Ryan and Alisa

This just in

2012-01-25T21:01:00.001-07:00

We just opened up a package from our "Ohio family", nancy and terry brown. Books galore!! I can't wait for Owen to see them in the morning. We sure feel loved right now!

This very minute

2012-01-25T13:26:00.001-07:00

•middle of the afternoon
•Owen is napping
•haven't really had lunch yet

Don't judge me!

Christmas Break Fun

2012-01-22T16:48:00.008-07:00

We were in Oregon at Liz and Travis' for a long Christmas break (me and Owen 2 weeks, Ryan 10 days). This made for a lot of fun! Here's a glimpse at some miscellaneous casual events during our wonderful Christmas break:

Liz and I took the boys to their children's museum while Ryan joined Travis and his dad for a day on the road looking at properties.

For some reason a visit with Liz wouldn't be complete until we get in at least one Costco lunch:

The day Brian and Rachelle arrived we headed downtown to watch Jimmer (Sacramento Kings) play against Portland. It was fun to sit in a box and enjoy watching Jimmer (even though Jimmer didn't play as well as we'd hoped):
Liz and Travis' church is literally right behind their house. It was a perfect place to spread out a little, play some basketball, and let the kids run around having fun. We went there on a few occasions. Here's Meghan playing with Calvin and Miles. Megs definitely gets the coolest/most fun aunt award:
Grandma saved some New Year's Eve toys for the boys to play with the next day:
You could find our crowd like this if we were ever just sitting around hanging out. There were enough new ipads, ipods, cell phones, and other electronics received at Christmas this year that everyone had fun playing and trying to figure out their new toys.
Owen playing with Meghan's hair:
Owen loved playing with so many new toys at his cousins' houses. Here's Ryan and Owen drawing on Calvin's new art easel and Owen playing football:

And all around it was so much fun watching Owen and his cousins play. He loved having so many buddies to run around with. He was always trying to keep up with everyone. Here are Owen and Miles dressed up in their costumes and Owen, Calvin, and Miles splish splashing:

Hanging out with this lady. It's always so fun to be with my twin! It was fun to talk, catch up, hang out, and just be together. We are (were--Liz had her baby a week ago) both pregnant, due 5 weeks apart:

Even though we had a long trip away it was still hard to say good-bye and leave our NW family behind. Thankfully (besides the fact that we had to pay for it) Owen had his own seat on the flights home. I think he fell asleep within minutes of the car ride home. He was wiped out after a long day of travel and a fabulous Christmas break:

Amongst these things pictures we also had so much fun:

playing tons of games (games of the season: Trans America, Spot It, Logos, and backwards Charades)
a few attempts at watching a movie (we always fell asleep but it was still fun to sit and watch a movie in the middle of the day or late at night just because we could)
visiting with Brian and Rachelle's family, Keri and Matthew's family, Adam and Meghan, Mom and Dad, and Liz and Travis' family
Going to the Evans' (Rick and Kari) to watch the BYU bowl game which had a happy ending
Eating a lot!!
morning walks with Mom and Dad
going back to Olympia to visit friends (separate post coming)
lots of hang out time with Liz and Travis
a long vacation not worrying about work or too much of any schedule

Winter is here!

2012-01-22T16:42:00.003-07:00

I think Winter has finally arrived here in MN. I have to admit, I kind of like it! It's not that I love being freezing cold all the time, but c'mon, I do live in Minnesota, it's supposed to be cold in the Winter, right?! It's been such a mild Winter I was feeling a little disappointed and starting to think these Minnesotans were just wimps when it came to Winter. As of this past week I've realized they're not wimps, it really is so cold here (and I don't think we've begun to hit our low), and Winter has finally arrived. If we bundle up really well it doesn't feel too bad. I'm not saying it's not cold, it is, but you simply cannot go outside without totally bundling up, and with that many layers on, it's doable. Besides that, the extra heater I have on my belly seems to be helping me out. We still haven't been dumped with snow like I've been picturing, but it's more snow than we've received in our last 2 Winters combined, so I'll take it.

Welcome Winter!

the update

2012-01-22T10:28:00.004-07:00

I realized there's a big piece of news I've never really posted about. I mentioned recently that we'll be staying here in MN. Here's how that all happened:

First of all, we've always known that our stay here in MN would be brief. We were always under the impression we'd be here for about 9 months, which would've had us moving a couple weeks ago. Sometime around November we received our next moving assignment. We were heading to Houston, TX. They wanted us down there at the end of January but with the baby due at the end of February we made arrangements to wait until mid-March. Houston sounded fine to both of us, but it's interesting, looking back, that neither of us were very motivated to make plans for Houston. Come to find out, without even talking to each other about it, neither of us really felt like we were really moving. We never looked into housing, we never made arrangements with Ryan's company to make a house hunting trip down there, and besides a few close family members and friends we never even told anyone we were moving.

In the meantime Ryan was approached at work with the suggestion of applying to a new position (a brand new position to the company in fact) at work. Short story is that he did apply and was accepted for the position which has him staying here working out of company headquarters.

We're very excited about Ryan's new position and about staying put here in MN for the time being. We really don't know what it means for us long long term, but for the short long term (at least the next couple-5 or so years) it looks like we'll be here in MN. Even though we made plans to move at the beginning of Ryan's career it suddenly feels so nice to get to "settle" somewhere for now. It is a huge blessing to have family so close by. We felt the need to take full advantage of being close to family for what we thought would be 9 months, and we're so thrilled that we get to continue that. It's exciting to feel like we can establish ourselves somewhere a little more permanently--friends, church, possible home, doctors, community, investing in good snow clothes (sounds kind of funny, but I'm kind of serious), etc.

I'm not sure we ever picture MN, of all places, to be somewhere we settle for a time, but for now it's a great place for us to be!

Life Lesson

2012-01-20T14:14:00.003-07:00

Haven't done one of these in awhile. Are you ready for my very inspiring life lesson?!

Whenever I make pancakes I make a lot! Owen and I eat a few for breakfast and I freeze the rest. That way, we have can have hot breakfasts often without it feeling like too much work. I put a couple on a plate, throw it in the microwave for 30-ish seconds, and breakfast is served! Owen loves him some pancakes so I find this to be very helpful. And in case you're worried about them not tasting good, personally I think they taste just fine!

thoughts at 35 weeks

2012-01-19T13:04:00.002-07:00

i can't believe how little i've documented this pregnancy. i guess that's just how it goes.

tomorrow i'll be 35 weeks. that's exciting and scary all at the same time. my twin sister just had her baby girl a week ago tomorrow. seeing her adorable little alexa jean made me so excited to meet my little baby girl. and then it made me realize how i am so not ready for her to come yet. i have too much to get ready still and i really don't know how to start all over again with a tiny newborn. but, obviously, sooner than later she'll be here and whether i'm ready or not it'll be time to spring into action. here are my random thoughts, feelings, and doings at 35 weeks:

we're struggling with names. i just haven't had a name that really gets to me. we have a very short list of ideas. it's possible we've found it, but who knows if we'll cycle through several more before we find the one. i'm starting to think we may just need to meet her before her name is determined.
if i didn't know i had 5 weeks to go i'd guess this baby could come any day. it's just how i'm feeling. whenever she moves i can feel her in every corner of my insides all at the same time. i can't figure out where else she'll grow in the next 5 weeks.
if i had to guess, i'd say she's a big baby, but really, who knows. doctors haven't said anything about measuring big or anything. maybe it's just because owen hardly moved my entire pregnancy and this little girl is a mover! that may be why i feel like that.
i'm still exercising 4-5 times a week. i'm down to spin and the elliptical. it is getting harder, but i'm so glad i've stuck with it. exercise has made the world of a difference in this pregnancy. hopefully it'll make a big difference in post delivery too.
speaking of delivery--i'm nervous!
and speaking of the gym--i'm feeling a little self conscious there lately as people kind of stare at me as i walk past. i don't blame them, it just makes me a little self conscious.
i'm getting very excited to watch owen with baby sister. owen loves babies, wherever we go. when we were around a little baby today he had to be right by her to help feed her her bottle and rock her in her car seat. i do expect some jealousy and rough patches with owen, but overall i think (i hope) he'll love her.
exercise has been so good for me, but with only 5 weeks to go i do feel like i'm hitting a little bit of a wall. i'm tired and it feels like it takes me forever to do anything. my back really hurts by night time. my feet are very swollen and i'm feeling swollen pretty much all over (you know it's bad when even your nose looks swollen). it's so hard to roll over in bed or to bend over and tie shoes.
i recently booked a trip for me and baby girl 3 weeks after my due date, so i'm really hoping she comes on time (or early!) and all goes well with recovery--yikes! i am going, no matter what, so i'm praying for the best.
ryan is the very best and gives my feet (and often back) a rub every night! it's a lifesaver every time!
i'm feeling nervous about starting all over--how in the world am i going to get up for feeding in the middle of the night? i'm nervous about nursing. i can't even remember how much and how often babies are supposed to eat. will i really know what she needs and how to provide those things for her?
with that said, i'm also feeling much more laid back this time around in regards to a schedule, etc. i was paranoid about getting owen on a routine and doing everything perfectly by the book that i hardly enjoyed holding and snuggling him as a newborn. i'm feeling excited to just relax a little more and not feel so uptight about those kinds of things--i now realize all that will work out.
i think i must look 35 weeks (in other words, i look how i feel) because i've had several comments lately about how huge i am, how i don't look so great, etc. sweet!
i'm feeling so thankful for good family and friends. especially right before christmas i had several people take owen for me on different occasions so i could do whatever i needed. mostly i ran errands. it's tiring and hard dragging a toddler in and out of stores being so pregnant. truly, i felt so thankful.
does anyone else get to the end of pregnancy and just want the baby out to make sure he/she is safe? i'm feeling that lately--in some ways i just want her to come so that i know nothing else that could potentially go wrong inside the womb has a chance to go wrong. maybe i'm just being paranoid...?
i can't wait to see ryan with this little girl. he and owen have so much fun together. owen adores his dad. i kind of think a little girl will just melt ryan. when i recently showed him the first picture i received of my new niece he literally stopped what he was doing and just "ooohhhed" and "ahhhhhed" at her. i won't tell our little girl, but i think she'll soon realize that she could easily have her dad wrapped around her little finger.

anyway, those are my random thoughts. i wanted them recorded. i'm excited to meet this little girl. only 5 more weeks to go. gosh, that seems hard to believe!

remembering those moments

2012-01-16T14:27:00.002-07:00

I realize this won't mean much to anyone but me, but I wanted to record a few moments I want to always remember. As Owen's time as an only child wraps up I've felt the need to soak him in as much as possible. I'm not the greatest at just sitting down and playing with him. I'm great at finding fun things for him to play with or to create, but my time with him on the floor, at his level, doing what he wants to do, has not been often enough. Lately I've made a concerted effort to do so. He and I have played lots of trains lately. One day in particular recently we played for a long time. For whatever reason we started crashing our trains into each other. Owen was dying laughing! It made me die laughing. That was a really fun moment for me, one I want to remember. I know Owen has noticed my time with him. He'll say things like, "I bum" as he points to the ground (which means, "sit right here to play with me"), or "mommy choo choo".

