the johnstons

kitchen duties

2012-02-01T17:00:00.001-08:00

The elders came over tonight and I felt like making a festive Valentine dessert, so we had a berry trifle. Naturally, Tom and I went to work on the remains when they left.

He was all sugared up for bed and got really loud and enthusiastic about his book reading. He's got violent tendencies lately. When he narrates, all the vehicles are crashing and all the characters are bonking their heads.

Here we are, 34 weeks. I'm in major nesting mode over here. It helps that we're also trying to lighten our moving load, so everything I see around the house is in danger of going to Goodwill or the trash. We have quite a pile already. It feels great.

This new addition also feels great. We moved the old one to our bedroom so we could keep all our other books on it instead of in Tom's closet.

My friend bought this suit for her baby at a sale yesterday and I went right out and bought the same one. How could I not? I imagined Grayce's chubby thighs in there and I was practically forced to drive to the mall and purchase it.

That being said, I also happened to read this post on Matt's cousin's blog today. And since I technically made money on this transaction today because I had to return something as well, I'm still counting myself as eligible. We'll see how it goes. I love this kind of thing.

I just realized it's my half birthday. Happy 24.5 to me!

Holidays 2011-2012

2012-01-20T17:49:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures we took of our super long, super fun vacation!

We started out in Oregon (at the Johnstons) and LOVED having lots of cousins to play with.

a train ride on the Polar Express

the kid table

Santa came! I don't know who was more excited--Thomas or his parents.

The big lady got bigger.
Tom and Grayce needed a matching belly pic. Here's me almost exactly 2 years ago in the same spot (and shirt):

We had to "drive" the cool truck in Grandpa's garage every day.

Then we went to California to visit the Hawkins. Only one cousin here, but Tom still had lots to do with all the bossing and bullying Sam required. He loved his Mickey Mouse jammies from Grandma Hawkins and still asks about Sammy every time he wears them.

G & G took us to Disneyland! I wish I had more pictures.
Tom really did have a great time, but this one was too good not to share. It was past naptime and the Dumbo ride was not helping anything. He went on his first roller coaster in Toon Town (all he had to say when it was over was "FAST!"). His fav was probably meeting Tigger and Buzz.

We ate at some delicious restaurants. Tom got so used to his new lavish lifestyle that he started yelling "Fries!" or "Chips!" when we sat down at a table.

Back in Modesto, we had a birthday breakfast party for Sam.

It was SO fun to finally all be together again! Thank you, Grandmas and Grandpas!

Can I just say...

2011-12-11T17:01:00.001-08:00

...that today was the last day of taking Tom to afternoon church?! Hallelujah! I'm so happy I could scream. We're off to visit the families for the holidays, so Matt will sit with us on the bench, and next year we go at 9:00 with sacrament meeting first. It couldn't be better. I know that lots of people do much harder things, but this is my current trial and I could not be happier to be relieved of it. I guess my life is pretty good!

Don't be fooled by his angelic face. If he's not escaping by crawling under benches (I always sit in the middle so he can't run out) or pulling my hair in frustration, he's making all kinds of loud declarations like, "Amen! AAALL done! Buh bye!" and dragging the diaper bag toward the aisle.
This is a rather old picture. He's grown up even since the last time I got my camera out!

Kansas

2011-11-29T18:03:00.000-08:00

We found out this week that we're moving to Kansas! Wichita, to be exact. Matt has been interviewing all over lately for a residency in Health Administration, and we finally received word back and we're excited to move there in May!
We never imagined we'd be moving there. Who lives in Kansas, anyway? I knew nothing about it. So, I've been doing some research. (It started with--where IS Kansas, anyway?) Here are a few random facts I found:
--Topeka is the capitol, but Wichita is the biggest city (pop. 380,000).
--Dodge City, Kansas is the windiest city in the United States.
--At least 90% of the land area in Kansas (47 million acres) is devoted to agriculture production.
--Kansas' "big sky," dramatic sunsets, and great variability in temperature and precipitation are all important aspects of the regional personality. Winter blizzards, violent windstorms, and heavy rains are common throughout the state, and the continental climate (on occasion) produces rapid temperature extremes.
--Pizza Hut opened its first store in Wichita.
--The Arkansas River may be the only river whose pronunciation changes as it crosses state lines. In Kansas, it is called the Arkansas (ahr-KAN-zuhs). On both sides of Kansas (Colorado and Oklahoma), it is called the Arkansaw.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T08:56:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving weekend in Williamsburg with our friends, and it was super fun!

Not our best photo, but what can you do?

We made a fabulous feast.

The boys were ridiculous in our aprons.

The kids partied.

It's hard to say what Tom's favorite part was: playing with his buddies, swimming, or climbing in the sauna.

November

2011-11-22T17:31:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's Thanksgiving already! We busted out the Christmas decor a few days early. We'll only be in our home for a little while in December so we want to get our fill! I had thought Thomas would be a little more mature (silly me) about leaving the ornaments on the tree this year. Not so.

I had a checkup today and was surprised to find that I gained 7 pounds in the last month! Oh dear. Ever since I left my appointment this morning with that in mind, I have felt so hungry! I like to think that I'm just making up for lost calories during the first trimester. I have most definitely gained my appetite back, and it is such a blessing! And no, I still have not taken a single belly photo! Unbelievable. I had taken one at least every 2 weeks with Thomas. Hopefully this isn't a foreshadowing of the neglect of our second child. Anyway, maybe I'll get on that soon.

Just when Matt thought he was done doing car repairs, I got stranded at piano lessons today and we had to leave the Blazer there until we can tow it to the shop. Just a few weeks ago Matt spent 2 full days changing the intake manifold gasket (and I even learned what in the world that means) and saved us a lot of money. Thank goodness for that handy man. He's pretty sure he knows what it needs but doesn't have the time or tools to fix it this time. Looks like we're headed off to Williamsburg tomorrow in the green machine!

Thomas has never-ending energy. He has also turned into quite the momma's boy and wants me to do everything he does. His favorite is when we have running races or play chase around the house. When he wants to be chased, he says "get you!" and then runs giggling away.

Halloween

2011-11-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

On Friday we went to our ward party as the Sesame Street gang. It was fun and Tom had a great time running around the gym and getting all sweaty in his costume.

Fall is the BEST in Virginia. This is the tree in our backyard that I love.

We carved pumpkins with our neighbors.

Little girl Johnston got her own, too:)

On Halloween we had some friends over and we took the kids out to trick-or-treat. It was cold and rainy, but we still had a good time. Tom loved knocking on doors, but didn't quite get the whole trick-or-treating thing. Once the door was open he'd try to push on past the people to get inside the house. Holding a bucket was cramping his style and he didn't care about getting candy either. Maybe next year!

Nothing beats a bedtime sucker!

It's a GIRL!

