While I have loved having my surprise birthday post as the last post on the blog, I am way behind and need to make a few updates. Picture issues and blogger have prevented an earlier update.
Way back on January 3rd - Spencer turned one!
He is such a delightful little boy. He loves smiling and giggling. He likes lights, buttons, and flirting with the old ladies that sit behind us in church. Right before his birthday he started taking a few random steps but he started walking in full force mid-to-late January. For the longest time he wouldn't stand up in the middle of the floor, if he fell down he had to crawl to the wall or something to pull himself up. Finally toward the end of March he decided he stand in the middle of the floor. Bathtime would be his favorite time of the day.
After our Christmas adventures we got back on January 2nd - and celebrated Spencer's actual birthday with just as a family.
Inspecting the loot
Little People Super Heroes
Tanner helping with the present opening
Uncertain about the cake. Thanks to my friend Margot - I made a delicious chocolate eggless cake.
He knows it is coming for him now. See the excitement?
Success! I loved it. And I was scrubbing chocolate cake off the floor for a week after the fact.
Seven years and two months ago, I first remember meeting
Jacqueline Elise.Let’s recall
some of my favorite memories of her, shall we?
1. I wanted to know her better as soon as I met her.And then I cancelled our first date.Classy, right? Fortunately, she let me take
her out the following evening.We went
sledding on a cold Friday night at Soldier’s Hollow in Midway, Utah.The sledding was decent.The hot chocolate and conversation in front
of a roaring fire in the clubhouse was amazing.And we held hands on our first date [gasp!]. 2. On Saturday,
February 4th, I was supposed to be at a Coldplay concert in Las
Vegas with my good friend Drew.But
a commitment to BYU Men’s Chorus kept me from attending. That “glitch” provided me and Elise with a
perfect lazy Saturday afternoon.Went to
an art exhibit on campus, had Jamba Juice, and danced together in the Student
Center. That evening, at sunset, I kissed her overlooking Utah Valley at sunset. 3. I knew pretty soon that I wanted to spend my life with this woman.
4. Monday, May 1, 2006.I proposed to her at sunset on a bridge that spans the Provo River.And then dropped the ring as I put it on her on
her finger.It almost fell off the
bridge into the river.Almost
embarrassing enough to lose my “awesome” points for the aforementioned first
kiss.But only almost.
5. We were apart for a few weeks during the summer
2006, she at home in Boise planning the wedding and me working in Provo.Without her knowing, I drive up to visit her
and surprise her in Fred Meyer.(NOTE:I had my hair cut right after this video was
shot.I look like a Full House extra).
6. We
were married on Saturday, August 5, 2006.
7. As newlyweds, we lived in an awesome basement
apartment.In the middle of winter, we
learned that the windows were not up to city code and they have to dig a whole in
our bedroom wall.We had to move all of
the essentials out of our bedroom, and sleep in the front room as our bedroom was LITERALLY not useful for a few
weeks.In hindsight, I should have made
the terrible landlord put us in a hotel so we didn’t feel like vagabonds.But at least we had ½ of our monthly rent
knocked off, right?
8. Fall 2006 – We watched the film version of ‘Rent’ late
on a Friday evening.Not tired yet, went for a walk for an hour in the warm rain, talking about the movie, sitting on
the swings at the nearby elementary school, etc.A small memory, this.But it has always been special to me.
9. That first semester after we were married, I
decided to play a practical joke on Elise.When all was quiet in our apartment, I hid behind the door to the
kitchen and waited.She walked in, and I
let out the most blood-curdling scream I could muster.Almost scared her to death.The look on her face made me feel
terrible.Last time I ever tried
something like that.Isn’t it amazing
how an idea that seems AWESOME in your mind can turn out so terrible in action?
10. I won a competition at a business conference shortly
after we were married.Rather than take
their lame vacation prize that would require us to buy $800 airfare, we took the
cash value and went on a 5-day cruise out of Long Beach. Sailed to Catalina Island on our way to
Ensenada, Mexico, and then home again.Not too shabby for two poor newlywed undergrads!
