Let The Lovin' Start

Since Valentine’s Day was just upon us, this post is dedicated to all things love…

Love and Lake Stench are in the Air

Valentines is over, but while it lasted it was wonderful! I don’t really love the holiday that much, but I do love that it starts the wind down of February, the most awful month of the year (Sorry Grandma Granny and Grandma Jo and President Lincoln).

This year Jeremy and I went all out…kind of. I made Jeremy this righteous “Wuffer” shirt. It’s super swell, so much that I think I’ll do them for the whole family!

"Wuffer" comes from Henry's attempt at pronouncing "Lover", the term of endearment Jeremy and I have for each other that actually started out as a joke.

Henry scored an Arby’s Hat and a Shrek Soundtrack from Grandma Jo. He snagged some candy and other fun things from school. We also got him some totally cool Vans shoes but Jeremy hates them.

Reese was given a cute denim jumper dress and some jammies from Grandma Jo and Grandpa Brent and we got her a soft lovie bunny. Her teachers and friends at school hooked her up with some rattles and teethers.

Jeremy gave me what every girl wants…. I did have a clear and streak free commute home though!

Then we had the most romantical lunch ever (his words, not mine). Where do you go for fine dining, food and atmosphere during the middle of the day? The Training Table, of course! You know it’s classy because pictures of food were right there on the menu and we used table phones to call in our order.

Whist at lunch, we had the most deep and profound discussion about snakes, Newman Georgia and his affinity for Sylvester Stallone Movies (he waited to drop that truth bomb on me 8 years into the marriage - what?)

But the Day-o-Love didn’t stop there. Well, actually it did. I guess what I meant to say was that the Day-o-Love didn’t START there. It actually started somewhere closer to 9:00 am. My good friend Lisa's hunky Brazilian husband sent us a huge box of heart shaped bagels! We love you Pedro! We actually did high pitched girl scream when Lisa brought them in.

A few years ago, I told Pedro that in the States it is customary to bring gifts to your girlfriends friends too on Valentine's Day. I hope he didn't think I was serious. No, wait I totally hope he does!

Not to be outdone, Sara and Kylee brought us yummy cookies from Schmit’s bakery. Even though I don’t show us enjoying them, know that we ate them and know that they were delicious.

Bedtime is a Rule NOT a Suggestion

Sometimes when your husband is out of town, your son knows that you are a pushover at bedtime. And sometimes that son stands at his bedroom door (from inside his room) and shouts to you that he has a surprise for you. And sometimes you tell him to come out and show you said surprise. Then this happens….

The New Awesome is..........

Loving Your Sister is the New Awesome

When it comes time to get Reesie down for the night, which is typically 2 hours before Henners goes down, he gets all upset. He truly does love being with her. We console him and let him know that he can see her the next day. This is usually followed up by at least 2 trips into her room so he can look at her sleeping. Here he is feeding her in the morning.

Before The Lovin' Starts

Not Even Close…But Thanks
Sunday night we had the Grammys on in the background. I was hoping to catch Amy Winehouse perform, but no, no no, I didn’t get a chance. However, When Morris Day and Time broke into Jungle Love (Ohwee, ohwee, oh) I was stunned. Mr. Day, what are you doing at the Grammys? And Herbie Hancock? Your presence only fueled a long running joke that my husband borrowed from the film Tommy Boy years ago.

But, these two random faces from the 80's are not my reason for blogging the Grammys. No, it was a Loreal commercial that brings us here today. Henry and Jeremy were snuggled watching commercials during the award show, when Henry said, “Look, Dad, she’s just like Momma.” This caught my attention because I was worried somehow Amy Winehouse had showed up and Henry had mistaken her for me. But no, I looked at the television and there was Penelope Cruz. Penelope Cruz you say? Yes, Penelope Cruz.

Now folks, don’t get me wrong here, I know I look nothing like the Latin beauty, but who am I to correct a small child? We all kind of laughed (maybe Jeremy laughed a little too hard for a little too long). But I hugged my child and thanked him from the bottom of my heart.


