Trunk or Treat Fun

We had so much fun at our ward's Trunk or Treat on Saturday. It was nice and warm and Nate wore his costume the entire time! Gasp! Needless to say I was shocked! Nate thought it was so funny to see his friends all dressed up, especially girlfriend Hallie (or as Nate calls her Hayee) We just love that cute little bug! And yes, Nate does have a different sucker in every picture... it's Halloween, why not let the kid go nuts! I swear for 3 days all I have heard is "cucka, cucka" begging for another dang sucker! I guess it is a nice break from him begging for the car keys!

Well worth it!

Today Nate and I went to surprise Chris at school in his carrel (private study desk) but when we got there he wasn't there! I was kinda glad because I wanted to put up pictures of Nate and one that he colored "for dad". Right when we finished our decorating Chris called and said he was out front so we met up with him. Back story- Nate knows that the law school and Chris go together so when we parked out front (in 15 min parking) he started to say "dadadadadada". So I planned to leave after we decorated the carrel, but Nate knew dad was there somewhere. When we did find Chris, I didn't have the heart to make him leave as he was so excited. We ended up staying for a while and playing out on the front yard.... completely forgetting that I parked in 15 min parking.... so I got a ticket! But I decided it was worth it. If someone said to me, you can go see Chris right now and he can play with Nate for a while, for$15 I would do it! So "ha" University of Iowa parking patrol! I will take that ticket gladly!

My Little Pumpkin!

Typically I love fall.... but I am having a hard time finding fall this year! We went to the pumkin farm on Friday thinking it would be really busy Saturday and it was so cold! Then Saturday was shorts weather! Oh well... we still had a great time! Nate loved carrying his pumpkin around that he picked out himself- I think it was the first pumkin he tried to pick up that he could actually lift off the ground. We just love having Grandma Trudy near by to share all these memories with. I forgot my camera- I have not been taking it anywhere hence lack of blog posts lately- so these were taken with Trudy's cell phone. I am surprised how well they turned out! Especially since it was really hard to see what I was taking a picture of since the screen is so small. I love the one of Chris and Nate up above. Check out that dimple! I hope he never loses it!

My latest love

I finally joined you all and read the Twlight series (thanks for the books Kim and Sarah). I have to tell you, I had to make myself go to bed at 2 or 3 in the morning. I couldn't put them down- I finished each book in about a day and couldn't wait for the next one. So, I want to know all of you who have read them, Stephanie Meyer said that she is going to write this story in another point of view, a parallel series. Since the last chapter was written in Jacob's p.o.v. do you think that the next series will follow him? I am sorry but gag. No thanks. Who would you want the series to follow? I know the book due out next fall- Breaking Dawn will finish the Twilight series. I think/hope that will still be in Bella's p.o.v. and I know she wrote Midnight Sun from Edward's p.o.v. but she isn't going to write more than that book... I thought.

Family Love

10 of the people in this picture ran the marathon. For 2 of my uncles it was their 10th year doing so. My mom is in the middle in red, Erica is behind my mom to the right of her in blue and I am to the left of her in navy. My mom had t-shirts made (the baby blue ones that say OTTCREW on them that Gma Jo has on to the left). All of the non-runners were just there to cheer us in. I just have to say I love my family. If it wasn't for them, I would have never done it. I had never thought about running a marathon until my mom ran it last year. I am so glad that my SIL Erica and cousin Annie (next to my mom on the right) were there to take the plunge for the first time. It helped not being the only first timer! It was such an amazing experience, and to share it with so many family members was priceless. Love you! See you again in 2009!

