The Price Family

FLORIDA!

2010-03-08T12:24:00.000-08:00

We finally saved up enough Southwest Airline miles to take a trip- so we decided to go to Orlando and take the kids to Disney World and Sea World. Doug and I went there for our honeymoon- so it is a special place to us. This is the first family vacation we have taken that wasn't to visit family. It was busy but fun! Vacations are so wonderful- they give you a change from the everyday routines and it was so fun to see the kids so excited about everything. As a mom one of the best things is seeing your kids happy- not that you have to go to Disney to do that:)

Nick with his winnings from a Sea World carnival game.

Joselyn after a long day at Sea World. Asleep in her stroller.

Me & Joselyn.

Nick.

The longest we waited in a line was to see Mickey and Minnie. The kids were excited and I have to admit, I was excited when I saw them.

Meeting the white rabbit.

Nick on the slide.

Joselyn loved the Winnie the Pooh play land- especially these pots of honey.

In line at It's a Small World.

Doug & Nick on a ride.

At the Magic Kingdom.

Nick.

Magic Kingdom.

On the ferry ride to Magic Kingdom.

Joselyn loved the sandy play area at Sea World.

Nick

On the carousel.

At Sea World.

Joselyn LOVED the character. She couldn't keep her hands off of them.

Sea World.

Me & my girl.

Joselyn & Nick captivated by the show.

Joselyn with Daddy.

We went early to the dolphin show (which was my favorite) and the dolphins were out swimming. I love this picture.

We had to take a picture of this sign for Nana and in memory of our apartment complex in Seattle that often smelled like ethnic food.

Visiting the World's largest McDonalds.

Doug is 31!

2010-01-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

This past week Doug turned 31! We enjoyed going out to dinner and strawberry cheesecake. I'm so grateful that my wonderful husband was born:)

Day After Christmas Birthday Girl

2010-01-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

Our sweet Joselyn turned 2. We enjoyed an afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese and then went out to eat. Then she opened presents and had cake.

The birthday girl with Daddy.

Joselyn.

After opening presents.

Nick.

Joselyn with Chuck E. Cheese.

Christmas Fun

2010-01-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas. We all sent some time in Omaha before Christmas and then Doug went back early to work. The kids and I flew back to Denver on Christmas Eve and Doug was so sweet and had prepared all my favorite christmas foods- soup bowls, crackers and cheeseballs, shrimp. Then Christmas day was so fun to see the kids open presents. We stayed in our PJ's all day and played with new toys and games.

Nick with his race car set.

Joselyn with her play kitchen.

Nick with new PJ's on Christmas Eve. You would never guess that in a few hours he would be throwing up all night!

Joselyn in her new PJ's.

Celebrating Joselyn's birthday early in Omaha.

Merry Christmas!!!

2009-12-16T12:14:00.000-08:00

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!!!

Nick Started Kindergarten

2009-09-17T20:35:00.001-07:00

That’s right Nick started Kindergarten! If we were still living in Seattle he would have missed the cut off date, but in Denver their cut off date is later, so he is able to start Kindergarten. It is so nice to have the school right next to us. Nick rides his scooter to school and I walk with Joselyn in the stroller. I think Nick feels pretty studly cruising up to school on his scooter and with his superhero backpack. It works out great to walk him to school- except when it is raining and we’ll have to see how the snow goes, but for now it is nice. Nick likes not having to ride a bus. He is in the afternoon class, so it is nice not having to rush in the morning and class is 2 ½ hours long. Since Doug has not started work yet, I have been able to go up and volunteer several times. It is fun to see the kids and see how the interact. Nick has a few kids in his class that he also knows through church, so it has been nice to have a few friends that he knew a little before school started. He is liking it.

One thing that surprised me is that he has homework! The teachers request that we do homework with them 4-5 times a week for 20-30 minutes or more:) I was unsure about it, but so far I find it enjoyable to sit down with him and see how much he knows and help him improve. They are teaching him sight words and he is reading a little, and by a little I mean just a few words, but I already see that he is learning a lot. Homework is still new and exciting to him, so we’ll see how things go as the year goes on.

Nick showing off his back pack.

In line on his first day of Kindergarten!

SUMMER

2009-09-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of blog updating to do, but I will start with summer highlights. First I got my braces off right before we moved, so that was awesome. My 10 year old sister can no longer call me “the teenager”.

