Summer 2009 Update

I thought about doing an update for June, one for July and one for August, but decided to just lump it all into one. Sorry if it's long!

June began with Aaron finishing preschool and us taking a weekend trip to Lake Conroe. We had a lot of fun on the boat and got some work done and had a great trip. Then we went to Hawaii, but we already blogged about that. The end of June Aaron and Brian took some swimming lessons at a local high school and that continued into July.

For Independence Day we were up at the lake and had fun watching the fireworks over the lake. It can be so relaxing and peaceful there. On the 4th, Brian refused to take a nap and then fell asleep during dinner, still eating his corn on the cob. I tried to post the video we took of it, but couldn't get it to work. It really was hillarious!

In July our youth group also had an activity where they spread mulch at Mom Fuller's house then had a swim party. It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.




Also in July, the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus was in town and we took the boys with another family. Brian tolerated it, Aaron enjoyed it and Jen and Paul loved it. It really was amazing some of the things they could do, from the trapeze artists, to the motorcycles to the trained elephants. It was quite impressive.



At the end of July we were lucky enough to spend a Saturday in Kemah, TX with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Tom and their boats. It was beautiful water, beautiful weather and fabulous company.

The only thing that marred our excursion was Brian falling and getting a black eye. He cried for a while then took a nap, but it never bothered him after that. He was happy to tell people he had a "shiner" and that he "fell on a boat." I had to document it though!

The first weekend of August we spent at Lake Conroe again having fun. Saturday Paul and one of my Dad's friends helped repair the deck at the house and worked really hard but it looks great and we won't have to worry about it falling apart any more.

The first week of August Paul started his MBA program at Rice University with his week of Immersion as described in the blog Paul wrote last week. The boys and I missed him, but we survived with help from my mom and some great friends. The next week though I was off to our church's girls camp with my mom watching the boys and Paul sleeping at her house at night. Camping in Houston in August while over 6 months pregnant wasn't fun, but I had a great time with the girls and other leaders and I'm glad I went.



I got back just in time for Brian's 3rd Birthday and I can't believe how big he's getting. He actually seemed older after I was gone for a week. He got lots of great presents and loved his grasshopper pie.

Aaron will start kindergarten on Monday so I promise to post next week about how that all turns out. He's totally excited and I'm a nervous Mom. I'm sure he'll do great and have a great time though. That's it for now. Sorry for having not blogged in a while, but as you can see, life was pretty busy this summer. I'm sure we will all have to adjust to a different way of life now that school's starting. Wish us luck!

Back to school

I decided it was the right time in my ‘career’ to go back to school and get a new perspective. I have spent most of my time at ExxonMobil working in some way with the internet and eBusiness, whether it be running servers, helping design, develop and support various business related internet applications, or running projects, my view of ExxonMobil's various businesses hasn’t been very broad. So, in an attempt to open more doors of opportunity – likely within ExxonMobil, but possibly elsewhere – I am going back to school.

McNair hall - home of the Jesse H. Jones School of Business

I was accepted to Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business. The program I am in is a 22 month program that would have me graduating in June 2011 with an MBA. Classes are generally in the evenings on Mondays, Wednesdays, and occasionally on the weekend. School officially started for me on August 3, in what they call ‘Immersion Week.’ Last week I was at school at 7:30AM each day with classes ending between 5:30 – 7:00PM depending on the day. And I was there until 9:30PM or so each night doing homework with my ‘team.’ Although there were a couple of nights we were there until midnight writing up our case analysis for our Competitive Strategy class. Then I’d come home and attempt to do the reading for the next day’s class, sometimes staying up until … really late.

Rice Owls

What surprised me the most was how engaging classes were and how much I really enjoyed the whole experience. I remember having some degree of dread in regards to class, and generally thinking it was a waste of time. But, so far, I am having an entirely different experience. Previously, if I had only had 4 -5 hours of sleep, it could be assumed that I would sleep through some portion of class. But, not once did I dose. Not that I didn’t like school before, but I think I am going to like school a little more this time around.

McNair hall - home of the Jesse H. Jones School of Business

One of the other elements of going back to school that has surprised me is how much fun I have had meeting my other classmates. For the last 8 years in Houston my circles have primarily consisted of people I know from church, with whom we share a common belief system, and people from work who are all ExxonMobil IT people. But the students that I work with in my team as well as those in my class come from varied countries, backgrounds, industries, belief systems, and experiences. I very much enjoyed interacting with all of them last week and look forward to the friendships and network that I will create in the next two years.

