Proxy Anniversary

Our friends Dan and Julee have a unique engagement/wedding story. Very unique. They got married in the Madrid temple, but they had a civil service "by proxy" in Montana. Julee tells the whole story here.

Anyway, this year they have decided to start what I think is a very fun and unique tradition. Each year, around the time of their proxy wedding, which was September 12, they will send another couple out to dinner to celebrate that date on their behalf. Isn't that the coolest idea ever? I think so. And we were so very touched that they decided to send US out for their proxy anniversary this year. Since we don't get out much together nowadays, their thoughtfulness is all the more meaningful. This tradition is one for the memory books.

Thanks, Dan & Julee! We'll be sure to take pictures of you two (i.e., us!) celebrating your anniversary, proxy-style!

The Horse Birthday Party...or Why I Will Never Be a Cake Decorator

Welcome to the Horse Birthday Party on a Budget.

The rain outside, unfortunately, moved the festivities inside.

We had a corral. We also had three visiting horses. Stick horses.

The cowgirl had to round up her "ponies," who had run away.

They were rounded up into the corral.

They did a bit of painting, played a few more games, had some horse feed (pizza, carrots, and apples), and beat up a pinata.
And then there was the cake.

Cowgirl Mom had Dad draw a horse. Mom added some embellishments. When she was done, she saw a sorry-looking white space in the bottom right corner. Without thinking a whole lot about it, she added a chocolate flower to fill the space.

Only, in this particular instance, it didn't look like a flower. I'll let you judge for yourself.

She's Six!

My baby Clara turned six yesterday.

Here she is at about eighteen months of age, looking at books with her big sis.

I used to call her "The Face," because her blue eyes and baby cheeks were so striking.

She's always had a great innate sense of humor.
Here she is at her birthday party, my first grader with missing teeth, as happy as ever.

Six reasons I love this kid:

1) She is my spirited child. I cannot say that strongly enough. Clara has a will and a way--her way--and it will serve her well as an adult. I admire her determination and strength.

2) Clara is always ready to laugh.

3) Clara has an amazing mind. She makes remarkable connections and asks such insightful questions for a child her age. I remember on her third birthday, she did a sixty-piece jugsaw puzzle entirely by herself. I have the pictures to prove it.

4) Clara gives the best hugs and snuggles.

5) Clara loves to try new things. She is fearless.

6) Clara is a people person. She makes friends easily and is the life of the party.

Happy Birthday, sweetheart!

Orchard Morning

Boo Hoo

I am just going to do it. I am going to complain, on my blog, for all the world to see.

I AM SICK OF SURGICAL RESIDENCY.

There, I said it. I won't add any details.

You don't need to feel sorry for me. I'll survive.

But surgical residency still really stinks.

Unspectacular Quirks

I have now been tagged twice for the same thing, by Sunny and Molly, so I guess I'll respond! I am supposed to state five of my unspectacular quirks. Unforunately, I have many from which to choose. Here goes:

1) I am like the Princess and the Pea. I roll around in bed and wiggle wiggle wiggle for at least ten minutes every night. The covers have to be "just so" around me, and covering my shoulders, and my clothes have to be tucked around perfectly. Sometimes this process of wiggling can go on for a long time before I finally can calm myself down enough to relax and sleep.

2) I wipe up the floor of my bathroom every morning after I blow dry my hair. I can't stand seeing hair on the floor.

3) Every time I eat popcorn, I crave cheddar cheese as well. That started when I was pregnant with the twins, and it hasn't really gone away. Yum.

4) I love Clorox Green Works and use it to clean just about everything. I inhale the scent deeply as I spray things down.

5) I have never been able to sport long nails. They drive me nuts.

I guess now I'm supposed to tag 5 other people. So, people, if you feel like playing along, here you are: Wendy, Lexie, Mandy, Heidi, and Holly.

Moment of Silence

Pausing to remember our wonderful trip to Paris, one year ago this week. How my life has changed in one short year.

Behind Chartres Cathedral:
At Versailles:
In front of the Louvre:
Atop the Eiffel Tower: Brian, we'll always have Paris. I love you.

