Abigail

Connor is absolutely, totally, head-over-heels, in love with his best friend Abigail. Abby (as he calls her) has lived in the apartment beneath us since Connor was born. In fact, her parents have lived beneath us since before she was even born. Anyway, Connor and Abigail have always played with each other and have been good friends, but as they are growing older they are both wanting to do more things together and spend more time together. These last few weeks they have played with each other nearly every day...and nearly all day long a lot of the time.

They went to "The Cheese" (Chuckee Cheese) together to celebrate Connor's birthday (even though it was very belated at this point) a little while ago. Those two just LOVE "The Cheese". They ate tons of pizza and played lots and lots of games. They liked to ride in the cars together and had a blast just being together.





One of my favorite moments with the two of them happened on a Saturday. Paul (Abigail's dad) and Marcus had gone golfing while Jessica (her mom) and me went to an enrichment activity. We told the kids if they would behave during our activity we would take them to McDonald's afterwards for lunch. They ate their happy meals and then spent about an hour on the playground. As we were driving home they were blabbering lots of things back and forth to one another. When they saw that we were turning into our apartment they both instantly started wailing and screaming, "No! Wal*Mart! Connor and Abby Wal*Mart!" Jessica and I started laughing so hard. It was obvious the little duo had decided at some point that we were going to Wal*Mart after McDonals. They never told us, though, so we just drove home. They were devestated. I love the thought of the two of them talking to each other and making plans together...even if they were plans to go to Wal*Mart. So cute!

For All Those Thinking of Hiring Me As A Secretary...

For all of those who have been thinking of hiring me as a secretary I took a typing test. Here are my results:

78 words

Speedtest

Just kidding...I'm not really thinking about working as a secretary anytime soon. I just saw this on my friends blog and gave it a go. I was shocked at the results. I thought I'd get 9 or 10 words a minute. I wonder how accurate this thing is?

Yuck, It's Not Ubba Gum!

Connor is definitely his father's son. Marcus LOVES the taste of bubble gum (in almost anything) and so does Connor. Now, I like bubble gum every now and then (maybe), but I definitely do not like the hard, pink, individually wrapped, seven year old, pieces of bubble gum that were handed out at the Easter Egg hunt Connor went to.

Well, he was getting into his Easter candy this morning and he came over to me with a disgusted look on his face. He was holding a tootsie roll in his hand with a teeny tiny little bite taken out of it. He handed it to me and dramatically said, "Yuck. It's not ubba gum!" Who on earth thinks a tootsie roll is disgusting compared to old, hard, pink, bubble gum? He's crazy! That tootsie roll was even soft...I don't think he' realized how lucky he was to have it.

Hoppy Easter!

O.K. Dorky title...I know. I just couldn't resist. Anyway, we have had a fun Easter weekend.

Yesterday we went down to Ephraim to celebrate the holiday with some of my family. I took Connor to the city Easter Egg Hunt (don't know why it's called that, you search for candy, not eggs). This was one of my favorite childhood past-times and I just really wanted to take Connor to it. He did o.k. for himself and was thrilled about all the treats he got.


We enjoyed the afternoon with many members of my extended Olson family. Connor was spoiled by the Easter Bunny (a.k.a. Great Grandma and Grandpa). He especially enjoyed the fishing game they had set up for all the little kids.


This morning Connor woke up to his Easter Basket and was beyond himself excited (even though it did not have any candy inside...Marcus and I figured he got enough the day before). He enjoyed the morning before church watching his Elmo Springtime DVD and playing with his little stuffed Sesame Street characters. Although he looked totally adorable in his new Easter outfit, he did not want to cooperate for pictures very well. The little stink! Luckily I came away with atleast one decent photo.


My favorite part of the day happened after church when Connor went in to mine and Marcus' bedroom to watch Finding Nemo. For the first time in his entire life, Connor Jeremy Poole FELL ASLEEP while watching tv. This was so exciting for Marcus and I (although I'm not exactly sure why). After he'd been out for nearly two hours we made A TON of noise that finally woke him up. When he came out we pretended to have not idea that he had been sleeping and he had no intention of letting us know. He just pretended like he had watched Nemo. It was a little funny. The cutest part of it was that he fell asleep holding on to a stuffed Easter Bunny his Great Grandma and Grandpa gave him.


Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Suprise Suprise!

Today I went in for my third ultrasound. This one was just to check the health and growth of the baby. We were happy to find out that everything looks good so far. We were SHOCKED to find out that our little baby is DEFINITELY A BOY! I thought they told me I was definitely having a girl...suprise suprise!

I have to admit, as the shock wore off I became a little sad. I have now, however, accepted the truth and am really looking forward to having a boy. His name will be James Marcus. I think it is funny that both of my little boys have "it's a girl" ultrasound pictures. I am happy that we know this one's a boy instead of a girl earlier than we did with Connor. I was seven months before we knew with him.

