Congratulations?

Boy has it been too long and boy do I really miss getting life down in writing. It's true, the 3rd child throws your entire world upside down. You are thrown for what feels like a never ending loop. It feels like I will never catch up on anything and before I know it, the week is to an end. By the end of the day, I have so much that still needs done but I have no energy to accomplish it. Therefore nothing gets done. It feels never ending. And all within the 3 short months of having Trenton, Gunnar is home for the summer and Brecken has stopped taking regular consistent naps. It makes for some really long days. One of the things that I do regret is writing about Trenton's birth while I was in the hospital like I did with Brecken. I'll have to get that a little later.

What has been on my mind lately is what happened on Sunday. Jeff was called into the Bishopric as the 2nd Counselor. Being called or having the calling is not really what I want to focus on. I sensed for years that we would find ourselves here, so it was no surprise to me but once the call is actually made, it's a really humbling thing. I know it will bring great blessings to our family but it will be some hard times too. I'm going to be a widow in Sacrament meeting with 3 young BOYS for who knows how long. Should be great entertainment for our ward. The Relief Society President has already asked me if they need to make a special assignment to someone to help me out. haha. We'll give it a few weeks and see how it goes...

What I really wanted to talk about is other's reactions to calling like this. It's a little strange being on the other end of things (even as a wife to the person called). The Bishop remained the same but the counselors were changed only. After Sacrament, so many people were telling me congratulations for the calling Jeff just received. It was a little strange. To me, congratulations implies that we ran for some sort of position or office and won. Or that the calling was more important than any other calling (I didn't get highly congratulated for becoming a primary teacher). It was just weird and to congratulate me? I know that people most likely didn't know what to say. Many did tell Jeff that he would do a great job, or they were excited to work with him. Those are far more appropriate. When the stake president extended the call, Jeff asked how appropriate it was to have family come. We've seen some where so many family members showed up to support that it was incredibly obvious what was happening and who was getting the call. He mentioned that some people have family come and some choose not to. It's really up to us. But he did say that so many people look up to Bishopric members, almost too much, for teaching/direction/anything really, when he wished that members would put that amount of energy into seeking out that same direction from their Relief Society presidents or Elder's Quorum Presidents. Those auxillary leaders are there to also guide and direct those that they are responsible for and to take some of that load off of the Bishopric to allow them to focus on their many other duties. Those in the Bishopric hold an extremely important calling however, sometimes it almost appears that they are viewed more on a pedestal type status. They are also normal human beings. They are just like you and I. It's just been interesting being on this side of things with Jeff in leadership positions for years and now a Bishopric.

One of the fun things about being the wife of a bishopric member is that there are times when I am included in things. For example, the Young Women of the ward are having girls camp next week and the bishopric and their wives are invited to attend one of the nights. The bishopric is in charge of an activity and then a devotional type setting. The girl in me kicked in and I told Jeff that they have to bring something for the girls. Pinterest pulled through and I found these Personal Progress holders where they can keep all of their books together. I am excited to make them for the girls for the bishopric to pass out. I'm excited to go. We are taking Trenton but Mindy will be with the other two boys. We will be home the same night.

I'm excited for this opportunity for our family and Jeff. Trenton is 3 months, Brecken is just shy of 3 years and Gunnar is 7 years old when Jeff got called. It will be a learning and growing experience for all of us. Tomorrow will be my first Sunday alone and Jeff's Sunday to conduct Sacrament meeting. Wish us all luck!

Fall Is All Around Us

Fall marks leaf season for us. We have lots of trees which are awesome but produce lots of leaves in the fall. Many people look at our leaves and tell us that they are so glad that they do not have trees/leaves but they sure are missing out the rest of the year. The shade that it provides is priceless. Our energy bill is SO low because of them.

One of our front yard leaves drops so early. I love it! And the boys were so thrilled to help Jeff rake them up and get them off the grass. Like super excited! I was happy to stay inside by myself. Here's to many more days of leave raking as the leaves continue to fall.

