The Little People in Penelope's Tummy

Penelope has had a little story she talks about when she eats lately. Each time it gets longer and more detailed. The latest iteration is:

P: "Daddy, I have little people in my tummy who turn the switch"

D: "What switch?"

P: "The switch that the opens the door"

D: "What the door?"

P: "The door that lets the food go to it's home"

D: "Your tummy is the food's home?"

P: "Yeah...but it has to go down the stairs first"

I love it. She also talks about "the stripes" that fill up and are her gauge for when she's full. "I have four stripes left until I'm full".

Jessica's New Bike

We finally bought Jessica a bike! It took forever, but it is perfect. Here's the story:

On the night of the first Saturday this month we were driving around and decided to go the thrift store to check some things out. We walked in and almost immediately off in the corner I saw a glint of blue from a bike. Of course I'm naturally drawn over to it. As I'm walking over I'm sizing it up and see that it would be about the right size for Jessica. As I got closer it suddenly hits me! It was the female version of the Free Spirit Britney!!! Now that might not seem significant, however, my first commuting bike (look familiar?) was a...**drum roll** Free Spirit Britney!!! I couldn't believe it! I jumped right on and started riding toward Jessica and the girls giddy with excitement saying "Jess, Jess, check it out!". She got on the bike and it fit. The best part? It was only $19.99 (not quite as good as the free frame that Matt Young dug out of a dumpster for but I'm not complaining, it was still an awesome deal).

I didn't get off the bike in the store. For one, I was excited about it and for two I didn't want someone else to get it. It's in super good condition, I believe all original parts. I just had to inflate the tires a little, adjust the seat, and do a little derailleur adjusting and it is good to go. The only thing is I need to replace the cable and housing for the rear brake.

Here's a cellphone shot of Jessica riding in the parking lot that night:



Today was the first day that Jessica really got to ride it. She loved it. Of course by the time we got outside and the girls situated in the stroller I realized I left the camera inside. So of her first ride I have one cellphone pic:



What are the chances of finding that same bike, female version, in primo condition, and it's the perfect size? Too bad my Britney was too small and I had to sell it. Tomorrow I'll dig the bike trailer out of our storage and we go for our first family bike ride! Woooooo!

Busy Saturday

Today was a busy Saturday, but busy in a good way. Jess worked this morning so I watched the girls. When Jess got home at 11 we went to have a picnic at a park up the road. It was sunny and mid-60s so it was perfect.



Then we went on a short hike. It was Penelope's first hike walking on her own and Maya's first in the backpack.



Penelope did so good. She held mom's hand the whole time but had fun crunching leaves, going over bridges, and touching plants.



Maya loved the backpack. She didn't scream once and had fun playing with my head.



Afterward Jessi watched the girls at the playground and let me go for a short trail run. It was the first since moving here. It felt good to run again. The trees and all the leaves on the ground were beautiful.

Then during nap time I went mountain biking. The first since moving and the first since wrecking and breaking a rib a few days before we moved. I finally swapped out my bent handlebars for the new ones that have been sitting in our closet since the move.

I went to the East Fork State Park and rode a couple of trails there. Riding in the woods is different than the northern UT trails. So many leaves, so many trees, and hardly any vert change.



Look at how happy the bike is! Here's a self-portrait of how happy I was:



I got home, ate a quick dinner, and then it was off to a Stake Priesthood meeting.

It was an awesome Saturday and it felt good to have a day full of physical activity. Thanks for being an awesome wife Jessi and letting me do lots today!

Friday Night Hangout with the Girls

While getting the girls ready for bed tonight things turned really fun. They were both so happy and playing we couldn't help but take some pictures. Penelope pulled up Maya's carseat and climbed in to relax. Pretty soon she was dragging over a blanket and her stool for her feet. It was awesome.



Maya was just crawling around playing and having fun. Check out her teeth coming in!



Me and the little girls



Yeah I don't know what happened to me in this one but look at how good Jess and Maya look!

The Cincinnati

So it's pretty much common knowledge that we are moving to Cincinnati. I got into a nine month master's of marketing program at the University of Cincinnati. We're leaving on 8/31. Woo! It took a little longer than we had planned, but it's nice to finally be moving on to the next life goal.

We haven't ever been to Cincinnati so we're excited to get there and see what it's like. From people we know here's what we've been told:

• Cincinnati is a hole


• Cincinnati isn't that bad


• Cincinnati is nice


• All of Ohio is a hole


• UC is a good school


• It's the spaghetti capitol of the US


• It has the best gelato outside of Italy


• The southern woods of OH have great mountain biking


• The cyclocross scene is pretty rad (too bad I won't really be able to participate in it this year

So that being said we're taking all of it with a massive grain of salt. If Cincinnati sucks, oh well, it's only nine months! You can expect plenty of updates on the move and what life is like there for us.

