Bedhead

Sweet bedhead, little one!

Oh Wow!

Okay, I thought the stairs looked good yesterday. Look at them now! (And they look even better with the blue tape removed! Guess I should have waited a little longer to take pictures.) They are so amazing even the kids love them. In fact, Owen's favorite new game is to start at the bottom--the very bottom (see bottom picture)--and climb all the way to the top--the very top--then turn around and sit on his bum at the very edge of the top stair and clap and laugh with giddiness and scare us half to death as he momentarily contemplates going down. I'm afraid he may have to learn how to get down the hard way. The kid just won't give up on the stairs.

A big thank you to Peter, who helped us with the initial phase of staining, and Trent, who installed the carpet so wonderfully today. And let me just say that I highly UN-recommend Columbia Millworks. I wasn't going to say that publicly, but since they are still getting paid in full from us, even after we have had to wait sooooo long for them to finish (see June 11--and they won't be finished until THURSDAY ... or so they say this time), and they have not been the slightest bit apologetic for it (when we can even get a hold of them, that is), I think they deserve it. I would recommend the actual workers who came and did the work. They were great! But having to deal with that company is more work than it is worth. If you are going through a contractor, it might be a different story, but if not, I would take your business elsewhere. That being said, I love our new stairs.

Baby Owen Turns 1

I guess I can't really call him Baby Owen anymore. Although, he still looks like a baby. He's just a little guy and he doesn't have much hair. Here is the little angel eating lunch on his birthday. He looks so sweet. If only he knew he had half a pea stuck to his chin ...

A little clapping action ...

With "Aunt" Ash, eating pizza (he requested it for his birthday dinner, of course) ...

Awwww ...

Mallory and Evan, dying to open presents ...

Bubba has no problem doing it himself ...

Okay, with a little help from Evan ...

And Mallory ...

Finally, his own remote control!

Yea!!!

Rolling on the floor with big brother ...

Getting ready for cake (er, cupcake) ...

YUM!

Surveying the damage ...

I feel bad Owen didn't get quite the hoopla he should have for his first birthday, but we've been a little busy lately. We are frantically trying to get a bunch of stuff done before we leave the kids and take a week-long vacation next week. Here is one of the projects we (semi) completed this weekend ...

It doesn't look like much work, but there were many hours put into this blasted stair staining and finishing project. And, unfortunately, it's not over. We still have the other half to do. But I feel like a wood staining and finishing expert now. Casey suggested we go into business with all our expertise. No thanks.


In honor of our little guy turning 1, here are a few things I love about Owen:

• His laugh (eh-eh-eh-eh-eh ... like he's doing sound effects for a machine gun)
• He's so dang cute (which makes up for things like still waking up twice a night--sorry mom and Kate!)
• He lights up when he sees Evan and Da-da and thinks his big brother is the coolest thing since sliced bread and copies everything he says and does
  
• He's such a happy, content little guy ... for the most part. He just wants to do everything everyone else is doing now.
• He loves chasing the kitties and talking back to them ... "ow, ow" and something that sounds like radio static
• When you try to make him stand by himself or walk, he collapses in laughter
• When he crawls, he barrels toward his goal like a charging bull
• When he gets excited, he makes this tight little circle with his mouth and says "ohhh" and his eyes get all big (you can see a mild version in the pictures above with the "1" candle and where Evan is opening his present)
• His silly faces
• His Alfalfa hair that is starting to curl ever so slightly at the back of his neck
  

A few things about Owen I tolerate:

• I already mentioned waking up twice a night
• The kid will not hold still to get his diaper changed!
• He throws food and his sippy cup with juice all over the floor (and he's started spitting out semi-chewed-up food, as well)
• He is so mischievous ... he has figured out how to step up onto things to reach stuff or climb up onto things
• His tantrums! They're pretty funny, actually. He throws himself back onto the floor and pulls both legs way up into the air and slams them down over and over. I know it will get old, but right now it's kinda cute.
  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BUBBA! WE LOVE YOU!

Food

Becky requested the recipe for Club Quesadillas so here it is:

• Tortillas (I use taco size)

• Mayo (or if you have hideous taste like Casey, you can use that Miracle Crap)

• Shredded cheese (I use cheddar, but anything would work, I'm sure)

• Deli sliced turkey

• Bacon, cooked

• Lettuce (I like shredded, but it's your call)

• Tomatoes, sliced

Preheat a large skillet or griddle while you are assembling the quesadillas (I set the stove to just under medium heat). Assemble away, as follows:

Spread some mayo on one whole side of the tortilla. Sprinkle some shredded cheese on half of the mayo-ed side. On top of that add a couple slices each of turkey and bacon, a little lettuce, and some tomatoes. Top all that with a little more shredded cheese, then fold over the other half of the tortilla.

