Gotcha!!

Hey Traci...my most loyal follower. I just wanted you to know that I am thinking of you. I promise someday I will update!

10 years ago....

The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
Each player answers the questions about themselves.
At the end, the player tags 5 others and posts their names. Then goes to their blog and posts them a comment to let them know they've been tagged and asks them to read your blog to find out the details.


1. What I was doing 10 years ago: 10 years ago I had just completed my freshman year of college at Ricks. I was home for the summer working like crazy. I worked full time and took 9 credits during the summer. Looking back now I was way to serious for a 19 year old and driven…what has happened between then and now?

Something else that takes me back 10 years is certain music…such as Sarah McLoughlin, Tonic, Weezer, Melissa Ethridge, Jewel, Live, Dixie Chicks, The Cranberries, Counting Crows, Collective Soul, Alanis Morrisett…and of course INSync…my roommate Lacy was there biggest fan! I seriously thought she would end of marrying Justin Timberlake some day.

2. Five things on my to-do list today: scrub our hardwood floors (which I hate – that of course did not get done), take Henry to the park, cook dinner for the sister missionaries, read, laugh lots with my boys

3. If I were a billionaire I would: Invest, Invest, Invest…that is after I paid off our house, and bought a vacation home in Hawaii! (which we would hold yearly family reunions at of course my expense) I would then spread the wealth to my immediate family….what fun is having money if you can’t help out those you love the most.

4. Bad habits: oh my….Well those who know me well know that I used to have a pretty filthy mouth. Yes I could swear like a sailor when the moment was just right. Now that I have a little one that has been put into check. Which has been a huge blessing! I love Diet Pepsi….after I cleansed (The Master Cleanse – more post later on this) I gave it up for a month and didn’t miss it at all. But now I am back to drinking Diet Pepsi at least twice a week. And of course I am the best Procrastinator in the world. I really should have gotten my degree in this! I am also a little bit of a neurotic cleaner. This has gotten better now that we have a 2 year old to make everything messy….but I still need to work on relaxing.

5. Five places I've lived:Kansas, Idaho, Hawaii, California, Oregon6. Five jobs I've had:Receptionist, Computer Lab Worker Bee, Computer Fix it lady, Information Systems Trainer, Sr. West Coast Regional Manager …sad to say I don’t miss any of these jobs. I am now seriously taken with my current job.

Anyone who would like to participate I would like to tag….It was fun to reminisce.

The worst blogger ever!

So it is official. I am the worst blogger EVER!! I started a journal at the beginning of the year and it has taken over. But I realize after many calls and various jabbs from family and friends that I need to keep this up.
So I will share some recent pictures that we had taken of Henry. He is now officially 2 1/2 and we are soaking up every minute of it!

Cowboy on the Loose

This picture was taken a couple of days ago and it just makes me laugh everytime I see it. This is again our hat obsessed son walking in for his shower.

Some of my new hats

Henry is now totally into hats....and I know that some of you will get a kick of of them.

We are oh so lucky that Henry has been wearing his Huntin hat just like his Papa....and he wears it everwhere!! He has even tried to wear it to church. We get some great stares at the grocery store.

Did you know that a Potty seat could also be transformed into a hat? I learn something new everyday.

KC/Nauvoo/Orlando/Hutchinson Island

As usual we are on the go. We cannot seem to stay in one place very long.....although the traveling is coming to an end as the weather in Oregon is shaping up nicely. The “peanut up the nose” incident I mentioned in my previous post happened the day we flew into Orlando...and thank goodness that was the only drama of our trip.

We had a wonderful visit in KC with my family and headed up to Nauvoo with my parents for two days. We then visited Disneyworld with Troy's family and even got a behind-the-scenes tour with Wyatt. The tail end of the vacation was spent lounging at the pool and beach for two days on Hutchinson Island while Troy worked...the joys of bringing home the bacon.
Some of the highs and lows of our travel:

- Henry was an absolute angel our ENTIRE TRIP....until the last hour of our flight when the Binky was lost ...but that was after 13 hours of travel....so anything goes.
- seeing the Nauvoo Temple
- Spending an entire week with Troy...and no work interruptions. GLORIOUS
- Watching Henry's face when he was mesmerized while looking at a Black person....we don't have many people of color where we live.
- Having Ethan (my nephew) run out of the house so excited to see Henry...and so anxious to take care of him. He even wrote his mother a note on how to take care of Henry....Didn't you know that 8 year olds know everything! :) We adore Ethan
- Watching Braeden roast Marshmallows on the BBQ
- Watching Sydney, Allison and Henry hold hands at the park
- My Father and his made up songs - Driving across Missouri and passing through all the small little towns where everyone waves as you drive by.
- Catching Allison in the Fridge with chocolate syrup....all over her face.
- Having Henry go all the way to Disneyworld and him being more entertained with the people than the rides
- Henry shoving a Peanut up his nose...while we are on vacation....lovely.
- Our fantastic Marriott accommodations hooked up by Megan....Thank You!!
- Henry wrestling with his Uncle Wyatt and Uncle Devin - he loved it!
- Watching Henry's reaction to leaving his Nana and Papa....and then seeing his Grandma and Grandpa. He adores his Grandparents!
- The behind the scenes tour with Wyatt...Awesome...We loved the Dolphins.
- Walking the Halls at church (trying to keep Henry under control) with Glenn Beck and not even recognizing him until after the fact.
- Kickin it at the Tiki Bar with Henry...who wooed all of the older folks
- Collecting shells with Henry on the Beach...and then throwing them as far as he could.
- And of course the highlight of the vacation for Henry were the ceiling FANS!!

Henry and his cousins!!









