Morganators

Cheerio Darling!

2011-12-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

In the grand scheme of the need for gainful employment to support a family, there are upsides, and then there are downsides. Upside: money. Downside: dealing with money. Downside: recurrent traveling to distant lands for long stretches of time. Upside: frequent flier miles. Downside: many hours spent on a plane. Upside: using frequent flier miles for purposes other than work. Like flying your wife to London and Cambridge so she can join you on an exotic, once-in-a-lifetime, routine-altering excursion!

That's me, I'm the wife who got to do that. Can you believe it? Ryan and I got to travel to London and Cambridge, alone! Without kids! With lots of sleeping! With many meals enjoyed at restaurants where we sat uninterrupted through our entire meal, from the beginning to the end. I ate most of my food hot! Unless, or course, it was not intended to be hot.

Here's a brief synopsis. I like brevity when writing. If you'd like a detailed, blow by blow narrative, give me call and I would be glad to keep you occupied for some time.

London

Judging by the view out the window, you can see we had pretty nice digs in London. Just past that beautiful Renaissance Hotel, was King's Cross Station, so we were very central.

As you turn the camera around, the reality of our room comes into view. Sweet. Bunk beds are the best when you are enjoying a vacation alone with your spouse.

Here is the spread at The Orangery, where we enjoyed high tea when we arrived in London. This tea room is at Kensington Gardens, right by Kensington Palace.

Seriously, the best tea I've ever had. It was absolutely delicious, we each drank our entire pot. And ate orange cake (of course) and carrot cake, yum.

King's Cross station was all decked out for the olympics next year. That train station is pretty impressive. It feels like the crossroads for the whole U.K. that it is.

Victorian Albert Museum.

One of the guys at the Victorian Albert. I think he's been growing that mustache since they put him in there.

The art lit room at the museum. So cool, so overwhelming. So all-encompassing.

A little Chihuly in the foyer of the buildling. Chihuly is the best. I wish I could go to Venice and see his "Chihuly over Venice" display. His glass sculptures are lit and hung over the canals and you can enjoy them as a gondoleer gently navigates your way.

A classic London shot. Harrods is way in the background. The double decker bus is there. I'm there. I'm not quite as classics as the other elements though.

If you happen to go to London, you should make it your highest priority to go to Ben's Cookies. You will never look back. You will only want to revisit Ben's Cookies and get every variety as often as you can.

Ryan enjoying "the tube." London has the best and easiest public transit system ever. Plus, they announce the stops with British accents, and happen to be saying names like "Piccadilly circus" or "Paddington station." It's so amusing, although I think I was the only one who got a kick out of repeating the announcer in my best British accent. Other riders looked like Ryan most of the time.

The spread at Harrods. Harrods is like Nordstrom on steroids. It's a beautiful place to shop. Or in my case, window-shop. Unless I'm buying chocolate, then I'm on board for the whole experience.

The royal borough of Chelsea and Kensington. A.K.A., really beautiful flats in London. Which, as we researched, go from 8,000 to 40,000 pounds a week! Yes, I said week.

Cambridge

Cambridge University located in Cambridge UK is made up of several colleges. These are the dorms from one of the colleges. Look at those dorms! So classy and beautiful!

The River Cam runs through Cambridge and lends itself to boating, strolling, and lots of cute little ducks. I expected James Herriot to pop around the corner with his dog on lead any minute.

King's College. The most spectacular college campus you'll ever admire. The chapel here is where I attended Eucharist. The service was incredibly beautiful. The acoustics in this ancient and awe-inspiring building left me breathless and struck with the need to close my eyes to do the sound justice.

This picture was taken my last evening in Cambridge. Although maybe not the most technically beautiful or perfect picture, the shot captures a personal feeling for me. This vacation was like a serene patch of beauty on a sometimes rocky path of life. We all encounter little, or very big, identity crises at some point along our paths, so I know my own little struggle with who I am was not a singular one. As I boarded the plane to leave the charm of the U.K. behind, I felt a refreshed connection to Ryan, my children, and my own identity in a way I haven't for quite some time.

Thank you to Ryan for working, flying, consulting, and all those other things you do to make this trip possible. And following my every whim as we bashed around London. And for being so handsome.

Thank you to the lady in Dallas who changed my flight last minute so I could go. (this is a great story, if you want to hear a great story, or learn how to get what you need from a delta representative over the phone, you should hear this story).

Thank you to Kerry and Karen for their amazing commitment to be surrogate parents for a whole week. To a four-year-old and a two-year-old. I could go on forever about what this means to me (and what it meant for them). Thank you a million times, thank you!

The sweet return

2011-09-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

I mean this literally and figuratively as I refer to Ryan's recent return from Holland for a business trip.

Literally:

Mmmmmmmmm. I'm good for chocolate for a little bit.

Figuratively:

Kate and Ryan shared lunch in the airport upon return. It sure was cute and sweet.

Ryan mentioned that while Holland may boast beautiful flowers and great treats, their food doesn't even meet sub-par Chinese fast food criteria. The memories of the food were only memorable because of their sordid nature. Example: deep-fried gravy and noodle balls. Like McDonalds chicken nuggets, only with fish gravy inside of some and noodles inside of others. Enough said.

Ryan has traveled a fair amount with his job. We miss him dearly when he is gone. We love his return. His absence reminds me how wonderful it is to have a great partner, and how great it is to have frequent flier miles! (you have to find the silver lining in these situations)

Pre-cool, As pronounced by Robby

2011-09-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

A word or two on preschool:

1. I love it
2. Kate loves it
3. Robby loves it. (He loves finding Harold the Helicopter in the toy box at drop off and pick up time. And calling it pre-cool)

First day pics.

Cat Scratch Robby

2011-09-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

Robby picked a fight with the wrong cat and will tell you, me, a bug, the garbage man, or anyone else about it. He loves to tell about the cat that scratched Robby, like this "Cat Scratch Robby." I capitalize each word because Robby is very deliberate with his words and takes his time with much space in between. He didn't learn how to speak from Kate, apparently.

According to Robby, he was an innocent bystander. According to all witnesses (Kate), Robby was petting rather aggressively (hitting) at which point any self-respecting cat would teach that boy a lesson. Well, let's hope he learned his lesson.

10 little huckleberries and other great news

2011-09-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

Great news first.... I was the lucky one to be in the Jewel Basin of the Swan Range of the Rocky Mountains on August 19. And I can report, in very Lewis like fashion, that 26 varieties of wildflowers inhabit the lush hillsides in this region.

Apparently the lack of sunshine and buckets of rain this little La Nina gal brought have not only dampened my spirits but those of the huckleberry in Montana. On any other year, the berries would be so abundant that the bears would have handed us the buckets get at all those little shrubs loaded with fruit. But this year I found 10.

Fortunately there were many other events during my yearly August pilgrimage to Montana (Ryan always has business to attend in Brazil in August) to redeem the huckleberries.

#1 My kids get some serious Grandpa/Grandma time

#2 Lots of swimming! Kate learned to swim this summer, all alone. It's great.

#3 Lots of time with Mom and Dad, for me

Of course, the fair.

Going backwards, this is what we've been doing....

Kate's, no fuss, all girl (plus 4 boys that she just had to have), all pink, fantastic four-year-old princess birthday party. Talk about fun fully loaded with lots of sugar.

Cake compliments of Grammy, thank you Grammy!

We grew two kids a little and these two weeds alot!

Had Ryan's birthday, of course with breakfast in bed.

Ryan's birthday ended with his favorite people doing his favorite thing: dinner at the park. The kids played and played. We had his favorite food: roast beef, boursin, red onion on sourdough sandwiches.

Happy summer had by all.

Sleeping Kids

2011-07-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

This psalm is in a little book of prayers for children that we own. It is sort of naive and simplistic, but I like it. (Maybe that's because I'm sort of naive and simplistic.)

The year's at the spring,

And day's at the morn;

Morning's at seven;

The hill-side's dew-pearled;

The lark's on the wing;

The snail's on the thorn;

God's in his Heaven—

All's right with the world!

Although, if I were writing a utopia-themed psalm, there would definitely be a line in there somewhere about sleeping babies/kids.

There is something radiant and pure about a slumbering child. Maybe this sleep state is so healing because for many children the contrast between sleep and wake is a such a vibrant contrast (aka Kate) and brings a welcomed respite. Maybe it's that the relaxed warmth of a sleeping child against my body reminds me of our sacred relationship. I sense vividly how wholly vulnerable and dependent my little ones are on the caretakers they've been assigned, to shape and format their sense of the world. This plan of parent/child is not random and I am blessed to be a participant.

I wish I were better at distilling the feelings mentioned above and storing them in my "serenity vault." I could really use them at 4 pm when utopia is nowhere to be found and I am about 2 1/2 hours away from having a partner home to help with those little angels. I could open up the vault, draw out the image of my dreaming children and remember who they are and what I am doing.

Nona and Papa's House and, oh yeah, Disneyland

2011-04-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

We were so lucky and took a trip, just our little clan, to California to visit Ryan's grandparents and Disneyland. I can tell which experience meant more to Kate, as whenever she is asked about her trip she says, "I visited Nona and Papa!" When prompted, she of course loves to remember Disney, but I really think she loved Nona and Papa's home more. Good to know. But for a little girl in the height of all things Princess, Disney was pretty great timing.

Ryan was so great to plan most of the trip and make sure everything went fairly smoothly. Our flights were great, our hotel was amazing. Nona and Papa were so accommodating to a young, rambunctious family. We felt so blessed to stay with them and get to know them better. Ryan even got to stand in at Nona's tennis group because one of the ladies was missing. So he played doubles with three other ladies who were all 70+, that was fun to watch!

Nona and Papa's backyard, complete with sunshine. This was the afternoon we arrived in California, and those rays felt just fine.

Nona and Papa live in Westlake Village, right by Thousand Oaks, CA. Their home sits on a man-made lake and almost every home has a little party boat docked out front for pleasure rides around the lake. This was a great activity for our family, Kate and Rob even got to drive! The surroundings are beautiful there!

Robby loved Nona. He pronounced her name Nana. Robby also wanted Papa to go everywhere with us. He always asked for and looked for Papa.

This is Nona's favorite Oak tree in their neighborhood. It's gigantic and gorgeous.

The "girls" walking. Nona, aka Evelyn Muller, was born in 1925 but you would never guess it. She swims and plays tennis every week (and looks better in her tennis skirt than most 25 year olds) and can actually keep up with Kate, enough said.

Paradise Cove in Malibu. Simply beautiful! We had trouble calling it a beach, as our Oregonian definition always includes winter clothing and not a spot of sun.

I wish I had better pictures of Disney, we were on the go so much it was tough to get good shots! But we had a blast.

We arrived at 8:15 am, and left at 9:15 pm. Everyone was asleep before we left, and that almost includes Ryan and I.

