News From The Hut

The Only Constant is Change

2011-04-18T21:15:00.000-06:00

Today I took a rare "sick day" from work. I stayed home for the first time when I was not sick. Caroline and Elena were both sick, so I stayed home to take care of them. It wasn't very restful for any of us as we had two different doctor's appointments etc. Today we decided to graduate Elena to a big girl bed. She is getting too big for the crib and even though she can climb out (because she has a couple of times), she chooses not to. I doubt if we will be as lucky with this bed. This bed has a lot of nostalgia for me as it was my bed growing up. Despite my objections, Caroline is going to paint it as soon as she feels better. Oh well, the only constant is change. I caught her (above) getting off the bed after inaugurating it by jumping on it in heels. Wish us luck keeping her in bed tonight!

Let's Go Fly a Kite...

2011-03-29T21:13:00.000-06:00

We are still here. Today we decided to try flying a kite that grandpa Norman gave Laney a while back. She thought it was a really neat "dragon". It is a seahorse, but close enough. Unfortunately we just happened to pick the only day in the history of West Jordan when the wind didn't blow enough to fly a kite. But we had fun until we got cold.

It was all fun and games until someone fell and got some road rash on their hands. Caroline is recovering... complaining a lot, but recovering well.

Taken for granted

2010-11-07T22:02:00.001-07:00

How many people can say that they can see 3 temples from their house, and are 30 minutes or less driving time to 6 temples? Well, we can. And we take it for granted. I hardly ever go to temple square. What a beautiful place, and we don't visit often enough. Well, thankfully I took the opportunity when my cousin Tiffany was here a couple weeks ago. We had a lovely time!

After taking a few shots of the temple, how could I resist taking pictures of THIS! What a sweet face.With all there was to see and do, all she wanted was to play in the dirt.

Taking a break in the cool grass

My niece Emilee can't help herself when she is around Laney- she HAS to tickle her, almost to the point of torture. She loves to make her laugh. (Laney does have a great laugh!)

Laney posed all by herself on the steps of the temple. She was happily sitting here, when all of the sudden she burst into tears. No clue why, sadly I missed the shot.

Thankfully, Tiffany has the magic touch. She calmed Laney right down. Laney loves Tiff, and bawled when we dropped her off at the airport. We all miss you Tiff!! Thanks for the great time!

Fall Activities this Year

2010-10-28T20:51:00.004-06:00

So here is a quick synopsis of what we have been up to. Starting in the top left - Laney was bored one day so she said, "Dad, mom, let's do something fun!" So this is what we did:
Middle left - Caroline's cousin Tiffany from Texas came to visit for about a week and they went to temple square one day. Here, Elena is practicing for her bridal pictures on the temple steps. Bottom left - our neighbors decided they wanted to put together a block party. We had probably 50 people from the neighborhood show up for some potluck food and street dancing. Laney is here leading the conga line. Center and bottom right - we went to the pumpkin patch to pick out some pumpkins with some friends from the neighborhood. This year they also had free hayrides. Right center - Caroline was in the fall mood and was coaxed into baking an apple pie with the aid of Tiffany. The last time Caroline made me an apple pie, or any pie for that matter was 13 years ago. I love pie. I don't want to wait another 13 years for the next one. Top right and bottom middle - my family got together to celebrate our German-Swiss heritage by combining Oktoberfest and Rebenlichter. Most are probably familiar with the Oktoberfest (bottom middle, and its root beer Elena is guzzling), but few are familiar with Rebenlichter and the lighting of the traditional turnip lantern (top right). Here is my niece with the lantern we carved.
Not shown but of great reason for celebration - Caroline started potty training Elena today!

What's it like having a 2 year old?

2010-10-28T20:06:00.005-06:00

Laney has quickly grown into her role as a 2 year old. Here are just a few of the things we get to clean up almost everyday. Most of you might ask, "Where are her parents? Why aren't they watching her?" That is what we used to ask............before we knew how fast all of this can happen. Just in a blink of an eye.
(Notice the look of mischief in most of the pics.)

Her new favorite treat to eat: DIRT!

Everyday for about 2 weeks, Laney managed to find pens, markers, anything to write with, usually on herself. Mom thought we had hid all of these, but she can find it.

Lipstick, oh the lipstick. Need I say more?

Flour Girl- this is what happens when mom lets Laney help with the baking!

First Day of Joy School

2010-09-09T21:34:00.003-06:00

Tuesday was Laney's first day of joy school. Two other moms with Caroline have decided to start rotating between their homes for 1 hour every Tuesday morning. The other other two children are within months of Laney's age and she usually enjoys playing with them. To use a quote from her grandmother, "here she is dressed to the nines". I was at work by the time this happened, but I really enjoy this picture. The look on her face could be apprehension about not knowing what she is getting herself into. An all too common look from children and teachers this time of year with school starting. She isn't quite sure she really wants to do this... or it could just be gas. Who knows.

Who is turning 2???

2010-08-22T16:33:00.002-06:00

I can't believe our little girl is almost 2!! Why does time have to go so fast? I thought we would share a few photos of her in dress up, she loves to dress up! What a character she is. We are so blessed to have her and are excited for the next year.

Our Little Performer

2010-07-30T20:09:00.003-06:00

If you are reading this to find out what Caroline or I are doing, sorry it is just an update on Elena. We are well. Elena has started performing for us and we finally were able to record it so everyone could see it. I hope you enjoy this evenings performance. It is all original material by Elena.

Summer Vacation?!? When?

2010-07-07T17:22:00.004-06:00

Hello again. It has been a busy spring turned into a busy summer and maintaining the blog has slipped through the cracks. Just a quick recap of things we've been doing: my brother got married, we hosted a bar-b-q for last years' yearbook staff, Caroline was camp director for girls camp, Randy took 9 students to yearbook camp, attended a week long training of FDA regulations (fun?), attended the summer biotech teachers conference, participated in an extended family camp out in grandma & grandpa's back yard, celebrated 3 separate birthdays, missed at least two (sorry Mitzi and Jaimin), Caroline performed a Polynesian dance in the ward luau, played pétanque at the lake in Daybreak, Randy spoke in church, weened Elena off the bottle, Elena got an ear infection, Elena is now back on the bottle, and Caroline went to see the new twilight movie. All the while Randy was still teaching part-time and watching as much world cup as possible! And that was just June. So in light of that, Caroline successfully got us to go do something fun on Monday since we had the day off. We found a Creekside disk golf course and went with our friends for 9 holes of disk golf. Von beat me by 5 throws and it was his first time (#%&*). Elena had fun for about 2 holes and then was done. Nice course, but too crowded for a "family" game.

We cut our golf short to go meet some friends and to look at helicopters. Elena has decided she doesn't like being in her car seat (remember the comment about the ear infection).

Fortunately she was later "freed" when we arrived at the airport. While we were there we decided to try out a black hawk helicopter. Pretty sweet machine.

After examining the black hawk, Elena decided to go explore the apache helicopters.

So Caroline took her for a spin in one (lucky- said like napolean dynamite).

After a few more meltdowns, we went over to our friends house to celebrate the 4th of July in a more traditional manner. There was lots of food, fun, and fireworks.

Happy Easter from the MOST beautifl child in the world!!

2010-04-06T19:44:00.002-06:00

Hunting for eggs with Papa

Looking just plain gorgeous!

A few more glimpses of Spring Break in sunny AZ!

2010-03-27T22:16:00.005-06:00

Enjoying the great outdoors- a picnic at Montezuma's Castle
Laney LOVED the monkey exhibit at the zoo. they let you right in with the monkeys!
Enjoying the AMAZING smell of the orange blossoms overhead while relaxing with my sister
Laney had the best time with all the cousins....and all their cool toys.

Spring Break 2010

2010-03-21T19:33:00.004-06:00

So we made a last minute decision to go with Caroline's parents to Mesa, Arizona to participate in the festivities for sister, Lisanne's birthday party. And that is what we did for our spring break. We drove down Sunday afternoon to Kanab and spent the night. Monday it somehow took us all day to drive to Mesa, AZ were we met some family for a picnic at at park. Caroline keeps telling me there is nothing like an Arizona sunset.

The next day (Lisanne's birthday) we went to the Phoenix zoo, along with most of Phoenix, and had a lovely time. Here we are at the Stingray petting pool. This is Roby's favorite exhibit and Elena loved it until one of the rays stopped, turned around, and stuck it's tail up in the air at her. She was offended and refused to pet any more rays after that. We had a fun dinner with the extended family at Lisanne's house that evening and Elena danced for everyone, but that will be a different blog.

One of our favorite things to do when we go to Arizona is eat. Okay, its one of our favorite things to do where ever we go, but we have the restaurants that we have to go to every time we are there. One at the top of Caroline's list is Rito's. Caroline literally dreams of their beans on a regular basis. And she isn't alone, I've heard her mother and sisters express the same thing. But I digress. We went for lunch. I had the guactaco, which was great, but you need more than that to fill up. Its a good thing Caroline's eyes are bigger than her stomach. Elena had a great time chasing the pigeons while we ate and entertaining most of the other customers while we were there. That night was the famed "taco night" at Aunt Marilyn's and Uncle Tom's house. And the tacos were pretty good I must say.