Also, I am so happy to be done with apartment managing. It was such a blessing to get free rent for 5 years and help us go into less debt and it was wonderful to be home with my kids, but I'm so happy to be done! So long apartment managing days! It is so nice to not have people calling to view apartments, or telling me their sink is broken, or telling me someone is parked in their spot. It's no longer my problem. Anyone that has managed can understand my happiness.

Then the move went pretty well. It was so wonderful to have Doug's family help with packing and watching our kids while we packed. It is hard work!!! We moved with PODS and it worked out nicely. We were able to load it up, then spend a few weeks with family in Utah, and then have our POD delivered to our townhouse in Denver. Our POD was so full! I was so relieved when we got the door shut and everything we wanted was inside.

Here are some pictures from the summer.

Nana & Papa with all the grand kids at our favorite restaurant Cascade Gardens.

Me and Doug at Covington Days. It was nice to spend a few days with Doug's parents before the move.

Nick at Covington Days.

At the Dino Museum in Vernal Utah!

Nick kissing the dinosaur.

Dino Museum.

Up in the mountains near Vernal, Utah with my family.

Joselyn at the Homestead for the Ellis Family Reunion in Midway, UT.

Gabby and Nick in Park City, Utah.

Nick on the Heber Creeper- train ride.

Corey and Joselyn after the train ride.

Nick with the conductor.

Grandma made beautiful aprons for all the girls. So fun!

The boys got hats.

At the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open house in South Jordan, Utah. It is beautiful!

We also got to spend a few days with Doug's siblings in Provo. We took the kids to Seven Peaks, which was really fun. I wanted to walk around campus, but it didn't work out. It was so fun to be in Provo- my old stomping ground. Then we made the drive over to Denver.

I'm Married to a Dentist!

2009-06-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was Doug's graduation. It was such a wonderful day and I felt on top of the world. It was so nice to celebrate all Doug's hard work in Dental school and I am so proud of him. The graduation ceremony was very intimate and each of the gradates got to prepare a short message to be read and got to have a few pictures displayed as they graduated, so it was really special. It was nice to be surrounded by family and after the graduation we went to dinner at Cascade Gardens. Here are some pictures.

Doug with Joselyn & Nick.

Nick & Joselyn before graduation.

Doug.

Doug with his proud, supportive parents.

Our handsome graduate!

Doug & Joselyn.

Our family.

The LDS dental student gang :)

It's begining to look a lot like DENVER!

2009-06-03T15:31:00.001-07:00

Well, Doug graduates this weekend from Dental School. Very exciting!!! We plan to buy into a practice in Denver. We will be flying to Denver in a few weeks to decide which office Doug wants to buy and then once he decides, hopefully we will be able to look for housing that is close. We would like to rent for maybe a year and get to know the area and then get into a house that we can grow into. We are planning to move around mid-July, but there are a lot of unknowns, so we'll see. Time seems to be going by so quickly and I can't believe how numbered our days in Seattle are. We are feeling very excited and nervous at the same time with so many changes coming up for our little family.

Nick & Joselyn

2009-06-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

We got Mother's Day pictures of the kids taken last month- we did get one cute one. I just don't know which direction to hang it:)

Doctor Doug

2009-06-03T15:15:00.000-07:00

We Are Pleased to Announce The Graduation of
Douglas Phillip Price
From
The University of Washington
School of Dentistry
On Saturday The Sixth of June
Two Thousand and Nine

Hooding Ceremony Will be Held at Two O’Clock
in The Afternoon in Meany Hall

Easter Weekend

2009-04-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

We had a fun and busy Easter weekend. The Saturday before Easter we went to an egg hunt at Bitter Lake Park. Then drove to Puyallup to meet up with family to do a egg hunt at South Hill Mall. It was fun, with lots of kid activities. Then we went out to dinner. Then, the Easter bunny came Sunday morning and we enjoyed church.

Nick gathering candy.

Joselyn would put some candy in her basket, then take some out.

Nick and cousin, Kaylee at egg hunt at the mall.

Joselyn trying to open candy. She now know how to say candy and sucker.

Joselyn.

Joselyn with animal balloon.

Nick & Joselyn.

Joselyn.

Nick on Easter morning. I love how kids look when they just wake up. He was so "egg"-cited to see that the Easter bunny had come.

Joselyn on Easter morning.

Joselyn ready for church.

Joselyn.

Nick and Joselyn after church.

Nick with his basket from Trisha.

Nick & Joselyn.

