Party of Five

Stranniganza 2010 (aka Thanksgiving)

2010-12-02T09:08:00.005-05:00

We drove 11 hours to Cheyenne, WY for a weekend with these guys:

There was a LOT of this:

And some of this:

And some serious cousin time for these six:

And a lot of snuggling and sleeping for this one:

And a quick trip to the ER for him (what trip would be complete without that!!):

We are so thankful for our wonderful family! We had a blast and can't wait to do it all (except the ER part) next year!

Shirtless Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-27T20:54:00.004-04:00

Well, only the boys were shirtless. But we all did some carving.

I tried to avoid carving pumpkins this year. I wasn't really feeling it. When I told the boys, they looked as if someone had died. I quickly went to the store and bought two rough looking pumpkins from the slim selection at the store. We borrowed a few carving tools from a friend and got to work. Sadly, in my haste, I forgot to buy lights. So we improvised and used our Trick or Treating flashlights.

Good times. And, I posted on my blog. So there Cyd.

Missa clowning around

2010-04-05T21:05:00.001-04:00

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T21:01:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter!!

Ollie turns 5!!

2010-04-05T20:54:00.003-04:00

I absolutely CANNOT believe that my sweet little guy has turned 5. He continues to be the peacemaker in our family and always has us laughing.

Ice Skating!

2010-04-05T20:51:00.002-04:00

For a little Saturday family fun, we took the kids ice skating. They were out-skating me in about 3 minutes. Not that that is saying much.

Awesome Answers

2010-02-26T07:52:00.002-05:00

Lizzy, our friend and babysitter, called upon the boys' imaginations last night to help her with an assignment for her child development class. She sent her questions and the boys did not disappoint with their answers!

1. Why does the sun come up?
2. Where do dreams come from?
3. Why is the ocean blue?

Ollie (age 4.5):
1. Hmmm, because, so it can be a sunny day. Not like today. Today is a snowy day.
2. From ourselves, right? And sometimes from my Bakugan because they are usually in my dreams. They are awesome and always win the battles in my dream.
3. Because that is how Jesus made it. Maybe blue is His favorite color. My favorite color is purple.

Mason (age 6.5):
1. So we can have light on the earth.
2. From your mind. But sometimes if you watch something too scary then your dream is really a nightmare.
3. So we can see sea creatures and other things. The reason why is because the sky is blue and sometimes the pieces of the sky fall into the ocean and make it blue. And salt plus blue water still equals blue. Salt is just like zero.

Shortly after Lizzy got their answers we got another message: "my roommate said your kids are awesome and wants to ask her questions too if thats okay. " So we started again. I suggest asking your own kids these questions because we sure had a good time listening to their answers!!

1. What is snow made out of?
2. Why is the grass green?
3. Why can we only see stars at night.

Mason (age 6.5)
1. Water. Just water that gets frozen after it jumps out of the clouds.
2. Because if everything in our planet was the same color we wouldn't know which house was ours and we wouldn't be able to find our backyard because everything would be green.
3. Because if we saw stars during the day we would keep on looking at them and we would forget to watch the road and might get in a car crash.

Oliver (age 4.5)
1. Water. Really cold water. And maybe some little bits of clouds that fall down out of the sky.
2. So we can see it very well. If it was gray like the sidewalk we wouldn't know where to walk and where to play.
3. I use my superpower to see stars in the day. They go so far up into space in the daytime so that the astronauts can see them during the day. Then, at night, the sun goes up into space for the astronauts and the stars come back down for us to see.

Going to the Slammer

2010-02-19T21:22:00.002-05:00

Mom: "Ollie, how was your day?"
Ollie: "It was GREAT! A policeman came to tell us about the police. I got to be the bad guy. He put me in the handcuffs. It was awesome! But, he did NOT take me to jail. Maybe next time."
Mom: "Yes, maybe next time."

Wish I had taken a picture

2010-01-28T14:17:00.002-05:00

Cleaning up the floor a few nights ago I found a note.

Dear Mom,
You are so dumb.
Love,
Mason

I don't know why, but I LOVE this note. When I asked Mason to read it to me he said, "Oh, uh. This was just a mistake. hehe hehe." Then he threw it away. I am still laughing about it days later.

A Trip to Gettysburg

2010-01-22T14:46:00.004-05:00

Matt's mom came to town in the fall so we took a little trip to Gettysburg and Lancaster. It is SO fun to take trips with Grandma!!

The view through the window of our hotel. CREEPY!

We took the driving tour through Gettysburg after visiting the new Visitor's Center. The boys were SUPER excited about racing to the top of this observation tower.

Missa was happy at the top as long as she was free to run on her own. My 18 month old running around up there nearly gave me a heart attack so I had to hold her. You can see for yourself how well that turned out!

Mason and Oliver LOVED the tower and the cannons.
We just ignored the little sign that said "Please do not climb on the cannons"

Our little family at the Gettysburg Cemetery.

Missa really enjoyed my dramatic reading of The Gettysburg Address.
And getting a little work done in the hotel.

Did you notice the underlying theme of goofiness in these pictures? Scroll through and check out Ollie's face. Love that kid!

A really great day!

2010-01-20T10:20:00.003-05:00

I love these pictures taken of the kiddos last spring after a super fun day in Amish country.

My work here is done.

Just remembering...

2010-01-19T15:41:00.004-05:00

...a long long time ago when I used to pay attention to this little blog o mine. Looking back over the last several posts, I am sad that I have ignored the old blog for so long. SOOOO, I am going to re-commit myself (not to the looney bin) to the loving arms of the Party of Five. To start, here is our New Years Card for 2010. If you didn't get one its because I didn't have your right address and it came back to me about two days ago. Really sending them back out now seems silly as we are nearly to the end of January. I have also included Matt's annual holiday letter. It may not tell you anything of what our family has been doing for the past year, but it is always good for a laugh!

I’ve had mainly one recurrent dream since I was teenager⎯and no, it doesn’t involve supermodels. The dream is about tornadoes. The venue changes, but the plot is always the same. I’m doing something outside, e.g. mowing the lawn, plowing the field, walking to my car, and boom! I look over my shoulder and I see tornadoes touching down in the distance. I then run to a shelter. That’s it. Then I go on to dream about being toothless (nightmare) or having six pack abs (fantasy). Not surprisingly, I love the TV series Storm Chasers on Discovery. Well, it turns out that my dream is going to be a reality. Next spring, our family is moving to the heart of tornado alley –Ponca City, Oklahoma. I’ll be working for a national lab doing biodefense. So, our time in NJ is coming to a close (cue teardrop rolling down my face). More news: I broke my finger playing Thanksgiving football. I don’t want to make a big deal about it. But, send donations and your well wishes to “Matt’s Left Ring Finger Recovery and Rehabilitation.” You’ll find more information at www.35yearoldsshouldnotplayfootballonceayear.com.