Thursday, I finally convinced Caroline to go to Tia Rosa's. I love going there. The weather was beautiful and we went out on the patio to have lunch. Elena loved running around the big planters of petunias. Once we had eaten, Lisanne decided she wanted an oncore of the dancing from her birthday and put Elena up on the table to dance. She here she is focusing on her moves with of all things a pole! I think I need to put a damper on things before they get out of control!
We borrowed some bikes and went for a bike ride on the river walk in Tempe. It was beautiful, and once again we enjoyed the Arizona sunset.

Friday we packed up and drove to Montezuma's Castle National Park on the way back to Utah. Lisanne and Roby drove up with us and we had a fun little picnic and toured the national park. We had fun and Elena, all by herself, went and posed behind this sign- so we had to get a picture. It so reflects her little personality, (you can't make me do anything I don't want to).

Here is a nice picture of Elena with "Granny" and "Papa". For whatever reason I'm always getting in trouble for the pictures I take of Caroline's mom. So we are going to keep this one. We felt bad for "granny" the whole trip. She keeps trying to get Elena to say "granny" and is always trying to give her a hug etc, but Elena most of the time doesn't want any part of it. Meanwhile she says papa and will go time him all the time.

All in all it was a fun trip. Elena did mostly good in a car for six hours a day for four days. But we would publically like to express our appreciation to the Fresques family for their portable DVD player which saved our sanity on multiple occasions. However, after seeing Elmo goes to Grouchland about 10 times in four days, I'm ready to move on. Oh, and don't think that that was the only movie we brought, because it wasn't!

She is all girl!

2010-01-26T18:25:00.003-07:00

Its official, Elena is ALL girl. I was getting ready for a meeting tonight while Caroline was doing something in the kitchen and we hear a succession of loud clunks on the kitchen floor. We turn to see this little miss strutting her stuff.

News Flash!

2010-01-16T09:27:00.003-07:00

Randy turned 25 (ha ha) on January 14th. Live from the Booth's living room, Elena reports on all the events of the day. Click below to get all the details.

Getting Ready for Christmas

2009-12-15T20:21:00.003-07:00

We pulled out the Christmas decorations and were able to add an Elmo to the plush decor this year. Elmo sings his version of the 12 days of Christmas. Elena has been going back and forth between that and Rudolf who sings his own song. Thankfully the Grinch is just decoration.
Elena got dressed up for church this last Sunday. It was the first time I took her to nursery. I think she enjoyed herself, but there were two boys that kept pushing her down or pulling on her ties on the back of her dress until she fell over. I didn't start that kind of flirting until I was in grade school. What are those parents teaching their boys?! Someday, she will appreciate their attention a little more, but I can wait for that.

November Has Come And Gone

2009-12-01T20:03:00.004-07:00

The big story in November is Thanksgiving. This year we spent Thanksgiving with Randy's family. It was smaller than normal, but still fun to be together. This year was a wake up call for us as we realized there would be no after meal nap unless a little girl decides to nap also. And, well, she didn't. So we spent the afternoon fighting the desire to be comatose. Elena, however, had a lovely time emptying all of grandma's cupboards. The lazy susan with all the bowls was her favorite.

In the evening after our second desert, Randy, Nathan, and Grandpa pulled out our instruments to play some Christmas carols. Nathan played the best which is sad because he has only been playing guitar for 3 months. In our defense, my dad and I had to transpose while we were sight reading, but we had fun playing together for the first time as a family band.

After the big rivalry game between the University of Utah and BYU, Elena and I drowned our sorrows with milk and cookies.

Elena has been developing her interior design skills lately. Either that or she has decided that she IS entropy! The other day Caroline stopped hearing noise which is always a sign that the parent needs to investigate. Elena was found hiding in the changing table and Caroline went to grab a camera and took the above picture that we will title "before". She put the camera away and came back to the "after" picture below.

I love the "innocent" look on her face.

The last two evenings we went out and delivered our neighbor gifts for Christmas. We decided to get it done early this year and hope they are better received than last year's "New Year's" gifts. I don't know where Caroline found this hat, but it stayed up the entire time we were out.

Halloween

2009-11-08T20:53:00.003-07:00

Halloween has come and gone already. It didn't seem to sneak up on us this year, but time seems to be flying now. We are already half way to Thanksgiving! This year Elena was the cutest witch in the neighborhood. Caroline made the skirt and Elena loved walking around in it. And Randy is loving the glitter that is getting everywhere (note to Caroline, next time buy the tulle without glitter).
The first house we went to was some friends of ours that Elena knows. She didn't understand the bucket concept. Why would she want to accumulate candy when she could just eat it as she went?
I took her around the block with a friend and his children. After the 4th or 5th house I gave up. I would set her up at the doorstep with the other children and the step back at which point she would turn around and follow me. The last house we tried she didn't turn around to follow me, but stopped to eat some dirt on the porch. So let's just say I didn't get as much candy as I was hoping. There is always next year!
One of our good friends turned 30 yesterday. So a surprise birthday party was planned with a 70's theme. We tried to dress up (notice the chest hair!). I think I just ended up creeping everyone out. And despite a lot of encouragement, I did not wear it to high council meeting this morning.

Walking

2009-10-11T20:00:00.002-06:00

Elena is now walking. Well, more correctly, she started walking about two weeks ago. She became bored with walking after about a week and started working on running. She struggles with uneven surfaces as seen above, but I think it is a work in progress for all of us at one time or another.
She is quick. I keep turning around and she is right there. I run down the hall to put something away in the bedroom and when I turn around to return there she is. I know its hard to believe,
but I really do put stuff away!
Yesterday we drove up to Snowbird to participate in the 37th annual Oktoberfest celebration. The food was much better this year, but it was quite chilly. We only had the sweater for Elena so we purchased a nice Oktoberfest hat for her and she actually kept it on most of the time. It was fun to get out of the house for a couple of hours. Unfortunately for whatever reason the fall colors aren't that spectacular this year. We could only stay for a couple of hours because we had a family gathering that evening at my parents house. My brother received his mission call this week and waited until everyone could be there to witness him open it so we couldn't be late. He is going to Roseville CA.

It's Finally Done.... Almost

2009-10-06T22:09:00.003-06:00

Well, it has only taken about 15 months, but its now functional! And of course it gets done just in time for the weather to turn cold enough that we can't use it. But mark my words, its going to be freakin' awesome next summer!!!! I hope...

Caroline's Big Race

2009-09-26T19:51:00.003-06:00

This morning Caroline finished her first 5 mile race. She participated in the Temple to Temple Steeplechase. She did great! But movement around the house since the race hasn't been the most graceful. Once the pain subsides, she be as good as new.

Summer's End

2009-09-21T12:19:00.008-06:00

(Fun at a family BBQ)

Tomorrow is the autumnal equinox, which means officially, summer is over. For anyone who knows me, fall is my absolute FAVORITE time of year. This morning I awoke to cool weather, the leaves on the mountains behind our house are turning red and orange, and I got to dress Lainey in long sleeves for the first time since last winter. Granted the rest of the week will still be in the 80's, I am relishing today. I have been doing such a poor job of keeping up on our blog so I thought I would wrap up the end of our summer in pictures.

Elena has started climbing up on things and then can't figure out how to get down so she just cries until we get her down. Then she gets right back up.

I having great in-laws who give us lots of fruits and veggies. We have been canning, all Randy's idea- he is great! Beautiful grapes off their vines, hopefully next year ours will be producing fruit! We canned grape juice and will do jelly later. Also salsa- tons of it!

Picking beautiful food from your own garden is so rewarding! These were the best cherry tomatoes ever- Sun Sugars.

Elena has started walking! A lot with our help, and a few steps at a time on her own. She still prefers crawling because she can get around faster. We can't believe how big she is getting!!

After returning from Iowa, Randy set out in search of a bike trailer. He loved taking Elena on bike rides while we were visiting my brother. We found one finally and now we can take family rides.

Swimming- Lainey's favorite thing EVER!

Of course we can't forget Elena's first birthday! Cake, presents, friends....what more could a girl want?

Happy Birthday Eve

2009-08-30T21:37:00.002-06:00

Randy has put me in charge of the blog for a month because I was complaining to him that I am not as clever and witty as him when it comes to blogging. So, he is giving me this "opportunity" to practice so I can get better. I don't think it will work. You will have to bear with me while I try not to be too boring! Prepare for gushing and bragging, you have been warned. Here we go!

