This time 6 years ago...

July 2002

Ahhh....

Can I just say...
I love naptime!
I especially love naptime when I am productive and get everything done that I want to and still have time left over to relax (opposed to just relaxing and not getting anything done like I normally do). It really feels great.
Ahhh...

I know it might be hard to make out, but this is Katie's first attempt to write "Mom." She drew a picture, put it in an envelope, and asked me to write my name on it because it was for me. I told her she could try, and told her how to spell "Mom." She went into the kitchen for a few minutes and came back with this. How proud am I? After I got very excited, gave her lots of hugs and kisses, she said "Oh! I almost forgot!" and ran into the kitchen again. She came back and told me she forgot a "P" (green, second letter from the left). I love this girl.

I Feel All Grown Up

I just signed Katie up for swim lessons.
Wow.

It might sound strange that this feels like a milestone in my parenting career, but it does! We actually are going to have an organized summer activity that continues for longer than a day. And this is the first class-like setting that Katie will ever be in without me (except for Nursery of course). Wow.

Swimming lessons and days at the pool are some of my favorite childhood memories. I remember spending my summers at the Pool & Raquet Club taking swim lessons, synchronized swimming (yes, you read correctly), tennis, and just playing with friends all day. It seems like we LIVED at the pool. I especially remember butt ball in the parking lot, playing card games like Speed and Bloody Knuckles during Jr. Rest Period, and eating frozen Charleston Chews. Those really were great times. I don't think our little family has quite reached the point where we will be spending our entire days at the pool, but I can feel it getting closer and closer each year. Being a kid was a blast and I can't wait for my kids to experience things and create childhood memories like I did.

We love Summer!

Summer means:

carnivals & rides

cotton candy & FUN

ice cream & swimming

playing with friends

and relaxing :)

We love summer so far!

McKenna's 15 Month

McKenna had her 15 month checkup yesterday.
She's currently weighing in at 26 lb. 12 oz. and is 30 1/2 in. tall
That puts her in 92% in weight and 50% in height.
Looks like she's our little tank - she'll make a great goalie :)
Way to go McKenna!

WSMGS

BTW...
If any of you have been wondering (or even noticed) what WSMGS is, on the side bar of my blog, it would be my personal radio station if I owned one. My nickname from my beloved brothers is "Smoogis." I know it seems kind of random, but let's just say that nickname evolved over time and stuck with Smoogis (variations sometimes includes Smoobis, and Moogie). Anyway, my personal radio station is an abbreviation of my nickname (Smoogis = SMGS) and since radio stations always begin with W (maybe that's just in Boston. Here in Utah they seemed to start with X, but W worked better I think)...my radio station would be
WSMGS Smoogis 91.6 FM.

Can I Paint with All the Colors of the Wind?

I love taking quizes like this that give me deeper insight into my soul :)
Thanks Liz!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Yea 5k!

The girls and I ran in the Orem Firefighter's 5k this morning. It was pretty awesome! It was a beautiful morning and the girls did pretty well (with help from fruit snacks and chocolate milk). We made it in 31 min. which is one whole minute faster than last year, and this time with a stroller! Not too bad. Katie was my head cheerleader yelling "Go Mom!" and "You can do it" and "Go faster than that girl!" Again, pretty awesome.

Dave enjoyed this beautiful day outside as well hiking Mt. Timpanogas with the Young Men (hence, me running with the girls). He's not back yet, but I can only imagine they're having a blast. It is a perfect day - clear sky, 70s - and there is still a little snow up on Timp so I bet it's not too hot up there for them. Hopefully it's not too messy!

Why am I awake?

It is 11:00 pm. I know for a lot of people that is not really that late, and for me it norally isn't either, but I am EXHAUSTED and I know that it T-7 hours my children are going to be waking up. So to me, right now, it feels extremely late. Yet here I am, awake, sacrificing my precious sleep to actually take the time to blog about how I wished I was in bed.

It started at 10:00. I was about to complete my recent goal of going to bed by 10:00, when I was held back by my moral obligation to finish folding the laundry. It had been sitting there all day and I didn't feel like I could, in good conscience, put it off any longer. So I started folding it (great! another good excuse to keep watching TV, right?!) Then, as I'm loading the folded clothers back into the laundry basket, trying to convince myself that folding it was enough and that I didn't have to put it away until moring, the conscience kicks in again. It didn't make sense to put the dish towels in the laundry basket with my clothes and bring them into my room to sit until the morning when I would bring them back out to my kitchen to put them away. Ok FINE, I'll put the dish towels away. I put the dish towels away. Easy enough. But then, the computer that is so conveniently located on my kitchen counter, starts calling my name. OF COURSE I have to check my email for the millionth time today because I am a SLAVE to my computer. I check my email. But since I'm checking my email I might as well make my rounds around the Blog-o-sphere, right? Start checking blogs. And since I'm already here, and I'm still up, I might AS WELL blog myself.

Again, why am I awake?

