The Bodacious Bodines

Reid Crawls

2012-01-09T15:05:00.004-07:00

Reid has been swaying back and forth on his knees for some time. This week he started really moving forward. He totally skipped the army crawl and just went for it!

He is the sweetest baby. He is so soft and squishy, I can never get enough of this kid. At church he looks over my shoulder and smiles to the people behind us. Logan sits on the end of the pew and waves to the crowd like he's the king of England. These boys knows how to work it.

slip and slide

2011-10-18T12:56:00.005-06:00

it's October and we're still breaking out the swim suits.
I found this beaut at wal-mart for $3.
The boys were wild with excitement. We set it up, turned on the hose and… they stood and looked at it. They had no idea what to do!
Talmage asked me, ‘do it first, mom’. Yeah, right!
Instead, I recruited all my interpretive dance moves and showed them what to do. (Good thing it was in the backyard…that would’ve been quite a show).
Sorry, I forgot to change the view before I uploaded this.

Logan Speaks

2011-09-06T13:07:00.002-06:00

We never swim

2011-08-29T10:13:00.003-06:00

So it seems like all the pictures we post are with the boys in swim suits. That would be because we wear them every day for several hours and some days for most hours of the day. Can you blame us? It's the HOTTEST summer on record. (I'm not joking, the hottest June and August on record and the 3rd hottest July on record.) I'm just grateful that we can be sunscreen-spraying, floating-wearing, otter pop-eating, ninja-diving, fun-loving people. How could we handle it otherwise?

Logan loves to chill-ax

both boys rock the floaties

Reid gives us a big open-mouth smile. (he doesn't enjoy the swimming scene as much, he is mostly inside taking a nap while we're working on our ninja-dives.)

How we spend our days

2011-08-07T19:49:00.002-06:00

three boys
lots of energy
lots of activity
lots of trouble

we see alligators.
too scary for baby Reid.

we chill
we work on our tans

we try to beat the heat.

We had a baby!

2011-06-28T20:43:00.002-06:00

We had a baby! Reid James Bodine on June 21.
He weighed 7 lb 13 oz and was 19 inches long.
Right after birth he was bright eyed.
Some pictures I took today, on his 1 week birthday. Holy cow, it went fast.
Logan really loves his 'new baby'. He's a little too hands on. For that reason, we haven't let him hold Reid (we don't want him to think he really can hold the baby).

Another after birth shot, he came out so pink!

Riding the Bike

2011-05-19T06:13:00.003-06:00

So a couple of weeks ago, we took the scooter bike and put Talmage on a pedal bike. He loved it. This was taken a couple of days later. Since then, he's started wearing a helmet, he's kind of a hazard to himself and others.

Easter Vests

2011-04-25T13:24:00.004-06:00

Remember last years Easter Vests? Well, this year I had fabric but no pattern (it's packed away somewhere). Logan's vest was too tight (like last year) and Talmage's was a little too big. But I did get around to making bow-ties, and they were very cute. I wish I had a better picture of them (the boys).

No Easter is complete without a little Easter egg hunt. Truston did a good job of hiding the eggs really well and the boys were thrilled to discover candy inside.

Why we don't buy toys.

2011-04-04T13:20:00.002-06:00

Summer is almost here, and I think we had just gotten out of the pool..so excuse the lack of clothing.
Sometimes I see toys that are so cool, and I want to buy them, mostly because I want to play with them. But then I remember how much fun Talmage and Logan have with boxes, bags, etc. and I don't see the need.
Here's to the simple life!

Spring Break

2011-03-21T08:27:00.008-06:00

Actually, Truston doesn't really get Spring Break, it was just a week off between terms, and it happened to be the week before every body else's spring break. But we wanted to have FUN FUN FUN in the SUN, so we stay-cationed around town with Truston. Can't complain about this weather! This is a picture of the medical center from Herman Park (across the street).

He did have to go into school one day, so we dropped him off and went to the zoo. This baby giraffe was born the week before we visited, 6 feet at birth! He was so cute. Logan, especially, loved the animals.

We went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo one day. It was awesome. I love the rodeo. I had never been with kids before, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much stuff they had for kids to do. We watched some mutton bustin', saw a lot of cows, sheep, pigs, chicks, etc. The baby animals were especially cute. Logan loved the petting zoo, he ran from animal to animal petting them.

There was a 'Farmer Joe' exhibit to show kids where food comes from and how it gets to our stores, complete with a tractor. That was a big thrill for Talmage.
For Christmas this year, I bought some tickets for Truston to go to the NCAA indoor track and field championships at A&M. We went on Friday and Saturday night to watch the races. It was AWESOME! It is so amazing to watch such talented athletes at the height of their skills. We totally enjoyed the meet. This isn't a very good picture, but this is Jeff Demps (the running back for Florida State) being interviewed by an ESPN reporter after he WON the 60M. This guy is HUGE and he is FAST. (you didn't know that i liked track and field? huh, neither did i)
I took this picture because I didn't think it would last very long...sure enough BYU was beat out by A&M and Florida State. But we were proud to cheer for BYU, all the athletes they brought were awesome and the men ended up placing 3rd.
And a little photograph of Truston and I in the bleachers.
YAY for spring break! It was nice to enjoy some time together as a family doing so much fun stuff.

Riding Bikes

2011-03-06T20:31:00.003-07:00

So, remember this bike?
We got it for Talmage at a garage sale this sale this fall and he loved it. For about 2 days. Something about the construction of the bike made it impossible to fit training wheels. And he didn't want to ride it with only one training wheel. go figure.
So we decided to try a 'skut' bike. Only they cost about $100 dollars. Luckily, Wal-mart has a knock off (I love that place) for only $30 dollars. We got it last week and Talmage LOVES his new 'scooter bike'. He was pretty wobbly at first and would NOT let go of the hand-brake. But, after a week, he's catching on and getting pretty good. In this video he is kind of wobbly because he was showing us a 'trick'. He also thinks he can do 'wheelies' and 'jump' sewer lids. Anyways, we're glad he has some bigger wheels. He's been looking pretty ridiculous on his tricycle for some time now.
So,

Down the Hill

2011-03-06T19:42:00.003-07:00

Maybe the greatest altitude change in the whole city of Katy.

Logan on the fire truck

2011-03-06T19:22:00.003-07:00

When ever we go outside to ride bikes, Logan grabs our little fire truck. Although he loves it, he's not very fast. In fact, he almost goes the same distance forward and backward.

Dancing

2011-02-23T13:37:00.003-07:00

Here is Thomas playing some tunes for the boys. He cannot play and they cannot dance, so it was all fun and games. (until it got too wild and somebody ran into a chair and got a bloody nose)

More Cheese than Chips

2011-02-23T13:02:00.002-07:00

Like Father, like son. This is Logan eating spicy queso dip.
Doesn't stop him.

tomato soup

2011-02-13T19:49:00.002-07:00

These boys LOVE tomato soup. It is probably one of our favorite lunches. The last time I gave them some tomato soup, Logan started lapping it up like a dog. I love that he has a big, content "AHH" after he's done.

Of course, it's not until the END that he finally notices his shirt is saturated with tomato soup. Good thing it's a red shirt.

mania

2011-02-08T17:28:00.001-07:00

have you joined jimmer-mania? cause we have. we're buying tickets to the final 4 (holla! They're in h-town) and praying that BYU can make it.

read this:

http://www.jimmerpoy.com/2011/02/08/do-not-mess-with-the-jimmer/

Potty Trained!

2011-01-23T11:18:00.003-07:00

So...in my last post I mentioned that we were going to start potty training Talmage. We've been encouraging him to go to the bathroom for a while, but he stubbornly resisted. Finally, out of desperation and disgust for changing diapers, we went to the store and bought some underwear. He cried when I took off his diaper, "No! Not my diaper." ha, huge giveaway he had been playing us all along. Right off the bat, he's been almost 100% in the #1 category. It took a couple of days for #2 to make it into the toilet, but with some major encouragement and an ice cream cake (that my fabulous mom bought) we've been perfect for almost a week. Thank you Talmage. and Thank you Grandma for all the cheering and hullabaloo...Talmage loves it.

