Our future babies

On Friday night we had our good friends Matt and Hillary Romney over for a belated St. Patrick's Day dinner.

After we had our fill of root beer and corned beef & cabbage, we decided to wind down in the front room. We got to talking about kids and Mrs. Romney showed us a little game that is supposed to predict how many kids you are going to have along with each child's gender. It is incredibly scientific process and 100% accurate. (Okay I lied about that, it involves a piece of string and a wedding ring.)

She tells me that if it turns in a circle it's a girl, if it moves side to side it's a boy. When the ring goes still, you are done having babies. When Mr. and Mrs. Romney did the test they both had the same number of kids and the same gender! Kinda spookey, but I guess we won't actually know if it was accurate till they have 5 kids. We repeated this test with my Mom and it was 100% accurate (2 boys and a girl). Brett's Mom did the test once at a party and it was right on for their 6 children. It was also right for every other woman in the room.

So I take off my ring and string the piece of yarn through it. Mrs. Romney asks me to hold my left hand straight out with my palm up and my thumb out. Taking the piece of string with the ring in the middle she "dips" the ring three times between my thumb and my pointer finger. Then she holds the string above my palm and we analyze the way it moves.

It moves in a circle which means that child #1 is a GIRL

She stops the ring and makes it still. We go for round two.

She dips the ring "1... 2.... 3..." this time the ring goes side to side. Child #2 is a BOY!

"1...2....3" Child # 3 is a DAUGHTER

"1...2....3" Child #4 is a SON

Onto the next child. "1...2...3..." We watch the ring go side to side then suddenly switch and go to a circle. Hillary gets giddy as she says, "I think that means you'll have twins!"

So pregnancy #5 = TWINS

(Is it totally odd that I got really excited and was smiling like a fool at this point?)

Hillary goes to dip the ring again... "1....2....3..."

She holds it up to my palm and it doesn't move. Looks like we'll stop at 6.

Now it's Brett's turn ... The moment of truth

1...2....3 GIRL
1...2...3 BOY
1...2...3 DAUGHTER
1...2...3 SON
1...2...3 And this time, the ring goes instantly from a circle to side to side. TWINS AGAIN!!!

I was seriously giddy, even though this is a complete wives tale. I was so excited. I was smiling and imagining all of their cute little faces. I was imagining that our oldest daughter would play house with the younger daughter and force one of their brothers to be "daddy". Even though I know this test isn't scientific I was just so happy. Maybe it was just because I felt like I was getting to know my kids even though I don't know them at all yet.

There are times when I wish Brett and I could just get a little sneak peak 10 years into the future so I could see what they all look like, find out who they are, and hug them. I dream about our son ALL the time. But he never tells me his name. Which is a shame because I know in my dream that his name rocks... but when I wake up I never remember it.

Ah well. This blog post isn't to say that I know for sure how many kids I am going to have and in what order, but mostly to say that I just can't wait to meet them. Whether we have all girls or all boys, or five boys and one girl, it doesn't really matter. What will matter is that they will be here and I'll be able to hug them all goodnight.

So hey, you babies in heaven. I love you. Night night, and I'll be hugging each of you soon.

Everyone said the first year would be the hardest...

Brett and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary on December 19th, sorry this took so long to post!

Everyone said the first year would be the hardest.

I hope they're right.

Not because this past year was a struggle, but because it was heaven. If the worst is over, then I'd love to see what is to come.

It's not that everything has been perfect, we've had our fair share of trials, but I find that Brett and I are very well suited for married life.

As the babies of our families (Brett being the youngest in his family to marry) I think some looked at our young marriage as a juvenile dream based on unrealistic ideas about marriage and love. I think some even secretly hoped that the big bad world of marriage would blow up in our faces so that they could say, "I told you so." I can't even begin to count the number of times someone (sometimes a stranger) would ask us how long we'd been married in reaction to our comments on the joys of marriage or our cuddly nature. No matter how long we'd been married the person would say, "Oh just you wait till you hit the ____ month mark. Then you'll see." It always seemed to be the next month, so Brett and I would wait for the 3 month mark, 4 month mark, 8 month mark. It seemed to be a ticking time bomb that still has yet to explode. I'm not saying that I think marriage is easy, every marriage has its struggles, but it is so beyond worth it. Marriage isn't a "ball and chain." Quite the contrary, marriage is the greatest blessing in my life and the funnest adventure.

