The Reynolds Tribe

The Most Mundane of Places

2012-01-25T14:39:00.000-07:00

This is my gorgeous life:

As Ryan puts it, he makes all the money, and I get to spend all the money. I'm pretty sure that every husband to a stay-at-home wife in the known universe has said that phrase, so no points for creativity, dear. However, it is true that I spend a ridiculous amount of money on groceries, so I will throw Ryan a bone (that I bought! at the grocery store!) and give him credit for taking my purchases in stride.

Ryan does have a full-time career now, thankfully, but for the first three years of our marriage we really didn't have any extra money. We've always had enough for our needs, but we tried really hard not to spend money on things that weren't necessities. Food, however, is an area that I have a really hard time limiting myself in. There is something about a full pantry and refrigerator that speaks comfort and security to me. As the cart got heavier and heavier this morning at Smith's, I felt happier and happier, even though pushing the thing was starting to strain my weak pregnant muscles (to say nothing of the difficulty of navigating the accursed "car cart" through the store). As the cute old man bagger (my favorite- I aways get in his line) packed up my groceries, we were both astonished that I went through all my reusable bags and had to use 2 plastic bags as well! I can practically hear Ryan grinding his teeth as I write this.

The other wonderful part about grocery shopping is taking my son along for the ride. As soon as we pull into the parking lot, Sam starts chanting "Car cart! Car cart!" and looking out the window for the blue one. Which is never there. We always use the green one, which he happily accepts, but if the BLUE ONE was ever available, he would probably have a cataplectic episode. First stop is produce, where Sam points out apples and bananas. Next, we pass the bakery on our way to the dry goods. I like to cruise slowly by the bakery in search of potential Cake Wrecks, but Sam genuinely loves the garish colors of frosting and plastic jetsam that adorn the cakes. He scrambles out of the car cart and insists that I hold him up to look at the birthday cakes. Seriously, that's the best part of my whole day. The grocery store by our old apartment used to give out cookies to the little kids that looked at the birthday cakes, but so far no dice at this store. Luckily, I'm the only one that remembers the free cookies of yesteryear (okay, last year).

I used to write my grocery list on a piece of paper and cross each item off with a pen, but that led to fights between me and Sam's grubby little fists. Tired of having him rip my list week after week, I finally got an app for my iPod that allows me to manage my list electronically, and subtly, as Sam doesn't seem to notice me using it. Today I saw a guy cruising the aisles, staring at his iPod, while shopping. We gave each other the "what's up" nod, because we knew we had passed another tech-savvy shopper. Oh, yeah. Sam got a stern talking-to for grabbing two boxes of Jello (which he somehow knew were strawberry-flavored) off the shelf while Mommy was examining Craisins. Thankfully, he kept his thieving little hands to himself after that.

The people who work at this store are generally very friendly, and as Sam was in a good mood today, lots of people talked to him and told me how cute he is. You don't need to tell me, people. I know my kid is the most adorable thing on the planet. But I appreciate it all the same.

To sum up: Going to the grocery store is pretty much my favorite time of the week.

Family Day

2012-01-22T12:00:00.000-07:00

With Ryan working two jobs, it's hard to find a lot of time to spend together as a family. Ryan had a rare day off last week for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so we took advantage of it. We took Sam down to the Church History Museum, where they are currently featuring an exhibit called A Book of Mormon Fiesta- A Latin-American Celebration. It's interactive for kids, and has stations about Latin American culture as well as Book of Mormon stories.

Dressed up to learn about Latin dancing

Building Nephi's boat

Every time we walk on the west side of Temple Square (where the museum is located), Ryan and I can smell doughnuts. Sam claimed he could smell them, too, but he tends to answer "yes" to every question that's not "Are you ready for bed?", so he is not exactly reliable. Anyway... We've never been able to figure out where the doughnut smell is coming from. There are no obvious candidates close by. We asked the people working at the museum if they knew, and none of them even acknowledged a doughnut smell! Granted, they are all in their eighties... Regardless, we couldn't handle the temptation of the doughnut smell, so we extended family fun time with a stop by Banbury Cross to eat doughnuts!

Even if it wasn't responsible for the doughnut smell downtown, it was pretty good.

Big Boy Bed

2012-01-22T00:07:00.000-07:00

If I had to identify a particular strength of Sammy's, I would say that he does really well with transitions. When he turned 2, we took his binkie away, and he didn't even fuss about it. Last month we potty trained him, and he was very excited to wear the big boy underwear and use his sticker chart. This week we converted Sam's crib into a big boy bed.

He loves his big boy bed. We taped the "bog boy bed rules" to his wall, and he loves saying them every night. That doesn't mean he always follows them- after a week, he only has 2 stickers on his "staying in bed" chart. He does a good job of not leaving his room, but his toys are too tempting to keep his hands off. And for some reason, in the morning, he still calls out to me when he is ready to get up instead of just getting out of bed himself.

We hope his love of new experiences makes it easier for him to adjust to having a brother!

Snowman a was there Once

2012-01-07T13:56:00.001-07:00

A policeman took the picture for us.

After admiring our morning's work, we decided to try to get a picture of our family around the snowman. Ryan hooked a folding chair through the chain link fence, used my mittens to hold it steady, and then tried to set my camera up on a thinner glove so it would stand upright. At that point, the policemen, having finished checking into things across the parking lot, walked back to their cars.

After things died down and the angry guy left our front yard, we dutifully traipsed back outside to put the finishing touches on our snowman. Ryan had a cool idea for the mouth, but it turns out that Sharpie does not work well on broken taco shells. Who knew? We eventually found enough stuff in our yard to give the snowman a proper face, once we convinced Sam that the Tootsie Pop nose belonged to the snowman and he would be sad if someone else ate it. Too bad the police cars lined up in front of our house made it impossible to see our cheery snowman from the street.
While on the phone with the police, I looked out the window (and what did I see? ha ha ha) to see the guy talking loudly and angrily to Ryan in our front yard. I tried to stay calm on the phone, but I was definitely scared that there was going to be some roughhousing. Meanwhile, Sam, always dependable, started yelling that he wanted to go outside and play with Daddy and the snowman. Not wanting the dispatcher to think that I was abusing my child, I bribed him to be quiet with a piece of Toblerone. Yes, I ate one too.
Ryan urged me and Sam to go inside and call the police (because, as I've mentioned before on this blog, I have the SSL police dispatch number in my phone). I had to hoist Sam under one arm to get him to go inside, which is not an easy thing to do while 31 weeks pregnant. Once inside, I decided to leave all our snow clothes on, on the off chance that we would get to go outside again soon. Sam ran away from me and hid in the tent he got for Christmas.

We had a great time in the snow. Sammy kept throwing snowballs at us and the snowman, and occasionally asking one of us to breathe on his face to warm it up. Ryan had done a great job of stacking three balls of snow for the snowman, and I contributed by wiping off most of the pine needles and shaping the snow. We were brainstorming ideas on how to dress up our creation when we heard yelling. That's not too unusual, actually, at the government-housing across the parking lot from us. This time, though, the man and woman yelling at each other were also shoving each other and cursing. I tried to get Sam to stay in the front yard with me, away from the noise, but he kept wanting to run away and see what Daddy was looking at.
After we watched Cars and ate our breakfast smoothies, we got dressed to go play in the snow. My snowboarding pants refused to button around my baby-expanded waist, but the belt buckle held them up nonetheless. Sam was absolutely delighted by the swish-swish noises his legs made when he walked in his snowpants. And even Ryan put on his heavy winter coat instead of just donning a long-sleeved shirt. We asked Sam if he wanted to build a snowman, which got him excited. All bundled up, we hurried outside to enjoy the rare treat that has been snow in SLC this winter.
This morning we woke up to find the front yard covered in snow.

The Saga Continues

2011-12-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

Scene from the Reynolds household:

Kara exits kitchen to see Ryan sitting on couch, watching Finding Nemo

K: Is Sam in the bath tub?
R: Yeah.
S(from bathroom): Poopy! poopy!
R: Is he saying poopy?
K: *runs to bathroom to see Sam standing up in the tub, taking a dump* Argh! Grab him! Put him on the toilet!
R: *grabs Sam out of the tub* Put the potty seat on for me!
*panicked flurry of action*

Much rejoicing ensued as the poop went in the potty.

Guest Post- Andrew

2011-12-12T14:18:00.001-07:00

Andrew has gallantly offered his time and talents again this year, gracing us with a blog post about his and Tara's first Christmas as a married couple. Check out his blog Absolutely Andrew for his outdoor adventures/photography and funny stories about his life.
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The tone for Tara's and my first holiday season as a married couple was set in early December when I was fired from my job. In retrospect, this was a blessing in disguise, but at the time, it was our sole source of income that I had just flushed down the drain with some extraneous facebooking. And so, for much of December, I sat cooped up in our cold apartment sending my resume to myriad companies, endlessly tweaking it, trying to get through those blasted text filtering algorithms. The only things that helped me retain my sanity were the Mondays season pass I had at Solitude (purchased when I still had a job), teaching myself html, and Tara's endless awesomeness throughout the entire ordeal. Meanwhile, my mother notified the entire extended family that I was unemployed so we would't be doing gifts that year. Thanks, Mom.
After two weeks of feeling like the ultimate loser who can't hold down a job and support his new wife, I decided it was time to get out of the apartment. I suggested to Tara that we drive up to Park City for the evening to see the lights and peruse the galleries. It turned out to be a wonderful idea. PC is so magical during the holidays and it was nice to be out in the crisp mountain air. Window shopping the expensive boutiques amidst all the yuppies clad in over-the-top apres-ski outfits made us practically forget we were poor.
In the car, we popped in the Ingrid Michaelson album Be OK that I had gotten for Tara as a Christmas gift. The entire album is good, but it was the last song, "You and I", that really struck us on our way back to SLC:

don't you worry, there my honey
we might not have any money
but we've got our love to pay the bills

maybe I think you're cute and funny,
maybe I wanna do what bunnies do with you,
if you know what I mean

And within moments were we both belting out along with the song, tears streaming down our faces. It was the quintessential Christmas moment in which all the stresses of the world are forgotten and the unbreakable bond between two people is all that matters. Yes, a similar scene has probably been depicted in at lest 3 Sundance films, but this was ours.

Since that first year, we continue to make a tradition of visiting Park City each Christmas. Sure, these days we may actually enjoy a fancy dinner up there, but the laughing at fur-clad Californians remains the same. It is also safe to say that Ingrid Michaelson is choice Christmas music in the Newcomb house.

All Dogs Go To Heaven

2011-12-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

We lost our beloved family pet, Allie, this week. She's been battling cancer for several months, and my mom finally had to put her to sleep when it became apparent that the cancer had spread to her brain. Our family misses our dear pooch. Sorry to get all Marley and Me on you, but I wanted to pay tribute to Allie on our blog.

Allie, mid-"ROOGLE!"

When my sister and I were young children, we had two family dogs that had been with my parents longer than we had. Whiskey was a big lovable Alaskan Malamute, who sadly died when I was only 5 years old. I remember being so sad about our dog being gone- I think it's the earliest time I ever actually said a prayer, for my dog who had left me. Buck lasted a long time- he made it to Anchorage with us. My dad had to put him down one summer while the rest of us were back in Maryland visiting family. It was so hard not to be there to say goodbye, and I'm sure it was hard on my dad to have to do that by himself.

After being dog-less for a time, my parents decided that it was time to get another family pet. We went down to Anchorage Animal Control and fell in love with the fluffy white puppy. Cassi picked out the name Allie. It was the first time we'd been involved in selecting and naming our dog, and boy was it exciting.

Torturing Allie by making her wear my sweatshirt. She was a good sport about being dressed up in people-clothes.

Allie was a unique dog for us right from the start because she didn't bark- she only howled (or "roogled", in our family vernacular). She did have one major vice, however: digging. She dug her way out of our yard many times that first summer. Thankfully she never ran away, but only hung around our street waiting for us to find her. We thought she was simultaneously the smartest and dumbest dog we'd ever met.

Dressed up for our Beatles party as "Martha My Dear"

Hanging out in her favorite spot, where she could survey the living room

Even though Cassi and I never called the dog our "sister", Allie was definitely part of the family.

Dad helps Allie open a Christmas present. Usually a new squeaky toy or some kind of doggie delicacy

Why is Grandpa sleeping in my house?

Getting a bath from Cassi

Sammy has loved Allie ever since he met her. To her credit, Allie always treated him gently, from when he was a newborn to when he was a not-so-gentle 2-year-old. I know when we visit my parents for Christmas, Sam will want to know where Allie is.

When my parents moved to New Mexico, Allie spent a semester living with Cassi in Northern California.

On a walk through the redwood trees

On a walk in Anchorage

We all loved our dog very much, and she will be greatly missed. RIP, Allie.

Guest Post- Sarah

2011-12-07T13:59:00.000-07:00

Our first Christmas guest post comes from Sarah Müller. When we moved into our apartment, I asked some of the other moms who they would recommend as a babysitter. Sarah was top of the list, so we had her watch Sam for us a few times. Sammy LOVES Sarah, and when she first left SLC to go to college, it took him a few months to stop asking for her every day. Ryan and I love Sarah, too, and we've enjoyed keeping in touch with her while she's away at school. She maintains a personal blog (check it out here) and tumblr account, and is also working as a DJ for a college radio station!
******
Growing up, I was always excited for the Christmas season. Not because it meant presents or time off school (although both were great), but because it meant decorations. My family puts our decorations up the first Monday of December and it's always an exciting time. My sisters and I would come home from school, grab the boxes from the attic/basement, and start decorating. We love Christmas decorations so much that we have fake mistletoe that hangs up year round. My favorite decoration was and still is our Veggie Tales nativity set. As well as the fake mistletoe. (:

This semester I moved away from home to attend college. Since I won't be back home until the middle of December, I'm missing out on decorating. I decided that even though there are only two and a half weeks of school left, my roommates and I definitely needed some Christmas spirit. So I set my schoolwork down and got to decorating.

I'm not very artistically talented but I decided that bringing the Christmas spirit definitely trumps my lack of artistic abilities. So after learning how to make a snowflake (because up until this point I didn't know how) and nearly breaking my leg putting up decorations (desk chairs don't have a lot of holiday spirit) I made 27 snowflakes, 26 paper chains, a few paper ornaments, and a paper Christmas tree. (:

As I put up my decorations, I started thinking about how people "decorate" their lives with Christmas. Some believe that Christmas is all about material items and focus on getting presents and buying presents. They "decorate" their season with money, busyness, and pride. Others believe that Christmas centers on Christ and "decorate" their season with him. While my decorations don't reflect centering Christ in my season, that is my goal. (:

Also, I have to share my must listen to while putting up Christmas decorations song- The Cowboy's Christmas Ball by The Killers. :D

Christmas Recollections

2011-12-06T15:24:00.000-07:00

Last year I asked a few friends to write a guest post for the blog that shared a Thanksgiving memory. I really enjoyed it, and decided to feature guest bloggers again this year, but at Christmas instead of Thanksgiving. I have a few lined up, but if anyone else is interested please let me know! I would be happy to write a post for your blog in return!
*******
Does anyone else do the Christmas pickle? Not the kind that you eat, but the kind on your tree!
Every year on Christmas Eve my mom hides an ornament shaped like a pickle on our Christmas tree. Then, on Christmas morning, the first person to find the pickle gets an extra present, which is usually a game or something to do as a family. Not to brag, but I pretty much always win. That pickle and I have a special affinity for each other.

Cassi experiences the agony of defeat, 2007

When it comes down to opening presents, we all sit in front of the Christmas tree and my dad hands out presents one at a time for us to open.

Cassi gets a present from "Ninja Claus", 2007

Let me pause here to say something about my dad. My dad and I are alike in many ways, and yet in a lot of ways we're really different. We get along well, though, and I think that's because neither of us like to indulge in conversation. We're not really big talkers, and we're both comfortable with silence. And my dad is even less sentimental than I am. So anyways, that hat that my dad is wearing in the above picture says "Grinch" across the front. It's kind of a family joke that my dad isn't exactly a high-energy jovial kind of guy. He doesn't like to draw attention to himself.

When they lived in Alaska, my parents and the other FedEx pilots/spouses would collect presents and deliver them to the kids in the local hospital. One of the guys would always dress up as Santa Claus to deliver the presents. One year, the guy who usually dressed up as Santa couldn't make it, so somehow my dad ended up inside the Santa suit. I'm sure he hated the idea, but there you go: Even "the Grinch" himself was willing to do something to make a bunch of sick kids happy. That's the spirit of Christmas, right? Going the extra mile to make someone else happy. I was really proud of my dad for dressing up as Santa that year.

My family, Christmas 2007

Christmastime is here

2011-12-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

If that title doesn't get Charlie Brown Christmas music running through your head, I don't think we can be friends. Just kidding, of course.
Now that Thanksgiving is over, I'm ready to embrace Christmas, rampant commercialism and all. Sammy and I have been listening to the Christmas radio station in the car as we do errands, and last week Ryan brought home a Christmas tree for us to decorate for Family Home Evening. It's the first year we've actually had a tree, and we love it!

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2011- quite an improvement!

Ryan and I strung the lights and the beaded strings around the tree (which was harder than I thought it would be). Then we let Sam put the ornaments on wherever he wanted.

But, being the control freak that I am, I spread them out so they looked better after he went to bed.

Below is a picture of Sam playing with two ornaments. I believe they are the Nutcracker and Clara from the Nutcracker collection.

When I was a kid, the best part of decorating the tree was playing with the ornaments. I know some people like to decorate their tree with globes of various colors, or candy canes, or something like that, but we always had a mishmash of ornaments that my parents had collected over the years and my sister and I had made in school. We had a Rosebud sled (the significance of which I didn't get as a kid), some musical instruments, gingerbread men that retained their smell year after year, and some plastic angels, to name a few. My mom now has more ornaments than can actually fit on a Christmas tree, so some get left off. It always makes me a little sad, knowing that one of my favorite ornaments from childhood didn't make the cut.

The Reynolds Christmas tree, however, only has a handful of ornaments. My mom bought a Nutcracker set for me, because those were our very favorites as kids. Ryan's dad carved a rocking horse for Sam's first Christmas, which we hang up pretty high so he can't get to it. There's a snowflake with Sam's picture on it that the Nursery leaders made last year- Sam's eyes are all red because it was his first month in Nursery and he cried A LOT when we left him there. And there is the Mommy and Daddy clay elf ornament, with a little string to hang the "elf babies" on- we added Baby Brudder this year, although we haven't written his name on it yet because we still don't have a name for the poor kid. And that's it for ornaments. I'm sure in a few years we'll have added a lot more to our collection. For now, though, we're just happy to sit in the glow of our tree and be reminded of the Christmas memories we already have.