11. I had an internship in Sandpoint, Idaho after
our first year married.We fell in love
with that beautifully small town and its gorgeous surroundings.Because of that perfect summer, I want us to
live in Coeur d’Alene as soon as we can after I graduate from BYU.
12. During our summer in North Idaho, we planned a
weekend in Glacier National Park and Calgary, Alberta, Canada.We drove up to Canada on a Friday evening,
and arrived at the border to discover it was closed.In the middle of nowhere.Nothing in sight.We pulled the homeless card and slept in our car.
13. Back in Provo for our final year of school and 2nd
year of marriage, I come home one evening and found Elise absolutely
terrified.She thought there was a mouse
in our apartment.I set the traps and
sure enough, we catch a mouse the following day.Is it bad if I consider her utter fear of
mice adorable?I don’t think so, either.
14. For my 2nd birthday as her husband,
she made me a Lightning McQueen-themed cake (Cars was my favorite movie at
the time).And since blue is my favorite
color, she made blue frosting.We only
realized it looked like toothpaste when my sister pointed it out to us.She was embarrassed, but I loved it.I love the effort she puts into everything
she does – not just for me, but everybody that knows her.
15. I convinced her to take a dance class with me at
BYU.I had always dreamed of being an
awesome ballroom dancer with my wife, and she was willing to give it a
shot.Six years later… mmm… we’re at
about the same beginning skill level that we enjoyed back then.And we’re cool with that.
16. For one of her school projects during our
engagement, Elise created a scrapbook chronicling when we met each other, all
of our dates, the letters we wrote during our courtship, and titled it “The
Luckiest” after our song (by Ben Folds).Because I’m a sucker for keeping
my personal journal, I loved this project. I love that our kids will be able to see how awesomely
naïve we were as undergraduates.::) 17. In March 2008 we were applying to jobs for after
we graduate.I woke up one Sunday
morning after dreaming about New York City.I had never been back east, but felt this incredible feeling of
homesickness. As Elise woke up, I turned to her and asked, “Wouldn’t it be fun
to just get away from everything and go somewhere new like the east cost?”After a few seconds, she said, “Yeah.I could do that.” Her answer surprised
me.Both Elise and I love our immediate
family.Up to this point we had been
looking for a job in the western US so we would always be within driving distance
of our siblings and parents.But that
short conversation in bed on a Sunday morning led to us accepting a job in
Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.A
beautiful area, fantastic people that would become our dearest friends, and
equidistant between New York City and Washington DC.
18. Speaking of Washington DC – Elise had us go to
DC for our first 4th of July on the east coast.She loves history and government, and was so
excited to spend Independence Day in our nation’s capital.I felt like I was taking her to
Disneyland!
19. The following year, she made sure we celebrated
the 4th of July in downtown Philadelphia since that is where the historic
events actually occurred.Again, I love
the excitement she brings to these activities.
20. Elise loves quality theater.We saw Phantom of the Opera in Vegas shortly
after we were married.Wicked in Los
Angeles.West Side Story and Mary
Poppins on Broadway.Les Miserables in Baltimore.I love that I can enjoy those
with my wife.
21. Here’s a doozy. Let's raise the "naive husband" flag.September 2009.We had tickets to
see U2 at Giants Stadium in New Jersey for my birthday.And tickets for West Side Story earlier in
the day.This was all planned before the
morning sickness arrived as she was pregnant.She hadn’t been feeling very well leading up to this trip, but said she would
be fine.I believed her. And during this trip, she was fine.She did great walking around Manhattan, and standing
for the entire U2 concert. Only after we returned home did she confess
how horrible she felt the entire time.I
felt terrible.But she told me that she
wanted to enjoy that day with me, because she knew how important it was for me
to have that trip for my birthday (I’m normally not much of a birthday
guy).Three years later and I still feel
bad.But I admire her for this type of
dedication that I see her give to other people so very often.
22. Beautiful mother to Tanner.
23. Beautiful mother to Spencer.
24. The first semester of the BYU MBA program is a
doozy.With only a few days left, I took
a final and felt like it went terribly.I had never been so frustrated by a test I my entire life, and here I
was a master’s student and I am supposed to be mastering the material – but it
just wouldn’t stick for this class.I
sat against the wall on our kitchen floor, an absolute wreck.She sat with me on the floor, encouraged me, helped
me see things in a bigger perspective, and supported me through the rest of
that challenging week.