2011-10-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

Yep, it's true. We are going to have a baby girl! She is due March 10th and we could not be more excited!

family photos

2011-10-21T19:28:00.001-07:00

Our friend Alicia took these last week. I LOVE them. I wanted to post them all, but I'll resist since it's past my bedtime.

lately

2011-10-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

Here's what we've been up to:

apple picking at Carter Mountain orchard

Tom said "pick it!" and "wash it!" the whole time. He was mainly concerned about his shoes being muddy and asked us to wash them every five steps. It was super foggy up there, but we had fun and got some big juicy ones.

It seems like October is whizzing by already! Thomas has been busy. He is hilarious these days and is talking up a storm. He's such a fun little buddy to have around. Except for when he screams. Yep, he's a screamer. If we do something he disagrees with (coming indoors, getting in a cart, even changing his diaper) he shuts his eyes, clenches his fists, and screams as loud as he can. Which is super loud and quite embarrassing, and most times is followed with hair pulling. Anyone ever had a screamer? How do you make it stop?!
Anyway, aside from that he's pretty charming. I know nobody has seen enough of him, so here are some more:

little man

2011-09-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

It was cool and rainy yesterday and I couldn't resist putting Tom in his little Levis and sneakers. They're still a bit big, but don't they remind you (sisters and cousins) of Grandpa Hawkins in these same jeans?

His main goal in life is to get into Matt's car to drive it. Whenever we go outside these days, he begs for the keys so he can try to break in. When we do let him in, he can get the key into the ignition (but thankfully can't turn it yet) and then he presses all the buttons, honks, and steers crazily while telling us that he's going "fast!".

Tom's Top 3

2011-09-02T08:37:00.000-07:00

When I'm at the computer, Tom loves to climb onto my lap and request "shows". Here are his faves:

cheeks

2011-08-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

Tom is so grown up it makes me sad. But at least he's still got some cheeks!

Much less scrumptious than THESE, but I'll take em!

Tom is 18 months!

2011-08-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is 18 months old! He is such a joy to have in our home and he sure keeps us entertained. He is a typical boy...loves balls, anything with wheels, and being outside. His favorite books are Go, Dog. Go!, My Big Book of Words, and his Thomas the Train catalog. He also loves watching Elmo and the movie Cars and asks for both several times a day. He is saying new words every day and makes us laugh with his crazy antics.

His first trip to the zoo:

He loved the carousel most of all. He said "wee" the whole time.

leftovers

2011-07-19T11:20:00.001-07:00

Some stuff from Matt's phone from our summer adventures:

This was on the ferry in NC on our way to see a lighthouse. Matt was feeding the birds pretzels and they got a little too close for comfort.

We saw dolphins swimming next to the ferry!

We inherited this cute little grill from the Johnstons. It's great for making smores.

Looks like this was taken from far far away. It reminds me of those shots in People magazine where they take pics of Jennifer Garner or some other celebrity going to the grocery store in her sweats.

Date Night

2011-07-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

Matt told me recently that I have "hippie tendencies". Not sure how to take that, but I admit I was super excited to tie dye these shirts for our date on Friday. So he might not be totally wrong. I remember doing this with my family and it was super fun. And we wore those thermal pajamas for waaay longer than we should have.

You can't see Tom's very well. Here's what it looks like from the back.

June

2011-07-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

Seems like we need to catch up on here. Here's what we've been doing:

Tom played at his friend Baylor's house while I got my hair cut.

Tommy got his first knee bandaid. Plus lots of other bumps and bruises, including a lump on his head from when he pulled our dresser on top of himself.

We played outside lots with his girlfriend Kara.

We went to Luray Caverns with our friends, the Hinrichs.
Awesome photos courtesy of Alicia:)

We watched a show with our other neighbors while their Mommy was having a baby.

Met Daddy downtown for lunch. This is in front of the Grant building where he has all his classes.

Played in the rain!

Learned lots of new words.

Matt replaced the radiator on the Blazer. It was super hot when he started-that's why he's got a wet rag over his head. Wade came to help later.

We went to Outer Banks with some of the Johnstons and listened to some sweet music from these dudes while we ate our fish and chips. I didn't come away with many pictures, but it was super fun! We swam, ate, swam, went on a ferry, saw some lighthouses, swam, built sandcastles, and hung out with lots of cousins.

Tom got pushed around by his cousin Beau.

Tom's first movie theater experience! Well, aside from sleeping through True Grit in his car seat in Canada over Christmas. We saw Cars 2, and he did pretty well. He sat still for the racing parts, but once I took him out to change him he realized he could go in and out, so we spent the rest of the movie doing that.

We went to DC for the 4th and saw a lovely fireworks show and had ice cream after with G&G Johnston and Aunt Megs.

girl has got a great camera

2011-06-16T18:07:00.000-07:00

...and some sweet photography skills.

My friend Alicia took this today of Tommy in the rain. Wow. Can you follow us around with that thing and document our life? Thanks Alicia!

a summer haircut

2011-06-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

It's super hot over here. I wish I could give myself this haircut and sill dare to be seen in public. We try not to go outside unless we're headed straight for the pool. But with Tom we never go straight anywhere because he feels the need to walk up the steps to every porch on the way and try to knock on the door. Or pick up stray toys and refuse to relinquish them. Or scamper off in the wrong direction. So we're pretty sweaty by the time we reach the pool. The good news is, he loves the pool, so we'll be spending lots of time there this summer.

Tom is so funny and cute these days. I know I've always said that, but it gets truer every time. He understands what I'm saying now and it's so fun when I tell him to go get his shoes so we can go outside or bring me a book so I can read to him. His newest thing is saying "hi" with a cheesy grin. He mostly does it around the house, like when he enters a room or if I'm doing something besides playing with him.

oh, sundays.

2011-05-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

Sundays are the hardest day of the week for me and Mr. T.
I normally look forward to attending church, but these days...by the end of church I am just grateful we made it through rather than being rejuvenated for the new week. I'm lucky to get half a lesson in during Relief Society before hauling him out and chasing him around the building.
Fortunately there are only 8 more weeks until he goes to nursery! And it won't be a minute too soon.
Then all I have to do is wrestle him on the bench for the last hour. I don't know how mothers do it. And I only have one! My mom did it with six (although I'm sure we were more tame than this rascal, except for Mads), and Matt's mom had eight (I'm guessing they were all rowdy...Am I right, Bev?)!
The good news is that next year we won't have 1:00 church. And he is pretty cute, even though he makes me want to pull my hair out.

Today when he found his monkey shirt he said "ooh ooh ooh!". All my ridiculous animal noises have not been in vain!

May

2011-05-21T13:34:00.001-07:00

Tom and Noah checkin out the babes at Yorktown Beach.

He found these boots in his closet and brought them to me to put on him and then stomped around happily. Not sure why he wasn't so happy in this picture.

playing in puddles after a thunderstorm

Plus I forgot to record that he's a walker now! He started on Easter night. Sadly, we were in Utah and Daddy was still at home in VA. We were all gathered around at the Jensen's, and Jack set Tommy down and said, "walk to that ball". And he did! Here's a more recent video.

he's so cute, right?

