A post?...why not

Christmas is coming and kids are excited! They both rushed this morning to wrap their presents for their mama while she was in the shower. Thanks to the scissors, too much wrapping paper, scotch tape, and bows coupled with Dallin and Lucy's sweet skills resulted in wrapping jobs at least as good as I can do. We went to Red Lodge MT to cut a tree a few weeks ago and ended up driving through some very Christmas-like precipitation. Highlights included a very nordic diaper change for Dallin on the open tailgate of the pickup, a beautiful tree right off the road and delicious hot chocolate at a little cafe. Lots of fun was had by all and afterward we enjoyed a band concert at our nephew's middle school. We'll be spending the big day in Buffalo with Susan's sister, her family and Grandpa G. It promises to be lots of fun. There's been lots of snow and sub-zero weather to get us in the mood.

Thanksgiving and Family pics

We had a great time over Thanksgiving visiting my brother and his family in Laramie WY. He smoked a turkey and it was delicious! we had a huge selection of pie. My brother and I went out early to look for deals the day after. The best deal was the tank of gas my bro got for $18!! not bad, maybe lowering fuel costs will help spur some increases in consumer confidence coupled with lowered interest rates and soon people will stop saying we're in trouble. We had fun at the Laramie swim center and hanging out. We took advantage of my brothers photography hobby too: look pretty good huh?

Wall-E...From my phone

here's a video of Lucy and Dallin trying to say "Wall-E" like the movie. They saw it at their cousins' house and liked it. Lucy especially nailed it on the last one I think.

If you don't know what movie this is you'll get what they're trying to do by clicking here.

Thanks and Calling for help again

Thanks everyone for your help picking out pillows. It was fun to see your opinions. After much deliberations (and nudging from my husband) I picked........ the diamond pillows with the tassels. They were a little more feminine and I liked the variety of style. Thanks again for your opinions and I'm enjoying my new living room colors (light blue and dark brown - in case you couldn't tell.)

Also, one of my children (I won't name names for their sake) has a REAL bad habbit of nose picking. This habbit doesn't harm anybody, it just grosses me out, so I'm willing to just wait it out if need be, but if you have any pointers (pun intended) please let me know! Thanks

KIM'S COOL STUFF!

My friend, Kim, has a fun website where she's selling cute things she's made. There's lots of items ranging from hair bows to clothing to homemade cards. Have fun checking it out!

Dancing and a plea for help

Here's a video of Lucy and Dallin (mostly Lucy) dancing this morning:

Pretty cute (Lucy smashed her head on the bookcase at the end)

Susan has been looking for some new pillows to go on our couch. Instead of waiting for her in stores while she goes through piles and piles of pillows I got an idea of what she was looking for and brought these two home. She likes them both but can't bring herself to pick one so I can take the losing pair back to the store. If you could voice your opinion maybe that'd help.

slick blue with tassles:

Stripes:


Susan took a little break after breakfast the other day.

Some Pictures and ... um brief commentary

Last Monday, I shot this beautiful buck between Big Timber and Two Dot MT. Susan and I had fun chasing him around for a little bit then I lined up a shot at about 200yds. It took us 20min to dress him and about 1 hour to drag him down a drainage, under a fence and across a field. By then Susan had met up with her dad and he met me along the fence line in his truck. It was dark by then.

Dallin finally had enough hair that he needed a trim.

Dallin's Birthday was a success, we had a delicious and lovely Thomas the train cake but the blue frosting had a way of getting everywhere and the cake kind of crashed on its own.

First week of October we got 2 feet of snow, we had a good time playing and shoveling. It was soon gone and we had some great weather! Especially for Halloween (where are the costume pictures anyway?)

Please leave a comment, Susan loves 'em.

Here we are!

Some of you have been wondering about our situation since our lack of blogging has left a small void in your life. We're doing well but were without internet for awhile. Now we're back online a bit. We've moved to Billings and are renting a duplex with a garage and a yard! I'm splitting my time between a private practice and doing eye exams at Sears. I'm always busy at the private practice and things are picking up at Sears slowly but I can pretty much do things my own way which is nice. Lucy is in preschool with her aunt here and LOVES it. When I take her to school she says "you don't have to walk me in just go Dad" She's so loving and cute. Dallin is such a great little boy two years old now! We'll get some birthday pics and stuff soon. We had a couple feet of snow the first weekend in October and had a lot of fun but it all melted quickly and gave way to a beautiful fall/indian summer that is still hanging on. Halloween was so much fun we had lots of cousins for our kids to trick-or-treat with and the weather was super! We love being in Billings close to family and are making some friends. Montanans are very friendly and we just plain feel at home. In other news, I've got a sweet new mountain bike and have really enjoyed breaking it in at two moon park and up on the rims. We're pretty happy. More stuff coming soon.