Kim & Dave's Wedding

2009-04-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

We recently returned from a trip to Nebraska for my baby sister, Kim's wedding. She was a beautiful bride and I couldn't be happier for her. Dave is awesome. Here are some pictures.

Kim and Dave exiting the Winter Quarters Temple.

Doug & Nick waiting.

Joselyn

Joselyn in her pretty white dress.

The family waiting for the luncheon.

Nick & cousin Gabby.

The WHOLE family at the reception.

Me and my 7 siblings. Ok, there is 6 out of my 7 siblings and one cardboard cut out of Zac, who is on his mission in Switzerland right now. We plan to mail these pictures to his mission president to get him in trouble:)

One of the best moments of the trip was watching Nick dance with his cousin Gabby. He looked so handsome in his vest suit, and had such good posture and was twirling her all around the dance floor. We dance around the house all the time, so it was fun to see all of my dance training pay off.

Scrapbooking like crazy!!!

2009-04-08T08:31:00.000-07:00

Every night for the past few months, once the kids were asleep, you could find me scrapbooking. My latest project was a baby book for my sister's little girl. I am sad that I didn't take a few pictures to post on the blog before I gave it to her, but imagine the cutest scrapbook you have ever seen, and that is what it looked like:) Just joking!

I did get a little burnt out. I actually said to myself a few times, I am sick of scrapbooking, but it passes really quickly. I love doing it.

*A special thanks to Douglas Price who put up with a scrapbooking mess every day for the past few months, and on and off for the past 6 years. Love ya!

Lollipops in the Tub

2009-02-23T16:12:00.001-08:00

Nick loves suckers, and Joselyn wants to be like her big brother, so she wants suckers too. So, Doug came up with the perfect place for them, in the tub. Easy clean up:)

Official Bed Maker

2009-02-23T16:07:00.001-08:00

Last week Nick was begging me to play the Wii with him. I told him that I had some house cleaning to do, and needed to make my bed. He was satisfied and I went on cleaning and about 10 minutes later, Nick tells me to come look in my room. I went to look and my little sweetie had made my bed! He did a pretty good job, and I just had to snap a picture.

Doug is 30!!!

2009-01-31T08:30:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Doug's 30th Birthday last week!!!

Monkey Feet

2009-01-31T08:23:00.000-08:00

I thought this picture was so cute. She found mittens and thought they were socks.

My Sisters

2009-01-31T07:58:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago 2 of my sisters came to visit. My parent live in Omaha, so I don't get too many visitors, but that was their Christmas present from my dad. It was so fun to see them and show them the beautiful Seattle area. We went to Snoqualmie falls twice, because the first time we went there it was so foggy that you couldn't see the falls, so we had to go back again. It was worth another drive out there, it is so beautiful. Here's some pictures of of our adventures.

We went on a ferry ride.

Sarah, Nick & Catie by the waterfront.

We took them bowling, which is Nicholas' new favorite thing!!!

In front of the temple.

Nick with "his girls" as he calls them. He was in heaven with all the attention.

Joselyn after a long day of sight-seeing.

Christmas

2009-01-07T14:37:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas. Here are some pictures.

Nicholas got a personal visit from Santa (a.k.a. our apartment maintenance guy) on Christmas Eve. He was so excited!!!

Joselyn & Nick on Christmas Eve in their festive sweaters.

We went to Doug's folks' home in Kent for a delicious Christmas Eve feast.

On Christmas morning I got to talk to my little brother who is on a mission in Switzerland, so that was awesome. Then it was so fun to see the kids open their presents.

Joselyn got a new doll. I was so excited to give it to her.

Christmas afternoon I played out in the snow with Nick and his cousins. I think I had more fun then they did. We made a snowman and a snow tunnel. I felt like a kid again.

Joselyn turned 1 year old on the 26th. I can't believe my baby is one already. My favorite part of 1st birthdays is letting them dig into a cake. Joselyn didn't disappoint.

Joselyn got a stroller for her doll, but enjoyed trying it out herself.

The day after Christmas we went with Doug's family to Leavenworth, Washington. It is a cute Bavarian town. All his siblings and their families, but one were able to come. We enjoyed restaurants, shops, swimming at the hotel, and a beautiful sleigh ride. It was a winter wonderland there. It is also a special place for Doug and I because we went there for Christmas 6 years ago when we were dating.

Joselyn loved these little kittens in one of the shops.

Joeslyn and Nick in their Christmas clothes from Nana.

