The Marshall Family

1!

2012-01-18T12:49:00.000-08:00

little man turned one yesterday, so i put together a sappy photo montage to music. (as his mother, i kind of love it.)

if you hate these, move along.

a couple comments/disclaimers about me, mostly:

1) there is a picture of me post labor that is pretty awful. but in my defense i had just conquered the hardest physical agony i'd ever experienced. (i said out loud: "i'm going to die" and meant it with my whole heart...if that gives you any idea.)

*thinking you've just decided to watch huh. you're so mean.

2) there aren't many flattering photos of me with my boy to make up for the first, so i've recommitted myself to documenting ME as the mother of my children. 2012 may just be the year of the hand held self portrait.

3) it's about 5 minutes, just so you know what you're committing to. and if you really love it, there is a 30 minute version complete with video that i'd be happy to show if you head on over. we still have leftover cake and ice cream.

enjoy, or don't.

*i don't know why it's so small...bah.

an instagram Christmas

2012-01-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

because i'm feeling lazy, and it was app of the year after all.

our christmas party-ing started early with a weekend visit from aubry. she came to town for the mindy gledhill christmas benefit concert. somehow when i bought tickets i sort of missed the "benefit" part.
it was a sweet little concert, even with a silent auction going on in the back, and i still wonder if we mistakenly, maybe, occupied a sponsorship table...
BUT the free food was rad.

the evening aubry headed home, my brother kyle and his wife jeneca came into town. we spent most of the next week with them. i talked them into babysitting so i could get a much needed haircut, they threw my kids around while i played on facebook and napped, we talked and laughed and shopped, and ate too much. kidless married siblings make the best aunts and uncles!

a few days after kyle and jeneca came, my brother nate and his family came into town. we bowled of course, nate lost to tanner and had to do an interpretive dance without music in the bowling alley parking lot.
there was a pinochle tournament and lots of cookie baking and decorating.
olive and clara held hands constantly and giggled at each other for 3 straight days. we even had a sleep over at nana and papa's (more like a no-sleep over)so we could make our traditional midnight merritts run for scones (can you say classy).

hello baby gracie, nice to meet you.

singing "sweet caroline" with the jukebox at merrits, a family tradition.

spencer's parents flew in on the 23rd. their traditional christmas eve dinner is always incredible, and the prep begin the minute they walked in the door. my dad and scott bonded over snowball express, while the meat cooked on the grill, and the meal on christmas eve was to-die-for. we did the winter light botanical gardens and played lots of "there's a bear in the garage"
it's like this:
nana says "what's in the garage"
girls: "A BEAR!"
nana: "how many?"
girls: "(insert number)"
nana: "shall we go see?"
girls: "YES!"
running to the door into the garage, opening it, screaming a lot and running back and laughing on the floor.
loads of fun i'm telling you, LOADS!

hanging in the fort with papa

santa clausing

testing out the new play kitchen set up on Christmas morning

santa delivered that guitar with strings, NOT buttons.

now that's a play-doh snake

spencer and harry potter visiting the reindeer

shoveling the walk with papa

tara and her two youngest girls kennedy and emmy flew in to join the party on the 27th. we shopped and played and made these cookies, they really were THAT good.
we prayed for snow and got just enough for our much anticipated dinner sleigh ride in the mountains.

heading out for nana's glowstick treasure hunt

glowstick path from the party to the potty

life size self portraits

the only decent picture from our winter sleigh ride/cowboy dinner. kennedy you're so cute.

it was a very merry Christmas at the marshall home.
*this probably should have been at least 3 separate posts, but if you lasted until the end thank you, i'm guessing you're related to me.

ringin' it in.

2011-12-31T09:21:00.000-08:00

i haven't forgotten about Christmas, or Christmas kick-off, or pre and post Christmas company and celebrations... i'll get to that, but this is too cute not to share.
happy new years eve.

35 for 35 woot woot!

2011-12-14T13:30:00.000-08:00

love harrison's face in this picture!

happy birthday spencer!
35 reasons why i love you, in no particular order and with olive's input.
drum roll please...

1. you gave me olive
2. you gave me harrison
3. you take me to the temple
4. you make the BEST chicken tacos
5. pancake saturdays and how you always make olive's pancakes into mickeys or reindeer, or reindeer mickeys
6. your back rubs
7. your height=perfect for my hugs
8. your right brain and the genius that comes from it
9. your influence on exercise and healthy eating
10. you're always the first to say i'm sorry
11. the way olive looks at you and the hero you are in her eyes
12. the incredibly funny songs you make up on a whim
13. your sense of humor
14. your sexy hair
15. your honesty on my wardrobe choices
16. your acceptance of others
17. "he makes tents in my bed" -olive
18. "he makes me super fast race cars, super fast" -olive
19. your desire and determination to be a good father
20. your appreciation of the outdoors
21. the time you invest in fostering extended family relationships
22. your love notes and
23. the sweetest little pen drawings that always accompany them
24. you tell me i'm pretty and that i keep getting prettier
25. you watch and like the same shows as me 'veronica mars', pushing daisies' 'new girl' (oh my gosh 'new girl', i die)
26. you support and i think genuinely enjoy my ever changing hair (between humidity and babies...)
27. you make me laugh
28. your sincere joy at other's successes
29. your ever growing commitment to the gospel
30. your commitment to me
31. your recognition of God's influence in our home and marriage
32. "BIG lego houses!" -olive
33. "cuz i love him for reasons mom" -olive
34. your forever young face
35. because you're you and you're mine.

all these years later i still cant believe i married "pink shirt boy" i love YOU.
*a happy birthday rendition compliments of olive:

and so it begins.

2011-12-01T09:32:00.000-08:00

happy december!

i'm grateful for...

2011-11-23T21:41:00.001-08:00

kids that teach me about the important stuff in life, and make me a better person. a steady income. a warm home. a handsome and talented husband and devoted father. red vines. my hair which i sometimes hate. the gospel. my father's wisdom. my testimony. prayer.

red mango frozen yogurt. baby bottoms in the tub. temples. a good knock me down realization that i'm not perfect and am sometimes wrong. cafe rio salads. diet coke, oooo, and cherry diet coke. beach vacations. sourdough toast. chocolate milk. my mother's friendship.

people who are funny. zupas-cheddar cauliflower soup. thumbprint cookies from the nordstrom e-bar. house guests. good company. a good get your hands dirty do-it-yourselfer. a dependable car. generosity. beautiful giant snowflakes last friday night in slc. pecan pie- the only redeeming quality of thanksgiving dinner, next year i swear i'm making tamales. gab time with friends. my sister and the sweet baby #4 growing in her tummy.

modern medicine: especially since olive had a uti last week=tmi i know, there's more.

getting a sample from her at the pediatrician's while harrison attempted to play in the toilet was like a circus act. she completely soaked her clothes and walked out of the dr's office in a courtesy gown, her little bottom exposed to the breeze. not one of our better days, but she held her head up high. atta girl.

yep, REAL thankful for modern medicine and antibiotics when they're needed.

good photographs. heart to hearts. a garage. white peonies, ranunculus, succulents. the sweet smell of new babies. a backyard. warm boots and scarves in the winter. holiday lights and music except for the real annoying songs that get WAY too much radio play. parumpapumpum...shoot me. and simply haaa-aaving a wonderful christmas time (ever since aubry posted it in her facebook status i can't get it out of my head.) make it stop!

the ability to sleep like a rock most every night.

colorful spaces. clever ideas. handmade blankets. a dishwasher. a hot shower every day. the magic of the holidays.

aubry's 30th. it's a big deal.

