Growing in Maturiosity

Trip to Costa Rica

2011-05-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

It's a Girl!

2011-01-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

On January 6th we had our second ultrasound and found out that we are having a baby girl!

Christmas Morning

2011-01-17T12:28:00.000-08:00

Christmas Activities

2011-01-17T12:20:00.000-08:00

We did a couple of really great activities to get us in the spirit of the Christmas season. We went to Christmas in Collinsville and took a carriage ride through town.

Another great activity was to go on a train ride and see Santa. The train was decorated with lights inside and out and we even made a stop at Santa's special train workshop.

Christmas Set-Up

2011-01-17T12:15:00.000-08:00

We were really early on setting up our christmas tree this year and getting out all the decorations. We were even done with all our gifts by Dec. 15th and it felt great.

T-Rex

2010-12-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

My house has become the stomping ground for a T-Rex. I'm not sure how he escaped from the late Jurassic and ended up in my living room. It's even learned to open the fridge, when I shouted "What are you doing in my refrigerator?" It replied, in roar, of course "T-Rex's eat meat." Then it stomped on it's way. Don't believe me? Here's proof:

(Please excuse the camera shake. It's hard to get a clear photo when the ground is shaking with each step of this mighty dinosaur.)

Celebrate the Family

2010-08-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

Join me at Chocolate on my Cranium as we commemorate the 15th anniversary of the The Family: A Proclamation to the World. Snag a button and spread the word...

Complimentary

2010-08-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

52 Scrapbooking Challenges #1 - make a spread using complimentary colors. I chose to use blue and orange and create a spring feeling. If you'd like to see this bigger all you need to do is click on the photo.

Southwestern Black Bean Burgers

2010-06-12T06:55:00.001-07:00

This is one of my favorite recipes. It's a great summer bbq vegetarian recipe. Enjoy!

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbs light mayonnaise
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 tbsp plain dried bread crumbs
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce
nonstick cooking spray
1 cup loosely packed sliced lettuce
hamburger buns
1/2 cup mild salsa
Ranch Dressing

1- In a large bowl, with potato masher or fork, mash beans with mayo until almost smooth with some lumps. Stir in Cilantro, bread crumbs, cumin, and pepper sauce until combined. With Lightly floured hands, shape bean mixture into 3-inch round patties. Spray both sides of each patty lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
2- Heat 10 inch skillet over medium heat until hot. Add patties and cook until lightly browned, about 3 min. With pancake turner, turn patties over, and cook until heated through, about 3 min.
3- Eat like a hamburger with ketchup and mayo on a bun or add salsa and ranch instead. Either way these are delicious.

An Adorable Alarm Clock

2010-06-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Just because I have an adorable alarm clock doesn't make it any easier to get up. When I was growing up my theory was that the cuter the alarm clock the easier it was to get up. Which led to things like hello kitty alarm clocks, disney princess alarm clocks and when I matured a little and when to college, the giant fluffy purple alarm clock. Well, now I have the cutest alarm clock:

Oliver has moved into his toddler bed and my alarm has been set for an early 7:45 wake up call ever since. I know that isn't very early but for my little boy who stayed in his crib until mom came rolling out of bed and finally retrieved him at 9, and hour and 15 min is a little hard to swallow.
In fact at this point it would be easier if he weren't cute. He's like a modern vampire, all cute then you let him into your house and just watch in horror as he turns into a monster. It's starts out cute, he crawls in bed, snuggles up, gives you a kiss. Then the tossing and turning begins, followed by the kicking, then the talking, then the actual requests and before you know it, I'm a monster too. Though usually just a grouchy tickle monster.

Wordfull Wednesday - Caring for your Family

2010-05-11T21:32:00.000-07:00

The topic is "Caring for your Family - How do you let them know you care about them? What do you do as parents to show your children they are loved? "Husband and wife have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children." (Family Proclamation, paragraph 6)" Go check out what others are writing at chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com

Hmmm, this is a tough question for me but at the same time it's not so tough. I grew up in a family that was very open about our love and caring for each other and that has transferred over into my marriage and my family. Bryan and I love to hold hands at church, we tell each other we love each other and share a kiss every time that we leave the house, and we end every phone conversation with "I love you."
I hope that every moment I spend listening to Ollie's stories, watching "Little Mermaid," or having teaching moments lets him know that I love him and care enough to take the time out of my day to share that time with him.
I try to live so that there isn't any doubt in my family's mind that I love them. I don't want to have the regret of anything happening to them and me not doing all I could to tell them how much I care or to give one last hug.

Spring Reading Thing 2010

2010-05-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I just get going with life and forget that I have a to-be-read list sitting in my living room just waiting patiently. (Although sometimes it goes the other way and I read and read and read and forget that I have a toddler waiting not-so-patiently for me.) But I found this challenge and thought that it would be fun to post my spring reading list and try to get through some books that are just waiting to be read while Oliver plays in the sunshine and digs up my garden. I love to read fairy tale books in the spring, it's just the season.

The Chalice by Robin McKinley
Beauty by Robin McKinley
Spindle's End by Robin McKinley
Lips Touch: 3 Times by Laini Taylor

These are simple easy to read Disney Fairy Books that I enjoy reading in the sunshine:
Fawn and the Mysterious Trickster
Tinkerbell Takes Charge
Myka Finds Her Way
Fira and the Full Moon
Silvermist and the Ladybug Curse

Pink are the books that I have finished reading.

A blogpost that's more like a Tweet

2010-04-28T11:07:00.001-07:00

I'd like to update my blog to let everyone know I'm still alive but I'd like even more to watch Angel... I'll do wordfull Wednesday later.

Mom Mishaps

2010-03-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have a quick 15 min to kick out a post.

1 - Tore apart my living room, painted it chocolate brown. It's lovely...but... I bought up some floating shelves to put up and they don't fit snug against my wall. So, I wood glued them to the wall and put my first knick knack on them and they leaned off the wall again. Photos to come and if you have any advice for floating shelves, it's probably too late, ya know, cause of all that wood glue and stuff.

2- Friends are out for a surprise visit so I planned to take them to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. I ran to the library to pick up the free pass, then came home and had the kids all ready to go, lunch packed, my camera in the car and I glanced down at the hours on the museum and it stared back at me in deviance saying "Closed on Mondays." What! Don't worry we ended up going to the Peabody.

3- (This one is my Personal Favorite.) This week was my turn to send out postcards for the Swap and I didn't do it until the absolute last minute. Monday night at 8:30 I ran to Walgreens and picked up 51 postcards. They didn't have 51 all the same so I actually have about 4 different cards that went out... then I ran to Staples and picked up some sticker paper thinking that would be the easiest to put my facts and labels on. I'm running through the door as the manager is yelling at me about closing in 10 min. So I grab the sticker paper, run home and make my labels. I open the paper and realize that it isn't sticker paper at all. It's window cling printer paper! So I print out my labels on the regular paper and gluestick it to my 51 postcards. GLUESTICK! Hope everyone gets my postcards with all their labels attached.

Wordfull Wednesday - Unity in Marriage

2010-02-24T19:51:00.001-08:00

This will be quick because I have to get back to James Bond but unity is very important. Right now in our little family it has become increasingly more important to make sure that we are consistent. It's been awful to watch our little baby start to twist things between us to get his way. He knows that Dad doesn't like to take his loveys when we go out but mom's a sucker and will let him sneak giraffe into the car.
The best way to stay united is through communication. We live in a time where we can constantly be in contact with our spouses and I am with mine. My husband has a pretty good grasp on what me and Ollie are up to because he gets constant facebook messages, text messages, photos, and he can get on my blog and read up on our activities. It has helped to have Bryan always support and know what is going on. He's fully aware of what is expected and how to deal with things.
Unity hard to break down and talk about because it is marriage. You are united in everything you do - forever. Your decisions will always affect your marriage. It's like plucking a string. When the string is short and the ends are close together if you pluck it then it's a small short ripple but the longer the string the bigger the waves from plucking it will be. No matter what plucks our string as long as we stay close together the effects won't be to big.

To Be Our Brother's Keeper

2010-02-23T13:24:00.000-08:00

Creating things brings me a lot of joy and confidence as I am working to create a home all on my own. It's harder than I thought it would be. This isn't another "I wish I had payed more attention to my mom" post but I sure do miss having her around. But Third to my mom and all my wonderful friends out here is the internet, more specifically the blogging nation. I just love that I can find normal people like me trying to be thrifty, crafty, cute, and organized. There are so many beautiful ideas out there and now they are being shared all over the world. It's simply amazing.
This morning I was reading in "Small and Simple Things" and Sister Hinckley said," We all have a responsibility-a responsibility to make a difference, to be an influence, to lift someone. We are all in this together to work out our salvation, to reach our potential, and to be our brother's keeper-to help each other."
That's how I've felt about blogging lately. If I can do my little part to help someone else than I am doing something great and I want to thank all the other people out there posting the things that they are doing. I'm probably using your ideas to help my home and family keep on track. Thanks!

