Yay!

Stephen has started saying the funniest thing. Whenever he gets really excited about something or someone he now gets a huge smile on his face and says "yay, (whatever he is excited about)!" and lifts his cute little arms above his head! I have no idea where he learned it but it has helped him get his way several times. A few examples include "Yay, grumpa," and grandpa promptly picked him up, "yay, bu been," and I couldn't resist giving him jelly beans, and finally "yay, cereal" (he doesn't say cereal perfectly but I don't know how to phonetically spell it the way he says it). He is so delighted every time and it is seriously adorable when he does this!

Super Stephen!

Doesn't every little boy need a pair of Super Man PJs? This set comes complete with a velcro cape! Stephen really is a super kid - he has been so sick the last week with the flu and has still been sweet and loveable. I love this little guy!

Four Years!

Wednesday, May 21st, marks our 4th wedding anniversary! It has been a wonderful roller coaster and we can't remember a time when we weren't together!

In that four years of marriage we have bought two houses, sold one and lost the other; raised two dogs; taught two years of first grade and survived (this was definately a joint accomplishment); been promoted at work; been laid off from work; traveled to Washington DC; had Stephen (our pride and joy); survived one and a half years of being a nursery leader - and learned to enjoy it (I am proud of you Scott); moved three times; experienced 4 happy months of pregnancy again and then a miscarriage...

I love Scott so much and though he is not always romantic in the "flowers and chocolate kind of way" I am grateful for the sweet wonderful husband he is every day! He helps me make dinner every night, he never complains about helping out around the house, he is a FABULOUS daddy to Stephen, he really listens to me, he works so hard at work and school so that I can stay home with Steve, he never gets frustrated with me when I am such a ditz or break the last Cream Soda... I love you Sweetie!

My Mom is the Best/Hiking the Y

This post is about when we "hiked the Y" when we went to Utah. For those who are not familiar, this refers to hiking up the mountain located above BYU campus that has the big white Y painted on it. With so many BYU graduates in our family we felt that it would be appropriate to have this experience together. So we packed up Stephen and his cousin Anna into baby packs and started up the trail.

By the way, Stephen was NOT a fan of this whole experience - he screamed when we put him in the backpack as well as a good portion of the hike and only stopped when Scott was moving forward. He DID enjoy pouring a bottle of water down Scott's back at one point...

While this hike is not long (maybe only 1.5-2 miles up), it is EXTREMELY steep! With the altitude change and having just eaten a huge lunch and drinking 2 gallons of rootbeer from Brick Oven shortly before the hike we were all huffing and puffing after only a short time. It was especially challenging for my mom. There were so many times that it seemed like she might change her mind and head back down the trail, but every time I would look back, she and my dad were still coming up the trail. When it got extra hard, she would throw out her arm and say "pull" and my dad would grab her hand and keep her moving forward.

Well, in the end we all made it to the Y (not the top of the mountain - are you kidding??!!!). The view was magnificient and we can now say we have "hiked the Y." I was so proud of my mom for making it to the top. She is such a great example to me of not giving up and trying her best on every thing she does in every aspect of her life. I hope that I can be more like her someday. I love you Mom!

Utah

At the end of April we made the 11 hour drive to Utah for my younger brother's graduation from BYU. We were fortunate to ride with my family in their Excursion. It turns out that 1 flip down DVD player + 7 Baby "ein-ein"(Einstein) movies = 1 quiet, happy Stephen! It was a fun (and very cold!) trip, though a little stressful to have a toddler away from home for so long.


















Here is the happy graduate and a few other pictures on BYU campus (it brings back sooooo many memories to be there). The picture of Scott holding Steve shows what he thought of the graduation ceremony. It was actually worse than than you think - he literally cried the whole time and Scott had to sit outside with him... yes, that is a slice of bread clutched in his little hand.

A Flash from the Past

I am pretty sure I went back in time yesterday...I woke up and found myself in a first grade classroom with 23 six and seven-year-olds calling me "Mrs. Smith" and tugging on my skirt. Well, fortunately it was only for the day as I was "the sub." I am now officially a substitute teacher for Gilbert Unified School District and have survived my first assigment. Though nothing really crazy happened and I had no problem handling anything (yet), it was a strange experience because I was taken back to when I had a first grade classroom of my own (for two years) and the whole "Mrs. Smith" thing got reeeeeeealy old. I am fully reconvinced (did I need reconvincing?) that being a stay-at-home mom is the best job in the entire world. I love getting to be with Stephen everyday. I am blessed to have my mom willing to watch him for me for the few days that I will be subbing. (We just need a little extra cash flow - you know?) Here are a few pictures from my classroom the second year I taught school. I am not in any of them - it never occured to me that I should have one of the students take my picture but I kind of wish I had!