Party Animals

Today we had a baby shower here for a woman from our ward who doesn't have any family in the area. It actually was really fun and went off without a hitch. We opted to have it in the morning. (My idea) I think the reason I gave had something to do with mothers, and Saturdays and how it's such a busy day... but my secret reason was....Costco makes the best pre-made baked breakfast goods!

Everything went so well, it was very fun to have women from the ward come that I wasn't very familiar with. Since Steven and I are in primary, unless someone is also in primary or really rowdy in sacrament, chances are we have no idea who they are. But, this is all changing with Steven's new calling. I have never witnessed a calling for which you needed to know so many names!

The last shower I attended in this ward was different then any I had ever been to. All the women brought their children, and it was sort of a free-for-all during the shower, so I wasn't sure what to plan for as far as the children were concerned. So, the husband was asked to be on child duty. We made sure to have crackers and a movie upstairs so the kids would have something to do. I let Steven pick the movie and he chose "Snow Buddies". (The new movie about puppies that become a dog-sled team) Turns out the only kids who came were the Javier kids, so they got the royal treatment with Uncle Steve. I have been hearing quotes from the puppy movie all day...sounds like a winner.

So, here are a few pictures from our day..

P.S. Tori is leaning because to take the picture I had to gain her attention and stand in front of the tv. She seems pleased.

My favorite part of the whole event was coming upstairs to see Steven and Sammy. I told them to say cheese and instead Steven said,"I want to take a nap..."

Happy Saturday!

Sleeping Arrangements

I have found the answer! Lately I have not been sleeping well at all, mainly due to the fact that our box springs is busted right in the middle. It sounds totally ghetto I know, but when my younger brother Tim spends the night, his favorite "surprise" is to run into our room and jump on our bed with us in it. He usually goes right for the middle, and the first time he did it, we heard a huge crack. So, we switched out the box springs with our guest bed (apologies guests...) and had a very long conversation with Tim about why we were doing this. So, true to Tim form the very next time he came for a visit, another surprise jump and another broken box springs. So, now we make do and roll into each other every night.
Recently Steven and I were talking about all the things we loved doing our first year of marriage, and camping came up. He suggested we take a quick camping trip before the baby is born. (Anybody been outside lately?!!) So, as a surprise I set up our air mattress and sleeping bags and various camping treats in our living room last weekend. Imagine my surprise when I slept through the night! We spent the entire weekend on that air mattress. It was great. When I had had enough of sleeping in our living room it went back into the camping gear, only to have the worst night of sleep ever back in our bed. So everyone....

That's right! For the rest of this pregnancy I am sleeping on our air mattress.

I can't really explain why it's so much better, only that it gives in the right places. We deflate it a little, and the end result is that it feels more like a hammock then a mattress. My hips don't hurt, and I usually sleep through the night. It's awesome!

Also, yesterday we went and shopped for everything on our "baby list". Our list contained everything since we had nothing, ranging from shampoo to the baby's crib. It was very fun, and Steven did such a good job staying interested. (I'm sure that the crackers and gatorade grabbed at Target to keep the blood sugar up helped...) We had so much fun and found almost everything on our list. We have just a few things left to find and yesterday's trip made everything seem real. We bought our first diapers yesterday, and I think everything settled on Steven in that exact moment. It's possible that he said, "We bought diapers today" about 10 times.

Upon coming home my husband carried the crib to the baby's room and announced he was going to put it together. I hate putting furniture together, so it was a dream come true to get to sit and watch someone else do it.

Yes, The Office is playing on the laptop in the background. I usually get so frustrated during these experiences I try to put something on that will keep me happy.

Notice I said we got "most" of the things on our list. I forgot the dust ruffle...But nonetheless I think it turned out pretty cute! I love how Steven is holding a hammer and a screwdriver as his tools. I can't remember a single instance in which Steven needed the hammer to build the crib, but I love that it's one of the tools!

It seems that our sleeping arrangements are solved...

