Chris & Tenielle's Blog

Emmaline the Baby Rose

2010-05-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

What is it about a sleeping baby that makes them so irresistible to watch?

Chris and I put Emmaline to bed the other night and just stood there watching her.

She was tummy down, knees drawn beneath her, bum sticking straight up in the air.

It was too cute!

We pulled back the blanket for one more peek and just stood there watching her sleep.

I felt so many good feelings all at once: peace, happiness, love.

We love her so much.

The Many Faces of Emmaline Rose

2010-05-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

Grow, Baby Grow!

2010-03-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how fast 2 weeks has gone.

Tuesday was Sleeping Beauty's two week old birthday, and boy, is she growing! When we left the hospital the Thursday after she was born, she was down to 6 lb. 10 oz. and was 19 3/4 inches. Two weeks later, she is 8 lb. 3oz. and 21 3/4 inches! These are some pictures that I took on her 2 week birthday while playing around on my new camera. I couldn't decide which one to put up, she is too cute in all of them!

Emmaline Rose Bender

2010-02-28T18:31:00.001-08:00

Emmie was born on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at 7:23 P.M.. She weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. and measured just over 19 1/2 inches long. All of the nurses commented about how long her fingers and legs were. Hopefully she inherited those tall Bender genes!

She is nothing but peaches and cream! She's a great nurser, sleeper, and burper! What more could first-time parents want, right?! She usually wakes up around 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. wanting to eat and hardly ever cries. I'm always super tired when she wakes up in the wee hours of the morning, but have to remember I could have it lots harder. Hopefully before too long she'll be sleeping through the night. I'm not counting on it, but it sure would be nice!

She has also brought such a feeling of love to our home. It's hard to describe, but I can definitely feel the difference. It's been fun seeing Chris in his new role as a daddy - he's already so good at it. She already has him completely wrapped around her finger - just like I predicted! I can't wait to see what other joys this little one will bring. We lover her so much.

2009-12-20T16:03:00.000-08:00

33 Weeks!

Any suggestions on how to sleep comfortably???

2009-11-08T16:44:00.000-08:00

27 Weeks

2009-11-01T17:02:00.001-08:00

Chris' handmade He-Man costume...

which he won "best costume" at the Stoner's Halloween party! It's kinda hard to tell in this picture, but he put a lot of hard work and dedication into making this costume! I'll begin highlighting his creativity by calling your attention to the fur on his underwear. Next we have a handmade/spray painted bed roll breast plate. Lastly, you'll want to notice the duct-taped-to-the-skin quilt batting muscles on his legs! Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention the oversized sword he also made from the camping bed roll and a PVC pipe! I can't wait to see what he'll come up with for next year!

2009-11-01T17:00:00.000-08:00

25 Weeks

2009-11-01T16:09:00.000-08:00

My Shower in North Carolina

Everything tasted as good as it looks.

My beautiful mother-in-law Carolyn, who, with the help of some friends, threw me the wonderful shower!

I don't think I would have to twist anybody's arm to get them to agree with me that little girl clothes are among the cutest things in the world. Carolyn came up with the idea to hang the clothes on the clothes line. I almost cried when she showed me everything - especially the item in the following picture. I'm really excited for our little girl to come and seeing a bunch of her clothes hung up made it that much more exciting.

Carolyn bought the ruffly, pink dress before she was married. Seeing that she had all boys, her first granddaughter inherited it and I felt honored to receive it. It's in perfect condition and I am so glad she hung onto it all these years! I can hardly wait to put our little girl in something so sentimental. I know it's something she will forever cherish.

The beautifully, handmade blanket that Grandma Eva crocheted for me and our little peanut. This is something to be cherished as well since Grandma Eva will be her great-grandmother.

I thought for sure Carolyn and I would win the sock pairing game, but we sadly didn't... I was a little bummed (Chris says I'm just "a little" competitive)!

The adorable entertainer/photographer and Grandma Eva

2009-11-01T15:51:00.001-08:00

Lake Powell 2009

Ryan Stokle, Russ Page, Karlie Stockle, Crhis just before jumping off the boat. Seeing that I am pregnant, I had a perfect excuse not to have to jump off the moving boat!

My cute friend Kristy Stoner

Kevin on the air chair.

Chris rode the jet ski so much I hardly ever saw him!

Lacey Page kept me company while Chris was jet skiing.

Kevin entertaining us on the jet ski.

Grady and Chris attempting to waterproof Grady's hand after slicing it open and getting a few stitches.

