RunningBeans

Fort Vancouver in the rain.

2011-01-15T14:31:00.001-08:00

October

2010-10-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

I'm too lazy to spend the time to write something for each picture so here's some quick info on the following pics. My parents came out in October for a weekend visit and it was so nice! Thanks again for coming. We only had a 2 1/2 days so we packed in as many activities as we could. We went miniature golfing, batting cages, and go-cart riding all at Trafalga (we went twice), we visited Cornbelly's pumpkin-fest (which has really grown and is actually a lot of fun to spend a couple of hours at), we hiked the "Y", we went on a bike ride up the canyon and played at a park, we went for a walk to another park close by, we ate at a lot of yummy places and finally we stopped at Gateway for a quick shopping trip before my parents had to catch their flight back to California.
There are a few random pictures not from when my parents were here, such as the pumpkin patch and playing in the rain. Fall in Utah is nice and we took full advantage of it (I guess we still are).

Tetons trip

2010-10-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

In August, Andrew and I took a quick trip to Grand Teton National Park. It was a late anniversary trip and the first time we left Simon for a few days. It was so much fun to get to explore, hike, bike, swim and just relax kid-free for 3 days. It rained half the time we were there, but it was still fun and the rain really didn't stop us from doing everything we could. A big thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for watching Simon. I think Simon wanted to stay at their house forever.

Running Update

2010-10-31T20:17:00.000-07:00

This summer consisted of running my first marathon in June (the Utah Valley Marathon). A week later Andrew and I ran the Ragnar Wasatch Back (still one of my favorite races). After that we took a short break for the rest of the summer and then come September we ran Utah's first mud run....The Dirty Dash. We have ran the mud run in Camp Pendelton (California) and were so excited that Utah finally got a mud run. We ran the afternoon race, which was smaller than the morning race that sold out quickly. Andrew took 5th overall and I took 1st for all women! I was so excited because although I have won first in my age group before, this is the first time I've won first overall! Whoohoo! Andrew's brother and his family came to watch and the mud was a big hit with all the boys!

This past weekend, Andrew and I ran the Halloween Half marathon with some friends. My friend has all the pictures so I'll have to post those later when I get them. It was such a fun race tho and the perfect addition to Halloween weekend.

Summer update #2

2010-10-31T20:09:00.000-07:00

We spent 10 days at my parents house in July. It was great because my entire family was there. We has a great time swimming in their pool, at the beach, at the OC zoo, eating out, shopping, playing with friends and just enjoying being all together.

Simon and my mom on the carousel at the OC zoo.

Top right is Simon seeing monkeys at the zoo. Others: Simon driving a jeep at the zoo, helping with my surfboard (next summer he's going to be the one on the board) and his new (well new to him) toy given to him by my parents neighbor.

Snack time at seven peaks (I told you these pictures were out of order.....but I can't complain, Andrew was nice enough to post them for me...I can never figure out how to make them big)

Plane ride at Traflaga

Fourth of July! We went to the Mona Ponds with Jessica (sorry Jess dunno why there's not pic of you). It's an awesome lil place that I wish I new about sooner. We need to go back.

Surfing in California. Aww how I miss you waves.

Andrew shot a wedding in Idaho over the summer and Simon and I tagged along. It was a friend of his sister, so we hung out at their place all weekend. It was fun for Simon to play, yet again, with his many cousins. This kid is so lucky to have so many cousins (and many so close to his age).

I still have three more blog posts to finish and post (not including Halloween), but its getting late so I'll have to finish tomorrow (and hopefully tomorrow is really Monday and not next week).

Pictures Finally! Misc. Summer

2010-10-31T19:48:00.001-07:00

So if its wasn't for my sister constantly telling me I needed to update my blog, I'm honestly not sure when I would have. So thanks Jen I needed a little push. I tried to put pictures in order the best I could, but its not perfect. So here's my attempt to update the past 4 months in the next few posts.

We love going up to the cabin in Timberlakes (above Midway, UT). We went there for Labor Day weekend this year and had so much fun. Simon of course loved that his cousins were there and that he got to be outside all day long. I loved that he was entertained all weekend. It's always nice to just relax, spend time with family and play games all night.

His cousin Jenner was so excited to share his hot dog with Simon. These two are super cute together and are becoming best friends already.

We have a great grass area behind our place with a river that runs through it and its a great place to explore on Sundays.

Jules came to visit us in August and we went out to Duchesne to visit some of Andrew's friends and their families. We went to the demolition derby and I think Jules's was shocked (I'll leave it at that). It was great seeing you Johnny and Becky!

Simon LOVES the shopping carts that have the cars attached to them.

This summer consisted of many bike rides up the canyon. Its been great living so close to the Provo River trail and the Provo Canyon. I'm already missing the warm weather, but the cold won't stop our bike rides just yet.

Simon's first train ride at Trafalga. He's happy if you can't tell. We have annual passes and we need to go back. Its indoors, so perfect for this winter.

Bike ride again up the Provo Canyon. There's so many great parks up there to explore.

Simon and I spent our summer at Seven Peaks water park, our friends community pool or local splash pads. I don't have a waterproof camera so I really don't have any pictures of the majority of our summer. This was taken with Andrew's cell phone at the end of summer at the Spanish Fork splash pad. Andrew and Simon meet up with his sister and her boy Jenner and they had a blast.

His favorite spot to play on outside our place.

First time Simon was sick and actually wanted to cuddle and watch a movie all day. I got nothing done, but it was super cute just sitting on the couch all day with my little man.

After living with Andrew's brother-in-law and his family for a few months, we decided Simon needed to do some chores around their house as a way to say thank you.

What kid doesn't love to drive?

Simon Walking

2010-08-14T09:52:00.001-07:00

Pay no attention to the words of encouragement behind the camra, you could actually turn your sound off and still enjoy.

Simon and Karis tug O war

2010-07-17T21:45:00.001-07:00

Simon's First Birthday - Lots of Photos

2010-06-28T21:56:00.000-07:00

Simon's Birthday was today and we celebrated in a park in Provo Canyon with a lot of family. He loved his cupcakes.

Simon Learning to eat with a spoon.

2010-06-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

Quick video of Sion Learning to eat with a spoon.

