Cale's first loose tooth

I just can't believe I'm old enough to have a child that is old enough to lose teeth! Time sure does fly. I didn't know how much the tooth fairy gives for a tooth these days. I think I got .25. Spencer suggested a dollar. Well, I felt extra rich that day because I used a few coupons at the store, so I agreed and traded the dollar for a tooth.

As I lay in bed that night, I started to regret giving that dollar to Cale. I mean, if each child loses 20 teeth, and we have a maximum of 6 children, that is $120.

I shared these concerns with Spencer, and after being silent for about 10 seconds, he said, "I think we can afford $120 over the next 12 years." Well, I hope so, mister money bags.

Van or SUV?

When we were newly weds, we swore we would NEVER own a van. We would be cool parents and go right for the SUV. That was the dream......

Well, we bought our little subaru legacy 6 years ago, when we were poor college students at BYU. We had one baby-Cale was only 4 months old.

We bought it with cash and it was our pride and joy. Then we had Carli and it was still a terrific car. We moved to Tucson and made one car work by living close to campus so Spencer could just ride his bike or the bus.

Then we moved to Phoenix and still only had 1 car and 2 children. We wanted a house more than a 2nd car, so we rented in a neighborhood close to the express bus that goes downtown. The problem came when we had our 3rd child. I'm just glad we had a nerdy subaru, because if it was a normal sedan, 3 car seats would not have fit.

By the time Danielle turned 1 and we turned her front facing, her seat looked like a throne. She sat in the middle with this HUGE car seat, and the other two kids had to squish on either side of her, their booster seats crooked so they would fit when we slammed the doors shut. It took them a year to figure out how to maneuver their tiny fingers between the car seats to find and buckle their own seat belts, but they mastered it, and can now buckle any seat belt in any car. We bought our first home and decided it was probably time to save for a bigger vehicle.

Spencer's parents were kind enough to give us their van, but it was on it's last leg, and I wanted a newer van that would be more reliable.

Soooo, when we finally had the money and the time to go out shopping for a new car, we started dreaming about and SUV. The problem was, they were so much more expensive, and they weren't very child-friendly. Mini vans have sliding doors that are low enough for the kids to get into by themselves. We just couldn't justify getting an SUV. We had to be Van people. There was no choice.

So, we traded in our subaru and our newly acquired van, and bought this:a 2007 Hyundai Entourage limited.

Yes, I know. We just can't seem to get away from red cars.


Both of our cars ended up being the limited version as well. We didn't plan that, but we're really beginning to think that leather seats are the only choice.
The kids love the DVD player of course. The first morning we had it, we took the kids for a ride and turned on a movie for them. We drove for about 20 minutes, and when we got home, Cale asked, "Mom, where did we go?" He didn't look out the window once-he just had his eyes glued to the screen the whole time. Nice.

Spencer shed a tear or two as we said good bye to our trusty old subaru.

So, we still only have one car, but at least the kids can put on their seat belts with no problem.

Random Stuff

Cale finished his BB season. He was much improved. By the end of the season, he was actually able to get the ball up to the net when shooting!

Stacey was very good at finding new hairstyles for Danielle. Check it out!

Spencer's busy season at work is from Jan-March. They (him and his co-workers) decided to grow mustaches during the entire time. This is how sexy he looked in March:

Lunch in the backyard during Spring Break


Hiking in the Desert (actually this was a path around a little mountain in the middle of the city). We were trying to get the kids ready for all the walking in D.C. next month

April Fool's day was really fun. I borrowed a book from the library for the kids about April Fool's day tricks, and Cale was excited to try them out. For instance, when I woke up that morning, I found that he had slid a pretend snake under my bedroom door. It was awesome. We decided to make some kitty poop for dessert:
I forgot to take any pictures of Easter except this one:


Well, we had Kristin (my sister) live with us August-January, and then Stacey (Spencer's sister) lived with us January-April. She just went back to school and we'll miss her terribly! And not just because she was available to babysit almost all the time, but because I got to know her so well. Thanks for everything, Stacey! It was so great to have you around to talk to when Spencer worked late every night. I'll miss you.

Ragnar Relay Race

We did it! Spencer and I were crazy enough to run in the Ragnar relay race. What?? You don't know what it is? Well, let me tell you all about it:

1. Team of 12 runners-old friends from Tucson

2. 2 vans of 6 runners each

3. Prescott to Tempe

4. 204 miles

5. 28.5 hours

6. Nasty costumes


7. sleeping in the car

8. sleeping in an elementary school

9. sleeping while I'm running

10. Spencer ran 3 legs equaling 18 miles total

11. I ran 3 legs equaling 16 miles total

12. Spencer's brother, Sam, ran too
13. Spencer's Dad drove our van

14. Stacey took care of our children

15. 12 hours of sleep after we got home

Kristin's Married!

