over at her and she has her tongue sticking out and blue paint smeared next to her cheek. Gross! Well, at least we got that out of the way, I don't think she'll be eating the paint anymore.

Geez, I love this girl! She is my little best friend!

And this is my little lover boy. I'm so in love with him. He is so happy and smiles so much! And as vain as it may sound, he LOVES his mama. That's simply the truth. Although my back is always sore, I do love that he wants to be in my arms pretty much all the time. And I love the way he snuggles into me when he's trying to fall asleep.

This blanket he's wrapped in is the best thing that ever happened. My friend Lindsay gave it to me on Sunday and I'm in awe! It is light weight, large enough to burrito wrap a large child in, and made of material that contours the babies body so preciously! I'm in love!...and so glad I can use it in the Summer time too! I've always hated how unfriendly blankets are in warm weather, but this one will be perfect!

After we were done painting, we made Reese a car out of a cardboard box. She thought that was pretty awesome. I cut out the bottom and added straps later so she could stand up and "drive" around, since she had to keep getting out of it to push it around the house.

Reese changed Ivan's diaper today. Sweet eh? It was purely accidental. I changed him and asked if Reese would throw away Ivan's dirty diaper while I went into the other room to do something. I came back and she said "ew gross!" She was holding a wipe in her hand and Ivan was lying on the floor de-diapered. She had misunderstood me and thought I'd asked her to change his dirty diaper. She took off his pants, undid the bottons on his onesie, took off the diaper, threw it away, and wiped his bum. What a good big sis. I know who I'm going to have change the diapers from now on ;)

Can I just say, motherhood (and really just life in general) is so much more enjoyable when you have a little sleep in ya. On Sunday I made myself a bedtime of 10pm Monday - Thursday (unless we're out doing something). I've only followed it 2 nights so far, but am feeling loads better. Pretty sure I should've done such a thing earlier, because no matter how much I need my sleep, the babies still wake up at the same time every morning, which means I do to :)

Wood Work

2011-02-17T22:19:00.000-07:00

Here's Reese's bed! Eric just decided one day that he wanted to make her a bed. He hasn't done this kind of wood work before (carving and such) but he did an amazing job. Reese loves to run her fingers over the design and she talks about the moon, stars, and sun while she is trying to settle down at night. I love the shape of the bed and love that she now has her own keepsake that her dad made and she can have for her kids and such.

With all the wood projects I've put on Eric's to do list, we decided he best build himself a wood working bench :) It turned out pretty sweet too!

Home

2011-02-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

We got home last night from our 3 weeks of babysitting. It feels nice to be home. I'm no longer living out of duffle bags, I have a larger selection of clothes, shoes and makeup.

I had to do a LOT of putting away today. Still not done. I also had to do a big grocery shopping trip. Everything was expired in our fridge. I forgot to buy bread - DOH!

This morning I asked Reese to throw Ivan's diaper in the garbage. It took her a minute to remember where that was. She was excited to see all her toys, books, and her favorite bed - which I am going to post a picture of soon. Eric made her the COOLEST bed for her birthday! It really is amazing!

I have a lot of mail to sort through, laundry to be done, and tidying to complete. Then I might find some time to catch up on my blog.

BB SITTING

2011-02-02T21:04:00.001-07:00

So we're babysitting for a total of 20 days! We're on day 7. Two different families (each for 10 days), parents going on vacations to warm destinations, while we drop kids off at the bus stop in -16 degree weather = BURR!

Right now we're back in good old Heber, hanging out with the kids of one of our favorite families from our old ward. I miss our home. I can see it from the living room window. I talked to our tenants at church on Sunday, slightly jealous that they were cozying up to our fireplace this winter, and enjoying the bright stars from the hot tub on a freezing cold night. Slightly may be an understatement.

Whenever I stare out the window at it I can't help but reminisce in memories of Eric and I: young, engaged, going to see the house, buying it, then coming home early from our honeymoon simply because we couldn't wait to live together in our very own house. Driving up the dirt roads to our cozy home after a long day at work and school. The smells. Shoveling the crazy amounts of snow on our very long driveway to try to send myself into labor. Then learning how to sanely spend numerous hours inside that sweet little house once we brought our new baby girl home in the dead of winter and I got the blessing of staying home with her. Making the house ours. Spending our evenings together building a porch and swing then building a greenhouse. Hosting numerous dinners, sleepovers, and parties. Oh the memories.