Simon's early B-Day

2010-06-08T08:35:00.001-07:00

So I haven't blogged in a while and so much has happened. It seems that when I have a ton to blog about, I'm too busy to blog and know it'll take a while and when I don't have much to blog about I don't blog cause well I don't have much to blog about! Anyways, the past month or so Simon and I have been doing a little bit of traveling. First my sister Jessica graduated from college...whoohoo. My parents and sister came up for the weekend and it was nice to all get together. Simon and I flew home with my parents and sister and stayed with them for 2 weeks (one of those weeks my parents were off on their own vacation). It was fun hanging out with Jules and seeing all my friends that I miss so much in California. I'll have to post pictures from our fun times at the pool, beach, stables, parks and of course Disneyland. After our very fun sun-filled days we came back to Utah only to leave again shortly after for St. Louis. Andrew went to Modesto, CA to help his sister shoot a wedding and so last minute (meaning I had 2 hours to get to the airport last minute, mind you I was in the middle of a run too) I decided to take my parents up on their offer to head to my sisters house for the weekend. We had tons of fun in St. Louis and again I'll have to post those pictures too (pool, farm, tons of good food,etc.). Right when we got back from St. Louis (noticing a trend) my sister had surgery so my mom came to Utah to stay with her (so of course Andrew, Simon and I headed to Provo to stay with them). It was fun to have my mom and sister to hang out with all day and we did a lot of swimming and shopping. My sister and mom were even nice enough to watch Simon while Andrew and I meet up with some of his siblings for dinner Saturday night (I say nice enough cause Simon has been sick and let's just say my sister decided she doesn't want to have kids after watching simon....sad). So now I'd like to think I have time to blog but actually I have a marathon on Saturday and both Andrew and I are running the Wasatch Back next weekend (and I'm not ready logistically for either, tons of planning left to do). So I'm sure no one appreciated my overly long ramble of my schedule but that's what we've been up to. Summer is just a busy time and I could go on and on with what we've got planned for the rest of the summer but I'll spare you (except to say simon's b-day is in less than 3 weeks!)

Which, brings me to the explanation os the pictures below. Simon's b-day is soon and since my mom was in town she gave Simon's present to him early so she could watch him open it. He was really grouchy that morning (still sick) and it was hot in the apartment, so please excuse the lack of shorts on my kid. He loved all the presents and crawls all over the house with the school bus. Thanks again mom (and dad!).

*Disclaimer: my kid isn't dirty, those are just bruises all over his head and face (yes my kids gets about 4 new bruises a day, I swear I'm a good mom, that head just has a mind of its own).

Hiking and S'mores

2010-04-13T12:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went hiking for the first time this year. Its suppose to be spring, but Utah hasn't caught on to that yet. We took Simon out for a quick hike (if you can even call it that....after finding hives all over Simon's body and calling by brother-in-law to find out what I could give him, we didn't have much time before diner). So we headed out our front door and walked straight up towards the state park that is right in our backyard (well its not our house, but you know the one we are living in at the moment). It was fun to just get outside and Simon love it. I'm excited for lots of hiking and camping trips this summer (seeing how we did none of that last summer).

After dinner, we made s'mores on the campfire that my brother-in-law and his sons built in their yard. We also played soccer while waiting for the s'mores to cook and it was so much fun to get out and play. I'm sad that we don't have the ocean close by, but you can't beat hiking straight from your house and a yard big enough to play a good game of soccer in (okay maybe it was the neighbors side yard....but with no fences, its all the same)!

Bowling

2010-04-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

Went bowling for family night this past Monday with Andrew's brother and family and some of his wife's family who were in town for Easter/Conference weekend. I have never been to a more old-school (aka. small town) bowling alley in my life. Its awesome! I guess we are just lucky that there is even a bowling alley in town.

Oh and the reason Simon has on a blue shirt in one picture and not in the others is because in typical Simon fashion, he threw-up all over himself, me, and the bowling alley. Also, Simon is not screaming because he's upset, he screams when he gets excited (which happen a lot).

Easter 2010

2010-04-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

We had an indoor easter egg hunt cause, lucky us, it has snowed A TON the night before and was still slightly snowing all day long. Felt like Christmas not Easter. Its so much fun to live close to so much family and for Simon to be near a lot of his cousins. I grew up close to some of my cousins and I want the same for Simon. Simon's cousin, Jenner, was nice enough to share all the eggs he found with Simon. Simon was interested mostly in all the people around and in playing with the eggs.

The next day we watched conference and had a great Easter dinner with family (no pics). It was a great weekend even if it was a "White Easter". Sadly I don't have any pictures of Simon with his Easter basket (or at least not on this computer, might have a cell phone pic), but he did get an awesome basket from the Easter Bunny.

New Giveaway at Branchwhipped

2010-04-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

___Click Branchwhipped banner at right___ →
A few giveaways a week. Soon to be daily.

Simon laughing and dancing.

2010-04-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

Laughing at a balloons and dancing to music.

Family Photos

2010-03-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

We took some family photos Sunday. I wish we had coordinated more, but the goal was to just get a shot where we were all in the picture and clean :). I'm not nearly as good as Andrew at editing photos, but I'm having fun pretending. Here are two pictures that I edited very quickly. I'll have to play around with a few more and post them later.

Pure Bliss

2010-03-21T20:46:00.001-07:00

New Photos of Simon. March 18th

2010-03-19T08:11:00.000-07:00

Simon is growing and learning so fast.

Website with free outdoor gear giveaways.

2010-03-17T16:16:00.000-07:00

Thought anyone would be interested in free giveaways. Its a site that gives away and reviews outdoor gear, should be a hit. Click on the "Branchwhipped" banner on the right column, or in this post below to check it out.

For those who have requested the banner to place on your blog/site, the code is below. Anyone else is free to post it too.

Animated:

Non-Animated:

This is for you Gramma!

2010-02-25T09:48:00.001-08:00

I was talking to my gramma on the phone today and she reprimanded me for not updating my blog more. So here's a quick post just for you gramma!

Simon and I went to California again (I'll post those pictures when I get them uploaded to my computer). My sister Jennifer and her two girls were coming to town so Simon and I (and my sister Jess) all decided to hop on a plane and see them. We had a blast. Although, most of the time all three kids were sick with ear infections, pneumonia and bronchitis. We were able to get out of the house as much as we would have liked (no beach...sad) but it was still so much fun to see my family. I miss them all! Simon has become quite the expert flyer. He's so great on the plane....only problem is he doesn't like to sleep cause there's too much going on around him and he has to look at everything and everyone.

We've been living with Andrew's brother and his family out in Midway while we look for a house. Last Sunday we visited the resort Zermatt and they had these awesome ice castles. Its was freezing tho and Simon's poor legs kept getting exposed cause he was trying to jump out of my arms to touch EVERYTHING; so after 15 minutes he had enough. Next time I'll do a better job at bundling him up.

So here's to you gramma! Hope you enjoy and I promise I'll post more pictures tonight when I can find them.

Its been a while

2010-01-18T08:17:00.001-08:00

I already said I was bad at blogging and taking pictures, and this post proves it. We went to California for 3 weeks (Andrew was there for a week and a half) and I don't have many pictures to show for it. Not even one family Christmas photo with all 3 of us...sad I know! California was awesome and I loved it...so warm! I already miss all my family and friends that live down there, so I'm going back this weekend :). Actually, my sister and her two kids are coming to visit, so I just had to go back down and see them. I haven't seen them since July!

We had an awesome Christmas and missed Jen and her family terribly! My parents moved back to their old neighborhood (actually back on the same street). So right after New Year's we backed up the whole house and moved within a week. It was crazy! Luckily, Simon was a pretty good boy and dealt with all the change fairly well. I think he was loving the warm weather too!

Here are some pictures in no real order

My Parents were nice enough to not only babysit one night, but give us their tickets to the Ducks hockey game (thanks again mom and dad!). It was nice to have a date night.

