Family Pics 2008

In October, Robert, Nate and I went with my sister Liz and her husband and daughters on a trip to Sun Valley. It was so nice! We love hanging out with them because they are so relaxed. There was no stress for those few days. That's hard to come by. Anyway, Liz is trying to start a small photography business and we were in desperate need of new family pics. Nate was 8 months old when we had our last ones done. So here are some of the pics she took for us. I think they get better as you go.













The weather was really nice for the outside pictures. It was overcast so the sun wasn't too bright causing me to squint. I have no eyes when I smile so squinting is no good for me. The indoor photos are at the lodge. Of course, I think my favorite is the one of just Robert and Nate holding hands. Liz did a good job of just shooting us as we played outside. I'm not a big fan of posed pictures. Anyway, what do you think? Which do you think is the best? Robert and I don't totally agree on which one should be the big one on the wall. I also want to send a big shout out to Liz. Thanks for doing this for us!

Testimony

I know times are really tough for a lot of people right now because of the economy. Robert and I have been no exception. When we moved here we were so excited for him to teach at BSU and it was a great job. Then everything crashed. Since the economy is so bad less people are attending BSU this next semester and Robert was given half the amount of classes. That was the first ouch. Then we had to start applying for PhD's. Most of you know that applications cost a lot of money on their own, but with addition charges for transcripts and other small things here and there we were getting crushed. That was ouch number two. So Robert started looking for another job and got a teaching position at CWI. We were so excited and thought that would be enough. Looking at our finances, it was not. That was ouch number three.

That all happened around Thanksgiving. We both started applying everywhere we could think of. Robert got a couple of interviews, even, and none of them worked out. The closer Christmas got, the more desperate we got. Robert even started looking in fast food. You gotta pay the bills, ya know? Anyway, that was really hard for him because he was a professor by day and didn't want to ask, "Would you like fries with that?" at night. I can't say I blame him, either. I was really sad for him.

So we started fasting, and praying, and reading with concerted effort. We asked our families to join in our prayers and fasts and my mom just told me she added us to the prayer roll at the temple. We recommitted to working hard in our callings as ward missionaries and attended every meeting. We looked for any ways we could to serve and tried to be more active in our ward functions. I don't mean to make it sound like we didn't already do those things, we did, we just were looking for any blessings we could find. I love how I've felt since we started doing this. I have always loved the church and have always been very active, but I felt like everything would be fine even if Robert couldn't find a third job. I had my moments of panic thinking about moving to a smaller, cheaper apartment or asking my parents to house us until we moved, but for the most part, I knew things would work out and I'd learn whatever lesson I needed to learn.

Robert was searching the Internet one day and found a position as a Psychosocial Therapist. The position involved working with kids with learning or social disorders. You travel to their homes and basically act as a tutor for them. He applied, hoping that it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to have degrees in Political Science because 21 credits of human behavioral courses where a job requirement, and he only, technically,had 18. He was able to get an interview and returned home saying he felt good about it. We were nervous he wouldn't meet the requirements. Four days later we get a call back. They said there was a problem with his credits...until they saw that he attended BYU. While at BYU he took the Family Relations course. Coincidentally, both men who interviewed him were also BYU grads and understood the Family Relations course which also, coincidentally, happened to be 3 credits. With that course, Robert fit the job requirements and was offered the position. I was in the other room at the time the call came and all I heard from the bedroom was an excited, "Yes, yes, I accept!" I lost my breath and almost started crying. At that moment I said a prayer of gratitude. This job is an answered prayer in so many ways. Not only will it make it possible to survive, it will provide us with benefits. We haven't been able to afford health insurance for Robert or I since we got to Idaho. I know that is terrible, especially being the daughter of a doctor.

