Creighton University Graduation

(left to right) Chris-UT, Christian, Brian-Boston, Mike-Tennessee

I will never forget when I sent Christian to Omaha for his orientation 4 years ago. He was a little uncomfortable with the fact that they were staying in the dorms. Okay, lets be honest, I was more nervous for him than he was. The thought of sleeping in a room with someone you don't know sounds so awkward! I've done it before (Tara), but we're way past that time in our life. I'll never forget when he called to tell me that he and his roommate had a lot in common. His roommate was actually from Richfield, UT! The friendships he made on that first trip is what kept him sane thought the rest of the 4 years. It was so fun to finally meet these people I've heard so much about. These four have really become such good friends.

Omaha Children's Museum

Who gets to go on a trip with BOTH sets of grandparents?? We were so lucky to have an excuse to have both my parents and Christian's parents come on this trip and our kids were loving every second of it! It was the perfect balance for both kids. Christian and I soaked up every ounce of freedom this allowed us. Not to mention that our kids got SPOILED ROTTEN! Every time they turned I turned around, they had a rock candy sucker in one hand and a stuffed animal in the other. I was constantly cleaning up sticky mess. That's what Grandma's are for, right? There was no need for our kids to walk a step the entire trip because someone was always willing to carry them. Of course, Anders took more advantage of this than Eva did! This trip to the Children's Museum was the so great! We had 5 adults and two kids, so I was just in the way! The grandmas watched every move Eva made and the grandpa followed Anders from one end to the other. Me? I just sat back and watched. Life can't get any better! I managed to snap a few pictures, but for the most part, it seemed like "me" time! I was so pleased with how smoothly the entire trip went. I am pleased to say that my kids cherish their relationships with each grandparent as an individual. They absolutely adore them. I love that!

Winter Quarters Temple and Mormon Trail Center

Of course, we couldn't take a trip to Omaha without visiting Winter Quarters. It was a little difficult to listen to the tour around the trail center with the kids, but what I was able to hear was absolutely amazing to me. I think it's so important to research what we can on our heritage. I found it so interesting that they were the most successful pioneers in history. They were truly lead by a prophet who was inspired by God. Their trip was obviously far from being trial-free, but to listen to how productive and blessed they were was absolutely amazing. The temple was absolutely beautiful! I haven't seen any of the smaller temples up until this point. The grounds were smaller but still breath-taking.

Henry Doorly Zoo

I'll be honest, this picture made me really nervous. My inner fear of animals was going wild, but I kept my cool on the outside. Check out how this lion is staring at my baby!

When Christian and I visited Omaha just over 4 years ago for interviews, we'd heard that the Henry Doorly Zoo is one of the best zoos in the nation. Even though we didn't have kids at the time, we were sad we didn't have time to visit it. Ever since then, we've been looking forward the graduation trip so that we could check it out. It definitely met our expectations! We waited until our last day to visit so that everyone could come with us. Anders was convinced that this was the main even of our trip. He wanted to go to the zoo the second we landed in Omaha. He was so happy to finally be there! This zoo makes the SLC zoo seem pathetic! Even though they had an amazing aquarium, a huge display of tigers, a butterfly pavilion, an exhibit that allows you to walk in a cage with Lemurs, and every animal you can think of, Anders still claims that the best part was the zebras. Sadly, the zebra display was extremely disappointing. Eva is at a really fun age to visit a zoo with. She LOVED all the tigers and lions. It is so fun to hear her recognize animals and knows exactly what sound they make. So, if for some reason, you find yourself in Omaha, NE, make your way over to the zoo! It will not disappoint...unless you're a zebra!

Omaha...here we come!

It's getting so close we can already smell the manure in the air!

So long...

• $12,000 a semester in tuition!
• Working for free + tuition!
• Bouncing around from location to location every 5 weeks!
• Relying on other busy professionals to fulfill requirements for a grade, letter of recommendation, or confirmation of a rotation opportunity!
• Living in limbo and not knowing if we were coming or going!

Hello...

• Long hours of work!
• Paycheck!
• Days off!
• Benefits!
• House hunting!
• Student Loan payments!

