cj

Hangin' Around in January

2011-02-11T16:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a few shots hanging around our house, which is pretty much what we did in January!
Thad now does this funny squint when you tell him to smile for the camera:

Dallin can act goofy too:

Okay, a little more normal. We'll work on smiles before family pictures.

Valentines Day!

2011-02-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

I love Valentines Day. And this year I have a preschool class to take valentines to!! Dallin and I embarked on this project I found here. I think they turned out cute..well, one more step to go: tape the coloring heart crayons onto the cards.

I was really proud of Dallin. He cut up the crayons with a huge knife and no accidents! It was a good reminder that he's more capable than I give him credit for sometimes. He dropped the chopped up crayons into the heart-shaped molds. Nice work Dal!

Is it love in the air, or the fact that I'm going to be living with four boys shortly (I'm taking about my baby boy being born in May) that I'm making flower pins and hairclips??! I feel I've gone crazy for flowers lately.

I also got out our annual valentines cards. Boy was that a project, but I enjoyed it! Homemade this year folks, that's right. Don't expect it every year! (and someone please save me one because I had to mail every single one I made). If I missed you for some reason, send me your address and I'll add you to our valentines mailing next year!

I've got a few more things to do before Monday to make sure these boys feel loved! Hopefully a post on that later. In the meantime if someone can tell me why my Canon PowerShot S5 always takes pictures out of focus, I'll save you a valentine treat.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Advent Calendar

2011-02-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

I have an advent calendar that I made; each day we open a jar which has a scripture, a name for Christ, and a Christmas activity. I've found this is a great way to really feel like it's Christmas all month long.

This day's activity was to decorate a gingerbread house. We bought the coolest pre-assembled gingerbread house at Costco, that I even got Evan to participate!

Thad discovering his tongue (he managed to eat way more candy than Dallin somehow..)

The final product!

Yes, it is December and Dallin has his shirt off. This is normal in our house...!

Christmas Open House

2011-02-11T16:06:00.000-08:00

This past December we hosted a Christmas open house. I probably had more fun planning and prep than the actual party (more on that later), but we really enjoyed opening up our home that first Friday in December.

We had a sugar cookie decorating station, brownies, and a hot chocolate bar. Now if only I hadn't been busy playing hostess to actually get pictures of our guests! We were glad the Eyres, McKunes, Madsens, and Stovall families could come.

Just before our last guests were to leave, Dallin vomitted. Big time. We all joked that no party was over until someone puked and our friends went home. Boy did that start the saga of December! Here is Dallin feeling sick.

Dallin was the first to get ill. About 2am, I began. Oh it was sooooo bad. I ended up in Urgent Care with an IV Saturday night and was completely unable to take care of my family for two days. Just thinking about it now makes me feel ill. Friends were so kind to help us. And nice to forgive us that we hosted the party to spread the disease throughout our ward :)

Oops! We've got great friends though!

Our new baby...

2011-01-15T22:49:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I've got to update this blog with a ton of stuff...It just seems a little overwhelming. So today we're talking about boys. Lots of boys.

We just got the results of the ultrasound, and, as you can guess from my previous sentence, we are having our third boy!!

Boys run in Evans family. So far the boys of his family have only made boys. Everyone in the family was sending pink thoughts our way-but alas, as my sister-in-law Kelli says, no one explained to the girls marrying into the family of the "Gilstrap curse." If you want a baby girl, look elsewhere. Of course she's somewhat joking, but so far it has rung true.

Everyone asks "where you hoping for a girl" or "do you think you'll have ANOTHER one?" Just yesterday a friend gave me the book How to Tuck in a Super Hero (written by a mom of five boys).

I love my boys...And I'm excited to have another. I feel like I know a bit what to expect.

I've just got to get really good at cooking in mass quantities :)

Dynamo Duo

2010-11-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

Announcing...Number THREE!

2010-10-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to announce we're expecting baby #3!! That should explain no posts the past couple of months..Come May 27th we'll have a new one. That means Thad and this baby will be 21 months apart.

I'm sorry if some of you found out by reading Stephanie Nelsons blog! Evan won Husband Of The Year by winning me an awesome Madsen Bicycle (due to arrive any day!). In his winning email which she picked and posted parts on her blog, he mentioned I was expecting our third baby.

More posts to come...

Cousins Camp in Seattle

2010-08-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic time visiting Grandma and Grandpa Marquardson in Seattle. It was the first ever cousins camp!! Dallin at age 4 was the oldest cousin. Add in Billy, 2, Cambry (2), Thad (11 mo) and Bobby (5 mo) made for an adventure. We'll just say that someone was always napping, needing a diaper change, or crying :) Maybe cousins camp will start up again in a couple more years (mom?).

Highlights of the trip included: Bellevue Arts & Crafts festival with cool crafts projects for kids, Ferry boat ride to Bainbridge island, hanging out on Alki beach on a PERFECT Seattle warm summer night, picnicing at Coulon park, Remlinger Farms and going on the roller coaster with Cambry like five times, Shannon flying in from London and being so excited to see everyone until the realities of little kids set in (Hi Shan!), dressing up in Grandmas costume box, trying out many different healthy pancake recipes, and enjoying each other. I just wished we lived closer. This Houston, So. Cal, Bay Area, London, Seattle thing is just no good!

Thad

Thad & Grandpa Marquardson at Coulon Park

Shannon with sleeping Bobby

The sisters: Carrie, Shannon, Marissa, and Katie

Thad is into everything as captured here (notice Dallin "I prefer Batman." That shirt comes off these days only for washing)

With Evan in school and finals, the boys and I had a nice long visit. It even rained!! Just looking at these pictures makes me smile and feel a little homesick.

Thanks mom and dad.

Big Sur Camping

2010-08-31T22:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend our little family headed to beautiful Big Sur to camp. Here we are on the last day for a family self portrait:

We stayed at Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and had a river-side campsite. It was magical to listen to the river every night. Now if only that "white noise" had worked in keeping the baby asleep :)

We feasted on smores, cobbler and the most amazing PB&J bread we found at this amazing restaurant called Nepenthe. Notice the amazing view from our table!

I guess Dallin didn't appreciate the cool pb&j sandwich..

The beaches were absolutely stunning. We did a brief hike out to the waterfall at Julia Pfeiffer park just a few miles from our campsite.

Here's the waterfall falling onto Dallin

Some shots around camp. Isn't Thad soo darling?!

All weekend Dallin kept saying with cocoa in hand "Mommy! Cheers!"

Cheers to a fantastic weekend! Everyone is already asking when we go again.

Thad is one!!

2010-08-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby is one!!

It was super hot in the bay area so we hit yummy frozen yogurt for Thad's birthday treat. Grandma and Grandpa Gilstrap came in for the celebration and what a celebration. So much happens this first precious year; I really felt like celebrating.

Thad loves just about all food, but especially carrots and yogurt. He squeals with delight when you race crawl down the hallway. When he's excited, like before mealtime or when we stroll up to the park, he opens and closes his fingers. He often puts his chin down and looks up at you just past his eyebrows before he nuzzles into your neck. He likes falling asleep with his pacifier. He's crawling around like crazy, pinching his little fingers into everything, and walking along while holding onto furniture.

Thad, we love you sooooo much. Happy Birthday pal!!!!!!!!!!!!

Touring around town

2010-07-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

Luci's never been to SF before. Of course, I'm happy to go! Evan, well, we had to twist his arm a bit...

Lombard street

The adorable house on Lombard we all agreed we'd live in:

Mom, this one is for you:

And of course, a stop at Ghirardelli

Oh, and just so you all know, even though it's a holiday, you still need to feed the meter. ugh.

California Culinary Academy

2010-07-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned earlier, we have Evan's niece Luci visiting. One of her possible dreams is to attend culinary academy, so we hit San Francisco for a guided tour!

