The Adventures of 2 Boys and Me!

Sea World, Sleepovers, Sailing, and other Stuff...

2012-01-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

We have had such a fun break! Unfortunately Anson goes back to school tomorrow and the fun is over. Life goes back to the normal grind! But here is some more evidence of our fun!

These two boys light up my life! They bring me more joy than I could have ever imagined. I don't know how I got so lucky. They are best buds... and Anson going back to school is going to be rough for the little man. I am so grateful that they have such a great relationship! This picture is of them sporting their new Christmas attire. Pretty handsome if you ask me!

Now back to the activities....... My family has a tradition to make graham cracker creations every Christmas. They were pretty awesome and then we found the trick of melting sugar as the glue instead of frosting and that took them up to a whole new level. This year my mom had the idea of doing trains and train cars. Since we weren't there to participate with them, we did our own little train station! Anson was the brains on the design and Shaef was the decorator (luckily more got on the house than in his tummy)!

We found some pretty yummy treats to use!

Starting on the decorating.

Finished product!!!

We had a plan to go to Sea World before Christmas but a flat tire stopped us - Luckily we were able to make it before the end of the year! Shaef doesn't like the sun in his eyes so I made him a little tent!

This tree was amazing!!! So huge and it had my favorite snowflakes. We got to the park right in the middle of a huge rain storm. Tonz of people were leaving the park as we were coming so it was pretty nice. Sea World mostly has indoor or covered exhibits so it wasn't a big deal. We did want to try to keep Shaef's pants and shoes dry so we hung a garbage bag from his stroller tray. It worked surprisingly well!

One of the special Christmas shows was a Sesame Street one. It was pretty cute!

We got to eat dinner at the Christmas Market right on the little lake which was covered in beautifully lit trees. It was the first time all season that I had felt like it was actually Christmas.

Shaef's buddy Brooklyn came over for a sleepover because her mommy was having a baby!! She got to come 2 nights in a row and Shaef was so excited to have her over! It was Shaefer's 1st sleepover and I was nervous that he was going to be a little to crazy and not sleep but it actually turned out really well. We played and then got them ready for bed and let them watch a movie and have popcorn.

And quickly after the movie they both crashed!

It has been really warm here - even in the "winter" and we haven't been able to wear even long sleeves very many days. Two days in a row it went below 50 degrees and I pulled out his coat just in case. Of course he wanted to play outside (and even though it looks really nice outside it was pretty cold).....so I put on his coat. Within a few minutes of playing the coat came off because it was too warm for a coat.

And since it is so warm....we decided to go sailing!! Acually we got invited by an older couple in our ward to go sailing with them at the sailing club they are members at. It was a really fun experience!

They even had a life jacket that was just Shaef's size. He was really good about keeping it on and loved being on the boat! He even got to put his hands in the cold water and "make his own waves."

Here is Anson holding onto the little boat. It was a pretty small little boat but it was so nice to sail around the river and spend some time together!

Shaef missed his nap because of all the fun and was extra tired from running around, playing on the playground, etc so he crashed on the way home. My favorite is the upside down glasses and the drool.

Anson is now 1/2 way done with Law School. He loves it and has been doing really well. He even got an award in his Moot Court class for being the "Best Advocate" meaning he is the best at arguing his case. Pretty impressive if you ask me! We are excited for a new year with new adventures.

Snow Day and Merry Christmas!

2011-12-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

Gram and Grandpa scored again on 12 days of Christmas with this huge sticker book! Not only are they stickers.........they are animal, dino, space rangers, dragons,and bugs!

We are all a little homesick (well maybe I am the only one) but all of us are for sure "snowsick" if that even makes sense. We are having a hard time with this 80 degree weather around Christmas business. We were planning on heading to Sea World but those plans got foiled by a flat tire....so we decided to have a "snow day"! First stop was Wendy's for some Frosties!

They we went sledding or "sliding"!

(Random picture of Shaef pretending to be a space ranger!)

Then back home for some Rice Krispy Snowmen.

And finishing it off with a cotton ball masterpiece! It was a pretty fun day!

Shaef also got to open these Toy Story Dominos for the 12 day's of Christmas from Gram and Grandpa Tom. He got them all out of the box and lined them up in this nice little line....even before we taught him how to play! He is getting pretty good now!

Another pre-Christmas activity was making jingle bell bracelets! Shaef was really good at threading the bells onto the pipe cleaners himself!

And of course anything that makes noise is a favorite!

I didn't get any pictures of Christmas morning because I was using my new video camera all morning documenting the excitement from my two boys! We had so much fun watching our little man open all his gifts and say "Thank you so much mom!" Now he is constantly asking me "Who gave me this?" and then responding "Oh Thank You ______(fill in the name)!" He is one Thankful little boy....which is great considering how spoiled he is! Santa delivered a surprise gift to us on Saturday in the form of a old (but new for me) piano!!!! Our friends were getting a new electric piano for Christmas and passed on their old, craigslist purchased, piano....for free!!! We are so blessed to be the recipients of such an amazing gift!!

We spent the morning opening presents and going to church where Anson sang beautifully in the choir. Then our friends the Bells came and spent the day with us eating tonz of yummy food, playing games, doing puzzles and keeping us company. We sure love them!

Shaef fell asleep watching a movie at the end of the day (there was no time for a nap...he was too busy playing all day).

Now our days are going to be spent playing will all of our new toys, wearing our new clothes, and recuperating from all of the celebrations! Shaef did indeed get "Chuggington" toys from Santa and Gram and Grandpa Tom.....I think they talk.......but he is loving them for sure!

Our First Christmas in Florida!

2011-12-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

To be honest this is the first year that I have had a really hard time getting into the Christmas Spirit - maybe it is because it is still 70 + degrees outside and we are still wearing shorts! But this year we have had to make an extra special effort to make this year fun because we I am having such a tough time being so far away from family!

Shaef is SOOOOOO excited about Christmas so that makes everything better!! He can't wait to get "Chuggington Trains" from Santa, loves watching Christmas Movies, is loving all the treats that come along with the season, and brings an amazing happiness into our home!

I also have the most AMAZING parents!! My parents spent some much time and put so much love into sending us the 12 Days of Christmas filled with fun toys, decorations, and activities for our family! I am so amazed with how personal each of the gifts are. They really know each of their grandchildren (and children) so well and make sure that they show it! We really have been spoiled by them but we all get so excited to open the "gift of the day" and then play together as a family!! It has been a huge blessing for us in so many ways!! THANK YOU Gram and Grandpa Tom!!!

Here are some of the activities we have been doing!

Candy Cane Mice!

Shaef loved picking the combination of colors for the bodies, noses, and ears.

Today (Day 7) Shaef opened up some of the cutest puppets from my parents.....all homemade by my talented mother! Shaef loves them!! He even put them to bed in his own bed......

Lined them up and tucked them in on the ottoman....

And gives them hugs any chance he can get!

Day 6 from my parents was sugar cookie mix, sprinkles, and cookie cutters! Shaef was very specific about the colors he wanted to make the different shapes of cookies (blue snowflakes, brown "ginger men" and green Christmas trees), but his favorite part was eating them. I was impressed that we got as many cookies as we did since he ate 1/3 of the cookie dough!

He is so proud of how it turned out!

Shaef's favorite Christmas Movie of all time is the new "Grinch" movie. So we had a Grinch day! We played at the green park (at our complex) and we made "Grinch Cookies" or Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies. They were actually AMAZINGLY Tasty!!!

He also liked this dough - if you can tell he has his mouth full!

And we taught him how to lick the beaters! Best part about cooking!

Day 3 of the 12 days of Christmas was a great day for Mr. Shaefer! He got some new cars to add to his little collection of "Cars" cars. "Bernouli" "Fin Mc" and "Holly" (as shaef calls them) joined his family of cars. He has played with them every day since!! Next on the list is to replace the little fake Chick Hicks with a real one! (maybe Santa will put one in his stocking!)

Shaef is becoming a pro at opening presents! The only down side of the 12 Days of Christmas festivities is that Shaef asks us to open more presents about every hour. Good thing Christmas is only in a few days!

This is in the wrong order for sure...but the very first thing that we did to start of the Christmas Season was go to the annual Jacksonville Boat Parade. It is so much fun and it was actually cool enough to wear long sleeves, jackets, and hats! (The weather was just faking us out because it has been 70 degrees ever since!)

Shaef and his best friend Brooklyn sporting their new hats and gloves!

Lizzy is a favorite....she is sooo great with our little man!!

We still have some fun activities planned for the rest of this week and hopefully I will remember my camera to document all the fun! I do have to say that even though we miss our families like CRAZY - it has been a pretty good 1st Christmas Season in Florida!

Thanksgiving and 26th Birthday!

2011-12-20T12:11:00.001-07:00

Thanksgiving this year was a lot of fun!! It was our 2nd Floridian Thanksgiving and our 1st with ZERO family. We really have gained a family here and were able to spend the day with some of our closest friends! I can't believe I didn't get more pictures....especially of the people we spent the day with but this will have to do! Lizzy and Rick were gracious hosts and Lizzy set a beautiful table! The food was also AMAZING! We had all the traditional favorites and even a few southern treats! (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, rolls, gravy, sweet potato casserole, corn bread casserole, green bean casserole, mushroom rice, maple glazed carrots and all different kinds of pie!) It was fun to spend the day with Lizzy, Rick, Leesa, Clint, Nicole, Crawford, and our little family!

Rick even let Shaef use his Spider Man stuff! Shaef was in heaven!

Just a random little picture - Anson went to get me a newspaper on Thanksgiving day at a grocery store and the store clerk gave Shaef some stickers. When Anson pulled him out of his car seat when they got home, this is what he found!

My 26th birthday was amazing!! My friends and Anson really did a lot to help me feel special! I went to lunch with some friends earlier in the week, my fellow law wives took me to breakfast on my birthday, I went rollerblading, took a nap, went to dinner with some other couples and got a bunch of fun packages in the mail! I have the best family and friends ever!! I didn't get very many pictures of my birthday this year either and I am going to blame it on the migraine I had for 2 straight days! I did get a video camera from my parents so hopefully I will figure out how to get some videos up here soon!!

My husband is amazing and asked me what kind of cake I wanted - I saw this beauty on pintrest and he agreed to make it for me! This Zebra cake was amazing looking and tasted just as good!

Halloween Part 2

2011-12-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

Halloween was forever away but here are some fun and festive things that we did over the holiday!

Gram and Aunt Tiff sent fun packages with some stickers and even a build your own pumpkin! Perfect for this 2 1/2 year old!

He was very serious about this...

Done!

We made a fun festive lunch together. It was fun until the orange milk ended up on the carpet! :) Thank goodness for carpet cleaner!

I am not quite sure what this face means but he really did love it!

Oreo's, Finger Painting and Friends - Life is good!

2011-11-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

Most people have a few staple food items that they always have on hand......our family always has Oreo's. Between Anson and Shaef we go through almost a pack of Oreo's a week (every once in awhile I sneak 1 or 2 as well). Anson has certain way that he eats Oreo's - holding cookie with 2 fingers, dip in milk until it starts to sink, insert whole cookie in mouth. Shaef has seen his dad eat Oreo's this way and has decided he wants to follow in his Dad's footseps! He has the dipping down but he is a little more messy!

Life is good!

Shaef and I have been doing a lot of little learning activities. Mostly involving animals since this little man is obsessed with them - but he also loves doing anything hands on. I decided to put away my nervous feelings toward finger paint and just let him be a kid!!! (Even though I covered the table in place mats and covered him in a shirt....and made him use washable paint.)

If you can't tell - he had a blast!! And I even think next time I will relax a little! Life is good!

I have to give a shout out to these ladies! We served together in a Relief Society Presidency in our Ward which means we spent many hours together planning, serving, laughing, etc. Every Wednesday night was our presidency meeting and more often than not, our quick meeting would turn into hours of chatting! I love these ladies sooo much! We have now been released but I am so grateful that I was able to serve with such amazing women and get to know them sooo well! Rebecca (pink), Leesa (back), and Lizzy (front) will always be great friends to me!

Don't worry that this picture below is terrible - but that is what happens when you have a sub par camera, you are taking the picture (trying to fit 4 people in one little box), we had just eaten the most amazing stake that was sitting in about an inch of butter at Ruth's Chris stake house (hence the shiny faces??) and it is dark outside!