Week 8: Feb. 14-20

2010-02-22T12:16:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is small bit of fudging. This actually happened on the 13th but it was part of my birthday/valentine's day so I'm claiming it happened on Valentine's day.

Bryan surprised me with two tickets to Lion King on Broadway. It was certainly a surprise. I had been asking for them every time he asked what I wanted but I didn't really think that would be what I would get. I thought I was getting a mixer but this was so much better.

It was so amazing! The costumes were just beautiful. The music was a good mix of my cartoon favorites and real African feeling music. I was in shock just being there. In fact it's still hard for me to wrap my head around. It was such a wonderful gift and I truly loved it.

Thank you, Bryan!

Week 7: Feb. 7 - 13

2010-02-22T12:12:00.000-08:00

2 newest members of the household. Clementine and Churchill.

week 6: Jan 31-Feb. 6

2010-02-22T12:10:00.000-08:00

This is like beating a dead horse but this is all that I did that entire week. But I'm still proud of it.

Week 5: Jan 24-30

2010-02-22T12:08:00.000-08:00

Working on my Gospel Principles book.

Postcard Swap

2010-02-21T21:55:00.000-08:00

Today my husband asked "How much is this postcard swap thing going to cost me? I don't want to spend $70.00* on postage and $100.00* on the actual postcards."

This is where I calmly said, "Honey, 3 months ago when I asked if you thought this would be a fun idea and if we could participate I laid out the cost before you and estimated about $35-40*. You said okay." Really, this was very calm, you can ask him.

Once again Husband replied,"okay."

Phew, now that that was over I could continue with blogging about how great it's been to be receiving postcards in the mail. When Husband says, "Should we start buying these bit by bit so that the cost doesn't take a big chunk out of our budget? When is it our turn to send them out anyway?"

Again I reply in a level tone,"They are in alphabetical order meaning that we are sometime in midmarch and what kind of state is our budget in if we can't take a $40* hit for one month?

Husband replies,"$40*, that's not bad. Okay, that's fine."

Does anyone else feel that I'm talking to myself? Anyways, back to how much fun it has been to receive actual mail in our mailbox. You know, instead of those dang credit card offers (is there a do not mail list?) I search through our mail and pull out that glorious postcard, show Ollie the picture then turn it over and read about the fun facts on the back to him then it is swiftly posted on the fridge.

We now have 3 on our refrigerator and I'm proud of them but the time has come for us to create a place to put them. So right now I'm looking for any ideas on book formats to keep postcard collections for say 50 or so postcards.

And I'd like to say proudly

Mom Mishaps

2010-02-21T21:44:00.000-08:00

I have a lot to update on but here is a quick list of a few "Mom Mishaps" that have gone down in our lovely home in the last month:

1- Tried to make cute valentine suckers from Peppermint candy canes - melted them all over my cookie sheet (twice) and had to go buy those store valentine's instead. Bryan voted for the WWF kind but I shot that down quicker than a starving rattle snake and we went with Cars instead.

2- Tried, without success, to keep my house clean. Why I even bother is still a mystery to me.

3- Baked super soft chunky chocolate chips and burned the first batch. Bless my husband, he ate them and said they were wonderful. There is an art to cookie baking that I just plain don't understand. I think I'll just stick with what I know; Tannies.

4- Racked up a $6 library fine then had to use our toll money to pay for it.

5- Over reacted to my husband twice in the last 48 hours.

6- Fell asleep on the couch and woke up to Oliver crying for Giraffe, who never even made it into bed... whoops.

7- Was so busy this month that I forgot to take the time to enjoy those little moments with Oliver. There is going to be some new prioritizing for this month.

Fushful Thinking

2010-02-21T20:48:00.000-08:00

I just love this video. I love that it is very simple. I've found that the secret to success is not in some complicated formula but usually in remembering the basics.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-12T16:55:00.001-08:00

New blog title

2010-02-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

I've changed my blog title, not my address, that will remain the same. I've put a lot of thought into it and let me tell you why.

Do you remember when all of the sudden it became cool to be uncool? You know, when it became cool to listen to weird twangy indie music, to wear dorky plastic black glasses, to wear clothes that don't fit right, and to say awkward things at awkward moments. Oh yeah, I remember. It happened my senior year. I'd finally given up on trying to be cool and popular.
No one wants to admit that, but I will. I wanted to be cool, I wanted to be liked, I wanted to be beautiful, and I wanted to be considered popular.

But middle of Jr. year I gave up on that idea. I was not cool, I liked cartoons, pirates, and fantasy novels. I was liked but in the she's a nice girl, gets along with others type. I wasn't beautiful, I was awkward and teenagery, my hair was cut shorter on the left side. I sure as heck wasn't popular...
Then I came back my senior year and something changed. I know that this is all sounding very much like a good tween novel where I magically changed over the summer to come back and find that boys liked me and what-not but the truth is I didn't change, not an ounce. But the world changed and all the sudden my dorky black plastic glasses were fashionable and cartoons were awesome and entertaining, huh, who would have guessed?

What had really changed was I had never reached the level of maturiosity that most people do in their early high school years. So I was the weird one because I just wasn't on their level and then senior year they came back down and met with me in the middle and the I was acceptable.

Which brings me to my Maturiosity scale. (Inspired by my friend Shane, Who is always making awesome charts.)See we are on varying levels of Maturiosity and looking back through my blog posts I've come to realize that all of you are watching me grow in maturiosity. I don't know if I'm truly a misfit again or if I'm just in the wrong location for my particular brand of misfitness. See I'm in my early 20s. But I'm not still in college and I'm not still shirking responsibilities. In face I'm a 20 something living like a 30 yr. old. I have a husband, a child, a mortgage... While I'm still trying to mesh in funky ska music and wear my beat up plastic rim glasses.

I hope I didn't just weird anyone out with my awkwardness...

Wordfull Wednesday: Love Songs

2010-02-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

I don't believe that Bryan and I have a song (who knows, maybe we do and later today Bryan will let me know what that song is.) But I would say that we have a genre; ska. The chaos that ensues when a ska song comes on brings nothing but giggles and fun to our house.
See when you move your body to a ska song it's called skanking. It's generally a mad dance in a circle. (Not American mad but the British kind) You swing your arms around wildly and kick your legs out and spin while circling around something, people, poles, chairs, whatever central point you can find. It's mad fun.
Now a story... Before Bryan and I were married we went on a date to a local concert at the Westwood Theatre. This was a fairly common date for us, especially going to see one of our favorite local ska bands "The Opskamatrists." We met my brother there and he challenged us to a Skank-Off. (Did I mention that ska runs in the family.) This was a true test of strength, love, and physical endurance. It was a test to see who could go the longest. We skanked through the first song intensely, the second song we hit just as hard, but 4 or 5 songs into the set I was looking tired and those comfy theatre seats were looking pretty good but Bryan pulled me up and encouraged me to continue on with the dream. I was like a marathon runner that had only trained to mile 24 but still had 2 more to go. I was fading fast but Bryan pulled me along. Insert short story about how this relates to enduring to the end. Eventually the set ended and I collapsed, too tired to even walk out to the water fountain. We'd done it, we'd taken gold, though if my brother ever reads this he'll definitely debate me on this point.

The Opskamatrists - ICUN Music Video

The Opskamatrists | MySpace Music Videos
So today I'm sharing one of my favorite songs from "The Opskamatrists" Thanks for listening to me share my memories.

