Those who know me really well, realize my love for cats. It began at an early age and has continued to adulthood. The only problem is that cats don't share that same love for me. I guess they don't like me running toward them at a turbo speed while I grab them into a bear hug. I don't feel like I get my money's worth until either a cat has scratched me or starts growling at me, then I reluctantly let them go. I guess this dislike for me continues on into the Wild cat family. This video is when Timmy, Zach, Grant and went to the Potter Park zoo. The Lion cage is the only reason why I go to the zoo. I could stay there for a long time. Especially when the Lion puts on a show like this! Lets just say I think that when I die, the whole cat kingdom will come and attack me! I am sorry that there is no sound in this movie, our camera is as old as the hills!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Eating and Sleeping!
Dinner time is one of my favorite times of day, and it is because Timmy gets to sit in the middle of the boys while food is flying around. It brings me great joy to watch the chaos, but not be a part of it! This week was a big week because...Grant now weighs 18 pounds and is on the charts at the 3% percentile. This is a big deal for us! He is now following the growth curve that he originally began with. I owe it all to chicken nuggets and Macaroni and Cheese. That stuff is so fattening, but he loves it with all of his heart. He does eat other things and has not shown signs of being a picky eater. But when I bring out the chicken nuggets, I can see pure joy on his face! Grant has proven to be a feisty, independant little guy. He refuses to sit in his high chair and likes to sit on the table and crawl around looking and sometimes grabbing peoples food. Which is unacceptable behavior, so he ends up sitting on one of our laps! I think he has us figured out!
Zach is loving his toddler bed and the freedom it gives him. He figured out how to crawl of the crib with the foam pad, so I finally gave up with crib idea, it was a wonderful time that had to end at some point. He now wakes up at random times in the morning, ranging from 6:00 am to 8:00 am. I am filled with both excitement and a tiny bit of apprehension as I hear him running up the stairs, to come jumping into our bed! If it is too early I stick in a dora video and sleep on the couch. Thank heavens for Dora, she has provided me with sanity and extra sleeping opportunities. However Zach might end up speaking spanish before English. The only words he seems to repeat from the show are the Spanish ones!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Kirtland
It was fun to finally see Kirtland and all of the sites. It was a fun trip that I will always remember, what made it even more memorable was having Collette my wonderful sister along for the ride! We began the trip going to Lake Eerie. Zach and Grant were loving the sand.
The first place we went to was the Visitors Center. We had a very thorough missionary couple that gave us a three hour tour. Keeping Zach in line was quite the deal. He looked at those ropes that were supposed to block him from entering the room and took that as a new challenge to cross into the forbidden rooms. Also in the school of the prophets Zach had a complete meltdown. I felt so bad for the people in the tour who had to put up with our craziness! It was amazing that despite all the crying, I could feel the spirit and knew that this truly was a sacred spot. I was also grateful for the Senior missionaries who were so kind and raised their voices higher when necessary!
Next we went to Kirtland temple. It was beautiful! We couldn't take pictures in the inside of the Kirtland temple, which was unfortunate, but it was incredible to finally see this beautiful temple, that the pioneers sacrificed so much for! The lady giving the tour gave us more factual information about how the temple was built instead of spiritual things, which is just as well. We couldn't go to the top floor because we had more than fifteen people in our group. Luckily Zach was asleep during this time!
We went to another house which I forgot the name to, however their portapotties were amazing! I felt like a had walked inside a church building, I will always remember those beauties. Then we hiked to the stone quarry which was a little difficult to find. But I was determined to find it! And despite protests from my group that it didn't exist, it does!
Next we went to the John Johnson farm, and let me tell you that this was the highlight of all of Kirtland and worth going to. It is about 45 minutes away but it was worth every minute! We were the last ones to go through the house and we got the tour of all tours. The man giving the tour was incredible and didn't mind when Zach went underneath the ropes, but he did mind when Zach tried to sit on the beds! This was the place where one of the twins died because of the mob coming to get the prophet. It was a chilling story to be in the room while we were told the story. Zach was having a wonderful time, but Grant was going wild and was done with the Kirtland experience, especially while we were in the revelation room, and while Grant was blowing up, Timmy was accidentally turning the pages on the Bible that was about 150 years old. When it comes to kids I think it is best to have the grand spiritual experience at the beginning of the tour instead of at the end! The missionary tour guide was so kind and let us stay as long as we would like. We later had a picnic outside of the farm, and were the last ones to leave the farm and close the gate.
This was a wonderful experience, and it made me appreciate the Prophet Joseph Smith and the early Saints even more, who gave up so much!
The first place we went to was the Visitors Center. We had a very thorough missionary couple that gave us a three hour tour. Keeping Zach in line was quite the deal. He looked at those ropes that were supposed to block him from entering the room and took that as a new challenge to cross into the forbidden rooms. Also in the school of the prophets Zach had a complete meltdown. I felt so bad for the people in the tour who had to put up with our craziness! It was amazing that despite all the crying, I could feel the spirit and knew that this truly was a sacred spot. I was also grateful for the Senior missionaries who were so kind and raised their voices higher when necessary!
