Kevin and Melanie

Still Alive

2012-01-23T16:36:00.001-10:00

I promise we didn't drop off the face of the earth, just lost the chord for our camera (which may be close to dropping off the face of the earth.)

We have been up to things such as going to the BYU game with awesome seats...

Finding, and devouring chocolate while I get dressed when I would much rather she was eating broccoli.

There were a ton of Christmas festivities, which were all recorded on my camera!

But best of all, Holland finally gave in...

and my back thanks her!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T22:14:00.001-10:00

Hope your holiday was filled with more treats than tricks.

Happy Birthday Holland

2011-10-30T10:10:00.000-10:00

Our little Holland has made it a year! Since we aren't crazy party people (and her birthday was on a Sunday) we just had a quiet dinner with family and woke her up in time to eat a little pie and open presents.

Here is what Holland is like at age one:

total mommy's girl
loves to cuddle, especially if she has her binkie and her blanket
adores Bennett to no end
just started pulling herself up to standing this week
loves, loves, loves books
a little too smart for my liking (she figured out how to open the DVD player months ago)
not the most social baby, but has a great poker face
eats pretty much anything, but prefers her carbs
just a really sweet little girl

Happy Birthday Holland!

Just Thought You Should Know

2011-10-19T15:47:00.000-10:00

In case of emergency, rest assured that we are in good hands.

We have the very capable Fireman Ben to rescue us.

Since Bennett discovered Fireman Sam we have been playing firefighter non-stop. Bennett even builds his own firetrucks using my robe, his bag of tools, his bag of blocks and every throw pillow in the house, as well as an array of stuffed animals.

And while he will use almost anything as a fire hose, he definitely prefers this hose to all others. How else would he put out the fire in the bush (as he frequently informs me)?

And not one to be left out, Holland can usually be found trying to be part of the action.

Bennett has finally agreed that maybe Holland can be Radar, the fire dog.

Poor girl.

Passing Time with the Perry's

2011-09-20T13:08:00.001-10:00

This past week we were able to convince the Perry's to come visit us. Carli and I haven't gotten to spend more than an hour together since her wedding. It was too fun to have girl time whenever we wanted it, and both of our Kevin's were kind enough to let us spend every night chatting away. The Perry's were also lifesavers and watched Holland while I took Bennett for his stitches. I cannot thank you guys enough!

It was so fun to finally get to meet Paige. The kids had a great time playing with each other and since they left Ben has been asking where Paige is. It was great to have them here. Come back and see us again!

(Getting three kids to sit still, by each other to take a picture...not so easy!)

My Official Welcome

2011-09-19T13:08:00.000-10:00

Before you have a boy everyone tells you about all the crazy things boys do and the multiple trips to the ER for various injuries. For almost three and a half years I have been pretty lucky. Sure, Bennett is a boy and does things that aren't the smartest (for instance last week he fell head first off of his toy buggy which I had told him repeatedly not to get on top of), but he has never managed to really hurt himself...until last weekend.

This past Saturday I received my official welcome to being the mother of a boy and he officially got his first battle wound. He wasn't even doing anything crazy-just slipped coming out of the shower.

He was a real sport about it all. He didn't want to go to the doctor at all, but once we were there he was wonderful. He held perfectly still through the multiple shots to numb him and the stitches. Despite his good behavior, I hope not to make any return trips any time soon.

Now if I can just convince him to try to keep this dry or wear a band-aid on it...

Wish me luck!

Labor Day

2011-09-19T12:22:00.000-10:00

FAMILY + SHAVE ICE + SWIMMING + YUMMY FOOD =

ONE GREAT HOLIDAY!!!

Little Milestones

2011-09-08T15:13:00.000-10:00

Due to the outrageous cost of preschools here, we decided to form our own preschool with some friends.

Last week all the fun started. Since then, Bennett has been begging for preschool everyday.

What three-year-old wouldn't love time with their friends singing, doing crafts and lots of other fun stuff!

(However, having pictures taken for your first day of preschool was not on his list of things he loves. Thanks Nancy for the pictures).

And, at the ripe old age of ten months, Holland has finally decided it might be worth crawling. It's amazing the things you can get to when you move. Let the bruised forehead begin!

Oops!

2011-08-18T09:11:00.000-10:00

I think I failed to mention that we moved into our house right before we left on vacation.

And by right before, I mean 3 days before.

Yes, I have been home from vacation now for almost two months, but I am still

unpacking...

hanging curtain rods...

trying to get the paint off the windows...

installing doorstops...

finding little this's and that's for the contractor to fix...

and having too much fun with these two...

And somewhere in the midst of everything else going on this little lady turned nine months and isn't so little anymore.

Our Summer Adventure

2011-07-10T08:49:00.001-10:00

Because a certain someone came home from their mission...

...we flew (what felt like) across the world to see my family. We had a family reunion of sorts. We went to Lancaster County, and then we to Hershey, PA because Bennett needed to meet someone.

We also went to two of the Smithsonian Museums.

We discovered the museums aren't as easy to go to with two kids and short attention spans.

By far, my favorite license plate of the trip! It made it easy to remember what car we were parked by.

One of the best parts of our trip was meeting up with the Oesterle's at the National Zoo.

Kai and Bennett were like long lost friends reunited. For days afterwards Bennett kept asking when we were going to see his friend again.

Kevin had to go back to work, but I stayed with the kids for a while longer and we had lots of time to just relax and enjoy summer. It was great!

Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us crash your house!

Can we come back soon?

Oh, The Places You'll Go!

2011-06-16T01:37:00.000-10:00

Congratulations!

Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

OH!

THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers

who soar to high heights.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.

Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

And will you succeed?

Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...

be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

Oh, The Decisions!

2011-05-20T14:55:00.001-10:00

Today I had a terrible time deciding which knobs should go on our closet doors. I sat. I debated. I agonized. I realized they are just knobs. I just picked some.

In building our house I have spent a lot of time agonizing over the littlest details--the way the paint was put on the crown molding, which way a door should swing, knobs vs. pulls, and on down the list.

But in the end it doesn't really matter.

Yesterday we got carpet. We are pretty stoked!

And we didn't even have to agonize over this decision.

You've Had A Birthday Shout Hooray

2011-05-10T12:49:00.000-10:00

This little boy turned three on Mother's Day...

On Saturday Ben celebrated by playing in the dirt (yes, he really loves playing in the dirt),

going to Chuck E Cheese's, and eating dinner at McDonald's.

With it also being Mother's Day also he was pretty confused for most of the day. Half way through the day he wished me a Happy Birthday! However, when the cupcakes came out he knew it was his time. I think all he wanted was to blow out candles!

I hope the next three years don't go by quite as quickly!

Happy Easter

2011-04-25T15:15:00.000-10:00

Out of the Mouth of Ben

2011-04-13T19:32:00.000-10:00

Ben: Mommy, I think the cushions really miss me. I better take them off before they get really dusty.

Ben: Grandma has a baby in her tummy. (Long pause with some very obvious deep thinking) Grandpa will be so happy.

And my personal favorite; if you ask Bennett what his daddy does for work he replies, "he makes soda."

As Time Goes By

2011-03-20T10:48:00.000-10:00

Six years ago we took the plunge...