Sugar Coated Pecans

2009-01-07T11:27:00.000-08:00

I found this delicous recipe online at allrecipes.com and wanted to share it. It is great on salads, or as a snack. I made a pound of pecans for New Years and they were gone in 2 days. I love them and it is easy!

INGREDIENTS
1 pound pecan halves

1 egg white
1 tablespoon water

1 cup white sugar (I tried using 1/4 cup brown sugar and 3/4 cups white sugar and liked it)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly. Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated. Spread the nuts out on a foil lined baking sheet (for easy clean up).

Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes.

Christmas Wishes

2008-12-23T16:19:00.000-08:00

I could not get a decent picture of them together!

We hope that every one is staying warm and has a wonderful Christmas!!! We took a trip to Denver a few weeks ago and it seems like I have finally been able to catch up on things and feel ready for Christmas. Here is our Christmas newsletter. Warm Christmas wishes to all!

Dear Family & Friends,

It’s been another wonderful year for us. We ended 2007 with our precious Joselyn being born on Dec 26th; she will celebrate her first Christmas this year. We got her a doll and I’m so excited to give it to her! It’s been a year of firsts for her, including walking at 9 ½ months!!! Her new favorite thing is pointing at everything! She loves books and can’t quite pronounce Nicky so she calls her big brother “Ninny”.

Nicholas has grown up a lot this year. He started primary and is a Sunbeam this year; he really enjoys it. He also started preschool in September and loves it. School was canceled for a few days due to snow and he was quite disappointed. He is really excited about Christmas this year. As encouragement for him to be a little more obedient, I told him that if he isn’t a good boy then he would get coal from Santa. I explained that coal is black rocks and he excitedly exclaimed “Awesome, I love rocks! I could paint them!” Nick loves collecting stuff and is quite the pack rat already. He sees potential in just about everything.

Doug is in his 4th and FINAL year of dental school at UW. He passed part 2 of the National Boards in November, and his graduation will be in June. Doug recently had Lasik eye surgery after growing tired of contacts and he has loved the change. In July of this year, Doug started his own online business; it’s an incentive site or a “GPT” (Get Paid To) website that rewards members for completing simple surveys. It is really growing quickly as of late! Sign up at simplegpt.com if you want to earn a little extra cash! Doug is also serving as financial clerk in the ward.

I am doing well, just trying to keep up with everything. I still apartment manage and I also teach the 11- year old girls in primary and love it!!! I try to get scrapbooking in every chance I get. In August, I got braces; it was quite an adjustment at first. We enjoyed a trip to the San Juan Islands in April for our 5-year anniversary. We also enjoyed a few trips to Nebraska this year to celebrate Kim (my sister) getting home from her mission in February and Corey (my brother) getting home from his mission in August. And Zac (my other brother) left in September for the Geneva, Switzerland mission. Earlier this month we took a trip to Denver to check it out as a possible place to live. We loved the area and found a good lead on a job opportunity. We’ll see what our options are as Doug gets closer to graduation. We are excited for graduation and look forward to getting a bigger place. We are quickly outgrowing our 2-bedroom apartment!

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2009!

Jessica, Doug, Nicholas and Joselyn

Outside Influences

2008-11-26T11:13:00.000-08:00

(Nick takes pleasure in being cruel to ducks)

Since Nicholas has started preschool, Doug and I have noticed him misbehaving more and I wondered if anyone has had a similar situation as their children started preschool. I guess I am getting my first taste of seeing the influence of other kids on my sweet, innocent boy. There is one boy in the class that can be aggressive, and I've noticed Nick has started to be a little more aggressive toward Joselyn. Also, a few days ago Nick said "Oh my Dog" only he didn't say Dog if you know what I'm getting at. I was surprised and he said that one of the boys at preschool says that. We had an important talk about it. We have started a sticker chart with rewards that he picks when he gets so many stickers and that seems to be helping. Any other advice??? Last week he got his first reward to Chuck E. Cheese. Here are a few pictures.

How to Make Marble Magnets

2008-11-26T08:51:00.000-08:00

My crafty and talented friened, Tara, sent me adorable marble magnets for my birthday last year and I wanted to pass along the idea, especially with Christmas right around the corner. What I love about craft is that ANYTHING that is on paper can be transformed into a fun magnet and you can make it a very personalized gift. Also it is quick, easy and cheep. Be creative and have fun! The pictures turned out a little blurry, but you get the idea.