It was enough to make me want to go to culinary school. I mean, isn't this stuff we all need to know?: make a good chicken stock, plan and prepare food for a large group of people, knife techniques, etc. For now I'm going to have to settle for on-the-job training. Luci might get to learn the real way though.

Here's one of Luci's masterpieces: our fourth of July cake. Yummy!

Happy B-Day Evan!!

2010-07-10T22:29:00.000-07:00

Evan turned...errrhh, 30? We had a little birthday bash. Since the birthday boy always gets to chose what's for dinner it was flank steak, sushi, deviled eggs, and hamburger salad (ask me about that sometime...it's basically the fixings of a hamburger all cut up into a salad).

We had a few friends over. Of course, Evan insisted on decorations...(you know this is me, right, not Evan insisting on decorations??)

Our niece Luci is in town visiting from Minnesota. Being in California, of course you need to try sushi!

Dallin is always happy to help blow out the candles.

Fuzzy group shot:

Happy Birthday Evan! love you.

While the husband's away...Kate comes to play!

2010-07-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

That's right. Jim was away on business so my sister Kate came to visit!

It was a week full of activities: dinner party, trip to the zoo, parks, library story time, a little bit of attempted shopping.

First, dinner party with friends. I won this Williams-Sonoma and Calphalon dinner party. I received some new cookware in the mail as well as a menu. I love this sort of thing, but man the preparation was a bit intense! Good thing I had all these extra helpers around:

Here's what the table looked like outside:

This is the little plot of grass outside our condo. Evan really tried to talk me out of eating outside, but I had a vision. Evan joked that someone with a shopping cart who is fishing for recyclables is going to come strolling right through our dinner (our recycle bins are very popular with the homeless crowd; they come by multiple times per day). Well, they did come, but he was walking, and when he saw us, he left.

Instead of what Williams-Sonoma recommended for dessert, we made homemade marshmallows for a smore spread.

We headed to the baby story time at 11:30 (we missed the toddler one at 10:30--hey getting out the door with 4 kids 4 and under takes a while!) Here we are playing/picnicking at the nearby park afterwards:

First, happy Thad

Dallin and Billy sliding:

Kate and Bobby

This one of Thad swinging is hilarious because it almost looks like Dallin's legs could be his:

Billy loves the swings!

Finally, our trip to the zoo, a first for Billy, Bobby and Thad!

Trying (unsuccessfully) to get the brother's shot:

Billy wasn't too sure about riding the frog:

Billy, Bobby and Kate:

And finally, our trip on the train.

I think we're pretty much recovered from the fun. Come again soon, please!

Preschool Graduation

2010-06-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

Dallin just graduated from preschool! Well, technically he still has another year of preschool and he only went to this particular school for two months (one day a week), but it's graduation I guess :)

Here is the proud boy:

Here he is with his buddy Nathan Eyre:

Here's hoping for a lot more graduations!!

Lovin' the Water

2010-06-07T22:07:00.000-07:00

Thad is still 9 months and just had his first swim! He loved the water; laughed every time he splashed his little hands and water flew into his face.

I see this look multiple times a day; it's a combination of "Are you sure you know what you're doing??" and "I'm about to get really excited and flap my arms and spread my fingers!!" Now it's captured:

The latest of the kiddos

2010-06-06T15:44:00.000-07:00

A Friday outing to Happy Hollow in San Jose in May. Dallin was stoked to get the dragon!

We were lucky to get Evan home for a couple of days. Our friends the O'Neils were in town; this was taken outside Grandma Bailey's house in Alamo mid-May.

Dallin has been all about "spikey" hair lately.

Giving brother spikey hair

Happy baby

Kitchen Redo

2010-06-06T15:34:00.000-07:00

I never knew how much I loved interior design until I had a home of my own! I could spend hours looking at kitchens online. We did a quick upgrade to our kitchen recently.

First, a before: (I never realized how much clutter is on the counter! I thought I had it under control...)

And the after:

The best part is the sink. It's amazingly huge and I am in love with it. Best part, it fits two kids bathing (can these things hold this much weight?? Sorry, couldn't hold Thad and take the picture so Dallin is solo)

I'm not in love with the backsplash (we just extended the quartz; my preference would have been subway tile), but since this is a place we're not living in forever, we went the quick route. The quartz is Caesarstone, color Raven. I still dream of carera marble in my kitchen so I'm hoping by the time I'm building my dream kitchen they'll have an amazing Quartz equivalent. Got that counter engineers? You've got one year...well, maybe a little longer!

Poor Sickie

2010-05-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

Thad is sick. The Dr. confirmed it yesterday. Two ears are infected and he has bronchialitis (sp?).

Tuesday I let him stay in his pjs all day, figuring that's what I would want to do if I was sick! Look what popped out by mid-day!

He is a growing boy! He's still only 8 months, but I guess it's time to break out the 12-18 month pajamas. (though I'm so tempted to buy those darling striped Hannah Andersson pjs)

Here he is sleeping just moments ago. I'm hoping for more of this!

Until then we're doing albuterol every 4 hours round the clock, antibiotics and motrin.

I love taking care of my baby.

But if your fedex and you knock on my door at 11am and I'm still in my bathrobe, please don't judge me!

Happy Momma's Day!

2010-05-09T23:21:00.000-07:00

I gotta admit. I've been looking forward to this day for a long time.

Today was the first time I had a kid who participates in the musical number on Mothers day at church. I was so proud to have Dallin join Primary at the front of the room! And up until today, I always thought it was the kids who initiated the waving hello to their moms.

I confess. I waved first.

I couldn't help it; he's too darn cute.

Not that he didn't spend the rest of mothers day asking for, whining about watching movies, sneaking candy and not eating his good food, etc., etc...
At the end of the day he said to me "Mom, where's your mothers day present?" I asked, "I don't know, did you get me a present?!"

Dallin: "Oops, I forgot."

Thanks to my hubby for the BLTs, peanut butter cookies, and a nice nap. Happy Mother's Day!

Birthday, Easter, Baby Blessing & Visitors

2010-04-14T22:34:00.000-07:00

Well, if that title line doesn't explain my lack of posts!

With all these backup posts to do, all I feel like writing about is Dallin's first t-ball game tonight! He was so excited. Isn't he darling? And though I tried to modify his Cardinals jersey so it fit, when he tucked in the number 9 on his back, all you could see was the top of the 9 looking more like "0." He was the youngest and smallest on the team, but he did great.

He hasn't been to any practices, so he went straight into a game. There's lots to learn! A couple of times during the one hour game, I went to talk to him in the dugout and he was crying--he told me he wanted to go home. During one of these crying spouts, I told him to go ask his coach where he should go in the field; his coach told him, but Dallin had no idea where to go...Dallin stood there until his coach walked him out to where he should go.

He went up to bat three times and two times he got on base. (His first time up they threw him out which I was soo sad about..) The coach gave Dallin the game ball and he got a licorice rope from the snack shack so the night ended in success. BUT, later in the evening I understood why he was crying.

"Mom, they put me in timeout."

"No, you were in the dugout--you weren't in timeout."

"No mom, I was in TIMEout."

"Were other people in timeout?"

"A couple."

Dallin insisted he was in timeout. I explained it many times but who knows if he'll ever believe me. No wonder he was crying a couple of times!

Go cardinals!

My in-house Comedian

2010-03-07T22:49:00.000-08:00

Dallin is making me laugh every day. I am loving this age.
I'm always interested to see what drawings come home from church. This was todays:

In case it's not clear (which I can't imagine anyone thinking), this is "Daddy on his skateboard getting hit in the eye by a bolt of lightning." Wow. I'm speechless.

Evan and I hired a babysitter a few weeks ago and we came home and found this:

I don't know how that is comfortable! I took them off after taking this picture and the groove marks were deep!

Target had this Batman shaving kit on clearance so I picked it up. Here is D and his best buddy shaving:

One sunny but very cold January day, Dallin insisted because it was sunny that he have a picnic. I sent him out on his own. I think he lasted five minutes, but boy was he happy!