We ate in New Orleans, had gumbo, jambalaya, mint juleps and beignets. We saw a parade, went to the Tiki Room, Jungle Safari, and a million other things. My favorite ride was Peter Pan. Robby's favorite was Autopia, except he was just barely too small so he got to watch his favorite ride. Kate's was probably the teacups because she got to steer! Ryan's was the chair he got to sit in with the kids while they napped in the afternoon and I explored on my own. I haven't been to Disneyland since I was three, so this was basically my first run, and I loved it!

The Dumbo ride is one of two memories I have of my first time as Disneyland. Robby loved it and loved pushing the lever up and down! I got in trouble this time for using my camera on the ride, oops.

Our little princess at the castle.

Ryan was in is eight-year-old idea of heaven when we watched a Jedi-training camp for 4-12 year olds which included dueling Darth Vader and that other red-faced guy (my apologies to Ryan for my Star Wars ignorance).

All of Kates wildest dreams came true when she met and mingled with Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. Kate said she looked very beautiful. She had planned to say, to Rapunzel, that she was glad she escaped from Mother Gothel, but the intensity of the moment overcame her and she forgot. Still, it was one amazing experience for a little girl who begs to play "Rapunzel" every waking moment.

You can see Robby's favorite guy, besides Daddy, in the background, Buzz Lightyear.

WE didn't start the fire .... it was just me

2011-04-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

There are some moments that are so horrifying and outcomes so indefinite it only seems appropriate that they be perceived to be occurring in slow motion, because you couldn't possibly take it in at real time speed. Car wrecks, kids falling off the play structures, and of course, fires in your kitchen. When I (with baby on hip) discovered smoke billowing out into the living room and saw the three-foot flame licking the hood above the stove, it all felt horrendously slow, the moment couldn't be over quickly enough.

I hesitate to share this experience because it was very scary and happened to be all my fault, very embarrassing, and in a house that I don't own. I feel I can share because all is out in the open with the owners and I can quite happily say most of the damages are totally repaired to their original state or better thanks to a very kind and supportive husband who never once made me feel any worse about my mistake.

A quick summary, I put oil in the pan to fry up tortillas for migas (maybe not relevant for a quick summary, but food's always important even if not relevant. Have you every tried migas? Yum. But not worth lighting your kitchen on fire.) I turned on the stove. At the moment I turned the knob, Robby woke up crying in his bedroom. The fact that I had turned on the stove didn't register in my brain as I was then thinking about Robby, so I went back to calm him and I was having a great time playing with him in his room when I suddenly heard our fire alarm and I knew immediately I was in trouble. Unattended heating oil ignited into an opulent 3-foot flame in my kitchen. As soon as I saw the flame I doubled back and put robby in his crib, shut the door and then proceeded to handle that fire while Robby returned to crying. I put on a oven mitt, picked up the skillet and took it outside. At this point I imagine my neighbors were quite concerned at the sight of me wielding a burning skillet. But then, miraculously, the flame surrendered to my fire extinguishing prowess and went out. All I did was walk outside and it retired.

As I returned to the kitchen and assessed the damage, I was overcome. The cupboards surrounding the stove were black as night, the ceiling was the same. The hood was almost unrecognizable and the control panel for the oven totally warped. After scrubbing off most of the soot from the cupboard fronts, back splash/tile area, and counters, it wasn't nearly as dismal a situation as I originally thought.

We learned oodles about home repair through this process. We got to:

1. Repaint ceilings/walls in the kitchen and entry way.
2. Remove the old hood and install a new one
3. Remove the old stove and oven, install a new one
4. Clean alot!

Here are some before, during, and after shots

Before

After

Before

NO "after" shot on this one, as when I went take one, my camera broke. I didn't light it on fire, it just broke. You'll just have to trust that it looks way better.

During

These things are apart of me

2011-02-21T12:30:00.000-08:00

Kate and I drew a lucky card when it comes to people who love us. While the Morgan girls choo-chooed North to Montana for a few days to see Gramma DeAnn and Grampa Pat - many helpers made the trip possible. Among them are: Ryan, who volunteered (see also: agreed to) stay with Robby in Oregon. Grammy, who also tended Robby for two days. Maile who, again, tended Robby (on his roughest day). Many thanks to all, I wish I could have shared an ice cream soda at Norm's and built a snow man with all of you.

Here's some of what we did:

Norms News, a good old-fashioned soda fountain. and a superb place to celebrate anything. Birthdays, arrivals, departures, anniversaries, loose teeth, train rides, anything!

Think bookstore meets candy shop meets soda fountain, meets high school reunion and you've got Norms. Of course I saw one of my high school teachers there. It was great.

There's a fantastic mural on the brick wall depicting norms news through the years. The mural was behind us, and a big mirror was in front of us.

I got a ice cream sundae with fudge and nuts and whipped cream and a cherry. Yum.

Kate got bubble gum ice cream. Yuck.

Plenty of sledding. Grampa set the world record for distance when he carved a track about 1/4 mile long. I know I exaggerate sometimes, this is not an exaggeration. It was a amazing. Even the deer were amazed. This is an exaggeration. They had to keep running to avoid freezing to death.

And a snow man/ UFO, minus the flying bit. His name was frosty he was lovely until his nose fell off the next day.

A word on parents, addressed to my parents:

Some of you may have heard the term, "eternal round." I think this phrase and the word parenting should be listed as synonyms. Life is often one great big circle of loops, peaks and valleys; parenting included. My parents may have projected, like me, that after their youngest moved out they would shout, "finito!" Or maybe in their case, as English-speaking Americans, "done!" Not so. As the youngest, I thank you for your continued dedication to us, your kids. As a remote child you continuously call, you mail, you transfer funds, you send your love, and you pray fervently. As a visiting child you bought be breakfast. You helped pay for my train fare. You purchased new mascara for me when I forgot mine. You called the doctor for me when I needed a prescription. You chased down a new prescription for me after a fiasco with the original. You let me borrow your book I hadn't finished when I left. Even after all you did, you continued to urge me to disclose what else I needed and comfort me as my still child-like tears spilled over the distress of growing up. Ryan's parents, neither of you, and no one I know is perfect. Thankfully we have a big round life housing examples like you to soften the nudging elbows of mistakes and misdeeds. I love you both.

Sayonara Goldilocks

2011-02-04T12:15:00.000-08:00

Robby's little pony mane crossed the river styx. Instead of continuing the internal battle to put it in a ponytail, I removed the temptation. With my scissors. Bye, bye little hair. Bye to that little part of babyhood. Sad.

Before

During

After

Looking at these pictures now, I realized two things:

1. I'm not very good at cutting hair. Despite all the years of playing "hair."

2. I need a hair cut.

Inferiority be darned

2011-01-29T17:06:00.001-08:00

I have to admit, I was having some inferiority complex issues with blogging. Generally the passive, non-competitive type, I have found that the number of comments I procured at the bottom of each little post was beginning to haunt me. Rationalization set in, and continued to set in, to the point of unhealthy; until I realized I was not blogging to document and share, I was blogging to see the comments from others. Which is totally great, I love reading comments from others about my posts. It's like a really slow, very short conversation. Even if I'm not the most popular, creative, or fun, I will continue. Even if I receive a million comments, or zero, I will continue. Because I like to write. And I like to write about my family. And I still like to read what you say. Amen.

Trick-or-Treat at Nordstrom

2010-11-03T16:44:00.001-07:00

The story is: The kids and I were killing some time while waiting for Ryan by pretending to shop the Nordstrom downtown. (The closest I get to Nordstrom is the clearance racks at The Rack. I do wish I could get closer. But there's a big fat budget in the way)

Anyway, the kids happened to be dressed up for trick or treating at Daddy's office and a lady approached and said we should have our picture taken. Assuming nothing is free, I politely declined. She approached us again later and asked again, I was a little annoyed at this point, which I apparently didn't hide very well because she said, "it's free!" I said "sign us up!" So we got this picture and got to be chic models for sperry topsiders. I think Kate hit the mark with her faux fur jacket, Robby might have been just a little too high fashion for topsiders in his care bear costume.

In other halloween news: we dressed up 5 of 7 days in Halloween week (my enthusiasm to dress up the kiddos waned with each event, by the last time Kate simply had on leotard with raincoat as a Oregonian ballerina), heavily stocked the bribe box, saw a great halloween puppet show, and Robby was the cutest little care bear you've ever seen. You should have seen him walking in the costume, it was somewhere near a cross between an e-wok and a puppy. CUTE! Kate was simply glamorous as Cinderella. Even with all this cuteness, I think I'm done with Halloween.

Oh and here's Kate's preschool class. The little Barney in the front is her best buddy.

You just have to...

2010-10-10T22:58:00.000-07:00

Post on 10-10-10, when does that happen? Besides today I mean.

Eat one ( or two or three) of the warm cookies that come out of the oven on Sunday morning.

Some mornings don't allow any other option, you just have to go back to bed.

Sometimes you just have to rock your baby to sleep and hold them for a long, long time after they've nodded off and drown out the voices from your fear-mongering parenting book saying you'll raise an incompetent, overly dependent child if you do.

Fall asleep on the couch.

Clean the ailing corners in your bathroom. Those dark-looking ones.

Buy the pair of boots you've been eying your whole life, or at least a year or two.

Come to grips with the fact that couponing is not your calling.

Eat the last container of homemade raspberry jam from the freezer, knowing it is the very last one until next summer.

Say happy birthday to your sister. Happy birthday Gabe!

Until next time...

He's the ONE!

2010-09-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

Robby turned one on Friday, September 24. This one little sweetie boy has 8 teeth, walks on 2 feet, goes down the stairs backwards on all 4's, is growing an innumerable amount of white hair, rides the trike on 1 bottom, sleeps 10 hours at night, naps for 3, bites 3 times a day (we're working on it), gives 15 hugs all the time, sniffs every flower he sees, raises two hands in the air whenever he's proud, drinks 12 oz of milk at every meal, eats all the groceries (not joking), spins in 15 circles when the music is on, and ate 2 cupcakes on his birthday. Oh and loooooves is 1 sister. Happy day to our little boy, the sunshine.

Here's breakfast in bed for Robby, a little long, but cute.

These are the fun little monkey cupcakes we had. We had lots and lots of other treats too, I wish I had pics of all of them!

Robby got a little banner for his b day. It's right above his high chair and he loves looking at the pictures of himself as he eats.

Rob's b-day was great, with lots of sunshine, just like him.

Livin is Easy

2010-08-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

Summertime is messy.

Summertime is little dresses.

Summertime is corn on the cob.

Summertime is smiles.

Summertime is messy.

Summertime is birthdays for Kate and Ryan.

Summertime is fireworks.

Summertime is fresh berries. mmmm.

Mode switch: a few highlights from the last little bit.

We made this badge for Kate for the times when Ryan works from home. She is the protector of his office so no intruders keep him from brining home the bacon. She would never dream of being one of those intruders, that's why we put her in charge :)

Playing the piano while Grandpa works.