2011-11-23T21:08:00.000-08:00

i made the trek from boise to salt lake last weekend all by myself to celebrate aubry's 30th.
i hadn't been away from harrison since he was born, that's at least 304 goodnight kisses (yep i added em up), and now i'm -2 blah.
i was excited, but a little emotional. is that silly? whatever.

highlights.

shopping at gateway for 2 hours BY MYSELF. only mamas will understand the magic and rarity of shopping w/out kids. heaven really.

meeting up with mishelle and jen for dinner, the most amazing people and mothers and friends. some of my most favorite.

a race through ikea with aubry, kyle and jen. my little brother is all grown up and married, his wife is drop dead beautiful and as sweet as sugar...lucky dog.

tulie bakery for breakfast, seriously the best bakery ever, get the gougere...you will die.

hip and humble, always a winner.

the bijou market= lots of famous utah blogger faces, lots of pretties, and more time with kyle and jen.

the jcrew outlet in park city where i probably spent too much $, but they had crew cuts. crew cuts!

and then back to n. salt lake for the big birthday event.
there were lots of cuppy-cakes, friends, and good gab.
a few of us continued the party back at aubry's house until 3am. i haven't intentionally stayed up that late since the all-nighter we pulled with robin at cindy's wedding that preceded the great boise to tucson debacle of 2010.

solo roadtrippin' tips to remember:

bring more than one cd. i'll be taking a significant break from brandi carlille.

set the cruise to 80 mph and only stop once, the 5.5 hour road trip cut back to a 4.75, awesome.

too many red vines sit like a lump in your gut, diversify the snacks.

*did anyone take pictures of the weekend?

these are all i got, because you know, these are the sorts of things you want to be sure and remember...

kind of funny right.

aubry's birthday lunch at wendy's, MY TREAT, whoa classy.

happy halloween

2011-10-31T22:57:00.000-07:00

i love holidays. i love having family and friends around, the bustle of getting things ready, and the rush when the party begins.

this year we took the kids trick or treating at spencer's office.
olive got really good at looking at her feet and holding out her bag.
apparently saying "trick or treat" is optional, she got hords of candy anyway.

my dad resurrected the talking scarecrow at our house(the center of my childhood halloweens). he was scaled back a bit due to time constraints, but he was magical, and the kids loved it.
oh, if i could express how much joy that felt faced, yarn haired, newspaper stuffed man brings to my heart...he deserves a blog post all of his own, more to come.

we trick or treated the neighborhood with the next door neighbor kids and a couple of other families. olive followed suit and really got into it with the other kids. running from house to house and actually saying "trick or treat" this time.

she was sooo excited all day until she cried herself to sleep that night begging for more candy.
what have we gotten ourselves into?

the big day in pictures...

harrison the dragon/dinosaur/alligator

olive the cowgirl/pony

the big purple dinosaur

2011-10-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

tv-circa 2004 and converter box=oldschool.

thank you barney, for allowing me 30 minutes of me time each afternoon (olive- the child that never naps).

creepy as you are, there is nothing more captivating to my little girl than you...

just because

2011-10-18T11:03:00.000-07:00

pulled out the old nikon this morning and got a few pictures of the kids.
ah, they really are this cute and sweet ALL of the time...

except when they're not.

it's october so...

2011-10-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

we went to the pumpkin patch.

we're excited about halloween around here.

thank goodness it's laundry day.

2011-10-04T00:35:00.000-07:00

waiting for clean underoos.

some things we've been doing

2011-10-04T00:08:00.000-07:00

recently, and in no particular order:

i ~~ran~~ walked a 5k with my mom. who are we kidding we were there for the social aspect and the food, the "fitness" was a bonus, and we had a great time.

spencer ripped out a few rogue bushes in our front yard.
simple enough right...?
a borrowed pick-ax
a borrowed wheelbarrow
two punctured sprinkler lines
two trips to lowes and a yard full of neighbors...
let's just say we've officially broken the ice.

olive had her first trip to the dentist.
she saw "the fish hook on a stick" and totally clammed up; like sweaty with a quivering lip. BUT, she still got a sticker and a toothbrush and we'll try again in 6 months. (it was much too traumatic for pictures)

harrison is officially hand and knee crawling and pulling himself up to standing all in the same week.

we bought a YELLOW couch off craigslist. i'm in love.

I GOT A HAIRCUT! this is big people. it's at least 4 months overdue, and i'm a short hair person, or at least i was. why is it so hard to pick up the phone sometimes?

olive test drove her 2011 halloween costume. it passed, she hasn't taken it off since.

we can't seem to get enough of nana around here.

olive's become a pro at her hotwalk balance bike and she's fast.

her latest "thing" is leading music. she'll lead music on tv, sitting in the cart in the store, standing in the aisle at church, ever since we saw tanner (my brother the drum major) at the football game she is obsessed. it's really quite entertaining.

before it turns cold

2011-10-04T00:05:00.000-07:00

we've been enjoying that last days of warm weather with lots of walks and meals on the patio.

lately we can't get through a meal without food in her cup or her drink on her plate.

fall is so close, i can feel it. it's been perfect weather for sleeping with the windows open.

friends, pizza and pizookies

2011-10-01T22:54:00.000-07:00

it's 9:30pm, i just got home from a much needed night out with friends.
spencer and olive are asleep on the floor downstairs and harrison is snoozing away in his crib.
i think this is what they call alone time?

tonight was a rare treat. my favorite high school friends were all together (except for kelsey, why is hawaii so far away?) for 3 hours of uninterrupted girl talk. we laughed and cried over pizza and pizookies at old chicago. i'm sure we were a spectacle, even the waiter piped up here and there with a few comments, but mostly we were too enthralled in the conversation to notice anything not at our table. nothing around us mattered (carbs included) because we were together again.

as we went around the table and each gave our updates; real updates, good and bad, i couldn't help but feel gratitude for these girls. the girls who walked beside me through high school, who shaped me in so many ways, and who have influenced me and continue to influence me throughout my life.

they are good people...such good people, and they are beautiful, in the truest most sincere form of the word. inside and out.
they are mothers, wives, and professionals. they are capable. and they are people of faith and conviction.

we talked about marriage, work, kids and family. we were silly and serious and sincere. throughout dinner i kept having the thought that women need women. God put us here together for a reason, but so often we're all too afraid to talk about the real stuff. we exchange pleasantries and small talk, and then go home to wrestle with the hard stuff alone.

crazy,

when there are people in our lives to relate to. people that lift and lead and inspire. in those years since high school our lives have taken us down different paths and we're scattered hundreds of miles apart:idaho, texas, washington, hawaii, but we are so very much the same, and we need each other.

on things that matter most.

2011-09-20T22:26:00.000-07:00

sometimes i feel worlds away from loving and teaching and nurturing, from the mom i hope and am trying to be.

sometimes the day to day... the day to day.

what doesn't kill us makes us stronger right?

last night at 10pm after putting kids to bed and picking up the house, i headed off to the closest 24 hr grocery store, oh such is life with little babes.

as i found myself in the first moment of quiet that day, i thought about my kids. the funny things olive says, her rambunctious behavior and crazy hair. i thought about harrison's sweet sweet face, chubby fingers and contagious laugh. how much i love them and wish the world for them.

i was exhausted, but i felt grateful.

as i played back the scenes of my very average day, all of a sudden making dinner one handed with a baby on my hip and one at my feet didn't seem so bad. vacuuming for twice as long as normal because olive wants a turn isn't the end of the world. if i don't get everything done on my list, it's okay. that list will be there tomorrow, and maybe the things on that list aren't that important anyway.

maybe there is a little girl to dance with and a baby boy to feed pickles to.

i can't say it any better than this...