I was terrified of marriage as a young girl. Sure I was still a hopeless romantic and dreamed of the white dress, who the man would be, and what my kids would look like one day. Like any other little girl, I spun the stem off the top of the apple, counting the letters "A, B, C..." to find out the first letter of the name of the man I would marry. But having grown up in a single home, I had a very tough time thinking about the actual specifics of marriage. The idea of two partners that give and take and work together was something that was a bit foreign to me. My mother raised me on her own, and the only example of a marriage I had was my dad and step-mom who I only saw on occasional trips to Idaho. That was one of the only examples I really had in my life, and sadly a week after Brett and I announced our engagement I received news that that marriage too was ending in a divorce. I guess divorce is what has always made me terrified of marriage. In a way, I think people avoid things that have hurt them.


But I was lucky to have an amazing example in my life, my mother, who always taught me wonderful lessons from mistakes. She always stressed the importance of learning a lesson after we made a mistake and she also taught us lessons from her life. She has always been incredibly open with me about her marriage to my dad and what went wrong. Though it is hard to hear sometimes, I appreciate her advice and openness. She also always reminded me that although her marriage didn't work out, I have the power to make mine successful. I've heard all the studies saying that children of divorced parents are "at risk" for getting a divorce and all other kinds of challenges. But my mom always reminded us that we had control over our lives and the power to make it what we want. I feel like because of all these lessons from my mother I entered my marriage with realistic expectations and I was already armed with life lessons I had learned from her.



Brett made me brave. Even before he left on his mission I could easily imagine being married to him, growing old with him, and taking on the challenges of life together. And I so looked forward to it. Brett's two year mission strengthened our relationship because we had to support and love one another up from thousands of miles apart. Our relationship survived many trials and challenges that those two years apart brought us. And we are stronger for it.

When Brett got back and we realized quickly that this was it we were both a bit scared. Though we were both thrilled we had found one another, marriage was an intimidating thing for two 21 year olds. But we knew it was all going to work out and that we would begin this amazing adventure together. Though I didn't have a solid example of a marriage "gone right," I did have Brett and our united faith that we were meant to be together and that we could work through anything. As time went by I realized all the amazing examples of marriage I did have, like Brett's parents Cliff and Lynne, and our siblings Eric and Kelly, Brian and Angie, Lars and Kera, Becca and Matt, James and Tiffany, Mike and Katie, and Denise and Jason. We also had so much support from family and friends who had been rooting for us for years.

Where I am weak, Brett is strong, and vice-versa... We work so well together. Brett has taught me that I don't have to do everything on my own. And I've taught him to dance. Marriage has been a fun adventure and it's been so incredible to have my best-friend and love with me day in day out. We strengthen one another and lift each other up. We help one another through the tough times and celebrate the good times.

More than anything, I've loved all the little things of marriage: the shared toothbrush holder, getting tucked in, picking up milk and bread from the grocery store, giving up the last cookie, decorating our Christmas tree, writing little love notes, still Facebook stalking each other when we live in the same home, holding hands in the car, arguing over who's turn it is to turn out the light... etc.



And I hope that we are still that nauseating snugly couple years from now, still being asked if we are newlyweds...

Married life in 4 minutes

This is a clip from Pixar's most recent film Up. If you haven't seen up yet I highly recommend that you do. It is a sweet and beautiful piece of art, an absolute masterpiece about love, life, and adventure.

This clip is about Ellie and Carl, summarizing their life together as man and wife. It's amazing that in 4 minutes, with no dialogue, that the Pixar team was able to portray the ups and downs of a life-long marriage. I laugh and cry every time I watch it.

What a wonderful tribute to love.

Be sure to watch both clips. :)



After Ellie passes away, Carl flies to Paradise Falls by attaching thousands of balloons to his house. After quite the adventure, he finally arrives to the waterfall that he and Ellie always wanted to go to together. Once there, he feels alone and misses Ellie more than ever. He sadly looks at her childhood "Adventure book" saddened that she died before they could have this adventure together. Watch to see what he finds in the book...