Life is Good!

Happy Halloween!!

2011-10-29T20:45:00.000-06:00

Happy Halloween!! :)

I have never loved Halloween but I each year I get a little more excited for this Halloween. I am beginning to love making matching costumes, the festive food, the candy, and fun activities I get to do with Shaef. This year we I decided that our family was going to dress up as the Rubbles from the Flinstones cartoon. Barney, Betty, and BamBam. The costumes were easy enough to put together so that was a major bonus. I wanted Shaef to know who he was dressing up as... so I showed him an episode of the flinstones and he quickly learned that BamBam hits his club on the ground while saying "Bam". Basically it was the perfect fit for my rowdy boy!

We have a ward Chili cook of/Pie contest along with a costume contest and trunk or treating! This year our family monopolized the awards.......Anson and I won best Chili, I won best Pie, and Anson and I won best couple costumes. It was a little embarrassing but really boosted my self esteem....maybe I need to be more daring in the kitchen....

The missionaries looked amazing!! If you wan guess...one of these missionaries is from Hawaii and he dressed his companions in style!

Our friends the Hostetters! I love their little lion!

This cute family won best family costumes and they looked AMAZING!!! :)

Costume Parade - Shaef was so proud! You can see little Brooklyn the witch behind them.

And Brooklyn's mommy who won scariest costume.....she was the best witch I have ever seen!

Here is our truck turned into a "Monster Truck" for the trunk or treat!! Notice Shaef's jacket? Last year at Halloween (when Shaef was Yoda) it was too hot for his costume so we had to take it off....I like the cooler weather a little better!

One of Shaef's friend threw a little halloween party for only 2-3 year olds where they did a bunch of fun activities and ate some yummy snacks. Shaef loved being the center of these two adorable girls attention!

Cheese!

Pin the tail on the cat!

We are so far away from any family here in Florida so it is so fun to get packages!!! This was a package that my parents sent and Shaef was soooooo pumped! We got spoiled again a few days ago when we got another package from my sweet sister. They included some fun activities and notes for Shaef and some fun treats! WE ARE BIG FANS OF PACKAGES :)

Sick boy!

2011-09-29T10:06:00.001-06:00

It has been a long time since this little man has fallen asleep in my arms! I love sick days because it reminds me to slow down and focus on what is important in life!

Stretch Marks

2011-09-26T12:57:00.000-06:00

My little man is 2 1/2. Somewhere in my mind I figured that by the time he was 2 I would have my "body back"! After struggling with my self image for some time now - I found this blog post. I am sure I was inspired to find it....seeing as how my whole perspective has changed!

"Honey child, you done had a baby. You ain't never gun a be 19 inches again."

And that is okay with me!

Grease Monkeys

2011-09-10T15:33:00.000-06:00

Anson wrecked on his bike the other day and was out trying to fix it and Shaef insisted that he be out there too......just like dad! If you look closely Shaef even has grease on his belly. I sure love my boys!

Disney World!

2011-09-10T15:30:00.000-06:00

This past week Shaef and I got invited to go to Disney World with some of our new friends! We met Rachel, Paisley, and Sawyer only a few days earlier at Rachel's in-law's lake house. I was there for a law thing with Anson. We were so excited to get to know them better and have fun in Disney World! Guess what else.....we got in for FREE!! Major bonus thanks to a friend of Rachel. Rachel and I drove down with all the kids and her brother met us there. We had a fun day!

All of us on the Jungle Cruise. It was so humid my camera lens kept fogging up!

These two had so much fun "driving the boat".

Shaef on the Magic Carpet Ride....it made him a little nervous.

The Carousel

I just love how eager shaef looks in this pic!

Shaef's first time on Dumbo....

Can you tell he loved it??? He didn't want to get out of this little replica they had!

After this we got rained out - Florida rain is much different than any rain I am used to. By the time we got all the strollers together and ran out to the tram and then out to the car....I was dripping. I don't think I have ever been that wet in my clothes in my life! I wish I would have gotten a few pictures...but then again my camera may not have survived!

Thanks Smith's for the fun time!

Z is for Zoo

2011-08-31T14:43:00.001-06:00

Shaef and I have been learning about the letter z! He is so eager to learn and try new things! We have been reading books about the zoo, singing songs and making fun stuff! Yesterday I was singing a song about a lion in the zoo who says "roar" and Shaef said "lions not in zoo...lions in Africa!"
We are having so much fun!

Girls night at TacoLu

2011-08-29T11:29:00.001-06:00

Last year our dear friend Amanda introduced us to TacoLu and now it is a frequent destination for girls night. (If any of you ever come visit I will take you there.) Obviously they specialize in tacos, especially fresh fish tacos...which I still haven't tried but probably should. Most of us enjoy the carnitas taco which is a yummy prok taco. But since I am not getting paid to advertise for them I will stop.
I am so grateful for my friends here (pictured or not) and for the fun times we have! Thanks ladies!

Family Pictures

2011-08-26T11:53:00.000-06:00

I love how these pictures turned out and I love my family!!! :)

Clark Family Pictures

2011-08-14T15:23:00.000-06:00

While we were in Idaho we were able to find a time where we were all together and get some family pictures taken! I had my little sister email me a few of the pictures so I could get a sneak peek. They turned out AMAZING!!

Summer 2011

2011-08-10T09:57:00.000-06:00

Here is a "Reader's Digest" version of our summer (with a lot of pictures)! We were able to escape the Florida heat for a few months and spend the summer in Idaho while Anson did a Clerkship there! We had so much fun spending time with family. The whole Clark family was able to get together a lot (which is a big deal since 2 of us live on the East Coast). Here are some things we did:

First we drove across the country - yes the long way! We were able to drive up to South Carolina to see Anson's siblings who were there selling. It was so fun to see them! I didn't get any pictures with them.....but I did get a picture of this "Piggly Wiggly" sign. I didn't know that was a real grocery store. I love the movie "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton" but had no idea that this was a real store!

While driving we were able to barely miss the huge fires in Georgia, the tornadoes in the south, crossed the flooded Mississippi at it's highest point, drove for 2 days across Texas, and then finally made it to Arizona. We were able to spend a week at Anson's parents home! Shaef had so much fun with "Grandma Annie, Grandpa Dell and Toni".

Then we drove some more until we got to Idaho. One of the first things we did was run a 5k with the Clark Family. I beat my personal record but running in high altitudes is killer! My little sister and I finished 1 second apart - Thanks for pushing me Triss! In the picture below we are standing in the order of how we finished (fastest - left....slowest -right).

We had a super fun 4th of July participating in some Family Olympics and doing some fun family stuff. The girls also painted their nails -

For the Olympics we were randomly put into teams. Our team captains were the nieces. We came up with team names and made shirts!

Rissa's Revolution (Rissa is the little cutie in the front)

The Firecrakers

Tommy's Teamers (Tommy refers to my little baby nephew who is named after my Father)

We played a bunch of different outside games, did relays, and had a lot of fun! Shaef and Rissa soaked themselves with the water balls!

Shaef had soo much fun getting soo much attention and playing in such a big backyard with a trampoline! He especially had fun making this fort below with Tanner and Trissy. This picture doesn't do it justice - it was big and even had a portable DVD player wired in!

My mom is so adorable! Her friends do a fun lunch thing to celebrate birthdays where they all go to lunch and put in money for a gift and for the birthday girls lunch! A few times they have been able to ride in style in this old convertible! They put on their old sunglasses and scarves - it is like an old fashioned movie!

My parents neighbor told my mom about a bunch of little chicks they had at Cal-Ranch so we took Shaef over and he was in love!! There were about 10 containers full of little chicks in all different colors! Shaef also got to pick out a little animal figurine (a lion) and grandma bought it for him!

Anson and Shaef were also able to attend the Darger Family Reunion (which I have no picture documentation of.....) but they had sooo much fun spending time with that side of the family! Shaef often talks about throwing snow at Grandpa Dell and Brighty!

The most important event of the summer was my brother's wedding!!! Tanner married the beautiful and talented Elizabeth in the Salt Lake Temple! It was so wonderful to be there in the temple with them! Here is our first whole family picture!

My mommy and sisters!

The parents and the newlyweds!

Oh look how cute they are and how happy they are!

Shaef had fun running around on the temple grounds but.....

That quickly ended and this is how he was for the rest of the festivities!

Here is Tanner and all the guys that were there to support him (brother, brother-in-laws, cousins, friends)

Here is our family picture in our wedding attire - it was the best we could get considering Shaef's mood and Anson's migraine headache.

As the family of the groom we worked all summer to prepare for the luncheon and the open house. The luncheon was at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and was so fun!

The beautiful tables!

Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of the Open House - which is terrible because my mom did an amazing job planning and decorating. We made all of the food for the open house including: spinach puffs, veggie pizzas, sandwich wraps, marshmallow fudge, 4 different kinds of chocolate truffles, 3 different kinds of cupcakes, and white chocolate coconut cheesecake! The food was amazing and it was soo fun to make it all!

(I will give more info on the recipes we used on my other blog "I can Create".)

The summer came to an end a few days after the wedding festivities and we began again our trek across the country. This time we took a more northern route and learned a few more things about the country: there are huge rocks on the road in Colorado and they destroy your windshield when they are thrown at you by trucks, Kansas really is as flat as they say, Missouri is "misserable" (it was over 100 degrees when we stopped there), It is a bad idea to "go a little farther" than planned...especially when all the hotels are sold out for 30 miles and you have to drive all the way to atlanta (a 13 hour day in the car with a 2 year old). Those are all pretty negative things....so one positive thing - it is really fun to see our beautiful country and how different each state is!

We are now home in Jacksonville and happy to be in our own beds. Thanks for the fun summer family - we miss you all!!

Just no time for blogging!

2011-07-08T18:14:00.000-06:00

We are still alive - and having way to much fun to blog! We have been busy, busy, busy! Anson works 8 hour days at the courthouse, Shaefer plays 8 hours a day in the backyard, and I have been helping my mom get everything ready for my brother's wedding! We can't believe how quick the summer has flown by and are trying to squeeze in dentist appointments, visits with friends, a few sewing projects, a few dates (while we have the best kinds of babysitters), and try to relax a little too! We have found it challenging to live across the country from where we currently call home, and wouldn't recommend trying to renew lease agreements or teaching licenses, or prove you have done the appropriate steps to have a loan forgiven... when the documents you need are not right at your grasp. We have really enjoyed being close to the WHOLE Clark family and create some amazing memories! I will blog more about our summer when I actually have my own computer to upload photos on! For now....

....if I ever can't find him - I just have to look here...

Or here!

Apparently sitting in a kiddie pool in your clothes is the bees knees for this kid because this is the 2nd time I found him here...in the same day!

Congratulations Anson and Sea World Trip!

2011-05-16T08:03:00.000-06:00

Anson has finished his 1st year of law school!!! We are so proud of him! He has worked soo hard and has done soo well! The 1st year went so fast...I am thinking he will be done in no time! He really loves what he is learning and is really good at it! This summer he has accepted an externship opportunity to work with a Judge in Pocatello, ID...so today we leave to move back west for the summer! We are excited for him to be able to have this opportunity!

To celebrate being done with finals - we took a few days to go down to Orlando to spend some time with our good friends the Larsens and go to Sea World! It is so nice having season passes so we can take it easy and not run around the park trying to see everything in one day!

I am very impressed with Sea World's viewing tanks. There are a few of them that make you feel like you are in the water with the animals and you can really see them! They also pretty much swim right up to you too! Shaef's favorite underwater tanks are the dolphins and the sharks! You can just see how he is soaking it all in and getting soo excited about the dolphins!

We were able to relax a little and have a fun BBQ with our friends. We even went to their 4 year old's soccer game! It was very entertaining! :)

Now off to our road trip - if we survive driving across the country with a two year old...I will be back to tell you about it!

The Human Race

2011-05-07T12:49:00.000-06:00

I have learned that running is an addiction. You either keep as far away from it as you possibly can or it takes over your life. I ran cross country when I was in Jr. High and did fairly well but decided that it wasn't helping very much on my quest to popularity and took the cheerleader route instead. Since then I have only run a handful of times. My roommate Sam and I would run together and I decided I liked running ok.....but had I not had to answer to her I would have slept in. Then there was this boy that I liked...and he liked to run. I found that I can run a very long distance without getting tired when I am trying to impress a boy ...but I paid for it for many days later...and ended up back on the couch! As you can see...I was the type that kept as far away from running as I could.