26.2 Miles of Memories

We returned from our marathon trip to Utah and I am feeling a bit lost. For the last few months I have thought about the marathon every day... and now it's over! A bit sad.... It was a great first marathon. I originally was going to go for my Boston Qualifying time of 3:40, but after I got sick a few weeks out from the marathon and was unable to run for 10 days, I knew that I needed to reevaluate things and set my goal on 4hrs. I did it! I came in just under 4. I broke the cardinal rule of running and used up a lot of energy early on- I didn't realize I was doing this, I felt like I was running my typical speed, but I was passing a lot of people... around mile 18 I ran out of gas, and they all passed me! I guess my adrenalin ran out! I didn't take my gu/ sport beans- they just made me feel sick so I only took 1/2 pack of sport beans, which probably wasn't the best for my energy level.... I can at least say that I have learned a lot for my next marathon. Yes, you read correctly, I do plan to run another one. I can't help it, it is really tempting to improve my time because I know I could easily. My next marathon I want to go all the way- try to train in all aspects, not just running. I want to eat right (sorry girls, no more fondue nights at my house right before the marathon), lift so weights, do crunches, etc. It is really nice to have a goal, to have a dream.




HIGHLIGHTS:



-Laying in bed with Erica (my SIL who also ran) the night before giggling because we were so excited
- Getting completely dressed in our gear the night before with Erica and then running up to my aunt, uncle and mom's room fully dressed to run the marathon with gloves and all- it gave everyone who saw a good laugh. We said we were going to sleep in it (photo to come!)
-The 40 min bus ride out of the city to the starting spot..... you can feel the excitement in the air
-the pre-race hang out by the bonfires and portapotties... being there with my mom, aunts and uncles, cousins and SIL
-starting the race with Erica and running the first few miles with her then hugging goodbye while running!
-reading all of the signs along the way: THERE WAS ONE SIGN THAT SAID "DON'T FORGET TO DRAFT. WHERE IS KEVIN?" it was at mile 22 I think, and if I could have laughed, I would have... I think I tried to laugh....
-reading all the signs that said, "mom you're my hero" written by little kids
- giving high-fives to all the little kids that stand next to the side of the road and feeling like a rock star
-reaching the top of Veo (very long- couple miles- hill)
-running past my family as they cheered and I got to see Nate and know he was okay
-crossing the finish line.... unforgettably overwhelming, emotional moment.
- being there to cheer on the rest of my family


My cousins took a bunch of photos, but I only took one. It is of me and Erica right after she finished. She is even gorgeous right after running for 4+ hrs! What a stinker! I love you Erica! Thanks for all the memories.

Love this baby

I know this is not the most flattering picture of my son, but it makes me laugh so hard. This was taken in his car seat when he was a couple of months old when we were driving back to IC from visiting my family in Waterloo. I love it when you catch a moment on photo......
I had to make a post about something because my husband informed me that he checks our blog regularly and I have been "slacking" in our family blogging duties. What's my excuse? I guess I just haven't been taking very many pictures lately. I will try to get back into it.....

I HEART Jane Austen

I have to admit that every time I watch a Jane Austen movie or finish reading one of her books, I wish that I lived during that time. To go to balls, and wear beautiful dresses and be romanced in an old fashioned way! Her work has a way of wrenching my heart, like- oh just run away together! I want her characters to be together and be happy sooo badly! It always seems so clear after I finish that I am so lucky to be with a man that I am so in love with and that is really all I need in life. Becoming Jane (thanks for coming with me girls- p.s. it WAS rated PG, so I don't know what to say about the nudity!) anyway, Becoming Jane has me on a J.A. kick- so I am going to be watching all of her book-based movies in the next couple of weeks. I think my MIL has them all- if you are interested, you know where to find me. And, of course, I can't resist reading Pride and Prejudice again!I just have to say, I heart Jane Austen.

Okay, if you have seen this movie- did it not get your heart racing?! Just kiss her!

The turtle and the duck

Today Nate and I went to the mall to get a Halloween costume. I was at the register about the buy a turtle costume (his namesake) when Nate spotted what he thought was a duck costume. He got so excited. He started to quack and quack and quack. I thought- this is silly. He doesn't even know what a turtle is! So I pulled the baby chick aka the duck costume and handed it to him and he smiled gleefully. When we got home I put it on him to make sure it would fit. He didn't love the costume very much any more. He kept trying to take the hat off. How do you get your kids to wear their costumes? I am looking for orange sweat pants and a yellow turtleneck to go underneath. If anyone knows where I can get some please let me know!

Milwhat?