This foray into body excrements has really jolted my cleaning radar. If anything, I'm much more motivated to clean the bathroom (my least favorite chore). It also has me wondering if we should just potty train Logan right now. He was very interested in Talmage's potty training experience and has been trying to change his own diaper for months now. Anyways, I'm writing this down to tell you a funny story....

When Talmage has gone "big poo poo in the big potty" we call Truston and cheer and congratulate over the phone, etc. So earlier this week, we called Truston and he didn't answer. About an hour later, my phone rang and Talmage grabbed it and shouted into the phone, "DAD! I WENT BIG POO POO IN THE BIG POTTY!!!" I was laughing in the background, thinking it was probably funny for Truston when I heard Talmage say, "huh? ahhhh" and then he handed me the phone. Much to our surprise it was somebody returning a phone call from the doctor's office. I still thought it was funny, and I couldn't help thinking that it had probably made her day. I mean, if an unsuspecting toddler had shared such exciting news with you...wouldn't it make your day?

Update

2011-01-14T10:37:00.003-07:00

hey folks, obviously blogging is not my forte, or on the front page of my to-do list. But I thought I should update, since my siblings feel neglected if I don't keep them updated. So here are some random updates of our life recently...or not so recently
Thanksgiving, the annual Turkey Bowl. Young Men vs. Old men
Both Truston and Robert were looking forward to this showdown. Actually all the men in the house went, even my cousins and uncle who were here visiting. Thankfully, Thanksgiving was pretty warm, so we spent the day outside, occasionally going inside to cook something for our dinner. (It was the laziest Thanksgiving ever). The boys came home after a couple of hours we got the following story:
Robert was the YM quarterback. Truston rushed him.
After he released the ball, his finger headed straight for Truston's eye.
Good poke in the eye. His under eye oozed blood for a couple of hours and then it turned into a black eye. Thanksgiving casualty.
On to the other boys in my life:
Logan is as happy and fun as ever. He is a joking, teasing goofball. He thinks he's really funny and is constantly playing little jokes on us. Which sounds funny because he doesn't talk, but he communicates plenty. He loves following Talmage around, hugging his blanket, and playing with cars and trucks. He mostly loves to eat and my dad. He waits for my dad to get home every night and then follows him around like a puppy. Even if we've eaten dinner, he still wants to just sit on my dad's lap and watch him eat. He still loves to eat and can put away an impressive quantity of food. He likes to hang out around the pantry (sometimes hiding inside and popping out to scare us).

Talmage is still a happy, easy going guy. We love watching his little personality grow (sometimes into a little 'tude). He's moved up to Sunbeams and loves being a big-kid in Primary. He likes to help me cook, watching closely and stirring anything that needs to be stirred. Sometimes in the morning he will make Logan, me and himself some toast for our daily walk. He still LOVES cars (the movie and toys) and is 100% interested in anything with a motor and wheels. At the beginning of December we went to Dickens on the Stand (a Dickens festival down in Galveston). We loved all the costumes and performing groups, but we were especially tickled by the camel and elephant rides. Talmage and I rode a camel together...it was awesome...and stinky.
Some funny things I've heard lately:
-hold you me. hold you me. (which is Talmage's still incorrect way of saying, hold me). and I said, 'no, way, I'm already holding Logan.' (and trying to cook dinner, of course) and Talmage says, 'hold you me. you have room.' 'where?' i ask, 'there' as he points at my other shoulder. haha, of course i could carry a 25 lb. 1 year old, 30 lb. 3 year old and cook dinner at the same time.
-'I'll just wait for it to get in my diaper.' which is his standard answer if we ask him to go to the bathroom. He is resisting potty training (even though he can do it) like it'll kill him. Actually, just today I bought him some underwear and he has gone by himself all day...we'll see how long this lasts.

For the Grandparents

2010-11-24T07:18:00.002-07:00

The Birthday Boy

2010-11-24T07:01:00.002-07:00

Talmage turned 3 yesterday! Surprise, surprise, he wanted a cars cake. So he helped me bake the cake and after I frosted it, I asked him for some race cars to put on top. He said, "OH! I have race cars! This will be perfect!"
Back of the cake.

We sang 'Happy Birthday' to him all day. And after every rendition he practiced blowing out his candles. This was a big year because, despite the increased number of candles, he is no longer afraid of them. After all that practice it took 3 puffs to blow out the candles. Side note: this morning, my dad asked him if we should sing 'happy birthday' again. He ran back over to the cake and said "Yeah! With the candles?"

When it came time to finally eat the cake, Talmage was so distracted by the presents he didn't eat a bite. Logan, however, thoroughly enjoyed his cake.

This is the first year we've bought Talmage gifts...haha, I know. We are super lame. After a gift from us and both grandparents, it was a pretty awesome birthday.

Thomas is a Rock Star

2010-11-15T09:00:00.002-07:00

It's funny to me that an ipod is the coolest thing ever to an 8-year old. So you can only imagine what happened when he helped himself to mine.

Hard at Work

2010-11-14T19:37:00.004-07:00

I love how 'play' is really 'work'. Logan is hard at work-play.

Random Catch-up

2010-10-27T12:51:00.002-06:00

Talmage is a silly guy. His ESL english is so funny to me.
For example:

These guys have skateboards!” –Talmage, admiring Thomas’ plastic army men

· I asked him the other day, “Do you want to go potty?” He answers, “No, I’ll just wait for it to get in my diaper.” (As you can see, we might be lacking motivation.)

· I was walking around the house yelling, “Mom, Mom” and Talmage asks me, “Hey Mom, where is that other Mom?”

· We brought my mom’s van to playgroup because I wanted to bring a couple of extra kids with us, when I buckled Talmage in, he told me, “Ah, mom! This van is TOO cool for me.” Yes, it is a very cool van. Just like when he calls our Subaru, ‘the white race car’.

HHe also thinks he can do big things. He follows me around all day wanting to 'help'. He loves to help, from stirring a bowl to vacuuming the floor to getting all the games out so we can play one of them. The other day while he was supposed to be napping, I found him on our bed with our candy stash. "Hey mom, I got a lot of candy!" He was very proud of himself. Truston had the first week in October off. We enjoyed a little stacation. We spent a lot of time outside, the weather was SOOO beautiful (now we are back to hot and humid 90's).

We visited the Blue Bell Creamery. Talmage LOVED it. As we walked around the factory, he kept exclaiming, "OOOOKKAAAYYY! TIME FOR ICE CREAM!!" He wore their little paper hat the whole day. Logan didn't love the hat, but he loved the ice cream. Logan eats more food than most adults. Actually, whatever Talmage and I eat combined, Logan eats all by himself. He is voracious, and has a little belly to prove it.
We spent a day down at Galveston. We rented a family bike and biked along the sea wall. It was so awesome. I would replace my car with that awesome family bike. As you can see, Logan and Talmage were having trouble enjoying it as much as Truston and I. It was so fun to have Truston home for a whole week. He really enjoys school and his classes, but it's always nice to take a break.
In other news, we've found some awesome garage sale finds. Here, people have all their festivals and garage sales in the fall, it's way to hot in the summer. We got a bunch of cute clothes for Talmage (pictured) and a bike!! Talmage loves his little bike. At any mention of the word 'bike' he is outside in a flash, getting ready to ride. We also found a bike trailer. It is my new favorite thing! I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!! Cinco Ranch has tons of lakes and natural areas with side walks around them. We have gone on plenty of bike rides and I'm looking forward to a whole winter of exploring.

Logan turned 1

2010-10-27T12:42:00.002-06:00

Logan turned one one September 1st. Here he is with his favorite family member (except for me, of course.) He really likes my dad--they wave to each other the whole dinner time.
The day of his birthday was probably the craziest day of our lives. My parents movers came and moved all of their stuff in. It was so wild. So we delayed our birthday celebration for a couple of days and used waffles as a birthday cake substitute. Logan did not want the whipped cream.
This guy is moving! He started walking around his birthday and it has kind of mellowed him out (thank goodness). He loves to walk with sticks. You can find him day or night, carrying something long and stick-like. For a while, he wanted to push them along the floor, like a vacuum. His favorite was the dog's chuck-it. Now he prefers a duplo crain, the broom or vacuum attachments.

When we finally got around to celebrating, we did it BIG! I made this rice krispy cake...it was so delicious. My favorite was the chocolate layer, although the caramel and fruity layer were also popular.