Well I have a confession....

My name is Tennille and I am a runner!

Who would have thought I would have ever said that. Here is how my addiction happened. I moved to Florida and here you can run outside year round....I still wasn't sold. All of my friends were running the 9 mile "Gate River Run" where you pay money to run over these beautiful bridges...pay to run NO WAY! Then my Dad gave our family a challenge. He saw Arthur on "The Biggest Loser" finish a 5k and challenged our family to run a 5k. Arthur was 400 lbs. and he did a 5k...I can do a 5k. Then my competitive side kicked in (which rarely happens) but I wanted to complete a 5k and have the fastest time of the girls in my family. So I started training. My first run...I couldn't even make a mile without walking...but after a few months of running I completed my first 5k race "The Human Race" this morning with my fastest time to date - 31:23.

These are my friends who ran with us - Machell, Me, Rick, Lizzy, and Leesa!

There are 4 of us who train together and we have a special "uniform" Grey Tops and Black Bottoms!

Above I said 4 of us train together but 1 of us didn't show up for the race.....

As soon as the race was over...I wanted to sign up for another one (addicted).

Baby Model!

2011-05-04T17:00:00.000-06:00

Here is a sneak peak of Shaef's 2 year old photo shoot.....

My friend Kali took the pictures and they all turned out amazing! This was her first time taking pictures for someone else so she was really reluctant but I think they turned out fabulous! Turns out 2 year olds are pretty hard to photograph but she managed to get at least 20 good ones which is MAJOR SUCCESS in my book! Thanks Kali!

The 2 Social Events of the Year!

2011-05-01T13:52:00.000-06:00

I posted on my other blog about all the things I created for Shaef's party! In the words of my father on our monthly family newsletter..."Tennille just hosted the second largest

social event of the year next to the Royal Wedding. It was Shaefer’s birthday party."

So if ya really wanna know about all the crazy things I did for his party.....click here!

I wasn't one of those people who woke up early to watch the Royal Wedding....but I sure did enjoy the "Today Show" recap of the event and spent the day watching videos of the ceremony and looking at pictures of the day! I am so fascinated by the Monarchy and the traditions they have! So here are a few of my favorite things about my experience with the Royal Wedding -

This wedding photo - they are just radiating royalty!

This Church - It is amazingly beautiful!

This couple - so in love!

This floor - not something I picture in an old church....more like a 50's style kitchen!

This bride and this dress!

This kiss that they analyzed on the Today Show....apparently just pecking in front of millions of people means that you may not last that long....I think you have a lot more evidence of a good marriage that outweigh the analysis of this kiss!

I also loved how Harry turned (since his brother couldn't) to see Kate walk down the aisle and the accents.

My favorite comment of the day was from Anson who said: "I love how we fought a huge war so we wouldn't have a king and now Americans are completely fascinated by the Monarchy."

Yes I am!

"I'm 2!"

2011-04-28T13:03:00.001-06:00

Our little man is 2! When did that happen?? His birthday was yesterday and it was so fun to see him get so excited and be so happy about getting sooo much attention!! We kept asking him how old he was and this is how he would respond......

I'm 2! (with his fingers like that in the air!)

Here is the cheesy little two year old!

This is the only picture I got at his party.....and it isn't great....but you can tell he is soo happy!

At two Shaefer is a little smarty pants! He can say pretty much anything and repeats everything he hears! He sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "ABC Song", "I love to see the Temple", "I am a Child of God", and "Ice Ice Baby". He loves "Toy Story" or "How to Train your Dragon". He also LOVES animals (especially sharks, dolphins, and whales) and he loves reading/looking at informational books about animals. He is completely potty trained too! It blows our minds how much he learns every day! We are constantly looking at each other saying "When did he learn how to do that?" He is such a good boy and melts our hearts every day!

We had him open his gifts from us and Grandparents at our house in the morning and then he had a Mickey Mouse party with all of his friends and fans last night! It was a lot of fun - we are so lucky to be surrounded by such great people here! I went a little crazy and decided to make a banner, cupcake towers, 72 cupcakes (all but 10 were gone by the end of the night), treat bags, invitations, silverware holders, food etc. for a big Birthday BBQ we had! It turned out really cute and I will blog about another time.

Easter, Playgroup, and Zoo Splash Park!

2011-04-25T14:47:00.000-06:00

We have had so much fun the past month...time really does fly! Before I even know it I will have a two year old (two days) and we will be migrating North for the Summer! Here is a quick re-cap of the month!

Easter was really fun with a two year old! Shaef got to participate in two easter egg hunts and got an Easter Basket! He used the same strategy for hunting eggs as for chasing seagulls.....get one single one in your vision and go for that one (even if you pass 10 on the way there)! A few times another child swiped the one he had his eye on before he got there but he didn't seem to mind. All he cared about was his "bucket" and "candy"!

Nope...didn't get one picture with him looking at my...he was too busy!

We have had some really fun playgroups the past few weeks! We decorated boxes to look like cars and then the kiddos sat in them while we watched the movie "cars", we colored eggs at the park and played on the toys, and I hosted a playgroup where we decorated Rice Krispy treat bunnies and foam eggs.

We have loved being able to go to the zoo with Kacey and Brooklyn. We were so excited when the splash park finally opened again so we could play! I think Shaef forgot how much he LOVED splash parks last summer and got a little nervous but did have fun!

One of my favorite things about Florida is the laid back attitude and the opportunity for relaxation......Shaef does too apparently!

On another random note - I think Shaef has an imaginary pet lion. He often tells me that the "lion's hiding" or "lion's get you". Right now he is yelling at him to "go" and "stop". We have been teaching him that if Mommy or Daddy tell him to "Stop" then he needs to stop running and turn around and look at us! I guess the best way to learn something is to teach it...we will see if he has it down.

Bad Day.....

2011-04-21T08:30:00.000-06:00

So yesterday was a bad day........they say that bad things happen in 3s.....and they do!
1. The screen malfunctioned on my touch screen smart phone...I can only use half the screen which makes things difficult.
2. Remember the pancake mix incident? Well my vacuum never completely recovered from that....and the filter has a hole in it now. Apparently they don't sell the filters for our vacuum in town - so we ordered on online. Too bad it doesn't come for 7-10 days.
3. Woody got decapitated. If you know my son at all....you know this is very traumatic! Shaef got these from his Grandma Clark and ever since has carried Woody and Buzz around everywhere! We are going to have to see if we can fix him....

After all these unfortunate events... I asked Shaef what he wanted for lunch and he said "Mickey Pizzas!" I don't know where he got the idea but I was on board for something HAPPY!

This is how the story ended....

1) T-mobile is sending me a brand new phone!

2) My friend Lizzy is letting me borrow her vacuum!

3) We are going to attempt to fix woody (this is the only unhappy part of the story...)

Also - Anson made it onto the Nationally Ranked Moot Court Team at his school!!! There were 300 applicants and 49 made it onto the team and he was one of those!! He is really excited and we are sooo happy for him!!

Life is good!

Puppy Love!

2011-04-19T07:46:00.000-06:00

We have been hit with puppy love at hour house......and it is bad news! No we do not have a puppy.....thanks to all the puppies/dogs in our neighborhood, Shaef has decided that he LOVES puppies! Anson had a dog growing up and thinks that every kid needs a dog, I did not have a dog and was fine with playing with my neighbors dogs growing up. We don't see eye to eye on the dog subject: I don't want a dog, Anson wants a dog; If we were to get a dog by some chance I would want a small dog, Anson would want a big dog; I would be ok with a medium dog.....but then Anson says we need two so they can have a buddy to play with. I also have a few issues....1-I am allergic to some dogs and 2- I know I will be the one cleaning up the messes and I have enough of those around here! The only thing we do agree on is that we will not ever have a dog in an apartment! I am glad that this isn't a pressing issue right now - as much as I don't want a dog.....those puppies get me every time!

Thank goodness here in the Jacksonville Mall they have a Puppy store! The front of the store is accessories for your dogs (don't get me started on those)...and in the back is 30 cages of puppies that you can pet and look at! They will even let you pick one out to hold in a little caged area! It is perfect for my little man - and I think we all get our puppy fix when we visit!

Even though it looks like Shaef is torturing the puppy.....he is really good with them and he LOVES to let them give him kisses on the lips. Cute but disgusting at the same time!!

"Help ou?"

2011-04-08T20:13:00.000-06:00

This little man likes to help me as much as he can. Sometimes it is 10x harder to get the job done with his "help" but we have all day every day to get stuff done! Recently he has wanted to help me take out the trash. We have a "valet trash" bin right outside our door (the apartment picks it up every night). Shaef likes to drag the bag to the door and take it out. This particular time - he took the trash to the door, and unlocked it by himself for the first time....not my favorite things he has learned... but I happened to get the evidence on camera.

He hasn't used knowing how to unlock to door to his advantage yet (knock on wood) but I really do enjoy having such a handsome little helper to keep me company!

Shaefer meets Pancake Mix......

2011-04-06T06:51:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a bad day......and I have found more reasons why I dislike pancake mix than why I like it..... just to name a few reasons:

1) It is really hard to clean up....

2) When mixed with any moisture it makes a paste

3) It clogs the hoses in your vacuum

Needless to say I will not be eating pancakes for a long time....

not just because it was all over my carpet......

and my kichen floor.....

and the kiddos.....

I will not be having pancakes anytime soon because it took me over an hour to clean up this mess (and the other two messes that were made while I was busy cleaning this one up).....and because it makes me nauseous to think about pancakes right now!

At least today I am able to laugh about it a little...don't they look like they are having fun???

I have a nephew!

2011-04-04T12:30:00.000-06:00

Lately I have really been missing being out West and Family.....for what reason.....his name is Thomas Michael Eaton and he has stolen all of our hearts!

I mean really...........look at that face and those eyes.....adorable!!! My sister Tiffany had her 4th child (1st boy) at the end of March! I have been slow about posting it but definitely not slow about missing not being there to hold this precious little guy!

Here are his stats:

March 17, 2011 at 1:09 p.m.

9 lbs. 1 oz. and 21 1/2 in. long

When we told Shaef the good news....he said "Thomas Train?" We are going to have clear that misunderstanding up soon! This little guy is way better than Thomas the Train!

We will be that way soon! Anson got invited to intern (for credit) with a District Judge in Pocatello for the summer so we are going to avoid the dreaded "H's" of Florida "Hurricanes and Humidity" and fly North for the Summer!

Spring Break - Sea World Style!

2011-03-29T08:24:00.001-06:00

Living in Florida and having all of these amazing entertainment choices has been pretty fun. The only down side is we can't afford most of the fun things - so when they offer amazing deals we jump at the chance! Sea World has a deal for Florida Residence where you can pay for a day and come back all year for free! It is pretty sweet! Shaef LOVES animals (as you can tell from past posts) and LOVES the ocean (as you can tell from past posts) so Sea World was the best of both worlds! It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun! We can't wait to go back!

The dolphin show was definitely the highlight of the day! They are amazing animals and it was so fun to see them interact with the trainers and do all sorts of crazy tricks!!

As you can see both of my boys are completely amazed and can't pull their eyes away!

Shaef spent most of the day "riding" on Daddy's shoulders! He thought it was fun to trade Dad hats!

This picture is taken outside the Arctic Wildlife area. In here we saw Beluga Whales, a Walrus, and Polar Bears. Shaef was standing right up next to the glass of the underwater viewing tank for the Beluga Whales and the whale looked straight at him and swam right toward him. Right when it got to the tank it swam down so it's whole body was just a piece of glass away from Shaef! He turned and looked at me and said "Mom - it got me!" It was so funny! As you can tell by his face...he is still excited!

There were a bunch of tanks with fish in them and at each one Shaef identified some sea animal that he knew. I was amazed at his underwater animal identification skills!

He did not really like this penguin.....he wouldn't even give him a high five!

Shaef loved the seals. They were making their "barking" noise and he was loving it!

This is the only ride we took him on the whole day...and he was fine with it!

However - we had to make sure that he was riding a dolphin....he was not content until we found a dolphin and he was strapped on.

We were also able to see the Killer Whale Show "Believe". It was also fun to watch the whales.

