The Garners

2011-11-29T16:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween

Better Late Than Never

This year we celebrated Mike's birthday over some apple pie (he likes pie better than cake) and a Halloween party.

A few days later we put on our pj's and carved our pumpkins.

Even Elsie joined in the fun.

Campbell's pumpkin was a cat. I am not exactly sure where his love of cats comes from but it runs deep. Lets hope its just a phase. j/k

Campbell is one of the nuttiest kids I have ever met. I wish that he would share his kookie personality with everyone. The missionaries came over the other night for dinner and he wouldn't say a word to them. Once Mike asked a cahttering Campbell why he doesn't talk like that to everyone and his reply was, "because I don't like them". So apparently, if Campbell talks to you its a compliment.

Logan still doesn't like to get his hands dirty if he can help it. This was his new approach to cleaning out the pumpkin. When that didn't work he returned to his rubber gloves.

Mike and I dressed up as Roughrider fans (the Canadian football team from Saskatchewan). They are a big deal here. You Americans might not get it but our friends thought it was funny. This picture was taken after I had already taken off my watermelon hat. Mike made them and I must say I he did a really good job.

All the kids had astronaut costumes and we failed getting a picture of them all together. Logan dressed up as a fire fighter for the halloween party at church which is somewhat ironic because he has a new and very real fear of fire alarms but that's another story. Anyway I think they are adorable and they had a blast trick or treating this year. Between the party at church and trick or treating they ended up with a load of candy!

2011-11-08T12:42:00.000-08:00

Sunday Afternoon

Elsie is almost five weeks old now. The time has flown by. She is so sweet and cuddly. I don't know how she stays calm amongst the chaos of her two energetic brothers. Let's just hope her peaceful energy starts to rub off on them. We are all so glad she is a part of our family, it is hard to imagine life without her.

2011-11-06T22:08:00.000-08:00

Life around here is crazy but it is so worth it.

2011-11-06T21:56:00.000-08:00

Time Flies

I don't know where the time goes. I have so much to catch up on, and a million pictures to post. Elsie is already a month old, ah!

While I was pregnant I would often ask the boys what they thought we should name their little sister. Penelope and Millie were their two favorite names. When we brought Elsie home from the hospital the boys announced that if we could name the baby they could to...thus Elsie became also known as Penelope. I stayed home from church the first few weeks after Elsie was born and from what I understand several people asked the boys what we named our new baby to which they of course replied, "Penelope". It has caused some confusion but I think it is hilarious. It has been four weeks and they still refer to Elsie as Penelope.

The boys are so sweet with Elsie. They kiss her, talk to her, and beg to hold her all day long. This is a picture of Logan watching TV while holding Elsie's hand, so cute! Whenever she cries the boys do their best to comfort her. They scramble to find her binki, pat her on the head, hold her hand, or sing to her.

When Elsie was two weeks old we went to get pumpkins on our first real outing. Dutch Growers green house has a fun hay bale maze every year and the kids loved it. We had a hard time keeping up with the boys. This dead end allowed me to catch Logan for a quick picture.

They ran through the maze atleast three times.

After much deliberation we took home three wonderful pumpkins to carve.

2011-10-08T17:07:00.000-07:00

Elsie Eva Garner

She is finally here! Elsie arrived Wednesday, October 5, 2011 at 7:18am weighing in at 10 lbs 7 ounces and 23 inches long. I think she looks exactly like her dad but I'll let you judge for yourself.

Elsie in the hospital.

Here is Elsie just before we left the hospital the next day.

I am so glad that my beautiful mother was here to help out. She is such a good birthing coach and a great support. Thank you mom for taking care of us. We miss you so much and wish your trip was longer!

Elsie went on her first walk around the neighborhood today. Here she is all bundled up against the chilly fall wind.

The boys love their new baby sister. When Campbell came into the room at the hospital he walked straight over to Elsie and held out his arms to hold her. The boys kept repeating, "she's so cute". I think they are going to be protective big brothers and hopefully she can mellow them out a little.

She is so cute even when she is crying which actually isn't often. It has only been three days but she is such a good baby. We feels so blessed to have her in our family.

2011-08-30T21:34:00.000-07:00

A Little Trip (part 2)

After Waterton we headed down to Great Falls, Montana. We were so close to the great USA we just couldn't resist. First we headed to an air show. I am pretty sure we have become total softies since adjusting to the mild Canadian summers because I was positive we were going to melt before the end of the show. Actually, Logan and Campbell didn't seem to mind they were too busy enjoying the airplanes.

I think the Blue Angels were their favorite part. It was pretty incredible watching all the things that these jets could do. At one point Campbell ducked down when they swooped down past the crowd.

Next it was my turn to have fun so we went to Target. Oh how I miss Target!

Needless to say, it was a full day so that night we relaxed at our hotel, ate snacks, and watched a movie together.

Before we left we were sure to take our traditional jumping on the bed pictures. Here is Logan.

Campbell loved jumping on the beds but wasn't super cooperative in the process. Here he is in Waterton. I guess he is more of a diver than a jumper.

Maybe Campbell gets it from his dad.

And here I am, lovely isn't it?

It was a fun but short trip with a lot of driving but I think we all enjoyed ourselves and would love to do it again.

2011-08-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

A Little Trip

We had the chance to take a trip over a long weekend so we headed to Waterton National Park (the Canadian side of Glacier National Park). To get there we had to drive through Southern Alberta so we made sure that we swung by Raymond, the town where Mike's mother was born. It was a quick stop but we were able to visit the grave of James Heninger, Mike's grandfather. We also drove by the house he was raised in.

The Cardston Temple was right on the way too.

The boys enjoyed jumping on the beds when we got to our hotel in Waterton. It is our family tradition to get actions shots, don't worry there are more to come.

This is what we saw right outside our hotel room. We saw wild life all over the park.

We road the bicycle suri to Cameron Falls. The falls were beautiful but the boys couldn't have cared less, they just wanted to get back on the bike.

We had so much fun touring around Waterton by Suri. The boys said it was their favorite part of the day.

Did I mention Waterton was beautiful?

Here is a another view of Upper Waterton Lake (taken from the Prince of Wales Hotel).

I have had many requests to see more of my growing belly so here you go. I have seven weeks to go.

The canoe rental place closed minutes before we got to Cameron Lake. We were so disappointed but glad that we got to enjoy the view (We'll go next time Logan, I promise).

It was a very full day, after we biked around town we ate a delicious lunch at a restruant on the lake then we headed to red rock canyon. I wish we had pictures, it was beautiful. The boys walked up and down the shallow riverbed throwing rocks and playing in the water. Next we drove to Cameron Lake (missed the canoeing wah, wah) and then ate dinner at Weiners of Waterton (which I highly recommend). On our way out of the park we stopped by the famous Prince of Wales Hotel and continued on to Cardston where we stayed the night on our way down to Montana. It was truely a great day.

2011-08-14T21:19:00.000-07:00

Just Because...

Aren't they cute?

P.S. Don't worry, they got haircuts a few days later.

2011-08-07T23:05:00.000-07:00

Brothers

These two do everything together.

This is just a typical moment captured although Campbell isn't always the one on top. This love-hate relationship keeps me busy. They love to play together which often ends in a brawl. Boys!

They couldn't love this bunkbed more. I think Campbell is proud to sleep in a big boy bed. Now if I could just get them to keep the nice blankets I bought over the Lightening McQueen sheets. . .

Mike took the boys camping one weekend while I went shopping in Calgary with a friend (what a brave man). The boys are still talking about it weeks later. Mike took them into this little town nearby for ice cream.

Campbell is stubborn and definately has a mind of his own but I'd say Logan is the inspiration for most of his decisions.

I can't describe what a funny pair these two are.

Life is never dull around here.

2011-06-26T22:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Summer!

The summer is flying by and we are enjoying every minute. I thought I would show a few things that we have been up to.

Cars 2 opened June 24th, the boys could hardly wait for this day. We went all out with the treats and the popcorn and the boys thought they were in heaven. Logan is showing you his new Lightening Mcqueen (which he calls Fire Mcqueen because the new Lightening has flames painted on the sides). The boys have been earning the new characters by doing their chores. It has been a great enticement.

The boys loved the movie. Campbell cheered when the movie started and they laughed the whole way through. It was so fun to watch how excited they were.

For my birthday the boys took me out to dinner and I had such a fun time. These two are hilarious.

P.S. Lately they insist on wearing boots everywhere, sometimes you just gotta roll with it.

After dinner Mike got a babysitter. First we went to the movies and saw Super 8 and then we went to a little concert. Meaghan Smith just happened to be playing at a local "cafe" on my birthday. She was awesome! I love her music and she was even super nice. I went up and chatted with her before she went on. I am aware of the hideousness of this picture but it is the only one that worked out in the concert. Mike wanted me to point out that we are not "high", the flash was a little bright. It was such a fun night!
Thanks Mike for the wonderful gifts and fun date. It ended up being a great birthday!

To keep ourselves entertained we end up going to the Zoo quite often. I love this picture of the boys watching the prairie dogs.

One week for Family Home Evening we had a picnic at the zoo. We had fun feeding the peacocks, chickens, and geese bread crumbs but Campbell's favorite part was the zoo cat. This kid chased the cat around the entire zoo.

One day we went to the zoo just to test out our new rainboots and umbrellas. It has been a very rainy month.

More puddles.

Logan just finished swim lessons.

The boys are constantly begging me to take them over to this dirt pile near our home. We have spent hours here. It never gets old for them.

When we aren't digging in the dirt we are riding bikes.

Logan has been attending preschool twice a week for two and a half hours. His teachers Mrs. Thiessen and Mrs. Dagenais have been wonderful. This was his last day of school party and he is excited to start again in the fall.

We love you summer!

2011-06-07T17:38:00.000-07:00

Yellowstone National Park

Mike's Grandmother, Gladys Garner recently passed away at the age of 92. Her funeral was held in Burley, Idaho so we all piled into the truck and headed south on a 17 hour driving adventure. Yellowstone just happened to be on the way so we decided that would be a good place to take a driving break. The best part was that my Sister Stephanie and her family just happened to be there that day too!

We had just been in the park for a half hour or so when we drove past this black bear just off the road. It was so exciting to see all the animals. We saw Bison, Elk, deer, and Moose too.

We met the Fords at Old Faithful. Creed had this cool hat that Logan so admired so we bought one for both our boys too. These guys could not be more opposite but they are best buddies. It is so fun to see them together. They always have so much fun.

There goes Old Faithful.

This is our little family in front of Old Faithful.

In my defense, I am five months pregnant here and we had done a lot of driving. I'm just sayin'.

We just couldn't resist the suckers in the gift shop so we had to take a lollipop picture.

I think this was Spasm Geyser.

Here is my lovely and ever so talented Sister Stephanie.

After we saw Old Faithful we headed up the road to the mud pots (I think that's what they were, we saw a lot of geysers and such). This is Larry and me enjoying the stinky steam.

Here we all are (okay,minus me, I'm taking the picture). I thought our stroller parade was pretty funny.

Sadly we only saw the Fords for a few hours before we parted ways but before we left we went to see a few of Yellowstone's amazing waterfalls. Even Squeaky the mouse enjoyed the view.

I think the boys really enjoyed Yellowstone, it was sad the stop was so short but we plan on returning in few years.