Hello, My name is ClarisaJo and I watch too much HGTV

2010-02-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

This week has been a flurry of tape, rollers, and paint! I've been working on getting Ollie's room put together how I've been planning since me and Bryan were engaged. I've always loved the idea of planning and creating beautiful living spaces. But...we've always rented apartments. Which means don't put too many holes in the wall, don't paint, and don't have any fun. Now that we have our own house I've been very surprised that it has taken me this long to break out the paint.I've always wanted to paint a cool design on my kids bedroom wall. It started as polka dots, then changed to stripes, checkered, diamonds, and finally evolved into a full form idea of argyle. Then I saw what Cocoa had done to her girls room and knew that that is what I wanted; with a little variation.This is what the wall looked like originally. Pretty lame, I know.I started by painting the whole wall a light flat orange. 2 coats.
I didn't want to have an overwhelming wall with lots of different colors. Especially since it was Orange. Orange can get overwhelming. Hence the only one wall and the 2 different shades of orange. I measured three feet across the top and the bottom of both walls, leaving small pencils marks in my wake. Then I took a string and connected all the lines diagonally and taped INSIDE each of the diamonds and painted the triangles a darker semigloss orange. The different textures of paint just gives the wall a little bit of dimension. I peeled the tape away and it looked like this. And let me tell you at this point I was done. I thought it looked good and could be left this way and I could love the wall just as much as if it had actually been argyle but Bryan convinced me that I needed to continue on. So I cracked open a can of brown paint and continued on by measuring 3 feet on the wall again but opposite of what I'd done previously. Laying my tape and then putting another piece really really close to the first then marking every 2 inches. I painted every other 2 inch block all the way down the wall. Let it dry, paint a second coat, then remove the tape.TADA!! An orange Argyle wall.

Gospel Principles Book

2010-02-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

This is my disclaimer before I start posting my crafting projects up on my blog. I'm not a neat crafter, in fact some would call it just plain sloppy. So if you are offended by misaligned edges, unmeasured squares, and fingerprints in paint then these are probably sections that should be skipped. Well, with that said, let me explain: I'm trying to keep up on my scripture study this year and follow the church curriculum. So to help me to keep up in the Old Testament I made these book marks:
You are welcome to download this. Just save it to your computer but make sure you click on it first so that you can get the larger file.

Then I decided to make a bookmark for Relief Society:Both of these have been awesome for keeping me on track. I really like to mark them off and show that I'm keeping up. The problem happened when I crawled into bed one evening, looked down at my list and realized that it was a Teaching For Our Times section. Oh, crap, here I am all cozy in bed and I have to read a talk from General Conference. So I pull out my trusty iphone and read the talk on there. But that got me thinking; what if my iphone hadn't been available, or if one of our 3 computers wasn't available, or possibly if a ninja broke into our home and pilfered our copy of the ensign (excuse my last one, it was in the heat of the moment and I fully realize that Ninjas don't pilfer, pirates do. Just roll with it.) To make sure that the talks and the book are all in the same easy to reach place I decided that I would print them all out, fold them in half, and stick them in between the pages of my book. Simple right, wrong, I have a toddler and nothing slid into a book stays "slid" in. So I spiral bound my book and actually bound the talks inside the book in chronological order so that I could just open up and start reading where ever I left off. Awesome, huh?

The sad part is that as cool as my book is...I am not in RS. I'm in the YW and no one will ever see it or hear my awesome answers to the questions because I came prepared.

Trains

2010-02-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

Oliver really loves trains. He plays with them at friends houses, at the library, at Grandpa's house. But the truly great place he plays trains is at our house; where we don't actually have a train set. Instead he PRETENDS by placing all his cars in a row and saying Choo Choo he pushes them from behind and of course they all jumble up but he patiently puts them all back in their place and starts again. I love to watch him play trains. It reminds of so many things that I feel have been lost in a lot of children today. First: Oliver pretends. I love to watch his imagination grow. It's amazing to see the connections he makes. I know that I wouldn't look at a car and think train even though they are very similar I know that a train is a train and a car is a car. Second: Sorting. It's so good to see him sort. We have a couple different sets of cars. A set that we got him for Christmas last year, a set that we got him for Christmas this year, and a set from Grandma and Grandpa Williams. With all these cars he puts them all in the correct line and the Grandma and Grandpa set doesn't get mixed in with the last year christmas set. and Third: Patience, even though the cars crumple up on each other he still puts them back in the correct place and tries it again. He'll play all afternoon if I don't have anything else going on.
I love playing "Trains."

Honeymoon: before & after

2010-01-28T07:18:00.000-08:00

Since I wrote about marriage yesterday, it reminded me of our honeymoon. I've had a request to see the before and after of our backpacking. Just to catch everyone up for our honeymoon we went and spent 4 weeks backpacking in Guatemala. In that time we didn't shave and never took a warm shower.

Before:
After:

Wordfull Wednesday - 3 Important things in Marriage

2010-01-27T18:50:00.000-08:00

I was introduced to wordfull Wednesdays by a wonderful woman in my ward. Meg has been involved in this for a while and I found it when I was reading her blog. I followed the link to find more about it and was introduced to this lovely blog. I've been faithfully reading both blogs and have especially enjoyed the wordfull Wednesday activities. So here is my contribution to wordfull Wednesday.
Assignment: What are the three most important things in marriage?

1- Growth
This is my number 1 important thing. If you grow together, you won't grow apart. This is why Bryan and I are religious about our New Year's resolutions. Every year we sit down and talk over our goals for the year and how we are going to achieve them. This isn't a list that gets shoved into a corner somewhere and forgotten. We take all the steps necessary to try and fulfill that. Everything from posting our goals on our blog, to putting them on the calendar, a list goes in our scriptures and another on the wall in our entryway. They are around as a constant reminder and at the end of the year it isn't how many things we've checked off, it's the journey of getting there. In fact; I'll admit that a lot of that list is left undone and many things are moved over to be the next year. But it has been a year where I have known what Bryan wants to achieve and more importantly I've known how to support him and he supports me. We have things to talk about, we show our love through encouragement, and we celebrate together when a goal is reached.
2- Unity
There are many more ways to word this and many ways to break into smaller categories. Among them are fidelity, trust, and communication. I always want to stand as a united front. When raising our children I want to make sure we are on the same page about policies, education, and scripture study. If we don't agree on something then taking the time work it out and find out how we can come to a resolution is worth a lot to a marriage. We are raising a family together and I know that I couldn't do it on my own so it's nice to know that someone has my back and I want to keep him there.

3- Tithing
Nothing has blessed our lives more than paying our tithing. There is seriously a tangible difference in our lives when we pay a full tithe. All of our finances fall into place and things just seem to work out a lot better. If we don't have financial problems than we don't argue or get angry with each other and I'm willing to do anything to keep it that way.

If I could add a fourth it would be humor, but that isn't the assignment so forget I said anything about it.

Bryan and I have only been married for 2 1/2 years but it's been a doozy. Through that short time we have been through a lot. Already, Bryan has graduated from college, we had a beautiful baby, we moved across the country from our parents, started a new job, and bought a house. Just to name a few of the big ones. Among our smaller achievements have been to make new friends, go to Germany, get a YMCA membership, and host our first Thanksgiving where I cooked my own turkey. But what I'm trying to say is that I'm no expert in marriage and my most important things are still in the honeymoon stages of our wonderful life together but I still feel they are important because, well, doesn't everyone want those honeymoon years back.

Week 4: Jan 17-23

2010-01-25T19:23:00.000-08:00

Oliver received an entire box of dress up clothes from his Grandma and Grandpa Blacker. He has loved having them. We have played dress up multiple times and in many different outfits. Everything from a dr. to a monkey. But his favorite is the firefighter. I think he likes it for the hat. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa, your costumes are getting plenty of use!

Christmas 2009

2010-01-21T18:51:00.001-08:00

*If you would like to see any of my images larger click on the image

Disneyworld 2009

2010-01-21T18:44:00.000-08:00

*If you would like to see any of my images larger just click on them.

Halloween 2009

2010-01-21T18:39:00.000-08:00

*If you would like to see any of my images larger just click on the image itself.

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-01-20T14:40:00.001-08:00

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree, why are you still in my living room? That's right folks it is now the 20th of January, about 27 days postchristmas and 30 days since that tree was watered. But there it is, still popping up in my photos, still dropping needles on my floor, rug, couch, Oliver. This is a public pleading for Bryan to please remove it from my house with haste. Thank you.

week 3: Jan 10-16

2010-01-20T13:34:00.000-08:00

My boys playing guitar hero.

Week 2: Jan 3-9

2010-01-20T13:30:00.000-08:00

Bryan and Oliver waiting for the plane to go home.

Week 1: Jan 1-2

2010-01-20T13:19:00.000-08:00

Oliver and his cousin riding with Grandpa around the farm.

52 Weeks

2010-01-20T13:13:00.000-08:00

I've tried and failed at the 365 project but I found an easier more approachable idea and hopefully it will keep me posting regularly. It's the 52 project. A photo a week. Don't get me wrong, I take a photo almost everyday. The problem is those shameful days that I miss. So here goes the 52 project. My weeks will be Sunday to Sunday.