Kristin is as beautiful as ever. And her mad cooking skills continue to grow, as do I. She was asked by Oliver’s school to cater their teacher appreciation luncheon. She did great. I foresee her doing some type of catering in the future. She knows her way around the grocery store, and she isn’t afraid to fight other NJ moms for groceries. I hate to bring this up in the Christmas letter, but she had an “incident” with someone in the store where shopping carts did collide, and choice words were exchanged. Seriously. Shopping in NJ isn’t that different from driving on the NJ turnpike. You can get the bird by cutting someone off going for the Velveeta. She is excited about our move to OK, and is ready for me to have a “real job,” even though I’ve had one for 5 years now. Just because you work at a school doesn’t mean you are in school, right? But yes, I’m ready for a real job too.

Mason and Oliver (6 and 4) are deep into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Bakugan Battle Brawlers. It’s a boy thing. It goes hand-in-hand with farting and talking about underwear. Here are the boy’s responses when asked to tell us a story about Santa Clause.

Mason: “Once upon a time Santa Clause was trying to go on the sleigh. A monster named Snowmonster pulled back the sleigh. He had super strength. He broke the sleigh and Santa Clause died. The elves punched and kicked Snowmonster until he died.”

Oliver: “Once upon a time a little old man named Santa Clause told the sleigh to go. It didn’t go because there was a monster pulling it back. Then Santa Clause was dead because the monster killed him. Then the monster took him to his house and the elves thought Santa Clause was gone forever. Then he came back to life. Then Santa Clause ran away and told his reindeer to go and they went so fast the monster couldn’t catch them. Then he went to the moon.”

Believe me, we’ve talked to the kids about the real meaning of Christmas. It’s not nearly as interesting to them. I’m sure Easter will be same. It will involve the Easter Bunny fighting with someone over chocolate, both people die, both come back to life, and then the chocolate swallows the world.

And lets not forget Melissa (18-months), whose favorite words are “Momma, Cracker?” She is cute as ever and we love having her in our family! She’ll be another adventure, maybe requiring 2 paragraphs in coming letters.

Happy New Year friends and family! We hope you have a wonderful 2010!

Seriously, just for the Grandparents

2009-10-01T14:58:00.004-04:00

The boys talked me into filming them reading the stories they had been practicing at school this week. They are long, but we sure love these boys!

Mason's First Day of First Grade

2009-10-01T14:47:00.004-04:00

I have never seen anyone so excited to eat lunch in the cafeteria. This boy has loved (almost) everything about first grade! Only dislike--homework.

And his first day of school interview:

Ollie's first day of Pre-School

2009-09-08T14:56:00.003-04:00

Well, technically, it is his first day of his third year of pre-school. Or, the first day of his final year of pre-school. However you decide to look at it... just know that is was a good day all around.

Last year we decided to forgo the "picture behind the couch in front of messy bookshelf" and upgraded to "picture outside in front of nice green bush".

This is a picture of said 'nice green bush' this year:Despite our setbacks (no bush, camera battery not charged-had to use cell phone camera), here is our happy boy all ready for school!!

After school report: Great day. Built a bridge, played games, played memory, drew a picture of our family. Saw Hope on the playground. Gave her a hug and a kiss on the lips. Because she's a girl and I'm a boy.

LOVE THIS BOY!!

Summer Fun Preview

2009-08-21T10:01:00.004-04:00

I am still compiling pictures and posts from our vacation...but here is a little preview :)

Brooke is AWESOME

2009-08-20T21:32:00.004-04:00

We were so lucky to meet up with Brooke while we were in Las Vegas for a super fun photo shoot.

Check out her blog for more pics of the boys and other AWESOME photos! Thanks Brooke....the boys keep asking when we can do it again!

Mini Ice Cream Cone Cake Bites

2009-06-16T08:26:00.004-04:00

Ever since Bakerella introduced me to the wonderful world of cake bites, I have made them a handful of times for several different occasions. Never have I been so happy with the outcome.

Some tiny treats for Ollie's end of the year picnic.

C'mom, really?

2009-06-08T09:56:00.002-04:00

I have received no fewer than 6 email in the past week containing 'suggestions' for Father's Day gifts. They are all from the same company. Yep, ProFlowers. They contain phrases like "40% off father's Day Iris Bouquets" and "Get him what he REALLY wants!".

No offense, ProFlowers, but it is high time you fire your marketing department.

Cyd the snake charmer

2009-06-04T18:58:00.002-04:00

So, there we were, playing in Cydney's backyard. The kids were having a great time and Cydney and I were visiting when I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I turned around and there was a HUGE snake coiled up next to the steps leading up to the deck. I freaked. I called all the kids to run inside and then started to usher them in, with me close behind. Then I turned, Cydney was as calm as I had ever seen her. She said, "There you are!" Then turned to me and said, "I have been trying to catch that snake for a week now...he keeps getting away from me." I thought, "Wow, this from the girl who can't kill a spider...that is amazing".

Anyway, she went ahead and caught the snake in a burlap sack and became the hero of little children and their mothers everywhere....at least that is the dream I remembered when I woke up this morning. Weird.

Lets play pretend

2009-04-26T09:15:00.002-04:00

As in, pretend I posted this 5 weeks ago when I actually filmed it.

Scroll down for more recent events :)

The Miss turns One!

2009-04-26T08:57:00.003-04:00

The celebrating took place over two days, squeezing it in around other things like, friends having babies, friends having birthday parties, and Matt's visit to Wild Safari (will post soon!)

Happy little girl on the morning of her birthday!

On the evening of her birthday, she got a little taste of the frosting.

The next day, we had a little birthday lunch: sliders, fruit and "cheesy chips".

Followed by birthday cake...

...which she LOVED!

And presents. Which she liked, but not as much as the tissue paper, wrapping paper and tags.

Let me introduce Rody, the newest member of our family.

And her new hat, which I LOVE!

We had to lose the shirt after cake, so please excuse the naked birthday photos. A smart mother would have taken her shirt off for the cake and them replaced it for the presents. Like I said...a smart mom.

We LOVE our Miss and hope she had her best birthday EVER!!
Oh, wait...

The gift that Keeps on Giving

2009-04-25T09:20:00.000-04:00

Melissa got her birthday present from Grandma Girl a little early. I am happy to report that ALL are LOVING this chair.

And while the Miss was enjoying her new chair, the boys were busy creating their Secret Lair out of the box.

Gift count:
1-Chair for the Miss
2-Box for the boys
3-3 hours of quiet while the boys created their lair in their bedroom.

I am the clear winner here. Thanks mom :)

Ollie turns 4!!

2009-04-05T13:35:00.003-04:00

Our sweet little Ollie turned 4 last month and we had a rockin' good time at his Transformers party at the Little Gym. Ever since Mason's party last summer, Ollie has been talking about having his party at the Little Gym...a good time was had by all!

Our big boy! Can't believe he is four already!!

The party goers

Four things that we LOVE about Oliver...
1. He is our snuggle bunny. He is the first one to curl up to you and rarely does a day go by when he doesn't crawl into my lap and say, "Mommy, you are the warmest."
2. He has a great imagination and builds all sorts of tools, toys, weapons out of tinker toys. Each one has a specific use that he explains and remembers.
3. He loves his brother and sister, and loves to do things that make them happy.
4. He has the very best, big brown eyes!!