I have had a lot of questions as to what is in Milwaukee, where is it, etc. Here is a little info to entice you to visit :)

Milwaukee is home of:
the NLB's Milwaukee Brewers (baseball)
the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks
Harley Davidson, Miller Brewing, Northwestern Mutual, and Kohls
has a metro population of 1.5 million
is in WISCONSIN!
is located 90 miles north of Chicago
is on lake Michigan
has the average winter temp of 21 degrees and 72 in the summer
is home of the international clown hall of fame - sweet!
has a great zoo and lots of museums
and over 70 golf courses!

I have just started my research of Milwaukee, so I will really be able to tell you about Milwaukee in the spring before we move, but I hope this gives you a better idea of where we are headed!

Milwaukee-ians

We spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Milwaukee this weekend for interviews for Chris. While he was "working" Nate and I played and found out that WE LOVE MILWAUKEE! Which is great since Chris has accepted an offer from his #1 pick Quarles and Brady in Milwaukee. At the end of his interview on Friday they offered him a position as a summer associate for Summer 2008. He accepted today and we couldn't be happier! We are so proud of Chris for all of his hard work and for going after what he wants! Nate and I had a fun time running around downtown. Above is Nate outside of the Mil. Art Museum which is right on Lake Michigan (directly to the right). Below are pictures and their awesome children's museum and the Mil. Public Museum, lunch at a yummy pizza cafe (we went for pizza without Chris, can you believe it?), and goofing around in the hotel.

We're still here....barely!

I know many people think we are out of town, or we moved, or we just don't want to be your friend anymore :) but none are true! We have just been cut off from the outside world for the last couple of days. I got the flu bug this weekend and was lying around helplessly until this morning. During that time, Nate managed to upload a virus onto our computer, lock my cellphone with a code only know to him and lose our only car key (which we later found in the trash). So Chris spent all night last night fixing the computer and this is the first time in days I have had internet access and I will return cellphone messages sometime today after I go into Verizon to get that one taken care off. Sometimes I am glad that things all happen at once because it makes it easier to handle- for example. This morning I was giving Nate a bath and Chris was still asleep (up all night fixing computer and studying) when all the sudden I see a little poo nugget- no biggie- I pick it up with some tp and flush it in the toilet. I few seconds later there is a lot, I mean a lot of poo in the tub. Nate luckily had not seen it at that point and I start yelling for Chris and pound on the wall that the bathroom shares with our bedroom. He comes in, grabs Nate, cleans Nate up while I start draining the tub and cleaning it up. While Nate waits for me to clean up so he can take another tub he decided to eat a deodorant stick. Yuck. So then we are cleaning that up. We get Nate clean, again. Chris showers and let's Nate back in the bathroom while he is getting ready for school (Nate is in love with Chris and always wants to be in the same room as him) and while they are in the bathroom together Nate throws Chris's cellphone in the toilet- down goes our only remaining way to call long distance since as said before my phone is out- he yells for me to come so I grab Nate, wash his hands and take him down stairs and fall down the stairs- catching myself enough so Nate doesn't get hurt, but skinning my elbow and hip. Now remember this all happened within 30 minutes. Since it all just happened at once, Chris and I couldn't help but just sit and laugh! What next?! He's lucky he's so stinkin' cute!

Happy Labor Day!

Alright, so I am a little behind on the times. I just love this picture of Nate though. He LOVES the Ross's Coupe and every time we go get the mail he stops and plays with it (Sarah, if it is ever missing, check my house :o) He spent almost the entire bbq on Monday night playing in it- which was GREAT because I actually got to eat my food instead of feeding it to him, or giving up eating because he is climbing all over me and making it impossible to eat. I love this picture because you can almost hear him making his engine noise- the "vroooom" noise. Check out that dimple! What a cute little bug! We just love him!