2011-05-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

Matt's away at a class thing tonight, so naturally I watched a girly movie (The Last Song, if you must know. Yes, I cried. No, I didn't like Miley in it.) and ate cookies instead of being productive. Now it's over and I was just going through pictures remembering how cute my husband is. Here are some recent and not-so-recent ones of him. Seems like he kind of gets overlooked in the photo department since that other sassy guy has taken over the camera. Anyway, I just loveloveLOVE this boy. I mean, look at him! What's not to love?

Easter in Utah

2011-05-02T07:05:00.001-07:00

Tom and I got to go to Utah for Sam's blessing and Jack & Jo's graduation. We left poor Matt behind, but he had lots to do to keep him busy and we were super glad to see him when we got back! We stayed with Alli and Danny and they were very kind to put up with Tom's messes and loud deedling in the mornings. My whole fam was there from CA for the weekend, and we stayed for the next week along with Grandma and had a great time. Here are a few pictures we took.

Julie and Nate were there for a quick visit so we got to see them. The cousin photo shoot didn't go so well! At least Sam had a good time.

Of course we had to have a royal wedding party since all the Leavitt siblings (and Grandma) were in town. We had sausage rolls, bakewell tart, trifle, and English chocolates.

spring

2011-04-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

The weather has been so nice lately, so Tom and I have enjoyed some more outside activities. He's obsessed with going outside. If I walk near the front door while holding him, he lunges for the keys. Once he gets them off the hook, he points them at the door. If he's climbing the stairs and we want him to come down, all we have to do is open the front door and he gets down real fast!

Today we found some ducks to feed.

I can't resist him in his new jammies!

one of his favorite activities at the park

He tries really hard to get his bib off.

sunday best

2011-03-28T18:39:00.001-07:00

It doesn't get any cuter than this.

This was taken before Tom and Noah wreaked havoc at this restaurant last week.

Tom was the grouch of the century and wailed to get out of his chair and flung everything he could reach onto the floor. Noah broke a glass just to make sure everyone was looking at us, and by the end I was standing up holding Tom while trying to wolf down my food. All Cindy and I could do when we got out was laugh!

spring break

2011-03-20T16:20:00.000-07:00

a day in the city with the Johnstons

we ate in china town, and the blacks ordered our food for us in chinese!

Maymont park in Richmond

this guy turned 26!

Williamsburg

his latest thing

After the Johnston party, we went to Outer Banks, NC. SO fun!
Here's us at the aquarium.

Of course we had to get us some pig.

Tommy loved his first time at the beach.

Tom's favorite part about the house. Besides the stairs.

the view from our porch!

Tom loves playing with my sunglasses and broke them, and Matt's were atrocious so we all got new ones at the outlets.

ha. can you tell he was trying to take them off? he still likes mine better.

kite festival

2011-03-06T16:39:00.001-08:00

Tom's first Girl Scout cookie. He was pretty pleased. He kept looking at us like, "can I really have this?"

This kid

2011-03-02T18:06:00.001-08:00

melts my heart every day. He is so funny and just great to have around.

Yep, there are 2 front teeth there now!

back from an evening walk

fun with the sewing machine cover

He does a little of this...

but he still prefers to hurry along on his knees.

Go Cougs!

2011-02-26T15:52:00.000-08:00

These boys had a great time watching the basketball game today.

3 years

2011-02-22T12:31:00.001-08:00

Actually our anniversary was a week ago. It was lovely. Yay for marriage:)

Birthday Boy

2011-02-10T07:56:00.000-08:00

birthday breakfast

A year ago today, I was a big lady working at a flower wholesaler in Provo. We were busily getting ready for Valentine's day, and on my lunch break I went to the doctor for my 37 week appointment. I didn't go back to work that day. It turned out that Thomas was on his way! We checked into the hospital right away, and by the time I had gotten over the shock of it all, he was here.

7 lbs. 11 oz.

20 inches long
born at 8:01 pm

1 day old

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

1 year!

We love love LOVE this funny kid. Happy Birthday, Thomas!

Tommy's First Haircut

2011-01-18T17:18:00.001-08:00

BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER:

Our Holidays

2011-01-14T10:55:00.001-08:00

First we went to Modesto and Tom attended his first Christmas party.

Then we flew to Canada with my parents and spent Christmas and New Years there with lots of Leavitts.

We even got to see my long lost cousin and roommate Danielle! And Jeff, of course.

in front of the Calgary tower

Tom enjoyed his Canadian sink bath.

This isn't our best look, but it's the only family shot I have of the whole trip.

Tom with Aunt Mads

Banff

Christmas jammies

quality time with Gramps

trying to stay warm

Then we flew to Salt Lake to drop off Jack and had a bit of a layover, so we got to see Alli and Danny!

the brothers reunited

Oakland temple

Tom misses his Aunt Tori

and his own personal playroom

and raiding Grandma's fridge.

10 months old

2010-12-11T08:49:00.001-08:00

His latest favorites are clapping, emptying cupboards, and eating off my plate. I love hanging out with this little guy every day!

here comes trouble

2010-11-29T17:53:00.000-08:00

Tom started crawling on Friday and has been busy busy busy ever since!

My boys in their cougar wear on the way to watch the BYU vs. Utah game with the Pericles.

2010-11-20T13:10:00.001-08:00

lady killer

2010-11-15T12:05:00.001-08:00

This is the little tux that our nephew Lincoln wore at our wedding. Tom wore it to church on Sunday and charmed all the ladies. I didn't get a really good picture, but you get the idea!

9 months

2010-11-09T18:20:00.000-08:00

Here are a few updates on our favorite little person.

He loves to be outside.

He thinks other children are pretty fun, especially his friend Noah.

Daddy is his favorite.

He loves a good snuggle. (This was at my cousin Annie's soccer game. There she is, off to the right.)

He's not crawling yet. He has 2 teeth on the bottom. He recently mastered picking up food and is pleased that he can feed himself. He likes all foods, especially sweet potatoes and squash. Thankfully we're done fighting over who gets to hold the spoon, but now he thinks he's too cool to wear a bib.

Some of his hobbies are splashing in the bath and watching squirrels and cars in the neighborhood.

He had a checkup today and the nurse put a princess bandaid on his finger and told me not to let him put it in his mouth. I tried to obey, but in the end I gave up (you would too if you'd been there for 2 hours already and had run out of tricks), and he swallowed the bandaid. That was fun. I guess he just didn't want to be seen with a princess bandaid on!

Happy 9 months, Bucko!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T18:32:00.001-07:00

Bucko's first Halloween was a success! We went to our ward chili cook-off and trunk or treat, and he grinned and chewed on his spoon all night long. Matt was Russell from UP, if you couldn't tell. He even had a big candy bar to feed Kevin. It was a last-minute kind of costume, but I think he makes a perfect Russell. And never mind that I've been a cowgirl at least 3 times. You'd think by now I'd at least have a shirt to wear besides Matt's. Haha. Oh well...we had a great time!

