all things grow with love

halloween

2011-11-08T05:31:00.001-07:00

Trevor is about to have his last soccer game this Saturday. He's been having a great time and we have seen him get better and better as the season goes on. He's awesome!

We had a preschool Halloween Party at our house. Here the boys are playing a little graphing game. Spencer likes to tag along and do all the activities too.

We did a Halloween Relay Race complete with ...

The Eyeball Relay

The Mummy Relay

The other boys thought I was crazy for asking if they wanted to be wrapped in toilet paper. OK, so they might be right. I am crazy! But Trev and Spence are used to it, so they were game!

Trevor at the Ward Halloween carnival doing the Fish Pond. He was awesome BATMAN. It was actually a bit of a struggle to get him to decide on a costume. I wanted super heroes all the way because that way I could do it really easily. He wanted to be a blue ninja (who knows why?!) - but he gave in to me in the end. :)

SUPERMAN! Spencer is the cutest thing I have ever seen. (I forgot to rotate the pics. Oops!) Yes, I made the costumes. Felt, velcro, and safety pins. It works! Although, for a 4yo boy running wildly around to get his hands on some candy, velcro was not very durable. It only had to last one night.

The cutest Trick Or Treaters ever! Trev and Spence with our good buddies the Piepers. Avery, Ben and Jillian were the Tangled crew. They are awesome!

Trevor's fall landscape painting. :)

Just being little brothers. I tell you, no matter how many times I get after these two for jumping up onto the couch.... it will never cease!! But I love em.

This picture is blurry. But I literally could not get him to stop long enough to get a picture almost the whole night. Every little boy should wear a costume with a cape at one Halloween. It was so cute flapping behind him as he raced for more loot.

Mollie and Wyatt trick or treated with us. My boys love them! They made it lots of fun!

Spencer chomped down 3 lollipops in no time. I kept telling him no more and he would hold up the other 3 that he had as if he wasn't going to be done until they were all gone.

don't be fooled...

2011-10-17T05:37:00.000-06:00

They are not as sweet as they look! But pretty close, I'll admit.

my soccer boy

2011-10-14T08:43:00.000-06:00

that's church basketball for ya!

2011-10-14T08:24:00.000-06:00

old macdonald's farm

2011-10-13T06:10:00.002-06:00

Last week we went to Humble - a little day out in the country for city slickers like us. Trevor and Spencer fed the animals, rode the little train and the ponies, and played with their friends on a huge pile of dirt. What could be more fun!?
**the pictures didn't work! so here's a slideshow of what I thought I was posting the other day!**

Trevor, Avery, and Ben on the train.

Spence on the pony. He didn't hesitate to saddle up, but when the horse stopped to stretch his legs, Spence got a little nervous.

Some sad little deer roaming the grounds.

Petting him was quite a thrill!

Feeding the sheep - Spencer got a little close with his bag and one of the sheep snatched it from him. I was lucky enough to swipe it back before he got away with it. Sneaky little things!

They had a few large playgrounds on the farm as well - lots of room for the kids to run and get dirty. When we got home I was dumping sand/dirt out of pockets and shoes and everywhere else. But the looks on those faces? No words can describe, really!

Again, no words!

The boys were pretty curious about this guy. Who wouldn't be - he's pretty funny lookin!

Our final train ride of the day.

We were a hot, dirty mess by the end of the day, but got to take home our very own pumpkins for a souvenir.

cousins preschool

2011-10-06T06:26:00.000-06:00

We had the youngest Houston cousins over for preschool yesterday. We did our preschool songs, some games, read The Very Busy Spider, ate a spidery snack, made spooky spiders, and played a lot! I think they all had fun, and even the littlest ones wanted to be in on it. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised since they just want to do everything the older ones do.

time out with julie

2011-10-06T06:01:00.000-06:00

It's a lot more fun than time out with Mom! We had a lot of fun with Julie here last month - a sleepover, playing at grandma's house, out to lunch and ice cream, on and on. Spencer ended up with ice cream from head to toe, literally.

blue flames

2011-09-24T13:49:00.000-06:00

Trevor is playing his first season of soccer - he's #11 on the Blue Flames. (He had hoped that they could be the Cheetah Racers but he was cool with the Blue Flames anyway) I'm surprised that he is a little timid when it comes to getting in there and going for the ball when someone else has it, but even after just one week he's getting more into it. It's like he's having too much fun watching what all the other kids are doing that he doesn't really think to get in on it himself. He likes to be outside the circle where he can see what's really going on. He can run really fast, though, and buzzes around the clump of kids chasing the ball. He's had a few shots on the goal and a few assists but mostly he's having LOTS of fun.

He's really big on celebrating for his team mates!

Dirty Gatorade-face Boy a.k.a. #11's Biggest Fan!

Getting some tips from the coach.

Here he had a little bit of a breakaway and shot it at the goal. It hit the pole, bounced off the defender and went in. So, we'll count it!

All the while, Spence is playing and cheering on the sideline. He is pretty sure that it's his soccer game, too.

circles circles circles

2011-08-10T06:37:00.001-06:00

Are everywhere! These are the beginnings of a quilt I'm working on. It's really fun if you want to try, first you cut 504 circles from denim, then you cut 504 squares from material, then 504 squares from batting, then you trace 504 squares onto the denim, then you sew 504 circles to 504 squares of batting and 504 squares of material! I keep working on this in spurts, but all these circles are addicting and I like how it is shaping up.

The material I'm using is some that Sydnie sent me and was Grandma Johnson's. Plus I have pairs of jeans from our own closets and some that Barbara sent me. I think it will be so fun to see the material and think of all our family every time!

all for love

2011-08-02T09:38:00.002-06:00

Papa and Lee Lee and Mikey braved the heat and humidity to come visit their favorite little Houstonians. Trevor and Spencer definitely felt special - we all did! - to have visitors in July. :) It may have really paid off for Mikey in gaining ground on the quest to be the favorite uncle! And I'm so grateful for the quality time that Papa and Lee Lee gave to the boys.

We started off a little slow... Trev and Spence were hit with a little fever. We just laid low and enjoyed a little time together.

But we made up for lost time quickly by taking the boys to Chuck E Cheese. Can you see where Trevor got his skee ball skills??

Chuck E Cheese has serious power over these boys - this was their 3rd time going and Trevor asks me pretty much daily when we are going again. We've decided that when Spencer is potty trained, this will be a perfect reward.

Mostly while they were here we just hung around the house. Papa worked and Lee Lee and I entertained the boys, and took them swimming a couple of times. Spencer showed off the ABC train to Papa.

If Mikey is not the favorite Uncle, at least he can claim that he is the funniest - Trevor even thinks the way he dresses is funny. Don't we all! :)

I guess we wore Papa out!

We went to the Houston Symphony for the 4th of July celebration. It's always a fun thing to hang out with the family, eat some snacks and listen to the beautiful music. The little boys are getting more brave when it comes to the cannons, too. I can't get enough of this little boy's dimples!

Trevor has a serious Angry Birds addiction. This is him opening a new level. We don't have such fancy cell phones, so when these guys left so did the Angry Birds. When asked which he would miss more, Grandma or Angry Birds, which do you think he said???

Trevor couldn't wait to play ball with Papa and showed off some of his sweet moves.

We ended their visit with a trip to San Antonio. I am so glad we went! It was cool to see the Alamo and Riverwalk at night and I would love to go back and eat out (without children, of course!) one night at one of the amazing restaurants along there.

Next up - Sea World! We arrived shortly after it opened and played ALL DAY. We still didn't make it to all the attractions! Trev was especially impressed with the Shampoo roller coaster - his first coaster ever. It's no contest, however. Michael was by far the most excited of anyone to be at Sea World and ride the roller coasters! We had a fun, but long, day at Sea World and can't wait to go back!

Thanks for such an awesome visit, Mom and Dad! We Love You! And can't wait to see you soon. Please come visit during a time when Houston is actually enjoyable and we will really show you a good time! ;)

I have more pictures of this trip in Picasa if anyone cares to see.

Jr Dolphin

2011-06-22T21:47:00.000-06:00

Trevor had his end of season party for swimming lessons - donuts, juice, a medal, and hanging out. He made some good progress in his swimming and loved the "coaches" who helped him. They were so nice to him and made him feel special. And I'm pretty sure he had his first crush on one of them. It was cute.

riding bikes

2011-06-21T16:24:00.003-06:00

hangin with the boys

2011-06-21T14:13:00.000-06:00

We hung out with Danelle's boys on Thursday and had lots of fun. Chase couldn't resist an afternoon snooze... on the stairs *at Carin's or Trevor's shoulder. He's not picky. The picture of him peacefully asleep on the stairs doesn't put into perspective the fact that the 4 other cousins were running up and down the stairs laughing and yelling all the while!

pictures!

2011-06-21T13:50:00.000-06:00

I'm happily taking pictures with my new camera and love having something worth sharing!

Sisters' Project Day aka Cousins Day

2011-05-17T21:52:00.001-06:00

Monday - the most awesome day of the week! Now synonymous with SPD (for me) and Cousins Day (for Trev and Spence). SPD, Jillian Michaels and Our Best Bites have really changed my life. I only wish that Jillian had more effect on my body than OBB delicious recipes have!

