Jenbug's World

A dreadlock

2012-02-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

Here's a funny conversation I just had with Gigi.
me (noticing Gigi's hair as we get out of the car): "Gig, you've made a dreadlock in your hair."
Gigi: A dreadlock?
me: A dreadlock.
Gigi: Yay! A dreadlock! I'm so proud of me!

Just one of those moments that I wish could last forever. Love my little girl!

Gigi & Grayson, Halloween 2011

Should I be worried if my daughter is her own imaginary friend?

2011-12-22T14:44:00.000-08:00

Today Gigi runs into the bathroom and slaps me on the back of the legs then says, "Don't hit my mommy!" Then she says to me, "Gigi hit you!" I said, "Oh, you hit me?" Gigi says "No she did!" (pointing to herself). So I say, "Gigi hit me, but it wasn't you?" "Yes" she says. Then she whispers to herself, "Tell mommy you're sorry, Gigi." And then she turns to me, pats me on the arm and says, "Sorry mommy." WTW?!

If you're wondering what happened to the spider...

2011-12-22T14:43:00.001-08:00

I think we bothered it too much and one day, it was gone. But then, we found a much smaller one under Gigi's window! I decided to leave that one alone.

Don't worry, I know I am weird

2011-09-09T20:57:00.000-07:00

So I am dedicating this post to one of my favorite things about summer '11. No, not snowcones. Although I do love them, I have disappointingly only made it out for three snowcone runs this year. So that is probably one of the worst things about summer '11. But if you know me, you'd never, ever in a million years guess that one of my favorite things about this summer has been an arachnid. I really do hate spiders and have an irrational fear of them but I've been able to make peace with many spiders I find in my yard by researching them and knowing that they pose no threat to me & my family. (I still won't go into the crawl space though. The day I do will be the day I officially declare my arachnophobia over.)

Anyway, one such spider that I feel like I've really bonded with and actually make frequent visits over to the side of the house just to see how she's doing is a very special kind of spider. At first, when Eric found it, I was on the phone with him and he startled and said, "Oh there's a spider right here! I think its a hobo spider!" Of course, I was like, "Oooh! Kill it!" But he didn't. So when I got home I had to check it out. I took several pictures and then came in the house to begin sleuthing everything I could find about this spider. I really did spend over an hour researching and I came to find out that this spider is called a horned orb-weaver. This particular one is a cat-faced spider, or jewel spider. You can see the reason why it got both of these names in the pictures. It spins the classic orb web. Here's a some interesting facts about this spider: It spins a new web everyday and eats the old silk as a way to conserve energy. It is prevalent mostly throughout the west and can be found as far north as Canada (Alberta) and as far south as Arizona. This spider will lay an egg sac (Its "magnum opus") and then die shortly thereafter. When the eggs hatch, the spiderlings will let a bit of silk out into the breeze and fly away, possibly hundreds of miles! We may never have another spider like this in our yard and I've never seen anything like this one before so I feel very special. Its like we have our own little Charlotte from "Charlotte's Web", which is coincidentally one of Gigi's favorite movies right now. In fact, its not just me who wants to go visit our spider friend everyday, Gigi has started to request going out to see the spider too! She is cautious about it but has a very healthy curiosity about it, and all the other bugs in our yard and its so fun to see her amazement with them all.

So these first two pictures were taken in August, back when I thought the spider was pretty good sized. Now compare these with the next two and you'll see that the spider has, at least, doubled in size over the last month. Also, the markings and coloring have changed too.

Now in these two pictures, you'll note in the top photo where it gets the name "Cat-faced" from. See the two horns the look like cat ears and the white line running towards the front? Plus, its somewhat fuzzy! In the bottom picture you can see why its sometimes called a Jewel spider though. Its like a reverse black widow- only not poisonous or aggressive.

Actually, because she is so curious about spiders and bugs, I thought it would be a good idea to let her watch a national geographic video of a jumping spider attacking a bee that I found on youtube. Well, it turns out this was NOT a good idea. It totally freaked her out and she's completely obsessed with it. She will bring it up all the time and tells everyone about it. (Of course, I usually have to explain what she's talking about as she's telling them, "The spider gets the bee! The spider jump! The spider eat the bee!) She also asks to watch the video almost daily but I'm trying to make her forget about it because I know it scares her. Anyway, the point being, MPAA doesn't rate National Geographic videos so use your judgement and keep two year olds away from videos of animals of any kind killing other animals. Save that kind of stuff for the four-year-olds.

BBJ

2011-08-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

I am pretty much the worst blogger. I think about doing it. I read other people's blogs. I even come up with post ideas and then... nothing... for over 7 months!! Well, finally, I decided to put a baby name poll on my blog because Eric and I are having the most arduous time naming BBJ (Baby boy Jones). I am 34 weeks right now and the doctor has said that if I progress at my checkups like I did last time, he'd induce me at about 38.5 weeks! That is only approximately 4.3 weeks away! I don't know if I am going to do this yet. Its so tempting! How nice would it be to have everything planned out? But at the same time, I have this feeling inside that tells me to wait and go into labor naturally because 1) It would definitely be more exciting! 2) Its the way nature intended it. 3) Curiosity, I guess, is the best word to describe it - the chance to see if this baby will come early like Gwyneth or later on. The chance to see if he will want to rush out as fast possible like Gwyneth or come more slowly during labor and other stuff like that. Plus, there's always the chance the baby would be born in the car, which is something I'd like to avoid, but what a great birth story! Decisions, decisions.

Anyway, I don't have any week-by-week pregnancy pictures with BBJ like I did with Gwyneth. I've just had random pictures taken of me for the most part. I think the random, real-life photos are adequate. Especially if the alternative of me posing with my belly always ends up looking as cheesy as this.

Yes, that is me and when I first saw this picture I laughed hysterically and then I vowed that no one would ever see this photo. Well, this just goes to show you, never say never because here I am posting it on my blog for all to laugh at! This is when I was 28 weeks and I felt so huge. Now I (kind of) like this picture because I look so teeny!

Now I'm just realizing this is also my first post about BBJ so I should do a little recap while I'm at it:

* This pregnancy has been pretty great for the most part. I was barely nauseous from weeks 7ish to about 13ish. It was never as bad as it was with Gwyneth or my first pregnancy with Anna (which was by far the worst sickness-wise). In fact, I was shocked that I could get up out of bed with an empty stomach and not have the immediate urge to vomit. I can function just fine on an empty stomach now, which was really never a possibility with either of the girls.

*I've been doing yoga through most of this pregnancy except I have to admit, its starting to get uncomfortable to do much more that child's pose and downward dog now! I am really looking forward to getting back to it post pregnancy. P.S. If you are looking for a great yoga studio in the Salt Lake/Murray area check out localyogaslc.com.

*I've had the most wonderful summer weather in which to be pregnant. Up until the last couple of weeks, I've not felt "the heat" at all. It has been a very mild, cool summer and I am so thankful for that. I love sunny days but I've been thankful for each and every overcast one too!

*I've noticed that this baby must be being carried lower than my previous pregnancies because he's never been in my ribs. I remember Gwyneth constantly jabbing and kicking my ribs and being so uncomfortable all the time. I honestly think Gwyneth bruised my ribs when she was in utero. BBJ just likes to jab me in the bladder every now and then.

*I was going to do a seperate post about things that are not okay to say to a woman just because she is pregnant but I think I'll just include that here. (By the way, yes, multiple people say these exact statements or something like them to me all the time.)

1. You're really getting big.

2. You're really starting to show.

3. You look like you're ready to pop!

4. Your arms are getting bigger.

5. You look bigger than you did last time.

6. You're really sticking out there.

7. Asking "When are you due?" or "How far along are you?" And then just looking you over and not saying anything else because you know they're thinking "Wow! I thought you'd be further along than that!"

8. Are you having twins?

9. You look miserable/uncomfortable etc.

Anyway, just tell pregnant women positive comments or don't comment at all and just ask them questions and let them tell you how they feel huge and awkward and uncomfortable. Because they do, and they don't need anyone else reaffirming that for them!

*On a more positive note, Gwyneth loves rubbing her baby brother in my belly. She has said more than once that she wants to name him "baby sister" and she'll often lift up her shirt and rub her belly and say "baby sister". Its so cute when I ask her to say hi to her baby brother she'll give my belly loves and kiss it and pat it and say "Hi baby!" We called him baby Grayson for a little while to try it out and now that name seems to have stuck with her because when we put together a little bouncy seat for him last weekend, she told someone that baby Grayson was sitting in his seat! I can tell she sort of gets its but not really. I'm not sure I really get it... you know that idea of another baby around here! Scary! Exciting... but scary!

Potty Time!

2011-01-21T22:16:00.000-08:00

This picture is of Gwyneth the first time she sat on her toilet about 3 weeks ago. She had been pulling her pants down and saying, "I want toilet" so I got out her potty and started letting her sit on it. She actually has her diaper on here. Then, whenever she'd say she wanted toilet, I'd put her on it and just see if she'd actually go... which until now has always been nothing. Like I said, until now... Today is the first day that we put her on the toilet and she actually peed!! Yeah! So, I know that I shouldn't get my hopes up about her being potty trained by next week and I am totally laid back about it, but I thought this momentous occasion should at least be documented. This toilet plays a song when sensors in the bottom get wet so when she went, of course, the song started playing. Then she was so happy about it that she stayed on the toilet for several more minutes and kept saying, "I want song! I want toilet! I want song!" Eric tried to explain that the human body doesn't make pee on demand so she'd have to wait until next time she needed to go potty but she still kicked and screamed a little when Eric took her off the toilet.

So I haven't blogged in a long, long while so I thought I'd throw a few more pictures in this post while I'm at it. Like this one of Brooklyn and Gwyneth, after they'd pulled all the books off of the shelf and were quietly looking at them in her bedroom. I love it when they play this well together.

Poor Frankie and Roscoe, but especially Frankie because he's the more playful dog and he doesn't run away when Gwyneth comes near like Roscoe does. He gets tormented by Gwyneth on a daily basis. I was quick enough to be able to snap proof of this torture so when Gwyneth tries to tell me she was a perfect little sweetheart... boom! Out comes this picture! (She is pulling his hair and he is whining a little.)
I laughed so hard when I saw Gwyneth come out of her room with this Barbie dress on her head. She loved her newfound hat! She is a goofy little girl! Whenever Eric tells her she is goofy, she says, "I goopy!" Why can't they stay this cute forever?!

Bargain shopping is fun to do

2010-09-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

I decided it was very fun to put my deals down in writing. So I thought I’d share the deal I scored at Rite Aid today. I just simplified everything as much as possible to create a very condensed version but if you are at all interested in knowing the exact way I did this (or pretty close to exact, I had a few better coupons) you can go to hip2save.com and find the Rite Aid deals post for this week.

6 Packs of Trident $6
1 Pampers Big pack (76 ct. size 3) $19.99
2 Pantene Shampoo/Conditioner $7
2 Oral B 3D White Toothbrushes $6
1 Playtex Gentle Glide Tampons 18 Ct. $4
2 Covergirl lipglosses $9
Subtotal: 51.99

Deduct $20.24 in coupons (I didn’t include the up+ rewards I earned from a previous transaction, which took off another $7, because I like to deduct them off the original transaction on which I earned them)
Deduct $23 in up+ rewards

Total Expense: $8.75, a great deal for just the diapers alone! Plus, the Pantene and Covergirl purchases I made today fulfilled my requirement to spend $30 on certain products to get a $10 rebate check! The toothbrushes I purchased leave me short $1.37 on a rebate for a $10 Rite Aid gift card when you spend $25 on oral care products, which I still have 2 weeks to fulfill so you better believe I will. (I used a riteaid gift card I earned previously to help pay for today’s trip). Once you start the “bargaining ball” rolling, it never stops!

August Days

2010-08-31T17:33:00.000-07:00

We have enjoyed this summer. On Wednesdays, I babysit my neighbors kids: Austin, who just turned 3 and Brooklyn who is turning 1 on September 11th. While Brooklyn sleeps, we get to go outside and have fun in the sun. Now I'm stuck thinking of what to do while she sleeps in the morning when it gets cold outside. Here's a fun story about this picture- I asked Austin if he wanted an otter pop and he replied, "yeah". A few moments passed and you could tell he was thinking really hard. He looked up and said, "What's a water pop?" :) Needless to say, he liked "water" pops!

Gigi loves "Soes", or at least that's how she says it. It's "Soes, soes, soes" all day long!

Magnetic letters = fun for hours

Self-feeding at mealtime = fun for hours, or at least 30 minutes or so

She just started doing this thing where she tenses up everything until she starts to shake and pulls her shoulders up as high as she can and pulls her neck back. We laughed so much at her the first time, she just kept doing it. Here's a picture of her doing it. You can't really tell, but she is very rigid in this picture.

Last weekend we made it up to Richmond to visit with the Taylor's North and visit Paige's grave. Thanks to Aaron and Teresa for entertaining us, making us dinner and roasting smores with us.

WJ Pool Excursion

2010-08-31T17:15:00.000-07:00

While Gma Ann was babysitting Ashton and Brice a couple of weeks ago, it worked out that Gigi and I could join them on a visit to the WJ swimming pool. I think Gigi enjoyed the pool most. Brice just wanted to hang out with her "wubbie" blanket and Ashton's fun was had but it was short-lived. Well, at least we got some cute pictures!

Ashton yelled "take a picture of me" so I did.

Brice and Gma Ann with wubbie. This was about the most fun Brice had.

Oh wait, no this was the most fun Brice had. And you can tell that she was not concerned with getting tan. Gigi made a fun game of trying the get Brice uncovered from the blanket. Brice was not amused by this game.

Action shot! Ashton loves having his picture taken. He'd always run up to see every picture I took of him.

Princess Brice. She's such a little cutie.

Gigi with one too many animal crackers in her mouth.

Ashton was funny; he heard me and Ann talking about different people "getting" (meaning genetically inheriting) tan skin, like Gigi, and he started laying out in the sun. Then after a couple minutes he asked us "do I look tan?" Next time you see Ashton, make sure to tell him how tan he's looking!

Wrapping up July

2010-08-31T16:36:00.000-07:00

Since today is the last day of August, if I post today, I can at least say I'm posting once a month, right? Anyway, I thought I should put some fun pictures up to show our summer fun! Speaking of fun, let's start with our Jones Family Reunion 2010 at Island Park. This year's theme was "Western". Our little family. Gigi was a happier baby this time around and actually slept ok even through all the noise.

