Adios Office!

I've had the same job since my last semester of college. I've loved it, but not as much as I love being a mom. I've always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, but for the last year it's worked best for our family for me to keep working while Sam stayed home and finished up his last couple of classes. About a week after I returned to work after taking a 12-week leave when Cohen was born, I came home to a tired looking Sam standing in the middle of the kitchen saying, "every dad should have to do this so that they know what it's like! I can't get anything done!" I just laughed. Really, he's done a stellar job. He cooks, he cleans, and most importantly, he has a blast with Cohen. All while finishing up his last couple of classes. I'm sure he's the best dad EVER! It's been a blessing in many ways. I have a new appreciation for mothers who must work; Sam and Cohen have an incredible bond; and Sam truly appreciates how much work it takes to care for a child. But now it's time to switch places. Yippee!!! I will never take it for granted.

Aquarium

Here are a few photos from a trip to the aquarium to took Yesterday with the Cub Scouts (Sam's Cub Master and I'm a den leader). Besides some very poor customer service, we had a great time. 

He Walks!

Yesterday was a pretty big day for my niece, Ellie.  Not only did she turn 8 years old, she also chose to be baptized and confirmed a member of the the LDS Church.  Yeah, Ellie!  We are so proud of you!!

Yesterday was also a pretty big day for Cohen!  Ellie was posing for pictures with her grandparents when Cohen totally stole her thunder (sorry, Ellie!) by taking his very first steps right into the frame of the picture being taken.  He's had very good balance for quite sometime, but he's never even tried to walk.  Then suddenly THREE perfect steps.  Unfortunately, Sam was helping out in the kitchen, so I excitedly screamed for him to come see (and scared him half to death) and luckily Cohen repeated his moves for his dad and the photo below.  Yeah, Cohen!  We are so proud of you!!  

He already gets around so fast and gets into EVERYTHING, so I'm just bracing myself for when he masters walking.  He knows how to keep me busy!

Summer 2010

I love this time of year!  We've been trying to get outside as much a possible, and especially love spending time in the mountains.  One of my Father's Day presents to Sam was a hike on a trail he had never been to before.  It was unusually hot, and I wasn't feeling very well, but I think Sam enjoyed it.  Cohen loved it, despite getting really sweaty in his wrap, and eventually fell asleep.  Even though I was hot and sick, it was so good to get up into the beautiful mountains!

We recently went camping with one of my sisters and her family.  It was a short camping trip, but lots of fun.  We had yummy tin foil dinners for dinner along with delicious dutch oven baked beans.  This was our first time camping with Cohen.  He's a master crawler and wanted to expore everything. Thank goodness for port-a-cribs!  Really, Cohen seemed to enjoy it and loved being with his cousins.  My only worry was that he wouldn't sleep, but he slept like a champ.  It was actually nice having him all cuddled up next to me.  In the morning we hiked to Timpanogos Cave.  Cohen hitched a ride on my back and leaked thru his diaper--it's the only time I can remember where I was hoping people would think the wet spot all over me was sweat! 

Cohen wants to be outside all the time, just like his daddy.  Here he is helping Sam wash the car.  I didn't think he'd like the cold water, but it didn't phase him at all.

This week we went to Lagoon with Sam's brothers and sisters Shane, Emily and Marci, and Marci's family.  I was shocked at the ticket price for a soon-to-be-one-year-old!  It was totally worth it though.

I took Cohen on one of my favorite childhood rides, but I don't think he was quite ready for it!

We also took him on the Horror ride--he looks pretty freaked out, but he actually didn't get scared thanks to all of the camera flashing going on.

Cohen's cousins won him about twelve hammers that they ended up trading in for a stuffed wolf.  It's his new favorite stuffed animal.

He loved the train ride!

At the top of the giant ferris wheel at sunset.

We also went on a hike with my uncle and brother-in-law.  The goal was the find THE TREE HOUSE.  The Tree House was this amazing place "somewhere" in the mountains that Sam helped build many moons ago.  We went there a couple of times when we were dating and first married, but it had been years since we'd visited.  The place had windows, a wood burning stove, and was infested with chipmunks (one of the funniest things I've seen in my life).  We had heard it had been torn down, so we thought we'd go check it out.  This is what we found:    

 BUMMER!!

The hike was pretty tough, especially since we took a "shortcut" through some pretty heavy brush.  We all had some pretty scratched up legs to show off by the end, except for Cohen.  He had a nice relaxing ride!

Last summer kind of escaped me.  I was busy getting ready for a baby and then taking care of a newborn.  I wouldn't have traded that for anything, but it's been nice to get out a little more this year.