Still Playing catch-up: Misc

Logan's Birthday party:

Logan is one day shy of four weeks younger than Parker, and his mom and I were pregnant at the same time, and have been friends since back home in New York. I honestly can't remember the first time I met her, but we've been friends since! When Thomas and I first got married, we lived in the same ward as Zac and Sarah, and so Parker and Logan spent their first growing up months together :) We're going to miss them!

On a side note, those shoes Evan's wearing in the pic only fit him for a few days: his feet are wide, and those shoes gave him blisters. We'll be keeping him in crocs til fall I think. No point in buying him more shoes that he'll outgrow quicker than he actually wears them! They get so big so fast!
If ever we couldn't find Evan, he was playing with the wheel, making vrooming noises :) They loved a new and different playground to play in, and the other kiddies.

The boys played in the ice bucket to cool off after the cake and hot dogs were gone, and the drinks removed from the bucket. I think they had as much fun with the ice as they did with the playground and the toys!

Evan's ER trip

No, we're not terrible parents, and Parker had nothing to do with it! Evan was running in our room and crashed into the corner of the wall where our washer and drier are hiding in their closet. Poor kid. Thomas heard the thud, then the screaming. We took Evan to urgent care, and my mom stayed with a very concerned Parker. Thankfully she was home; it made things a lot easier! We got to Riverwoods Urgent Care, and were pleased to find a fantastic parking spot, only a little surprised that it seemed so empty. We walked in the building and realized it was the wrong one. All of the medical buildings look THE SAME! No big. We just walked next door and got things taken care of... well, not really. I finished filling out the insurance paperwork, and the nurse had us bring Evan back to see the Doctor to ascertain if they would even be able to help Evan. The doctor said he definitely needed stitches, although glue might do it, but they weren't able to do conscious sedation or something there, so we needed to take Evan to the ER. so, back in the care and off to Timpview Regional. Thomas sat in the back with Evan, holding a towel-wrapped ice cube to Evan's eyebrow.
Observe the lightning bolt pattern? Thomas thought it was so cool. I'll admit that I was annoyed that Thomas was taking pictures, and that he'd taken the time to grab the camera, but I think Evan will appreciate the documentation someday... if he's anything like his dad!

Evan was so good, and so sweet while we waited. He was totally mellow though, which let us know he was hurting. I'd given him some Tylenol before we left, and I think it was helping. Thankfully we didn't have to wait too long. I think our whole adventure took about an hour...
This is in the room, after getting cleaned up. The cut would not stop bleeding, but Evan was so great! The doctor looked at it, and said that steri strips would be perfect, but since Evan would rip them off, we decided on glue. The cut had started healing enough between the Urgent Care and the ER that he didn't need stitches after all! yay! He was so sweet the entire time, and the nurses gave him a little dog beanie baby to hold and keep. Most expensive stuffed animal ever! He loved it though. He LOVES dogs. He'll chase them calling "Goggie! Goggie!" until he can pet them and hug them. He loves doggie kisses too... unlike Parker. Parker prefers to look, and observe the animals without touching or being touched.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple



I love how much the boys love being at the temple. They also loved the flowers, and couldn't get enough of looking at them and pointing to them!

Family Camp out

We decided to have a camp out with Thomas' siblings that are here in Provo, and Jonathan and Amanda were gracious enough to go camping on their birthdays, and I'm glad because we all had a great time.
Evan loved the picnic table, and by breakfast time, I'd given up trying to keep him off of it. He LOVES being outside, and had a great time.
left to right: Robby, Timothy, and Carlie Evans, Amanda and Jonathan, then us!
We had some great food. Thomas made dutch oven potatoes, we had grilled chicken, and I got to introduce everyone to Cornell sauce... mmmmm.... We had aluminum foil-cooked carrots, mostly for the three little guys, and Carlie made a great salad. S'mores, peach cobbler, hot chocolate for dessert later... so fantastic. Breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. But, I still ended up bringing grapes, juice boxes, yogurt, cheese sticks, and apples for the boys: and it's good that I did. They ate the carrots we cooked, but other than that stuck with the snacks I brought. Crazy kids.

Amanda made some fantastic peach cobbler, but Evan only wanted the whipped cream :)


Yes, that's me between the boys. I tend to get migraines in the morning, so I was covering my eyes. It's crazy how CLOSE they will get to you!
Evan woke up and was carrying his blanket around for quite awhile. Parker slept in... I couldn't get him to wake up for breakfast, and finally just left the tent flap open until he got up. Then, he sat up and said, "It's day!" And cheerfully slipped his shoes on and joined us all.

Family Scripture study:
We've been trying to implement daily scripture study and prayer into our nightly routine, usually after bath time, when they're clean and quiet :) We're pretty good most days. Parker likes to "read along" in his own copy, and this particular night he was repeating everything Thomas read. It was adorable. He's done it a few times since as well. I love it when they get into scripture study. Sometimes we only get through a few verses, and we wonder if they even caught a word. Other times Parker will ask questions, and even Evan will get excited about words he knows: like "hand" or "Jesus." As tough as it is sometimes, I know it's worth it. Children can feel the Spirit of the Lord, and when we read the word of God, they can feel it, even if they don't understand everything. Good habits are important too.

Evan wanted a turn reading too, but ended up being more interested in the book mark :)

Spring!

I took this picture from our back door in the basement. There are steps leading up to the lawn, so the flowers were above us. It was a cool effect.

