Utah...

summed up in a few words and plenty of pictures:

We have had a BLAST on our trip back home to Utah. I know I speak for my hubby and boys when I say we wish we had lots more time to spend here...there are a ton of people we would have loved to have seen or spent more time with.

Anyway, here's a quick summary of what we've done...

Played lots of Guitar Hero







Played in (or dealt with...in a good way) snow



Visited Abigail and Jessica!




Spent a lot of time party'n with family






Got a visit from Santa Claus



Opened lots of presents




And relaxed




Marcus and I were also able to go to the temple this morning for four hours to do some temple work with Grandpa Olson...we had a great time with him and loved being in the temple that we were sealed in.

Well, if you mix in a bunch of trips to Walmart, good food, movie watching, sleep, and lots of funny you-had-to-be-there moments, that pretty much sums up our trip.

Marcus and I are ready to pack the car up in a few minutes and get ready to head back to Texas sometime tomorrow morning...to see if these two guys held down the fort while we were away...

We're Here!

We made it back home safely to Utah!

The boys did FANTASTIC on the drive. I think Marcus and I are still in shock about how well the trip went. The traveling actually ended up being a lot of fun. Connor fell asleep only once about 2 hours before we arrived. James cried just once and that was when we were just about 15 minutes away. The best part was when the snow started falling in between Manti and Ephraim (after two days of perfect driving weather) as our drive was coming to an end...Marcus super-loved it.

Anyway, I'll spare you all the details, but we are here and happy to be. Today is Grandma Olson's famous Christmas Party so I'd better go get ready for it.

We Have Just One More Day

until we leave for Utah.

I need to clean.
I need to do laundry.
I need to pack.
I need to watch the Biggest Loser finale.
I need to meet with a member of my bishopric...to probably get a calling...
I need to give my mother-in-law the keys to our home.
I need my husband to get our car all cleaned out.
I also need him to go to walmart.
And the bank.

And we need to be able to do all this with our two little kids around who I think believe they need to keep us from getting any of the above done...

Oh well.

I'M STILL EXCITED!!!

Seriously James...You're Only 4 1/2 Months...

My little James-y has decided to break his mothers heart and start SCOOTING around WHICH WE ALL KNOW QUICKLY LEADS TO ACTUAL CRAWLING! The little guy can really cover some ground...he'll make it 5-8 feet within 15 minutes or so (though not in a strait line by any means).

The truth is, although I am sad to see my baby not being a baby baby anymore, it has been a lot of fun to see him developing. Last night he was really moving and he was so excited about it! He was also getting his little diapered-bottom up in the air and trying to push off with his feet. Unfortunately (or fortunately) he was using the tops of his feet instead of the bottoms and was getting no where because of it. He was thrilled though.

I think I will always miss not having a newborn around...but I've decided I that I really do not want to mourn my children's growing up-- after all that is what they are supposed to do.

Here's a picture of the little guy for good measure...Marcus took it with his work camera.

Have I Mentioned

our camera gave out on us?

That is why I have not posted any new pictures for a while. Hopefully that will change at Christmas...(hint hint Marcus).

The end.

Let the Countdown Begin!

Time is FLYIN' by and we only have 9 more sleeps until we leave for Utah! We are all VERY excited!

We're going to be driving (which we haven't done since the first summer we were married and took Tommy and Amelia on a road trip). We are taking the 19 hour drive in two segments and will be staying over-night and unwinding at a hotel half way. I think flying will always be our preference but it's awfully hard to pass up these gas prices and pay the higher airline fees (especially with all the baggage we'll have filled with Christmas presents and baby gear).

Anyway, we just can hardly wait for next Thursday to come. Connor has been asking us if it's time for Utah non-stop yesterday and today. Marcus and I are most excited to see his little face when we actually pull into Grandma and Grippy's driveway. I'm also excited for him to be able to see Abigail again. It'll be a fun trip for sure. My hope is just to keep everyone healthy and safe throughout it!

Point of Clarification

So it is the middle of the night and I just got up to feed my James. While he was eating his bottle I was sitting in the silence thinking about my recent post and I started worrying that the quick (or maybe not so quick) explanation of my pet peeve (below) might come off sounding a little stronger than I meant it to (I'm not that great of a writer...I'm much better explaining things through talking).

