'Bee Happy!

Where are those Higbee's anyway.....

2010-06-16T10:00:00.001-07:00

Dan's graduation from residency is this Friday evening, WOO HOO!!! Way to go Dan! (There were times when wondered if this day would ever really come.) We are busy getting some final preparations worked out for our move. We got an offer on our home and we were hoping to be moving out by June 25th so that we could buckle down and find a home in Utah before the girls start school, but we may be delayed a bit due to a few normal glitches. We are planning to make the drive to Utah, hopefully visiting Nauvoo and a few other places. If you have any recommendations of fun or historic places to visit along our way, let us know. When we get to Utah are planning to rent a townhouse in Brigham City.

My Daniel.....

2010-04-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

Graduation from Medical School 2005

(For those of you who don't already know) we are finalizing a contract with a hospital in northern UT. We are SO excited to be moving a little closer to "home". We have listed our home here in MI and the realtor officially posted a sign in our front yard today. I have mixed feelings when I look at it, even though I really want to sell the home.

Our time here is slipping away SO quickly. As we near the close of this period in our lives, I want to tell you a little bit about my wonderful husband. (Warning: if you don't want to hear me brag about him you might want to stop reading now...) On June 18th Dan is graduating from his intense 5 year orthopedic residency program. I don't know how he has been able to pull the crazy hours and sleepless nights/days on his feet (For a few of those years he was working 36 hour shifts without sleep, sometimes a couple in one week). Full weekends at home have been rare. He is always awake before me by a couple hours and asleep after me at night. When he's working he runs from patient to patient and surgery to surgery often going the full day without food. It is because of his hard work that I know that he is prepared to go out on his own, and I am thankful for that confidence. His attendings and the director of his program have complimented him several times on his surgical skills and have told him he's been a pleasure to have in the program.

Every year residents are required to submit a scientific research paper to the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics and last year Dan's was good enough to be published in a medical journal. This year his paper on wrist fractures won first place of all the orthopedic DO residents in the nation (there are over 100 here in MI).

I am so proud of Dan for his hard work, dedication and drive!!! I am so thankful that I will be able to have him around me a little more often!!!

I LOVE YOU DAN!!! Way to go!

....Oh yeah, I should mention that his kids think he's the best dad ever.

yourfentonhome.blogspot.com

2010-02-23T09:59:00.000-08:00

'Tis the time for us to start thinking about putting our home on the market. (Ah, the lovely housing market in Michigan.) We are really hoping to sell, not rent, for several reasons I won't belabor you with now. We are probably going to get a realtor, but in addition I have created a new blog (yourfentonhome.blogspot.com) so that if anyone has any friends (or enemies, haha. were open to either :) ) that are wanting to move into the area they can get a peek into our home to see if it would be worth coming for a visit. Even if you don't know anyone interested in buying a home right now, feel free to simply see a miraculous picture of what our house looks like when it is clean. :) I just wished it would stay that way and that I could keep the little kids too. It is fun to document what our home looks like so that someday when it isn't ours anymore (fingers crossed) we will be able to look at it with fond memories. The blog isn't complete yet. I am planning on including pictures of the downstairs, master bedroom, master bath as soon as possible. I'm SO sorry about the boring post. Thanks for any help or referrals you are able to provide. -M

ps-The picture on the top right side of the blog is a link to the yourfentonhome blogspot.

pss- Don't you love the sunny summer picture. I really, really can't wait for that time to roll around again! Does anyone else feel the same? I am thankful to have a few more beautiful summer months here in Michigan before we take off.

February 6th, 2010: Terrific Twos!

2010-02-08T18:34:00.000-08:00

We have been so lucky to have Isaac in our family for the last two years! We had one of those relaxing, unforgettable days enjoying time as a family on his Birthday. We opened presents on the kitchen floor with the sun shining in the windows (if you live in Michigan, or have before, then you know why that is special in February) and played with Isaac's gifts together. He loves dinosaurs, trains, balls, and airplanes, so we included all of the above in some way. Most notably, Maren made the coolest dinosaur cake I'd seen. Isaac just laughed in excitement every time we flashed it in front of him. We love our little man...Happy Birthday, buddy!!

I call this look "red steel".

2010-01-11T20:01:00.000-08:00

Just some memories from Christmas. We miss you all!

a Hint of Winter

2009-12-07T09:10:00.000-08:00

It's true, I may not be very artistic with my blogging, but I'm not going to let that stop me. I bought Maren a really nice digital SLR (that is short for "too expensive") camera about a year ago, so here I am posting a bunch of pictures taken with my cell phone camera. Makes sense, eh? I guess the problem is I am usually not at home on our desktop computer when I have a chance to blog. Someday you may get to experience the nice pictures our camera takes.

I am also braving new frontiers as I have decided to stretch my blogging skills and add a few bolded, highlighted, and enlarged words. It's something I've seen on my siblings' blogs. It's only an experiment for now, so we'll see what type of feedback I receive. Who knows? Maybe I will someday even do Italicized! The sky is the limit, or as a russian orthopedic surgeon recently told me, with heavy accent, "the sky is the ceiling, doctor."

