7 Random things...

I got tagged by Malinda, so here goes....

1. When I was younger I pierced my own ears and shaved part of my head (I really was NOT a rebellious kid...really.)

2. I lived in the same bedroom from birth till I moved away to college.

3. I have a fear of hitting a deer while driving.

4. I never had braces.

5. I was in the Mormon Youth Choir with my sister for a short while during college.

6. I always hated it when my sister would clean my room for me when we were younger (she was always clean and I was not)...she made me look so bad b/c I was too lazy to do it.

7. I left for college the day I graduated from high school...and I still missed the first week!

Home again, home again...

We all made it home safely...yeah! Dan came home from Egypt yesterday, we were sooo happy to have him back! Carson was napping when he came home so Dan went in to get him when he woke up. After a month of saying that daddy was "working" and in "Egypt", Carson didn't even seam to realize that it had been so long since he saw him. He just half-awake snuggled on Dan's lap and then once more awake began showing Dan every toy he owns. It was really cute. Dan showed us all his fun souvenirs and gifts he bought and started showing us the many, many pictures he took. He bought Carson a funny stuffed camel that sings an annoying Arabic song and shakes his head back and forth and of course Carson LOVES it!! He asked for it for nap time and so Dan put it in there with him. We heard that silly song for about 20 minutes over and over before he finally went to sleep...funny kid. Dan has been surprised with how much smarter Carson is even after just a month. I kept telling Dan that I thought Carson was getting smarter, but now he can see for himself. I think Carson learned a lot from his older cousin Gwen while we were in WI for 2 weeks. I'm so happy that we are all back together as a family again!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to my brother Ken and his wife, Roxie, who found out today that they are expecting a baby BOY!

Ken & Roxie on their wedding day '05

And we're back!

We just returned from our two weeks in Wisconsin this morning. The time just FLEW right by. I'm super excited to see Dan tomorrow when he comes back from Egypt, but I will miss spending time with my sister, her family, and my mom...we had a great time! Katherine and her family and Carson and I spent our last evening together getting yummy custard from Kopps custard place...yum!!! Unfortunately I left my duffel bag of clothes and things at Katherine's house...ooops! It was an honest mistake. My bro-in-law was nice enough to load my stuff in the car at 5am this morning while I woke Carson up and dressed him. I didn't even think to ask if all my bags were there. But my maroon duffel bag was hiding ever so quietly underneath the reclined chair that my sister and her baby had been laying in. None of us noticed it under there (especially since the chair is the same color and it was dark!). Oh well, we'll have to see how much it costs to ship it out....all I can say is "oops". But, other than that, we had a great plane ride home. I was super tired but Carson did great! we were in the very last two seats on the plane with "no window" that Carson kept pointing out. Carson was great though and just laughed, looked at books, and enjoyed his snacks. We even got a compliment from the man sitting across the way from us saying how good Carson did....you go boy!!! It's nice to be back home but now I've got to catch up on things and get back to the real world. Dan comes back tomorrow late afternoon and I can't wait to see him and also to see how Carson reacts to him. He's had a great time and so have we, but we are now ready to be back together again!

Here are a few pictures from last week in WI....

We're still alive...barely!

We're still hanging in here in Wisconsin! We have one week left and we're trying to pack all sorts of fun things in to it. Today my sister and I were able to go shopping while my mom stayed home with the kids. My sister got some much needed clothes and it was a successful trip. It was also really nice to get away from the kids. Tomorrow we plan on going to the Children's museum in Milwaukee. Katherine says it's really fun and Gwen loves it, so we're excited to go! Other than our few trips to the mall and grocery stores, we're just hanging out at home. It has been a little (okay, a LOT) tiring thinking of things to entertain the kids with and keeping them from fighting over toys. why is it that one kid always wants what the other kid has?? For the most part they get along well. Carson has been pretty difficult here though. I guess I could make excuses for him...like we're off our usual schedule, he's away from home, missing his daddy, etc....but, i was hoping that he would be better than this. His sleeping is pretty good and he stopped crying when i put him down after the first day. He doesn't sleep as long as at home, but hopefully he'll go back to that when we go back home. The thing that bugs me the most is that he is so whiny here. He is having a really hard time just being normal without whining every 5 minutes. It's getting on my nerves and I don't quite know how to put a stop to the whining....any suggestions?? He is also learning first hand how to share all the time and get along with his cousin (Gwen is 3). They are doing pretty well though and a lot of the time are running around the house copying each other and happily squeeling. Sometimes I wonder though is this a vacation or a workout? I'm really enjoying my time with my sister and my mom though. It's been nice to help my sister out a little with her baby and to have some time here and there to just talk. My sister is amazing and is doing a great job with her challenging baby! I think only a rare few could be as patient and loving as she is...I really mean that! So, anyway, I'm having a great time here and have been thankful for my chance to come visit.

Wisconsin!

Gwen and Carson with cute hair bows! Don't look Dan!