On another occasion recently Owen and I rocked in the rocking chair for a long time while I sang songs to him. This is a moment to remember because he doesn't let me just hold him like that much. I loved it! I sang any song I could think of, as long as he'd stay right there snuggling with me.

Recently Owen asks me to read to him the moment I walk in to get him in the morning. He got a Thomas & Friends book for Christmas which has several miniature trains he can hold. This is the book he wants to read every morning right now. He stands in his crib, points to the book on the shelf and says, "Mommy read". We sit on the chair, he holds as many trains as he can in his hand and I read the book over and over. I have loved these mornings. I'm one to want to get going as soon as we get up. I like to get up, get breakfast asap so we can make it to the gym as soon as possible in order to get the day going. I've been a little behind schedule lately because we sit and read for awhile, but to be honest, I've really enjoyed it.

Last, I wanted to record our family swim time we had this past Saturday. Originally I wanted to go because the doctor had recommended it for my swelling. It turned out to be an ok idea as far as my swelling goes, but a great idea for some fun time with Owen. I can't tell you how many times he's mentioned "schwimming" since. This is one of those times I wish I could have picture or video to record every minute, but even if I did it still wouldn't capture how it actually felt to be there. I don't mean to be dramatic, but it was just a really fun outing for our little family, especially watching Owen have so much fun! Owen has grown up a lot since the last time we took him to the pool. He loved jumping to us off the side of the pool, going up and down the slide over and over, throwing the ball, and just being in the water. It was hard to tear him away when our time was up.

Owen's Birthday

2012-01-16T13:41:00.006-07:00

Owen had about a week long celebration for his birthday this year. I'm pretty sure he got to a point where he thought opening presents every day seemed quite normal. His first celebration came on December 17th with his cousins here in MN. We spend so much time around them it was hard to imagine not celebrating with them since we'd be traveling over his birthday. Unfortunately the Stansel clan got sick that day and couldn't make it to the party. We still had a great time with the Christensen. We sang some of Owen's favorite songs, played play dough, had dinner, opened gifts, and enjoyed some cupcakes. Owen was surprised with a Lighting McQueen and Mater car from the Christensens that night. Before that I don't think he even knew who they were but ever since he's been pretty obsessed with Cars. He opened a train table from Ryan and I. It's been just as I hoped--he loves it and plays with it every day.

Wyatt, Clayton, Lydia, Owen

Celebration #2 was on December 19th with Owen's good buddy, Corbin. The Wright's couldn't make it to our first party but somehow it didn't seem right to not celebrate with them. They joined us for a kid friendly dinner, cupcakes, and playing on the train table.

Celebration #3 came on his birthday, December 24th. By then we had made it to Portland for the holidays and were lucky to celebrate this time with Grandma and Grandpa Christensen, his Nash cousins (Keri and Matthew with Jessica, Jared, Kayleigh), and his Evans cousins (Liz and Travis with Calvin and Miles). We woke up to a donut birthday breakfast. After Owen's nap we started the official birthday party with cupcakes, sang some of his favorite songs, raced cars down our homemade track, and opened gifts. He got a Mater pillow pet from the Nashes (a perfect addition to his new liking to Cars), a Zu Zu (?) Pet from the Evans, and a backpack, play dough toys, and car carrier from Grandma and Grandpa. We were so happy to get to celebrate with so much family!

Owen has grown up so much in the last year! It was really fun celebrating his birthday with him. I really wanted it to be for him (as opposed to doing things that would be fun for me) and I think my mission was accomplished--he had a lot of fun at each party. When someone asks him how old he is he says, "I two!", sometimes with his fingers spread out in a "5", trying to figure out how to show 2 (as seen in the bottom picture). Owen seems like such a little boy these days. He's talking up a storm, putting up to 4 word sentences together. It's fun watching him learn and grow, put thoughts together, and do some simple problem solving--for example, the other day we walked from the store to our car. I said, "ooh, our car is dirty!" To which Owen said, "wash car". Maybe it's simple, but it's exciting to me to see him put those simple things together on his own.

I took him to his 2 year doctor's appointment last week, here are his stats:

28 lbs.--50th percentile

35 1/2 in.--90th percentile

a fun morning

2012-01-16T13:35:00.002-07:00

today being martin luther king day my nieces and nephews had no school. since amy and kiddos slept over at matt and camie's last night i invited them all over for breakfast this morning. it was fun to have everyone here. after they left owen and i snuggled on the couch for a little cars (the movie--it's a holiday, why not, right?! even though today really isn't any different for us), got ready, then headed over to join the party at camie's for some playing and lunch. what a fun morning!

2012-01-15T08:37:00.002-07:00

Exciting news in the Christensen Family:

http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/61916/New-mission-presidents.html

This very minute

2012-01-12T13:57:00.001-07:00

Working on my baby girl's quilt.

A Nesting Mess

2012-01-10T13:07:00.003-07:00

A Nesting Mess--That kind of describes my house right now. It feels like the baby is coming quick and I'm suddenly on a rampage to get everything in order around here. That means getting everything into it's proper place, getting rid of anything "extra", de-junking, throwing away what we haven't used for our entire 4 years of marriage, and organizing, organizing, organizing!! Especially now that we're staying here in MN (oh, have I not mentioned that we thought we were moving but are now staying put?! Hmmm....lots to update) I'm feeling a real need to really settle, instead of living with a mindset of mobility. Also, adding baby girl to our 2 bedroom town home is really encouraging me to have "a place for everything and everything in its place" (are you proud mom?) so we feel like we fit well in our place.

This picture was taken last night. Ryan is kindly supporting my nesting habits and helped me go through every single box in our garage. We made great progress and have a good sized "get rid of" pile which makes me feel much better.

Speaking of....it's time to get organizing. Adios!

Hil-arious!

2011-12-20T20:53:00.004-07:00

I just had a major uncontrollable laugh attack (ask my husband) when I saw this picture on Pinterest. I sent it to my twin sister and she thought it was hilarious too. I'm the one on the left, I seriously used to try and convince my twin that she was adopted! Why I thought that was necessary or funny when I was a kid, I'm not sure, but this is just cracking me up!

Does anyone else find this hilarious or is it just me since I can relate?

Train Table

2011-12-17T07:35:00.002-07:00

Owen's birthday is on December 24th but we're celebrating today with our family that lives nearby. We stayed up very late last night putting together his birthday present, a train table. I think I may be more excited for him to see it than he will be when he sees it. I can't wait for this afternoon when the big reveal happens! For now it's hiding underneath a big sheet with many distractions planned throughout the morning.

Thirty

2011-12-16T22:22:00.003-07:00

Today I am 30 weeks and 1 day pregnant. When I hit 30 weeks with Owen things kind of felt "downhill" until the baby arrived. I'm feeling a little panicked tonight. We're not ready for baby girl to arrive, not one bit. We have no clothes or diapers for her, we've hardly talked about names, I don't really know where she's going to sleep, I really don't remember how to nurse (only nursed Owen for 5 weeks), I can't remember the ins and outs of my E.A.S.Y. routine I loved so much thanks to Baby Whisperer, I don't even remember how long and how often a newborn should eat, and I'm not really sure how a mom takes care of a 2 year old and a baby at the same time. A couple nights ago I was feeling so excited to meet Baby Girl and hold her. Tonight I'm thinking she can stay inside as long as she wants.

Woot-Ease

2011-12-10T21:46:00.003-07:00

"Woot-Ease". This is how Owen says "Whoopsies", and he says it a lot. It's funny how when your kids start talking you realize certain words you use without realizing it. "Whoopsies" is one of those words for me. It cracks me up every time Owen says "woot-ease". It's the cutest thing I've ever heard.

Speaking of, Owen is talking so much these days! All of a sudden he's putting (2 year old) sentences together all over the place. I love the little conversations we have together. We still talk about "Gigi's Bus" (Clayton, his cousin, getting on his kindergarten bus) and "Daddy gawk" (Daddy went to work) all. day. long. Seriously, those are two topics Owen never gets tired of.

Also, just in the last couple weeks he identifying the colors red, green, blue, yellow, and brown. It's taken me by surprise! Maybe it's normal timing for kids to be picking up on colors, I don't really know, but he really is pretty accurate with these 5 colors and I'm feeling pretty impressed.

I love how Owen "counts" lately. "One, Two, One, Two, One, Two..." as he point with his pointer finger to whatever he's counting. He loves lining his cars up and counting them. There's lots, but he repeats his "One, Two" over and over. It's pretty cute.

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-10T21:32:00.003-07:00

We hosted some gingerbread house decorating this weekend. For the last two years we went to the Brimhalls (friends from WA) for gingerbread houses. I always had so much fun I really wanted to carry the tradition on here in MN. It was a really fun evening with our friends enjoying a holiday evening decorating our houses. I wish I had taken a "before" picture of the houses because I made all of them and if I do say so myself, I think they turned out pretty cute. Turns out it's a lot of work to put homemade gingerbread houses together, but I'm really happy I did it. Take a look at the final products.