We started small... organized shelves, cupboards, refridgerators, closets, pantries, and toy rooms. Reached new heights in sewing and cooking ablilities with quilt blocks, bread baking, jam making, and trying dozens of new recipes. (I'd like to know how many pounds of chicken, butter, sugar and flour we have used during the past 9 months!) But SPD really ramped up with the addition of Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred. Jillian showed us the way - to "phone it in" was no longer an option. So, bring out the muscle... and the power tools. Some of the amazing projects proudly completed:

Shelving unit assembly

Shelf Reliance system assembly

Furniture Refinishing

Landscape Management

It has been a good run. Mondays will not be the same without it. Hopefully during summer we can come up with a modified plan to keep us going until School starts up again in the fall.

I regret to say I don't have before and after shots of our projects, but maybe that will be a goal for next year. I did take some pictures this week, but they are no good - my camera is broken, so I'm getting by with no ability to actually see what I'm taking a picture of.

Giving Thanks

2010-11-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

President Monson - Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude

“Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us recognize our blessings but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God’s love."

“Do we remember to give thanks for the blessings we receive?"

“Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful, if we but pause and contemplate our blessings.”

“May we ever reflect our gratitude for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He taught us how to pray. He taught us how to live. He taught us how to die. His life is a legacy of love. Let us follow Him. Let us emulate His example. Let us obey His words. By so doing, we give to Him the divine gift of gratitude.”

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T23:47:00.002-06:00

We have already completed our Halloween festivities. I like Halloween but am glad to move on to the rest of the holiday season. I know that it will go by fast but I love it! Mom, what do you say to a sychronized White Christmas viewing tomorrow?? :)

long time gone

2010-10-14T13:44:00.006-06:00

Typing out a whole bloggy message thingy and then having it dissappear before my eyes is not a very nice welcome back after being away for so long! Annoying.... But anyway! I've been completely absent from my online world for quite a while now - Missing out on what's going on with many of my friends/family out there in the world with growing families and ever changing lives. It's great, but sad that there are so many things that I want to do and only so much that I can or actually go the extra mile to accomplish. For a while I was not blogging because I was writing in my journal fairly regularly, but eventually I got totally off track. So what I have been doing in my absence is trying to figure out how to be a cub scout leader, cutting open my foot and getting stitches, sewing and hot gluing to get ready for a craft show, trying to save money w/coupons, playing with the cutest little boys in the world, coddling poor David through a rough start to the BYU football season, NOT cleaning my house, watching too much TV and loving most of it, having a fabulous Monday each week with my Houston sisters, and finally enjoying some nice weather after a Houston summer.

So what now? Probably do another craft show... I still have things to sell and I better at least break even! I've signed up for another 1/2 on Nov 20th, so lots of running. Keep trying to figure out this Scouting stuff! Clean my house (it has to happen eventually!). Hopefully stay better connected. And get ready for the HOLIDAYS. Yes! So excited. My first step was putting up these awesome letters I made with Carin and Danelle. I love them. It says give thanks in case you can't tell. I have plenty to be thankful for!

My blankie boys.

Spencer Monkey

Trevor Bear

goodbye to may

2010-06-07T21:36:00.002-06:00

Blogging has become less about keeping a record of activities for me and more about just dumping pictures for whoever might want to see. I've been trying to be more diligent about writing in my journal, which leaves me feeling less motivated to blog.

These pictures are mostly just of the boys at various points in the month where not much was happening, but the camera came out. The beach was so much fun! I glanced back at the past few weeks in my journal and realized that almost every weekend we get to hang out with the Straws or the HaeHaes and we have so much fun! Plus, each week the boys and I get together with Carin and Danelle and the kids. I'm glad Trevor gets to know his cousins and loves them so much.

I had to write about a few of the pictures... Lately Trevor has been exercising his ever-developing sense independence, attitude, self-expression or whatever you might want to call it. I just think it's naughtiness. And one of the hardest parts, is he is so silly that he's laughing through most of the drama that, to me, is SO frustrating and maddening and his laughter just gets me more worked up. But, in a culmination of a week or so of timeouts and frustration and eventual yelling (I wish I could say that the yelling was only from him...), we had a battle one night over bedtime. So after a long night of trying to get him to sleep I went in to check on him and finally found this...

Thank goodness for a good night's sleep and a new day, every day, to develop that ever-elusive virtue I wish I could hurry up and perfect already - PATIENCE. Luckily for Trevor, and me, he seems to have declared a truce lately and seems back to his happy self. He looks so sweet in this picture and I love kissing his forehead at night and then waking up to a contagiously happy little guy every morning.

Here are the boys in the toys. They're usually good at playing next to each other. As Spencer gets more active and opinionated I'm sure it will not be as peaceful, but it was a good mom moment to come in and see them playing like this.
I don't really like this picture, but it demonstrates a phenomenon that occurs quite frequently throughout the day.... I have two little bodies sitting and climbing all over me! We don't have a large house by any means, but surely we don't have to all be on the same couch cushion to be happy? The death grip on my arm says it all.... We have some serious mama's boys in this house! And I'd be lying if I said I wanted it any other way.

i heart travelocity

2010-05-15T20:28:00.003-06:00

And my husband who loves me enough to let me take our boys to visit family for almost a month! We're headed to Grand Junction, then Utah, then Boise.

brothers

2010-05-10T21:26:00.003-06:00

This is what Trevor does after dinner each night when he's finished and Spencer is still in his chair. He gets Spencer laughing pretty hard every time.

These pictures are just a few things we've been up to lately...

Just Beachy

2010-05-10T19:41:00.003-06:00

The beginning of April we took a drive out to Galveston Island. We were not sure what to expect as far as the sand and beach goes... The water is brownish, not as beautiful as the beaches of the Pacific that we've been to but the water was so warm in comparison! We could not believe that we waited this long to have a day at the beach and hopefully will make another trip soon. There's just something about sand, surf, and sun. Trevor found the waves a little intimidating at first, but we got his little feet in a few times and he loved chasing the waves and throwing the ball out and watching it surf back in. He loved being buried in the sand - I was so surprised! Spencer was just happy to be along for the ride and to play with the ball. He also had a little snooze, of course.

The wind drowned out the sound on the video but just insert lots of laughing from Trevor and that will cover it.

March Madness

2010-03-31T15:42:00.000-06:00

I love it! Until my bracket bombs, then not so much.

But I'm losing track of time - things just happen so fast. For the new year, I made a resolution to plan something fun for our family to do each month. Well, we were in AZ for Christmas and so we counted that. I know, a cop out on the first month! Then, February I failed! But... I'm not giving up. I'm all about moving in the right direction. So this month, I think we've made up for my rough start in leaps and bounds.

We went to the San Jacinto monument and Battleship Texas, I did the Seabrook 1/2 Marathon and Julie came for a visit! OK well, I can't really take any credit for that. But it is not to be forgotten as part of our marvelous month of March. We've also been taking advantage of our spring weather and picnicing in the yard for lunch, going to playgroup, and going outside to the park.

We also had a visit from Flat Madilyn! Maddie, if you're reading this.... We'll send your friend Flat Madilyn back in a day or two. We took her out for a fun day. She was very well behaved during her visit, and she liked Texas a lot! :)
Playing on the computer during our lunch picnic. It's a popular item. Can I blame Trevor for being a little annoyed? He does this to me all the time. Plus, it's hard to explain to him that all these toys that were once HIS are now Spencer's too mostly.
Yes, I saw this coming as soon as he reached for the computer....
Lauren buried Trevor in stuffed animals!
Playing catch.
Before the computer scuffle...
Trevor likes to get in the pack - play in the morning whenever Spencer sleeps there. They do love each other!
Yes they do!
I can't keep a straight face when he does this. It only makes things worse!
Brandon's birthday - with auntie Julie!!

Seabrook Lucky Trail 1/2 Marathon

2010-03-31T14:51:00.002-06:00

Another one of my resolutions this year was to run a 1/2 marathon. After watching Carin run the half last year and Danelle and David do the relay I really wanted to do it this year. I'm so glad I did it. Exercising makes me (at least in my opinion) a happier mom and wife, so the training was great. (I guess if you want the real-life truth about that you can ask David!) Plus, I got to know a few girls in my ward better because they were running, too, and we got together in the evenings to run. Plus a couple of them ended up doing the relay. It was so motivating to see them out on the trail running and doing an awesome job. So, my last 1/2 was before Trevor was born and my time was near 2:50. This time I got 2:23. I really enjoyed the whole race - I was tired and sore during/afterwards, but I had a great time. David and the boys were there waiting for me at the finish line and Trevor helped me finish the last 10 feet or so. He was awesome! :) He mostly just wanted to get some water from the water table just beyond the finish line. As soon as we crossed the line - Mo-o-om (has to be 3 syllables) we need some water!

My next challenge? I'm not sure. Probably not a marathon - I'm not crazy! Maybe try to improve my time in the 1/2. I do want to try a TRI sometime, I just don't have a bike. But maybe I'll have to work on that....

San Jacinto

2010-03-30T12:49:00.003-06:00

Carin invited us out to the San Jacinto museum/monument for a dose of some Texas history y'all! There was a bumper sticker in the gift shop that said, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could." Was it written by a native Texan, I think so!? It was a really impressive monument and listening to the story of the battle, I couldn't help think that the timing was truly inspired. Casualties in the battle were 700 Mexicans to only 9 Texans. Trevor's favorite part of the monument was an elevator to ride up to the top of the monument and view the surrounding landscape. Spencer just chilled in the carrier with his mama. He mostly just gets dragged around at this stage in his life. But I'm not complaining about that! I'm treasuring these last few months of his sweet, uncomplicated life. I'm sure it will get crazy now that he's moving around more.

