41 Reasons why I Love Sam

(In no particular order)
1. He loves me!
2. He is the father of my children
3. He loves his children fiercely
4. He is a wealth of useless information (seriously)
5. He finds humor in simple things
6. He is environmentally friendly
7. He loves the great outdoors

8. He works hard to provide for his family
9. He started college in his late 30's to have a better career
10.He is a Jack-of-all-trades
11.He teaches his children the things that are important to him
12.He has a testimony of the restored Gospel
13.He has friends of all ages
14.He is my eternal companion
15.He changes diapers daily and has always changed our babies' first diaper
16.He LOVES babies (especially ours!)

17.He cried when each of our children was born
18.He supports me in everything I do
19.He has hobbies that he loves
20.He will watch a good chick-flick with me, and like it
21.He is a handy man
22.He loves my family
23.He loves Disneyland!

24.He is a worthy priesthood holder
25.He likes my cooking and shows appreciation for it (even my "experiments")
26.He is my children's hero
27.He is a good labor coach
28.He has taken the time to strengthen his relationships with his brothers

29.He likes to talk on the phone
30.He loves the ocean
31.He is very smart
32.He has a photographic memory (see #4)
33.He is always trying to improve
34.He makes me laugh
35.He loves to play with our kids
36.He is young at heart

37.He has become a BYU football fan!
38.He will drop what he's doing to help a family member or friend
39.He has beautiful eyes
40.He calls his parents daily
41.He always tells me he loves me!

Happy Birthday, Sunshine! Thanks for brightening my life!

Lucy at 9 months

This little girl is the sweetest thing! She is growing and learning so much!

She now weighs 20 lbs (80th %)
She is 27 inches long (37th %)
She is getting her 4th tooth
Her hair has thickened and is getting longer
She is crawling, climbing, cruising, clapping, waving, babbling, splashing, eating, easy-going, laughing, kissing, and getting cuter by the day!

We love Lucy!

Last Week of Summer Vacation

Two Fridays ago, the kids and I went up to Sam's brother and sis-in-law's in Heber City and went swimming and played all day. We had a great time as their son, Emmett is only 26 days younger than Curtis and we don't ever just hang out with them. I had a really nice time visiting with Doug and Laie and we ended up staying 8 hours! Even after 8 hours the kids did not want to leave. On the way home Noah told me we hadn't done anything fun all summer. So, I of course listed off all the fun things we have done. He realized we did do a lot but I decided we should end the summer with a bang!

So, this is what we did last week:
We toured the Sweets Candy Factory with some friends and had a blast. It was really interesting to see how they make the different candy...I thought it was fascinating, the kids thought it was cool but weren't quite as fascinated. My favorite part was in the chocolate room (shocker, I know) where they coat all the candy with chocolate. Our tour guide told us to look up...there were several big pipes on the ceiling marked "chocolate" "sugar" "corn syrup". Pipes with chocolate flowing through them! I felt like we were in the Willy Wonka movie. We also got free samples along the way, my favorite perhaps was the candy corn taffy that was right off the line. It was so fresh, it was still warm. Yummmm.

We also went to Fat Cats for bowling and pizza. There were 3 moms and 7 kids. It was a little chaotic but everyone had a blast. On the bowling monitors, it shows the speed of your ball which was hilarious with the little kids. My friend's little girl at one point rolled the ball so slow that it only went 1.2 mph! I wasn't sure the ball was going to make it to the end but it eventually did!

My dad called Thursday and said he was going to come get the boys to spend the day at his house...thanks Dad! They had fun playing with the neighbor kids and I was able to get some things done for the weekend.

Friday morning, we loaded the car and headed up to Bear Lake with Emily and Adam and crew. Adam's dad has a "cabin" right on the lake and they invited us to stay there with them. Adam's parents kind of have an open door policy with the kids meaning anyone can come up whenever so there ended up being 12 adults and I think 22 kids there! Even with all the craziness, our kids were really happy and obedient. I think the boys really only had one or two moments each where I needed to tell them to stop doing whatever they were doing.
The weather was so beautiful on Friday and the water was warm. The beach we were on is really sandy and the water is shallow (up to my knees) for about 50 yards out at least so the kids had a lot of territory to play in. There were kayaks and catamarans that we went for rides in and they have a water trampoline and raft that the kids had a great time with. Lucy loved splashing in the water and eating the sand. She was pretty content the whole time. Emily and I had lawn chairs and an umbrella set up with treats, drinks and sandwiches. It was really relaxing and enjoyable.
Saturday morning was cold and windy but that didn't stop us from getting to the beach around 10. By afternoon it was warmer but still a little windy. But we still had a great time! We packed up after dinner and headed home. We finally pulled into our driveway after 11pm and went to sleep immediately. Sam forgot to set his alarm for high council meeting and we all slept in! We did make it to Sacrament mtg but just barely! Thanks Tollhousens, for a fabulous weekend! We can't wait to go again!

We enjoyed the rest of the Olympics on Sunday at my parent's house but the kids were exhausted by 8:00 from our fun weekend. Monday we did a little school shopping and I took the kids to McDonalds for lunch. That evening we went to a Back to School Night BBQ and met the kids teachers. They were both so excited to find out that even though not all of their friends were in their same class again, they each were in the same class as their best friend!