Notice Campbell doesn't seem too thrilled in any of the pictures; the poor guy had ear infections and was in a lot of pain. He has had them for two months! We just can't get rid of them. Several rounds of antibiotics later and I think that we are finally almost in the clear. Keep your fingers crossed.

2011-05-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

Campbell Turns 2!

April first we flew home to Utah because Mike's brother Steve and his wife Emma were getting sealed in the Mount Timpanogos Temple. All of Mike's siblings were able to be there. It was so nice to be with everyone and we are so proud of you Steve and Emma! I think the kids had the most fun playing with their cousins and getting spoiled by Grandma Elsie.

Since we were surrounded by family we decided to throw a little party for Campbell's second birthday. Nana (my mom) was kind enough to surrender her house for the cause. It looked like rain out so we ended up having an indoor easter egg hunt. I think these little bunnies enjoyed themselves.

Nine of Campbell's cousins were in attendance. It was a blast!

(Alec, Campbell, Kendall, Ava, and Ella)

More bunny cousins (Caden, Garner, Logan, and Creed).

After the easter egg hunt our little bunnies had to earn their carrots (a plastic carrot full of bubbles) by doing the bunny hop. I only wish I could have captured how cute these kids were while doing the bunny hop. It may have been my favorite part of the party and they truly seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Next we made bunny candy necklaces (thank you Stephanie for finding these jems).

This is Mike's sister Jamie with two of her kids Kendall and Caden.

For those of you who don't know Campbell well, he is so entertainig. He takes awhile to warm up to new people but he loves to talk and he has the best laugh (and don't worry a few days later he got his first real hair cut, thanks Nana)!

Campbell loves books, his cowboy boots, any kind of fruit, pretending to be a cat named fluffy, and playing with Logan.  He is still a good napper and a little bit of a home-body but he really enjoys being outside now that it has warmed up. He is brave, confident, and could be referred to as Mr. Independent.  Let's just say he is overflowing with personality.

Logan and Campbell recently invented a game they named anyfundge. One of them lays on a half blown up punching bag and the other jumps from the arm of a chair landing on the bag launching their brother into the air.  Is this a good idea you ask? Probably not but I dare you to stop them. Plus, it is pretty darn hilarious to watch.

Campbell is constantly saying funny things. I took Campbell with me into a dressing room and when I tried on a dress he said, "you a pretty princess mom."   I didn't know he knew about princesses yet.

Even Uncle Eli was able to make it.

I have to especailly thank Stephanie, my Grammie Billee Lou, and Jamie for the extra help. I owe you! Thanks to everyone for coming and celebrating with us. My only regret was not taking more pictures. I wish I had a picture of everyone there.

Since we flew to Utah we knew we wouldn't be able to get Campbell's gifts home so we had a small celebration when we got back. Who doesn't love an extra excuse for more celebration? We love you Campbell!

2011-04-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

Over the last few months. . .

we went through the glamourous potty-training routine again,

realized Logan desperately needed a haircut,

received a visit from a leprechaun (after a much needed haircut),

and announced the coming of our thrid child. Surprise! Hence, the reason for our long blogging absence. It has been a long few months but we are past the stage of illness and excited to catch up.

2011-01-20T22:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010

Part one

For Christmas we packed up and drove to Utah for the Borup Family Festivities. It was worth the bajiliion of hours spent in the car. We built gingerbread houses, went sledding, played games, visited build a bear with nana, shopped, and of course got sick. Yep, it is a Garner family Christmas tradition, we get sick without fail every year.

Every year we try to make it to Temple Square for the amazing lights and Nativity presentation. It is one of my favorite parts of Christmas. The spirit is always so strong and it gives everyone the opportunity to really think about the birth of our Savior and King.

The Salt Lake Temple takes my breath away everytime I see it.

Campbell wasn't thrilled about being pushed around in a stroller or wearing his winter gear.

Here are the Stringhams (my oldest sister Candice and fam).

We were married/sealed here just five years earlier (Dec. 27). Happy Anniversary Mike!

Logan had way too much fun playing with his cousin Creed.

Larry (my brother-in-law) was kind enough to push these fellas around all night.

Here is my big Sis Stephanie.

Logan

My Dad a.k.a Papa.

This is my Mom a.k.a. Nana.

Logan loves his cousins. I can't believe how old Grant and Cole are getting! Note the white mouse in Logan's hand. His name is Squeaky and he is missing. Somehow he snuck away so if you see him please let us know and sneak him a little cheese. For some reason Logan is obsessed with this stuffed mouse from Ikea and the good news is they are like two bucks and they have a huge bin of them, the bad news, the nearest Ikea is like six hours away. We have been through approximately 10 of these already.

The lights were beautiful and the company was amazing but we missed you Brenna and Eli.

Afterwards we went to Hatch Family Chocolates for hot chocolate that was to die for. Have you ever seen the show about the Hatch family on TLC? Anyway the caramel chocolate apples were awesome and the hot chocolate was like liquid candy bars, I strongly recommend it. It was a great night!

Sorry about the Stroller Stephanie! I love you!

2011-01-15T20:55:00.000-08:00

Our Canadian Snowman

Campbell really hates the cold and everything that has anything to do with it: coats, hats, boots, mittens, you get the idea. So, while he was taking a nap we thought we would get out and make ourselves a snowpal. It is so cold the snow won't pack so we made more of a snowpile than a traditional snowman. Then we dressed him up with milk caps for the eyes, a carrot nose, straw for a mouth and the top of our bird house for a hat. Logan's favorite part was using the water bottle to make rosy cheeks.

Excuse the hat hair.

It is amazing how much fun food coloring in a water bottle can be in the snow!

Unfortunately our snowman, I mean pile, lived a short life and then he died. It was a gory mess.
But seriously this is Canada and he will be in our backyard until May atleast.

2010-12-11T22:48:00.000-08:00

A Zoo Trip

Before it got too cold we got one last trip to the Zoo in.

After Halloween we found this knight costume on clearance and just couldn't resist. Logan is such a character! He insisted on wearing his costume the entire time.

The Lions paid special attention to the boys which was sort of fun and sort of creepy all at the same time.

See what I mean?

That lioness didn't take her eyes off of the boys. I have several more creepy pictures like this one.

It was another fun trip to the zoo. We can't wait until the weather is nice enough to go back (see you in six months lions).

2010-11-14T21:49:00.000-08:00

Another Happy Halloween

A few days before Halloween someone asked Dinosaur Logan if that was his halloween costume and he said, "no, I'm gonna be a robot". So, at the last minute Logan had narrowed down his long list of costume ideas and settled on his desire to be a robot for Halloween (after wearing a dinosaur costume for weeks, nay for months). He was so excited about it that I couldn't say no.

This was our ward's trunk-or-treat. It was cold and icey but the boys were so excited to get candy. Logan was too cute when he was in character with his robot voice saying, "trick-or-treat", and his imitation of the way robots move. I wish I had that on film.

Campbell the monster. He was so funny, he would roar at everyone and note the egg in his fist. It has playdough in it and it is one of his favorite things to carry around (note previous post, he really does have something in his fist in most of his pictures).

We had fun carving pumpkins (note the egg in Campbell's fist).

Logan doesn't like to get his hands dirty, he never has, which made him a really clean baby during meal time. He learned to use silverware at a super early age because he didn't want to touch the food. Anyway, he didn't want to help because of the slimy pumpkins guts so we gave him a rubber glove to wear. I love the look of disgust on his face! It makes me laugh every time. After scrambling to make a robot costume the house was a mess, so if you would kindly avert your eyes.

Here are our pumpkins.
Does anyone else have kids that consistently refuse to be in pictures? This is Logan's attempt to disappear.

2010-11-10T20:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Mike!

One year older and wiser too! Next year we'll make sure we don't leave Campbell alone in the same room as a cake. We were getting our shoes and coats on to take daddy out to a birthday dinner when we discovered Campbell was missing. When we went looking, this is what we found. . .

It was pretty darn funny and we were laughing so hard we couldn't leave Logan out so he took a big bite out of the cake too. Sadly, somehow I didn't getting any pictures of Logan.

After dinner we came home and enjoyed some birthday cake. I attempted to make Rootbeer Float cake that my sister recommended on her blog, I even copied her cute flag on the cake idea.
Note the blue dinosaur in the corner of the picture and the bites out of the cake on the picture below.

Happy Birthday Mike, we hope it was a good one!

2010-11-10T20:17:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Canada!

Campbell is not a fan of the cold weather (it may be a long winter little guy). Apparently we have had a really mild fall which makes me nervous for what is to come. Rumor has it that -40 degrees is not uncommon here, yikes!

Don't worry about Logan. He enjoys the snow and doesn't even seem to notice the cold.

2010-11-08T20:23:00.000-08:00

A quick trip to Edmonton

Our new residence is nice and new but slightly small so we headed to Edmonton to do a little shopping to maximize our space. We stayed at a hotel Friday night and in the morning headed to the Edmonton temple. Our friend Erin's sister Lauren lives in town and was nice enough to watch the boys.

Mike.

Me.

Us.

After the temple we picked the boys up and headed to the west Edmonton Mall, the biggest in Canada. It was huge and therefore overwhelming for three anti-shoppers but they held on long enough for me to go to two of my favorite stores, H&M and Anthropology. Then we headed over to Ikea. We purchased a sectional and a wardrobe to store toys and headed home but the store doesn't end there. Mike had a little work to do so I was driving when we heard a thud. We looked at eachother and decided we had better pull over. Mike jumped out and I thought he was kidding when he said, "the couch is gone." When we hit a bump the slack in the straps must have released the hook and out popped the couch onto the highway. Faster than you can imagine we switched seats and Mike kicked the truck into reverse. He drove on the shoulder for a mile or so and then we jumped out to move the couch out of the traffic lanes. Surprisingly the couch seemed fine so we loaded it up and continued on our journey home. As it had rolled down the highway it lost the box and plastic that were wrapped around it so of course we hit a storm on the way home and had to wrap tarps around our load. We finally made it home around 4 am or so. The next morning we rushed to church where Mike was called into the bishopric. We wouldn't have gone if we knew Mike was going to be called but we were halfway to Edmonton when the stake presidency called. It was definately a weekend to remember.

2010-11-07T21:41:00.000-08:00

Two Little Boys

Our two little boys keep life exciting. I thought I would share a few pictures to share how they are growing.

Logan is such a character! His passion in life is to make others laugh. He loves to be the center of attention and maybe that is why he enjoys wearing costumes wherever we go. I bought a dinosaur costume two months before Halloween and Logan took full advantage of the situation. He wore that costume to costco, parks, the zoo, and even to bed. When Halloween came Logan announced that he wanted to be a robot. I guess the dinosaur was just his everyday costume. When he was dressed in his dino-suit he insisted that you only call him dinosaur or Cocoa, he would correct you or not respond until you called him by his correct name. He was truly in character when he put on the suit, he would even roar at innocent bystanders but mostly just at his brother.

Here is Cocoa the dinosaur with two of his new friends, Ruby and Madeline, at the Zoo. See, I really wasn't kidding about him wearing his costume everywhere.

Seriously, he is such a nut and it is so entertaining! He is a chatter box and he will talk to anyone who will listen.

