...

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

A coffee table video about babies

2011-12-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

The Little Pumptwins

2011-11-02T13:13:00.000-06:00

Thanks Misty for the costumes! The girls were really not in the mood for pictures so I got very few smiles. I included the blurry one just because I loved Charlotte's cheesy face. This was the extent of our Halloween festivities. We really are not Halloween people. Maybe next year we will actually go trick or treating :)

She Prays!

2011-10-26T20:21:00.000-06:00

Charlotte started saying prayers today. It is so unbelievably cute!

The Square Root of Fear is Uncertainty (AKA We Went to the Zoo)

2011-10-13T21:21:00.000-06:00

Charlotte (successful and victorious) dominating Julie (smaller, uncoordinated and prone to being dominated)

Me and my girls lounging near some freaky nudist primate

Weird that they're trying to fly since, you know, we're in GORILLA COUNTRY

Julie is disturbed by their offensive odor (and the high price of gasoline)

Liz and Julie (and sucky unvited beardo-weirdo) in the Bird House

Qayti bin Laden and Charlotte (future underwear bomber)

Emily (but not Julie) enjoying her life with the use of drugs

Julie and Bryan enjoying their life together without the use of drugs

Notice the Ute child is happy, fulfilled and exploring the world whilst the Cougar child is being told what to look at

If you don't bring Bonoglasses, you have to squint--it's one of the Laws of Thermodynamics

Char was chasing the meerkat back and forth along the glass! So funny... When we told her they make tacos out of them in Nicaragua, she was less enthused.


Little people were curious if they actually recite the Gettysburg Address on the hour like the sign said (they did but their diction was subpar and their enunciation isn't even worth discussing)

18 Months

2011-09-26T21:37:00.000-06:00

Charlotte: 21 lbs 14 oz(17th) and 31.5 inches(50th)
Julie: 20 lbs 6 oz (5th) and 31 1/8 inches(30th)

Love these girls!

A few month's worth of pictures :)

2011-08-22T12:08:00.000-06:00

An update is in order after many post-less-due-to-internet-less months. The Girls are almost 17 months and they are doing wonderfully. They just get cuter and cuter as the months go by. They jibber jabber all day long and are getting a few almost-clear words in their vocabulary. They sleep about 11-12 hrs at night and are taking one 60-90 min nap each day. They are pretty good eaters, but I can't get them to eat meat and many of the vegetables as of late. They love beans, eggs, avocados, all fruits, and of course their cereal snacks. Julie is gluten sensitive so I am working on removing it from our diet, which I am excited about. This summer we went to Brianhead and Bearworld and had lots of fun with family. The girls have loved being outside this summer....

Birthday Cakes at Grandma Liz's House

They love to climb stairs

Look at that baby strut

Eating/Face Painting

Atleast they make a good toy

Babies in a boxboat

Julie loves to push the stroller

Gotta love the faces she pulls

Look what I got, Mom

Face Plant= a bloody nose

Swimming at Brianhead

"The Swaddle Bag" by Jansport

Duck watching at Wheeler Farm

No Julies were harmed in this experiment

Loving their spoons

One bed for the triplet cousins at Bear World...HA!

Enjoying some coloring and the occasional waxy treat

She looks like she's about ready to start preschool

Not a sneeze. Just closing her eyes VERY TIGHTLY

What a lovely child

I love how they both do this

Tippy toes

Movie time in their old carseats

She loves being able to climb up on the couch

That sweet potato chunk on the wall was supposed to be in her mouth

Every box is so full of toy potential

12 months

Medical Crisis Averted

2011-08-10T11:40:00.001-06:00

Well, we had a bit of a scare lately. Babies seemed very anemic--something just not right. One simple blood test later and...we learned they had a low HWC. Eh? I.e. their historical walk count was low--as you may recall, it's been a while since a daddyandlittlepeople expedition has been organized. This time our destination was 4630 Naniloa Drive. Eh? Go here: Hofmann--Wikipedia and read section 3. We went to the former home of the Sheets family. I've long been fascinated with the Mark Hofmann fiasco--if you've never read Salamander (Sillitoe/Roberts), do yourself a favor and check it out.

Our first pit-stop: why does this neighborhood hate Jim's team from the beach games so much?

This is a shot looking down the driveway.

Little people soaking in the history.

Praps the most important part of any HW is the hydration--before we leave, we have a serious meeting in which each participant commits themselves to proper hydration techniques. Without that commitment, we don't roll out.

Update: 13 Months!

2011-05-03T21:07:00.000-06:00

It is hard to believe Julie and Charlotte are over a year old. This last year has been so wonderful having them with us. It is fun to see their developing personalities and to see them interact.

Charlotte started walking at 10 ½ months and has moved on to running. She is 20 lbs and 28 ½ in. She jabbers on all day and there are a few words like dad, bye and ball that she says fairly well with purpose. On her birthday she started doing the sign for “more” and can sign “food” as well. I started a bit late with the signs. She is a busy baby and loves to be able to get into things. She is very sweet and gives us plentiful hugs and kisses. She has 4 top teeth and 2 bottom teeth. She has improved in the arena of solid food and will eat just about anything I give her and more of it. She is still nursing and probably will for a few more months. She is a decent sleeper at night at around 11 hrs, but her naps sometimes are a little short. She still loves books. She loves to be outside and to go for walks. Lately she has loved to fall on me and roll around. She laughs and giggles a lot and has the cutest smile. Unfortunately, her diapers smell terrible. We love our Char Char!

Julie has been walking since she was about 11 ½ mo. She is also running but she crashes quite a bit. She has the cutest little wobbly walk. She is a tiny girl at 18 lbs and just over 27 in. For how much she eats you would think she could put on a little weight. She is very active and loves exploring the house and getting into things. She learned the signs for “more” and “food” and does them all the time. At the mention of food she starts signing and goes into the kitchen. She has some sounds that she says all day like ga ga, ma ma, and ba ba. We are working on expanding her vocabulary. She loves to “fall” onto us and give hugs and kisses. We have to pay attention so we can be ready for the impact. She is still nursing. She has 4 top teeth and 4 bottom teeth. She is a great sleeper at about 11 hrs at night and she takes 2 naps that are at least an hour each. She loves to read books, go for walks, play the piano, steal toys from Charlotte, push her car and lawnmower toys and play with her binkies. She loves to be tickled and will laugh and laugh. I finally cut off her little mullet that she has had since infancy. I saved it in an envelope! She is such a fun little girl. We love our Julie Bug!

To All the Doubters

2011-05-02T13:42:00.001-06:00

All you who thought that the Great Buchanan Expedition to the Sugarhouse obelisk would fail? You were grossly misinformed. GROSSLY. I am pleased to report that all three expeditioneers arrived safely and in good spirits. Because this was a dad-based expedition, we did not stop to look at any fruity "nature" or garbage like that. No dice. We stopped at points of historical interest (and once a bird tried to crap on the expedition--and not in some metaphorical sense of dampening our spirits--this was poop) such as the old Utah Railway and Light station. Eventually we reached our destination:

The story of all the failed attempts to get sugar production up and running are very interesting (and sad)--I first read about them in Great Basin Kingdom long ago.

Lunch was had at the obelisk--since we were feeling victorious, we decided to dine in victorious fashion. (Sidenote--there are 74 times more distractions outside so feeding took forever).

Some parties spent the return trip in a lazy manner...

while others were anxious to reach the site of the Gardner sawmill.

Expedition Summary: long and historically accurate.

Monkeys Through Time

2011-01-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

After being photically constipated for a while, it's time to "let loose" (as per the boss' orders)

practicing for being an angry nun

cue the psychedelic tunes, it's 1967

possibly my favorite Charles shot thus far

nakey foot time

sometimes the zoo lets the animals loose

SNH (severe nakey-based happiness)

ain't no room to cause trouble here

Alex reading a story (perhaps about how the evil Grover was cheating the government out of food stamps)

proudly proclaming their poop status

giving a head hug to the mysterious visitor

little people loved swimming

first visit to DuckWorld

little sink bathers

last installment of Mormstory

many, many pics of bookreading--the simple mention of books can stop angriness

they loved their babies they got for Christmas--mainly for eating purposes

nighttime snuggling is a fine tradition

Charlotte believes only in feeding herself

angry nakey

they've gotten awfully mobile over the last little bit

Africans Up in My Grill

2011-01-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

So, the overage scam continues--I've gotten two more idiots on the line lately--enjoy...

yep, we needed two money orders from this idiot

yessir, that's a check made out to You're a Moron...and he is

The World Has Changed

2011-01-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

The greatest children's book in the history thereof has been penned. Your life will change, your breath will smell better, your tech stocks will do better and so on.

click to be blown away

Some background: my (Bryan's) mom hates the word "fart." HATES IT. So, of course, it's used everywhere possible. Example: her birthday presents were wrapped in specially made wrapping paper covered with "fart" in every font known to man. One day, whilst driving to work, I had Messieur Seuss in my head and had the revelation that the above book should be brought into being. And then, it was brought into being.