Thanksgiving

2011-12-03T17:09:00.000-07:00

In the last-minute rush to finish NaNoWriMo this year, I didn't have a lot of time to post about our lovely Thanksgiving trip. Part of that rush was due to the fact that I was so busy over the long weekend that I got behind on my word count- which was actually a positive thing. We left Salt Lake around 2:30pm the day before Thanksgiving with our friend Elisa, who we always bring back to Colorado with us. Sammy was a champion for the whole long drive- every time he got fussy, we'd give him his blanket and Snugaphant and ignore him for a few minutes, and he'd fall asleep. In fact, in Ryan's opinion, I was the worst passenger because ol' pregnant bladder insisted on stopping at every "major city" in Wyoming to use the bathroom. This was because
1)Sometimes it is 50 miles between restrooms along that portion of I-80 and,
2)There are no private places along the side of the road to stop because Wyoming has no trees.
Anyways.
We dropped Elisa off and made it into Deer Trail in only 9 hours, even with all my bathroom breaks. So there, Ryan.
On Thanksgiving morning we headed out to the ranch where Ryan's dad works and lives. The kids whose family owns the ranch wanted to play with Sammy, so we went out and threw rocks at a cattle guard for a good hour. Ryan took me and Sam out on his dad's 4-wheeler to see the ranch, which was terrifying and yet exciting. The rest of Ryan's family joined us for Thanksgiving dinner, which was wonderful. Russ and Richard cooked a big turkey, and we had all the traditional side dishes (plus a few surprises, like the lasagna Richard made in his Dutch oven). Sammy was having too much fun playing with his cousins to eat more than a few crackers.
We headed into Denver the next day to hang out at Ryan's brother Rusty's house. My cousin Steven and his wife Lauren drove up from the Springs to see us. We met them for dinner at an old favorite of ours, Mustard's Last Stand. It was so nice to see them, and nice for them to indulge us on our restaurant pick! The food must not have agreed with Sammy, however, because he barfed twice that night. Lucky for us, Rusty lives in a for real house with his own washing machine, which happened to be right off the room we slept in. That made it pretty easy to clean up after him.
Saturday morning we woke up all strung out from being up all night with His Royal Barfiness, and met Ryan's mom for breakfast. We ate lunch back at Rusty's, picked Elisa up at her mom's, and headed back to Utah! Ryan actually let me drive through Wyoming- it was really windy, which was a little nervewracking. But we made it home safely, somehow.
It was a really good Thanksgiving, with good food and good company. I think Sam will remember his cousins when he sees them next year, and he'll be really excited to play with them again. Next year we'll also have Baby Brudder in tow- we'll see who's the worst traveler then!

Final Excerpt and Triumphant-ness

2011-11-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

Another year, another novel.
Although this year, my novel is only about halfway complete, at 50,000 words, making it more likely to be a real book when it is finally completed. I will probably take a break from it, like last year, and then pick it up again to finish for real. Or maybe I'll write the next half next NaNoWriMo. Who knows?
Here's your last excerpt:

Kevin rose from the bench and briskly wiped the crumbs off his hands. “Come on, guys,” he said, pulling on his gear. “Let’s get moving so we don’t have to climb the mountain in the dark.”

They complied, and after everyone was suited up they started along the road, heading past the village. Joshua continued looking above the treeline, hoping to see the mountain. He was disappointed.

A few miles beyond the town, the trees began to thin out, making it easier to see. Joshua was starting to get anxious about reaching Mount Chanhassen, when he noticed a bigger break in the trees. As they approached it, they all stopped dead in their tracks.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Kevin grumbled. “This is their idea of a mountain?” Standing in front of them was a hill. It was covered in lush vegetation, and couldn’t have risen in elevation more than a few hundred feet.

“Well,” Joshua said cautiously, “Silas did say it was the tallest rock out here. And there’s definitely nothing else bigger.”

“No wonder he said all paths to the top were safe,” Kevin replied, disgusted. “It’s just a hill!”

Jason started to snicker. “It sounds like you guys were making a mountain out of a molehill!” he cried, dissolving completely into full-blown laughter. He bent in half, clutching his stomach and wiping tears from his eyes. Joshua elbowed him and he toppled over, still laughing like a hyena. Joshua left him lying on the forest floor and turned right off the path to head toward the so-called Mount Chanhassen. The others followed him. Natalie had a hard time getting Jason to his feet, but eventually he recovered enough to get up. He pulled leaves out of his curly hair as they walked up the hill.

“Do you think we’ll reach the top before it gets dark?” Jason asked them. Joshua could hear the laughter straining to escape his friend, so he ignored him and kept walking.

“Do you need any help?” he asked Danae, hoping the gentle incline wouldn’t be too much of a challenge for her.

She shook her head. “No, I think I can manage,” she said, smirking.

It took less than a half-hour to get to the top of the hill. They dropped their gear and looked around. Instead of being able to see the entire kingdom, as Joshua had envisioned, they could only see the tops of trees. It was easy to see that Silas was quite right: there was nothing else this tall for miles. Kevin cleared some rocks out of the way with his foot and began setting up the tent. It was a pretty simple affair, just a metal frame draped with a canvas that was anchored to the ground. Joshua gave him a hand, and they finished in minutes.

“Well, we made it to the top of the mountain, the tent is up, and there are hours to go until the blue fire shows up,” Kevin said. He rested his hands on his hips and surveyed the tent, looking pleased with his handiwork. “What do you guys want to do now?” he asked.

Danae sighed. “I should probably take a nap. Even if it wasn’t a hike up a mountain, that walk still tired me out,” she said. Kevin and Joshua piled up the quilts inside the tent so she could lie down comfortably. “Wake me up when it starts to get dark,” she instructed them sternly. “I don’t want to miss any blue fire.” She crawled into the tent, shutting the flap behind her.

“Speaking of fire,” Kevin said, “we should probably get to work on building ours so we can cook dinner.” He got to work, rummaging around the bag with the firelighter. “Go find some wood,” he told Natalie and Jason, who obediently set off down the hill to the forest, hand in hand.”

“You shouldn’t have asked them to go get wood alone,” Joshua commented, sitting down next to Kevin on the hard ground. “They’ll be gone for ages.”

Kevin let out a snort of laughter. “I don’t care. If I have to hear Jason make another joke about the mountain, I’ll beat him with a canteen.” Joshua laughed too. “Why don’t you go look around for places where the clue might be?” Kevin suggested, all business again. “Even if we won’t be able to read it until the blue fire show, at least we can get an idea of where to look for it.”

Excerpt #2

2011-11-15T23:30:00.000-07:00

I'm halfway through November, and halfway to 50,000 words. I appreciate all the help and encouragement people have given me on Facebook! It's time for another excerpt. This is where we first meet The Seer (ooh!)

The seer lived in the forest, a mere hour’s walk from the castle, as Jonas informed them after breakfast. Natalie was outfitted in a pair of soft leather boots, as her sandals weren’t really up to the task of a hike. Jonas led them on a winding path through the trees. Joshua saw that many of them were slightly charred. Last night’s battle had hurt the forest, too. They walked, making the occasional bit of small talk with Jonas. It took just over an hour to reach the small dwelling in which the seer lived.

Jonas rapped smartly on the door. “Evelyn?” he called. “Evelyn! It’s Jonas.” Joshua saw movement through one of the thick-paned windows. Seconds later, the door opened.

The loveliest young woman Joshua had ever seen in his life stepped outside. Her carrot-orange hair reached her waist. Her eyes were a light green, and seemed to sparkle mischievously as she smiled at them. Joshua’s jaw dropped. So did Jason’s and Kevin’s.

“Good morning, Jonas,” the seer lilted. “I see you’ve brought me the prince.” She looked at Joshua appraisingly.

“Hello, Evie,” Jonas replied. “The prince and his helpers, just like you said.”

“Did you expect it would be otherwise?” she teased. “Come inside.” They followed her in and sat down at a round wooden table. Once seated, the seer leaned forward to study Joshua, resting her chin in her hand.

“Yes, the Artifacts,” she mused. “He will look for them, I see that. But where to begin?”

Jonas opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Not asking you, Jonas. Just thinking out loud,” she said pleasantly. “I think it’s going to take a few cups of tea.”

Joshua cleared his throat. “Do you read tea leaves?” he asked. That was something he’d read in a book.

She laughed, high and clear. “Goodness me, no. I just like tea. You can have coffee, if you prefer.” She rose and put a kettle on a hook above a small fireplace. Jason stared at her openly. Natalie glared at him and nudged him in the ribs. He smiled sheepishly at her.

“Do you have any questions for me?” she asked the group when she sat down again. They exchanged glances.

“Can you tell us more about the Artifacts?” Joshua asked. “All we know is we’re supposed to find some… things.”

“I certainly can,” the seer answered. “Perhaps talking about them will make our path more clear to me. Yes, let me begin at the beginning.” She settled back into her chair.

“Once upon a time- for all the best stories begin this way- our land was ruled by a High King. He was a benevolent ruler who cared for the people and their welfare. His son, however, was a cruel man who delighted in many vices. The High King saw this in his son, and knew that when his son became king he would mistreat the people and the land. So before he died, he divided his land into ten kingdoms, and chose ten of his personal guards as king of each land. He bequeathed unto each new king three Sovereign Artifacts, to represent their power and autonomy.

“The king’s son was furious at his father, and slew him with a sword upon hearing the news that he wasn’t to become king. The new kings were outraged over the death of the High King. A tribunal was elected, with representatives from each land, and the king’s son was sentenced to death.” At this, the seer shook her head sadly.

“It was the last time the kingdoms worked together before going their separate ways. For the most part, they left each other in peace. Over the centuries, however, the kingdoms have begun to lust for power over each other. Rydale has already absorbed Carene, and become the largest of the nine remaining kingdoms. Chanhassen, as the only kingdom now that has lost its Artifacts, will surely fall soon.” The kettle whistled, and the seer rose to pour drinks for them all. She peered at each of the children.

“Coffee for you,” she said to Jason, who laughed out loud. “And… tea for the both of you,” she added, nodding to Danae and Kevin. “I’m sorry I have no chocolate, hot or otherwise,” she said to Natalie, who wore an expression of mixed surprise and disappointment.

“Could I try the tea?” she asked timidly. The seer smiled gently and nodded.

“Jonas? You’ll have to make up your mind if you want me to read it,” she chided. He laughed.

“I’ll take coffee,” he said. “Got you this time.”

“Indeed,” she agreed. “And for our prince?” She looked expectantly at Joshua.

“Don’t you know already?” he asked, puzzled.

“You’re hard to read,” she explained. “It must be your gift. I can’t See what it is you want.” Joshua frowned.

“My gift?” he asked.

“You know about the gifts, do you not?” the seer asked. She looked at Jonas.

“I’ve mentioned them,” he said. “Only briefly.”

“Well,” the seer said briskly. “All in good time. What will you have to drink?” she asked Joshua.

“Tea,” he said.

Drinks were poured, and the seer sat down to resume her tale.

Excerpt #1

2011-11-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

I crossed the 10,000 words mark for NaNoWriMo, so I figured it was time for an excerpt. The opening of the novel can be found on my Writer's Page. This section is 8,000 or so words into the novel.
*******

As if they’d read his mind, the dark clouds in the sky released their pent-up moisture. Raindrops, big ones, dive-bombed them from above. Natalie gasped as the first drops pelted them. It was only minutes until they were soaked. Natalie and Kevin’s blond hair looked almost as dark as Joshua’s, plastered to their heads. Beads of water flecked Kevin’s glasses; Joshua wondered if he could even see. Next to him, Danae sighed.

“This is ridiculous, Jason,” she spat. He looked startled at her outburst. She stuck her finger out at him. “If it wasn’t for your dumb idea, we wouldn’t be stuck on a boat in the middle of a lake during a rainstorm!” Her eyes narrowed accusingly. Natalie had sat up and pulled away from Jason, glaring at him too. He looked at her helplessly. Kevin continued to peer through his rain-speckled glasses at the dark forest. Before Jason could mutter out an excuse, Kevin pointed to the trees.

“We’re not getting any closer,” he said loudly. The others paused from glaring at Jason to look out across the lake too. Their target did indeed seem just as far away as when they’d left. Kevin turned back to them.

“Something is wrong, you guys. It’s completely dark overhead, and those trees are still blacker than the ones right next to them. There’s no rain whatsoever on our side of the lake. We’re moving straight ahead even though the wind has changed.” Joshua hadn’t even realized with all the rain that Danae’s hair was off his face and blowing towards Natalie.

Kevin continued. “We should jump out and swim back to our side of the lake,” he urged.

“What?” the four of them yelled at him. Natalie crossed her arms. “I am not getting in that water, Kevin,” she said angrily. “It’s freezing. We could all get hypothermia and die.”

“Do you have an alternative?” he shot back. “It’s better than being pulled to some dark grove of trees in a boat that shouldn’t be moving that direction!”

Joshua looked over the side of the boat. That water was deep. It was dark, cold, and as unforgiving as the rain. He shook his head.

“Kevin, look how far away our side is. She’s right: we’d never make it, it’s too cold to swim,” he said, as calmly as possible.

Danae nodded. “I don’t like it either,” she whispered, “but I think we should stay.”

Kevin looked away angrily and smacked the side of the Chanhassen with his left hand. Natalie was leaning back into Jason, who was hugging her to him with both arms now. They were quiet again. Joshua pulled off his windbreaker and handed it to Natalie. He wanted to give it to Danae, but her sweater and jeans offered much more warmth than Natalie’s skimpy outfit. She smiled at him gratefully and pulled it over her head, still shivering.

Kevin broke the silence. “It finally looks like we’re getting closer,” he said, no longer angry. Just resigned. Joshua looked out across the water. He agreed with Kevin. Suddenly they were moving faster, inexorably towards the mysterious trees. Just as suddenly, the rain was gone, though it was still dark. And much sooner than he wanted, the boat bumped into the shore directly in front of the dark grove Jason wanted so badly to explore.

No one moved. Joshua barely felt Danae breathing next to him.

Kevin turned to Jason. “Well? I thought you wanted to come here,” he said nastily. “Why don’t you get out then?”

I did a stupid thing

2011-11-05T16:29:00.000-06:00

I like to think of myself as an intelligent person. When you skip a grade in elementary school, you kind of get slapped with the label "smart kid"and in my case it has become part of my identity.
But every now and then I go and do something that makes me seriously question whether I actually am as smart as I think I am.
Last Saturday my dear sweet husband decided to make waffles for breakfast. He is incapable of making waffles without making a huge mess, so I always tell him that if he wants to make waffles, he'd better clean it up. Well, his idea of cleaning up the waffle mix was to put the bag of Krusteaz on the counter next to the sink, 6 inches away from the pantry (where it actually belongs). And being on the counter next to the sink, the bottom of the bag got wet.
So in order to save our giant bag of waffle mix, I started scooping out the mix and transferring it into gallon Ziploc bags. When I'd emptied out about half of the bag, I decided it was light enough to pick up and dump into the next empty Ziploc. As soon as I picked up the bag, the wet bottom burst open and dumped floury waffle mix all over my kitchen floor.
Important choice: Sweep it up, or use the vacuum?

My Precious...

I have a very nice Dyson ball vacuum that my mom got for me for Christmas last year. I am in love with my vacuum. It is so easy to use and to clean and to empty out when it is full. I have a two-year-old, so I use it almost every day. I think my vacuum is invincible.
It isn't.
I happily sucked up all the flour through the hose, stopping a couple times to empty the vacuum into the trash can. Then I realized that my vacuum was covered in flour. So I took it to Ryan, who was showering, and told him I needed to rinse out all my vacuum parts to get the flour out. He got out of the shower, and I rinsed out my vacuum and left the pieces in the tub to dry. A few hours later, I put it all back together.
The next time I tried to use my vacuum, the engine let out this crazy high-pitched whine. Ryan made me shut it off. Then he looked at it.

"It's still covered in flour," he said.
"I know that. I think if I just keep using it, eventually all the flour will come out," I replied.
"It probably has flour in the motor. You can't use this! I'll clean it for you," he insisted.

So today Ryan sat down to clean out the Dyson vacuum. It is full of moldy flour. Ryan worked on it for an hour today and barely made a dent in it. My precious vacuum has been beaten by Krusteaz. Krusteaz and an idiot named Kara.
I called Dyson today, and they gave me the number of a local store that can take a look at it. I can replace the part with the worst mold for about 80 dollars, which wouldn't be so bad. In the meantime, I've got to borrow other people's vacuums to clean up after Sammy. Plus there is the shame and guilt that I killed my beautiful vacuum.

Remember, friends. If you ever start thinking you are really smart, the universe will find a way to prove to you that YOU AREN'T.

Happy Hamomeen

2011-11-01T15:16:00.001-06:00

One of Sam's cutest mispronunciations is Hamomeen for Halloween. I swoon.
Sam's favorite book last month was Library Lion, so I decided that he would be a lion for Halloween, and Ryan and I would be the two librarians from the book. Unfortunately, I woke up with a cold on Halloween morning, and decided it wouldn't be worth the effort for Ryan and I to dress up (I think Ryan was relieved). I made Sam's costume this year by turning a furry-lined coat inside out and sewing a mane, wrist fringe, and tail onto the coat. Ryan added the face paint for the finishing touches. Now that Halloween is over I will strip all the decorations off and turn Sam's coat right side out so he can wear it, although I think he'll be pretty upset that his "lion coat" is gone.

Getting his face paint done. He loved holding the mirror by himself to look at his evolving face!

At "Boo at the Zoo" before Halloween with his buddy, Saiji.

So ready to trick or treat! He was so excited!

Who is that lady dressed like a cat?

It's Andrea! And she has CANDY! Hooray!

Not like this actually needs to be said, but I will probably end up eating most of Sam's candy. And surprisingly, we had a lot leftover ourselves. There were only 2 or 3 other groups out trick-or-treating that we saw during the hour we were out. Is trick-or-treating not as big a deal in Utah? Or is it just our neighborhood? In any case I was quite surprised. But not at all disappointed that I have lots of Milk Duds to finish off. Yum... Why are they called Milk Duds? They are definitely not duds, if you ask me.

Family Photos

2011-11-01T14:59:00.002-06:00

Every year, usually around our anniversary, we have our family photos taken. I was way too sick in July to even think about having my picture taken, so we postponed it to fall this year. Our friend Amanda Penton took our pictures this year, and we are so grateful to her for doing such an amazing job. She got some great shots of squirrely Sammy, and really captured the fall colors and the mood we were going for.
We now have four sets of "family photos", and I thought I'd post a little nostalgia on here as well as our new pictures.
Me and Ryan:

2008

2009

2010

2011

And our growing family!

2008

2009

2010

2011

And here are the rest of my favorites from this year's photo shoot:

Kiss attack!

NaNoWriMo Begins!

2011-11-01T14:31:00.002-06:00

Just wanted to let you all know that even though I'm sick, I have made my word count for today. Woohoo! Keep up with my progress on my writer's page by clicking here.