We love you Ollie and are so happy that you are in our family!
Happy birthday sweet boy!!

She WALKS...sort of.

2009-03-01T08:55:00.002-05:00

The Poncho

2009-03-01T08:49:00.003-05:00

MJ and I took a quick trip to Las Vegas for some R&R in February. We had a great time with Grandma Girl and Pops and Sam & Anya and their kiddos. It sure was hard to come back to the cold of New Jersey, but we were very happy to see our boys! Strangely, I didn't take a single picture of our trip, so here is The Miss modeling her new poncho.

She had a death grip on the blue spoon, so any attempt to get a picture without it was wishful thinking.

The camp in

2009-03-01T08:42:00.003-05:00

Too cold for camping so we made a little camp in for the boys...Microwave s'mores (with rainbow marshmallows), tent, sleeping bags and Kung Fu Panda on the portable DVD player. They boys have been asking for it almost every night since then!

Sorry for the bad pics, the lighting was terrible. Please note the Halloween pillowcases that the boys are still using 4 months later!

Snow Day!!

2009-03-01T08:34:00.004-05:00

We finally had enough soft fluffy snow for the boys to go out and play. It went a little like this...20 minutes to get everyone in their gear. 25 minutes to get out of gear, go to the bathroom, and get redressed. TWO HOURS playing outside in the snow (While MJ and I watched from the heated indoors). 30 minutes to get out of gear and warm up with a bath and then hot chocolate. A great day!!

You can't tell from the pictures because everything was plowed, but we actually had some nice snow!

The Miss with the messy face and I watched through
the sliding glass door.

Whatcha gonna do?

2009-02-16T12:38:00.002-05:00

Driving around running errands this morning we saw a young (16ish) man that had been pulled over.
Mason: "mom! the police got that guy. I bet he did something REALLY bad."
Ollie: "You know what the baddest thing is?"
Mom: "No, what is the worst thing?"
Ollie: Taking someone's toy...(long pause)...in the sandbox."
Mason: "I think the worst thing is taking someone's pet...(long pause)...rock collection."

Okaaaay.

Cars are Overrated

2009-02-16T11:40:00.003-05:00

mom: "Oliver, what did you learn about in primary today?"
ollie: "Something veeeerrrry scary. The Holy Ghost. He flies around all day helping people. Like a superhero. He doesn't even need a car."

The fitting

2009-01-26T18:16:00.003-05:00

It is a little big,
and a little long.
But she has three months to grow into it. It could happen...

And the little lady herself gave it a thumbs up!

What more could a mother ask for?

A little project

2009-01-23T22:19:00.003-05:00

I bought the fabric a couple of weeks ago and finally sat down today to make an Easter dress for Melissa. It came together much like I had imagined, although I think I need to make a sash to tie around the waist so our tiny daughter doesn't drown in it!

So I don't forget

2009-01-06T18:46:00.007-05:00

Mason: Mom, what would happen if you got bit by a T-Rex? Would you die?
Mom: Yes, but it doesn't matter because there are no more T-Rex's.
Mason: I know, they all died. I think they all got bit by other T-Rex's.

And there you have it...

Hockey and Five Year Olds

2008-12-09T21:59:00.003-05:00

Driving home from the gym last Friday...

Mason: "Will daddy be home when we get there?"
Mom: "I don't know, he is going to a hockey game so he may have left already."
Mason: "How do you play hockey?"
Mom: "Players on ice skates hit the hockey puck with sticks and try to score goals."
Mason: "So, its OK to say hockey puck?"
Mom: "Yes, of course." {{??????}}
Mason: "But its not OK just to yell 'PUCK!' Mrs. Shulan told us that."
Mom: {{stunned & trying not to laugh}}

No favorites here

2008-11-30T21:43:00.002-05:00

Should someone look back on this blog in 5 or 10 years, I might be accused of playing favorites. The previous three posts show MJ only. So, in an effort to be fair, here is a picture of my amazing, funny, smart and incredibly handsome boys!

No pictures, please.

2008-11-29T21:27:00.001-05:00

Not so Cooperative

2008-11-29T21:14:00.005-05:00

I have been trying for days to get a decent video of the 'Commando Crawl' that MJ has been sporting. She has not been very cooperative. She crawls like crazy, until I get the camera out. So, for the Grandparents, and anyone else interested, here are the badly lit, shaky handed attempts. The first one is the crawl. The second is what she does every time I try to take a video of the crawl.

Six Month Stats

2008-11-19T10:13:00.006-05:00

Stats:
Weight: 13.2 pounds
Height: 26.5 inches
Teeth: 2
Hair: Reddish with one long wispy combover strand in the back.

Accomplishments:
Sitting on her own
Rolling every which way
Doing the army crawl
Eating solid foods

Likes:
her brothers
laughing
oatmeal
squash
peas
her pacifier
chewing on everything, especially her toothbrush or a remote control

Dislikes:
getting dressed
prunes (can't really blame her)
peaches (not sure shes really mine)
being left alone in a room
NOT having her pacifier

We LOVE LOVE LOVE this little girl and are so happy to have her in our family.

Especially when she sleeps through the night.

Our trip to Africa

2008-11-19T10:06:00.004-05:00

What? You didn't know we took a trip to Africa? Complete with a tiger ride? Let me show you the pictures...
Oliver: Mason, let's go on a trip.
Mason: OK, hop on.
Oliver: Mom! We're going to Africa. It's over there by the door.
Mason: I am a tiger taking Ollie to Africa.

Mason: That was a long trip. I am going to take a tiger nap.
Oliver: I am going to take a nap with my tiger pal.

Mom: That was the EASIEST trip we have ever taken.

random bits of this and that

2008-10-25T23:04:00.004-04:00

This is just a random post of a couple things that I don't want to forget.

First, the other morning, while I was in the shower, Melissa woke up. Mason, being ever the helper, got her out of bed, picked out some clothes (a VERY cute outfit from cousin Marcy, no less) and grabbed a clean diaper. He was in the process of getting her jammies off when I came out to check on them. He said, "Don't worry mom, I'm just gonna change her and get her dressed so she will be all ready to go." Then, he did! He got her diaper all changed and got her clean pants on. When it came to the shirt, he tried for a few minutes and then said, "Mom, you have to do this. She is just too wiggly for me."
That is my sweet boy!

Here is MJ in her new 'cat hat'. She looks very cute in it and even caused the bus driver to stop, exit the bus and come out to admire her at pick up the other day. Oh, and if you look closely, you can see her two new razor sharp teeth that came through last week!

Thanks Grandma Girl!

When the Matt's away...

2008-10-23T22:50:00.001-04:00

...the rest of us will play!

Matt attended a conference on Cape Cod a few weeks ago. It was 10 days long. You heard me...10 days. I decided that in order for us to make it through that time with my sanity in tact, we had better do some REALLY fun things. Lucky for me, we have some REALLY great friends.
Day 1: Pizza picnic on out patio.
Day 2: Soccer practice at the park and popcorn at Target.
Day 3: We tagged along on a playgroup trip to the Grounds for Sculpture. There is a restaurant there called Rats. It is a fancy, delicious place (despite the name). At first thought, this day sounded great, lunch, tour of the kitchen, and playing on the grounds.

