The Green's Update

Young Women Birthday and Beehive Gifts

2012-01-07T16:47:00.000-08:00

I've been working on gifts for the Young Women the last few weeks...

The first one is a birthday gift for each of the girls that they will get on the Sunday following thier birthday. The youth theme this year is the scripture Docterine & Covenents 115:5 Arise and shine forth that thy light may be a standard for the nations. I when I saw these on Pinterest I thought they were so cute and would be perfect to go along with the theme. I knew I could come up with something similar. Thanks to Lis and Megan for helping me put them together. Some have a big crystal and some have a smaller one.

The second gift is for the new beehives. Each ruffle is a different value color. I put the lyrics to a song that explains the meaning of each of the colors since the new girls won't know what the different colors stand for yet. I found the tutorial here and adjusted for the different colors.

"Promoting Peace in the Bedroom"

2011-04-04T09:59:00.001-07:00

I gave these sheets to Brandon for April Fool's Day. I got them off this website. No need to have an imaginary line in the bed.... now there really is a line! To be fair... It's usually me being the bedhog and coming over to his side of the bed because he's so warm and I'm always freezing. If you're looking for a funny gift for a spouse I definitely recommend these!

What A Day!

2011-03-03T23:05:00.000-08:00

Brandon's perspective while in a performance review meeting with one of his employees...

Ring Ring (cell phone)....... hits ignore.

Ring Ring again...... hits ignore.

Ring Ring again..... "ummmm, must be important"

"Hello sweetie"

[Carter] "Hello daddy, Max fell out of the chair."

"Okay.... daddy's in a meeting"

[Carter] "Max has a bump on his head"

"Okay..."

[Carter] "And there is drops of blood"

"Can I talk to mommy please"

Now flash backwards from my perspective....

Carter and Max were playing in the front room (I was in a "different" room... okay I was in the bathroom). Luckily I was just standing up and pulled up my pants when I heard a big thump and then... silence. I looked out of the door and said "what's going on! (knowing that they had tipped over the chair and I was frustrated that they were playing when I had asked them to put on their shoes because we were just about to leave). Carter said "oh no mom" and Max stood up and all I saw was a dark black spot on his forehead and blood dripping down his face. I ran back into the bathroom and washed my hands and grabbed the towel Max came walking towards me and his shirt was covered in blood. I was trying to put the towel on his head to apply pressure (of course he is freaking out and screaming and not wanting me to touch it. Every time I moved the towel or if he moved, blood was spurting out of this cut onto my shirt and the floor. Carter was such a little hero. He was obviously in a little shock and kept saying "oh no... oh no... there's blood on the floor.... oh no.. oh no...". I told Carter to go call dad and he went and got my phone and called Brandon like a pro (see above dialog) luckily we had just recently taught him how to use my phone and how to call dad and 911 in an emergency. While carter is trying to get a hold of Brandon I can't take pressure off of Max's head so I run upstairs with him and get the gauze pads out of the medicine cabinet with one hand and rip the packages open with my teeth. I replace the towel with two gauze pads and run back downstairs.

Carter has Brandon on the phone at this point so I am holding Max in one arm and use my cheek to apply pressure to his cut so I can have a free hand. I quickly let Brandon know what's going on and let him go so I could figure out what to do.... I can't drive because I have to hold on to his head but I didn't want to call an ambulance. Luckily I have a friend that lives just down the road from me and she came and picked the three of us up, dropped me and Max off at the urgent care and took Carter back to her house (thank you so much Amy!!!! What an awesome visiting teacher you are!) When I was waiting for Amy to come get us and Max was still squished against my cheek I realized that I never buttoned or zipped up my pants! This is very hard to do with one hand while holding a crying child in the other arm... luckily I realized this before I got to urgent care! On our way to urgent care I called them to let them know we were coming and they got us in quickly. What a day!
Here are some photos:

When we got there they put some numbing stuff on a cotton ball and taped it to his cutMax got treated to two cherry Popsicles

Brandon left work right after I got off the phone with him and met us at urgent care
They wanted to make sure he could walk straight. He kept saying "owee" and patting his head.

Getting ready to get the numbing shot and then the stitches He got 5 stitches Back at home with brother. When we were at the doctor he kept asking for "brother"Our little tough guy

His head dented the molding!

Running Free (well sort of)

2010-08-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my awesome running partner and I ran a half marathon. Yay us!!
One of the reasons why I started running years ago was because it was basically free. All you need is a pair of shoes and out the door you go... right? What I didn't realize at the time is that the more you run the more expensive it gets...
You need more expensive:
shoes (bought alot more often!), insoles, running clothes, fancy socks, race entry fees, protien drinks, reflective gear, etc...
Now don't get me wrong, all of these things are still less expensive than other sport hobbies but after paying a few race fees already this year and being due for some new shoes I didn't feel like paying anymore for my "free" running hobby. Luckily my amazing hubby got me a GPS watch this summer (which I LOVE) so we met early Saturday morning and just ran for 13.1 miles. There was no race energy in the air, portapotties, gummy bear stations, or medals. But we did it! My big finish line was driving home and seeing my boys run out to me with a hand written sign that said "Great Job". I'm totally keeping that sign and putting it on my board with my other race bibs.

Franklin Falls

2010-07-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

We took the kids hiking on Saturday morning to Franklin Falls. Whenever we go hiking the primary song "My Heavenly Father Loves Me" continually runs through my mind as we meander down the trail. Here are the words:

Whenever I hear the song of a bird

Or look at the blue, blue sky,

Whenever I feel the rain on my face

Or the wind as it rushes by,

Whenver I touch a vevlet rose

Or walk by our lilac tree,

I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world

Heavenly Father created for me.

Franklin Falls is a beutiful hike and great for kids! It is 2 miles total and isn't too steep (note to self: 1 mile takes alot longer than normal when you have young kids with you). The trail follows the river up through a forest and when you get to the top of the trail the view opens up and there is a 70 foot waterfall cascading down right infront of you into a very calm river bed. The kids were able to throw rocks and play for a while and had so much fun. But, because we went in the morning it was still a little cold (and we are awful parents and forgot to bring shoes for Max!!) On a warm day, by about noon or so, when the sun is straight up in the sky, the mist from the waterfall would feel so refreshing. There is no doubt in my mind that this Earth was created by a loving Heavenly Father.

