Girl's Night with My Girl

Belle and I had our first-ever girls' night.

My sister-in-law Rachelle called and asked if we wanted to get all the girl cousins together to go see Cinderella.

Umm ... YES.

So Rachelle brought sweet little Gwen, and Katie came with Gracie and Eva.

I was in tears through half the movie, and Belle liked Cinderella's "beautifully blue dress" and the squeaky mouse family.

And I was reminded of something a friend from California said when she found out she was having a girl:  "Everybody keeps asking me if I'm excited to do all the bows and clothes and girly things.  Yeah, that'll be fun, but mostly I'm excited that I'll have a friend in 20 years.  Somebody to help me remember birthdays and get pedicures with and watch girly movies.  It'll be awesome."

It is.

Birthday Weekend Getaway

Not too long after being robbed, my birthday rolled around.

The big 2-8.

I am getting reeeeeal close to thirty.

Despite being frustrated by our small recent misfortune, Mark was determined to have a good time.

He went above and beyond.

I was wined and dined and surprised and loved ... I couldn't believe it all.

First he told me I wasn't allowed to schedule anything the entire weekend.  Then he said to get ready for a plane trip ... but changed his mind.  (I was relieved.)  See, we still have a sweet little baby that is quite attached to me, and I wasn't ready to drag him around the world yet.  Maybe next year.

Then he took me to my parents', where we spent my actual day of birth.  We opened presents, ate cake and ice cream, and had a good time.  My family started up a new earring collection, and I was significantly less sad that the robbers had taken all my old stuff.

Mac washed my car windows for my birthday, and then we left him and Belle and headed back to Salt Lake.  Mark worked all day that Friday, while I cleaned like crazy.  Harrison rolled around at my feet and cooed and blew zerbits while I was in a cleaning frenzy, knowing that it would STAY CLEAN the whole weekend.

Such a good feeling when everything you do isn't undone within minutes.

Then when Mark got off work, he picked up Harrison and I and whisked us off for a little stay-cation in Heber.

We stayed at a hotel called The Zermatt; Swiss themed and really nice.  We swam, we ate french toast, we talked, watched t.v., and went shopping ... essentially, we did whatever we wanted.

Harrison experienced a swimming pool for the first time ... he loved it.

One of the best and hardest things about being a parent is that your lives revolve completely around your little people.  Showing and teaching them about the world is incredible; their awe inspires you and makes everything new and interesting again.  But it's easy get lost in, and I was so grateful for the opportunity to do things that only Mark and I wanted to do.

Of course, they were all things we could do while holding a sweet, squishy baby, but I didn't mind.  Next year he'll get to stay at Nana's.

And maybe Mark and I will see a little more of the world, who knows.

There's a lot of life in front of us.  Plenty of time to see and experience places.

For now, these little people are our world.

Robbed

So ... we thought spring was being good to us.

Unfortunately, robbers love good weather.

And they love Salt Lake City almost as much as we do.

Ever since we moved into the house, we had neighbors calling us if we left our garage door open too long.  "I just don't want anything to get taken out of your garage," they would say.  My next door neighbor called me to tell me she was going out of town for the weekend and could we keep an eye on things.  Um .... sure ...??

Mark and I would inwardly roll our eyes at these paranoid people.  I mean, we survived Los Angeles California!  We practically lived in "da hood" without any problems; surely nothing would ever happen to us here.

Well.

On March 19th, I took the kids to the Aquarium with my sister-in-law Katie.  We were about halfway through the place when I noticed I had five missed calls from Mark.

Five.

Yeah, all that coming from my sweet, anti-phone husband?

Yikes.

When I called him back, the first words out of his mouth were, "Have you been moving stuff around the house?"

Weird question.  "Nothing significant ..."

"I think we got robbed."

WHAT.  ?!?!?!

He insisted I stay; he had called the police and was waiting for their arrival.  Nothing I could do.  But I told him I wanted to help him go through our things to figure out what was missing, so I told Katie good bye and dragged the kids out of the aquarium.

The house was a disaster.

We assume they first tried to get in the back door.  There are knife marks all around the lock.  When that didn't work, the robbers broke a basement window.  We live on a corner that people walk by all day long.  It's the one road through the neighborhood, so we get a moderate amount of traffic.  But as I went door to door asking our neighbors if they noticed anything, everyone shrugged and offered condolences. 

