Yes, another tag

So I know I just did a tag a few days ago, but I saw this on my friend Calley's blog and decided I loved it.

20 years ago:
-I was 7. I honestly don't remember much about my childhood, but I believe that was the year I met one of my best friends, Cambria Evans. Other than that, I was probably chasing the boys all around the playground and having fun.

10 years ago:
-I was 17, in my last year of high school, dating up a storm (ok not really, but I spent a lot of time dreaming about dating up a storm), having tons of fun in A Capella and being on Seminary council, and looking forward to attending BYU that summer. Unfortunately that was also the year my parents separated and eventually divorced, but we won't get into that part of my life :-)

5 years ago:
-The first part of the year I was having a blast as a service missionary at the BYU Genealogy Library. I even got to co-star in a video (ok, so it was an informational video for the library, but still). Later that year I went back to school and I started dating a great guy named Bill Evans.

3 years ago:
-Bill and I had been married for about a year, Bill graduated with his bachelor's degree and started a master's, we moved into a new apartment, and we were eagerly anticipating the birth of our first child. William Joseph Evans was born on October 25 of that year.

So far this year:
-We have moved to Urbana, Illinois so that Bill can work on a PhD. I spend my days playing with Will, cleaning the house, relaxing when I can, preparing Sunday School lessons every other week, and enjoying the fact that I don't have to go to school anymore. And we found out a few weeks ago that we are expecting child #2, which we are excited, scared, and nervous about.

Yesterday:
-I had a doctor's appointment way too early in the morning, then I spent the day at home with Will playing with trains, watching our wedding video, and slaving away in the kitchen for about an hour to make a fabulous dinner. After Will went to bed and Bill was back on campus studying for a huge exam, I let myself relax by watching a movie.

Today:
-So far today we all slept in a little too long, Will and I had some fun at Park Day while Bill decided to remind me just what a wonderful husband he is by cleaning the kitchen, the living room, and Will's room while we were gone, I caught up on some blogs while Will took a nap, then he and I made cookies together and he took a bath after eating a bunch of chocolate chips.

Tomorrow:
-Will and I will probably spend some time in the bathroom attempting to continue the never-ending quest to get him potty-trained as soon as possible. I will work on my Sunday School lesson (I'm usually done by now, but this week has been kind of blah for me), then Bill and I will figure out something fun and cheap to do for date night.

In the next year:
-This next year will hopefully be a good one. There are lots of things to look forward to. Bill's parents are coming into town for a visit in about a week or two, hopefully Bill will pass his big exam at the end of August, hopefully he will be able to find a research group so he can get started on his PhD dissertation research, I will continue to get bigger and more uncomfortable with this pregnancy, Will is going to be potty-train if it kills me!, and we will get ready for our next adventure in parenting.

Will knows and loves his uncles!

Will is constantly surprising me with how smart he is. He has got an amazing memory, especially with names and faces. Which brings me to the reason for this post. Earlier today Will was looking over our DVD collection, when he noticed our newest copy of the wedding video Uncle Jonny put together for us recently. He looked at it for a minute, pointed to it, and said "From Jonny!" I was amazed. I had no idea he knew who it was from. I guess he had heard me and Bill talking about it recently. But anyway - then he decided that he wanted to watch "the movie about Mommy and Daddy," so I popped it into the laptop, and we started watching. He of course started naming all the relatives he knows, like Grandma and Grandpa Evans, Auntie Erika, Grandma Melodie, etc. Then we got to the part where most of Bill's brothers and sisters and some cousins are decorating the car during our reception in Idaho. I started pointing to the screen asking Will who different people were. He didn't recognize everyone, but the minute he saw Uncle Michael he knew exactly who it was. But that's not the best part. Once he had recognized Michael, he points to the screen and says "I wanna give Michael a hug." So sweet! I don't know if that makes Uncle Michael the favorite uncle, but I definitely think you now have an open invitation to come to Illinois, Michael :-) Will has a lot of great men in his life to look up to. We love you guys!

P.S. I apologize to the wives of these wonderful guys who had to be included in these pictures. You're all beautiful!


Uncle Michael


Uncle Jake


Uncle Jonny


Uncle Bobby

Better Late Than Never

I'm about 2 weeks late in posting about this, but that's because we had to wait until our pictures were developed (our digital camera ran out of batteries, but luckily we had a film camera with us). Anyway, a couple weeks ago our family went to the Nauvoo pageant with our stake, and we stayed overnight at the local campground. Quite the experience, let me tell you. We got there on Friday night just in time for the pre-pageant activities. The cast of the show put together activities and games for families to do while they wait for the pageant to start. I apologize ahead of time for the horrible pictures. I haven't used a film camera in so long, and most of these were taken in the evening. Hopefully you'll get the gist of the experience.


