Birthday parties

So we've had birthday parties for both Emma and Matthew now. Emma is 5 and Matthew is 3! It's crazy how fast the years are starting to go by. I don't have the pictures for Emma's party at this moment, but I will be posting them once I get them from my mom. Our camera was nowhere to be found that day.

Both kids had store bought cakes this year, which I have never done before (and felt slightly guilty about), but I thought, "Hey, I'm pregnant and in school full time. Do I really want to make cakes?" And the answer was NO. So! Emma had a How to Train Your Dragon cake, complete with a Toothless and Hiccup toy. Apparently she had a dream that she was flying on Toothless behind Hiccup, and she could hardly describe it to me because she was so excited. Her party was a lot of fun, and she received a lot of nice gifts. The amazing thing to me is that she can remember who gave her each present. She has a great memory!

Matthew chose a Dinosaur cake, which was a little more generic, but the price was a lot better at Costco so I was cheap and didn't give him all the cool options. He seemed really happy about it anyway, and he did have fun blowing out his candles. He was so sad at Emma's party when he didn't get to blow her candles out; needless to say he was very excited about blowing out his own candles, and he did a great job. Matthew's party was also a lot of fun, and he had the extra treat of having Uncle Jared and Aunt Jessica come to his party. Since they live in Texas it was awesome to be able to have them come while they were here. It was definitely a full house, but it was a great time. Thanks to everyone who came, and for the wonderful gifts that were given!

A better post

It seems to me that starting a new post is more difficult then squeezing a horse into a VW beetle. I bet you are wondering about our Halloween. Well, due to a lack of foresight on my part, we didn't have our camera ready. We have pictures taken by Grandma, but we have to get them first. Emma wanted to be a bunny, and Matthew wanted to be Woody. Erin is luckly good with a sowing machine and she was able to make them. I had to do some engineering on the bunny ear to help them stand up though. Since we have no pictures, I will now try to the best of my ability to describe the scenes that filled our Halloween. I will attempt old school novel style. We'll see how it goes.

The day started fresh and new. The house was cleaned and ready for the new onslaught of children when ever they decided to get up. I awoke early to take an exam at school. It was my second attempt at my senior level exam. I was fairly distressed as I missed six, but will attempt again in January. The air was crisp and stung my face causing a flush of red on my cheeks as I dejectedly walked to my car for the lonely drive home.
After arriving upon my destination I opened the door and was greeted by smiling children, happy and ready to attack anything that held the semblance of being orderly or clean. Since they had been cleaned and fed, my wife and I decided that we should depart henceforth to the place of my birth. This owing to such vices as boredom, and the fact that my parents would feed us lunch. So the children donned their costumes and we started on our long trek to Salt Lake City.
It is always nice to journey in the morning hours. It is too early for the slower voyagers to be on the roads and hence the condition of the roads was quite favorable. Due to a matter of logistics we met my parents at Costco. They were excited to see the children in their costumes. My mother quickly took my wife and daughter from me and left me with my father and son. We sought after the normal masculine isles containing objectives like electronics, computers, and tools. The conversation lingered on topics like what features a new printer had, or how a lithium ion battery is more efficient then the older batteries. Once these items had been talked about and the a fore mentioned isles visited we met with the females in the family and decided that pizza would be in order for lunch. My mother intended to purchase a gold dress for Emma with a black bodice for Christmas. My wife and I are excited to see it on Emma. After the items were purchased we separated ways with my parents with an oath to reconvene at their home for afternoon refreshment. I am happy to say that both the company and the pizza were well received at that time.
We took our leave from my family at a little before 2:00 to start our arduous journey up Parley's canyon and onto Midway were My wife's family was waiting to receive us. The children ran to play with their uncle Ian while The rest of us helped attend to dinner. This particular dinner was to be a grand occasion because my brother in law, Nathan, was to bring the object of his affections to sup with the family for the first time. Before dinner could begin however, the matter of tricks and treats needed to be addressed. The children were gathered and new makeup was then applied in preparation to leave.
The day had gone from a bright sunny day, to a dismal cold rain. Midway tends to be about 10 degrees cooler then Salt Lake or Provo. We started to visit some of neighbors that Erin knew well. Owing to the rain we decided to only visit a couple more houses before returning home. Erin's grandparents were happy to see the children and take there leisure with us for a short time. The time passed quickly though and we returned the matter of supper at my wife's parent's house.
Dinner was a great experience. Everyone was in such grand humor that not a dry eye was to be found. The young lady that accompanied Nathan was welcomed into the home with such a grand and loving manor that I found myself jealous. I was not offered such a welcome when first I met this family. I am happy to report that the young lady found the family most agreeable and she now looks forward to many more such encounters.
The after dinner entertainment was a viewing of old slides upon an old slide projector. As this was the first time that Nathan brought a guest to visit with the family, most of the slides were upon the topic of him. Many times I have been thankful that this family does not possess any slides with my countenance upon them.
We soon left and returned to our place of residence to prepare for what was to be the final occurrence of that day. Nathan was again to join us with his young love for a viewing of "Lord of the Rings". The children, no doubt tired from the days happenings, fell asleep quickly leaving my wife and I a little reprieve before the addition of our guests. Upon their arrival a refreshment of corn bread and hot chocolate was made much to delight of everyone. The film was then started and, owing to the events of the day, everyone fell asleep. Upon reaching the mid section of the film Nathan and his girl of his affections decided to take their leave. Upon which my wife and I went to bed. Thus ending a day filled with travel, adventure, costumes, and attempting to keep the flow of sugar into our children as moderated as possible.