Kate made a hummingbird feeder.

Peek a boo. Kate and Robby are beginning to play so well together. Robby is definitely beginning to have his own agenda and voicing his opinion more and more often. Kate's not sure what to think of someone else having an opinion.

The undisputed champion of tough

2010-08-11T16:05:00.000-07:00

Kate explains it well here. But what she didn't tell you is that she ran, jumped on trampolines, skipped, hopped, slid, danced, and climbed trees on her broken foot for a week before her dopey parents got her in to a doctor. But to our credit, it didn't really swell until 4 days after the injury and she never uttered one word of complaint unless we asked. She slept through most of the casting process and it still doesn't slow her down one iota. We went to the mc donalds playland today and she played tag with the other kids with no problem. I think she might be the type to have 5 kids with no epidural and come out smiling at the end. She sure is cute with that little cast on!

I don't know how it happened

2010-08-11T15:58:00.000-07:00

Last week I did a trial run as a mother to three when I cared for my sisters baby, Luke, for a couple of days. I don't think it was really a fair run as Luke is made of pure sunshine and gumdrops. Seriously, the only sounds he made would be sounds that could be recorded and used as a track on a relaxation cd. Anyway, I was still very proud when on 2 of the days all the kids slept at the same time for at least 15 min. So what did I do? I went to the bathroom and ate a sandwich, luxury.

Here is the proof! It really happened!

You could actually call it vacation

2010-06-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

Precursor, I wrote this a loong time ago and then went into stall mode for blogging. Hope you still enjoy and I will catch up soon!

In most cases I hear the word vacation and I think... hmmm bad sleep, germs galore, cranky kids, bad sleep, spilled drinks (at restaurants, on airplanes, etc.) lots of apologies to the people in front of or beside us for the spilled drinks or for the kid sticking their spoon in a drink that's not ours, and bad sleep. But, undoubtedly, there are fun times to be had and great life lessons to be learned for sure in between those moments and I know I have it better than many who never get a change of scenery.

Somehow I have great memories of family vacations as a child. Probably due to the fact that I wasn't the one entertaining, cleaning up the puke, and making up beds on the floor at 2 a.m. and then washing up the "wet" sheets in the morning. Additionally, my mother was the master of creating wonderful, enjoyable vacations for us with no dvd players, a minimum of many hours in the car to get anywhere (living in Kalispell, MT does sound metropolitan, but is actually very remote), and 5 kids by using creativity, positivity, and lots if singing. I recall the arsenal of weapons my mom used to combat boredom and mutiny in the minivan. We each had a 9x13 pan with a lid stashed below our seats filled with sundry entertainment possibilities: stickers, crayons, coloring books, stencils, etc. The lid was essential to contain each rolling crayon and to function as a desk. We each got a pillow, mostly for sitting on if you were the pip squeaks. If you were older than 14, you slept with your pillow not only as padding for your head, but as a buffer to all the "entertainment" going on in the background, at least that's what I saw :). And the occasional book on tape. I loved the book "Herself, the Elf" but I think I was herself's only admirer, lots of buffering going on during this one. Also, we left for our trips just at the moon was departing and yellow dripped into the sky. Sometimes we left long before the sun would appear and spend half the night in the car, all of us asleep, genius.

The point of the rambling and recollections: vacations are so much work for the parents involving late nights or no nights, hours of preparations, dealing with all the kids excrements on a moving vehicle of some sort, etc, etc, But I loved family vacations. I love that my parents extended themselves immeasurably to fertilize my little garden of experiences. And I am just about crazy enough to want to give that to my children as well. I am sure I will, and I have, but this vacation we just returned from was not that one. It was cush. Granted, the sleep was still not amazing, but everything else was just that.

Google "Aspen Grove" and you will see, "an actual vacation for parents of young children. or parents of any age. or people who are not yet parents." This is where we went last week for the Morgan family reunion.

Re-hash

Ryan in combat

Kate with Jamisyn, her leader of the little play group she was in, "Rompers." Kate got to play in that group from 9:30-12:30 and 1:30-4:30 everyday! She loved it most of the time!

Ryan saw one of his professors from BYU there. So did I, but we didn't get her picture! Where else do you go in the world on vacation and see your professors from college?

Maybe Ryan's not a billiard man.

The little Morgans. Look at Ryan, look at Robby, good family pictures are for the birds.

The big Morgans.

Ryan's dolly, he borrowed it from Robby.

Me and Rob at the pool. This is Rob's default face. He looks sad, but really he's just thoughtful. He'll flash a smile at you at lightning speed most of the time too.

On the foot bridge. It was pretty ugly, good thing they had lots of fun activities.

The fam trying to convince Kate of something. Maybe it was not to jump from that high thing, she's very daring if left to her own devices.

MMM.

Ropes course. I'm going down while Ry's going up, hope there's not a metaphor there.

Look-a-likes. Ryan's Dad at his age.

My baby at the pool. Look at those chunks! (Robby's that is)

Sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet

2010-06-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

Just five words to say about our little boy. He is the sweetest thing.

My good friend Meg is amazing and took these shots.
Check her out here Megan Elle Photography

Been busy mothering

2010-05-15T15:40:00.001-07:00

Here's a look back at Mother's Day. But first, an explanation as to why it has taken me so long to post on this day:

I realize this is not a great picture, but oh so natural. Both trying so hard to do what they think they should: Kate trying to pose (at least her eyes are open!) and Robby trying to get Kate, and of course Kate has some form of dress-up on.

Have I not said a million times how much I love these kids? Well, I do.

Mothers Day: Ryan took me on a full-day shopping adventure for m-day... to get a new bed, bedding, pillows, etc. It was, and has been, the best thing ever. I love, love, love my bed. For someone with chronic back-problems, a good mattress adds smiles to the morning and enables me to stand erect in the evening.

Here she is:

Love my bed, love my card hand-made by the skids (Ryan), and love my family.

Happy mother's day to all of you moms out there!

Oh and Ryan made a knock-off version of our favorite drink from our favorite Peruvian/Portland restaurant for us. It was absolutely incredible. Basil, pineapple, mango, mojito. One word, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Breastpump of Righteousness

2010-05-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

When reviewing the story of the armor of God the other day, this is what Kate called the "breastplate" of righteousness. Can you tell we have a baby at our house?

So since Robby can't tell funny jokes to make me smile, I'll put a picture up of what he does to light me up.

I'll plant my tulips next to yours

2010-04-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

The title is the punch line of a cute joke my sister-in-law Cami told me. It starts like this: "When I plant a garden ... insert punch line." I thought it was pretty cute.

I thought these pics were pretty cute too, of the little ones at the tulip gardens. We visited two this year, and each had a windmill, that's fun. The gardens in Woodburn were gargantuan and had wheat fields which makes for great hide-and-go-seek if you're 2 1/2, although not quite as fun when the seeker happens to be me and the hider happens to be Kate who didn't really inform me we were playing hide-and-go-seek. Anyway, we hit one of the few gorgeous days in the month of April to travel down to Woodburn with my sister Robyn, sis-in-law Maile, and her friend Jen. I love when we get to do fun things like this that make all the gray and rainy days seem worth it!

I love this shot, i think it should be a world-peace promotion poster. What says love and peace more than a little girl in a field of tulips?

Abode a la mode

2010-04-22T09:56:00.000-07:00

We have new digs! Living in this new house is like topping each day with a little scoop of ice cream. My days are generally good; great husband, great kids, health, job, car, etc. But this place just adds a little more pleasure to the moments. I'll list my favorite things: Jacuzzi tub. Two kitchens. Central vaccuum. A backyard. Cul de sac. Nice neighbors that don't do drugs or beat each other up, a huge step up. In fact, one of our neighbors actually offered to pay her daughter to come and be a mother's helper to me, free help, wow! Our own walls. One set of stairs. A/C. I could probably just bold that whole list and I could probably just keep going, but suffice it to say, I'm very, very happy to be here.

Before you go thinking that we could actually afford such a pleasurable house, I'll tell you that we are so blessed to be the lucky ones to rent this place from a lovely couple while they serve a mission for our church. I hope they extend their mission. Three times. We will be very sad to go! But living here will give us something to shoot for in the future!

Here's my favorite room:

As you can see, the kids love it too.

I'll post more pics soon, but not every room is totally settled yet. Come visit us anytime, we have a guest room waiting for you!

Can't put my finger on it . .

2010-03-23T14:50:00.001-07:00

I can't quite name this expression. But I think it's so funny. It could be the, "oh no, here comes that lecture I've heard a million times" face. Maybe this is the face I'll see when trying to pass a fishy story as truth and waiting for the verdict. Maybe it's just a "holy cow that flash is bright!" face. But any way, I loved it. I love Robby too. He's the best. Can't wait to see this face again.

All of us in wonderland

2010-03-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

That's what Kate calls Alice in Wonderland. And I just think it's fitting, because Alice isn't the only one who lives in that nutty world. At our house we can from completely composed to utter chaos and back again in 30 seconds flat, sometimes we linger a bit in chaos mode.

While we're on the subject of puns, here's one...

Kate was downstairs, I was upstairs. I hear her yelling for me, "Mom, mom, I made thai food!" I'm thinking, she made thai food? Does know what that is? Then I saw her and realized she did make 'tie' food! I cracked up and took a picture.

Can't leave this post without some Rob. Here he is, showing us his moves in the exersaucer and telling me a story. I just adore this boy. He's the sweetest thing and so easy to love. He just lays his head on my shoulder and snuggles. There's nothing in a million years that would entice Kate to do something so calm, they are so different and i love them both.

Stock up

2010-02-23T11:02:00.000-08:00

Just a few thoughts....

Preparing homemade chicken stock is as close as I'll ever get to creating a beautiful painting or designing a gorgeous home. I don't feel too bad because there is something about it that transcends time, in the same way a classic black and white photo will tell a story with similar emotions whether taken in 1900 or 2000. When I'm preparing this stock, I can envision a post-war european finally able to procure meat and herbs to put together a healthful and filling meal. I visualize sturdy homesteaders of the early west using salt like mine to preserve what precious little meat they would have through sweltering heat and bitter winters. When I'm "roughly chopping" the carrots and throwing in handfuls of untrimmed herbs I feel a connection to those who have lovingly and thoughtfully prepared meals for their families for all of time.

Where skill level inhibits my enjoyment of creativity in areas like drawing and painting, cooking has given me license to imagine and explore. Plus who can argue that the satisfaction of a great grilled cheese or a perfectly cooked steak is hard to beat.

eyes wide shut

2010-02-22T15:39:00.000-08:00

Besides the moment of exhaustion at the end of the day, the words , 'say cheese' are the only other stimulus to which Kate will voluntarily close her eyes. Our pictorial records are going to reflect something completely opposite of the little girl who heads through life with eyes wide open. She's a noodle when it comes to pictures. Proof:

Do you don't like it?

