What? Life!

Valentine's Day!

2012-02-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

Why do I even try to celebrate holidays? I don't get that after all of these years I would expect anything else that what I've always gotten.

We went to sushi last night, the poor staff was so busy that we got there at 6:45, got our
food an hour and ten minutes later, and left at 8:20. YIKES! We went with Brian and Carrie Hanni and poor Carrie is pregnant, we had to wait so long for our food she was starting to get sick.
We didn't get a sitter so Wesley was going crazy by the time we finally got our food.
It wasn't romantic because half the time James was outside with the boy freezing
their butts off, and poor Brian took him outside for 5 minutes so we could eat in a little peace.
Carrie and I left with Wesley and let the boys stay and pay, when we got home I put Wesley in his PJ's hoping he would fall asleep in the car, but he was so excited about the balloon the waitress gave him he kept saying "boon boon" over and over again until we got home.
When he finally went to bed James and I had homework to do so we did that until we were both so tired we just went to sleep.

Sooooo, was my valentine's day romantic? Not so much.

Will I always remember it? You better believe it!!

Erik's shoes

2012-01-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

Erik needed new shoes, so the family pooled our money and got him these for Christmas. James had the same pair of one that they bought, so we took a brother picture. The last one is a roll James did while playing Pass the Pigs the day after Christmas. I thought the Abbott's would enjoy it!!!

Christmas Day

2012-01-07T13:59:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning we woke up in the fort, it was fabulous. We woke up and went upstairs.

Wesley didn't wait for anyone, he wanted to open his train set as soon as he laid eyes on it.

He played with it for 20 minutes while the rest of us opened presents.

Gordie got new shirts and a work coat

Wesley got books and movies

James got a Weber State sweatshirt and a lumberjack shirt

Joan got a thermometer for the fireplace and a food chopper

Derek and Whitney got aprons from my Joanie

We ate breakfast and played with new toys all morning long.

It was such a great morning and was glad

Jeff dragged his butt out of bed so he could be there.

Wesley and Daddy playing

2011-12-31T10:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-31T08:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a blast this year! I asked my mom if we could have Chinese food and she said it was a great idea, that way she didn't have to cook or clean up. So my brothers Jeff, Kurt and my nephew Jexten went to ABC and ordered a crap-load of food for everyone. There's James with a part of the pile of Styrofoam. It was Delicious and you could have a little of everything. My sister Whitney got a chocolate lab for Christmas, Bootsy, she is so cute and Wesley liked looking at but not touching her.

Then it was time for crafts. We made these little stained-glass window art out of tissue paper and contact paper (thanks pintrest) and then made snowman cupcakes out of candy. Here is mine and James' is the Groucho Marx cupcake. Wesley liked eating all of James' candy.

Then we had a very special set of phone calls. Santa called Adessa and Jexten to let them know that they were his first stop in Utah and what he was going to bring them. Jexten had the best conversation with him and they we're so excited that he called them. After Jexten got off the phone he slowly lowered the phone and yelled, "That was SANTA!!!" It was the best reaction ever!

The night ended with "The Fort" I promised Derek that if he and Whitney spent the night that we would build a fort to sleep in. We got out the mattresses and the chairs and used sheets and clothes pins to make it. It wasn't tall enough inside so my really smart husband tied strings to the tops and attached them to the ceiling fans in order to build a tent-like-fort. It was so fun and we all ended up falling asleep watching How The Grinch Stole Christmas. We slept with the Christmas tree lights on and it was such a fun and magical night!

August Hike

2011-11-30T09:26:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year before Katie and Chad had little Charlotte, they came on a hike with us in Ogden. I really loved being outside with family and it's better with friends too. We just did the loop but it was so pretty and we left early enough in the morning that it wasn't too hot. Near the end we had to speed walk back to the car because someone (I'm not saying who) had to use the bathroom really bad.

Here's Chad with little Eli on his back, and Katie with little Charlotte on her front.

Everything was so green

This is a really bad picture of James, me and my brother Jeff

James out standing in a field

Chad out standing in a field

This is their mountain man photo-op

James running from a bear

Jeff telling James how big the bear was

Just kidding, there was no bear!

And poor Welsey, didn't quite make it the whole way

I know this was a throw back, but without the snow, I want the spring weather.

Listening

2011-10-31T20:23:00.000-07:00

I love my husband, he doesn't get to be around much but I love him still. My favorite thing in the whole world happens when he's around. After we get Wesley in his pj's and have family prayer and scripture study I walk out of the room. Then James and Wesley read stories, talk, and sing songs and I listen. I listen to Wesley giggle and laugh I listen to James teach and praise, and that's when I know that my family is how it should be. I love the night time!!

Wesley's Day Out

2011-09-23T17:59:00.001-07:00

The last Saturday I had off I decided to take Wesley down to Salt Lake on the train. We got a couple of great surprises and we had a ton of fun. The ride down Wesley loved watching out the window and running over to the couple playing games at the table behind us. They were playing great music and Wesley loved dancing around. Here are pictures of the ride down.

We headed over to the fountains and Wesley thought it was so funny. He just laughed and laughed.
It ended up being the Brazilian Festival so we spent the day dancing and playing with the balloons.

While we waited for the Brazilian parade to start we stopped off at the planetarium

to see the solar system and play on the "moon".

Then we headed down to see the parade, it was short and some women were dressed

a little sketchy but I was told by James that it was normal.

Then these guys doing Brazilian Martial Arts

Then we headed back home. Here are pictures I took...

here are pictures Wesley took.

Poor guy was so tired he fell asleep on the way home!! All in all, a pretty good Saturday.

Post 100, and I get to check it off my list

2011-09-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

Well it's my 100th post. I started this when James and I were just barely married and now we have a child. WOW! Well it's been a fun ride. When I was 5 months pregnant James "dragged" me up the steep side of a mountain to get to the Indian Trail. I "pushed" him into scaling up the thing instead of staying on the trail, it was both our faults. After sliding on rocks and falling into cacti, we got near the top and I wanted to go back. Ever since that day I had a resolve to go from end to end of the trail. A few moths ago James and I went with Jeff, Whitney and Derek. We got about a third of the way up and everyone was tired so we turned around and went home. Well this time, I was in it to win it. We started at the 22nd St trail head and climbed up and up and up and up. It really almost never ends until the end. It was hard and sometime Jeff couldn't believe that there could be anymore up. But we made it all the way. I loved every minute of it and want to go again from the other way. Here are some pictures.

This is the view from the top of the West side

Our family at the top

Jeff, Whitney, Jill

This is Wesley at the end.

Uh-Oh!!

2011-08-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

Wesley what happened?

James, Wesley, and I were downstairs playing. Wesley was trying to climb into his backpack and it fell over causing Wesley to hit his mouth on his toy chest. He cried and I went to pick him up and love him when all the sudden a GUSH of blood came out. It wouldn't stop and James took him from my arms and started to spray water from the facet on it. I stopped him there and we kept wiping the blood off and it kept coming. We took him to see Grandma who called a friend and told us he should be fine but it looked so deep. James and I decided to take him to the doctor just to check, so we took him to the Instacare. The Doctor for sure said he needed stitches and they had James hold him while they shot Wesley's mouth up with anesthesia. That's when she realized he would need to be put in the Papoose. They strapped him down and 6 stitches and 25 minutes later, he was stitched and ready to go. They gave him a sucker and he was fine once we left. Now he keeps biting it and we try to keep his hand away from his mouth. He is a trooper and the nurses all thought he was such a sweetheart. They loved him, but everyone does!!!!

Quick Hike

2011-08-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was my last day off this week, so James and I took Wesley on a quick hike up Ogden Pass. We went with my brother Jeff and we almost died of heat, but we had fun. Here are a few shots of the view, it was GORGEOUS!!

Jeff leading the way

Wesley didn't make it awake

Gotta live the view

Can you see it?

We made it!

Jeff

Moab Fun!!

2011-08-14T21:22:00.000-07:00

James and I went to Moab with some friends, we also brought Wesley. I hiked and saw over 20 arches, out of over 2,000 not too bad. We had a blast and are sad to go home tomorrow. I never even thought there would be so much to see. The first time we drove through Arches I drove 20 mph so I could just sit in amazement over the beauty. Here are a few of our photos.

Hiking up to Delicate Arch

We made it but it was dark.

Balanced Rock

James, Wesley and I at Sand Dune Arch

James and Wesley at Broken Arch

Us at the end of our hike

The last picture we took before we left Arches.

New Tent

2011-08-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

James and I are heading to Moab next weekend with friends and our first plans included camping so we went out and bought a tent. I told James I wanted one that our whole family could fit into, you know the big one we don't have yet. So I found this one on sale at REI. It's big, REALLY big. We decided later that we better rent a condo with two kids under 3 and two pregnant women. So we won't be using it, but we did put it up to play in it, Wesley loves it, I love it. James can learn to change his mind.

Yikes!!

2011-07-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

Wesley loves to be outside. A LOT!!! And he will pull your hand off trying to get you to take him outside anytime of the day. Saturday afternoon him and I were playing outside.

He had been shoveling piles of dirt all over himself, and me for that matter.

He looked over at me and I noticed a mosquito sitting on his forehead. I reached over and killed it with my hand and we continued to play.