I just wanted to put out there how grateful I am for my Savior and my Father in Heaven. They really do hear our prayers and know our hearts. They bless us every time we come to them. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ is the true church and has been restored to us in this dispensation. I have a testimony of fasting. It's a real struggle for me but every time I commit to it with all my heart, I feel closer to the Lord and am comforted. I love the scriptures, I struggle with that, too, sometimes, but they are priceless in their content and lessons. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and I am so grateful for his sacrifices to bring us all we are blessed with today. I know Thomas S. Monson is the living prophet for us today. I love the assurance that I feel from him that if I follow his council and do my best to be a good person and example, I will never faulter. Finally, I am most grateful for the Atoning Sacrifice of my Savior. Our greatest blessing. I know that if we use it and turn over our fears, faults and struggles that He will be standing beside us, with His arms around us and gratefully take those things from us.
I have been so blessed in my life and wish to let Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father know how grateful I am for that.

Why I'm loving Thursdays

Thursdays rock for me right now. I'm super lazy. It's the only day of the work week that I don't have Maggie. Don't get me wrong, she's super easy to watch and so happy and cute, but a day off always rocks. Let me paint you a picture of my day today thus far...

It's 10:51 and I'm still in my pj's.

None of the beds have been made yet.

I've been playing on my blog and catching up with others for more than an hour now.

I just got to breakfast and ate it in front of my computer.

Nate is fed but still in his pj's.

I've plugged him into "The Little Mermaid" so I know I have at least an hour where he's occupied.

I'm going to crawl back into my warm bed after I'm done here and read my scriptures.

My only housework plans today involve my front room: dusting, vacuuming and organizing which will only take 20 minutes.

I have a new Netflix which I plan on watching after I soak in the tub where I'll probably start my new book.

Robert will be home for lunch around 2 and Nate will be napping so I'll get to enjoy quiet one-on-one time with my husband.

Tonight is volleyball night for me and I'll be playing from 8-11ish tonight.

So I know this is really bad, I'm admitting it, I know. But everyone should have a day like this every once in a while. I am able to be much mellower because I get days like this one. Now, mind you, not every Thursday is this lazy, there's usually things that I have to get to, but this week I've worked especially hard to get all those things out of the way so I can enjoy my day today. There are things I could do that I'm leaving until tomorrow but I'll probably get to them today because I'm sure I'll be bored once evening hits. I'm also really blessed to only have one child of my own right now. I hope that doesn't sound bad. I would love to have another child of my own but because Nate's gotten so old and listens so well I get to do a lot of what I want on days like this. If I had another one I don't think days like this would exist. So I'm grateful for today and hope to relish it!

Best Cake Ever!!!

Yesterday was my 26th birthday. Whoo hoo! After a good day of working it was time to go celebrate. My sister Liz offered to watch Nate so Robert and I could go to dinner. We decided on Carino's. I love that place, but I have to admit I wanted to go some place different. A place I'd never been before, but there really aren't a ton of options in the Nampa/Boise area. Everything here is pretty much chain resturaunts. Despite that, we still had an excellent dinner.


So, Robert waited until the afternoon of my birthday to worry about the cake. I told him I wanted a Dairy Queen ice cream cake because I knew that would be easier on him than making me a cake himself. He said that this cake was all they had left...

All I could do was laugh. It's pretty typical of Robert to just punt when things don't work out just right. I would stress out and go looking for the perfect cake but Robert, nah, he just gets what he can. I don't think I'll let him live this one down for awhile. I'm mean nothing says Happy December Birthday like an ice cream cake with pumpkins and a turkey.

The cake was so yummy, though. I love the fudge and cookie crumbs. You have to eat the vanilla ice cream layer first, then the chocolate ice cream layer, and finally the fudge and cookies last. Delicious!
Nate helped me blow out my candles. There weren't nearly 26, but it was close. I think they were just trying to make it easier on my weak lungs. :)

We wore little Nate out. He was so tired he was begging for us to go home. He didn't even eat any of the cake. Which, I'm telling you, is historic. I do love when he gets tired like that though because it's the only time I can get my Energizer Bunny to cuddle with me.

