Sam's Costume and Verbal Skills

I hate spending money on Halloween costumes, so we were originally planning on Sam being a tourist for Halloween. He got this great Hawaiian outfit from Chris' parent's cruise. I thought he could just add a toy camera and some sunglasses and he'd be set.

We recently checked out a cute book from the library called "I Love My Pirate Papa." Sam loves it and calls Chris Pirate Papa, and calls himself a Pirate Boy. So while we were wandering around Toys R Us with Chris' mom, we found a pirate costume and had to get it. So here he is in his Halloween costume.

And in other news, I am sad that Sam is growing up so quickly; his language skills have improved quite a bit in the last little while. Recently he has learned the correct way to say the words motorcycle (which used to be wan-gun-gun) and snuggle (which used to be snuggan). I'm going to miss his little Sam-isms. He is very polite and always says please, thank you, and excuse me, and he says bless you in French every time I sneeze. He can count to ten in French. I wish I could get this all on video, but every time I pull out the camera, he just wants to watch the video. I'll need to do some hidden camera work to document it all.

Fun with the Two Grandmas

We had Chris' mom and grandma come for a quick visit this past week. They got here last Sunday afternoon and left yesterday morning. Sam was a little confused when kept telling him that grandma and grandma were coming. We had little conversations like this:

Us: Sam who's coming? Grandma and...?
Sam: Grandma and Grandpa!
Us: No, they're coming next week. Grandma and...?
Sam: Zoe!
Us: No, Grandma and...?
Sam: Dave!....Lara!

When they got here, he finally got it. He now calls them Grandma and Other-One-Grandma. We had so much fun with them here. We went down to Pike Market Place on Monday. We ate at a restaurant overlooking the water. I guess it's famous because part of Sleepless in Seattle was filmed there. Sam enjoyed the music, two giant dogs that we met, a sculpture of a pig, and the doughnuts. We left a little too late, however, for his patience to last long enough to allow us to go to the Space Needle or to the aquarium. He gets soooo cranky if he doesn't get his nap! That evening we had a really yummy dinner at a local restaurant overlooking Sam's favorite lake (it's where we always go on our picnics and where we feed the ducks).

Tuesday the two grandmas spent the day in the Tacoma area where Other-One Grandma (Grandma Brannock) grew up. They were able to visit with old friends and attend a memorial service for someone they knew.

We had so much fun together. I don't know when we'll see them next--especially his grandma since she lives in Texas. Thanks for the visit! Anyone else looking for a little vacation is welcome anytime!

Vote for Angie!

My friend Angie is in a "baby bump" photo contest for a radio station. If she wins, she gets a dream nursery for their baby boy.


Just go to this link and vote for #59. Be sure to verify your vote through the email they send you to make your vote count. Hurry! Voting ends September 26th!

Another Good Shopping Trip

We're still clipping coupons and looking for good deals, and it's continuing to pay off. Two weeks ago we saved around $100, and if I remember right, I think we spent a little over $100, so that's about $50-60 a week in groceries. Not too shabby.


This week we spent $116.98, we saved 89.83, and bought 78 items which averages out to be about $1.50 per item. We mostly just followed the store ads with a few coupons. I also have done some good deals at Walgreens. Once my coupon collection grows, we'll be a lot better at this!

A Nice Compliment

The other day at work I was helping an old man. He told me I had a beautiful smile. Then he asked me this question: "You love the Lord, don't you. It shows on your face." I used to hear this all the time while I was a missionary, but that was easy because the gospel was my complete life for 18 months. It's just nice to know that my convictions still show in my countenance. Living the gospel does bring a peaceful confidence which can make a visible difference.

Becoming a Savvy Shopper

Living is expensive wherever you live, but it seems to be especially expensive up here. So I decided that I wanted to get serious with using coupons and finding all the great deals. I've found and have been directed to lots of different coupon blogs and sites that alert me to all the good deals, and Chris decided to actually look at the grocery store ads (which we usually just throw away) and match those up with coupons we found online. I'm also trying to get into Walgreens shopping with all their free-after-rebate deals and stuff.

Anyway, so here is a picture of our first serious attempt at being savvy shoppers.We went to three local grocery stores: Albertson's, Safeway, and Fred Meyer. We figured that will all the store cards, sales, and coupons, we saved around $100! We're still new at this, and I hope to get better, but I think it's a good start!

