Thank heavens for Jake!

Yesterday morning, I was so happy with my brother. I logged onto our family website first thing in the morning yesterday and my brother had already posted about the murder of the volleyball coach's father-in-law (Jake lives in Belgium, so he is awake much earlier than I am). At that time, CNN.com only had a vague story saying that an American was murdered at a tourist attraction with no other details. My good brother had already done extra research and found out for sure that it wasn't Jeremy. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. I usually read CNN.com for news, and I would have seen that within a half hour or waking up. I would have FREAKED out.

I am so sad for this man's family. I just can't imagine. He looks like he was a really good guy, too.

Jer's Update

Just an update on Jer's adventures. His first evening in Beijing, he was really tired. But he was able to walk outside the Bird's Nest to see the fireworks from the Opening Ceremony before going back to his hotel and crashing.

On Saturday, Jer went to a corporate event and spent some time walking around the Olympic Green looking at all the sponsorship displays. He got to see the terra cotta warriors (I think they brought in three) that he had wanted to see so badly.

In the evening, he went to see Men's and Women's Beach Volleyball. He had a great time and was surprised at the party-like atmosphere there. I think that is where there are a lot of differences from the Salt Lake games we attended. In the snow, you can't really do the wave or other classic audience things.

Jer's Sunday seems to be shaping up pretty well. He had another corporate event to attend, then he was headed to Handball. Right now he is at Women's Gymnastics. I hope he is having a great time!

November 4, 2008

That is going to be Ian's date of birth! It is exciting to know a date. We are all scheduled. It was weird to sit there with the doctor and choose a child's birthday. What a big decision! Jer has already mentioned that he is going to miss out on good election coverage. I told him that won't be a issue because by the time results start coming in, little Ian will be twelve hours old. Jer can sit and watch all the coverage he wants in my hospital room while he holds Ian (and watches over Lex).

Jer is in China

Jeremy arrived in China at 3:00AM Eastern Time. There is a 12 hour time difference between the Eastern time zone and China, so it is going to be hard to find many hours where we are both awake! Jer is doing really well so far. He said that it was surreal in the cab to his hotel since he kept thinking that he was just in Chinatown in New York City or some other big city.

Since Jer has our camera (and I can't figure out where our older camera is), I don't have any photos to post in the coming week. So it will just be boring text!

More Trip

Okay, can you tell I've been putting off finishing up my writing about our trip? We had a great time, I just have too much to cover, it seems overwhelming. So I will cop out and be brief.

So our first Sunday there we joined Jer's family in Logan for a picnic in the lovely backyard of Jer's grandparents. Lex had a great time playing with his cousins, and it was fun to visit with everyone. Here are some photos of that day:




On Monday, we decided to be tourists in Salt Lake. We started out by visiting my Father-in-Law, Bob's, new office. We then went over to see Jer's brother, Chris, in his new office. Then Chris joined us for lunch at Jer's all-time favorite sandwich place, Gandolfos. We then spent the rest of the day driving around Salt Lake and visiting parks until it was time to go to my cousin Tori's house to watch the Bachelorette finale with them. We really didn't watch much of the show, but we all had a great time!


Tuesday we were tourists in Park City. We went to Main Street where Jer took some cute shots with Lex, and some stalker photos of me and Lex from a shop window. Scary Jeremy! Lex fell asleep and I took him back to the house to sleep while Jer joined everyone else at the Olympic Museum.




Wednesday we had a picnic at my cousin Ali's home, then we decided it was time to get Lex's hair cut. Once we landed in Utah, his hair went so flat and it was constantly in his eyes. Tori convinced us to forego our usual sleeping haircut routine and give a kiddie-cut place near them a try. It went pretty well. A few tears, but it was over quick. I also took the opportunity that afternoon to get my haircut at a nearby place (the kiddie place offered something called a "Mom Cut", but Jer said "Absolutely not!" -- I wonder why they don't choose a better name for it)!


We went back to Park City and took the kids swimming. Sara was stung by a bee for the first time ever while trying to move a chair for me to sit in, and I felt so badly for her! I've never been stung, either, but I came close that day when some stupid bee kept landing on Lex's head.


Thursday we hung out with Jer's mom during the day. She took one look at me and sent me off for a nap -- I must have looked pretty haggard, but I sure appreciated it! Jer and his mom spent the next few hours unpacking boxes and watching after Lex. We later went out to dinner with them (Cafe Rio) after Bob came home.


Thursday night my dad flew in from Portland. When we all got back to Park City, it was late, but my Uncle Jeff got the fire pit going and we sat by it for a while. It was really nice!




On Friday, I had to leave JerBear! I went off to Bear Lake for a family reunion, while Jer went to Provo to look around and find fun. He spent the rest of the weekend at Chris and Karen's house. Lex and I had a great time at the reunion. We went to the lake, went swimming at the pool, played fun games, and visited. Lex really loved it when my uncle Rick gave him a ride on his wheechair! He also loved ring-around-the-rosie with my aunt DeeAnn.

My dad was so nice to take Lex out on the jet ski with him!


He took Karen out, too!Lex and I wading in the water. This photo makes me laugh because the moment Jer saw it, he said, "Your butt does NOT look like that!" I said, "I didn't think there was anything wrong with this photo." Jer promptly said, "Oh. Never mind." Good man!






In the meantime, Jer went golfing with his brother and went back to Logan to see his grandparents again. He had a fun weekend, too!
Jer took a photo of our first apartment -- it is the door on the bottom floor.






Jer also took a photo of the location of our first date. Yum!



So that is it! There is our trip!

Something you really didn't need to know . . .