3 little comments

The other day Devin was trying to hook up our little DVD player to the t.v. so the kids could watch a movie. There are a bunch of cords behind the t.v. and while he was searching for the right cords, or something like that, he ended up accidentally pulling a bunch of stuff down and all crashed behind the entertainment center. Lucy, in much despair, said, "Dad, you're ruining our house!" I thought it was very funny and I hope her house doesn't just revolve around the t.v.!

We bought Dallin a Superman baseball cap a couple of weeks ago and he's pretty attatched. Don't even think about taking it off his head without his permission. He's so adorable when he takes his hat off, scratches his head with his other hand, and then puts it back on. I crack up laughing every time.

We got home late Saturday night from my ten-year h.s. class reunion (which was a lot of fun) and I was very, very tired. After I bathed the kids Devin sent me to bed and he put the kids to bed by himself. What a great man I married! Thanks.

never done a tag before

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember! If we're only blogging friends, write about a post that is most memorable. If you don't have a blog and don't know how to sign in, please comment as anonymous.
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll be sure to write one about you... either on your blog, in my comment box, or I will email you back!
3. If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all ☺ Okay, let's see what you've got!

also here's a funny parody on young mormon wives you might like (or it might hurt your feelings) http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com

plus: the filming is over! (next: editing and later submission to film festivals probly next year) and I'm doing paperwork to start working in Billings MT! One job as an associate to a doc at a private practice 2 days a week and a sublease at the local Sears. excited but a bit nervous.

How do I love my kids? Let me count the ways...

I just love my kids!

~DALLIN~
Often Dallin will come up to me while I'm standing up doing something and give my leg a tight, quick bear hug and then leave. It warms my heart every time. Yesterday (ok, two days ago since it's now 1 am Mon. morning-I took a nap today) Devin and I were all worn out. Devin and his Dad were busy leveling some ground (in this case a harder job than one might expect) in the backyard for the sandbox they're going to make-I'm very excited for my kids- and I was tired from cleaning the house and making dinner for my family and the in-laws, which included my mother-in-law's delicious rolls that in my case turned out more closely resembling hockey pucks. They're worth a second try, though. Anyway, we were both worn out after dinner and I was washing the dishes. Devin was holding Dallin and walked up beside me to get him a drink of water. I asked Dallin for a kiss and he cordially obliged, which followed by giving Devin a kiss, then Mommy, then Daddy, then Mommy, then Daddy, then Mommy, then Daddy, and on and on and on. We were trying hard to hold back the laughs b/c I wanted to see how long he would go on. Eventually it turned into two kisses for mommy and one kiss for daddy, two for mom, one for dad, and that continued for a while. Then, continuing with the two for mom and one for dad, he alternated between kisses on the cheek and kisses on the lips. Minutes later his kisser finally got tired out. Ahh, what a cutie. Sometimes these kids of ours can sure lighten our loads!

~LUCY~
I love it when Lucy walks up to me and throws her arms around me and says, "I like you Mommy." or "Are you happy, Mommy?"
Devin was browsing the internet earlier that same day with Lucy on his lap. He found a video of these amazingly flexible girls bending their bodies in all these gut-wrenching angles. Lucy was quite intrigued and proceeded to ask her dad "why" this and "why" that. Being the "extraordinary" parents that we are we try to answer all the "why" questions any human adult can possibly muster up the energy and patience to answer. And so began the hour of "whys". Well, probably not an hour, but Devin did count the number of "whys" she asked in one minute and concluded that if she continued asking "why" at that same rate all day she would have asked "why" (I think this is right) 2,160 times by bedtime! I'm tired just thinking about that. The number of whys during that minute were fairly high, but some days seem like the questions will never end!

And so.... that leads to my big question I'm dying to see your answers to. How many times does your little critter ask you "why" in one day? Take any given one or two minutes and count how many times they ask and then multiply that by whatever number you need to to get the answer for the whole day. I'm looking forward to seeing your answers!