Family of Boys

When May rolls around, it is in no way a bad thing that I have all boys. Because I get to ship them all off to the Fathers and Sons Campout every year. Yeah for me...yeah for me! The boys were so excited. They were heading up with some friends in the ward so that made it doubly exciting. The weather was chilly but thankfully didn't rain. Brecken I guess cried throughout the night like he normally does at home (weird kid) but in the mountains where everyone was in tents with no solid walls. Sorry ward members and mountain wildlife. Gunnar slept like a rock like he normally does but I am sure he was super warm with his new North Face kids sleeping bag he got for his birthday. They had fun around the campfire and came home filthy as can be.

What did I do? I had a Paparazzi open house that night clear out on the outskirts of Nampa. Like way out there in the boonies at a beautiful winery. So far out there that I did not have phone reception and seriously freaked out that I would not be able to get a hold of the hostess when I could not find her house. I briefly remember her text with more detailed instructions before I got that far out but was SO turned around at that point. Thankfully some farmer stopped his tractor and tried to help, flagged down another local farmer behind me and got things straight. The open house was fun, the scenery was beautiful and then I headed home. It really was not that bad as I headed home. I talked to Mindy on the way home, because it seriously was that funny, was excited to eat as many Doritos that I wanted from the bag the boys accidentally left home, and ate a bunch of Oreos too that I was thrilled about. I didn't have to share and could get as full as I wanted. That is how I spend my Fathers and Sons Campout weekends.

Halloween 2011

A few days before Halloween, I signed up to be a vendor at a Trunk or Treat So People Can Eat event. A big local coupon blogger in our area and a community college teamed up to collect canned food for the food bank as admission and provide lots of vendors handing out candy and information along with food vendors, emergency vehicles/personnel there and kids inflatables. While I manned my trunk, Jeff took the kids around. It was SO much fun and the weather wasn't too bad. A little cold but doable.
Gunnar wanted to be a mechanic. I found these super cute overalls at Savers with the half price colored tag on it in his size. He loves them and uses them a lot when he goes over to Grandpa's to help him work on things. Sadly they are getting too small and hard to find. Brecken was a frog. Same costume Gunnar wore at this age. They look quite different in the same costume.

Amazingly, I had several people call me for Paparazzi open houses from this event. It was free to be in and worth it. I had a great time and so did the boys. I will definitely be there next year.

We always head to the court house on Halloween to trick or treat. We go from department to department for candy. The areas are all decorated and we have a lot of fun. Plus Jeff knows several people over there so they love to see what the boys look like.I can't wait until one day Heidi doesn't have to work a lot or Cami is old enough to walk on her own with Brecken and I can take her with us. She would love it.

Jeff always dresses up every year and the last couple of years have been pretty extreme. The ladies hardly recognize him. This year he must have looked too normal because the reaction wasn't as big.
That night, we headed out with our friend's the Sartell's sans Jared. April and Paige joined us and we had a lot of fun. We went further than we thought we ever would. We went to so many houses and the kids kept going and going. Paige and Gunnar are super buddies. They are about a year and a half apart but adore each other. They are always talking about how each other is their best friend. If one day 20 years down the road, they decided to reconnect and get married. We would be thrilled. We love these guys. It's always awesome when you can find those friends that you connect with. It's doubly awesome that they literally live 3 minutes around the corner, we go to church together, our kids are close in age, Jeff and Jared work together and also serve the Young Men's in church together and we just plain love doing stuff with them all of the time. We are blessed to have them in our lives. Oh yes, and Gunnar's costume is different. He wanted to be a safari person...or bug collector or...whatever he wanted to be. Gone are the days that I get to pick out that perfect costume for him.