Crazy Cooper! He's a little acrobat.

Delicious steak - seriously, you can't find better anywhere. It was so good and not overcooked.

Gigi's first bike ride with the help of Doug. She rode it all the way up the driveway and loved it.

The annual crawdad capture.

Gigi's favorite thing to do, run away from us down the driveway.

We ended the reunion with a smile!

I love that we've had birds living in our bird house in our front yard for the last two summers. Here's a picture where you can see one of the baby birds peeking out.

Gigi is not afraid of heights. She scales this 3-step ladder with ease. She climbed up a 10-ft slide at an elementary school playground while my mom was babysitting her.

I turn around for one minute and she's inside the mop bucket screaming like a banshee and clapping her hands.

And then she made herself comfortable.

It was one of those messes that was well worth the cleanup time though... don't ya think?

Bargain shopping trip

2010-08-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

Wow! Has it really been that long since I last blogged... time flies during the summer. Maybe I'll blog more now that its (single tear) almost over. Anyway, if you wonder how I spent alot of the time, I'll tell you...

I’ve never blogged about my shopping obsession but I’ve thought about doing it several times. I’m home sick today so I might as well. In case you don’t know, I’m obsessed… with bargains. It’s an addiction and I truly love it. It is obviously very telling about my lifestyle and the fact that I’ve never dealt with drugs or anything like that. To me, there is nothing like the high I feel after getting something for a fabulous deal. In fact, it’s really difficult for me to believe that people actually do pay retail for groceries. I have a hard time paying retail for anything! I frequent several different deal websites including grocerysmarts.com, freebies2deals.com, utahdealdiva.com, coupons4utah.com, and hip2save.com. I also receive daily deal emails from amazon.com, groupon.com and screamincoupons.com. Yes I do spend a good amount of time on my deal-seeking lifestyle and I understand it’s not for everyone, but it’s worth every minute to me because I enjoy it. Besides, its time better spent than watching TV or doing something else equally unproductive.

I must say that I do have my limits. I’ve realized that for me, the best deals are usually found at Rite Aid and Smith’s and so, each week I will usually visit these two stores. I am not one of those people who will spend a whole day running around to 5 different stores to just get the bargains at those stores. I can pass up a sweet deal when it’s just not “in the cards” for me because I’ve come to realize that another sweet deal is just around the corner.

So here’s where I get to brag about my most recent deals:
I shopped at Rite Aid today and here’s what I got:
1 20 ct. Tampax tampons $2.99
1 Pampers Cruisers size 3 jumbo pack $8.99
1 Pampers 72 ct. thickcare wipes $3.69
1 Tide HE Detergent 50 oz. $5.99
1 Men’s Nivea hair/body wash $3.00
1 Listerine Zero Mouthwash 500 mL $3.99 (side note: as a hygienist, I’m very excited about this new product from Listerine – it doesn’t contain Alcohol, which is a causative agent for oral cancer, but still contains the essential oils that make Listerine a great product to begin with.)
1 Boudreaux’s Buttpaste $3.99
2 Pepsi Max 20 oz. $1.49 each
1 Nivea lipcare $2.99
Subtotal: $38.61
Here are the coupons I used:
$5 off $25 purchase at RiteAid
$3 off Boudreaux’s buttpaste (Rite Aid coupon)
BOGO free Pepsi Max (I used one Rite Aid coupon and one Manufacturer’s coupon making them both free)
$1 Rite Aid coupon off Listerine
$2 coupon off Listerine Zero (both coupons make Listerine free)
$1 off Tampax
$1 off Nivea for Men
$2 off Boudreaux’s buttpaste (Manufacturer’s coupons, in addition to coupon above, I made $1 on this)
$3.50 off pamper’s wipes
$3 off Pamper’s diapers
$1 off Tide
Which brings the total out of pocket to : $13.13 (plus tax), a great deal but that’s not the end of it…
I received the following “up rewards”, which are coupons for a dollar amount that can be used on any non-Rx purchase. Essentially cash at Rite Aid.
$2 from Pampers
$1 from Listerine
$1 from Tide
$2 from Nivea Body
$1 from Nivea Lip
Brings our subtotal down to $6.13
I will receive the following Single Check Rebates from Rite Aid in the form of a check to be cashed at my bank at the end of the current Rebate period:
$1 from Tampax
$1.99 from Nivea Lip
Bringing my total for everything down to: $3.14! What the what?!
I will also mention that I didn’t really pay anything out of pocket because I just transferred a prescription there and received a $25 gift card for doing so. Wahoo!
Plus, I have a P & G (Proctor and Gamble) rebate for $110 in P&G coupons for $50 spent in P & G products. This transaction will add $21.66 towards that rebate. I actually only need $15 more to reach my $50 total and the rebate period goes from 8/20/2010 – 12/31/2010 so I’m thinking it won’t be a problem! I’m sure the $110 in coupons will go towards more free (or very close to it) stuff! Now can you see why I get so excited about this? And these kinds of deals aren't once in awhile. They can be found EVERY week!

P.S. If you've ever thought about couponing, right now, like immediately, is the time to get a newspaper subscription (Fri-Sun), you can get a whole year for $19.99 to either the Salt Lake Tribune or Deseret News. That kind of a deal is really unheard of. You can get up to 8 copies of either paper too! CRAZY! (I only get 2, and for our family that is plenty, altough there are times I think man, I wish I had another copy of that coupon but I really don't need it, ya know?) The regular rate is $64 for a year. But this offer is only around for like another week so jump on it if you're interested. I'm not being paid by anyone to post this by the way, I just wanted to share with my friends and anyone who might happen upon this blog. You can get this deal through utahdealdiva.com or freebies2deals.com. Just go to their links for newspaper subscription deals. I've dealt with Jessica from utahdealdiva.com and she's great!

3rd, 4th of July & Samantha's blessing

2010-07-04T23:02:00.000-07:00

Well there were many memorable things about the 4th of July this year! One being that we celebrated it on the 3rd this year due to the 4th being a Sunday. Two, baby Samantha was blessed on the 4th of July this year! Three, this was the coolest 4th of July I can ever remember. I actually got cold tonight, sitting in Eric's parent's backyard! And four, I missed out on going to a big fireworks show but I've decided that next year we are going to go to one! I love the 4th of July and it has always been one of my favorite holidays, next to Christmas. I love everything about 4th of July. I love fireworks, parades, swimming, barbecues, popsicles, popcorn, carnivals, sunshine, red,white & blue, being outside and being with family. I'm thankful for every opportunity that I have to enjoy this holiday because of every person who has stood up for and defended our nation! God bless the USA!

What a sweet little devil!

Proud Grandma Brenda snuggling close with baby Sam.

Wild boy Evan!

Whitney asked for this picture to be taken... but I'm glad she did!

Cute shot of Dad, mom & baby Sam.

Ahhh... refreshing!

Don't know why neither of them were looking at me because they were supposedly posing for this picture... gotta love grandmy & grandpy!

Baby Dax... I don't have a clue how he got such fair skin! He doesn't really look like his parents but he's handsome!

We played this game in the backyard, it was pretty fun. You just toss washers into this box, its kind of like horseshoes.

Concentrating.

Memorial Day & Father's Day in Pictures

2010-07-04T22:55:00.000-07:00

He did it!

2010-05-10T23:53:00.000-07:00

Hip, hip, hooray! Three cheers for Eric! I am very proud of him for sticking it out and obtaining a Master's degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the U of U. We love you babe and are very thankful for all of your hard work and dedication.

One year old!

2010-05-10T22:39:00.000-07:00

So, it’s been three fast-moving months since I last blogged and I can’t believe I’ve allowed myself this long to actually get to it! I’ve told myself at least a dozen times “oh, I’m going to blog about this” or “I’ll have to remember to include that in my blog about Gigi turning one”. By now, I’ve probably forgotten many things that I was supposedly making a mental note of, but at least I can finally get out the few things I actually have kept note of and make room for more mental notes in my ever-crowding brain!
Doesn’t it sometimes feel like you really do have an amazing collection of information in your head but it’s just so hard to figure out where you’re storing it all or how you sorted it to begin with? Was it alphabetical or categorical? Perhaps even chronological? And that is why we have computers; to have someplace to sort it out. Or was it the computers that caused my brain to get so rusty and out of shape in the first place? I feel like this blog entry is turning into a fine submission for Eric’s newsletter, “Ravings of Mad Man,” lots of rambling with a few good philosophical questions.
So let’s go back in time to February 2010. It started out to be a delightful spring this year with several very warm, sunny days. I thought surely the groundhog must not have seen his shadow thus leading us into an early spring. Boy was I wrong. Apparently, the six weeks of winter that are normally experienced in February and early March were just delayed… until May! But we didn’t let that stop us from having a rip-roaring springtime. I made a few digiscrapbook pages to commemorate our February fun. Gwyneth had her first real “playdate” with Jack Harris. We’ve already worked out the arrangements of their marriage and have started to build up Gwyneth’s dowry.
In March, we welcomed a new nephew/cousin, baby Dax, to the family. Dax is a handsome little fella but from the looks of him, I’m pretty sure Mahina was a surrogate for Andria’s egg, which does make the whole situation a little weird! J/K He does look like one of Andi’s kids, so it’s a good thing Andi’s kids are so darn cute! It’ll be fun to see him and Eme grow up and watch if they end up looking more or less alike.
I also caught the baking bug and made lucky green velvet baby cakes for St. Patty’s Day (which for some reason I find absolutely enchanting...the holiday, that is). Then, my friend Meg and I decided it would be fun to try these cinnamon roll sugar cookies we found on picky-palate. It was a semi-disaster with lots of fun memories and a few really great cookies to show for it in the end.

This is me during Meg's and my baking disaster. I'm trying to get the dough out of the inside of the mixer. I need a better mixer apparently.

Meg and I showing off the finished product. Some frosted, some fresh out of the oven.

The finished product, frosting and all. They really do look like cinnamon rolls but in a flatter cookie form. Next time, I think I'll just make snickerdoodles with cream cheese frosting though!

These are me lucky green velvet baby cakes. Ummm... so good! Mini cupcakes are perfect because they are bite size and contain a great frosting to cake ratio.

Our first visit to see baby Dax. At least next to him Gwyneth looks somewhat big, at least, big-ger.

In April, we celebrated Gwyneth’s 1st birthday! I think this verse from a popular country song about says it all, “So glad we made it, look how far we’ve come my baby.” – Shania Twain. Classic.
There were times I thought I might die from exhaustion by only getting 4 hours of sleep at night, night after night after night. There was a month or so where about 10 times a days, I experienced a sharp shooting pain through my entire nervous system for a few minutes as Gigi would start feeding. I’m talking curl-your-toes, electric-shock-therapy pain! There were times Gigi must have thought that if she just screamed longer or louder her parents would love her more, so she screamed as loud and long as her little body could. There were times I spent entire days doing absolutely nothing more than feeding, changing, comforting and putting Gigi to sleep only to have the whole cycle begin again the next day… Oh, and cleaning out several dozen poop blowouts (it really is gross, even when it’s your own kid.) There were times when I really resented Eric for being able to go to school and work while I stayed at home. There were times when Gwyneth got into things she wasn’t supposed to, and before you knew it, a whole roll of toilet paper was strung throughout the house or a whole bowl of dog food was floating in the dog water, minus the few pieces she was hiding in her mouth. There were times I thought I was the worst parent in the world when finding her holding a sharp kitchen knife… in her mouth, or trying to operate a pair of scissors… on her finger. There were times when she was just plain a little stinker! And then there were times, so many times, when she was perfect and I couldn’t have been happier with anything or anyone else in the whole wide world. I guess its true what they say, no pain, no gain. I guarantee it was a mother who originally coined that phrase.
What’s Gigi been doing for the past couple of months? Well, she’s been walking like little Frankenstein’s monster since about February. She eats such an immense variety of foods very well. She has an appetite like you would not believe, especially given her tiny stature. Her favorite foods are definitely sweet fruits like grapes and berries. She also loves chocolate milk, yogurt and cheese. She sleeps so well and truly loves her crib. For the most part, she lays down and immediately shuts her eyes when we put her in it and wakes up happy, babbling and playful. She is quite the babbler, in fact, and has “uh-oh”, “mama”, “dada”, “hi”, “hello”, and “what’s that?” down pat, along with a variety of whines, shrieks, and wails. She drinks out of straws and sippy cups but still hasn’t given up the pacifier. She loves to play games and, in fact, started hiding herself from us with her blanket spontaneously one day, spawning a love for “peek-a-boo”. She is very active, curious, social, playful, coy, flirtatious, and controlling. She was steering the shopping cart the other day at the store (I was holding her at the level of the handle because I couldn’t keep her seated in the cart no matter how tight I made that worthless belt) but every time I would place my hand on the handle to help steer she would immediately swat my hand away and start yelling baby swears at it. It was kind of cute, but unbelievable, that she’s already doing the “I-can-do-it-by-myself” thing. She’s definitely going to be Miss Independent, so I need to enjoy all the hugs and snuggles while they’re still coming pretty easily. Oh, and one last thing, she’s recently entered the stage where no one can touch mom but her. Just tonight as she was eating dinner, I hugged and kissed Eric goodbye and she broke up in tears just like that. We stopped hugging, and the tears stopped. So he hugged me again and just like that, instant cries! We went back and forth like that teasing her a few times before I really did have to leave. It’s quite nice though, belonging to someone like I belong to Gigi. I’ll belong, as long as she’ll have me.

These are shots from her 1-yr-old photo shoot. Grandpa Noisy takes great pictures. Thanks!

The Birthday Party!!

Gigi's barn cake with animal cupcakes. Homebaked the night before the party. I was very pleased with how it turned out and happy to have Meg's help baking the night before. She claims she just watched and didn't do anything but her tips were invaluable.

I love the lips as she's sizing up the cupcake.

The first cautious touch... this is too good to be true.

Gigi's party was farm-themed, complete with red wagon rides through the kitchen. James is hugging Gigi, Lily is hiding. She did not want her picture taken. We women obviously come by that naturally!