2011-09-18T22:56:00.000-07:00

this post hit home with me.

kelly, i don't know you, but thank you.

favorite excerpts below.

Did you know,
I gave birth to beings and they get older every day?

I am young and old and wise and inexperienced.
Wasn't I just 19?

Lately the realization of my oldest child's childhood slipping away has really begun to sink in.
Also I should point out here, my pessimistic tendencies.
When it's the end of the day and I am exhausted beyond measure and I can't do dinner, and I don't want to do bedtime and if one more child asks me for something(!!), and I can't remember the last moments to myself that didn't involve laundry and very late nights, it's hard to see past to tomorrow.
I want them to grow up and stay small all at the same time. I am self-diagnosed with Motherhood Bipolar Disorder. I long for quiet and peace and order, but really enjoy the baby's fat face and the boy's tender sweetness and her lispy clever-talk- those things that can only be found in small ones. But I need them to grow up so I can feel sane. I need to feel in control of something again.
I know growing up brings so many great things. I know we will go on family vacations without diapers or crying babies, go to soccer games and spelling bees, drop off dapper young teens at school dances and cry over first heartbreaks. And I bet sometimes, then, I will be alone. Alone! Imagine that? I can and I can't wait.

But then.
Then they go to sleep and something magical happens.

I stare at their little faces and have that familar overwhelming feeling of peace wash over me. It consumes my soul and I remember in that instant what it's all for. It feels like a Mack Truck. My chest feels heavy and I'm breathless and thankful and my eyes welt up all at once. I am newly inspired to be better and to be everything I can be for them. I will move mountains. I am undeserving and they are so cute and small and I am so happy to be needed. So grateful to be needed.
That's why God invented sleeping children.
It is sometimes only then that I get to revel in the greatest cliché ever thought up:
They grow up so fast.
There, I said it.
Now I can have time to enjoy it while it is here and eventually let it go and welcome change. It's the rejoicing and the mourning and it's the bitter but the oh so sweetness of parenthood. It's the stuff I'm still trying to figure out.

how true it is.

day trip play date

2011-09-11T21:08:00.000-07:00

olive and lucy.
the cutest of friends.
(at six months apart isn't the size difference impressive?)

we spent the day in twin falls yesterday. we alternated temple sessions with some friends since the boise temple is closed for renovations. it's a lovely little temple, and it was nice to have some quiet time to reflect and worship.
i also got to see some artwork of one of my byu-i professors that was commissioned when the temple was built. talented.

we spent our off time at shoshone falls with the kids. i grew up 2 hours from here and had never been. it was surprisingly spectacular, who knew? i also spied a tjmaxx on our drive in, way to go twin falls, you're not nearly as lame as i thought.

and the girlies had a ball on their day trip play date complete with giant burgers and giant-er milkshakes. yum.
-two year old conversation is hilarious.

p.s. after seeing these photos i'm off to buy olive some longer shorts.

harrison lately

2011-09-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

he's sitting up, army crawling like a champ, and loving cheerios. he's switched almost exclusively to formula and put on 2 pounds since his last appointment, bring on the chub. (by the way, formula smells AWFUL, does anyone else gag when you rinse out a bottle, or when your baby burps in your face. gets me every time. sooo gross. i'd have nursed longer if i could just to avoid the smell. ick.)
his hair keeps getting lighter and even looks a little red in the sun (cross your fingers, i'd LOVE a red headed child).
he smiles at everyone and everything, and loves music and bathtime. a friend even told me he was an angel baby...i'm pretty sure it's true.

he's been sleeping longer since we moved, 7:30pm-8:00am which is great, except that it also means he pees out of his diaper almost every morning...

he talks loud, cries soft, and has the best belly laugh, which he shares generously.

he's as sweet as can be and a total mama's boy.
welcome to 8 months little man.

remembering september 11.

2011-09-11T20:18:00.000-07:00

a beautiful post about it here. made me cry.

i love the message of hope in the quotation sited, i've copied it below as well. president gordon b. hinckley was a remarkable man with an unparalleled gift of sweet and simple articulation.
hits to my core.

"Let us be prayerful. Let us pray for righteousness. Let us pray for the forces of good. Let us reach out to help men and women of goodwill, whatever their religious persuasion and wherever they live. Let us stand firm against evil, both at home and abroad. Let us live worthy of the blessings of heaven, reforming our lives where necessary and looking to Him, the Father of us all. He has said, "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).

Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us.

May the God of heaven, the Almighty, bless us, help us, as we walk our various ways in the uncertain days that lie ahead. May we look to Him with unfailing faith. May we worthily place our reliance on His Beloved Son who is our great Redeemer, whether it be in life or in death."

-gordon b hinckley, october 2001

bedtime

2011-09-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

most nights in our home go something like this...

while i feed harrison and put him to bed,
"daddio" (as she fondly calls him) helps olive with pajamas, brushing teeth, saying prayers, and storytime.
once harrison is in bed, i cut in for singing time with olive.

we usually choose a couple from the following playlist:

"dumb dog"-annie
"tomorrow"-annie
"i'm trying to be like jesus"
"heavenly father loves me"
"how do you know" -enchanted
"you are my sunshine"

and we almost always close with:
"abide with me"
...funny huh? it puts her right to sleep.

it's a beautiful song, and i especially love the last line-
"through cloud and sunshine Lord, abide with me."

first harvest

2011-09-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

SO, bank owned properties can be a rockin' deal, but the yards are typically a mess. ours wasn't as bad as some i've seen but it still needed some serious tlc.

we've spent all or some of most everyday since moving in weeding and watering and moving dirt around. we've got a long ways to go, but the strawberries and tomatoes we uncovered from underneath the OUT OF CONTROL sunflower patch were a sweet surprise.

p.s. aubry told me about picnik.
it's pretty great, and way quicker than photoshop for blog photos. check it out.

for olive

2011-09-09T23:30:00.000-07:00

what better way to celebrate a new home (well new to us) than with a houseguest.

aubry came for labor day. (have i mentioned that aubry is the funnest? she's always game, even with the 5 hour drive on either end of her visit.)
she came with a car full of ikea supplies and the moral support i needed to drive the first nail.

we shopped and baked and diy'ed late into the night.

we focused on olive's room first, and i think it turned out so sweet. the best part is that i spent $9 on supplies and the rest was stuff i had that we just re-purposed. my favorite part are the nursery rhyme cards. i picked those up years ago (pre-olive) at the biltmore in asheville, nc.

a place to hang your hat

2011-09-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

august 26th: we got the keys and we're staying put for the next 30 years or so.

all in all the move wasn't too bad, aside from the fact that stuff is missing ie: a glass wall shelf, swiffer mop, broom, and step stool to name a few. either they never made it here from denver or some storage unit thief was dumb.

oh, and 10 days without internet is brutal. i spent almost 3 hours in google reader last night. and spencer probably looked like a total creep lurking in the mcdonalds parking lot at all hours of the night trying to capture a wireless signal.

but, we're starting to feel settled and we're excited to have a place to call home...finally.

chili-pie and meatballs

2011-08-21T23:08:00.000-07:00

the western idaho fair is here ya'll!
(insert bonanza theme song.)
which means carnival rides, oversized produce, greasy food, wacky people, and the last week of summer.
baby brother tanner is workin' the burger booth this year, which brings back some pretty great memories.

let me share.

for a week at the end of august throughout most of my high school years, my friend katie, my sister, and i worked the hot dog booth at the grandstands. we got to hear all the concerts for free, and i still have the guitar pick i got from the willie nelson show. awesome right?

but mostly, i just got really fast at wrapping hot dogs, filling drinks, and making chili-pie= take a bag of fritos, dump in some chili, cheese, and a plastic spoon, and voila- a culinary masterpiece, no bowl necessary. i also learned how to use a till, so that was a good respectable skill, except that i didn't ever use a till again after that.

the real gem of the fair job was that it led me to a super sweet gig at the annual christmas craft bazaar. my sister and i worked the meatball sub table. mmmmm= a french baguette, pull out the soft middle and stuff the carcass full of meatballs. it was a top seller, an honor to make really.

good times.