Fine, Whatever

2010-11-08T10:34:00.001-07:00

OK, so the check really wasn't from the Microsoft thing--I know, I wanted it to be real, too. The actual story is much less interesting. I posted a book on KSL--the interested party right off the bat appeared to be full of it (it meaning crap). However, I had been burned before when an accused scammer turned out to be an offended old man so... We agreed that I would not send the book until the check had cleared the bank (remember this point). "Anita" took forever to send the check but, finally, I came home to work to find a FedEx overnight:

A couple interesting points: the shipping is billed to a third party and, apparently, I work for Centex... I opened it to find this (likely a familiar image) check:

Shortly thereafter, the boring part: you keep the money for the book and wire me the difference by Western Union--I've tried to string them along so I could send the "money" to a physical address. I had great visions of a truly disgusting package full of all sorts of bodily-based items but...no dice. The real question is why did they even attempt this garbage when I clearly indicated nothing was going down until the check cleared with the bank? I include here a copy of one of the e-mails with my editorial comments for your pleasure:

From: anita adams come on, that's the crappiest e-mail address I've ever seen
To: Bryan Buchanan
Sent: Fri, November 5, 2010 2:06:39 AM
Subject: WESTERN UNION dit da dit da dit, dit da dit da dit... (great song--love me some Five Americans--hit #5 on the charts)
Thanks for the email..I am so glad you got the check after so much anticipation.... wow, the anticipation of the fake check really had me up in the night, man--the night sweats were getting old
Please i need the book and DJ urgently... really, you need the dust jacket that bad?
Yes the large amount was a mistake ,Am sorry about that... no worries, I frequently overwrite checks for $3300! I sent one to Jeff Tidwell in Philly the other day for $7.5 mil and I've never even heard of him!
Please you can kindly deduct the money for the book and send the balance via western union to the courier service that will come over to pick it up from you after the balance has been received by him.. so, I wire the money AND you pick it up? pick your scam, jerkhole!
Please send the balance to the following information below by today so the book can be picked up by Saturday morning... is it cool if I send the balance to the following person rather than this Platonic ideal of "information"? upon advice from my legal counsel, I am not sending money to abstract concepts any more

Name..John Oni
Country...Nigeria WHAT!!??!? Did NOT see that one coming...
State..Abuja
City..Abuja
zip code.234

Kindly wrap the book in a white paper to keep it safe and clean no dice, Mr. Picky--it's brown butcher paper or bust
When you have sent the balance please email me so i can tell the courier service to go pick the money up and come pick the book up.. son, we've covered this before--I can: A. wire the money or B. you can pick it up but you can't: C. pick your friend's nose no matter how tempting and green his/her boogers may be...
Thanks
ANITA we're friendly now, no need for last names--I love that the check was signed by "G Grayling" and I'm sending the money to John Oni--it's like a menage-a-~~trois~~ scam supervised by Satan himself...

Come On, Feel the Noise

2010-11-04T13:33:00.005-06:00

and by "feel the noise" I mean join the cause--we had to move apartments when we had the babos. We had a girl take over the last couple months of the lease and then she skipped town leaving us with a bill for $870--check out this blog I created and join the cause of getting her to pay up:

blog about Ryann Marostica and her crappiness

Suck It, Doubters

2010-11-04T09:56:00.004-06:00

So, I'm sure you've all heard of the Microsoft forwarding "scam." The setup is that for every time you forward a test e-mail, you get five cents or seven cents or whatever and then it compounds down the line. Sounds crazy, right? I agreed. However, notice both my tense (agreed) and scam in quotation marks. Why? One day a few weeks ago, when I got such an e-mail, I thought "why not, what can it hurt," sent it along and promptly forgot about it... Until the other day when this showed up (sorry the photo kind of sucks it was with my phone--I wanted to make sure the "important" part was readable):

I come home from work to find an overnight FedEx waiting for me with a cool $3500 check inside. Since I had never heard of the company name on the check, I naturally did some sleuthing (yeah Moe, I sleuthed my butt off on this one) and it turns out that this company was the firm that handled the tracking and everything for this e-mail project of Microsoft. Yeah, it's legit--talked to the bank and everything is good. What up now, Snopes?

Photos (and Babies) at 7 Months

2010-10-28T14:12:00.017-06:00

ain't never too young to play Farmville

the satisfied look of someone who apparently just wolfed down Slimer

the look of all that food would make anyone hungry

she doesn't really get the concept of jumping but...eh

it's like those little plastic guys peering over the edge of something

she was auditioning for a live action Bugs Bunny motion picture

if the book has food in it, can it be so bad to chew on it?

the spoon she likes--the food in the spoon? no dice

we've had umpteen talks about table etiquette--it's like she just tunes us out

this kid has the jumping down

The Superman Sage (revised, enhanced ed.)

2010-10-12T12:41:00.005-06:00

Holy buckets, Blogger sucks for pictures--well, here are better images (you can click on them to enlarge)--this dude is seriously entertaining. When did you last get a letter with references to Chumbawumba, Donny Osmond, Macbeth and Spandau Ballet? I'm still a little lost on how to respond--he included a SASE so clearly he wants some flavor of answer...

They're Like Humans...Only Smaller

2010-10-12T12:07:00.007-06:00

Julie + bink=not uncute

At a fundamental level, Charlotte knows that a LoveSac is one of those "holy places" we're told to "sit in"

Hugs!! Bunnies!! Love my freaking mommy!! Sunshine!!

Fuzzy things!! Kittens!!

Sometimes the mommy's smell is such that Julie's eyes well up with horrified tears and Charlotte is forced to dry heave until it goes away

Small child in a big pond (or chair)

FINISH HIM!!!

It's an Ethanwich using some girly bread and virtually no condiments (diapers were changed pre-photo)

Arms length, Elder...holy crap

Little people need to be snuggled on a regular basis or they go flat

They were in the middle of a friendly game of gin rummy when the monkey barged in

(no comment)

They no likey the rice cereal....

2010-09-30T13:31:00.005-06:00

....but we'll give them a little time to see if they change their minds :)

6 months = 1/2 a year = holy crap!

2010-09-27T21:41:00.001-06:00

We got some "real" pictures taken, but don't have digital copies. Charlotte surprised us all and was the happy one :)
Oh Mom you are so funny making us all matchy matchy like!
From this angle you can really see those chubber cheeks that we love
If anyone can guess what this backdrop is you are really an amazing guesser. No prize though, sorry.
Good thing I got these pictures done when I did. These pants Julie is wearing are now in the "poop pile."
Woot woot for the giraffe backdrop
One of my faves. She looks so innocent. But looks can be deceiving. And then right after you have been deceived you think, "Hey, you "looked" innocent like two minutes ago and now you are yelling and screaming because you hate getting your picture taken for the 50th time." Sooo innocent, this little one....

In one corner we have a little girl named Charlotte weighing in at 15 lbs 9 oz. She's full of wiggles and is sitting up like a champ. She's quite chatty these days and is babbling the sounds la, ga, da, and ba. Her squishiness is uncontrolled and her disdain for taking naps well known. While she may not laugh just yet, she makes her satisfaction known with a cute, smiley sigh. She is a very curious soul and is thoroughly entertained by loud noises like the vacuum and the garbage man. She especially loves to be outside and see everything.

...and in the other corner weighing in at an astonishing 13 lbs 14 oz is a tiny baby named Julie. She may be small but she can burp like one of the boys. If there ever was a girl who loved her mama, folks, this is that girl. She is a master of rolling and still loves her binky. She is very easy going and loves to be close to her sister so she can poke her in the eye. She is a smiley little thing and will giggle if you tickle her or make silly noises. She and her sister both love it when daddy gets home from work. They just stare at him and smile. Julie loves to play with non-toy items and will lunge toward them if she's close enough.

Life is really good these days. I am soaking up these last few weeks of warm weather and trying to get the girls out for walks as much as possible. I always make sure to look super glamorous by not showering, wearing my hair in a braid, and not wearing makeup. The girls love me either way and I hope Bryan does too! :) Speaking of Bryan. He is still plugging away at the bookstore and when he's not splitting his pants he is loving his time there. He is one funny dude and always has me laughing. Lately his "thing" has been pantsing me. Yeah, just out of the blue. Never out in public thank goodness, but still. I always think to myself, "I wonder how many husbands out there are like Bryan?" Probably none. And I consider myself lucky :)

Labor Day Festivities

2010-09-13T12:45:00.012-06:00

We spent the weekend up at Bryan's mom's house. We had a delicious BBQ and played some sand volleyball. I took some pics out on the back lawn....
Charlotte with Aunt Emily

With Grandma Liz

Charlotte sleeps like this a lot now. Bum in the air. So cute.

She is getting much better at this sitting up business.

Bored? Why not do a blog post at 9:30 pm?

2010-09-02T21:30:00.008-06:00

These girls loooove their toys. By the end of the day they are soaked with slobber. Love their tongues!
Out on our walk today. We went to the library!
This may just look like Charlotte is opening her mouth, but no, this is how she smiles. Today she was extremely happy and screeching like a pterodactyl. At one point she made Julie cry. I'll admit, the noise she exudes is not pleasing to the ears.
One fish two fish red fish blue fish

At the vball match at the U. Bryan won a shirt!

Good action shot of Sarah. Kapow!

Sometimes I have to put the babies in separate rooms so they don't wake each other up. So yesterday Charlotte was banished to our room in the bassinet that is waaaay too small for her. It cracks me up when she looks up over the top like a little dinosaur. She'll look around for a minute and then get tired and lay back down.

Charlotte

2010-08-31T15:19:00.004-06:00

155 days since....

2010-08-27T16:21:00.003-06:00

these two cuties made their triumphant entry into the world! And what a happy five months it has been! :)

Finally....

2010-08-23T16:40:00.002-06:00

A decent smile from Charlotte!

Aug Aug Aug

2010-08-16T11:49:00.005-06:00

All is well in the Buchanan household. We weighed the girls last week and Charlotte was 14 lb 10oz and Julie 12 lb 13 oz. They are healthy, happy, and growing. Julie is rolling a lot more lately. She is reaching for toys and anything she wants to touch and is getting quite good at handling things. She loves to stuff her fist in her mouth and just about gags when she does. She has the biggest smile and she shakes with excitement when you talk to her. She laughs a little and yells and squeaks when she's really happy. She's a petite little thing and we love her cute little self. Charlotte is very active and loves to stand up. She could do that all day. She loves to bring her feet to her mouth and suck on her toes. She screeches like a pterodactyl when she is happy and it can get so loud. She loves to put her fingers in our mouths and play with just about anything. She is constantly rolling over and kicking her chubby arms and legs. She hasn't learned how to roll back to her back yet so she gets a bit frustrated. She is finally smiling a little more and seems to be much happier.

We love our girls! We are so blessed to have them! We are loving summertime, playing volleyball and spending time with family. Life is good!

I loves me some pictures....

2010-07-29T15:34:00.010-06:00

Here are few funny pics from the photoshoot plus some recent shots

No....Way!

blinking blooper

photoshoot angriness
What a mean older sister Charlotte is :)

Mmmm...yum!
Loud secrets between cousins
An Ethan sandwich
Miss cheeks
I have no idea what you would call this....flexible impropriety?