We assume the robbers must have pulled their car into the garage and closed it, then loaded up all of our stuff.  

And they got a lot of stuff.

Our current list (we keep finding more things missing) includes t.v., Wii, two cases of 100+ DVDs, iPod stereo, a broken iPod, Mark's bag of tools, our shop vac, sleeping bags, tent, my camera and all its equipment, Mark's electric shaver, cologne, and my makeup, toenail polish, and a dish of earrings. 

And the clencher? 

My wedding ring.

My fingers had randomly swollen up a couple of days prior; my finger was cut and raw and it took some serious lotion and muscle to get off.  I had put it in my little dish of favorite earrings in the bathroom.  That dish was gone.

OH I was so mad.

How dare they?

This was our home, our little safe-haven we had scrimped and saved our money for!

A police officer arrived eventually; she dusted a few things for finger prints and took a list of all the things we had missing and their value.  Everything added up to about $7,300.  Ugh.  She was kind and thorough and left all her information in case we had questions.  She suggested getting security signs, leaving lights/t.v./stereo on when we left, and possibly getting a dog ... even though some burglars were known to bring dog treats.

And she left.

Months have gone by, and we have replaced most of our items.  It has been fairly uneventful, but it still makes my blood boil.  The worst part was having to explain to my kids (Mac especially; Belle doesn't care much) that there are indeed mean people out there who make terrible decisions.  Mark had always told him he put a force field around our house that kept out bad guys and fire (Mac is terrified of our house burning down).  But being robbed made us admit to our kids that we couldn't keep all evil away from them.

Sometimes, bad things happen.

But we are learning from this experience, and are finding ways to better protect our home.

We've got our security system signs, we've covered our garage window and leave a light on at night and when we go places.  Mac suggested setting up traps, which we stopped short at.

Until the night somebody took a table saw off of our back porch.

Mark had been installing new baseboards around the house, and forgot to bring it back in.  The next day, it was gone.

So NOW I am all about setting traps.

We are installing cameras.

I want to set something really nice right in front of one so we can catch whoever keeps coming around.

Not cool, drug addicts.  Not cool.  Go work at McDonald's or hold a "Hot 'n Ready" sign and leave us alone!

Spring Fever

March was unseasonably warm this year.

My boys walked to the park next to our home regularly to gear up for baseball season.

Belle and I raced down the hill with Harrison and had jumping contests.

It was so warm, we decided to brave free-entry day at Hogle Zoo.  It was a madhouse, but one that Belle never wanted to leave.  Mac and Harrison were more indifferent.

We even started playing with the hose.

That warmth convinced us it was time to give a little shape to Harrison's fluffy top.

So he got his first hair cut at four months.  He loved having his head rubbed.

 We even trekked up to Logan to participate in the Shamrock Shuffle; a fun little 5k that the entire Thomas family participated in.  (I don't have any pictures!) Jamie took first in her age division, Michael took first in his, Mark took first in his, and so did Mac.  We have got some serious runners in the family.

The leprechauns outsmarted us once again.  Our sneaky traps and green mustaches were no luck to us.

But they were certainly cute.

Mark found a baseball game for us to go to.  The Utes were playing at the Bees field in early March, so he rallied the family and we took Harrison to his first ball game.

This Salt Lake spring was good to us.

Love Notes

I love love notes.

They are quite possibly one of my favorite things.

My mom used to leave little love notes in my lunchbox as a kid.  "Have a good day! =) XOXO" they would always say.

And I have written them since as long as I can remember.  I wrote one to my mom and left it on her pillow as a kid, explaining how much I loved dogs and needed one.

Mark and I wrote emails to each other while I was doing a service project in Obregon, Mexico and I have them all printed out in a book.  I love them.   He and I still leave a love note for each other on occasion ... they are the best.

So, I have forced my family to start a tradition of writing love notes to each other for Valentine's Day.  It's been six months, but I've got all the notes crammed in a corner of my desk and I wanted to record them on the blog before I tossed them out.