Blanding & New Mexico

To help cut costs at work everyone has to take an unpaid week off. I took mine last week (it happened to coincide with having the 3rd off in celebration of the 4th) so we had 10 days. We went down to Blanding to visit Jessica's sister Amy and her family for a week and then to Farmington, NM to visit Adam and Lisa.

We did a lot and it could be a ridiculously long post but instead you get a nice bullet list with a slideshow at the end:

• Had our first head-splitting-open experience ever with our kids (It was Maya and luckily she didn't need stiches)


• 4th of July Parade


• Fireworks Show


• Jessica ran the Blanding 5k


• Mountain biking


• Homemade ice cream


• Swimming pool + high dive


• Snow cones


• Sprinklers, slip-n-slide, and water fight


• Reading


• Practicing spinning Poi balls


• Wii


• Lake Powell + ferry + 100 degree temps + small cliffs for jumping


• A couple hikes to Native American Ruins


• Board games


• Lots of food


• Evenings hanging in the backyard


• Flying kites at the park


• Four wheeling


• Clay pigeons


• Shooting handguns (my first time ever)


• Flea markets + fry bread


• Jacuzzi


• More playing in the pool outside and waterfights


• Movies


• Playing at the lake


• Kayaking at the lake


• Remembering how to roll kayaks at the lake


• Bocceball


• Jacuzzi


• Driving

Whew! It was an awesome trip. Enjoy the pics.

I Like the Way Kids Think

Setting: We're getting into the car tonight after going to dinner at Citrus Grill. As I'm backing out of the parking space Jessica says "I'd like to get an I-C-E C-R-E-A-M C-O-N-E" (gotta spell this stuff out around the kids).

I replied with "hey, there's a M-C-D just up the road, we could go get on there".

Penelope, hearing us spelling stuff out says "I want one of those".

We asked her "one of what?"

She gets a confused look on her face. We ask her "you want one of things mommy and daddy were talking about?"

She says "yeah, I want one of those."

She had no clue what we were talking about, but she must have know that since we were spelling something out it must be good. Blows my mind how she figures things out!

Crab 'n Climb 2009

Two weekends ago was our annual "Crab 'n Climb" trip that we take with some friends every year to St. George. This year was a little later than usual, but that was perfectly fine since it was warmer and gave us a few more weeks with Maya before the trip.

We drove down Friday morning. We left just before 6:00 am to get in a few hours before the girls woke us. I figured we'd probably get in 90 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised when we got in about three hours! We stopped, had breakfast, then Maya went back to sleep and we drove the remaining 90 minutes without any interruptions! It was the smoothest trip in the car we've ever had!

Friday consisted of checking into the condo, saying hello to everyone, and climbing. The wives were gracious enough to watch the kids this extra time so we could get out and climb. We went to an area named "Utah Hills". This was my first time out since the fall in Colorado that shook me up. I spent my time top roping and getting comfortable on the rock again. It was nice, I got in about 5 routes.

Saturday we went to this awesome park that had "perpetual motion" toys. The ones where you start spinning and they just keep going. Penelope had an awesome time running around, climbing up and sliding down.



They also had a little 'bouldering' wall for the kids to play on. Penelope got her first feel for climbing on it:



We also got a good family picture (don't mind the random lady in the background):



We also had a few 'battles' on the round, sliding toy:



After lunch and naps we spent awhile playing in the swimming pool. I love swimming and it's even better that Penelope is a fish.

Saturday night was crab dinner night. We used to go to Mesquite to the seafood buffet for crab but since we now have kids, we just buy some at the store and cook it up. It's the one time a year that we eat crab and it was gooo-oood!

Sunday was more playing, swimming, and climbing. We went to Chuckwalla to climb. I got in my first lead since Colorado and it felt good to get it out of the way. Jessica also got in her first climb since Colorado and since having Maya. She did really well and is super stoked for the coming season.

Me:



Jessica:



The drive home was almost as smooth as the drive down. It was a killer weekend, good to get out with friends, climbing, enjoy nice weather, and be with the family.

Here's a short album of the trip:

Baffling Dinner Event

Tonight at dinner we had some cucumber slices. After Penelope finished eating her dinner we offered her some cucumber slices (slightly under the guise of 'treats'). She took one a little reluctantly and had a bite. She then took two others and had bites.

We finished dinner off with some homemade caramel cookies. Afterward we were cleaning up and I saw that there was one cucumber slice left. Penelope was still in her chair so I said "Penelope, would you like this cucumber slice?" She said no and so I popped it in my mouth. This is where the baffling event occurred. She looked up at me, got teary-eyed, starting crying, and said 'Penelope that one' pointing to my mouth.

Yup she was crying because I ate the last cucumber slice and she wanted it! We partially assuaged the hurt feelings by giving her one that she didn't finish at dinner. It still wasn't enough so we told her that we could go to the store to get another cucumber tomorrow. That helped cheer her up.