2010-01-28T11:30:00.001-08:00

That's kate's favorite question to ask Robby. Roughly translated it means, "are you okay? you seem a little tense." She asks it of him even when he's cool as a cucumber, but she's just checking in. (In the 2nd video below, she says the phrase correctly, but I wish she had said it as she usually does as printed in the title above.)

These two are my peanut butter and jelly; their constituents are completely different but somehow just work together. It's so enriching to have that contrast in our home; Kate's the jalapeno and Robby's the milk. I guess the third will just have to take a role as the dessert. (Do you like how all my analogies are food-related? And once again, I am not pregnant)

Here's a little demonstration of their interaction thus far, and this video is not atypical. What a treat to watch their little relationship develop.

By the way, kate's not in emo training, we're just trying to let her hair recover after the recent "friendly fire" incident. As a result, her hair is a little scraggly.

Unexpected

2010-01-22T14:40:00.000-08:00

No I'm not pregnant. But I did want to give a shout out to the (older) man in my life for enabling one of the best weekends I've had in ages and it was all so unexpected.

1. Happy Hour at Chevy's with the girls, Robby and Ry

Yummy, cheap (we got out for $11), and fun because they give the kids tortilla dough to play with and we had good company with my sisters.

2. Shopping sans kids

After our happy hour with the girls, out of the blue, Ryan offered to watch the kids so I could go do whatever I wanted. Whatever I wanted .... I seriously had to think for a few minutes because usually free moments are filled with calls to insurance, emptying the dishwasher, or vacuumming my stairs,and those are definitely not things I want to do. Well those moments of pondering how I would spend that free time led me to one thought: I love to shop. When I hear someone say, "I don't like shopping" I just feel sad. But I don't love shopping with kids. It's not fun and not rewarding at all. I have abandoned ship and left full carts in the middle of grocery stores before. I don't even attempt clothes shopping unless they show movies, or have a built-in babysitter, or they're both sleeping in the cart which doesn't ever happen and that's why I never go.

So I went shopping with Audrey at Nordstrom Rack (not kid friendly in any way), found some killer deals and made Audrey stay until we were the last customers, not a moment was wasted.

3. Grammy babysits

Ryan's mother watched Kate for several hours and allowed Ryan and I some much needed cleaning time. Not exciting, but needed. We have almost cleared our house of all junk, although Ryan may not agree as he labeled half of Kate's toys as junk. It felt good.

4. Bill Cosby

We got a surprise call from Ryan's mother saying she had an extra ticket to see Bill Cosby in a stand-up show. Um, maybe second to shopping on my list of things I love is Bill Cosby. Okay that's a stretch, but I really do have a deep and abiding love for the Cosby show, I crack up every time I watch it. And I got to see him, live!

It was painful. By that I mean I was in pain from laughing so hard. I cried and doubled over, slapped my leg, threw my head back, all of those uncontrollable gestures that come when something is truly funny. I got to see his "at the dentist routine." It was the best.

5. Family Dinner

Yogurt marinated chicken and veggie kabobs, bacon and red onion potato salad, strawberry spinach salad, tres leches, and gougeres (french rolls to die for). I think every world culture was represented with our dinner menu and it was delish.

Thank you in every way to my husband for his generous donation of time and love to our kids. I felt so rejuvenated and loved as well. Thanks to Karen for all her kindness and generosity as well. And thanks to Audrey for sticking it out to fill a shopping desire long-abated.

I had to laugh when my brother asked Ryan how his weekend was and he said it seemed kind of long...

My new bff

2010-01-21T15:13:00.001-08:00

Mmmm with triscuits. Yummy with pears. Mouthwatering to look at. Tasty off your finger. Snofrisk cheese from Norway. You'll like it too. (Although not helpful in a calorie-counting situation.)

A baby now

2010-01-08T15:17:00.000-08:00

Until about 3 months of age babies seem like they'd still be a little more comfortable in the warm womb than out in the cold world. It is such a fresh, wonderful thing when they start to smile, "talk", and respond a little to stimulus in ways other than crying. This is why my posts have been very Kate-focused.

Robby has hit his little baby stride and has characteristics all his own already.

1. He loves his mom, way more than Kate did at this age.

2. He will carry on a full conversation for quite some time now, if only i could understand what he is saying...

3. He does not like wetness in any form on his skin. I think Kate would have stayed in wet diapers for 4 days with no problem, Robby maxes out at about 4 minutes.

4. He is loving his hand in his mouth at all times. Even when nursing he tries to stuff his fingers in the side of his mouth, it cracks me up. (for a minute, but baby fingernails are not that gentle)

5. He's rolls over like a pro. He stalls in the back to front mode, but tummy to back is cake for him.

6. He is so sweet. He cuddles with me, oh it is so nice. I love this boy soo much.

Need I say More?

2010-01-07T14:37:00.000-08:00

Okay I guess I do. I cannot pass up this opportunity to say what a joy the nerf guns have been. That comment is only up to it's waist in sarcasm, I truly am half-way sincere. Thank you Maile for the Christmas present, thank you Kate for playing guns with Daddy(really, really thank you), and thank you for making that awesome face in this picture.

Kaito's Wedding!

2010-01-02T13:12:00.000-08:00

Ryan's sister, Kaitlyn, was married the day before Thanksgiving this year. It was a a gorgeous wedding at the Portland temple. I was a bridesmaid, and all laws of nature were defied as I discovered that I am in love with my dress. It's fancy and black and modest, thank you Kaito (and parents).

Congrats to the new couple and welcome Eric!

When you think your toddler is napping....

2009-12-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

There are some upsides:

1. Kate would be totally en vogue in Amsterdam, or if she were in a punk rock band.
2. It's a classic funny story to add to our family tale-book.
3. Scissors only go on top of the refrigerator now.
4. She didn't cut her ear off.
5. Ryan and I laughed the hardest we have since we got married, and still continue to chuckle when we look at her hair.

All the single ladies

2009-11-26T12:59:00.000-08:00

Kate loves this song. Okay, really I love this song and Kate jumped on the bandwagon. She can almost articulate all those lyrics. I'm a little embarrassed to admit I have my 2 year old dancing and singing to beyonce.

Sorry it's sideways.

You're a dead ringer for Chuck E. Cheese!

2009-11-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it happened. There were about 10 people in a silent restaurant last Friday night, and our family comprised half that population. We were cleaning up to leave when a woman entered. She had big, gray hair, a fairly large nose, and a red shirt. Kate spotted this woman and her face light up like up like Christmas morning, she pointed, and exclaimed, "Mom! She looks like Chuck E. Cheese!" Everyone heard it. Ryan and I looked around searching for that darn kid's parents. Then we attempted to look extremely preoccupied and deaf to the uttered comment. Neither attempt to shift blame worked, so we hi-tailed it out of there. Here's the lemon juice in the open wound, the lady was blind, with a guide-dog and everything.

Tondu

2009-11-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

In my first glimpse at Kate I wondered and hoped at all the potentials housed in that tiny little person. I daydreamed about the wide variety of experiences she would have and, hopefully, the contributions she would make.

One specific fantasy included a bubbly, bouncing girl releve-ing, and tondu-ing around a dance floor. And here she is, living out that dream. Long new-born nights seemed endless and made two-year-old days like these seem barely visible on the horizon, but they have come into plain view so rapidly.

I know someday I will feel similarly when an awkward kid knocks on our door to pick up Kate for her first date or when boxes full of her stuff leave with her for college. It is hardly within my comprehension that this little baby of mine will grow up to be a woman; probably marry, have kids, grandkids, and live a long life. I have realized that time marches on without my permission, and these potentials will become realities in the blink of an eye. I survived those new-born nights on the sustenance of the hope that they would end, the sooner, the better. Now, I find my joy and sustenance comes in the hope that they won't.

PS I think I found the secret to happiness... watching a two year old ballet class ensures happiness for the viewer for at least a week. Every time I envision those little girls doing their best to follow "teacher Katie", I smile. Or when I think of Kate watching herself in the big mirrors more than the teacher. So cute.

Garden Variety

2009-11-04T13:21:00.000-08:00

We visited the garden this year for Halloween.....

If you're unsure about Robby, he is a chili pepper. If you're unsure about Kate, well, you're on your own, that one is pretty obvious.

What Robby lacked in spiciness (nursed and slept through the whole thing), Kate made up for in vivacity. She ate up, literally and figuratively, Halloween. (I guess Robby did too, just not in candy form.) Although after knocking or ringing Kate did show some reticence and paced 4 or 5 steps backward before the homeowner answered. But no hesitation was present when the candy appeared, those backward paces were re-traced and candy was accepted. Kate loved it. I did too, Halloween is great for stocking up on incentives (bribes?) for the 2 year old.

These holidays just get better and better as our little girl grows up. Can't wait for Christmas!!

Yes the second to last shot is candid. Boundaries were a little loose on Halloween night, unfinished suckers stuck to your child's bum is a pretty clear indicator. But we did enjoy ourselves immensely.

pure and simple

2009-10-01T11:29:00.001-07:00

Take a look at these sweet shots done by my friend, photographer, and fellow mom Meg when we were still in the hospital. I am so happy with the images she captured from this time, we are so lucky. When I look at these images and whenever I look at the new little one in our family I am struck by his purity and innocence. I am sure all newborns render similar feelings, how special those new little ones are.

You can see some more at her blog. Thanks again Meg, you're fantastic!

Robby (Robert Alexander Morgan)

2009-09-28T14:26:00.000-07:00

He came! 12:23 pm, September 24th, 7 lbs 13 oz. Perfect. My labor with Robby pretty much represents Robby's perfect little demeanor. I went into labor at 9:30. Hit a 10 at 12:19, pushed 3 times, he was born 4 min later. In fact, pushing was so short and easy when he was was all the way out I had to look to make sure. It was a dream labor with a dream baby as the prize.

These pics are out of order, but there are some technical difficulties I am not willing to wrestle with right now. But you get to see the baby first this way!

I love this picture. Kate is doing her best to "smile". I don't think there are more precious moments I can recall than we all got to be together for the first time in the hospital room. Kate was enamored with this baby and full of one million questions. I love our new little family.

There we go!

This moment is soo exciting as the mom. I love that we got a good shot of it this time. Sorry to ruin the myth that babies come pink, dry, and perfectly shaped, this picture may be a little to realistic for some. I love it!

Note: smiles. Note: great nurse, the best ever, and fantastic dr. They were just about to break my water, I was ready and very excited.

Ryan bought these shoes for me when I had Kate. (What better way to celebrate a new life than with new shoes?) Here they are revisited with the new baby.

Baby Shower

2009-09-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

I am so lucky and got to have a baby shower hosted by my Oregon friends and family. A group of my favorite people pulled together to throw a sweet shower for this new baby boy. Thanks to all those who contributed their time and efforts, especially to those who have so many other commitments in their life. Oh wait, I think that definitely applies to all of them!