Miranda and Steven. Please click on the picture to try and get the full effect of their "haunted house" style gingerbread house. It was pretty entertaining and impressive.
Rachel and Brandon's Target gingerbread house.
Dan and Jessica
Adam and Sarissa and cute Baby Gavin
Jared and Erin
Alisa and Ryan

Slumber Party!

2011-12-01T21:49:00.002-07:00

a few weeks ago owen's best buddy, corbin, stayed over night with us. i love watching these two together, they have so much fun together! these boys enjoyed a little popcorn and curious george before heading to bed.

lovin' my owie

2011-12-01T21:40:00.002-07:00

owen has certainly reached toddlerhood. the whining and demanding has come with it. there are days he is pushing me and i'm not really sure what i'm supposed to do. even amongst those long hard days, it's amazing how much a momma can still love her little guy. i do love this little guy so much.

a few weeks ago we made a "race track" down the stairs. he had a good time with it for a couple days.

the swelling has begun. here's owen helping ryan massage my swollen feet. it was pretty cute. it turned into "this little piggy" which is what i think they were doing in this picture.
not a great picture, but here's owen propped up on the window sill at the library reading his books. our weekly library trip is something we both look forward to.
sound asleep. owen certainly takes after his mother's crazy sleeping habits.

Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2011-12-01T21:06:00.002-07:00

I can't believe it's December 1st! Where does the time go? It's starting to look a little bit like December around here. Here's some evidence: We had our first snow a couple weeks ago (it melted by the next day and has only snowed again once since. I have to admit, I thought living in MN we'd be covered in snow by now. At this point, even knowing we'll get dumped on eventually, I'm ready to have a good snowfall). Owen was pretty intrigued, but his hands quickly got so cold that he wasn't interested long. Now that we have the right snow gear I'm hoping he'll enjoy the snow a little more. But I thought he looked pretty cute in his pj's, coat, and boots.

We went Monday night to get a Christmas tree. It was fun. I am loving getting ready for Christmas with a toddler around. Owen certainly doesn't totally understand what Christmas is, but he's definitely showing interest in the decorations and Christmas talk. I love it! I now see why holidays are so fun with kids. By Tuesday night all Christmas decorations were up. I love some good Christmas lights, they make things feel so magical. (I love the picture of Owen checking out the underneath of the tree with Ryan. It was pretty adorable).

After we got our tree we came home to our homemade Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider. Mmm, I love this drink. Buying the Starbuck's syrup has made for one happy household. We've enjoyed ourselves many-a-Caramel Apple Ciders already!

2011-12-01T20:57:00.002-07:00

Owen decided to join the month MOvember

actually, he's just loving our green smoothies we've been making lately

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-12-01T20:13:00.006-07:00

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend! It all started Tuesday night when I picked up Amber from the airport and we headed south to Alissa's (Amber, Alissa, Liz, and I were BYU roommates). We spent Tuesday night and Wednesday together. It was so fun spending a quick day together. Wednesday night my cousin Kara and her family (Kevin and kiddos Mylee and Bennett) arrived. We loved having them stay with us all weekend! We did a lot of visiting, hanging out, they had a few of their own plans, and we had a few plans together. Thursday Ryan and Kevin played in a Turkey Bowl while Kara and I took the kids on a walk and baked our portion of Thanksgiving dinner. We went to Matt and Camie's house to join the Jensen family (Nan, Keith, Amber, and Taylor) and Amy and Andy's family for dinner. It was an amazing dinner with wonderful company. The babies took naps during dinner so Ryan and I had an especially nice Thanksgiving dinner. We ate a wonderful meal and enjoyed visiting for awhile before Owen joined us for the festivities.

Ryan got up bright and early before work Friday morning to join the black Friday shoppers at Cabela's to get us a generator. Kevin was gracious enough to stay home with the kids while Kara and I went shopping at a more normal hour. It was fun to do that together. Friday night we went downtown Minneapolis to see "A Day in the Life of an Elf". It was so cute! We loved seeing everything the elves do in preparation for Christmas. At the end we got to see Santa. We were curious to see how Owen would do given he did not like Santa last year. As you can see he wasn't so sure at first--I think that picture is so funny, his face and reaching describe exactly how he feels, but he settled in quickly and did great on Santa's lap. He also sent a letter to Santa. Afterward we took the McBrides to one of our favorite cafe's, Yum! I can't believe this picture of Owen and Mylee is the only one I got all weekend. Overall they had a lot of fun together and Owen loved palling around with her.

We made plans awhile ago to spend the Saturday after Thanksgiving at the Stansels. Kara and Kevin took off to the Mall of America for the day and joined us for dinner. Amy and I had great plans for a project we wanted to do. We worked on that while the boys watched football. Lucas and Lucy joined us for a little painting while the Owen and Jane took naps. It was a fun day!
I thoroughly enjoyed our holiday weekend and hated to see it come to an end. We have so many things to be thankful for, one of which is being able to have so much family nearby to spend the weekend with!

Alisa and Kara

2011-11-27T18:56:00.002-07:00

We just sent this girl off with her family today after being here for several days. This is my cousin, Kara. She, Kevin, and kiddos (Mylee and Bennett) got here Wednesday night and spent Thanksgiving weekend with us. I love this girl and am so happy they made the trip from North Dakota. We had so much fun with them! They are so easy to have around. We loved staying up late visiting, Owen loved playing with Mylee and Bennett, and it was all around just good to be together. Kara and I are two of six girl cousins that are all within a couple years of each other. The six of us grew up sending letters back and forth every now and then, getting together during the Summers, and re-connecting at each family reunion. If I could hand pick people I would love to have as neighbors Kara would be living right next door to me. She's so fun, such a great example, I love laughing with her and learning from each other, and I feel completely comfortable in my own skin when she's around. Thanks guys for making the trip! Hopefully we can do it again soon!

LOVE/hate

2011-11-22T12:09:00.003-07:00

so, ryan and i recently purchased iphones. i have to admit, i was definitely hesitant in doing so. i just didn't feel like we really needed them. they felt too grown up for us or something. but, now that i have it, i am in love. really, i love it. i love that i have everything in one place--my phone, pictures, calendar, organized notes, whatever! i could go on and on and tell you all the reason why it's wonderful but basically, i LOVE it.

on the other hand, there is one reason this phone has caused contention in my life. enter owen. owen loves looking at the pictures and videos on my phone and with no help from myself or ryan has learned how to easily find and play angry birds all on his own--he's not even 2! here's where the problem lies: whenever owen gets even a glimpse of my phone he thinks he should have it. he doesn't just ask for it, but immediately whines and screams for it. i hate it. i'm especially aware of it when we're in public, the grocery store for example. my mom called real quick when we were at the grocery store yesterday and i could hardly hear and talk to her because owen was grabbing and whining so much. or, i pulled it out to check a small grocery list i had put on my phone. i couldn't even look at it because owen was grabbing at it and screaming so much.

now, i'm not opposed to owen enjoying my phone here and there. in fact, i love that he loves looking through the pictures and videos and i think it's a fun thing for him here and there. but, i am opposed to him thinking he owns it and should be able to use it whenever he wants. and, even more so, i am opposed to entertaining my child with electronics all the time.

maybe it sounds silly, but it really is a thorn in my side right now. he asks for it all the time but gets upset when i tell him no. i'm trying to figure out how to teach a toddler who has no sense of reasoning a balance. i feel like i never let him use it as entertainment now because i don't like how he acts when it's time to put it away (same screaming and whining) and yet it seems like he flips a lid when he sees it because it's such a novelty.

any thoughts? i'm actually very serious in looking for suggestions. tell me what you do. i don't like this love/hate relationship.

night out

2011-11-13T21:05:00.002-07:00

i went on a date with this guy last night. it was so fun! it's been a long time since we went out, just the two of us, on a date. he set it all up--made reservations, got a babysitter. i was one happy girl! and he even took me to my favorite, macaroni grill.

Monster Dash

2011-11-05T20:02:00.002-07:00

Ryan ran his first half marathon about 6 weeks ago. You may or may not remember that it was not your average half marathon and so so hard! Ryan decided that while he was in good shape he really wanted to run another half and have more of a typical half experience. So, last weekend, the Saturday before Halloween, he ran the St. Paul Monster Dash. Several runners dressed up, some in some pretty amazing costumes, especially for running 13 miles. Ryan decided to stick to a "runners costume". In other words, we weren't on top of it enough to come up with a running costume. I'm so glad he ran this! He kept up really well on his running in preparation and it paid off. He had a great experience and came in right at his goal time of 2 hours. It was fun race to watch. Way to go Ry! Two halves in 2 months!

Halloween

2011-11-05T19:10:00.007-07:00

We had a really fun Halloween. This was the first year Owen kind of knew what was going on. I have to admit, it felt a little magical taking him around trick or treating. It brought back so many memories and I loved watching that day through his eyes. We had a few Halloween festivities throughout the week or so leading up to Halloween. First of all we had a family Halloween party with the Christensen and Stansels. All the kids got dressed up in their costumes which was so cute. Owen was dressed as the cutest monkey I've ever seen! He didn't want much to do with his costume when I'd try it on him before, but when he saw everyone else dressing up he was happy to get dressed up too! We made a Halloween craft (the cute pumpkin lanterns), played some Halloween games, and made some fun Halloween treats (apple mouth with almond teeth, pictured with Lydia and Ethan, and green jello Frankensteins).

The little kids blowing their Halloween pencils across the floor:

A few days before Halloween we had our friends the Wrights and the Molls over for pumpkin carving. Having friends over made carving pumpkins more worth the effort. I have to admit, I didn't really know if we needed to carve pumpkins, but once we did I was so happy. It helped bring the Halloween spirit and it's always fun hanging out with these guys.