Miss Your Face
I miss one of my BFFs ever so dearly. Roslin and I used to see each other 4 days a week at work. Now, that she works from home (still for us, yay!) I only get to hear her voice. She’s one of the funniest gals I know and I always value her opinions and cherish our talks together. We used to sit at work in the same area and we were positioned so that we would only have to glance up and we would see each other. After about a year, we developed sort of a secret language that didn’t even need to be spoken. We could just look at each other and know what the other was thinking. And the strange thing is, that’s how we communicated a good deal of the day. Now that I’m back, I find myself looking over at her area, but there’s no Rozzie. (Think of The Office when Jim left and Pam found herself instinctively looking up at Jim empty desk).

So Rozzie and I have decided until we can webcam, we will take photos of ourselves pulling the faces that we know and send them to one another. It sounds all good, but when I actually took the photos of myself, I realized how dorky and sad I truly am. So, Rozzie, the following pictures are for you. If any of you other peeps out there want to download these to keep you company at work, feel free. But your co-workers might judge you for it. And folks, if we’re lucky, Rozzie will let me post her photos here and you will finally see who REALLY looks like Penelope Cruz.

Time Warp Commute
It’s simple, we live 35 minutes from our office. We can be at work at 7:30 am or at 8:10-8:15 am. We CANNOT be at work at 8:00 am. There is some time/space travel continuum at the Davis County – Salt Lake County lines. Who are we to fly (or speed excessively) in the face of science?

The Destroya
Jeremy, Reese and I heard a ruckus coming from Henry’s room Monday night. What was this ruckus you ask? Here it is….

When questioned about the noise, Henry was very, very cooperative. He said that Cera (his Triceratops Dinosaur) wrecked the train village on his train table. Apparently she also flung her body around and knocked over other dinosaurs, derailed a few trains and broke off all the trees at the stump. Hmm. Jeremy insists on further investigation. I say, Triceratops are well known for their temper.

*If you enjoyed this mystery story, be sure and stay tuned for other classics such as....

Who Dumped the Doritos on the Kitchen Floor?
Who's Been Eating Dog Food Again?
Who Locked All the Interior Doors in the House?
Why is There a Huge Puddle of Water in Front of the Fridge?

And the New Awesome is.........
Our Conservative Dogs are the New Awesome
That’s right, DOGS, plural. I was mistaken when I thought that Maxie was the only right-winged canine in our house. I guess Bat’s a member of the GOP too! Truthfully, I think he just follows Maxie’s lead when it comes to politics. Max is the top dog and he agrees with Bush's stance on capital spending. A few of you were intrigued to learn that our dogs had an affiliation. Don’t yours?

Here’s Maxie doing his best Dick Cheney impression.

Here’s Bat hoping that the camera is a chew toy.

May Days

Leapin' Lizards
Mother’s Day this year was so much fun. Jeremy and Henry really spoiled me and treated me so special (not unlike any other day of the year). The night before, Jeremy promised me a breakfast in bed of fresh fruit and yummy baked goods. However, when morning rolled around, Henry jumped in our bed and loudly announced that he would like pancakes. So, pancakes it was!

We spent the rest of the day visiting all the Grandmas and stopping off for lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. Toward the end of our meal, Henry was restless and began playing with some toy cars and small rubber lizards that we brought for him. Henry decided that throwing the lizard at Mom would be fun. On his first attempt, he over threw me by about 2 feet and the lizard landed in a plate of food of the family seated directly behind us! They laughed it off, as did the rest of the immediate restaurant. I asked Jeremy what we should do. He replied, “First, let’s pay for their meal, then let’s get Henry a sports agent.”

Speaking Too Soon
Wednesday Jeremy and I thought it might be fun to take Hank to the Dinosaur Park for the evening. We told him to pack himself up and get ready because we were taking him to see the dinosaurs! All the way there he kept asking if he would see the “Sharp Tooth” (Tyrannosaurus). He was naming all the dinosaurs he knows and we even made a little song about them too. As we pulled up to the park, we noticed a special function was going on and that the park was closed to the public. Jeremy and I had the privilege of explaining to a 2-year old the concept of “closed”.

Dinosaurs: The Sequel
Friday morning Henry and I headed back to the Dinosaur Park. This time when we pulled up there were around 8 elementary school buses. Again, I feared we wouldn't get in. This time I was going to do whatever I could to sneek us in. But, it turns out I didn't need to. We just had to share the park with lots of roudy elementary school kids. Can anyone say fun?