Cute attendees, of course they put me on the end of the picture. So there I am, 9 months pregnant. But feeling pretty darn good nonetheless.

MMM, these were good and everyone got one. Plus, they were cute. Thanks to Meg for her talents.

Yahoo! 2 or 3 more days and we get to see the real live baby boy Morgan!

Sisters

2009-09-18T12:24:00.000-07:00

Ryan's been having the time of his life working outside of Portland for the past 3 weeks. But there is a silver lining, since he takes the car and I'm minutes away from going into labor, we invited Audrey to come live with us for about three weeks just in case this baby makes his arrival while Ryan's out on his pleasure cruise.

Needless to say, Audrey has been the buoy to a sinking ship. If there were a way to imitate the last two weeks of pregnancy, it would be a great torture device for those really bad people at Guantanamo Bay, not that I am a proponent of torturing people. "Anything, I'll do anything, just get it over with!" Okay, it's really not that bad, but to have Audrey here truly has been a pleasure cruise for me. Four words are all I need to say for you to understand the magnitude of her help: she vacuums my stairs.

Not only is she a great help, but a great friend. The bargain-finding, treat -making, people-watching duo of the good ole days has returned and I am quite enjoying it and Kate has only good things to say as well (I want my Audgie). Thanks audge, love you!

Just can't get enough

2009-09-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

I was so lucky to travel to Montana, again. Got to see my parents, again. Got to enjoy unbeatable weather, company, scenery, etc, again.

Everyday Heroes

2009-08-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

While at BYU I TA'd for a professor who was blind. Brother Cowan. Although his sight was gone, you would never consider the absence to be a hinderance to his abilities. His bookshelves housed scores of titles filling floor to ceiling, wall to wall. When he asked me to retrieve books from these shelves, someone with 20/20 vision, he often gave up in his descriptions and just got the book himself. He could describe the width, texture, heighth, etc with perfect accuracy. He could identify students from up to 5 years past with the sound of one sentence uttered. In short, he was amazing. Not only were his physical abilities so commendable, but he still tops my list of compassionate and kind people.

He was an everyday hero. An inspiration to me to buoy my strengths and strengthen my weaknesses. If I were in Utah, I would love to nominate him for this great project my friend Alli is doing called Everyday Heroes. Alli is amazing and would love to photograph your everyday hero in order to raise money for a great cause! Plus, it's a great deal for you! Alli is an accomplished photographer, she can even make our family look good, amazing.

Happy Day

2009-08-19T13:55:00.001-07:00

Make a Smilebox photobook

Ryan is in Brazil (brasil?). I'm in Montana. We miss each other. Happy 3rd anniversary to you Ryan!

Utah is raising it's (mishapen) head all over the country! Read on!

2009-08-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

Trying to give your hair the defying gravity look? Don't have the Southern Idaho/Rural Utah 'extra lobe' gene? Watch this demo! Just don't tell anyone hailing from cities south of Provo UT, they just might go nuts trying to fill the 30 min they spend trying to create their bump every morning.

This is real, Ryan saw it on tv pulling an all-nighter for work while he was in LA.

Say yes to the dress

2009-08-09T06:45:00.001-07:00

Guess what this used to be? It used to be one of those articles of clothing that inhabits the back of the closet for way too long. One of Ryan's old dress shirts. Then I made it into a dress. I even had to make my own pattern. I am pretty proud of my sewing prowess on this one.

Next project - recovering the chair Kate's sitting on.

insert red-neck joke here

2009-08-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

Go ahead and laugh, but I did take out 4 targets with 7 shots.

Kate was impressed.

Our Little Lady Turned 2

2009-08-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

In June I asked Kate what kind of birthday party she wanted. She said "caterpillars and ladybugs." I had a little internal celebration that Ariel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and the rest of the gang would not be the starring roles at this two year old party. Kate was all smiles when she saw her lady-bug lollipops and realized this was the party she had been waiting for - you can see a little glimpse of these guys in the corner of the first pic above. (I made little lady-bug pops in lieu of cake, I have no idea how to decorate cakes and didn't really want to tackle that task this year.)

When I watched Kate eat up every second of this party, literally and figuratively, I realized that this is her mantra. She's a mover and a shaker, a "carpe diem" driven soul. I know she will inspire me in the years to come with her tenacity and spit-fire ways. I have been caught by this little girl, hook, line, and sinker. Happy birthday to my favorite two-year-old.

What good is a lady-bug themed party without real, live lady bugs? Grandma Morgan tracked down a box of 1500 live ladybugs from a garden store, thank you! The kids loved letting these little buggers go while simultaneously attracting as many as they could. (I hope we didn't off set the natural balance of lady bugs at the un-named park where we held the party. On second thought, I know a good number of them didn't make it much longer than 2 or 3 minutes out of the box. Anxious and vigorous 2-8 year olds = squashed bugs.)

The Fourth

2009-07-10T14:51:00.001-07:00

Our fourth of July weekend started Friday morning when we drove out to Seaside to join Ryan's family at a beach house they rented for a week. We stayed for three days in the house. It was HUGE, right on the beach, complete with an ocean mural in the kitchen, marble showers, hundreds of dvds, pool table, poker table (unused this trip), telescope, full size barbecue, and plenty of room for all of us.

This swing set was about 200 yards from our door, and right on the beach. I don't think we could have come up with a better combo for Kate: water, sand, and a swing set all in one place. She was in heaven. It was so nice to walk out the back door and right on to the beach, we didn't haul anything back and forth besides a little sand, I loved it.
Here Kate is wearing the Fourth of July oufit that Grandma sewed and I embellished. I thought it turned out pretty darn cute if I do say so myself.

Kate squeezed every last moment of swimming and wading into those three days as she could. Ryan loved playing in the water with her, how convenient because I thought it was pretty chilly. We had to force Kate out of the ocean periodically so she didn't over-chill.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa-Grandpa for a great trip, wished we could have stayed longer!

Where skies are always blue...

2009-07-10T14:22:00.000-07:00

Since I'm pretty sure my family are the only people who understood what this post title was referencing, this is a post about my trip to Montana with Kate. If I could sum it up in one word, I'd say "decompressing." I love my home. Stress recedes just to imagine warm nights on the hammock, every star visible, the lake shimmering in the moonlight, frogs croaking, and no other people within eye or ear-shot. That sort of living is healthy and I miss it. Our visit filled a void and I feel rejuvenated.

Saw lots of "deeries."

Even saw a buffalo. Kate asked if we could kiss it, I'm not sure that's a desire anyone in all of history has had.

Went on walks with grandma. They talked all about the people who lived in the houses below, the tractors doing the work, the horses in the fields, the dogs in the yards, the grass growing so tall, the mailman delivering the mail, the best kind of stuff to talk about in the world if you're little.

I wish I had more pictures of the swimming. Kate had the time of her life and nearly learned to swim on her own in the pool of my youth at my parents condo on Flathead Lake.

When I watched Kate, I reminisced my trips to the condo as a little girl. The 25 min drive included Audrey and I doing our best to fill every bit of silence by belting the words to Whitney Houstons singles tape playing in the minivan while my dad drove. We also swam to exhaustion. But we almost always got to stop by the little grocery store and enjoy fudgesicles for the drive home. You cannot know, until you are a parent, what sort of commitment and work those things require. Thanks dad for spending the 3 hours periodically to take the little girls of the family for these outings, they are some of my favorite times.

Thanks mom and dad for choosing to raise me in the most beautiful and simple place on earth and thanks for letting me return.

Cruisin

2009-07-10T14:10:00.001-07:00

Gabe and Dave provided a fabulous date night for the family when they took us on a ride down the Willamette River. But I wished my Dad could have been there, it was a trip just up his alley.

For non-portlanders, the Willamette runs right through downtown portland, so we got to see the city from a totally different perspective and as we traveled out of city limits our dream house observing appetites were certainly filled by taking in all the gorgeous houses on the river. It was one of the best nights we've had in a long time, so relaxing, beautiful, and very romantic. Not to mention we got to see a fisherman pull an eight-foot sturgeon out of the river, that was nuts. Mid trip, we docked our boat right on this restaurant's dock, stepped out of the boat, and sat down to a great seafood meal.
I satisfied my pregnancy induced desire for all things chocolate with a mini chocolate pudding dessert. No ordinary chocolate pudding though, I'll tell you that much. I savored every bite.

berry baby

2009-07-10T14:05:00.001-07:00

As you can see Kate had a great time picking strawberries. Mom picks 5 berries, Kate eats two. She loaded her little belly with all the fresh berries she could stand. After every berry selection Kate asked, "this a yucky one or a good one?" Kate was our QC woman this trip. Isn't Oregon beautiful?

I'm ready to go!

2009-07-10T14:01:00.001-07:00

I asked Kate to pick a toy to bring in the car. This is what she came down the stairs with. Apparently she's beginning to pack like a female already.

Go on the potty, get a sucker?

2009-07-10T13:52:00.000-07:00

This is the common phrase on our house nowadays. Maybe the incentive is overshadowing the actual objective of learning to go on the potty. But we're making progress and that's pretty exciting! Kate loves showing me her colored tongue after the treat.

Oh Daddy

2009-06-22T17:11:00.001-07:00

Daddy/daughter in the wee hours of father's day morning

The book quickly topped the list of favorites when we checked it out from the library recently. Many nights the bedtime routine includes a snuggle between Ryan and Kate while reading this book. Needless to say, it made a great father's day gift and now has permanent place in our library.

I'm not sure breakfast in bed is ideal for ryan. I think his ideal day would begin with lunch in bed. But we got to enjoy some cinnamon rolls, eggs, and kiwi on Sunday. We're sort of compartment eaters at our house. Kate at the frosting, Ryan ate the kiwi, and I had what was left. Isn't that the mom's role? Isn't he a good sport?

I brought these cute ones to our family dinner the day before the official dad's day. We had burgers, so I thought french fries would be a suitable addition - Fun little sugar cookies made to look like french fries, mine looked more like steak fries. But were pretty fun none-the-less.

Although not the best picture, so telling. This is Ryan at our family father's day dinner. He gives his all to enjoying every moment with his girl. Which includes sitting at the kids table for family dinners. He loves Kate, he talks about her to me all the time and asks me all the questions to see where she's at emotionally, developmentally, physically, etc. He's the best, we are sooo lucky.

Bewitching Hour

2009-06-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

Somewhere along the line 5:00 pm woke up on the wrong side of the bed and has never returned. Kids transform from fun little beings to melting piles of tears, moms lose patience, dads get stuck in traffic, casserole dishes crack right down the middle while cooking in the oven. Yeah that last one happened to me. At 5. Curry sauce and a chicken breast all over. Scratch that, atomic glue all over the oven. Set off the fire alarm. Oh and Kate had been throwing up all day. But, good news, at 6 pm the day got much better.