We also went over to check out the Battleship Texas, which was used in WWI and II. It's amazing how every nook and cranny of that ship was designed and used for something. I can't imagine what life would be like living on there! Trevor, much like every boy his age, can't resist the urge to run wherever he goes. It was a rainy day... which actually made the whole atmosphere a little more authentic in my mind. On a battleship, a dreary day .... I don't know why. But anyway, the deck was pretty slippery and I was yelling at him to walk pretty much every time he moved. You can't blame him - it's just his boyness!

It was a lot of fun!

ABC Train

2010-03-11T22:32:00.006-07:00

March is bringing some beautiful weather and I'm loving that. Although, deep down I'm a little scared for what's to come! But I'll just enjoy it and treasure it!!

Spencer is an army crawler - let the battles begin! Spencer loves Trev's stuff almost as much as he loves him, so wherever Trevor goes, Spence will follow. So far, Trev's not a fan, but is rolling with it. They like to wrestle with each other, Trevor just rolls around and takes Spencer with him.

They have found a common ground - they love the ABC Train. Spencer squeals every time it loops around. He is babbling and talking a lot more these days. Pretty much every other word I say to David is - "Isn't he so cute? Look how cute he is! Spencer is so cute." He just is so cute all day that I bottle up my cuteness observations and I have to spill it all out when he gets home. I know I'm silly.

Trevor LOVES a little Snack Pack!

Track Meet
Carin and KK
Spence and David and Kevin

Ev and Trev

Spencer's hair is getting so long! He's so cute! (See, I told you... I can't stop saying it.)

hello again

2010-01-27T21:57:00.002-07:00

It's been a long time... But here are a few pictures. The one of the boys together is the most recent. It was on the day of Trev's 3 yr check up and Spence's 6 mo. Both are big, healthy, and handsome boys!

Spencer is eating his cereal and veggies now and loves it. I think he's having a growth spurt, as he's eating more, more often. He's a happy guy who loves his big brother.

Trevor turned 3 and this birthday will be known as the year of the Skittles, as that is all that Trevor wanted. That picture with the nasty teeth was him enjoying them, thoroughly. He also enjoyed the birthday phone calls from all his family.

fun times

2009-11-25T09:51:00.002-07:00

Sweetest face ever! Gnarly toes just like his daddy... :)

Trevor's face is dirty in pretty much every picture I have! Plus, he keeps licking his lips because it's so dry here so even if his face was clean, it would still look funny!

Some good snuggle time with Lee Lee
On Monday night Trevor played and played with Papa. They built a train, played with cars, read books and played a little catch. It was lots of fun!

Jack! He is soooooooo cute and I just love his little "Hi!"

Boise

2009-11-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

We've been having lots of fun- but there is NEVER enough time to be spent around all our family. And we are missing David like crazy, so even though we want to be here, we also want to be at home to see him! But we're so glad to have been able to take this fun trip!These are a few pics from the football game - it was such a good game! We are sad that Kev lost, but he was awesome!

Girls' Weekend

2009-11-19T00:01:00.001-07:00

Shop. Eat. Repeat.

Grand Junction

2009-11-18T23:57:00.001-07:00

spence

2009-11-18T23:53:00.000-07:00

I also wanted to add....

2009-11-04T22:25:00.003-07:00

That Danelle and I made my house into a Christmas gift-making shop the last few days and there are some pretty lucky recipients out there, if I do say so myself.... But you'll just have to wait to find out if it's you and what you might have coming your way. :)

And, it's blurry and slobbery, but oh so cute. Spencer is our little turtle, popping his head up with his newly buff neck muscles. :) I keep thinking he's going through a growth spurt, and I guess I'm right... It's been going on for every single day of his 3 1/2 month life. I keep wondering if/when he'll get as chubby as Trevor was?

More Halloween Fun...

2009-11-04T20:47:00.006-07:00

Well, at least for some of us. Spencer will, thankfully, not catch on to the Halloween candy craze for a few more years. I am normally happy with all the Halloween fun, but this year my candy monster took some of the fun out with all the crying and whining for candy and creative climbing techniques to try and reach it when it was hidden. He's getting over it a bit at a time....

Carving pumpkins was a sensory adventure for Trevor. It was the first time David and I had done it at least since we were married. David seems to think he's never carved one before, but I'm sure that can't be true! We had lots of fun.

A spooky face for Trevor, the photographer. (This can also count for a threat to David if he continues to edit himself out of my pictorial family memories.)
Trevor's spooky face, much cuter than mine!
Masterpieces....
Trick or Treat! It took a little convincing to get Trevor out the door on Halloween because he had a lot of fun handing out candy to the kids coming to the door. But once we were out he had lots of fun, trying to tag along with other kids he saw. He'd keep asking random kids - "Wait for me!" and "Where you going?" He asked a lady at her door, "Where's your daddy?" Someone called "Hey you guys, hurry up!" to her kids and Trevor had no problem bossing them around, "Hey guys, hurry up!"

whatever dude, mama

2009-10-25T23:03:00.000-06:00

I've neglected Facebook and my blog lately just to try and keep up with regular life, the house, activities, etc. I'm not really getting ahead in any area, but Whatever! I've missed out on lots of pictures and posts from my blog friends, I guess it's just time for a fresh start.

David and I are getting used to having our two boys around and are lucky to have a very happy, content 3-month-old. Trevor has, in many ways, gone to the dark side of the terrible twos, but is also a really funny, sweet, exciting boy to be around.

Trevor's playing a lot of soccer and football these days and yelling things like: Boo-ya to you, mama, Boo-ya! and Whatever dude, mama! He is sure that whatever he drinks/eats is going to make him faster and stronger (thanks to what his uncle Ryan taught him).

Spencer is a big fan of sucking on his fingers and is a quiet little baby. I'm thinking he's going to be like his daddy. He's still got those cute dimples and has a huge smile that I love. I can't wait for all you guys to see him when we visit next month!!

October

2009-10-25T21:18:00.004-06:00

I didn't post the pictures in order, which is annoying. I need to figure that out. But anyway, here is what we've been up to in October. I am very self indulgent and have no problem posting zillions of pictures of my newborn making essentially the same faces over and over and just laying there doing nothing other than, in my opinion, looking sooo adorable. He got this cute little onesie from my mom.

Just saying hi to everyone.
A little shot of his hair. It's hanging on for dear life. He has cradle cap and I was told that putting baby oil on his head might make it come off a little. Ick! It just made his hair so greasy, if it helped at all I don't think it's worth it. I'll just let nature take it's natural course here. Just glad he has some dark hair to hide his poor little scalp!

In the car at the Trunk-er-Treat.

Trev wanted to be Lightning McQueen for Halloween. I'm too cheap to buy the real costume, plus I didn't think the one at Target was all that cool anyway. So I bought a giant mural coloring book for 99 cents and some of that thick posterboard, colored it up, glued it on, and strapped it on his shoulders. I like the way it turned out and he was so cute carrying his little plastic sack around on his fingers. He says "Tricky Treat" and I don't want to correct him. :)

With our buddies from church.

Carin, Danelle, and I are doing a little ABC school for the kids where we take turns having the kids over for a little preschool/playtime. We're basing our topics each day on a letter from the alphabet. A was apples at Carin's house and the kids read 10 Apples Up On Top, made applesauce cookies, stamped bags with paint and stamps made from real apples, glued tissue onto a picture of an apple, and made a little notebook to put all their ABC school papers in.

B was at our house and we learned about Bodies. We traced their bodies on paper (I had planned on doing it outside with chalk, but we got like 3 inches of rain), made a body parts collage, ate sandwiches cut w/a gingerbread cookie cutter, read books, blew bubbles and popped them with different body parts, and had lots of fun. I taught them to feel their heart beat by putting their hand over their hearts. Since then, Trevor has come up to me a few times, short of breath from running, to tell me that he feels his heart beeping. Again, I just don't have the heart to correct it because it's too cute. I'm excited for him to be learning and having fun with his cousins. I think he's excited, too!

Trevor is pretty unpredictable when it comes to taking naps. He just won't go down some days, and sometimes when he does he'll be up like 3 times in the night. (Very annoying when you have a 3mo who is finally sleeping through the night!) Dinner time is one of the more challenging times for me with 2 kids. I still don't have it figured out and most of the time we are just eating something quick and easy. Cereal anyone? Here, Trevor fell asleep waiting for dinner to be put on the table. He just couldn't make it any longer and we couldn't wake him up once it was ready.
We took a trip to Old McDonald's Farm out in Humble with our playgroup. Trevor LOVED the train and took 3 rides. It was a good time and Spencer was pretty good to let me drag him around all day. They have playground equipment (Trevor played his first tetherball today - that brings back memories!) and a big petting zoo, a train, pony rides, a pumpkin patch.... It's just a lot of fun for a two year old boy.
He got pretty nervous petting most of the animlas but was a BIG fan of the rabbits.

He liked the donkey, too, for some reason.

