Perkins Posts

Playdates

2012-02-08T11:33:00.001-08:00

Being a stay at home mom is not the most glamorous of jobs, but I must say that it has some perks. Besides being able to stay in my pajamas all day if I want to, I think that being able to go on playdates during the week has to be the greatest perk of all. We've had some fun times lately!

We met up with my BFF, Lisa, at the train park in Scottsdale last week. It's pretty funny to watch our boys play together because they are totally different. Example:

Her little guy, Liam, loves to run all over the playground and slide down every slide. Owen likes to stop and dig in dirt or just sit and watch the other kids. He's totally afraid of slides. I was so excited because at this park, Owen went down 2 slides all by himself! The first one was a spiral slide and he loved it because it went slow. Then he chose the steepest slide in the playground (pictured above), went way faster than he wanted and hit his head. Needless to say, he won't be going down anymore slides by himself for a while. It was hilarious, though!

On the train ride! I love how the only kid looking in this pic isn't ours.

Then there was the tour of a real train. The kiddos loved to run up and down the main hall.

Then this past Monday I met up with one of my other BFFs for a day at the Wildlife World Zoo! They had turtles in their petting zoo...we loved it!

The baby goats were ridiculously cute. Owen would tell them "no" every time they would try to eat his shirt. Then he'd position himself just right behind them and try to pick them up!

We showed up at just the right time to feed some of the birds. They were a little crazy at first!

Then things calmed down. Seriously...how cool is this?

Owen's favorite bird was the white peacock that he kept trying to catch.

Owen loved all his Shannon time and was even asking for her the next day. :)

Giraffes! 50 cents buys you food to feed them and it was totally worth it. Look at his big, nasty tongue!

I always know if it's a fun morning for Owen when he zonks out in the car. He was out within 5 minutes this time.

Snow! Well, sorta.

2012-01-29T20:21:00.000-08:00

We went up to visit Russ's parents in Pinedale, AZ, this weekend for a very short little getaway. Sometimes it's just nice to be away from home! We've been waiting for weeks for there to be lots of snow on the ground so we could go play in it with Owen but AZ keeps getting warmer and warmer, not snowier! So we decided to just go up anyway.

Owen's first snow experience. Pathetic! It was all hard and icy. He did think it was pretty cool, though.

Rockin' the monster beanie.

And what's up with Owen sitting still for long periods of time when Grandma P reads to him?!? I get like 2 minutes tops when I do it! Oh, well. I'm glad he loves his Grandma P.

And the two highlights of this trip: beating Russ at Yahtzee TWICE and us getting 9 hours of sleep on Saturday night. We needed that!

Best Friends

2012-01-19T19:46:00.000-08:00

Owen has a new best friend. He can't go to bed without "Gator" and I've even caught him trying to give Gator a drink out of his sippy cup and feed him some of his crackers! That is friendship in its truest form, right there.

Gone Too Fast

2012-01-05T19:11:00.000-08:00

Every year Russ gets the week between Christmas and New Years off from work. We look forward to it all year long! We love all the extra time to just hang out and do fun things together. Here's some highlights from our recent week off:

We took Owen for a hike. It's been a long time since we all went together. He went in the pack for most of it but then we let him out to walk back some of the way. He was in heaven...this boy loves the outdoors!

He loves his new hat from Aunt Kim. :)

We met up with our friends, Lisa and Nick and their little Liam, at an aquarium in Tempe. This place was cool!

Buddies.

There were little tunnels all over that you could crawl in and get to these bubble things in the middle of the aquariums. We loved the close up of all the little Nemos!

Starfish! Lots of different colors.

Do you see those crabs in the back? Totally real and totally freaky.

Owen loves shoes. All shoes...including mommy's. Russ HATES when he puts mine on since they are women's shoes, but he does it anyway. He walked around for like 15 minutes last Sunday in my church heels. I told Russ it was okay because he was wearing manly camo shorts. :)

I'd say the best part of the week off has to be all the extra Owen and daddy bonding time. I sure do love these boys!

On top of that, we had a game night with friends, went to a family party, went to a movie and rented 2 movies. We haven't watched a movie in months! Now we just gotta win the lottery so we can hang out this much all the time!

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-26T20:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas was awesome this year! There was lots of time with family, great food, lots of laughs, a big fat nap and I love it when Christmas falls on a Sunday because then there is church too. We spent Christmas Eve with my family and Christmas Day we saw both families. Owen didn't get what all the excitement was about, but he still had fun pulling everything out of his stocking and playing with new toys. His favorite was a 5 pack of those little rubber bouncy balls that I got from the dollar store. He threw them all over the house and ran after them screaming...I love how the simplest things can entertain this kid!

My niece, Shelby, helping me snitch some olives before Christmas Eve dinner.

My newest niece, Gemma. You can tell that I'm her favorite aunt by how she's smiling at me.

Our white elephant exchange was fun this year. My nephew, Kade, was the first recipient of the goldfish!

The highlight was when Kade opened Eric's present...an old wornout pair of his underwear. Kade ran over and threw them in his face!

Modeling said underwear.

Luckily there was an underwear repair kit available. And how did I not notice that I spelled "underwear" wrong until I looked at this picture???

Excited that it's Christmas morning! Okay, he's really just excited because mama and dada are, but it was still fun!

Opening his stocking. I got all the fabric to make us all cute matching stockings this year and am so mad at myself because I put it off for too long and then ran out of time! Lame. But Owen was happy to pull everything out of one of Russ's old socks. :)

Owen wasn't in to ripping open all his gifts this year. I had to tear some paper off and he would peak inside and eventually uncover it. Sweet boy!

The big gift this year...a bike!!! It's green with light brown leather seats and handles and I'm madly in love with it!!! Russ is in trouble because he kept telling me that we were going small on gifts this year and then he got me this. Lies. We're gonna go get him one this week so it'll be even, I suppose. We're still debating (aka fighting) about what kind of contraption to get so Owen can ride along too. Can't wait!

Maybe Russ really got it for himself? :)

Owen all tuckered out after a fun, busy and GREAT Christmas!

It's Christmas Time!

2011-12-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

I love all the fun things that December brings! There was a Christmas festival thingy over in Glendale that we went to last week. There was a live nativity...which means there were live animals! My husband gets abnormally excited about live animals. My child is a toddler, so naturally he was excited too.

Bunny.

Chick.

Scary rooster/chicken thing.

Owen met Santa at our ward Christmas party. This meeting did not go well.

And our annual Eagar family trip to see the temple lights was tonight. We met up at Cafe Rio beforehand, which also makes my husband abnormally excited. Owen LOVED the lights this year and would have touched each and every little light if we'd let him. He definitely slowed us down, but his excitement added to the fun!

Owen went up to some random lady and started pointing to the lights and saying some nonsense to her. They had a whole conversation and she fell in love with him.

My brother's little girl, Gemma, that they just adopted. How can you not love that face!?

Owen was showing us how he "smi"s for the camera on our drive home. Lookin' good, little buddy!

Owen and our Christmas tree. He's only broken one ornament this year. Not bad. And I absolutely love when I turn the lights on and he whispers "Wow!" and stares in amazement...it's so cute!

Recipes and Randoms

2011-12-01T12:55:00.000-08:00

I've had some good luck with recipes lately. Particularly for breakfast (except for those banana bread pancakes I made on Tuesday...not good). Anyway, thought I'd share:

Egg Nog French Toast
1 loaf yummy bread...I always use challah bread for french toast, cut to about 1/2 inch or thicker slices. It's perfect.
2 eggs
1 1/2 to 2 cups egg nog
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp butter (I skipped this and just sprayed my skillet with non-stick cooking spray)

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir together eggs, egg nog, cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar in a shallow dish. Dredge the sliced bread into the mixture and cook in skillet until golden on each side. Serve with fresh maple syrup, fresh berries, and powdered sugar for garnish.

Pumpkin Pie French Toast
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons brown sugar
8 slices of bread (again...I use that yummy challah bread)

Mix the eggs, milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, mutmeg and brown sugar in low flat bowl for easy dipping. Dip the bread into the egg mixture on both sides and grill in a pan until lightly golden brown, about 2-3 minute per side. Serve with maple syrup.

Crispy Sweet Potato Fries with a Sriracha Dipping Sauce
I've made lots of sweet potato fries over the years with mixed results, but have made these twice and both times they turned out perfect. YUM. The dipping sauce is pretty spicy but I really liked it. Could cut back on the cayenne if you want less kick.
2-3 sweet potatoes
2 Tbsp corn starch
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
parchment paper
salt
1/2 cup mayo
1 tsp sriracha (if you don't know what this is, google it...you for sure have seen it before. any major grocer carries it in the foreign foods isle.)
1/4 tsp ground cayenne

Mix the mayo, sriracha and cayenne to make your dip. Store in the fridge so it's cold. Cut potatoes into strips, kinda thin but not shoestring. Soak them in water for at least one hour (the recipe said this was optional but I do it...not sure if it helps or not). Put the corn starch in a plastic bag, followed by the potatoes. Shake to coat. Put parchment paper on a baking sheet (don't skip this!) and then spread the fries on. Drizzle with olive oil (too much makes soggy fries, so use your best judgement) and salt. Mix up with hands to coat. Spread fries out on sheet so they are not touching each other (that's important too). You might need 2 sheets to do that. Bake on 425 degrees for 15 mins. Flip fries with spatula and cook for 5 more minutes. Enjoy!

Owen had a blast helping me bake pies last week for Thanksgiving. He was obviously a big helper.

My Christmas wreath. I still need to paint the "P" I got and put it on so it's not lopsided but I think it's pretty cute!

Owen and his neighbor girlfriend playing with the bubble machine yesterday. Owen loves "bubbo" and the weather has been so amazing for the last week!

Pictures

2011-11-26T18:19:00.001-08:00

About a month ago I met up with a friend for a playdate full of running through fountains and eating strawberries. Our boys are just 5 days apart so it was really fun to get together. She brought her camera to capture some of the fun. Not bad for a budding photographer, eh?

I love this face!:

Mad Mud Run

2011-11-20T18:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the funnest running race ever! Mad Mud Run. I convinced a couple friends from my ward to join in on the fun and I was so glad they came! Lisa Dyer (she was my counselor when I was Primary president) and Susana Graser (she's the current RS president that I work with) were the perfect people to go with...so fun. It was a 4 mile (3.9, actually, but I like to round up!) run out in the desert with obstacles along the way (like climbing a wall and crawling under some netting and hurdles) and then a big huge mud pit at the end that you have to go through. Sounds fun, right? :)

My cheerleaders! Owen and Russ got there right before we started. Russ definitely gets husband of the year award for being there early!

Apparently Owen made lots of friends while I was out running.

Lisa going through the mud pit...

Followed by Susana...

And then me!

And then Susana throwing mud in my face!

Such a fun time!

Trick or Treat

2011-11-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Halloween is way more fun when you have a kid! We went to my brother Wade's ward's trunk or treat party on Friday and then last night we met up with all the local Eagar cousins for some real trick or treating. My brother Eric's neighborhood has a street that they close off so no cars can come through and all the houses are decorated and people sit out front to pass out candy. It was pretty cool. Fox News was even there and Owen had a whole 3 second shot on the 9 o'clock news last night! He's famous.

Excited to be in his costume for the first time.

My bff, Shannon, teaching him how it's done.

It didn't take him long to realize that if he kept standing there, people would give him more and more candy.

Fueling up for Halloween night!

All the cousins that went! Cute bunch.

Shelby wins for best costume. She insisted on being a slide this year so her mom finally made it happen. At least 10 people told her that it was the best costume they'd seen all night!

Oakley was a close second in his owl costume!

Owen was totally pooped by the end of the night...a sure sign of a fun night.

Not Bad For A Monday

2011-10-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

Today was such a fun day! I had plans this morning to meet my mom at Tolmachoff Farm out in Glendale. They have a fall festival each year and their stuff is perfect for kids that are Owen's age! I wouldn't say it was super exciting for my mom or myself, but we had fun watching Owen have fun (or at least my mom SAID she had fun!).

Then tonight for FHE we let Owen paint a pumpkin...

He had a blast with it for approximately 2 minutes, which is when Russ started to build a fire in our fire pit (which is really just a big hole that Russ dug up in the corner of our yard a few weeks ago).

After that Owen only wanted to hang out with daddy. I will not complain about that! We tried our first ever dutch oven pizza for dinner. It looks pretty delicious, right?

Until you flip it over, that is!

Oh well, it was fun to try and if you scraped off the bottom half of the pizza it wasn't too awful. :) Looks like we will be experimenting with the dutch oven a lot more in the near future...we gotta get good at this!

18 Months Already!

2011-10-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

Time sure if flyin' over here and I can't believe that Owen is already 18 months old! He gets more fun every day. He also gets messier and louder and a tad more defiant every day too but it's all part of the fun, right? Right. Anyway, I wrote down a few things that I don't want to forget about him at this age...I love this boy!

He says “tantu” (thank you) when you hand him something and often follows it with “welco” (you’re welcome) since that’s what mommy says.

LOVES nursery and the nursery leader last week told Russ that Owen plays better than all the kids in there even though he’s the youngest. I’m sure it was exaggerated but I was so proud to hear that!

This kid loves to be outside and asks (it’s more like a demand, really) about 10 times each day to go “si” (outside) and freaks out if you don’t let him. We’re very much looking forward to nicer weather next week!

He exclaims “hi” really loudly and waves every time you open his door to get him from his nap. It’s the cutest thing ever.

He also says "hi" to random people all the time while out running errands or when friends come to our door.

He loves to rip your nose off and say “nose” and poke your eyes out when he says “eye”. He loves to name other body parts too, such as “hair”, “teef” (teeth), “bubbo” (belly), and “ear”.

He's getting better at eating with a spoon or fork, although his face, clothes and high chair area are just as messy as if he weren't using one at all.