Sam's 2 Year Doctor Visit

Sam finally had his 2 year doctor visit--only two months late. Here are his stats:

Height: 34.37"/35th percentile
Weight: 29 lb. 6.4 oz /62nd percentile
Head Circumference: 50 cm /79th percentile

Chris was the one to take him because I was at work. Sam seemed to like the doctor okay. He kept saying "nice lady, nice lady". I guess she was nice because she didn't give him any shots like we thought he'd get. The one he needed is on back-order, so they'll give us a call when it's available. And when that happens, I'm not sure Sam will think she's a nice lady anymore.

An Evening Out with Our Employees

Last week we went out to dinner with all of our employees and a few old employees for some of their birthdays. I thought I'd add some pictures so you can meet some of the people at the bakery.
This is Jody and July. They are sisters and each have adorable kids.
This is Glen, the previous owner who gave us such a generous deal on the bakery. In the middle is Ruben who is originally from Peru. He's been teaching me a little Spanish, and I've been teaching him a little French. And on the right is Lisa who is July's sister-in-law and who technically doesn't work at Great Harvest anymore, but occasionally fills in when we need extra help.
This is Kaylee with the teeny sombrero on her head. Her last day at the bakery was last Friday. She has moved on to a job that can give her more hours. To the left is Tanya. I took another picture of her, but it turned out fuzzy, so this one will have to do for now. Another old employee, Sara, and her fiance were there too, but they were also included in the fuzzy picture.

Here's Ruben again in his birthday sombrero.

And you should all know who this handsome little boy is. He was stuffing is mouth full of chicken nuggets.

There will soon be a new addition to our Great Harvest family...we just don't know who it is yet. Since Kaylee is leaving us, we have been interviewing a few people. Hopefully we find someone as great as the rest of our employees!

Another Favorite Commercial

This one has been out for a long time. I always tried to explain it to my French students but most of them had never seen it.

Old Home Videos #3

I just like the first part on this one with the big airplane hug! This was a couple Sundays ago when we had a picnic at the park.

Old Home Videos #2

Here is another old favorite back when we lived in the Turpin's house in Bountiful. I love his laugh, and I think it's so funny when he discovers that the camera is taping him.

Old Home Videos #1

This is an old video taken at the Taylor's home last January. Sam is a dancing fool!

Happy Wedding Lara and Dave!

We just got back from a quick trip to Utah over the weekend. Chris' sister Lara got married to Davey-Gravey. The sealing was great, the family BBQ was delicious, and the reception was a lot of fun. They are now honeymooning in Hawaii.
Sam with Uncle Bruce
Lara throwing her bouquet
Lara's friend, who she helped convert in Canada, caught the bouquet.
Monday we went to the Gateway Mall and played in the fountains while Grandma Valerie did some shopping. Sam wasn't too impressed and didn't want to run around with the other kids.

And here is a little bit of video from our trip. Some of the wedding parts aren't very good because it was getting so dark, but I felt like we still needed to document it, so here you go.

Vote for Mary!

Hello all my blogging friends. My cute sister is a finalist in a summer fun photo contest (and currently is in 2nd place out of 400) and she needs your vote. Go here and vote for Mary Elizabeth #15! And if you're interested in a fun giveaway, visit her blog.

Weekend Visit Videos

I forgot to post some video I took from when my family came to visit (most of it was taken at the Future of Flight museum). Enjoy!

Grammar Snob

Thanks John for finding this blog--The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quatation Marks. I love it and it makes me laugh! Though I wonder how some people are able to leave high school without understanding such a basic grammar concept. Come on, people! It's not that hard!

Haircut

Sam finally got a haircut! We thought we should probably do something since his aunt's wedding is next week.

Before

After

We had one of our friends cut Sam and Christopher's hair. They were both pretty shaggy. It was quite the challenge to keep Sam still during his turn.

"Disinfect to Protect"

I'm pretty sure none of my readers are old enough to remember what I'm about to post. Any ladies out there around in 1939 to experience this? I thought it was very interesting.