I was sure that we would wait in line for the donkey, for Trevor to just walk away too scared to get on. He was pretty nervous when he first got on, but at the end he was all smiles. I still am in a little disbelief that he got up there. It was so much fun to watch him ride.
Trevor and some of his playgroup buddies. We have so much fun with them!

The train....
Oops tiny pictures, well this is Trevor looking quite nervous about this pony ride.

September

2009-10-25T21:03:00.002-06:00

Trevor and I headed out to our neighborhood's National Night Out festivities to see the firetrucks. He climbed inside and played with his good little neighbor buddies.

Just another bad hair day for Spencer. He always has hair in the back sticking up. I hope it grows in better later on.

Madison and Trevor - this is pretty much the usual for the Houston cousins these days. Lots of silliness.

Already fitting in just fine....

2009-08-17T21:07:00.003-06:00

I found Spencer propped up like this next to his dad the other evening, just chillin and watching a show. Just look at that hair...

Corn on the Cob

2009-08-17T20:59:00.004-06:00

Trevor finally tried corn on the cob. I think he liked it..... maybe. It's hard to tell with him sometimes.

Brothers

2009-08-17T20:37:00.003-06:00

At home

2009-07-23T21:40:00.002-06:00

We're home and getting settled! He's sleeping a little here a little there, and so am I. But luckily I've got David and Mom here. Mom is hooking us up with lots and lots of good food in the freezer and just keeping things going hour by hour. Thank goodness! This kid can not get enough of his fingers!! It's so funny! Trevor loves his little bro!

Baby

2009-07-19T17:03:00.007-06:00

He's here! Born today about 11:30, 8 lbs 2 oz, 21 in long. Doing great!

4th of July

2009-07-07T20:58:00.002-06:00

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July! Here are some pictures of our Independence Day activities. We enjoyed the concert so much last year that we started off our celebration again with the Houston Symphony. Trevor had a great time dancing and was actually able to last the whole show. They did some fireworks at the end this year and he talked about them nonstop. The first thing next morning when he woke up he said, "I see the fireworks go BOOM!"

Saturday morning we did a little parade for Trevor to see a firetruck and play with his cousins. He wasn't dissapointed. After that excitement I tried to get him down for a nap before we had a bbq with some friends, but he was having none of that. So we bbqed and went swimming with David's friend Jamin and his fam and then put Trevor to sleep early. So no big fireworks show this year, but a great weekend overall.

Trevor ready for the Houston Symphony (July 3rd)

Oh so strong!

A rare appearance - David smiling... :)

One of Lauren's hand made flags.

Trevor and David settling in after the concert to watch the fireworks.

Trevor a bit overwhelmed by the noise.

The Houston Symphony closes each year with the 1812 overture and they use real cannons at the end.

Neighborhood parade

Trevor didn't quite keep up, but had a great time riding his bike. I usually don't take him out on it because it's too hot.

Loving the firetruck!

Kids cooling off (you can't really see but Carin's taking Madsie and Trev through)

blackberries and chickens

2009-06-09T22:52:00.002-06:00

Our friends the Pearts invited us to dinner and go pick blackberries last night for FHE. Mindy taught me how to make her homemade bread, which is so delicious. She made it seem really easy, but we'll see about that when I try it on my own. Here are some pictures from the berry picking and chicken feeding. Trevor loved to hear the rooster cock-a-doodle-doo!

We aren't big blackberry eaters, but I'm going to make some freezer jam out of it. Danelle and I are going to make freezer jam on Thurs. I've made it before and had mixed results. So, all of you domestic ladies out there - share your secrets for either raspberry, strawberry, or blackberry freezer jam. I need all the help I can get!

maxing out on toddler fun

2009-06-09T21:37:00.002-06:00

We took the little kids out during the last day of school for one last play date. I think the original thought was that it would be fun for the moms, since Carin would have her older kids home and that would change our little mid-week-play dynamics. Anyway, it really just turned into a maxed out marathon of toddler fun. Lucky kids! We hit the splash pad, carousel, a little mall food court lunch, and trolley ride. We are so nice! The result was some exhausted kids; I can't speak for Danelle and Carin, but I was exhausted, too! This belly aint gettin any smaller, you know!?

some randomness

2009-06-05T19:29:00.002-06:00

I've gotten out a few things to get ready for baby boy to get here (still no name). I put his clothes in with Trevor's in his dresser and Trevor's feeling a little confused as to whose clothes are whose. One Saturday morning when David and Trev so kindly let me sleep in, I came out and Trevor was wearing this little 6mo number..... Pretty sure that's an honor code violation bud! :)

Trevor loves to sneak up on his Dad..... ShhhhH! Quiet.

It's heating up in Houston. Trevor's been enjoying the kid-classic plastic pool. I'm hoping it'll be a life saver as I get less and less willing to chase him around in public.

Trevor and Brandon playing video games. We just love Brandon - hopefully if we're lucky Trev will be as good a boy as his cousin! I sat down next to Trev and just picked up the controller and pushed a bunch of buttons, to which he responded - "Mama, NO! Push the X, just push the X!!"

top three

2009-06-05T10:38:00.003-06:00

Trev rockin' to the xylophone with his top three favorite songs.

He's loving the ABCs and usually wants to go solo when he sings them. He always says, "No, I do it by yourself," if I try to sing along.

A while ago, we were in the car and Trevor was crying to get home. David thought that a good distraction would be for Trevor to sing the ABCs - it worked. We were almost to the neighborhood, he sang until we got there and there were no more tears. After a few times of using that strategy, Trevor now begins singing his ABCs as soon as we get on the road, thinking that when he's done we might be where we are supposed to go. I hear the ABCs a lot! But with crying as the alternative, I'll take it!

Summer Movies

2009-06-03T14:59:00.002-06:00

A friend emailed this to me and I thought I'd pass it along... I think it's only offered in some states/cities (click on the link to see). Anyone around here in for some cheap, air conditioned fun??!! Trev and I will see you there. :)

From June 16th through August 19th, Cinemark theaters are offering $1 family-friendly movies twice a week. That’s a great deal by itself, but where it really gets good is that you can purchase an advance pass for all ten movies for just $5 making them only $0.50 each!

http://www.cinemark.com/summermovieclubhouse/index.htm

trevor thinks this is so funny

2009-05-16T21:47:00.003-06:00

Having a little pizza "picnic" the other night. Trevor tried a new trick and was quite pleased with himself.

little lizard friend

2009-05-06T13:04:00.003-06:00

We're always on the lookout for our little lizard friends. Here's a little guy, Trevor thinks it's silly that they're scared of us. He's a lot more brave around them than I am. Pulling weeds earlier this year, I just about grabbed one in my fist and that was enough to make me squawk! But he'd touch them if he could. After all the rain we got last week we had a couple of frogs in our garage. David and I tag teamed to get them out and Trevor had a great time seeing them up close and then watching them hop away into the drainage grates.

crafty, crafty

2009-05-03T22:17:00.003-06:00

A friend of mine had a baby shower on Saturday for her little girl coming next month and I made a few little goodies to give. I used a pattern I found online for the wipes/diaper envelope and made my own template from one of my favorite bibs that I used with Trevor. I thought it turned out really cute! I have some extra chenille and flannel and will be making a few more - I'm excited to make some for baby boy. The only problem with sewing is that I kind of take over the kitchen for a good 24 hours so no one gets fed and nothing else gets done while the sewing machine is out. But it's OK because when the sewing stuff is out, I can still be in a good mood even if the house is a disaster. :0)

belly pics

2009-05-03T21:52:00.005-06:00

Here is a REALLY cute belly! I told Trevor I was going to take a picture of my baby belly for Grandma to see. "What about Trevor's belly??" I'm starting to feel like there's not much left of me to give. With Trevor I had sore ribs from about this time until a few days after I had him. It was the best feeling to not have his little feet up in there! So I'm guessing his little brother's feet will take up residence any day now and stay there until July.

I decided that if the baby really loves his mama, he should come on July 14th - Trevor's half birthday (which would just kinda be fun) and a couple of days early (which would just make me a happy girl). But I'm trying to get myself into the mindset of at least 1 week over due, as I did with Trevor. That worked great, especially when he came 1 day early. I was pleasantly surprised and never felt too anxious about when he would/wouldn't come. This time I'm just worrying about coordinating all the travel, which really can't be done when we are working on an unknown time table. On Thursday I have another ultrasound to check up on how little guy is growing, so hopefully the due date will come out right again and we can start making some plans for some visitors to welcome this little guy.

easy as 1-2-3

2009-05-03T21:41:00.002-06:00

Thank goodness for technology! Trev has learned his ABCs and numbers mostly with the magical powers of technology. Thanks Grandma Barbs for the computer!

when it rains, it pours

2009-04-20T07:37:00.004-06:00

This is true for Houston weather, as well as my blog posts, it seems. Friday and Saturday were gloomy, rainy days here in Houston, which presents me with the challenge of entertaining a very energetic boy within the confines of our home. It was raining hard enough that even the thought of taking him somewhere to play outside was just too wet, since we'd have to walk from the car. My solution on Friday afternoon was a pillow tower for Trev to run and jump into. I think it was a hit.