Ketchup

2011-10-25T16:49:00.000-06:00

It's been a while...
Too long, in fact. You all probably heard from me/Facebook/Radio Grandma (you know who you are) that I'm pregnant again, which means I spent the past several months wishing that everyone would just go away and let me stay in bed. Which of course did not happen. I have pretty amazing friends at church, who brought dinner to us and took Sam to the park, and thanks to their help I am back on my feet. And still pregnant at 21 weeks, a real triumph for me after last time. We found out we are having a boy- and all my dreams of little girl dresses and hairbows were summarily crushed, while Ryan's vision of two rough-and-tumble mud balls to play with came to fruition. We're working on a name. I'll keep you posted.
Lots of other good things happened to us while I was sick. The biggest and best is that all of Ryan's hard work of the past year has paid off- the Church decided at the end of September to bring him on as their newest full-time Seminary teacher. We are still a little dumbfounded, a month later. We have a pension plan, and great health benefits, and a REAL JOB. I'm so proud of Ryan for sticking with it- it finally paid off.
I also passed the genetic counseling board examination. I don't have a job, but at least I can say I'm certifiably competent on paper. Yippee... I will be signing my name Kara Reynolds, MS CGC for a week just to make myself feel good.
Sammy is becoming quite the little talker. He is starting to use sentences, which is cool even though for the most part I'm the only person who can understand him.
That's all for now. I will hopefully put up some Halloween pictures next week. I made Sam's Halloween costume for the third year running, and Ryan and I will be dressing up, too. I will also be starting NaNoWriMo again on November 1st- with a totally different flavor of novel this year.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Sam-to-English Dictionary & Phrasebook

2011-07-14T00:06:00.000-06:00

Bippas- Scriptures
Bups- Chips
Chockit- Chocolate
Moooooooooore- More
JooooOOOOooose- Juice
Jeld- Gerald (from Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie books)
Mommy joooose- Soda
Bankie- Blanket
Pano- Piano
Teestry- Toy Story
Nuk- Snuggle
Nuggie- Snuggie (his stuffed elephant)
Memo- Elmo
Geh- Again
Buhdeh- Peanut butter
Fush- Flush
Wahdoh- Water
Daddy- Daddy
Daddy- Jelly
PEESE PEESE PEESE!- I would really like to have that.
Hot!- I don't want that/It scares me.

Wizard Rock! (or, Sammy's First Concert)

2011-06-30T22:29:00.002-06:00

Being from Alaska, I haven't really gone to a lot of concerts (especially not outdoors). Somehow this fact has always made me feel... well, lame, for lack of a better word.
So when I heard that wizard rock pioneers Harry and the Potters would be playing at the library (!) in the outdoor amphitheater (!!) for free (!!!), I knew I had to get on the band wagon. (zing!)
Harry and the Potters is made up of two brothers (Harry Potter and Harry Potter) and whoever else they can get to play a variety of other instruments. Harry Potter 1 played keyboard and saxophone, Harry Potter 2 played guitar, and Sirius Black played the drums. The group sings about a wide variety of things from the Harry Potter books, like saving Ginny from the basilisk, and how Voldemort just doesn't understand love. Hilarious, right?
The boys put on an amazing show. They invited everyone to come down to the bottom level of the amphitheater to form a semi-mosh pit.

This was mostly high school kids... Ryan, Sam, and I elected to stay in our seats with Tara, Andrew, and Tara's sister Becky.

(By the way, check out Andrew's account of the evening!) Our friend Sarah, however, chose to join the crowd. She is a for-real HatP fan- she actually owns their CDs and knows all the lyrics!

Harry and Harry were non-stop balls of energy. While none of the songs were particularly amazing musical accomplishments, the lyrics were fresh and clever. Really, their take on things like Cho Chang talking about Roger Davies on her first date with Harry... pure comic genius. They got the crowd involved in chanting, making hand signs, and singing along. Even Sammy got into it!

Ryan liked it so much that at the end of the show, he told me to go buy a t-shirt. Andrew and Tara got in on the fun too:

From left to right: Hogwarts Tonsil Hockey Team, Voldemort Can't Stop the ROCK!, and Save Ginny!

Harry and the Potters have more stops to make on their tour before the last Harry Potter movie comes out. Don't miss them if they come to your town!

Elder Holland thinks I'm cute

2011-06-22T15:38:00.000-06:00

As most of you know, Ryan has been working hard this past year in the hopes of being hired by the Church as a Seminary teacher. He has made it through every evaluation so far- passed the 2-week "trial teaching", successfully completed his first semester of student teaching- and today was his next step. Today we were interviewed by a General Authority.
Time out for those who aren't familiar with the structure of our church. Local congregations (wards) are led by bishops. About 6-10 wards are led by stake presidents. Bishops and stake presidents are really only responsible for the specific people over whom they preside. General authorities, however, are responsible for the entire world. The men called to be general authorities are amazing, humble servants of the Lord, and have a whole host of duties, one of which is interviewing potential employees of the Church Educational System. To learn more about the structure of leadership in our church, visit the official page: How the Church is Organized.
We arrived at the Church Administration Building about 20 minutes early for our appointment with Elder Zwick, and had the opportunity to wait and watch as other general authorities of the Church passed in and out of the building. Elder Cook walked in front of us. Elder Ballard stopped to talk to us and commended Ryan on trying to become a Seminary teacher. Elder Holland said "Hi kids!" and said to Ryan, "I just have to come shake the hands of this cute couple. Well, she's cute- you're okay." He talked to us for a few minutes. And then, out of the window of the waiting room, we saw President Monson's car pull up next to the entrance (yes, he has a primo parking spot). Through the window he saluted us both and smiled.
Another time out- Elder Cook, Elder Ballard, and Elder Holland hold the priesthood office of Apostle. There are 12 apostles on the earth today, as there were when Christ organized his followers during His mortal life. Peter, James, and John- that is to whom you can liken Elder Cook and company. President Monson is God's prophet on earth today. He is the leader of the entire Church.
Our interview with Elder Zwick was unbelievable. Elder Zwick is a Seventy, which is the priesthood office under Apostle. He is a very kind and gentle man. He asked us a lot of questions about how we joined the Church, and asked Ryan a lot of questions about his personal conduct and worthiness. He asked me how I support Ryan as he works towards his career goals. Both Ryan and I shed a few tears as we talked about our experiences and expressed our love for each other and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Zwick told us that many people cry- you can't help but feel overwhelmed by the spirit in that building, with so many servants of the Lord present. I asked him how he doesn't cry all the time- yep, I got a joke in there.
We feel so humbled by our experience. What a blessing in our lives this time in Utah has been. We are excited that Ryan is getting closer and closer to becoming a Seminary teacher!

Annie Get Your Gun

2011-06-20T12:51:00.000-06:00

You might have heard that I am appearing in a community theater production of Annie Get Your Gun.
You might have heard that this is the show that brought you the famous tunes "There's No Business Like Show Business" and "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better".
You might have heard that tickets are only $8.

Well folks, the rumors are all true. So get your butt out to West Jordan for a night of musical theater magic!

Doors open at 7:00pm, showtime 7:30pm at Copper Hills High School. Closing night is this Saturday.

Fire!

2011-05-28T22:54:00.000-06:00

First of all, I want to announce that this is my 100th post. If The Reynolds Tribe was a TV show, we could be syndicated now. Although, it is kind of lame that it took us 3 years to post 100 times. Here's to improved consistency in posting!
****
Last week, Sam had trouble sleeping. One night, while Ryan was at work, Sam woke up around 12:30am and wouldn't stop fussing. I made him sleep in the pack and play in the living room so he wouldn't wake up the neighbors, and I went back to bed. Trying to fall back to sleep, I smelled something familiar. It smelled like a campfire. Now, I live in urban Salt Lake City, so campfire is not exactly something you'd expect to smell here. I could still smell it 10 minutes later, and started to get concerned that maybe some weirdo decided to make a campfire in my front yard. I risked waking Sam up to check.
Outside, the air was all smoky. I could see a faint orange light about a block away, and got worried that maybe I was smelling smoke from a REAL fire. So I called the police. By the way, I programmed the South Salt Lake Police Department in my phone- that's how awesome my neighborhood is. The nice dispatcher told me that there was a house fire pretty close by, but reassured me that the police would knock on my door if the fire spread and we had to leave.
Well, I stayed up reading for another hour, checking out the window every chapter for a wall of advancing flame. Half of my mind focused on my book while the other half thought about what I would grab on my way out the door if our house was in danger.
Obviously I would grab Sam. I would grab my backpack, and put our important documents in it. We keep them in 3 accordion file folders, so that'd be easy. I'd probably add my laptop to the bag, because there are just too many things that are irreplaceable on there. On my way to the car I'd get the diaper bag. And then I would drive to Elisa's house and pray that our house would be spared.
Luckily, the fire didn't spread. I went to bed at 2:30am reasonably convinced that it was safe to sleep. Although I did have to wash my hair the next morning because I smelled like smoke...
What would you grab on the way out the door in an emergency?

Bountiful Basket Report 5/7

2011-05-07T07:56:00.001-06:00

This is what I got in my Bountiful Basket this week:
1 pineapple
1 cantalope
8 oranges
6 bananas
5 apples
1 flat of blueberries
1 head lettuce
9 large red potatoes
2 HUGE chunks of jicama
1 bag of green beans (1.5 lbs)
3 heads broccoli
5 tomatoes
2 cucumbers

Any recipes that this list brings to mind would be appreciated!

What are YOU?

2011-05-06T11:57:00.000-06:00

One time, in high school, I was hanging out with some of my "comrades" when I got asked a weird question.
One of my friends stared at me for several seconds, and then burst out, "What ARE you?"
I was puzzled.
"I mean, like are you Spanish or Arabian or something?"
I informed her that I am not Spanish or Arabian, but an eclectic mix of Italian, Lebanese, and a whole bunch of "white". I'm pretty sure my nose is Jewish, though I don't know where that came from.
My "vaguely ethnic" appearance has served me well in Utah, a place full of blondes. I was cast as an extra in the Church's upcoming New Testament series, because I apparently can pass for an Israelite. And last week, in Annie Get Your Gun, I got promoted from "ensemble" to "Indian" thanks to my long, dark brown hair. So much for blondes having more fun!
Sometimes, when I am alone and feel like laughing out loud, I say to myself, "What ARE you?" Guaranteed to crack me up.

Mr. Clean, Mr. Clean!

2011-04-15T20:06:00.005-06:00

She is TOTALLY making that up. I wake up every morning with a feather duster in my hands. After praying for a safe and clean day, I rush in to the baby's room to change his diaper. Isn't it incredible that I am able to do that without ever waking him up. I then zip into the bathroom and noiselessly shave, shower and dress, ALL while scrubbing the tub, bleaching the floors and toilet and folding towels that I washed while vacuuming after the baby but before the bathroom. The trickiest part of my morning comes from cleaning the burner guards while I make oatmeal for everyone. I set out old newspapers under Sammy AND Kara's chairs before I head out the door because I just KNOW that they will be throwing the very healthy oatmeal (infused with wheat germ) on the floor. My lunch-time highlight is when I rush home to take out the garbage and clean the refrigerator shelves. My wife makes the best dinners. I love washing all the dishes after she is done. I just wash Sammy right along with them. Now, does this sound like someone who accidently drops shaving cream on his wife's (recently sterilized) toothbrush? I think not. Just to prove my cleanliness, here's my first commercial for your viewing pleasure. I took out the earring and grew some hair since the 50's. Ahhhh... I love the smell of a freshly cleaned inaccuracy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbiofcuTZBo

I am not making this up

2011-04-15T19:36:00.000-06:00

I am 99% sure I brushed my teeth with shaving cream this morning.

I grabbed my toothbrush, wet the bristles, and stuck it in my mouth without looking at it. All of a sudden my mouth was filled with white foam and I started violently gagging. It took several rinses and many Dove chocolate eggs to get the taste out of my mouth. And yes, the toothbrush went in the trash can.

Ryan apparently made more of a mess than he normally does when he shaved this morning.

*shudder*

Guest Post

2011-03-22T21:58:00.002-06:00

I asked my friend Andrew to write a guest post for my blog back in November, promising him I'd write for his blog in return. He has finally collected! Read my thoughts on geocaching on Andrew's blog here. If you don't know what geocaching is, check it out: www.geocaching.com

We're closing in on one hundred posts here at thereynoldstribe. What should I do to celebrate?

Entourage!

2011-03-11T22:19:00.006-07:00

So, I don't know if you've heard, but lately my champion sleeper of a son has gone on sleep strike. He wakes up 5 or 6 times in the middle of the night, sometimes refusing to go back to sleep.

Obviously, this is starting to wear on me and Ryan. It's like going back to 6-month-old Sammy, and he's almost 2 years old. We've tried to be creative in finding ways to convince him to go back to sleep in his own bed. (As opposed to the pack and play. He is NOT allowed to sleep in our bed.)

Sam's into stuffed animals now. One of the ways I like to get him to lay down and stay down is to snuggle him up with his stuffed animal ENTOURAGE.

Members of the crew:

Snugaphant

Leader of the gang and Sammy's best friend. Only animal whose name Sammy can say (though it sounds like "snuk!")

Sock Monkey

Likes to dance. His theme song: "Sock monkey/The funky monkey" (sung to the tune of Brass Monkey, because Mommy liked the Beastie Boys in high school)

Blue Sock Monkey

Sock Monkey's funky, chunky cousin. He gives Sammy hugs with his velcro paws.

Pooh Bear

Nice and soft. Sammy's oldest friend on the crew.

Ringo Dingo

Actually a zebra. Head is twisted at an odd angle that gives Mommy the creeps. Sammy loves it.

The Crew

When I was a little kid, I used to be terrified that snakes would get in our house, slither up the stairs to my room, and jump into my bed. This was horrifying. (Wouldn't it be?) I got great satisfaction from positioning my "Jake bear" and a pillow shaped like Simba from The Lion King at the end of my bed to guard from serpentine intruders. I don't know whose idea that was, mine or my mom's. All I know is that it worked. So if Sam needs an entourage of stuffed animals to accompany him to bed...

... who am I to refuse?

If you give a Sam a cookie...

2011-02-19T22:13:00.005-07:00

Lately I've been trying to come up with new ways of entertaining Sam. There are only so many hours a toddler can spend playing in his room. One of our (my) favorite things to do together is bake. So far we've made banana bread and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. I took some pictures of our pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for your viewing pleasure:

All the ingredients out on the table. The cereal is only out because I didn't put it away after breakfast.

Sam's favorite part of baking: eating the flour. I don't understand it, but trust me: don't get between the boy and a bowl of flour.

He is quite good at stirring. Just don't leave him unsupervised...

Waiting for cookies to go in the oven.

Sometimes, when Sam is afraid to try a new food he will pretend it is "hot". This is what he does to show us that his food is too hot. He also says "HA" and shakes to illustrate the point.

Once I convinced him that his cookie was not "HA", he enjoyed it. Check out little chocolate mouth!!

Updates

2011-02-18T22:40:00.009-07:00

Okay, so, in the whirlwind move I have neglected the blogosphere. I can hear you all crying, and let me tell you, I feel your pain.

What have we been up to?

I finished my NaNoWriMo novel. As in, finished, completed, entire story done. I even submitted it to the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest. I'll know by February 24th if I made it past the first cut, which was judged solely on a 300 word "pitch" of the novel. Also, I turned 24!

Ryan keeps working hard at becoming a seminary teacher. He had an important evaluation yesterday, and I am proud to say that he passed with flying colors! For Valentines' Day we took each other out to this burger place Ryan's been dying to try. It's called Guzzi's and it is AMAZING. If you make it to SLC, you absolutely must eat there.

Sammy is doing much better at playing with other kids. I still take him to playgroup at our old church so I can see my friends. He only clings to me for about a minute before running off to play with the other kids. He is getting sooo big!

We took Sam to the zoo a few weeks ago. It was pretty cold, so we just went to the kiddie part of the zoo. They have a playground. We tried to put Sam in an egg on the playground for a cute picture. He was pretty mad about it.

For a quarter, you can get some bird food to feed the ducks and geese. Sam loved throwing food to (at) the birds.

At the zoo here they let turkeys and peacocks run around free. Which means they're practically begging for kids to run after the birds...

A good time was had by all (except the peacock).

Bountiful Baskets Day #2

2011-01-23T20:16:00.002-07:00

After posting my bafflement about what to do with the kale, a lot of people contacted me with some fun ideas! I decided to sacrifice a small part of my centerpiece to try out kale chips. The recipe said to bake the chips at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, but when I pulled my tray out at 10 minutes the kale was burned! I tried a bite anyway... that was a mistake. Perhaps I'll try again later. To go with our barbecue chicken sandwiches at dinnertime, I made a green salad with part of my head of lettuce and topped Ryan's with half of one of the tomatoes. My friend Jessica showed me how to determine if my pineapple is ripe, using a trick she learned on her mission to Brazil. It's not quite ripe yet, but when it is... yum.

Bountiful Baskets Day #1

2011-01-22T20:38:00.002-07:00

When I mentioned on my blog a few weeks ago that I wanted to start feeding my family more healthy food, my friend Amanda suggested that I look into Bountiful Baskets (a food co-op). So I did.

On Monday I ordered a basket of fresh fruits and veggies for $15. This morning I got Sam up at quarter to 7 to pick up baskets for me and Amanda. It was dark and exciting outside, I loved it! We got so much food, I just had to blog about it.

Here's what we got:

1 pineapple

6 bananas

3 grapefruit

7 pears

7 apples

7 lemons

4 HUGE potatoes

2 bundles of broccoli

1 bundle of asparagus

1 head of lettuce

1 head of kale

7 Roma tomatoes

So for day one... Ryan and I split a grapefruit for lunch. I couldn't eat my half because I burned my tongue on hot chocolate last night and the acid kept hurting my mouth. I made lemonade, using all 7 lemons. It is pretty dang amazing (even though drinking it hurt my mouth). For dinner Ryan and I each had a baked potato, which we shared with Sam, and some asparagus.

Pretty good, right? I don't really know what to do with the kale, so right now it is sitting in a bowl on the kitchen table. It's purple and pretty!

In other news, Sam's canine teeth are coming in. He isn't eating a lot of solid food right now, so today he had a case of the super poops. Then he got bum rash from all the wiping. The poor little guy walks around like he has a stick up his bum. It would be a little funny if he wasn't so sad. Luckily he went right to sleep so he could get some relief. That pretty much sums up my day.

That was fast

2011-01-18T11:08:00.002-07:00

This weekend Ryan and I were reminded yet again that the Lord is mindful of our needs and desires to bless us.