This is the best picture of the day - my camera doesn't work as fast as the animals do their tricks so I often caught the splash of the water instead of the actual trick. There was a baby killer whale born at this Sea World just a few weeks before we got there so we were able to see the HUGE baby!

This is the sign of a successful day!!

Scary Dinos and Scary Messes!

2011-03-26T13:29:00.000-06:00

I still need to blog about our fun spring break, but currently those pictures are on our other computer who is having it's operating system upgraded so I can't access them. So in an attempt to be better about posting more often - here are some pics from the past week.

Shaef loves the zoo and loves any type of animal. He also LOVES Dinos. So when Jacksonville Zoo opened up their Dinoalive exhibit, I knew Shaef needed to see it! Kacey and Brooklyn took us on their buddy pass and we had a fun day! When we got to the Dinos. Shaef was in Heaven...until the Dino growled (or whatever noise Dinos make). He started crying and tried to get out of his stroller - he was a little frightened. The only reason I got the picture below was because he didn't know that Dino was behind him yet! I held him through the rest and we made it - he still thought they were cool, just didn't want to get close to them. I didn't realize how real he thought the dino's were until we got home and were telling Dad about what we saw and Shaef said "Dino's Scary! Dino's outside!" I realized that the animals at the zoo are in cages but the Dino's weren't so he thought they were going to get him...and he thought they were just "outside". We didn't scare him away from Dino's forever though because he still loves to play with his little Dino figurines and watch dino's on TV.

I Love doing puzzles! Until this last week, I have never done a puzzle that I didn't like. This puzzle below was only 1,000 pieces....but it was sooooooooooo hard! It took me (and a few friends) a week to complete this puzzle when I can usually do one in several hours. I was so proud of our hard work and was trying to decide if I was going to put it away to attempt at a later date - or if I was going to glue it together and keep for a Valentines Decoration.

Shaef made the decision for me......I came down to find this "mess" and a few pieces chewed up. You can't do a puzzle with missing pieces so it made it's way to the trash! At least I have proof that it was completed!!

Trip to Arizona!

2011-03-24T11:13:00.000-06:00

Two days after my parents left, Shaef and I got on a plane and flew to Arizona! All the girl cousins on Anson's mom's side got together for a "cousins reunion". Some "secret" person in the family made it possible for us to fly out there and it was a great experience!! While I was hanging out with all the girls Shaef got to hang out with Grandma Ann and his cousin Brighty! They had so much fun together!!

It was nice to be able to have some "girl time"! We watched movies, made a flower broach, went shopping, took pictures, and even went to a women's conference and got spiritually fed!! It was so much fun!!

Grandpa Tom and Grandma Clark visit Jacksonville!

2011-03-22T12:07:00.001-06:00

In the middle of February we had some special visitors come visit us in Florida! My parents came to visit us!!! We had so much fun showing them how we do life here in Jacksonville! When they first got here Grandma opened her suitcase and pulled out a Buzz Lightyear toy and Shaef was soo excited! A second later - he started searching her suitcase for Woody....he is a little spoiled! Grandpa and Grandma bought him a woody a few days later and continued to spoil him for the rest of the week.

We went for a walk on the beach and Shaef was in heaven. There was a lady feeding the seagulls so there were tonz of birds everywhere!!

The lady gave Shaef a cracker to feed them and he found one bird he wanted to feed and chased him straight into the ocean!!

Shaef loves to explore things and see how they work - I love this picture....and would love to know what is going on in his head!

Here are my cute parents!!!

Checking out more shells!

We also were able to go to the Zoo! Shaef was so happy to show Grandpa and Grandma all of his favorite animals. Here they are standing in front of the elephants!

Here we are!!

Shaef was so happy to ride the animal carousel with Grandpa and Grandma!!

We also walked around St. Augustine. We walked around the fort and St. George Street and then ate at a yummy pizza place!! Shaef loved wearing Grandpas hat and glasses!

The highlight of having them here was having them share in experiencing Heather's Baptism!!! Here are all the girls! I sure do love the women that we have met here!!

Here is Heather "glowing" before her baptism with her son Tripp.

A few other highlights of the trip were: eating at Bahama Breeze, Shaef and Grandpa looking for lizzards outside and Shaef saying "lizards sleeping", Grandpa and Shaef wrestling and jumping on the air mattress right before bed, Grandma and Shaef playing with zoo animals for hours, and many laughs!

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for coming to visit us!!!! We had so much fun spending time with them and feel so blessed to have such amazing family!!!

A must do in Florida: Orange Picking!!

2011-02-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Today for Playgroup we went to a super nice house in our ward to pick Oranges. It was fun and we were excited to finally get a fresh Florida Orange! Shaef spent most of the time chasing around "Buff" the dog and feeding him oranges! He LOVES dogs and this big one was not to big or scary for him!! He even tried to ride him......sorry Buff!

Shaef and Brooklyn climbing the ladder.

Shaef loved reaching as high as he could to get oranges!

Ty, Brooklin and shaef checkin' out the big pond!

After orange picking we went to the neighborhood park. It was all gated in a super nice!! Shaef loved the airplane....

And the swing....he was tired from all that reaching!

Enjoying the "fruits" of our labor!

Potty Training

2011-01-29T13:00:00.002-07:00

Shaef has always wanted to grow up a little faster than we are ready. In December he decided that he didn't like going stinky in his diaper and so we started taking him on the potty! Nice for us I guess since we don't have to change dirty diapers! We got home from vacation and he started wanting to go potty on the potty so we started taking him. I was just letting him go whenever...but decided that if he was ready - then we would go for it! He has done really well so far! We decided to do a little potty chart with him and he loves putting stickers on it! He gets really excited about being a "big" boy. We are all about the prizes so the first day that he stayed dry all day he got these!

The little Elmo slippers cost us $1.98 at Target and he loves them!! So far he has done well today too!! We are so proud of our little man!

CHEEEEEESE!

2011-01-28T07:27:00.002-07:00

Lately....every time I pull out the camera, I get this.......

CHEESE!!!!

Month Long Christmas Vacation Part 2

2011-01-21T07:56:00.002-07:00

The second half of our trip was spent in Arizona! We had a lot of fun with Anson's family and all of his siblings were able to be at his parents house for Christmas! It was the best!!!

While we were in Arizona, we were able to get together with some law school buddies to have some "real"Mexican food! It was so fun to see them away from the stresses of school! Thanks Bradshaws!!

Toni and Shaef are buds! Toni got him these sweet sunglasses for christmas and they would wear their sunglasses and go on walks! Toni also taught him "big lips" where he sticks out his lips like he is going to lay a big one on you!!
Shaef spent alot of time lounging in grandpa's chair!
Shaef and Brighty opened this awesome turtle pool toy from the grandparents and couldn't wait for summer to play on it!!
Shaef definately loves his "Maga"!
Our sleepy family on Christmas morning!
Anson's family has a fun tradition where they spend Christmas Eve at Grandpa and Grandma Calls house and have a traditional German Christmas Eve Dinner. We love it! The rest of the pictures are all from that night.

These are all my sister-in-laws! :)
Shaef and Brighty have become such great friends!!
Shaef also had fun playing with Uncle David! What a fun ride!!
He also had fun riding Brigham....
David....
and Logan...
Here are all the cousins that were able to be there! We missed the other Calls and the Farnsworths!!
Shaefer and Brighty were the perfect sizes for the sweaters that Grandma Call had made Anson and Jenny when they were younger! It was fun to have them wear them to the dinner!!
The other favorite activity was wearing Grandpa's glasses.......
In Arizona we also had a fun Christmas Day dinner at Grandpa and Grandma Dargers, went to lunch with Austin and Brit, went to Bahama Bucks, had a fun Anniversary night away from the little man (Thank you Grandpa and Grandma) where we ate at Cheesecake Factory...MMMMM, got new phones, celebrated New Years with Italian Cream Sodas and homemade pizza, and relaxed alot!!

Month Long Christmas Vacation Part 1

2011-01-13T12:41:00.007-07:00

Now that we live in Florida - it is a little more expensive and hard to see family very often. We were so blessed to be able to go see both families this Christmas and to make our trip more worthwhile - we visited each family for 2 weeks. Yes people...we were gone a month! It was quite a challenge packing for 2 different climates with room to spare for the many Christmas presents we accumulated while we were traveling - but we made it there and back without having to adjust any suitcases for weight or having to leave anything there! I definitely took a lot of pictures this time so here it goes!

Utah/ Idaho

We started out our vacation in Utah where we stayed with my sister and her family. They were amazing and let us borrow their car and we drove around Provo and Sandy visiting friends and family! It was so much fun to see everyone and catch up with some good friends! While in Utah - Shaef found a new best friend....Lumpy. He loves the "Heffalump Movie".

Tiffany was nice enough to let him have it and he has loved that poor elephant to death. He loves to carry it around in his mouth by the trunk.

Thank you so much Tiff - that elephant sure is loved!

After a few days in Utah. We traveled a little farther north to POKY!! I was so happy to be able to spend my days crafting and sewing with my mom and Shaef loved playing in the play room! Anson spend a lot of time at the court house with my dad just watching and learning - but also making some important connections with judges and lawyers. We are actually really considering heading back that way when this law school thing is done.

Shaef really loves his uncles! "Nanner" has come to visit us a few times but this was Shaefs first time in awhile spending time with "Fevor" and "Mike". He loved going outside with Trev to catch snowflakes on his tongue.

We also spent a little time with the Farnsworth family!

For the last few days we were in Idaho, all of my family was able to be together! Everyone made the effort to come so we could spend time together! We had so much fun participating in many of our family traditions:

Graham Cracker Houses....Buildings...Structures

(they are getting more and more elaborate each year)

Philadelphia Museum (Tanner and Elizabeth)

Eiffel Tower (Trissy, Mike and Rissa)

Santa's House (Maren and Tiffany)

Dragon Lair (Shaef, Trevor and Anson)

Santa's Workshop with a school and library (Tennille and Megan)

Megan has quite the imagination! I did my best to build her dream...and she ended up happy so I think it worked! We make a great team - we both love school and reading so the added school and library onto the workshop was a must! It was so fun to work with her!

Acting out the nativity (here are the three Wise Men)

We also had a lot of fun eating fondue!

We had fun doing our sibling cousin exchange and my sister made us an adorable advent calendar. I had told her a week before that I needed an advent calendar and she already had it made and wrapped! She knows me soo well!! My mom had been very busy sewing also and made alot of really special gifts for us kids. She made us each a photo album with the words of the "Family Proclamation" with pictures, picture block puzzles, and for my sister and I she made us Christmas Quilts!! They are beautiful and she is so talented!!!

Shaef got some very fun toys from "Bampa and Maga" (Grandpa and Grandma) and "Iffy and Mike". (Tiffy and Mike) The cars and car mat come from the grandparents and the tunnel from the Aunt and Uncle! He loves them and has some new fun toys to play with all of his friends here in Florida!

In Idaho/Utah we also: Ate dinner at Red Lobster, went to my cousins wedding reception, watch the BYU bowl game (Go Cougs!), played basketball, played "Just Dance", watched movies, the grandkids went with the grandparents to the petting zoo, ate a lot of yummy food, and watched Trissy cheer at a few basketball games!

It was an amazing two weeks!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our vacation!

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-26T08:21:00.002-07:00

We are just having tooo much fun to update the blog! For now all we have time to do is wish you "Happy Holidays!" We will be back to the blogging world after the New Year!!

Life is going by crazy fast!

2010-11-28T19:35:00.006-07:00

I feel like the last month has flown by! I have been pretty good about posting and now I am way behind! So here is a quick recap of the month!

Nov. 12 - I turned 25! It was an awesome birthday with alot of fun surprises! And aparently this is how mature I am at 25...

I got a stack of boxes on my door step a few days before my birthday - the stack was almost as tall as Shaef! I was definately spoiled by my loving family and friends from back home!!

Part of my birthday from Anson was my Bosch mixer (that we purchased this summer on sale and I have used many times...........but it was the best birthday present ever!)

We had all been sick the week of my birthday and Anson was a superhero and even though he didn't feel good - he made me an amazing homemeade Salmon and Asparagus with Potatoes dinner and Chocolate Mousse Cake! (Shaef loved it too!)

Nov. 25 - Thanksgiving

Tanner came to visit us again and we feel sooo lucky!! Shaef loves his Uncle Tanner!

