Nelter Skelter

Ellie: Months 4-7

2011-08-22T15:11:00.006-06:00

Ellie is now 8 months, so here is a quick recap of months 4-7.

4 Months: chubby and sweet.

5 Months: sitting up, and loves sucking on bottom lip.

6 Months: starts crawling (our earliest crawler by 2 months!), eating, and now too big & wiggly for swing.

7 months: standing up, climbing stairs. Where did this kid come from?

Ellie is so great, we love how funny and energetic she is.

April was Stitches Month

2011-08-12T14:33:00.003-06:00

April wasn't a good month for agility. Rich started it all off when he went skiing...sometimes you just shouldn't try to squeeze that last run in. He didn't even realize what had happened until he saw his blood-soaked thermal undies when he got home. A few days later Abby was riding her razor, hit a bump, and flew over the top. She landed right on her chin. The helmet didn't do much to help. I am sure our insurance loved us that month.

3 Months (a few weeks ago)

2011-04-21T17:00:00.004-06:00

I think I have been using the phrase "a few weeks ago" a lot lately. So, I'm perpetually a few weeks behind these days, life goes on. Ellie is actually rapidly approaching four months, so here is a quick recap of three months.

St. George Trip

2011-04-05T17:17:00.006-06:00

A few weeks ago we traveled down to St. George to see my little brother, Kody. Kody is a marine and is now serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan until sometime in the fall.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Matt, he looks almost exactly the same as Rich did at that age.

We spent an afternoon in Snow Canyon at the Sand Dunes. I love the red rocks of southern Utah.

The kids loved burying themselves and grandpa in the sand. Those were some gritty baths that night.

Saying Goodbye

2011-04-05T16:43:00.003-06:00

2 Months!

2011-03-07T19:53:00.009-07:00

When it comes to size, Ellie seems to be following Matt more than Abby. She weighs in at 11 lbs and a few ounces (70th percentile) and 22 1/4 inches (also 70th percentile). So cute and funny!

Sweet little hand, and HUGE thighs.

Beatles gear. A must-have for Rich's kids.

Ellie is getting to be so smiley and so chatty, I love this stage.

Jungle Love

2011-03-02T17:09:00.004-07:00

In keeping with our tradition of celebrating Valentine's Day as a family, we thought it would be fun to do a jungle theme this year.

We had various species of monkey and bear at the event. Do other jungles have teddy-rabbits, or just ours?

Our two crazy tigers. Ellie didn't get to participate in the face-painting portion of the night, I didn't think she would appreciate me trying to scrub it off.

For dinner we ate slimey snakes...

....and for dessert? Jungle mud, topped with dirt. The more food one has on their face, the greater the enjoyment. I think they both liked it.

Ellie's Blessing

2011-02-22T17:00:00.004-07:00

We blessed Ellie a couple of weeks ago. My mom is an incredible seamstress and made her sweet little dress.

Ellie with Nan and Grandpa

Matt is

2011-02-13T15:05:00.006-07:00

a kid with really cool hair,

our class clown,

a guy who isn't afraid of his feminine side,

possibly, a future rock star.

Abby Turns 5

2011-02-10T10:39:00.002-07:00

We decided to keep things pretty low key for Abby's birthday this year. We went bowling with my parents and my brother's family. Abby was done with the whole thing after about three frames...kids!

Our primary put this sign up in our front yard for a few days around Abby's birthday.

Abby's favorite colors are pink, purple, silver, white and gold.

She loves all things princess. Her favorite foods are pizza, and beans & rice.

Her current favorite book is "Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She was Extinct", by Mo Willems.

Wait, Slow Down!!!

2011-02-08T17:30:00.003-07:00

Time is going by too fast. Ellie is getting really big.

Just a couple of weeks old...

...a little older.

This is the last time those legs will be that skinny for a few years.

Let the premature hair loss begin. All of our kids go through their "male pattern baldness" phase. Ellie is well into hers.

What a Way to Finish the Year

2011-01-12T09:45:00.002-07:00

2010 was crazy.

But, I think we ended it pretty well with the addition of Ellie to our family.

Gabriella Lea was born on December 28 at 10:48 pm.

She weighed 7 lbs, 8 oz. and was 19 inches long.

She is so sweet, we are thrilled to have her here!

Love Story

2010-02-24T21:41:00.001-07:00

This kid is seriously in love with his John Denver jacket. It's too small for him because it was last year's coat. I really did buy him one for this year, but he gets mad when I try to put it on. Some fights aren't worth fighting.

He wears it around the house, and every single time he puts it on we go through this when we try to take it off...

Wow, it's a Miracle...

2010-02-18T21:28:00.003-07:00

I DO remember my blog password.

After taking a little break for the holidays, a few trips, two months straight of us being sick (I have some very unkind words, and possibly unkind gestures for the months of November and December), etc... I am attempting a comeback. Here is a very quick recap through the end of 2009.

Abby: got bigger, started dance, started preschool, got into the bandaids (again).

Matt: really got bigger, learned how to climb, figured out that little brothers are supposed to annoy their older sisters, and turned into the class clown.

We hiked Cecret Lake with my cute sister (and made it all the way up this year).

Rich and I went to see U2 in Charlottesville, Rich went to Spain for a conference, and we all went to Moab to cheer for Rich as he ran in a half marathon.

And, of course we celebrated the holidays.

Sickness

2009-08-19T20:40:00.009-06:00

I think one of the most helpless feelings in the world occurs when you have a sick child. This is made worse when you are in the hospital with a sick child, and even as the doctors and nurses are doing everything they can to help, your little girl seems to be getting sicker and sicker. About two weeks ago, Abby got a cough and fever that I didn't think too much about. I took her to the doctor Saturday morning. They thought she had pneumonia because she was having trouble breathing, her heart was racing a million miles a minute, and her oxygen levels were really low. We were sent right to Primary Children's Hospital. We spent 4 hours in the ER while they observed her. I am so grateful to a dedicated nurse who watched Abby carefully. We were almost released twice based on the doctor's observations, but the nurse who was in charge of us had some reservations which lead to Abby being admitted. For the rest of Saturday and until Sunday night, she seemed to get worse.

In addition to the fever, cough, respiratory issues, and accelerated heart rate, Abby had red eyes and sores in her mouth.

They drew blood, sucked out snot, did nasal swabs for all kinds of tests, and consulted infectious disease doctors. They threw out all kinds of possibilities: pneumonia, mycoplasma (walking pneumonia), adenovirus, atypical measles, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, and Kawasaki Disease. Everything they tested for came back negative.

Sunday morning she was moved from a regular room to a negative air-flow one since they couldn't figure out what was making her so sick and therefore didn't know how contagious it was. They never were able to figure out what she had. Apparently there are all kinds of viruses out there that they don't yet have tests for. It's not that unusual for a baby/small child to get an unidentified virus which will cause the fever, cough...but Abby's situation was so strange because of her eyes and mouth.