Talmage is swimming!!

2010-08-16T12:12:00.003-06:00

Yes, the buoyancy of his floties might equal more than the weight of his body. But we are counting it!

Recent Texas Adventures

2010-08-09T13:13:00.003-06:00

Since we've been here, we've done lots of fun stuff, despite the heat. It was really nice to have 2 weeks together with out little family. no school. no work. Just family vacation time in our new home. It's fun to be in a new spot, too. I feel like there are so many things to do and see. Truston's program is downtown at the Medical Center; a huge complex of hospitals, schools, research facilities, etc.Herman Park is next to the Medical Center, a big downtown park. While Truston was at orientation, the boys and I came downtown with him and took advantage of Herman Park.
One day we went to the zoo. The highlight for everybody was watching Baby Baylor get a bath. Baby Baylor was born earlier this summer, it was super cute to watch him and his mommy with the zookeepers. --sorry for the fuzzy picture. It was so humid and wet that was the best we got.
One day we played at the parks and rode the train around Herman Park. Do we look hot? I was totally ready to spend the morning outside playing, but after 1 hour at the parks, I gave up and determined we would just ride the train until Truston was done. too hot.
We spent a Saturday at Brazos Bend State Park. This place is AWESOME. I'm telling you all right now- to anybody who comes and visits, this is one place we will bring you. Brazos Bend is a huge plot of land that has been left for the alligators, a reserve. We have a favorite lake we like to walk around and look for alligators. It's also a very popular birding spot and we saw a ton of interesting birds, but alas, we don't know anything about birds. We walked around the lake and saw 10 alligators (which is a pretty small number, my family was disappointed in us) and then visited the nature center to see some baby alligators. oh yeah, no fences.
The volunteer working there let us all pet one of the baby alligators. Logan, obviously not attuned to fear, reached out and grabbed this little guys foot, almost ripping it off. haha, sorry baby alligator. This little guy is almost 1 year, same age as Logan.
Here are some pictures we took at Brazos Bend. This little guy was about 2 feet long, which means he is about 2 years old. Pretty cute.
Just in case you are ever enticed to enter alligator-infested waters, you would have to cross the webs of death, as we like to call them. In addition to alligators, we saw plenty of HUGE spiders. One of them was eating a moth before our eyes...gives me the shivers. I took this picture because in between two trees there were at least 10 webs with HUGE spiders sitting in the middle of them. If you have sharp eyes, maybe you will see a spider or two.
This guy was staring right at us, kind of creepy. The people walking around before us, said this guy started coming out of water towards their little rat dog. Scary. Seriously, who would bring a rat dog to an alligator preserve? You are just asking for it to be eaten.
We watched this guy swim up the side of the lake and turn around. Apparently, he crossed into another alligators territory because he and another alligator jumped out of the water at each other with their mouths wide open, ready to fight. It was like watching national geographic, I was waiting for the slow motion replay, it all happened so fast.
We've spent PLENTY of time at the pool. This is our favorite pool, the beach club. It has a sandy, shallow entry that turns into a pool. Logan and Talmage have a blast in the sand. There are lots of pools around here and every one has a separate kiddie splash pad. We've visited most of them and ranked our favorites. Nothing beats a good pool!

SLC/H-town Differences

2010-08-09T12:48:00.002-06:00

1. All of the billboards/aggressive campaigning for body perfecting procedures in SLC have transformed to lingerie/porn shops in H-town. (funny commentary on both the world and mormon culture)

2. The Toyota Camry has replaced the Subaru as the most common car on the road. We’ve only seen 3 other Subaru’s in the past 3 week, there are only 3 dealers in ALL of Houston. Also, it seemed like there were a bazillion Toyota Corollas in SLC, none to be found here.

3. Lawn Mowing is a booming business here. Every once in a while I catch myself thinking, ‘How can they pay to water all this grass? What a waste of water.’ And then I remember we don’t live in a desert anymore, water is abundant.

4. Speaking of water, it doesn’t taste as good as SLC. But both cities have nothing on Alaska’s water. Best tap water we’ve ever tasted, and the coldest.

5. Also water related- people drive slowly through puddles. Like they’re worried about hydroplaning or something. What a bunch of wussies, if they drove Subaru Outback’s’ they wouldn’t have anything to worry about.

6. In more water related news, it rains a lot here. A LOT. It’s a real rain storm too; no sprinkle sprinkle for a couple of minutes, but a real downpour. Out of the first 10 days we were here, it rained 8. One day the pool almost overflowed and another day it hailed. I thought we were going to be impaled to death for sure. Luckily, our Subaru Outback is built to withstand killer hail.

7. People here are gaga over small kids/babies. I think Utah must be inundated with children; people here act like they’ve never seen a baby.

8. Frogs and black slugs abound, especially after rain.

9. The trash can got really stinky, really fast. There must be some chemical reaction between trash cans and stinky diapers that is super catalyzed by heat.

10. Back to lawn mowing, we’ve only seen 2 neighbors mow their own lawn. There doesn’t seem to be a child task force here. Maybe that is why people are so excited about babies? They see future lawn mowers?

11. The biggest difference is the heat. SLC is hot. H-town is HOT. In SLC, people don’t carry hand towels to mop up their faces. They don’t publicly pour water over their heads. They don’t wear bathing suits like it’s going out of style. SLC has hot days, Houston has hot months (April –October). Also, SLC is a dry, dusty desert. Houston is a wet, swampy forest. Good for alligators, frogs and rapid grass growth.

Well, that’s it. Love, Truston, Brittney and FLMA (Future Lawn Mowers of America)

We are here!

2010-08-03T09:31:00.004-06:00

We have arrived in Texas. The drive was good, not as bad as I was expecting. I don't know what I was expecting, but there was no screaming, hours of crying or incessant "Are we there yet?" The boys slept half the way, literally. And the other half was peppered with surprises from the 'trip bag'. A couple of fruit roll ups and matchbox cars went a long way. The most exciting part of the 'Cars' car was the little paper that had pictures of the rest of the 'cars' collection. Talmage studied these for hours.

Logan was pretty happy, took long naps and watched Talmage play with his cars. Eventually, he did need a little entertainment and that came in the form of crazy parental antics.

We moved into the house that my parents bought and will be moving into shortly. When we were packing up our stuff, all I could think was, 'We have SOOO much junk'. But now that we are here in a normal sized house, I don't think we really have that much. Literally everything we have could not fill two rooms of this house. Hence, the next video.
The other day, Logan was crawling around the kitchen, which is essentially empty, checking out the cupboards and he found the bag of bags. This bag of bags provided hours of entertainment. Hours. And Talmage has asked me every day since, "Mom, where are my bags?" Which I have hidden, because sometimes I don't want to pick up 500 bags 500 times a day.
...oh, just kidding, this video is taking forever. Imgaine Logan, the speediest crawler you've ever seen, crawling through a huge pile of bags over and over again while Talmage collects the bags and bellly flops into them like a pile of leaves. Why buy toys when you have bags?

We are moving!

2010-07-14T23:31:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow we start our trip to Texas. Yee hah! 2 1/2 days of driving with a 2 1/2 year old and a baby. Before we leave, I'd just like to say, goodbye to Utah mountains, cool summer evenings, snowy winters and snow at General Conference (October or April). Wish us luck! See you on the other side!

Waka Waka

2010-06-21T21:35:00.000-06:00

oh my gosh, I can't stop watching this video! I LOVE THE WORLD CUP!!!

Talmage

2010-06-18T13:33:00.007-06:00

In May, my MIL had pictures taken of all the grandkids. When we got to temple square it was a little blustery, an hour later it was pouring rain and the wind could have swept us away. Crazy Utah weather.
Talmage had an awesome photo shoot, it was mostly thanks to Uncle Race who had us all laughing.
This kid is so cute.

I love this picture because it shows that Talmage still has neck rolls. Even though I can see his ribs, some residual neck fat is still there.
By the way, I have a brother named Andrew. He also has a blog, www.andrewpedia.blogspot.com . It is awesome. "Follow it, if you find it as awesome as I do." -Andrew

The grimace

2010-06-18T13:31:00.003-06:00

Logan

2010-06-18T13:17:00.005-06:00

The week we took these pictures, Logan was cutting 6 teeth. 6. It was torturous for him AND me. It actually took him two week to get all those teeth. Again, torturous. Anyways, to say the least, he was not very happy and we didn't get a single smile. In fact, in most of the pictures, it's a slight grimace. We'll have to try again, he's such a cute guy when he's happy.