Ok- here I sit on the eve of my baby girl's first birthday. I have been emotional all month knowing this was coming. I can't believe a whole year has passed since she was placed in our arms. I have been watching her grow and learn and it is the most wonderful thing. However, I am just simply not ready for this. I have been telling Heavenly Father that it is just not fair that we waited so long for a baby and that we should be allowed to enjoy it longer. :o)

Elena.........is.............PERFECT!!!!!! We more than adore her! We just can't get enough of her. When she is sleeping, we talk all about everything she did that day, or look at pictures and videos. Are we typical first parents? Do you all do this? So, here are just a FEW of the things we love about our Lainey bug:

- How she crosses her legs in her car seat, she is such a little lady.
- Her gorgeous brown eyes. We simply get lost in them!
- Her love of food and all things edible. She fits right in with our own love and obsession of the culinary world.
- Putting her to bed at night is the best. She lets me hold her and sing to her and snuggle her like I did when she was a newborn. So quiet and peaceful, and she almost always goes right down.
- Elenaese. Her own gibberish which we understand none of. But she is truly talking and telling us stories.
- Her many dances and love of music. This girl can really get her groove on!
- She gets the attention of everyone around her, no matter where we are. They say it is because she is so adorable, which she is. But I also happen to think she just has something so special about her and that draws people to her.
- Her gummy smile!!!!! Which sadly will soon be no more. (She is working on tooth #3)
- She scratches EVERYTHING! Herself, whoever is holding her, the wall, the table, any fabric, plastic, everything that is within reach, she has to feel and scratch it.
- She adores animals and the outdoors. She squeals with delight when we open the door, before we even get outside.
- Loves water in all forms: baths, pools, sprinklers, ice. It's her favorite.
- Most of all I love her sweetness and her little spirit.

I really could sit here all night and never run out of things to say about her. But this will have to do for now.
Happy Birthday baby girl. I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Iowa part 2

2009-08-21T15:17:00.003-06:00

Thought we would add a few more fun things we did while on our adventure in Iowa (we like to say Eye-oh-way). The last day we were there we had a family water fight. I think the adults had as much fun or more as the kids. After all, aren't we all still kids at heart?

There is a skate park pretty close, so 7 year old Joseph has had a lot of practice. It is amazing to see him in action. We enjoyed taking him a few times while we were there. He is awesome!

Just down the street there is a botanical garden and they have a butterfly house. (Elena loved it). We love going there and hadn't been for about 6 years. So even though it was BLAZING hot, we walked to the gardens and enjoyed the beauty of nature......... for about an hour before we thought we were gonna die!

We can't wait to go back- we love our family! Although maybe next time we will wait till fall so the weather is a little nicer :)

Trip To Iowa

2009-08-16T19:06:00.003-06:00

We left on the evening of August 6th for a 10 day relaxing(!?!) vacation in Ames, Iowa. Caroline's brother invited us out to spend some time together and help them with a little construction project they have been working on (for the past 18 months). All we had to do was watch our nephew and niece while they worked. It was more work than we had expected, but we ended up having a lot of fun. Here are a few glimpses of the activities. Above Elena is loving her first water balloon fight. We gave her a water balloon and she chewed on it with her two new teeth until in blew up in her face and loved it.
Elena absolutely loved playing with her cousins. And most of the time the cousins enjoyed having her around (except when she was taking a nap and they had to be quiet). Above, they all enjoyed watching a movie together. Elena followed Helen (age 3) the entire time we were there, tried to hold her hand in the car, and generally thought she was the funnest person around.
On an exceptionally hot day, we took the kids to a local pool. This was Elena's first time swimming and obviously my first time without a shirt for many moons. Elena is a water baby. She threw a fit when we were leaving after an hour and a half in the water. She kept trying to put her head under water. Ocassionally she would succeed and come up sputtering just to try it again.
One of our favorite activities with the kids was making a short movie about a boy that saved the kingdom from an ogre. Elena played the part of the fairy princess. She didn't like the harness we set up for her to fly, but loved just sitting in the plants.
Iowa is a fun place. We enjoyed getting out of the city and all the congestion and traffic associated with it. The weather takes a bit getting used to, but I was able to go disk golfing 3 times in a week. We also ate well. Almost every evening, Caroline and I had fun making wonderful food (Jacqui, sorry about plugging your kids into scooby doo for a couple of hours each night so we could cook). One interesting thing was going 10 days without TV as Caroline's brother has no TV. We still watched a couple DVDs or something on youtube, but you get so much more accomplished or spend so much more time with the kids when you don't sit in front of the TV. Who would have thought?....

The 24th of July... Just another day anywhere else.

2009-08-02T20:39:00.003-06:00

Elena has been showing symptoms of teething..... for about 7 months. This was used as the excuse for introducing her to fudgesicles. Which she absolutely loves! But who doesn't?
No she is not in pain! We call this the cheese face. Caroline and I like to tinker with photography and as a result Elena gets her picture taken... a lot. She has developed her camera smile (cheese face). All we have to do is pull a camera out and point it at her and we get this beautiful gummy smile. The trick has been to capture the smile because by the time we focus and push the button she has usually relaxed the smile. Emilee, if you are reading this, this is what I imagine you smiling like at this age.
So about the 24th of July... if you have never been to Utah towards the end of July, you have no clue what I'm talking about. The 24th of July is a state holiday celebrating Utah becoming a state and it rivals the 4th of July in total amount of celebrating that goes on around here. The Saturday before of the 24th our neighborhood had a childrens' bicycle parade around the neighborhood ending at a nearby park where we had a little potluck hot dog roast. Here we see Elena and I enjoying the parade from a shady spot.
Because a good friend of our was on a business trip, we decided to celebrate the 24th on Saturday the 25th. You may recall the blog we posted a year ago with this same group of friends. Celebrating the 24th with a Bar-B-Q is turning into a fun tradition with the four families involved. Although this year someone parked a piece of junk Isuzu Trooper right in the middle of our fireworks area. Anyway, I digress. We had a wonderful time and Elena got to play with her first sparkler. She loved the fireworks and watching all the kids running around trying to catch themselves on fire!

Week in Review

2009-08-02T19:42:00.006-06:00

Caroline and I made a list of things we wanted to accomplish this summer thinking we would have a little extra money and time. So welcome to August 2nd!!! Summer is almost over and what do we have to show? I have a list. The first thing I actually finished didn't even make the original list. A couple of weeks ago, Caroline commented that we really should do something with the side of the house where we keep our trash cans because she is embarrassed that our neighbors have to look at it every time they come out their front door- it was a pile of weeds, dirt and rocks. I realized that this part of the house was shaded during the hot hours of the day when I would be home from work, so I decided to start on it and see how far I would get. It took about four afternoons over the past two weeks, but yesterday I officially finished a project this summer! Above is the walkway I built to make the trash cans look better. I think she might be missing the point that they are "trash cans" and therefore not pretty. They could be on solid gold and still look bad! But I think the path turned out fairly nice.
Project Number 2
The backyard patio project was begun three years ago when we moved in. The first summer I rerouted all the sprinklers to allow for a patio. Last year I cleared the area and poured footings for the columns and was able to start the columns before winter came. This year, with the help from my father-in-law, we finished the columns and have begun putting together the pergola ceiling. The above picture shows the two main support beams with one of the cross beams put in place to hold the beams apart while the cement cures to attach them to the columns. Imagine about 12 more of the cross beams in place stained the same color as the support beams. I keep imagining it, but it never appears. We have planted grape vines to grow up the columns and over the top. To the right of the columns is a stack of pavers that will become the patio floor. Caroline informed me that we will have this done by the end of the month so we can have a Bar-B-Q. I sure hope she is right, I really want to be done with this part of the project.
Another one of our goals this summer is to get out and have fun more. We haven't done a good job overall. But this week we decided to call our good friends and see how they are doing. We ended up planning a picnic up Millcreek Canyon on Friday evening. It was beautiful up there. And for only being about 10 minutes out of the valley, it sure cooled off. We had to pull out the jackets before all was done. Here we see Elena jumping for joy that her parents finally took her on a picnic to the mountains (The exceptionally white legs are due to the flash not the fact that I can't tan... trust me). She loved it even though all she really wanted to do was crawl around on the dirt and put everything in her mouth. She loved the campfire and marshmallows. We really do need to get out more.

Aunties

2009-07-24T10:51:00.004-06:00

Why are aunties so great? Well let me tell you!

Aunties love to give tubbies to stinky babies so mom can have her own uninterrupted shower.

Aunties like to share their water so the floaties end up in her cup instead of moms.

Aunties love to feed babies so mom can eat her own dinner.

Aunties love to hold babies at lunches out with the girls- wow, mom can look at her menu without anyone drooling and chewing on it!
Lainey loves it when Aunties visit!!

Summer fun

2009-07-16T13:02:00.005-06:00

A fabulous 4th of July spent with friends at a park, playing, relaxing, picnicking, and ending with a fabulous fireworks show. Above is Lainey and her buddy Simon, they love hanging out! Below, Randy and baby kicking back in the hammock.
Lainey is finally teething and chews on anything she can get her hands on! Here she enjoys a tomato and lemon! We thought a little fang tooth would break through, but alas, her tooth buds went back down so no teeth yet.

A great day with our cousins Josh and Tiffany visiting from Texas, We had such a great time with them, even though everything went wrong this day- it was CRAZY! We went up to Snow Basin in Ogden Canyon and played Frisbee golf.

Of all places in the world- Texas BB-Q in one of the smallest towns in Utah. This was one of 2 restaurants open- we went in and got lucky...YUM!!! Ever Tiff and Josh liked it, and they know Texas BB-Q.