I guess it's finally time to be an adult! Christian will officially graduate on May 15th (his birthday!) and starts his residency at the end of June at Primary Children's Medical Center. Between now and then, he will be studying like crazy for the boards (licensure exams). We could not be more proud of him for this HUGE accomplishment. He has waited for this day for a LONG time and worked SO hard for it! All I have to say is, Nebraska, I hope you're ready for us! We're coming with bells on...maybe we should make it cow bells so we can fit right in!

Here are some of our highlights of the pharmacy school process:

USU graduation 2004

Graduation trip to Sweden, Norway, and England 2004

A's game 2005 - To most people, that's just another trip, but to someone who is limited on time due to pharmacy school, it's a HiGHLiGHT!

Anders was born 2006

Trip to Orlando 2007

Moved from Logan to Layton and lived with my parents for a few months

If it weren't for our children's births, Christian would claim this as his biggest highlight. We scored Bench Warmer tickets to a game that we weren't even supposed to go to! We got to go to the game for free and then found out that morning that our tickets were chosen to be Bench Warmers during their warm-ups! We sat on the bench and watch them warm up and got to take pictures with each of the players as well as Jeff Hornacek and had them all sign a ball. The best part for me was seeing how happy Christian was.

House-sitting for Billy and Nikki. I want you to know that all I wanted to do what take a picture of Anders playing in the wildflowers behind Billy and Nikki's house. I did not try to get all artsy...it's just natural. :)

Christian went to the College World Series during one of his many trips to Omaha

We can't forget this bad boy! For more details click here

Eva was born 2009

Lived in Fairview for 5 weeks for one of Christian's rotations

Lived in Pocatello for 5 weeks for another one of Christian's rotations

Everyone always said that someday, we'd look back on these days as some of our fondest memories. So far, I think they're right! I wouldn't change a thing.

Take a picture, it lasts longer!

We have had a very interesting couple of days, to say the least. Eva was being treated for a double ear infection and was on day 9 of amoxicillin on Wednesday, when she broke out in this rash in her diaper area. I immediately made an appointment to see the doctor (because that's the kind of mom I am) for that day. At that point, the rash was starting to spread up her abdomen a bit, but was still covered by her clothes. After seeing the doctor, she advised us to take Eva off the amoxicillin immediately and to come in if anything changed. She wasn't sure at that point that this was the cause of the rash since it hadn't developed too much. We kept her on Benadryl all

night and woke up to a spotted baby. She was COVERED from head to toe in spots. I called the

doctor again first thing in the morning and was able to get her in...again. This time, my experience was a little different. I stood in line to check her in and was immediately overwhelmed with grown women STARING. I found myself starting to become self-conscious because for some reason, people thought it was okay to just stare at my poor baby. This doctor's visit was so different because she actually had spots all over her face. I looked at my beautiful girl and couldn't help but frown. This baby had no idea that people were staring at her because they thought that maybe because it's temporary, it's okay to stare. Eva was still in high spirits and smiling at everyone that made eye contact with her. What is wrong with people?!? The entire time we were in the waiting room, I could feel all eyes on my beautiful happy girl. I just wanted to scream! After that visit, it was clear that my poor baby a serious allergy to penicillin. The doctor informed me that her spots will begin to fade in a week or two!!

I can't help but be bothered by my experience at the doctor's office. I instantly turned into this mother bear, trying to protect her baby. It seems silly that I would let such an experience bother me so badly. Why does someone has to deal with the difficulties of an illness or disability and also have to worry about the stares or comments of other people?

I guess, on an extremely small scale, I can understand why staring hurts individuals who have a disability. I have always been, and will continue to be very determined to teach my children all about disabilities. For instance, right now, Anders is very interested in canes. He thinks they are so fascinating. I have tried very hard to explain to him that sometime people need them when they can't walk on their own very well. The canes will help them walk. We even stop and look at the canes for sale next to the pharmacy in hopes that touching one will normalize it for him. I have noticed that he doesn't stop and stare anymore when people cross our path using canes. He understands it and it's normal to him!

Now, let me step back down off my soapbox and tell you that Eva is still covered in spots and we've decided to ride it out in the comfort of our own home. I guess it's normal for the spots to turn to a bluish/purple color that really resembles a bruise. Many of her spots have done this and I'm just waiting for the ones on her face to do the same. Can you imagine if I took her out of the house now?? If we thought people stared before, I can't even imagine how they'd stare if they thought they were bruises...in that case, rightfully so!