I miss taking walks along the beach. It was so nice to spend so much time outside. The last week was there, it was almost summer weather. Loved it!

Grandpa found Simon's ticklish spots.

My Christmas pictures are all out of order, and it takes too much time to fix it, so oh well. My sister Jess (well my whole family helped) made these awesome blocks for Simon. Look closely at the colors and details on them...they're great. Thanks Jess!

Simon and Andrew waiting to go downstairs on Christmas morning...and yes we still go down youngest to oldest.

My sister took this pictures while she was babysitting Simon one night so that the rest of us could go see Avatar in 3-D. It was such a good movie and so nice to go see a movie in a theater for a change. Simon is getting so good at sitting.

Andrew having fun with his new flash he got for Christmas.

Christmas morning....Santa brought Simon that train in his stocking...along with A LOT of other awesome gifts. Thanks everyone...Simon got spoiled.

Jules on Christmas morning. And yes, we are all wearing matching "ugly" christmas pajamas.

The whole family...minus Andrew whose taking the picture. (We missed you Jen, Josh, Kambria and Karis).

My grandparents came to visit on Saturday before they left for Hawaii. My other grandparents came on Christmas day as well as my aunt and I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of them :(. My favorite part of going home to CA is getting to see all my friends and family. Oh and I got to visit with all my girlfriends and I have no pictures to show for it. Sorry guys! We need to be better at taking pictures. I have such wonderful friends and I miss them so much.

We went down to the beach often. I don't think there's a better way to spend the day then at the beach with your family and friends.

Grandma and Simon.

My entire family is obsessed with dried mangos from Trader Joe's....Simon is no exception. The kids loves those things and will suck on one until it almost disappears.

Swinging with grandma at the beach.

That's all I have for now. Now I really should be packing not blogging. Yes we are moving AGAIN! Our lease is up on our apt and we didn't want to resign for a whole year again. We would like to get into our own place soon...so we're going to live with family for a couple months while we look. I can't wait until we get settled into a place and aren't moving every year.

Christmas Carrots

2010-01-15T15:57:00.001-08:00

Starting to eat real food... if you can call this real. He loves it mostly. So far the only thing, out of everything we've ever fed him, he has not immediately liked was green beans. I tried them and they are pretty nasty.

Santa!

2009-12-17T18:42:00.001-08:00

Had to get a picture this year, cause next year Simon may not find Santa so fascinating. Simon was just starring at Santa for the longest time until Andrew and I were finally able to get his attention and snap a photo.

Surgery Day!

2009-12-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

Simon had his hernia surgery today. We left our place this morning at 5 am and headed to the hospital. Despite being waken WAY earlier than when Simon normally wakes up, he stayed awake for most of the 45 minute drive to the hospital. I was expecting him to be very cranky (his last formula bottle was at 6:30pm and he only got to have diluted apple juice at 4:30am), but he was all smiles and loving all the new people that were poking and prodding him. At 7:30 he was taken away and the surgery was pretty quick, we got to see him again around 9. It was funny and sad to see him come out of anesthesia. He was having a hard time waking up and it was so sad. He was really sleepy. Now we are home and Simon is doing really well. He hasn't been too cranky and has slept a good portion of the day....hope that continues into the night. Below is a picture of Simon in the pre-op room in his awesome hospital gown/pajamas that they gave him to wear.

Funny Eyes

2009-11-29T20:07:00.000-08:00

I took this!

2009-11-29T19:35:00.000-08:00

I'm slowly learning and getting better at taking pictures. I was proud of myself for getting Simon's eyes so sharp, so I had to share.

Lazy Sunday

2009-11-29T17:04:00.001-08:00

Free Vintage Christmas Cards

2009-11-21T09:10:00.000-08:00

Click the link to the right for free downloadable vintage christmas cards. Use them for your Christmas cards this year or for decorations.

HALLOWEEN!!!

2009-11-01T15:48:00.000-08:00

We spent Halloween at Andrew's brother's house out in Midway. We got there Friday night and had fun playing with scary "goggles" and "flying ninjas".

(Excuse the headband, I had just gotten back from running w/ my sister-in-law Rachael). Saturday morning we carved pumpkins. The best part of carving pumpkins, is getting to eat pumpkin seeds! Afterward, the boys put their costumes on and we hit up the local Halloween carnival. Later that night we had yummy tortilla soup and cornbread, then hit up the ward trunk-or-treat.

So I need to explain myself. Our nephews LOVE star wars. A few months ago Andrew came across the above Darth Vader mask at D.I.. He bought it for them to play with. Since we were going trick our treating with all the boys, Andrew thought it would be appropriate to dress up as Star Wars characters. Our two youngest nephews ended up dressing in their Jedi gear to match! It was perfect! Simon's first Halloween was a success! Thanks John and Rachael for having us!

Target Photo Shoot

2009-10-30T13:19:00.001-07:00

Gotta love free stuff! I took Simon today to get some free photos taken. It was nap time so he wasn't too smiley, but the girl was able to get some good belly laughs out of him at one point.

4 Months!

2009-10-30T06:40:00.000-07:00

Simon has his 4 month appointment yesterday! Stats....

Height: 23.75" (10th percentile) Weight: 14lbs. 6oz. (48th percentile)

Head: 43.75cm (87th percentile)

Looks like he still carries most of his weight in his head! He is starting to get some good chub though and I love it! Simon's a happy healthy boy who loves to smile at anyone who will give him attention. He actually only cried for a second after getting his shots and then was smiling at the nurse. There was some bad news though, Simon has a hernia and has to have surgery soon to remove it. We meet with the surgeon on Tuesday and then the surgery will be scheduled. Has anyone had this happen to their lil boy? If so, how did the surgery and recovery go? I guess its fairly common. I'll post some pictures soon....hopefully some good Halloween ones!

Pool!

2009-10-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

We took Simon in the pool for the first time tonight. He wouldn't smile for us, but he wasn't upset either, so hopefully he liked it. Simon and I will be returning there A LOT this winter. I wish I could have captured his expression when he gets water in his face, its hilarious! I'll try next time when I bring our water camera.

Thanks Steph for the cute trunks!

This is for you Dad!

After Church

2009-10-25T19:26:00.001-07:00

The bottom middle is my favorite!

Gardner Village & Photoshop

2009-10-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from our trip to Gardner Village last week. I've been wanting to learn Photoshop for a while now, but I have no idea where to start (I guess I could get Andrew to teach me). I just played around with it for a few minutes and this is what I came up with. I can't wait to get good at it. (I was actually trying to finish up a few sewing projects this morning, but my machine is giving me trouble and I don' know how/what to fix...I need Beth! This is why I get so frustrated when sewing and never finish anything).

This is my really good friend Tiff. We have known each other since we were 3 years old. Her lil girl Aspen is one year older than Simon (Simon was actually due one day before her birthday). Its fun now that our kids are going to know each other since birth. She's due with another baby in April...I'm hoping it a boy for Simon to play with!