We're still talking a lot about heaven. The other day he asked if he could pray that Heavenly Father would help him grow wings, like an angel so he could fly. The questions have moved into the creation. "Did Heavenly Father make my house? Did Heavenly Father make me? Did Heavenly Father make my bathroom?"

Friday we headed to the awesome San Francisco Academy of Science. On the way there Dallin was telling me a story about how he wanted to ride on a t-rex dinosaur. Imagine our excitement when we walk in the museum and there is a t-rex right there! I love the excitement and imagination. (Because my bag was so packed of essentials and we took public transit, the camera didn't make the cut) I mean really, do adults daydream of riding dinosaurs?!

Thad is...gulp...Six Months!

2010-03-07T22:09:00.000-08:00

Seriously. Could it go any faster? Thad is 6 months. I can't find the stats from the dr. visit. But, he's still got some Marquardson height (90th percentile) and weight is about the same. He is 18 pounds, 12 ounces and I think he would have been an even 19 if he hadn't peed all over me, the floor and the nurse as soon as he got on the scale! What we learned though is that he does have some Gilstrap too! That's right, the head measurement put him in the 95th percentile. I love these big noggins :)

Here he is after his first tastes of rice cereal: ("mom, I want milk, not this bland cereal stuff!")

Thad is super smiley (which I need to capture, I just realized!). Just the other day he sat up unassisted! He's rolling around. Still no teeth. He is such a good natured baby. Only problem I have found is that he sleeps better in my bed than his crib!

Presidents Day Adventure

2010-03-07T21:53:00.000-08:00

With Evan in school, sometimes I feel limited with holiday weekends. So this past Presidents Day Dallin, Thad and I hit the road!

After a bit of a drive, we arrived at the top of Mount Tampalpais. It was a perfectly gorgeous day with wonderful visibility. We did a brief, 20-minute hike at the top (perfect moms for strollers!) Me, with my studs:

San Francisco is in the distance on the left.

After our hike and picnic, we deserved a treat. Where else to take a chocolate-loving three-year-old than Ghirardelli. I love these pictures.

Here, the anticipation:

Ah, the arrival:

I felt a little sheepish and guilty providing my three-year-old with an adult sized sundae..I also felt like, hey, this is really fun!

Can you believe he finished it all without help? I can!

I love these boys! What a fun Presidents Day!!

Saturday is a special day...?

2010-03-01T00:22:00.000-08:00

My next post was going to be my "Thad is 6 Months!" post, but it's been busy. So that I remember this time in life, I'm going to write about my Saturday.

Wake up.
Make three different breakfasts: Kashi for me, pancakes for Dallin, rice cereal for Thad
Clean up breakfast.
Bathe both kids. Wash Dallin's hair in the kitchen sink to avoid drama (hates water in his eyes). Screams the whole time anyway..
Sort, launder and fold 5 loads of laundry. (Evan started three, thank you very much!)
Vaccuum. Clean two bathrooms--even scrubbed the shower! (one of my least favorite chores)
Drop off T-ball registration to replace the one that got lost in the mail.
Shop at REI for a bike for Dallin's birthday.
Check out the San Jose Shark's Ice skating rink I've driven by a hundred times always thinking "I wonder if there's really an ice skating rink?"
Serve lunch. Clean up lunch.
Evan leaves for school at noon.
In the car to Palo Alto (still miss living there!). Run two errands with my two kiddos. Nordstrom. Dallin new shoes (size 9 now! I guess there was some truth to the screaming before church last Sunday. Sorry Dallin!)
For fun: Palo Alto Childrens Museum and Zoo
Home: heat up leftovers for dinner.
Clean up, brush teach, read stories, say prayers. Thad sick. Thad not sleeping.
I re-read tomorrow's RS lesson. I start preparing my lesson for next week.
3am I turn off the alarm that's set for 7am. There will be no church for me and Thad tomorrow.

Sound like a special day?!? Jury's out on this one..

"I want four brothers"

2010-02-14T22:42:00.000-08:00

Today Dallin showed me this:

This is pretty exciting because his drawings show recognizable figures! But what's not-so-exciting is that Dallin has declared that this is him with all his brothers: "I want four brothers." That's right..count 'em up..that would be five little boys. I don't know about that. Actually, what am I saying...That is crazy!!

This drawing was better than the one I got two weeks ago at church. After class Dallin shared a picture of what he was thankful for. Pictured was Dad, Thad and himself. hmmm...Where was I?! Probably because he's so extremely grateful to me that it wouldn't be fair to put the other family members in the same sphere. I'll tell myself that anyway until I get on the "grateful" picture.

He is....five months old!

2010-02-05T21:47:00.000-08:00

This might sound silly, but I like to call my boys the month that they are up until the last day. For example, say it's January 21st and Thad is born August 22nd, I will still say that he is four months old. Ask me January 22nd and I'll (reluctantly) say he's five months old. I just think they just sound younger that way; and heaven knows I want these boys to stay young! So far, my Peter-pan plan isn't working...

Thad is five months old (gulp). This is really going way too fast. He is so wonderful and easy-going. He's content to lay on his back for periods at a time. When I nuzzle into his neck he instantly begins the most joyful giggle I've ever heard. That darling laugh always makes my day.

He can roll from his back onto his side. No teeth yet.

He giggles when Dallin comes to say "Bah-bah-bah-bah-bah" about two inches from his face.

So far he's slept through the night twice. He can do a long stretch of sleep between 8pm and midnight.

He's had a bit of congestion lately and right now we're sharing a bed. I've never loved snoring, but his is darn cute.

Pic another time, we are on the road in Houston with cousin Cambry and Jim & Marissa!

Do they have bakugans in heaven?

2010-01-25T22:42:00.000-08:00

Tonight at bedtime Dallin bombarded me with questions about heaven. I don't know what prompted all of it, but I list several:

Are animals in heaven? Do they have star wars commandos in heaven? Do they have food in heaven? Do they have star wars light sabers in heaven? Do they have a toys for my brother in heaven? Do they have presents in heaven? Do they have a bed for me in heaven? Do they have bakugans in heaven? Can I play with my cousin Jeffrey in heaven? Do we die in heaven? Do they have a bed for my brother in heaven? Where is heaven?

my favorite...
Can I be with you in heaven?

Dallins Theft

2010-01-24T22:58:00.000-08:00

Dallin and I were at Kinkos Friday afternoon dropping off a project. We waited quite a bit, all the while Dallin asked if we could buy Air Heads...then it was Tic Tacs...then it was gum; you get the idea. I continued the "no...no...no candy...no Dallin" so many times he took things into his own hands. Distracted with my conversation with the Kinkos lady, I look down at Dallin only to see the outlines of a box of air heads on his chest beneath his shirt. I promptly explained that we do not put candy under our shirts and reiterated "no candy!"

A short while later, we go trotting out to the car. I load Thad and come around to clip the bottom of Dallin's car seat when he proudly pulls out a treasure from beneath his shirt: a pack of mentos. "Look mom!" he proudly says. I feel a teaching moment coming... And before the moment begins, I know this one will not be forgotten (flashbacks to my theft at Albertsons when I was 3/4...traumatic) so I proceed carefully.

Even though I had just spent six minutes lugging the boys and strapping them into the car, I pulled everyone out and we braved the rain back into Kinkos. Dallin put the mentos back on the shelf and we waited to get the Kinko lady's attention. She came over. I explained what had happened.

Me: "Dallin, say sorry. Dallin. Say sorry. Dallin...say sorry...."
Dallin: (whispered under breath, not making eye contact while holding my hand) "Sorry."
And then me holding back tears because he was slightly scared, and I believe understanding that he had done something really wrong prompt him again: "Say I won't do it again."
Dallin: (again whispered) "I won't do it again."

The lady was very nice and didn't say anything.

