Nostalgia

Jess and I were talking about how she heard that Massachusetts has drive-ins that are still open. We have really missed going to the drive-in since we moved from Idaho, and so I thought it would be fun to find one of them and go to it sometime this summer! I started looking online to find one and fell across this site.

http://www.drive-ins.com/

We were surprised at how many drive-ins are still open! Even Hawaii has one. This got me thinking about how many things that are really cool just kind of fall away in our society today. What other things am I forgetting about that I loved growing up? I don't mean fads like Kriss-Kross (although I do still love Jump Jump), but things that were more lasting.

I have a hunch one day I will miss the Idaho I grew up in. It's already so different than what it was for me as a kid. I remember racing Popsicle sticks down the rain gutter. Or sticking apples at the end of sticks and seeing how far we could fling them (Jacob still holds the record at over a block!). Things have changed so much in the last twenty years. Kids don't cruise the town on their home-made bikes (that didn't have any brakes) anymore. Now they play video games. Even spud harvest is gone. In it's place: fall break. An empty shell of what once was. At least the July 4th fireworks are better than they used to be. Thanks, Melaleuca.

I really hope that as I continue to age and better understand the world that I will recognize when change is an improvement, and when it is a loss. I hope that there will always be cheap drive-ins. What other relics of time past would I love if I gave them a chance? Let me know some of your favorite previous era left-overs. Maybe I could find my next infatuation.

Our Story

How did we meet: Boy is that a long story. We were actually mission companions. Yup, you read correctly. Before I share the story, let me just say that there was NOTHING between us until AFTER the mission. K. The church didn't have registration in Chelyabinsk (the city we were serving in). Meaning the government there didn't accept the LDS church as a religion. This meant that we were only allowed to be in the city for 3 work days and the weekend. Our mission president wanted someone from each companionship there at all times. So, we would flip flop between 2 cities each week. What would happen is I would leave Chelyabinsk early Monday morning to go serve with another sister in Yekaterinburg and her companion would travel down to mine. I would work there for 2 days and then take the bus back to Chelyabinsk on Wednesday while my original companion went up to Yekaterinburg to serve 2 days. Confused, yet? On Fridays while we waited for our original companions to travel back to us so we could serve the weekend together, I needed a companion. Since there was only one sister companionship serving in the city, I was left without a comp. What did we do? I had 2 elders as my companions. So, serving there for several months I ended up having a lot of elders as my companions and Elder Wood happened to be one of them. A bunch of us planned to go snowboarding after the mission and when we did, Elder Wood happened to be one of them. The rest is pretty much history!

Where did you go on your first date?: Not really sure how to answer that. After we went snowboarding that first time, that was it. We did have some fun dates though. Does boarding almost every weekend together count? I remember for V Day we made a delicious lasagne and he tried to teach me how to dance, but I have 2 left feet.



How long have you been together: About 5 1/2 years.

Who eats more: Depends on the day and if I'm pregnant and if it's chocolate, but Dan would have to be the one who eats more.

Who said I love you first: That's a fun story! In the end, Dan told me first.

Who is taller: Dan

Who sings better: Dan, though I read music and he doesn't.

Who is smarter: Depends on the subject or topic. We're both smart in our own ways, though I must say that Dan wins hands down when it comes to math and science!

Who does the laundry: What's that??? Just kidding. I do. I don't mind doing it other than folding and putting it away.

Who does the dishes: Mostly me, though he usually cleans the pots and pans. I'm a bit particular when it comes to the kitchen. When he cleans it, I usually end up cleaning it more because I'm a little OCD. Thank you, Dan for your help though!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed: If you're standing and facing the bed, it's usually me. Though I am known to ask to switch sides on a whim.

Who pays the bills: Intel does give us the paycheck and Dan does work hard for it. Technically though, I have up until recently, but I'm actually trying this whole thing of not being a control freak and I'm letting him pay some of the bills too now. It's working quite nicely.

Who mows the lawn: We don't have a lawn, but the girls and I do get to swim a lot. We think of the pool at our apartment complex as our backyard.

Who cooks dinner: I really wish the answer was "always me", but it's not. I am the one that usually does it, but I LOVE it when Dan cooks. He makes things taste so yummy!

Who drives when you are together: ME!!! Dan hates to drive when I'm in the car because he says I'm a back-seat driver. I'm just trying to help.

Who is more stubborn: Definitely not me! Alright, in all honesty we are both very stubborn so neither one of us would ever admit to being the more stubborn one. But, since I'm the one doing this post, I say Dan is more stubborn. :)

Who kissed who first: It was over 5 years ago and we still have a debate about this. But if I'm going to be completely honest, I kissed him first on the cheek. He kissed me first on the lips.

Who proposed: That would be Dan. We went snowboarding up at Targhee for the last time of the season. Towards the end of the day Dan wanted to take a picture at the top of the mountain where there's a gorgeous view of the Tetons. We strapped out of our boards and I set the camera up. As I was running back to him in time for the camera to take the picture, he pulled out the ring, I slipped, fell down the mountain and the camera took the picture. So, now we have a picture of Dan looking down the mountain at who knows what holding a ring with the Tetons in the background. He wanted to get a picture of him proposing and well, he got it!