October

2009-10-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

This month has been busy and I'm so glad (I like being busy, for the most part). I need Andrew to teach me how to change our RAW formatted pictures from our SLR camera into JPEG form so I can post some pictures from this month.

A week ago all of Andrew's family was in town for his dad's wedding reception. Its so much fun when all his siblings and all our nieces and nephews get together. That same weekend we had a "sister's week" (just 2 and a half days) up at the cabin in Heber and I got to spend my first night without Simon! It was a lil sad, but mostly really nice. I didn't take any pictures, so I'll have to get them from my sister-in-laws.

I just recently got called to be the primary music chorister in my ward....yeah I can't sing! We have our yearly program in a few weeks so I'm busy getting up to speed on that.

With Halloween around the corner we've been trying to do all the "festive" activities that are around here. We went to a place in West Jordan called Gardner Village. Its basically a lil village of cute craft type shops and in October they decorate it for Halloween. I thought there would be a great pumpkin patch there, but there wasn't, so that is still on my list of things to do before the end of the month.

We've been trying to take advantage of the good weather lately, cause you never know how long its going to last. Last weekend we went up past Vivian Park (in Provo Canyon) and had a picnic with my brother-in-law and his family. They have four boys who are all so cute and funny to be around. They love Simon and can't wait until he's big enough to run around with them (I can't wait too).

Here's a photo of my sister Julianne and Simon. We are lucky enough to get to hang out with her every Sunday. We'll miss you while you are in California!

Simon's blessing was last month and I'm just now uploading the photos to our computer (we did not take enough). We did use your blanket grandma! Thanks!

Andrew's photography skills!

2009-09-30T10:09:00.000-07:00

3 Months!

2009-09-29T16:35:00.001-07:00

I can't believe Simon's already 3 months old. These past 3 months have been...well...exciting, busy, tiring, fun (and sometimes boring), a HUGE adjustment, hard, rewarding and the best 3 months of my life. Last night Simon slept from 8am until 5:30 (and after he ate he went back to sleep until 7)! I'm finally starting to not feel so tired anymore and not so anxious about everything. All in all, life is great and I'm looking forward to an eventful October filled with a fun sister's weekend, Andrew's dad's wedding reception, Halloween (and all the parties that are included) and all the new milestones that'll come for Simon. Signature look

Simon can roll over from stomach to back (making tummy time hard). He smiles all the time and loves it when you make him smile. He loves to just lay on his back and look around (he'd rather lay down than be held, unless he's tired). He's also really into looking at himself in the mirror. He enjoys any chance he can get to be outside (yet falls asleep everytime we go for a run, but not when we go for walks). It's no suprise that he's a big chatterbox too! I just LOVE my lil boy!

Funny man.

2009-09-24T21:15:00.000-07:00

New Stroller!

2009-09-24T17:17:00.000-07:00

My life just got simpler! Simon does not like his car seat, but loves to go on walks (if he can look around). Now that he can ride in his big kid stroller I don't have to hold him or carry him in the baby bjorn when we go on walks. Also, this stroller is so light and small making quick trips to the grocery store that much easier. Can't wait to go more places with my big boy! (now if we could just use the jogging stroller without the car seat, almost!)

Baby aerobics!

2009-09-24T17:05:00.000-07:00

This is Simon every morning when he wakes up (and the majority of the time when he's laying on the floor).

I knew when I was pregnant that he was one active boy

(sorry the video is kinda long and may be boring to watch the whole thing)

Go Cougars!

2009-09-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

Ready for the game.

More phone pics

2009-09-16T17:03:00.001-07:00

I really need to upload all the pictures off our real camera (like pics from Simon's blessing last Sunday), but until then here are a few more camera phone pics.

He is obsessed with his tongue.

If you notice his arms and legs are blurry. This kid never stops moving...ever.

Every morning Simon and I go running. He usually stares at me weird before eventually falling asleep. He LOVES to be outside tho. If he's ever fussy, I walk outside with him and he's instantly calm. He will try and look at everything, regardless if the sun get into his eyes.

HAHA! So a friend in my ward brought over this costume yesterday. Her son wore it last year and she didn't want it to go to waste. I tried it on Simon today just for fun and almost died laughing. I hope it still fits in a month and a half (it fits perfectly right now, so I dunno).

Phone Pictures

2009-08-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

I'm really bad at getting out the camera to take pictures so its a good thing my camera takes half decent shots (at least when Simon isn't moving, then they are a bit blurry). Here are some pictures I've taken over the last month (not nearly as great as the ones Andrew gets with our nice camera, I need to start using it more).

With Aunt Jessica

The first time Simon smiled at me (not just because he was sleeping or had gas)!

At nama's (my mom) house. She could always get Simon to smile.

At the beach! This wasn't Simon's first time, but it was the first time he actually enjoyed being there. Next year he's going to love it and I can't wait!

2 Months

2009-08-31T19:56:00.001-07:00

Height: 21.5 inches (5th percentile...he needs to grow!)

Weight: 10lbs 8oz. (25th percentile, he went up from 12th)

Head: 40.5cm (70th percentile....we have a bobble-head baby)

We have had an eventful summer with a few trips thrown in. I will have to post pictures soon (but they are all on Andrew's computer and he usually has it with him all day). We just got back from spending a week and a half in California and it was a blast. It was great having my parents help with Simon and oh so nice to get outdoors (we've been stuck inside most of the summer because Utah is just too hot for Simon). Every time I go home to California I realize how much I miss it. It was great to see family and all our friends. Simon got to enjoy some great play dates at the pool and beach (although he slept most of the time). I hope we move back one day!

Simon is getting bigger.

2009-08-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

He is growing fast, should be 10 lbs. in no time.

Happy Birthday Jamie !

2009-08-10T11:18:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday babe. Simon is the best gift, (even if he came over a month ago). I tried to convince you to get married on your birthday but you weren't a fan of that idea, (two birds with one stone in my mind) our 4 year anniversary will be Thursday. Hard to believe we've been married that long, and I've know you for over 5 years. Happy birthday, I hope you have a great day. Below is the giant slip & slide from a recent family reunion. The thing went down a huge hill and was at least 75 yards long.

Simon Smiling

2009-07-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

Caught a quick video of Simon smiling today. Its not high quality filmed with a cell phone. Cute nonetheless.

Shirtless Simon

2009-07-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

Such a cute boy. The 2nd photo is exactly what he looks like to us, so hard to catch it in a photo.

2 Week Appt.

2009-07-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

Simon had his 2 week appointment today. He weighs 7 lbs 2 oz and is 19 inches long.
Weight 12%, Height 5%, Head 30% (he's got a big head!)

Life with Simon

2009-07-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

I know all anyone cares to see is pictures (especially for all our family and friends that lives far away), but I thought I'd give an update of the past two weeks. Its been crazy! I'm just starting to feel like I'm waking up from a fog. The past two weeks have been a blur. Simon is the greatest blessing in our life, but has completely turned our lives upside down. Andrew and I have been so lucky to have my parents here to help us out since Simon was born (especially my mom!). My mom has been great and has cooked dinner for us, cleaned our apt, done laundry, watched Simon in the middle of the night and basically has taken care of our every need. She leaves Sunday night and although I know I can handle things without her (cause she has taught me well), I don't want to.