As soon as we arrived I had second thoughts. No plastic cups here. Glass top tables. Lots of people enjoying a wonderful meal. Then we showed up...six moms with 13 children in tow. The oldest was five.

Amazingly, all of the children were very well behaved (only two fell in the pond). The chefs prepared them a special meal of penne, fries, and (the best ever) chicken tenders. After we finished lunch, the chef (who is the father of one of Mason's friends) took us on a tour of the kitchen (fabulous!) and then we walked and played on the grounds.

The kids (and I) were exhausted when we got home so the four of us slept the afternoon away.

Keep scrolling down for the rest of our adventures!

Weekend fun!

2008-10-23T22:22:00.006-04:00

Days 4-5: Friday morning was a mad dash to get Ollie to school, come home to pack and clean, pick Ollie up from school and hit the road. We were in store for a great weekend with friends in Virginia.
Did you know...?

Apparently it is also for a single mother of three.

We arrived at Emily and Curtis' house after a rather peaceful and uneventful car ride. We immediately headed out to the most incredible park in the universe. It had a HUGE playground that kept the kids occupied for hours. We had a picnic dinner followed by more playing. We got home after dark and five tired kids fell into bed and slept until morning.

On Saturday morning, we woke to the smell of pancakes and bacon, ate breakfast and headed out to the Air and Space museum located by Dulles Airport.
IT. WAS. INCREDIBLE.
First thing when we walked in the door was this Blackbird. Truly jaw-dropping.

In the hangar behind the Blackbird was a the Space Shuttle Enterprise. The real one. To look at it you would thing someone mocked it up out of styrofoam and cardboard. Pretty incredible.

It was surround by all sorts of cool 'space thingies'. There were missiles, mission control stations, the NASA quarantine station (looks like a rundown airstream trailer), and a Mars rover.

We looked a zillion more planes including the Concord, bombers, glider planes and the Enola Gay. Then we headed up to the observation deck to watch the planes take off and land from Dulles. Heaven on earth for my two boys.

I took this picture especially for Matt. The boys thought it was pretty funny too. I actually think it is genius.

Keep scrolling down for the rest of our adventures!

Reunion

2008-10-23T22:10:00.002-04:00

Day 6: In some strange twist of fate, my dear friend Sarah (who moved to Utah 2 years ago) happened to be visiting her sister in Virginia at the same time we were there. We met up at the play area at the mall where the kids ran crazy for a good two hours.

Isn't she cute?

We were just sad that Sarah's son Andrew was not there with us. Mason would have LOVED to see him. Next time, for sure.

We stopped at Cake Love for some YUM! (thanks Kate)

After that is was time to get back in the car and head for home. Thanks for a great weekend Coates family and Sarah!

Keep scrolling down for the rest of our adventures!

Slowing things down

2008-10-23T22:02:00.000-04:00

Day 7: Monday we all slept in a little and Ollie played hooky from school. We walked Mason to the bus stop and then jumped in the car to meet him at school for his Walk for the Red Cross. He raised $35 to donate to the cause, and then walked 1 mile with his class (and us).

Day 8: We were REALLY missing Matt by now and I was pretty tired. We tried to get back to our regular routine of school, play, rest, play, eat, play, bed.

Day 9: I was wondering how on earth I was going to survive without Matt for two more days. In fact, I was on the phone wondering it out loud to Amy, when the other line beeped. It was Matt. He was in the car, on his way home. A day early. My prayers were answered :)
Matt pulled in around 2:30pm. By 2:35, I was fast asleep in my bed, recovering from a very fun, long week!

Last fun of Summer

2008-10-01T19:14:00.003-04:00

Last day at the Princeton fountain for this year!

A lot of fun was had there this summer and we will all look forward to more fun at the fountain when warm weather comes our way again!

Soccer stars

2008-10-01T19:09:00.002-04:00

The boys started soccer a few weeks ago. As is standard for our family this fall, they play at the same time on two different fields. So, I sent the camera with Matt and Ollie. I took pictures of Mason with my phone.

Anyone have any idea how to get pictures off of the phone and on to the computer?

A great week

2008-10-01T19:04:00.003-04:00

We had a great week of fun with Matt's mom and aunt. Unfortunately I have no photos because my battery was dead on the camera :( I'll get some pics from Matt's mom to post soon.

Day One-Preschool

2008-09-16T09:55:00.004-04:00

Ollie started preschool last week with a bang. He has been so excited to start going everyday because he is 'a big boy who wears underpants'. As a sidenote: anytime I tell Ollie he can't do something (i.e. ride the bus with Mason, cross the street alone, do a fire dance) he says, 'but I'm a big boy who wears underpants!' Apparently, wearing underpants gives you free reign to do whatever you want. Who knew?

Ollie never stops talking long enough to get a good smiling picture

Matt has taken on the job of getting Ollie to school in the morning, as it is (sort of) on his way to work. On the first day, they arrived on time and Ollie ran right in. Matt said, "See you later Ollie" and turned to leave. The teacher quickly grabbed Matt's attention and said, "Aren't you going to stay with him for a few minutes?" She seemed concerned. Matt's response as he looked at Ollie already involved with some fantastic toy, "What for? He'll be fine." Ollie's dad is a pretty smart guy. He was fine. In fact, he was better than fine. That kid jumps in with both feet and never looks back. He had a great first week at school, and we are looking forward to several more great weeks at school for Ollie!

Here is his First Day of Preschool Interview:

Don't be alarmed if you can't understand what he is saying. We can't either half of the time :)

Middle Child

2008-09-11T20:25:00.002-04:00

In true middle child fashion, Oliver's first day of school pictures are not posted yet. Maybe tomorrow :)

Kindergarten-Take One!

2008-09-05T12:58:00.005-04:00

He (we) did it!

We have forgone the "behind the couch, in front of the messy bookshelf" pose of years past and opted for "outside in front of the wildly growing shrubs".

On the bus!

Mason cheerfully headed off to his first day of kindergarten yesterday. And I made it through the day tear-free. I was super proud of both of us!
I decided to start a new tradition this year. I am going to take a quick video of the kids each year on their first day of school. I am excited to look back in many years and see how much these sweet kiddos grow from year to year!

Stay tuned for Ollie's first day of preschool, coming Monday!

Laughapalooza

2008-08-28T14:54:00.003-04:00

I can't help but smile.

Painters with Attitude (NOT Aptitude)

2008-08-26T15:44:00.004-04:00

You can tell summer is coming to an end when we have completely run out of things to do. I have been trying to keep the kids busy doing this and that so that we all don't go crazy before school starts.
This week: arts and crafts.

This is the first time we have gotten the Play Doh out since the 'Great Play Doh debacle of '08'. For those of you who missed that because I did not have the forethought to take a picture, here is the cliff notes version. One tiny (think halloween size) container of blue play doh, a sippy cup with the lid not on quite tight enough, four busy little hands. In their room. Alone. For too long. I am still finding little blue spots on the carpet, walls, closet doors, toys , bedding and ceiling (don't ask me how) three months later.