Next we went to Kirtland temple. It was beautiful! We couldn't take pictures in the inside of the Kirtland temple, which was unfortunate, but it was incredible to finally see this beautiful temple, that the pioneers sacrificed so much for! The lady giving the tour gave us more factual information about how the temple was built instead of spiritual things, which is just as well. We couldn't go to the top floor because we had more than fifteen people in our group. Luckily Zach was asleep during this time!
We went to another house which I forgot the name to, however their portapotties were amazing! I felt like a had walked inside a church building, I will always remember those beauties. Then we hiked to the stone quarry which was a little difficult to find. But I was determined to find it! And despite protests from my group that it didn't exist, it does!
Next we went to the John Johnson farm, and let me tell you that this was the highlight of all of Kirtland and worth going to. It is about 45 minutes away but it was worth every minute! We were the last ones to go through the house and we got the tour of all tours. The man giving the tour was incredible and didn't mind when Zach went underneath the ropes, but he did mind when Zach tried to sit on the beds! This was the place where one of the twins died because of the mob coming to get the prophet. It was a chilling story to be in the room while we were told the story. Zach was having a wonderful time, but Grant was going wild and was done with the Kirtland experience, especially while we were in the revelation room, and while Grant was blowing up, Timmy was accidentally turning the pages on the Bible that was about 150 years old. When it comes to kids I think it is best to have the grand spiritual experience at the beginning of the tour instead of at the end! The missionary tour guide was so kind and let us stay as long as we would like. We later had a picnic outside of the farm, and were the last ones to leave the farm and close the gate.
This was a wonderful experience, and it made me appreciate the Prophet Joseph Smith and the early Saints even more, who gave up so much!
Monday, June 14, 2010
farewell My Love!
Zach is betrothed to a lovely girl named Lauren.
It was love at first sight.
Zach has never bitten, hit, or hurt her, which is a big deal... just ask our other neighbors!
Wherever she went he followed close by.
Lauren accepted and loved Zach for who he was.
When she left, Zach's world fell apart as he knew it.
He tried to elope with her and run away, but being only two you can only go so far. Thank heavens for that!
Even now he is wondering where his buddy went. And anytime anyone asks him where Lauren is, he says in "Utah"
We miss you so much Overson family. Thank you for being wonderful friends and neighbors. Timmy misses E Jay time, and I miss you so much Ann! And who can forget Jasmine and her beautiful smile. But you haven't seen the last of us, in about twenty years there will be an awesome wedding for these two!
It was love at first sight.
Zach has never bitten, hit, or hurt her, which is a big deal... just ask our other neighbors!
Wherever she went he followed close by.
Lauren accepted and loved Zach for who he was.
When she left, Zach's world fell apart as he knew it.
He tried to elope with her and run away, but being only two you can only go so far. Thank heavens for that!
Even now he is wondering where his buddy went. And anytime anyone asks him where Lauren is, he says in "Utah"
We miss you so much Overson family. Thank you for being wonderful friends and neighbors. Timmy misses E Jay time, and I miss you so much Ann! And who can forget Jasmine and her beautiful smile. But you haven't seen the last of us, in about twenty years there will be an awesome wedding for these two!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Chicago!
Timmy had a conference in Chicago at the end of April for a couple of days and since my cousin lived there Timmy asked if I wanted to go. My first response was "NO!" The stress of having two kids in a huge city did not seem very appealing. I then talked to my mom about why I didn't want to go to Chicago and she said that I should go because it would be a good experience for all of us. I am glad I went!
We went to the Field Museum which was pretty neat, my favorite part was the dinosaur exhibit. The building itself is beautiful and huge. We got trapped in the Native American section for a half an hour, I was trying so hard to find an exit, but I couldn't! (Not that I didn't like it, there were other things to see...like big lions!) We stayed around after the Field Museum closed to make the most of our $19.00 parking. Can you believe that!!!!!!! One of the pictures is taken by the aquatic center which is supposed to be one of the best in the nation. I am thinking that we probably should have gone there. In Zach's words "Oh Man!" I guess that means we will just have to go back.
We then got to see my wonderful cousin Devon and his sweet wife Jenni. They treated us like gold and it was fun to catch up with them. I kept bragging to them about how great Grant was. Well he unfortunately cried the whole day, so that it what I get for bragging up my baby! We went to Stake Conference with them and later in the day got to see a cool park, and Lake Michigan. I look pretty dicey in the last picture because I didn't get my nap and those who know me best know how important my naps are!