25. I love the sound of her reading to our boys
upstairs and singing them songs as they go to bed.
26. I love the fun dances she makes up to make our
boys laugh.
27. Let's have Jack Nicholson summarize so much of why I love her:
Happy 27th Birthday, Elise!
While in Idaho, we took the opportunity to celebrate Spencer's 1st birthday with my family. The Sunday after Christmas, Stephanie and Rhett came back to join the rest of us for a little celebration. He opened a few gifts from my parents and we had Dairy Queen ice cream cake for dessert (hooray for being egg free!).
After Christmas just a few days earlier, Spencer kind of knew what to do with his presents.
Tanner was more than happy to help blow out the candle
Digging in
Grandma and Grandkids - that pot on the table is "Potsy" from LeapFrog and has quickly become a favorite toy for both boys.
After the celebrations concluded, we put boys to bed - only to hear quite the noise upstairs. A girl was speeding around the corner on an icy road near my parents house and hit Stephanie and Rhett's car parked outside. It needed a lot of work and couldn't be driven. Thank goodness for rentals! You can read more about that here.
Christmas Eve we spent in Fruitland at my grandparent's house. We read the Christmas story and were able to visit with my extended family. And of course we opened Christmas pajamas from my mom - this year she made 13 matching pairs of pajama bottoms - AND found shirts for everyone. The shirts were a first this year.
Christmas Morning came and went - and was lots of fun. Of course my boys woke up early, so we had to stall them upstairs until Miss Emery decided to grace the world with her presence (she had an ear infection...Spencer was almost over his...and after the fever from the previous week Tanner's ear infection was in full force by the day after Christmas). Tanner knew exactly what to do with the gifts, the only problem was he wanted to open and play with everything RIGHT that minute. With 13 people opening gifts - that only leads to problems and lost toys. Spencer was a little wary at first but soon got the hang of things. He particularly enjoyed playing the boxes. We were very spoiled this Christmas and were so grateful to spend the holidays with family.
Love Spencer's smile
Of course, the toothbrush was a big hit
Cars! In fact, a few weeks later "Car" was Spencer's first word.
Prior to Christmas, all Tanner wanted were Christmas cookies. Being a good helper to Santa, I stayed up to make snowflake sugar cookies with candy cane crumbs on top. I think he ate one. He was excited though!
Testing the bike. Unfortunately the weather has been pretty cold and it took a while to find a helmet large enough for his head - so he hasn't been able to ride it as much as he would like. We do move the kitchen table and let him ride in the kitchen. Maybe he will be a pro by the time it warms up.
It is the little things - a cassette iPod adapter for his car.
A staple each holiday season
After the chaos of the morning, we settled down and played with gifts the rest of the day. Dinner was delicious prime rib and all the sides.
We were grateful for the opportunity to spend time with family and remember the birth of our Savior.
Over the holidays we were able to update our family photos. First up was Lowell's family over Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving morning we assembled. This was the first time all of Lowell's family was together since 2008.
The Whole Crew with Grandpa C and Aunt Donette
Parents, Siblings, and Grandkids
The Grandkids were obviously thrilled to take this picture
Parents and Children
Finally a decent family picture
I like to fly oh so high.
I love the next pictures of the boys - their personalities really show.
Spencer kept headbanging so she snapped shots as quickly as possible with his head up before the next headbanging spell.
Over Christmas is was my family's turn. Our mission - a shot with the whole group. Stephanie got married this summer and we needed a picture with her husband too. Unfortunately, Tanner was running a fever that day of 103 and had a trip to urgent care. Due to Christmas and our photographer traveling this was the only chance we had to get pictures, so we went with it.
Too bad I look so funny, everyone else looks great.
Poor Tanner was done with picture by this point. It was freezing, he was still running a fever and was bundled with a blanket in between shots. After our family pictures he was quickly taken to the car and my parents' house where he found warmth and recovered for Christmas Day.