There is help!

Hello friends,

I am normal person Mike. Do you or someone you know consistently walk into walls? Does the thought of driving down the street with your blinker on excite you? Did you purchase that special machine to rewind your DVD's when you were through with them? If this sounds like you then you may have a special condition called "Stupid".

The condition of "Stupid" can be best described with this easy to picture example. Imagine a normal egg. This is what normal people are like. They are smooth, clean, and seamless. Now picture the same egg hard boiled with a screwdriver through it. Then take a string, tie one end to the screwdriver and the other to a ceiling fan. Now turn the fan on high. This is "Stupid".

Stupidity is the cause of many of the hardships we face. Some of these hardships include:


*Traffic Jams
*Slow Internet
*Messy Drawers
*Politics
*Buying a Volkswagen
*and countless acts of Art


If you feel like you or someone you know may have this condition, please do not feel alone. There are many stupid people in places like America. The whole world may contain thousands, nay, ten thousands of stupid people. Some of the places would include South America, Moscow Idaho, Norway, Germany, and yes even France should be considered when thinking about "Stupid" People. The board of "Stupid Recognition and Avoidance" states that 1 out of every 10000000 people could be considered "Stupid" and avoided.


There is help available to you! The Center for "Stupid" has created a special place where you or your loved ones can go to be rehabilitated. This luxurious compound is located in a special area of the middle Northwest. It even contains a restaurant for you to attend while you are recreated into a normal person.

So please, the next time you stop your car in front of a green light think about "Stupid" and how you can best help humanity. If you can't get help for stupidity at the "Center for Stupid" Please lock yourself in a box. Also rest assured that I will be in that same box with you because I am also stupid.

Life goes on and on and onnnnn.... Like the stinkin' desert!

Yes this post is by Erin! I think it's been about a year since I actually posted anything, so it really is my turn. I'm having the most lenient semester I have ever had since returning to school almost a year and a half ago. It is definitely nice to have more time to myself but it's also been a little confusing. I find myself wandering around the house wondering what to do next. My classes are Intro to Statistics and Human Sexuality, both of which just don't have that much work. I think it will actually be a huge blessing though, because Mike is under a staggering load this semester trying to study for his big Chemical Engineering exam, the L3. If he doesn't pass, he will be recycled and have to start the program all over again. He'll pass though, I have faith! All of his studying for this test has to be on top of studying for his full-time class load, so everything and anything I can do to lighten his load around the house and with the kids will mean less stress for him all around. We have always been a couple who "shares the load", as stated by Superhero Samwise the Brave. We don't have assigned duties, we just each do what needs to be done. So if I don't feel like doing dishes, Mike usually does it later. Which means that I need to be a little more vigilant than usual so he won't have anything to do. :)