We walked outside and Dallin said to me "Mom, my eyes are stinging, my eyes are stinging." He was crying. We had a nice hug, I told him how proud I was of him, etc. It was a sweet moment. Though he was being reprimanded, my own tears were just below the surface as I watched my sweet three-year-old understand and feel sorry for his actions; I felt his sadness.

Ah, the moments with a three year old! I love this boy.

Little Thad

2010-01-06T23:24:00.000-08:00

I can't resist posting this pic of Thad taken by Kate on Christmas. I just want to squeeze and kiss this boy! He is a dream.

Yesterday's Dr. appointment at 4.5 months had him at 17 pounds 5 ounces. No wonder my back hurts :)

Hangin' Around with D

2009-12-16T22:42:00.000-08:00

I've captured a few shots lately of what goes on in our place.
Dallin is a crack up. He is always dressed appropriately for the activity he's engaged in.

For example, when he watches Batman on tv, this is what he looks like:

When we play pirates, he looks like this:

Just the other day he was nearly in tears because by putting a jacket on to play baseball outside, it was going to cover up his baseball shirt. So, he found a sweater vest, and prompty layered it underneath the baseball shirt. Warmer? Maybe. Happy? Definitely.

Unfortunately, this sort of dressing-appropriate-for-the-activity has some limits. He will not wear a coat when it's cold outside. He insists on wearing his cool light-up Spiderman shoes everywhere.

Here's a couple shots from tonight. More about Thad later!

Look Who Visited our House (it wasn't Santa)

2009-12-16T22:28:00.000-08:00

We're fine. The only thing that burned was the microwave. Everything else in the kitchen is perfect. Now, if you're female and you want more information, keep reading. (Evan always tells me I need to get to the punch-line quicker to know that everything is okay--I guess I like to keep my audience in suspense!)

Last Thursday night I put a bag of popcorn in the microwave, hit 2:45 and ran downstairs to get some soup from my garage. I came back in the kitchen only to have the phone ring. It was Evan checking in before packing up his bags at work. I hear a couple of "buzzz...buzzzzs" coming from the microwave so I turn around and the popcorn is on fire! Completely engulfed. I screamed to Evan that the microwave was on fire. He said something like "okay" but did it in a tone like he didn't believe me. I dropped the phone and started looking (unsuccessfully) for the fire extinguisher. No luck. So, the microwave was still on so I *brilliantly* decide to open the microwave. Wrong move.

Flames shot from the microwave up towards my cabinets. I got my sense back and pushed the door closed and then ran to call 911. Because I'd dropped the phone it was still off the hook, so I bravely ran back into the kitchen. Microwave still on fire.

I called 911 and they told me to get out of the house. I ran down the hall, grabbed my boys, and headed outside. Those were a scary few minutes, because I had no clue if the kitchen was still burning! Fire truck showed up and we think the fire was already out. Evan did come home (surprise--I really wasn't sure if he thought I was joking. Turns out he was just trying to stay calm for me.) Really nice firemen though. They removed the microwave, checked the walls and attic and everything is okay. Phew. Our first fire! Let's hope there's not another.

I wanted to take pictures of them, but was a little shy to ask. Fortunately Evan didn't have any problem asking. So, we had a little photo shoot. What great guys--they were so nice to Dallin.

Thanks Fire Department! (We'll return your screwdrivers soon)

Thad's Baby Blessing

2009-12-13T22:47:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend was just a great weekend. Not only did we have a delicious feast with the Gilstrap crew in beautiful Arroyo Grande, we blessed our darling Thad.

We decided to bless Thad at Sam and Kelli's house. After morning church, we returned to the house where Evan gave Thad a blessing. We started with the song "Families Can Be Together Forever" followed by an opening prayer by Grandpa Gilstrap. After a brief family testimony meeting, Evan blessed Thad. The circle included Grandpa Gilstrap, Grandpa Marquardson, Uncle Sam, Uncle Jim Watkins, and of course Evan.

We concluded with another song and my dad closed with a prayer. It was really special.

Brunch followed.

Thanks to all the family for putting together such a wonderful event, especially Sam and Kelli for hosting. Thad is such a sweet baby; he is so happy, content, patient, and eats and sleeps well. He is just a dream. At this time of year I am so incredibly grateful for this new life. Thad is just a joy.

I am so incredibly thankful to be a mother.

Baby Puj Tub

2009-12-13T16:43:00.000-08:00

So, after storing Dallin's big, bulky blue bathtub for about two years, we ended up donating it deciding it wasn't worth the space in our garage anymore. Since Thad came along, I'd been doing the awkward, hold his head up and wash real quick with the other arm in the sink thing. Then I tried the puj tub recently.

It's basically a flat piece of nice, plastic styrofoam (I'm sure it's much fancier than that, but that's how I'd describe it). It has magnetic closures which keep it in the shape to cradle a baby. You'll just have to check out pictures. My first attempt at using the tub was okay. The magnetic closures kept coming undone (maybe my sink is bigger than normal) and the instructions didn't really cover this. It was tricky to figure out if I fill my sink with water and the puj tub? I ended up doing this, but when it came time to get the soap off, I had to drain all the water and run new (which = not so happy baby.)

Attempt number two was much better. I realized my leaving one of the magnetic closures undone made it fit in my sink much better. Because this fits in your sink, I wasn't sure how to put more water in without getting it on Thad (I have two levers to turn on the water). So this time I just kept it running slightly. Still too tricky to wash his hair, so I did that after his bath.

All in all it was so much easier to bathe him having both hands available. I love that it's flat to both dry and store. It's soft too and Thad was comfortable in it. I wish it came with a suction hook to dry out in my bathtub. More instructions could have helped, but I think we figured it out okay.

Check out the Puj Tub for yourself at the new web site exclusively for baby bath tubs!

Seattle November 2009

2009-12-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

While Evan worked in Singapore, the boys and I headed to Seattle! We had a wonderful trip with Grandma and Grandpa Marquardson for about two weeks. Seattle has a great children's theater and grandma and grandpa were kind enough to take us to the play If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. It was wonderful!

Seattle is home of lots of great stores, one of them being Packaging Specialties. I'd love to start a store in the bay area--it would be such a hit. My mom watched the kiddos while I took a class on 'Incredible Edibles.' Basically they show you how to use all their packaging (box, within a box, within a tin!) to make goodies look amazing. I'm still learning, but love the inspiration.

Other highlights of the trip included Pike Place Market, the Seattle Aquarium, lots of sewing and crafting with my mom, painting my parents bedroom, and being spoiled to workout while mom watched the boys.
Unfortunately, just a few pictures!

Who knew octopus legs doubled as swords??

The flight home.

Thanks mom and dad.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-09T12:44:00.000-08:00

We are loving this time of year! I've done a few festive things that my mom and sis want to see.

First, my advent calendar (this is the best Dallin smile I could get!). This was from Martha Stewart. If any of you want to make this, I'd be happy to share my tips since lots of her steps were either missing or didn't work..

Inside each tin can I included a scripture about Christ, an activity for the day and some chocolate.

My mom and I used these cookie cutters to bake cookies. Here they are all packaged up.

So after a couple of pretty hectic days crafting, here we are hanging out today. I wanted to blow dry my hair, so I placed Thad on the ground outside my bedroom. Dallin decided Thad needed some toys! What a nice big brother. Merry Christmas!!

HP Discount for all!

2009-11-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

We've been out of town, but here is something to get your holiday shopping started off right! HP friends and family discount here:

www.hpdirect.com/deals/friendsandfamily/cathielesjak

My Two Punkins

2009-11-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

I've never enjoyed Halloween as much as I have being a mom. There's nothing cuter than dressing your kiddos up in costumes! This year we had Spiderman (who is actually a frequent in our house) and a dragon.

The parties started Friday night with a FABULOUS church Halloween party. They really knock themselves out every year. Dinner, games, costume parade, jumpy house, trick or treating, and the most amazing decorations you've seen. Dallin loved his face painting: (well, everything but the 'trying to get it off' part later that night!)