House Headache, Take Two

I no longer have a house headache. It has advanced to a full-fledged migraine.

Last Monday the battery in the car wouldn't start. And then the "check engine" light came on. New battery + overdue car tune up = $600.

Next, last Wednesday, we had our semi-annual heat pump tune up. While here, the serviceman noticed a split in the hose of our dryer vent. The dryer, apparently, has been funneling lint and moisture back in to the walls of our house...probably for several years. First, the repair is going to be a total pain, and second, the accumulated lint poses a serious fire hazard--plus, there's the possibility of mold buildup.

And then, last Saturday, I went to the basement to move the wet laundry to the dryer. I opened the dryer lid to discover the washing machine stopped, full to the top with water. I messed around with it for a while. When Brian came home, he did so as well. Diagnosis: Our washing machine was now toast. Off to Sears, where we purchased a new machine. (The plus side is that I have had a four-day hiatus from laundry duty! Brilliant.)

I know it's all part of home ownership, car ownership, and "life" in general, but I feel like it's all pouring down at once. Probably because it is.

Breaking Dawn

Ms. Meyer, you are definitely talented, but give me a break.

The intellectual in me says, "What a ridiculous storyline!"

The writer in me says, "Shallow characters! Predictable plot! Everything is too tidied up at the end!"

The editor in me says, "Poorly written! Too long! Too wordy! Too hard to follow at the end! Needs a really brutal editor!"

The woman in me says, "Forget Edward. What about Jacob? And can't you be STRONG & INDEPENDENT for once?"

The mother in me says, "No way will my daughter read this! No college for Bella? No life experience? Too young for marriage and motherhood!"

The realist in me says, "What, is she saying that we should all become vampires because everything is just so much more perfect that way?"

Even still...

The reader in me says, "Don't overthink it, Jen. It's escapist and entertaining and just plain fun."

Feeding Time at the Zoo

There was a lot of competition today at lunchtime over the carrots. Mommy just wasn't fast enough.

Isaac got a bite. And another. And another.

Meanwhile, Madeline waited patiently.

But then Mommy gave Madeline a bite.

Isaac wailed with jealousy.

Madeline looked at him for a moment, furrowed her brow, and started to wail herself.

Isaac got another couple bites, and he was quiet for a moment.

Madeline continued to wail.

Then Madeline got a bite or two, and Isaac let Mommy know that he was not pleased. This scenario continued for some time.

By the end, the carrots were consumed, but two very sad babies remained.

They only stopped wailing when Mommy pulled out the camera.

New Kitchen Floor!

The burned floor was a blessing in disguise.

For over four years, I have despised the floor that we've had.

Was it ugly? No. Was it worn out? No. Was it outdated? No. I thought it was quite attractive, actually--bright and cheerful and clean.

But it was white. Stark white. It showed every little thing--tiny crumbs, flecks of dirt, eensy weensy bits of dried paint, and many other things that I would prefer not to mention. I had to mop that floor every single day, and I was constantly wiping up small sections that had something on it.

But now it is gone. Good riddance.

My amazing husband started laying the new floor at 7 a.m. last Saturday morning. At 10 p.m. that night, he finished. He barely stopped at all during the day. My job, meanwhile, was to keep the kids out of his hair. Brian did a fabulous job.

And I feel liberated. I have been able to clean the floor after meals using just my handheld vacuum, and I have used my Swifter once this week. Only once. I didn't realize how obnoxious the old floor truly was until now.

Can I say again that I feel liberated?

Below are a few pictures of the floor-laying process. Go, Brian! I am proud of you, I love you, and I think you are amazing.

Bow Tie Guys

Over three years ago, when I said I was expecting a little boy, my good friend Tamarin told me that she thought he would be born wearing a bow tie.

Well, Nathan wasn't born wearing anything, of course, but, following his daddy's lead, he does sport a bow tie on occasion. As Nathan grows, I hope that he follows Daddy's lead in many other areas of his life, and not just in clothing choices.

Here are two of my favorite men, father and son, showing off their bow ties. I love these guys!

6 1/2 Months and Growing

Cuteness.
And they've got skills to boot. They can sit up...and Isaac can even scoot backwards.