I just love a simple birthday spent in good company, and of course, good food! I had a great birthday and I am so thankful for all the Happy Birthday wishes from friends and family. Thanks, guys.

Thanksgiving in Nampa

So, I kinda botched the picture taking at my family's Thanksgiving. I still think it's a good idea to document what I was able to get. We had the big feast at my parents' house. I have to say that I am enjoying being close to family this holiday season because we won't have to travel at all. I think it's 20 minutes to my parents' house from our apartment. Awesome, completely awesome. A huge improvement over 24 hours. Anyway, we had a big family turn-out. Liz and Jason and their daughters Syd and Maggie, Me and Robert with Nate, John and his wife Jessica and their son Little John, and David. The only one that wasn't able to make it was Krista. She stayed in Las Vegas and had Thanksgiving with some millionaire friends. I don't think she really missed us when she was experiencing that. We all brought a couple of sides and the spread was amazing. We barely touched anything because there was so much and we all just wanted to have a little of everything so we could taste it all. After dinner, Liz and Jason and the girls had to go visit with Jason's family and so the rest of us vegged and tried to digest.

This is John and my mom relaxing. They watched the toddlers while the rest of us played Pinochle.
I had to take my turn watching Nate so Robert got a chance to play some Pinochle himself. Nate was on sensory overload. Kids to play with, Grandma and Grandpa to spoil him, fun toys and so much food with sugar.
Jessica, Robert, David and Dad playing Pinochle. It's kind of my family's game. When we moved here Robert was a sport and learned how to play it. I just think it's karma for making me play so much Settlers of Catan in Arizona. (I loved it...most of the time! :))

One of the cutest things that happened that day was my brother, John, reading to his son and Nate. The book he's reading was one of our favorites growing up and it has in turn become a favorite of our children's. It's called The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear. It's out of print but my sister, Krista, was able to find 5 copies so all of us could have a copy for our kids and Mom and Dad could keep their well-worn copy.

It was a good Thanksgiving. No drama, which is somewhat of an accomplishment for my family. The food was great, the pies were even better (Mom, Liz and I made them all from scratch on Wednesday afternoon) and the company was fantastic.

Maybe there's hope

My mom made a lot of my clothes growing up and I never thought they were "cool". So the older I got and the more she pushed, my aversion to sewing grew. I don't like to piece quilts, tie quilts or even hand quilt even though I know how to do all of that. I was forced to learn how to use a sewing machine long ago but I permanently blocked those traumatic images from my consciousness. Recently, I grew frustrated with shopping because I couldn't find what I wanted. A red pencil skirt. Why was it so hard to find that? Anyway, my mom took me to a fabric store and I begrudgingly looked at material. Instead of red we found this really pretty chocolate brown and teal brocade. It was on sale and so was a pattern that I liked. I was able to get everything I needed to make a skirt for about $15. For the next week I made trips out to my mom's and she helped me make this skirt. I actually enjoyed it. Ouch, all my years of denial and now I want to actually learn more. So here's the finished product. I wish it was closer so you could see the material better but just use your imagination. Best of all I had stuff already in my closet to go with it. Yay! So here's yet another point for my mom in the category of "She was right, I was wrong, and now I have to admit that to her". Thank goodness my mom is humble!

I dress myself!

Are there words for this?? I don't know. Yesterday we were getting ready to go have dinner at my parents' house when Nate decided to get himself dressed. Those are his pj's on top. Yes, he is wearing a pair of underwear under his pants, and yes, those are Cars underwear on top. When we tried to get him to take off the Cars underwear he threw a fit. It just wasn't worth the battle for me. Good thing it was just family that saw him running around like that! He wore them proudly all night.

"Honey, I'm old."

On November 15 Robert celebrated his 27th birthday. It was a Saturday so we got to sleep in a bit more than usual. I whispered to him, "Happy Birthday" and then he looked at me in all seriousness and said, "Honey, I'm old." I just started laughing. I hope he's not old at 27. I am anticipating many more years with him.