Time for Child Lock's??

2009-06-30T20:58:00.003-06:00

Need we say more?

Our Trip to California

2009-06-28T19:52:00.005-06:00

As I mentioned, a few weeks ago we drove to California to see niece Natalia graduate from high school. The trip started out with a 6 hour delay when our car wouldn't start after filling it up with gas. A few hours and many moneys later we learned that our battery had gone bad and was replaced. Caroline said at the time that this was the worst thing that could have happened. I had to remind her that it would have been much worse had it happened in one of the very small towns between here and California. But once we got on the road the trip was relatively uneventful and Elena slept 8 of the 10 hours and cried for only 1 of the 10 hours.
We arrived at 3:00a.m. to a small welcoming party that just couldn't wait to see their new niece. The next day was Natalia's graduation and we all were able to see her go through this important right of passage. We had to leave the stands early because all the cheering and air horns was scaring Elena to tears. I didn't know air horns were a part of graduation. If they brought them to my school's graduation, security would escort them out. Anyway... Afterward we went back for a big family celebration dinner and Max and Marci happened to be visiting. It was really great to see them again. We haven't seen them since we stayed with them in Texas last September. This was our experimental vacation because it was our first time going somewhere away from home with Elena. She did great. She loved everybody and wasn't clingy to us, slept just fine in the pack'n'play and even took mostly regular naps. We were somewhat amazed. Another suprise was what the humidity did to Elena's hair. She developed all this curl!

One of the days we were there we drove to L.A. to visit some sites that Caroline's family has traditionally visited for years. As I mentioned in a previous blog, we went to Olvera street where Caroline and her sister enjoyed playing in the souvenirs. Can you tell they are sisters? We first stopped for lunch at Philippe's French Dipped Sandwiches. They do make the best french dipped sandwiches and the shop looks probably the exact same as it did 80 years ago. We also visited the train station and walked around while a movie was being shot so we weren't allowed to take too many pictures. We weren't quick enough and were able to enjoy rush hour traffic on Southern California freeways on the way home. Fun. Fun.

The next day we went to nephew Daniel's promotion from elementary school to middle school. It was fun to see all the 5th graders all dressed up and being recognized for different accomplishments. It is a big deal there. I think more people dressed up for the promotion than people did for Natalia's graduation. Saturday we packed up and waited for Caroline to go shopping for 3 hours - translation - we didn't leave till almost 3 p.m. which was almost just as late as we left Utah 4 days earlier. The trip back didn't go as well. For whatever reason Elena would get to sleep just as we would need to stop for gas which would wake her up as soon as I turn the car off.
We pulled over at Mesquite to let Elena take a turn at driving. She loved it! She'll just need to wait a few more years before we let her do it with the car turned on. It was a fun trip and now we know we can take her away for a few days. I wonder where we could go next?

Quick Update

2009-06-25T10:31:00.008-06:00

I just wanted to get a quick post in this morning. The past few weeks have been crazy. We took a road trip to California for our niece's high school graduation, more on that to come. We came home for a week, and then I had yearbook camp this week (me with 8 senior girls for three whole days). It actually went really well. Meanwhile Caroline has been in bed for almost a week now with some illness. The doctor ruled out H1N1 and strep, but she is not feeling too good. She spent the week at her parents house and Elena had a lovely visit with her grandparents.
When we were in California, we took a day trip to L.A. While there we visited historic Olvera Street, a tradition for Caroline's family, and found this little shirt and sandals for Elena.

The latest big update and life changing event has been that Elena is now crawling. She started exactly 9 months from birth and was still a little unsure of herself when I left for camp, but have come back to a confident and FAST crawler. I have the day off today and will be spending it baby-proofing our house (cat door for the downstairs, child locks on cabinets, etc). Fun times!

Nate Graduated!

2009-06-04T22:29:00.003-06:00

Today my baby brother graduated from high school!
I accidentally got up late, my car overheated, but I still made it in time for his principle to talk for 45 minutes alone! Here is Nate tuning the orchestra for the number they played on the program. Over all it was very nice. Just after the two hour mark Nate was handed his diploma and I had to race to the graduation ceremonies for my own school. It was great to see him with all his pomp and circumstance.

Congratulations Nate!

We're Back!!!!

2009-06-01T20:25:00.002-06:00

So we are back from our long hiatus of technical difficulties. Our modem died and it took me a few days to replace that and the next day our hard drive died. Luckily it is still under warranty so after a week I was able to set up an appointment and four days later I picked up the computer from the shop. Let me just take a moment to remind everyone how important backing up your data is. I had backed up two weeks before the crash so we didn't lose much, but we did lose two weeks of photos. Soooo......
Saturday we went to an Italian car show to celebrate Grandma Trudy's Birthday. It just happened that the car show was next to one of her favorite Italian restaurants which I think is really why we went. I look at the above photo and sing "one of this things is not like the other, one of these things is doing it own thing". Can you figure out which one it is?

So, as I said, we went to Fratelli's Restaurant which is absolutely fabulous. Elena is big enough to sit in the high chair by herself, although she always sits in it sideways.?. I've been out doing yard work for the past week to get some stuff done. I even took a whole day off to do some brickwork. This compared to Elena's combined total of about 2 hours outside over the past couple of weeks results in her killing me in the tan contest! But I probably need to just accept it and move on.
She is getting so big. She has started to say "mama" and has been very clingy to Caroline. Caroline can't even go to the bathroom without a few tears. Elena has also been scooting backwards for the past couple of weeks, but Sunday she finally figured out how to crawl forward! So far she isn't too sure about herself outside of the carpet which keeps her out of the kitchen, but I'm sure its just a matter of time.

Time out for repairs...

2009-05-14T13:27:00.001-06:00

Our computer crashed last week and is currently in the shop. We hope to resume the blog next week.

For such a significant event, we sure haven't talked about it much!

2009-04-26T20:30:00.004-06:00

Saturday, April 11th, we went to the Jordan River Temple to be sealed to Elena. It was a cool spring day but didn't rain on us. Despite our best intentions, we arrived a little late and rushed to the temple. Elena looked beautiful! Soon after we arrived, we were instructed to leave Elena in the children's center while we went and got ready for the ceremony. It felt like Caroline and I were getting married all over again because we were at the Temple with both of our families. The ceremony went well with just a little fussing from Elena and the ladies in the children's center seemed a little dissappointed when we came to pick her up.
We then went out for some pictures. Part of the reason it has taken so long to get this post up is because usually Caroline or I are taking the pictures. As we were busy doing other things that day, the usual number of photo being taken significantly dropped. We have been trying to round up all the pictures people took. Here we are as a new eternal family outside the temple. For someone who keeps saying he's been transplanted from Colorado, it certainly seems I have some significant history here now. After the temple ceremony, we drove down to Lehi for a luncheon where we blessed Elena. Caroline's mother had been stressing over the luncheon for weeks and it turned out beautifully. We have fewer people show up than planned, but it was a nice setting. It was so nice to have all our family together that I was disappointed to see people starting to clean up and leave.

The next day was a beautiful warm, sunny Easter Sunday. We went to church and then in true Easter tradition found a nice spot to take pictures of the girl in her Easter dress. Maybe its not your tradition, but I remember my parents doing it with my sisters and it is much more fun with a daughter than it is with just me. I just don't look as cute in a dress. Despite having her nap schedule/ eating schedule/ any other schedule thrown out of whack with all the family and festivities, Elena was happy as a clam out in the sun and the breeze which made for a great photo shoot. We currently have this photo on our computer desktop. Afterwards, Caroline's family came over for Easter dinner and an Easter egg hunt for the cousins. I sure hope I don't find a leftover egg in a month or two. We forgot to count how many eggs we started and ended with.

A week later, we drove up to visit my brother and his family. It was again a beautiful day and we enjoyed the afternoon in the backyard. We had sandwiches on the patio and someone even brought a pinata for the kids. Caroline snapped this picture of everyone together. Elena was a hit with the cousins. My brother's youngest laid down next to her for about a half and hour and let her play with his hair. I guess him holding still was amazing by itself. Elena loved the backyard. She didn't want a bottle or a nap. She just sat on a blanket in the grass off and on for about 3 hours watching the other kids. Yes, she did have sunscreen on, and no she didn't even get a tan. I'm jealous of her skin.

Our Trip to the Courthouse

2009-04-10T23:08:00.005-06:00

pic #1- getting ready for our big day!
pic #2 - Caroline's family in the courthouse
pic #3- Judge Peuler and our happy family
pic #4- Our attorney and us
Today was our day in court......finally! We arrived a little early and met our lawyer for the first time in person. He is a very nice person. Elena couldn't take her eyes off of him. We all went into the court room and were invited back into the judge's chamber. There were about 20 of us so it was standing room only. The court proceedings went very well. Our judge was wonderful to work with. This was something Caroline and I were very anxious about because our case worker had never worked with this judge before and didn't know what to expect. The whole event lasted about 40 minutes and then Elena was legally ours, the best words we have ever heard. Everyone was very emotional. This has seemed to us as a long road, but will probably pale in comparison as we look toward raising a child. Our only regret was, due to an A/V issue, the video tape they gave us of the court proceedings ended up being 15 minutes of an empty courtroom instead of the judge's chamber. This was very disappointing as my parents were unable to attend court with us today.