This is Will playing some games that were common for children of the Nauvoo period to play. No idea what any of the games were called.


I wish you could see this picture better, but Will is standing in front of a small replica of some buildings that were found in Nauvoo back in the 1840s, including the temple.

Bill also got into some of the activities along with Will. Here he is participating in stilts-walking. (Thanks to some friends from our ward who took this picture, you can actually see what's going on)


After we had some fun with the activities, it was time for the pageant. It started raining almost as soon as the pageant started and lasted for about 15-20 minutes, but that didn't deter us from having a great time. It's a wonderful pageant with some fun songs and a great message. Even Will managed to sit quietly through the whole thing, and looked like he was enjoying it. When the pageant was finished we got to meet a few of the cast members (the guy who played Elijah(?) Fordham actually pushed me across the grass for a little bit), then we headed off to our campsite for a good night sleep. . .

Too bad that good night sleep never happened! It was such a crazy night. Will and I slept in the car while Bill slept in the tent by himself. We thought Will would have no problem sleeping in the car all night, because he did that on our last camping trip. Boy were we wrong! He woke up around 2 in the morning throwing a small tantrum, and would not calm down for me. So I woke up Bill and we both attempted to calm him down. It finally worked, but was very short-lived. He woke up again at about 3, and by that time I was feeling a little edgy, so I told Bill I wanted him to drive us into town and get a motel. Not one of my best moments, I'll tell you that. Bill drove us around town for about half an hour, trying to calm both Will and I down while attempting to stay awake. Again, short-lived victory. Will woke up a final time around 4:00, and Bill finally decided that he would take Will into the tent with him. Needless to say, none of us got much sleep for the rest of the night. Bill got about another half hour of sleep around 6:00 while Will and I hung out in the car, then we decided to head home. Before we left Nauvoo, though, we did a little sight-seeing, and this time we got some decent pictures.


I believe this the Mansion House, which was Joseph and Emma's home for a couple of years.


This was the Red Brick Store, owned and run by Joseph and his family. The upstairs was used for several important Church meetings, including the organization of the Relief Society and the School of the Prophets


These are the headstones of Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith, Joseph's parents


This is where Joseph, Hyrum, and Emma Smith are buried

And, of course, what trip to Nauvoo would be complete without a picture of the beautiful Nauvoo Temple


But our trip didn't end there. We decided that we would go home by way of Carthage, Illinois, so we could see the jail where the Prophet and his brother were killed. I didn't actually get to go inside, because this particular place isn't very wheelchair-friendly, so I hung out in the car while Bill and Will went on a quick tour. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to me, our computer has decided to be lame and not let me upload any of the pictures they took. So I will try again later, and update the post as soon as I get the pictures to work.

Needless to say, it was a very memorable weekend, and I am really glad that we live so close to some amazing Church history sites. There's a great spirit there, and it's definitely an experience worth repeating (minus the bad camping experience - maybe we'll save up a little extra money next time and stay in a motel :-)).

So cute!

This is going to be a very short post, but I just had to share what Will has been saying lately. Ever since I found out I was pregnant, we've been talking to Will about him being a big brother and about the baby growing in Mommy's tummy. Now one of his favorite things to say is "When the baby's done in Mommy's tummy, you (meaning himself) can hold it." He's constantly asking me if he can hold the baby, and I have to keep reminding him that it has to finish growing in Mommy's tummy first. I just thought that was so adorable. I can't wait to see him as a big brother. I know he'll do great.

Tag Time Again

It's been a while since I've done a tag, and I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it looked fun.

1. Last Movie I Saw in A Movie Theater? I think it was Prince Caspian

2. What Book Are You Reading? The Miracle by Anita Stansfield. It's a "clean" romance novel (the author is LDS)

3. Favorite Board Game? Hmm, I'm not sure. We mostly play card games around here. Cranium, I guess

4. Favorite Magazine? the Ensign

5. Favorite Smells? Bill's deodorant, clothes right out of the laundry, any sort of dessert

6. Favorite Sounds? Will's laugh, any family member or friend's voice either over the phone or in person that I haven't talked to in a while, my dad's music

7. Worst Feeling in the World? Knowing I hurt Bill or made Will sad

8. First Thing You Think of When You Wake? "It's morning already? I do NOT want to get up!"

9. Favorite Fast Food Place? Wendy's

10. Future Child’s Name? For some reason I've always loved the name Kayla for a girl. For a boy we have a few we're thinking of - Robert, Curtis, and Joshua are recent ones we've thought of.

