Thank You Jeff, You Saved My Life- REALLy LONG

So, I thought I'd blog about my lovely experience flying from Indiana to Utah on Thursday while it's still painfully fresh in my memory. The flight from Evansville to Cincinatti was on time and was less than an hour. Of course actually getting all of my crap plus my kids onto the plain and situated was a lot of fun. By the time we got seated (we were the last to get on the plane), I was sweating like a hog and everyone was staring at me. That seems to be a common thing when I fly by myself with the girls. I wonder why...

Anyways, I arrived at the Cincinnati airport and bought us a scrumptious dinner at McDonalds... right. I changed the girls' diapers and got more hot water for Sarah's bottles. Then we sat and sat while we waited for the plane to arrive from SLC. In the meantime I asked the airline worker at the desk if he could switch our seats to the 2 seater side as opposed to the 3 seater side. I really wanted to avoid irritating the poor unfortunate soul who was assigned to sit by us the 3 1/2 hour flight to SLC. Why is it every flight these days is delayed? Mind you, the time was rapidly approaching 9 pm. My kids go to bed around 8:30.

Time continued to drag on and I thought the airline worker had completely forgotten about my plea to have our seats reassigned. By some miracle (which it really turned out to be), he hadn't forgotten about me and had seated us in the front of the plane right behind first class. When the plane arrive and the passengers were getting off, a stranger approached me and asked if he could help me in any way. Even though I'm a very independent person, I have learned to never refuse help from anyone who offers when I'm flying by myself with the kids. So, I graciously accepted and said he could carry in Reagan's carseat for me. I also had two loaded backpacks, Sarah strapped in the Ergo carrier, with Reagan buckled in the double stroller.

Fortunately, I was allowed to board the plane immediately after first class. Hallelujah! We got situated and then Reagan started grunting like she was pooping. I thought "Oh fantastic! We still have a ton of passengers to board so I can't change her and everyone that passes by will smell it and glare at me." I couldn't smell anything but I was so anxious as people loaded the plane. Since we were behind they immediately started taxiing and so I couldn't change her until after we had taken off. Once we were in the air, the seatbelt sign was illuminated for at least 45 minutes! When it finally turned off I grabbed Reagan and headed quickly to the bathroom. I left Sarah strapped in the carseat with her binky, blanket, and some toys. I was ticked/relieved that Reagan hadn't actually pooped since there was no changing table in the bathroom. When we got back to our seats, Sarah was screaming her eyes out in the arms of the flight attendant who was looking at me like I was the most negligent awful mother. Thanks lady.

Throughout the flight the kind gentleman who carried in the carseat held Sarah now and then for me while I worked with Reagan or fixed a bottle. At first things were going ok but they quickly went downhill. Reagan proceeded to scream and hit and throw things the entire flight. I kept trying to calm her down and get her to go to sleep since it was so late. No luck. At the same time Sarah was exhausted and so I was trying to put her to sleep but as soon as she started to dose, Reagan's screams woke her up. I was so frazzled. It was the longest 3 1/2 hours of my life. Wasn't it so nice that Reagan finally fell asleep for the last 15 minutes of the flight. Needless to say she was not happy when I woke her up shortly after we landed.

We finally arrived to SLC. The name of the kind man sitting behind me was Jeff. I overheard the conversation between him and the guy sitting next to him. Jeff turned out to be a member of the church and somehow they had started talking about the gospel. The other guy was very curious and it was neat to witness someone else having a missionary experience. Jeff helped me get my things out of the plane. It took them about 15 minutes to bring out my double stroller. Reagan was falling apart because it was now 11 pm Utah time and 12 am Indiana time. Jeff stayed with me even though I told him I would be fine. I'm so glad he stayed. We got down to baggage claim and I reached into my pocket for my phone so I could call the shuttle of the hotel we were staying at that night. Nothing was in my pocket. Oh crap! Just what I needed...my phone had fallen out of my pocket. I explained this to Jeff and he said he'd wait with Reagan and my things while I took Sarah to go see if I could get through security back up to the plane.