Diva-licious 1st Birthday Bash

Here's our Diva (after she was hosed down from all that pink frosting) waiting for her presents. Her dress only took me about 3 weeks to make...blah!


March 27th, 2010 completely freaked me out. I am blown away how my baby girl can go from this:

to this

so quickly! Eva was nicknamed "Eva the Diva" by her aunt Nikki shortly after she was born because she was very colicky and very high-maintenance. I thought she'd eventually grow out of this name, but she's only defining it more strongly as she gets older. She is our Diva. She has everyone in our family wrapped around her tiny little fingers and knows that we will jump at her every demand. She is now perfecting a squeal that has proven to get response even more quickly. She is a lot smaller than Anders ever was, but much more tough. I have to pull her away from him because she is constantly trying to wrestle him or pull his hair...out of love. She truly loves her big brother. In fact, today, when I picked them up from the daycare at my gym, the ladies were telling me that they were so sweet together. Anders got hurt and started crying, so Eva immediately started crying. I love watching their relationship because it reminds me of my relationship with my brother...sort of. There are some very major differences, but I vividly remember crying when Billy would get in trouble at daycare (many times a day). I have many memories of Billy making sure I was okay in social situations because I was so shy. One thing I think back on many times is when I was in high school and Billy was in his first year of college. I had issues with an older boy following me and throwing things at other boys that would talk to me. My brother was aware of the many issues I'd had with this boy and was irritated with it. One day, Billy borrowed my truck to go to a drive-in or something. As he was pulling out of our driveway, he noticed this boy following him. He took a couple of turns and noticed him still behind him. He immediately pulled over and stepped out of the truck. The boy pulled over behind him and when he saw Billy step out of the truck instead of me, he sped off. Eva's so lucky to have an older brother. I remember when I was growing up, I was determined to start my family off with a girl because families that had girls first seemed so much happier. :) I wouldn't change my family for the world! I get to watch Anders be head-over-heels for his sister and see their sweet relationship grow everyday. I love Eva's expression when she gets to wake Anders up from his nap. I love when she throws herself on top of him in hopes that he will wrestler with her. I love when she says "pretties" and pulls her bow out of her hair (sometimes). I love when she puckers up and leans in for a kiss. I love when she scrunches her nose and eyes and breaths through the gap in her teeth. I love that she will lay on my shoulder when she's tired. I love her love for babies, real or fake. Gosh! I should stop now or I will go on forever. I just love my Diva!

This is where it all began...

On March 29, 2002, Christian and I got engaged! My family does an Easter Egg Hunt every year on the Saturday before Easter. Christian and I had been dating 3 months (don't judge). I thought it was weird that everyone decided to whip out their video cameras for an event that happens every year...that should have been my first hint that something was about to happen. Next, I thought it was odd that everyone was pushing ME to help my 4 year-old cousin, Megan gather eggs when I brought a guest! While I was helping Megan find her eggs, I was a bit annoyed with Christian because I thought he was being so anti-social with my family. He was sitting on this bench by himself, away from everyone. Eventually, my little brother started yelling my name and pointing to this plastic egg that was decorated with ribbons and had my name on it. My first thought was..."here my mom goes again." She always has to one-up herself. I was a bit embarrassed at the thought of my mom going this far. I was 19 years old! I was about to throw it in Megan's basket and open it later, but Christian told me to open it now. At that point, butterflies went through my entire body because I KNEW what was going on. I popped it open and saw an engagement ring. Instantly, screams were coming from all directions. Christian now knows my family enough to know not to do things like that in front of them. Let's just say my family handles excitement very differently than Christian's family. It is so fun to have that Easter Egg Hunt to remind us of the monumental one 8 years ago. None will ever top it!

Karma

My sister and I were ruthless back in the day. My little brother is 6 years younger than me, so of course he was a big target to our constant teasing. One thing we always teased him about was his teeth. He had a gap in his front teeth and since I was passed my braces phase, we teased him about it. We actually referred to him as "Goof Troop" because his teeth looked a little like Goofy's. Here's a picture so you can get an idea of what we were working with:



I know, I feel bad! I even felt bad at the time, but it was his right-of-passage, right? Well, don't worry, Karma has really come back to bite me in the butt!

