Will has been hearing a lot of talk about Jimmer lately, and he was getting pretty jealous. I mean, his dad and grandpa are only supposed to get level of excitement in their voices when they talk about his achievements, right? Now that Will can (kind of) walk, he has moved on from his baby basketballs to the real thing.
Here are some videos of him working on his game taken early this morning .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEXcGlYzFQ4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61QubhNEps8
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sesquicentennial
Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of our beloved state, Kansas joining the Union. Here are some of my sisters forming the post office abbreviation of our state last year:
My family loves Kansas. It isn't perfect, by any means, but it has been perfect for us. When we moved here from Fargo, we were not excited. I remember feeling so frustrated that we were moving. I was an extremely awkward 12-year old middle-schooler and the last thing I wanted to do was have to make a whole new group of friends.
Here is some photographic proof that we really didn't want to leave:
I think Melanie is particularly convincing and Laura looks a lot like Will in the picture, but I digress. :)
Over time, Kansas became our home and now we love it. In some ways it seems funny, because there isn't anything particularly amazing about the Sunflower state, and isn't all that different from the state we left behind. Both are landlocked, have no mountains, get really hot & humid in the summer, really cold & snowy in the winter (Fargo wins for more snow and much colder obviously, but we do get a fair amount of snow in KS too), and are home to no major attractions. In short, they are not popular vacation destinations.
I remember in college, trying to explain to friends why I liked being from Kansas so much, besides the pseudo-alliteration my roommate, also named Carrie, and I utilized when we would meet new people and we would tell them we were Carrie and Carrie from Kansas (which was quite effective, by the way). Many people would ask if was weird to live where there were no mountains or water nearby. I would usually tell them that even though it isn't necessarily the greatest place to vacation, it is a great place to be from, but the question always bothered me a bit. Why should I have to explain why I like being from Kansas? When I think of Kansas I don't think about what it doesn't have.
As an adult some things are easier to see: low cost of living, relatively safe, good schools, lots of god fearing, good people, etc. But I can also better see that my parents did a good job of teaching us to "bloom where we were planted" and to "make the most of things." I certainly don't think my San Diego-born mother ever thought she'd live far from the beach, or that my Dad, from Southeast Idaho dreamed he'd be living far from his family and the mountains. But they did and they made the best of it. I rarely heard them complain about all that Kansas was lacking. Instead we made ourselves right at home in Kansas and now it is a part of us.
These days TJ and I are living in Kansas, in the same city my family moved to 15 years ago, no less. And while it definitely wasn't our original plan, we are glad to be here. We lived in Springfield for 2 1/2 years and we loved it there. We have really enjoyed living here the past year too. I hope that we will continue to be happy here and wherever we end up living over the course of lives. Because really, liking where you live doesn't have to depend on mountains or beaches or cool historical sites or even who lives next door to you. Your home is as good as you make it. So thanks to my parents for teaching me that, and Happy Birthday to Kansas!
My family loves Kansas. It isn't perfect, by any means, but it has been perfect for us. When we moved here from Fargo, we were not excited. I remember feeling so frustrated that we were moving. I was an extremely awkward 12-year old middle-schooler and the last thing I wanted to do was have to make a whole new group of friends.
Here is some photographic proof that we really didn't want to leave:
I think Melanie is particularly convincing and Laura looks a lot like Will in the picture, but I digress. :)
Over time, Kansas became our home and now we love it. In some ways it seems funny, because there isn't anything particularly amazing about the Sunflower state, and isn't all that different from the state we left behind. Both are landlocked, have no mountains, get really hot & humid in the summer, really cold & snowy in the winter (Fargo wins for more snow and much colder obviously, but we do get a fair amount of snow in KS too), and are home to no major attractions. In short, they are not popular vacation destinations.
I remember in college, trying to explain to friends why I liked being from Kansas so much, besides the pseudo-alliteration my roommate, also named Carrie, and I utilized when we would meet new people and we would tell them we were Carrie and Carrie from Kansas (which was quite effective, by the way). Many people would ask if was weird to live where there were no mountains or water nearby. I would usually tell them that even though it isn't necessarily the greatest place to vacation, it is a great place to be from, but the question always bothered me a bit. Why should I have to explain why I like being from Kansas? When I think of Kansas I don't think about what it doesn't have.