Turns out I had to get a special pass to go through security. It took them about 30 minutes to get that for me. Are you kidding me? So I go back to Jeff to tell him I have to head up. Reagan starts crying once she sees me. So, I switch and hand him Sarah and take Reagan with me. I start sprinting with Reagan (who weighs 30 lbs) on my hip. The gate wasn't close and I was huffing and puffing running with Reagan in my arms. I finally get my phone and sprint back. Jeff is still standing there waiting for me. Seriously, this guy was incredible. So so so so nice. He helps me out to the curb while I call for a shuttle. No answer. I thought hotels always had someone at the front desk 24/7. So I call again. And again...about 15 times total. No answer. Not even an answering machine. I had been assured the previous day that a shuttle would be available. I just needed to call. So, what does Jeff do? He offers to drive me over to my hotel. It's about midnight at this point. I have already thanked him about 100 times and it doesn't seem adequate. So, he loads all my crap into his car and drives us over. He helps me unload and waits while I check in. He then helps me all the way up to the 4th floor to my door. He wouldn't leave until I got to my room no matter how many times I told him I could handle it. I wanted to get his last name or contact information so I could send him some huge gift basket or something but I thought that wouldn't be right since we were both married. I just wish I could have done something more than just say thank you over and over again to show him how much I appreciated his selflessness and goodness.

So, my burdensome trip was made much lighter by Jeff. Thank you Jeff for saving my life. I probably would still be on the curb at the SLC airport sobbing my eyes out if it wasn't for you.

Oh and one last thing. The entire carpet in my room was soaking wet. They must have cleaned it 10 minutes before we checked in. I was way too tired to say anything about it. And I was so excited about my super hot priceline deal to stay at the Marriott Residence Inn.

Sorry Erik but I think you'll need to come visit us next time! I can't handle another trip for awhile :)

Farewell Evansville

The girls and I flew out last minute to Evansville, Indiana to be with Erik for 3 weeks. I got a great deal on tickets a day and a half before we flew out! Woo hoo :) We were very blessed that the hospital allowed us to stay with Erik in the 2 bedroom apartment they furnished for him for free. We also had access to 2 non coin operated washers and dryers. So nice. We are so grateful everything worked out so well.

Flying out here by myself with the girls was another story though. I had already done it before in July (which I need to catch up on) and although that was rough it was nowhere near the nightmare this trip was. Reagan was behaving like a monster! I thought what has happened to my child?!?! She was screaming on and off the entire 4 hour flight from SLC to Atlanta, constantly kicking the chair of the person in front of her, yelling at and hitting Sarah whenever she came within a 2 inch distance of her personal space, chucking snacks, books, and toys on the floor and then screaming until I picked them up for her. I could go on and on but I will spare you the rest of my sad story. Needless to say I was ragged and frazzled by the time we met up with Erik.

I'm flying back to Idaho in a few hours and I'm trying my hardest to be optimistic that my children will be perfect angels despite the fact that Sarah's gums are swollen and bulging, waiting for her bottom two teeth to erupt after months of teething (I swear).
We love spending time with daddy although it wasn't a frequent thing. I spent a lot of time by myself with the girls walking everywhere. I still managed to lose weight here while still stuffing my face with this:
Oh how I've missed you Blue Bell ice cream. I first tasted this stuff when we moved to Texas in 1996. It's only sold in a few select states in the south. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it at Wal-Mart here. I didn't eat all of that but I did eat lots of Strawberries & Homemade Vanilla and a new flavor, Candy Jar. Oh it is heavenly...caramel ice cream with peanut butter cups, chocolate and caramel chunks, peanut brittle and chocolate crisp pieces. Oh yeah.

Besides walking everywhere with the kids in tow in my wonderful double stroller, we fed the ducks across the street regularly, played at the park of course, rode the carousel at the mall, and played in indoor mall play area.