On Friday, we received word from the Village that because Ryan dropped a class last semester, we didn't have the required number of credits to live here anymore- and they wanted us out in 30 days. We appealed the decision right away, based on our personal circumstances that necessitated dropping the class. On Saturday, my friend Katie e-mailed the girls in our ward to let us know that an apartment manager position was opening at the apartments she used to manage, and that compensation included free rent at the complex. We let her know that we were very interested, and she hooked us up with the owner. He met with us yesterday, and offered us the job on the spot! The current apartment manager is moving this weekend, so he wants us to start next week! Thankfully it won't have to be a whirlwind move, as we still have 30 days left in our current apartment and the new one is close enough that we can make several trips. I am a little shell-shocked now that we won't have until May to adjust to the idea of leaving our Village lifestyle and friends. Ryan and I will be in a conventional ward for the first time ever (not just the first time since we got married). It will be weird. Sammy will have to adjust to new Nursery leaders and no playground right outside his front door. Overall, though, we recognize this as an answer to prayer, and we're so grateful that we have the opportunity to improve our financial situation while solving our problem of finding a new home. You are all welcome to come visit us once we're moved in!

Help!

2011-01-14T19:59:00.003-07:00

Hey friends... I could use some help. Amazon is hosting a new author contest, and I'd like to submit my NaNoWriMo work. However, the submission deadline is coming up, and I need help editing. What I would need from you is:

Read 5 pages of the novel (I'll send you a random chunk)

Analyze for obvious spelling and grammar errors

Look for any contradictions within your own section

List character traits or statements that have the potential to be contradicted later in the novel (for example, if I say that Anna has brown eyes in your section, I want to be sure that I don't describe her lovely green eyes later on)

And I would need it no later than January 24th.

Who's with me?

New Year's Resolutions and Other News

2011-01-08T09:08:00.003-07:00

Ryan and Kara took a nap one chilly day while visiting Kara's parents in New Mexico. They were enjoying the proximity of grandparents and using that proximity to hand off their son so they could go back to sleep. However, their nap was interrupted by the incessant ringing of Ryan's cell phone. Good news was to come their way: Ryan had been chosen to be a student teacher in the Church's Seminary program! Thoughts of sleeping were discarded as the Reynolds Tribe basked in the glory of knowing that Ryan was one step closer to his dream job of being a Seminary teacher.

Kara has always been the type of person to make New Year's Resolutions, but never keep them. Therefore, just like with her NaNoWriMo goals, she decided to post her resolutions on her blog so that her friends and family could encourage her. Her first New Year's resolution was to eat more fruits and vegetables in 2011. For her first grocery store trip of the year, she bought apples, bananas, oranges, avocados, asparagus, bell peppers, and an eggplant.

Her second resolution was to be more like her mom. You see, her mom was always very good about cleaning up after herself and the rest of her family and not procrastinating. Kara hated washing the ubiquitous messy dishes that come from feeding her family, and as a result often let them pile up and get disgusting. So she resolved to clean up messes shortly after they occur, and not "after another game of solitaire" or "once I finish this book."

******

Whew. That was harder than I thought. Wonder why this post is a little different? Check out Absolutely Andrew.

Little Funny Guy

2010-12-18T08:38:00.003-07:00

Five Things Sam Does that Genuinely Make Me Laugh:

1. Chants "no no no no" while pulling Mommy and Daddy's books off the bookshelf

2. Puts the handle of his spoon in his food, then puts the scoop end in his mouth

3. Waves his arm like he's conducting when we sing hymns or when he hears the Tab Choir

4. Walks around giving kisses to his sock monkeys

5. Pretends he's ready to get up from his nap, but belly flops onto his Snugaphant when we try to pick him up

Jingle Bell Rock

2010-12-07T23:26:00.002-07:00

So I bought Ryan a mini-donut maker for Christmas. I was pretty excited about it. You see, when we were first married, Ryan tried to make Spudnuts a few times, but they always tanked. Plus, he loves making new family traditions. I thought we could start a new tradition of eating mini-Spudnuts. But then the machine came, and it was pretty small. Also, Ryan (the snoop) found out what I was getting for him and informed me that you can't make Spudnuts with it. So we ultimately decided to send it back and get a better present, because we both decided the thing would ultimately end up collecting dust. I was able to sell it on our Amazon store for a good price.

Well, I know Ryan likes art projects. He also likes looking at neat houses. I thought I could get him a model house kit type thingie and we'd build it together. Those were pretty expensive, however. Then I remembered something we saw the first time we drove out to Utah for General Conference. It was April 2007, and the ZCMI mall hadn't been demolished yet, so after GC we hung out in the mall for a while with my friend Scott. At the mall, an old man was selling wooden models of the Nauvoo temple. I remembered that Ryan really loved it, so I tried to find one for him. I successfully managed to find one, and promptly ordered it, feeling pretty pleased with myself.

For some reason, Ryan was snooping around our Amazon account AGAIN and saw what I got for him AGAIN. When he got home from class, he told me he already had the Nauvoo temple model. As it turns out, my memory of that trip to the ZCMI mall was faulty: Ryan loved those models so much he actually bought one. And we still have it in a box somewhere. And of course by the time he told me this it was too late to cancel the order on Amazon.

So pretty much Ryan is not getting a Christmas present this year.

Made it

2010-11-30T11:12:00.003-07:00

As in, I Made It Through NaNoWriMo.

I finished my 50,000 words this morning while Sam took a nap and Ryan was in class. My novel isn't finished, but let me tell you: It feels amazing to know that yes, I can conceive and execute an entire book.

Thanks for all the love and support, friends. I appreciated the encouragement and the writing dares! Ryan told me every day that I could make it, and I'm glad I didn't let him down.

I already have an idea kicking around for NaNoWriMo '11- can't wait!

NaNoWriMo Dares

2010-11-27T20:42:00.006-07:00

Let me just say, it is hard to write 50,000 words in a month. I've hit several slumps over the past 4 weeks. Last night was particularly bad, so I decided to cruise around the forums on nanowrimo.org to see if anyone could provide me with inspiration. One of the fun things to do during NaNoWriMo is to dare other writers to include crazy things in their novels. It's definitely a good creative exercise, and can help boost your word count. So I took some dares. Here's what I got:

-Have someone say "two lefts don't make a right" and have someone else say "but three do!" (it's a Relient K reference.) The whole scene was good for 306 words.

-Mention Albania. Bonus points if the character has no idea where Albania is. 76 words

-Use the phrase "And suddenly, lesbian vampires!" 112 words

-Have someone solve a Rubik's cube. Include their internal dialogue. 163 words

-Have a character buy something they saw on an infomercial. 97 words

-Include an argument over which is better, pirates or ninjas. 94 words

-Mention the Colorado Rockies baseball team. 193 words

-Have the main characters see my family at some point in the story. 58 words

-Include zombie pandas and blueberry elves. 204 words

-Feature crows and fighting cats. 188 words

I have a few more dares coming down the pike that I haven't used yet, but the total so far of how many words I owe to dares is 1,391. I will be accepting more dares on my Facebook page, but you only have until the 30th to get them in!

Guest Post- Lindsay

2010-11-23T11:13:00.003-07:00

Our last guest post for November is from Lindsay Caldwell. Lindsay's son is one of Sammy's best friends, and Lindsay is one of mine! Check out her blog: http://jcaldwellcrew.blogspot.com/

*******

I can look upon my memories of Thanksgivings past with fondness: warmth, love, family and—what seems to take over the entire holiday itself—a bounty of delectable dishes. I remember cooking and baking with my mother for our Thanksgiving dinner. How much I helped and whether or not I stayed around to wash the dishes, I cannot say. I hope I was a good girl, but I have my suspicions that I could have been found on the couch post-supper. I am grateful that along with a great feast, my parents taught us that God is good and that all blessings stem from Him. We were greatly blessed to have plenty and I remember grocery shopping to provide a proper Thanksgiving feast for those who could not provide their own. My parents did not forget the important message of service that goes along with a thankful heart and for that I am grateful.

Life is so busy; one month bleeds into the next, and before we know it the holidays are upon us and we haven’t taken the time to reflect on the reason behind the celebration. That is what I want to avoid; thanksgiving is not just a dinner party. It is a time to reflect, pray, serve and spend with our loved ones. Jeff and I are so glad we live close enough to our families that we can eat our Thanksgiving meals (one with each family—lucky us!) with them. We know living close by will not be the case in a couple years, so we cherish it now.

One tradition Jeff and I have started this year to help us remember the reason for the season is our Thanksgiving Journal. Each member of the family writes down at least one thing he or she is grateful for each day for the month of November. This exercise has helped us to feel the spirit of thanksgiving and has opened our eyes to the small blessings that might have gone unnoticed had we not be watching for them.

Excerpt #3

2010-11-21T21:57:00.002-07:00

Once again, I am procrastinating instead of NaNoWriMo-ing. I have 1000 more words to write in the next 2 hours...

*****

It’s starting to get late. Coy wants to go into the casino and try out his poker skills. I’m hesitant. I have no idea why I’m so uncomfortable all of a sudden, but it doesn’t really seem like I can just tell him no. Wordlessly I follow him into the casino. It looks fancier than the one at the Stratosphere. Coy joins a table, and I hover behind him. I hope no one thinks we’re trying to cheat. I make sure my eyes don’t wander. Coy’s first bet is pretty low, which I find reassuring. As the game progresses, I can see that he has a decent hand. Good enough to win, anyway. Coy gives me a kiss for luck. I smile at the other people at our table. A guy our age who is obviously drunk says “Can I kiss your girlfriend for luck, too, man?” I blush, embarrassed. Coy winks at the guy and says he can if he wins the next hand. I swat his shoulder playfully. Luckily for me, Coy wins again. He increases his starting bet on the next hand, but I see he’s got nothing. He tries to bluff, but the other players see right through him and keep raising the bet. He folds, and excuses himself from the table.

I hope he’s not mad. I look up at his face, searching for clues to his mood. He looks back at me and smiles as if he knows what I’m doing.

“Uncle Jack was right,” he tells me. “My poker face is hopeless.”

“At least you had two good hands,” I say soothingly. “How much did we win?”

“We?” he teases.

“Good luck charms are entitled to fifty percent of all winnings,” I inform him.

“Ah. Well, we lost the last hand, so I’m doubting your luckiness.” I think he is pretending to be disappointed.

“Okay, we’ll split it forty-sixty and call it even. Final offer.”

He laughs. “How about we get dessert and I use the rest to pay for the room?”

“Deal.”

There is a small café that sells gelato on the way outside, so we grab a treat to go and watch the fountains one last time before heading back to our hotel. The walk back is much more spectacular, as the dark has fully settled in. The lights are a sharper contrast, a rainbow of electric explosions. We walk more slowly than we did on the way down, stopping to point out our favorite displays. Even though it’s late in the evening, the air is still warm. It must be 90 degrees out here. We get back to the Stratosphere and head straight back to our room. Coy remarks that Uncle Jack probably managed to get in bed by himself, so we should be quiet in case he’s asleep. When we open the door to our room, the lights are on. No Uncle Jack in bed. Coy checks the bathroom. No Uncle Jack there, either. We face each other, and I can see that Coy looks frustrated.

“Maybe he went back to the buffet,” I suggest. “Or went to the shops.”

“Maybe he’s getting married in the Chapel in the Clouds,” Coy says, dripping sarcasm. “He’s at the casino. Of course.”

“But he said he wasn’t going to gamble!” I protest.

“No he didn’t. He told you to relax, he didn’t actually say he wouldn’t gamble.” Coy throws himself facedown on one of the beds and groans.

Check me Out

2010-11-18T19:06:00.002-07:00

To keep up the guest posting trend, Mary asked me to write a post for her blog after she wrote one for mine. You can read it here. After you read it, check out her photography website! You'll love it.

Guest Post- Mary

2010-11-16T11:10:00.003-07:00

Mary is a friend of mine from the Village. She is a fan of Utah football and is a talented photographer! Her blog contains updates on her life, neat photos she's taken, and various musings on the world. Check it out: www.maryplusvince.com

********

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year. Actually, let me try that again: Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year (tied with Utah’s Pioneer Day). Yes, I love it more than Halloween, the Fourth of July and even Christmas! Unusual, right? But I love it. The fact that it’s an autumn holiday, my favorite season for many reasons, adds to why I love it so much. Add in family + food, and it’s a no brainer for me! It’s true love.

I think my love for Thanksgiving truly began back when I was in high school. My sisters and I watched this show called “Everwood” and they had a Thanksgiving episode where their tradition was to make a “Family Thankful Book”. What a great idea, I thought! So – I attempted to get all 7 of my siblings and their spouses and kids and my parents to tell me a few things they were thankful for, so we could make a book too! I wasn’t overly successful, and I think we only got the book partially made. Bummer! But! A few years in a row, I tried again … still not getting everyone’s lists. In 2007, I was finally successful and our book was made! I love looking back at this book because it’s like a little time machine! We added photos and pretty paper, and voila! Family Heirloom! I hope to keep this tradition alive and will keep trying each year. I know some years I may not get it done, but that’s ok. Even if we only have one every couple years, I’ll count that as a success.

Behold, excerpts from the 2007 Cleverly Family Thankful Book:

Another favorite tradition of mine is that my family goes bowling every year on Thanksgiving morning. This traditional also started when I was in high school. One of my sisters was dating a guy, and this was a tradition in his family. So, that year we decided to do it too! And we’ve done that one every year since! It’s such a random tradition, but it is so much fun! You’d be surprised just how many people actually go bowling that morning, too! We always have to get there super early to ensure we get a few lanes for my big family!

To me, Thanksgiving is such a special holiday. It’s cozy and warm; it is filled with family and fun. It is also a wonderful time to remember all the beautiful things in your life, remember all your blessings. Plus -- the food is amazing! I don’t think you can get any better than that, in my opinion!

Excerpt #2

2010-11-13T22:16:00.004-07:00

I am big-time procrastinating tonight. I caught Sam's cold, feel like junk, don't wanna write. So here's another excerpt from my NaNoWriMo attempts.

Coy’s face lights up when we come out. He is wearing a shirt and tie and… his tie has purple stripes like my shirt! He waggles the tie in my direction. “What are the odds?” he quips. Parked in our driveway is a bright blue van. It reminds me of the Mystery Machine, from Scooby Doo. Coy laughs when I tell him this, and informs me that this shade of blue is Uncle Jack’s favorite, so he had the van custom painted. My dad sits in front next to Coy, who is driving. I crawl in the back to sit by Uncle Jack.

He shakes my hand. “Are you ready for your next show?” he asks me. Auditions for our fall play, Dracula, will be held at the end of August.

I am definitely ready for a break from the theater, so I roll my eyes and make Uncle Jack chuckle by exaggerating my response of “Absolutely not!” My dad entertains us for the rest of the ride by retelling a story about two little kids destroying the children’s section of the library while their mom read a magazine with her headphones in. I make a mental note to up my childbearing age to 32.

We have dinner at my dad’s favorite steakhouse. I don’t like steak, but I think my dad chose it for Coy and Uncle Jack. I stick to a loaded baked potato and a salad. My head still hurts a little, so I try to drink as much water as I can. Uncle Jack eats his potato with a look of rapture on his face.

“I love potatoes,” he declares. “I mean, really, is there anything as delicious as a classic, Idaho-grown potato?”

“Steak,” Coy jokes. I decline to respond to that, sucking down another quarter of my glass of water.

My dad looks thoughtful. “How do you know,” he asks, “if the potato really came from Idaho?”

Uncle Jack peers at the menu. “It says so on here.” He points at the description of the various side dishes the restaurant offers.

“Yeah, but how much do you trust what it says on those menus?” Dad counters. “How is some copywriter in Texas going to know if the potatoes actually came from Idaho?” Uncle Jack and Coy have both stopped eating, and both sets of blue eyes are staring at my dad as if he is trying to answer one of the great mysteries of the universe. Dad keeps going. “It seems to me like the only way to guarantee that you are eating an Idaho potato is to drive to Idaho, go to a potato farm, and ask the farmer for a potato. Demand the genuine article.” I want to demand that we talk about something else, but I decide not to be rude. Instead I gnaw on a crouton from my salad and look around at the other diners.

Uncle Jack gets a wistful look on his face. His tone of voice is dreamy. He says, “I’ve always loved Idaho potatoes. Maybe I should actually drive to Idaho and eat one.”

Coy laughs. “You can call the Make-a-Wish foundation. Don’t they help people like you achieve their dreams?” Uncle Jack smiles.

“I think they help kids. Besides, I could do it myself. Boise is only, what, 9 hours from here?” The couple at the table across from us are feeding French fries to each other. I frown, thinking that I have never fed Bryce a French fry. Or anything else, actually.

Coy leans back in his chair. “So let’s do it. Let’s go get you your genuine, guaranteed Idaho potato.” Uncle Jack and my dad both look skeptical. I start to pay attention to their conversation again. Coy continues. “Seriously. I don’t have to be back in Chicago until the middle of August. That’s plenty of time to go to Boise and come back.”

Uncle Jack slaps his hand on the table, startling the French fry couple. “Why not?” he exclaims. “Let’s do it! Let’s go this week!” He and Coy share an excited high-five.

“Can I come?” I surprise myself by asking this. My dad also looks surprised. Uncle Jack stretches his arms out wide. “Of course!” he cries, still excited by the prospect of the trip. “Of course!” Coy grins at me.

I have no idea why I want to do this. I do love potatoes, but I’ve been content not knowing their origin for the past 22 years. I do enjoy spending time with Uncle Jack and Coy, but I can see them when they get back. I think I’ve never done anything as spontaneous as drive to Idaho simply for the fun of it, and right now I feel a little reckless.

