.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

I think I'm in love.

. . . with my husband!
(lucky, eh?)

Chuck has always been incredibly sweet, but over the last week he's amped it up even more. (I don't know if he realizes that now there's no going back!) I've especially appreciated his help yesterday and today. Yesterday was an extremely stressful day with some family issues, and Chuck never complained as I frequently woke him up with updates and asking for advice. When I got home later (great day for my annual ob/gyn visit), he insisted we order out for dinner - in his words, "I don't feel like cooking. And I know you don't feel like cooking."

And then today, he was very supportive while I was gone for six hours helping my brother Cody with some things (which was not the first time I've been needed in that capacity). He took care of the boys all day, grocery shopped, and prepared the dinner that we had been asked to take to a family in our ward. I got home feeling a bit emotionally drained and both boys were asleep (they never nap at the same time for me, only Daddy) and Chuck was in the kitchen cooking. He even suggested I go lie down! Chuck took care of the delivery of the meal as well, and is now out with other guys from the ward helping a family move. In the rain. As if it couldn't get any better, I happened to glance in the freezer and he picked up my favorite ice cream. Even after I polished the last quart off by myself after promising to save it for a night we were home together.

I love Chuck tons and tons and I'm so glad that he not only puts up with me, but loves me back. I'm constantly amazed and reaffirmed by how much more wonderful and rewarding our marriage is as we each look for ways to serve the other person. I guess I've got some work cut out for me now - maybe tonight I'll offer to actually dish up the ice cream for once . . .

Monday, October 26, 2009

Oh, my Wilbur

Will is such a funny little guy. Sometimes I just watch him and wonder what exactly is going on inside his head. I'm definitely appreciative of the amusement and entertainment that he and Clyde provide - here are a few recent Wilbur stories:
.
A couple of weeks ago, my dear, dear best friends from high school Emily and Andrew came over. We've all ended up back in this area and are trying to get together more. Em brought her sweet 6 1/2 month old daugher Evie, and Will was immediately obsessed.
Ahhh! Will looks SO big next to Evie, what happened to my baby? This was our first inkling that something wasn't right. At first glance Will seemed to just want to hug Evie, but if you look more closely at his face, it's clear that his intentions were more sinister . . .
he wanted Emily all to himself! Poor Em had been holding Evie, and Will weaseled his way onto her lap instead. Doesn't he look so content though?
.
A few days later, I gave the little boys sandwiches for lunch and served Will's on an orange plastic plate. Will promptly ate his sandwich and then proceeded to see the world in a shade of orange:
The little goof walked around the house like this for probably fifteen minutes. Every so often he would lower the plate, look around and giggle, and then put it back up.
Simple entertainment, works for me!
I love the way his chubby little fingers are grasping the plate :).
.
Finally, one evening Clyde fell asleep on the couch while I was doing homework. At one point, Will noticed his playmate was out, so he walked over to the couch and hit Clyde (lightly) on the head a couple of times. I led Will away (Clyde stayed asleep) and said softly, "No, no, Will. No hitting." Will went back to playing for a bit, but a few minutes later I looked up to see this:

Will had sneaked up onto the couch next to a still-sleeping Clyde and was (without touching him) softly repeating, "No, no. No, no. No, no." I guess he got the message!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

. . . and the butterflies fly away!

.
Remember the caterpillars that Grandma and Grandpa Izatt sent Clyde for his birthday a while back?
Well, they turned into cocoons and hatched!
(About a month ago - like I said, sporadic blogging).
Here's Chuck helping Clyde sign 'butterfly' after the first one emerged Clyde was very excited. Within a few days, all five of them had hatched and it was time to set them free: Clyde was pretty tentative around them - very content to just watch as Daddy did the holding. It was fun to watch each of them 'go' - a couple went straight up into the sky and over the roof, and a couple hung out around the flowers for a while. I decided that this is the ideal pet experience: very low maintenance, pretty, and they only stick around for a few days!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

I hope they call ME on a mission!