Both boys were very well behaved, and I am happy to report that there
were no casualties after the festivities.

That is some serious rolling pin action.

Today after four or five days of begging I finally agreed to get the easel and the paints out today.
The rundown:

15 min. -get out the easel, paper, paints & brushes,
smocks on, everything set up.
20 min. -hang pictures to dry, rinse paint cups & brushes, wash hands,
arms faces and one ankle, put everything away.
Actual painting time? About 5 minutes. But they were a happy five minutes.

The masterpieces. Hanging on the outside of our sliding glass door to dry
and as a conversation starter for passers by.
Watch your mailboxes Grandmas and Grandpas...these beauties are coming your way!

Painters with attitude.

Where was little Miss during all this fun?
Right here..in her favorite spot.

Camping New Jersey Style

2008-08-18T08:42:00.005-04:00

I pitched a tent in a trailer park this weekend, and paid for it (my wife just informed me that this sentence can be interpreted in two ways). Read it as "I went camping this weekend in an advertised "campground", but it wasn't what I expected. It was a great time though.

Some observations from my NJ camping experience:
1) Trailer parks and campgrounds mean the same thing to a lot of people in NJ.
2) There is an additional cost to your site if you have a full set of teeth.
3) Be skeptical if the minimum number of nights you can camp is 14 (but they'll cut you a deal).
4) People water the lawn in their camping area. Bring the hose and fertilizer!
5) The campground has a water park that you can use for no additional cost. Just chase the ducks off it first.

This was a blast, and made for good blogging material. Here is representative picture of the area. Note the lights in the background of the "tents" next to us. It was Christmas in August.

A funny thing happened on the way to the...

2008-08-07T19:10:00.003-04:00

Social Security Office. That's right. I spent this morning trying to get a replacement for Mason's SS card. As I pulled into the parking lot, in an incredibly sketchy part of town, I stopped to let a homeless man cross the street. To thank me, he threw his shoe at my car while yelling expletives at the top of his lungs. After the shoe thudded against the side of the car, he ran to get it and returned it to his foot. Then, he crossed the street in front of me.

I was a little scared to get out of the car so I drove around the block a couple of times. During this time, Melissa had a massive blowout. MASSIVE.

Oh yes, lest I forget to mention...I didn't actually get Mason's new card. Although I checked the website, filled out all the paperwork and brought every official form that we own, I sadly had not thought to bring his shot record. I mentioned to the nice lady behind the bullet proof glass that perhaps it was time to update the website so that people like me don't show up with every possible document except the one totally unofficial document that they actually need. So I get to go back next week. I hope my homeless friend is there again.

The moral of the story is: Sometimes a bum will save you from having to clean up a super poop in the Social Security Office bathroom. Thanks friend!

My baby girl...

2008-08-06T20:11:00.001-04:00

...laughed today. Happy day at the Lyman home.

My Kiddos

2008-08-01T16:23:00.001-04:00

Oh, how I love them!

Body Parts

2008-07-31T16:19:00.003-04:00

A photo essay by Mason.

Racing Day!

2008-07-28T09:03:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was the New Jersey State Triathlon. Matt and several friends completed the race and we had a great time being spectators.

Matt took about 12 minutes off of his time from last year. Way to go!

Phil, Mark and Matt just past the finish line!

The crew

Great job, we are so proud of you!

Bye, Daddy. Have a good day....

2008-07-24T11:38:00.003-04:00

...don't kick anybody in the face.

~Mason, age 4 years 364 days

The Exciting Conclusion

2008-07-21T14:49:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning we got up and packed up the cars. Julie and I loaded up the kids and headed back to Grandma & Pops house. We made a quick stop at the park in St. George so that Melissa could eat and the boys could run a bit. Then, after a quick drive-by of grandma Lissa and grandpa Sam's house, we drove the rest of the way to Vegas.
We were home barely an hour before it was pool time! Julie's kids are so brave in the water...it was so good for Mason and Ollie to see them swimming with such confidence.
At times it seemed like a contest to see which child could get the most floaties on (I think Ollie won), other times all the kids were jumping off the diving board like they had been doing it for years! We swam twice a day, ate yummy food, watched The Closer late into the night, and had a great time having the family together.

Zach, age 6, Master Swimmer!

Mason, age 4, first time off the diving board. Loved doing 'the octopus' (thanks Sam!)

Ben, age 4, king of the 'push downs' (diving for rings)

Ollie, age 3, Kamikaze! And he loves goggles.

Jakey, age 2, taking the plunge

My brother Sam and Ikey, age 2, not quite brave enough to jump, but still a little cutie!

Melissa smiling poolside in her swimwear debut.

She loved floating in the spa!

Somehow, cousin Noah is missing in action in the pool pictures. He was a super brave swimmer with his cousins, but was not feeling well on the day the camera was out :(

Thanks grandma girl and pops for a great vacation, we love you!!

Our Summer Vacation: part 3

2008-07-20T14:32:00.000-04:00

It was so fun to have all the little boy cousins together at the cabin. Here are the 5 older boys taking a little break on our walk to Tommy Creek, the two younger boys were too slow to make the picture :)

Ollie, Mason, Noah, Zach & Ben

The next day was the 4th of July. Fortunately for us, my cousin Stacy and her family are building a cabin near the lake where they have the fireworks. We spent the evening on her deck watching 'the booms'.

The whole crew hiking to the Alpine Pond.

On our last day at the cabin, we went to the spring. The boys were so brave to cross the creek on this log. The big boys did it with no help. The littler boys were lucky enough to have Erica and Stephanie to help them across. Where was I during all of this? NOT standing in the freezing cold water, that is for sure! This fun day continued with lunch at the Burger Barn.

We had such a blast at the cabin, that even after being there for two weeks, we could have stayed for another two without ever running out of things to do. After all the mountain fun, it was time to head back to the heat in Las Vegas. Fortunately, we knew there would be plenty of swimming in our future...

Melissa Joy Lyman

2008-07-19T22:30:00.003-04:00

We decided to bless Melissa at the Panguitch Lake branch near our cabin in Mammoth Creek. My entire immediate family was able to be there, minus Chad, my bro in law. He is busy working (and hopefully playing a little) in England. Also, my aunt & uncle, many cousins and their families, and some family friends were there with us. Melissa's blessing was wonderful...we are so grateful to have her here with us and so grateful to have so many family and friends to love her!
Melissa is named after her two great grandmothers - Melissa Earl and Helen Joy Griffin. I hope that with all the special gifts and talents that she has throughout her life that she will be blessed with her great grandma Lissa's kindness and compassion and her great grandma Griffin's thoughtfulness, grace and style.

Melissa's dress was made for her by her great grandma Lissa more than 15 years ago. Our matching bracelets were made for us by my very talented cousin Emily. (See her other amazing jewelry at adorn)

The Earl Family
Back Row: Ikey, Sam, Pops, Grandma Girl, Kristin, Melissa, Mason, Matt, Julie, Jakey.
Front Row: Anya, Noah, Zach, Ollie and Ben.
We sure missed you Chad!!