Finally on Monday morning she was almost back to her normal, crazy self. The purple tongue below wasn't part of the sickness, although that would have been another interesting symptom.

I love Primary Children's Hospital, the doctors, nurses, techs, etc. are amazing. As we checked in they told us that we could order any food for Abby any time during the day. When Rich told me that the first time he called, they answered "Food service, what can we do for Abigail today?", I started crying. I know this is such a little detail, but it meant so much to me. She was released on Tuesday afternoon, but had to stay in "quarantine" for an extra week to make sure she didn't spread anything.

I am so glad this is over. We owe a huge thanks to my mom. She was so sweet to stay with us and help so that Rich and I could spend as much time at the hospital with Abby as possible.

I am also thankful for the many thoughts and prayers, cards, gifts, meals, calls and visits we received. We know how lucky we are to have family and friends who care.

A Summer Summary

2009-08-17T21:33:00.004-06:00

It can't be nearing the end of summer yet, can it? Luckily we have been able to do some fun things, here is a little sample...

What would summer be without a trip to Lagoon? Abby was in heaven as she rode all of the little kids rides, which were basically all the same thing: a ride dressed up as a car, boat, airplane, etc. that goes around in a circle.

We were also lucky enough to spend some time with old friends at Heritage Park. Abby and Josh had so much fun, we wish they lived closer!

Abby was the photographer for the bottom left picture, but it was the only one of Kim and I together- sorry to cut you and Nathan out, Kim!

Abby was also able to go to a couple of summer camp classes that were offered by her upcoming preshcool teacher. One of the days they learned all about pirates...

...and the other day they studied France and French artists. Ab made her own impressionist painting and ate crepes. I want to go to preschool.

The very best part of summer?

All of the shaved ices and slurpees that turn your mouth colors that don't really exist in nature.

War Stories from Nursery

2009-07-17T10:35:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago in nursery, Abby was playing with a toy that another kid wanted. Abby wasn't in the mood to share and after a moment of wrestling, the kid PUNCHED Abby in the eye. Luckily it wasn't that big of a cut and Abby recovered fairly quickly.

One!

2009-07-14T15:12:00.006-06:00

I am not sure how it happened so fast, but Matt turned one a little over a week ago.

Matt loves to put things on his head (including Abby's pink hat, and his socks).

Matt is awesome. He loves to eat, loves the computer mouse, and our house is never, ever clean while he is awake.

We chose to celebrate Matt's birthday quietly, with just the four of us this year. He's a pretty introverted kid and we didn't think he would like a lot of people watching him as he ate his first cupcake (which he loved- of course).
Happy Birthday, Matt! We love you!

Naughty Little Monkeys

2009-07-02T21:19:00.004-06:00

I guess our kids are pretty typical; they are into EVERYTHING!

Not too long ago, I was congratulating myself on raising Abby to know better than to get into things like lotion, bath products, etc...good one.
The top two pictures are what we found one night after letting Abby fall asleep in our bed. The next morning my mom asked Abby what she had all over her. Abby's response: " I don't know, I hope it's not lotion." My favorite part? The tiny, greasy hand prints covering our bed.

The bottom two pictures are of Abby one morning after she found our band-aid boxes.

And, Matt. Matt is a mini tornado. If he sees an organized room, I think he considers it his mission to destroy. He can rip a room apart in 5 minutes.

Knock-Knock!

2009-04-13T20:59:00.005-06:00

For anyone who misses elementary school humor...

Whew!

2009-03-30T21:11:00.005-06:00

After an extended absence, I think we are back! The last 6 months have been really hard. Rich was on the job market, and for econs this is a lengthy, involved process. It began in October & November with Rich sending out applications for roughly 100 jobs. In January, he went to a big Econ meeting and had 17 first round interviews. This group of interviews included some government agencies, a few universities and a consulting firm. From there, he was offered the chance to fly out for 8 second round interviews (he only took 6 of those). In the end, he received 3 job offers. And the one he accepted was . . . . . (drum roll, please) . . . . . a research faculty position in the medical school at the University of Utah (Utah man sir, a Utah man is he) with a joint appointment at the Salt Lake VA Medical Center! Rich wanted me to add that he will be making hundreds of thousands of dollars, so here goes: Over the course of the next x-amount (read: MANY, MANY) of years, Rich will make hundreds of thousands of dollars.

All joking aside, we actually feel very blessed in this process. It was a difficult year on the job market. Rich received many emails from places where he had applied saying that due to budget concerns, they had suspended their search. The three job offers he got were good ones and it was a hard decision to make, but we feel like Utah will be a good fit for him.

So, with all of this job stuff, the normal winter sicknesses and other random things, we have been going nuts! I am hoping I will get back into the blogging groove soon, we will see.

Abby Turned Three...A Couple of Weeks Ago

2009-02-03T21:09:00.002-07:00

Abby at 3, loves:

the colors pink and golden
movie: The Sword in the Stone
songs: Saturday Night, "The Train Song" (Midnight Train to Georgia)
her buddy Guido (a blue monkey)
dancing
food: beans and rice, and anything sweet
dressing up like a princess

Weighs: 24.5 pounds, and is 34.5 inches tall!

Happy Birthday, Abby!

Mini Giant

2009-01-19T15:06:00.007-07:00

Oh, our little (huge!) Matt. We love this crazy kid. He's now 6.5 months old and his growth doesn't seem to be slowing down at all. He is a few ounces short of 22 pounds and almost 29 inches tall. Both measurements put him above the 97th percentile for his age! We now start taking bets on when he passes Abby.

He also has a very special talent, which he performs with great gusto.

Last One

2008-12-31T16:39:00.003-07:00

Just a few more pics of our Christmas Vacation . . .

Most of these pictures are self-explanatory...kids, Christmas, snow, blah, blah, blah. But just in case some of our viewers have not been to Zion National Park, we included a few on the 3rd and 4th rows of the collage. Zion is one of my favorite parks, and it's a pretty spectacular sight when it snows.

Penultimate Post of 2008

2008-12-31T16:05:00.003-07:00

Christmas '08 was spent in a cabin near Zion National Park with my family.

Daredevil Abby loved racing down hills on the sled, and later thought it would be a good idea to take a handful of flour and rub it on her face. Santa got a plate of cookies made by Abby (and she only sneezed on them once). By the way, the creepy looking cookie in the bottom right corner is my dad's artwork, I take no credit.

Season's Greetings from Abby Nelson

2008-12-24T08:28:00.002-07:00

Consider this your Christmas card, all you loyal readers of the Skelter. Merry Christmas!

Holiday Happiness!

2008-12-22T14:08:00.003-07:00

Zoo lights, eating snow, spitting it out and giggling hysterically, making cookies, decorating cookies, decorating gingerbread houses, reunions with loved ones, and SANTA!

