Back To The Routine

And we're back! As I told you previously our computer broke. We just bought a new one last Saturday. We settled on a PC. A Mac was tempting, but we have heard that they often have issues, and we have had experience with Macs breaking down. I just couldn't risk it. One day I will get my long awaited Mac computer.

The holidays are over. I am sad that I didn't get a chance to post pictures. (Posting Christmas pictures now is tempting, but I think it is a little late.) The holidays were fantastic to say the least.

We are back in our routine. Spencer goes to work, I feed "M", change her diaper, put her down for naps and try hard to get her to laugh. When Spence gets home from work he also tries hard to get her to laugh. We succeed if she is not tired. (I will have to post some of the footage of her laughing. It really is one of my favorite things in the world. We have gone to extreme lengths to get a good hearty laugh out of our little girl. I would tell you our tricks, but it is just too embarrassing.)

I took the following picture of her the other morning. I wanted a picture of her in these cow PJs. You know how you just have favorite outfits that your kids wear? These cow jammies are my favorite jammies so far. Take a look.

Now tell me those aren't cute.

Yes, our little girls is still the squishiest squisher, and very proportionate. She was in the mid 90th percentile on all her measurements at her 2 month appointment and hasn't disappointed us yet.

As you can see, she is sitting up. She rolls over and can rock on her knees. She has started eating solid foods, which is going really well.

For some reason I find tremendous joy in feeding my daughter her vegetables. I guess it makes me feel like I am helping her to be "strong and healthy". I get so proud every time she finishes a jar of green beans or sweet potatoes. Oh the simple joys of motherhood.

Now, if we could just get her to sleep through the night.

A Broken Computer

So, our computer is broken and we are trying to decide whether or not to buy a new one. I am currently working from Spencer's old computer. It is quite temperamental and I have been avoiding using it because it is incredibly slow and apt to multiple pop ups, surprise crashes and other such annoying habits.

But, I was tired of looking at the "Happy Holidays" blog header (yeah, it wasn't the cutest). I found a beautiful picture from one of about twenty five pictures on Spencer's computer to replace that holiday header mistake. This picture is over looking Montreal where Spencer served his mission (too bad it doesn't quite fit).

It has actually been fun to get on my husband's computer and look through old documents from his college days. I found pictures of biking trips in Moab, pictures of our early dating days, old lessons that he had prepared for the MTC (I like reading these because I have always been inspired by Spencer's testimony and knowledge of the gospel) and the best was reading old letters that he had written to me while I was on my mission. (I had all the letters that he had written to me in a binder, but I lost them the semester I got home from my mission during a move from one apartment to another. I still pray for a miracle and that someone will call me one day and tell me they found these letters with my name on them. At least we have a couple of the letters that he wrote.)

I am pretty sure we are going to get a new computer. I think we agree that it is about time. The question is do we get a PC or a MAC. There is one vote for a PC and one vote for a MAC (I want the MAC). If you do have any strong feelings about what computer we get, please let me know. In the mean time, give me a break if my blog looks like it is under construction.

Stephenson's Snowshoeing

Snowshoeing is a Stephenson favorite past time. The first time that Spencer and I went Snowshoeing was in High School, pre-Stephenson establishment. We went up past the Alta Ski resort with Mark, John, Tyler, I think Scotty and some other "Draper Boys". Most (if not all) of my time was spent hiking and talking with Spence. I didn't know it, but Spence had a little crush on me, and all his friends were watching to see if he was going to "try something." He didn't. (although he told me he spent most of the afternoon trying to work up the courage) It is one of my fondest memories of the "early" days with my husband. We laugh when we talk about it now.

After we got married we bought an incredibly "tough" tent and had to try it out in the dead of winter. Spence, Russ (Spence's younger brother) and I, snowshoed with packs up Bell's Canyon where we spent the night and enjoyed the best dehydrated dinner we have ever had. It was a lasagna meal from REI. We still talk about how good it was. I slept between Spence and Russ so that I would stay warm and had the worst night's sleep I have ever had. We have a two man tent, not a "two man, one small woman and a ton of winter gear" tent. Needless to say, I was a little squished, but very warm. When we woke up the next morning we were toasty warm, in spite of the layer of ice that had formed on our sleeping bags and on the inside of the tent. This is one of the fondest memories I have of the married days with my husband.

The winter season is upon us once again, and we are looking forward to spending time in the mountains.

We even have a pack to carry Madelyn (Thanks mom) and she has a pink little snow suit that makes her look like a baby pink "Stay Puff Marshmallow Man." Though we don't know if snowshoeing is really a great activity for a 5 month old, we might just try it once she can sit up in her child carrier. Until then we will be relying on the charitable service of Grandma and Grandpa to spend some one on one time with little Madelyn while mom and dad spend some one and one time with the mountains.

And speaking of snowshoeing, Didn't JC and Katrina go snowshoeing together on their first date? I know JC proposed to Katrina one night when they were out snowshoeing, and I know that Mallery was impressed with Greg Carling because he took her snowshoeing for one of their first dates. That has to be a good sign, right?

So here's to you winter. We're ready for ya. Thanks for all the fond memories.

My Quirky Husband Spencer

I can thank Dani for this great opportunity to reveal some of the quirky habits of my husband. Thanks for the tag Dani.

I am supposed to name five quirks and then tag five people. Here we go.