I love this one. I can just see him thinking, "Please, stop. Haven't you done enough already?"

Cousin Pictures!!

2010-06-18T13:09:00.006-06:00

My MIL wanted all to have all the grandkids pictures taken before we leave for Texas. She has a wall of fame, it's awesome. This was my favorite picture. Rider was being so funny and it was cracking Ran up.

This is probably the best picture, most of the kids are looking and smiling. SO CUTE!

St. George

2010-06-14T13:59:00.002-06:00

On Thursday the boys worked all day setting up the firework show, so the girls went down to St. George for some fun in the sun. They have an AWESOME splash pad that all the kids LOVED!

Enjoying a cookie with his cousin, Ran.
FUN FUN FUN!

Cedar Breaks

2010-06-14T13:49:00.002-06:00

In case you didn't know, Truston's step-father is a pyrotechnic. He shoots firework shows and this week was the Opening Ceremonies for the Utah Summer Games in Cedar City, which included a firework show, of course. We went down a little early to do some hiking. It is A LOT harder to hike with kids than not. To you parents that hike with you kids, I give you props. Talmage LOVED the backpack. LOVED IT. Whenever Truston would get close to the edge, Talmage would nervously caution him, "Be careful, Dad, be careful."
The ranger told us it was a little muddy and snowy. That was the understatement of the year. There were HUGE snow mounds we scrambled up and down and boggy, sticky mud. Here is Truston slipping from the snow into the mud.
We brought some Twizzlers to keep the kids happy. Logan has a piece in his fat fist.
Beautiful Cedar Breaks

KISS is coming to town

2010-06-04T17:37:00.003-06:00

No, we will not be seeing them. In case you were wondering.
So yesterday I was wondering what I should make for dinner, when the sound of silence caught me off guard. (Silence is never golden; silence means your kids are busy doing something they shouldn't). I found Talmage in my room with my mascara.

I asked him out it tasted, he said yucky.

Thomas the Train

2010-06-01T13:04:00.002-06:00

Thomas the Train came to Heber this weekend. We drove up to see him. Don't think we paid $18 dollars a ticket for a ride, we are too cheap for that. We just walked around him, took some pictures and left.

In this picture, I look how I feel most of the time: like a sherpa. Any mother knows, you are constantly carrying; kids, babies, strollers, car seats, bags, purses, diaper bags, grocery bags, library books...the list is endless. Now I know why so many people get arthritis...how can you not?
Talmage was sad to see him go. He kept asking, "Where is he going? To help Percy?"
Since Saturday, anytime we hear a train whistle Talmage says, "There goes Thomas the train."

The panting tongue

2010-05-17T12:56:00.003-06:00

Logan is a goof-ball. That is the only and best word to describe him. He thinks he's funny, he acts funny and he is constantly laughing at himself.
This week he started panting. He crawls around ALL DAY with his tongue hanging out. It's pretty funny. Sorry for the shaky camera.

Repurposing the ABC's

2010-05-13T11:43:00.002-06:00

What do you do with an old pile of jeans?
Cut them up, sew them together and make the back of a quilt.
An ABC construction quilt.
Side note: if anybody out there is proficient at binding, I need help.

In Trouble

2010-05-04T17:59:00.001-06:00

Why is it everytime I turn on my camera, this is what I see?

Totally caught, red handed.

Big Mouth

2010-04-28T16:56:00.002-06:00

Logan LOVES to eat. Since about 6 weeks ago, this kid has boycotted the bottle and only wants food, food and more food. Consequently, he has gotten a little fatter; but we like it that way. This is a video of his 3rd bowl of oatmeal. He loves this stuff and would eat it at every meal.

Logan is moving and grooving

2010-04-26T14:47:00.002-06:00

Breakfast Calzones

2010-04-25T13:28:00.002-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, my brother Tanner had this awesome idea; that we should make some breakfast calzones. He is a master of all things breakfast and I have a pretty awesome pizza dough recipe, so we decided to collaborate and the breakfast calzone was brought to fruition!
What is in a breakfast calzone? Or rather, What do boys like to eat for breakfast?
Bacon, sausage, eggs and hash browns fried in bacon grease and cheese. We pre-cooked all the ingredients and piled them onto mini pizza rounds. Folded and baked. Here is some documentation of the event.
If I was a more dedicated blogger, I would've thought to take a picture of all the ingredients BEFORE they ran out, you only get to see a picture of what was left after we created the masterpiece.
Some extra eggs, not too much sausage and one last thing of dough.
Here we are taking them out of the oven. Nice and large. Andrew was really excited.

Tanner tried the first one. As you can see, it is unusually large. He made a Man-Sized Calzone for himself. It was almost as large as his head, which is quite a feat, he has a large head.
Of course, they tasted more than satisfactory. They were delicious and we were glad we made enough to eat for the next morning. Andrew could barely contain himself; he was so overwhelmed by the delectable deliciousness of the breakfast calzone.

My new goal

2010-04-03T14:37:00.002-06:00

A while ago I decided to make a new goal. I decided to save all of our DI clothes and repurpose them into something else. I don't know why, but I think repurposing is so cool, making something new out of something old. I love the saying, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without". The fact that we are going to take a little pay cut when Truston goes to school is added incentive to figure out how to "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." Don't worry, I'm not going to start making underwear and knitting socks, but it seems easy enough to take our big clothes and cut them down for the boys.
When we moved into the boys house they had a bag of DI clothes that I went through. I found these shorts and pants.

Yes, that is Talmage with a pair of scissors. Seriously, where is his mom? Originally I was going to make some church clothes; cord pants and vests. However, my original plan is ALWAYS more grandiose then what do.
Here is the outcome.
I'm going to try and make some bowties by next Sunday....seriously HOW CUTE IS THAT???!! Wow, these boys kill me. Have you ever seen anything this handsome? If you have, don't tell me about it.
This was one of my favorite pictures. Talmage is working hard, brushing his teeth and Logan has his little lip out, quivering.

What we did...

2010-04-03T14:16:00.002-06:00

I know that you have all waited breathlessly for a report from our trip to Houston.
Well, the first leg of the trip I just sat and enjoyed stillness. You can only do that for so long.
So, the second leg of the trip Truston and I did a crossword. Does anybody know, are NY Times crosswords harder than USA Today crosswords? We did a pretty awesome job, almost complete. I could literally feel the Alzheimer's receding from my cobwebbed brain.

In the Southwest magazine there was an article on money origami. Can you tell what this is?
Yes, a squirrel. I made the torso a little to short, so it looks like it's doing a backflip.
After our first day of house hunting we went to one of my FAVORITE restaurants, Pappasitos. It is so delicious. Look at Truston, can you see the drool dripping from his mouth. J/K.
Not thinking, we went to the Pappasitos across from the Astrodome where the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was. We thought about going, the Rodeo is the BEST, but when we saw the HUGE crowds, we were a little deterred. Keith Urban will have to wait.
We say some good houses, some bad and ate a lot of food. It was an awesome trip and we really enjoyed ourselves. What's a trip without going to the cheesecake factory? This is the Godiva Chocolate cheesecake that I tasted probably 5 years ago and have wanted a piece ever since. After 24 hours this is only as far as I could get. It was delicious. I wish I had some right now.

We Moved

2010-03-29T13:04:00.002-06:00

So, we moved.
Cherry Hill Luxury Apartments was a little too luxurious for us, so we decided to downsize a little. We moved to Provo and are living with my brothers in the house my parents own. I won't tell you much much downsizing went on, but if you've ever been to the 324 house, you already know.
Regardless, we are all much happier and healthier here and it's a blast to live with two fun uncles.
Also, we don't have internet yet, so my posts will be pretty sporatic...what a surprise, right?
I do have a couple funny stories to share about the joys of living with men who don't have kids:
- They like to babysit...isn't that awesome? Well, I don't know how much they like it, but they are happy to do it. When I got back from a run the other day, Talmage had learned all about worms. They also like to teach him about spaceships, P90X, and weightlifting.
-Changing a diaper is tantamount to an atomic bomb explosion. We came home last night from checking our email and Tanner explained in very graphic terms how Logan had filled his pants. He included a lot noises and hand gestures. I was surprised they didn't get out the gas masks.
They are awesome and we are grateful to them.
P.S. We still have the same phone numbers.