2009-10-11T20:48:00.000-07:00

Possible Crib Bedding???

I have been looking ALL OVER for a crib bedding set that I like, but I just can't seem to find one. I went to Broadbents, a local fabric store and found some Michael Miller fabric that I thought would be fun to make some bedding with. Whattaya think? Am I crazy? Has anyone made their own crib bedding that might offer some guidance? (P.S. The actual fabric is not as dark as it looks here. It's much softer.)

Above: I'm thinking this for the outside of the bumpers...

and this for the inside of the bumpers.

Possibly this for a ruffle on the top of the bumper and bows to tie the bumpers onto the crib.

Stripes for the bedskirt.

Above and Below: Possibly for the sheets.

2009-10-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

Baby Bump

Before I started showing, the only thing that looked pregnant was my face and my butt!! It's nice to have a little baby bump to remind me that his is actually real - and that I am indeed expecting and not just fat! :-) It's fun for us to watch my belly grow and know that she's getting bigger and bigger. Only a little more than 4 more months to go!!

(almost 23 weeks)

2009-09-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

Bring on the Pink!

2009-09-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

It's a girl!!! (We think)

Chris and I are more than excited to have this little blessing come into our lives. We couldn't wait until my 20 week ultrasound to find out what we were having, so we went to Fetal Photo in the mall - hence the "we think" it's a girl. Two more weeks and we can find out for sure if we're having a little girl. Fingers crossed!!

2009-09-05T07:57:00.000-07:00

Simple Pleasures.

Over the summer I decided to take on a tutoring job. I debated whether or not to take the offer - It was summer after all, and every teacher needs a break from teaching, right? BUT, after realizing that my summer job could buy me the camera I had been eyeing for quite some time... I couldn't resist! And here's one of my favorite subjects to shoot - flowers (soon I'll have a little 'flower' of my own to shoot, but until then, these will have to do)!

I scattered seeds from last year's Zinnias ALL OVER my front and back yard. Chris thought they looked like weeds when they were first growing, and maybe they did, but it didn't matter to me. In my opinion, you can never have too many flowers!

I must admit when I saw the bulbs for these Dahlias in Costco, I was a bit skeptical. The only other places I have seen Dahlias grow beautifully was in New Zealand and Ireland... not quite the same climates as Utah. I went ahead and bought 2 bags and needless to say, am very pleased with how well they've grown. I think they're beautiful. No wonder why they are my favorite flower!

This is our neighbor's puppy, Bug. She's not a flower obviously, but we think she is pretty cute. Chris never really considered getting a small dog until we met her. She has lots of personality and is very smart (we taught her to play dead by making a shooting noise and pointing our finger at her). Sometimes when our neighbors aren't looking, we sneak her into our house. Well, mostly she just runs in when we get home, but sometimes we have to be sneaky if they are outside!

We're Pregnant!!!

2009-07-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

We are very excited to announce that we're expecting!!! I'm only 10 weeks this week, but my doctor wanted me to come in for an ultrasound since my HCG levels were kind of high. Typically when a woman is pregnant with twins, her HCG levels are higher and he wanted to make sure I was only pregnant with 1 baby. Obviously from seeing the video, there's only 1 baby, which is just fine with us (I plan on teaching up until the time I go into the hospital). Everything measured perfectly. The heartbeat was strong and steady too. Needless to say, we are very excited.

Hangin with the Benders

2009-07-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago the Benders came in town for Aaron's baby blessing and a family reunion on Carolyn's side. We had a blast 4-wheeling with Uncle Dewey and Aunt Dixie in Logan. They were such kind hosts - it was fun to get to know them.

Matty's first time riding a 4-wheeler... Any idea if he's excited?!

Another evening we found a beautiful campsite by the river. We had dinner and made s'mores. Yum. Yum!

As a result of winning the "Perfect S'more Award", the boys copied my technique, but weren't as successful!

Matty's 4th attempt... the others were causalities to the fire.

Matty apparently had a rough evening. After loosing 4 marshmallows/s'mores to the fire, he even lost his shoe in the river. Luckily big brother Chris was there to quickly fish it out.

For some reason the boys wanted to brave the freezing cold, rapidly moving river to this rock.

I was glad nobody fell in!

Chris and Matty attempting to "rock slide"?

Washington

2009-06-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I flew up to Washington to see my family. The kids have gotten so big! I could hardly believe it. We went shopping, played at two different parks, went out to eat, BBQed, and just enjoyed each other's company. Michael and Jack were such a good sports as we drug them all across town shopping at different stores. Both of the boys were so sweet the whole time I was there! Jack's favorite words are "Grandma", "Grandpa", "Mommy", and "Daddy". No matter what I said to him 9/10 times he would say one of those four words (not that he doesn't know any others) in response.

