5 years

Wow.  Where has the time gone?  5 years ago on October 21 Ernest and I were married.  It scares me a little bit how quickly it has gone by.  We were married, then sealed, then moved from Colorado to Kansas.  I completed my Bachelor's degree, we both started new jobs.  We bought a house and welcomed two kids into our family.  That's quite a bit to fit into five years!  Anyway, in honor of our 5 year anniversary, this is dedicated to Ernest, and the things I love most about him.

He likes to make me laugh.  I like to make him laugh.  Loves to play and tease.  Likes to do things with me.  Will watch Project Runway with me.  Will get up with the kids early on Saturday so I can sleep in a little bit.  Supports me in my callings.  Honors his Priesthood.  Holds my hand.  Likes to cuddle.  Will get up with me in the middle of the night to help with the kids when I ask him to.  Likes traditions in our family.  Treats my family as his own.  Will do anything for anyone.  Works hard.  Enjoys reading.  Wants to know more of the Gospel.  Encourages me in my goals.  Loves me unconditionally.  Supports me when I'm having a bad time.  Is involved with the kids.  Is financially knowledgable.  Supports me in my education and career.  Will go "adventure driving" with me.  And ask for directions if needed.  Makes me feel good and want to be a better person.  So unselfish.  Rarely loses his temper.  Forgiving.  In short, he is my "favorite." 

To celebrate our anniversary, we decided to go a little more extreme this year.  My sister volunteered to come stay with the kids at our house overnight.  Ernest made us reservations for Skies Restaurant for dinner.  Skies is at the top of the Hyatt by Crown Center, and - get this - it spins.  Quite novel for Kansas City, I thought.  We got actual dressed up - the first time we had ever done that as a couple. Ally kept asking me to put on my dress and shoes and spin for her.  I must admit, I did spin a few times for her. 

So Skies was fun - could go nice causual or more formal.  It was the nicest restaurant I've been to though.  Generally we are go places more like an Applebee's or maybe Outback if we feel like splurging.  The food was great, and the view was beautiful.  We had 6:00 reservations, which was a little early, but because of the time of year it was perfect timing for seeing the sunset over the city.  At first it was a little weird not having the kids with us and talking about things not directly involving the kids.  Clue #1 to me that we need to be more serious about "date night" for us.  There is a switch in mindset from "parents" to "couple" and it was quite refreshing to go between the two. 

After dinner, we went to our hotel room.  I got a great deal on travelocity (super secret hotel!) and we ended up with reservations at the Westin Crown Center.  Fabulous hotel.  We changed and then walked around Crown Center for a bit.  The next morning (got to sleep ALL NIGHT and even sleep in a little bit!) we went back to Crown Center and did a little shopping and got lunch.  We were going to go to the Nelson Atkins (Ernest still hasn't been even though it is one of my favorite places in the city) but decided we were ready to go home and see our kiddos.

The fun didn't stop there!  Our friend Susan had arranged for a group to meet and go on a hayride and have a bonfire at a local county park.  We had perfect weather for it.  I really enjoyed getting to just relax with my family and some friends.  Fall in Kansas is so pretty, especially when we get a taste of Indian Summer like we've had lately.  We made s'mores around the campfire and then headed home. 

I'm so grateful we've had 5 wonderful years of marriage together, and I am looking forward to many more. As I've said before, he is absolutely perfect for me - my soulmate. I love my family!

 The view from our table shortly after we arrived

 The view from our table looking downtown

 Our fabulous (standard) hotel room on the 7th floor.  Big, wall to wall windows, huge bathroom, king (super comfy) bed, flat screen.  We felt so spoiled!

 Night time view from our hotel room, looking north towards downtown.

 Daytime View out of our hotel window, looking at the Hyatt.  Skies is on top of the building on the right.

 Our Daytime view out of our hotel window/balcony - Union Station!

 Our artwork on the placemats at the Crayola Cafe

 At the Crayola Store and Cafe

 Hayride!