Fall Fun

2010-10-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went with Megan and the Blacks to Ashland to pick pumpkins and had a grand old time.

All-you-can-carry for $20. 12 pumpkins? Not bad!

Photos courtesy of Megan.

We got to go on a hay ride out to the pumpkins. I guess it was windy!

P.S. Tom cut his first tooth on this day and we deprived him from his morning nap AND didn't let him eat hay. It wasn't his favorite kind of day.

A sleepover brekkie with Uncle Matt.

Monticello

2010-10-17T18:16:00.000-07:00

We went to Monticello this weekend. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect.

TJ in front of TJ's house.

I take too many pictures of Thomas. Sometimes when he sees the camera he gives a big cheesy grin. Haha! What a goofball.

Our Weekend

2010-10-04T11:04:00.000-07:00

We watched General Conference with the Pericles at their house.
Tom's not crawling yet, but he's thinking about it.

And Tom and I made some messes around our house.

laundry day

2010-09-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

this has got to stop.

2010-09-15T19:17:00.001-07:00

I'm addicted to sugar. Of the chocolate variety, specifically. I need it after every meal and eat whatever I can scrounge up--a handful of chocolate chips, the one minute emergency chocolate cake on this great blog, chocolate milk, or a Nesquick shake (a Matt specialty).
I was doing great before we moved here because we were homeless for a bit and I couldn't get my hands on as much as I wanted. But I think something about wanting to make our new home seem more homey caused me to start a baking fetish. What could be more welcoming than some fresh peanut butter chocolate chip cookies? Every day?
I'm ruining myself. I weigh less than I ever have in my adult life, but that's thanks to nursing and certainly not because I exercise and eat healthily. Well, that's not entirely true. I eat healthy balanced meals. I just follow them with excessive amounts of treats. Tonight, for example, I happened to escape the post-dinner crave because Tom required his crib right away. When I emerged, I began my nightly persuading of the husband to support me in my habit. It starts like this:
N: I need a treat.
M: No you don't.
N: Don't you just want some no-bakes?
M: No. I'm sick of those.
N: But everything else just takes so many ingredients.
And we go back and forth for a while and then I get caught up on the computer and almost forget about it when Matt says, "Fine. Just make whatever."
He has given me the go-ahead. I'm practically forced.
So I jovially whip up a batch and we devour with glee. As I pour the last drops of milk into my glass (leaving none for cereal in the morning), I realize that it's super late and now I'm all sugared up and won't be able to sleep for a while and Tom has had horrid nights lately and I'm really going regret my choice AND there are still waay too many cookies left in the kitchen that are going to stare me down all day long tomorrow.
So that's the story of my nasty habit. I regret my actions and I'm promising myself to do better starting NOW.

Happy Tuesday

2010-09-14T18:22:00.001-07:00

Okay so I know I post a lot about Mr. T, but I think he's pretty great. So here are a few more pictures.

(I'm in the process of taking the hem out on the curtains to make them a bit longer.)

We bought him these new pjs today and he was too cute not to photograph.

This is the new color of our hallway, which we like to call "peanut butter". Matt is still iffy about it, but I love it. The living room is green and can be seen in one of yesterday's posts.

Crazy hair day!

my new favorite dinner

2010-09-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

Al and Jo made this for me the last night I was in Utah, and Matt was jealous so I promised I'd make it again. Make it! It's delicious, to say the least.

Coconut Chicken Curry
2 lbs chicken, cut into small chunks
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 1/2 T veg oil
2 T curry powder
1 1/2 r paprika (or cayenne, if you want it spicy)
1/2 onion
2 cloves minced garlic
4 red potatoes, in small chunks
1 14 oz can coconut milk
1 14 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
3 T sugar

Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat oil, curry powder, and paprika in a large skillet over medium-low heat for two minutes, until fragrant (but don't let it burn). Turn the heat up to meduim and stir in onions and garlic and cook ten minutes more or until onions are very clear. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and is cooked through. Add potatoes, then add coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan, and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 30-40 minutes or until sauce thickens. Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.

Naan

1 pkg (or 2 1/4 t) yeast
1 C warm water
1/4 C sugar
3 T milk
1 egg, beaten
2 t salt
4 1/2 C bread flour
2 t minced garlic
1/4 C melted butter ( I used garlic olive oil)

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and flour to make a soft dough. Place in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise for 1 hour.
2. Punch down and knead in garlic. Roll into balls (a little bigger than golf balls), place on a tray, cover with a damp towel, and let rise for 30 minutes.
3. Roll out flat, brush with butter, and cook on a grill or panini press for a few minutes on each side until they're golden brown and too delicious not to dunk in the curry and eat immediately.

Life in Virginny

2010-09-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

We painted our front room this lovely green color this weekend. And took Tommy to his first MHA class social and then out to sushi downtown. The name of the thing we got is called Godzirra. Funny, right?

A few more of the family pics Megan took last week:

We went back-to-school shopping for Matt. He has to dress nicely for class, which is kind of annoying and kind of nice at the same time. He looks fabulous on a daily basis, as you can see.

Some hangout time with Aunt May May up in her crib.

Tom sported his cougarwear for the first game last weekend.

his new thing

2010-09-07T07:49:00.000-07:00

this boy loves sucking on his lip lately. it cracks me up!

p.s. megan took some CUTE pictures of us yesterday. more to come.

Tom these days

2010-09-02T15:54:00.000-07:00

He is at the cutest stage and I just want to stop him right here! He's super jolly these days and we have a great time playing, going on walks, swimming, and running errands. He charms all the ladies (actually, the men too) in his front carrier. Everyone's nice to me when I have him grinning in front of me kicking his chubby legs. He likes to chat and can be pretty loud. His new thing to say is "aDAH!" or "aBAH!". He's also become quite the head-banger and thrashes into my face or collarbone if I'm holding him, and rocks his exersaucer so vigorously that I'm afraid he'll tip it.

but before that

2010-08-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

We went for one last hoo-rah in Oregon with the Johnstons. It was fabulous, as always. We hiked, boated, ate great food, celebrated my 23rd, went 4 wheeling for the first (and probably last. let's face it--i'm a pansy. it's just not my scene.) time, Tom met lots of cousins, and we even picked a few blackberries.

whoops...can't quite figure out how to make this right.

And then we went to a Leavitt reunion at a cabin near Roosevelt, UT. I didn't get many pictures, but it was super fun. Canoes, paintball, rock climbing, massive amounts of food, lots of cousins (and a brand new baby one!), crafts, campfires, fishing, and water games.

lately

2010-08-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

We've moved! To Richmond, Virginia. We've been here for a week and love it so far. It's cooling down (or maybe it has just been a cooler week) and we have a fabulous ward and neighbors. Plus we have new carpet and a new dishwasher and lots of closet space. And we're in the same ward as the Pericles. What's not to like?
Matt has been going to orientation for school, which starts on Monday. We're learning how to get around and are almost done unpacking. Tom had another trip to the doctor and it turns out he had pneumonia. We had a really unpleasant time at the clinic (it wasn't really the pneumonia that was the problem, but the incompetent nurses) but he's feeling much better now and has been SO happy the past few days. He laughs at anything.