And now-

several jobs

3.5 moves,

2 kids,

a couple college degrees

1 house construction

and 7 proposals later

we would still sign on for our crazy life together.

Yellow House...

2011-03-16T17:09:00.000-10:00

...black door?

...red door?

Where Has It Gone?

2011-03-03T20:22:00.001-10:00

Somewhere amidst everything else going on this little girl hit the four month mark! I could have sworn we just brought her home.

She is still as happy and easy going as ever. As you can tell she has found her hands and almost always has one of them in her mouth.

I think we will keep her around.

Our Views

2011-02-18T16:27:00.000-10:00

The view from Ben's room...

The view from the family room...

(Plumbing is almost done and electric is being run. Drywall hopefully coming soon.)

We are excited to get closer to waking up to these views everyday.

A "Special Date"

2011-02-04T20:31:00.000-10:00

For over a week Bennett and I planned on letting Holland have a little bonding time with Grandma while we went on a "special date" to...

CARNIVAL!!!

First on Bennett's agenda was the rides; specifically the "dragon" ride he had been eying from the street for the past week. He kept asking me if Hiccup was going to be there and I think he was a little disappointed at my failure to arrange an appearance.

As much as Bennett loved all the rides, I think his favorite was the helicopters. He kept telling me he wanted to touch the sky and while we were on the ride he had such a look of wonder.

Of course, there had to be cotton candy and cheap carnival prizes.

All in all it was a great "special date."

***Bennett has been referring to it as our special date since I first mentioned us going. I hope he thought it was special.***

Get the Camera

2011-02-04T19:44:00.000-10:00

The other morning while I was getting ready I heard Bennett start calling for me to get the camera. Since lately he just wants to play with it I assumed that was the case. Then he started calling for me to get the camera and take a picture, so I decided to go see what the fuss was about. This is what I found:

I guess we need to stop grabbing the camera every time they are next to each other, so he doesn't think they are all Kodak moments!

The Best Time of Your Life?

2011-01-27T20:12:00.002-10:00

While I have heard many remark that the best time of their life was when their kids were little, I hope sleepless nights and tantrums aren't as good as it gets. However, there are some pretty cute moments...

For instance, Holland in her first swimsuit. I might have to eat her.

Bennett taking his first moped ride. I don't think his smile could have been any bigger.

Bennett discovering and mastering the potty. And then finding him sitting on the closed potty reading a magazine. Who knew it started this young?

Watching this sweet girl give huge grins and practice her laughing.

There are definitely moments where I can see why some might call this the best time in their life.

Progress

2011-01-07T14:22:00.000-10:00

While the construction workers have been busy adding a second story, Ben has been busy with some "construction" of his own.

Who knew those scrub brushes could be so useful?

Happy Holidays Indeed

2011-01-02T14:45:00.000-10:00

Christmas Eve brought us a cute wise man who thought he was a shepherd...

...and a visit from Santa.

This is quite possibly the closest Ben has been to Santa without completely losing it.

Christmas day was wonderful and relaxing and almost completely picture free.

While some spend New Year's Eve bundled up, drinking hot coco we decided to hit the beach!

It made a kid (or two) quite happy.

Afterwards the real fun started, with yummy food, kids running around playing, BINGO and...

...sparklers!

Of course there was the usual crazy fireworks show thanks to all the neighbors.

New Year's Day the party continued...

(I promise no one was permanently injured)

There was even a visit from Cousin Itt.

And somewhere in the midst of all this fun this little girl turned two months...and started smiling.

(said smiling yet to be captured on film)

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE....

2010-12-28T11:06:00.000-10:00

...A HOUSE

Santa

2010-12-16T13:57:00.001-10:00

Do you remember this from last year?

This year was even worse. At even the slightest mention of Santa Bennett will go into an all our panic. After getting this close (only because I picked him up and forced him to come) he took off and literally hid in the corner of another room until Santa had left.

Holland on the other hand didn't seem too bothered by him.

Now we just have to get Ben past the panic that Santa is coming to his house.

I called Santa earlier today and asked him not to come. Ben calmed down after that...we will see how well Santa listens.

Visitors

2010-12-15T13:43:00.001-10:00

We had the coolest visitors recently!

We did things like going to the zoo...

...seeing Tangled...

...going to Home Depot, the beach and lots of hanging out time.

Plus, you couldn't beat the view from the condo they stayed at.

And while Ben was worn out when they left,

Holland was really sad.

Please come back soon!

Evolution of Home

2010-12-14T12:59:00.000-10:00

Here are the latest pictures from our house...

What looks to be a giant mess...

All the holes have been dug for the footings of our house.

The retaining wall is in place and each side leveled out. Who knew that back corner was 4 feet lower than the rest of the lot!

And now the rocks for under our house are in place.

Things at "Remember Who You Are" Condominium are moving right along. Stay tuned for framing coming soon!

Holland's Blessing

2010-12-07T09:33:00.000-10:00

No Kitchen Recipes

2010-12-02T09:22:00.000-10:00

For the past two months I feel like I have been a contestant on a new game show on the Food Network. The premise of this show is 'What can you cook without the use of a stove or oven?' The tools provided to help you complete your tasks are a rice cooker, small toaster oven, microwave and a crock pot. You must complete each meal while a toddler hangs on one leg and a newborn cries to be fed again.

While I have been managing "the tasks" pretty well thus far, I am starting to run out of ideas. It occurred to me yesterday that my use of the crock pot has been severely neglected. Thus, I am using a lifeline. If you have any wonderful crock pot recipes or a meal that does not involve a stove or oven PLEASE send it my way. We are getting bored with what we have been eating and we still have months to go before our kitchen will be ready!

Tis the Season

2010-11-30T19:57:00.000-10:00

Bennett has been really excited for Christmas this year. Since Home Depot has had their trees up for months, Bennett and I have gone there frequently for him to walk around and oooh and aaah.

This past weekend we decided to take Bennett and his friend Tyson to a mall to see the trees, trains and most importantly, Santa.

The boys LOVED the train...

...but Holland wasn't as impressed.

Tyson was excited when we finally saw Santa. He waved to him and called out "hello."

Ben on the other hand turned and ran away. This was about as close as he got to looking at Santa.

Does this mean Santa can skip our house this year?

Demolition Day

2010-11-22T21:37:00.000-10:00

There once were two little houses on the back of a lot.

While these two houses were nice, one had fallen into major disrepair...

...and the other lacked the space to hold a growing family.

So the purple eater came and made one little boys' day while it sat in the driveway waiting for its moment.

Grown boys found great joy in throwing refrigerators through a window in preparation.

And everyone enjoyed a small decorating party to bid the littlest house farewell.

This morning the purple eater's moment had come...

...and while the men watched the spectacle from the roof, the women and children gathered below to bid the homes goodbye.

The purple eater did half the job today...

...and left the home in disrepair like this.

And tomorrow we will bid the smaller house farewell.

And in the weeks to come to we will welcome a new house that can hold our growing family.

I'll Go Inside Someday...

2010-11-14T18:57:00.000-10:00

...and that day came a little sooner than expected for Bennett and Holland.

Ben was pretty excited about going. It was all we talked about for a week beforehand. Well that and who he was going to marry in the temple.

