Lagoon

So I'm catching up on some family events that I haven't posted about yet...But first thing's first: we have sold our house and we're hopefully deciding on where to live in Ogden this weekend!

We had a tough time making this decision of whether to sell for less than we'd like since the market is down or wait until next spring, but now we feel really good about our decision. The couple that bought our home are great, same age as us, and I think the girl is just as naive as I was when it comes to the reality of living in a fixer-upper. But you kind of have to be when you undertake such a big project; keeps you sane. At least it's in a LOT better shape than it was when we bought it AND she's not five months pregnant, so that's good. I'm sure they will make some great improvements. I'm excited to visit in a year or so and see what they've done with the place.

I'm SO grateful to be moving NOW since I still feel pretty good with my pregnancy. Things are working out well for us; now we just need to find a place to live! We'll keep you posted.

SO, this post is about our little trip to Lagoon back at the end of August. Every year, David's company (NAI Utah) hosts a free day at Lagoon for its employees. Last year Hazel was way too small to enjoy this experience, but this year, holy cow we had a great time. She was so brave. There was one little roller coaster in particular that she kept pointing at but we weren't sure she could handle it. So we decided to go for it and put her courage to the test. She sat with her dad and I sat right in front of them. Once we took off and hit the first dip, she clung to David with wide eyes, but we're proud to say that our little girl did not even fuss. What a champ.

Hazel's first time on a Merry-Go-Round

We took this little "Skybucket" (really can't remember if that's what it's called) which Hazel enjoyed. For some reason these things make me nervous. But I do love this picture.

I posted this earlier...the kissing scene. This took place on the little train that takes you around to see all of the animals. I guess those animals just weren't interesting enough.

We were a little nervous about this ride because we weren't sure if Hazel would try to climb out of the boat during the ride. But we decided to trust our little nephew James who promised he'd watch over her and she did just fine.


So much fun. Love you all.

So, we have some good news.

We sold our home!

Dress Up

You're never too young to start dressing up.

Hazel has taken possession of this purse of mine and walks around with it on her shoulder. I'll find it filled with toys, tooth brushes, and Capri Suns--you know, the essentials.

If I don't get my laundry folded right away, Hazel creates outfits of her own. This was my jean jumper she put around her neck. One day it was her Dad's underwear...

The Zoo!

So back in time a little bit, we took a trip to Hogle Zoo with our good friends, the Law's. It was on Labor Day which started out rainy and then turned into a clear, sunny day--perfect for the zoo. Hazel loved being there and seeing everything, but she did get a little upset when she couldn't leave her stroller and be IN the cages with the animals. I think her favorite was the monkeys.

Ah, the giraffes are definitely my favorite to see at the zoo. Well, that and the tiger.

This is Hazel and her dad checking out David's favorite, the elephants.

Thanks you Law's. We had a blast.

Where has Hazel been?

We started this blog when Hazel was born and it's pretty much been all about her ever since. So I almost feel guilty for not posting an update on this little girl for some time now...So here she is.

Hazel can officially wear pig-tails in her hair. I couldn't be more proud.

While Sundays are difficult with nap times, there are several perks. I get to dress her up, do her hair, she stays mostly clean for a few hours; it's just wonderful.

This was at my friend Emilee's wedding reception. David always said that he couldn't wait until his kid was big enough to walk with him hand-in-hand. So cute.

Oh dear, we are going to be in big trouble with this little lady. At least this is a relatively safe kiss because the cute little boy is her cousin, Sam. They're only experimenting.

Modesty at its best.

Hazel has mastered about twenty or so signs, a lot of which she uses with me every day and she's also starting to say some words. We're working on a little video collage of her signs and words that we'll post soon. This video is just her latest signs "Please and Thank You." Holy cow, you'll pretty much give your kid whatever she wants when she looks up at you and sweetly signs,

Please."

Belinda Lee

I just pulled up a few of my mother's wedding pictures from last December and remembered how much I love this picture of her. Isn't my mom beautiful? Holy cow, I hope I have a LOT of her genes in this body because if I look like that at 46, I will be a happy woman. She is simply gorgeous inside and out. (This pic was taken by our good friend Katherine Wallin by the way. Check out her website, she's amazing: wallinphotography.blogspot.com)

So, my mom has never loved her full name, Belinda Lee, because she says it sounds like some kind of a cruise ship. I was really bored tonight so I googled her name and it ends up, Belinda Lee was a lovely actress back in the day who happens to have this picture next to...a boat! So this is for you Mom--may you never see your name the same way again. There is, after all, grace and appeal in the name Belinda Lee and it's relation to a beauty, fame, and boats.


(I have way too much time on my hands tonight, I know.)