Obsession #2

If any of you have spent any time with Nate you know that his other passion in life is water, also known as twawa in our house. If he even gets a glimps of a faucet he goes nuts and insists on me holding him up so that he can play in the water. This is a picture of him trying to get a drink out of the sink while he was playing in it. What a little nugget (word from Cheree- love ya!) Hopefully I will post more after our Labor Day festivities... sorry for lack of posts, we have been so busy playing while it is still nice out! p.s. if you haven't read Sarah Ross's blog today you have to read it! Read the first couple of comments that "Sarah" wrote in the comment box about"Breath Savers" .Sorry Sarah, but I enjoyed it soooo much, I want others to feel that same happiness:)

Welcome 1Ls

Jamie Ortega and I hosted a Law Wives Luncheon today. It was a lot of fun. We were forecasted rain, but we just got clouds which was a nice blessing to keep it cool enough. Gma Trudy took Nate so that I could actually be a host. It was so nice to think with my whole brain instead of 1/2 on watching Nate and 1/2 trying to do whatever! We have 6 new 1L wives! This has to be a record! We welcomed Kim Stoddard, Nichole Bartholomew, Andrea Hochhalter, Ashley Justensen, Chanell Nielson, and Heidi Miller- who I actually grew up with in the Cedar Falls ward! Thanks for coming ladies. I look forward to pie shakes at Hamburg!






WHEN I SAID OBSESSED.......






I MEANT IT! This was Nate this morning when we went outside while waiting for naptime. He kept trying to climb on top of the car. He would pull and pull on the handle. We've created a monster!

Schools out forever...

Yesterday I took Chris to his first day of class as a 2L I told him when we left the house that I wanted to take a picture of him in front of the law school before he went in (thanks for the idea Tricia) and he said "no way". I was going to do it anyway, but my camera died right when I turned it on! So I charged it all day and when I went to pick him up from school that night I pulled up and snapped this through the car window while he was walking to the car. He saw the camera immediately and tried to duck from view but I was too quick! He asked what the big deal was... and I guess I have transferred my excitement about first days of school to him. I would always get really excited for the first day of school each year- even in college. New teachers, new class mates, new subjects, new books- loved it all. It is strange to not have that to look forward to and the end of each summer, but I guess I will just get really excited for Chris and Nate!

New Obsession

Nate is obsessed with playing in the car! When we were in Utah at all of the Foster Wedding festivities we would often go out to the rental car and just let Nate "drive". We spent a lot of time just sitting in the car while he figured out how to turn on the blinkers, the hazard lights, the horn, etc. Since we have been back from Utah, Nate is obsessed with cars. Anytime he sees a car on tv, in a book, anywhere he says "Ca, Ca, Ca" over and over again. You can only imagine how excited he gets when we are walking through the parking lot! Anyway, we were over at Chris's parents for Sunday dinner and Nate found Gma Trudy's car keys and from that moment on he spent the rest of the time trying to get someone to take him out to the car. He even pulled on Gma Trudy's apron trying to get her to come. Here he is seeing if anyone is going to follow him and the 2nd one he is waiting at the door in the laundry room that enters the garage. He would bang on the door and yell "Ca". It will be interesting to see how long this lasts! P.S. He is not wearing a dress- he soaked his clothes while playing in the sink earlier and here he is wearing a t-shirt of Chris's 19yr old sister Dazi.

Getting Better

68%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Well, earlier this summer I took this test and I was in the 70's... I guess I am getting better from my blog addiction. I will admit, it is very addicting. I actually thought that I was worse than this. I better not let Chris see this or he will try to have an "intervention".

p.s. for those who missed out on Steve & Barry's... we are going again next week for round 2 because so many people wanted to go but couldn't go yesterday.

Shopping Anyone?

Some of us are heading up to CR to go to Steve and Barry's today. I know a couple of different people mentioned the next time I go, they want to go- so give me a call today if you want to go with us this afternoon.

Glad to be home

Nate was a real champ while we were in Chicago. It was the first time we have ever left him for more than a couple of hours, and ever over night. I think we were more anxious than he was. When we finally did get home, we walked into Grandma Trudy's and he looked up at us, and turned right back to what he was playing with! Chris was a little hurt that Nate didn't run to him and wrap his arms around him and yell "daddy!" I was glad that he had such a good time that he didn't want to leave Thanks Gma Trudy! We had a good time lounging around the house today and, of course, watching Toy Story AGAIN (I got Nate a Jessie doll and Bullseye at the Disney Store on the Magnificent Mile which he played with all day). And yes, more playing with the IPOD.

No Brangelina!