Gwyneth & Cash

2010-02-17T22:23:00.000-08:00

This is me being creative with my new digital scrapbooking software that Eric gave me for Christmas! Starting in January, I began babysitting my neighbor's son, Cash, on Tuesdays and Cash's mom, Mindie, watches Gwyneth on Mondays. I also am watching another neighbors kids, Austin & Brooklyn, on Wednesdays and that neighbor watches Gwyneth on Thursdays! Its working out okay so far but it keeps me super busy! Anyway, here's some cute photos of Gwyneth and her new buddy.

Free photo session giveaway!

2009-12-30T12:33:00.000-08:00

My friend Wendy has a photography business that is currently running a giveaway. If you'd like to see details click here. This promotion ends on January 3rd so if you're interested hurry and enter now! Good luck!

Gigi's got the clap...

2009-12-23T22:30:00.000-08:00

Eric and I noticed for the first time today that Gigi has learned how to clap. I'm not sure how she learned this but I have a hunch that she decided today would be the day when she realized the Utes were playing. Anyway, she practiced clapping tonight for about an hour while we were at Tim & Brittany's house watching the Poinsettia Bowl. She's a born Ute!

BYU game with the Winders

2009-12-22T22:34:00.000-08:00

Today I stayed indoors during the big snowstorm and Eric came home early from work! Then we spent the evening with the Winder family, which if you know the Winders you know that you never leave their house without a full stomach and a happy heart! (Even when BYU wins.) We are so excited for Jordan and Christie to get married (on our 3rd anniversary) next week!

Paper Mache

2009-12-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

My neighbor made this nativity out of paper mache. I think its pretty cool especially because the simplicity and imperfections in it are symbolic to me of what the real birth of Christ must have been like. He arrived as simply and humbly as anyone else into this world. His parents were refugees. His bed was a trough for the animals. He was a baby and probably cried as most babies do, and needed His diaper changed, and fell down when He was learning to walk. That's the truly amazing thing, He was a man of flesh and blood who walked the earth just like each of us. That's how He understands us so completely and knowing this helps me to understand Him just a little bit better. I'm not going to try to be too poetic here at the risk it might just come off as being really cheesy, but I just wanted to say why I love this nativity... I needed a good reminder of what really makes this season so special.

We broke the bed

2009-12-20T19:33:00.000-08:00

It was bound to happen! :) The large white line you can see, that is where the wood split on our bed frame today. Now I finally have a really good excuse for not exercising though... my Firm step box is holding the bed up so we don't have to sleep on a slant. Looks like Eric is getting a new bed for his birthday!

Laser lady

2009-12-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

The picture 'aint great but the game was! Here is Team Turbo... Laser Taggers 2k9. I think that if aliens are secretly spying on our laser tag centers to see what kind of skills we possess, they are now very aware that they don't stand a chance in hell!

Slumber party

2009-12-18T19:18:00.000-08:00

We're having a slumber party! Whitney and Taylor joined us for the evening to go see the light show at the "Christmas Utah" house in Murray, eat dinner at Arctic Circle (Taylor's favorite restaurant), play games and watch Home Alone 3. It was such a fun night! I think my favorite part of the night was watching Home Alone 3 with them because they had the most sincerely exstatic reactions at the main character's ways of thwarting the thieves. Oh, to be a kid again!

Sleepy boys

2009-12-17T19:16:00.000-08:00

What's even better than this? Gwyneth was sleeping in her crib at the time. Mom had a few moments of peace and quiet.

The Lights

2009-12-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry, not the lights at temple square. Not even Zoo lights, or a really interesting or cool display of lights. But they're our lights so they're pretty special to us!

White elephant Christmas

2009-12-15T22:26:00.000-08:00

Lyndsey, Kathryn, Erin, Emily, Meg, Steph & Meg - Collectively the "Access Girls". I always love when we get together because we always laugh hard and have a great time. It's also fun to see how we evolve over the years. Its crazy that we've known each other for 5 years (give or take for some)! We are each posing with the white elephant gifts we received. Stephanie has leg warmers on & Emily is also wearing her lovely snowman sweater vest.

Santa baby

2009-12-14T20:34:00.000-08:00

You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout I'm tellin' you why...

Whiterney's birthday party

2009-12-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

Happy 9th Birthday to Whitney! I still need to post the picture for today but its on my mom's camera so it might be a few days before I get it. The best story from the party happened when Whitney was opening one of her presents from my parents. For some reason, Lily (her 2-yr-old cousin) had a sense about this present; she knew it was a baby. From the minute Whithey started opening it Lily was saying "baby, baby!" First, it was wrapped inside an empty box. So Whitney opened that and then there was another wrapped present inside the box. When Whitney pulled that out, Lily got so excited she was jumping up and down and screaming "BABY! BABY! BABY!" Her face started to turn bright red and the more Whitney opened the package, Lily's eyes started to tear up! The best part of all was that it really was a baby doll. Nobody knows how Lily knew this but she grabbed it from Whitney immediately and took it around like a prize trophy, holding it up to show everybody "Whitney's baby!" We were all laughing, including Whitney. Lily was on cloud nine for the rest of the night and was still talking about the baby as they left that night. Mandy made the comment earlier in the night that she doesn't really get "baby hungry". Well, she might not, but her 2-yr-old daughter sure does!

Jones Family Christmas Party

2009-12-12T16:20:00.000-08:00

My picture today is from the annual Jones Family Christmas Party. Every year Santa makes an appearance. This year Brady got to sit on Santa's lap. Unfortunately, he was holding Eme.

Drip, drip, drip

2009-12-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

Today's picture is of our bathroom faucet and fixtures in the middle of Eric trying to fix our drippy faucet. He worked on this all day (mainly because he had no idea what he was doing and he made 3 trips to Home Depot before he ended up at the Tower of Plumbing for some good advice and then he made several more trips back to the Tower of Plumbing.) He did a great job and not only is the leak fixed but he also bought new knobs that are so shiny and not moldy and calcified like our old ones! He can totally count this as a Christmas gift to me! Thanks babe!

A post a day...

2009-12-11T17:34:00.000-08:00

My new advent calendar was inspired by a patient who said that one of their traditions is to take a picture every day until Christmas and then at the end of the month she makes a book of remembrance with all the pictures and each year they look at the years past! I loved that idea and decided to start this tradition but digitally so starting yesterday, December 10th my picture is this spider. Eric killed it in our doorway and then said "Jenny come check this out." I took a picture originally because I wondered if it was a hobo spider but come to find out it is probably just a common house spider, albeit a big one! Hopefully no more of these for the rest of the month!

Gwyneth eating a whole banana like a carnivorous beast!

2009-12-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

Two months of Gwyneth

2009-12-11T15:38:00.000-08:00

I've really let my blog go and so I'm now going to do a quick recap of Gwyneth's last two months...
Caught red-handed! I guess it was around the end of September to beginning of October that Gwyneth really started to figure out how to get around. She was always getting into everything she could within reach. This unfortunately includes our Wii remotes which are still a favorite thing of hers.
With a dad like Eric, Gwyneth was destined to end up with a Hot Dog on a Stick "future hotdogger" tattoo on her leg by the time she was 6 months old.
And then Halloween rolled around... and we had a ladybug on our hands! Pictured here with an "antique" nurse (Grandma Ann). The "antique" joke is a reference to a commetn made by a co-worker when Ann worse this costume to work. Someone said, "Where did you get an antique nurses hat?" To which Ann replied, "This was my hat in college!" I like to call this picture new meets old! :)
She's a little mischievious!
I think this was the first time she discovered the garbage can and she loved it. She started trying to eat it, or kiss herself... who knows?
Then suddenly, she grew a full head of hair! Or she fell victim to Grandma Ann's infamous wig stash.

She been eating solids since about 5 1/2 months and she loves them! She eats everything we've fed her with great enjoyment. Except for beets. She threw them up and ever since then she's been completely disgusted with them. She coughs and spits and makes the saddest faces known to man. All in all though, this girl can't seem to get enough! Where does she put it all?

In November we made the journey down to St. George so Gwyneth could meet Grandpa Taylor and Grandma Faye for the first time. They sure did love her. Faye kept saying how babies "bring their love with them." Grandpa claimed he never heard her cry the whole time we were visiting but I can assure you this was more a matter of his hearing than her being a miracle no-cry baby. Neither of them could believe how good she ate either. She had her first Ritz cracker given to her by Grandma Faye and she ate the whole thing within a couple of minutes!
This was the night we got home from St. George and Gigi decided to recommence her favorite activity - getting into the dog food & water. So I relocated the dishes to a safe place behind the kitchen table and the next day...
Gwyneth found them with no trouble however she hasn't figured out how to crawl around the chairs yet so for now I have a great barrier to the dog food as long as the chairs are properly placed! It was hilarious though to see her make it this far and then just stare longingly at the dog food dishes and squeal in anger at her inability to reach them. So close, yet so far away!
This was on her 7-month birthday- November 27th and it was also the first time she pulled herself up to stand! She also prefers her pants above her waist but with her build its just not gonna happen.
Same day, just a different angle. This one showcases how she found her tongue and has started sticking it out all the time.
And now we've made it to December! Happy Holidays to all! Gwyneth loves the tree and is actually not as bad as I thought she'd be with getting ornaments. There's only a few that are hung on the very bottom that were strategically placed because they were the ones she could play with. Genius parents! (said in a sing-song voice) :)
Our best buddies are apparently each other's best buddies as well! What a sad time I'd be having on the couch without these guys.
Gwyneth loves our new washer as much as I do but for different reasons. I do love that its a new toy to entertain her on top of the fact that its so much better than our old one and its HE!
Dad has too much fun when he's changing her. At least she's having fun too!
First time meeting Santa and Mrs. Claus. Not so sure about this guy.... but she didn't cry.
And here's a picture of the video I posted above. I've always mashed bananas up for her in the past but she was throwing a fit so I just stuck it in her mouth whole to see what her reaction would be and she just went to town. She loved it! I'm so glad my little girl is such a fantastic eater.

Gwyneth laughing!

2009-12-11T15:24:00.000-08:00

This video was taken back in October but I haven't been the best at blogging so I'm just getting to posting it now! She still laughs when I kiss her tummy or blow on it but not quite as hard as this! I apologize for the bad video footage, I was busy kissing her tummy, not watching the camera!

5 months old and growing

2009-10-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here's a little update on our little ray of sunshine. Gigi just turned 5 months old on Sunday. She has gone from eating rice cereal, to not pooping for 5 days, back to breastfeeding alone. She seems to be getting longer and skinnier. At her 4 month check-up she weighed 11.8 lbs. and was 24 inches long. She has learned to roll every which way, army crawl, sit up unassisted (for a record of about 30 seconds), remove and replace her own pacifier, and grab everything she can get her hands on! She has had two colds. One of them was only a minor case of the sniffles but it still interfered with her ability to sleep well. :( She went to a movie theater for the first time to see Julie & Julia and slept through most of it but was, luckily, a perfect little angel through all of it! All in all, its just fun to watch her grow and learn. Now here's the pictures.

Wait, what is that under her crib?
Frankie! He has found a new favorite place to sleep.

I just tried to put these shoes on her 2 days ago and they are too small now! This pic was taken two weeks ago!

Her first pedicure! This took a lot of work though!

I just loved how she was hanging on to this while she slept. She doesn't usually do that.

Dad's way of taking care of baby!

Little girl learning how to use the remote.

Of course this was posed but she had to get some use out of the sunglasses, they're just too cute!

Another picture of her sleeping but look at her hands! She just has to have a hold on something.

I walked into her room in the morning to get her out of bed and this is what I found- Gigi, happily talking and playing but look closely at her nose. Yucky snot!

Information travels faster in our modern age

2009-10-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

There’s probably some really great quote out there about how when a person is informed they are empowered. Well, that is my quote for the day. Today I realized how very uninformed I have been for the past 2 years on our family’s cell phone billing. First of all, for the past 2 years my husband and I have been paying $107 a month for our 2 cell phones. A seemingly “normal” cost these days but still unbelievable for what we are actually using.

So, about a month ago my dear hubby says to me, he says, “you’re probably going to be mad at me.”

“Why?” says I, knowing that I am usually mad at him in his ignorance so this must be really bad if he is aware of the problem.

“Because today I signed up for the employee discount with Verizon that I have been eligible for since I’ve worked with the state” says Eric.

“Wow! (incredulous) You have got to be kidding me? What is the discount?” says I.

“It cuts our bill by about $20” says Eric.

(pause to gather yourself, Jenny)

“Well, that’s good that you did that. I just can’t believe that you knew about it and you didn’t do it sooner” says I, trying to be supportive.

So let’s tally up $20 a month for about 24 months = $480. But wait there’s more…

TODAY I go online because my mom brought to my attention that my cell phone emits too much radiation and so, since I will be eligible for a new free/discounted phone in a couple of weeks, I must research which phones have the lowest SAR values. (Feel free to laugh at this, I won’t mind, just wait until you get cancer and your ear falls off because of over-radiation and then we’ll see who’s laughing.) So I start looking at some other things on the Verizon Wireless website and discover, quite unexpectedly, that Eric and I aren’t even on a family plan that would save us an additional $20 per month!!
Let’s see, 2 years, $40 a month we could have been saving with the exact same service we have now comes to a total of $960 that has gone into some Verizon corporate big wig’s pocket to help pay for his or her daily golf and spa package. Meanwhile, I have been slaving away to improve the oral health of people that don’t even care enough to floss! So the point is, BE INFORMED. That should be added to President Hinckley’s “Be’s”. Oh, and by the way, if you are INFORMED about your oral health you will definitely floss or at least use some kind of interdental cleaning device daily.

Po' Roscoe

2009-09-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

I'm sure we all know that dogs eat crazy things from time to time. For instance, my friend Ashly's shih tzu has been known to enjoy a frozen poop, or a "poopsicle", from his porch in the wintertime. I personally have witnessed my dogs feasting on Gwyneth's spit up (its very convenient sometimes because she spits up on the tile and then, boom, its gone!) Of course, they also will eat their own vomit most of the time as well. Most of these things are pretty harmless in modest doses and the dogs go about their day as usual. Well, today is not one of those days because today Roscoe actually ate Gigi's poopy diaper. Yes, he ripped apart the diaper and consumed about 80% of the inner absorbtion material leaving only the outer shell and the liner left to be discovered. I was very worried about him, naturally, so I called my brother who manages a veterinary clinic. He says, "You should make him throw up by forcing hydrogen peroxide down his throat and then shaking his belly like a volcano." Eric also called his co-worker, Teresa who is a dog officianado. She called our vet, Dr. Dan Goode for us. Dr. Dan says, "Just wait and see if it passes and he'll have severe diaherria for a couple of days. If he gets depressed and drools a lot, then he probably needs surgery." Well, after careful contemplation, we decided to get as much of the pain over with now by forcing him to vomit. So we took an unused bulb syringe and repeatedly filled it up and squirted it down his throat. Within 5 minutes about a cup of diaper material, hydrogen peroxide and dog food was spewed onto the lawn. Then the vomiting continued for about 10 minutes. Now, po' Roscoe is just laying on Eric's leg were he hasn't moved for the last hour.