After we finished paying for official documentation, we all met at a local deli for some amazing sandwiches. On the way there we passed this sculpture and had to take a photo opportunity!
Meet Petunia!

Tomorrow we go to the temple to be sealed. We can't wait. How truly blessed we are that a wonderful young man and woman in Texas made such a sacrifice so we could have joy as an eternal family. Thank you Adan and Marisol- we love you.

Chocolava cookies!

2009-04-02T14:49:00.004-06:00

These are my new favorite, easy cookies! They are only 89 calories and 1.5 grams of fat! I split the flour 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat and you can't even tell. So I am sharing my recipe with you all.

* 1 1/3 C all purpose flour
* 1 C granulated sugar
* 1/3 C packed brown sugar
* 1/2 C cocoa powder
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1/4 C trans free margarine or butter, softened
* 3 lg egg whites, lightly beaten
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* confectioners' sugar, for rolling

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, breaking up any lumps of brown sugar. Stir in margarine until mixture is well combined and crumbly. (This part can be done in a food processor.) Add egg whites and vanilla extract. Stir by hand just until dough comes together.
3. Place a few heaping spoonfuls of confectioners' sugar into shallow dish. Roll dough into 1 1/2" balls, then roll balls in sugar to coat. Place 2" apart on baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake 12 to 14 minutes, until just set around edges but still soft in the middle. Transfer to rack to cool.

Spring Break 2009

2009-03-22T22:13:00.005-06:00

The biggest story of spring break is really exciting for us. Elena slept through the night for the first time (8:00pm to 5:30am close enough since I had to be up at 6:00am anyway). We went to her 6-month checkup last Monday and the doctor said to be tough and let her cry it out to persuade her to change her habit of waking up. So Tuesday night we tried it and she screamed for 3 hours. Wednesday, we gave up after about an hour and gave her a bottle to calm her down. Friday we pulled out the big bottle, filled it up, and made her drink it all before we put her to bed. This doubled the amount she usually ate before going to bed, but it sure paid off. Now if we can just get her to repeat it!
The weather cooperated for a beautiful spring break. It got up into the 60s this week. So Elena and I went out to explore what the winter had done to the backyard/garden. She doesn't get too excited about being outside, but she could stay out there for hours without complaining. There are plenty of things to look at out there. We didn't get to do anything exciting for spring break, but we did almost finally unpack from our move almost 3 years ago. We found all kinds of things we forgot we had! The basement looks great. Just in time for Caroline's Dad to come put carpet in on the basement stairs (its a beautiful thing). We also got lucky and were able to get the soft water guy to come fix our system, which hasn't been working right for quite awhile.. The problem was very apparent to him, but had eluded us. We installed the water pipes backwards, which is why we have been finding weird sediment in our toilets, tub, washing machine, etc. Fortunately we didn't loose too much resin and it is still functional. We noticed Elena scratching her belly because of dry skin after we turned off the water softener, so this should help.

Saturday, we were invited to a neighbor's birthday party at a local pizza place. Caroline was asked to help decorate the cake. It was Barbie's dress and it looked beautiful. We had fun and Elena loved the birthday cake. She wasn't too sure about the sherbet.
Other exciting things we did for spring break were our taxes, daily exercise on the wii, and we registered Caroline's car for another year. It doesn't get any better than this?!???

And the Most Amazing Husband Award Goes To......

2009-03-08T17:41:00.008-06:00

Ok- So Randy usually writes up our posts. Mostly because I think he is much more witty that I am and has a way to make things sound more interesting. But, I had to share with you all how amazing my husband is! Yesterday, Saturday, we woke up and made our usual list of things we wanted to do. All that was on his list was to make homemade butternut squash ravioli. Ummmmm........ok. I thought that was a little odd, seeing as how we have never made homemade pasta of any sort, but he REALLY wanted to do it. So, I said as long as he cleaned up after himself (something which rarely happens), he could do whatever he wanted to. After spending almost 3 hours in the kitchen and using every possible dish, pan, pot, bowl, and utensil- he made the most incredibly delicious butternut squash ravioli in a pear and brown butter sage sauce I have ever had! Who knew? Now I want him to cook for me every night- except I am sure I gained 5 lbs in this one meal. I have been trying my hand at making homemade wheat bread, and am so proud of myself as I am getting quite decent at it I must say. So, in one of my loaves yesterday, I added rosemary, kalamata olives, and fresh parmesan cheese- it went lovely with our pasta. We would have slept like logs after the carb overload, except our sweet baby girl is teething and either has a cold or it is symptoms of the teething- stuffy nose and coughing all night long. No one slept around here. Maybe next month :o) I added one picture of Lainey- it wouldn't be a typical Booth posting without her cute chubba cheeks!
(ps- Randy did wash every dirty dish....BY HAND!!)

New Talents?

2009-02-26T21:31:00.005-07:00

I need to begin this blog with a disclaimer. Caroline was hesitant for me to even post these pictures, but I couldn't resist. Elena's new talent is to arch her back, pull her chin in and wiggle her jaw back and forth. She is doing this on purpose. I admit, it's kinda weird. It is a good thing that it is only an old wives tale that says if you make a face long enough your face will stick that way... right?!?
It has been a crazy couple of weeks. Parent-teacher conferences were this week so I didn't get home until late each night and as a result I haven't been able to see much of Elena this past week. Just so you all know, we do get out occasionally. Last weekend we went through the new Draper temple open house. It is quite the ordeal going on across the valley. The Temple is beautiful. Afterward we went to a new Mexican restaurant that Caroline's parents found in Provo called Maria Bonita. The food was very good but the part that really impressed Caroline was our waitress. She didn't speak very much english, but when she came to our table, she went around and hugged and kissed all the girls and shook hands with the men.
Last Saturday we also went on our first walk of the season. It has warmed up this past week. Last Saturday it got into the 40s so we pulled out the stroller and walked around the neighborhood. Elena is a good little rider so we will have to continue to go on walks. If you look in the background you can see all the snow. It is almost completely gone now and it hasn't even been a full week. It is weird to see our front yard again. We have not seen it since November.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T17:05:00.006-07:00

It's that time of the year again. Single Awareness Day is upon us once again. Caroline and I decided long ago to alternate who is in charge of the festivities each year. We have sworn off trying to go out to eat on Valentine's Day for the past five years ever since the "Ruby River Steakhouse" incident, but we are trying to put that behind us. This year we are breaking all the rules in that we worked together and we have reservations for 6:00 p.m. tonight at......
The Chick-Fil-A. Who knew they took reservations?! There is even a rumor of a chocolate fountain. We are stepppin' out! In addition, last night we made a fancy dinner. Shown to the left is a pork empanada with peach sauce and chocolate drizzled over the top with a square of red chili chocolate. It was so good and easy to make. Who would have thought that?
Here is a picture of Elena on her first Valentine's Day. She still has a little bit of a cold, but is getting better. She only woke up twice last night. She is getting more confident at sitting up.
We wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!

Just a follow up to the previous statement. We are now home from our Chick-Fil-A dining experience. It was lovely. It was the one place in Utah that takes reservations on Valentines Day. We both enjoyed the chicken club and where Caroline "splurged" and got the fries, I went for the milk shake. Elena had soy milk from home. She's not very adventurous yet. And yes, there was a chocolate fountain, the tables had nice linens, and the ladies were given chocolate roses as they were seated. It was kind of humorous to watch the regular teenage workers trying to be waiters. The young man serving us came up and said, "Here's your food" and started handing me stuff. He handed me a drink and I asked what it was and he replied, "I don't know." All in all it was a nice evening.

5 Months Old

2009-02-09T21:44:00.004-07:00

Elena turned 5 months old a little over a week ago. This milestone came and went without much hubbub. We wish our lives were more exciting, but... The past week I (Randy) wasn't home much because of work and other obligations. I wonder why Caroline didn't want to attend the scouting dinner with me? Oh well. A few highlights have been that Elena rolled over for the second time, which means she isn't making quick progress with that although I'm in no hurry for her to be on the move. She now can spin around in circles on her back. And she has discovered her feet and it is fun to watch the fascination in her eyes. This first picture shows her sitting up on her own. She is still quite wobbly, but is learning. My brother introduced us to what they call "the pooper". It is a saucer that you put a baby in and they stand in it and rock around. My sister let us borrow something similar shown in the second picture. Despite a drastic change in design, it still serves as valuable purpose as a temporary baby sitter and has also earned the name of "pooper". I think mostly just because Caroline likes to say "pooper" but also because it seems to aid in the process.
Here is a question for you... How long does it take a Ph.D. to figure out how to work a pack-n-play? Evidently the time in school wasn't that helpful. We finally packed up the pack-n-play. It was Elena's bed in our room up until a few weeks ago. And as we did I finally figured out how to turn on the nightlight/music box/white noise device that was one of the big selling points for Caroline to even pick that model. I told Caroline we needed to have Elena move back into our bedroom so we could get some use out of it, but she declined. Oh well.