Supplies:
Clear Marble Accents with a flat side (I used clear Jumbo Gems) $2.29 at JoAnns

Mod Podge (One web site said brush on Instant Krazy glue or a Silicone Sealer works too) $3.99 at JoAnns
Strong Magnets $2.49 for 8 at JoAnns Super Strong Ceramic
Hot Glue gun
Sissors
Pictures of whatever you want on your magnet. (you could used decorative scrapbook paper, magazines, stickers, photos, ribbon etc. )

Steps:
1. Gather pictures and cut them out You could use a circle punch if you have one, or just use sissors to cut out your favorite photos or designs from paper. (Note: You can glue a plain piece of photo paper or cardstock to the back of the picture or scrapbook paper to make it thicker and so you wouldn’t see the magnet. Also if you use stickers, you’ll want to stick them to cardstock first and then cut them out.)

2. Glue picture to marble Next put a ½ inch sized dot of the Mod Podge to the the flat side of the marble. I used a small paint brush, but you could just use a butter knife. Quickly apply the picture face down to the marble. This next step is key: Press down firmly for 30 seconds with your thumb and fingers. You want to make sure the glue spreads out and that you don’t have any bubbles. With a little practice you’ll know just the right about of Mod Podge to use so that it doesn’t leak out the sides too much. If you decide to use the Krazy glue be careful not to glue your fingers together- that glue is strong.

3. Let Dry Then I actually set another marble on top of the picture that I just glued down to give it a little pressure and let it dry for about an hour, or until there is no longer any white wet glue. (When I use thicker paper it takes a few days to completely dry.)

4. Glue picture marble to magnet Then I just use a hot glue gun and glue the magnet on the back. Make sure your magnets are strong enough to support the size of mable you have. No one likes a magnet that is too weak.

This website has instructions too: http://www.mormonchic.com/crafty/marble-magnets.asp

Free 8 X 11 Album from Snapfish

2008-11-13T08:57:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to pass along that on Oprah yesterday she announced that Snapfish is giving away free 20 page 8 X 11 albums that you create. You have to login to Snapfish by this Friday the 14th by midnight and it will credit your cart with the free album. Then you have until Sunday, the 16th at midnight to put together the album and order it.

On Oprah they used the Snapfish album as a way to organize your children's artwork, but taking digital photos of it and having it in a bound album. I think I'm going to use my album as a Christmas gift for my parents that has picture highlights of the past year.

Here is the link: http://www.snapfish.com/info18

The album usually costs 29.99. I am not great with computers, but snapfish has cute backgrounds that you just add your pictures to. It is easy and FREE!

2008-11-04T11:41:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Halloween!!!

Nick was a Power Ranger & Joselyn was a ballerina.

Nick with his weapons.

Look how educational my candy is!!!

I made Joselyn's tutu after watching a youtube video on how to make one.

Nick carving a pumpkin. He maticulously picked every pumpkin seed out for roasting because I told him that Daddy likes roasted pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin bowling at the Ward Trunk or Treat.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-04T10:49:00.001-08:00

We want to "The Farm" (a pumpkin patch) last week and Nicholas was in heaven. It is about 45 minutes north and I enjoyed a day where I felt like I was in Nebraska- there was corn, hay, and animals. What more could you want.

In a big bin of dry corn. Joselyn of course tried to eat it.

The hay ride.

Nick with the pumpkin he selected.

Nick favorite part was the steep slide into a pile of hay at the end of the hay maze.

Nick in the hay maze.

$275 in prizes up for grabs!

2008-11-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, a few months ago I started my own online internet business called Simple GPT. GPT stands for "get paid to" and my site is an incentive-based site that pays members to complete easy surveys and other simple offers. This past week I had my first contest on the site. There was some really good competition! The 3 members who completed the most offers in a week won prizes ($25, $15, & $10). For November, we have 2 contests going on with even bigger prizes! The first one is a referral contest. 1st place wins a $75 gift card and 2nd place wins a $25 gift card. The second contest has 3 prizes ($100, $50, $25) for the 3 members who earn the most during the month of November. Altogether, I am giving away $275 in prizes this month! If you haven't signed up yet and are interested or have questions, let me know. It is 100% free! If you have never done GPT sites/online surveys, leave me a comment with your email address & I'll send over some great tips on getting started. You can sign up by clicking HERE

Posted by Doug

Joselyn is Walking!