*also sprinkled throughout my younger resume were a variety of temp assignments. highlights include: a night shift at a mental hospital where i sat behind a locked door and a thick glass pane. i signed in patients and answered the phone when troubled people would call and cry, or shout, or swear, and then hang up.

but the worst was probably a night shift emptying expired milkshake mix bags into a giant vat, my gag reflex was on overdrive that night. and ironic, it was the only time i've had to wear a hair net. i learned an important lesson that day: fast food ice cream isn't really ice cream.

dear instagram,

2011-08-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

where have you been all my life?

thoughts on moving.

2011-08-19T00:26:00.000-07:00

it STINKS.

i HATE it.

in 2004 we moved from rexburg to boise.
in 2005 we moved across the country to charlotte
in 2006 we moved from southpark to the southend of charlotte
in 2007 we brought our stuff back across the country to denver
in 2008 we moved from denver to greenwood village (8 months pregnant).
in 2009 we came home to boise
next saturday we'll move to meridian.

yuck, right?

and with each move we've acquired more stuff, more kids, less time...and NO motivation. at least this time around half of our stuff is in storage and we're moving locally...buuuuut, it still stinks. so today, as i was packing up the first of many boxes to come, i pulled out the kids baby books. i shamefully realized i hadn't yet taken harrison's hand and footprints (come on, he's ONLY 7 months), and his feet barely fit on the stamp pad, but we worked it out. stamped, sprayed and taped to the book.

back to packing.

i then discovered that harrison is deathly afraid of the tape dispenser. every time he hears it he flys into a screaming state of panic. poor baby. i've tried shutting the door and taping in the next room...no go. he does it with the sound of popcorn kernels hitting the air-popper too. weird.

and then there is olive. sweet, SUPER helpful olive. if i leave a box unattended for two seconds i come back to all sorts of treasures inside. legos, washcloths, rice chex, a sippy cup full of milk wrapped in her pajamas pants.

i'd take the kids to the zoo and pay movers to do it for me, except that i'm too much of a perfectionist to have strangers pack my stuff...and i'm cheap.

...it's hopeless.

amos and aubry

2011-08-17T00:55:00.000-07:00

aubry came to town for the amos lee concert last week. i can always count on aubry as a loyal concert sidekick. he put on a pretty great show, even gave my current celebrity crush a run for his money...until he didn't anymore.

dear amos,

forever long guitar solos that only you are into are weird.

they make your audience uncomfortable, and you know you've missed the mark when even the drunk people sit down.

so, there was that. but over all a great show.

moving on.

aubry stayed through the weekend, so we did all the usual things: we shopped, and dined, and painted nails, and diy-ed. we cooked, and stayed up late, and slept in, and shopped some more.

she taught both olive and i the magic of bribery with money, way more effective then smarties and dum dums! genius.

and our shopping hit a high right before she left sending her on her way much later than originally planned. sorry aubry, i hope 9am church wasn't too painful.

come back!

slc rendevous

2011-08-17T00:45:00.000-07:00

spencer's parents live in north carolina, which means we don't get to see them as much as we'd like to. but, we were able to intercept them in slc a couple weeks ago for a long weekend. they are such amazing grandparents, and i always get a little anxiety when we're going to see them because it's usually short and olive is a "warmer upper."

so, a testament to their greatness, the warming up took about 3 seconds. if you know olive, you know that's pretty spectacular.

we had a great time swimming and riding ponies at thanksgiving point, we took advantage of all the yummy food in slc, and olive still talks about the grasshopper papa found and carried on their walk.

tara and kennedy were in town for a few hours as well and it was so great to see them! thanks for helping olive with her candy necklace kennedy, she's now added you to the list of friends we say goodnight to at bedtime.

nigh night lucy

nigh night clara

nigh night kenny

nigh night ella

...

thanks to ty and kumari for hosting the crowd for the weekend.

it was so fun to see everyone!

new years prediction 2011: will we all be in one place at the same time? check.

even if it was only for 12 hours, 8 of which we slept through.

can you tell she's not a bit shy with her nana and papa,
but she's 2.5 and she still wont talk to her nursery teachers,
EVEN when they bribe her with extra snacks.

perspective.

2011-07-25T23:30:00.000-07:00

there is a picture that has been hanging in my mom's entry since i can remember. i've probably read it a thousand times, maybe you have too.

"a hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house i lived in, or the kind of clothes i wore, but the world may be much different because i was important in the life of a child."

i had a birthday shout hooray!

2011-07-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

monday marked the first day of the last year of my twenties...

i'm livin' it up folks, i'm not 30 yet.

the party started friday when cindy and lara kidnapped me for lunch, pedicures and pool time. heaven. thanks ladies!

"cajun shrimp" all around.

sunday morning, lara and i jumped in the car and headed to salt lake for an indigo girls concert with aubry; queen of party planning. not just any banana bread was waiting for us when we arrived, she painted my nails and i was introduced to hours of housewives episodes late into the night. such a train wreck i couldn't look away.

we made an itinerary for monday to ensure we fit in every last thing on our to do list.

we shopped, and dined, and nordstrom saled, and cupcaked, and laughed and talked...(we even fit in a quick date for lara and a first home purchase whoa).

the concert was incredible and i crossed another item off my bucket list. go ahead laugh... finished?

it was the soundtrack to my college life and i'm not ashamed, i love them. although, i did sit down when they played "chickenman"...(i might be a bit of a fair weather fan when it comes to that song.)

tuesday night spencer planned a favorite things dinner. i was going to list all of the yummy things he put on the table, but then i got a complex that you all might think i'm a disgusting human being, so just know that it was delicious...and not one bit healthy.

it really was the best birthday EVER!

(and now the phrase must die with this post, i'm quite sure we've exhausted every last laugh from it.)

a formisano fandango summer

2011-07-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

the new faces of peopleforbikes.org!
oh olive, can we please get over this nose picking in pictures is sooo funny stage, and who did your hair, you look like george washington...

lara's here yo!
she's partially the reason i haven't blogged in almost a month.
too much fun, and BONUS, i think i've seen cindy and trav more since she's been here than i have in the whole year that proceeded.
we've been swimming, and hiking, and bbqing, and late nighting, and eating out, and road trippin', and talking ooohhh, talking. lara dear, you make me laugh.
now if one of these blind dates would pan out we could make it permanent.
don't go auntie lara, olive will be devastated...not to mention the rest of us.

fishy fishy

2011-07-22T17:52:00.000-07:00

my dad is a fisherman through and through. i have so many childhood memories of fishing with him, or him going fishing, or him tying fishing flys on the dining room table.

this past 4th of july, he took olive fishing for the first time, and it was undoubtedly one of the sweetest moments i've witnessed as a mother.

he was so patient with her and she loved it, plus she caught 6, count them 6 fish!

there is a little place in my heart that is just for my dad and it was so sweet to see him passing this frederiksen tradition down to my baby girl. i think there might be a ~~little~~ big place in her heart for papa as well.