Who is more sensitive: That's a toss up. He cried during our wedding and I didn't. But, I cry during cheesy movies and he doesn't. I guess Dan on spiritual stuff, and me on everything else.

Who has more siblings: That's an easy question! Dan has 7 brothers and 1 sister. Don't feel bad for the sister. Being the only girl in the family definitely has it's benefits and besides she now has great sisters-in-law. I have 3 brothers and 1 sister.

Who wears the pants: Uhh, we both do. I guess I wear capris, too. Dan hates capris. I think they're cute and comfortable.


Thanks Eden, for the tag. Our blog is almost completely dedicated to our 2 adorable little girls, so I hope you have enjoyed learning random, but fun things about me and Dan. We have lot's of stories. Maybe I should start putting some of them up on the blog. What do you think?
I'd really like to tag everyone because I love reading these kinds of things, but it looks like that's not the "cool" thing to do. So, I tag Jenkins Fam., Lawton Fam., Morales Fam., Revelli Fam., and the Salcido Family. Now, get to work. I'll be checking those blogs soon!

Bedtime already???

This has happened twice now. The first time I thought it was a total fluke, but tonight I realized we are very lucky parents! Mckenzie has lot's of nicknames, but one inparticular is "switch". She's either on or off. That's it. She's always been an amazing sleeper. Up until she was 18 months she was still taking 2 naps during the day for about 2 hours at a time. Plus, rarely does she fuss when we put her down for naps or bedtime and if she does it's for less than a couple of minutes. Anyway, we have our bedtime routine of bath, pj's, prayer, scriptures and daddy hugs and kisses. She insists on having me put her down (it makes me feel special). Well, tonight she has been a bit fussy so we planned to put her down early thinking she was tired. After prayer and scriptures, she gave Dan a hug and kiss then guided me to her room at which point she ready for me to pick her up and put her in bed. Nice, huh? This has happened twice now in the last 2 weeks or so and I'm hoping it continues because it's so cute to watch her. Maybe this story is lame to you all, but as the mommy of Mckenzie, I just think it's cute. Now, if Mckenzie could only teach Abby the joys of sleep.

Hello Summer!

So, I guess today's the first day of summer. Disregarding the whole argument about solstices and equinoxes (which are also both vehicles), does anyone else think that summer officially starts WAY too late? When do you all think it should start?

Personally, I'm for the Arizona monsoon method. Once you get such and such number of days in a row with a certain criteria, it's summer (or any season for that matter). Then we could have MORE than four seasons. Rather than an Indian Summer it would just be a second summer. January thaw would be an early first spring...etc. Is that complicated enough of a solution simply to help me feel like the season more directly corresponds to what I think it should be?

Dan

Adoption

My heart goes out to my sweet and incredible mission companion, Cara and her family. Cara said that I could share their story with all of you on our blog. "Pass our story and our profile info along to whoever you think might be interested--you never know who might know of a birth mother who is looking for a family for her baby". Her words are better than mine, so I'm just taking an piece of her story from her adoption profile.

"We were married about three years ago. When Brad proposed, he knelt in front of a big 12-passenger van, and asked Cara, “Will you help me fill up this van?” It was sweet…and pretty funny. And it worked.
We were lucky to have a honeymoon baby, a boy. Benjamin was born with a genetic birth defect, called anencephaly. We were thrilled that he was born alive and enjoyed 30 precious minutes with him before he passed away.
Our second baby, Timothy, was born 1 year later, and is a healthy, busy 18-month old—our little miracle.
We recently had a little girl, Abigail, born to us. She also had anencephaly and passed away shortly after birth. It was a bittersweet experience, but we are grateful to have had the little time we had with her and love and miss her and Benjamin so much.
This is the difficult path that has led us here. We could never replace the children we have lost, but we have room in our hearts and our home for a child that needs us as much as we need him or her. More than that, we feel strongly that the Lord wants our family to continue to grow, that now is the time to adopt, and that this child will be just as much “ours,” and meant to be part of our eternal family, as our other three children."

Their story brings tears to my eyes. Sadness of course because of what they've gone through, but also amazement with how they've been strong through their journey and great gratitude in knowing that the Lord is with them giving support, guidance and strength. Their hearts are so full of love. They are truly good and genuine people. For more information, you can visit their adoption profile at http://www.providentliving.org/ses/birthmother/searchprofiles/0,12268,2133-1,00.html
When you pull up the site, you'll need to enter BradleyAndCara as their profile name and it is case-sensitive.

My little Abby is growing up

I have really enjoyed Abby the last 7 months. Her cuddles and giggles bring so much joy. She has such a sweet disposition about her. I am so grateful that I have her as my daughter. It's always exciting to see them grow and learn new things. With Mckenzie, I was always getting excited for the new things she was learning. With Abby, I just want to keep her o' so little. Don't get me wrong, I get really excited when she learns new things, but a little sad to see the newborn phase slipping away. Mckenzie turned 2 two weeks ago and I guess Abby knew and wanted to get the attention because she made huge leeps all in about a week. She learned how to sit up by herself and army crawl. Now she's perfecting the crawl which is exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. She is now 26 inches long and 15 lbs 13 oz. She's around the 20-25% in both categories, so whatever. She refuses to eat solid foods and won't take a bottle unless it's apple juice. What a cute little stinker she is!