He loves to open books and point out what he knows. His favorite is a Christmas book that Grandma Perkins gave him that says “ho, ho, ho” really loudly when you get to the last page. He opens and closes that page over and over each day.

The other night we were on a walk and taught him the word moon. We were driving in the car a night or two later and he kept exclaiming “moo!” and we finally realized that he was pointing at the moon outside the window. What a smart boy!

Loves, loves, LOVES to give high five and says “yay” each time he does it. Even to total strangers.

He asks for a “nack” (snack) or “dink” (drink) all day long and would never stop eating of you let him. His current favorite foods are applesauce, any kind of bean, mandarin oranges and “cacko” (crackers).

He yells “amen” at the end of prayers, even if it’s at a quiet part of church. He loves to fold his arms too.

He gives the messiest, slobberiest kisses.

He loves to say “ya” after almost any question. So we love to ask him lots of amusing questions such as “do you love mommy more than daddy?” just to hear him answer.

Other words he loves include: “tuck” (stuck), “dow” (down), “up”, “show” (shower), “wussah” (what’s that?), “doggy”, “uh oh”, “bite”, "gen" (again) and his favorite…“no”.

Free At Last!

2011-10-09T12:34:00.001-07:00

Owen went into nursery for the first time today and did AWESOME! I'm so happy! He's not supposed to go for 2 more weeks but the nursery leaders had pity on me since I needed to conduct RS today and Russ had to visit another ward. I literally set him down in the room and he ran off to play and never looked back. Such a proud momma!

I Love My Seesters

2011-10-09T07:11:00.001-07:00

About once a year us Eagar girls like to get together for some girly-ness. And that's exactly what we've been up to the last couple days. Both of my sisters flew in from out of state and a couple of my sister-in-laws joined for some of the festivities. Eagar boys are fun too, but sometimes you need to hang out with only girls!!!

A hike was necessary so we could pig out later. :)

We went to visit our Grandma Eagar who lives in a nursing home. She has no idea what she's talking about these days but she still loves to joke around and is super sweet.

Owen was pretty scared of her. This is him saying "no, no, no".

"Please come save me, mommy."

Lunch was at Cheesecake Factory. We each ordered our own piece of cheesecake and would take one bite and pass to the right so we could try all the flavors...definitely a good thing that we went on that hike!

That's where the picture taking stopped. That night our friend, Susie Lundberg, taught us how to make some of her amazing jewelry out of stained glass. She charged us next to nothing and I totally regret not making more!

Then the whole Eagar Clan (yes, brothers were invited to this) got together for our family favorite...Navajo tacos! Heavenly.

The next day was lunch at Windsor (my current favorite restaurant...all you Phoenicians need to check it out!) and then we saw The Help. Any of you with little kids can understand how rare and wonderful it is to see a movie in a theater...I was so excited! And the movie was pretty much awesome. I do hate crying in movies, though.

All in all it was a great weekend. I love being a girl!

Dating For 1 Year Olds

2011-10-04T22:06:00.000-07:00

Owen's favorite girlfriend, Riley, came over for a little playdate this afternoon. I always have so much fun watching these two interact!

There was some snack sharing.

Apparently the conversation was really good!

Owen is such a gentleman and always gets the door for his ladies.

Okay, so Riley has been into giving kisses for months. Owen usually pushes her away and knocks her over in the process but yesterday we were teaching him how to give us kisses so he thought it'd be fun to practice on Riley. She didn't seem to mind!

I forgot to mention that Riley gives open-mouth kisses!

Don't worry, Grandma and Grandpa...this date was 100% supervised and I don't think their lips ever really touched. And in all seriousness, my child is not allowed to date until he's 45! Until then kisses are reserved only for his momma and occasionally his daddy.

How Teenagers Watch General Conference

2011-10-04T21:47:00.001-07:00

This is a nephew of ours that shall remain nameless. But I want to throw out there that I LOVED conference this year. Not sure if it was the crepes (my first time making them and they were deee-licious!) or because Owen was wandering around and kept me more alert, but I thought all the talks were extra good this year and I can't wait to reread them in the Ensign!

Family and Freaths

2011-09-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend up in Pinedale with the whole Perkins Clan to welcome Russ's parents home from their mission. It was a fun and relaxing weekend and the weather was pretty much divine.

Nieces Megan and Kamryn after some hardcore weed pulling.

Kamryn and Owen having a little chat. He loves his cousin Kamryn!

Owen never got sick of wandering around outside and rolling in the dirt up there...this kid is all boy!

And in case anyone cares...I finished my Halloween wreath today that I've been working on and I think it turned out so cute!

The end.

Change Is Good...I Think.

2011-09-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

I got released from being Primary President today. I'm not gonna lie...10 months was just not enough of that fun calling! I miss it already. I was so excited to teach Sharing Time today and had it all set up for Ammon to come out of our time machine and tell us all about how he was a great missionary and I had to miss it...sad. But I got a new calling as 1st Counselor in Relief Society so there will be lots of fun and challenging experiences ahead with that. Bring 'em on!

And I just gotta share this picture. We went camping Friday night and it was FREEZING but I couldn't complain too much because I got to cuddle with this all night!

Such a lucky mommy.

We're Gardeners!

2011-09-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

Russ and I planted our first ever garden on Saturday. It's been pretty fun to go outside and water it and watch Owen try to eat the manure. And this morning we have our first little plant popping up...we might actually get some produce out of this thing! We planted cucumbers, carrots, 2 kinds of broccoli, butternut squash (against Russ's wishes), green onion, garlic, basil and cilantro. Yum!

Hello, Mr. Cucumber.

Look at the cute garden markers I made! I love them. Did you know that Anthropologie sells a set of 3 very similar to this for $28? What a rip off.

Owen helping mommy water the garden. You would think that I planted seeds in the wall with how much water I'm spraying there...sheesh!

And just in case any of you (meaning the 3 people that actually read my blog) forgot...yesterday was my birthday! Despite feeling a bit under the weather for the last week, it was a pretty great day. Russ came home for a few hours in the middle of the day and let me go get a massage and my first ever facial! It was heavenly. And then after he got off work, we went on a short dinner date, followed by my parents stopping by with brownies, candles and ice cream. I was a happy camper. :)

Like Mother, Like Son

2011-08-29T09:33:00.001-07:00

Last night I was on the computer (probably stalking people on Facebook or on their blogs while thinking of all the things I should be doing) and I could hear Russ and Owen totally cracking up in the other room. This is definitely one of my favorite sounds. I assumed that Russ was chasing him around the bedroom like usual or wrestling with him or something to this effect, but when I went in to check I found this:

Yes, Russ was drawing a smiley face on my child's belly and they both thought it was the funniest thing in the entire world! I went in my baby book this morning to dig up this gem of a picture:

Yep, that's me. It appears that Owen is more like his momma than I previously thought! He's definitely cuter, though.

Just Beachy

2011-08-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

We got back yesterday from 4 wonderful days at the beach! Russ's boss has a beach house in Oxnard, CA that he lets employees use. The house was BEAUTIFUL...right on the beach, huge windows looking out at the beach, tons of room...it was perfect. We are so grateful that they let us use it! Our friends, Nick and Lisa and their little guy Liam came with us. It was good times!

The little guys had a ton of fun playing in the sand.

Liam had a runny nose...I thought this pic was too cute! Gross, but cute.

We headed over to the Santa Barbara Zoo one day. It was a pretty cool zoo and the weather was pretty much awesome.

After the train ride around the zoo.

There was a pretty cool park not too far from where we were staying. The grass there was actually green and soft! Living in AZ, we tend to forget that that's what grass is supposed to be like!

Owen's favorite part of the whole house the window sill in the living room. He loved to run back and forth while daddy freaked out because he didn't want him to fall. Look at the size of that window and the gorgeous view!

Russ and Nick rented fishing poles and tried to catch a shark or something in the ocean from the shore. Needless to say, there were no sharks caught. Just one teeny tiny fish.

I finally convinced Russ to rent a 6 person bike with me. He agreed that it was fun, although they are much more work than riding a regular bicycle! We rode around the harbor.

Owen loved it too and looked adorable in his helmet.

Chillin' on the beach in some random hats we found in the house.

Owen's favorite thing to do on the beach was for daddy to bury his legs...

...and then he'd pull 'em out and squeal all excitedly!

Such a cute picture.

Owen kickin' back and enjoying a yummy dinner.

Saying goodbye right before heading to the airport. Hopefully we'll get to go back someday!

Blueberries and Sisters

2011-08-02T08:56:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I need a break from cold cereal in the mornings. Not to mention that Owen is starting the phase of wanting to eat only what mom and dad are eating and I'm not about to give my 1 year old a bowl of cold cereal...that's a messy disaster waiting to happen! Anyway, I tried these recipes and they are super delicious. The blueberry sauce is pretty much amazing. I like the pancakes too, but they definitely have a hearty and wheaty taste and aren't sweet. So they need to be paired with something delicious on top.

WHOLE WHEAT BUTTERMILK PANCAKES
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup canola oil (I only used a Tbsp or 2)
2 cups buttermilk
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup wheat germ (I used wheat bran since that's what I had on hand. Worked just fine.)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, oil and buttermilk. Stir in other ingredients and mix until just blended. Heat a lightly oiled griddle. Pour 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake.

BLUEBERRY BREAKFAST SAUCE
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup water
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in water. Add blueberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Serve warm or cold over french toast, waffles or pancakes. (Some of the reviews online also said that this is good on ice cream. And they also said they've tried it with strawberries, raspberries and blackberries and that they were all delicious!)

I spent 4 days last week in Utah with one of my sisters, Carolyn. It was a nice break from the AZ heat! And it is always fun to hang out with her and her kiddos. And one of my other nieces from California was there visiting so that was an added bonus! Here's some of the highlights:

Their dog had 8 adorable puppies, so we had to spend lots of time outside playing with them! Owen for some reason liked the momma dog best and I kept finding pieces of dog food in Owen's mouth...yuck! At least it wasn't dog poop, right?

The 3 of us went to Lagoon. My first time! This was on the train that takes you to see some wild animals. Owen didn't pay any attention to ANY of them. The most excited he got was when some regular ol' bird was on the side of the train!

About to get shot straight up. SO fun!

They had some kiddo rides. Owen loved the car...

but hated the boats!

My old roommie, Tara, drove all the way up from Provo area to see us! Her little boy is only 11 days younger than Owen so it was fun to see them together.

And her new little baby, Levi. He totally made me want another one!

Owen kept sneaking back into Carolyn's pantry and stealing all her cereal. This kid never stops eating!

It was a fun few days and went by way too fast. There, of course, was a little shopping and a chick flick and good food mixed in there too. We are glad to be back home with Russ and to get back to normal. There's no place like home!

A Reunion and a Parting

2011-07-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

We just got back from four days in the lovely...Junction, Utah! Okay, Junction itself is nothing to brag about but there sure were some pretty spots all around it. Mom Perkins's family has a big Thacker Reunion every other year and they are tons of fun! So here's how it went down...

The 8 hour road trip up went pretty darn well. It took some entertaining of Owen to keep him happy but he's pretty easy to entertain. He has a strange love for my purse and wallet so that kept him entertained for a good hour.

We were staying in an old courthouse that is now rented out to big groups. It was a pretty cool setup. This is me enjoying the hammock outside. I gotta get me one!

Day 2 we had the family Olympics! This is little Logan carrying the Olympic torch before the games began. So cute! Games included a relay race, the "Shoe Spaghetti Scramble" (big pile of shoes and everyone pushing each other to get their own...good times!), "gymnastics" (flipping water bottles and trying to get them to stick their landing), and many more ridiculous but fun games.

Owen's favorite game was the "100 yard dash" in which the 1 and 2 year olds had a race to see who could undo a whole roll of toilet paper first. Owen was in the lead at first, with both hands spinning the TP super fast, but then he got distracted. 3rd place out of 3 isn't that bad, right?

There was a family hike to Bullion Falls. SO pretty! I was impressed that all the kiddos made it. Good job, guys!

Owen sure loves hiking.

Enjoying the view and a break by the waterfall.

There was some fishing at the creek after the hike. Russ caught the first fish and his nephew, Matt (above), caught the other one. Again...so pretty!

Owen enjoyed a nice snack of puffs and rocks.

Russ and I went for an impromptu drive with Owen and somehow ended up finding Puffer Lake. It was beautiful! And the drive there was pretty much amazing. Probably my favorite part of the whole trip.

Seriously...how cute is that smile?!

Not the cutest picture of Owen but we had to stop and take a pic of this view!

Each family had to do a skit on the last night there. Ours was a visit from Russ's parents all the way from Nauvoo! Cecil was played by Darin (Russ's brother) and Linda was played by Russ. I'm not gonna lie...it was pretty funny. Good job to Michelle for writing such a good script!

And now for the sad and depressing part of our trip. This is Antoine, our 2 week old Honda Pilot that we were so excited to take on his first road trip! He made it there perfectly and we even were saying how much we loved it. Unfortunately, he didn't make it the entire time. Somehow a little rock shot through the front grill at high speeds and at the exact right angle to put a little hole in our radiator. I don't think I need to explain that holes in radiators aren't good. We didn't know what was causing the leak at first, so we had it towed to the nearest Honda dealership to get repaired. The bad news is that Honda dealership says that this kind of damage isn't covered by our warranty, which means we just paid $500 for a tow truck and $750 for a new radiator and our car is still in Utah without us because they couldn't get the part until next Tuesday. You can bet your bippy that we'll be trying to get some $$$ out of Honda for this!

Overall it was still a wonderful trip. I recently read a quote that reads "life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful"...that pretty much sums it up!

New Tricks

2011-07-18T09:16:00.001-07:00

So I know not everyone wants to hear every detail about my child's development, but I have to write it down somewhere. And here is where I write it. Owen has been learning a TON lately. It's so fun to watch! Here's a few of his latest tricks:

He loves phones. I love when he gets a hold of the house phone and walks around with it pressed up to his ear because he knows that's what mommy and daddy do.