The patio where we party, hence PARTIO

So life is going to certainly be crazy over the next couple of years. Work is still there and, as always, will keep me very busy. Add in school. Then baby boy #3 is coming in November. I am grateful that my sweet wife is super supportive, and that she has great family and friends who will give her support through this fun part of our life.

Hawaii Vacation

We are a little delayed in posting this but...

Back in June...we spent a little over a week in Kauai, Hawaii with Paul's family and had a great time. We flew from Houston to Los Angeles where we met Paul's family (and had sighting of a d-list celebrity) and flew on to Lihue, Kauai from there. It was nice to have Paul's family with us on the plane to help with the boys and Aaron was happy to get to sit with his grandparents for the flight. We stayed in two condos across the hall from each other in Poipu and they were great. The whole week was spent going to the beach, playing at the condo pool, sight-seeing around the island, looking at waterfalls, admiring the sunset, just enjoying how beautiful it all is and having fun with all 16 of our group.

The only thing that marred this trip was our family getting a little sick. It started with Brian getting a cough then a fever, then Aaron got it, then Jen got it. Paul go it too, but a nap and two tylenol, and he was ok. Thus we didn't get to do EVERYTHING we wanted to, but we relaxed at home for a couple of days and still enjoyed our vacation.

We loved having our new camera with us and took hundreds of pictures. We put a slideshow on Picassa and will attach the link HERE for those of you who want to see about 175 pictures, just click on the slideshow buton in the upper left hand corner. But here are a few pictures to make you jealous even if you don't watch the slide show.

Kilauea Lighthouse

Sunset at Salt Ponds Beach

Playing in the water at Ke'e Beach

Family Picture at Salt Ponds Beach

We could easily have stayed another week, but we were glad to be back in our own home again. We had a great time and are glad we took the opportunity to be with our family for a whole week. Now that we are back in Texas and they are ALL back in Utah, we miss them a lot. Until we get to see you again, Aloha and Mahalo!

We had the ultrasound...

It's a BOY!

We are very excited for yet another little boy in our family. Jen is even more outnumbered now 4 to 1, but at least we already have all the baby clothes we'll need!

The ultrasound went fine and the baby appears to be totally healthy as we reach the half way point now. Other than getting over a cold we are all doing well here too.

We recently got back from a family vacation in Hawaii and we have HUNDREDS of pictures on our computer from the trip, so look forward to our vacation pictures soon.

One quick picture from the ultrasound, hope you enjoy our adorable little man!

Is May really over already?

I can't believe how fast the past month has flown by.  We've had a great busy month and here's a brief recap on what we've done this month.  

Aaron finished up his T-ball games this month and had a great time.  He got to play every position at least once and even got the game ball one game.  We ended the season with a party and he got his trophy which is a cute baseball glove that this game ball can fit in, so it sits in his room and he can see it often.  

Aaron had his preschool graduation on Friday.  There was a cute little program where they sang songs and got a little diploma and some certificates.  He's got just a few days left and then it'll officially be summer time.  I can't believe he'll be starting kindergarten in the Fall.  He's growing up so fast!

We spent several weekends up at the house at Lake Conroe.  We got the boat working and both boys enjoyed boat rides for the first time.  We worked on getting the house ready for lots of play this summer and we hope to enjoy many many weekends relaxing at the Lake House.

For our combined Mother's Day/Father's Day present we bought a camera.  Not just any camera, a big fancy new Cannon Rebel Digital SLR.  We've been able to take great pics of lots of things and are learning more and more each day! Here's some random cute pictures of our boys.

I've put a countdown calendars for the baby on the side here, so everyone can know how we're progressing.  I'm at 16 weeks now and the baby is about the size of an avocado.  We'll find out if it's a boy or a girl next month, probably near the end of the month, but we'll definitely let you know what we're expecting when we find out.  

Also, on my other blog Jen Loves Free Stuff I am hosting my very first giveaway, so if you are interested in winning a free 18x24 poster print check out my blog.

That's about it for now.  We're heading to Hawaii with Paul's family in June and I'm sure we'll have some great stuff to post about our trip when we get back.  Hope everyone is doing well and we'll post more when we have more to share.  Have a great day!

Family Video

More and more people already know our latest family news, but we decided it was time to share it with the world. We used some cool software on the computer and had a lot of fun putting this together.

And if you don't usually watch videos on blogs, trust me, you're going to want to watch this!

Now we're waiting for all the comments to flow in! (or phone calls!)

Cute Stories of Brian

Paul said I didn't talk enough about all the cute things Brian has been doing lately, so I thought I'd take a moment and share some of them now.