Our Summer Vacation: part 2

2008-07-18T22:15:00.001-04:00

Matt's family had to get back to work so we had a day by ourselves before my family arrived. We decided to go for a short hike to Cascade Falls. This is a beautiful waterfall the springs directly from the side of the mountain. We spoke to a group of hikers in the parking lot before we started. I asked if they thought the hike was too long or hard to take the kids. Their thoughts..."Go for it!" So we did! Many parts of the trail were so narrow that Matt had to walk single file holding Mason's hand in front and Ollie's behind. When we arrived at the falls, the group of hikers we had seen in the parking lot seemed surprised to see us. They offered immediately to take our picture. I guess they thought we would need proof that we actually made it to the end!

Silly Faces

2008-07-18T15:22:00.003-04:00

It seems like everytime I pull the camera out, the sweet smiles disappear from my kids faces and their silly faces come out in full force. I tried several times to get a picture of Mason with his true smile. It took about thirty shots. They started like this:
and this:
after 26 more shot, I got this:
Then I learned that 'silly faces' may be hereditary.

Our Summer Vacation: part 1

2008-07-17T21:44:00.004-04:00

Three short weeks ago we set off on an adventure. After a cross county flight and two quick days in Las Vegas, we headed to southern Utah for some quality mountain time. We were lucky enough to have Matt's parents, brother and family, and cousin Jared join us on Cedar Mountain for a week of fun at the cabin.

Grandma and Grandpa Riley with the grandkids.
Grandpa Riley is a FIRST RATE story teller. It is hard to know what is true or not, but he can keep the kids attention better than anyone I know! Being on vacation with Matt's mom is TRULY a dream vacation for me. She took the kids on walks & hikes, read them stories, gave them their nightly bath and put them to bed. I couldn't ask for a better mother-in-law!

Matt and Mason at Bryce Canyon

Matt and Bart (his bro) on the Bristlecone Pine Loop hike at Bryce Canyon

First family picture since the birth of Melissa.
The kids were total troopers on this hike. they walked almost the entire way. And we discovered that Melissa loves hiking about as much as she loves everything else. She looked around for the first few minutes and then nodded off to sleep for the duration.

Bart, Megan, Sydney and Alexander Lyman

We were so glad to have Matt's bro and his family with us this year. We don't get to see them very often, so it was great to spend some time together. The kids got along famously and had such fun together!

to be continued...

My to do List

2008-07-17T21:35:00.003-04:00

Unpack.
Grocery Shop.
Update blog.
Trim tiny fingernails.
Read 348 unread blog posts on my google reader.
Answer 220 unread emails.
Potty train Ollie.
Open three weeks worth of mail.
Try not to let boys watch TV all day while I complete my to do list.

Getting home from a three week vacation leaves a lot to be done. We had a fantastic time with our families. We are now happy to be home and getting back to the real world! Vacation summary to come soon!

Disturbing News

2008-07-15T00:14:00.005-04:00

Is anyone afraid of bats? Well, they no longer just sleep in caves according to a recent BBC article (the British version of CNN):

TEENAGER FINDS BAT ASLEEP IN BRA

A teenager who thought movement in her underwear was caused by her vibrating mobile phone found a bat curled up asleep in her bra...

Full Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/7496923.stm

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?? Another scenario I can envision: Hmm, where's the other half of that Subway sandwich? I just had it in front of me...

On a side note, Kristin returns on Wednesday from Las Vegas, so lots of family pictures to come (and less "bra news").

My Sweet Boys

2008-06-20T19:08:00.003-04:00

Today was day five of swimming lessons at the Y. The boys did great. Here are some shots from right before the class started today...

My Fellow Labmates

2008-06-14T07:14:00.008-04:00

This is my family away from family, the Enquist Lab at Princeton University . We had a conference at the UPenn Medical Center in Philadelphia this past week. Here are a few action shots. By the way, the restaurant is "Marrakesh", a four star Moroccan place just off of downtown. It was recommended by a Philly graduate student in the lab, and had an incredible ambiance...no silverware (you use Pita bread to scoop all food from the 7 course meal). My double chin starts to tingle just talking about it.

Fireworks

2008-06-06T08:12:00.003-04:00

Last weekend we took the kids to see the Princeton fireworks. This show rivals any that I have ever seen. It is put on for all the alumni who are gathered for their reunions. The show was excellent, the music was beautiful. The kids were in a trance. It was a great night!

I am, of course talking about after the show started. This is how they looked while we were waiting for it to start. Not really sure what is going on with Ollie's eyes in this one :)

Pseudo-Birthday

2008-06-06T08:10:00.003-04:00

At school this week, they celebrated the birthdays of all the children whose birthdays are in the summer. Here is our king of the day!

Oh, baby

2008-06-06T07:59:00.003-04:00

Some latest attempts to get some pictures of the peanut.

It's 3am, do you know where your children are?

2008-06-06T07:54:00.003-04:00

Let's start with the youngest. Melissa was squawking, alerting me to her desire for food....now. Occasionally, when she gets up to eat in the night, I take her to the living room so as not to disturb Matt while he is sleeping. That is what I did last night.

Middle child. Oliver was sleeping in his bed. With 94 books surrounding him.

Oldest child. Imagine my surprise when I walked out to the living room and found Mason, wide awake, playing Nick Jr. on the computer. I asked what he was doing. His reply, "I woke up too early, and I am too tired to go back to sleep."

OK then.

Sleep is at a premium...

2008-05-31T02:06:00.005-04:00

It's 2 am, and everyone is asleep. I should be, but the new baby has totally thrown my sleep cycle (which is odd, because Kristin is the one waking up to feed her). I was sharing with my colleagues at work today how my day started at 6:30 am by coaching Oliver on the potty. "Big poop Ollie...I want to see a big poop!" It's amazing what I say and do these days with kids. I love it of course, as do most parents, but I can't help but think how different life is now. It is a constant transition between a professional career and potty/dinosaur talk (soon to be Barbie talk). Sweet dreams everyone...

How did Homer get so much sleep with a young fam?

One Month!

2008-05-27T08:12:00.003-04:00

We can't believe that Melissa is a month old already!! Boy how time flies. She is a happy little baby and brings so much happiness into our home. We are beginning to adjust to life with three kids and we think that sometime in the next 18 years, we might actually get a handle on it!!

Insights into the Brain

2008-05-14T10:05:00.004-04:00

Forgive the scientist in me. I realize this isn't a normal blog posting. I wanted to pass on this amazing and stimulating video about a Harvard-trained neuroanatomist that underwent a life-altering experience. The video is 19 minutes in length, but well worth your time. The scientific and spiritual aspects are the most intriguing to me, but just the delivery of the speech is excellent.

Cinco de Mayo Bash

2008-05-06T19:58:00.006-04:00

Several members of the ward have graciously volunteered to bring us dinner for the next week while Kristin convalesces (no need for my cooking to hinder the recovery). And it began with Marylynn Jacobs bringing down the house with her Cinco de Mayo dinner, sombreros and pinatas included. Needless to say she rocks pretty hard. Mason wants to know when we can go to Mexico and see the "other sombreros".