As an adult some things are easier to see: low cost of living, relatively safe, good schools, lots of god fearing, good people, etc. But I can also better see that my parents did a good job of teaching us to "bloom where we were planted" and to "make the most of things." I certainly don't think my San Diego-born mother ever thought she'd live far from the beach, or that my Dad, from Southeast Idaho dreamed he'd be living far from his family and the mountains. But they did and they made the best of it. I rarely heard them complain about all that Kansas was lacking. Instead we made ourselves right at home in Kansas and now it is a part of us.
These days TJ and I are living in Kansas, in the same city my family moved to 15 years ago, no less. And while it definitely wasn't our original plan, we are glad to be here. We lived in Springfield for 2 1/2 years and we loved it there. We have really enjoyed living here the past year too. I hope that we will continue to be happy here and wherever we end up living over the course of lives. Because really, liking where you live doesn't have to depend on mountains or beaches or cool historical sites or even who lives next door to you. Your home is as good as you make it. So thanks to my parents for teaching me that, and Happy Birthday to Kansas!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
jill comes to town
Aunt Jillllllllll came to town and all we took was one picture. Well, we have several takes of this same shot, but you know what I mean.
We were too busy doing other fun things to stop and take a picture.
We...
...enjoyed lunch at shawnee mission south and visited with a few of our former teachers.
...got a ticket. This wasn't really fun and wasn't Jill's fault, she just happened to be in the car at the time. And just in case you were wondering, it wasn't a moving violation. It was stupid.
...ate way too much good food.
...made way too much good food (pretzels and cookies and truffles, oh my).
...played lots of games (mainly Ticket to Ride and Harry Potter Clue).
...laughed a lot (it is hard to resist when my dad makes himself such an easy target).
Thanks for coming to Kansas, Jill, and making this cold January weekend a lot less blah. You're probably right, Will decided to start walking so he can visit his out of town peeps.
We were too busy doing other fun things to stop and take a picture.
We...
...enjoyed lunch at shawnee mission south and visited with a few of our former teachers.
...got a ticket. This wasn't really fun and wasn't Jill's fault, she just happened to be in the car at the time. And just in case you were wondering, it wasn't a moving violation. It was stupid.
...ate way too much good food.
...made way too much good food (pretzels and cookies and truffles, oh my).
...played lots of games (mainly Ticket to Ride and Harry Potter Clue).
...laughed a lot (it is hard to resist when my dad makes himself such an easy target).
Thanks for coming to Kansas, Jill, and making this cold January weekend a lot less blah. You're probably right, Will decided to start walking so he can visit his out of town peeps.
Monday, January 24, 2011
steppin' time
Will has been teasing us for awhile now, but today he finally did it. He walked. That's right, he stood up and started to move. I had a hard time catching his walking with the camera, so sadly, at this point, this video is the best I could get.
I guess it goes without saying that he is very pleased with himself (and his parents are very proud of him).
I guess it goes without saying that he is very pleased with himself (and his parents are very proud of him).
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The Willenium
Wow, the past year went by really fast.
I like to think we both looked (and felt!) a lot better this December 17th. I know I was much more relaxed in general.
Since you only turn one once, we decided to celebrate by partying it up Big Willie Style. During the day he received phone calls from various aunts and other admirers. He was so touched by the calls he was basically speechless.
That night we had dinner at Red Robin with my parents, and Will decided to act like a divo (male diva). He only got away with it because it was his birthday, but we made the executive decision that we are probably going to be a to-go only family from now on (not that we eat out that much now to begin with). It is just too much work to keep him happy during dinner, I would much rather fight those battles in the comfort of my own home. After dinner we went to my parent's house where my mom had cake. Will really wanted to touch the cake, but he wasn't too interested in actually eating it.
Making a mess with the frosting and getting his shirt taken off were enough fun for him.