Campbell turned 18 months! He has a strong personality but is picky about who he shares it with. He recently started going to nursery at church and so far isn't a big fan. I on the other hand love nursery. He became of age just in time because Mike just got called to the bishopbric and I am in the Young Women's so we can focus better on our callings. But lets get back to Campbell, he is talking so much these days although he makes up his own words too. Bombom means candy. He can say "candy" and "treat" but he prefers bombom. The kid lives for candy (you are probably thinking, "yeah but every kid loves candy", but let me assure you, this is a stronger more binding love). Although books may be a tie for his first love.

Campbell will not be pushed around. Maybe having an older brother has helped but he will stick up for himself and if he wants something nothing can stop this little boy. One of the quirky things that Campbell does is carry around random items in his little fist all day. It could be a rock, a car, a book, a ball...you name it, but hours later he will still be carrying it around. You have to pry things out of his hands before going to bed or he will stay up and play with them. So one day I pried a bouncey ball out of his hands and set it on top of a tall dresser, after his nap he went into his room and closed the door when I heard a crash from down stairs. I quickly dashed up the stairs and found Campbell screaming, pinned down under the dresser. He had pulled all the drawers out to use them like a ladder but since all the weight was out of the dresser it fell over. I picked up the dresser and Campbell hopped up saying "ball? ball?" while franticly searching the room. When he found it he dashed off without another peep. I seriously cannot explain the intensity that is Campbell.

I cannot tell you the number of times that people have asked if Logan is part black. I have to convince people that he is not black or adopted, not an easy task.
.

Getting a picture of these two together is nearly impossible. I couldn't even get them to look at the camera and I usually have to bribe them.
I am so glad that these boys have eachother. They share a room now and it is fun to hear them chatting with one another before they go to bed. They have so much fun wrestling,racing, and playing together.

You can see the bribe dripping out of Campbell's mouth here.

Really, I wasn't kidding about the suit.
Good night.

2010-11-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

Smores

We now reside in Canada. Yep, Canada. There have been a lot of changes moving to a new country but we are getting used to it. We have been informed that it is about to get really really cold so we have been spending all the time possible in the out doors before it gets too unbearable.

Fall is my favorite time of year so we took advantage of the beautiful weather and headed out doors to roast hot dogs, marshmallows, and enjoy the fall leaves.

The boys had fun running around playing while Mike made a cracklin' fire.

It was beautiful!

Campbell enjoyed the food.

Aren't the boys getting big?

2010-08-05T19:03:00.000-07:00

We love you Florida!

Roadtrip (with a million pictures to prove it)!

So if you haven't heard the news. . .we are moving to Canada. Sad? Yes. Complicated? Yes. We are leaving soon so if you want a free place to stay on your Florida vacation now is the time, we would love to have you.

We had to hurry and take advantage of beautiful Florida before it was too late so we headed down to the Keys. Our first day of exploration we had dinner at a fun seafood diner on Key Largo and then by complete luck we found this amazing beach where the kids played and we watched the sun set.

Logan didn't want his picture taken this evening so I had to keep taking him by surprise. What a nut!

The water was so clear and warm. The boys enjoyed finding tiny hermit crabs and collecting rocks. We weren't really planning on swimming but Campbell wasn't taking no for an answer and there was no way he was waiting for a bathing suit.

I wish that our pictures could really have captured the beauty of the sunset and beach, alas, we could not.

Campbell is Mr. rock collector. Everywhere I turn there is magically a rock in the house, hmm. How does he do it? And why? The entire time we were at the beach he was looking for rocks.

Did I mention that it was so pretty? It was such an awesome evening. I wasn't lying about Logan avoiding getting his picture taken.

Out of focus but priceless.

Remember how I talked about our jumping on the bed picture tradition in a past post? Well, I still think it is a fun idea so here we are in our amazing Miami hotel.

Logan was doing this every waking moment in our hotel.

Sorry no Campbell picture, he was not in the mood.

This is Captain Logan. As you can see he took his job very seriously and he really is steering the boat here. The other captain was great and he offered to let Logan have a go at the wheel of our glass bottom boat. On our second day in the keys we went to the John Pennekemp State Park on Key Largo. We found an awesome tour that took us out on a glass bottom boat to go snorkeling. It was about a forty minute ride out to the reef and even though it was stormy and the waves were choppy we had an incredible time. We got to see an italian statue of Christ amongst the beautiful reef and an array of tropical fish. Our captain encouraged us to take our kids out with us which we did for about five minutes before we decided we had better take turns in the water while the other person stays with the kids onboard. It was just too choppy and Logan was not enjoying himself.

I am actually sitting on a mat that is over one of the glass bottom panels where the boys had the opportunity to see all the tropical fish. This is also where I noticed the palm-sized jelly fish. I still went snorkeling when it was my turn and I don't think that I was overly cautious as I slowly swam around because I saw atleast 20 of those suckers. At one point I was centimeters away from being stung. Although I was somewhat paranoid and preoccupied I still enjoyed seening all kinds of colorful fish and the reef itself is breath taking, that is until I saw a shark and then I was done. It was a small shark, maybe four feet or so long. It swam right below me and so I tried to make my way gracefully back to the boat as fast as possible. The captain said that they mostly just see nurse sharks around the reef but the shark wasn't just on the bottom of the ocean like a nurse shark, I'm just sayin'. That didn't scare Mike though and he was back in the ocean to use up the remainder of our time. He was maybe a tiny bit nervous about the Barracudas though. Just this week on the news there was a nine year old in the hospital that was attacked by a Barracuda. Okay, I am making this sound like an awful expereince when really it was sweet, I would recommend it to almost anyone.

Then we headed to Key West where we saw Ernest Hemingway's home. Sadly we we got there after tour hours but we still managed a peek at his house.

This is the Southernmost point in the continental U.S. A. (as you can see).

Key West was full of picturesque scenes, I could hardly stand it! I only wish that we would of had more time to explore and enjoy Key West. Note: I must warn you there are some parts of Key West to avoid but overall I thought it was amazing. It's one of those these you have to do before you die.

Mile 0.

We just happened to catch the sunset again. It was a perfect day.

I've said before and I'll say it again, I love these boys!

2010-08-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

Disney World!

I am feeling way behind, this summer has been very exciting and very busy! We had a trip to Utah for my brother's wedding, took a quick trip to Canada, celebrated the Fourth of July, and even started preschool! But instead of catching up on all the summer events I am going to skip to what we have been up to in the last week (Although I am vowing to one day post on all these important events eventually).

When we moved to Florida we were so excited to have so many fun things to do right at our fingertips. One of the first things we did was head to Disney World. It was a blast but it cost a pretty penny so we told Logan that he needed to save up if he wanted to head back soon. When we moved into our house here the previous tenants left behind a giant jug that made the perfect "piggy-bank" and that is how we started saving. All change laying around was collected by an eager Logan and before we knew it we were on our way back to Disney.

Here is Logan with the beloved jug. On our way to DisneyWorld we stopped at a Coin Star.

Logan was so excited when we pulled into the parking lot that I had to capture this pure joy on film.

It was a Tuesday and stinkin' hot so we thought that the crowds would be mild, WRONG! It was so busy but we still had a good time. Who can resist Buzz Lightyear and carousels?

This is Campbell and me on the Buzz Lightyear ride. Our boys love Toy Story.

Campbell's favorite ride was the carousel. He got so mad when we had to get off. Since the line wasn't bad we went on it twice in a row.

We told Logan that he could pick a souvenier and he chose a pirate set. I told him to look mean and this is the face he made.

The kids were both asleep before we could get to our car. It was a fun but exhausting day.

We hardly took any pictures this time around. We will have to be sure to take more pictures next time in the classic locations. Between the rides, the parades, and the fire works it really is a magical place.

2010-07-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

Campbell's Birthday

Campbell turned one in April so we had a little party with family and friends while we were still in Utah. Campbell loves dogs. Doggie was his first word (besides "Mommy" and "Daddy") so I thought it only appropriate to have a dog themed party. I can't take credit for all the fun ideas, I owe Stephanie a huge thank you and a fellow blogger too.

Stephanie made Campbell the "1" t-shirt which I must say is one of the cutest things ever (You can look up how to make one on her blog). Those are supposed to be dog ears on Campbell. I was going for a big Pluto-type ear but I don't know if I executed the thought well. I bought headbands at the dollar store and glued on felt and fake fur to make doggie ears for all our party guests.

I can't tell you how often people mention Campbell's serious demeanor. He really is a happy baby but he is very wary of strangers and is quite shy. Shy yes, but he is still the loudest baby you will ever meet. He is my little shadow and he is the a best cuddler. Campbell is really strong and is nowhere near gentle. His favorite thing to do is "pancake" unsuspecting victims (you know, the WF move where the wrestler bellyflops onto his victim). He really just enjoys doing his own thing but he likes company to observe him doing it. He is a great eater and sleeper (yes he and Logan are blood related). His hair is starting to curl and he loves the outdoors. Getting dirty is the kid's greatest joy (again, yes, he is Logan's real brother). We are so glad to have him in our family!

Here is a look at some of the food. I got lucky and found all these dog dishes on clearance so I even used them to serve cake and ice cream. I baked the cake in a bowl and then flipped it over into the dog dish to get the "full dish" effect and then I used Reese's Puffs Cereal on top to look like dog food. There was frosted sugar cookies in the shape of bones, apples and dip, chips, and then grapes and strawberries because they are Campbell's favorite food.

Stephanie designed this cute little quiz to help everyone brush up on their Campbell facts.

The puppy pinata was a hit even though we ended up having to hang it in the garage because of rain.

Here is Logan sporting the scruffy dog look.

A closer look at the cake.

Dogs love balls (and confetti fireworks? How could I resist?).

Steph whipped-up some labels for the drinks which I thought was a necessary detail.

Here is Logan going at the pinata.

This is cousin Ava, isn't she cute?

Here is the birthday boy eating his cupcake. We love you Campbell!

And then I ran out of memory space on my camera. . .I'll will have to track down more pictures of our party guests to share at a later date.

We were so glad that so many people could join us to celebrate Campbell's birthday.

2010-06-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

The Dinosaur Museum

When we visit Utah we have a hard time packing in everything that we want to do. Two of my best friends in the whole world live in Utah Valley and spending time with them is near the top of the list. We decided to bring our kids to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point and although it was very fun I don't know how much catching up we got to do while we chased the little ones around.

Logan and Campbell

From left to right: Logan, Isabel (Laurel's daughter), and Felicity (Kelli's daughter). They are standing in front of the glass windows where you can see into the lab where the paleontologists are working.

Here are my cute friends Laurel (left) and Kelli (right) watching the kids dig in the sand for bones. Pardon the terrible photography.

Me and my boys.

Campbell looked so small next to those big bones!

One word: Zoolander

This picture makes me laugh. They really did enjoy the water table though this picture may not bring you to such a conclusion.

Afterwards we got souvenirs and finally got to visit a little more while we ate yummy ice cream. It was a perfect day.

2010-05-18T13:31:00.000-07:00

More Catch Up. . .

While we were in Utah my parents were just starting on the addition to their house. Campbell didn't seem too interested but Logan thought the whole thing was pretty exciting.

Nana brought Logan out to watch the big excavator, dump truck, and busy workers in action.

What a lucky kid Logan is, he got to drive in the excavator. I wish that I could have captured his facial expressions. It was priceless!

As if that wasn't enough they let him climb on and play with the skid steer. It was cold and Logan was still waking up so I had a hard time capturing all of his enthusiasm but he really was in heaven.