I've been trying to find heart shaped rocks everywhere. I mentioned it when we were there to Brandon and I kidd you not... he didn't even move, looked down and said "here's one". How sweet that my lover found me my first heart rock!

50.1 miles later...

2010-06-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

We did it!!!

Yesterday, June 5th I ran in the Rainer to Ruston Relay. The total relay was 50.1 miles. It started at the base of Mt. Rainer Nat'l park and ended on the water front in Tacoma. We put together two 4 position teams (two teams with 8 people each because we ran in pairs so a total of 16 women there are 3 people missing from the photo).
My awesome running partner Rachel and I were postion 2 and we had 3 legs to run... leg 2, leg 6, and leg 10.
Our first leg (leg 2)- This leg was described in the course description as isolated rocky and muddy trail. Rachel and I normally run on a gravel trail and it is often muddy after it rains so I wasn't too concerned. When we arrived at the check in point the guy incharge of the race said that leg 2 was very muddy all the way down and to just take it slow and it's best to run through the puddles. "what"? did he just say "run through the puddles"?? Yep... run through. Still in my mind I was thinking "how bad could it really be"???......... Calf deep mud puddles that covered the entire trail (no way around), running through streams, If there wasn't a puddle there was thick sticky slippery mud, rocks, tree ruts,.... Insane! A picture that will be forever in my mind is when I went to forge through another muddy puddle and I looked down and saw shoes in the puddle! I stopped with one foot in the muck and looked up to see Rachel running with no shoes on! There they both were filling with mud and water! Luckily my shoe only came half off. 6.1 miles of wet muddy squishy shoes and the most crazy conditions. Luckily I brought an extra pair of shoes, pants, and socks to change into our our next leg.
Our second leg (leg 6) - 2.7 miles on a paved trail. Thank heavens!
Our third and last leg (leg 10) - 3.2 miles on a mostly sandy trail. Below is a photo of Rachel and I at the end of our last leg.

Brandon brought the kids down and they were there cheering for me at the end of this leg. It was so nice to see them! We then drove to the finish line to meet the rest of the team and cheer on our runners in the last leg. The two photos below are of me and my support/inspiration. If you look close in the last picture you can see Mt. Rainer (where we started) behind us!!

My kids are going to be SO smart....

2010-05-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

if this is true.

If only I had a picture of them "helping" me pull weeds as we got the garden area ready for planting yesterday.

Carter’s First Primary Talk

2010-05-23T14:05:00.001-07:00

At church during the primary hours, Carter is in the Sunbeam class. This class is for kids that are age 3 on January 1st. This month his class has been responsible for all the "assignments" during primary which are: prayer, scripture, and talk. Last week he gave the opening prayer and this week he gave the talk. Now let me preface... the primary presidency emailed out the list of who was on which assignment at the beginning of the month. Each month in primary they have a theme. The theme for May was: Living the principles and ordinances of the gospel will bring me closer to Jesus Christ. The fourth article of faith says: "We believe that the the four principles and ordinances of the gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; Second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Since his talk was the fourth Sunday of the month we ended up focusing on the fourth principle of the gospel - the Holy Ghost. Carter did an awesome job. I should have just stayed in the back of the room to listen because he definitely didn't need my help. Me trying to "help" is the only little mishap he had during his talk. Way to go Carter!

Carter’s First Talent Show

2010-04-30T22:29:00.001-07:00

Family Hike - Twin Falls

2010-04-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, April 17th (happy birthday to me!) we went on another fun family hike. The Garcia's and Kovacs went on the hike with us and this time we hiked up to Twin Falls (photo above is of one of the lower falls). It was a beautiful hike! The hike started out following the Snoqualmie River. I think the kids would've been happy staying by the river the whole time and throwing rocks. This picture is of all the kids (except the two babies) near the beginning of the hike. Of course our camera battery died right after the photo below. Luckily Brandon just got a new phone that takes pretty decent pictures so we were able to get a few more shots along the way....

This photo is of all the kids (and Damon) on top of a huge rock. The picture cuts off the bottom half of the rock so it's hard to tell how big it is. At this point in the hike we started walking through an old growth forest. There was moss dripping from branches and there was one tree that was over 700 years old. It was giant! Carter taking a break on another rock.This photo shows us at top of the hike on a bridge that spans the river in between the falls. On one side of the bridge are the upper falls and on the other side of the bridge is the lower falls. It's pretty amazing. You can't see the falls in the picture because with a cell phone camera there isn't much zooming in and out that can be done but the upper falls were just to the left of us (it had just started to rain prettty good which I think is why Max and Carter are not smiling for the picture).
When I planned out these hikes I deliberately chose hikes that were easy for kids because Carter has to walk the whole way. In my "Best Hikes with Kids Western Washington & the Cascades hike book it says this hike is "easy" for kids and is 1 1/2 miles. When I got back in the car I double checked the book because it was definitely not "easy". There were switch backs that were steep and had me sweating! ... not that I'm a pro hiker or anything but if it's easy for kids then you would think an adult should have no problem. It seemd a lot longer than 1 1/2 miles too... It turns out that the 1 1/2 and "easy" category was in reference to the hike up until a certain viewing point on the trail and not all the way up to the falls. Our little group of kiddos hiked 4 1/2 miles and gained about 500 feet of elevation! Way to go kids!!

Max

2010-04-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

Our little guy turned one on April 8th and it's been quite a year! To be honest, the first six months were pretty hard and I would often wonder how in the world I would make it. But he has turned out to be the "class clown" of the family. He loves playing peek-a-boo, dancing, pointing at things and saying dat? dat?, wrestling with his brother and dad, and hiding things.

We had a little party at home for him on his birthday and then one at my parents home last Sunday. Here are some photos:

This is a photo of Carter and Max and the super cute car cake my amazing sisters Michelle and Tammy made for Max. Max opening presents at our home. The awesome bubble blower is from his Grandma & Grandpa Green and the puzzles were from the Stephens.Here comes his first taste of cake.

I think I ate too much chocolate...

Two Little Monkeys....

