Toone Family

Summer is here!

2011-06-27T21:55:00.015-06:00

Looks like my blogging has dwindled to one post each quarter. But they're marathon posts, right?

So when we left off, I was about to go on a FABULOUS sister trip to Philadelphia, New York and Washington D.C. I made a photo book documenting the trip; I posted it as a separate entry after this one. Take a look and see what you think!

If you can't tell from the photos...it was awesome! My sisters and I have decided that we need to meet up in a major city every few years. Next on the list? New Orleans!

So that brings us to Easter! The annual Easter party with Logan's family is a big deal:

A pinata for Easter? Why not?! The kids thought it was great!

Deviled eggs + bacon + chives = YUM. (Isn't everything better with bacon?)

Later, we headed to Grammy and Papa's for the traditional egg coloring. This is serious business...

For Max, a pinecone is as good as an egg...

Sorry for the excessive photos of food, but food is important. And if it's very good food, then it's VERY important!

The Easter finery! It was nice and overcast when we went outside, but by the time I got everyone arranged and such, the sun had come out from behind the clouds in full force. Hence the squinty expressions. Oh, well; you get the idea, right?

See, that's better!

April also brought us a new cousin! Connor Nathan Toone came (in a hurry!) on April 29th. I have a little crush on him...

This is the dishtowel that Lily made in preschool for my Mother's Day gift. I have never seen a more beautiful butterfly!

We had a May birthdays/Mother's Day/Aunt Lindsay's vocal recital party at a park. Max got this darling little ride-on toy from Regular Grandma and Grandpa (Logan's parents). You can see that he's telling us that he's one in this picture. So cute!

More birthday fun with our one-year-old!

For those who don't live around here, we had a VERY rainy spring. So rainy that the fathers and sons campout our ward was supposed to have was cancelled. That's when it's good to have a firepit in your own backyard. Bust out some hot dogs and some skewers and you've got your own little campout!

This is what met my eyes when I came down the stairs one morning. I thought it was particularly significant since it was in the wake of the supposed "end of the world" (according to one Harold Camping). To see all the animals lined up two by two was a little unsettling. What was more unsettling was to realize that they were in reverse alphabetical order. Creepy, no? Those are some smart animals...

So people write on their blogs all the time about how great their husbands are (i.e., "my husband did the dishes while I was at book club; he's the BEST!"). I have long since believed that my husband is, in fact, "the best" -- but a recent event just confirms it. Once you've heard this story, ask yourself -- HONESTLY ask yourself -- if your husband would not only agree to something like this but volunteer for something like this:

So for the past few months, I've been interested (read: obsessed) with owning an old library card catalog. If there are people reading this who don't know what that is...well, you're too young to know about anything cool. Anyway, I had been searching daily on Craigslist, eBay, two different public surplus websites, KSL classifieds -- all without success. Available card catalogs were either too pricey or too far away. I even went so far as to call every public library in the state (yup, you heard me) to see if they had any kicking around in a storage room or something. Um, they don't. And all the librarians in the state think I'm crazy. I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that if I wanted to get one of these babies, I'd have to get it from out of state. Lo and behold, a listing came up on one of the public surplus websites for not one but FOUR 72-drawer units from UC Berkeley (yes, the one in California). Now, I had already accepted the fact that I'd probably be driving to California in a pick-up truck to get one of these -- but I knew that the Ford Ranger wasn't going to be able to carry four 300-lb. pieces of furniture. So I couldn't have them. WAAAAAA!!! Because of my own morbid curiosity, however, I kept my eye on the auction anyway. Logan and I were driving down to Cedar City for a quick overnighter with the kids when the auction was in its last hour. The price for all four of those units was far below what one usually would pay for one unit -- and nobody was bidding! I was distraught. I explained the situation to Logan, and he said that if I bid on them and won the auction, he would take a U-Haul to California and get them for me. OF HIS OWN FREE WILL, HE SAID HE WOULD GO GET THEM FOR ME! So I bid. But I didn't meet the reserve price, and the auction timed out. So much for that idea...

But wait! As we were rolling into Cedar City, I got an e-mail from the surplus office saying that even though the reserve price hadn't been met, they were still willing to sell me the card catalogs for the price I bid. So I won! I WON I WON I WON!!! So the following week, Logan boarded a flight for Oakland, walked to the U-Haul place, rented a truck, drove to the surplus warehouse, loaded up the card catalogs and made his way home. He rolled it at 4:00 a.m. -- and then woke up at 6:30 to go into the office for work. Now, I ask you: if that's not love, what is? I have yet to refinish my beautiful card catalogs; I have a couple of buyers lined up who are interested in purchasing them. If you're interested in one, just be aware that you're not going to have a lot of luck finding one in Utah and you might as well give me a call. :)

Here is the trusty stallion....

And here is the precious cargo! Many of the drawers were still full of cards, which I think is a cool bonus (again, I understand that I am crazy). I can't wait to get the refinishing done! YAY!

Not long after the card catalog adventure, we headed to Park City for a little R&R with my family. My sister Lisa was in town with her two little boys for a visit, so there was lots of fun cousin time!

The swimming pool is, of course, the main attraction.

There was also finger painting, which the kids thought was great!

I had to take a picture of Lily's jelly shoes. I found these shoes at D.I. and knew that my girls would love them. They were too small for Amanda, so Lily became the proud owner. Amanda was intensely jealous of these shoes, and Lily took every opportunity to rub it in. :) She wore them until they absolutely fell apart. The day we had to throw them away was like a funeral or something. I have searched high and low to find similar replacements, but to no avail. Sorry, girls! You sure didn't haven to look that hard to find jelly shoes when I was growing up...

This is candied bacon. Um, yes. It was delicious! Thanks to my sister Lisa for preparing it for us!

Lily officially graduated from her first year of preschool! What a cutie she is!

That's a pretty cute group of kids, no? We're only missing Ian in this picture (Ian's mom had to have unexpected gall bladder surgery, so they ended up not being able to come).

For some time now, I've wanted to go to Monticello (my mom's birthplace where my grandparents still live) during the bloom of the irises behind my family's cabin. It's a short window, so even though Logan wasn't able to join us, I loaded up the kids and headed down. Now, I have to admit something embarrassing. Though I've made the trip to Monticello at least once a year since my birth, I have never been behind the wheel. I'm the one who's dozing while someone else is driving. So I'm not as familiar with the route as one might think. Even that doesn't excuse the fact that I missed the ENTIRE city of Spanish Fork (the place where State Road 6 heads through the canyon toward Price). I was almost to Scipio before I realized that I wasn't in the right place. By that time, my best option was to take I-70 all the way across the state -- so that's what I did. It's not the quickest way to get from Clearfield to Monticello, but it might be the most picturesque:

At any rate, we finally made it there. The kids had a big time riding bikes and such in Grandmom and Granddad's long driveway -- a time-honored tradition in which I participated when I was little.

I remember this little green tractor from my childhood. The fun lives on!

There's lots to enjoy at the cabin!

Thanks for the great trip, Grandmom and Granddad! I'm glad we got to have you all to ourselves. :)

The upcoming weeks will bring lots of fun events: Amanda's kindergarten graduation, Fourth of July festivities, a "Fancy Nancy" birthday party for Lily, a day at Cherry Hill, a quick trip to Vernal to visit Clayton and Noelle, trek for Logan and me, young women's camp -- and then school will be back in! Amanda is excited to be a big first-grader; Lily is looking forward to her second year of preschool; and Benson will finally get the chance to be in his own preschool class instead of of tagging along at his sisters' classes. Summer is great!

Photo Book

2011-06-27T12:47:00.000-06:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Finally!

2011-03-24T18:44:00.015-06:00

I like how it's almost April and there are photos in this post documenting Christmas. That's neat.

When we left off, my sister and her family were just getting ready to head home to Pennsylvania after a long stay in Utah. :( It sure was fun to have them here! Here's a photo of my (orphany-looking) kids with their cousins:

December also brought us a six-year-old! I told Amanda that I wanted her to start aging backward now, because six is WAY too old. She was not amused.

As I mentioned before, Amanda requested a CandyLand theme for her birthday party. We started out making some candy necklaces:

played candy Bingo:

had party favors:

and, of course, had cake! I asked Amanda if she wanted a flat cake or a tall round cake. Tall round cake was the winner...

The moment of truth...

I must say that creating all these layers was a bit of a painstaking process. But when we cut the cake and a squeeeeeal rose up from all the little girls when they saw the rainbow on the inside...well, it was totally worth it.

The eventual success of the cake wasn't accomplished without casualties. Rest in peace, green layer of cake.

I know I already shared photos of the nativity re-enactment at my family party; we also do a nativity pageant at Logan's family's Christmas party. For unknown reasons, Lily was adamant that she should play the part of Joseph. It was a very...um...progressive Christmas for the Toones. At least our baby Jesus actually was a boy this year. Good job, Max!

Benson got this racetrack for Christmas and couldn't tear himself away from it.

It's always good when we get enough snow for Logan to make the traditional giant snowman with the kids. We had to get a little creative on the accessories (nobody has a top hat this big).

The Christmas break would also not be complete without Logan undertaking some huge home improvement project at my request. For many moons now, I have been less than satisfied with our family room. It certainly wasn't as bad as when we had the southwest print couches down there (I should be more grateful; the couches were free). Still, it's difficult to make a room feel inviting when the walls are the color of cold oatmeal.

I wanted to put up some faux wainscoting to add some textural interest, and also repaint the area above the wainscoting to match the wall color in the rest of the house.

Here are the after photos. Much better! Thanks, honey. That one required a lot of late nights. I don't care if I never see a caulk gun again...

Our Benson turned three! Can you believe it? Here he is wearing the special birthday hat (it belongs to Grammy) and making a wish. He asked for cars cupcakes. I've been volunteering at a local bakery for the last few weeks, so good cupcakes aren't hard to come by...

Here he is on the bike he got from Grammy and Papa. He doesn't seem to mind the cold! You ought to see him tearing around the neighborhood on this thing...

Lily the chef! This is really neither here nor there, but Lily's preschool class was learning about different careers and made these darling hats. I couldn't resist a photo!

Amanda had her very first piano recital a couple of weeks ago. She did a great job, and we are so proud of all her hard work! Here she is receiving a rose from her teacher at the end of the recital:

It had been about six months since I took photos of the kids. They change awfully quickly...

My parents took Amanda and Lily to Wolf Mountain for some spring skiing. Amanda had been once before with my mom, but this was Lily's first time. If you think Lily was the youngest/smallest one there at age four, you would be totally wrong. However, if you think that Amanda and Lily were the cutest little skiers there, you would be absolutely right!

As a sidenote, Benson was very jealous. Since the skiers in this family seem to get progressively younger (Amanda was five, Lily was four), maybe Benson will be the first three-year-old skier we've had. Time will tell...

So here's some exciting news (well, it's exciting to me): one week from today, I'll be flying to Pennsylvania with my sister Krista so we can visit our big sister Lisa! This trip has been in the works for months; it's finally almost here, and I'm so excited! We're spending a day in D.C. and a day in New York...so pretty much it will be like "Sex and the City -- MORMON STYLE!" (This means that there will be no sex, no drinking, and much frumpier footwear.) Stay tuned...

P.S. Many thanks to my loverboy Logan for revamping the blog. Here's how it works: I tell him how I want it to be, and he makes it happen. Pretty much the pattern for our life, now that I think about it. Love you, hon!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2010-12-16T12:53:00.009-07:00

Season's greetings! We've been in full Christmas mode for a good six weeks now...but since Christmas is only nine days away, it's REALLY Christmas! Here's the Christmas card we sent out this year:

And here is the exterior of the house! Let me just take a moment to extol one of Logan's many virtues: the proper hanging of Christmas lights. It was many years ago (12, to be exact) that I marveled at the meticulous approach Logan took to decorating his parents' house with Christmas lights. It wasn't a passing phase, apparently. He has received many comments on the precise spacing and straight lines of the lights. The highest praise of all? The question one neighbor asked: "So, who do you hire to do your lights?" (In his mind, I know Logan was yelling, "BOO YA!!!") Anyway, I love to drive up to this house.

Come on up to the porch! I do so love having a porch...

Step on inside and look to your left for a view of the dining room. I was able to procure this 9 1/2 foot slim pre-lit Christmas tree from KSL for less than half its asking price at Tai Pan Trading. I read an article in Better Homes and Gardens Christmas issue last year about decorating your tree like a professional. I decided right then and there that this was going to be the year for me and my tree! I'm a teensy bit obsessed with the color chartreuse at the moment, so that color was incorporated into my palette quite heavily. I'm very pleased with the results! A special thanks to those who gifted me with cash for my birthday. Most of it went toward this tree!

This is what she looks like by daylight, in case you were wondering...

A little centerpiece of bottlebrush trees and a deer. The inspiration for this design was also borrowed from BHG...

If you look closely, you can see the DARLING cake stand my sister Lisa gave me for my birthday! It's at the very tippy-top, with a polka-dot bow woven through it. I love it (one cannot have too many cake stands, as far as I'm concerned)!

Here is the west plant shelf in the kitchen...

...and the east plant shelf.

Looking down into the nook. This is the area of the kitchen where most people put their dining table. But since I like to host so much, I moved the dining room to a larger space and turned this spot into a little sitting area. I find that it suits our needs quite well! The buffet under the bay window is usually in the dining room where the tree currently resides. The rest of the year, there is a high-back bench under the bay window. Very cozy!

The family room:

Can I just take a moment for a quick diatribe about nativity sets? I have a beef with them (not the subject matter, mind you). In most nativity sets, you see the baby Jesus in a manger with Mary sitting a little way off, hands clasped in front of her. Joseph stands even farther away...and he never looks like he really cares about Mary or the baby. He just stands there. Now, I ask you: How many photos have you seen of a brand new family where the mother is not holding her baby, and the husband is not beaming with joy and pride?! I'll tell you what; when I had my babies, all I wanted to do was snuggle them all the time. And I didn't want Logan standing 10 feet away, staring at me like I belonged in a zoo or something. Sheesh.

Anyway, I found a nativity I really liked last year. Then, a few weeks ago, Lily came upstairs and told me that it "just fell over while I was sitting there." Uh huh. It was absolutely beyond repair, so I had to go get another one. The one I got is passable, I suppose...but the way it's painted kind of screams "Basilica" to me. Am I crazy? Anyway, I haven't decided yet if I'm going to paint it ivory and then antique it. Cast your vote!

The downstairs tree. I got a smaller tree this year for downstairs. The one we had before was too large, and it didn't leave room for a tree-topper. The kids were beyond excited to pick out a tree-topper this year!

What's this? A mantel for hanging stockings, you say? Why, yes it is! After many moons of searching, I finally found a large fireplace mantel/box and an electric insert the same week on KSL.com. If that's not kismet...well, I don't know what is. Logan did some customizing to make the insert fit properly in the opening, and I love the look of having a fireplace in the family room.

Presents! Okay, got the deal of the century on some Christmas nesting boxes I bought off KSL.com (are you noticing a theme here?). Now I'm wishing I would have gotten more of them, because they make gift wrapping such a cinch! I love this sparkly polka-dot ribbon...

Okay, this brings us to an important holiday event: Mock Christmas Eve, Lebanese-style! I realize that this is not the way most people celebrate Christmas Eve...but I ain't most people. My sister Lisa and her family moved to Pennsylvania a few months ago, but they were able to get a killer deal on some flights. We knew they wouldn't be here over Christmas, so we had an early Christmas Eve so we could have "Christmas" together. It was my turn to host this year...and the hostess chooses the menu! So we had my current favorite: Lebanese food. The table was set...

...and the food was ready! Here we have pita bread, spanakopita and several varieties of hummus.

There were fruits and veggies, ful mudammas, tabouleh...

...spinach fatayer, lamb sfiha...

..it was all delicious! Mom provided baklava for dessert. Turns out I wasn't that far off the mark; in researching recipes, I learned that many of the dishes we ate that night were fairly common at the time of Christ. Here are the kidlets, re-enacting the first Christmas. My newphew Beck was supposed to be the sheep, but he wasn't thrilled about keeping his ears on his head...

Next up was a fun morning of fudge-making. We were helping out a friend of my mom's who needed to make a mass quantity of fudge (I like the phrase, "mass quantity of fudge," BTW).

These two little helpers took the work very seriously.

Lily had the important job of quality control. No subpar fudge would do!

The finished product! Well, one pan of it, anyway. I'm told we made 50 pounds of fudge. Can that be right? I knew it was a lot, but geez...

After the fudge-making, we enjoyed our annual Grammy's Tea Party. Lot's of treats to be had!

This picture isn't that great, but I wanted to showcase Amanda's upturned pinky. :)

And just because it's about the cutest thing I've seen in a while...look who's sitting up!

Don't you just want to nibble those rolls? Speaking of nibbling, Amanda's 6th birthday party is fast approaching (only two days away!), and she has requested a Candyland-themed event. Here are the invitations:

Give me a few weeks and I'll have an update on Amanda's party and on Christmas. About Christmas...

I think I posted a while back about the less-than-perfect relationship I have with Santa Claus. You know, about how I don't really think he has anything to do with Christmas, and in the end only serves to confuse children and make liars out of their parents. I've often thought that I'd like to come up with some way to diminish (if not completely remove) the role of Santa Claus in our Christmas tradition...and a few months ago, I found a solution in an unexpected way. I've been reading the Little House on the Prairie series to my girls (got that idea from my cousin Song). One of the books details a Christmas when Laura (the main character) and her family aren't expecting Santa Claus to come because of their remote location and because of a terrible storm. That Christmas, they spent time together with one of their neighbors, Mr. Edwards, who tells the girls he met Santa Claus in the city. He says that Santa Claus asked him to bring gifts for the girls since he was worried his sleigh couldn't make it through the storm. And so they still had gifts and Christmas dinner and all the usual traditions...but Santa Clause never came. The final words of that chapter are, "That was a happy Christmas." When we finished that chapter, Amanda's brow furrowed and she said, "Well, I don't think it was a happy Christmas. Santa Claus didn't even come!" So that sparked a discussion about why we celebrate Christmas, and do we really need Santa Claus, and why is Santa Claus important to you, and so on and so forth. By the end of the discussion, Amanda felt confident that Christmas could be just as good without Santa Claus as it was with him (as long as someone was bringing presents!). So after talking about it with Logan, we decided to ask the kids if it would be all right if mom and dad brought the presents this year, instead of Santa Claus. And they were okay with it! Now, I realize that this is not the same as telling them that there isn't a Santa Claus (I just can't see a way to do this without "ruining" things for their friends, classmates, etc.)...but I feel that it's a step in the right direction. We've never really talked up Santa Claus at our house, never written letters to him...because I'm just really uncomfortable reinforcing for my children what I know to be a false notion that I'll have to explain later. I thought I'd dodged the bullet on the whole letter to Santa bit...but no, the public school system thwarted me there. I understand that Santa Claus is part of the American tradition of Christmas, and I understand that not everyone views things the way I do. I don't expect the teachers at school to avoid talking about Santa. But it seems to me that a little more thought could have been taken before all the kids wrote a letter to Santa as a class activity. I only say this because Amanda's elementary is a Title I school. That means that a large percentage of families within the school boundaries fall below a certain socioeconomic level (i.e., more than half the students qualify for free or reduced meals, etc.). So to have these kids write letters to Santa at school, and then to have the teachers distribute a letter to each student from Santa several days later saying that he's working really hard in his shop to finish all the things they asked for...it just seems cruel to some of these parents! I would imagine that those who really can't afford to get their kids the things they want for Christmas have probably downplayed the whole "write a letter to Santa" thing in an effort to avoid disappointing their children. I guess I don't see how that disappointment can be avoided now, and that's a bitter pill to swallow for those parents. Anyway, I suppose that's enough of a rant. You're pretty much guaranteed at least one per post with me...

Fall

2010-10-31T14:38:00.011-06:00

Ah, autumn -- my favorite season! Actually, it wasn't a very typical autumn, weather-wise. It stayed warm for so long. Would you believe that we picked the last of our tomatoes yesterday...right before going trick-or-treating?! We've never done that before! Hopefully we'll get a little taste of autumn before winter sets in.

When autumn comes, it means that Lily's birthday can't be far behind. We sure have a cute four-year-old!

(I must say that three-year-old Lily was such a hoot, it was rather difficult to say goodbye to her. However, I'm sure four-year-old Lily comes with her own set of perks; I can't wait to see what they are). We had a little party for her at Logan's parents' house where she received a jewelry box with some "fancy" accessories in it. The next day, I happened upon this scene in her bedroom:

It's like Noah's Ark meets the Academy Awards. Like I said, four-year-old Lily will do just fine.

She requested a Cinderella-themed event for her first "friends invited" birthday party. All the invitees arrived in full regalia:

They enjoyed making necklaces, opening presents, receiving party favors, watching a movie and -- of course -- eating cake!

I want it noted that the entirety of this cake was edible. The spiral wheels, pumpkin stem and vine curls were made of taffy. Many thanks to Logan who enjoyed (endured?) his first taffy-pulling experience as a part of the cake-building effort.

The week after Lily's birthday, Logan's parents treated the whole family to a fun getaway in Park City.

We went on a short hike to enjoy the great outdoors:

Spent fun time with cousins:

Participated in crafts provided by Grandma:

And even received beginning tennis lessons from Uncle Ryan. Go Lily!

What a great trip it was! The kids (especially Benson) still ask me a couple times a week if we can PLEASE go to Park City again.

For several years now, Logan's parents have invited all their kids and grandkids to go to a local pumpkin patch to choose a pumpkin. This year, they decided to host a Halloween Carnival at their house. The weather didn't exactly cooperate, so the event was moved indoors -- but the fun was not diminished! All the makings of a real carnival were there, from hot dogs

to cotton candy

to carnival games.

The "eat the donut off the string" game turned out to be particularly entertaining.

Benson just couldn't understand why everyone was attempting to eat their donuts without the use of their hands. His approach made a lot more sense...

Still photos of the three-legged and gunny-sack races don't hold a candle to the video we got, but I'm not feeling that ambitious today...so this will have to do.