11. Do You Drive Fast? Unfortunately, yes

12. Do You Sleep With a Stuffed Animal? Not usually

13. Storms - cool or scary? I used to think they were cool until we moved to Illinois. Now that there's a chance a storm might turn into a tornado, I'm scared to death of them.

14. What Was Your First Car? A brown Audi

15. Favorite Drink? Don't have just one. I like milk, water, juice, and occasionally Sprite

16. Do You Eat The Stems on Broccoli? Usually

17. If You Could Dye Your Hair Any Other Color, What Would it Be? Nothing too drastic. Maybe a lighter brown

18. Name All the Different Cities in Which you Have Lived- Provo and Orem, Utah and currently Urbana, Illinois

19. Favorite Sport to Watch? Probably basketball

20. One Nice Thing About the Person Who Sent This to You-Since I stole it from someone's blog, and since I don't know her all that well, the only thing I can really say about her is that she has a beautiful voice

21. What’s Under Your Bed? Old weight scales, a bag of hangers, and probably a number of other things I forgot were down there

22. Would You Like to Be Born as Yourself Again? Yeah sure, but I'd make myself a little less critical and pessimistic the next time

23. Morning Person or Night Owl? Night owl, but I'm working on making myself a morning person, especially so I can actually get up before Will whines about wanting to get out, and so I can be ready for baby #2

24. Over Easy or Sunny Side Up? Neither. I'm a scrambled or hard-boiled eggs kinda girl

25. Favorite Place to Relax? My house

26. Favorite Ice Cream Flavor? Hmm, probably mint chocolate chip

I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you'd like to do it, I'd love to read your answers!

More fun with trains

Mommy got in on the fun with the trains today (check out the awesome track I made). Will has been having so much fun with it, I think after it goes back to his cousin Alice that we're going to have to get his own set.

Trains, planes, and automobiles

No, this is not going to be a post about the movie of the same name. This is a video of what Bill and Will did while Mommy was making dinner. I decided the blog has been lacking in videos and pictures of my two favorite boys, and I'm sure the grandparents would agree :-). This is probably one of the lamer videos I've taken, but it was kind of a last-minute decision, with only about 20 seconds left on the camera, so this is what came out. (And thanks Bobby and Susan for letting us borrow the track and accessories. We promise we will return them eventually :)

What is the world coming to?!

Those of you who know me well know that I am a fairly calm, peaceful person. I have my bad days, of course, when I want to yell and scream and throw a tantrum, but overall I'm pretty mellow. Today, however, I am going to get on my soapbox and vent about something I saw this morning that disturbed me more than usual. If you're one of those people who doesn't enjoy reading posts like this, feel free to move on. Otherwise, here we go. I was sitting in the hospital snack bar waiting for Bill to pick me up from my doctor's appointment. They had the television on a channel with a semi-popular talk show. In the past I have watched this show myself a few times and enjoyed it, for the most part. However, today's show made me a little frustrated. It was a show about "odd couples," if you will. Basically they were talking about how opposites attract. Now, that sounds like a fairly benign topic, right? They had very diverse couples on the show - everything from a couple who met through an escort service, to a gay couple who met on the internet, a midget and a normal-sized person, etc. Now I'm not one to judge people who fall in love, because I think it's great when you find that person, no matter who you are or what you believe. I don't always agree with certain people, of course, but everyone is free to make their own choices. I guess what disturbed me was that this is the type of show we see on a regular basis these days. I'm not a big TV watcher myself anymore, but I've seen enough of it to know that I am quite worried about what type of world we live in, and especially what type of world our children will grow up in. When our Church leaders give talks dealing with how to stop pornography, abuse, and other horrible things, you know it's a problem. The adversary is working full-time on us and our families, doing its best to tear apart our morals and values by appealing to the natural man in us. Obviously I don't want my kids to live in a bubble their whole lives, but I hope I can raise them to be smart enough to stay away from certain temptations and be good people, despite what the world may say. It frustrates me, though, that TV producers and the like can put such things out there where innocent little children can see. Ok, I am stepping off my soapbox now. Thank you for listening to my rant. I promise the next post will be something happy and uplifting.