This week has been absolutely insane. My parents decided they needed to take a vacation, which I fully agree. They have been taking care of Grandma and trying to supervise two kids who are seriously struggling emotionally, on top of my dad working overtime at work and my mom watching my kids often so I can study. So obviously, they needed a break. The problem with them just leaving is that the two youngest (who are 22 and 17) have regular episodes of sneaking out and staying up all night on the internet. Yeah, I know it's really deviant behavior. :) But worrisome enough that my parents didn't want to leave them without supervision. So who did they decide to call on but Mike and me. We ended up agreeing to be in Midway every night, with both me and Mike driving separately to Provo each day. Mike so he can go to school and work and study group, and me so I can get to the gym, take Emma to her tumbling class, get Emma to preschool and back, and then trade with Mike so he can take the kids and I can go to school. After all this we drive back up to Midway and make dinner for the family and make sure they are toeing the line before tucking our kids in, listening to one of them scream for an hour before he finally drops off, and then we can do our homework, do some dishes and finally go to bed! There's the in depth version of our week of insanity. As of today we are halfway through it. Praise Allah!

Emma has been loving the fact that she is in preschool again. She has Miss Marie again, and can actually tell me everything she did each day when she gets home. That's a huge improvement from last year. It's nice to see her speech improving and her social skills getting so much better. She is a very sweet little girl. She wants to know everyone's name and what they like to do, if they are happy. She stopped an elderly woman in the grocery store this week and asked her her name. The woman said, "My name is Hilda. What's your name?" Emma goes, "My name is Emma. What do you like to do?" Hilda proceeded to talk with her a little bit, and when they said goodbye, Emma looked and me and said, "I like Hilda, she's so nice." I hope she keeps caring about people and reaching out to everyone around her! She has the potential to touch a lot of lives.

Matthew is really struggling with his sleep time. He doesn't want to go to bed ever. Both naps and nighttime have been very rough. I've thought of giving him a bath each night before bed, like we used to do when we were sleep training him. It might help soothe him before he goes to sleep. We helped him give up his binky about a month ago, and since then things just haven't been the same. He's really at a loss for how to soothe himself. Maybe I just need to change up the ritual. Poor little guy. Other than that, his speech is really starting to clear up. I've been impressed with how fast he's learned to put sentences together. Even so, I may have early intervention come test him just to be sure he's on track. Even if he's a little behind, speech therapy goes a long way. He's very thoughtful with Emma. If he thinks he's hurt her feelings or taken a toy she wants, he is quick to give her a hug and tell her "I love you". It really melts my heart. :)

All my hard work at the gym is finally starting to pay off! I've had to get my metabolism up by doing lots of strength training and cardio exercises, and also by decreasing my calorie intake a little at a time instead of all at once. After two months of work, the scale is starting to move in the right direction. I know it will take time, but that is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. I'm feeling so much more optimistic about my body! Mike has been so supportive, and even though he really hates working out, he comes with me regularly and keeps me company. I love my husband! He's a great man to have around :)

Timp Pictures

At it again!

School started this week for me. I have to say that Sunday night was really hard. After pushing for 5 years to get this degree, it is hard for me to want to push another one. Yes, I know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I know that everyday brings me closer to graduation. It isn't the lack of desire that makes me hesitate. It is the lack of time with my family that I am dreading. The past two weeks have been so nice. I only had to work 4 hours a day and then spent the rest of the time with the family. No stress at all. No homework hanging over my head. Family has become more important to me these last couple weeks. School and work have had a negative impact for our little family. I have distanced myself from my wife and kids because I have always been thinking about what I needed to do and not about them. Erin and I noticed this a little while ago and while we are not heading for divorce or anything, we still decided that we needed some professional help to get the most joy out of our relationship and less of the bad.
Our counselor is great. She knows exactly what is going on and what to do. So first step is to work on our relationship with our father in heaven, Then with Christ. I have heard this before but we just get stuck into such a rut that we forget what is most important. My biggest problem, if you wanted to know, I do to much internal thinking and not enough talking things through and turning to Erin for emotional support. Guys are always supposed to be tough. We can work things out on our own. Well, that isn't always correct. It has actually been very difficult for me to allow Erin to support me emotionally. It's not something I think that I have ever let anyone do. It has been working too!
We hiked Timpanogos on Saturday. We went up the Timpanooke trail and down the Alpine Grove. It is about 13 miles. We tried this hike last year but the weather killed it all. This year we made it all the way to the top. Needless to say that I was not well prepared and killed my legs on the way down. I almost had to be dragged to the car. It was very pretty.
School started for Erin. It is a little different because she has to go to the school to take classes now. No more online work for her. She said that she likes her classes and she is looking for another great year.
Emma will start next week. She will have the same teacher that she did last year. This is great because Emma doesn't have the easiest time with new teachers. I hope that she will grow out of it. She is really funny though. She keeps asking her uncle Steve why he isn't married.
Matthew is almost through the terrible 2's! He is listening more and working more with us instead of just doing things that he knows will bother us.
I like all my classes. They seem to treat you better when your a senior. It's like "Oh your going to make it! Now we will help you through it." My favorite class is nuclear engineering. We had Dr. Jackson from the Nuclear Regulatory committee give a lecture today. He is an amazing man and I love hearing from him. It is funny that his most common phrase was "That is top secrete." I don't think that I have ever heard anyone honestly use that phrase.
Erin and I finished the first two books in the Hunger Games. Erin just got Mocking Jay last night from Amazon. They sure took their time on that one! I love the series though. It is really fun to read.
Work is calling now, so I must see to that. Two more semesters to go! We'll see how it goes.