I hate vultures! Last Wednesday I was taking an afternoon nap with Lex when I woke up to the loudest noise on the roof. It sounded like a bunch of grown men running around. I finally got up the courage to go outside and check it out, and there were at least three vultures on our roof (the above is just a stock photo, I didn't take it).

One time last year we had these menaces up on our roof, but I'd forgotten how loud they were. I decided to look up ways to get them off of our roof, so I spent some time on Google. Boy, did I regret it!

Did you know that vultures can rip off shingles and can rip windshield wipers off of cars? Luckily, they flew away before they did any damage, but I hope they don't come back. Volture droppings are highly acidic and can eat through paint, roof tiles, and brick? They can also projectile vomit up to six feet when threatened. Both the droppings and vomit are known to contain botulism, salmonella, and other harmful viruses.

These wonderful creatures are also protected in Florida, so if they decide to live on your roof, there isn't much you can do about it! I hope they stay away for at least another year before I hear them again!

Ian Drake, anyone?

Well, Jer and I spent a lot of our time in Utah negotiating on a name, and we finally came to an agreement. I get the Ian first name that I wanted, but I gave up the "Miller" middle name. Jer got to pick the middle name, and he is going with Drake. Of course, we could still change our minds before this baby comes, but it is nice to have something to call the little guy!

I've always liked the name Ian. I remember whenever my friend Erin would talk about her younger cousin Ian when we were little, I thought it was such a cute name. Later I had a few friends named Ian and they were always nice respectable fellows. Jer also has a former coworker we really like named Ian.

Poor Lex

Sorry I didn't get back on yesterday to finish our vacation recap! During lunch, I realized I needed to take Lex to the doctor. When I was getting him dressed yesterday morning and pulled his shirt over his head, he started crying really hard and held his eye. I couldn't figure out what could have injured his eye. Anyway, throughout the day, he would periodically grab his eye and cry.

I took him in, and the appointment was late enough that Jer could join us -- thank goodness. The appointment was so hard on Lex. The doctor had to flip his eyelid inside out and put some dye in his eye to look for any cuts. It took three people to hold him down and the doctor was shocked at his strength. He called him a bronco and said he was noting in Lex's chart how powerful he is.

The saddest part is that while we were holding him down, Lex would make this sad, pleading eye contact with me or Jer while screaming "Help Me!" We kept trying to tell him that we were helping him, but it just broke our hearts. It took us a while to get over it after we left the doctor's office.

In the end, the doctor couldn't find a reason for his pain, but guessed that all of Lex's crying during the office visit probably dislodged whatever was bugging him. He is rubbing his eye today, but more out of soreness than pain. I just took the photo above, and you can see that his eye is clear and fine!

We Are Home!

This blog has been silent lately because we were out of town. We were in Utah visiting family. Several of Jer's family members have moved to Utah in the past month, or are moving to Utah this month, so it was a great opportunity to go and see their new homes. Lex and I also attended a family reunion for my Dad's side of the family, so my parents and sister (with her kids) were in town, too. In all, Lex got to see all of his grandparents, all but one of his great-grandparents, and tons of aunts, uncles, and cousins. We had a great time!

Here is a synopsis:

We got into town the day before the fourth and stayed at Jer's parents house (which we loved). Jer's brother, Brandon, was staying there with his wife and their three kids since they were house hunting for their upcoming move. Brandon and Heidi have a four-year-old boy, Hunter, who Lex just loved. They wrestled and played rough with Lex giggling the whole time!

On the fourth, we opted out of going to the Stadium of Fire with the rest of the family since Lex gets nervous around loud noises. We realized that at one of the Disney Firework shows earlier this year. We did join the whole family at Jer's aunt and uncle's home in Orem for a barbeque. When everyone took off for the stadium, we drove out to Park City to see my mom, Sara, and her kids who had just come into town. We were all staying at my uncle and aunts home up there, so we checked in. Jer and I couldn't have asked for better accommodations! They had an apartment above the garage that we were able to stay in. Here are a few photos of our home away from home:

This was the view off the balcony -- there were hot air balloons most mornings -- you can see them here.

Saturday, our hosts had a huge family party/BBQ for my mom's family, and they were kind enough to invite Jer's parents, too. It was great getting everyone reacquainted again since Jer's parents hadn't seen many of these relatives since our wedding. Lex had a fantastic time with my cousins' kids. They are all so cute! I liked the two photos below of my neice, Karen, since it showed how I had a knack for upsetting her. She tried to put on a brave face, though!

Okay, so I am just on day three of our trip, but I am going to take a break and make Lex some lunch. More to come!

Eight Years!

Jer and I celebrated our eighth anniversary this week. I took a photo of a photo we have hanging in our house. This was taken on our cruise back in 2005, but it reminds me of how funny Jeremy is. There is a classic Jeremy story behind this photo ("Dance for me, Grandma!") and I am trying so desperately not to laugh and to look tough. That is why we had to buy it!

Anyway, I am very glad I married Jeremy, and I am often shocked that I was able to make such a fantastic decision at such a young age. I must have been really smart!!!! Happy anniversary, Jeremy! I'd do it again tomorrow!

Guitar Hero

Lex loves to play along while his dad plays the Wii. Usually it is WiiFit and Lex is following along with the exercises and sporadically joining Jer on the balance board. Last night we borrowed Guitar Hero from Jackson, so when Jer started playing it, I got out Lex's ukelele so he could feel like part of the fun.

He's sort of hard on the instrument, but what rock star isn't?!?

Picture Time!

We ordered the one above

We ordered the one above

We ordered the one above

And we ordered this one!

We took Lex to Portrait Innovations today and got his picture taken. Here are some of the shots -- we didn't get printouts of many of them, but I still thought they were cute!