2008-10-17T13:22:00.000-07:00

It has been too long since I have updated our blog. The biggest news around the Price household is that Joselyn is walking! She took her first step about 3 weeks ago and has improved so quickly. She is really getting good with her balance. It is so fun to watch the first steps. I need to figure out how to post videos. Lately she also loves to clap and give high fives. She is such a joy!

Doug started his fourth and final year of dental school and is well into this quarter. He has part 2 of the National Boards coming up in November, and is studying each night for them. We are excited that he will be done in June!!!

We are trying to take advantage of the non-rainy days and have made a few trips to the park. Lately, Nick has loved Licton Springs park because they have these parallel bars that he wraps his arms around and slides down them like a super hero. The first time he tried it he did a face plant, but has improved since. Nick is still loving preschool and looking forward to upcoming field trips.

Joselyn loves to swing.

We celebrated my 26th Birthday at Red Robin this past week. Doug was very sweet and made my birthday special. I also recently got a new calling teaching Sunday school to the 11 & 12 year old girls. I am loving it.

A Day at the Puyallup Fair

2008-09-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

This past Friday we enjoyed a day at the fair.

Nick checking out the tractors.

Joselyn at the hypnotist show. It was funny.

On the boat ride with his cousins, Kaylee and Jacob.

Trip To Yakima

2008-09-20T18:48:00.000-07:00

As part of his dental school requirements, Doug had to do a rotation at a community dental clinic in Yakima for 2 weeks. I stayed with him for the first week, and then had to get back for Nick to start preschool. I really liked Yakima. I love the small town feel, it reminds me of home. We went to visit a winery, and determined there isn't much to do or see there, unless you drink wine. It was neat to see grapes growing on the vine though.

We found a great place for the kids to play called Kid's Castle. It obviously had a giant swimming pool of balls, and also had a zip line, and tons of tunnels and slides. Nick is still talking about it.

Nicholas Started Preschool

2008-09-16T16:02:00.001-07:00

Nicholas had his first day of preschool today! Yesterday they had a phase-in day where the parents stay with them and go through a condensed schedule of a typical day. It was just as beneficial to my comfort as it was to his. This is Nick waiting with me in the lobby for the bus. We actually waited for an hour for the bus to come. We went down a little early and the bus was really late. He was probably about 20 minutes late for class, I'm sure tomorrow will be better.

Nick showing his bus wristband.

Nick on phase-in day. His teacher is Mrs. Eddie. I hope he really enjoys preschool and makes some good friends and develops a love for learning.

Nicholas is 4!!!

2008-09-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

Nicholas turned 4 years old on September 8th. I can't believe I have a 4 year old! We celebrated his birthday on the 7th, since Doug was headed to Yakima for a dental rotation.

Nick got a Power Ranger costume that he loves! He thinks he's so strong!

Nick's pirate cake before...

Nick's cake after he added a few finishing touches.

Oh There is No Place Like Nebraska

2008-09-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

After being in school all summer, Doug finally had a break, so we went to Nebraska to visit my family. It was wonderful! All eight of my siblings were there. Nicholas had a blast. He spent tons of time on the trampoline, in the playhouse, and chasing the chickens out of the apple tree.

My Dad & Mom

Dave (Kim's boyfriend) & My sister Kim

Joselyn eating my sister Catie's necklace

At the park where we took family pictures

Zac's 19th Birthday

Cousin Gabby & Nick having a tea party

At the Zoo

Joselyn & her Uncle Corey- she met him for the first time since he just got home from his mission to McAllen, Texas.

At the Winter Quarters Temple. My brother Zac got his endowments and will go on his mission to Geneva, Switzerland at the end of September.

Nick flying his spiderman kite.

At the Children's Museum.

Wanna Look 10 Years Younger and Lose a Few Pounds

2008-09-09T10:29:00.000-07:00

Look who is sporting a nice set of braces! That's right I got braces about 4 weeks ago and I feel like I look 10 years younger. On my recent trip to Nebraska, I went to visit my younger sister at her work, and a coworker of hers said, "Oh, you brought your younger sister in to visit." Then my baby sister called me "The Thirteen Year Old" the whole trip. I've also lost a few pounds because it was pretty painful to eat for the first week, and I haven't been snacking as much because of the whole food getting stuck in your braces thing. So, if you want to lose weight, getting braces is a great option to consider:)

I must say that I have been surprised at how big of an adjustment getting braces has been. Talking with braces has been especially hard because my top lip gets caught on my braces. I talk differently with braces. Another change has been allowing 5 minutes for flossing instead of 30 seconds. Also, I am limited on what foods I can eat. When I get these off the first thing I am going to do is bite into an apple, and eat corn on the cob :) Also, I wasn't prepared for how young these braces make me look and how nerdy I feel. But, a little pain and a little bit of feeling nerdy will be worth it to get straight teeth.

