The Pehrson Pack

Ranking Schmanking

2012-02-07T23:37:00.002-06:00

Here we are in life, interviews for Cody are over, FINALLY! At first, we (Cody), thought that because we didn't have 13 or more interviews, things weren't going to go so well for us (him). After interviewing at our 8 wonderful choices - Huntington, WV, New Orleans, LA, Milwaukee, WI, Detroit, MI, Erie, PA, Fresno, CA, Albuquerque, NM, and Phoenix, AZ - we decided, we'd be happy and excited to call one of those places home for the next 5 years, but, that we have saved thousands of dollars and many days of extra travel by having fewer interviews. Me and Cody decided it is WAY harder to rank these places than we thought. We are still a little uncertain on the top 3, because EVERY one of these interviews went so well. Cody had very interesting, very positive comments from most of the chairman's, attending's, and residents during his interviews. One told Cody he "oozed goodness." One said that Cody's personal statement was like a, "beautiful piece of literary work and he had to read it over and over again he liked it so much." Cody was told that he would be a, "unique and diverse candidate, which they are looking for [more diversity]" (Cody has never been classified as diverse, being male and caucasian. I thought that was interesting). He had other comments such as; "You interview very well." "We are pulling for you to be ranked at the top of our list." Once asked, "Did you apply to San Antonio?" (coming from one of the attending's who was moving the following year to San Antonio, liked Cody so much, was hinting at and wishing Cody was coming to Texas with him). He was also invited multiple times to different homes after interviews.

I know I am totally bragging on Cody, but I cannot even tell you how utterly PROUD and HAPPY I am of him and for him! His whole life he has worked so hard, paying for every cent of school the entire way himself. He has told me he is not a natural genius, a great test taker, or even a good memorizer, he has spent many days of his life studying extra hard to keep up with the geniuses, reading textbooks galore, putting straining effort, energy and thought into each of his subjects. The kicker is that during all those years of schooling, he also had other pressures; always keeping one or more jobs to pay for the schooling, having callings in EQ that required hours of attention and dedication, and of course keeping his girlfriend (me) happy and wanting to marry him, despite his crazy future of a life. Then during med school keeping a lot of those same responsibilities and add on ten more, including having a son.

Well! My dear, sweet, hard working husband ... you made it! You will soon have a career! As a Doctor!!!!

I believe he WILL match at one of those place. I feel it in my bones, but we find out for sure on March 16th this year. Six short weeks away.

Here are the possible places we could end up. These are not in order of preference, we haven't decided how we will rank yet.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Pros and Cons of living there: Closer to family (5 hour drive from Monticello), great Ortho program with many specialty options, moonlighting is available (which allows Cody to earn more money every month if he chooses). Beautiful weather year round, 4 seasons with comfort, meaning never TOO cold nor TOO hot.

All kinds of fun, family-friendly things to do right in Albuquerque. All kinds of outdoor activities year round (big one for us); hiking, biking, camping, skiing, hot air ballooning, lakes close by. Only one hour from Sante Fe, one and a half hours from Santa Rosa. Lots of exciting history, museums, and of course, YUMMY foods. (Our favorite food is mexican, so this would be a huge selling point for us too).

The housing market is very affordable, allowing us to purchase there. Easy commute to the hospital for Cody, good schools for Talmage, and best of all, we got a temple right in our backyard. No more all day trips to visit the temple.

Phoenix, Arizona

Pros and cons of living there: Close to both family, (5 hours to Monticello and 6 hours to St. George). There is the possibility that Heather and Clay end up working there too, having family in the neighborhood. Phoenix has a major airport hub, cheaper and fast flights home and more direct flights. Weather wise, I have heard 6 months of warm, comfortable weather and 3 months of extreme heat, but at least there is no snow to shovel. Another great Ortho program with lots of great educational opportunities. There is also a great reputation of schools for Talmage to attend.

Pools and water activities year round. A lot of fun indoor activities to escape the heat during the summer. Within a few short hours of many famous landmarks and interesting places to see. Vegas, Disneyland, Lake Powell and Flagstaff being a few.

Housing is the most affordable here, getting us more home per dollar. There is a bit more traffic here, but not horrible. We also have a Temple in Mesa and the Phoenix Temple is in the works of being built.

Mesa Temple

Fresno, California

Pros and cons of living there: Well, it's California! Still closer to family (12 -14 hour drives) than anywhere on the east coast or midwest. Beautiful weather year round. The program in Fresno is new and growing, giving Cody experimental and leadership opportunities, with hopes of incorporating moonlighting into the program soon. Again, great schools available for Talmage.

It is a very agriculturally rich city with tons of farmers markets selling all sorts of delicious produce. It is 45 minutes from the mountains and Yosemite. Few hours drive from other major cities such as; Sacramento, San Fransisco, Los Angeles San Diego, Oakland, Las Vegas etc.

Housing is pretty affordable, not quite like Phoenix or Albuquerque, but we could still purchase. Perk of owning in Fresno....we could have a garden in the backyard. Commute is not bad at all, it being a smaller city in Cali. Of course there is a Temple there too.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Pros and cons of living there: The atmosphere and excitement. Never a dull moment. Lots of fun things to do, although I am not sure it's very kid friendly. Far from family, but a fun place to visit might win us more visitors. The program was a home run for Cody again, very impressive, with very profitable moonlighting available.

Do I even need to mention the music, art and food? We would definitely get fat living here. It is close to all kinds of beautiful beaches, 3 hours from Seaside, Florida (where I worked one summer at a restaurant), they have gorgeous, clean, white beaches.

The houses are so beautiful and the detail so intricate, it would be an activity in itself just walking the neighborhoods and towns. Housing is affordable, but flood insurance alone is the biggest expense (but worth it if you consider the weather there on occasion).

They have a Temple in Baton Rouge which is our next door neighbor, so good news in that department as well.

Baton Rouge temple

Erie, Pennsylvania

Pros and cons of living there: Smaller town, less headache of a big city, easier commute for Cody. The program again is a hit. Really got along with all the residents. Far away from family again, but not even a days drive to New York and other exciting east coast cities.

There is a huge peninsula that juts out for 12 miles that has tons of warm sandy beaches to play on in the in the summertime, or to go biking or running on in the other seasons. Lots of fun sailing on the Lake (no sharks...phew).

Housing is affordable with lots of family friendly, beautiful neighborhoods to live in. I think the nearest Temple is the Palmyra Temple (few hours drive, but gorgeous).

Palmyra temple

Huntington, West Virginia

Pros and Cons of living there: Very similar to Erie, a small town and far away from family, but non-the-less, very close to the East Coast and a lot of other major, fun, exciting cities to visit. It is beautiful country with rolling hills and rivers and lakes. Surrounded by trees and has all four seasons. The program is a bit newer also, but very impressive to Cody and has a lot of great residents to work with.

Lots of trains, which Talmage is infatuated with right now, that would be fun to go check out. Don't even get me started on the adorable houses (which are very affordable) and the cozy feeling neighborhoods. All around safe, clean, environment. Fast and easy commute for Cody. Good schools as well.

Nothing like living in a quiet, small town and relaxin a bit. The closest Temple I believe is the Columbus, Ohio Temple (few hours drive, another beauty though).

Columbus, Ohio Temple

Detroit, Michigan

Pros and Cons of living there: I know! Detroit, and they just went through a horrible recession, leaving tons of people out of work and a ton of abandoned buildings with all the windows broken through. The city was very dirty with trash all over the highways too. Doesn't sound too good yet does it? Well take a 15 minute drive into the suburbs surrounding Detroit and you got very pleasant, very affordable houses, with nice schools, and good communities.

The program has a lot of perks to offer, including profitable moonlighting, new car (Henry Ford is the program, makes sense), and a lot of specialty programs. It is close to Canada and other major cities. They actually have a Detroit Temple too. Who woulda thought?

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Pros and cons of living there: I don't need to go into too much detail about Milwaukee. I have been blogging about all the things we have done here for the last three years. The Ortho program here is great like the others and could offer us a lot. I actually think Milwaukee is a very beautiful city with a lot of affordable, nice houses and good neighborhoods to live in. There is a lot to do downtown and a lot to do a few hours out of town. Madison, Chicago, Wisconsin Dells, and even Nauvoo, etc.

It would be an easy transition to live here again. We have our friends here and would be happy to call it home again. Our closest Temple is the Chicago, Illinois Temple (1 1/2 hour drive).

Well, that's it folks, an hour later and you have heard it all. If you want to reply, explaining which place you think would be best and your reasoning, it wouldn't hurt us to hear some of your opinions.

Hot and Cold

2012-02-02T09:37:00.000-06:00

Here I am a few weeks late, but still wanted to post, because I think it is funny.

It snowed, a small pathetic amount, but none the less it snowed. Even though it was in the 20's or below Cody decided to wear shorts to shovel in. I guess I should figure, him being such a "Hot" body and all.

A few days later it snowed again, a bit more than the last time, enough to take Talmage outside to try and enjoy it.

But first.... we need to take out the poop sacks.

Talmage was out there for quite a long time.

He even circled the entire car and wiped the snow from it with his little gloved hands.

Cody told me that Talmage just all of a sudden stopped everything, looked up at him and said, "bye bye Dadda, I done." Then turned around and walked inside the house. It was a bit cold even for him I suppose.

Erie and Detroit

2012-01-27T10:31:00.000-06:00

There is so much to catch up on as far as telling all about Cody's interviews and his travels. I don't even know where to begin. Cody is technically at his last interview today! I am going to wait until he gets back, before I post about any interviews, so we can clump them all together in one post, all the stories and details, to compare them side by side. Also, to enlighten most of you on the process in which we are going through and whats ahead for us (my family has been asking and it will be easier to tell it all at one time).

That is why todays post, even though it takes place at two of the interview spots, is going to be mostly about what Talmage was up to versus Cody. It wasn't a vacation by any means, but we tried to have a little fun while we were there. A day or two after Cody got back from another interview we packed up our bags and a big cooler, took the back seat out of the van (in hopes of taking naps back there and making more room) and headed to Erie, Pennsylvania early in the morning on January 6th. It was a 9 hour drive from Milwaukee. We have been on longer trips, but for some reason, this was the road trip from HELL! First off, the night before, none of us got very good sleep (well Tal did), and we had to get up and leave early enough to make it on time to Erie, so Cody could make it to his dinner he was supposed to attend. Needless to say we were all tired. Secondly, I get horribly horribly car sick about 85 -95% of the time, especially if the sun is really bright and shining in my eyes or the driver is jerky with the gas and break pedals.