This was my 1st time ever making a full Thanksgiving dinner.....Thank goodness we had some amazing visitors to help us eat all that food! We never got a picture of our finished pies - trust me they were really good!! Pear crumble and pumpkin! Anson also go to carve his 1st Turkey!

We got to have both sets of Elders from our ward come and spend the day with us!! It was fun to spend time with them and get to know them better!! They are great missionaries!! In order from Left Front around to Right we had: Elder Brimhall, Elder Wilkey, Elder Aiono, Tanner, Shaef, Anson and Elder Graham.

Nov. 27 - Jacksonville City Christmas Boat Parade and Fireworks!

The pictures aren't great - but right on the other side of the concreate barrier is the boat deck and then a big river! They had a bunch of boats that were decorated with lights parading around the lake! It was a really fun way to get into the Christmas Season - and we actually got cold sitting there watching!

Shaef and Brooklyn sat here and watched like this the whole time!!

The fireworks were amazing! This is the only picture I got because I was cuddling a cold little boy - but this doesn't even do them justice!! There were bridges on two sides of the river - and at the very end they had a stream of fireworks coming off them so it looked like waterfalls!! I have never seen anything like it!! It was definately bigger than "The Stadium of Fire" or "The Biggest Show in Idaho!"

I just found this picture on the internet showing the waterfall of fireworks! Amazing!!

I wanna be like you!

2010-11-11T10:57:00.003-07:00

Shaef LOVES his "Dadda"! Back in Provo, "Momma" was working so Shaef and "Dadda" had a lot of time together and they are buddies!! Now, Shaef is stuck with "Momma" all day every day! It is fun for me to see him do things to be like his dad! Usually Anson doesn't even have time to put down his backpack from school, before Shaef is hanging on his legs! (Anson's pants are rolled because he rides his bike everyday to and from school - What a champ!)

Here is Shaef wearing Dad's hat and sporting a "backack" just like "Dadda"!
He really wears this "backack" all day long every day. Some coaxing is needed to not take it to naps! Originally we got the backpack for when we fly home for Christmas so he can carry his own stuff - I am glad he loves it!
Shaef was having a hard time sleeping so his Daddy came down to lay by him! I was in a meeting so when I got done, I came to find this!
And Shaef LOVES to read with "Dadda"! This book is "Mission to Mars". :)
I am glad that they are such great buddies and that Shaef has such an amazing man to look up to!

Helping Momma!

2010-11-09T07:09:00.003-07:00

Shaef is really into helping these days. He will ask for help "help me" or will ask to help you "help ou" all the time. It is fun for me to have someone to help me do the housework! Most of the time it takes me twice as long to complete the task with such a great helper....but we have fun! Most of you know how much my son loves to eat - so helping in the kitchen is his favorite....

Tasting the food is the best part! (Especially cupcake batter!)

Package from Clark Grandparents and Halloween Exhaustion

2010-11-01T10:30:00.004-06:00

My family surprised us this week with a fun Halloween Package!! It made me so happy to get some fun mail!! It gets sad only getting bills! Shaefer was excited to see what was in the box. We put it on the floor and opened it with him and he was so happy to see #1 candy, #2 books, #3 mummy pj's, and #4 a pumpkin for trick or treating! He was putting the candy in the pumpkin and carrying it all around. Of course he wanted to eat all the candy right there - when he wants a treat he says "teet"!

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for such a fun package!! The mummy jammies are soooo fun and look soooo cute on him! The flap book is so new to him, and he made me read it 10 times in a row the first time I opened it. The counting book is so fun because he see's things he knows (like cow "Moo" or airplane "airpane") and says them really loud (I found that out during sacrament meeting at church)! (Notice in the picture he is doing his classic "cheese" face for you!)

He loves M&M's just like his mom and Grandma!

On Friday our friends invited us to a little costume party. Don't you love costumes on a college budget!

The people who hosted the party had this cute dog - and Shaefer kept attacking it with kisses! If the doggie licked back he would laugh and laugh and then chase it again! Poor Dog!

After the party, Shaef fell asleep in the car and didn't even wake up when we were changing his clothes! I just love how his blanket is on his head!

On Saturday night Shaefer and the Couch got in a fight and Shaefer lost.... His poor eye was really swollen and he wouldn't let me put ice on it!

What a great weekend!

Yoda Shaef Is!

2010-10-29T10:54:00.005-06:00

This year for Halloween - we had a tight budget so Anson and I used our usual costumes and we got Shaef a cheap Yoda costume at a consignment sale. We decided our theme was "characters from movies". Shaef was Yoda from Star Wars, Anson was Aragorn (sp.) from Lord of the Rings, and I was Dorthy from Wizard of Oz. If you can't tell from the below picture - Anson is pretty stoked about Yoda!
The green face paint may not have been the best idea but it was fun while it lasted...:) And it was a pain to clean off his "Hand Wash Only" costume...

Our Halloween Festivities started with our Fall Festival at our Church. There was a chili contest and a pie contest so the food was awesome! In the past it has been a huge deal to win 1st prize for the best chili or 1st price for the best pie. I made Pumpkin Cheesecake - and it was good enough to win 1st prize in the pie contest! (If you want to try my prize winning cheesecake, come visit us and I will make it for you!)

We were so lucky to have some special guests come visit us and go to our ward party with us. Our friends the Larsens came up from Orlando and brought a beautiful peacock and an adorable witch!

My friend Kacey was awesome and took Shaef around in the Costume Parade!

More Friends!
I wanted him to get used to the Yoda hat so I put it on him and he loved it! He wore it all around! He loves to take his friend Tigger for rides on the fire truck.

For playgroup this week, Polly planned a Halloween Costume Party. Here are all the little monsters!
Shaef and his friends Ty and Jonah.
More friends: Jackson, Brooklyn, Shaef and other Jackson!
For dinner group this week we had a Halloween Bash with Homemade Rootbeer. Shaefer loved trying to stick his face in the mist!
Shaef loves his pumpkin - he just loves to sit and hold it! It is just his size! He is also learning that you say "Cheese" for the camera - but that doesn't mean you look or really smile!
We have one more party tonight and Trick or Treating at the mall tomorrow...and then our Costumes will be put up until next year!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

2010-10-22T12:09:00.005-06:00

I was in charge of playgroup this week so we went to the Pumpkin Patch! It was definately not as great as pumpkin patches out west - but as soon as I accepted that fact we had alot of fun!! Shaefer loved picking up the hay and chewing on it and wanted to pick up every pumpkin he could! Back when we lived in Arizona with Anson's parents for the summer, Shaefer got 1st hand exposure to raw veggies straight from the garden and cows! He knew exactly what to do when he saw the cow...Feed it Hay!
My parents have a rocking horse toy that he loves - so when he saw this horse....he didn't want to give anyone else a turn. He is so serious!
These chickens were just stuck in the ground with a pole so Shaef quickly figured out how to pull them out!

I let him pick whatever pumpkin he wanted - This is the one!

He looks excited doesn't he?!?

Then we took it home and decorated it and ate candy corn cupcakes!

Last Beach Trip of the Season! (At least the swimming part)

2010-10-17T19:47:00.002-06:00

The temperature is dropping here (it is only like 85 +humidity during the day and 60s at night) so we decided we better go to the beach one last time. It may not have been the smartest idea since the beach is cooler than where we live, and we went really close to sunset. But we usually try to drag other people into our "smart ideas" and invited our friends (native Idahoans) to come with us. We still had a ton of fun even though Anson ran into the ocean with his Blackberry in his pocket (yes it got destroyed), Shaef's poor lips were turning a little purple, and we all were shivering like crazy!

We got some great pictures - but don't let the beautiful blue skies fool you!

This is our friend and his little girl - he makes an amazing boat!

New Blog!

2010-10-12T12:27:00.002-06:00

I started a new blog. The idea is for me to realize more of the good things that I do everyday and what I learn from them. So check it out!

Watch out ladies!

2010-10-12T11:22:00.004-06:00

MUAHH!

Disney World!

2010-10-11T11:10:00.006-06:00

We have the best friends anyone could ask for - and they shared some Disney Passes with us so that we could go to Disney World! Anson and Shaef had never been there so it was extra fun to be there as a family for their first time! Tanessa even came with us so we all could swap and ride rides together!
The classic walk down Main Street!
This was Shaef's face almost the whole time on the Pooh ride! He loved it!
Riding the carousel!
I love all of the fun Halloween Decorations!
We only saw Micky and Minnie during the show - we didn't really want to wait in line!
It was a beautiful day!
Shaef loves Toy Story and could not stop pointing and saying "Bu"!
Wow! :)
Me and my best friend Tanessa! We sure feel lucky to be their friends!
The highlight of the day was seeing Shaef with Pooh and Tigger. He wouldn't let go of them and he kept hugging and kissing them!
His face tells it all!

Some other highlights of the day were:

* walking right on to Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, and Thunder Mountain Railroad.
*seeing the show "Philharmagic" (I think that is how you spell it). It was a 3-D show and had smells and water etc. Shaefer also loved this - he kept his 3-D glasses on through the whole show!

*Shaef's 3 hour nap in the park so he was happy when he was awake! :)

*Spending time in Orlando with the Larsen Family!

Thanks again Tess and Jake!!

Pray for Me!

2010-10-07T11:42:00.002-06:00

This amazing babysitting opportunity has come up for me to babysit a 5 week old baby while her mommy goes back to work. The mom is still figuring out if it is right and if it is going to work out...so while she thinks - Pray for me! It would be a huge answer to many prayers offered by me! I really hope it works out!

GrOwInG uP!

2010-09-30T12:30:00.003-06:00

Shaef has come alive the past few weeks! He is talking like crazy and will try to repeat anything that you tell him to say. It is so much fun to see him do new things and explore everything! Here are some of the fun things he has done the past few weeks!
Splash park at the zoo - he likes to try to drink the water! (Gross I know but he looks so dang cute!)

Pull the DVD's off the shelf, open them, and take out the disk... his favorites right now are:

Elmo- "Melmo", Nemo- "Memoo", Cars- "Vroom", Toy Story- "Tory", and Bugs Life - "Bugs"!

He loves wearing Dad's hat!

Finger painting with pudding after a Mac N' Cheese lunch! He loved it and it was everywhere!

He has started this thing where he lays with his head on the couch and puts his feet on the ottoman and makes a bridge - he thinks it is so fun!

He is constantly making funny faces and silly noises!

This is how we swim these days!! With his gear on he can kick around the pool no problem and mommy doesn't have to hold him :)

He also has a new friend - Tanner "Nanner". He loves him! (I think having the same name as his uncle makes him that much more special!)

When life gives you lemons....

2010-09-25T13:35:00.002-06:00

I have been having some "Lemons" in my life the past few weeks and I constantly feel stressed and overwhelmed. (Anson says that I even wake him up in the night because I am tossing and turning and even grinding my teeth.)

Yesterday my sister told me a quote and I don't know who it is from or the direct quote but it says something like this - "Heavenly Father won't ever give us a trial we cannot handle, but he will give us trials we THINK we cannot handle."

So in hopes of finding some sweet Lemonade - I will be listening to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, General Relief Society Broadcast to feel of my Saviors love and get spiritually energized to battle my trials! I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and is aware of me!

Our special guest and Labor Day!

2010-09-09T12:26:00.006-06:00

We had such a great time this past weekend! My brother lives in Philadelphia and we don't get to see him too often. We are excited to be in the same time zone as him and be at least on the same coast as him! He decided to buy a plane ticket down here and come see us! He got here on Sunday and left on Wednesday - not alot of time - but we had alot of fun!

On Labor Day, we took him to St. Augustine. We love the history there and the feel of the little town. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures - my battery was dead! But thank goodness for chargers because I was able to document the rest of the weekend! After St. Augustine - we went to North Beach. It was a new beach for us, and we were quite impressed. It was not very crowded and really beautiful. We even were able to see some sea turtle nests!

Shaef and Tanner are such good buds! They laughed and played so much! Shaef calls him "nanner". We wish that "Nanner" could be around more to play!

The next day Anson was busy with school so he studied while we explored downtown Jacksonville. My brother is good at just going where he wants and finding amazing things. We found the Landing and found some really amazing/interesting things:

Like this sweet statue of some sailor!

An amazing blue bridge - we actually drove over this one!

Us with the sweet bridge behind us!

At night, because it is high tide, people bring their nets and bait and catch shrimp. There were people who looked like they were doing it to survive and people doing it for fun! This is a picture of shrimp on the deck right after they were shaken out of the net.

