Puerto Rico (a little belated)

So I realized that our biggest vacation of the year got barely a mention on the blog, so I am here to correct that mishap. In February, Corey's mom took us and his sister's family to Puerto Rico for a week. What a fun time!!! We rented a condo, so we had a kitchen and living area to spread out in -- way better than a hotel! Corey was our 'travel agent', a job he loves/hates. He can't help but be the planner, but agonizes over the details -- hoping everyone has a good time. Here are some of our pictures.

The Kokee Frog - all over in Puerto Rico, but this is the only one we saw. We certainly heard them, though. They make a sort of island music that reminds us that we were far from home.

We spent a whole day on a sailboat that took us to a couple different islands to snorkel and explore. I couldn't believe that the water was really that color blue! I thought that the movies just made it look like that, but the Caribbean really is this amazing color of aqua, just incredible.

Here's Corey and I swimming off to go look at fish... Our backs were fried by the end of the day, but so worth it!

Addie and two of her cousins, Emma and Sophie, swimming at the condo we stayed at.

Corey and Max enjoying the water! Don't worry, Corey's not really trying to squish Max... it just looks like that.

Corey and I took the kids and Corey's mom driving to check out different beaches. Let's just say the smiles on their faces in the picture are mostly out of relief from finally getting out of the car! We spent the whole day driving around, and the beach the 'travel book' guided us to was a total bust! Then, the drive home was even crazier. From seeing a guy riding two bicycles while talking to the invisible passenger of the other bicycle, to passing the guy holding up a live lobster to passing cars, to driving on a one lane mountain road so narrow we had to pull in our sideview mirror so as to not scrape it on the mountainside, all the while praying we wouldn't have to pass another vehicle coming the other way. The best part was coming to the end of this road, only to pass a sedan driving up the other way sporting a passenger riding on the hood of the car, and one sitting upright in the open trunk. Puerto Ricans can be strange!

One of the best parts of going to a new place is trying new food. This is octopus salad, garnished with smashed plantains. We had tons of great seafood, but the best dinner I had was whole fried snapper. I wish I had my camera that night, because it shocked the whole table! It even came with it's eyeballs intact, although I am not adventurous enough to try eating eyeballs.

Corey was able to squeeze out a couple rounds of golf, which is a staple in any vacation we take -- including our honeymoon.

One day, we hiked in the rainforest down to this waterfall in the middle of a rainstorm. We wanted to swim at the bottom, but cameras and phones were in danger of getting soaked.

Us getting soaked...

Like I said, we were a long way from home, but we were able to find their version of a basketball hoop. I thought this was a fitting photo to define our trip.


We had tons of fun, and being there with family made it wonderful.

Catching up

I'm a terrible slacker. I am constantly checking my friends blogs, eagerly looking for the new updates, and I haven't posted in nearly a month! I guess it's something I need to make a habit. Anyways, here are a few pics that show you what's up in our lively household.



This funny guy LOVES this doll! Addie has many dolls, and they are always laying around. Max got hold of this one and I was a little shocked at the intensity of his feelings. I tried to get a picture of him 'kissing' the doll, but you know how digital cameras are. They have that 2-3 second delay, so I kept missing it. But know that I will be on the watch out for more evidence of this love affair.


Speaking of love affairs, Addie has a serious love of stickers. Probably no more than any other two year old, but I find them everywhere! Including here! Don't let that look on his face fool you, he is loving the attention she is giving him. He absolutely adores his big sister, thinks she is the best thing in his life. He's always grabbing at her toys, her clothes, her hair, her giggles... and she is such a performer! I see this same relationship between Corey and his older sister, so it's exciting to see. I know they will be great friends... but probably not without some major wars along the way.


Weaning is HARD!!! I have a 'girls weekend' planned at the end of May, and decided it was time to wean Max. I made it to seven months nursing, and it was getting more and more difficult. So, when this trip was presented, I decided this was perfect timing. I didn't want to leave Corey with a nursing baby for the weekend...I wanted to have a happy husband when I came home. So I tried a bottle of formula. NO! Not even a little. Okay, maybe I'll try pumped breast milk. Nada. Finally I tried water with a little bit of juice mixed in, and still he wouldn't take it. Not until the second time I tried, at least. I had put it in the fridge, and he took it cold. Okay, this is a start. Lets try the breast milk again. No! Aarrgghh!! Hmmm, maybe I'll try it cold. What do you know, he likes it!! My son, that's soooo easy going about everything, will only take a cold bottle!! He's a little strange, I know. But we're down to nursing once a day, and by the time I leave for my trip, all should be well.

This is the best!!! Obviously she gets her rhythm from me... ha, but I'm not quite sure where she learned about interpretive expression. You can't quite tell in the video, but her little hips are really swaying!

Tagged

So I was just tagged, and since I haven't posted anything this week I guess I'll get down to sharing things about me. But first, some new pictures.













1: What was I doing 10 years ago?
I don't even want to admit to what I was doing 10 years ago. That was the lowest point in my life. Maybe 9 years ago is a better question. That's when I started getting my act together and getting rid of the things in my life that were dragging me down.

2: What are 5 things on my to do list?
List, what list? Corey is the one with the list. I guess I should list this under bad habits, but I never learned to write lists. I just know in my head what I need to do, but now that we have 2 kids, a lot of those fall out of my brain. Maybe that's what I need to commit to, writing an actual list.



3: What are my 3 worst habits?
-I pick at my fingernails - at least I quit biting them.
-I hate doing dishes after cooking dinner. It's like I can't face spending another 1/2 hour in the kitchen.
-I'm too much of a home-body. I could go days without seeing or talking to anyone. Thank goodness I have good friends that don't let me do that too often - thanks Darcy!



