Still in his 20's

Happy birthday to the love of my life...even though I am a little bitter that he is still in his 20's and I'm not anymore. He got kinda jipped since his bday landed on a Sunday this year, so I hope that our celebration yesterday, and a little today will do. Today was super unexciting, since he had meetings starting early and I had meetings tonight, but he got some presents and the kids sang to him several times. The girls were disappointed that he wouldn't let them pick out his clothes today, but after their choice for my bday outfit I think that he was a little nervous. (Did I forget to mention that in my bday post? Yeah--they wanted me to wear my wedding dress to the museum. I tried it on, and YES it still fit!! YAY FOR ME! They were excited that I "looked like a princess", but still not museum attire.)

Yesterday we had a big breakfast, went to the farmer's market, etc. Then Tom and I went out to dinner, went bowling, wandered around... He was excited because for his special day he wanted to make me watch my bowling ball all the way down the alley. For anyone who has been bowling with me, you know that this was pure torture. For the man of my dreams, I did it. Dang, I must really like him! Anyway--happy birthday baby! I love you so much! Laugh it up now baby...when you hit thirty...

Crappy cell phone pics, but proof we were there, right?

Thirty?!?

I wasn't going to do a bday post for myself, but my friends guilted me into it.
So, here you go...thirty? You can't be serious! In my head I am still 22...yes, 22. I'm not sure why, but for some reason, that is the age that sticks. It is definitely NOT that strange number with a 3 in the front! I am struggling just a little bit. I really loved my twenties. I did a lot of great stuff in my twenties...I got married, graduated from college, started my career, had three beautiful children, moved several times, and more recently, learned to run and ran some big races, and learned a lot about myself. I will miss my twenties, and that young feeling that you get when you tell people that you are still in your twenties, but oh well. I am sure my thirties will be great! I got to celebrate my big bday with Susie and my three little ones at the museum. We had a lot of fun. Then my hubby brought me roses and took me out to a fabulous dinner at a great Indian restaurant. Then we went shopping...he even suffered through Archiver's with very few complaints. My real hero! I get to celebrate again in August when we go to Cirque Du Soleil! YAY! That will be so fun! So there you go. Quit bugging me about posting my bday....

Girls Camp

I SURVIVED! Eleven years of girls camps...wow! It was a great week. I think that overall things went well. Other than the sneaky appearance of "Camp Jenn" and the lack of sleep, we had a really great time. A big shout out to Cami for putting up with me all day and all night for 3 1/2 days! That is a truly impressive feat!


PRECAMP--JC Sleepover on Friday night...so fun! We were thrilled to finally see what we had been working for...the JC spirit of camp/fun! These girls really pulled it out, even if I was super tired when I finally went home.

Day 1--Departure time 5:40 AM...SO TIRED! We got the JC's up there, got set up, and prepared for the rest of the girls.


Day 2--By far the hardest day for me! I ended up in charge of planning and executing the hikes at the last minutes which was super stressful. I am so thankful for the people that helped out in my last minute panic! I think that overall they went well. I know that the poor little second years struggled, but they had some really great experiences. I think that many people on that hike came back with stronger testimonies, friendships, and with a greater understanding of how much they can really do if they are pushed. Certification was next, which was also my baby...is anybody surprised that this was the day that "Camp Jenn" made a brief, but potent appearance? It was a little choppy, but they were able to certify all the things that I had planned. The skits that night were really great! So many creative girls and leaders...plus, the stake skit was hilarious, at least to us!


Day 3--GAMES! The games were well planned, well executed, and super fun! I ended up with some hilarious stories, and only one opportunity to clean up puke! Then more certification...a little better on the second day! We got to end this day on a great spiritual high! The men came up to cook the girls' dinner. Then we had a short awards ceremony and devotional and split into wards for testimonies.


Day 4--HOME! We had another great devotional, yearbook signing party, etc. I got home around 2:00 PM and I am still trying desperately to catch up on sleep!

It was a long week on all counts. I am so thankful that Grammy and Grampy could come and take care of my family while I was gone. Here is a litte look at their week...

The traditional Grammy shake picture.

Lizzie is THREE!

My little princess is three. I can hardly believe it. I don't know if it is because she is the second child, or because she is wedged between two (and so close to Owen), but this birthday seems like it came so fast. If you asked Liz how old she was before her birthday, she would have told you she was two...then ask her how old she will be on her birthday...still two. Eventually she understood that she would be older on her birthday, just like sissy. Naturally that would mean that she is now five, just like sissy. Yeah, well, she may have missed the concept just a tiny bit.


She chose an Ariel birthday party, but is so much easier to please than her sister. She insisted that the cupcakes have blue sprinkles instead of blue frosting...other than that, she really didn't care about anything at all! Here are some pics from her party. Crazy how a small family party can get so large and chaotic, but she had fun, and that's all that mattered!



Ok, so I told her story last year on her bday, but I want to have all the stories in my book this year, so--as a reader, just skip this part. Its the abbreviated version anyway.


I was due at the beginning of August. On June 13, 2006 I went into the hospital convinced that the HIGH muscle soreness was nothing. Apparently, I was in labor. No real contractions, but everything else was progressing. They gave me steroid shots to speed up her lung development, and tried to stop labor. I was send home a couple of days later on VERY STRICT bed rest. Aunt Susie came out to stay with us, and take care of Tori. Four long weeks on bed rest were not fun for anybody, but on Monday, July 10, I was officially taken off bed rest. Susie left town at around 7PM, and my water broke around midnight. I felt SO bad that she was here for four weeks and then just barely missed it. Well, my body doesn't know how to contract. After hours of walking the hall with all the pressure of having no water, I finally got pitosin to start the ball rolling. My baby girl came at 6:52 AM. It was a long night, and a wonderful morning. She has blessed our lives ever since.

A few things about my girl then:
--she did NOT like to be touched/held when she was tired
--she was a good sleeper for the most part
--she started to love her lion very early
--her fingers were always in her mouth

A few things about my girl now:
--she does NOT like to be talked to/touched when she wakes up from naps
--she is a good sleeper, once you finally get past all her stalling and finally leave the room
--she is still very much in love with her lion, but now there are two
--her fingers are always in her face...somewhere...nasty!
--she is the most thoughtful and polite little thing...if she wants to be!
--ask her nicely, and she will share anything

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MISS ELIZA GAIL! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Independence Day!

We had a great fourth! We actually had a great 3rd of July too! We did more of the traditional celebrating on the 3rd...the baseball game, the fireworks, and then we did the BBQ thing on the 4th.

It was a great weekend, and SHOCKINGLY the kids were all great at the game. We braced ourselves for the worst, but it was actually really fun!

It took FOREVER to get all the people situated for the fireworks!

Owen and Tori LOVED the fireworks! Owen kept trying to grab them out of the sky (some of them seemed close enough). Lizzie wasn't sure about all the loud noise and bright lights. She came around eventually.