What to do...

2010-03-15T14:15:00.002-06:00

Truston and I are flying down to Houston tomorrow on a little house-hunting trip.
I know, I know, we are super excited.
The thought of: moving, a house, warm weather, a house, pools, swimming, shorts, and a house are just so exciting, I really can't articulate.
I'm mostly excited about moving into a house, but I'm also excited to be going on our little get-away. I like to think of it as an all-expense-paid-vacation-by-us-for-us. I know, it's so exciting.
However, I'm just so perplexed. What will I do on flight to H-town all by myself? Do I read? What should I read? Sleep? Watch a movie? I just don't know what to do. Or I could just sit and day-dream. It all sounds good.

In the car

2010-03-14T10:05:00.002-06:00

I like driving around town: it's quiet, I can see the sun and sky, my boys like being in the car, and it gives us an excellent chance to increase our vehicular vocabulary.
As we drive around, Talmage is on full alert in his car seat, peering out the window for the next truck/car/bus/etc.
I take back the being 'quiet'. There is a nonstop stream of commentary coming from the back seat, "Mom, mom, mom, a truck, a truck, a truck. Oh noooooo, a weo-weo (What he calls fire trucks). Mom, a men truck (cement truck)....oh, biiiiig men truck, bye bye men truck. Mom, mom, mom, a dump truck, a dump truck, a dump truck, MOMMM, A DUMP TRUCK" If anything drives past us with any sort of muffler sound he whips he head around and whispers, "Oh, a reece car."
Talmage narrates our trips: "Mom, there the weo-weo haus. Thas where the weo-weos are" "Going to libray? okay, go to libray. More books? Mom, want a dump truck book. Dump truck book, mom? Mom, dump truck book?" or "Ohhh, mal-mart. Mom, I luv mal-mart."
He notices bicycles, motorcycles, school buses and UTA buses. A small white truck evokes, "Mom, Andjuw truck." A big white truck is especially exciting, "Mom, granpa truck. go granpa haus?"Anything with big wheels is a "Monster truck" and anything with a spoiler is "the king" (Have you seen 'Cars'?)
Driving past a construction site or truck rental lot deserves a sssslllllllllllooooooooowwwwww pass until we're admired the diggers, bulldozers and backhoes in all their glory.
You never knew driving around town could be so exciting.

For Grace

2010-03-11T19:36:00.003-07:00

My sister, Grace, is awesome. And because I like her so much I will honor her request to post every day (We'll see how long this lasts). I did just post something, but it was pretty cranky, so I'll post something better.

The Hazards of Feeding Children
Any mother could tell you what hazards are involved when feeding children

Spit up
Barf
Drool
Mucous
Food in hair
Food in eyes
You will never leave the table without food all over your clothes, and then when you're husband comes home, he is always surprised that you have food on your clothes. To me, this says; you need to feed children more often
Seriously, the list is endless

Today, while feeding Logan he cough/choked on some peaches and this is what happened:

It looks way more gross in this picture then it was in real life. I couldn't stop laughing, it was so funny. Thank you, Logan, for a little peach exfoliant.

WIC

2010-03-11T19:08:00.002-07:00

Just reading those three letters should give you shivers. SHIVERS. (Haley, are you shaking in your boots?)

This morning I got up early, ready to take care of my two boys who are sick again. Yesterday was kind of rough and our dr's appointment wasn't exactly a tea party so I bought myself some cookies at the grocery store later. You know, I was feeling sorry for myself and needed a pick up. So today I got up early with one sick boy, put him to sleep and then my other sick boy got up. In the rush to get ready, provide nursing care, etc. I ate three cookies for breakfast and packed a peanut butter and honey sandwich and banana for Talmage. The picture perfect balanced meal. We got to WIC on time (that's right, I brought my sick boys out to cough on your kids), waited for 35 minutes, got into a room, waited another 35 minutes before we saw anybody. When the 'nutritionist' finally came in, she said, "I hope you haven't been waiting long, it's kind of dead this morning" !!!! We went through all our specs and then she suggested we make some health goals. "No, we are FINE." I gritted between my teeth, as I thought, I probably know more about nutrition and have more healthy habits then all of you ...... ...... ....... women who work here. (Those aren't bad words, just not nice words.) We finally got out of there, 2 hours after we arrived. Once again, feeling sorry for myself, we drove through McDonalds, shared a fry with Talmage and drank some diet coke. We got home, made some Macaroni and Cheese for lunch and then put the boys down for naps. It wasn't until I was laying down with Talmage that I reflected on my nutritionally 'superior' habits. Cookies, fries, coke, mac and cheese? YUCK! Of course, most days are good and we're on track: nutritionally, emotionally, spiritually, ecumenically, etc. J/K. Sick days throw me off.
So, to you crazy cranky ladies at WIC, I will make a health goal:
I will stop going to WIC, it is bad for my health.

It's Official!!

2010-02-12T13:20:00.002-07:00

Many of you know about our medical school woes...many applications, many rejections.
This year we took a different approach and Truston applied to some Ph.D programs.
HE GOT IN!! to Baylor Medical College's PhD in Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine. We are so excited! If you are interested in what that really means (becuase I could hardly explain it to you) check out the website www.bcm.edu/tbmm

my favorite christmas picture

2010-01-14T12:50:00.006-07:00

This kid got a nerf long shot from Santa. We'll see if you're on the nice list next year, Thomas.

This is my second favorite picture.

a recent experience

2010-01-11T15:42:00.001-07:00

This is from a family newsletter I send out....

I thought the BYU ski class was awesome, I was put in level 0- ‘never put on skis before’. My class was full of Asian exchange students, the only other white kid and I snuck off on our own on the second class and tried to go down a blue square. The slope was pure ice where I fell and rolled down the mountain. One ski didn’t come off and my leg was wrenched around with the ski. Of course I tore my ACL. I was so mad, after playing years of soccer and watching every other teammate tear their ACL or sprain their ankles, I got off scotch free. Until my ski class. I wanted to keep skiing, so I didn’t tell anybody, I just taped it up really tight and didn’t fall the rest of the time. I’m sure Tanner and Grace are and will be MUCH better skiers than I ever was.

Grace stayed the night with us and the next morning we went to REI to rent me some x-country skis. All of their skis were up at Mountain Dell for a Demo Day. We went up there, got some pretty sweet skate skis (for free) and took a little skate ski lesson- which was totally for my benefit. After the first go round, the instructor asked Grace if she had skied before and where. She looked like a pro, I looked like a wobbly deer. After the lesson, we skied around the course. It was pretty nice, although a little hilly. Apparently at Mountain Dell, they grade their x-country ski trails. It was all happy going until we came to a sign with a BLUE SQUARE on it. Oh no, I thought, my arch-nemesis. Should I meet my foe or ski away in fear? I watched Grace ski down the slope and followed with trepidation. Although a novice skier, I am a profession snow plower; I employed my skills and made it to the bottom still upright. Now, HOW WAS I GOING TO GET UP THE HILL? Are you kidding me? I looked like a duck on steroids, trying to ski up a hill even steeper than the one I came down. I will admit to one fall, and as I turned around to see how close the people behind me were, I saw two men fall flat on their faces. Ha ha, I was better than that, so I found the strength to get up and keep skiing. Cross-country skiing is EXHAUSTING, true I did a lot of weight lifting the day before, but every muscle in my body was burning and I was sucking more wind than the first week contestants of biggest loser. Lest you think I am a exaggerating, when we came to the end of our blue square run, we hit another steep slope. I took off my skis and walked to the top. No more steroidal duck for me, thank you. As I side note, Grace does not look like a duck on steroids, that’s just me. Thank goodness we were hidden by trees and brush.

FYI

2009-12-03T13:38:00.004-07:00

A couple of people asked me where I got the pattern for the little car caddy. No pattern, but it's super easy...I saw it in www.createstudio.blogspot.com. Look for the Cozy Car Caddy.

Happy Birthday!