4 month photoshoot...ghetto-style!

2010-07-26T13:50:00.011-06:00

16 weeks! Almost 4 whole months!

2010-07-16T13:55:00.007-06:00

Update: We moved the middle of June into a bigger place and we are loving the space and the new neighborhood. The girls are almost 4 months old and they are getting cuter every day. Charlotte weighs 13 1/2 lbs and Julie is 12 lbs. Charlotte started rolling over the end of June and Julie just rolled over for the first time yesterday. They are making lots of cute noises, smiling a lot and starting to laugh a little. They love their toys, but their favorite thing to suck on is still their hands. They are starting to notice each other a little more and will stare at each other for a few seconds sometimes. And they sometimes suck on each others hands when they are close to each other. They are sleeping through the night most nights and getting better with their naps during the day. We are loving them! I love taking them for walks in the stroller and playing with them at home. They are good little babes and life is good!

We Be Three....Months that is!

2010-06-27T18:18:00.010-06:00

Yes, Goodness, That Hits the Spot...

2010-05-26T13:29:00.006-06:00

No, despite that look of subdued concentration mixed with utter relaxation, Charlotte is not thinking how great it felt to sit down on the ol' pot, take a load off and then fire away. She is simply sitting in a Bumbo which, when compared with apartheid (but not, say, Nelson Mandela), could be South Africa's greatest contribution to earth's history.

I know, I know, you're looking at Julie's face and guessing she's trying to decide whether that poop will just slide out of sight or float on top as though it's mocking her. No dice--she's just enjoying the smooth, space-age design of the Bumbo.

Yep, you're thinking that the following is running through Charlotte's tiny head: "geez, didn't think I had that much pee in there!" Bzzt. Just a leisurely visit with Lieutenant Bumbo.

In answer to your question, no, Julie was not thinking aloud: "whoo, bet I lost two pounds after that one!" Trust me, it was just a simple, innocent Bumbo session.

PS--feel free to refer to it as the Buttbo (Shellie does) as that is the original name the designer wanted

Cousins!

2010-05-22T19:18:00.001-06:00

Ethan has been birthed!

2010-05-22T15:42:00.003-06:00

This little dude was born on May 19th at 1:30 AM to my sister, Heidi and Scott. He was 7 lb 13 oz and 20 inches long. What a cutie!

8 weeks old

2010-05-22T15:12:00.006-06:00

Picture a Spotlight in Your Mind's Eye

2010-05-17T12:55:00.002-06:00

Announcing...Those that want a copy may e-mail the mother of these littles.

Mas Picturas

2010-05-04T13:15:00.008-06:00

Birth story from our doula, Natalie

2010-04-28T17:00:00.003-06:00

Shellie was due March 27^th with two baby girls: Fraternal twins. She did not go into her birthing time early, like some expect a mother of twins to do, so they decided it would be in her best interest to induce her at 40 weeks, since the babies would be a good size and since she desired a vaginal birth.

She and her husband, Bryan, checked into the hospital on March 25^th. At 9:30 am they checked her and she was dilated to one centimeter and was 80% effaced. After all the questions, paperwork, and fluids, they started her on pitocen at about 10:45 am.

She had been feeling birthing waves for quite a few weeks already. The pitocen seemed to make them more regular, but she didn’t feel any change in the intensity. Every half an hour they turned up her pitocen, but she felt the same.

Her family came to visit her throughout the day. They were very supportive , very happy, and extremely excited for the babies to be born. She and Bryan had a wonderful family! Shellie said that it was really good to have them there –it made the time go by faster and kept her distracted.

Her husband, Bryan, was a great support. He was with her every step of the way providing her comfort, and making sure she stayed hydrated. He also made the hospital staff laugh with his humor, his songs about pitocen and such, and the nicknames he came up with for everyone involved. The neat thing was to see how much he cared and loved Shellie and all that she was going through. He was right there by her side, helping her all the way.

All this time, they kept turning up her pitocen. She did not feel any different by 7 pm that evening. They decided to check her and to our wonderful surprise, she had already dilated to a 3+. We thought that was really great when she wasn’t even feeling the intensity of her birthing waves.

Since she was not feeling much, they had the discussion about the fact that her pitocen was high, and that they were hoping she would feel that she was in active labor soon. A little while after 7 pm, they decided to break Baby A’s bag of waters.

By 8 pm, Shellie could now feel the intensity of the birthing waves and needed to concentrate on relaxing and concentrating. Her pitocen was still high so she had to really focus through her birthing time. They weren’t getting that great of reading on baby A’s heart rate, so they decided to put in a internal fetal scalp electrode at about 8:20 PM.

During the next few hours, Bryan, the CNM Julie Jones, the nursing staff, family members, and I were intensely focused on Shellie and helping her through each birthing wave. She particularly benefited from counterpressure, especially the knee-press. We also used light touch massage, essential oils and cool wash cloths to provide her comfort.

At 11 PM, there was more fluid, so we wondered if the Baby B’s bag of waters broke, but we weren’t’ sure. They checked her dilation again at 11:20 pm. She had remained the same at a 3+. We thought with all the intensity that she might have dilated a little bit more. But she was doing great and I was amazed with her strength and willpower.

We kept going. We got into the shower to put warm water on her back, but the water temperature kept getting cold, so that was disappointing. So much so that Bryan gave the shower faucet the bird. She went through pressure waves on the toilet and we tried every position throughout the night to see what she was able to handle the best.

At 1:30 am, they checked her and she was at a 4. She was doing so wonderful, but her pitocen had been at the highest level for hours. She also was not getting a break in between- her uterus would not relax and would stay contracted. She had been going through this for 6 hours now. Since it was late, since she was at a 4, and still needed enough energy to push out her babies for a successful vaginal birth, the best choice was made for her to get the epidural. That way she could rest, her body could relax, and she would be more likely to have the energy and strength to have a vaginal birth. At this time, they also put in an intrauterine pressure catheter to monitor her contractions better.

She received the epidural at 2 AM. After that she was able to relax and rest a little better. She dozed in and out and her mother, her mother in law, and her husband were all there to provide physical and emotional support. We all took turns dozing and resting for the big morning ahead of us.

At 4:15am they checked her again and she was a 6+ and progressing very well. She kept relaxed and by 6:30 AM, she was completely dilated to a 10 and 100% effaced! They had her push for 15 minutes in her room, and then they transferred her to the OR to birth her babies. They had a back up Dr there, Dr Hutchison who was willing to do breech births. Baby B had been breech up to this point, but just before they transferred Shellie to OR, they did an ultrasound and figured that Baby B had turned and was now head down! Such great news!

Everyone was dressed and ready for the OR room. Shellie started pushing again and did an amazing job. She was completely calm, in control and giving it her all. She worked and worked and was able to push out her beautiful baby A, Charlotte, out at 7:52 am. She tore just a little bit. Baby was beautiful and healthy and doing wonderful! Mom and Dad were so happy, it was a wonderful experience to witness them meeting their very first baby, and their first twin. What an exciting event!

Shellie and I commented to each other how neat it is to see a husband become a Father for the very first time. Such an amazing feeling. Shellie also got to see Charlotte for a little while, but she had to keep pushing! Baby B was head down, and it looked like they had to break the bag of waters. So maybe the time before, it was Baby A’s water breaking all the way, since the first time, at 7 pm ish, there was not that much fluid. There was a lot of fluid at this moment, from maybe the second bag.

Baby B was a little trickier to get out. Shellie was a champ! I could not believe how she held it together and kept on going. It was truly inspiring! She worked, and pushed, and pushed. We tried putting her legs in different positions. We tried putting her head up higher. The CNM had her pull on a towel . She did so great. They figured that Baby B might have been in a little bit of a weird position and just needed to get her head past the pubic bone. After pushing for more than an hour, Dr. Hutchison tried a vacuum on Baby B. That was also tricky and the suction came off a few times. Many people were there helping. Nurses were pushing at baby from the other end, on top of Shellie’s abdomen. Finally, after a few attempts, the Dr was able to get her head past the pubic bone. The CNM, Julie Jones, continued to help Shellie and the baby gradually come down until Baby B’s head was out! What a celebration! One final push and all of Baby B, Julie, had arrived! Twins! It was a wonderful, successful, vaginal birth! Baby B arrived at 9:58am.

Baby B also was doing well and had a great apgar also. Shellie was then able to hold both of her babies with Bryan right there next to her. It was a beautiful picture. They had done it! After 24 hrs, the babies were here and they were so happy that they were born vaginally, without complication, and that they were so healthy. Baby A was 6 lbs 13 ounces. Baby B was weighed at 6 lbs 8 ounces, but it was later determined the weight might have been incorrect and she was actually over 7 pounds. Nice, healthy babies!

The placentas took a little while in coming out. Julie was very patient. She had waited for the cords to stop pulsating before clamping them, and she also waited for the placentas. They ended up coming about 35 minutes later, in chucks. She was able to get everything out and repaired Shellie’s tear. Second baby had increased the tear to about a 3^rd degree.

Finally Shellie was cleaned up and she was taken back to her room with her husband and two beautiful babies, where two excited grandma’s waited.

Shellie and Bryan were an amazing couple to work with. They had an intense, but incredible birthing day with perfect outcomes. Two beautiful, healthy girls, born vaginally. I’m so grateful they allowed me to share in such a special experience, that I will always remember!

www.doulanataliesue.blogspot.com

While they are sleeping.....

2010-04-28T16:40:00.007-06:00

...I will post some pics :)

Full-Featured Flavor

2010-04-12T11:43:00.004-06:00

Yeah, you heard me. It's time for a large-based dose of F-FF. You're going to want to head here:

Small Humans

Click on Buchanan Twins (or Finn Morris if you recently started hating us and want to act out in a passive-aggressive manner)

The secret (ssh, holy crap, not so loud) password is....

wait for it...

GET YOUR HEAD DOWN!...

julie

Só pros visitantes da pátria

2010-04-10T12:54:00.004-06:00

Sejam completamente bem-vindos e não se preocupam com a falta de português...eu e vocês sabemos qual é a língua correta, né? Espero que vocês gostem das fotos de nossas moçinhas lindas e que pratiquem seu inglés. Se quiserem, posso traduzir qualquer post que precisam...verde e amarelo na Copa? Creio que sim!!!

