Goodness knows I am a little uptight when it comes to keeping a schedule, getting things done, and sticking with what works. But apparently, this all goes out the window on vacation (and boy, am I going to pay for it!)

Jack and Sadie playing at the playground.

Marcia feeding Jack dessert pizza.

Grandma Cindy helping Jack drink from the straw. NOT soda- like 7/8 water, and a very little bit of pink lemonade. He also enjoyed drinking my Jamba Juice through a straw.

Birthday Cake... He likes frosting just like his mom.

Sadie's car seat ended up inside on Graduation morning. Jack had to sit in it while he ate his breakfast, and watched tv at the same time.

A little morning nap at graduation. The late nights really started to wear on all of us.

Jack and his friend playing the the ball pit. We LOVED this!

Our friends who we get to visit in Utah each year. The boys are only 3 weeks apart so they are VERY FUN together!

Driving home with Papa Russ (we are parked at the rest area.)


And a couple of funny videos- Jack and Sadie taking a bath together. This is VERY late Thursday night. You can tell Jack is getting delirious.



And our ride home, JACK DID GREAT! Really, I think he might have done better this trip than when he was only 2 months old and we drove the long drive home. He was very funny, laughing at himself and talking to me. We read books, played his toy piano, and figured out how to use a new toy. We only watched 20 min. of a dvd when the sun was shining in Jack's eyes. If we could guarantee our ride would be this good EVERY TIME, we may take more long road trips.




I am actually really glad we had this time together to just play and be happy!

We made it!!!

Here we are! Provo, UT

We survived the flight out and are enjoying our time in the "college town" I once called home. We have done lots of bargain shopping, bought a couple of good books, and LOVE spending time with our cousin Sadie and Aunts & Uncles.


Jack loved playing at the airport play area in Milwaukee. Sadly they didnt' have one in our terminal in Denver.

Jack got his FIRST sucker! He loved it!

Grandma Diane- look what you started... I had to open the box before we even checked out. I don't like to do that, but it kept Jack happy!

Homemade pizza at Auntie Manda's house. Thank you for letting us play and let our friend come over. Here's the three kids all playing together, they keep us on our toes!

Daddy- we really miss you! I hope you are having fun and we can't wait to see you soon!

We love you!

I little PREVIEW...

Jack and I are headed to Utah this week! We are going to fly to Utah to meet Grandma & Papa Russ, and then we will be taking the 21 hour drive home with them. Auntie Manda is graduating and we are very excited to see 3 Aunts (2 uncles) & our Cousin Sadie who is going to turn 1 in a week! (CRAZY!)

As a little warm-up for the LONG car ride, we took a little trip to Indiana this weekend. Jack did great on our 4 1/2 hour ride there and just ok on our way back. But our time there was FABULOUS!

Dan's cousin Laura was celebrating her recent marriage! This is Jack and his ________ (second cousin, second cousin once removed, who knows... Dan's cousin, Kevin's baby.) We tried to get the other cousin's kids, but it didn't work so well.

Grandma Diane met us there from North Carolina. Pretty lucky! She surprised Jack with a big kid soccer ball and a big Tonka Truck. Jack especially enjoyed walking on the dance floor and dancing with the bride during her "Dollar Dance." We skipped the swimming pool, but Jack did get to party with Grandma Diane in her room while I took a shower- Dan was still sleeping.

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Our Friday before we left was nothing less than exciting! We got haircuts in the morning and playgroup and Grandma & Papa's house. You'll see more pictures of Jack's big kid haircut- but here it is! I LOVE IT!

Like Father, Like Son

Dan and I both had the afternoon off yesterday, so we took Jack frisbee golfing! Well, Dan frisbee golfed and Jack and I followed him around. Hole #18, Jack liked being involved in the action.



A couple of fun ones- just Dad and Jack hanging out!
Jack crawled in the love-sac all by himself. He really likes to climb the stairs, on the furniture, and on top of his leap-frog table.


Jack taking a breather at Grandma & Papa's, reading the dictionary-upside down. Dan also likes words/word puzzles. We have a well-used dictionary at home too!

