"30 is the sweetest thing"

Its shameful how far behind in my blogging I have gotten! Tis the season though, especially in our house with three birthdays back to back to back and holidays in between! Before yet another one approaches I need to play catch up!

Levi’s birthday was on October 17^th, a Monday, we spent the previous Saturday at a BYU v. Oregon State game in Corvallis Oregon. My in-laws were gracious enough to take the girls for the afternoon so that we could really enjoy the game. Man, we had so much fun! Levi’s brother Isaac and his girlfriend Reiko came with but we were unable to sit together. We first had a fabulous lunch at Levi’s fave Restaurant, Ruby Tuesdays. It was the fullest the Oregon State fans had ever seen the Visitors’ section, that’s right, us Mormons, we’re everywhere ;) We came home a little hoarse; at one point I couldn’t hear the rest of the packed stadium over the cheers of the Cougar fans, BOO YA! And we won, 38-28 to boot! We stayed the night at Nana’s house and went to church and then came home.

 Levi received a few presents; among them were things for starting a geocache, which is a new favorite activity.  The biggest surprise for our recent  30-year-old was the surprise party my friend Shelly and I threw on the following Monday, October 24^th. He had no idea, how awesome is that? I don’t know how that one didn’t slip out by accident. I did save myself but not telling Emma until the last minute, she gets too excited, and all the more chatty ;) He was a good sport and went on my bogus errands after work and was handsomely rewarded with Chocolate galore. 30 has been a pretty sweet thing.

We sure do Love you Levi, you’re a wonderful friend, husband and father. Thanks for letting us celebrate with you! We’re looking forward to the next 30 years!  

Gotta love Cosmo, I mean Levi! 

The good ol' boys in blue! 

With Nana's help the girls made "hand-print" flowers for Levi 

The chocolate party set up, we had cupcakes, fruit to dip, pretzels, Oreo pops... 

are ya hungry yet!?!

I thought I would reward those of you who made it to the blog instead of just the reminder email, with a pretty cute video. Levi and the girls are OBSESSED with this song, its "Everything at Once" by Lenka, its very catchy, and yes, both girls know most of it.  

Kids.....

Our kids are having identity crisis', perhaps its because of our new addition. Charlotte has learned to spell her name, or is it Emma's.... who knows :)

As for the new addition:

Introducing: Jr.

(my substitution until I can produce an heir)

He is a healthy 1996 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 xtcab

The girls have welcomed him well, they have even nicknamed him "cougar truck". They love sitting inside and pushing every button possible. I have had to reset the stereo presests several times now., and yes, the horn does work. I can't wait to do all of the normal stuff one would do with the one who will carry your name through the generations, such as going camping, taking him on a bike ride, playing in the snow. It was a little difficult settling on a name since naturally I could only think of girl names.... But thanks to Arianna there is now a grandchild in the family with a little testosterone.

We love our daddy, oh yes we do!

I figured before the holidays descend, I should get this post out.Sorry its so late, this is not a reflection of my feelings, just the spare time that I've had lately....

I'm very grateful for my sweet husband, I must say, I married very well. He's such a good sport about being SURROUNDED by girls. He told me if we ever had a boy, that he wouldn't know what to do considering all the practice he's had with girls. I still hope he gets a chance to "figure out" what to do, someday.

He's my best friend, he makes me laugh so hard! We get along so well, even when its stressful. He's such a great dad, I readily admit that my girls prefer him by far (every morning that I get Charlotte up, which is 5/7 she begs for him) I'm grateful they adore him, it shows that he's doing an amazing job.

He's a wonderful example of someone devoted to the gospel, he's a worthy priesthood holder and he tries so hard to do what's right, I know he's not perfect, but he's quick to apologize which is a trait I wish I was better at.

I hope you had a happy birthday Levi, your girls sure do love you and we're so happy we have you to hang out with!

The pics below are some random assortment of our favorite ( mostly ) daddy/ daughter moments

Runner-up engagement photo

Halloween 2009

Christmas 2008 ( new york)

Congress Park carousel ( new york 2009)

Spring 2009 ( new york)

Lake Placid Spring 2009 ( on a chair lift at the olympic park)

more Lake Placid, just content to hang out

Halloween 2010 Handy Manny and his tools!