Hitched to my truck...

2010-04-05T16:13:00.003-06:00

is a trailer. In other words, just a teaser about the upcoming full-length feature. A friend-once-removed of Shellie's is building a portfolio (she thought stocks sounded boring so hers consists of pictures of small humans) and came by to photographically depict our progeny. The comprehensive results will be available soon and...I really hate to leave you on the edge of your beverage-stained seat but...

Tiny Bablies

Small Faces (not featuring Rod Stewart)

2010-04-01T17:34:00.009-06:00

Hi! I'm Julie Elizabeth Buchanan and, as you can see, I am a little tiny burrito. I am Mello Yello (but not for long--at least the yellow part) and I don't get uptight that my screaming sister gets all the attention.
I am very expressive and people love to see all my different faces I pull.
Charlotte got all the press for big eyes on Day 1 but I'm here to prove I also have beautiful little eyes.
I also like to poke my tongue out regularly but it doesn't portend imminent yelling as with someone I know....
I just like to hang out and can amuse myself for quite a while.
Another tonguely shot.
I fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Trust me.
I am just a very easygoing little pig...

Faceley McFacerson

2010-04-01T17:25:00.005-06:00

Hi! I'm Charlotte Kate Buchanan...you may have heard of me. This is what I look like most of the time.
However, on occasion, I can be fairly calm (except when my daddy kisses my little fuzzy cheeks).
I like to stick my little tiny tongue out, making mommers and dadders think I'm hungry all the bloody time.
Despite all the yammering and hollering, apparently they think I'm still a keeper...not sure why. Maybe this face has something to do with it?

BABIES!! PLURAL!! HOLY CRAP!!

2010-03-31T12:53:00.029-06:00

Fine, so your patience is wearing thin. You want the details. You crave the professional-level photograffee...

The adventure began on Thursday clad in a peek-a-boo gown per protocol
Emotions were high (eventually the Pitocin was, too), the contractions were contractual, the cervix was mildly dilatory and so on. Not much change happened throughout the day until later that night when they broke her water--finally some real contractions started, to the point that Shellie had no real break in between. It got to a point when nothing but vigorous pressure to her knees would help--large shout-out to Natalie, Doula to the Stars for that tip. Despite Shellie's yeoman efforts, Senora Cervix did not feel like dilating much more. Finally, the call was made to do an epidural and then get some rest.
The epidural allowed Mommers to rest and progress was made in the interim--about 6, things got rolling and pushing started. After a little of that, we moved the show to the C-Section room (calm down, it's just a name)... Charlotte made her grand appearance at 7:52 on Friday morning--6 lbs, 13 oz and 20 inches--we'll assume that the relative smallness was twin-based.
Since Shellie was rather busy elsewhere, Poppers had Charlotte to himself for a while...
A long while--after much pushing and three vacuum pop-offs, Julie the Obstinate finally saw fit to get the crap out of her newly renovated luxury suite at 9:58...yeah, over two hours later! It appears that they misweighed her--she was probably a little over 7 lbs and 19 in. That's right--about 14 pounds of baby and 40 weeks of gestational goodness. Due to her beat-up head, Julie had a bit of yellowice which went down with lights and the bili-blanket.
Finally seeing these two little faces was absolutely overwhelming. We were familiar with the knees and elbows that had been poking out but having tiny faces to put with them was incredible.
Did someone order a burrito combo plate?
I can say this for certain: the Grandma posse did not dislike holding the little people
Probably my favorite shot so far: Julie (who we learned was actually the mellow one) and her eyes
We felt it was only fair to let them smash each other for old-times' sake
The two small pigs came home for their first time as air-breathers on Sunday--definitely small pigs in a large pond...
I can hear you all screaming right now: the above doesn't even qualify as a Reader's Digest treatment of this affair. You are correct--more pictures and such will come. Maybe. If I get tired of holding little people.

38 and 39 weeks!

2010-03-20T21:16:00.007-06:00

38 weeks

39 weeks

We're still in business! I have been feeling really good this last week and was even able to attend my sister, Heidi's baby shower. It was great fun. Heidi is due in May and has the cutest little belly.

At my midwife appt last week I was measuring 50 cm. I seriously can't believe how big I am. I was still only a 1+ and 80% so not much change from last week. The babies are active and doing well. If I don't go into labor on my own we decided to schedule an induction for either the 25th or 26th. Hopefully I don't need to be induced, but we are running out of time! I can't blame them for staying in this long. I would much rather be born in spring too. Yay for spring. I can't believe it's here. I remember last summer thinking about how far away spring was. March was an eternity away and now it's here. We are so excited!

We are thinking of going with the names Julie and Charlotte. We'll decide officially when we see them though. Maybe they will end up looking more like a Gussie and Gassie after all :)

This is a hijacking...

2010-03-15T14:34:00.003-06:00

Everyone please remain calm and no one will get bored. Being that yesterday was 2Y2B (2 Years, 2 Babies for you layfolk) I thought I would steal the show and remind you about Shellie and her wifeliness. In a survey of 1 husbands, these were the top reasons why Shellie will always be "the good wife" on my TV:

patient & hopeful: trust me (and her), I'm not an easy bridegroom to live with--no matter what happens, she always believes that it can be better--on a decidedly unrelated note, when I propose another bookcase, she welcomes it in

2 volleyball playing arms: they have been on the DL for a bit but they plan on returning for the 2010 season

health & healthiness: there is a slight distinction between the two--even though we differ on the nuts and bolts, I am glad that she works on keeping us moving and/or grooving

loves her 2 babies: she has been looking forward to being mommy for a while now

frugality and secondhandedness: though she recently drew the line at ice trays and pitchers, she is all in favor of DIing something--bookstore-employed persons can't really be buying brand new denture cases on a weekly basis as you well know

dos dimples: I have to poke them every once and again

(There are other pairs that, let's just say I enjoy...you know, like her earholes)

If you didn't like the above pairs and thought that some of them didn't go well together, tough buckets, it's 2Y2B...

37 weeks....

2010-03-09T13:53:00.003-07:00

...And no end in sight!

These babies must be mighty comfortable in this belly of mine, because they appear to be staying put. I am getting so big and uncomfortable, but I'm glad they are staying in this long. They have got to be pushin 7 lbs because they are HEAVY! They are moving a lot more and kicking even harder...probably because they are kind of sqwooshed in there. At my midwife appt my belly measured 47.5 cm. I just keep growing and growing and streeeeetching. I was only dilated to 1 cm but I guess that's something.

Our 2 year anniversary is this weekend, but we decided to try and catch a show last weekend to celebrate. We saw "The Wicked Wizard of Ahhs" at Off Broadway and it was pretty good. Sitting for that long was a very bad idea, however. Ouch! I still haven't recovered. I'm glad we could go out on the town and have some fun one last time before the babies get here.

With no more than 2 1/2 weeks to go, I am officially a ticking baby bomb :)

Man the torpedos!

2010-03-01T10:59:00.005-07:00

35 weeks

36 weeks

HOLY CRAP IT'S MARCH!!!
At my midwife appointment this last week I measured a whopping 45 cm. My belly is growing like crazy and taking on the shape of a torpedo. The babies' heartbeats were still nice and high and their movement is becoming even more active. My blood pressure is staying down and I have only had slight issues with swelling, so I am doing great.
At my monthly ultrasound, the babies were estimated to be around 6 lbs each which is awesome. I can't believe how close we are getting and I'm trying not to freak out, but the fact that they could be here any time in the next few weeks is kind of overwhelming. I mean, how do you prepare for twins??

I'm so glad we have family close by to help us because I think I would be even more stressed if we didn't. So in the mean time, I will just continue my routine of resting, eating, and appointment-going and work on staying in a positive and optimistic state of mind. Thank you all for your reassuring comments lately on the blog and in person. They really do help :)

In other news, I am so excited that spring is almost here! I saw some little flower buds popping out of the ground yesterday and it made me so happy. Also, I have failed to document this, but Bryan shaved his beard off a while ago. I guess one day he just got tired of sleeping on an itchy beard pillow and decided he was ready for it to be gone. He has been smooth cheek sailing ever since. Consider his "Beard till the Babies" campaign officially dead. I didn't mind seeing it go and I'm sure it will make another return in the not too distant future :)

Au Revoir!

33 and 34 weeks

2010-02-15T16:05:00.003-07:00

At my appt last week my belly was measuring 41 cm! Blood pressure is still nice and low and I gained a couple more pounds which is great. The babies' heartbeats were looking good and Baby A is still head down. Wahoo! Like always, they are moving a ton and especially during the night. When I get up to pee, I think I wake them up and then they start stretching out all over the place. And that sometimes means a foot in my ribs or better yet, my stomach, which gives me heartburn. It's not fun, but I'm glad they are moving so much because then I know they are okay. Plus it is way cool to feel the little hands and feet protruding out.

34 weeks

33 weeks

I have another ultrasound next week to check the babies' growth. I can't believe how fast the last few weeks have gone. We are getting so close! We picked up a stroller and carseats so I feel a little more prepared. We finished our Hypnobabies class so now I will just keep practicing until the big day comes. I really can't do very much physically so I have been reading and resting a lot. And those small stretch marks I used to have have increased to the point of nearly taking over my whole belly. I'm really not surprised considering I am about as big as I would be at about 41 weeks pregnant with one baby.

I went to a new chiropractor who specializes in pregnant women and it felt so good. They obviously focus on the hips and low back and the best part was the pubic bone adjustment. That helped a lot and I could walk without the waddle after. Turning over in bed wasn't as painful either. I would definitely recommend it if you are pregnant and hurting.

I still have nausea in the mornings. Lucky me! That is one thing I will not miss once these babies arrive. I'm sure I will forget all about it in time, but it sure has made life interesting these last 7 months.

Well the countdown is on....less than 6 weeks to go! I am getting more nervous as it gets closer to March. It is getting more and more real and I am trying not to freak out at the idea of two kids coming out of me. Yikes! Dear life, you are about to change forever....but in a good way of course.