(Not sure why he's sucking in here...just let it hang out, buddy!)

Whenever we're finished eating we say "all done" and Owen automatically throws his hands up in the air high above his head!

If you ask him where his belly is, he'll lift up his shirt and look at his big gut hanging out. And on a good day he'll start patting it too!

Of course, there's always the waving to daddy when he's leaving for work. Today he kept walking to the door and looking at me with a sad "when is daddy coming back?" look. It was really sweet.

He'll now sit in his starfish floaty in the pool without screaming as if I've left him to die or something. He's starting to really love the water.

And my personal favorite, when we get ready to bless the food or have family prayer, Owen will totally fold his arms when we tell him to. It's SO cute! Of course, this only lasts for approximately 2 seconds and is followed by him yelling during the rest of the prayer in an attempt to get our attention. Hey, you gotta start somewhere!

We love this kid!

Cry Baby

2011-07-12T15:04:00.001-07:00

Owen has started throwing little tantrums when he doesn't get his way. It is HILARIOUS! Maybe us laughing makes us bad parents but that's the way it is. The video is of him trying to climb onto the couch but can't reach and trying to open the drawers that we put locks on. Poor Owen...his life is so rough!

Sorry it's cut off a little bit...I can't figure out how to make it smaller!

Independence Day

2011-07-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

We had a great 4th of July weekend! We tried a new restaurant (2 thumbs up for Black Chile), rented a movie, had friends over for Sunday dinner, and the 4th was spent at the Friends' house for a BBQ, swimming and fireworks! What part of that doesn't sound great???

Owen hangin' out with his new buddy, Ben, after Sunday dinner.

Shannon made an amazing chocolate cake. Owen couldn't get enough.

Owen and Evan...still trying to decide if they like each other!

Me and my two favorite boys.

Friends and sparklers!

Owen's mouth hung open for every single firework.

The good stuff came out after dark!

Nauvoo Beautiful

2011-06-28T08:14:00.000-07:00

Russ and I got to spend 4 days in Nauvoo, Illinois this past week. It was a wonderful trip! Russ's parents are serving a mission there so it was fun to see them and to see all the amazing church history sites that are in that area. Sorry for the bazillion pictures...I can't help it!

The trip started out a little rough. We woke Owen up from his nap at 10:30 for a noon flight that didn't end up leaving until 4:30. Owen spent that extra 4 and a half hours wandering all over the airport and making friends. There was a huge youth conference on our flight going to Nauvoo...we ran into several of them again in Nauvoo and they'd always get excited and say "it's the baby from the airport!". I did learn something there, though...everyone wants to talk to you and smile at you when you have a cute and happy baby but when you're baby is screaming his head off because he's beyond exhausted no one will look you in the eye!

Owen spent about 30 minutes on the plane tearing apart bandaids. I am grateful for every one of those quiet minutes!

The next morning we set out to find Russ's parents. We found his dad mowing lawns (which looked awesome, by the way)

and we found his mom working in the flower beds. The weather was PERFECT that day and we loved how green and beautiful everything was!

Russ's parents watched Owen so we could do an endowment session in the Nauvoo temple. I can't get over how beautiful that temple is! And the inside was even better! I think it's the prettiest one I've been into so far. We went back and took some pictures with the little guy later.

We saw 4 of the little performances that the missionaries put on while we were there. Before one of them was a children's parade and Grandpa P was proud to have Owen in it! Owen wasn't too sure if he liked it or not. It was pretty cute.

They had a carriage ride to some sites that we took one morning. It was raining the whole time which actually made it extra nice.

And of course there's all the little stores and shops in Nauvoo to go tour. This is in the blacksmith shop which was my favorite. I'd never really thought about how difficult making enough wagons and wheels would have been before they even left for their journey across the plains. Not to mention all the fixing of broken parts along the way. Those blacksmiths had a tough job!

After one of mom and dad's performances.

"What does this button do?"

Outside of Carthage Jail where Joseph Smith was martyred.

Inside the jail. There is still a bullet hole in the door that killed Hyrum Smith. And this is the window that Joseph fell out of when he was shot and killed. It's pretty sobering to sit in that room and think of what that night must have been like.

Looking down into the quarry where the saints got the stone to build the temple. Owen obviously wasn't too excited about this one, but we thought it was kinda cool.

Walking down Parley street on the Trail of Hope. This is the street that leads right to the Mississippi where the saints crossed over to start their journey out west. There are now signs along the trail with quotes from different people's journals about the experience. I loved this! Although, I must say that it felt a little ironic to be reading about all the hardships that they went through and then to look over at Owen and see him kicking back in his stroller chowing down on Cheerios.

One of my favorite signs along the trail.

Russ and his mom in the Women's Garden. Look how beautiful all her flower beds are!

A picture with all 3 of us smiling?? Amazing! This is walking to the original Nauvoo cemetery which was in a secluded spot and was SO beautiful!

Russ and Owen catching fireflies. They were everywhere on the last night we were there!

Owen thought they were pretty cool.

I just think this pic of Owen and Grandma P playing is so sweet. He sure does love her!

So that's it for Nauvoo! It really was an awesome trip and one that we won't forget. Our flight the next day was in St. Louis, Missouri, which also happens to be where the Gateway Arch is so we decided to check it out. It was pretty darn cool and had a huge underground museum beneath it. It was a fun way to end our trip!

Owen loved the break from driving and exploring all the grassy areas by the arch. Have I mentioned on here that he's walking now? It's so cute!

"Healthy Nachos"

2011-06-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if there really is such a thing as healthy nachos but this is as close as it's gonna get! Our neighbors made this for us when we came over for dinner a couple months ago. It's super delicious and has become one of our new favorites. I know that quinoa will seem weird to some of you (Reuben Garbett) but you should all try it. I DARE YOU not to like it.

First is the layer of chips. You can use good ol' tortilla chips or if you can find these bad boys at Costco, you should really try them.

They are healthy and yummy! Unfortunately, Costco doesn't always carry them, though.

Next is the yummy corn salsa mixed with black beans. Go buy a jar of this from Trader Joe's, throw it in a pot with a can of drained and rinsed black beans, heat it up and throw some on your chips.

This stuff is seriously delicious. And when is Owen's wrist going to become a normal size???

Next cook up some quinoa and throw it on your nachos. If you can find red quinoa that is even better but I can't always find it. Regular quinoa is at any grocery store. If you don't know what quinoa is, google it.

Next is some guacamole. And don't you dare buy store bought guacamole!!! It's just not the same. Mix some avocados with lime juice, salt and cilantro. Mmmmmmm.

Then top with your favorite salsa and some cilantro. Our neighbors had some cherry tomatoes and cheese, too, but we have been leaving those out. Mostly because tomatoes are gross and grating cheese it too much work!

I can honestly throw this together in 20 minutes and it makes my husband super happy. Try it out!

Happy Father's Day!!!

2011-06-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

Is there anything sweeter than a little boy with his daddy? I think not.

For Father's Day, Owen gave his daddy a tie with a matching mini tie and white shirt so they could be twins at church! (Yes, Tara Jo, those are the ties you gave me at my baby shower...they are way too cute!!!) Too bad that this is the best picture I could get of them together. The rest of the day was spent with Russ's High Council meeting, him speaking in another ward, me watching Owen fling Cheerios all over the chapel, me holding Owen in one are while teaching sharing time and all of us taking much needed naps when we finally all got home. It was topped off with a fun dinner with the Friends. It was a good day!

I'm so grateful that Owen has such a wonderful, fun, sweet and protective daddy. Happy Father's Day, Russ! We love you!

And happy Father's Day to my own dad and father-in-law...we wouldn't be where we are without you guys. Love you lots!

Swim Lessons

2011-06-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

Owen had his 5th swimming lesson today. I was really, really, REALLY excited to do this with him this summer. It hasn't gone exactly as planned (Owen sometimes gets so cold that his whole body is convulsing which makes him miserable, it takes a lot of effort to pry his little fingers off of my neck or my swimsuit to get him to do anything, he constantly pulls my swimsuit down so I'm flashing everyone, etc.) But he does love being outside and doing something different. And if I sit him on the edge of the pool he'll fall in toward me and hold his breath for a few seconds. And now that the weather is getting hotter, he's liking the water a bit more. So lessons haven't been a complete waste of time!

Russ came today for just a little bit to watch and to take a couple pictures for us. Owen got really excited when he saw him from across the pool...this boy sure loves his daddy!

Showing us his favorite swim toy. He clutches onto it for the entire 35 minutes each time and has no interest in any other toys.

Trying to force him to hang onto the side of the pool instead of onto me.

Trying to make him walk to me.

"I'm trying to tan my belly, dad."

New Recipe and the Healing Power of Fudgesicles

2011-06-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

I made this new recipe this week and it turned out pretty darn well. But more importantly...it was easy! It tasted different than I expected. There's some curry powder in the breading and the dipping sauce so it had a little asian taste to it. Yum!

CRISPY COCONUT CHICKEN FINGERS
Recipe from Our Best Bites

12 chicken tenders (I just used a pound of chicken and cut it up)
1-2 eggs
1/2 C flour (this was way more than I needed)
1 C sweetened coconut flakes
1 C panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp table salt
3/4 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Give coconut a rough chop so it’s about the same size as the panko crumbs. Combine it with Panko and spices in a shallow dish. Mix well to distribute all of the spices. Place the flour in another shallow dish, and the egg in another. Give the egg a quick beating. Working with one chicken tender at a time, dredge in flour, then dip in egg and then finally coat in the coconut Panko mixture. Press in with your fingers to make sure the entire thing is well coated. Place chicken tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean up!) that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. You could drizzle the top with a little olive oil for extra crispiness, but I skipped that. Bake in your 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear. Try not to overcook them because chicken tenders go from perfect to overcooked really fast! If your tenders are on the small side, they could even be done in about 15 minutes (mine only took about 12 minutes, actually) so keep an eye on them. If they’re big they can take more like 25. The coconut will be nice and golden and the panko crisp, but light in color still.

DIPPING SAUCE
1 cup apricot-pineapple preserves (I only had plain apricot and it worked fine)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/8 tsp curry powder
Mix together and enjoy with your chicken fingers.

Owen had a bad fall and hit his head pretty hard tonight. I seriously cringe whenever this happens. While I was trying to calm him down Russ grabbed a fudgesicle. Owen instantly calmed down at the sight of it and by the end he was back to his happy and crazy self so we knew he'd be okay!

And on a totally unrelated note...I found this cute outfit on sale for only $6 yesterday! I'm so excited for him to wear it on Sunday. This only strengthens my love for Target even more.

Goodbye, Curls.

2011-05-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

While my parents and brother were over for Sunday dinner today (navajo tacos with LOTS of homemade guacamole...my favorite!) my mom gave Owen his first haircut! I've been hesitating to cut it because I didn't want to lose all his little curls in the back but it was time. The back of his hair was mostly a big frizzy mess and was making his already oversized head look even bigger because it would stick out so much. Owen's head still looks huge (because it is), but I think he's pretty darn handsome with his new do.

He seemed genuinely concerned when grandma turned on the clippers!

He never cried...just kept turning his head trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

And of course he loved chewing on the...what do you call the sheet thingy that you put over you when you get your hair cut?

All done and ready to play!

Chimichurri and Smoothies

2011-05-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

The efforts in our house to eat less meat were thwarted last night when I made this new recipe. It was pretty darn tasty so I thought I should share!

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri
2-3 pounds pork tenderloin (I only used a 1 pound tenderloin since there's just 2 of us. They are fairly cheap at Fresh and Easy.)
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp dry oregano
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar (I somehow was out of this and used apple cider vinegar...worked just fine.)
6-7 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup olive oil

Place pork in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Combine all other ingredients in a food processor and pulse several times until finely chopped to make the chimichurri. Remove 1/2 cup of the chimichurri and pour it over the tenderloin. Make sure the sauce gets all over the meat, let marinate for 1-2 hours. Save the rest of the chimichurri in the fridge for later. When ready to cook, grill meat on medium heat (350-450 degrees) for 15-20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Remove from grill and let stand for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve with remaining chimichurri drizzled on top. Yum!

I think Owen might have a future as a hand model.

Maybe it's the warm weather but Russ and I have been into smoothies lately for our evening snack. There's not a specific recipe for this but we go to Costco (berries are so much cheaper there!) and buy 3 or 4 of our favorite fruits, divvy them all up into plastic sandwich baggies and freeze them, like so:

Then when we want a smoothie we just pull one out of the freezer, throw it in the blender with some 100% orange or pineapple juice (pineapple's the yummiest) and blend it up until it's smooth and oh so delicious! Had this last night when I got home from the gym and it was perfect. Meanwhile, Owen found his own snack...

Random Thoughts and Happenings

2011-05-19T10:43:00.000-07:00

I have been doing the "no sugar" thing for over a month now. I have mixed feelings regarding the matter. On the one hand, I'm now 3 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight and I feel great. On the other hand, I want some chocolate!!! I let myself eat some chocolate cake with homemade cherry garcia ice cream on Mother's Day and it was truly amazing, but my stomach seriously hurt afterward. My body doesn't like it anymore and I still can't decide if I'm happy about it!

Owen's cousin Kelsey (Russ's niece) graduated from 8th grade this week. I was glad that she invited us to her graduation and I think she was glad we came. Although, I really think she just wanted Owen to come! And by the way...what's with 8th graders these days dressing like little hookers? Sheesh! Good job to Kelsey and her friend for being the only 2 girls there with their shoulders covered. (I sound so old right now.)

My kid has problems:

Owen officially has a mullet. And it's curly! I really should get someone to trim it up in the back, but secretly I kinda like it. :)

Owen's learned to take lids off of things; food containers, my tupperware with all my nail polish, Sharpies. That's right, Owen took the lid off a black Sharpie and wrote all over his leg. And I cannot tell you how many times he's taken the lid off his puff-snack-things and spilled them all over the floor and then proceeded to shove as many in his mouth as he could fit. Last Sunday he started choking and coughing during Sacrament meeting because he shoved too many cheerios in his mouth which caused cheerios to start flying everywhere. Good times.