Teetering On the Edge

Teetering On the Edge

Zeitgeist Take 2

Jeff ran the Zeitgeist half marathon this year again at the beginning of November. He never practiced the entire thing this year or ran as much as he did before to prepare. Again he was ready to do it and the rest of us were ready to kill time. I was thinking ahead and we brought Gunnar's bike and the stroller and the dog...it felt like the list of things went on and on. Jeff was bummed because I told him that I was not going to meet him half way. There was no way I was going to load everyone and everything up and then unload again.


The thing is you get there early so you can stretch and walk around. These things really are interesting people watching. The three of us had to kill tons of time so we walked around this big sidewalk loop. Gunnar had a blast riding his bike and running in the field. My ultimate goal was to get this kid tired. Brecken surprisingly took his nap during the entire thing in the stroller. Diesel was just super happy to be out.

I knew what Jeff's time was last year so I knew about when he would be coming in. We waited and waited. Then Gunnar got a little bored. I didn't see Jeff coming down the hill so we went up the sidewalk just a little. All of a sudden I hear Kristi! What?!! I totally missed it. I was so ticked. So we don't have a coming into the finish line picture. I discovered it is not easy keeping an eye out for a runner, entertaining a 4 year old, keeping a baby quiet, and corraling a dog.

Gunnar kept telling Jeff that he won the race. It was pretty cute. The weather was awesome. It sprinkled barely for a brief moment but other than that we could not have asked for better weather. It is always fun to watch Jeff complete these things.

Random Life Pictures

I love these guys. All three of them.

Irena's

A while back as I was in Meridian, I discovered a European food store and decided to head in. They had so many interesting things including herring that just looked gross. I was after two things though. Food that Jeff ate on his mission. I did find the Russian feta cheese stuff and decided to buy some on my second time in. I love feta and had to give it a try but that stuff was so salty. I hardly think things are too salty, sweet, ... but this stuff was salty. Jeff was in love though and that price, he better enjoy it. The other thing that I was on the hunt for was Bulgarian yogurt stuff. The guy told me that they carry it, don't get it in often, and when they do it sells really fast. Still waiting to get my hands on that. Around Easter my dad bought a German chocolate Easter egg for Gunnar and the chocolate was soooo good. We will definately be back to try more.

This Better Be The Last

Gunnar went to sleep Sunday and threw up for the very first time in his entire little life that night in bed. It was so scary for him. Poor thing. We continue the lovely cycle for the next few hours until it was all out of his system and he went to sleep. It's actually nice having him older and getting sick like this for the very first time. He told me every single time he needed to go the bathroom and understood what the bucket was for. He was such a good boy. He is still on the mend. Was doing much better the next day but still tired with little appetite. I had my mom stop by and sit with him while I ran to the store for Pedialyte. Gunnar thought that was great. I also told him that he needed to eat bananas to help his bum and tummy get better. Instead he told me that he could stick the banana in his bum and that would help it. Four year old boys are so gross.

Jeff is now sick with the same thing this morning. This is all so gross. However I am thankful that we each experienced it at different times. I can't even imagine if Jeff and I were both sick at the same time, like our friend's experienced. Our family is never sick but apparently when it hits, it hits us hard.

Has anyone else heard of the BRAT diet when you are sick? I totally thought this was common knowledge until I was talking to Mindy and she assumed this was some special diet that I made up. My visiting teacher from church was also here this week and she had never heard of it either. It stands for Bananas, Rice, Apples (or applesauce), and Toast. You only start these things after all throwing up is done, about 6-12 hours after the first (and an all liquid diet to prevent dehydration). This will help calm the tummy and stop the diarrhea. Totally works.

Nine Years and More To Go

This last Wednesday, Jeff and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. Time really does fly and it really does not feel like it has been that many. We have had tons of fun along the way as well as many challenges that make our relationship that much stronger. I am thankful for Jeff. He is a super hard worker, he is a great dad, he is a great husband.