Mini Tyler

I love flowers! One of the parks we went to had the most beautiful rose gardens (they grow exceptionally well in Washington). I had such a fun time taking pictures.

Mmmm...

Sensitive eyes? Who said anything about sensitive eyes?!! Sorry Julie, this picture was too cute not to post!

What a good lookin' group!

Michael-the-Bold chasing a little boy (probably twice his age) around the water park, squirting him with his own toy. You'd think that since he was the younger one, he'd be the one running away, but that wasn't the case!

Boston

2009-06-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

Over Spring Break I went with 28 other teachers to Boston. We all took a History class over the year and this trip was the treat at the end of the class. Here are some highlights from the trip.

Of all the places we went in Boston, John and Abigail Adams' home was BY FAR my favorite! The tour guide we had was simply amazing! She was passionate enough to bring tears to our eyes on more than one occasion. Apparently she is quite good at making people cry because when our director told her what a stellar job she did, her reply was, "I know I've done a good job when I can even get the men to cry." She told stories of John Adams that made me love and respect him even more.

My tour buddy Cassie Haddock. She's one of the cutest and funniest girls I know. She made the trip bearable without Chris - Thanks Cassie!

My just spinnin' away on the loom.

Mike's Pastry shop has got the best pastries in town! It's Bill Clinton's favorite place to treat himself when he's in Boston. I must say, it was rather delicious!!

I'm proud to say that I made it all the way to the top of the Bunker Hill monument - this wasn't easy, especially since we had already traipsed more than 10 miles all around Boston seeing the sights! I can't remember how many steps there are, but it was a lot!

Cassie and I on the way to Plymouth. I'm surprised we weren't sleeping, considering our 6:00 A.M. departure that day!

Melany, Cassie and I with the Wampanoag Indian at Plymouth Plantation. You can't tell now, but he was rather scantily clad!

The Old North Church, made famous by Longfellow's poem, (which is not entirely historically accurate) and the site where the lanterns were lit to warn us the British were coming.

The Old State House , behind the site of the Boston "Massacre" (only 5 people were killed). Here, the patriots had many debates regarding the fate of our form of government and the British Colonies. George Washington also read the Declaration of Independence from the balcony.

The oldest cemetery in Boston. In order to be buried here, you have to prove that you are related to someone buried here - I think I can do it! Look closely at Ann's last name!

Digital Scrapin' is so Much FUN!!

2009-05-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

This is my handsome new nephew, Aaron. He makes a cute subject - especially with those beautiful eyes, chubby cheeks, and adorable smile!! P.S. Seeing that he is the only grandchild on the Bender side, I'd say that calling him the "one spring flower" is pretty fitting.

Who Knew?

2009-05-29T16:30:00.001-07:00

I have a few friends that do digital scrapbooking and I'm always so impressed with how cute they look. However, every time I browse the pricy kits, I think to myself, Do I really want to start a new hobby that I'll probably spend way too much money doing? The answer was always no... until today!!! I came across a link for free digital kits today - I can't wait to get started! The three links below are sites where I found the cutest (in my opinion) kits.

Two Peas in a Bucket

Shabby Princess Free Digital Kits

Memory Makers

Here are a few pictures of my favorite kits that I downloaded.

This one's from Shabby Princess

This one is from Two Peas in a Bucket

The next three are from Memory Makers

I hope you can find something fun to jazz up your blog or even make a scrapbook page. Oh, and another great thing is that there are some kits that come with templates. All you have to do is add your picture. Now we're talkin'!

Look at that face!!!

2009-01-29T14:35:00.000-08:00

I don't think I'm biased or that any of you could disagree with me when I say that this is one of the cutest little boys to ever walk the earth. I just want to squeeeze his little cheeks every time I look at this picture. I keep it on my desktop so whenever I'm feeling glum, I can look at it and smile. Thanks Handsome.

You've got to read...

2009-01-29T08:35:00.000-08:00

Left to Tell is one of those books that left me pondering my own life - specifically, my faith, trust in His plan, and His love for all of His children. When I was reading her story, I kept on thinking (1) I can't believe this only happened in 1994 and (2) this is such an amazing story. I'll include the book summary below for you to decide what you think.