Thanks, Grandma Girl!

2008-05-02T08:45:00.002-04:00

We were so lucky to have Grandma Girl here with us for the past few days. We are sad that she had to cut her trip a little short, but SOOOO grateful for all her help!

Two happy boys and one grandma on a hippity hop!

Little Melissa

Mason and Ollie in their May Day necklace and headband.

They had a fun morning dancing around the May pole at school.

Action Photos Part II - Hospital and Home

2008-04-27T14:08:00.009-04:00

Thanks for all of your comments. It's great to hear from everyone. More photos of the family...

Who let this hottie come home with the baby?

Melissa welcomed home by her two bros.

Oliver, oblivious to the fact that Melissa is going to rock his dinosaur/transformer world.

Mason at the hospital to see the baby. He wanted some camera time too.

Old man Lyman assists Mason with the baby hold.

The New Addition

2008-04-24T18:43:00.007-04:00

We are happy to announce that we had a healthy baby girl this afternoon...Melissa Joy Lyman. She was 20 inches in length, and 7 lb and 10 oz in weight. She came out pooping (3 poops before her bath). We are armed to the teeth with diapers, so wish us luck. Kristin is also doing well, and will entertain visitors as early as tomorrow. A few photos of the action:

Kristin minutes before the c-section.

Fresh out of the belly!

The lobster look after the bath.

A more relaxed, less red baby.

Couch Potato...sort of

2008-04-23T13:41:00.002-04:00

This morning, I was working on a couple of things on the computer in my bedroom while Oliver was catching up on his cartoon watching. Apparently, the seating readily available in the living room was not sufficient for his comfort. This is what he came up with...

Two weeks...

2008-04-14T17:00:00.001-04:00

...and counting. Baby Lyman will join us on April 29 at 8:00am. Unless, of course, he/she decides to debut early. We are very excited to meet our new little baby!

Cravings

2008-04-03T14:40:00.005-04:00

Pregnancy cravings are a weird thing. Matt doesn't totally believe that they are real. With Mason, all I wanted were eggo waffles and fruit smoothies. With Ollie it was fruit smoothies and nachos from Qdoba.

This time around, it has been very different. There is nothing that I have wanted throughout the entire pregnancy. It started with fruit smoothies...then shifted to maple and brown sugar oatmeal. At one point I was dying for a hamburger. Now, I polish off every last bit of salad with dinner. One night, a couple months ago, I would have killed for a homemade biscuit.

There has only been one constant throughout all three pregnancies: Ice.

Not just any ice. Sonic ice. Also known as cubelet ice (i've done my homework).

With Mason, I still worked at Wild Oats where they had this ice for the juice bar. I walked down from my office 2-3 times a day and asked Bruce, the juice guy, to fill my cup with ice. Dreamy.

When Oliver was coming, I no longer worked, so I had to drive to Sonic once a week and buy their ice by the bag at the drive through. I am sure they thought I was crazy, as I never ordered any food, just 2 bags of ice every Monday morning.

New Jersey is a whole different animal. No sonic close by. No job at Wild Oats. No way to procure my precious ice. So, I have come up with an alternative. It requires some work. Filling the cup (to the VERY top) with regular freezer made ice cubes. Filling the cup with with luke warm water. Once the ice cools the water, I drink it. Then I fill the cup with cool water. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Then drink the water. What I am left with is ice that is the perfect consistency for eating. Not too hard, not totally melted. Just soft and crunchy enough to chew.
I do this 3-4 times a day. Sometimes more, depending on the day.

Last week, I had just gotten my ice to the perfect place when Matt came in the kitchen and, thinking it was his cup, dumped the contents into the sink. Look out.

Ollie turns 3!!

2008-03-31T11:26:00.003-04:00

Our sweet little Ollie turned three on March 22nd. We had a great day together as a family. We started the day with cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs for breakfast and a couple of presents. At lunch time, we opened a few more presents. We took the plasma car out for a spin in the afternoon. The boys had a blast. Ollie did a great job taking turns with Mason, even with his exciting new toys. Thanks everyone for all the great gifts! All of this excitement was followed by a nap for one and all.

All week, Ollie reminded me that he wanted pizza and cake for his birthday dinner. At 4:30 I was sitting down to the computer to order the pizza. The boys ran in, just in the nick of time, to tell me that they actually wanted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. I can only imagine that they were thinking "the quicker we eat dinner, the sooner we eat cake!"
They were right. A few short minutes later we were singing, finishing the presents and eating chocolate cake. I was taken a little off guard by the sudden dinner/cake/celebration so as you can see in the picture I am still in my napping clothes :)

Thanks Grandma Girl and Pops for the plasma car! We figured out right after we took this that both boys can fit on the car at once. It was a REAL party after that!

Warning: Photo below contains disturbing images.
Namely, my huge 8 months pregnant, headless body.

Fortunately, the picture also contains two super cute little boys who had a great day!

Three things that we love about Oliver:

1. His big brown eyes.

2. His enthusiasm about everything. If you are ever feeling low, just come talk to Ollie. Yesterday while I was cleaning the bathroom he came in and said, "Mommy, this bathroom looks BEAUTIFUL!! Great job." I have never felt such a sense of accomplishment :)

3. He is my snuggler. Mason was always too on the go to snuggle. Matt is not much of a snuggler. But I can always count on Ollie to curl up on my lap and give me a squeeze (unless it is scripture time, then there is NO holding still!)

We love you Oliver and hope you had a great 3rd birthday!

Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-31T11:19:00.002-04:00

We had a little egg hunt at the church last friday. It was the first day of spring break, so we decided to make a day of it. The kids had a blast playing with their friends, the parachute, and the candy.

Some happy boys!

Amy and I told the boys no more candy. We were taking them out to lunch after the egg hunt. We tried to help clean up. Then we looked over and saw this. Three boys huddled in the corner of the gym. DEVOURING any candy they could find.

And they were pretty pleased with themselves!

Slumber Party

2008-03-31T11:15:00.003-04:00

It was bedtime. Actually, it was about 2 hours past bedtime. The boys had been playing 'birthday party' in their bedroom for a couple of hours.

Mason: "Mom, we invited our toys, and our toys friends. But not all of them, we didn't want to make a big mess."

Mom: "That's great. Hey, why don't you make it a slumber party?"

Mason: "What's that?"

Mom: "That means you all get to go to sleep together, and the party can last ALL NIGHT!"

Mason: "COOL"

Three minutes later...

Worker Bees

2008-03-31T11:09:00.003-04:00

The boys have been really great about helping around the house. They have a lot more jobs now than they have ever had before. For the most part, they love it! Here they are emptying the dryer. They are also getting pretty good at dusting, cleaning their room, and unloading the dishwasher.

They are all set to be mommy's helper's when the baby comes!

Blog Neglect

2008-03-31T11:07:00.003-04:00

I have made a direct link between my belly and this blog. The bigger my belly gets, the more neglected this blog becomes. Mason is at school after a week of spring break. Oliver is happily watching the Backyardigans. I am going to type like mad and try to get all caught up!!
At least I have managed to take a few pictures...

Not what you'd expect...