Heidi was kind enough to take Gunnar that night so we could do who knows what. We decided to head to Wingers. I love Wingers. I love the Wingers sauce. From working there in high school, I have been conditioned to love the sauce and crave it. It has been a while since I'd been. The best part was that I had a coupon. Cheesy I know but it makes it that much better. They also had all you can eat wings. So yummy. So we got a burger for $5, split it and then split the all you can eat wings as they came out. We ate a lot of them. The best part was that the entire meal came to $20 even with the tip included. Really!? We never, ever go out to eat, and spend that little and still feel satisfied. Jeff and I can easily go to Red Robin and blow $40. That is why we haven't been there for a while. Anyway, we were thrilled. We then headed to the cheap theater to see Love Happens. We really didn't have anything in mind and there was nothing that looked interesting at Edwards (with spendy tickets anyway), so we saw that Love Happens was starting in 20 minutes and headed in.

We had a fun, no plans night and enjoyed ourselves. So here is to many, many more years of fun.

Zeitgeist Half Marathon

Before all of you think that I am the one running the half marathon...keep dreaming. Like no way. Not in a million years. I am more of a sprinter type girl, or at least used to be. Last Saturday, Jeff ran his first ever, and I have a feeling not his last, half marathon. He was pumped and excited and ready to go. We go there early for packet pickup and realized that it was a georgous day. Great day for a run. There were a lot of people out for this. It was funny because the 10 or so portapotties were sporting looooong lines when the race started. Thankfully the race starts when you cross the starting line and the thing on your shoes starts keeping track of your time.



Gunnar and I decided to kill time and meet Jeff and mile 11. While we waited we played in weeds in a field. In the middle of that field, Gunnar informed me that he needed to go the bathroom, not just #1. So that was his first experience pooing in nature.


Jeff finished strong. He completed the half marathon in 2:17:23. That is awesome. We left about an hour later and people were still finishing. Jeff said that there were a lot of walkers. I told him that if I ever ran something like that, I would make sure that I could at least run most of it. I would definately finish running unlike those that walked the last few feet across the finish line.


I am so proud of Jeff. Something that I wouldn't do but this is totally his think. Gunnar and I had a blast cheering on all of the other runners. Watching their different running styles was quite interesting too.
Jeff hopes to do the Sawtooth Relay next year. He needs to get a team together of several people. Each person runs 2 5-mile runs. Sounds like tons of fun near Sun Valley. Are you interested or know someone that might. Let us know!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day dad! I sure was not on top of this and didn't get anything sent. However mom was and got a card out to you in the mail. That was pretty impressive. Even when I addressed it and got it in the mail, it still did not occur to me that I could do the same. Boy am I lame. Anyway, I think about you all of the time and really appreciate your phone calls. I love talking to you on the phone and telling you all of the funny things Gunnar says. And there are lots of those. Gunnar talks about you all of the time. I am sure that he is happy to see you home in a couple of months. He misses his papa time. He is probably so sick of all of us girls for entertainment. Anyway, we love and miss you. Can't wait to see you soon.

We sure appreciate Jeff and his hard work for our family. He works really hard to make what we do possible. He is also so fun. He definately brings a different fun into our family than I do. He does boy stuff with Gunnar which is something that I can't get right no matter how hard I try. We sure love you!

Folliculitis

Yesterday Jeff stands at my side of the bed around 7:30am stating that he believes that he might have chicken pox. What?! He seriously can't remember or doesn't know whether he had it as a kid. He has itchy little (I mean some of these were pretty little) red bumps on his body that itched. He didn't have any on his face. He told me that they had been itching since last Tuesday. I was not thrilled if it really was chicken pox. However, they didn't look like what I remember chicken pox looking like. They were that big. I remember them big. So we didn't go to church because we didn't know what it was for sure. We didn't want to infect people if it was contagious in any way. Jeff called the doc in the box that is now in the Walmart nearby and the guy that answered the phone actually suggested waiting to go to our normal doctor on Monday. So jeff waited today to only be told that he couldn't get in but could go to their urgent care. After a long wait, Jeff was seen and told that he has folliculitis. He was told that it is something very common in the winter time, more common in men and not that bad afterall. Antibiotics should cure it right up.