We had a great time in Chicago living the high life for a day, but are sad to report that we did not have any Brangelina sightings (sorry Heather- no photos) although I didn't really expect to cross paths since we only went from our room to the pool and back and then to the lobby in the morning. The Pitt-Joley family is living on the 18th floor (in the same suit that Jennifer Aniston lived in while filming The Breakup-weird!) right now as Angelina films a movie. We were staying on the 15th, but I didn't have the nerve to go "wander" on the 18th. Gweneth must have already checked out too because we didn't see her either. I woke up at 5:30 this morning and I thought to my self , "I should get up and go swim my laps in the pool now because that is probably when Brad is swimming :)" ha! It wasn't likely enough to get me out of bed! I will admit though, after learning they were living there right now, on the drive to Chicago yesterday I kept running through scenarios in my head of how we might share an elevator and they need a diaper for one of their kids (how many kids do they have now, 10?) and I just happen to have one in my purse. Or that I could help the nanny while we are waiting in the lobby together and the kids are crying. And the silly scenarios went on and on the whole drive:) But then I really started thinking, and I probably wouldn't even recognize them if I saw them because I saw Brad on tv this morning and he looked sooo old. Well, though we had no sightings, it still added to the excitement and "poshness" of the trip. Thank you Sidley Austin Law Firm!

our mini ipoder

Nate's new favorite thing to do is listen to music on the ipod. He will even dance... a little.




You can really see in this picture that he is going to have Chris's square jaw, don't you think?

Chicago here we come!

Chris has a call back interview in Chicago Tuesday morning and so the firm booked him a schwag hotel on the Magnificent Mile called The Peninsula for Monday night and I get to go with! Chris says that it will be a long time before we can afford to stay at a hotel this nice so I better come with. Trudy (Chris' mom) is going to watch Nate so I consider this an extended Anniversary gift :) Check out the pool...

Best Buds

Saturday morning I had a long run so Chris got up with Nate as I was already out running. When I got home they were sitting on the couch watching Toy Story (Nate's fav) sharing a bowl of Fruit Loops. It was just too cute, so I grabbed the camera and told Nate to smile and he stuck out his tongue at me! What a stinker! Chris has a Fruit Loop in his mouth in case you were wondering what the heck he was doing. We are going to really miss Chris when he starts school next week. Oh yes, and that is Buzz Lightyear's arm in the edge of the photo. He was watching the movie with them.

A Very Happy Anniversary to me!

Anniversary #4

Last night we actually went on a date! This is a huge accomplishment for us because either I am too cheap or Chris doesn't feel good about leaving Nate- but we did it! We went to Joseph's Steak House downtown IC. It was soo good. Chris, of course, ordered a steak. It was delicious. I ordered their fettucini alfredo and whipped potatoes. The potatoes were amazing. Chris even liked them and he doesn't like potatoes unless they are fat fried or loaded with cheese. Chris's parent's watched Nate at their house while we went to dinner. He hardly even noticed us when we came back he was having so much fun. Thanks Grandma Trudy! Then we brought him home to put him to sleep (ha!) and went to a late show of Stardust while Trudy and Steve (Chris's parents) watched Nate here. The little rascal is completely off of his schedule from all of the travel so when we left for the movie at 9:30 he was still jabbering away in his crib. The only reason this bothered me was because he climbed out of his crib earlier in the week and so not I like to listen at his door until he's asleep to make sure we don't let the belly flop out of the crib happen again. He started crying as we left ( I swear he has a 6th sense and can tell when we are going to do something fun) and Grandma Trudy came to the rescue and rocked him to sleep. Stardust was very cute, happy ending, but lots of killing.
I am so grateful to have a sweet, romantic husband (Check out my necklace). He worked so hard in school this past year and I am so proud of all the sacrifices he makes for our little family.

Fun Uncle

Chris' s brother Jon LOVES Nate. It is so cute. All summer he has been trying to get pictures of him and Nate together. Multiple times he has made collages of pictures of Nate for the whole family to put as their desktop background on their computer. This is the latest one, not of only Nate like it typically is. I am so glad that my little guy is so loved! We will be sad when Jon and Dazi go back to Duke next week. I already know that Nate will run down the hall to Dazi's room to peek in and look for her and will be so sad when he can't find either her or Jon.

