The sock family...

We love socks. But we each have our different reasons for liking them.

I love new socks. There is nothing better than putting on a brand new, never-been-worn, pair of socks. They make my feet happy! A few years ago, I was having a really rough time and my sister, Summer, sent me three pairs of new, fluffy socks with a note that said "New socks equals love!" (That's what I always say.) Her husband, Bryan, thought she was crazy for sending me socks, but it made me smile so big when I got them.

Tyson likes the smell of socks... AFTER he's been wearing them. YUCK! He says the best smelling socks are "Sunday socks". He likes the smell of them after he has been wearing his church shoes. Funny thing! We have some friends who have a little girl who is 3. She noticed that Tyson liked smelling his socks, so one day she took off her sock and handed it to Tyson so he could smell hers. Ha ha!!

Blaine likes to pull his socks off and carry them around in his mouth. He will crawl around the house or play with his toys with a sock hanging out of his mouth. It's so funny. Whenever we get him out of his car seat, we always find his socks pulled off and soaking wet.

Our new house!

We are buying a house! Actually, it's a townhouse. We are super excited. It is in North Ogden. And, yes, that is further away from Tyson's work, but we are only a few blocks away from a Front Runner station. So, he is planning on taking that to work each day. Our house is gorgeous! It has 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. It is pretty much finished, it just has a few little details the builders have to finish. We are supposed to close the end of next week or the first of the following week. Here are a few pictures.

This is the front door and the stair case. We love the banister. It's so pretty.

This is the fireplace. I had a great idea to put a little Christmas tree in the space above the fireplace during Christmas time. Ü

This is the kitchen. Tyson is measuring for the fridge.

This is the view of Ben Lomond from our bedroom. So beautiful!

The Best Candy Ever Invented

This has to be my most favorite candy ever. I love this time of year when they come out for Easter. You may be saying to yourself that the Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs are not any different from the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, or Christmas Trees, or Pumpkins. In that assumption, you would be wrong. You see, What makes this the best candy ever, besides being made of chocolate and peanut butter, is that is has the exact correct proportions of said ingredients. It is not to chocolaty so is goes perfect with a glass of milk and the chocolate doesn't solidify from the cold. It is not to peanut buttery thus allowing your palette to savor the both flavors. Plus, it has the best texture out of all the Reese's line up. And for all of you who know me well, you know how much of a texture person I am when it comes to food. So for all of you who think I am crazy, just try one and you'll see why this is the best candy ever made!

You better Belize it!

With all the cold weather lately that we have been having, I couldn't help but think that last year at this time I was on a beach in the Caribbean. Yes, I was in Belize doing research for a class I was taking to finish up my degree. OK, maybe it wasn't really research or even work, but I did get credit for it and I graduated.

Upon arriving in Belize City I had to exchange my American dollars for Belizean dollars. I changed $300 for the first week and the exchange rate is 2 Belize dollars for every 1 American. All my buddies went straight to the taxi and when I came out from the bank I showed them how Belize money looked exactly like ours. NOT! The bank teller accidentally exchanged American for American. I now had an extra $300 (total $600) in my pocket. Needless to say I went back and explained to the bank teller what she did to which she said about 20 thank yous.

We then hopped into the taxi to take us to the water taxi, which then took us to this little island about 30 miles north on the barrier reef. On this little island there were no motorized cars except those used for construction. We got around on golf carts. The water was BLUE, the sand was white and it was amazing. I should mention that we were studying the effects on the environment from eco-tourism. Anyways, we snorkeled and enjoyed the local seen and enjoyed some great food that fisherman caught that day and grilled that night. I also got Montezuma' Revenge on the 3rd day we were there which is weird because I thought he was from Mexico.

After the island we went into the mainland and stayed at a the only Jaguar preserve in Central America. I swear it looked like we were in Jurassic Park. Green, green, green. Our accommodations were not like the island though. No electricity, composting toilets and mosquitoes everywhere. We did take some hikes and found an awesome waterfall, and we even saw a crocodile on a night hike. I was happy too, that I slept on the bottom bunk in our room as rats would sometimes fall from the rafters onto my friends in the top bunks.

After that stop we traveled to the 5 Sisters resort in the Mountain Pine Ridge area of Belize. This was starkly contrasting to the jungle as this region has mostly tall pine trees as opposed to palms. The resort we stayed at was by far the best. While here, we visited Caracol, the Mayan ruin. This is one of the biggest ruins in Central America and at it's height rivaled Tikal. We had to be escorted by the military as Guatemalan mercenaries were kidnapping tourists and holding them for ransom.

We then traveled to within 2 miles of Guatemala and stayed at Trek Stop. A little place owned by a older gentleman and his wife. From there we saw other ruins, the botanical gardens and got to go spelunking. The cave that we got to enter was used for Mayan sacrifices and we saw whole skeletons and broken pottery. To get to where that stuff was we had to swim, yes I said swim, in the entrance and hike through a river. There were times where our guide would seemingly slip though a crack in the wall and say to follow him. I seriously considered turning back as I am rather large and was afraid I would get stuck. But alas, I made and I'm glad I didn't turn back because it was awesome.

Our final days were spent at an Autobon sight near the coast. We saw more ruins, looked at some educational places (ranger stations) and studied some social issues related to environment.

I recommend going to Belize to anyone. There is so much to do and it is amazingly beautiful.

The Daddy Badge

With all the things that fathers wear, there is one that stands above the rest. This one thing is the Daddy Badge. This badge of honor should be worn with pride and is reserved for those dads who love their children dearly and do their best to raise them right. This badge is a right of passage and an initiation into fatherhood.

It seems that Blaine always waits to bestow this wonderful gift until I have just gotten dressed for the day or until I have on my sunday best and we are getting ready to head out the door to church.

At any rate, I am proud to wear my Daddy Badge even though I might not smell the greatest. I don't even bother changing because I know that Blaine will make sure that he gives me another badge if he detects clean, downy soft clothes.

The Daddy Badge...WEAR IT WITH PRIDE!

The Pros and Cons of a Thumb-Sucker.

Everyone seems to have an opinion about babies sucking on their thumbs. "They will have crooked teeth when they are older!" "It's so great because they can sooth themselves!" "It's gonna be a nightmare to break that habit!" "Look how cute he is sucking his thumb!"

Let's be honest. Does anyone really have a say over what their baby is going to do? Babies have a mind of their own and if they want to do something, they are going to do it no matter what mommy or daddy wants. The baby usually wears the pants in the family. We tried giving Blaine a binkie but he just wouldn't take it. He likes his thumb.

I have to admit that it really doesn't bother me that Blaine sucks his thumb. I think he looks cute and its nice to not have to hunt for a binkie when he is upset. Plus it's one less thing I have to pack around in my too small diaper bag.

BUT.....