We love you Roscoe! We're all pulling for a speedy recovery and can't wait to see you back to your usual neurotic-yet-playful self.

Gigi loves to dance!

2009-08-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

Quick Update

2009-08-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

This is probably the most recent picture on the whole post, but all the picture are totally out of order and I didn't have time to organize so enjoy the chaos!
Gwyneth loves sucking on the rag during bathtime. Now that she's discovered it, she's constantly trying to get it in her mouth!
Just a perfect little sweetheart!

What are you doing dad?

A couple of weeks ago we went on a tour of the Mountain Meadows Massacre sites. It was a fantastic learning experience. Gwyneth was about a 6/10 on the scale of not fussing during the tour but she was a 10/10 on the scale of being cute on the tour.

Uh oh! Live action puking.

Brice was hiding her face from the camera and Ashton posed like this. He's so funny!

Cute nephews! Cooper, the one year old, downed a whole package of Hot Tamales. This kid'll eat anything!

Gwyneth really loved her participation in the race. Mainly because she got to sleep through most of it.

Ashton was so cute running with Kent and he did such a good job of not letting anyone behind him pass for awhile. Finally, when someone did pass him he started to get really depressed and then when Eric and I passed him, he cried. It was a little sad, but I guess you gotta learn to deal with disappointment at some time in your life. Better 4 than 20!

This year the Jones Family Reunion was "Fiesta" themed. Gwyneth didn't particularly love her stay this year because she was too little to play with all the kids that kept her awake way past her bedtime. Maybe next year will be better? I'll tell you one thing though, she looked the cutest in her Jones tee shirt.

The annual moose sighting. Can you spot the big brown spot in the middle of the photo?

It's sad how closely she resembles Eric in this picture.

These pictures are totally out of order, this is Gwyneth on the way to Island Park.

Frankie and Roscoe spooning.

They're just best buddies! I promise, no funny business!

This picture makes me long for summer to be back in full swing again. This was a pre-movie backyard baseball game on a "bad movie Thursday with the Jones'".

Just a dang cute and funny picture I found of Gwyneth on my parent's computer. She's just 12 hours old!

And this is just 3 months old and cute as ever! Thank heavens her eyes aren't crossed still!

Funny pregnancy picture... it seems like so long ago now! Really, it was only March!

That' s all for now, maybe I'll be able to update a little earlier next time. Gwyneth does have her first cold right now so the last two nights I've slept on the couch while she's been in her swing. Maybe tonight I'll get to sleep in my own bed, here's to hoping!

2 months old & a new haircut for mama!

2009-06-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

So today is Gigi's 2-month birthday (I totally missed her 1-month birthday, but I was still in quite a haze at that time) so I thought I better do a little post about her today and how much we've loved her last 2 months. She went to the doctor yesterday for a check-up and immunizations (sad face). She is now 10 lbs. even and 22.25 inches long! That is the 75th% for length and 50th% for weight. She has official baby acne, the doctor thought it might be eczema but on closer inspection found little blackheads. I was told to get some Eucerin cream or Aquaphor and put it on her face to help but she comes by it naturally, sorry Gigi!
*She is making eye contact all the time, loves to give us big, dimpled grins, and makes the cutest cooing sounds.
*She loves to suck on her pacifier but if that's not around her fists are right up in her mouth immediately, even just after eating.
*She is getting very interested in the things around her. Some of her favorite things to stare at are: the blinds, our shiny silver bedroom ceiling fan, and the little bugs & bears on the mobiles in her crib and bassinet.
*She is NOT a fan of the dogs licking her.
*She sleeps regularly for usually about 5 hours at night and then wakes up to eat every 3 hours throughout the rest of the day.
*She has always taken a bottle easily since we introduced her to it at about 2 weeks.
*She is so strong & loves to move. She squirms and kicks her legs all the time when she's awake
*One of my favorite things is when she's breastfeeding, sometimes Roscoe is laying by my side and she rests her foot on his back and moves it back and forth softly in his fur.
*She cries a LOT less than she did during the first 6 weeks.
*She loves to swing. Thank heavens for automatic swings!
*She is usually really good when we're out running errands too as long as we keep things moving. Occassionally, she's gotten cranky in a check-out line, but who hasn't?
*She's brought so much joy into our lives.

Happy 2-month birthday Gigi!

This is my new haircut I just got today. I love it and hope that I will be able to do it.

Front view of new 'do. The stylist is Chelsey Pugh at Cottage Retreat Day Spa, she's the best, thanks Chelsey!

This morning Gigi fell asleep watching Ghostbusters with Eric. I love her little puckered lips!

She was being so cute and smiley a couple of days ago that I just kept taking pictures and these are my favorites. (The one above and three below)

Dimples!

Excited!

Just cute, even with acne!

Gigi, her cousin Benson and her new friend Ryder at a BBQ at my house last Friday. All three babies were born within 2 weeks of each other.

Gigi's first kiss from a non-related boy! My friend's little boy kept giving Gigi kisses. He's going in for it here and Gigi, like a proper girl knows to close her eyes when receiving a kiss. But I do need to teach her to close her mouth! No open-mouthed kisses!

It's official: Lil' girl looks like papa!

2009-06-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

Everyone kept asking me, who's baby pictures does Gwyneth look like? Well, I knew she didn't really look like me because I had the hair of an Indian baby and was so chubby, my brothers and sisters called me "chunk" as a nickname. So I always said, I think she looks like a mixture, she must have her own look. Well, I finally got Eric to dig his baby photos out of his parents basement and it only took one look to prove the she is 100% him! Poor Eric is really saddened by this revelation. He said the sweetest thing to me when he said, "I was trying to make another you in the world. But I guess there can only be one!" I love him so much so I'm happy we made a little girl version of him. I hope she has his sense of humor too! Don't you love Eric's scrapbooking skills? I don't know how long ago he made these pages but I'm pretty sure they'd be the same if he made them today. Some of the pictures I couldn't use because he cut them into cute shapes like hearts but ended up cutting out his face, or at least the majority of it. Yes, I am making fun of you Eric, but I guess I'd be worried if you were a better scrapbooker than I. Its like that one "According to Jim" episode where she beats him at racquetball but then its revealed that she cheated and when all is said and done he says to her, "You could've married a guy who you could beat at racquetball everytime, but would you have married that guy?" To which her reply is, "I guess not." I wouldn't have married the guy who could scrapbook beautifully either!

Gigi's current events

2009-06-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

Gigi went to church for the first time on Sunday. I think she had a pretty good time. She ate during Relief Society and was almost perfect through Sunday school, then Eric got to take full privileges of being a daddy to walk her around the halls during Sacrament.

perfect angel... or plotting revenge?

She's starting to actually notice that she has toys.

She's smiling all the time! Especially after she gets her diaper changed and is fed!

Believe it or not, she snapped this one of herself!

Thank heavens for hotslings. I love this little contraption and Gigi does too!

Gwyneth rolls over!

2009-06-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

Yeah for baby Gigi! Can you tell we're first timers with this kinda stuff?

Eric's graduation BBQ

2009-06-11T13:32:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post some of the pictures from Eric's BBQ which was a huge success! Perfect weather (good thing we didn't wait until June, eh?) and a great turnout. Thanks to everyone for coming and pitching in with the food and drinks. Most of all, thanks to Eric for graduating! I'm proud of you and all the work you put into getting your degree. Now one more year for the Masters.

He deserves some rest!

Gigi Rockin' out of the Womb

2009-06-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

I was looking through my pictures and found this. I was shocked to see it but it has to be true. She was always doing hard kicks in the womb. Who knew she was just playing sweet tunes? Our little Rock N' Roll Goddess.

Fun pics of Gwyneth's first 3 weeks

2009-05-21T17:09:00.000-07:00

If Eric could dress her, this is what she'd wear everyday! Actually she had a really cute outfit on, but she pooped her pants!

Eric feeding her.

Post bathtime shock.

She looks a LOT bigger than Benson in this picture but his legs were really scrunched up. She is a bit chubbier though!

Just chillin'!

She only cried during her first bath at home, since then she has enjoyed her bathtime.

One of her favorite things to do... spit out her pacifier and cry!

But then she eventually does this... so peaceful!

Newborn photography

2009-05-12T08:10:00.000-07:00

I just had Gwyneth's newborn pictures taken by my friend Wendy Anderson and there's a sneak preview on her blog wendyandersonphotography.blogspot.com. There's also pictures of Benson on her blog too! Here's the link to Benson's pictures. She is a great photographer, I'm so excited with the way they are turning out. If you are looking for a photographer that isn't crazy expensive and she gives you the digital copies on a CD, check out her blog, she does other stuff besides newborns too! Thanks Wendy!!

Announcing Benson J? Billingsley!

2009-05-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the Billingsley family for their newest addition! Gwynnie would like to welcome her newest cousin to the world! He is just 8 days younger than her, and measured almost exactly the same as she did at 7 lbs. 10 oz and 20.5 in long. (I put a question mark by the name because I don't know if that's what it ended up as for sure.)

Announcing Gwyneth Breann

2009-05-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

Our baby girl Gwyneth arrived Monday, April 27 at 11:47 PM. Weighing 7 lbs. 9.5 oz. and measuring 20.5 inches long. The whole family is healthy and doing well.

This was taken the day before Gwynnie was born. Its hard to believe she was crammed in there!

After 2 very short, but very intense hours of labor here is the new addition to our family!

Sweet little angel! This outfit is already a little tighter than it was when she wore it here at 1 day old! This is because she eats like a champ!

Eric's first diaper change resulted in her carrier being soaked with pee & a little poop too! He's come a long way since then!
The welcoming committee! I'm not sure why everyone is laughing but I'm sure its got to be either because Gwynnie passed gas or over something Eric said.

After Gwynnie's first bath at home her hair stuck straight out like a little baby chick. She's our whole world now in every way. Life does revolve around her and I've never been so tired in all my life. This is definitely the hardest thing I've ever done but I can't imagine life without her. Thank you for blessing our family little baby Gigi!

Nesting

2009-04-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

I can't exactly say that the time has flown by since my last post. In fact, I'm not sure time has gone so slowly since I was a kid waiting for Christmas but now I am finally nearing the end of this pregnancy and am very excited, one might say its like Christmas Eve around here! I've definitely noticed the whole "nesting" thing happening. I think I really started getting the urge around the 36th week but still didn't feel like I had enough energy while I was working full-time. This week has been my first week of part-time work until the baby comes so I worked Monday & Wednesday then Tuesday, I nested like a mad woman! I really wish I had taken before photos of everything I did but, I not only got the nursery nearly-done, I also organized about every closet in the house. Oh and on Saturday, I mopped the floors! Now, not to sound like a disgusting pig or anything because I vacuum the floors often and "spot mop" often, but for me to get out the mop & bucket, move the furniture and thoroughly mop, takes a LOT of motivation and probably happened last about 6 months ago! This nesting thing is pretty awesome because I have been getting a lot of things that I normally just brush aside done! I just need to finish decorating the nursery and I can officially say that it is done!

As for Gwyneth, or baby Gigi, she is still moving around apparently just getting fat and growing hair. She is head down and getting ready to be born but hasn't quite made the final decision to, in fact, be born. Eric has been trying everything from driving over bumps in the car to reverse psychology in telling Gigi, "You don't really want to be born because it is so boring out here" but so far she has seemed oblivious! We've been eating spicy foods, going for walks and you know, the whole "hugs before drugs" intimacy thing. If I haven't had her by next week I really think I am going to make an appointment with an acupressurist and try some reflexology but I'm not that desperate... yet! I am only 38 weeks after all so I can wait a little bit longer. May as well take advantage of my nesting time while I have it, right?

Oh, I am also still reading my Hypnobirthing book, gotta get those techniques/philosophies down and a book my neighbor loaned me called "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child". So far, I've been pretty impressed with this book, I think I'd recommend it to anyone with young children. It's not so much a strict regimen of "this is how you need to put your child to sleep and when you need to do it", as an educational guide on the importance of adequate sleep, especially in children, helping you recognize signs of children not getting enough sleep, teaching you about the connection between sleep, hormones, and the mind and setting forth simple suggestions to remedy problems and establish a healthy sleep pattern. It discourages several popular beliefs that I've heard like always waking baby up after feedings so I don't put her down sleeping and some other things I'd heard too, but then teaches you why this isn't important and backs it up with scientific research.

Here's some pictures of our efforts over the last few weeks.

This is just after we'd painted the nursery. "Sage sweater" green with white accents. You'd think painting and caulking the molding and such would've been enough to put me into labor!Eric got this closet organizer with shelves at Home Depot and installed it, you can only see less than half of it but it is great!

Here's the crib and bedding!
Another point of view of the crib and bedding!
The nursery, yeah, its almost done and at least done enough for Gwyn to arrive!
The hall closet that I bought these containers to organize everything in. It seriously made a HUGE difference but I was thoughtless and didn't take any before photos.
Oh and Eric made this Entertainment center a couple of months ago and I've been meaning to blog about it for awhile now but he is an exceptional wood worker! Its not quite finished yet, there will be handles added to the drawers at the bottom and glass doors to the TV stand part but I love having bookshelves. This is my next thing to get to reorganizing though! I'm so not happy with the way it looks but Eric just threw everything onto the shelves, with the exception of a few that I actually did organize!
Eme loves to visit, especially after one of my baby showers when I had this big box for her to play in. She is so adorable! I don't know if I am the exception or what but I love that she will almost always come sit on my lap and snuggle with me, especially at church. She is such a little sweetie.

This was about a month ago after my last baby shower and we were trying to get everything put away... hey, its finally done!

30 weeks!

2009-02-24T18:43:00.000-08:00

Gwyneth at 30 weeks in utero, just listening to some mumbo jumbo about how spending 800 billion dollars is supposed to be a good idea! She already knows better than that and she's still a fetus!
Well, Gwyneth most likely isn't going to be here for another 8 - 12 weeks or so and already life is basically revolving around her. The specifics of this involve physical changes, preparation for her birth & life and life changes.