Logan also discovered the trampoline while we were in Utah. It was not easy getting him to get off when it was time to go.
(Once again, my pictures got somewhat out of order as I was downloading them)

The trampoline was my parents' next door neighbors trampoline and Logan was excited to wave to Nana on the otherside of the fence.

Aren't the mountains amazing? I miss you mountains!

2010-05-12T12:41:00.000-07:00

Easter

We were lucky enough to spend Easter at both grandparents houses. First Logan and Campbell had an easter egg hunt at Grandma Elsie's.

Campbell was actually really good at finding eggs. It was serious business for him and he seemed to understand the concept of finding eggs and putting them in his basket.

Cambell got this dinosaur puppet in his basket and the boys have been having fun with it ever since although Campbell is still getting over his fears.

Then we headed over to Nana and Papa's to die eggs with cousin Creed. We all put on Papa's old t-shirts to avoid dye accidents on our clothes. It is so fun to see Logan playing with his cousins as he gets bigger.

The dying group: Stephanie, Creed, Logan, Mike, and Papa.

Larry cheered us on and tended new baby Oliver.

Logan really enjoyed dying the eggs and eating them.

Here are the boys ready for another hunt.

Here are our pretty eggs, well mine atleast, Mike ate his.

The hunt.

Thanks for the bunny ears Creed.

We got to listen to conference, visit with family, and ate really yummy food. It was a great Eatser!

2010-04-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

The Wedding

Recently we flew out to Utah for Mike's brother Steve's wedding. It was fun to get together with family and friends for the special occasion.

This is Mike's Grandma Garner, her maiden name is Campbell. She was so exicted when we told her that we decided to name one of her great-grandsons after her.
We were glad for the opportunity for our boys to see relatives that are normally so far away.

Mike was a groomsman. Aren't they handsome?
Side note: The other day I asked, "Are you cute Logan?" To my surprise Logan replied "nope" to which I inquired further and what he told me was, "Mom, I'm not cute I'm handsome."

Meet Alec, Logan's cousin, the look on his face says it all, he is hilarious. He was the ring bearer at the wedding. Logan loved following him around.

Steve, the groom, is the one on the left. It was killing Logan that we had to sit just a few rows away from his dad while he stood in front for the ceremony.

My sister-in-law Jamie made the beautiful cake. Doesn't the white chocolate look like flowers? Amazing!

Here are the bride and groom, Emma and Steve. Congratulations!

Here are Elsie and Paul, Mike's parents.

Emma's dad built this beautiful structure for the cultural hall. I loved it.

Here we are.

This is Uncle Rich and Jacob, Mike's Uncle and cousin. Doesn't Mike look like Rich? No?

I think Logan really enjoyed the reception and having his cousins around. What do you think?

In fact, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

I am not sure what to say about this one, I just like it.

This is Mike's other grandma, Mona (Elsie's mother).

I have no idea what happened to the big family photo. I think my camera battery died. And don't ask me where all the pictures of Mike's siblings and their families went. Mandy, Jamie, Lisa, I am counting on you to share your pictures.

2010-04-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

St. Patrick's Day

(a late report)

On St. Patrick's Day we went to the library storytime and the kids made these funny headbands (it is supposed to be a leprechaun's beard if you can't tell).

These are our new friends from our ward here. Thanks for the picture Alissa.

When Logan woke up from his nap we found these footprints that the Leprechaun left behind. I guess he just wanted to leave us a clue so that we could find the hidden treasure.

Hidden inside the buffet was a little treat and a tiny note from our misterious little friend.

How did he know that Logan had been eyeing that little bubblegum machine at the store that very morning? Logan's favorite color is blue. He loves, loves, loves blue. I asked him what other colors he likes and after some pondering he said, "light blue and dark blue".

2010-04-27T06:28:00.000-07:00

Softball

Okay here is a little more of what we have been up to:

A bunch of guys from Mike's work put together a softball team and we have enjoyed going and watching daddy play.

Logan loves going to the games and cannot be convinced to leave his own glove, ball, and bat at home.

Mike ended up playing catcher when the old one broke a few fingers at work. I think he did a really good job.

Grandpa (obviously Mike's dad, don't they look alike?) would come and watch too. Even Campbell seemed to enjoy watching the games.

Here is the team. Mike started the season late so he didn't get a red shirt (I am afraid he sticks out like a sore thumb). I am glad that he is playing softball even if it takes up a little of our precious time because Mike needs something fun in his life. He works a lot and when he is home I can be demanding. He is such a good dad and husband. We are so lucky.

2010-04-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Busy

We have been very busy this last month so I thought I would start at the beginining with pictures of what we have been up to.

Somehow my pictures are never downloaded in order. This first pictures was supposed to be last and it was just thrown in for good measure, I had to include little Campbell.

Mike got this giant rocket for his birthday and we had a fun afternoon flying it in our back yard.

Logan was a little nervous for the takeoff and he hid behind my legs.

It really was a big rocket.

Logan had a blast watching the rocket and "helping" daddy.

The end.

2010-03-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

Remember Me?

It has been a long time and I am full of excuses, number one being, we have been "homeless" since November. To make a long story short, we have traveled all over Texas, visited Utah flew back to Texas and you can now find us in Florida. After a very long serach we found an awesome house and are settling in.
I am way behind but here are a few pictures of my growing boys.

Our house is perfect for Logan to ride around on his tricycle. We love it!
I am still not sure what to do with that hair.

Campbell is getting so big, he will be eleven months old next week. I seriously have no idea where the time has gone. He is a very fast crawler and has little interest in walking. He loves to eat and he likes to just do his own thing. He is a very busy little guy but overall easy going. He adores Logan and likes to chase Bob the dog.

Look at all those teeth. Campbell has eight teeth and counting. He is not a picky eater and he eats a lot. Seriously, I don't think my two boys could be more different.

The good news about moving (when you're 2).

We are huge Buzz fans around here.

This is the view from our back yard.

The point it is, we are finally in one place for the time being and we are loving it here in Florida. The weather has been great, we are close to the beach, not far from Disney World or Miami, and we are so lucky to live right next door to members. We love you Melins!

Now all we need is visitors.

2009-11-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

A HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Logan ended up being a monkey for Halloween this year. He changed his mind many times but in the end (after a lot of convincing) came around to what he originally picked out. He sure makes a great monkey!

Here we are at the ward trunk-or-treat. We had a great time! Campbell is the cutest chicken I have ever seen. I wish that I would have gotten a better picture of him in his costume.

On Halloween we went to a party at the home our good friends the Dunnings. We had a great time eating spooky food, hanging out with friends, and trick or treating. I was dressed as a construction worker but my hair is no longer back, I am not wearing my safety glasses, and you can't see my awesome tool belt here. Mike was dressed up for about five minutes as a fisherman so it wasn't documented on film. The Dunning family dressed up as the swine flu, it was awesome!

My cute boys before trick or treating.

The result.

2009-09-07T12:36:00.000-07:00

Two Years Old!

I can't believe that Logan is two. He has become such a big boy! He is a little chatter box and likes to try and make people laugh, he is our little comedian. He is the most stubborn child I have ever met and he has more energy than a Tazmanian Devil which equals loads of entertainment and an exhausted mommy. His favorite things are cars, bikes, cooking in his kitchen, chips, juice, books, being outside, watching Disney Pixar Movies, and playing with friends. He hates milk, naps, and getting sand on his feet. I always ask the nursery teachers how Logan behaved and my favorite response was, "He has more fun than anyone." Logan really knows how to suck the marrow out of life and I love that I get to be a part of it.

On his birthday we had a little family party and last Saturday we celebrated with friends. Here are pictures documenting the whole thing:

Logan got some awesome presents. Thank you Grandma Elsie and Grandpa Paul for the tricycle. Logan rides it everyday. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday he said he wanted a bike. He talked and talked about getting a bike for weeks. When he woke up and I told him it was his birthday he immediately asked where his bike was. He is such a nut. Thank you Nana and Papa for the presents too.

We got Logan this slide for his birthday and it has been a hit! I love it, it can fold up and we can play with it inside or outside and I even like the colors. The flags above his head were strung up all over. I made them the night before. I wanted it to be exciting and special for him when he got up that morning. I was going to just have balloons all over the place but I could only find a few laying around the house and it was too late to go out and buy more. So I cut these out using scrap book paper (thanks Candice) and sewed them together (thanks for the idea Steph). I was pleased with the way they turned out.

Cute birthday decorations can be hard to find so I displayed some pictures of the birthday boy and added balloons and a party hat.

Logan's birthday theme was monsters so at his party all the kids made a monster puppet to take home. It was super easy. I made my own pattern and sewed the base out of two peices of felt. Then I cut out all kinds of noses, mouth, etc. The kids chose what they wanted and then their parents helped glue them on. I think everyone had a lot of fun.

Here is Lindsay helping her girls Ava and Sydnee make their puppets.

Here is Parker with his puppet. Isn't it cute? He did a great job.
The kids also helped to "pin" the face on the monster. We are missing Avy and Brody here.
Parker and Logan are being scary monsters.

Here are the fabulous puppets. I love them, I think the kids did such a good job!

This is a picture of Logan being sung to. His favorite part is to blow out the candles. We let him do it several times at his "family party".

I read Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems. I was pleasantly suprised at how attentive the kids were.

We had lots of yummy food and a hideous monster cake but at least it tasted good. I had made the cake late the night before and decided to decorate it in the morning before the party but I ran out of time, oops. So I just had to throw a face on, oh well.

A picture of the crowd.Here is Emily with her daughter Sydney and our buddy Brody (Cass why didn't I get you in there too?).

Here is Jackie and Avy.

Just ask Briley, the food really was good (if I do say so myself).

Here are the boys after the party. I had such a good time and I think everyone else did too. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOGAN!

2009-09-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

GROWING

My two little boys are getting so big! To document their growth I have been taking their pictures with the same stuffed animal in the same chair (another brilliant idea from my sister Stephanie).

Logan is two now! Look how he has grown.

This is Logan at four months.

This is Campbell at four months. He is a big boy! He already wears the same size diapers as Logan. They are complete opposites in almost every way but I think that they will always be best buds. They seem to adore each other. Campbell can't take his eyes off of his brother and Logan seems to be the only one that can get Campbell to laugh so hard. Logan is always willing to be my good helper and will dash off to get me another diaper or burp cloth whenever I have my hands full. I love these sweet little boys!

2009-06-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

More Firsts

I had my birthday this month and Mike gave me an awesome camera so I had to post more pictures, naturally. So here is a bizillion more pictures of the two cutest boys I know (don't be offended, I know I am biased).

This is Logan's first time sleeping in his "big boy bed". We have had a toddler bed set up in his room for quite awhile now and one day Logan decided it was time. If we put him in his crib he would simply climb out plus Campbell will need his crib soon so it was perfect timing. It is just a little toddler bed with a crib mattress in it which many people see as a waste but I like that it doesn't take up much space and it is low to the ground. The best part is, Logan is a big fan of it so we are all happy. He is so funny; he has to have his two favorite blankets, his stuffed "bob", and mini pillows to go to sleep. I wonder what we are going to do when we leave for Utah soon because there is no way that we are bringing all that stuff.