We are pretty excited for the temple to open again. The open house was very crowded the day we went, but Kevin and Ben returned a couple days later and had a wonderful tour of the temple.

Of course, Bennett's favorite thing was the "cows."

To learn more go here.

Holland

2010-11-02T20:55:00.001-10:00

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T14:15:00.000-10:00

Ben's Favorite Spots

2010-10-30T14:28:00.000-10:00

Where do you go in the store when you need to use the restroom?

Or when you are feeling a little worn out from your shopping adventures?

Family of Four

2010-10-26T20:18:00.004-10:00

After months of waiting, and not too much laboring, we are excited to announce the arrival of Holland Sophia on October 23rd at 12:43am.

Coming in at 19 inches and just 6 pounds and 2 ounces she is a tiny little thing.

We are just smitten with her, even her big brother. He likes to walk past her bed several times a day, look at her and say, "so cute!" He is awfully proud to be a big brother and we are pretty excited to embark on this adventure!

For more pictures go here.

September in Review

2010-10-11T20:55:00.004-10:00

Sorry for the lack of blog posting. Here's a snapshot of the happenings over the last month.

Ben has been working on his fashion and modelling skills. As you can tell he has perfected matching his colors and patterns.

After years of aspirations to sing on Broadway, we settled to simply go see Beauty and the Beast.

In the meantime Ben continued to work on his sleeping anywhere skills. He might have a career in this.

And lastly, after our recent move to a slightly bigger place, Ben has discovered his new favorite hang out--the babies bed. We will have to see how that works out once it is occupied.

4 Weeks or Hopefully Less

2010-09-22T11:14:00.005-10:00

We are nearing the arrival of our little girl. That isn't to say that our life is slowing down any.

Last night I had to stop at the gas station on the way to Young Women's to pick up ice. As I lugged the bag to the counter the cashier took one look at me and said, "You shouldn't be out in public. You should be at home resting when you are this close to the end."

I guess I look as tired as I feel! Hopefully these next couple weeks go quickly and we can start on our next adventure.

Faces

2010-09-01T21:01:00.005-10:00

Sometimes this little face does naughty things, like getting into the nail polish to "get pretty"...

But other times that same face can be pretty cute...

...when no matter what time of day it is he thinks if he asks I might actually give him an "botter pop"

...he thinks Wal-Mart means buying juice

...he comes to give me a "squeeze"

...he makes milk into a two syllable word

...and tonight when he asked me to cuddle when he went to bed and tightly gripped my hand and pulled it to his heart

Sometimes It Is Hot

2010-08-04T09:53:00.002-10:00

"Ireforks"

2010-07-31T12:19:00.003-10:00

All week long Bennett has been talking about the "ireforks" and how he wants to go see them, so on Friday we thought we would take him to see the weekly show. All day on Friday we talked about the "ireforks" and what colors they would be and so on.

Last night when we got to the park he was so excited. As soon as the first one went off though, he went running for the parking lot. After we caught him and brought him back he buried his head in my shoulder, held my head down right next to his, rocked back and forth and hummed to himself.

And when it was all over...he said it was cool.

I Wanna Drive

2010-07-17T17:05:00.002-10:00

Lately Bennett has been asking to drive every time we get in the car. I thought this argument wasn't supposed to start until he was at least 15.

When he found this rocket at the park today there was love.

He asked Kevin for the keys and "started" the ignition.

I think we are in trouble.

Verdict Has Been Given

2010-07-12T08:16:00.003-10:00

***The following verdict was given by Kevin's former classmate. It is hard to turn off that whole lawyer thing. I laughed pretty hard while I read this. It made my day, so here it is.***

The Court of Parents ("Court"), being duly advised of the evidence for and against Bennett ("Defendant")as a "neat freak" as well as the testimony of witnesses above, makes the following findings of fact, conclusions of law and order:

FINDINGS OF FACT:

1)Although the evidence presented to the Court portrays Defendant as what appears to be an animal of the bovine nature, the Court finds that said Defendant is in fact a human.

2) Defendant likes clean hands.

3) Defendant takes all necessary actions to ensure that trash is properly dispensed in receptacles.

4) Defendant maintains a "crumb" and "spill" free floor.

5) Defendant likes to be dry and smell good.

6) Defendant maintains a dust free environment through the use of said "wipes."

7) Defendant likes clean hands.

8) Defendant is two years of age.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW:

1) Under Bennett v. Parents, 333 Hawaii 999, 139 P.2d 1130 (2008), Defendant is legally entitled to the appellation of "Neat Freak."

2) Under Melanie v. Kevin , 240 Hawaii 134, 339 P.3d 2000 (2010), Defendant is entitled to all costs and reasonable fees incurred in this suit to be paid by ways of cookies and ice cream.

ORDER:

1) Defendant must maintain the appellation of "Neat Freak" until such time as Defendant is married, at which point in time his future wife may present evidence to this Court contrary to the findings of fact above, and move this Court for an Order stripping Defendant of said legal title, and an Order compelling Defendant to act in conformity with the Findings of Fact above.

2) Until such time as Defendant no longer resides with his parents, said parents are entitled to:

1) Expect Defendant to continue in conformity with the Findings of Fact above;

2) Demand any and all necessary action on the part of Defendant to clean any and all messes on the floor or other area of his place of residence, including, but not limited to all messes, crumbs, or other disorderly items ("Messes"), as designated by his parents, whether or not such Messes are caused by Defendant, his parents, or his siblings; and

3) At a certain age, to be determined by his parents, Defendant is ordered to cease and desist wearing diapers, and any subsequent powdering of his bum shall be his sole responsibility.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Final Verdict Please

2010-07-02T14:04:00.002-10:00

The question being put forth to you today is...

Is this the face of a neat freak in the making?

Here is the evidence to support such accusations:

Despite his obvious male gender, he cannot stand his hands to be dirty and will repeatedly ask for a towel or wipe until said hands have been wiped clean.
Unlike most kids, he cannot simply throw his trash on the ground and continue on his way. He will repeatedly ask you to take his trash, or if a can is convenient, place it there himself.
He has an obsession with mops and brooms. He is excited when there are crumbs on the floor and will return shortly with a broom and dustpan and painstakingly try to sweep them up. He also enjoys a good spill and will return with a towel to clean it up.
He has started asking for baby powder with his diaper changes. I think he likes that extra dry feeling. He also asks to use deodorant quite often.
He uses wipes to wipe down everything in our house. I often wonder if I need to mop or do wipes do a good enough job.
Upon exiting a store it is not uncommon for him to ask for hand sanitizer. He is two.

And for evidence against such accusations:

He is two. This stage will pass.

We will let you be the judge.

Yo Ho

2010-06-22T08:15:00.010-10:00

Word of Warning: After I had already invested time in waiting for pictures to upload I realized this post should have been broken into several posts. In the interest of my patience and not reloading pictures, I kept it all together. This means there are A LOT of photos.

Consider yourself warned.

It seems like it was ages ago, but it was only last week that we set off on a family cruise.

For one whole week we called this lovely boat home.

We set off from Seattle and enjoyed a day at sea before arriving in Ketchikan, Alaska.

While there we took in a lumberjack show. Then the boys set off for a brotherly hike.

The girls shopped and explored the little town...

...where we did happen to stumble across this guy.