2 year olds say funny things.

2011-06-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

olive has been talking a lot lately. she's stringing sentences together and she's quite the conversationalist. lately she's been using the word maybe after a lot of her questions/statements.
go to the park mama? maybe?
have a cookie mama? maybe?

so, this afternoon we had her little pool set up in the backyard.
while i was feeding harrison, she decided to take my shoe and use it as a cup to carry water from the pool to the flowers around the yard. as soon as i noticed, i asked her more than once to stop please, but being the sassy girl she is, and knowing i was feeding the baby, she just grinned and continued on looking right at me while she did it. AHH.
i got up (while nursing mind you, i'm tricky like that) and ran over to the pool to rescue my shoe.

i had her sit beside me afterwards and talked to her about listening to me and being nice to other people's things. i think i said something like "it makes me sad when my shoe gets wet in the pool, etc..."
so she says to me:

"sorry mama, get new shoes at the store?"

"no, we need to take care of our things, and what if the store doesn't have them anymore" i said.

{thinking} "at target {pause} maybe?"

i couldn't help but laugh, and my discipline face went straight out the window. i guess we love us some target time just as much as the next style on a budget shopper.

i win!

2011-06-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

it's been a battle of wills convincing olive to wear any kind of hair accessory.
but yesterday we had a break through, she wore a headband the whole afternoon...while she dug in the dirt.

so help me, if i get one more "what's his name" comment.

he kind of reminds me of...

2011-06-24T09:52:00.000-07:00

i get a lot of look alike comments on harrison. people will say. "he's so cute and good natured and that smile!
{PAUSE}
he kind of reminds me of..."

charlie brown
bartok the bat from anastasia
yoda
a cabbage patch kid.

i don't see it...you?

on another note. the kid loves to eat! he's got this whole solid foods thing in the bag.

holding out on me.

2011-06-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

so i started this blog back in 2007 and apparently i've been using the old editor ever since. i would notice that other blogs could post bigger pictures and add captions and seemed to have capabilities that mine didn't, but i never really took the time to look into it until, i set up a new blog for a church group and noticed the difference.

are you kidding me?
night and day.

so, for any of you out there that are still in the dark, i'm here to shed a little light.

STEP 1: go into your blog settings, scroll to the bottom and select the updated editor option.

DONE.

you are welcome.

frederiksen family reunion

2011-06-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

6 adults, 1 teenager, 6 grandkids (mia: 2 husbands and 1 newlywed couple.)
bass lake, california.
rozier family cabin.

thank you roziers! we maxed out the place with bodies in every bed and kids in every ~~closet~~ "clubhouse".

we saw yosemite national park (crossed off my bucket list)
the giant sequoias in mariposa grove, we played by the lake, shopped a little, experienced a farmers market california style, and spent a whole week together.

it was wild and crazy and wonderful, and required all hands on deck for every outing.

it was so sweet to see all the grandkids play together. they rarely see each other but they immediately jumped into playing and laughing and loving each other. blood runs deep.

a day in yosemite national park, complete with bear sighting

BIG tree.

"ella shoes" unite

clara suzanne a.k.a. "olive, hold my hand"

little man liam

taking in the view

hike to yosemite falls, our best attempt at a marshall family photo

2011 pinochle tournament champions

heavenly milkshakes at forks in bass lake

the 2011 lineup

celebrating 7 years

2011-06-22T21:10:00.000-07:00

spencer and i celebrated our 7 year anniversary with brandi carlile and ray lamontange at the idaho botanical gardens on the most perfect first day of summer. (can't you tell from the sky in those pictures!)
great music, beautiful venue, a blanket, spot of grass and a picnic dinner.

concerts are one of those "you had to be there" things. telling someone how amazing it was never does it justice, but i have to say, the highlight of the night for me was brandi, singing "hallelujah" and it ringing off the hills around us. at first i kind of rolled my eyes, everyone sings that song and everyone thinks their version is the best, but i'm telling you, this one is the best, i even suckered and bought the vinyl.

now, there are songs and there are songs, this performance took my breath away.
if you haven't heard it it's worth a listen, preferably live.

she's headlining here on aug 3rd. COME.

so close, but so far

2011-06-07T22:13:00.000-07:00

spencer and i have been looking at houses lately.

yesterday i was online and i came across "the one." it was as near perfect as i thought it could get, outside, inside, yard, finishes, location, on and on.

we drove by last night, and i daydreamed about it all day today. i kept picturing our family there, playing in the yard, walking to the park, putting the kids to bed, so tonight our realtor took us to see it.

i was in love, it was everything i knew it would be.

I WAS READY TO SIGN PEOPLE.

...then it went pending, closing date of july 5, 2011.

what? WHAT!

i was more than a little disappointed

(i may have cried the whole way home).

so many downer thoughts in my head

"we'll never find anything as good, and in our price range and in that neighborhood, and, and, and." i was seriously sad.

sad.

until,

i walked in the door and saw harrison sitting there in his highchair with a big grin on his face.

i picked him up, hugged on him, and he laughed and smiled and talked and like magic,

literal magic,

i felt better.

she's a daddy's girl

2011-06-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

through and through.

"oh the times they are a changin'"

2011-06-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

looking back, may 2011 was a big month for us.

olive is now officially potty trained.

harrison tried solid foods for the first time, is rolling over, and had his 4 month photos taken.

i hit and surpassed my post pregnancy weight goal. yeah!

AND

spencer got a new job! he'll be working 40 hours in addition to the design work he's doing currently. we'll be busy, but it's a great opportunity and he's excited to join the corporate design world.

it's true what they say, nothing is as constant as change.

some things i've said lately.

2011-05-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

all addressed to my 2 year old, as if that needed to be said.

"please take your foot out of the popcorn bowl."

"please don't put your corn in daddy's water cup."

"quit licking the mirror please."

"please don't poke your brother's eyes."

"get your fingers out of the toaster please."

"where did you hide mommy's money?"

"you need to wear pants."

so, i broke down and bought her one of those glorified child leashes, you know the ones that are disguised as monkey backpacks to make us feel less guilty about putting a leash on our kid...

yep, i'm that mom. ugh.

2011-05-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

my cousin heather invited us to the jimmy eat world concert tuesday night. her husband denny does the sound for them and they had a couple of open spots on the guest list. (also on his resume: prince, bryan {correction} ryan adams, afi...impressive right.)

spencer and i hadn't been on a real date since my birthday last july, (can you say hermits.)

so it was incredible to be out together, at a concert of a band i love, AND be vip style, a welcome break from potty training and diapers for sure.

thank you heather and denny, for an unforgettable night, and for bringing the coolness factor in our family WAY up.
plus, your 7 year old is the cutest boy i have ever seen.

ahh, those freckles.

olive and papa

2011-05-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

round and round.

who said flowers were a lame gift

2011-05-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

spencer is two for two since we moved to boise. he found the cutest little boutique flower shop and i'm blown away every time. handmade pots even.

happy mothers day to me!