Dan and Jack playing on the trampoline. They have a lot of fun together!


I'm pretty lucky to have both of these boys around!

A Holiday Weekend on the Go

We seem to go go go every day of our lives. A holiday weekend is no different!

Friday was full of errands, playgroups, piano lessons, helping Grandma, and friends and dinner company at night. Dan grilled out salmon and steak- it was DELICIOUS!

Saturday Dan was home so we could recover from Friday and prepare for our Easter Sunday! We watched General Conference on TV (that was our church for the weekend) and I worked on a special blanket/sleeping bag for Jack. He moved to the next room at daycare, a big kid room, where they take naps on cots at rest time! This was really exciting!We also enjoyed a picnic lunch in the gym at church (it was raining) and friends coming over for dinner and card making at night. (The men had a meeting at church, so it was just us girls and the kids. The play date was just as much for the kids as the adults. It was GREAT!)

Sunday we celebrated Easter with Easter baskets, brunch, an Easter Egg hunt, naps at home, and Easter dinner with Grandma & Papa.
Jack grabbed the "ball" right away! He also got a new shirt, some yogurt bites (these are his favorite) and some Easter Grass to play with!


Jack is getting over his grass-phobia. It seems that when I'm not around he will do anything- play on the grass, bounce on the trampoline and swing in the swing!

Monday it was back to work, but LUCKILY I scored big at the Stride Rite outlet (once a year sale, and it was the last day!) We got Jack new big kid shoes, now that he is in the big kid room at school.
Just having some fun!

Don't Tell Daddy...

When Daddy is away...

Mom lets me play in the refrigerator. I am now playing with my magnet toys from inside of the fridge!

Walk around with no diaper on... Dad says if I make a mess that Mommy has to clean it up!

I get to eat cookies (I am pretty sure I found the one with the MOST chocolate chips!)

We sure have a lot of fun! But we save the MOST FUN for when Daddy is home. :)

We've decided to enjoy the nice weather and spend a little time outside, on the grass. Little did we know that Jack HATES grass! He is deathly afraid of walking on it, and if he sits/falls he freaks out!!! (This picture was taken before he fell on it the first time.) I guess we will take the same approach that continues to FAIL as we try to get Jack to eat fruits and veggies... Play on the grass EVERY DAY to hopefully get over this!

Auntie Manda- Thank you for the BYU Hat! If it falls off, he tries to put it back on himself. HE LOVES IT!

Live, Love, Laugh

Dan won his Fantasy Football draft and so we had a little extra play $ that he wanted to do something fun with. So, he spent a whole evening (as I napped on the couch next to him) finding and booking a night at a hotel. I fell asleep thinking we were just going to go to a hotel in Naperville, Jack would stay with Michelle & Scott close by, and it would be great! I woke up from this peaceful sleep to the exciting news that Dan booked a "Romance Package" at a hotel, which included 1 hour couples massage in our room, chocolate covered strawberries and sparkling grape juice, and breakfast in bed. Oh- white robes too!

We have been looking forward to this for almost 2 months- little did we know how "LONG" these months would seem...

I was pregnant. I was about 13 weeks along, I went to the Dr. and they did an ultrasound. We found out that I had a blighted ovum. (No baby, just a gestational sac.) We were really ok with the news, disappointed. But it was really what followed that was frustrating, exhausting, sad at times, discouraging etc. I chose to "miscarry" on my own- but I have learned that not knowing what to expect along with not knowing what my body was doing is very frustrating for me. The biggest lesson learned - LIVE. There are a lot of risks in life, but all you can do is live it up and hope for the best! (I think Dan taught me that- or at least helps me to accept that.)

I tell you all of that only so you can really understand the humor/awkwardness of our weekend away!

We check into the hotel. We have an hour until our massages so we're watching basketball. The masseuses show up, set up their tables and then go into the bathroom to wash up. We get onto the tables- and one masseuse says "I have a question... Are you pregnant?" I was just going to take my "prenatal" massage and not say a word, but of course I told her. Poor lady- probably did not expect that answer... Strike 1

Anyways- the massages were great. We were in a daze, so we decided to just relax and have a late dinner instead. We called Michelle & Scott and told them they could come to swim at any time, we were going to meet them by the pool.

