Little Washerman

Laundry isn't my favorite thing in the world. Enter small helper, aka Clark, and I haven't had this much fun doing laundry in a long time.

Around DC in 26.2 Miles

We flew to Washington DC this weekend where Steve and all three of his brothers competed in the National Marathon on Saturday. 

It was a beautiful--but very chilly--Spring day in our nation's capital.

     

Our runners were all smiles at the halfway point...for the camera anyway.

Loved the top quote here: "In our minds, you're all Kenyans."

Here's my man on the home stretch of the race.  No more smiles.  Not even for the camera. I don't blame him a bit.   

He made it!  Clark and I are very proud of Steve for finishing his second marathon in just over 4½ hours. All the boys ran hard and finished strong. What an amazing accomplishment! 

Clark was a trooper as we waited and watched for hours in the cold.

Clark and I are so glad we got to go cheer on Steve and his brothers in the race, spend time with family, and enjoy a beautiful part of the country. I love DC in springtime, can you tell?

p.s. Don't think we didn't rent a Crown Victoria to drive all over town in style...because oh yes, we did.

2 Years Together

Steve and I had our 2-year wedding anniversary yesterday. After all the pictures we've taken in the past 2 years, it still takes us a few tries to get it right. This is us trying to get a decent photo while waiting for $2 fish tacos at Berry Hill:

Our celebration "date" was short and simple, but perfect. I love my Steve!

Press Forward in Faith

We made it back home yesterday from being a Ma & Pa on pioneer trek last week. This was Steve's 2nd and my 3rd trek. For anyone not familiar with trek, it's basically a 3.5 day re-enactment of the Mormon pioneers' trek out west. It's physically challenging and the participants have only the basics with them.  We slept on the ground under the stars, cooked over a fire, and didn't even have toothpaste or deodorant.

This is us in 'Old Nauvoo' the night before our trek began:

We were the Price family.  Here is us with our 11 'kids'. 

We walked, and walked, and walked... 16 miles total

We made camp for a day and had some fun. Here is Pa & me shooting a rifle.  

Our 'kids' worked so hard together and never complained.

Mr. Cool himself

Those kids were amazing despite the difficult circumstances. I could say a million things about the experiences we had the past few days, but in summary we witnessed a lot of selfless service, sacrifice, teamwork, gratitude, small miracles, problem-solving, spiritual growth, and maturity. I missed Clark (who was back home with Grandma) terribly the entire time but am grateful for the opportunity to help our youth--and ourselves--gain/grow an appreciation for our pioneer forebears and increase their faith and testimonies.  

Strawberry Picking

Clark and I went strawberry picking with some friends at Froberg's Farm in Alvin, TX on Friday.  The perfectly manicured strawberry field made the picking so easy that I filled my bucket in no time. Good thing, considering the stroller I brought wasn't very well suited to the farm terrain so I had to pick up the whole outfit to move it down the row. That probably looked pretty cool.

p.s. Clark wasn't in the sun the whole time--just for pictures  :)

Rodeo - the Abridged Version

Steve was given some tickets to the Houston Rodeo last-minute on Thursday so we invited some friends and went.  I think Clark was a little overwhelmed with all the action, lights, noise, and crowds because pretty soon this:

turned into this:

Look at that little sad/scared/tired face! By the time the rodeo wrapped up and the concert was beginning, little Clark had had enough rodeo (and/or his mom's lack of big hair). He didn't care that we were sitting two rows away from Rascal Flatts so we left after the first song. It was fine since I've seen the Rascals plenty of times and it was nice to beat the crowds to get home at a decent hour.

6-month Checkup

Clark had his 6-month checkup this week.

Here's how our little nugget is growing:

Height - {25 ½"} - 18^th percentile

Weight - {16lbs 6oz} - 29^th percentile

Head Circumference - {45cm} - 80^th percentile  

6 months

Clark turned 6 months over the weekend. I love this age, but I've loved every age so far. At this stage, my little boy:

Loves putting everything in his mouth, especially fingers & toes

Thinks his dad is so funny and laughs at everything he does

Loves to smile at his mom

Isn't too interested in sitting, but is trying very hard to crawl

Is crazy about things that crinkle or rattle

Likes spending time on his tummy

Likes riding in the car and going places with Mom

Is always really hyper when he's getting ready for bed

Has some killer expressions with his eyebrows

He's mostly grown out of his tongue phase now that he has fingers to suck on. He also doesn't scream when we put his arms into sleeves anymore.  bonus! 

Speed Dating

Steve and I have taken to mini dates lately. When Clark goes to sleep we sneak downstairs and eat ice cream together and talk or watch clips of a TV movie. Sometimes we make it through a whole date (15-20 minutes) without Clark waking up...but sometimes not.

So Cool

Last night Steve was reading me some entries from his journal written by his 13 year-old self.  Some of it was about who and what were cool since 13 year-olds are all about being cool.  I wonder what 13 year-old Steve would think of this guy:

I think he's pretty cool. Baby tie, Salvation Army shirt and all.