The next day we had a few of Will's friends and their parents over to continue the celebration. The highlight for Will was probably the birthday song. He really loves singing and I'm pretty sure he assumes all singing is for him. On TJ's birthday a week later, he beamed during that birthday song too.
He wasn't really sure what to make of all the gifts. He didn't quite get the whole wrapping paper/bag thing, so I had to help him. He did try to give each gift a thorough inspection with his mouth. He's been working on four new teeth for over a month now--yikes!
Once they were opened he loved them. Everyone was so generous! Between his birthday and Christmas, his toy collection has probably quadrupled. It is so nice having a bit more variety when we read and play with Will.
Here he is playing with the Little Zoomer's race track his Crane aunts gave him. His cousin Sadie got him some extra cars that go with the track too. Will loves cars.
All in all he had a great birthday. For me it has been fun to reflect back on his life. We are so blessed to have Will in our family. He is both good-natured and particular, pleasant and pesky. He almost always wakes up happy, and loves to be a part of everything. He makes the funniest faces and loves anticipation. He is a sweet boy and we love him.
Oh, and Will just wanted to say something to everyone who helped make his birthday great:
I'm pretty sure he refused to smile because he knew that's what I wanted from him.
I like to think we both looked (and felt!) a lot better this December 17th. I know I was much more relaxed in general.Since you only turn one once, we decided to celebrate by partying it up Big Willie Style. During the day he received phone calls from various aunts and other admirers. He was so touched by the calls he was basically speechless.
That night we had dinner at Red Robin with my parents, and Will decided to act like a divo (male diva). He only got away with it because it was his birthday, but we made the executive decision that we are probably going to be a to-go only family from now on (not that we eat out that much now to begin with). It is just too much work to keep him happy during dinner, I would much rather fight those battles in the comfort of my own home. After dinner we went to my parent's house where my mom had cake. Will really wanted to touch the cake, but he wasn't too interested in actually eating it.
Making a mess with the frosting and getting his shirt taken off were enough fun for him.
The next day we had a few of Will's friends and their parents over to continue the celebration. The highlight for Will was probably the birthday song. He really loves singing and I'm pretty sure he assumes all singing is for him. On TJ's birthday a week later, he beamed during that birthday song too.
He wasn't really sure what to make of all the gifts. He didn't quite get the whole wrapping paper/bag thing, so I had to help him. He did try to give each gift a thorough inspection with his mouth. He's been working on four new teeth for over a month now--yikes!
Once they were opened he loved them. Everyone was so generous! Between his birthday and Christmas, his toy collection has probably quadrupled. It is so nice having a bit more variety when we read and play with Will.
Here he is playing with the Little Zoomer's race track his Crane aunts gave him. His cousin Sadie got him some extra cars that go with the track too. Will loves cars.
All in all he had a great birthday. For me it has been fun to reflect back on his life. We are so blessed to have Will in our family. He is both good-natured and particular, pleasant and pesky. He almost always wakes up happy, and loves to be a part of everything. He makes the funniest faces and loves anticipation. He is a sweet boy and we love him.
Oh, and Will just wanted to say something to everyone who helped make his birthday great:
I'm pretty sure he refused to smile because he knew that's what I wanted from him.Snow Day
If anything is worthy of a blog entry, it would be Will's first time playing in the snow.
He was a bit excited at first, then apprehensive, then mad. It was a bit windier than I realized by the time we finally got outside, but we still went because I wasn't about to waste all the time and effort I had put into getting us both snow-ready. Will had a hard time moving under all his layers, so he pretty much stayed in the same place and hit at the snow. He liked it better when he was on my lap. We'll have to try it again when it isn't quite so cold and see what he thinks then.
He was a bit excited at first, then apprehensive, then mad. It was a bit windier than I realized by the time we finally got outside, but we still went because I wasn't about to waste all the time and effort I had put into getting us both snow-ready. Will had a hard time moving under all his layers, so he pretty much stayed in the same place and hit at the snow. He liked it better when he was on my lap. We'll have to try it again when it isn't quite so cold and see what he thinks then.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
December was a crazy month...