Cody graciously took the first shift, which a couple hours into the drive we had to go through Chicago. Problem one: the traffic made it more stop and go, stop and go, jerky movements. Problem two: the sun had come up and was shining directly into our eyes. Problem three: I wasn't the driver (which tends to help me). Problem four: I was trying to get some shut eye in back, because I was so tired, but resulted in more jerky motions. Problem five: Talmage whining and crying from the sun in his eyes. We tried everything to get the sun out of his eyes, nothing worked.

END RESULT: Me throwing up multiple times in a bag in the car. Did I mention there was no where to pull over? That is not all folks. Not even 10 minutes after I had thrown up, Talmage all of a sudden hurls all over Cody! I had no idea Tal gets car sick, but I guess he takes after mommy. Poor Cody couldn't stop obviously, he was driving and we couldn't pull over. I tried wiping them all down with wet wipes the best I could, until we finally had a gas station to stop at. We bagged up all the throw up clothes and threw out the vomit bags. Making matters worse, Tal had a nasty, slimy poop to change. Lets just say we really needed to air out the van. The smell kind of stuck with us the remainder of the day.

Shift two: I drive......um....hating to admit this, and very embarrassed knowing there are no real excuses for what happened next I will just say...... I hate not having cruise control, but again no excuses... and being tired and sick and not paying attention for a few slight seconds...no excuses.... and the only time I went that fast the entire time! I swear!....(no excuses)..., unluckily happening to pass a cop at the time...YES okay already I got a speeding ticket. A BIG ONE! A WHOPPER! VERY madYES! did I keep my cool at the time...yes....but inside I was boiling, knowing full well it was my own fault, BUT STILL.....agh, no excuses. Okay! Over! Done! Forgotten. On to happier times.

We made it to our hotel finally, a few hours before his dinner. Cody took the last two shifts of driving not allowing me to get us into any further debt. Tal and I swam while Cody went and schmoozed the residents. He brought back some scraps from the pub and we enjoyed the night watching republican debates, putting stickers all over our arms and faces (Tal) and then finally sleeping.

The next day Cody spent his time mostly in interviews, while Tal and I went exploring the Erie area. I drove all over comparing it to our current place of residence, asking myself, "could I live here?" The answer is coming in a later post. We got some gyros and soup, YUM! Then got a call Cody was done and picked him up fairly early in the day, surprisingly. We spent the rest the time driving around, seeing where the residents live and went and checked out some cool places they told us too. We made it back to the hotel, same story as before, play, watch t.v. and of course Cody and Tal went swimming. I didn't want to get in the cold water again, so instead I captured some fun pictures of these two.

"Cheese! Mom! Cheese!" he says.

Fearless

Getting so big, doesn't need any help. He is quite the swimmer, he only kicks his feet, no arms yet, still in a vertical position, but somehow manages to propel himself forward in the water.

You know how public swimming pools echo when you yell? Well, lets just say when Cody would torpedo at Talmage from under the water like a shark, Talmage SQUEALED so loudly the entire hotel could hear it.

Trying to capture his face after he jumps in and goes under, priceless.

Loved pushing the elevator buttons and getting ice from the vending machine.

Having fun zigzagging down the hallways.

Loved when Daddy was there to entertain (torture) us.

The next fews days were very similar to Erie, we drove to Detroit, Michigan (5 hours) spent one night in one hotel which finally had a hot tub! The last night we spent in a complimentary "Inn" that Cody got threw his interview. They tried to bunk him up with another interviewing student. Cody told the lady at the desk, "Nuh uh...I've got my wife and kid with me, that is not happening". She graciously gave us our own room which was on the top and 4th floor (no elevators). We packed too much I realized after going up and down those stairs so many times. That night was Cody's dinner, me and Tal walked around the corner to a Dominos and brought home and feasted on a chicken, ranch, tomato and pineapple pizza. It was delicious! The problem was, we didn't realize until we got back to our Inn, that the Dominos people didn't slice our pizza for us. Cruel. And yet we were not in a regular hotel and I did not want to leave tal in the room alone or wait for him to walk down and back up the many flights of stairs to go search for a knife somewhere in the lounge next door. so we made a mess. It was a good night though. the next day we drove around again and explored the "good" neighborhoods, while Cody was in interviews. We picked him up at 2 in the afternoon and then took off for home (6 hour drive). I am proud to say I drove the majority of it and didn't speed once! Not bad. I recall, if I remember correctly, Cody actually telling me to go a little faster at some points. I ignored him, especially after the lecture I got on the way there about speeding. We eventually got home safe and sound and VERY glad that it was all over.

Oh! How I Love Thee, Let Me Count The Ways

2012-01-18T23:13:00.000-06:00

Things I never want to forget about Talmage at age 2 and the reasons I love him so much. Good and Bad.

He still gallops on occasion.

He says to almost every thing that happens to him, "It hurts."

When he says, "Brrr, its coke," meaning "Brr, it's cold".

When getting ready for a bath he has to grab his bucket of foam letters and dump them in the water first.

He says "bye bye" to us every time he leaves the room or walks away to go get something.

When he knows nap time or bed time is at hand he will ask for, "one more" (book) or, "one more" (song) while holding up his little pointer finger. He will keep asking, "one more" even after the door is shut.

He calls chocolate milk, "Nu-nup" for some reason.

He ALWAYS skips the number one and counts as thus, "two, free, two, free" even if we ask him and prompt him to say, "one".

He tries to help with everything, which ends up causing more problems then help. i.e.

-Shutting the fridge door while I am still in the fridge.

-Insisting on throwing away his poop sacks on his way to the car, and before he will get IN the car, even though it is incredibly cold out and all I want to do is run and get in the car.

-Putting away our dirty dishes in the sink...including our glass ones...crash... say bye to half our glass collection.

-Tries to help cook dinner, but ends up eating the whole pile of grated cheese.

Every time he sees a truck he has to scream out, "Big Guck, Big guck."

He has also developed this amazingly real sounding fake laugh, which he does to entertain himself and to get us to notice him sometimes. But his REAL laugh is to die for, I need to catch it on video sometime.

He will come snuggle with us, lift up his shirt, grab our hand and plop it on his belly (Intending for us to soft tickle him).

He will line up all 20 or 30 of his hot wheel cars in a row bumper to bumper, take the first car in line, drive it in a big circle around him until it is at the end of the long car line, then he grabs the next one that is now the leader, and loop that one around to the end of the line, and so on and so forth, until the entire line has made a full loop.

When he says, "whupps" (oops) just like his mom. That is the word I use a lot instead of words like crap or dang it. I just say, "whupps", and I notice he started saying it a lot too.

Every time he sees a bum, his own, dads or moms, (he even thought the football players bums were funny when we were watching some games. I guess their pants were a bit tight) he points to it and laughs and shouts, "ha ha bum bum" I think this stemmed from (insert back ground story) ... We were bored in our hotel room one day and I gave Talmage a page of smiley face stickers to play with. He put them all over my face and arms. We lost a few in the process and I am sure I slept with some in the bed. The next day in the shower, (Talmage was with me) he kept pointing at my bum and saying, "ha ha bum bum." I kept telling him to stop. I finally tried to see what the fuss was all about and found a smily face sticker on one of my cheeks. And now he always thinks bums are funny.

Talmage a two year old.

Nali and Grandad

2012-01-12T12:10:00.001-06:00

What else did we do over Christmas break you ask? Well, I must say it is always a delight when Steph comes because I basically do nothing. She does the dishes before I can blink, I never see a dirty diaper and Talmage is entertained 24/7. The woman is a miracle worker I tell you. Okay, she is just a really hard worker and she loves her grandchildren. Talmage wanted to run in circles in his tiny room every chance he got. He made Nali sick a few times going in so many circles, but she would get right back up when he begged her to "come un" (run).

Then of course we couldn't have her leave without her making her delicious chocolate chip cookies. Talmage wanted to help, so of course Steph let him get right in on the mess. He loved it.

Have to try a chocolate chip first make sure they are real milk chocolate.

Part if the secret is to mix with your hands. Who needs beaters anyways.

And of course the best part...trying the dough.

I love how he has a ball of dough in his other hand ready to shove into his mouth.

Wow! Mmmmmm. That is delicious!

What are the men doing during all of this? Why putting together their helicopters of course.

Training

And successfully flying the contraptions.

Notice what is on the t.v. screen, look at their faces, and tell me they aren't a having some splendidly good man time.

Talmage was very intrigued and a bit scared.

Thanks for coming to visit Dougy and Stepheroonie, it was a great time having you here. We love you.

Christmas Eve and Day

2012-01-06T19:54:00.001-06:00

Christmas Eve we skyped with family. (These were the only pictures we got, but we got to see every member of our family on Jocelyn's side.)

Talmage opened his present from Grandpa Reid and Grandma D.

He loved it!

Steph and Doug flew in to Milwaukee and opened one gift that night. A very special gift from Heather and Clay (Cody side). An announcement of sorts.

Then Christmas morning Santa came.

Doug got a kindle and actually used it all week long!

Steph got a Tom Tom GPS and we practiced using it with her. She tends to get lost a lot.

Talmage hit the jackpot. I'd say Santa thought he was really good this year.

He got clothes, activity FHE book and puzzles from Nana and Papa Jim. He got a portable DVD player, games, and clothes from Nali and Grandad. He got a kid laptop and a "big guck" (big truck) from Mommy and Daddy. And of course some Diego underwear, wooden puzzles, books, finger paints, captain crunch cereal, gummy bears and a toy helicopter. It was a splendid morning.

We played with our toys and took naps, then had an early dinner of roast beef and other yummy carbs and veggies. We paired it all with pomegranate, peach and pear sparkling ciders. Mmmmmm Good.

Talmage couldn't handle so much excitement in one day and zonked out at the dinner table. (First time ever recorded of him doing this EVER!)

After dinner we headed to Candy Cane lane in West Allis to see what the hype was all about. It was supposed to be several blocks of fantastically lit houses. This was one of the best ones. Mind you, after seeing the lights at Temple Square in Salt Lake, this pales in comparison by a long shot. It was still fun for Talmage to get out and walk around and see the lights and all the, "ho ho ho"s (Santa's).