The first picture is Lainie playing "Oh come all ye faithful" at the Pullins Christmas Party. It was part of the yearly "Progrum". It's a pretty big deal. She did a great job, especially since it took her about a week to learn it. Following that picture are a few pictures of the kids on a Horse-driven wagon ride through downtown Fenton. It was the annual "Jingle Fest", so we did that while Maren went to do some shopping. There was a Santa Claus in one of the tents they had set up, taking pictures with peoples animals and children. We were in a hurry to get the girls back for a date with Maren to go watch a Nutcracker ballet, so we couldn't stop, but I caught Lainie sizing him up. I have to say, his beard was looking as natural as a fur coat on a PETA ad, and he looked like he had just taken three ambiens; not exactly a jolly saint Nicholas, but definitely an OLD one.

Well, on the way home my (extremely intelligent and thoughtful) 6 year old said, "Dad, I know that Santa only comes on Christmas Eve when we are asleep, but that sometimes people dress up like him".

"oh? Why do you say that, Lainie?" I replied.

"Well, it's just something I've been thinking about everyday", she said.

I had to think fast, as we all often do, "I think it is really hard for Santa to be everywhere at once, so Santa has helper's who can tell him what you want for Christmas. But, sometimes the real Santa does come out and visit. Like, remember last year when we went to the mall and saw Santa, and he let you pull on his beard, and told you he loved you, and knew your names, and gave you hugs?"

"Yeah, I remember him."

"Well, that was the REAL Santa Claus."

I saw a HUMONGOUS smile from the rearview mirror as she said, "OH YEAH, he WAS the real Santa! Can we go and see him again??!"

Crisis averted. Thank you to all the Santas who make it easier for us to keep the magic alive.

This is my little buddy. I'm pretty grateful for him. We like to just hang out and do guy stuff while the girls are at ballets. Stuff like, watch "The Incredibles", build train tracks, and throw him through the air onto our soft bed.

Last Sunday, after arriving home from church, I fell asleep on our bed. I started out pretending to be asleep, playing with the girls, and it turned into the real thing. I rarely take Sunday naps, but this one must have been needed, and it felt really good. When I awoke, I found myself in a pile of stuffed animals and covered in the girls special blankets. They take good care of their dad and I just really love 'em. (photo courtesy of Maren :)

2009-11-30T18:29:00.000-08:00

We were so "Thankful" to have some great friends as guests for our Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone contributed to the feast, including the missionaries who brought a pie (impressive). When we went to take pictures I didn't realize the camera was set to take multiple pictures, so we were surprised, and then we all let the creative juices (faces) flow. Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-29T18:41:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd blog some random pics. the first took place about a month ago. Brinley came to Maren and informed her that she had just but a bead in her ear. I was moonlighting, so they met me and I tried to play the hero. Unfortunately, it was deep in there, and I couldn't get it with my limited selection of tools on hand. We took her to the ER and one of our ENT friends got it out with a small suction device. She was so courageous through it all.

The next picture is Alaina's school picture this year. I have to say I have some beautiful little girls!

Isaac has begun to show interest in hats. This one I picked up for him in the airport after going to an orthopedic conference. Doesn't he look kinda like the Sundance kid??

The last picture is one I posted on Facebook. Brinley spent a whole evening making card after card for me. This one she was so proud of, and knew I would "love it". It had footballs on the front, and on the inside, a picture of me as a little boy, with "lots of wax in my ears". Apparently that's what little boys have.

2009-11-08T19:22:00.000-08:00

Halloween Pictures of our sweets!

More summer faces and feet...

2009-08-26T06:01:00.000-07:00

Now that I am a chief resident I get more hours at our moonlighting gig. It's really nice to make the extra money, but it also takes more time from being with the family. Luckily, I married a sweet girl who is willing to grab the kids and come and visit me. These pictures are from a recent visit to see dad at the MRI center on a Saturday. We watch movies, eat and go for nature hikes on the property. Lainie can put together some of her "collections" of birds' eggs, pine cones, flowers and acorns. Brinley can try to eat little inedible berries and touch every plant while asking, "is this poison ivy, daddy?" And Isaac can chase bugs to his heart's content.

I took Alaina and Brinley golfing with me yesterday. They were so cute as they would cheer for me after every stroke (whether or not I was happy about my play). They love golf, because it means a gatorade and a bag of skittles, not to mention a ride in the golf cart. I found this picture (below) of Lainie's feet, plus several more random ones. I guess she had my phone out at some point. I didn't realize she knew how to take pictures with it. She's growing up too fast, just look at how long those legs are :).

Oh, and I also included some of the noteworthy pics of me this summer. That's a 6.5 mm screw if anyone is wondering. I'm still taking it slow, wearing my cast boot most of the time (especially while standing all day in surgery). It looks like it is healing well, so (fingers crossed) hopefully I'm about done babying that stinking foot.