.. . . but mostly so that I can be on the receiving end of some of Chuck's awesome missionary packages. (Oh, wait, he'd be on the mission with me . . .)
.
(check out how awesome-ly I covered our address. I left a couple clues, in case someone REALLY wants to find us. I left Quinn's so that no one has an excuse not to write him a letter!)
.
We mailed these packages to Elder Braden a few weeks ago. Chuck loves to really get them secure in duct tape - the last time we did so, Quinn said that he and his companion were somewhat afraid they were picking up a bomb. The other box was the one that Clyde's birthday caterpillars came in, so we thought leaving the "Live insects: Open immediately" label would be humorous.
.
.
Ah, the contents of the packages, along with an entire huge pan of homemade brownies (carefully wrapped in wax paper and ziploc'd) and like a million pictures I finally remembered to have printed for Elder Braden. If we were super cool 'couponers', this would be the point where we would reveal the grand total for everything pictured was like $3.11, or that we were actually paid to take it all out of the store. But we're not, so I will not be disclosing the final expense :). Luckily Elder Braden is coming up on the 16 month mark, aka two-thirds, so we only have another eight months of package-sending eligibility and then he'll be back to eating all of our food directly from the kitchen!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Utah trip recap, part one: "All aboard the dork train!"

.
First of all, this is blog post #100. Congratulations to all of you who have patiently and nicely sat through the billions of pictures I feel compelled to post (along with 'witty' commentary) on a semi-regular basis. Today's entry will be no different.
.
So, we began our recent trip to Utah with a quick day-and-a-half stay at Sam and Terri's in Orem. Clyde, and subsequently Will, is/are recently extremely obsessed with trains and while we were there Clyde realized that aunts and uncles are more willing than moms to be human trains:
So I obviously meant to dress Clyde and Will alike, but I'm very impressed that, sight unseen, Terri managed to coordinate as well. She's got skills.
Cody got a turn as well! Will got to be the lead engine due to his lack of cooperation in holding onto anyone else's shirt. And yes, we did call it the dork train. Uh-oh, runaway engine!
We were excited to meet up with Chuck's darlingest younger sister Amanda while in Provo and eat some lunch at Denny's . . . we'll just say that it's a good thing the company was good because the service was a bit lacking (although they did let us use some coupons meant for another location). I can't believe we didn't take any pictures with Amanda, but we loved seeing her nonetheless.

That evening after Sam got home from work and Terri cooked us some delicious dinner, we played a bit o' miniature golf. We chose the indoor course, which at night is a blacklight deal. We quickly realized that Will could not be left to his own devices on the green (notice how he's already snatched up two of the golf balls) so Terri volunteered to be his special friend. They played around in the arcade for a bit and then followed us a hole back so that he could play around on all of the props. We also realized that Clyde was both dangerous and very slow with the golf club, so it was repossessed and instead he rolled his little orange golf ball here, there, and everywhere. Cody, striking a dapper pose. Cody and myself, contemplating a whale this time. My cute husband, who dominated everyone at miniature golf - good job, babe!

The next morning we headed outside for the traditional scooter rides.
Clyde took a spin around with Uncle Sam, as did Will.
Here's what Will looks like when he's
hanging out with ME . . .
and here's what he looks like when he's
hanging out with Aunt Terri. Much better :)
I braved taking the scooter around the parking lot by myself, and Terri and Clyde met me for a little race. And since I don't like to go faster than Clyde can run anyways, the race was pretty close.
Then I got really brave and took Clyde with me. He thought my slow speed was pretty lame and kept encouraging me with, "Faster! Faster, Mommy!"
Then we ate a most excellent breakfast, after which I insisted on a picture of Sam and Cody and myself so that we can send it to Quinn to taunt him :)
Take one: nice picture
Take two: Photographer Chuck instructed us all to put our hands up, this was the result.
.