What a good Samaritan Doug was trying to fix one of the display lights that had fallen over, now that is what Christmas is all about (and it was FREEZING outside).

Here are some pictures of Talmage in his cute Christmas Pajamas he got From Nana and Papa Jim.

Notice the puzzles on the floor all laid out. He piles all the pieces together and does them all at the same time.

(It is kind of ironic Mom, because Cody was telling me that growing up he ALWAYS had a pair of Scooby Doo pajamas to wear.)

Hope you had a Merry Christmas. He he he he he

Childproof Knobs

2012-01-04T10:32:00.000-06:00

Since we've gotten our childproof door knobs for Talmage, he hasn't been able to leave his room at nap or bedtime. Sometimes he cries and bangs his head on the door leaving massive bruises and goose eggs on his forehead. Sometimes he whimpers and then eventually makes his way to his bed, and then my favorite, sometimes we don't hear anything. We always check on him after about 30 minutes or so to make sure he is really asleep. This particular day during our checkup we found this. He covered himself up with every blanket he could find and put all his stuffed animals in the bed with him.

The funniest, yet saddest part was he was sweating profusely.
At least he was sleeping.

On A Warm Day

2011-12-23T17:06:00.000-06:00

These last couple months have been interview months for Cody, he has been a home a lot more then usual, and it has allowed us more time to spend with him. It has been really great having him still in bed with me in the mornings (well unless Talmage has kicked him out already, refer to last post). We have gotten a lot of things accomplished, but have also played a bunch too. One day, it just happened to be particularly warm, so we went to the Zoo. It was deserted, which was perfect! We like the animals all to ourselves.

This huge Gorilla was chillaxin in front of the window, until we came up and ruined his view. He got up from his comfortable position and stood with his derriere pointing in our direction until we left.

They were all resting. This one seemed to be in very deep thought.

These came right up to our window to threaten us. They were very mean. Probably having a bad day or having some sort of disagreement and taking it out on the humans.

Poor Orangutan having a VERY bad hair day. This is what I look like in the mornings usually.

Attempting to get Talmage to grin for the photo.

Wouldn't happen, but he made sure he always had a cracker in his hand at all time.

Onto the Aquarium

Now for the big African animals. Aren't my boys so cute?

More derriere pictures.

I loved the cubs.

Yet another derriere picture. Didn't think by reading this post you were going to be seeing a bunch of animal derrieres did you?

On to the cutest animals in the park. There PehGiraffersons.

Mommy look I have such long limbs!

Hum bug. Good bye already.

My Groove, Your Groove

2011-12-22T10:40:00.000-06:00

How precious, our little prince sleeps so peacefully. Lets zoom out a little and see the bigger picture.

He looks so content. He is almost wearing a smile. Why so happy? Ask yourself, "Does that look like a crib or toddler bed?" Zoom out some more for your answer..

Oh I see! It is Mommy and Daddy's bed, and more specifically, he is sleeping on Daddy's pillow and in Daddy's perfectly formed groove.

For the last while (I donno, maybe 3 weeks) Talmage has literally been climbing into bed with us in the mornings, sometime between 5 or 6 am. He knows how to turn our door handles (we finally bought some toddler proof door knobs). The funniest, yet saddest part of all this is that he starts out in the middle, in between both of us, but slowly starts shoving and kicking at Cody. He finds a way to weasel himself into Cody's groove each morning. Cody eventually can't stand being kicked anymore, gets up and goes out on the couch. Talmage is content the rest of the morning just sleeping next to Mommy and more importantly in Daddy's groove.

Follow Up

2011-12-15T21:00:00.000-06:00

I just realized that there were some posts that I wrote awhile back that needed a follow up post, but I had forgotten about them. For instance...remember the binkies? Seemed like ages ago, you can read the story HERE.

As for the last 2 binkies... I snipped little slits in the ends of them. Talmage hated the feeling of them in his mouth, so he would just spit them out and say, "caca." He whined for his binkies for the rest of that day and the next day, and I happily gave him the "caca" binkies, but reminded him that they were gross. He got to the point were he didn't even want to put them in his mouth when I offered. He apparently accepted the fact that binkies were now gross, because after day 2, he didn't even look for a binky or ask for one.

He has been binky free for over a month and a half now. I am loving the change, but I almost forgot what it was like to have to franticly dig around in my purse or search in the blankets on his bed to find a stinking binky. I almost forgot what it was like to have the stinking binky be the only thing that would calm him down when he was screaming bloody murder in the grocery store or crying from being woken up from a bad dream in the middle of the night. I almost forgot what it was like when he used to whine over and over again in my face,"beantea, beantea, beantea, beantea, beantea," when I wasn't fast enough giving it to him.

The funny part was the fear that came to me one day, while deep cleaning the couches and spotting two lost binkies, thinking he would see them, remember, and start whining for them again. I threw them out fast. I think he saw them though, but he didn't say anything and he has seen lots of other kids with their binkies since then as well. I think I am safe to say we are DONE with that part if our lives. Ahhhhh! YEA!

The follow up to the post about him sort of potty training HERE.

The other day he told me, " Ma ma I poo poo." So I sat him on his training toilet and for the FIRST TIME EVER, he went poop in the potty! I didn't get a picture, because I thought that would be gross, who wants to see poo? :) I tell ya though, he did it! I am not forcing anything, but if he tells me poo again he will be placed on the toilet. End of story...for now. I am sure it will be a long while before he is fully potty trained.

Lately he has been wearing super hero underwear over his diapers and he loves that! Maybe our next step will be underwear with no diapers. I am sure he won't want to poop on Batman or Superman, therefore, subconsciously, forcing him to want to go potty in the toilet. I donna we will see.

Following up with Talmage turning 2 years old and the Animal Rescue Birthday Party (we got really sick the week after that and I didn't want to do anything, so finally here are the stats).

He is definitely growing up. We had his 24 month doctors visit the other week. He is getting so big. He measured up to 36 1/4 inches (90 %) and weighed 30 lbs 2 oz (50%). Tall and lean, not my little chunky bulldog anymore.

He passed his 24 month information survey with flying colors. Communication is normal (still doesn't string more then 3 different ideas together, but says a lot of two word sentences and sometimes three). Gross motor skills he is excelling (he is a klutz though, a fearless one, jumping off things all the time, running straight into walls for fun, banging his head on the door for attention). Fine motor almost excelling (minus not using a spoon or fork properly at meal time, he tries though). Problem Solving (been climbing out of his crib for months, can turn his door knob and open doors, turn on lights, brush his teeth, finds his blanket, pretend plays with his toys, puts the dishes in the sink, the diapers outside, the dirty laundry down the shoot, toys go in the bin, and books on the shelf. Can almost draw a straight line if I show him too. Horizontally and vertically). Personal - Social skills are all normal too (copies almost everything I do, drinks and eats without smashing it all over the place, hugs his stuffed animals, gives hugs and kisses, says, "I" when referring to himself or points of pictures of himself and says, "me", and on occasion shares his toys and plays nicely with other kids. Remember he is entering his terrible two's, so there is some hitting throwing and stealing of toys, as to be expected correct?).

If I was going to be a complainer it would have to be about, 1) he will not eat a vegetable to save his life and 2) he has turned into a bit of a whiner. But, "That too shall pass," someday, hopefully, maybe never, we will see.

At age 2 he loves trucks, trains, cars, dinosaurs, and planes. His favorite shows are Diego, Elmo (Sesame Street), Curious George, Thomas the Train, and The Land Before Time, 1 through ? (who knows how many there are of those). He knows all of his letter sounds, but struggles a little with Q, Y, and J, but still recognizes all of the letters. Working on our numbers and refuses to say, "one" for some reason. Shapes and Colors are a work in progress, but we have enough on our hands with the letters and numbers for now. Has made a habit of crawling into our bed around 6 am or earlier most mornings and slowly but surely kicks Cody out of his spot. We love him.

Ho Ho Ho

2011-12-15T19:30:00.000-06:00

Our Branch Christmas Party:

Santa Came......

"HO! HO! HO!"

Talmage did not really like him.

Then Santa gave him some candy canes and a coloring book.

Talmage STILL did not really like him.

We never got a picture of Talmage with Santa when he was a newborn in 2009 and we never got a picture of him with Santa when he was one year old, in 2010. I thought he would like Santa this year being two and all, but I guess I shoulda figured he was a complete stranger to Talmage (considering they had never met before). Oops. Bad parents. Sorry Santa.

Animal Rescue Birthday Party

2011-12-01T20:18:00.000-06:00

Talmage absolutely loves, Go Diego Go!, a cartoon about a kid named Diego who rescues animals. Diego always wears a Rescue Pack, and has a friend Click the Camera. That is what we decided to base Talmage's Birthday Party on. Considering Cody has an interview (at Marshall University, in Hungtington, WV to be exact) on Tal's actual Birthday, we had the party a few days early. His friends came over with their favorite stuffed animals (who were going to be rescued). Click the Camera took a picture with the kids and their animals first, "say click, take a pic." Then the animals were swooped off to a hidden location, so then all the children had to go on a rescue mission to find them. Talmage put on his Rescue pack that had 'glowguy' (nitlite), rope, and 'floating rocks' (rags) in it. Off they went.

First stop...Monkey Tree

The Monkeys needed to be rescued, they were hiding from Ogres. The kids all got to pull a monkey off the tree. These were our party favors, they had runts in them.

We had to take care of the Ogre situation, so we followed the Ogre tracks down stairs to their Swamp.

We sifted through the murky swamp and found the two Ogres (two Shrek figures) and told them to stop scaring the monkeys.

Next stop was in the Brown Bear Cave (our tent). Talmage activated his rescue pack. He pulled out his glow guy, so they could see inside the dark cave to find the three brown bears.

The Bears were hiding Dragon eggs, which needed to be returned to the mommy dragon's nest. The kids needed to be invisible so the dragons couldn't see them, so they rode their invisible four wheelers, carts, and strollers to drop off the stolen eggs.

They had to get away from the Dragons by climbing up an Ice Glacier. Tal activated his pack again and brought out a rope to help everyone climb the mountain (stairs).

At the top of the mountain, they had to unscramble these words to unlock the gate they had to get through.

Benson was a big help for this part.