"no more boppers"

2011-05-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

olive did/is doing great!

it was a beach themed potty party with lots of treats and incentives.

i dreaded it, but it was actually really fun, as fun as potty training can be at least.

after dinner she threw away her "boppers" and got a new swimming pool.

way to go olive!

bringing the party home

2011-05-12T00:02:00.000-07:00

even though rain threatened our boise celebration hours before the big event. we rented a tent, modified the decor a little and pulled it off.

it was lovely.

coming up for olive

2011-05-06T00:28:00.000-07:00

a potty party is happening at our house on monday may 9th.

don't call, i think we'll be busy.

innocence and ice cream

2011-05-05T23:55:00.000-07:00

it's been warm here lately, and the other night at dinner we heard the all too familiar summer sound of the ice cream man.

i grabbed olive, my spare change and bolted out the front door. i have so many great childhood memories of buying ice cream from the cheery man in his little white truck, and i was excited to share that sweet memory with my baby girl.

we ran from street to street stopping occasionally to listen and locate the adorable little freezer truck that I had pictured in my mind.

as we turned the corner of a neighboring street we found him, but he was NOT AT ALL what i remembered.

sketchy minivan with an ice cream poster and crummy speaker taped to the hood. i was horrified. i almost turned around and walked the other way, but i had built it up so much with the chase that i didn't have the heart to disappoint olive now. i hesitantly walked up to the scary van and was greeted by a man that was equally scary. half a mouthful of teeth, and let's just say he could have benefited from a bigger shirt=gross picture in my head.

i handed over my dollar and walked olive home dreamsicle in hand completely deflated. it wasn't quite the experience i was going for.

were ice cream men always creepy, i just didn't know it as a kid, or is this a new industry for ex-cons?

artistic evolution

2011-05-02T23:56:00.000-07:00

olive loves to color.

when she first started coloring and talking, she would ask us to draw eyes. "eyes mama, eyes, eyes." we thought it may have something to do with mike wazowski from monsters inc.; one of her favorite movies.

so, there are eyeballs drawn in the margins of most of her coloring books...creepy?

the other day i noticed that she's now started drawing faces herself.

can you see it?

...smarty pants.

love, love, love and shopping.

2011-05-02T23:19:00.000-07:00

my little brother kyle married the cutest girl jeneca last friday. (see here for pictures of her, i can't believe i didn't get one of them together.)

we went down early to see aubry and spend a day in salt lake.

we started the day out at tulie bakery (i may or may not have consumed 3 pastries for breakfast) i've said it before but it's amazing.

then we headed to hip and humble, where we bought matching skirts (and then we did each other's hair and giggled about boys, okay not really, but we did buy matching skirts), the rest of the day included, nordstrom, lunch at the bistro, a quick stop at aubry's office, ikea= new furniture for aubry, dinner with ty and kumari at salt city burger, nordstrom rack and late night craft hour in preparation for the luncheon.

it's always a party with aubry, thanks for letting us stay!

friday morning kyle and jeneca got married in the bountiful, ut temple. i cried as soon as they walked through the door. it was perfect, and lovely.

olive and her cousin clara were instant besties, and despite the freezing weather, the luncheon and reception were beautiful.

it was so fun to get everyone together to celebrate kyle and jeneca and it was over much too fast.

we got home late saturday and now we're gearing up for the open house here while the lovebirds soak up the sun on a cruise ship somewhere off the coast of california...

the late night shuffle

2011-04-24T18:16:00.000-07:00

ever since we had harrison, olive has been in a big girl bed.

yeah!?

and ever since we had harrison, our nights have been some variation of the following:

olive in our bed

me and olive in her bed

spencer and olive in her bed

me and harrison in our bed

me, harrison and olive in our bed

spencer in olive's bed...

it's craziness!

and every morning we wake up in a different order.

i need a vacation.

but i'd settle for a nap too.

hello bug eyes

2011-04-24T18:15:00.001-07:00

oh the cuteness.

happy easter.

second baby

2011-04-22T09:24:00.001-07:00

olive had a play date with lucy today.

usually i use that time to run errands, work for the business, or do projects, but today i hung out with my baby boy.

he's 3 months already. he's smiling and talking and trying really hard to roll over.

he's such a sweet, good natured kid, and he's growing up much too fast.

upcoming post, harrison in a bowtie.

eggs

2011-04-22T08:33:00.000-07:00

i was asked to demonstrate an egg dying technique at a church activity this week.

"tie dying" eggs.

apparently, if you get a 100% silk tie, wrap it around an egg and boil it in vinegar and water the pattern transfers. I blew my eggs out, but you could hard boil the whole thing too.

i just wanted the option to keep them if they turned out well.

they're kind of swirly and funny where the fabric didn't make good contact, or where they floated to the top, but overall i think they're pretty charming.

this may be a new easter tradition.

this just in

2011-04-20T22:00:00.001-07:00

robin has deemed harrison a squirrel.

look alike

2011-04-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

my college roomates and i (also known as the shanty girls) used to play this game where we'd give people an animal look alike. WAIT, before you say that's mean, it's not. you have to imagine the cutest cartoon version of the animal you're assigned.

robin was the best at it, and you can see her genius abilities here and here.

well, i'm still not sure which animals either one of my kids are, but we've caught ourselves calling harrison "little yoda".

mama's 50th

2011-04-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

we celebrated my mom's 50th birthday last weekend.

we had a little bbq with the family, and surprised her by inviting some of her best friends.

spencer was great and took the kids all day saturday so i could decorate and bake and set up.

aren't mom's the best!

what would we ever do without them?

all roads lead to

2011-04-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

so, i've been craving a creative outlet lately.

i've been thinking about my anthropologie days and the many summers i've had dotted with photography shoots.

maybe it's because since we had harrison, diapers, and feedings, and chasing a 2 year old, have felt all consuming.

but we're getting the hang of things, and i've been thinking a lot lately about doing something new.

here goes.

I WOULD LOVE, to decorate at weddings and parties. not a huge surprise for many of you. i've done it a few times for family and friends mostly, but i've been thinking, that with my background in photography, my time as a florist in hawaii, a display coordinator at anthropologie, and a special events coordinator, i could pull it off. plus, i have serious hook ups with a graphic designer and a genius cake decorator. aubry, you in?

so, let's do this.

if you or someone you know is in the market, spread the word.

i'm thinking of doing one, or two, or three, maybe more at cost for fun, and as portfolio pieces.

email me, call me, comment.

this will be momentous. i hope.

i was born in the 80's

2011-04-05T08:36:00.001-07:00

but these songs remind me of my childhood.

"if"

"diary"

"everything i own"

-bread

"leader of the band"

"longer than"

-dan fogelberg

"close to you"

-the carpenters

"leaving on a jet plane"

"annies song"

-john denver

all songs james taylor

(i remember boys to men, amy grant and mariah carey, but they were a side note.)

for the first time

2011-04-05T07:50:00.000-07:00

photos courtesy of robin.

(i'm too lazy to pull out the old scanner, one dusty thing at a time please.)

for the first time, in a long time, i blew the dust off the old guitar (literally) and really played.

my fingers were raw by the time i was done, but it was well worth the hurt.

it's hard to imagine that there was a time in my life where my guitar was a daily thing.

now i can probably count the times that i've really played in the last 5 years on 1 hand=sad.

it made me want to dig out old college videos and relive my "glory days".

byu-idaho has a campus event called "guitars unplugged" that i played at a few times.

the first time i performed, i played "amazing grace" solo.

the second time three guitars played "worlds apart" -jars of clay

there was also two guitars and two drums "had to say i love you in a song" -jim croce

then "drive" -incubus, two guitars and an egg shaker

"your song" -elton john, two guitars a piano and a cello (my favorite)

"you and i both" -jason mraz, two guitars and an egg shaker

i've been daydreaming since sunday night.

i may be spending some quality time with the old VHS later today.

olive and harrison.