The Blackers in New England part 1

2009-11-30T13:17:00.000-08:00

Friday night we needed to go pick up my family from the airport in Boston. We had a few set backs with the rental van. That is a long story that I don't want to go into right now. That night we stayed in a hotel in Boston. Ollie didn't fall asleep until 5:30 am. I had to stay up with him because Bryan and my Dad had to wake up early to drive back to Hartford. So I went down and sat in the lobby. Ollie ran circles around the entire lobby then the circles got smaller and smaller until he collapsed on the floor next to me and finally fell asleep. It was one of the longest nights of my life.After we got the rental car we went to Harvard Yard.This is a photo of my Mom and Ollie at Ihop. Bryan and I haven't been in Boston a lot except for Soccer games so we decided to go on a Duck tour. To get an over all feel of Boston. This is Kati in front of the Harry Potter Knight chess piece from the first movie in the Museum of Science in Boston.Sunday was General Conference so we hunkered down. Watched conference and went to the Collinsville Farmer's Market.Monday we went to Gillette Castle.

The Beginning of Halloween

2009-10-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

It's the beginning of the 13 days of Halloween at our house tonight. Everyday we have an activity and every night a halloween movie. Anyone that wants to join any of the activities is welcome and we'd love to have you. The more the merrier this time of year.
We went to Keene NH for the pumpkin festival on Saturday. There were thousands of pumpkins and we had a great time with a couple families from our ward.

Tonight we started with a corn and chicken chowder soup for dinner and "It's the great pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and "The legend of Sleepy Hollow"

Tuesday the 20th:
Activity: Go on an Autumn Hike
Movie: The Ring

Wednesday the 21st:
Activity: Decorate for Halloween (and move into condo)
Movie: The Corpse Bride

Thursday the 22nd:
Activity: Create your own haunted house
Movie: The Haunting

Friday the 23rd:
Activity: Make a neat halloween craft
Double feature friday: Mickey's House of Villians and The Haunting in Connecticut

Saturday the 24th:
Activity: Salem, MA
Movie: none

Sunday the 25th:
Activity: go for a drive and check out autumn colors and neighbors decorations
Movie: Young Frankenstein

Monday the 26th:
Activity: Read a Halloween Story
Movie: Classic Scooby Doo Marathon

Tuesday the 27th:
Activity: Monster Mash with playgroup at Canton Church
Movie: Exorcism of Emily Rose

Wednesday the 28th:
Activity: Put finishing touches on costume
Trunk or Treat at Canton Ward
Movie: Nightmare before Christmas

Thursday the 29th:
Activity: Explore a Graveyard
Canton Ward book club - The Graveyard book by Neil Gaimon
Movie: Hauntings documentaries

Friday the 30th:
Activity: Cherry Brook Nursing Home Halloween Parade
YMCA Halloween Party
Double Feature Friday: Winnie the Pooh's Heffalump Halloween and The Sixth Sense

Saturday the 31st: HALLOWEEN!!
Chili, hot chocolate, cider, and halloween treats at the Williams
Collinsville Boo Bash from 6-8
Movie: 1408 and The Innocents

Hope to see people around for all our fun.

Apple Picking

2009-09-28T12:25:00.000-07:00

As a playgroup we went to Lyman Orchards. There is a really big group that gets together now and it makes a really fun time for Ollie. He's a little bit smaller and slower so he's always a few steps behind everyone else but still has a good time.

Quick Summer Catch Up

2009-09-28T11:45:00.000-07:00

We went to the Bridgeport zoo in May.

Ollie turned 1 on May 6th.We went to Germany.We went to Mystic Seaport Aquarium.We had a busy day and hit Gillette Castle, Cornwall Bridge, and Kent Falls.

In July there was a family reunion for the Gardner's in Nauvoo, IL.We've become soccer fans. Go New England Revolution!!Mindy and Wyatt came and visited. We went to NYC, Palmyra, and all around Connecticut.
We went to the American Natural History Museum in NYC.
We went to the Bronx Zoo.
That was a shortened version of our summer. It's been a fun crazy one.

Easter

2009-04-14T08:28:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had a good Easter this year. It was Oliver's first and I think that he had a really good time. On Saturday we went over to our friend Anji's house for some egg hunting and an Easter meal. We had fun looking for Eggs and Oliver found 2 ( one for each hand ) and was content to watch all the other children. He thinks he is so big now and wants to do all the things that the older kids do. Sunday was a fun day. We woke up and the Easter Bunny had come. He brought everyone new clothes. Oliver got an adorable new sunday outfit. After church we went to the Siebers for an Easter Dinner and an egg roll. Bryan was out the first round.
Oliver beat Bishop but lost to Austin in the second round.Mallory was the winner! All in all it was an awesome Easter and a good first one for Oliver. I'm looking forward to spring and the sunshine. Hope everyone else had a lovely easter and we'd love to hear about it.

Bubbles in the Park

2009-04-06T07:56:00.001-07:00

Yesterday after conference we felt that we needed to get out of the house. It was a little windy so we packed up Oliver and our kite and headed to the park. The wind wasn't very consistent to the kite flying didn't go so well. But we brought bubbles and Oliver had a great time chasing them down and popping them.

My Camera

2009-01-29T08:03:00.000-08:00

This is my trusty camera. My point-and-shoot kodak v803. This little guy has been every where and has photographed some of the most important things in my life and he has finally quit. I have become very attached to him. He has photographed everything from my sandy beaches in california, to my wedding, to third world countries, the birth of Oliver, and 3,000 miles across the country. He has seen sea turtles, mount rushmore, light houses, grand central station, and wall drug. Coast to Coast. oh, how I will miss him. He went before his time but he will always be remembered. I love you Kodak v803, thank you for all the memories.

Photo of the Day

2009-01-07T08:04:00.000-08:00

I've decided this year that I'm going to take a photo that shows what I've done for that day. So that I can have a complete record of the entire year and I can see how I've improved from day to day in an entire year. If you want to see my photos I'm going to try to post one up everyday but sometimes I'll miss and just catch up in a few days. If you'd like to see go to photosbyclair.blogspot.com If you'd like to see my photos bigger all you need to do is click on the photo and it will enlarge it.

Just say no

2008-12-19T17:23:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago me and Bryan were attending a ward Christmas Party. That day was full of surprises as I rushed around trying to accomplish all the things I needed to.
First was a trip out to the 4H Farm where I was taking pictures,
swiftly followed a 2 hour gift wrapping shift at Barnes and Noble for the Museum,
then I had to rush to Staples to get a few things printed,
run home and get my baby and husband dressed for a night of fun and parties,
rush to the church set up 6 nativities and put together 7 posters and hang them in the appropriate spot,
watch a couple people sing,
run to the museum to eat ham and other goodies,
run back to the church to mingle,
pack up my 6 nativities,
clean up after the party,
then finally get home around 10:30 to find out I had to teach the YW lesson the next afternoon.

I just can't say no when I'm asked to do things. I really love to do things too. So I'm not complaining. The problem is really my time management. Bryan is sick of living in a world I've created that always begins with "Oh, crap, bryan, I have to..." So he lectured me about saying no. I need to plan my days and say no to activities that are too crammed to fit in. After this long lecture that was right in the middle of my mingle time he promptly turned around to say "yes" to the one thing that I would have no problem saying no to. I wouldn't even hesitate to say no to singing in church. I love to sing in Choir but anything less than 10 people makes my stomach turn and I literally get sick. My voice gets high and squeaky but somehow still sounds flat, I lock my knees and pray that I will pass out. So now to make everything even greater we both have nasty colds which leads to a nasely high squeaky duet of Mary's Lullaby.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-19T07:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas Stories

2008-12-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Christmas time and I don't have any of my normal Christmas stuff because it is all still packed away in Idaho but I want to start some traditions in my family and do what I can with what we have. What I'm looking for is Christmas Stories so that we can read a story each night this Christmas season and get in the spirit. If you have a favorite Christmas story that you wouldn't mind sharing with us please e-mail it to me. Thank you so much.