2009-11-25T16:20:00.002-07:00

The Birthday

2009-11-25T16:02:00.004-07:00

Monday was Talmage's 2 year old birthday. Wow, time really flies. We went in his bedroom, early Monday morning to wish him happy birthday. This is what we found.
A half-naked boy playing with his trucks and cars. He insists on bringing them to bed with him. It's okay with me because he is contained and happy and that makes me happy.
We ate some birthday pancakes (complete with candle, that he would not blow out) and opened some very modest gifts (one dollar matchbox cars from the dollar store). I also made him this little car caddy to carry his cars around in. He loved it. He drove his cars in and out of the pockets, parked them backwards and then forwards, etc....it feels good to be appreciated.
It folds up like this.
We had another little party that night...check out our awesome decorations (also from the dollar store). Andrew was really happy to be there. Too bad I didn't get a picture of him in the wet suit he bought earlier that day, it was also awesome.
No party is complete without some cake...truck cake, that is. You can't see the mold very well with chocolate cake, but I have a cake pan with truck molds. It's always a big hit, who doesn't like truck cake? We also put candles in the trucks and no, he would not blow them out.
That was our big day. It was so fun to celebrate the two years we've had with our little guy. He has been such a blessing in our lives. He keeps us happy and mindful of the most important things- family.

Whew

2009-11-19T16:10:00.002-07:00

We got through croup with only 2 sleepless nights, one scary breathless encounter, heavy-duty humidification and lots of juice. The baby didn't get sick and Talmage learned a lot about trucks, city sanitation and fire trucks. We're looking forward to his 2 year old birthday on Monday....woo hoo.

Bad News

2009-11-14T14:55:00.002-07:00

Talmage has croup. He's doing okay.
To appease him, we've watched redbox's 'Mighty Machines' about 20 times. It'll be a miracle if I have any cognisant ability after this is over.
If we can get through this without the baby getting sick, I'll be happy.

Halloween, fireman style

2009-11-10T14:40:00.002-07:00

Two Fireman
A Fire Truck
And a Fire Dog
Yes, the fire truck was the most ghetto costume ever, but Talmage loved it to pieces, literally. I had to re-build it three times. And then came Halloween, not a party or get together, but the real deal and he fell in the costume and wouldn't put it on after that. Such a bummer, at least we got our money's worth.
P.S. I know these are pretty lame costumes, but next year...we are going to be something awesome. Any suggestions?

For my Dad, the baby whisperer:

2009-11-05T08:13:00.002-07:00

Trucks

2009-11-02T14:20:00.004-07:00

If you've ever talked to Talmage, you know what his best, most verbal, favorite word is: Truck. Wee-o wee-o is how he says fire trucks. You can guess what we talk about most of the day. We read books about trucks, laugh about trucks, line them up, drive them around, fill them with money, raisins or cheerios, really the possibilities are endless. And that is why Talmage was a fire truck for Halloween. (picture to come soon)

Revolutionized

2009-10-20T15:32:00.003-06:00

We've had a couple of fun changes around here lately.
Let me explain.
My mom made another awesome blanket, this time for Logan.
This has REVOLUTIONIZED Logan...not really, but someday it will. Remember the awesome blanket my mom made for Talmage? It's very similar to this and he LOVES it. When my dad pulled this one out of his suitcase, Talmage looked at it with longing eyes and said, "ta-tee" (What he calls his blankey) He tried to rub his face in it, but I explained this blankey was for the baby. I went and got his blankey and he hugged it and pointed to this one and said, "bebe ta-tee"

Creamy Peanut Butter...this has REVOLUTIONIZED our lunchtimes.
Talmage will eat a whole pb&j sandwich... open faced. Cute, but very messy
Cake pops. I made these the other day and they REVOLUTIONIZED Grace. She couldn't get enough, and neither could Andrew.
Curtains. WOW, they have REVOLUTIONIZED our apartment. I've only had this fabric for, like, 4 months. I finally got them up and they make such a difference.
Change is good.

Let me help you....

2009-10-12T15:22:00.005-06:00

Sometimes Talmage will try and feed Logan or put his binky in. I thought I would get a little video of it.
I love how he holds the bottle by his mouth and makes a biting sound, like its a carrot or something.
The kiss at the end is priceless...pucker up.
p.s. I understand about as much jibber jabber as you understand

For the record

2009-10-12T15:09:00.002-06:00

Here is one of Logan's cute smiles. He's a happy guy.

Talmage and Logan

2009-10-06T15:11:00.002-06:00

Every once in a while, Talmage is interested in Logan and will try to hold him or pick him up. As you can see it's not a very serious attempt.
I love that when I ask Talmage to kiss Logan he sighs, like, "don't ask too much of me, Mom".
I also loves that he runs away after about 5 seconds...a realistic portrayal of his attention span.

Closet Pride

2009-09-29T14:09:00.002-06:00

As many of you know, Truston went to the University of Utah. (A minor flaw I was willing to overlook). He was the first member of his family to attend college out of high school and attended on a full scholarship for 4 years. He likes the U, but he's not dyed in the wool. I guess you could call him a fair-weather fan. Unfortunately for him, he married into a dyed in the wool through and through, BLUE family.
My siblings surprised us with some football tickets this last weekend and we went to the game. Lucky for Truston, they had this extra BYU t-shirt lying around. This was the best picture I could get of him...he kept darting around and covering up the 'cougar'. He is slowly turning sides. He even remarked during the game, "Our teams defense..." Baby steps, my friends, baby steps. Thanks, Tanner, Grace and Andrew for a great afternoon.
I tried to take a picture of the boys together...Talmage is totally disinterested and Logan is totally unaware. Still cute.

Happy Birthday Tanman!

2009-09-29T14:01:00.001-06:00

This guy had a birthday:
We are so glad he's home from his mission in California and back at BYU...more fun for all of us.
And we celebrated all week long.
Thursday: dinner at Famous Daves..courtesy of the parentals
Saturday: BYU football game and a funnel cake/dance party
Sunday: dinner at the grandparents, and carrot cake
More people should have birthdays more often... it's fun to celebrate

Watch Out

2009-09-25T17:07:00.003-06:00

Today I caught somebody making fun of my baby. Lucky for him, he looked at me before I chucked the shoe I had in my hand. Word to the wise, if you want to make fun of my children, don't be surprised if a hard wooden shoe comes flying straight for your head.
P.S. I have good aim and I throw hard.

Some Firsts

2009-09-24T14:08:00.005-06:00

Today we celebrated some firsts:
1.)I put my tennis shoes on for he first time in...ahh....6 months. We went on a little walk.
2.) I gave Talmage his first plum and he loved it, in fact he ate 3.
3.) I put Logan in a big boy outfit. I shouldn't have done it, now he looks so big. I can't believe how fast 3 weeks have flown by. Here is a picture of him.
Today when I was feeding him, I looked down at his hands and toes and noticed that they are bigger. They may not look big to you, but they are chubbier then they were 3 weeks ago, or even a week ago. Babies grow so fast.
I also noticed that his feet seem to be developing into the characteristic "Bodine feet". His toes are already looking a little 'swollen'. (Somebody told us once that we should get Talmage's toes checked out because they looked swollen. I laughed out loud. Sorry buddy, they're just that fat.)

a surprise and some potty humor

2009-09-22T12:39:00.002-06:00

There are many things that are different when you add another child to the mix. I though, for example, that one child crying would affect the other child. Not so. Talmage could care less when Logan is crying and Logan doesn't even flinch when Talmage is bawling. I thought they might wake each other up, sympathy cry or be annoyed, but as far as I can tell there is no change. a nice surprise.

On a more scatological note, if you have ever had a newborn, I'm sure you can remember being shocked at how loud and proud their bodily functions are. What is coming out of this little ten pound body would be more appropriate for a 300-lb burrito-contest-eating man. It's almost like they could shot themselves into space with the amount of gas released. This afternoon, I was sitting at the table with Talmage, holding Logan when he let one rip. Talmage started giggling and said, "woooow". He laughed for about a minute. I'm so glad the potty jokes have started.