Owen got into cleaning the pumpkin out more than I thought. He stuck with it for awhile until he realized both of his friends were off playing. Owen has two great buddies from these families, Corbin, and Turner. They're all within a couple months in age.

(ooops, I never could catch them all looking at the same time)
Saturday before Halloween our ward had a trunk or treat and chili cook off with our ward. It was a fun evening. It was night #1 of us just letting Owen go to town eating as much candy as he wanted. We knew he wouldn't eat the dinner that was provided, so we weren't going to fight it. He was in heaven. And then he crashed.

Someone brought a super super hot chili to the dinner. Ryan decided he was man enough to try it. Please check out the video (and don't mind my commentary) and see how manly he really was. What I didn't capture on the video was when he and Brandon ran off to the bathroom crying. I know he was in pain, but it really was kind of funny.**I can't upload the video right now. I'll try again later and put it on a new post** We had a fun evening!

On Halloween day afternoon we went to Ryan's office to trick or treat around the office. It was really cute. It was the perfect thing for Owen to get the hang of trick or treating. Anyone who wanted to participate had a bowl of candy at their office door and the kids walked around and trick or treated at the doors. Owen picked up on it quickly and was SO cute. This is basically what he'd say at each door: "Tic o teet. Dee doo. Buh-bye."--Trick or treat. Thank you. Buh-bye. It was adorable!

Halloween night the Molls came with us to trick or treat in Matt and Camie's neighborhood. Wyatt ended up joining us with the little guys while Matt took Lydia and Clayton around. When we got back to Matt and Camie's Owen and Wyatt plopped right down and started looking through and eating their candy. Somehow they knew exactly what they were supposed to do. It was cute! Unfortunately I didn't get any other pictures of the night. Halloween night was night #2 of letting Owen go to town and eat whatever candy he wanted. He certainly did go to town and he and Wyatt were wired! The next morning, as far as Owen was concerned, the candy no longer existed. Luckily he's young enough and doesn't have older siblings to realize his candy is actually still around.

What a fun "first" Halloween we had!

Library

2011-11-05T14:20:00.002-07:00

We've been to the library a few times with Owen but just recently started checking out books. Owen thought it was the coolest thing to check out his own books. I had told him that we could take these books home and to everyone that walked past while we checked out books he'd say, "books home". He loved it!

Play dough

2011-11-05T14:14:00.002-07:00

Last week Owen and I made play dough. It was a really fun activity for the two of us. Owen loved helping make it and playing with it. He's never really played with play dough before. There were 4 separate colors at the beginning. By the end it was one big mix of colors, just the way Owen liked it!

Misc Owen

2011-11-05T13:45:00.004-07:00

Here are some of the latest of Owen:

New shaved head. Perfect cut for the Winter, right?! He looks so different.

I love watching Owen's humor and personality come through. It's so fun watching him try to be funny.
We ran into his best buddy Corbin at the store. The way Owen says Corbin is the best: Dabada
I babysit a family for a couple hours every week. Owen likes pretending he's the baby.
One morning Owen found my pink fuzzy socks and was determined to wear them.
Ryan was out of town this week so on Friday night Owen and I went on a date to Noodles and the library. We checked out a Curious George, made a bed on the couch, and ate popcorn. I have to admit, if I couldn't have Ry around it was a pretty fun evening.
Here's the happy boy, watching "Ooooh Ahhhh", Curious George.

she makes her debut!

2011-11-05T13:08:00.002-07:00

I can't believe how little I've tracked this pregnancy. Here I am in all my 22 1/2 week pregnant glory (I am now 24 weeks). I suppose what I've heard others say is true: with Owen I knew the exact day of pregnancy I was on, I was reading all kinds of baby books, I had a list of all the things we needed to do and buy before he arrived, and with this second baby, I've hardly thought about those things. Not because I'm not totally excited about this little girl, but I guess because it's not the unknown anymore (at least for the most part), I'm not as stressed about everything and know it will all work out, and I also feel really good. I'm just starting to notice my belly get in the way. Besides that and some back aches I feel really good. I have been exercising every day and I think it's made a huge difference in my pregnancy. Because of miscarriages before Owen I was paranoid about everything and didn't exercise at all. It feels so good to still be running, walking, and taking spin classes. I recently quite doing yoga classes as it hurt my sciatic and my belly was totally in the way.

I am excited for Owen's little sister to arrive. I think he's ready to have a sibling around. He LOVES babies and seems protective of them. I'm positive we'll run into issues of Owen feeling jealous or like he's not getting enough attention, but I think overall he'll do well with baby sister. Obviously she won't be a great play mate for awhile, but I'm very excited, for Owen's sake, for that day to come. I think he'll love having a built in play mate.

As excited as I am about baby's arrival I'm not sure it's totally sunk in yet. Are we ready to start over again? Can I really get up multiple times in the night and still be ready for the beginning of the next day? Can I really labor and deliver another baby? (too late for that one--it's going to happen) I'm and excited and hope baby girl is ready to join our family.

Take Note

2011-10-18T20:12:00.002-07:00

Did you notice what I noticed in this picture?

Please take note that Owen is carefully taking care of both his soccer ball and baby doll. I think it's adorable and definitely shows his true character: ALL boy, yet so sweet and tender.

10 things that made me happy today

2011-10-18T19:48:00.005-07:00

It's been a long time since I've posted one of these. It's about time!

1. Watching Owen line up his cars: see previous post for more details
2. Catching up on the phone with my sister Keri

3. Owen's bus: Owen uses his bus to transport all his cars from place to place. I think it's so cute. I knew that bus we got him from Goodwill a year ago would come in handy someday.

4. This text from my sister in law, Meghan: "I'm eating samples at Costco and thinking of you." It totally made me laugh! I think I'll take that as a compliment. I love me some Costco samples!:)

5. Decorating Cookies: I've been craving these sugar cookies for days and today I made them! After dinner we decorated and ate them together which was a really fun family activity. Owen was mostly interested in the sprinkles.

6. Daily back rubs: It's true, during pregnancy I get a back rub from Ry just about nightly. I'm oh so thankful for them!

7. Warm socks: Today I pulled out my snuggly L.L. Bean socks I got for Christmas in HS. It's that time of year--it's getting cold but I'm not quite willing to turn on my heater yet.

8. Cuddling with Owen post bath time, pre bedtime9. Baby blanket: The plans for a baby girl's baby blanket started today. I can't wait to get going on it!

10. Yummy chili: Tonight we had my sister in law's yummy white chili for dinner. Seriously, it's so good and not very complicated either. If you want the recipe let me know.

a true sign

2011-10-18T18:57:00.004-07:00

Here is a true sign that Owen has gone from baby to boy: when he is awake at home he is playing with his matchbox cars. And I love it! Owen spends hours moving his cars from place to place (the couch, barstools, kitchen table), lining them up to his perfect satisfaction. I've seen many boys line their cars up in this same way and I've often wondered where that comes from. Where do they learn to line them up and take such good care of their cars? It must come naturally because we certainly didn't show him. I love watching him be so detailed in the way he arranges his cars.

He seems to keep track of each of his cars and has names for several of them. These two seem to be particularly important to Owen. He seems to know where they are at all times. The silver truck is "Papa's guck", which Grandpa Harrison bought him while he was visiting, and the one on the right has become "Daddy's car", I think because the gold color looks similar to Ryan's. He usually also has his "boo car" (blue car) that stays close to his side as well. As a side note Owen has book with all modes of transportation and every time he gets to the taxi he calls it "Daddy's car". For some reason it makes me laugh every time. Again, it's because it's a similar color.

Here is Owen lining up his cars in his various locations. I love it!

Baby Girl

2011-10-14T11:51:00.003-07:00

Who went shopping for baby girl clothes yesterday? I did! It didn't last long but I needed to purchase at least one pink item yesterday in honor of finding out we'll be having a girl.

Just to document some fun memories I wanted to record about Ryan and I finding out it was a girl. First of all, we were absolutely positive we were having a boy. And, we've been excited about that. It seemed perfect for Owen to have a little brother to pal around with. The night before the ultrasound Ryan even made the comment, "I think we'd both be shocked if we found out we were having a girl." The tech told us she was pretty sure she knew what we were having but didn't want to say it quite yet because she was still looking for something specific. As I lay there looking at the screen I definitely did not see the obvious "it's a boy" sign. I kept thinking, "I think she saying it's a girl, but that cant be right." So, when she finally saw what she needed to see and announced that it was definitely a girl Ryan and I looked at each other shocked. I cried, I think out of shock and excitement--Who doesn't want a little girl at some point?! And I was getting my little girl! Also, I pictured Liz, my twin sister, who is also expecting a girl just 5 weeks before I'm due. I couldn't wait to tell her--twin girl cousins! And my sister in law just had a little girl about 6 weeks ago, so we have a great group of girl cousins forming. The first thing Ryan said was, "Oh my gosh, I'm toast." In other words, "I have no idea how to take care of a little girl." And then he said, "I better get back to work so I can afford her." I can't wait to see Ry holding a little girl and teaching Owen how to be gentle with her.

Since we found out we were expecting another baby I've pictured pulling out the boxes of boys' clothes. But now, it's kind of exciting to start all over as far as clothing, hair bows, etc. All day yesterday I was so excited. Having another boy obviously would've been so exciting, but it's also what we know already, so adding a girl, something we don't know yet, is making all of this that much more exciting.

It's fun for me to find out what we're having because now I can picture a little girl moving around in there, instead of just a baby. It was the same with Owen, picturing a little boy.

Anyway, I just wanted to record a few thoughts I'm having since yesterday.

Results Are In!

2011-10-13T10:22:00.002-07:00

Ryan and I are totally shocked! I was positive it was another boy. My twin sister is expecting a girl after having two boys and her pregnancy has been so different. Since mine has been totally the same and I've had even less nausea than I remember I was sure another boy was joining our family. Last night at dinner we asked Owen three times if it was a girl or boy and his response every time was, "girl". I guess we should've listened to him. We're shocked and totally excited! Bring on the pink!