"Dear Belle, I love when you go downstairs with me!  Love, Mac"

"Dear Mac, I love when you play trucks with me.  Love, Belle" 

"Dear Harrison, I love you cause of little dinosaur.  Love, Belle"

"Dear Harrison, I love when you sleep 'cause then Mom gets to do something. Love, Mac" 

"Dear Mom, I love that you play with me.  I love you so much.  Love, Mac"

 "Dear Harrison, I love when you are sitting up and try to look at me out of the tops of your eyes.  Love, Mom"

"Dear Belle, I love when you sing songs to yourself.  You have the most beautiful voice. Love, Mom"

"Dear Belle, I love when you play games with me.  Love, Mac" 

"Dear Mac, I love to come to your class and see what a good listener you are and how nice you are to all those friends in your class.  You are so grown up and so smart!  Love, Mom"

"Dear Harrison, I love when you sit and poop and smile at everyone.  Love, Dad"

"Dear Harrison, I love when you laugh and smile.  Love, Mac" 

"Dear Belle, I love to see you swimming and being so brave.  I love your sweet kisses.  Love, Dad"

"Dear Mac, I love how your eyes get all squinty when you smile so big.  It makes my heart happy.  Love, Mom"

"Dear Dad, I love when you play baseball and games with me.  Love, Mac"

"Dear Mom, I love when you do makeup with me.  Love, Belle"

 "Dear Harrison, I love when you smile and wiggle when I change your diaper. Love, Mom"

"Dear Dad, I love when you watch t.v. with me.  Love, Belle"

 "Dear Belle, I love how worried you get about crying babies and puppies.  You have a heart of gold!  Love, Mom"

"Dear Dad, I love when you let me play your phone. Love, Mac"

And then of course there are the ones between Mark and I ... but those ended up being more personal. Hehe.
So they won't make it on the blog.

This 2015 Valentine's was momentous in that it was the first time we ever got to make valentines for a class.  I wanted Mac to do as much of the work as he could, so I ran through idea after idea of Valentine's cards, hoping one would spark his interest.

He shot them all down.

My mom even sent me ideas to help me figure out how to get my boy excited.  She sent a picture of a sucker with a cape that said something like, "You're super, valentine!"  Mac said no.  I asked if it would be better if the suckers were baseball players instead of super heroes ....

TA-DAH!

He was in.

That boy cut out heart after heart, and we looked up the numbers of all the players for the Angels and assigned them out to each of his classmates.  #27 was of course reserved for Mac himself.

And behold, we assembled an Angels team of classmates.

I think I found my son's love language ... it happens to be very similar to my husband's.

Baseball.

So I guess our family will continue writing love letters and watching ball games ... it has worked wonders so far.

Location, Location, Location.

We bought this little house because of its location.

10 minutes from the office, 10 minutes from the mountains, 5 minutes from the freeway, walking distance to a grocery store and movie theater, and about all the shopping I could ever need to decorate and maintain a home.

The neighborhood itself is just adorable; it boasts a wide range of starter homes and giant live-and-die-here-types of homes, with a cute little apartment complex nearby that keeps everything interesting.

And the people?  Oh gosh.  I love the neighbors.

They're all so different.  Mormons, Muslims, Catholics, Atheists ... Asians, Hispanics, Indians, and Caucasians.  There are new little families with one or two kids, elderly couples, empty nesters, and people wrangling teenagers.

I've started up a book club to try to get to know more of them.

I've met a handful; it is always so fun to connect with women of all ages and backgrounds through a book.  Gives you some common ground; somewhere to start a real, meaningful conversation.  Most memorable of the book club meetings had to be when Rima came.  We had read "A Thousand Splendid Suns", a book following two women living in Afghanistan during the takeover of the Taliban.  She set us straight on a lot of the culture there.  She grew up in Saudi Arabia and insisted she did not know Afghanistan, but she certainly had a better idea of it than the rest of us!  We talked about the burka and how for many women it was a badge of honor, of being loved and protected and privileged.  How the head covering is, for many, a cultural fashion statement more than a token of faith.  I have loved getting to know her and learning her perspective on things!

A cute young mom in the apartment started up park days ... I was so relieved!  That was probably the best way I made friends in our California ward; getting outside in the fresh air for some adult interaction while the kids learn to play with others is absolutely the most refreshing thing.  It saved me when I was all by myself with Mac, and now that I have three kids, it saves us all.  Belle has found a couple of really great little girls to pal around with; Hailey and Afton are her "best friends" and she asks for them on a daily basis.

Hailey's mom teaches ballet, and even put on a couple of free intro-to-ballet classes at the church.  Of course we just had to go.  Belle was in heaven prancing around the gym with Hailey.

Mac has some little buddies as well.  He even played on a baseball team with Sam this year.