We have had fun and have ran some errands, gone out for lunch and visited with family over the past two weeks. Its nice having so much of Andrew's family close by (our apartment can get small after being cooped up day after day). Its been really hot so we haven't been able to spend as much time outside as I would've liked. Simon is great in the car so taking drives in the middle of the hot day has been a great way to get out.

Life has been hard but worth it. Simon seems to think its a good idea to have his "fussy period" during the hours of 11pm and 3am (although last night it started a little earlier and only lasted until 1!). He also got thrush at only a few days old and he's been fighting it ever since; hopefully it clears up soon.

Overall though we've been lazily adjusting to our new life. Thanks to all those who have stopped by and called to check in. I promise many more updates and pictures to come. Maybe now I'll finally start blogging more than a few times a year. Hopefully.

Nap Time

2009-07-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

Awake and Asleep

2009-07-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

Here is Simon, awake and asleep. If only he was asleep longer at NIGHT.

Baby Jamie

2009-07-01T09:58:00.001-07:00

See any similarities?

Simon Day Two

2009-06-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

Some more shots of our little man. He changes by the day.

Simon Christian Spencer

2009-06-29T07:02:00.001-07:00

More updates and a longer post to come, but here's something to hold you over!!!

Green Day, Franz Ferdinand and Kaiser Chiefs

2009-06-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

Driving home from work the other day I called into 101.9 The End and won concert tickets to the following:

Franz and Kaiser Chiefs should be cool to see. Green Day? Only if they don't talk between songs.

In other news, our baby is turned the right way, down right? we thought he had been relaxing sideways like he was in a hammock the whole time. Measuring a little small, but Jamie and I don't carry large genes so no big deal Dr. Says. I'm still hoping for a 4th of July Birthday - Free birthday fireworks for life.

Lake to Lake 50 mile relay_W/ Pregnant Jamie

2009-03-10T13:34:00.001-07:00

Here is a shot of the group that went to St. George for the Lake to Lake 50 mile relay. 5 runners, our team name was 5 and a Half.
The ladies in the background seem to be checking out the pregnant girl that beat them, ha ha

Vader Attack.

2009-03-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

Scored a Darth Vader helmet the other day, and decided to test it out on my nephews. They are crazy Star Wars fan boys. My brother told them to come look to see we if we had arrived at their house yet and they were caught a little off guard. It was hilarious.

I wasn't the prettiest baby!

2009-02-17T22:10:00.001-08:00

I really hope my baby doesn't look like me!

(yes that is me as a baby and my parents tried flattening my hair, it didn't work)

Its a boy!

2009-02-17T11:12:00.000-08:00

So for those who don't even know I'm pregnant yet, yes I'm pregnant! I'll be 20 weeks on Thursday. We just found out this morning that we are going to be having a boy! I've always wanted a boy first and I was very nervous to found out what we were having. As you can see in the second picture, there's no denying its a boy. Other than that, all is well. We are trying to get through the cold winter (now that we are in Utah) and we are looking forward to summer. I'm trying to get use to the fact that my stomach is growing and I have no control over it (other things are growing as well....not sure how I feel about that, why do your thighs have to get bigger?). Pregnancy overall has been good to me so I don't have many complaints. I can still run, so as long as I can still do that I'm happy. I'll have to post some "belly" shots soon as I'm starting to show. It'll be nice to get out of that "is she pregnant or just fat" stage. Anyways, that's all for now, so here are the pics!

(The pics wouldn't post below my writings so they are posted above)

Utah

2008-11-25T18:02:00.001-08:00

Finally I'm back!

2008-11-16T15:13:00.000-08:00

Its been way to long since I've posted. Andrew and I moved to Utah in October and we are just starting to feel a lil bit settled in and relaxed. Andrew took a job in South Jordan selling medical insurance so that's what took us out of California and to Highland, UT. We are currently just renting a basement apartment in Highland and hope to not be here to long (in the basement apartment I mean, UT I wish, but it'll probably be home for at least a few years, if not longer). We are enjoying it here, but definitely miss all our friends and family back home, the nice weather and of course the beach. I'm currently studying for the GRE and to get my fitness instructor license. I'm also thinking about substitute teaching while I'm studying (we'll see how that goes). We are loving living so close to family, even tho we left a lot of family in California. We are really close to two of Andrew's brothers and plenty of other family so its been great!

That's all I have for now. Hopefully the mountains will continue to get snow, cause I'm dying to hit the slopes (its one thing I'm stoked about living where we do....great snowboarding).

Hopefully I can start blogging on a regular basis, I've never been good at it. I'm not very good at journal writing either, oh well!

I tried to post some pictures, but my internet is not letting me...I'll try again tomorrow.

Surfs Up.

2008-10-06T19:27:00.000-07:00

Took some shots of us surfing. This is the best thing to do for date night.

Caught some more dinner. The big one Benjamin is holding is his FIRST fish ever at age 6. You can see Christian in the distance, not too thrilled about touching any fish.

Monsters

2008-09-20T19:30:00.000-07:00

Fishing with John, caught some big fish, had a tasty dinner.

Viva Mexico

2008-09-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

Went to Mexico in August, great times. Was hard to come home and not have bath warm water everywhere to swim in.

Yosemite & Rafting the American River

2008-07-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

So the end of our central coast loop and family reunion ended in camping at Yosemite, (my first time there, Jamie went before when she was tiny) and then, Jared, my brother-in-law, took us rafting on the American River. One night we hiked Half Dome in the evening to see the sun set and missed it, but the hike back was fun in the full moon. People left leather gloves at the bottom of Half Dome to use when climbing the cables, that was great for our hands. The one shot below you can see my brother-in-law, Jamie and I in front of Half Dome at night with a 13 second shutter speed, there was plenty of moon light, it was just hard to stay still for 13 seconds. Some of the highlights: (most of them pictured below)
Climbing Half Dome
Swimming in the freezing rivers and waterfalls, the days were hot
Chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast
Seeing a small bear (might as well have been a big squirrel)
Amazing views
Hanging out with family

Can you tell who needs a hair cut above? It was windy on Sentinel Dome.

We then rafted the southern leg of the American River with another brother-in-law. We were so stoked that he took us, especially with my sister being pregnant and due in 5 days. (Sierra Jeppson was born on the 24th of July) Jamie had been wanting to go rafting for months, she was probably the most excited. The rafting photos are not of us, but they show two rapids we went through called Satan's Cesspool and Bouncing Rock. The boat behind us got flipped on one of the rapids, and the boat in front of us lost a passenger on the other rapid. Great times. Would love to do it again.

Cayucos 2 / Monterey Aquarium

2008-07-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some more shots at Cayucos and our visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We cruised up the central coast again and this time the bull elephant seals where there.