My other question is.... How many times do you have to ask your child to do something before they actually do what you asked them to do? Sometimes I want to pull my hair out! Do I hear any amens??? Remember what I said earlier about how kids can lighten the load? well, sometimes I think they're pull too (in the opposite direction!) :)

~Today's Recap~
We have church at 9a.m. which, although we love getting out at 12pm, presents a challenge getting there on time. This morning was no exception. I woke up later than I should have. Lucy was grumpy and didn't want to comply with anything we asked her to do. Dallin didn't want anything to do with me and Lucy decided she needed a second breakfast while Dallin was eatting his which was minutes before we had to go. Luckily we have an amazing Dad in the house who got us all ready and to church with the diaper bag packed complete with lunch for the drive home! After church Devin reported to me that the nursery teacher said both kids were great and Lucy was so happy and helpful the whole time (where was that sweet little girl this morning?).
We had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa today and we were enjoying a nice gospel discussion when Devin left to find the kids. Soon after he called for me and I followed a disgusting smell down the hall to the back bedroom. To my horror I found him there taking off Dallin's shoes and Lucy commenting about the stinky smell. One of Wendy's (Devin's sister) dogs had pooped in there and Dallin stepped in it and traced it all over the bedroom. Luckily he stayed in one room, though. I immediately took his shoes outside and began cleaning off the poop. Devin and Wendy started cleaning the poop off of the carpet. Not long after that Devin hears water being sloshed around in his parents' bathroom. He investigates the noise and finds Dallin with the plunger in the toilet working like he meant it. About the same time this is happening Devin's Dad accidentally leaves the front door a little ajar. Wendy's two dogs figure out how to open it the rest of the way and escape outside. Neither one likes to come back very quickly, but one is particularly difficult to get back. I'm in the backyard cleaning off the shoe and I see both dogs run down to the road below me. Devin and Wendy were soon to follow with Lucy offering her help as well. To wrap up a big ordeal, the dogs were finally caught, I got the shoe clean, and the carpet is looking better (not to mention smelling better too). It's been an interesting Sunday....

Happy 4th of July everyone! We stood and sang "The Star Spangled Banner" in church today and it brought tears to my eyes. I sure do love this country we live in. I am so appreciative to the men and women in the armed forces!!! They volunteer to sacrifice more than I can imagine. The other thing that brings tears to my eyes is during the 4th of July parade watching the old men walk or ride down the street in uniform holding the flag high. Gratitude and admiration fills me from head to toe!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you! So, the next time you hear someone (usually the media) complaining about the US, just remember and help them remember, too, what we have -our priviledges, rights, and responsibilities- just because we live in the United States. We are truly blessed!

Something new to do

The other day the guy that runs the slate (the clacking thing that's used to sync up the sound and video) was asked to participate in the scene they were shooting so I got to take over for him (a very nice guy, film student in Bozeman also an excellent juggler). This job is a little bit more complicated than it looks at first, there's more paying attention and writing things down than one would guess. Though no major errors slipped by, I've decided that it's best to leave the film making to the pros.

Here goes...

A lot has been going on. May was a busy month what with finishing school (for good), having some family for graduation (fun) and moving (fun in a lame kind of way). June has been exciting too so here's a quick rundown of what's been going on with a few pictures to bring sense to my rambling.

Graduation was a lot of fun. Mom and Dad came to visit and join the festivities along with Eric, Linnaea, Jordon and Andrea. It was great to have fun with them and show them a very little of the area we'd been in for the last four years. There were two graduation ceremonies, the first was strictly for our college and we were handed our hoods. The second included all the professional programs at the university and was really hot but not too long. I got the hood put on me and a real diploma! I hope everyone enjoyed it. Susan took off early to go and pick up the cool cake she'd ordered along with our friends for our delicious taco celebration after graduation with the Gerritsens. It was so much fun spending time with them again and with our families. We're going to miss the Gerritsens VERY much. I'm sure they'll do just fine in life and I hope our paths will cross again soon. We made a lot of good friends in our class partly because of the shared suffering and common lot I hope we can stay in touch. (ie. read this blog every once in a while) Staying in touch is something I've not been very good at.

(hood distripution)


(it's a phoropter! refractions have never been so delicious!)

A few days after graduation we finished packing (Susan had already started in April) and loaded up an over-sized Budget truck with our stuff and drove it all to Bozeman Montana (specifically my folk's house), just before a big spike in diesel fuel. I should relate also that providence was on our side the whole time. Many things worked together for our good on our move. We are grateful. We're also really thankful for my mom and dad who helped so much with the move and my brother Duane who even avoided leaving work early to help me unload into a storage locker. I hope someday we'll be able to take care of ourselves but I doubt it.

Our car took it easy during the move and spent the entire time on a rented trailer behind our rented truck. It's inactivity worked to its detriment however. If you're interested in a gross story about what got stuck and how it got out, read on otherwise, skip the colored writing and move on to Lucy's birthday party.