They got through the gate, but had to hurry and jump on their Ferry Boat, because a big wave was coming. They rescued a bunch of Sea Creatures (bath toys) from the Tsunami.

Then a Volcano erupted, which left flowing lava all over the ground. They needed their floating rocks from Tal's Rescue Pack to step over the hot Lava.

The rocks led them to their final destination, which was where all their stuffed animals were, safe and sound and finally rescued!

We finished the party with a song for the Birthday boy and cake and ice cream. He was being really shy and/or distracted for this part so Cody ended up blowing out the candles for him.

Unlike last YEAR, Talmage just picked at some of the sprinkles on his cake, rather than devour it.

We spread out a blanket, let the kids eat, and watched some Diego.

Thanks for coming, Benson, Cole, Penny, Jill, and baby Max.

Cute Birthday Boy.

After all his friends left, Talmage opened his gifts. He got a 2 dollar Bill, a Cars Pillow (not in the picture), polar bear, a book, Elmo utensils, plate, and cup, and a Cars t-shirt from Nali and Grandad. Two Nerf Guns from the Burtenshaws, and a bunch of Animals and Hotwheel cars from us. He was in heaven the rest of the day, and still is.

Thank you all for coming and making the day more special for Talmage. Thanks to those of you, who gave him gifts as well. Talmage loves you for it.

Thanksgiving Day

2011-11-26T21:16:00.000-06:00

I must say Thanksgiving started off really well, especially for Talmage. He somehow managed to grab my pie tin (that had leftover crumbs in it) when I wasn't looking. I found him later on the couch just licking away and cleaning it out.

Then we turned on some holiday music and set up our small stash of Christmas decorations. Talmage always gets to put the Star on top of the tree.

We took naps in the afternoon, and then woke up to make our part of Thanksgiving dinner. Our dear friends, the Burtis' (Chuck, Shay and Penny), who were coming over later that evening to eat with us, brought the turkey, potatoes & gravy, yams, and pumpkin pie. Yummy!

It was great company, and a delicious feast. None of us even finished our first plates we were all so full. The boys, for some strange reason, didn't even eat a slice of pie. What! Unheard of! But we had a lot of good leftovers.

I decided to take this opportunity to have a mini photo shoot, since we were all dressed and looking spiffy. The children were adorable, I must say so myself. Here are some cute ones of Penny and Talmage in their Santa Hats.

A few sore attempts to get them both looking at the camera.

This was precious. Talmage giving her a kiss when we asked him too.

Then of course a picture of Santa and his Reindeers (That is exactly what we are, we heed to his every beck and call).

I saved the best picture for our Christmas card, so I suppose this picture is a bit of a spoiler. Oh well. We want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and hope your stomach's, but more importantly, your joy, was full on this day.

Breaking Dawn

2011-11-22T17:44:00.000-06:00

Every year our branch has a Super Saturday Activity where we get together at the church building and do a bunch of crafts. This just happened to be a crazy day for me. I first started the day off teaching my Zumba class at Curves, luckily I found a sub to teach my other Zumba class at the WAC, because I was in charge of teaching one of the crafts at the Super Saturday. I also signed up to make three other crafts (I will have to post a picture of all the crafts I made, so cute). Let us just say, this activity started at 10 am and I didn't get home until around 3:30 pm., and because of the many break-ins at church lately and regular church protocol, we have to have a Priesthood holder at the building at all times while we are there. My darling, amazing Cody, came and stayed in the nursery and watched the kids for the entire 5 1/2 hours (poor guy). Us ladies all decided a few weeks ago that we were all going to go together to the new movie that just came out, Breaking Dawn, that same night. Cute Karisa brought her camera and attempted, multiple times, to get a picture of all of us together in the theater. They mostly turned out blurry, then this really sweet stranger sitting next to me offered to take a picture from her phone and send it to my email. Here are her best shots. Me, Shay, Leah, Karisa, Valerie, and Anna. Then there was also Jenny, Chali, Dianna, and Katie that didn't lean over for this picture, I assume because we had already attempted a few times and they stopped paying attention by this point.

After the movie we piled out of the theater and blocked the doorways while talking about the cheesy parts, intense parts and the sexy parts of the movie (there were a lot of sexy parts, I mean, the movie starts with Jacob taking off his shirt). It was fun to get away from the kids for a night and act like teenage girls.

Once we were told to move away from the doors, we attempted a few more blurry pictures by the poster. After several shots that weren't working, Karisa found out that her flash wasn't on and fixed the situation but our photographer took off, but then randomly another kind stranger finally got this shot of us below. The best part was when all of us said in unison, after the flash went off, "That was it." Pretty funny moment.

Here is the whole gang that night. Left to right:

Dianna, Chali, Anna, Katie, Leah, Jenny, Karisa, Valerie, Shay, and Me.

After wards we all went our separate ways. Shay and I drove together so we went for some fries and hot chocolate afterwards and then stayed up until 11:30 talking. Have I mentioned how awesome Cody is for letting me do this? Also, did I mention how good of a friend Shay is? She is that person for me, that if she wasn't out here in Milwaukee, things would be much lonelier and lot less fun. (Not to mention her daughter Penny and Talmage are boyfriend and girlfriend, they even sealed the deal with a hug and kiss). Shay has been like a sister though and I really appreciate her.

The title of this post isn't called Breaking Dawn because we saw the movie, it is also because of what happens next on this already crazy day.

I walk in the door at 11:30 and sit down with Cody for a minute and then Talmage wakes up from his sleep and starts crying, normally I would ignore him, but it was a different kind of cry. I went and checked on him, gave him a hug. He was BURNING hot. I took his temperature which read 103.6. We gave him a cool bath, had him drink some ice water and tickled his bare skin to calm him down. He was miserable. He wouldn't stop crying, unless I was holding him, soft tickling him or he was watching Diego. He also threw up several times that night. We went through all of our sheets and blankets, our entire apartment smelled like barf. Poor kid was in so much pain, he went from high fever to shivering with chills, to throwing up and back to fever, all night long. Lets just say we Broke Dawn that day. He is better now for those who worry. Completely himself again, but it was bad, we even missed church. But at least it is over with and he can have a good Thanksgiving right?

Thanksgiving Playgroup

2011-11-20T14:15:00.000-06:00

It was a fun little get together once again with our play date friends. There were multiple activities for the kids. Such as;

Pin the Feathers on the Turkey

Watched a few musical clips from Disney's Pocahontas (get them in the spirit of the drumming and dancing).

Talmage, Benson, Marshall, Duncan

These boys are all about 1 1/2 years older then Tal, but he likes hanging out with them, They allow him to play sometimes, that is when he isn't stealing their toys. :)

The drumming and dancing portion of the day. Tal liked it.

Jenny was really good, she had taken a few lessons before and entertained us with some cool rhythms.

Of course we had to finish things off with some yummy pumpkin cookies. Thanks to Karisa for all the treats.

Talmage was in a Giving mood. I love how he is feeding Jill his M&M's.

He was also in a Thankful mood for all the sugar he got to eat.

Curves or No Curves

2011-11-09T16:34:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago I went and did something, that now, I am not sure was smart or stupid.

Cody has been home a lot more because he is on his Anatomy rotation (which consists of him going to the cadaver lab only a few hours a day). December and January he has "off", because they are his "vacation" months. I placed vacation in quotations because technically he will still be working by going all over the place interviewing for his Orthopedic Residency. It has been extremely nice having him around more. Even if it does mean both of us spending more hours with the XBOX and watching Netflix t.v. marathons (24). It has been a long time coming and a much deserved break for him. Talmage has loved having him around too, he loves his wrestling partner.

Most of you already know that I teach Zumba twice a week at the Wisconsin Athletic Club. It isn't much of a paying job as a benefits job. Meaning, I get a free membership at the WAC, free daycare and I get to exercise doing something I love, dancing, as well a teaching and making a difference in other peoples day to day lives.

This is where we get to the part of me doing something smart or stupid. I was driving past a Curves which is only 1 mile from our apartment. I used to work at a Curves in Utah back in 2008. I know that they added Zumba in the circuit to their repertoire since then. I decided to walk in and take a look and see what kind of help they might need (thinking if they needed me I could pick up teaching once or twice a week there). They have 30 minute, low impact classes and the pay is actually really good.

I thought I could leave Tal with Cody since he is home so much and I would only have to do low impact workouts and the extra cash would be nice right now for Christmas coming around the corner. I went in and unbeknownst to me at the time, I was talking with the owner. She called me the next day and wanted to hire me and asked what times I would be available to teach. Long story short, (and me being the type of person who tends to say YES too often and to too much) I am now working 5 shifts at Curves a week on top of my 2 at the WAC. The best part is my Mondays and Saturdays. Oh and they do Floor routines too, not just in the circuit low impact, like I thought.

Schedule:
Monday:
8:30 am Curves 30 min. Floor
10:00 a.m. WAC 60 min. Floor
6:00 p.m. Curves 45 min. Floor

Tuesdays:
9:30 a.m. Curves 30 min. In the circuit

Wednesday:
6:00 p.m. Curves 30 min. In the Circuit

Saturday:
8:30 a.m. Curves 45 min Floor
10:30 WAC 60 min. Floor

Also, because of the upcoming holidays, I picked up a few classes subbing at the WAC too, before I got the Curves job and I am stuck with those extra shifts.

I know it doesn't seem like that much to some people, but Zumba takes a lot of preparation, so I am also practicing several hours a week at home as well.

Here is the thing, this Curves job came up on me so fast and I couldn't say 'No', especially since they were desperate for a teacher. The ladies are so sweet, the classes at Curves are packed and they love me there already. It is also a 6 week class, then I have a week off, then I am supposed to start up another 6 week class. Not sure if the extra money and cute old ladies are enough to keep me there. If you got through this whole post then I need some advice.

After these 6 weeks, should I stay at curves OR let her know it is too much and quit?
and...
Why do I do this to myself?

Snip, Caca, Bye Bye

2011-11-06T20:35:00.000-06:00

I had all these grand ideas for getting rid of Talmages binkies. I decided to start off easy. I got two of the four remaining binkies and let him snip off the ends. He always wants to play with scissors anyways, so I let him. This way it is HIS idea and HE is the one cutting the binky too.

He of course needed a little assistance....SNIP...

Trying out the binky.

Not too happy with the results. But the best part was...

He points it at me and says, "Ca ca," then goes and throws the binky in the trash can!