Mormon Tabernacle Choir

2008-11-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

In previous Inaugurations the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has sung and touched people's hearts and I think that is something that should happen at this inauguration. I believe it will show that Obama is willing to cross lines and talk with others whom he may not necessarily agree with. Having elected an African American president has proven to the world that the US is an amazing country that has crossed into a territory that was thought impossible a mere 40 years ago. I think that if that can happen then maybe gay people and Mormons can stand up and support the same president for the same reason; tolerance. Showing the world that we are a nation that supports freedom in everything and our great nation was founded on a belief that all men are made equal. Fighting for what we believe in is an essential part of this country and I hope that controversy never leaves. Whether it is fighting for life or it's fighting for choice be thankful that we are a country that can stand up for a choice and not live in fear.
I'd love to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing at the Inauguration. If you would like to see them too then the best way to do it is to send a letter to Obama's campaign and let them know how you feel.

http://answercenter.barackobama.com/cgi-bin/barackobama.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

Autumn in Connecticut

2008-11-03T16:30:00.000-08:00

There are a few things in my life that I really love.
1. My Family
2. The LDS Church
3. Holiday
4. Autumn

All my life I have wanted to move to connecticut and live here during the fall. People come from all over the world to see the fall in New England and it's where I have always wanted to be. I have spents 20 autumns in Idaho and let me tell you it's stinks compared to New England. Now don't get all upset and offended. Let me tell you that Idaho is great and I loved it there but it has nothing on the fall in New England. My sister-in-law made me a quilt and the hillside looks just like it. All my favorite colors all wrapped up into one scenic beautiful hillside. It is better here than I had ever dreamed of. I can't even begin to describe the beauty that I am living in. I'm not a desert person, or a mountain person, I'm not a beach person, I am most definitely a hills and trees type person. I haven't felt claustrophobic like a lot of people when they first come out. I just feel like this is place I am suppose to be at this time. Like I said before it has always been my dream to live here in the fall and I'm livin' the dream.

Helping Dad

2008-11-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

Oliver is fascinated with whatever Bryan is doing. From working on the computer to eating dinner. He watches his dad like Bryan's his greatest hero. I caught this picture of Oliver helping out. Unfortunately the only thing that I can do to grab Oliver's attention his pull out the camera.This is a picture of Oliver helping his Dad fix the vacuum. He's very concerned but luckily there was a spare belt in the vacuum and now it's working good as new.

Pumpkin Carving

2008-11-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

On Monday we went to a pumpkin patch and picked our pumpkins, they were kind of the few sad last ones and had a few soft spots but luckily the didn't rot away before the big night. We carved our pumpkins for Bryan's lunch on Halloween.This is Oliver's Pumpkin, he didn't get too fancy. It was his first halloween, he has his whole life to carve a complicated pumpkin. He put his first tooth on it. He doesn't have his first tooth yet, that's just wishful thinking.
Bryan's pumpkin is the symbol of the rebel alliance from Star Wars. One of the children that came trick or treating to our house said "oh, that's from star wars." So I answered with a general yeah, I think it's the rebel group thing. . . which led to "Duh, it's the rebel alliance." and he told me all about it. Mine pumpkin is Mickey Mouse and by far the most complicated pumpkin I've ever carved. I used one of those fancy templates off the internet so I pretty much cheated. But I'm still dang proud of it. A group of kids stopped to take a picture with our pumpkins on our front porch. I'd like to think that they stopped because of our pumpkins awesomeness. Although chances are they do that with all the pumpkins on porches as they go collect candy from strangers.

Save the Sea Turtles

2008-10-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

Our oceans are in peril from climate change, disease, pollution, and overfishing. There is a huge push for Coral Reef preservation and I want to join it. I have noticed lots of people, especially in our family blogs, are writing about their causes in their blogs. My cause is to save the sea turtles.
They are gorgeous creatures that are worth more to us alive than dead. The sea turtles fill an important ecological role by controlling prey species and themselves providing food to larger predators. Sea turtles are biological nutrient transporters. The energy contained inside turtle eggs comes from the food items that the turtles have found in the marine environment. They are a balanced and key part to the interaction of the ecosystems found in the ocean and dry land. Marine turtles are economically important to humans. Coastal communities in developing countries use sea turtles as a source for food. Sea turtles have become increasingly important as an ecotourism attraction. This has led to a rise in tourism operations that in turn provide jobs and income to seaside communities throughout the tropical and subtropical part of the world. Marine turtle watching increases people's interest in marine and coastal issues and inspires commitment to support conservation efforts. Marine turtles are flagship species that attract help to themselves as well as to the many species with which they co-exist.
Three objectives to help save the sea turtles are:
a. reduce the breaking down of sea turtle habitats through building and maintaining marine and beach preservations and through educating and ecotourism to create an interest and an awareness in sea turtles.
b. reduce the bycatch of sea turtles in large fishing nets through national and international agreements to use turtle friendly fishing practices such as turtle excluder devices in nets.
c. reducing illegal trade of turtle products by personally not buying anything using turtles products. Such as turtles shells and turtle meat and eggs.

One small thing I'm starting to do is to cut all the rings of my pop can rings so that they can't find their way into the ocean and end up around any animals neck (like in the movie "Happy Feet") and by slicing the bottom of my plastic grocery shopping bags so they aren't mistaken for jelly fish and swallowed or better yet just using paper bags then recycling them. (Although I do hope that non of my garbage will ever find it's way into the ocean.)

Got Milk?

2008-10-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

Ska Music

2008-10-23T06:17:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged

2008-10-21T05:07:00.000-07:00

1 - My husband has never seen my natural hair color, except in my roots.
2 - I have a fear of stickiness
3 - I have been in 19 States this year (idaho, nevada, utah, arizona, montana, wyoming, south dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetes, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island )
4 - I have never had a cavitiy filled.
5 - I love to dance to ska music
6 - Indiana Jones was my first true love (n0t Harrison Ford)
7 - My favorite book is Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging

I tag -
Casidy
Amanda
Paula
Anji
Traci
Ben and Catherine
Drew Ann

Organic Laundry Soap and the Sock

2008-10-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

Every week I do my laundry at the local laundromat. Let me tell you how it goes. . . I load my 2 garbage bags and basket of laundry, Oliver, and my diaper bag (which is pretty big.) Then I get to the local Laundromat and unload my 2 garbage bags and basket of laundry, Oliver, my diaper bag and to make things easy I leave my laundry soap and dryer sheets in the trunk of my car.
Today started out just like normal, I loaded the car, I unloaded the car. Then I went to the trunk to retrieve my laundry soap. Let me tell you about my laundry soap. This is special laundry soap bought 2 weeks ago at Costco in bulk size. It is made for sensitive skin, eco-friendly, bio-safe, smells like spring, and comes in an easy to use container with a squirt nozel. When your a mother of a 5 month old this is a very beautiful thing and you start to appreciate the little things in life. But my laundry soap was not in the trunk of my car! So, I thought, maybe I took it upstairs to my apartment. I then loaded everything back into my car and raced home. It was not in my closet, in the coat closet, in oliver's bedroom, under the bed, in the cupboard or up on the shelf and the only thing left was that it was forgotten at the laundromat.
I tell you that sad story only to turn and tell you a very sweet one about a lost sock. . . Oliver's lost sock to be more specific. I went about doing my laundry with my non organic soap and loaded up my car. I pulled out and noticed a lady was waving furiously, yelling and pointing at me. I immediatley stopped, rolled down my window and pointed at myself with a bewildered look on my face. "Yes, you forgot this and I just had to give it back." She then handed me a tiny 1 inch long song with a blue toe and heel. "Thank you," I politely returned and stared at the sock as she walked away.
What made this little sock so important? This was the second time the sock had tried to escape at the laundromat and still it has found it's way back to Oliver's foot. What is the moral of this story? I'd say that it is tiny things are cared about a lot and big things that come in bulk are not. Not only in socks and laundry soap but in people as well. So let's all try to care for the little things as well as the big things because they are just as important.