2010-04-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

This morning when Max woke up from his nap Carter heard him crying and ran upstairs. I was on the phone with Brandon so I stayed downstairs for a minute longer talking on the phone knowing they would just play for a bit. As I was talking I heard a loud "thump... thump... thump..." sound with hysterical laughter. Again thump... thump... thump... thump.... thump... with ongoing laughter from both boys. I ran upstairs to see what in the world was going on and this is what I found... Carter had climbed into the crib with Max and they were both jumping in his bed! Luckily neither of them bumped their head....

Oh yeah... if you haven't heard yet, Max is officially walking!

Family Hike

2010-03-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

We went on a hike today as a family with the Garcia's. The kids walked the whole way (with some coaxing) and did a great job! Click here for pictures!

Soccer

2010-03-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

Carter had his first ever soccer practice on Saturday. We take his soccer ball to the park quite often and kick it around but I was nervous to see how he would do with lots of other kids. Luckily there were lots of balls so they weren't ever trying to take the ball away from each other. He did an awesome job listening to the coach. He said his favorite part was when he made a goal and everyone clapped for him. At the end of practice coach set up a net and the kids sat in a semi circle taking turns kicking the ball into the net. Brandon and I were of course part of the paparazzi parents on the sidelines with the camera and video camera.

Family Snow Day

2010-02-15T21:58:00.000-08:00

We told Carter a few months ago that if it didn't snow down at our house we would take him up to the mountains to play in the snow. We marked February 13th as the day to go so we took the kiddos up to a sledding park just east of Snoqualmie Pass on Saturday. We had a blast! Click here to see all the pictures of our fun.

He Made It!

2010-02-07T15:36:00.000-08:00

Last night Max decided to show us that he really knows how to climb stairs. I was vaccuming and when I turned around Max was going up our big set of stairs. Of course we had to run and grab the camera! Here are some shots:
He made it!!

Little Birdie Secrets Blog Party

2010-02-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

I went to a blog party for Little Birdie Secrets with a few friends last night. What is a blog party you ask...? We'll there are some amazing blogs that always have crafty ideas or tutorials and some of them have started having actual parties so you can meet and the people that create the blogs in person. It was a fun time. I totally forgot to bring my camera so if you click here you can see some super cute pictures and the craft we did. (Thanks for letting me use your pictures Brianne!)

Puzzle Pro

2010-01-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

We gave Carter a big USA map puzzle and a big World Map puzzle for Christmas. Yesterday night he put together the USA puzzle entirely by himself and was naming off a majority of the states as he put them in! He knows Uncle Cory and his family lives in South Carolina and he knows he lives in Washington... except when he's putting together the puzzle he says he and daddy live in Ohio..... there is a picture of a football on the Ohio piece and he likes to play football with Brandon (I guess footballs are more exciting than apples).

Way to go buddy! You're growing up so fast!

Update to last post

2010-01-13T20:25:00.000-08:00

... Max can climb stairs now too!.... I think.....
I just left Carter and Max up in the play room while I ran down stairs to make a bottle. When I came back upstairs (like 3 minutes later) Max was in Carter's room! Our play room is sunken by two steps, so to get to Carter's room he somehow made it up those steps. I asked Carter if he picked up Max and he said no. Sometimes I would ask him again to make sure but he was quietly building towers with his blocks and I assume I would've heard screaming if this had actually happened.... so my friends.... Max can now climb stairs. I don't know if this is a trick that he'll only do while I'm not looking.... I'm going to investigate more tomorrow.... not sure if I want him climbing steps yet.... YIKES! He's grown up fast in the last month!

Max is 9 months!

2010-01-11T15:47:00.000-08:00

Max turned 9 months last Friday (1/8/10) and he's made a few developmental landmarks as well... He started crawling on new years day, he can go from crawling to sitting up by himself as of last week, on Sunday morning (yesterday) when I came into his room to get him out of his crib he was standing holding onto the rails!! Today he climbed up onto the treadmill by himself!!! Watch out world here he comes!

What's Cookin?

2009-12-20T22:25:00.000-08:00

A few days ago Carter got a Highlights magazine in the mail. We don't know who signed him up for this magazine but if it was you..... thank you! He absolutely loves it! On Friday he carried it around the mall with him and today he insisted on taking it to church!!
In this issue there was a recipe for Mac and Cheese Muffins and he kept asking me if we could make them. So, since I had no plans for dinner tonight, I let Carter be the chef and we made them together. He had such a good time and even wore his own apron (thanks Stephanie). I wouldn't suggest making these if you're having company coming over because they were really bland tasting but... if you have a kiddo that likes to help in the kitchen it was a simple recipe that had lots of opportunities for little hands to participate.

Starry Night

2009-12-20T19:39:00.000-08:00

Here is the one hanging in our bathroom... Here is the one Carter did...

I saw his magnadoodle sitting on the ottoman...

Me - "Carter I like your picture".

Carter - "it's Starry Night by (B)incint (B)an Gogh!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T16:46:00.000-08:00

Carter and Brandon often go around the house talking "pirate talk" to each other (if Carter ever calls you a "yellow belly land lover" I appologize in advance). The obvious choice for a costume for Carter this year was a pirate. Here are some photos:Brandon dressed up as a knight. Doesn't he look intemidating? Needless to say no one messed with us when we went trick or treating. Max was a spider and I was a web. When we went out trick or treating I put him in the baby bjorn and safety pinned on 4 more legs. I think 4 legged spiders are pretty cute though.

To see all the photos of our Halloween season fun click here

Fear the Mullet no more

2009-08-15T22:14:00.001-07:00

Max had a bit of a mullet and a comb over going on (ok maybe it was a major mulet). We decided it was time for his first hair cut tonight. I know it looks like I'm poking him in the head with the scissors but I promise I wasn't. Here is an after shot...
He is turning into such a little man already. My how time flies!

Brandon's New Toy

2009-07-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

At the end of summer last year the AC went out on the jeep. We decided not to get it fixed because it was the end of summer and it was way over $1000. Since then many small little things started going wrong and then to top it off we got in a car accident about a month ago and the repairs would've been around $1500 to get it fixed. Brandon has always wanted to get another truck (he had trucks in high school). Thanks to the Cash for Clunkers deal that just came through we were able to give our beloved jeep to the dealership to be recycled and be turned into something bright and shiney and we got the $3500 to go towards this....Toyota Tacoma double cab pre runner (4x2)
Happy new truck Brandon!