2 more to go.....

Sugar High

2011-11-02T13:43:00.000-05:00

Now let the festivities begin. What do you think of my scary demon eyes? Picnik is so fun!

We didn't really do anything scary this year for Halloween. Cody and I didn't even watch a horror movie or carve our pumpkins. Lame-o's. But we did take Talmage Trunk or Treating at MCW. He never once said, "trick or treat", but he did say "Pease" and "Dane dou (thank you)" after each candy he took. He tried eating every piece he picked up, but we eventually figured out that once he had a sucker in his mouth that would last him awhile.

Here he is sucking away on some candy, determined to find more.

Of course we had to get a family picture. I can't even remember the last time Cody, me and Talmage were all in the same picture.

I couldn't let the night end without taking a photo shoot of my adorable little nome.

He really acts like a nome, now that I think about it. He is everywhere fast and very hard to catch.

Gets into trouble.

Freezes and pretends he is a fake.

Is a merry soul who chuckles with glee.

Hides.

Pops up on you when you aren't expecting.

The rest of the night was spent eating candy. HUGE mistake! We thought he was hard to catch as a nome, try a hopped up toddler on a sugar high. He went to bed really late. We decided it is once a year.... why not! Happy Halloween everyone!

Halloween Playgroup

2011-11-02T13:04:00.001-05:00

Our friend Katie, hosted a Halloween Play Group Party. Talmage was excited (okay really just me), for this was his first chance to show off his costume. We arrived at the party, but he couldn't show up without bringing a gift, so he found a rock in the garden. What is he this year you ask? Not a Monkey, a Turtle or even Yoda (like last year). Just a simple ol' Garden Nome.

The party had many cute little babes, mothers and children. I didn't get pictures of some of the littlest babies, but we had a skunk, a lady bug, a dragon, an airplane, hamburger and fries, super baby, a cowboy, a cheesehead, a nurse, a tiger, an owl, and a nome of course. I am sure I am missing a few.

The mothers had a good time chatting, the kids had a good time decorating cupcakes....

...and of course eating them too. Talmage actually ate his cupcake paper holder. I found it in a slimy ball in his hand a few minutes later.

Beds and Binkies, Binkies and Beds

2011-10-29T15:24:00.001-05:00

Talmage is turning two in about a month and he is still very attached to his" beentea" (binky). If he doesn't have at least one in his mouth at all times, he will cry to me over and over again, "beantea beantea, beantea." I was so sick of his constant whining and nagging one afternoon, that I just plugged him up real good. He was happy about that, but the truth is, he needs to be weened, and SOON. Anyone have any good ideas? I have a few in mind. Letting Talmage throw it away in the "big garbage truck" on garbage day, tie it to a balloon and send it flying, mail it to Diego, or letting it float away down the river on a homemade raft. I understand that some of those options are considered littering, so I probably won't do those ones, but, he has 4 binkies left that I must get rid of.

My mom told me that when I was a little girl I was very attached to mine as well (until about age 3 or 4? Crazy!). And what did it finally take to get me to stop? Miraculously (for my mother) one day, we watched this big crow swoop down and snatch my binky from the sandbox ledge it was sitting on. My mom turned to me and said, "Well Jocey, there goes your binky, all gone." Apparently, I was okay with the idea of a bird taking it away and I never asked for it again after that.

I know it is very unlikely a bird will come take Talmages binkies away from him for me, but I want to come up with a way to get rid of them, where he is okay with it and can finally say good bye.

Also, I forgot to mention while on our trip in Phoenix, Talmage learned how to climb out of his pack 'n play crib he was using. Upon returning to Milwaukee, Talmage also learned how to climb out of his crib. SO, I lowered the mattress, raised the ledge, and reinforced the sides, hoping to keep him in. He was screaming when I plopped him in his crib one afternoon for nap time. I shut the door and hoped he would cry for his usual 5 minutes, (not climb out) and fall asleep. He kept crying so I went to check on him and walked in right as he was.....LITERALLY.... pulling the side of the crib off his bed. We decided he was ready for his homemade big boy bed, especially if he was strong enough to pull it apart, so we kept the side off. When we move, we will buy a twin bed for him, but this will work for now.

Lastly, and most importantly, Cody took Step 2 Boards on Monday, October 24th. He came home 8 hours later and sat down and started crying, so relieved that that part if his life was over. Ha! If you know him at all, you know he has never cried, and I was just kidding, he didn't cry. I wanted to cry though, from happiness. He has been VERY tired, busy, and loaded with unimaginable amounts of stress. Taking Step 2 was a big part of all that stress, as well as applications, and his away rotation. Now that all that stuff is over, we can just focus (pray a lot) on getting interviews. He is home a lot more often now, because his rotations are lighter and require less hours. Needless to say, we have one extremely happy wife at home, one drooling-with-glee little boy, and a much more rested Cody.

A Bit of Nonsense

2011-10-27T14:39:00.000-05:00

Just a bit of nonsense going on around here is all. No. Talmage is not potty trained or even close. But he has ben telling us, "poo poo" and within minutes will poop in his diaper. We bought him a training potty just to start getting him used to the idea of sitting on it without a diaper. As soon as we hear the magic words we'll strip his diaper off and put him on the toilet. This particular time just happened to be right before bath time, so he was bare naked. He sat on there for 5 minutes while attempting to go poop. He would sit and grunt... don't know where he got that one. Nothing was happening, so he got up and ran away from us. By the time we caught up to him... he was squatting over the carpet in his nursery and doing you know what. Yep! No more picking up poop for me. We decided he wasn't ready yet, so the potty is put away for a later time. His diaper remains on, until known poop has been pooped in known diaper. I made it a G rated picture.

So sometimes he goes a little long without getting his diaper changed.

Just kidding. We are not that bad of parents. We change his diaper often. Trust me! I was just laughing so hard at this diaper hanging so low. He was running around and wrestling and when we were getting ready for the bath we noticed how soggy his diaper was.

Licking Goats, Chasing Chickens, Neighing Ponies

2011-10-21T13:11:00.000-05:00

The day my Mom had to take off we decided to hit one last place....

We went last year at almost the same exact time of year. One of my mom's dreams is to one day have a little animal farm in her backyard for all the grandchildren. She wants to copy the idea at Apple Holler by building bridges for the goats to walk over from pen to pen.

A little pulley system to feed the goats.

Talmage was not scared of the licking goats, at all.

In fact, he loved the licking part.

My mother is so funny. Here we have, another, almost-pee-my-pants-from-laughing-at-her moment. She found this chicken on the wrong side of the fence, and it was acting like it wanted to get back in. So what does she do?

Corners it...

Grabs it...

And puts it back....

Talmage was a little embarrassed by her chasing chickens so he decided to take off in his, "choo choo" (thats what he calls a train).

The blasted Train wasn't running, so he never got his ride. But he got to explore the tunnels.

This is a comparison of last year. Look how big he is now.

Lots of fun things to climb on and slide down.

Another train. He was in, "Choo choo" heaven.

We bought 3 tickets so Tal could go on a pony ride. I thought this was a brilliant idea, because, he loves horses do much.

Unfortunately, he was really scared of the pony. It didn't help that it kept neighing really loudly.

We did the side saddle thing for half a turn around the circle and decided he wasn't loving it. He kept trying to jump into my arms. The nice horse trainer girl (who looks like Natalie Portman's twin I swear) gave us our three tickets back. Thank you.

All the other "attractions" that took tickets were not running that day, were closed off, or too big for Talmage to go on. Although, we did find this big slide that costs one ticket per ride. Problem was, no one was there to take our tickets. So I unlatched the gate, climbed up the stairs and took Tal down the slide three times. Problem solved, and no wasted tickets.

He loved it, I am glad I broke the rules a bit. At least I got this smile out of him. He he he

After all the shenanigans, my mother treated us to lunch at Apple Hollers delicious restaurant. Then we had to take her to the airport and say our goodbyes. I hate goodbyes, especially when people come here to visit. Thanks again mom. I love you! It was so good to have you with us.

Hit the Road Jack and Glad to be Back

2011-10-20T14:52:00.000-05:00

Wow! I did it. I am done blogging about Phoenix. So what happens next? We, my mom, me and Tal, drive home to Milwaukee. Cody had to work Friday in PHX and then on Monday in Milwaukee. Seeing as it is a 30 hour drive, I didn't want him to be exhausted Monday, so I bought him a plane ticket and told him to relax before he had to go back to work (aren't I the best wife ever? :). My mom flew to Phoenix and I picked her up at the airport and we headed mostly North and a little East. We took the trip in 3 days and two nights (we had to be back to pick up Cody from the airport Saturday too), staying at hotels in Aluquerque, NM and Topeka, KS. I wanted a look at some of the places that Cody and I applied for Residency. Albuquerque, Kansas City and Wichita being a few that we drove through. The car was loaded as you can see and Tal managed to get a black eye again right before the trip.

A few hours away from our first hotel we stopped at this Indian Center and my mother bought me some earrings.

Talmage was happy to get out. I planned the trip so that our first day on the road wasn't too long...you know, just to ease us into it.

We had a good time laughing, talking, singing, watching movies, eating, swimming at the hotels and drinking hot chocolate every morning before we hit the road. Talmage even did really well. The only time he freaked out about being in the car, was the last 30 minutes of our second day (the LONG day, 12 hours).

Thanks to Tals other grandma, Steph, we had these alphabet flip charts paired with songs, that he absolutely loved. We sang them over and over and over again. My mom was so excited that he was learning his letter SOUNDS so early in life. At one point a FED EX truck passed us and Tal starts repeating over and over again, ex ex ex ex ex. We didn't realize he was reading an X until I saw the truck.

Alas! We eventually made it back, and for those who care (me).... I wanted to log how many miles and hours (using Travel Math Calculator) I spent in the car for August and September.

Milwaukee to DC________790 Miles, 13.5 Hours

DC to Milwaukee________790 Miles, 13.5 Hours

Bountiful to Spokane_______679 Miles, 10 Hours

Spokane to Bountiful_______679 Miles, 10 Hours

Bountiful to Powell__________328 Miles, 6 Hours

Powell to Monticello__________90 Miles, 2 Hours

Monticello to Phoenix________414 Miles, 7 Hours

Phoenix to St. George________405 Miles, 7 Hours

St. George to Phoenix________405 Miles, 7 Hours

Phoenix to Albuquerque______419 Miles, 7 Hours

Albuquerque to Topeka______732 Miles , 12 Hours

Topeka to Milwaukee_______630 Miles, 10 Hours

Total Miles: 6,361

I figured it out...that would be the same as driving from Seattle, Washington to Miami, Florida and BACK again!