We celebrated by getting a babysitter (thanks Cheri and Brett) and going to the afternoon showing of the new James Bond movie. It was pretty good. Kinda weak as far as plot is concerned, but still entertaining. We invited my sister, Liz, and her husband, Jason, to come to the movie with us. It was fun to go somewhere with no kids and act like kids ourselves.
After the movie we invited Liz and Jason back to our apartment for cake.
Robert's favorite birthday cake is the Rainbow Chip cake with the Rainbow Chip frosting. Will he let me make him a homemade cake? No, it has to be from the box. He's very specific with his cakes and this is the only kind he's ever let me make him on his birthday.

He had a little help blowing out the candles (Nate thought it was his birthday again) and then we all had some cake. If you've never had this kind of cake before I'll give you fair warning. A small piece is more than enough. It's so sweet you can feel the cavities forming.
I always let Robert request what he'd like for dinner on his birthdays. This year he chose homemade gnocchi with a vodka cream sauce. Yum! Let me tell you, gnocchi is messy to make! It was fun for me to learn some new cooking techniques, though, and experiment with a new recipe.

Since things are a bit tight right now, as they are for everyone, I wasn't able to get Robert anything too special for his birthday so I thought I would embarrass him a little and list 27 wonderful things that I love about him (listed in no particular order).

1. His laugh. It's very distinct and very infectious.
2. His smile, also infectious.
3. I love his big blue eyes and I hope someday a child of ours inherits them.
4. How hard he works for us.
5. His ambitious nature.
6. His constant wish to learn.
7. His passion for what he loves.
8. How he has to goof around with everything electronic and know all gizmos backwards and forwards before he can just let them be.
9. How he approaches things with optimism.
10. How he always admits he's wrong or that he made a mistake or that he's sorry even though it should be me who's doing it most of the time.
11. How we have to get to movies 30 minutes early, no matter what the movie, for good seats and the previews.
12. How he gives me the time I need almost everyday to take care of myself. He's always worried about my well-being.
13. How he gets along with his siblings so well and keeps in good contact with them.
14. How he respects his parents and still seeks their advice.
15. How he's completely committed to me and Nate.
16. How I see him trying to improve as a father and teacher for our son.
17. He loves the Gospel and his Father and Heaven and Savior and he's constantly teaching me things and surprising me with his intuitiveness.
18. How he loves to travel just like me.
19. How he watches me during mushy moments of shows and movies out of the corner of his eye with a big grin to see if I'm smiling and/or tearing up.
20. How he does dishes for me once a week.
21. How he introduced me to 711 slushies and pop-rocks.
22. How he loves to dress up in suits and ties. (He looks so good!)
23. How he volunteers to watch Nate so I can go out with girlfriends for as long as I'd like.
24. How he holds my hand when he's driving.
25. How he tells me I look nice every time I try to dress up for him.
26. His hair. I tease him about having "McDreamy" hair. It's true though, very thick and wavy. Some of his students even told him his hair was distracting...what's he teaching, anyway? :)
27. How he can still make my heart skip a beat by just giving me a quick call between classes or flashing me his smile.

I know, really sappy, but I love this man! He is everything to me and, at the risk of sounding over-dramatic, I don't think I'd survive with out him. I love him more everyday (I know, cliche) and I am so thankful everyday that I was the one he chose to share his life with.

I love you, Robert, forever.

Erin's Uncle Rico Moment

I realize that Erin is probably going to be upset at me for posting this, but I really don't care because she is awesome and I am proud of her. Recently, Erin decided to join a city volleyball league here in Nampa to re-live her high school glory days. So, she dusted off her knee-pads and volleyball shoes and hit the court like a hammer. Her team was, needless to say, very good. At least compared to the other teams in the league. They were very dominate throughout the season and when it came to tournament time, her team steamrolled into the finals and captured eternal glory by winning the Nampa City League Championship for Division I. Overall, I am very proud of Erin's accomplishment and she has a shiny new plaque and a new T-Shirt proclaiming that she and her team are the champions. GOOD JOB ERIN!


