Total Eclipse of Our Anniversary

San Francisco

Wally and I had the rare opportunity a few weeks ago to leave the kids behind, with Grandma, and spend a week together in San Francisco. It was so fun and we had such a great time. Wally had to work a couple of days, so I spent some quality time with my sister. We were able to go and do all things San Francisco and have some very much needed relaxation!



My favorite part of the trip was when we went on a little hike near Pleasanton. We had so much time to talk and walk off  the high calorie meals we had been eating. Wally's favorite? The night we went dancing with my sister and her husband at the DNA Lounge for the Bootie mash-up party. I haven't seen him so excited in a long time! It was so nice to spend time together sans kids, but we were happy to come home when it was all over.

Say Cheese!

There really hasn’t been a whole lot of things going on here in our neck of the woods.  We have been having unbelievably nice weather for the middle of January.  I think I’m actually going to make it through this winter—then again, we still have to get through February!  I’ll take a sunny, 30* day anytime over the bitter cold!

Wally has been in California the last few days, which, unfortunately for him, it’s been rainy and cold!  He’s supposed to get back in tonight, but his flight keeps getting delayed because of the weather (go figure) so I’m not sure exactly when he’s going to show up.  We’re all hoping that he’ll be here when we wake up in the morning.  We’re in desperate need of a nice hot breakfast that doesn’t include cereal and milk!  (I know, we’re totally spoiled here.)

We had a fun weekend though and Kelsie and I were able to get our craft on and made some 3D snowflakes.  They were really fun and easy to make and seemed to be the perfect decoration for this time of year. 

Caleb and I started a parent/toddler class this week.  It was the perfect thing for an almost 3 year old to run, climb, and jump to his heart’s content for almost an hour!  It’s great for this time of year when we can’t spend a whole lot of time outside!

Brandon’s new obsession is football.  He watches it, plays it, and video games it.  He has even started watching Sports Center in the mornings before school and writes down notes of when the games are.  Can you say obsessive compulsive?!  I have to admit that I’m glad we’re starting to get out of the Pokémon phase…even if it is just a little bit.  He can’t wait for basketball to start in a couple of weeks.  Neither can I.  It means that he’ll have an outlet for all his stored up energy and will (hopefully) quit teasing his brother and sister so much.

So, if you made it this far, you’re a trooper!  I’ve been having a mental block when it comes to my blog these days.  Hopefully something exciting will happen soon so that I’ll have something more interesting to say!

Shiner

It has been an interesting week around here.  We had sub-zero temperatures here yesterday which only reminded me that I am not tough and I really hate the cold.  But, we did still walk to and from school with the kids and Caleb even fell asleep in the stroller on the way home (I still can’t figure out how). 

Our car was completely frozen shut which made it hard to get anywhere yesterday too, but with a little man-power from my man, we at least got in.  The rest of the doors are now working today since it has warmed up to a whopping 21 degrees (but feels like 10).

Wally has been up late every night and up early every day preparing for his talk he is giving at his job interview next week.  I think he is going to crash hard tonight!

And, as a final note, you may have notice the shiner Brandon is sporting.  That is what happens when you run smack dab into the side of the table with your eye.  It was pretty swollen for the first couple of days and is finally starting to look better now, but I wouldn’t be a good mom if I didn’t document it with a picture now, would I?!

Curious?

Have you ever been curious enough to know what Wally does for a living? Check out this video:



This is a lot of the work that he did while at Penn State. It's a lot easier to understand it this way if you're confused by anything past neutron and electron-talk like I am.

Good News!

It's been a happy day out here (despite the cold weather).

Wally's paper was accepted and is going to be published in the near future.

This is very good news for us!

He even got the special plate for dinner.

Way to go!

A Fun New Tag

This is a tag from my friend, Rosalyn. I am supposed to post the fourth picture in the fourth folder from my pictures folder on the computer and briefly explain what is going on and then tag someone else.