Summer 2010, Charlotte got hurt and had to be comforted by her favorite person :)

Our Birthday Boy

Since we only have one birthday boy in our house we have to do things up BIG. This year I surprised Levi with a weekend getaway to..... "Bah-ston"! Let me just say that I was pretty proud of myself, he had no idea where we were headed. We left Thursday after work, and made the three hour trek. The hotel was a little bit of a disappointment, however, even though we woke up to snow flurries, we braved the near freezing weather and had a fantastic day!
I had a list of things to do and he picked to go first to the New England Aquarium:

Here is the sweet penguin exhibit that greets you when you walk in. we've been watching "Surf's Up!" for the last week so this was a lot of fun to see. The girls vying for a spot next to the bronze statue. We settled the matter by buying two little stuffed-animal penguins:)

Here is a tide pool and some "nanemones" she was a little scared of the water rushing in. We had to keep convincing here there was strong glass in the way.


This was a little creepy in my opinion. you have to look close, in the tank is an octopus (Levi's favorite animal) is was this deathly gray and motionless. maybe it was getting in the Halloween spirit, At this tank, I, was grateful for the glass.


This was a cool part, a huge cylinder in the middle of the aquarium with everything from sea turtles to sand sharks and all kinds of fish. we had a great time with part one of the day.

Part two was a fun interactive children's museum. all kinds of toys from train sets to mini kitchens, as well as water and sand tables. The girls had a blast running amok. a wonderful break from the confines of the stroller and the freezing temps outside.


a rare moment the girls working together.... YAY!


our little spitfire in a Bobcat.



The day was wrapped up by a dinner at 99 with the only family we have out this direction. Levi's cousin Scott, his wife Annelise, and daughter Zalia.
We hope you had a fun day in boston Levi, because we sure had fun treating you! We love you and hope being 28 treats you well!

Cute Pics just for fun

Before I forget I wanted to post a few pictures of the girls. As I alluded to in the previous post, we got pictures taken of Charlotte akin to the ones that were taken of Emma when she was about a month. These along with some Christmas pictures are what I want to show you in hopes of satisfying some insatiable appetites.... you know who you are....

This first one is of Emma (obviously) taken by our sweet friend Lanay, who I can't thank enough. Emma was pretty good while these pictures were taken but this is definitely one of my faves, for more than one reason. I love the sweet little smirk on her face, and nothing is better than a sleeping child, especially to two rookie parents.

This next picture is recent and was taken by wonderful Garth Walker while we vacationed in Oregon over Christmas. I think this is by far a family favorite, everything seems to work in this one. I actually really like the fact that Emma is looking up at the camera, that's her personality, my cute Emma.

These next pictures were taken today as we got home from church. First of all I would like to thank Grandma (my mom) for giving Emma such a beautiful dress that I had to find a bigger one so that the girls could match ( I am excited Emma is wearing the 2T and there is a girls size 4-6 I might have to do it again in a couple years...:) I would also like to thank Nana (Levi's mom) for making Emma such a beautiful coat and beret to match the one I already had. The girls looked adorable the last two Sundays, and what's the fun in having two girls if you can't dress them alike? Also thanks again to Aunt Karen and her kids for picking the dress up and hand delivering it, your check is in the mail.

I love these pictures because this is so my girls, Emma being gooky (goofy) and Charlotte trying to reign her back in (notice her hand on Emma's collar) This last picture made me realize how much my cute little family has grown. Emma is no longer a baby but a very smart little girl. And my sweet Charlotte is going on 4 months!

I want to thank my handsome husband for putting up with all this estrogen. You sure can't tell by his face the drama that we girls can be. You've aged well babe. He's a fantastic father and husband and us girls just adore him..

Thanks Levi, we love you!

Well I hope this satisfies the picture need, and I am sure there will be another drama/comedy story to share in no time.... until then.