Due to Evan being a bit under the weather, I was solo at the party so not too many pictures! On the actual day of Halloween we headed down to Gilroy Gardens. The rides that scared Dallin a year and a half ago are now a blast. Those goldfish on the kiddy ride really get moving quick you know! Here he is on the carousel:

Cousin Wyatt's Blessing

2009-11-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

Wyatt Gilstrap was blessed last weekend in Pasadena and we were so glad we could go! First, a shot of the cousins (not including the newest babies) Jeffrey-David-Ryan-Owen-Dallin. What a great crew of guys!

Thad sleeping, tie and all. I cannot rotate this thing!

In the backyard..Couldn't help ourselves.

The whole crew! (notice Thad sleeping in the front in his carrier!)

After the blessing, Evan dropped me off at Kates for a visit. They just bought a great house and we were there to check it out (well, or avoid the construction workers). The boys didn't mind eating at McDonalds and heading to the Pumpkin Patch. Dallin drove the car and had a great time. My great stroller managed to fit 3 kiddos too!

We couldn't get Billy to smile with his momma..

Thank goodness for Jetblue's inflight entertainment. The $2 headphones were worth their weight in gold for a smooth flight home.

Thanks for the visit Kate, Jim and Billy!

Happy Halloween

2009-10-30T11:04:00.000-07:00

Before this thing falls over, here's our witch hat cake. Many problems getting this together. I'll just say that I'm not meant for the food network's cake competition..Happy Halloween!

What a Professional Can Do

2009-10-18T22:43:00.000-07:00

First, yes, I'm trying out new backgrounds. Please be patient as I try out a few things!

But, getting to what a professional can do, check out these great photos taken by our good friend Sterling Hancock.

Thank you Sterling!

Go SCU!!

2009-10-17T17:27:00.001-07:00

We headed to my alma mater (and Evans current school) to watch our good friend Lindsy play in Santa Clara University's home volleyball match. You can't see it (darn it!) but I made a sign that says "Go Lindsy." Evan, Garrett and Kevin were thrilled to be holding it :)

Here's the famous lady. Man, she hits hard!

Thad's first volleyball game. I pray there are many more volleyball games in our family.

Dallin waiting on the front row to catch a ball. "I'm going to keep it" he kept saying. We didn't have the heart to tell him that this isn't like baseball where the balls cost $1..

And just another one of Thad yesterday chillin' in his swing.

We hit Costco this morning to get flu shots. I anticipated a long line and insisted we get there early. Despite our efforts, we still waited about an hour! While in line, we got a little giddy. Evan is filling out his consent form when he notices he put his work address instead of home address. Telling, I said. Then he notices that in the box labeled mothers maiden name, he writes mine. Telling he says-haha. Next to the mothers maiden name space I notice it's only required if your under 18. Telling!

Candy Corn

2009-10-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

Have you tried this stuff lately?

I have; what a mistake.

I've always hated them.

And now I love them. Go figure.

This was Dallin's-lets-not-make-a-scene-so-I'll-buy-em purchase at Target.

I think Tracy Anderson's killer ab workout more than makes up for them...maybe.

It's Raining!!!

2009-10-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

Big storm today in the bay area and I am LOVING IT. Dallin is at preschool and Thad and I are chillin in our cozy house, listening to good music and loving the rain. Does it get any better than this??

Harvest Time

2009-10-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

I love the fall. One of the things we love is the Harvest Festival. We brough aunt Kelli and cousins David and Jeffrey this year. Thad's first trip too!

After eating lots of honey samples and watching the Blacksmith, we headed out to 'harvest.' Dallin and Evan picking popcorn here:
Cousin David! He is quite the farm hand.

Me in the corn field. Not a flattering picture, but it was the only one to show I was there. Don't you love my orange Hunter boots? :)

Baby Thad's first Harvest Festival. He's 7 weeks today here:

Shucking the corn. Those husks are dangerous! Jeffrey and I both got band-aids from the first aid station.Happy Fall!

Conference, preschool and baby Thad

2009-10-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

First, a few pics of the fam soaking up general conference this past weekend...

Other big news is Dallin started preschool! He goes two days a week. I dropped him off the first day and when I returned, this is how the conversation with Evan went:

Evan "Did Dallin cry?"

Me "Nope."

Evan "Did you?"

Did he even need to ask? Of course I cried!

What a cutie..

Evan gave Dallin his first buzz cut. It was a little painful to watch; Dallin did not like it. This picture makes me sad.

It was all made better when it was over. Evan invented the "ice cream shower" where you eat an ice cream bar in the shower while getting clean. Dallin loved it.

Here's more past pictures to catch up. First, a visit from Uncle Sam and the cousins.

Here's more pictures from the past few weeks. Thad is great! He is gaining weight rapidly and changing so much. I already feel it's moving too quickly. At his one month appointment he weighed 11 pounds 2 ounces. Wow!

Workout

2009-09-27T22:18:00.000-07:00

This just arrived in the mail (I bought it):I think it comes with a guarantee my body will look like this in three weeks! I'm still officially in my "six week recovery" period, but boy am I ready to get working out. Locals, you're welcome to join me at my place!

Thad Has Arrived!

2009-09-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

Thad Aiden Gilstrap is here!!

He was born Saturday, August 22nd at 7:19am weighing 7 pounds 9 ounces and measuring 21 inches.

doesn't my mom look so pretty here?

Looking back I was in labor all day Friday with contractions about 15 minutes apart. With family in town, my mom and I dropped off Kate and Jim in San Francisco in the morning, then ran a few errands on the way home. Since it was our five year wedding anniversary, Evan and I went out to lunch since I wasn't sure I would make it to dinner!

Being Kate's birthday as well, something got in me to decorate my whole place. Thanks to Martha Stewart for the inspiration. Evan thought I was crazy, but what's a women in labor to do with herself?? (my mom would say nap)

At 2am we headed to the hospital to learn I was dilated to a 3, almost a 4. Everyone kept saying "well, you're right on the line, you're right on the line..." Bottom line, they sent me home. I wasn't surprised or really even disappointed since this happens so often. Looking back, it was a mistake.
We got home, I labored all night. At 6am I woke Evan and we were admitted to the hospital by 6:40am. They did a quick check and I was at a 7. They quickly got things in motion--lots of people were flying around the room. After getting changed, the IV and a quick epidural, I literally laid back down from the drug and they said I was at a 10 and the baby was at a +2. All of this was within about 20 minutes of walking in the door! So, three quick pushes and Thad was born!

We had a bit of a scare which required us to be in the hospital a bit longer. Thad stopped breathing four times so they monitored him longer. It was very emotional, quite draining, etc. but it made coming home with him that much more anticipated. Without the beeping of machines and constant noise and lights, home was a heaven sent! He is doing perfectly well now. The Dr.'s dismissed it finally as a newborn immaturity meaning he would stop breathing when having spit up or reflux. Apparently they grow out of this in days.

I've decided that I have very cooperative kids...at least initially...when it comes to the date they are born. I did not want this baby born on our wedding anniversary and I wanted an even number (weird, I know). Thad obliged. With Dallin, I needed to be done with finals and I wanted an even number and the first day of spring, and, well, he obliged as well.

Thad has been a dream baby so far! He is eating well and gaining weight rapidly. This is sooooo much easier than it was with Dallin! I am just in love with this little guy. Pictures/stories to come. Thad is waking!! (and Dallin just peed on the floor...)

39 Weeks and Thankful

2009-08-15T23:17:00.000-07:00

I'm grateful for a healthy body that is able to carry a new life. And I'm so so grateful that everything with the baby appears to be healthy. Just read a friends blog which is a good reminder of what I have to be grateful for..

My Dr. says rarely do women go past their due dates for their second children, but if I did I could be induced any day after. So that means for sure by Monday August 24th this little guy is going to be here! I'm dialated to a two and having contractions (not the real ones though).