We stayed at Adam and Julie's the night we moved out of our apartment. Thanks guys!

And thanks to Al for letting Tom and I stay for a few days while Matt and Dave made the looong drive.

AND thanks to the Pericles for housing and feeding us until we were able to move into our new place.

He was so precious in his gown. This is after the x rays and before the nasty IV incident.

So far he's tried sweet potatoes, rice cereal, and peas. He's more interested in gagging himself with the spoon, but is getting the hang of it.

Look who's sitting up!

2010-07-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well, sort of. He's still rather wobbly and only does it for a bit at a time.

laughing

2010-07-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

This was too cute not to share!

Love this

2010-07-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

And the second tome I watched it just now I saw a family from our ward in it (at 3:01, the Bunnells, if you care to know).

Summertime

2010-07-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Uncle Tim took us all out on his new boat. We LOVED it! And TJ loved playing on the shore.

David Henry Hawkins

2010-07-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to the funeral of my handsome Grandpa Hawkins. We sure miss him, but it's great to think of how happy he must be and that he's with his wife Vela again. It was a lovely service, and we had a nice time seeing almost the whole family.

remember this scrunched little guy?

2010-07-06T14:54:00.001-07:00

I sure do. And it melts my heart to see these newborn pics. LOVE them.

We had his pictures taken last week. He sure did grow up fast! Here are just a few of the little chub.

we're back.

2010-06-28T14:13:00.001-07:00

We've had a fun, busy time these past few weeks. Here are a few pictures to get me caught up.

Our friends Steve and Lauren came to visit with baby Kole. Matt and Steve were roommates at the same time Lauren and I were also roommates in the Glenwood and we got married on the same weekend. It was so fun to see them again.

We drove to California with Jo to visit the Hawkins.

We went to Stake Conference in Modesto, and Dad got released and we were happy to be there to see it and to welcome in the new guys. Mr. T had a blowout during the meeting and I had forgotten to bring an extra outfit. All I had was this sweater vest, so he had to meet all his adoring fans looking like his mom didn't know how to dress him. How embarrassing.

We got to celebrate Father's Day with the two Matts.

A yummy lunch at Harvest Moon.

I wish I would have taken more pictures. Basically we had a great time, went swimming, ate delicious foods that I didn't cook, rode go-carts recklessly, wore all kinds of clothes from other people's (does that apostrophe go there? somebody? i need to go back to school.) closets, and the only thing keeping us from staying for a very extensive vacation was scout camp in Moab for Matt and the deacons.

So we came back home reluctantly, Tori kept me company while Matt was at camp, we partied with Livs and Maddie who came for the Washburn reunion, and now it's back to real life. And starting to think seriously about the big move in 7 weeks!

One week from today...

2010-06-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

...we'll be driving to California to see these kinds of people:

Only much older. Braces? So 5 years ago.

I looked for a picture of just the 3 youngest, but this is all I have. I need to work on that. I think it's back to school 2004 or something.

But while we're here, let's take a moment to appreciate the adorability of Tori. Nobody that small and cute should be allowed to go off to school!

Also, next Wednesday Matt will be taking his laaaast final at BYU. Ever. He took his anatomy lab final this morning and got 104%. I took that class, and I never got the bonus questions on those tests. Who is this guy?! He's handsome, charming, and smart.

Plus we found out this week that he got a scholarship to VCU (where he's starting a master's program in health administration this fall). Yay Matt!

In other news, Thomas turns 4 months today.

Bubba's First Swim

2010-06-05T14:04:00.001-07:00

We went to Seven Peaks last night. Don't be fooled by the expression on his face--he had a great time and didn't cry once.

Memorial Weekend

2010-06-02T12:54:00.000-07:00

We went to Park City on Monday and had a really fun time. We walked along Main Street and looked in all the fun shops and had a tasty lunch.

We had a bbq and Matt taught the neighbors a thing or two about making smores.

Our first cookout was so fun, we decided to do it again at Jo's house.

We're officially ready for summer!

Frying: It's Just Not Worth It

2010-05-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

I've been reading the autobiography of Paula Deen, and all her raving about fried chicken got me thinking that I should have my own little fry-up. I've never bought anything other than boneless, skinless chicken breasts. That was my first nasty shock. I took out my whole split chicken and was a little disgusted at first to think that all that fatty skin was going to be inside of me. But I wanted this to be authentic Paula chicken, so I tried to refrain from taking it all off and only skinned the most offensive pieces. When I started cutting it up, I was horrified to find that the backbone was all up in there along with all kinds of other unpleasantries. It took me a good 30 minutes to get that thing ready for frying.
Anyway, we got a few delicious morsels out of it, but I was a little nervous about some of it not being done enough so my dreams of gnawing ravenously on a leg weren't quite fulfilled and I just picked carefully through it with a fork.
So I decided that frying is most definitely not my thing and I should leave it to Paula and KFC. The worst part is that our apartment will never smell the same. We are drenched in smoky chicken grease. And I just washed the towels yesterday. Bummer.

I read somewhere recently...

2010-05-26T18:51:00.000-07:00

...that kids under age 2 shouldn't watch tv. But sometimes you just have to get some things done, and this kid loves tv! I might have started a nasty habit.

We're having a great time

2010-05-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy that I get to stay at home and be with this little guy. I always feel a little sorry for Matt when he leaves in the morning to go to school and work. I'm so grateful that he's willing to work hard so that Tom and I can be at home together. Seems a bit unfair, but Matt's good for it and I am loving every minute of my new job as Mom. I don't know how I got so lucky!

nightey-night

2010-05-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

Love, Mr. Snuggles

3 months

2010-05-12T12:10:00.001-07:00

Photos courtesy of Auntie Alice.

Check out some more on Alli's blog.

Grandparents

2010-05-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

Thomas has met all of his grandparents now.

Grandma Beverly Johnston

Grandpa David Johnston

Grandma Shannon Hawkins

Grandpa Matthew Hawkins

Great Grandma Marquitta Leavitt (he met Grandpa Vance too, but the picture is on Al's camera)

Great Grandma Lou Jean Packer

Great Grandpa David Hawkins

The Olden Days

2010-05-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

I also came across this treasure and decided to share for old time's sake. Plus it felt wrong to have Matt with no shirt right below the temple. This picture is "hecka old", as we like to say in California. Some of us were faking, but I don't remember who. I'd like to think one of them was me or I would have looked better.

Cougar Spirit

2010-05-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

So, I was looking through old pictures and came across this one from last year during track season and remembered that Matt refused to let me post it. But he did say that I could do it after he graduated (in the hopes that I would forget). I did, until now. He didn't compete like this because they have to be dignified and wear shirts (if you can call large men in spandex dignified), but they did have some good laughs about it at practice. What's the good of having chest hair if you can't have a little fun with it?