2009-08-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

It's crazy how fast summer is flying by. It seems like yesterday that we were at the lake making smores with friends, when in actuality it was about 2 months ago. We have been enjoying ourselves with travels to visit family in Idaho and Utah, picking blueberries/raspberries at spicer orchard, going to outdoor concerts, celebrating birthdays, playing in the sand, wading in the pool, fishing, riding boats and....oh, we LOVE summer! Lainie just celebrated her 6th birthday, Brinley her 4th, and Isaac....well, we are celebrating because he just turned 18 months. Hello nursery!!! We wish we could hold time still just a little, so that summer would last just a little longer, and our kids would stay little a little longer. -M

Smores+wet, muddy lake+campfire+my family = joy

2009-06-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd add a post after a long drought here. Guess it's been busy around here. These pictures were taken during an evening picnic to a small lake that sits hidden down a hill behind our church. You have to drive across the ball field, down a steep hill, and through hoards of easily offended canadian geese to arrive at a nice little grassy area with access to the lake. We were alone until a small group showed up in their canoe and caught some amazingly large delicious bass. One was 27 inches long--the biggest bass I've seen caught in person. Isaac and I actually hooked into a lunker ourselves. It was one of the biggest perch I've seen--probably in the 7 inch range. (Maren took pictures but you couldn't really see the fish...due to its size and all) That got Isaac going, though, he just wanted me to keep casting so he could turn the reel handle. It was fun to cruise the lake with him. Maren took out the girls but I got busy building a campfire with my little bud and forgot to take pictures. (I did get a mental picture, and they were really cute) The pictures below were taken with Maren's new camera. I'm not sure why the girls are attempting to inflate the frisbee with our kayak pump. I also don't know if they were successful. I haven't seen that frisbee since, so maybe they overinflated it and it popped. Isaac loved sitting in the camping chairs, and watching the fire (until it blew smoke in his eyes). We cooked hot dogs and smores over the fire. I am really not sure why they don't tell parents from the start to never consider smores over a campfire. Isaac's hair ended up eating more than his mouth. I love the QUALITY hours like these.

2009-04-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

Some of you might know that I lived in Michigan before we came her for rotations in 2004. My dad did his residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit around 1978 through 1982 (I think). I, of course, came along with he and my mom then two of my siblings were born there. When my mom came out to visit a few weeks ago she took us to the Detroit Zoo where she would take us as kids. It was fun to have her tell me what used to be there and what was different. This is a display showing significant events at the zoo when we lived there. What a fun little walk down memory lane...although I didn't remember too much of it, it was fun to hear about things I did as a kid and to share that with my kids.

We love the Detroit Zoo!!!

This goose really wanted to have a bite of the kids snacks.

He got so close and followed us around for a little bit. The girls kept

calling it their buddy.

We had so much fun with my mom here. It was a difficult month in Dan's program. He was home VERY little those two weeks, so it was a blessing to have such wonderful company. We shopped, relaxed, sang together (mom and I sang a duet in sacrament meeting), baked, felted, crocheted, danced, talked, went to the childrens museum and giggled alot.

Thanks for coming to visit Mom. Thanks for sending her, Dad.

When family comes the time flies by too quickly!!!

-M

Just to add a quick note to Maren's post, she and her mom sang like angels together. It was so beautiful. They sang "Lead Kindly Light", one of my favorites stemming from mission experiences. Oh, and one woman in our ward asked Alaina if she was excited to hear her "aunt" sing with her mommy. Lainie said "huh?" She repeated, "are you happy that your mommy's sister is here visiting you."

-D

Carolina on my mind

2009-04-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

We were so fortunate to be able to make the short (10 hrs) drive down to North Carolina for Easter weekend. The girls were great cheerleaders (w/ coaching from Uncle Craig below) for Grandma Hiatt as she recovers from a partial hip replacement for a hip fracture. We were so impressed and grateful that she was doing so well with her therapy and showing resolve and energy in recovering. It worked out so perfect because Grandma Higbee (my mom) was there at the same time to stay with and coach Grandma in her recovery. We loved seeing them both!!

Uncle Kenny and Aunt Kathleen were kind enough to allow us to stay with them on short notice and were excellent hosts. We got a kick out of watching our girls play with the toys left over from 6 boys. Hey, I would play w/ barbie dolls, too, if they always drove in an orange camoflauged Hum-Vee decked out with multiple turret guns and missiles. The girls and Isaac loved their huge american bulldog, Cowboy. Despite what they said, I swear he is not a purebreed, there is a little horse in there somewhere.

We also were able to eat barbeque and hush puppies with Gma Higbee. We left Isaac napping at Gma Hiatt's house w/ Aunt Kathleen. When we returned we found Isaac walking across the room w/ a football in his hand and Craig and his family cheering him on. Apparently we need to leave him with family more often.

Below are also pics of the rabbit cake that Uncle Craig and family brought, an Easter egg hunt, playing with cousin Anna, and enjoying time with those we love but don't see often enough. We are grateful for all who fit us into their schedules w/ very little notice. We love you all!

A fairy tale ending...

2009-04-16T09:24:00.000-07:00

I had to include a quick tribute here to my 'Heels and the magical ending to thier season. I pinched myself as I realized I was watching "One shining moment" live on the floor at Ford Field while the team celebrated and cut down those nets in front of me. It was an amazing experience that I never imagined I'd have. Thanks NC!!

I spent a little quality time with my mini-fans before heading off to the final game. After sitting for a moment with my arm around Alaina, I noticed Isaac looking over at her. He then gently placed his arm gently around her shoulder just as I had mine. (he also patted her back a few times) It was one of those sweet moments that makes a dad want to keep that job title for awhile.

I have to admit I found myself shaking with excitement (and just a touch of nerves) while driving to the game. I was so lucky to find a free shuttle at my parking site, which was about 10 blocks from the stadium (a long way even WITHOUT these lousy crutches). I met the Peterson's there and we got psyched to cheer our team on amidst a sea of 70,000 green and white clad fans.