The next morning we were supposed to visit Tracy Arm, but due to heavy fog the boat changed directions, and in stead we visited Dawes Glacier

Much of the morning was spent like this...

...until Ali had this brilliant idea.

That afternoon we arrived in Juneau, where we rented this beauty!

She did a fantastic job of taking us up to Mendenhall Glacier, where we not only saw the glacier but Chris had the opportunity to eat some of it too.

(Picture was lost in rearranging the photos-too lazy to try to put it back.)

That is what happens when you spend too long away from the buffet.

From there we made our way to a Catholic camp site where whales were supposed to be quite common. Despite having seen them off the boat already, we were hoping for a glimpse, which didn't come. As far as wildlife, this was the theme of our trip.

The next day we arrived in the spunky town on Skagway. We picked up another car and went for a drive into Canada to see sites such as this.

Despite reports of several bear sitings the day before, we again saw no wildlife. However, we did get a chance to stop in at the Red Onion and took a tour of this former type of wild life.

We have great friends that used to live in Skagway and hooked us up with a dogsled tour. It was really interesting to learn about the musher's way of life, although none of us are looking to take it up any time soon.

Ali just came for the puppies. Well, not really, but she did say she would be happy if she was just surrounded by them.

Our final stop was Victoria, BC. I can't even begin to tell you how happy Kevin and I were to be back there again.

While there we did spot this beauty, and of course thought of Kara.

Ali had friends there that showed us around and gave us a little history of the town as we took in the sunset.

While we didn't make it out to Butchart Gardens we were thrilled to find this huge collection of hydrangea, my favorite flower.

And, of course, how could you not resist staring at Parliament at night. It is just stunning.

When we arrived back in Seattle the following day we took off for Pike Place Market.

I fell in love with this hat...

...and this hat. Anyone know how to make either one of these?

As for our time spent on the boat, well you might say we had a good time.

We did a little of this...

...and a little of that.

We went here quite a few times.

And most everyone did this at some point.

We took in a couple sunsets.

But mostly, we just did a whole lot of this...

...and boy are we missing it.

Tastes of Summer

2010-06-09T10:17:00.004-10:00

Are you sensing a theme yet? Don't worry, I have plenty of these pictures.

Most clothes right now don't make it through the day actually dry. That would be a little too much to expect.

Lots and lots of water fun.

Bennett recently tried his hand at being a judge. Let's just say he liked it....a lot.

Oh, and don't forget slide fun. How many different positions can you go down a slide in? They have been testing it out. Results should be available by mid-July.

As for the rest of us, well, Kevin actually admitted today that he is looking forward to our vacation so he can sleep. That is the first time in his life, quite possibly, those words have come out of his mouth.

As for me, last week we had the stomach flu. Let's just say that I am looking forward to our cruise, and not dealing with anyone else's body fluid. I'll let you know how that one goes.

And the final verdict is...

2010-06-01T13:39:00.001-10:00

flower and ruffles for us. We are having a girl!

Name suggestions anyone?

Sleep Eating

2010-05-18T10:35:00.002-10:00

Sorry for the poor quality-I took this on my phone, which was the closest thing around.

Ben's New Shirt

2010-04-29T12:10:00.003-10:00

(Coming October 2010)

He's pretty excited about it.

Boys

2010-04-14T12:20:00.003-10:00

Bennett just had his two year check up. He's great! That is beside the point, however.

At this check they did the autism screening. I received a "book" to fill out about all of his habits and developments. When the doctor came in to tell me how Ben did, he said that Ben's scores were all in the normal range except for in one area. On the question about how he plays with dolls (feeds them, cuddles them, etc) I had to answer no. Next to it I wrote "He doesn't play with dolls." Apparently simply being a boy puts you at risk for autism. The doctor had a good laugh out of Ben's lack of interest in baby dolls!

5 Years and Counting...

2010-03-19T20:18:00.001-10:00

Five years ago we set off on a journey together. Since then we have:

Traveled to Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and a few other domestic sites

Moved a few times

Graduated with Melanie's undergrad and Kevin's juris doctorate

Countless festivals and other fun dates

Welcomed Bennett to our family

Had a few jobs come and go

Served in various church callings

Loved the wards we have been in

Met a lot of good friends and really interesting people

Celebrated several birthdays, including the scary 3-0

And laughed...a lot

And this guy still proposes each year.

And her answer is still yes.

Thank Goodness Babies Aren't Made on the Internet

2010-03-13T08:39:00.002-10:00

Doesn't this look just like Bennett?

Our Tsunami

2010-02-28T08:55:00.002-10:00

Friday night Kevin and I went to the opera. As we were sitting through our third intermission (and had resorted to Internet surfing to pass the time) we read about the earthquake in Chile. We read about the possible tsunami, but didn't give it much thought because usually the tsunami watch is cancelled. So with this in our minds we tucked ourselves into bed.

Too early on Saturday morning, we got a call saying the emergency sirens would start sounding at 6am for what was now being called a tsunami warning. We waited under the warmth of the covers, and sure enough the sirens sounded. We turned on the TV and started checking the Internet for information. We took stock of what supplies we might need. We filled our food grade buckets with water and watched the news as people made runs for gas, toilet paper and food. Being that we are up so high, and well out of the flood zone, we had nothing to do but wait.

So what do you do while you wait for a tsunami?

The answer is simple-you go to a birthday party! We were supposed to go to a birthday party at the beach, but seeing as they were all closed, the location was moved to a nearby park. There was lots of food and the kids had fun playing on the playground, while the adults tried their hand at water volleyball.

At the park there were quite a few families that obviously live in the flood zone, and had come to pass the time. They had brought food, games and suitcases, planning for the worst. Some of them ended up joining our festivities and we had a great time. I am sure we were a sight to see with balloons, games and food, but it was the perfect way to pass the time and not worry about what might or might not happen.

Thankfully the tsunami was minor, but I guess we weren't the only ones to party. We are grateful it ended up this way and next time we will be even more prepared.

A Belated Birthday

2010-02-19T08:19:00.003-10:00

This guy turned 30 last week:

What did he do on this momentous birthday?

He went to work of course.

And had a meeting that night.

Not to worry, there was celebrating.

There were homemade crepes that evening.

And the following night a progressive dinner that included:

Tony Roma's Onion Loaf

Buffalo Wild Wings

and

The Counter for a gourmet burger

He was ready to get crepes next, but all that grease did me in.

Happy Birthday Kevin!

We love you. Here's to another 30 years.

My Favorite Pictures of Late

2010-02-16T13:11:00.002-10:00

Too cool for church, ma!

Praying for bubbles.

Just finished the farm work.

Shhh....hunting wabbits.

A Travelling We Did Go...

2010-02-07T14:08:00.004-10:00

Blogger is not cooperating in reordering my photos, so here goes...

Bennett made a new friend in Paws. It was a one sided relationship, but Bennett didn't know that.

He found new places to perch himself.

We wore him out to the point of exhaustion.

But he did get in a few jam sessions with Uncle Nate.

And this new friend clearly didn't return the love. There was hissing and some gnashing of teeth, but Bennett again didn't seem to notice.