I put him to bed and when he woke up on Sunday morning, he looked like this.

I'm allergic to mosquito bites and I thought he might be, but never to this extent.

Poor kid! But he is always so happy, even when he looks like Sloth

James had an eye accident over the weekend and ended up at the doctors on Monday. I thought this picture was kind of funny because it's both their left eyes. (even though you can't really see James'.)

He's a fish...they both are.

2011-07-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

James' work party rented out the North Shore Aquatic center. I had a work meeting so I couldn' get in the pool, but that didn't stop the boys. Wesley's first time at a pool, and he swallowed quite a bit of water. He loved to get out and jump back in while James caught him. I loved watching him play and he loved to splash around. The weather wasn't great and it started to storm, so the water was really cold, but Wesley was mad when I made him get out so we could go home.

Love that baby!!!

SPLISH SPLASH

2011-06-19T16:07:00.000-07:00

Jamie and Wesley are ready to go outside and play in the new pool

Glasses on and ready to go

Does Wesley like the new pool?

Yeah, he likes it, they both like it.

Binkie Flip

2011-06-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

Wesley wants his binkie

Yes he does

He's got it but it's upside down

AND FLIP!!!!

Wesley is so SILLY!

2011-05-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

Here are a few videos of Wesley being silly.

Easter!

2011-05-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

Our first Easter with Wesley, I wasn't sure he was going to understand the concept of the easter egg hunt, but he totally got it. James and him found the eggs that I hid.

He's ready and on his way. Zeb wanted to help us.

His first egg, he found it

picked it up

and put it in his basket. Ta Da!!

Him and James kept at it until he had all of them. He liked the hunt but he couldn't eat anything in them anyway. He snuck an egg anyway, almost choked on 4 pieces of candy he shoved in them all at once. Love him and love his daddy.

Family pictures

2011-04-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

I've been busy but my AWESOME sister-in-law took our family pictures and I wanted to post some of them.

This is one of my favorites, Wesley and his dad are the best of buddies.

Our sweet little family

Love my munchkin face, he is too big now and walking all over the place

In order to get James in the proper attire for the proper amount of time, Elise promised to take pictures of James on his bike in the winter. Elise really is the sweetest!

Ouch!

Much Needed Time Off

2011-04-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

We needed out, and we got it.

A couple of my good friends and I went to St. George. We stayed in a hotel like house and all slept in the same room.

We stayed up way too late talking and laughing and just having fun.
My personal favorite was the dash around town trying to find a place open at 8:30 at night. Really!?! And of course, the car ride was great. I'm in love with St. George, even though it was cloudy and rainy, it was sunny for one day.

The fridge was bigger than Natalie.

We had so much fun and I already need another break.

The Perfect Moment!

2011-04-07T14:58:00.000-07:00

I forgot my coat in my car today. After work on the way home at the end of the day I walk out the back door to a blistery wind. I immediately get goosebumps on my arms. I look down and my forearm looks like chicken skin. I feel like my car is a mile away even though it's only a few yards. I silently scold at myself for thinking it would be warm today. The sun is shining but not enough to warm the air. I press the "unlock" button on my key chain to allow quick access and as soon as I can reach the handle I pull open the door. I shiver as the wind gets to the back of my neck. I sit down quickly, close the door behind me and that's when it hits, the sun has warmed my car to the perfect temperature, I am immediately warmed from head to toe. There is no other feeling like it, it's the perfect moment. There are few things to enjoy about early spring, but this is one of the best. Thank you spring, for welcoming me into the warmth, it's good to see you again.

Life As We Know It.

2011-04-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

Life has been a bit hectic. With school and work and a baby who just won't stop. Wesley now has his four front teeth. He has stopped grinding them together which is a relief to me, mostly because I hated the sound, but I can't imagine it was good for his little teeth. He's taking his firsts steps also. We have to coax him with Graham crackers to stay on his feet, but he's getting the hang of it. He loves to read books, sometimes he'll grab one a read it to himself, this is my favorite thing he does right now. He cruises up and down stair, he loves to climb up to the big drawers and empty all of Grandma Joan's goodies out of them. He likes to help put the laundry away, and his best buddy is James. We are so lucky to have him, he is such a sweetie. I'm still working, some days it;s hard because I want to be home, but right now that's not a possibility. James is working and going to school, right now Chemistry is his Everest. He works so hard and I'm so proud of him. He's also working, but is looking at other avenues for the summer with the DNR. We love life and can't wait for every day, let's hope we can keep it up.

Happy Birthday dear Jamie!!!! Happy birthday to YOU!!!

2011-02-19T08:25:00.000-08:00

Well he made it another year. Yesterday James turned 27!! I spent my lunch break Thursday decorating his workspace for his birthday. He had "forgotten" to tell anyone it was his birthday, so I was glad I could make everyone aware. Kim helped me blow up balloons and decorate with streamers, I wrote little notes to him and left him some treats to share, which he didn't, but brought home to share with me instead. Such a sweetheart. The night of his birthday he had to work and I had Sisters Cafe night, so we didn't do anything until we were both home. Earlier I had James' brother Erik pick up a guitar for him in Provo, so I picked Erik up from the train station and we went home to give James his present. He had gotten some work shirts and pants earlier from my mom and he opened a song book from his childhood he really wanted from his mom and dad. Then I told him to go get the present I had hid behind the couch. He was so surprised and loved it so much. Erik taught him a few chords last night and he was beaming he was so excited. Today he gets to go rock climbing with his brother, and then we are having a BBQ tonight with friends. I love you Jamie and I'm overexcited to think about all of the upcoming years with you. Happy Birthday Butch!!!

A Letter to Winter

2011-02-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

Dear Winter,
I really love you, I do! But I have had enough of you for now. I really want to go outside and play with my baby, hop in the boat and go to the bay, get out the major slip-and-slide and spend an afternoon getting sunburnt, have a picnic at the park with my love, and spend one whole day hiking in the mountains with my family. So, if you don't mind...please go away.

Love, Jill

This is for you...MM

2011-02-04T20:55:00.000-08:00

So what have I been up to. Wesley was super sick with like 5 things for two weeks. We finally have him so hyped up on meds that he's getting better. It wore James and I out, and James has been studying a lot for school and has a big project to get done before his symposium. He's a little worker bee. Wesley is climbing up and down stairs, getting brave standing by himself, pulling all of the drawers and cupboards open, and wrecking havoc everywhere he goes. Here are a few photos of him...

He got high-centered on the end table

He sucks on his med dropper like a soother

Wesley's two teeth

Whenever he has to concentrate, he sticks out his tongue, just like his daddy.

Christmas

2011-01-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas this year. Everyone on James' side of the family flew to Maryland to spend time together. All 12 of us in one house and most the time it didn't even seem crowded. I guess the only time it did was when we were in the kitchen. We had a blast there. We went to the White House to see all of the holiday decorations, and mostly relaxed. We had very few things on the agenda and it is what we needed. We went to a Soup and Sing with a family in James' parents ward, we spent time with friends and other family. It was nice to get a break and we loved every minute of it. I have a few pictures of Christmas.

It was pretty cold so he slept with us while we were there.

Someone still looks a little tired

Opening presents

He loves it!!!!

Here is Welsey and Grandma Abbott
They have a special bond

We are so blessed to have such a great year and we can't wait to see what the next one has in store for us!

Halloween

2010-11-30T20:40:00.000-08:00

I know it's been a month since Halloween, but between school, holidays, planning a wedding and a trip to Maryland, it's been a little hectic. We had a friend party at Brian and Carries.

We played sedarahc and had a blast. Here are a few pictures.

Carrie and her ninja costume

Chad as "BookFace" and Katie as a hippie

And here is little Wesley the pumpkin
and "Jack fell down" James and I went
as Jack and Jill.Then on Halloween night
we went over to the Durfee's for food, fun,
and a Ute football game. James and Wesley went
as saloon bartenders and I went as a hip-hop dancer.
We had drawn a little bit of hair on Wesley
before we left, but didn't get a picture before he
wiped it all over James white shirt. Here we are after we got home.

Wesley's first Halloween was a success, plus NO CANDY YEAH!!!

Question

2010-10-27T10:28:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were little and sick you had to convince your mom you were REALLY sick because maybe three weeks ago you lied about being sick because you didn't feel like going to school? Man! I miss those days.

BYU vs The Rain!

2010-10-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

I got two tickets to the BYU vs Wyoming game for Saturday and James got the day off so we could go together. We woke up early, got packed up and headed south for the game. The weather called for rain so we thought we were prepared, we were WRONG! We followed lines of BYU flagged vehicles down to Provo and when we got to the field we followed the flagmen to a parking spot on the lawn across from the stadium. It was a total downpour and we needed to feed Wesley before we went in. I looked forever for a nipple to the bottle and realized that I forgot it. YIKES!! I tried feeding him food but he wanted a bottle, we tried feeding it to him through a straw but it was too big. We finally started draining it into his mouth enough that he wasn't screaming his head off. James pulled him out and wrapped him up in his jacket and just as we were about to head out James looked at me, screaming Wesley in tow already soaked and said "Jill, lets just bag it." I loved him all over then. He was so bummed that we didn't get to go but the day was not spoiled. We got to hang out with Scott and Em and little baby Claire. We watched the game at their house (BYU won by the way 25-20) then bought Wesley a bottle to eat out of. We had the car fixed at the shop and even picked up some food at The Blueplate Diner. Wesley was so good the whole day that we even stopped to visit the Crofts before we headed home. He was the best baby even when we didn't change his diaper all day long (oops!) We're still getting the hang of this thing.