Now, as she wears her T-shirt and carries her plaque around, you can almost hear Unlce Rico voice, "Well, if coach woulda put me in fourth quarter, we’d have been state champions. No doubt. No doubt in my mind. You better believe things had been different. I’d have gone pro in a heartbeat. I’d be making millions of dollars and living in a big ol’ mansion somewhere, soaking it up in a hot tub with my soul mate." Although she did not make the millions of dollars and get her mansion, she did find her soul mate that will always be in the stands cheering for her!

(Disclaimer, Erin does not wear her championship shirt and carry her plaque around and she is really modest about her winning, in fact too modest. She really does not talk about it much and this was the only way that I could get her accomplishments documented. Overall, and I cannot adequately emphasize this point, she is really nothing like Uncle Rico, except for the whole sole mate thing. The league starts up again in January and I will get some pictures of the Ross Hammer in action.)

WARNING Poltiical Soapbox

There are some opinions in here that everyone may not agree with so please remember that I am still a good person with a couple of questions...

So, the election... President-elect Obama... Conservative views... Blowing things way out of proportion here folks...

I, personally, voted for McCain, and even though he did not win, I am still trying to get a handle on the current situation and how I can go forward with the election results. I have to say that Robert and I have had more than a few discussions about where the Presidency of the United States is going (he is a political scientist so even if I wanted to, I couldn't avoid them).

I was sitting in church today, and I LOVE my ward and the church, but I have to say that I really disagree with the way the whole attitude about politics is shifting since the election. Our RS teacher, who I also love and enjoy immensely, got up and proceeded to share how her week had been an awful one and she didn't even want to come to church. I can identify with that one. Sometimes getting to church is more effort than I feel I can afford. She then shared how she watched Music and the Spoken Word and it helped her feel a little better. I was thinking to myself, "Great idea, religious music always helps me better prepare for church." Apparently, the theme of the music this week was patriotic, I didn't actually see the broadcast. She then shared how after hearing the music and becoming emotional she realized that everything is going to be okay with the country. There were heavy allusions in her story to how the election turned out. I think we are all entitled to an opinion, that's what makes this country great, but I really don't think it's appropriate to share them at church. Even the leadership of the church stays far away from sharing their own political opinions. When the election drew near all they counseled us to do was to pray for help in our political decision.

A portion of our lesson went into the signs of the times. We were asked to name a few signs of the times. Of course, the election and all the Propositions came up. Someone raised their hand and said that our government will be hanging by a thread and that it is now, in fact, hanging by a thread. I know that a lot of this is personal interpretation but I think that's very far from the truth. Also, it's not the government that will be hanging by a thread, it's the Constitution. If we were ever close to the Constitution hanging by a thread wouldn't it be in 2000 when the neither the popular vote nor the electoral college played any part in electing the new President to office? Florida's Supreme Court called for a recount but the Federal Supreme Court ruled that unconstitutional because the Constitution states that the President must be decided by January and if Florida reassessed the ballots they would not be finished by January. The result, the Supreme Court decided our President. So either way the Constitution was not upheld. The Constitution was hanging a bit more then than it is now.

Also, the election is over, people! There is nothing you can do now but to hope and pray for President Obama. You never know, he may turn out to be a great President. Remember, no one liked President Lincoln when he took office. I've found in the conversations as of late concerning the election, that not many people have a true understanding of what Obama's platform was and what he hopes to accomplish in his time in office. I think a lot of people would be slower to hate if they studied it all out and tried the get a working understanding for themselves rather than what they've heard from their neighbors or friends or in the office. One of the great things about this day is that information is right at your fingertips. Learn for yourself, try to gain an understanding and you may be surprised what you find. Finally, since there is nothing more you can do on the Presidential front, try to support him. We need to be a country united. If you really want to continue the battle, pay attention to the smaller elections that will be coming around soon and make sure you vote people into those offices that you believe will hold your standards and accomplish the things that you believe are important. After all, aren't the men and women of the House, Senate, and other offices in the nation the men and women that could potentially climb the ladder to run as a future President? In the smaller, midterm elections there are only 30-40% of voters showing up to actually vote.