Things we did that were not documented:

Road trip to Kentucky to visit my mom's family. It was great to see everyone there and spend some time with them.
Bennett throwing apples to the deer with Grandpa several times a day.
My parents house being thoroughly thrashed by a toddler.
Quaker Steak & Lube
IKEA-need I say more

My hat is off though to Bennett, who was a great flier this time. Maybe I can do this again...

Flying Again

2010-01-12T16:30:00.003-10:00

Even though I swore I would never do it again, here I am having flown with him by myself. Lessons learned this go around include:

Despite your best efforts to avoid diaper leakage, it will happen and it will get all over you.

Next time, pack a change of clothes for yourself.

Older babies equal bigger babies that just can't quite get comfortable. Sleeping standing up is perfectly acceptable if he is comfortable.

Juice can cure all things.

Honestly, it really wasn't that bad. We both have slept well since he got here and Bennett is having a blast.

This is his new best friend. Not sure if it goes both ways.

And who can't help but love new superhero jammies and finding a marshmallow shooter in the back of the closet.

I think B is happy to be here, even if we did have to endure the plane rides alone.

Request for Inspiration

2009-12-27T19:47:00.005-10:00

Trevor (left) and his companion preparing to harvest.

Hey all!

As you know, Melanie's brother, Trevor, is serving his mission in Kobe, Japan. Trevor's birthday is coming up, and we wanted to send him some inspirational talks as a birthday present. To this end, please let us know of any speeches or talks that have inspired you to live better. We are hoping to send him quite a collection...

Presenting Bennett

2009-12-21T14:25:00.002-10:00

We have had two recent surprise performances by Bennett.

The first happened at the ward Christmas party. As the narrator began to tell the nativity story Bennett pulled the curtains on the stage apart and made his grand entrance along the stage edge, as every mother in the audience cringed waiting for him to fall. Thankfully I got there quickly and the crisis was averted. He, of course, basked in the attention.

His most recent performance happened last night at the Stake Christmas Concert. For those of you that have not been, it is fantastic. I have gone to the performances at the Conference Center, and I have to say, our stake holds its own. The concert included this year the choir, orchestra, children's choir, handbell choir and the state Drill Team. Through the first half Bennett was really good. We were sitting right by the percussion (easy access to a door out) and he was entertained by all that was going on.

At intermission Kevin decided to see if he could get him to go to sleep and began the process of pushing him around in the stroller outside. The concert resumed and Kevin was still out walking. The choir and orchestra were performing The Little Drummer Boy and from our seats we had a great view of the drummer, being at the other end of the pew from him. As I was admiring the drummers talent I see Bennett walk in another door, right next to the drummer. He wanders in the door and up to the drummer and then stops to look around. I am in shock and can't see Kevin anywhere, but have no way to get to Bennett through the people on our pew.

Finally Bennett sees me and I motion for him to come. I thought he would come through our pew, and being little he could have climbed over everyone. He must have thought it was too crowded though because he chose to go around, which involved walking through the percussion section. Thankfully he made his way straight over while the handbell choir gasped about this runaway child wandering through the orchestra, and no percussionists were injured in the incident.

Here is to many more embarrassing moments to come, right?

Santa Is Just Not That Cool

2009-12-04T10:57:00.002-10:00

In Bennett's defense,

he finally met Santa at 8pm

on a day that he hadn't had a nap.

Maybe next year, right!

My Life is Average

2009-11-24T16:36:00.001-10:00

Just a few thoughts to make you laugh...

The other day, I had my wisdom teeth out, and I was on some pretty good drugs. I called my professor to tell him that I wasn't going to be in class, and I thought I left him a normal message. Today I came back, and he played it for the entire class. Apparently I'm secretly deathly afraid of buses, feeling rather like a blue monkey, and was also looking forward to going to the fair with him next week. Also, I offered to sell him one of my teeth. MLIA

Today, my fifth grade students were concerned because I wasn't feeling well. I get horrible cramps every month and need to sit down for them. One of my students comes up to me with a smiles and whispers to me 'Your secret is safe with me. I know you're a werewolf, like Remus Lupin, because you get mean every month and it's the full moon tonight too.' I growled a 'thank you' to my student who proceeded to run away smiling. Oh how I love my kids.

Today I went over to my boyfriends house to surprise him when I saw him digging a hole big enough for a human. When I asked him what was going on he told me his neighbnors had been peeping on him and he wanted to spook them. Then the grabed my shoulders and said'go along with it" then he pretend head butted me and threw me into the ditch and started to fillit up. The screams from next door? Priceless.MLIA

Progress

2009-11-18T10:04:00.002-10:00

This little stinker said "Thank You" when I put him down for his nap this morning.

No really Ben, thank you!

Bumps In The Night

2009-11-13T08:31:00.003-10:00

Last night at about 9:30 I was getting ready for bed. Kevin was still at work (it has been one of those weeks for him), Bennett had long since been asleep and all was quiet in the house. As I was getting ready for bed I heard a crash from somewhere inside the house. Of course, being home alone late at night, my first thought is that someone is breaking into the house. It was after all almost completely dark in the house and there was no car in the driveway.

I stopped for a minute and waited to see if there were any other noises. After what was probably only a minute Bennett started screaming. Not the "hey I just woke up and I am not too happy about it" type of cry, but rather the "someone is seriously hurting me and I am in major pain" type of cry. This forced the issue of having to actually leave my room to face the almost certain unwanted intruder who was now torturing my child.

I flipped on lights as I went through the house, but when I reached Ben it was just him in his crib and no one standing next to him with a knife. Bennett and I then went from room to room flipping on the lights to check for someone or something that could have made that noise. When we got to the kitchen we found the wreath from above the pantry door on the floor, having exploded into a sawdust mess when it hit the floor.

I guess next time before I assume someone is in the house and going to kill me, I should check for suicidal wreaths. (Similar thing happened two weeks ago during the day-the wreath on our front door tried to plunge to its untimely death, however I was able to piece it back together again). That is definitely the more likely and favorable option.

He's Official!

2009-11-07T11:02:00.002-10:00

All sworn in now; he's an official lawyer.

A Happy Halloween

2009-11-02T16:13:00.004-10:00

From one happy monkey to you.

This picture has wedding video written all over it.

2009-10-19T21:16:00.002-10:00

Just when you think it is safe to shower by yourself...

It's Official...

2009-10-10T13:22:00.003-10:00

...the cute guy on the left passed the bar.

There will be singing and dancing in the streets tonight!

Does It Get Prettier than Banff?

2009-10-04T21:21:00.000-10:00

Off to Jasper

2009-10-03T20:42:00.003-10:00

Since we thought Vancouver was a little disappointing, we left for Jasper a day early.

We were greeted first by this amazing waterfall.

We were fascinated by the amazing color of the lakes. The water was so clear this sunken boat was easy to spot. This was the first lake we spotted on a hike called Valley of the Five Lakes.

Within a minute of taking this picture Ben fell in the water.

And this is how that hike ended after his spill.

This is where we camped. It was beautiful and it felt like no one else was camping around us.

All in all, Jasper was amazing and breathtakingly beautiful. I think if Kevin could figure out a way for us to live there he would do it in a heartbeat.

Vancouver

2009-09-22T20:55:00.004-10:00

I think the reason I have been delaying writing this post is because after Victoria, Vancouver just wasn't that impressive.

Sorry Vancouver.