Welsey's First Dinner

2010-09-22T11:21:00.000-07:00

Wesley decided that he was ready to eat rice cereal. I say this because every time we eat he tries to grab our food and shove it in his mouth. So we made him up some cereal and let him have at it.

He did fine for the first little while, and then thought that he needed to help me feed

himself and it went crazy from there. But he loved it and James and I had so much

fun watching him shove the spoon in his mouth and then choking a little. It was pretty funny!

We even got Grandma Ellen on the webcam and she got to watch the little guy. He needed a bath afterwards and that’s when we discovered his hair is long enough to look like a bum crack on his head when it’s wet. Oh dear, I know it may seem a little much, but I can’t get over how funny it looks!!

Cabin*ing

2010-09-21T11:12:00.000-07:00

James and I went up to Heber canyon a couple weeks ago to spend the weekend with friends, it was Wesley’s first outing and I have to say that he did very well. We met up for dinner at Granny’s Drive-In for burgers and shakes. AMAZING!!! We met up with Brad and Kera as well as Brian and Carrie. After dinner a quick stop to Smiths for breakfast food and then up the canyon to the cabin. Once we got through the gate into the neighborhood we drove for 15 minutes to get up the mountain to the lodge. It was so beautiful and the yard was great. It was a log cabin Brian’s family built in the 1980’s. We spent most of the day playing on the zip line in the back yard. It was a 30-foot line from tree to tree with a hose on the end to stop the swing from smashing you into a tree. They took a swing of a swing set and connected it to the line and you take it to the top, get in, and let loose. The boys did all sorts of fun things; like WD40 the thing so you went down at 20 MPH and then two of them got on it at the same time.

The boys were out pretty late on that thing. We finally got to sleep around 1 or 2 and Wesley slept like a champ until 6:30, then he ate and went down again for a little while. When we all got up we had breakfast (Carrie and Kera provided) and played on the swing again making movies and taking pictures until it was time to clean up. We had a lot of fun and can’t wait to go up again. Thanks Carrie and Brian!!!

Wesley Update

2010-08-28T18:13:00.000-07:00

He is so big and rolling over. I can't wait to see him when I get home from work.

He always smiles when he sees me. Being a mom is the best!!
(Ignore the commentary, I'm a sap of a mom!)

2010-08-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

I read a blog post about giving your

younger self advice, this is mine.

· Try swimming a little longer, it won’t kill you.
· Be nicer to Stephanie, you’ll remain friends for A LONG TIME.
· If you feel like fighting with Whitney, DON’T, she needs a good sister and your actions will change what kind of person becomes.
· Don’t be so afraid to look up to Sarahn, but don’t wish to be her. You’re just fine.
· Tell James Young at least 3 times how much you love the gospel.
· Don't argue with Joana, she's almost always right... P.S. She is the best listener you’ll ever meet.
· Give your dad a hug and a kiss every time you see him
· Give Grandma Betty lots of love
· At Grandma's funeral you’ll sit next to grandpa, reach over and hold his hand!
· When you meet Grandma Gwen love her. She needs the most love in the least amount of time.
· Learn how to make Boiled Raisin bread, it’s Grandpa Doug’s favorite.
· Play outside more, you can never play outside enough.
· Pay better attention in Seminary, one day you'll teach kids that age and wish you had something more intriguing to say.
· Don’t ask Mary Pope if you should go out with James, just go…and enjoy all the dates you have with him, I’m not going to tell you why, you’ll find out soon enough.
· Be a nicer person to everyone, you can be a little hard on your friends.
· Always pray and read your scriptures, I can’t tell you how important this one will be!!
· Bear your testimony in front of your family and friends; you won’t get a better time to express your love.
· Never forget what the Savior did for you, He knew who you were then, He knows who you are now, and more importantly He knows what you can be!

3 Months

2010-08-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

Wesley is 3 months today and we couldn't be loving him more.

He loves singing songs with us and he especially LOVES playing with his daddy. He is learning to roll over and loves to stick out his toungue. He is exploring his hands, feet, and anything else he can get his hands on. We love him so much and love having him in our family.

Sweaters!

2010-07-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

(For the sake of not hurting any ones feelings we are going to keep this blog anonymous, names and places have been changed to keep the secret of the keeper.) We went to Idaho to visit our friends as they were blessing their baby Camee*, our friend Elaine* had received this sweater as a gift...my friend is not 80 years old, so the sweater doesn't really accentuate her looks,luckily however it does accentuate James' looks, THANK GOODNESS it wont go to waste.

Wesley's eyes

2010-07-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

I am so glad that he ended up with his papas eye color and not mine. Baby blues, oh how I love his baby-blues.

Starting Wesley off right.

2010-07-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

2010-07-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

Wesley's sweet moves!

We give you a name...

2010-07-07T15:29:00.001-07:00

We blessed Wesley on the 4th and wanted to thank everyone who came and celebrated with us. James’ whole family came into town, and our wonderful friends showed up. My family was as supportive as ever, (my mom is the most amazing lady ever!!) It was the perfect day with the perfect company, perfect food and perfect fun. James and I feel blessed to be loved by so many great people and are lucky to be parents to adorable little Wesley.

One month

2010-06-15T21:29:00.000-07:00

Wesley made it a whole month, and he is still alive. He is getting so big and we are glad to have him in our family.

Wes'ey's Burps

2010-06-10T05:38:00.001-07:00

Lately when I have been burping Welsey, lately meaning that past couple days, as I have been patting his back or bum I end up burping myself instead.

Wesley Kenneth Abbott

2010-05-11T15:19:00.000-07:00

May 11th 2010 4:03 pm our little baby boy was born. He weighed 7 lbs and measured 20 inches long. James assisted in the delivery of our son and we couldn't be happier. We can't wait for the sleepless nights and the dirty diapers!!!

Sleep Deprived!

2010-04-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had any shove a bowling ball between your legs? Me neither, and yet I’m sure it couldn’t be any more uncomfortable than how I’m feeling now. By the end of the night, or a shift on my feet, the baby drops so low I swear all I would have to do is sneeze and the booger would shoot right out. All that pressure made sleeping so awful last night. I have been sleeping so well lately and I was SOOOO tired last night that I thought I would drift off to sleep and sleep all night long. I WAS WRONG. I kept picking up my book thinking I could read myself to sleep but I ended up reading almost 70 pages. I got up to pee 3 times, James was moaning all night because of his leg; it was just a bad night all around. Now I’m super tired, super ornery, and really want to sleep, or take a nap, or drift off to a deep meditation. Any of those things would be great!!

An ALL day hike!

2010-04-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

After James finished his classes and finals he planned this great trip with his brother Erik. They got up fairly early on Saturday morning and headed up the canyon. I had to work at the credit union, so I asked that he keep me updated during the hike. He forgot his phone, which is great considering I could go into labor at any time and I would have no way of getting a hold of him. Thank goodness his brother took his phone. By 3 o'clock I was heading home from work. By 3 o'clock James and Erik were lost on the mountain side. They kept telling me that they knew where the car was, they were just "unsure" of where they were. That's refreshing to know! I called around 4:30 to check up on them and Erik answered the phone, he told me James had hurt his leg, they were still lost, and that it would take awhile longer because of his new wound. At this point I'm really happy. I asked if it was a wound that would need a cast, or a wound that would need stitches. Erik told me if anything he would need stitches. and now I'm really really happy! They pulled up to my mom and dads around 7:45 pm and James had one of his favorite sweaters wrapped around his bloody leg. When he took the sweater off I saw a gash in his leg and it started bleeding again. It was not a trickle of blood, it was a stream down his leg. My mom and dad took a look at it and neither of them were sure whether he would need stitches, so my dad called a doctor in their ward and asked if he could look at it and let us know if we should go get it stitched. We drove over and the doctor took a look and said "Yep, that could use a few stitches, let me go get my stuff." James and I looked at each other with confusion...did he mean right now? James looked at me and said "Jill, I don't like getting stitches." I replied "I don't think he cares." He had James sit at his kitchen table and pulled his tackle box from the garage. He had had sterile gloves, cloths, and needles. He told James that when he gave him the anesthetic it would hurt. Since James had been out in the sun all day his face bright red, when the doctor inserted the needle his face turned ash white in 4 seconds. He told me he was going to pass out so I sat on a chair and laid him down on my lap. He was so sweaty on his forehead, and the backs of his hands. I watched the doctor sew him up and bandage the wound. He told us to make sure it doesn't get infected and take the stitched out in two weeks. It was pretty sweet to watch, but James wasn't so excited about it. I love my husband!!!!

We are sittin, waitin, wishin...

2010-04-21T11:04:00.000-07:00

We are almost done sanding two sides of our crib, the short sides. I think I might just skip out on a crib altogether it's a lot of work. Life will be less stressful after James is done with finals, which will be this week. That sounds so good I can't wait. I finished my big project at work, and have gotten things taken care of so I can leave when ever I go into labor. I think we are ready, I guess I'm not 100% sure and wont be until it gets here. I had my last baby shower and James and I bought our car seat and have an appointment to get it checked on Thursday. We have clothes if it's a boy and clothes if it's a girl. We have everything we think we'll need, we could be wrong, I've been wrong before. Last time I went to the doctor we were at a 2 and 60% effaced, I don't know what that means, but we're closer than a 1 and 20% effaced. We are super excited and can't wait!!!