2011-03-17T23:14:00.001-07:00

well baby

2011-03-17T23:10:00.001-07:00

so, harrison had his 8 week well baby check today.

11 lb 9 oz

23 inches

50% all around.

what can i say, we shoot for average around here.

he smiles constantly and laughed for the first time this week.

he's such a good natured kid.

seven weeks

2011-03-08T10:25:00.000-08:00

he's cute right?

progress

2011-03-08T10:21:00.001-08:00

it was a rough go at the start but we're making progress. i think she's finally consented to letting him stay.

namesake

2011-02-25T15:25:00.001-08:00

harrison scott marshall meet scott marshall, your namesake and papa.

a blessing

2011-02-25T15:13:00.000-08:00

there aren't many things sweeter than a baby blessing.

harrison was lucky to be blessed by his dad and have both papas, great grandpa nelson, and uncle kyle stand in.

happy birthday olive!

2011-02-14T22:11:00.000-08:00

olive turned 2!

her nana and papa marshall were here from north carolina visiting the new babe, so we had her party at the hotel pool while they were here. she invited lots of family and her little friend lucy.

she was in heaven.

pink cake. presents. swimming. and LOTS of attention!

falling behind.

2011-02-11T13:52:00.000-08:00

miss aubry's recent post about music got me thinking.

i'm SO out of the loop when it comes to good music. i used to know all the latest and greatest new artists, but 7 years out of college and 2 kids later, i fear i'm...years behind.

i have a decent i-tunes credit that's been sitting in my account for months.

Sad.

SO, here's my cry for help, what's your favorite new song/artist, worthy of purchase? 

I've got some serious catching up to do.

say hello to...

2011-01-25T06:57:00.000-08:00

isn't my husband talented!

i'm in love with this birth announcement he made for harrison.

(click on the images to see them full size)

harrison scott

2011-01-23T10:44:00.000-08:00

born jan 17, 2011

12:17pm

8lbs 13.2 ounces

dark hair

blue eyes

cleft chin just like his daddy

killer smile

the story:

4am monday morning:

i woke up to a rough contraction and what i was pretty sure was my water breaking... i timed contractions for an hour or so, called the doctor on call and headed to the hospital.

5:30am:

made it through triage (whew, it was my water breaking) and we were admitted.

contractions were coming regularly but at inconsistent intervals, so we walked, sat in the jacuzzi tub, sat on a giant rubber ball, walked some more...yada.

11:15am:

we called my mom to give her an update that things were progressing slowly.

11:45am:

things picked up and i started asking about the epidural, they started the IV drip in preparation.

sometime after that... i have no idea:

i was a 9.5 and asking, maybe not so patiently for the anesthesiologist.

she FINALLY came but said it was too late and gave me an interthecal injection instead.

12pm:

enter mom. three contractions later we had our baby boy, and i thoroughly enjoyed the warm numbness of my lower half part way through pushing and long afterwards.

he's such a sweet and handsome boy. he's sleeping great, (2) 5 hour stretches last night and he's eating like a champ. we feel so lucky to have him in our home.

still waiting.

2011-01-15T11:13:00.001-08:00

we've had an eventful week, just not the events we hoped would occur.

i've come down with some sort of head cold...no fun.

olive spent a few hours in the ER on monday night after passing out and throwing up. she's okay now, but we all slept on the floor beside her with a puke bowl handy just in case.

i walked a lot on tuesday, wednesday, thursday and friday the 14th which came and WENT.

and, this morning 2 of the 5 adults in the house including me have the stomach flu.

not ideal circumstances to bring a newborn home too.

so, i'm thinking i might be pregnant forever...

check it.

2011-01-03T08:46:00.000-08:00

spencer's brother ty and his buddies made a doritos commercial for the superbowl contest.

they're top 5 right now!

head on over and vote here for "the best part."

on to the new year.

2011-01-02T22:26:00.000-08:00

38 weeks

let's have this baby already.

these pictures might be cute if my figure wasn't so grotesque.

can i be done?

an engagement!

2011-01-02T21:56:00.000-08:00

AND to top it all off kyle proposed to his girl jeneca. yeah!

they're planning to get married the end of april.

they came to boise the day after christmas and spent the week hanging out. we even braved the 20 degree weather and took engagement pictures while they were here. you can hardly even tell they're near frozen.

isn't she cute!

santa came to our house!

2011-01-02T21:37:00.000-08:00

christmas was so much fun this year with olive. we put reindeer food out on the lawn to make sure santa found our house. we left out milk and cookies and in the morning when we woke up santa had left olive a note and presents under the tree.

she had a lot of fun unwrapping everything and was thrilled to get "wii dance" she's been talking about it since we got home from arizona because she loved playing it with ella while we were there.

don't kids make everything better? especially the holidays!

good friends.

2011-01-02T21:33:00.001-08:00

one of the perks of moving back home is that old friends come to town for the holidays.

we had dinner at the familiar talich home where we got to see, cindy and travis, stacy and brandon, benjamin, lilly, abby and todd, tanner and caleb.

the night was so much fun and olive loved having so many friends around.

pictures to come...i hope, someone send me pictures.

tenley missed out of the first gathering because her baby was sick in the hospital in seattle. but after a full recovery they made it to town and we were able to spend an evening at cindy's with her, dave, troy and carson.

olive was so fascinated with the baby. she got to hold him and look at his fingers and toes and she even sang him songs during dinner.

we're excited to see how she reacts when our baby comes.

making the cut.

2011-01-02T17:29:00.000-08:00

one of my favorite christmas traditions has always been grandpa's christmas eve scavenger hunt.

BUT, there is strict criteria to participate, and once you're married you're out. you then get to help hide the clues and presents for the younger kids.

well, spencer and i will be married 7 years this summer, so you can imagine the built up withdrawl, and the excitement of watching olive participate this year.

a baby shower!

2011-01-02T15:56:00.000-08:00

these cute girls, olivia and dyanna threw me a baby shower this month. it was so fun to get together with family and friends and celebrate our baby to be.

it's been different this pregnancy because we've been so busy with olive and the business, that i feel like it's flying by, and my due date is sneaking up on me...Jan 14.

so, it was so nice to take a night and really think about and focus on the little man that will join our family in a couple weeks.

can't wait to meet him.

a birthday!

2011-01-02T15:44:00.000-08:00

this handsome man had a birthday.

we got a sitter, (thanks mom) and we celebrated with dinner and a walk. sounds kind of lame but it was perfect. it was nice and amazingly calm with just the two of us.

we also got movie tickets, but decided to save them until "true grit" came out.

...which it did, and we still haven't been, (that actually is lame).

BUT, don't worry we will.

sure love this guy!

snow!

2011-01-02T15:42:00.000-08:00

we came back from thanksgiving in arizona to a pretty good snow. we bundled olive up and took her out for her first real snow play.

...she was slightly amused.

no, she actually had a lot of fun, AND, the pictures turned out pretty cute. love that bundled bottom.

december run down

2011-01-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

ready. set. go.

let's celebrate the season.

