Levenworth

Friday after Alan got back from work (he returned much later than normal, of course) we drove to Wenatchee to stay with Alan's parents.
Saturday we drove to Levenworth and spent a couple hours there. It's a cute little Germanesque village that draws tourists from all over (though I'd never heard of it until Alan took me when we were dating). :D It's so cute! The streets are lined with all kinds of stores that sell things from Germany (trinkets and food) and the buildings are decorated like German buildings...it reminds me of the super duper fun European trip I took in 2001. I stayed in Germany and visited France and Switzerland and Italy (my favorite of all favorites!). It was awesome.
Anyway, Levenworth is a fun town and I'm glad we got to take the boys there. Christian's highlight was playing in a patch of snow with a couple other boys (it's fun to see him want to play with others all the sudden) and Miles loved the attention he got from Grandma and Grandpa. ;) He sure is a cute little stinker.

I'm glad we're taking advantage of the time we have being close (2 1/2 to 3 hours away) to his parents, especially since it looks like we'll be moving to Pennsylvania for medical school...possibly at the end of may. Yipes! I sure love traveling around, but it's not quite so fun with two little ones....But we will go and Christian will probably start wetting himself again and Miles will wake up in the night because of the huge change and we will all just plain love it! :)

Park Time!

Saturday was a pretty nice day, so we went to a park by our house. It was a nice park! Christian made some new friends and we enjoyed playing with the boys.

It was such a gay ole' time we shared a smooch! :D


See how smiley everyone is? :D

Miles was crawling down things instead of up them, like I tried to help him do. HA! Such cute babies...thank goodness for parks! (Kids need at least an hour of active play a day, I need to be better at giving it to them!!!) :D :D :D

Of HAIR & Money

I got a new haircut yesterday. YEAH! I was long overdue. :)~ I went to a salon that charges $50/haircut, but they offered me a 50% discount b/c I was a first time customer...I didn't mention that I'd probably be a one time customer, too. :)~ I'd go there again if we had that kind of money! I like $30 haircuts...they're affordable and much, much better than $15 haircuts you get at Fantastic Sams or Klassy Kuts. I've found out many a painful time that, with haircuts, you almost always get what you pay for.
I've been trying to have an art project/craft of the day for Christian. Yesterday he painted with water colors and today he made a candy necklace. He loved it (especially eating the necklace)! He's such a crafty guy...and I've always wanted to do some preschool with him here at home. I have a pre-k workbook we do, which he loves, but we left all his crayons, markers, paints, etc. in Georgia. Dote! I'm taking them to the dollar store today to stock up on some more so we have some fun things to do at home...I figure if I engage him, he won't engage himself...in other words, he won't get into so much mischief! :D
I think I'm obsessed with putting my boys in boxes...ha! I think it's so cute when they fit! :D Miles just sat and ate his snack in the Costco-sized cereal box and I had to laugh and take a picture!! :D HA!

Happy New Year!!

These are the presents we scored at Christmas. :D Sweeeeet! :D

The craziness while everyone unwrapped their gifts. :D Issaquah, WA.
Miles reached a milestone last month...he turned one on the 19th and I could hardly believe it. :S It hasn't been that the time sped by, oddly enough, I just thought he'd never actually be one!...don't ask me why. ;) On his birthday our friends, the McCally's from Texas, came to have some cake and ice cream with us and our kids played and we chatted. It was a fun time! We were glad they just happened to be visiting family nearby. ;) The day after we got together wtih Alan's uncle Stu and aunt Donna. Miles and Stu share a birthday (but he was busy on the their birthday) so Sunday they brought over dinner and we had cake and ice cream with them. :) They got Miles a fun toy but had to leave too soon! I really like spending time with them! :D
This holiday season has been fun and eventful. We spent Christmas with Alan's family here in Washington (I made rolls for the second time in my life for the ocassion...they turned out pretty darn good, if I do say so myself!). At Alan's aunt & uncle's Christmas Day we spread a lot more than holiday spirit, unfortunately. :) Alan's cousin brought home her husband's two nephews...CUTE boys, but one brought a stomach bug with him...Saturday we went to Wenatchee (WA) to spend the weekend with Alan's parents and bless Alan's brother's new baby, Dalin. :D Well, needless to say, only Alan's parents went to church Sunday b/c everyone else was sick. Well, I wasn't, but Alan and the boys were and I didn't want to leave Alan to take care of Christian and Miles alone...regardless, Christian had a blast playing with his cousins, Joanna & Jaqueline! :D
I thought I was going to be lucky enough to avoid both the stomach bug and the nasty cold Miles has had...BUT (a big butt) Monday on our drive home both hit me so forcefully I just wanted to curl up and die...When we got home around noon I slept the rest of the night until 8 am the next day. I needed it!! Sweet Alan took care of everything for me while I rested. :D

By Wednesday I was ready to start eating again, though I had a hard time with liquids and my pee ended up brown. (TMI, I know, TMI.) HA! Just so you know, if that happens it's a BAD thing...very BAD. ;)
I've been reading "Memoirs of a Geisha" and my goodness!! I just keep marveling at what the geisha had to go through! If you haven't read it or seen the movie, it's something you must do before you die (I'd recommend at least the book so you can understand the customs better)...if for no other reason than to learn a bit about Japanese geisha culture. It's always good to learn! :)

I LOVE this picture of my hot husband and our precious 3 yr old. :D Christian sure loves his daddy!