I miss our ward. Going there last Sunday so felt like home. We were back in our comfort zone. It was great seeing so many people we love, that have known us from our existence as Mr. and Mrs. Ellis.

Maybe someday we'll be back :)

NEWS

2011-01-24T13:12:00.004-07:00

I've had this little ongoing recipe blog that I'm finally trying to keep updated as I cook things. I know that I love recipe blogs and use them frequently for meal ideas. If anyone is interested, feel free to check it out. elliseats.blogspot.com

Some of the recipes will be just normal but I also like to branch out frequently and try new things. If I use a recipe from you, I will note it, if I don't, feel free to kindly remind me, likely I can't remember my source. I'm not trying to steal recipes, I just want a collection for my own use, but figure you might find using my collection helpful as well.

I'm not the best at remembering to take pictures of the things I cook because I'm usually too excited to dig in, but I'll try. Also, every recipe I put on the blog will be something I've cooked personally, so I know if it is actually a good recipe or not (in my opinion).

TWO

2011-01-21T14:40:00.005-07:00

TWO years
22 lbs and a bit (can't remember) - between 5th and 10th percentile - YAHOO!
Between 50th and 75th percentile for height (our new pediatrician does things different, doesn't give an exact percentile and doesn't give me a paper that shows the measurements, and as we know, my brain can sadly only remember so much).

Got 2 shots, flexed quad with first shot so the liquid sprayed out of her leg and all over me - hopefully that still counts as an immunization?, cried only until she saw the pretty bandaids that the nurse was going to put on her owies and was told that she could go home and show daddy; showed off her vocabulary and her VERY strong willed personality. All I can say is she is going to make it in this life with a personality like hers.

TWO months
13 lbs 1 1/2 oz - 95th percentile
Between 90th and 95th percentile for height
Head is between 50th - 75th percentiles - doesn't seem to have the big Christensen head.

Got 3 shots, only cried for 30 seconds; was told it is ok for mom to feed him every 2 hours during the day since he is as big AND tall as he is.

Great Grandma Gwen

2011-01-21T14:22:00.002-07:00

Grandma Gwen and Ivan got to meet for the first time a little over a week ago. Eric's parents were in town for Daniel going through the temple for the first time and for Ivan's blessing and stayed and Grandma Gwen's in Ogden. We made a few trips up there throughout the week to hang out with them and Eric's sister Kristen and her kids too (they stayed there most the week as well).

I always enjoy visiting with Grandma Gwen. She is full of wisdom and stories. I guess you're bound to be after living such a full life. She is such an example to me. Her husband, Moyle, died quite a long time ago. I think when Eric was in his pre-teens, so like 20-ish years ago. I can't imagine going on that long without the love of your life. But she has filled her life with good things, kept busy, and spent lots of time with her kids and grandkids. I pray all the time that Eric and I will die together when we are good and old, but if that doesn't happen, whichever one of us is left behind has Grandma's example to follow.

About 2 weeks ago Ivan really started to interact with us. I LOVE it! I thought it took a lot longer for a baby to reach these milestones, I must have forgotten, but he is totally smiling at and "talking" to us. And within the last few days started laughing. He is such a sweetie. He is also a people person. He would love to be held 100% of the time, and I'd love to hold him 100% of the time, but honestly I can't. There is Reese to play with, housework to do, food to prepare, and so on. Don't get me wrong, I do hold him a lot, and I LOVE that he loves snuggling with his mommy so much (I prayed for a snuggly baby), he is just so darn sweet! I can't get enough of him!

A mother's brain

2011-01-18T23:44:00.003-07:00

Why is it that once we become mothers it is so hard to remember ANYTHING?? Almost daily I think of something I ought to start/stop doing or something I need to get done the next day. If I don't put it in my phone as a reminder that will sound an alarm to remind me, it will not happen and I won't even think twice about having forgotten to do that thing because it will be *poof* out of my brain. Sometimes I think, oh why don't I write that down so I remember, but what happens when I write it down? That piece of paper either gets lost in my Mary Poppins bag, in the mess on my countertop (organization is NOT my strong suit), or gets into the hands of my sweet little girl, in which case it gets colored on with pens, highlighters, and crayons, and I fail to recognize it as my "to-do" or "be better at" list, and it ends up getting tossed under the couch or into the garbage.

How am I ever going to make any changes in my life when my brain won't even kind of remind me to make those changes...any ideas?