Just Returned

2011-10-11T18:54:00.003-07:00

(we are missing Jenae here)

I just returned from a fabulous long weekend in Utah with these beautiful women. We were freshman together @ BYU 10 years ago. I've been excited to see them for awhile, but didn't realize how badly I needed to see them until we were all there. These girls lifted me, inspired me, cried with me, laughed with me, and rejuvenated me. Way more to share from our weekend together coming up soon.

In other thoughts...

I had so much fun in Utah, but was so happy to get home to this baby boy tonight! I was grateful for the time away but missed him so much.

And finally, on Thursday we find out the gender of baby #2! To be honest, I haven't thought much about this until the last couple days. Now, I can't wait to find out what we're having. So...any guesses on what we're having?! I have a definite guess, but will share after you guess. What do you think?

some good reads

2011-09-28T20:52:00.004-07:00

i love these pictures of owen. he recently discovered that he's the perfect fit for the trunk. and when he found his books in there one sunday it became the perfect place to read for awhile.

buddies

2011-09-28T20:49:00.002-07:00

owen loves his buddy corbin! he joined us for family night recently while his parents went out on the town. here are corbin and owen leading the music and chillin' with ryan. whenever these two boys see each other they squeal and dance around so happy to see each other. it's pretty cute.

trip to rochester

2011-09-28T20:42:00.004-07:00

owen and i took a trip to rochester to see alissa and tate. aliss is a dear friend from college who happens to live in mn with me! we met at an apple orchard, had a little lunch at her house, and enjoyed catching up and baking cookies while the boys took naps. i'm so glad we took the trip down!

set, set, hike

2011-09-28T20:34:00.003-07:00

Owen and Wyatt are little buddies. The other night Ryan was playing tackle with them. I have to say, it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen watching the boys get down in a football stance. Ryan didn't even show them, they just followed what he did.

And they finished off the night with a little piano recital.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

2011-09-28T20:24:00.002-07:00

We celebrated Ryan's 27th birthday on Monday! It was so fun to have his parents in town. After a yummy dinner out we loved having Matt, Camie, and family and Brandon and Rachel Wright over for cake and ice cream. It was fun to visit and tell Ryan all the reasons we love him. I think my favorite was Brandons: "I like Ryan because this morning when I texted him 'Happy Birthday' he texted me back and all it said was, 'go cougars!' " Sounds about right.

This was the amazing cake we had! I had it a few weeks ago at a meeting I was involved in. I hunted the cake maker down just to find out she doesn't give the recipe out. So, I only had one option, I had to ask her to make it for Ry's birthday. Mmmm....I think everyone was happy I was brave enough to ask someone I don't even know to make the cake.
Happy Birthday Ryan!

Harrisons come to visit!

2011-09-28T19:29:00.003-07:00

Ryan's parents made a trip to MN for a long weekend visit and to celebrate Ry's birthday. We've been looking forward to their visit since we saw them this Summer and are so thankful they came. We had a great weekend with the perfect balance of being tourists and relaxing at home.

As soon as they flew in on Saturday we headed to the Mall of America. We got a quick bit to eat, strolled around the amusement park for a little bit, took a few rides, then went to Build-A-Bear where we finally dressed the bear Dennis and Ruth Ann gave Owen for Christmas last year. Owen loved riding the choo choo train (Ryan barely fit in the train) and carousel and we all had a great time at Build-A-Bear bathing Owen's bear and getting him dressed. We've never gone in that store and it was way cuter than I expected. Owen loves his basketball bear.

On Sunday morning we had an awesome breakfast for Ryan's birthday since we wouldn't be getting up as early as he was the next morning, his actual birthday. Owen, Grandma, and Grandpa played cars for a long long time after breakfast. Owen was in heaven! And so was I--I loved watching him be so happy to be with Grandma and Grandpa. He could've sat there and played cars all day. We went to church and after a tasty dinner went to Uptown to walk walk/drive around Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet and see the beautiful area. We enjoyed the stroll and some good Sunday night games when we got home. I think we may have even introduced a game to the non-gamers that they like and will keep playing! It feels like such a success!:) (pictures a little out of order)

Monday was Ryan's birthday! Unfortunately he still had to go in to work. Fortunately he got off very early and joined us after lunch. In the morning Owen and I took Grandma and Grandpa to an apple orchard. It was perfect for our purposes. We saw some animals, found our way through the maze, took a nice walk to the apples, and enjoyed ourselves some tasty apple spice donuts and apple cider. We hung out at home for the afternoon, then Dennis and Ruth Ann took us to dinner for Ryan's birthday. That night we had Matt, Camie, and family and Brandon and Rachel join us for yummy cake and ice cream.

Tuesday morning I had to take them to the airport. We had such a great weekend with them and were so sad to put them on the airplane. I cried watching Owen say good-bye to them. Seriously, he LOVED his time with Grandma and Grandpa and it was a reminder to me how far we are from both our parents. Owen keeps talking about "papa" and "mama" misses them a lot! We're thankful they took the time to come visit and look forward to more visits back and forth.

difference between a man and a woman

2011-09-17T12:43:00.003-07:00

today ryan was helping me bake a few things in the kitchen. he was in charge of the banana bread (what a guy, right?!). he was trying to figure out how big my bread pans are to decide if he needed one bread pan or two. he was on his way out to the garage to get his measuring tape when i told him to look on the bottom of the pan and it would give him the measurements. it gave us a good laugh!

Owen talk

2011-09-13T18:36:00.003-07:00

Owen is talking so much lately. I love it. And, I love that I'm the only person who can completely translate for him. I also think it's so funny how, at this stage, if Owen is talking to you, you must repeat exactly what he is saying or he will keep repeating it over and over until you do. Our car rides are usually non stop conversation and it usually goes a little something like this:

O: (as soon as we back out of the driveway) Daddy go bye-bye. Daddy car bye-bye. (repeated about 5 times)

A: Yes Owen, Daddy went bye-bye to work.

O: Daddy bye-bye. Mimi bye-bye. Mimi bye-bye.

A: Yes Owen, Amy went bye-bye to her house.

O: And Jane.

A: Yes, Jane went bye-bye too.

O: Papa bye-bye.

A: Yes, Grandpa went bye-bye.

O: Mama bye-bye.

A: Yes, Grandma went bye-bye too.

O: Gigi (Clayton) bus bye-bye. (repeated many many times)

A: Clayton went to school on the bus.

O: Gigi bus bye-bye.

O: (as soon as we pass any car of truck, which obviously is often when you're driving somewhere) car, car, car, car, truck, truck, truck, truck, hi car, hi truck, bus! Gigi go bye-bye bus. Yaya (Lydia) bye-bye bus.

A: Yes, Clayton and Lydia went to school on the bus.

O: (as we pass Clayton and Lydia's school) Yaya bus! Yaya bus!

A: Yep, there's Lydia's school.

O: Ooo Ooo Ahh Ahh (a monkey sound) go bye-bye.

A: Yes, monkey (Curious George) went bye-bye (he watched CG on our road trip to MI)

O: Choo Choo (train) bye-bye.

A: Yes, train (Thomas the train) went bye-bye (also watched on road trip)

O: Daddy car bye-bye.....

And, pretty much that entire conversation repeats itself until we get to our destination. It gets tiring sometimes, but really, it's so cute. Lately I can hear him talking to himself when he's playing alone and I think it's so cute! He's definitely growing up so much. It's fun to have a little buddy around with me during the day.

Christensen Photos

2011-09-13T18:30:00.002-07:00

When I posted about our family reunion I didn't have these pictures. Now that I do I wanted to add them to the blog. This makes me wish we were back at Bear Lake on day one of the reunion. I love these pictures and I love the people in them! What a great group!

All 46 of us, with three babies on the way:

The original Christensens: I can't believe my mom and dad put up with all of us. That's a lot of kids to raise!
Sisters:

the newest half marathoner

2011-09-12T20:05:00.003-07:00

This past weekend Ryan ran his first half marathon! I'm so proud of his hard work and accomplishment. My sister Amy ran with him and they both did a great job. Turns out the actual course was so much tougher than either of them realized. It was a "trail run". The kind of trail they pictured was very different than what it really was. Turns out the trail was more like a mountain bike trail, sometimes no wider than their feet, with hills straight up or straight down, and even trees to run over. I was totally impressed with the runners. Even the front runners came out with dirt all over their backs and faces and talking about how challenging the course was. I'm so proud of Ryan for running such a great race.

Here's Ryan getting ready to finish:

You should know that Owen is a big fan of Amy. "Mimi? Mimi? Mimi go bye bye?" is a very common phrase from Owen lately. He was proud of Amy and Ry too.

Congrats you two for a great finish on a hard race!

Labor Day

2011-09-12T19:45:00.002-07:00

Kind of last minute we decided to head to Michigan for Labor Day to visit Mike and Liz. We weren't thrilled about the 9 1/2 hrs of driving each way but it turned out to be just fine and we're so happy we went. We had so much fun hanging out with Mike and Liz and exploring a little bit of their new little town. Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures to prove our fun, but here's a small glance at our weekend.

Saturday:

Beach day, fun hang out and catching up time, BYU football game

Sunday:

Church, naps, games, walk, visiting with neighbors

Monday:

Nature Center, small hike, a little hunt for house decorations with Liz, games, family night

Owen, hanging out on our hike:

All the boys took a turn out on the log:
Owen and Amelia had so much fun together! Owen is still talking about "Lelia":

Owen and Amelia helping Ryan with the dishes:
Andrew, Tanner, and Reid were excited to show us their live animal trap:

Seriously, I can't believe I don't have a single picture with any of the Christensen boys or Mike and Liz. I guess we were having too much fun to stop and take pictures. Owen had a great time with his cousins and we had a blast enjoying some one on one time with the Christensens.

Life Lesson

2011-09-12T13:48:00.002-07:00

Start your day off with an empty dishwasher.