Life in the slow lane

2009-09-17T13:40:00.006-06:00

Logan is two weeks old and we are still hanging on. I think that we're doing really well and then I'll catch Talmage spreading breadcrumbs all over our apartment from the back of his fisher-price bus or making watermelon juice and painting it onto the sofa.
As far as i can tell, the biggest downside to two children under two is that one will be unsupervised part of the time, and it is probably the child that knows how to dig through the trash can or take pictures with the camera. For instance, I found you-know-who with the camera this morning and he had taken about 20 pictures. Here are the first couple...after that he expresses his artistic talent (or not) in a variety of shaky, fuzzy landscape shots. (Oh yeah, that is after he got into the bathtub after I had taken a shower and 'swam' around in the residual water...soaking wet from head to toe, not to mention gross.)

Yesterday, I lost my phone. I looked everywhere and couldn't find it. I finally remembered the last place I saw it was in the hands of this kid. I was sure it was in his room and I tore it apart looking for my phone. It wasn't ringing, so I assumed it must be dead. I all but gave up when I remembered one last hiding spot. Talmage likes to take the end off my exercise bike stand and slip his cars into the tube. Sure enough, there was my phone, tightly wedged into a metal tube. It was pushed so far back I had to pull it out with some kitchen tongs. That is the last time I will let him walk away with my phone. Just for kicks, here is a picture of the culprit.
One last thing, I've been trying to take some cute pictures of Logan for a baby announcement. Here is what happened this morning:

We will try again tomorrow

Big News!!!

2009-09-08T21:08:00.005-06:00

Logan Samuel Bodine was born on September 1.
He weighed 8 lbs 13 ounces and was 20 inches long. He was born with some healthy sized cheeks, as you can see. We are so grateful and happy to have our little friend here with us.

Sorry, I can't fix this picture, but it is so cute with his little smile. I know that newborns don't 'smile' but I've caught quite a few.

Catch Up- July 4th

2009-08-05T15:12:00.004-06:00

So, I have A LOT of catch-up to do.
This year I was a slacker and ditched my husband and his family fireworks and went to Houston for the wedding of my friend Christy.
It was beautiful! The ceremony was beautiful, the temple was beautiful, the flowers were beautiful, everything was wonderful. Hot, but wonderful.
I was a little worried because traveling with a child is kind of like traveling with a monkey, he is a wild card. But Talmage was super! He slept well, was charming and rolled with all the punches.
This is a picture of beautiful Christy and her sisters.
Her cute husband is into motocross and this was the grooms cake. This was the most awesome Grooms Cake I have ever seen! A stadium, complete with a little candy guy on a motocycle.
Their reception was at George Ranch. George Ranch is an old 1940's cattle ranch outside of Houston. They had a BBQ dinner and dancing at one of the old dance halls. In case you were wondering what I look like 7 months pregnant. If you think I can't get any bigger...wait for the next post.

What a Day!!!

2009-06-18T14:48:00.004-06:00

So, on Tuesday, my brother Tanner came home from his mission. He's been serving for two years as a missionary in the Riverside California Mission. Lucky for us, he had a 9 hour lay over in Salt Lake City on his way to Alaska. So my brother, Andrew, and I went to the airport and 'picked' him up.

We made some signs.

Tanner tried to shake my hand at first. Ha, I side swiped that and gave him a big hug.

What a fun experience. Poor Tanner, all the other missionaries that got off the plane had crying mothers and large family groups...We were holding a sign that said 'baptize me'. I don't think he cared too much though.

We brought him to the SL temple and did a session with both the Myres and Coleman grandparents. It was a very special occasion and then we all ate a little dinner.

It only took Talmage the whole afternoon to warm up to Tanner. What a stinker. As he was leaving, Talmage jumped into his arms and we snapped this picture. Talmage looks funny because anytime you point a camera at him, he blinks furiously and flashes a really cheesy smile. (I have a funny video to post about that later)
Anyways, Talmage and Tanner have one special feature in common. White Hair. Tanner was the blondest kid you ever saw. Even his eyebrows were white, not so much anymore, but he's still pretty blonde.

So we brought him back to the airport and he flew to Anchorage, Alaska where the party continued. What a treat to see our favorite missionary come home, we've been waiting for weeks for this day to come.
As if that wasn't enough, Tuesday was also Truston's Birthday!! 25 years old!
I made some amazingly delicious (if I do say so myself) Lemon Meringue Cupcakes. We invited over our friends and family and had a one more party.
Truston was a sport, he even wore a hat and blew out a candle. The reflection of my flash happened to be the exact pinnacle of his birthday hat. It kind of looks like his birthday hat was also on fire. Maybe it was...it was a pretty awesome birthday party.

This last picture is totally unrelated, I just included it for laughs. Also because I think my family would like to see how Andrew dresses, not that it's any surprise, he's been doing this his whole life. Andrew spent most of the day with us; airport, temple, dinner, party, etc. He stayed for a while after everyone left. He got dressed in some more comfortable clothes and when he came out, this is what he was wearin; a striped shirt, plaid pants, Tanner's philmont belt that he's been wearing for the past two years (Tanner was a guide there, not Andrew, even though he tells everyone he was), black socks and yes...flip flops. If that wasn't enough, he started our toaster on fire. It's always a party when Andrew's around, even if you're only looking at what he's wearing. What a day.

The Matador

2009-06-15T08:58:00.001-06:00

Talmage's new dance kind of reminds me of a matador. It's awesome.

Check This Out

2009-06-04T20:44:00.001-06:00

I want one

More Favorite Things

2009-06-01T15:37:00.003-06:00

Some more favorite things:
Riding Lawn Mowers
I really can't even tell you how much time he spends on this riding lawn mower, basically he climbs on and around it the entire time we are visiting Truston's parents. He loves it; he pretends to drive it, makes machine noises and turns all the spinning aparatus'.
This is my favorite:
Boys in swim suits.

He really does have a swim suit, not just a speedo diaper. (The swim suit had just come off at this point.) He was really pointing to a plane in the sky, but it looks like he's posing. Kills me.

Hello Summer

2009-05-26T17:55:00.001-06:00

Two of my favorite things:
Pools and Otter Pops
It's going to be a good summer.

What he does best...

2009-05-19T17:27:00.003-06:00

This poor child doesn't have a backyard. So he improvises...by pushing the jogging stroller up against our patio wall (we're in the basement), climbing on top of it and sticking his head over the ledge. He watches the neighbors, cars and buses (his favorite). Sometimes he'll climb up with a truck or two to drive along the wall.

A few of his favorite things...

2009-05-18T14:34:00.004-06:00

Talmage really loves his blanket. A LOT. Thanks to my awesome mom for making this beautiful specimen of orange fur and aliens. We don't carry it everywhere, but around the house, it is his almost constant companion. Talmage also loves trucks, really anything with wheels and a motor.
The other day, I caught him giving his blanky a ride in his truck. It was so funny, I had to take a video and this is it.
Notice how well he plays until he realizes I have the camera. He instantly changes into a silly, cheesy mode. He also blows his nose at me. This is a newly acquired skill, for which I am grateful, I just wish he would do it when I have a kleenex somewhere nearby. Good thing no boogies ended up on the camera.
p.s. He can say 'cheese'. He can actually say a lot of things, but he will never do it on command. Only on his own terms...

Names

2009-04-24T21:05:00.003-06:00

Now that we know we're having a boy, we can settle down and concentrate on picking a name. Wow, it's really hard. We have no ideas...actually I do and I will run them down with you. Tell me what you think.
There are two options:
1. We can embrace our nordic heritage and hope for another white haired, bright blue eyed baby and name him....Sven, Leif, Soren, Erik, etc.
2. We can steal our siblings name picks. HAH. Don't think I won't do it, because I would. For example, my brother told me the other day he wants a boy named Simon. Stolen. Another brother said he wants a boy named George. Stolen. Somebody else wants to name their baby Max. They better watch out!
Anyways, if anybody has any good suggestions, we would appreciate them. Me especially, since Truston's main role in this whole process is saying 'no, I knew somebody with that name' or 'no, that's weird.'

Chattering

2009-04-20T16:57:00.002-06:00

I took this video a while ago and forgot that I had it on my camera.
Talmage talks ALL day, don't ask me what he's saying, though. I can't translate.
I guess we're doing a little better now, at least I know when he's saying, 'no way' to me.