Liar! Liar!

The Great Serpant
Henry is a liar! A few days ago, my alert neighbor and Henry's crush, Michelle, notified me that there was a snake under my car in our driveway. Hearing this, Henry got all excited and just had to see the snake. It ended up being a very small, very fast water snake (about 12 inches long, and as big around as my pinkie finger). So, picture two women, shreiking at this fast and slithering thing and a 2-year old trying to chase it. Well, this beast was far too crafty for the three of us, so help had to be called in for the job in the form of Michelle's husband, Paul.

Paul reluctantly arrived on the scene only after we exaggerated the size and aggressiveness of the snake. After he finished laughing at us, he quickly gathered up the snake and brought it over for our inspection. I tried to get Henry to pet it, but he was having NO PART of that! He recoiled and clung to me for dear life. I even touched it a few times to see that if that would coax him. Nuh-uh!

After thanking Paul for "saving our life", Henry and I went back inside the house. Henry then immediately went to his cubby where he keeps all his rubber and wooden snakes and played with them for the rest of the evening.

The next day when Jeremy got home, I overheard Henry telling Jeremy how he "petted the snake" and he "caught 'em". I corrected him and told him that he didn't even want to touch the snake. However, Henry insisted he had "petted" that thing. I've also heard Henry and Michelle talking about the events of that day and every time, he says he helped Paul "petted the snake" and "get 'em".

The great snake hunter


Looking for more snakes?

Vay-Cay

The Aviator
So our little trip to Seattle this month marked Henry's first time on an airplane. He loved the airport and all the people and planes! Honestly, we could have probably just spent three days there and he would've been thrilled. Once we were on the plane, Henry made fast friends with Joan, the flight attendant, and scored on treats, drinks and several winks! He mostly looked out the window and said, "We go real fast!"

The Great Northwest
Well, the weather was wonderful for us in Seattle and we hit the streets and sights immediately. Henry was super excited that there was a train "up high in the air" that ran by our hotel (the Monorail). We walked the town and took in tons of good food.

The boys at the Space Needle

Waiting on the Monorail

Riding on the Monorail

Boys Day Out
I was busy with a day-long conference on Friday, so Jeremy and Henry hit the town together. Although Jeremy tried to keep Henry in the hotel room as long as possible in the morning, once Henry saw I had my shoes on, he insisted that he get his on too. They visited the Seattle Center first, looking for our favorite breakfast place. Jeremy was sad to find that it had relocated and changed up their menu and they wouldn't be open until 12:00. They then walked on down to the waterfront to tour the Aquarium. Henry was facinated with the otters and the sharks. Next, it was clam chowder time! Although Hank wasn't too impressed with Seattle's finest soup, he did like the complimentary oyster crackers. They next walked Pike's Place Market and watched all the vendors setting up for the day.
Something at the Aquarium caught his eye

Jeremy & Henry at lunch on the waterfront

Henry and the famous Pike's Place Market Pig

See-at-l
There was more fun to be had the final days of our vacation. We hung out at the Seattle Children's Museum where Henry got to meet Bob the Builder face to face. (He wasn't impressed.) But he did enjoy the interactive Bob the Builder display of kid-sized construction trucks and tools for him to use. We stayed and played until Hank could play no more. He fell asleep on our way back to the hotel. He slept and slept, and snored and SNORED!

Fun at the Seattle Children's Museum

More fun at the Seattle Children's Museum

Something Smells The third night we ordered in some Thai food (again, Henry was not impressed.) So, Jeremy ran and picked up a slice of pizza across the street. This slice of cheese pizza was so laden with garlic that you could smell it coming, I swear. To make a long story, short, has anyone ever smelled a 2-year-old running around a confined area such as a hotel room working up a sweat after he's eaten garlic?

Hotel fun

Even more hotel fun

The Emerald City The last few days of our trip were dedicated to Hank since he'd been such a good sport riding around the city in his stroller. We visited the Pacific Science Center and hung out at the Seattle Center just running around and playing at the small carnival where the World's Fair was once held.

"Going real fast" in the Seattle Center Park

Pacific Science Center Dinosaur Exhibit

Pigs can fly!

Tired, cranky boy

Hungy boy

Driving at the fair at the Space Needle

Driving at the fair at the Space Needle