Here is cute Campbell. He is such an easy going baby. He is so easy to make smile and he even laughs now. Logan is the best at getting him to laugh. Campbell never takes his eyes off of Logan when he is around. Part of it may be that he has to brace himself from Logan's crazy whirlwind.

This is after church one Sunday but Logna wasn't cooperating. I was blocking his cartoons and bugging him while he was snacking.

He loves Baby Campbell. Campbell is constantly being poked and pinched by Logan in a loving manner.

Just because you needed to see more of Campbell's cuteness.

Campbell is now two months old and at his check up weighed 14.7lbs (97th percentile) and was 24 3/4inches (95th percentile). He is growing like a weed!

He is such a happy boy!

Leave it to me to stick him in a bucket to take pictures but isn't he so cute?

Another shot of Logan working in the kitchen.

My funny boys.

This is Logan's first art easel. We bought this whiteboard/chalkboard stand at ikea and we have had lots of fun with it.

Logan likes to give "loves" to his brother which mainly involves the squishing of this patient little baby.

One of Logan's first loves is reading books. He has a very special relationship with Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems.

2009-06-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

Many Firsts

First of all I have to explain the cause of our long absence, a few weeks ago our computer stopped working and we have been waiting to get a new computer until now because we wanted to be sure that we could get hooked up with the new windows that is coming out this fall. It still isn't up and running but I couldn't hold off posting these cute pictures of Logan and Campbell any longer (Mike brought home his work computer and is letting me borrow it).

A lot of new things have been happening around here and I thought that I should fill you in. . .

This is Campbell's first bath. He kept is umbilical cord for atleast a month, no joke. Needless to say, I was too excited to be able to submerge the little man in water.

Logan has become a t-ball pro and will be the first pro t-ball player in history.

Having a baby brother around means that Logan has more "free time" to get into trouble. He loves to climb onto the bathroom counter and pull everything out of the drawers and play with water in the sink.

I just liked this picture.

Campbell is so big! This is his first time wearing these old pjs of Logan's and they are already snug. Some of the clothes he is wearing are already 6-9 months (he is two months old).

This is Campbell's first trip to the zoo. I think he was a big fan.

This was his first time seeing a Lion; I think he was a little worried. Lions are scary.

After Campbell's first trip to the pool the boys were all tuckered out.

This is Logan's first kitchen. It's a Melissa and Doug kitchen and we love it. Logan spends a lot of time cooking us all kinds of pretend deliciousness.

This is Campbell with Grandpa Paul at the pool for the first time.

This is the first time Logan has watched baseball on TV. Have I mentioned that he is obsessed with baseball? He was commentating the whole time, it was hilarious! On the commercial breaks he would ask for more baseball. He carries his bat or a baseball almost everywhere he goes.

More baseball.

This is probably the first time that many of you have seen Logan with straight hair (well, that is as straight as it gets). Logan loves to play in the water. This was our first time to the Waco water park this summer.

2009-05-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

Pictures of the Boys

Logan had his pictures taken last fall by Nicole Berrett and we loved them so much that we had her do it again. This time they are of both our boys, we have two kids, Ahh (it is still weird to me that I am the mother of kids, plural)! Check out the sneak peek on her blog.

2009-05-02T18:56:00.000-07:00

How We've Spent our Time

Here are several pictures to show what we've been up to.

This is Logan with his Buzz Lightyear kite. Mike bought it for him and they have had fun flying it together.

To keep Logan busy during General Conference we made him a fort out of box that he colored on for an entire session. He got hungry in the middle of making his masterpiece and decided to try his special crayola crayons, yum!

A few days before Cambell arrived we made it out to the zoo with friends. It was a beautiful day.

Logan loved how close the jaguar was and kept giving him "five".

The blue bonnets were beautiful this year so we had to get Logan's picture taken with some.

This is Logan at an Easter Egg hunt in the park with friends. He had so much fun running around finding eggs to put in his basket. He didn't put that basket down for the next couple of days.

Here is the whole family. Logan is making a great face isn't he?

The Easter Bunny brought him a Woody doll in his basket.

Here are my boys in the hospital. Logan kept asking, "Hold It?"

This is the first time Mike held Campbell.

We love our new jogging stroller. The Bob Revolution is awesome! Even Logan really like it. We enjoying going on walks around the neighborhood. This is Campbell's first walk. My Mom came and stayed for a week. She got here Tuesday night and I had Campbell Thursday morning at 4:26 so we didn't even have time to play. I am so grateful that she came. I couldn't have done it without her. She coached my Lamaze breathing, took care of Logan, made meals, cleaned, made a blanket for Campbell, and helped with whatever else needed to be done. It was nice to have the extra support and encouragement. Thanks Mom!

Logan could do this all day everyday.

Before the baby arrived Logan and I would go somewhere everyday. We would go to the museum, zoo, park, library, a friend's house, or just run errands but now we are sort of stuck. It is just too hard at this point to take them both somewhere and Campbell is still too small to spend much time in public plus the swine flu is going around not to mention I am still exhausted. The point is, we get bored around here and have to get creative. Any new ideas are so welcome. This is Logan coloring anything and everything with chalk. We have pebble side walks at our house so he colors on the fence, patio furniture, and bricks.

Logan loves Baby Campbell and as you can see doesn't let the crying get to him. He loves to randomly come give him hugs and kisses. He is already protective of his baby brother.

I had to get a picture of them in their matching pjs. I can't believe we are the parents of these two cute boys. These boys are different in every way so far. Campbell seems to be very serious and calm. He sleeps and eats really well and he looks just like Mike. Lets just say, that is so not Logan.

Don't you think you need more pictures of Campbell? He changes everyday and now weighs over 10 lbs at two weeks old.

Grandma Elsie came to help out when my mom left. Logan loved hanging out with grandma and she took great care of us. It was so nice to have the extra help and we were sad to see her go. We miss you grandma. Thank you for all your help! We are so lucky to have Grandpa Paul stay close by.

You can never be too careful. Safety first.

Here I am with little Campbell. He is so sweet.

I love this little boy!

Logan could not be more entertaining. He loves to climb up on this motorcycle whenever he gets the chance. His newest obsession is motorcycles and he has a thing for helmets, any kind of helmet. Isn't he funny?

2009-04-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

It's official:

Campbell Brett Garner

Also check out Grandma Kim Borup's blog (here) for oodles of baby pictures!

2009-04-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome Baby Boy!!!

Thursday 16 April 2009

4:26 am

9 lbs. 8 oz.

22 inches long

2009-04-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

A Good Book

I love to read but to be honest most of the books I read are just entertaining stories, and usually fiction. My friend Cassidy let me borrow her copy of I Am a Mother by Jane Clayson Johnson which is nothing like the books I habitually read. To my suprise and delight I loved it! I felt inspired and uplifted. Jane Clayson Johnson was once a successful fulltime career woman that put things on hold for having a family of her own. According to Jane we mothers should never reply, "I am just a stay at home mother" when asked what we do for a living. She talks about the importance of the calling of motherhood and often quotes general authorities to illustrate the point. Two of my favorites included are:
"She who can paint a masterpiece or write a book that will influence millions deserves the admiration and the plaudits of mankind; but she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters, whose influence will be felt through generations to come, . . . long after the paintings shall have faded, and books and statues shall have decayed or shall have been destroyed, deserves the highest honor that man can give, and the choicest blessings of God. In her high duty and service to humanity. . . , she is copartner with the Creator himself."
-President David O. McKay

"To do well those things which God ordainded to be the common lot of all man-kind, is the truest greatness. To be a successful father or a successful mother is greater than to be a successful general or a sucessful statesman." President Joseph F. Smith

It was a great and quick read and will lift a discouraged heart if you need it. You will feel a new drive and may even have a new outlook on mothering.

2009-03-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Thank you Laurel for the Garner Blog "face lift"!

2009-03-18T15:28:00.000-07:00

Houston, Texas

The time is drawing near. . .the baby is due in about four weeks so we thought we would take one last trip just the three of us. Mike was able to take Friday off so we packed up and left Thursday night.

You wanted a belly shot right? Jumping on the bed while 35 weeks pregnant is pretty tricky. I decided that we need to start a new family tradition; whenever we stay in a hotel we have to get fun pictures of everyone jumping on the bed (That is Garner travel tip #1).

It is actually pretty tricky to get "air" while looking out for the ceiling. My camera didn't do the greatest job but one day I hope to be the owner of a better one.

Logan had fun being thrown into the air and landing on a pile of pillows in the middle of the bed but it was really hard to catch. It came out a blur everytime. This is the best I could do.
Logan is jumping with daddy's help.

After having fun at the hotel we headed over to the NASA Space Museum. On the way there we got something to eat at a fun little burger joint that we had never heard of. We try to eat at new places whenever possible (Garner travel tip #2). What is the point of traveling all the way to Houston to eat at some chain restruant that we have at home?

At the space museum we went on the tram tour that brought us onto the grounds of NASA. Unfortunately it was pouring down rain and quite chilly. The tram drove on public streets and the rain blew into our faces. We were soaked and unprepared for it. If you visit the Houston Space Museum on a rainy day in spring bring your coats and ponchos (Garner travel tip #3).

Here is Logan and me in front of the space rocket. It was huge!

There were five of these engine blasters (like my technical terms?). They were enormous, as you can see.

Here is Logan just enjoying himself.

Of course we had to buy Logan a suvenier to always remember his journey into the space world. He loves this space shuttle that we bought for him. He make the cutest sound effects when he flies it.

Just another space moment and another belly shot.

The pictures somehow got mixed up again when I down loaded them. This picture is of Logan the day after we got home. It must have rained a lot here at home too because our sandbox was full of water and Logan plays in it every moment you let him.

The Houston Children's museum was awesome. There was so much to do. Logan's favorite part was playing in the water. If you go to Houston my advice would be to go to the museum during the week. We went on a weekend and there were way too many people.

There was a section just for toddlers that was really fun. There were all sorts of things just for the little ones. Here are the boys playing there.

We also went to the Houston Aquarium. It was actually really small. There wasn't a whole lot of bang for your buck to be honest. We bought city passes that included tickets to get into several places which I highly recommend. It saved us lots of money. Sadly it ended up raining the entire weekend so we didn't get to use all of our passes like the ones to the zoo. If you are going on a road trip bring umbrellas (Garner travel tip #4)!!!

This is the museum of natural history. We are in front of a triceratop skull. It was also packed but fun.

There is so much to do in Houston. There was a rodeo, a rockets game, and if you go during the right time of year you can see an astros game. Plus, the beach isn't far either. If we would have had more time we would have done it all.
It was a fun trip. Now we just have to get Logan back onto a normal sleep schedule again.

2009-03-04T13:38:00.000-08:00

Isn't It About Time?

Don't you think it is time for more pictures of Logan? I thought I would post some pictures of the many things we do to pass the time.

Here we are at the museum. We go often with friends. They have lots for little kids to do and Logan loves it there. This picture is somewhat dated, my belly has like tripled in size. I am still working on getting a current picture of my ginormous tummy. I keep forgetting to ask Mike to take a picture by the time he finally gets home from work.

Logan is quite the artist. He enjoys painting and coloring which has become a part of our daily routine.

After Christmas we struggled for excitment so we set up our tent for some weekend fun. We watched movies and ate snacks in our cozy blanket filled fort.

More fun at the museum. Logan loves drums.

We go for lots of walks around the neighborhood.

Logan really looks forward to Mike coming home everyday. He loves to play with his dad before bed time.