A very few ocassions Erik joined us. We went to a water park one day but didn't get pictures. Both the girls love the water so it was a total hit. Reagan couldn't get enough. We also went to the Mesker Park Zoo and it had a brand new Amazon rainforest exhibit that was amazing. Unfortunately Reagan was in a bad mood so it wasn't as fun as we had hoped. We bribed her to smile for the few pictures we got. Hahaha!


Absolutely love my Ergo baby carrier. It has saved me and made me a much happier mommy. Sarah is blissfully happy in this thing. It allows me to go anywhere with the girls and she'll fall asleep in it when she gets tired. (I promise I'm not getting paid or anything to advertise for Ergo but I just love it so much I can't say it enough)
Reagan checking out a turtle and a weird looking lizard that can detach it's tail to escape from predators. Crazy huh?
Flashing her signature cheesy grin.
Mommy trying to keep Reagan happy even though she's soooo grumpy.

Admiring the giraffe who was eating.

Checking out the Zebra and her baby.
Pretending to be bats
Feeding the goats crackers at the petting zoo.

We loved being out here with Erik and hope we get to see him again soon!

Happy Four and Twenty Seven!

Last week Erik and I celebrated our 4th anniversary! We were married on August 14th, 2004 in the Dallas, Texas temple. It was a beautiful sealing ceremony and day. Since then we have added 2 beautiful girls to our family. We have struggled through 3+ years of medical school and are currently trying to survive our 4th year rotations, much of which will be spend apart from each other. Erik has put up with my whining and complaining during the pregnancies and has been my greatest support. I'm so proud of him for all that he has accomplished and so grateful that he continues to work so hard for our family. The road has definitely had some major bumps but I'm so glad that he's the one who has been by my side. I love you sweetie!

Here's to many more happy years to come :)

Happy 27th birthday to Erik! His birthday was August 16th and I'm glad that the girls and I were out here to be with him. We went out to dinner at Old Chigago's pizza which wasn't anything special but Erik didn't want us to make a big fuss over his birthday. That's very him :)

Here are 27 things you may or probably do not know about Erik:

1.He loves to watch football, preferrably the NFL.

2. His favorite dessert is donuts- any and all donuts.

3. He prefers pie over cake.

4. He loves meat. I'm amazed at the amount of steak this boy can consume. Eating meat acutally makes him hungrier.

5. He's a great soccer player. I love to watch him play. I haven't seen him play since we've had kids because his intramural games were always at a bad time.

6. He loves to watch movies which is something we do together a lot. He's a sucker for action movies. He always says if there's a couple of good explosions, etc. then he usually likes it :)

7. He's an incredibly fast runner. It's amazing to watch him run at full speed.

8. This guy can sleep anytime, anywhere. He has narcolepsy and even on the highest does of medication he is still drowsy and can fall asleep no problem. I'm amazed that he continues to do so well with his schooling despite this challenge.

9. Erik became a diabetic when he was 19. They should have caught it prior to him leaving on his mission. He had to come home a month out in the mission field and was so sick- he should have been dead.

10. He loves to lift weights and keep in shape. It's been hard for him to find time the past few years but especially now that he's on rotations. He works really hard at it.

11. He's often quiet around people he's just met or doesn't know very well. But, once you get to know him he's a lot of fun. He likes to joke around a lot.

12. He gets a lot of enjoyment out of riling me up. I can get worked up (not really) over some things and he thinks its fun.

13. He grew up in the mojave dessert in California.

14. He's very stubborn. I never thought I would marry someone who could be even more stubborn than me.

15. His dream is to live in Alaska after residency...I'm definitely not so keen on the idea.

16. Erik gets hot very very easily. As long as the sun is shining on him, he's hot even if it's 30 degrees out. When we were first married, he kept the window open at night in the middle of the winter. I was being a very nice wife at the time. Hahaha!