Guest Post- Andrew

2010-11-11T21:09:00.023-07:00

For our first guest post on our blog, we're featuring Andrew Newcomb, husband of one of my grad school classmates. Andrew maintains his personal/family blog with help and input from his wife, Tara. Check out his blog: www.absolutelyandrew.com

*******

When Kara approached me about doing a guest post on the topic of Thanksgiving, I was honored. I did have my reservations about the topic, however. I’m not anti-holiday by any means--I just tend not to blog about them. Simply put, my blog is the result of a one night stand between Dooce and Hacker News, adopted by mommy bloggers, and kidnapped by Perez Hilton before escaping with Alexander Supertramp. OK, so maybe I had a little too much fun with that description, and to be clear, I am not a bastard child. On the contrary, I come from a wonderful family rich with holiday tradition.
When my wife, Tara, and I were married a little over a year ago, there was one detail that I had not fully realized. (Actually, there were a lot of things, but for the emphasis of this piece, we’ll pretend that there was just one) That was the opportunity to start new traditions. In the beginnings of our marriage, people kept asking us if we had started any traditions. Finally it dawned on me: the book is ours to write! We can celebrate the holidays however we feel like. I love the family traditions that I grew up with, and I know Tara feels just as fondly about hers, but the freedom to mix, match, and most of all, create new traditions for our family is incredibly exhilarating for me.
Last Thanksgiving came just months after our wedding and a big move from Omaha, NE to Salt Lake City. Needless to say, we had been through a lot in that short time. A doctor told me that getting married, switching jobs, and moving are some of the three biggest stressors a person can face. Fortunately, that Thanksgiving, we had a lot to be thankful for. All of our prayers had been answered.
Far from family and closest friends, we endeavored to celebrate a holiday that typically calls for digging the leaf out of the closet and cramming tons of family and friends around the table, quietly, just the two of us. It was amazing. Although we may have felt slightly ashamed when telling others of our plans, quick to explain financial logistics keeping us home for the holiday, privately, we were excited about it.
The feast, in particular, was the object of our awe. This is something that we had taken for granted for our entire lives. Although we may have played helping rolls from time to time (haha, get it?), that turkey, and the meal in general, had always been someone else’s responsibility. The concept of taking it on ourselves was daunting and exhilarating.
We went all out--turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, veggies, and of course, pie. It was by no means easy. I think we spent half an hour alone wrestling that metal clamp from the turkey legs so we could remove the gizzards, and ended up eating at least two hours after the planned time. But none of this mattered! There was no one to impress, no one expecting to eat right at 2. And the food turned out amazing, and so much more rewarding to eat knowing that we had made it together. The next day, the food was still amazing. 3 days later, it was pretty good, and 5 days later it was decent. 2 weeks past, when we were still pulling turkey out of the freezer, it was OK, but I could have gone for a burger.
Now the big question: Did we start any traditions on our first Thanksgiving together? It’s hard to say specifically. Traditions are not always objective. I guess I may struggle with that stupid turkey clamp year after year, but I’d like to say that that won’t become a tradition. We did turn the “I’m thankful for...” activity into a drinking game. I think it’s safe to say that has solidified itself as a Newcomb family tradition, although, when we have kids, we may have to change drinking to eating brussel sprouts or something. Also, Husker football is, by default, a Thanksgiving tradition.
In conclusion to my conclusion, I’ve had many memorable Thanksgivings in my life, but last year's spent with my wonderful wife has by far been my favorite. It will be a story we tell our kids year after year until long after they’re sick of it.

Epilogue:
Did you know that there is another Reynolds Tribe? Completely unrelated. So I think.

Thanksgiving Memory #1

2010-11-09T11:15:00.003-07:00

To celebrate November, a lot of my friends are using Facebook to share one thing they are grateful for each day. I love how November is a month of remembering things we are thankful for, spending time with our families, and eating good food (love that part). I wanted to get into the spirit of Thanksgiving on my blog, and asked some of my friends to write a guest post for me sharing some of the things they appreciate about this season. Be on the lookout! It will be nice to "hear" some other voices for a change.

One of my favorite Thanksgiving memories is from a family trip to Hawaii. I don't remember how old I was, probably in the 12-14 range. We took some time off of school and had a fantastic vacation. However, my sister and I were a little grumpy about not having a big Thanksgiving dinner that year. On Thanksgiving morning, my parents joked that they were going to take us to Denny's for our Thanksgiving meal. Cassi and I were horrified.

Now, grown-up Kara laughs at pre-teen Kara for even thinking that my dad might set foot in a Denny's. Really, it's laughable. But my parents can play the straight man comedy-wise when it really matters, and play it they did. As we pulled into the parking lot at Denny's, Cassi and I shared a look of despair. And then my parents steered us into a nice restaurant next-door. Psych!

Now, as I recall, the food wasn't that great. However, our family was together, we were on a gorgeous island having the time of our lives, and my parents pulled a really great prank. It is a Thanksgiving I'll always fondly remember.

Excerpt #1

2010-11-06T22:33:00.003-06:00

This is a "snippet" from my novel, approximately 5,500 words past the snippet on my NaNoWriMo page.

Our dress rehearsal is terrible. Ellie has run out of base and lipstick, which means a hurried rush to restock so Phil can see how the actors look under the lights. The high school band sounds great, but plays so loudly that Steve constantly has to readjust Maria’s microphone volume. Gretl von Trapp has a sore throat, and I’m pretty sure Rolf tried to grab my butt as we crossed paths in the tunnel. Phil claims that all these calamities (except the possible groping, I’d rather die than mention that to Phil) foretell a smash hit on opening night, so we all cross our fingers that he is right. On opening night, Dad and Uncle Jack sit together in the row with a big open spot for Uncle Jack’s wheelchair. I can see them through the small gap in the curtain on Stage Left. Coy and I are dressed all in black- black shoes, socks, pants, long-sleeved tees. We don’t wear black caps because we both have such dark hair it would be pointless. In a moment of giddiness an hour before the curtain goes up, Coy writes “Backstage Goddess” on the back of my shirt with a black Sharpie marker. With 10 minutes to go, I pull my hair back into a ponytail, and send Coy through the tunnel to Stage Right. Phil leads the actors in a “shake out” where they all stand in the green room and shake wildly to release the nerves. Even Captain von Trapp participates, and this is his 5^th show with us. Everyone is full of energy.

And of course, Phil’s prediction comes true. Opening night is amazing. Coy, Rolf, and Captain von Trapp manage to change the sets in less than 3 minutes. The band doesn’t drown out Maria. No one tries to cop a feel before they are herded onstage. After the show, my dad gives me pink carnations, as he does every opening night. Uncle Jack shakes my hand and tells me he can’t wait to see it again tomorrow night. Coy and I exchange high-fives that turn into hugs. The whole cast is on fire.

Hope it made you laugh!

National Novel Writing Month

2010-11-05T20:15:00.003-06:00

In November 2007, I worked for an independent bookstore (the Reader's Cove). I was in charge of setting up special events. One of the things I was asked to schedule was a "write-in" for NaNoWriMo. We gave free coffee to a bunch of people who hung out in our cafe all afternoon working on this mysterious NaNoWriMo. My interest was piqued.

National Novel Writing Month is about literary production. It's about taking a story and sticking it through. It's not about writing the next Harry Potter, or making money. You spend the entire month of November being creative- 50,000 words worth of creativity. To write 50,000 words in a month, you have to write about 1,667 a day. This means that every day you just write and write and write. No time is spent on editing. To win, all you have to do is finish your quota of 50,000 words by midnight on November 30th.

This is the first November since I heard about NaNoWriMo that I haven't been in school. My friend Ian is participating, and it is thanks to him that I am a NaNoWriMo this year. A chance glance at his Facebook profile reminded me (on October 31st) about NaNoWriMo, and I made a split-second decision to participate this year.

I took a story idea that I've been kicking around for a year, and decided to expand it. So far I have written over 10,000 words, putting me ahead of the game. If I complete all 50,000 words in time, this is the shirt Ryan will let me buy as a reward. I'm pretty dang excited. At least for now. Some days it is really hard to write. That's why you are supposed to tell as many people as possible about it so they encourage you! Consider yourselves my official encouragers.

You can learn more about NaNoWriMo at their website: www.nanowrimo.org

Check my progress and read an excerpt of my potential novel on my author profile page.

I will blog about my progress periodically, and I may even step way out of my comfort zone and post more excerpts. Keep in mind that this is unedited work, written in a frenzy while Sam naps. Be kind.

New Mexico Trip

2010-11-04T21:07:00.007-06:00

Sam and I visited my parents last month in our first lengthy separation from Ryan: 9 days! We had a great time sightseeing around their new home, eating yummy food, and generally being spoiled.

White Sands National Monument is about an hour away from their house, and it is definitely worth the drive. It features huge gypsum sand dunes that look like snow from far away because they are so white. We climbed around in the sand, and borrowed sleds from 2 guys to take a few trips down the hill.

My parents' next-door neighbors have 2 English bulldogs. Sam hasn't really spent time with any dogs since he was 6 months old, so they were like a whole new experience to him. He LOVED the dogs and kept making these really cute snuffling noises at them.

We also visited a corn maze, which had lots of other activities like slides and hayrides. We took a hayride to the "U-Pick" pumpkin patch. Sam enjoyed touching all the pumpkins. He even carried a little white gourd around with him, so of course we had to get it for him (luckily it was free).

It was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to take Ryan there for Christmas. I want to go sledding again!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T16:17:00.006-06:00

Recap of last year's Halloween: We had a ward Halloween party, that you were supposed to wear costumes for. I had a 4-month old baby, and was VERY excited about it, so I spent all of October working on a family-themed costume idea:

This year, I was not having an energetic October. I felt like it would be lame not to dress up, since we had done such a good job last year, but I really couldn't muster up enough excitement to go buy stuff/make stuff. Plus, I was out of town for the Halloween party, and Ryan had to work over Halloween weekend.

But then my mom bought Sam a pair of denim overalls. By some stroke of luck, she had also sent us a hand-me-down red sweater and red baseball cap. Now, if denim overalls, red shirt, and red hat don't instantly suggest a costume idea, you clearly are not part of my generation...

So I had this great costume idea for Sam, but Halloween falls on a Sunday this year, and I didn't feel like taking Sam out on the Sabbath (after all, he's one. he's not going to put up a fuss).

However, I live in a magical place called Utah, where if a holiday falls on a Sunday, it gets celebrated on Saturday (remember Independence Day?) That means everyone went trick-or-treating on October 30th! On October 29th, I decided Sam was going trick-or-treating, gosh darn it.

Okay, back to the costume. If you haven't figured it out yet, shame on you.

It's-a me-a, MARIO!!

Ryan drew the mustache. We let Sam carry the plunger around the whole time because it was the only way to keep him from yanking off his hat.

We were only out for a half-hour, because Ryan had to go to work, but we had so much fun. Sam was pretty clueless at first, but gradually he figured out he could knock on the door, then reach into a bowl and get CANDY. He wasn't as good at letting go of the candy to put it in the bag, but what did I expect?

I recently returned from visiting my parents in New Mexico. It is... not Alaska. But we had a good time nevertheless. I think I'll do another post sometime with some of the videos and pictures from the trip. But for now...

Happy Halloween from The Reynolds Tribe!

You can't always get what you want

2010-10-15T16:34:00.002-06:00

Pregnancy is an emotion-filled ride. It's nauseating (at least for me), it's scary, it's thrilling. When it ends before you want it to, it's heartbreaking.

Last week I announced on our blog the exciting news that we were expecting our second child. I mentioned that I had an upcoming prenatal visit where I could compare how much weight I lost with this baby compared to with Sam. I was close to 12 weeks. Our doctor couldn't find the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler, which he assured me was normal this early in gestation. We pulled out the mini ultrasound machine, "just for fun". I joked that Ryan was going to be so mad that he stayed home with Sam and missed an ultrasound.

The mini ultrasound showed no heartbeat, and no fetal movement. Our doctor called in the attending physician, who confirmed that she couldn't see it either. I got rushed to the diagnostic center for a full ultrasound. It took the tech there about 30 seconds to confirm that the baby had no heartbeat, and had stopped growing about 3 weeks ago. She told me she was sorry, but that it was unmistakable that "my child had died."

Can you die without ever really being alive?

I know from my training in perinatal genetics that miscarriages, especially first trimester losses, are fairly common. Logically, I get that. But the irrational side of me never ever thought I'd be one of the women sharing that common experience.

The days after we got the news were pretty awful. My body still hadn't let go of the pregnancy, so I was still nauseous and exhausted. I had to take medicine to induce the actual miscarriage. Feeling so betrayed by my body was one of the hardest parts for me. Just waiting around for it to happen was awful.

This next section is not for the faint of heart or stomach. I suggest skipping to the next paragraph if you are either.

No one tells you that having a miscarriage is not like having your period. After taking the medicine, I hung out on our hide-a-bed with Ryan, waiting for the bleeding to begin. I felt cramps for a while, which I had expected. We were watching a movie, and I got up midway through to see if anything was happening. Without realizing it, I had bled all the way through to the pad of the hide-a-bed. I ran into our bathroom. As soon as I sat down, I lost two huge blood clots, which no one told me would happen. I think I got a little hysterical at that point. This was all that existed of our baby, and I was supposed to just... flush it away? That is, I think, the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I kept telling myself that the baby died weeks ago, and no spirit inhabited that clump of tissues. But it was still hard. I didn't prepare well for it.

It has been a week now since we found out. Things are getting better. My nausea vanished, and I am trying to make our apartment a home again, something I neglected when I was sick. As my friend Lindsay put it, work is one of the best ways to move past grief. It is still really hard to tell the people who ask me how I'm feeling (because everyone asks pregnant women that question) that I feel fine, physically, because I'm not pregnant anymore.

My sister called me after my mom gave her the news, and cried with me on the phone. She asked me if it felt like I had lost part of my family. What I couldn't say through the tears is this: Those family members who die are not "lost" to us. My family will last forever, every single member of it. I won't get to hold this baby in my arms and say hi after an exhausting, triumphant labor, like I did with Sam. I may have to wait 60 more years to meet this other member of my family (although if I keep eating junk food the way I do now, it might be a lot less), but meet him or her I will. And not just a passing "Oh hello, oh you're that baby? Well great, enjoy heaven", but I will meet them as their mother, who will fill the role of their mother in the eternal life to come. I know that this is true.

As that great philosopher Jagger once said, you can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need. I needed love and support, and to feel like I wasn't going to be left to suffer alone. I have received so much from my wonderful friends and family. Thanks for the flowers, Lindsay. They really cheer up my apartment. Jessica, only you could say "Kara, this really sucks about your fetus" and make me laugh instead of cry. Thanks for the ice cream. Elisa, I can think of no one else I'd rather eat Panda Express with on the day we found out. Somehow, you knew I wasn't ready to talk, and I really appreciate how you let me have a normal dinner and not an awkward one. Mom, thanks for telling the rest of our family for me. It was hard enough to say it on the phone to you. I wouldn't have been able to say it 5 more times. And to all the rest of my friends, thanks for the hugs, and the sorrow I saw in your eyes. Thanks for being sad for me.

Sam is happy to have his mommy back. I think he was really bored with me the past 6 weeks, when I could only watch him play instead of playing with him. I'm really grateful that he is so oblivious to what's going on. It makes it easy to lose my own feelings in trying to make him feel like the most special person on earth. Which of course he is!

Ryan is my rock and my anchor. He accepts my feelings, and always tries to give me what I need. I don't think there is another person out there more perfectly suited to being my other half. I am truly blessed to have him as my husband forever, no matter what.

Don't be sad for me for too long, friends, because I plan on being happy again real soon. We don't move on, we move through, and we come out at the other end stronger, better people.

Blog Hiatus

2010-10-06T21:05:00.003-06:00

It's been so long since I updated our blog that I probably don't have any faithful readers left. I understand, guys. My parents came to visit after my last post. They drove from Anchorage to Northern California, dropped off my sister and our dog at school, then drove to Utah to see us. After a couple weeks of Mom sleeping on our couch while Dad was at work, they drove to their new home in New Mexico. Pretty sweet road trip, right? So I didn't blog while they visited, and I didn't blog after they left because...

...I'm pregnant again!

And just like with Sam, I am really, really sick. It takes all of my energy just to be conscious and stand up. Instead of playing with Sam, I have a pillow on the floor of his room, and I lay down while he throws toys at me. Occasionally he dogpiles me, which is adorable except when he lands on my stomach. I don't really cook, unless baked potatoes count. I did make spaghetti last night, and it wiped me out. When I get exhausted, I vomit. I do manage to do laundry, but our apartment is a mess. I've lost weight, in my hips and thighs, which is pretty sweet. Last time I lost 12 pounds by this point in pregnancy. I have a prenatal visit on Friday, so I'll see then how much I've lost this time. Probably not as much. How did I get through my first semester of graduate school like this? I honestly have no idea.

But enough of the pity party. This time around, instead of keeping the pregnancy a secret (which was hard last time considering I threw up in public frequently) we told our Relief Society president right away. The wonderful women of our ward mobilized instantly. We have had dinner brought to us, our dishes washed, and our son babysat. Elisa has been amazing about making dinner at our house, then cleaning up. My mom sent me a Jamba Juice gift card so I could get my fruity cravings satisfied. And of course, I have the most amazing husband on the planet. If I die from hyperemesis gravida, you can fight over him, single ladies. Ryan just washed all our dishes and cleaned up after Hurricane Samuel's spaghetti tornado. He changes poopy diapers when I can't handle the smell. He brings the laundry in from the line when it's dark outside. He goes grocery shopping. He takes out the trash. He watches Sam while I take naps. And he does it all while going to school, working full-time, and preparing to be a Seminary teacher. I may not remember what it is like not to feel like death warmed over (it's been more than 6 weeks since I felt "normal"), but at least this time of trial makes it clear to me how blessed I truly am.

Sammy and I are flying to New Mexico on Friday to spend some time with Mom and Dad. Sam is quite the seasoned traveler. This will be his 6th airplane trip, and New Mexico will be the 9th state he has visited. New Mexico is a new one for me too, actually. As soon as I find my transfer cable, I'll put up some pictures of us.

Literary Discussion: The Hunger Games

2010-08-19T20:46:00.003-06:00

Excitement is sweeping the young adult literary nation this week as they count down to the August 24 release of the final book in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series. Personally, I haven't looked forward to a book release this much since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out in 2007.

I have resisted the Hunger Games books for about a year now. I recall reading on Stephenie Meyer's website that she loved the book and couldn't put it down, but I was in grad school and pregnant at the time and didn't have a lot of free time left for reading. Now that school is over and Sam doesn't require my constant attention (ha ha), I have had a lot more time for books on my hands. I requested The Hunger Games at the library, but was number 155 on the list to check it out.

One hundred fifty-five? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I knew instantly that I was missing out on something good. No way I was going to wait for 154 slowpokes to finish the book before I got a crack at it. My good friend Mary responded to my Facebook plea for help, showing up at our apartment with both The Hunger Games and its sequel, Catching Fire. That was a Monday night. I promised Mary I'd try to get the books back to her in a week.

It took less than 24 hours. That's right, almost 800 pages, devoured overnight. That's how good these books are. I stayed up Monday night reading as fast as I could, and pretty much ignored Sam and Ryan the next day (they got over it). So let me say, without further ado- READ THESE BOOKS. The third one, Mockingjay, comes out next Tuesday. I am number 285 on the library's hold list, though Mary assures me I can borrow it from her when she's done with it.

At this point of the blog post, you should stop reading if you haven't read Hunger Games yet but think you might. If you've read the books and like overanalyzing them, read on.

***************************

First of all, what struck me immediately about the books is how dense Katniss is when it comes to interpreting the feelings and motivations of others. She pretty much assumes that the world is a certain way, and has great difficulty seeing past her own viewpoint. This is a very handy strategy used by Suzanne Collins to intentionally deceive us in order to twist the plot. She's not the first to use this strategy. Remember in the first Harry Potter book, how Harry is absolutely convinced that Snape is trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone? Because the book is written from Harry's perspective, we are unable to consider the possibility that someone else might be after the stone. When JKR reveals that it's actually Quirrell, we're blindsided. And good thing too! How boring would it have been to suspect Quirrell the whole time and be right? No, readers enjoy being wrong. Suzanne Collins enjoys misleading her readers into being wrong, and bravo to that, I say.