Stages

2009-07-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

Ok... so.... I know I'm a mom but I always tended to think of my self as still being young and "cool".... this past Sunday it was really hot and I was standing in the lobby at church talking to some friends all of the sudden I realized I was fanning myself with a diaper.... really?!? a diaper?!? I think the young and "cool" stage is definitely over...

It's the Little Things That Really Count

2009-06-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

Isn't it those little unimportant things that make all the difference anyway? I've been tagged by my friend Kim. Normally I don't do these type of things but I was just thinking the other day about a few things that are small and silly that make me happy. One of my favorite quotes says "Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things". Ok so I don't think these will ever turn out to be big things but I do think it's important to enjoy the small things.

Unimportant Things That Make Me Happy:

1. Having fancy soap that smells yummy to wash my hands with. (I like the antibacterial pump soap from Bath and Body Works)
2. Working in the garden..... even better is when the things I plant grow!
3. Touching my tomato plants. I love the earthy smell they give off!
4. Texting
5. Stepping on the scale and seeing the numbers get smaller (started Weight Watchers 2 weeks ago to help get the baby weight off!)
6. Candles... I love having a candle burning... for some reason I feel fancier and relaxed even though I may be going crazy with the kiddos. =)

When I grow up...

2009-06-09T22:58:00.000-07:00

I asked Carter what he wants to be when he grows up today....

Me: What do you want to do when you grow up?

Carter: I'm going to go to church

Me: oh... that 's good. What else do you want to do when you grow up?

Carter: I want to grow a garden.... and water with watering cans.

Me: What are you going to grow in your garden?

Carter: radishes, strawberries and plants

Me: radishes, strawberries, and plants?

Carter: yep

Later in the day I asked him again what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said he wanted to grow plants and asparagus and strawberries. I guess we have a future farmer on our hands. =)

Ocean Shores

2009-06-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

Carter, Max and I went on a mini vacation to Ocean Shores tuesday and stayed overnight with my parents in their time share condo (they are staying the whole week for vacation). It was nice to get away for a bit and give the kiddos a change of scenery. Click here to see more photos.

Pool Party

2009-05-29T22:58:00.000-07:00

Carter and I had a pool party in the backyard today to cool off in this awesome weather we've been having lately. It was our first time breaking out the pool this year and he's grown since last summer so he can't quite "swim" in the pool like he was able to before but he had a blast splashing around and thought it was hilarious to splash me. I love sunny weather in seattle!

One Month

2009-05-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

We've made it past the one month mark of life with two kids on May 8th and I would personally like to give a HUGE hats off to all the mothers that have more than one child... I called my mom a few days ago half in tears asking her how in the world did she raise seven kids and stay sane!?! I totally took her for granted.

Carter has adjusted really well to having a baby brother. He is actually more patient with him than I am and doesn't seem to mind at all when he is crying. He is a really big helper and is learning to do alot of things by himself. I can't believe how fast he is growing!

Max is growing like a weed too and is starting to pack on the pounds. =)

Here are a few pics we took of them recently.

Crunch time again

2009-05-04T12:00:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have had a baby will understand....
A few days ago I was laying in bed on my back feeling my post pregnancy belly. You know... loose skin and squishy. Brandon rolled over and felt my stomache too and said in all seriousness and with a bit of awe in his voice... "it's softer than jell-o." Seriously?!?! did you really just say that?!?! All I could do was laugh! To be fair, Brandon is a very loving husband and he really is normally very sensitive in what he says.
I guess it's time to start in on the crunches again...

Welcome Maxwell Lee Green

2009-04-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

Max was born on Wednesday, April 8th at 6:08 pm. He weighed 8 lbs and 12 oz and was 20 inches long. Click here to see some photos of Max's first few days.

Craft Room in Progress

2009-04-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

For my birthday (c0ming up on the 17th) I asked Brandon for a craft room. We have an extra room that we use as an exercise room and I had a folding table and chair in the room to do projects. Here are some shots of what we've come up with so far. We got the super long countertop at IKEA in the "as is" section, I got the chair on craigslist and the organization cubes at Michaels. Brandon put in all the racks in the closet for extra storage too. We're looking for ideas for what other great organizing things we can put on the counter or on the wall by the counter. Any ideas?

Stretched to the MAX

2009-03-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

I'll be the first to admit.... lately I've been a little whiny and I'm afraid Brandon gets the brunt of it (sorry sweetie). I've asked him to not even ask how I'm feeling anymore because the answer will be "miserable". My belly is seriously huge and it feels like the skin on my stomach is so tight that if I get even one centimeter bigger I'll burst! Well... there's a reason folks...... I went to the doctor yesterday (3/2) and she measured my belly from top to bottom which is normal at check ups because they can tell by the length of your belly about how far along you are. After doing it once she looked at her tape measure and stopped and asked me, while looking at my chart, "how far along are you?" with a confused tone. "Almost 35 weeks" I said. She shook her head and measured me again.... This time she said... "The measurement I'm getting says you should be 44 weeks!" 44 weeks!?!?!? Are you joking me!?!??! No wonder I feel like I'm about to burst! For those of you who aren't familiar, you're only supposed to be pregnant for 40 weeks (42 at the most if you're overdue and they induce you)!!!! I had a big belly with Carter too.... it's just my lot in life to be HUGE while pregnant I guess. Ugh!
One month to go.... I hope it's less. Here are pictures that Brandon took of me tonight so you can have a visual. Oh yeah... we've decided on the name Max (Maxwell) thus the title of my post. =)

Popcorn and Sentences

2009-02-24T14:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was cleaning the house and vacuuming in the other room when I realized that Carter had been quiet for quite some time.... not normal. I stopped vacuuming and went to find him.... He was sitting on the floor in the kitchen by the corner cabinet (where his snacks are kept), had opened the door (which has a child lock on it), and had twisted off the cap to the popcorn kernels. There were kernels all over the floor and he was taking more out of the jar and putting them into the top of the air popper.

Me (in an angry exasperated tone): "Carter what are you doing!?!?!"