Ally with a marshmallow

Under the Big Top

We took a trip to the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus in September.  We went with the Keller's.  This was the first time Ally had been and she had a great time.  She didn't know where to look!  She never got down for a nap before the circus, so I was a little worried about how she would do with all of the excitement and no nap.  Other than being very distracted for a while before intermission because she REALLY wanted a drink, she did a great job.  I think we'll be going again next year, and possibly bringing Jacob this time.  I had the best time just watching her reactions to things.

 Brandon and Ally watching the show from Lucas's lap.  Sydney, Lori, Ernest, and I were all there too.

Lil' Man didn't go with us, but he was just as happy at home I think.  

We have a big problem!

Latest things that Ally does/says-

"You can do it, Mommy!"

"Oh, man!"

"We have a big problem."

"I give Mama BIG sqeeze-hug and JJ little squeeze-hug"

"Awe, Jacob so little and cute and wiggly."

"so cute."

She is potty trained!  Just all of a sudden last week she started either telling us she needed to go (mostly by starting to strip in the living room - but that's a pretty clear signal) or she'd surprise me and go by herself.  We had a few troubles with #2, but I think she's got that too.  She's only had a couple of accidents in the last week (not counting overnight - that's still hit and miss).  So, panties during the day and pullups at night.  Awesome!  I did hear her tell Ernest the other day, while she was trying to poo, that he needed to cheer for her, and then she demonstrated - "Al-ly! Al-ly!"  It was so funny.

And Mr. Jacob...is just over 9 months old.  We had his checkup last week.  He is 20 lbs 10 oz, 29 inches long.  He also had to get to shots...and he FREAKED OUT when the nurse came in with the papers.  Climbing all over me, crying, wiggling, etc.  I couldn't get him to settle down even when I nursed him.  I finally had to hold him like I was going to nurse him and she gave him both shots in the same leg.  Poor boy.  The nurse tried to wait and catch him between wails so that he was more relaxed - that part worked since he hardly bruised at all.  He was back to his cheerful self the next day (even though he took a 2.5 hour nap after the appointment).  Jacob is still trying to walk. He'll get a couple of steps and stop. I still think that he has no idea what he is doing. He'll stand up from a crouch, holding a toy, and swing it around like crazy, and not fall over. He'll figure it out sometime though. He is starting to mimic a lot more. We have an ear thermometer, and I used it a lot over the weekend since he was sick on Friday. I let him play with it a little bit and he was trying to put it in my ear. So cute! He still just has the 2 teeth. I cannot believe it has been 9 months already. Time to start thinking if we want a #3 to join us in the near future. Holy cow.

 sleeping sitting up (mostly)

Renaissance Festival

We made our annual trek to the Renaissance Festival with the Kellers in September.  Still so much fun.  Ally had a great time playing some games and seeing Princesses.  Jacob just liked looking around.  It was a perfect autumn day to go play outside.

 Tired boy :)  This was just before we left.

 Trying on Lucas's hat.  We have a picture similar to this with Ally when she was about the same age.

 Ally got to ride a llama with Ernest walking next to her.  She quite enjoyed it!

 Waiting in line to play a game.

 Cheering at the Joust.

Riding the swing all by herself!

General Conference Weekend

It's been such a nice weekend.  I didn't get to watch all of Conference, but I have it DVR'd so I can watch the rest of it this week.  We had it on the TV all weekend, and even with just that it brought such a nice Spirit into our home.  And, I got a ton of work done around the house, which also makes me feel good. 

I don't think our bedroom has been this clean since I was pregnant with Ally and went on a cleaning spree.  I moved the dressers, cleaned out drawers, washed windows, and even vacuumed walls and air vents.  These things happen occasionally, but never at the same time!  The rest of the house isn't half bad either, which is nice.  Laundry is nearly all done and just some odds'n'ends left in the common area.  Problem is, the odds'n'ends are the hardest ones to get put away since there's not a home for them yet.  Still working on reversing my pack rat ways (the hubby too). 

Anyway, it's been a refreshing and relaxing couple of days.  The weather has been gorgeous, we've spent time together as a family (including a special pancake dinner - so fun!), and I got some cleaning done.  Good start to the next week.