4: Where have I lived?
I grew up and moved out of the same house I was born into, but since then have lived in various parts of Salt Lake City. I went to school in Ephraim, UT, and am now living in Greenfield, WI.



5: What would I do if (when :) I became a millionaire?
Fancy house, nice car, new wardrobe -- for starters. Since I'm married to Corey, we would of course have to invest a large portion so we could continue to be millionaires. We would then donate to a school (Corey's always wanted people to go to their classes in the Grip Building), then go on multiple missions (again, mainly for Corey -- is there a pattern here?). I guess I want to be comfortable and Corey wants to be adventurous and beneficial. I'll let you all know how this works out, once we come up with our big million dollar idea that will change the world!


6: What jobs have I had?
Although I've worked since I was 16 (and continued working until I was 31), I've only worked at 5 different places. Burger King for 2 years, Diamond Glass for too many years, Olive Garden when I wanted to break out of Diamond Glass - only to be sucked back in, Harding Glass for 6 months until they shut the doors, and ABRA Auto Body. I spent 3 years there in Utah, then was able to transfer with them when we moved out to Wisconsin and worked another 1 1/2 years before I had Addie. I guess I should say 6 jobs, since I'm now a very full-time mommy.



7: What are 5 things you may not know about me?
I guess that depends on how well you know me - I'm not very private about my life. Some unique things about me are as follows:
-I am the middle of 11 children in my family
-I was the only one to be born at home, in our parents room
-I owned an impressive amount of romance novels when I was in college (I gave most of them away when I decided to grow up)
-I used to be a championship level clogger (don't laugh, I know you're all jealous!)
-I played the clarinet for 8 years, and never liked it. But I loved being in the midst of all that beautiful music so I never quit.

Okay, NOW it's spring (we hope)

So we don't have much going on here, but I realized it's been a couple weeks since I last posted, so here are some new photos to enjoy.

Addie loving Max! We don't photograph her beating on him, so we can't show the other 85% of the day.

Spring has finally sprung (I hope, I hope). All the snow has melted, and it's been in the 60's this week. This picture was taken the coldest day this week, low 50's. Now we're just waiting for the rain that will keep us indoors again.

Addie was supposed to be cleaning her room, but she just kept bringing more and more toys to Max - emptying out her toy bins and messing up her room even more.

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So Max is now 6 1/2 months old, and I openly nurse him in front of Addie. But this is the first time I've seen this. She's pulled up her shirt so she can 'nurse' her baby. Maybe it's time to start using the cover at home.

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Corey's in Augusta, Georgia for the next few days. Anyone know the significance? That's right, it's Master's time, one of the 4 PGA majors. I'm sure we'll have some good photos to post from that trip. He's there with his dad, and a good friend from Utah, Shane, and Shane's dad. I was never considered, not that I feel left out. Walking around for 8 hours watching golf isn't really my cup of tea.

Point of trivia: What does GOLF stand for?

I'll post the answer if no one answers correctly in their comments when we have appropriate pictures.

Looking back, looking forward

Just looking through old pictures, and thought these were a great comparison. Addie in 2006, Max in 2008. The funny thing is most of Addie's pictures have her with a binkie, and most of Max's don't.

Easter Snow

Aahhh, Spring Break! A time to enjoy the renewal of life... HA! Not in Milwaukee. We just endured a major storm that brought us 15 inches of snow. This brings us into the #2 spot on record for most snow in one season in Milwaukee, beating out 1897 at 94 inches. That's right, folks, 96 inches this year!! And we only need 13 more to break the all time record of 109 set in 1885. The National Weather Service states this is roughly double the normal amount received. I'm sure I'm being punished for my wishful thinking in my previous post.

Addie had a visit this afternoon from the Easter Bunny, who decided to stop by during the day instead of Sunday because of our hectic schedules. She woke from her nap to find the basement decorated with colorful eggs and a fun basket for her and Max each. She was so excited about every egg she found, we had too much fun watching her run from one end of the room to the other as she noticed each new egg. I wish I had that kind of enthusium for life.

Max, just chillin'

All decked out for the Egg Hunt

Addie partying with Trey!

Spring is coming, my tulips tell me so!

Okay, so maybe it's wishful thinking, but I swear I can feel the change in the weather. Even though it was only 34 degrees today, it seemed less frigid. Maybe it's because we can finally see some grass (although there is still a TON of snow). And I did see tulips poking their little heads out of the frozen ground this morning. This picture is from last May, so don't think that we have anything but brown grass covered with dirty snow in our yard right now. You all should see our house the first couple months of spring. What a sight!!! Now, I can't say that our house is anything wonderful, but when I pull up to our driveway in the spring, I swell a little with pride. I just love flowers!!! And, anyone who saw our yard when we first moved in knows, we started with a blank canvas. I'll be a little sad to have to start over when we have to move. Maybe I'll just dig up all our bulbs and transplant so I don't have to go without.

Sorry about the gardening ramble, I just can't wait!!! Addie, too. She suffers from cabin fever more than the rest of us, I think. Mainly because I'm a homebody, Corey leaves the house for work, and Max doesn't know any different.

On the family side of news, Max is nearly 6 months and we've just started feeding him cereal. That's right, folks, he keeps up those cheeks on just milk alone (until recently). Everyone that sees him just can't get over his round little face and how big he is! He has an appointment in 2 weeks, so we'll see how big he truely is.

Also, a little news about Corey. After serving for over 3 years as the Elders Quorum President, he has finally been released!! But, lest you think he will get called back into Primary, they've called him to be the Second Counselor in the bishopric. Oh, joy! Just in time for Max to become more active at church, I get to juggle them both alone. Oh, well. Corey would be bored with anything less involving.

That's it for now, I would just invite all to think warm, green thoughts and help Spring hurry itself back into our lives!