Physically:
- I can't sit for more than like 40 minutes or so without getting really sore somewhere or stiff in my joints. Mainly I've been having a lot of upper back pain which I notice is exacerbated by my job.
- I cannot sleep comfortably through the night any longer. People tell me this is just prep for the sleep I will be missing when Gwyn is born. I'd rather not be prepped for that!
- I am having Braxton Hicks contractions... another thing to prep your body for the real labor, I really don't mind them, so long as they don't turn into the real thing yet!
- My belly is officially in the way of just about everything. This is especially annoying when trying to reach for things because as a very short person, I need to reach for a lot of stuff, which is now impossible. I also can't bend over very well or just reach under the couch to get the dog's ball out.
- I am eating way too much, especially in the sweets department. I really think I ate better before I was pregnant but I have renewed my commitment to being health(ier) and am eating loads of calcium, protein and vitamins and a DHA supplement. As a result, this child should have 20/20 vision and have exception brain function. Only time will tell on that one!
- I get heartburn & gas a lot!

Preparation:

- Taking hypnobirthing, trying to read the book at least 4 times before she is born, practicing techniques & other preparation along with that.
- Getting nursery ready (not very far on that one!)
- Getting all the gear purchased & assembled
- Looking for a good pediatrician, any suggestions??

Life changes:
- Eric's graduation & job change
- Me going part-time, still haven't decided exactly how many days I will be working
- Looking for a babysitter for the day or two I do work, any suggestions??
- The plethora of worries that go through my mind about the responsibilities of being a parent

I am sure there are more things I could add to each of those lists, but when you're pregnant your mind doesn't quite function at 100% so that is what I came up with right now.

One really fantastic thing about being pregnant is that I believe that is the reason I was excused from jury duty today! Yeah! Actually, if my working weren't so critical to our survival right now, I probably would have been intrigued by jury duty, especially the case that involved attempted murder! But right now, it would have been a real hardship, because I would have had to take at least a week off, possibly more! Now, my only gripe with the system is that the process is so inconvenient. They really could make it run much more conveniently and it would if it were a private enterprise but thus we see another wonderful example of government and how it seems to prefer to be inefficient. For example, I had to take one whole day off of work about 2 weeks ago to go to the court physically and fill out a juror information form that should be available online or by mail. Today I spent an hour and a half at the courthouse just reading my hypnobirthing book until a bailiff came out and read a bunch of names that could leave. I did absolutely nothing and it was a total waste of time. They could have called me, along with the other people they read out, on the phone and told us we didn't need to go in or perhaps informed us before we sat around for over an hour but that would be far too easy!

Well, the important thing is, I was excused! The reason for being excused, according to the juror information form I filled out at the beginning of February could be one of many reasons. 1) I am in my third trimester of pregnancy. 2) I would experience a financial hardship by serving jury duty. 3) I am a republican that listens to Fox News, reads the paper (mostly I do the jumble and read the comics), and supports the NRA. or 4) I am prejudiced against certain immigrants for several reasons one of them being I am sick and tired of being stared up and down and having inappropriate comments/noises/gestures made towards me that make me feel uncomfortable and degraded and these actions are always being made by male members of the hispanic population. Seriously, this has been happening since I was like 13 years old and continued into my current pregnancy. It is very disturbing!

Boy I have been long winded tonight! Here are some more pictures to cap this post off!

I am practicing my deep relaxation techniques, joined by Frankie and Roscoe. I bet they thought I was dead!
It was really fun to get together with these girls, and a few more, after the UDA convention last week. I can't wait until our next get together! I am really glad to have been able to stay in contact with so many friends from hygiene school. Hopefully this continues to be the case for years to come!
Now here was a fun experiment... I made this nursing cover and was trying it on to show my friend Meg. Which naturally led to a need for a demonstration with none other than...

My adorable and baby-like dog Roscoe! He wasn't quite comfortable with the situation but conformed enough to allow us the privilege of getting a really good laugh!Tada! Post "feeding", Roscoe is very content and happy in the nursing cover as I am sure Gwyneth will be also. Don't worry, the cover is machine washable.

I think I finally found a nursery set!

2009-01-18T16:18:00.000-08:00

I founds this set online at babysupermall.com. It reminds me of Bambi and I just fell in love with it when I saw it. I thought my dad would be happy I was going with a "Deer" theme. I am thinking about painting the walls to match the crib skirt so the bottom will be sage green, then a brown stripe running horizontally then the top will be white. Is that too matchy? I am not a very good decorator but I am really excited about decorating the nursery but at the same time, I don't have a lot of faith in my own decorating abilities so any help or comments are appreciated!

5.7 months, in my sixth month or 25 weeks!

2009-01-18T14:27:00.000-08:00

That is how far along I am in my pregnancy. I hate when people ask me how far along I am in months because a) I don't really keep track of it that way and b) it is really confusing to try and figure out. I mean, most people just say, divide by 4 weeks but that really doesn't work because months aren't an exact measurement and there are acutally about 4.35 weeks in a month on average. So, thus I am actually 5.7 months pregnant, however, most baby books and journals have a totally different way of doing it as depicted in the table below. So I am in my 6th month, meaning I have completed up to 5 months and am working towards a complete 6 months. So to say I am 6 months would be inaccurate at this point even though that appears to be the way that most women would gauge it. Does this bother anyone else?!

Weeks	1 - 4	5 - 8	9 - 13	14 - 17	18 - 21	22 - 26	27 - 30	31 - 35	36 - 40
Which Month are you in?	You are in your first month	You are in your second month	You are in your third month	You are in your fourth month	You are in your fifth month	You are in your sixth month	You are in your seventh month	You are in your eighth month	You are in your ninth month

This is Month	one	two	three	four	five	six	seven	eight	nine
Trimester	first			second			third

Merry Christmas & Happy 2009!

2009-01-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

I just went to look at a funny picture that is on my sister-in-law's blog when I realized that I never finished blogging about Christmas! Sorry it's a little late! I forgot my camera, then I forgot/got too lazy to take pictures most of the time so I don't have a ton of pictures to begin with but here are some of the highlights.

Brice being cute and sucking her thumb in this wee little chair. This was the first stop Christmas morning after Eric & I woke up at about 9:30. Jealous? Yeah, you gotta enjoy these moments while you have them. I am sure when we have kids that wake up at 6 a.m. we'll love those moments too... well, maybe!
Brice, again, being just as cute as ever and singing karaoke. More of just spitting into the microphone than anything. Although she does love jingle bells! "Jingle bells, jingle all the way, HEY!"Then we went to my parents house for mid-day breakfast. It was really fun having almost the whole family from my mom's side here for Christmas. I only wish I could have seen more of them before the holidays were over. Here's Teresa, Corinne, Kara & Bella.
The beautiful Morgan & Jake enjoying Christmas morning. I can't believe how old Jake is getting and Morgan looked so good!
And Aaron spent most of his time at the kids' table playing this game. I don't know what it is or anything about it, I was just busy snapping pictures quickly to make up for all of my forgetfulness & laziness prior to this. So that wraps up 2008 and I wish everyone love, happiness & a new baby for 2009! Well, that is what we're hoping for anyway!

A topic that really forces you off the fence

2009-01-02T00:03:00.000-08:00

My brother Aaron has been working on this document for a month or so in order to share with others & to gain a better understanding of why it is important that the laws of our country maintain marriage as a right to be held by one man & one woman. I know many homosexual individuals personally. I truly do love them. I think they are amazing & wonderful people. I want them to find peace and happiness in life and I believe that living the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring peace and happiness into one's life that cannot be found through any other means.

Having said that, I have included the following link to the official church website containing an interview with Elder Dallin H. Oaks, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church, and Elder Lance B. Wickman, a member of the Seventy on this topic here: http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/public-issues/same-gender-attraction

Also, this is my brother's final version of the document he came up with to describe his feelings. It is an 8-page word document but I think it points out some great scriptural references on the topic and is definitely worth reading especially if you struggle a little with the political aspects at all, like I have. It has been hard for me the really make a concrete case against civil unions for gay couples because of my sympathy for the individuals that I know and love and want them to be happy. I think reading this, along with the above interview, really helped me to understand the importance of protecting something that I consider to be a sacred covenant. Also, the above interview goes in-depth on the topic of homosexuality itself and should be read by anyone who doesn't know the LDS Church's official stance on the topic or would like to know more about it.

Happy Reading!

These are the opinions of the author only and do not reflect those of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or any other Church.

PURPOSE:

I implore all citizens of the United States of America to contact their government officials. Let them know that you desire to support state and federal amendments which establish marriage to be between a man and a woman. Remind our local, state, and federal government leaders that we serve the God of this land. Ensure our government leaders that we are one nation under God.

We, as citizens of the United States, live in a choice land. Our freedoms and liberties have been preserved by the hand of God since the Revolutionary War. The people that have inherited this land have strived to serve the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ. If we as a people forget the Lord our God and begin to tolerate a sin such as homosexuality, making allowances in our government and society, then we will be destroyed as was Sodom and Gomorrah. Let me clarify: We tolerate and love the sinner, we do not tolerate the sin.

Ether 2:10-12 (Book of Mormon)

10 For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the ^bfulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.

11 And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.

12 Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.

Introduction

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and as such:

I believe in God the eternal Father, and in His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost.
I believe in the Ten Commandments.
I do not purport to be better than anyone else in this world at living the Ten Commandments. I believe that my efforts to obey God’s commands do not - in and of themselves - elevate or escalate me above any other human being. Nor do I possess any power in and of myself to raise neither myself nor my performance in this life above the performance of any other human beings. For where I am strong, my Savior is the source of that strength and where I am weak my Savior is there to carry me.
I believe that murder, adultery, theft, covetousness, idolatry, and the love of self elevated above a love for God and our neighbor (PRIDE) are some of the most grievous sins. I do not pretend to lack a need for improvement in exemplifying the pure love of Christ towards all people – my pride gets in my way many times and I fail to love as God has commanded.
I believe homosexuality is blatant disobedience to God’s mandate to multiply and replenish the earth. I reference the following scriptures:

Genesis 19:4-7 (KJV)

4 ¶ But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter:

5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

Homosexuality is also referred to as the sin of sodomy. This reference comes from an account in the Bible of two exceedingly wicked cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, which the Lord destroyed. Sodom was known for its rampant homosexuality and unrestrained sexual lust, as well as other sins such as arrogance, haughtiness, and disregard for the poor. When the Lord sent angels to warn Lot who lived in the city that it was about to be destroyed, the men of the city actually wanted to rape the angels! (Genesis 19:4-7)

Leviticus 18:22 (KJV): "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind it is abomination."

Leviticus 20:13 (KJV)

If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

In the Old Testament the penalty for homosexuality was death. Today the penalty of death may reveal itself in the form of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Homosexuality also brings death to the soul and spirit of man because the spirit and light of God is pushed out of our souls when we indulge in something that is an abomination to God. God wants to deliver all who are trapped in this unholy practice and He will if anyone calls out to Him with a sincere heart.

Jude 1:7 (KJV)

Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Isaiah 3:9 (KJV)

The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.

2 Nephi 9:40 (Book of Mormon)

40 O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.

The powers of evil are attempting a holocaust of new proportions in our day and age, a holocaust or slaughter of future bodies that would house unborn spirit children of our Father in Heaven. One of the methods the adversary is using is homosexuality. It is ever more URGENT that the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth be obeyed within the bonds of marriage in these latter days.
Homosexuals cannot have posterity; this choice of homosexuality is in a sense holocaustic to the existence of mankind and contrary to God’s commands. The Lord has commanded his children to multiply and replenish the earth and He is the only one with the power to rescind this commandment.
There are heterosexual couples that marry and attempt to multiply and replenish the earth, and in faithful obedience discover they are not capable to do as the Lord has commanded. However only God knows when and if at any given point this couple will at some future point be blessed with a natural born child as was Abraham of the Old Testament.
Homosexuals and Lesbians need not attempt to multiply and replenish the earth in order to discover their inability to sexually reproduce. Their sexuality can therefore only be self-gratifying because they know before they ever enter into sexual relations that there is no possibility of gratifying God or adding to our nation’s posterity.

Ether 12:27 (Book of Mormon)

And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.

I believe that each person comes to earth with a set of divine weaknesses that must be made strong through Christ’s Atoning Blood.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (KJV)

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a ^aform of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

I believe that the apostle Paul saw our day and times and wrote of many of our challenges. And he specifically lists, “being lovers of their own selves” , and, “Without natural affection…” (2 Timothy 3:1-5). In light of my topic, loving their own self would be choosing a sexual relationship for self gratification, rather than for the gratification of God. If a child can be the result of the sexual relationship within the bonds of marriage, God may be gratified. However a child cannot result from homosexual relationships thus God cannot be gratified they are strictly unnatural affections for those who love themselves more than they love God.
There is no hope for a future generation in homosexuality. And if there is not hope, then what is there? Moroni 10:22 in the Book of Mormon answers this question, “And if ye have no hope ye must needs be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity.”
I believe the power of pro-creation to be a very heavenly and eternal power given to men and women so that they may participate in the work and glory of God which is to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”. (Moses 1:39 Pearl of Great Price)

The Pre-amble to the Constitution of the U.S. reads:

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

· Satan has successfully attacked our nation’s posterity through Homosexuality. Tomorrow’s posterity can be reduced or adversely affected today if more and more people choose homosexual relations as opposed to heterosexual relations. Satan has seen the influence that a father and mother can have on children who will become tomorrow’s leaders.

What Should We Do?

An Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ (M. Russell Ballard) extended and invitation to the world in July 2008 which reads:

"Now, may I ask that you join the conversation by participating on the Internet to share the gospel..." {M. Russell Ballard (Quorum of 12 Apostles), “Sharing the Gospel Using the Internet,” Ensign, Jul 2008, 58–63 [Adapted from a commencement address given at Brigham Young University–Hawaii on December 15, 2007.]}

There are 30 states with marriage protection amendments in place. There are 41 states with marriage protected by amendment or law (DOMA). http://www.traditionalvalues.org/modules.php?sid=3450

The numbers above tell me that the majority of our nation still believes in marriage between a man and a woman. We must do all we can to see that judges and government leaders clearly know where we the people stand on this and similar issues. If we don’t communicate to our leaders, then we fail to be a government “OF THE PEOPLE”.