O Christmas Tree!

2008-12-10T20:22:00.006-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we went with the our friends, the Rogers, to chop down a Christmas tree.

We got Matt all bundled up and went hiking. He looks like he's enjoying it, right?
And, we have a tree!

Matt kept sucking on his upper lip, we thought it looked like bitter-beer face.

Abby's favorite part of the trip? The SNACKS, of course.

Thanks to the Rogers for letting us join them!

Our Mighty Matt

2008-12-03T20:26:00.007-07:00

As of today, Matt is actually 5 months old. But, I am behind (no surprise there), so here he is at 4 months. At his four month check up, Matt weighed a healthy 18.1 pounds, and measured 26 inches tall (weight was in the 95th percentile and height was in the 90th). His pediatrician couldn't stop laughing.

Just for a little visual comparison, here are some pictures of Matt and Abby at four months (and, let me assure you that I have not done any shrinking).

Rodent Invasion

2008-11-12T09:29:00.004-07:00

Halloween was great this year. Matt was a bat and Abby was a rat - although, we told her she was a mouse, it sounded a little more feminine.

We decided to creepify our house, went to multiple celebrations, and in the end, we all felt like Abby looked in the picture at the bottom right.

Taken Over

2008-11-07T14:01:00.003-07:00

Unfortunately I didn't dare take a real picture of our bed this morning for fear of waking our crazy kids, so you get to see my artistic (okay, pathetic attempt at art) interpretation of the night. Matt is a permanent fixture in our bed from about 4-5 am on, every night. That's the point when I no longer have the energy to get up after feeding him and put him back in his own bed. Abby is usually great about sleeping in her own bed, but early this morning, after I had just finished feeding Matt, I heard a huge crash followed by a very sad wail. Despite the two guard rails, Abby had fallen out of her bed. So, I went in to comfort her. I offered to lay by her for a few minutes, but she kept crying and said she wanted to come in with us. I really like my sleep and sleeping conditions are never ideal when you have a foot in your face, or get head-bonked multiple times. But, call me a sucker, I love having my babies close to me. Thank goodness for huge beds.

Got Thighs?

2008-11-06T09:45:00.003-07:00

...pouty lips, squishy cheeks, and a serious muffin-top too?

It Snowed Yesterday

2008-10-13T13:45:00.002-06:00

I'm not really ready to talk about snow, so here is a quick review of some summer happenings.

Reunions with old friends (and MANY new kids), growing our own tomatoes, marshmallow roasting with the Rogers and Minsons, and fun trips to local area attractions. I love summer!!!! I am already counting down the months until it gets warm again.

It Must Be True!

2008-09-23T21:59:00.002-06:00

...the hats say so- our kids are going to be senators! Abby looks like she's ready for her debut on C-SPAN. Matt might need some encouragement. Maybe the possibility of an appearance on the Colbert Report with his sister, Senator Nelson, could convince him to run- long live the fightin' Nelsons! Thank you to the Dishmans for supporting our children in their career decisions!

In a Nutshell...

2008-09-16T21:28:00.000-06:00

...actually, collage would be more accurate.
Here is a quick recap of Matt's impressive growth from 6-10 weeks.

Matt's Blessing

2008-09-12T17:17:00.002-06:00

Matt's blessing actually took place on August 3...I'm a bit behind and am trying to get this blog up to date!

Matt the Moose

2008-09-05T16:37:00.002-06:00

Today was Matt's 2 month check-up. We knew we had a big boy, and the doctor agreed (the first thing out of her mouth was, "Wow! He's beefy.")

So, at two months Matt weighs 13 lbs, 8 oz., which puts him in the 90th percentile. And, he is 23 inches long (which is about 50th percentile). He went from 7 lbs, 5 oz at two weeks to this weight, which means he has gained about a pound a week! I am going to need to start lifting weights just to have the strength to carry this kid around.

For a little comparrsion, Abby at two months weighed 9 lbs, 8 oz, and was 21.5 inches long (Abby has ranged from the 5th to 25th percentile in weight since she was born).

It has been so funny to have a big baby after having such a tiny one first. We love it! And besides, boys are supposed to be big and beefy, right?

Fashion Accessories

2008-08-10T21:56:00.003-06:00

Chameleon PJs

Potty training...ugh. I decided to buy Abby some big-girl panties to help encouarge her. She was so excited about them she immediately put them on over her diaper...upside-down.

Future Hiker, or Paddington Bear?

Cecret Lake...Almost

2008-08-07T15:53:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we decided it would be fun to hike up to Cecret Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon. We made it about half way to the lake when we decided that due to inclement weather, we should probably turn back. Oh well, we will try again some other time.

We did get to see some amazing wild flowers.

Matt was unimpressed with the whole thing, preferring to sleep all the way through.

We finished the evening off with a picnic in the back of the car. Nothing like a strenuous ride on dad's back to work up your appetite.

Little Weed

2008-07-24T17:21:00.004-06:00

I just realized that I haven't posted any updated pictures of Matt and he is three weeks old today! So, here are a few from weeks 1, 2 & 3.

Week 1 - so sleepy!

Week 2 - Matt and Abby at about the same age. They definitely have their own looks.

Week 3- Getting chubby!

A HUGE Thank You!

2008-07-23T09:43:00.002-06:00

This is a lot overdue, but give me a break, I just had a baby (can I still use that excuse six months from now?). Anyhow, the point of this entry is to express our sincere gratitude to my mom! We called her at 5 in the morning the day Matt was born and within an hour she was making the trip from St. George to Salt Lake. She stayed with us for over a week and was a life-saver. She gave Abby some much needed love and attention, cooked, cleaned, took Matt at all hours of the morning when our brains were no longer functioning, and other fun things. We really appreciate all that she did to help us transition from 3 to 4. Thanks, Mom!

One of the fun projects my mom did while she was here was to make a "fort" for Abby. Any time my mom sat down at the sewing machine, Abby would put her hands on her shoulder, this was her way of contributing to the creation.
The completed fort!

Boobs and Good Manners

2008-07-11T21:58:00.006-06:00

I debated whether or not I should post this first story, but it is pretty dang funny. And so, in the spirit of documenting the various happenings in our lives...here goes.

A few weeks ago, as Abby and I were driving home, we had the following conversation:

Abby: Mom, do you have boobs?

Mom: (Quick, think of something to divert her attention...Oh crap, we might as well talk about it.) Yes, Abby, I do.

Abby: Can I have some?

Mom: Uhhhhh. Well, what would you do with them?

Abby: Put them on my stomach!

(If that is the case, I have had mine in the wrong place all these years. How embarrassing!)