Carter (in an innocent what's your deal mom tone): "I'm making popcorn".

How can you get upset at that? It wasn't until a little later (after we cleaned up the mess together) that I realized that he put a sentence together that was very clear to understand. I can normally understand what he is saying and we can communicate but until now it's been one or two words. Now he's putting words together... Here are a few of his other quotes he says very clearly:
"Jesus loves you very much"
"No mommy play here!" or "No daddy play here!" - meaning he doesn't want us to touch whatever it is that he's playing with. Not exactly correct grammar but he's putting words together.
He also knows all of his letters and sings most of the alphabet song without help. I'm amazed at how quickly he's developing and turning into a little boy!

Brandon and Eric showing off their baking skills

2009-02-09T13:20:00.000-08:00

Last night EBK (Eric, Brianne, and Kaylin) came over to hang out since we hadn't seen them in forever. I had planned on making brownies but turns out that I had no eggs..... I know... I know... who runs out of eggs!?!?! Instead of going dessert-less. Brandon and Eric saved the day by making donuts. I haven't had homemade donuts since I lived at home I think. They were awesome! We had to take a picture to document. Thanks for the donuts guys!

Carter is in his "Big Boy" room

2009-02-05T14:19:00.000-08:00

Here are a few shots of Carter's big boy room. He officially moved out of the nursery and down the hall on Christmas night and has done a fantastic job with the transition. Yes, I know the bed is a bit big for a toddler but he'll grow into it. I didn't want to go buy a new bed when we already had a nice queen size bed.... more room for him to jump on the bed without falling off I guess. =) We started off with a camping theme...thus the little tent in the corner (his hide out) with the big stuffed bear, the fishing poles above the curtains (these fishing poles are very well used and belonged to his great grandma Minnick), and the cool painting by the window that his Grandma Green did. But then we liked the sporty theme too so now his room is a mix of what we like to call outdoor fun.

Family Night Treats

2009-01-26T21:19:00.000-08:00

Brandon was incharge of the treats for family night tonight. He bought a package of Oreos and taught Carter how to dunk them in a glass of milk. He loved it and was a natural at it.... go figure!

Look What I Did!

2009-01-16T15:18:00.000-08:00

The jewelry box I have - and love - unfortunately doesn't hold dangley earrings very well. After sifting through a drawer full of sparkly earrings not finding the pair I wanted I got inspired to do something about it. So... off to the good 'ol home improvement store with Carter I went this morning. I got some aluminum mesh (that they use on screens). I only needed 8" x 10" but the smallest roll they had was 86" long! Oh well - for $8 it's not so bad. I got a cheap $5 frame from Fred Meyer, took out the glass and covered the backing with some scrapbook paper I had. I hot glued the mesh to the inside part of the frame, put the backing with the cute paper back on and.... Taa Daa!! Dangley earring storage for super cheap and now I can find the small stud earrings in the drawer too! Love it!

Carter's Fishy Face

2009-01-02T20:49:00.000-08:00

We took Carter to the doctor today because he had a bit of a cough over the last month... it was starting to get better and had almost stopped and then on new years eve night it started again but much much worse. He was up all night coughing and this morning his breath was wheezy so I took him in.... I'm always afraid of being one of the parents that takes their kids to the doctor for every little sniffly nose but the wheezy breath made me uncomfortable. Turns out the doctor thinks he had a small cold that was going away and then got another infection on top of it which has now gotten into his lungs and given him a bronrchial somthing or nother virus (in other words a small case of RSV). It's mild but he said he's contagious for the next 3 to 5 days and he most likely should get better by doing these respitory treatments every 4 to 6 hours. Poor kid. He doesn't seem to mind them too much if we turn on is new Little Einstein movie he got for Christmas. Brandon sat on the couch with him and held the fishy face mask up to his face and as long as he kept his face next to the mask the movie played... if he moved Brandon would stop the movie and say he needed to put his fishy face back on for the movie to start again. It worked like a charm!! Now let's just hope that these really help him and he gets better quick.

A Moment to be Proud...

2008-12-29T14:39:00.000-08:00

Excuse me for a moment while I tell you just how proud I am of Brandon....
Late last night he finished the last assignment for his last class to complete his bachelors degree. He started on this journey to finish his bachelor degree about 4 1/2 years ago and I remember him thinking it would take forever to finish and he would be so OLD when he finally did finish (we used to think that almost 30 was old...) Well, I'm not going to sugar coat it, there has been many times where it seemed like it would never end but he made it!
Now for the bragging.... Not only did he finish his degree by being enrolled in school full time, he did it while working full time, being a husband full time, and being a daddy full time. What blows me away (and makes me jealous) is that he finished with honors! He got almost all A's!! I, on the other hand, trying to do the best I could in college, was a very average student with very average (just below at times...) grades even though I had no full time job... no spouse... no kids. I am so proud of Brandon for this huge accomplishment! I love you sweetie! Way to go!!!

Christmas Day

2008-12-26T22:29:00.000-08:00

I found it hard to sleep the night before Christmas... normally I have no problem sleeping in on Christmas day (since I've gotten a little older) but this year I think I was having a hard time sleeping because I was excited to see Carter's reaction to all the Christmas fun. I loved seeing him so excited about presents.
By the end of the day he didn't have any problems figuring out how to get into all the packages.
On Christmas morning, Brandon and I woke up about 7:30 and got the camera all ready before going and waking up Carter. Trying to install some family traditions... When we got downstairs we used the nativity set that I made this year to tell a very simplified story of Jesus' birth and what Christmas is really celebrating before we got into opening presents. When I was growing up we always said a family prayer before opening presents to give thanks for our blessings and the birth of Jesus so we did that too. Carter is starting to say prayers and it's so sweet to hear him.
When we were done with our mini family Christmas, we headed out to my parents house for the rest of the day to be with my brothers and sisters and their families. Here's a shot of my dad getting ready (santa hat means he's ready) to pass out presents.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you were able to spend time with those you love.