Ode to an engineer

Well I woke up this morning, exhausted like every morning recently, and wasn't able to do anything special for Levi before he went to work. Sleepily I told him to take the car, so that we didn't have to wake the girls up. But that means that I don't have the car all day and I can't get anything done for Levi's birthday, I am regretting not getting the car. So my sweet husband quietly got ready for work, helped me get Charlotte up so she could eat, and set our trash out so that it won't take over our garage in the next week. Its now almost nine a.m. and both girls are up and I'm a little more coherent. I am still regretting not having the car. Charlotte is in the swing upset with me, Emma is eating some cereal sans milk, and I am trying to pull together this post about the wonderful husband that I have. Charlotte is screaming, I'll have to come back ....

Well its now about 10:30 and I got Charlotte what she wanted and I grabbed a big mug of hot chocolate to keep myself awake… where was I ? Okay before another thing requires my attention….

I just wanted to say Happy Birthday to the great father of my kids and my wonderful Husband, Levi. I really appreciate all that you do. You take care of the girls and me so well. I am grateful for the sacrifices you have and continue to make to help our little family to run. It’s been great to share in your birthdays. From the incredible time we had on our first official date to the Fall Ball back at BYU-H, to realizing when we were pregnant, to now having two kids, being out of school and by ourselves in upstate NY. I wouldn’t want it to be any other way… I hope that you’ve enjoyed your birthdays as much as I have.

Happy Birthday Levi, I love you and can’t wait to share in many more birthdays …

The Thesis is Done!!

It's 3 a.m. and I just printed off the final draft of my thesis! I have been writing 16+ hrs a day for 2 weeks now. I have pulled all nighters the last 2 nights, ironically the first 2 nights of the semester (I hope this isn't an indication of things to come). I didn't think anything in engineering could be as mentally, emotionally and physically taxing as working on the formula race car project of my senior year, but this thesis is giving it a run for its money.

I don't think I read the fine print when I signed up for a master's degree, but I am realizing the hoops I have to jump through to complete my degree and be ready to move my family across the country in less than a month!

Finally the end is in sight. I know a lot of you have been wondering what the "secret" project is that I have been working on. Well, your chance to find out has come (just be prepared to sign your life away on a non-disclosure agreement). I will be defending my thesis on Wednesday Sept. 17 at 2 p.m. If you have been intrigued, or simply need a really good afternoon nap stop by the mechanical engineering conference room (435 CTB). Hopefully I will be able to recover from writing this thing, to be awake enough to defend.

Obsessed

Well the STP has come and gone. In the weeks prior to the race, I always hoped but wasn't quite sure if Levi would be able to put in the time and effort to be able to finish it. We had a good time seeing his family and being there as the boys and their dad got ready for the debut of Haupt Cycling. Levi was quickly swept up in the momentum of his dad and brothers as they all spent time prior to the race fine tuning and cleaning each bicycle. The race went well and I was super proud of his efforts. However I didn't know it would turn him into a seriously obsessed cyclist!

Case in point: When we went house hunting in upstate New York he was trying to find the best cycle route from home to work. The most direct route is filled with exhausting rolling hills which made him wonder if he had taken the right job, just because of the 30 minute commute! I mean please what's worse, hills or a California commute of 3 hours daily. Why I oughta....

The obsession continued and increased as we came home. He has done some renovations on his bicycle since the race such as a fresh paint job and a new computer that he found for really cheap. He loves to tinker with it and its a good stress reliever so I am being supportive. He has a few friends that he has been able to ride with which has been good, obviously the exercise for anyone is a plus and its good to see him do something for himself. Now his birthday and Christmas wish lists include a selection of bike gadgets. I really could handle all of this, the early morning rides where we are both up at 5 am, washing his bike shorts and 3 bike socks, (for some reason I can only find three at a time, he had two full pairs at one time)

I thought his momentum would die down with our return to real life and his thesis, boy, was I wrong. He struck out on his own this past weekend and rode the Snowbird ( ski- resort) Hill Climb without any of his cycling buddies.

I've gotta hand it to him though, he has done a pretty good job at picking an obsession, I guess things could be worse. I also think its kinda funny that he has morphed into his dad, I had always thought he looked like his mom's side, I guess its the cycling.