Maybe that sounds silly (or maybe you're already a pro at this) but I've found it makes a big difference in keeping things picked up throughout the day.

slumber party!

2011-08-30T12:14:00.003-07:00

Last night I hosted a slumber party for my two local nieces. I'm not going to lie--I had a blast! These two cracked me up. We started the party by making chocolate dipped rice krispy treats while jamming to Taylor Swift. Then we popped popcorn and ate treats while we watched Soul Surfer and painted toenails. And then this morning we had an awesome pastry french toast breakfast. I'm so glad we got this slumber party in before school starts for these girls. We had a lot of fun!

Here we are listening to Taylor Swift:

Owen, happy to see his cousins were still here in the morning! (He was so sad going to bed while he knew these two were downstairs partying)

Hangin' in Utah

2011-08-29T19:51:00.002-07:00

Owen and I decided to stay in Utah for several days after the reunion was over and so did Liz and Amy with their kids. It was a really fun, relaxing few days. We watched movies, stayed up late, lounged around, ate lots of popsicles, went swimming, had an essential oils night, went to the canyon to roast hot dogs and marshmallows, and loved hanging around with mom and dad for just a little bit longer. They were so good to host us a little longer after a busy and crazy reunion and wedding week.

We got babysitters one day and went downtown SLC to watch Dad interview Elder Oaks in a series of business leadership interviews he's doing. It was a great morning to be apart of for several reasons.

Dinner and s'mores in the canyon
Amelia and Owen:
Jane and Owen:

Owen, watching a movie with his cousins:
Thanks Mom and Dad for always being such generous hosts!

Adam and Meghan Christensen

2011-08-28T20:53:00.002-07:00

On August 13 Adam and Meghan were married in the Bountiful, UT temple. Everything about the day was so beautiful. We enjoyed a wonderful ceremony and a party filled reception that evening. Congrats Adam and Meghan!

All the Christensen boy cousins:
All the Christensen cousins:

Shower Time

2011-08-28T20:45:00.003-07:00

While at the family reunion we had a bridal shower for Meghan. It was a fun event and a big milestone as we welcome the last in law to the family. This is a great group of women and we are thrilled to have Meghan join us!

As tradition in our family we threw a family bachelor party for the groom, Adam. We played our typical bachelor games including the microwave game and hammering the nail into the wood the fastest. For the final bachelor party a new event was introduced, the car pull. Yes, we all ventured out to the driveway and took turns pulling a car across the driveway.
I think my sister in law Camie said it best on her blog: As for the boys showing up in spandex--I guess you'd have to be there to really understand.
It was fun having Meghan at the reunion this year and celebrating both Adam and Meghan as the prepared to get married the following weekend.

Christensen Reunion

2011-08-28T20:16:00.004-07:00

After visiting the Harrisons we headed to Bear Lake for a Christensen Family reunion. We had such a great time and felt sad to say goodbye at the end of the week. We always have so much fun when we're together. There's tons of laughing, eating, game playing, catching up, late nights, good walks with the girls, reminisching, playing at the beach, learning, good conversation, entertaining, and more eating! Here are miscellaneous pictures from throughout the week, in no particular order.

My Dad turned 60 just before the reunion so we threw him a surprise birthday party! This was such a fun night! After a few party games each family had prepared some kind of tribute to my dad. Ryan and I performed the "Ralphie Rap".

As usual we played some silly, yet really fun games. Eric and Spencer were in charge of games one morning which included this "hunger games" game where you had to swat the round foam off other people's back with your noodle.
And Matt and Camie were in charge of Minute to Win It games one morning. Here is Liz sporting her nylon hoodie ready to knock down some water bottles. Ryan (pictured below, out of order) was participating in the noodle game where he had to pick up noodles using a spaghetti noodle in his mouth. Are we the only family who does silly stuff like this?! I don't know, but it's sure fun!

Most morning the ladies ventured out on a walk. This is where all the really good chatting happens!

Poor Owen was sick for a chunk of the reunion but he certainly perked up here and there and had a lot of fun.
Here we are taking up the majority of the front of the Pickleville Playhouse to see "Who Shot Juanito Bandito?", a hilarious, must see melodrama. Seriously, if you're ever in Bear Lake, you need to go see it. We were all doing the "ugly laugh" the entire night it was so funny.
We had to take a trip to get some Bear Lake Raspberry shakes.
And here we are after the family pictures. Hopefully I'll post the entire family shot soon.
We had such a good time and are so thankful that every single person was able to make it.

Beach and Swimming time!

2011-08-28T19:44:00.005-07:00

There was plenty of time at the beach during the reunion which was perfect for lots of fun playing, boating and jet skiing, relaxing, and chatting. The first day at the reunion we went for a nice hike up to a beautiful lake where we went rope swinging into the freezing water. It was super fun!

(don't worry, i DO realize this picture pretty much portrays us as the most white trash family around. promise we're not really that WT)

Bridal Veil Falls

2011-08-28T19:29:00.002-07:00

While in Springville we took a short trip up to Bridal Veil Falls, a favorite of ours. We love Utah for its outdoors!

Utah with the Harrisons

2011-08-28T19:08:00.003-07:00

Earlier this month we headed West for some much anticipated time with both our families. We spent the first several days with the Harrisons and were so glad we got to see all of them! We enjoyed a trip to BYU campus, good down time at home, a trip to the property which included lots of 4 wheeling rides, a yummy BBQ with old friends of the Harrisons, staying up late watching movies and hanging out, some good cousin time, meeting up with some friends, a trip to Cafe Rio (of course!), and lots of good catch up time. This trip reminded us how much we love being together with the Harrisons and wish it happened more often.

In case you hadn't heard...

2011-08-18T18:32:00.001-07:00

In February we're due with baby #2!

Lately

2011-08-16T20:16:00.007-07:00

The three of us

have been on vacation visiting these guys... (the harrisons)
and these guys...(the christensens)
and celebrating the marriage of this beautiful couple (adam and meghan).
Can't wait to tell you more about it!

high heels and footballs

2011-07-27T19:48:00.003-07:00

I think it's the most adorable thing when Owen wants to put my heels on. But to help Daddy feel a little better we put the football in his hands. Seriously though, cute or what?!

I love this little guy. He is turning into such a little boy! The good and the hard come with that little boy status, he's pushing me and trying me in some ways but I also love playing with him and watching him learn and grow. He makes me laugh and I love him to pieces. It's not unusual for me to go into his room at night while he's asleep to say goodnight to him one more time. But, in the last several weeks I can't help but to pick him up out of his crib and hold him. It's hard to get much snuggling out of him while he's awake, so I soak it up as much as I can while he's asleep. It doesn't last long, as he quickly realizes he's not able to sprawl out like he likes, but it's one of my favorite times of day. Any of the hard toddler moments of the day disappear and I just see the sweet boy that he is--he really is such a sweet boy. He's a busy boy during the day and it's so fun to just hold him, still and quiet. I love this little guy, with his high heels and footballs!

Camping

2011-07-27T19:25:00.004-07:00

Last weekend we went camping with my brother, sisters, and their families. We went to a WI state park and had a great time! It was pretty hot but cooled off nicely when we went and hiked the water falls close by. That was so much fun! I'm waiting to get pictures of our actual hike from my sister, but if you look at the water fall picture, imagine us behind the water falls--there's a landing behind there that we all sat on and played in the water falls a little bit. We enjoyed all the typical camping festivities--setting up camp, dinner over the fire (tin foil dinners for us, we feel like you can't go camping without eating a tin foil dinner), s'mores, a few campfire stories, sleeping in the ten, and a yummy camping breakfast. Owen decided to wake up @ 5:30 Saturday morning so we had a couple of hours to quietly entertain him without waking others up. We went for a small walk and to the beach to do a little fishing. We watched some dark clouds roll in quickly on Saturday morning so packed up and literally put the last items in the car as the rain poured down. Perfect timing!

Cousins: Wyatt, Owen, Lucas, Ethan, Clayton, Jane, Lydia, Lucy

You can see how happy Ry is to be up at 5:30:

I feel like a true Harrison posting pictures of the deer we saw on our way to the beach:

Life Lesson

2011-07-24T07:24:00.004-07:00

Sometimes making food fun goes a long way.

Last night Owen had a hard time eating dinner. As soon as he sat in his chair he said he was "all done". So, I stacked some of his food on a couple toothpicks--kind of like his samples he likes to eat @ Costco--and he gobbled his dinner down. He ate more chicken last night than he has in the last couple months combined. It's not something I plan to do all the time otherwise it will lose it's novelty, but here and there when I need a little extra help, I think I'll pull some toothpicks out.

Canoeing

2011-07-17T18:28:00.002-07:00

We had a really fun evening with Matt, Camie, and kiddos last night. Especially after a couple of days rained in we were anxious to get outdoors and do something a little adventurous. We headed down to Lake Calhoun, one of my favorite areas around Minneapolis, and rented a couple canoes. Afterward we went to dinner at Yum! cafe and stopped for a little ice cream treat on the way home. I'd say fun was had by all!