Here are a few examples: In Hunger Games (THG) when Katniss is saying goodbye to her friends, Madge insists that she take her mockingjay pin, not only to the Capitol, but into the Hunger Games arena itself. Why? It doesn't seem to be a bit odd to Katniss, but if you reread the scene it certainly stands out as a little bit weird. And how about Cinna constantly removing the pin from Katniss' discarded clothes to return it to her? Why should he give a crap about her pin? Again, Katniss glosses over how odd this is, but we as enlightened readers should not. By the end of Catching Fire (CF), the mockingjay has become the symbol of the rebellion. Madge and Cinna (if he's not dead) probably both have big parts to play in the coming book, as shown by their attachments to the symbol of the rebellion.

Another example along the same lines: In CF, Plutarch Heavensbee, the new Head Gamesmaker, shows Katniss his watch with mockingjay hologram during a dance. Katniss, with her disdain for all people associated with the Capitol, assumes he's just another idiot jumping on the mockingjay bandwagon. And then at the end of the book, you find out that Heavensbee is part of the rebellion! Katniss was surprised, but I was not. By then, I had learned what an unreliable narrator Katniss is, and decided not to trust her opinions about people.

If you have time before Mockingjay is released, go back and reread THG and CF. Don't trust Katniss' evaluation of things, and you'll find that a lot of the surprises in the books make sense. I expect that as Katniss is growing up more and more, she will become a more reliable narrator, and we'll see more careful thought from her in Mockingjay. I'd love to hear your thoughts on Katniss as an unreliable narrator and predictions for the 3rd book in the comments!

And I also can't wait to see what will happen re: Gale and Peeta. Yep, I'm a sap.

Veggie Pasta!

2010-08-09T22:56:00.007-06:00

Our fave next-door neighbors, the Andersons, went to Europe today. As a thank you for driving them to the airport, they gave us the perishable food from their refrigerator. I got mushrooms and tomatoes, which I hate but Ryan loves. Tonight is Ryan's friend Martin's last night in town, so we invited him and his wife over for dinner. Martin is Muslim, so he can only eat meat prepared by other Muslims.

Free veggies+enforced vegetarian guest= Pasta a la Kara! I sauteed onions, red peppers, asparagus, and mushrooms in olive oil, and tossed it with spaghetti. Top with tomatoes and grated mozzarella cheese... heaven. I abstained from the tomatoes and mushrooms, and thought it was delish. So there you go, friends. A simple, healthy, delicious meal.

In other news...

Sam is a hilarious kid. He recently discovered this stuffed monkey that he's had since he was a couple months old. He wrestles the heck out of that monkey. Sam is not one to play lying down, but not when it's monkey time!

We are moving into our two bedroom apartment in exactly 1 month! We are incredibly excited! Right now, Sam sleeps in a pack and play at the foot of our bed. It's hard to get into our room late at night to go to sleep without waking him up. And if he is awake, he probably looks something like this:

Or sometimes this:

If our kid played baseball, I'd call him Sammy So-sad. GET IT?? MWAH HA HA.

And finally, the summer semester is over, which means I now officially have a master's degree. I want to be addressed as Master Reynolds for the next week. Thanks guys.

Taco Neck

2010-07-30T21:27:00.003-06:00

When you eat a taco, which way do you tilt your head? I always tilt to the left. I tried tilting my head to the right at dinner tonight while eating tacos, and it just felt weird.

Which way do you tilt your "taco neck"?

In other news...

Today has been a disappointing day for The Reynolds Tribe. First off, I had another bout of insomnia last night and didn't fall asleep until 3am. Sam had a bad night too, and kept waking up, meaning we all got less sleep. Ryan and I were both grouchy from less sleep, and had a fight. We found out that we can't move into the apartment we want to, even though our friends want to switch with us. I didn't get the job at ARUP. Sam has been cranky all day, probably because he didn't sleep well. I have a migraine.

But we've had good things happen too! Dr. Pfitzner said that Sam's head growth is normal and didn't charge us for the appointment. The library had 5 of the books I wanted, and both Knuffle Bunny books for Sam. Ryan and I made up (and he made a cute "I love you" sign colored like a giraffe!) We had tacos for dinner (yum!) I got to give a tour of our apartment to an engaged couple who is moving in to the Village soon, and they were really nice. I ate a bunch of chocolate chips. Sam went to bed without a fuss right at his bedtime. Season 1 of Lie to Me is on Netflix Instant Play.

Overall I think I will put this on the good day list.

Family Pictures part 2

2010-07-28T19:14:00.010-06:00

We got our next set of family pictures! Katie Boyack took us to Wheeler Farms for our "photo shoot". There are lots of wooded trails to walk, and plenty of scenic places to take pictures. For this set, we were going for a relaxed, down-home kind of feel. We brought Ryan's cowboy hat and our trusty ukulele. Katie got so many cute pictures of Sam playing with the uke. Not an easy thing to do! If you need a photographer in the Salt Lake Valley area, check out Katie's photography site! We are so lucky to have photographer friends.

Hug-a-mommy!

Ukulele lesson

Our cute little cowboy!

This picture just about sums up our relationship :0)

Baseball... Cold showers

2010-07-28T16:12:00.003-06:00

Utah doesn't have a major league baseball team, but it is home to the triple-A affiliate team of the LA Angels. The Salt Lake Bees stadium is not too far away from where we live. We had a lot of fun going to games before Sam was born, but haven't taken him out yet. Our friends the Broadheads have season tickets, and they gave 2 tickets to us so we could take Sam to a game! We chose to watch a game against the triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies (woot woot!). Season tickets are right by home plate, so we had a great view. Ryan brought his glove to protect us from foul balls. It rained off and on while we were there, which got our clothes wet but couldn't dampen our spirits. The game started at 7pm, which is when Sam goes to bed. We only made it through 4 innings, but we had a great time!

Eating snacks

Trying to stay dry

Family Pictures part 1

2010-07-25T19:07:00.021-06:00

Our family has had their picture taken not once but TWICE this past week. We asked my good friend Katie Boyack to take our anniversary pictures for us. Shortly after that, our friends the Loudons asked to take pictures of us before they move next week. We were happy to oblige. With their move coming up, the Loudons made sure to get our photos back to us ASAP, and I have a few favorites to show you here! If you are in the Memphis, TN area and need a photographer, be sure to check them out!

Ryan wanted to go for a 1920s, urban feel. I think the Loudons picked out the perfect spot!

I don't remember posing for this picture- candid shots are fantastic!

I love my Sammy!

Best buds clowning around!

Sam is so excited to walk by himself.

I think this captures Sam's soul- a little mischevious, but overall the sweetest thing ever!

Happy Pioneer Day

2010-07-24T22:47:00.003-06:00

Pioneer Day is a Utah thing. The holiday celebrates the arrival of the Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley. This is our third Pioneer Day in Utah, but actually the only one we've been physically in Utah for. Some of our friends had Friday off. Ryan, sadly, did not get any time off work. I don't have a job, so I couldn't expect any benefits from Pioneer Day (besides FIREWORKS!).

And then I got called for Jury Duty.

My week of being on-call for JD starts Monday. However, the courts have Monday off as part of the extended Pioneer Day holiday, so I have one less day of waiting around! Hurrah!

In other very exciting news...

Sam has started walking! He's only been doing it for about a week, and he thinks it's about the coolest thing ever. He holds his hands up by his shoulders and does his "I'm excited!" hyperventilating thing while taking tiny steps. Stinkin' adorable. Oh man. I love this kid.

Ryan and I had our 2 year anniversary on the 17th. That was a Saturday, so we had just enough time to go out to lunch as a family before Ryan had to go to sleep before work. Then a few days later Elisa watched Sam for us so we could go out on a REAL DATE. I honestly can't remember the last time Ryan and I went out alone to do something fun. We ate dinner at a restaurant without having to constantly entertain anyone (ie Sam) and then saw Despicable Me. It was fantastic.

Gross

2010-07-12T11:02:00.002-06:00

There are things in our apartment that are, quite frankly, gross. I was mentally listing them off this morning, and it made me laugh. If you like to be amused and slightly shocked, read on.

1. Sam's high chair: Ryan broke it a few months after we bought it, so it needs replaced. After Sam grows out of it, that thing is gone. As a result, I'm not as anal about cleaning it. There are crumbs in the crevasses, and dried food on the legs from Sam flinging food.

2. Sam's Snugaphant: Snugaphant is Sam's stuffed elephant. He snuggles it hardcore at night, and really likes to take his binkie out so he can chew on the tail. This thing has a rattle in it, so you can't wash it. I do try to wipe the grime off with baby wipes, but Sam-saliva is apparently unconquerable. I would get him a new Snugaphant, but first I have to ask my grandma and grandpa Huelin where they bought it. Hopefully not some obscure East Coast store.

3. Our bathroom: Hasn't been cleaned in a while. Will be rectifying that tonight. Sorry.

4. The plastic bags under our sink: There are probably close to 100. Our next-door neighbor wants to take them from us because they use them at her work, but for some reason I have not yet packed them up for her. I have no idea what the hold-up is. I want them gone.

5. The kitchen trash can: Always has poopy diapers in it. Need I say more?

Home, gross home.

Sam and Snugaphant. Fortunately, the tail is not in Sam's mouth.

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T22:33:00.003-06:00

I love Independence Day because people choose to celebrate with FIREWORKS! which may be one of my top 5 favorite things in the world. Actually, let's make that list now:

1. Brownies

2. Roller-coasters

3. Fireworks

4. Baseball

5. Reading a book

See, fireworks DID make the list! And obviously this is a list that excludes people. It's more of a "material" or "worldly" top 5.

I digress...

Last night Sam and I met up with Elisa and Heidi to watch fireworks in Sugarhouse Park. Now, this is only the 2nd fireworks show I've been to in Utah, but I must say that Utahns do fireworks right! It was an amazing show. Sam, who thrives on new experiences, was not fazed at all by the fireworks. In fact, on Sam's top 5 list:

1. Lights

2. His "Snugaphant" stuffed animal

3. Binkies

4. Opening cupboards

5. Hissing

You can see that Lights are his favorite thing. Fireworks are big, exciting, loud lights. Sam and I laid down and looked up at the big lights. They held his attention for a few minutes, then he would wiggle around and try to climb on Elisa, then he would watch again. It was an exciting night for the little guy. I missed watching fireworks with Ryan, however. We have watched fireworks together 3 of the past 4 Independence Days. Poor Ryan, slaving away at the hospital so we can buy toys and oatmeal. I got a second fireworks show tonight. Our apartment complex is up the mountain from the rest of Salt Lake, so I could see several shows going on tonight. I don't know why, but I can't resist fireworks!

Last Thursday I took Sam to "Book Baby" at our local library. They read books, sing songs, and dance! I think I'll keep taking Sam, he needs to learn how to socialize without grabbing faces.

Back in May, I applied for a genetic counseling position here in Salt Lake City. As mentioned earlier, Ryan and I felt strongly about staying in SLC for a little while longer, so I turned down a position in Pennsylvania. We were pretty excited about this opportunity in SLC. I had a phone interview with HR, with the next step being an in-person interview with all the people involved with genetics in the company. A few weeks had gone by since the phone interview, so I called to check in and was told it would take a few more weeks. So after letting a few more weeks pass, I called again. The HR guy told me that I had not been selected for an in-person interview. I was crushed. It's one thing to not be selected for a job because you aren't the right person, but to not even get a chance? That was a new experience for me. Ryan and I were both very disappointed, and fairly concerned about our little family's financial future. After all, toys and oatmeal are expensive.

About a week after this let-down, I got a call from a woman who works in the office with the genetic counselors. She was calling to schedule my in-person interview! I was very confused, and timidly told her that I was informed by HR that I was not going to have an in-person interview. She was very upset and told me categorically that I was being considered all along for the position, especially being local and everything. I even got an e-mail from one of the GCs apologizing for the mistake! What a welcome surprise! I am interviewing over this Thursday and Friday, and have the opportunity to present my research as part of the interview process. That means giving my defense again. I am looking forward to it. After all, I think our research is pretty cool. Ryan and I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers this week. This job would be pretty ideal for us.

This is the first Sunday I haven't made brownies since the Sunday before Memorial Day. Weird.

15 seconds of fame

2010-06-26T21:53:00.002-06:00

So Cake Wrecks finally posted pictures from their SLC stop, and our shirts got a special shout-out! Check it out here: http://www.cakewrecks.com/2010/06/sweet-n-salty.html.

A million thanks again to my wonderful husband, who indulged his wife and churned out 3 awesome shirts in an hour. You are my artistic hero, Ryan!

Cake Wrecks!!

2010-06-25T21:03:00.004-06:00

If you read my blog regularly, you know how much I love cake. You may also be aware of my love of a hilarious little website known as Cake Wrecks. The author of the CW blog is on a book tour, and she and her husband came to the King's English this Wednesday! It was free, so I went with two fellow CW lovers, Katie and Kathryn. Ryan, ever the supportive husband, made t-shirts for us to wear to the event.

My shirt features a fearsome Cake REX, Katie has a Cake Wrecks wrecking ball, and Kathryn's shirt has the host of "The Kay Krex Show". Ain't we clever?

One of the best parts of the event, for me, was getting to eat cake. Ryley of That's My Cake provided delicious and beautiful cakes for us. Amazing! I got a slice of the chocolate sheet cake... mmm. If only I was getting married again so I would have an excuse to get another fantastic cake!

Ryley must be a true CW fan- there are carrot jockeys on her giant cupcake!

Cutting into the cupcake

We had a great time. Jen signed our t-shirts, and took pictures of us for the CW blog. Hopefully we will see our pictures soon!

Sam's Birthday Party

2010-06-23T11:53:00.006-06:00

A few days late, but... HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY SAMMY!

My parents came to visit for Sam's birthday weekend. He got lots of new toys, went geocaching, and got to swim in his pool!

Heidi and Elisa came over and grilled with us. We served birthday cake right after dinner so Ryan could get to work on time. My dad helped me decorate the cake the night before.

We cut a big slice out and gave it to him. Here is a video my mom took of the carnage:

What a happy boy!

A Series of Unfortunate Events

2010-06-23T11:26:00.002-06:00

How Kara Planned Her Tuesday:

7am: Wake up

8am: Leave for Manti

10:30-11am: Arrive in Manti

11:30am: Attend Manti temple while Ryan sets up campsite

2:30pm: Play with Sam while Ryan attends Manti temple

5pm: Enjoy turkey dinner at Manti tabernacle

6:30pm: Snag awesome seats at Mormon Miracle Pageant

9:30pm: Watch Pageant

11:30pm: Drag tired baby back to tent

How Kara's Tuesday Actually Went:

8am: Wake up

9am: Leave for Manti

11:30am: Arrive in Manti

12:30pm: Attend Manti temple while Ryan sets up campsite

2:30pm: Sam barfs all over Ryan

2:45pm: Clean barf off baby, husband, sundry items

3:30pm: Hang out at campsite

5pm: Enjoy turkey dinner at Manti tabernacle

6:30pm: Save seats at Pageant

6:31pm: Sammy gets cranky

6:32pm: Ryan takes Sammy back to tent for a nap

6:35pm: Read Agatha Christie book

7:45pm: Finish Agatha Christie book

8pm: Walk back to campsite

8:15pm: Reunited with sad feverish baby

8:20pm: Executive decision to go home

9pm: Stop at Ephraim Wal-Mart for Tylenol and Pedialyte to revive Sam's spirits

11pm: Stop at Draper In-N-Out Burger to revive Kara and Ryan's spirits

12:30am: Calm down sad baby and go to sleep

Introducing... Marry, Boff, or Kill Mondays

2010-06-14T12:45:00.002-06:00

You know those little "personality" games you play with your friends when you are bored? And supposedly they give you insight on the mentality of said friends? Well, my current favorite of those games is called Marry, Boff, or Kill. Except boff is kind of a yucky term, so I think of it as "make out with" instead. It's pretty easy. You have 3 people, and you declare which of the three you would marry, which you would "boff", and which you would kill. I expect all to post responses to these posts with your answers.

So- Osama Bin Laden, Martha Stewart, and Madonna. MBK?

This should be a pretty easy one...

Elements of an Agatha Christie Novel

2010-06-11T08:26:00.003-06:00

No offense to Dame Agatha, but I've been reading a lot of her books lately (now that the bulk of my schoolwork is complete) and I'm noticing a lot of similarities. She's one of the world's most prolific authors, but when the stories are all the same... does it mean as much?

This is the basic idea:

A detective (sometimes 2) go to a charming British countryside manor. An old man or perhaps old woman is going to change or has already changed their will. Their children, servants, etc are angry about it. During the night, the old manlady dies. Natural causes are suspected. But then a clue appears that makes it almost certainly murder! The detectives talk to everyone, and finally the most unlikely person is proved to be the killer. Disguises played a key part in the intrigue. Everyone is shocked, save for the detectives, who knew it all along.

Anyone who has read Agatha Christie can agree that the above synopsis would describe a LOT of her books. I must confess, however, that there is something so charming? enjoyable? about post-WWI Britain that keeps drawing me back. I don't care how formulaic the books are. I like them. I still almost never guess who did it, or how exactly they carried it out. And no article on Agatha Christie novels would be complete without a tip-of-the-hat to her most surprising, out-of-the-box novels, And Then There Were None and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. ATTWN gives me the creeps every time I read it. I think I was probably around 10 years old when I read it the first time, and it scared me so badly I couldn't sleep. I checked it out from the library last week and made sure I read it outside in the daytime, while Sam played in the sandbox. TMORA has outraged mystery readers for decades. I love it. I don't care if she cheated. The mystery world needs the occasional upset to stay fresh.

I have to thank my grandma Lauver for my love of mystery novels. Her collection of mystery books is one of my favorite things about her house. She introduced me to Dame Agatha and the Cat Who mystery series when I was pretty young and desperate for something challenging to read. I think she also influenced my choice of future novels by giving me series that aren't violent and don't have a lot of foul language or sex. Thanks Grandma, for giving me the good stuff to read.

Scones, Clones, and Groans

2010-06-06T23:20:00.005-06:00

Scones:

Shh, don't tell Ryan, but when he gets home from work there will be delicious scones waiting for him! Actually, they are still cooling so I haven't had one yet. I just assume they're delicious.

Clones:

I love Star Wars. When I hear the word "clones" I think of Star Wars. When I hear "Somebody get this big walking carpet outta my way" I think of Star Wars.

Groans:

Doesn't look like it rhymes with scones, yet it does. I have a headache, hence the groans.

In other news, Sam is still officially the cutest baby I know.

