Oh How the Time Flies!

It occurred to me today that it was five years ago last week that I took James home to MT to meet my family for the first time, and that we'll be celebrating five years of marriage in August. While I was reminiscing, I realized that I don't have a written copy anywhere of how we met and got engaged, and that some of you may have never heard the story, either. (For those of you that have, you'll just have to indulge me or skip this post). I further realized that I don't know how most of the married people I know met and got engaged, and I think those are fun stories, so for those of you that have blogs, you should post your stories, too.

James first saw me on a rainy day in April when my friend, Rebecca, was helping me move from Stonebridge Apts. to Monticello Apts. in Provo, between my sophomore and junior year at BYU. He already lived at Monticello, in a third floor apartment, and he, along with his roommates, were watching us move in. Instead of offering to help us, they stood up there, commenting on how young I looked, and gave me the nickname of Yikes! (I had no idea, until we were dating). In James' defense, he claims, though it can't be verified, that when he saw me at Church the next day, he admitted to his roommates that he thought I was pretty.

The first time that I saw James was about a week later, when my new roommates invited some friends over for games so that I could meet some of the people that lived in the apartments. After everyone left, I mentioned to my roommate that I thought James was cute, and she told me not to get my hopes up. She said that James was really picky and that a lot of girls had been interested in him, but he hardly dated anyone. After that, I continued to harbor a secret crush on him, but had no hope of him ever asking me out.

Our paths continued to cross over the following few months, ending up on the same group dates, but never there with each other. I won't say that we knew each other really well, but we knew each other well enough that if we bumped into each other on campus, we would stop and say hi. I also have to admit that at one point, James starting dating a girl from the ward, and I found myself really jealous. I thought it was weird, because though I still found him attractive, I really wasn't holding out hope that he would ever ask me out...it's not like I was waiting around for him to call me or anything. That being said, one of the happiest days of that Fall semester was when I found out that they had broken up, and again, I thought it was weird that I would be so affected by the news.

Well, the Fall semester ended, and after Christmas, the Winter semester started. On President's Day, my roommates convinced me to go roller-blading with them, and I agreed, even though I'd never really been on roller blades before. Not surprisingly, I wiped out and had to go to the ER to get stitches in my chin (not my proudest moment). The following weekend, our stake hosted an activity and dance. I wasn't planning on going since I still had the stitches in my chin, and a little bit of a scraped cheek, and was feeling less than beautiful. But, after talking to my mom on the phone, I decided to go (I should also mention that James almost didn't go, either but did, at the last minute). Once there, James asked me to dance. I didn't really think much of it, because everyone in our ward was dancing with everyone else. However, I think that was the first time that James and I really said more than two words to each other, and things just kind of clicked. My interest in him was renewed after that night, and a few days later, he called and finally asked me out (ten months after I moved into the ward!). As it turned out, he had been interested in me from the beginning, but thought that I didn't want anything to do with him. I guess that's what happens when two people who are a little on the quiet side are interested in each other...nothing, for a LONG time!

For our first date, we doubled with another couple, and went out for Chinese food, followed by miniature golfing at Trafalga, and then went back to his friend's apartment to watch Ghostbusters. It was the best first date that I ever had. I felt totally relaxed around him, like I had known him for years, and I could really be myself, it was a good feeling.

After that, things just fell into place. We had a smooth, non-dramatic relationship, and things were great. After visiting my family in April, we flew to CA at the end of May to meet his family. While there, on June 3 (my 21st birthday), he took me to Fashion Island to eat at The Cheesecake Factory for lunch, then we watched Holes, and did some window shopping. After that, we drove out to Crescent Bay, where we walked along the beach, and at sunset, he took me up to an overlook, and it was there, watching the sun set beyond the ocean, that he proposed to me.

He didn't have a ring, because he wanted us to pick it out together, so when we got back to Provo, we both took the day off work and went ring shopping. I had to wait for the longest week of my life for the ring to come, and when it did, he couldn't wait, and he came to my work (the MTC bookstore), pulled me out into the hall, and proposed to me with the ring. We were trying not to draw attention to ourselves, but we ended up having an audience of missionaries to congratulate us...it was fun.

On August 14, 2003, we were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. It was the happiest day of my life. Five years (almost) and three boys later, it's hard to believe how far we've come. These have been the most incredible years of my life, and I'm so happy to have spent them with my best friend and husband. I love him so much, and I can't wait for all the years of happiness and memories that we have ahead of us!!

ps The picture of the two of us with me in the purple shirt and James in the blue one is the picture that we used for our announcements. I was so mad that my hair was messed up, so James fixed the picture in photoshop for me before we printed them out for the announcements. Unfortunately, we lost the disc with the fixed picture on it, and all we have now is the messed up one.