Trevor's favorite word is "Huh?" Which sends shivers up my spine as I imagine how many times I'll hear this word repeated dazily back to me in the coming years. (Flash forward to a teenage boy sitting next to his dad watching ESPN, but has a heap of homework to do. Yeah, "Huh?" is here to stay.) He will seriously repeat it 10 times while I repeat exactly the same word over and over, until it magically sets in. But I do love the way he is able to communicate with me now, I feel like I'm hanging out with my little buddy and most of the time I love to hear his thoughts on what's going on around us. On the way home from hanging with the fam last night David and I were telling Trevor that when we got home we needed to get ready for bed. I was telling him the steps... Get PJs on, go potty, wash, brush your teeth, choose some books, read/rock, then bedtime. He was moaning and whining in the back while I rattled this off, then said, "I don't WANT to talk about bedtime." One of many firm opinions this little guy has formed during his first two years.

playtime at the park

2009-04-16T20:44:00.006-06:00

Thanks to some good weather, Trevor and I have spent most of our time this week playing with his friends/cousins at the park or playing ball outside. Trevor loves going to different parks, I wish I had his little voice recorded when he asks if we're going to a "different one" because it's just so cute. Any park other than the one in our neighborhood is a different one and is so much more exciting. We went to Northshore Park in the Woodlands on Tuesday with his little buddy Jorge and played soccer, went down slides, and watched the ducks. Then Wednesday met up with the cousins at Meyer park. Evan and Trevor (especially Evan!) are little dare devils when it comes to climbing! I'm surprised at how strong they are.

Little Chase snoozin' at the park.

Notice how Evan is climbing in all of the pictures that I got of him. He was either running or climbing pretty much every second we were there.

This was from Tuesday watching the ducks.

He's so much fun - I'm always smiling so cheesy.

project time

2009-04-12T07:27:00.004-06:00

When I was young, I was lucky enough to have aunts/grandmas/mom who let me and my sibs do lots of fun projects. We were big into the puff paint movement, which really should never have been, those things were pretty tacky! :) But I have so many fun memories of doing craft stuff like tieing bracelets, painting shirts, making easter eggs, coloring, making potholders, learning to use that plastic canvas w/yarn, etc. Then it was just a ton of fun and something to look forward to, but now I appreciate how lucky I was to have them in my life and that they were willing to let us get creative.

Last week, digging through some material, I found some canvas aprons that Andrea and I bought like 5 + years ago (do you remember??). So I decided this might be a good opportunity to pay it forward, and we had Lauren over for a little project on Friday morning. Trev and Lauren painted these little canvas aprons with some springy puff paint. Lauren is such a great little artist and so creative, so without any prompting she whipped out a little Easter masterpiece! Then I sewed on a few pockets. It turned out very cute!

Mercer Arboretum

2009-04-12T07:11:00.003-06:00

Just a few more pictures from when the fam was here.

Space Center

2009-04-07T22:19:00.005-06:00

day out with gma, gpa and kev

2009-04-07T22:08:00.003-06:00

While my family was in town, we had a few fun outings to entertain the Trevman. It was so nice to have them in town. It means so much to David and I when any members of the family make a trip down here because we know that it's a sacrifice, but we really, really love it!

These pictures are mostly from just hanging out at the house or a little outing we took to The Woodlands to play, ride the carousel and trolley and to just check things out! I'll post pics from our trip to the Space Center and arboretum soon.

Trev's Sticker Chart

2009-03-25T15:34:00.003-06:00

Trevor finished his sticker chart and traded it in to his dad for a present - a little Grand Prix racer. The stickers are our way of trying to bribe him through the rough days of the terrible twos. :-) Good work, Trev!

Seabrook 1/2 Marathon

2009-03-25T14:40:00.004-06:00

Trevor and I went to cheer on David and Danelle run the team 1/2 marathon and Carin run her first ever 1/2! Despite some chilly weather, they did a great time and (I think) we all had a pretty good time! Easy for me to say since I didn't do any running. Good work guys!

enjoying today, looking forward to tomorrow!

2009-02-27T22:03:00.003-07:00

I've decided not to let a lack of pictures keep me from doing a quick blog update. The past three weeks have really flown by. Finally time seems to be picking up - I think feeling better and having my energy back has made a huge difference. Plus, I've tried to jam pack my week with play dates for Trevor and whatever other little outings we can come up with. I need to bring out my camera and get a few pictures of our lives for next time.....

I have lots of things to look forward to this month.... Julie will be here tomorrow for a little visit. Mostly to meet cute little Chase, but we'll gladly steal a little of her time and attention for a few days here and there. Then a week off, with time to get ready for Mom to come visit for 10 days. HOORAY!

We're hopefully going to do a few projects (if we can get Trevor to cooperate)while she is here. Sewing and organizing and maybe painting?? We'll see! Since we just had one room to function as a baby's room and guest room in our apartment I really didn't do much "nursery" wise with Trev. Now I'm trying to cook up some big plans for the deep-red-painted walls of what will be the boys' room. If anyone has good links for decorating ideas, please do share. I'm not really looking for a theme. I just want some ideas for wall colors/designs, wall hangings, curtains, etc. I'm not against leaving the walls red, but just want to give them a little interest.

I have another ultrasound scheduled for a week from today to hopefully figure out when this little baby is coming. Since today was 85 deg. I am feeling a little anxious about making it through to July. But July is going to come, and I'm going to be fat, and I'm going to make it! And it will be totally worth it.

So for now, I'm just enjoying every day, trying to get in tons of fun with Trevor before this heavenly weather ends and our little party of three becomes four.

Trevor's jammin' handlebar stache

2009-02-18T13:38:00.005-07:00

delicioso! (for some reason I think Trev has a look of his uncle Kevin J in these pictures, i think it's the chin)

Just lovin' on my boy. He's so much fun. I have to admit, I'm going to be in trouble surrounded by my three handsome guys!!!

We're going to the Zoo Zoo Zoo

2009-02-18T13:21:00.004-07:00

David, Trevor and I met up with one of David's old college buddies, Jamin, and his wife and daughter, who just moved here, for a fun day at the zoo. It was a chilly day at first but turned out beautiful, and Trevor had so much fun seeing all the animals. I have to laugh when, of all the animals we saw, if you ask him what he saw at the zoo, it's likely he'll say GOATS. They had a little petting zoo with goats, that I am 99% sure were under the influence, they were sorta comatose with all these kids running around them and petting them and pulling their ears. Highlights were a cute little (6'1'') 2-wk-old girrafe, the tiger settling down for his nap and yawning like crazy - Trev loved that, and the monkeys, of course! I only took a couple of pics because we're planning a trip back soon and this time I just wanted to enjoy Trevor's excitement.

It's nice to see David excited about hanging out with friends because it doesn't happen too often. :0) But I had so much fun getting to know Jamin's wife Kimra and I hope that we'll be able to have many more fun family play dates. They also have a boy on the way next month, so our little guys can be buddies in a few months.

without further a-due

2009-02-18T13:15:00.003-07:00

haha, punny.

I just look thick, not pregnant. Also, I'm going for the no shower, natural look today. But here ya go Mom, Andrea and girlies.

Fun in February

2009-02-09T09:49:00.007-07:00

I'm beginning to appreciate the beauty of our warm climate here in Houston. The summer wasn't unbearable, but it was pretty hot and long and I started to wonder if I was crazy for moving here! But we have enjoyed a stretch of beautiful weather to kick off February, which in Utah, always seemed to be the LONGest month because the cold/snow just dragged on and on.

David and I were recalling that it was exactly one year ago (last Wed-Sat, I think) that he was in Houston interviewing for his job. He left something like a 4-day streak of snowfall in SLC and came here to temperate Houston, where Trevor was running around in a tshirt and diaper because we didn't pack him any shorts and he was too hot in his pants in FEBRUARY! He had learned to walk that winter, but had not had the chance to play and run outside yet because of the snow, so he had his first experience playing outside in Houston. That weekend really sold David! And it was 1 year ago that we accepted the offer and started packin' our bags.

And here we are now! We met the Straws at the park on Saturday and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon.

Hike!

2009-02-06T13:18:00.004-07:00

Trevor can't wait for Uncle Kevin to come play some tackle football with him next month. He's tired of beating up on his old Dad.

trains and cars and trucks and buses and airplanes and helicopters and....

2009-01-30T17:50:00.003-07:00

This is a continuous loop of Trevor's train of thought. Insert milk and food in there a few times and you pretty much have it all there. He loves building his train track but has recently come up with a new activity.

In the car we are on the lookout for trains and cars and trucks and buses and airplanes and helicopters and.... anyway, the other day in the car we saw a bus go by and then just down the road two more. Trevor said "Mama - more bus!" And I said, "Yes, more buses!" He insisted that it was bus not buses. Eventually I gave up, but then the next time we were out and saw buses I had to go through the whole process again convincing him that one bus is just a bus, not buses.

movie party

2009-01-30T17:47:00.004-07:00

We had Madison over a little while ago for Nemo, popcorn, and fruit snacks. They had lots of fun! Trevor loves his cousins and is missing them, it has been too long since we played.

big boy, big helper

2009-01-30T15:11:00.005-07:00

Trevor loves playing with stickers - lots of em.

