1.5

That's how many baths Mason is averaging a day. This boy loves to be outside playing and that results in one filthy boy. He gets a bath every night before bed without question and then some days he gets one before his nap or before we go somewhere in the evening. Don't even start me on what my laundry loads are like. This is what little boys and summer time are all about, right?

New Car

This week we finally purchased a new (used) car for me to drive. We upgraded from my parent's 1997 Jetta to a 2005 Toyota Sequoia. Basically, we went





From... Student

To... Mom

From... Economy








To... SUV









From... Squished









To... Roomy

• From... Fuel Efficient
• To... Gas Guzzler

Wait, are we sure we want that with gas prices over $4/gal?!

First, I want to say a HUGE Thank You to my parents who have generously let me drive one of their cars since I was 16 years old. It sure helped us out these first few years of marriage and while we were getting through school. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!

Second, I want to thank Scott for being such a great bargain hunter and finding me my dream car while staying within the budget. (He got it for $6,000 below low blue book)

I am still trying to get used to its massive size. If you see a black Sequoia at the very back of a parking lot with no other cars around .... that's probably me. I am terrified to park in parking lots because right now I cross through about three stalls before I end up in mine. But the size sure is nice on the inside.

Happy Birthday Whitney and Rachel Faye!

Today is my sister-in-law, Whitney's, birthday. To celebrate she gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Rachel Faye, at 8:59am. Rachel weighed in at 9 lbs 2 oz and is 22 inches long!! Here are some pictures of the birthday girls!!

Salem Triathlon

Last year my dad turned 50 and decided to do something he had always wanted to do...a triathlon. He trained really hard for 6 months, improved his swimming skills, got in great shape, and competed in several triathlons last year. After being my dad's support team for a year my mom decided she wanted to join the fun and now they have been training together for more triathlons this year. Back in January when they were registering, they recruited Chris, Kacie, and I to do the Salem Triathlon with them. I have been very excited to re-enter the triathlon world after a 4 year break (although my enthusiasm was not demonstrated through dedicated training). So today was the big day and we woke up to a downpour of rain. We got to the race site to find out that the Sheriff had canceled the bike portion of the race due to the danger presented by slick roads up the canyon. The rain was still coming down hard and talk was circulating about cancelling the swim and just having a 10K. With how cold I was when fully dressed and dry it didn't sound like such a bad idea. They had some guys get in the water for 10-15 minutes and then checked their body temperature and decided it was safe to continue with the swim. Thanks to the determination of my Dad and Chris we all decided to stay and participate in what was left of our triathlon. We were glad we made the decision when the rain stopped and it got a little warmer. The swim was a lot of fun for me although we'll see how fun it is if I get Giardia from swallowing all of that, oh-so-clean, pond water. Kacie and my mom finished the swim right behind me (I have to mention that my mom was in the heat behind us, which goes to show how awesome she is). Kacie and I ran the 5K together and I can honestly say I really enjoyed it although I don't know how great my time will be. I was really disappointed that we didn't get to do the bike because it is the most challenging part for me, but I had a blast doing the swim and run. Because we were all participating we didn't think to get any pictures. I know it's disappointing for everyone who wanted to see us all in our skin-tight wetsuits, swimcaps, and goggles. I had a lot of fun and am looking for another triathlon to sign up for this summer so I can truely say I did a triathlon. A huge thanks to my mom and dad for sponsering me in the race and rounding up all my gear for me! I hope I'm as awesome as you guys when I am 50.

Swimming

My mom and I took Mason to the pool yesterday. He LOVED it. It was so much fun to watch him explore and experiment in the water. He did not stop smiling and laughing the entire time we were there. Here are some pictures.