Wanna Make Some Money?

2008-08-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

So apparently dental school doesn’t keep me busy enough. This past week I decided to start my own business…hey, I gotta pay for tuition somehow, right? For the past year and a half, I have been a member of various “GPT sites.” For those unfamiliar with the term GPT, it stands for “Get-Paid-To” and these so-called GPT sites are websites that pay members to perform various tasks…some pay you to read emails, others pay you to click on advertisements, take surveys, request information, sign up for trial offers, etc. They are all free to join, and over the past year and a half I have managed to make thousands of dollars from them, along with winning many prizes (like ipods, gift cards, computer speakers, a Nintendo DS, a camera, etc.) from contests many of the sites hold.

Well, recently I decided to start MY OWN GPT site....SimpleGPT.com. It is 100% free to join, and all of the offers on my site are free as well. Each offer you complete will earn you a certain number of points. The points can then be redeemed for a variety of gift cards or a custom prize of your choice. You can earn a $15 gift card by completing just a few short surveys.

The site is still in its beginning stages and is pretty simple right now (no pun intended). I hope to add a lot more offers soon. I'll probably try to keep the membership low, because I don't have a TON of free time to devote to responding to members' emails, problems, etc., but I do hope to eventually have monthly contests where members can win fun prizes. If you’re interested in joining, sign up below! Also, if you’re new to GPT sites, let me know and I can send you a tutorial with some great tips! (For instance, you’ll want to set up a junk email account to avoid the tons of spam you’ll get!) Wish me luck in this new adventure!

Sign Up Here!

Posted by Doug

FHE at the Ball Field

2008-08-05T16:49:00.000-07:00

Nick in the giant glove outside the stadium.

Cotton Candy! Yum!!!

Nick with the recycling super hero.

Doug called Monday afternoon from school and said someone had extra Mariners tickets, so a few hours later we were off to McDonald’s for a quick dinner, and then made our way down to Safeco Field. We had wanted to take Nick to a game, so this was perfect. He did ask half way through the game when he gets to play, I guess he thought we were going to a baseball game that he would play in. Despite the disappointment of finding out that he didn't get to play, he was excited and had a great time. He loved the Cotton Candy, but insisted on saving some for later. Joselyn liked the music and clapping, and enjoyed looking around. She had all the concession stand workers looking and smiling at her. I did realize that I really need to take my responsibilities of being a mother a little more seriously- my almost 4 year old son doesn’t know the words to Take Me Out to the Ball Game!!! We’ll be working on that!

Joselyn in her Dresses

2008-08-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

I just couldn’t resist posting a few pictures of Joselyn in her dresses. She is 7 ½ months old now; I can’t believe how quickly she is growing. She is getting her first tooth (bottom right). She is eating well and likes just about anything we feed her. She has been pulling herself up to stand for a few weeks now. She also loves playing with pens. She is such a happy, content baby. If only she would sleep better at night!

My Garden- Apartment Style

2008-07-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

Growing up we always had a huge garden. A garden is one of those things that I didn't care for too much as a kid, because a garden meant work. Now I would love to have a big yard with room for a garden of delicious fresh vegetables.

This spring, I decided to grow a few things in pots on our balcony and here is how things are turning out. In the front row is cilantro, and a tomato plant that was started from a seed and has been very slow to grow. Any tips? In the back row is carrots, I’m interested to see how they do in a pot, flowers, parsley, more flowers, and another tomato plant that I bought when it was about a foot tall. I wanted to take individual shots of each plant, but decided that a few group pictures were sufficient. Can you tell I’m proud of my little garden? Maybe it is my biology background, but there is something very exciting and intriguing about growing plants.

Our Lil' Slugger

2008-07-16T21:35:00.000-07:00

Nick's found a new love in his life--baseball! We bought him a T-ball set a few months ago, and now that the weather is finally nice we've been able to go to the park and use it a lot more. He sure enjoys it, and it's fun to watch him. He likes to show off a little bit...when he sees someone walking by, he'll quickly run up and hit the ball in order to impress them. He always checks to make sure they're watching.