Lately he begs his dad to go outside and fly his toy airplane. It really isn't that cold here but I made him bundle up because Logan has been sick and daddy was being supportive. Those darn earaches have kept us in doors and we pass the time away watching Toy Story. Logan can't get enough of that movie and I am so sick of it!

We spend lots of time reading his favorite books...over and over and over. I can't convince him to read any new books. What are some of your kids' favorites? Logan loves David Shannon books and the dinosaur books by Jane Yolen.

We got this tent at Ikea and it has been a great purchase. Logan also loves his lion from Grandma Elsie and Grandpa Paul.

Another airplane picture. I am not sure how the pictures got so mixed up.

That's about it. Baby number two will be here in less than two months can you believe it? Ahh, there is so much to do!

2009-02-12T14:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love valentine's day. It is probably because my parents made it so special for me when I was growing up. Every year my dad would give each kid a special card that he picked out just for you. In it he wrote the things he was proud of us for and told us how much he loved us. To this day I wait eagerly to get his special card. My mother always gave us yummy treats and little presents and now she sends us special packages with goodies and fun valentine themed stuff. I hope to make the day just as special for my growing family.

I have had fun making a few cards this year. Below are two that I gave to friends. It is a mini garland made of paper hearts that I sewed together on the sewing machine. It wasn't my brilliant idea though I copied my sister Stephanie. She made a garland like this and showed it on her blog last year. I wrote notes on the back, folded them up, and put them in envelopes.

Another brilliant idea I got from my sisters is to make photo valentines. Candice taught how to do it in one of her creating keepsakes articles last year. It is a great idea to share with friends and family and almost as cheap to print them as it is to buy a box of little cards.

I did these in a hurry and you can't read this one very well (it says: Wishing you a happy Valentine's Day! Love, Logan).

It sure is hard to get a picture of a 17 month old! He is so busy these days. I can barely keep up.

I don't have many valentine's day decorations so I made a garland like this one found on
marthastewart.com. It was super easy and I think that it turned out pretty cute too.

So what are your Valentine's Day traditions? I would love more ideas.

There, I did it, I finally posted again! Hooray!

2008-12-02T07:17:00.000-08:00

Pictures!

Logan got his pictures taken and they are so cute! Check them out here then: enter site, click on Proof, and the password is logangarner. Or you can get a quick peek here. I just love how they turned out. Nicole Berrett was the photographer and she did such a great job. It was a really cold day and Logan wasn't too happy about it at first but he "warmed-up" quickly and gave us some great smiles. Thank you Nicole.

2008-11-24T16:23:00.000-08:00

That's right my friends we had our ultra sound this week and found out that we are having another boy!! Logan is going to have his very own little brother. I have to admit that I was a little shocked, I had pictured our future family with a little girl as number two. That makes 5 grandsons for my mom and dad and no grandaughters, crazy. We are so terribly excited and are trying to come up with some new names. Let us know if you have any suggestions.

2008-11-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

BIG BROTHER

Logan is pleased to announce (for those of you who don't already know) that he is going to be a big brother. I included several pictures so that you could try and figure out what his shirt says but the title of this post sort of gives it away. I made this shirt to suprise Mike with the news a few months ago. I originally used iron on letters but they didn't iron on so well this time so I covered it up by sewing on felt letters that I cut out. I think Logan will make a great big brother. Don't you?

So yep, we are having another baby and we are so excited. The due date is around April 20th, hooray! We find out what we are having in just eight days and we can't wait!

I had to include some more pictures of Halloween. My pictures are out of order. This is the aftermath of a short trick-or-treat outing, a proud monster and his loot.

Mike dressed up as Dwight Schrute on fun run day (but he added the sweater and put his hair back to normal for trick-or-treating) . I made my witch's hat in honor of my mother's Witches party.

Logan was a very determined trick-or-treater. He would push his way to the front of the other kids if he had to.

The evenings have been getting nice and cool so we enjoyed playing bocce ball with Mike's dad on Sunday. I love this game although Mike always seems to win.

This was our Saturday business. We finally washed the charger but it was a lengthy process because I had to battle with Logan for the hose whenever I needed it. The kid was soaked and freezing in the shade but refused to let go of the hose. He loves water!

This was before he got a hold of the hose. We tried to distract him with Bob for as long as possible.

I had to include a picture of the kid's crazy hair. It is so curly and unmanagable but it is his trademark and I love it.

I am not the only one that craves fruit smoothies, they are Logan's favorite. Random, but I had to include it.

2008-10-31T07:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Logan is a monster for Halloween this year. Doesn't he remind you of a character from Where the Wild Things Are?

We went to the ward trunk-or-treat party where Logan picked up quickly on what was happening. If you hold out your bucket people will put candy in it, yum. Right at the beginning he reached in his bucket, pulled out a sucker (his favorite), and ate through the wrapper. It was a sticky mess but he was so happy!
I think he really did have a good time. And luckily that evening was cool enough to wear his super warm costume.

Logan wants to tell you about all the other fun things that we have been up to this month...

October 27th was Mike's birthday. Logan helped decorate this lovely wrapping paper for daddy's new skim board.

Mike loves the Office so I couldn't resist making him a Dwight Schrute tshirt (Dwight wears one like this on the fun run episode). Mike is now thirty, ahhh! I think he had a good birthday. We went out to dinner and had peacan pie instead of cake.

Logan insists on going to the park often. His favorite part is the swings. He could do this all day (as long as momma keeps pushing). This day was one of the few days that we have actually needed to wear a jacket outside, which actually didn't last long. We had to shed layers while we were playing.

We went to a fun Halloween birthday party for our pal Audrey(smiling and wearing yellow). Happy second birthday Audrey, we had a blast at your party!

Last weekend we spent the night in San Marcos on our way down to Sea World in San Antonio. This was Logan's face during the whole Shamu show. He was in deep thought and observed the whole thing taking in all the details very carefully.

He really did seem to enjoy Sea World although we didn't capture it perfectly on film. His favorite part was this little foam room where toddlers could run and play.

We wanted to make a Sea World trip again because we thought that the weather had cooled down enough. It was in the ninties as we pulled away to journey back home, can you believe it?

On the way home Mike humoured me and stopped by one of my old mission areas. This was my favorite place to stop and eat. My favorite things to get are the aguas frescas, the fruit cups (which comes doused in lime juice, salt, and chili powder if you wish), and helote (corn on the cobb covered in mayo, parm cheese, and chili powder...like on Nacho Libre, the movie).

We also drove by my old apartment and then we went to a family that I taught's house. The Camachos were an awesome family that I absolutely loved and I was so happy to see that they hadn't moved and are still active in the church. My only regret was not getting a picture with them. What was I thinking? It was seriously an awesome day and Logan was a trooper through it all. On top of all the awesomeness we passed by a Costco on our way out of town and made a quick stop. I love that store! I just wish we had one closer to Waco.

2008-10-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

Halloween Giveaway. . .

My mother is having a Halloween giveaway on her blog (just click here to sign up to win). For those of you who don't know my mother, she could be compared to Martha Stewart. She is crafty, fun, and an awesome decorator. She made and designed the cute garland that she is giving away.
This year she hosted a witches brew party that I wish I could have been a part of, check it out. I think that this is such a fun idea. She has several posts about it and her Halloween decorations so go to her blog if you want to see all the details and collect ideas.

2008-09-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

Pictures Galore

I haven't been the best blogger lately (but I am sure you already knew that). I am going to try to be better. The following is a result of my poor blogging habits...a million pictures from the last month that I should have already posted.

On August 24th Logan turned one! It happened so fast. At his one year appointment we found that he was about 24th percentile in weight and 90th in height. He is doing so much now. He can say Momma, Daddy, ball, dog, Bob, woof, Moo, and balloon. He also know over twenty signs now (ASL). He communicates pretty well and continutes to keep us entertained.

Great Grandma Mona sent him these horses for his birthday and he was very excited.

We threw him a little cowboy themed party and a few of our friends from the ward here came. More pictures to come from the party. This is Logan thinking about eating his giant cupcake.

He didn't get too dirty. He wasn't too sure about the frosting.

Here is one of the things we got him for his birthday. Doesn't he look cute at his new table?

He is getting so big!

He insists on feeding himself although not much gets in his mouth as you can see. He loves silverware.

He is still really into watching Baby Signing Time. He asks to watch it like ten times a day.

He is still as in love with Bob as ever. They are best friends and they follow eachother everywhere. A week ago a board fell off of the fence and Bob got out. We looked all around the house and the neighborhood. I was carrying Logan in one arm who was carrying the leash and in my other hand I had Bob's ball. We were squeaking the ball and yelling "Bob" in hope that he would hear us and come back. Logan seemed to understand the situation and with a very serious face he yelled "Bob" with me. It was so cute. I just kept thinking that we had to find Bob for Logan's sake if for no other reason. Don't worry, we found him, he had been picked up by the city.

Mike's sister Lisa came to Waco for a day and brought Ava. She had a conference for work in Dallas so we were fortunate enough to see her. Logan is six days younger than his cousin Ava. They seemed to really enjoy oneanother's company. Logan walked over and kissed Ava on the mouth he liked her so much (although she wasn't sure what she thought about that). I wish that we lived closer so that they could grow up together.

Logan is always busy-busy these days. He recently discovered his love for the hose. It is getting a tiny bit cooler here so we are finally enjoying the outside world again.

He was so happy and had me laughing so hard.

He was soaked and not a tiny bit sad about it.

Grandma and Grandpa Paul came for a visit. It was so nice to spend time with them. Logan especially enjoyed their stay and was heart broken when Grandma Elsie had to return to Utah. We are glad that Grandpa is still here atleast. We hope that he likes his new job here.

2008-09-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

Lake Tahoe

We had a blast on our trip to Lake Tahoe. My grandparents have a cabin there so we went there a lot while I was growing up. I love the weather there and all of the fun things to do plus it is always an opportunity to hang out with family.

Logan finally got to meet his great grandparents (my mother's parents, the Carrs).

Here is the cabin, you can't see how great it is from this angle, but you get the idea.

We got to go on the gondolas and chairlifts and one of the ski resorts. (This is Stephanie, Creed, and my Dad on the lifts.)

Here we are at the top.

This is the crew enjoying the view from the top (left to right: Grandpa, Mom, Dad, Stephanie and Creed, Mike and Logan, me, and then Aunt Cheryl).

Here are my handsome boys.

These little cousins will one day be unseperable I'm sure.

My favorite part of the trip was playing on the beach. The water really wasn't too cold and it is so clear and beautiful.

Here are Mom and Dad playing with Logan.

Logan loved playing in the sand.

More beach fun (Creed, Mike, Logan, and Steph).

Logan is quite the little walker these days and insisted on doing his own thing part of the time.

This kid loves the water!

We also enjoyed kayaking, river rafting, playing cards, watching the olympics, Grandma's cooking, and visiting with family. It was an awesome trip but it ended too soon. We'll be back Tahoe!