(Yes that is a sticker on Ivan's face. Reese is a VERY good sister and saw that he had scratched himself so she put a "bandaid" on him :))

A name and a blessing

2011-01-17T20:20:00.003-07:00

On January 9th Eric blessed Ivan. Our families gathered together in my parents' home and Ivan was given an amazing blessing. Eric and I hadn't talked about the blessing ahead of time and it was neat to hear that Heavenly Father had the same blessings in mind for Ivan as I did as Eric spoke words that I hoped would be spoken. It was a beautiful day and a lot of fun spending it with almost all of our family.

All the men that participated in the blessing. We were so grateful for all of their support and love.

A couple weeks earlier my aunt had Reese and Ivan come down to her photography studio so she could take their pictures. We so appreciate her generosity and I was so glad to get some pictures taken of Ivan in his blessing outfit. This outfit was worn by Eric when he was blessed, as well as most, if not all, his brothers for their blessings too.

Carlsbad Caverns

2011-01-11T12:40:00.005-07:00

Ranger Reese was a great tour guide :)

Here we are at the entrance to the cave. During certain months bats live in the cave and at certain times of the day (I'm thinking evening) you can sit in an amphitheater above the opening to the cave and watch all the bats fly out to hunt. Luckily we visited during the season when the bats have flown South to Mexico for the winter. It was nice not having to worry about them flying into your hair while wandering through the cave.

I love my family. It is still weird to me when I see a picture of all 4 of us, but i absolutely LOVE it!

The cave was amazing! It is one of the biggest in the world. It was seriously huge and the trails don't even lead you through the whole thing. You could explore it your whole entire life and still only scratch the surface. The cave has paved trails all the way through it and is dimly lit. We took headlamps so we could see certain things a little better. At first I was under the impression that we had to walk back up the trail and out of the cave. I was a bit depressed because the trail in was really steep and really long (after walking all the trails to the bottom we had gone for 3 or more hours). LUCKILY they have an elevator at the bottom! BEST idea EVER! Dan and Eric told me this once we were a little ways into the cave and I asked if we honestly had to hike back out, but I still wondered if they weren't just teasing me, and it wasn't until I saw the sign pointing toward the elevator that I finally felt complete relief.

The cave formations are all kinds of cool. Some look like they belong in the ocean, some in outer space, and some in the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Here's a trick Eric taught me so I could remember the difference between Stalactites and Stalagmites. Stalactites are hanging "tight" to the ceiling (with a "c"). The Stalagmites are on the ground (with a "g") like where you'd find mites crawling around. Finally a way to remember!!

As soon as you think you can see the end you enter a new part of the cavern and see an "end" to that part of the cavern. It is crazy that the cave is so gigantic and is a natural occurrence. Mind boggling!

This is how you used to have to get in and out of the cave. BLAH!

Don't some of these look like they inspired the plants in Avatar!

Ivan slept through like the whole cave. Reese slept for a good part. It made for a relaxed and enjoyable trek through the cave.

Other highlights:
- While there we remembered that our friend Kurt, who lived in Timberlakes, was now working and living in NM. Eric didn't have his phone number anymore so he had our sister in law message Kurt on facebook to have him call Eric. We were able to drive out to his town and he treated us to delicious Mexican food. It was nice catching up and eating totally delish fish tacos!
- For future road trips I need to remember that traveling in the Subaru with 3 adults and 2 car seats doesn't make for a comfy trip. My tailbone was killing and my butt and legs felt like I had a huge workout for a few days after the trip. I wish that was the case! Why are car seats so dang bulky? It isn't like the kids using them are all that huge.
-The night we stayed in the hotel Ivan had a 7 hour stretch of sleeping. SO awesome! The night we got home he slept for a 9 hour stretch. Even better! The last couple nights....nothing more than a 2 hour stretch the first night and last night a 4 hour stretch. I wouldn't mind if he started doing more of those 7 - 9 hour stretches. Nope, not one bit!

In case anyone is wondering - Carlsbad Caverns are TOTALLY worth the drive and the fee. It is only $6 a person and anyone 15 and under are free. Seriously, how do they afford to maintain the trails so nicely, pay for lighting, plumbing, etc, and pay all the rangers? No idea, but I'm ever so grateful for a place that is actually worth more than what you pay. That seems to rarely happen!

New Mexico 2011

2011-01-11T09:56:00.004-07:00

For Dan's birthday/ Eric having a break from school, we decided to do a road trip to New Mexico. We left Tuesday night and, thanks to Eric staying awake and driving, arrived Wednesday mid morning in Roswell, NM. We hung out there for a while and explored the city and learned about some of the UFO/alien stuff at the visitor's center. We went to a gift shop to see if there was anything worth buying but aliens in liquid filled jars and pillows with felt alien heads sewn on them, aren't exactly our choice in home decor.