The other day he was looking for an electronic game (Deal or No Deal) and he had looked for it downstairs. I was sitting on the stairs and suggested he go upstairs to look for it. He thought that was a "great idea" and started climbing the stairs, but he stopped a stair or 2 past me, turned around, looked at the back of my hair and said "It's not in your hair!" then continued to go upstairs. What a goof!

About an hour later, he came down the stairs saying "I can't reach my spoon!" It was time to change him out of his pajamas anyway, so I accompanied him upstairs to get him dressed and help him get his spoon which I had assumed he had dropped behind the TV or something. I glanced around the toy room and didn't see his spoon so went ahead to get him dressed. As I took off his pajama pants, then began to take off his diaper, he reached behind him and pulled his spoon out of his diaper where he had shoved it down so far he couldn't get it back up! I NEVER would have found it there!

Last year when we had our 100th blog post, I made a compilation of pictures of our life so far. I then took those same pictures and had a book made which sits on our dining room table. Brian was looking through the book the other day, and saw the picture of Aaron playing with the "Baby Tad" toy when he was 6 months old.

Brian got very excited and wanted to play with "that guy" and wouldn't rest until I found it for him (buried in a bin of unused toys). He carried it around all that day, even tried to take a nap with it, and was enamored all day by "that guy."

When I suggest something to him that he likes, a snack or a story or something, he is very excited and exclaims that it's "A Great Idea!" On the other hand, when I tell him he has to do something he doesn't like, such as that he needs to take a nap or that he can't have a snack because dinner is in 20 minutes, he gets very upset and often tells me "I don't like that great idea." I think it's hilarious that at least he knows I always have great ideas, even if he doesn't like them!

Brian has a green blanket that he takes to bed with him every nap and nighttime always fingering the tag on it.  We even tied the blanket in a knot recently to make it easier for us to find the tag for him.  The past few weeks he has requested that we "cover his face" when putting him down to sleep.  We think it's a rather odd request, but he really likes it!

He loves TV, loves playing games, and loves to eat. (When I ask him what he wants to eat, he drums his fingers on his chin and says "Let's check and see!") Just like Aaron did at this age, he reads exceptionally well and amazes us all the time at how smart he is. He's super friendly and says HI to strangers all the time and asks them what their name is. He still loves to give kisses and tells us that he loves us all the time, often loudly during church (the family that sits behind us gets a kick out of him!). He's very helpful - when he wants to be - is a great little boy and although he pushes my buttons A LOT lately, we are really glad we have him.

March Update

I've been planning this blog post for a few days, but just got sick (allergic to cats!) and have been too lethargic to even sit with my laptop for an hour! Anyway, March has had it's highs and lows, and I didn't take nearly enough pictures to satisfy most of my extended family, but what you see will have to suffice!

Let's start with the grown ups.

Paul is doing great at work and is a fabulous husband and father. He takes great care of our family and we are super lucky to have him. Thanks again to his mom and dad for raising such an awesome man! He had the boys one weekend while I was at TOFW and all 3 of them had a great time!

Other than being sick right now, I'm doing fine. I had the opportunity to go to Time Out for Women this month and loved hearing all the speakers and feeling the spirit. I had had a rough week or so before hand with sick kids and potty training incidents and I really needed the recharge that TOFW gave me. Plus I went with several ladies from my ward and really enjoyed spending girl time with them.

This month was the one year anniversary of my father's passing, and while it was a very sad day, I was lucky to be able to spend it with my mom and we went to the cemetary and brought beautiful flowers we will later plant in moms yard.  I miss my dad a lot, but am grateful for all the wonderful memories we had together.  Love you Dad!

During Spring Break we went camping with several other families from our ward and had a fabulous time! There were babies, toddlers, teenagers and grown ups. The food was delicious and I swear I went back for seconds and thirds at every meal! Our family was in a little tent, and sleep was not as great as I would have liked, but what do you expect with Brian who tosses and turns all night! We had a great time though, just playing around the fire, walking to the lake, and playing in a grassy field. We hope we are invited to camp with these friends again next year!

The boys roasting marshmallows for Smores

Looking at the lake, trying to find fish or alligators

Aaron walking to the lake with his friends Isaac and Sam

Playing Duck, Duck, Goose

Hanging out around our campsite, playing games and having a great time.

Not much news for Brian. He has been happy and healthy and embracing the Terrible Twos. He loves to laugh and cuddle, but will also be as contrary as humanly possible saying "up" if you say "down." He really pushes my buttons some times, but I love him to pieces and hope he grows out of this stage before I kill him.