Life Is Precious

2011-07-10T19:51:00.001-07:00

While feeling sick and sorry for myself this weekend I came across this video. It hurt to watch because crying made my head and throat hurt even more, but I was very touched by it. I'd say it's worth 3 minutes of your time. What an inspiring woman!

a sick momma

2011-07-10T13:43:00.005-07:00

i'm sick. so sick. i don't know where it came from, but i've pretty much been down and out since wednesday night and it's not fun. i went to the doctor (2 different times) convinced i had a sinus infection. both times they said it wasn't and rejected my plea for medicine. they told me it's just a really bad cold--a burning sore throat, ears feel like they could explode, coughing 'til i feel like i'm going to throw up, so much pressure in my head it hurts to lay on my face to sleep kind of a bad cold. isn't it funny (not like ha ha funny) how sometimes it sounds so nice to have to be put on some kind of bed rest and waited on hand and foot for a couple days, and then when something like that does happen you'd do anything to go back to your busy non-bed resting life. that's how i'm feeling right now. thankfully it's the weekend and ryan's been around to take care of our little family. he's been a saint and life saver. i miss my owen. i'm anxious to kiss and snuggle him again. hopefully that happens sooner than later. i've been praying so hard that i wouldn't have to go into this next week still sick. we'll see if that happens. i'm actually still convinced i have a sinus infection and it just hadn't developed enough when i went in. who knows? but, i do know that i need it to get better fast. in the meantime, here's a few recent photos of O doing a little coloring and crossing his fingers. i wanted to capture his fingers crossed because we've noticed him doing this a lot. he even eats with his fingers crossed like this. silly boy.

a fabulous 4th of july weekend

2011-07-10T13:35:00.002-07:00

we had such a fun 4th of july weekend. unfortunately this is the only picture i took of our entire weekend. i suppose that's because we were simply taking time to enjoy it. i love long weekends. sunday nights when ryan doesn't need to go to work the next morning are the best. saturday we borrowed matt and camie's bikes and went for a fun bike ride. we'd never put owen in a co-pilot bike seat--he seemed to love it. then we headed straight for the pool and enjoyed some time in the sun and water. that evening after putting owen down ryan and i had a lot of fun playing games. on monday, the 4th, we did a lot of hanging around and got to a few things that needed to be done and then enjoyed going to some friends, jon and catherine's, for a 4th of july bbq complete with good food, good company, kiddie pool time, and some good old backyard games--3 legged race and water balloon toss. i must add that ryan and i were the winners of the 3 legged race. the strawberries above are what i contributed to the bbq picnic. happy 4th to everyone!

a few random thoughts

2011-07-01T10:01:00.003-07:00

if you really are what you eat, then owen is one big grueberry--that's a grape/blueberry combo. he eats a ton of both.
i think Summer has finally hit minnesota and i couldn't be happier. i'm not even minding how hot it is. i think that's because i've spent the last two summers in the mild northwest. swimming pools here we come!
i'm feeling a little deserted this morning. there are two girls in particular i've become good friends with here. one left yesterday for a 4th of july weekend away. the other moved this morning (boo hoo!). and, my brother and sister in law left for vacation this morning. good thing my sister now lives about 40 minutes away. here's to a 4th of july with the stansels!

that's all.

Life Lesson

2011-06-27T13:12:00.002-07:00

When you feel overwhelmed with a big event or a busy week(s) coming up, it's amazing how much relief comes when you simply get some thoughts and organization down on paper. Suddenly you aren't responsible for storing all the important details in your head only, and you can usually see that it will all come together.

My sister in law and I have talked about this a couple times recently and I just experienced it once again this afternoon.

Good Buddies

2011-06-26T13:44:00.001-07:00

Owen with his good buddies, Olivia and Corbin. We love these cute kiddos!

precious

2011-06-26T13:41:00.001-07:00

In the middle of getting ready for church today, this is the image I saw as I glanced out my bathroom door. I thought it was pretty precious. I'm telling you, this kid cannot get enough of his daddy!

Como Zoo

2011-06-26T13:39:00.001-07:00

We took Owen to the Como Zoo yesterday. We had a great time and enjoyed stopping in to say hi to Amy and Andy before heading home.

a weekend with family

2011-06-26T13:05:00.003-07:00

My parents came for a visit last weekend which was a real treat! The main purpose for their travels was for my mom to come help my sister move in (they just moved to the area--hurray!), so my dad tagged along for the first weekend of her time here. We turned it into a great fun filled weekend.

Thursday night: Mom and Dad arrive at my house for dinner and stayed here

Friday: A visit to Kelly Family Farm, an old farm set in the early-mid 1800's--part of the Minnesota Historical Society, hang out time @ Matt and Camie's in the afternoon, picnic dinner at a theater in the park, Beauty and the Beast

Saturday: Lydia's soccer game, small hike and picnic at Minnehaha Falls, hang out time @ Matt and Camie's in the afternoon, trip to custard place, and games in the evening

Sunday: Dad leaves in the morning, Mom joins Ryan and I for a Father's Day breakfast, church, visiting time in the afternoon, and then dinner with everyone @ Matt and Camie's.

We had such a fun weekend and are so thankful to be apart of lots of family in the same area for now. We're glad Mom and Dad could join us for a fun weekend.

Here's Owen, helping clean some veggies at the Kelly Farm:

Filling up water buckets at the pump:
Owen and Jane:

All the MN cousins:
Minnehaha Falls:

Father's Day

2011-06-20T19:35:00.002-07:00

(Owen wearing Lilly's sunglasses)

Happy Father's Day (yesterday) to some Great Fathers! I'm so thankful for great examples of fatherhood in our lives, first and foremost my dad and Ryan's dad. Ryan is such a great dad to Owen and Owen absolutely adores Ryan! I love watching the two together and I love watching Owen watch his dad. He wants to be just like him, I can see it in his eyes.

The card I gave Ryan for Father's day felt perfect to me:

It's so cool that we're this happy little family. I'm the mommy, you're the daddy, and our home is filled with the pitter-patter of so much love. I like being grown-up with you.

trip to kansas

2011-06-20T19:03:00.009-07:00

two weekends ago ryan and i headed to kansas, home sweet home to me. our good friends janelle and keith live in lawrence right now and we had to take advantage of being a short days drive away before they move to texas. we're so happy we made the trip. we had such a good time catching up with old friends--janelle and keith, the boriches, the ponders, lindsay and matt, the cockriels, annie hamrick and other members of my home ward. that was the highlight for me, just catching up with influential people in my life. another highlight was great BBQ at Jack Stack....mmmm, we were in heaven! we also went to see the new kc temple (which i think is bea-u-tiful) under constructio, toured a little bit of ku campus, and enjoyed hang out time in the evenings at the willis'. owen loved playing with lilly and jack.

Life Lessons

2011-06-18T21:25:00.002-07:00

When you have an outdoor event to plan have a backup.

Babies don't have sinus'. They're not developed until about age 8. Did you know that?! I didn't either, until I took Owen into urgent care this weekend to learn he had an ear infection and what would be a sinus infection for a child.

Life Lesson

2011-06-13T14:03:00.003-07:00

Paying bills via automatic withdrawals makes for much less stress when you suddenly realize bills are due. Just sit back, relax, and watch your money disappear without doing any work.

Lydia's dance recital

2011-06-08T13:45:00.001-07:00

On Saturday I attended Lydia's dance recital. It's been a real treat to be apart of her soccer games, piano recital, and now dance recital. She did a great job and looked beautiful!

2011-06-08T13:42:00.002-07:00

yesterday, for the first time, owen put two words together to form a sentence. ryan and owen were getting out of the car and he said, "bye momma." it was the cutest thing!

Wayzata Bay

2011-06-08T13:29:00.004-07:00

Last Friday night Ryan and I took Lydia, Clayton, and Owen to Wayzata Bay. It was a beautiful evening and a really fun night! First, we had a picnic. Next, we played in the sand and lake. Then, we went for a short stroll through the park. Amongst all that we had a little time to play on the playground at the beach as well.

On the way home the kids were being so goofy. We played around and had some fun with them. Lydia and Clayton kept yelling, "peace" out the windows. By the time we got home Owen was in the back saying, "psssss" (peace). Ever since when we're in the car he points to the window and says, "peace".

That night was a great reminder of why I love Minnesota Summers and why I love being so close to family!

2011-06-08T13:22:00.002-07:00

owen is definitely "all boy" and is good at showing his rough and tough "all boy" personality, but when little miss livy comes around he is so sweet and gentle and tries taking care of her. this photo just misses the moment where they were each trying to feed the other their pacifiers. we love this little olivia.

Life Lesson

2011-06-03T11:42:00.003-07:00

When you're at a stop light and you turn around to give your child a snack make sure your foot is pressed all the way down on the brake to ensure you stay in one place instead of slowly gliding into the person in front of you.

I'm just sayin'.

Big Helper

2011-06-01T21:04:00.009-07:00

And so proud of it!

a great long weekend

2011-06-01T20:33:00.013-07:00

The best part of a long weekend is Sunday night, knowing you still have another day ahead of you. That's just how it was this past Sunday when we still had Memorial Day ahead of us. Love it!

Our whole weekend was great. Here's how it went down:

Friday: played games with Matt, Camie, and Andy (who is in the process of moving his family here)

Saturday: a great workout, working on the table, and a great Twins baseball game with Matt and Camie

Sunday: church and dinner with good friends

Monday: a day at the horse races

What a treat to hang out with these guys so much!

This was our first time going to a horse race. It was really fun! In between races we enjoyed wondering around, visiting the petting zoo, eating ice cream, visiting with friends, and meeting some of the horses.

If only every weekend could be a long one!

finished

2011-06-01T20:00:00.004-07:00

I've spent the last couple weeks working on refinishing our kitchen table. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time and finally did it! I'm really happy with how it turned out. I wanted to do some antiquing, but being new to the furniture business I was too many layers of primer and too far into the project before I realized what I really needed to do for that. But, I learned, and I'm really happy with how it turned out anyway. Funny thing about this table is that my parents picked it up from being thrown out to the trash when they were a young family. They sanded it down and refinished it to how it looks in the first picture and now we've refinished it to fit our own taste. Who needs antiquing techniques anyway when it's pretty much antique all on it's own?!

Before:
After:My next project: those two barstools in the background.

a picture(s) tells a thousand words

2011-05-23T22:14:00.002-07:00

Matt and Alissa

2011-05-23T22:04:00.002-07:00

We enjoyed a fun weekend with Matt and Alissa a few weekends ago. They live only a couple hours away which is a real treat! We had a fun Friday evening playing games and hanging out. Saturday we had a good workout in the morning before heading to Minneapolis for a trip to the Statue Garden and Yum! cafe. I loved having a weekend with my Aliss and her boys!