Cayucos / Central Coast

2008-07-14T16:52:00.000-07:00

So we have headed north through Morrow Bay, Cayucos (and were lucky to stay at Jamie's Grandparents house) and will soon be hitting Big Sur and Monterey, here are some shots of the day, many more to come from my brother-in-law's kite boarding session. Maybe we'll see some more zebras passing Hearst Castle.

4th of July Race Revisited.

2008-07-09T19:07:00.000-07:00

So here are some shots of the race, notice how Jamie is in front of all the dudes. And I don't know what my hands do when I run. One photo looks like I'm dancing to "Stay'n Alive" with my thumbs up. Anyway the race was fun and I look like I was dog tired in these photos although I didn't think the race was that bad.

4th of July Race & Upcoming Sprint Tri

2008-07-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

Jamie and I ran the Laguna Niguel YMCA 10K on the 4th. It was a great race, fun and scenic. It was the first time I have ran a strictly running race for almost three years, but that race 3 years ago I got a BAD side ache and walked most the race. The latest race I ran without a side ache was the Rex E Lee 5K my freshman year at BYU almost 9 years ago. It was good to know that I can now run faster/better than when I was in high school cross country 10 years ago. Jamie took first in her age group, she is an animal and wasn't very far behind me, considering her legs are much shorter than mine. Coming up in August I'm going to be doing the Sprint Triathlon at Camp Pendleton again, if anyone is interested in doing it with me let me know, Jamie is going to be out of town. They expect the Tri to sell out soon.

Wasatch Back 08'

2008-06-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

Jamie ran the Wasatch Back this year with our sister-in-law and her team. The race is almost 200 miles long from Logan, down to Heber, than back up to Park City. Here are a few shots from the race. There were 12 members on her team, two vans, all runners took turns running, so it was a giant relay. She has more info about it than I, so ask her if you have any questions. She said she had a ton of fun, wish I could have done it. I got to sit in the sun for 6 hours at an exchange booth volunteering, (it wasn't that bad, check out the view of Mt. Timp that we had below, not too shabby) but our trip to Utah was a blast, always is, I mean I got to eat at the Italian Place. Took some cool shots of Rock Canyon I'll post later. More info about the Wasatch Back race can be found here: Wasatch Back
Our blog is "The Runningbeans" but it only appears to be Jamie that is running all the races. I'm trying to talk myself into the sprint triathlon again at Camp Pendleton in a few weeks, that should be fun. Also on the 4th of July we are running a community 10K, so chalk one up for me, Jamie doesn't have a monopoly on all the races yet. I can still run faster that her.....for now.

Mud Run 08'

2008-06-14T23:06:00.000-07:00

Last year Jamie cleaned house at the Mud Run and took first in her age group running as an individual. This year she ran with a group of friends as a team and here are some of the shots. I played photographer this year and ran around taking photos. Another group we went up with, "Team Speedo," you'll see why in the photos, took first in the team category overall.

Brasilian Limeade - aka: Best Summer Drink Ever

2008-05-28T13:03:00.001-07:00

Tastes like Brasil. This stuff is so delicious. I saw a bunch of limes and instantly thought of Brasil and the time I worked at Rodizio in Provo. This drink is so creamy and easy to make, and brings back a lot of memories of Belo Horizonte. I can drink a gallon of the stuff. Here is the link to the recipe: Brasilian Limeade. After reading the short recipe, yes you put the limes in the blender with the peel, and when serving make sure you serve in a cup full of ice, it makes it so cold, and use a straw, its hard tipping back a cup full of ice. I can't get enough of this stuff. It tastes almost as good as coconut milk straight from the green coconut that has been chilled. Jamie isn't a believer in this drink, but it was the number one ordered drink at Rodizio. (okay really #2, #1 was water, Provo residents are cheap)

Wear Sunscreen!

2008-05-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

I'm mostly posting these pictures because I'm sick of looking at myself in spandex, but also to share a lesson that I had to learn the hard way (although I still have a hard time remembering sunscreen). Yesterday I had to have a chunk of tissue removed from my side. It was not fun! About a month ago my dermatologist found "pre-cancerous" cells (don't worry I don't have skin cancer) when I had a mole removed and so he said they had to remove more tissue as a precaution. Which basically transaltes to me as a nice scar. (warning: if you are easily grossed out, do not look at the following pictures)

The skin looks weird around the stitches because that's where the band aid was.

So lesson learned...wear sunscreen! (Sorry I know its a very gross picture)

Tri Pics

2008-05-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

As much as I don't love seeing myself in spandex, here are a few pictures from the triathlon.

Here's two of Andrew on his bike.

*Next race the Wasatch Back Relay Race June 20-21st. If anyone wants to train for a triathlon, let me know, I can't wait to do another one.

Baby Mack has arrived!

2008-05-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

My cute sister-in-law Allyson and her husband Jon welcomed their first baby yesterday afternoon...baby Jenner James Mack. I don't want to steal her great news so if you want to see pictures and find out more info., here's her blog....I'm sure she'll be posting pictures soon.

Allyson has always been such an amazing sister-in-law to me, actually more like a sister and great friend (she once picked me up from my apt., drove me to the dr. and sat with me for over an hour when I was sick and Andrew was in class). I met Andrew only months after she started dating her now husband, so it was fun hanging out when we were all dating (and married). It's nice to have someone that's going through the same stages in life as I am right now (we got married just 6 months apart and she's only 9 months younger than me). So what I'm trying to say is I'm so excited for them and wish I was there to hold the lil boy.

St. George Triathlon, Jamie wins 1ST !!!

2008-05-13T12:37:00.000-07:00

(I know thats not jamie running, we are waiting for pics) So we did it. It was a ton of fun, and a ton of work. Jamie took 1st place in her age division, Congratulations Jamie. (More bragging for my wife, she also took first in her division in the mud run last year) The wind and waves on the lake were so bad they canceled the swim halfway through, too bad I was already out there. The water was difficult to swim in. When you came up for air you sucked up water from that waves and white caps. Not easy. AND, the swim was against the wind and waves, it was like swimming upstream in a river. It got so bad they were pulling people out of the water left and right with the boats and canoes, hence the cancelation of the swim. There was one swimmer that saved two other swimmers by holding them up until a boat got there, at different times not two at once. Then the bike portion was straight into the wind as well. Flat road and you are using a super low gear, that was crazy, and the drifting sand banks, that was exciting and tasty with the grit it threw in your mouth. The run was all on dirt trails, some people said that it was a little sandy, I'd say it was a lot sandy. Not as bad as running on dry sand on the beach, but almost at times. Overall it was awesome and I think Jamie is going to make me do more, but I can take it.

Our weekend was great, we got there Thursday and stayed until Sunday, The weather in St. George was great, and it was good to eat at Bajio and Pizza Factory. Great to see my brothers, Lionel, Henry and John. Lionel competed in the triathlon then went and hiked the narrows at Zions afterwards, he had more energy than I did. There is some great scenery around St. George, but I was only able to take shots one day so we headed to the temple.

Happy Birthday Jules!