Trevor just loungin' watching some TV one morning. He sometimes lays down in front of the TV like David used to when he was little (or so I hear); anyway, I'm pretty sure it's just in his DNA. :0)

I'm trying to put a few changes into place with my baby boy before he becomes the big brother. We just started out with a big boy bed, which hasn't been too bad yet. When he was in his crib about half the time he would cry and cry so I would end up in the rocking chair until he finally fell asleep in his crib. So the past few nights I've been in the same spot, he's just moved to his toddler bed. For naps it's a little scarier, so I have just used the strategy of exhausting him to the point where he passes out in my arms during our reading/singing pre-nap. But sooner or later I'll have to just lay him down and let him fall asleep on his own. We'll see! Last night I tried just closing the door and walking away. He didn't leave the room, but he did knock on the door forever saying "Mommy, where are you?" and then he just passed out on the floor right in front of the door. It could be (and probably will!) worse. So, I'm feeling okay about our start.

But Trev has also been helping me a lot around the house. He will to run to the kitchen and grab a towel if there is ever a spill. Although when he first figured out this pattern of events I'm pretty sure we had a couple of intentional spills just for the thrill/praise of the clean up. He enjoys doing the dishes and I actually really like it too, even though I still have to redo the silverware when he's done. I got just a little tiny clip of him helping out. These days it's almost impossible to get video/pictures of him without him going after the camera/screaming to look at the picture. But notice that he has grouped all the knives and pulled them out at once. So organized - I don't know where he gets that from, but it's cute!

No matter how big he gets, he'll always be my little baby boy. This is us having a little nap/snuggle the other day.

Happy Birthday, little T!

2009-01-14T15:07:00.001-07:00

We Love You!
Terrible Twos Here We Come!

I'm so glad that Trevor is in our family and I love seeing him grow up. I always wondered if I'd feel sad as he changed and was no longer my little baby boy, but watching him learn and grow and getting to know the big, fun personality that is bursting out is nothing I would trade. I wouldn't even trade it for that fuzzy little baby boy from two years ago.

Trevor had a Cars birthday cake/party with his Houston cousins/family and Grandma Jones. We also went out for a little birthday lunch at Chick-fil-A.

Trevor loves the computer and Grandma Jones got him his very own! He can't figure out most of the games yet, but he just likes to hear it say "Try Again!"

Thanks to Grandma Lee Lee for the Lego Wagon (wink, wink!). We're all about building towers and tunnels around here.

Christmas Fun

2009-01-13T15:31:00.003-07:00

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas-time. We had almost all the Jones clan here in Houston for a really fun Christmas. Trevor loves his cousins and aunts and uncles. My mom made Trevor those cute BYU jams, they're awesome! One of Trevor's favorite toys was the Mac truck that Grandma Jones gave him. He plays for hours and loves Mac!

Also, here's a picture for Mom and Andrea of the Christmas tree. For some reason, I didn't take one after I added the tree skirt, etc. So, next year, eh?

Once There Was A Snowman

2008-12-16T13:44:00.003-07:00

This is the best I could get out of him with the camera going. Once the camera comes out, that's all Trev can think about. But we love this song!

Run Thru The Woods

2008-12-16T13:34:00.003-07:00

Carin and I did the Run Thru The Woods 5 mile race on Thanksgiving Day. It was a fun way to start the day! David and Trev met us at the finish line. This was the first race I have done since before Trevor was born and Carin's first ever. I think we might have to do it again next year if I can get in shape by then and if Carin doesn't give up running forever after the marathon in June!

Happy Everything

2008-12-10T06:13:00.002-07:00

I totally missed the boat on a Thanksgiving post, with traveling home and spending time with the fam, getting settled back into real life, etc. We had a great time in Boise/UT/Colorado and have plenty to be thankful for, especially when it comes to having the best family ever! The only family member from both sides that we did not see in the month of November was Julie, but we are so excited for her to come visit for Christmas.

Taking a month-long trip away from home and my husband taught me a few things:
1. He loves me! Ok, I already knew that, but by day 4 or 5, he was already missing us terribly! On the first Sunday morning we were gone he called my cell like 4 times before 6:00 am. Of course, I screened him the first few calls, but then started to wonder what sort of emergency would require that many early morning phone calls!?! But I really couldn't have survived the trip without our daily chats. And I love him, too!
2. I'm not such a great homemaker! Most nights while I was away I was feeling a little guilty/bad that I had left my poor husband to fend for himself for dinner every night. Poor Davey, eating chicken pot pie or pizza from the freezer again tonight! But since I have been home, we have eaten frozen pizza a few times, chicken pot pie, pancakes for dinner, and pretty much anything that you can heat up really quick in one pot or dish. About the only real meal he has eaten since I've been home is Thanksgiving dinner! Not much different from the diet of a husband-turned-bachelor for a month. So, I guess I'll be working on that.
3. Home is where your heart is. Even though Boise (and now, truly, Utah Valley) will always feel like home and Houston is still feeling a little foreign (76 degrees in December is just weird!), home will always be wherever David is! It's so good to be home with him again and to see Trevor get crazy excited in the evenings when he gets home.

We had a great first Thanksgiving Day in Houston. Carin and I started the day off with Run Through The Woods, a "little" 5 mile race. A good warm up for the marathon in June. But it was lots of fun, my first race since before I had Trevor and Carin's first EVER. Thanksgiving dinner was AMAZING! Carin's turkey was soooo delicious - she brined it this year, which now seems to me the only way to cook turkey. After dinner we spread out all the Black Friday ads and mapped out our shopping destinations. I determined that WalMart would have to be sacrificed for Home Depot for a $50 pre-lit artificial tree (Orig. $200!). Yeah, it was totally worth it! In line outside the store 2 other girls right next to me in line were looking for trees, too. So we banded together and grabbed a cart and helped each other fight for our trees! It is always such a rush! I was lucky that we worked together, otherwise I might not have gotten the tree I wanted. But I did and it's so cute. I seriously cried when I put it up (this is my first-ever Christmas tree), and David thinks I'm totally crazy, but it is so fun and pretty! I made a little tree skirt to go around it. Red w/gold pattern and trim and then just put some gold ribbon around it. Ornaments next year... maybe.

Other Christmas preparations.... Danelle came over and sewed some really cute stockings for her and the fam. They turned out so good and no matter what she says she really did sew all of them and they are great. So, can't wait for everyone to see them soon. Almost all the Jones family will be in Houston for Christmas, so we'll be getting read for everyone to come party. We'll just be missing the Paul Jones family. Sad! But we'll see y'all next year.

So, just in case I don't get around to another post before Christmas and New Year's etc, Happy Everything to you all. Over the years, I really have been lucky to be surrounded by so many great people and I wish you all, wherever you are, all the best!

That's Amore

2008-11-19T23:13:00.007-07:00

Trevor is livin it up in Boise, having so much fun with Papa, Lee Lee and Miken (as he says) and Kevin. He's also crazy about his cousins and daily asks when he is going to see them again, oh and his uncle Ryan. Sorry, no love Andrea! He also asks for his Houston cousins and gets so excited when I show him pictures of Evan and Danelle on the blog. Lee Lee made one of his favorite meals - Spaghetti and corn, he rewarded her with lots of loves! Some of you may know that I am often referred to as Crazy Aunt Mel on my side of the family. And I'll admit that it's kind of true - I mean, we do have video footage to prove some of the craziness. But I have to say that I see the craziness more as me being fun-loving and having a strong desire to win over the hearts of my sweet little brothers or nieces and nephews. So, observing my sweet mother with her grandkids, I know where I get it from. So from one crazy lady to another, I love ya mom. You're the best grandma ever!

Trevor has learned a few new words since we left TX and in general is just talking more and more. He learned a few really important words on a walk with the girls. Treasure and Echo. Maddie is totally into pirate treasure and she took us on a treasure hunt up behind the house. Once we were up on the hill the girls taught Trevor about echoes. For a few days after that, he shouted echo whenever he saw the mountains, whether he was outside, in the car, or in the house. But I think he's figuring it out now....

The Three Muskateers - Maddie is totally the ring leader. She's enjoying the fact that Trevor goes along with almost whatever she wants with little or no resistance, which she gets from Mia.

Setting off on the treasure hunt. Maddie and Mia are on a mission, Trevor's still figuring things out.

Setting out on our little hike. He's catching on to this pirate treasure hunt.

Blowing Bubbles with Lee Lee

2008-11-16T19:15:00.001-07:00

Boise

2008-11-16T16:26:00.003-07:00

A few pictures from our stay so far in Boise. We are missing David sooo much but having a great time. I did talk David into joining us here for a few days, so we are excited to see him later this week.

Cousins

2008-11-07T15:01:00.001-07:00

Here are the fun pictures of Trevor playing with his cousins in Utah. We had so much fun being there for baby Autumn's blessing and playing with everyone.

GRAND Parents in GRAND Junction

2008-11-07T14:53:00.000-07:00

Trevor and I spent a few fun days in Grand Junction with Grandpa and Grandma Jones. We arrived on the day that they had their boxes delivered to their new home. Trevor and I had a great time, and he had some time to warm up to them and have some fun playing with his cars and being silly with Grandpa. On the first night we were there we went to Olive Garden. Trevor was exhausted from running up and down the ramp and playing with the cars and fell asleep at the table while eating his breadsticks and spaghetti.

We helped Grandma unpack a few boxes and had fun reading lots of David's old mission letters. I wasn't as helpful as David would have have been if he was there, but I did save the day by finding the satelite reciever when the DirecTV guy was there. So, I guess we earned our keep!