Cowboy Up!

2009-05-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

When I was about 12 weeks pregnant, my friend Sofia presented me with these cutest little adornments for tiny feet you've ever seen. She sure whet my whistle for a baby boy. Well, all that priming led to sheer joy as our ultrasound indicated these booties will be warming the feet of a little boy come October! Yahoo, ride 'em cowboy!

Pretending Summer

2009-05-13T13:09:00.000-07:00

It's "spring" here in Oregon. I guess you can call a high of 40 degrees and drizzling/pouring rain "spring." So we pretend summer sometimes, as pictured above.

Kate's been on a popsicle kick lately, with basically no treats in her diet, homemade popsicles are the perfect thing to satisfy a sweet tooth. Her favorite flavor? Ryan's frozen smoothie concoction of carrot, orange, and soy milk. She loved them! I didn't love them. But I ate them!

A little Update a little backwards

2009-05-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

While filtering through pictures I found some from April I would love to share. I would love to share them even more if I had been showered and made up for all of them, but we have to be flexible right? Anyway here's looking back at April!

Ryan put the "b" in birthday this year surprising me with my favorite bran muffins in bed. Kate got up and"helped" (see pics below) and then delivered the muffin mans (she calls all muffins, cupcakes, etc muffin mans b/c of the song) to me. I went to lunch with Audrey, the other April 9th girl, at Pizzeria 712. Mmm, the braised beef is yummy there. Ryan and I had a fab dinner at "Gloria's Little Italy" complete with peach italian sodas.

I think better than being served with awesome surprises all day, was how excited Kate was to celebrate this birthday. She gave me somewhere around 20 hugs and so many kisses and sang happy birthday all day, even the next day too. I'm so looking forward to her birthday this year when I can return the favor.

Instead of looking at these moments as large messes, I like to think that Kate's just a "great helper in training." Helping is totally her intention anyway.

Easter Chick

2009-05-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

Easter bunny got a killer deal on this new dress. Isn't she darling?

Our Easter bunny was huge this year and left an easter chair instead of basket, kate's a lucky ducky.

Loved this pose, Kate was workin that camera.

Baby Shower

2009-05-11T16:22:00.000-07:00

I was really lame and don't have any more pictures of the most un-lame baby shower that my friends Alli and Laura threw for me. This was the invite that went out, everything was as cute as this and cuter. We just chilled with a bunch of friends, ate yummy food and talked about being pregnant, giving birth, etc. It was a wonderful afternoon. Thank you to Alli and Laura!

Updates continued : Ward Easter Party

2009-05-11T16:01:00.001-07:00

Human Foosball. After losing the chili cook-off, Ryan came back by scoring all but one of the six goals in this game. He did score on this shot!
Then Kate tried her hand at the game. Although not the scoring fiend like her dad, what she didn't have in points she made up for in tenacity and sheer cuteness.
Kate ingested all the equivalent of all the sugar she'd eaten in her entire life in this one easter egg hunt. In this case, I think a more appropriate name would be easter egg gather. The rate at which she emptied eggs and consumed the contents was hilarious, and a little worrisome as I thought about the effects sure to come later that evening.

Westward, ho!

2009-05-05T20:17:00.000-07:00

So we made the move. From Utahns to Oregonians. From BYU students to how-to-survive-endless-rain students, if you've ever visited or even heard of the Northwest, you know what I mean. From more money going out than coming in, to the other way around (YAHOO!! well, maybe next month.) From late nights cramming for test to late nights organizing closets, drawers, the garage, and bookshelves in a place 3x the size of any residence we've ever inhabited.

I always anitcipated that with college graduation would come the feeling of a destination reached. But it was surprisingly not so. With each milestone (marriage, baby, job, etc.) I get the increasingly clear impression that each of these markers, although momentous, are not desinations or even resting points. Life is one large transition and progression. Being the to-do list kind of girl I am, frustration often sets in when destinations are reached but I cannot check things off my list. Example: as college is finished I cannot say , "Done learning, check." Or when Kate finally slept through the night, can't say "Done using patience, check." But, also hailing from the worlds most optimistic gene pool (my family are some of the most sunny people I know) I also see that this is a wonderful way to keep things interesting. Growing and learning never ever stops, hallejuah. If the measuring stick of patience were held above my head now, I would seriously come up short as in so many other areas. So here we come, new segment of life, ready to keep on truckin.

Gourmet on a Budget

2009-04-07T13:01:00.001-07:00

Here it is, tater tots for dinner. When these little guys run 3 packages for $2 at Maceys, it's difficult to pass up. But we made lemonade with our lemons, or as we like to say "croquettes with our tubors" and did them up right. I think they tasted better.

Uptown Girl

2009-04-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

Kate puts on Daddy's sunglasses. Daddy says, "Oh snap Kate." Ya know, with the slightly snappy attitude and the, man-you're-good-lookin tone. Kate repeats. We video-tape and get a kick out of this girl once again.

When Maile and her boys visited last week, they corralled Kate and I to the Thanksgiving Point petting farm and zoo. True to her colors, Kate kissed all the animals (even the chickens) fed them with gusto, and let them lick all over her tasty fingers and face. I maintained careful balance of watchful mom and hovering squasher of fun. Kate was smiling pretty much the whole time, so I think we succeeded.

But, in true uptown-fashion Kate detested the pony ride. Okay, detest was strong but in contrast to all the other kids who held on to their ponies in gleeful bliss with the parents trotting happily beside it seemed like detesting to me. I gave quite a riveting and convincing (at least I thought so) speech as to why pony rides "are the best!" Although, Kate did not buy it. Proof below.

Contrast here, Q is a true cowboy!

By the way, if you want to have a great week, a little break in your routine, and someone to offer a lifetime worth of help to you, have Maile and her boys in your neck of the woods for some time. Thank you Maile for all the fun times and help. We needed it!

Simple Addition

2009-03-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

On January 29 this is what I saw. On February 1 I was wondering how the excitement I felt on January 29 could so quickly turn to constant nausea and exhaustion. On March 30, tomorrow, I will get to hear the new little tiny heartbeat of the baby that will be joining our family about October 2, 2009 and more excitement will return. We are excited for this new package to arrive. Main motivation for feeling joy with the arrival of this baby: Kate will have a sibling close to her age to play with , teach, and most likely boss around a little bit. Of course, we are so anticipating all those milestones and joys that come from seeing a new personality grow and blossom under our care.

I've been "it" forever

2009-03-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure I was tagged over 2 months ago. As some of you may have noted, I have not been extremely diligent with the blog lately. This semester has been nuts. When I say nuts I mean my class takes so much time that by the time there's 30 seconds to spare blogging is about number 492 on the list of "to do." Like right now, I should be studying one of the 300 terms and locations of the muscles of the lower extremity I have to know for my test, where they originate and insert so that when they ask me if the adductor magnus inserts on the pes anserine or the femur, I will know. Maybe I overestimate the number of people who read and care for our little serial, but there's the explanation for at least the 3 of you.

ANYWAY, here's our 4th of the 4th.

Kate loves to look at our pictures on the computer. This is one of her favorites. I was floored when she saw the picture for the first time the other day, about 4 months after this shot was taken, and said, "messy yogurt." That's pretty keen food identification if you ask me. Like father, like daughter. Although maybe since it was yogurt, one of Ryan's less favorite foods and my more favorite, I can take credit for this one.

Simpler Days

2009-03-18T07:13:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you felt this kind of freedom and confidence wearing your swimsuit while someone was lurking with a camera, especially from the posterior aspect? I don't recall when it was for me probably because it's been a long while. Kate lives her little 1 1/2 year old life with pure, unadulterated curiosity, and joy with no thought to how she looks or the impression she gives. When the music starts, she jumps up and shakes it like she just doesn't care, no matter who's watching. When there's water, she wants to swim, regardless of the way her swimming suit fits. She's her own person and not afraid of owning that. And people love it. Lesson learned. (well maybe not learned, but at least taken into account and noted.) Love this little girl and all she teaches me.

Happy (Almost) Half Birthday Dad

2009-01-27T12:25:00.001-08:00

You'd never thought the day would come. The unattainable. The diamond in the rough. This goal has only been reached through 15 years of wading through every clothing rack, appliance display, and outdoors store in the universe. But here it is, the perfect gift for Patrick A. Thomas. I couldn't wait to share the news for a real celebration day. So who's got dibs?

Now with the new Tefal Toast n' Egg you can have a hot breakfast sandwich in just four minutes, before you rush out the door. A multifunctional appliance, the Toast n Egg will toast your bread and muffins, cook your egg and warm your precooked meats all at once or separately as desired. The Toast n Egg can even prepare your egg in two ways. You can use either the steamer tray for hard boiled eggs or the poaching tray which makes muffin-sized eggs. Finally with the two wide toast slots and the warming tray for meats, the Tefal Toast n Egg has been carefully designed to accommodate your every need. It does not, however, do your taxes or make yogurt.

So a man walks into a bar . . .

2009-01-26T12:52:00.000-08:00

Story: We are in the car at Christmas with Ryan's family. I tell a funny story. Somewhere in the story, right before everyone laughs I say the word "July." Kate picks up on this. She thinks that the word "July" is a joke. She says July and cracks up hysterically. Then we all laugh again, at Kate, but she thinks we're laughing at July, further confirming her belief that the word July must be hilarious. This is her new favorite joke. She says july, Ryan and I laugh. So for those of you who are like me and only remember the punch lines to jokes, here's a perfect remedy! You can try out the "july joke" at your next work party. It may be just as successful as the punch-line only ones you've tried before. PS If Kate tries this joke out on you, please laugh, her comic career is so new and fragile.

Modeling

2009-01-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

I found a way to make a quick post using another computer. So good news, my blogging craving will not go unheeded. Maybe that won't top your "good news list" but I was excited to get back to posting.

So Kate's not quite a professional model yet, but we feel like the gratification that comes from seeing cuter-than-ever pics of her on someone else's blog is payment enough. Also, there's some measure of credence attributed to Ryan's and my over-the-top love for Kate when someone else finds your child enjoyable and cute enough to photograph them and display the results.

Alli Miles, the cutest law student/photographer (great combo huh?) took some shots of Kate. You can check them out at her blog. AllSmiles There are two posts of her, so take a look at posts titled "untitled" and "baby k" Love to all!

Announcement

2009-01-22T16:13:00.000-08:00

We have lost a member of our technology family this week, it's not very big at the Morgan household, so each loss is monumental. Our computer has passed on. AKA : no more posts for quite some time, I'm so sad. I will miss my blogging, doing business online, and maybe even visiting websites with pictures of skulls, muscles, nerves and what-not to help prepare for anatomy tests, or maybe not. Hope to return soon!

