Today is our 8 year wedding anniversary. This has been a hard year for us so we are especially proud of making it this far!! For my post, I stole a Q&A from my cousin Carly's blog. (Thanks Carly) It was fun to revisit our wedding day. I love you Jas. I'm looking forward to the next 80 years.
1. What month & year were you married?

May 27, 2000

2. How did he ask you?
He took me for a drive around all of our favorite places and ended up at the Manti temple. I probably should have known what was up because it was Valentine's Day but I was totally surprised! He had said he didn't want to propose without a ring and I knew he didn't have one for me yet. Thanks to his mom, he was able to smuggle one down to Ephraim. He got down on one knee and everything.

3. Where did you honeymoon?

We went to a hotel in the middle of Sardine Canyon (between Brigham City and Logan). It was gorgeous. There were hiking trails and the hotel was set back into the hills. It was quiet and private. We've gone back since and it has been redecorated and is really nice.

4. Can you still fit in your dress?

Not since my twins found my ribs when I was pregnant with them. They're 2 inches wider now. ouch!

5. What was the worst gift you got?
A used crock pot with crusted food still on it.

6. What flavor was your wedding cake?

IThe top and bottom layers were chocolate and the middle layer was carrot.

7. Were you a bridezilla?

I hope not!! I'm sure I was emotional at times but my mom did most of the stressing and worrying (with good grace). I pretty much just wanted to get married. It's funny how you have your dream wedding planned since you were 5 and then when it comes down to actually doing it, you don't really care.

8. Whats one thing you would change about your wedding?

I would have had someone else print all of our invitations. We did them ourselves and it took FOREVER!! That was what I got the most emotional over.

9. Do you still look at your wedding pics?
Of course!

10. What colors did you use?
Lavender and yellow.

11. Where did you tie the knot?
In the Manti temple in the "Well's room." Jason's grandpa Findlay performed the sealing.
12. Whats one funny thing that happened that day?

My sister left the reception early and didn't know our bags were in the trunk of the car she took. We had to drive around and find the car and then head back to the reception to take spare car keys to my parents so they could get home.

13. How many showers did you have?

3, which was amazing! We felt sooo spoiled!

14. Did you cry?

I don't remember that I did. I think Jason did though...

15. Did you give any wedding favors away?

Not that I remember...

16. Who caught the flowers and garter?

I can't remember! If anyone else does, let me know. I had an extra bouquet to throw so my gorgeous one didn't get ruined.

17. Who was your officiant or minister?

Jason's Grandpa Findlay

18. How much was your wedding dress, undergarments and all?

I can't remember but I think it was around $300. The dress that my amazingly talented mom copied was on sale for $450.

19. Was there dancing?

No but we had the family string quartet which was awesome.

20. Where was the reception?

In my Grandpa T's amazing back yard. That was the major detail from my childhood dreams of a perfect wedding that I really wanted to keep. If you've been there you know why. We also had an open house that Jason's mom did for us at their chapel. It was fun and relaxed. We did it after our honeymoon.

21. Would go back and do it over again?

Absolutely!! (And not just for the presents!)

22. How long did you have to plan your wedding?

3 1/2 months. Sorry Mom! But it came out great!!

23. What kind of car were you in when you drove away?

Our very own 19-something Nissan Stanza. We had to replace the oil in it every 30 miles or so. It was interesting trying to get it through the canyon. It didn't do well with hills. :) But it was OURS!!

24. How many in your wedding party?

I think I had like 7 bridesmaids but only some of them came to the reception and some came to the open house.

25. Did you do anything different in your wedding or reception?

I was wearing NO MAKEUP! I got really burned from taking the pictures at the temple and I washed my makeup off before the reception. When we got there, my makeup bag was missing and it was time for more pictures so I didn't have time to redo it. Oh well. i look nice and red in all of my reception pics.

26. Did you save the top layer of your cake for your 1 year anniversary?

Yes. And then we forgot about it and found it like 3 years later. Gross.

27. If so, did you eat it? Was it still good?

No. Freezer burn. Enough said.

Aurora and Belle

My mother-in-law made these cute costumes for the girls' birthday. My favorite part is the sunglasses! Every morning when the girls get up, they put on their "princess shoes" and wear them around the house like bedroom slippers. We always have to have a discussion with Liz when it's time to go somewhere that is not appropriate for princess shoes.

Baby Update

I haven't had a chance to scan the results of our ultrasound into the computer yet but the votes are in! IT'S A GIRL!!! What?! We hadn't even thought of the possibility we were so sure it was a boy. Fun for me! Anyway, we just started thinking of names and I'm pretty sure I'm going to just let Jas name her since I like too many names and don't love any. She's super active. I've never had a baby move around this much. In the ultrasound, she was EVERYWHERE including folded in half with her toes up over her head. I can't wait until we hit the terrible twos with her...ha ha! I'll be posting pictures from the ultrasound later.

Emergency Room Fun- and the Doctors that make it that way!

Sunday night-or rather the wee hours of Monday morning were spent in the emergency room. Jason gets severe gastroenteritis occasionally and we have to head to the emergency room for a shot of morphine and anti nausea medicine. Here's how it usually goes:

10:00 p.m. Everything seems normal. We go to bed.
11:00 p.m. I'm drifting off to sleep and a child comes into my room. For some reason they always come to my side of the bed. I let him/her into my bed for about 10 minutes and then put him/her back into their own bed.
12:00 a.m. The fun begins.