Total Hours: 105 Hours

If I were to drive non stop that many hours: 4 days 9 hours straight

This doesn't include all the day to day trips around town and such, but can you see why I never want to get in the car again?

Once we were back in Milwaukee....

My mom was so proud of Tal reading the X on the truck, that when we got home, she pulled out my magnet letters and started practicing the O with him.

I almost peed my pants from laughing so hard when I saw this!

Talmage was loving it!

She stayed with us a few more days, and in the mean time, helped me make my craft for our upcoming RS Super Saturday. I am very proud of my letter. Talmage also knows his P's very well now.

I must say...it is so nice being back, in my own bed, my own kitchen, bathroom, bedroom... everything! I had a great 2 months, but words can not express how extremely happy I am to be back!

Children's Museum of Phoenix

2011-10-19T09:30:00.001-05:00

Our last full day in Phoenix Talmage and I went to the Childrens Museum of Phoenix. Normally costing adults and children $11 each! But I got to the library 30 minutes before everyone else, making sure I was first in line, used Franki's library card, and got the 2 free tickets for that day. It is a very unique and creative place for children. We had a lot of fun. They are good at using everyday items and turning them into something fun for the children to play with or look at. Here are some examples...

Who woulda thunk that a wall of compact discs's dangling from string would be such a hit.

A very large Tree House that even adults can fit and go in. Made out of wires, wood, plastic crates, big bathtubs, dog house... etc.

A maze of tubes with air blowing through them. Shove a light handkerchief in there, they'll twist and contort there way through and come flying out the holes at the top. They slowly float their way down until a kid catches them. The kids were squealing with delight.

A sand box with a light underneath for more visual effects.

Just random objects that are fun to play with.

This one was actually really fun. You bring the metal washes to the top of the pole and release them, watching as they spin all the way down. It makes a pretty cool sound too. The hard part is getting all of them to go at the same time.

One of Tals favorites. A miniature car wash for them to ride their bikes through.

There were fans at the end to dry them off too.

This is super creative whoever thought of it. A Noodle Forest to wander through. Very dangerous if you have big kids running blindly through them. Talmage got knocked down a few times and I had to rescue him, but it was still fun.

A safer place...a giant room for tots only. All kinds of fun and creative things for them to get in to. You stand on this and air blows in your face.

Needless to say...after three or more hours of intense fun....he was exhausted. Fell asleep in the car before we could even get home.

Even in his sleep he can't let go of his Binky.

Memories from PHX

2011-10-18T17:58:00.000-05:00

The following are a bunch of random photos, but all stuff we did in Phoenix.

I bought Talmage a tie, Finally! I thought he looked pretty spiffy. It was so blasted hot I didn't want to put him in pants either.

I told you Talmage loved the Burtenshaw kids. He is trying to hug them all at the same time.

A dinner at our apartment...children playing Ring Around The Rosie. They entertained us older kids for awhile.

Zane was content stretching on Daddy's lap.

Talmage trying on Kali's girlie boots.

The kids attacking Cody.

Defeated.

The women getting a break while the men play with the kids.

Cody had part of a day off towards the end of our stay (first one of the month, including Sundays), so we took advantage and swam, just the three of us.

What a look.

Talmage so happy Daddy is home during the day.

Look at that fresh, crisp, blue looking water. After being back in Wisconsin for a few weeks I wish I was there again.

Love how distorted my big toe looks.

I love how happy they are.

I love how I got to lounge for once and not worry about Talmage.

BRrr....the water was colder than we would've liked.

Good bye awesome pool.

Hello big boy!

He isn't potty trained, but we got these adorable undies from Steph and had to try them on. Talmage loved them, and was flexing in them...it was so funny.

We'll see you later!

Deer Valley Airport

2011-10-18T13:17:00.000-05:00

The day Jen was heading back to D.C. we all decided to go for breakfast at the Deer Valley Airport Restaurant. It was fun for the kids, because they got to eat and watch the planes take off. Talmage is obsessed with planes lately too, so this was the perfect spot to eat. I actually really liked the buffet I got. Lucky for us, Cody was able to make it too! (More to come on what he had to endure for the month)

Watching the planes land and take off.

Zane swinging around with Clay and Heather.

Getting tickled by Dad before he had to go back to work.

Brynlee being thrown in the air by Cody. She was loving it.

Talmage felt left out that he wasn't being thrown in the air by Daddy, so he went with Uncle Clay instead.

Steph and most her children and grand children. You would never meet anyone happier to be around all of her children at the same time. Especially since they are all over the States.

What a great bunch of people. I am lucky to be apart if this family.

Crowded Tub

2011-10-17T13:34:00.000-05:00

Speaking of getting a bunch of children all smiling at the same time.

Another day we took Talmage, Zane and Brynlee and drove to the old Historic Downtown Glendale. We attempted a photo shoot. Even with all three cameras, we were never able to get a single shot of all three looking and smiling at the camera. But what can you expect from a bunch of toddlers.

Click on "Oh Baby!" below to see the full photo shoot by Heather. Her photos do our children way more justice. The pictures are so funny too.

OH BaBY!

After the photo shoot I took off Tals bottoms, socks and shoes...he was roasting! We were all roasting it was a scorcher that day. We also decided to cool off with some raspberry lemonade sorbet at Papa Ed's Ice cream shop which was right where we were taking photos.

Much happier!

Later that evening we went to Heather and Clays for dinner. The children played with their balls out on the porch.

I put Brynlee's hair up in a top knot...and when it finally fell out, she ended up looking a bit like Kramer.

The babies had a long dirty day...so we put them all in the tub...I love lots of babies in tubs..it reminds me of one of my favorite poems by Shel Silverstein.....

Crowded Tub

There's too many kids in this tub.

There's too many elbows to scrub.

I just washed a behind

That I'm sure wasn't mine,

There's too many kids in this tub.

Thanks Auntie Heather for the wash!

Hearts of Gold

2011-10-17T13:33:00.000-05:00

One evening in Phoenix we were invited over for some absolutely delicious dinner with the Burtenshaws (some of our bestest friends). Ian was and still is Cody's best friend. They have been through a lot together. In fact, Franki tells a funny story about these two if you want to read it click on CODIAN. Ian is also a 4th year Med student, he is in DO school going to be a Podiatrist. He will be the best one out there and we have no doubt about that. His beautiful wife Franki, is one of the sweetest, most creative and fun people I know. Not to mention an amazing mother and wife. Also, athletic and gorgeous. Bless her dear heart, Franki made us some Cafe Rio style sweet pork burritos with tomatillo dressing. Her recipe is my favorite! I have tried others but this one is the best. I usually make a request for it when we are there, because Franki makes it so delicious. They also have three adorable, smart, and sweet children (Mckay, Kali, Paxton), who I see just as much as my nieces and nephews as my actual nieces and nephews. Talmage absolutely loved their kids too! He got so excited to see them whenever we hung out.

Despite the look he is giving in this picture, Tal loves Mckay.

Here are all of the children together! What a bunch of peaches they all are.

They all at least looked up and smiled at the camera (except for Talmage who didn't feel like it that night)

We love the Burtenshaws...they have Hearts of Gold. I was grateful to be able to spend so much time with them while we were in Phoenix.

Bulldog

2011-10-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

Moving right along...

Because of the extreme temperatures (high 100's I think), we decided to take the kids in doors. We went to the Arrowhead Mall which is very kid friendly. It has a play area, those quarter ride things and even a Pet Store. Talmage decided he wanted to be a grown up, so he helped out Auntie Jen by pushing Brynlee in her stroller.

Talmage wasn't all that interested in the play area, so we headed to the Pet Store. They sometimes put the animals in this circular play area on the ground, so you can touch and play with them. These dogs were some sort of mix between shitzu and something. So fluffy!

Talmage and Zane wanted to be IN the bin.

This little dude is Cody's favorite dog. The Bulldog. Although, I think this one was a mix of something. But Talmages nickname is Bulldog too.

He tried giving Talmage his stuffed toy...How sweet is that?

Talmage fell in love with him. I think it is meant to be. Maybe in the near future you will see another Bulldog in our house. (I am talking when we own a house)

He says, "I want that one!"

Rio Vista, Oh My Nista!

2011-10-13T10:52:00.000-05:00

Another day in Phoenix and some more water. Here we are at a pretty cool splash pad called Rio Vista. The kids got right into it.

I thought this was just a tad hilarious. I am not sure the designers of this turtle fountain quite thought this one out. Or maybe it is just my child.

Even us moms got a little wet.

Caught me from behind. In my defense they are those random squirting fountains that come up out of the ground at the most inopportune times.

We attempted AGAIN to get these three together and smiling at the same time. We also asked them to FOLD their arms...at a splash pad, in the middle of playing. :) Who are we?

If was to put captions on this picture they would all be saying or thinking this......

Talmage: While praying, "Please let this be over soon so I can get back to playing". Brynlee: "Seriously?". Zane: "What is it with all the group pictures? Come on already."

Talmage: While peeking from his prayer, "Are they done yet?" Brynlee: "All right, if I want a good shot I guess I should smile." Zane: "Okay fine...Cheese!"

Talmage: "I prayed, didn't get the answer I wanted, and now I am just mad." Brynlee: "Talmage, did you know when you smile, you release endorphins that make you happy...you should try it." Zane: "Um.....can I go play? I have been smiling for a while now and my cheeks are starting to hurt."

We finally let them play again.

Don't you love that little belly?

When we decided the kids were waterlogged enough...

We moved over to the playground.

Tal wasn't done with the water yet.

I kind of love the water droplets in this one and his rosy cheeks.

Running away from mom as usual, but I finally caught up to him.

He got a good beating. (okay really a tickling)

Still more interested in the water. His face in this picture is something new he learned. He loves to round his mouth into a big O and flip his head from side to side while saying, uh, oh, uh, oh, uh, oh.

Brynlee did this really funny slurping sounding thing with her cheeks. It was hilarious.

I HAD to include some close ups of these absolutely BEAUTIFUL children (well in my opinion at least).