Fairy tales do come true! It was only fitting that they would present "his Airness" Michael Jordan into the college bball hall of fame during half time. I even got high fives from the whole team as they exited. (suddenly I felt more like one of the 7 dwarves next to some of 'em)

And they all (except for those 70,000 in green) lived happily ever after...until next season :)

More photo updates

2009-04-05T08:17:00.000-07:00

Here are more photos from March. My broken foot in a cast boot, Brinley Jayne, Lainie Grace, and more from Grandma Kristen's visit.

"Girl-ed Cheez Sandwiches"

2009-04-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

Brinley: (while taking an oversized bite) "Daddy, I like girlled cheese samwiches"
Me: "I do too, Brinley"
Brinley: (looking puzzled) "What, don't you like BOY cheese samwiches?"
Me: (chuckling) "well, I really like grilled cheese sandwiches"
Brin: "oh, because you have two sweet little girls?"

News from our gang:
Dan: broke his foot...lame-o. Crutches are not as fun as they always looked. Starting 3 months of elective rotations before he begins his last year of residency!
Maren: Now has one more person to wait on hand and foot. What a great mom and wife! Also enjoyed a visit from her mother in March. It was nice since I was pretty scarce at home that month.
Alaina: Had an expansion retainer placed in her upper mouth today to correct a slight inequality with her jaw. Loving piano lessons and had rave reviews from her kindergarten teacher at recent parent teacher conferences.
Brinley: enjoying preschool and is recently growing out of most of her current wardrobe. Always a giggler. Continues to demonstrate her growing independence.
Isaac: loves to say "Hi", calls all animals and daddy "Daddy", says "momma" when he wants something important, uses "Dease" for drink and please. Has taken four steps on his own, now. Our goal is full walking by his 14 month day on the 6th.

Oh, and of course...

GO 'HEELS!!!

2009-03-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

365!

2009-02-17T17:51:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm finally posting Isaac's birthday pics. I was trying to hold out and let Maren completely take over the blog dealy here. I guess I'll let her just ease into it. We celebrated our little man's first 365 days by starting at "Big Boys" for breakfast. How convenient. Isaac managed to heap a lot of sweet pancakes and scrambled eggs into his yapper, but of course, much, much more on the floor. He couldn't believe the cake was all his but he came around and began to dig in. I think the girls became a little nervous just then (perhaps wondering where THEIR cake was) because Lainie covered her eyes and ducked under the table, and Brinley yelled "No, No Isaac!"

Maren had me grab some balloons for him earlier in the morning. When I brought them out the birthday boy raised both arms to the sky, dropped his mouth wide open and squealed in delight. What a fun kiddo. He is seen sitting on his first basketball and hoop, a huge doodle pad that he had to fight his sisters for, and a spinning, bouncing, music playing zebra from Grandma and Grandpa Beckstead. Thanks to all for the fun cards and gifts. Isaac will write you later. We have been so very lucky to have him this year, and we are forever so grateful for his fun, loving personality in our family. Happy Birthday little buddy!!

Our Little Chef

2009-02-16T18:19:00.000-08:00

Why is there corn on a little red light? you may ask. The other day I was making dinner for three starving children and famished husband when one of the wee ones asked for a few niblets of frozen, uncooked corn to hold her over until dinner was ready. Perfect idea I thought and agreed. A few minutes later I noticed a few kernels of the frozen corn arranged oh so carefully around the little red light on my stovetop that indicates if the stove is hot or not. (For those of you without experience with glass top stoves, when my stove is on, a red burner light appears under the glass and starts cooking the food, a little like this little red light- but much bigger and hotter.) I figured out that Alaina had indeed placed them there with hopes of warming her snack on the little red light. Needless to say, it was taking a very long time, but she was patient and was eventually rewarded with two thawed kernels. YUMMY! -M

Some pics from our Christmas in Idaho, and Dan's Birthday

2009-01-19T19:40:00.000-08:00

We were so grateful to spend time with our wonderful families over Christmas. I'm just so sorry it took so long to share some pics. It's been a busy few months! From top to bottom:

Me and the girls on my birthday night. They gave me a much needed break from preparing a lecture for the next day.

Alaina's new haircut with some rockin' bangs! (is that how you spell bangs?)

Aunt Rachel and "Brinners".

Saying goodbye to some of the Beckstead Clan

Saying farewell to Grandma and Grandpa Higbee

Fun with the Higbee cousins (check out Isaac on the top one - Hee,Hee)

Lainie and Annie - Lainie and Brinley had such a blast with the Higbee, Stoker, and Campbell cousins

Back for an encore (from christmas 2007)

2008-12-17T14:52:00.000-08:00

(not-so) Green eggs and a our little man

2008-12-16T23:07:00.000-08:00

Isaac is learning some important "guy things", like giving "five" and eating eggs by the fistful. Notice in the middle when I tried to get him to say "Dada" and he says "mama".