My Newest Projects

I had heard from a couple people of a computer program that can turn blogs into a book. It's called Blurb and I'm really excited about it. About two years ago I started typing out my mission journal to eventually turn it into a book to keep for posterity. So I began to transcribe it into Microsoft Word, intending to eventually include all my pictures with their appropriate entries. I only got as far as three weeks into my MTC experience. Now that I've discovered Blurb, I am excited again to make my book. I think it will be easier this way. I am transferring my mission journal into a blog (however, it's a private blog for now), and I am including all my pictures so there will be one concise record of my mission. I am so excited for it, however I have a feeling it will take me quite awhile because I wrote pretty frequently on my mission (unlike Chris who doesn't have much of a mission journal--how sad!).

I have also decided to make a new wedding album with this program since our original album's binding is falling apart. It also lets you add stuff from your computer (it doesn't necessarily need to be from a blog) and I'm really excited about this one too. Luckily our wedding photographer gave us all the negatives (really, they're files since it was with a digital camera--does anyone use regular film anymore?).

I think Blurb should pay me for the advertising I have done here!

A Great Weekend

We had my dad, brother, and his four oldest kids come visit over the weekend, and we had so much fun having them. Sam was so happy to have his cousins back to run around with. Sam went without his regular naps so he could play with everyone the couple days they were here, and miraculously he was never very cranky (usually he gets pretty bad if he doesn't get his full amount of beauty rest: 10-12 hours at night and 2-3.5 hours in the afternoon).

Grandpa and Sam at the petting zoo looking at the bunnies.

Sam and a goat.

Meghan and Mr. Bill Boeing

Me and Bill

Laptop party!

As I write this Sam is still asleep. I just hope he doesn't wake up and expect to play some more with his cousins. He will be very disappointed! And Kierstin who has been here all summer will be leaving us in 2 1/2 days and then Sam will be stuck with just Chris and me. I hope he doesn't get bored. Luckily we'll be down to Utah in less than 2 weeks for some more family fun!

Missing my Talk Radio Friends

We're adjusting just fine to our new life up here. I really like the people in our ward, our employees are great, I like our apartment, the weather is beautiful...but I'm missing my talk radio friends. Since junior high I spent most of my mornings listening to Radio From Hell on x96. I loved their random conversations and political talk. I loved their "Things that Must Go" segment and their love psychic Margaret Ruth. I remember when they used to do Space Elders and it was so funny (that was a loooong time ago). I have yet to find a morning radio show up here that I like as much.

And then for my AM friends. Basically everyone from 570KNRS (with the exception of Bob Lonsberry because he has such an annoying whiny voice at times). I'd spend my afternoons with Dr. Laura in the background of whatever I was doing--homework (doing my own or correcting my students), cleaning, and even sleeping. Yeah, I was kind of weird and would turn on the radio even though I knew I'd be asleep in a matter of minutes. There's something about her voice yelling at people making stupid decisions...now that's some kind of lullaby!

After Dr. Laura came Glen Beck. Again, he played in the background while I tried to get dinner ready with Sam climbing up my leg. And then I'd listen to Dave Ramsey during the evenings while I waited for Chris to come home the nights he worked late. Oh how I love listening to him! Every time I hear those "I'm debt free!" screams, it just gets me so excited! One of these days that'll be us calling in!

Luckily for syndicated radio, I have found Dr. Laura and Dave Ramsey up here. However, they have not become part of my daily routine yet because of the times they are on. Theoretically I could continue my regular radio listening schedule since all of these shows stream online, but I feel like I should let go of all things Utahn, and become a true Washingtonian. Oh, and by the way, it is thanks to my dear hubby that I have been converted to AM talk radio...and all things spicy, but that's a post for another day.

Let them eat cake!

Happy Bastille Day everybody!

To celebrate, I had crepes for breakfast!

I made it safely!

Just in case you were wondering, I made it to Dillon, Montana safely for my week of training with the franchise offices. I did the 10 hour drive all by myself, and entertained myself with some books on CD. I only got sleepy once, and so I took a 30 minute nap at a rest stop. I have a little motel room all to myself and will be here till Friday. This is the longest I've been away from Sam. I guess I'm just getting a little taste of what Chris went through this past spring for so long.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Sam turned two years old yesterday. We have been preparing him for this day for the past couple months. We've practicing singing the birthday song, blowing out candles, and answering correctly when someone asks how old he is. Here are a few highlights from his special day.

We first opened presents. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for his books! We've already read them both many many times. Here is video of Sam waking up and opening his presents.