There's really not a whole lot to say about this picture, but a ton I could say about the subject! Wally was working on his bike one afternoon. This is what he does to relieve stress or get out of the "honey-do" list that he often gets on the weekends. Since this is his primary mode of transportation, he rides year round to work in the sun, snow, sleet, hail, subzero temperatures and sometimes even in the rain, this is a big deal. I think he is cleaning the chain in this picture. I just love that he's wearing his t-shirt from the Tour de Tykes, his first mountain bike race in which I believe he placed 4th in (just bragging a little bit) while we were living in Pennsylvania.

Ever since I have known Wally, he has ridden his bike everywhere. He had his mission bike for a long time after we were married and he even tracked it down after it was stolen (another story for another time). That shows some dedication, right? He had a hard time saying good-bye to that bike when the time came, but felt it was OK since he was getting a really nice one in its place. Thanks to another good friend, he took his riding to a whole new level. He started racing in mountain bike races a few years ago and only wishes that it wasn't so flat here in the midwest! His bike loving fever has trickled down to Brandon and it has been such a fun activity for us to do together as a family!


Oh, and did I mention, he's got some really nice looking legs?!




I am going to tag anyone who reads this blog. It should be interesting to see what is hiding in the depths of the picture folders on those computers of yours!

A Haircut to Remember

I decided that it was time to give Mr. B a new haircut since this is what he looked like:

Being the boy that he is, he DID NOT want to cut his hair. I tried everything including the promise of a treat when we were done. He finally consented, only if Dad would cut it, not me. So, as I handed over the clippers to Wally, I had no idea what was going to happen next. Things started out just fine, but dad started to lose patience with such a wiggly little guy that he asked him if he just wanted a buzz cut. "Sure!" Brandon said, not fully understanding what a buzz cut was. Much to my dismay, Wally shaved off ALL of Brandon's hair. This really shouldn't be that big of a deal since it is the beginning of summer, except that Brandon has such light blonde hair that when he has such short hair it looks like he doesn't have any hair at all. He is now our little toe-head. This is what he looked like when Wally was done:


That's right. He did not like it at all! After lots of tears and the promise that Dad would cut his hair just like his, this is what we ended up with:


Brandon now thinks that he looks pretty cool, because he looks like his dad.


I guess the best part is that we won't have to do haircuts again until the end of the summer.

All you ever wanted to know...

Riding shotgun on our Hummer Safari ride in Moab, Utah

I was tagged again, but this time I get to write about Wally!

What is his name? Walter Fred Paxton, although he prefers to be called Wally. I must admit that I prefer it too.

How long have you been married? 8 1/2 years

How long did you date? 5 months before we got engaged, and then another 9 months before we were married.

How old is he? 32

Who eats more sweets? Usually me. Every once in a while he gets a sweet tooth that is pretty strong and we usually don't have anything around the house to satisfy his craving.

Who said I love you first? Wally did. "I'm a chicken!" (Ha, ha!)

Who is taller? Wally, but not by very much.

Who can sing better? Have you ever sat next to Wally at church? You can be the judge on that one.

Who is smarter? Considering that he is a Doctor of Chemistry and looking to lead his own academic group someday, I'd have to say him. He may be smarter but I am always right.

Who does the laundry? I do. Wally likes to help by getting a load started in the washer and then going to work.

Who pays the bills? We both do.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Right now, Wally is. We switch when we need to.

Who mows the lawn? We don't have a lawn mower anymore. It was a casualty of the move.

Who cooks dinner? I do mostly, but Wally cooks breakfast every morning (I know, I'm so spoiled!) and homemade pizza every Saturday night.

Who drives? Wally does. I'm the navigator.

Who is more stubborn? Anyone who knows us knows the answer to that one. Easily.

Who kissed who first? Wally kissed me first, I wasn't bold enough to make the first move.

Who asked who out first? Wally asked me out first and I turned him down. There was some unfinished business I needed to take care of before I would go out with him.

Who proposed? Wally proposed at Temple Square, just after Thanksgiving when they turned on all the lights. It was sweet, but we did a redo a couple weeks later (after he got the ring resized) since there were so many people on the temple grounds.

Who has more siblings? Wally has 9 siblings, I have 6.

Who wears the pants? Wally definitely wears the pants, after I pick them out.

Like Father, Like Son

Enough said.