Friday, September 30, 2011

The Newest Wampler

Hooray for the new baby!


Michael and Amanda had their first baby boy this morning at 8:33 a.m. Yay! They arrived at the hospital for an induction at 9:00 the night before. Everyone is doing well.


Mr. Baby Wampler weighed in at 7 lbs. 8 oz. and measured 19.5 inches long. And he'll have a name soon enough. ;)


Good job, guys. Nicely done.

September Dump

It's no grand secret that I've been having a rough time in these few weeks since Ben was born...hopefully we'll get better sooner rather than later. So far, though, I've already missed quite a few nice posts that could have been had for the enjoyment of all. But, I never wrote them. Eh. We'll just put them all together now.

A while back Lisa and I took all our kids to Wheeler Farm...



Two weeks ago, we all went to This is the Place Park for L3's annual company picnic. They got to ride the horses, which they thoroughly enjoyed.



But they really LOVED the little playhouse village. We spent far more time there than anywhere else.



Maybe, just maybe, Megan enjoyed the watermelon more. She just wouldn't stop eating it...


We have missed Chris around our house lately. He's been quite busy with testing at work, in addition to which he's still been working on getting his car fixed. It's fixed now--head gaskets and new radiator successfully installed. Yay!! Thank you again, Lisa and Christian, for letting us borrow the Taurus.


Perhaps because we've missed it so much lately, I makes me extra happy when I can see my kids playing with their dad.



About a month ago, we took Ben to Primary Children's to have his hips x-rayed. Nothing to be concerned about, it's just a better-safe-than-sorry check because he was breech. I took this picture in the waiting room.


I've taken more pictures. I can't help it. He's my little man. I also think it's funny when he falls asleep in amusing positions and places. Like a bed that's about 100 times his size.






My kids are pretty cute together, too.




Good times.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Commemoration

It's often considered traditional to commemorate the honeymoon on major anniversaries--fifth, tenth, twentieth, etc. We decided to follow that tradition and return to our own honeymoon destination. Where was that?

Lagoon


Yes, that's where we went for our honeymoon, and that's where we went on Saturday. Thank you, Mom, for watching the girls and thank you, Amy, for keeping Ben for an entire day. You guys are awesome.

We were much more interested in riding the rides and flirting with each other than taking pictures, so I only have a few select shots to share. We happened to attend during Frightmares, so they had a few extra attractions set up...

Like fun house mirrors.


And...dead guys. Cool.


This isn't my most romantic picture collection ever, but I want to say that I LOVE MY HUSBAND. I feel very special to be married to him. We've made it five years--that's pretty darn good by society's standards nowadays. Here's to many, many, many more years. I'm betting on eternity, babe. Love you!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

For Amanda

My sister-in-law's first baby is due today. She's tired of all the questions, comments, and sympathy that come with still being pregnant. Ladies, you can relate. It has put me in mind of just a few of the obnoxious things people said to me during the last few weeks of my pregnancies, along with how I wished I had responded. Don't worry, I never actually said any of these things. I just wanted to. Pregnancy does some ugly things...

#5
"Haven't you had that baby yet?"

"You're as fat as I am. Where's your baby?"

#4
"With that shirt on, you don't really look pregnant."

"With those pants on, you look really fat, too."

#3
"Rub the buddha!"

Just start rubbing their face. Then maybe they'll get the idea of personal boundaries.

#2
"Just hang in there. You're almost done."

"Shut up or I'll break your face."

Ok, really, I never had a good comeback to this one. But it drove me crazy when people said it.

And finally,

#1
"You're pregnant? 
You do know how that happens, right?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

How would you respond to that? 10,000 points to the person who gives me the best retort.
And yes, someone actually said that to me. A mother, even. Maybe it took her longer to figure out...

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Dos ... ... how do you say months in spanish?

So much for a short and to-the-point post title that stated the bare facts while adding a little multilingual spice. Better luck next time.