Evan is putting up with me. He decided that today was a good day to fix the dead HDMI cable in the wall that we've been living with for six months. With rotozip? in hand, I insisted on following him with the vacuum. And then when he wanted to sit down for five minutes, I nearly broke down in tears reminding him that we have a new baby coming who cannot be subjected to sheet rock dust, not to mention my sister and mom coming into town!!! These feelings are very real in the moment! So, we are still in a bit of a construction zone, but I plan to meditate a lot (and hire a cleaner Tuesday!)

We did the biggest Costco trip ever today. Best purchase: $18.99 Ironman costume for Dallin. What a happy boy. I'll have to take a picture. I wasn't going to buy it because all along he's wanted to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween and I thought this three year old would have Ironman regret, but when the tears at Costco escalated to sobs, well, I folded. I'm hoping that I haven't purchased five costumes before Halloween actually comes!

Sign of a True Mom?

2009-08-06T12:12:00.001-07:00

Need I say more? I drive one of these now. Who thought? (For the record, Evan wanted this more than me, but it is nice I have to admit)

Double Stroller Advice Needed

2009-08-04T22:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, with nesting in full force I have been a busy girl! Promise a better update later..

Moms--need your help regarding my stroller purchase..(or if I need a new stroller??) Dallin is just about 3.5. I use my stroller for walks and trips to the mall--he really doesn't use it that often. So, do I even need a double stroller? I ordered a Phil & Ted and now I'm having doubts.

Help!

Catch up

2009-06-14T14:31:00.001-07:00

The last few weeks has been a whirlwind of fun times with family and friends!!

First a fun camping trip with Kate, Jim, and Billy and lots of friends. We headed south about 2 hours to Pinnacles National Monument. It was a bit chilly at night, but Dallin had a great time with all the other kids. He loved sleeping in a tent.

One morning Dallin woke up, looked at me and asked, "mom, is it good morning time?"

"No honey, you can go back to sleep."

"Okay, thank you." And with that sweet Dallin closed his eyes and was off to dreamland in seconds.

This picture of Dallin makes me smile. He loved all the other kids camping. He was in heaven!
Kate, Jim and Billy!
Because Kate & I never take any pictures, we got this one right away.

I almost forgot another most memorable event--meeting curious george!!! This was like a rock concert for little kids. The line was about an hour long, but oh was it worth it. Dallin was SO excited. While standing in line, he'd spontaneously yell out "Curious George" with his arms high above his head. The anticipation:

While in line we practiced what we were going to say to curious geoge. When it was finally our turn, Dallin froze. He wanted to give him a high five and also give him a cookie. After snapping this photo, Dallin started crying because he didn't give him five. We managed to sneak back in there, but had to explain that Curious George couldn't eat cookies.

Then, it was GIRLS WEEKEND! That's right. The annual event had arrived. Amy, Caren, Jenny, Kris and I all convened in the bay area for a fly-girls reunion. What a blast. I didn't have my camera, but Amy did. Check out pictures here: http://www.thewiederholdfamily.blogspot.com/

I always come away from these action-packed weekends rejuvinated, refreshed (well, a bit sleepy too) and so grateful to have good friends. We started this tradition in 1998 with a trip to San Francisco while juniors at BYU.

Too much for one post, more to come including Seattle!

Yet another home project

2009-05-14T19:40:00.001-07:00

I'm realizing there's becoming a theme to my posts. Home improvement has come up several times and...drum roll please...here is the latest:

First, a before shot:

Now, the final project!

Here's Evan trying to figure out if he put the toilet back on correctly. So far so good!! I've really come to love decorating. Poor Evan is going to be busy with my visions the rest of his life :)

It hasn't been all work and no play lately. With Evan taking some time off, we headed to the Monterey Aquarium. They have a great new exhibit about seahorses. Dallin loved the huge tank with sharks! But he's just like his mom who still gets a little scared when those things get close to the glass wall. (what if there was an earthquake, right NOW?)

Ultra Marathon Man

2009-05-10T23:07:00.000-07:00

He did it...50K (that's 31 miles folks)...8,000 feet elevation gain...Up and down, up and down hill after hill...80+ degrees. I am impressed. If you told me the man I got engaged to five years ago would be an ultra-marathoner, well, I don't think he'd believe it either!

I'm so proud of Evan. What an accomplishment!!

Happy Birthday John!!

2009-05-06T21:54:00.000-07:00

John and Toria,

Remember these good times?? Happy Birthday John! (These were taken in 2003!) Come back to the bay area!!

A quiet saturday night

2009-04-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

Evan was up at the crack of dawn to run 15 miles. He's preparing for a 50K in a couple more weeks. He's exhausted so it's a quiet Saturday night for me, alone.

We've been encouraging potty training with Dallin but haven't put a hard stake in the ground, yet. Tonight I was so proud when he called out from his crib "Mom, I want to use the potty!!!" See every night Dallin usually gives me another reason to change his diaper but tonight, well, he is a big boy! 'nuff about the potty.

My pregnancy is ever-evolving. The pill Zofran (anti-nausea) continues -unfortunately- to be my friend. Heartburn is ever-so-slightly beginning. Tonight I bought a maternity swimsuit at Target...I will apologize in advance to the city, but a girl has gotta go swimming in the summer! I tried not to think of recent comments I've received as I tried on the suit... "you are huge and you've got a long way to go!!" and "how big was your first?"...Can the rest of the world pinky swear to be kinder to pregnant women :)

And just because every post should have a picture, here's one: D&D (Daddy and Dallin) washing windows. Thanks boys.

Creating

2009-04-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

At the Womens broadcast for our church six months ago, Elder Uchtdorf gave a wonderful talk in which a portion of it was devoted to creation. I loved the talk. I was again reminded of it with this lovely youtube video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhLlnq5yY7k

I've been working on a few creations:

First, of course, my baby. The latest ultrasound here. We are having a boy!!
Second, my beloved veggies (pray they live with the transfer outside)Finally, cool ninja costumes with leftover fabric...More creations to come..

Happy Birthday Dallin!!!

2009-03-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Dallin,

You are three years old pal. Happy Birthday! It's just not possible to express how much I love you.

You are so sweet and care about others. You're known in nursery and at Ritas house as being the one who always makes sure the little babies are happy and have something to play with. I've seen you give hugs and kisses to the little babies and I know you're going to be a wonderful big brother. You notice when others are sad, left out, or need a toy.

You LOVE chocolate. You would eat it for every meal if I let you. You help make the pancakes in the morning by adding the chocolate chips and eating about 20 of them in the process. You often request chocolate milk, cookies, and happily munch on anything that is chocolate flavored. Your always happy to help make cookies.

Your cars from the Disney movie 'Cars' is your great love. You know all the names of the cars. You show me on the computer all the cars that you want. You love to paint and when I ask you which ones you want to paint it's always the same: 'Lightining ta-Queen,' 'chick hicks,' and 'Mr. King.' Sometimes when we can't find the dinoco Lightining ta-Queen you get sad. You sleep with about eight cars lined up on your pillow each night.

You've mastered climbing all playthings at the park. You proudly call out "look mom how high I am!"

Dallin, you're so caring and protective of your mom! You're always telling me "Mommy, you pretty" or that "I like your dress." Sometimes when you see my cry, you come up and give me a hug and look lovingly in my eyes. When you saw daddy give my bum a swat, you thought daddy was hurting me and went right up and punched him.

You are independent. You're happy to do things on your own like play with your trains in your bedroom, or turn on a show. You love watching Curious George.

You are my little best buddy. There's no one I love to be with more, or spend more time with. Though it will be fun to have a sibling, I have loved - cherished - relished - the you and me time. I know we'll always be pals.

Happy Birthday Dal-Dal!!

love,

mom

Spring Cleaning

2009-03-28T13:40:00.001-07:00

This post is really for my mom, but you're welcome to get a sneak peak into my kitchen cabinets as well.