Gettysburg Address November 19, 1863 Abraham Lincoln

"...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

The people of California have stated on two separate occasions that they believe marriage to be between a man and a woman. The first time was through a law which a California Supreme Court Judge ruled unconstitutional.

Now a second time the people of California still as a majority chose to uphold their previous vote when it comes to marriage between a man and a woman. The consent of the governed has been given in favor of marriage to be between a man and a woman.

Declaration of Independence in Congress July 4, 1776

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED, --"

It is convenient that without the point of consent emphasized in bold in the Declaration of Independence, the above phrase is one often quoted by homosexuals to argue their point. And now that their right has been repealed by the consent of the governed, they seek to tear down those who govern them – their neighbors and friends and even family.

Lincoln's first inaugural address March 4, 1861

“Again, if the United States be not a government proper, but an association of States in the nature of contract merely, can it, as a contract, be peaceably unmade, by less than all the parties who made it? One party to a contract may violate it — break it, so to speak; but does it not require all to lawfully rescind it?...

If, by the mere force of numbers, a majority should deprive a minority of any clearly written constitutional right, it might, in a moral point of view, justify revolution — certainly would, if such right were a vital one. But such is not our case. “

Homosexuality is not vital. In fact, homosexuality is opposite of vital or “of life”. It is impossible for homosexuals to be vital as defined by Merriam Webster. Therefore, according to Lincoln, homosexuality does not justify revolution but justifies the lawful acceptance of the voice of the people as has been clearly polled in 41 states.

1 Corinthians 7:1-2

"Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband."

Genesis 1:27-28

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."

Let me remind anyone reading I know of a surety that there are homosexuals out there that do more good for the poor, sick and afflicted than I do.
This is not written to condemn homosexuals as children of God.
A letter much longer and harsher would not be sufficient to condemn me
Nor am I so arrogant to believe that I am better off or better than any homosexual …God knows that my shortcomings in loving my neighbor as myself are sinful enough. I have no room to say I am better than anyone else.
I write this for the welfare of the posterity of this union known as the United States of America. This is a choice nation and as long as the people that inhabit this choice nation remain faithful and do not deny but worship the Lord God, the people of this nation will prosper. But if the grievous sins of Sodom and Gomorrah plague our nation, then plagues and destruction as have not been known shall befall the people that inhabit this blessed land.
I plead for those who are homosexuals to come unto Christ. I testify that He has the power to strengthen them and help them overcome any sin, especially that of homosexuality. I pray that this message is received as a plea for change and repentance with a heartfelt concern for the eternal well being of all homosexuals worldwide.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21(KJV)

16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Mosiah 4:2-3 (Book of Mormon)

2 And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men.

3 And it came to pass that after they had spoken these words the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come, according to the words which king Benjamin had spoken unto them.

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

“We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.” (This proclamation was read by President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of his message at the General Relief Society Meeting held September 23, 1995, in Salt Lake City, Utah.)

You betta Belize it!

2008-12-31T15:59:00.000-08:00

Now onto the middle part of December... First on December 10, we had an ultrasound, sorry I would have scanned in pictures but I left them at my parent's house, and found out we are having a GIRL! Eric is excited that he doesn't have to participate in scouts with her and I am just so excited at the sight of all things girly.

Then, two days later, we were off on a relaxing getaway to 5 days in Caye Caulker, Belize. We called this trip our "Babymoon". It is officially our last big trip anywhere without any parental responsibility. Well, that isn't entirely true. I mean I did have to refuse alcohol several times, cevichy made with raw Conche, several different kinds of seafood and any strenuous activities, so physically I have definitely felt the constraint of parental responsibility. Although the first two things I listed weren't really difficult to refuse, I was kind of glad to have such a good excuse because it scared me to eat raw Conche that was prepared by Jose. (And I'm not being stereotypical, that was really his name.)

Here I am, 20 weeks pregnant. We took a sideview of me standing up but I posted this one because it shows our cute beds in our cabana. If you are ever staying on Caye Caulker, I do recommend the Maxhapan Cabanas. The owner, Louise is very nice and helpful, the rooms are clean and nice. Eric thinks he may have gotten bed bug bites but I didn't really have any problems so who knows? He may have confused them with mosquito bites because I got several of those. The only real annoyance is that in Belize it is customary to wake up at 7:00 am and play all sorts of rap music at full volume capacity from your home. In fact, if you are not listening to some kind of beatalicious reggae or rap music at all times, you can consider yourself completely unbelizean! Here is our first sighting of a "wild" starfish. We were actually standing on the dock about 10 yards away from this starfish but the water is so clear you can see right through to the bottom!And what would a trip to the beach be without seashells? We found these while snorkeling right off the beach. There are tons of really pretty and big seashells. I even saw several conche shells right there but when I went to pick them up I saw lots of little ocean inhabitants on them so I didn't want to disturb them. On Sunday we took a snorkeling tour on a sailboat with Ragamuffin tours to Hol Chan marine reserve, Shark Ray Alley and Coral Gardens. Neither of us had ever been on a sailboat before and it was nice. Jose needed me to hold the rope while he was taking the sails down. "I'm sailing! I sailed! I'm a sailor! Ahoy!"These are our guides, Jose was the first mate and Jerry in the white shirt is the captain. He was born on Caye Caulker so we talked to him about the island quite a bit. The island is very small, so small that Eric and rode bikes around basically the entire island and it took about 30 minutes. There isn't a whole lot to do other than lounge, sleep, lay out (which they only have what they call "natural" beaches so finding a good spot to lay out can be a little difficult), eat, walk around or bike around on the island. Unless you leave the island, that is pretty much what you will be doing. It was perfect for what we wanted at that time but I don't think I could have possibly taken another day with nothing to do and I cannot fathom how the locals live there. Here's a picture of Eric while we were sailing off. Caye Caulker is behind him.The food was great and very inexpensive in Caye Caulker. The nicest restaurants, like the Bamboo Grill, had lobster dinners for 25 belize dollars, which is equal to $12.50 US! The fun thing about this restaurant is that the chairs are swings! Our other most favorite places to eat were Amore y Cafe and The Sandbox Grill. Avoid Sobres Las Olas and if you go to Latinos, try not to make friends with the owner because then you have to avoid walking past him for the rest of the trip.
Look, you can even see a bump when I'm laying down! Crazy! You should see me now though, I literally have popped out over the last two weeks! But anyway, this is the "natural" beach I was talking about, not bad and once you stirred up the sand it was really nice but it doesn't even compare to some caribbean beaches I've been to.
Here is Eric's sunburn. This poor boy cannot apply sunscreen to save his life! I think the Bear Lake sunburn from earlier this year was worse, but still, he does this unintentionally! I love the little circle in the middle of his chest that was missed due to the fact that apparently Eric can only contact surfaces on a flat plane and this concavity was just too deep for him to reach. This picture was taken with Stephanie in mind. Eric is covering his "underarm" to aviod offending her.

This is the outside view of our cabana. Cute, huh?And this boat may as well be the official mascot for Caye Caulker, it sums it up in one picture! Unbelizeable!

Refinished!

2008-12-29T15:16:00.000-08:00

Yeah! I am finally catching up on blogging and here is why we've been so busy the past month. First, we had Eric's cousin Alex refinish our hardwood floors in our front room and hallway. Remember when Frankie ripped up the carpet? Well you can compare and contrast if you'd like here. I am so happy that it is done. It was quite the process... after all when you are family and you get such a good deal, you have to deal with being put at the end of the list so the whole process took four total moves and two visits to Kent and Ann's house which pretty much took up the first part of December for me.

This is Halloween!

2008-11-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

Boo!

Hope everybody had the kind of Halloween that dreams and treats are made of! I love Halloween and I think that as far as decorations go in our house, Halloween is pretty much tied with Christmas as far as quantity goes. Its always been one of my favorite holidays to decorate for, make treats, watch scary movies, I even really do love dressing up when I have a reason to! This Halloween Eric and I enjoyed many classics including the original "House on Haunted Hill", the original "The Haunting", "The Witches", "Hocus Pocus", and "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken". Next year we'll have to make sure and get the ones we missed like, "The Changeling", "Watcher in the Woods", and "Nightmare before Christmas". I had nightmares about the remake of "House on Haunted Hill" and the original "The Haunting".
Roscoe and Frankie enjoyed their first Halloween with us, they dressed up as a devil and bat, respectively.

This picture speaks for itself!
This is Eric carving pumpkins. He did 2 and I did 1. He was only wearing his underwear though so I made him put this blanket on for the picture.

Eric's first pumpkin. You can barely see it in the picture, it says Trick at the top in the hat.

My pumpkin, this one took awhile!

Eric's second pumpkin. There's two drops of blood coming off of one of the fangs you can't see in the picture either.

I hope this is the only spider I see at my house!

Now the countdown to Thanksgiving begins!!

This is what the last month or so has been like.

2008-10-19T13:06:00.000-07:00

So time is flying by and I am pretty excited about it. While I know I should be enjoying Eric and I's last 6 months or so of "alone" time, I feel like I have so much to look forward to in the future. It makes it a little difficult to enjoy each day by itself. I find myself treating each work week like an advent calendar. Check off another week, that makes it approximately 28 more weeks of work until baby is here. And then there's the countdown to when we get to find out what we're having so it's about 8 weeks to that event. Also there's the countdown to the end of the first trimester. I'm almost there on that one but I hear the nausea may not get better for even a few more weeks after that, if it does get better. I also have days where I am content to do almost nothing but rest, watch tv, movies, eat and sleep and then days where I feel like I can't do enough and oh my gosh, what am I going to do with the nursery?! Anyway, Eric keeps me grounded. Sure we have a lot to do, but we really do still have time to do it. And he's got his hands full with other projects at the moment anyway...

Like dressing Frankie up in his tie.

You can see how the boys have been effected by the pregnancy... not so much!

Here is Eric's real labor of love for me. It is part of my birthday present this year and so he is doing all he can to get it done by then. Here is the last picture of our hallway with carpet.

And here is our hallway halfway through the removal of carpet and molding.

And here is what it looks like currently. This is why I am hoping we can get the hardwood sanded and refinished (it was painted white. Weird, I know!) in the next couple of weeks.

And here's the fetus at 10 1/2 weeks. Dr. Froerer said that "he" (I am just picking that pronoun for right now because I think we are having a boy, and I don't want to say "it") looked like about 11 weeks in size, so he's growing right on track. Eric thinks we are having a boy because he confused the umbilical cord for something else!

I can almost guarantee that this is the only time you will see me butchering elk meat. At least, I hope that is true! My dad got this elk on Saturday while hunting in Wyoming and he cut off the shoulder and part of the leg for us to give our dogs. Well, it was huge so we brought it home and then I finished cutting it up into small serving size portions to freeze. Eric took the leg bone out, lit a fire in the firepit and roasted it then gave it to the dogs that night. They did enjoy it, but Frankie was vomiting all night and didn't make it out of bed for one of the episodes and Roscoe had diaherria last night! I'm thinking it was just because they ate way too much so we'll try giving them one of the smaller portions next time and see if they do any better. If not, the elk meat is up for grabs... but probably not for human consumption.

Wry baby!

2008-10-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

My bff Meg has given me a gift that has lightened up my whole pregnancy... and its funny because on the back of it it says "It'll make waiting for baby a blast!" Anyway, its a book called "Safe Baby Pregnancy Tips". It makes a great gift for anyone expecting and the website http://www.wrybaby.com/detail.aspx?ID=72 has a plethora of additional products that will make raising a funny baby a sure thing. Here's just a sampling:

Good luck to all you pregos!

Free handbags!

2008-10-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

Click here for a chance to win a free handbag! Next week, on October 15th this website is giving away several free handbags and all you have to do is register. Thanks Erin for the idea!

A love song for fetus Jones

2008-10-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been awhile since I've posted and I can now officially announce that I am 10 weeks pregnant. Also, my sister and I get to experience our joys together because she has announced that she is also expecting and is due about a week before me. In answer to many questions about the previous post, we didn't know if we were pregnant when we were tested for life insurance but did find out a couple of days after!

Also, we went to Bodyworld's a couple of weeks ago and except for the nausea, which I hesitantly broke the "no food or drink" rule to eat some crackers, it was astonishing! I thought that the most interesting part was a display of fetal development that featured fetus's starting at 5 weeks all the way up to 36 or 38 weeks. It was amazing to actually see what my little embryo looked like at about 8 weeks (when I was there) and to see how fast they grow. If you need an anti-abortion campaign, this is it! At 9 weeks the fetus looks just like one of these tiny plastic babies (without hair and a binkie). Its about that size, you can see individual fingers and toes, eyes, lips, joints that are fully functioning, a heart that's beating, I just don't see how anyone can say that life at this point isn't meaningful or worth saving. Although, the thought did cross my mind that it is more than likely that the actual fetus I was viewing was aborted. It was disturbing, just wondering what happened to all those little fetus's because they were all so perfect. I guess it reminded me of what a miracle life is and how, for all the millions of times that this miracle is performed without a hitch, there are many ways in which things can, and sometimes do, go wrong.

So even now, as a sit here completely fatigued, still struggling with a cold, trying to stave off bouts of nausea, and burping and farting "like a construction worker" in Eric's words, I still can't really complain because I know that what is happening right now is completely miraculous and deserves a sense of appreciation and reverence that I don't really think I will fully comprehend for another 30 weeks or so.

Tagged

2008-10-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

So I was tagged to share 7 random things about myself and so...
1. I love popcorn and watermelon they are my quintessential "rice and beans", although they definitely don't constitute a complete protein.
2. Chocolate couldn't sound more disgusting now that I'm pregnant
3. I am much more analytically driven than emotionally driven, I am definitely a nerd at the core.
4. I am a PC, I don't buy into the trendy MAC campaign. Sure, they're great computers, but honestly I got so frustrated with my iPod and dealing with iTunes and all the crappy restrictions they impose upon people that I said, "enough is enough"! The world is about compatability and MAC's do not fit that bill.
5. I love McDonald's. They have delicious ice cream cones, orange soda (100% vitamin C), french fries, sweet & sour sauce and will forever be associated with many memories of childhood and skipping class in middle school.
6. I can't pass up a good bargain. "20 magnets for $1?! What do I need 20 magnets for? I don't know, but I'm getting them!"
7. I wish I were more involved in service opportunities.