On Halloween we helped hand out candy to a few trick or treaters. Trevor picked up the routine and holds out his little chubbs and says trick or treat.

I just took a couple pics for David to see the place where his parents live.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-27T06:24:00.005-06:00

Trevor and I are heading off to Utah, Colorado, and Idaho this week, so we got our Halloween festivities in a little early thanks to our fun little ward party.

The Scarecrow Tried to get a picture of us together, but Trevor was all about the candy.

All aboard! for some fall fun at the Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-26T20:42:00.008-06:00

Saturday we went to the Pumpkin Patch with the Straws. A plot of dirty grass with piles of pumpkins, a few bales of hay, and a train and hay ride can really excite an almost two year old! Trevor and Evan had lots of fun on their little outing. Trevor is very expressive these days, as you will see in the video. He gets really excited about what's going on around him. He's also getting into the phase where he likes to throw little tantrums. So I'm glad for times like these where it's fun to see the world through the eyes of a two year old little guy.

The Choo choo!

The Straw Fam

Trev and Ev on the big turkey made of hay.

Evan just being his smiley, sweet little self!

Bringing out the kid in David (I knew it was in there somewhere....)

Evan and Danelle dominating Trev and me in the duck races.

The choo choo ride!

Dozin'

2008-10-21T21:17:00.002-06:00

Trevor plays hard all morning and a couple of times at lunch has fallen asleep while eating.

City Slickers

2008-10-19T20:58:00.006-06:00

We headed up to Fort Worth on Thursday afternoon for a quick weekend trip and to catch the Alumni tailgate and the big TCU/BYU game. I felt much pride in seeing Trevor get such a thrill over seeing our Cougars out on the field, but the actual football game was horrible! I felt so bad for David having to sit through such a sad defeat. We stunk!

But moving on to the fun parts of the trip.....

This is Trev cheering on the Cougs with the BYU faithful at the tailgate. See how much he loves those cougs?? When we entered the stadium, we walked over to where he could see onto the field - his wide eyes could not get enough of that field and the "boo-ball" players. He chanted B-Y-U all the way to our seats. Of course, after a quarter or two he had completely lost interest and I chased/wrestled him all around the stadium. My arms were literally shaking with exhaustion by the end of the night. But at least it kept me from having to watch our breakdown play for play. After the game we got to the hotel and put Trevor into his pack-n-play. He wiggled around for a good 5-10 minutes trying to fall asleep. We sat there in the dark waiting for him to finally doze off. From his little crib came one last BYU, BYU and a few wiggles later, he was sound asleep. I'm sure he was just revelling in the excitement and fun that he had seeing the game. I love that boy!

Raising up the next generation of COUGAR.

Friday morning we headed out to the Stockyards in Fort Worth. Each day they have a cattle drive down the main street where the Live Stock Exchange building, Cowboy Hall of Fame and other little shops and historic buildings are located.

A longhorn up close and personal.

The Fort Worth Stock Exchange. Where the first indoor rodeo was held, and the first radio broadcast of a rodeo was made. The building was really pretty in it's western way and had a little museum with plenty of old west historical artifacts and information about Fort Worth. Almost made me want to pick up a western novel and get lost in the stories of characters like the Sundance Kid and the wild west.... Almost. :0)

Yee-haw!
City Girl meet Big Jake.

We finished off our little trip with a stop in Waxahachie at The Chisholm Grill in their little town square. It was amazingly delicious - piping hot peach cobbler with ice cream. I'm already trying to think of an excuse to get back to Waxahachie again.....

Singing and such

2008-10-15T20:53:00.004-06:00

LOOK AT THOSE LEGS!

I took this the other day to try and get Trevor to talk to his cute cousin Mia. :-) So hope she sees this... I was persistent but couldn't get him to sing the whole song. How about that face/eyebrows at the end? Too funny.

Here we are...

2008-10-11T13:18:00.006-06:00

In October, more than six months since we moved to Houston. Wow! I've put up my meager Halloween decor, and though it is not much, it still makes me so happy that this most wonderful time of the year is already upon us. Most of the little decorations that I have are kinda cheesy and maybe tacky, but in my mind that's the best kind of Halloween. I mean, this is a holiday where people let their kids dress in any crazy outfit they want and then go knock on all their friends' and strangers' doors begging for candy, right? So I figure tacky is just part of the whole experience.

But I really do love this time of year and enjoy the fact that there are actually people out and about in the neighborhood now that it's not so unbearable. In fact, just yesterday a lady from down the street was saying how much she enjoys this time of year because it's the one month between the "hot, hot and the cold, cold." Cold, cold? If I ever complain about cold weather while I'm here, someone please reach out and give me a good, hard slap!

My life is living proof that a whole lot of nothing really adds up to something because I have no idea where the last few weeks have gone! I've just been keeping up with Trevor and laughing at all the stuff he's been up to. Oh yes, and we can't forget the bazillions of shows and football gams that I'm now watching since they are back on. How great is this time of year? We're heading up to Fort Worth for the BYU/TCU game and just hoping that we can pull out a win! We'll be at the tailgate party to see cosmo and do all the fun pregame stuff. Trevor is working on the fight song and can at least give a mean Rah! Rah! Goooo Cougars! Any football game that he sees on TV is "BYU" or "Rah!Rah!" So we're training him up right.

Trevor is keeping me fully entertained and usualy in a good way. He's busy learning a lot of new words and running the carpet bare where he races back and forth. I ask him each night if he wants to sing I Am a Child of God or I Love to See the Temple, and he loves them both. He'll ask to sing "Chy Gog" or put his hands together to make a steeple for "Pemple." He has little actions that he does with this, and he sings some of the words (mostly the endings, you know?). He loves to listen to primary songs in the car and is learning some of them. If he hears a song he likes he will ask to hear it over and over again. I am still debating whether this is better than listening to him cry or throw a tantrum in the car.....

When he gets really excited about doing something he will just start saying all the names he knows starting with mama, dada. Then he launches into the names of whoever he thinks might be involved. He can almost say all his cousins' names (we're still working on Jaben, it's tough!) :-)

His obsession with trucks, trains, helicopters, airplanes, cars, etc is still going strong. I tried to teach him that he was driving his train on a choo-choo track. Now he insists that all trucks and trains are a "choo-choo truck." We also get a lot of planes flying over and he loves to go on walks to the park and watch for airplanes and helicopters. The bulk of my day is spent stalling another walk or going bye-bye in the car. He is always on the go, go, go.

The other day Trevor was playing with the ads in the newspaper and found a Toys R Us ad. As he browsed through, he found a Thomas train just like the one he has. He ran and got the train, then came and found me in the kitchen and dragged me over to see what he had found. Thomas! You can see in the picture he looks pretty proud.

The following pictures are after one crazy nap when he woke up with a serious mohawk. The pictures don't do it justice, but the smiley face is a good example of how Trevor wakes up about 99% of the time. He's a good sleeper and such a sweet boy when he wakes up. He goes 0-60 in about 10 seconds. Once he's up hes ready to go.

Move over Thomas... notice Trevor's new best friend Lightning McQueen, or as he would say "A-Queen."

Treasures

2008-09-21T15:12:00.003-06:00

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."
-Thomas Wilder

....when our hearts are conscious of our treasures..... and from where they come!

fun at willowbrook

2008-09-18T07:42:00.002-06:00

Last Friday we had a little play day with Carin/Madison and Danelle/Evan at the mall. There was plenty of entertainment for the babies.

IKE

2008-09-16T08:49:00.002-06:00

Photos from our neighborhood, Carin's neighborhood and surrounding area.

Ike has come and gone, but left too, too much evidence of it's passing. We are feeling really fortunate to all be safe and sound and only have a little damage to our roof (just a few shingles to replace). But it is hard to wrap my mind around the damage that is all around. Mostly the damage to cities along the coast like Galveston and then Houston, and I've only seen pictures and news coverage of that. We have seen the impact that Ike has had in our neighborhood, neighborhoods surrounding us, and on the roads. Luckily our neighborhood doesn't have any tall trees, so it wasn't too messy here other than shingles and other debris to pick up. But in many of the other surrounding areas where there are a lot of tall foresty trees, it's pretty messy. There are trees fallen on houses, cars, power lines, and the streets. Plus flooding on the roads and some neighborhoods, which has mostly gone away.

We had our power restored on Sunday afternoon, but there are still a lot of people (people the next block over from us, so we are lucky!) and businesses without power. Carin and Danelle's families are still waiting for power in their neighborhoods. One of the biggest blessings throughout these last few days is that the weather has been nice and cool. And since there are still many, many people without power, it's helping.

Gas and certain groceries are still hard to come by. We went to the grocery store (where we waited in line to get in because they are trying to keep it controlled) yesterday to try and get Trev some milk, but there is nothing in the refrigerated/frozen section at all. You can get bread and canned goods, but all the shelves are totally picked over. Although, I heard that Carin got some cheese and hot dogs today, so it sounds like things are getting better every day. Lines for gas stations are really long, I saw on the news today that some people were waiting for 5 hours. There have been fights breaking out and I heard this morning that there was a shooting at one.

So, it's still pretty crazy around here, even though we personally are doing just fine and have not been seriously impacted. So we're just hanging in there and feeling very blessed to be safe and sound and have our power back on.