2008-05-06T08:58:00.001-07:00

Today is my youngest sister's 15th birthday! Julianne I love you and I'm so glad I get to see you everyday. I love living so close to you (just two rooms down :) ). You are so much fun to be around and Andrew and I love that we get to spend so much time with you. Happy Birthday!!

Funny video clip from my sister's wedding

2008-05-05T14:05:00.001-07:00

So I have procrastinated for two years the editing of the video that I shot at my sister's wedding. It was over an hour and a half. I did most of the editing a few months ago, and was putting the finishing touches on last week when something went wrong and my countless hours, yes I in fact mean countless, of editing were lost, so I unfortunately will be sending them the raw footage with no edits. With a 20 gig file that is easier said than done. Anyway I posted a funny clip I found while editing, not surprising once you watch it, and if you have ever seen the Manti Temple.

Triathlon Time

2008-04-30T22:44:00.001-07:00

So Jamie and I are doing the St. George Triathlon May 10th, just over a week away, and we are nervous and excited. We did our first sprint triathlon at Camp Pendleton last year and had fun so we decided to do a longer distance one this year. This involves a lot of training compared to last time when I made it to the pool once and ran a little and called it good. This time is much different, mile long swims and 35 mile bike rides to train. Friends from here are competing along with a brother from Utah, two other brothers are coming to hang out and cheer us on, it should be tons of fun.

Things I've learned from training for this triathlon:
1. My wife is competitive and it feels like I'm already racing her each time we swim.
2. I've learned to swim, that is a huge accomplishment on my part, not well but I've learned.
3. Padding sewn into bike shorts can never be too thick.
4. Bike shorts cost way too much.
5. Bike shorts are way too ugly.
5. Bike maintenance is very important. I learned the hard way from a tire blow out and a few rolls on asphalt at 20 mph. I should have taken pictures of the damage.

6. A thin layer of polyester is no match for asphalt.
7. Amazing how you worry about how many people see you crash versus worrying about bodily harm.
8. Water drains from my nose for hours after swimming, is that normal? (thats more of an observation)
9. Pizza is never a good meal before a long swim.
10. New shoes feel so much newer if your old ones were nearing their third birthday.
11. Guzzling propel during a long ride always makes me want to puke.
12. You can buy a carbon fiber seat post for $130....?!?! $130 for 12 inches of PIPE!
13. Polarized sunglasses are nice.
14. The farther your mouth is opened while riding, the further the bugs make it down your throat.

At least this time I'll be on a real bike (pictured above) my favorite christmas present from my in-laws. This is a ride coming back from my Laguna Beach route. PCH has some great views for biking. I hope training at sea level doesn't kill us.

For better or for worse.

2008-04-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

In the past week I've been told that I look like the following three gentleman, I'd like to take that as a compliment-just because they are famous, but my ego was quickly trimmed down to size when a family friend and his wife told me I looked like the third guy and immediately Jamie started laughing. So do you know who they are? Name all three to win.

What I've been up to this week!

2008-04-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

I've been in at my sister's house visiting since Tuesday and I'm loving it! We've shopped a ton, eaten PLENTY, played rock band, went shooting (it's the Midwest), watched movies and basically just have hung out everyday. I'm here until Thursday and I'll be sad when the time comes for me to leave (although it will be nice to be back in warmer weather). Above are two of my favorite pictures (bummer the top one isn't in focus tho). I'll post more pictures of my trip when I get home.

Do Not Feed The Animals

2008-04-10T11:19:00.000-07:00

A Collage of recently snapped animals. Wish I could get a shot of the owl outside my window at night, or the roadrunners I see around here on occasion.

Canon Photo Stitch is a cinch.

2008-04-10T10:01:00.000-07:00

I've taken multiple panoramic shots before and stitched them manually in photoshop, sometimes its easy, other times it is a long process. I finally decided to get out my Canon Photo Stitch software and give it a try. As you can see the results of 7 photos I took while at the top of the St. Louis arch turned out pretty good. I still did some color matching afterwards in photoshop, but it was much faster than me doing it manually. (I couldn't get a correct curve on in the sky doing it manually) If you look close "I" can find imperfections cause I know where to look, but overall its something I will be using again.

Which one is more white trash?

2008-04-08T10:50:00.000-07:00

My sister has finally sent the super nasty shots of my beard. Vote for the worst. I got a hair cut that day and went shopping in Rocklin with the mustache on the right, it was awesome to see how people looked at me. I looked like a fool.

Here is another shot my sister took of us while I looked like a mountain man. It could be a wedding announcement photo, even though that was three years ago. These are the only shots, other than our wedding, that we could say were taken by someone that knew what they were doing, I guess that statement is debatable for our wedding photographer though.

My NPs!

2008-03-31T16:10:00.000-07:00

Meet Joey, Tracy, (me), Christina, Debbie and Amy. We've been friends since high school. Now 4 of us are married, two engaged, and one has a beautiful lil girl. We still have just as much fun together now as we did back in high school. Last Saturday we had a girl's night and it was a great night! Thanks Tracy for getting us all together. (We missed you Britt and Camille...next time!). Since I moved away to Utah for college, I missed seeing these girls often and its so nice to come back home and have everyone (except sadly Joey) live within a few hours of each other. Hopefully when we are 60 we will all still be getting together for girl's nights.

Easter Weekend in Central CA

2008-03-24T13:47:00.001-07:00

Here are some shots we took with our new camera while in Cayucos, CA this weekend. My grandparents have a house up there and so we went up with my parents and sister Julianne; my grandparents meet us up there as well. It was a fun weekend! On Friday we drove up the coast to Big Sur. It was the most scenic drive I've ever been on. We stopped at a few old, small towns. We hiked through the redwoods and also walked along many semi-secluded beaches. Saturday we explored San Luis Obispo and other neighboring towns and beaches. I went running on the beach every morning (which is hard to do down here because the beaches aren't as flat and the sand isn't as hard) and also biked along the coast. There are such great bike routes all over up there. I can't wait to go again. Too bag its a 5 hour drive (with no traffic) or I'd be up there more often.

Nikon D80

2008-03-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

It arrived! Our new camera came yesterday and I couldn't be happier. We've been talking about getting a nice digital SLR for over a year now and I can't believe we actually took the plunge. I wish I could stay home all day today and play around with it. There's so much to learn. I have a 35mm SLR camera and I love having so much control over how the picture turns out. Too bad film cameras are almost extinct. This weekend we are going to Cayucos and I was hoping that it would come before we left. The only problem is Andrew is just as excited as I am about our new purchase so it's going to be hard to share. Look forward to some awesome shots from our trip (hopefully)!

Oh and Jen...when I come out I want to take some fun shots of Kambria. Hope you don't mind me using her as my model all week.