We brought all our own food so that we would only eat out if there was something totally worth it. This was a good choice. Typically I'm so sick of fast food by the time we're done with our trip, but this time we brought delicious selections of food and it felt so good to eat real food while on a trip. Here I am cooking our breakfast of sausage and scrambled eggs outside of the Roswell visitor's center.

The worker at the visitor's center told us about a bunch of places we should go see while in Roswell. We skipped the alien museum and decided to head over to the free Zoo. Free Zoo? I know, I didn't know such a thing existed either.

So this is what you get when you attend a free zoo:
- A cougar staring down and smacking its lips at your child and another child holding a sandwich. It was in an enclosure that it EASILY could have climbed out of. FREAK me out!!!!

- A one winged vulture flaunting its one wing to the other vulture in the pen who had no wings :(

- A billy goat who stunk up a 12 mile radius with it's nastiness. It did have a really cool beard though!! So silky - Pantene Pro-V for sure!

- And then some really cool other animals, and only a mom and her two kids as fellow patrons.

Right outside of the Zoo was a cool playground. Check out the rocket ship slide. The slide was totally polished to perfection for sliding down at super speed and landing straight on your back, as was demonstrated to us by a 3 year old boy many times.

Reese decided that since her hands were pretty gross from the Zoo and playground, that there was no reason not to keep adding to the filth.

Our next destination was Carlsbad. Our main point for the trip was to go to the Carlsbad Caverns. We had to take a little longer route so Eric could go through a town with the same name as one of his favorite TV shows.

There was a cool old gas station in the town as well. I don't know why but I'm obsessed with old gas stations. They are always so sweet looking and make me feel like I'm living in the good old days.

We had to make LOTS of pit stops, seeing as Ivan is becoming a chunk-a-lunk and wants to still eat every 2 hours. Not complaining, just letting you know why so many pit stops. Reese needed to get some energy out and move her legs so Eric and her went on a little jaunt through the field while Ivan filled his belly.

To be continued...

Two!

2011-01-11T07:42:00.003-07:00

I cannot believe Reese is 2 years old! So fun but so sad that time goes so darn quick!

Reese had a day full of playing, reading books, and going to the store with me to buy her party decorations.

I was wanting to make her a Despicable Me or Monsters Inc cake since those are her favorite movies but I couldn't find anywhere that sold those toys so when I came across this cool set of sea life I decided they would make for a fun cake and even more fun bath time.

My parents, Don, Camla, and Elise (the Norwegian girl living with my family) all came up for the party.

Reese was so cute opening her presents. She loved ripping through the wrapping paper and then so long as the gift wasn't clothes she would play with whatever she unwrapped for a while before we convinced her to open another present. One of her presents was Yo Gabba Gabba underwear. She was so excited when she saw the packaging. She then wanted us to open it, so we did and got the underwear out of the package. She was pretty disappointed. She kept searching the packaging over and over because she just knew there must be a toy in there somewhere. Oops!

Reese of course joined in on singing Happy Birthday to herself. It is, after all, one of her all time favorite songs.

We finished off the evening with Just Dance. That is one fun game, even when you are a totally awkward dancer like me. Reese loves to dance along and it is totally darling!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-10T15:38:00.002-07:00

We had SUCH a wonderful Christmas. Packed full of family time! We loved having Eric pretty much all to ourselves over the break and took advantage of hanging out all day long.

On Christmas Eve we went down to my parents' house and had our traditional shepherds' meal. It was fun, delicious, and nice to watch a movie about our Savior.

I love Christmas and everything good it stands for and brings out in people!

We went home after dinner and had our own little Christmas the next morning. Reese LOVED opening gifts. I took video this year, so I sadly don't have any still shots of Christmas day. After we opened our gifts we headed back down to Provo to have a traditional German breakfast at my grandparents', do presents with my family, and visit nieces and nephews to see how their Christmases were.

Temple Square

2011-01-10T15:33:00.002-07:00

I think this was our 3rd trip to the temple lights. You can't go just once when you live so darn close. I think our tally for this season is 4 times....so far anyway.