The Semester is OVER!

YEAH! 2 week break!! I finished my last final yesterday and started into my ever growing "Honey Do" list. It was a good semester.....it will be better once I know if I passed or failed. We will see what happens.

Erin passed again with flying colors. She had two classes this semester, Oceanography and Ethics. She liked the Oceanography, but the ethics was put into the same category as dumpster grime and rotten milk. School has been her life for while now and she only has a couple semesters left before her associates degree. She convinced (aka talked to, aka threatened, aka dragged) me to the gym with her and I got a pass so we could work out together. I have to admit that it is fun. Gold's Gym has a day care for our kids so we can work out together in peace. It's really nice because we get some alone time together while we are on the machines. We are trying to get in shape for the Timpanogos in a couple weeks. I hope to have some pictures to follow.

Matthew has been through a really tough couple of weeks. We have decided that it is time to take the binkie away. The reason we thought this is because we lost the binkie and I refused to buy more. We tried the cold turkey approach and he cried for nights on end. On the 2nd day Erin mom and sister were visiting and didn't know about the no binkie rule. They found it and gave it to him for his nap. We needed another approach. Erin found this "bye bye binkie" thing on the web. It's a program where you deform the binkie over the space of a week to the point where he doesn't want it anymore. We started by poking a ton of holes in it. Matthew didn't mind that so much. After 3 days we nipped a little off of the tip. Matthew put it in his mouth and ripped it out. Needless to say that he was MAD. We put him to bed with it and closed the door. He cried and cried and cried. He opened his door and threw the binkie out and closed his door again. He has spent the last few nights crying for an hour before going to sleep. Last night it was like 30 min. YEAH!

Erin took the kids to the library and got Matthew some potty training movies. Matthew is so excited about it. When he watches the movies he wants to be sitting on his potty with his diaper off. It was really good yesterday because he actually went. It scared him to death! He looked in the potty and there was a little brown log. He was so scared that he pulled it out and handed it to Erin. It took her a couple minutes before she realized what it was and proceeded to sanitize the area and everyone in it. She didn't think it was very funny. I'm still laughing.

Emma is.....well.......bored. Summer for her has been long with not a lot going on. We try to do things together, but even going to the park is getting old. We want to do more with her, but things cost more then starving students can afford. It's good that she has grandma's that are willing to take her. She loves it. We are planning hikes and stuff. It is easier now that we are out of school for a couple weeks. She is making a lot of friends at our new apartment complex. We have a ton of mixed cultures and it is good for her to mingle with them all.

As for me, well, I work. I have been working on the Lego Harry Potter game. That has been fun. Um.....Erin found some good garlic spead at costco that I will use to perfect my rolls....hmm..I don't know what else to say about me. I change my valve cover gasket on my Volkswagen for the first time. That was fun. I guess. I have lost 8 pounds at the gym which puts me at 188. Erin bought me the 2nd and 3rd season of the muppets and I am watching that. Oh...Erin, her brother and I have just finished watching all the Harry Potters. We all agree that the 6th one was the best! Well, I need to go to Midway to fix another three computers. Have a good day!