How Time Flies

Yesterday Jeff and I celebrated 8 years of being married. Okay so we didn't really celebrate but we plan on doing so this Friday. I can't believe that it has already been 8 years. That is just so crazy. Only two more years before we hit 10 years. We are well past middle before hitting that milestone. The past years have definately gone by quickly. Amazing how time works. The past years have been great. We have been blessed in so many ways. I am thankful for Jeff and his hard work providing for our family. For his dedication to finish college and his eye for opportunities that he enjoys. I am blessed to have a faithful preisthood leader in my home. For his dedication to serving others. He is such a great dad to Gunnar. Gunnar loves him to no end. I just don't play the same way. I am thankful to be married to him. Here's to eternity together.

Happy Birthday and a 10K

Saturday was Jeff's 31st birthday. To be honest, we did not have a bunch of plans that day as far as celebrating the birthday. However we had lots of plans to just get things done, etc. It all started at 9am when Jeff signed up for the Indian Creek Festival's 10k. Jeff runs twice each week in the morning with two guys (Travis and Rob) that we go to church with. They all decided that they were going to run this. I was so excited for Jeff. He had not run this long since high school. Ann, Travis' wife, was running the 5k. We are so excited for both of them as they are having twins in April! This is her last hoorah as far as exercise goes before the babies. She then plans to run a marathon next October. She is very ambitious. The crowd of runners just milled around and then... the race was on. Once the gun went of and they were gone, Gunnar had a little melt down because Jeff was gone. So we headed towards the rest of the Festival's events to kill about a half hour before Ann trickled in. The fun part about this festival is that it is spread out in the downtown core of Caldwell within about a 3x3 city block. TONS of old cars are spread out amongst the booths, entertainment and food. It is really fun. As Gunnar and I were checking out the cars, I took a picture of this one because it reminded me of something in Hawaii with a surf board on top. I loved it. We then started heading back to the finish line. Sadly we missed Ann cross the finish line by minutes. About a half hour later the guys started trickling in. Jeff... Travis... Rob...

Rob was pressured to run the 10k with the others. He really did not want to so we were really proud of him for finishing as well as he did. He is sticking to the 5k after this.

We had my mom, Jeff's mom and brother there as support. It was a lot of fun. Jeff's mom took Gunnar to get a toy car. On they way back, he had his face painted. He loves getting his face painted. We also quickly stopped by the jumpy houses.

After the fun, Jeff needed to finish a tile job for our friends and then we headed to Stake Conference for church. Afterwards he had a little party with my family for him. I completely forgot to get pictures but it waas fun. My parents got him an Ipod which he is thrilled with. He would always borrow my mom's and listening to Josh Groban snowboarding just didn't work. He also got a gift card for Itunes. My little sister recently got back from her honeymoon to Hawaii so they bought him specialty cookies and pancake mix. They also bought coconut syrup which sounds SO good. Unfortunately they had it on a carry on and it got confinscated. They just flat out forgot about the rules. Bummer.

Sunday we headed over to Jeff's mom's house for a party. Jeff's little brother's birthday is the 17th so they celebrated together. It was a busy fun weekend and boy are we glad that it is over.

I am thankful for Jeff and the hard work that he puts into our family. He is such a nice, kind guy who is willing to help out anyone in need. He is such a fantastic dad and boy does Gunnar love him. Happy Birthday Jeff!

Saving Gas

Jeff works soooo close to home. He has started riding his bike to work. He found out that it takes the exact same amount of time to get there, then if he was in a car. He has been getting a great workout and saving gas money. How great is that. I guess the winter time will be different but for the time being, it is great.