Syndey giving Henry some love!









Henry's Uncle's taking good care of him at Disneyworld





























Henry playing at the beach. He even liked the sand this time around.

Peanuts and Noses

So last night we had a first and hopefully last. We are out to dinner waiting....and waiting. Henry began to get hungry so I rummage threw my purse and find a package of peanuts from our flight. Henry is delighted and runs off with his bag of peanuts and is bouncing and happy as can be. The next thing we know he has a peanut stuck up his nose...and it is not coming out. After about 25 minutes of hysterics...and many tools such as a tooth pick and the eventual purchase of tweezers the peanut came out pretty much on its own. Henry was a champ threw it all...and we have learned our lesson now....No more peanuts (or other small food items) for our 2 year old.

Come Fly With Me

This past weekend we headed up to Seattle. It always seems like alot of work to get out the door for a short weekend...but once we are on our way it is nothing but fun. We stayed with family in Seattle and had a great visit with my brother Rob and his girlfriend Shelly.

The highlight of the trip by far was our adventure flying. My cousin is a flight instructor and took us all flying. It was a blast! I actually got to fly the plane...and Tyler did some fantastic tricks for us. Rob even took off.....with Shelly freaking out in the back. Bless her heart....we had to talk her into coming with us and then Rob was the one taking off.

Here are some pictures from our latest adventure.

Motherhood and Girl Scouts

If motherhood/fatherhood were like Girl Scouts/Scouts we would of won many badges this past week.


20 for cleaning up massive amounts of throw up and using every sheet/towel in the house

5 for changing Henry's crib bedding all in one evening

1000 for wiping away tears of sorrow and pain

6 for Mom getting thrown up on and pooped on all at the same time

6 for Dad being able to soothe when noone else could do the trick.


We have had one sick baby again! We even had to cancel our trip to Seattle to go flying. Poor Henry has been threw the ringer with sickness this year. I guess it is the season.....

More Fun Adventures

It is amazing how quickly time can slip away from you. I cannot believe that it is already February and I have not posted in two months!! We have had what feels like a whirlwind two months.


Christmas was wonderful. We had my family in town to celebrate with us this year. We loved having everyone here but missed my brother Scott and his family. We were only all together in one place for about 8 hours because Rob and Shelly were stuck in Chicago for 3 days...travel nightmare. But we sure enjoyed ourselves. During my Dad, Mom, and Ryan's stay they were able to experience many firsts in Henry’s life. But the biggest 1st was Henry getting out of his crib...with such grace. He was so proud of himself. It was pretty darn hilarious to watch. So he has now moved to a big boy bed and has done surprisingly well. We loved having the family here but also hated it because the days slipped by so quickly. I guess it is just another reason to plan the next trip to be together.


Not quite two weeks after Christmas we headed down to LA to visit Troy's family. Grandma and Grandpa Salo were kind enough to hang onto Henry for a week while Troy and I headed to Hawaii. Troy had work meetings for 2 days and then we had 5 days of NOTHING!! As many of you know, we absolutely love Hawaii!! We stayed for 5 days in Poipu on Kauai and then 3 days in Laie on Oahu. It was wonderful. I had to laugh because for the first two days we did not know what to do with ourselves. Being able to have a conversation without distractions and enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner all alone was quite strange. Sleeping when you wanted to sleep was also a nice treat. It is amazing how quickly you can forget what life was like before kids.


I read two books while we were away and worked on getting sun on my pasty white legs....Thank you Oregon weather! Henry did wonderful while we were away and could have cared less if we ever came home. He did however learn lots of new words...such as....lollipop, ice cream, popsicle, treat, chocolate.....he was spoiled rotten and loved every second of it.


After Hawaii we returned to California and stayed until the 1st of Feb and let Henry play with his cousin Lucas who also in town visiting. Henry loves his cousins. It is amazing how they all know each other so well know. Unfortunately during that week in California Henry got really sick and was pretty much out of commission for 4 days. He was miserable and I was tense. Henry slept off and on right beside me with a 102 degree fever for those days. In my two years as a parent that was the worst. It is terrible to see your little ones suffer and not feel good...and not be able to do anything about it. He would look at me with his sad eyes and then start coughing. I would spend my nights trying to stay cool and listen for him breathing.


On the 4th night Claire came in and rescued me and took Henry who of course immediately fell asleep in her arms. She is now St. Claire to me. I was to my breaking point of exhaustion. Having sick kids is terrible. But we were able to go and check out the La Habra Children's Museum which Henry and Lucas loved. Henry thought the animals were great and loved the train.


I especially enjoyed spending so much time with our parents. We really miss them being so far away. Henry especially misses his Papa, Nana, Grandpa and Grandma. He pulls out their pictures every day and informs me who is who and then proceeds to kiss all of them.


We have now been home for a week and are trying to get back in the swing of things. We are happy to be back in our own beds....especially Henry. But sure did enjoy our time away.

Mom and I at Silver Falls State Park

Henry with Nana & Papa

The Whole gang is finally together....except Shelly is taking the picture

Need I say more..Henry LOVES his Uncle Ryan

Christmas morning.....the best part. Uncle Rob's Dog Petty spent 2 weeks with Henry. He is in love with Petty.

Henry's big boy bed....now if we could get him potty trained.....we are moving in the right direction.

Henry at Grandma & Grandpa's having a BLAST!!

Luau at the Sheraton...it was awesome!

Poipu Beach

Laie Point...we stayed at that fabulous house again!

La Habra Children's Museum with Lucas.

Funny picture!!

Henry takes after his dad with the love of Bread and Cheese.

Were so glad when Grandpa come home....Trains and Ice Cream!