Immaculee Ilibagiza grew up in a country she loved, surrounded by a family she cherished. But in 1994 her idyllic world was ripped apart as Rwanda descended into a bloody genocide. Immaculee’s family was brutally murdered during a killing spree that lasted three months and claimed the lives of nearly a million Rwandans.

Incredibly, Immaculee survived the slaughter. For 91 days, she and seven other women huddled silently together in the cramped bathroom of a local pastor while hundreds of machete-wielding killers hunted for them.

It was during those endless hours of unspeakable terror that Immaculee discovered the power of prayer, eventually shedding her fear of death and forging a profound and lasting relationship with God. She emerged from her bathroom hideout having discovered the meaning of truly unconditional love—a love so strong she was able seek out and forgive her family’s killers.

You Can Call Me Annie - Annie Oakley

2008-12-21T20:08:00.000-08:00

You might think that Annie and I don't share any resemblances, right?

Well take a look at this picture below. Notice the clay pigeon blown to smithereens.

Chris is super excited to shoot his new birthday gun... or guitar, whatever it looks more like.

Let's Celebrate!

2008-12-21T16:43:00.000-08:00

November is the big birthday month in my family. It's also both my and Chris' birthdays. He turned the big 3-0 this year and is officially old! Judging from these pictures though, you might not think he's as old as he actually is!

As you can see, Chris thinks "it's boring just smiling" normally for pictures. He's adorable, what more can I say?

Yes, that's my apron he's wearing (he cooked my breakfast on my birthday).

Fall Break

2008-10-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

We were lucky to get to spend some time with Derek and Sarah over Fall Break. We ate at JCW's twice (a local burger joint) and spent sometime at Thanksgiving Point feeding the animals, riding the ponies, milking a cow, and riding on the wagon. We also went to lunch with Chris and had the best Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches and even rocked out on Rock Band. I think my favorite thing we did though was seeing the 3D Dinosaur movie. Sam and Hannah nearly jumped out of their skin a time or two. It was fun to see their reactions.

Halloween Party

2008-10-19T15:17:00.000-07:00

"Sometimes you must wear stretchy pants in your room. It's for fun."

-Nacho Libre

This past weekend our friends Grady and Kristy had a Halloween party that was "totally off the hook", says Chris. Take a look at the vinyl decorations that she designed and cut out! She even had bread bowls that looked exactly like pumpkins for our soup. Everything was so cool. Thanks Grady and Kristy!

I was a fairy and Chris was obviously Nacho Libre. I think he was a little bit more embarrassed than he will admit... especially since he wouldn't drive in his costume (apparently he got pulled over when he was a woman for Halloween once) and also brought an extra pair of clothes to change into. His costume was a hit though and he even won best costume!

The Olsens were tourists, Russ was a "Little Boy Superhero", Lacey was Annie, Grady was "The King" from Burger King, and Kristy was Wendy from Wendy's.

Since making his cape was a disaster, I asked him if he could sew his own boots. Has Chris ever sewn, you might wonder? Nope. I showed him the backstitch button, gave him about 10 seconds of instruction, and he was off! I think he can already sew better than me. Way to go Babe!!

If I look a little jaundice, it's the yellow makeup.

2008-08-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend when Elise was in town, we went to Swiss Days in Midway. They had the cutest crafts, but a lot of them were way over-priced. So, we got super inspired and decided to make our own decorations. After a quick trip to Lowe's and Robert's we got busy and completed our Halloween decoration today. Obviously I am way excited they turned out so cute because I'm already blogging about it!

Here they are before they were completed. I think I'll do "Happy Halloween" in color like this, ya know, just for variety purposes.

Voila! The completed project. We had lots of fun making them and I can hardly wait to get started on the next holiday!

Mountain Biking at Sundance

2008-08-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that Utah is growing on me more and more. It's not quite Arizona, but it does have its benefits! Take the outdoors for example. Chris and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and our new mountain bikes. We took the charming, but slow drive on the Alpine Loop to Sundance for a day of mountain biking. It was a bit scary at times, but definitely fun.

This is the beginning of the trail and the scariest part. Notice the ample amount of loose rocks on the dirt. These little buggers made it extremely difficult to slow down, turn, and especially stop. Each time I attempted to even slow down with my back brakes ("the ones you're supposed to use when going downhill" said my husband) I would skid, fishtail and nearly loose control. I could just picture my body hurtling though the air only to land on the jagged, sharp rocks beneath me. Can you imagine that this lack of control was very unnerving for me? I didn't like going fast, but I didn't like braking either. I just couldn't seem to find a happy medium. Herein lied my quandary... Needless to say as I rounded a corner and found Chris puttering along ahead of me I couldn't help myself from screaming, "Go faster! Go faster!" He didn't like my display of "overreaction" and we exchanged a few very short words with each other. However, the spat was short-lived and I soon figured out that I could use my front brakes more than I had been using them previously. The ride proved to be a great workout and very enjoyable... for the both of us!