We spent most of our time there in Stanley Park, which Bennett had this to say about it:

Not because of this guy...

But, because of this guy...

Who knew cute little sheep could be so frightening?!?

We Fell in Love with Victoria

2009-09-12T12:24:00.005-10:00

How could you not love a place with gardens like this?Or castles like this?Or this?For some reason Bennett preferred chasing the geese.If anyone knows what this traffic sign means or why he is wearing a hat please let us know.

We stayed right by Parliament. We loved walking by it multiple times a day. But best of all, we fell in love with the sunsets on the harbour.
Victoria, we will be back.

The Twilight Zone

2009-09-11T11:22:00.007-10:00

While camping at Olympic National Park the closest town to us was...That's right. This is the closest town which we ended up buying a tent in. (Yes, supposedly at the sporting good store where she worked.)We knew this place was a little Twilight crazy, given that the story takes place here, but nothing can prepare you for something like this:Or the teenage girls circling the truck taking pictures of every inch while crying. I thought at this point I had seen it all; the signs claiming Bella and Edward had been there, restaurants naming dishes after characters and then this truck at the Visitor's Center to top it all off.I just didn't know about this yet:That's right, this is the home of Bella Swan. In my confusion (come on this is a book about a place the author had never been to before involving vampires-it's not supposed to be real!), I finally asked the Visitor's Center what they were referring to when they were pointing out Bella and Edward's homes on a map. She explained that they read the book for descriptions and then picked homes in the town that most closely matched, with the owners permission. Of course I made Kevin drive to see the "homes" of two such popular "stars."Edward's house is actually a Bed & Breakfast you can stay in. Interestingly, they had no vacancies. Supposedly the neighbors aren't too happy about all the extra traffic these two homes are getting.This by far was my favorite sign in town, since it is the only one that seems to acknowledge that Twilight is not real.Kevin wanted to see pretty coastline while were in the area and of course, the Visitor's Center could only recommend La Push, so off we went. These are the logs you have to climb over just to get to the beach.I think this is probably what their weather looks like most of the time. It was actually eerily beautiful, but freezing. Why anyone would swim in this is beyond me.Bennett however did not get the notice that it was cold and kept running for the water. And for one last picture, when you are stuck for 5 hours in Port Angeles waiting for the ferry and they have taken your car to keep your place in line, all the Visitor's Center can recommend is, of course, going to see where Bella and Edward had their first date.

Olympic National Park

2009-09-07T21:03:00.011-10:00

So, when I said we have been on a crazy trip, I really meant it. This is the first of many installments for the all the places we have been...

The beginning of our trip started in cloudy Seattle. We had a wonderful time visiting with my aunt and her family and then spent a wonderful night with the Richards family. They were very kind to lend us the needed supplies for our camping trip, for which we will be eternally grateful.

After that we drove to Olympic National Park. We decided to go to the far end of the park to camp in the Hoh Rain forest, where the closest town is Forks. Don't worry fanatics, a separate post is coming about the wonder that is Forks and La Push.

We were quite excited to see these guys chilling by the Visitors Center.

Bennett for the first time liked hiking, especially when he got to walk by himself. What is not to like about hiking when you are obsessed with rocks and sticks?!?

Kevin also taught him about the art of throwing rocks into water. It became a theme of the trip!

As beautiful as the mossy gardens were, unfortunately we had to travel on! More to come later.

100 Posts Later

2009-09-03T03:41:00.001-10:00

I know, I know...we have been AWOL for a long time now.

I swear, we have good reason.

We have been on a very long extended vacation.
When we return next week we will update, I promise.

But for now,
Happy 100 Posts.

2009-07-24T18:48:00.004-10:00

Pretty much since Kevin's graduation he has been AWOL.

Ok, not completely AWOL, but we really only see him when he is sleeping and then he takes off for the day to study for the bar-he even goes to sleep at night studying in his mind a different subject every night. I have 5 more days till I have a husband again.

While it has been a long couple months, I have had a few things to do around here...

refinished a decorative birdhouse

roughly 30 loads of laundry

chased around dirty little hands in hopes to cut back on those 30 loads

spent hours weeding only to have the weeds grow back again the next day-curse the fertile land/weather here

watched B discover the world that is mischief

(this is only a slightly devious act-I assure you he has found much more interesting and dangerous adventures)

read so many books I can't even begin to remember them all

posted homemade signage to warn those who come knocking on my door

will see if it worked next week when the

Jehovah Witness' will surely make their weekly rounds

watched so, so, so many movies while doing projects at night

(this one is my current favorite-I have watched so many period pieces lately that I am starting to think and speak "British")

tried to teach Ben to help me,

but not in such a destructive manner...

...with my potted garden

finally got around to making the silhouette of B

I have been thinking about doing for months

and this wood is currently beckoning me to cut it up into small alphabet blocks to try to keep little hands busy

All in all,

it has been a productive summer,

but I will be happy to have

Kevin back again.

To the cutest twins...

2009-07-21T14:41:00.000-10:00

...welcome to the world little ones. I can't wait to meet you guys!

I Know, It's Time Already

2009-07-18T19:37:00.002-10:00

As I was combing Ben's hair tonight after his bath I realized maybe the ladies in the grocery store are right, I do have a cute GIRL. In the back, when it is combed his locks were reaching his shoulders.

So, one Baby Einstein and a lot of chasing later, little B looks like this.

Much better, if I do say so myself.

Do You See It?

2009-07-09T19:23:00.002-10:00

A couple months ago I was at Ikea with my family and found the cutest kids towel-a little white mouse! It was so cute and my mom talked me into buying it, because it is just that cute. Bennett loves his little towel, but every time he wears it I hear my brothers words in my head...

...My brother waited until after the towel was purchased and at home with tags removed to say, "Doesn't it kind of remind you of something else?"

I still like the towel-the very very cute mouse towel.

Should I Be Offended?

2009-07-03T12:01:00.003-10:00

Despite how close the homes around us are, you hardly ever hear or see any of our neighbors. The least private part of our house is our kitchen, because we have large windows and no trees blocking our view. These windows look toward the mountains and also toward our neighbors house.

Today, as I was feeding B lunch a tree started moving along our fence. Our fence is pretty high, so I am guessing the tree has to be about 12 feet-surely costing a pretty penny. The tree came to rest squarely between our kitchen window and our neighbors kitchen window. I sat there thinking about what that tree was really saying, when along came another tree just to make really sure that all areas between our kitchen and theirs were effectively covered.

I guess what I am really wondering is should I be offended, or relieved that now I don't have to worry about not walking around in my skivvies? Really, I should have just taken more advantage of my snooping opportunities and spent my days watching their every move!

I Could Scream This From The Mountains

2009-07-01T06:06:00.003-10:00

First off, I am not one to post something of this nature; that is how happy I am. I just have to tell someone about this.

Bennett is a great kid, horrible teether. He is definitely not one of those kids that one day you simply notice he has a new tooth. We know that tooth is coming days/weeks before it makes its ugly appearance. Its arrival is accompanied by shortened or absent naps, waking during the night, long periods of crying without reason, an insane need to be by his mother, and general discontentment. My normally very happy boy is turned into a screaming monster. This in turn takes me to a place where patience is gone and I dream about the child I normally have, half convinced that he will never return.