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-14T20:40:00.002-06:00

This Saturday we had an Easter Egg Hunt with our ward. It was really fun (even though it rained), and we even had a special Easter visitor. I was a little reticent about the bunny because Talmage is normally scared of those kind of things. I watched him anxiously as the Easter Bunny came out. His eyes got wide and he started walking towards him with a huge smile, pointing and laughing. The whole time the Easter Bunny was with us, he just followed him around the field, laughing and pointing. I wish I would've had a video camera, it was so funny. As proof, here is a picture.

Gender

2009-04-13T09:16:00.001-06:00

It's a boy!
A little friend for Talmage.

did you know....

2009-04-08T20:43:00.002-06:00

Did you know what Hannah Montana has her own anti-persperant.
Wow.
It's called Secret Rock Star Rose.

It was a good day.

2009-04-04T13:21:00.002-06:00

On Thursday, after I had a good morning workout and feeling on cloud 9, I did something I would normally NEVER do. In fact, I have been procrastinating this certain item for..ah... months.
I called our insurance company.
If anybody has ever in this life or previous lives called an insurance company for any reason whatsoever, they know what I'm talking about.
Several things are guaranteed to happen:
1. You will wait for at least 15 minutes to talk to a person.
2. You will have no idea what they're talking about when you do talk to a real person.
3. You will feel swindled.
4. You will start using bad words and making death threats.
5. You will think.."Could this be any worse?" and then you remember some stupidos are trying to socialize medicine and you horrifically realize it could get worse...

BUT

That did not happen! I did have to wait a while to talk to a guy, but he was super nice, explained everything clearly and slowly and broke the happy news that there was several hundred dollars waiting for me to be reimbursed. Awesome. Then he told me more good news, I have even more money waiting for me to use. It just kept getting better. I was ready to profess my love to this man. It was awesome.

Hah.

2009-04-02T08:41:00.001-06:00

I'm 18 weeks pregnant and this morning I did 3 100 IM's.
Hah.
It's going to be a good day.

Gusto

2009-03-31T12:52:00.002-06:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long. I don't think I could even tell you what I've been doing...I've just been lazy. And for a week or so I have been thinking there is nothing blog worthy going on...so I've been trying to think of something to post about. Well, today while Talmage and I were eating lunch...it hit me.
I fixed some tomato soup, which I normally detest, but being pregnant will do strange things to you, and I've had a hankering for tomato soup. I was leery about giving him soup, because, well...that sounds like too much mess and not enough eating. I went ahead and gave him a small bowl of soup. He tried a little bit and WOW...it was like I hadn't fed him in months. He slurped that soup with gusto. He couldn't get it in his mouth fast enough (it didn't help that he couldn't spoon very much into his mouth to begin with).

And then he realized he could just drink out of the bowl. He drank and drank and drank some more. I refilled his little bowl three times, and he loved every drop of that tomato soup. Who would've known?

This was one happy boy. If only he would eat all the time like that.

What is this?

2009-02-23T16:15:00.002-07:00

That's right, a baby!

Number 2 will be here at the beginning of September. We are super excited!!

Fun in the Alaskan Sun

2009-02-13T20:42:00.003-07:00

While I was in Alaska, I wanted to do some cross-country skiing because it seems to be quite the sport up there. In Alaska, people run in the summer to train for skiing in the winter. A little backwards, huh? My sister, Grace, has become quite the skier, and my dad goes every night. Whenever we went out, the trails were full of people and dogs. Of course everybody brings their giant wolf dogs, and sometimes they are skjorking. Yes, that is a real thing. It's when your wolf dog pulls you on your skis. We also saw quite a few people with baby sleds. Yes, a tiny sled to put your child in and strap to your body while you ski along pulling the sled. We even saw one women skjorking (strapped to a dog in front of her) with her baby sled (baby strapped to her back). It looked a little dangerous, if you ask me. These are some pictures of our last skiing excursion. It was pretty fun. Grace literally skied circles around us. But I didn't let that hurt my feelings.

Look closely at the last picture. Do you see a MOOSE? On our way back, Mango (my parents dog-not a wolf dog, just a golden retriever) kept barking at some bushes and when we took a closer look there was a moose chomping, about 15 ft. away. In case, you don't remember, the last time we went to Alaska, I had a very special moose encounter. The moose charged me, probably the scariest thing ever! So you can imagine I was a little skiddish, strapped to some skis, completely helpless. My only consolation was the two sharp poles in to my hands. I skied away as quickly as possible, and then my dad came up behind me yelling, "RUN". Just imagine me high-tailing it out of there as fast as possible. Oh yeah, he was joking. Good joke, dad.

Winter Vacation

2009-02-11T11:37:00.004-07:00

Talmage and I just got back from a winter vacation in Alaska. You know, it wasn't cold enough in Utah. Actually my brother Robert, suffered some pretty severe frostbite just before New Year's, and we were lucky enough to visit him and check on his progress.
We got there right after Thomas' birthday and right before mine, so what better way to celebrate than at Chuck E' Cheese!!! Everybody had a blast. Talmage wasn't really into the moving cars...but Grace loved it. I don't know if you can tell in this picture, but Grace is sitting in the car with Talmage. Don't you think he could become Chuck E Cheese's poster child?

Thomas treated us to some very delicious easy-bake cookies. He is quite the cook. One morning I woke up to the smell of toast...or eggs...I couldn't decide which. Thomas was down in the kitchen making french toast for the family. Like he told my dad, "The first couple are burnt, but the rest are pretty good." When I made it downstairs there was a pile of soggy, eggy, bread. And, yes, the first couple were black. Do I need to tell you we didn't eat the french toast? And you-know-who got in trouble for cooking with no adult supervision.
Talmage was treated like a king. (The fringe benefits of being the first grandchild.) He was pulled around on a toy semi-truck. He loved it, eating some string cheese, he would wave to people as he went around the corners.
More riding on the truck, this time lounging.

Does this kid have parents?

2009-01-25T19:54:00.002-07:00

Where is his mother?
Sick
Where is his father?
Sicker
Poor kid. He had two ear infections this last week, and because of the antibiotics, he's had a lot of diarrhea. I thought I could just put him in a t-shirt. I guess it was too big.

Pianos and Jelly

2009-01-22T08:43:00.004-07:00

This lady in our ward gave us her piano! We have a piano!!! I'm so excited. I know it is not really apartment appropriate....we'll try to play softly.
So to try and express appreciation, I thought some homemade bread and jelly sounded good. This was a big risk because I am NOT a bread maker. I can't tell you how many solid lumps of flour I have thrown away. Quite frankly I don't try that hard to improve because I know I could eat loaves all by myself. Nevertheless, I tried and it was AWESOME!!!! Have you ever seen bread this good? It was accompanied by homemade chokecherry jelly, which is SUPER delicious.
Truston tried it....
Pretty good.
Talmage loved it, too.
You can call me a domestic goddess. DG for short.

By request...

2008-12-30T13:55:00.004-07:00

After Christmas we all enjoyed the new snow. It took Talmage a while to warm up to the snow. He was pretty scared of it at first. We put him his alaska snow suit. As you can see, it almost triples his size. Mostly, I just wanted you to see how puffy he is in the snow suit.

Good News!

2008-12-18T12:19:00.002-07:00

Truston got another medical school interview. This interview is with New York Medical College, outside of NYC. We are so excited!!!
I keep asking him what he wants for Christmas and the only thing he says is, "Med school interviews", which I totally cannot deliver. However, it appears that subconciously, I can, and will.
HAH! The underlining came off, I couldn't figure out how to turn it off.
Anyways, we are excited about both interviews, Indiana University and NYMC...hopefully Santa will send more!

The Scream

2008-12-08T13:40:00.003-07:00

Another commonality when Talmage is throwing something.
Do you think he could become a shot-putter?

2008-12-08T11:47:00.002-07:00

Recently, Talmage has started picking up things and carrying them around the house. Most of the time he is just carrying a book around, waiting for you to read it. But some of the time, it is a favorite playthings- like wet-wipes. The best part is all the groaning with accompanied heavy breathing, who does he think he is? Hercules? Venus Williams? Don't mind the half-dressed-socks-are-almost-off look. If you ever happen to drop by between dinner and bedtime, this is usually what he looks like.

Hercules

2008-12-08T11:32:00.003-07:00