Ho! Ho! Ho!

Sam is loving the Christmas season...and especially pointing out anything that resembles Santa Claus! He has become excellent at shouting "Ho! Ho! Ho!" He is so much fun this year! Here he is at the ward Christmas party...in awe of seeing the REAL Santa! Love it! MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Grandpa Leon

This morning my sweet Grandpa Leon passed away in Utah, and while I am so sad and my heart hurts for my mom and my grandma, I can't help but think about how blessed I am!! I am so forunate to be nearly 25 years old and have all 4 of my grandparents in my life until now. I was also so tremendously blessed to grow up within a 10 minute drive of all of my grandparents. They have been a part of every major event in my life! From piano recitals, to graduations, to my wedding...they've been there for everything and I have absolutely loved and appreciated that. I'm especially grateful today for Grandpa Leon and the good life he led. I will remember him for his hardworking personality, his bright blue eyes, his Porky Pig impression, and his sweet sense of humor. He is truly an amazing man, and I will miss him so much.

SnOw!

We woke up to snow this morning! Sam was so excited. He stood by the window just staring out at it...so, I had to bundle him up and take him out to explore!

He loved how the snow stuck to his mittens. He was constantly raising his hands like this to show me!


He quickly figured out that you can eat this stuff! He spent several minutes eating all of the snow off his mittens. It's really starting to feel like Christmas and I LOVE it!

...and yes, Sam has a black eye....and no, I didn't give it to him! :)

gO cOuGaRs!!

In honor of the game last Saturday...

So Thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!! We hope you all had a fabulous day! We missed being with family today, but we had a fun, memorable Thanksgiving here in Toledo! It was full of turkey, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, and a torn ACL (thanks to the annual turkey bowl!). Life is great and today we are especially thankful for family, good friends, time off of school, and ibuprofen! We love you!

Love this!

The Price of Stupidity

It's $80.70 if you weren't aware. That's how much I paid a Midas service representative to tell me that I'm not the brightest tack in the shed. Let me explain.

So yesterday, Lindsay and I were cleaning out the interior of our cars. Everything was going fine and dandy, just getting rid of ancient artifacts that have somehow survived all of the other cleanings over the years. One of these artifacts is part of this mysterious box that sits under my dashboard. Inserting into the box is some computer chip connected to a handle. For about 5 years since owning my car I have wondered what the heck that thing is. Many times I've pulled out the chip, examined it and placed it back into its happy little spot. Well, yesterday things were different. I decided, after I bumped it and it fell to the ground, that it deserved to be permanently put to rest. So I threw it away.

Lets fast-forward to this morning. I go to start my car and nothing happens. Now this wasn't exactly surprising to me since this car has given me many troubles over the recent past. So after class Andrew helped me to tow the car to Midas. The whole way I'm thinking about what could have caused this problem. "Oh, it's got to be the starter," I thought. This naturally led me to thinking of the hundreds of dollars that I would be forgoing. About an hour later Mike at Midas calls me and also asks me about this mysterious box which is now missing that wonderful little chip. I tell him I have no idea what it is. He proceeds to tell me that he has seen some people install these boxes. I guess that chip, when removed, disables the starter from working. This is used to protect the car from being stolen. So it can be removed at night and the owner can sleep tight, not a worry on his/her mind about the safety of their 1990 Acura integra.

Immediately I run to the dumpster and oh, they had just emptied it that morning. So, the Midas guys had to remove this box and luckily they had mercy on my poor, embarrassed soul by only charging me for the diagnostic, which was $80.70.

Why, after all these years of wondering what this thing was, did I decide to remove that chip right then?

Why over all these years did I not actually find out what this thing did?

Well, after paying my dues to Midas, I now know...and "knowing is half the battle"

MOUSSE?

Sam has become fascinated with mousse...I think he likes the sound it makes when I squirt it out of the bottle and he LOVES the way it feels! So for the past couple of mornings I've been squirting some into his hand and letting him rub it into his hair. He thinks this is the coolest thing....EVER! Today at lunch I was cleaning out the fridge and found some left over whipped cream from cooking group. Just as I was getting ready to toss it, Sam walked over, so I decided to give him a little taste. I helped him stick his finger in the bowl and he immediately began saying "Hay, Hay!" (translation: hair, hair!) Before I could stop him he took a big glob of whipped cream and began rubbing it through his hair...just like it was mousse! It made me laugh so hard!! I quickly stuck him in his high chair with a spoon and he soon figured out that this stuff was for eating! I'm VERY interested to see what he does with mousse tomorrow morning...