We have tried really hard to teach Abby good manners. It's definitely a labor of love, but she seems to be picking some things up. A number of nights ago, Rich was getting Abby ready for bed (quick side note: Abby has been going through a major "mom phase") and she was really upset that he was the one changing her and not me. She started kicking Rich and yelling, "Get away, get away!" Rich responded by telling her that she needed to be nice. Abby very quickly retorted, "May you PLEASE get away!"

It's 1 AM, Do you Know Where Your Child Is?

2008-07-09T01:09:00.003-06:00

Let me tell you where mine is. He is in his own private tanning bed...sort of. On Monday, I took Matt to see the pediatrician. She noticed that his skin was looking a little too yellow, and ordered a blood test. As it turns out he has a touch of jaundice. This means that since 5 pm Monday, Matt has been undergoing phototherapy. He has to be under the lights constantly for at least two days. We take him out to feed and change him and then back in he goes. He also requires hourly temperature monitoring, this is especially adventurous in the middle of the night. We will be going in to test his blood again today to see if he has to continue, hopefully not. It kind of sucks not to be able to give "cuddlies" (as Abby calls them) to our newborn.

Getting ready to go in for the first time...

I think he kind of looks like Spiderman.

In the bed

Luckily, Matt has been really great through it all. What a trooper.

Hey, It's Good to be Back Home Again

2008-07-07T20:34:00.006-06:00

Or in Matt's case, home for the first time. We left the hospital on Saturday after some debate about whether or not Matt should stay an extra day. If you look at the picture below, you might wonder what kind of parents we are. No, we did not poke our new baby in the eye. He has an eye infection due to a clogged tear duct. Luckily all of his tests came back okay and we were given the thumbs up to go.

As we were getting ready to go, Nana came in with a special delivery for Abby...

As it turns out, this hospital had a "two for the price of one" deal going. Abby got her own little baby to take home!

My nurse, Kathy, was wonderful. She suggested that since I didn't want to ride in the wheelchair, the other new mom should. Kathy was so sweet, she pushed Abby all the way out to the car and helped load her in. Abby was in heaven!

At home with the Nelson kids!

The Early Bird Gets the Worm

2008-07-04T14:13:00.007-06:00

Well, it looks like our little guy will be getting the worm. At 3:30 am on Thursday morning, Kristl woke me up saying that she was having contractions and asked if I would want to help her time them. Sure enough they were about 2 minutes apart. Time to go to the hospital. A couple of hours later (and a little over two weeks early), Matthew Lowe Nelson arrived on the scene and single-handedly destroyed Abby's monopoly on Mom and Dad's attention. No more anti-trust violations for Abby. We are officially in duopoly territory now.

As if loyal readers of the Skelter couldn't tell by the obscure (and frankly, not terribly funny) economics joke, Kristl is currently recuperating in the hospital right now so I get the privilege of reporting Matt's arrival to the world. He weighed in at 7 lbs 4 ounces and was 19 inches long. In probably the most amazing coincidence of the whole process, Matt was born at 1:21 pm. I was also born at 1:21 pm. 16 years from now when Matt complains that his parents don't understand him I can say, "Matt, I know where you are coming from. I was born at 1:21 too."

Kristl was amazing through the whole process. But really, does that surprise any of us? She was tough and strong and did not complain once. She has been a fantastic Mom to Abby and I have no doubt that she will be the exact same for Matt. I am so lucky to have such a great family. Happy 4th of July, Everyone. Matt, enjoy the fireworks. They're for you.

Indulgence

2008-06-30T05:17:00.002-06:00

I have to admit, I am a little bit paranoid about food poisoning, so I have deprived Abby of one of the great joys in life: licking batter off the spoon. Last week I decided to give in and let her go for it.

It seems she liked it.
"Mmmm, cha-loc-late!"
Sugar High
And, the crash.

Escaping the Heat?

2008-06-29T14:24:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Abby and I decided it wasn't hot enough in SL, so we went down to St. George to visit Nan.

Abby and Natalie try to cool off. Abby hadn't quite figured out the concept of holding the gun upright and squeezing the trigger. On the upside, Abby probably stayed cooler than Natalie.

Abby wanted to draw, so we gave her a bunch of crayons and markers. A few minutes later we looked up and discovered that Abby had become her own art project....

Lovely.

For me, the highlight of being there was helping my mom make three batches of her killer jam! I felt very domestic (even though my main role in the whole affair was to wipe the jar before putting the lid on).

Abby also had a great time trying to train Raven...she already has us trained, so she moved on to a more challenging subject.

Dad's Day!

2008-06-15T15:23:00.004-06:00

I know I am the luckiest person in the world. I have a great dad, and the little girl who is the love of my life has a great dad. I am grateful for this day when we actually take a moment to recognize important men in our life for the many things they have done for us. Rich's unending patience with Abby constantly amazes me. I've been impressed as I have watched his evolution in thinking. Before we had Abby, he wanted be the "cool" dad when his daughter brought home a date. Now, he would like to send any little boy packing who even walks within 10 feet of her. His qualities don't stop at just patience and protectiveness. Rich is fun, loving, and he is wonderful at spending time with Abby. He even made up a song just for her, it's called the "This Daddy Song", and he sings it to her every night as he puts her to bed. Thanks, Rich! You are the best!

And, here is Abby's tribute to Rich on Father's Day...(she is much more entertaining than me)

Go Nats!

2008-06-13T17:51:00.003-06:00

Rich recently returned from a conference in Washington, D.C. Being the sweet dad that he is, he brought back a Washington Nationals hat for Abby. Immediately upon putting it on she declared, "I'm hip!" But, by declaring herself as such, she is really saying that WE are hip since we control all that she wears. There you have it, a two-year-old thinks we are hip.

Best. Weekend. EVER!

2008-05-23T09:06:00.020-06:00

This last weekend was Rich's graduation! Although he completed his degree last summer, he was too late to participate in the 2007 ceremony. So, we were fortunate enough to travel back to the home we loved for five years to do it this year. Charlottesville is an amazing place and it was so great to be back for a few days. We really miss it there.

The weekend was also a first for me. It was the first time I have spent a night (or four, in this case) away from Abby. It didn't seem to be all that traumatic for her. Thanks to Nana and a lot fun with her cousins, she barely noticed we were gone! We will begin with her adventures and move on to ours.

Abby's Weekend

Apparently the new, hip thing is city parks that have "water features" (or maybe it's not that new - I just hadn't heard of them until this year). What I mean by "water features" is just big areas where kids can play in fountains, and other water things - okay that was a lame description, but whatever. Anyhow, Abby was in heaven.

The Hansen cousins: Natalie, Drake, Abby and Katie. What a cute bunch!

Good Friends and Football

2008-05-23T08:56:00.010-06:00

We truly do miss Charlottesville; it's a beautiful city. But one of the hardest parts of leaving was having to say goodbye to dear friends who were also our families during our time there. Needless to say, staying a night with the Dishmans was one of the highlights of the trip. We are so grateful for their generous hospitality. It felt as though we had never been apart at all.

