Happy Birthday Reed!

We rung in Reed's 35th year in style with a surprise party less than 24hrs after we landed in Utah.  If you know Reed you know he loves people and his relationships are his most precious commodity.  So, I rounded up some elementary, high school, mission and college friends and had a surprise bash for Reed.  

That plus the complete BYU gear (shirt, sweatshirt, sweats, hat) picked out by the boys made for a great day celebrating this great guy.

We love you, you're 'totally awesome' and Ican't wait for the next 35!

Elle Belle

We love you, 

We miss you, 

We are always wishing you were still with us. 

Sept 1st 2002 - November 16th 2002

I love you to the moon...or at least to Thailand

With our families scattering across the world and babysitters disappearing at an astonishing rate Reed and I decided to make our couple's trip a twice yearly deal. So, after 5yrs of dragging my feet and complaining that it was sooo far I rendezvoused with Reed in Hong Kong after Mobile Asia and we headed to the beautiful beaches of Phuket Thailand.

Our free night in Hong Kong we met up with some old Atlanta friends for massages, dinner and the light show. Cliche, but fantastic.

After landing in Phuket and checking into our hotel we hopped on a scooter to tour the island. Our lives and our marriage survived (barely).

We were originally planning on Bangkok, but got flooded out, so I dragged Reed to the the largest Wat in Phuket for some culture.

And the big Bhudda where we got suckered into enshrining the boys names in white marble forever.

Reed's reward for not killing us.

The next day we got up bright and early and headed out on a charter boat to see the Phi Phi islands. White sandy beaches, turquoise water, great snorkeling, aka paradise.

The next day we went on a boat our to Phang Nga. A little more adventurous with sea canoeing, cave exploring and lagoon swimming.

Lunch at the floating village. Amazing, an entire village, well, floating in the water. Homes, synagogues, schools, even a soccer field.

After our adventuring we transferred hotels up north to the quieter Marriott resort.

Excellent idea.

We spent the next 3 days doing nothing more than this...

this...

I did sneak in a little of this...(barefoot run that started in a rainstorm and ended with the sunrise)

But mostly, just a whole lot of this...

The kiddos were safe and happy in Utah as we arranged a logistical nightmare so that we could fit our trip and Don's BIG 60th Bash into the same week. A big thanks to Diane, Catherine, Lisa and especially, Jacob and Justin for taking fantastic care of the monkeys.

*One last shameless brag and thanks to Reed. This trip I really got to see the results of how hard Reed works and how well he does his job. From the staff party where I continually heard his praise to the hotels and airports where we reaped the benefits of his diamond travel status, I am amazed at this Provo boy I married who is now traveling the world making "really cool stuff" happen. *

26.2

It only took 6 years, but I finally revisited 26.2.

On the plus side, it was flat, I didn't get sick, and I had a fantastic weekend with fantastic company, food and transportation :).  

On the minus side, it was windy/cold and I never found my stride :(

But, with 3:57 I scraped in under 4!

(I know we look awesome, but it was cold, so we started the race layered with throw-aways)

In response to the popular, "How do you do have time/energy?"  The answer is we don't, we just have a whole lot of crazy and with the encouragement of friends, a stroller trained child, a wonderful husband and a trusty treadmill (seriously, 20miles from 8pm-11pm) it is possible.  

Happy Halloween!

We had a very Happy Halloween with entirely too many parties and entirely too much candy.  The theme this year was Ninjago, not ninja, NINJAGO.  We ran into some difficulty with finding headscarves that actually stayed on, but thanks to some youtube magic, we worked it out.  (With the exception of C who wouldn't wear anything and ended up looking more like a robber :).

Grayson showing off his ninja moves.

For school Matts could dress up as a favorite fictional character.  

May I introduce you to son of the world famous detective, Fenton Hardy, Frank Hardy.  

One family picture and...

 They're off!

After a quick stop at the neighborhood party and spin around our block, the little and I came home to bed.  As you can see, he wasn't ready to be done.  

The big boys went for another 2 hours and came home with 15lbs of candy!  

Happily, our dentist has a trade in program, so three days later the boys were $15 richer.  

Favorites

Christian's currently loves:

BALLS

Instead of identifying colors or animals, we've skipped to balls; basketball, tennis ball, soccer ball, volleyball and football.  Basketball and football are the favorites.  Little C loves to practice alongside the big boys, must always be buckled in with at least one ball and a sports book and  if he even hears the word ball, chimes in with "football?"

*Note the mini court created by older brothers*

CRUNCHING

No secret why football is a favorite.  This little man loves to get physical.  

 He may look sweet, but...

 he's usually the aggressor.  

Maniac McC

Who me?

I'm just kicking it in the play room

 Why yes, I am sitting in the drawer on the far side of the train table that contains all the choking hazards and yes, I had to remove the top of the train table to get here.

 And yes, I will try each and everyone.