Doctor's Bills

We have officially paid off Mckenzie's doctors bills. Well, all but 2 cents of it. Since Mckenzie was in the NICU for 9 days we had lot's of medical bills. I am SO grateful for good insurance that did cover an amazingly large amount of the bills! Why wouldn't I pay that 2 cents today? Well, it comes down to being a stinker and having a little fun. When Mckenzie was born, her AMAZING (I miss him so much) pediatrician was out of town so she got the on call doctors. The first couple were great. One would even call during the middle of the night to make sure Mckenzie was doing ok. However, the last two doctors were ridiculous. They would come in the morning and the evenings to check everything out and spend less than a couple of minutes with us and it was like pulling teeth to get answers from them. So, I decided that since they made it difficult for me... I'd have a little fun in return. My bill has always been such and such a dollar amount with 2 cents on the end. So, I paid my last whole dollar amount today and left the 2 cents remaining on my account. When the doctor's office set it up the said something like "So, you have this much remaining and 2 cents and I'll post it for the full amount". I told her no and that the 2 cents needed to remain on the account. hehehe. She was a little caught off guard and didn't know what to say. So, I said my good byes and hung up. We'll see if they post the 2 cents or not. I figure when we go to Idaho next month, I'll stop by and give them the 2 cents.

Mckenzie's Birthday

I know this post has lot's of pictures, but oh well. Mckenzie's birthday was a lot of fun. Her aunt Bree (Jessica's sister) came to spend it with her. She was there the day after Mckenzie was born and was there for her 1st birthday, so it has become a tradition for the two of them. They love each other so much! Mckenzie woke up to pancakes in the shape of "M", "W" and "2" and of course they had to be drenched in syrup. A good portion of the day was spent by the pool with her friend Vianne, her mommy and Aunt Bree. Her favorite thing to do right now is swim and she's quite the dare devil so I have to make sure she's wearing floaties. She's getting really good at holding her breath under water, kicking to get places, climbing out of the pool, lying on her back (couldn't get her to do this AT ALL last year) and closing her mouth when she goes under. I'm so glad she's a little fish. If you know anything at all about me, you know that I am not a crafty person, but I tried to be for her birthday and made an Elmo cake. Talk about time consuming. It turned out pretty good and nothing got stained from the food coloring. She loved all of her presents including a bike, clothing, stroller for her dolls, a doll, a princess chair, money, and a snow white princess costume. We took her to Olive Garden for her birthday dinner and she had her favorite food, fetuccine alfredo. Before bed we spent some time looking at her photo album and reminiscing the last two years. How great of a blessing Mckenzie is to our lives. She keeps us on our toes and helps us remember how the little things in life can cause so much fun and happiness.

Happy Birthday, Mckenzie!

Our little Mckenzie turns 2 today! It's fun to reply the events that took place this day two years ago. What a wonderful miracle and special blessing she is to our family. She keeps us on our toes every waking minute, but we wouldn't change it for anything. She is our beautiful blue eyed, music loving,playful, energetic, stubborn, opinionated, smart, loving, caring, compassionate, completely sincere, artistic little girl. We love you completely Mckenzie. You are our precious little girl.

Lost my car and call to poison control center

So, one would look at my day yesterday and think that it was friday the 13th, that I must have walked under a ladder, ran into a black cat and broke a mirror. Yesterday morning my little sister flew in to spend Mckenzie's 2nd birthday with her. She arrived at before 5 am even though her flight was scheduled to arrive at 5:15am. Anyway, I am a little scatter-brained that early in the morning and I forgot to look to see where I parked the car. Once I picked Bree up, we had to walk around trying to find the car. I couldn't even remember which of the 7 levels of parking I had parked on. After about 20 minutes, a garage shuttle driver stopped and asked if we needed help. It ended up taking another 40 minutes of driving up and down each row on each level AND 2 other shuttles doing the same for us to find the car. We ended up finding it on the ground level.
A few hours later, Mckenzie decided to take advantage of me forgetting to lock the cupboards under the kitchen sink and play with all the "fun" chemicals. Apparently, the cascade tablets are her favorite; especially the powder side of them. So, I washed her up and tried forcing chocolate milk (she won't drink milk) and water down her and called the poison control center.
Fortunantely, all is well and the rest of the day went by pretty smoothly. Oh, how can I forget! Mckenzie got to see ELMO live! They're promoting the new "Abbycadaby" character for Seseame Place; a fun park for Seseame Street in Pennsylvania. So, we took Mckenzie to the mall and she looked like a little Elmo groupie. She was in absolute awe of how big Elmo was. She refused to look at me while Elmo was on stage, so the pictures didn't turn out very well, but here are a couple.
We'll see how this morning ends up...