I'm it! I've been tagged by Heather!

7 Random Things About Me......

1) I have very few pairs of socks that do not have some sort of design on them. I liked to wear funky socks in junior high and my grandma would always buy me a pair whenever she was inspired to do so. Well, it has been a long time since I was in junior high, but she still buys me funky socks. My favorite pair are my Easter ones with Peeps on them. I probably have at least 10 pairs that are Christmas in nature, and I have been known to wear them year round. I can't wait for the weather to cool off so I can get them out again!

2) I love cookie dough, particularly chocolate chip. Often times when I buy/make cookie dough, I end up eating most of the dough before the oven ever gets turned on!

3) I love GoodWill, or GW as it is refered to in our house. I will admit it. Ever since I started garage sale-ing with my friends this spring, I have become a penny pincher. I have found so make good deals at GW. To name a few a pair of AG jeans ( just my size!), board books like Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You? a little Lacoste polo for Nate. I would have never shopped second hand stores like Stuff 5 years ago, let alone GW! I don't know if it is my cheap friends rubbing off on my (I love you guys!) or the student loan statement that comes every few months (yikes!) but I am a bargin shopper and I love it!

4) My favorite color is blue and since I shop for my husband and son, most of their clothes are blue too :)

5) I love breakfast food and would eat it every day for every meal. Any time Chris offers to cook dinner, instead of asking what I want, he asks if I want pancakes. Yummy!

6) I attended 4 different colleges and changed my major twice to get my bachelors degree!

7) Every night when I go up to brush my teeth Chris says, "Goodness. Let me know when you are done". That is because I take the "2 min rule" literally and I will walk around and put away laundry, load the dishwasher, etc. I know it's wierd, but every time I go to the dentist they comment on how clean my teeth are :)

I tag... I know you have done things similar- but do it anyway because it's fun to know random things about you!
1) Sarah Ross
2) Tricia
3) Stephanie Dix
4)Cheree

We did it!

Nate exceeded expectations! He was wonderful on both plane rides. He watched Toy Story 2 and Curious George on both trips, ate suckers and fruit snacks (thanks Heather) and read lots of books. The middle picture is of Nate on the floor of the plane with his head on my knee. He would play on the floor every now and then and I knew he just needed his space- not to be held. We sat Chris window, me middle, and Grandma Trudy aisle. He just climbed back and forth between us all. On the way there he started to get a little restless the last 20 min. so I let him play with the phone that is attached to the back of the seat that was infront of us. I figured he couldn't do any damage since you need a credit card to activate it. It did the trick and we made it there. Our new favorite place in Salt Lake is Liberty Park. It has a great splash park and a stream/pool playground too with lots of plastics balls that floated down the streams. So fun! We loved it!

Nate obsessively carried keys around the entire trip, mostly his grandma's keys to her car we left at the Chicago airport- I was so worried we were going to leave them in Utah! The wedding was beautiful. It was nice to have a reason to buy a new dress and get dolled up. We also got to visit with our good friends the Christians and Packhams. Our visit got cut short due to lack of sleep for Nater Tater, but we enjoyed seeing them even if it was only for a little while!

Here is a funny picture of Nate from last weekend... 2 weekends ago I guess, on our way to our family reunion. Nate was fussy so we stopped at Mc Donalds and bought a shake to share. You can see how much sharing happened!

Update

We successfully moved home Wednesday after a lot of drama with UHaul- be cautious if you use them, ask for details. Thursday we spent the day with Chris' family and unpacked. Friday and Saturday we were up to Waterloo for my family reunion where Chris won the Ott Coon Feed Family Reunion Golf Tournament- the trophee was complete with a coon on top! It is proudly sitting on top of our entertainment center! Now we are leaving our home again and heading out to Utah for Chris' cousin's wedding. Yikes. First time flying with Nate. Wish me luck. We are packing a fan for white noise, his high chair, car seat, snacks, toys. Is this really worth it?! We look forward to getting together with friends and family in a couple of days out in Utah, so I guess that makes it worth it!