Thursday, December 10, 2009

Odds and Ends

A few weeks ago Brooks got tickets to the UNO (University of Omaha) hockey game from work. It was the first time either of us had been to a live hockey game. It was pretty interesting, it would have been more interesting if we had known more of the rules of the game. I guess I should say 'if I knew more about it'. Brooks knew quite a bit, but I watched very carefully and picked up some good moves. So Dad, I hope you have your ice rink ready in Tabby and everyone better watch out because I've got some professional hockey moves to try out!!
Spencer loves sitting at the table. I think it's because every time he goes to someone elses house they have a booster seat for their kids. I just haven't convinced myself to get one yet though. I feel like I can contain the mess better with him in a highchair. I was a softy one day and turned around to find this. Doesn't he just look like such a big guy. (Except the fact that he can barely see into his bowl!)
Well I've had several people asking to see pictures of our new home. We are still working on getting things decorated, but here are a few pictures of the kitchen and family room. So there you are. Hopefully I will have more sooner rather than later.

Gotta love snow days!!

We went from 60 degrees to snow this past week. We were raking up leaves on Saturday and by Tuesday this is what it looked like. Brooks got to come home early from work on Tuesday and on Wednesday he tried going in to work, but didn't make it out of the neighborhood before getting stuck and having to dig himself out. So he waited a little while and went in later in the day. I hear the schools still are not back in session, for the third day. It's really not that much snow, but it's super cold. When we went out this morning it said 5 degrees on the car thermometer.
Spencer loved being out in the snow. It's a good thing we got his snowsuit last week. He looks like a cute little penguin walking around in his suit and boots!

Monday, December 7, 2009

Let the Holidays Begin!

I can't believe it's already December! Where has the year gone? Hey, but I'm not complaining, it's one of my favorite times of the year! We had a great Thanksgiving up in Minnesota with Ben, Melissa, Ryan, Angie and Madison. The six hour drive wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Spencer didn't fall asleep the entire trip until we reached Minneapolis (so he was awake all but 10 minutes), but he did a great job in the car!
We kept up the tradition with a Turkey Trot early in the morning in the freezing cold. (Actually, it wasn't as cold as I thought it would be). The three girls ran the race and the boys babysat, and froze! It was a lot of fun! The rest of the day was a typical Thanksgiving - cooking, eating, lounging, more eating, some games, and more eating. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out, shopping, playing basketball, games and watching some wholesome BYU football! Spencer loved playing outside despite the cold weather. The girls all went out for our first experience of Black Friday. We didn't get out till 6:30 am so I'm sure the crowds weren't half what they were at 4 and 5, but we had fun and found some great deals! We went to the light parade down town. Spencer loved it! Between the Amtrak trains going by and the light parade he had a blast. And a very important part of the season. Building friendships. Spencer found a new buddy - Uncle Ben thinks he's the favorite uncle now! I think he had the most fun with Madison though. They laughed with/at each other the whole weekend!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Trick or Treat!

We did all of our Halloween celebration the day before Halloween. Brooks' work did 'trick or treating' at the office Friday afternoon. He was a little nervous at first, but then he got the hang of it and realized what he was putting in his bucket. Even after getting a bunch of candy all he wanted to do was look out the window. Brooks is on the 13th floor so it was quite a view. Spencer dressed up as Winnie the Pooh. I have to say he is the cutest little Pooh I ever saw! After we went to the office the ward had a Trunk or Treat. It was freezing cold, but Spencer just kept going. Bucket in one hand and and holding my hand with the other
And what's a holiday without decorating cookies? I still need more practice with my sugar cookies, but these turned out better than any I've made before.
Happy Halloween!

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Terrible twos? ? ?

When do the terrible two's start? I don't think this is the terrible two's, more like the mischievous ones!
Usually he just climbs on the chair, but there was nothing stopping him today!

The soot on Spencer's face is not his Halloween costume. He was playing with his cousin and they found grandpa's ash box that comes from the fire place. They had a blast playing in the soot, and it was one of those things that just makes you laugh as you clean it up! But it's not all mischief. He is communicating more and more all the time with sounds and signs. Our favorites are animal noises!

We have a book called "Baby Bear, Baby Bear" so that's why a bear looks more like baby than bear!

Here comes the bride . . .

We were back in Utah last week for Kaitlin's wedding. Everything was beautiful it was such a fun day. They are such a cute couple and we are so happy for them! The photographer tried to get a picture of Kaitlin and Jordan with all the nieces and nephews. It was craziness! This picture gives you a glimpse of what was going on for several minutes while we tried to keep everyone still for one second.

It was fun to spend time with friends and family! Favorite cousins My two handsome men!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Run a Marathon - Check