AND, somewhere in there, Terri and I managed to run some errands, girls only. First we went to Losee Jewelers since they're closing and that's where Chuck bought my engagement ring (coincidentally, six years ago exactly!). We had our rings cleaned - it always amazes me how sparkly my diamond looks after a good cleaning (aka how dirty I must have let my rings get!) :). Terri and I also went to CostCo and chatted about all sorts of interesting things as we perused the aisles. I seriously love Terri.
.

And that was our visit. Sam and Terri, thanks for being so darn hospitable, we miss you already!!!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Utah trip recap, part two: "Ship or roof? You decide"

.
(I know that 'part two' implies there's a part one, and there is . . . but not yet. SOME people were getting impatient, and impatience trumps chronology.)
.
We went to Utah over General Conference weekend to visit Sam and Terri and then Smiths, and we had a really awesome time.
Here are the keys to having a super fun couple days at the Smith residence (I apologize in advance for all of the private jokes, just trust me that they're hilarious):
.
1. Start with an exclusive, behind-the-scenes visit to Godfather's Pizza. I was content to stay in the lobby area, but Heidi granted me an all-access pass and even custom-made me some monkey bread!
2. Make time for an adorable brotherly piano duet. Can you tell it was a Boise State game day?
Clyde may have started singing as well :)
3. Convert the legs of a coffee table into a set of train tracks. Invite your dad (and later regular Will) to play along.
4. Pretend to be the older sister of the two cutest girls around while you browse jewelry stores at the mall for Heidi's 'upcoming engagement'. Try not to break character while the jewelry store chick pretty much calls you out on it: (staring right at me) "Really? You're all sisters? Really?" In the jewelry store chick's defense, I did not look as hot then as I do in this picture, post-makeover (thanks again, Heid!). My hair was pulled back in some kind of ponytail and I was wearing a Boise State shirt and crocs. Courtney (on the left) looked completely gorgeous in a cream-colored sweater dress and super sexy black boots (although they were slightly impractical) and Heidi (on the right) looked super cute as well, in a black sweater-y top and cute capris. I should point out, however, that I provided the most realism to the jewelry store act, especially with lines like, "I can't believe you guys shopped for rings the other day without me, the oldest sister. Next thing you know, I won't even be a bridesmaid!" (Seriously, though, Heidi, I will be a bridesmaid. Find a cute Hawaiian guy to marry and it can be a destination wedding!)
5. Put baby Will and regular Will together for some Conference-watching. Add a sippy cup o' milk and a solid hand-holding for good measure.

6. Good company is a must. We had all sorts of fun conversation between Conference sessions and during songs (which occasionally spilled over into actual talks, oops!) Extra people were also useful as we helped Heidi with her seminary assignment to come up with titles for each of the talks - some silly, some legit. Ten points if you correctly identify the talk we entitled, "Ship or roof? You decide".7. Utilize Heidi's amazing skills to get your hair and make-up done. I was so bummed out about showering the next day, you have no idea. And I know that it looks like Clyde's wearing some serious eyeshadow as well, but that's actually the result of a run-in with a table at Denny's. I can't take him anywhere.8. Giggly baby + giggly girls = adorableness.
9. Recruit uncles Cody and Sam (and Grandma Pam!) to help satisfy Clyde's constant desire to read books.10. Recruit pseudo-uncle Ben to satisfy Will's constant desire to be moving at ALL times, then recruit Aunt Terri and Uncle Sam to provide a safe landing :)And that's not even everything! (Honorable mentions: "What was the theme, Juno?" "You shop in the juniors section?" "Guys, my feet are killing me. Can we be more focused?" "So what do you say, 'Um, sir, maybe you should go for the salad instead'") We had a wonderful time, and I sincerely apologize for apparently not photographing anyone over the age of 29; I promise that my mum, Gloria, and Reed all had a fun weekend too. I'm pretty sure they did a better job of paying attention to Conference upstairs than we did downstairs :)