Gingerbread House

I made my first gingerbread house on Monday night. I remember my older sister(s?) making one when I was younger using graham crackers and homemade frosting, but I was too young...SO, the other day we bought a kit from Costco. It had everything you could ever need and then some...a HUGE tube of white frosting and a small tube of green, cookies for the house and a gingerbread Christmas tree and two gingerbread men and tons and tons of candy to decorate with. FUN!
So our friends, Amy, Scott, and Oliver, came over and they brought their own Costco gingerbread kit and it was so fun! :D Their gingerbread house, I'm sorry to say, didn't make it...but I think Oliver will have a wonderful time devouring the wreckage! :D
So we bought some deer antlers to take a picture of the boys for the holidays...this pic of Christian with Alan is the only time I've been able to get Christian to wear them...is he already becoming aware of what is cool vs what is totally humiliating? hhmmmm... ;)~

I love the Temple! :D

So Alan is currently at his interview at UW Medical School. AAHHHH!! I'm anxious to know how it's going!! :D Mainly, I'm anxious to know how it'll end up!, but we won't know that for a long while. :)
Yesterday a couple from our church watched our boys (they have a girl and a boy around the same age as our own) while Alan and I went to the Temple. It had been soooo long since we had gone it was like taking a breath of fresh air!! I'm so grateful for Temples...they're so peaceful and serene! And it was soooo nice to get out alone. Marcy, who watched our boys, wants to start a babysitting co-op, and I'm all for it! She's going to try and recruit a couple more couples...So we'd get to go out 3 Friday nights a month and have one Friday night of craziness watching everyone else's kids. It's a prayer answered!!!! Alan and I hardly ever go out together, but we really need to! :D Marcy seems super nice! I'm excited to get to know her (among others) better! :)
I just love my boys, even though they can drive me crazy sometimes. :S :) We have a large window in the front room and they love to sit and watch sometimes. I love to, also. We have a squirrel living in the trees outside our place and it walks around like it owns the place. HA! There are also so many birds around here!! They settle on the neighbors' lawns and eat, eat, eat. :) It's so nice and quiet here, I love it. I could never go back to an apartment!!...I wouldn't go quietly, anyway. ;)
I had to attach this picture of Christian wearing my shoes. HA! :D Standing in my heals right before peeing while standing up...There's just something so "Mrs Doubfire" about it. HA! :D He cracks me up! What can I say, I love the kid. ;)

Of Dating and Marriage

So Saturday night Alan's aunt and uncle came over and we had dinner then they stayed and watched the boys while we went and saw "New Moon". It was sooo nice to be able to go out together without the boys!! I can probably count on one hand (may spill over to both) how many times we've been out alone since Christian was born over three years ago. But it's so important to connect and do things outside the home together!! Relationships need constant nuturing...
So now we're in Seattle area, WA (Renton to be exact). Alan got a job here so now we're saving up to furnish the cute town home we're renting. ;) At least we finally have a bed! And a king size one to boot. ;) I love it! There's room for the boys to play in between us while we snooze during those early morning hours. ;)
Now we're saving for leather couches and a dining room table and a few other odds and ends. Alan is working as a technician for a pest control company. They pay their technicians really well! They get a guaranteed base salary each month, but can work extra and make extra money...it's nice!! :D
I like the area, although it's dark 15 hours of the day! HA! It doesn't bother me, though...and the sun hardly comes out. The overcast skies are slightly annoying, but it doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. :) Maybe it will in time...
I just got extended a calling to be in the primary presidency...one calling I've never done yet. :) I'm excited! Especially since the president is a super nice and bubbly girl!! :D She's starting a "Mom's hangout" once a week with the Mom's in the ward. I'm excited!! I was going to start something similar, so I'll help her get it going. :) There're some awesome women in the area I'm excited to get to know!! :)
Alan has an interview with UW medical school on Sunday. We're hoping he gets in so we can stay in this place. The area is so cute and our landlords are the bomb!! :) I'm LOVING being in a neighborhood!! Apartment community life sucks, plain and simple, and here we have an older couple next to us (it's a townhouse/duplex) who are quiet and leave on the weekends. Nice! :D Plus, there's a yard that Christian likes to play in!! :D And there's something liberating about being in charge of putting garbage cans outside on garbage day. :)~
It's been nice living so close to Alan's aunt and uncle. They're so sweet and have lent us a bunch of stuff until we can afford to buy our own...And his parents live only 2 1/2 hours from us so we'll be able to see them more often, which is nice. :) Alan has an amazing family. :D
We had Thanksgiving dinner at Alan's aunt and uncle's house the Wednesday before. Alan's parents met us there and we had a wonderful meal!! :D Good food and good company...couldn't ask for anything more.
Thanksgiving day we had dinner with Alan's friend growing up, Kiel, and his mother and sister and her family. I have met Kiel several times and think he's such a great guy! (Let all the single girls know in the Seattle area!!) :D It was a fun time and everything was made from scratch and tasted wonderful!! :D
The day after Thanksgiving we went to downtown Seattle and watched the Macy's Holiday Parade. It was good times!! We got a lot of candy and Christian got a balloon from a large, scary-looking clown! We got to pet dogs (real ones) and afterward we walked around the mall and ate lunch. It was a fun day! :D
It's been good times here in WA and we've been blessed with great family and good friends...and I look forward to making more friends. :D
We had a lot of fun visiting my family. :) I have really missed them a lot and it was good to see them! I had fun with Jennifer, my sister just older than me. She treated me to a pedicure (thanks Jenn)! :) I love being around her because not only is she fun, but she reminds me that I don't need to take life so seriously!
Alan was pretty popular with the girls. HA! :)~
I hope we can see them soon!!