Trip While on a Trip

2011-10-12T10:06:00.000-05:00

You get 1000 points if you can name this temple.

Well the name is right there, cheater!

Just when you thought Tal and I were done traveling for awhile we went and did it again. We drove 7 hours from Phoenix to St. George for the weekend. Heather was asked to be a photographer at Shaun and Lexi's wedding (Some cousins from Cody's side of the family). We figured we were so close, it would be worth the short trip to go and see all that family of course. Plus, I had never, since being endowed, been in the St. George Temple. My Dad was also going to be there that weekend staying at his house, so we got to see him and DeEtte and some of my step sibs. Also, Jen's sister in law from Nate's side, who lives in St. George, was due to have a baby that same weekend. The last reason for going and of course not the most important, but had to be listed...Cafe Rio was in town. SO as you see, multiple reasons to go. We loaded up our Van Friday morning...I am talking loaded; three babies, three mommies, two cribs, three strollers, 6 bags, one cooler, multiple toys and snacks! All that for TWO nights and ONE day! We got there Friday evening, dropped off our stuff at y Dad's house where we were staying and headed immediately over to the Brides house for a family dinner and visit.

The next day was the Ceremony, Luncheon and Reception. All on different corners of the city, and my Dad's house on the other corner. The temple was beautiful and the couple looked very happy...these pics are not from my camera because my battery died, but Jen captured some great moments.

GGMa and GGPA

The kids playing in the dirt on the Temple grounds and Nali encouraging it (okay really distracting them from A: Crying, because their mom wasn't paying attention to them, because she was busy taking pictures of the wedding, i.e. Zane. B: Running away i.e. Talmage. or C: um....Brynlee just wanted to be dirty.

Once they were all nice and dirty and extra ornery, we took the kids back to the house for naps.

Gave them a quick rinse off and put them to bed.

Brynlee slept in her closet, Zane slept behind a desk, and Talmage slept by himself in the dark basement. They didn't really sleep though....Zane somehow escaped from his room, Brynlee's was a short nap, eventually woken up by Zane who escaped, and Talmage, well he has learned how to climb out of his crib...and he never even went to sleep. We all ended up in the theater room watching Mars Needs Moms...cute movie. Shawna and Tony were also there to help babysit, because Steph and Heather were helping set up for the reception. Oh by-the-way, this is cute Shawna, Tony's girl.....another budding relationship.

Later we went to the reception. Here are the Newly Wed's.

Things were going well....at first.

Talmage was a little scared of GGma at first.

Then she bribed him with grapes.

And he took the offer!

Zane wanted in on some of this Grape action too!

Eventually it got late and the babies got tired and ornery again. Tlamage was running all over the place. Trying to grab the food off the tables, eat the candy out of all the glass jars, trying to play with the millions of candles every where and sitting on the floor in the front entry way. At times this was the first thing people saw when they came in to the reception.

We said our goodbyes and left. Jen and I made a quick stop at Rio for our sweet Pork salads. At home put the kids to bed, talked to my Dad and DeEtte on the roof for a bit, then went to bed. The next morning Jen got to talk to her still pregnant sister in law before we took off for home. She was hoping to see the new baby, but alas, it did not come as planned. After filling the tires, checking and oil and topping off the gas, we headed back to Phoenix. Trying to make good time, we took less stops and in the process, at one point Heather and I both smelled a skunk outside, until she looked back and realized Talmage was playing with his own Poo! We did an emergency stop on the side of the road and did some very necessary diaper changes. I think ALL the children needed a change if I remember correctly!

San Lagos Beach

2011-10-08T22:04:00.000-05:00

You might recognize that cute little girl sitting in the water. Yes! Brynlee and Jen are back. They flew to Phoenix so the three little cousins could all be together for 10 days. We all swam at San Lagos pool, were I was staying, for our first joint activity.

Drinking the pool water again.

Brynlee had a bit more sense than the boys and opted to not drink the water.

Here he is choosing to play in the 2 foot by 2 foot patch of sand which was right next to the huge beach of sand. I donno.

If you are wondering why Tal is the only one wearing floaties, it's because I have the child who likes to run away from me (and he is quick mind you) and jump in the deep end of the pool when I am not looking.

Our attempts at getting the three children to sit by each other for a photo. Not going so well.

I think this is our best one of that day.

Playing in Phoenix

2011-10-07T13:45:00.000-05:00

We have finally gotten to the part in our two month vacation that brings us to Phoenix. This is what happened. For August, Cody and I first vacationed in D.C. for a week then came back to Milwaukee. Then me and Tal flew to Utah to hang out with my family for three weeks, while Cody stayed home in Milwaukee to work on school things; CV, resume, Personal Statement, studying for Step 2, getting letters, etc. Even though it was hard for Cody to be away from us, he needed the time without the distractions we could cause. He was able to get a lot done before his away rotation for September in Phoenix. A week before his rotation, Cody drove by himself, from Milwaukee to Monticello (about 26 hours), where he then would also have to come pick us up from Powell. After our week in Monticello, we drove the 6 to 7 hours down to Phoenix. Cody's older, and kind brother, Clay, his beautiful, and talented wife, Heather, and their cute, and smart son, Zane, were all there to greet us. Clay is in his 3rd and last year of Pharmaceutical School at Mid Western University. Heather has a degree in business, taught preschool for many years and is good at a plethora of other things, including; photography, crafts, cooking, and she also works at a yoga studio (I told you she was talented). Zane is close to two months younger then his cousin Talmage, about 20 months in this picture and he is a riot. Our entire time in Phoenix, Heather cooked and fed all of us most of the nights, came up with fun outings for us girls and our babies to go do, gave me D5000 manual mode camera lessons, and even bathed Talmage several times. Clay of course was around only after school every night and Cody was around only when he wasn't on call (which wasn't often), but the two were able to get in some good game time, including Gears of War 3!

After dinner and a visit, these guys showed us to the apartments that we would be staying at for the month. It worked out that this friend of theirs, Kevin, had an apartment he was living in for only another month and his wife and children had already moved to Utah. So we paid half his rent and had two rooms, bathroom and a kitchen basically all to ourselves the entire time. We hardly ran into Kevin, only a few times, but he was very nice and generous to us. It worked out well, especially when you see the next several pictures of the place we stayed. It is called.....

San Lagos

They had gas barbeque grills by every apartment too.

And a beach!

The perfect pool

Lets just say we got a screaming deal.

The next day was Labor day. Heather and Clay invited us over for a BBQ, it was hot, we are talking high 90's into the 100's of degrees or so, but we all swam afterwards to cool off. The only picture I took that day was of Zane and Uncle Cody.

Every day there was always something to do. Like I said, Heather planned so much, it was fun. The next day we went to Playland Factory, an indoor jumping house.

Even I was a little scared of this slide...I would have made the same faces as Zane and Talmage.

This is Brea and Ashlyn? They were so sweet and fun to be with too.

I died laughing when I saw what my nephew was doing here...

I couldn't decide which picture was funnier so I added both.

Talmage loved climbing all over this maze, obstacle thing.

He loved it so much in fact, he wouldn't even stop for a 1 second picture. It was a good attempt though Heather. Even Zane was trying to escape.

The bouncy slide was crowded with bigger kids just zooming past Talmage, who was trying SO hard to get up.

Once he got up, he decided he didn't want to go down the slide after all, so he got even with the big kids by getting in their way, by going down the up. hee hee hee

He is very much in to driving and cars these days. The instant he saw this, he had to try it out of course.

That SAME DAY, at the SAME Mall, was an outdoor splash pad, so we headed there next.

Zane is such a goober! I love him. Here he is EATING the water, not DRINKING it... but literally chewing on it.

Talmage did the smart thing and CHEWED on some real food.

It was a very long and very exciting day, which is why Tal zonked out the minute he laid on our air mattress when we got home. (Ian and Franki, our dear friends who live in Phoenix, lent it to us for the entire month. Life Savers).

Hunting, Swimming, Dumping, Cutting

2011-10-05T23:56:00.000-05:00

{This post has four parts, hence the large quantity of photos. I personally think they are all worth posting, especially since this blog is going to be turned into our family photo album anyways.}

Monticello just kept getting better for us, since Cody and I were officially done with applications, we could relax a bit more and just have fun.

I loved this photo of Tony and Talmage. He kept going over and licking Tony's creamy. I am not sure why either of them are making those faces.

Fun Part 1

Hunting

So the fun begins! If you haven't ever driven a four wheeler, or any type of off road vehicle for that matter, I highly recommend you do so soon. I grew up driving snowmobiles and four wheelers at an early age. Cody growing up in Monticello and working on his Grandad's land also has driven many different types. They are a blast.

The boys wanted to go on a rodent hunt and they shot some. Cody even got a small bird by accident. The number of fingers they are holding up is the number of kills they had.

These Pehrson boys, I tell ya, have good aim. Even their sister Jen is a real good shot, witnessed by my own two eyes. I guess when you have acres and acres of fields in your backyard, you have a lot of places to learn how to shoot.

What a poser.

The squat shoot.

What am I doing during all of this you ask? Making sure I don't go deaf, driving the four wheeler, and being a third eye.

Had to take a scenery shot....I mean, look how beautiful!

Fun Part 2

Swimming

After Lake Powell, Talmage started missing the water again. He also wanted to show Nali how he had learned to jump into the water from the edge of the pool. He counts...... un, do, doo! Then jumps in, it is so cute. So Steph took us to the local watering hole to go swimming (Okay, it was just a regular recreational swim pool).

All the next pictures were thanks to Steph (Nali). She captured some really fun shots.

Here he is getting ready to swim with his "muscles" on.

Hoping the water isn't too cold.

Ah, who cares....dive!

Take a shower first.

Now go reek some havoc, be the biggest nuisance possible, and give the life guards something to really whistle about.

I love the face on the mother behind us. So crusty. What? Like you can't get wet in the pool?

More crusties from the perfect mother behind me. She probably thought I was a bad mother for letting Talmage taste the water. I couldn't stop him anyways.

Lets climb out..

EEERRRRGH...Almost there.

A quick rest.

All right! Lets get this game started.

Clap for me...3 for 3.

And the FINALE DUNK!!!! Pointed toes and all...I love this.

The whistle blows to get out..lets put on our towel.

All that exercise made me nice and strong.