Tag...you're it!

Six things you probably didn't know about me:

1. I make a mean dolphin impression. I'm serious, it's dang good; however, I only pull it out for special occasions. Such an occasion included seeing "Who's Line is it Anyway?" at the Delta Center in SLC. They asked for volunteers to make sound effects for several cast members. Drew Carey picked me to do sounds for him, and I whipped out the dolphin. It was perfect.

2. I can proudly state that I have been to the world's highest Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva...how many of you can claim that???

3. I went to a Barenaked Ladies concert in high school and got to go up on stage and dance with the band during the song "If I Had A Million Dollars." It's one of my favorite songs to this day!

4. I have a weird habit of counting things. I'll be walking somewhere and suddenly notice that I've been counting my steps for the past 5-10 minutes. I also count syllables in words...all of the time!! Weird, I know.

5. While growing up, and actually until about age 19, it was my dream to be the next Katie Couric on the Today Show. I went to see the Today Show in NYC when I was in 9th grade and actually got to meet Katie...she even said that I could have her job. She never called...but I'm still holding out...

6. I LOVE to travel...especially to warm, tropical destinations. I've been lucky enough to go to some pretty neat places. Some travel highlights include: riding an elephant in Cambodia, snorkeling with sting rays in Belize, and zip-lining through the jungles of Costa Rica.

And I now tag... Brittany M, Eric D, Nikell C, Cari N, Emily Davis

I can tell it's test week when...

- I become a catering service and drop off dinner at the Mulford

- Eric actually considers missing a BYU football game

- Eric dreams about staphylococcus aureus

- Blogger becomes my best friend

- Sam wanders the house with shrugged shoulders saying, "Dad? Dad?"

Okay, okay...it's not THAT bad, but still...I just can't wait until this week is over!! And I'm about 99.9% certain that Eric would agree with me on that one!

* Happy Halloween *

Our Halloween has been great! We went trick-or-treating in downtown Perrysburg this afternoon with our ward's playgroup. All of the little shops and businesses handed out candy... it was really a lot of fun! And I know I've said this before, but I just love Perrysburg!! It's the cutest little place, and is somewhere I could see us settling down...if we HAD to stay all the way out here in Ohio. We had a really good turn out from the ward too...lots of fairies, princesses, and zoo animals! Sam enjoyed the day, although he didn't really get the whole candy concept. He was happy with just one sucker and he spent nearly 45 minutes savoring it, while I collected candy for him!

We finished our night by chatting with friends and then heading over to Chipotle for dinner. Did you know that if you dress up like a burrito on Halloween then you can get anything off of their menu for FREE?!?! Crazy huh? We just put a little bit of tin foil on and voile...free dinner! Remember that tip for next year! :) Happy Halloween!

Ally + Toledo = FUN

Highlights:

- Eric's run in with "know-it-all" pumpkin farmer


- Crossing the border, baby




- Dunder Mifflin Infinity


- Number 1 ice cream in the world

- "Wubba, wubba", enough said

- The Bachelor

- Storytime

- Several ward activities

- "How IS you doin'?"

- Mini chocolate chips...and many other treats

* Thanks for a fun weekend, Ally!

Dunder Mifflin

We went trunk-or-treating Office style tonight! All you Office fans...how do you think we did with our costumes? We were wishing that we would have had "Support the Rabid" shirts, but maybe we'll have to save that idea for next year! Anyway, it was great to have Ally here to complete our Dunder Mifflin crew. Sam absolutely LOVED collecting candy, but did not necessarily love wearing a pumpkin suit! It's so fun that Sam is old enough this year to actually enjoy some holiday festivities...I love it!

A Glimpse of Columbus...

Sam and I spent Wednesday and Thursday exploring the sights of Columbus! We were tag-a-longs to Lyndsay P who had to go down there for work. We had a lot of fun ... staying in a hotel, visiting the zoo, playing for hours at COSI, and wrestling with Sam while eating out! Lyndsay was SUCH a good sport...she listened, without even complaining, to Sam's "Wubba, Wubba" song over and over and over while we were in the car!! Thanks for a last minute road trip!

Fun Fall Weekend!