In other other news... I played in my first softball game EVER on Thursday. Ryan gave me a batting lesson (I was channeling Todd Helton) on Wednesday, which was the first time I'd swung a bat since Cassi and I tried to play Calvinball in our backyard with a big red plastic bat. I am proud to say that I made it on base every time I went up to bat! I played second base (this time channeling Clint Barmes) but didn't do so well. Knowing where to throw the ball is tricky. I hope I do better this Thursday.

We don't get to have a lot of family time on the weekends because of Ryan's work schedule, but the time we do have is pretty special. This Saturday we took a nice long walk around our favorite neighborhood. When we got home we sat on a blanket in our apartment court and had popsicles! Sam got little pieces of ours, and needless to say he loved them.

Sam will be a year old in less than 2 weeks. I know this sounds cliche, but I really can't believe that my little boy has been around for so long! We love our Baby Sam so much!

What's in a Name?

2010-06-03T10:47:00.006-06:00

This morning I was reflecting on all the different nicknames we have for Sam, and I thought I'd make a list.

Nicknames for: Samuel Grayson Reynolds

The obvious, Sam and Sammy

Baby Sam

Sams

Sammy G

Grumpkins

Grumplestiltskins

Grumpy Bum (and Bumpy Grum)

Stinkerpants

Sammy Sammy Bo Bammy

Bo Bams

Sam Bo Jams

Dinosaur Baby

Samasaurus Rex

Samster Hamster (thanks, Aunt Cassi)

Sammy the Salmon

Booger

Boogerbrain

Boogs

Wushious

Fussious Wushious (good luck trying to pronounce those)

A "Rash" Decision

2010-06-01T22:12:00.002-06:00

Today while I was at school Ryan called and told me to hurry home because he thought Sammy was in pain and needed to go to the doctor. I asked him why he thought Sam was in pain and he refused to tell me. If he thought the mystery would get me home more quickly, he was right. I came home to see Sam snuggling with Ryan on the couch. Sam does not snuggle. He can't sit still for more than 5 seconds. He really must have been feeling crappy. Ryan noticed that Sam was crying and flinching while he was wiping him off during a diaper change. We got a quick appointment for him to make sure nothing serious was wrong. Boy were we relieved to find out our baby has an infection in his diapered region! I never thought I'd say those words! He got some special ointment and hopefully the infection will clear up soon. He's having a hard time going to bed tonight, I wonder if it is because his bummy hurts. Poor little guy.

Eggs at Midnight, or "Doesn't anyone else stay up late in this town?"

2010-05-31T00:17:00.002-06:00

I made deviled eggs for our barbecue tomorrow. I used all of the eggs so we'd have a lot. Eggs complete, I went to the pantry to get brownie mix for the next part of our feast. Stupid! You need eggs to make brownies!

Ryan is at work, and baby Sam is asleep. I already walked around our apartments looking for lights on in the apartments of good friends (the kind you could say "I need brownies NOW" to and not feel stupid). No one is up. I even asked a guy smoking outside if I could borrow some eggs. YES I am that desperate. Sadly he is just visiting his daughter, and she's already asleep.

I am seriously thinking about waking Sam up and going to the grocery store. Is it worth it? I could just eat the rest of the jar of fudge...

Blog giveaways!

2010-05-29T16:45:00.002-06:00

My friend Mary has her own neato crafty blog. This week she is giving away goodies to people who comment on her posts and blog about the giveaway items. I would love to win 2 things-

The Name Banner- I think it would look so cute in Sammy's room when we get a two-bedroom apartment.

The Photo Shoot- I love pictures of Sam, and having people take them who are actually talented at taking pictures is even better!

Go check out her blog! http://maryeclev.blogspot.com

Graduating and Becoming a "Grown-Up"

2010-05-28T23:17:00.009-06:00

Graduation ceremonies for the School of Medicine were held on May 22nd. I don't technically finish until August, but I was allowed to walk in the ceremony with my classmates. I must say, receiving the hood for the master's degree is pretty awesome.

Yeah, yeah, I know that's not how you are supposed to wear it!

Even though poor Ryan had worked a 12-hour overnighter at the hospital, he still came to graduation the next morning. His unwavering support the past 21 months has really kept me going. I gave him my "stole of gratitude" after the ceremony.

After some group pictures outside, it started to rain. Once inside, I lost everyone! We did manage to catch up with one of my classmates, Heidi, after the ceremony. She and I have become such good friends over the course of working together through school. I'm glad we'll be colleagues in Salt Lake City. That is, of course, assuming I get a job!

Our friend Elisa (aka THELISA) watched baby Sam for us during the ceremony. She is so awesome. To double her awesomeness, she took some nice pictures of us.

I am in the interview process for a job here in Salt Lake. They say they are taking the hiring process slowly, so even if I get the job I probably won't start working until July at the earliest. Next week is my last week rotating through the Pregnancy RiskLine, so after that I will have some time to be a stay-at-home mom. I'm looking forward to it. It will be great to spend so much time with Ryan and Sam without having homework constantly on the back of my mind. I hope we have some nice weather so Sam can enjoy his new pool!

Topsy Turvy Cake

2010-05-27T13:42:00.011-06:00

Being an avid reader of Cake Wrecks, I have been exposed to new ideas in cakery. My absolute favorite is the topsy turvy cake.

The Interwebs has several sites that teach you how to make these cakes, and Ryan and I (well, mostly me) thought we would try to make one for Sam's first birthday cake. Being haunted by our past cake disasters, I decided that we would make a practice cake first, to work on technique.

Not too bad, actually. Okay, there are crumbs in the icing, and the top stack is leaning a little, but on the whole, it looks as it should!

So Ryan and I were dinking around on our computers in the living room, when all of a sudden I hear a noise from the kitchen...

The top stack on our cake fell off! After I spent 30 minutes icing it to be sure it would stay together!! Rage!!!

Picking up a stack of cake bare-handed is messier than anticipated.

Our topsy turvy cake was more of a tipsy turvy cake... and what does turvy mean, anyway? In a nutshell, we have abandoned our hope of making a very fancy cake for our son's birthday. We might still buy some packaged fondant to make pretty designs for his cake, but we're sticking to what we know best: two 8 inch rounds stacked together with chocolate icing.

I need a new hobby.

Sammy Eats!

2010-05-21T21:00:00.004-06:00

Sam is almost a year old, so we're trying to introduce him to "grown-up food". He does best with pasta, which he really likes.

Messy, but totally worth it!

Sam also loves bread and cheese, so making little sandwiches for him is also fun. He doesn't do so well with lunchmeat yet, though.

It's an adventure every day.

I like nice people

2010-05-16T17:54:00.004-06:00

Sam and I took our first plane ride completely by ourselves this weekend. The kid is a handful (more like two hands full, for honesty's sake), so I was pretty worried about him freaking out on the plane and not being able to contain him. Lucky for us, the flight from Salt Lake to Denver is only about an hour long. We were so lucky on both flights- the gentlemen sitting next to us actually liked babies. On the first flight our seat mate showed pictures of his little girl to Sam (he loves pictures of babies) and gave him a RiceKrispies treat to play with. On the return flight our seat mate offered to hold him and get my bag from the overhead rack. Seriously, it means so much to this frazzled mother to have people act kindly towards my son.

While in Denver, Sam and I attended the funeral of the son of one of my best friends from my undergrad days. I think the death of a child is one of those moments where you know for sure whether or not you believe in God and trust in His plans for your life. My heart breaks for my friends, who will have to wait many years before they see their little boy again. I take comfort, however, in knowing that they know that they will see him again. Their marriage was solemnized in the temple of the Lord, and their children will be with them forever, even if they don't have the blessing of their company for more than a few months on earth. In looking for comfort I could share with them, I found this poem by President Gordon B. Hinckley:

What is this thing that men call death,

This quiet passing in the night?

'Tis not the end, but genesis

Of better worlds and greater light.

O God, touch Thou my aching heart,

And calm my troubled, haunting fears.

Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure,

Give strength and peace beyond my tears.

There is no death, but only change

With recompense for victory won;

The gift of Him who loved all men,

The Son of God, the Holy One.

After the funeral, my cousin Steven picked us up to take us back to the airport. I haven't seen him in a couple years, so we had a lot of catching up to do. We talked about how Facebook has both helped people keep in touch, and yet enabled us not to keep in touch at all. I know Steven is planning a trip to Africa with his jump team and his girlfriend, and he sees all my pictures of Sam, but we haven't really talked since we saw each other in April '08. It is kind of sad, actually. It further contributes to my love/hate relationship with FB.

In any case, the three of us had a great time hanging out. Sam looooved his bread crust treats at Panera Bread. Steven and I spent the car ride talking about things that are actually important. It was a good way to finish a trip that started off on a sad note.

My New Obsession

2010-05-13T21:14:00.003-06:00

Last September, Ryan, Sammy, and I were all sick at the same time. This was before Sam got all mobile and wiggly, so the three of us spent many hours on the hide-a-bed in the living room watching Cake Boss. This prompted us to make our own fondant and decorate a magnificently layered cake, a la Buddy and co.

Yes, we're keeping our day jobs.

In any case, it inspired a love for beautifully decorated, imaginative cakes. I can waste hours online looking at pictures of amazing cakes.

And then I met Nina Fullmer, and started keeping up with her blog (yes, she does live in the apartment above ours, so I COULD just go say hi every once in a while, but this way I get to keep my pasty white skin from getting exposed to deadly UV rays.) Nina's blog's sidebar features a blog with the intriguing name of Cake Wrecks. Being rather obsessed with cake, I had to investigate.

Oh my hilariousness. This blog is dedicated to professional cakes that can best be described as "horribly, hilariously wrong." Like all the different ways you can spell "congratulations". And misuse an apos'trophe. And crazy carrot jockeys! Seriously, people, words cannot do this blog justice. You must see for yourselves.

My dearest wish is to be a Wreckporter. And if you are ever stumped on what to get me for my birthday, a CakeWrecks t-shirt would hit the spot.

Oh, I kill me. Hit the spot!

Downside? I pretty much always want cake now.

So close... and yet so far

2010-04-25T19:58:00.005-06:00

This is my last week of clinical rotations forever! What an amazing feeling. I finally feel like perhaps I am ready to be unleashed on patients on my own. After this week, I will have the Pregnancy Risk Line rotation and my research defense, and be finished in June. WOW!

On the home front, things are going well. Baby Sam is creeping and cruising, he's close to crawling but not so close to walking. Ryan graduated from the Institute of Religion this semester. Sammy and I are so proud of him.

We have successfully indoctrinated a new friend into the world of geocaching. Jennifer accompanied us and the Andersons on a cache trip on campus yesterday. It's so good to get outside and walk around. Geocaching is awesome.

Jessica pulling the cache from its hiding placeSammy trying unsuccessfully to steal the cache from MommyJennifer signing the logbook

On my mind today is the concept of seeking and receiving personal revelation from the Lord. I think it is so important to understand that everyone will receive revelation a little bit differently from everyone else. It is of paramount importance that we learn for ourselves how revelation feels to us as individuals. I understand the Lord's plan for me through my feelings; as I plan my life, He helps me to feel confident in the paths I choose (when correct), even if the world would say that I'm crazy for doing certain things. That's how it felt when we decided to be open to having a baby so early in our marriage. Our Sam is such a delight to us, and I know enough about genetics to know that he is one-of-a-kind; if we had waited another month to have children, we wouldn't have the same baby we have now. Sam is a gift, which we would never have had if we weren't open to revelation.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T21:01:00.005-06:00

We had a very busy March. One weekend we went out to Delta, CO to visit Ryan's dad. It was a long drive, but once again Sam surprised us and did very well. The next weekend we went to the East Coast for some job interviews, and we also visited my family!

Sammy is a very popular guy. We were afraid we wouldn't get him back once the family got to hug him!

General Conference and Easter weekend coincided this year, which made both extra special to me. We made our tent Saturday morning, and for breakfast Ryan made a new treat called cinnamon roll cheesecake. Yum!

Elisa and Heidi joined us for Easter dinner- steak, funeral potatoes, asparagus, and delicious strawberry shortcake courtesy of Elisa!

We love using our china for special occasions. Ryan even took a daffodil from the Village flower bed so I could use my vase. What a sweetheart.

Happy Easter from The Reynolds Tribe

Nertz

2010-03-07T21:18:00.004-07:00

Less than a month since my last post, uh-thank-yuh. We miss watching the Olympics every night, though I admit I am getting more homework done. My parents came to visit us, a short 2 day trip that was great fun. Dad and Ryan went go-karting, and all of us went to the Planetarium. There are lots of neat, free things to do at the Planetarium, I highly recommend it. I need to have my mum send me the pictures they took so I can put them on here. I do have a picture of Sammy on our last geocache to put up.

Sammy is still not crawling. We're trying to teach him how to do finger foods. Honestly, he is the weirdest kid. He will put everything in his mouth EXCEPT food. We give him Cheerios, corn, black beans, you name it- he won't eat it unless Mommy or Daddy put it in his mouth.

Lately I have been listening to Focus on the Family's Radio Theatre version of the Chronicles of Narnia. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the first "chapter book" I ever read, so I am very fond of the series. The Radio Theatre version is fantastic. I tried to get into the audiobook versions of Harry Potter, but it was rough. No offense, Jim Dale, but you just can't bring the books to life with the same guy's voice for 16 hours. The Radio Theatre is great because they have different actors for all the main characters, sound effects, and music. Plus, they are abridged, so while you get the whole idea of the story, it doesn't take overly long to listen to. I love listening to it on the bus, and being transported to Narnia on my way to clinic. When I was a little kid I used to desperately wish Narnia was real, and I would look all over my grandparents' house and big backyard for a way to get there.

Nostalgia aside for the time being, I would like to direct your attention to my new album of Sammy picture on Facebook. You don't need to sign up for an account, just click here.

We Love the Olympics!

2010-02-17T21:49:00.003-07:00

I haven't really watched the Olympics since 2002, so this year I was determined that we would be an Olympic-watching family. Ryan and I have had a blast following the athletes, and even Sammy likes having the TV on all the time. It's very distracting to him. Right now I'm watching Men's halfpipe finals and have just finished up some homework. Ryan just got home from the gym. Hooray!Since our last post, we had a visit from Cassi. It's so nice to have family visit. We had a good time with Aunt Cassi, going to the zoo and tasting Cafe Rio, a Utah original. Ryan made a special cake for me for my birthday, and Sammy got to taste french fries! We had a nice Valentine's Day. Sammy asked me to be his Valentine, and of course I said yes! I have been sick twice in the past month, which is ridiculous. I rarely get sick. We took our friends Elisa and Heidi geocaching for Presidents' Day. It was our first time using our GPS here in Utah. We did a picture puzzle cache around Presidents' Circle (appropriate for the holiday, we thought). Now that Sammy is old enough to appreciate being outside, we will probably go geocaching more often.

My parents are coming to visit on Sunday. We feel lucky to have so many visitors!

Our little boy is 8 months old now! We can hardly believe it! He likes to buzz his lips with his fingers and say "momomomomom" when he is sad. He doesn't eat in the middle of the night anymore (hooray!), although he still wakes up. No crawling yet, so our apartment is still not baby proofed. We love our baby Sam!

Back to School

2010-01-19T23:15:00.003-07:00

New year, new semester, new life... gotta love changes!

We had a wonderful Christmas at home in Alaska. Ryan and I really needed a break. Grad school is stressful, for both students and their families. Hanging out with my parents and Cassi was so fun and relaxing. We can't wait for Cassi's visit this weekend, and Mom and Dad's next month!

Sam is 7 months old now. He has two teeth! We think he's getting his top teeth now, because he's been super fussy the past couple days. Poor little guy. I think he is starting to understand that Mommy and Daddy don't always know what he needs. He also knows when it is bedtime, and he freaks out when he knows he's about to be put to bed. Once he's asleep he's good, thank goodness!

This is my last semester in grad school. I'm feeling the weight of the research project. It seems like such an insurmountable task. I really doubt I'll get 50 participants, and that scares me because I am very intimidated by the Research Oversight Committee. Facing them gives me nightmares. Ryan is an amazing stay-at-home dad. He gives me the freedom to work hard in my clinical responsibilities and my research. I love and appreciate him so much!

While in Anchorage, Aunt Cassi had the brilliant idea of dressing Sam up as "Baby New Year" to ring in 2010. Here's a picture of our (not-so) little guy!

It's the MOST WONDERFUL TIME.......... of the year!

2009-12-10T23:12:00.007-07:00

I do love Christmas time, and when I think about it that song always gets stuck in my head... but only that part because I don't know the rest of it. Sad.

I feel bad that I haven't updated our blog in so long. I can Facebook for an hour, but spend 15 minutes to update my blog? Apparently not. So...

Last month I went to Atlanta for the National Society of Genetic Counselors annual conference. It was wonderful. Spending time with my family and having them love Sammy so much was fantastic!

For Thanksgiving, we drove out to Colorado to spend time with Ryan's family. It was the first time for them to meet Sammy, which of course was very exciting all around. Rusty and Chrissy are so great, letting us all stay at their house. My nieces Falon and Rebecca are absolutely adorable! Falon loooooooved her new cousin! She always wanted to be around him, even when his diaper was being changed! Very cute. It was great to hang out with Richard again, I miss having him around all the time, like when we all lived in Fort Collins. And of course, we were so happy that Grandma Penny finally got to see Sammy. It is so sweet how much she loves her family.

I finished my rotation at Huntsman Cancer Institute, and am now back in a prenatal setting at Intermountain Health Care. I really like it. I get to travel between their different MFM clinics, which is great because I get a look at how different clinics operate. I really think that I want to end up working in an MFM clinic, though I would also pretty much take any job I can get right now :0)

Sammy is learning all kinds of new skills. He rolls over all the time now to reach toys and other "fun" things he sees. He can even sit up on his own! He's still kind of wobbly, so we don't let him sit up without supervision or the Boppy pillow. Next week he will be 6 months old, and we are going to start feeding him vegetables. He's been doing really well with the rice and oatmeal cereal, so we think he'll love some new flavors.

Ryan and I went ice skating with our ward last week. It was Ryan's first time ice skating. He picked it up quickly, although he did hockey-check me into the wall a few times "because he lost his balance." Riiiiiiiiiight.

And now for our token picture of Sammy!

For our next adventure, we will fly up to Anchorage for Christmas with my family. Stay tuned!

Halloween and Other Scary Stories

2009-11-08T21:07:00.007-07:00

For Halloween, we decided to theme our costumes. Ryan was a farmer, Sammy was the scarecrow, and I was the crow!

We went out to a corn maze on Halloween. We love corn mazes. Definitely a favorite fall tradition. Sam loved seeing new things. What a good baby he is!

Sammy has recently discovered his toes. It's really cute. He loves grabbing his feet when he's on his back and rolling on his side. Unfortunately, we didn't cut his nails until a few days after he made this find, so his ankles have all these nasty cuts on them. I'm pretty sure he can't feel pain in his feet, however, because he smacks his feet really hard into the ground all the time and it doesn't seem to bother him at all.