Janelle

Addiction

Right now I am eating stale graham crackers because they were the only thing that sounded compatible with the Duncan Hines dark chocolate fudge frosting in my fridge...which was the only thing chocolatey and sweet in my house. I have an addiction to sweets. I LOVE to bake, mostly so I can have as many cookies at my fingertips as I want to. I never BUY sweets, but I do find ways to make them or create them with random things in my pantry (thus the stale grahams and frosting).

So, I need your help. I need HEALTHY yummy treat recipes. I know there's stuff out there that you can make with peanut butter and oatmeal (two of my very favorite things) that is healthier than your typical chocolate chip cookies or cupcakes, etc. Any ideas out there? Pass them on to me! And hurry before I gain 75 lbs satisfying my cravings with trans-fatty sugary frosting--yum!

P.S. I had an ultrasound today and I'm going to try and post all of our pics so far so you all can see how adorable this little baby girl growing inside of me is. We got a shot of her sucking on her fingers that is pretty darn cute. All is well with her so far, thank goodness.

Janelle

This one's for David

Last night I suddenly got into one of the worst moods I've been in in a long time. Whenever that happens, I start thinking about all of the bad things in my life which become increasingly exaggerated, my emotions start to spill over, and I become a huge wreck. So, this occurred around 9:30 pm, right as David decided to go to bed, nice and early, to get a good night's rest since he didn't sleep well the night before. Well, that meant that I was depressed and LONELY, which made for an even more dangerous combination. What did I do? I decided to suck my husband into my grief and not let him sleep.

Our conversation in bed went something like this:

David: (starting to snore)
Janelle: Are you sleeping?
David: *snort*...what?
Janelle: Why are you sleeping? It's only 9:30.
David: I didn't sleep well last night.
Janelle: Well I don't think you should go to sleep yet. I'm not tired.
David: Maybe you should read a book.
Janelle: I don't have a book.
David: You don't have a book? You always have a book. (Rolls over, tries to go back to sleep.)

(few minutes pass)

Janelle: Honey, why did we buy this house?
David: (silence)
Janelle: I don't think we're going to make any money off of it.
David: (barely conscience) We'll make money, don't worry.
Janelle: No, I don't think we will. And then we're going to be renting in Ogden. How did this happen to us?
David: (drifting) Everything will work out honey. Go to sleep.

And it just got worse from there until David finally gave up on sleep, sat up and rubbed my back, telling me about all of the good things in our lives until I finally fell asleep.

And so, needless to say, I am the luckiest girl in the world.

Here's a few more things I love about my husband:

1. He always tells me how pretty he thinks I am (and he really means it); even when I first wake up in the morning, four months pregnant and a little ornery.

2. He's an optimist. He never complains when something goes wrong, he just gets quiet and starts thinking of ways to make the situation better.

3. He loves his little daughter(s). When Hazel was born and they had to rush her to the NICU, David stayed by her side through most of the night, just watching her and talking to her. That's the kind of father he is.

4. He's a hard worker. One day he'll make us millions, I know it.

5. He never has BO (how is that possible? He really doesn't).

6. He's usually the only one that can calm Hazel down in the middle of the night. (too bad he can't nurse).

7. He can get along with anyone and make them feel comfortable around him.

8. He loves to play games just as much as I do (and he always wins--I don't love that about him.)

9. He makes incredible pasta sauce and scrabbled eggs--we don't eat them together.

10. He really loves me. Really, really loves me more than I could ever imagine anyone could love me. And that is why he gave up sleep and rubbed my back all night last night.

And for all that, and much much more, I love David Phipps.

Janelle

Names

So, I love talking about my favorite baby names long before the baby comes...I think about it all the time because I think a name is so important and special, I want it to be just right. So, I'm going public with my favorites and feel free to give me your opinions! (Just don't be offended if I choose your least favorite; my opinion counts the most, hm. David's counts second, ha). So here they are:

Charlotte
Madeline (pronounced with an \I\ like in "mine"--not Madelyn)
Claire
Juliet

Right now I just love Juliet. I saw it on the movie credits for Meet Joe Black last night (one of my favorite movies). The main actress's real name was "Claire," and then further down there was a "Juliet." I'd never considered it before but I LOVE it. So don't say anything bad about that one in your comments.

I love names! If you have any more good ideas and you're okay with me possibly stealing them, do let me know.

Love,
Janelle

It's a....

Girl! Our friend was right and my claim to a "mother's intuition" when it comes to determining the sex has no credibility--at least with this baby (I think I guessed right with Hazel). We had our ultrasound this morning and I wish I could post the shot, but I don't have a scanner. Our little girl was so still and calm compared to how wiggly Hazel always was in her ultrasounds. She had one little arm tucked under her chin and stayed put in one place. Everything looks good and normal which is always good news.