All Dressed Up With Nowhere To Go

2008-12-21T14:35:00.000-08:00

Carter looked especially cute today. He was all dressed up and ready for church in his new sweater vest when we got a call saying church was canceled (we got snow last night and it's still snowing right now). I decided that I at least had to take a picture of how handsome he was... Hope everyone is enjoying the snow!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

2008-12-18T14:35:00.001-08:00

Has it really been a month since I've posted???? My how time flies! We spent some time down at Brandon's parents home this past weekend and had an early Christmas. Carter is actually starting to understand the concept of "presents" so it was fun to see him tear open the paper. It also has been snowing this week. The shot at the top is a snowman that Carter and I made this morning (12/18) in our backyard (he really does have little eyes but it started snowing again so they got covered up). He loves playing out in the snow and thanks to the super cool snow outfit he got from grandma and grandpa Green for Christmas this weekend he stays nice and warm. Here are a few of my favorite shots from this week so far. The rest can be seen by clicking here.

Happy 2nd Birthday Carter!

2008-11-16T21:00:00.000-08:00

Carter's second birthday was last Thursday (Nov. 13th). Brandon took the day off of work so we could spend the day as a family and basically have fun with Carter. It started out by Carter waking up with balloons all over his room. The weather decided to take a break from the rain luckily so we took him to the zoo for the first time. We went to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. He had a blast and LOVED all the animals. After he woke up from his nap we had apple sauce, macaroni and cheese and dino nuggest for dinner (birthday boy got to choose the menu). Kaylin Stephens, and Brooklyn and Devon Garcia (Carter's 3 best friends) came over for some ice cream and a birthday party that evening. I hope he enjoyed his birthday.... he seemed to. We're so blessed to have Carter as a part of our family. He brings so much joy into our home!
Here's a link to some photos of Carter at the zoo and his party.
On a side note... we got a video camera for ourselves as our Christmas present to each other this year and ordered it early so we'd get it in time for Carter's birthday. The reason I'm telling you this is because you'll notice that the amount of actual photos that were taken have drasticaly reduced. We didn't even get a shot of him blowing out his candles.... but we got some great video footage. O well... ya got to give and take I guess. =0)

What's in a Name?

2008-11-10T13:12:00.001-08:00

We've been trying to explain to Carter that there is a baby in mommy's tummy. He understands "baby" and "tummy" seperately but the two put together he still doesn't quite get. I've also asked him two different times what we should name the baby. You see we had girl names picked out but no boy names so I've been looking for inspiration anywhere I can. I figure... maybe Carter would have a brilliant idea..... Here's what he came up with both times I've asked him.... Me: "Carter what should we name the baby?" Carter: "Doc Suess"
Okay... maybe I shouldn't get naming ideas from a 2 year old.

"Indy's" Great Halloween Adventure

2008-10-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

Carter was Indiana Jones for Halloween this year. He went out trick or treating for the first time ever. I wanted to get him a simple plastic pumpkin to put his loot in but Brandon said "no way" and that "Indy" had to have a leather messenger bag. Brandon picked out some pleather and I put together a little bag worthy of a miniature Indiana Jones. =) To make sure he understood the concept of trick or treating and to get him used to wearing the bag, we practiced with him the week before wearing his bag and if he said "trick or treat" when he had it on I'd give him some gummies. It didn't take him long to understand!

Tonight we took him out to a few of the neighboors homes. He definitely grasped the concept and started pointing at every door we passed saying "that one!" (read: I see another door! If I knock on it and say trick or treat they will give me some more!). He had a blast and especially liked going through his "treasures" when he got home. Click here to see all the photos of his great Halloween Adventure around the block. Happy Halloween everyone!

It's a boy!

2008-10-28T21:18:00.000-07:00

We found out at our dr's appt on Monday that we are having a boy!

Pumpkin Party 2008

2008-10-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Last night we had a pumpkin party and invited a few friends over. The invitation said to bring a "sinister snack or a deadly dessert" and a pumpkin to carve. Boy did they deliver! Take a look at the shots below...

Red Velvet eyeball cake pops are in front of Kim (they were delicious!). In front of Rachel are giant fingers with ham and cheese and crunchy werewolf claws.

Brianne's spooky ghost graveyard

Becky Jo and Ryan's peanut butter fingers. These were so yucky to pick up because they were a little sticky and cold. The creepiest part was that when you bit into it there was a pretzel stick inside (like a finger bone). Definitely yucky but surprisingly very yummy!

This was definitely the winner of the most realistic and just about too yucky looking to even try and eat... Kim and Dale's kitty litter cake. Yes that is a real kitty litter box and you scooped it with the scoop shown!!

Not pictured: Shrunken head punch that looked like this, chocolate chip pumpkin bread (from Kristina), and some fabulous black bean cilantro dip (thanks Rachel) that didn't last half way through the night.

Obviously since it was a pumpkin party we had to carve pumpkins and have a bit of a contest. Here we are carving away on the masterpieces...

after we were done we took them all to the porch to be "judged". As we were debating how to do the judging, since all of us had carved pumpkins, some guy (that was walking by with his dog and a beer) decided for us which was the scariest (congrats Becky Jo and Ryan), classic (congrats Brianne), and most creative (congrats Kim and Dale). Here are the masterpieces.....

more pics of the party here

The Pumpkin Farm

2008-10-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

We went to a small farm in Enumclaw on Tuesday (Oct 21st) and each picked out a pumpkin.

Carter enjoyed pushing the cart and throwing rocks in the puddles. He also got a tad muddy.... but hey... I guess that's just what happens on a farm. =)

Here are a few shots that turned out nice...

To see all the photos you can go here http://picasaweb.google.com/4brandon/PumpkinFarm2008#

Flutters and Kicks

2008-10-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

The ticker above is true... yesterday on the way home from the pumpkin patch (pictures of this to come) I felt the baby for sure for the first time. I've thought that I felt movement before but wasn't sure. Yesterday in the car ride little junior was having a major dance session and I felt quite a bit of little flutters and kicks. Hard to describe but I remember how much I missed that feeling after AnnaLee and Carter were born. We have a dr appt on Monday and we might find out what the sex is then.

Our Haunted House

2008-10-16T12:50:00.000-07:00

Getting the house decked out for Halloween.

Of course we can't do anything half way... and we've only just begun!

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home!