We then proceeded to go to Timmy's conference for Monday and Tuesday. His Conference was about 30 minutes away from Chicago and in a very highly secured place. I had to walk around with a badge on. There wasn't much to do there, so the boys and I hung out at the hotel all day. Which was funner than I anticipated. They had a free hot cocoa machine there which Zach loved. We filled up a cup of hot cocoa about four times a day. The boys and I would then walk outside until it got a little bit to cold, then we would watch Sesame Street which is a very long show but very educational. We got a lot of ice that Zach would dump in the bathtub and then we would get some more. When lunch time came we went down to this fancy little cafeteria place where we made our presence known. And then we had a nap. The first day at the hotel was magic, the second day the newness had worn off and both Grant and Zach were ready to go home!
Monday afternoon, Timmy got back at three and we tried to make it to the zoo before it closed at five. We arrived at 4:10 pm and got to see my favorite animals before the place closed, the big cats and the monkeys. The zoo is free but the parking is not unless you move your car every half hour. Unfortunately we didn't time the parking right, so that was another $19.00 spent on parking. "OH MAN!!!" The best part of the zoo was this crazy monkey who was going crazy and showing everyone its teeth. Zach loved it and Grant didn't know what to think of it.
Then we went to the Navy Pier, this place was magic. We got there at evening and it was so fun to see the huge city and the Lake. We had Chicago style pizza kindof and the highlight for the boys was the Jamba Juice. We loved seeing all the lights and the boys slept well that night.
It was a wonderful trip but I was grateful to come back home. I have decided that it takes a lot of practice before it is easy to go on trips. It takes a lot of effort to go out of comfort zone and see new places, but it is worth it. Part of me wonders if my mom wanted me to go on the trip so that I could understand a little bit of what she went through when my family went on trips. Well it worked! Thank you mom and dad for being so brave and taking me and my brothers and sisters on lots of trips because it isn't easy!
(Sorry that pictures are in a crazy order. Who knows how it happened. My technology skills are lacking!)
We went to the Field Museum which was pretty neat, my favorite part was the dinosaur exhibit. The building itself is beautiful and huge. We got trapped in the Native American section for a half an hour, I was trying so hard to find an exit, but I couldn't! (Not that I didn't like it, there were other things to see...like big lions!) We stayed around after the Field Museum closed to make the most of our $19.00 parking. Can you believe that!!!!!!! One of the pictures is taken by the aquatic center which is supposed to be one of the best in the nation. I am thinking that we probably should have gone there. In Zach's words "Oh Man!" I guess that means we will just have to go back.
We then got to see my wonderful cousin Devon and his sweet wife Jenni. They treated us like gold and it was fun to catch up with them. I kept bragging to them about how great Grant was. Well he unfortunately cried the whole day, so that it what I get for bragging up my baby! We went to Stake Conference with them and later in the day got to see a cool park, and Lake Michigan. I look pretty dicey in the last picture because I didn't get my nap and those who know me best know how important my naps are!
We then proceeded to go to Timmy's conference for Monday and Tuesday. His Conference was about 30 minutes away from Chicago and in a very highly secured place. I had to walk around with a badge on. There wasn't much to do there, so the boys and I hung out at the hotel all day. Which was funner than I anticipated. They had a free hot cocoa machine there which Zach loved. We filled up a cup of hot cocoa about four times a day. The boys and I would then walk outside until it got a little bit to cold, then we would watch Sesame Street which is a very long show but very educational. We got a lot of ice that Zach would dump in the bathtub and then we would get some more. When lunch time came we went down to this fancy little cafeteria place where we made our presence known. And then we had a nap. The first day at the hotel was magic, the second day the newness had worn off and both Grant and Zach were ready to go home!
Monday afternoon, Timmy got back at three and we tried to make it to the zoo before it closed at five. We arrived at 4:10 pm and got to see my favorite animals before the place closed, the big cats and the monkeys. The zoo is free but the parking is not unless you move your car every half hour. Unfortunately we didn't time the parking right, so that was another $19.00 spent on parking. "OH MAN!!!" The best part of the zoo was this crazy monkey who was going crazy and showing everyone its teeth. Zach loved it and Grant didn't know what to think of it.
Then we went to the Navy Pier, this place was magic. We got there at evening and it was so fun to see the huge city and the Lake. We had Chicago style pizza kindof and the highlight for the boys was the Jamba Juice. We loved seeing all the lights and the boys slept well that night.
It was a wonderful trip but I was grateful to come back home. I have decided that it takes a lot of practice before it is easy to go on trips. It takes a lot of effort to go out of comfort zone and see new places, but it is worth it. Part of me wonders if my mom wanted me to go on the trip so that I could understand a little bit of what she went through when my family went on trips. Well it worked! Thank you mom and dad for being so brave and taking me and my brothers and sisters on lots of trips because it isn't easy!
(Sorry that pictures are in a crazy order. Who knows how it happened. My technology skills are lacking!)
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