I guess I can claim credibility in the fact that I told David when we first married that we were going to have all girls since he only grew up with boys. He'll be surrounded by women his whole life--how fun! One of the first things he said after we found out it was a girl was "I'm going to get a male dog."

January 30th is the date we're looking forward to. Now we just have to SELL OUR HOUSE and get settled and ready for this baby!

Love you all,
Janelle, David, Hazel and little girl #2 (no names yet...)

Are you missing?

Hi. I changed our background on our blog and then I lost my entire list of contacts (no big deal, but I hate to miss anyone I had before). I have reentered several of them, but if you find that you are not on our list and we know and like you, please comment on this post and let us know how to find you!

Thanks!

Janelle

Boy or Girl?

So I think it's a boy. I have for a while now, and I even have my very favorite name picked out (although I haven't yet convinced David of it). However, just a few weeks ago at church I ran into a man in our ward who apparently has a gift at predicting the sex of a baby just by looking at the mother. He worked as a nurse for years and while he only tells people when they ask, he says he's never been wrong. (He did it with Hazel and got it right). I approached him and told him we were pregnant again, but I was barely showing. I said something about coming back to him once I was showing and asking him what he predicted for us, but before I left he said, "Oh, I already know what you're having. You're having another girl." So, now that I'm showing, I asked him again to be sure, and he's sticking to his prediction.

We find out tomorrow! Mother's instinct vs. a man's gift that has never been wrong. We shall see.

We'll let you know!

The Farm

My grandmother has nearly thirty small stuffed animals in the back of her car and when Hazel was in her carseat, she wanted to see each one and keep them on her lap until she simply couldn't hold anymore.


Ah, my favorite swing. It's now been moved to this place underneath the deck since the old ropes on the tree were wearing out.


The sitting tree. Hazel fits perfectly.


This is the "Wall of Honor" where all of the family's awards are presented starting from my grandfather when he was in the Coast Guard to my father's awards from the Air force, to me with some of my better report cards, graduation certificates and Jr. Miss awards. This is the bedroom where I always stayed when I came to the farm.


This is my favorite thing to catch on film! Every day my grandmother shaves my grandfather's face and head for him. She's so sweet with him and will usually kiss him on the forehead when she's done.



I never knew that on the way down to the barn there's a mulberry tree! Hazel and I went and picked these mulberries that we turned into a delicious pie.


Grandpa Dorsey with Hazel


There's all of us together.


And the pie! Holy cow, I want a mulberry tree in my yard for a lifetime of yummy pies and jams.


My grandpa has rows of fruit trees where he grafted different kinds of fruit. Hazel LOVED his plums that were a cross between two different kinds of plums. They were so sweet and every time she'd see one, she'd beg to have one.


Here's the drive way leading to the house (where I'm standing) and I just happened to catch a little deer paying us a visit.


The scar on our tree that used to hold the swing. Such great memories!


And the greatest house in Oregon.


This is a statue that was left by the original owner of this land years ago. My Dad always called it "my guardian" that was always there waiting for me to come and visit. That made him pretty special to me.



My grandfather used to make a lot of things with wood, including these cute little bird houses that still spot the farm. We used to get flocks of swallows that would come out in the spring to collect feathers, sometimes even snatching them from our hands.




Every summer since I was born I've visited my grandparents' farm in Eugene Oregon. When my Dad was growing up, they had more land and it really was a farm with cows, goats and chickens. When I was growing up, my grandfather became interested in peacocks, so we only had chickens and peacocks which I always thought was the most beautiful bird on the planet. Now there's just chickens, and the dog (there's always been a dog) on seven acres that are filled with my own memories of growing up. There's the path out to the barn where I first got the wind knocked out of me after tripping on a pinecone while chasing the dog. There's the "sitting tree" where one branch curves out enough to form the perfect bench for me until I slowly grew out of it. My favorite swing overlooks the valley below us with a perfect view of Spencer Butte in the distance. The tree that supports the two-sitter swing is tilted enough so that when I was little my Dad would make the swing run into the base of the tree, causing a scar of memories to form in the bark.

We used to drive up from California, a nine hour drive, during the night and once we'd arrive, my grandmother would make me a slice of cinnamon sugar toast. Every morning I'd wake up to the creeks of the floorboards above me as my grandparents prepared breakfast with homegrown eggs upstairs. I'd always roll over onto my stomach and peek out my window at the butte, hearing the roosters or peacocks calling out their welcome to the new day.

My grandparents are growing too old for the two sets of stairs and the old house is in desperate need of serious repairs. They will be moving down to live closer to my Dad is California next month, so I had the opportunity of visiting the farm one last time with my daughter. Here are some highlights of this most special place.