I'll keep you posted :)

Ever wondered...

2010-02-04T11:42:00.006-07:00

what a 30 lb belly basketball looks like??
32 weeks

39 cm in all her glory

The scoop:
We had another baby shower last weekend and it was great. We received a bunch of adorable blankets, outfits, accessories and two perfect blessing dresses. Everyone was so generous! It was fun to hang out with Bryan's side of the fam.

We are still working on organizing our apartment to make room for all of the stuff we will be needing. Bryan's treasured red lovesac had to be relocated to his mom's house for a while until we have room for its massiveness.

The babies are alive and well and enjoying their luxury suite inside my spacious belly region. They are very active at times and are getting hiccups on a daily basis.

7 weeks till full term and one more hypnobabies class to go!

30 and 31 week pics

2010-01-26T12:01:00.010-07:00

Update: At the ultrasound today the babies were measuring very well at 4 lb 4 oz and 4 lb 1 oz. The last measurement they gave where there was quite a difference in weights must have been a typo, says the doc. Geniuses. Thanks for providing me with some unnecessary worry. The girls are very active these days and are now interfering with my sleeping rituals unfortunately. One of these days I'm going to catch their crazy kicking on video because it is awesome. It looks like they are going to push right out of there! I have been advised to lessen my activities even more which I've been doing anyway. Too much walking equals lots of pain and fatigue and nausea so my scanty activities will have to be reduced even more to prevent such things. I had a baby shower on Saturday and it was great. We got some really cute things. Our stockpile of goodies is growing and we are slightly more prepared for the arrival of our goats. We are taking a Hypnobabies class and have two more classes. It is going well and Bryan is doing a good job with our weekly practice sessions :) On to the glorious pictures...

30 weeks

31 weeks...my belly measures at 36 cm

The Adorable Carson......and then some

2010-01-15T11:04:00.007-07:00

http://www.blogger.co m/post-create.g?blogID=3496752995247092165

29 Weeks....if you look closely you can see some awesome stretch marks forming on the lower end of the whale belly :)

Picture Conglomeration

2009-12-31T18:40:00.010-07:00

Our only picture from Christmas! Bryan aka "Beardy" got roped into being a wiseman in the nativity play. Very fashionable if you ask me :)

24 weeks

25 1/2 weeks

27 weeks

That would be my belly.

No internet= no pictures= slightly boring post

2009-12-29T16:44:00.002-07:00

Just wanted to update you all about the last little while...

Christmas was awesome. We got to spend time with each of our families and had a lovely time.

I had another ultrasound and the babies are growing nicely. One is just over 2 lbs and the other is almost 3 lbs. They are really moving around in there and we have enjoyed feeling the little feet, hands and an occasional head as they poke out. Less than 3 months to go! I have pictures but you will have to wait until I can get my camera and an internet connection in the same room.

Bryan just passed the year mark at his job and he is loving it there. It's so nice knowing he loves what he is doing (for the most part :)) and who he works with. He is quite beardy these days as well. He stopped shaving around Thanksgiving time and has proclaimed a "Beard Till the Babies" anti-shaving campaign. He will look like a mountainman come March :)

As for me I am doing pretty well for the most part. I have had a few new discomforts as the babies have grown, but I am still able to do most of what I would like to. My goals are to make dinner as often as possible and keep the apartment clean. Pretty lofty goals, I know! We're keepin it simple these days.

We're excited for 2010 to come with all of the new experiences we're going to have. Hope you all are doing well!

Turkey Day in Midway

2009-12-02T15:11:00.007-07:00

Over Thanksgiving we were up in Midway at Bryan's family's condo. One of the days we went to the cemetery to see and take some pics of my ancestors' graves. My grandpa on my mom's side grew up there. It was fun stuff. We both like to visit cemeteries so it was an exciting adventure!

Other happenings in Midway included a visit to Schneiters Seafood Buffet at Vermatt's. Bryan tried oysters, sushi, many different kinds of fish, and some mystery desserts. He didn't feel so good later. That night he kept muttering, "stupid seafood!" It was hilarious. I stuck with shrimp and salmon and was quite satisfied.

We also went to the Park City Outlets, the pool several times, and relaxed like you wouldn't believe. It was a great time. I love the Heber valley.

On Thanksgiving day we cruised over to my family's little gathering and enjoyed a few hours of eating, visiting, playing, and overall merriment. Then back to the condo for dinner #2 and eventually home that night.

*Babies Update*
We had our second ultrasound on Tuesday and discovered that both babies are indeed of a girlish nature. They are growing well and slightly ahead of schedule. They are just over a pound each. They appear to be fraternal, which we expected. But what we didn't expect was for me to get sick and puke twice during the scan. Apparently I should have eaten more for breakfast. So that was pretty miserable. We did get an awesome dvd to take home and a great facial photo of Baby B. I will try and figure out how to get it on here for your viewing pleasure.

Bryan got to feel the babies kick for the first time a few weeks ago which was a lot of fun for both of us. They have been moving and kicking a lot more these days which makes life a little more interesting. My belly button has been pushed all the way out as well. I know you were all just dying to know that detail!

Consider yourselves updated.

A picture per Heidi's request.....

2009-12-02T10:48:00.002-07:00

This is about 21 1/2 weeks.

Some random photos from the last two months...

2009-11-12T13:14:00.006-07:00

Carson had these stickers on his face for awhile. I think he forgot they were even there. The cracker was much more important. Cute kid!
The Austin.
I visited Allison and Carly a little while ago and had a great time. Carly is a cutie!
Our family went to Park City for a weekend in October. We found this cool Lego exhibit at the Kimball Arts Center so we stopped and checked it out. Here is Eric behind the hand and the giant pencil on the left.
Here I am next to "The Womb." How appropriate.

Austin was very good at modeling the pose for pictures.

Carson and his adorable teeth on Main Street. It was a beautiful day.

Eric, Austin and Michelle in the Trolley.

Goats

2009-11-07T15:17:00.001-07:00

I really like goats--that is why I'm having two of them.

Belly Explosion 101

2009-11-04T13:00:00.002-07:00

I wasn't going to say it, but there may have been some growth in the last few weeks. Apparently when there are two babies in there, you grow a tad faster. This is at 19 1/2 weeks.

To answer your question, the babies are most likely fraternal. Especially if Baby B turns out to be a boy. Ha ha. If she be a girl, then there is a 20-30% chance if identicality. We'll find out soon enough.

In the mean time, I will just be here. Eating and eating. And napping, as all the eating makes me sleepy :)

Scoop

2009-11-02T13:50:00.003-07:00

(ssh, Shellie is nearby, we must be vewy, vewy quiet). OK, I'm going to take this chance and scoop the daylights out of my partner-wife-sweetie buns. We may or may not have visited (tip: we did) our friendly local sonographer (for those keeping score at home, they administer ultrasounds, often to pregnant-flavored bellies) this last Woden's Day. The end (or is it...). No, that's not the end of the story. In fact, from one point of view, it's not even part of the story. Why? Two excellent reasons: fetus A and fetus B. Si, there be feti (all you pro-"fetuses" wags may leave posthaste) in there, apparently humans by our reckoning. And, frankly, fetus B seems to be enjoying its perch on top of fetus A (the "presenting" fetus, for you aspiring OB/GYNs among our readership). What's that? No, it wasn't a surprise. I mean, people have twins more often than one boring progeny, right? Eh? Rarely? Oh, then I 'pologize. At any rate, craziness has doubled--hopefully the ladies have a future in the Doublemint gum model industry. Ah right, "ladies." Quotified because A is 100% a girl whereas B is only 80% a girl. Only time and full-term, hardcore, natural, epidural-free, remarkably relaxed childbirth will tell. Updates available as conditions warrant...

Itty Bitty Belly

2009-10-13T12:43:00.003-06:00

Not the best pic but the best I could manage. 16 1/2 weeks

The view from the top

It feels soooo good...

2009-10-07T12:25:00.005-06:00

to feel like a human again!

I started the Odansetron (generic for Zofran and oh so much cheaper) about 4 weeks ago and this week I finally turned a corner. The nausea is much less and more manageable even when it is there. I am up on my feet more and eating better so I've almost gained back the weight I lost. I feel wonderful compared to the last 2 months.

I am so grateful for my family, especially my mom, who took care of me so well and helped me stay alive whilst I was busy throwing up 41 times!(Yes, i counted. How could you not?) I seriously would have died without them. A million thank yous in your direction.

So I am almost 16 weeks now. I got to hear the baby's heart beat at my first appointment in September and that was cool. I've even felt the baby move around a few times in the last few weeks. A very interesting sensation. We'll find out the gender in November and I'm definitely looking forward to that.

That's the update, folks.

How I spent the month of August.....

2009-09-05T17:13:00.006-06:00

Baby Buchanan will be here in March of 2010! :)

PARTAY

2009-07-29T19:30:00.013-06:00

Kayden turned FOUR last week and we had a little pizza party up at their new house.....
The birthday boy. I imagine him saying or thinking, "Sup, yo."

Kolton on the play horse. He has THE BIGGEST gut ever and it is so cute. This picture doesn't adequately represent his girth. I can just hear him saying (or thinking since he doesn't really speak coherently),"Man, I wish I could be on a REAL horse and not this silly rocking one...."
BAM! There you go. Misty's sister brought over their "small horses" for the kids to ride and torment. Here is Mckaylee taking her turn.
Here are the arms-folded crew doing what they do best. The horse was being very helpful and eating the overgrown weeds.

I love Austin's expression in the one. They were feeding the horses some grass and I think Austin was afraid of getting his fingers chewed off.
Cute little helmet-less Carson. He was pretty mellow tonight and just hung with his Dad.
Bryan and Kolton playing inside around the couch.
The expression on Kayden's face is none other than pure joy. He loved feeding and riding the horses.

Sniff Sniff....hmm...something stinks back here.

Allison Momi is a Mommy....