I'm Going To Try

Recently I've read a lot of postings about President Hinckley and what an amazing impact he had on so many. I wanted to post something to honor him as well, but everytime I thought of posting, I couldn't think of an appropriate way to express my feelings. So, afer more blog hopping I found that some people are participating in what is being called "The Hinckley Challenge". The challenge consists of reading The Book of Mormon in 97 days. (One day for each year President Hinckley was alive) I've decided that I am going to try.

I love President Hinckley. I loved the influence he had on others around him. I know that when I get into the habit of reading my scriptures I am a better person. So, participating in this challenge is my small attempt to become a bit more like President Hinckley. We were so lucky to get to have President Hinckley with us for so long, and I am really looking forward to what the new presidency will bring.

A Total Nerd

I think most adults would say that as they have grown older, their taste pallet has narrowed. I would say this occurs simply because as you get older and have new experiences, you choose new favorite tastes and meals. Well, this isn't the case for me. I would have to say that if anything my pallet has just widened to include all kinds of new things and all the old as well. I don't think this is necessarily something to complain about, considering it makes me very easy to please. However, it just makes life a little harder for me when most foods I encounter I like to eat.

One of the foods I have loved as a kid is cold cereal. When my family was young there were a lot of mouths to feed, so the most cost efficent way to serve breakfast was a heaping pot of oatmeal. I don't have anything against oatmeal other then the fact that I can't stand the texture, and I had to eat it for years. I've always wondered if my mother's mantra of "it sticks to your bones" started as the reason she fed it to us, or the excuse. But, regardless of the reason, we are all healthy and I think that it did stick to our bones. (Maybe that's why they are extra thick...) The point of all of this rambling is coming....we had oatmeal to eat Monday thru Thursday, and on the blessed day of Friday, we were allowed to have cold cereal. We didn't get to pick the kinds if I remember correctly, but it didn't matter what kind, it was a miracle.

So, as an adult one of my favorite meals is cold cereal. Usually the types I like aren't the "good for your heart" or "lose a size in six weeks" kinds of cold cereal. The ones I would choose are the ones that are awesome. They are the kinds with cartoon characters and amazing words like, chocolate, marshmallows, and as seen on T.V.. So, this week at the store I happened upon my new favorite cereal. It is a new kind of Frosted Flakes, but with a Honey flavor instead of the old Frosted Flavor. One of the saddest things about the old Frosted Flakes was that they got soggy so fast. (Resulting in cereal eating too quickly, and burps afterward) But good news! This new kind of F.F. has a reformulated flake! They stand up well in milk, lasting much longer, and the flavor of the cereal is reminiscent of Golden Grahams.

Get out there and try it so it can stay as a real flavor and not disappear from my local Wal-mart!

(Disclaimer: Spell check not working...now realize I have come to rely upon it. Apologies for any misspelled words)

A little indulgence...

I always look forward to the "next" thing. No matter what I'm going through or participating in, I always look forward to what's coming next. For example, during the summer I look forward to winter, and vice versa. I know this one is fairly common...I'm just getting started. As I have spoken to others, I have come to understand that many people look forward to seasons and other fun things that are coming up in their lives. (Things like trips, holidays, etc.) But, I think my husband would tell you that I'm a little bit worse.

I see my life as a series of "humps" that I have to get over to get to the next thing. Whether that means I can't be excited for Christmas until Thanksgiving is over, or I can't be excited to go on a trip until I've packed everything in the car...etc. Sometimes I catch myself in the middle of these thoughts because I want to really try to enjoy my life for what I'm experiencing while I experience it.

Today I am indulging my not so great habit... I am really missing warm weather, so I compiled some pictures of things I would rather be doing or feeling today! (Please note that not all of the pictures were taken by me, I'm not sure who took each, so if it was someone out there reading this...thanks!)

I'm looking forward to BBQ's at the cabins. This particular time was at the beginning of the season last year, hence the sweatshirts and coats. I love that you can see the cabins in the backgrounds. They are truly one of my favorite places to be.