Date Night!!!

2010-03-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

I wanted James to know how much I love him and that the baby won't change that, so I surprised him with a date night last night. It was so much fun!! I had him meet me at the Solomon Center and we went into Fat Cats. Last time we went we played air hockey and he pretty much kicked my butt…not this time!!! I didn’t dominate or anything, the final score was 6-7 but I did win and I only rubbed it in his face a little. (By the end of the night I totally forgot that I had won and James had to remind me that I had beaten him.) We played skeeball and won enough tickets for matching bands, James picked out the colors by the way PINK. We also picked up some Army guys from the gift shop; it was funny, and fun. Then we drove over to the Ogden Pizzeria and did the full dinner. We had AMAZING salad with garlic bread and did a half Hawaiian-half BBQ chicken pizza. We were stuffed by the time we left and spent the night digesting food. We spent the rest of the evening going over James slide presentation and just talking, it’s really nice to just talk. Oh, we also spent a small part of the night watching the baby turn my tummy into a show; it’s fun to watch. Thanks love for a great fun night!!

our Vacuum sucks, actually it doesn't.

2010-03-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning Jill told me she wanted to go Baby shopping when she got off work. When I got home from work Jill pulled a Dyson Ball out of the closet and said "look what I bought!" I was floored, I couldn't believe she bought one, they are so expensive and we don't have money. I then remarked that she would be furious with me if I just went and bought a climbing rope (which are much much cheaper). Then she started vacuuming the floor that she just vacuumed with our vacuum last week or so. I was amazed at how much stuff the little Dyson was sucking up, in turn I was a little disgusted at how dirty our carpet was. After a minute Jill let me try it. I was once again amazed at the lightness of the vacuum the ease and agility it had to turn and the overall awesomeness of the machine itself. My disappointment in Jill for buying a $529.99 vacuum cleaner, especially since whenever I wanted to buy something she said we didn't have the money, turned in to sheer excitement and appreciation. I even almost called my friend Brad to tell of our good fortune. After we vacuumed the stairs She informed me that she didn't buy it but Jeff did, and he got it on KSL from a girl who got two for a wedding present. I think we could use rich friends or associates. But since it wasn't ours per-se I was once again was a little disappointed, however since it's in the house we will get to use it. Plus Jeff said if we want to save up the money and buy it for the amount that he paid for it, which was quite less than $529.99, We could buy it from him and then he would buy a big one so we could have a down stairs vacuum and an up stairs vacuum. I'm alright with that.

Night Hike

2010-03-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

Recently my back has been killing me. Sunday night after doing nothing James and I decided that it would be fun to go on a night hike, James has been wanting to go for awhile now. I thought it would kill my back but ended up going anyway. The hike up was not that bad I was worried I would pull a muscle, the way down...not so hot!!! We had to jump over a small stream and on the way back I didn't really want to, but it was necessary. James helped me over it but my foot still got soaked, and I pushed him into a puddle so his foot was wet also. It got windy near the end and it was definitely time to go home. We got home and my back was sore, but I took some Tylenol and my back is feeling wonderful. Way to go hike!!

Preparation

2010-03-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

We have been preparing. We are now 31 weeks so we are getting ready for baby showers, and getting ready for child prep classes, getting ready for baby. Our appointments are going well still, every two weeks now. The baby is still breech so we hope that it moves in the next weeks or so. We have been preparing James for life by working hard on classes, he is a trooper! We are a long way from being ready, but we are getting there. We are loving life!

2010-02-20T07:40:00.000-08:00

In the 3K I ended up taking 3rd overall, I was rather pleased and surprised with myself. It was a fun day an I'm glad Jill got the day off so she could come! Thanks Jill, and thanks for the awesome post about my birthday, I'm glad I don't have to worry about being drafted anymore.

26 is...

2010-02-19T11:02:00.000-08:00

The natural number following 25 and preceding 27

The only single number between a square 5 and a cube 3

The amount of sides a rhombicuboctahedron has.

The atomic number of Iron

A 2003 novel by Leo McKay, Jr..

The number of letters in the English and Interlingual alphabets, if capital letters are not distinguished from lowercase letters.

The number of miles in a marathon rounded down (26 miles and 385 yards).

Michigan is the 26th state to be admitted to the United States.

Often the number of episodes in a television program each year; this allows one new show per week for half the year, and one rerun per week for the rest of the year.

The alias of punk rock singer Doc Corbin Dart

The age at which males can no longer be drafted in the United States

The "joke throw" in the game of darts, where a player throws 20, 5 and 1 when aiming for 20 (or treble 20). In professional darts, throwing 26 usually results in sneers or laughter from the audience.

A dice game popular in the mid west United States from the 1930s to 1950s; players had to roll a chosen number 26 times or more, exactly 13 or fewer than 10[2].

The number of the French department Drôme

John Terry, captain of Chelsea F.C. and England national football team defender wears the number 26 for Chelsea.

Is the Number Used by the Famous "Team 26" Powerboat P1 Team With Drivers Kim Collins and Daniel Cramphorn

Patrik Eliáš wears #26 for the New Jersey Devils.

Peter Šťastný used to wear #26 in NHL for the Quebec Nordiques, New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues.

Interstate 26 is a freeway that runs from Tennessee to South Carolina.

26 also happens to be the age of my adorable husband. His birthday was yesterday and it was so nice to spend it apart. Gotta love conflicting schedules, but we'll CELEBRATE on Sunday. I love you honey, you are AMAZING and funny, and you'll be the best daddy in the world to our babies!!

James 3K

2010-02-09T20:23:00.000-08:00

From James 3K

This is what I look like on an EARLY Saturday morning when we get to drive an hour so my husband can run in a race.

From James 3K

This is the beautiful Mountain Dell Golf Course where the events took place.

From James 3K

He ran in the Romp to Stomp Out Breast Cancer 3K. Here is the starting line.

From James 3K

And they're off!!

From James 3K

25 minutes later he came SPRINTING up the last big hill.

From James 3K

Poor thing looks a little tired...

From James 3K

and like he wet himself.
Hey James, how do you feel?

From James 3K

That a boy!!

After the race he wanted to change out of his wet clothes and into something a little drier. As soon as he got into the car the windows looked like this... GROSS!!

From James 3K

He took third place overall. I was very proud of him and think he did an awesome job! Way to go honey.

It's a Miracle

2010-02-08T11:17:00.000-08:00

I am finally driving my own vehicle, it seems just like yesterday I was driving around that dinky little Kia, oh wait, it was! My dad went with me to the dealer and they had it all ready for us to pick up..down the street...at the other dealer. I guess I can't complain too much, I mean I sure have enough to complain about but I'm classier than that. I'm on the road again.

One month

2010-02-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked the one month anniversary of our car being in the shop. ONE MONTH!! I went in today after work (Jack is my hero and I can't say thank you enough!!) to pick it up becuase some guy there told me it was ready..it wasn't. So Jack took me shopping and my brother picked me up from Jamba Juice. I want to scream and throw a big fit, but instead, since I know that it will get me no where and I let people walk all over me, I will sit quietly and wait until tomorrow... and try again. Being nice is really hard.

We Get To Keep Our Corolla!!!!

2010-01-12T10:31:00.001-08:00

Two Saturdays ago James and I were driving his brother Erik back to Provo traveling on I-15 when a spare tire from a truck became detached and rolled across the lanes. The car in front of us swerved to miss the wheel, but James didn’t have room to move so he lined the car up with the tire and tried to do as little damage as possible to the actual vehicle. The car hit the wheel, came off the road, and when it came in contact with the road again the airbags went off. The airbag on the passenger side shattered the windshield and the seatbelts locked in place. The wheel underneath had cracked the sub-frame of the vehicle and bent the oil pan and transmission pan. Let’s just say that we are still alive because of the damage the vehicle took. The longer we though about it the more we realized it could have been much worse. If James had hit the tire, it would have flipped the car around and we could have been hit by anyone traveling around us. We took the vehicle to Tony Divino and they estimated the damage at $5,500. The insurance agent called and said we get to keep the vehicle, which is a relief because he kept telling me we might have to total the whole thing. So it should take about a week to fix; we should have it back by next Monday. I’m just really grateful we are all safe and we get to keep our car.

The most important gift of all!!

2010-01-06T10:58:00.001-08:00

I know that the title is sounding a little spiritual, but the most important gift of all is not love, or service, or anything lame like that! It was my brand new Bosch Mixer. Shallow, I know, but I’ve been waiting one for a long time and we found this awesome deal in the newspapers for black Friday. So James, bless his heart, withstood the crowds and picked one up for a killer deal. I love him so much! I’ve already made a few batched of cookies and four loafs of homemade bread. It has been a lot of fun to use and I feel very momish, especially when my mom comes over and helps me. I also got a camelback, a really cool headlamp, some maternity clothes, new work shoes, and James and I got a camping stove. We are almost all set, now we just need a tent with no holes in it; James blew away and ran into a barbed wire fence. We can’t wait to take our family camping. Family!!!!!