Evan loves getting outside! He's wearing a ribbon he found, and has some kind of sticker label stuck to his pants. I stopped him from playing with that gas can. He loves playing with any tools he can get a hold of too. He loves running around with the toy hammer saying "hama!" We just try to keep the boys from getting each other!

Fun play time...

One of Evan's favorite things is to lie on the stairs and play with his cars. Parker's usually sitting at the bottom of the stairs playing too, sometimes with Evan, sometime next to him, and sometimes they're fighting. The bottom of the stairs seems to be a preferred play place though, and we're always picking up toys from there. Nothing like stepping on cars right after coming down the stairs! Ouch!
The boys are absolutely in love with the movie Toy Story and will watch it as many times a day as we'll let them. They also love each other. We did take them to see Toy Story 3 in theater, their first movie! We'd just gone to run errands, and didn't want to go home yet, but didn't want to go to a park since it was so hot. We drove past a new theater, and decided to check show times. It was 5:30, and the movie started at 5:20; I asked if we'd miss any of the movie if we bought tickets then, and was informed that there were still several minutes of previews. I bought the tickets, got the boys from the car, Thomas parked, and we made it for the last preview and the movie. The boys were pretty good. Evan got squirrelly and wanted to run around with the other little toddler babies that were walking around, but they were pretty quiet and attentive. Parker did want to watch the real Toy Story when we got home. I think that Big Baby creeped him out a bit. The movie was also aimed towards a larger audience, but he's still talking about it!

This picture is actually from before Parker's birthday though: we know because the nuk fairy came on Parker's birthday and took all of his pacifiers away. It was a rough transition for a few nights, but he got over it! such a big boy!
What big helpers! Evan has underwear on over his diaper because he liked to pull his diaper off and run around naked. We compromised with the undies. He will pee on the potty if you put him on it though, but won't initiate it himself. Still, he's doing better with the potty training than Parker is! Parker's only gone twice... ::sigh:: But, we're postponing further potty training until we move. Next week. Crazy.

Evan thought it was the coolest thing to stick his rubber ducky on his chest :) It entertained all of us for several minutes!

And, what's more fun than laundry baskets! The boys love laundry day when all of the laundry baskets are empty, and crying out with temptation to be played with! Parker actually pushed Evan in the laundry basket all the way from the living room to our bedroom.

Fun in the sun... and the pool

Thomas acquired the pool, brand new, when he helped one of his former professors move. Parker got the slide for his birthday. Thank you Grandmas and Grandpas! We love when Carlie and Timothy come over to play :)

And, what's summer without popsicles??
Parker's Birthday
We don't have a lot of pictures... mostly videos of Parker opening all of his presents. I uploaded one of them... We were going to do a Mickey Mouse cake, but Parker decided that he wanted a big boy chocolate cake with strawberries in it. Thomas made the cake and frosting, and garnished it with strawberries per request of our darling three year old. I had class that night until 6:30, picked up the fruit on my way home, and made it in time for our guests to arrive. It was fantastic, and Parker felt loved and special.
Hiking the Y
Yes, my bald husband :) Thomas is a young men's leader, and so goes to mutual every Wednesday night. This particular night they were hiking the Y, so Thomas took the boys with him so that I could get some studying done (and it paid off: I got two A's and an A-!)

Parker absolutely adores Bruce Brockbank...

The young men totally helped out toting the boys! The boys spent forever playing with the rocks on the side of the trail at the top, and Evan actually carried a rock with him all the way down the mountain, and left it in his car seat after he fell asleep.

4th Anniversary

Four years ago today Thomas and I were married and sealed in the Palmyra, NY temple. What a blessing! He's actually at scout camp this week, but even had I known four years ago that I would spend today cleaning up after two busy boys, doing dishes, laundry, house cleaning, and then enjoy Costco hot dogs for dinner, I would have had no qualms. No regrets. I'm so grateful to be married to the best man I know. And, he's a great father to boot! I love how dedicated he is to all of his commitments: to the Lord, to me, to our children, and to his church callings. That's why he's at scout camp! He's a fantastic man who honors his priesthood, and who loves me more than I'd imagined possible.

Today:

Our family at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple after a sealing session: Thomas' cousin and two gorgeous adopted little girls :) The boys loved being at the temple.
You've got to love how Evan's squirming down, and Parker has lost his shoes. ::sigh::

And, four years ago...

This is my favorite wedding picture. It rained three inches on our wedding day... but it was fantastic! I love this pic because it wasn't posed.... He's so cute!

And, leading up to four years ago:

The mission:
I still think it's amazing that Thomas waited for me on my mission! He wrote me so faithfully, and was an answer to my prayers so many times during my mission. I understand what Elder Groberg meant when he said at a devotional in the MTC that he felt sorry for anyone who didn't have someone waiting at home, supporting, loving, and strengthening. I honestly didn't believe that Thomas would still be available when I got home from my mission: it seemed to good to be true! But, he was, and he is!

(My first investigator and baptism, Antonia. Such a sweetheart!)

The sparks of romance...before the mission...

Yeah... his "first" proposal. I was helping his FHE group out with a picture scavenger hunt. I went out of my way to help him out, and still, he didn't get that I was interested... but, hey, it all worked out! For the best :)
This one totally looks like an engagement pic, right? It's from August 2004. I kept a copy of this picture in my white handbook on my mission... always close at hand, and to heart. We've only been married for four years, but we've loved each other so much longer than that! Thomas has been, and is, such a blessing in my life. He is one of the tender mercies of the Lord, and I hope that someday I'll deserve him!