2008-08-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

Get Smart

Both of my sisters already posted these pictures on their blogs but I just couldn't resist copying them. While we were in Utah my Aunt babysat for us so we could all go to a movie (thank you so much Lynette). The only movie that we could agree on that no one had seen yet was Get Smart. We weren't expecting much but found ourselves laughing the whole time. Needless to say, everyone ended up loving the movie and it was only obvious that we needed to get in on the spy action ourselves. After a quick trip to D.I. for "spy clothes" and the costume store for wigs we were on our way to being special agents. These pictures were taken in the middle of the street in front of my parents house. I am sure that the cars driving by and the neighbors thought we were crazy but we were having too much fun to notice. Dad took the pictures and Larry held the lights in place. I think they turned out pretty good. You'll have to click on them to make them bigger so that you can have a better look.

2008-08-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

Family Picture

Since it had been so long since the whole family had been all together, of course we had to take a family photo. Unfortunately, all of our husbands were gone so it ended up being a Borup picture. I love how it turned out. Candice (my oldest sister) set up a tripod and her seven year old son pressed the button. She did the photo editing too. She is so talented. I stole this off of sister number two's blog, I couldn't resist (I hadn't gotten around to scanning it in yet). Thank you sisters!

I love and miss you cute family!

2008-08-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

Summer Highlights
part I

We have been having so much fun this summer. We took an awesome trip to Utah and it didn't last long enough. The best part was seeing my little brother for the first time in two years and going to his mission homecoming. He loved Brazil and he was a great missionary.
Here are some of the other things that we enjoyed:

Here we are at the Lavender Fest. Aren't the Mountains beautiful? I miss them so much. My sister Stephanie always knows what fun things there are to do. In the picture from left to right is Stephanie holding creed, Larry, my Dad, Eli, my Mom, me holding Logan, and then Mike. The Lavender fields were not yet in full bloom due to a late spring but it was still fun.

Doesn't Logan look like he is enjoying this?

More Lavender Fest...

One of the best parts of coming home is being able to see my best friends (Laurel, why didn't I get any pictures on my camera with you?). This is Kelli and her baby Felicity.

Logan got to bond with family and met his Uncle Eli for the first time.

Here is part of the Garner Clan. One afternoon we went to the American Fork Pool. It was a neat community pool and Logan had a blast in the water as usual.

Here are the boys playing (that is Uncle Steve on Logan's left).

We went camping in Idaho for a Garner Family Reunion over the Fourth of July.

Logan loved the pizza we had for dinner.

This is Logan with his cousin Ava. She is six days older than him. One day they will be best pals.

This is Logan hanging out with his Great Grandpa Borup. Isn't Grandpa cute? He may or may not be the real Santa Claus.

Because of Eli's homecoming the whole Borup family was in town. The Stringhams came all the way from New York, the Fords moved all the way from Ohio, and of course we flew in from Texas.
Here we are playing at Kelli's pool. Nice one Eli!

Aren't my sunglasses sweet (thanks Radmalls for lending them to me)?

2008-07-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Favorite

These are a few of Logan's favorite things:

If you aren't familiar with the Baby Signing Time videos and you have a baby, you should check them out. Logan isn't a TV watcher, he can't sit still long enough but he loves watching these DVDs. Does anyone else have kids that like to watch the tv upclose? I often have to place an ottoman between him and the television.

One of Logan's favorite things to do is go through the diaper bag, pull everything out, find my wallet, and empty it. He loves doing it so I can't help but let him. One day I am going to be at the check out counter without a way to pay due to a missing credit card.

Logan loves to play with Bob. They do everything together.

This is Logan's favorite toy. He mostly likes to push it around the house and practice walking with support.

This is his favorite place to swim, the waco city pool. He loved his swim class there. The guy in the middle was his teacher and these are the new friends we made.

Logan loves to figure out how to open things/containers. This little Houdini likes to end his magic in a big mess.

This was Logan's favorite hat until it disappeared on one of our outings. A moment of silence for the forever lost yet well beloved hat....thank you.

2008-06-01T19:55:00.000-07:00

Garner Update

Even though our daily life consists of following Logan around and subsequently picking up big messes we sure are having fun.

For memorial day weekend we drove down to San Marcos (a small town between Austin and San Antonio) and went to the outlets on our way to San Antonio. The outlets were awesome! They were the best I have ever been to and they have every store you can think of. I only wish that we had more time to spend there. We made some quick purchases, spent the night in a little motel, and drove to Sea World the next morning.
Here we are at the Shamu Show. It was Super HOT!!! Notice the lady in the top left hand corner of this picture, I think she hates Shamu. Logan wasn't a big fan either. He couldn't figure out why everyone was yelling and clapping and so most of the show we missed while comforting him. We had to give him lots of crackers and juice to distract him. I wish we had a picture of the kung fu grip he had around my neck.
Those lovely glasses that Mike has on are actually his safety glasses from work. He had to wear them because Logan broke his regular pair in half and the new pair he ordered wouldn't be ready for a week.

We didn't stay long at Sea World. The holiday crowds were insane. The line to get into the water park was over an hour and a half long, NUTS! It was just too hot for Logan and as you can see he was so so tired so we left.

We did a lot of driving and Logan was a trooper as usual.

After our short trip to Sea World we made our way to the Alamo. Mike had never been there before and I hadn't ever actually gone inside so it was fun to see. Plus Mike loves American History and everyone needs to visit the Alamo atleast once. The story of the Alamo is so sad but very inspiring.

Then we headed to the famous San Antonio river walk. It is another place that you have to see atleast once to truely experience Texas. We walked up and down it but Logan was soon ready to leave. It had been a long day for a little guy.

This is Mike and Logan at the end of our river walk travels.

When I was a missionary in San Antonio we weren't allowed to go to the river walk. The last day of the mission you get to walk down the stairs and take a quick glimpse of it. Being back in San Antonio brought back a lot of memories even though we weren't even there a whole day. I wish that we could have stayed longer. There are alot of people that I would have loved to visit and old areas I would like to see again. Maybe next time.

Below is a picture of Logan going swimming for the first time. He loved it! We took him to the Waco water park for FHE and had a blast.

On Friday night we usually go out to dinner as a family. It is something fun that I always look forward to (who knows how long it will last as Logan gets crazier everyday). This week when we got home we found Logan like this. He had gotten a package of saltine crackers open. There were crumbs everywhere and unfortunately the picture didn't capture the full effect. It was a funny moment; guess you had to be there.

Mike got his new glasses and here they are. It isn't the greatest picture for showcasing them but you get the idea. P.S. we love eachother.

2008-05-20T07:48:00.000-07:00

There Is No Such Thing. . .

as a dry bathroom at our house (Logan is a splasher),

as a safe place for dishes,

as an ordinary boy,

as combed hair,

as territory undiscovered (the blinds cord is one of his favorite discoveries),

as fear (Logan has been known to leap off of furniture, attack dogs, and maul children bigger than himself. Just today he slipped through my fingers and dove off the armrest of the couch hitting a bucket of blocks on his way down.),

as a disheartened boy,

as a cheesier grin,

as a cuter boy,

as a prouder mother,

Or as a dull day at our house. We love you Logan!

2008-05-01T14:04:00.000-07:00

What We've Been Up To. . .

Here is Mike and Logan in front of the aquarium at the Waco Zoo. I was actully impressed with this little zoo. There were lots of animals and things were kept nice and clean.

This tee-pee was in front of the Bison exhibit. Logan is such a good boy.

"Mom, boys aren't butterflies!" By the end of our zoo trip it was hot and Logan was hungry but I had to take a quick photo; it's what moms do.

My friend Cindy taught me how to make this strawberry freezer jam. It sure is tasty. Thanks Cindy, we had fun.

We found this cute little sports jacket on sale and we couldn't resist. It is still a little big for him but he looked so cute in it. Unfortunately he didn't want to cooperate for pictures after church.

Life right now mainly consists of me chasing Logan around as he explores. He has finally discovered that he can get in Bob's house not just bang on the outside of it.

Funny boy. He is one of the loudest kids I know. We were at a play group the other day and he was having a blast "happy screaming"/talking while he checked out the new toys. He was so loud that the moms had a hard time holding a conversation. It cracks me up. He acts shy when someone new says hello to him and he will hide his face in my shoulder but if you put him down to play somewhere he will just takeoff.

I made these hair clips (they are clipped to a card) for our neighbor Sydney's birthday. They were really easy and I had fun making them. My sister Stephanie showed me how. She is so creative. I am constantly learning something new from her.

Here is Logan with some fun things from his friend's birthday party. He likes Sydney (He is already going for the older girls. She was turning one). It was so cute the other day when Logan and Sydney were holding hands. I wish I had a camera with me at the time.

Here is another picture of Logan exploring.

We made it to the park last weekend. Logan loves the swings.

Here he is with dad on the big slide.

These are the new friends we made. They kept begging Mike to push the merry-go-round more. They were funny little girls.

Here is Logan enjoying being spun by our new pals.

After the park we headed over to Rudy's for our favorite Texas BBQ. It is a fun atmosphere and the brisket is so so so good. We will take anyone who comes to visit us.

That's all for now.

2008-04-28T14:20:00.000-07:00

Elder Borup

My little Brother Eli is on his mission in Brazil (Florianopolis mission). He has been working really hard for almost two years and I am so proud of him. I can't believe that he will get home in June. I am so excited to see him. Hopefully I will get to go to his homecoming and while I am there I can catch him up on all the good movies he has missed. What are some of your favorites from the past two years?

Isn't he handsome? I just love this kid!

2008-04-18T05:33:00.000-07:00

Big Boy

Logan will be eight months next week and he is changing so quickly. Here are some pictures to keep everyone updated.

He will stand whenever possible and he even thinks he can do it by himself which results in a lot of falls. Luckily he is a true boy and rarely cries. I find little bruises and scratches all over and have no idea how he got them.

He is quite the explorer these days. He is playing with the line from the blinds here. Why is that little ones never want to play with actual toys? I guess it makes for easy entertainment.

He loves going on walks. Logan is a completely different boy when you put him in his stroller. He turns very calm and just watches everything around him. He is making his michievous face for you.

I had to tickle him so he would show his new teeth. He is a biter these days. Don't get your hand near that mouth or you'll be sorry. He grinds his teeth too. For those of you with kids this is normal isn't it? Tell me it is just a stage, the noise makes me cringe.

Ahh! Logan is attacking the camera.

This shot is to show more of those teeth. He has three on top and two on the bottom.

2008-04-10T13:24:00.000-07:00

Bored!

I love being a mom and I really do like living in Waco so far but I have to admit, I am so bored. I have made a few friends that I can stop by and visit for a half hour or so every once in awhile but that is the full extent of my social life. I need something else to do. I need to find a new hobby I guess. Does anyone have some suggestions? You'd think coming from the family I do that I would have some amazing talent to keep me busy (sewing, scrapbooking, photography...) but I don't.
My recent plan to kill boredom was to find somewhere that I could volunteer for a few hours a week but I haven't found anything that I could bring Logan along to. Again, any suggestions?
I have been thinking a lot about how I spend my time and have come to the conclusion that there must be something more that I can do to contribute to the happiness and well being of others. I know that my family comes first but I have a little spare time between my duties as wife and mother.

2008-04-10T12:24:00.000-07:00

Logan, Logan, Logan!

As usual this post is about the one and only, Logan. He is seven months old now and has changed so much in the past few weeks. A few days ago I discovered his fifth tooth just broke through the gums and he has been a trooper. I spend most of my day chasing him around. Put him in any room and he will crawl immediately to the exact thing that he isn't supposed to have like Bob's food dish, ball, and bone, or his dad's shoes. He can pull himself up to sitting or standing. He talks, squeals, and sings all day long ( just like his dad) and he loves to "give five". He really is getting so big. Here are a few pictures:

Here he is crawling.