Loved this simple article

2009-01-08T12:35:00.000-08:00

Are you female? Yes? Do you have 5 min? Yes? Click here: simply stated

End of the Year Dividends

2009-01-07T19:01:00.000-08:00

These Christmas mornings with children are one of the great payoffs of parenthood. We have just one little tiny charming girl and she's only just begun to realize that receiving many new toys all at once doesn't occur everyday. When I watched her little chubby hand retrieve three hot wheels cars from her stocking and she caught a glimpse of her prize, the expression on her face shouted, "how could I be so lucky?" And I had the same thought, although for different reasons. So I can imagine that we are nearing peak on the "joy of Christmas" roller coaster ride. As our children (NO we are not pregnant) near the ages of 5-11 I will probably not embrace the warm little bodies entering our room in the wee hours of 3-6 a.m. But to see that uncontainable anticipation and joy at the surprises in their stocking and wrapped under the tree is cause for me to anticipate and enjoy all those Christmases to come.
This is Kate in one her most common poses, I call it "studying." She's giving those hot wheels a once-over just to be sure none of the elves were off-task.

This is the traditional "on the stairs" shot. Unfortunately our pics from Christmas morning turned out pretty poorly, this is the best we've got. I promise she was much happier and much more excited than this picture lets on.

Kate opened her baby stroller first. We could hardly drag her away from doing laps around the living room to open more gifts.

Christmas in Montana

2009-01-06T07:16:00.000-08:00

So you've probably heard this little statement, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." Well Portland, OR was filled with great fear this Christmas as they were dumped on for the first time in fifty years. (I heard anywhere between 30-60 years, so I thought I was safe with fifty). This lack of preparation put Ryan, Kate, Ryan's sisters, and me on 3 cancelled flights trying to fly home from Salt Lake for the holidays. Through the good graces of Ryan's dad, we finally arrived in Portland before Christmas via a flight to Seattle and one very cramped drive from Seattle to Portland (7 people in six seats plus 7 people's stuff for the 9 day stay)

Growing up, I loved, loved, loved the snow. Winter came with much anticipation and excitement because we were prepared and had all the right stuff to have fun and be safe in the winter weather. We embraced the cold and snow because we knew it would come with or without a good attitude and warm socks.

This is my mom reminding me what a difference it makes when you are prepared and can enjoy winter. She's on our trampoline in our backyard.

Check out these other awesome shots from winter in Montana - I miss home.

Humility of a Child

2008-12-10T11:56:00.002-08:00

Here's the story: I dressed Kate up in one of her Christmas outfits from Grandma DeAnn. Ryan thought she looked very nice so he said, "You look very nice today Kate." Without missing a beat, Kate said, "Get out!" accompanied by the appropriate arm gesture of pretending to push away the complement. For all you Seinfeld loyalists out there, you might think she's been picking up on some of their lingo, but I'm pretty sure she's never seen Seinfeld. Although she is pretty handy with the controls on the TV, so who knows. We have no idea where this came from, but it sure was cute. So we tried it again, and she did it again.

This is a reproduction, made obvious by the audible, "Ok, go!" at the beginning of the video, but we were still glad to get it on camera.

Real Christmas Request

2008-12-05T13:20:00.000-08:00

Being a poor college "family" does have its benefits. We can only sink about $150 deep into the materialistic side of Christmas. Although our budget may confine what we spend on Christmas to a relatively small number, our minds, thoughts, and spirit do not have the same definite boundaries. I find myself still cataloging new items to add to my wish list, Kate's wish list, Ryan's wish list, and anyone else I can think of. New stuff is fun!

But "stuff" is not what Christmas is about. When I see the shining, fresh face of my little girl everyday I am reminded what the Savior gave us through His life and atonement: the chance to start anew, make amends, receive comfort, and find love to make our countenances once again shining and new. All the stuff in the world winds up looking like nothing at all when we compare the gift we have been given through Jesus Christ.

So, my request: How do you, or your family, remember Jesus, His life, and gift during the Christmas season?

The Joy of Bulgur

2008-12-02T19:43:00.001-08:00

No I didn't steal this post title from the most recent title of our ward's home storage cookbook. It's sincere, I really do find joy in eating bulgur wheat. And although this may come as a shock, so do Kate and Ryan.

If you read the word "bulgur" and your mind immediately jumped to weird medical conditions, don't tune out! Bulgur is a grain commonly used in middle eastern dishes. It is so versatile, I love trying lots of different things with it. Although it's not really good with chocolate, at least that's what I hear ;) Also, it's soo good for you! Trivia: bulgur has more fiber than oats or buckwheat!

So you have to cook bulgur like any other grain before you use it. I like to make a big batch and have lots leftover so I can try different combos at lunch.

Here are some of my favorite ways to eat this yummy grain. I apologize ahead of time because the measurements are by no means precise. I just wanted to throw some fun ideas out there for healthy meals. And remember, with all of these you're basically making a salad, so if you like or don't like ingredients there is no problem with tweaking them. I serve all these variations in pita pockets, but you can eat them alone too.

#1 Traditional Tabbouleh
I learned to make this from an Iranian lady I worked with as a teenager. You can find a great recipe on allrecipes.com but here are the basics I use:

2 cups cooked bulgur (1 cup uncooked turns into about 2 cups cooked)
2-3 roma sized tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt to taste

#2 "Greek" Tabbouleh
Really it just has feta, but Greek in the title sounds fun

2 cups cooked bulgur
2-3 roma sized tomatoes, seeded an chopped
1/2 - cucumber, peeled and chopped
1-2 tblsp fresh dill, about 1 1/2 dried
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 - 3/4 cup feta, mmm!
1 cooked, chopped chicken breast (I put lots of seasonings on mine and then just bake it in the oven)
salt to taste
lemon juice to taste

Note : Let the bulgur cool a bit before you mix, other wise the mixture gets gooey

#3 Annie's "Tabbouleh"
Have you ever had "Annie's" shitake mushroom salad dressing? My sister Audrey introduced me and I'm a goner for it. MMM! This is totally just an idea to use up some bulgur, no measurements at all

Cooked bulger
Cucumber
Tomato
Shitake Mushroom Dressing, lots of it.

1st Christmas Present

2008-12-01T12:37:00.000-08:00

Kate received her first Christmas present today! The little nativity set came in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa Morgan, they hit the nail on the head with this gift. Thank you!

Here's a little video of her enjoying the gift.

Preserving Life

2008-11-09T10:33:00.000-08:00

Although finding a life-like objects in the fridge may be a relatively common occurrence in some houses, I doubt they ever found anything this close. Ya know, this is the kind of thing you find when a 15-month-old helps you clean up. Or, as my father-in-law suggested maybe Kate has made the connection that when you put things in the refrigerator, they last longer. It is obvious that Kate loves her dolly when I consider the care she takes of her in comparison with her other toys. Rocking her (at warp speed), placing (throwing) her in the crib, giving hugs (suffocating her). Although she may not have the exact right technique, it sure is darling to see her give love and affection.

The Gift of Giving

2008-11-09T09:37:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

I'd like to begin giving a little early this year by giving you a gift idea. My friend Meg makes the cutest bath-time aprons for mommies. She has talents coming out her ears, and this is one that I'm sure you will enjoy.

Go check her out at Etsy.

All the Fixins; not too Shabby

2008-11-06T11:59:00.001-08:00

I like my burgers Big, hold the mayo, extra lettuce and tomato and please don't hesitate to throw in all that other good stuff to make the burger whole (mushrooms, onions, cheese, etc.) A naked burger is like a thirsty man in the desert without his smoothy, Jazz without its soul, and Ben without Jerry. Or in this case, the outfit without it its 'fit'.

Of course you have to have something great to dress up....

The meat of life is sure a heck-of-alot more tasty when dressed, sauced, seasoned and accessorized.

Visit Shabby Apple clothing to add some spice to your life!

On the Farm

2008-10-31T22:30:00.001-07:00

Audrey, Kate, and I headed down to Hee Haw farms last week join in the fall festivities of looking for a pumpkin, petting the animals, getting lost in corn mazes, etc. When we arrived, there was no one there, not even workers. We figured it was the slow time of the day, so we made ourselves comfortable and just acted like we owned the place.

We let Kate take charge, and show us around.

Kate began her tour in the tractor.

Then we moved to the train to view the sites.

Kate explained that we would have to abandon the motorized vehicles for the remainder of our tour, in order not to frighten the shy animals of bunny village.

The cows were noisy and Kate needed some help projecting her voice, so asked one of the tour group members to act as a podium. Thank you Audrey.

Kate let this display speak for itself.

Of course, we ended with snacks.

I visited the farm's website later and found out Hee Haw farms was closed when we decided to pay them a visit. With no supervision, we went to town on feeding the goats. All in all, I think we fed the goats about 5 pounds of grain. I hope there was no permanent damage. I highly recommend visiting a busy attraction when it is closed, we had no competition for anything!

Marbles between her toes - you weren't too far off Grandpa!

2008-10-31T21:59:00.000-07:00

My grandpa always used to try persuade us to eat all the undesirable portions of our meal with the phrase, "Eat up! It will put hair on your chest and feathers between your toes." My immediate, although un-uttered reaction was, why would I want any of those things?

Well, one day Kate sprouted a much more feminine version of Grandpa's old wive's tale. Because she eats her vegetables so well, I'd like to think it's a shout out to grandpa.

Of course, Kate did not spontaneously sprout these marbles between her toes, she had some help from genetics (mom's got monkey toes) and from dad with the mechanics.

Laura Morgan, Come on Down!

2008-10-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

You know how you always hear people say, "I never win anything!" Most of the time, I think they're lying. I have been keeping track since third grade, when I didn't win bingo the entire school year, of times when I have entered a contest, drawing, or raffle and I have not won any of them (probably very sad I know) . To bare all truths, I have won merit-based contests and games many times, but when the winner gains prizes by random luck, I have never been that lucky.

Well, the tides have turned and the stars aligned; I finally won something. I attended a Student Entrepreneur of the Year contest at BYU and they give away all sorts of prizes during the event, I was a lucky recipient. It's a pretty good for my first time around, an ipod shuffle! I am very excited about my new toy. Yahoo! I even gave a good yelp when they called my number! Good news, now it's time to keep track of the "wins" in my life.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-01T20:43:00.001-07:00

Halloween started early this year! As I have exited our new apartment three out of five mornings, I am greeted by a new spider on our front step. Most of the time, not just one, usually 2 or 3. Not just any spider either, a BLACK WIDOW. YUCK!! Yes, we have sprayed multiple times. Yes, we are so nervous for Kate to be bitten. Yes, it is so gross.

In case that first picture wasn't enough for you, here's another perspective. I thought we should document at least some of our finds. Aren't they huge?