Let there be solid food!

2009-01-26T19:17:00.003-07:00

Today Elena hasn't taken her naps like she normally does. So we thought we would try feeding her solid food to see if we could fill her up hoping that she would then go to bed early for the night. We have been putting some rice cereal in her evening bottle for over a week now, but it doesn't seem to do much. She is a good little eater. Our doctor said you have to train a child how to eat, but she opened her mouth when the spoon came near and chowed down. Where's our button, "That was easy!"

Follow up to last night...

2009-01-25T19:59:00.002-07:00

I'm glad to say that we all lived through the night. While I am slowly learning to sleep through all the noise Caroline and Elena make during the night, Elena only got up at 4:30 am, 6:30 am, and then had to be woken up at 8:45. Caroline, however, got up at 12:30 am, 2:30, 3:30, 4:30, 6:30... just to check on her.

9 Stinking Feet

2009-01-24T22:11:00.004-07:00

Well, its been a few weeks since I last checked in. A new semester has begun. A new schedule to adhere to at work. Trying to stay on top of everything as usual. Those types of changes are okay, but not the point of this blog. Elena is changing way to fast. Just as we get to the point where we are enjoying one new thing she does, she's off to the next. One attempt at a big change was last week we decided it was time to stop getting up with Elena in the middle of the night. Many people have told us we just need to let her cry herself to sleep one night and she will get used to it. So we tried it and it was a rough night. Elena cried from 2:30 a.m. to 4:20 a.m. and finally went back to sleep. Caroline was a wreck, and not because of the lack of sleep. The next night we lasted 5 minutes and got her a bottle and then we all slept well the rest of the night. Not really a change. Last night Elena rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time. I don't think she did it on purpose, but she's getting closer to it. I realized that now is one of those perfect times where you can put her somewhere and when she is in a good mood she will stay there for 20 minutes content. All to soon she will be off and about, not content to just sit with me on the couch. Elena has also discovered her voice this week. Several mornings she has woken us up with happy but high pitched squeals and coos. We just laid in bed and listened to her. Tonight the change is rooms. Elena is spending her first night in her room. She has spent the night up till now in the pack-n-play next to our bed. There are many good reasons for her to be in her own room, but I am somewhat melancholy about it. I know it really isn't any big deal - 6 feet one direction across the bed to the pack-n-play versus 15 feet across the hall. But that extra 9 feet makes a huge difference. It was nice to have my whole little family together each night.

Go Longhorns?!?

2009-01-05T22:09:00.002-07:00

This evening Elena enjoyed watching the Texas Longhorns beat Ohio State and rejoiced in their 24-21 victory. I, myself, also cheered for Texas until I realized a loss would improve Utah's standing. Oh well. Interestingly, Elena will only watch three shows without fussing - Tom and Jerry, Little Einstein, and Texas Football.

Happy New Year!!!!

2009-01-01T18:11:00.001-07:00

New Year's Eve was last night and being the party animals we are.... Actually we were invited to our neighbors for a gathering last night that was a lot of fun. First we have to show off the baby, so we have a picture of Elena holding her own bottle. This isn't actually a new thing, but it is the first time we captured it in pictures. She can also pull the bottle out of her mouth, and she is currently perfecting the trick of putting it back in her mouth. So far she can only consistently put the nipple up her nose, but we're working on it.
Before we left, Caroline asked me, "Is that what you are wearing?" Which I have figured out is code for "go change into something nicer!" I told her that the only time my neighbor dressed up for me was when he showed up to the church dinner in a tutu and I don't want to go there. So I changed my clothes. Upon arriving at our neighbors, they greeted us at the door in their PJ's- glad I changed my clothes.
We feasted on hors d'oeuvres. I love to dip food! The entertainment started with Shrek 2, but after we had all eaten our fill, we moved on to the Wii. We opened the competition with High School Musical karaoke in which I won simply by reading the words to the songs. Apparently pitch isn't calculated into one's score. Here is a duet between two of our neighbors. Isn't that tender?

We soon moved onto the Wii fit, which is a cool little device. Caroline, shown here, ruled the hula hoop competition and we discovered that Don's Wii fit age is 49 years old. The final competition was guitar hero (not shown). I'm currently recovering from the carpel tunnel I induced while trying to get my fingers to push all the buttons fast enough. It was a fun evening and some how Elena managed to sleep through almost all of guitar hero amazingly enough.

So Happy New Year from the Booths!!!

The Best Christmas Present Ever!

2009-01-01T11:45:00.000-07:00

This is an addendum to the previous blog. We arrived home from my parents on Christmas evening and received the best Christmas present ever! Elena started laughing for the first time! Isn't she cute?!

Our First Family Christmas

2008-12-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

Our First family Christmas was spent at my parents house in South Jordan. (Yes we did go over the river and through the woods to get there!) We had a very nice time. We had spent the night and decided that we would get up when my sisters boys (Zeddi age 6 mo Fistan age 2 yrs) woke up. At 8:00 a.m. my mom texted my brother who was also sleeping downstairs to tell him it was time to wake up everyone. So we got up. The only time Elena has slept this late in 2 months. We woke her up so she wouldn't miss her first Christmas. Christmas was smaller this year, but very nice. Economically, but also our family was smaller. My brother-in-Iaw, currently serving in Baghdad (and he did get to call at least once on Christmas which made my sister happy) was not there. Neither of my married brothers were there, although Shane did come for lunch. As did my sister and her son and husband. I don't think Elena really caught the spirit of Christmas as seen in this first photo, but she enjoyed having everyone around and all the excitement. We tried to get her more involved, but she wasn't working with us at the time.

One of Elena's gifts that made Caroline very happy was a pig doll my mother made to match her quilt, complete with a curly tail in back (not shown in photo).

As it had snowed all night and morning, the boys were asked to shovel the driveway before my Aunt arrived so she could pull into the driveway. It had snowed about a foot. So we plowed the driveway and then my brother, Nate (standing behind the snowman), decided to start on a snowman. Shane arrived in time to help decorate (right foreground). My favorite part of this picture is my two nephews in the window watching us.

My First Hair Cut

2008-12-20T22:30:00.001-07:00

We weren't sure if it would happen. Everyone told us it would, but it lasted so long we weren't sure. Elena is starting to loose her hair, except for the hair at the base of her neck which is getting quite long and even longer in 2 places. We are finding hair in her hats and on her pillow in the morning. It is a sad thing. She only seems to be losing hair off the top of her head resulting in a nice mullet look. So this evening we trimmed the back to both avoid the mullet, even it up, and to be able to get a nice chunk for her baby book before she looses it.
Sorry we haven't blogged for a while. We have done more than this and hopefully we'll get a chance to tell you about it someday.

I'm dreaming of a cheesy goulash
Just like the one I ate last night
Where the noodles glisten,
and children listen
To see goulash steaming in the light.

I'm dreaming of a cheesy goulash
With every moment that I wait
May your dinners be merry and bright
And may all your goulashes be with sprite!

Dress up

2008-11-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

My how time goes by quickly. Caroline has a new hobby of playing dress up. Elena turned three months today and is starting to move from the 0-3 month clothing to the 3-6 month size. Which has opened up a whole new wardrobe for her to be dressed up for any occasion. So we originally approached Elena about playing dress up and she said she would cooperate, but only for "ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!"

So let us begin our late fall / early winter fashion show with an ensemble brought to us be her Aunt Pam. It is a lavender outfit with white polka dots. The bottom is leggings with a skirt over the top. We regret that we can't show the whole outfit, because it distracts from the face she was making at the time.

Our second outfit is brought to you by the Sandy chapter of the Coalition of Mormon Moms Driving Suburbans or "COMDSUB"s. It is a cream velour jumpsuit enclosing a brown onesie.

Our third look is brought to us by the good people at Everything Sheep. Reminding you that anytime you feel the urge and you get swept up in the moment, you can always sing, "If you're happy and you know it raise your lamb!"

In a festive spirit we bring you the fourth creation. It is an orange onesie with the word "little" in colorful letters and a picture of a turkey next to it. An believe me she is a little turkey. For whatever reason she will not be satisfied unless we are holding her while standing. Sitting will not do for this little diva of the runway.

For our fifth and final look we have a beautifully styled dress that was generously donated by one of my former students. Take notice of the elegant lace, the delicate skirt, the impressive bow, and how darn cute she is in it!

New Developments

2008-11-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

So for Halloween Elena went as a ladybug. She was the cutest darn ladybug I've ever seen. When we first found out that we were chosen to adopt Elena, we went to Carter's and I (Randy) got to pick out one outfit and I decided on the ladybug costume. I'm so glad it fits. Caroline dressed up as a mom and I dressed up a they scariest thing known to man.... a teenager!!!!

Something special happened a little over a week ago. Elena became a happy girl while she was awake. She was content to sit on our lap and just hang out with us and take long naps and almost sleep through the night. We really enjoyed it, but at the same time we were a little concerned that something was wrong because this was not normal. Well, you will all be glad to know that Elena caught a cold and soon after we took her in for her two month shots so she has returned to her regular behavior- crying all the time. But something really, really neat also happened. Elena has started to respond to us and smile. Of course she won't do it as soon as we pick up a camera, but we have stolen a few smiles and wanted to share them with you. Each time she smiles back at me I am filled with gratitude to a courageous woman in Texas who gave us this wonderful gift. She is growing so fast, its hard to keep up.