Potty Training Day Two: Distractions and struggles

So today we tried the potty training thing again. This time I tried a new method. We sat in the bathroom armed with a stack of books, M&M's, a water bottle, and all the time in the world. My theory was that I would sit there with him for as long as we both could stand it, read books, drink lots of water, and see what happened. I brought enough books that I thought we could easily sit in there for at least an hour or two. Apparently Will had a different plan. When he started whining about wanting to get off the potty, I checked the clock - 45 minutes. *Sigh* Any mothers who have been through this have any advice or foolproof ideas that I could try? I would really like him to be as potty trained as possible by the time his grandparents come in a few weeks with his new bed, but as of right now I'm losing hope as well as motivation.

You asked for it, you got it

Ok, so lame post title aside, here's the scoop on our latest big news. I found out I was expecting about a week ago, so as of today I'm between 6 and 7 weeks along. Which means that I am due on March 13, 2009. I've probably totally jinxed myself by announcing it this early, but let's hope not.

Potty Training Day One: Becoming One with the Potty

As many of you know, I have struggled with how to start potty-training Will. I've been putting it off because I was nervous, worried, and sometimes just plain lazy. Well today I decided to go ahead and give it a try. I thought it would be good to start by giving Will a chance to get used to sitting on the potty without the pressure of actually doing anything. So I brought the potty seat out to the living room, plopped him down in front of a movie, and told him that if he sat on the seat for 10 minutes that I would give him 5 M&M's. It looks like the reward system might actually work with him. It's going to be a slow process, but at least we made a little bit of progress today. More to come later.

Family Portrait 2009

Memories

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments.

4 years ago today

I was sealed to the most amazing man in the world. We were married in the beautiful Idaho Falls temple, surrounded by our family and friends. I remember that day as being one of the happiest days of my life. I felt like I was in heaven, and that he and I could conquer the world together. I am so thankful for my wonderful husband and the many memories we've made together over the past 4 years. We have a beautiful little boy, a nice apartment, good friends, amazing families, and we grow closer together every day. Thank you, Bill, for your love and devotion to me and our family. I love you.

Here's a little look back at the last 4 years

What a trip!

*Warning: this post is going to be super long.

For those who didn't know, this past week I was in Utah visiting my family. I called this trip my "first" trip, because it was my first time being away from Will for more than a day since he was born, it was my first time traveling completely by myself, it was my first time being in Chicago, and my first time riding on the subway.


It was quite the trip from the very beginning. I first traveled by Greyhound bus from Champaign to Chicago. Having never used them before, I wasn't completely aware of all their rules and regulations. Apparently, if you are disabled and need special assistance, you need to call at least 48 hours ahead of time. I called 24 hours ahead of time to request a lift for the bus, and they denied my request. Therefore, I had to scoot on the bus on my behind in front of all the other passengers. I made sure to call them plenty ahead of time for my return trip so that wouldn't happen again.


When I got to Chicago, I had to catch the subway in order to get from the bus station to O'Hare International Airport. It may sound silly, but I had a lot of fun riding the subway. It was interesting seeing underneath the city and watching everything whiz by. While I was on the subway, I got a phone call from Orbitz, through whom I had made my flight reservations. They told me my flight was delayed two hours, which meant I wouldn't get into Salt Lake until after 11 at night. It also meant I had to sit in the airport an extra two hours, which is not always very enjoyable. Luckily I was traveling by myself, so I didn't have to deal with a cranky 2-year-old, unlike some people I saw at the airport.


The flight itself was uneventful. We hit some turbulence about halfway there (I'm guessing around Oklahoma/Kansas area), but it was over quickly and I finally landed in Salt Lake City. My dad was nice enough to come pick me up and take me down to my mom's house in Provo where I would be staying during the week. Once again I was so glad that I didn't have to worry about anyone but myself, as we didn't get to her house until almost 1 in the morning.
My first day in Utah was pretty uneventful. I enjoyed being able to sleep in a little and not worry about making people's breakfast or get anyone else ready. I spent some time on the computer checking e-mail and catching up on some things. Then I spent a good deal of the afternoon with my dad's parents at their house. They asked for updates on what our family has been doing, then we just joked around and had fun. I also was able to get my hair cut by a good friend of mine. That was a lot of fun, and I am really pleased with how it turned out. Later that night I spent some time with my little sister Erika. We had dinner and watched part of a movie together.