The Season of Giving

2010-01-06T10:40:00.001-08:00

Well the holidays were fantastic! We spent this year with my family because; well just because James’ family lives so far away. His brother did get to come up though, so he got a small taste of the Abbott’s. I worked Christmas Eve, but James had the day off. He drove down to pick up Erik from Salt Lake and drove him back up to Ogden. As soon as I left for the day I headed up to my mom and dads, this is when I started slacking. I thought my mom would have had cookie dough already made, but she didn’t. Instead of stepping it up and helping I sat around wondering when my husband was going to show up. I’m such an idiot. This stressed Joan out a little and the night only got more stressful for her when she realized that I hadn’t completed my Christmas present for a certain someone. Yikes!!! My mother has got to be the most giving, loving, and charity-never-faileth-lady I know. What a great example for what a mother really is. I love you Joanie!!! We did decorate the cookies; we made Christmas trees out of the star shapes and the kids loved it. Then we had dinner, my mom and dad had prepared crab legs, and lobster tail and shrimp, oh my! It was so delectable and we all got to sit around the table on feast. Matt and Elise didn’t stay for dinner. They were at her parents eating Chinese take-out. After dinner we played a few games and then it was time for Kurt and Vicky to take the little ones home. The rest of the night we played games and watched movies. It was a little strange just because the house got empty all of the sudden, but it was a nice time for all. Thank you Joan and Gordon. We love you!!!

On the 5th month of baby my doctor gave to me...

2009-12-19T08:32:00.000-08:00

Cajun Romance?

2009-11-30T10:09:00.000-08:00

Have you ever spent the night with a crocodile? I have, it wasn’t real, but it looked like it was. James and I decided to spend our two ½ year anniversary doing something fun. We haven’t been able to have a getaway for our real anniversaries, so I thought we should make up our own. Saturday night after we both got off work, we headed up to Logan for dinner. We ate at the Firehouse pizza parlor and then headed to The Anniversary Inn for the night. We stayed in the Cajun Romance room with a great view of the swamplands. The room was actually a little funny but the bathroom was AMAZING!!!!! They brought us popcorn, drinks and candy and we watched The Soloist, a good movie but two swears we did not like at all. They also brought us crackers, cheese, and meat, YUMMY, we just relaxed and spent time with each other. We got to watch Dirty Jobs in a Jacuzzi and they had the coolest shower ever. We woke up around 8 in the morning, there are no windows so the sun didn’t wake us up, we had breakfast brought to us around 9:30, and we played games until it was time to leave around noon. It was such a great time, and the staff was awesome! We loved it and felt so rejuvenated.

Twenty-Four

2009-10-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

Twenty-Four is like two dozen. That's a lot of almost anything I can think of right now. Cookies, cups of cranberry juice, tacos, babies...that's mostly what I think of lately. It was a good birthday, James wished me Happy Birthday in the morning and I got to sleep in a little. At work everyone was really nice, they brought treats and had everyone sign a card. My dad took me to lunch and I got to spend the afternoon asking him questions. (My favorite thing to do!) I got lots of emails, voice mails, texts, and messages, I loved all of it!! I was suppose to head over to a friends house to carve pumpkins, but got really sick and couldn't keep anything in me. So I just went to bed early. I got a sewing machine, lots of clothes, and Harold and The Purple Crayon along with 17 Again. It was a great birthday!! James and I went to the temple to do a session in Ogden. I'm really glad we decided to get married in Ogden. It's so nice to go back and remember getting married there. Oh how I love the temple!!! The session was great, and it's always nice to be with James there, so peaceful. James then picked us up some Chili's for my birthday. Then we, no I, fell asleep on the couch watching The Office. What a perfect Birthday!

With Child?

2009-10-15T13:48:00.001-07:00

I'm just going to come right out and say it. I don't know how many people look at this blog, I don't really care, it is for two people in particular, so as long as those two people haven't given up on me, I hope they find joy in this post. James and are are going to be parents. Wow, that's weird to type, and weird to read. We are due around the middle of May, we are finding out what it is around that same time. I put a picture of the child's (that's what we call it) behind on this post because I thought it was the cutest part of the child so far. The rest of it looks like an alien. We are only kind of excited, it still is sinking in. and I would appreciate any advice from people I respect. We are so thankful for the opportunity to be trusted with a child and are grateful to our amazing families who support us in all of our adventures.

Yay for making babies!!!!!!!

What's that again?

2009-08-07T12:33:00.001-07:00

That's right!!! We just received word that James has passed Chemistry with a B+. YIPPY!!! I am so proud of him and he makes me the happiest woman in the world. Way to go love, you finally did it. We can now move on with the rest of out lives!!

2009-06-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

What does two years look like? Two years look like this!!James and I had our two year anniversary. People sometimes say that they can't believe how long they have been married... that's crazy! It definitely feels like two years to me. When I think where we were and what we were doing two years ago. It feels like ages!!! James parents were in town this weekend for his sisters graduation, so we didn't want to go out of town like I had planned on. Instead I worked at the restaurant on our anniversary and James got to go rock climbing with his brothers. Then when I got off of work, I thought it would be fun to play games with James, James thought it would be fun to bring his family over to stay with him chatting until 1:30 am. He won! When they left, they came back just like a boomerang to drop off his younger brother to spend the night with us. I love his brother, so it was not my idea, but it was fine. He did bring home four random yellow and blue balloons, so that's cute!!

The next day we headed down to Salt Lake for the graduation ceremony. I think sometimes that I have restless leg syndrome. Or maybe a new form called restless inside syndrome. I HATE HATE HATE sitting for longs periods of time. I start bugging James next to me, and start counting the number of times the lady in front of me reapplies her lipstick. The number of times the man speaking says yours with a Boston accent and it sounds like ewes. It gets pretty bad!! So after they FINALLY called Lovina's name I wanted out. However, I am an adult (sometimes) so I sat quietly until James said we could go. We did have dinner together at The Rodizio Grill after the ceremony. James has been wanting to go since, I don't know actually, forever? , I think we will go back again. James really liked the authentic food. He ate 5 chicken hearts. FIVE! It was really gross and his breathe smelt awful. As we were celebrating 2 years, the couple next to us were celebrating 2 hours. They had just barely gotten married, and WOW! did she forget to put clothes on or what! Not only were her boobies hanging out of her dress, (which by the way didn't even cover up her BRA!!!!) she had a lot of them. She had quite a bit of everything, if you know what I mean ; ) It was gross. She was making the gauchos very uncomfortable. Oh, by the way, there was one very attractive gaucho. I spoke to him in his native tongue and he went off. I only know what James has taught me, and that usually shouldn't be shared outside just the two of us. It was fun to talk to him in Portuguese however, James really enjoyed it. We finished the night off with a trip to Paul and Denise's to spend time with the kids. Oh how I've missed them.
We have no pictures to post with this, plus I started it in May, and not it's July, so I'm going to get it out of my edit box. Chow! -loti

Happy Models Day!!!

2009-05-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

Everyone needs a Joana, she is a model you can always go to, one who will always listen, and the one who will teach you again and again, the things she's been trying to teach you your entire life. Now some people haven't been blessed with a Joana, Some of you were blessed with only moms, for this I consider myself very lucky. Now you might have the same make as my Joana, but you will never have the same model. The Joana model is always missing her offspring, so she doesn't care when they come to visit, she also adores her off springs offspring, which also bids well for their parents. She makes the best bread, and on several attempts has tried to pass this onto me with no avail. I'm a model missing a few parts. I have met only a few models that would fit in the same category as a Joana. There is the Jode, she has a house that holds more people then you could ever imagine, she also has a counter model who is an excellent cook. The Jode model makes the best brownies in the world. The Jode has also recently learned to love her off springs children. The Jode is an excellent resource for a sad baby. She comes with a remote that can turn off any baby. The Jode and Joana have always been close models. They came from two very different plants, and yet they are the best of the best. Oh! I almost forgot my most recent model. The El-en. She is a very different type of model. She has no off switch, she takes energy from her counter model, we call him the Bish, and all of her kids. There are enough creating power to charge any ones batteries. She can be busy all day, but will take time out to talk to anyone, or play a short game. The El-en comes with a mystery gadget, she has a voice that can fill a home, but only be distinguished by a select few, who select to. She can eat a whole loaf of freshly baked bread by herself, but loves to share even more, if you are still awake when it comes out of the oven. She retires to her room last, and can often be heard moving about in the early morning hours. These models can't be beat, you would be considered blessed if you were ever to run into them. They may be different, but all of them have played a ginormous part in my life, and not only that, but I love them very much. I hope to one day be a great model, just like they have been to me. Happy Models day to you all!!

WELCOME CLAIRE!

2009-04-13T06:22:00.000-07:00

When James and I lived in Maryland we had a great friend name Emeline. I'm pretty sure she was named after Em from the movie "Blue Lagoon". If you've seen it, shame on you. If you haven't, I don't suggest it. Let's just say she gives birth to a baby all by herself, and she doesn't even know she's pregnant. Anyway...Emeline moved to Utah and met Scott. We LOVE Scott!!! He is one of our favorites. They recently gave birth to Claire Joy Gridley on April 1st. The BEST type of April fools joke I'm sure.