Doughnuts For Breakfast and Happy Faces

It doesn't happen very often (or I guess I should say, it doesn't happen as often as I would like!), but on Saturday, we woke up and just knew that it was a "Doughnut Saturday". Yay!!

Matthew especially loves Doughnut Saturdays, because the store where we buy doughnuts has kid-sized carts, and it's his solemn responsibility to push the box of doughnuts through the store and up to the cash register to pay. It's a duty that he takes very seriously, it makes him feel important...as it should!! I wish I could say that it's the kids who love this occasion the most, but that's probably not true, because James and I get pretty excited about our doughnuts, and are basically reduced to kids at the sight of them. Come on, who wouldn't get excited about a HUGE doughnut filled with rich cream cheese goodness and oh-so-ooey-gooey delicious raspberry jam? I should have taken a picture of the doughnuts we get for ourselves, but they're colossal to the point of embarrassment (I'll have to save that for another post, I guess). Anyways, there's nothing like a delectable pastry to start your weekend off right, at least that's what I always say (or should start saying).

Even Justin was excited, though sadly, at least for now, he's too little to partake in the festivities.

Fun at the Park

A few days ago, while the weather was tolerably warm, I took the boys to the park. We've been cooped up all winter, and while it was still cold enough to warrant wearing jackets, we really needed to get out and get some fresh air. We brought bread with us so that we could feed the ducks...instead we fed the seagulls. They're pretty aggressive birds, chasing away all the ducks, and at one point I was worried that I was going to have to grab all the boys and make a run for it, tossing our bread behind us as a peace offering. Luckily, it didn't get to that point, and while I was annoyed by the seagulls, Matthew and Ethan were pretty amused by them (they didn't know how close they had come to reenacting a scene from The Birds).

After that little adventure, we headed over to the playground. We were the only ones there, so we had all the equipment to ourselves, which was kind of nice. I got a kick out of watching the two of them play. Matthew...well, he was Matthew, and it took him awhile before he was brave enough to venture away from the smaller slides. And Ethan...well, he was Ethan! Even though he's younger, he's much more adventurous, going down the big slides without hesitation, and running all over the equipment. It's fun to see how fearless he is, but it made me nervous, too. At one point he fell from one of the platforms...well, not fell so much as took a deliberate step off the edge...I guess to see what would happen?! He fell face-first into the sand, and of course I ran over to make sure nothing was broken, and he pushed me away with a look that said, "Mom, I'm okay, you're cramping my style!"

Anyways, we had a great time, and maybe if we have another nice day between now and December, we'll get to go back again!

(Is it snowing today anywhere else?!!!!!)

P.S. Justin was with us too (of course) but, since he's usually asleep during our outings, he doesn't make it into the blog.

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It's Official, He's a Chunk!!

Justin had his two month appointment today, and I knew he was big, but I just didn't know how big. He tipped the scales at a whopping 13 lbs!! He's only 22 inches long, so he's a pretty roly-poly guy. His measurements put him in the 15th percentile for height and the 78th percentile for weight...he's short and fat, but we love it!!

Ethan has been our biggest boy, but Justin has put on the most weight the quickest. All of our boys, though have been chunky little guys...it's pretty funny.

Everything went well with his appointment, so that's always good, though he hated the shots, and I don't blame him. Usually the girl doing the shots tries to be pretty quick, doing two at a time when she can, to minimize the amount of poking, but not the lady we had today. She was very deliberate and slow. She took her time with each shot, dragging it out forever. It was torturous, I was even flinching with each shot. We were glad to get out of there!!

Our next appointment will be the end of June, and all three boys will have their check-ups at the same time, and getting shots. Not sure if I'm looking forward to that one!!

Justin's Blessing

We blessed Justin on Sunday. It was a really great day...I especially enjoyed it because it was the first time that I got to go to Sacrament Meeting since Justin was born (the doctor recommended that I keep the new baby home until the middle of April to avoid RSV season). James gave a wonderful blessing, and Justin behaved himself the whole time...which is always a plus! In our ward, they have the mothers stand up to be recognized after the blessing. I'm not sure I like that, I don't really like all the attention...but what are you gonna do?

After Sacrament Meeting, we all went back to our house for food. I made chicken and stuffing casserole, and everyone else brought lots of delicious sides to go with it (thank you!!). I think that everyone had a good time, I know that we did. It's always good to be able to visit with family, and to see Brett and Robb...which we don't get to very often...of course that may change when we move to Provo and they'll be baby-sitting for us every weekend. Just kidding?