One box of Crayola crayons (look at forehead): $3.93

One pack of kleenex tissues: $0.99

Sam discovering an alternative disposal method for his homemade mucin suspended in salt, water and dirt: Priceless

by Eric

The case of the missing shoe...

It's Wednesday morning and it's not raining...(YIPEEE!!!) Sam and I hurry to get ready to go for a walk in the park before there's any time for the weather to change. I throw on Sam's new pair of jeans...which are WAY too big...and roll them up a couple of times so he doesn't trip. I grab his shoes and wiggle them on his feet. Then he's off getting into cupboards and turning on and off the tv while I get dressed. After I'm ready, I cram my bag full of goldfish crackers, raisins, and a sippy cup while we meet up with Leisy and Zeb in the hall. Outside, I strap Sam in his carseat, turn up our Halloween Sesame Street CD to full blast and we're off!

Pulling up at the park, I pop my trunk and quickly get the stroller set up. Sam is anxious to get out of his carseat and help with his new favorite job of pushing the stroller. He pushes around and around in circles while I get everything locked up. I pick up my boy to buckle him in the stroller when I notice that his left shoe is missing! His left sock is completely dirty and wet. Hmmm....I look around the car, no shoe. I look in the car, no shoe. Under the seats in the car, no shoe. Under the car, no shoe. On the grass, no shoe. In the stroller, around the parking lot, no shoe. Leisy helps in the search, nothing. We conclude that Sam's missing shoe must be somewhere at home.

After getting some much needed fresh air at the park, I pull up at home fully expecting to see Sam's left shoe in the parking lot or on the grass, but no. As we walk into our building my eyes are scanning every possible nook and cranny for that darn shoe. Nothing. Leisy watches Sam while I go back outside and comb through the grass and parking lot one more time. Still nothing. This is when Sam and I got to work. First, we inspected the garbage can and dirty clothes basket, where Sam has been known to put things before. After coming up empty there, we moved on to checking under beds and couches, to searching through drawers and cupboards, to checking the bath tub and both toilets. Still no sign of Sam's shoe!! We check with the apartment office...no one has turned in a missing shoe. So, Sam and I pile back into the car, turn on our Halloween cd and head to Swan Creek for another look.

While there we randomly meet up with a couple from our ward and enlist their help...STILL nothing! By this point I am just frustrated! A shoe DOES NOT just disappear!

Eric arrives home well after dark and I explain to him the situation and our search. We then decide to take the search efforts one step further by grabbing a flashlight and heading for the car. We again head toward the park, carefully searching the streets for Sam's shoe. I mean you never know, Sam could have easily undone the velcro strap on his shoe, rolled down the window in the back seat, and thrown his shoe outside without me noticing. Anyway, we AGAIN come up empty handed.

Now this may seem like a lot of effort for a measly shoe, but when in med school money does not grow on trees and the thought of having to buy Sam another pair of shoes just made me sick. The mystery of this darn shoe bothers me all night.

It's now Thursday morning. I rummage through Sam's bottom drawer pulling out shoes that fit him during the summer. I try to squeeze his feet into the now too tiny pairs of shoes. No good. He can barely walk in them. I finally find one pair that I think will be bearable and push them onto his feet. We head to the park for walking group.

Upon arriving there, we go through the same routine. Sam pushes the stroller around and around while I get the car locked up. I pick him up to get him buckled into his stroller and his left shoe falls off.

"That's weird," Leisy says. "Isn't that the same foot that his shoe came off of yesterday?"

"Yeah," I laugh, while thinking about the money I was going to have to spend today purchasing another pair of shoes that Sam is going to grow out of before I know it.

Everyone gets their kids strapped in and we're ready to walk when Leisy yells, "Here it is!" In plain sight, on the grass, not even 10 feet from where we had looked yesterday sat Sam's little, missing, and now terribly wet, left shoe. What in the world?? It was a miracle!!

After 20 minutes in the dryer Sam's shoe is as good as new...just goes to show you...you can never give up!

sToRy TiMe
We go to storytime every Monday morning at the library, and Sam loves it! I've been surprised at how well he pays attention. His favorite part of this outing is playing "Ring Around the Rosies" with his friends Jack & Hailey! He loves to hold their hands...it makes him seem so grown up to me!!

more Eric

I LOVE weekends because we get to see more of Eric! Sam gets so excited to spend so much time with his dad...they are so cute together! Here are some pics that I snapped of them relaxing this afternoon...