17. He loves loves to fish, especially for trout.

18. He loves the outdoors- hiking, camping, etc.

19. He loves his little girls so much and is so good at playing with them. Reagan gets so excited when he comes home. Mommy just isn't as much fun.

20. He has a great singing voice but unfortunately doesn't think so.

21. He's the oldest of 5 kids.

22. He used to want 8 kids and now he says we're done at 2. Hahaha! Little does he know but I will get my way with 4 :)

23. He wants to teach at a podiatry school later on in his career. He's a fantastic teacher- a very natural gift to him.

24. He loves the cartoon Dexter's Laboratory.

25. His nickname for me is Pooky. I love it.

26. He has the most infectious laugh when he REALLY laughs. I absolutely love it. It's the best sound ever.

27. He's the best husband! I love you!!!!

Sleep Deprivation..*Yawn*

WARNING- post may contain a bit of whining/venting...

I was blaming my sleep deprivation on the fact that I have been addicted to the Olympics in Beijing this year! I couldn't turn off the tv and go to bed. As a result I've been a zombie the entire time I've been in Indiana. I love the Olympics! I don't think I've ever watched the Olympics as much as I did this year. My favorites were swimming (Go Michael Phelps!), gymnastics, and track. I also enjoyed watching volleyball. Wasn't Clay Stanley amazing?

I'm sad that it's over but glad that I should be getting more sleep, especially since I'm flying back to Idaho by myself with both girls on Thursday. Can I say NIGHTMARE?!? I flew for the first time by myself with both of them last month and it was awful. It's a good thing I love my husband or else I would never do it again. A few weeks ago was beyond horrific. I don't think that Reagan has ever been that onery and misbehaved so much. Please, please pray for me.

Oh and my kids have both been sick the past few days and have tag teamed in the middle of the night, causing me to get out of bed oh...every 20 minutes or so. Nice. Too bad I don't drink coffee.

Let's Not Forget About Sarah

A lot of my posts have been focused on Reagan but Sarah has definitely been busy this summer. She's now 8 months old and a little firecracker in her own way. It's really funny to watch her get fired up and try to fight for mommy's attention with her older sister. She'll sit there and yell and her face will get all red then she'll be perfectly calm afterwards. She's just ticked when she feels left out. She'll definitely let everyone know. She's also my little cuddlebug. Reagan was never one to cuddle so I'm loving this.

A few things Sarah's accomplished this summer:
1. Started sitting up by herself pretty much exactly at 6 months old which was the same as Reagan.
2. I started trying to feed her solids at 5 1/2 months and she refused them until just recently (about 7 1/2 months). She loves bread and gerber puffs though. I'm thinking she may be even pickier than Reagan, ugh!
3. She started army crawling on August 12th at 7 1/2 months. She's now trying to get up on her knees and will ocassionally rock back and forth. She's super cute army crawling though!
4. Just yesterday she completely surprised me. I went into the kitchen to wash bottles and left her sitting in the living room. I came out maybe 2 minutes later and Sarah had pulled herself up to standing next to a chair. She was grunting because she wasn't fully upright but was determined. It was so cute because her facial expression was like "How in the world did I get up here and what the heck is going on?" It was priceless! I thought for sure she wouldn't walk anywhere near as soon as Reagan but the fact that she pulled herself up out of nowhere has me nervous. I don't want her to be walking anytime soon.
Here are some random pictures from over the summer of Sarah. She's a little more photogenic than she used to be, hahaha!

Spending time with daddy when he came to visit.
With mommy in the Ergo baby carrier. I so HEART the Ergo carrier. Best thing I have ever bought for my kids. AMAZING!
Sarah with Aunt Elizabeth sporting daddy's sunglasses.
Meeting her Great Grandma Elaine Haroldsen, who she is named after.
Showing off her beautiful smile. She loves her big sister Reagan so much!

Unusually happy on her tummy.


Look at her already waving to the crowd! She really does wave to people already. So cute!

I think she looks a lot like some of my mom's baby pictures. We love you "Little Bunny!"