June 1st Curse

I was sitting here at work doing my charting like a good nurse when I realized that in just a few short hours it will be June 1st and I am now a little nervous. You see, my family doesn't have a very good track record when it comes to June 1st.... you might even go as far as to say we are cursed.
Let me start at the beginning.
*June 1, 1999 -- My parents left that morning for a 7 day trip leaving us 3 kids at home with Chris in charge. Life couldn't get any better....until Brandon had to ruin it all by getting hit in the face by a line drive and breaking several bones around his eye. Mom came home and Brandon had surgery to put metal plates in his face. The doctor limited Brandon's activities for a year while the plates took root. So when the next June 1st came around Brandon had it marked on the calendar as the year mark when all restrictions would be lifted.
*June 1, 2000 -- To celebrate his new found freedom he took the stage on the trampoline at a party and was wowing the crowds with his double front flips off his knees. It was very impressive until he didn't quite make the final rotation and his mouth went crashing into his knee, knocking his two front teeth out but not until after they had bitten completely through his tongue leaving a hanging chunk. Luckily our dentist lived across the street and was summoned at midnight to save the teeth. The tongue was repaired and the teeth were put back in (no thanks to dental assistant Val sucking the teeth up the suction wand), but it has resulted in quite a few dental visits for Brandon over the years.
*June 1, 2001 -- This year Brandon decided to stay at home and play it safe, but that didn't stop me from carrying on the tradition. I was in the car with some girlfriends driving to meet up with our other friends. As we were driving down the road we saw them coming the opposite direction. Our driver swerved over to get their attention but their driver was looking down at the radio. The next few seconds is all a blur but pretty much we had an unplanned game of chicken where no one chickened and we were in a head-on collision. No one had any major injuries just some whiplash and airbag injuries which was VERY lucky. I just got bruised pretty good from my seatbelt. Three years in a row made it seem like more than just a coincidence that these things all happened on June 1.
*June 1, 2002 -- This year's accident actually began on the night of May 31. I was up in SLC hanging out with some of my friends. It was really late and I ran one of my friends home. I went in the house with him for just a few minutes leaving my car running in neutral with the parking break on. When I came back outside my car was gone. I could not figure out where it was until I walked out in the road and saw it down the hill sticking out of someone's garage....the parking break had gone out. Of course it had to be a sweet old couple's house who was asleep in bed when they heard the crash and came out. Not only did it ruin their garage but it hit the car in the garage. It wasn't until after I had gone in their house and called my mom that I realized it was 12:30am and technically June 1. What a horrible experience!!
*June 1, 2003 -- This year's accident didn't actually happen on June 1, it was 5 days earlier. I was rollerblading on 800 E. when a dog decided to attack me and I got a chunk taken out of my leg resulting in stitches, a tetnus shot, and one difficult situation with the owners. I am pretty sure my mom spent most of June 1 on the phone with the dog's owners trying to get them to pay for my ER visit (their home owners insurance wouldn't pay unless they put the dog to sleep and they didn't want to, but they didn't want to pay out of pocket either, so they made it all really difficult).
*June 1, 2004 -- This was the year we realized the true power of the curse when it reached out of our immediate family and got my boyfriend...Scott. I thought we might have made it through the day without an incident when I got a call from Scott at about 11:30 saying he might have a broken wrist (ward basketball). I went to the ER with him and sure enough it was broken and Scott got to sport a nice brace for 6 weeks. The June 1 curse pretty much sealed Scott into the family.
*June 1, 2005 -- Cannon was born 2 days earlier. Whew...dodged that bullet. Nothing eventful happened this year.
*June 1, 2006 -- Second year with no incidence.
*June 1, 2007 -- I don't remember anything specifically on June 1st, but I do know that in the week that followed Mason began having some serious constipation issues. I can't say for sure, but I think it is very likely that Mason might have stopped pooping on June 1.

It is obvious that the severity of incidents has greatly decreased the last few years and I am hoping that continues this year. But if there is one thing I have learned about the June 1st Curse it is that you can never get too comfortable. As Workers Compensation says, Be Careful Out There.

The Mur-Wii-s

We are the new and very excited owners of a Nintendo Wii. I have never understood all the hype about the Wii, but let me officially say that I now understand!! We have had a blast this weekend staying up way too late playing games. Friday night we tried out all the sports games with Jeremy and Janessa, who are in town for Memorial Day Weekend. I was informed I am too spastic when I play tennis, causing my player to twirl around and fall everytime I swing. In the boxing ring, however, my spasticness seems to pay off.....I knocked Scott out and went undefeated. Scott showing off his mean forearm against Jeremy. Rachel and Scott battling it out in tennis. Boxing.

By the end of the night I was experiencing the beginning stages of Wii-elbow (comparable to tennis elbow). That was nothing compared to what I felt after our marathon gaming with the Dastrups and Carliles on Saturday. We played Wii and Rockband (Jeff's early Father's Day gift) for 8 straight hours at the Dastrup's. You might be asking, "Don't you all have kids?" and yes we do. The kids had a blast playing with each other and whichever adults weren't playing the game were on kiddo duty making sure no toddlers wandered onto the tennis court or boxing ring. This started out as just an afternoon activity, but before we knew it dinner time had come and gone. We ordered some pizza for us and made Mac and Cheese for the kids and continued the gaming. When bedtime rolled around Mason borrowed jammies and a bottle from Jackson. Once the kids were asleep that's when things got serious. We played Rock Band until the blisters on our fingers were popping, we couldn't lift our arms, our eyes were blurry, and our voices were cracking (oh wait, that was just because we are all horrible singers). This was somewhere around 12:30 AM. The last song we attempted and were determined to pass was Metallica's Enter Sandman which for those of you unfamilar with the song is incredibly long and very difficult on Rock Band, especially when we were so exausted. That day/night was one of the funnest days Scott and I have ever had. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera so I don't have any pictures. We are looking forward to one more day off before we have to return to real life and go to bed at a reasonable hour.