The End

Blacker Family Visit - Day 7

2008-10-10T05:43:00.001-07:00

The last day my family was here was sadly a bust. We went in to Hartford just to see the city and a few things that are in there. Hartford is about the size of Boise. We went to see the Mark Twain (Tom Sawyer (: ) House but the tour for 11:00 was full and the next one started at 12:30 but that was too late so my family just walked around the museum for a little bit. We decided to also hit the carousel. (My family likes carousels.) The website said that their fall hours were Tuesday through Sunday 11:00 - 6:00. We arrived at 12:30 and it was closed! They had a sign on the outside saying their fall hours were thursday through Sunday. So we didn't get to ride the carousel either. We dropped my family off at the airport and said goodbye. I really miss them already. They were so much fun to have around. It was nice to have people around who really knew us and loved us no matter what. We were really missing Idaho until we read the weather report. . .now we just miss the people in Idaho. Just to let you all know WE MISS YOU!!Katie and Ollie on the slide.Casidy getting ready to race me down the slide.Kent is playing Twinkle twinkle little star.Family picture in front of the close Carousel.Grandma and Oliver

Blacker Family Visit - Day 6

2008-10-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

Today we searched for light houses. We drove to Rhode Island so that my family could see the Atlantic Ocean. We went to a beach with 2 light houses but my mom's back was hurting her so we couldn't walk to 15 min in sand to where the lighthouses were. We went back to Connecticut and went to the Lighthouse Museum. It was really cool to see pictures of all the lighthouses in the Long Island Sound (that's where all the sharks are.) I thought it was awesome to walk up into the top of the lighthouse. It was mine and my whole families first time inside a light house. It was blazing hot up in the actual light part. All glass and a sunny day makes it really warm. After we saw the lighthouse we went to Mystic to eat some sea food. Me and my sisters don't like sea food so we had chicken strips. But my Dad, Mom, and Kent really liked their sea food.The stairs to the top of the lighthouse were really steep.Oliver couldn't go all the way to the top because there was a ladder and he is too small to climb ladders.View from the top of the Lighthouse.Family Picture in front of the Lighthouse.Family picture at the Long Island Sound.All the Blacker children in the Atlantic Ocean.Oliver with his toesies in the Atlantic Ocean.Family Picture in the Atlantic Ocean.Katie eating chicken strips.Mom and Dad eating their seafood.

Blacker Family Visit - Day 5

2008-10-09T06:23:00.000-07:00

Today we went to Yale. It was actually really cool. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't too excited for this day. But it ended up being really cool. We also drove around to some of my Dad's old mission sites. We saw where he lived in Naugatuck (not sure on the spelling and too lazy to look it up.) and the Cadbury Factory and all the other things he remembered about it. Then we looked for where he lived in Chesire but we couldn't find it so he just told us some stories about that town. He was really excited to share with us all his mission stories and I really enjoyed hearing them. They were very special and I'm glad that I was able to help my dad share them.This is our family picture at Yale. Just so you know, Oliver takes all our family pictures from his stroller, so that's why he's missing from quite a few. This is the library that Indiana Jones rode a motorcycle through in The Crystal Skull. (I love Indiana Jones.)The inside of one of the Colleges at Yale.This is New Haven's green. The green used to be a lot smaller and was surrounded by a few cemeteries. But when Yale started to grow they decided that it needed to be bigger so they knocked down the headstones and planted grass. So this whole area is bunch of unmarked graves. Creepy, huh?Mindy, I saw this and thought of you. This is their Breast Cancer Awareness ad for the month of October. I like it and thought it was very clever. Yale had little political statements all over the place. Mostly written on the sidewalk with chalk. That's something I really wish I had been able to experience but at BYU-I there isn't a lot of debate about morals or ethics or anything. . .
This is a monument that symbolizes the growth of women. On top it has a circle that has all the years since Yale opened. In bold are the dates that women were first accepted to Yale and the date when Women equaled the number of men at Yale.

Blacker Family Visit - Day 4

2008-10-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

From Palmyra we drove to Sharon, VT to see the birthplace of Joseph Smith. There is an amazing story behind the monument and everyone should go look it up. The monument is beautiful especially placed against the autumn colors in Vermont. It was a good weekend to spend just learning about the life of Joseph Smith. It was amazing to put everything into perspective and I strongly recommend everyone should visit the church sites. You learn so much from just being there and seeing everything.Vermont hillside in the peak of autumn awesomeness.Blacker and Williams Family at the Joseph Smith birthplace.Joseph Smith Monument.Williams Family in front of Joseph Smith Monument. Dad, your picture won a spot on Blogger.Oliver likes to touch different textures. This is a very sweet photo of Oliver touching the statue of Joseph Smith's hand. Very precious and made me cry a little.Oliver and Opa Blacker. I think they look at lot alike. But I should have taken a picture of their toesies. They are exactly alike.

Blacker Family Visit - Day 3

2008-10-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

We went to Palmyra, New York. My favorite part is the Christus in the Visitor Center at Hill Cumorah. It's beautiful to just see the Christus but I love that this one is set in the Sacred Grove as the background instead of the heavens. It's very touching. We visited with my great uncle jimmy and great aunt marie. They are serving a mission at the temple in Palmyra and they were happy to have family visiting. We walked to the top of the hill and saw the statue then headed over the Smith Family Farm. There are some very sad and very happy stories that happen there. After that we headed to the place where the Book of Mormon was first printed. It's amazing all the work that had to be put into printing a book in those days. It was beautiful in upstate New York and I know that my family really enjoyed being there. BTW, this was Oliver's 3rd trip to Palmyra and he's not even 6 months old yet. . .Apparently, it is Gardner/Blacker family tradition to roll down the windows and scream when you go through a covered bridge. . .Aunt Marie took this picture, we love her."I hope they call me on a mission, when I have a grown a foot or two. . ."The Palmyra Temple. It's very beautiful and just kind of sneaks up on you.The Sacred Grove.

"Families can be together forever. . ."

Blacker Family Visit - Day 2

2008-10-08T06:01:00.000-07:00

We woke up early, hopped on a train, and headed into New York City. We saw awesome things such as Grand Central Station, Time Square, Toys R Us Store, Hershey Store (a little disappointing), M&M Store, Rockefeller Center ( they were putting up the ice rink), Statue of Liberty (not as big as it looks in pictures), Ellis Island, NYC Temple (missed the distribution center again), Central Park, Mac Store, FAO Schwarz (Played on the big piano from that famous movie I have never seen), and the Disney Store. It was a very full day and too much stuff to go into a lot of detail. But it was awesome and we came home really tired.

Blacker Family Visit - Day 1

2008-10-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today we showed my family around the local area and the places that me and Bryan visit often. First we went to the 4H Auer Farm and picked raspberries. I love the farm it always makes me feel better when I'm missing home. Then we went to the local scrapbook store and bought some local Connecticut things for my sister's scrapbooks. We visited the museum that me and Oliver volunteer at and they got the history of the town. It was a fun day and raspberry picking was a favorite of the day.

Apple Picking

2008-09-30T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today, Bryan went golfing for the first time in 10 years. I was really excited for him to go until I woke up got dressed, got Oliver dressed, put together the diaper bag, put on my shoes then walked out my door to realize that Bryan had taken the car with him and left me high and dry all day. It wouldn't have been so bad but I wanted to go apple picking with some of the ladies in my ward. (Don't worry, this story has a happy ending. ) So I took Oliver back up the stairs and hoped that Bryan would be home soon. Did I mention this was at 9:00? When 11:00 rolled around I started to lose hope. I was not going to make it apple picking. I took off my shoes, stripped Oliver down to his onesie, and rolled up my sleeves to get some cleaning done. Bryan finally rolled in around 3:00 and I told him my story and he was very sad for me so he took me apple picking. He's such a sweet and wonderful husband. We drove all the way to Bethlehem Connecticut and grabbed a basket then headed for the orchards. . .We didn't find any good apples and we actually weren't trying very hard but we had a lot of fun taking pictures and ended up just buying a bag of already picked ones from the farm. You can see all the fun things that we did with our basket.

Oliver has found his Feetsies

2008-09-30T20:06:00.001-07:00

I put this funny little shoes (slipper rattlers) on him every once in a while in hopes that he'll start to play with his feet and keep himself entertained enough that I can get something done. Well, wrestling him down and putting the shoes on has finally paid off. Oliver has found them and thinks they are great. He even giggled while playing by himself and I could clean the house to get ready for my family to come.

Oliver is eating solids

2008-09-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

He makes himself a mess. We've started to hold his hands down when he eats because he sticks them in his mouth while it's full of food and squishes the food out everyone then touches things. But he sure looks cute when he's such a mess.

Bryan and Oliver

2008-09-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

There is nothing cuter than Oliver and his dad. They are 2 peas in pod and completely lovable.

a couple hours old and already the do the same things

at the beach

at the aquarium, I believe they are looking at a
snake (just being boys)

Riding the train to NYC

cuddling at the farm

flying like an air plane

hanging out

wrestling in the leaves

their favorite thing to do, eat

I don't know what I would do without my boys. They keep life interesting and they are so full of love that I always have enough. Here's to my boys.

Giggle

2008-09-08T07:23:00.000-07:00

Oliver did his first giggle yesterday. I don't have a picture or a recording but I just wanted to document it and let everyone know. Bryan was playing with him in the morning before we went to church and he was just laughing and giggling. It was probably the cutest sound I have ever heard. I love my baby!