So, the Sunday morning after our move we piled into our car to go to church. When I started the car, a terrible thumping sound started to come from the passenger's side of the car. Startled, I turned off the car and tried again. The noise continued. Using a little reasoning I started down my list of differential diagnoses and started ruling them out. A kind of relief came over me when I discovered the noise subsided when I turned the ventilation fan off. The thumping increased in frequency when the fan was on high and decreased when on low. Something was wrong with the fan and the chances of our wheels falling off on our way to church seemed low enough to chance it. The next day, or was it two days, I decided to see if the problem was simple enough for a new eye doctor to fix or if it was one we could afford. I took parts off and kept track of most of the screws and weird little bolts under the dash and watched the fan motor gyrate rhythmically while I adjusted the speed of the fan. Looking back, I don't know why I figured I had to see it rattling and thudding around so much. After investigating further, I figured taking the fan motor out of the car and opening it up was too big a job for me, so I tried going at it from the air intake under the hood. After more parts came off and getting a little light down there I found the source of the noise. A little dead mouse and found its way into my fan and built a little nest. I guess thought the little mouse was not dead when it spent all afternoon and evening building a nest in a ford focus death contraption. Long story short, he's out and lysol was applied liberally to any vent I could reach. (thanks again dad).

Wow, that was longer than I expected. Anyway on to Lucy's big birthday celebration! Our little girl turned 3! and we had a party for her at the Missouri headwaters with both sets of grandparents, a great aunt and uncle, uncle Shawn, some cousins, Aunt Wendy and her little dogs too. We had a really good time. Lucy was very cute and grateful, she got lots of nice toys out of the deal too. Thanks to everyone who participated. We chased bubbles, played ball and frisbee and pin the bow on the princess. We had hotdogs (Dallin had to cook his own thank you very much) and an awesome princess castle cake. A little rain blew through at the very end and sent us home with full bellys and tired eyes. A good time.

(ta-dah, great job Susan!)


(worth a thousand words)




(pin)

(nice shirt, thanks Grandpa)

(fake food! she got some cool toy kitchen tools too, thanks everybody!)


(real backpack thanks Grandma)

While waiting for licensure to go through, I decided to look for some kind of employment both permenent after license and temporary to keep busy and get some of that elusive income. While perusing the classifieds I came accross an ad for auditions for a feature film being shot in Helena during June. After some emails, I figured it would be a fun way to spend a few days of June having never been in a movie. I have been in several plays and I even took an acting class in undergrad. Anyway, I was told the maximum amount of time commitment would be 10 days out of June. Shooting will be done on the last day of June, a little while before optometry licenses are issued. So, I headed to Helena and read some lines and was told I'd be called. I went back to Bozeman and filed an application with a temp agency, and started looking at local bike shops for a minimum wage-style job. Then I got a phone call and a script in my email inbox. After some thinking and stuff I decided to take the part they'd offered me: a slow guy. The slow guy does have a pretty big role though and so I've been at the dorms at Carroll college most of the days of June. Susan and the kiddoes came to visit a few days as well as Jordon and Andrea. It's been fun and interesting seeing what goes into puting a film together. All the work and organization has been pretty impressive. We've got a great cinematographer, sound guy, costume designer and script supervisor who all seem to know what they're doing. Seeing how it comes out on screen makes it look pretty good. I'm learning about apple boxes, lollipops, and C-47's (even C-74's). Also, Gaff tape is awesome stuff and I'll probably get a roll some day to keep handy. After seeing all that goes on in filmmaking and what's really important I think that when the credits roll at the end of a movie, the crew's names should come before the cast's. It's easy to say a movie was bad, but I bet you heard every word and all the images were in focus and smooth, lighting was probably great and things mostly made sense. You can read more about the movie shoot by clicking here. Anyway, Here are some pictures from when Susan and Lucy and Dallin all came and were extras also some of me on set.

(he's getting so big!)

(two lovely ladies on the carrousel)



("roll sound"..."sound is speeding", "roll camera"..."camera has speed" *marker* action)

It makes me think of the days I was thinking about becoming a professional actor. I'm really glad I didn't, being an eye doctor is much better, especially for family life.

These last few days Susan has been in Buffalo and Cheyenne Wyoming. I miss her and the kids but job prospects seem to be taking shape and the NBEO posted a passing score for me which is good. Things are going well for us in a way and we have a lot to be thankful for.

A brief post

So much has happened since our last post! I was waiting for some pictures to come to me but if I don't do something now I'll be way behind. So here's a minimalist's approach to a blog post: Just to whet the appetite:

May:
Graduation!
Move to MT
Lucy's B-day!
Audition for a low budget movie

June:
start filming

job search throughout and waiting and waiting for the NBEO to get on the ball

that's all for now, stay tuned for more later

a little catch-up

This is actually Susan blogging this time, not Devin.
I check back on our blog often to read the comments, so PLEASE leave a comment so I can enjoy the little squirt of excited I get when I see someone has been here. The comments are my favorite part about blogging. I'll try to do the same. Thanks for humoring me!