This is one of the many things that Logan loves to do; look in the mirror. He'll crawl over to this mirror and smile at himself. When he gets excited he flaps his arms and yells.

Here he is giving himself kisses.

2008-04-01T15:48:00.000-07:00

TEX

2008-03-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

Top 10 Things I'd Like to Do Before I Die:

Thanks Laurel for the tag. It has been fun thinking about what I want to accomplish...I better get working on it. Here it is in random order:

1. Watch my children grow in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (gain their own testimonies, receive the priesthood, serve missions, marry in the temple, and make good choices; you know all that good stuff)

2. See a Broadway show

3. Serve a mission with Mike

4. Skydive

5. Tour the world. There are so many places that I would love to see but most of all I want to tour Europe.

6. Learn to play the guitar and the piano

7. Learn to oil paint and to sew well

8. Own our very own home

9. Go shopping in New York (and while I am there I have to eat a real live New York hot dog right? and then visit the Empire state building and the museum of art and see central park and...)

10. Get a master's degree

11. Be in the studio audience of a TV show/talk show. Who wants to go on the Price Is Right with me? Or the David Letterman show? Oprah, Ellen, Martha Stewart? There is an endless list of shows that would be fun.

Did I say top ten? I could go on, there are a million random and silly things that I am going to do before I die. Okay so traditions says that I must choose the next victims so Mom, Lisa Asay, and Kelli-kins I want to hear from you.

2008-03-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

Corpus Christi

We had to take advantage of Mike having Friday off so we drove to Corpus Christi for Easter weekend. It is about a five hour drive and Logan was a trooper. Friday wasn't too eventful. We checked into our hotel and drove around to see what Corpus Christi was like. We tried to go swimming at the hotel but the water was really cold and the pool was full of noisy kids. Logan wasn't a big fan of all the yelling so we took him swimming in the tub instead.

Saturday was a beautiful day and we definitely took advantage. First we headed to the USS Lexington, a really cool air craft carrier.

Here is Logan chewing on the sun glasses that he got for an early easter present.

Here we are after our tour of the ship.

These quad 40 mm guns were awesome. They let you crank them into position using the wheel my hands are on.

This is the jet that John McCain flew when he was caught and taken hostage years ago.

Here are the boys having fun. Logan really seemed to have a good time.

After a late lunch we headed to the beach. This is Logan's first time touching the sand and he wasn't very happy. I wonder if his reaction would have been different after a nap. We were having so much fun that day that Logan missed his regular naps.

Here are some more pictures of the grumpy little guy.

Not even dad could cheer the tired boy up.

He finally gave in and went to sleep.

That night we went to a great restraunt in the marina. You have to eat seafood when you can get it fresh, yum. The next morning we slept in as long as Logan would allow and then we went to a nearby ward. Logan talked all through sacrament meeting so I didn't get to hear all of the talks but he parts I did hear were very uplifting and appropriate for the special Easter day. What an amazing holiday that receives so little attention from the world. It really is sad. I am so grateful to know of the resurrection of our Lord.

After eating lunch we drove back to our new home here in Waco. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of Logan in his cute easter outfit before he had a lovely blowout. I know I didn't need to include that lovely detail but you know that you have all been there.

Laurel I haven't forgotten that I was tagged...I will get to it I promise I just have to ponder it longer.

2008-03-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

My Boys

I love these boys so much.

Logan may have my coloring but I think he looks like his dad. They are so sweet when they are sleeping.

This last weekend Mike took me to Ikea. We have one that is only an hour away (in Roundrock/Austen). Mike hates to shop but he was such a good sport, infact he is the one that suggested we go because he knew I would love it. After Ikea we went shopping at the outlets nearby and then we went to babiesRus to get this high chair. I have been searching for the perfect one because I figure we will have it for years. Why don't they make more high chairs that have a plain pattern?

Logan looks so big in his chair. It has been fun trying to give Logan new kinds of baby food. He gobbles it up as fast as I can feed him.

If you click on this picture to make it bigger you will see Logan's two new teeth. He sure is a biter. I hope it won't last forever.

This is Logan's new favorite thing to do. He gets the bucket of toys and takes out every single one. Needless to say, I spend a lot of time picking up toys but he sure is cute and happy.

This is dinner last night. Mike is really good at making pizza. He learned the recipe from a mission companion and it is really yummy. We made pizza at Mike's apartment on our very first date using this same recipe. I don't think we had made pizza since so it brought back fun memories. I love you Mike!

2008-03-06T10:04:00.000-08:00

A Few More Things That I Love . . .

I love Simply Orange juice. If you haven't ever tried it you should. It is the best orange juice that you will ever buy at the grocery store. They also make lemonade, apple juice, limeade, and maybe grapefruit juice. I know my sister Stephanie is a huge fan of the apple and lime juices. They are pricier but indulge this once and treat yourself to an amazing glass of juice.

I have to admit I am a Project Runway fan. This season ended last night and I'm not gonna lie, I am sad about it. I find this show on the bravo channel very entertaining. For those of you who watch, don't you think that all three of the runway finalists did a great job? Christian is a brat but he made this season hilarious.

I love easter candy (who doesn't right?). I get so excited when they bring out the easter candy and decorations this time of year. I am going to go with the classic jelly bean as my favorite but it has to be Brach's brand. I am also in love the reese's pieces eggs (also shown in this picture).

I love watching Mike with Logan. He is such a good dad. I know that he is going to teach him to be a great, hard working, and honest man just like he is. And luckily he has his mother to teach him what to wear. I am going to have to tease Mike about what he's wearing. In his defense it was Sunday night and we all know Sunday night is for relaxing and getting out of those uncomfortable church clothes. Mike actually made that shirt in high school. I won't say this again because Mike seems to keep it a secret but, he is an amazing sewer.

2008-03-01T08:15:00.000-08:00

The Longest Post Ever

We have been so busy we haven't had a moment to stop and post. Here is what we have been up to:

We were able to fly to Utah one last time before our big move. While we were there we were able to see lots of friends. Here is my BFF Kelli with Logan at my other BFF Laurel's house. Laurel's daughter Isabel was turning one and we arrived just in time for her fun party. Sadly all of my pictures of Isabel turned out blurry.

While we were at the party Mike overheard someone talking about Joe Bradford, one of Mike's mission buddies. Mike had lost contact with him but was able to get his contact info so we got together with him, his family, and one of their Ukrainian friends . We had a blast eating Ukrainian food, hearing/talking about the Ukraine, and playing games.

It was a winter wonderland. The snow was beautiful and we had to take advantage. We convinced Mike's brother Steve to come sledding with us one afternoon.

Here we are at the top of the hill.

Logan was asleep in his car seat at the top of the hill for most of the time. When he woke up we took him down the hill a few times. He wasn't too impressed but we had fun.

Here is our little family all bundled up.

The best part about visiting Utah is getting to visit with our family. Here is Logan with his grandma after we went to Ikea. I love Ikea. I could spend hours in that store.

Here is Logan with his Aunt Ang. Ang is a busy teen getting ready for college but she managed to find the time to hangout with us a little. Steve, Ang, Mike, Logan, and I went to the dollar movies and saw Dan in Real Life. Logan was a tinybit fussy but we made it through without ruining the movie for the five other people in theater. I really liked the movie. If you haven't seen it you should.

This is Logan's first time meeting his great-grandmother Garner.

My cousin McKenzie Borup had her fairwell talk in church while we were in town. She has been called to New Jersey spanish speaking. Good Luck Hermana Borup! This is Logan with his great grandma Borup.

This is my mama on her birthday. We got pedicures together and went out to dinner at Los Hermanos, yum.

The trip to Utah went by quickly and the moment we got home we had to finish up packing. Unfortunately I got really sick but the "show" had to go on. We got home late sunday night, packed Monday, loaded the truck on Tuesday, and took off that night. We stopped an hour and a half outside of Nashville and stayed the night in a hotel. It was such a relief to have all the packing behind us. Wednesday morning we got in the truck all ready to take off and the brake light was on with a constant alarm beeping. We had to call Uhaul and wait while they sent someone from Nashville to fix it. When the repairman arrived he cut the wire for the alarm and went on his way. Hours of waiting and that's all it took, nice. Logan was pretty well-behaved but all the traveling was rough on the poor guy. We are just now starting to get back into a routine. Finally Thursday we arrived at our destination: Waco, Texas.

For over a week we lived in this lovely hotel room while we looked for a place to live. Mike started work on Monday so I spent five days sitting in this room with no car and nothing to do while he was gone.
Here we are. Oh and note that Valentine's day took place during all of this and was sadly skipped this year. Boohoo!

Logan and Bob are good buddies and often keep eachother entertained.

Finally we found somewhere to live. The Bishop of our ward owns several duplexes and we were lucky enough to get in the opening. There are two wards that meet in Waco and we ended up in the ward with several young couples and lots of babies. There is a play group that meets every week and there are lots of other activities throughout the month so we will be able to make lots of new friends, hooray! Now back to the duplex...it has three bedrooms, lots of storage, and it is right by the park. The ward arranged for a members to come and help us move in and several people showed up. Itwas so nice to have all of the help. The bad news is the carpets had been cleaned an hour before we got there. The carpets were soaking wet and we had to put plastic bags under the boxes so that all of our stuff wouldn't get ruined. I think the carpets ended up dirtier in the end with everyone walking on them, oh well, what can you do? It has taken forever to unpack, we still aren't done. It is hard doing it alone. Logan is a pretty alert child and all of this change has freaked him out. He has been really clingy lately. But after all is said and done I can say, I like it here so far. This picture is of Logan in the family room. It is also a picture of the new couch we bought in December but I never got around to posting a picture.

This is Logan playing. What a happy baby he is. You can't really see but his two bottom teeth just broke through, poor guy. Thank goodness for tylenol. He is waking up from his nap and I have a million things to do. Sorry for the crazy explantions...gotta go.

2008-01-23T12:14:00.000-08:00

This one is for Grandma and Grandpa. . .

We haven't been up to much other than hanging out with Logan. This post is purely all about Logan which I know that atleast his grandparents can appreciate.

At Logan's four month check-up his doctor said that we could start him on baby food. Here he is eating food for his first time. So far he has tried rice cereal, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, bananas, and applesauce. Bananas are his favorite but he hasn't taken a real interest in baby food yet.

This is his "I'm being shy" face.

The poor guy got more shots but he was a real trooper. I love those thighs. They are getting bigger by the day.

He has been laughing so much lately. Dad is the best at making him laugh.

We recently bought him some new toys. Here he is in his walker. So far he mostly just pushes it backwards though.

This is Logan in his bouncer for the first time. He loves it and Bob always keeps him company while he hops around.

Here he is all tuckered out.

Today he is five months old!!! I can't believe it. Look how big he is getting. I took this picture just today. He is such a happy boy.

He is drooling even more these days. This poor little guy is going through a very slow teething process.

This is Logan watching dad play classic nintendo games on the computer. He was really into it if you can't tell.

I had to take a picture of him supporting his dad through the hard levels. If you can't see it, he is holding Mike's thumb. It was pretty funny to me but it might be one of those "I guess you had to be there" moments.

He loves to stand. Thanks for the cute outfit nana Borup.