We've had fun meeting up with my friend, Lisa, and her little Liam at a splash pad these last few weeks. I'm sure we'll do it more and more as the weather starts to get hotter and hotter. Owen loves all things outdoors so he loves this!

Girls Just Wanna...

2011-05-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had a boy (and man)-free day...ALL day. I love my boys but seriously, hanging out with some of my favorite girlfriends for nearly 12 hours straight was pretty much awesome! We hiked Squaw Peak (well, Becca and I did), made breakfast, made bracelets, got massages (at a massage therapy school...we're cheap!), ate lunch at Postino (one of my favorites), went shopping (and I found the cutest swimsuit ever), saw a chick flick, and finished the day off with dinner at Hula's (which I highly recommend to anyone living in the Phoenix area...SO yummy). If only there had been a nap time inserted in there, it would have been a perfect day.

Modeling our new bracelets. Totally cheesy, I know!

I thought they turned out pretty cool.

After our massages. This is when nap time would have been perfect!

Mmmmmm...Postino.

Thank you Amber, Lisa, Shannon and Becca for such a fun day!!!

The Definition of Comfortable

2011-05-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

GC, Part 2

2011-05-01T14:51:00.001-07:00

Russ and I hiked the Grand Canyon this past Friday. We did the same exact hike two years ago. Let's compare 2009's hike with 2011 for a moment, shall we?

2009: I felt great the whole time except for maybe the last half mile and kept a great pace the whole time.
2011: I was cursing the Grand Canyon for the last 4 miles and felt like I probably could have crawled faster!

2009: Russ kept telling me how great I was doing and that he was gonna stay with me the whole time (which he did).
2011: Russ passes me about 1 mile into our 17 mile hike and says something to the effect of "you are just too slow".

2009: Russ says he usually loves to fish at the bottom but would rather stay with me the whole time (again...which he did).
2011: Russ fished at the bottom for 3 hours with my brother and I didn't see him until an hour after my hike out was over. It appears that the honeymoon phase of our relationship is officially over!

2009: I was happy to be out and about with my hubby and wasn't missing anything back home.
2011: Happy to at the Grand Canyon with my hubby but missing my baby boy like crazy!

2009: Could barely walk about 10 minutes after the hike was over.
2011: Felt surprisingly okay the whole night after the hike but the next 2 days were anything but pleasant!

It really was a fun little trip despite me having a harder time than 2 years ago. Two of my brothers came, one sister-in-law, and a friend of my brothers. I was so happy that my SIL was there because we were right at the same level of hiking skills (unless she was fooling me to be nice). So I had someone to be miserable with those last few miles!!

Leaving Owen for 2 days was pretty rough. This was the first time that I've ever left him where he cried at all and gave me puppy dog eyes when I left, which made it so much worse! He survived just fine with Grandma and Grandpa Eagar, but I was SO happy to see him when we got back! Russ and I raced into the house to get to him first, but I won. :)

All of us before heading down. Damian (brothers' friend), Russ, me, Eric (my brother), Kim (SIL), Rob (my brother).

Down at the bottom. What is wrong with this picture?

I Like Eggs

2011-04-25T09:46:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend was great this year. Church was wonderful like it usually is on Easter. We pulled out our time machine in Primary so the kids got a visit from Mary Magdalene! They got to hear about her experience seeing Jesus after he was resurrected. It was awesome. I volunteered to feed my family for Sunday dinner which always turns out to be a lot of work...but I think dinner turned out pretty good and I got to hang out with my family so it was worth it! If anyone wants a yummy tangerine-glazed ham or carrot cake recipe, I've got good ones for you.

Ready to go to church on Easter! Yes, I know his tie is too big. Why are baby ties so hard to find?? Whatever...Owen looked ADORABLE and had all the ladies at church flirting with him.

Owen got bubbles in his Easter basket. It's amazing how much entertainment 99 cents can buy you!

Easter egg hunt with cousins!

Owen finally got a taste of his birthday cake.

I think this means he liked it.

Really???

2011-04-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

Has it really been a whole year since Owen was born?! Everyone always said how fast it goes and I believed them, but this went even faster than I expected! Yesterday I was looking at the pictures we had taken of the labor and delivery...exactly one year ago today (and yesterday...it was a LONG process). I love these pictures so I'm gonna post some of them again! It's my blog, so I can do whatever I want. :) Enjoy!

Jello!

Russ was pretty much awesome the whole time. He didn't even get mad at me when I would tell him to fan me one second because I was hot and then the next I would tell him to stop because it was annoying me...over and over and over.

I think I'll always remember that my dad stuck around for the whole thing (and behind a curtain for the end)...thanks, dad!

Yeah, that didn't feel good.

I love this photo. This is between contractions when everyone tells you to relax. Is that possible during childbirth? You can tell by the pulling of my hair that I am NOT.

So exhausted but SO close!

And there he is!

Russ hates this photo of him but I love it.

Sprawled out for the first time.

Checking out my little man.

First family shot.

I love those little dark beady eyes! That's what I remember most about those first few months with Owen. It'd be 3 in the morning and I'd be feeding him and he'd always look up at me with those heartbreaker eyes. I melted every time.

(The above pictures are from our friend Jen...check her out at www.photojenicblog.net)

And one year later...

So excited about his birthday present this morning!

And he looks like such a stud in his new Nike Shox!

Look at those cankles. :)

Happy birthday to the sweetest little boy I know!

We Heart San Diego

2011-04-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

We got to spend this past weekend in San Diego! Thank you to my niece, Cami, for getting married and giving us a reason to go. We (Us three along with my brother Wade, his wife Deirdre and their youngest, Oakley) went a day early so we could play a little bit. It was good times and the weather could not have been any more perfect!

WARNING: I was a bit camera happy on this trip!

Enjoying La Jolla.

I tried to zoom into this picture so you could see...but every time Russ would hold a crab up to Owen he'd open his mouth to take a bite. Such a trusting little boy!

Who's that cute couple?

Getting ready to do our segway tour. Why my brother thought he would need to stretch for this, I'm not sure!

These things were SOOOO fun! Seriously the highlight of our trip. I'm pretty sure Wade and Russ are still trying to figuring out how we can get some of our own.

I crack up every time I look at this!

Owen and Oakley stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Eagar while we did our tour. Owen seemed to think the best entertainment was attacking his defenseless little cousin.

So excited to be at the beach!

"I forgive you for booking a hotel that doesn't have a pool, mommy."

After the wedding at the San Diego temple. That temple is SO pretty and I was glad I finally got to go in! And the wedding was beautiful. They always make me cry. Such a baby.

Owen was kind of a stinker at this point (the poor kid didn't get much nap time) but he did love playing games with his daddy!

The boys went to the park the next morning while Deirdre and I did some much needed shopping.

We had a 5 hour drive to Bakersfield for the reception. I must say that for having 2babies with us it was a very smooth trip. Look how smiley and cute Oakley is!

Owen went a little crazy with excitement when we got to the new hotel room.

Owen hasn't quite learned that staring is impolite. He sure does like his cousin, Amy!

The bride and groom!

"Let me outta here!"

I think I've finally come to the realization that vacations are no longer relaxing once you have a baby. It's fun to watch Owen experience new things and I loved having him there, but it's a lot of work!!! We better start planning more trips for this summer because once the next one comes (NO, this is NOT an announcement) vacations will be even MORE stressful!

And this is going to get WORSE???

2011-04-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

All in the last 24 hours...

My precious bag of ribbons.

Owen meets red crayon. I fished shreds of crayon out of his mouth for like 30 minutes after this!

Exploring the fireplace. Good thing he was wearing dark colored pants 'cause there was soot all over them!

Jerk

2011-04-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

I've made this jerk chicken recipe a couple times now and it always turns out delicious. Last night I tried a mango-pineapple salsa on top (recipe courtesy of our friend, Jonathan Jurgaitis) and it made the chicken even MORE delicious! So if you're looking for a tasty and healthy dinner recipe, here you go:

Jamaican Jerk Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 jalapenos, chopped
4 scallions, white and light green parts only, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Make a paste by combining the all ingredients (except the chicken, of course) in the a food processor, processing until smooth. Using a paring knife, make parallel cuts, about 1 inch apart and 1/4 inch deep, into both sides of each chicken breast. Make similar cuts perpendicular to create crosshatch designs. Spread paste all over chicken, pushing paste into the cutes. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours. Grill over medium heat (350-450 degrees) until meat is firm to the touch and no longer pink in the center, 8-12 minutes, turning once. Serve warm.

Mango-Pineapple Salsa
2 mangoes, not fully ripe
½ red onion diced
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste
¼ to ½ fresh pineapples
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Serrano peppers diced

Dice mangoes and pineapples small. It is best if the mango and pineapple aren’t
fully because otherwise the fruit breaks down quickly and becomes mushy. Dice
onion and peppers small and chop cilantro. Add the lime juice and salt and pepper;
mix together and let sit at least an hour to let flavors mingle. Serve on top of chicken.

*I served ours on top of brown rice. Russ didn't think it went well together, but I liked it. So it's your call what you serve it with.

*Ours turned out REALLY spicy last night. I think the first time I made it I deseeded the peppers but forgot this time. My advice is to deseed the peppers.

Hi, Grandma and Grandpa!

2011-04-02T20:59:00.000-07:00

In honor Grandma and Grandpa Perkins' arrival in Nauvoo for their mission and figuring out how to steal internet service from their downstairs neighbors...I'm posting some pictures of Owen's recent happenings just for them! They specifically told me in an email that they don't care about pictures of Russ or myself, so I'll try to keep those limited. ;)

Owen's been loving the park lately. Lucky for us there's one within walking distance from our house! His personal fave is the bucket swing while staring at other children.

"Hmmm...there's gotta be something up here that I can put in my mouth."

This kid would crawl a mile away if I'd let him.

His new thing around the house is walking along all the chairs under the table and searching for crumbs.

Owen got to go to the lake today. Just because it's almost 100 degrees in Phoenix does NOT mean that the water isn't freezing...just ask Owen!

So his "shorts" aren't exactly short...

If you want to make Owen angry, put his life jacket on.

I love my little family!

Vegas, Baby!

2011-03-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we never actually made it into Vegas this weekend, but we could see the strip in the distance! We spent this past weekend up in Henderson, NV for our friend Janelle's wedding reception. We weren't really sure how Owen was going to be on this trip since there wasn't much time for him to get his naps, but he was an angel! Seriously, he couldn't have been any better. The reception was a vintage carnival theme and was quite possibly one of the cutest ideas I've ever seen. And the bride and groom looked as happy as can be. Congrats to Janelle and Josh!

I love how everyone is smiling in this photo except for Owen who is sneakily pulling the straw out of Janelle's drink.

Owen played along this row of bricks for about an hour. I am grateful for rows of bricks!

Owen's really into pointing lately. Will you all just take a moment to look at the size of this kid's head? WOW!!!

Owen doesn't get to play with the remotes at home. He was madly in love with the hotel remote!

Yep, love.

And speaking of love...I love this kid!!! He's been so stinkin' fun lately.

Some random highlights from our short trip:

Realizing that I forgot Owen's pjs, my toothbrush, my hairbrush, a razor, deodorant and medication, among other things.

The fire alarm went off in the hotel at 2 am Friday night (after we'd spent an hour getting Owen to go to sleep from 11:30-12:30, nonetheless). Evacuating into the cold parking lot was kinda exciting!

We found a yummy breakfast place. Russ's tropical french toast covered in coconut was divine!

A game of Settlers across the hall with the Garbetts and Beesons was pretty entertaining. Russ won. Again.

Russ got his Cafe Rio fix. I'm pretty sure this was his favorite part of the entire trip!

How to Make a Mess

2011-03-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

An obsession with the bathroom + figured out how to open cupboards = a big, fat mess!

"It wasn't me."

I Like Dirt

2011-03-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

We went camping last night with our friends the Friends...Joe, T'liese and little Evan. It was a fun, short trip and I learned a few things:

1. Owen likes dirt. And in mass quantities. While Evan would put a rock or stick in his mouth sometimes, Owen was grabbing handfuls of dirt and shoveling it in!

2. The Friends make some killer breakfast burritos.

3. Owen is a bully. Poor Evan got his ear tugged on and his face slapped a time or two.

4. Trying to eat your food and keep a baby off the ground is NOT easy.

5. There are cool indian ruins just outside of Phoenix...who knew?

6. Hats are imperative after a restless night of sleep.

(Before)

(After)

7. Russ still makes the best dutch oven cobbler. EVER.

8. A trailer hitch is an awesome toy.

9. Watching two cute boys get dirty together is priceless.

10. The Friends make awesome camping buddies! Thanks for a fun mini trip.

And just because I like this picture...

Amococo, Pushups and Hiking

2011-03-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

Let's start with pushups. Russ a few weeks ago challenged me to do a pushup challenge that you can find at http://hundredpushups.com/. That's right...a challenge to get up to ONE HUNDRED pushups a day. As of yesterday, I have begun this challenge. Just wait...Jennifer Eagar Perkins just might actually acquire some definition in her arms over the next few weeks!!! And for any of you saying that I won't do it...you're mean.

Now for hiking. Russ and I are getting ready to hike the Grand Canyon next month, so we've been hiking a lot lately. Usually we take turns going individually early in the morning, but on Saturdays we strap Owen on and go as a family. About 3/4 of the way Owen usually looks something like this:

Man oh man, do I wish that hiking was this relaxing for me!

And now for the weird word: Amococo. I have no idea what it means. I do know that it's the name of a way cool exhibit at the Mesa Art Center right now. Lisa and Liam invited Owen and I to go today and it was perfect for little guys to enjoy! It's just a huge blow up tent thing with different color fabrics all over...so when the sun shines through there's bright colors everywhere. Owen and Liam loved crawling around (okay, Liam doesn't crawl yet) and looking at the colors. I thought it was pretty cool.