Chris was still mad at me here.

The helmet left a rather adorable hairstyle for Chris afterwards.

Obsession

2008-08-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

Okay, I think it's safe to say that I am officially obsessed with flowers, especially ones that are growing in my front yard - ones that I can take hundreds of pictures of at various times of the day. I cant' get over how beautiful they are in all the different shades of light. Some of my favorite shots are when the sun is setting and everything has a rich golden hue. I hope you find them just as dazzling!

First Day of School

2008-08-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

For my third year of teaching, I moved back down from 5th grade to 4th grade and love the change. It's so nice being taller than my students!! The kids are so sweet and timid compared to my last. Here's a few pictures from my first day.

This is Lucy, she's adorable and sweet!

Savannah in purple, she's also adorable.

Chandler givin the peace sign. I had his older brother in 5th grade and absolutely loved him!

Sam with a raspy voice could be in a Norman Rockwell painting. We're playing the name game and he was not the least bit shy. Aren't they all so cute?!

Demolition Derby

2008-08-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest, I had little desire to go to this demolition derby because I had never been to one before and thought I wouldn't enjoy it. How wrong I was! It was one of the coolest things we have done in a long time. I strongly, strongly encourage any who have not been, to get your hands on some tickets and go! You'll love it, I'm sure of it - oh, and bring some earplugs :)

If was super windy... hence the hair.

Our good friends, Grady and Kristy Stoner...

and Russ and Lacey Page

Boondocks

2008-07-21T16:46:00.001-07:00

Handsome Hunks - I have the cutest husband ever. (totally cheesy, I know!) Don't look too closely, the flash picked up on my white undergarments and black bra - yikes!

Chris and his other favorite lady

Mom and Dad Bender. We've decided that Matty looks the most like Harry.

He's Handsome and Single Ladies! Seriously, I don't ever think he reads our blog, so I can say that without too much fear, but if you know of any cute girls...

These last two weeks we were lucky to spend some time with the Benders. After the family reunion in Vegas, Mom and Dad Bender along with Matty, stayed with us for a whole week. I feel like we hardly ever get to see them, so it was nice to have their company and get to spend so much time with them. The last night before they left we went miniature golfing at Boondocks. The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect night for pictures.

Gardening is my New Hobby!

2008-07-19T13:55:00.000-07:00

My front yard, full of Zinnias!

I love flowers!!

Often times I just come out and look at all the pretty flowers. It puts me in such a good mood to just look at them.

This is my favorite shot.

Amazing that these came from some seeds my neighbor gave me.

Orange, pink, red, and yellow will soon be filling the front!

My Bing cherry tree isn't doing so hot :-(

However the grapes will be scrumptious!

Free tomatoes anyone? This picture is only a week or so old... today the bushes are right underneath the window and have TONS of tomatoes!
Since I don't have any kids yet, I'm keeping you updated on how much my tomatoes are growing. I took this picture today - see the difference? P.S. The pinwheels are to keep the birds from eating the strawberries - it's worked, thanks mom!

I think I probably planted too many tomatoes!
mmmmm!
I swear this spaghetti squash grows an inch a day!

The Summer Squash is yummy too!

I picked a Zucchini yesterday that was at least 16 inches long and 4 inches in diameter. It was my third one that big. Go garden!!

Vogel Ranch

2008-07-18T08:09:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Michael!

Sam, Hannah, Alexa, Michael, Isabel, and Grace

Michael loves to give hugs

Everyone wanted to hold baby Jack

I could kiss these two to death!

I love my nieces!

Sam was totally into the cowboy thing, he kept taking off his hat and swinging it around his head!

Even the big kids got to ride on the horse!

The kids loved riding on Fabio.

Trav is such a good uncle

After riding on the horses, we took a walk into the "enchanted forest". Before we got there the kids found a snake and were even fighting to get a hold of it... not me, I was glad I had the camera! Oh, and the kids were more afraid of the farm animals than the snake.

Adorable, need I say more?