We don't buy soda pop. Maren bought some 7-up for our sick girls last week, though, and picked up a "diet" soda, too. Apparently Brinley had asked for some of it and Maren must have explained that little girls don't drink "diet" drinks. Then, we received a 2-liter bottle of A&W rootbeer from some friends as part of a Christmas treat. I opened it and gave some to the girls as we were eating some late dinner (after some shopping). Maren walked in and began to poor herself a small drink. Then:

Brinley: "Mommy, are you still on a diet?" (in a sweet and reminding sort of tone)

Maren: a smile at me

Brinley: "Mommy, don't you want some of your diet pop?"

Maren: giggles with a guilty look on her face

Brinley: "Mommy are you not still on a diet?"

Little stinker!

I have to add that Lainie and Brinley sang a duet in Sacrament on Sunday. They did great. Lainie, of course, sang out beautifully. Brinley began the song, then kind of looked around, and almost walked away, before joining back in for the last few lines. They sang "Fairest little Jesus child" (not sure if that's the real title).

We leave for Idaho soon. We are so excited to see our family! After I explained who all we would be seeing on our trip, Alaina proclaimed (this morning) "This will be the best Christmas of my life!!" See you soon!

2008-12-12T17:03:00.000-08:00

The wisemen brought gold, and ...Frankenmuth (?), and myrrh.

Frankenmuth is the German Christmas town 30 minutes north of us. They have the (as they claim) largest Christmas store in the world. I think it must be. They have it divided into zones so you don't get lost.

Brinley now loves to pretend that our couch is the train on the "Polar Insprect."

As I write down a few updates here the girls are watching "My Little Pony" the movie. So here I am.

We are missing our ward's Christmas party right now. Alaina kicked-off the vomiting last night at midnight and Brinley joined in at 5:30 tonight. Why does Brinley always have to do whatever Lainie does. Anyway, I'm sure Santa is grateful that we spared his beard and lap of any early christmas treats...if you know what I mean. Hopefully they will both feel better by Sunday. They are supposed to sing a duet in Sacrament meeting for our ward christmas program.

Isaac began officially crawling this week. He had to pass several time trials before I could make the public statement. He trained very hard and we are so proud of him for sticking with it. Maren is now trying to baby-proof any decorations below our knees.

Maren and I went on a fun date last weekend. As a residency we have a new moonlighting position as the team physicians for a semi-pro (like minor leagues) hockey team. They are the Flint Generals. It was a blast. Free tickets to the game with great seats (and the best date) and I still got paid to do it. I had to send two spectators with nasty injuries from two stray hockey pucks to the hospital, and treat one home team player for a bruised nerve. Not a bad deal. We became fans in one night. To those whose names we drew for christmas, we hope you all like hockey jerseys. :)

We send you all our most heartfelt Merry Christmas wishes. We are so blessed and grateful to have such wonderful friends and family.

-LOVE,

The Higbees

2008-12-12T16:44:00.000-08:00

Putting up Christmas decorations is more than worth the while and the work and the mess when you see the excitement on little faces. The girls were asking for 3 days to put up the nativity scenes. The most anticipated moment is the placing of the baby Jesus in the nativity scene, and we have to keep close track of whose turn it is from year to year. We thought we'd have the girls explain the story of the first Christmas as they put up each piece this year. It was really fun!

Our guest for Thanksgiving: Old Man Winter

2008-12-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all! After a snowy Turkey Bowl football game with a surprisingly large group of fellow ward members we had a very delicious and filling dinner at Ryan and Judy Leonard's home with several other families. I think I counted 13 children there. The Leonards are brave. Someone brought macaroni and cheese (a local tradition) and, of course, that was more than okay with our girls! It went so smoothly and we had a great time. Wish I could say the same about our preparations to get there. I went to grab my shirt from the dryer as we were leaving, and found that a pen had exploded in the dryer and left ink all over an entire load of clothes. Maren quickly went to work spot spraying with Spray and Wash, and placing those clothes to soak in water. As she did that I loaded the 3 kids into the car and got the 2 pies and a super good raspberry fruit salad (Judy introduced us to) that Maren made for our contribution. Isaac was upset at that point so I went back to see if I could quiet him down. I had left that yummy raspberry salad on the middle console in the front. Suddenly I saw movement in my peripheral vision and quickly grabbed the pan, saving it from toppling upside down (it was on its side when I caught it). Just as I was thinking that my quick reflexes had saved the day a third of the surface of the raspberries and jell-o separated off and slid down in a sweet red avalanche of disaster onto the leather seat, continuing its trail of stickiness down to the carpeted floor of our Honda Pilot. I quickly shut the door and cursed the dessert for not holding it together under pressure. Then, I grabbed towels from the laundry room (where Maren was still working away). I think she suspected I was having some difficulty based on my growls and moans. As I cleaned the red goop off the carpet, I heard Lainie mumble something under her breath. "What was that Lainie?" I asked. She hesitantly replied, "Oh, I was just saying to myself that I don't think that was a good place to put that." Not the comforting words I had hoped for, but it made me smile for a moment in spite of myself and my misfortune. When Maren finished and we were on the road we began discussing the chain of events that had delayed our departure, and as happens, realized how humorous it all was. It's funny how we get so caught up in all the details of the Holidays, like whether or not the raspberry fruit salad has a complete covering of raspberry. Thank goodness for those moments we have to take a step away from the details and enjoy the spirit of it all. We have so much to be grateful for!