There was a contest to see who could a make a mummy the quickest. I don't think Amanda and Lily won, but the end result was definitely photo-worthy!

Good grief, look at that face! You cannot imagine how sticky all the kids were by the end of the evening...

Max wasn't able to participate in the bulk of the festivities...but he was a good sport nonetheless. And yes, he is STILL suffering from a bad case of baby acne. Poor thing! Do they make Proactiv for infants?

This brings us to Halloween. Logan is a vocal Halloween Hater. I've always rather enjoyed Halloween -- but I definitely found myself gritting my teeth and muttering under my breath this year. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that by the time the actual trick-or-treating took place, we had already attended the Halloween Carnival at Amanda's school, the carnival at Logan's parents' house, Amanda's class party, Lily's class party, trick-or-treating at Logan's office and our HOA trick-or-treat walk. This involved dressing up all of the children on three separate occasions, and Lily four times (that doesn't include the fairy birthday party Amanda was invited to that also necessitated a completely different costume). I swear, it's enough to make any mother ban Halloween altogether! Anyway, here are Lily the bride and Benson the train engineer at our neighborhood trick-or-treat walk:

And here is Max the dalmatian puppy:
And where was Amanda, you ask? Well, she went to the dump with her Grandpa -- but when it was time to leave for the trick-or-treat walk, she wasn't back yet! So we had to go without her. We had been there for 10 minutes or so when I saw this little character high-tailing it toward us:

Amanda went as a socialite this year. Here's how that came about:

Amanda: Mom?

Me: Yeah?

Amanda: What do you call a fancy lady who wears fancy clothes and fancy jewelry and does fancy things?

Me: Ummmm...like someone who dresses up and goes to parties and stuff?

Amanda: Yeah!

Me: I guess you'd call that a socialite or something.

Amanda: A socialite? That's what I want to be for Halloween!

So a socialite it was. This little socialite, however, was a bit disheveled. No upswept hair, no makeup, no long white gloves. My friend Heidi and I joked that this was more the "socialite who has a hangover after partying until 3 a.m." look. Not really what we were shooting for, but whatever. I mean, how high class can you be when this is your main mode of transportation?

Anyway, we were able to fluff Amanda up a bit before heading to Grandma's house. Here we all are! This reminds me of another conversation that was had earlier this week:

Lily: Mom?

Me: Yeah?

Lily: What are you going to be for Halloween?

Me: Oh, I'll probably dress up like a mom.

Pause

Lily: A mom?

Me: Yup.

Longer pause

Lily: Just a plain old mom?

Me: Yeah, that sounds about right.

As you can see, my costume turned out perfect. It's really got that authentic "I spent so much time getting everyone else together I didn't have time to do my hair or makeup" look, don't you think?

Anyway, at least the kiddos seemed to have a good time:

Well, most of the kiddos. Don't worry, Max. I pretty much felt the same way by the time it was all over...

Now that Halloween is over, it's on to Christmas! As I said before, autumn is my favorite season...but Christmas is definitely my favorite holiday, so I make it last as long as possible! Besides that, the ridiculous amount of decorating I do justifies starting on November 1st; otherwise, it wouldn't be worth the effort. Logan is leaving town tomorrow and won't be back for a few days. Hopefully I'll be able to get it all up and still clean the house before he gets home. He appreciates the finished product, but despises what I call my "creative process" (he calls it "a giant mess").

For a little over a month now, Logan and I have been early risers (5:30 a.m.). I'm sure that those of you who know me well are a bit baffled by this. "Kara? Waking up early?" I'm sure you'll be even more flabbergasted to learn that I've been waking up that early so I can go to the gym. As in the gymnasium. As in the place where people go to exercise. Yeah, EXERCISE. I'll give you a minute to pick yourself up off the floor -- and while you do, I'll explain a bit. Most of you know that Logan began work on a Ph.D a while back (we won't say exactly how much "a while" is). Well, he flew through his course requirements, leaving him with just a dissertation to write. Ha! Just a dissertation! If only it were *just* a dissertation. Suffice it to say that we've experienced a significant stall in progress. Don't worry, though; we still have to pay tuition to keep him enrolled in his dissertation credits -- whether progress is made or not. So that's GREAT! Poor thing; his time is already so stretched...but it occurred to me one day that it would have to stretch a little more for any forward movement to be made. Logan doesn't want to go to bed early if I'm still up, and he finds it nearly impossible to get out of bed at an insanely early hour when I'm still snoozing away...so it appears I'm the lynchpin in this whole system. Now we both get up at 5:30 on weekdays. He works on his paper, and I do water aerobics. His progress is slow -- but it's still progress! As for me...well, it could be worse, I suppose. I mean, doing water aerobics has given me an excuse to purchase a fetching little piece of swimwear known as an "aquatard." Please, don't be jealous. You, too, can be the proud owner of an aquatard -- for a price. Sigh.

2010-09-13T15:00:00.005-06:00

And here we are again! I hope to re-cap a bit of the summer here. It was a great one! Let me first apologize for the small size of the photos. I have a default setting in Photoshop that imports the photos in a very high resolution (for printing). If I don't change that setting before editing the photos for the web, the photos end up small because there's so much file information attached. I usually don't realize my mistake until it's too late (such as today, for instance). I'm not about to go back and re-import and re-compress all these photos, so I guess you'll just have to get out your magnifying glasses. Ooops!

Here's a photo of the kiddos making homemade raspberry ice cream with their great-grandparents (you can't see Granddad in this photo, but he's the muscles behind the operation; that is, he gets to crank the ice cream freezer). Not long after this photo was taken, I decided that I couldn't live out the rest of my life without my own hand-crank ice cream freezer. After a good deal of searching (they really don't make 'em like they used to!), I found one on etsy.com that met with my approval. We've already made a couple of batches and thoroughly enjoyed them!

Here we are on July 4th, 2010 -- which also happened to be Maxwell Baker Toone's blessing day. We hosted family at our house for a lunch beforehand. Thanks to everyone who came! Please notice that we are all wearing red, white and blue. That took some doing.

We attended the Independence Day parade in Hyrum, UT. What's our connection to Hyrum, you ask? Absolutely nothing, aside from the fact that my cousin Melanie was royalty on one of the floats. This parade took place on July 5th, which lined up well with the other plans we had for the holiday weekend -- so Hyrum it was! The kids got plenty of candy, but I have to say that the parade was MUCH too long. I mean, how many citizens of the year can Hyrum have? I swear, it seemed like everyone in the town must have been a citizen of the year -- or found some way or another to qualify as an entry int he parade. Anyway, we had the opportunity to have a fun picnic after the parade with some of my Cache Valley relatives.

July 26, 2010: Amanda's first day of Kindergarten! This is a day that was anxiously awaited (Amanda made a countdown chain so she would know exactly how long she had to go). Amanda had a chance to meet her teacher, Mrs. Kirkwood, at back to school night. There are 15 girls and only 5 boys in Amanda's class! I'm sure those little boys can't appreciate those odds right now...but give them 10 years or so, and they'll be sorry they didn't take better advantage. Amanda loves to go to school (which is good, since she'll be doing it for the next decade or two).

Amanda attends year-round school, so while she was off-track, we enrolled her and Lily in swimming lessons. Amanda was eager to do what her teacher asked...

...and Lily was most of the time, too...
...but not all the time. It wouldn't hurt Lily to enroll in the same class again, which I think we will do. I think the look on her face in this photo is priceless! Makes me laugh every time I look at it. Lily will be turning four years old in the next few weeks. In the Toone family, your first friends-invited birthday party takes place at the age of four -- so Lily is pretty excited! She has requested a Cinderella birthday party. I ordered a special cake pan today so I can attempt to make her a "Cinderella's Pumpkin Carriage" cake. I don't know why I get these ideas in my head. Wish me luck!

Last week marked another big occasion in our household: Lily's first day of preschool! We are doing a neighborhood joyschool like we did for Amanda, and Lily could not be more excited about it. For two years she has watched wistfully as Amanda has disappeared for two hours twice a week, coming home with completed crafts and telling tales of snacktime and stories. Finally, Lily's time has come! Now Amanda sits in the car as Lily makes her exit and skips away. Oh, how the tables have turned. It's nice to see Lily get to do something that's just hers and nobody else's. A note about Lily's outfit. Logan's mom took each of the girls (separately) for a special shopping/lunch date. They each got to choose a new outfit for school. This is the dress that Lily chose, and I don't think it could be more reflective of her personality. Just before she started preschool, I found these green shoes in her size on a clearance. She insisted that she wear them for her first day of school. It makes for a very...um...colorful combination. But, like I said it's so her.

It's been quite a while now that an outdated family photo has been hanging on the wall in our house. I can finally replace it with a current one! Where I used to be able to take the family photo by myself with the inventive use of timers, remote shutters and an electronic duck (yep, you read that right), I cannot anymore. We're too big now! So this photo was taken with the assistance of Logan's sister Lindsay and her husband Ryan, whom the children adore. I like to take photos pretty frequently because of how quickly the kids change, but getting Logan to agree to a family portrait sitting is...well, let's just say he didn't exactly agree to this one (it was more like, "We're taking pictures today"). Anyway, we got one that I am reasonably satisfied with (after a couple of head swaps, that is).

Awww, the happy couple! Logan got a new job at work (he is now the Director of Research and Assessment; before, he was the Math Curriculum Supervisor), and he wanted an updated photo of us for his new office. So here we are!

All of our kiddos. Geez, I love 'em!

As you can see, Max has perfected the smiling business and is now working on perfecting his laughing skills. He is almost four months old, which I think is such a great stage for all babies. They're so responsive and smiley; they think everything you do is great! He's getting too big too fast; I was sad to put away the 0-3 month clothes, knowing that we don't plan to have another baby and I won't ever put one of my own into those tiny shoes again. Why can't I have it both ways? Is that so much to ask? I think not...

Well, hopefully there will be another post before 2011 -- but I don't guarantee it. Happy autumn, everyone!

Summertime

2010-06-23T13:02:00.004-06:00

I have a few photos I've wanted to post for a while...but my hands have felt a little bit full! Thanks to everyone for welcoming baby Max so warmly; he's already an irreplaceable part of our family. Here are a few photos that were taken around Easter, before Max arrived...

And here's the man himself at about a week old. What a sweetheart!

Here is Max on his one month birthday. Already done a lot of changing, don't you think? Since this photo was taken, Max has developed the WORST case of baby acne I have ever seen. Hopefully this is not an indication of how his teenage years will progress...

My parents gifted each of their children with a family vacation to Park City this past Christmas. We eagerly anticipated the dates of June 4-11 -- and finally, the time arrived! We had a great time. The swimming pool was a highlight for the kids, if you couldn't tell...

And here we all are...almost. My sister Lisa and her family moved to Pennsylvania for her husband's job just a few weeks before the Park City vacation was to take place (this move was not anticipated at the time the vacation was planned). I had pretty much given up hope that she would be able to come -- but she and her kids made it! Sadly, her husband Tyson was not able to take a whole week off from his new job. :( We'll have to try again to get the whole family together another time. I should probably just Photoshop Tyson into this picture...

Anyway, life goes on for us! Logan is currently at YW Camp -- and I'm not! It's rather strange; it's the first time in five years that I haven't been neck-deep in preparations for camp. I will have the opportunity to go up tomorrow night (if you're the wife of one of the bishops, you're invited to accompany your husband), so that will be great. Amanda starts kindergarten next month (people are always confused when I say her first day is July 20th; it's because her elementary school is on a year-round schedule). She is absolutely ecstatic and has made a countdown chain to keep track of how many days she has to wait until she can FINALLY go to school. Lily is very excited to start preschool in the fall (it's a neighborhood joyschool like the one I've done with Amanda for the past two years). She's thrilled to have something that is just for her. She finally feels like she IS the big kid instead of just tagging along after Amanda's class. She draws very cute pictures and is becoming quite proficient at sounding out and spelling words with the refrigerator magnets. Benson is as rough-and-tumble as ever. People always make comments like, "My, he's quite the little boy, isn't he?" or "That one's all boy!" or "Could he be any more boy?" These may seem like rather obvious statements (he is, in fact, a boy) -- but there is definitely some quality about him that makes his boyishness stand out. Anyway, he's cute as can be and talks a blue streak. I love his little voice! Max is a great baby and is doing pretty well at going for a six- or seven-hour stretch at night so his mom and dad can get some sleep. His siblings ADORE him (sometimes to the point of possible injury). Logan is on a schedule of working four ten-hour days in the summer. Hopefully this will give him some time on Fridays to work on his dissertation. He's already been so busy with church responsibilities the past couple of weeks, I'm dubious that it will actually work out -- but I really hope it will. I am trying to curb my natural penchant for killing plants (a trait I inherited from my mother; my sister used to call our house "the place where plants come to die") and endeavoring to stay on top of the ever-increasing mountain of laundry and dishes that a family of six creates. Good grief! How do people ever have more than four children...?

So there's the update!

And then there were 4 ...

2010-05-17T10:45:00.003-06:00

This morning at 7:48 am, Maxwell Baker Toone arrived! He was born after a smooth and uneventful planned C-section. He is pretty cute if I do say so myself. He was 7 lbs. 5 oz., 19.5 inches long, and has a very small amount of sandy brown hair on the back of his head. We think he's pretty great!

2010-04-21T23:35:00.005-06:00

My, my. Me, oh my. Looks like I kept my promise to keep you in suspense for another five months. Truth be told, I’ve tried to start an entry a few times and just couldn’t seem to find the words to describe the past few months. I don’t know that the right words exist. At any rate, I guess I’m going to give it a shot.

The weeks following my last entry were normal enough. Amanda’s fifth birthday, Christmas, the ongoing discussion about whether or not Santa Claus should be part of Christmas next year – you know, the usual stuff. To be honest, I don’t remember a great deal about January. I imagine it was probably cold and gray for the most part. Oh, wait; I do remember something. Logan received a call to serve as the bishop of our ward. See, I KNEW something happened! That necessitated my release as Stake YW President (I’d been serving in that capacity for 2 ½ years, and as a counselor for more than a year previous to that). In terms of the impact on our family, it hasn’t been a huge shift. There are weeks where things seem to be a bit crazy, but it’s okay for the most part.

So that brings us to February. In February, everything changed. I’m not going to go into any detailed account; most of you are already aware of what happened to Logan’s brother’s family. If you’re not, you can go here.

So now’s the part where the writer’s block sets in. I get up to this point and don’t know what to say anymore. I miss those little girls. I don’t wish to go into any long diatribe about my feelings or my sadness; somehow it seems an affront to Nathan and Brenda and what they’ve been forced to deal with, if that makes any sense. I’ll just share this one change in my perspective…

As a way to remember Rebecca and Rachel, Nathan has posted photos and memories of them on Facebook and on the family’s blog. This entry in particular is significant to me, and here’s why:

Months ago, Amanda came to me and asked if we could go to the beach. “Sure we can, “ I answered absentmindedly. That seemed to appease her, and I didn’t hear about it again until a few weeks later: “Can we go see the ocean?” “Yeah, that sounds like fun. We’ll have to plan that sometime,” I said. Pretty much the same vague response I gave the first time. Over the next few months, I’d hear about the ocean or the beach sporadically – and each time, I’d blow her off in some gentle way or another.

And then February came.

Sifting through some of Nathan and Brenda’s photos after the girls’ funeral, I came across a photo of Rebecca standing in the water on their “Beach Day.” I wept when I saw that photo. It suddenly dawned on me that four-year-old Rebecca had seen the beach, but four-year-old Amanda never did – and never would, because four-year-old Amanda had been replaced by five-year-old Amanda. I felt that I’d lost a child not in the tragic and life-altering way that some parents suffer, but in the quiet and unremarkable way that most of us lose our children without even realizing it: to the simple passage of time.

And so, on April 5^th, we piled into the van with an arsenal of snacks and DVDs and started driving. We battled wind and rain storms, countless bathroom stops, drowsiness, parking woes and 1300 or so miles on the ol’ odometer…but in the end, we got this:

I will never, ever regret taking this impromptu trip to San Diego. When Logan and I look at these photos in 30 years, we’re not going to remember that I spent over 24 hours in a van at 7 ½ months pregnant, or that he had to take extra time away from church and work responsibilities. We’re only going to remember this:

Nothing else matters.

Uptight

2009-12-08T13:05:00.010-07:00

You know, I've had several people with bees in their bonnets over the fact that I've taken a teensy hiatus from blogging. What, a girl can't take a five month break without raising eyebrows? Anyway, my true motive behind this brilliant and diabolical plan was to weed out the "sunshine patriots." By now, only the really devoted readers are still following this blog. And by readers, I mean reader. And by reader, I mean my Grandmom. Thanks, Grandmom!

So, let's do a brief re-cap of some of the previous months' events:

Ah, the Fourth of July. My main purpose in selecting this photo is so that you can observe Lily's hair and compare it to this:

The scene of a murder. The victim: Lily's hair. The weapon: the scissors at her feet. The scene: my craft room (where the accused had secreted herself away to commit the crime). The perpetrator: well, I think that's obvious.

A little backstory about this. I think I may have mentioned earlier that Lily had attempted cutting her own hair. Three times. After these incidents, we were much more careful with the placement of the scissors. Sadly, we did not account for the imbedded homing device that Lily has for destructive objects (scissors, markers, chocolate syrup, etc.). The scissors had become sticky in one way or another (it MIGHT have been from someone's Otter Pop binge -- hard to say for sure) and had been placed in the dishwasher. Why a two-year-old would search for scissors in a dishwasher remains unclear.

Anyway, I wasn't very happy about this fourth incident. When I removed her pigtails to survey the extent of the damage, this is what came out in my hand:

And this was the aftermath:

That scalp looks nice, huh? At least there weren't any important and photographable events on the horizon, like...oh, I don't know...Logan's brother's wedding, perhaps? Oh, wait! It was three weeks away!

It's a bit difficult to tell in the photo, but Lily's bangs start pretty much at the crown of her head. They are then combed forward to cover the bald scalp lurking below. All of this is held in place by a headband and copious amounts of hairspray.

Sigh. Now, five months after the fact, things are still pretty jaggedy-looking in the front -- but much easier to camouflage.

Right before the wedding, we took a trip down to Monticello to visit my grandparents and celebrate the 24th of July. While there, Amanda and Lily took their first crack at fishing. They were getting pretty discouraged after about 30 minutes without so much as a nibble, when suddenly there was a tug on the line...

...of the guy sitting a few yards away from us. Amanda and Lily watched excitedly as his line went taut and the fish splashed and struggled. Knowing how much they wanted to catch a fish that day, this man graciously invited Amanda over to reel the fish in and keep it for her dinner.

And one of sweet Benson, just because he's so stinkin' cute!

Late summer brought the birth of a new nephew! William Beckett Heaton (we call him Beck) was born to my sister Lisa and her husband Tyson. Here we all are at his blessing in October:

And just in case you don't know what children who adore their father look like...they look like this:And finally, Halloween. Benson's and Lily's costumes might look familiar (Amanda was the cat and Lily was the mouse last year), but Amanda's costume was the envy of many this year. A few months before Halloween, I was perusing the racks at D.I. (as I often do) and stumbled across what looked like a wedding gown -- in a girl's size 5! Darling, darling, darling. A little bit of jewelry and my wedding veil completed the outfit. A cousin has already spoken for this costume when Halloween rolls around again:

*Sidenote*

As Lily was just identifying everyone in this photo, I was reminded of a funny story. Amanda determined that she was Cinderella on her wedding day, that Benson was Gus Gus, and that Lily was the cat...whose name, in the Disney movie, is Lucifer. In the weeks leading up to Halloween, both Amanda and Lily would excitedly tell people that Lily was being Lucifer for Halloween. I very much enjoyed their reactions.

In other news, we are expecting our fourth baby in May! We'll find out in a couple of weeks whether it's a boy or a girl (we're crossing our fingers for a boy, as this would simplify our living arrangements greatly). We're very excited about this impending arrival.

Won't you be excited to see what the next five months will bring! See you then (or maybe even sooner, if you're lucky)!

Recurring Dreams

2009-07-11T21:42:00.003-06:00

I know I just barely posted about Lily's "dreams," but here's a reprise. (This just happened a few minutes ago).

Lily and Amanda had been in bed for a few minutes, but based on the noises we could hear from their room (jumping, screaming, playing, singing, banging feet on the wall, etc.) there had been no sleeping whatsoever.

We heard Lily walking downstairs making kind of a soft whimpering noise that vaguely resembled crying. When she came into view, she had the biggest grin on her face -- yet she was still fake crying. Suppressing our laughter, we asked her what was wrong. She said (smiling and "crying" at the same time.) "I have a very bad dream."

Kara and I smiled at each other with that "we both know where this is going, but we still need to ask anyway" look. So I asked Lily what happened in the dream. She lifted her nightgown, pointed to that dang freckle, and said, "It's this light brown one, right here."

We really need to see if we can do something about that dang freckle. Maybe we could tatoo an American Indian dreamcatcher just right on her shin so that freckle is covered up. That may work.

Stuff That's Been Said Around Our House

2009-07-07T11:45:00.002-06:00

Not all of these are recent -- but they are ALL real.

Amanda:

When Lily declared herself "The Princess," Amanda's brow furrowed momentarily -- but her face suddenly brightened considerably, and then she said smugly, "Well, that must make me the queen."

In Primary singing time the other day, children were being called on to share their favorite song, which all the children would then sing. Amanda's teacher leaned over to her and whispered, "What's your favorite song, Amanda?" "' I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night and Party Every Day'," she replied nonchalantly. When Amanda was called on by the song leader, she leaned over to her teacher and whispered, "I changed my mind." She selected "I Am a Child of God" instead.

Lily:

Like most two-year-olds, Lily doesn't pronounce every word with exact correctness. We'll sometimes try to coach her by repeatedly saying the syllable she's having trouble with (i.e. "r-r-r-rock" instead of "wock"). One day she was trying to tell us something about some "owie" she had, but we didn't hear her the first time she said it. In a very exasperated tone, she stated (more clearly this time), "I have an owie on my th-th-th-flumb!" -- and held up the injured "flumb" (thumb) as proof. She was looking at us like we were absolute half-wits. If you want a good laugh, find a condescending two-year-old.

