If all else fails...

...post pictures.

Backyard adventures

Lex's loves

Fun at the park

The little house on 12th St...

"Wood" anniversary...

Christopher and I would have celebrated our 5th anniversary June 18th. That day just happened to be the day after boards, the day before we started the move and the day our parents arrived to help us move. Needless to say, we figured it wouldn't be the day to plan much in way of anniversary fun, though we did go to Nauvoo for a quick trip to the temple before leaving the area. I really wanted to do something memorable since it is one of the first marriage milestones. A few months before, I decided to take advantage of the fact that my mom would be with us after the move and plan a short getaway the end of June. I tried keeping it a secret but I wasn't sure what or how much to plan since Christopher and I are both kind of mellow homebodies who would have just been as happy to be lazy at home after packing, test-taking, traveling and moving in. I let him in on the plan. It actually didn't end up being anything super exciting, but it was just what we needed after a week of unpacking, painting, cleaning, organizing and reorganizing, etc.

First, we went here and ended up doing sealings, which was pretty cool for an anniversary. We are now only about 30-45 mins. away from a temple, yay!

Then, we went here to spend the night.

The whole idea for the trip was mostly centered around splurging for a day and staying somewhere a little more luxurious than normal, minus kids. This was the first time since we had Kira that we got to get away by ourselves. Long overdue. I had to take pictures of the place since we were pleased with how nice the hotel ended up being- it was a steal of a deal on hotwire. We had thought about going to a museum or something but since we were only booked at the hotel for that night, we decided to enjoy the feather bed, large LCD TV, and the opportunity to be lazy and sleep in as l o n g a s p o s s i b l e.

Chillaxin'

Nothing flashy but double shower heads are A-MAZING

I wanted to take my own picture of the lobby fountain but we didn't want to look touristy (at least, in front of other people...our room was free game, obviously). There was a baby grand piano right next to it that my fingers just itched to play, but I saved Christopher the embarrasment and the guests their ears.

All in all, it was a simple celebration but nicer than anything we've done for ourselves in a while. It was awesome to be able to spend time with my honey and reflect on the five blessed years we've been together and look forward to the eternity to go. (Love you, babe.)

Yikes...

I hate it when this happens. I distance myself from the blog whenever I get too busy and then continue to put a hold on the relationship when so many things happen that go unposted that I just feel to overwhelmed to even start! Well, I've got a mental list a mile long of everything that has occurred in our little world for the last, uh, month and a half. I guess I'll just start by saying that we're here in Wyandotte, Michigan- we made it safe and sound. We're basking in the 70* July weather (seems like an oxymoron for us Oklahoma transplants) and the closer proximity to little luxuries like malls and forms of retail that don't start with a 'W'. Christopher took the dreaded board exam before we moved and now is anxiously anticipating his score. We've had the benefit of family around for a while to help with the moving and settling in. I don't know how we could have done so much without them. Anyway, I'll not bore with details...all at once, that is. We are alive. Look for more to come!

Firsts...

So the past few weeks have seen quite a few firsts. It’s been a while since I’ve posted and part of the reason was I just didn’t know how to catch up on all that has gone on. Anyway here are a few significant events from the ‘woods’.

· Christopher’s FIRST two years (i.e. first half) of medical school are over!!!! No more classrooms, no more lectures, no more professors, no more finals- after six years, it’s on to the hands-on part of learning that he’s been waiting for. Of course, he’ll still have instructors, tons of skills and information to master, and major annual exams to tackle but the goal of becoming a doctor will seem so much more real out in the field. He’s worked incredibly hard, and though some of the “worst” is yet to come, I know he’s exceeded the expectations he had for himself when he started medical school and I’m so proud of him.

· We participated in our FIRST yard sale. It was actually pretty awesome. I spent about a week trying to sort, organize, clean, research (yes, I actually researched how to have a successful yard sale), label, price and list all of the stuff we were trying to get rid of. I think I went a little overboard with it all (as if you didn’t get that already) but I think it really made the day go a little smoothly. We were only one of at least 40 people participating in a massive student yard sale at the med school. Apparently, this is a huge annual event for the town and hundreds of people come to find great deals, which are easy to find with so many students trying to lighten their load before moving. The event was supposed to go from 8-12 in the morning but we ended up arriving to set up stuff around 6:30 am. Good thing we did- most of our sales took place before 7! It was a long day what with the two kids (who did behave really well), hot summer weather, and so many people, but we came home with empty boxes and extra moola in our pockets.

· A few weeks ago we experienced our FIRST most directly-affecting tornado. Both Christopher and I have experienced our fair share of tornadoes while growing up in Texas and Oklahoma, but I don’t think either of us has ever experienced one that did so much damage so close to so many people we know. Little did I know that when I finally heard the last few seconds of the town’s tornado siren while getting the girls ready for bed that night, homes and businesses just two miles north of us we’re being blown away. The resilience of those victims is amazing and I wish we could have done more. Christopher helped with clearing debris and packing what was left of some of his fellow classmates’ belongings and had a firsthand look at the damage. If nothing else, I’m so grateful to live in a town that shows love for its neighbors and one another…the ENTIRE town gave food, clothing, supplies and helping hands to those in need, burning a bright light of hope in a time of tragedy.