Welcome Home Elder Messick

2010-12-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

It was an EXCITING day to finally see Don after 2 years! He was such a good missionary. I'm so proud of him. I'm sure he was sad to say goodbye to Paris France but we sure were ready for him to be home :)

Don was taken back by the pretty teenage girl running at him when he got off the escalator. Camla changed a TON while he was gone!

Don grew a couple inches while he was out! I thought he was done growing at 19. Apparently not.

Eric was at home taking an online timed final. Luckily he finished right as my parents were dropping me off so that he could visit with Don for a second.

The kids have already warmed up to uncle Don! Didn't take long.

Barthelona

2010-12-27T10:25:00.002-07:00

Dan got his call! Dan always planned on hiking up Mt. Tzouhalem to open his call, but since he isn't living on the island right now, Eric took us all to Ensign peak. We got up to the top as the sun was starting to set and it was beautiful. I am purely out of shape so it took us longer to get up to the top but I think it increased Dan's excitement having to wait for my slow butt;)

Dan was super giddy. I don't blame him one bit, we were all pretty dang giddy.

He slowly opened it. He showed us that he could see the "you are hereby called..." part of the letter.

Barcelona Spain, reporting to the MTC April 27th, and SO excited!

Reese and Daddy celebrating!

And Dan calling all the anxious family members and friends.

Our household

2010-12-22T22:53:00.007-07:00

Ivan:
receding hairline - darling curly hair is falling out. crying periods are becoming less and less frequent. amazingly good at staring you in the eyes for long periods of time. chunking out. starting to coo. likes when he finds his thumb. strongest baby I've ever seen - has held his head up well since birth. birthmark that looks like a scar next to his right eye.

Reese:
growing up. loving on her brother. all of a sudden talking a lot. wearing duct tape around her diaper at naptime and bedtime so she doesn't strip out of it. big helper. singer and dancer. now a night owl. no binky for a week and hasn't had any troubles WHATSOEVER. loving nutrigrain bars and grasshopper cookies. avid brusher of teeth. chocolate milk addict. finally back on the charts - 2% for weight, 14% for height. tempted to open the christmas presents under the tree. FINALLY doesn't refuse to say I love you - I heard her say it twice to Eric tonight...DARLING!

Nakita:
loving her sleepywrap (seen in pic). absolutely adores her husband and kids. SO excited for Christmas. behind on sleep. happy with life. eats way too many treats. finally painted nails red for the holidays. enjoying husband's time off. trying harder to think of dinners ahead of time and grocery shop accordingly, find a way for her house to stay magically clean, and keep Reese's t.v./computer time to under an hour a day.

Eric:
finished with another semester of school. family man. learning more about wood working. helps his wife out more than ever. his daughter's hero (and wife's for that matter). best kitchen sink cleaner. master fix-it man, you name it and he'll figure it out. wonderful. has the magic touch when it comes to calming a crying baby. enjoys his tools and creating projects to use them.

2010-12-06T20:00:00.002-07:00

Over the first 1 1/2 weeks or so Eric had to remind me not to leave Ivan lying on the floor or anywhere that isn't his bed/chair/swing, etc because he always almost mistakes him for Reese's doll and is afraid he'll kick him out of the way or something one day. It is true, he does look shockingly similar to a little doll. He is my living doll - oh he is adorable!

Having 2 kids can be somewhat overwhelming, especially when I'm running on little sleep, but MANY times a day I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude. It is surreal to think that I am responsible for 2 little angels. I love them like crazy - my love for Ivan, Reese, and Eric has grown a crazy amount. I feel so much more like a family with 2 kids. I'm not sure how to explain it. Maybe it is because now it isn't so easy to do most things by myself, like I would previously insist on doing most of the time. I've had to rely on Eric a ton to fill in where I can't or help one of the kids while I'm helping the other. It's been a cool transition. And it seems like all of us have grown closer, I should've been letting Eric help out more all along ;) Because he is eager to help, but I'm stubborn.

Here is perfection staring me in the face tonight while I was tucking Reese into bed. My little loves.

And as always, Reese insisted she smile big for a picture so she could then look at it on the camera's screen.

She has become SUCH a good sister. Whenever I'm feeding Ivan she grabs all the diaper supplies and brings them to me. She knows the routine. Ivan's crying doesn't seem to be scaring Reese anymore. Instead of running the other direction she goes to him and tries to fix the problem.

sNoW

2010-12-06T19:52:00.002-07:00

Reese was going stir crazy when she was sick. Luckily she has an uncle who loves her and took her out to play in the freshly fallen snow.

She got a little upset that she couldn't walk in the deep snow.