2008-10-08T13:14:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad when daddy comes home! Glad as I can be! Clap my hands and shout for joy, then climb upon his knee. Wrap my arms around his neck, hug him tight like this. Clap his cheeks and give him what? A great big kiss!
The above are words to a fun primary song that I've been signing to Carter right around 5:45 when he's "helping" me make dinner and I know Brandon should be home at anytime. Brandon usually sends me a text when he gets close to home and Carter recognizes the sound my phone makes. He gets so excited saying "daddydaddydaddydaddy". Because he knows that means that dad will be home anytime. A few minutes after I get his text we'll usually go to the big window in the front room and Carter will press his face up to the glass staring down the road for Brandon "daddy" to come. I wish I had a picture of him doing this because it's just priceless the way his little nose gets squished against the glass. You should see his face light up when he finally sees the car coming down the road. You'd think he was at Disneyland for the first time the way he starts dancing around with uncontrolled joy running to open the front door! Carter definitely loves his daddy and is so glad when he gets home from work so they can play. I'm excited too, of course, because I get to be with Brandon too but also because by the time Brandon gets home from work I'm pretty tired of playing. I know Brandon's had a long day at work as well but he always seems to drum up more energy to spend time with Carter. They wrestle and build towers together (always followed by Carter knocking them down), use the exercise ball as a steam roller on each other (I guess that could be a form of exercise) and of course reading. Watching them do the steam roller with the big exercise ball is funny because Carter will only attempt to steam roll over Brandon when he's pretending to be asleep. Then Carter sneakily rolls this huge ball over to Brandon and counts 1, 2, 3 and pushes it onto Brandon. Then of course Brandon makes a big scene like he was just awakened. Guess you have to be there to get the full effect but needless to say it is so fun to watch them together. I'm so lucky to have Brandon, not only because he's an amazing husband but because he's also the best daddy. Sorry for the mushy post... must be the pregnancy hormones. =)

We're pregnant!

2008-10-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

So, it's been almost a month since I've made a post! I can't belive that time has gone by so fast. Well, some exciting news.... we're pregnant. I'm due on April 7th so I'm 14 weeks along now. I'm supposed to have an ultrasound next week so I'll try to scan the photo so you can get a look at the little guy or girl. I've added a pregnancy ticker at the top of the blog so you can follow along with us and find out what is happening each week with little junior.

Carter's Driving....

2008-09-09T14:43:00.001-07:00

Ok, ok, it's just a boat but he just loves driving anything. The new Home Depot (sorry Dan) by our house has these cool race car shopping carts and he goes crazy with the steering wheels.

This shot is of Carter last Saturday (9/6). Brandon and I went to the UW vs BYU football game and some friends of ours (thanks Rachel and Damon) watched Carter for us pretty much all day. They went out with another family from our ward (the Seltz family)on their boat on Lake Meridian.

Results of the football game: UW lost by one point. Ugh! But I'm kinda glad because I really didn't want the game to go into overtime. It was sooo hot. We went with Eric and Brianne (Brianne went to BYU) so Brandon and I were in our Huskies gear and Brianne and Eric were in their BYU shirts. We had a good time. Being back on campus made me feel really young again. I had season tickets when I was in school and hardly missed a football game.

We labored on Labor Day

2008-09-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend (Labor Day weekend) we finished putting in the paver pathway. We also leveled the dirt and planted the grass seed in the backyard. On the left of the path we'll be building a small play area for Carter. We've got a ways to go but we thought you might like to see the progress thus far...

these are pictures of the lower area. On the right side of the space will be a big table and on the left (the picture with the bricks in a circle) will be the fire pit area.

Thanks to Pottery Barn!

2008-08-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting some of these pillows to go on my couch in the front room (I love lots of pillows!... makes me feel cozy) because I like that they are casual but nice looking. But with the price tag I was a little hesitant. Turns out they're super easy to make! I went to good ol' Jo-Anne's and got some fabric and made up a pattern for these envelope pillow covers. This fabric is going to go perfect with the fabric I got to reupholster two chairs that I have in that room (you can see the fabric proped against the couch on the left). LOVE IT! I made both pillow covers today (they really aren't that bright of a red. I think the flash made them kind of look like they are a glowing red color but they're actually darker than that). Here's the link to the pottery barn ones. Pretty close eh? ...and alot cheaper than $39 each (which doesn't include the pillow insert!)

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p8224/index.cfm?pkey=csolid%2Dpillows

Thanks for the great idea Pottery Barn!

The River Wild!

2008-08-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

I had the chance to go on a Girls Night Out excursion a few weeks ago (Aug 8 -9) with a group of 11 girls.... ahem... women (sometimes I forget that I'm an adult now). I knew two of them in the group so it was fun to get to know alot of new people.

We left our families and drove down to Oregon and camped overnight... which was an adventure in itself. When we pulled up to the campsite it was beautiful.... right up the hill from the river. But it was incredibly windy so we had to lay on the tents as two people went around and put stakes in so they wouldn't blow away. As we were doing this all of the sudden we heard a strange loud noise.... chugga, chugga, chugga, CHOOOO CHOOOO!!!! CHOOO CHOOOO!!! Oh my, we had a beautiful campsite all right but what we didn't know was that right on the otherside of a nice little blackberry patch was a train track that was very well traveled. Every half hour until 4 in the morning the train came by and blew it's horn. Why did it have to blow it's horn right as it was going past the camp ground every 30 minutes until 4 in the morning.... I have no idea. It turned out to be a very long night... never mind the fact that I was sleeping without an air matress and could feel a big nice rock under me... I tried to pretend it was giving me lumbar support. . After we got our tents put up in record time we headed in to town for some dinner. Mind you this was a group of women who were out for the weekend so there was no way that we were going to cook while we were away. We ended up finding this cute restaurant in town (Hood River) and we dined on Salmon and filet migon! Now that is my kind of camping food. It was delicious!

The next morning we got up early and headed across the bridge into White Salmon, WA and went white water river rafting down the White Salmon River. It was so much fun! We were feeling brave so our boat decided to do the optional class 5 "rapid". It was a waterfall!! with a 10' drop and the raft gets totally submerged! It was absolutely awesome! After doing that the class 3 and 4 rapids we did earlier in the river and after seemed totaly lame. =) Here are some shots of our raft going over the falls. I'm in the back on the right...