2009-07-21T19:15:00.002-06:00

My cousin Allison (not shown) just had a beautiful baby girl in June. Her name is Carly Lynn. Bryan and I went up to visit them (Mike, Allison, and Carly) at the hospital and here are the pics.

.....................!

2009-07-10T22:00:00.008-06:00

This is my good friend Brynley Poll and her soon-to-be husband Dean Graham. They are getting married tomorrow and we went to their reception tonight. Those astute blog readers out there will remember Brynley as the one who hooked Bryan and I up. We played volleyball together in college and have stayed in touch over the years. I'm so happy for them.
Here are Dylan and Carson. I caught him with his tongue out. One of my many photographic talents.
Uncle Shaun took Austin for a ride on his motorcycle and he loved it. He had been a very sad boy just moments before this ride. As soon as he got off he came running over to us and exclaimed, "Dad! It made me happy!" It was very cute.
For my birthday Bryan took me out to Benihanas for dinner and to Off Broadway for a show. I couldn't help but think of The Office episode where they take Michael to Benihanas and Jim is messing with Dwight the whole time. We had a great time watching our food being cooked and they even sang to me with a huge gong as the beat. At the show, Bryan made sure to tell them it was my birthday so they would have me come up in front of everyone. Thankfully there were two others with me so we all got to be embarrassed together as they sang to us. It was a fun show and a fantastic night all around.

Ten Precautions For Cell Phone Use

2009-06-22T14:25:00.006-06:00

From the book Anti Cancer: A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, Ph D

1. Do not allow children under the age of 12 (to play with) or use a cell phone, except in emergencies. The developing organs of a fetus or child are the most sensitive to any possible effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields.

2. While communicating using your cell phone, try to keep the device away from the body. (The amplitude of the electromagnetic field is four times lower at a distance of 4 in and fifty times lower at 3 feet. Whenever possible use the speaker phone mode, or a hands-free kit equipped with an air tube, which seems to transmit fewer electromagnetic waves, or use a wireless Bluetooth headset(less than 1/100th of the electromagnetic emission of a cell phone.)

3. As much as possible, stand away from a person using a cell phone and avoid using your phone in places like a subway, train, or a bus where you can passively expose your neighbors to your phone's magnetic fields.

4. Avoid carrying your cell phone on you constantly, even on standby. Do not keep it near your body at night(under the pillow or on the bedside table), particularly if pregnant. You can put it on "flight" or "offline" mode, which stops electromagnetic emissions.

5. If you must carry your cell phone on you, make sure that the face (key pad) is positioned toward your body and the back (antenna side- stronger magnetic field) is positioned toward the outside.

6. Only use your cell phone to establish contact or for conversations lasting only a few minutes (biological effects are directly related to the duration of exposure). It is best to call back from a land line with a cord( not from a cordless phone, which uses microwave technology similar to that of cell phones).

7. Switch sides regularly and, before putting your cell phone to your ear, wait until your correspondent has picked up (which limits the power of the electromagnetic field emitted).

8. Avoid using cell phones when the signal is weak or when moving at high speed, as in a car or train. This automatically increases power to a maximum because the phone repeatedly attempts to connect to a new transmission antenna.

9. When possible, communicate via text messaging rather than making a call (thus limiting the duration of exposure and the proximity to the body.

10. Choose a device with the lowest SAR possible (SAR = specific absorption rate, which measures the strength of the magnetic field absorbed by the body). SAR rankings of contemporary phones by different manufacturers are available on several Web sites.

In honor of my 26th birthday....

2009-06-19T14:41:00.005-06:00

I decided to chop my hair off and donate it to Locks of Love. But donating it was not enough. I wanted to get my hair cut for FREE! I looked online and found that Fantastic Sams is affiliated with LOL and will take care of the paperwork and mailing, etc. Score!
I didn't necessarily "try" to get my hair this long. It just sort of happened. We measured it at the Salon and found it was 36 inches long! I decided to cut off 12''. That's one foot, folks.
Jamie was nice enough to take my picture with my hair.
My locks.
Thank you Mr. Sams for providing me with a fantastic free haircut.

Moab...."The place where memories are made"

2009-06-16T11:07:00.012-06:00

Our family went down to Moab last week. We enjoyed hiking, jeeping, BBQing, swimming, playing "speed scrabble" for hours, and enjoying the break from city life. It is so pretty down there. We had perfect weather and had a great time.
All of us in front of the condo. This place was awesome.
Carson cheesin it up.
Kolton close up.
While everyone went jeeping, Mom and I watched the boys. It was fun because they are so cute.
Carson and Nat in the pool. Carson LOVED the water. He was splashing away and loving it.
Dylan with Homey-G Carson before our hike to the waterfall.
McKaylee and Kayden playing in the water.
Yours truly
Smiley boy.
Heidi and Scott in the back, Shaun with Kolton.
The Argyles
Mom and Dad sporting their hiking hats.
We saw some cool green frogs on our hike to Delicate Arch.
Eric, Heidi, Michelle and Dylan hanging out after the climb up. Dad was off talking to tourists while this picture was taken.
Eric sitting on a throne of sandstone.
Me enjoying the beauty of the Arch. I love this place. I was very happy we could hike up there.
Austin turned 4 on Saturday so we had a little birthday celebration for him. He is quite the little dude. When Kaylee asked him what he wished for when he blew out the candles he said,"I don't remember."

Shaun back-flipping into the waterfall pool. Scott made the jump as well.

The beginning of a beautiful friendship....

2009-06-04T11:36:00.002-06:00

More Energy + More Money = EFUSJON

Find 3 people...

Help them find their 3...

Enjoy more energy and more financial abundance!

www.matrixjuice.com
www.myefusjon.com/buchanan

April and May in all their glory

2009-05-26T11:27:00.008-06:00

Here are some of our springtime happenings...

We had Gary Bergera come and speak to our Mormstory group at the end of April. He read some of his forthcoming book "Love, Sex, and Transgression"(juicy I know) and we chatted for a couple hours about it. Quite interesting.

Carson aka Mr. Chubbs is getting quite large these days. He is sporting the head-reshaping helmet(not shown), which makes him look atleast 10 times cuter. And he has recently grown his very own tooth. He is showing signs of possible interest in crawling, but his large carriage makes horizontal movement somewhat undesirable.
Eric turned 24 on April 23rd and we had a birthday dinner for him. Go Eric!
Even though Michelle is not shown she also had a birthday recently on May 10th and also turned 24. Dinkin Flicka Michelle!
On Memorial Day, we remembered our deceased ancestors by hiking up a mountain to a beautiful waterfall in Ogden(I kind of wanted to die once I got to the top!). The trailhead just happened to be at Buchanan Ave and 29th St. Sweet!
After I overcame the urge to vomit after only one hour of uphill hiking, Bryan and I got a picture of us in front of the beautiful waterfall.
While not pictured, we also hiked with Alex and Chase(who were filming a documentary the whole time), and Emily(who had to pee as soon as we started hiking, went to find a bathroom, and then came back and beat us all up to the top and back). On our hike we passed many dogs, kids, and one 80 something-year old great grandma with a cane.

We had a fun BBQ in South Weber when we got back and enjoyed some "Office" afterwards. It was a fun and sunny holiday weekend with the fam.

Other goings on of the past month include: the return of outdoor volleyball, spending some time cleaning the shelves at Bryan's work, and my favorite thing of all?...

MAKING HOME MADE BREAD FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! I'm using my mom's classic magic mill wheat grinder to grind fresh, whole wheat into delicious wheat and banana bread. I have also been practicing the art of soaking with rice, noodles, and the wheat. Its been highly enjoyable.

Operation Missionary Recovery/ Tour of Oregon

2009-04-14T13:13:00.020-06:00

We spent last week in Oregon and had a fantastic time....

Bryan loves plane rides. That's Blake in the back ground. The flight was pretty empty so we spread out in the back and goofed off the whole time. I got to look out the window and that was cool.

Our first stop was an awesome waterfall. I LOVE WATERFALLS! I was in heaven.
Liz, Bryan, and Blake on the bridge.

The beauty. I convinced everyone to hike to the top and about half way up I think they all hated me. It was definitely a work out. It was a beautiful day and an amazing sight!
At the top. The view of the Columbia river was great from up there.
The next morning, we went to the Portland Temple to see Bryan's brother Elder Alex. He was there with the other missionaries and we decided to go at the same time so we could see him a little early! It was a sweet reunion.
Oregon is filled with daffodills. They are everywhere and oh so pretty.
The Portland Temple was very cool. The grounds were amazing.

While we were in Eugene we visited the Lowery's. Alex got to know them really well when he was in that area. They are the coolest people ever. So funny. Brother Lowery made us some homemade "Cafe Rio" salads and they were ten times better than the real stuff. We had a blast chatting with them and hearing all sorts of funny stories. Man, we have a tall family!
The coast! Did I mention...I LOVE THE COAST! We went to Florence and found us some beach and of course I spent the whole time looking for fun shells and rocks. Bryan found me the best ones! It was beautiful there.
Nothin beats walking along the coast with your hunky husband ;)
Bryan assured me I would be okay leaving my sandwich on the log. We went exploring, came back, and this is what we found. The stupid crows had torn into my bag and eaten some of my club!
On our way from Medford to Redmond, we stopped off near Prospect and hiked through the forest. I believe this waterfall was one of the falls that make up Millcreek Falls.
Bryan showing us the way.
Me with the giant moss-covered boulders. Everything in Oregon has moss on it.
This was a pretty cool river. The Rogue river. You had to climb over huge rocks to get to this spot. Once again I was in my element. It felt so good to be in nature.
Bryan showing off his best feature.
Blake showing us this hilarious sign. The picture just killed me.
Blake, Emily, Liz, Alex, and Bryan on the bridge at the Crooked River Gorge, which is north of Redmond. Right before I took the picture, Alex punched Bryan in the crotch. He doesn't normally stand like that. Oh, brotherly love.
This was a fun little sight to see. The Gorge was massive.
You can't go to a place like this and not spit.

Me with a shot of the river way down yonder. The birds apparently enjoy pooping on this bridge. Go figure.