They spoiled us with a delicious dinner...

...and entertained us with their Wii (Rich was a very intense competitor)!
Who could ask for more?

Another fun stop for me was the Chemical Engineering Department, where I worked for over three years. It was great to see the gals (Vickie - left and Margaret - right), and some of the professors again. They were a very nice bunch to work with!

The trip wouldn't have been complete for Rich or Steve without tossing the football back and forth. This picture is taken in one of our favorite gardens at UVa.

Both Rich and Steve had the nickname "Nelly" in high school, so it was only natural that they get a picture in front of Durty Nelly's. For those not from Charlottesville, Durty Nelly's is a popular sandwich joint hidden away in the back of a convenience store.

Graduation

2008-05-23T08:32:00.018-06:00

Before the ceremonies (and a little rain!) began...

Although the entire weekend was really wonderful, and it's hard to say that one moment stood out more than another, it was a great experience to see Rich being hooded at his diploma ceremony. Unfortunately this picture doesn't quite do it justice, but you get the idea.

Graduation wouldn't be complete without a picture in front of Mr. Jefferson's Rotunda.

And, the hood.
The orange and blue satin area on the hood are the colors of UVa. The dark blue velvet on the outside of the satin represents that it's a PhD that has been earned.

Oh, Canada...

2008-05-22T20:35:00.003-06:00

A couple weeks ago, Rich went to a conference in Toronto. For the conference, he submitted an abstract of a project that he and some of his colleagues had been working on. When he got there, he discovered that his poster had been chosen as a finalist. Pretty cool, although Rich said it felt a little like he was back in elementary school, winning a ribbon at a science fair!

A Very Long Winter

2008-05-08T09:41:00.006-06:00

First snow of the 2007-2008 winter season in Salt Lake:

September 29.

The scene which greeted us on the morning of May 1.

And I thought one of the perks of being pregnant during the spring and summer was not having to reach around a big belly to put socks on!

Flowers!!!

2008-05-01T20:54:00.003-06:00

I love flowers! In my opinion, one of the most beautiful places to visit is Temple Square, especially in the spring. The flowers are always so amazing.

But, what was Abby's favorite part of the outing?

Showing off her belly...

...and of course, the "bath" (notice Rich having to restrain her a bit?)

So Long, 6-Pack...

2008-04-24T21:28:00.008-06:00

In the spirit of documenting things, here is a belly picture. This is actually the first one I have taken. I decided that since I was now 2/3 of the way done with the pregnancy, I should swallow my pride and smile for the camera. My memory may be foggy, but I feel like I am definitely much larger this time than with Abby.

Boogers and Stupidity

2008-04-20T21:11:00.004-06:00

For the past year, I have mostly used this blog to post pictures of Abby, which has been fine. However, I've decided that since I haven't been great at writing in a journal, maybe I need to start doing a much better job at recording happenings that (in this case, thankfully) don't have pictures necessarily associated with them. Here are two such incidences:

About a month ago Rich put Abby down for bed, which is normally a smooth procedure. This was not the case this particular night. She sobbed for quite a while and at some point started saying something. As we listened we figured out that she was saying, "I got a boogie, I got a boogie". We had a little laugh and decided that she probably had a stuffy nose and would eventually calm down. She didn't. So I finally went up to see what could be done. As I walked into the room, I saw her finger thrust high into the air and heard her repeat her tearful declaration. Walking up to her, I could see a HUGE blob on the end of her finger. It was indeed a "boogie". As I cleaned her up I had to suppress my laughter. The poor kid had probably been holding her finger up the entire time she was crying, hoping someone would come rescue her from the gunk on the end of her finger. Toddlers can be disgusting.

The second incident took place last week in our car. Here is a little confession: I am not the nicest driver. I occasionally like to yell at drivers who I deem incompetent. That being said, we certainly don't call each other names in our home. As Abby and I were driving together, out of the blue, (meaning that I had not recently yelled at anyone else on the road) Abby asked, "Mom, are you stupid?" As I made a mental note that maybe I needed to cut down on my insults, I answered in the only way I felt appropriate... "Yes, Abby, sometimes I am".

Welcome Cousin Katie!

2008-04-10T11:55:00.003-06:00

On Wednesday, after way more excitement than anyone wanted, Abby gained her 3rd Hansen cousin, Kathryn Paige. Abby thought she was mildly interesting at first, but then the thrill quickly wore off. It should be amusing to see if she has the same reaction in three months to a little brother...

Escaping Winter

2008-03-31T20:52:00.003-06:00

Abby and I recently spent a week down in St. George with my family; we decided that we had had enough of freezing cold Salt Lake!

Look at this! Both of us wearing short sleeved shirts.

One of the bribes my mom used to get me to come down for the visit was to heat and open their pool. One of the days the heater stayed on too long and when we got in it felt like climbing into a bath. The temperature of the water was 98 degrees!

During our stay, we got to help Natalie celebrate her 3rd birthday. Here Abby tries her best to swing at the pinata Aunt Amber made!

Abby also got to help Grandpa Hansen do a little spring planting.

And, of course we had to take a trip to the park to go on the slides!
Thanks to Nana and Grandpa for letting us visit, it was a great trip.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-31T20:40:00.005-06:00

As if to prove that our winter of sickness is not yet over, poor Abby came down with a cold the morning of Easter. Despite the fact that her smiles are a little forced, she still managed to look beautiful in her new pink dress.

Maybe all she needed was cousin Natalie to make things better.

Later in the day, doing an Easter egg hunt.

Uncle Kody

2008-03-31T16:49:00.006-06:00

Kody is my youngest brother, and he absolutely loves his little nieces and nephew. During our trip to SG, Kody was so great to play with Abby. I guess we can forgive him for breaking the bike as he rode it down this rock.

Runnin' Rich

2008-03-30T08:30:00.003-06:00

For the last several months, Rich and his brother, Steve have been training to run in the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab, Utah. It was a very scenic race, the first ten miles followed the Colorado River and had sheer red cliffs on the other side.

Steve and Rich crossed the finish line together after just over two hours, not too bad for their first half marathon!

We Moved!

2008-03-11T20:58:00.006-06:00

Yep, again! In the six years that we have been married, Rich and I are now trying to get settled into our 6th place. We were fortunate enough to get into faculty housing at the U of U, so far it hasn't been too bad.

And a huge bonus, there is a balcony right off the master bedroom.

These boxes have been stacked in our dining room for about a month now, I wonder if I will ever get rid of them? With a guaranteed move in the next 17-23 months, perhaps I should just keep them there!
More boxes...I decided to turn them into a little tunnel for Abby. Probably just an excuse to delay their removal.
But look, even Rich enjoys a moment in the tunnel.