Fun Part 3

Dumping

Whether Talmage was dumping cat food on the porch for Tootsy (or whatever her name is), dumping dirt in the pot, or helping dump old hot tubs out of the yard, he was having fun.

Bye Bye Toots. I am going to go help the big kids in the backyard.

What do we have here? A hill-billie child?

Lets dump him with the other "trash."

Not too happy about that one.

Fun Part 4

Cutting

Yes! On September 3rd 2011 (at age 21 months for crying out loud!). Talmage received his first haircut!

And he needed it!

Little off the sides and back.

Little off the top.

Distracting him with songs, screaming and extra binkies (Thanks Steph).

Last minute touches and...

Viola!

The soft hair style.

The hard core hairstyle!

Marching proudly with his new do.

See you later Monticello. We had a fun, relaxing, very enjoyable time. And thanks for making me a MAN.

Magnificent Monticello

2011-10-04T00:43:00.000-05:00

Steph (Nali) and Cody, picked up Talmage and I from Hals Crossing Marina, in Lake Powell on a Monday. We drove the 2 hours to Monticello, which is where Cody grew up and we would be staying for about 6 days. I must say Monticello was probably the most relaxing part of our entire two month trip. Nali was always waiting on us hand and foot, and I don't remember ever having to change a single diaper that entire week. We had 3 full meals a day, watched plenty of movies, slept in, went on walks, shot guns, rode four wheelers, went swimming...... the list goes on. Once again, I was surrounded by another beautiful area.

The minute we got out of the car Talmage bolted right for the rocking horse in the front yard.

Grandad was proud to help him mount his horse.

Uncle Tony even came in for a visit, which was very nice, because we were all serenaded by his handsome tenor sound and beautiful plucking of his ukulele strings.

We enjoyed Yahtzee and Navajo tacos at Great Grandad and Grandma Pehrson's home as usual too. After a little hesitation at first, Talmage soon warmed up to Great Grandad and payed a little tug-o-war with the foot stool.

He also warmed up to Great Grandma enough, to allow her, to give him, a horsey ride. Kids these days.

He really loves older kids I tell ya...he copied everything these two did. These are his second cousins? I can never get it straight.

He especially loved Shayla.

Running one direction and looking another...cause for disaster. That was another thing he picked up on this trip.

All the kids thought this was a hummingbird...but upon closer inspection it was just an over sized moth.

It was perfect weather outside, but me and the horrible circulation in my feet were having issues again in the cool grass. It might be hard to see, but toes are all white and I couldn't feel them. On a more positive note...this was the lushest grass I had ever seen, so I had to go barefoot.

Picking strawberries to take home for some strawberry cheesecake.

Isn't she a cutie?

She loves her grand babies.

From one hard working man to the next...."watch your step son".

Some of the Pehrson Clan

Cody playing some duck, duck, goose with the kids.

Another day and some more sweets. They don't make creamies in Wisconsin...so we took advantage of the ones on sale in Monticello and had our fair share that week.

A lot of the time Cody and I pondered over all 120 + Orthopedic Residency programs we could apply for. We also went over his CV, Resume, and Personal Statement about a million times to make sure all were perfect, before finally submitting to MANY residencies. A million dollars later and we were finally done! Now all we have to do is WAIT for at least 15 interviews. Why 15? That is our lucky number to (kind-of) guarantee we Match somewhere (note my match day countdown on the top right side of our blog).

We took some breaks from the computer every once in a while and licked some beaters.

I love this one.

Talmage fell in love with this perfectly sized chair for him.

Remember how I said we took some walks. Well, some of us got a lot of rocks in our shoes.

Only had to stop every 10 feet.

It was perfect walking weather. I know I put three of the exact same pictures in a row below, but I have to laugh at the stroller in the pictures and how it is slowly blowing it's way across the road in the wind.

No stroller yet and then...

On our right

Passing on the left

Remember me mentioning a while back how Talmage loves horses and does a pretty good horse sound? Well, on Doug's (Grandad's) ranch, there were a plethora of horses to see. Still a little too frightened to actually touch them though.

Docked

2011-09-27T18:27:00.000-05:00

The last couple of days in Lake Powell were filled with fun.

Because we didn't have a regular boat (only a houseboat and wave runners), we had to take the wave runners to the Bullfrog marina for ice and gasoline. Here are these guys coming back from a trip.

After playing in the sand.

Garrett, Me, Erik, Gracie, Banxton, Mckenzie, Cache, Talmage

Erik made a waterworks line that when you poured water into it, it would zigzag back and forth back to the lake.

I sculpted this very realistic looking crocodile (At least I thought so)

No one was afraid of Leonard, not even Talmage.

Jim found this shark hat on the beach. It was perfect for Tal and did a good job of keeping him from getting sunburnt.

We definitely stayed hydrated.

Eventually we moved to another beach, which was more private, and a lot better for jumping (or being thrown) off the back of the houseboat.

I love how it looks like he is standing on water.

Poor Gracie got a good slap in the face on her first try, even after all of us begging her to try it and telling her it would be fun. Oops.

....and what is Talmage up to during all of this?

I love how you can see people laughing at him in the back ground..

That evening, after lots of sand and water playing, some of us a had a few sore crotches.

Garrett made another fire. This one just happened to look like a demon dragon right?

Fire Dance

Another day.....another beautiful day.

We did a lot of fun wave running. I didn't bring a crib for Tal on this trip, so the only way I could get him to fall asleep for naps was to take him on a wave runner ride and lull him to sleep.

Erik got some good reading in. Especially in those peaceful moments.

Kenz and Cache got some good kissing in. Especially in those romantic moments.

I got some good shots in. Especially in those beautiful moments.

Talmage and Garrett got some good bonding time in. Especially in those happy moments.

Overall, the trip was a success. The kid was happy. Yes, he got very dirty, bruised, scraped, and chaffed, but it was worth it.

Thanks Nana and Jim for a great trip!

Oh yeah! I almost forgot. You can't really tell, but I finally got a tan after all that burning.

Moments before Cody and Grandma Steph picked Talmage and I up, we all bathed and got ourselves presentable for them. We were all used to each others smells buy then, but we had no idea how we would smell to the new comers.

After 3 almost 4 long weeks, we reunited with Cody. It was close to Tal's nap time, so he barely noticed Daddy was with us again. I was happy to see him though.

In the back ground you can see a storm coming. good thing we left when we did, because the rest of my family got hit in a major storm while docking the houseboat and wave runners. They all made it safely though, and even said it was fun jumping off the massive swelling waves in the runners.

Adieu Lake Powell. Thanks for not taking us down in any storms or flash floods while we stayed. Thanks for not being too hot nor too cold. Thanks for not having too many people or tourists. Thanks for having a plethora of good beaches. Thanks for being beautiful. We will miss you.

Beached........

2011-09-23T21:41:00.000-05:00

We loaded up the cars to maximum capacity and headed to Lake Powell. My mother, Jim and brother Erik were there a few days before us getting the houseboat and wave runners ready. Let me introduce the Lake Powell Gang.

Doc

Mama Evonne, the peacemaker and chef. She was constantly helping someone whether it was making food or watching children. She was there to help.

Grumpy

Jim the engine master and commander. Took care of the wave runners and made sure the houseboat ran for us. Got severely sunburned, but didn't complain despite this grumpy face.

Sneezy

Erik the captain. He drove most the time, found our beautiful spot and was content reading and enjoying the moment when it came (when he wasn't running the ship).

Happy

Ashley was just happy to be there with out her lil crawler, Ellie. Her two older kids basically entertained themselves.

Dopey

I was Dopey after so many trips and time changes. Watching Talmage near water could make anyone Dopey right?

Pyro Maniac

Garrett the Pyro, started many fires, but was also a good babysitter. He was cool, calm and collected the whole trip.

Bashfuls

These two were.... well... starting a relationship so....ya cute couple. Mckenzie and Cache what a pair.

Lil Happy

Banxton loved every minute of this trip except the end when Talmage threw a rock that landed on his finger and smashed it.

Lil Grumpy

Gracie was actually very happy most the time. This was after jumping off the houseboat roof, her face slapped the water.

Lil Poopey

Talmage pooped more on this trip than his entire life so far.

Lil Sleepy

Sage was good but slept a lot. It was hot with all her fur.

Lil Pukey

Poor Coco ate too many rocks and sand the first day, which caused her to become sick and pukey the rest of the trip.

Just some fun memories from the first day......

Garrett basically starting a huge desert fire in the canyon.

Erik enjoying his shave after a long hard and dirty day.

Talmage pooping in his swim diaper and my mother bathing him.

Talmage exploring on the rocks for the first time in Powell.

Floating

What his bum looked like the majority of the trip.

Running up and down the plank.

My favorite...... our first night and the view.

What More Could A Boy Ask For?

2011-09-21T22:11:00.000-05:00

The return trip from Couer d'alene was filled with many pit stops. I wish I could blame them all on the four children me and Ashley lugged in tow, but alas, between me and Ashley's many diet cokes, waters, and sugar rushes from all our candy..... a few stops were for us. We eventually got back to Bountiful and finally SLEPT. He is growing fast on this trip, those p.j.s are a bit small now. How sad my little boy is growing too fast.

We have a few more days in Bountiful and then we are headed to Lake Powell. Those last few days were filled with more fun of course, but there were still attempts at me trying to parent. I tried to hide his binkies, he always managed to find one and wouldn't let go once he found them.

He also grew fond of riding on the old wooden rocking horse that I remember loving to ride on when I was a wee lass.

Whoa nelly!

He discovered the riding lawn mower as well.

First driving lesson, 21 1/2 months.

Careful..careful (they were going about 2 MPH)

Sure was fun when Grandpa went fast though.

The last big adventure before our bigger adventure in Lake Powell, we took the children to the Kangaroo Zoo. A place filled with Bouncy Slides. Don't mind my freaky expression in the second picture. I wasn't really scared. I was getting the children more pumped up. Talmage was being crusty for some reason and Ellie wasn't fond of it either.

Go Ashley...mother of 3!

Banxton doesn't realize his own strength. He sure did enjoy throwing Talmage around.

Talmage is also going through a jealous stage. I even look at another child and he comes running at me like he will never see me again.

Oh Ellie! You lil' Poser. She doesn't get to come to Lake Powell, so we must say good bye to this adorable face for now.

Next Post: POWELL BABY!!!