Owen totally wanted Liam's hat.

Soup Recipe Just For Amber

2011-03-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

Is it just me, or is a tasty soup one of the most satisfying things on the planet? I tried a new soup recipe this week and it was scrumptious! Try it out:

Tortellini Sausage Soup
3 links italian sausage
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup water
2 cans (15 oz each) chicken broth
1/2 cup apple cider (don't leave this out)
16 oz diced tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce
1 cup finely sliced carrot
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
2 zucchini, grated (this will look like a lot, but throw it all in!)
8-10 oz package of cheese tortellini (dry or fresh)
2 Tbsp (not tsp) parsley

Remove casings on sausage and crumble into a large pot. Cook over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until sausage is fully cooked. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, juice, water, broth, carrots, oregano and basil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add parsley and zucchini and simmer for another 15 minutes. Add the tortellini and cook until tender. Serve with freshly grated parmesan on top and warm rolls.

Life Is Good

2011-03-06T19:55:00.000-08:00

There haven't been many new or exciting things going on lately, but for some reason life just seems good right now. Owen's been back to his super happy self now that his tubes are in and working. It's been about three months since he's been this consistently happy and playful. If all goes well we might actually not have to go to a doctor this week...hallelujah! And he's finally getting over his "I only want my mom and I want her to hold me 24/7" stage, which makes Russ super happy too! I have a lot to be grateful for. And with this happiness comes an even worse addiction to my camera. So brace yourself for some pictures!

Grandma and Grandpa Perkins came to visit and brought an ice chest. I'm thinking for Owen's birthday, I'll just pull out one of ours and let him at it...he loved it!

"You gotta try this out, mommy!"

Owen said goodbye to G&G Perkins yesterday because they are leaving on their mission this week. He's going to miss them lots!

Owen has some new games he loves to play. This one is called "bite daddy's toes until he screams".

The "bang my blocks really loudly until mom goes crazy" game.

The "let's see how long mom and dad will let me go naked this time" game.

And of course, there's Peek-a-Boo.

We went to Emery's birthday party yesterday...(just another one of Owen's many girlfriends) and they had horses! Owen wasn't sure what to think of them.

But he didn't seem to mind the ride.

My little cowboy!

Russ totally looks like he belongs in there.

And the bouncy house...this part was just for my enjoyment. :)

Oops

2011-02-28T12:57:00.000-08:00

I was hurrying to get Owen dressed this afternoon so we could go run an errand or two. I was about halfway down the hall before I realized that his pants looked like this! Oops.

He was not happy about it, in case you couldn't tell. :)

Giggles

2011-02-25T14:13:00.000-08:00

Russ usually only gets to play with Owen for only about 1-2 hours each night between his work and Owen's bedtime, but Russ totally gets more laughs out of him in that short time than I do all day! It's so cute to watch. Oh, and Owen started doing this bouncing thing while he's standing...it's ridiculous! Enjoy.

Susan's Run and a Big Gooey Mess

2011-02-19T19:01:00.000-08:00

This morning was Susan's Run in Tempe. If you don't know about the Susan Mortesnsen Turley Foundation you should check out their site: http://www.susanmturley.org/wp/ It's in honor of an old roommate of mine who passed away from cancer. You can get to her blog from that site too...it's very inspirational, but keep a tissue close by! My awesome sister-in-laws ran the 5k "with" me and my friend Lisa ran the 10k. I may not be the best runner but I always think it's fun to be out trying anyway!

Lisa and I with our boys. Owen apparently has a crush on Lisa. Sorry son, she's married.

Russ and Owen loved making Liam smile.

Deirdre and Kim kicked my booty in this run. Good job, ladies!

Russ kept Owen happy by giving him a muffin. And happy he was!

Finished.

Onto another topic. The other day I was folding laundry in my room and was letting Owen play on my side of the bed like he always does. After realizing that he'd been kinda quiet for 2 minutes I found that he had found my tub of Aquaphor on the nightstand and smeared it EVERYWHERE!!! Seriously...all over himself, the side of the bed, the nightstand, my phone charger, the conference Ensign, a book and the carpet:

This picture really doesn't capture the disaster. So after getting an emergency bath which still left him with greasy hair because Aquaphor is meant to be water-resistant, I set him down and got this gem of a photo:

This is Owen's "I'm so tired and hungry and just want you to hold me even though I'm a stinker" face and I always think it's so funny! He looks so distraught.

Lovey Dovey Day

2011-02-16T07:24:00.000-08:00

Since I don't really like Valentine's Day and since we'd just had a busy weekend of birthday celebrations, Russ and I decided make Valentine's Day a low-key affair this year. No presents. Just dinner at home and some cookie decorating.

Owen and I did make some Valentine goodies for him to give to his cousins and to his 7 month old girlfriend next door.

While making them a couple pieces fell on the floor. Look at that guilty face!

Owen sure loves his play time with daddy when he gets home every day. I love it too!

Can you tell that I've never made sugar cookies before?? Disaster!

Russ showing his frosting-eating skills. He is a pro.

These were "not so lovey dovey" cookies, hence the "You Stink" that you can see.

Another Year Older

2011-02-14T08:56:00.000-08:00

The last few days have been crazy. Good crazy, though.

Owen was a champ at waiting for his tubes to be put in Thursday morning. He had to go without food for 9 hours which is really hard for a little guy to do! We've already seen great results with the procedure and are happy that we finally went through with it.

Friday night our good friends, Dee and Anne, got married. We got a sitter so we could go enjoy the extravagant reception they had planned. It was quite possibly the funnest reception I've been to yet!

My old roommies were there. They definitely made the dancing portion more fun since Russ wouldn't get out of his chair. Someday.

The food and dessert were amazing! A cheesecake bar with all the toppings you could ever possibly want??? OH. YES.

Russ and I got TWO date nights this weekend! We went to Russ's favorite restaurant with 2 of Russ's favorite people on Saturday night to celebrate his birthday. Dinner went late and we missed our movie so we went home and made cookies instead. It ended up being a great night.

These were spanish-style cookies which means that Russ would hardly let me do anything because he wanted them to turn out perfectly. He did let me put the nuts on, though. :)

Sunday was Russ's birthday and all he wanted to do was make a paella! Once again, he would hardly let me do anything which means that Russ pretty much put his own party together and cooked all of his own food on his birthday. He swears that it was a great birthday...I hope he's not lying. We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and did all the cooking outside.

Owen joined us outside but found the rocks to be much more exciting than his parents.

Oh wait, Russ did let me make a salad. So I at least did SOMETHING for him on his birthday!

He didn't want a cake, just his spanish cookies. I insisted on the whole candle/singing thing anyway which I don't think he minded.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (yesterday) TO MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!

Flu

2011-02-04T19:25:00.000-08:00

For having a husband that is a complete germaphobe, you would think that our baby would get sick a little less. Not so. Owen had the flu this week. I always feel dumb when I call the pediatrician's office and they ask what's wrong and all I can really say is "He won't stop crying." I always think they're gonna tell me that all babies are fussy but every time I've taken him in there really has been something wrong, so I suppose there's no need to feel dumb.

She did some tests and it turns out he has influenza A, which she proceded to tell me means that he will be fussy, lethargic, not sleep well, have fevers, a cough, runny nose and probably another ear infection over the next 5-7 days. Awesome.

I do feel pretty lucky that after only another day and a half he's basically back to normal and sleeping through the night again. Thank heavens!

Owen all zoned out. That's when I knew for sure that something was wrong...he never sits this still!

I did enjoy all the cuddling we got in while he was sick. Maybe there is one positive to having a sick baby??

Cute...sorta

2011-01-24T08:42:00.000-08:00

As of a couple weeks ago Owen has two front teeth. BIG front teeth with a BIG gap between them. Owen used to always flirt with ladies at the checkout stands by smiling all cute, like this:

But lately he's decided that squishing up his face and showing his front teeth like this is the way to go:

I suppose it's understandable why all the compliments have gone from "He's so cute!" to "He's so funny!". :)

9 Months!

2011-01-20T09:15:00.000-08:00

Today is Owen's 9 month birthday! He had his 9 month checkup yesterday and is doing great. He weighs 19 pounds, 2 ounces which is only in the 25th percentile. So he's thinning out. His legs sure don't look like they're thinning out, though! He's in the 55th percentile for length and still in the 100th percentile for head. The doctor just says he has lots of brains.

They checked his ears and said that there is still fluid in both, but no infection. I've been praying that he won't get another one before his ENT appointment tomorrow. I'm hoping that they opt to do tubes to just let all the fluid out and prevent future ones. 5 infections was enough! Although, we're not looking forward to paying for it.

He's been super sweet and fun lately, following me around wherever I go and climbing all over me. His new favorite things are to scream whenever he's having fun and refusing to go to sleep. He cries as if his life is over every time we put him in his crib. Luckily he usually zonks out within a few minutes. He's been trying lots of new foods lately. Yesterday he had banana mango baby food and his mouth was gaping open for more before I could even get more on the spoon...he loved it! All these new foods make for some VERY stinky diapers, though.

Enjoying his toys too much.

All strapped in and ready for a hike with momma! I love hanging out with this kid.

Hiking apparently wears him out.

Doing Dishes

2011-01-15T12:38:00.000-08:00

I cook a lot and therefore do the dishes a lot. I think I have finally come to the conclusion that I just can't do them while Owen is awake anymore. He will be playing happily with his toys or the banging on the blinds or destroying something else but as soon as he hears the water running in the kitchen he comes crawling over and climbs right into the dishwasher. I do think it's cute, but also very inconvenient!

Opening the fridge isn't safe either!

Pork Tenderloin=Mmm Mmm Delicious

2011-01-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

We tried out a new recipe this week. And when I say "we" I mean that I prepped all the food and grilled it and Russ ate it. He claims that it was the best pork tenderloin that he's ever had. I wouldn't go that far but it was pretty darn tasty! It ended up being a lot easier than it sounds too. Ya'll should try it!

Dry-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin with Strawberry-Avocado Salsa

2 pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each (I only used one since there's just 2 of us)
olive oil

Trim excess fat from tenderloins and let stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. Rub with olive oil to lightly coat.

1 tsp paprika
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chile powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp allspice

Combine above ingredients to make a rub while meat is sitting out. Then spread the rub all over the tenderloins and rub the spices into the meat. Grill meat on medium heat (350-450 degrees) for 15-20 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, until pork is barely pink in the center and measures 150 degrees in the center when checked with a thermometer. Remove from grill and let rest for 3-5 minutes before slicing. Serve with the following salsa on top.

1 cup finely chopped strawberries
1/4 cup finely chopped peeled avocado
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Combine and stir. Serve over pork tenderloin.

:(

2011-01-03T20:03:00.000-08:00

So I've decided what the worst part about being a parent is. It isn't get up in the middle of the night. It's not getting pooped and peed on (I've learned to actually think that's funny). It's not cleaning up mess after mess. It is without a doubt seeing your baby in pain.

We went to the pediatrician today for a checkup and the good news it that Owen's ear infections have finally cleared up! This is a huge relief for me. But tonight I watched Owen cry for an hour because he's cutting tooth #4. Not just cry, but scream to the point of gagging and coughing. After trying endlessly to make him take his bottle that had pain killer in it and then trying to force the syringe right in his mouth but having the medicine run all over his face because we couldn't keep him still, we finally got him pinned down, head braced and forced him to choke down his medicine. I've heard that if it gets right on the gums it helps them feel better and it must be true because he stopped crying and was snoring within 5 seconds, literally.

It is absolute torture to have to watch your baby cry and scream like that. These physical bodies are kinda mean.

And just for fun...here's a pic of Owen. His mis-matched outfit is a result of him pooping and peeing and spitting up all over all of his clothes. He's patiently waiting for some clean clothes to finish drying.

UPDATE: Owen woke up 5 minutes after I wrote the above post and after a couple more hours of screaming we decided it couldn't just be teething and took him to urgent care. Result: 2 more awful ear infections. This sucks.

Christmas Picture Frenzy

2010-12-26T19:47:00.001-08:00

Owen and cousin Garth at the Mesa Temple lights.

So I sent Russ out to get a white elephant gift for his family's exchange and he came home with...a bunny! Owen loved to follow it around and brutally attack him.

Cousins Shelby and Kade liked him too! I named him Skittles.

Owen's first present!

And he thinks it's a giant rainbow bottle.

Modeling his new hat. So GQ.

This one actually entertained him for longer than 5 minutes!

This picture pretty much sums it up...I was super excited to open Owen's presents and he just wanted the ribbon!

I just love naked Owen!

Enjoying the GORGEOUS Arizona Christmas Day weather!

Owen got a hold of cousin Kamryn's present. We had to take it away because he was ripping off all the stringy things and trying to eat them.

Biting daddy's nose! He actually hurt Russ here and gave Russ scratches on his eyelids. Owen definitely hasn't learned the word gentle yet!

But he thought it was pretty funny!

Owen gave Grandpa Perkins this tractor ornament. Grandpa Eagar will appreciate that this tractor is GREEN. :)

Owen did not want to go to bed Christmas night. Luckily G and G Perkins weren't sick of playing with him yet!

Uncle Harvey was the first winner of Skittles! He was a huge hit and got stolen lots of times. Eric and Elisha's family were the proud final winners and were excited.

Grandpa got a Justin Beiber poster!

And I got THIS! I'm not sure what it is either, but I like it!

Ho Ho Ho!

2010-12-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

Owen got to meet Santa Clause last night! The big man appeared at our ward Christmas party and it was pretty fun to hear all the kids start screaming with excitement when he walked in. The best was when Santa walked by a little baby and said hi to him and he started screaming his head off! It was too funny. Owen, on the other hand, didn't even seem to notice that the person holding him was a big fat guy with a red fuzzy suit and more facial hair than is humanly possible.