Universal Studios

2008-03-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Jessica Price, Andrew and I went to Universal Studios for free on Saturday! We had a lot of fun, thanks Jess! I hadn't been there since I was little and Andrew had never been so it was fun to finally go check it out. It was a perfect day, as we never waited longer than 10 minutes for a ride/attraction. The best part of the day was when we auditioned to be on the park's version of fear factor. About 15-20 people showed up to the casting call that was held in the park and they picked 6 of us to be in the show (the show was just for the park, not filmed for tv). Andrew's friend was in the audience and took pictures, so I'll elaborate more when she sends those pictures our way. All I can say is there was a variety of stunts, a nasty smoothie, a shocking machine and a good football style tackle (where I was the one tackled). In the end, Andrew was the "champion" and couldn't be happier that he can now say he beat me at something! It was a great day!

Better beard shots

2008-03-17T21:29:00.001-07:00

Just for viewing pleasure I had to put up a shot in my full beard glory, before the shave and hair cut. It was for Savior of the World and I think I did a convincing job looking like an apostle. Still to come the most nasty shots when I shaved it into a handle bar...my sister is mailing those pics tomorrow, can't wait.

Happy Birthday Andrew!

2008-03-10T10:39:00.001-07:00

Happy 27th Birthday babe! Love you!

Ice bath & hot chocolate

2008-02-25T10:05:00.000-08:00

This is my sister Jessica. She posted this picture on our family site and I thought it was hilarious and worth sharing. She's training for a marathon and decided to take an ice bath after a long run to reduce the inflammation in her legs. But what kills me in this photo is how she's wearing a sweatshirt, beanie, and drinking hot chocolate. You're awesome Jess and good luck with the rest of your training!

V-Day!

2008-02-14T14:51:00.000-08:00

Last Valentine's day I got to know the inside of our toilet real well and today Andrew is home sick with the flu. He's miserable and its so sad (& kinda cute at the same time). So I guess Valentine's day is just not our thing. Oh well; my mom and I will still make a yummy dinner and dessert tonight for everyone. Then, Andrew & I will likely spend the rest of the evening watching movies (a very G-rated Valentine's day I know). But to tell you the truth, Valentine's day has never been a big deal to me. I'm perfectly happy spending it at home w/ my family...its my favorite place to be. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Ring Lost, yet found.

2008-02-14T12:26:00.000-08:00

My inaugural post on this blog will explain an incident from last year. Three days from now will mark the one year anniversary of losing Jamie's wedding ring. Here is the story I wrote about it at the time, a little peek into the not so distant, yet still painful to think about, past.

Feb. 17th 2007
Jamie and I were surfing on Saturday when she noticed her wedding ring was still on her finger. I should have just told her to keep it there but insisted that she hand it to me and I would put it in a safer key pouch on my wet suit. In the middle of the floating transaction we fumbled and lost both the ring and our car key in about chest deep water during a low low tide. I couldn’t believe that I was that stupid to have Jamie had me the ring in the ocean while we were both on surf boards. We couldn’t even get to cell phones to call her parents to bring down goggles to search the very murky water, as they were locked in our car. When the ring dropped I stood up and tried to stay in one place to mark the location, while Jamie ran around the beach asking everyone for a phone to use to call her parents.

An hour or so later there were four of us with masks on, diving around the area looking for the ring. No luck. The water was only chest high, but very murky and the waves seemed to be working against us as they crashed unceasingly over our heads.

Monday, Jamie and I returned with a rented under water metal detector (Only with the internet can you find such things) and me with scuba gear to try and find the ring. A few hits on the metal detector, but again it was low tide, murky water with maybe two inches of visibility and no sun. We were discouraged as we thought that even if it hadn’t been washed to Tijuana by now, with these conditions it would be impossible to find.

This afternoon Jamie’s dad, Kevin, and I suited up with scuba gear once again. This time it was at high tide, with sunshine and almost no waves. We paddled out for about 100 yards to where we had aligned the search area days before using a few palm trees and buildings as an X and Y axis. There was a surface current that we were fighting but after dropping below the surface and reaching the bottom 10-12 feet below we could avoid being drifted around. The visibility was about five feet today. After getting to the bottom and turning on the metal detector I got a hit in less than 10 seconds and wondered if it was too good to be true. I proceeded to wave the detector around in other places a little to make sure it was working and that I wasn't picking up any interference from rocks with trace iron content. The metal detector made no other sounds at all in the other areas. So I then waved it back to the first tested area, and sure enough I got a hit again, right in same area Jamie and I had a hit a few days before. I waved at Kevin and he dug a little with a sifting tool and it uncovered something shiny. I grabbed it and it was her ring. I was shocked, it was found in less than two minutes of going under. (Had I tested looked for it on the first hit, it would have taken us 20 seconds) Kevin later said that he thought it was the ring of someone else, that he was in disbelief that it was Jamie’s and that we found it so fast. I was so happy, but underwater you can only express emotion with weird hand signals. Kevin motioned to go up. I motioned to look around a bit for the lost key. We looked and found it within inches of the ring. Amazing. We paddled back in totally excited, making jokes and pushing each other over in the waves. Well the telling jokes part is true.

A park ranger that talked to us before we went in came over and asked if we had any luck, he wondered why we were only under for a few minutes. I showed him the ring and he couldn’t believe we found it, expressing how foolish he thought we were being at first.

Jamie’s face when she saw it again was exactly opposite of what it was when we lost it. She was as amazed as us. Talk about answered prayers.

Just a few pics for your viewing pleasure!

2008-02-12T15:37:00.000-08:00

While looking through my Christmas pictures I come upon this beauty!

After Andrew grew out a beard for Savior of the World, he decided to take some progression shots as he shaved it off. Here are two of my favorites.

And the end result....

Much better!

A few of weekends ago Andrew and I went on a long bike ride all around San Clemente. The weather was perfect! Great way to spend a Saturday morning.

I think I'm a pretty good photographer. Maybe its just that I have a good subject to work with!

Finally!

2008-02-08T08:20:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a while because I've had the flu. Just the past few days I've started feeling normal again. So now I can finally get out of the house and do something exciting and hopefully have something to post about.

I need help!

2008-01-23T11:07:00.000-08:00

I need help! My blog needs a makeover, and as much as I've tried figuring it out myself, its just not working. Will someone please help me give my blog a face lift?! I would love to put a use a different background and also customize my header.

What Happens in Vegas!

2008-01-23T10:17:00.001-08:00

Last weekend Andrew and I headed to Vegas to meet up with Andrew's best friend Johnny and his cute wife Becky as well as Johnny's brother Sid and his wife Jenna. We had so much fun hanging out with all of them. We stayed in the Hilton near the strip and had a blast. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Beth is amazing!

2008-01-02T11:15:00.000-08:00

Sorry its been a while since my last post. Once I get my pictures from Christmas off my camera, I promise to post them. But for now I want to show you what an amazing photographer my sister-in-law Beth is. I'm not posting this picture to showcase Andrew & I, but to show you how amazing Beth is. When Andrew & I went up to Modesto a few days before Christmas we talked my sister-in-law into taking some pictures. With only an hour to spare, she took some amazing shots. I now want to get a nice digital SLR even more than before. Here's my favorite picture that Beth took of Andrew and I. (And yes I did steal this picture off Beth's blog...thanks Beth).