And this from the girl who still won't really eat any vegetables that aren't in the pureed form. Crazy...

7 Years

It was seven years ago today that Jessica and I began dating, went on our first date, hooked up...however you want to say it. In a lot of ways it's hard to believe that it's been seven years. It definitely doesn't feel like it. Last night we were discussing it and we looked at each other and said "I've known you for seven years? Weird."

We celebrated by going out to dinner to Bombay House. Oh man that place is good! Then we went and got custard at a little place just down the road from us.

Jessica is the best wife. I feel extremely lucky that she picked me...especially when I think about myself. :)

This is a picture of us about 7 months after we started dating, I think we look young!

Last Week in Review

Last week was a fun-filled, activity packed week. It was probably the most we've done in a week in an extremely long time. Here's a recap:

Sunday we made gingerbread houses with Penelope. We cheated though and used graham crackers for the gingerbread. Penelope mostly ate candy and crackers and helped Jessica a little. It was fun, they turned out great, and it was an awesome way to spend some family time on a Sunday evening.







Then Penelope thought it'd be fun to play in the laundry basket:



Monday night we had a neighborhood party. This was our first year participating and it was awesome. Some people get together, make scones and hot chocolate, and have a big get together for the neighborhood. Instead of exchanging neighbor gifts they ask everyone to bring donations of food, clothing, or cash for a local charity. It was cold and a little snowy so the hot chocolate and scones fit perfectly. It was good to see a bunch of neighbors that we don't see or talk to all that much.

Wednesday was the Ward Christmas Party. Our ward puts on the best Christmas party out of all the wards I've ever attended. Jessica and I have discussed it and we aren't quite sure what makes it so great. This year they mixed it up and sponsored a 'giving tree' for three families in the community that are in need and also collected money for some families in the ward that are need. We started out by wrapping all the presents that were purchased for the families. Then we moved to the eating portion. Instead of the usual lame lasagna or pasta with crappy salad, every year the ward gets BBQ from a local caterer. It's good. Then we had a little Christmas message, followed with a hot chocolate and little treat bar. Santa Claus made an appearance. We tried getting Penelope amped beforehand and she seemed excited. When we asked her what she was going to ask Santa for Christmas she would respond "Candy".

As soon as Santa walked into the gym her bottom lip started to quiver, the tears started to come, and she would point and say "that guy". It was kind of funny in way. We walked over to Santa and pointed out all of Penelope's little friends and kids she knew as they would sit on Santa's lap. I got in line and tried to distract her. As soon as it was her turn she bear-hugged my neck, started crying, and saying "no sit Santa, no sit Santa". I ended up sitting on his knee with her in my lap for quick picture.



Thursday we watched The Office. Hilarious!

Friday night brother Zach, his wife Alisa, their son Aiden, came down with their friends Danny & Julie and their son Taven. We ate dinner at Pei Wei then went to go see the lights at Temple Square. We had fun reminiscing about how we did something similar two years ago (Zach and Alisa came down, we ate dinner, then went to go see the lights) and the next day Penelope was born!

Saturday it snowed a ton! Jessica went to a baby shower and Penelope and I played in the snow. It was awesome. We walked around, made snow angels, pulled Penelope around in the sled, and my favorite part, I taught Penelope to eat snow! Here's a picture and fun little video:





Sunday we hung out, went to church, the usual Sunday stuff. Penelope did wear her Christmas dress from Nana Faerber for the first time:



Jessica also crocheted Penelope a scarf. She put the little flower in her hair and Penelope decided that she needed to wear her 'church shoes':



And one last photo because Penelope is so cute:

The Best Part of Today

Had a good day at work, a nice ride home, immediately went to the ward Christmas Party (which is awesome). What was the best part of the day? After the party sitting on the couch under a blanket cuddling with Jessica and Penelope eating grapes.

It's amazing how life gets simpler in many ways once you have a kid.

A Day at Bear Lake

Yesterday we went to Bear Lake for the day. We got the idea from Adam, but then unfortunately they couldn't go...thanks for the idea.

We got up there about lunch time. We pitched the sunshade, made sandwiches, and ate underneath it. Once lunch was gone we went for the water. It was surprisingly warm for Bear Lake.



Penelope loved walking in the water. She was unstable on the washboard sand and would get knocked over by the small waves so we held her hand a lot. She kept wanting to walk straight out. She'd even want to keep going when it'd get so deep that the waves would splash her face. She also loved splashing.



We, of course, stopped to get a raspberry shake on our way home. On our way back through Logan we stopped and walked around our alma mater's campus. I loved going to school at Utah State. We also drove through the neighborhoods we said we'd want to live in if we ever moved back to Logan.

We capped the day with eating dinner at Firehouse Pizzeria (mmmm, Cordon Bleu pasta and FFzookie) with my mom and her husband.