The one thing about all this that I can't handle is the fact that he has turned my sweet little Emma into a performance food junkie. All that I can get this kid to eat is Clif bars, and she loves to drink his Vitamin water or Powerade. The Powerade is just wrong since that's what I tried to stay hydrated with when pregnant with her and threw it up so many times that its now on the "Cannot Consume" ListAll I have to say is, "Watch out Levi, your time will come..." I am dead set on finding an obsession in New York that will land him at home with two kids, especially since it will be winter and a little chilly to go cycling...... ::cackling evilly::

The STP

I can offically report that I survived the STP! Emma was more interested in my gloves afterwards than seeing me, maybe because I smelled.
It was alot of fun riding with my family. My dad was especially excited. It took us a little over 16 hours to ride the 202 miles, and are now off to the Oregon beach to recover. Its a good thing too, cuz I really need it.

France, Home

The final days of my trip were a little weird, we saw a lot but had a lot of down time. We stayed north of Paris for 2 days, mostly for strategy to get to the airport without the fear of nightmare traffic (it was truly a nightmare when we arrived in Paris). The town was nice a quaint and a lot slower pace the Paris. While there we were able to see a few Chateaus, wow. My favorite was Chateau Peirrefonds.The medieval Chateau Peirrefonds

My favorite Chateau we saw (not that we saw tons, but this one is cool).

Stained Glass in the cathedral.

I really enjoyed the cathedral in the castle. I think I liked it the most because it was practical yet had the gothic flare. Either way cathedrals here have been amazing.


Since we had a lot of free time in a small town I went and got my hair cut. The two other students I was with went bold with the Eurohawk (i.e. the European mowhawk), I on the other hand am very partial to the tribal cut.

The Tribal

We saw it nearly in every country. Luckily I was talked off of the edge, and got a "normale".

The trip home was long, I tried to get back on Mtn standard time and was up for over 24 hrs. Today I am trying to recover, and get the house in order for Torrie to arrive tomorrow. It has been an amazing trip, but man is it good to be home.

Paris

Don't get me wrong Paris has been amazing, but my first impression (and probably most lasting impression) of Paris is much different. Simply put Paris smells like poo. There are a ton of dogs and pigeons. Both of which leave little treasures all over the city. Everywhere we went it smelled.

Case in point: I bought this awesome watch today. I had found it on a previous trip in Switzerland, but felt it was a little pricey to buy, so I held off. Since then I have not been able to find it in the states, today however I found it at the Louvre Museum! I went ahead and gave myself a great graduation gift, and not ten minutes after buying we were walking in the gardens of the Louvre I was crapped on by a pigeon! On the hand and new watch none the less! To this end my advice to you if you ever go to Paris is bring nose plugs or an umbrella and golashes for the poo!

Now to the cool stuff. Since we only had two days here we have really condensed our site seeing. Which I thought made it kinda cool. We sae Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower at night. The Lourve Mueum at night

Notre Dame at Night

A top of the Eiffel Tower

The Louvre Pyramid

The Effiel Tower at night

Napoleon’s Egyptian Obelisk

I have a ton more great photos, but you are going to have to ask to see them later~ its after 1 am and I am exhausted.

Metz and Luxembourgh

Well the last few days have gone by really quickly, mostly because we have been moving around a lot. Over the weekend we were in Metz France. This is the site of the largest battle of WWI. The significance of the war came to life when we visited the battle field and the hills were still rippled because of the artillery shells.

Today was the company visit that I have been anticipating most, we traveled outside of Metz to the town of Cattenom on the Luxembourgh/French/German border. We were able to visit the nuclear power plant Cattenom. It was way cool.

A view from the road of the plant.

This was a huge site, and really cool to see.

After visiting this site I am really excited to go work in NY. I have gained a new appreciation and understanding for nuclear design.

After the nuclear power plant we went to Luxembourgh, where we are staying the night. From the little that I have seen this is a way cool place. I really wish we had more time, but tomorrow we are headed to Paris.

If I hadn't have seen the power plant this morning I would have regretted turning down Goodyear, which may have sent us to Luxembourgh. Phew.

P.s. If anyone has heard from Torrie let her know we would all love to know how her trip went. Apparently I am not convincing enough on my own to get her to blog ;)