2010-12-15T14:17:00.000-08:00

check out this site. nearly 90 donated items from our favorite blogs and etsy sites are up for auction until 10pm tonight, and all proceeds benefit a family in need.

i can't think of a better way to celebrate the season.

plus, it's great stuff. donations from q.a. design, miss ruby sue, alice lane, tulie bakery and so many more.

olive.

2010-12-09T21:36:00.000-08:00

and we're done.

ahh. i love this girl! i can't believe she's almost 2. here are photos from her shoot in tucson.

this proves it.

2010-12-09T21:27:00.000-08:00

my sister's family is the cutest.

while we were in arizona i took family pictures for them.

(i snuck in a quick shoot of olive too, those photos still to come.)

we happened upon the location, i died.

isn't it great!

grateful.

2010-12-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

trying out 2 kids at sanctuary cove.

...i think we're ready.

"wish me luck, cause i'm going to take on the monster"

MONSTER TRUCKS!

so this is my thanksgiving post. a little late i know but i'm moving a little (a lot) slower these days. 35 weeks ahh!

this year i'm grateful for a lot of things.

but i'm especially grateful that we were able to spend thanksgiving with family. this year we spent the holiday in tucson, az with my sister and her family.

it was awesome to fly out on tuesday morning leaving behind a crazy blizzard and arriving in tucson to 75 degree weather. love you arizona.

it was one of those visits where it didn't matter what we did, we had a good time because we were in good company. sister's are the best, especially mine.

we were a wild bunch with 4 adults and 4.75 kids, and we played.

highlights include:

ikea. (of course)

owen's grand-person breakfast at school.

rooster cogburn's ostrich farm: monster truck ride, fishing for ostriches with grapefruit and feeding deer, goats, donkeys and lorakeets. HILARIOUS!

date night. gelato at frost.

late nights with giant diet cokes, red vines, sister talk and way too many episodes of battlestar galactica for the boys.

cooking with my sister and enjoying a beautiful thanksgiving meal.

hiking at sanctuary cove.

black friday shopping with the girls and peppermint hot cocoa with ella.

touring the ritz carlton.

watching olive dance with ella to the just dance WII game.

family science night at chick-fil-a and liam's amazing brake dance head spin off the playset...don't worry, he's okay. those peterson kids are tough.

thanks for letting us come. we love you guys!

...move to idaho please.

30 weeks

2010-11-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

and feeling LARGE.

i'll only trunk or treat if...

2010-11-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

you leave my hood off.

i'm not kidding.

LEAVE IT OFF!

so, she trunk or treated as a pink flamingo with a broken neck.

...she'll be 2 in february.

at the pumpkin patch

2010-11-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

scouting for the perfect pumpkin.

"ewww." this hay is prickly.

"hi mom."

this one looks good. can we go?

that's more like it.

olive is so much fun lately. her little personality comes out more and more each day.

the kid loves to play.

all the way to the atlantic

2010-09-30T06:29:00.000-07:00

sunrise: kitty hawk, nc

zoo: asheboro, nc

duck, nc

spencer, olive and i made the long trek from idaho to north carolina last week. it was olive's first time visiting nana and papa marshall and "pig"(their cat).

we went to the nc zoo in asheboro and it was AMAZING. spencer and olive fed the giraffes, the chimp exhibit was impressive, and we watched the elephants splash in the lake up close. the zoo was massive and really wooded and natural, we kept saying it felt like we were actually seeing them on a safari. a must see if you're in the area!

we took olive to the ocean for the first time at the outer banks. we toured the wright brothers monument, saw the hatteras lighthouse, and played at the beach.

we had so much fun playing, and shopping and talking,(and the 8 hours of travel on either end were...bearable).

thanks for having us come nana and papa marshall!

we miss you and "KITTY"

utah...again

2010-08-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

spencer and i are weekend frequenters of the salt lake city area. more so lately because boise shopping and dining struggles=0 and we're closer.

we also love to get away and spend time with family and friends.

this past weekend we stayed at ty and kumari's, AND i got a rockin' girl getaway day with miss aubry and jen.

we took olive swimming each morning, and to the animal farm where she rode a pony TWICE, went on a wagon ride and yours truly milked a cow! (still makes me gag a little)

we stopped by ikea of course, checked out ty's movie making office, ate at pizzeria 712 YUM, and caught the tour of utah bike race finish at snowbird.

i loaded up at the rack in murray and found a killer rug and red shoes at urban.

also of note, blue lemon, sawadee, the chocolate, and this indian restaurant in highland that i can't remember the name of.

it seems like every time we spend a weekend in utah it comes up on the drive home that maybe we should move there.

...maybe we should.

rad picture of olive.

loving the pool.

baby cows are cute.

male turkeys are NOT cute.

i might have a veggie thanksgiving this year.

proof.

the chocolate. delicious!

putting my feet up at barnes and noble after a full day of shopping. these girls are FUN!

we're having a...

2010-08-24T19:48:00.000-07:00

baby BOY!

he's healthy and thriving and everything looks just right.

let's talk about olive

2010-08-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

olive had her 18 month check up this week. 18 months...crazy.

she's healthy and thriving at a whopping 34" tall and 27 lbs, that puts her in the 95% for height and 75% for weight.

the girl is tall.

she's talking jiberish like a pro and is saying more and more words each day. some of her favorites right now are: cheese, papa, ball, moon, and popcorn (which she could eat her weight in). she can point to most all of her body parts, and she's doing great with animal sounds. she loves to meow like kitty, bark like a dog, hiss like a snake, and growl for lions, tigers, bears and most all other animals. she loves baths and LOVES to swim.

she becoming more and more of a little girl and less of a baby each day. she's happy most all the time and really expressive. she easily smiles and laughs, and loves to play, dance and be silly.

AND, she's an official nursery goer!

here are a few videos of what she's been up to lately.

who knew that showing this little thing the world could be so rewarding.

summer fun

2010-08-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

we've had a lot of fun the last few weeks with family in town.

nate, julie and clara were here for a week in july. we spent a lot of time outside and at the park with the kids. and nate and i were able to celebrate our birthdays together just like old times.

..get ready for photos.

(classic nate face)

then alisa, owen, ella, and liam came 2 days later and stayed for a week, and kyle and his girlfriend jeneca came for the weekend.

we played at the water floor and the pool.

we had bbq's and played on the swing.

we celebrated owen's 7th birthday with a waterfight...olive got to the birthday cake a little early and took her share with the ice cream scoop.(thanks owen for being such a good sport about it.)

(olive loved the pool, she was giddy for an hour straight)

(the damage)

olive was in heaven with so many cousins to play with for so long.

it was wild and crazy and wonderful!

come back...

camping in mccall

2010-07-12T12:11:00.001-07:00

we took olive camping in mccall for the first time last weekend.

she LOVED it!

the dirt, the rocks, hiking, the lake, tanner's scooter.

AND she slept like a champ in the trailer. woot woot.

what did we ever do for entertainment before her?

happy birthday america!

2010-07-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

the fourth of july is one of my favorite holidays, and it was so fun to be in boise to celebrate it this year.

i relived my childhood memories of the stake pancake breakfast, traditional family bbq, homemade ice cream YUM, and fireworks.

we love you america, it's good to live here!

big news!

2010-07-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

we've enjoyed olive so much that we've sent for another baby.

he/she is due to arrive jan 14, 2011.

they did it!

2010-06-30T13:56:00.000-07:00

spencer and josh made it back from their west coast bike ride.

a few minor alterations, one bloody elbow, a little skinnier, a lot darker, and a week of amazing memories.

you guys are tough!