Today I caught Lily sneaking around in the pantry not long after breakfast. She had pulled a barstool over there and was rummaging around for some snack or another, I'm sure. She was caught red-handed -- there was no escaping! I confronted her: "Lily, what are you doing?" Lily, wide-eyed and very off-guard: "Nothing." Me, more pressing this time: "Lily, you are not to lie to me. What are you doing?" Lily, looking shifty and searching for a true answer that won't get her in trouble: "Um....I'm not getting into the pretzels!" Well, clearly this was also a lie. However, she said it with such great hope and her signature 'if-I-shrug-my-shoulders-and-look-really-cute-I-MIGHT-get-outta-this' look that I decided to let it go.

Benson:

Since Benson doesn't really say a lot that we can understand (he frequently carries on conversations with us like we really know what he's saying -- but it's all gibberish), I'll just relate an experience that happened a few minutes ago. Benson has a fascination with the toilet, and if I don't keep a close eye on him, he will invariably steal away for a few precious moments with his porcelain friend (this is usually short-lived; as soon as I'm aware of the rendezvous, it is quickly put to an end). Today he opted to take an old cloth diaper (the kind I use for burp cloths when the babies are little) and swish it around in the toilet water before letting it drip onto the bathroom floor. When I happened upon the scene, there was basically no water left in the toilet -- but an awful lot of water on the bathroom floor. I surprised him so much when I said his name that he slipped in the water and landed right on his big round belly. This was so upsetting to him that he immediately began making what I can only describe as a face-down toilet water angel. Yeah, THAT'LL show me, Benson.

"A Very Bad Dream"

2009-07-03T06:44:00.013-06:00

Amanda sometimes has dreams which she finds to be rather upsetting. However, hearing her description of them is really quite entertaining. As she relates her dreams to me, I often find myself having one of those "even though it requires the use of every muscle, I am suppressing my laughter for now, but the minute I get a chance, I'm going to walk up to my room, close the door, and laugh out loud until I'm done" moments. Everyone who has ever been a parent of a young child knows exactly the kind of moment I’m talking about.

One of my favorite dreams is the one in which Amanda's Granddad (actually her great-granddad) “turned into a fish”, chased Amanda down, and gobbled her up. Apparently the whole thing was realistic enough that it was scary to her, but to me, Amanda’s report of a kind old man morphing into a crazy child-eating fish was just odd enough to be funny … Of course, I wasn’t the one that got eaten … I may have reacted differently if I had been the victim in such an awful scene.

In a more recent dream, our family was canoeing and Amanda fell into the water. As she reported the dream to us, she angrily pointed out that neither of her parents bothered to get her out of the water, and because we had not properly outfitted her with a “boat-coat” she “went to the bottom”. I can see how a dream like that would be upsetting to a child, but it was hard not to laugh at how frustrated she was with our parental negligence. What were we thinking? Who takes their family on a canoeing trip with no “boat-coats”?

Needless to say, in our house we often have discussions about dreams.

Recently, Lily has added "dreams" to her list of things that she is truly concerned about. I use quotation marks on “dreams” because Lily has no idea what a dream really is. As best as we can tell, Lily has determined in her mind that anything that causes her to be upset (for any reason and at any time during the day or night) is a “dream.” And for some weird reason, she has identified a very small freckle on her left shin as the source of all “dreams”. When she wakes up in the night, fights with her sister over lunch, gets hurt, or becomes upset for any reason at all, she pulls up her pant leg, points to her freckle, and through sobs utters the words, “I have a very bad dream.”

It’s sad for a minute, and I do my best to console her, but then I go right up to my room, close the door, and laugh until I’m done ... again. Good times!

Why...WHY???

2009-07-02T11:23:00.003-06:00

Am I the only person whose children do VERY naughty things in the wee hours of the morning? From what we can piece together based on the evidence, the morning at our house went something like this: Lily got up to use the bathroom at some point (this would have been worthy of praise, since this was the first night she didn't wear a diaper to sleep and managed to keep her bed dry). From what we can tell, her billowing nightgown may have impeded her in getting to the toilet in time...so it was left in a soaking heap on the bathroom floor, along with her underwear and the innocent-bystander bathmat. However, something else must have gone awry, because there was also a trail of something-gross-that-rhymes-with-"floop" smeared on the toilet seat. Sigh.

Anyway.

Whether it was to reward herself for staying dry all night or to drown her sorrows about not getting to the toilet on time, we do not know -- but Lily then proceeded to the kitchen where she unscrewed the lid from the bottle of chocolate syrup and CONSUMED THE ENTIRE THING. Not kidding, it was a brand new bottle. Now, I say the entire thing; I'm referring to what was not spilled (which she *helpfully* opted to clean up (read: smear all over the place) with a kitchen dishrag) or left in sticky fingerprints on the chocolate chips and a box of SweeTarts, which she also sampled.

I can tell you this right now: I hate mornings enough without waking up to something like that.

Kids say the darndest things

2009-06-30T12:02:00.004-06:00

For several years now, Amanda has told us that she is going to marry Brad, who is the son of Logan's best friend Clark. She has also informed us recently that she is going to be a surgeon (yes, that's right; a surgeon) and can only marry someone who is also going to be a surgeon. Yesterday, I watched Brad and his little sister Lori while Clark's wife Lisa attended a class. Logan gave a family home evening lesson on modest dress. He made the statement that dressing modestly helps us to make choices that will lead us to the temple -- and then showed a picture of the temple. At this point, Amanda became very excited, bouncing in her seat and saying, "Dad! Dad! I have something to say!" Once we were all listening, she said, "Brad wants to be a surgeon too!" She sort of had her eyebrows raised with the "you-know-exactly-how-significant-this-is" look on her face. Looking toward Brad, who had a total deer-in-the-headlights look on his face, I said, "Oh, is that right, Brad? Do you want to be a surgeon?" Amanda immediately whipped her head toward him and stared expectantly -- at which point he pasted a big grin on his face and emphatically nodded his head up and down. Amanda then turned back toward us, her expression one of complete satisfaction. Atta girl!

One more funny story that happened while they were here. Clark and Lisa were telling us how 2-year-old Lori refuses to say her own name. We were all attempting to get her to say it: "What's your name? Who are you?" etc. etc. Logan got right down on her level and, placing his index finger lightly on her chest, asked, "Who is this?" Lori looked down at her chest, then looked up smiling and said, "My boob!" Not exactly the response we were shooting for, but you gotta give the girl props for accuracy.

An Update -- and an Admission

2009-06-29T14:30:00.005-06:00

So. It’s me. It’s been a good long while since my last monster post; I’m overdue for another one. Since the only means by which I can remember the events of my life is the photos on my memory card, let’s just take a little chronological tour – shall we?

Yes, folks, this is Easter. Here are the kids at the annual Easter Party at Logan's parents' house. The kids always come away with TONS of stuff from this little get-together (the Parental Candy Tax is remains in force, naturally). Benson had a new helper this year: Logan's brother Jordan is engaged to be married in July. He and his fiancee Chelsie were good enough to supervise Benson's egg-gathering.

More egg-hunting at Grammy and Papa's house. We also did some egg-coloring. These cousins had a big time finding all their treats!

Next was Amanda's end-of-the-year joyschool party. It was complete with water games, so everyone wore their swimsuits. Lily is modeling hers with that fetching beach body that everyone is so jealous of...

The following is a progression of Amanda's first try on a Slip-n-Slide. I was a little worried when she slipped right onto her back in the cold water -- but she popped right up like a daisy and couldn't wait for her next turn!

We took the kids to Layton Park a couple of weeks ago to feed the ducks. The weather was gorgeous, the park was green, and the ducks were...snobs. Yeah, seriously. Who ever head of a duck who would turn up his bill at popcorn? Apparently these ducks are so well-fed, they aren't impressed by anything except quality sandwich bread. Well, too bad, ducks. If you had any idea how protective Logan is about his Grandma Sycamore's white bread, you'd know that you're asking WAY too much. The seagulls were less discriminating, so the popcorn didn't go to waste.

In this photo, Lily is saying, "Oh, look at the cute duckie! He has a green head!" In hot pursuit of the duck, she neglected to watch where she was going and waded directly into a standing pool of muddy water/duck poop/algae that had been baking in the sun. SO GROSS. We had only been at the park for about 10 minutes at this point, but her pants were absolutely unwearable. Thankfully there was a restroom where I was able to rinse out her pants and then dry them with the world's most powerful hand-dryer ever. Not kidding; the air wasn't warm, but it blew with such force that I'm convinced it was originally intended to be part of a rocket-launching mechanism and somehow found its way into the Layton City Parks system. Weird.

Benson, a.k.a. "The Constant Gardener." This kid loves to grub around in the dirt -- but he won't do it without the proper yard implements. Whenever we open the garage to go play outside, he makes a beeline for the rake, the hoe or the shovel and immediately begins his "work" in the yard.

Next was our family vacation to Park City. We got back just two days ago. We had such a fun time in Park City last year, we decided to make it a tradition (at least until the kids think it's lame or we obtain the patience/financial means to travel farther than 40 miles from our home -- whichever one comes first). The kids were dying to go bowling again, so we hopped on over to the little po-dunk bowling alley in Heber City. Below are two prime examples of the International Bowling Distress Signal: "Oh, no! That's not where the ball is supposed to go! Turn! Turn!"

We had a lot of fun relaxing and spending time together (though you can't really tell from Benson's expression in this next photo). Hey, did you notice his new haircut? If you scroll back up and take a look at the photo of him at the park, you can see that he was looking a bit...unkempt. I figured I could get away with buzzing his head for summer, so I went after him with the clippers. Anyone who happened to be in the vicinity of our backyard during this process probably thought he was being scalped based on the noises he was making -- but I think he's over it now.

On our way back from Park City, we stopped at Ensign Peak so I could do a bit of investigating for an upcoming youth activity. The kids "hiked" to Vista Mound (is that what it was called?) to check out the view (the original idea was to hike to the top of Ensign Peak as a family -- but it wasn't long before we realized that there was NO WAY we'd be able to get the kids to the top. Logan ended up going to a nearby park with the kids while I continued on).

So there's the update! And now for the admission. I think I would be a better blogger if I didn't feel like I had to chronicle every event that takes place in our family. If I didn't feel like I had to document, in photographs, each milestone or item of significance, I think I would be more consistent. Really, I think it's the photos that get me. Part of it is that I take so many in the first place. There's an awful lot of sifting, sorting, editing, re-formatting and uploading to be done before they're blog-ready -- and that's before I've even begun to write! By doing this, I feel that I'm missing out on recording the mostly-mundane-but-occasionally-mildly-amusing happenings of my family's everyday life. So in the future, you can expect fewer photos and shorter (and hopefully more frequent) entries -- and I can expect less guilt and...well, I'll just settle for less guilt. :)

Ewww...

2009-05-14T16:03:00.002-06:00

Okay, so this isn't a real post, but I thought I should document today's events for posterity...

The kids all needed baths this morning, so I put Lily and Amanda in the hallway bathroom and Benson in my bathroom. I decided to sit on my bed and do some work on my laptop so I could have a clear view of Benson. So there I was, busying myself with my to-do list, when I spotted a movement from the corner of my eye. I glanced up just in time to see Benson throwing a handful of his own poop out of the bathtub and onto the floor. WHAT?! Well, you can imagine the sight that met my eyes when I ran in to fully survey the situation. Oh, what is more gross than that? Anyway, this necessitated a thorough decontamination for both Benson and the bathtub. Once that was done, I refilled the tub and put Benson back in. Not three minutes later, I heard the sound of water hitting water and looked up to see that Benson was standing up in the tub, doing what he could to "fill 'er up," so to speak. Oh, COME ON!!! At that point, Benson's bathtub privileges were revoked (not sure when or if they'll be reinstated). If someone throws up on me today, the trifecta will be complete. Motherhood ain't for the faint of heart (or stomach)...

Um...

2009-03-26T14:56:00.010-06:00

Oh. Ohhhh. OHHHHHHHHHHH. That is my remorseful lamentation. Remorse because I don't even remember what happened in January of this year and the picture below is pretty much the only one that was on my camera:

This was taken at my house the day I hosted a surprise birthday party for Logan's Grandma Neilson (in the center wearing the red sweater). Other than that, I really don't have a recollection of January at all. I'm fairly certain there was cold weather and many runny noses at my house.

And so we move on! February is a little brighter in my memory. The girls had a big time making a snowman with Daddy -- and the snowman was pretty big, too! They were so proud of their creation. Every day he would melt a little bit until he was nothing but a straw sombrero in the front yard.

Next we had Valentine's Day. Siblings are invited to attend Amanda's joyschool parties, so we all loaded up into the van for a valentine exchange, cookie decorating and making mailboxes for valentines. What fun!

Benson's first birthday was right on the heels of Valentine's Day. I can hardly believe he's one! What a sweet little man he is. I just love to snuggle him. He is saying all sorts of things these days: Dada, Mama, no, bye-bye, baba (bottle), Amanda, please...and he can also tell you what a lion, a bear and a fish say. So cute! We had a little party for him on Valentine's Day at Grammy and Papa's house. Here is the progression of Benson enjoying his first chocolate cupcake. Yum!

Things started out pretty clean. Check out those rolls! Benson is on the...um...higher end of the chart when it comes to weight (surprising, I know).

"Hey, is that flame thing edible?" (Grammy is preventing Benson from putting out his candle with his finger like Lily did when she turned one.)

"Hmmmm, looks promising..."

"This cupcake tastes a lot like paper to me."

"The flavor improves remarkably when you turn it this way!"

"I'm going to have crumbs in crevices I didn't know existed..."

"Why hasn't anyone ever given me one of these before now?!"

"Can I have another one of those, please?"

On Benson's actual birthday (February 19th), I walked into by bedroom to behold this sight: Lily sound asleep on a wicker blanket chest. She had purposefully climbed up there to have a nap, evidenced by the stepstool, her fleece blanket and her "ties" (a small tied quilt she puts over her pillow whenever she sleeps). I don't know what made her think this might be a good place to catch a few winks, but I thought it was pretty funny and ran for the camera when I saw it.

While we're on the subject of kids turning up in weird places...I was downstairs in the kitchen one day when I heard the sound of something falling onto a hard surface. I knew that Benson was playing up in his room, so I ran up there to see what was going on. I peeked into his room. No Benson. I looked in my bedroom. No Benson. I looked in the girls' bedroom, glancing in the bathroom as I went by. No Benson, no Benson. By now I was very confused and a little worried (Benson didn't know how to go down the stairs by himself at this point, so I knew he was upstairs somewhere). It was at this point that a little noise drew my attention to the bathtub. I entered the bathroom and drew back the shower curtain -- and this is the sight that met my eyes! Benson had apparently tired of the entertainment in his bedroom and had sought high times elsewhere. I suppose he found what he was looking for!

Benson received this little boombox (which is also a karaoke machine, I might add!) for his birthday. In the mornings, one of the girls (usually Lily) will go into his room and turn on whatever CD is in there. The gesture is sweet, though sometimes I wish they'd just let him sleep.

Pizza night at the Toone Pizzeria! Logan decided one night that it would be fun to make homemade pizzas. When he suggested this idea, however, it hadn't dawned on him that we didn't have pepperoni, mozzarella, ham, red sauce...any of the main components of pizza, really. As anyone who has children knows, once the words "Let's make our own pizza tonight!" have been uttered, there is no turning back. So a trip to the grocery store became necessary. We loaded everyone up inot the van, got the required ingredients, and headed back home to begin the process. Needless to say, it turned into a late-ish night for the kids. That's why they're in their clothes in the "before" pictures and in their pajamas in the "after" pictures.

I was rather amused by this next little story. One morning, Amanda went down to the office and didn't come out for a long time. When she finally did emerge, she presented to me this note. She wrote it for her friend Gabe, who had some surgery that necessitated missing joyschool. When I read through it the first time, Amanda quickly corrected me. This is how she intended it to read:

"Dear Gabe,

I am sorry that at your mom's house you're sick. I hope you feel better."

Well, if that's not just one of the cutest things you're ever seen, you're dead inside. That's pretty good for a four-year-old -- especially with no prompting!

Awww! My cute nephew Sawyer came to spend a night with us last week. My sister revealed to me that she and her husband have not had a night without Sawyer since he was born almost 18 months ago. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Anyway, she decided it would be fun to get away for her husband's birthday, so Sawyer came to play at our house. Yay!

If you look closely at the first picture of Sawyer, you can see a faint rash around his mouth. It got a bit irritated later that night, so we put some Balmex on it. Something about this photo reminds me of a mime I saw on Reading Rainbow...

This next photo isn't going to make any sense without a little explanation. Logan surprised me for Valentine's Day and got tickets for us to see "Wicked" in San Francisco! Very naughty...but so nice! As we were leaving the airport, I decided to take a picture of the SNOW that was falling so I could compare it to this...

...the view from our hotel room window! It's hard to believe that San Francisco looks like this pretty much all year round. This is why it has one of the highest homeless populations in America. Seriously, there are homeless people EVERYWHERE. Don't wory, though; it didn't prevent us from having an absolutely FABULOUS time!

These are the sea lions that have taken up residence on Pier 39. They just showed up one year...and never left! City officials used to regard them as a nuisance (when they get barking, they are extremely loud) -- until they realized these sea lions were a virtual gold mine in terms of attracting tourists by the hundreds. Not so pesky now, eh?

A picture of me with the famed Alcatraz in the background. A little explanation about my hair: this was an extremely windy day. This doesn't excuse my Rod Stewart/Harry Potter look completely (it really is time for a trim), but gimme a break at least.

Here's Logan on one of the piers with downtown San Francisco in the background. It's very picturesque, don't you think?

We visited the Heart of the City Farmer's Market on the morning we left. It's so great; cart after cart of fresh produce, flowers (like the ones you see here) and vendors. There was a huge line alongside one of the buildings. Upon further inspection, Logan and I discovered it was people patiently waiting to purchase live (or very recently live) chickens and quail. Now there's something we hadn't seen before!

This is the view of the farmer's market looking toward the capitol building.

And now for the show itself! Well, first of all -- we almost didn't make it to the show. Our map had a bunch of landmarks on it, but it didn't have the Orpheum Theatre. So Logan used his trusty Blackberry to look up the address on WhitePages.com. Up popped an address, and we, being the technology-trusting people we are, walked right to it. Unfortunately, at 7:50 p.m. and curtains up at 8:00, THERE WAS NO THEATER TO BE FOUND! He checked the address again; still the same. I pulled out our tickets and found the address printed on them. The theater was about 10 blocks away from where we were, and there was absolutely no hope of getting there in time -- even if we ran the whole way. So we did what any self-respecting people would do: we started screaming for a cab! We were able to hail one without too much trouble. When we got in, it was 7:53. "Orpheum Theatre!" I said. The cabbie glanced at the clock. "Does the show start at 8:00?" he asked. "Yeah," we answered. "Ooooh," he said with a furrowed brow. But then his face brightened a bit and he said, "Well, it's not that far." And with that, we were off on one of those crazy cabbie-driving-like-a-maniac-to-get-the-couple-where-they-need-to-go scenes like you see on TV. Seriously! We screeched to a halt in front of the theater and ran inside just as they were making the final seating call. We bolted up two flights of stairs to the mezzanine level and scooted in right as the doors were closing. WHEW! It's a good thing we made it, because they don't open the doors again until the show is 22 minutes in. So that's our dramatic story about how we almost missed the show we traveled to San Francisco to see! Anyway, we both really liked the show and felt it was totally worth our time and money.

We had some really great food while we were in San Francisco. I posted a review on Chowhound.com; you can read it at http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/605920?tag=search_results;results_list.

We'll miss you, San Francisco! We're totally going to visit again!

So now it's back to real life. I'll share with you a couple of stories from my real life -- and I hope I'm not the only one who has stuff like this happen...

So last Saturday I was helping to throw a baby shower for my SIL Noelle. I was responsible for bringing some sandwiches, some brownies and some punch. So that morning, I made the brownies and put them in the garage to cool (I often put baked goods in there to cool off a little quicker). I got the sandwiches ready and sent Logan to the store to run an errand for me so I could get in the shower. The kids were watching cartoons downstairs. I went and checked on them, told them that I was going to get in the shower and that their dad would be home in just a couple minutes. Sure enough, just as I was getting out of the shower, Logan was getting home. He came into the bedroom and said, "As I was pulling up to the house, Lily was outside -- in her pajamas -- walking laps around the minivan and crying because I went to the store without her. When she came outside, she left the garage door open -- and Charlie ran out there and ate your brownies." SUPER!!! That is just what I needed! Well, since eating chocolate can do damage to a dog's heart, Logan had to force-feed Charlie hydrogen peroxide to get him to throw up (we knew this was the drill because Charlie consumed an entire plate of chocolate cookies a while back, and the vet told me to feed him hydrogen peroxide). Anyway, it was a lovely way to start the day. :)

The next story also involves Charlie and the bad things that happen whenever I opt to bathe. Today, the kids were playing in the girls' room. I went in and told them that I was going to get in the shower and asked Amanda to let me know if Benson needed help. When I emerged from my room 10 minutes later, I stepped into the hall to see Benson guzzling a bottle of children's Tylenol. WHAT?! How on earth did he get his hands on that? A little detective work led me to this conclusion: Benson had left the girls' room and wandered into the bathroom (I'm beginning to think he has a fixation with the bathroom) where he found a brand new, unopened bottle of Tylenol. On his own, he never could have opened the bottle (child safety lid and all). Enter Charlie, the willing co-conspirator. Somewhere along the line, Benson handed the bottle off to Charlie, who chewed the lid off. Now the sweet purple nectar inside was free for the drinking -- and Benson obliged. When I arrived on the scene, there was a puddle of Tylenol on the carpet and about 1.5 oz. of the original 4 oz. left in the bottle. With great consternation, I called Poison Control and explained the situation. They asked how much Benson weighed, how old he was, etc. After some calculating, the Poison Control guy concluded that Benson weighed enough that he shouldn't be adversely affected, even if he drank half the bottle (which I doubt he did, given the size of the puddle on the carpet). See, kids? It does pay to be fat.