A couple of very exciting announcements!

2008-08-29T18:29:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday morning I woke up with a terrible sore throat and felt so worn down but because it was my last work day of the week, I made it through and rested up all of last night because I knew today held many exciting things for me!! I woke up first thing this morning so excited and even though I still feel a little sick, a sore throat wasn't going to ruin my day. First of all, we started off the day with a urine test... you all know where this is going... that's right we got our blood and urine tested for life insurance! Life insurance! It's weird, I'm really starting to feel like an adult. Well, since adulthood is coming head-on, Eric and I decided it was time to get a real "adult" vehicle. So, on my brother's recommendation, we went to Murdock Hyundai and got one fantastic deal on a 2009 Hyundai Sonata. It is so nice, rides as velvety smooth as a Buick, and was only $16,000! Our salesman, Ren'e was very nice but said that the deal is supposed to end tomorrow unless they decide to extend it, so if you are interested in a great car with 5-star safety ratings, Consumer Reports recommended, MP3/CD player, Ipod/USB input, XM radio, fold-down rear seats and a trunk that is larger than the Toyota Camry's, all at a price you can't afford to miss, then you'd better act fast! Especially if you are in the mafia, you could use the extra trunk space. Well, since I'm a little run-down, I didn't get enough motivation yet to actually take a picture of our car so I'm just posting this photo I got on the internet.
Well, since we were on such a roll for the day, I got online and purchased our tickets for the upcoming Body Worlds 3 & The Story of the Heart exhibition that is coming to Salt Lake City on September 19th. If anyone else is interested and wants to go with us, let us know! More information can be found at http://theleonardo.org/bodyworlds/.
This is the kind of thing you can expect to see. Real human cadavers that have been essentially preserved for eternity through a process called plastination. Then they pose them and have them cured. I am completely fascinated and have wanted to see this exhibit since I was introduced to it through a video we watched in an anatomy class in college. I can't wait! And better yet, I'll be arriving in comfort and style in our new car (Said in true "Price is Right" enthusiasm)!

Eric and Jenny's olympics

2008-08-14T12:33:00.001-07:00

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The happiest place on earth!

2008-08-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

Eric, Zach, Meg & I set off to fabulous Disneyland Resort on Wednesday July 23rd, 2008. Our plan was to leave by 7:00 and drive all night. Which we did successfully. I think everyone was so excited and hopped up on caffeine to even think about sleep. Although I do not recommend doing this kind of driving regularly. This was the official first picture of the trip. Zach & Eric, California dreamin'.

Here I am at about, oh I'd say 2:00 a.m. or so. Just getting my fluids replenished at a quick stop in Jean, NV. Notice my hat, M-I-C-K-E-Y!
Here's Eric and I at our first stop in California. I don't know why we're shaking hands but at 4:30 a.m., crazier things have happened, I am sure!
Yeah, we made it to Disneyland after a 4 hour sleep stop at the Travelodge. The first ride of the day, after getting a fast pass for Splash Mountain was Pirates of the Caribbean! We then rode this ride a total of 5 or 6 times before the end of the trip.
Zach & Meg, just falling in love in front of the castle.

Me & Eric enjoying Mr. Potato Head's entertainment while waiting in line for Toy Story 2: Midway Mania! This ride was voted best new ride of the trip. We loved it! Too bad the line was so long.
Just livin' it up California style in California Adventure.
This lady was in front of us in line for Space Mountain. She was wearing the craziest outfit I've ever seen, as depicted in the picture above. Also, you have to consider that it is July in California and she is covered head to toe.

We took another stab at Toy Story Midway Mania that night! Its a 3-D action adventure game that you shoot at arcade style targets with a spring action shooter. Pretty awesome!
The next day we had one goal in mind- find classic Mickey. We headed to toon town to see what characters we could find and Meg insisted that Eric and I pose like this and there is a little 3-year old girl in the background that just looks very confused. It was pretty awkward!
Ah ha! After waiting in line for what seemed like hours, we finally found classic Mickey! A dream come true!

Then we were off to Princess Faire to find us some princesses. In all, we saw Jasmine, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty & (surprise!) the Fairy Godmother!

Then we went back to Tomorrowland to get some lunch at Pizza Port (which is delicious by the way!) and found Buzz Lightyear. I went with the classic, "hey Buzz, to infinite and beyond!" He gave me thumbs up, I think he really liked us!
My favorite ride, The Hollywood Tower of Terror! Of course, we didn't buy the pic so you have to settle for this picture of the picture displayed on the screen! Tricked you, Disneyland!

Now, here's probably the best story of the whole trip (maybe tied with Eric yelling out at Meg & I, "Get a room Lesbos!" not noticing that he was walking right next to a couple walking hand in hand!) but anyway, Zach REALLY wanted to meet Donald Duck. From the get go, it was all he talked about. So, fatefully, the last night as we entered The Magic Kingdom, Eric went to ask one of the workers if she'd seen him or knew where we could see him when, he actually spotted him not far away. So we ran to get in line and waited for about 10 minutes until out comes Mickey to replace him!
Goodbye Donald! Anyway, Eric chased after him and took this picture and I was trying to contemplate running up and attacking him to get him to stay long enough to get a picture with Zach. But alas, he was gone.
Zach was completely destroyed and sat on the curb to try and cool down. In the meantime, we walked around, rode some more rides and lived up our last night in D-town. Anyway, as the evening came to a close and we walked down Main street, what to our wondering eyes should appear but Donald himself!

What luck?! Anyway, Zach got his coveted picture with Donald! Aren't they a perfect pair?

Day 3 was spent at Newport beach. It was somewhat cool & cloudy but we didn't get rained on and really I'd say it was close to perfect. Meg & I had fun posing like beach beauties.
Then I pretended to be pregnant in my new Modbe swimsuit and Eric is showing everyone how such a thing may have occurred. Not real!! I repeat, this is a posed picture. Smoke and mirrors, that's all it is!

And back at the hotel, Eric is not afraid to let it all hang out!

As we headed home Sunday, Zach actually shed a single tear for the end of such a magical adventure.

And Eric was just plum tuckered out! We really can't wait to go back, even knowing that next time around we'll probably have a little tike to share it with.

July fun

2008-08-03T19:55:00.000-07:00

Well we have been very busy this last month so here's just a little recap of it all. We started our July off with a nice hike up Mt. Olympus as our family home evening one Monday night to watch the sunset. It was so nice and Frankie & Roscoe are great hikers.

Then we headed up to the ranch in Ovid for a weekend camp trip. Turns out, Payton is not so upset about getting messy when it comes to his favorite candy bar... chocolate. It was fun roasting the chocolate over the fire with him & teaching him how to roast marshmellows & Starburst. Yum!

Brice attracted lots of attention from Frankie, especially when she had food.

Brady & Mahina entertaining Emi when Grandpa watches Ashton & Parker head off into the trees.

Brice & Me just getting ready to go to the lake. Except that Brice didn't exactly make it to the lake. She had to go home with mom because Jdub was in the hospital getting his appendix removed.

And last but not least, here is Eric's sunburn. Can you tell that he applied his own sunscreen? Hilarious!

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-13T14:25:00.000-07:00

My sister told me a great story about her talking to Whitney about Independence and why we celebrate the 4th of July. She was telling her that our country had to fight for its independence and then defined independence to Whitney saying, "Its when you get to make decisions for yourself and not have anyone in charge of you." Then Whitney replies, "Yeah, that's what I want, Independence!" We are lucky to have not only a country that gives us Independence but a religion that teaches us the true meaning of freedom. I pray that our country does not lose itself in the idea that freedom is simply doing what you want to do when you want to do it. However, I do have a deep love and appreciation for America, for my place in this nation, and for those who stand for truth, freedom and righteousness. Anyway, onto the fun stuff...
Eric and I enjoyed a great 4th of July beginning with what is becoming a tradition, my once-a-year golf game.

Andi with her golf clubs. I enjoyed golfing with Andi, we seemed to be about the same pace the whole time. We should do it more often! However, we should leave Eric and Jdub at home! Mostly because I have learned that Eric is really ornery when golfing!

AFter golf we went to my parent's for a BBQ. I made chips and dip which my dad took upon himself to be the official holder.
Eric and Roscoe swinging! He needs a child, doesn't he?

So here is where a series of unfortunate events began. My dad decided he was going to start a water fight. So he filled his cup with water and waited. I ran inside and started to capture the events from the kitchen window.
Evan decided he'd teach grandpa Vardell a lesson by just walking right up to him with the hose. Hilarious... at least until James (in Grandpa's arms) got wet and became furious!
So grandpa got rid of James and got the big bucket pictured here. Then the real fun began. Just about everyone got wet, even Stephanie when Eric snuck up behind her and dumped this bucket full of water on her back. The water fight continued between Evan, Taylor and Landon for most of the day. If you think that kids are so innocent and sweet, you should see them in a water fight. The looks I saw on those kids' faces were anything but innocent and sweet. They came across more like a very angry linebacker!

Apart for the water fights here are the other fun swimming events that took place.
I love Evan's face!!

If you can spot the orcha whale in this picture you get a prize! :)

Then my batteries died so I didn't get any other photos but we did try to go watch the WJ fireworks. we waited until about 10:45 before we gave up and headed back home to light our own fireworks. Then at about 5 after 11 we saw the WJ fireworks officially begin. Now, I don't know about you but I thought that an 11:00 firework show was just a little ridiculous. I mean, people are tired, kids are crying, dogs are tired! Really WJ, get your act together next year!

Dental hygienist song!

2008-07-12T10:28:00.000-07:00

To all of the hygienists out there, here's a song for you on Loren Depping's myspace profile. There was a little article about it in my RDH magazine so I thought I'd share it. Kinda funny! Dental Hygienist song

Baby bird

2008-06-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

So tonight as Eric was out working in the yard he stumbled upon a surprise. He came in the house and asked, "Hey, do you want to see something cute?" I jumped up from the couch as if I had been awaiting any invitation at a possibility for some excitement. Eric led me out to the base of our pine tree where we found this fuzzy little guy. After discussing the possibilities, Eric decided to try and put him back in the nest that has kept us from cutting down this very pine tree. Now, we don't have a ladder so Eric did a "test" climb seeing if it would be possible for him to reach the nest. Upon reaching the nest, we learned that there were no other birds in the nest. I became nervous for the little bird. What if the mama bird had abandoned him? But I went inside, got my camera out to capture his cuteness in digital form and to use my camera case to contain the bird around Eric's neck as he climbed the pine. Eric placed the bird into my camera case and began his daring climb back up into the tree.

At last he reached the branch with the nest, dug into the case, pulled the baby bird out and gently stretched forth his hand to the nest, successfully delivering the bird into the comfort and safety of its home. With hope, I continued to capture the rescue attempt with my camera.

Eric posed happily as he made his way out of the tree. Then, looking back at the nest he yelled down to me, "Its trying to climb out of the nest!" Then, I noticed a quail on the other side of our fence. Eric, spotting the same bird said, "Quick, go inside and look up what a baby quail looks like." I ran inside, frantic, realizing our mistake far too late! Sure enough, the bird we thought we were rescuing was indeed a baby quail. Now for those of you who don't know, quails are ground animals. I ran out to Eric to tell him to get the bird out of the nest. As I came into his sight, I said, "IT'S A BABY QUAIL!" To which he replied, "It's already on the ground somewhere!" I slowly walked towards the tree, watching every step for fear of crushing it beneath my own feet. Alas, I found it, amazingly alive and well by a pile of wood. Eric and I quickly cleaned up and headed into the house just hoping that this birds mom would come to the rescue as soon as our threatening presence was gone. Hopefully!!

Haircuts!

2008-06-21T09:38:00.001-07:00

I was just looking at the picture of Frankie & Roscoe right after we adopted them and how sad their hair was! They just got groomed yesterday and they are looking too hot to trot now. Frankie looks like a punk rocker and Roscoe looks like a tiger because he has stripes but they are both so cute! If you want to see the old pictures refer to my post The Newest Additions to our Family. Here they are now -My little boys! Roscoe can look tough if you try to toussle his hair a little bit but most of the time it goes flat with a part right down the middle so he looks like a real nerd!

Frankie on the other hand could be the next member of the White Stripes.

Hanging in the graveyard

2008-06-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago we went to visit Grandma & Grandpa Jones' grave with the whole Jones family. Its a tradition, I guess. We spent about two hours hangin' in the graveyard. There was quite the wind chill but through it all I got some pictures that I couldn't resist posting. Afterwards, we "enjoyed" a meal at Golden Corral?

Parenting 101: don't leave one-year-olds unattended in a vehicle. Brice was one key-turn away from escape.

I saved the best for last... Eric has a way with Parker. Yes, he is as terrified as he looks and yes, Eric is laughing. It is even funnier because last night we babysat the boys and Eric held Parker down and made him pee his pants. Not on purpose, but still, I just wouldn't be surprised if Parker will need counseling from the trauma caused by his uncle Eric. Although, I must add that I was very proud of Eric for taking care of two children and a baby for 2 1/2 hours by himself before I arrived. He fed the baby & the kids, got them in the pajamas, played with them, cleaned up after them and mostly, handled Cooper when he was awake the whole time! He even put them to bed successfully and read them 3 stories. I found out a good gift for Eric is a pop-up book that is a Star Wars Guide to the Galaxy. He loved it more than the kids did!

My first year!

2008-06-02T17:10:00.001-07:00

Well, I just had my one-year review at my job with Dr. Smith. I technically haven't been a registered dental hygienist for one year until June 18th but I started assisting at Dr. Smith's office before I got my license. So, one year at Dr. Smith's means that I am now getting a 401k, a raise in my salary & I finally get 2-weeks of paid time off. I feel very fortunate for every benefit I have at Dr. Smith's, due to the fact that probably at least half of the dentists out there still don't offer employee benefits. I am a saving junkie so I am very excited about the 401k. I was also very happy about the paid time off last week when I came down with the stomach flu! I can't tell you the misery of those few days when I was so sick I just wanted to crawl into a hole and step into coma but I suffered through 8 hours of hygiene just so I wouldn't miss the paycheck. Oh, the joy of paid sick-leave! Anyway, it is amazing how fast a year goes by. Dr. Smith asked me how the job was different than I expected and at first, I couldn't think of much but finally I said, " I thought I would be bored with the job after a year. I thought I would know it all and be a lot more complacent. And that is definitely not the case!" I am still learning so much about hygiene. And there will always be more to learn and keep up with. Just today, I was reading about a hygienist that used a product called Emdogain after SRP to help with attachment regeneration. She turned a 15 mm pocket into a 3-4 mm pocket! (For those that have made it this far and don't know hygiene lingo, that is amazing!) I don't know much about Emdogain or products like it, but I'd like to & there's much more out there to learn! But aside from the technical stuff, there's always more to learn about and from people too. Today, I had a patient with a ZAP! car, its an electric car that only has 3 wheels and she took me out to see it after her cleaning. People are so interesting and I have a job that allows me to interact with people in a one-on-one intimate setting and usually see them again every 3-6 months. I really enjoy my job more than I ever thought I would! I do have those days when I come home and crash on the couch all night due to exhaustion but in the end, I think its worth it.