Yum!

2008-09-10T11:36:00.004-06:00

I have wanted to get my favorite recipes organized and typed up for a long time, with the hopes that I might get a little more inspiration for dinner and make more delicious meals. While my Mom was here she shared all the recipes that she had typed up, I then added some of my own, and now I finally have them all put together, organized and ready to go! This is the first project I have done in what seems like a long time, and I already have my next one planned out, so I'm gonna keep moving forward with this momentum! Thanks for your help, Mom, I would have never gotten it done with out you!

I heart you.....

2008-09-09T13:58:00.001-06:00

Trevor missed his Daddy while he was in NYC. On the night that David came home - Carin got Trev a little hat that has a picture of Thomas - it's so cute! He was content to just lay on the couch and watch a little football on Saturday when we finally had Daddy home for the whole day.

Bafff time!

2008-09-09T11:51:00.000-06:00

Trev loves his "baf" time!

David in NYC

2008-09-08T15:53:00.005-06:00

We had a calm weekend with David back at home and not much going on, other than the football game, of course!

I'm really glad that David got to go to NYC and have some fun with his family and go to the US Open with his mom! What an amazing trip! Since David is pretty much anti-blogging, I will post a little slide show of the great pictures he took while he was in NYC and Philly. Some of the highlights for him on this trip - for starters, the Statue of Liberty. He said it was amazing to read/hear all the stories of people who made journeys full of hardship and in low circumstances to America in order to make a better life for themselves. He also loved going to the Delaware River where George Washington crossed. In Philly they ate cheese steak sandwiches, had a race up the "Rocky" stairs, and saw the Liberty Bell. Back in NYC he also saw Phantom of the Opera, the Met, and, of course, the US Open. So here's a little slide show of some of the stuff he did.

Ride!

2008-09-01T20:49:00.003-06:00

Over the past few months that we have been living in Houston, one of the prime bonding activities for Trevor and Madison has been their love of the stroller. Carin and I took the babies on lots of walks. Trevor particularly likes riding in the stroller, while Madison sometimes enjoys riding but mostly prefers pushing.

A few weeks ago while I was hanging out with the Hae Hae kids, I came downstairs to discover that they had put their heads together and found an activity they could both enjoy. Madison pushed Trevor around and around the house while Trev sat back and enjoyed the ride. I tried to butt in and make Trevor push Madison, thinking that was only fair. But neither liked that arrangement as much as the one they had come up with on their own. There you go - a perfect match.

Just Me and My Grandma

2008-08-30T21:43:00.005-06:00

Trevor and I had lots of fun with Lee Lee! Since we dropped her off at the airport this morning he has walked around the house a couple of times calling her name. When he woke up from his nap he was especially concerned that she was not there. Life for him is just so boring without her here!

He was initially shy when Grandma and Grandpa came to visit, but could not resist Lee Lee's enticements. He even fell asleep and took a 2 hour nap on her lap, which he would never do for me no matter how hard I have tried! We had too, too much fun going shopping, eating out, taking Trevor swimming, to the splash pad, to the Learning Tree, on the carousel, etc.

Singing into the paper towel tube - he will never tire of this one; we've done it a few times today. Gee, thanks Lee Lee! :0)

Splashing!

Showing off his speed at the play place.

Mom taught Trevor this cute little trick....

We miss Lee Lee already!

Just Me and My Grandpa

2008-08-30T21:38:00.004-06:00

Trevor had his Papa George stay at our house for the weekend. He had so much fun playing with the choo-choo and wearing Papa's shoes. He impressed Papa with his speedy running in Target and through the Galleria Mall. I think that Trevor looks a bit like his grandpa when he was little - especially when his hair is buzzed. They're two handsome guys!

No pictures on last post....

2008-08-25T19:37:00.001-06:00

Don't know what that's all about... but you can see all the pictures and video and stuff on Mom's blog, which you can link to off to the right........

Congrats Little Bro

2008-08-23T21:28:00.004-06:00

My brother Michael has received his mission call!

The Boise family gathered for Michael's big moment and put him on the phone so that David, Mom and Dad, and I could listen in. We were getting crystal clear reception out on the porch and listened as Mikey read the first line of the call... Then he gets to the part where he says "...you have been called to labor in... WAAAAAAHHHH!" Meanwhile Mom's yelling into the phone... "Michael! Michael! We couldn't hear you! We couldn't hear you!" And Michael's yelling into the phone, "What? What?" That seemed to last for like 5 minutes (though now watching the video, I see that it was only a few seconds....) until he says, "Oh! South Africa Johannesburg!" So there you have it!

The best part of this moment is the two little boys (as they will forever be known, even though they will never be little again!) sitting together on the couch and Mikey's smile, while Kevin is just so intense, dying to see where his big brother is going. Kevin looks like he's going to burst a blood vessel! Look at those faces, how did they grow up so fast!?!

A little shock, a little excitement....

The fam - Mom and Dad were "stuck" here in Houston on the big night. But it made it a lot more exciting for me to have them here and see their reactions. I kept looking at Dad and he kind of had this dazed look, whether it was just becaues he was so calm and collected, or just trying to wrap his head around the idea of South Africa, I don't know. Mom was emotional, of course. But mostly just excited and the strong missionary mom that she is.

My brothers! They're a crazy, funny bunch and I love em.

Sooo... He's going to be serving in the South Africa Johannesburg Mission. I'm so excited for him and think it's so awesome that he has decided to serve a mission. It's especially fun to think of him serving there since that is where David's dad served his mission and where mom is from, where she learned the gospel and was baptised. Congrats Mike! Sorry we couldn't be there for the big event, but we love ya!

August Rush

2008-08-04T22:15:00.003-06:00

I never really claimed August as my favorite month, but this year it seems obvious that it has to be. My birthday was August 4th and what a great day it was. The best birthdays are the ones that last a few days long. I have to thank Carin and Danelle for making this happen on my birthday weekend by taking me out to do a little shopping at Michael's and then chocolate fondue at The Melting Pot. YUM! It was amazing - my favorite combo was to dip strawberries and bananas in the Yin/Yang white chocolate/dark chocolate fondue. We also tried one with toasted marshmallow, milk chocolate, and Oreo cookies.

Then on the 4th, some girls from my ward got together for a little pot luck, playgroup and birthday cake. Sure, the person who was supposed to give me a ride forgot about me and I arrived to my own birthday party about 45 minutes late, but it makes for a good story and was pretty funny so it almost made it better that way.

Next up in my own little August Rush is the SHERYL CROW CONCERT on Aug 14th. I'm so excited - it's going to be outdoors and on the grass.... Can't wait!!!!

Then on Aug 16th is David and my 5th anniversary. We don't have any plans for that, really, but it's exciting. We have had a great 5 years with lots of fun and a beautiful baby boy to show for it. Not too shabby!

Second to last in my favorite month of the year is on Aug 20th - my parents are making a trip to Houston. I can't wait for them to see where we live, the house, neighborhood, sights, etc. It will just be good to spend time with them and for them to get to know Trevor again - we can't wait! Plus I just can't wait to give my mom a huge hug and hang out.

Then, Aug 30th is the BYU football season opener, which I will be watching ALONE (sad!). But David will be having a great time with the fam in NYC and I'm so glad that he gets to go and experience all of that and celebrate Barbara's retirement!

So here's to my favorite month! :)

Aquarium Fun

2008-07-29T19:37:00.000-06:00

View of Houston from the Ferris Wheel

We spent a fun filled, hot and humid day at the downtown aquarium. A friend from my ward helped us get in for only 4 dollars so it was a lot of fun for a great price. We're lucky to live in a great ward and I've made some good friends already who get together each week. We have had a lot of fun going to play group and getting to know the other mommies and kiddos.

Inside the aquarium they had a little area where you could touch some sting rays and other wildlife. They also had shark "eggs" (Not sure if that's what you would call them and I didn't have enough free time to read any of the signs) . They were pretty amazing little pod looking things. This earth and all the things that were created on it are incredible.... But anyway, here is Trev reaching in to touch a sting ray. Oh, and splashing half the pool on me and his shirt. The sting rays were incredibly slimy but cool to see up close and touch.

Outside they had a carousel and Trevor rode on the dolphin. He oohed almost the whole time, just like in the picture. As soon as we finished the first ride, Trevor ran out the gate and then back through the line for another turn. We're still working on the waiting in line concept...

Not sure why they have a tiger at the aquarium, but it was pretty cool! I loved seeing Trevor react to seeing a huge tiger 3 feet away separated only by glass. He didn't know what to think at first, and when the tiger walked by he turned and made a beeline for me. But the second time he just stood there in awe. We had to say goodbye and wave to him before leaving.

A couple pics from the ferris wheel. Trevor was brave and enjoyed the entire ride, especially because you could see the freeway and all the cars.

Trevor "riding" the pelican and "driving" the submarine. They are coin operated rides, but an 18 month old can just sit on there and doesn't know the difference. Ahh, the age of innocence. Just look how red and sweaty his little face is! It was a hot one - over 100. I was melting.

The highlight of the trip was a little train ride into the shark tank. Blue just like Thomas! Trevor is totally into trains right now and he was in heaven. I pried his sweaty little chubby hands from the seat at the end of the ride, which we rode twice. He cried both times when we had to get off.

We had such a fun day and are wiped out!