Aaron has had a lot going on this month. He started off the month by getting sick and staying home from school for a full week. He didn't act sick, just had a high fever for a week. The Dr. put him on some antibiotics and he was fine. I was happy to send him back to school though...I wonder how I'll survive the summer!

Aaron started piano lessons from one of the YW in our ward. She was quite impressed by what he can already do, mentioned how smart he is and that he has perfect pitch! He loves it so far and gets excited to practice his songs. It's totally cute and I hope he enjoys playing the piano for years to come!

Aaron also had his first T-ball game this month and while he still spends most of his time goofing off and not paying attention, he looks so cute out there in his little uniform. They had team pictures taken on Saturday (his birthday) and I'll post those as soon as we get them back.  It was really cold outside that day and so you can't see their cute uniforms here, but we'll post pics with them later too.

He was playing catcher here!

Lastly, Aaron turned 5 this month. He had his first real birthday party and it was a lot of fun. He got lots of birthday presents, including a new bike, a new booster seat for the car, clothes and LOTS of GAMES. At his 5 yr check up he was 41.5 inches tall (50%) and 37.5 lbs (50%). The doctor was impressed with him of course and was happy to report him being a happy healthy little boy. Kindergarten registration is this week and while I'm glad to see him progressing, it's a little weird to think my boys is so grown up!

The boys playing with ballons

Pin the mouth on the number 2

Musical chairs (with cushions)

An indoor picnic

Aaron blowing out his candle

His new bike (we plan on taking off the training wheels in just a week or so)

Blowing out another candle!

That's it for now, we'll post more again soon!

February Summary

We've had a busy February, but mostly spent our time at home having fun. The first Saturday in February I had a church meeting so Paul took the boys to the park to ride bikes and fly kites. They had a great time and we've got some cute pictures of their adventure.

Aaron flying the kite.

Brian playing with the bicycle.

I got some weird gardening bug and decided we NEEDED to have some flowerbeds right now! Paul rolled his eyes, but humored me and helped me get these 2 beds done. The one in the back we had to pull up the grass first, but we moved some to the front where there wasn't any grass. There's still a lot I want to do, but the urgent need has passed, so who knows when we'll attack it again!

Bed in back with day lillies and amaryllis.

Bed in front with lots of little bulbs. I hope they come up!

We spent one weekend up at the lake, doing some jobs that needed to be done like cleaning out the shed and re-hanging stuff outside since we have new siding now. It looks really good, but I don't have the pictures, just my mom does. When we got there, there was a fountain in the middle of our yard...a water main had broken and it was a mess. Water, mud, debris everywhere. The water company got right on it and we were only without water for about 4 hours. It's always something huh!

We signed Aaron up for T-ball practice and so far he likes it. Games don't start til the end of March, but they've got practice twice a week. He's learning how to ground and throw the ball, but mostly he just loves running the bases!

Aaron batting.

Aaron running the bases!

Aaron's birthday is next month and we've been talking about getting him a bicycle. He's got really good balance on his Skuut, but has never been on a real bike before. So we went to a friends house to have him ride Caleb's bike. We tried the bike without training wheels for a while, but realized Aaron really doesn't know how to pedal! We put the training wheels back on and he did better, but he will definitely need to practice more!

My Uncle LeRoy and Aunt Karen were in town for a weekend and they spent Saturday afternoon with us. We played dominoes, ate a yummy dinner, and went to Ritters for dessert. I had a great time with them!

This week we re-financed our home to a 4.75% interest rate and are happy for all the money we will save because of that! I've been teaching some of my baby sign language classes and have another class scheduled for next weekend. I'm having a lot of fun teaching it and wish more of my friends were interested in learning it. Oh well. Paul also got his beads for completing his Woodbadge training. He worked hard and really enjoys working with the scouts! I was proud to be there when he was awarded his beads!

Paul with his woodbadge beads.

Also, I've gotten involved with the Wii Mommies. We got a Wii and Wii Fit for Christmas and I've been working out EVERYDAY! I seriously haven't missed a day yet this month and I'm super proud of myself! I post my progress every Friday on my other blog and I like having a place I'm accountable to. I've lost 4 lbs so far, and hope to loose much more! Our whole family has been doing it, and watching the boys do it is hillarious. Aaron's actually pretty good, but Brian is comical to watch! It's a lot of fun and I recommend it to anyone!


Here's I'm running the Island Lap in the yoga suit I won

and here's how great I did!

This shows that I did it every day this month!

Tomorrow will be busy with a primary activity in the morning, the Wii Fit Olympics also in the morning, and stake conference starting in the afternoon and evening. I think that's about it for February. We hope to have more friends over for game nights and some Sunday dinners and always enjoy having people in our home. Come on over!