A Sad, Sad Day

So, Sunday night, James got violently ill with the stomach flu, then Monday morning, Ethan got sick, then Monday afternoon, I got sick...again. Luckily, I didn't throw up this time, but I was still plenty miserable. We don't know why, but every year in the Spring, our family gets hit over and over again with stomach flu. Pretty soon I'm going to have to demote Spring from my number one favorite time of year.

Well, Ethan seemed to make a miraculous recovery...after about 11am, he seemed to be fine, and decided to exercise a little creativity with our new couch. While James and I were dying in bed, he found a pen (not sure where, I try to keep them out of reach) and drew all over the couch with it. Well, we were plenty upset about it, but we're glad that we bought the Leather Protection Policy when we bought the couch. It covers things like when your two-year old draws on it with pen. A "technician" is coming out next week to see if he can clean the ink off, and if not, they'll replace the cushions that are written on. Phew! Don't know what we're going to do about that kid. He was such a good baby....

My novella

Okay, settle in, this is going to be a long one (one of the hazards of not posting in awhile!). You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll stand up and cheer...okay, maybe not, but hopefully it's a marginally fun read anyways!

Chapter 1
A couple of weeks ago, James and I had the most amazing opportunity to visit BYU for an MBA information session. I have to admit that originally I was mostly excited because I got to buy some new clothes..."grown-up" clothes. I can't dress like a teenager forever, and thanks to my new-found "padding" since having Justin, I can actually fit into clothes outside of the Juniors section. You have no idea how exciting that is for me...a life doomed to shopping in the Juniors department didn't appeal to me. Dressing like a teenager may be okay for now (though I'm closer to 30 now than I am to 25...eek!), but there comes a point when a change is necessary. I even bought my first pair of high heels for the event...I know, I'm almost 26, they really shouldn't be my first pair of high heels, but enough about clothes, back to BYU. So, ever since that day a few months ago, when we decided to go the full-time MBA route, we've known that it's the right decision for us, and sitting there listening to everyone speak about the program only reinforced that for us. I would sit there, listening to the experiences of the students, and also of the wives of the students, and literal waves of reassurance would wash over me. I had to try VERY hard to not sit there and cry the whole time (I don't need anyone thinking that I'm a freak before they have the chance to meet me and find out for themselves :) ). Halfway through the day we went to a luncheon at the new Alumni House (if you haven't had a chance to see it yet, you really should, it's the most beautiful building) and James and I had a chance to talk. It turns out I wasn't the only one experiencing those feelings of peace and happiness...for whatever reason, we are supposed to be in this program, and any feelings of doubt that we had left were erased and have been replaced with feelings of overwhelming reassurance. That being said, I still stress out about selling the house, and finding a place to live in Provo, and insurance, and having enough money, and how much we'll actually get to see James once school starts, but at least we know it's where we're supposed to be...it makes handling the stress much easier. Well, after lunch, the wives had a chance to meet with some of the current spouses in the MBA Spouse's Association. That was an incredible experience in and of itself. I'm excited for James and all that he'll get to experience, and I'm excited that he's excited, but I'm also excited for myself. The other wives that I met were all amazing, and I can't wait to get to know them better. The MBASA talked about the purpose of the club (to support our husbands, and hold down the fort so that they can concentrate on school and do the very best that they can) and all the activities that help us do that. They have it broken up into different areas of interest such as service, learning, fun (girls' night out, including crafts, book club, and other fun things), play days for our kids, sports, spirituality, and so much more. It's all incredibly well organized, and I can't wait to be a part of it all. I don't know when I'll have the chance to associate with so many unparalleled women ever again, so I plan to make the most of my two years with them...I can't wait! They also talked about some of their experiences, and what to expect. The gist of it was that yes, it's a very stressful time, sometimes difficult, but also incredible, and that no matter what, we'll make it through, and after two years, we'll look back and be surprised at what we were able to accomplish. I also have to say that at one point, they were talking about "spreading the salt", meaning that after we're done here, most of us won't be living in Utah anymore, and that it's not an altogether bad thing. It's our responsibility to take what we've learned and who we are and help build up the Kingdom wherever the Lord needs us. Whenever that was mentioned, I would get chills, and I feel like this is the beginning of a much bigger adventure than either of us first suspected...but who knows? We'll eventually end up where we're supposed to be, doing what we're supposed to do. And I guess that's all that really matters. Bottom line: I am so proud of James and I'm blessed to be able to call him my husband. I'm glad that we get to have this experience together.