YEAH!!! I love the holday season!!! :D

So we said GOODBYE to Georgia at the end of September and, on our way to California to visit my family, we stopped in Dallas, TX and Mesa, AZ to visit Alan's sisters. First we saw Alan's younger sister, Stephanie, in Dallas TX. She has two beautiful boys and a sweet & loving man! :D We went to the Texas State Fair and had a blast! We took a picture in front of a nice looking train and I got a 10 min massage and we had alligator (yes, alligator) and fried butter (yes, fried butter) and saw tons of animals. It really was a fun time!! :D

It took us two days to reach Mesa, AZ with the two little ones, but spent almost a week with Alan's older sister, Kristina, and her family. They lived in Provo area with us until 2007 so we used to always hang out. We have missed them!!! We mostly hung out at home with them while the kids ran around in their backyard (a novelty for us), but one day we went to a park and walked around the lake. Then the kids played on the playground and had a blast. Christian and his cousin, Ethan, were stuck like glue to each other the whole time we were there...it was VERY precious. :D

Our mutual friends, the McCally's, stayed 2 nights while we were there and it was good to see them and their two beautiful children, too! :D One day they all decided to roll around in the dirt pile in Kristina's backyard. It was hilarious! HA! We had a very fun time...it was hard to leave!

The night before we left we went to see my mission president and his family...Only he and his wife and youngest daughter are at home now. It was so good to see them and get an update on all my fellow ex-missionaries! Miles LOVED playing with President Calton...He knows he's his third grandpa. :D

We're at my parents' house in Modest, CA right now. We went to a pumpkin patch that had a large area with pumpkins, a big pond with huge fish, a playground, and an area with animals like ostriches and horses and pigs. :) It was fun!! Alan left soon thereafter to go to Provo to finish some research he didn't get done during the school year. I'm so glad he graduated in April!! Now we're in limbo between graduation and trying to get into medical school in 2010...we're currently waiting to see if someone wants to interview him! In the meantime we're going to move up to Washington (this week) and Alan will get a job. Summer sales wasn't too great for us... :S


The week before Halloween our church put on a Trunk or Treat. Christian was a fireman and Miles a (VERY CUTE) teddy bear. My sister and her family were here visiting from Reno so we all went together. It was fun!! Christian got a lot of candy (respectively), but I accidentally sent it home with my sister. HA! Oh well, he got plenty more on Halloween. :D

We have had a lot of fun at my parents'. :D Christian is buds with his silly cousin Maren. She CRACKS me up! HA!! A character and a half, and she plays so well with my little man. He's going to miss her when we leave this week. :( I am REALLY, REALLY going to miss my family! :(

The other day Christian was playing out back and a springy thingy flicked him hard and made a deep hole in his cheek. I yelled, "Jennifer! Jennifer!"...I'm so glad she was there!! :) She went with me to the urgent care and helped take care of Miles while Christian got stitches. It would've been so much worse without her! :) I feel bad for my poor little man, but he has been soooo brave, even at the doctor's! He cried for a while after it happened, but then at the doctor's and since he hasn't cried at all! I'm so proud of him. :) I hate it, but I figure it has to happen to every parent, right? Well he is just so proud of his "itches". HA! :) He always makes me smile. :D