1. Spence says that he detests any kind of dancing. He would avoid dancing at high school dances and would NEVER take a dance class in college. I can't find the words to describe his serious dislike of dancing. (Don't get me wrong, he likes to watch other people dance, but he would rather die than have to dance himself. Of course he made an exception for dancing at our wedding). But get this, in the privacy of our home, Spencer is starting to break out of his shell. Every once in a while he will do a little dance. (I have been working with him. I love to dance. Mostly just "busting a move" type of dancing. He seems to be making good progress.) I have caught him dancing while doing the dishes, and the other day he danced Madelyn around the living room.

2. Spencer really likes a good drink. His favorite drinks probably come from Jamba Juice, but Sonic can put out a really good slush. And then there is the Roxberry that was just put in by our house. They make a good drink too. We have taste tested every raspberry lemonade at every resturant we have been to. Spencer's favorite can be found at the Pizza Factory. At home I like to keep gatorade or other sports drinks on hand because he likes those. If he is drinking water he really likes is to be icy cold, and I kid you not, last night he pulled out his water filter and filtered some tap water to see if he could get it to taste better (We don't have spring water, but it doesn't taste bad). Thats my husband, "the drink lover".

3. He doesn't like to wear shoes. He likes sandals. He says that shoes are foot prison. He owns a couple pairs of flips and a couple pairs of Chacos. Too bad he has to wear shoes to work.

4. Spence and I will read in bed before we fall asleep and sometimes without noticing he will shake his foot in a continuous motion. This causes the entire bed to shake. He doesn't notice he is doing it until I tell him. He has even done it in his sleep.

5. Last but certainly not least, Spencer has an amazing ability to become the favorite of any child that he comes in contact with. I watch and listen to him when he is playing with our nieces and nephews and am continuously amazed that he has endless energy and an endless supply of jokes and creativity to make them giggle.

Let's see, I would love to know what quirky things Ty, Cort, Kerry, Adam, Nathan and my dad are doing these days. So I tag Meghan, Shannon, Bryn, Jessica, Christina and my mom. Have fun!!

Humble Pie Anyone?

The other day Spence was changing Maddi's diaper. After he pulled out the dirty and before putting in the new she peed on her clothes. I kindly pointed out that if he had done it "correctly", that is, if he had put down the clean diaper before he pulled out the dirty diaper, then we wouldn't have a mess to clean up.

That evening while changing Madelyn I did everything "correctly" and Madelyn still managed to pee on her clothes two separate times, causing me to change her outfit both times. After it happened a second time, I felt like God was saying, "doesn't really matter whether you put down a diaper first or not, does it." I had to laugh.

Last night I had just put Madelyn down to sleep, and since she has a cold it took her a while to fall asleep (poor kid is so congested). I walked into our bedroom to see Spencer sitting on the bed with his guitar in hand. I said, "please don't wake Madelyn up." He just smiled at me as if to say, "do you really think I am that dumb." I then went to the kitchen to flip on the bay window light that we use as a night light. Instead I flipped on the very loud garbage disposal. I quickly flipped it off, turned on the light and went back to our bedroom. Once again, Spencer just smiled at me as if to say, "who do we need to worry about waking Madelyn up now?"

It seems that lately I have been eating a lot of humble pie. I have more than I can eat. Does anyone want a piece?

Holiday Hoopla!

Nothing too fancy for Thanksgiving. Just hangin with the fam.

Some of the highlights included the fact that it was Madelyn's first Thanksgiving. Even though "M" couldn't eat the Turkey I think she loved Thanksgiving. (She loves any time when she gets to be surrounded by people who give her TONNNNS of attention, and of course her cousins constantly want to touch her and hold her.)

There weren't too many people at this Thanksgiving feast. We got to spend time with Bryn and Carrie's family, my mom and dad and Tanner.

Matt holding Jackson.... I love this picture of Bryn and Carrie
Tanner holding Kylan... Grandma holding Maddi

Cambri is ready to eat...but all the kids are playing the Wii

My favorite part of this Thanksgiving was the cooking. I got to learn a few new recipes. I made the rolls from the same recipe my mom used every Thanksgiving, and I made this delicious pumpkin cream cheese pie.

Bryn made a fantastic apple sour cream pie (She got the recipe off Meghan's blog. Thanks Meg's). Then there was the traditional Turkey (Which my dad deep fat fried. You would think it would be nasty and greasy, but the skin holds the grease out and you end up with a moist and tender Turkey. Probably the best that I have ever had). The stuffing was not dry, as it sometimes can be, and BEST OF ALL...the yams did not have a layer of nasty marshmallows on top. Thank you Bryn!! (OK, I don't really think that marshmallows are nasty. I just don't think they should be part of a meal. They are candy for crying out loud. they should only be used for things like smores and rice crispy treats.)

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At the end of the day, I was sad to see the holiday go, but on to bigger and better things. Christmas! And you better believe that the tree is up and the hot cocoa is out. But that is another post for another day. Until then, we wish you a happy holiday season.

Is your family "perfect"?

My dad sent me this article. It was written for an LDS audience about what makes a "great" LDS family. It was a good reminder that what makes a "great" LDS family is not necessarily living a "perfect" life (i.e. a perfect record of family prayer, family home evening, etc).

What makes a great LDS family (and this applies for any family, this just happened to be written to an LDS audience) is doing your best with what you have, and being grateful for what you have.

I would suggest reading the article. I really liked it.