It's Daddy - Daughter Night!

2008-11-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

It seems to be daddy - daughter night around the neighborhood. A group of Caroline's friends decided to spend the night in the Chick-Fil-A parking lot tonight so they could be part of the first 100 people through the door when the restaurant opens tomorrow morning. The first 100 people will win a year supply of Chick-Fil-A combo meals. So Caroline is number 64 in line right now. It is currently 9:44 pm and 29 degrees on our porch, so she is in for a cold night. Myself and several other fathers are getting to spend some good quality time with their children, unsupervised by our wives. Caroline keeps reminding me not to smother her in her sleep and to remember to wake up with her and feed her in the middle of the night. Thanks for the "reminder". So far I have single-handedly dealt with two blowouts ( I think Caroline did that on purpose, I don't know how, but I know she convinced Elena to wait till I took over). Anyway, so far so good and I bet I still sleep better than her tonight!

Happy Halloween!!!

2008-10-26T17:12:00.000-06:00

So in anticipation of the celebration
of all Hallows eve,
We traversed the land heading north and
learned what Dave did heave.
Twas a hugeon pumpkin that we saw,
the noise hitting the pavement was our jaw.
To our surprise atop the giant squash,
three children looking very posh!

The smallest was new to this type of festivity,
but with little fuss participated in the activity.

Unsure of the purpose of all the attention,
she sat confused on the giant orange invention.

Elena returned home to ponder on the experience,
but there was no explanation since none of it made sense.

Tired from all the excitement,
she decided it was just too apparent,
tis better to be compliant,
when dealing with a gourd that's so giant.

This story has a happy ending,
Caroline and Elena are here spending,
A lovely afternoon in the patch,
searching for the greatest catch.
A pumpkin is a wonderful thing,
to help us all celebrate Halloween!

Happy Halloween Everbody!!

What a difference a week makes...

2008-10-12T11:07:00.000-06:00

This morning I (Randy) woke to snow. Its not much, but it is only October 12th. The sun came out and melted most of what you see, but it has started snowing again. This week my car would not start and so tuesday a friend came over and was helping me try to fix it. After we managed to shock him pretty good, the car started. So I guess I just need him to come over every morning and get shocked so I can go to work. He opted for plan B, which was to take it to the shop. So hopefully I will be able to pick up the car from the shop tomorrow. The reason for this story is to point out that with only one car this week, Caroline and I have been trying to figure out who gets to go where and when. Most of the time it was okay. Elena has been struggling to fill her diaper of late. And while you might think that could be a good thing, as far as the job of changing diapers, it is causing her a lot of pain. So we went to the doctor as a family on Thursday. Elena received a prescription for polyethylene glycol, one of the chemicals we used quite routinely in my lab in graduate school to attach different chemicals to hydrogels. I just thought it was interesting, but have probably lost the interest of most of my readers at this point. Back to why you read this blog, to learn more about Elena...
In addition to this, we switched to a partially hydrolyzed formula and are seeing more frequent filling of the diaper. (So far every time its my turn to change the diaper in the past week I haven't had the pleasure of cleanup, but I'm sure its coming!)
Elena went and visited Granny and Papa Norman this week as seen in the first and third pictures. Eventually we will figure out how to load pictures in sequence for our blog. Grandma has some kind of special sleeping power over Elena. We need to look into that more.

Caroline's family wanted to throw Caroline a shower and they did this past Saturday. We all went to Lehi and had a fun time together. Caroline's father and sister Kris, seen above, made a beautiful picture frame for Elena's room and cousin Leanne gave Elena her own surf board shown above. I was excited about the pack-n-play and the snuggly. Thank you so much to all who have generously contributed to our adventure. We arrived home last night and pulled Elena out of the car seat and had to take a picture of her hair. Everyone says she is beautiful and we have to agree!

It's been a quiet week in Lake... uh... West Jordan

2008-10-05T20:59:00.000-06:00

Fall is officially here. A storm brought rain all day Saturday and some more today and when the sun came out we could see the snow on top of the mountains. This is looking out from our driveway. And with fall comes fall colors. Thursday and Friday was my (Randy) fall break so we took a drive with Grandma and Grandpa Norman and Aunt Kris up American Fork Canyon to Heber and back to see the fall foliage. It was beautiful. Elena's first fall trip and she slept the whole time!

We stopped for lunch at a church on the east side of Heber that had some picnic tables. It was fun to get out. The weather was perfect, with a slight chill. Saturday and Sunday we spent here at home enjoying conference and being amazed at our strong little baby. She is holding her head up and moving around to see what there is to see. Eventually she will realize there isn't much to see in our living room. But until then, she is fascinated.

A week ago I was on the phone and heard a profound statement that life is not about the destination, but what you do while on the path that you travel. Today Pres. Monson echoed this statement when speaking about families and how quickly childhood disappears. Already Elena has changed so much. I am sad to see her grow so fast. Life is change. Last night she only woke up once between midnight and 6:00a.m. for the first time. So not all change is necesserily bad. Caroline might think it unfair for her that she lets me sleep most of the night so I can get up to work, but I think its unfair that I have to leave home and miss out on this time that she has with Elena.

Sleep... That cherished commodity!

2008-09-26T21:33:00.000-06:00

Miss Texas has arrived safely in Utah.

We arrived back in the land of Utah on September 18, only three days shy of 3 weeks in Texas. Despite the stress, expense, and problems encountered in our trip, we had a wonderful visit with Max, Marcie, and family and would go back again. Now the reality of normal life is taking a toll on us. I (Randy) went back to work the next morning which meant that Caroline was now on her own during the day..... and night. This past week I have been working 12 hour days, it being parent teacher conference week. Caroline has been amazing. A month ago you would have never seen her up and about at 5 am on a daily basis. Nevertheless, sleep has become a precious commodity as seen in the pictures above.

Hangin' Out

2008-09-16T19:22:00.000-06:00

After realizing the hurricane was not coming for us, we decided to get out from in front of the weather channel and spend Saturday afternoon downtown in all the cute shops. We had a shake at Harrel's Pharmacy- they have an old soda fountain in the back and a cute gift shop up front.

In the King Ranch Saddle shop- great place! Kingsville is named after the King Ranch, and this is a shop where they sell really expensive beautiful things, and make saddles and all things leather. It smelled SOOOO good in here!

Tiffany and I- cowgirl cousins!

The front of King Ranch Saddle Shop.

Having fun in the shop. Randy and Max- tough cowboys!

We spent Monday with Tiffany who lives in Corpus Christi. She took us on a little tour of the city, it was lovely. This is a gorgeous cathedral downtown- we went in and it was absolutely beautiful.

The baseball field- Whataburger Field. Kinda funny it is named after a fast food chain- nonetheless, a very cool kinda old fashioned looking field.

The Lexington- an air craft carrier that is now a museum. We went to the top but didn't tour it. it is HUGE!!!

The view from the top of the Lexington. Kinda cool!

Took a drive down Ocean Drive- beautiful! Stopped here at the marina for a few photos and a lovely walk. It was the first day the weather wasn't TORTURE!

Still Deep in the Heart of Texas!

2008-09-16T16:54:00.000-06:00

Yes, we are still here in Texas!! I really think there is a force at work here that does not want us to leave. It has been one thing after another. The new projected date is now is Thursday. We got the OK to leave today but when we called to get a flight, they were backed up to Thursday because of Ike! So we have been making the best of things. Thank goodness for my wonderful cousins who just happen to live in the same small town and have had us stay with them the last week and a half. They have shown us Texas pride and we now have a great love and appreciation for the city of Kingsville! They have saved us from insanity!!!!

Randy teaching his lecture through IChat- technology amazes me!

My sweet cousin, Marcie- snuggling up with the bean.

Waiting for Ike watching weather channel. We geared up for a hurricane party- food, family and fun, what more could you want?

Drum roll please.......

2008-09-13T22:31:00.000-06:00

For more pictures go here.

Day...... how long have we been here?

2008-09-10T17:06:00.000-06:00

Well, here we are just south of Corpus Christi and in the direct path of hurricane Ike! Our paper work was not mailed when it should have been, therefore we are stuck here for a few more days. We set up our flight for Monday thinking the hurricane would be gone, but it appears that the storm will still be pretty big and right where our layover is- Houston. We are staying with our cousins and we are all trying to get ready. We will be boarding up the windows tomorrow and heading to Laredo- 2 hours west. It still looks scary to me but it is further inland so we won't get the winds so much.........hopefully. Although it will still be quite stormy. We reserved a room just in time- all the hotels are full today. We are nervous about the traffic, the last big hurricane there were so many people leaving there was major gridlock and people were stuck on the freeways for 23 hours! OH JOY! Our first hurricane! Wish us luck!