On Thursday I'm going to the National Society of Genetic Counselors conference in Atlanta. Sammy is coming with me, and we're meeting my mom, her mom, and Aunt Dori down there for the weekend! It's going to be a lot of fun- I get to hang out with a thousand other genetics geeks and my family!

October 17th was the 5 year anniversary of my baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This Friday was Ryan's 10 year anniversary. We got together with the two missionaries who taught him, the girl who was baptized the same day, and the ward missionary who helped them both. It was great- all 5 families had kids, and the 5 reunion-ees all had such a good time reminiscing. Sammy got to hang out with Amber and Tyler's son Josh, who is only a few weeks younger than him.

This is why I hand out sandwiches

2009-10-14T22:19:00.005-06:00

I have a sad story to tell. So, whenever Ryan and I go to the temple, I make a sandwich for this homeless lady who hangs out on the corner. I don't like giving cash to homeless people, because I never know what they are going to do with it. I give food instead. Tonight we went to Wal-Mart to get some things for Sammy's Halloween costume. As we walked in, two girls approached us and told us a sad story about the one girl's boyfriend ditching them in Salt Lake and they needed to get back to Ogden tonight. They said they didn't have any money on them to buy their Frontrunner (train) tickets. I didn't have a dollar, but I gave them a five because I felt bad that they got ditched. Later, as we were perusing Halloween costumes, I saw them picking out decorations and carrying a bunch of stuff. So much for not having any money for the train... I just bought Halloween decorations for two tramps instead of for our little apartment. This is why I will not ever hand out cash again! Sandwiches are still a go.

In other news...

Sammy went on his first hike in September. We took him along on the Genetic Counseling program hike up Catherine Pass. We took a bottle for him, but it didn't warm up by the time he was ready to eat... so we detoured off the trail so I could breastfeed him!

Ryan carried Sam in the Baby Bjorn. He got to face forward for the first time. He LOVED being able to see things. Now we carry him that way all the time.

All tuckered out!

We watched General Conference the first weekend in October. Our traditional tent got moved to Sunday morning, because Ryan played football before the Saturday morning session. Sam got to hang out in the tent for the first time! I can't wait til he is old enough to play in the tent.

Don't forget, most of our good Sammy pictures are on our Facebook album. You can also watch video clips of Sam at Ryan's MobileMe gallery. We will soon have the clip of Sam rolling over online! He rolled from his tummy to his back for the first time on October 4th.

Sam's next well-baby visit is Friday. We hope he gets to start solid food soon!

Sammy is 3 months old!

2009-09-18T20:11:00.005-06:00

To celebrate Sammy being 3 months old, we took a family trip to Hogle Zoo. There was a new baby elephant and a baby giraffe, which meant that Ryan and I had spasms of joy!

My favorite zoo animals are giraffes, and Ryan's favorites are the elephants. The zoo babies are only a few weeks younger than our baby! To finish the celebration we had ice cream and pizza using left over gift cards from Ryan's birthday. Yum yum.

Last week, Sammy and I were both getting over a cold. We felt so crummy over Labor Day that we mostly just hung out on the couch and watched TV. We watched a couple hours of Cake Boss on TLC. Ryan and I got so inspired that we decided to make cake decorating our shared hobby. Well, cake making and decorating is not cheap or easy. We spent 3 days on our first (also last) cake. Here are some pictures from the creation of our "masterpiece".

Fondant is very hard to work with!

We have added more pictures of Sammy to our Facebook album. You don't need to be on Facebook to view them, just click here!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

2009-09-05T10:54:00.002-06:00

Today is Ryan's birthday! He is 29. Sammy and I got him a birthday card. Sam picked it out because it had a picture of a baby on the front. We don't know what we're going to do to celebrate, but last night we ordered pizza so we'd have pizza for lunch today.

Sammy has a cold :0( He has a boogery nose and a cough, and he's really fussy. He wants to be held all the time. Poor little guy! He is taking a nap right now. I hope it makes him feel better.

Two weeks of school already down. Only 13 more to go! I'm glad we have a three day weekend. I hope Ryan picks something fun for his birthday celebration!

Ryan finally posts!

2009-08-02T15:32:00.007-06:00

Hello everybody in blog world. I thought I would do the posting this time because, although her belly is considerably smaller, Kara now has one less hand with which to do things. I am glad I can do the heavy lifting for her ... like blogging!

Our first wedding anniversary was such a great time to reflect on how far we have come, plan for the future, and, most importantly, get a sweet gift. Kara's parents got a SUPER cool GPS unit for us. The Garmin Oregon 400t. Be careful not to drool on your computer. I hear that our previous GPS was actually used by cavemen to track dinosaurs.

We went to Kincaid Park to take our first family pictures. We plan on taking a family picture every year on our anniversary. I love my family so much!

Kara and I went to watch Harry Potter and The Half-blood Prince on the night of our anniversary. It was our favorite movie of the series.

We are loving the experience of watching our little boy grow. He has nearly doubled in size. He follows people around with his eyes and smiles when he likes something. Kara's family is just loving their time with Sammy, too.

After my salmon fishing experience on Bird Creek yesterday, I can say that I am now a fishing fan. Both of my parents love to fish. I hope they are jealous that I got to fish Alaskan Salmon!

We look forward to a new year with many exciting developments in each of our lives. Thank you for following our blog!

I want my baby back... ribs

2009-07-15T22:15:00.005-06:00

With barbecue sauce!

Sammy's 1 month "birthday" fast approaches. I cannot believe how much he's changed in the past 4 weeks. Wow! Our little man is growing up so fast! I never thought I'd be the cheesy person saying that, but here I am!

Our 1 year anniversary is on Friday. The gift for each other for 1 year is traditionally paper, so we gave each other tickets to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Cassi said it was pretty good. We're also going to take family pictures with Sam. I hope they turn out well! My parents are going to take the pictures for us.

My genetic counseling rotation is going well. I've had some challenging cases, and I'm glad because I think my usual tendency would have been to just let Audrey do them with me observing. I'm pleased with myself for stepping up to the plate, so to speak. Speaking of stepping up to the plate, I am so bummed that the American League won the Midsummer Classic! Brad Hawpe was totally robbed of a home run, I was so angrified! We'll get 'em in the Fall Classic... aka World Series.

Ryan is playing some shoot 'em up video game on the Playstation. Sammy is asleep on his lap. What is it with boys and violent video games?

We have an album of Sammy pictures on Facebook that you can check out by clicking here. As I've said before, posting multiple pictures on the blog is a pain in the neck, so to see more pictures, check the Facebook album. You do not need to have a Facebook account- just click the link and save it to your bookmarks or whatever. But here's one picture just because I can't resist!

Not cute? What! The grumpy disco dancer is adorable!

Our Baby Story

2009-06-24T15:48:00.009-06:00

Our little Sammy is finally here! He is almost 6 days old, and finally sleeps enough after a feeding that his mommy can get stuff done! (like updating the family blog)

Sam didn't feel like coming out on his own, so I was induced on June 18th. Let me tell you, an induction is no fun. Avoid it if you can! I got the first pill around 11:30 am. After the pill, they don't check on you for 4 hours. Mom, Ryan, and I played cards and watched the Rockies game on TV.

At the start, I was feeling pretty good. About 2 hours into the pill, I started having contractions. When they checked on me, I was dilated to 3cm, so they started the Pitocin. I decided to get an epidural at that point- I couldn't imagine going 7 more centimeters and then having to push if it already hurt that badly. The epidural made the pain manageable, but you can still tell I'm tired a few hours later.

A little after 8pm our doctor told me that I could start pushing. Oh man. That sucked like nothing else. We tried a lot of different positions, but for some reason the whole time the backs of my legs were tingling and it was so uncomfortable. Yuck. And then the last round of pushing came, and Sammy slipped into the world! Wow! He got whisked away by the pediatrics team right away, which was hard for me because I wanted to hold him right away. When I finally did, it was like magic. My little kicky-wicky, in the flesh!

Samuel Grayson Reynolds, born at 10:04pm on Thursday June 18, 2009. He weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces, and is 19.5 inches long. We love him so much!

It has been quite an adjustment for us. We're trying to get the hang of breastfeeding and not sleeping for more than 3 hours at a time. Our little Sammy is totally worth it. We call him "The Grump", "Grumpkins", and sometimes "Grumplestiltskins" because he scrunches up his face like he's glaring when he eats. SO CUTE! I wanted to put up a picture of the grump face, but my camera isn't cooperating right now. Stay tuned, Sam Fans.

Having my mom here to help us was amazing. We had a blast spending time with her, and really appreciated all her help. It was nice to have an experienced person around every time we freaked out about something (like not pooping, or pooping too much...). Thank you for being here, Mom!

Here's a picture of the (very) proud daddy with his little boy:

Still no Sammy

2009-06-13T18:52:00.004-06:00

Aside from the lack of baby (grr...) this has been a good week. My mom is in town now, awaiting the arrival of the baby with us. She's being a good sport about hanging out in our tiny apartment while we wait. It has been raining a lot here in Utah, so we haven't been able to do as much walking as we would like. Yesterday we went geocaching. Ryan found both caches, good job honey!

Today I went to the Kura Door spa to have a special pregnancy massage. I really want Sammy to come soon, so we have more time together before I start my clinical rotation. I've heard a couple people swear by getting a special massage that hits certain pressure points, so I decided to try it out. It was really enjoyable, even if it doesn't help Sammy to get motivated to come out. My masseur really hit the pressure points at my ankles, hands and collarbones hard- I had to keep telling myself "contractions will hurt worse!!" to get through. Afterwards, though, it felt awesome. After the massage we went to the Farmers' Market in Pioneer Park. It was really cool, even though it rained on us a little. Mom bought Sammy a stuffed piggy that Ryan has named Snort. I think I may have to sneak it away from Ryan, he's very attached to Snort! Hopefully I will have some pictures soon of Sammy and Snort! For now, here's a picture of me, sad to still be pregnant.

Ward Photo Booth

2009-06-07T16:52:00.002-06:00

Our ward had a Hollywood dance last night. I can't exactly dance at the moment, but we stopped by to help out with babysitting. One of the girls in our ward is a photographer, and she had a neat set up for people at the dance. Here are our pictures!

Pregnant Brain Strikes Again!

2009-06-06T14:42:00.001-06:00

I completely forgot to let the world know that Ryan passed his Praxis exam, and is now qualified to teach English in the state of Utah. Congratulations, honey! I'm proud of you.

Impatient

2009-06-06T13:50:00.006-06:00

I had most of this week to myself, just hanging around the house, making a half hearted attempt to do research and work on homework. Meh. The Rockies are winning again, which makes me happy. I like to watch their games in the evening while working on the quilt I'm making for Sammy. I finished it a couple nights ago, woohoo!Many, many thanks to Lindsay Caldwell for guiding me along through my foray into quilting. It was fun, and I may even have the confidence to do it again for the next baby!

We had another appointment with our baby doctor yesterday. Here's hoping we don't have any more! I am determined that this baby will not be born late. Things are still looking good. I told my doctor that I wanted to punch out the next person who says something like "The baby is due next week? But he hasn't dropped yet!" and he laughed at me. I think that means I have his permission to smack anyone who says that. So watch out.

Ryan drew this on our chalkboard in anticipation of Sammy's arrival.

I had the craziest experience grocery shopping this week. When I got to Smith's, it was very dim inside. A worker told me that an accident had knocked out power in the area, and they were on the emergency generators. It was fun to shop in the half-lit store. I was almost done when suddenly the lights went completely out. I was in the back of the store, and it was pitch-black. Scary! Someone yelled out that everyone needed to come to the front of the store. I left my cart and slowly walked up to the front. One checkstand still had power. Everyone was leaving, and I thought "Dang it, I want my groceries!" So I went back to retrieve my cart. Good thing I did, because I had left all my reusable bags in the cart (stupid pregnant brain!). I was able to check out before the last checkstand lost power, and got home with my groceries safely. It was awesome. I hope the grocery store didn't lose all their perishables. That would be sad.

Last night we went out to dinner with Rena, my mentor in the genetic counseling program. We tried out the Rocky Mountain Pizza Co. I had an excellent calzone. The days of just going out to eat without serious planning are coming to an end... that will be so weird. Not being able to do things spontaneously is going to be very different for us.

Things I Am Excited to Do Again After the Baby is Born:

Run

Play sports (Ryan is going to teach me how to bat like Todd Helton)

Sleep on my back

Go more than an hour without peeing

Ride a bike

Walk up stairs without wanting to die

Eat whatever I feel like

Not be dependent on medicine to keep from vomiting

Wear my favorite shirt (the yellow one that says Reading is for Awesome People)

Squeeze through tight spaces

Roll over

Put on socks without it taking 2 minutes

Here's what I hope is the last belly picture on the blog.

Babies Everywhere!

2009-05-30T14:02:00.003-06:00

One of our friends was induced on Thursday. Another friend, whose due date was only the day before mine, had her baby yesterday. When will little Sammy arrive? He only has 2 more weeks to go!That's not a peace sign- that's me eagerly showing the number of weeks left til the baby comes!

We finished our lab rotation at ARUP on Tuesday. It's nice to be done. Ryan has been helping me come up with ideas for the papers I have to write for my online class. I've never had school during the summer, this is all a novelty to me. Which really means that it is hard to be motivated.

We babysat for our friends the Joys on Thursday. Their little girls are so cute! While we were watching Mary Poppins Sophie just slowly keeled over and was instantly asleep. Regan did the same thing about 20 minutes later. I was seriously amused.

Ryan played Frisbee with me today. That is quite a sacrifice for him; he really hates Frisbee. Sadly Ultimate Frisbee is one of the few sports I am decently good at. Not right now though, it is so hard to throw a Frisbee with any accuracy or speed when you have a huge belly! Man! Poor little Sammy was getting tossed around! I say poor Sammy, but he probably liked it. He's much more feisty when I'm sitting down, as if to say "Move around, Mommy!" We ended up playing our own version of Frisbee golf in our apartment court- plenty of trees and barbeque grills to aim at. It was nice of Ryan to play with me even though he hates it. He's a good sport.

I am eating fruit snacks, are you jealous?

2009-05-23T20:58:00.007-06:00

Don't lie to yourself- you wish you were eating fruit snacks too.

I have been watching the Rockies play almost every night this week. It makes me so mad that they can't win more than one in a row. Come on boys, prove me wrong!

We had a ward barbeque last night, it was great. I love hanging out with everyone. The guys had a home run derby, which was definitely fun to watch. Only one guy hit the ball over the fence before the bat broke.

Ryan ran in the stake 5k this morning. I had an excuse not to run (thank you, baby!), but I got up and cheered.

Ryan and Rob before the start of the race. Rob is our next door neighbor.Rob waves hi.

Ryan at the finish line. Yay Ryan! I had fun cheering for you!

Today was graduation for the School of Medicine at the U, which means that my class can now call ourselves the 2nd-years. Crazy. Who will help us with our homework, and give us advice for exams? Our class is already planning our skit for next year's graduation party. We were sorely disappointed that there was no entertainment tonight.

Yesterday the baby reached 37 weeks, which means he's now officially a full-termer. If he was born tomorrow I wouldn't have to worry about him, and that feels really good. I can't believe how soon he will be a real live person that I can play with! (and change diapers, and clean up after him, yes I am aware it's not all fun and games!) We still haven't picked out a middle name for him yet though, so I would appreciate some comments with ideas on how to complete Samuel Reynolds. Ryan is championing Grayson, after a character from a book we both like, but I'm not sure about it yet.

I know, my pj pants are AWESOME.

Feelin' HOT HOT HOT

2009-05-18T20:12:00.003-06:00

I should be shunned from the blog circle for being 2 whole days late with my post. A thousand apologies.

Last week the Polynesian kids at Ryan's school put on a cultural performance with dances and costume from all the Polynesian islands. It was neat to see the kids so excited about it. They were great! The Student Housing Association put on a big party for the end of the semester with pizza, ice cream, a petting zoo, a rock wall... it was huge! We got to pet a baby camel! That was cool. Some of our friends did 4-way American Gladiator jousting; I was glad to have a ready excuse not to join in! Lucky me. Of course, my excuse meant I couldn't have a go at the rock wall, so that was a bummer. I like these events Student Housing puts on. They are always a good time.

My classmates and I have 5 more days of our rotation at ARUP. In the Cytogenetics lab we got to look at our own chromosomes! That was crazy. They looked just like the pictures in textbooks; it was hard to identify with the chromosomes as "mine". I still put the printout on the fridge :0)

Less than a month to go until the baby arrives. I'm about 36.5 weeks along now. We had an appointment with our doctor today. He says that he's on Labor and Delivery in June, so as long as Sammy decides to come in the middle of the night, he should be around for it. That would be great. We really like our doctor. He told us today that Sammy's head is down, which is good news. Yay! We have appointments every week now, hopefully only a few more!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-09T21:19:00.007-06:00

To all you moms out there, I hope you feel special and celebrated this Mother's Day. I am excited to join your ranks in 5 short weeks!

The semester finally ended. My neighbors and I threw a end of school/Cinco de Mayo BBQ out in the court. It was fantastic to just hang out and not worry about going in to do homework! Everyone brought food to share, and we played Catch Phrase until it got too dark.

Kristie tries her hot dog "Brazilian style" with crazy ridiculous toppings. According to all my friends who served missions in Brazil, hot dogs taste great with mashed potatoes, peas, crispy onions, you name it! I stuck to an onion burger.Terina with her amazing pavlova dessert. It was quickly devoured.The crew, moving tables. Me and Jessica in our fancy cooking aprons. Terina's pavlova is on our plates, waiting to be scarfed down.

On Wednesday 3 of my classmates and I began our laboratory rotation at ARUP Labs. We will be there until May 26th, hanging out in different labs and practicing making a diagnosis from various lab tests. I am learning a lot, and cementing a lot of the conditions we went over in our Biochemical Genetics class (because we've been in the Biochem lab the past 3 days). I enjoy it, but it is definitely tiring. We're there from about 9am-4pm every day. There is free hot chocolate and water with the fancy ice, so that makes up for the long hours.

Ryan and I went to a breastfeeding class on Thursday. He is being a good sport about going to childbirth classes with me, which I really appreciate. Today we went to an all day childbirth prep class where we learned about labor and delivery. We had to watch a video of a woman giving birth. I was really freaked out, to be honest. It was not pretty. If I wasn't already pregnant, it would put me off having children. By the end of the class I felt better, and I'm excited to use the relaxation techniques we learned. Ryan is a great support, and as long as little Sammy doesn't arrive early, my mum will be there too. I'll be in good hands. I freak out about this every week, but he's almost here! Holy cow!

My dad's birthday is tomorrow. Happy Birthday Dad! See you soon!