...and our blog doesn't have much to show for it. So for now I am going to just list out what we did with the hope that I will post more about some of the activities soon. I have a lot of pictures and more to say about things, but it is a bit overwhelming at the moment. Plus I only have the attention span to do something quick and I want to check something off on my to-do list. Everyone does that sometimes, right? And if I never get around to posting again, at least we have this record.
Okay, here goes:
We tried to dress Will up in this size 9 month Santa suit. It was a bit snug, I think he looked cute, but he will probably wonder why I did that to him someday.
Will seemed to be void of emotion when he met Santa. I was pleased he didn't cry, but I think he was probably just too tired to care.
Will was way more interested in making a mess with the frosting than he was in eating the cake.
First time we are all in the same state at the same time since last Christmas. It was a fun 18 hours (10 of which we were actually awake and together).
Traditional John Family Christmas Eve caroling at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston.
The gorgeous couple.
It would have been nice to know this BEFORE I spent 2 hours packing. When we flew home two days later I spent about 15 minutes stuffing our belongings into our bags.
One last thing, is it too late to send out Christmas cards? I had such good intentions and then the month got away from me. Maybe I could change them to Happy New Years cards or something like that...
Okay, here goes:
December 2010
- Dec 1--Traveled to Omaha, NE, to watch the BYU Cougars beat the Creighton Blue Jays.
- Dec 4 & 5--Game nights and holiday parties. Too much good food.
We tried to dress Will up in this size 9 month Santa suit. It was a bit snug, I think he looked cute, but he will probably wonder why I did that to him someday.- Dec 6-10--Pretty much spent every waking moment I wasn't taking care of Will working on the final project for my class. There is a reason my professor warned us to spread the work out over the course of the semester. The project was really time consuming. I probably averaged 5 1/2 hours of sleep Monday and Tuesday night and Wednesday and Thursday I went to bed after 3am. Yuck.
- Dec 10--Final project due. Cut things a little too close for comfort, but I passed the class, got an A on my project and that's all that matters, right? Thanks to TJ for helping me figure out how to get my pages to number correctly in my sleep deprived state.
- Dec 11--Ward Christmas Party. The last hurrah for the activities committee.
Will seemed to be void of emotion when he met Santa. I was pleased he didn't cry, but I think he was probably just too tired to care.- Dec 13&14--Tony in DC for work.
- Dec 17--Big Willy turns one.
Will was way more interested in making a mess with the frosting than he was in eating the cake.- Dec 18--Birthday party for Will, BYU bowl game, and sister Melanie arrives home for the holidays.
- Dec 20--Will + 1 year check up and shots = one year old in a very bad mood. Attempt to clean house, do lots of laundry, and prepare for trip to Boston while appeasing child who cannot be pleased.
- Dec 21--Sisters Jill & Emily arrive home for the holidays.
First time we are all in the same state at the same time since last Christmas. It was a fun 18 hours (10 of which we were actually awake and together).- Dec 22--Fly to Boston. Little sister, Melanie's 21st bday. I don't feel like it has been that long since I turned 21.
- Dec 23-25--Christmas Festivities with John Family.
Traditional John Family Christmas Eve caroling at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston.- Dec 26&27--Wedding preparations with John Family.
- Dec 28--Wedding festivities for Hillary and Ben.
The gorgeous couple.- Dec 29--TJ's 30th bday and our scheduled flight home. Flight was canceled, but we didn't find out until after we got to the airport--after checking the flight status multiple times throughout the day.
It would have been nice to know this BEFORE I spent 2 hours packing. When we flew home two days later I spent about 15 minutes stuffing our belongings into our bags.- Dec 30--Bonus day in Boston, but sad to miss my mom's bday celebrations in OP. Enjoyed some Friendly's ice cream sundaes and very memorable games of Apples to Apples and Catchphrase.
- Dec 31--Quiet day with John's before catching evening flight back home. If you ever want to travel when there are absolutely NO lines in security, fly after 6pm on New Year's Eve. We arrived home a little after 10pm and barely made it up til 12.
One last thing, is it too late to send out Christmas cards? I had such good intentions and then the month got away from me. Maybe I could change them to Happy New Years cards or something like that...
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