Saturday was a lot of fun. Esther, the friend who had cut my hair, told me that she was going to her 10 year high school reunion that day. She graduated one year before me, so I knew a lot of the people that were going to be there. She told me I should come, so I tagged along. I had so much fun catching up with old friends. It was weird seeing everyone with their kids, but it was a blast. The funniest part was that the majority of the people there thought I was in their grade anyway, so it wasn't weird for me to be there.


Later, my mom and Erika and I went to see the movie Kung Fu Panda. Such a cute and funny movie. I think Jack Black has become one of my favorite actors. I recommend it to anyone who has kids who are older than about 1 or 2.

Sunday I went to church with my sister. It was strange being in a singles ward again and not hearing little kids screaming or crying the whole time. It was fun to sit there and have her point out all the cute guys and people she knows. There was even a guy who I went to high school with that I hadn't seen in years. After church we went over to my grandparents house and had a belated birthday dinner (my birthday was June 26, the day I left for Utah) with my dad and his wife. We had some yummy food, then we all played a game of Phase 10.

My dad being his silly self


My beautiful sister Erika




Me with my dad and his wife Petrina

Monday was a lot of fun because I got to spend some time with my mom and my other grandparents. My mom's parents are serving a mission at Cove Fort, which was built by President Hinckley's grandfather back in the late 1800's. It was really neat to go there and see all the buildings and furnishings from that time period. Something cool I found out was that there was a wildfire a couple years ago in that area, and it made a circle around the fort, which itself wasn't harmed at all. It was a great testimony to how the Lord watches out for His people. Unfortunately there are no pictures from this day, because I left my camera in my sister's purse the day before, so it didn't have any battery left that day. We took some pictures with my grandparent's camera, so I will post them as soon as I get them.

Tuesday I spent the first part of the day doing a little shopping with Erika. I went and bought Bill something for our anniversary that he's needed for a while, Erika bought a couple of things, then we had lunch and just had a good time. Later that day I got together with some friends from high school. One of my best friends, Eve, was in town from Washington D.C., also visiting her family, so she got a group of us together at her house for a little party. It was so much fun seeing everyone again and just talking for hours.


Me and Eve

Wednesday was another fun day of seeing people that I hadn't seen in a long time. First I went to lunch with Megan and Amanda. Amanda was my roommate right before Bill and I got married, and Megan is her sister. I actually met Megan before I met Amanda, and I probably spent more time at her apartment than I did at my own. We went to Bajio's (another first, and oh my gosh, I love that place now!) and talked for a really long time, catching up on each other's lives. I wish I had remembered to take pictures while I was with them, but I was having too much fun just talking and laughing. After lunch I went over to my grandparent's house again, because my cousin Jesika, her little girl Bree, and my aunt Carrie were coming up from St. George to see me. My cousins Lizzy, Kurt and Michael also came over for a little while. I got a little homesick when I saw Bree, because she reminded me of Will, but we had such a fun time together. Jesika and I went around town taking some pictures for a surprise I'm making Bill for our anniversary, then we spent the rest of the night eating, laughing, and having the best time.


The adorable Bree Harmon.


Lizzy, Erika, me and Jesika enjoying some yummy cereal and yogurt

Thursday was my last day in Utah. Jesika and I got together in the morning and went walking, then their family invited me and Erika to go to breakfast with them. We went to Magelby's and had some yummy french toast.


Bree being her adorable self again


My cousins Kurt and Michael


Carrie and Jesika

It was a lot of fun and hard to leave so I could get to the airport. My mom drove me up to Salt Lake and we had a great time in the car together. I got to the airport in record time, and my flight was even on time. When I got to Chicago, I spent the night at the Hyatt Regency hotel a couple blocks away from the subway station. It was a beautiful hotel and I enjoyed splurging a little bit with the food, thanks to some extra money that my mom had given me earlier in the week.

This was my beautiful room


This is part of the lobby of the hotel. It was kind of scary riding the elevators, because they were see-through and there were many floors. Not always a fun thing for someone who is afraid of heights. But this hotel is really nice and high-class.

It was so great getting home to my family again later that day. I had a great time, but I definitely missed them. And I've decided I have the best husband in the world. He was willing to take care of Will all by himself while I went off on vacation. He also took on the task of cleaning most of our apartment as a surprise for me. What a great guy! Thanks to him and to everyone who made my trip to Utah so much fun.