Well, my little sister, Kristin, has an amazing story. She came home from her mission 2 years ago. It was a very hard adjustment when she came home. She wasn't comfortable in social settings at all, and so she immersed herself in her schooling and work for over a year. Then she decided to apply for grad school. I encouraged her to apply to ASU so she could live by me. She did, and was accepted, and decided to come here. I was so excited and offered her a place to live. She informed me that she would live with me for a semester, and than planned to find roommates so she could attempt to be more social.

WELL, a lady in my ward had a daughter going to the singles ward, and I asked her if she could take Kristin to church with her. They became fast friends. This friend of Kristin's started to date a guy, and so Kristin would hang out with them and this other guy's roommates. A new roommate (Mike) moved in a week after Kristin did, and they started to circumstantially hang out. They went bowling together and... BOOM-the butt-looking game (bowling) triumph's again-they became attracted to each other and started to date.

So, that was in September, and they got engaged in December and married in February. (sigh) I have to say that I take complete credit in her meeting her eternal companion. Don't you agree?

Here are pictures of their wedding:

DAY 1:

The festivities started out with pedicures and manicures. I decided to take Carli with me, because I thought it was half price for kids, and I wish I could have had a pedicure at 4 years old! When we got there, I found out that kids only cost 3 dollars less! I couldn't believe it. So, I decided to be cheap and I just let Carli get the pedicure and not me. Carli loved it... all the way until she realized you could get a manicure too but she wasn't getting one. I couldn't believe how much she whined for a manicure!

Doesn't she know she's the only 4 year old around that was lucky enough to get a pedicure??
DAY 2: They chose to get married in the Mesa Temple, so my family started flying in. It was a very unique wedding, because only my siblings and some of their spouses were there. No one could bring their whole family because of the airline prices and the short weekend in the middle of the school year. It actually turned out really nice. Karen hosted half the family, and I hosted the other half and some of Kristin's friends.

We had a BBQ with Mike's family. He's the oldest, so he's the first one to get married in his family.
Spencer and my Dad

Danielle, Cale, Grant, and Laurie

Debbie holding Laurie's new baby girl
Kristin and Jamie-her BYU friend (Mike is in the background)
Pam, Sandi, and Matt (Debbie's husband)
Donna and Jeff (I caught everyone chewing. haha)
Kristin and Mike
I guess the flash is too bright for Danielle
Does anyone else have problems with brothers-in-law giving their kids too much dessert?

BRIDAL SHOWER

Lingerie from Mother
Lingerie from Me!
Nice!

DAY 3: Wedding day: February 20th

Kristin getting beautiful for the big day. Carli, Jamie, and Kammi are also in the picture.
I wonder what she's thinking about!

Coming out of the temple (she forgot her veil-haha)
Cale with Kristin
Carli with Kristin


They actually took most of their pictures the night before. All the pictures with her veil were the night before. Without the veil were the day of.Kristin, you've never looked better!
My family at the Temple
The parental figures

LUNCHEON
we're supposed to eat our food-not each other!

RECEPTION
Bryan, Kammi, Matt, Debbie, Spencer, Sharon, Danielle, Cale, Carli, Dad, Kristin, Mike, Mom, Mark, Karen, Makayla, Jeff, Donna, Pam, and SandiAll the sisters (Donna, Pam, me, Kammi, Kristin, Debbie, Karen, and Sandi (the other side didn't get the memo that they were supposed to lean in)
And Kristin with her one and only brother, Bryan
Debbie, Karen, and Sandi
Donna, Jeff, Kammi, Bryan, Pam
Looking good, Mom and Dad! This is their 7th wedding to put on-6 of them for daughters!
The line
The cake-they stuffed it into each others faces: nice job
A movie is always the solution when your children are naughty and wild.
I wonder who will catch it?
Cale can't catch a ball, but he could catch the garter-no problem.

DECORATING THE CAR

balloons
more balloons
and even more balloons
This is Donna tying cans to the back of their car
This is Donna and Kammi RE-TYING the cans to the car, after Mike cut them off! very sneaky.
Finished project. Our work is done.

Congratulations, Kristin and Mike! We love you! And good luck getting into your car!