Graduation and Blessing Weekend

2010-05-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from two weekends ago. It was such a busy, fun time. All our parents were here for a bit and we did a lot of partying, eating great food, and admiring babies.

Dan and Kristan surprised us and drove all the way from Eugene for the weekend! We ate at Thai Village, which I highly recommend.

Later, the Hawkins came and we partied at The Roof restaurant.

Then on Sunday Matt blessed Thomas in our ward with lots of friends and family there.

Living the Dream

2010-04-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

How do you like our new title? I thought it fitting because whenever our parents call and ask how we're doing, Matt says, "We're livin' the dream!". It's true. We've got it good. Reeeely good.
Don't mind my messed up layout...we're under construction here. Anyone know how to widen this thing so it's not all squished into the center?

It's snowing

2010-04-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

Again. But Thomas doesn't mind. He doesn't even know that he went to campus and the grocery store this morning.

Mr. T

2010-04-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Last night we were at Jack & Jo's house and Thomas was being fussy. Alli had the great idea to set him on the dryer to get him to fall asleep. It worked instantly! I am totally using this in the future.
He goes to church now, and usually sleeps through most of it.

ouch

2010-04-16T18:57:00.000-07:00

Tommy went to the doctor yesterday. He got some cool bandaids and measured at the 95th percentile for height. I guess we could have seen that coming.

Molly's

2010-04-16T10:08:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday the boys had reading days for finals, so we went out to lunch at a new place in Provo called Molly's. If you live nearby you should check them out. It's a family who has a catering company next door and they make great stuff. Side note: Afterwards, Matt was talking about how much he liked it and was looking online at their catering menu and said, "We should have them do our next wedding." So there you go. Look forward to Marvellous Catering at our next wedding. My favorites were the brisket and the carrot cake. And the cheddar biscuits. Okay, my favorite was everything I ate and I also want to try everything I didn't eat. It was delicious and the people were so nice--you just felt like they were your cousins or something. Anyway, Tom was a little embarrassed that I took him out in his pjs, but I didn't want to wake him when we left the house.

He loved chillin at the park afterwards.

I'm just gonna throw all these pictures on here.

2010-04-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

Thomas has been quite busy these past few weeks.

He met his new cousin Violet Jane,

learned how to suck his thumb,
had all kinds of fun at Aunt Lisa's Easter/Conference party,

finally met all his Hawkins aunts,

and partied with Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins.

He'll be 2 months old tomorrow!

We had a great time trying to get a picture with the two of us while we were at home today.

He refused to smile no matter what I did,and chose to slink off to the side instead.

Then Daddy came home and he gave big smiles for him as soon as he walked through the door. It seems he knew he was about to chill on the couch and watch Transformers. Such a Daddy's boy!

Good Eats

2010-03-30T20:07:00.000-07:00

Thomas and I usually spend a significant portion of our day with the Food Network channel on. (His favorites are Ina and Giada). Matt seems to have a thing for peanut butter lately, so I tried Ina's chocolate cake recipe with peanut butter frosting for his birthday. It was SO delicious.

I got the idea for black bean burgers from Sandra Lee's show. She actually drives me crazy. I can't stand the way she talks and I think her "tablescapes" and tacky matching outfits are ridiculous. But these seemed tasty and healthy, so I gave them a try. We had ranch dressing instead of the usual condiments and on the first round we had them with sweet potato fries. I am pretty pleased with myself because sweet potatoes have always been one of the very few foods I don't like, but I've finally embraced them.

Speaking of good foods, we're off to eat Momma Johnston's fine cooking and meet new baby Violet!

big boy

2010-03-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

2 days old (I think)

5 1/2 weeks old

Happy Birthday, Matt!

2010-03-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

Matt is 25 today! I thought I'd share a few of my favorite things about him...

1. He's funny. He's always doing something ridiculous to make me laugh. 2. He's all over the baby care situation. I don't even get a chance to diaper, bathe, or burp Thomas when Matt is home. 3. He loves being with his family and is always looking for ways to get near them. 4. He is the cleanest man I know. 5. He won't admit it, but he's a great singer. 6. He's so handy--he can fix anything. 7. He tries to educate me about cars and all things mechanical. 8. He's a professional maker of omelets and eggs benedict. 9. He enjoys learning and is an excellent student. 10. He wants to get a good job so I can stay at home with the kids. 11. He does a great Shakira impersonation. Ask him about it sometime:) 12. He takes good care of his belongings. 13. He takes his calling seriously and honors his priesthood. 14. He appreciates good food and is willing to try new things. 15. He thinks his mom is the best thing ever (and she is!) and is respectful to her. 16. He is very particular about the way his clothes are folded and put away. It's definitely excessive, but I don't even mind it--neat is good! 17. He's an expert cookie baker. 18. He puts family first. 19. He's eager to serve others. 20. He eats anything I cook. 21. He loves my family and always wants to hang out with them. 22. He takes excellent care of the car so I don't have to worry about it. 23. He's obsessed with cheese of any kind and with cutting it "just so". He tolerates me hacking at it with inappropriate knives. 24. He's frugal, but never stingy. And he likes to spoil me on occasion. 25. He's nice to all kinds of people.

And now, a few glamour shots of the birthday boy:

We've got some bird issues today.

2010-03-13T14:21:00.000-08:00

This morning while Thomas was eating breakfast I caught this guy picking at our hanging basket. He's been at it for a while--we've noticed significant holes in the lining lately. I don't blame him, it's a great idea for nest material. Soon his lady joined him and they both took off with beakfuls of the stuff. Little rascals. Please excuse the blinds...I was holding the baby and struggling to get good pictures.

This afternoon, I stepped out to take the trash out and check the mail, and there was the sweetest little white and turquiose parakeet on my doorstep. I ran inside to get something to put her in, when I came back she was gone. On my way back from taking the trash I saw her against the side of our building. I was crouched down trying to scoop her when my cute, pregnant neighbor came out and asked what I was doing. I don't actually want a pet bird, but I couldn't just leave her outside because it was very cold and starting to snow. My neighbor helped me catch her and we brought her safely inside. She is currently on top of our card table, flapping around underneath a laundry basket. I'm going to put up found signs soon, and hopefully the owner will call. Until then, anyone want a pet bird?

1 month old

2010-03-10T11:15:00.000-08:00

He wasn't that interested in taking a family picture. He loves his new swing from Grandma.

Those cheeks get fatter by the day! I LOVE it.

Sometimes we get to take Dad to school. Thomas likes going for rides in the car, even if he does get dragged out of bed.

He continues to be a perfect baby and gets cuter all the time. Life is good:)

3 weeks old

2010-03-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

I was trying to catch him with his eyes wide open, but a little light on the camera blinks before the picture takes and made him squint every time.