The party was pretty typical but Russ and I were pretty happy when the young women came and kidnapped Owen during the program. We got to actually listen a little bit and whenever we looked over at Owen he was grinning from ear to ear with all the love and attention those girls were giving him! What a flirt.

And this has nothing to do with Santa or Christmas but Russ made the most amazing apple flan with cinnamon caramel tonight for dessert...from scratch! It appears he's been holding out on me. Looks like it's time to start alterenating who does the cooking around here!

Owen vs Christmas

2010-12-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

ROUND 1: Christmas Decorations

Owen 1, Christmas 0

ROUND 2: Christmas Tree

Owen 1, Christmas 1

ROUND 3: Christmas Presents

Owen 2, Christmas 1

So far, Owen's in the lead.

Mommy's Little Helper

2010-12-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

Owen has been so helpful lately!

He helps mom with the dishes:

And makes sure the wheels on the washer are working right:

He helps dad brush his teeth every morning:

He reminds me that there's garbage to be taken out by rolling around in it and making lots of noise:

He inspects every corner of our shelves for dust:

He helped dad get the Christmas tree set up:

And helped mom decorate it:

Okay, helpful might be the wrong word but he sure makes everything a lot more fun!

On a side note...

What is wrong with my husband?!?!?

A Few Things I'm Thankful For...

2010-11-25T19:13:00.000-08:00

A baby that has been sleeping through the night since 2 months.

Sugar-free fudgesicles.

Hot chocolate with eggnog in it.

The scriptures and all the blessings that come from reading them.

An awesome family on both sides.

Warm blankets to save me when Russ refuses to turn the heater on.

That it’s only 4 weeks until Christmas!

My husband. He’s awesome.

Opportunities to serve in the church.

Spinato’s spaghetti and meatball calzone. (I’m apparently hungry while writing this.)

Slobbery kisses from my little guy.

Nice, Russ.

No shortage of pies in the Eagar home!

New Happenings

2010-11-21T18:46:00.000-08:00

Owen has finally figured out the whole sitting up thing (not sure why this came after crawling but whatever) and now thoroughly enjoys sitting up on the tile and then falling over and hitting his head.

(Please excuse his embarrassing outfit...lazy mismatched outfits are the norm in our house in Sunday afternoons. Russ would like me to add that there is really no excuse for this particular outfit.)

I've seen him pull himself up to a standing position a couple times. His wobbly legs sure make us nervous!

He's still sucking on everything. Yesterday Russ and I watched him crawl over to the wall and just open his mouth and start sucking on it...what a weirdo!

Owen's new favorite hobby is a blowing bubbles/spitting thing that he does with his mouth. He does it non-stop while he's crawling and leaves a slobbery wet trail to prove it.

I found a really good sale on baby clothes this week, which is good since Owen just outgrew all his free clothes from the baby shower. Whoever says that baby boy clothes aren't as fun as baby girl clothes is wrong. Dressing Owen is one of my favorite things to do everyday!

Owen loves to mimic Russ sticking out his tongue. I love it!

I was officially released from my calling in Young Women's today. That has been my favorite calling to date and I miss it already! I wanted to do something special for the girls so I made them each one of these blocks with a picture of the temple.

Russ actually used a power tool last night...his electric sander that he bought 4 years ago that was still in the box. He was excited to use it and claims that it made him feel manly. Nevermind that he was using it to sand my blocks for a girly temple craft!

I am now serving as the Primary President. Heaven help me!

Curiosity killed the cat...and makes messes in our house.

2010-11-11T08:41:00.000-08:00

Now that Owen is crawling and climbing a little bit he is into everything! I can't help but love watching him be so curious and checking things out, even if it means I have to clean up after him.

He found his toys.

This is his new favorite position. Not sure what it's all about but I like it!

He loves to look outside and daydream about sucking on the pool fence.

"Oooh, one of daddy's big boy toys! Maybe if I slobber all over it and break it he'll let me keep it."

What is it with babies and cords? Owen will work forever to get over this box so he can eat our computer cords!

Keeping mom company in the bathroom.

He found mom's popsicle molds. They are his toy-of-the-day today.

Owen loved this box until...

his arm fell in! I know I shouldn't laugh at this but it was so funny! He was screaming hysterically, though, so I had to rescue him quick.

I just love this picture. Most babies like to jump in their Johnny Jumper. Owen just likes to suck on the strings.

On a side note...Owen got to meet his newest cousin on Sunday! Little Oakley is such a sweetie and only 6 months apart from Owen so I'm sure they'll have lots of fun together! Wade and Deirdre always make cute kids and Oakley is no exception.

Attack!

2010-11-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

The other night I was in the front of the house (probably doing something fun like dishes or scrubbing spit up out of the carpet) when I heard Russ cracking up in the bedroom. I went to check it out and found this...

Owen crawling and slobbering all over Russ and squealing with excitement! What a lucky daddy.

Halloween and our Creepy Crawler

2010-11-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

As everyone already knows, last weekend was Halloween weekend...and it was a fun one! A fun party at the Garbett's house on Friday, our ward's party at the church with plenty of trunk-or-treating on Saturday and a tasty Sunday dinner at Wade and Deirdre's on Sunday.

For those of you who don't know Russ well, he's kind of a Grinch when it comes to any and all holidays. He was a good sport this year and let me dress him up and even let me open the door for trick-or-treaters! Good job, honey! :) I have made it my personal goal to make him love Halloween and Christmas as much as I do and dag nabbit it's gonna happen!

Lucky seven!

Family shot...apparently our theme was black and white?

Cuddly time.

Owen gets all the ladies! Some of my Young Women from church...I love these girls!

Cousin Shelby came to play...

but all Owen wanted to do was eat her ears!

He settled for the table instead.

Owen getting into character. All good cows love grass. I love how his hat barely covers his 100th percentile head!

On a side note...my baby boy is officially a crawler! He slowly started figuring it out last week and now is up on all fours most of the time. I know I should be scared of all the trouble he's about to get into but for now I just think it's so darn cute!

Veggie Tales

2010-10-22T14:28:00.000-07:00

So I know I post about Owen way too much, but if you don't like it you don't have to read it! :) But you should because Owen's pretty awesome. This is my way of keeping track of what he does until I can get a baby book started.

Owen finally graduated to trying a veggie today. Oh my, was it a mess! It took some warming up to but the final verdict? He likes squash! He definitely gets this from his mother.

He thought we were sitting down to eat toys. Yeah right.

"What the...?"

"How do I get out of here?"

"Give me that spoon...I can do this myself!"

"Oh, like this."

"Will it taste better if I chew harder?"

"Maybe from the other end?"

"Alright, alright, Mommy...I love squash!!!"

Six Months!

2010-10-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Today is Owen's 6 month birthday! I know it seems silly to be excited about this but 6 months seems like a big deal. Owen just gets more and more fun to have around. I don't know what Russ and I used to do for fun or talk about but it had to be boring compared to now! In honor of Owen's 6 month birthday I'm gonna jot down 6 of my favorite things about my little guy.

1. I love how happy he is when he first wakes up. We never wake up to him crying, just coo-ing at himself and scooting all around his crib. My favorites are when I walk by his room and I see all four limbs sticking straight up in the air! Or when I see this:

That's a cute kid!

2. I love how curious is. I know all babies usually are but it's so fun to watch him scoot all around the house looking for something fun to play with (and destroy).

3. I love how he tries to stick EVERYTHING in his mouth! This morning I was changing his diaper and he was grabbing my arm and trying so hard to get my elbow into his mouth. And yesterday I was trying to use my cell phone while holding him and he seriously clobbered my face in excitement trying to get that phone in his mouth! It was too funny.

4. I love his chubby little body!

You can't tell me that you don't wanna cuddle with this!

5. I love how sweet his is. I like to smother him with kisses and I love how he just smiles and sweetly reaches out his hands and touches my face in return. It's kinda like he's giving me kisses back...I love it!

6. I love how cuddly he is! My favorite thing to do is just lay in the middle of the living room floor and watch Owen scoot over to me. Then I scoop him up and attack him with big hugs and kisses and watch him giggle. It makes me happy to think that even though he sees me all day every day, he still likes hanging out with his momma!

So there you have it. Lots of other interesting things have happened recently:

--I finally got around to getting a 4 generations photo with my Grandma Eagar, dad, me and Owen. It didn't turn out well but at least I have one with all of us together. Good quotes from Grandma on this visit include "He's a fatty!" while looking at Owen and her asking Russ if he is married to my dad. Obviously, she's not all there.

--Russ got a new calling on the High Council. I think he's looking forward to the experience but is completely dreading all those talks in church that he's gonna have to give!

--One of my Young Women from church got baptized. She's such a great girl and has been wanting to for a while but her dad wanted her to wait. He finally gave the okay and it was such an awesome event!

--I have been in a competition with my sisters to see who can lose 10 pounds first. I'm in last place but I've lost 4 pounds and am only 4 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight! (Finally!!!)

--My friend Lisa and her hubby blessed their little baby last Sunday. Nick did a great job...I'm still excited that they have such a cute and sweet baby boy!

Mmmmmm...Mahi Mahi

2010-10-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

Made a new yummy dinner tonight. And it was easy, which somehow always makes food taste better. Enjoy!

Ginger-Glazed Mahi Mahi
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, crushed or to taste (Jen's taste: more garlic!)
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets (I only used 2 fillets, but kept the marinade amounts the same.)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

In a shallow glass dish, stir together the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic and olive oil. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper, and place them into the dish. If the fillets have skin on them, place them skin side down. Cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to marinate.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove fish from the dish, and reserve marinade. Fry fish for 4 minutes on each side, turning only once, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove fillets to a serving platter and keep warm.
Pour reserved marinade into the skillet, and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze consistently. Spoon glaze over fish, and serve immediately.

We ate this with a huge salad and it was perfect. I'm sure brown rice would have been a nice addition as well.

Welcome, Mr. Incisor

2010-10-08T18:00:00.001-07:00

What's that inside Owen's mouth?

A tooth!!! I sure am gonna miss my boy's gummy grin!

Disneyland!

2010-10-06T16:57:00.000-07:00

Russ and I planned a quick getaway for yesterday...a trip to Disneyland! We've always wanted to go at Halloween time. It was so fun! After only 90 minutes in the park we'd been on all our favorite rides and never waited longer than 30 minutes all day. I love going when it's not busy!

Everything is totally decked out at Halloween time.

Even the characters are in costumes.

The Haunted Mansion.

We split a bowl of gumbo for a snack. Russ was a little excited about the bread bowl.

Sword in the Stone. I so almost got it.

It was cold and rainy all afternoon, so this is us hiding out in a non-wet area for minute.

Russ used his hook up to get us a lunch reservation at Club 33. So yummy!

Just a few of the desserts from the dessert buffet. Heaven on a plate!

Admiring some Disney merchandise.

My old roommie, Becca. She was our taxi for the day and even hooked us up with great hotel deal. Thanks!!!

This was our first night away from Owen. A HUGE thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Perkins for watching Owen for us! He apparently didn't miss us at all but I sure as heck missed him! I kept looking at pictures and video of him on my phone. Pathetic, I know, but I love my little man!!!

Little Piggy

2010-10-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

We finally got around to feeding Owen rice cereal for the first time last night. His facial expressions were priceless!

"Why do you guys like to torture me?"

Girls Rule

2010-09-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

I spent the last 3 days up in Utah with my mom and sisters for a girly weekend! There's just something about having a whole weekend dedicated to celebrating all things girly that is so darn satisfying! Of course, Owen was allowed to tag along even though he's a boy and somehow my dad was there for a lot of it as well. He made some comment about there being too much testosterone there. Obviously science was not his best subject...girls have estrogen, dad! :)

We flew out Thursday afternoon. Owen survived his first flight and actually did really well. I felt so bad for the baby screaming a few rows back, though. That kid was angry!

Friday morning started with some crafty time. Yes, Russ...crafts are fun. We made some holiday blocks that you can rotate for different holidays.

Cute!

Then we went out to lunch for some yummy soup, salad and sandwiches at a place called Zupas.

Did I forget to mention that we had dessert too? Yeah, there was no shortage of sweets on this trip!

We napped, got milkshakes, watched a chick flick, made dinner and then stayed up until 1:30 am having girl talk. There's not a single part of that that doesn't sound heavenly, right ladies?!

Owen got tons of play time with his aunts and cousins that were there. He loved it!

Saturday morning Owen decided to wake up at 4:30. Needless to say, I was VERY tired. That morning we headed down to Lehi area for my niece's baptism.

Congrats, Maddie!

Owen with a bunch of boy cousins after the baptism. Obviously he preferred being with the girls because he's screaming his head off in this picture!

I let him drool all over me. Then he was happy again.

After a luncheon at my brother's house us girls headed to SLC for some sight-seeing.

On the way mom let my nieces in the back seat put Tootsie Roll wrappers in her hair. She ended up with quite the collection!

SLC was all church-related stuff of course but very neat. I found some cute jewelry that I couldn't pass up. Then my dad picked Owen up (after I made him promise to guard him with his life) so us girls could go to the General RS Meeting. It was so awesome! I had never seen any conference sessions live before so I absolutely loved it. And the prophet's talk was nothing short of amazing. This was the highlight of the whole trip!

We got a quick dinner on the way home but were pretty pooped after that. Thanks to dad for changing 2 whole diapers (one being a huge poopy mess) and for getting Owen to bed for me. :) I went to bed pretty early for fear of Owen waking up at 4:30 again the next morning. He lasted until 6:15--woohoo! Sunday was church and then we were homeward bound.

"This waiting at the airport business is BORING." --Owen

Owen and I sure missed Russ and couldn't wait to see him!

Thanks to mom, Cherilyn and Carolyn for the fun weekend!!!

Games

2010-09-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

This rattle is definitely Owen's favorite toy. You can tell by how his mouth starts gaping open the second he sees it. Anyway, we play this game several times a day and Owen never gets sick of it. And for some reason we don't either! The poor kid's eyes just can't keep up.