Things, people, and places I miss

This is the first weekend that Brett and I will be apart since we tied the knot... and to be quite honest... it sucks. Brett is traveling with his team this weekend to New Mexico for a big track invitational. While I am really excited for him, I am also being totally selfish and wishing he could just be with me. I'm sure being apart will be easier when we are both super busy competing at meets... at least I hope so.

He's been gone for a little over an hour and a half and I am already antsy for him to come home. Anyway, sitting here missing him got me thinking about the all the things I miss. I am a big fan of lists, so here comes a list of things I miss.

1. Brett



I know I know, I spent 2 years missing him so I should be used to it by now... But after spending every spare moment together for a month, even a few hours apart feels like an eternity. The things I miss in particular about Brett are his dimples, his sweet kisses, his calm and reassuring voice, and his gentle protecting arms. While he is gone I don't know how I am going to be able to fall asleep without him next to me. I am also going to miss teasing him and making him laugh so hard he cries.

2. Chelsey Kaplar



Chelsey Kaplar is my best friend, teammate, and was my roomie for most of college. I still see her almost everyday for track, but it's just not the same. Chelsey has the most infectious laugh and genuinely loves life. We have one of those relationships where we can meet eyes and know exactly what the other person is thinking. It can make for some awkward moments for other people, because no one can really follow our humor. I miss our dance parties, staying up late talking, Chelsey's waffles w/ peanut butter, sledding at 3 am in trash cans, teasing her for her hour long showers, and "just lookin' at ya." Marriage is the shiz, but I still really miss my roomie.

3. Camp Starlight

So for those of you who don't know, I worked at a Jewish camp during summer 2007. Kinda random I know... but it was such an amazing experience and I made friendships that will last the rest of my life.



I can't even begin to describe how much I miss my camp friends. Especially Jackie Sedore, Kali and Danya Foster, and Katie Tillis.

I miss the Danya and Kali for their fun and outgoing personalities and laundry nights. They kept me going through camp and made even the most minuscule tasks or getting lost... somehow fun! :)

I miss Katie Tillis and her Katie-isms like "question of the day," "what is it... what is it?" and quoting our "favorite camper".... "I don't eat cheese... This place is a death camp... and I'm allergic to cats."

And Ms. Jackie Sedore. I can't even begin to describe how much I miss Jackie Sedore. I miss our Deep and Meaningfuls and our walks. I miss having someone to cry with and talk to about everything. I miss her crazy laugh and tubing down the river. I miss being old ladies and sharing knitting patterns. I miss writing notes like we were in Jr. High. I miss having someone who didn't even know Brett root for him and be such a support to me through the time he was away. (You too Danya. :)



I miss my girls! All 10 of them. I spent a summer being Mom to 10 of the most amazing 10 year olds, and it's been a year and a half since I have seen or talked to them. I miss braiding their hair and singing them lullabys at night. I miss playing sports and dancing with them. I miss being silly and making them laugh. I miss waking up to them climbing up my bunk bed waiting for me to wake up in the morning. I miss Love Shack, "Haiilleee I can't poop", shake your napkin, taking care of them when they were sick, talking one on one with them when they were having a hard time, swimming with them for their swim tests, fruit break, and having three or more of them sit on my lap at night activities because they couldn't compromise. I miss hearing them say, "I love you" and I miss hugging them at random points in the day.

To all the girls of Bunk 9... I miss you!!! I Love you!!! And I am so proud of you!







So I am going to post this now... even though I have like 10 more people to add... and I started this this morning... but for now I will just leave it here with some more names to come.

4. My Mom

5. My Dad

6. The Siblings

7. Neices and Nephews

8. Ashley Patterson

9. Jessica "Suddababy"

10. Kim... the Ertel Turtle

if you are not on my list that does not mean that I do not miss you... This is just one list for one day highlighting just a few of my MANY favorite people. If you are reading this... chances are I LOVE you and MISS you. Promise. :)