Tuesday morning we were up at 7:00, Sam made the kids breakfast, I packed their lunches then Sam was able to give the boys each a Father's blessing to help them with this school year. This is something I looked forward to each year before I started school from my own dad. It always seemed to calm the first day of school jitters and give me some perspective for the school year. It also conveyed the love my dad and my Heavenly Father had for me (and still do!). I'm so grateful Sam has the desire to give these blessings to our children! After that, we all walked the boys to school and sent them on their way!

After school, we went to Thanksgiving Point for their last $2 Tuesday. We had never been to the dinosaur museum there so we took advantage of the discount and braved the crowds. The museum is really great and huge! Sam wants to go back without the kids so he can actually read everything. We also went over to the gardens there that are absolutely amazing. We walked and walked but had a great time. We were gone for over 5 hours! It was a fun way to celebrate the kids' first day of school!

Thanks to my Mom for saving the day and letting me borrow her camera since mine is still broken. As soon as I get the pics downloaded, I'll post some!

Blech

That is my one-word review for "Breaking Dawn". I am disappointed. I can NOT, in good conscience, recommend this book to anyone. At one point I actually came very close to throwing the book across the room. I should have.

Dilemma

Sam bought me a copy of "Breaking Dawn" yesterday. So, do I absorb myself in this book now or can I possibly wait the five days until the Olympics are over?


Oh, a cute conversation with Noah:
N: Mom, I just don't know what to do!
K: About what, bud?
N: Well, I really want to do swimming in the Olympics but I don't think I can do that and gymnastics and diving and track & field, too! So, I can't decide which one not to do because I like them all!
K: Hmm, well that is a tough decision. You better just try them all and decide which one you like the most. Plus, I'm not sure they'll let you do more than one in the Olympics.
N: Oh, OK. I'll try them all.

(Last night he decided he would be pretty good at volleyball so he has now added that to his Olympic goal list! I hope he's not disappointed when he isn't able to compete in ALL of those things at the Olympics!)

I've lost that restless feeling...almost

So, I've made the most of my restless energy and over the last week have made 8 curtains for my living/dining room! I bought the material for these curtains about 2 years ago (yes, I am a total procrastinator) but if you know my house, you know I have a lot of different sized windows and I just couldn't come up with a good plan for the curtains. Finally, I just made a decision and went for it! I am almost finished with the last one then I have to get the curtain rods and...tada! New curtains! I hope to have a functioning camera in the next few days to post some pictures (I dropped the camera yesterday and have not been able to get it to work since...uh oh!).
When we made bonnets and skirts for the pioneer trek, I remembered how much I enjoy sewing. I used to sew a lot growing up but since I got married, have only made the occassional pair of pj pants (usually at Christmas). In addition to my curtains I also made a cute nursing cover. I was surprised at how simple it was and how cute it turned out. I plan on making more to give to friends as baby gifts and possibly sell so if you are interested in one, let me know! I will post a picture of the one I made when the camera is working!
On to the Olympics...I am seriously obsessed and I know I am not alone in this obsession. I just heard on the news that Utah has the 5th highest Olympic viewership in the country! I LOVE IT! I love the patriotism that it brings out in people, I love the spirit of a world-wide party, I love seeing the pride of the host country (who wants to go to China with me?), I love hearing the Star-Spangled Banner, I love sharing my excitement for the games with my children. I love the competition! There have been many late nights that I have spent in front of the TV, jumping up and down, tears running down my face and trying to stifle my screaming so I don't wake up the family. I don't want to go anywhere in case I might miss something (except to my parents' house because they just got a new huge TV with high-def...oh my, I love the high-def!I may be moving in with them for the next 10 days). And, I ALWAYS cry...I cried watching the American women sweep the fencing competition...hello, who watches fencing? Apparently, I do! Curtis was so cute this morning telling Sam about the swimming relay from last night when the US won by such a huge margin. He was so animated as he told about the win...that's my boy! Both Curtis and Noah are planning which sports they will be competing in during the next Olympics. Noah is going to compete in track and field AND gymnastics and Curtis wants to compete in swimming. It is so fun to see them get excited about the Olympics (although they wish it was over now so they could watch one of their shows!). Can you tell I love the Olympics? Just a tad...
I'm off to get dinner ready and then some serious prime time Olympic viewing!

Restless

I've been feeling really restless lately, like I need a major change. Do you ever feel that way? At any given moment I want to pack up and move somewhere new. A few days ago it was the Oregon Coast, then it was Syracuse, Utah. It really doesn't matter where...I just need a change! Maybe it is because so many of my friends have been moving lately. Maybe because this summer is so hot and draining. Maybe I just need a vacation!
Since we aren't going to be moving anytime soon, I decided a blog facelift would have to do. So, welcome to my cute new blog. And if it changes next week, you'll know why!

Popcorn Bloomer and Blouse GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Oh my goodness...can you just see my little plump Lucy wearing this...

Popcorn Bloomer and Blouse GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!