So what's my point? The President has been decided. Although you may not agree with the popular vote and the electoral college, it was done Constitutionally. It's not the end of the world and it's not the end of the United States. The only question I have that I haven't been able to get a clear answer on is; is all the uproar due to the fact he's a Democrat or that he's African American? I hate the race thing, but no one can anwer that for me thus far. I realize this may only be an issue because of the region I live in (very conservative and mostly white) but I think it's very progressive and great that so many people can feel that they are sociologically represented in government when they have not been before.

So, don't judge me too harshly. I know some of you are going to really, shall we say, dislike what I've shared, but that's what's great about the United States of America. Besides, now I can say that I have worked out with the President of the United States!

Halloween 2008

Halloween is so much fun when you have young kids! I had such a good time last night. I had been sick the night before and all day, but there was no way I was going to miss Nate's Halloween. This year we are lucky to be near family and friends so we had people to go with and they knew all the great places to go trick-or-treating.
Nate was Obi-won again. He was Obi-won last year, too, but that was in Chicago so I figured I had a bye for this years costume.
Unfortunately, for Robert, we didn't have any excuse to dress up with Nate so before we went out trick-or-treating he put on his Darth Vader costume that he inherited from his dad. I'm usually Princess Leia (not with the bikini, think white dress) but didn't feel up to getting all dressed up for a picture. Nate wanted nothing to do with his dad once the mask got on. I wanted a picture of Obi-won hugging Vader or sitting on his lap, but this was as close to him as Nate would get.We went to my sister Liz's house first to get started on the night. Her girls were so cute! Sydney, her oldest, was a pirate and Maggie was a sweet little Ladybug. Nate is infatuated with his cousins so it was perfect to go trick-or-treating with them. Thanks Liz and Jason!
Of, course we had to do all the picture posing wit the kids and stuff before we took off. They look great don't they?I had to throw in this little close-up of Maggie. I love those cheeks!As previously mentioned, these cousins can't get enough of each other.

The weather was so perfect and it was great spending the night with Robert. He usually teaches nights so I get pretty lonely at night. I even got to hold his hand a little!
This was the first year that Nate actually got the concept of Halloween. We did a ton of walking and I'd ask him if he was getting tired or if he wanted me to carry him for a bit and he was say emphatically, "NO!" It was all about the candy and running up to the doors with Sydney.Sydney was terrific. Most of the places we went had really long walkways up to the door so she would take his hand and direct him up to the front door. I loved standing back and watching. I could even hear them say, "Trick-or-treat!" and "Thank you!" They are really good kids.
We found that as the evening progressed, Nate decided to sit down on the ground every time he saw the camera. I am not sure if he was tired of walking and needed a break, or if his plastic pumpkin was getting too heavy to carry, but without fail, Nate always managed to sit and take a break when he saw us taking a picture.

After we managed to maximize the amount of candy we were able to get from strangers, we went to some more familiar homes, homes that actually let us inside. We made a stop at Grandma and Grandpa Kunz's house where Nate's sugary treasures grew exponentially. Grandma gave him another pumpkin full of more candy, little canisters of play-doh, a skeleton straw, and silly string. It was quite the haul and, needless to say, Nate was on sensory overload. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Kunz

So, after all was said and done and people were no longer willing to have kids ring their doorbell, we went home to look at the fruits of our labors. Nate did very well for himself for his first real trick-or-treating experience. After he paid the modest Parental Candy Tax, he has quite the stash of candy to eat over the next few weeks. Nothing like eating a bunch of candy for the next few weeks to condition our bodies for the binging of Thanksgiving! Happy Halloween everyone!