Oh and in other news, Eric is only taking the garbage out past sunset now because he enjoys testing the motion light that he installed on the side of our house. I am very proud of all his hard work (and very thankful for Kent's help).

Babysitting, fires, and mutts

2008-05-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

Well, life has been pretty busy the past couple of weeks. We've spent a couple of days babysitting, today we "Strutted our Mutts" down at Sugarhouse park (Its the official walk of "No More Homeless Pets" in Utah). And we hosted our first barbecue at our house last night for Ashly's going away party. Granted, it was a veggie barbecue but Eric still cooked hot dogs with the veggie burgers. Although, I don't have the pictures from the barbecue on my camera, I guess Eric was using his so I'll have to wait to post those 'til later. I feel like this summer is going to be a great one. I really love having my own place now that there's actually stuff to do. Our yard is still a work in progress... but then again, so is our house but even that work is just enjoyable. From the moment I made plans to have Ashly's barbecue last night, Eric started getting all worried. He said, "Our yard is nowhere near ready to be having people over!" He works really hard on it and even an hour before the barbecue, he ran to the store to buy some more flowers to plant in the backyard. In a few years, I can just imagine how it'll look. Anyway, at least it makes the mortgage a little easier to pay each month!

But onto photos... This was our first babysitting gig and you can see how well it turned out. Whitney actually wanted to get into the dog kennel but Frankie was not too happy about it. He just went up to it and kept pawing at it trying to get the door to open.

Taylor is terrified of Frankie in this picture. That boy can sure scream!

After Tay saw how fun it was to be in the kennel, he decided to try it out too. Who knew it'd be such fun?

This is the first time we lit our firepit in the backyard, after a Bees game. Zach, Riley, Meg, Russ, Eric & myself were the participants and despite our best efforts, the fire lasted about 15 minutes before it was out for good due to a problem with wet wood. It rained all day so everything outside was soaked.

I think Frankie & Roscoe really liked "Strut Your Mutt". I was worried about their social skills but alas, they're pretty popular as dogs go. They made lots of new friends and only barked at a couple of outcasts.
This dog is so cute! He is available for adoption if anyone is interested. He only has two hind legs and then the wheelchair. I don't know why he is in this condition, but he is cute and sweet and needs a good home!Now onto our second babysitting attempt. We tried cupcakes this time which were a lot of fun.

Brice ate more of her cupcake than Ashton did! She is so cute and chubby!
Ashton loved playing with Frankie & Roscoe. I'm not sure they reciprocated his feelings all the time. After awhile, Roscoe started acting like he was afraid of Ashton and it was because Ashton would hit him to get him to drop the ball. I don't think Ashton has been around many animals so its good training to learn how to act around them. But they look like they're having fun here!

Brice is so cute! She actually slept almost the entire time we had her but when she was awake she was so happy.
Precious! There are certain times I actually can picture Eric as a father.
This is one of them.

Roscoe got really worn out today between "Strut Your Mutt" and Ashton. I should do this more often!
And last but not least, I finally got my coveted lawn gnome. Jealous?

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in my life. I have so much to appreciate on this day. Starting, first with my own mom, who is without a doubt the most giving person I know. Also, you are Eric's favorite person in my family (not counting myself, of course)! We both really love you, mom!

Ann, thanks for all you've done for me & Eric. You are definitely my second mother and I love learning from you and growing closer to you. You are an amazing person and are always doing something for someone and I can't believe all that you can accomplish. I have so many great examples of motherhood in my life and I just wanted to tell each of you that I really do love you and you have taught me about motherhood in some important way. Grandma Barb, Grandma Carver, Stephanie, Mandy, Teresa, Brittany, Andi, Mahina, Brytten, and last but not least, Gretel... Happy Mother's Day to you all!

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts. " ~Washington Irving

Family Home Evening

2008-04-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

We decided to be thankful for the lovely weather on Monday night by holding a family home evening outside. Although, its funny because to us, its almost always family home evening! So since this is based on FHE, the rest of the post will include shows of gratitude. We took a drive out to the nursery and got some nice little annual flowers for our flower bed. This is the first time Eric & I have ever done anything like this on our own (i.e. without parental supervision). And believe it or not, it was awesome. It was the best "work" night I've had in a long time. I can't wait to get out and do some more yard work. We planted some Allysum & a rocket mix of Snap Dragons. Snap Dragons are by far the most fun flower on the market. Big show of appreciation for snap dragons.

Eric made this "U" in one of his classes at school and so he has decided that it naturally makes good yard art. I would have really loved a nice gnome. Ever since the movie Amelie came out, I've wanted a lawn gnome. Eric has quite the vision for all the dirt you see here so at the end of the summer I will have to compare this photo with our end result. Thank you Canon camera for a nice photograph.

Just working on my pots. They came with the house so I figured, if ya got 'em, plant 'em. I was inspired by Earth week last week. Thank you NBC! The gloves were $1 special at Target. Thank you France.
Eric working on getting rid of some grape vine in our backyard. When you were little, did you ever say "Back-E-Yard?" I remember the Josie boys used to say it like that. Thank you for the memories Josies.
Here are more pots that came with the house. We really made a steal with this purchase, eh? I really do love these pots though. The small ones are housing my herb garden. I can't wait for fresh cilantro! Thank you Cafe Rio for helping me to enhance my appreciation for cilantro. Delicious and nutritious!
Roscoe looks just like a wet seal! He loves running water. He frolicks about in it and makes these really high pitched squealing kind of noises. Who says kids are better? Thank you Wasatch Humane for a successful pet adoption.

And we can't forget Frankie. He knows how to cool down after a hot night outside. Just sprawl out on the cold tile. I wish I were flexible enough to lay like that. Actually, it closely resembles a stretch I used to do when I was in dance. Thank you, Shelly's school of dance, X'pressions, and Elite Academy for years of overpriced dance lessons, without which, I may have never made the above connection. Really, the thanks here goes to mom & dad for paying for the lessons & driving me to them & going to all the really long and boring concerts.

Cakes

2008-04-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

My posts got out of order and this is supposed to be below the next post. But these are the cakes at Grandpa Carver's 80th birthday party. This cake represents Grandpa's career as a large animal vet. Robyn did a great job, this was one of the few cakes that was at least half eaten!
This is just one of his classic jokes! Can you see why Eric aspires to be like him? Great jokes!
Tada! Here is the re-creation of the ranch made by yours truly. It is missing the cabin that we made out of graham crackers though. It blew off it the wind as we were carrying it in!
Grandpa always made the joke, "I saw you pee on a train" (UP for Union Pacific). Cute train cake made by Mahina.
Brittany cheated and bought cupcakes then decorated them with cameras because we all know that Grandpa takes random snapshots whenever he gets a chance.

And this is another store bought cake I believe, but still so cute! It is reminiscent of family vacations to Disneyland, of course.
Vicky is very talented as you can see with this hay bale cake. Oh and it was delicious! Another classic saying!
This probably was my vote for one of the best tasting cakes. Ann made it to represent the several missions that Thair & Norma have served.
This is my favorite picture of the night. Grandpa thought it great fun to put his ribbons on Jace's face!
Jace on the other hand, not so much.

Grandpa Carver's Birthday!

2008-04-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

Happy 80th birthday to Grandpa Carver. Last Saturday we drove up to Logan to have a surprise party for him. We all were supposed to meet at a park where we were going to have a family picture taken... but the photographer ditched us so we all moved to the Iron Gate Grill where we had a very nice lunch, entertainment provided by, great now I can't remember their name... it was the Rootbeer something or others. Then people were assigned to make a cake that represented Grandpa Carver in some way and as you saw, my cake was clearly the best. None of the other cakes were served fresh in the baking pan and looked like a four year old had helped out! In reality, all the other cakes were very impressive and I would just like to defend myself by saying that this was the FIRST TIME that I have EVER attempted at decorating a cake, outside of just slapping some frosting on it. And in addition to that little fact, the baking process itself didn't go without a few glitches. Here's a little lesson learned from the experience; If you forget to add water prior to mixing all the other ingredients and then add the water afterwards, it just doesn't work! Trust me! And since I don't have a professional photograph to post, here's some of my snapshots.

So here are some pictures at the park. Eric & Grandpa... Or, Eric and Eric when he is 80!

Grandpa Carver loves new babies and its a good thing because he's got four babies now under 1. (At least I think that's right.)

I like to think that Payton is just thinking very carefully about his next move on the playground here.

And Eric had great vision when he suggested that I take this picture of Grandpa's footwear. Hey, when you get to 80, comfort is #1. And he's got the "Gold Toe". Nothin' to be ashamed of here!

flower arranging, emeline & boys

2008-04-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

So last weekend I fulfilled a dream of mine that I've had for about 2 years or so. See, one Christmas Eric made me these cute shadow boxes that I wanted. I was so excited about them but then, my parents remodeled, and mom wouldn't let me hang them up on the wall in my room. So finally, a couple of years later Eric and I got married but then we lived with his parents and I couldn't hang them up there either. Now, for the past 7 months we've been living in our own place and I hung up the shadow boxes but one of them has been empty waiting to be filled. See, ever since I got the boxes my plan was to hang up a cute arrangement of Gerbera daisies in it but I never had one... until now! Tada! I made this arrangement over the weekend and I am very surprised that they actually turned out. The fake water thing was kind of tricky but here it is.Oh, and I got to hold Emeline on Sunday. She is so cute!
And then, Eric was sitting on the couch with the dogs and said, hey I guess you should come take a picture of this. But the lights were out so I couldn't see what was going on. So I took my camera over a took a picture. Really, nothing was going on, Eric just thought it was cute that he & the dogs were snuggling. Then he says to me, "I guess you'll have to blog about this." You'll note that my flash woke Frankie up in the photo. Poor little tired eyes.
That's all for now!

New Babies & Corinne's Birthday

2008-04-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

So I feel bad because I have been forgetting my camera at many special occasions recently like our trip down to St. George for my grandpa's 85th birthday and for our visit to see James & Emeline at the hospital after they were born. However I did get some cute pictures of Corinne at her birthday party. She had a "Cat" party and Teresa made a kitty litter cake. I know, it really looks disgusting but all it is a normal cake that has been mixed up into little crumbles. It was totally edible, tootsie rolls and all.

And I did remember my camera at the last nephew's birth. Here is cute little Cooper Jones. I really like that name and I am glad they didn't go with Preston. I had a neighbor named Preston that I don't associate good memories with so I wasn't a big fan of that name. He was having difficulties breathing at first so they didn't let him out of the nursery for the first day but he is doing just fine now and is home.

Terror Attack Signs

2008-03-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

I was just reminded of, quite possibly, my all-time favorite email forward when my good friend Meg re-forwarded this to me the other day and I realized that this may bring the same joy to others as they perouse my blog. Have a great day!

The US government has a new website, http://www.ready.gov/.The thing is that the pictures from the site are so ambiguous they could mean anything! Here are a few interpretations.

If your right arm is on fire, do not run

If you spot terrorism, blow your anti-terrorism whistle. If you are Vin Diesel, yell really loud.

If you spot a terrorist arrow, pin it against the wall with your shoulder

Michael Jackson is a terrorist. If you spot this smooth criminal with dead, dead eyes, run like hell.

Use your flashlight to lift any fallen walls right off of you!

If you are sprayed with an unknown substance, stand and think about it instead of seeing a doctor.

Austin is radioactive, move to Houston

If you hear the Backstreet Boys, Michael Bolton or Yanni on the radio, cower in the corner or run away fast.

If you are trapped under falling debris, conserve oxygen by not breaking wind.

If you lose a contact lens after a terrorist attack, be sure to look for it. If you cannot find it, it is probably best to roll on the floor and have a good cry.

Do not drive a station wagon if a power pole is protruding from the hood.

A one-inch thick piece of plywood should be sufficient protection against radiation.

Be on the lookout for terrorists with pinkeye and leprosy. Also, they tend to rub their hands together manically.

If a door is closed, karate chop the hinges.

Try to absorb as much of the radiation as possible with your groin region. After 5 minutes and 12 seconds, however, change the focus point to your head.

After exposure to radiation it is important to consider that you may have mutated to gigantic dimensions: watch your head.

If you've become a radiation mutant with a deformed hand, remember to close the window. No one wants to see that crap.

I thought I was going to be an artist

2008-02-26T16:28:00.000-08:00

I was visiting my parents' when they pulled out all of the many creations of mine that they have been saving all these years. When I saw this picture that I drew of my family when I was 3 and in the recent wake of my nephews discovering their artistic abilities, I thought I'd take this opportunity to brag about my own abilities. Tell Evan and Taylor to keep reaching for the stars. One day, they'll be as good as I was!

Dogs 'n bed

2008-02-24T12:06:00.000-08:00

Eric always likes to take pictures of me sleeping but I loved this one because Roscoe was snuggling with me. I always fall asleep at night with Roscoe or Frankie in my arms but usually in the morning they have moved. However, this morning when I woke up Roscoe was laying on me in my arms! I love my dogs! Roscoe is funny because when he is really tired he is completely lifeless. You'd think he was dead because you can move him around like a sack of potatoes. This is when we were having a good time with him one morning because he was trying to sleep and we were trying to get him to sit up but he just ended up all hunched over and squished up like an old man. The picture really doesn't do it justice.
This was Frankie's first injury. He somehow cut himself in our car on the way to Grandpa and Grandma's house on Super Bowl Sunday. He wore the bandage for 2 days and then when we tried to take it off, he totally flipped out. I think he was mad because he looked so tough with it on!
And finally something not about our dogs... we got a new bedspread set! Our bedroom looks a little less like a college dorm room now!