This is Emeline, in the bed, and that's James, holding Claire.

James is what I like to call a "baby hog!"

He loves holding babies, and he loves when they cuddle. He looks really happy

Later that weekend James and I drove down to see them at their home.

Emeline's parents were there, I LOVE EMELINE'S PARENTS!

They flew out from Maryland, it was great to see them. This is baby

with Aunt...oops, I can't remember her name, Karen I think.

She's just chillin!

This is Claire and I discussing how many days old she is. That's right she was 5 days old. She is a GENIUS!! Or she might be waiving, I never noticed before.

And below we have the beloved Cat in the Hat, or Scott in the vomit catcher. That holds 2 liters of throw up. That's a lot!
This is unrelated, but do you ever listen to KSL radio? They have this guy Fred Ball and he speaks on business. This is the man that first showed me the light on Zeppes (BTW, when does that open for the season?) We went to Conference on Saturday and got to park IN his spot. This is James, pretending to speak on business. My yogurt makes it look like he's holding a pipe!

Adessa, Dear I love you so...

2009-04-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

James and I decided that we wanted to be the "cool" Aunt and Uncle, and since Adessa is a little too young to get a tattoo, and would rather drink juice that vodka, we decided to take her rock climbing. And she was pretty stoked!! This is her and her new "boyfriend" Danny. Danny thought that Adessa was pretty great. We didn't have the heart to tell him that she has a tendency to be highly excited.They have these adorable full body harnesses for children, now doesn't that look comfortable!
James will be playing the part of her climbing buddy.

He's there so she doesn't freak out when she gets too high.
I'll be playing the part of her highly excited protector.

I'm there to lie to her and tell her she's not THAT high up, and I promise not to drop her.

And so the saga began. She had NO problem what so ever to get the hang of it...

when she was five feet off the ground.

She didn't like it so much when she got a little higher. At this point James thought he better get strapped in too so he could climb with her.

This is the point in which you BEG!!!! a four year old not to look down. And trust me I did. But to no avail, because she's old enough to know I was telling her because she was FREAKING HIGH! Plus, at this point people were gathering around to watch a four year old climb to the top of a wall. People had their cell phones out taking pictures!

We sat here for a few minutes. She kept yelling at me not to let her go, yelling at her dad for taking pictures while she was in distress, and yelling at Danny, she couldn't believe that her "boyfriend" would allow this kind of treatment.

But we cheered her on and before we knew it she was hanging off the edge. SHE DID IT!!!! People clapped, grownups cheered, and Danny cried!!!! (Not really!) But we were so excited and proud.
Now, for Adessa's favorite part. Repelling!
You thought we were proud of her. Check out how proud of herself she is! And what does a four year old do after spending the afternoon using all of her muscles to climb a giant wall?
She passes out in the back seat, that's what!

Claire Gridley

2009-04-03T13:56:00.000-07:00

I know she's not mine, but I wanted to make an announcement that Emeline and Scott had a baby. She was 6lb 14 oz, 16 inches long, and they had to take her by surgery. They are doing great, but Em is a little drugged. James, Erik and JP are gonig to visit them tonight to get pictures, so we will post some if they are okay with it. YEAH!!!!

These are a few of my favorite....

2009-02-25T18:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I got no help from anyone. It's called a baby knit cocoon. Thanks! I want to make a list of my 10 favorite things right now. Wednesday February 25th 2009.

I love the Turbo kick class taught at Weber State Wednesday nights by Kathryn. She rocks!

I love coming home to my adorable husband on the computer doing homework.

I love the people I work with at Bella's.

I love it when my nephew Jexten yells "Pa pa, PA PA!!" out the window when he sees my dad and wants him to take him outside.

I love peaches. Fresh, canned, or frozen.

I love that Xenia is not getting married in Vegas.

I love watching one of my oldest, dearest, friends raise her first child.

I also love whenever Jody puts him to sleep.

I love spending anytime at all with Adessa. She makes me want to have a little girl just like her.

And finally... I love my mom and dad. ALWAYS!!

Blog Scanning

2009-02-13T13:53:00.001-08:00

Okay, I was blog scanning and now I need help. I was looking at a blog of a young mother, she often has pictures of clothes that are cute on mannaquines and thinks about one day wearing them after she "loses the baby fat". She had a link to a photographer who took pictures of a brand new baby wrapped up in a homeknitted little pea pod looking thing. On the photographers website it had a link to the kniting website. They also sold knitted hats, gloves, and shoes. I need to know the website to that. I really want to get one for my friend who is having a baby in March. I lost the website somewhere and can't find it. HELP!!!!!

"Her tummy was giggling."

2009-01-16T08:31:00.001-08:00

So I went to visit my mom and dad after work at Bella's one Saturday, and my niece Adessa was there. She asked why I was wearing an apron, so I showed her. I took out my pad and asked if she wanted something to drink, I got her a drink of water with a straw and asked if she was hungry. She was not, but she liked what I did. So I called my sister-in-law and asked if I could take Adessa to my restaurant. She said yes!!!! My mom picked her up after work, my mom said she laughed and giggled the whole ride there. When she got out of the car she gave me a big hug and showed off her outfit. She had on the cutest little pink jumper, her hair was done up in cute little pony tails and she had on her pink tights. So adorable!! We got to Bella's and Adessa told the hostess how many were in our party and they sat us. Tracy brought us chips and salsa and Adessa went to town. She loved the taste of the salsa and she got a fruit punch. I told her that she could order Fajitas with me, or just get a quesadilla, so when Tracy asked her what she wanted she replied (let's see if I can spell this) "I want a fajisadilla." A what? She wanted a quesafageetas. Huh? A fajitasdealla. I just ordered her a quesadilla and an order of Fajitas. But the smile on her face was the biggest when dessert came. She almost ate the whole thing by herself, I only had a few bites.

When we were done, we payed Tracy, payed for a peppermint patty in the bowl, made a few wishes in the wish pond, and got in the car. We sang Christmas songs until we got to her house. Oh how I love Adessa-Doodle

Moving Away

2009-01-13T11:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so Christmas was fun this year, James and I had our second Christmas together, I bought this tree.

It is adorable and lights our front room wonderfully...still to this day, because James would like to see how long I will tolerate it being up. My patience is running thin! I got a great coat for Christmas, cute boots, and snow shoes. I haven't got to use them yet, but I will. This Christmas was sad because it was Matt and Elise's last Christmas in Utah. They moved to Texas the Saturday after we celebrated. I knew I was going to miss them, but not this much, and James REALLY misses Matt. We hope they get to visit a bit this summer, we are crossing our fingers. This is what the front room looked like, and there was only six of us.

And look what my nephew can do!!!

That's right, he's feeding himself. He also had his first day of playing in the snow. He was playing with Friend, the family dog, and went to pet her and fell face first FLAT in the snow. I picked him up ready to take him inside, all he did was smiled and say "Brrrrrrr!" and kept playing. It was so cute.

Look at his big boots Grandpa David got him. Fantastic!

I miss you guys, please come back soon.

...and a Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

Another year, and another winter. Christmas was wonderful. James and I didn't make it to Maryland for Christmas. We were pretty bummed. But on the flip side, Matt and Elise moved the Saturday after Christmas, and if we had ended up leaving, we wouldn't have been able to say goodbye. James and I were spoiled for Christmas, from family and each other. I'll post pictures once I remember how to.

James and I are great. James is playing another session of soccer, and loving every minute of it. I go to every game I can, and love every minute of it. School starts on Monday, James is ready for another semester. Erik, James' little brother, flew in Monday and we got to spend some time with him. He is starting school at BYU, James is glad to have another family member so close.

I'm still working two jobs to keep afloat. Maybe this year will be the year of little Abbott babies...and then again, maybe not.

We love you all. Have a great year!!!!

Sick Sick Sick!

2008-11-26T18:53:00.000-08:00

I've had a rough day. I went to work this morning feeling just fine, and by 11:00 I felt like I wanted to puke. I was so upset all day and then it finally hit me. I was on the phone with a member and had to put them on hold. (At this point it is very important to know how much I LOATHE public bathrooms.) I closed the bathroom door behind me, and with the feeling in my stomach, and the quick realization of where I was I ran to the closest toilet. Thank goodness on one was in there. The first spasm hit so hard it was coming out my nose, my eyes started running instantly and my glasses almost fell off. I finished hoping to feel somewhat relieved and was greatly disappointed. My stomach was still uneasy. I spent the rest of my day at Alliance in a ball at my desk, praying for the uncomfortable feeling to go away...it did not. I had been drinking a Sprite hoping it would help to settle my stomach but it didn't seem to help. When I got home I laid on the couch with a warm blanket and tried to get some sleep. After tossing and turning, I thought I could sleep better in bed, I stood up to move and my body immediately told me it was time for round three. I was then at a stage where no more food was in my body, but Sprite and bile do not make a great match. So I called James to hear his voice for a bit and he told me he would try to come home early. He showed up at 6:45 and made me ice chips and rubbed my back for me. He is the best husband. Even now as I type this he is at the grocery store picking up food to make for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, something I was suppose to do. I don't have a fever and no other parts of my body hurt. I'm pretty sure it was just something tainted that I ate. I;m feeling better now, but I hope I get a good nights rest.