Below are some pictures of putting up our tree Nov. 29th. We bought a cheap 15$ tree from Home Depot since we are going to be in Idaho for Christmas. We were proud of our tree, until we got it home and realized it had a 30 degree curve in it and it wasn't really shaped like a christmas tree. Well, at least we haven't found any squirrels living in it. Oh, and Isaac was not dressed like Rudolph for the occasion. His orange nose appears to be storing carotene for the winter. I figure he's gonna have great vision. Below are also a few pictures from our backyard Dec. 1st with 5-6 inches of snow. Every school district around us, except for Lainie's, called it a snow day. What dedication!

The Ikester

2008-11-16T19:23:00.000-08:00

Last week was our yearly Orthopedic In-training exam. It's a large standardized test for all the orthopedic residents in the nation and we are all ranked by percentile. It always brings with it a small amount of stress and anxiety. One afternoon just before the test I was in that state and studying when I began to notice a little face appearing and disappearing from around the edge of my laptop screen. Isaac was getting a kick out of himself and his little act. He would hide, and then appear suddenly (and often with new food on his cheeks and chin) with a smile on his face. I guess he could see his dad needed a light moment. Thanks little buddy.

Just some going ons...

2008-11-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

I called on Brinley to say the prayer two days ago. She thanked Heavenly Father for her day, and for the food, and told him that she loved her daddy, and mommy, and big sista and little baby brotha and asked that none of us tattletale (I'm trying to quit but Maren does it all the time) and then asked for his help in eating her good food (dinner). Just a little history - she had missed her "treat" 2 nights in a row after not wanting to eat her veggies first. She was so proud of herself for enlisting the assistance of the Omnipotent in earning a halloween candy before bedtime. Maren and I exchanged that amused parent look and went on with our dinner-eating. A few minutes later I noticed that Brinley still wasn't eating her dinner, but was watching our entry way. I asked what the delay was. "But I don't see him, yet, daddy," was her reply. "See who?" (and then I realized) "Heavenly Father, daddy, I don't see him yet. Where is he?" ...I have to pause and say that at the time it was a sweet moment, and a good opportunity to teach, but now in sharing the experience I appreciate it so much more. I suppose those moments where I think I am doing such a good job as a dad, like instructing my little one on the nature of God and his methods of answering our prayers, it is really that sweet child that has taught me the definition of pure faith. Anyway, I didn't want to get all wordsy or make a futile attempt at being insightful, I am just thankful to be a dad.

Lainie sang her solo in Sacrament meeting today. As she sat up there during the opening of the meeting she repeatedly made eye contact with me and gave me here full on smile and wink. It was so obvious and everyone kept looking at me to see if I was seeing it. I was sitting there with a full bullfrog in my throat, hardly able to breathe (I was so nervous FOR her) . I felt like I was going to be singing. And then she got up to the podium and looked at me (Maren was seated behind her with the primary) and sang the first line of the song to here daddy with that wonderful smile. She sang it out clearly and perfectly, absolutely nothing more beautiful to daddy's ears! Again, I'm so lucky to be a dad (and grateful that Lainie inherited Maren's musical abilities)

Isaac bit my finger today and poked me in the eye. Ha! He really is a little boy. He thought both were pretty funny, too. He gives us "five" now and enjoys clapping his hands, has started a little scoot thing (taking his time with mobility like his sisters), playing peek-a-boo, and of course still bounces or rocks constantly. He's a joy to be around unless he's hungry (and then it's more of a duty thing).

Other hi-lights from the week: It snowed here today, and it's supposed to snow more tonight. I'm hoping for one more good day this november because two days ago I started mowing the lawn for one last time (maybe more to pick up the 7 tons of leaves dispersed over every inch of our grass and flower beds) and it started raining so I have a half mown lawn. Looks real good. I was asked to stand in as Kylan Peterson (Danette) conferred the Aaronic priesthood on his son, Keion. Keion is a great kid, and it's good to have him in our young men's program. Danette was called into the young women's presidency and I laughed that this is the fourth YW presidency I've seen called since I began serving in the young men's here. Oh, and yesterday I had a few friends over for a little Madden Football afternoon. Maren even made cinnamon rolls for us so we could get our controllers all sticky :) they were yummy!

Maren has got me helping with a neat new little craft project - a little thing she learned from Sara Pullins, a good friend here and wife to one of our current ortho interns (Micah). I shouldn't have bragged to her about all the sewing I do in the operating room. It's bad enough that I'm the blogger in this relationship, but now I'm making crafts, too?! Sorry, I better go, I gotta go find where I put my man card.

John Williams: An Acapella Tribute

2008-11-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

I just found this fun link on a friend's facebook. If you want to listen to it you will have to turn off the music on the right side of the screen. Enjoy! -M

Two Princesses and their handsome prince ....SKUNK?!

2008-10-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

In keeping with tradition our girls decided to attend our ward Halloween party as...(bet you could never guess)...princesses. Lainie went as a beautiful wood-fairy princess, and Brinley as the more traditional Cinderella. They were both stunning to their father (and their mother did a wonderful job on their hair and accessories) despite my anxieties over them wearing makeup. I had tried to convince Maren that Isaac should go as the girls' prince charming, but turns out she purchased a costume for him last halloween while he was yet in the womb. I was skeptical of it, until I put it on him. He made the most handsome SKUNK I've seen. It was so funny to see him, because the outfit is bulky, hot, round, and has a hat that covers his entire head, but he absolutely loved it. He squealed with delight as I put it on, did his rocking-out excited spasm deal after I was done, and was content in it for the next 4 or 5 hours until I took it off. He never even acted like he was going to pull off the hat. The rest of our family just sat and laughed at him (actually WITH him) for the night. I hope he is always such a good sport. We took a few pictures before the party. They are a little blurry but at least show the outfits.