Oliver rolling-over

2008-09-04T07:47:00.000-07:00

This is the first time Oliver rolled over. I don't remember when it was exactly but it was while we were still in Idaho. He was so mad but he did. He flipped over pretty consistently for a while but then stopped and is now just starting to do it again.

This is a video I just took of him rolling over. He's getting so good at it that I don't have time to put him on his stomach and push play before he starts to flip himself over.

Now we are starting to work on rolling from his back to his tummy. He can get up on his side but he doesn't want to take that final plunge onto his tummy.

New York Subway Systems

2008-09-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

This is a short rant about the New York Subway Systems. If you feel your day is going your way and your up beat and ready to take on life you should probably find a happier blog to read and come back to this one on a day where you already feel miserable and out of luck. . .

Ah, new york, the lights, the shows, the statue of liberty, the american dream, the subway systems. . . with stairs and no air conditioning and construction. I don't know how many peopled have carried their 4 month old son all over Manhattan, not pushed in a stroller but carried, but I know that I have and my thighs burn. We started out walking everywhere so that we could see everything because being in New York City is a very romantic idea but then your feet start to hurt and you begin to realize that you haven't bothered to wear tennis shoes since the snow stopped falling and walking 26.2 miles in Manhatten is not the best time to start. So feet hurting we decide it is time to hop onto that wonderful public transportation system called the subway. You walk down a set of stairs and swipe your card then you walk down another set of stairs, and then another set of stairs, and then another set of stairs, and then . . . well, you get the idea. As you go deeper and deeper into the earth you realize that you are slowly and willingly taking yourself straight down into hell. The air is getting thicker with smoke, it is getting hotter and hotter, your feet are hurting worse and there is a rumbling coming from all around you. Because of this experience I have decided to turn my life around and I will always follow all the commandments and be on my best behavior. ( I will never gossip again no matter how much i enjoy it. )
After many confusing New York signs. (Communication is not new york's strong point even for being the world leader in advertising, journalism, business, and public relations. Obviously that talent is wasted on some other more important thing than trying to get some where.) We hopped on a train. Did I mention no air and lots of stairs? Bryan was busy studying his handy dandy map while i was finally able to set Oliver down and enjoy a little air conditioning when Bryan announced that we were on an express train headed in exactly the wrong direction and we would need to hop off at the next stop and try to find the Train going the other direction. *Sigh*
More stairs, more heat, and finally a new train. Hooray! I sit down put Oliver down on my lap, enjoy the air conditioning and the conductor comes over the loud speaker " There is construction on the tracks heading south you will need to switch trains to the 2,3, or 4 if you want to continue heading south. This will be our final stop." Switch trains again, more stairs, more heat. Finally find our new train. Ride 2 stops. It doesn't go any further because of construction. So we hop off to find a whole new line. The green line this time. Green for go.
Or not, we wandered up and down stairs for about 20 min and finally asked someone who led us in the wrong but eventually right direction if we could've understood the signs. As soon as we found the green docking station there was a lady with an orange construction vest that told us if we wanted to go downtown that we needed to go and jump on the red line. The same one that told us to go to the green line. Obviously, the communication problem wasn't just with the passengers. . . I told Bryan that i gave up. I didn't really want to see the Statue of Liberty anyway. It has stood in that harbor for 100 years and it would probably be there in the next couple years for us to come back and see.
We hopped on the nearest train going to Grand Central Station and headed home. The nearest train was down a flight of stairs, up another, and then down 2 more. . .

The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk

2008-08-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

We all went to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk today. We started the day with nothing to do but after certain events unrolled we found ourselves on the road to Norwalk CT. It's about an 1 1/2 from home. All the animals were found in the Long Island Sound. Including the Sharks. Oliver was a cutie and didn't really notice the animals as much as all the noise and the lights but he'll grow in to it.
We saw a real live sea turtle, he was almost full grown and he was huge! He was probably the same size as me and he was beautiful. I've never seen a sea turtle swimming before. We saw one in the aquarium when we went to California but this guy was swimming around and it was amazing to see such a big awkward animal moving as gracefully as he did.
There were sharks, otters, harbor seals, fish (lots of fish), geckos, frogs, lobsters, rays, a touch tank, and an albino aligator. An albino aligator is probably the most rare creature we will ever see. Me and Bryan have seen 2. They can not live in the wild, they will be eaten within minutes after being born. Why? They can't camouflage. In a river that is dark green/brown that is located in a forest that is dark green/brown things that are white had better be very poisonous or they are eaten quickly.
I love aquariums and I know that all these things are swimming out there in the ocean somewhere. But somewhere is how I always intended it to be. With the emphasis in animals that swim in the parts of the ocean where we are most likely swimming I learned that we are swimming next to many things, some with very large teeth.

The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

2008-08-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

I woke up yesterday morning to a pounding on my door. I didn't know who would be knocking on my door that early and figured that it couldn't be anyone good. So I crawled out of bed and walked slowly down the stairs to my front door. A little worried about whatever would pop out at me. I found Sis. Rasband on my front steps asking if I would like to join her and her family at the picture book museum. Of course, I would love to. I got dressed super super quick and hopped in her car and we were off. Oliver screamed through most of the trip but that's just a normal thing now. The museum was amazing. We saw all of Eric Carle's pictures and the original "Pat the Bunny" Books. I really enjoyed seeing Pooh Bear and Piglet. It was a museum that was a lot of fun for me and Oliver. Oliver really had a good time with all the colors and the noise and all the children running around. I know because he was smiling.

I <3 NY

2008-08-19T06:05:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night me and Bryan decided to do a quick run to NYC. To test out bus schedules, see what's around, and go on a mini adventure. So, after church we rushed to Bridgeport to catch the train into Grand Central Station. Then we walk around Time Square, ate dinner, saw the Empire State building, and hopped back on the train and headed home so that we could get our car out of the parking garage by 11. It was a quick trip but so much fun to know that we can just hop on the train and be in NYC in a couple hours.

Floatin' the River

2008-08-17T06:17:00.000-07:00

For our Youth Activity this week we floated down the Farmington River. It was a blast. The youth are so much fun and I just love them. I road down in a little boat that we bought 10 min before and Bryan was learning to Kayak. (Don't worry I left Oliver with someone.) Bryan makes a very sexy Kayaker. I had been told that this river was very easy going and that there wouldn't be any parts that I might get plunged into it's murky depths. I believe the exact quote from Brother Bayley was that it was just like the lazy river at Lagoon. I thought that it would be awesome to bring along my camera to take some shots on the river. Everyone told me that it would be fine and wouldn't be "swimmin' with the fishes" if you know what I mean. We got to the first set of rapids about 10 min later. If the rapids need a lifeguard then you know you should probably watch out. These rapids had a lifeguard. Me and the Bishops family were caught completely off guard. Madison was crawling into the boat at the last moment and I was hanging on for dear life with my camera straight up in the air so it wouldn't get soaked. After that the ride was not as eventful. We got stuck on a few rocks, splashed by a couple of smartaleck kayakers, and stuck on a tree. When we had reached our destination a person, who chooses to remain anonymous, jumped over the edge to pull us to safety. While most of this river is about up to your waist this particular part was above your head. She came back up splashing and cussing and lost her $20 sunglasses. Once pulled to safety we lounged on the rocky beach and waited to be picked up and taken home.

To see more pictures go here.

Photos by Clair

2008-08-12T06:18:00.000-07:00

I've decided I want to be a photographer when I grow up. Me and Bryan are working hard to save up for a nice new DSLR camera and then I'll start school in January at the New York Institute of Photography. If you'd like to see what I'm doing visit photosbyclair.blogspot.com

At the Beach

2008-08-10T17:55:00.000-07:00

One thing that is new here is having a beach. We made it a huge deal to go to the beach. Packed a lunch, left at 7 a.m., drove really fast, applied a lb. of sunscreen, and set ourselves up to live at that beach all day because it was the only time that we would be at the beach for a whole year and we had to appreciate it. . . oh, wait, we are not in Idaho where the nearest beach is 15 hours away. This is Connecticut and the nearest beach was only an hour from our home. I've driven to Pocatello for less.
Although the beach was not a beautiful californian beach it was still beautiful to be at a beach. It was a sandy beach but a dark beach a little dirty. It's actually a bay, so we didn't have big waves or nice fluffy sand. Alright, I'll admit it, it was a pretty sucky beach but it was still a beach and still within an hour of our house and that is priceless. We put Oliver's toes in the water, he wasn't such a fan. Most the time he just slept. But that's what he does during most our adventures.
Both me and Bryan are super sunburned. I'm only sunburned on one side of my legs while the other side is still pasty white. Bryan's back is the same color as my crayon and it hurts for him to get dressed. Next time we'll remember the sunscreen and maybe we'll drive an extra hour so that we can go to the nice beaches of Rhode Island.