Ahhhh!! What fun! Can't wait to do it again~

Has it really been 7 years?

2008-08-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

Ok this post should've been done last week on August 11th (our actual anniversary) but better late than never I guess....

We celebrated our 7 year anniversary last week. Time does go by so fast! We didn't do much on the day of our anniversary because Brandon had to work. But, we did use our china that night for dinner.... of course when you have burgers and chips on your china it doesn't look quite as nice but the thought was still there. =)
The following Saturday, August 16th, we went as a family in the morning to Snoqualmie falls, had a picnic breakfast and did the short hike down to the bottom. Of course Carter had a great time because he got carried the whole way in the pack. We had a babysitter (that is really awesome) come over at 1:00 to watch Carter and Brandon and I headed out for some alone time. We went to the pre season Seahawks game in the evening (which they won in overtime against the Chicago Bears). The problem was it was like 90 degrees and it just didn't feel right being at a football game wearing shorts and sweating to death.
So, was it a perfect anniversary... not really.... but for the last 7 years I've woken up each day more in love with the man I married than I was the day before and for me, that is perfect enough.
Here's a few shots of us at the falls...

Carter Caught the Summer Reading Bug

2008-08-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

Carter completed his summer reading program chart on Sunday (8/10). Here he is pictured with his chart and his favorite book.

This program was put on by the King County Library System and they had a preschool age program so I signed Carter up for it. He got this chart and a sheet of bug stickers (the program was called "catch the reading bug"). On the chart were different bugs and he got a coordinating bug sticker when he completed the activity. For example, to get a lady bug sticker he had to read for 20 minutes that day, to get a grasshopper we had to sing a song or nursery rhyme, to get a fly we had to walk around the neighborhood and talk about what we saw, to get a bee we had to point out new words in books or do an alphabet activity, to get a butterfly we had to go to the library or go to a summer reading program and to get an ant we had to do a silly dance. There were two spots for each sticker except the lady bugs there were 8. On Monday (8/11) we went to the library to turn in his completed chart and get his prize. Carter handed the lady his chart and when he saw her bring out a brand new Dr Seuss book he was so excited! He kept saying "Seuss! Seuss! Seuss!" Luckily our library is pretty kid friendly so people smiled instead of being upset at his little excited outbreak in the library. For the prize he got the book On Beyond Bugs! All About Insects which is a tad advanced for him but he loves flipping the pages.

Lake Pearrygin

2008-08-07T13:57:00.000-07:00

We spent the weekend in Lake Pearrygin (which is near Winthrop, WA) with Eric, Brianne, Kaylin and some of Brianne's famiily.

Carter had a great time splashing in the lake, playing in the sand, and having his first bite of s'more!

I love this shot... Notice the sticky marshmallow... He loved it!

I also got up on skis for the first time... and Brandon had a good time tubing and going off the rope swing...

We tried putting Carter and Kaylin on the tubes with Brandon and Eric but it didn't go so well for Carter. He pretty much screamed the entire time. Which was surprising to me because he really likes the water.

All in all it was a nice trip and it was great to get away from the hussel and bussel of daily life. I didn't even have a watch with me!

The most beautiful weed

2008-07-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

The other day we had a friend of ours watch Carter for a few hours so we could get some work done in the yard. She just lives down the road so she walked him home. When he toddled into the back yard he was carrying a dandilion in his pudgy little toddler fits and ran over to give it to me.... my heart just melted! So sweet! I know it's a weed but I had to put it in a little vase on my kitchen window ledge.

Fun at Renton Water Park

2008-07-27T17:47:00.000-07:00

Brianne invited Carter and I to hang out with them at the Renton water park on Thursday (July 24th). It's a pretty cool place with a wave pool, kiddie pool, 2 water slides, a slow river and a regular pool.

Here is Carter and Kaylin.

Carter loved playing with these water fountains. There were 3 of them right in a row.

Love these photos with the little water droplets on his face.

Even before the session ended Carter was so tired from playing that I went and got him back in his dry clothes. Here he is just sitting on the chair after getting dry again... he doesn't just sit very often. He fell asleep with in 3 minutes after I put him in the car.

Recycled Towel

2008-07-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

I had some old bath towels I was going to toss and then I was hit with inspiration.... Carter is very independent now and loves using his spoon to eat. While I'm grateful that he is doing this (because it means I get to get a few things done while he eats), it is very messy! =) All the bibs he had seemed to stop right before his little belly hit the tray on the highchair and of course it seems that some how his gourmet meals would always get stuck there. So.... here comes the inspiration.... I was going to toss some old bath towels we had but instead I turned them in to bibs that cover almost everything. I got 2 bibs per towel so I was able to replace all the baby bibs we had with more toddler worthy bibs. Note the squished oatmeal on the bib right where his tummy hits the tray.

Our Little Green Thumb

2008-07-17T21:54:00.001-07:00

We planted our garden tonight and Carter was quite the little helper. We planted some basil, radish, and green onion seeds of our own that needed transplanted into the garden and Carter was really good at taking the little dirt plug out of the seed starter kit with the baby plant and giving it to me.... I think we only had two basil plants get stepped on, sat on, or other wise squished. Brandon's mom bought us some plants from the store that are already growing nice and strong.

Our garden consists of:

1 - crook neck yellow squash plant

1 - cantaloupe plant

2 - cucumber plants

2 - lemon cucumber plants

2 - bush tomato variety plants

lots of radishes

lots of green onions

and an herb garden that has: dill, parsley, sage, thyme, cinnamon basil, and enough sweet basil to make pesto sauce for the entire neighborhood (we really like fresh basil)!

Now we get to wait and see if we get any harvest from our little garden....

Hello World!

2008-07-16T16:24:00.000-07:00

Well, here goes our first "real" post (there have been many previous test posts as I was trying to figure out how this all works which have since been deleted). It seems like everyone has a blog these days and I definitely agree that they are a great way to keep in touch with family and friends. I'll try and post at least once a week.... if no one reads it then it will still be a creative outlet for me... and if nothing else a great family history. I put this picture of Carter up because I think it is just too cute. This was his first time at the Ocean. We went to Pacific Beach with Brandon's family.