Day 3

2008-09-04T16:29:00.000-06:00

Hello from San Antonio, Texas! We decided to make the most of our time while we wait for approval to go home and we drove to San Antonio, home of the Alamo. This is a really beautiful city. We are excited to go explore the "riverwalk" this evening. This morning we took our little girl for her two day doctor's check up and she did great. She has gained 1/2 lb. since birth and the doctor said she was a little yellow and to put her in the window for a little while to help with the bilirubin. A two and a half hour drive to San Antonio hopefully did the trick.

Day 2

2008-09-03T11:51:00.000-06:00

This little girl loves the night life! She kept us busy all night long and as soon as the sun came up she went back to sleep. She is doing great and as cute as can be. She won't sleep without at least one arm sticking out and she is a wiggler. She gets that from Caroline.

She's Here!!!!!!

2008-09-02T15:51:00.000-06:00

Today has been a very difficult day for us, but is ending up quite well. We were able to bring a little baby girl home from the hospital. We are adopting a little girl from Texas. We have been in Texas for two days and it is an interesting place. We met with the birth mother and her family. They are wonderful people and we are grateful for the opportunity to get to know them a little. Today was hard because we had to watch a brand new mother sign away her rights to be a mother. It is an interesting dichotomy that everyone was excited for us to have a new baby and at the same time we were all incredibly sad for this mother giving up her biological child and two grandparents giving up their first grandchild and an aunt who so far has been unable to have children of her own. I have heard other adoptive couples tell what a wonderful experience the hospital was and I don't buy it. It was hard.
But now we are home and so excited to have this little baby with us. We are still working on her proper name. My favorite submission came from my brother - Cindinapolis Alicopia Gorbonzobean (jk). But here she is all wrapped up like a pea in a pod, our little sweet pea!

Fun Weekend

2008-08-29T11:29:00.000-06:00

This weekend was wonderful! I love my family and when I get to spend lots of time with them it is the best! My nephew went to the MTC on Wednesday so we had lots of fun before he went. My sister Kris and I took the kids to the aquarium- way cool. I have never been. I can't wait till the new and improved one is complete. We also had an open house for little David at my parents. Of course it was beautiful and wonderful. My mom was a caterer and always out does herself on the food and the setup. My dad has been working really hard in the yard and it is amazing. We enjoyed visiting with extended family and eating good food. Then on Tuesday we had the amazing privilege to go to my parents to see little David get set apart as a missionary. My brother is a Stake President so he got to do the setting apart. What an amazing experience to see my brother set apart his oldest child. My dad and Randy got to be part of the circle- not a dry eye in the room. Great weekend!

Yummy Food!!!
dad, little David, brother David, and Randy

Me and my daddy &
Plating delicious chocolate cake

At the Aquarium- I love crabs! Randy and I used to have a couple hermit crabs, so I got a shot of this cute little guy.
We all got to pet a sting ray! It was awesome! They cut their barbs off every couple of months so there is no chance of getting stung.

I Love Gardening!

2008-08-20T13:17:00.000-06:00

For my birthday in May my dad put in a big flower bed in our back yard. Right away I started planting everything I could find. Randy had to stop me cause I was running out of room. I was so excited when I got back from California last week to see my "Cinnamon Sunflowers' had finally bloomed along with some other things. Hopefully next year all my ground cover will fill in around the rest of the plants! It is so rewarding to see your hard work grow into something beautiful!

My Trip to California!

2008-08-19T15:45:00.000-06:00

My friends kids have started calling me the world traveler. I have been to California twice and Arizona twice, and Yellowstone once all since the end of May. Not exactly all over the world, but a traveler none the less. For a summer that I thought would be boring, I sure have been busy. A niece and a nephew got mission calls, I helped my sister move form Az to here, and my nephew went through the temple. So we have pretty much been driving between the 3 states every 2 weeks- I am a bit fatigued if I may say so. I don't even unpack because i know i will just have to repack in a week! It is great to be home- Randy had cleaned the house knowing how much I hate coming home to a mess. I hate that he hasn't been able to come with me on my trips, he has had to work. There is nothing worse than being away from him for a whole week!
Here are some pictures from my trip, mostly we just spent alot of time together as a family, it was great.

The pride and joy, and newest member of my brother's family: Introducing Chip the wonder chihuahua! He was named Chip because he is tiny and brown like a chocolate chip. The sun and moon rise and fall over this dog- he is the most spoiled little thing ever. And I absolutely love him! He slept with me every night and kept me cozy. I have never seen so many people dote over a single pet in all my life. I am waiting to see if they buy him clothes and a little purse to carry him everywhere they go :o)

2008-08-19T15:29:00.000-06:00

Picture time! Samuel the budding photographer. He loves my new camera and was snapping shots every chance he could- mostly pics of Chip.
My brother's beautiful family! David, Soledad, Elder Norman, (front) Daniel, Elisa, Samuel, and Talia
My sweet cousin Tiffany that I just LOVE and never get to see. I have seen her maybe 5 times in my whole life and it is amazing how easy it is to be with her. We just have a great time. She is from Texas and hopefully I will get to spend time with her next month.
Tiffany and her husband Josh, My wonderful Uncle Ed and Aunt Melodee- the sweetest people ever, and cute "little" David and Samuel- my nephews.

2008-08-19T15:11:00.000-06:00

When I arrived at my brother's in California they had this sign on the garage for me. They are all so excited for us!
As soon as we walked in the door my sister-in-law Soledad and my niece Natalia had presents for the baby. Talia has learned to knit and is making the prettiest pink blanket.
Here is some of my family and me. We all went out to celebrate David's mission call to NY, NY. We went to the best little Thai place and just drooled over the food. YUM!

Busy Week

2008-08-10T14:49:00.001-06:00

We have had a busy week! It has been lots of fun though. It was Randy's one week off over the summer so instead of relaxing much- it was project week. He and my dad put in french doors in the living room (not quite finished), framed the laundry room and bathroom in the basement, and he has been laying a patio in the back yard (pictures coming soon). Thursday we went up to Ogden to spend some time with Randy's brother Mark and his cute family. They know of this great place up Ogden Canyon where we picnicked- it was beautiful. Friday, Randy had the flu and I scrapbooked with my mom and sisters all day. Saturday Randy's sister Tina had a picnic in her back yard with fun, food, and games. We always enjoy hanging out with our families, and are so glad they are close enough to see often. We came home and my sisters and friend Stefanie came over and we painted the baby's room. So here we are, now relaxing on a perfect Sunday afternoon........at least till Randy's 3 meetings start in a couple hours :o)

2008-08-10T14:46:00.000-06:00

Tina has mastered the infamous Kolache! Randy's mom has been making this Polish dessert for a long time, and Tina tried for the first time and it was a huge success! LONG LIVE KOLACHE!

2008-08-10T14:36:00.000-06:00

Cute nephew Henry was having a fabulous time playing with his cousin in the pool.

2008-08-10T13:49:00.000-06:00

Randy kickin' back waiting for the food.

2008-08-10T13:39:00.000-06:00

Sweet little 'J' was having a great time hanging out with his dad (Randy's brother), playing in the water, getting completely filthy!

2008-08-10T13:23:00.000-06:00

Randy making his "new" signature dessert- dutch oven cobbler. YUMMY!!! He even caramelizes brown sugar over the top with a blow torch!

Happy Pioneer Day

2008-07-25T21:59:00.000-06:00

We had a great pioneer day with our friends. We BBQ'd, ate a ton of yummy food, visited, and lit some fireworks, and ate some more. The kids had a great time with sparklers and glow sticks. We are so lucky to have some of the best friends and neighbors around!

New Hobby

2008-07-23T17:02:00.000-06:00

I have recently taken up a big interest in photography. I need to take some classes cause I have no idea what I am doing, especially since Randy got me a fancy camera for my birthday. Hopefully someday I will figure it out. In the meantime, I am having tons of fun. Here are a few nature shots.

2008-07-23T16:44:00.000-06:00

Here are some of my wonderful family. My beautiful sister with her husband and on her wedding day, and one Randy's brother and his adorable son.

2008-07-23T16:37:00.000-06:00

Here are some of my sweet, sweet preschool kids.

Big News

2008-07-19T09:28:00.000-06:00

This last Wednesday we received a call from our neighbor who works for LDS social services asking if she could stop by with her son because he had a gift for his former preschool teacher, Caroline. But the wierd thing was that she asked if Randy was going to be home. We said yes and Caroline spent the whole day wondering what was going on. That evening they brought us a most wonderful package with the following letter:

"Congratulations! Randy and Caroline,
Roses are coming you way to let you know that you have been chosen to become loving parents to a baby girl due in September. Enclosed please find a love-filled gift made for you to share in the upcoming birth of a beautiful angel. May your family be one."

Inside the box was a beautiful little book with a wonderful letter, some poems, and pictures of the birth parents and some of the ultrasounds. We were overwhelmed by the thought and effort the birth mother put in to making this so special for us.
WE ARE SO EXCITED!

In the beginning....

2008-07-17T23:11:00.000-06:00

Hello and welcome to our blog. This is the inaugural posting on July 17, 2008. We are excited to enter the world of blog and hope that we can say something of meaning at least once in a while.