Anyway, I wanted to clarify that I am not offended or upset any time anyone assumes anything about me...especially if I gave them good reason to assume it (the snow example is a good one...If I tell you I hate the snow in February I can certainly understand why you might assume I hate the snow in December as well).

What really bothers me is when someone "tells" me that I feel a certain way about something or like/dislike something because of what they do know about me (the Oprah one is a good example here. I LOVED this one show she did about dating and I recorded it. A friend of mine assumed that because I loved Oprah, and that particular episode, that I agreed with what Oprah had to say in it [which was that being married isn't necessarily an important thing]. OBVIOUSLY I don't agree with her, but my friend insisted that I could not LOVE that episode like I did and support marriage at the same time...it was ridiculous...and it bothered me so much that she pressed the issue, trying to use one thing she correctly understood about me and incorrectly assert another thing about me because of it. By the way, that episode totally helped me decide to marry Marcus... :)

Anywho, I hope that makes sense and clarifies my pet peeve...I don't want the post below to come off too strong or anything.

It Is What It Is

Forgive me, but this post is all about my #1 pet peeve...something that DRIVES ME COMPLETELY NUTT-O!

Aren't you curious what it is now? Probably not, but here ya go anyway.

It drives me crazy when people assume that because I like one thing I hate the opposite, or because I love something about something I love it all, or because I don't like one thing about something I hate it all, etc. (I hope that made sense...)

Anyway, I just have a hard time with that whole mindset because it often leads to MUCH assuming...and assuming stinks because it mostly leads to misunderstanding which robs people from really getting know other people better. It also fosters disagreement and hatred...

I often want to just proclaim "it is what it is"! I do not like the lingering and dirty snow that Utah gets in February and March...but that does not mean that I do not absolutely LOVE snow. I LOVE Oprah, but that does not mean that I agree with everything she says or does (but if she does or says something I disagree with I take it for what it's worth...and it doesn't make me LOVE her any less). My move to Texas has not turned out like I hoped it would, but that does not mean that it has not exceeded my expectations in other areas. You can not like the way I cook taco meat but still love me.

In case you're curious, nothing specific has happened that has lead to this post. It's just something that's often on my mind and I find myself going nuts about it. It bums me out because sometimes when we make assumptions about certain things we can totally miss out on really getting to know one another because we're too distracted by what we think we know about each other.

Anywho...it is what it is, huh?

(I just finished reading this post before publishing it and I felt like my dad a little...I'm sure my mom's getting a good laugh at hearing me admit that...but all I could think about were all the times in my life I've heard him go off about the need for good communication and understanding...oh heavens!)

"Today I Will Take You To Elmo"

Back in May Connor and I, along with our best friends Abigail and Jessica, went to the Discovery Museum in SLC to see a Sesame Street interactive display. Connor has been bringing it up A LOT lately and asking me if we can go back. I keep telling him that we can't go because the display is not close enough to us (it's currently in Colombus, Ohio).

ANYWAY,

This morning Connor woke up, came out of his bedroom, and said to me "Mom, go and get dressed. Today I will take you to Elmo". I about died laughing because he announced it like it is a big surprise for me and he's going to handle all the plans...I just have to get dressed and tag along. I asked him if he knew how to get us to Ohio and he said, "Yep. Abby's mom is going to drive".

I put the "Polar Express" on to distract him from his plans, so unless Abigail's mom shows up sometime today (from Utah) to drive us all to Ohio I think we'll have to keep waiting for the Sesame Street display to get closer to us before we go.





I can't get over how much younger Connor looks in these pictures! He's grown up SO much since May!

Update and Santa

I was wishing to have been able to say my place was done sometime yesterday...but it did not happen. I tend to pay too much attention to little details (and I get that from my Grandma Olson...so those of you who know her understand what I'm talking about).

ANYWAY, to get away from the disappointment of a still unfinished home we went out to dinner last night (thanks to the gift card Marcus scored at work) and then to see Santa at the mall. Dinner was great and Connor LOVED Santa. He was too nervous to actually sit on his lap but told him what he wanted for Christmas, touched his hands, and gave him a big hug. HE WAS SO EXCITED and desperately wants to go again...and I'm sure we will.

Now, back to work. Maybe I will actually be finished by the time the missionaries come for dinner tomorrow night.