Here is a close up picture of the shrimp. I actually think they might be crawdads or something because they are in a freshwater river.

Sometimes they even catch things like this - I don't know what kind it is but it had a freaky spike on its back!

We talked to a bunch of the people and it was fun to learn about some Jacksonville happenings!

We love you so much Tanner and miss your face!!

Rise and Shout!

2010-09-04T19:53:00.003-06:00

Living across the country cannot stop True Blue fans! Right now we are listening on the Internet to our Cougars playing! Listening is nothing compared to being in the stadium, or even watching them on the TV - but Florida cable doesn't cover this game and we don't have satellite.

Regardless - we have donned our cougar apparel and are sitting on our bed listening to the game...and I am LOVING every minute of it!

For the Grandmas!

2010-08-20T11:55:00.002-06:00

Wild Thang!

2010-08-20T11:26:00.006-06:00

Life has been a little wild and crazy the past few weeks so Shaef and I decided to add to the commotion (that is what my blog address is)!

Kacey and Brooklyn invited us to the zoo with them on a "friend pass" which was really exciting for our tight budget! Our zoo is amazing and we had such a good time!

There was an awesome splash park and once again - Shaef had no fear!

We splurged and decided to pay $2 to feed the giraffe - who can say they have fed a giraffe in their life - Shaef and I can! I just want to point out how close we were to it!

I am holding the food (big lettuce leaves) right by my body - check out it's tongue! Shaef was loving ever second of it!

Here is Kacey and Brooklyn by the elephants!

By the end - Shaef was exhausted! What a fun day!

The zoo animals aren't the only wild things here in Jacksonville - there are two more wild ones!
1) Gators (this one is actually in the zoo - but they are really creepy to me!

2) This little man - He climbs up on the table...
dives into the bathtub...

and tackles daddy! (Yes that is a dart stuck to his head - he thinks it is pretty funny!)

But don't worry - we have local law enforcement to help us when things get to crazy -

He doesn't mess around!

Playgroup

2010-08-12T12:28:00.004-06:00

I am so grateful I have a little child in this move because they help us mommies get together!! Today for "playgroup" a bunch of moms and kiddos from our ward and from the law school got together to go to the Hands On Children's Museum. We went to one of these in Arizona and they are so much fun!! Shaef loved the slides, the ball pits, and the trains the best! Now I can play with my new friend Kacey while Shaef plays with Brooklyn - it works perfect!

Shaef got his face painted -

The ball pit (I need one of these at home!)
The slide -
The train -
Another ball pit!
Future firefighters - Shaefer and Brooklyn! (Don't they look like they could be siblings?)

What does Law School in Florida mean?

2010-08-12T12:22:00.003-06:00

I guess I can't really complain about Anson going to law school in Florida...because we get this...

Grandpa Ladell - Thanks for staying a bit longer here with us so we could have fun with you at the beach!

Now who else wants to come visit us?

Catch up!

2010-08-12T11:32:00.006-06:00

So we had a pretty crazy summer! Here is the timeline - with pictures to document our travels!

We moved to Arizona at the beginning of June - for Anson's internship. We were lucky enough to be able to stay with Anson's family down there and spend time with them! We were finally able to go up to their property where we rode the Rhino and hung out by the fire. Shaef loved to pick up and eat anything he could fine. We found out in Arizona that Shaefer likes everything he eats to be "whole"! If you cut it up - nevermind - but if it is whole....it is devoured! Shaefer also learned to eat raw veggies, swim (a little)(I just realized I have NO pictures of him in the pool... ), mow the lawn (with dad), and open doors! He kept me on my toes and I was happy to have some extra hands (Thank you Toni and Ann!)

At the beginning of July - we went up to St. George for a family get to gether with my family! It was so much fun to have us all together again!! My mom is really good at finding activities for us to do and our condo had tonz of stuff (if we ever had free time)! One of the favorites for us was the "splash parks" that they have where water squirts out from pipes and the ground. Shaef was very brave and loved running in and getting soaked! We also got to go to Tarzan at Tuacahn - which was tonz of fun (especially because Toni watched Shaef so we could enjoy ourselves)!

Right after that we headed to Ceadar City where we went to Anson's Darger Family Reunion. His parents were in charge and they did an awesome job!! The company, entertainment, food, and lodging were are amazing!
(I don't have any pictures of this either!)

Why not just continue more north while we are at it....and go to POKY! We didn't get to be there for long but it was great to spend time with my family! We went swimming at Ross Park one of our first days there and also were able to take Shaef to the Pocatello Zoo (the bears were awesome!). We also saw Trissy in the 24th of July parade and attended the community festivities where Shaef tasted his first ear of corn and tried to ride a baby goat. At the end of our time in Idaho, we were able to go up to Island Park and spend time at the cabin. It was so relaxing and peaceful up there (even with a bunch of kiddos running around!) We had to leave early to turn around and drive south again! In Idaho - Shaef learned to ride a horse (and he loved it), jump on the tramp, master climbing stairs, and learned to smell flowers!

After all the visiting - we picked up our last load in Provo (Shaef was nice and cozy...) and drove back to Arizona. It was sooo fun seeing Brightyn and playing with grandma. We got there just in time for the most important event of all ... Austin and Britt's wedding!

After the wedding - we packed up the Uhaul and Anson and his Dad started to treck across the bottom of the U.S. to Florida. Shaef and I left a few days later (by plane) and met them here where we have been trying to get settled and unpack all our junk!

Hello Florida!

2010-08-08T19:07:00.002-06:00

Ok I know I have been a slacker the past few months but my excuses are living with family and bad internet connections! This will be a short post just to prove that we are all alive! We get real internet on Wednesday so I will post all about our summer after that! So until Wednesday - back to the unpacking!!

Our 1st Moving Adventure

2010-06-03T14:37:00.002-06:00

We made it to Arizona! It was quite a trip but we are here and enjoying time to relax! It is HOT HOT HOT here and we are taking advantage of the pool out back!

When we were packing up the truck to leave Utah - we ran out of space! Who knew we had all that stuff! Well - some of our friends came to our rescue and let us borrow some of their storage unit to store our stuff until we will be back there in July. Thank goodness for amazing friends and answered prayers!

Then on the road - Shaefer did pretty well but the last hour of the trip mom had to get creative! Opening and closing the sun roof, turning on and off the inside lights, playing peek-a-boo (very carefully), singing songs, etc.

We are so grateful to be here and have a nice place to play, eat, and sleep! More updates of our summer adventures to come!

Mr. Handsome

2010-05-11T13:09:00.004-06:00

Here are some pictures that Lisa and Joe B. our friends took! They are amazing! Somehow they managed to turn a cranky boy on a windy day into an adorable little man with beautiful weather! I tell you - they work miracles! THANK YOU LISA AND JOE!

I am going to have to do another post on these pictures because blogger is being dumb and won't upload any more pictures! You will just have to wait in suspense for more! :)

Houdini

2010-05-10T17:26:00.003-06:00

Our little man has shown us that he is destined to be a problem solver. He will look at a challenge, think about it for a minute, and then try to master it. 99% of the time - he is successful!

One specific example of this - he always empties this cupboard out, I put it away, then he empties it again. So I decided to tie it closed! I thought I had a pretty good system until....

....he came walking up to me like this. Yes that is the tie, in his mouth!

He also loves to empty out the kitchen cupboards so we put up some chair booby traps for him...but as you can see - he figured that out really quick!

Now that is determination!

Since then we have found a new way to keep the cupboard closed and have bought child gates for the kitchen!

Aparently he is smarter than his parents!

Our 1 Year Old!

2010-05-09T10:56:00.003-06:00

I can't believe how fast the last year has flown by! Our little guy turned 1! We had a huge party with all the family (when they were here for Anson's graduation) and Shaef got spoiled! Shaef was so lucky to have both of his grandpas at his birthday!!

When he started opening presents he didn't get very far! He opened the first one from Grandpa and Grandma Clark and he didn't want to open any more!! He loved it sooo much - he screamed when any one tried to take it away or distract him!

We decided to do a construction theme since we were getting Shaef a big dump truck for his birthday! My amazing friend Tammy, was super nice to us and made Shaefer's cake!! She did awesome and it tasted as god as it looks!

It was so adorable, I didn't want Shaefer to ruin it when we let him dive into the cake. I decided to make him his own little cake that I wouldn't feel so bad about him destroying.

This is about all the damage he did....not much so I probably didn't need to make him a whole cake for himself but oh well!

It was such a fun party and I am so thankful for all the people who were able to come and support our little guy!

Posts to come in the next few days....
1) Our little Houdini
2) 1 Year Old Pics

Anson Graduated!

2010-05-07T20:27:00.007-06:00

It has been a busy month so instead of doing a marathon post I have a goal to do one post every day for the next few days. We will see how well that works!

Anyway - for one of the biggest events of all....ANSON IS OFFICIALLY A COLLEGE GRADUATE! I am so proud of him! He is not all that fond of school but he finished his undergrad.

We had a big party for his graduation complete with both of our parents, siblings, (minus Jenny, Tanner and Trevor - WE MISSED YOU) his grandparents, and even his aunt and uncle. What great support our little family has!

Now... for our future plans...

The man who doesn't love school - is going to more school!!! :) He has been accepted to Florida Coastal School of Law and we are moving down to Jacksonville, FL. He is very excited about studying Law (even with my Dad trying to talk him out of it) and can't wait to study it for the next 3 years!! I really hope he continues to be this enthusiastic!

I am definitely excited about....

Being with him...

(Pre-view of pictures to come in later post) THANK YOU LISA THEY ARE AMAZING!

and This...

Jacksonville, Florida .... Here we come!

Marathon Post Day

2010-04-06T22:59:00.002-06:00

Today we posted 4 different things:

*Surgery
*Haircut
*Easter
*Walking Video

Enjoy them all!

The Dreaded Surgery!

2010-04-06T22:25:00.005-06:00

Shaef had a little genetic defect when he was born called hypospadius (if you are really wanting to know details I will tell you but I will spare everyone else) or problems with his little man part. We knew the day he was born that the day would come when we would have to take him to get it surgically fixed. We had to wait until he was older than 6 months - and I needed to have time off school - so spring break it was! Anson and I were pretty terrified to let our child go under the knife, but it ended up being much easier to deal with than we thought.

There was one big worry - Shaef had to come to Surgery fasting. He is a big eater so we thought this was going to be nearly impossible - but he did really well. We decided to fast with him and both of our families did too! We had to wake him up to go to the hospital and when we were there he was so distracted by everything he forgot he was STARVING!

We got to the hospital and waited in the outside waiting room for a little while, Shaef just played! I love how you can see his hospital tag hanging out of the bottom of his pant leg!

We finally went in to the "pre-exam room". This was where they put Shaef in these awesome little clothes and checked to make sure he was healthy enough to have surgery. We had to pull out the bubbles and Baby Einstein at this time.
After he was given the "OK" for surgery, they walked us down to another waiting room to wait again. :) This time we were waiting for the doctor and the anesthesiologist to come and talk to us. Then they would take Shaef away. While we waited I was pretending to be a bee and buzzing at him and he was laughing so hard - all of the nurses were entertained!

Dad and Shaef are buddies! :)

We think he plays with dolls at his babysitter's house because he liked this doll a lot. He kept giving it hugs and kisses! (Either that or he is destined to be a Pediatrician.)
Both doctors came and talked to us about the procedure and the risks and then they took him away! It was really tough walking the opposite way - but he didn't cry at all so that made it easier for us!

An hour and 15 minutes later....

...I got to hold my baby!!! He was very groggy and the morphine was making his face itch but I really enjoyed the cuddle time!! The nurse said that he woke up very pleasant from the surgery and he didn't throw up after which I was grateful for! After he was awake they moved us from the post surgery wake up room to the post surgery make sure you are ok room (I am not so sure about their official names). We were only here for about 30 minutes. Here they just checked his vital signs and he got to drink gatorade. To be able to go home, he had to be stable and be able to keep down some liquids. He did great and we were on our way home in no time!

When we got home - we spent most of the day laying around, drinking clear liquids, and watching Disney movies. He was pretty sleepy and groggy all day. We had a few rough parts but for the most part he was doing so well! As soon as dad left for work -

He was all giggles and smiles! It was an incredible recovery!