The Container Store (one of the best, in case you've never explored it) is having a tax time sale PLUS 25% off everything!!! Go to their site http://www.containerstore.com/ to print your coupon. I picked up a few more items for the kitchen and Dallins room. I sure love to feel organized. So this morning after picking up my free compost from the City, I pulled out my cupboards, wiped everything down, put down new liner and got organized.

I'm putting the prettiest picture in first:

This is the dreaded corner cabinet. I tried to clear this out, though it's still almost impossible to make the deep corner useful space. Notice my new liner paper--I love how much cleaner it makes everything look.
The top shelf is mostly these awesome 'keeper' containers. They are rectangular and have these great flexible lids. As I write, I'm realizing how geeky I sound raving about lids..

This is my newest find in the kitchen section. I don't know about you, but it seems like I have to dig deep to find some things. With this item it's got three separate containers. I put in most of my baking items (salt didn't fit) but it will be slick when I make cookies.

Happy Spring Cleaning everyone! Tell me about your favorite finds at the Container Store.

Mom and Dad

2009-03-18T15:43:00.001-07:00

Mom and dad have arrived and it is WONDERFUL to have them here. Mom and I have already hit one mall, one fabric store and the Milk Pail. My house flows over with fresh fruits and veggies.

Why can't they live closer?

Pregnancy + Painting?

2009-03-16T00:07:00.001-07:00

It must be something about me, pregnancy and painting. I end up doing 90% of my painting when pregnant (please no more comments about huffing fumes--Evan is already on my case!).

Something got in me to change my office...and when that happens, I don't rest till it's done.
I've sewed three new throw pillows, painted, cleaned and purged...in the past 48 hours. I'm still trying to figure out how to cover my mouse pad (I realize this sounds extreme, but hey, why not?). So if you live in the area, come check out my new office. Those of you who don't, well, this picture of one pillow will have to do!

Btw, someone needs to invent paint that will change colors for 6 months, then change back. If they had that I wouldn't have had to change my red wall to khaki! (I like a change for spring and red is not the color I want in the spring) One more thing, I'm totally happy with my paint choice and since good colors are hard to find...It's Benjamin Moore: Manchester Tan. It's light, which is what I was going for. You can see a picture here, but as you know, online never really does it justice:
http://www.myperfectcolor.com/Benjamin-Moore-HC-81-Manchester-Tan-p/mpc_bm_hc-81.htm
What should I re-decorate next?? I'm thinking my hallway...

More Disneyland

2009-03-03T10:28:00.000-08:00

D is on my lap right now so this is gonna be quick! I just downloaded our So. Cal trip pictures.

First, our favorite ride-Buzx Lightyear. I just want to know who is more excited Dallin or Evan?

Here's Jim, Billy and Kate just behind us on the ride. See Marissa, Cambry and Jim just behind them.

Grandma and Grandpa with all the grandkids: Dallin, Cambry and Billy. They held this pose for about .5 seconds and I was lucky to get it.

While I'm posting, can you believe what happened on the bachelor last night?? (please don't judge me for watching that show! :) )

Happy Birthday to me

2009-02-27T11:43:00.000-08:00

Disneyland has great marketing! We saw all these ads about going free on your birthday so that's what I wanted to do. It was so much fun. Turns out my entire family was able to make it. Jim, Marissa and baby Cambry flew in from Houston and my parents flew in from Seattle.

Disneyland really is one of the happiest places on earth. Dallin's favorite was the new Buzz Lightyear ride. We fast passed that one two times, but Dallin would have been happy just to ride that ride all day long. We managed to get in a few other rides: Pirates, Peter Pan, the Train, It's a Small World, etc., etc.

We waited about 30 minutes to meet this guy. Worth it? Dallin got a little shy when our time to approach came.

We ended the day at a nearby Cheesecake Factory. If it wasn't for the puking on the way home (by me :) ) I'd say it was a perfect day!!

Food Storage

2009-02-25T09:59:00.000-08:00

Lots to talk about (birthday, disneyland) but food storage is whats on my mind right now. After spending seven days with my sis Kate and eating her yummy homemade wheat bread, I've been thinking about my food storage. See, Kate uses her food storage wheat, grinds it up, and bakes this yummy bread like three times a week.

What I'd like to have in my food storage is Minute Maid Lemonade. It must be the frozen concentrate kind (the other is nowhere as good). I'd love to have a continual supply that I could whip out every time I make popcorn or just crave it.

Other items I'd like to have in food storage include fuji apples, danon yogurt, popcorn, and Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese. Now if someone invents those things for food storage, I will be the first in line to buy! Until then, I'll try to get excited about storing all this wheat.

Number two!!

2009-01-28T10:47:00.000-08:00

We are excited to announce we are expecting our second baby! I'm 10.5 (that .5 is very important!) weeks along which means come August 23rd we'll have another little rascal in our home.

I've been creating a list of how you know you're pregnant. So far I've got:
1. The movie "Bride Wars" makes you cry
2. Suddenly the laundry detergent you've been using your whole life makes you want to puke
3. The fridge, kitchen, and bathroom smell disguisting
4. All my pretty-smelling Bath & Body Works soaps have given way to non-smelling generics
5. It's 10:49am and I'm still in my bathrobe (too much information!?)

We don't know yet if it's a boy or girl but will find out in about two months so stay posted.

In the meantime I'll try to figure out how to get one of those cool baby count down calendars on this blog like so many of you have.

Simple Sundays

2009-01-25T15:56:00.000-08:00

I was excited to purchase a pre-made Chinese chicken salad at Costco last night. We got home from church today looking forward to an easy but yummy meal.

Our chinese chicken salad dreams were dashed when I read the fine print -just add lettuce. How could I miss that there was no lettuce included?!

Here's to pb&j sandwiches.

Spring has sprung?

2009-01-17T10:53:00.001-08:00

The weather has been amazing this week. Just about 70 degrees every day. This isn't normal and I think it's tricked my paperwhites into thinking it's spring:

I just love these flowers. Every time I look on my deck they make me happy. Someday I will have a garden overflowing with tulips, hyacinths, and lemon and orange trees, just to name a few.

My plan to get the land to have this garden is to win this home in Sonoma. I've already entered today and plan on doing so every day until February 19th. You can try to win too, but if you win and I don't, well, you have to promise me a two week stay every year, AT LEAST!

http://www.hgtv.com/dream-home/index.html

I can already picture myself living in Sonoma...

Dallin's Shiner

2009-01-10T20:35:00.000-08:00

This one was taken day one when it was still fresh:

We had a trip to urgent care last night. It was a hard fall. Dallin tripped and hit his nose on a metal stair at the park. Many tears were shed but I think I'm going to be okay. Alright, Dallin was the one who got hurt, but guess who cried more?? We'll know this Tuesday if it's broken, but here's the black eyes to prove his manhood. This picture doesn't do the swelling justice. It's quite noticeable. I feel I owe an explanation as soon as people look at him.

Holidays

2008-12-14T20:27:00.000-08:00

Rather than wait all the way to Christmas to put all the year-end holidays into one post, I thought I'd stick in Halloween and Thanksgiving.

First, thanks to Grandma Marquardson for sewing this adorable clown costume. True to the male gender, it was not enough for Dallin to just be a clown. Check out what's in his left hand. Boys!!

We ended up sticking around home for Thanksgiving. Our friends the Stovalls threw a great Turkey Trot the morning of Thanksgiving. Nothing like running 3 miles before the feast! Our kind friends the Bennetts invited us over for turkey. Thank you Camille!

Hey, we're just going running and it's early...I borrowed Dallin's turkey hat. Isn't it sooo cute? $1 at Target! They sold out before Halloween. Consider yourself warned: you've got to jump on the dollar bin bargains when you see them!

Dallin with his best buddy.Dallin just looks too cute here.