So the count is up to 12 black widows I have found outside our apartment. So now I always make Kate stay inside when I go out the first thing in the morning while I bend over to inspect carefully for any new bugs, always muttering "yuck, I hate bugs, this is sick." As expected, now every time Kate goes out the door she bends way over toward the ground and points while saying "buggy, yuck"

The "Dirt" on Kate

2008-09-22T16:13:00.001-07:00

Playing in the dirt is often pegged as a boy activity but I think there is something therapeutic about playing in the dirt as a child regardless of gender. I remember when my family was building a new house, I was eight and my sister Audrey was 11. We played in the dirt piles made from the dug out foundation endlessly. We rolled in it, shoveled it, jumped in it, threw it, etc. When Kate found the tiny 2 x 2 area of dirt in front of our apartment my instinct was to quickly distract her with a cleaner activity, but I paused to recall the fond memories I have of dirt-time and decided to remove her clothes and let her go to town instead. I think she liked it because she was totally engrossed for about 10 minutes, a relative eternity for our 14-month-old.

Temple

2008-08-23T18:49:00.001-07:00

My visiting teachers are amazing this time around. They took Kate and I to the temple grounds to take pictures, it was very fun and sweet of them.

Kate has followed in the footsteps of almost every other child I know and loves to show her tummy, no matter the location or the audience.

She knocked on all the doors we passed, it was very cute.

Family Pics

2008-08-08T22:32:00.001-07:00

Can't believe we're having family pics already! Our friend Meg took these and many others, but these are the ones we've seen so far.

Our favorite.

The Big 1

2008-08-08T14:59:00.001-07:00

Kate enjoyed breakfast in bed for her first b-day! There's a video below of us waking her up for her day.

Excuse the "morning" looks.

Pier 39

2008-08-08T14:55:00.001-07:00

Here's Kate and mommy watching the sea lions. She loved to imitate their barking, it was pretty cute. We enjoyed chowder in a bread bowl on the wharf, it was pretty fun.

More San Fran

2008-08-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

This was what we did alot of - tooling around watchin the busy people, chasing pigeons, looking for parks to stop at and little shops for me.
The "Ferry Building" was one of our favorites, it had beautiful shops, a gorgeous park, a fountain that Kate thought was a swimming pool, and great restaurants. And it was two blocks from our hotel!
Ryan and Kate on the "trolley" which was really an electric train, but was still very fun. And with no car seat it was practically a carnival ride for Kate.
The lobby of the building Ryan worked at was beautiful with probably 50 orchids and other amazing plants.
Kate and Daddy with the seals. Fun!

San Fran

2008-08-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Ryan invited Kate and I to join him on a work trip to san francisco. We really had such a good time. I was a little nervous in the beginning as I would be alone with Kate for most of the time in a city I didn't know with no car and nobody I knew. But after about 2 days we settled into a nice rhythm and it was great. I was sad to see our return approaching and when we heard our return flight was cancelled I think I was the only person who anticipated flying out in the morning rather than at the scheduled time that evening. Unfortunately, they found a way to get us home that night

This was the little view of the bay bridge we had. Our hotel was gorgeous. It sure was nice to have someone else clean, cook, and make my bed for a week!

Lazy Days of Summer

2008-07-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

Grandma's magic touch works on swings too! Grandma Thomas was so nice to swing Kate in Nate and Maile's backyard, before we knew it, she was out! Life is good.

Steer-Wrestling 101

2008-06-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

When I try to put Kate's shoes on she defies gravity and transforms into gumbi to escape my grasp. The maneuvers she pulls during dressing-time are only topped by her acrobatics during diapering. I've finally resorted to diapering in stages:

1. Pin Kate, Undiaper, Wipe, Release! (risky, I know)

2. Pin Kate, Re-diaper (the most challenging), Release!

3. Pin Kate, Re-Pant, Release!

Here's How

2008-06-18T15:06:00.001-07:00

Busy Mom’s Guide:

How to do Everything Faster (and better!)

By Genoa Sibold-Cohn

Here are 50 ways to save time by doing things faster, so you can spend more time doing the things you really enjoy with your family.

1. Assemble your children's outfits when you put clothes away in their drawers. Then you can quickly grab a full outfit without having to waste time scouring the drawers for a matching shirt and pair of Give your grade-schooler a "homework box" with pencils, an eraser, a stapler, a calculator, and a ruler. Ask her to bring it to the table whenever it's time to do homework.

2. When you see a great toy on sale, buy several and sock them away for your child to give to friends at birthday parties throughout the year.

3. Forget about addressing your party invitations by hand. Go to the United States Postal Service website to create party invitations that can be shipped to addresses you upload to the site. Or, have your own photo printed onto a postcard invitation at Snapfish and they'll stamp the cards and mail them for you.

4. Stock your produce drawer or a lower shelf in your refrigerator with snacks like carrot sticks and apple slices that your kids can grab without your help. Set up a similar area in your pantry with baggies full of dried fruit or graham crackers.

5.Skip ironing and get wrinkles out of a shirt or pair of trousers by putting them in the dryer for 15 minutes with a damp hand towel.

6.Stop wasting time looking for things you use often, like scissors, reading glasses, or baby wipes. Stock up and keep duplicates in the rooms where you spend the most time.

7.Designate 30 minutes after dinner for cleaning — and get everyone involved in folding laundry, doing dishes, and clearing away clutter.

8.Store sets of sheets and pillowcases inside unfolded pillowcases to make bed changes fast and easy and minimize clutter in your linen closet.

9.Program the phone numbers for your favorite take-out restaurants into your cell phone so you can call to pick up dinner on the way home and avoid paying for delivery.

10.Create a file for coupons for your favorite restaurants and file them with take-out menus. Put the coupons that expire soonest at the front of the pack.

11.Set up a box for bills that need to be paid and stock it with stamps and envelopes.

12.Organize your favorite articles, parenting information, and recipes so you can find them more quickly. Place pages from online sites, magazines, and newspapers in page protectors and stash them in a three-ring binder.

13.Store your child's outgrown clothes in large plastic bins and affix labels such as "0 to 3 months", "6 to 9 months", "9 to 12 months", and so on. Once your child has grown out of a size, you can easily store the clothes, loan them to a friend, or take them to a consignment shop.

14.Shop for holiday and birthday gifts year-round. Whenever you see a great

gift for someone you love, buy it and set it aside for giving later.

15.Start a monthly meal exchange program with five friends and neighbors. Once a month, cook enough for two dinners. Stash one in the freezer and take the other to meet up with the group and swap healthy, freezer-ready main dishes. Then go home with four other meals, and put them in the freezer alongside the extra one you made for your family. Suddenly you're stocked up with a variety of easy, homemade dinners.

16.Limit personal e-mail and computer time to twice a day.

17.Do all of your errands one day a week, working off a list and taking the most efficient route.

18.Hire a babysitter for a couple of hours on the weekend so you can tackle household duties and errands without kids in tow.

19.Chop all your vegetables, fruits, and herbs for the week's meals at one time so everything will be ready for cooking.

20.Add important appointments and activities to a master calendar in your e-mail in-box and set up reminders for up to one week ahead. This calendar can be shared with family members via e-mail. (Google Calendar, a free Web-based system, even sends reminders to cell phones.)

21.Sort belongings into clear, labeled bins that can be stacked and stowed so your child can easily find things like DVDs and toys without your help. Use brightly colored labels and picture labels for toddlers and preschoolers who can't read.

22.Stop by the post office before 3 p.m. on weekdays, when the long lines usually begin to form, so you can get in and out more efficiently.

23.Keep disinfecting and glass wipes in the bathroom for quick cleanups around toilets, sinks, and mirrors. You could even do a speedy wipe-down while you bathe the kids.

24.Keep a phone book in your car to avoid unnecessary calls to 411 and to quickly look up addresses.

25.Set up two folders related to your child's schoolwork — one for school notices and the other for schoolwork you want to keep.

26.Skip folding laundry and instead hang up all clothing except for socks, underwear, linens, and towels.

27.Grocery shop on the weekends or, if you don't want to waste precious weekend time, go to the store after the kids are in bed. You'll whiz through the store with much less frustration because you're not also feeling the pressure to get dinner on the table and everyone into bed on time.

28.Choose meats or other proteins that can be used for several meals during a week. A store-bought rotisserie chicken can be shredded and used for several dishes, like chicken enchiladas, homemade chicken soup, and chicken salad. Slow-cooked pork tenderloin can double as barbecued pork sandwiches with just a bottle of barbecue sauce. Cooked beans can go in salad, tacos, and vegetable soup.

29.Open mail with the trash can (or recyclying bin) nearby so junk mail and catalogs can be thrown out immediately. Even better, sign up with a free service for reducing junk mail like the National Do Not Mail list

30.Keep cardboard boxes labeled "donate," "trash," or "consign" in the garage or storage closet to routinely rid your house of unused items and clutter.

31.Save time and money on routine shopping trips by buying items like toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, light bulbs, and batteries in twos when they're on sale.

32.Keep an overnight bag in your car with an extra outfit for each child, including diapers or underwear, nonperishable snacks, and toiletries. In the event of an emergency, messy meal, or whirlwind overnight trip, you're set!

33.Stock a binder or folder with a list of emergency contacts and household instructions for things like watering plants, pet care, and mail collection so you won't have to write everything out each time for a house sitter or babysitter.

34.Designate a cabinet in your kitchen for medicine so you'll have easy access to everything from pain reliever to bandages when and where you need them. Make sure it's secured with a child-safe lock.

35.Sort medicine into small, labeled storage bins — one bin for children's medications, one for adult cough and cold remedies, one for first-aid supplies, and so on, and keep them in the locked cabinet.

36.Tape the dosage instructions for common medications like children's acetaminophen to the inside of your medicine cabinet.

37.Splurge on a super fast-drying hair dryer and cut hair-drying time in half.

38.Keep a pack of thank-you cards in the glove box of your car or in your daily planner so you can write notes while sitting in the car or waiting for a doctor to see you.

39.Turn your hangers backward at the beginning of every season. Anything left hanging on a hanger that's still turned backward at the end of the season hasn't been worn — give it away

40.E-mail your thank-you notes instead of sending a card.

41.Schedule your child's doctor's appointments for first thing in the morning when you're less likely to have a long wait.

42.Get rid of one bag of clothes, toys, and books for every bag that comes into the house. It means less stuff to clean up.

43.Write down or print out all-important phone numbers — for people like your child's doctor, the next-door neighbor, your veterinarian, and so on — and place the list in an inexpensive picture frame that you keep in your master bedroom or the kitchen. This way, you won't need to write out contact information for a sitter or grandparent — just point out the list, and they'll know who to call in case of emergency.

44.Fill a basket with socks and keep it near the front door so kids can quickly grab a pair. Put the shoes they wear most often next to the basket.

45.Order diapers and wipes online — no more lugging big boxes home from the store.

46.Label shelves in the linen closet so family members know where items like beach towels and guest room sheets belong.

47.Keep an assortment of greeting cards on hand, filed by occasion. You'll save time on trips to the store, and you can quickly take care of an unexpected birthday or send off a heartfelt condolence.

48.Forget sorting laundry. Wash everything in cold water.