We picked up this game and played it a few times at the hotel and then at the airport when we were waiting for our flight. We got a few weird looks from passersby. They obviously are not as obsessed with The Office as we are. It even came with a "Support the Rabid" wristband!

Oregon was so awesome. We had a great time. We were glad to see Alex again and especially glad that he knew his way around the state so we could stop being lost and he could be our tour guide. He introduced us to some great families too who were pretty darn awesome. They were a highlight of the trip. Alex was a great missionary and we're glad to have him back.

Say What??

2009-03-26T11:33:00.006-06:00

I've been reading a lot about milk lately....

In Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions, the truth about milk(and nutrition in general) is explained thoroughly. A major issue with milk is that of the pasteurization process. We have been taught all our lives that pasteurization is a vital and beneficial method of protecting us from infectious disease. But this has been highly exaggerated. Nowadays, we have improved sanitary conditions, modern milking machines, stainless steel tanks, and efficient packaging and distribution which all make pasteurization for the purpose of sanitation unnecessary. Now you may think, "but pasteurization makes milk safe to drink, right? If it's not pasteurized, I will get e. coli or salmonella or something like that, right?"

WRONG.

Raw milk, or as like to look at it, real milk, contains lactic-acid producing bacteria that protect against pathogens. This good bacteria is destroyed when the milk is pasteurized. And if you actually look at the statistics of outbreaks of salmonella or E.Coli from contaminated milk, you will find that most of the problems occurred in our "safe" pasteurized milk.

But outbreaks don't just occur in milk. Just in the last couple years we have seen recalls of spinach, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, peanut butter and even dog food, due to salmonella or any other of the long list of now antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.

Outbreaks occur everywhere, not just in milk, and especially not just in raw milk. The dairy conglomerations want you to be afraid of raw milk because the livelihood of their business depends on it. As long as they can continue raising their cattle in cramped stalls, taking all measures to make sure the cows produce the most milk, feeding them the unhealthiest but cheapest of diets, they will continue to do so. Farm-raised, pasture-fed cows producing healthy real milk are a major threat to their money-centered industry.

Here are the benefits of pasteurized milk:
-It tastes good.
-It's cheap.

You tell 'em, Napoleon.

Now here are the drawbacks of pasteurized milk:
-Pasteurization destroys the vitamin content of milk: 50% of the vitamin C is lost and 80% of the other water-soluble vitamins, namely the B's, are destroyed.
-Pasteurization reduces the availability of milk's mineral components such as calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, sulphur, and other trace minerals.
-Pasteurization destroys ALL enzymes in milk. These vital enzymes help the body assimilate all body-building factors, inlcuding calcium. This is why those who drink milk all their lives still end up with osteoporosis. Without these enzymes, milk can pass through the digestive system without being fully digested, and can build up around the tiny villi of the small intestine, preventing absorption of nutrients. This phenomenon is called "leaky gut syndrome."
-Chemicals are added after pasteurization to suppress the odor and restore the taste. Gross.
-Synthetic Vitamin D's are added, which are toxic and difficult to digest.
-Powdered skim milk is added to 1% and 2% milk to give it the consistency that we are used to. Powdered milk is highly oxidative and contributes to clogging of arteries. All powdered dairy products(cheeses(parmesan), eggs like in cake mixes, baby formula, soups) should be avoided as they are extremely detrimental to your health.
-Homogenization, the process that accompanies pasteurization, is a process where fat particles of cream are strained through tiny pores under great pressure resulting in particles of fat that are so small they stay in suspension rather than rising to the top of the milk. This makes the fat and cholesterol more susceptible to rancidity and oxidation, and thus is linked to heart disease.
-Cows are injected with growth hormone(rGBH or rBST) to force them to produce more milk.
-Cows are fed grains, soy-bean meal and who knows what else instead of grasses. Grain feed is cheaper and more convenient and is thus the majority of the cows primary feed. Grass-fed cows produce milk that provides omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. Grain-fed cows produce little to none of these.

"The defect in this batch is that it has been pasteurized."

Another major downfall of commercial milk is that the fat has been taken out. Consumers believe that they are helping themselves by eating less fat, so they buy skim or 1% milk. Our bodies need fat. Good fats. Fats do all sorts of good things like providing sustained energy, feeding the brain, and building cell walls. Raw milk, and even whole milk, gives you this fat. Eating good fats do not cause you to be fat like the media/diet dictocrats want you to believe. Excessive sugar consumption, carbohydrates from refined and processed sources, and damaged fats from vegetable oils and fast foods DO make you fat. The low-fat craze is the biggest load of crap and people are even more fat and unhealthy because of it. So do yourself a favor and start giving your body what it really needs....FAT!

Drink raw or whole milk, eat butter instead of toxic margarine, eat eggs to your heart's content, eat quality meat, use coconut or olive oil instead of canola or other polyunsaturated vegetable oils, eat your veggies, and go easy on sugar, refined flour and other grains(pastas, breads, and rice), anything that has been hydrogenated, and obviously junk food and fast food. For they cause major issues with blood sugar, metabolism, digestion, tooth decay, and degenerative diseases. Newfangled foods are plain and simple just bad for you and we should aim to eat as many whole, fresh, raw, REAL foods as possible.

Here is a quote from Nourishing Traditions:
"Technology is a generous benefactor. To those who have wisely used his gifts he has bestowed freedom from drudgery; freedom to travel; freedom from the discomforts of cold, heat, and dirt; and freedom from ignorance, boredom, and oppression. But father technology has not brought us freedom from disease. Chronic illness in industrialized nations has reached epic proportions because we have been dazzled by his stepchildren- fast foods, fractioned foods, convenience foods, packaged foods, fake foods, embalmed foods, ersatz foods- all the bright baubles that fill up the shelves at the grocery stores, convenience markets, vending machines, and even health food stores."

"Technology can be a kind father but only in partnership with his mothering, feminine partner- the nourishing traditions of our ancestors. These traditions require us to apply more wisdom to the way we produce and process our food and yes, more time in the kitchen, but they give highly satisfying results- delicious meals, increased vitality, robust children. and freedom from the chains of acute and chronic illness. The wise and loving marriage of modern invention with the sustaining, nurturing food folkways of our ancestors is the partnership that will transform the Twenty-First Century into the Golden Age; divorce hastens the physical degeneration of the human race, cheats mankind of his limitless potential, destroys his will and condemns him to the role of undercitizen in a totalitarian world order."

Enough said.

http://www.redmondfarms.com/about.html

Book of Mormon, You Have a Narrow Neck (No Battle)

2009-03-24T11:05:00.003-06:00

So, after some encouragement/chastising from my wifal figure, I am secretly posting this. The latest version of Mormstory involved a long, extremely interesting evening with Brant Gardner, author of Second Witness, the 6-volume commentary on the Book of Mormon (Kofford Books, 2007). I had picked up this commentary for two reasons: 1. I like books and 2. other commentaries on the Book of Mormon have ranged from crappy to less crappy (but still retaining some degree of craposity). My interest lies more in Mormon history (i.e. us, the modern flavor of Mormons) so I've really never poked much into BoM geography/history/culture. I love the "rest of the story" for Bible and D&C so I've always been a little bored by Book of Mormon books. Brant was a hoot--very engaging and very explanatory type of guy. The series is highly recommended--I describe it as the "best commentary on the BoM that you will never hear of" due to Kofford's positively impressive lack of marketing. Brant's academic background was in Mesoamerican studies (culture, history, language) so he comes to the table ready to eat, if you will. Checks it out, posse.

Mormstory--Day Two

2009-03-24T10:44:00.005-06:00

On Sunday March 22nd, Brant Gardner was our guest speaker. We held the seminar at a fellow ward member's house in Murray. Brant is the author of the 6-volume Second Witness series of commentaries on the Book of Mormon. He came up to Utah from his home in New Mexico and we are so glad that he did. He talked to our group of 5 for almost 3 hours about the writing of the books, the research, and all that goes into writing thousands of pages of detailed analysis. It was highly fascinating, even for me who is not a huge fan of history. I was quite impressed that Brant does this research and writing in his spare time. His profession is software consulting and product management which requires him to travel around the country on a regular basis. His love for Mesoamerican history was his motivation for late nights and early mornings working on this series. His books could be described as "the best commentary of the Book of Mormon that nobody has ever heard about." And for those that came, we got to hear the story of how he injured his left eye as a boy and came to have an artificial eyeball. Now that was a great story. We are thankful Brant was willing to come and share his vast knowledge and insight into the world of ancient America and the Book of Mormon. Come next month to hear from Gary Bergera, an author of several books and articles who is affiliated with Signature Books. Oh and PS, check out Bryan's post for the "real" story.

NOL! KINS OTOE

2009-03-20T19:59:00.018-06:00

Translation? Kolton is One!
I have no idea why I decided to do an anagram title okay....here are some fun pics of his birthday partay:

Opening presents....
I can't tell if Carson looks tiny or Bryan looks huge in this one....Carson is sitting up these days but watch out, he'll tip over if you breathe on him.
Hard-workin Dylan was able to come to the party! A rare treat...

Kolton waving with Grandma

The beginning of the cake eating extravaganza. Notice how clean everything is...
He chose the "palming" method to consume his cake.
Thats a lot of chocolate...
Not messin around anymore...he's going for gusto

Cake has made its way to his forehead, shoulders, and elbow

My personal favorite
And the finished product: Cake Boy!
Off to the bath with you!

Kaylee pulling faces with Austin
Kayden wins the best smile contest
Flyin with Daddy..no get together would be complete without some air time
Kolton got some air
Climbing on Daddy

Eric and Michelle cheesin it up
Playing "Horsey Horsey" with Grandpa

McKaylee loves this game too. They were both laughing like crazy.

Playing with one of Kolton's new bath tub toys. They clearly got more enjoyment out of it.

Hangin out with grandma and grandpa.

Mommy needs a binky sometimes too...
Kolton was attacking Misty's head and laughing so hard. It was the most adorable thing ever. He is such a cute kid.

Logan for Pi Day!