So the next project we'll be working on is a bit of an overhaul in the backyard. We're going to try to go from this:

to this:

I'll have to let you know how it goes. This officially ends my biggest post yet (until next time, of course...)!

Toone Family: Holiday Installment

2009-01-08T11:01:00.013-07:00

I may as well just reconcile myself to the fact that my posts probably won't be any more frequent than once a month -- and possibly less frequent than that, at times (like this time). You should probably reconcile yourself to this fact, too. Still, this means that every four to six weeks, you've got a bang-up, mile-long post to look forward to (and I KNOW your sun rises and sets on this blog).

Anyway, December started out with Logan's birthday. I had surprised him a couple weeks earlier with a new TV (this was our combined birthday and Christmas presents from parents, grandparents, each other, etc.). He was thrilled with this gift, and the whole family has had the opportunity to enjoy it frequently. Woo hoo!

Amanda's birthday falls one week after Logan's. I had told her some time ago that she could have a few friends over for a birthday party -- a promise she was sure to make me keep! So here it is: Amanda's Fourth Birthday Party. . .

We began with a theme. Can you guess what it was?

The invitation. I think Amanda gained more pleasure from delivering these to her friends than from anything else. Seriously.

Let's just be honest here. The Teddy Bear Tea Party was MY idea, and I planted its little seed inside Amanda's head so that when I asked her what kind of party she wanted to have, she automatically replied, "A Teddy Bear Tea Party." I am 27 years old and would be ecstatic if someone invited me to a Teddy Bear Tea Party. Since nobody has (or likely ever will), I had to create my own and then pass it off as a birthday party for my four-year-old. Just want to be sure that we're all on the same page. And no, the fact that I'm living vicariously through my preschooler doesn't cause me any guilt or shame.

The table from Amanda's vantage point. Her teapot was pink because she was the birthday girl. Her place setting also includes the bell (which you ring when it's tea time, of course) and small music box featuring a little girl getting ready to blow out her candles to the tune of "Happy Birthday." That was a gift from Amanda's great-Grandma Neilson. All the teapots had milk in them, and the sugar bowls had pink Nestle Quik. Each girl got to pour her own milk into her cup, and then add the desired amount of "pink" before sipping. I have to say that it was pretty darn cute to watch!

Each chair had one of these bags looped over the back. They doubled as place cards and party favors. The girls got to embellish a little straw hat with ribbons and flowers for her bear to wear for the tea party. Anytime one of the girls would say "please," "thank you," "may I" or drink with pinkies up, Logan and I would drop a little treat into the bag on the back of her chair.

"Pinkies up" was somewhat misinterpreted, however. This little girl did, indeed have her pinky up, so she got the promised treat. Still, it wasn't quite what we had in mind... :)

The loot. Sort of sickening when you remember that Christmas was only two weeks away at this point. Sheesh!

Anytime Amanda looks at this photo, she says, "I love that picture!" She said that her favorite thing about the party was blowing out the candles on her cake. Yeah, because if you had your own teddy bear with it's own hat that you got to make your own self, and had sandwiches cut in the shape of hearts and little pink and white truffles, and Barbie/My Little Pony/Disney Princess stuff coming out your ears, and basically a party that any 27. . .er, 4-year-old, that is. . . would DIE to have -- of course your favorite thing would be to blow out the candles. Naturally.

The cake. The feelings that I expressed regarding Lily's cake (and all cakes, really) remain the same for Amanda's cake. If I'm gonna spend hours making it, and if I'm actually going to be expected to consume it, it dang well better taste good. And by good, I mean frosting that isn't gritty and bitter-tasting; anything overly sweet; and nothing that is going to turn your mouth (and all your party guests) some unnatural shade of red, blue, etc. Oh, and it should ALWAYS have ice cream. Everything is better with ice cream, no? This was a double layer white and strawberry ice cream cake frosted with whipping cream. Amanda described to me what she wanted, and I did my best to make it a reality (no seed-planting this time -- really).

All the little bears awaiting transportation to their new homes. All in all, I'd say it was a success. I'm glad we've established that friend parties are to be had no more frequently than every other year...

A little more than a week went by with the busyness of the Christmas season (more on this later). Then it was time for the Rowley family Christmas party. Ever since I can remember, this party has been held on Christmas Eve in the evening. I can only remember one time when we didn't attend, and that was when my family spent Christmas with my Rowley grandparents in Monticello. . .so it sort still felt like the same party because we were with them. Anyway, this year was a little different. In an effort to have as many family members there as possible, the party was moved to the 22nd. So that day, we all headed up to Nibley to my Uncle Eric and Aunt Brenda's house for the festivities.

I was in charge of coordinating the nativity pageant, which we finally have enough little kids to do again! Many thanks to my sister Lisa, who filled the part of stage manager while I was being the accompaniast.

I made little sheep headbands for Sawyer and Benson to wear. Unfortunately, they were more interested in removing the cotton balls and quickly eating them, so they had to be non-fluffy sheep.

The players. Amanda was very excited about her role as the shepherdess. I was relieved about this. Since we have more girls than boys in the family, and since there are more parts for boys than for girls in the nativity, I had to cast the only boys as the innkeeper, Joseph and the wise men. This meant that pretty much every girl was an angel, except for Amanda. I talked the shepherdess thing up a ton in the hopes that she wouldn't notice she was the only girl besides Mary who wasn't wearing a sparkly halo. Turns out all I had to was hand her the shepherd's crook and tell her that she was "in charge" of the sheep.

This is a picture of my grandparents and all their children (my mom is the eldest sibling and is pictured on the far right). It's been a long time since they all had a picture taken together, so I'm glad to have this one!

We went to Logan's Grandma and Grandpa Toone's house for the traditional Christmas Eve party. All the traditional staples of this party were there, including...

A live-action performance of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (Jim Carrey did not make an appearance). Amanda, with only a little sucking up to the narrator, was able to secure for herself the all-important role of Cindy Lou Who. Here she is with the Grinch (a.k.a Uncle Scott) reciting her one line.

The next staple of this party is the penny toss. The family is divided up according to age and gender, and each group gets the opportunity to clobber each other in an attempt to secure the most money. Ah, the Christmas spirit is alive and well!

Next staple: the nativity pageant. This time Amanda was an angel (and didn't even seem to miss her shepherd's crook).

During the course of the afternoon's events, Amanda and Lily got ahold of my camera. It's always interesting to see the world through someone else's perspective -- particularly if that person stands around three feet tall. There were many spectacular photos taken, but none were superior to this one. Okay, now I have to say it: Nice bum; where ya from?

In years past, we have gone directly from the Toone family party to the Rowley family party. However, since that party was held earlier, we just headed for home. It was sort of strange to be home so early on Christmas Eve. Anyway, we watched a movie together and then read from Luke chapter 2 in our own "stable" (a fort built from blankets and obliging furniture). Then it was time for "Follow the Leader" (the traditional way to go to bed on Christmas Eve in Logan's family). Nothing except for "Follow the Leader" is a set-in-stone tradition, and it looks as though we may need to come up with something for just our little family to do on Christmas Eve. I'd love to hear what traditions all of you participate in. C'mon, gimme some ideas! Anyway, this brings us to Christmas morning:

The kids inspecting the contents of their stockings. Not 100% sure what Logan's doing in this picture. You can see our birthday/Christmas present hanging on the wall in the background.

All the goods. I'd say a pretty good haul was made. A little side story about the red Jeep. I don't know about you, but as a child, I always envied the kids who had these. I don't know that I ever even broached the subject with Santa; I suppose I just thought it was completely out of the question. Anyway, don't think this is another "Kara living her childhood through her children" thing. This is more like a "Kara got something for free and made it into something she could use" thing (which happens much more frequently, believe it or not). This red Jeep once belonged to Logan's younger brother. He outgrew it long ago, and it sat in storage at Logan's parents' house for a long time. Then, a few months ago, they asked us if we were interested in having it for our girls. You betcha! It sat in our crawlspace for a long time. During this period, the girls were under the impression that it didn't work and was only good for sitting in. Little did they know, the battery just needed to be charged for it to come back to life! There was just one problem: it was very boyish-looking. It had flames on the hood and on the sides, and it just wasn't right for two little girls. So Logan and I removed the original decals and replaced them with some vinyl stickers I ordered from a friend of mine (thanks, Heidi!). Voila! I am now the mom who got the Powerwheels Jeep -- except I didn't actually have to buy it! I WIN!!!

It's been very snowy lately, so the girls haven't really had the opportunity to get into an open space and see what this baby can do. All I can say is, I hope Amanda's driving skills improve before she's old enough to operate a real vehicle. I think Lily's a better driver, despite the age difference.

After we opened all the presents, we felt it necessary to go somewhere to find more presents to open. We headed down to Logan's parents' house for breakfast and more gift-giving (and receiving, incidentally). Logan's mom made matching pillow and blanket sets for all the grandkids. The material of each set was different from the next. Here is Amanda with hers. She and Lily sleep with theirs every night!

After staying for a while at Logan's parents' house, we went to my Mom and Dad's. We spent the rest of the evening there -- and then some! As we packed up to leave around 8:00 p.m., a blizzard was swirling all around us. I expressed my concern about attempting to travel in such weather, but Logan was sure we'd be fine. As we inched toward the end of my parents street, we were met by a car whose driver had attempted to turn and ended up stuck against a curb. After Logan helped push the car into the right position, we decided to turn around and have an impromptu sleepover at Grammy and Papa's house. It turned out to be a lot of fun! We played games, ate (lots of) food and had breakfast together before leaving in the morning.

And since I just haven't posted enough pictures of the kids, I'll throw in one more of each of them:

This is Lily's new haircut. Cute? Yes. Intended? Not exactly. After she attempted to cut her own hair on two separate occasions, I was forced to take her to Dollar Cuts so something could be done. Unfortunately, self-inflicted haircut #3 took place after the Dollar Cuts intervention. Thankfully it wasn't too severe.

And now for a little more about the craziness of the Christmas season, which I alluded to before. I really felt like I lost control of things this year. And not just the obligatory gifts, pot-luck offerings, etc. (though I was certainly on the verge of not getting any of those things done either, until Logan swooped in to save me). No, it was beyond that. I want my children to know that Christmas -- and life in general, really -- can encompass far more than the parties you're invited to attend and how much stuff you can accumulate. I'm afraid I didn't get much past those two things this year. I'm certain that if I did't get past them, my kids couldn't have, either. So I'm making a vow today: next year will be different. Part of it can be fixed just by planning a little better, but mostly, I need to change my whole outlook about what is important. In the coming year, I hope to have more patience with my children. I hope to serve more dilligently in my calling. I hope to be an attentive neighbor and friend. I hope to deepen my religious convictions. I hope to have all these things culminate in Christmas next year so that when anyone walks through my front door, they are immediately enveloped by such a feeling of love, they cannot deny that a member of the Godhead lives and thrives in our home. Merry Christmas, everyone, and Happy New Year.

Another Month Flown By...

2008-11-30T20:52:00.007-07:00

It's officially Christmas time! Actually, it's been Christmas at our house since...well, last Christmas, pretty much. Yup, we're Christmas freaks. The decorations have been up for several weeks now, and I'm not ashamed to admit that at any given point during the year -- be it Valentine's Day, Memorial Day or Labor Day -- Christmas carols can be heard ringing throughout the Toone home. More than once I've been interruped during a phone conversation to have the other party say, "Is that...? Is someone playing...Silent Night?" You bet they are!

Well, let's review some of the highlights of the month. Amanda is increasingly interested in sounding things out and piecing together her own words and phrases using the letter magnets on our fridge. Here is one of her recent compositions:

For those of you who are illiterate, this plainly reads "Boy kiss girl" (Amanda-style, of course). Amanda had colored the picture in the background and informed me that the prince and the princess were getting married -- hence the need for a kiss. Wouldn't it be interesting if everything were, in fact, spelled phonetically? And does it strike anyone else as odd that the word "phonetic" would be pronounced "pee-hun-ett-ick" if it were pronounced phonetically? These are the sorts of things I think about before falling asleep at night...

Anyway, moving on. I was lucky enough to receive a visit from my former college roommate Mikkel and her little boy Trajen. I hadn't seen Mikkel in over four years, and I had never seen Trajen in person, so it was GREAT to catch up! I hope that Logan and I will have the opportunity to visit Mikkel and her husband sometime in the not-too-distant future (Logan, if you are reading this, that is a very subtle HINT).

Ahhhh. Just looking at this quaint little cottage nestled among the trees in Midway reminds me of what fun it was to have a little getaway with Logan at the Homestead! Logan was recently elected to a position on the Utah Council for Teachers of Mathematics board, and they had a retreat at the Homestead that spouses were invited to attend. My parents were very kind to watch the kids for a night so we could go together. There's hardly anything better than a free vacation (well, it was a vacation for me; Logan had to go to meetings and stuff).

Logan and me in our room. Hey look; I got new glasses! Do I look smart or what? Big thanks to my little sis Krista, who got me a steal of a deal on these babies (she works at an optical shop in Logan). My contact lens has really been irritating my eye lately, so it's been a big relief to have a good pair of glasses I can use.

Why a picture of this old Toyota Corolla, you ask? Well, we sold both our Camry and our Corolla this month. It's just occurred to me that I can't remember if I mentioned that I am officially a minivan mom. We got a van the last week of September, and the month of October was spent trying to sell our two other cars so we could pay off the car loan. Unfortunately, we didn't get the job done until a day or two after we had to make our first (and only, in the entirety of our lives) car payment. Boo. Anyway, the van is now paid off, and all's well that ends well. I just had to show a picture of this Corolla because it holds such sentimental value! I'm sure my sisters will think it strange to hear me say this (because they think I'm dead inside), but it was rather bittersweet for me to sell this car. I can remember when my Dad came home with it in 1995. Though it was pre-owned, it had that "new car" smell. It was the car I learned to drive in; it was the car I raced home in from friends' houses, trying to make curfew; it was the car I drove home from college in, pondering my future with Logan; it was our wedding gift from my parents; it drove me to my bachelor's degree from Weber State, through my pregnancy with Amanda -- and its arrival in our driveway was the signal that my honey had made it home safely for another day. When Logan's brother got married, we gave it to him and his wife with the understanding that they would return it to us when they didn't need it anymore. It came back a little worse for the wear (it was in an accident), but still running like a dream. With 245,000 miles on the odometer, it still acted like it would give us anything we asked of it. And in the end, it did just that. What we asked of it was $1,600 to put toward a minivan, and once again, it willingly obliged. We made arrangements to sell it to a guy the day we returned from the Homestead. We had left the van with my parents in case they wanted to go anywhere with the kids, so we had one last road trip in the old Corolla before bidding it farewell. As I loaded it up in the parking lot outside our room, I suddenly realized that it would be for the last time. I know cars don't have feelings -- I realize that they are just machines, just hunks of metal -- but for some reason I felt like I was about to take a devoted old dog to the pound because I'd gotten a new puppy. I took a moment to get my camera out and take one last photo. When I shut the trunk of the car after removing our belongings back at my parents' house, I felt like I was shutting a chapter of my life. The chapter where we were newlyweds, struggling students, getting our first "real" jobs -- the chapter where our whole family could fit into that tiny car. That phase of our life is over now, and it's never coming back. So I guess it's silly to have so many emotions wrapped up in a sky blue Toyota, but I think it played a big part in driving us to where we find ourselves now -- and at 34 mpg, no less! I know I'll always have a soft spot for it.

Next we have the Blessed Dinner. The Blessed Dinner has been going on since 1999, when I was a senior in high school. Back then, my friends and I determined that we needed to have a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Dinner (later christened "The Blessed Dinner) because our friend Russell was (and still is) allergic to poultry. So he couldn't have turkey, stuffing cooked inside a turkey, gravy made from turkey...you get the idea. We had a roast beef dinner the day before Thanksgiving, and every year since then, on the day before Thanksgiving, we get together again to share a dinner (ironically enough, Russell has opted not to come the last few times). It was so good to see everyone who came! As you can see, there are quite a few second generation members of the group now. :)

And now for a little humor. Over the Thanksgiving break, Logan and I worked on getting our crawlspace ready to store our long-term food storage. This involved reorganizing, and in the process of doing so, we created a little play area in there for the kids. We wanted a fairly large piece of carpet to put on the floor where they could play with the toy kitchen, workbench, Little People house, etc. So we loaded everyone into the van and headed to Home Depot. If you've never purchased the in-stock carpet from Home Depot, it works like this: there are several rolls of carpet to choose from. Each one is 12 feet long, and you choose how many linear feet you want. Then they wheel over this big machine that cuts the carpet, they roll it up, give you a receipt for it, and you pay for it up at the front of the store. As this process was taking place, Logan and the kids were standing off to the side, and after a moment, I could see that Lily was telling something to Logan -- and that Logan was very amused by it. As the Home Depot guy was calculating our total, Logan quietly told me what Lily had been saying. It's not uncommon for her to ask a string of questions before you can answer one of them, but the line of questioning she had directed at Logan was a little different this time: "What Jesus doing? Jesus roll the carpet? Jesus cut the carpet? Jesus make my bed? (Don't really know where this one came from)." The fact that the guy who was helping us had a beard was enough to convince Lily that he was Jesus. Her questions continued (quietly) as he thanked us for our business and directed us to the front of the store. As we pushed our cart away, however, her gratitude overwhelmed her and she sang out (not quietly), "THANK YOU, JESUS!" -- while waving vigorously. Jesus, a guy named Lou in an orange apron -- apparently, it's all the same to Lily. Anyway, here's a photo of the play area (not nearly as interesting as the story behind the carpet).

The Month in Pictures

2008-11-03T00:14:00.009-07:00

October just seems to be chock full of birthdays, Halloween celebrations and pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins! So here's a look at our October...now that it's gone...

Lily's second birthday party at our house. Those of you who know me know that I am a selfish mother whose children's birthday cakes don't bear the likeness of cartoon characters, superheroes or anything besides a rather traditional-looking dessert. There are two reasons for this: 1) a fair amount of time goes into making a cake, and 2) I have to eat the cake. These factors alone mean that the cake dang well better taste good. I like ice cream cake best, so Lily's cake this year was a three-tier vanilla and chocolate ice cream cake frosted with chocolate ganache.

Ah, the joys of having a two-year-old again. To be fair, Amanda really didn't do this sort of stuff. Lily was born to this earth with some sort of homing device for ink-filled writing utensils (pens, markers -- pretty much anything that will ruin my furniture and tatoo her skin). Anyway, I just thought everyone should get a glimpse of Lily in her most orphan-like state.

We finally took the kids on the FrontRunner train, which we had promised them we would do ages ago. They thought it was great! With the exception of Amanda nearly falling into the crack between the train and the platform, and the fact that she nearly boarded the train headed for Roy without us, things went pretty smoothly.

The kids were mesmerized by the scenery flying by outside the windows.

Amanda's pre-school field trip to a local pumpkin patch. The other three kids in her class had already gone home at this point, so you'll just have to be satisfied with what you see here.

The see-saw was a big hit with the girls. You can't really tell this from the picture, but Amanda and Lily must be almost exactly the same weight. They were not in motion when this photo was taken; they were both hovering mid-air because they were perfectly balanced!

I took the kids down to Memory Grove to take some pictures of them. A bunch of cuties!

We went up to Logan to celebrate our family's October birthdays -- mine, my sister Lisa's, my nephew Sawyer's and Lily's. My parents treated us to breakfast and then bought pumpkins for us to carve at my sister Krista's place. Papa helped Amanda and Lily carve this scary Jack-o-Lantern!

Benson got to choose a pumpkin, too.

Carving pumpkins was fun, but what was REALLY entertaining was the interaction between Benson and Sawyer. These little cousins are four months apart, and it's so fun to see them together! In these pictures, Sawyer is attacking Benson because my sister and her husband were paying attention to Benson. Sawyer immediately targeted him as the "enemy" and was out to destroy him! Though Sawyer is older than Benson, I think Benson outweighs Sawyer by a fair amount. It's a good thing Benson's a lover, not a fighter... :)

"Hey! If you don't get away from my mom RIGHT NOW, I'm gonna beat you up!"

Next up was the annual trip to the pumpkin patch with Logan's family. What a gorgeous day it was!

Our baby with his baby-sized pumpkin.

Lily and her dad found just the right one...

Amanda stakes her claim!

The whole family -- even baby Rachel, who was born just five days before! Let's all give a hand to Rachel's mom Brenda, the real unsung hero...

After we made our selections at the pumpkin patch, it was back to Regular Grandma and Grandpa's for the October birthdays celebration. (These may seem like strange titles for grandparents. Amanda came up with these names when she was just one year old. You see, Amanda has A LOT of grandparents -- she has my parents, Logan's parents, one set of great-grandparents on my side and two sets of great-grandparents on Logan's side. My parents are Grammy and Papa. My grandparents are Grandmom and Granddad. Logan's grandparents are Grandma & Grandpa Toone and Grandma & Grandpa Neilson. That left Logan's parents without any sort of title that would differentiate them from all the other grandparetns, so Amanda christened them Regular Grandma and Grandpa, and that is how we always refer to them now. Wow, that was a really long sidenote.) Lily received this doll, Beepy Cootie (Sleeping Beauty), which she loves.

Lily also received this little apron equipped with cooking tools (a little set of kitchen pots and pans completed the gift -- so cute!). She has already broken in the rolling pin "helping" me prepare some pastry dough for baking.

This brings us to our next adventure: Amanda's pre-school Halloween party! Siblings were invited to come along, so Lily got to join in the fun. Have you ever seen a cat and mouse with such a good relationship?

They got to play fun games, like pumpkin bowling.

Next up was Amanda's friend Brooklyn's birthday party, where each attendee was instructed to come dressed in full princess regalia. Just a note about this dress. Amanda received this darling dress-up from Grammy for her third birthday. Though that was nearly a year ago, this was the first time she had ever worn it. For some reason, she has a real aversion to wearing any material that isn't made of natural fibers. Seriously. I had to do some major pleading/bargaining to get her to put this on. However, by the time all was said and done, she was ready to forget being a kitty for Halloween and go as a princess instead (I said no).

All the pretty princesses. What fun!

And last but not least, Halloween. Here is our little menagerie...

Our homeowner's association hosts a little Trick-or-Treat walk for anyone who wants to come (as long as they bring treats for the kids!). It was so fun to see all the kids dressed up!

Amanda and Lily carefully make their selections. Not that it did them much good. I made sure to raid their buckets for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups before they even knew what hit them. This is the parental Halloween candy tax -- i.e., my payment for putting together their costumes, getting them all dressed and ready to go, taking fliers to every house in our neighborhood to advertise the trick-or-treat walk so that somebody would be there to give them some candy, etc.

Though unable to eat most of the Halloween spoils, Benson still made a mighty cute (and roly-poly) puppy!

So that gets us through the end of the month. Now for a few "-isms":

-- Lily, after seeing Amanda sit on Regular Grandma's lap: "No, Amanda! That's MY Grandma!"

-- Amanda, after seeing her dad wear my blinged-out sunglasses while driving to stake conference because he forgot to bring his: "Daddy, you look FABULOUS!"

-- Lily, who, after singing "I Am Like a Star Shining Brightly," was asked if she knew Heavenly Father loved her: (exasperated tone) "I know that!"

-- Amanda, after repeatedly being told she could not ride in the double stroller at Ross Dress for Less because it was already occupied by Lily and Benson: "Mom, if you don't let me, I'm just going to...(pause)...pass away." Uh huh.

And, just because we don't want to leave Benson out, I'll report that he's crawling like a madman and is pulling himself up to a standing position with the assistance of any obliging furniture. He is also making mad dashes up the stairs whenever I have my back turned for one minute, which has resulted in more than one little tumble for him. Amanda and Lily didn't walk until they were well past one year old, but I will be very surprised if Benson can make it to his first birthday without tearing around the house on two feet!

Tagged AGAIN!

2008-10-20T14:31:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I haven't seen this one before. My sister-in-law Brenda sent it to me, and it's meant to be answered by your kids. Since this one was probably a little beyond Lily's comprehension, and Benson mostly just babbles (and spits a lot in the process), I only asked Amanda for answers. Oh, and I just realized that I failed to copy quesiton #1 (What is something Mom always says to you?) and question #2 (What makes Mom happy?), and the kids are now down for naps. You KNOW I'm not going to wake them up to get the answers, so you'll just have to be satisfied with the remaining 18 questions and answers. So here they are...

3. What makes Mom sad?
When I’m just in trouble.

4. How does Mom make you laugh?
You make up a funny face.

5. What was Mom like as a child?
A little toy whale.

6. How old is your mom?
Um, 6 months.

7. How tall is your mom?
Like, you’re way up to the clouds like a big dinosaur

8. What is your mommy's favorite thing to do?
Paint colors and paint pictures (I'm certain this is a spray-paint reference)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
You go and get me.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
It will be for…me!

11. What is your mom really good at?
Doing big jobs for painting. (I KNOW this is a spray-paint reference)

12. What is your mom not very good at?
You’re not very good at putting a big huge pumpkin in your truck.

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Make cookies for my dad’s meeting.

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Spaghetti noodles

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
When I am really happy at you, I will let Charlie out. Like when you do something you never tried before.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, which one would she be?
A lady.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Sometimes we like to play with each other, but sometimes you’re too busy to do it.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
When we just have the same hair and the same eyes.

19. How are you and your mom different?
Like we’re doing right now, like we’re different, like with the colors.

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
She loves me when I do things like a big job. And we do a big grown-up movie like we are going to do.

Tagged!

2008-10-10T01:06:00.003-06:00

I've been tagged by my friend Jennie. She actually tagged me about a week ago, but I've been behind on my blog-reading and didn't realize I'd been tagged until just now! So here it goes:

A - Attached or single: Attached. Logan and I just celebrated our 7-year anniversary.
B - Best Friend: Logan
C - Cake or Pie: Pie FOR SURE -- but it's just about impossible to pick a favorite
D - Day: Ummm...probably Saturday, 'cause Logan's home and we often do things with family
E - Essential Items: My purse -- and all its wondrous contents
F - Favorite Color: Deep red
G - Gummi Bears of Gummi Worms: Doesn't matter. They taste the same, don't they?
H - Home town: I was born in Vernal, but I consider Centerville my hometown
I - Indulgences: candy, ice cream, cookies...pretty much anything with a high sugar content
J - January or July?: July, I guess
K - Kids: Amanda, Lily, Benson
L - Life is incomplete without: D.I. and black spray paint
M - Marriage Date: September 27, 2001
N - Number of Siblings: Two sisters
O - Oranges or Apples: Oooh, that's hard! I guess I'll say oranges.
P - Phobias or Fears: Burning myself on the oven. Oh, and moths.
Q - Quote: Is everybody just walking around with a favorite quote rolling around in their head? I didn't realize we were all supposed to have one at the ready...
R - Reason to Smile: Sappy, I know -- but Logan always makes me smile
S - Season: Autumn
T - Tag Two: Emily (do you even blog anymore, Em?) and Sarah G.
U - Unknown fact about me: I am contemplating -- CONTEMPLATING -- starting a small photography business (I don't know why I even said that, it is so preliminary).
V - Very Favorite Store: D.I. -- but Ross is right up there, too.
W - Worst Habit: I am always running late
X - Rays or Ultrasounds: As in, how many of each, or which to I prefer, or what? I'd rather have neither -- unless I'm pregnant, and then I can't wait for the ultrasounds. I don't think I've ever had an x-ray, except at the dentist.
Y - Your favorite food: Are you kidding? That is impossible. Right now I am really, REALLY loving pretty much anything served at Mazza -- especially the lamb sfiha. Ohhhhh, it is goooooood...
Z - Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

The World's Most Random Post

2008-09-18T16:00:00.008-06:00

Yup, this one's got it all: livestock, bowling, quiche -- all the essential elements of a good blog post, really. You'll just have to bear with me here. These photos appear in no particular order, but I will give a brief explanation for each one. Let the oddity begin!

Ah, the State Fair. It was the first time I'd ever attended (same with Lily, and probably this goat, too).

Amanda's first day olf pre-school (or joy school, or whatever you want to call it). I've already had the opportunity to teach twice. I think I'm getting more of an education than any of the kids...

More fun at the State Fair. Lily was ver persistent about riding on the carousel, but before the music and the spinning stopped, this pony had lost its appeal. Lily opted for her Daddy's arms.

Amanda insisted on a pony ride and ended up with Thunder, the powerful stallion pictured above. She loved every one of the two minutes they shared together...

"Little Hands on the Farm" was an exhibit at the fair for children, and it was really cute. Each child had to don an apron and carry a bucket to different stations where they participated in various farm chores (like brushing the wool on a sheep, as seen here).

Amanda milks a plastic cow. Now that's a trick.

Lily and Amanda with the fruits of their labors. Each child was able to exchange the contents of his/her basket for a prize in a "store" at the end. Both girls opted for a package of fruit snacks (since they're pretty much considered contraband in our home, the girls had to get while the gettin' was good).

If this doesn't melt your soul, you're dead inside.

While on vacation in Park City, we went bowling for the first time as a family. Amanda and Lily loved it -- especially since they got to wear special bowling shoes.

To be honest, Lily's favorite part of bowling was waiting for her ball to magically appear from nowhere (a.k.a. the ball return). Seriously, once she rolled the ball down the lane, she didn't even wait to see if it hit any pins. She just ran straight back to the ball return!

These are Amanda's "ties." Amanda used to have a big fluffy tied quilt that she insisted on sleeping with every night so she could play with the yarn ties as she drifted off to sleep. I made a smaller version that was easier to transport and to wash. She loved it just about to death, so I made her a new one (and Lily, too). Here are the old ties...

...and here are the new ones! Lily's look just the same, except the back and binding on hers are pink, not yellow. My mom made a tied blanket for me when I was a baby, and I still have it. I sometimes wonder what was going on in our house the day she made it. These ties were made amidst a big mess in my family room (sewing machine out, cutting mat, batting all over the place, Lily trying to eat the pins, etc.). I must say, it was no small feat to get them done, considering all the distractions.

Awwww! My two boys just couldn't be more handsome!

Our little family.

I'm always going to remember that when this picture was taken, the kids were looking at their Daddy.

The title says it all!

I must say that it doesn't get much sweeter than this...

Grammy and Papa joined us for the first evening of our Park City vacation. We enjoyed pizza and the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The kids all got new "Park City Jammies" in honor of our vacation. As you can see, a good time was had by all!

This is why we have a garden! Delicious fresh produce and wonderful time together. I don't think it really gets much better than that.

The sight that met my eyes after Amanda had been "playing" with her blocks. Some kids get their Daddy's smile...and others get their Daddy's OCD.

Amanda and Lily making their own quiches for dinner one night.

The finished product! Not too shabby, eh? Of course, anything that's comprised of butter, eggs, bacon and cheese can't be too bad...

This lovely little gem was one that I stumbled upon while surfing KSL Classifieds. The hardware was located a bit oddly, but I was dying to try antiquing a piece of furniture. So this is the before...

And this is the after! I must say that I'm very pleased with the end result (and also pleased to have all my table linens in one place, rather than hidden in little caches around the house). Now that I know how to do the antiquing process, I'm going to do it to my bathroom cabinets (eventually).

So there you have it. I hope I won't go such a dreadfully long time between posts again, but I'm certainly not making any promises. If there is a bit of a dry spell, you can look back fondly on the time I posted a billion non-related photos.

I'm Not Dead, Okay?

2008-09-08T23:33:00.002-06:00

Oh, my heck. I can't believe that it's been nearly a MONTH since I last posted! Horrible, horrible, horrible -- I know! I had such hopes that this blog would not follow the same pattern as my journal (long periods of neglect followed by periodic marathon entries), but considering their common author...well, you get what you get, I guess.

Anyway, this isn't really even a real post. This is just to give a little explanation. Logan and I decided that our lives needed a little more structure in order for us to accomplish all of the most important things. We gave ourselves a curfew (it's 10:30 p.m., so I'm obviously breaking it tonight) and set up a schedule for scripture study, chores, bedtime, etc. Its been very good -- in most ways. I do laundry on Mondays and Wednesdays; cooking, sewing and household/craft projects on Tuesdays; housecleaning on Thursdays; catch-up and errand running/shopping on Fridays. However, this is all amidst church callings, Logan's work schedule (which has been more than a little crazy with the beginning of the school year), family events, and regular day-to-day things (dishwashing, CONSTANTLY bathing, feeding, reading to or cleaning up after the kids, etc.). Where is blogging on the schedule, I ask you? Oh, nowhere, you say? THAT'S RIGHT! So there's my pitiful excuse for neglecting the blog. I have about a million pictures saved up, and I'll probably just throw them all on here in one very random post...but that's better than utter silence, right? Oh, I don't know. I'm not sure why it feels so difficult lately to get everything done. Somehow I feel that I'm never 100% on top of anything. Am I the only one who feels this way? Even with the new schedule, each days' activities seem to bleed into the next, and I am never, NEVER done! I still hold out hope that one day, I'm going to get there...but I'm beginning to think that day isn't going to come until all the children are in their mid-30's. I'll let you know in 2038 what it's like to have my life under control...

My 37 Things

2008-08-10T17:06:00.002-06:00

Here you have my 37 responses. Enjoy!

1. Do you like bleu cheese? I have recently begun liking bleu cheese dressings and a little crumbled in salads, but I am not yet to the point where I could say that I really crave a big old moldy slice of bleu cheese.
2. Have you ever smoked? Nope.
3. Do you own a gun? Nope.
4. What flavor Kool-Aid was your favorite? I can't remember what it was called. The powder was red, but it turned blue when you added water. I probably should have hesitated to ingest something that used artificial colors and chemical reactions to appeal to children, but I didn't care about that stuff. It was cool, and therefore I wanted to drink it.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes, but not because I'm afraid of anything specific. I just don't like the doctor's office. I also don't like calling to schedule doctor's appointments. My mom always did it for me when I lived with her, and now Kara does it for me. I know it's kind of dumb that a 28-year-old can't call to make his own appointments, but I can bathe myself and cut my own food, so that's pretty good isn't it?
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Every once in a while I have a hot dog that makes me very happy. I like the hot dogs from the Costco food court and the condiments from Maverik. If there was a way to merge the two I'd never need to worry about deciding what to have for lunch again.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? "Daddy's gonna kill Ralphie!" ... "Daddy's not going to kill Ralphie!" ... "Yes he is!"
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? I usually don't drink anything in the morning. I have a bowl of Cheerios or Bran Flakes on my way to work.
9. Can you do push ups? Yep. Every once in a while, I would challenge my students to a pushup contest. They would pick a student in my class to challenge me. If they won, we wouldn't have a quiz. If I won, we would. I never won (mostly because they always picked the mega-athletic football kid, not becasue I can't do pushups).
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? I really like my nose ring.
11. Favorite hobby? Fixing cars, web design and gardening.
12. Do you have ADD? Not usually, but I sometimes think I have "Menu ADD." When I go to a restaurant, I only make it to about the second appetizer before I get distracted and stop reading. It usually results in me not being ready when the server comes to take our order, and me turning to Kara to ask what she thinks I'd like. She usually does a pretty good job.
13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? I wear glasses but the prescription is not too strong. My left eye has a slight astigmatism, and my right eye is a little bit near-sighted.
14. Middle name? Thomas
15. Name three thoughts at this exact moment. Synchronized diving is a wierd, but very intriguing sport (I'm watching the olympics as I write this.) I really like orange juice a lot. My kids are pretty cute.
16. Name three drinks you regularly drink. Water, Diet cola, and Milk
17. Current worry? I'm worried about some big training sessions that I have coming up at work in the next couple of weeks. I hope I can be ready in time so they don't end up being a waste of time for the teachers that come.
18. Current hate right now? I hate it when my clothes are twisted and uncomfortable.
19. Favorite place to be? I love to fall asleep on the couch downstairs - usually when Kara is working late with Forsythia (or whatever her new computer's name is)
20. How did you bring in the New Year? A great evening playing games at Nathan and Brenda's house. I love spending time with family.
21. Where would you like to go? I want to go to New York and San Francisco.
22. Name three people who will complete this. I feel like this is mostly Kara's blog, so I'll let her identify the next people for the tag.
23. Do you own slippers? I own them, but I never wear them. They feel wonky on my feet, and they make my feet sweat.
24. What shirt are you wearing? I'm only wearing my undershirt.
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? When I was a kid, I had a blue satin pillow case. I loved it. It was so smooth and silky and soft. I want to buy satin sheets real bad, but Kara says they're tacky, and that the only satin sheets are made by "Playboy inc." I don't believe her. She just likes cotton.
26. Can you whistle? I wouldn't say I was an expert, but I've got a pretty good whistle.
27. Favorite color? Green
28. Would you be a pirate? I don't think so. I don't like the water, I don't like boats, and I'm not really into dressing up, stealing, or killing people.
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Usually I find myself singing the theme songs from Amanda and Lily's favorite movies. Refrains of "life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long." can frequently be heard from behind my bathroom door.
30. Favorite girl’s name? If we have another little girl, I'd like to name her Elena, but we would call her Ellie.
31. Favorite boy’s name? I like Benson. Jacob and Michael are also on the favorite list.
32. What’s in your pocket right now? No pockets in my lounging shorts
33. Last thing that made you laugh? Lily was kind enough to bring me a diet coke out of the fridge. As I opened it up and it sprayed all over the place I realized that Lily has not yet learned that you shouldn't shake carbonated beverages before opening them. Kind of funny, and it made me laugh.
34. What vehicle do you drive? I drive a white 2000 Ford Ranger. I love it.
35. Worst injury you’ve ever had? I have never been seriously injured, but when my Great-Grandpa Brown died, my dad and I pulled his piano out of his basement, and I got a hernia. A few months later, I needed minor surgery to repair it.
36. Do you love where you live? Yes. One of my favorite things is coming home each day.
37. How many televisions do you have in your house? Three - one in the family room, one in the kitchen, and one in the bedroom closet. (We pull it out when folding enormous piles of laundry in the bedroom).

Stuff You Were All DYING to Know...

2008-08-08T20:23:00.003-06:00

I've been tagged by my cousin-in-law Kate. I encourage everyone who reads this to do it, too -- but I'm specifically encouraging Logan to do it. Okay, here it goes: "37 Odd Things About Me."

1. Do you like blue cheese? Mmmmm, cheese. I heart my frommage in pretty much any variety. I like blue cheese (and yellow cheese, and white cheese, and orange cheese)...
2. Have you ever smoked? Nope.
3. Do you own a gun? Absolutely not (as a child, I remember being extremely uncomfortable/afraid whenever I would catch a glimpse of an old BB gun of my dad's in the back corner of the closet underneath our stairs). Me no likey guns.
4. What flavor Kool-Aid was your favorite? Some kids go through their first years with a Kool-Aid mustache tattooed on their upper lip. I was not one of those kids. I think the same three packages of Kool-Aid were nestled among the onion soup mixes and unused Top Ramen seasonings in the spice cupboard for the entire 18 years my parents lived in the Centerville house. We weren't Kool-Aid drinkers -- except foar a brief stint one summer when we kids had a snow cone stand in our front yard and used Kool-Aid for the flavoring. That summer, my favorite flavor was Pink Swimmingo.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? That depends entirely upon which doctor it is and what the visit is for. Visit to the family doctor for a sinus infection? No nerves. First trip to the girly doctor? Um, ya....
6. What do you think of hot dogs? It's always a surprise to those who know me well (and Know that I'm something of a food snob) that I LOVE hot dogs. Just a little tip for you fellow hot dog lovers: though they don't provide the best frankfurters, Maverik (yes, the gas station) has what I would term an EXCELLENT condiment station to dress your dog up in style.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? I don't know if you could really call this a Christmas movie, but it was the birthplace of my favorite pop Christmas song (yes, I have to separate my Christmas favorites by genre), "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." That would be Meet Me In St. Louis.
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? My favorite beverage is milk, but I don't like to drink it by itself. I usually have yogurt in the morning -- sans beverage.
9. Can you do push ups? Not gonna lie to ya -- I haven't attempted a push-up in many years. However, I was the proud recipient of a Viewmont High School Personal Best t-shirt (I'm not going to explain the significance of that to the entire blogosphere, but all you Vikings out there know just how incredibly awesome that makes me).
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? Does my wedding set count? I like sparklies. A lot. If I don't count my wedding set, I suppose I'd have to say the pearl pendant that Logan gave me for Valentine's Day the first year we were married.
11. Favorite hobby? That's hard. I think I can give my top five (in no particular order): photography, decorating, baking, dining out...did I say five?
12. Do you have ADD? Sometimes I have to wonder. To see the way I clean the house or pack for a vacation, you'd think I did.
13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? I wear one contact lens in my right eye. The vision in my left eye is bad, but not as bad as the vision in my right eye. However, my right eye responds to correction; my left eye does not. I have a degenerative disease of the cornea in my left eye. I'm told that my corneas will one day deteriorate to the point that I will require a cornea transplant. I hope you're all organ donors.
14. Middle name? Lynn.
15. Name three thoughts at this exact moment. Park City has a nice climate. Once the leftover Capri Suns from girls camp are gone, I will not buy more because Lily is a Capri Sun fiend. I hope I can survive the rest of this vacation with the kids and that it will be a happy memory for all of us.
16. Name three drinks you regularly drink. Milk, water...those are really the only things I drink regularly.
17. Current worry? My food storage isn't anywhere near where it needs to be. If there were some sort of disaster...well, coming to my house wouldn't help you.
18. Current hate right now? Ants and wasps. They want to live on my property. I don't want them to live on my property.
19. Favorite place to be? Seriously? Geez. I love to be up late at night with Florence (yes, I named my laptop Florence). I love to have "slumber parties" with Logan (when we stay up late and sit in bed eating ice cream right out of the carton). I love to be in my backyard eating raspberries right off the bush. I LOVE TO BE AT D.I.
20. How did you bring in the New Year? If I recall correctly, we hung out with a couple of Logan's brothers and their wives. Whoopee.
21. Where would you like to go? Europe, the Atlantic coast, Hawaii...and lots of other places.
22. Name three people who will complete this. Becky, Lisa, Logan.
23. Do you own slippers? Yeah, though I typically go barefoot around the house (and lots of other places). For a person with as many pairs of shoes as I have, I sure do spend a lot of time barefoot.
24. What shirt are you wearing? "Of Valiant Heart -- Camp Cobblecreek 2007." Long live girls camp!
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I don't think I've ever slept on them. Logan has mentioned that he thinks they would be great, at which point I ridicule him and tell him that maybe we could get a giant martini glass hot tub to go with them.
26. Can you whistle? Uh-huh. But I can't whistle like my dad -- the kind of whistle that always reminds me of my childhood (it was typically used to help me find him in a crowd at the ballpark, or to call our dog Suki).
27. Favorite color? Deep, deep red. It's all over the place in my house.
28. Would you be a pirate? No. I'm a rule-keeper, not a rule-breaker. Pirates are notorious rule-breakers.
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Typically broadway showtunes, but sometimes hymns or anything that happens to be stuck in my head that day.
30. Favorite girl’s name? I love the name Ruby. Too bad it sounds ridiculous with 'Toone' (and Logan hates it).
31. Favorite boy’s name? I really do love the name Benson, so it was convenient that we had a boy and that Logan actually likes that name, too. But I have always loved the name Shadrach -- and I endure ridicule whenever I tell anyone that, so please don't throw things at me.
32. What’s in your pocket right now? My cheetah pants don't have pockets.
33. Last thing that made you laugh? Benson just passed gas, and then got a big sloppy grin on his face, like he was super pleased with himself. Wow, am I a mom or what?
34. What vehicle do you drive? A 2001 Toyota Camry (a.k.a. the carseat sardine can).
35. Worst injury you’ve ever had? Does childbirth count? My mode of delivery is to have the babies cut out rather than push them out, but doing this three times in three years has rendered me unable to sit up in bed without assistance. If that's not an injury, I don't know what is.
36. Do you love where you live? Yes and no. Logan and I still dream of the day when we can live in south Davis County (Centerville or Bountiful). It's not that we dislike Clearfield; I think we just love where we grew up. We do love our house and our neighbors.
37. How many televisions do you have in your house? Three: one in the family room, one in the kitchen, and one that sits unplugged in our closet.

Girl's Camp

2008-07-31T01:19:00.005-06:00

Kara is up at Stake Young Women's Camp this week which means that I get to be a stay-at-home dad ... Yea! I love being able to spend time with the kids and doing fun stuff with them. It's a nice break from the routine of going to work.

Since Kara left, I have gone to great lengths to maintain my position as the favorite parent, and it seems to be working very well. Already, we have stayed up way past bed time every night, eaten kids meals at Burger King, had pancakes or cheese things (what we call quesadillas) for almost every other meal, watched more than one movie per day (Kara only lets them watch one), and gone outside whenever (and for however long) we wanted ... without sunscreen. It's been great!

Tomorrow we are going to go to Krispy Kreme and will do some kiddie-pooling. I'll probably try to get around to folding laundry too. One thing that I didn't realize is that Benson throws up or poops on something about every hour and a half. It makes for lots of clothes/bedding changes in a day.

Since Kara is at camp, I told the girls that they could have a little girl's camp too. So we borrowed my mom's little pup-tent, set it up in the family room, and they have been "camping" down there all week. They love it! ... Here's a picture I took a few minutes ago.

It Is Finished!

2008-07-20T22:08:00.004-06:00

I know I’ve mentioned several times that we’ve undertaken a big project in our front yard. It’s been done for quite awhile now, but I’m just getting around to blogging about it. Everything we planted (with the exception of some of the herbs and the potted annuals on the porch) is perennials, so it will be pretty low-maintenance. I’m excited for it to fill in over the next couple of years! I’m glad we were able to do the front yard all at once. The backyard will be a different story; it’s going to take years for it to become what I envision…

By day...

...and by night!

The approach. At the time this picture was taken, the roses were in bloom, but nothing else was. Now the roses have slowed down a little, but everything else is blooming! The herbs! I love fresh herbs in the summer. They're great to cook with, and they smell so nice as you approach the front porch. I think they look pretty, too! Logan piped sprinkler heads into each of these planters so the herbs are sure to get water (plants that depend on me for water die very thirsty deaths). Thanks, honey!

The porch is much more welcoming now than it used to be.

This is the arbor on the gate that leads into the back yard.

Strawberry Fields

2008-07-07T14:15:00.003-06:00

One of the best things about having a garden is seeing how excited the kids get to harvest the produce. Amanda doesn't look particularly excited in this photo, but if this doesn't make you crave a juicy, red strawberry straight off the vine...well, you're just not human.

Here's an Amandaism: Amanda loves to watch mine and Logan's wedding video. Once she asked me why she wasn't in it, and I told her she hadn't been born yet and that she was just a twinkle in her daddy's eye. Yesterday when we were coming home from our trip, one of the songs from our wedding video started playing on Logan's Blackberry. Amanda said, "Hey, this is from your wedding! Daddy, I was tinkling in your eye!"

Monticello Trip

2008-07-07T13:12:00.009-06:00

Logan and I took the kids down to Monticello for the 4th of July holiday. For those of you don’t know where Monticello is (hard to imagine, I know), it’s in the southeastern corner of Utah in San Juan county. It’s a small town; the population is around 2,000. My grandparents have lived in Monticello for their whole married life (over 50 years), and my Grandmom’s family settled it 120-some-odd years ago. I took a TON of pictures, so you’ll have to forgive me for posting so many. One of our favorite things to do in Monticello is visit our family cabin. Our family built it at a family reunion 18 years ago. There are cabins that are essentially second residences, complete with every comfort a home offers. This is not that kind of cabin! There is no plumbing or electricity. It’s a place you go to get away from the world, and we have some wonderful memories there. Amanda really enjoyed her time at “the cabinet,” especially the playhouse that Granddad built for the grandkids and great-grandkids.On the 4th of July, we drove to Blanding for their parade. The girls LOVED it! Lily couldn’t seem to get over the wonderment of people randomly throwing candy into the street for her to collect. We had a little firework show in the driveway of my grandparents’ house that night.

The Adorable Ignorable Baby

2008-07-07T12:25:00.007-06:00

It occurs to me that in the last post I made (when dinosaurs roamed the earth), I was instructed to take pictures of whatever my husband/kids were doing at the moment. Weeks went by before I realized that I had listed the whereabouts of Logan, Amanda, Lily…and not Benson. This illustrates several facts: 1) I’m not 100% accustomed to my status as mother of three; 2) I am a somewhat-negligent mother of three, and 3) Benson is the world’s most content and low-maintenance baby. I sleep at night by telling myself that it’s mostly due to fact #3. Anyway, in an attempt to make up for the fact that I overlooked his very existence, I’m dedicating an entire entry to my adorable, ignorable baby boy. I hope I haven’t already given him a complex.

When Logan and I first decided it was time to start having kids, it took a lot longer than we expected to actually get a baby here. After a year of trying, we finally got pregnant – but I miscarried before the first trimester was over. It was nearly two years later that Amanda arrived. We concluded that we’d be lucky to get whatever kids we could, whenever we could. When Amanda was 15 months old, we were ecstatic to learn that we were expecting Lily. I should have made a mental note that it had taken us approximately half the time to get pregnant with Lily as it had taken to get pregnant with Amanda. Anyway, Lily was barely 8 months old when we discovered I was expecting again. We had fully intended to have more than two children, but our previous difficulty getting pregnant had forced us to consider the possibility that it might never happen. So when I say that Benson was a surprise, I don’t mean it in the sense that we didn’t want him. We DESPERATELY wanted him! The only thing that surprised us was how easy it was in comparison with the struggle we’d encountered before – and how obvious it was that somebody wanted that baby in our family NOW.

When I learned I was expecting a boy, I wasn’t quite sure what to think. I didn’t have any brothers myself, and the prospect of being responsible for the upbringing of someone who would one day head a family seemed a very daunting task (I don’t mean to imply that raising future mothers is less important; somehow that job didn’t – and doesn’t – seem as scary to me). Despite the imposing responsibility, I just can’t get over how much Benson just melts my heart! He really is just so incredibly sweet. I’ve had to accept the fact that when you have three kids in three years, the youngest is going to have to fight for attention – and

Benson doesn’t seem to be a fighter by nature, so sometimes we forget he’s there. : ) I’ll be interested to

see if he’ll eventually learn to be a squeakier wheel or if he’ll always be a passive little soul. At any rate, I just love, love, LOVE to snuggle him. I need to make more of an effort to set aside time for the two of us to have uninterrupted time together – thought the likelihood of it happening is pretty slim. We just got back from visiting my grandparents' house where Benson enjoyed an adoring public willing to lavish attention on him…and I even got a turn, too.

Tag!

2008-06-12T14:24:00.006-06:00

Did you know that in the five or so months since I started this blog, I have not been officially tagged until today? It's a big moment for me! : ) Becky tagged me, so here goes nothin'. The instructions are to take the following photos exactly as they are at this moment. No cheating! I guess I'll be showing my true colors...

#1 Post a picture of the kitchen sink

(In case you're wondering about all the sippy cups, my sister-in-law's kids were over this morning and they had snacks while watching a movie.)

#2 Post a picture of your toilet

Oh, geez. Logan and I were just saying the other day that our bathroom is in need of a major overhaul. Little did I know that I would be asked to post pictures of it just days after this conversation.

#3 Post a picture of your laundry room

As you can see, I am once again procrastinating folding the laundry. Sigh.

#4 Post a picture of the inside of your fridge

Exciting, huh?

#5 What your hubby/kids are doing right now

Logan's at work, so I assume he's...working. : )

Here is Lily climbing her high chair -- one of her current favorite pastimes. As you can see, she has once again removed the bow from her hair and hidden it from me.

Here is Amanda, who I found downstairs dancing for no apparent reason.

#6 Favorite shoes

What?! That's like asking me to choose a favorite child. Of all the shoes you see above, the majority are mine (46 pairs, to be exact). I LOVE SHOES! So I can't really pick a favorite, but I can narrow it down a little. I love these 5-inch peep-toe pumps:

And these red frou-frou ones (when I bought them, Logan said they looked like underwear. I inquired whose underwear he was referring to, since my underwear sure as heck doesn't look anything like these shoes):

And the ones I wear most often:

#7 Favorite room

Two favorites -- an indoor and an outdoor. The favorite indoor room is the dining room:

And the favorite outdoor room is the front porch:

What do they have in common? They are seldom played in and RARELY have to be cleaned up. That why they're my favorite!

#8 Your closet

I'm happy to report that we're in the process of moving Benson out of our room, so his clothes will soon hang in his own closet instead of in mine. Yippee!

#9 Your dream vacation

I guess I haven't thought about this a lot. Logan and I have decided that we could go just about anywhere together and it would feel like a vacation.

# 10 Self portrait as you look right now

Yup, that's right. Hair's not done, makeup's not on -- and guess who doesn't care? ME! I don't apologize for the fact that I didn't get all gussied up on a Thursday afternoon on the off-chance that someone was going to instruct me to take a self portrait. It's not like I'm trying to get asked to the prom or anything.

Okay, I tag Susanna, Brenda, Mikkel, Bethany and my sister Lisa!

My Two Dads

2008-06-11T18:56:00.001-06:00

Since Father's Day is right around the corner, I thought I'd pay tribute to two of the most important men in my life...

Let's start with my father-in-law. David was born in 1954. During his childhood, his parents were in the business of "flipping" houses (buying them cheap, making improvements, then selling them), so he moved quite a bit. He graduated from Bountiful High School and then served in what was then the southern states mission. Soon after returning home, he met my mother-in-law (Nancy), and they were married in July of 1976 at the ripe old ages of 21 and 18, respectively! He earned a bachelor's and master's degree from BYU (in agricultural economics -- I don't really have any idea what that means). He currently works as a regional manager for Deseret Industries (my FAVORITE place!).

What I love about him: He is the fix-anything dad. Really, I don't think there's a problem he can't solve. If there's something that needs to be repaired or modified to be more useful -- be it a broken car or someone's bad attitude -- he's your man! He is a hard worker and has been all his life, and it's a trait he's passed on to his children (I happen to be one of the beneficiaries!). He is generous regardless on anyone's abilities to return his kindnesses; he has no expectation of being repaid. I can't count how many times he has helped Logan do a complicated repair on a car -- and then paid for the parts, a full tank of gas and our dinner to boot. I remember when Logan unexpectedly had to have a hernia repaired. At the time, we had recently filled some sinkholes in our yard, and Logan's attempts to reseed the grass had failed. Due to his surgery, he was unable to try again, and it was driving him crazy (those of you who know Logan know that he has a "special" relationship with our grass). Dad showed up at our house with a bag of seed, some peat moss and his work hat -- and then he got busy. This time, the seed took (no surprise there; everything he does works!). I remember when we were expecting Lily. Logan's work, church and school load had been particularly difficult that semester. As Lily's due date grew closer, projects we thought we'd have done -- such as finishing a basement room so Lily could live in the bedroom next to ours; painting an old furniture set for the room Amanda would soon occupy -- just weren't ready. Dad came to our rescue again. He taught Logan how to lay carpet (who else would know how to do that off the top of their head?) and then helped him do it. He took the furniture to his house to paint, and within days of my return from the hospital, he delivered it to our house -- looking much better than it would have if I had done it, I might add. All of these things considered, I still have to say that my favorite quality is his humility. I know that I am aware of only a very small portion of the kind deeds he has performed; I bet there are things he's done that not even his wife knows about. He doesn't want to be recognized, he doesn't want anybody to go out of their way on his behalf and he doesn't require anyone fussing over him. As I write this, a million other great qualities are popping into my head. I could go on forever about him. I guess I'll just wrap it up by saying I love you, Dad!

Now for my Daddy! Walter L. Baker (nope, the 'L' doesn't stand for anything; it's just an initial) was born in 1954 in Boise, Idaho. His youth was spent riding motorcycles and getting in and out of trouble with his twin, Wally. As a teenager, some friends invited him to receive lessons from two Mormon missionaries, and he accepted. He made the decision to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, though his family was not in favor of it. Not long after, he served a mission in Monterrey, Mexico. Upon his return, he attended Utah State University to study engineering. It was there that he met my mom. They were married June 23, 1977. He is currently the bishop of his ward and works for the Department of Environmental Quality in the Water Quality division.

When I try to list the things I love about Daddy, all I can think is, "What DON'T I love about him?" At the risk of gushing, I just have to say that I love, love, LOVE absolutely EVERYTHING about him -- and it's been that way every since I was a little girl. I love that he is a peacemaker -- never one for contention and forgiving to a fault. I love that he doted on me and my sisters when we were little, and that he does the same (except multiplied by about a million) to his grandkids. I have a letter from him in my hope chest dated 8/4/96. I don't remember why, but for some reason, my mom and sisters were gone; it was just me and Daddy at home. He was preparing to leave on a business trip, but we had a day or two together before he departed. He left this letter for me in my room, and this is what it said:

"My Dear Kara,

The hour is late and I will be getting up at 4:30 a.m. to leave on my trip to Denver. However, before doing so I want to take a minute to tell you how much I enjoyed spending a little bit of time with you while everyone else was gone. Wingers, an ice cream at Target, corn on the cob and a midnight car washing junket are memories which I will fondly recall in the years to come.

You were a tremendous help in the absence of your siblings. Without a word from me you dutifully went about your work and doing what needed to be done. You are a ray of sunshine in my life. I believe you have the ability to make others try to do better simply because of the high standards you maintain. You have a pleasant disposition that attracts others to you -- and you are a friend to all. I am proud as I can be to be your father.

In case you haven't guessed -- I love you very much! I'll miss you while I am gone, but I know you will make good judgments and correct decisions.

Love,

Daddy

P.S. I also injoy that when you squirt yourself in your face with the sprinkler -- you don't get mad -- you have a good laugh!"

At the time this letter was written, I was just a couple months shy of my fifteenth birthday -- arguably the most weird and awkward stage of life. Despite my obvious shortcomings, Daddy complimented me and expressed his trust in me -- two things I hope to be able to do for my own children. Never -- never -- in my life have I ever questioned his love for me; it has been an absolute constant. I love you too, Daddy! Happy Father's Day!

How it All Began (Continued)

2008-06-10T19:51:00.003-06:00

(This post was written by Logan)

I must say that Kara has given a pretty accurate description of the events that led to our being together. However, I don’t think the two quotes from my journal were an adequate representation of the way I truly felt about her at the time. For some reason, when I write in my journal, my thoughts come out a little wonky. (“Wonky” is a word we use in our family to describe anything that is … well … wonky. There’s not really another word that can be used in its place. It’s kind of like “messed up,” but it doesn’t have the same connotation … You know how it feels when your sock gets crumpled up under your toes? When that happens, you could say that your sock is “wonky.” That’s the best example I can think of right now. If you feel that you could clarify a little further, feel free to post examples of situations in which the use of the elusively-defined adjective is justified.)

Anyway, like I said … my journal writing is usually a little wonky. In the entries Kara quoted, I said that I really liked Kara a lot, and that I had thought of her as a potential wife. That is true, but my feelings at the time were so much more involved than sporadic thoughts of “I like this girl, and I hope she’s still around when I come home.” My mind and emotions were constantly consumed by thoughts, and longing to be with her, and the things I wrote in my journal did not do justice to the feelings I was having.

It was an interesting phase of my life. I was trying to stay focused on my first semester of college at USU - including a linear algebra/differential equations class which, to be frank, was a little more challenging than I expected a math class could ever be. (Over-confidence, especially when it comes to doing math, is a hallmark characteristic of nerds like myself.) Besides school stuff, I had already received my mission call, and I was trying focus on my preparation in that area. On top of all that, I had a prestigious position as an afternoon janitor in the student services building (which yielded a whopping $5.15 an hour). One would think that with all these things keeping me occupied, and dozens of miles between USU and Centerville, my mind would be busy with other things. But that was not the case. The only thing I could think about whether I was in class, at work, during meals, or while studying, was what I would read in the email I’d get from Kara that evening, or what I would write in response, or what I could claim as the reason I wanted to go back to Centerville that weekend. (It sounded a little crazy at the time to ever give the real reason … which was “so I can spend time with a 17-year-old girl who I am head-over-heels in love with and want to spend the rest of my life with.”) Needless to say, my feelings for Kara at the time were a little more involved than indicated by my journal entries.

When I got home from Brazil, it didn’t take long for all those feelings to come whooshing back (as Kara said). Within a matter of weeks, I remembered where my heart had been, and I was happy to learn that hers was still there too. Looking back at where we were in fall of 1998, it seems a miracle to me that we actually ended up getting married. Things like that don’t happen all the time you know … I’m glad it happened the way it did though. I’m pretty dang happy.

The more I reflect on the past, present, and future of my life, the more I realize how truly blessed I am. The other day, Kara and I were talking about the strange feeling we get when we really stop to think about who we are, that we are spending our lives together, or when we look at our sweet little kids and wonder where they (and we) are going to be in 10, 15, or 40 years. We decided that the best way to describe the feeling is “nostalgia for something we have yet to experience.” I felt a little bit of that just now ... It’s a pretty cool feeling.

How It All Began

2008-05-29T21:16:00.006-06:00

Life has been busy around here lately! We've been completely preoccupied with yard projects and the like. I'll post some pictures later (we're not quite done; Logan needs to finish wiring the landscape lights). Anyway, I was talking with some people the other day about courtship stories, etc. I thought I'd share ours for posterity's sake...

Logan was born in San Diego but has lived pretty much his whole life in Utah. His very early years were spent in Provo while his dad finished a master's degree at BYU. After that, the family built a house in West Jordan. He enjoyed a pretty typical upbringing (paper routes, bike-riding and scouting -- as you can see). When Logan was 12, his family built a house in Centerville. The stars began to align...
Little could Logan have known that only a mile or so away, little Kara Baker was ekeing out her existence. I was born in Vernal but moved to a condo in Centerville at the age of three. Not long after that, my family moved to the house in which I spent pretty much all my growing-up years. Here I am with my sisters on the porch of that house. We were having a contest to see whose hair was the most triangular. Little Krista was quickly eliminated, leaving Lisa and me to duke it out. I put up a good fight, but who could really compete with her?

Anyway, the years went on. Logan and I both embarked on illustrious educational careers at Centerville Junior High School and Viewmont High School. Logan graduated in 1998, and at that time, he and I were still completely unaware of one another. I was just completing my sophomore year and, as the result of a recent heartbreak, had sworn off boys forever.

In August of 1998, I got a phone call from my friend Hillary one day saying that there was a group of guys who wanted to put a musical number together (not for any particular reason -- just for fun). They had just graduated, she said, and she didn't really know any of them. One of them (Logan's friend Clark) knew she was an alto, and he asked her to bring along a friend who was a soprano. That, as fate would have it, was me. I thought it was a little strange; why would a bunch of college-bound guys have any interest in random musical numbers with high school girls? After the first practice, I was even less enthusiastic. The song was difficult to sight read, and I wasn't at all convinced that it was something anyone would want to listen to (not that there was a performance in mind). Oh, and there was the conversation that went like this:

Me (interrupting everyone in their attempts to sight-read through the song): "Wait, wait, wait. Somebody is singing my part, but an octave lower (I'd like it noted here that singing the soprano part one octave lower is the hallmark of an inexperienced male singer. I was already irritated by the fact that these weird older boys wanted to sing this weird song, but asking me to endure someone else's musical baby steps was too much)."

Logan: "Yeah, that was me. That's the way it's written in the music."

Me (after quickly checking my copy): "Oh."

Well, if I wasn't already completely annoyed by this entire situation, the red-headed kid pointedly proving me wrong (a terrible thing for someone who dearly loves to be right) had done it. I had no desire whatsoever to continue. However, I couldn't see any graceful way to back out. In hindsight, it's a good thing I didn't. It didn't take too many rehearsals for me to develop a huge crush on that red-headed kid. He seemed so mature to me -- far more than any of the boys I knew at the time (in their defense, they were only 16). I soon learned that he would be attending USU in a matter of days (on a four-year academic scholarship, no less) and would be leaving for a mission to Brazil in January. It was disappointing to think that the fun we'd been having was all going to come to an end. However, we used the music as a reason to get together on the weekends when Clark and Logan came home from school, and we e-mailed one another during the week (e-mail was a very new invention in those days, and I thought it was just about the greatest thing that could have happened to me at that time in my life). The photo at right was taken on Halloween in 1998. I had celebrated my 17th birthday two days prior. Let me just say right now that Richard, on the far left, would make the world's most unattractive woman EVER. Not that I make a very good-looking man, but whatever. Anyway, by the time Thanksgiving rolled around, I was seriously infatuated. During Thanksgiving break, we spent a lot time together -- singing, putting up Christmas decorations at each other's houses, etc. -- and I just kept falling harder and harder for him. That Christmas season was one of the happiest times in my life. When I think back on those days, there is a glow, a warmth, that surrounds them. He was just so wonderful to me. He was smart (really smart), he had a beautiful singing voice, he opened the car door for me, he brought me soup and played board games with me when I was sick. . .he was PERFECT! There was absolutely no understanding between us; we had never discussed our feelings for each other and hadn't even really been on an official date. But by the time the new year rolled around (pictured at left; we went to the Utah Symphony New Year's Ball), I knew that I loved him and that I wanted to marry him if I could figure out a way to make it happen!

Logan went to the MTC in mid-January. Almost up until the moment he left, we were together (often with Clark and Richard, too, but sometimes just the two of us). The day before he left, we went to get ice cream one last time. I had been wanting to know for some time what our "status" was. He had held my hand a couple of times, which was a big deal to me (I'm what you might call a prude). But I didn't know if it was a big deal to him, or if he thought of me differently than he thought of any other girl, or what. I was determined to know before he left, because once he donned that black nametag, I knew there would be no discussion of it whatsoever! Well, he pretty much shot down my attempt at a DTR (Define The Relationship). There was one thing, and one thing only, on his mind: MISSION. And so he went to Provo, and I was left knowing -- knowing -- that little high school girls just don't ever end up with the missionary they "love."

But even knowing that, I couldn't ever stop thinking about him! Don't get me wrong; I had a great time while Logan was gone. I was in the high school show choir (below); I went on dates and to dances; I got a scholarship to Snow College and participated in the music program there (I was cast as Bianca/Lois Lane in Snow's production of "Kiss Me Kate"; here I am with my counterpart, J.R.). I made friends and memories that I still treasure today, and I did it with ony a few regrets. But I can honestly say that I thought about Logan every single day that he was gone. I couldn't ever meet a guy and not compare him to Logan. I used to run a scene over and over through my head, like an old movie reel, about how I could make it work out for us; how he would come home and none of his friends would be home yet; how I would be his new best friend and the person he would turn to; how I would somehow make him see that nobody could possibly care for him more than I did; how he would eventually figure out that he really did love me and want to be with me, too. But even in the midst of those thoughts, I felt very silly for hoping. My logical mind told me that it just wasn't likely to happen that way, and I felt stupid for thinking about it as often as I did. I wanted to be done with it; I wanted to forget about him so that it wouldn't hurt when he came home and fell in love with someone else, and that I could be genuinely happy for him instead of feeling sick inside. And though it was a very adolescent thing to think, and I knew it was, I had to wonder if I could ever be happy -- really happy -- without him in my life.

Logan came home from Brazil on January 31st, 2001. I had just started my second semester at Snow. I had sent a final letter (our letters averaged about once a month over the two years he was gone, though sometimes it was in fits and starts) to his home with a phone card in it so he could make the long-distance call to Ephraim. And then I waited. I didn't expect to hear anything within the first day or two, but three days, four days, five days went on. . .and no call. And then one night I came home from editing the student newspaper to learn that he had called while I was gone! We talked the next day, and he asked if I wanted to come listen to his homecoming address the next Sunday. And since I would already be up in Centerville, he wanted to know if I'd like to go out on Friday night. Um, yeah! Now I had all sorts of new anxieties. I worried that he would think I was a freak show (which I was and still am, but I didn't want him to know that at the time); I worried that he would have really bad MW (Missionary Weirdness); I worried that we wouldn't have anything to say to each other. Most of all, I worried that I had created this perfect person in my mind that nobody could really ever be; I worried that I wouldn't love him after all, and that I'd have to re-evaluate the past two years of my life -- not to mention my entire future. I reasoned with myself and decided that I didn't have to worry if I didn't feel it all come whooshing back to me the instant I saw him. I decided I could give it some time, that we could get reacquainted, and that we could start as friends -- just like we did the first time. I think this was a good thing, particularly since I was in a sort-of relationship at the time, and there was a lot going on in my head. It was probably good that I was in Ephraim and he was in Centerville; e-mail came to our rescue again! It didn't take long for me to realize that I really did still love him, that I really did still want to marry him. It also didn't take long for that scenario I had played over and over in my mind to

actually start happening pretty much the way I had imagined it! By the time April rolled around, Logan and I were dating each other exclusively. I had come up from school in the middle of the week to go to a Jazz game with him, and he was driving me back

down the next morning before my first class. At this point, we were both pretty much aware that this relationship was either going to end in marriage or a break-up; it wasn't going to be one of those go-on-dating-forever things -- though neither of us had said as much out loud. So there we were, driving through the middle of nowhere in his pickup, talking about some of our friends who were planning on getting married. I don't know why I chose that moment, but I suddenly got it into my head that I had to know right then where this relationship was going to end up. I had already wrestled with my feelings for him for almost three years; if he didn't want to marry me, I wasn't going to stick around and put myself through that for another second. And so, gathering up all the courage I had, I asked him, "Are we ever going to get married?" Silence. For a split second, I thought, "Why, WHY did you have to say that when there's still an hour to go before you get to Ephraim?! Why couldn't you have waited until you saw the Wal-Mart to drop that bomb?" But then he smiled and said, "I hope so." And that was that. Instead of spending the remaining hour in stony, awkward silence (which is what I imagine would have happened if his response had been, "Heck, no! What, are you crazy?"), we spent it discussing which temple we should get married in and when, the right time to get engaged, etc. By the time he dropped me off at my apartment, we were both in absolute disbelief regarding the conversation we'd just had. We had just decided to get married!

Well, the rest is history, as they say. We were engaged on May 25th, 2001 and married on September 27th of the same year. We're coming up on seven years of marriage. Crazy! I still sometimes wonder what on earth would have become of me if I hadn't been allowed to have Logan Toone in my life. I'd probably be face-down in a gutter somewhere.

P.S. Lest you think that I am an obsessive crazy person because I essentially stalked the man who eventually became my husband, I'd like the record to show that I wasn't the only one who was thinking about marriage early on. This excerpt from Logan's journal is dated Oct

ober 28th, 1998:

"Clark, Rich and I have been singing a song with a couple of girls, Hillary Cheney and Kara Baker. Now these girls are quite a bit younger than me (they were sophomores when I was a senior), but I find myself looking at Kara as a potential wife. It's kind of scary to think that I'm already in the "find a wife" mode, but something in that girl just grabs me. . .I find myself thinking about her all the time. I tell myself not to get involved before my mission, but I feel really good about her. . .Anyway, I was saying that Kara is definitely a possibility to look into after my mission. Well, look at me, I'm pitiful, I haven't even been on a mission and am already picking a wife. That's terrible. Oh well!"

And this, from December 24th, 1998:

"Then there's girls. Man I want girls. Man this is a bad time to want girls. I really like Kara as much as I think that I've ever liked a girl before. I think of the fun she's having and wish I could be there to enjoy it with her. I look at myself and see a dork; what do I have to offer her? I'm a dork going on a mission. . .She is so interesting to talk to. I like to be with her, and would be interested to know what she thinks of me. Obvioulsy she's not going to tell me my faults, but I'm always over at her house, and her parents seem to like me, but I wonder if her parents are warning her about me. I wonder if her mom is sick of me being over. I hope not, and don't get me wrong, I've never felt unwelcome. I just don't want to cause an uncomfortable situation. Needless to say, I like Kara, and am hoping to be friends with her for a long time. . ."

As Promised...

2008-05-14T23:05:00.005-06:00

Here is the video of Lily being offered a banana. Please try to ignore the annoying Amanda who is trying her hardest to make this clip about her. : ) If you want to hear the audio better, hit the "pause" button on the playlist at the bottom of the blog so the background music doesn't interfere.

I'm Still Here!

2008-05-14T22:43:00.006-06:00

I realize that it has been 4 million years since my last entry. What can I say? On some level I knew that this blog would go the way of my journals (I actually have a journal entry that goes something like, "Gee, it's been a year since I last wrote. Well, let's see. I got married..."). Yeah.

Tonight Logan is in St. George for work. He doesn't often travel for work, but I hate it when he does. It feels so weird to be alone overnight with the kids. Right now I have Lily in my bed because I don't like to be in here alone -- despite that it's 10:41 and she should be sound asleep in her crib. Well, it's not like I was a contender for the Mother of the Year Award anyway. Besides, I'm always saying that Lily gets lost in the middle somehow and needs more one-on-one time. Here it is!

Today started out pretty good, but there was a definite spoiler right around noon. I accidentally left my credit card at the local Arctic Circle when I went through the drive-thru on Friday. When I realized my card was missing, I called the restaurant and confirmed that it was there. The manager I spoke to told me I could come and pick it up. Well, Saturday got busy and I didn't make it over there. I didn't go on Sunday (Mother's Day), of course. I went there on Monday to pick it up -- and was informed that it couldn't be found! The manager on duty told me that he would call the woman I spoke to before and call me back when he found out where she put it. I came home and checked my credit card statement. There weren't any fraudulent charges on it, so I just waited for a call. Well, Tuesday went by without any word, so I checked my statement again this morning. Lo and behold, there were two charges on there -- one for $40 and one for $5 -- made on Mother's Day. And guess where the charges were made? ARCTIC CIRCLE! Are you kidding me? If you're an employee at Arctic Circle and you decide to start stealing customers' credit cards, at least have the common sense not to make purchases AT YOUR OWN WORKPLACE. Duh. Anyway, I was super mad. I called Arctic Circle and explained the situation (at one point, the manager I spoke to told me that someone was supposed to call me to tell me to cancel my card -- which nobody did). At any rate, I cancelled my credit card and got reimbursed for the $45 that was stolen from me. Now I just need to watch to see if any additional charges pop up on my card (it was out of my possession for a total of five days). If they do, I don't think I'm going to have any choice but to file a police report and ruin the future of some stupid 18-year-old. Why on earth would anybody do something so stupid?

Maybe I could've started out this post with something a little more cheery. On a happier note, Logan and I have been doing extensive work in our yard, and I'm very pleased with the results. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I'll post them when I do. Actually, this will probably be a pictureless post. Sorry about that. I just don't have the energy today.

Since we recently celebrated Mother's Day, maybe I'll give a little background on my two moms. We'll start with my newest Mom, Nancy. She and my father-in-law, Dave, lived in the same neighborhood in Bountiful. When he got back from his mission, they dated briefly and then became engaged. She was 18 years old when they married and 19 when she had her first baby. Two years later, the most wonderful thing ever happened: Logan was born! : ) He was followed by four younger siblings, the youngest of which is now 11 years old. Things that impress me about my mother-in-law: she is a homemaker extraordinaire. Her house is ALWAYS clean; she crochets the most beautiful afghans (each of my children have been lucky recipients of her handiwork). She goes to great lengths to create fun activities and traditions for her family (a few favorites: choosing pumpkins at the pumpkin patch each October; letting the kids choose a "treat bag" from her pantry to soften the blow of having to leave Grandma's house). Probably the most important of all, she has raised six children who are total straight arrows. They all work hard, they all are honest, they all have strong testimonies, they all are polite -- the list goes on. I tell you, if she could bottle that and sell it, she'd be a billionaire. I remember her telling me once that as a mother, you have to look at things from the perspective of your children sometimes and remember that they don't have the life experiences to really understand what's important and what isn't. For example, I remember one time when Preston (Logan's youngest brother) was in kindergarten, he got a certificate at school saying that he was a "peacebuilder." Somewhere between school and home, he lost that piece of paper. He had been really excited to come home and show his accomplishment to his mom and dad, and he was really upset about losing it. Had it been me, I probably would've just brushed it off and said, "Oh, well. It was just a piece of paper." To me, that's all it was. But to Preston, it was the most important recognition he'd ever received. I remember the way she validated him and empathized with him when he was so disappointed. I have never forgotten that. Despite all these wonderful qualities that Nancy has, she always sells herself short and never gives herself enough credit for all the good things she does. Well, I'm here to say that I think she's FANTASTIC and I love her dearly. I honestly count her among my very favorite people and wish everyone could have a realtionship with their mother-in-law like I have with mine.

Now for my original mom. : ) Celia Baker spent her childhood in Monticello, Utah before moving to Ephraim to attend Snow College. While pursuing a degree in music education at Utah State University, she met my dad (Walter Baker) and they were married in June 1977. My older sister Lisa joined the family in 1979; I rolled along in 1981; and Krista finished things off in 1984. Anybody who knows my mom cannot help but comment on how incredibly articulate, smart and talented she is. Her musicianship matches or extends beyond that of just about anyone -- she sings in the Tabernacle choir and is an excellent accompaniast. She also writes and arranges music (she is fluent in the language of music theory, which not many people can claim). In addition to all of this, she is an exceptional writer (she writes for The Salt Lake Tribune) and a wonderful cook. To sum it up, she's a hard act to follow! With an intellect and drive like hers, she really could have taken her pick of just about any career the world has to offer (exept for pro volleyball player; she really COULD NOT have done that one). However, she chose to be a schoolteacher so that her schedule would line up with those of her children and allow her the maximum amount of time with us. I remember a story she related once. She had gone to St. George for some sort of choir festival, and she carpooled and roomed with two other teachers. They were both a couple years younger than she was and were both unmarried. Without any financial obligation for anyone but themselves, their clothes, hair and makeup all reflected the latest styles, and they seemed very glamorous to my mom. My mom felt pretty frumpy and dumpy compared to them, and even a little envious. One particular low was trying to hide the stains on her slip that resulted from careless little girls leaving crayons in their pockets through the dry cycle of the laundry. Anyway, my mom felt a bit discouraged and plain by the time they came back from the trip. When she got dropped her off at home, my sisters and I ran out of the house to meet her, smothering her with hugs and kisses and telling her how much we'd missed her. When she turned around to wave goodbye to her roommates, she was surprised to see that they, too, were envious -- of her! She said that the looks on their faces were a little bit sad, a little bit longing -- and she knew then that a crayon-stained slip was a very little price to pay for the kind of happiness that some people can only dream about. I think I still don't completely understand all that my mom has done, and continues to do, for me. Sometimes I'll be giving the kids baths, or getting their lunch; folding their laundry or reading them stories; and it will occur to me: "Someone did all this for me. My mother did this for me." Is there any greater love? Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all you moms out there.

The Human Tornado

2008-04-25T19:04:00.005-06:00

Remember a few posts back when I introduced our family and described Lily's occupation as "Human Tornado?" Well, today that title fit. Take a look at my little sweetheart here. What the heck is that on her face? That was the question I asked when I first caught a glance of her. The answer wasn't far away; the case of watercolor paints in her chubby little fist outed her. I guess they just looked so delicious, she couldn't resist. Not long after she decided to sample the paint, she decided to give one of my chairs a kiss. Thank goodness this stuff is washable. (It was the second case of vandalism for this particular chair; it was recently the canvas for some of Lily's "artwork." Her medium? Blue pen.) Anyway, I cleaned her up and served lunch to her and Amanda. I don't know why I didn't just leave the paint on; I could have saved the paper towels and the time it took me to wipe her down, because it wasn't long before she looked like this:

My favorite part of this photo is her bottom lip holding the bowl in her mouth. It cracks me up every time I look at it! As you can see, Lily enjoys mealtime. A lot. I gave up on regular bibs and resorted to just throwing an old t-shirt on her. No bib can stand up to what she dishes out (literally). I still need to post the video of Lily being offered a banana. The way she reacts, you'd think she won the lottery or something.

Anyway, the end result was this. Sigh. I cleaned her up again (I was tempted to bust out Logan's pressure washer for this one) and put her down for her nap. As I walked around the house, I could see more and more evidence of Lily's presence:

If you look closely on this one, you can see that the baby in purple has watercolor paint on her clothes. I can only conclude that Lily got a little anxious for lunch and attempted to eat this baby. It's hard to say if it was the flavor or the texture that turned her off to it. Whatever it was, I think this baby was very grateful; when I picked her up to put her away, she said, "I love you."

Still, how can you help but love this little person? She's a firecracker (and a messy one at that), but that's better than having no personality at all. Heaven help us when she's thirteen.

The Sitcom

2008-04-21T17:02:00.002-06:00

For many years now, I have been writing a sitcom in my head. When I hear a completely random and hilarious story, I always make a mental note to myself to include it in the sitcom. These stories come from family (actually, primarily from my sister Krista; I sometimes think her life actually IS a sitcom), friends, complete strangers and, of course, my own childhood, adolescence and (sort-of) adulthood. Never mind that I don't know anything about TV writing; this stuff is pure gold and is going to make me rich one day. A few of my favorite episodes:

-- The one where your fifty-something manager at work, who describes herself as a "bobcat" in the bedroom, generously offers to let you borrow some of her lingerie for the approaching Valentine's Day

-- The one where you randomly receive a Christmas card from an old acquaintance who, amidst the usual updates on work and kids, goes into GREAT DETAIL about the birth control failure that resulted in her most recent child -- but still manages to close things out with a cheerful "Happy Holidays!"

-- The one where you're eleven years old and someone -- you, your friend or one of your two sisters -- has tracked dog poo into the house, but nobody's owning up to it. This causes your up-until-then non-vulgar, Mormon mother to begin dropping swears (the non-Bible kind) all over the place. Later we learn that your friend really was to blame, but she was scared out of her mind about what might have happened if she confessed.

-- The one where you run to the store with your friend and your infant daughter and encounter a very chatty gentleman who makes some comments that indicate he thinks you and your friend are lesbians together -- but you don't make that connection until it's too late to correct his assumption.

These are just a few little gems from the treasure trove. If you have any episodes to add, I'd love to hear them! Just be aware that when I do strike it rich with the sitcom, there's no way I'm giving you any credit or sharing any royalties with you.

Rebuttal

2008-04-16T17:07:00.002-06:00

(This post was written by Logan)

I typically don’t post on Kara’s blog, but after reading her last post, I really felt that I needed to clarify a few things. I was just going to leave a comment, but apparently to leave a comment, you need to have a blog of your own, (either that or you need to sign on as a guest which involves giving the blogger people your name, phone number, email address, mailing address, age, grade point average, blood type, social security number, bank account number, and credit card number. They also ask you to undergo a fingerprint analysis and a retinal scan.) I didn’t want to go through all that, and I happen to know Kara’s login and password. So I figured I’d just log on and make a post of my own. For those who enjoy reading Kara’s posts as much as I do, I apologize for interrupting your reading pleasure. Since this is a rebuttal to some unsubstantiated claims made in Kara’s last post, it will probably make more sense if you read her post before you read this one.

First of all, the convention was not a "nerd convention." It was a convention for math teachers, and math teachers are not nerds … At least I don’t think we are … Is there a widely accepted stereotype about members of my chosen profession that I am not aware of?

Second, the Devil has no association with the Futures Channel. It’s a really great channel! It’s like 24 hours of Bill Nye the science guy … except for math! What could be better than that?

Third, the Virginia lady did not have a pocket protector. And even if she had, it would have been ridiculous for her to expect that melted M&Ms would damage it in any way. Pocket protectors these days are made of high quality ink-resistant material that can also protect from other sources of stains (including chocolate and melted candy shells). They are so durable now that they can’t be punctured by mechanical pencils (even the .5 mm ones). Some pocket protectors have this little flap that folds over the front of the pocket to protect against incidental marking of the pocket as you replace pens and pencils. This is especially helpful when your pocket is almost full of pens already, and you still need to add one more. I saw some really awesome pocket protectors at the convention! I entered a drawing to win one, but I didn’t win … Darn!

Fourth … well, I guess there is no fourth. I do concede that Kara made a good point about the spare compasses. Really … What if something happened to the Virginia lady’s compasses and she needed to draw a perfect circle? What would she have done then? I wish she would have given me one of her extra compasses though; one can never have too many.

Anyway, I really love Kara, and she is typically right about most things. I just wanted to point out that there is no reason to assume that if a person is a math teacher they must be a nerd.

Randomness

2008-04-16T14:30:00.003-06:00

So there I was – dutifully eating my spinach salad with low-fat dressing, contemplating tomorrow’s walk with the kids and wondering if my thighs and my skinny jeans will ever come to any kind of understanding with one another again – by all accounts, minding my own business. Suddenly, Logan walks through the door after a long day at his nerd convention (all right, it was actually the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics convention) and plops this little item down on the countertop. What is it, you ask? Oh, it’s just a 10-lb. bag of M&Ms.

Wait a minute. A 10-LB. BAG OF M&Ms?! ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!

Affixed to said bag was this note:

Dear Kara,
I have become aware of your recent commitment to lose your baby weight in an attempt to avoid purchasing an entirely new wardrobe. While that effort might be applauded by your mortal friends, we here in Hades think it’s deplorable. Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to send you this little bag of “pick-me-ups” and hope you’ll indulge in them frequently.

Best Wishes,
The Devil

Okay, so maybe I made up the part about the note, but the M&Ms are definitely real. Where does one even come across such a quantity of M&Ms? Well, apparently Logan was at this convention doing some cleaning up and preparing to leave when he heard a woman call out to him, “Hey, Utah! Over here!” Realizing that he was wearing a nametag on his shirt that read ‘Utah,’ he concluded that the woman was speaking to him. He walked over to her booth where she was also preparing to leave. She said, “Are you driving home today?” Logan, a bit confused, said, “Um, yeah.” Then she said, “You want some M&Ms?” Apparently forgetting that it’s not a good idea to accept candy from strangers, he said, “Sure.” At which point she hoisted the giant bag of orange temptations onto her table. She explained that she was from Virginia and had to fly home that day. The M&Ms were a promotion for her booth at the convention (something called “The Futures Channel”) and would put her luggage over the weight limit – not to mention the fact that they would probably melt all over her pocket protectors and “just in case” spare compasses (this was, after all, a math convention). At the exact moment that she was wondering how she was gong to find someone local to unload them on, Logan walks by with ‘Utah’ plastered right across his chest. Coincidence? I think not.

Someone is definitely out to get me.

Needless to say, there was a brief departure from good eating habits. Thankfully, Logan had the brilliant idea to divide the large bag up into smaller bags and use them for cookies and such. Now that the M&Ms are safely out of my sight down in the food storage, I’ve been able to resist them much better.

Enough of that. What else is new? Oh, I got a new toy to go with my camera, and I love it! It’s a wireless remote shutter that lets the shooter actually be in the photograph without having to use the timer on the camera (even though it is fun to push that button on the camera and then make a mad dash to some predetermined spot – all while the ‘beep-beep-beep’ counts down to what will inevitably be the worst photograph ever taken). As the self-appointed photographer in my family, I often find that I don’t make it into many of the photos because I’m always taking them. I would like there to be some record of my existence. Hence, the best $20 I’ve ever spent.

So I’ve been following this story about the seizure of children from the FLDS compound in Texas. Does anyone else find this as alarming as I do? Let me make it clear that there is no excuse and absolutely no toleration for child molestation or any other kind of abuse. But how does one unsubstantiated allegation of abuse translate to the removal of 416 children from their homes? It’s my belief that the FLDS practice of polygamy, by its own nature, is a breeding ground for abuse and repression. I do not deny that underage girls are being married off to much older men and are bearing children in their teenage years. This is wrong, and it should be stopped because it is against the law. However, I also believe that there are a lot of people who don’t distinguish between LDS and FLDS; if everyone thinks it’s okay to remove hundreds of FLDS children from their homes because of one allegation against one member, why should I feel secure that the same thing couldn’t happen to me? There are plenty of people in the world who think my faith is weird and that I’m living in oppression (I don’t agree, of course). All I’m saying is, I don’t think we can pick and choose who is allowed civil rights and who is not. If one person doesn’t have civil rights, nobody does. My heart goes out to the parents who are not abusing their children but have been separated from them anyway. What a terrifying thing.

On that cheery note, I think I’ll just include one last picture. A couple of the neighbor girls came over the other day; they are just the same ages as Amanda and Lily. I looked at this picture and thought, “Isn’t this what it means to be a girl?” How fun!

Somehow I Knew It Would Come to This

2008-04-08T17:10:00.003-06:00

Guess what I did today? It's something I haven't done voluntarily for nearly seven years. It's something I loathe. It's something I think I can no longer avoid.

It's exercise.

I don't really understand why people list 'exercise' as one of their hobbies. To me, that's like listing your hobbies as 'brushing teeth' and 'tying shoes.' What's so great about it? I don't have anything against exercise per se; I know that it's good for you and everyone is supposed to do it. BUT I DON'T LIKE TO DO IT! As I've tried to lose the weight from my third (ginormous) baby, I've realized that it's not coming off as easily as it did with the other two. I suppose this was to be expected -- though that doesn't make it any easier to take. Anyway, I decided that I'd have to come up with some way to exercise and still supervise all of the children. This is no small task. The only solution I've been able to devise is to push Amanda and Lily in the double stroller while wearing Benson in the baby carrier. So that's what we did today. I think it's possible that I burned as many calories preparing for the walk as I burned on the walk itself. My goal was to raise my heart rate and sustain it for 30 minutes. So that's how long our walk lasted. I don't know if I'm going to see any kind of difference from doing this. If not, I'm going to have to f ind some other motivation for enduring the looks I get when I parade about the neighborhood like the old woman who lived in a shoe. Pretty sure that's going to be tough.

In other news, I have learned that it's difficult to really enjoy General Conference when three kids are vying for your attention. Amanda's attempts were the most direct: "We are NOT watching conference" (turns off TV). Hmmm. Despite my children's apparent desire to thwart my spiritual growth, I did manage to glean a few things. I really appreciated Elder Oaks' talk on testimonies. This is probably horrible and judgmental of me, but every time someone stands up in testimony meeting and says, "I would be ungrateful if I did not stand and publicly thank my Heavenly Father for my blessings," I want to stand up and shout, "No, you really wouldn't be! Tell me something that you KNOW!" Every time someone stands up and says, "I want to tell my wife that I love her," I want to shout, "Then tell her -- not us!" I realize that people are trying to be sincere, and expressing gratitude is a wonderful thing. But it's not gratitude meeting; it's testimony meeting!

Apostles are not like children; you can choose a favorite if you want to, and mine is Elder Holland. Something about the way he presents his messages really resonates with me. I thought his talk on the Book of Mormon and continued revelation was inspired, and I look forward to reading it again.

Awwww...

2008-04-01T12:22:00.003-06:00

For those of you who don't like to hear people talk about how much they love their spouse, just stop reading now. I left my laptop out last night, and Logan came across the Word document I typed it in before pasting it into the blog. He added on a bit to the segment "What people say about me." Here's what he said:

(This is Logan writing now.) A lot of people have commented to me about how “amazing” Kara is. What they mean by that is how much she is able to accomplish with three small children, a church calling that requires a lot of time and leadership, and the most beautifully decorated house on the block. I’ve also heard people say how sweet, and calm she is and how she “takes everything in stride,” which makes her a welcome addition to my family of neurotic freak-outers.What I love about her: Besides the fact that Kara is absolutely beautiful, she is constant and kind. Despite frustrations that are sure to come with all the stuff on her plate (I’m not talking about seafood, I was thinking more figuratively here), she always finds a way to demonstrate her love for her children and for me. She is an example of dedication and faith. Even though she may be tired, Kara reads her scriptures and prays each night before bed. I know that may seem like a simple thing, but it is demonstrative of her desire to always do what’s right, and that’s important. I love Kara’s scrambled eggs, her pie crusts, her playful stabs at my nerdiness, and her willingness to stay up late to watch movies with me (despite me falling asleep on the couch almost every time). I love being the beneficiary of her food snobbiness (We no longer need to rotate who will choose the restaurant we’ll go to because it’s always much better for both of us when she just chooses … even then, she almost always chooses a place that she knows I’ll like). I love how she raises our children with discipline and love. I think that she truly is the best wife in the world. I miss her terribly when I’m gone to work, church, or school, and I love to come home to her each day.

I share this for one reason only: to prove to everyone that I really DO have the best husband ANY wife has EVER had! Right back at ya, honey! I love you!

About Us

2008-04-01T00:55:00.001-06:00

It occurs to me that I haven't done much in the way of introducing our family. Drumroll, please...

2008-04-01T00:38:00.008-06:00

Logan
Full name: Logan Thomas Toone
Age: 28
Occupation: Secondary Math Curriculum Supervisor, Student, Husband/Father Extraordinaire
Hobbies/Interests: Working on cars, watching movies, eating out, hanging out with family, gardening, figuring stuff out (i.e., "The basement needs to be finished. I've never done framing, drywall, electrical work, plumbing or carpeting -- but I think I'll just do it myself.")
Likes: seafood, sudoku puzzles, his Blackberry, going back to bed after eating a pancake breakfast, rock and roll, BYU football, road trips, getting his hair cut
Dislikes: homework, radishes, driving to USU three days a week, hospitals, stuff that's broken, messy houses, when his sock is wrinkled inside his shoe, "social adventures" (his term for when I take him somewhere that he'll be expected to, you know, talk to people)
What people always say about him: People always comment on what a hard worker Logan is -- and they're right! They also say that he's smart, dependable, helpful and slightly OCD.
What I love about him: Where to start! Logan is seriously the perfect husband. Case in point: We had an open house at our place after Benson's baby blessing yesterday. After it was all done, Logan had to go do his home teaching; I stayed home with the kids. Even though the house was a giant mess from the crowd, I fell asleep. When I woke up (like, two hours later), he had come home and cleaned everything to perfection -- food put away, dishes washed, furniture put back into place, floors vacuumed. Everything! And it's not at all unusual for him to do stuff like that; it's just the way he is. He's the type who will bring home some little treat (or "prizes," as he calls them) for me or the kids; he's the type who will get up with the baby in the night, even though he has to be up at 6:30 and I can sleep as late as I want; he's the type who will opt to wake up early to do his homework so he doesn't have to do it in the evening and can spend that time with me. The list goes on and on and on! I have THE BIGGEST crush on him.

Kara
Full name: Kara Lynn Baker Toone
Age: 26
Occupation: Stay-at-home wife and mom, aspiring grown-up
Hobbies/Interests: taking photographs, making stuff out of butter (not like sculptures and stuff; more like pastries), being a food snob, sleeping, watching movies
Likes: public television, fine cheeses, high heels, candy, spending time with family, staying in touch with friends, back massages
Dislikes: anything that ever lived in the water (to eat, that is; I don't have a general dislike for sea creatures), waking up three minutes before the alarm goes off, people who stand over my shoulder and "help" me play solitaire
What people say about me: I guess I don't really know what people say about me when I'm not there, but I imagine that most people would say that I sometimes use big words and that I talk a lot. Also, people often comment that I have small ears. (?)

Amanda
Full name: Amanda Marilyn Toone
Age: 3
Occupation: Assistant to the Queen (that would be me)
Hobbies/Interests: Jumping on mom's bed, writing her name, riding her bike, getting the mail, helping mom
Likes: quiche, Disney's "Cars," dress-ups, her ties (a small version of a tied quilt that she puts on her pillow when she sleeps), the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, bed parties (when we sit on my bed and talk about our favorite things)
Dislikes: any vegetable that isn't broccoli or raw carrots, swinging too high, having things taken away when she doesn't mind, coming inside after playing outside
What people say about her: People always comment that Amanda is smart and speaks very clearly for her age. They also say that she seems older than she actually is, despite being on the small side.
What I love about her: Amanda is my little companion; I can really talk to her. She is such a good helper with her younger sibings and doesn't seem to mind the extra responsibilities that come with being the oldest child. She has funny mannerisms that always make me laugh. I am always amazed at her memory -- she recalls details and situations that I have long forgotten.

Lily
Full name: Lily Kristin Toone
Age: 1
Occupation: Human tornado
Hobbies/Interests: reading books, bossing Charlie (our dog) around, engaging in high-pitched screaming matches with her sister, taking all the pillows off the chairs and couches throughout the house
Likes: food, shoes, the book Five Little Ladybugs, buckles, dolls, her Glo-E Bear
Dislikes: being told ‘no,’ wearing a dirty diaper for even one minute, closed doors, keeping her hair bows in place
What people say about her: People always comment on how beautiful Lily’s eyes are. They also say how much they love her roly-poly build. People always tell us that Lily knows exactly what she wants and where she’s going.
What I love about her: Lily’s attitude can be difficult to take sometimes, but honestly, I wouldn’t have her any other way. She is headstrong and driven; she often does get just what she wants from us! However, she can also be very tender-hearted and really does have compassion. She doesn’t want anyone to be unhappy (especially not herself!).

Benson
Full name: Benson Clark Toone
Age: 6 weeks today!
Occupation: Outgrowing all the other 6-week-old babies we know
Hobbies/Interests: Napping with mom on her bed, being cute
Likes: warm bottles, being held, rocking in the swing
Dislikes: diaper changes, getting out of the bathtub, tummy time
What people say about him: We always hear about how big Benson is. We also hear about how sweet and good-natured he is. People also frequently ask, “Is that him being so noisy?” He is the noisiest, snortiest, wheeziest little person in the world – eating, sleeping or just sitting around.
What I love about him: Benson really is such an easy baby. He seems very laid back and doesn’t typically demand anything from anyone. It’s more of a “I’m-pretty-hungry-here-and-I’ve-just-had-a-diaper-blowout-but-don’t-let-me-trouble-you” sort of attitude. We’ll have to see if this lasts. I remember saying very similar things about Lily…

New Orleans Architecture

2008-03-24T14:32:00.002-06:00

I really love the look of the architecture in New Orleans. It always kind of boggles my mind that at the time pioneers were rolling into the Salt Lake Valley, the window pictured at left had already been in existence for 34 years! Considering that European explorers were settling along the Mississippi in the 1500s, this window is actually pretty new...
This is very characteristic of the French Quarter; all the streets look a lot like this one. The yellow building is actually one of Emeril Lagasse's restaurants (Nola).

My favorite thing about the French Quarter is the courtyards and patios. You never know what beautiful oasis is hiding behind what appears to be a crumbling building! If I had a little place like this, I'd spend my whole life sitting in the shade listening to the water from the fountain.

Not just any sandwich...

2008-03-24T14:25:00.002-06:00

This sandwich is called a muffuletta, and it was born in the French Quarter at a store called Central Grocery. That's where we went to get the muffuletta Logan's holding in this picture. The sandwich is made between two big pieces of round bread that are spread with olive salad (a defining muffuletta characteristic). Then they pile on salami, ham, cheese and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting. When they put it all together and wrap it up, it seriously looks like a wagon wheel or something! One quarter of the sandwich was more than enough to fill me up. This was one of Logan's favorite meals. I recently learned that Jason's Deli, which just opened up a location near our house, serves some classic New Orleans cuisine such as po' boys (another type of sandwich), muffulettas and red beans and rice. We might have to try it out sometime!

Masquerade!

2008-03-24T14:19:00.002-06:00

My great-Aunt Gerry got this mask for Amanda from the flea market. As you can see, she loves it! The Mardi Gras beads were also from Aunt Gerry. I imagine that Amanda and Lily are the envy of every girl in the neighborhood because of their vast bead necklace collection -- or at least that's how I felt when I was little and beads came back from New Orleans for me. : )

Flea Market

2008-03-24T14:17:00.003-06:00

There is a flea market open every day in the French Quarter. Apparently it's quite a sight to see on the weekends. I was there on a weekday, but they still had some fun stuff.

Back in the Saddle

2008-03-23T23:10:00.003-06:00

We're back! Actually, we've been back for quite a while; I just haven't gotten around to blogging until now. What do you think of the new layout? Logsn helped me customize things a little bit so the blog would look the way I wanted it to. Thanks, honey! You're the best!

So our trip was great! It was really fun to get to spend some time together, eat really good food, relax...but by the time we were due to return, we were definitely missing the kids and ready to be home again. It does make me think that it would be great to be able to go to a different city each year with just the two of us -- just for the food, if for nothing else! I'm a little bit of a food snob, and whenever I know we're going to be eating out (which doesn't happen a lot unless we're traveling), I do major research into restaurants, reviews, menus, prices, etc. It always pays off -- we had some really great food in New Orleans! Makes me want to try some of the great food in New York, Boston, Seattle... : )

We've been participating in various Easter festivities lately. We had an egg hunt at Logan's parents' house, then hunting for baskets at our house yesterday, then dinner and an egg hunt with my family today...which brings me to one of my soapbox issues. Does everybody have soapbox issues, or is it just me? Anyway, I sort of have a thing about holidays and the made up characters associated with them. I don't know if this stems from my general dislike of characters (I don't buy Disney princess stuff, Dora stuff, etc.) or vice versa. Anyway, it basically boils down to the fact that I wish I could completely cut Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny out of my children's awareness. Oh, and the Tooth Fairy. It irritates me to no end that I feel I don't really have a choice in this matter because I don't want to be the "spoiler" parent who has the "spoiler" kid -- the kid who tells all the other kids that there is no Santa Claus. BUT THERE IS NO SANTA CLAUS! Isn't that the truth? Geez! It is particularly irksome to me that these imaginary characters are associated with what are supposed to be religious holidays. Christmas is to commemorate the birth of the Savior; Easter is to commemorate His resurrection and atonement. In all honestly, I really feel that it's totally inappropriate and disrespectful to trivialize these events -- some of the most important events that have ever taken place -- by associating them with such utterly ridiculous figures. I'm not kidding when I say I think it's a mockery and it offends me. It only distracts people -- starting from the time that they're young children -- from what is supposed to be worship. I understand that this is not a popular thing to say, and there are probably plenty of people reading this who are thinking, "Whoa, this lady needs to calm down. We're talking about a stocking and a plastic egg here; it's not that big of a deal. Just let the kids have their fun, for crying out loud!" I'm not against kids having fun. I have no problem with kids having an egg hunt when spring rolls around. They love it, and it's a great thing to do with friends and family. But don't try to give me some convoluted explanation about how racing around the yard trying to get more candy-filled neon eggs than all the other kids really does help everyone remember Jesus. I don't care how you try to spin it; it's just not true! Have an egg hunt, but don't call it an Easter egg hunt; it doesn't have anything to do with Easter. Give gifts to your kids at Christmas, but instead of telling them that a man they've never met has been watching them and is going to reward their good behavior with presents, just tell them that you love them and that you wanted to get a present for them because you thought it might make them happy. Is that so bad? Then all the time, energy and money that you would have spent trying to perpetuate these falsehoods could be spent reinforcing the belief in the man these holidays supposedly celebrate.

Whew! Sorry to go all crazy on everyone, but what's a blog for if not to vent every now and again? Okay, now it's really late. I'm going to have to post my photos tomorrow!

Quickie

2008-03-11T14:43:00.000-06:00

You may be wondering about the strange mismatched header on the blog today. I started putting together a more spring-like motif, but halfway through, Blogger informed me that it couldn't complete my request. Bummer! Actually, the new look is sort of representative of the weather we have going on right now: starting to look like spring, but not completely leaving winter behind just yet.

Logan and I go to New Orleans tomorrow morning! I think I really will miss the kids, but I'm a firm believer that parents have to take care of their relationship before they can really be good for their children. I hear a lot of people say, "There is nothing more important to me than my children. My children always come first." Well, maybe some people will think I'm a bad mom, but I totally disagree with those statements. There is no Toone family without Logan and Kara; it started with us. WE COME FIRST! Missing the kids while on a little trip is not the same as having guilt about leaving them. I have no guilt about leaving them! I do have some guilt about saddling my mother with them for three days...but I will probably get over that. : )

We getting ever closer to the end of the semester. I can't express what a huge relief this will be for our family! It's not like we're crumbling under the weight of Logan's schooling (well, maybe he is); it's just that when it's 7:00 on a Wednesday night, I want to be the family whose husband/father has already been home for two hours instead of the one whose husband/father won't be home for another two hours.

Just a sidenote: Logan's younger sister is the lead in Viewmont High School's production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie," which plays through the end of this week. Logan and I went to see it over the weekend, and it is a really great show! And I'm not just saying that because his sister's in it (I was in Viewmont musicals that weren't as good as this one is). If you have a chance to go see it, I highly recommend it!

Well, we'll be back on Saturday with tales from the south. I'll be taking some photos with my new camera, so watch for those!

Namesake

2008-03-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

Benson is named after my Granddad, Doyle Benson Rowley. Here they are together when Benson was five days old. Two of the most important men in my life!

A New Life

2008-03-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

So I've survived the first couple of weeks as a mother of three! I'm not going to pretend that this is something I've done on my own; I've had TONS of help and support from family, friends and neighbors. My mom was here Saturday through Wednesday -- not to mention the time she spent with the girls while I was in the hospital and Logan couldn't be around. My sister came up a couple of times (thanks, Lisa!), and I've received lots of visits, gifts and phone calls. Everyone has been so sweet to us! We truly are blessed.

The next couple of days will bring two-week check-ups for myself and for Benson. We both seem to be doing great! I wish that this whole trying-to-prevent-my-body-from-producing-milk business would move along a little faster, but mother nature seems to have her own timetable for things. Benson is eating and sleeping like a champ; last night he slept from 12:45 until 8:00! During his wakeful periods, he is calm and sweet. We just love him!

The girls are still happy about the fact that Benson has come to live with us; I don't know whether that will wear off or not. Maybe he's just a novelty item...

Logan and I learned a few days ago that he will be traveling to a conference in New Orleans next week. After making some whirlwind travel plans, I will be going with him! Just the two of us! Once again, a HUGE thank you to my parents, who have agreed to take all three kids for the duration. It's quite a job to care for a newborn alone -- not to mention a one-year-old and a three-year-old! My mother is a saint...

I don't think I mentioned that when Logan and I attempted to take my picture right before going to the hospital to deliver Benson, our camera decided to go on the fritz. Logan accidentally stepped on it a few months ago. Since that time, it's been a bit tempermental about actually turning on when one hits the 'power' button. Of course, it decided to freak out on the very day that we were bringing a new child into our family! We've been borrowing my parents' camera for the past couple of weeks, but I'm happy to report that we're going to be getting a new (and much nicer!) camera in the next day or two. This is kind of a splurge, but it's an investment as well. The camera we're getting will allow us to take our own family portraits (I'm not a really big fan of formal indoor portrait sittings anyway -- in look or in price). Also, it has a fast shutter speed so that our children won't be remembered as blurs. I'm really excited about this! It will be fun to have the new camera in New Orleans, too.

Logan is in St. George right now attending another conference of some sort. It was just a quick trip; he left last night and will be back tonight. I still miss him, though! I'm such a baby when it comes to being apart from him. I mean, it's not like I sit down and cry or something (actually, I don't cry very often at all), but I just think about him a lot and wish he were here. I would be a terrible military wife!

Well, there's a lot to be done around this house. The laundry and the dishes are threatening to overtake me! I've had a blunt reminder about how much laundry a little baby can make...

He's Here!

2008-02-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

Benson Clark Toone has made his grand entrance! I would have posted sooner than this, but the internet connection at the hospital was rather choosey about which sites it would link to and which it would not. Apparently my blog didn't make the cut; I could view it, but I couldn't sign in to make a posting. Anyway, here are the details:

We went to the hospital Tuesday morning at 6:00 a.m. We got admitted and got me hooked up to all the monitors and stuff. After all the routine questions and paperwork, I was wheeled into the OR. I received an epidural, and the nurses started prepping me for surgery. The doctors and Logan came in a few minutes later, and just a few minutes after that (at 7:47 a.m.), Benson was born! When they held him up for me to see, it was obvious why I felt so big. HE was big! I was later informed that he weighed in at 9 lbs. 7 oz. My other kids were 7 lbs. 8 oz. and 7 lbs. 11 oz. Let me tell you, those extra two pounds make a difference!

Anyway, I came home from the hospital yesterday. Benson's birth and first few days of life have been blissfully drama-free. He's eating very well and is gaining back the smalll amount of weight he lost in his first couple of days. He is handsome as can be, and we are just thrilled to have him in our family!

Big girl...

2008-02-24T12:22:00.000-07:00

I allow one pregnancy photo per pregnancy. It is always taken in front of the front door right before we go to the hospital. When you look at this picture, please keep in mind that the child inside of me weighs nine and a half pounds...

Mom and baby

2008-02-24T12:21:00.001-07:00

I got to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Benson in the hospital -- time I will always look back on and treasure.

Another man in the house!

2008-02-24T12:19:00.001-07:00

To be truthful, Logan isn't any more excited about having a boy than he would have been to have a girl. The bottom line is, he's just plain excited! He adores having a son...

Lily -- the new big sister!

2008-02-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that at 16 months, Lily is now a big sister! She's not quite old enough to understand what having a new baby in the house means, but she does like to say "Baby! Baby!" over and over again while trying to "pat" (read: smack) Benson on the head.

Amanda and Benson

2008-02-24T12:14:00.001-07:00

Amanda LOVES being the big sister! She constantly asks if she can hold Benson and really wants to be a good helper (which she is -- most of the time).