It used to be that he would suffer all night long and then around 6 we would give up and go into the emergency room. (A doctor, we have found, prescribes oral medication that is just impossible to keep down.) Now we realize what it is immediately and head to the hospital as soon as possible to try to stop the madness before it can really begin. There's only ONE problem. Doctors never seem to believe us. You would think that they would have previous charts showing that, yes, he came in six months ago and yes, it really was what he said it was, and YES, he really did need the meds.

Now come on. Really? Is there not a doctor in the whole world who believes a patient can FEEL his/her own body? Really?!! When we get there, Jason is usually in so much pain, he can barely talk. So I try to tell them everything. They look at me like I'm an idiot, ignore me and try to get Jason talking as he's gasping for breath through the pain. Then comes the really fun part. The doctor always comes and starts pushing down HARD on his stomach. I mean honestly?!! It's never done gently. What do they think will happen next? Well it always does.

After the pain is maximized by the prodding and poking, they give Jas a minimal dose of pain medication and tell him he's going to be fine. Four hours later, and 5 more injections of pain medication, anti-nausea meds, and a bag or two of saline to replace fluids, we head home. I think the doctor believes us now...but his shift is over so it's a moot point anyway. This time around he only lost 15 pounds in 2 days, but who says he's sick, right?

P.S. I feel after this post I must give a shout out to the great nurses. They were really good. In Jason's dillusional state (uh-huh) he even let me know that the first one was really cute. grrr.... She was. And she also did a really great job taking care of us.

Men and Women

He says, "This actress is so weird looking. She has a HUGE mouth."
She thinks: "Is my mouth big? Is that a good thing? What about her boobs. They're huge. Did he notice them? He thinks she's prettier than me!"

She says, "We need to work on our communication skills."
He thinks: "We don't communicate? She asked me how my day was. I said 'fine'. Wasn't that communicating?"

He says, "Which actor do you think is better looking?"
She says, "Um...that one, I guess."
He thinks, "I knew it! How can I get myself to look like him?"

He says, "What's for dinner?"
She thinks: "Whatever you make yourself! Are you saying that I need to be a better wife?"
He means: "What's for dinner?"

Birthday Fun

We decided to go to the zoo for the girls birthday instead of having a "friend party"-which in my neighborhood means spending thousands of dollars and inviting 40-1000 out of control sugared up kids into your home. No thanks! We had a perfect day at the zoo. The temp was cool and the sky a little overcast which cut out the battle of trying to keep hats on the kids. We stayed for about 3 hours, saw everything but the zebras (Ben pointed that out while we exited the park), and had the help of Grandma and Papa Findlay, Catie, Justin, James, and Erin. Many hands make light work and I think all of the kids got a healthy dose of love and attention! Hooray for grandmas and papas everywhere! (And aunts and uncles) Especially when they live nearby and always help you out! Liam had a great time riding in the stroller. The only thing he didn't enjoy was the elephants. I still don't know if it was the size or the smell of them that scared him. Lizzy was excited about the giraffes- my favorite to0, Jane had a great time being chaufered in Catie's wheel chair, and Ben loved everything he saw. He's been wanting to go to the zoo for a year now. We're glad we went. Especially since everyone was asleep by 8:00 that night!

Twins...oh twins...Happy Birthday!

On May Day 2004, I worked in the garden with an unusual amount of energy. That night around midnight, my mom came over to stay with Ben so Jason and I could go to the hospital. I was fairly calm because I had gone to the hospital no less than 5 times during the previous 3 weeks. This time, however, I felt that the babies were ready to come. The doctor told me to take some pain medication and head home because he "didn't really want to come up to the hospital tonight." ??!!! I told him that I was staying and he could come or stay home. Whatever. Someone at the hospital could surely deliver the babies...and get paid for it. He was there 30 minutes later. By 6 a.m. they still weren't moving fast enough so they gave me a drop of pitocin. Elizabeth Marilynn was born at 6:07 and Jane Catherine was born at 6:19. They rushed Jane off to the NICU before I could see her. I suffered a horrible 10 minutes (and I am very grateful that it only lasted that long) in which I thought I might loose one of my children. Jane had a high hematocrite which made it harder for her to breath. She had all of her blood thinned twice. Lizzy was awake and alert when they handed her to me. Having twins is a trip that I'm glad I went on! I can't imagine how boring my life would be without them! I love Janey's ability to love and snuggle EVERYONE and Lizzy's motherly tendencies. Their personalities came out early and it's been fun to watch them develop and learn. Happy birthday Bill and BarJane!!! I love you!

The Little Things

The girls have preschool for an hour and a half twice a week. I use one day for grocery shopping and the other for other errands. Today I found great joy in purchasing maternity garments!! Nothing says "joy and contentment" more than the ability to BREATH for the first time in a month!! I was thinking about how this little thing made such a difference in my day, and I realized- again- that it really is the little things that add that extra zoomph in our lives.

• Pants that fit! The right length, waist, pockets in the right place....okay it's not such a little thing but it makes me feel good to wear pants that actually fit!
  
• Liam's wonder this morning at the ferret he saw at the pet store. His eyes were huge!
• The new baby kicking and moving inside me. Already my most active baby.
• Anything with whipped cream.
• Ben's curious questions. He's got a busy mind! "Mommy, what's under the dirt? What are those things for that cows and pigs have on their tummies that all the babies get?"
  
• Chocolate. It deserves its own category, don't you think? It's been linked to studies for improvement in headaches, depression, birth defects, and heart disease among other things.
• Friday nights when you suddenly remember there is no school tomorrow.
• Walking down the school supplies aisle at the end of summer. Sharpened pencils and colored markers and crayons. Post-it notes. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.
• Sleeping kids. Enough said.
• Jane and Lizzy hugging each other.
• The HOT man I'm married to.