A big day

Tomorrow Robert takes the GRE again (he took it to get into his Master's program but is re-taking it because he'd like to improve his score for his PhD applications). He's been working really hard and studying a ton. Despite all his preparations he is still really nervous. He's the type that can become really disappointed in himself if he doesn't reach, or exceed, his own expectations. So I'm putting this out there in hopes of extra support. He will need all the prayers and best wishes that he can get. Thanks for all of your support. We'll let you know how the test goes!

Tagged. This is for Allison:

8 favorite TV Shows (not in any particular order.)
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Prison Break
3. The Office
4. Supernatural (Thanks to my sister Liz)
5. Any do-it-yourself, cooking, gardening, etc.
6. Friends
7. Martha
8. Recently Robert and I started watching Everybody Loves Raymond re-runs. Pretty funny.

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Boston Blackies in Chicago
2. Chef's Table in Provo
3. Mona Lisa in Nampa
4. Weber Grill in Chicago
5. Carino's
6. Brick 29 in Nampa
7. Copper Canyon in Nampa
8. Anyplace without a dollar menu! :)

8 things that happened yesterday
1. Watched my niece, Maggie
2. Did 5 loads of laundry
3. Cleaned, cleaned, cleaned
4. Celebrated my youngest brother, David's, 22nd birthday
5. We had pie instead of cake for dessert
6. Played some good volleyball
7. Played Guitar Hero (the brand new one) with Robert and invited Liz and her family to join us
8. Went to bed early

8 Things I look forward to
1. Nap time!!
2. Making dinner
3. Seeing friends
4. Being done with school
5. Finishing a good book and starting a new one
6. My daily workouts
7. Compiling my recipe book
8. Finding out where we will be headed for Robert's PhD

8 things I love about the Fall
1. The crisp air
2. The temperature (it's perfect to be outside)
3. The colors
4. The birthdays and holidays with my family
5. The smells of the spiced ciders, cookies and Thanksgiving
6. The year winding down
7. Family coming in from out of town
8. School breaks! Woohoo!

8 things on my wish list
1. A house, someday
2. Another child, who knows when?
3. Can I do one for Robert? A 40" Samsung Touch of Color TV
4. Travel. Anywhere, anytime.
5. Winning the lottery. You know, for the student loans :)
6. A Christmas. Last year we really didn't have one...
7. More time in the day
8. For there to be an extended amount of time where all of my family and all of my friends are well and happy.

So, I'm supposed to Tag 8 people now, but just do it if you haven't yet or you want to. I always discover things I didn't know when people do these.

Have Fun! :)

Pumpkins!

Carving pumpkins is one of Robert's favorite things about the fall. I love it too, but not quite the same. He gets online and tries to find the coolest pumpkin. He always starts out too ambitious and realizes that he doesn't have the tools or that it would take way too long and is way too complicated. This year, he did the Batman. Nate has the mini pumpkin (it was supposed to be the Transformers logo, but Robert couldn't make it work in such a small area), and I have the happy pumpkin. My mom also gave us the gourd from her garden and we decided to paint it up like a ghost.

Robert and Nate posing for the picture once all the pumpkins had been carved.
Nate is such a ham when it comes to the camera. Recently we bought a video camera and whenever we pull it out to try to get Nate doing all his cute stuff spontaneously he runs up as close as he can get and just yells over and over, "Nate's picture! Nate's picture!" So when I asked him to hold his pumpkin and smile he was more than compliant.


Here it is, Robert pouring over his pumpkin. I have finished mine and was halfway done with the gourd before Robert had decided how to tackle his Batman.

We love this season. We love the holidays and we love the weather. The weather is perfect for running, the air is clean and crisp and we can start layering all of our clothes and pull out all the sweaters and hats and scarves and boots. Robert and Nate love Halloween the most, I think (stay tuned for the costume and trick-or-treating fun). After Halloween hits, Robert's birthday hits, then Thanksgiving, then my birthday, then Christmas, then New Year's. It's all downhill from here!