Monday, February 22, 2010

Drum roll please...

Before



After















After many months of Justin's hard work our kitchen is done. With a few more cupboards to hang it will be complete and it is beautiful! Thanks honey for not letting me have an ugly kitchen (even though you do most of the cooking)!

San Diego

The Crown room at Hotel Del (where my grandmother used to perform violin, also who Addie is named after, sorta)







The view from our hotel balcony


I love, love, love San Diego, it is my favorite downtown (well that I've visited so far) so for my birthday we thought we would do a little trip and celebrate birthday and Valentines day. We drove in Friday night and stayed at Justin's grandparents house, where his mom is also living. We played in the morning then around 10 left the kids to hang out down town and have a night alone. Last year we did this and we went to San Diego but didn't get to downtown until 5 and we thought we needed more time. So this time we went earlier and we took a pedicab to the ball park and then took a water taxi to Coronado Island, where Hotel Del Coronado is (where "Some like it Hot" was filmed). We strolled through the hotel and walked on the beach and walked through town to the other side of the Island and took the ferry back. We had a great time shopping in down town and having lunch and dinner. In the morning we had breakfast with his cousins and then headed back to his grandparents, then drove home. It was a great weekend and now as part of our 10 year plan we want to own a condo downtown San Diego, I looked on line and it wasn't so bad, especially in this economy, but in 10 years, who knows?

Friday, February 12, 2010

20 vs 30

This may be a bit self centered of a post but oh well, I am the one who always has to see the picture to make sure its "Katie approved" and take another if its not, so, are we surprised?







Today I'm 30, and I'm actually excited about that. I think it sounds romantic to say I'm 30 (Justin likes it too because he really thinks I'm a cougar now, he's 29). Maybe I feel a sense of maturity, that now I'm an adult, not only by being married and having kids, but in age I'll be accepted as an "adult"! People won't say "you're too young to have kids" and when that was said I would usually say "I'm _________(age)" or recently "I'm 30 in just a few months/weeks/days", trying to comfort them that its OK I have kids since I was __________ many.



So I thought about where my life has been since turning 20 and now today, so here is a recap.



20:



Enrolled at UVSC trying to pick a major



Dating Spencer, who I later married and divorced



Living with Sara, who I thought was a wonderful friend and when I later divorced Spencer, she thought it was horrible that I was dating Justin and told me that Spencer should move on since he deserves to be happy, we are no longer friends



Very involved with institute, being vice president of the institute and over the 11 different service committees



Working as a secretary at nights



maybe teaching dance



my days started at 9 most of the time and ended really late, like 1 0r 2 am

Only ate Chicken and never ate tomato's





30:


Married to the love of my life Justin who always kisses me good night and good morning


2 beautiful, sweet, crazy and happy children


finished my Bachelors at the University of Utah


Mainly a stay home mom but do have 2 part time jobs


starting to teach dance, again



enjoy more things beyond just dinner and a movie, we sight see, camp, spend weekends away, hike, read, decorate the home, and make memories with the kids

My days can start as early as 5:30 but mostly start at 7:30 and end around 11

eats all types of meat and enjoy the occasional tomato


I think the over all enjoyment is having a better handle on who I am, my boundries, what I expect from myself and others as well as looking forward to enjoying the choices I have made. I've said to friends that the 20's are about finding your way and making plans and choices, your 30's are about enjoying those choices. I know that our lives will change when it comes to finances, jobs, maybe where we live, but overall, this is the decade of watching my kids grow up, making long term plans and being better. A better wife, mother, family member, neighbor, friend, and ward member.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Dead Crab

A little while ago Justin thought it would be a great idea to buy Adlen some crabs, so they go to Wal-Mart get two crabs, a tank, filter, rocks and other accessories and food. Fine, I thought, but since then there has been an ugly, dirty tank on my kitchen counter and I have hated having them. But, like any mom, Adlen loves her crabs, so we've kept them.

Well sometime in this last week, one of them died. I noticed it yesterday, but since this was Justin's idea I left it for him to handle when he got home. Well that didn't happen, and not wanting to have a dead crab just sitting in our tank, I told Adlen what had happen.

"Adlen, one of your crabs died, he went back to Heavenly Father"

Adlen "What? Why you say that", with a confused look.

I again explained that when the crab died he went back to his Heavenly Father and we have to take him out of the tank and put him in a safe place, the trash. As I do this she tells me not to "dead him" and shes getting mad at me, telling me to put him back in the tank because he misses his daddy (I get a little sad at this conclusion she makes), I'm nervous thinking that she thinks I killed it, which isn't what you want your child thinking. In an effort to discourage this thought I ask her "do you want to look at him?" she says yes. So I show her his still little body and she gets even more sad and starts to cry, asking to call dad (who is at work) and tell him about her dead crab. So we do

"daddy, my crab is dead"

"oh, I'm sorry sweetie, it'll be ok"

"he went back to his Heavenly Father"

"yes he did, it's ok"

So we concluded the conversation and I finish the job of putting him in a safe place then she tells me "his daddy probably misses him" (the other crab is a little bigger then the one that died).

The idea that she decided that they were a family is so sweet, then to put together that if the family isn't together that that isn't right, made me actually feel a little bad about the passing of one of our crabs. My sweet little Adlen