I caulked the tub today.

I know.... so exciting, right? Well, it left me with a sense of accomplishment and pride, so I thought I'd share.

That, and it's the only remotely exciting thing I've done lately.

Haircut Update

Well, Ben wasn't very happy, but I think he's over it. He admitted last night that it doesn't look tooooo bad. He mentioned that it makes Asher look more like Evan. Don't know if that's good or bad! :)

Asher's First Haircut!

It seems to be common for one parent to think a child needs a haircut, and the other to want to delay it as long as possible. In my experience, the mother is usually the one who can't bear to cut off the precious locks of baby hair, while the father is getting upset that his little boy is starting to look like a girl. In our house, however, it is completely the other way around! I've been bugging Ben to let me cut Asher's hair for at least a month now, but he always says "no way!"

Yesterday, though, as he was holding Asher, he said the words I've been longing to hear. "Hmmm... maybe you do need a haircut."

And that was all I needed.

Of course I forgot to take a "before" picture. DUH. But here is the most recent picture of Asher's stringy long hair before the trimming.


Here he is halfway through the haircut.


Bribery.


And here is my handsome, clean-cut boy after the haircut.






Aaaahhhhhh.... much better.

Now we just have to wait until Daddy comes home to see what he thinks. We had the same situation with Evan, and after I was done, Ben said, "It does look better." Hopefully we will have the same reaction this time! If not, it will grow back. :)

Evan's ABC Book

I've been working on this book for a while now. It was supposed to be a birthday present for him, but I didn't finish it until just last night. I'm really happy with how it turned out, so I thought I'd share!
Click on it and then click "view as slideshow".

Our Love Story

Meggan "tagged" me, so here we go!

How did you meet your spouse? Ben and I met at BYU. We had two classes together: American Heritage and Physical Science. He says he noticed me in our American Heritage class because he thought I was cute, which is flattering because it was a class of about 800 students! He didn’t get the courage to talk to me until one day when I was sitting behind him. I dropped my pen under his chair and had to ask him to pick it up. And no, I didn’t do it on purpose.

Where did you go on your first date? We got Subway sandwiches for lunch and took them to the park to eat them. Ben says I talked a lot. I guess I was nervous. When this question comes up, Ben likes to mention that he took me to lunch instead of dinner because I already had a date with another guy that night.

How long have you been together? Our first date was in the fall of 2002. We were officially “together” by February of ’03. We got engaged on April 4^th and then were married on August 2, 2003.

Who eats more? ME! Hands down. Ben is a picky eater, but I LOVE food. :)

Who said I love you first? Ben did, but I had to DRAAAAAG it out of him. He was thinking it when I happened to ask him what he was thinking. He wouldn’t tell me at first, but he eventually caved. I think it was Valentine’s Day.

Who is taller? Ben. He’s 6 feet tall. I’m only 5’6”.

Who sings better? Probably Ben. We both sang in high school, but I think Ben is probably better.

Who is smarter? We are different kinds of smart. I got really good grades in school, but Ben reads a lot and knows a lot of things about history and politics. Not to mention, he’s had WAAAYYY more schooling than me at this point.

Who does the laundry? Who does dishes? Who cooks dinner? Who pays the bills? That would be me. Ben is really busy with school, homework, studying, and working part time, so I do most of the “chores”. Not to mention, my standard of cleanliness is much higher than his. :) As far as the bills go, the organizational skills that come from the “type a” part of my personality make me much better at keeping track of our money than Ben would be.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Ben. I’m on the left side because it’s next to the door. Not only do I get up with the kids in the night but, but I have to go to the bathroom more often.

Who mows the lawn? Technically, this question should read “Who weed whacks the lawn?” That would be Ben. It just seems like a manly chore, so I leave it up to him.

Who drives when you are together? Ben does. He can’t stand to sit in the passenger seat while I drive. I don’t know why… I’m not a bad driver. Ben holds my speeding ticket over my head though, even though that’s the only time in my life I’ve ever even been pulled over.

Who is more stubborn? Me. We are both stubborn, but I think I’m probably more stubborn than he is.

Who is the first to admit that they are wrong? The answer should be obvious after the last one, but it’s Ben. Although, I don’t know if he actually admits he’s wrong, but he’s usually the first to say sorry. It’s my stubbornness. Or maybe I’m just always right? ;)

Who's parents do you see the most? We don’t see any of our family very often. When we make a trip out, we try to spend a pretty equal amount of time with both sets of parents. We’ve gone on a couple trips with my family, though, so if I had to pick, I’d say mine.

Who kissed who first? It was kind of a mutual thing. Ever seen the movie “Hitch”? I went the 90% and he came the other 10%. :) Well, I’d say it was more like 60/40, but whatever.

Who proposed? Ben. (Although, he likes to tell people I did.) We went to do baptisms at the Mt. Timpanogos temple and afterwards, he suggested we walk around the temple grounds. He got on one knee behind the temple and proposed. I remember it was snowing just a little…. and Ben didn’t stay on the cold ground very long. :)

The cutest part of our engagement story is the part where Ben asked my Dad’s permission. He didn’t want me to know he was doing it, so after hanging out with me late Saturday night, he drove 5 hours in the middle of the night up to my parents’ house to talk to my dad just before they had to leave for church at 8 am. He had a little 20 minute chat with my Dad (who he’d NEVER met before) and then drove the 5 hours back home in time to go to church with me in the afternoon.

Who is more sensitive? I am. I’m a girl! Ben likes to tell me that when I cry during an argument, it’s cheating.

Who has more friends? We probably have about the same. I just have more time to hang out with mine.

Who has more siblings? Ben for sure. He has 9 brothers and sisters. I only have 4.

Who wears the pants of the family? Ben. He’s the priesthood holder and the breadwinner. I like it that way.

The screech

Asher has perfected the "my brother is bugging me" screech that all parents with more than one kid know and hate. Not that I'm an expert at having more than one kid, but I remember my siblings doing it, and my parents hating it. I guess this payback for my years of causing my brothers to screech.

In case any of you don't know what I'm talking about, here is an example (Sorry it's sideways. I have to remember not to turn my camera vertical when I take videos!):


To get the full effect, you have to play it over and over again. About 25 times should be enough.

Party Time!

We had Evan's birthday party at our house on Thursday night. It wasn't Chuck E. Cheese, but I think it was still a success!

Evan's favorite part of his birthday party was the cake. He was old enough this year to pick out his own cake and party plates and things (which Mom thought was really fun!). He chose this cake because of the helicopter.














It took him about 6 tries to blow out the three candles. Dad finally had to help him with the last one.














The cake tasted good, too! YUM!
















Opening presents was also exciting. He got some great stuff!


































He went to bed tired and happy, so I think he had a great time at his birthday party. Mom is just glad it's all over!