Lastly, here's a short video clip of her crawling:

Reagans 2nd birthday party

Reagan was super excited about all the people at the party, the balloons, the swimming pool in the backyard, and all of the attention.
I had plans to make a homemade cake but my mom convinced me to just buy one. I had enough going on with the rest of the food and everything else. I'm glad I gave in :) I went with the Elmo theme because she loves Elmo and hasn't gotten into the princess thing yet. Somehow I don't think she ever really will...she seems more of a tomboy that likes to do boy things instead.
Reagan was all business about the cake. She scarfed it down good- shoveling it in pretty fast! Too bad she took after me and loves sweets.
Here she is unwrapping and admiring her gifts. Her main gift was early and was a pink and purple tricycle. She loves riding on her "bikeacycle" as she calls it. She also got a fingerpainting kit with different textured paint roller brushes, a bubble gun, a playdoh kit with textured stamps and textured rolling pins, and other various gifts. She had a blast playing with her second cousin Cassidy, eating junk, and playing in the pool. We also had water balloon volleyball in the backyard and she had a blast helping load the balloons on the towel and getting in the way. It was so much fun to actually have family around to celebrate.

Here's a video of us singing and Reagan blowing out the candle.

Reagan turns 2!

Birthday pictures to follow. I just can't believe my baby is 2 years old. She has grown up so much this last year especially. She was born on Sunday June 25th, 2006 at 2:06 a.m. She weighed 7 lbs. 6 1/2 oz. and was 20 inches long. Reagan is such a joy in our family. She has SO much energy, is so bright and curious about everything, super sensitive, intense, sweet,, observant, and loving. Here are a few pictures of the first 2 years of her life:

Sorry that the above picture is sideways. I couldn't figure out how to flip it. This was the first picture taken of Reagan after she was born. Not too happy eh? That seemed to be the theme for the first three and a half months of her life.
This is Reagan at 3 months old

Reagan is about 7-8 months here
This is Reagan on her 1st birthday
This is Reagan with her daddy when he came to visit us at the end of June

We're looking forward to many more years with our little Skunk. We love you Reagan!

We're still alive...crazy summer! June recap...

Everyone probably gave up on me getting up a new blog post but I am still alive. It's been a crazy and event filled summer for the girls and I. I have SOOOOOO much blogging/journaling to catch up on. I feel like I've been around the world a couple times. I guess I have to start somewhere so I'll start where I left off...

Erik came out to Idaho the last week of June through the 4th of July. We had Reagan's birthday party the night he flew in, which will be in the following post. That following Monday he surprised me with an overnight trip to the Black Swan Inn in Pocatello, Idaho. It was AMAZING! We went out to Texas Roadhouse (one of our favorite restaurants), bought a ridiculous amount of junk and candy and watched movies and relaxed. It was fantastic to spend time with just the two of us. Thanks mom!! Here's a link to the fabulous room we stayed in. If you're ever around Pocatello and you and your hubby need to get away and relax, I totally recommend! Go HERE and click on virtual tour. We stayed in the Mayan Rain Forest suite. By the time we left I was sooooooooo relaxed which is so not like me these days :)

Here's a brief recap on what life was like in June:
1. Trips to nearby park- Reagan loves to swing and slide
2. Reagan unleashes the REAL terrible two's, (which I might add, has continued to intensify since) as shown in the picture below:

3. Sarah continues to demand for you to be in her face at all times and/or holding her or she's screaming and crying, as shown in the picture below:
4. Reagan decides that she doesn't want her picture scriptures anymore. She loves when we sit down and read before bed and she can hold her own copy. She loves to read the scriptures (with our help of course).
5. Both Reagan and Sarah LOVE being in the water, whether it's the bath or the pool. Sarah gets sooo excited and flaps her arms and totally drenches her face with water. Reagan just can't get enough. I had to end on a sweet picture of the two of them together. Such cute girls I must say so myself :) Sarah is 6 months here and this is 2 days before Reagan's birthday.