I'm looking forward to Dad getting back to golfing. I know how much he misses it, it's always fun to hear his stories and know how happy the sunny season makes him.


I'm looking forward to being exhausted at the end of a day in the sun. (I also miss being tan, but my definition of tan and Tori's definition are very different)


I'm looking forward to it not getting dark until about ten o'clock at night. Makes life seem a little more excitng when you don't feel like you are supposed to be sleeping at four.

I'm looking forward to Mom's flowers. Somehow each year I always delude myself into thinking that I might be able to copy what she's done at least a little...



I'm looking forward to being on the boat with sisters...



I'm looking forward to fun vacations..(shell searching)

I'm looking forward to Mom relaxing in the sun. Since everyone knows that Mom is a California girl, one of the only times she will lay still for more then 5 minutes is in the sun. Although,truthfully this picure is contradictory since she says she can't relax on the boat...

I'm looking forward to swimming in the lake, and having a designated flag holder...

I look forward to the nights being warm enough that crazy girls can sleep in the back of dad's truck in sleeping bags...

I'm looking forward to watching my husband wakeboard, because I can't do it...

I'm looking forward to blue sky and water. Bring on summer!

The MOST Boring Blogger

I am aware that I am the most boring blogger. In my own defense I have been waiting for something to happen around here, but it seems like all the noteworthy things have either already happened, or they are about to happen. So, this blog is all about a bunch of little things that haven't really made mountains move, but just a bunch of small things that have happened around our house lately.

This is Steven's version of recuperating after being in charge at the house for a while. The model home is a little unique in that the company allows it to be used as a gathering place for the community. So on the night when we have a party or some other get together, Steven comes to keep me company. (The end result is above) Please note, this is at the model home, so the blanket and pillow are model home items.(Arrested Development anyone?!) The light was too bright, so a fort was made for shade. It just looks like a little boy fort to me....

We had a ton of snow dump on our little house this last weekend, and guess what...it's still coming! We have really loved all the snow, our only hiccup is the fact then when it does snow, our driveway is on such an incline that even when shoveled, it gets slippery enough for our cars to slide right our of the driveway. So we typically end up parking along the sidewalk in front of our house. Only this time it snowed so much that we can't get the Jetta out. (The wooden post seen in the above picture is about 3 feet high)

In the midst of our blizzard, we were lucky enough to get to have Mercer over. (We used the snow as an excuse and kept him for a few extra days.) We had such a blast with Mercer, he helped Steven teach his primary class on Sunday, and was there when Steven got set apart for his new calling...Ward Mission Leader.



Mercer received some Candy Canes as a treat from our bishop, and opted to eat them in the tub. Out of respect for Mercer....completely G rated!

On Monday we were lucky enough to get to play with Princess Victoria! When she's over she helps us understand how the drums are supposed to be played...

Our last day with Mercer was a snow day. We watched fun movies and made a Chocolate Cake together. (Thanks for the recipe Abby!) We are having a wonderful winter here in the arctic...we hope everyone else is coping as well as we are!

The Best Husband...

This is often how I imagine my husband. Mostly nutty. But, this last weekend he really came through for me when I wasn't feeling well. He took care of the whole house! Laundry, meals, dogs, bathrooms...everything.

He took my temperature, rubbed my back, constantly was helping me with cool cloths for my forehead, anything you can imagine he took care of. He did such an awesome job, and he never made me feel bad about not being able to do it myself. As far as the whole being sick thing, it really sucks. I always forget how much I hate being sick until it happens again. This time was a little different for me, I haven't ever been sick and worrying about the baby too. Steven was most needed to keep me calm about that. I know you must be thinking, "Did she have the plague?" Nope. Best I can tell, I must have had the flu and my first Braxton Hicks experience at the same time, and it just proved to be a little much for me.

But, happily I think the worst is over, and we are getting back to normal, but I just wanted to dedicate a quick post to my amazing husband who took such good care of me this weekend.

Love you Babe!