Fall Time is Fun Time

2008-11-04T11:31:00.000-08:00

My favorite time of the year is upon us. I love fall!!! Halloween, pumpkins, the weather, warm blankets, and hot cocoa, what more could you ask for. James, however, does not like Fall at all. So I am posting all of the things that I've like so far this year about Fall, hoping to stir some nicer feelings inside of my robot-hearted husband.

1~ Carving pumpkins. I love this practice, and this year we got to do it with someone fun. Brad and Kera came over and we carved pumpkins and made caramel apples. YUM!

2~ Halloween. The costumes, the kids, the candy. I love Halloween and I love alliteration.

3~ My birthday. I turned 23 this year...YIKES!...but I love my birthday. Lots of fun and lots of flowers.

4~ The leaves. James and I discovered that jumping in leaves is not as fun when your old as when we were little. But they are still gorgeous!!

5~ Family. Matt and Elise are moving out of state, so I am glad that we get to spend so much time together. I also love my mom and dad, and am glad they live close. Also, James sister got married over the weekend, so we got to see his whole family. I love it!!!

Two jobs? The sound of it makes me tired.

2008-10-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, I was so excited when James could finally go to school in the state of Utah, but when he was accepted I never thought he would want to stop working full-time and work only part time. So when you barely make enough money to get through the month already and someone wants to "cut back" hours at work to study, I knew it was time for me to step up. I found another job at Bella's, a Mexican joint in Farr West. It was once known as Melina's for the old Brigham Folk. So far I love it. It's a great company to work for and they are a lot of fun. I really like the other waiters and the hostess'. The food is really great and I like taking food home to my hungry husband. Now, the tired part. I get up at 5:50 am most mornings because I am training for the Wasatch Relay, so I get up and jog two miles, come home, take a shower and go to work at Alliance, then I get off work at 4:15 and then head to Bella's for the rest of the evening. On the weekdays, I usually get off around 9:45 and on the weekend I get off at 10:45. So I'm running all day and then all night. I really like to sleep when it's dark outside, so sometimes I don't want to wake up, or go to work, at either places. But for now it's good. I am really happy!!!!

Fall/Winter?Fall/Winter? Fall...Winter???

2008-10-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

As I was leaving for work Saturday I saw this beauty!

I was so excited that they decided to bloom one more time before the fall set in. And then for some reason we skipped fall and went straight into this...

This is what we saw out our bedroom window, and this..

...is what we saw when we went outside. What happened to Fall? I swear it was around when I was little. I want the leaves to fall and the trick-or-treaters to come out.

Little Ones

2008-10-13T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is why I CAN wait to have children. I get to play with them just the right amount and I get my fix of little kids for the week. Then later if I want to play with anymore, I just head over to Joan's and play with Cohen. But this is Jexton and Adessa. Jexton is now walking around, and talking like crazy, and Adessa gets funnier and funnier every time I see her. Here we are making faces. Sometimes she won't even let you point a camera at her, but these were fun.

OOOps!

2008-10-02T20:09:00.000-07:00

Wow, you could say I was a bad friend, but it would be an overstatement. I threw one of my good friends a bridal shower and didn't even post anything about. Not that it matters now, she is no longer a virgin. But here are a few photos. It was a blast and it was great to meet all of Steph's friends. Love ya STDean!!

Tagged, Part 4!

2008-09-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

Kurt,
"Never give up, or at least not until your arm feels like they are going to fall off." I have older brothers that most girls would be jealous of. They are fun, and adventerous, and love me!! So whenever I go boating with any of them, I am always really afraid that they will make me get in the water and try wake boarding...AGAIN! So when Kurts friend invited us to go boating with him, I was excited! We got to a small little place in Idaho, we were the only ones there and the boys started wakeboarding. Then it was my turn, now I onlyhave one hand and when the initial jerk of the boat pulls your body up, it just yanks my arm out of my socket. After a few tries, my arm is tired but the boys are still egging me on. "Try to hold it in your armpit!",(I don't think so) "Try and wrap the rope around your arm!" (yeah, that's how I lost the first one) "Try one more time!" By the end of my turn, I was EXHAUSTED!! I wanted to get out, and the one there to help me get out of the water and back onto the boat was Kurt. "You did great! It was cool that the last time you almost got up." That's what a little sister wants, her brothers to lie to her and tell her how great she did, even though I know I didn't do that good at all.

TAGGED PART III

2008-09-14T11:21:00.000-07:00

Jeff's turn.
Family is the most important, even when you are far away. The family member I spoke with the most when I lived in Maryland was my mom, but only because I had A LOT of questions, but beside her it was Jeff. We didn't talk every night, nor was it a scheduled thing, but he checked up on me more than anyone else. And since I've been home, we don't see each other all that often, but I love his phone calls and his Texts. He spends a lot time away from us, but he always checks up on me, and for a little sister, that is the best thing you can ask for. He is my hero and I love him for the example he has been to me.

Taged Part II

2008-09-08T06:23:00.000-07:00

2~ Baking homemade bread. This happened recently, so it's fresh on my mind. I had never helped with the bread before, only the eating it part. It was fun to put all the ingredients in a bowl, mix it together, and mold the loaves. "Mold the loaves"? That sounds weird. Try molding loaves with one hand, it sucks. I would try to mold them and then joan would look at my badly molded loaves and laugh her sinister laugh, remold the loaf, and place it in the pan. I will never mold loaves the way she does. I'm so jealous!

Tagged?

2008-09-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been tagged, but I don't like the one they gave me. So I'm turning it into the TPC and picking out one that fits me a little better. So I'm tagging myself, he he he, and making my own subject. This is to see just how creative you really are. So you make up your own tag, and then tag... you're it!
I'm going to be sharing one the most important things I've learned from each of my family memebers. Hopefully one a day.
Things I learned From My Family.
1~ Ironing. I know, Joana should have taught me, but when she wanted me to learn I was too busy doing something else. I.E. not paying attention. My dad on the other hand waiting until just the right moment. I was going to a job interview and needed my shirt ironed. He didn't ask, he just came over, adjusted how my shirt was sitting on the ironing board and would give me a tip every now and then. Next (this is my favorite part) he continued to tell me how he learned to iron while he was serving a mission in Boston. Which led someone else, and by the time I was done ironing one shirt, I knew more about my dad then I ever did.

Sleeping Buddies!!

2008-08-28T06:56:00.001-07:00

My oh my do I love having a sleeping buddy! Ever since James and I were married we semmed to have one problem or another sleeping in the same bed. At first it was just getting use to someone else's brething pattern. We then moved on to James waking up in the middle of the night yelling at some lady to leave the stereo where it was and get out of our house. Then I started walking in my sleep. (I actually did this a little before we got married, my mom would just tell me to go to sleep and close my bedroom door.) If James can't get to sleep next to me, he has to spend the first few hours of the night on the couch, and then he joins me in bed later. With married life stress, sometimes it's hard to sleep next to some one who is restless. HOWEVER! Last night James and I read our scriptures, prayed, and we both fell asleep. He didn't wake up once, which for me meant no noe tossing in bed and waking me up. It's the first morning in quite a while where I don't feel tired at all. And James slept so well, he felt like the night went by so fast, but wasn't tired!!!! Which is good for both of us, after work I have a job interview, and James last soccer game is tonight!!!

Babies? I think not!

2008-08-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

I have been perusing blogs after work a bit lately. I like to see what people in high school, whom I have very few connections to, are up to. Who did they marry, do they live around the area, why is it that people who loathed each other when they were 16 have now decided to live in holy matrimony? Call it relative curiosity or call it stalking, I have no intent on seeing any of them again. I do not know alot of these questions, any of them in fact, so when I wonder...
Here is what I have found. babies, Babies, and more BABIES!!! (See how I did that?) Why? I would like to know why? When you have been married for less than two years how do you know each other well enough to raise children? How do you know how either of you will react to a baby screaming all night if you haven't been married long enough to see him pick at his belly button lint? Now, don't get me wrong, I think that babies are GREAT. I plan to have a few someday, but not at 20, and my husband and I have barely been married for a year. We talk about the idea quite often, but we know we are both going to wait. We will spend the rest of our lives rearing our own little ankle biting children, I don't think a few years by ourselves is not too much to ask. Don't give me crap! I'm religious, I get it!!!

Maryland Boys

2008-08-18T19:51:00.000-07:00

James and I headed out to Maryland to see his family. I got to meet up with the boys I use to nanny for. We played for three hours and I hated leaving when it was time. Here are some pictures of Big James, Little James, Myself, and John. Oh, James brother also came with us. His name is Erik.

Our trip

2008-08-18T16:41:00.001-07:00

Our Yellowstone National Park Trip

2008-07-07T17:23:00.000-07:00

This last week James and I had the chance to go to Yellowstone park and create lasting memories. This trip added a lot of first time experiences to my short life. I have never been to Yellowstone Park before, my first time being there was pretty great. The actual park surprised me, I knew there had been wildfires, but I didn't expect the park to still show so many signs of it. Mountain side after mountain side was littered with old, dead, gray tree stumps. Newer, greener growth was coming up, and some trees were quite big, I just didn't expect a park full of dead trees. We got a late start up, so we arrived around 11:00pm and still had to set up our tent. James was really quick at getting it up and together, we were in our sleeping bags and falling asleep by 11:45. I didn't even take pictures of our campsite when we got there, but below are pictures from the rest of our trip.