While moms away

2008-11-16T16:06:00.000-08:00

I headed to Newark, New Jersey and Manhattan, NY last week for a brief business trip. I got to meet up with my in-laws who are serving a mission in Manhattan. They're doing great. The trip was a whirlwind but I did manage to finish the third book in the Twilight series on the way home! I was attending a conference on continuous auditing. We can talk about continuous auditing sometime if you're really interested:) Check out the beautiful fall leaves new the Gilstraps home.

We headed to dessert at a hip place in Greenwich Village-yummy!

I arrived home to a pretty grumpy toddler. He's been fairly difficult this week. It didn't dawn on me until my friend Lina said this is typical for kids when their moms leave. ah-hah! I'd forgotten. Last time I left for a few days Dallin sure made me pay for it! Has anyone else experienced that?? Maybe it's a function of him being the numbers of fingers he's holding up?

Wednesday afternoon I decided to do something fun. Dallin is always wanting to take a train ride so we went to the nearest light rail station and headed to downtown San Jose. We packed a picnic and took the train to park downtown. After eating outside we headed into the Childrens Museum. This place has got to be one of the coolest places for kids: art projects, water station, face painting, fire trucks, pizza creations, etc. We had a great time and here's the pictures to prove it. I may have almost made up for being gone for 3.5 days!!

I followed instructions and let Dallin paint his own face:

My little pizza maker:

Prop 8 Results

2008-11-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

It's late on the night of November 4th and the prop 8 results are still coming in. As of midnight, it's 53% yes, 47% no. Let's hope this continues through the night.

I held up signs for a couple of hours today. Tonight I held a sign outside of my polling place. There were four no on prop 8 people handing out fliers just outside the door of the polling place. I had several people stop to thank me for what I was doing and commented on how courageous I was. It felt great...maybe this is the beginning of my political career? I doubt it, but I do believe strongly on this topic so involvement is easy.

Halloween pics to come...

Vote YES on Prop 8

2008-11-02T16:35:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Dallin and I stood in the rain to hold a "Yes on Prop 8" sign at a very busy intersection that connects two freeways here. For the most part I didn't get too many middle fingers or thumbs down and got several honks and thumbs up.

What I didn't expect was the reaction I got when I told some people at church what I did. "That was really smart of you to bring Dallin along so you didn't get attacked." or "You shouldn't do that at an intersection because people will get out and hurt you."

Seriously it didn't dawn on me that people would physically hurt me!! Well, lucky me that Evan was taking a nap so I didn't have a choice to bring my little guardian with me.

Vote yes on 8!!

i love fall

2008-10-18T07:37:00.001-07:00

No fall in the bay area is complete without a trip to Half Moon Bay. Tuesday we met up with some of our Palo Alto friends at Lemos farm...Doesn't everyone agree that pumpkin farms make for the best pictures?? Cute Dallin and I rode the train and I tried to take as many pictures as I could.

Vote Yes on Prop 8

2008-10-13T10:59:00.001-07:00

http://www.preservingmarriage.org/

http://www.protectmarriage.com/

Harvest Festival!

2008-10-12T16:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday marked our second-annual trip to the Harvest Festival in Fremont. It's this great farm that's still operating. We picked popcorn and indian corn, rode the train, and sampled homemade ice cream, popcorn, and cookies made in a fire-burning stove. The magic show was also really great. We learned Evan was made to work on a farm; he picked about 60 ears of corn in about 10 minutes.
To prove I was there, I had to do a self-portrait...

Dallin was a good helper shucking the corn. The rule is you can keep half of what you harvest so we've got a nice supply of popcorn. Don't be surprised if this is your Christmas gift this year!!

Notice D's new do? I cut the top last Sunday night so all day Monday he was running around with a mullet. I was so embarrassed. I met a new mom at the park Monday and instantly I felt I needed to explain that his haircut was a work in progress. Evan on the other hand couldn't wait to take pictures. I was sure to cut the rest of Dallin's hair before a single picture was taken! Dallin will thank me one day for this.

On another note, this morning I was getting ready for an early church ward council meeting. Sweet Dallin was up at 6:30 and helped me get ready (he stands on the toilet and brushes his teeth for about 15 minutes, putting the toothpaste tube in the water, squirting toothpaste everywhere. No matter how much I talk about wasting water that water does not go off full blast). When I went to leave at 7:15, Dallin turned hysterical "Mommy, I want go church! I want go!" Isn't that what every mom wants to hear?! What a sweet boy. I hope he says that when he's 15.

Dallin LOVES church. In fact, we cannot keep him with us. He spends the majority of his time bouncing between Logan & Toby, Maya & Ella, and Brent & Emily (all of his friends). When the first hour is up, he is off RUNNING up the stairs to nursery.

Smooooth Jazz

2008-09-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

I'm still new to blogging, so I'm going to try to be less of a travel log this past week...Here goes..

Chris Botti, jazz trumpet player, performed Friday night at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga. Amazing doesn't begin to describe it. We grabbed our friends Joe & Alecia and headed to the hills to enjoy some relaxing jazz. Something about it being the end of a very crazy week, jazz music, warm fall night and being under the stars made it just perfect. Chris was a great entertainer and we all felt like we learned a bit through his dialogue between numbers. With Uncle James still in town we didn't have the pressure to return home immediately (free babysitting!) after the concert so we went crazy at the Cheesecake Factory. It was so nice to have a date with Evan.

I always love the Relief Society broadcast and this past Saturday night was no exception. I felt inspired to create and Elder Uchtdorf's (sp?) message on creation and compassion helps explain why I love decorating my house. I'll just remind Evan I'm creating beautiful places where angels can visit when the pottery barn package arrives sometime this week.

Today it was my turn to teach the Young Women...You gotta love lessons on dating! I felt them all squirm when I defined necking and petting. What's a leader to do!? :)

We had a couple of changes in the nursery staffing at church today. It turns out that even though they're little kids and they don't speak that well, it's very difficult for a Chinese-speaking couple to run nursery. And we were hoping Dallin might learn Mandarin and rule the business world.

Evan returned back to school Monday and we're all feeling the stress level notch up a bit. It's a demanding schedule to say the least. In another two and a quarter years we are going to have one seriously big celebration. I've already begun the planning so save the date. June 2010!

Home Improvement

2008-09-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

Dallin's room--me in the window

With Evan's return to school this coming Monday, there's been a made dash around our place to finish up some projects. With Tom and James' help, we cased four windows and a bunch of other little things. I'm still deciding on window treatments...Let me know if you have any suggestions. I found some super cool light filtering that also have a blackout option (designed for husbands who do not want ANY light at night) but Smith and Noble was selling the one to fit our bedroom for $500: no thank you. So if we look a little tired it's because we'll be waking up with the sun for a while.

I don't know why our khaki walls show up as a little more puke-ish!

Thanks Uncle Tom

Oakland A's Fireworks (and baseball)

2008-09-20T23:03:00.001-07:00

It was LDS day at the Oakland A's Friday night. Evan's brother James came into town so we all headed to Oak-town for the game. Who knew it rained in the bay area in September? Not us, but fortunately it stopped by the time we made it to our seats. A's beat the Mariners 2-0 (sadly--I am from Seattle). But I tell you, the real show was AFTER the game. It was fan appreciation night and the fireworks were awesome! We all agreed this was better than any fourth of July fireworks we could remember.

Maui

2008-09-15T22:53:00.000-07:00

Just back from Maui...Can I just say that rarely do I feel like I could extend vacations, but this one...four more days would've been perfect. I've resolved to incorporate more vacations into everyday life. Instead of doing the dinner dishes tonight (thanks Ev) D and I went swimming, just like our Maui days. We'll see how long my Maui fever continues before the get-it-doneness in me wins out :)

D's cute footprints like my turtle? at our fav beach--Big Beach (or Makena?!--long story involving lots of u-turns)

Daddy and Dallin being silly at the Garden of Eden along the road to Hana. Poor Dallin was the only one to throw up on the crazy, windy road.
Thumbs up for chocolate (cocoa tree!) I doubt there's a two-year-old out there who likes chocolate more than this kid.