At first, I thought it was just a fluke with Anders...

Can it still be considered a fluke if the second fluke is a lot bigger??

By the way, this is my 100th post! :)

IDAHO...it's more than just potatoes

I just can't even believe it! We are wrapping up our stay in Pocatello. I never thought I'd say those words. It seems to have gone by so fast and yet, I can't even remember what it was like to live in our own house. What will we do with ourselves?? I'm pretty sure that by staying 5 weeks in Pocatello, that means you can accomplish pretty much anything. In doing so, we have sucked this town dry of all it's entertainment.


This picture is to show-off Eva's awesome "sleepy hair" as Anders calls it. Unfortunately, it also shows how trashy we have become without the luxury of a highchair. Yes, she is eating something off the floor and I'm not stopping her. Instead, I'm taking a picture! The reason I am not stopping her is because it was a Cheerio from the pile I put on the floor for her earlier that morning. What? Is something wrong with that? Don't judge until you've lived in a hotel for 5 weeks.


This picture was after I'd given up of reminding Anders that there are people below us and on each side....STOP JUMPING! Those words mean nothing to a 3 year-old. Now, I'm just embracing it.

This picture just cracks me up. Our Diva has sensitive knees. My form of entertainment these days consists of me leaving her pants off and watching her crawl like this because she can't stand the way the carpet feels on her knees. I don't really do this for fun, but it is really funny.

After our Pocatello experience, we may not ever eat out again. One thing I learned from this occasion is not to eat pizza after strictly eating healthy food for 3 weeks straight. I regretted it the rest of the night.

Anders has officially become that stinkin' kid that jumps in front of the camera right before you take a picture. If you look at my camera, the majority of pictures look like this. Stinkin' kid!

Who hasn't dreamed of having this kind of fun on a valet cart? Anders had this great idea to hang from the top bar. I put him up there and told him to wait while I grabbed my camera. You can see the panic in his face as he realized that it was a lot harder than he thought. I had a hard time taking the picture because I couldn't stop laughing. He was saying, "cheese cheese cheese" in his most panicked voice.

My mom came up to visit us last week and Anders was so excited to show her everything he'd been up to. We decided to go to this fun place called Outer Limits. It was basically Chuck-E-Cheese with good food and a space theme. This is Anders all-time favorite game no matter where we go. The kid has skills!

Here's our Diva's first ride. She was so funny. She did not want to get out. It just kills me to watch how my kids have such different personalities. Anders would have never gone for this!

This is Eva's new trick. She pretends to offer you something that she has (in this case, a yummy Texas Roadhouse roll)...
and then totally psychs you out!

While Christian was miserable (he actually referred to it as "Poca-hell-hole") I actually am glad to say that there are several things I will miss about our experience. I'm sure there's something Christian will miss too!
1. I will miss our visits to the library. I can't emphasize enough how much my kids enjoyed this! It was so fun to feel so welcome by those people we came in to contact with there. If I could find a program even close to what they offer somewhere close to us at home, I would go there for sure! Way to go Portneuf District Library!
2. I will miss being within close proximity to a mall that I could take my kids to and not be tempted to spend money...at all! I'm still so confused as to why this mall had such a great play area for the kids and yet resembled the mall from Saved by the Bell. It was so bizarre!
3. Anders will miss the Tiger on the ISU campus we drove by twice a day. We all had to say, "hi Tiger!" every time we drove by.

I will NOT miss:
1. Walking outside and taking a deep breath of...cigarette smoke. Blech! Seriously, I can't believe how many times I was asked if I had a lighter! I love the Utah Clean Air Act.
2. Squirrels that don't hibernate. We thought it was funny when we saw our first squirrel, but it is seriously out of control. They are EVERYWHERE and they all have a death wish. I have slammed on my breaks a few too many times.
3. One-Way streets. Brigham Young clearly did not design this place. All these one-way streets are totally throwing my Auto Pilot out of whack. It's nerve wracking! I guess it's just something you have to get used to!

I'm pretty sure that during the summertime, this place would be a lot easier to enjoy. I think it's safe to say that winter is not the time to visit beautiful Pocatello.