· And last but certainly not least, one of the most important firsts around here: Alexis’s FIRST birthday! Time has flown with this one. I vividly remember everything that happened June 2nd, 2008…it really doesn’t seem that long ago. It was a very happy day. After taking time off from all the long walks we had been taking to get labor going after being dilated to a four for a few days, the day was kind of lazy and a little frustrating since I hadn’t felt even one small, real contraction. Aren’t most women in full-swing labor by the time they reach 4 cm?! Well, by that evening, we kind of gave up hope that we’d be heading to the hospital that day. But my water ended up breaking just before dinner, on the way to the hospital contractions started, and Alexis was born less than two hours later! Definitely a switch from my first experience with labor/delivery which was an ALL day/ALL night event. She was so tiny with dark hair, the perfect amount of chub and deep blue eyes. And here she is now with all the same beautiful traits, just a little bigger and a year older. A few of Alexis’s one-year accomplishments: She can go up and down the stairs by herself (with watchful supervision, of course, though she’s a sneaky one); she loves baby dolls, books, binkies and her elephant (her very first present from Grandma and Kira at the hospital); she can cruise and is SO close to walking but not quite there; she has the most serious and animated conversations with herself and toys (I don’t know how else to describe it, but it is hilarious to watch); she sleeps like an angel- all night, two naps; she can be the quietest and loudest person in the house; her vocabulary still consists of “mama”, “dada”, “sissy”, “baba”, "bah", but she’s starting to repeat things that we say and can understand even more than I realize; and she loves to play with her sister (when it’s safe to…Kira has her experimental days when she likes to see how much Alexis can tolerate). We love her laugh, her snuggles, her curiosity and her spirit. Happy birthday, Lexis!!!

Excuse the cardboard props...moving is not a first around here.

Next time on “Life in the Woods”-“ Boxes and Books: The Joys of Packing While Studying for Your Life.”

ZZZzzz....

I don’t know what happened. I always used listen to the sad and scary tales of mothers with insomniac babies and, while trying to emanate sympathy and nod knowingly, inside there was a just a little glimmer of smug pride. Not for myself (entirely), mind you, but for my baby. Kira, from the time she was about three months, never really gave me any trouble going and staying asleep. She’d go to bed while awake and I’d see her the next morning without a fuss after a long night’s sleep. As long as she had her precious bear and access to some container full of water, she was set. Then multiple naps started to disappear. Maybe it was a bit early, but, hey, it comes with age, right? And besides, she would sleep for at least 2-3 hours during her one nap while still sleeping through the night. It's all good. Then, the unthinkable happened…she would start waking up, screaming, after about 20 minutes of sleep during her daily nap. As hard as I tried, I could not get her to go back to her normal once-a-day nap schedule. And this was just after she turned two! I still NEEDED those few hours especially with a new baby in the house, so after lunch we have what is known as “quiet time”- basically, Kira has to move play time to her room for two hours. Occasionally, in the beginning, she would end up in bed. But for the most part, this brand-new three-year-old is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed all day long. Now, however, though she goes to bed earlier than most kids her age, she’s started waking up to grace us with her presence in the middle of night, several times a night. And then, even with the use of dark curtains (since the cursed sun rises before 5:30 AM around here), she’s usually up by 6 o’clock, waking up all within her wake (haha, pun intended). That includes one of the louder (and smallest) members of the household that shares a room with our little night owl. Anyway, I guess that’s what makes these moments so funny and worth documenting. They’re so rare and sometimes, as I take the shot, I wish I could have been there to see how in the world this girl fell asleep like that…

(Looking at these, I realized all of these but one took place on a Sunday...maybe that's it- she'll only rest on the "day of rest"...hmm. "Kira, guess what today is...")

Amateur craftiness...

So, anyone who has witnessed me undertake a sewing project (and there aren't many of you) knows that either it never gets done, I screw it up royally, or it comes out somewhat resembling the original finished project. I always complain to myself that I'm not really good at any one thing...many one things, actually, especially anything that involves fabric and needles. Well, the only way to improve is to practice. I found the cutest pattern for a tote/purse and since I need a bigger purse to carry all the accessories that come with having two young children, I thought this would be a great project. And this is what I created- all for under $5! I'm kind of proud of myself and had to toot my horn a little. But I'm glad there were no witnesses this time because true to form, I did screw up royally (many times) but it all actually worked out in the end!

Diaper/wipes case to match

This post was more for my mom to see, who has been the one to see my fury and frustration with sewing most often. Toot, toot!