The Return of the Mixes

I made a mix tonight for my brother. I can't even remember the last time I made a mix, but I had forgotten how much fun it is.
I'm actually quite proud of it. Full of great music. If you get a chance, I recommend downloading/purchasing/listening to these songs, or just ask me for a copy :)

I Don't Wanna Be - Gavin DeGraw
Dreamgirl - Dave Mathews Band
I'll Do Anything - Jason Mraz
About Mr. Brown - OAR
Rehab - Amy Winehouse
Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
My Love - Justin Timberlake
Too Late to Apologize - Timbaland ft. One Republic
How Many Words - Blake Lewis
Love & Memories - OAR
The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani
She Will Be Loved - Maroon 5
I'll Be Here Awhile - 311
Geek in the Pink - Jason Mraz
I'm In Love With a Girl - Gavin DeGraw
Waiting on the World to Change - John Mayer
Santeria - Sublime
Gots to Get Her - Blake Lewis
On the Way Down (acoustic) - Ryan Cabrera
Boston - Augustana
Out of My Hands - Dave Mathews Band

Sunday Thoughts

Today was a great Sunday for me. Even through the wrestle with children and struggle to stay in a room long enough to hear a full sentence of a talk/lesson, I was very spiritually uplifted and strengthened. It was exciting to be at church today to sustain our long awaited new bishopric. All three are wonderful men and their families are three families that I look to constantly as examples. They are all awesome people that I hope to more like someday. I also felt very uplifted (like usual) in Relief Society. I am constantly amazed by the strength of the women in our ward and am humbled to be able to associate and serve with them. I learn so much each week - even if I only have minutes between trips to the bathroom and temper tantrums. All things considered, I definitely love going to church, being surrounded by outstanding people, and feeling spiritually filled. I love knowing that we are all in this together - working toward the same goals and sharing the same testimony of the Savior and His gospel.

Today's insights:
#1 "Holding hands, running together to the celestial kingdom"
I love this! Like Merrilee, that is exactly what I want with my husband. It was a great visual for me and has inspired both Dave & I to be better and to work together toward our spiritual goals.

#2 There is nothing I could pray about that would waste the Lord's time.
Melissa Garver made a comment today in RS about our relationships with our children in comparison to our relationship with Heavenly Father. As a parent, if my child came to me with ANYTHING to say, ask, or counsel with me, of course I would want to hear it and help as best I could. And how heart broken I would be if they didn't come to me! That is how Heavenly Father feels to0 - He wants us to come to Him with anything and everything that is in our hearts.

#3 The church is TRUE!
Of course it is! But I always love feeling it and knowing it again and again.

Dave has been out of town with the scouts for the past 3 days. He gets home this afternoon and we are very excited for that. I did pretty well flying solo the past few days. However, yesterday I did have a moment when I felt like I wanted to throw my children out the window. Thank goodness for the gym! After naps, when we are usually getting ready for Dad to get home and getting dinner started, I packed the girls in the car and went to the gym. They LOVE the Kids Club at 24 Hour Fitness, and that I get 2 hours to work out, swim, go in the spa, whatever I want. It's a win-win situation for us! So I was able to get my workout in, and since it doesn't last 2 hours and I wanted to get the most out of their time in the Kids Club, I decided to bring my lacrosse stick and play wallball in the basketball gym they have there.

This was the first time in 2 YEARS that I have picked up my stick. That was very sad to me when I realized it had been that long, especially because for years playing lacrosse was my passion and dream. But I was excited to finally pick it up again and I must say it felt WONDERFUL! I felt alive with that stick in my hand and amazed at how it felt like no time had passed since the last time I played. Of course my right hand wasn't as strong and coordinated as it used to be, but it still felt great to have that stick in my hand. I LOVE LACROSSE! I love how I feel when I play - even if it's just wallball. There is a peace and fluidity (is that a word?) that I feel when I play. I love feeling strong, coordinated, and so focused. And I love feeling in my element. It's like in that movie "For The Love of the Game" (great movie by the way) - I feel like I "clear the mechanism" as soon as I start throwing the ball. I can easily forget whatever was stressing me out and I just feel great. Everything in my life seems to make sense in those moments when I play. I love it!

After my 2 hours were up, (which I never wanted to end) I felt recharged and uplifted and ready to be a mom again. Thank you 24 Hour Fitness! This gym membership has been a great thing for us. And I LOVE LACROSSE!

Proud Mom

I am amazed with McKenna. I know that I am her mother, that I carried her for 9 months and gave birth to her a year ago, but sometimes when I look at her I don't see anything in her (physically or characteristically) that resembles me. I see a whole lot of Jensen, that's for sure! But personality wise, I often think "Where did she come from?" "How did we get so lucky?" There are many things about McKenna that impress me so much, mostly the qualities that I see in her that I wish I had! One of them is the way she learns. She is an observer. She watches very carefully, processes as much information as she cans, and then practices. She will do something when she has accumulated as much knowledge and experience as possible. She seems to be very thoughtful and very thorough in her preparations. Many times we won't even know she can do something until she has it down.

Example #1: Walking
About a month ago she started walking. It was a long time coming! She had been standing by herself, walking along the couch, and even taking one step by herself for months prior to this. Every time we would "practice" with her, she would cry like we were torturing her and refused to walk from Mom to Dad. I suspected that she could walk better than she let on though, because on a couple occasions I would catch her practicing when she didn't think anyone was watching. Then, one Friday evening while we were all watching a movie, she let go of the couch and walked effortlessly across the whole family room. My reaction was "when did you learn how to walk?!" She has been walking ever since.

Example #2: Talking
McKenna has very few words at this point and most of them can only be understood and translated by Dave or I. Even still, we sometimes disagree on what she is actually saying. Needless to say, McKenna is just barely "talking." Last week, there was one day when McKenna was making a "K" sound all day. She wasn't pointing to anything to indicate that "Kkkk" meant something, she just seemed to be practicing the "K" sound. (Impressive!) Then, a couple days later, she surprises us by saying "truCK" "booK" and "Kkkk Kkkk" (cracker). With one day of practicing her "K" she doubled her vocabulary! Again, Impressive! to me.

I am very proud of our sweet McKenna and amazed by her personality. She adds so much to our family and I am impressed by her daily. Again, how did we get so lucky?! We have been seriously blessed with two incredible girls. I am blown away, overwhelmed, humbled, and grateful everyday to be their mother.