The famous cherry.
There were a ton of beautiful chimes in these trees. I want a giant backyard someday with enough trees to do the same thing. It was pretty cool.

flowers from a cute boy

2011-05-23T21:55:00.003-07:00

Last week there were a few days where being a mom to a one and a half year old felt a little overwhelming. I think Ryan could tell because on Saturday morning after Ryan and Owen left for a little outing my sweet little Owen came home with flowers in hand. I have to admit, it pretty much melted my heart. (btw, he did not wet his pants, he played in a drinking fountain)oh, i do love this boy so much!

Twins Game

2011-05-23T21:49:00.002-07:00

Tonight was the perfect night for a baseball game--great seats, a beautiful evening, and the best date. Ryan and I really enjoyed our Owen-free evening at the Twins vs. Mariners game. I love the "All American" feel at a baseball game and it was great to be apart of tonight.

beautiful minnesota

2011-05-17T20:53:00.002-07:00

i think minnesota is beautiful. here are just a couple of examples. the first was taken from the park that owen and i played at today. the second was on my run yesterday. we're living in the land of 10,000 lakes and it's beautiful!i'm feeling very thankful for the beautiful sunshine this week! we are loving our time outdoors!

playing with momma's shoes

2011-05-17T20:50:00.002-07:00

i love these cute smiles

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-17T20:42:00.002-07:00

I enjoyed a lovely Mother's Day. I received these beautiful flowers from Ryan which was a very fun surprise. He made my choice of breakfast Sunday morning, spoiled me by taking care of everything from making breakfast to getting Owen ready for church, and then Matt and Ryan made dinner for our families that evening.

Owen Update

2011-05-17T19:54:00.009-07:00

I feel like I haven't given an Owen Update in a long time. I wish you could see this cute boy. He is growing up and changing so so much these days! Today I watched him climbing and playing in his room and I thought to myself, "This is a little boy, he's definitely not a baby!" He looks like a little boy, he plays like a little boy, and tries hard to keep up with all the big boys around him. Owen's vocabulary has picked up a lot in the past 2 weeks. For the most part you might not understand what he's saying, but I do! He's definitely making all kinds of connections and though it's in his own "little boy" language, he's saying a lot. Here are some of the words he's saying: dog, hat, nose, shoe, car, truck, buh-bye (my absolute fav) tractor, please, help, thank you, ball, book, eat, milk, banana, cracker, no (NOT a fan of this one especially because he puckers his lips, tilts his head back, and drawls it out), yes. I may have to come back and update that list tomorrow as I listen to him talk, but that's what I can think of right now. He also does a lot of signs along with these words. My favorite is when he blows kisses to us! Somehow that has also become his "I love you". Love it!

Owen could play outside ALL. DAY. LONG. if I let him. He LOVES being outside and it's a battle every time I have to bring him in. He loves swinging and going down slides at the park. He's pretty fearless. He doesn't think twice about something being to hard for him--he climbs up and down anything I'll let him. It makes my park time pretty busy, but I sincerely love watching him play, learn, and grow as he challenges himself.

He continues to love reading. His books are the first thing he grabs whenever he wakes up, from sleep or naps. I hope his love of reading only continues.

Owen loves his blanket. I always wondered what blanket he'd attach himself to. With all the beautiful blankets and quilts Owen received as a baby the blankets he attached to are one of the three swaddling blankets Camie gave him as a baby. I for sure always appreciated those swaddling blankets, I just never thought they'd be the blankets he couldn't live without. The first thing he does when we lay him down with his blanket is finds a corner of the blanket and rubs it between his fingers. I think it is absolutely adorable.

I love this boy so much. Please enjoy a few pictures of this growing handsome little boy!
watching some kids play tennis at the parkowen LOVES blueberries
cute, scrunched up nose, playing outside
a recent visit to chuck e cheese
owen and ry reading in bed together, as soon as owen woke up
traveling between lydia and clayton's soccer games

Life Lesson

2011-05-17T15:51:00.001-07:00

Prepare dinner early enough that you have time to pull it off to cool for several minutes before eating. Otherwise you'll have a very awkward and silent dinner conversation because everyone is trying to blow on their food the entire time.

run of the mills

2011-05-07T14:14:00.004-07:00

This morning we ran the General Mills, Run of the Mill 5k. Here are the participants of the group: Matt, Alisa, Ryan, and Owen took a ride in the jogger. This was a fun event and I loved participating in a race again. It's been a long time since I have. With a bad sinus infection (me) and pulled back (Ry) this week we weren't sure what we'd be able to do but it turned out to be a great morning and a fun run (me)/walk (Ry and Owen).

There was plenty for the kids to enjoy too. Owen loved playing in the jump house!

a few of my favorite things

2011-05-04T12:15:00.009-07:00

Ipod touch

This was my recent birthday gift and I am loving it! What a fun and useful toy!

Facetime

One of my favorite features on my Ipod is Facetime. I had never heard of it. You? It's basically a handheld skype! Liz and I chat with each other almost daily via facetime now. We even cooked dinner for a little bit together the other night (ok, maybe that's a little extreme, but we did!) It's also such a fun way for our boys to see each other. They love getting in on the action as much as we do.

MacBook Pro

A few month ago our computer totally died and we invested in a Mac. WE. LOVE. IT! I'm so happy we went for the Mac.

Dimmed lights

Most of the lights in our new house have dimmers on them. My favorite thing about them is that when Ryan gets up in the morning way before me he can turn the lights on without blinding me. They are pretty great!

Easter wheat grass

Camie and I planted wheat grass for our Easter dinner tables. I love the fresh color sitting in my kitchen.

Earrings

I recently bought some princess cut diamond (not real) earrings. I love having a pair of earrings I can wear for "every day" days--which is, obviously most days!

Pampered Chef items

These are a couple items I recently got from Pampered Chef and I love them!

Salad Scissors--put anything you want in your salad in a bowl and chop it up with these babies! I especially love using these to cut up and shred chicken.

Stackable cooling racks--use a couple of these to stack on top of each other. More cookies, less space! Love them!

Pandora

Internet radio. I love getting a good mix of just the kind of music I like.

imovie

With our new computer came imovie, a fun program used to put movies together. I've been playing around with it and think it's great! I think it'll be a great way to document special events or to spotlight a special occasion.

Life Lesson

2011-04-30T08:48:00.002-07:00

Put your gym clothes on as soon as you crawl out of bed. There's no turning back at that point, you're bound to get your workout in.

10 Things That Made Me Happy Tonight

2011-04-27T21:07:00.003-07:00

1. Five For Fighting/Dad

Five For Fighting's Superman song came on the radio today. First of all I love that song but the reason it really made me happy is because it makes me think of my Dad. He really loves that song which I think is really cute.

2. Owen's prayers

Tonight during dinner Owen suddenly folded his arms, which he usually does during prayers, but then he started quietly jibbering as though he were saying his own prayers. I'm positive he was trying to say his own little prayers. It was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen and totally made my day!

3. Blueberry muffins

Mmmmmm, we tried these new blueberry muffins at dinner tonight. I'd recommend them.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk or milk

1 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen blueberries

1 tsp lemon zest

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, cut into small cubes

cream together butter and sugar until light. mix in eggs and vanilla. with beater stopped, add dry ingredients. turn mixer on low and slowly add buttermilk until batter just comes together. by hand, gently fold in blueberries, lemon zest and cream cheese cubes, breaking up any large cream cheese pieces with spatula. spoon batter into well-greased muffin cups.

crumb topping:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 flour

2 Tbl cold butter

prepare crumb topping by stirring together sugar and flour. cut butter in with a fork until mixture is crumb-like. sprinkle generously on top of muffin batter. bake muffins in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until muffin centers spring back when touched.

4. Ryan's drop by

Ry had a doctor's appointment close by during the day today, so he swung by to say hello. What a treat to see him smack dab in the middle of the day!

5. Hard core workout

I wasn't very happy during the workout, but once I was done it made me very happy I got through it. I went to a Total Conditioning class today and it literally kicked my trash. It hurt, but I did it!

6. Lunch with Nan

My sister in law's mom, Nan, is in town. Owen and I stopped in to have some lunch with her. It was so nice to visit with her for a couple hours.

7. Facetime with Liz

With my new Ipod Touch I have enjoyed using Facetime with several people. Today Liz and I had fun hanging out with each other over Facetime. I love it!

8. New jeans

Today I wore some new jeans I got for my birthday. Ahhh, I love it when I find a good pair of jeans.

9. Baby Signing Time

The only video that keeps Owen's attention is Baby Signing Time. I haven't been able to find our DVD since we moved in and I found it today. Even though I don't think he's missed it or even noticed it's been gone it was pretty cute to see how excited he was to watch it again.

10. Errands alone

After Ryan got home tonight I ran a few errands alone. Is it weird that I get excited about that?

Sorry no pics, but I wanted to share anyway. Happy Wednesday!

Life Lesson

2011-04-26T13:21:00.002-07:00

On laundry day fold each load of laundry as soon as it comes out of the dryer instead of heading to bed for the night just to find one giant heaping pile of laundry that needs to be folded. It's so less daunting.

My Little Man

2011-04-24T20:38:00.005-07:00

You guys, I love this kid! I mean, he tries my patience, it feels like I run around all day picking up after him, and sometimes he just doesn't want to listen, but...I LOVE him! He's full of falls, bumps, and bruises these days, but he jumps up and brushes it off. I love watching him as his personality is really beginning to shine through. He makes me laugh out loud and gives the best kisses. If I let him stay outside all day he would. Any time I go near the door he grabs his shoes and points to his coat. I love watching Owen get ready to fall asleep as he always finds the corners of his blankets and rubs them between his fingers for comfort. He rides my back down the stairs to breakfast every morning. It's very cute the way he wraps his arms around my neck. He absolutely loves playing with cars and being chased by mom or dad. Every evening when Owen hears the garage door open he drops everything and races to see Dad. I love this little man so much!

Owen loves playing in the corner cupboard and often puts my lettuce bowl on top of his head:
A piggy back ride from Mom:

He puts his mouth into a big "O" and whispers "ooohhhh" all the time. It cracks us up:
The corner cupboard, again: