Quinn Family

4 weeks - Addison Grace

2010-04-17T16:19:00.000-07:00

Addison Grace was born March 20th. She was 6 lbs 8 oz and about 19 inches long. She's been such a sweetheart and we are so grateful to add her to our family!

I have lots of blogging to catch up on but one of my friends did a little photo shoot with Addison this week and I'm super excited to see the rest of the pictures. Thanks Jess!

Little Miss Quinn

2009-11-02T05:47:00.001-08:00

I know I've been all but non-existent these last few months but this morning I got up and decided it was time to finally make the announcement:Isn't she cute? We found out about 3 weeks ago that we're having a girl and we are all very excited! Keely has been busy making all kinds of crafts for her new sister, but Ben doesn't seem to exactly get what's going on since every time somebody points to my belly and tells him that there's a baby in there, he points to his and says, "there's a baby in my belly too!" Well, he might be a little surprised. Fortunately he absolutely loves babies and I'm hoping he'll be pleasantly surprised. : )

My pregnancy has been terrific and I can actually see how some people take so long to figure out they're pregnant. Outside of being a little more tired and growing a belly, I really feel pretty normal. Baby girl is due in March right after Ben turns 3, we are very excited to meet her!

Beach Bums

2009-06-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

When we weren't busy being tourists in Hawaii, we just enjoyed hanging out at the beach house and the beach. These were actually some of my favorite times!

The kids were so excited the first morning we were there that they had to run right out to the beach in their pj's (at about 5:00 a.m. too)

Ben joining dad in a run on the beach

Who cares if we're fully clothed?

Enjoying the hole that Shawn dug

Keely and Gavin posing on the deck

Grandma Gibby and Arah lounging around

More kisses for Siarah!

The snorkeling gang (minus Keely - she wasn't even entertaining the idea!)

Hawaiian Hot Spots

2009-06-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe not "hot spots" but some more fun places we visited while in Hawaii:

We were always up earlier than everyone else so one morning we got up and took the kids over to the Laie LDS temple. The grounds were absolutely beautiful!

Keely and Gavin had an especially good time at the Polynesian Cultural Center. This woman gave them tribal "tattoos" which they sported proudly for the rest of the day!

Gavin and Keely at the PCC luau

Cafe Ola at Turtle Bay. Definitely the best meal we ate!

Hanauma Bay

Sea Life Park

The Aquarium in Waikiki

Hawaii Homecoming

2009-06-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

My parents spent the last year and a half serving a mission in Australia. Well, one of their wishes was to have a reunion half way home in Hawaii and we definitely were not opposed to that idea. It was so wonderful to get mom and dad back and be able to all come together in one of the most beautiful places in the world!

All together at Pearl Harbor

The best shaved ice at Matsumoto's

Learning ukulele at the PCC

Waiting for our canoe ride at the PCC

Kayaking - one of my favorite things we did!

The view from "flat island," the little island we kayaked out to.

Cinco De Mayo

2009-06-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

Kristin and Abram hosted a little Cinco De Mayo soiree. The high point of the party was cracking open the piñatas (of course). Ben was in heaven. There is nothing he likes to do more than swing at inanimate (and sometimes animate) objects with a stick.

The Joy of the Trampoline

2009-06-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

This summer I wanted to be able to stay home and have fun as much as going out to have fun. All growing up one of my favorite things to do was spend time on my trampoline. Whether we were playing crack the egg, jumping off the roof of my house (yes, we did that), having a slumber party, or dragging the trampoline under our basketball hoop to practice dunks the trampoline always provided ample entertainment.

Well after Shawn and Abram spent a good couple hours putting this thing together the kids were excited and ready to play. Let the memories begin!

Hole N’ the Rock

2009-06-21T19:11:00.000-07:00

On the drive from Blanding to Provo Keely and Gavin had the pleasure of experiencing Hole N’ the Rock, A little home a couple built in the red rocks near Moab in the 1940’s. The kids’ were dazzled and I’m pretty sure they wish that we too could live in the rocks!

Good Ol’ Blanding

2009-06-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

For those who haven’t seen where I grew up this is it! Yep, just a wide open space! It was wonderful to get back to my roots for a couple days, every time I go back to this little place it brings back many precious memories!Keely loves to hear stories about growing up in Blanding and she absolutely loves to visit. It wouldn't be my dream spot as a kid but I'm glad she loves it!

I love this picture of Ben running carefree on the wide open path. It reminds me of that complete feeling of freedom I felt as a child. It makes me happy.

Shawn looks just like him, huh?

Grandpa’s Birthday

2009-06-21T18:55:00.001-07:00

One of the main reasons for our trip out to Utah was to see my Grandma and Grandpa Shumway. My Grandpa celebrated his 89th birthday while we were there and we were so thankful to all be together and celebrate with him!

Arah and Grandpa actually share their birthday

A rare picture with Grandma and Grandpa and all the Shumway siblings

Utah

2009-06-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

In April we made a trip out to Utah. I love nothing better than getting in a good visit with the fam!

Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum

Happy B-day Arah!

Ben with his cousin Siarah whom he absolutely LOVES! He wants to hold her and give her kisses all the time!

Buddies

The Shumway Sisters

Easter

2009-06-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

This year we started our Easter in Michigan...
and finished it in Utah.
The kids were thrilled to find that the Easter bunny actually visited both places!

Easter Anticipation

2009-06-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

About a week before Easter Kristin and Abram hosted an impromptu Easter egg hunt. The kids had the time of their lives and I would say that it fully served in whetting their appetites for the actual holiday. They couldn’t stop talking about the Easter bunny (or eating candy)!

My apologies...

2009-06-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

To any Google Reader who is about to be bombarded with a million posts. It's finally come time to update and I'm going way back to before Easter. Like I said, Sorry!!!

Mother Nature's Mean Trick

2009-04-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

This was the scene out my back door this morning:

Seriously not going to go very well with Keely's sleeveless Easter dress!

I Paed Wif Max

2009-03-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

Translation: "I played with Max."

Don't you just love when kids are first learning to spell and they write everything phonetically? Well, every Monday morning in Keely's class they write the "Monday morning news" and it's just supposed to be a line about what they did over the weekend with a picture to illustrate. I found this the other day and it made me happy. Max is Keely's cousin and we just happen to be lucky enough to live right by them. We don't know how long we'll have them here, but we're thankful for every second we get! The bond that Max and Keely have formed is something very special and makes me smile almost everyday. When they get together you never know what fantasy world they'll dream up, but you always know they'll have fun doing it!

B-Day for the B-Boy

2009-03-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

And Ben is officially 2! We celebrated his birthday this past Monday and had lots of fun. We started the morning out at Gym America, one of Ben’s favorite places, and then went to lunch with his cousins (this actually may have been more for the moms but we called it a birthday lunch). That night we had The Ellis and Elder families over for pizza, cake, ice cream and present opening. He LOVED blowing out the candles!

So my 2 favorite things about Benjamin right now are:
1.That mischievous smile he gets any time he knows he's doing (or about to do) something naughty.

2.The excitement and passion he has for everyday life. He’s loud and carefree and I hope he stays that way.

Haircut

2009-03-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

Keely's been dying to get her haircut so I took her the other day and I think it's adorable. More importantly though, super easy! So, here's the before and after shots she so obligingly posed for.

Before

After

Longing for the Old Days

2009-02-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

All I have to say is "goodbye" to this (the binki)

means a lot of thisHanging in there!

Need…some…sun!

2009-02-03T16:37:00.000-08:00

If anyone’s keeping tabs on Midwest weather lately you know things are pretty bleak. Well, not long ago Shawn mentioned that he was going to be teaching a course in Orlando, Florida at the beginning of February and maybe I should come and bring the kids. I came up with an even better idea though…maybe I should come without the kids!

Well, thanks to my beautiful, smart, wonderful, caring (is this too much sucking up?) sister Arah who agreed to come to ice cold Michigan and watch my kids for a week here I am! Shawn and I were talking about it and I’m pretty sure that this is the first time just the two of us have gotten away together (without meeting up with friends, family, or bringing kids) since our honeymoon. Good times!

So, we arrived last Saturday and will be going home on Friday. Shawn didn’t have to start running the course until today, so we had the whole weekend plus together and here are just a few of the things we’ve done:

Our first night here we went and saw the Blue Man Group. We had heard good things but had no idea what to expect. It turned out to be a super fun and super random show. If you ever get the chance, go!

This is the band for the Blue Man group; the guys who play instruments and light up behind the screen anytime the music gets going...hard to explain
Because the next day was Sunday we went to church and then mostly hung out at the hotel. Shawn took this picture of me and said he was going to tell everyone this is what I did our whole time in Florida. Hey, it is my time to relax!

and who wouldn't want to hang out at the hotel with this view? So anti-michigan right now, I love it!

On Monday we went straight over to universal Studios because we knew it was supposed to rain and we wanted to catch some rides before getting rained out. The first ride we took was Dr. Doom's Fear Fall. Anyone who knows me knows I love a good scare. Well the worst (and best) feeling for me is a free fall. I was screaming so hard and so were the women next to me. All the sudden I heard nothing but myself and when I finally opened my eyes I just saw the two women next to me laughing their heads off and Shawn just grinning and shaking his head. Hey, I didn't know that ride was over as I was still screaming, "No, no, no!"

After some pretty weak pictures Shawn and I decided to have a little fun with our photography

Until we got rained out. : (

By the way, Shawn says my pose is totally unnatural on this surf board, but who do you think looks more unnatural?

So today we returned to Universal (we bought a week pass) for one last bout before Shawn started working. We didn't have much time but we did run into Donkey (from Shrek) and he was hilarious. We only got a little bit of video of him harassing us, but he was really great and funny with everyone, I wish we would have recorded the family before us:

So, after Universal today we checked into a new fancy shmancy hotel (the one where the workshop is being held) and I miss our other hotel. I feel so out of place in hotels like this, I feel like you have to tip people all the time for things you could totally do yourself and everything costs...everything! Give me a simple, clean place and I'm happy - let me park my own car, carry my own luggage and drink a bottle of water for less than $5!

By the way, has anyone ever heard of “turn down service?” A maid just showed up to my room to turn down the sheets for me and leave some chocolate with relaxing raspberry and chamomile to help me sleep. Really? Are there some people who can’t pull down the sheets for themselves? Weird!

Ice Skating

2009-02-03T16:07:00.000-08:00

In January I went ice skating with the youth group I work with at church. Keely has wanted to go ice skating forever and so I brought her along. I kind of expected the worst. She’d try, couldn’t do it, would fall down and/or hurt herself and give up (why am I so negative?).
Turns out though that the girl has a lot of heart and determination. She did fall down and she did hurt her knee, but that didn’t stop her. Keely kept trying and really had a great time!

New Year's Eve

2009-02-03T16:03:00.000-08:00

You can say a lot of things about Kristin and Abram Ellis, but you can’t say they don’t know how to throw a party! Really, great food, great people and super fun games. I can honestly say that I think this was the best New Year’s yet!

Christmas

2009-02-03T15:53:00.000-08:00

This year Santa brought Keely a bike...

and Ben an indoor trampoline.All Mattie got was a Santa hat and shirt

We had a great day that lasted and lasted thanks to our 1 present an hour deal. Right before bed we finally gave up and let Keely finish up her last few presents all at once.

Christmas Eve

2009-02-03T15:47:00.000-08:00

We had Christmas Eve over at Kristin and Abram’s house and got to share the night with some of our favorite people, the Ellis family, the Quinn family (Ryan and Amy) and the Elder family. As is custom the kids put on quite the Christmas pageant for us. There really is nothing sweeter than kids trying to put on a show. Ben, as you can see was a shepherd, and honestly he was proud and knew he was in a show even if he didn’t know why or exactly what it was about.
What would Christmas Eve be without opening Christmas jammies?
And here was the final product at about midnight. Time for bed!

Pre-Christmas

2009-01-05T19:28:00.000-08:00

Preparing for Christmas was filled with the usual hustle and bustle this year:

Decorate Christmas Tree: Check
Keely was like, “mom, get a picture of me putting ornaments on!” This is her totally natural “I’m putting ornaments on the tree” pose.
Dress your kid up like an Elf: Check
I don’t know why but Ben found this hat and just latched on. He would walk around the house pointing at his head saying, “hat.” He was very proud of himself and I have to say pretty cute too. I know his PJ’s are way too small but don’t judge me. The kid grows like a freaking weed! : )
Fly out to help your sickly sister: Check
Okay this wasn’t originally part of the plan but my sister Arah got her tonsils out and I knew that her husband Steve was there to help her over the weekend and then her mom-in-law was there to help her through Tuesday and then she was on her own. I knew she was sick and miserable and I kept walking around with this completely helpless feeling wishing I could be there to help her. I talked to her mom-in-law on Tuesday morning and she told me how much pain Arah was in and how out of it she was and that did it. I asked Shawn if I could go and he got on board and agreed to take the kids for the next 3 days. Thanks to his frequent flyer miles I was on a plane that night. If you can call taking care of a sick person “fun” well I guess this was. Really, it was so nice to have the helpless feeling gone and feel like I could put myself to use for someone I love. I’m grateful that Shawn let me just jump ship and go.Take the kids sledding: Check
Shawn took the kids out sledding with Kristin and Abram while I was gone. Thanks to Kristin who kind of let (or invited) the family to hole up with her family while I was gone (neither Shawn nor Kristin are people who like to be alone) I always knew the kids (and Shawn) were being well taken care of. I love this picture of Ben because it is so him. He’s almost never without a ball.

Christmas Fun in Utah

2009-01-05T19:02:00.000-08:00

After Thanksgiving we all started to get into the Christmas spirit by having breakfast with Santa, taking Trax to see the temple lights and going to Gavin’s preschool Christmas party.

Breakfast With Santa

Probably more expensive than it’s worth but nonetheless Keely and Gavin had a great time.

Sugarplum Fairy

The Grinch (Gavin wouldn't even get close!)
The Gingerbread Man
And of course Mrs. Claus

Ben really didn’t know what was going on but he loved all the colors and lights and ran around like a chicken with his head cut off. Seriously, he couldn’t sit still for a second, this was the only pic we were able to get of him.

Little Ayden wasn’t impressed with the food or the lights.

Trax to the Temple

We decided that the kids would like to take a “train” to see the temple lights. I think the novelty of the train wore off quickly though and we’ll probably take a car next time. It was fun to do it once though. : )The lights. Well, lots of waiting around for we didn’t know what. Was there going to be some kind of show? Would all the lights come on at once? I have to be honest, I’m still a little confused at what we were waiting for but the one thing that no one can deny is that the temple is truly breathtaking when all lit up.Gavin’s Christmas Party

Gavin’s preschool sure knows how to throw a party. The problem, when Keely’s not in a party mood she makes sure that no one else is either! Really, Ben did appreciate the food and Keely ended up being pleased with some “reindeer food” that Gavin made for her at one of the craft centers. This is the closest Ben got to Santa all year. He does look a little scary though, doesn’t he?

Thanksgiving Day

2009-01-05T18:46:00.000-08:00

Zeb carving our first deep fried turkey
The spread

The happy hostess

We truly had a great Thanksgiving. Even though it was crowded (and if you look closely at the pictures below you can find a Halloween table cloth being utilized) the people were right and the food was good! What more can you ask for? I truly am thankful for a loving, caring family and especially for Arah and Steve who will let us invade their home and their lives just to have a few moments where we can all be together and create some memories. My favorite part of our trip this year was the late night talks after all the kids had gone to bed. It’s amazing after all these years that you can actually still get to know your family better just by sitting down and taking time to talk.

The Friends We Make

2009-01-05T18:30:00.000-08:00

A highlight for me every time I go to Utah is being able to catch up with old friends.I love that with good friends you can go forever without talking and then when you see each other again it’s like you’ve never been apart. You can just pick up where you left off. Here are a few of the dear friends we got to see

Our Michigan Buddies

We got to go out to dinner with a couple of our Michigan abandoning friends. Sure they graduated from U of M and had job offers calling and families to support, but c’mon, where’s the loyalty? Really, having dinner with the Osguthorpes and Boyers just made us miss them all the more. Good conversation and good fun all the time!

Emily

Emily is another Michigan deserter who now lives in Washington but was in Utah for Thanksgiving. We got in some good time with Emily, her husband Teem and the kids but fortunately her daughter’s shirt was “misplaced” and left at Arah’s house so she was forced to stop by one more time before saying goodbye. Emily and I used to have a tradition of meeting at the mall every Thursday. We’d buy the kids a pretzel and a smoothie and just enjoy some good conversation together while the kids ran around the play area. I miss those days.

The girls

Once again I got to meet up with my girlfriends from high school. I think that I need regular visits with these girls because every time I see them I feel like I’m 16 again. I’m convinced that this is the secret to reclaiming my youth. I could just feel my wrinkles melting away. Seriously, I always have such a fun time with these girls and I’m forever thankful that I was surrounded by such good friends in high school. I truly hope that my kids will be able to find friends this good.

(This was me trying to look skinny next to Autumn and everyone laughing because it was totally not working)

The People We Meet

2009-01-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

Our trip was also filled with new faces and old favorites.

New Faces

Siarah

Meeting new little Siarah was a dream. Siarah is my sister Julee’s new little baby and when I tell you she’s the easiest, sweetest, best baby in the world I am not exaggerating. She mostly slept, but even when she was awake she was a content little thing. The couple of times I did hear her cry it was almost apologetic. Like, “sorry to bother you but I could use a diaper change or maybe a little food.” This precious baby just really has a sweet little spirit and all of us (especially Ben who kept insisting that he cuddle and kiss her) had fun getting to “know” her.

Jessica

Travis (Shawn’s little bro) finally let us meet his girlfriend Jessica, I felt like we were being let into some sort of special secret society or something very important. In all seriousness, it was great to meet her and we liked her so much. Jessica is especially good with kids and gained a lifelong fan in Keely.

Old Favorites

Grandma Gibby

My dear grandma made the trip from CA to UT to spend Thanksgiving with us. This lady is someone who just loves you and never stops expressing her love and gratitude once you’ve earned it (or even if you haven’t). Keely loves when she gets to spend time with her Great Grandma. She always know she’ll come out with some treat or important treasure. This year it was a fun advent calendar. I love this woman!

Uncle Mike

My brother Mike has some serious fans in his nieces and nephews. They seriously celebrate whenever he shows up and incessantly ask for him when he’s not around. There’s good reason for this. One night Mike babysat for my sister Arah and I while we went out. When we got home Keely and Gavin were still up. When I asked Keely why she wasn’t in bed she replied, “’cause you never have to go to sleep when Uncle Mikey’s babysitting!” It’s true. The kids know that Uncle Mike will let you eat, have or do almost anything you want when he’s in charge. Hey, he’s the Uncle, right?! They are lucky to have him; he loves them to death and they know it!

Oh the Places We Go

2009-01-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

Don’t you just hate when someone doesn’t post for a long time and then they throw up a bunch of junk all at once? Well, me too. But that’s not going to stop me! I still haven’t documented our trip out to Utah for Thanksgiving so I wanted to throw up a few pictures for posterity sake.

The Dinosaur Museum

One of Keely’s “must visit” places every time we go to Utah is Thanksgiving Point’s Dinosaur Museum. I have to say, I would be fine seeing it just once but for Keely and her cousin Gavin this place just never gets old!

Kangaroo Zoo

Kangaroo Zoo is also a popular choice for our Utah visits. I can see why they love this place so much. Who doesn’t want to climb, jump and slide around on big bouncy toys!

Jump On It

I would have got way more photos of this place had my camera not died. It’s just a place with a bunch of trampolines all connected together. Dangerous? Dirty? Maybe, but I loved it and we had to drag the kids away after 2 hours. I think I’d be a regular attendee if we lived here. Ben especially loved to test out the tramps and ever since we got home (and he figured out he can jump) you can see him trying to jump into the air at almost any given time of day. This place actually inspired Ben’s Christmas present from Santa. That’s coming later!

Already Missing Fall

2008-11-16T17:50:00.000-08:00

Today was our first snow. I don't want winter to come! I enjoy Fall time in Michigan so much. it's absolutely gorgeous, beautiful leaves everywhere, great weather and lots of fun but there's always a little shadow hanging over Fall saying, "Winter's coming" and believe me that's a threat here. I swear Michigan Winters last for 6 months and it's sooooooo cold, dark and long . All right, everyone feeling cheery now?

Well, the threat of Winter reminded me that I never posted about our wonderful Fall family trip to upstate New York. We went with the same group we went to Niagara Falls with last year (the Collis and Savage families) plus the Smiths who were great additions to the fun. We rented one big cabin and just enjoyed each others company. There was lots of good food, good conversation and of course some good competition.

As you can see Keely had a fan in Anna (below)

Anna and Ben also got along really well until the last day or so when Anna started saying "I hit Ben now." Yep, she was just making the announcement that she was about to hit Ben. It was actually a great intimidation tactic and I'm sure that it was Ben's Karma, payback for all those innocent people he took on during his hitting stage. I was cracking up everytime she announced her plans.

The cabin had a huge yard complete with a a huge grassy play area (above), a fire pit (below) and a pier on the lake. The kids loved it!

On Friday we went into town and took a ride on a ski lift so we could see the beautiful leaves. The fall colors and fresh air was amazing. Oh, and apparently this little town is known for their grape pie (which I've never heard of) so of course we had to try it and I have to say it was pretty good.

Matthew and Keely were quite the hikers, I swear they could have kept going all day!

On Sunday we went and visited Palmyra and had a great time.

Visitor's Center at the Smith farm

Sacred Grove

Smith cabin

Visitor Center at Hill Cumorah

Yes We Can

2008-11-05T07:45:00.000-08:00

While I'm so happy with the outcome of the election I know that not everyone is but I wanted to post a link to Obama's acceptance speech just in case anyone missed it. It's 18 minutes and definitely worth listening to. He's both gracious and inspiring and makes you proud to be part of this great country. One important thing that I think will come from this victory is an energy that we've been missing in America for a long time.

McCain was also very gracious in his comments and I really think that now that the fighting and bitterness of the campaigns is over there will be a great opportunity for both sides to work together. Today is a good day.

Halloween Scream

2008-11-03T17:41:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures from Halloween. Keely decided she wanted to be an angel and then said, "so mom, will you be the devil?" I was happy to oblige. Keely really was an angel on Halloween though. We got home earlier than planned from a party on Halloween night and there were still trick or treaters out but because we weren't planning to be home I hadn't bought any candy. Keely just dumped all her trick or treat candy in a bowl and said, "Let's just use mine!" And she was serious. I would have never done that as a kid!
My friend Elizabeth made Ben's Bam Bam costume along with his cousin Aviva's Pebbles costume. They were quite the cute pair, thanks Elizabeth!
We had a great Halloween with lots of activities and parties but my favorite part was actually the trick or treating.
When Ben figured out that he got candy he was super into going door to door. The funny thing was that instead of just taking the candy Ben was trying to trade people (see picture below).When the person at the door would give him something, he would just reach in his basket and try to give them something right back. I guess he figured, "hey, they're hooking me up, I'll hook them up!"

You Got Served

2008-10-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

Hungry? Need an idea for dinner? Well you're in luck! (Great advertisement, huh?)

Seriously, my sister-in-law Kristin started a recipe blog not too long ago called You Got Served and it's fabulous! Kristin is passionate about food. She likes to eat it and make it and happens to have excellent taste so she's really the perfect person to do something like this. I turn to her blog pretty much any time I need an idea. Three of my favorites are Gary's Mac 'n Cheese, Flank Steak and Honey Lime Enchiladas. Check it out, you won't be disappointed!

Fall, Fairs and Cider Mills

2008-10-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, I’m way behind on blogging so this is going back 2 weeks ago when my friend Jana and her family came to visit. They’re in Pittsburgh right now so we’re just a short 5 hour drive away, perfect! It’ll be even more perfect when they move back to Ann Arbor for Jason’s medical fellowship next year; it’s only 1 year long, but we’ll take it. It was so great to have them here!

Shauri and Kristin and kids joined us for some fun on Saturday and here’s some photos that our very talented Shauri took for us while we were out at the cider mill and the Dexter Days fair. Unfortunately we didn’t even think to get any “grown-up” pictures, but the kids are all we want to see anyway, right?

Thanks for the great time Smythes!

An Incompetent Granny…and other Keely funnies

2008-10-21T19:28:00.000-07:00

The other day Keely and I were driving to get Mattie from the vet when Keely announced, “Mom, I’m only going to have one child.” I thought this was a strange way to start a conversation but just went with it.
“Oh really? Why?”
“Well, because if my husband and I ever want to go out of town for the weekend and drop the kids’ off at granny’s house (that would be me) I think you would do fine with 1 child, but 2 would just be out of control!!!”
Hmmm, thanks for the confidence Keely. I went on to assure Keely that she could have as many children as she wanted and promised that I could handle it but the fact remains that this slight could be interpreted in so many different ways.

Another fun moment was the other day when Keely walked over to the kitchen sink and turned to look at me disapprovingly while folding her arms across her chest. “Look mom, we’ve talked about this before; turn the faucet off. When are you going to start caring about our earth?!” I promise the faucet was barely dripping and I didn’t even know it was on but consider me well reprimanded!

One more story. We went on a road trip to upstate New York this last weekend and at one point Ben dropped his binki. Knowing that the road trip would be much more pleasant if he had his prize I took off my seat belt and then turned around to look for the needful thing when I hear, “Where did you learn that mom?”
“Learn what?”
“To take off your seat belt like that. Was it from Shauri or some other naughty person?”
Shawn and I both started cracking up about this. Shauri is Keely’s Aunt who often times tries to get Keely to try things a different way or “think outside the box” if you will. Looks like you shouldn’t go against what her mamma taught her Shauri! : )

Keely's Birthday Week

2008-10-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

I am convinced that they (you know, the man) should change the word "birthday" to "birthweek." In my experience kids no longer have a day of festivities; between school, friends and family it seems to last the whole week. Keely's was no exception. She started the week by taking goody bags to school followed by a day (her actual birthday) of getting spoiled silly by getting to choose her whole day. Blueberry pancakes for breakfast, a surprise gift after school (an easel and art table), a movie at the theater with dad, play time at Max's, dinner at Red Robin and cake and ice cream with family that night. I think that she had a great day but after reminding me for the 100th time that it was her birthday and that she could choose/do anything she wanted that day I told her that I knew and she didn't have to remind me any more to which she replied, "But mom, that's what you do on Mother's Day." Touche.

After a little break from the celebrations Keely had her friend party on Saturday night. A "pretend sleepover" where everyone came in their pj's, and brought their favorite stuffed animal and sleeping bag. We started the party with pizza, followed by more cake (a Barbie cake that Keely had been begging for) and ice cream and had a scavenger hunt followed by slumber party games like "musical sleeping bags." Instead of someone getting out though I just told them if they didn't land on a sleeping bag they had to do a silly dance. The girls had fun with this and I suspect a couple of them were actually trying not to end with a sleeping bag. All in all I think everyone had a great time!

Happy Birthday sweet girl!

New York, New York

2008-10-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

Once again I took a fall trip to my favorite place. Thanks so much to Amy and Shauri for making the trip and for posting all about it so that I don't have to.

P.S. Just don't believe everything Shauri writes! : )

Flintstone Feet

2008-09-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

I couldn't find a pair of shoes to fit Ben so in desperation I went to Stride Rite and explained my situation. The girl helping us measures him and says, "Oh" like she's about to diagnose something, "that's because he wears an 8 Extra Wide."
"Really" I say, "and where can I find an Extra Wide?
"Here."
"Well yeah, but where else?"
"No, just here." she says.

Just to put this into perspective Keely is 5 and wears a size 10, and she has pretty big feet for a girl. The boy is only 18 months! Great, so Stride Rite it is. Until he grows out of kid sizes that is and then we'll probably have to special order them. Here are the only 2 pics I could find that have good images of Ben's feet. Kind of makes him all the more lovable though (except when he steps on me with his monstrous shoes!). : )

18 months

2008-09-09T18:35:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is 18 months! I wish I could portray in writing how happy this little guy makes me! He has developed such a personality and is cracking me up everyday. I can't describe it like I'd like to but he is just a kid you want to grab and hug all the time. Here's a few of our favorite things:
Just a few things he's saying:

When we can't find Ben's shoes (which is almost always), he walks around the house shrugging his shoulders and saying, "where is it?"
"No!" A real favorite.
When he's done eating Ben throws his hands up and says "all done!"
Mattie has figured out that it is safest to stay away from Ben, so Ben spends much of his day laying on the ground and looking under the chair (where Mattie's hiding) while saying "dog" and "Mattie" like he's making a brilliant new discovery.
When Ben wants to get out of the house he says "go!" and runs to the door
"shoes" because he's obsessed; and believe it or not he's only got one pair that fit him. I can't find shoes wide enough for his chubby little feet!

A few things he's loving:

Every time we pass a basketball hoop he makes a motion and sound effect like he's shooting a basket.
He loves to give high fives and will do it all day if you let him
Running up and throwing his arms around me to give big hugs - love it!
Dancing! The kid loves to dance and can really get those arms and legs moving.
HITTING - my only complaint. Hitting Keely, his cousins, anyone who happens to be in his path...seriously, it's non-stop!
His bear and his binki. Can't sleep without them and I know it's time to take the binki away but I'm dreading it!
His daddy - oh, and he prefers men in general. Last week was his first in nursery and I had to let them know that if he needed to be calmed down it would have to be a man. He's a man's man.
Making people laugh. Once he knows something cracks you up he'll do it again and again; he's such a character.
Folding his arms for prayer. Every time he sits at the table, be it a snack or a meal we must pray. And then he claps after every "amen."
Food. Any and all. I love that he loves food, makes life so much easier!

Dear Keely (on your first day of school)

2008-09-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Keely,

I watched you this morning as you picked at your breakfast because your belly hurt. I know about nerves, I have as many as you do right now. I watched as you slung on the backpack that’s almost bigger than you, looked up at me with a brave face and then admitted that you’re scared. I waited with you at the bus stop and kept talking about how fun your first day of school would be, about how much you’ll love your classes and your teacher, but all the while my stomach churned and tied in knots. I watched you tense as the bus pulled up, then watched you relax as you saw Jade waving to you from the window. I was so proud as you stepped on and went in and I knew that brave step was the one that mattered today. I loved watching you wave from the bus but felt like you were waving goodbye to so much more than me.

As soon as the bus pulled away I dashed to the car so that I could beat that bus to school and be waiting when you got off. When I dropped you off in class I watched you sign your name with that shaky, newly formed penmanship and I smiled as I saw your classmates do the same. When it was time to say goodbye I was so proud of you for letting me go because I know it was hard but even though I didn’t show it at the time I want you to know that it was just as hard for me.

I finally let some tears flow as I drove home. It feels like yesterday that I picked you up for the first time and whispered to you that I’m your momma and I’ll always take care of you. I remember putting you in your car seat carrier and knowing that life would never be the same and it hasn’t – I don’t think you’ll ever truly know how much happiness you’ve added to my life. Now it’s time for me to put on my brave face but I want you to know that although many things will change there are some things that will always stay the same. I will rejoice with you over every accomplishment, cry with you over every painful experience, and nothing will ever make me happier than hugs from my little girl. So, on this big day just know that everything you felt, I felt; know that I spent the morning thinking about you and praying that your first day would go well. Know that the best part of my day will be when you step down off that bus and you’re home. I’m so proud of you and I love you more than you’ll ever know.

All my love,

Mom

Meet Mattie

2008-08-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

This morning we picked up our new puppy Mattie. Anyone who knows me well will know this was a very happy day for me. I'll let the pictures tell the story:

At the breeder's house picking up Mattie.

Me trying to keep Ben from crushing the poor little thing.

Keely may be smiling but Ben is in the background throwing a tantrum because I won't let him squeeze the life out of her.

What makes Keely happy in the car? Holding her new puppy all the way home.

What makes Ben happy in the car? Eating his sister's leftovers after already consuming his own lunch!

Mattie with her biggest fan Keely. Can you tell what Keely did all day?

Mattie's other fan Shawn. He may not admit it out loud but he's already fallen in love.

Good night Mattie!

Camping at Warren Dunes

2008-08-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

Any one who knows me is probably shocked, but it's true. I did it, was a good sport about it, and even had a great time. I have to say that my biggest worry was actually that it would be blazing hot in mid-August but thank goodness the weather was perfect. Really, there were actually only 3 things I didn't like about camping: 1.our mattress got a hole and went flat the first night, 2. we all came home with a bazillion bug bites, and 3. Ben was like the rooster that woke everyone at the crack of dawn (sometimes a little before the crack of dawn). With that said, the positives far outweighed the negatives and I'd even venture to say that we'll do it again. That's right, you heard me...so here are some of my favorite things about camping:
1. the friends we went with (thanks especially to Elizabeth for getting us all organized and making sure no one went hungry!)
2. the kids loved it
3. sitting around the camp fire after the kids went to bed
4. the beach - perfect sand and fresh water instead of salt water
5. Stopping at Culver's for custard on the way to and from (okay, so this is really not part of camping but still one of my highlights).

Here are a few pics from the trip:

Some of the boys sitting around the campfire, Ben looks pretty comfy in the pink chair, huh?

This was both Keely and Ben's first camping experience. She was soooo excited to sleep in a tent and sleeping bag

Ben and Shawn both worn out from not getting enough sleep (look closely to see Ben's head peeking out under the arm of the chair, he slept like that for almost 2 hours!)

Mike C.'s back after the first day at the beach - Natalie, you did a bang up job of rubbing that sunblock on! : )

Keely and Cora loving the beach!

Bye Bye Julee

2008-08-07T12:58:00.001-07:00

My sister Julee has been here visiting for the past week. It was her first time out and she braved the trip from Utah almost 8 months pregnant and toting her 18 month old son around. She even went the extra mile and brought Gavin, my sister Arah's son with her so that Keely would have a playmate while she and Ayden visited.

We had such a great time. Julee and I got to sneak away while Shawn watched the kids a few times and we of course made time for some good restaurants and a couple movies. Gavin and Keely had the time of their lives and Ben and Ayden were hilarious together. Pretty much they took turns bopping each other on the head and rotating time outs. 18 month olds haven't mastered the art of being social yet, have they? One of the funniest interactions was when Julee picked up Ben to show me how jealous Ayden gets (he's pretty possessive of his momma). Needless to say Ayden was not a happy camper, but the funny part was when he turned around and started yelling at Ben after he had given Julee a piece of his mind. He just pointed his little finger at Ben while waving his arm up and down and bellowing very descriptively. While he wasn't using any words his position was definitely made clear. Thanks dear Julee for making the trip, it was so great to have you here!

Here's a few pictures I took during the visit:

Ben at the park

Gavin at the park

Ayden at the lake

Keely at the lake

Chicago

2008-07-31T06:41:00.000-07:00

All right, I've been taking a lot of heat for not updating - I'm sorry!!! I haven't had time to look at other people's or post on my own but this is me committing to try to do better.

This weekend we were lucky enough to spend some kid-free time with some great friends! The Barlows invited us out to their new home in Stevensville, MI and we spent all day Saturday in Chicago watching a Cubs game and touring the city. Elizabeth and Michelle's blogs will give much more detail, but I'll just highlight the top 7 most memorable moments (in no particular order) of the trip for me.

1. Potty breaks. Try taking a little vacation with 3 pregnant women sometime. There are LOTS of potty breaks!
2. "You're outta here!" What would a Cubs game be without the coach getting thrown out of the game and the fans filling the field with trash in protest?
3. Good old fashioned car talk. Poor Chris got stuck in the middle of the "vacation van" so he got the best of both worlds - the guys' conversation and the girls' conversation. I think he would have preferred to just hear the guys. Shawn also got voted the worst Shot Gun partner for his tendency to fall asleep.
4. The trophy - Matt and Kristen have a paper trophy proudly displayed on their mantle which Matt claims is his due to his ability to beat Kristen in the game Singing Bee. Well we were all jealous and wanted a stab at the trophy so it was girls against guys in Scene-it Squabble. Unfortunately the trophy remains with the men.
5. The reigning hosts of the year. Matt not only typed up a hilarious trip packet and mailed it to us pre-trip, but also had an itinerary waiting on our beds when we got there (nothing better than knowing what to expect). Kristen had shopping bags for each couple complete with our towels all tied up in bows as well as shower packs which included shampoo, conditioner and body wash. To top it off the boys got hooked up with some sweet Benton Harbor tees which they will all wear proudly for years to come. Oh yeah, and did I mention the food? Yum!
6. Chris threatening to kill some poor, drunk 20 year old that grabbed Michelle's belly. You should have seen that kid hustle!
7. Gummi bear test - I took a lot of abuse over just wanting to eat the red and white gummi bears so we did a blind taste test to see whether my condition was all mental or whether it really warranted all the fuss. Turns out that the green gummi bears are actually apple flavored (I thought lime all this time) so I can now add green to my handfuls - but orange and yellow are still out!

I can't neglect to mention Abram and Kristin without whom none of this would be possible. Thanks for taking the kids!!!

Wooohooo!!

2008-07-08T17:40:00.000-07:00

A salesman just came to my door and when I answered he asked if there was a parent home. Seriously. He wasn't just trying to flatter either because when I corrected him he turned red and got all uncomfortable. Poor guy, I didn't buy anything from him but that seriously made my night!

4th of July fun

2008-07-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

Would it be too much to say today was the perfect day? Well it was. The day started with a great breakfast at the Ellis' followed by bike decorating and sign making for our patriotic "parade." At 5 we all gathered together again at our house for a barbecue and fireworks. The weather was perfect and we were surrounded by wonderful friends all day. At one point in all the chaos Ben disappeared across the street to the neighbors house (which was scary and not perfect) but after finding him I played with him outside and in the car a while (he loves to "drive" the car) and I kept thinking how lucky we are to have these 2 wonderful kids in our lives. To top it off at the end of the night Keely turned to me and said, "mom, you light up my life just like the fireworks" (I seriously don't know where she comes up with this stuff)! I'm happy.

Before and After

2008-07-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

Finally! Here are some before and after shots of the house:

Living Room
Before

After

Kitchen

Before

After

Basement/Rec Room

Before

After

Dining Room
Before

After

Master Bed
Before

After

1/2 bath/powder room
Before
After

All Work No Play

2008-06-21T06:49:00.000-07:00

My sister Debbie just left after 2 weeks and we're all so sad. The poor girl worked with me from sun up to sun down while she was here, so it was certainly no vacation for her but her help and her company saved my life! She says I have to post before and after photos of the house so that she can see that her hard work paid off, those will be coming next week. It was really so hard dropping her off at the airport yesterday and I was in a bad mood all morning just knowing that they had to leave. Keely is also feeling the loss with her cousin Gavin gone and first thing this morning she said, "mom, I wish Gavin was still here." Me too!

LOTS and LOTS of painting

...and unpacking

Thank goodness the kids have been incredible

Goodbye Debbie and Gavin we love you!

Still here!

2008-06-10T17:47:00.001-07:00

If you're wondering if we're alive we are! We don't have the Internet until this weekend and we've been moving, unpacking and painting non-stop! I'll post some pics and updates soon...hopefully!

Outer Banks

2008-05-26T18:37:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of pics from our vacation so far. This is my favorite place to come every year; so fun, so relaxing!

Keely on the beach with her best buddy Max

Ben playing in the sand with his cousin Andrew

Ben is hilarious to watch in the sand. See the sand on his face? That's because he lays down and cuddles the sand like it's a bed or a teddy bear.

The boys on their lap tops, a pretty common sight during downtime.

The kids at "church." We had our meeting at the beach house on Sunday because there's an unofficial annual mormon singles trip here every year on Memorial Day weekend and apparently about 750 people show up at church. The little ward here just passes the sacrament and then sends everyone home.

shining like the top of the Chrysler building

2008-05-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

So Keely was in the bathroom for a long time the other day and I figured she was getting into trouble but I was too busy to care; all I knew is that she was busy and entertained and I had a lot to do. After about 45 minutes I decided I'd better check in and I was like, "Keely, whatcha doin?" to which she responded, "Just cleaning the bathroom mom!" I have to say that as soon as she said this I imagined a massive puddle of water on the floor with rugs and towels strung all over the place so I hurried into he bathroom to see if I could minimize the damage. To my great surprise the bathroom was gleaming! I won't pretend that she didn't use a hand towel to clean (gross), and the strong smell of watermelon would suggest that she also used a large amount of hand soap but regardless it smelled and looked great; the sink, the floor, the cabinet, the mirror...the only thing she missed was the toilet (thank goodness!). Relieved and happy I just turned back around, shrugged my shoulders and said, "Wow... good job!"

10 Years Baby!

2008-05-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

Last week Shawn and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary. I can't believe how quickly time has gone (and how much older we look!). I made a video for him but for some reason blogger wouldn't let me upload it. Anyway, since it was our big 10 how could I not make a list of 10 things I love about Shawn? So here they are in no particular order:

1. I can always be myself with you, whatever I’m feeling. If I’m happy, I can be all the way happy, if I’m sad I can be all the way sad and I know that you’re with me trying to experience whatever I’m experiencing.

2. You’re a mean competitor. You’ve never let me win a game on purpose once and believe it or not, I like that.

3. You’re a great dad. I love that you call and tell stories to Keely every night when you’re on a business trip, even if you’re in London or Ireland. I love that Ben’s your biggest fan.

4. Relationships mean so much to you. You’ve always been better at keeping in touch with both friends and family and you’re always aware of people’s needs and what they’re going through.

5. I love your lack of opinions when it comes to clothing, home furnishing, etc. Sounds funny, but I love that you’ll just wear (almost) whatever I buy and that when it comes to decorating the house your only opinion is “comfortable.” I don’t know how I’d manage with someone who had strong opinions in those areas.

6. I love that you’re so cuddly. I know I’m not the most cuddly person ever, but I really do love that you are. There’s something comforting in knowing that you’re always there with a hug when I need it.

7. You’re one of the most content people I’ve ever met. Whether we go out for the night or just stay in and get a movie, whether I cook or we go out to eat, you’re just happy being with people you love.

8. You’re so thoughtful. I love that you still write me letters, realize when I’m stressed and that you’re always there to help with whatever’s going on.

9. You have such a strong testimony. One thing I’ve never doubted is your belief in the church and you take whatever responsibility or calling you’re given so seriously. You’re such an example for both me and the kids.

10. That I knew what kind of person you were after our very first conversation. You have always been completely genuine and you live exactly what you believe. I knew after our very first date that you were the kind of person I could spend forever with.

...and here it is

2008-05-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

Yay! We move in the first of June and we're so excited. After LOTS of looking, bidding and praying we ended up with a home that we feel will be just right for our family and we're super excited that we'll live near grandma and grandpa when they get home, and until then we get to be right by Kristin and Abram! It feels like June will never come but I'm sure that with all that we have to do before we move we'll stay plenty busy and time will pass quickly.

A Slimy Frog

2008-04-29T11:45:00.000-07:00

Well things are still hectic here and we are still waiting to hear on our house, but in the meantime I will attempt to blog every now and then, so I’ll share a new one with you. I must say that I realize that most people blog about happy, shiny things but I tend to want to record all things because I often think (hope) our imperfections add a little personality to life.

Yesterday Keely got put in time-out because she wasn’t sharing with her cousin and she hit him. I was on my way down the stairs when she started screaming for me to come back. Here’s pretty much how our conversation went:

K – “Mom, come quick it’s an emergency!” (repeated about 4 times)
Me – (heading back upstairs) “It better be an emergency!”
K – (I have now entered the room) “This skirt won’t stick” (regarding a dress-up princess book she’s playing with)
Me – “That is not an emergency…and you are not supposed to be playing when you’re in time-out!” (now I’m heading back downstairs) “I’d better not hear you again or you’re just going straight to bed!”
K- (at the top of her lungs) “I’m not going to bed you slimy little frog!”

Ouch! Did she call me a slimy frog? Seriously, it’s creative and new and I have no idea where she got it from but it kind of stings. As you can tell I think we both need to work a little on our communication skills, or maybe we communicate a little too well?...whatever the case may be the scene ended up with a good stare down (from both sides) and an apology (from Keely). I'm only hoping that at least one of you can relate to that experience, otherwise I'm in trouble! Don’t worry though, all was happy and good by the end of the night and she even told me that I’m the best mom in the world when I tucked her in (see, happy and shiny).

What I've Been Doing

2008-04-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

I realize I've been pretty much non-existent in the blog world since we got back from Australia and here's why. Before we left for Australia we were super excited to find out that Kristin and Abram (Shawn's sister and her husband) were moving back to Ann Arbor. Seeing as to the fact that they are 2 of our favorite people we offered to let them move into the Quinn home (for those of you that are confused we've been living in Shawn's parents' house while they're on their mission) and said that we would just buy a house since it's such a great time to buy. What we didn't realize is how quickly everything would go. Abram found a great job at a law firm and they sold their house all in just over a month, and by the time we returned from Australia we had 5 days to ready everything because they were on their way!

So, here we are 1 week later. the Ellis family arrived last Wednesday and we have been living on top of each other since. Keely and Ben have had a blast with their cousins Aviva and Max here, and Shawn and I have loved the company but unfortunately all the kids have been sick which adds a whole other dimension to our fun. So, that's my life right now. Cleaning, packing, unpacking, moving things up and down and house hunting like mad! We made an offer on one house and we're just waiting to hear so who knows, maybe my next blog will be about our new home. Anyway, needless to say things are crazy busy right now - and also just plain crazy!

The Rundown on the Rest of Our Trip

2008-04-17T20:14:00.000-07:00

Okay so we got back last Thursday and I am really behind (I’ll explain later) but I wanted to at least share a few of our highlights from the last part of our trip:

“Beach Fun”

We had lots of fun going to a couple different beaches. One of Keely’s highlights was getting her face painted when we went to the beach in Glenelg (she’s supposed to be a kangaroo)

Ben loved the beach so much that he wore himself right out
I have to say that it was surreal watching the grandmas and grandpas playing with the kids, I was so aware that our time was short and it made me kind of sad, Ben and Keely had such fun with their grandparents
“Keely’s Crush(es)”

The thing about Keely is she falls hard but she gets over it quickly. After leaving Alice Springs and doodling “I love Elder Collett” all the way home on the plane from Adelaide Keely quickly found someone to fill up that empty space in her heart, and this time Elder Bass was the lucky man. Luckily, he has a 5 year old brother and knew just how to handle her 4 ½ (she never lets us forget the ½) year old personality. It was really funny actually. One night we had the office Elders and the Assistants over for dinner and Keely latched right on to Elder Bass and also began to grow fond of his companion Elder Loertscher, whose name she had a tougher time remembering. So, that night in her prayers she said, “Heavenly Father, I’m so thankful that I was able to meet Elder Bass and also that Elder with a little hair, but not a lot, but some hair.” I was doing my best not to bust out laughing, but I have to say it was pretty funny.
“Our Friends”

The thing about taking a trip like this where you stay in the mission home is that it’s really hard not to get attached the missionaries, they were really a huge part of our enjoyment on the trip.

Elder and Sister Smith helped us with EVERYTHING and were really like an extra set of grandparents for our kids. Sister Smith was so patient with Keely always wanting to hang out in the office and even came up with “really important” ways for Keely to be able to help out. Let me tell you, Keely is quite a good secretary.
The Office Elders and Assistants were also wonderful with the kids and Elder Kroll even took the time to prepare a very sweet FHE lesson for us which Keely really loved. These guys really helped make our trip even more memorable and more fun. “Goodbye to Mom and Dad”

Watching mom and dad walk away at the airport was really hard. I think that after they left on their mission I always had a knowledge that we would be flying out to see them so I didn’t really have a hard time with it. This time it was a lot harder, I kind of had a sad, empty feeling but I loved that we had the time with them that we did have and I will always be grateful that they are out in Australia serving a mission, they really are incredible people and incredible missionaries and I’m so proud of them.

“And Another Goodbye”

And if one goodbye was not hard enough, 2 was almost impossible! Saying goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Quinn was another tough one. Bob and Delsa more than went out of their way to make our trip happy and memorable. I thought I was going to keep from crying until Keely gave a hug to her Grandma at the terminal and Delsa started crying. It was so sweet to watch our kids build such a strong relationship with their grandparents and it made me so happy that we had the chance to see them making a difference in so many people’s lives.

Keely can’t stop talking about her time in Australia and mostly that’s because she fell so in love with her grandparents. I love this picture of her and her grandmas. This has really been an experience we’ll never forget!

A Perfect Day

2008-04-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we got to go to the Adelaide, Australia temple and have Ben sealed to our family. I loved that we were surrounded by not only our parents, but the room was full of missionaries who we've come to know and love. One of the most joyous experiences of the day was watching Ben explore the sealing room as we all waited for the sealing to begin. He was dazzled by the chandelier and to the enjoyment of everyone there walked happily around on his shaky little legs just as content as can be to explore this new place. I can't even begin to describe the happiness and love we felt toward this little guy as we watched him, he really did light up the room. One of the main reasons we wanted to come to Australia so badly was so that our parents could be at the temple with us to share this happy day and we are so grateful we did!

Meeting the Family

2008-03-29T23:58:00.000-07:00

My parents took us around and made sure that we met a lot of the investigators and new church members that they’ve been working with. I felt like we already knew so many of them through reading my parents’ letters and talking to them on the phone but meeting them in person was so much better! Here are just a couple of people we got to meet:

This little boy James and Keely hit it right off and had so much fun running around the church while we all enjoyed a pizza party. We also had so much fun getting to know Yvonne (James’ mom) and really hope to get to see her again while we’re here. She’s a really incredible person.

Mark and Karen have been a very special couple in my mom’s and dad’s lives. Karen is a member of the church and Mark was just baptized about a week before we got here. His story is so incredible, the changes he’s made and the things he has given up to become a member is truly touching, I’m sorry I really couldn’t do it justice on the blog but it was such a pleasure to meet them.

Last but not least I have to mention the 4 missionaries that my parents work with (from left to right Elder Brons, Elder McKnight, Elder Vander Does and Elder Collett). They have really come to be like family to my parents and I can see why. They are such great guys and not only were they helpful and spiritual, but they were so much fun. Keely exclaimed several times that these 4 are her favorite Elders she’s ever met and I have to say that saying goodbye to them at the airport when we were heading back to Adelaide was the toughest thing we’ve done since we got here. I really felt like crying knowing that this would probably be the last time we’d see them. Elder Collett also really gained favor with Keely by buying her a little stuffed kangaroo as a souvenir. We will always be grateful that, even though it was a short amount of time, we got to know these 4 great missionaries.

3 Alice Places

2008-03-29T23:19:00.000-07:00

Dinner and a Show : This was fun. We enjoyed dinner while learning more about aboriginal culture and then enjoyed some aboriginal dances before dessert. Delsa even talked me into trying kangaroo, which really just takes like steak but made me feel bad because I think kangaroos are so cute.

Desert Park: This is really just a “walkabout” in different desert habitats. Again we saw some great wildlife but the highlight was a great bird show.

Reptile Center: Brave Keely held all the lizards and wanted to even hold the snake but unfortunately the snake was bigger than her. She still got to pet it though!

My Very Own Kangaroo!

2008-03-29T23:00:00.000-07:00

One of Keely’s true highlights on this trip so far was a little joey that Grandma and Grandpa brought over to their flat for her to play with. One of the aboriginal families that my mom and dad work with brought the baby kangaroo home after it lost its mom and the cute little thing is pretty sure it’s a dog. The only problem was that Ben really wanted to wrestle with the poor thing and at one point had it in a pretty good headlock. After that we had to have him keep his distance!

Alice Springs

2008-03-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

Now up to Alice Springs to see Grandma and Grandpa Shumway! Elder Jackson, who is an Area Seventy spent the night at the Quinns and planned on joining us for our trip to Alice Springs. I was in my room getting all packed and ready in the morning when Keely popped in and excitedly said, “Mom, you’ll want to see the man taking us to the airport, he is so handsome!” I was cracking up because I knew that she was talking about Elder Jackson who she apparently thought was just our driver. Fortunately, he also got a good laugh about it.

It was wonderful to get off the plane, round the corner and see their faces. Keely ran into Grandma Lynda’s arms and poor Grandma just lost it, she burst into tears, which of course made Grandma Delsa and me tear up also. Ben was sound asleep meanwhile and Grandpa Jim was more than pleased to take him off my hands! Traveling with missionaries is a whole new experience, President Quinn was holding a Zone conference in Alice and we brought 5 bikes, our luggage, their luggage, and the 2 Assistants’ luggage. We were quite the sight!

Easter

2008-03-29T22:11:00.000-07:00

Easter in Australia is interesting. All the Easter candy is chocolate, they don’t have baskets or Easter grass, and they don’t color eggs, probably because all the eggs are brown. We managed to improvise by boiling eggs and then using magic marker to draw on them, and we borrowed one of Grandma Delsa’s baskets that she had lying around her house. The highlight of Keely’s day had to be her Easter present from Grandma Delsa and Grandpa Bob, a Spiderman costume!

Wildlife Park

2008-03-29T21:52:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Quinn took us to visit Adelaide’s Wildlife Park where you can feed the kangaroos and hold the koalas. Keely had so much fun trying to persuade the kangaroos to come eat from her hand and I loved getting to hold a koala. The koala actually smelled really great and the staff told me that the eucalyptus oils actually seep through their skin giving them a really nice smell. We had such a great time!

To Grandma and Grandpa’s House We Go!

2008-03-22T03:54:00.000-07:00

Were we happy to get here! Seeing Grandma and Grandpa for the first time in a year and a half was so surreal and we have been having such a great time. The first day we just kind of relaxed so that we could get the kids (especially Ben) back on schedule. Keely was pretty entertained by the missionary office staff. All you have to do is walk right out grandma and grandpa’s front door to the office and Keely went to introduce herself early in the day. She was more than happy to help grandma make cookies and take them over to the Elders and to the missionary couple in the office and asked if she could go over to the office about 20 times that day. One time when we were heading to the park she said, “I should really go tell the people in the office where we are going, but I’ll let them know that they probably can’t come because they have too much work to do!” Sister Kirk, who also works in the office very quickly became Ben’s favorite by feeding him chocolate and carrying him around for about an hour pointing at birds and plants. We could use that kind of babysitting all the time!

The kids have both warmed up to grandma and grandpa quickly and in fact Keely paid grandma the ultimate compliment. If you know Keely well you know she’s got a very exclusive circle and about half the time I’m the only one in it. Well, after the first day when I went to put Keely to bed she said, “Mom, tell grandma that if she wants to put me to bed one night that would be all right.” If you don’t know Keely this may not seem like a big deal, if you do know Keely you know how special this makes grandma feel; I was actually shocked that she’d make such an allowance – that’s true love!

Any child who’s met Grandpa Bob has heard his famous “giant jelly bean” stories. Well, this was another highlight of Keely’s day. She and Shawn went outside and drew giant jelly beans all over grandma and grandpa’s driveway and then came in and listened to the giant jelly bean creator himself fill her with all kinds of new GJB tales. It’s so good to be here!

Sydney

2008-03-22T02:55:00.000-07:00

Sydney is a beautiful city with a ton to do and we only had 2 days to do it! The first day we took a ferry to Circular Quay which had absolutely gorgeous views of the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

We then took a ferry to Taranga Zoo which takes you on kind of a ski lift up to the top of the park and the ride is beautiful, you can see so much of the city.

The second day we went to the Aquarium at Darling Harbour and then it was off to Adelaide to see Grandma and Grandpa Quinn!

We Made It!

2008-03-22T01:27:00.000-07:00

And I am happy to report that there is very little to report about the plane trips. The kids were absolute angels (I don’t like saying that out loud because I feel like I’m going to jinx our return)! On our longest flight, the one from LA to Sydney, the plane sat on the tarmac for 2 hours while they fixed some problem with the satellite. They made everyone de-board because the temperature was getting too high in the cabin but our kids had already fallen asleep and it was 2:00 AM Michigan time. When the stewardess approached Shawn about getting off he was like “we’re not getting off this plane.” She actually went and got permission for us to stay on which was very nice considering the fact that they made every other person on the whole plane return to the terminal. I tried really hard to not let the fact that this turned our 14 hour flight into a 16 hour flight bug me; in the end things could have really been far worse. Ben only had screaming fits a couple times but the great thing is that he had kind of lost his voice due to a cold/cough which he had recovered from right before the trip so his scream was little more than hollow air. Who knew that Ben losing his voice would be such a blessing?

The only other memorable moment related to the flight was when we finally got to Sydney. The first thing I was ready for was a shower! As soon as we got to our hotel I hopped in and that’s when I saw my ankles; actually I didn’t see my ankles at all which completely freaked me out! I guess I didn’t walk enough or drink enough water but my ankles were seriously swollen. I’m happy to report that my ankles returned after a good nights’ sleep…phew!

On a Journey to the Outback

2008-03-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

All right, maybe not on a journey, I just thought that sounded adventurous! We are leaving in the morning for a 3 1/2 week vacation in Australia where both Shawn's parents and my parents are serving missions. We are super excited, but a little nervous for the 20 + hours of plane time as well as the 13 1/2 hour time difference with 2 small kids. I'm going to try to post at least once a week so I have a good record of our trip. Wish us luck!

Happy Birthday Ben!

2008-03-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that 1 year ago today Ben was born. That day we experienced an incredible range of emotions as a family and I love this picture because it was taken about 2 seconds after we first laid eyes on him and you can see so many of those things. Great happiness, tears of joy, emotional exhaustion...

Ben has been such an incredible blessing in our lives. He has brought so much joy into our home with his easy going personality, as well as his easy smile. I always call Ben my little puppy because when someone he loves walks into a room he gets soooo excited! He breaks into a big grin and if he's REAL happy to see you his whole body will shake. Whenever I walk into his room to get him in the morning or after his nap I know he's going to be sitting up waiting with a BIG smile for me under the little binkie that very seldom leaves his mouth.

Here are a few things I want to remember:

Right now Ben's favorite things are toilets, faucets, lights, clocks and candlesticks
One of his favorite things to do is get me or dad to pick him up and then direct us through the house by pointing his finger at different objects and saying "dis" or "dat" which we're pretty sure means "what's this?" and "what's that?"
When Ben gets tired he says "nigh, nigh, nigh, nigh!" which means "night, night!"
He says "dada" way more than "mama" but says mama when he's upset.
When he's feeling well there's nothing in the world that excites him more than food and fortunately he's not a picky eater.
Ben follows Keely around and wants to do everything she's doing but doesn't quite get that what he's really doing is just messing her stuff up. Fortunately Keely's pretty patient with Ben!
He has the best smile and the best laugh in the world!

Happy Birthday baby, we love you and can't imagine this world without you!

Michigan Spring

2008-03-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

For those of you that are enjoying 70 degree weather this is what Keely and I did yesterday. Oh yeah, and the fun's not over yet; there's more snow on the way tomorrow! Makes you want to move here doesn't it?? Spring in Michigan usually starts mid-April if we're lucky but on good years it will snow then too.

And He's Off...Sort of

2008-02-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

All right. This is for daddy, grandparents, and whoever else gave me a hard time about not posting Ben walking. He's not so much walking as taking steps without holding onto anything, not the easiest to capture on video. Enjoy all 2 seconds of footage!

A Bad, Bad Thing

2008-02-26T17:24:00.000-08:00

Shawn travels a lot and when he's gone Keely's and my meals (Ben's still eating baby food) consist of pretty much sandwiches, quesadillas, grilled cheese, and/or soup; don't worry, I always throw in a fresh fruit or veggie just for good measure. Well, this time I decided to switch it up. When we were at the grocery store yesterday I said, "Keely, do you want to try something fun?" She was game. I took her to the frozen food isle and said, "You get to pick your dinner tonight, any dinner you want." She was soooo excited and ended up with a Kids Cuisine corn dog meal (don't judge me). Well, I decided that if Keely was going to have a TV Dinner then so would I. I ended up with a Hungry Man (again, don't judge me) rotisserie chicken meal and we were on our way until a chicken pot pie caught my eye and I thought, "perfect for dinner tomorrow."

Well, last night dinner went great for one person, and it wasn't me. There were actually fries in Keely's meal. Microwavable fries. Sick! Back to the point, Keely was delighted with her meal and was like, "Mom, let's do this every night!" I on the other hand couldn't even begin to make myself choke down the catastrophe that came smelling out of the microwave. How do people eat these things? And why, oh why, did I think I could?

Fast forward to tonight. I actually have very fond memories of pot pies and ate them regularly as a child. While I knew I might not be able to choke down a TV Dinner I thought I could handle a pot pie...not so! I looked, smelled and did not even bother. I ended up with chips and salsa for dinner. Keely, on the other hand seemed to be really taken with the little meat and veggie pie. How are kids' and adults' taste buds completely different? That's an actual question; if you know tell me! Oh well, back to the basics.

The Rose

2008-02-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

When Shawn got home from work on Valentine's day he showed up with a red rose for me and a pink rose for Keely. While I was of course thankful there is no way I could have outdone Keely in the enthusiasm department. She was completely won over! She put her rose in the vase of her choice and ran up to her room to find the perfect spot. When she finally made up her mind she had everyone (including Ben) come up to her room in order to admire her rose and she kept saying things like "Mom, we're like roses to dad!" and "Dad thinks we're beautiful flowers!" While I realize her sentiments are a bit cheesy I couldn't help but be delighted at her obvious enthusiasm and I love that she showed Shawn so much appreciation and made him feel so special.

Today Keely brought me up to her room and with tears in her eyes told me that her rose is dying. I explained that this always happens to flowers and that there will be more and she said, "but this is the only flower that I want; my dad gave it to me!" Needless to say I'm either going to press it or dry it to have it saved for her but I love that it means so much to her; I love to see how much she loves her dad.

Peep and the Big Wide World

2008-02-15T11:49:00.000-08:00

For any parent who feels like tearing their hair out after watching an episode of Dora, Little Einsteins, Thomas the Train or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse I have a recommendation. If you like any of these shows I just listed I'm very, very sorry; by all means keep watching! : )

This past year Keely has become interested in the older shows (Justice League, Batman, Transformers), which she's definitely not ready for, and bugged by the younger shows ("Mom, why does Dora yell all the time?"), which I can't blame her for. I'm happy to say that we have found a great alternative. A fun, funny, educational show on Discovery Kids called Peep and the Big Wide World. It's about 3 birds (a duck, a bird, and a chicken) who spend their time trying to figure out how the world works. I LOVE the characters, love the story lines and maybe it's because I'm super immature but I also love the humor. I seriously think I like it as much as Keely does and I usually laugh just as hard. Joan Cusack (who I also love) is the narrator and said she took the job because she thought it would be a show that both her 6 year old and her 3 year old would enjoy. I've been shocked at how many people have never even heard of this show so I wanted to just put it out there. If you don't have Discovery Kids it's also on TLC in the mornings. Seriously, give it a try!

Yeah I'm Deep...Real Deep

2008-02-13T07:14:00.000-08:00

Friends keep giving me a hard time for never following up on tags, so I decided that I’m going to answer this one. This one's for you Autumn!

Pick up the book nearest you (at least 123 pages long)
Go to page 123
Find the fifth sentence on the page
Type the next 3 sentences
Tag 5 other people

Okay, Ill just start by breaking the rules. The closest book to me is “The Amazing Spiderman: Essential Marvel Comics Volume 2,” it has about 500 pages but because it’s a comic book it’s not numbered. I turned to what I imagine would be about page 123. Keely’s in love with Spidey right now, so comics are our thing. And instead of 3 sentences I’ll just give you a whole column. Here goes:

J. Jameson: No! You can’t get me…you mustn’t! Get Spiderman instead!
Scorpion: You’d throw anyone to me in order to save yourself, wouldn’t you?
J. Jameson: But it’s Spider-man’s job to fight killers like you!
Scorpion: Well, if he knows what’s good for ‘im, he’ll resign real quick!
Spiderman: If I knew what was good for me I wouldn’t be here in the first place mister! This is for frightening Betty Brant, you fink!

And maybe that’s why I don’t answer tags. I just can’t follow directions. Hmmm, who can I pass this on to? Michelle S., Elizabeth, Julie S., Jana, and Emily S. You’re welcome. Have fun girls!

Acupuncture

2008-02-10T18:12:00.000-08:00

Even though I'm super afraid of needles I've always been a little curious about acupuncture. Well, I decided to do something a little crazy and I went to get acupuncture on Friday and it was better than any massage I've ever had! I have to say that I was seriously nervous and it is a little freaky to see little needles sticking out of your body but it turns out that when the acupuncturist is putting the needles in you can barely feel it. The good part came when he left the room and told me to relax. I got all tingly for a bit and then completely relaxed. I even fell asleep for about 10 minutes and did not want to wake up and get ready to go! There are supposedly a bunch of health benefits that come along with acupuncture which I can't claim to really know about yet, all I know is that I can't remember the last time I felt so relaxed, or the last time that feeling actually lasted for a while and that is worth going back for!

Little Disclaimer: Wow, I didn't expect people to be so interested! This is what it says on the "understanding treatment" sheet I was given before I left. "Some patients find they feel very relaxed. Some people feel tired and want to go right to sleep while others report feeling more energized. Still others report feeling different sensations in their bodies, while some report no changes at all." I'm sure there are a few factors - what your treatment is for, who is treating you, etc. I don't know the average cost of treatment, but the guy I went to is $75/per visit.

Why Start Small?

2008-02-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

You know when you were a kid and you saw that pack of gum or that bag of candy in the grocery store that you really, really wanted but your mom said “no,” so then you decided to pocket it anyway, but got caught later and had to go back to the store, pay, apologize and then work off the money that you ended up owing your parents for the purchase? Okay, so maybe not all of you have indulged in a life of crime, but my rundown seems to be a pretty typical story. Well, not in my family, we like to be creative and we never start small.

My first (of 3) steals was a horned toad from preschool. I remember one of the kids, Millie Black, brought this little toad to preschool for show-and-tell. Well, she was getting so much attention that I couldn’t stand it. I nabbed the frog, went and told the teacher I was sick, and then walked the few blocks home (you have to remember that I come from a very small town so letting a 4 year old walk home was not a big deal). As soon as I got home I went out to the backyard and released the toad and then bided my time outside (so my mom would not know I was home). Unfortunately, I soon heard a “Lisa!” from my mom. My heart started beating, my hands started sweating, and I knew I was busted!

Well, this week Keely decided to try a life of crime, and, like her mother, didn’t want to do something simple like a candy bar or a pack of gum, nope, not her style. Instead, while she was shopping with her Aunt Shauri (Shauri has a more detailed version of the lift on her blog), she slipped a fuzzy purple pair of UGG flip flop slippers into the Gymboree bag she was holding. Yes, I said UGG; even though they were marked down 4 times they were still priced at $40 - the girl may not have good taste, but she certainly has expensive taste! Well, obviously Keely wasn’t too concerned about it because she fell to sleep on the way home and when Shauri opened the bag to show me the little outfit she had bought for Keely she was shocked to find the pair of slippers! When Keely woke up I asked her what she had got at the store. She lit up and said, “Oh, I got a great surprise for you momma!” Which honestly took me back and made me feel a little bad that I was going to have to give her a lecture I was about to give. Well, on Monday Shawn took Keely back to Von Maur to return the slippers and have her apologize to the sales person. When I asked him how it went he said, “I think it took them a while to understand what was going on.” I don’t think the sales person could really fathom that a 4 year old would steal those purple beauties! Regardless, we know it is hard for Keely to apologize, and especially to someone she doesn’t know so we’re praying that this will be enough of a deterrent!

Oh, and for those of you wondering, my other 2 steals were all the popsicles from my neighbor’s (the Patterson’s) freezer while they were gone on a family trip when I was 5 (my cousin Eddie was my partner in crime on this one), and, yep I decided to conform on the 3rd – a pack of gum.

Laugh Until You Cry

2008-02-04T19:45:00.000-08:00

I only wish I could find this much enjoyment in something so simple. It almost seems like he's crying, but he's really just laughing that hard. No one can get Ben going like Keely can. He thinks she's the funniest person in the world.

Blogging Genius

2008-02-02T20:52:00.000-08:00

So I don't know how it happened, but I got lucky! My friend Carly had a custom blog design give-away and somehow I got drawn as the winner (that kind of stuff never happens to me)! Carly is one of the most creative and talented people I've ever met and if I didn't like her so much I would be totally jealous! : )

Really, I gave Carly very little information as to what I wanted (because I'm really indecisive and because I really didn't know). I just told her I wanted something kind of urban and that I like black, white and red. I knew I could count on her to come up with something great! Anyone looking to give their blog a new face can check her out. Thanks Carly, you're amazing!

Picture Day

2008-01-29T19:15:00.000-08:00

We got some pictures taken by Rachael Brinton on Saturday and I wanted to show-off some of my favorites. Rachael did an amazing job and I have to tell you that not only is she super talented, but super patient! She has such a great eye I seriously could have posted 100 more pictures that I love. Check her out, especially if you live in Ann Arbor!

27 Dresses...and 1 Man?

2008-01-24T13:38:00.000-08:00

Last night I was lucky enough to get a girls’ night with some great friends. We went to Carlyle Grill and had some amazing dessert (oh, and a side of fries - random but delicious) and then went to 27 Dresses, a really fun movie. Unfortunately, that’s not what this story is about, the highlight (or low point) of my night took place in the restroom at the theater.

So I’m walking out of my stall to wash my hands when I look up to see a man washing his hands at the sink. He doesn’t really notice me until I jump, cover my mouth and gasp – oh yeah, that got his attention! As soon as I opened my mouth I felt a pit in my stomach and I knew I was doomed, “Am I in the Men’s room?!” SHE just smiles and says, “No, you’re in the Women’s room.” Did I say she? Oh yeah, that’s ‘cause my man is a WO-man! Now I’m dying. What do I say, what do I say? “Oh thank goodness!” did I just say ‘thank goodness?’ Thank goodness would be that I didn’t just call this woman a man, thank goodness would be that I really was in the men’s room!

On the bright side the girls got a good laugh at (let's call her Pat) Pat's and my expense, and in an attempt to console me one of my friends even said that she has a sister who might actually take it as a compliment if someone mistook her for a man. Here’s to hoping.

Why I Hate Texting

2008-01-19T14:50:00.000-08:00

I know this is so sad but I just don’t get it! The automatic word finishing thing, how to do punctuation, how to capitalize, do numbers, how to turn off auto-word finishing…it’s all beyond me. It’s no exaggeration when I say that I have literally spent 30 minutes on a one line text before, and many times spent that much time and then just given up!

I got a text from one of my good friends 2 days ago announcing the birth of her new baby girl. Now anyone who knows me knows I normally ignore texts but I thought that this blessed event actually deserved some kind of response so I decided to attempt a sufficient reply - “Congratulations!”

I started by pressing “2” three times to make a “C” but instead got “Aaa” and that’s as far as I got before I went to rescue Ben from the hitting his head on the coffee table. In diving to save him (and me) from the woes of a head injury I pressed some key and looked up to see the message being sent on my phone. So that’s what she got in reply to her happy news. “Meet the newest….She is beautiful and healthy! We are so blessed!” Oh, okay “Aaa!”

I thought about sending an explanatory text with a “congrats” at the end but realized it was no use. It would take me far too long to figure out and I’m a busy woman, I have 2 small kids to entertain for about 13 hours a day! Instead I decided that maybe she would think that “Aaa” is an exclamation of celebration, like “Yay!” or “Woohoo!” Hopefully, ‘cause that’s all she got. Hmm, maybe I should send an email??

Chuck E. Robot

2008-01-13T18:48:00.000-08:00

The other day Keely went to her friend Eden’s birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese and she was all over Chuck E. when he came out to greet the kids. She had a great time and on the way home this was our conversation:

Me: “You really loved Chuck E. didn’t you?”
Keely: “Yeah, except he didn’t talk but that’s because he’s not really Chuck E. Cheese.”

Me: Oh, he’s not?”
Keely: “No mom, he’s just a robot that Chuck E. sends out to birthday parties when he’s too busy.”
Me: “Really? But you do believe that there is a giant talking mouse that lives at Chuck E. Cheese?”
Keely: “Yep mom, but sorry, that wasn’t him.”

So disappointed! I drive all that way and spend all that time only to get short changed with a robot! : )

Grey's Anatomy is back!

2008-01-10T19:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm not even "PMS-ing" and I think I cried from start to finish watching Grey's this week. Not that this is always a measure of good tv, but in this case it was. Is there any better show on the air? Just say no, it's always best to agree with me!

‘Cause You Gotta Have Friends

2008-01-10T11:41:00.000-08:00

On our last trip out to Utah I was excited to find out that many of my old friends would be in Utah visiting their families too. I decided that since I had just been to Utah to visit my family 2 months ago, I was going to use this trip to try to catch up with some friends. While I still spent most my time with family, it was wonderful to be able to sneak out and hook up with some of my favorite people:

First group of Ann Arbor friends (Emily, Tanya, Jenn, me, Gwen, and Carly)

These girls were some of my first friends in Ann Arbor. I remember my first week in Michigan I knew I was going to love it and that was largely because I had already met these girls who right away included me in all their plans – including those long gone but much missed “Friday lunches.” We’ve all moved on and everyone lives in different states but thanks to Tanya (I think I can pretty well speak for the group in calling her our “uniter” because she always makes sure everyone stays connected) we’ve all kept in pretty good contact!

Petersons (Front to back:Michelle, Jenny, Mark, Shawn and me)
We went to breakfast with the Pertersons and my wonderful friend Michelle who I still get to have with me in Ann Arbor. The Petersons are another couple that have moved on from Ann Arbor and are now in California. Not only did Abbi and Keely get along famously, but I always had a blast with Jenny! One of my favorite memories was stopping at a scary gas station in Toledo, OH on the way home from the zoo. Everything was going wrong, I couldn’t get the gas cap off my car, I put my credit card in the wrong gas pump, and we really were in a bad area. This weird looking guy came out of the gas station to see if he could help me, which was so nice, but then I turn around to see Jenny “the bodyguard” Peterson standing behind me in this totally protective fighter stance. I mean, what was she going to do?? While I was thankful to her for having my back, I’ve never laughed so hard!

College Roommates (Rachel, me, Steph, and Arah)
Oh the stories I could tell, but I won’t! Really, these girls are crazy fun and every time I see them I remember why they were so easy to live with and why we clicked so well. We were constantly on the move but I think my best memories were our Mafia parties (not the real mafia, the card game) and just hanging out at the house with friends. I have to say that I'm thankful everyday that I got to have my sister Arah as one of my roomies - that's when we really became close and her friendship is one of the most cherished in my life. We were sad not to have Chelsie at lunch but she was busy getting ready to deliver a baby. : )

High School Friends (In 2nd picture: Kerrieleigh, me, Autumn, Jenny)

Okay, my friend Autumn found this prom picture and I don’t want to hear any cracks about my big hair, white nylons, or my silver astronaut dress! : ) I have to say that I had the best group of high school friends ever! As you know we are from a VERY small town which meant we had to be a little creative with our fun. Although we were very good girls, we did seem to get in a lot of trouble because of that “creativity” factor. One of my most vivid memories was the time we decided to practice vigilante justice on one of the “mean boys” from high school that we felt had just gotten away with too much. We buttered and leafed his precious truck and then prayed we wouldn’t get caught. I remember he caught up with us on Main Street about an hour later looking for the culprits and we just sat there shaking our heads with shock and concern saying, “Who would do that to you? That’s so messed up!” Sounds mean I know, but if you knew him it wasn't!

Why God Doesn't Want Me at The Lion King

2008-01-05T17:02:00.000-08:00

I still don’t have the answer to that and okay, maybe it wasn’t God but I tell you that some higher power in this universe did not want me there! First things first – right around “time to go” I looked where I thought the tickets were, but they weren’t there! I tore up the house looking for them and finally gave up. I thought I had received a copy on my email but I was wrong. I then decided to call the Detroit Opera House directly to see if we would still be able to get in if I just printed off my receipt; of course I could get a hold of no live person on the phone. We are totally late by this time so I just decide to chance it, grab Keely and start driving to Detroit. Needless to say I was SPEEDING because we were so late and I get pulled over going 86 in a 70. The police man was nice enough to only write me up for 5 over and we are back on our way when I see a sign, followed by more signs that says I-75 is closed – that is the only way I know to get to the theatre and if you’re familiar at all with Detroit you know that it is the last place in the world that you would ever want to get lost! So, I pull off some random (and scary) road in Detroit and punch the address in my navigation system and once again we are on the road!

Finally we get there, pay an insane amount to park and go in and get sent to Will Call while they’re calling “final seating” over the intercom. I’m praying the whole time in line that I get some really friendly, helpful customer service person that’s willing to make some exceptions but we all know that’s not in the stars. Instead I get a girl who’s worn out from dealing with issues all day and is just like, “Oh, the company you bought these from is not affiliated with us, can’t help you, and NOT my problem.” I was even trying to use the “look at my cute, desperate, sweet daughter who’s been looking forward to this for a long time” angle – nothing! This is when I realize that I will get nowhere without crying which is not hard because I’m already holding back. I walk up choking back tears and barely able to speak to one of the ushers, ask to talk to a manager and she goes and gets her manager who is just one of the usher managers and can’t really help with ticket sales. She does take pity on us however and says that she’ll sneak us in, but if we get caught we’re on our own. She gives me a few tips on how to navigate to our seats and what to say if someone asks us for our tickets and then sends us on our way. We find some seats (not ours) and sit in them and then I spend the whole first half of the show worrying that some big bouncer guy with a flash light is going to approach us at any second, make a scene in front of everyone and then kick us out. We end up making it to intermission and once we sit down for the second half I start to relax and enjoy the show, until…

I remember my dream from the other night where I get mugged in a parking lot that looks just like the one we parked in! All the sudden I start thinking, “Maybe we weren’t supposed to come here. Maybe God put so many roadblocks in our way so that we would just turn around and not get mugged! Oh crap, how am I going to protect Keely?” Okay, I realize that sounds insane but you just have to understand my day – it really didn’t seem so farfetched at the time! So after the show was over I try to leave with as much crowd as possible. I walk with the other people going to the parking lot and I stay with them as long as possible (I’m sure they thought I was totally invading their space). As soon as I realize we’re going to have to split from other people I pick up Keely, run to the car, get in and LOCK the door. It’s only once I look around and realize that we’re just fine and that there are no muggers standing around that I realize how crazy I really am, but I still will not relax until I’m safely out of Detroit.

Finally I’m on the freeway, take a deep breath and Keely pipes up from the back seat, “Mom, that was the best show ever and I love going on dates with you!” All the sudden my day’s not so bad!

Before the show (nice and relaxed)

On the way out of the show (sweaty and gross)

Roller Skating

2008-01-02T21:33:00.000-08:00

Arah, Laura and I took the kids to Classic Skate today and Keely was sooooo excited to skate. There was a bounce zone and a jungle gym there too but Keely was only interested in skating. While everyone else spread out I went and got our roller skates and helped Keely put her skates on. Since Keely has never actually been skating before I thought I should join her so I was like, "Wait a second and I'll get my skates on." Keely just looked at me with a really concerned look on her face and said "Are you sure mom? Do you know how?" I have to admit that her lack of confidence cut deep but the kicker was when this little boy on one of those razor scooters started circling Keely and me while taunting "slow pokes, slow pokes." I swear if his mom (or the surveillance cameras) hadn't been watching I would have kicked his wheels right out from under him. Instead I just leaned down and said, "I think he likes you." Keely got this real proud look on her face and just kept on cruisin'!

Christmas in Utah

2007-12-30T22:16:00.001-08:00

We have had a fantastic time in Utah and here are some highlights so far:

1. Christmas Eve and Christmas (of course) with people I love
2. The kids had an amazing time sledding
3. We were finally able to give Ben his baby blessing which was wonderful
4. Seeing old friends (which will earn a post of its own at some point)

There is of course much more to come but I'm feeling lazy so that's all for now!

Finally!

2007-12-18T18:03:00.000-08:00

Ben is finally crawling! Look at those big, squishy thighs - so cute I can hardly stand it! Oh, and ignore that weird sounding woman in the background. : )

On the First Day of Christmas My True Love Gave to Me...

2007-12-16T16:15:00.001-08:00

...a week of sleeping in! That's right, for one week straight Shawn is getting up with the kids which I thought was hard to beat but for the 2nd day (Saturday) he topped himself by sending me out to a massage appointment (which ended up being the best massage of my life)! Today Shawn gave me the third Day of Christmas which was a Mommy/Daughter date to the Lion King at the Detroit Opera House in January. Can't wait to see what's next - I could get used to this!

Ladies' Night

2007-12-15T12:11:00.001-08:00

Thank you to Michelle and Elizabeth for hosting Bunko night! I haven't had so much fun in a long time! I have to say that there is really nothing better than a night out with friends (except maybe a romantic getaway with your husband - hint, hint Shawn).

As always there were lots of laughs, lots of fun and, bonus, everyone left with a gift! I have to say, though, that even with all that fun it was not my best rolling night!

Some of you that know me may realize that I can be just a little superstitious (oh, and competitive). Well, here are some of the things I tried: Staying silent through each round (which was the hardest for me and probably everyone else's favorite), sending positive messages out to the universe (the universe was obviously ignoring me!), having the person I was partnering with keep score and vice versa (my least effective attempt), and of course the traditional picturing the numbers in your mind and rolling the dice certain ways. Even after all my efforts I still ended up on the losers table way more than the winners table and I'm kind of starting to think that there might not be much to superstition. Oh well, chances are I'll try it again!

No Love for the Prius

2007-12-09T18:06:00.000-08:00

I have many times sung the praises of the Prius; a hybrid with amazing mileage, no hassle with keys, video reverse…the list goes on and on. I have always loved the little car and tried to sell others on the merits of owning a Prius. Well, this is not one of those times!

Yes, this is the Prius parked on the grass/driveway. Good old Michigan’s roads are pure ice right now and this little baby didn’t even have the guts to make it up our driveway! So here’s poor little me all alone walking up my slippery driveway with 2 kids in tow while Shawn’s gallivanting around in Ireland (okay, he’s hard at work but right now I feel like he’s gallivanting!).

When I finally had to admit defeat and tell Keely that we were going to have to get out into the cold and hike up the driveway she said, “No, I want to park in the garage!” When I convinced her that it wasn’t possible she got a little dramatic and got out with a huff saying, “This is the worst night of my entire life!”

I then called our neighbors for help and they explained that they would but that it is so slippery that they were afraid the car would slip back and run over them (yes, we’re still talking about the little tiny Prius), which I guess is possible. So there she’ll stay for the night, all alone in the middle of the grass!

Truthfully, I may not sound it but I am actually very grateful. The roads were so slippery tonight that I was just praying that we’d get home and I guess technically we did!

Selfish or Sensible??

2007-12-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

So this is a debate that Shawn and I have had several times and just something I was thinking about today as I was picking the red and purple monkeys out of Keely’s Curious George fruit snacks.

Some of the time when I’m giving Keely a treat, whether it be Skittles, Starburst or fruit snacks, I pick out the colors I like - red, purple, pink…pretty much anything as long as it’s not lime, lemon, orange or banana flavored - and give Keely the remainder, colors or flavors I really don’t care for. I know what you’re thinking, “Selfish!” but just hear me out.

Keely never complains about this and sometimes even says “Here mom, I know you like this color” when I don’t pick them out. I know a lot of parents want their kids to have the same likes and dislikes as they do, and in many ways I agree, it is nice when you feel like your kid is picking up your traits; but when it comes to food don’t you think that having different tastes can actually be very complimentary?

“Here you have this part.”

“Oh thank you, my favorite! Why don’t you try this?”

“Don’t mind if I do!”

See, it just works. In the end, I think that what I do is just creating a more symbiotic relationship which can really only bring us closer, which is really not only not selfish but very loving and sensible. See my point?? Now if only I could convert Shawn to my way of thinking…

Miss Manners

2007-11-30T20:34:00.000-08:00

So you know when your kids start saying things, sometimes not very nice things, and then you realize that it’s you that they are mimicking? Okay, so I know you are all very nice people and this never happens to you but it’s been happening to me A LOT lately. Here are 4 actual interactions, all of which took place today.

1. Good Manners. When Keely bumps into someone or someone bumps into her, or if she just feels like you’re in her space you don’t get a polite “excuse me.” Scenario - me passing Keely in the kitchen (really we weren’t even close)
Keely: Watch It!

2. List making. I have a habit of making lists whenever Keely asks why she can’t do something. “Well, number 1 it’s against the rules, number 2 it’s dangerous, number 3 I said no!...” you get the picture. Scenario - here is a conversation between Keely and Shawn this morning when Keely was having a little too much attitude.
Keely: Don’t talk to me!
Shawn: I wasn’t talking to you; I was talking to my imaginary friend Tiger Lily. She’s in a bad mood this morning and wanted to pull you off your chair. I told her that wouldn’t be nice.
Keely: One, she didn’t say that; two, there is no such thing as imaginary friends; and three, she didn’t say that!

3. Ultimatums. Scenario - I’m in the office responding to an email
Keely: All right, I’m going to the bathroom and when I come back you’d better be off the computer!

4. Idle threats. You know the “you do this or no more…” kind of threats? Scenario - Keely trying to get me to come downstairs and put on a show for her.
Keely: Come down here or I won’t play princesses with you for the rest of the day! (She has no idea that this is actually a very strong reason for me not to come downstairs)

Good, good parenting. Just let me know if any of you want some child-rearing advice.

What I'm Thankful For

2007-11-23T06:06:00.000-08:00

Controversy

2007-11-21T18:16:00.000-08:00

So, if you've been to Kristin's blog you are already aware that we have posed a very important question. Kristin and I had an intense discussion about which phrase is more common, dumb as a doorknob or dead as a doornail? Please make sure to vote on the poll at the top of the blog, my reputation is at stake!

Mr. Sub

2007-11-18T20:05:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's just me, but I was cracking up when I saw this commercial!

New York Minute

2007-11-12T19:32:00.001-08:00

What a great weekend! I got to go to NYC for a girls’ weekend with 3 of my closest friends, Arah, Jana and Emily S. I always love visiting NYC and always look forward to the shows, food and shopping but I have to say that my real highlights from this trip were the moments that I didn’t pay for at all. You know those moments when you’re all laughing so hard you can’t breathe? Well, there were lots of those but I’ve realized that putting those experiences down in writing does not always do them justice (and also maybe the fact that I’m not tired and delirious right now), so they will just have to live in my memory forever. : )

Here are a few highlights that I can share:

1. Food! Whenever I go to NY the food is always one of my top highlights. Some of my favorites were breakfast at Norma’s and breakfast at Maison, lunch at Patsy’s and dinner at Sala Thai. A couple of my favorite “snacks” were Pumpkin Steamers at Starbucks (try them!), Apple Strudels at Dean and Deluca, and Chocolate Croissants at Junior’s. One place to never eat in NY – Roxy’s Diner! Nasty and way over-priced (see Arah’s Corned Beef Sandwich in Slide Show- sick)!

2. The shows. I loved seeing Mamma Mia. Great cast and a lot of fun! We were singing the songs the rest of our time there. We also saw Chorus Line but definitely NOT worth the money! I was just glad we got to see 2 shows though; we tried to go to more on Saturday and Sunday but the stagehands went on strike and Broadway was pretty much shut down.

3. Shopping in SoHo. We could have spent everyday there and really not made a dent in the place, but I have to say we did pretty well even in the short time we were there. Also, thanks to Emily D. and Jana, found two cute stores, Zara and UNIQLO, very cute and not too pricey!

4. Friends. Not only did I get to go with three great friends but we got to get together with our friend Emily D. quite a bit while we were there. Emily, tell your family thanks for loaning you out for three days!

Some random highlights:

1. When I turned to this girl next to me at Mamma Mia and asked how she liked the show. She said she loved it and then said “especially the boy dancers” and then raised an eyebrow at me like, “Know what I mean??” I just had to smile and turn away, I was dying! Sorry, but boys in stretch pants – No!

2. When this guy was trying to recruit us to a comedy club and Jana wanted to go. I told her that comedy clubs in NY are not worth the risk so she went back to ask the guy how much swearing there was and if the show was degrading to women. I would have loved to see the look on his face!

3. Arah’s corned beef sandwich. We all just busted up laughing when it arrived at the table. She gave it back to the waiter and was like, “I don’t even know what to do with this.”

4. And this one’s for the girls: Jana’s Holiday Inn/Crown Plaza comparisons, the sleep CD, “Go ahead, you all look alike”, Arah’s night time bathroom visits, full beds/bed hogs (i.e. Arah the boulder), guy posing with us for Chorus Line picture, horse nails, mean taxi driver, and finally our nice taxi driver (“well do you?”).

Thanks girls - Here’s to next time!

G'Day Mates

2007-11-07T18:49:00.001-08:00

My mom and dad are leaving on a mission to Adelaide, Australia this month which I have been anticipating for a long time because I know that they are going to be amazing missionaries. Now that the time has come though, I’ve found myself a little more sentimental and it’s really hit me how much we’re going to miss them in the next 18 months. I mean it when I say that mom and dad are two of the most inspiring people I know. And here are just a couple reasons why:

I’ve known for as long as I can remember that my parents are madly in love with each other. Seriously, their love for each other has always been evident and in turn has made me confident in their love for me and now my children, their grandchildren. Family is everything to them. There is nothing better than knowing you always have someone to turn to, someone to listen to you, someone to give you advice when you need it.

Also, my parents are both teachers by profession. I remember when I was in grade school my mom spending hours with me; working on spelling, reading, times tables. She got energy from teaching and from watching me learn. I have all my life been grateful for those hours she spent with me. And my dad, I was lucky enough to have him as my 6th grade teacher. At first I remember I was concerned because, who wants to have a parent looking over them at school?? It didn’t take me long to figure out, however, that my dad’s personality and ability to relate to people would quickly endear him to my classmates. My dad affected the kids in my class so much that he was invited to be the key note speaker at my high school graduation. That kind of teacher is one you can’t complain about, even if he is your dad.

Another thing I appreciated about my parents was their open-door policy with my friends. I can’t count how many times I came home to find my friends hanging out happily with my parents. Everyone just felt comfortable in our home, felt like they belonged and I know my parents created that.

Okay, the last thing I want to say before this becomes a novel is that my parents’ faith has always been an incredible strength to me. I never doubted their testimony so I knew I had to find mine. I watched them pour themselves into calling after calling. We had prayer and FHE faithfully despite complaints from kids who did not have the time or desire to participate. Going on this mission is just one more example to me.

As I look these things over it makes perfect sense to me that they’re supposed to go share with others. They get to share their love, they get to teach. Their natural acceptance of people along with their testimonies of the gospel will make them perfect for the tasks ahead of them. I’ll miss them everyday but I love what they’re doing! Oh yeah, and fortunately I know the Mission President and assume that they’ll be well taken care of. : )

So G’day mom and dad, we love you and will miss you so much!

We're Still Alive....Really!

2007-11-07T07:06:00.001-08:00

I realize it's been FOREVER since I've updated but hey, we're busy around here! Really we've been in Utah the past two weeks and I barely even had time to check my email. We had an incredible time in Utah and more than ever I'm so thankful for our wonderful families! We had to say goodbye to my mom and dad who are serving a mission in Australia for the next 18 months and it was sad but also such a great experience. The slides are pretty self explanatory so I'll let them tell our Utah stories.