Weekend with Grandpa

These pictures are from about 2 weeks ago when Nate's dad stayed with us for a few days. Jansen and Natalie absolutely love him and we had a wonderful weekend.

Muff

I was supposed to use it in a marinade. But it was a long morning. And is it wrong that I am pretending that I can't hear Jansen calling to me from his room?

My Mother

The Chipmunks said it best:

("My Mother" from the movie Chipmunk Adventure)

It’s hard to remember
A summer or winter
When she hasn’t been there for me

A friend and companion
I can always depend on
My mother
That’s who I mean

I’ve taken for granted
seeds that she planted
She’s always behind every thing

A teacher a seeker
A both arms outreacher
My mother
That’s who I mean

Wish I could slow down
The hands of time
keep things the way they are
If she said so
I would give her the world
If I could… I would

My love and my laughter
From here ever after
Is all that she says that she needs

A friend and companion
I can always depend on
My mother
That’s who I mean
My mother
That’s who I mean… that’s who I mean

The Last of 'Em

The last of the Tennessee vacation pictures! Mom, as these continue to drag on I hope you appreciate them.

Daddy and Natalie having breakfast:

At Ripley's Aquarium (the best one in the United States)

Oh dear, a picture without a person in it! Nate took it of course. It's the bottom side of some sort of shark thing with a saw coming out the front of it.
A little freaky

Down Memory Lane

Today is our 5 year anniversary! I thought you all might find these pictures enjoyable...and very funny if nothing else.

This picture was taken after we got married. The location of our first (and blind) date! We went to Los Hermanos in Provo, UT for dinner where Nate had the audacity to order fish tacos. Then we went next door to Comedy Sportz. The original date plan was to go ice skating which I quickly nixed because 1. It sounded awkward...lots of falling and grabbing onto each other 2. My nose gets red when I am cold

The location of our first kiss. It was so awkward. Kind of a foreheads together and suddenly now we are kissing kind of thing. I know you guys all love the details.

Oh I am so pregnant. This is where I told Nate that I had decided that I did indeed want to marry him. Remember people, these pictures were taken later. I was not carrying his child at the time I told him I wanted to get married.

Our first apartment. And the rest is history. Happy Anniversary Nate! I love you.

And Then We...

UPDATE:

Nate here. OK, I know moms care WAY more about the kids and the memories than the scenery and the destination itself, but I've got to step in on this one. Nowhere in this or the previous post is a mention of our actual destination: the Great Smoky Mountains. Full of lore (Davey Crockett, Daniel Boone, Injuns, etc), hillbillies like you wouldn't believe, bears (no joke!) and birds (if you've never heard a Whip-poor-will singin' in the holler, you haven't lived. ;) And if you don't know what I'm talking about, listen to Randy Travis while you read up on the Whip-poor-will and the holler.). OK, now you can read on about our vacation...By the way, the second to last picture is us on top of Clingman's Dome, aka "Ol' Smoky," highest mountain in Tennessee!

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This vacation proved to be a soul searching one for Natalie:

Contemplating the heavens:

Din din on the BBQ:

Natalie challenging Jansen to an intense game of Scrabble:

Slurp:
Jansen loved the waterfalls. He would always ask if we could stop and sit and watch them.

Tennessee

I find it pretty much impossible to just choose a couple pictures from our trip so I'll probably do a few posts. This is the first day or two in Tennessee.
Starting out:

Stopping for lunch in Kentucky:

At the cabin:

The view from the deck:

One of our hikes:
Jansen was so cute carrying the Camelbak and keeping Natalie hydrated.

Hiking with toddlers:

Taking a break:

Daddy Time

Nate had this past week off...I don't know if I can think of anything more wonderful! We went on a little family vacation to Tennessee (pictures coming!) and did lots around the house like washing the cars, cleaning the carpets, and starting a tiny garden.

Ancraophobia

Jansen's first soccer game didn't go so well. The evil, evil wind was blowing about so Jansen would not play. He did not even step on the field. I know I have mentioned this many times on my blog, but for those who don't know, Jansen has a fear of the wind and of things blowing away. I feel really bad for him because he is so genuinely frightened...and frankly I was a very fearful/careful child myself so I can understand where he is coming from. I was deathly afraid of fireworks, earthquakes, my grandparent's boat tipping over, and more. He just wanted to go sit in the car and kept saying, "Things are going to blow away!" We have to start somewhere though and I am glad he is getting exposure to the sport and having fun when it's not windy. I just hope we never have a tornado here!

Down on the Farm

We had a fabulous time at the Slate Run Historical Farm on Thursday. I got us lost of course but it was not my fault...I guess Google doesn't have ALL the answers. But we made it, and as you can see, the kids enjoyed themselves. There WERE some really cute animals (baby pigs, sheep, etc.) but I have this thing about taking pictures...I won't take a picture unless there is a person in it...and there just weren't very many opportunities for that.