Sam had a special birthday play date at the park with two of his friends. They had fun on the playground, stuffed their faces with cupcakes, and then went to see the animals at the petting zoo.


This was our present to Sam. We got it at this cool used kids' clothing store. You'll see the play area of the store in the video I'm including. The set came with the whole alphabet too, but his room is too small, so we're just using the numbers until he has more space.

We decided to give Sam a birthday tatoo on his arm. Doesn't he look tough?

Fourth of July Camping Trip

About a year and a half ago we got all sorts of fun camping gear from Chris' parents for Christmas. Up until this past week we had used it all only once--in our backyard! So we thought we'd take it all out for a real camping trip...finally.July 3rd we left for Cascade Park for a fun trip with some of our friends from the ward. The first night it was just us and two other families who each had little girls Sam's age. The rest of the group didn't show up until the next afternoon, and we all left the following morning. Total there were five kids more or less Sam's age, seven couples more or less our age, and three teenage siblings who are visiting. We had so much fun! We played games, played Frisbee and baseball, explored, jumped in the cold river (only the three boys after playing a weird combination game of frisbee/soccer/keep-away), played with the kids, etc. Chris took a little nap in the sun and got fried. Friday night we went to a lake to watch fireworks. It was one of the best shows I've seen, mostly because there were like 20 firework shows going at once all across the other side of the lake. We only stayed an hour, but they went for a really long time. Sam really liked them.Sam was mostly a good camper. The only struggle was the first night going to bed. He was up past midnight just screaming. He didn't even want to snuggle in our sleeping bags. That night he only got about six hours of sleep. He took a great nap the following day and went to bed without a fight the second night. When we got home Saturday, he took a five hour nap!

It was a fun trip and I'm glad we got away from work for a bit. I'm also glad we have nice friends to hang out with up here. We've never been in a ward with so many young families in the same stage of life as us.

Here's a short video of our trip.

Secret Phrase

The other day I was working at the bakery, and as always as customers come in I ask how they're doing. As this particular customer came in, his response caught my attention.

me: Hi, how are you doing?
guy: Better than I deserve. How are you doing?
me: Better than I deserve!

If any of you are Dave Ramsey listeners, you understand. I have heard people on his radio show talk about using Dave's saying as a secret code to know who is working on becoming debt free, but never had I been able to use the phrase in any interactions I've ever had until now. I was so excited and immediately asked if he was a listener. He was, and he said that it made his day to meet another listener. He has been debt free for five years besides his mortgage, and his working on being able to pay cash for a $20,000 motorcycle. He encouraged me to do whatever it takes to become debt free. Our main debt is car debt and a bakery. I can't wait to be debt free, and I probably should start reading his book that's sitting on my bookshelf.

He said that when he orders pizza, he has a tip in each pocket: one for $2 and another for $50, and according to how the delivery guy answers the "how are you doing" question is how he decides how much to tip the guy. I answered the right way, but I don't think he saw or was prepared for our tip jar. *sad dance* But at least I made his day. He said that only two other times in his life have people answered using the secret phrase.

Does anyone speak Chinese?

I got this picture from one of my favorite people I met on my mission. She was Chinese going to school in France, and she was baptized the evening before I left the city. She gave me this picture as a way to remember our time and experiences we had together. The only thing is I can't remember what she told me it means. Do any of you understand Chinese who could give me a translation? If not, I'll just email the picture to some of my Chinese friends.

Our Morning Walk

Yesterday Sam and I were invited to go for a walk with two girls from the ward who live across the road in another apartment complex and one of their daughters who is 3 months younger than Sam. They try to go every morning that the sun is actually out. On our way home we made two stops: the first one by some flowers Sam was really excited about, and the second by the bakery to see Daddy Christopher.

My favorite Washington commercial

You have to watch this commercial. Just look how happy the penguin looks!

Finally a sunny day!

The past couple days we've actually had some sun, so yesterday we decided to go enjoy it especially since I had the day off. We got invited to a play-date at the park with three other little kids and their moms. Sam had a great time, and the park was perfect. It was right next to a local lake. Sam's favorite part was probably feeding the ducks. It was nice for me too to get to know some of the other moms in the ward.

Across the lake was another park with a beach and swimming area and a giant playground. We decided to have a picnic there for dinner.