Faculty housing at the U is located in historic Fort Douglas. The university bought the houses and townhouses from the army just before the 2002 Winter Olympics. Our townhouse was built in 1916 and, thankfully, has since been renovated. It's an interesting area; we live amongst a whole load of undergrads who can get a little noisy on the weekends. But, it's fun. Today, Abby and I took a walk to explore and ended up at a little gazebo (okay, according to the Fort Douglas website it's a bandstand). It was originally built in the late 1800s but burned down and was rebuilt sometime around 1917. We are excited to spend our next little while here.

Poster Girl

2008-03-06T10:28:00.006-07:00

A few weeks ago my little sister, who works at Harmon's, asked if she could take some pictures of Abby to help with their frozen foods promotion month. I agreed and now this lovely food shot is hanging in Harmon's for the month of March. I wonder how Abby will feel about this years from now.

It's a...

2008-02-25T10:35:00.004-07:00

Boy!!! We had our big ultrasound this morning and were totally excited to learn that Abby will have a little brother. He weighs about 11 ounces right now, and everything looked great. Below are some pictures, we decided to spare everyone of the "gender" shot, just take our word for it.

Profile...

This picture is a close-up of his face, with his finger apparently picking his nose.

Our Version of a Really Dumb "Holiday"

2008-02-15T07:00:00.004-07:00

Ya, so I am not a huge fan of Valentine's Day. I think it's a day for the card, flower, and chocolate companies to make an extra buck. It's not that I am not a romantic, I just don't think that you should be told to be all lovey on a specified day, I want random, unexpected romance. Okay, enough of my ranting. We did decide to celebrate, but with our own twist. We actually stole the idea from one of our favorite families in Charlottesville. We celebrated as a family and we had a theme to the evening. We were also lucky enough to share the evening with our friends Megan and Henry. This year the theme was Brazil. I made Brazillian black beans, they were a little dry. At least the pina coladas were delicious!

We finished the night off by decorating some cookies, Abby and Henry loved this activity. They both ended up eating more frosting than cookie.

Rich's tribute to a Brazillian Valentine's Day.

A Not-So-Fun First

2008-02-15T06:10:00.004-07:00

Wednesday was not a good day. That afternoon I was changing Abby on the bed in her room, when I went to put her down I didn't make sure she was completely steady before letting go and she stumbled right into the corner of her door. The sound was awful. I quickly picked her up and when I saw blood I ran downstairs yelling for my mom (thank goodness she was visiting!). After we stopped the bleeding I called her pediatrician's office who said to bring her in that evening. We went in and after a brief consultation were referred to Primary Children's Medical Center for stitches. So, we made the trek back to that part of town (now keep in mind, this is all during a huge snow storm). The doctors and nurses there were absolutely amazing. They gave Abby some kind of anesthesia that didn't knock her completely out, but they said it would make her feel like she was a little drunk. She was perfect while they did the stitches and I may be a terrible parent for saying this, but "drunk" Abby was pretty dang funny. At one point after they finished she was laying on the bed while the anesthesia wore off and when one of the nurses walked out, Abby starting singing a tipsy version of "na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye", it was hilarious. Because the weather was so bad, our travelling that day began at 4:30, and we didn't make it home until 9:30. It was an exhausting evening, but Abby was a champ through it all.

This is probaby the most gruesome before picture we have, notice not just the gash, but also the blood in her hair.

And after, with her six pretty, blue stitches.

Nakey

2008-02-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

As Abby gets older, she aquires more skills, one of which is undressing herself. She doesn't do it often, but here is the sight that greeted me one morning. Apparently at some point in the night she decided that she didn't need her shirt. (And of course she would do it the night we didn't have a clean undershirt for her).

A few days ago before her bath, Abby asked if she could run "nakey" . I told her she could do a quick run while I finished filling the bath. After getting things ready for a couple of minutes, I realized that my little exhibitionist hadn't yet made her way back to me. When I went looking for her, this is what I found. It's pretty cold here, good thing she wanted to wear her hat.

Foods I Can't Eat

2008-01-23T02:38:00.001-07:00

At some point in the last two months my stomach has decided to ban me from eating the following foods:

*all fruit

*most vegetables

*eggs

*french fries

*Papa Murphy's pizza

*sliced bread

*Great Grains cereal

*beverages (although milk has become okay again- hooray!)

*anything sweet

What is causing this? Well, we are expecting baby #2! And he or she seems to have completely taken over my body. I guess that's okay. Abby's little sibling is expected to make an appearance around July 18, and we are so excited.

This is the official first picture, just don't ask me to explain.

The Best Two Years

2008-01-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

I feel like Abby can't possibly be getting so big, but she is. Yesterday we celebrated her second birthday. It wasn't the party we originally had planned, (more "barfing" going on in our house) but I think it was still a success.

In this picture, Abby is just a few days old. We suspected from the beginning she would be a headstrong person, we were right (and we love it- most of the time).
Abby has an obsession with food. It amazes me that she doesn't even weigh 21 pounds yet, she eats like there is no tomorrow- it would seem that she inherited Rich's metabolism. Her favorite foods are pizza and beans & rice, but she doesn't like meat.
Abby LOVES music and insists on being sung to every night before she goes to bed.
Abby is not a cuddly baby, she never really has been, but when you read to her she will cozy up next to you and put her hand on your arm. These are some of my favorite moments. Also she will use you as a footstool.
After an evening of pizza & presents we topped things off with a birthday grahm cracker- we promise to make it up to her with a real birthday cake this weekend.

Happy Birthday, sweet Abby! We love you!

Fixation

2008-01-03T14:55:00.004-07:00

A few weeks ago two members of our house were struck by a nasty stomach bug. As a result, Abby STILL has a fixation with throwing up. She is constantly asking for the sink/a bucket/my hand or anything that she can pretend to throw up in or on. I decided this definitely needed to be put in the Abby Archives.

And, yes, that is "barf" she says at the end.

Christmas Adventures

2008-01-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

This year we were lucky enough to celebrate Christmas twice, first in St. George with my family, then in SL with Rich's family.

Here is Abby down at Nana's house wearing her "Merry Christmas" dress, happy as can be....
Christmas morning at our house wasn't as successful. Oh well.

We hope all of our friends and family had a wonderful Christmas season.

Lights at Temple Square

2008-01-01T22:03:00.001-07:00

A week or so before Christmas we decided to visit Temple Square to show Abby the lights. The trip was a success and though she didn't seem to care too much about the lights, she loved the ride on Trax and didn't stop talking about the bath (a fountain) she saw.

This picture turned out a little blurry, but you can kind of see some lights and the Temple behind them.
Abby and Will all bundled up.

Future Ski Bunny

2008-01-01T21:58:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Rich went skiing as part of an office retreat (I never had retreats like that!). Abby found his goggles and insisted on wearing them for a good part of the evening.