Dan and I get dressed and head down to the pool- Dan is in his swim trunks only and I'm in my suit & a coverup. We didn't know where the pool was, so we walked down to the front desk. The valet was there talking with the ladies, and his eyes opened wide with SHOCK! Dan quickly went back to the elevator- I asked the ladies where the pool was... there was no pool! WHAT!!! They said they were connected with the gym and we could use the pool there. WHAT??? I kindly explained that we had our son coming with family to swim and that we weren't going to take the little kids to a gym to swim (I'm sure they wouldn't let them anyway...) So they offered us a Wii or DVD player for free. We took the Wii.

So Dan's waiting by the room for me (I have the key) and our strawberries arrive as he's standing there shirtless just waiting and waiting. I arrive and let both of them in. This could be the stupidest we have ever felt- but all we could do is laugh! We watched a little more bball as we waited for the kids and every few seconds we would just break out laughing. HOW DUMB CAN YOU BE!!! Strike 2

The kids come up to play, had a few snacks, and we saw Jack. We wanted to show them the TV in the bathroom mirror because that was pretty sweet! (The room was VERY nice, fancy and not very hotel-like. I liked it a lot) As Michelle & I are talking/playing with Jack, a nice lady from the hotel brings in a cute little tray with a baby cookie on in, a quote, and chocolates... "Which one of you is pregnant???" I look at Michelle, Michelle reassures herself that she is not, and then I say "Oh, that's me..." What's the sense in making her feel stupid! Strike 3



After they left, we went down to the front desk, returned the Wii and asked them about the restaurants the hotel is connected with. Dan wanted seafood, I wanted a salad or something light. I still was kind of in a daze from the massages, or the relaxing time, or something. We choose a restaurant. We're at the hostess counter, they ask us if we have a reservation and we say "no," So these 2 women sit and whisper at the computer screen for a long time... why didn't the front desk tell us that we needed a reservation??? doesn't it stop at strike 3 and then we should just give up... not for us! strike 4

They finally find a table for us, we sit down and get water. They clear away the other two place-settings, and we're just looking at the menu and Dan says "I think I might be sick, like I might puke." AWESOME! So, we decide to not eat there and just take a ride to the grocery store. Buy something light and not too offensive. Bread, rolls, apples, cheese & sausage for me. We get back and within seconds, Dan is in the bathroom... strike 5

And that is how our night ended. Dan felt better, but didn't want to push it. We didn't even turn on the TV. It was 9:30 at night and we were done. The plus side of all of this- We both enjoyed an 11 HOUR NIGHT'S SLEEP, totally uninterrupted!

Dan felt really bad, I felt really bad because he didn't feel well. I was not disappointed, we got away to relax with no interruptions! Lesson learned... Love. He couldn't help it and normally when he gets sick I get so frustrated, I don't know why. It was so nice to just appreciate everything he had done to get things in order for the weekend, appreciate the time we had alone together-even if he was sick, and relax together.

And of course... LAUGH! Our morning was not much better. Dan felt better and we got breakfast in our package. We got it delivered to our room and it was delicious! Dan of course barffed that up too-TMI? (He claims he didn't have the flu, just kind of a migraine type thing.)

At 10:00 the room service lady knocks on the door, I answer it and she says "I'm so sorry, I'll come back." I told her we had a late check-out, again part of the package. She must have told someone because 3 minutes later we got a call from the front desk asking if we wanted a late checkout. I apologized and explained that I didn't know we had to ask for it because it was "part of the package." SOMETIMES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU CAN'T WIN!


Even with feeling stupid, nothing working out quite how we planned it, and Dan being sick, we had a great weekend! Jack did great at his Uncle & Auntie's house, even overnight! And we enjoyed a delicious lunch and some Mario before we headed home! Thanks Michelle & Scott for making this all possible! (And of course to all of the ladies that covered my Sunday church responsibilities!)

Moral of the story... Maybe you're just better off staying home!!!

Hopefully our humorous attempt at a romantic weekend gives you something to laugh at this Monday morning! Have a great week!