Posted by Doug

Bath Time

2008-07-16T18:29:00.000-07:00

We've had really good luck with bath time. Both of our kids LOVE taking baths. Nick would probably stay in the bathtub all day if we let him; probably because we let him bring as many toys in the bath as he wants. And trust me...you can fit a lot of toys in a bath! After her bath, Joselyn loves cuddling up in a towel and playing peek-a-boo with daddy!

A Day At The Beach

2008-07-13T14:24:00.001-07:00

We went to one of our favorite Seattle beaches this weekend--Golden Gardens. The weather was perfect! We brought a picnic lunch and spent most of the afternoon at the beach. It was Joselyn's first time at the beach; she liked dipping her feet in the cold water. We had to keep her from trying to eat the sand though. Nicholas had fun building sand castles and just loved being outside all day.

Posted by Doug

Digital Scrapbooking

2008-07-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

I attempted to teach Jessica photoshop today. I'm trying to convince her that digital scrapbooking is the way to go (i.e. no more scrapbooking supplies taking over our whole apartment). She was only half paying attention (at best) to what I was trying to teach her. I guess 2 kids in the background didn't help either. I did manage to help her create her first digital scrapbook layout. Although she likes many aspects of digital scrapbooking, I'm not sure she's ready to make the switch. I think she still prefers the old-fashioned way of scrapbooking. Can anyone help me convince her to change?!?!

Posted by Doug

Fun on the Fourth

2008-07-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

This 4th of July marks the fourth year for us in Seattle. We moved up here a year before Doug started dental school at UW...only one more year to go!

We spent the holiday at Doug's parent's house in Covington. This year was the first year Nick was old enough to have fireworks, so we bought him a few sparklers, snakes, pop-its and other "kid-safe" fireworks (if there is such a thing). We joined the rest of the neighborhood kids down at the lake to light off our fireworks. Nick sure had fun with his first real 4th of July.

Joselyn in her 4th of July dress

Nick's also sporting the red, white & blue!

Nick & Joselyn

Joselyn with her daddy

Nick waiting patiently with his fireworks...

The patience ran out and we let him
light a few during the day

Joselyn-in-the-Box

2008-07-08T19:48:00.001-07:00

Doug thought we needed to take some cute pictures to spice up our blog, so today he did a mini photo shoot with Joselyn. Luckily for him, she cooperated really well, even while she was hungry! I think he got the idea for the photos from the internet. Joselyn sure loved playing in the box! She started crying when Doug took her out. Hopefully we'll be taking a new family picture soon and can post that as well. Until then...here's Joselyn-in-the-box!

Peek-a-boo!

The Day that Doug and Jessica met…

2008-07-03T18:06:00.000-07:00

Doug and I met on Friday, September 13, 2002. It was the beginning of fall semester at BYU and there was a big campus event called Fall Fling. Doug went with his best friend Rich Lopez, and I was with some friends that I met through my Resident Assistant job. We decided to go to a comedy show called Divine Comedy. You had to have wrist bands to get in and I was the only one that had picked one up in advance, so I volunteered to save seats for my friends while they got their wrist bands.

As I was saving seats a tall, dark and handsome guy caught my eye as he sat in my row. As people continued to pour into the auditorium for the show, someone announced over the microphone that saving seats was not allowed and that everyone needed to move to the center of the rows. I was really upset, but moved into the center of my row and sat down and muttered, “I promise I have friends.”

The guy now sitting next to me sensed my frustration and said, “What was that?” I explained that my friends had to get wrist bands, and I was supposed to save seats for them. We continued talking and then one of my friends finally showed up and said that we could just go to the later show. I whispered to her that I was talking to and sitting next to a cute guy and would meet up with them after the show.

So, Doug and I continued to talk and had a few connections. He had served a mission in Ukraine and knew Scott Odle, a family friend who also served in Ukraine. I was also shocked to find out that he was born in Omaha, Nebraska while his father attended Creighton for dental school. Most people have not been to Nebraska, and the few that have been to Nebraska usually have just driven through its cornfields. We had fun talking and laughing throughout the show. I remember Doug touching my leg during the show but to this day he claims that I must have imagined it.

After the show I walked off to leave and Doug stopped me and asked for my number. I gave it to him and he went away with Rich, and I went to find my friends. I was very excited that he had been confident enough to ask for my number and hoped that he would call me soon.

So, to sum it up, I ditched my friends to sit by a handsome stranger that is now my husband. It was love at first sight!