New Pink Boots

2007-12-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

How many posts in this blog have been dedicated to Abby's shoes? I don't really want to count. I love shoes, and though we are still at a stage in life where I really can't go buy myself as many new pairs as I would like, growing babies constantly need new shoes. For now, I can live vicariously through Abby. Anyhow, this post probably should have had something about snow in the title. We had a huge storm last weekend; this required that I get Abby some boots so she could fully appreciate it.

During the storm...

I just threw this picture in because I love the red/white contrast. Rich took this picture, I take no credit!
She didn't quite know what to do with all of the snow at first, so she just marched right out into the middle of it and then stood there.
The next day we had to do a little more maintenance work on the sidewalks, Abby is helping by kicking the icicles off the railing. And, finally we get a view of the pink boots.

Christmas Tree Huntin'

2007-11-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Rich and Kevin got up at 5 am and drove over an hour to stand in a freezing cold line in order to obtain permits to cut our own Christmas trees. This last weekend we went up to the Uintahs to get them.

Henry gives Abby a hand up the hill.

Abby decided to try a handful of snow, and then promptly spit it out.

The perfect tree!

Decorating...

...the finished product!

Tagged!

2007-11-07T20:34:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged, thank you for thinking of me, Deya and Amelia. Just so everyone knows, I am terrible at coming up with things like this.

The Rules

1. List the link to your tagger and also post these following rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog - some random, some weird, etc.
3. Tag 7 people at the the end of your blog also leaving the links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are "TAGGED" by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here goes...

1-When I was a baby I had a huge head, big blue eyes and a tiny, skinny body...this earned me the nickname "Tweety Bird".

2-I LOVE Switzerland. I am pretty sure I was supposed to have been born Swiss, but there was a mix-up somewhere.

3-When I was a teenager, my friend accidentally hit me in the mouth with a golf club. The tooth managed to stick around for many, many years. Last year, it bit the dust and I had to have a screw attached to my skull in order to support a pretty, new fake tooth.

4-In my life, I have been to few concerts. Included in that list are Neil Diamond and N'Sync- and I loved them both!

5-When I was 20 I went backpacking in Europe with a good friend. One night in Italy, we arrived very late in a small city way out in the middle of nowhere. There were no rooms left in town, so we jumped back on the last train to Florence. When we arrived in Florence, we were unable to find any rooms there. So, as a last resort, we decided to sleep on the floor of the train station with a bunch of other stranded backpackers. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep that night.

6-In our marriage, I am the more disgusting one. Much to Rich's chagrin, I taught Abby to make burping and farting noises.

7-This is a little humiliating, but what the heck...for Halloween 1997 or 1998 (I can't remember for sure) 4 friends and I dressed up as the Spice Girls. I was Ginger Spice. Those were the days when I actually had a body that could pull off a slinky red dress, but does that really make it right? To top it off, we did a lip-sync to one of their songs, sweet dance moves and all.

Now, I tag: Amber, The Dishmans (even though you have already been tagged by Deya), Mom, Kim, and Rich!

Winter Wear

2007-11-07T20:21:00.000-07:00

As I was dressing Abby the other day, she noticed her swimsuit sitting on top of her dresser and began frantically pointing and saying something I couldn't understand. Finally I figured out what she was asking for and I asked if she wanted to wear it, she enthusiastically replied "yes". So, this was her outfit for the day.

Chicken Little

2007-11-01T20:09:00.000-06:00

Abby discovers the joy of knocking on a stranger's door and getting candy; this can't be a good thing.
Monkey, Chicken and Ladybug

At first, Abby seems to think she's a monkey, then she comes around.

Rich teaching Abby to be a chicken... I'm not sure which video is funnier.

Sea of Leaves

2007-10-24T13:38:00.000-06:00

Last week we decided we should stop being the embarassment of the neighborhood and get our leaves bagged. Abby was in heaven as we made piles and threw her in.

For Amelia...

Carving "Bop-gins"

2007-10-22T18:07:00.000-06:00

Will and Abby get pumped for carving.

Abby is very particular about textures, so I was pleasantly surprised when she actually "helped" clean the inside of the pumpkin and didn't freak out.

Our finished products!

The bop-gins at home.

This little pie pumpkin is almost bigger than Abby!

SNOW!!

2007-10-21T22:27:00.000-06:00

Abby was asleep for the first snow of the season (and everyone knows you don't mess up a perfectly good naptime just to see a little snow), so last weeks storm brought her first snow experience of the year. Actually, it's kind of her first snow ever, before now she wasn't old enough to fully appreciate it.

Later that day, there was still a little snow left.

Also, Abby has discovered that she loves to put her hands in her pockets.

The Dylan Challenge

2007-10-07T19:33:00.000-06:00

Our good friends, Kevin and Megan, felt it was high time we began our black and white photo collection. So knowing our love for one of music's greatest artists, they gave Rich this awesome Bob Dylan poster for his birthday. One night I decided that Bob had to be mentioned on our blog and that to properly do it, we should each write some type of poem as an ode. I am still working on mine, but Rich came up with a haiku and a limerick.

We would like to extend a challenge to the many creative friends we have to come up with a poem in honor of Bob. It doesn't have to be a haiku or limerick.

Rich's Haiku

Like a Rolling Stone

All Along the Watchtower

Good songwriter, no?

Rich's Limerick

Some say his voice is too whiny.

Those people can kiss my hiney.

His voice has mystique.

The songs are unique.

My favorite is "Most of the Time"-y.

Lucky Photography

2007-10-01T11:48:00.001-06:00

Every once in a while forces combine and I get lucky enough to get a few pictures of Abby that capture exactly what I want.

September Surprise

2007-10-01T11:35:00.000-06:00

That's it, I am moving back to Virginia. Snow in September! It snowed for about 90 minutes where we are, but it was only at the end that it started sticking a little.

Actually, I am glad, our poor dry state needs all the moisture it can get.

Happy Hippie

2007-09-25T20:33:00.000-06:00

Gone are the days of sweet summer dresses and little sandals. Last week the temperature took a big dip, so we had to break out the "hippie" dress (I bought it because I knew it would be a hit with Rich). I know I am such a nerd, but I get a little emotional everytime I have to put away a set of Abby's clothes, I just can't believe she is getting so big.

Progress Update

2007-09-11T09:38:00.001-06:00

In May we posted some pictures of Abby practically bathing in her spaghetti dinner. After four months, I am not sure we have made much progress and may have even regressed.

This is Abby licking (yes, licking) a noodle off her foot...

...and finding it quite funny.

We should buy stock in baby wipes.

Sound Sleeper

2007-09-11T09:27:00.000-06:00

The other day, I went to wake Abby from her nap and found her sound asleep with her left ankle propped up on her right knee. How on earth she got like this, I have no idea, but it was pretty funny.