3 Days


One Month


Two Months


We did better this time--smiling is better than screaming. Even though this outfit has a hint of prison escapee to it. But hey, no complaints on free clothes.

His face isn't quite as smiley in this one, but check out his leg. This kid is tall. He can already stretch past the end of his seat and he's only two months old. The infant carrier might not last as long this time around...


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

5 years later...


Happy Anniversary to us!
Sept. 21, 2006 - Sept. 21, 2011


Saturday, September 17, 2011

Someone Else's Story

Chris and the girls went to Aberdeen without me. Don't feel sorry for me--that was the whole point. I needed a break, and I figured they would appreciate having something to do beyond me just being gone. I also guessed that I would have a better break if they were 200 miles away without any expectation of me being available...

While I did have Chris's support, I think he was subconciously against leaving. Or at least he was hesitant to leave town too quickly. We all said goodbye at 9:30 Friday morning. At 9:35, Chris called and informed me that he had forgotten to eat breakfast. I hadn't eaten yet, either, so we met up at McDonald's. Yeah, that goodbye lasted a long time. But breakfast was tasty.


The next goodbye lasted a bit longer. Chris made it all the way to Kaysville--that fateful off-ramp where we ran out of gas on Thanksgiving 2009. In the metro. When Megan was the same age Ben is now. Flashback! The metro started billowing all kinds of smoke on the freeway. They managed to get off, check out a few things, then slowly (very slowly) drive back to Salt Lake on Highway 89.

I got the phone call while mindlessly ambling through Walmart. I was certain my retreat was cancelled then and there. But never fear! Grandpa Jeff and Uncle Christian saved the day.


We met back up, Chris took the van, and I borrowed the Taurus. The same Taurus that belonged to us when Jane was born. That car I drove back when I only had one kid, and I was using it on the weekend when I only had one kid with me. Flashback!


At this point, though, Chris and the girls had already been sitting in a car for about two hours. Didn't seem like the best time to start another 3 1/2 hour drive. So, they went to McDonald's (again) to get some lunch and burn off some energy to encourage naps.



I had already ditched back out, had had a relaxing lunch alone, and was mindlessly ambling through Barnes and Noble when I got another phone call. Chris had locked his keys in the van. See what I mean about subconciously not wanting to leave?

But they did actually leave that time. And it only took four goodbyes, all told. What can I say--they like me.

Here's where I feel like I'm cheating a little bit and telling someone else's story. I (obviously) wasn't there, so I can only go by what's in the pictures and what limited stories I've heard from Chris and Jane. I'd add Megan's stories, too, but she doesn't really talk much.

It appears that they played basketball.


I think they were cheating, though. I'm pretty sure that move isn't permitted in the NBA.


Jane's fascination with the camera resurfaced yet again, to her credit, I think.


But look, she was in one of the pictures, too. Yay!


I heard that Jane prayed that they could go to the park, so they went to the park. Remember, God often answers blessings through other people. Like a little girl's dad.



And introducing one of Megan's best pictures ever. I would have posted it in the "Yay Megan" post, but I felt like it was stealing from this post. So I'll show it now.


See. Adorable. No denying it.

They fed horses.


I think. It might be that they looked at horses and fed themselves.


On Saturday, they went to the zoo in Idaho Falls with Amanda. They had maps there. Jane told me all about that one.


They had animals there, too. Surprise! I bet you hadn't guessed they'd have animals at the zoo. I know they did because I saw the pictures.




They even let you touch some of the animals.


Here's where it's good to be with Dad. Mom won't play that game. Like I told Chris this morning--I believe in equality. I dislike all animals equally.


It was a good trip overall, I think. They all seemed to enjoy it from what I hear. I know they missed me though. When Chris and I first met in Alaska, he bought us a pair of stuffed moose. He took mine with him to Idaho, and it earned a special seat on the ride home on Sunday.


I told you he missed me. Sometimes, it's good to be wanted.