Plans

Well, Marcus and I FINALLY have some plans for our summer and eventual move to Texas.

After putting in lots of job applications and having several phone calls and interviews, only to find out EVERY time that the positions were much lower paying than we were expecting OR were commission based, Marcus has decided to complete the Texas State Teacher Certification and apply to teach Middle or High School there this coming school year. The school districts he is looking at pay higher than most positions he's seen in his field (without a Master's Degree). Texas also pays their teachers twice as much as Utah pays (which is a great thing). He has applied to the University of North Texas certification graduate progam and should be officially accepted sometime in May. At that point he can put in his applications.

Since the next school year would not begin until next fall we will be staying in Utah until August 15. We are happy to be here to have our little Eden with Dr. Gourley.

We are excited about this option! If everything goes well we will be looking at buying our first home this fall when we move and Marcus will teach for the three years he will be working on his Master's in Kinesiology. It will be nice for him to have his summer's off to spend time on his Master's research work.

Now...here's to hoping everything works out with this plan and he is able to get hired sometime this summer! Luckily there are a ton of schools within the districts he's applying to and several new ones are even opening.

Disney World

Day 1-
We arrived in Florida after a plane ride that went by rather quickly. Connor was so EXCITED for the bus ride from the Tampa airport to Disney World, especially because he got to ride sitting by his uncle Tommy. We soon found out the busses would be the highlight of the trip for our little guy. We spent the evening at our hotel and went to bed early so we would be totally ready for a fun time at one of the parks the next day.


Day 2-
Tommy, Amelia, Marcus, Connor, and I went to Epcot and had a blast! Connor loved going on all the rides. His favorite, by far, was the Nemo ride. I had such a fun time watching Connor experience everything for the first time. We could have spent the entire day at Epcot but my parents were arriving late afternoon and we went back to the resort to meet them. We did return, however, that evening to watch the World Showcase Fireworks show. I was nervous that being so close to all the fireworks would scare Connor but I was happily wrong. He loved it!


Day 3-
My mom, Matt, Amelia, Marcus, Connor, and I headed off to Magic Kingdom. We had a good time, but I have to say, it was not my favorite. We rode lots of rides, watched a Castle show, went to the new (and not improved) Tiki Room, and watched a mainstreet parade. We had a nice time, but the park was so much more crowded and jumbled. The highlight of the day for Connor was the ginormous turkey leg his uncle Matt bought for him. He had seen lots of people with them around the park and desperately wanted one. We went back to the hotel late afternoon and went swimming. I can't even tell you how much fun we had in the pool after a hot day at the park.


Day 4-
Right before a couple of us took off for Animal Kingdom my sister-in-law Annice stopped by to see if any of us wanted to go with her to meet Sam Champion from Good Morning America. I knew GMA was at the hotel filming the Osmond's that morning, but I did not know Sam Champion was the one reporting. I was so glad she came and told us because I am a big Sam fan. I know it is dorky, but it is true. We headed over and got to see him before the spot was over and he had to leave. Totally cool.

Anyway, we did head off to Animal Kingdom eventually and it was BY FAR our favorite park. We watched the Bug's Life 3D show, the Finding Nemo Musical (which were both really neat), and then went on a bunch of rides before needing to return to the hotel. We had to practice walking up on the stage for the Osmond show that night. Connor had a good nap that afternoon (which was much needed).


We had a nice time at the banquet and Osmond show that evening. Connor got to spend most of the time in the Disney babysitter room. Thank goodness for that room and those babysitters! He had such a fun time and we enjoyed eating a nice dinner without his disasterous behavior.

Day 5- Connor's 2nd Birthday!
I got food poisening in the middle of the night. It was awful. Need I say more? Although I felt much better by morning, I was exhausted from having no sleep during the night. I stayed back at the hotel most of the day recovering...it was actually somewhat nice. My mom stayed at the hotel as well just playing with Connor. We walked around the lake in the afternoon and just enjoyed the beautiful resort. Marcus, Matt, and Amelia went to Hollywood Studios to go on all the big kid rides. They seemed to have a fun time.


Day 6-
We spent the morning back at Animal Kingdom before having to head to the airport. We watched the Lion King Show and met Mickey. SO CUTE! Connor loved finally getting to meet his Mickey Mouse. He had seen him several times during our trip but I didn't want to go get pictures with him until we were at Animal Kingdom. I just like the Safari outfits all the characters wear there.


We sadly headed off to the airport that afternoon. But as you may already know, we elected to get bumped off of our flight and stay one more day. We recieved $1,200 in airline vouchers and got put up at the Westshore Marriott.

Day 7-
We enjoyed the morning and early afternoon at the hotel and then headed off again to the airport. We had lunch at TGI Fridays to kill a little time and then let Connor play on a playground until our plane was ready to board. The ride home was not bad, but we were all exhausted and ready for it to be over. We had such a good time on our trip, but it is always good to be home!