2008-07-07T17:22:00.001-07:00

Bear Lake Weekend

2008-06-16T06:56:00.000-07:00

James and I spent this past weekend at our Skinner family reunion, it was cold, but pretty fun. I would have posted photos but none were taken by us on account of our camera being in Salt Lake. So as soon as we get the cameras back we will be posting more things. Anywhoo! James went golfing without sunscreen, so he has a pretty nice burn, and my nose is a little red. We got to sleep in a tent and eat food cooked over a fire. It was great to see my side of the family. Oh, boating too, we didn't go, but the water was 53 degrees. BRRRRRR!

SCHOOL!!!

2008-06-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

I know that it's officially summer because schools out and it's June, but it doesn't feel like June because it's raining outside, and I don't get a summer vacation from work. James and I tried to get into school last semester and got quite the surprise when we found out that he would need to pay out-of-state tuition. That amounted to a $5,400.00 bill for ONE semester at Weber State...NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. So James has been working really hard to get papers in and write up letters in order to get residency. We just got the news that it worked. We are so excited and can't wait. So watch out Weber, here he comes!!!

New Hobbies

2008-05-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

I've decided to take a new hobbie, I thought I might have found one that won't cost me an arm and leg. Instead I have to give up fresh air and my sanity. Behold the Samosa! I found this recipe on the internet and sat and watched this Indian lady prepare these for over an hour, they looked and sounded amazing, I was in way over my head. Let's start with the insane ingredients that I needed, I could only find about 4 of the 7 I didn't already have, thinking I could just substitute them out I continued blindly. The filling wasn't too bad when I finally finished but I had been cooking for so long I did not notice the aroma filling our house, James made me aware of it quickly, here is the final filling...

I actually didn't mind the flavor so much, then came wrapping them, I got myself in a little farther over my head than I thought, I only have one hand, and they took two hands to fold properly, Wow!

Then I fried them in oil, maybe the oil wasn't hot enough but I had the hardest time getting the pastry to fry like it should have.

Oh, whoops, maybe the oil WAS hot enough, I had to go buy a metal replacer for this, I guess I should have known better.

When all was said and done, our house smelt like an old man's moldy house, and the samosas were pretty gross, not only did James and I not like them very much, but the only person at my parents house that had more than one was Whitania, she strangely had like 5 of them, all DRENCHED in Ranch Dressing. Everything is better with Ranch. My next feat in strange food will be Spanish Paella, we'll see!

ONE YEAR!

2008-05-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a day late, but James and I

had our one year anniversary on the 29th, and I wanted to celebrate with memories.

We had an amazing photographer, Nic Shellabarger, who did a great job at
capturing all of our crazy, out-of-control, fun moments. This is actually a
picture from our Bridals, I'm really glad we decided to bring James with us!

We were still living in Maryland during all this time, so we flew out

to Utah in order to take our pictures.

James and I had our reception the night before we were married, it was a pretty exciting night, we had quite the turnout of family and close friends. Here's James and his "ENTOURAGE" the guys were a blast!

Then we cut the cake, threw the bouquet and garter, and spent the rest of the daylight taking pictures and talking to family and friends.

The time came to dance, and did we ever. The rest of the evening late into the night was about dancing. When it was time for our niece Adessa to go home, she told her mom the whole ride there that she needed to keep dancing, it was that fun!!

The next morning James and I were sealed for Eternity. Wow, every time it hits me I get really excited to spend forever with him.

There's not a better man in the whole world for me than him.

I love you Jamie!!!!!

2008-05-04T20:18:00.000-07:00

So a couple weeks ago we had the amazing opportunity for James' cousins to come up and spend the weekend with us from Orem. Friday we had a BBQ. Jill is a fantastic cook! We took the kids to Jill's parent's house to barrow their car and on the way home we played night games at a park. We finally got home around 1.

We spent all day Saturday outside. First we cleaned the chapel from top to bottom, we scrubbed the walls, the windows, and everything we could see. The primary kids planted flowers out front, they fed us hot dogs after. After we went down to Salt Lake to watch a Highland Rugby game. Highland beat Alta, 57-0. It was an exciting game! (it was not!) After we went home we played out side a while, then we decided to go to the park. We played until it got dark! We were playing tag and Dan chased one of the boys under a bar he didn't see and smashed his forehead on it, he hit the ground pretty hard.

Sunday we went to church with the kids, then up to Jill's Parents for dinner. It was Matty's birthday and Joan made chimmy-chongas for us, counting everyone there was about 14 adults and four under 4. To finish out the evening we drove to Provo to drop off the four kids. Jill was pulled over for speeding in a construction zone, she had no idea she was even going faster than 60. The police man saw that we were traveling with kids and took note that she had never received a ticket before, he said he would do her a favor if she would slow down, so no ticket!!!

The pictures are a little random but the kids hated me taking pictures of them.

Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

2008-04-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

Gordon and Joan have purchased a brand-spanking-new play toy. It's referred at my house as "Why can't I kick that girls butt at boxing?" It has brought the Sleeman family together in a way the Sleeman family never asked for. It is a Wii and Wii is it fun!!! The things I love about it most, in order, are...
#1 How much my own mother and father have enjoyed playing this piece of modern technology. Two people who have called their children when we were out of town because they couldn't get the DVD player to work. It brings joy to the hearts of all the many Japanese manufactures.
#2 I mean who doesn't want their 50 year old parents playing a round of golf in their Sunday best. "FORE!!!!"
#3 James will spend round after round trying to prove that he is better than a torso of a woman with a pair of gloves floating in front of her body. What man wants to be beat at a man sport by a woman!?!?!
#4 My niece Adessa thinking that the harder she shakes her butt the faster her dad will hit the floor.
And finally... #5 The evenings that will be spent in secrecy at mom and dad's because if our spouses knew where we were and what we were doing with our spare time, they would probably ban us from all future family outings! Love ya guys!!!!!
I almost forgot, even Whitania stays around for a few frames of bowling...can't beat that!

ALAS...

2008-04-07T07:27:00.000-07:00

Man, this whole fish thing has been an emotional rollercoaster. Okay, so the orange fish is dead, I repeat IS DEAD! After I got home from work on Saturday I went to feed him and his poor fish body was stuck to a waterplant above the water line in our bowl. There was no more miracles, he was just dead. James and I are starting to question weither or not we can take care of anything but ourselves.

You are NOT going to believe this!!!!

2008-04-02T20:03:00.001-07:00

The fish is ALIVE. I'm not kidding. It is a miracle fish. I guess that it jumped out of it's bowl around 5:10...(I refused to touch him). James got off work at 5:30, I told him what happened and when he came home he decided to take car of him. By this time his little fish body had started to shrivel up, every time I looked at him he seemed to be in a different position but I figured it was my crazy mind. James grabbed two envelopes to pick him up and take him to the toilet and he "flickered". The fish had been out of the water for almost 45 minutes and he flickered. James put him in a vase of water with food and after awhile the little guy was swimming around. Proof lies here...

Any other proof needed can be received at the household

of James and Jill Abbott. It might be grosser than the fact that

he was once dead.

I'm a fish murderer!

2008-04-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

I was doing laundry today and the washer was on the spin

cycle of vortexian madness when I went to the bathroom.

When I was done I went to the kitchen to see

how much longer the washer would be shaking the house

when I came upon this little fellow...

here.

Do you see where he is. He is on the ground, in the dining room...YUCK!!!

I just swept and mopped that Dang It! But to truly engross yourself in the feat this

little fish has over come you need to see just how

amazing he truly is. You see that bowl on the counter, that's where he

started. He jumped out onto the floor and landed quite beautifully. Since I am grossed out by

the whole idea of him on the floor, I will wait for James to get home to pick him up

and flush him down the toilet, I just won't look at him.

EEWWWW!!

Jill And The Great Easter Hunt

2008-03-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

James and I had a great Easter. Our lesson in Primary was steller. The kids were totally all over the "why we celebrate Easter, why it's on Sunday, and how kickin it's going to be when we are all resurrected." Plus, they thought it was great that I would have two hands again! But my favorite part was this. I know it's very worldly of me, but James promised me my very own Easter egg hunt...and he delivered. I woke up and found this note...

Did anyone know that he could ryhme? So I went at it. Here is the first one I found (that's the crock I bought that he hates, he would rather have a fish bowl in the middle of the table.)

Number two.

I also found this when I went into the bedroom, what a lazy!! "Get out of bed, you're missing all of the fun!"

I needed help to find this one, it was buried in the blanket container.

Here's four, it was hanging out with all my hair supplies.

Finding this one made me hungry, look at the cereal.

My stomach was growling!

This is where I started noticing he was hiding them with similarly colored objects. TRICKY!

This was the last, and hardest, to find. It was stuck against the wall.

And here I am with all of them in my bag. It was the best Easter egg hunt in the entire world!!! I however didn't get to keep the eggs, they were for the Primary lesson, but it was still fun to find them all!

My Weakness

2008-03-25T14:27:00.000-07:00

I know he is not mine, and that he belongs to somebody else, but how can you resist this little face. This is my nephew and he is the cutest thing in the entire world...well the cutest thing to come from Matt & Elise. What can I say...he's related to me!