Today he has been up walking around, playing, laughing, and talking, which has been amazing to me! The poor guy still has really sore moments - but he is such a fighter! He has always beat the odds his whole life (being born, his size, etc.) and he is continuing to do it every day of his life!! He is such a joy to us and I am so happy that I get to be home with him all week this week!

First Haircut!

2010-04-06T22:17:00.004-06:00

Shaef was in desperate need of a haircut! I was nervous to attempt so my sister agreed to help me out! :)

Unfortunately it was a traumatic experience...

But I think in the end he was happy with it! :)

I think he looks alot older - and very handsome!

Shaef's 1st Easter

2010-04-06T22:01:00.004-06:00

For Easter weekend we had alot of fun things planned! We went to my sister's house to spend Saturday with her family. We watched General Conference , hunted for Easter Eggs, ate (alot), and dyed eggs. Shaef had so much fun following around his cousins and playing!

Picking up an Egg!

The Egg Hunting Crew -

Instead of Dying Eggs, Shaef ate them!

On Sunday - we spent most of the day with our little family and the Easter Bunny came to Shaefer. Then Samaya (our neighbor) and Shaefer had another Easter Egg Hunt. Two hunts is alot for a little guy who is more interested in exploring the grass and trees and playing in the dirt. He did pick a few eggs up, they just didn't make it into his basket without some assistance.

Check out Shaef's new friend Waddles!
He is sort of getting the hang of it!
More excited to see "Da da" than get the candy filled eggs!

Full Fledged Walking Video!

2010-04-06T15:49:00.001-06:00

Here is our little walker! He has been walking this well for a few weeks and now he is getting into everything!

He's walking!

2010-03-20T13:31:00.002-06:00

Shaef just barely got his first tooth - and now he is walking!! :) Aparently on my side of the family - we did the same thing. He is still a little unsure of himself, but he decides where he is going to go and goes for it! It has been so fun to watch and so fun to have him be excited to walk to me! Sorry the video isn't too great - but we caught some good steady steps! :)

The perfect solution for a busy mom! :)

2010-03-17T20:23:00.004-06:00

I have posted many times about how hard it is some days being a working mom. I have found an amazing solution, Pocket Full of Posies. I stumbled on this site one day and was amazed at how brilliant the idea was! It would be so nice to have all of your recipes organized by week and the grocery lists already made up! Plus it would be very helpful in getting your food storage! They also have awesome organizing ideas and other fun stuff! Anyway - check out this site - it has given me hope that organization really can save you time!

Honest Scrap

2010-03-10T22:03:00.002-07:00

I've been awarded the honest scrap award by my sister. (And my brother who never blogs followed through with his award so I better do it too!) You are supposed to tell 10 honest things about yourself and then award 4 others with the award. (I'm sorry, I finally post and it is not so exciting.)

1. Every time I sit down to read a book, I fall asleep! I love reading - but I am so exhausted all the time that the second I relax I am done for.

2. I love shoes - and will sacrifice the chance of sore feet to have adorable shoes!

3. One of my favorite time wasters is to look at blogs - and link from blog to blog to blog and see everyone's wonderful ideas and skills! I mostly just dream about having skills like that.

4. I have seen "Sweet Home Alabama" at least 50 times and I cried in "Confessions of a Shopaholic".

5. I love playing hide and go seek with Shaefer - he is starting to crawl away (laughing) when he finds me!

6. I LOVE LOVE LOVE French Fries! We do healthy challenges every month at my school and this month is only eat healthy fats - so I have opted out already because French Fries are not on the menu.

7. I have the Saved By the Bell seasons 1-5 on DVD, and I even watch the episodes on TV at 6:00 and 6:30 am while I am getting ready.

8. When I am sitting down, my legs always hurt if they are touching the ground - so I sit on them or curl them up with me in my chair. I used to get in trouble at the dinner table for having my legs up - but now I am the parent! :)

9. I remember claiming, at different points in my life, that I would never wear capris (short pants?) or skinny jeans (the ones that make you look like an ice cream cone!) and I now own both!

10. I am terrified of going off to Law School next year because EVERYTHING will CHANGE. Some things will be really great - but it is going to take some HUGE adjusting! Totally different state, totally different culture, totally different lifestyle (full time working mom to full time stay at home mom - which will be great, just different), totally different financial situation, etc. Slowly but surely I am going to grasp it and be excited for the adventure!

Now for 4 friends:

Heather Burnett, Heidi Heiniger, Jen Haderlie, Tanessa Larsen

Dear Tenley...

2010-03-01T21:15:00.003-07:00

I think you are such a beautiful person! I am so impressed with your ability to be so positive about life, even when you have gone through so much! I am also impressed with your ability to look at the good in everyone, no matter how they treat you. I think Jake made a horrible decision and I truely believe that he will regret it the rest of his life! I wish you all the best and hope that you find someone who deserves you and will put everything into making you happy - because that is what you do to everyone else! (I wish you were on Dancing With the Stars instead of Jake so that I could watch you dance some more!) I agree with Chris - you are the sweetest person they have ever had on the show!!

Dear Jake...

You made the wrong choice...

P.S. I hope you don't win Dancing With the Stars because I don't want to see Vienna every week anymore!

2010-02-27T13:52:00.006-07:00

If Shaefer could be naked all the time - he would be sooo happy! He loves baths, hates getting dressed and hates getting his diaper changed. Pretty normal - I think! Anyway this week I was changing his diaper and he rolled over and crawled away before I could get a new diaper on him. I told him not to crawl away - but he doesn't really listen so he did. To this I replied "Haha here comes the camera - you should have chosen the diaper!"

Then Dad came home and I showed him the picture - and he said "Shaef - you should have just put the diaper on! Now Mom is going to post that on her blog!" He knows me sooooo well!

His current favorites are:

Trying to eat the bath water -

Standing up and cruising around the house!

Playing in the laundry basket, and chewing on his blanket.

Standing up in his crib and playing instead of napping!

Shaefer also loves playing hide and seek with Mom and Dad! It wears us out but is so much fun for all of us!

Shaefer is also growing like a weed - he gets a new wardrobe almost every other month! :) I just purchased these babies on sale at Old Navy! I love a bargain!

Reflection and Love

2010-02-13T10:11:00.004-07:00

I am not even going to pretend I have everything figured out...but I do know one thing..... I LOVE MY BOYS and THEY LOVE ME!

I am sure some of you have read about my struggle to figure out who I am over the past year, and I am beginning to put the pieces together.

I read this quote right after I had Shaefer, and saved it on my computer. You can call it a coincidence that I found it again today - but I think it was inspired!

"Mothers go longer on less sleep and give more to others with less personal renewal for themselves than any other group I know at any other time in life. It is not surprising when the shadows under their eyes sometimes vaguely resemble the state of Rhode Island....You are doing God's work. You are doing it wonderfully well. He is blessing you, and He will bless you, even - no, especially - when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Like the woman who anonymously, meekly, perhaps even with hesitation and some embarrassment, fought her way through the crowd just to touch the hem of the Master's garment, so Christ will say to the women who worry and wonder and weep over the responsibility as mothers, 'Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.' and it will make your children whole as well".

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland "Because She Is a Mother"

I have really been thinking alot lately about who I am, who I want to be, and who Shaefer and Anson need me to be. The conclusion I have come to is this:

I am a daughter of my Heavenly Father and he is waiting for any opportunity to bless me.
I am a wife because I chose to marry this guy - who knows why he chose me but he did.

I am Shaefer's Mom because I chose to be - who knows why we are blessed to have him in our family but we are.

I am a teacher to 28 unique 5th graders because I chose to be, some days I don't know why....but most of the time I love my job!

I want to be a good example for my little kido and help him to grow up in a home that is full of light and love!
I want to be someone who is needed and runs to those who need me.
I want to be a mother and a wife who is there for my boys whenever the need me.

Shaef and Anson need me to be the best ME I can be!!

I truely believe I have always known who I am, who I want to be, and who Shaefer and Anson need me to be - and it has always been ME! It is a choice everyday about what I want to do and who I want to be - and I have the things I have because of choices I have made! I don't deserve the life that I am living but I am doing my best every day to be worthy of the blessings that Heavenly Father has given me!

I am so grateful for Anson and for his willingness to make sure I know how much he loves me - especially when I am not giving him any reason to love me! I am so grateful for Shaefer for the little smiles, giggles, and cuddles he gives me, showing me that he loves me! I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father for blessing me and showing me his love everyday, even when I don't deserve it.

I am just me and I LOVE MY LIFE!

Oops!

2010-02-07T19:59:00.003-07:00

I was home sick on Thursday and Friday feeling miserable - but I was able to spend 4 whole days in a row with my baby! It has been so much fun to play and laugh with him! One of my favorite thing to do with him is read books. He is really good to sit there and listen when I read to him.

Tonight we were reading together and he reacted in a way he never had before to a book. We were reading a book called "Blue Hat, Green Hat" by Sandra Boynton. My parents gave it to him for Christmas and I am so glad they did.

Here is a video of me reading him the book...hilarious! (Don't mind my voice/laughing!)

Mr. Independent

2010-01-30T10:41:00.003-07:00

My baby is growing up way too fast!! It is crazy how he does a new thing every day!
He is now 9 months and 21 lbs. 7 oz. Big Boy! He is so much fun and we love to play with him! Here are some recent pictures.

He loves to stand up all the time - and would rather be taking laps around the house than playing anything else! He walks so well while holding on to hands - he is going to start cruising around on his own soon!

He would rather hold his own bottle (the cuddling days are coming to an end!)

And he has discovered the DVD Tower......

He was pretty proud of himself for pulling the whole thing over! We now have a new place to store these DVDs!

How can your resist this adorable smile?

Shaefer and Austin meet for the 1st time!

2010-01-15T20:56:00.005-07:00

Anson's brother Austin, who has been serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, returned home at the beginning of January. Shaefer and him and never officially met so Anson's family drove up to Utah, 2 days after he got home and came to see us! It was so much fun spending time with them! (Hopefully Anson and Shaefer didn't share their infections with you guys!)

Austin being brave - both of them ended up surprisingly clean!

BJ (Left) designed this bag for OGIO and Austin was admiring his work - aparently Shaefer also likes it (and fits in it perfectly)!

At the end of every email, Austin wrote "Gone Fishing" so his parents made shirts for all of us for when he came home! :)

Shaefer the Explorer!

2010-01-15T20:56:00.001-07:00

Over Christmas Break it felt like Shaefer was exploring more and more everyday and was getting bigger and bigger everyday. He has found himself a few favorite things.....

Scooting under the coffee table (he earned the nickname "scooter")-

Opening the cupboard -

Being naked and eating his toes -

Screaming like a girl -

Sleeping on his tummy, sideways in his crib (notice he is missing one sock) -

and Making tunnels by pushing up with his feet onto his head -

Better late than never!

2010-01-15T20:35:00.005-07:00

I have time to post this weekend because a trip to Idaho was cancelled due to a baby with an ear infection and a husband with a sinus infection! I am just praying that I don't get it! I guess I will use every second that I have! Well, since I haven't posted since before Christmas... here it goes!

Shaefer was able to have a first visit with Santa - who spoiled him for sure! Shaef thought that he was pretty cool - he kept looking back at him to make sure he was an "ok" guy! We waited in line with my friend and her kiddos! It was fun!

Christmas was wonderful! We were able to go up to Idaho and spend the Holiday's with my family. We were able to be up there for my dad's infestiture for the new Judge position that he took. It was alot of fun to spend time with them! Unfortunately, I forgot my CAMERA - I know horrible! Shaefer's 1st Christmas is documented on a cell phone camera.

Let it Snow!

2009-12-07T21:50:00.003-07:00

Shaef and Dad checkin' out the snow!

Sittin in the snow....

UH OH! (He didn't really know how to react to this!)

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-03T21:32:00.004-07:00

We had the opportunity to go down to Arizona to spend Thanksgiving with Anson's family. It was our first time driving more than 3 hours in a car with a baby and it was an adventure! It was Shaefer's 1st time at Grandpa and Grandma Call's house and our first time meeting Brightyn (Our niece and Shaefer's only cousin on that side)!

This is the first picture of Grandma and Grandpa with both grand kids!

Grandpa took Shaef outside one morning and was teaching him to live off the land....eating radishes!

...eating leaves!

Shaef also helped Grandpa feed the cows!