2009-03-17T13:30:00.008-06:00

For our first wedding anniversary we decided to go to Logan for the weekend. We first went to Gossners Dairy to sample the free cheeses and milk varieties. We were too busy eating to get a picture. We met up with Eric and Michelle there, as they were also enjoying Logan's majesty. At the hotel we took advantage of the hot tub and Bryan even got to watch the Utes win the conference championship.
On Sunday we took a stroll around the temple. It was a beautiful day.
We went to church at this random ward house and it turned out to be an awesomely old building. Bryan and I had a hay day checking out all of the levels(3!), windows, secret closets, and general coolness of the church's old design. The chapel was so pretty and unique. The floors were creaky and the doorways were just tall enough for me to get by so Bryan had to duck.
Here is one of the stained glass windows.
I love the blue sky above and the white snow below the temple.
We stopped in South Weber on the way home for naps by the fireplace(me), dinner, relaxing, and a game of darts. Emily made this cute sign to celebrate our anniversary. Byron is her nickname for Bryan. We love our Emmers.
Emily put some of her clip-on earrings on Bryan and this picture ensued.

We had a great weekend and I loved being able to see Logan again. I miss that place. We were spoiled with wonderful weather and even got some yummy bread and bagels from the Old Grist Mill. We are happy to announce that we have made it through the first year of marriage. It hasn't been easy, but we did it!

We love to see the Temple....

2009-03-10T11:41:00.007-06:00

We went to the Draper temple open house on Saturday. Natalie, Austin, Carson, Heidi, Mom Smith, Blake, Mommy Liz, and Bryan and I all came. I forgot my camera so i attempted to take some pics with my phone. Turns out it doesn't take the best pics, but I doctored them to the best of my ability.
I didn't actually take this one. We never really got to hang out outside on the temple grounds. We went from the bus straight into the tented tunnels and then right into the temple and right back out again and onto the bus.
Bryan and I on the shuttle bus
On the shuttle bus with Austin. He is the funniest kid.

My Mom, Austin, Heidi and Natalie on the shuttle bus. The whole time Austin was wondering when we were going to get to "where we were going." We were walking around and he expected to get somewhere. Being 3 1/2, he didn't realize the tour WAS the destination. We told him we were on our way to get cookies, which were the "light refreshments" promised at the end of the
walk-through.
Bryan and Austin walking in the tunnel on the way to the Temple. We noticed that Austin's height puts him right at the level of most adult bums. At one point after I had just made the comment about this phenomenon, Austin turns around and stares right into the backside of the guy in front of him. About 3 inches away. It made me laugh.
Blake got this one! He pulls the funniest faces.

We had a fun time. The temple was soooo incredibly beautiful and the kids did so well for how long it was. It was fun to go with family and to be reminded of the purpose and importance of temples. Even with all the people and the crying kids there was still a feeling of peace there. It was a cool experience.

Jazz Game--can I get a Woot Woot

2009-02-26T10:31:00.006-07:00

On Monday we got to go to the Jazz/Hawks game with Jason and Melissa, who is Bryan's cousin. They had a couple lower bowl seats and we were lucky to swoop them up. I hadn't been to a game in about a year so I was excited.
Here we are with the court behind us. We were on the 22nd row for most of the game and got to sneak down to the 6th row for the 4th quarter. I've never been that close. It was great.
This picture was taken strategically to get Jason and Melissa in it. They are above Bryan's head and to the right a touch.
The "cowbell" lady was sitting right across the aisle from us. Every time the Jazz did anything remotely good, out came the bell. This lady had to be atleast 85 years old.
The dude who sat next to us had this curious stat sheet. We think he is somewhat autistic. The whole game we were trying to make sense of the stats he was taking. He was incorporating his watch in the stats and was writing down all sorts of numbers that we couldn't figure out. We decided to take some pictures so that we could analyze the stats later. Apparently Jason and Melissa and everyone else who has sat by him at past games is wondering what the stats mean. It remains a Jazz game mystery for now.
My lucky number is 26, which happens to be Kyle Korvers number. He had a rockin game and was droppin threes like crazy. In my attempts to get a picture of him, this is the best I came up with. He may be headless, but he is still dreamy.

Mormstory--Day One

2009-02-24T12:43:00.002-07:00

We had our first guest speaker for Mormstory(Mormon + History) on Sunday. His name is Curt Bench and he is the owner of Benchmark Books. He is a pretty neat guy and we're glad he was willing to come and talk to our group. It was very interesting. Bryan will post more about the night on his mormstory page, but I just wanted to put the pic on here. We had ten people show up, which we are hoping to improve on for next month. Next month we will have Brant Gardner. Come if you are interested!

A Wondrous Day Off

2009-02-24T11:42:00.007-07:00

On President's Day I went up to Natalie and Dylan's house to 1) See them and play with Austin and Carson and 2) get our new phones. Bryan had to work and was unable to attend. Boo.

Austin got this toy dragon for Christmas and was at first very terrified of it. It is the coolest thing. It has a remote control and you can make it do all sorts of things, but to a kid, I can see how it might be scary. But now he likes it and is okay to play with it. He did, however, get scared a couple times and run up the stairs to safety.

Here he is giving the dragon a kiss. To show that he is not afraid of him anymore is what I am guessing.

And here is the chubbster himself. He is getting so big. And smiley.

I had to include some baby nudity because it is just so darn cute. And yes, that is a pink binkie. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Baby bums are so adorable. I just wanna pinch 'em.

And here is "whitey blue stripe" making her debut. She is a wonderful addition to our home. She does however make a lot of noise at times and gets lost occasionally. But we still love her. And will until we trade her in for a new phone. Bryan's phone is the same one only a different color. His name is "Graynie" due to his gray and greenish hue.

What's Been Going On?

2009-02-13T15:11:00.004-07:00

1.I'm liking my job more and more these days. I've been there for 6 months now. We stay pretty busy and the days are pretty enjoyable. I enjoy getting free adjustments, massages, and footbaths as well ;) And who wouldn't love wearing super hot scrubs to work every day?

2. Bryan is loving work at the bookstore. He could work there forever. He really knows books so every day he is in heaven. He works with some great people and they all get along well together. He always has cool stories to tell me when he gets home about people who come in the store or just random events of the day. He gets to meet so many famous people!

3.I've been going to the gym 3 nights a week and doing/riding? the ellyptical. I'm still way out of shape, but it feels good to be doing something active. I'm hoping to be able to jog in a few weeks just in time for it to get warm outside. Also, remember volleyball, that sport i used to play all the time? I'm hoping to start that up again soon as well. I'm sure Bryan is more than ready as well.

4. I am counting down the days till spring. I loathe winter. And not the good kind of loathing either. The bad kind. The kind that you loathe. I look forward to not being cold every second of the day and being able to breathe fresh air for more than 5 minutes a day. Yay for Spring!

5. Bryan is still working on his thesis. He is so ready to be done with it, so if any of you know a lot about hebrew translations of the Book of Mormon, come on over! He will gladly let you write some of it for him.

6. I am currently running the longest streak ever for wearing my hair in a ponytail braid(everyday!). Its not something I'm proud of, but these are the facts of life. The facts of life! I get a surprising number of comments on it too. Recently I got "Wow, did you braid that yourself?"(No, Bryan does it for me! ha) and several "Man, how long is your hair?" There must not be very many people wearin braids these days. Maybe I'm starting the biggest most popular hair trend ever!

7. Our apartment is still small and we recently mourned the loss of our fabulous hot tub. Thank you very much health department. We have everything that we need though and we are very blessed.

8. Our callings in the ward are going well still. I have the cutest bunch of 7 year olds ever. They make teaching extremely easy. Bryan enjoys 'teaching the teachers' and he does a good job. We will look forward to the day when we will get to be in Sunday School together though.

9. Bryan's brother Alex finishes his mission in Oregon in April and we are going to pick him up. I am so excited to see Oregon again and to finally meet my brother-in-law. He left right before Bryan and I started dating.

10. We are getting new phones! Big whoop, i know. But hey, new gadgets are always fun. I will soon part with "old gray"and welcome "name to be announced."

And last but not least, #11. Bryan and I just finished a colon cleanse! We, yes "we", did cleansing pills, fiber, and herbal tea every day for 2 months. I, of course, loved it and Bryan took the "gross" stuff like a champ. We don't really feel much different after, but I know we are healthier now and I'm glad we did it. We both have been drinking lots of water and I even got Bryan a red water jug(to make it less painful of course)! Aren't I the best wife ever?

So that's whats been going on!

Thanks John and John's Mom!

2009-01-29T11:18:00.005-07:00

So I just had to tell you all about what happened Sunday night...

Bryan and I are driving back home from South Weber after visiting Bryan's family. We are on I-15 about 2100 S when I look over at Bryan and he has a strange smile on his face. He starts slowing down and pulling over and yes, we had run out of gas. We both laughed and couldn't believe this had happened. We got out and started walking hand in hand along side the freeway. It was snowing pretty good and our plan was just to walk to the nearest gas station. We didn't really think about calling someone to come rescue us. We had only walked about 5 minutes when I could see headlights coming up behind us. It was John and his mom! Complete strangers who saw us and decided we looked safe enough to pick up. I seriously couldn't believe that someone had stopped to help us.

The story doesn't end there.

We drove with John and his mom(we never got her name) to the gas station to get a gallon of gas as is custom, all the while, Bryan is chattin it up with these people like they are old friends(Probably because they had a Ute blanket in the back seat). They're asking about our work, school, how long we've been married, and Bryan is talking to 14-year old John about school and classes etc. It was so weird. But fun and crazy too.

And we had a lot of time, because you can't get straight onto I-15 from where we were. When you get on the freeway it is one of those side roads that eventually hooks up to I-15. So we kept having to exit and go farther north to actually get on the road where are car was. All in all it was about an HOUR before we were in our car and saying goodbye to our good samaritan friends. They were extremely kind to us and I am so grateful they stopped. It would have taken us several hours to walk to the station and back and we would have frozen to death.

So it just goes to show that if you hold hands with your spouse, good things will happen!

Thanks John and John's mom! And sorry for making your car reek of gasoline!

This is not an actual picture of John and his Mom. We did not think to stop and take a picture with them on the side of the road. I don't know why as that would have been so cool.