We are in Wisconsin!!! We had a uneventful trip out yesterday, thank goodness. I still don't know how Mary flew to UT with TWO kids by herself!!! Carson was great on the plane and we're happy to be here with my sister and her family. Travelling by yourself with a toddler sure is exhausting!





We're enjoying WI so far. Carson and his cousin Gwen get along well and they've been having fun playing together. I've enjoyed some good time talking with my sister also. We sure have been busy though. Her sweet baby is pretty exhausting and takes a lot of energy to care for. I think it's been helpful for her to have another person around to help with the baby or the older kids. My mom comes on Saturday and that we'll be nice to have her here as well. We have a few fun things planned, but we're basically just here to enjoy each other's company.





Dan is still doing well in Egypt. He has lots of fun pictures to show and lots of fun stories and souvenirs to talk about. I'm excited for him to show and tell me everything in person!

Egyptian Dan!

Dan emailed me these pictures today...it sure looks like he's having a great time! He went to see the Pyramids on Saturday and a few other touristy things in the area. He had a great time and was even able to explore the inside of some of the Pyramids.

We're doing great here. This first week+ has flown right by. We've continued to stay super busy. Yesterday we had a church meeting in the morning, then after naptime we had to run some errands, then later that evening went to see the Laurel fireworks. Carson liked the fireworks, but I think he liked playing with his friend Lindsey even more! Today was church in the morning and Carson was great! I was able to spy on him during nursery and he was so cute doing all the actions to "The Wheels On The Bus"...I just can't get enough of him being such a big boy! I think he's even gotten smarter in the week that Dan's been gone! After naptime today we went to a party for one of Dan's co-workers. Even though Dan wasn't with us, we had a great time visiting with all of his awesome co-workers/friends. They are always so welcoming and Carson especially had a great time getting tons of attention. Thanks for having us guys!

Fun Times..

Today was a fun day. Carson and I had a great time going to the park and going swimming after nap time. He loves the pool sooo much! After that, my friend Mary Jean called and said that her sis-in-law had just arrived at their house. Her sis-in-law is one of my friends from growing up in Rochester, NY. Carson and I quickly changed our wet swimming clothes and rushed over to their house to hang out with Leah. It was great to see her again! She has four boys, the youngest two are twins! It was fun to ask her all about having twins and a house full of boys! She was surprised/excited to hear that I am having a girl...it's such a foreign idea to her, I guess. We had a great time catching up, if only we had more time! It was nice seeing you Leah!

On a different note, Dan is doing well. He went to church today (they have church on Fridays) and said it was pretty cool. He was able to meet some more people and was even invited to lunch after. Tomorrow he is going to visit the Pyramids....cool!!! One week down, only 3 more to go!

Here's Dan in front of one of the many Mosques in Egypt

Happy 4th!

We had a great 4th of July! We started the day off with our ward's annual 4th of July Breakfast. It was yummy and lots of fun! Carson had a great time on the playground and running around in the dirt. Later in the afternoon I made the traditional "flag" cake with blueberries and strawberries used for the stars and stripes. After nap time, we drove yet again to VA to visit my friend from nursing school, Hannah, and her family. We had a yummy BBQ and enjoyed time talking. On the way home Carson and I could see fireworks going off all around outside. Carson really liked them and kept pointing out the different colors. He would say "fireworks...POP!". It was a great day..........HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

So far, so good

Things are going just fine here so far without Dan (not that we don't totally miss him!!!). We have been super busy with all sorts of fun stuff. Saturday we went to visit my nursing school buddies in VA and had dinner with them. It was great! Sunday was church and dinner at the Kellers. Yesterday we went down to Tami's house in VA and stayed there over night. Carson had fun playing with Tami's son Kyle. They are only a couple weeks apart. It was great to spend time with them...thanks Tami! Tomorrow we plan on going to the ward breakfast and then later back down to VA to have a BBQ at another one of my nursing buddies houses. We've been going back and forth to VA a lot but we are having so much fun visiting with friends. Carson has been doing pretty good too. He is behaving well, but is extra clingy to me (which he usually isn't). But, overall, I can't complain.

This afternoon we went to Centennial Park in Columbia, MD to go use the canoes and paddleboats with the youth from church. It ended up being a lot of fun. Carson loved having all the girls in the van with him. He said the funniest thing on the way down there. I have taught him where daddy is, so I was having him tell the girls. So I asked him where his daddy is and he said "daddy's in Egypt"....then I asked him what daddy is doing there and he said "makin' money". It was hilarious...we were all laughing so hard. I have told him a couple times that daddy is making money for us, but I've never heard him say it...it was really funny.


Some sadder news is that my sister's baby is back in the hospital for the 3rd time. I feel sooo bad for them. This is so hard on their little family. It looks like my brother-in-law is going to have to quit his masters program also, but that means they will need to pay back thousands of dollars. Does anyone know a way I can raise thousands of dollars for them???

That's about all going on with us :)