I just love this picture of him - his eyes are so amazing and his hair is adorable!

They must be cousins......tongues out!

Buds!!

2009-11-14T15:28:00.001-07:00

This is Shaef and his cousin Marissa. I just saw this picture and loved that both of them have the same look!

Changes -

2009-11-14T14:28:00.005-07:00

So after being married for about 3 years, we have started to update our apartment decor. We were so blessed when we got married to have all of our furniture given to us - minus a few book shelves. We felt so lucky to be able to save money not having to buy any furniture. After 3 years of using already used furniture - things start to look a little "well used". I found couch covers 50% off, entertainment center on KSL for $25, and the pillows at Kohls for 50% off. It is almost like we have a brand new front room! :)

The next step is to make another set of pillows (we aren't using the blue ones in teh picture) and sew a cover for our ottoman.

Another change was a much needed haircut!

Before (this is a horrible picture, but you can see how long my hair was!)

A little shorter!

The last change was the weather - it is finally starting to feel like November! Today it was snowing outside so Anson took Shaefer outside to see it!

6 Month Stats

2009-11-01T21:10:00.003-07:00

Here is an update on our little guy:

Head - 17 in... 35%tile
Weight - 18 lbs...62%tile
Height - 28 in...90%tile

Maybe he isn't such a little guy - there is just more of him to love!

(Look at more current pictures in the post below!)

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T20:48:00.005-07:00

For Shaef's first Halloween, we dressed him up as a chunky skeleton! We bought a 12 month size for him and when we put it on him - it was like putting on spandex...a little tight.

Anson was working so Shaef and I went to the Ward Halloween Party where Shaef got to play with Link - who is only a few days older than Shaefer. They had fun looking at each other and talking, but we had to split them up because they started to go for each other's eyes! Shaef is showing Link who is boss - or is just a little jealous because Link can roll all over the place!

Shaef has been practicing his new trick - sitting up! Don't worry that he still won't roll over, unless he is in the bathtub (I think the slippery tub doesn't require as much effort). He is quite the little sitter and sits for longer and longer each time.

The pediatrician said we needed to start giving little things to Shaefer to help him develop his fine motor skills - we started with plain cheerios....and this was the result. Apparently, they taste disgusting!

Daylight savings time has been interesting for us - we have been pushing back Shaef's bedtime already and today...he didn't even make it through dinner!

Now we can look forward to the Holiday Season! Thanks to Grandma Clark, Shaef is nice and festive!

Pocketful of Sunshine

2009-10-23T20:52:00.003-06:00

Ok - so I am not really a negative person and decided that a venting was good but now I get to show off some things that make me happy!

This face -

Shaefer's friend Carson was writing on his head with Oreo! It was so funny!

I have surprised Anson a few times with my cooking skills but this time topped the charts - he said that this Schnitzel (German food) I made him was good enough to be straight from Germany! Woohoo! (A great accomplishment for me since my first attempt was a little less than desireable.)

This little guy always makes my day - but he looks so adorable in this "body" bib! I love those chubby legs and pinchable cheeks!

The grass is always greener...

2009-10-23T20:03:00.005-06:00

This is how I feel today (which is pretty bad considering it is Friday) -

I really should be getting to work on my "mile long" list but instead I am having a venting session on the blog. It is only fair that Anson gets a break from hearing it! Don't get me wrong - I love my life....it is just a little overwhelming at the moment.
Being a working mom has really been a struggle for me - and not just because I have to leave my baby. That is definately hard - but I really have struggled with trying to figure out who I am and what my limitations are. I am learning to have to deal with doing all of the housework/laundry on the weekends, not being able to cook a hot meal every night, and not always having a super clean kitchen. Anson has done a really good job at helping out when he has time so that helps a ton!
Normally our busy schedule is do-able and we make the crazy days work....and then my job decided that the hundreds of extra hours I already put in aren't enough - I have to do parent teacher conferences after school from 4-9 one night and go to keyboarding training from 4-9 pm a week later. Not only does that turn my day into a 12 hour day but it completely eliminates any time I get to see my baby.
On top of that, I have visual art training on Monday (need sub plans for that), cohort training on Tuesday (need sub plans for that), and I am getting a cohort (also known as a BYU student who is coming into my classroom to have a "teaching experience" where I am expected to blow her away with my amazing teaching and give her all sorts of amazing ideas to inspire her to be an amzing teacher like myself)- and if you can't tell I don't feel completely qualified to have someone (just 3 years younger than me) use me as an example.
I am sure you would feel qualified too if you taught a Multiplication unit for 3 weeks and your students scored a WOPPING 63% average! I was hoping this year would be a breeze since it is my 3rd year teaching and my 1st year teaching the same grade twice!

~

Well now that I have vented - our school counselor just came in and taught my students a lesson about "looking for the positive" - so here I go!

1) At least I have a family.
2) At least I have amazing babysitters to look after my precious little boy.
3) At least I have the most amazing husband in the world who is willing to help.
4) At least I have a job.
5) At least I love my students so my cohort student will see that.
6) At least some of my students scored well on the test!
7) At least my students told me today that they would buy a magazine with my face on it over a magazine with a picture of Michael Jackson! :)
8) At least I LOVE the people I work with.
9) At least I have holidays and the summer off.

And last but definately not least...

10) At least I get to see this little man every day - and he gets really excited when I come home from work!

(Shaefer likes to wear hats and be naked - he is totally content in this picture)

Mr. Personality

2009-10-08T19:33:00.002-06:00

Shaef has really started to show us some personality - and we love it!

Especially when it looks like this!

He has a few different sides - this one is also a favorite!

And...we have started baby cereal and baby food! He loves it and would eat and eat and eat if we let him! He is quite the chunker!

Other than adoring our little man - we have been getting use to our work/school schedule! It is still hard for me to go to work and leave my baby every day but it hopefully won't be forever! :) Anson is getting closer to graduation and is really hoping that he gets a seminary teaching position. If that doesn't work he is looking into working for a few different companies - one even as far away as Boston. Hopefully seminary works out so that we can stick around here longer! I have been enjoying every second I can hold and play with my baby, reading, and attempting to improve our living conditions!

MUST SEE!!

2009-09-10T18:11:00.004-06:00

I came home from work a little exhausted - like normal - and Anson said, "Hey I have to show you something!" This is what he showed me...

I am so grateful that Anson recorded this so I could see it! I worry all the time about being at work and missing everything Shaef does but every now and then I get a treat! I have the best husband and the cutest baby!

Things to Remember

2009-09-09T20:14:00.005-06:00

We have had quite the past few weeks. First off - Anson's cousin (who is one of my best friends)...just got home from her mission. We got to go up to her homecoming in Pocatello to see her and celebrate with the family! Right when we got to Pocatello - we found out that my Grandpa Clark had passed away just a few hours earlier. He had been battling through heart problems, dimentia, and a few strokes for the past few years and was ready to go be with my Grandma Clark again! I was grateful for an amazing funeral service where I was reminded of the Grandpa that I had known so many years ago (before all of his health challenges) and where we were able to honor such a wonderful man! Here is the only picture that we got but I think it turned out pretty good!

In all of this craziness - I started teaching again, Anson started school, Shaefer started going to a babysitter, and we are so grateful for any second we have together. Shaefer has become very spoiled. I vowed I would never rock my babies to sleep - and even though he can go to sleep on his own, I rock him because that is more time I have with my baby. It is amazing to me how much my little guy can grow in such a short time! He is now in the 70% for height and weight (I never thought that would happen with how he started out)! Here are some pictures of my little chunker!

We are slowly getting use to being so busy but we feel so blessed to have everything working out so well!

For the stressed and overwhelmed mother!

2009-08-14T17:35:00.002-06:00

I read this article and took a little breath. It seems like all I do these days is worry....worry that Shaefer is throwing up too much (even though he is a little chunk!), worry that he is going to forget I am his mommy when I go back to teaching full time, worry that he laid on his back too much and his head is going to be flat, you get the idea. It is nice to know kids are forgiving and that not everything is a big deal! I love being a mommy!! :)

39 Things Every Mom Should Know
by Kacy Faulconer, Parents Sept. 2009, pg 64

When it comes to raising children, everyone's an expert. Your kids won't be little forever, so enjoy them! Wow, that was helpful. Thanks. But here's something very specific to enjoy about your little kids: They don't know what you're actually up to--so savor it while it lasts. When they get older they notice when you burn food or fall asleep at the school play. But with a toddler you can eat frosting out of a can while watching Blue's Clues adn the kid will never bat an eye-- or judge you for it. Want more unsolicited but totally honest advice from a mom of four kids ages 1 to 11? Of course you do.

1. You never have to go to obnoxious kid-themed restaurants. Ever. I wish someone had told me that.

2. Don't make birthday parties a huge deal.

3. Do your chores while kids are awake. Using up naptime to wash dishes or clean the bathroom is truly soul-crushing.

4. Put Band-Aids on everything your kids want you to. Why not?

5. If the kids are awake, bite the bullet and be awake yourself. You'll waste so many hours trying futilely to extend early-morning snoozes that it's not worth it. If you are sick, pregnant, or it's the middle of the night, ignore this advice.

6. Just throw away the poopy underwear.

7. Don't beat yourself up if you have to use a bribe.

8. Teach your kids not to pee outside unless you're camping-- you'll be glad you did. But if other people's kids do it, don't judge teh parents too harshly-- it's all about karma. (If you're in the midst of potty training, all bets are off. You've gotta do what you've gotta do.)

9. Buy cheap shoes when kids are little. Feet grow faster than you think.

10. Don't forget about board games. You'll suffer through way too much Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders, but Connect Four and Battleship aren't half bad. And Clue rocks.

11. Embrace their quirks.

12. Know this: That stain won't come out. And it's okay. (The sooner you accept this, the better.)

13. At some point it will be February. Things will seem bleak. You will think about vitamins, glasses, more exercise, more sleep, more chores, less TV, more rules, fewer rules, and organic food. Just wait. Things will get better when the snow melts. Know that it will happen again at the end of summer, right before school starts. It's the circle of life, baby.

14. Always get boys' haircuts at barber shops instead of hair salons.

15. Answer this question: What is the worst thing that can happen if your kids sleep in their clothes?

16. Never stifle a generous inclination.

17. Try to like what they like. It kind of sucks when it's Bob the Builder, but the payoff will come when they discover Lemony Snicket.

18. Teach them to pump on the swings ASAP.

19. If your child falls asleep occasionally without brushing her teeth, don't wake her; baby teeth do eventually fall out.

20. I know you are supposed to use natural consequences to punish bad behavior, but sometimes it's hard to think of natural consequences. In these cases try threatening your kids with clipping their toenails or some other activity they dread. I've had great success with this one, but you must find your own.

21. Get used to the word zerrissenheit. It means a state of disjointedness, and it's the new normal for most of us. At least you can feel fancy because it's German.

22. Buy kids deodorant before they need it.

23. Teach your children to make their own breakfast-- and allow enough time so they can do it without pressure.

24. I can't stress this enough: Use duvet covers on your comforters and forget about the top sheet. Not only will you thank me for this advice, but your kids will thank me as well when they are learning to make their bed.

25. Remember clogging lessons are not in the best interest of the child.

26. Don't administer a punishment that hurts you more than it does them.

27. Always pack wipes. If your kids go somewhere without you, send along wipes. It's like having a mom with them.

28. Do not allow the word wienies in your home.

29. Dress your little girls like, well, little girls.

30. Make sure your kids know how they like their eggs and burgers cooked. You don't want them to feel stress when ordering at the diner.

31. It's fine to brag about yourself to your kids.

32. Buy quaint wooden toys and hand-knit stuffed animals, but don't expect your kids to play with them.

33. Just say "No" to any toy or doll that comes with packets that have to be mixed with water.

34. Teach them to like cool music. Why suffer through The Wiggles when you could be enjoying Wilco or counting along with Feist?

35. Don't buy the most expensive school-picture package. It's a waste of money.

36. Give out awards for actual acheivements.

37. You're never too old to dress up and decorate your house for Halloween. And it's more fun for everyone if you are into it. It also entitles you to more candy.

38. If the school year, new babysitter, or karate class gets off to a rocky start, don't totally stress out about it. Instead, think of the improvement that can be made by the end of the year.

39. Independence is a wonderful thing. For everyone. So is together time. Make sure you have a healthy dose of both.