It's Raining Slobber

2010-09-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

Does anyone else see a problem with this picture? This kid is a drooling machine!!!

Goodbye, Twenties

2010-09-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my birthday...the big 3-0! I must say that it's weird to think that I am that old because I still feel like I'm 16 most of the time. Well, a 16 year old that's graduated college and is married with a kid. It was a great birthday...definitely one of the best yet! Here's how it went down:

--slept in a little (6:15...a whole extra 15 minutes!)
--got my morning run out of the way (and decided that I don't like running)
--went shopping with one of my BFFs, Shannon
--came home to a surprise party with all my local closest friends and family!!! (Good job, Russ!)
--took a short and sweet afternoon nap :)
--cleaned the house because I knew I wouldn't be able to go to sleep that night if I didn't
--went on a hot date with my hubby and ate the best steak of my life!
--was sleeping soundly by 10 pm

Yep, a pretty awesome day.

After arriving at my surprise gathering.

Tammie Coe cake...my favorite!

Babies Everywhere!

2010-08-31T08:56:00.001-07:00

I know it's not true but it seem like everyone I know has had a baby in the last year. And today I got to meet the newest one. Congratulations to Lisa and Nick on having a beautiful baby boy! William Vinson Fuller (aka Liam) was born early this morning and weighs 8 pounds even. He has beautiful skin and a good strong cry. Owen was excited to meet his best bud!

What a cutie!!!

We spent last weekend in Moab, Utah! I've never been there and really never knew how amazingly beautiful it is up in that area. It was way too long of a drive for Owen (and trust me, he let us know that he didn't like it) but other than that it was definitely a great weekend!

Owen is a big fan of the Baby Bjorn.

Friday was spent at Arches:

Balanced Rock.

Double Arch...pretty awesome!

Under the Double Arch.

Lunch break.

Delicate Arch in the background. We kinda wish we had done the hike over to it but it was really hot out this day and Owen didn't seem to like it. So we did this short hike to a lookout of it instead.

Worn out baby.

Saturday was spent relaxing, playing games and going fishing at Warner Lake:

Look at that poor grasshopper hanging on for dear life! It's as though he knew he was about to be murdered and fed to fish.

But Russ got him and was nerdily (I made this word up just for Russ) excited about it!

This place was absolutely beautiful and there were no other people around. I wish the pictures could have captured how awesome it was!

The trees were pretty cool too.

Weekend Goodness

2010-08-23T08:50:00.001-07:00

I had a great weekend! It started on Thursday. I'm unemployed, so my weekend starts whenever I say it does. :)

It started with a mini surprise birthday party for my friend, Amber. And by mini I mean 3 of us! (Amber, Lisa and myself plus kids) We cooked up some southwestern turkey burgers, had cupcakes and homemade ice cream and then went swimming.

Then Amber's Harrison discovered the Bumbo chair. He put it on his head and was wandering around and running into walls and people...it was pretty entertaining!

Later I got some snuggly time with my boy...

And then it was off to the movies for the ultimate girly night: watching Eat, Pray, Love while chowing down on our stash full of candy and homemade ice cream that we snuck inside my diaper bag!

Seriously, homemade ice cream at the movies makes for one happy Jen!

Thank you, Russ, for "babysitting" Owen so I could go out. :)

Then Friday night we had dinner (yes, I take pictures of my food),

and then our friends T'liese and Joe came over so our boys can get acquainted. Little Evan was such a cutie! I'm interpreting Owen's blank stare to mean "I like this kid!"

We then played a game of Ticket to Ride and Russ won. I'm beginning to think that I just shouldn't play games with him...he always wins!

And Russ found this little guy in our closet. I don't usually like critters but this one was kinda cute!

It was an early morning on Saturday as we headed to Apache lake for my dad's 70th birthday! He may be old but he's still got it!

Gavin thought this boat ride was a bit boring...

Owen was a trooper, like always. Not sure why my arm in this picture looks like it belongs on a 200 pound woman but I don't like it!

My nephew, Kade, took a nice nap sitting up in his chair. So cute!

"I like all sunglasses, even girly ones." --Owen

Then Sunday was a good day filled with YW lesson teaching, a big fat nap and a delicious Eagar Sunday dinner. Life is good!

Rolly Polly

2010-08-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

Owen is growing up so stinkin' fast!!! After weeks of only rolling halfway over and getting stuck on his arm, he finally Wednesday morning worked hard enough to get that arm out. Now you set him down and he just rolls right over and pushes he head up. This morning he even rolled back the other way! Looks like it's time to keep the floors a little cleaner. :/

4 weeks ago.

2 weeks ago.

2 days ago.

This morning...success!

His other new discovery is his voice...he's babbling away over here! Sometimes I think he's napping in his crib until I hear a little baby jabbers...sure enough he's wide awake talking to himself. I love my happy little man!

Now we're just waiting for him to laugh! He's only had one real laugh and it wasn't even with me or Russ! Coming soon...

Escape the Heat!

2010-08-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

We headed up north this weekend and got a much needed break from the crazy Phoenix heat! Am I the only one that thinks 110 degrees feels hotter and hotter each year? Anyway, we spent Friday and Saturday night in Pinedale with Russ' parents and a few hours on Saturday with my family at the Whiting Reunion. The reunion is at Brady Spring which, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful places in AZ. I love it up there. It was a good quick weekend.

Not sure what it is about Grandma Perkins but Owen totally melts in her arms!

Seriously, that is one happy baby.

"My mom has the best taste in shoes!"

Russ: "I am so sick and tired of Jen taking all these pictures of us."
Jen: "I'm just gonna keep taking pictures until Russ smiles for one."

Russ teaching Owen to share.

Owen agreed to give Grandpa Eagar a hug even though he was wet and had crazy hair from his motorcycle ride.

I had an unfortunate incident with a #10 can of mixed nuts.

About to ruin my favorite sweatshirt. Totally worth it.

My nephews are the coolest.

Yes, that's a clump of mud sitting on Russ' ear.

Grandma Perkins got Owen to let out his first real laugh! So stinkin' cute. Russ thinks he was laughing at her outfit, though.

Winner Winner Turkey Dinner

2010-07-31T07:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted any recipes in a while...pretty much because I've had bad luck with most of them lately. But last night we found a winner! We decided to stay in for date night and try out a new recipe and rent a movie from RedBox. A fun little evening. Hope you guys like these...they were tasty!

Jerk Turkey Burgers with Mango Slaw
--1 pound ground turkey
--1 Tbsp jerk seasoning
--1 small green apple, peeled and grated
--1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
--1/4 cup panko (can find by the bread crumbs at any grocery store)
--1/4 cup mayo, plus more for brushing
--1/4 cup mango chutney (I found it at Fresh and Easy, so I assume you can get it most anywhere)
--3 cups shredded green cabbage (I just used one of those pre-shredded coleslaw packages from the produce department)
--1 carrot, shredded (same)
--4 buns

Preheat grill to medium high. Mix the turkey, seasoning, apple, 1/4 cup of the scallions and panko in a bowl. Form into four 1-inch thick patties with a small indention in the middle of each to prevent puffing up.

Mix the mayo, chutney, cabbage, carrot and remaining scallions together. Season with salt and pepper.

Brush grill with canola oil. Grill patties until browned and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side. Brush buns with mayo and sprinkle with some jerk seasoning. Toast on grill about 30 seconds. Serve burgers and slaw on the buns.

Sweet Potato Fries
Unfortunately my husband hates sweet potatoes (so sad!) so I made this with regular potatoes. I've made them with sweet before and both ways are yum!
--1 1/2 pounds potatoes, cut into strips
--1 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt
--1/2 tsp paprika
--1/4 tsp garlic powder
--1/4 tsp chili powder
--3 Tbsp olive oil

Mix to coat potatoes. Move to baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Jerk Seasoning
I searched 3 grocery stores and called 3 more and NONE of them carry jerk seasoning. So here's the recipe I used to make it myself. It makes more than you need for the burgers but you can store it and use it again.
--1 tablespoons sugar
--1 tablespoon salt
--1 tablespoon ground thyme
--1 1/2 teaspoons ground all-spice
--3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
--3/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

Life

2010-07-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

What a busy and crazy week it's been!

Unfortunately it started out with the death of our old bishop, Mitch Menlove. It was one of those heartbreaking stories...he was only 36, very active and healthy, has a beautiful wife, 3 kids and one about to be born any day. I actually don't know what caused it but after a day of hiking Mt. Humphrey's with his boys he said he didn't feel well, later that night his wife woke up to him having a massive seizure and he went into a coma. After about a day, he passed. Our hearts ache for his sweet family. Although it was sad, I must say the the funeral was absolutely wonderful and pretty darn inspiring. This man led a great life. Russ and I have held each other a little closer this week...you just never know when something like this could happen to someone you love!

The rest of the week was filled with sewing burp cloths for baby gifts, making pasta salads for the funeral luncheon, attending the funeral, going to mutual night with my Young Women, making decorations for my BFF's baby shower, making food for the baby shower, making games for the baby shower, attending a birthday party for a girl in our ward, throwing the baby shower, going on a date night with the hubster, planning my lesson for Young Women's, giving my lesson and now...watching Owen stare at the mobile hanging from his swing while wishing that we were all taking a nap! Time flies when you're having fun!

The cute mommy-to-be at her shower.

A set of girly burp cloths.

Ready and excited for church!

Happy to be helping mom with laundry.

5 seconds ago.

What's new?

2010-07-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

Now that our one and only big vacation of the summer is over we're trying to find other things to keep us busy. It hasn't been hard! Russ has been busy with work and even goes into the office before 9 am...good job, honey! ;) My big project is Mission: Lose Baby Weight which right now is the equivalent of Mission: Impossible. These last 10 pounds just don't want to go! So I'm working on getting back into my running routine and Russ and I both have goals to run the 10 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day and possibly another half marathon after that. It's amazing that we both were able to run one less than a year ago and we are now both so far from being able to. That's gonna change!

Owen has been busy too:

Owen working (and failing!) at tummy time. He's really good at kicking his legs but not so good at lifting his head.

Oh, he's really good at sucking on his blanket too!

Speaking of sucking...Owen will suck on pretty much anything! Usually it's my shirt while he's over my shoulder but the other day he was sucking on my arm. I didn't think much of it until I realized he was leaving marks all over me!

And he's recently discovered his thumb. Russ isn't too happy about this one but he can't deny that it's adorable!

Trying out his Bumbo chair...he kinda likes it!

"Whoa! What's that thing?!?!"

"Oh. It's just my leg."

Happy Campers

2010-07-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

We spent the last 5 days camping with my family in Carlsbad, California! It was pretty chilly while we were there so we didn't get as much beach time as we would have liked but we definitely had a great time visiting with family (all 7 of us Eagar kids and every single grandchild were there), getting in a few naps, playing a few games of Settlers (I finally won! It's been like a year since I've won...) and eating yummalicious food.

Owen all tuckered out on the way there. He was such a trooper!

He was so happy to cuddle up in his daddy's bed.

At our favorite breakfast spot in San Diego. The view is awesome!

A couple of my brothers and their families joined us for breakfast. This is Eric, Kim and little Shelby.

Owen loves his sunglasses. Seriously! He kept them on for like an hour.

He even napped in them...

Like father, like son.

First time in the ocean!

After a long, hard day at the beach.

Russ had way too much fun trying to keep the squirrels out of our campsite.

Beach bum.

Proud to be an American.

Waiting for fireworks.

My little love chunk!

Blessing Day

2010-06-14T14:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Owen's Baby Blessing. We felt pretty blessed to have so many friends and family there to support us and even more blessed to have such a healthy and handsome little baby to bless! Russ gave him a beautiful blessing. I knew he'd do great...he always does! I may or may not have cried. And Owen cried too. Luckily it was a wimpy "What is going on?" cry rather than his "I'm mad as heck and want everyone to know it!" cry. :)

Our little family. Owen looked so cute in his Sunday clothes!

Afterward everyone was invited to our house for some brunch. There were a few technical issues with some waffle irons (apparently our kitchen can't handle four waffle irons at once) but other than that it turned out well and it was fun to visit with family and friends (as always).

Owen getting lots of attention from his Aunt Karli and Aunt Deirdre.

Uncle Eric imitating Owen. C'mon...Owen is way cuter than that!

Me with my little man.

The only downside to having so many people over is that Owen didn't get his usual 2-3 hour nap in the middle of the day. By the afternoon he was C.R.A.N.K.Y! If anyone sat him down for even a second he would belt out a blood-curdling cry.

Grandma Perkins trying to calm Mr. Crank.

We were super happy when we finally got him to fall asleep for good at 8:30. Luckily he's back to his sweet self today. :)

Birth Photos

2010-06-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

I would have titled this post "Birth Video" but we all know that that makes us imagine home videos of inappropriate shots that should never be seen!

Our good friend, Jen Garbett, is an awesome photographer and was there taking photos when Owen was born. She came to the hospital around noon on Monday and didn't leave until about 6 am the next morning after our baby finally came out...that's a whole 18 hours, people! I wasn't sure how it would be to have her (or anyone else for that matter) there during the experience but I was so glad she was there! She was very comforting and helpful throughout the whole ordeal and was able to help keep Russ from going crazy. Not to mention she took fantastic photos! These are moments that I'll cherish forever and I'm so glad to have pictures capturing them. Thank you, Jen!

By the way...I am SO happy that my feet, face and hands finally went back to their normal size! And if you want to check out any more of Jen's work (or watch this video bigger) you can go to www.photojenic.net.

7 Weeks and SOOOO Cute!

2010-06-07T18:59:00.001-07:00

I'm sure every parent says this about their babies...but Owen just keeps getting cuter and cuter! Just in the last week or two he has started smiling at us, which we absolutely love. This parenting business is great!

P.S. Please excuse my baby talk and dinosaur roars in this video.