A dear friend, that heard we were in the woes of another bout of teething, the molars proving to be the worst so far, brought me this little beauty:

This is what I know-his nap yesterday was 1.5 hours (teething naps usually last 20-45 minutes tops) and slept 12 hours through the night last night. For the first time in a week he woke up happy this morning and I could cry because this all makes me so happy. Two doses later and I am totally converted to this stuff! If a shipping strike does happen here, if nothing else, we will have this in our food storage.

Internetless...

2009-06-24T18:27:00.003-10:00

For the past two weeks we have been without Internet. It's a strange world trying to remember how people communicated before the web, but somehow we made it through. Here are some of the happenings during that time.

Girls camp-and all the tired hazy days that followed it.

A happy Father's Day to all.

Our first call to poison control (and it wasn't even 6am yet).

Molars.

Oodles and oodles of reading.

While it was great fun to not have the Internet, I am happy it is back. You realize just how much you depend on the Internet for when you are in the dark for a while.

If Only I Had A Camera

2009-06-05T19:27:00.002-10:00

Earlier I noticed that water was dripping from our house under a bathroom that we don't use. I mentioned this to Kevin's mom today to get her opinion and we set about trying to see what the problem was. We decided that we should shut off the water to the toilet and wait for someone else to come look at it. Try as we did, we couldn't get the valve to turn off.

Lucky Kevin happened to stop by home right about then, so we marched him into the bathroom to turn off the valve. Bennett, of course, wanted in on all the action, so I took him out of there and shut the door behind me to keep him out.

I could hear Kevin and his mom talking back and forth, with lines such as 'It seems like there is more water coming out,' 'Are we turning it the right way?' 'What about this piping here?' Then I heard a noise that sounded an awful lot like rushing water coming from the bathroom. I went to see what was going on, and as I turned the corner the bathroom door swung open, Kevin's mom rushed out followed closely by Kevin as water shot up to the ceiling in the bathroom.

Kevin quickly crawled under the house to shut off the water while we tried to control the geyser with mere towels. Several hours and phone calls later, I am waiting for the emergency plumber to come deal with my geyser and restore water to the house!

It was one of those things that even in the moment, it was still pretty darn funny, and if only I had a camera on their faces when that door swung open.

It Begins

2009-05-27T07:42:00.006-10:00

Last Wednesday...

...this Wednesday.

Oh Happy Day

2009-05-18T09:17:00.004-10:00

Yesterday, after three long years, Kevin graduated from law school. It has been a long road and I am so grateful for all the hard work he put in. I forced him to walk since he didn't do it for his undergrad. Of course graduation wouldn't be complete without an outdoor ceremony is sweltering heat and humidity with a down pour in the midst of it all to get us all nice and wet.

Kevin and Nick were the LDS students of this graduating class and also were on law review together. His wife got me through many law school functions. Thank goodness for her to save me from many conversations I had no idea what they were talking about!

Kevin seems pretty happy about being done, but even more excited about our trip.

Can you tell that I am just a little excited? Now it is on to the bar--wish us luck!

2009-05-13T20:14:00.004-10:00

So. I just took my last test for law school. I think they are going to let me graduate.

Although it is quite cool to be done with school, the rest of summer will be studying for the bar. About 10-12 hours a day. No fun there.

After the Bar, WE ARE GOING ON VACATION!!!!!!!!!

We are flying to Seattle and we rented a car for 3 weeks in August.

We are thinking Canada, Idaho, Washington, or maybe Oregon. A little camping, some driving, and whatever else happens to us.

Do you have any ideas of things to do, places to see, eat, or stay?

Please send any and all ideas to us.

Email: kevinandmelanie@gmail.com
picture: www.firstpeople.us

One Year Older and Wiser Too...

2009-05-08T00:01:00.000-10:00

Happy Birthday B.

Here's what this crazy boy is up to: sippy cup milk chugger, still loves those veggies, has discovered the world of chocolate found inside Easter eggs, loves cars and trucks, signs that he is "all done," gets into every drawer, has a passion for emptying bags, loves puppies and especially being "kissed" on the face, busy busy busy, stands on his own, refuses to walk because crawling is faster, total flirt.

Our last year sure would have been dull without you!

2009-05-01T07:17:00.003-10:00

Why would you walk when you can crawl this fast?

(Sorry, this is the best video I have of said crawling)

That is, until your dad teaches you that you can do this instead (and bring your toys along for the ride)!

Every Month, Without Fail

2009-04-28T13:17:00.003-10:00

There are certain things that I can count on happening every month, and they always come through. These things include the grass needing to be cut yet again (you would think it would just stop growing already), another deadline looming over Kevin's head, the numbers on the scale not showing me what I would like to see, and Kaiser giving me a hard time when I try to pay my bill over the phone.

Our dearest insurance company, Kaiser, gives us a hard time every single month. We don't have insurance through work, so we pay out of pocket every month for coverage, and every month I call the number listed on the bill sent to me to pay over the phone. Of course you get an automated system (I call her Hilda) that needs to know such things as what time you got up this morning, how many eggs you have left in the house and the current price of gas in our neighborhood before Hilda will even give you options. The options, as usual, are vague and misleading, but after months of calling I have figured out the best way to navigate through Hilda.

The first lesson I have learned in calling them is that the number listed will take you to a local call center, but to make a payment you need to be connected to California. Unfortunately the number they have given me for the California office the last four months doesn't work, therefore you must call the local office, and ask to be connected to the California office. Now, 50% of the time the lovely call center person will instead transfer you back to the beginning of Hilda's message so that you can again tell them when you last did laundry and how many toothbrushes you have gone through this year. Again, when you finally get to yet another person you take the chance that they will connect to you to the correct office and hopefully you can make a payment. One month I called them 5 times before getting through to California.

Last month when I called Kaiser I explained how this has been a problem each and every month. They kindly assured me they were aware of the problem and taking steps to fix it in the coming weeks. They also let me in on magic words to say so that if I was not actually connected to California, the local office CAN take a payment!

So with great anticipation I called them this month, knowing they were working on the problem and if all else failed I knew the magic words. I called and told Hilda what I ate for lunch and how many diapers I have changed today. To my astonishment Hilda connected me straight to CA, totally bypassing the whole local office! I told the wonderful call center lady I needed to make a payment and she kindly told me she could help. I told her when I last changed my oil and how many pictures are hanging in our house and she brought up our information. I was already getting a little giddy at how easy this was and then she took out an anvil and squashed my excitement right into the ground. She told me that they will only accept payment over the phone for your first copay and no matter how much I tried to tell her that I did every month, she would not budge. I don't know why I was so surprised. I guess it really has been another month, hasn't it?

(PS. Okay, so she called me back three minutes later and told me that she messed up and that I can in fact pay over the phone. Still, why can't it ever just be easy to give them my money!)

It's The Little Things...