He had his first doctor's appointment on Monday. He weighs 8 lbs 6.5 oz and is 22 inches long.

He moved into his big boy crib and is doing very well. Last night he went right back to sleep after each feeding. Hallelujah! Let's do that again.

Grandma Johnston came to visit last week and we had a great time.

She cooked up a storm every day and left us with a freezer full of goodness. We're all ready to go into hibernation, I think. Which is good because the doc said don't take him out before April. APRIL! I'm not sure if I can make it.

Thomas also got to meet Great Grandma Packer on Sunday. I was worried about the car ride to Farmington, but he was a perfect angel and slept all the way there and back.

This little guy...

2010-02-26T11:54:00.000-08:00

...is the sweetest thing ever! It's funny to think that today was supposed to be my last day of work. It seems like a looong time since I've been at work. We sure are glad he decided to spend the last 16 days with us instead of waiting until next week.

He loves bath time now.

This cozy little outfit came all the way from Aunt Lis in Maryland. It's his new favorite.

Thomas Meets Grandpa

2010-02-21T16:28:00.000-08:00

Grandma Hawkins was here all week and spoiled us rotten. Then Grandpa came yesterday and they both went home today. We miss them desperately and can't wait until they come back for General Conference. Thanks Mom and Dad!

two days old

2010-02-12T19:28:00.000-08:00

Wanna see more pictures of our baby? Alli's all over it. Check him out here. We can't stop kissing his sweet little cheeks.

Ready, or not HE'S HERE!

2010-02-10T23:47:00.001-08:00

Okay here is the skinny. Ness was headed in for a regular weekly check up today during her lunch hour at work. I was able to catch a break from work today, so I decided to go with her in case the doctor said anything new (mind you that I had not been to an appointment in quite some time because of school). So we get into the exam room and the doctor comes in and does her regular thing and then proceeds to check at our request (she said that normally she doesn't check until week 38 and we're in 37). As she checks her eyes get really big and she looks at us and says, "Honey! You're in labor, you're a six." She then proceeded to tell us that we wouldn't be going home tonight and that we needed to get over to the hospital. At this point we both call work and tell them we won't be coming back after lunch because we're off to have a baby. A few hours later and some good hard work by Nessie and Tah Dah!

Thomas Matthew Johnston
7 lbs 11 oz, 20 in long
Born 18 days early at 8:01 pm on Feb. 10, 2010.

Baby's First Bath

Just Warming up under the heat lamp

More Pics to come!

check this out.

2010-01-20T18:05:00.000-08:00

Alli? Jo? What do you say? Could we work up a little number like this?

Does it make your back hurt just looking at it? Somebody tell them to lie down before they get hurt.

Back to real life.

2010-01-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

Matt has been dropping hints about my neglect of the blog. I guess it's about time to do something about it. Here's what we've been up to:

First things first! This is the campus of Virgina Commonwealth University, where Matt has been accepted into the Master's of Health Administration program. Looks like we'll be moving to Virginia this summer! Congrats to my fabulous husband. We couldn't be more pleased.

We spent a wonderful Christmas and New Years in Portland with lots of the Johnstons. So cozy and enjoyable.

I finally finished Matt's stocking on Christmas Eve.

Is it okay to have a favorite nephew? I can't help it.

We ate lots of delicious food, of course.

Adam, Julie, and company came over the night before we left for vacation to help us tie our first quilt. We made it out of Cat and Craig's old college tshirts and it turned out pretty cool.

We took a little trip to Eugene to see Dan and Kristan's new place (well, new to us) and celebrated Lincoln's 2nd birthday.

We grew. This is 31 weeks I think. I'm at 32 now and getting nervous and excited. This baby is really coming. Soon! Pretty sure I look way bigger in real life.

these days

2009-12-08T20:10:00.000-08:00

We go to school and work and try to stay warm and love love love coming home and getting cozy and making yummy foods and feeling Christmasy. We are SO excited that we get to go to Oregon for 10 whole days to spend the holidays with the Johnstons. Only a few more weeks!

I keep meaning to take more pictures so later we can look at them and say "aw...remember when we used to have family night with al and dan and jo and jack? wasn't that fun!" So last night I did, and this is what happened when I said "everyone act normal". There was no stopping danny from flinging that pillow every time I pushed the button.

I feel about like this:Big and wanting to be horizontal at all times. Haha. Just kidding, it's not that dramatic. I just saw that picture and had to put it up.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving that I meant to write about long ago...The whole fam (there are 11 now, and a half) went to Modesto and we had a grand old time. We visited the Pixtons and Roziers in Alameda and had a delicious meal, and the next day we played in San Francisco and rode bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge and ate wonderful food and went shopping. It was so fun to be all together again and at home. It was also so fun that BYU beat Utah.

On Saturday

2009-11-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

We made our first visit to the Draper temple,

went to our last home BYU football game,

and brought in our Chirstmasy decorations from storage. While we were digging, Matt decided that another shelf would be nice and threw it up there in no time. Isn't he handy?

And we're proud to announce the opening of our own personal In-n-Out burger just around the corner! We can smell the glorious grease from our front door. We stood in line to get some on opening night and are trying our best to stay away for a little while now.

Only two more days of work and school until we're off to party with the Hawkins!

Chicken Pot Pie

2009-11-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

This recipe is Michelle's from our very own Campus Craft and Floral cookbook, and it's delicious. Here it is:
Crust:
2 sticks butter
2 1/4 C flour
4 oz cream cheese
1/2 t salt
Blend ingredients with pastry cutter and 4 T water.
Filling:
3 C cooked diced chicken. 14 oz frozen or fresh vegetables. 1 onion sauted. 2 cans cream of chicken soup. Brush top with beaten egg. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

24 weeks

2009-11-08T21:09:00.001-08:00

Here we are, in a new shirt recently filched from Jo's closet. He's kicking more vigorously now and sometimes you can see it bulge:) I'm feeling better than ever and loving every bit of this whole pregnancy thing. okay maybe that was a lie. i do have some nasty leg veins, but it's not a big deal...yet?

Matt took the GRE on Friday and we're anxiously awaiting the official results with percentile scores and such. Whew! We're glad that's over--it's nice to be able to just focus on school now. He's such a good student and is enjoying most of his classes. He's also on a flag football team with some of his old rommmates and they're undefeated and going into their tournament games now.

Well, I'm ready for Thanksgiving.

Halloween Weekend

2009-11-02T17:25:00.000-08:00

We had some more fun carving, and even carved a pumpkin for Baby. These didn't attract many trick-or-treaters, though...we have an abundance of candy left over.

On Halloween night we went to Jo and Jack's. The boys did some gaming, and we watched "Wait Until Dark". I'm not into scary movies, but that was a good one. Doesn't mean I'll watch it again though. I like to relax during movies, not be on the verge of a heart attack.

I had my first aebleskiver and loved it. Matt is quite skilled at flipping those little guys.

Here's how they turned out. Mmmm-mm!