A Few Funny Connor Moments

Before I set out to blog all about our Disney World trip I thought I'd better play catch-up and write down a few things I had wanted to before we even left.

Here goes:

1-Connor is a funny boy. I think he is a great observer of society. He has totally caught on to the fact that EVERYONE has a cell phone and that is how we communicate with people when we're not around them. Well, the other day I was in getting ready for the day and Connor was just pacing back and forth in our hallway talking on his fake cell phone. This is what I heard him say:

"Hi Jesus. This is Hemi (our cat). No...this is Ohnnor. (then there was a pause, he was apparently listening to what Jesus had to say to him). Yeah. Yeah. Uh-huh. O.k. Bye."

I was cracking up. The next night I went in to check on him before going to bed and this is how he was sleeping


Maybe he was saying his bedtime prayers.

2-Mascara. Everyday I put my mascara on Connor is absolutely fascinated by it. Well, he seems to have gotten his hands on a tube of it and this is how I found him


He was very proud of himself and happily admitted to using my make-up. When I held him up to a mirror to see himself the mood changed, however. He got a horrified look on his face and exlaimed, "Oh No! Ohnner's Face! Oh No!" His bottom lip even quiverred. So cute!

Vacation...extended.

First of all (as I'm sure you've noticed) I did not blog every day of our Disney World vacation as I would have liked to. This is not because of not wanting to, but rather because the hotel charged $10.00 per day for internet access...

Anyway, our flight home was scheduled for right now, but as you might imagine (since I'm writing a blog entry) we are not on it. We elected to get bumped off our flight. I had mixed feelings about doing it (mostly because I miss our pets) but once they offered us $1,200 in Delta Cash Vouchers we decided to go for it. Neither of us have anything going on tomorrow and we figured if we didn't do it we'd probably regret it later. So...here we are at the Marriott Westshore Hotel in Tampa waiting for our flight tomorrow afternoon/evening.

We've had a great trip and I'll blog all about it once we are home!

Spring Break!

Aaah...Spring Break is here! Marcus left school on Thursday realizing that he would not have to go back for 12 straight days! Wahoo! Of course Spring Break is not that long, but if you count weekends and the fact that he has no Monday or Friday classes it adds up.

We are excited to be heading off to Florida with my family for a fun Disney World vacation. Marcus and I have been working as hard as we can to get everything we want done before we leave Tuesday morning. We have a full day of work ahead of us tomorrow, but hopefully we will be successful. Wish us luck.

My goal is to blog every day of our trip (mostly so I can have a good journal of the whole thing)...we'll see if I end up being dedicated enough. Hopefully so.

Happy Spring Break to anyone else who has it this week...and even to those who don't.

At Least Half Way!

While I was talking to my cousin on the phone today about my pregnancy with little Eden I realized that right now I am at least half way through! I know the 20th week usually marks the half way point, but knowing Eden will be delivered early changes that for me. Connor was born at 37 weeks and Dr. Gourley would like Eden to come even before he did. So...Hooray!!!...even though I love being pregnant.

Quick Update

I've been a bum of a blogger lately and thought I'd just write down a quick update. Here goes:

While Marcus and I were driving back from Vegas nearly a week and a half ago I started getting horrible allergies. I get them every year for about a week when the snow really starts melting. I have no idea what am allergic to, but I'm glad they go away relatively quickly. Unfortunately, about a day after the allergies started I came down with Connor's nasty little cold. Being pregnant and not being able to take good allergy medication was bad enough...that coupled with having a horrible cold was miserable. I was useless for a few days but am feeling much better now.

I turned the big 2-5 on Saturday and had a fun day shopping with my mom and sister (Marcus went off shopping with my brother). They had all come up to buy some summer clothes for our upcoming trip to Florida. Near the end of the afternoon Connor had a total meltdown at JC Penney's. He wanted to go up and down the escalator and for some reason when I said, "O.K. but you've got to hold Mommy's hand" he just lost it. Of course, this was all happening when he really should have been home napping. Poor kid just wailed and as I picked his flailing body up off the floor with one hand and tried to get the stroller going with the other two ladies from Ephraim (where I grew up) who also happened to be my former Young Women's leaders walked by and began laughing at me and saying to one another, "Oh, aren't you glad we don't have young kids anymore". They obviously didn't recognize me, but when I ran into them a few minutes later after Connor had calmed down and fallen asleep in his stroller we all had a good laugh.

Marcus has a telephone interview today for a job with Cooper Venture's. He has applied for a position in Grand Prairie, Texas to be a Wellness Coordinator for a company. He would be at the facility full-time as a representative of Cooper Aerobics Center and promote and implement wellness programs as well as do blood-pressure and other health screenings. Although everything seems to be going well so far we are both still a bit nervous about it. I'll post an update on this whole thing when we have one.

Well, that's about good for now I suppose. I better go feed my little Connor some lunch since it is well past his lunchtime.