The birthday boy eating his frosting (gag)

Washington

2008-07-15T09:16:00.000-07:00

My oh my, time flies way too quickly! For the 4th of July we had a Richey family get-together in Washington where my dad recently moved his company. Because both Tyler and Travis work for him, they all moved up there as well. While we were there, Tyler and Julie were nice enough to let Chris, Elise and I stay in their new house - which I'm sure was much quieter than the lodge!
We went to Cannon Beach, had Michael's birthday party at Vogel Ranch, hung out at the lodge, went fishing, played bad mitten and croquet, saw Mount St. Helen's, and had the time of our lives. The kids played outside from sun-up to sun-down. I'm already looking forward to next year and hope we'll do it again.

Cannon Beach

2008-07-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

I had no idea that the beach would be this beautiful. The water was a bit cold... actually, it was really cold! In fact, after standing in the water for a few minutes, our feet started to ache. However, that didn't deter the kids from playing in the water. Michael was especially enjoying it. He was screaming at the top of his lungs from the sheer joy of it. It was so great to play games, relax, and just spend some time with the family.

Ladybugs!

2008-07-13T18:01:00.000-07:00

After we got back from Cannon Beach on Saturday, the kids went on a ladybug hunt. With the help of the adults, they were able to find quite a bit and had a wonderful time! Funny how if ladybugs were black and didn't have such a cute name, hunting for them wouldn't be quite as much fun - or fun at all for that matter.

Fishing

2008-07-13T07:46:00.000-07:00

Keith and Chris fly-fishing on the dock

On the way to go fishing with Mount St. Helens in the background

Gary Loomis was nice enough to take us fishing

Me and My Bebe

Sam and Uncle Keith

Elise and the beautiful background

Trav coaching Sam on how to fish properly..."Keep your pole in the water, Sam!"

2008-06-27T16:25:00.000-07:00

Moms Are Great!

2008-06-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

This past Wednesday Mom flew into town and it was so fun to get to see her. We stayed up 'til midnight talking about everything from family history to her life's story. I love my mom and hope she can live to be a hundred years old. I always tell her I don't know what I'm going to do when she dies (kinda morbid, I know) to which she replies with a comment and smile, "Don't even be sad for a second, I'm going to be having too much fun!" That's Mom for you, the only person I know who's excited to die!
She really is a great lady with many talents too. I thought I'd take advantage of her sewing knowledge while she was here and get her to help me with an apron I was making for a gift. So we bought a sewing machine, the pattern and necessities, and got started. Because of fear that I might strain my eyes after Lasik, coupled with the fact that Mom can never stop "showing" you how to do something to let you have a go at it, I only sewed a few things on the apron! It was a fun learning experience and I am glad I got to learn from and spend time with her. In the end, the apron turned out much smaller than we expected - which is okay because now I can try sewing one all by myself. I hope mine will look as cute as this one... and a little bigger too!

The Basement's Almost Done!

2008-06-23T16:16:00.001-07:00

When I married Chris, I have to admit I thought I was marrying a computer geek who couldn't do anything with his hands... Although I was right about the computer geek, (he admits to using 4-finger keyboard shortcuts) I was horribly wrong about him not being able to use his hands! He, with Matty's help, did everything from framing, installing doors and hanging the drywall, right down to cutting the baseboards and trim! He is just about done and did it all with such skill - minus the drywall disaster, surround sound installation, and missing HTMI cable, all of which caused severe melt-downs! Needless to say, I am so glad it's almost done and can have my hubbie back! He is so excited to have it completed and invited everyone over to play garage band tonight. Congratulations Babe!
P.S. Chirs said he absolutely refuses to finish the rest of the basement and will pay someone instead (we'll see if that happens). I think we'll just stick a sheet over the bomb zone and hope that happens soon!

Our First Blog Post EVER!!!

2008-06-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

So this is it...the moment you've all been waiting for. That's right, we've created a blog. Now you can all sleep well at night knowing that all the important stuff is being covered right here, right now.

And what a perfect day to start because the most important thing in the world is that today was Tenielle's first day of summer vacation. After a long year of yelling and screaming at a bunch of bratty little 5th graders (see Figure 1), Nilly finally gets to enjoy the fruits of her labors.

Figure 1

Apparently the fruits consist of loafing around the house, picking her nose (see Figure 2), and catching up on the Home Shopping Network's "Markdown Monday."

Figure 2

Adorable. Need I say more?

2008-06-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

Chris said he is feeling very left out since I am the only one on our blog so far... here is the picture he insisted I put on.

2008-06-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

We ruthlessly stole this video from Nick and Marianne's blog. We just couldn't resist. This is Chris' Dad dancin in his new wardrobe from Kohl's. Take a look!!