When I moved the blanket for a better shot, she didn't even budge.

Oral Hygiene

2007-09-11T09:12:00.000-06:00

One of Abby's favorite things to do these days is brush her teeth (who wouldn't love to brush their teeth with a cute pink toothbrush?). However, like most toddlers, she isn't terribly thorough and she's VERY resistant to any help. Good thing we get two pair of teeth!

Top Three Reasons Why I Love My Friends this Week

2007-09-10T13:34:00.000-06:00

1-They make you feel good about yourself, even if you can't cut hair.
2-They teach you cool new "international" words: wonky.
3-They give you brilliant suggestions that had never crossed your mind: thick headbands! Thank you, Deya.

Beauty School Dropout

2007-09-06T14:01:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I never went to beauty school, though I am confident if I had, there would have been a forced early retirement for me. After years of unsuccessful attempts at cutting my own bangs, I don't know what possessed me to try to cut Abby's, but I did. Though I would like to blame it on Abby's general squirmyness or dull scissors, I think I have to suck it up and take the blame for a really bad haircut, luckily it was just her bangs. I am pretty sure that Abby's pet monkey could have done a better job than I did. And, you would think this may scare me into going to a professional hairdresser for her next haircut...we'll see.

A Night in the Life...

2007-09-06T13:50:00.000-06:00

Dancing Queen

2007-08-29T20:40:00.000-06:00

No explanation needed!

This video is dedicated to Amelia and Naomi, two of the best dancing queens I know!

Camping

2007-08-27T21:23:00.000-06:00

This last weekend Rich, Abby and I went camping with our friends, the Rogers. Kevin and Megan own some property just 30 miles north of Price (for those of you not familiar with Utah geography, Price is where the current mining tragedy is taking place - also Price is the armpit of Utah. I apologize to anyone who is offended at my -1 calling Price an armpit and/or 2- putting "mining tragedy" and "armpit" in the same sentence.) To clarify, Price may not be the most desirable place, but "The Property" was beautiful (what a difference 30 miles makes).

Our adventure began around 6:30 Friday night when we left Salt Lake and went south. We made a quick stop in Spanish Fork at Carl's Jr. (oh, how lovely to be back in a state that mass produces fry sauce), and we were back on the road. By the time we reached the property around 9:30, it was pitch black and quite chilly. We were all excited to crack open the tent trailer and get settled in for the night. Needless to say, it came as a bit of a shock when Kevin, in his not kidding voice told us that the keys to the trailer were sitting on the counter back in Salt Lake. We decided instead of driving 2 hours to SL and 2 hours back in one night, that maybe we could find a room in Price. We called a couple of hotels and finally found a honeymoon suite (okay, maybe not a honeymoon suite of the "heart-shaped tub and vibrating bed" variety, but by Price's standards this sounded pretty luxurious), however we didn't feel that $150 was a reasonable amount of money for four adults and one king bed. After exploring a couple more options, Kevin decided to give breaking into their trailer the old MacGyver try. Thankfully it worked. We finally got to sleep around midnight and thinking that the babies must surely be exhausted from staying up way past their bedtimes, we figured that we would be able to sleep in the next morning. Not so. Abby was up at 6:15 and Henry shortly followed. We did a little wandering around the area and then decided to take a drive in to Price to visit the local Walmart for some essentials, and to see what else the town might have to offer. I must say that the highlights of the trip included the following: seeing some guy riding a bicycle down main street barefoot, carrying an electric guitar (see photographic documentation below), and stopping at the CEU natural history museum and seeing one of the most hilarious statues, ever (also documented below). Generally I don't condone violence, but hey, it's nature. Upon returning from our trip, Kevin and Rich proceeded to set up an outside shower. Although it was enclosed, I wasn't immediately convinced that this was a good idea, something about being out in nature au natural seemed a little sketchy. However I had a change of heart, and it felt good to be clean even if for a few moments. I laugh (or shudder) to think though that our showers may have been caught by some Russian satellite and are now being broadcast on a website entitled "Things crazy Americans do when they think no one is looking". Oh well. The remainder of the trip included the obligatory gluttony that you should only really do when you are camping, Rich learning to make "beatles" (I believe they did get names- John and Paul) for fly-fishing, then going fly-fishing, a rousing couple games of Sequence in which the ladies confirmed their superiority. Most of all the trip was a wonderful opportunity for us to enjoy the company of good friends who we have sorely missed these last five years.

Out in the cold, in front of the locked trailer.

Abby and Henry getting cozy.

Abby trying to undress herself.

Kevin and Henry settling in for a nap after only 6 hours of sleep the previous night.

Crazy guitar guy.

Violent Statue

Abby in the kid cabin.

Henry chasing chipmunks.

And, last of all, Henry and Abby enjoying the sand.

Table Manners

2007-08-27T21:00:00.000-06:00

...or, lack thereof

Flopping all over the table.

I guess it's forgivable if it's a kiss for dad.

However feet on the table is just yuck!

C'ville Reunion in SLC

2007-08-04T12:14:00.000-06:00

Lake gets kisses...
...and hairstyling advice from Abby.
Hooray for the wonderful Dishmans!

Zooma

2007-08-04T11:43:00.000-06:00

Last week I took Abby to Hogle Zoo. She had a great time and later when we asked her where we had gone, she kept saying "zooma".

Here is a cool picture of Will with a white alligator on loan from the New Orleans Zoo.

Hanging out with a rhino statue (we saw real ones as well).

Abby and the zebras.

Abby and the giraffes -looking highly unimpressed.

Pat-pats to the tiger cub.

New Green Shoes

2007-08-04T11:27:00.000-06:00

Abby takes a moment to show off her new green shoes from Nana.
Anyone who doesn't like the shoes will have to answer to the "glare face".

"Mmm, this juice is delicious."

Later That Day...

2007-08-01T12:56:00.000-06:00

...we had a nice little spell of rain, which Abby thought was great. After living in a tiny condo with no yard, Abby didn't have a lot of experience in the great outdoors. So when it started to rain, I figured it would be a good time to introduce her.

Cautiously testing the falling water.

Sending expressions of love to the rain.

And then fully immersing herself into it.

Drenched and happy as can be.

After the thrill of the rain wore off, Abby decided to try out her climbing skills.

Kiss My Bootie

2007-08-01T10:51:00.000-06:00

The actual title of this post was supposed to say something about raspberries since I am trying to illustrate how much Abby enjoys picking raspberries at Grandma Lowe's. However the "kiss my bootie" shirt is an old classic that deserves a note. This shirt was given to me by my aunt, hopefully it will be lovingly passed on through the generations.

First generation wearer of the "Bootie" shirt, check out my sweet pants.

Second generation, in much cooler pants.

And finallly, a couple of pictures of Abby picking and enjoying the raspberries.