On the road again...

This week is WSU's spring break and our little family decided to take advantage of all of Ammon's free time by taking a trip to the Seattle area. We left on Friday afternoon and turned our 5 hour trip into a 7 hour trip... let me explain. A little outside of Colfax (15 miles or so away) I noticed some splatter on my side of the windshield and the passenger door window. I thought nothing of it and figured it would wash off with the slight rain we were driving through. When it didn't, I mentioned the splatter to Ammon. We figured a car must have kicked something up from the road. When we stopped in Ellensburg at a gas station to get some warm water for Kent's bottle (oh the joys of traveling with kids!) I had Ammon wash the windows after I touched the stuff and found it kind of oily. We were splatter free, for all of 3 minutes. We rethought our diagnosis and figured it was coming from the car and would get it checked out in Seattle on Saturday. We continued listening to our book on CD when Ammon looked at the temperature gauge and got concerned. Our temperature gauge was rising quickly. We pulled to the side of the freeway, only 10 miles east of North Bend for Ammon to pop the hood and take a look. Sure enough, our radiator was cracked. What to do? What to do? We decided to let the car cool and take another shot at the road only to go 20 yards before we were overheating again. Have I mentioned how I have been wanting a new car...? So after 45 minutes on the phone with insurance, a towing company, my friend Sarah (her house in Everett was our destination) and the classiest repair shop in North Bend we had a plan of action. We had to wait on the freeway for an hour to come get picked up by the tow truck and be towed into North Bend, where my friend and her fiance would pick us up, only to return us the next day to get our car. Kent was pretty good considering it was 30 some degrees outside, no heat in the car, the car wasn't moving, and he had to be strapped into his car seat for safety purposes. The rest of the trip was a success. We were able to spend some time at the aquarium, swimming at a hotel, and at the zoo in Tacoma. Now for your viewing pleasure...Oh and did I mention I want a new car?

Here is Kent pretending he is a jelly fish.

Kent could stare at the fish all day.

Happy as can be at the aquarium.

Auntie Sarah showing him the river otters.

"Look, Mom caught a fish!"

"And Dad is feeding me to the shark."

We even snagged a box of Samoas at a gas station from a girl scout.

Wondering why on earth he has to sit on this bouncy spider web...

or pretend he is a hermit crab.

Say Say Ol' Playmate...

The month of February has been a tad bit unusual. First, there is no snow on the ground and second, temperatures have been in the high forties during the day. The day before Valentine's Day Rachel and I took full advantage of the weather and took the boys for a walk to Reaney Park. I chose this particular park over the park less than a block from my house because it was not only easy to walk to from the library but it also had enough baby swings so that both boys could swing at the same time. The boys had a good time for about the first 15 minutes but then petered out shortly after due to nap time approaching. Nonetheless it was a great day.

How can you not love that grin?

The boys loved the swings.

Kent was making sure Wiley did not go anywhere.

He looks a little cold here, but we have so few pictures of the two of us I thought I might as well post it.

Christmas in February

As you can see I am a little late on this post, but I still wanted to share a few pictures of Kent's first Christmas. Enjoy the slew of pictures!

Grandma Udy bought me this bib, don't worry it didn't stay clean long.

Grandma Udy has a bunch of Christmas stuffed animals and when mom got tired of carrying me up and down the stairs while doing chores she plopped me down right with them. They were pretty fun babysitters.

Our family Christmas photo. It was only 7 degrees outside and since Ammon HATES the cold I only got to take two pictures, so this was as good as it got. Not too bad if you ask me.

Grandma Udy reading Cade and Kent a Christmas story.

Silly cousins!

Great Grandma and Grandpa Larsen came to visit at Christmas time.

Ammon and I made this amazing gingerbread house.
BACK VIEW

FRONT VIEW

Making Christmas cookies and a mess with Ammon's brother Jason and his family.

Lacey just loves her cousin, it really is sweet.

Ashley loves him too.

An action shot of Kent opening a gift on Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning was basically spent watching Cade and Kent opening their gifts. Can you tell it was their first Christmas, Ammon, Rachel, and Dad all had cameras documenting the event.

In my new rocking chair from Grandma and Grandpa Udy.

Look what Santa brought!

Now I know my ABC's...

Last year during the rummage sale at the coliseum I happened across these magnetic letters and numbers that not only were large, but in near new condition. The teacher in me has a hard time passing up an opportunity for an educational toy at a great price. A few months ago we finally got the magnets out and placed them on the lower half of the fridge. My nephew Cade instantly loved the them; Kent was still too young, however now both boys are in love. When I am cooking in the kitchen I often plop Kent down in front of the fridge for his entertainment and educational pleasure. Give it five minutes and all the letters and numbers end up on the floor. Now we just need to teach both boys how to put them back on the fridge.

All Minus Three

Growing up all my mom's family, minus her brother Kent's family, lived within three blocks of each other in Pullman. We always got together on holidays, not to mention various other times. While I was in college my grandparents decided to make a permanent move to St. George and since then very few times have we all been together. This Christmas my grandparents and my uncles family from Vegas came up. We had everyone here minus my cousin who is on a mission in Ohio and my other cousin and her husband who live in NYC. We were quite a big group, but that didn't stop us from getting together for various things; bowling, my cousin's Eagle court of honor, scones and clam chowder, movies, etc. The following is a picture of everyone minus the three who we missed having around.

Wedded Bliss...Jared and Jo

Ammon's brother Jared got married this past weekend and we wanted to make sure we got a few pictures up before too much time had past. We were able to stay in a hotel not too far from the temple the night before and had a blast with Ammon's family. On Saturday morning we attended the wedding at the Spokane Temple and then drove straight to Moscow for the rest of the wedding festivities. Take note of the amazing orange bow tie my mom and myself made for Kent for the special event. Thanks also to cousin Cade for letting Kent borrow his suit.

The night before the wedding. Kent decided he wanted to sleep with his girl cousins.

"Is anyone going to dress me or do I have to do it myself?"

He was knocked out before we even left the hotel for the temple.

The beautiful bride and her groom. Welcome to the family Jo!

My two handsome boys!

Uncle Lance and Kent waiting to catch the garter.

One last family picture before the night was over.

Quick to Judge

Although I hate to admit it at times, one of my worst bad habits is judging people too quickly. Perhaps some of you have the same problem. I am constantly trying to better myself and eliminate judging others all together, but I think it is unfortunately one of the inherent and ugly parts of human nature. Here is a great story about being quick to judge and service. Please take a few minutes to read it.

http://themeanestmom.blogspot.com/2010/01/needy_08.html