We've had a few little families over for dinner and loved every one.

It's not like it was in California; I don't think it ever will be the same.  Because here, friends come second to family.  And we finally have family around!

But this home feels like it is exactly where we need to be.

Nick-Nastics

I had a feeling Belle might like gymnastics.

I mean, she's been climbing, balancing, jumping, and rolling on things since she could move.

I like gymnastics too.  It feels to me like the perfect marriage between sporty and girly.  She can build muscle and be proud of how she can make her body work for her.  She can learn rhythm and poise and grace.  Gymnastics opens up so many options as far as interests go; and if she wants to delve into the dance world, I go with her there.  If she wants to get into sports like I was, I'll show her the way.

But for now, I just love watching her grin and hop and wave as she prances around the gym.

We did three sessions at this great, cheap little introductory program.  She asked me every day if it was time for "nicknastics", and ran to get clothes on when I finally said yes.  It's been kind of refreshing to have her so excited to listen.  (Getting dressed is a challenge most days.)

At the end of those three sessions, I signed her up for the big meet.  She was thrilled.

We got there extra early to save seats for Bumpa and Nana.

When they called her name, they did so hesitantly and asked for "BEL-en" (like "Helen" with a B), and so I hollered out "Beh-LEHN", and Belle lept to her feet, threw both hands in the air and ran up to the stage.  She got her trophy and certificate, held them both high in the air, jumped up and down a couple times, then went back to her seat.

Miss Belle.  I am so proud of you.  You have got something you love, and you work hard at it.  I love to see you so proud of yourself.

Benefits of Being a Chiropractor's Family

I remember when Mark first told me he wasn't sure he wanted to be an eye surgeon.

He was leaning against the counter in our tiny $200 a month basement apartment.  His arms were folded and he just stared at me, gauging my reaction.

Honestly, I felt relieved.

I mean ... ten more YEARS of school??  I know it's worth it once you're on the other side of that coin, but I was having a hard time fathoming being in debt and living off of loans and whatever paltry teacher's salary I could get together ... if I got a job before we started our family.  What about kids?  My mom had been home for us; it was important to me to be there for them while they were small.  Would I be able to do that with med school?

Mark felt the same.  "I'm already stressed.  I feel like my time is maxed out with school; I never see you.  We don't even have kids yet!"  He was doing a double major, studying for the MCAT ... and yeah, it was pretty apparent he was stressed.  "I just can't imagine doing this for ten more years."

The direction to go from there seemed obvious.  With his dad, grandpa, uncle, and two brothers as chiropractors -- not to mention the fact that chiropractic school required the same pre-requisites as med school -- we could switch plans without making any real changes to the things we were doing at the time.

So we finished up at Utah State and moved on to California for chiropractic school.  It was stressful and fun and a real adventure.  We were certainly ready for school to be done by the end; we were both sick of living off of loans and government aid.  We were grownups; dang it!

But now, four years after graduation and three kids later ...

This was the best decision for us.

I LOVE Mark's job.  His skill as a healer is invaluable.  I can't imagine raising our babies without it.  He is my first line of defense for everything.  Ear infections, sore throat, pulled muscles; I always have Mark work on it first.  I would take my kids to the hospital next; but his treatments always do the trick.  My kids have never needed to go.

It is a lot of work to run your own business, and he feels the weight of it all.  I can tell.  But he's doing well.  People love him.  His latest review sums it up pretty well:

"So far I have really liked this chiropractor. He seems like he knows his stuff and is honest with me and my family. He seems to want to provide quality care but he doesn't push anything on you. He gives his recommendations and let's you decide. I would recommend him to family and friends. My jaw was hurting for months and after 2 visits my jaw was almost 100% better. My wife, me and our daughter (11 months old) are his patients and we will keep going to him indefinitely."

In the first three months of Mark's second year at The Works, he made more money than he did the entire year before. People like him, and they tell their friends.  And they give him gifts.  We've had several Alaskan Salmon steaks from one of his patients' most recent fishing trips, chocolate galore, clothing, and trades.  They trade their services for his; which got us a king-sized gel bed:

And private swimming lessons.

This little girl is actually swimming ... which is amazing; considering she wouldn't even let her face get wet beforehand.

And Mac?  Well he's learning strokes and diving off the diving board.

There's even a Mommy and Me class starting at 6 months old; I might have to get Harrison in next ...