Mushy Bananas, Muffins and Men

2010-05-31T19:15:00.000-07:00

So, last week I finally got around to cleaning out our fridge. I pulled out a lot of food that we had let go bad. A LOT. I was disgusted, and vowed right then and there to not let any more food go to waste. Then I turned around and saw the 3 mushy bananas sitting on the counter. There was no way I was going to throw away more food. So, I did what any girl would do and went on allrecipes.com to find out what I could make with 3 bananas. I ended up making these muffins and they were scrumptious! Pretty easy too.

Banana Bran Muffins
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 bananas, mashed
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
1 tsp each baking powder and soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I had to leave these out since Russ doesn't like nuts...such a shame.)

In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Add bananas, milk, vanilla and eggs and mix well. Stir in flour, bran, powder, soda and salt. Blend until just moistened. Stir in walnuts. (Skip the walnuts if you're making it for Russ.) Pour batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes (mine were actually done at 18...) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12 muffins.

On to another topic...this is what happens when I leave Russ at home to babysit:

Yes, little Owen cried so much that his head turned purple. Poor baby. And poor Russ! I better add a couple cute photos just so you all still think he's cute.

Old and New Friends

2010-05-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

I've been blessed my whole life to have great friends. Two of the best are Mel and Tara...my old roommies that I have TONS of great memories with. I can't count how many late nights of girl talk we've had and games of "Who Would You Rather?" we played in those 3 years! So it was fun to find out that we were all expecting babies at the same time! They each came out about 2 weeks apart...first Owen, then Ty (Owen's best bud) 11 days later and finally Savannah (the girl Owen and Ty are gonna fight over) last week. Ty and Savannah are absolutely adorable and have shockingly large amounts of hair compared to Owen. I think he was jealous.

Tara happened to be in town today so we all got together so we could ooh and ahh at each other's babies for a while. I loved it!

All together! Mel & Savannah, Me & Owen, Tara & Ty.

Just the kiddos.

Owen is about to lose it.

Lost it!

Brave or Stupid???

2010-05-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

Russ and I actually took our 1 month old baby camping this weekend! Some of our bestest buds, the Garbetts, invited us to go with their little family and we just couldn't pass up such an offer. Unfortunately, it was really windy while we were there which made it hard to keep Owen happy which made it very hard for us to relax! All in all, I thought it was a fun little trip. :)

"I'm so excited to go camping with my mommy and daddy!"

"Why are they still taking pictures of me?"

"Seriously, why are you still taking pictures!?!?!"

After getting Owen all bundled up in his oversized sweatshirt and pants.

Owen and daddy cuddling by the campfire.

Owen asleep in his favorite position, but...

...he got cold and got to cuddle with mom later.

And he got to suck on daddy's finger too!

"I sure wish my parents would buy me a hat that's the right size."

Garbetts! (Not a great photo but the only one we took for some reason.)

Snuggling with my sweet baby boy!

Bath Time

2010-05-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

So pretty much the only interesting thing we're gonna have to talk about from here on out is Owen. He's much more interesting than we are! In the last post I mentioned some of his favorite things. Well now I'll tell you about his least favorite...bath time! He screams from the minute I start taking his clothes off until the second he's wrapped up all snuggly in his towel. I can't help but find it a little funny when he's struggling so hard to not get clean. He clenches his fists, kicks and oh the screaming!

Angry baby.

Cute and happy baby!

Baby telling me that he's hungry.

2 Weeks Down...

2010-05-04T17:08:00.001-07:00

Today is Owen's 2 week birthday! Still a little guy but it seems like we've had him forever and I mean that totally in a good way. We absolutely love having him around and getting to know him (except when it's 4 in the morning and he thinks it's time to wake up and play). Here's some of his favorite things:

1. Peeing on daddy. (I LOVE this one!) For whatever reason he never goes on me, just Russ. I can't help but laugh when I hear Russ start yelling when there's an incident in the next room!

2. Making TONS of noise while eating. This boy loves meal time!

3. Making funny faces. My personal favorite is when he opens his eyes really wide and makes his mouth really, really small...like he's surprised or something. It makes me laugh every time.

4. Having other people around. Whether it's visitors at our house or going to the store or whatever...he always seems to calm down and be happy when there's other people around to listen to. Maybe he's just bored with his mom and dad.

5. The pinky finger. No pacifiers for this kid...only the pinky finger will do!

6. Hanging out with dad. I'm pretty sure he just likes someone new to entertain him by the end of the day, but he seems to really love being with his dad every evening. I love it!

And some more pics just for fun...

All sprawled out and happy.

Getting some lovin' from his momma.

I just love this face!

Welcome, little Owen!

2010-04-23T09:04:00.001-07:00

I'm sure most of ya'll already know that we finally had our little boy! Owen Russell Perkins is his name. Owen because we both like the name and because it's a family name on Russ' dad's side (well, Owens is anyway...). The middle name Russell obviously comes from his daddy. He finally came out after 38 hours of labor at 5:15 am on Tuesday, April 20th weighing a whopping 8 pounds 6 ounces and was 22 inches long. I'm pretty sure like 10 of those inches are his cone head, though. It was huge!!!

He's been a perfect baby! Seriously, he is beautiful. He loves to sleep. He loves to latch right on and eat. He loves to stare at us with his big, beautiful eyes. He loves to make cute facial expressions in his sleep. He's even cute when he cries. We are madly in love with him!

It was a long, hard time getting him out. I've hesitated as to whether or not I should share the birth story on here and decided not to. It's a long and dramatic story and one that I hope I forget! Whether or not Owen has siblings greatly depends on my ability to forget it, actually. As of right now there's no way! If you really want details you can ask me and I'll tell you.

Russ is a great daddy. The day he was born I asked Russ if he'd get Owen for me out of his hospital bassinet so I could feed him. Russ just looked at me like, "What? I actually have to touch him???". I quickly learned that Russ hadn't even held his son yet and was scared to! I didn't really give him a choice since I was in pain but it only took a few hours of baby handling and Russ has become a natural. He likes to point out (brag, really) whenever he is able to get the baby to calm down so quickly. And he LOVES to point out that he's better at swaddling the baby than me! It's totally true. He's been a great daddy and a very helpful husband...letting me sleep whenever possible and making sure I have everything I need. How did I get so lucky?!?!?

Owen with his Grandma Eagar. We had lots of visitors in the hospital and are grateful for each and every one of you. You know who you are!!!

Owen with his Aunt Deirdre and meeting some of his cousins. I think this picture is so cute!

In his carseat ready to head home for the first time. Scary for his mom and dad!

Owen's first outfit. Property of his mom forever is right!!!

I LOVE this picture of Russ and Owen. My boys!

Pesto, please!

2010-04-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

Since I've had a lot more time on my hands this week (no job and caught up on baby preparedness) and I have a ginormous appetite (9 months pregnant...hello!) I've done a little cooking and found 2 great new recipes that I thought I should share.

This first I have to give credit to my sister-in-law, Karli, for since she's the one who e-mailed it to me. I made it on Wednesday and Russ raved about it, he ate the leftovers for lunch today and then when I asked what he wanted for dinner he said he wanted me to make it again. I think that means he likes it!

Pesto Chicken with Pasta
adapted from Campbell's

3 cups uncooked pasta (your choice, I used rotini)
1 pound chicken breasts, cooked in a crockpot and shredded (I just boiled it on the stovetop until it was cooked and then shredded it cuz I think that's faster and easier)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup pesto sauce
1/2 cup milk

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Combine soup, pesto and milk in saucepot over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Add chicken; combine until heated. Toss with pasta in large bowl. Serves 4.

This second recipe isn't a new one but is one of our all-time favorites. I made it this week and was reminded once again how absolutely amazing it is. Seriously. It's a healthy one too, which is a bonus. :) It's from allrecipes.com but I make changes so here's my version:

Asian Beef with Snow Peas (or Garlicy Beef Stir Fry which is what I like to call it)

6 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I use canola because canola and olive are the only 2 oils that I have determined to be acceptable)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root (ginger root is in the produce section...I just peel it and grate it)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (the more the merrier here)
1 pound beef round steak or sirloin tip steak, cut into thin strips
8 ounces snow peas
1 can sliced water chestnuts

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar and cornstarch. Set aside. Heat oil in a wok or skillet over medium high heat. Stir-fry ginger and garlic for 30 seconds. Add the steak and stir-fry for 2 minutes (it won't be cooked all the way yet but that's okay...move to the next step). Add the snow peas, water chestnuts and soy sauce mixture, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer until the sauce is thick and smooth (mine never gets totally thick, fyi). Serve immediately over rice (jasmine brown rice is the best!). The original recipe calls for sliced red bell pepper too. I'm not into bell pepper but if you are then I say go for it!

Hope ya'll enjoy!

Oh, and our baby is due in 8 days. He still hasn't dropped, I've had zero contractions and he seems pretty content in there right now...kicking me in the ribs all the time. Doesn't look like he's coming anytime very soon! :(

The Countdown, Eggs, Unemployment, Etc.

2010-03-29T11:43:00.000-07:00

The Countdown
I have 20 days until my due date. That means 20 days until I don't waddle anymore, 20 days until I don't have dizzy spells anymore, 20 days until I can drive again, 20 days until my feet can go back to their normal size and 20 days until my hands stop tingling!!! Oh, and 20 days until we have a baby too. :) I'm hoping little Archibald really does come on or before this date because I don't know if I can handle even one extra day. Let the countdown begin!!!

Eggs
Yesterday my bestest buds, Amber and Lisa, and their little families came to our house for our 2nd Annual Easter Eggstravaganza! My husband still thinks he's too old to dye Easter eggs so I'm glad I have friends that will still do it with me. Russ grilled up some delicious salmon, I made sides, Lisa made a killer salad and Amber made a cake that was better than you-know-what (or so the name of it tells us). Everything was yummy. Afterward, us ladies enjoyed our egg dying outside in the perfect AZ weather!

Lisa with her prize-winning egg.

Not sure why Amber uses her fingers to get the eggs out of the dye but I like it!

Finished products.

The girls.

So after we dyed eggs we had the boys choose the top 3. I shocked and horrified (ok, not really) to see that NONE of the top 3 were mine and were ALL Lisa's! It had to have been rigged somehow, I'm sure of it. What's wrong with these ones?:

3 of my beautiful eggs.

Unemployment
Today is my first day of not working and in all honesty I'm not sure how I feel about it. I always thought it would be a glorious day but instead it just feels...weird. I was kinda forced to end work a week early since my vertigo has made working very unpleasant and difficult. I was walking down the halls one day last week and the Director of Nursing saw me staggering a little and told me to go home. Apparently it doesn't look good to have employees walking drunk-like down the halls??? So I'm doing my darndest to keep myself busy and not be lazy which means today I'll be organizing all of Buckwheat's clothes according to size and trying to assemble the stroller and high chair that we just bought on Saturday. Should be a good day!

Etc.
And last but definitely not least...Russ and I read an awesome church article together last night that we LOVED. It's pretty much saying that we can't expect our children to grow up with testimonies if we don't actively live the gospel ourselves and teach by example. I seriously think ya'll should read it with your spouses...it was fantastic. It's called "A Prayer for the Children" by Jeffrey R. Holland from the May 2003 Conference Ensign.

http://www.lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,49-1-353-29,00.html

Enjoy!

Baby Shower!!!

2010-03-13T16:37:00.000-08:00

This morning was my baby shower!!! I'm not sure if it's normal to wake up at 6 am and not be able to go back to sleep (even though you are exhausted) just because you're so excited but that's exactly what happened. My friends Amber, Shannon and Lisa were the party-throwers and they did such an awesome job! They decorated the house all cutesy-like, had AMAZING food and actually managed to think up some new and unique shower games, too. :) They also had a bunch of plain onesies there for everyone to iron on cute decals. They turned out so cute! I'm 100% convinced that my baby will have no shortage of clothes any time soon. It's always fun to have so many people that I love in one room at the same time...from family to old friends to new friends from my ward...it was great!

Amber and Karli making their onesies.

Myself oohing and aahing at all the cute homemade onesies.

Russ' favorite onesie. Not sure why...

The awesome hosts! (Oh, and me too.)

The quilt my mom made me...love it!

These cupcakes were just as delicious as they look!

My old roomie, Tara, and I showing off our matching baby bumps. :)

Russ made an appearance toward the end and got some flirting time in with Shelby.

The aftermath. This baby is one loved (aka: spoiled) kid!

Thank you so much to my girlies for throwing me a perfect shower! Love you!!!

Happiness is...

2010-03-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

1. ...getting the giggles with Russ while playing Rummikub (even if he does end up winning).

2. ...taking my 30 minute snooze after work every day while my baby rolls around in my belly. (This is his favorite time to play!)

(Most recent prego pic from about a week ago.)

3. ...cutting into an avocado only to discover that it is the most PERFECT avocado that has ever existed.

(Yes, I actually took a picture of the above mention avocado. It was beautiful!)

4. ...getting phone calls from my niece asking when we can have girls night. (Kamryn is so stinkin' cute!)

5. ...listening to Russ crack jokes about my swollen feet during church. (I try to act mad but it's just too funny!)

6. ...going for walks in the drizzly, cool AZ winter weather.

7. ...counting down the days 'til my baby shower because I've waited my whole life to have one. (And having awesome friends who are throwing it for me!)

8. ...eating Pad Se-eiw one night (delicious!) and Russ' amazing paella (even more delicious!) the next.

9. ...Russ calling me Striker when I have my wrist braces on at night which makes me laugh every time. (Apparently this would be my name if I were in a bowling league.)

10. ...singing along to Air Supply even though I know it's not the most heterosexual choice of music.

11. ...getting phone calls from old friends.

12. ...watching American Idol and pretending like I know just as much about music as the judges.

13. ...acquiring adorable baby clothes.

(What I bought for the little guy to wear on our beach trip this summer!)

14. ...having thoughtful sister-in-laws that bring me maternity clothes to borrow just when I was starting to feel like I was wearing the same thing every day.

15. ...sitting in the middle of my baby's room just because I know a sweet little boy is gonna be living in there soon.