Sweet sweet little babes.

Bye Bye, Bouncy Seats

Last week, I put the babies in their bouncy seats on the back porch to enjoy the fresh air and to watch the trees swaying in the wind.

I left for a brief moment, and I came back to find this:

My Little Gymnasts

The Olympics inspired my daughters with hours...days...weeks of creative play.

They have been playing Olympic Gymnastics nonstop since about August 15.

Clara represents Russia. Here she is with her backpack of supplies, getting ready to go to competition. (The backpack contained things such as pieces of the wooden train set, a stuffed animal, masking tape, and a book.)

Emma represents the United States and, at other times, Romania. Here she is showing off her taped feet & hands. (She even wrote a letter to gold medalist Nastia Liukin. We'll see what, if anything, comes of it.)

Here they are, the proud champions, atop their podium, displaying their construction-paper medals, after having sung the National Anthem in honor of Emma's gold.
I suppose I should mention that it hasn't all been perfect. In the process of doing balance beam routines, they broke the futon frame in the basement. (Thankfully, an easy fix by Brian.)

But overall, playtimes like these make me happy as a mom and nostalgic for my own childhood, where I, too, pretended at times to be a figure skater--a ballerina--an astronaut--a championship soccer player--a swimmer--and more.

To children, the world is full of unlimited possibilities and countless dreams. I have to wonder--at what point did I lose that sense of wonder? I dread that day for my own children, because I know I will miss their imaginations, their determination and curiosity and happy voices shouting, "It's a perfect landing by Emma Liukin and Clara Johnson!"

I have to say, I love reliving childhood through the eyes of my kids. It's so much better the second time around.

Utah Vacation

One month ago tomorrow, we returned from a three-week-trip to Utah. I posted previously about several things that took place while we were there. Click here, here, here, and here to see those posts.

But since this blog is our family record, I need to post "the rest" of the pictures from our trip. This post's purpose is entirely for our family history, so it may not be too interesting to any of you readers.


We enjoyed twenty-four beautiful sunsets over Cache Valley.

We watched Grandpa play golf with the grandkids. They were fascinated.
Here is Grandpa teaching Nathan to hold the club.
Brian, Emma, Clara, and Nathan turned into jungle animals.
Clara and our sweet Eliza Hyde got together for an overnight. How we miss that little girl--Clara's best pal--who moved to Texas last year.
The kids loved feeding the ducks (next three pictures).

I took a ride on the wild side at Logan's Celebration Center, where two of my sisters-in-law and I rode the swing below. My throat was sore the next day from screaming so loud.
Here we are before the ride started. I couldn't walk steadily for a few minutes after it ended.
The kids took swimming lessons while we were out there.

Clara is below.

Emma took diving lessons, a new experience for her. She came a loonnnggg way in two weeks.
We watched gas prices hover at exorbitant prices.
I had a delightful visit with my older brother, Justin Michael, who lives in Salt Lake. Here he is feeding Madeline. He was so cute with her and made me wish he lived closer, just so I could have my kids enjoy "Uncle Michael" more frequently.
No, we don't have a second set of twins. The little boy on the left is Andrew, my nephew and our kids' cousin. He is three months older than Nathan, and the boys just happened to have the same shirt on.
Here we are in front of the carousel at Hogle Zoo, with Aunt Emarie.

The kids enjoyed touring the Aggie Ice Cream facility and getting a cone afterward. My new favorite ice cream is Aggie Blue Mint. I couldn't get enough of it!
Nathan didn't enjoy his swimming lessons so much. He went from wailing and clinging to the teacher in the first week to pretending to blow bubbles on the last day. He does love the water, though, so we'll hope for better outcomes next year.
I spent a wonderful afternoon in Ogden with my old high school friend, Molly Collings. She is a dear friend and lives way too far away.
At Bear Lake, we ate not one, but two, of the largest pizzas I have ever seen--the "Old Ephraim." This picture doesn't do it justice.

Another one of Nathan and Andrew.
Visiting Hogle Zoo.
Nathan was obsessed with the snakes. Grandma and Grandpa gave the twins a taste of their ice cream.
It was a great trip...and we hope we get to do it again next summer!