One of the mothers in the ward, who has a son that is in Lainie's primary class, approached me during the party. She told me that her son tells her often that he would really like to marry Lainie when he is older, but is frustrated because Lainie tells him that she is going to marry her little brother. Funny how that makes me feel so good for now, isn't it?! I hope she at least always feels like her brother is a decent guy :)

After the party, I was tucking the girls in (hi-light of my days) when Brinley asked my why I didn't dress like her "Handsome Prince Charming". Rather than break the news to her that her dad is neither handsome nor charming, I told her that I just didn't have a costume. She answered that she was going to make me a costume. She said, "and I will put pictures on it of princes, and ....horses .... and ... BASKETBALLS! .... and ... SHOES! ... and ... JACKETS! ... and ... BALLS! ... and... ROLLERCOASTERS!" Apparently she has overheard Maren claiming that I really like jackets and shoes. I was so impressed at her thoughtfulness about things her Daddy likes. I can't wait to wear my Prince Charming outfit.

Maren is not pictured here (as usual she was snapping all the photos) but she made a pretty stunning black cat. I have not, in the past, considered myself to be a "cat-person," but I gotta say....well...maybe I should just leave it at that :)

Sunday afternoons

2008-10-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

Recent videos continued

2008-10-11T23:24:00.000-07:00

My mom has always laughed at how, at a very young age, I loved to sit and rock in our wooden rocking chair. Apparently an affinity for rhythmic induced hypnosis runs in the family. Isaac is cuckoo for rocking, and he doesn't need to be in the chair, either. He is just as content to go into a violent rocking frenzy while sitting on the floor, in someone's arms (beware of head-butts), or my favorite, sitting in his booster seat while eating. When that one happens he almost tips the entire chair over and usually ends up with food in his eye. He has taken my skills to a whole new level, and I must say, I am proud of him.

Recent family videos

2008-10-11T22:23:00.000-07:00

Isn't video such a great invention. I just had the hankerin' to show a little bit more of Isaac's personality. He keeps US laughing and we are so blessed to have him for 8 months now. Since the blog won't allow several videos in the same posting I may have to create a few posts to share these photos

Applicious!!!

2008-09-22T21:12:00.000-07:00

Fall is arriving here in Michigan. It is beautiful to see the variety of trees as their leaves change color. There are bright reds and yellows appearing daily. There is a crisp feeling in the air. Last weekend we participated in some fall celebrations, both applicious. On Friday we went with some friends to Fenton Applefest. It is like a fair with rides, cotton candy, apple-filled treats and games. The girls and Dan played a gun-shooting game together and won. The girls faces expressed great joy and pride as they each picked out a stuffed unicorn. Brinley described hers as cuddly and "unicorny". (Only appropriate, I guess) On Saturday we were invited to a friend's family's home where they had apple trees. They let us gather apples (yummy macintosh) and we watched and helped (a little) as they made apple cider, apple crisp, and applesauce. They even let us take some of it home. What a treat!!! It was so fun for the girls to pick the fruit and watch it transform (or smash) into foods that we love to buy and eat. Yesterday for Sunday dinner we had applecider and slushy pink applesauce with roast beef and bread on the side---- and oh yeah, applecrisp for dessert. Lainie took great pride in the applecrisp made only from the apples she carefully picked and gathered. By the way, has anyone heard of an apple called Mutsu. It is DELICIOUS! One of my new favorites. In honor of our weekend and the upcoming presidential elections I am posting a gadget at the bottom of the blog where you can vote on your favorite apple. I know it is difficult to choose one, but see how you compare to the majority of fellow bloggers. -M

First Day of Kindergarten

2008-09-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

I'm experiencing technical difficulties with my page here. I guess the trouble is I lack technical abilities. So I will forego the descriptions of each picture and just say that Lainie was the most beautiful and excited kindergartner I've seen. She just completely owned that first day, and she had that look on her face from the moment she woke up. Glowing! I was able to get the morning off to take her with Maren, Brin, and Isaac. Maren and I felt almost silly hanging around after class began. (They allowed the parents to stay awhile for a sort of transition period) It was obvious that some of the children needed that time, but Alaina seemed to be in her element from the moment she sat down at the magna doodle table. In fact, Maren and I walked over to her a few times to say goodbye, and she just responded with a curt "bye" and that was it, back to making friends and doodling. I guess maybe that "transition" time was as much (or more) for the parents than some of those new little students. We were finally able to pull ourselves out the front door (Brin wondered why we were leaving Lainie behind) and make that long two block journey home. Maren and I were both taking long, deep breaths all the way. I definitely understood why she had to push back tears, she was losing her wonderful little friend and helper for half a day, five days a week. Lainie is easy to miss, for sure. I felt silly, though, that I found myself also wiping the "burn" from my own eyes. I just had this image on repeat in my mind. It was of our little two year old Lainiebugs right after we moved into our new house. The neighbor kids were all congregating on our front yard to see who the new guys were. Alaina was basquing in her newfound popularity and then, out of nowhere, the thought came to her and she felt it important to share with her crowd. "That's my daddy, he is my prince charming!" The image still fills my heart to the brim with warm and fuzzy stuff (the neighbor kids weren't quite sure how to respond). That image kept running through my mind, with one other thought. Was this the beginning of the end of all that sweet and innocent daddy loving. I know they are, but why do those days have to be numbered??