Chapter 2



About a week ago, horror of horrors (no exaggeration) I got the stomach flu. I literally live in fear of it. I can't imagine anything worse, and I'm glad that I have pretty mild morning sickness when I'm pregnant, or Matthew may be an only child. Throwing up makes my top 5 list of worst fears.
I spent the day either in bed or laying on the cold bathroom floor...not fun in the extreme. Not to complain, okay I'm complaining, but the worst thing about being a mom is that when you get sick, you still have duties to attend to. It would take me 20 minutes to change a diaper just because I would have to stop and rest along the way. Thankfully, Matthew was awesome. He pretty much took care of himself and Ethan the whole day. He kept a steady stream of videos going to keep Ethan occupied and made lunch for the two of them. He would bring me glasses of water, and was basically the best-behaved kid that I've ever seen. Thanks to him, being a mom, and being sick wasn't as bad as it could have been, and I was able to get more rest than I hoped for. The house was a mess, but really not as bad as I envisioned it being. I'll have to hold onto this version of Matthew on days when he's less than angelic (a big punk, really) and realize that the joy of motherhood really isn't a constant thing, but that it does come in moments (like finding out how responsible your almost-4-year-old can be).



Chapter 3


James turned 29 (!) last Friday. We went to Morgan for dessert and to celebrate the occasion with family. We had a good time, and on the way home, James got pulled over for speeding. It was totally uncalled for, if you ask me. We were coming down a hill where the speed limit is 50, and just as you're nearing the bottom of the hill, the speed limit changes to 40. Well, James had been slowing down, but I guess he wasn't going exactly 40, so he got pulled over. It's not like he was going excessively fast, he just hadn't slowed down all the way at the exact moment that we came to the speed sign...what a joke. Luckily (maybe because he saw that it was James' birthday) he only gave us a warning...unluckily someone (I'd rather not point fingers here) forgot to put the new proof of insurance card in the car. In my defense, I've just had a baby, we're trying to sell our house, and I've been trying to work out the details of moving to Provo...I have a lot on my mind right now. So, we were issued a "no proof of insurance" citation. It's not anything that goes on your record, and it doesn't have any fees associated with it, but it is a pain. We have to get an official letter from our insurance company stating that we were indeed covered by insurance at the time of the citation, and then James has to take that letter, in person, to the courthouse. He has to give it to the referee (?!) of traffic, and he'll revoke the citation...Happy Birthday James! Needless to say, as soon as we got home, I put the new insurance card (that I ironically left out so that I wouldn't forget about it) in the car. Oops.

Chapter 4



A couple of mornings ago, Ethan was begging me to get him breakfast. I was in our room feeding Justin, and told him that he'd just have to wait until I was done. He was mad at me, and stomped out of the room. A few seconds later, Matthew came running in and announced that Ethan was eating Daddy's birthday cake. "Oh, great", I thought. But, when I found him, he looked too guilty and cute all covered in cake and frosting that I couldn't bring myself to get too mad at him. After all, I was the one who left the cake on the table where the little monkey could easily get to it. Obviously, Justin wasn't eating fast enough for Ethan's liking, and he decided to rustle up his own breakfast, and what a breakfast he had! Punk.

Chapter 5
Sometimes I think that I have OCD. Of course I don't obsess about anything useful like cleaning or reading the scriptures ( I would love to be obsessive about those things), I obsess over craft projects, my blog, and most recently, books. I started (and finished) the first three books in the Twilight series a few days ago. It's a love story about commitment, sacrifice, and humanity, intermingled with adventure and woven with threads of myth and magic. I couldn't put them down. The good thing is that I LOVE finding a good book to read (there's almost nothing I like to do more than read a good book, especially a series of books), the bad thing is that I get obsessed. When I read, I tend to get a little too attached to the characters and their lives. For me, the line between reality and fiction gets blurred and they're all can think about. And, when I'm done reading, it's almost like I go through a period of mourning to grieve for the loss of my beloved characters and they're gripping story. Pathetic, but true nonetheless.
That being said, I'm always hesitant to recommend things to people, so if you haven't read these books and would like to, keep in mind that there is some mild profanity (which I'm less than thrilled about and really wish she could have done without it) and it's a love story, so there are some mushy parts, though she keeps it clean and never crosses over into inappropriateness.
The author actually graduated from BYU and is the mom of three young boys. I first heard about the series by reading an article in the BYU Alumni magazine, about a year ago, where she was featured. I just now got around to reading her books. I actually kept the article because it inspired me. Maybe someday I'll get around to writing my books...you never know! Now all I have to do is sit around and count the days, hours and minutes until 12:01 am August 2 when the 4th and final book in the series will be realeased...just kidding, kind of.