In other news, we are 5 months down and 4 to go! Yep, that baby will be here before we know it. I'm feeling better than ever, but my stomach is a bottomless pit! I eat all stinkin day and still feel hungry. I'm not scared of any foods like I was at the beginning, so it's been nice to be able to smell and eat all kinds of things. There's an In-n-Out opening soon right around the corner, and I plan on frequenting it often. Bring on the hamburgers!
I'm having trouble managing my pictures at the moment, so I'll take a little break and post my 23 week picture at a later time as opposed to thrashing the computer into bits.

Blog Takeover

2009-10-18T22:10:00.001-07:00

So I decided that it was high time that I staged a takeover on the blog and change some things around when Ness least expects it (hehehe). Enough of this cute, frilly stuff. These are just some of the latest picks that we have from the last couple of days. Pretty much we are awesome at carving pumpkins. Here they are. This year we decided to buy no less than four pumpkins, so that we could take one to each party leading up to Halloween. Here is what we have so far.

Lest we forget the other pumpkin that we carved earlier this week.

More to come!

I know it's not even Halloween, but...

2009-10-15T20:11:00.001-07:00

I was copying pictures from my old laptop to our new computer, and came across these treasures. Here's a glimpse at Christmases past in the Hawkins home:

the cutest of cooks

we sleep under this on special occasions. actually just on dec 23, and then some of the young energetic ones set an alarm for who-knows-what-time and race to see who can be the one to put the laaaast ornament on the advent calendar christmas tree.

and the grinch himself even carved the roast beast.

i'm pretty much the bomb-diggity at making these.

the sisters in our new christmas jams.
at first little maddie caught me off guard when i took a glance at this picture. such a small person! such light hair! if you could only see her now.

The next time we're all together for Christmas, we'll have a 9-month old little boy to join the party!
Meanwhile, I can't wait for my first holiday stay at the Johnston house in Oregon. It's coming right up, right? I am super excited to see the fam that we haven't seen for way too long and to meet baby Isaac!

But I really am enjoying our fall weather and life until then. Guess I just got a bit excited, that's all. Back to October.

We're half way there!

2009-10-14T20:01:00.001-07:00

And yes, I am too showing. See? Here's me at 17 weeks (above), and below is 20 weeks. We went to the doc today and she said our little guy measures a week early, which means he might have the same birthday as his Grandpa Hawkins! I'm cool with one week early. Sign me up for Feb 22! But she wasn't convinced enough to officially change the due date...it remains at March 1. Maybe he's just gonna be a biggie?

So here's the thing...

2009-10-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

or rather, a few things:

We're having a BOY and are pretty darn excited about that. I'm at 19 weeks and feeling fabulous.

We purchased a crib which is expected to arrive any day now.

I can feel our little guy moving around in there, and let me just say that there is nothing better than that feeling.

I'm obsessed with the baby and all things associated. It's all I think about, and all I want to talk about. I wore my first maternity pants to work today (thanks, Mom!) and was so excited to show them off to my coworkers, who either laughed and said I didn't need them yet (the ladies) or just looked kind of scarred and said "that's really nice" (the boys). Note to self: the guys at work do not share your enthusiasm and are usually made uncomfortable when you try to talk about pregnancy-related stuff.

Poor Matthew was sick on Monday and has many tests this week. He's in the testing center at the moment and I'm in the Harold B. Lee library blogging because I'm so done with looking at graduate school websites and trying to think of how to demonstrate his passion for the field and assess his professional and leadership attributes and other such nonsense. Let's just say that he's a great guy who wants to pay money to go to your school and you're not really going to know for sure how he'll do until he's there doing it. PS (I guess I got a little ahead of myself) Matt is graduating next spring and wants to go to grad school in the fall to get his Masters in Health Administration. Our first choice is Virginia but we're applying to some others as well. Wish us luck!Loving the fall weather, but dreading winter at the same time. I'm all about cooking cozy delicious foods these days. Anyone have just the right recipe...perhaps a soup or even a festive dessert?

I hate gas stations

2009-09-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

They're dirty and they stink. I'm glad that my helpful husband is usually the one to fill up the car. I hardly ever do it. Maybe that's why last week I left the gas cap on the back bumper and drove away and lost it forever.

Plus I'm not very good at remembering which side of the car the opening is on. When I used to deliver for Campus Craft & Floral, I once pulled my little van into the station, only to get out and realize that I was on the wrong side.
Oops. A little embarrassing.
I got back in and did a U-turn around to the other side and got out again. Still on the wrong side. Not my best move. But I've since learned how to fix that situation.

Yesterday I had another mishap while at work. Sometimes when I'm lucky I get to go on deliveries. I get to drive one of our fine Red Mountain vehicles and take flowers to our customers. It's quite nice. Except yesterday as I was leaving I noticed that the gas was low. I reluctantly pulled into the station and got out of the van. Wrong side of the car. This is no big deal anymore because there are too many vehicles for me to keep straight and I never guess the correct side on the first try. Whatever. I get myself all sorted out.
Then it's one of those caps that you need a key to take off, but I'm not scared because I've done it before. This particular gas cap, however, wasn't coming off. I yanked and turned and pulled for several minutes and was getting rather impatient. People were coming and going. I kept at it, probably looking like a real fool. I looked around for someone who looked like they might help. I'm sure they had all seen me fighting with the stupid thing, but nobody seemed eager to give it a go. Finally the boy next to me started to get back into his car. I shot him a desperate glance and he paused. I stepped over and said "um, could you try to get this thing off?" and he came over and stuck the key in.
I was almost positive that he wouldn't be able to and that I'd have to go back and trade vans or something until that silly contraption was fixed.
Nope. That thing came right off.
I muttered a sheepish "thank you" and he grinned and went back to his car.
I really do hate gas stations.

thanks, janet

2009-09-09T22:08:00.000-07:00

A funny thing happened on Sunday and I still chuckle to myself every time I think of it. I was teaching the primary children a new song, and I like to bring my ipod so they can hear it before we start. I had the volume cranked way up, and when I pressed play, for some reason this song came on. I only wanted to post the music and not the video, but of course I don't know how to do that. So here's Janet for your listening pleasure. The video is nothing special. Luckily I scrambled quickly and changed it right away, but it did take me a bit to regain my composure after such shocking irreverence.

AND SO...

2009-09-02T18:50:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BABY! And here is the very first picture of our little person (at 9 weeks).We are SO excited and can't wait to find out the gender in a few weeks. I'm due March 1st, and I'm 14 1/2 weeks along today. Life is good:)

Matt started school this week. His last fall semester at BYU! He's taking some fun classes that will definitely keep him busy. I have mixed feelings about not being in school...I get all nostalgic when I drop off Matt with his new books and school supplies and see all the students bustling around campus. But then again, it is nice to come home from work and be done with it. I can't decide how I feel. Guess it's a good thing I have no choice at this point:)
We are looking forward to Mother (of the Hawkins variety) coming next week and Alli's wedding on the 12th!