2009-04-25T09:54:00.002-10:00

...that make me happy

Getting a little organization in our life

How Bennett will always try to find a way to cross his ankles-such a proper boy

Revisiting old friends (currently watching Season 2 of these old friends)

Hand painted world decorated Easter egg with marriage proposals inside

A husband that proposes every year

Two Years

2009-04-18T09:35:00.002-10:00

Almost four years ago, Kevin's family was having a work party on a holiday repainting the entire house. After hours of painting with no music things were getting a little monotonous and thus a game was born. Kevin and Chris started playing the game "I Bet You Haven't Thought of This in Two Years." They would go back and forth trying to find songs, TV shows, movies, anything that the other hadn't thought of. Now, these two can think some pretty random thoughts so it is not as easy as it might seem. This game has even gotten to the point that Kevin will still randomly call Chris with something he is sure Chris hasn't thought of recently. Here are some recent possibilities for the game:

1. Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle
2. Slap Bracelets
3. Technotronic - Pump Up the Jam
4. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Parents Just Don't Understand
5. Pogs

Some things are fun to remember, but some things are probably best left forgotten.

Our Quick Trip

2009-04-11T15:19:00.005-10:00

We have arrived home again, and while it was a great trip I think Bennett is happy to be home again. Even though I swore I would never fly with Bennett by myself again, he was a champ!

My grandmother's funeral service was wonderful. I am always amazed at how much you learn about a person at their funeral.

Everytime I go to Portland I am struck by how pretty all the trees are. Her cemetary has beautiful trees and wild purple flowers growing amongst the headstones.

I haven't seen my cousin Andrea for probably 4 years. Her hair has changed color and we were actually mistaken for each other! It was really nice to see her and the rest of the family.

It was really fun to see my dad with the rest of his family. I don't think everyone has been together since I was a little girl. My dad will always be the baby of his family, no matter how old he gets.

This is my dad's family at my grandmother's graveside. It was fun to see them all together.

It was really nice to have a chance to see my family also, even if some of them were missing. Bennett enjoyed the attention from everyone.

Is there a family resemblance? It is hard to tell with Kevin's coloring being so obvious.

Four generations of our family.

And while we were there, Bennett discovered toilet paper. Good thing he is too short to reach the roll at home!

It was a wonderful, but very quick trip. It was wonderful to see everyone, most of whom I haven't seen in years. With my grandparents having 5 children, 23 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren and 5 more of on the way, the family is growing quickly and it is hard to keep track of everyone!

So Many Things, So Little Time

2009-04-04T22:12:00.002-10:00

Welcome to Shangri La. Yes, this little jewel is nestled not far from where we live.

Owned by Doris Duke, a rich heiress, this palatial estate hosts rooms full of antique Islamic art. It is amazing to see how one woman transformed her home from top to bottom. Seriously, there is no corner left untouched. Unfortunately you cannot take pictures inside and the outside is tame in comparison.

And it was way too much fun to have this adventure with these lovely ladies! Thanks Kara for suggesting that we go.

As for B, I have been very slow to say that he has a first word. He does say mama and dada but honestly, it is babble and it has no meaning to him. Sometimes in his babble other sounds come out that sound like words, but again, I don't think he understands what he is saying.

However, last Sunday a whole group of us were in the kitchen preparing for the kalbi feast when someone walked up to Bennett and said 'Hi Bennett.' His little voiced responded very clearly, 'Hi.' Again someone said 'Hi Bennett' and again he said 'hi.' After a couple rounds of this, and now that he has repeated this through the past week, his first word is 'hi.' It is very appropriate for a kid who is only shy when family is in town! And so with his first word in his pocket he and I are off to visit my family, even though I swore I would never fly with him alone again!

Grandma

2009-04-02T12:05:00.006-10:00

I can remember one night when I was eight my dad came in to my room to tell me that my Grandfather was quite ill and might not live long. He asked me to pray for his him, which I did and he got better. It seemed like about once a year from that point on my Grandfather would have an ailment and we would pray fervently for him.

About eight years ago, that changed. My Grandmother became ill and we worried for her instead. So many times it seemed like she didn't have much longer left, but amazingly she pulled through. Despite her hardships she was still trying to do her normal activities and would insist on serving you food whenever you came to visit. There were always treats which had been baked and then stored in the freezer for such occasions. It was hard to get her to sit still and rest and you could see the toll having visitors would take on her.

She passed away today and I am sure she is finally resting. And now I find myself again thinking of my Grandfather, but instead of his health I am praying he is comforted.

Funeral, Family and Fudge

2009-03-30T18:37:00.003-10:00

Our last week has been so busy, but so wonderful. In the matter of weeks flights were booked, plans were made and family arrived to celebrate the life of Grandpa. His funeral was held on Saturday and it was beautiful. Someone there said to me that it was so nice to be at a happy funeral-she summed it up perfectly. It has been wonderful to meet the man I didn't know and celebrate a life well lived.

In addition, there has been KFC and fireworks, Chinese food on the porch, too too many ribs, beach trips and lots of laughing. Slowly people are beginning to go home but it has been wonderful to have everyone here. Life is going to be a little too quiet without all of you here! Visit again soon.

How Time Goes By

2009-03-19T13:15:00.004-10:00

The first time I saw Kevin was in a Sunday School class. It was the first Sunday of the new school year and he was teaching. He introduced himself to the class and as he began the lesson I could hear the whispers of girls that thought he was cute. I was not interested, and I don't think he was either.

Through a strange twists of events, most of which have been debated since then as not happening how either one of us remembers, we came to be Kevin and Melanie on this day four years ago.

I would say it was the happiest day of my life, but I think we have had even better days since then.

Thanks Kev for being married to me. Will you marry me for another year?

2009-03-14T09:36:00.004-10:00

Grandpa

July 18, 1918 - March 13, 2009

10 Months

2009-03-12T06:08:00.002-10:00

At ten months: in to everything! loves plugs and toilets. opens drawers and cupboards (and promptly empties them). standing whenever possible. 5.5 teeth. quite an easy laugh. likes to chase you and to be chased. sits at the door every afternoon to watch the school kids walk to the bus. obsessed with cars and trucks. can pick out his stuffed monkey, dog and bear. pretends to be shy, but we all know the truth. sleeps like a pro! pretty much a table food guy. crawls correctly now (which is sad for us, but wonderful for his clothes). has ventured to take a step here and there on his own but has no clue that he even did it. loves dogs. claps and waives. huge fan of the beach or any water he can get himself into. has figured his way around any barricades we have made to keep him out of things. makes our days that much brighter.

Ode to Target

2009-03-06T09:50:00.003-10:00

Oh Target, how I love you.

I love your pristine aisles with red lines. I love the way you always smell the same. I love your hanging Easter decorations that swing. I love your cute home items and fashionable, yet reasonably priced clothing. I love your red shopping carts. I love your garden line for kids. I love your table cloths, napkins and kitchen towels. I love your sheets, dust ruffles and pillows. I love your vintage games.

You make me want to redecorate, head to toe, floor to ceiling.

I have waited for you for a long time, and Target, you were worth it. Welcome to my home.

To Maui We Did Go

2009-03-03T09:54:00.008-10:00

Several weeks ago I was trying to convince Kevin that after he takes the bar we should take off to another island. He kept saying that we can do that anytime and I kept saying that, while we can, we just never do.

Maybe in an effort to prove me wrong, maybe because he realized I had a point, for my birthday (and his) Kevin gave us a trip to Maui.

In an effort to save you from a blow by blow travelogue, you can look at the pictures if you so choose.

We had a wonderful time. We loved it.

It might be my favorite island.