I have lots to catch up on, but the biggest thing first: Brooks ran the St. George marathon a week ago. He did awesome. We drove down from Salt Lake and stayed with his mission president and wife. It is always fun to spend time with them, and we are always well taken care of. Brooks took off around 4:30 am to go meet his group and then catch the bus to the starting line. About 9:30 Spencer and I headed over to the race. We met up with Cindy & Robb and their girls and waited. We were so glad to have them with us. It was fun to have family there. We finally got a good spot in front so we could see Brooks as he ran in. He ran it in 4 hours and 9 minutes. The first words out of his mouth when we found him past the finish line: "That's the dumbest thing I've ever done!" He was pretty sore, but happy to have completed it. When we went back to the Larkin's they pampered him like a little baby! They had a hand held massager, foot bath/massager, and a jacuzzi tub. After all the pampering and a short nap we were one the road. We got to stop by Cindy's place on the way home and spend some time with them. Kayla never ceases to amaze us with her knowledge and wind power! Brooks walked like an old man for the next few days, but recovery was relatively quick. Quick enough to run an 85 mile relay race the next Saturday. He was on a team of 7 people who ran in the Market 2 Market relay from Omaha to Lincoln. He was a little nervous about it the whole week, but he did well and had no problems. We woke up that morning to a few inches of snow and more falling. Brooks kept praying they'd cancel the race, but they never did. We dropped him off at 6:00 am and sent him on his way. The snow didn't slow them down at all since they did a lot better than last year's team did coming in at just about 11 1/2 hours. Here they come! The guy in front of Brooks is Curt - he is Brooks' inspiration! Ok, well he's the guy that convinced Brooks to run the marathon.
Yeah! He did it!
Spencer enjoying the ice cream provided to the runners! Mmmmm, that looks good!
We drove the course Friday night, people were putting up signs all over the place. Some of them were pretty funny! Here's the gang from Union Pacific before they headed off to the buses. Here's a picture of Brooks running the Market 2 Market relay race!

Monday, September 21, 2009

16 months old

Spencer is growing up so fast. Every day he amazes me with how well he understands everything. He has a very curious mind and active body, but that is why we love him!
FAVORITE THINGS:
- Chasing butterflies and crickets
- New found skill of climbing
- Clapping, snapping, stomping, marching, twirling, dancing
- Winnie the Pooh Bear and Tigger
- Playing tag and Hide n Go Seek
- Fish - "The Ear Book"
NEW WORDS:
He doesn't say much, but his new sounds is "Woa". Sometimes it sounds like 'Wow!' and other times it sounds like 'Whoa!' like when Brooks drives around the corner too fast!
Some recent ones include: Mo - for 'more', and Pa pa - for 'grandpa'.
FAVORITE FOOD:
- Popcicles!
- Gold Fish
- Bananas and Pears Really he's just like his dad and will eat almost anything (except when we're on vacation!)
FUNNY STORY
Spencer is usually pleasant if he has something to keep him occupied, but when he starts laughing and giggling I know he's either into something he shouldn't be or found something really fun. One day I was washing dishes or something at the sink and he was playing on the floor behind me when started laughing and squealing. I looked down and he was trying to catch a huge cricket that snuck in the house. He would try to pick it up and it would hop away, which made him laugh. That game ended pretty quickly once I saw it! A week or so later I was in the kitchen again fixing dinner and he starts squealing with the same little squeal. I peaked around the corner to find him chasing a big spider. I grabbed a shoe to get it. Spencer grabbed the other shoe and started whacking at it as well. We had a fun time laughing and swatting at the spider till I was too afraid he was going to get away and smashed it.

Since this picture he has figured out how to pull out the chair and get on top of the table!

He loves his Winnie the Pooh!
Fishie Face!
Helping mom cook brownies!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

End of Summer

Top 5 signs that summer is coming to an end:
1. The complex swimming pool is closing tomorrow.
2. Football season has started! (Go Cougars!)
3. The A/C hasn't been on for a week, and Brooks said he got cold last night.
(He is always too hot)
4. School's back in session - we hosted Ben and Melissa and then Ryan, Angie and Madison for a night on their way back to school in Minnesota. It's always fun to have them, even if it is a short visit.
5. The days are getting shorter. I noticed the other day that it doesn't stay light out as long any more. I don't know if I'm ready for that yet!
Last weekend we went to the air show out on the base. It was awesome. Spencer loved the air planes, especially the ones in the sky. He even got to sit in the captains seat and 'drive' a plane!
This is why people sell pest control!!! I've never seen or heard so many crickets!! I find some of these in my house every couple days. Yuck!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Arbor Day Farm

A few weeks ago we went down to Nebraska City to see the Arbor Day Farm and Tree House we'd heard about from several people. It is a nature trail with a bunch of activities and facts along the way. They had different paw prints on the trail to guess what animal it was. Brooks did a lot better than I did. Spencer climbed the stairs to the tree house, I don't think he realized what he was getting into when he started! It was no small job, but he made it!This is the top of the tree house. What a great view! Spencer loved being able to walk around outside and pick up sticks and rocks.There was a deer that we kept following through the trees. He'd run away, but a few minutes later we'd come across him again. If you look really close in the picture below there really is a deer!At the end of the trail there were several activities to do. This waterfall was cool, but it was surrounded by bees. So we moved onto the . . Blocks!!! We couldn't stack them fast enough for Spencer before he would knock it over. . . . and the chimes. Spencer definitely has the musical talent, he just needs to get the strength to lift the mallets! We even got two free trees from the tour, so if anyone wants to plant a tree, we still have them because we have no where to plant them! On our way home we stopped by Kimmel Orchard to check the price of their peaches. It turns out they were a pretty good price if I picked them myself. So I went and picked peaches while Brooks drove around in the car so we didn't have to wake up Spencer. When we got home I weighed the box and it was a way better deal than I thought I was getting. So for the next week we had Peach Delight, home made peach ice cream, peaches and cream, and we bottled what was left :)

We had a TON of cucumbers from our garden, and after a couple days we were cucumbered out. So I decided to make pickles out of the rest. We got grandma's recipe and bottled them up. We can't eat them for 6 months, so we won't know how I did for a while! Hopefully they taste just like grandma's!