Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Some people have comfort foods...

I have my sisters. Don't get me wrong I love to eat comfort foods too. I especially love eating them with my sisters. Especially because being with them is a very good reason to celebrate and go out to eat at our favorite places. Or to make a good treat and eat with them as we tell funny stories from our childhood, talk about all the recent gossip with the stars, or analyze in depth the way we are the way we are and why.

About two months ago my sweet sisters came to be with me at a time that I needed "comfort." Mostly they came to share with me the joy of having my second son, Owen. My older sister called me as I was starting labor and quickly got on a flight to come that day. And my younger sister was finishing up her mid-terms and headed out that day as well. I have to be the luckiest sister in the world to be sandwiched in between two amazing sisters. They are both way cooler than me and I don't even know how I got so lucky to have them. I am glad that Tamzen prayed and prayed for a little sister to come to her family and I was able to be her little sister. And Tenille is the little sister that I will always admire and be in awe of.

I have to be honest and say that it was not always bliss between all of us. There is a about a 7 year gap between Tamzen and I and a five year gap between Tenille and I. SO we didn't always see eye to eye on a lot of things. I remember the time Tamzen thought I broke her precious karaoke machine and she yelled at me and took my precious boom box as a payback. Which being the 12 year old I was I responded, "that boom box means more to me than your life, give it back, give it baaaack." Ugh, I can't believe I ever said that. Tamzen is truly a best friend to me. One I can count on for anything. She cheers me up when I am sad, make me laugh so hard I cry (or pee a little), is and amazing example, a super good listener, laughs at my jokes and funny stories, keeps me fashion savvy, takes care of me, is so good at everything she does and the list could go on and on. Just a couple of weeks ago when we were in Colorado. I was so sick, tired and feeling extremely down on my luck. Tamzen, Lee and Brody stayed up pretty late and talked me through it all. I feel like I will always be in debt to her for all that she has done for me. Luckily I have a little sister too, one that I hope I can be just as nice to.

Which brings me to Tenille, my favorite little sister. The coolest of all little sisters. We too had our differences. Like when she would borrow my clothes and I wouldn't see them for a loooong time. And I would raid her room and find them in her closet. Or she would open my new package of mechanical pencils and use them first. Well...now Tenille is living at my house in between semesters at BYU-I. (I also lived at Tamzen's house in between semesters.) And I can borrow all of her clothing which is much cuter and trendier than mine. Her living here this semester is such a blessing to me. She has this aura about her, that is full of life, bright, happy and vivacious. Which is much needed for a new mom that is sleep deprived and tired. She has been a gigantic help with so much already. I can see why mom and dad wanted to keep her in Chicago with them. I look forward to the next few months as we grow even closer together. We have always been close, but I moved away when Tenille was still a young girl. Now she has grown into a young woman who can do whatever she puts her mind too, is so creative, talented, beautiful and amazing. I have some things to learn from her, that I'm sure will help me in this life.

I love my sisters so much, they are simply the best!

I wish I had a recent picture of us all together, that's something we need to do the next time we all are together.
Tate

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Holiday Fun in Colorado

Christmas Time

Owen's Blessing

Friday, January 16, 2009

The Good Times Are Now

Hey,
So I realize that I am extremely behind in my updating of posts, I have my reasons. But the time just keeps rolling on, so I am going to summarize the best that I can.

On Christmas Eve Jason's Parents invited us on a "train" ride. Well it was mostly for Gavin. We rode from the North Salt Lake to Temple Square. I have to admit that I may not have attempted to do this on my own. But it was quite fun. It was so nice to be there as a family and see the beautiful lights. They also had the Nativity scene set up with the story playing outside. I am glad that we had a chance to remember the real reason that we were celebrating Christmas.
So after that things got crazy. We went to Jason's parents for Christmas. His sister Lindsey came from Colorado. The cousins all played, while we all ate yummy Christmas treats. Then we headed home to wait for Christmas morning. The next morning Gavin slept in until 9:30! Owen did not he was a hungry boy all through the night. But it was so fun to see Gavin so excited about his tool set. We could hardly get him to open any other presents. In fact, he opened them slowly over a few days. Maybe we should celebrate Hanukkah style next year. (Teague might like that too.)
So then we had a delightful dinner at the Keith's. I hardly saw Gavin all day because he was playing with his cousin Ben and his toys. He wouldn't even let me change him out of his PJ's all day and hey it was Christmas. But then sadly the day ended and we had a giant snowstorm that night.
The next morning we decided to brave the storm and go to Colorado anyways. After we made it out of Utah it was an easy trip. We stayed the night at my grandparents house in Denver. They made us their notorious breakfast then we got ready to go to my hometown Colorado Springs. The 27th, our anniversary, (3 years) we spent with Tamzen and Lee (13 years). We went to Salsa Brava. It was so so good. Then we saw Benjamin Button. Gavin was at Tamzen house with Uncle Teague and Aunt Jakelle. Owen enjoyed the movie, but not as much as Tamzen and I.
When we returned home that night we returned to a very sick little boy. Gavin had a horrible cold the entire time that we were in Colorado. He had swollen puffy eyes, a runny nose and he could barely talk. I got it a couple of days later. So needless to say we stayed close to home, well Tamzen's home, and chilled. It was still tons of fun just to be there and see all my family. I miss Colorado and the blue skies there so much. Colorado Springs has the most amazing blue skies. And it was perfect weather, well for December, the entire time we were there.
On New Year's Eve, Tamzen had a get together at her house. We ate good food had Martinelli's and played Scum. I was the first to hit the hay closely after midnight. Jason stayed up till 4. What? I know that is not like him at all. SO we stayed one more day so he could re coupe and went to Red Robin with Tristan and his family on New Year's Day.
Then we headed home. It was an easy trip home. Gavin slept half the trip. Poor kid so worn out from being on Vacation and being sick too. As soon as we got home people were coming into town for Owen's blessing on Sunday. My parent's came and stayed at my house until Tues. I wish they could have stayed for a week. They are the best. I realize each time I see them what wonderful parents they are. I am definitely spoiled. Oh yeah and my Grandparents came all the way from Denver too. Oh yeah and Tenille is now here for good, well 4 months. She is working here in her off time from BYU-I to help me out and to be closer to her boyfriend Lawrence. So on Monday we all went to Body World. This guy found a way to plasticize real bodies without their skin and stuff and make it art like. Kinda cool mostly gross.
After that it calmed down a bit until my sweet baby got sick on Sunday. He had a super high fever and was automatically sent to the ER. They ran all sorts of tests and he has croup. I wish they could have assessed that without an I.V. not to mention all sorts of other painful tests. He has the same thing as Gavin basically but it is even harder to watch a tiny baby have it. He is slowly getting better.
So I have to explain the purple lips. This may be more info than some want to here so skip if it disgusts you. I have a really bad cracked nipple so I went to a specialist and she prescribed this violet herbal stuff. It is so messy. It stains whatever it touches. Hence Owen's purple lips. It make me so sad that he has to go through so much right now. But he is the cutest happiest baby and has adorable purple lips. I guess you have to find the humor/good in all situations. I am still learning this, especially with all the stuff going on right now.
Tate