One night for family home evening we rocked out to some music in our living room. Although I didn't catch the best parts on this video, Lucy and Dallin were really gettin' down! It's awesome to have such energetic and playful kids!



I decided to take the kids to the Children's Museum on the spur of the moment Thursday. They both fell asleep on the way there after they ate their sandwiches, so they even got a little snooze beforehand. I couldn't have planned it better - wait, I didn't plan on them sleeping, but it sure worked out great. Can you ever plan on kids sleeping when you want them to?

It's a good thing we played in the water last b/c Lucy and Dallin were both soaked by the end!

Lucy reading to her baby to put her to sleep. Dallin liked the shopping cart. Just his size!

I couldn't for the life of me get Dallin to look at me with a smile for either of these photos. He liked the tool belt and hard hat a lot but put up with humoring me with the fireman jacket. I think he's adorable!

Lucy ate up the stage and loved the zebra costume. I couldn't tell if she liked her zebra striped face or not, but I thought she was pretty cute. Dallin had little whiskers on his face (I'm not very creative).

Since we have giant pieces of packing paper around, the kids love coloring and drawing on it. Here they're using up the last of their glitter pens so I can throw them away instead of pack them. I'm looking forward to unpacking the paper and seeing their cute scribbles.


Daddy and Lucy took naps together on the couch last Sunday and I couldn't resist the picture. Aahhh. Lucy LOVES her daddy.

We went to a minor league baseball game last Monday in Portland but Lucy's attention was all on their beaver mascot. We took a walk down by him to say hi. She was pretty shy but managed to get up the courage to shake his hand and tail and do a little jig for him. Since it was a Monday night not very many people were there and Lucy was so captivated by the beaver that we couldn't resist and moved our seat right next to him so she could enjoy him the rest of the game. I think I left the camera out in the car so I don't have any pics unfortunately. It was a chilly evening but we got free hot chocolate which Lucy and Dallin each drank their own entire cup of.

We're trying to do some more fun activities around this area before we leave. Portland is a fun town with lots to do, so we'll miss the entertainment. We even scored free tickets to a Trail Blazer game a few months ago through the laser eye surgery office Devin was externing at! We were on the "Lexus Level" (I know, we were important that night!) and got all sorts of free food. It was a close game, but the Blazers pulled it off in the end so it was exciting and a great memory.

Saturday we went to the Chinese Garden in Portland and enjoyed the beauty there. All of the plants, trees, rocks, water, etc. are very symbolic and it helped me appreciate the Chinese culture, traditions, and way of life a little more. This beautiful, peaceful garden is in the middle of downtown Portland so it's cool it can be so serene at the same time. It was beautiful. We'll miss a lot of things about this area when we move and a lot of people too. I just had to say goodbye this evening to a good friend whom I admire a whole lot. Bye Heather and I can't wait to check your new blog!

On a happier note, I'm looking forward next week to seeing a lot of friends we haven't seen since May of last year. It will be fun to visit one last time before graduation and see how their kids have grown. Wow! We're really going out into the real world now, huh?!

Unfortunately, no word yet on a solid job offer in Livingston, MT yet, but we're hoping for the best and know of some availability in Billings if Livingston doesn't work out. I'm looking forward to being back in MT near family and having a yard for my kids to play on this summer!! No more creepy people please!

When we hear back about a job we'll be sure to post!

Desert fun

We had ice cream sandwiches for desert the other evening. I love watching my kids eatting something they love b/c it's all buisness when it comes to eatting it. There's no throwing food on the floor or, "I don't want it. It's yucky." (doesn't that make the cook feel like cooking them yet another meal tomorrow:( ). Anyway, they had a great time enjoying their ice cream and Dallin tried to get every last lick he could out of the bowl as you can see by the chocolate on his forehead. They make life funny!





After the delicious desert I guess my kids thought they better check for cavities!

Daddy, Dallin, and Lucy had fun this afternoon playing dentist with a little keychain flashlight. I'm just about to throw the thing in the garbage, though b/c it is a source of "I want it. No, I want it. No, I want it." almost every day. It's so true that we buy kids all these expensive toys and then the ones they like the best are the free/cheap ones!

GOOD LUCK DEVIN ON PRACTICAL BOARDS IN THE MORNING! IT'S THE FINAL CHALLENGE AND I KNOW YOU'RE UP TO IT. I'LL BE THINKING OF YOU ALL MORNING. I LOVE YOU AND APPRECIATE YOU. GO GET 'EM!