Place it in the pan and let it sit until the bottom side gets a little brown and crispy. Flip it over (gently, people--you don't want to lose all the innards yet) and repeat with the other side. Now you can get crazy with it because all the shredded cheese will have melted, causing the whole quesadilla to stick together nicely. Cut into wedges, eat it up and try to resist having another one ... or two.


Speaking of food, this is what I had for dinner last night while Casey was golfing. Don't tell him how incredibly delicious it was. And it was so pretty I couldn't resist taking a picture. The basil for the pesto was from my garden. The tomatoes were not ... and they tasted as such.

Note to self: loved the toasted pine nuts and parmesan shavings; needs more garlic.

HELP!

Owen's birthday is tomorrow. What do you get the kid (he'll be 1 year old) who already has everything because his older brother has been spoiled rotten?!? Any good ideas out there would be truly appreciated.

4th of July ... and Then Some

Well, here I go, playing catch-up again. First things first--here is Owen's latest funny face. This kid is the king of silly faces. Check out those great big lips! (He gets those from his dad.)

Here is the Orem Owlz baseball game we attended on July 3rd. I had just enough battery in the camera to take these 2 pictures. We had great seats--front row right behind home plate. When the guys would warm up with 2 bats right there in front of us, Evan would say, "No, guy. Just one bat." His interest in the game only lasted so long. His patience barely lasted in the refreshment line. Before I knew it we were playing in the little playground for almost the rest of the game. After the game they put on a nice fireworks show, which Evan really enjoyed. Poor Owen went a little nuts. I'm sure he thought we were the meanest parents in the world, taking him to the baseball game with a burning fever from 2 ear infections (don't worry, it didn't last long), and then torturing him even more with super loud fireworks. He really clung to me, but he made it through them very bravely.

Here is Owen before we ventured out on the evening of the 4th of July to watch the PG fireworks (although it does look a little like he's celebrating Canada Day rather than the 4th of July). We try to work on his standing and walking skills, but he still just collapses in laughter. And this time, we sat a little further away from the fireworks (try 8 blocks further) so Owen was able to lay in my lap and enjoy them.

Evan loved the fireworks and loved doing his own fireworks even more.

I guess Casey let Owen drive a little before we left for the annual Xactware company mini golf tournament this past week. I think he enjoyed that way too much!

Here is Evan looking through his binoculars. He used them to spot fireworks all over the sky when we went out the night of the 4th.

Here we are heading out to mini golf ...

This is the hole Evan got a hole-in-one on. It's a good thing you couldn't write down any score over 6 because I'm pretty sure Evan's scores were consistently in the teens and maybe even twenties.

Kids are really great for retrieving balls.

Owen enjoyed a relaxing game of mini golf, as well.

Evan, checking his line.

How picturesque is that? The little golfer in front of the new Xactware building.

Almost got it in ...

and now for the celebration ...
I found out at the company party last night that I tied for 2nd place in the women's division with a score of 4 over par. This was the first time I didn't really try (I figured it would be ridiculous with 2 kids) and I actually ended up doing great. I got a $15 Target gift card (thank you, Xactware!), but the best reward ... beating Casey. :)

While Evan enjoyed the mini golf immensely, I think the highlight of the evening was the car wash. Cheap thrills.

Yesterday we enjoyed taking the kids to Thanksgiving Point (for the Xactware summer party) where we went to the dinosaur museum, saw "Kung Fu Panda" at the movie theater, and gawked at the farm animals. On the way home we drove through our new El Pollo Loco for a classic chicken burrito (YU-UM!) with their house salsa (YU-U-UM!). It was pure heaven. I can't believe it's finally here. Later that night, back at Thanksgiving Point, we had dinner, followed by awards (Casey was recognized for being at Xactware for 10 years and he also won Closest to the Pin in the regular golf tournament ... again, I tied for 2nd in mini golf, women's division), fun entertainment, and ... another round of fireworks. Poor Owen. He was a good sport, though. They were right above us, but this time, we didn't have a stadium around us to capture all the sound so it wasn't as bad as at the baseball game for Owen. He even fell asleep toward the end. Evan couldn't stop talking about the fireworks. I hope he doesn't turn into a little pyro.