Rodeo, please. . .

2008-08-06T20:39:00.000-07:00

Hey,
I'm just letting ya'll know that we would love to hear and see pictures from the rodeo. We really really miss everyone and really really missed the rodeo. Thank you keeping us up to date. We miss and love you all very much.

Big Y Bag Boy

2008-08-05T12:45:00.000-07:00

Everytime I go grocery shopping at Big Y, I run into the same bagger checking me out ( not looking checking me out but ringing me up checking me out). He always has some way to make me feel like a fool. The first time I went in Oliver was screaming and screaming. He didn't want to be put in the carseat because he'd already spent 40 hours in that dang seat. So I hold him all around the store dragging the cart behind me and taking forever when this punk kid shows up and says. It must be really hard to have a colic baby and try to go shopping. I do not have a colic baby!! I have a baby that has spent a week straight in a carseat and thinks his parents have abondoned him. Like this kid even knows what colic is. I don't think I even really know what colic is. So I kindly tell him to get lost, I can do it on my own.
The next week he is checking me out when he says "So, how old are you?" I look him straight in the eye and I say "Why?" He tells me that him and his friends have a bet about how old I am. (Obviously I am not a very experienced Mother but this is ridiculous) I ask what they decide on and he tells me that most think I'm 15. 15? You can't even drive a car in this state at 15! Do I look 15? Post baby I definitely do not. I say I'm 21 and leave in a huff.
The next shopping trip I'm wearing my post baby pants. (Because I don't fit into my prebaby pants I had to buy some pants. I was trying to decide between 2 pairs. The pair that is a little too big or the pair that is a little too small. I figure since I'm losing weight I should probably go down. ) They are a little smug but okay, the only problem is the zipper. As I walk around it just works it's way open. All the time. I'm picking out cereal to eat in the morning when this kid (we'll call him Joe from now on) tells me that my fly is down. Again I leave slightly upset.
By today you'd think why is she still going to this grocery store. It has the best deals and is laid (layed?) out in an orderly manner where the pb isn't hanging out with the beer like the grocery store down the street. I'm checking out, holding my screaming child, pulling the cart behind me, with my zipper down and I look up to see Joe standing behind the counter with his fancy gelled hair and too tight girls pants. He rings me up tells me I saved $4. 32 then tells me "It must be hard to be a single mother. I'm lucky that my dad's always been around."
I'm seriously considering buying my pb next to the beer.

New Driver (World Watch Out!)

2008-08-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

I don't feel these pictures need an explanation except: "Watch out World, here I come!!"

1st smiles are so precious. Oliver smiles all the time now. He is such a happy baby and we love him so much. We wish everyone could see how much he has grown and developed. He is a beautiful baby and brightens my life more than I ever expected it to.

Ballroom Dancing and Heublein Tower

2008-08-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

I was recently put in as 2nd Counselor in the YW and Bryan was put in as 2nd Counselor in the YM. My dad said that we are in opposite callings but I feel we are in partnership callings. It's really nice cause we get to know the same people. Our schedules are the same. Once a month we get to have activities together. We are both ambassadors to the other side which makes planning our newsletters and coordinating things pretty easy. One of our first activities was ballroom dancing and it was so much fun to see all the kids learning how to dance and being awkward. One of the sister missionaries taught everyone how to dance but she could only dance with her companion or a girl so she was confusing us and herself when trying to remember both the boys part and the girls.

Hublein Tower is castle built up on a hill with only one way to get to it. . .Hiking. This is a good hike for me. It's not long, it's not hard. It's a little more than a nature walk but as soon as I got fed up with going up (Connecticut hasn't learned the value of switchbacks, they are a very direct people. "Straight up and over" is their motto), it stops and levels out and becomes a nice flat path along a ridge looking over the Farmington Valley. I'm pretty sure you can see into Massachusetts from there. (MA is only about 30 min. from home so maybe it would be more impressive if we said we could see into Maine) I was hiking at the rear end of the group with 2 girls from the Bronx. They had never been hiking and pretty much loved it. They complained a little (they are teenagers for gosh sakes) but definitely enjoyed it. The castle is beautiful and I'd like to take Bryan and Oliver up sometime.

The Carousel

2008-08-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

I love to ride carousels. Bryan...not so much. I grew up riding the carousel in Rexburg. It is the pride of the community and I have watched the price rise from 10 cents to now a dollar. It may have gone up but now I'm gone so I don't know. It is 1 of 170 antique carousels still working in the world, built in 1926. I found out that Hartford has another running antique carousel in Bushnell park and I wanted to go ride it. I thought to make a full day of it and go to the carousel museum then go ride the carousel. The Bushnell Park carousel was built in 1914. I told a family in my ward about it and they seemed interested so we all made a day trip out of it. I learned a lot from the museum. I suggest to go to a carousel museum you'll be pretty enlightened. The horses are hollow, they have a romance side and an apprentice side. Next time your on a carousel take a look and see if you can tell which is the romantic side and which is not. If there is a lion on your carousel there can only be one because he is king. There is always a lead horse. He is the most beautiful and that is the horse they count rotations with. After all the interesting info we put it into real life and rode the carousel. One of the girls sat on the lead horse and Oliver took his first ride around a carousel held by his mom. The way every first carousel ride should be.

At the Farm

2008-08-03T18:11:00.000-07:00

We decided to take Oliver back to his "roots" and go visit a farm. The local 4-H Farm is the closet one to his roots that we could find. Most the farms around here are pick your own ________. (Insert whatever is in season) The 4-H farm has pick your own _______, too but it also has a few cows and thats what we really wanted to see. Places like this thrive on volunteer work and as soon as you step out of your car you are attacked by people asking if you would like to volunteer and get a "real" farm experience instead of just looking around. My "real" farm experience was to clean all the laminated posters in the animal barn that told cute little facts about bunnies, cows, goats, and sheep. Oliver couldn't be held during most of this and was pretty upset by that until he realized that there was something else hanging out on the other side of the stroller. Occasionally an animal would get all worked up about something which would lead to a whole ruckus in the barn. Every time this happened Oliver's eyes would go really big and he'd pull his head forward so that he could look around and see what all the fuss was about. His favorite was the little calf named Corrona. Oliver looked at Corrona and Corrona looked back at Oliver. They were fascinated by the other thing that was making noise. Needless to say, I am now going to volunteer more often and have more "real" farm experiences by taking photographs for them to document what they do.

2008-07-03T06:33:00.000-07:00

Oliver and I finished our second day of volunteering at the canton historical museum. It's one of my favorite parts of the week. We are the greeters. So we welcome people, have them sign in, take their money, and explain the front room while I wait for a tour guide to show up. I'm also in charge of the gift shop. It's a lot of fun to volunteer with all the seniors in the town. The museum is across the street from where Bryan works so I walk there with him after lunch and then we walk home together after.
We finally moved into our apartment. Look for pictures of it in my next blog.

2008-06-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Oliver and I went out on the town for the day and visited the local scrapbook store that I just found out was first owned by our bishop's wife. Then we went to Old Navy to pick out some cute 4Th of July outfits so we can look all cute and spirited. We don't have matching shirts, we have coordinated outfits. Old Navy was having a really awesome sale and so I bought Oliver a couple of things that he didn't really need but were really cute. One pair of pants is actually a pair of girls khakis but they are really cute and you can't tell unless you look really close at the pockets. After Old Navy we had some time to burn before we picked up Bryan from work and Oliver was really hungry and I was pretty tired so we went and found a park to have a picnic in. Well, a picnic for Oliver and a napping place for mom. Thank you so much for the hat Jaime he wears it all the time. As you can see it is just a little bit too big but he's not running around much so we don't have to worry about him losing it while he runs around. We found a cute little park and met a few people that had brought their kids to play. My favorite part of the park was the triceratops we took a ride on.

Magic Wings Garden

2008-06-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

Me and Oliver took a field trip all on our own. We drove all the way to Massachusetts (about an hour from where we live) to go to a Butterfly Garden. There were millions of butterflies flying all over the place. I'll admit that it took me a while to get used to having creepy crawly things on me. One butterfly caught me by surprise and I accidentally flicked him across the pathway. Whoops! It was a very beautiful place and it helped relieve a lot of the moving stress to be in such a beautiful and peaceful place.