2008-03-13T13:41:00.003-04:00

...from your Mother in Law. This came in the mail yesterday.

The outside of the card:
and the inside:
What more can I say?

Hi, Old Friend

2008-03-13T13:37:00.002-04:00

After 1 year, 7 months, and 12 days of living without, yesterday I bought this...

My life will never be the same. And I vow never to go without again.

Tagged...real quick

2008-03-07T08:03:00.002-05:00

OK, so I was tagged a couple of weeks ago. Thank heavens it wasn't this tag or we would be here all day!

What is his full name? Mathew Gerald Lyman (spelled with one 'T', although the people at the DMV, Social Security Office and Home Depot have all been nice enough to 'correct' it for him)

How long have we been married? 7 years, this summer

How long did we date? Exactly 10 months from the day we met to the day we got married. Technically we started dating about two weeks after we met.

Who said I love you first? I did.

Who is taller? Matt

Who sings better? Sadly, we are both really bad singers. Our children have no hope whatsoever.

Who is smarter? Matt

Who pays the bills? I do.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? We have had to switch recently. Matt will sleep anywhere. I like to sleep closest to the bedroom door and the bathroom. (Especially now)

Who mows the lawn? Lawn. Hmmm. What is that again?

Who cooks dinner? I do. Sometimes.

Who drives? Matt. Whether he is behind the wheel or not.

Who’s more stubborn? Good question. We are both pretty stubborn.

Who kissed who first? Matt kissed me. In his apartment in Denver.

Who asked who out? It was a full six weeks of hanging out and making out before we ever actually 'went out'. I think it was a mutual decision to actually go out somewhere at that point.

Who proposed? Matt, at the Denver Art Museum. Also known as the DAM. Think that is a bad omen?

Who has more siblings? Me: one sister and one brother. Matt has one older brother.

Who wears the pants in the family? Depends on the situation.

So I guess I am supposed to tag some people: so I will tag anyone who needs a topic to update their blog and wants to think about the good ole dating days of their youth :)

Movie Time With A Science Dork

2008-03-05T23:20:00.006-05:00

Kristin has officially allowed me to make my own posts on our family blog (I receive privileges with good behavior, not unlike our kids). Even after several years of marriage, my wife still has no idea what I do in the lab. Thus, she has encouraged me to put something on the blog that is an example of my work (share a little piece of Matt if you will). Well, it's close to midnight, the family is in bed, and I'm in the lab doing work. Now is as good a time as any.

I study viruses that infect your nervous system, and move around when they feel the need. See movie below. These are fluorescent virus particles that are moving in living neurons in a culture dish. Neurons have a round cell body, and then axons emanating out from them (in this movie you see 5 axons shooting out from the cell body). The little green dots are actual virus particles moving away from the cell so they can go on to infect another nearby neuron. Imaging technology allows us to watch this happen in "real-time", and we can figure out what controls this process. Okay, there it is in a nutshell. Thank you for letting me share.

By the way, please don't call me if you have a "raging infection" and need advice on a topical ointment. Your MD knows best, not a research scientist :).

Homemade Bread

2008-03-05T14:20:00.002-05:00

Today, I baked bread. I was inspired by Lindesy's post on King Arthur flour. Only one problem now...I can't stop eating it.

By the way, if you haven't checked out Cafe Johnsonia (Lindsey's recipe blog) you are missing out. Some of my very favorite recipes have come from there. Also, cool kitchen stuff, great photography and tutorials.

I cant wait to try this Blackberries n Cream Ice Cream.

Mullet Mania

2008-03-01T08:39:00.004-05:00

After much deliberation, and lots and lots of giggles, we were forced to choose a winner of the mullet contest. Again, I apologize for the delay, but anyone who has ever moved in the middle of winter, with two small kids, and while seven months pregnant...well, you get the idea! We are now settled and mostly unpacked and getting back to normal life.

So without further ado, I give Mullet Contest Winner 2008:

With this entry, titled the Gag-o-Mullet, the winner is Amy!

I would be remiss if I did not mention some of the other FANTASTIC entries for the contest.

Honorable mention goes to "Mullets: A Family Affair" posted by Jenn.

A few other mullets worth viewing:

"Best Mullet Story about a Family Member" goes to my sister Julie.
" Best Famous Person Mullet" goes to Scott.
"Best Mullet in a Movie" goes to Tyler.
Finally: for what almost was the "Best Live Action Mullet shot from 2008" see Sam & Anya's blog.

thanks everyone!

On Hold

2008-02-22T12:01:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately, the blog, the contest winner, and everything else have to be on hold for the next few days. The move is upon us. Boxes are packed (mostly), truck is scheduled for tomorrow, friends with muscle are showing up to load said truck (as I am totally useless at this point), and my awesome friend Liz is watching the boys in the morning during the whole crazy thing. Oh yes, how could I forget. There is also a major snow storm happening as I type. People, take my advice...do not move in February. Even if there has been no snow whatsoever in the previous four months, it will be a blizzard on moving day. Signing off until the boxes are unpacked and the new internet service is set up.

Mullet Challenge Update

2008-02-20T09:03:00.001-05:00

Winner will be announced tomorrow. There have been some awesome entries and we have a hard decision to make!

The Friday Challenge - Mullet Edition

2008-02-15T08:10:00.003-05:00

We are asking our friends and family to find a picture of the best mullet (even though it may exist in your family), and post it on your blog. Next week we'll choose a winner, and that special person will get a prize in the mail. Why are mullets so dang funny?!?!

Our entry, the lead singer from Icehouse:

The St. Valentine's Day (Baking) Massacre

2008-02-14T09:38:00.003-05:00

It has become apparent that I had to change the name of yesterday's 'incident' from the 'Muffin Failure' to total and complete 'Baking Massacre'. The muffins were just the first straw. It took three batches to get something edible and presentable. The cupcakes, on the other hand, could not be saved. The doctor tried everything. I mourned their loss until 9am this morning. Then I drove to Whole Foods and bought cupcakes for Oliver's Valentine's Day party.

Due to these tragic circumstances, I am finding it necessary to swear off baking forever. That's right...never again will I preheat my oven, carefully mix ingredients, and wait for a delectable treat to emerge warm and delicious. Never again. For the next two weeks. At least.

Blame it on the Rain

2008-02-13T13:38:00.002-05:00

That's what I am doing.
My bad mood. My messy house. My grouchy kids. My baking not turning out well.
All because of the rain. I am sure of it.

Stay tuned for photos of ...
"The Great Muffin Failure of '08"

My Silly Boys

2008-02-10T08:33:00.000-05:00

Things have been a little crazy here this weekend. Mom has the flu, the boys have been stuck inside and Dad has been busy trying to take care of everyone, continue with the packing and keeping things going at work.

So in order to update the much neglected of late blog..here are some pictures of the boys from Friday. I asked them to play in their room while I showered and got ready for work. When I came to get them a few minutes later to get in the car and pick Matt up from work, this is what I found. Two boys all ready to go:

Fortunately, swimwear is always appropriate. Even when it is 30 degrees outside.

Mason's weapon of choice? A teapot, of course.