Ok, enough pouting, Lainie is the focus, not her poor dad. The truth is, I know she will always love me and be my sweet little girl, because that's just who she is. I love her soul! And she will be such a great kindergartner. Her mother has prepared her well! Below are pictures of her first day and some of her first day on the bus, too (the next day).

HAPPY KINDERGARTENERING ALAINA GRACE!!

lainie

2008-09-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

We had some fun with the normally barely tolerable chore of family pictures this summer. It's so rare to have the whole family together on either side, and we were lucky enough to be together with everyone on both sides. First, for Kari's wedding with the Higbees, and then at the Beckstead Manor in Pocatello. Mom (Kristen) did such a great job of planning and coordinating it all. Dad (Rob) wasn't so sure about the green couch the photographer brought, but I think it looks great. Dad has been really interested in competitive shooting recently, and introduced us all to tactical shotgun shooting during our stay. We had to get the guns and have some theme pictures while we had the attention of the photographer.

The first thing Lainie did was get fresh mud from the pond on her clean pants. There was alot of bustle and an emergency tide stain pen was produced. 10 minutes later she had duck doo-doo on her pants. Wow, I was amazed.

I just wish we had videos of the adults trying to get the kids to smile (I'm sure I was the worst) . They are all smiles when they are doing what they want and then we dress them up and tell them to be still and stay clean and we expect them to keep on a smiley face. Oh well, they did a great job.

I've finally posted a video

2008-09-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

Isaac is a lucky man to have two such affectionate sisters. They love to make him giggle. It's no wonder he is such a sweet mannered kiddo.

Brincess!

2008-08-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

(I wrote this blog a week ago, but better late than never)

I know Maren posted for Brinley's B-day last week and I'm so excited. This is now a joint venture and I'll see if I can just kind of fade into the background and have her take over with her more creative nature. I just found these recent photos that Maren took, though, and wanted to add them. I often just have to sit back in awe of this little girl and her spunkiness. How could one little girl get away with so much mischeviousness? She knows exactly what looks to give her daddy when she wants a little leniency (or a lot). She does it all with giggles and her patented wrinkled-nose ear to ear grin and sparkly big brown eyes. So many times I've walked in at 11:30 PM with the lights on and a slew of books piled around her while Lainie tries to sleep and she'll look at me with that smile, and ask, "ARE YOU MAD AT ME, DADDY?" (giggles) Well, I was...

She is a sweet, caring little sqirt, too. She was genuinely worried about me when we recently returned from vacation in Idaho. I was on call the following day and she kept asking Maren "where is my daddy?" When Maren explained I was at the hospital she became worried and asked over and over what was wrong with daddy. We had to remind her that I worked at the hospital :) Another thing I love about Brinley is her forgiving heart. She is always so quick to say "it's ok!" when accepting an apology from her older sister, even when she is in the middle of showing distress. She loves Lainie dearly. She is her older sister's little shadow and her echo, too. She brings such personality to our family and we couldn't imagine life without her. Thank Heaven for our little firecracker!

Life is Roses at Three

2008-08-16T09:02:00.000-07:00

The other day I was driving the kids around in the car when I heard Brinley say from the back, "Mom, I love the world." What a beautiful thing to love the world. What a simple, yet very sweet thought. What innocence. I hope that she is blessed with a life that keeps her always feeling that same way. It was Brinley's birthday on the 13th of August. She turned three. It was a fun filled day of junk food (Our days menu consisted of sugar cereal-the kind I never buy, mac and cheese and chicken nuggets from McDs for dinner. All foods of her request) and game playing. Dan got off work a little early so we got to go to a miniature indoor amusement store, called Jeepers, where we had loads of fun riding rides. Later that evening we raced home and I put the finishing touches on a sparkly princess belle doll cake...

while Dan did some spectacular wrapping on her presents. It was very late when we had cake and presents (as is tradition in our family), but it was an exciting, special day for her. She had little expectations (only candles with fire) so it was impossible to disappoint her. It is amazing to think that our baby girl has turned 3. Dan gave Brinley a rose for her birthday. I wanted to get a picture of Dan, Brinley and her rose but of course the doctor hasn't been "in the house" much since her birthday so here are some pictures of Brin with her special birthday flower.

I thought I might as well make Lainie sit for a picture too, because the lighting was great, and she is easy to photograph. When I was done taking pictures of Alaina she rolled onto her back, closed her eyes, and folded her hands over the flower on her chest (Just like all the pictures of sleeping beauty in her story books) and very seriously said, "Mom, do I look like a princess?" My dad reminds me often of when I would do similar things as a child. He told me that when he would come to tuck me in I would pretend I was asleep, then tell him I was "sweeping booty". Like mother, like daughter(s).

I took pictures of Isaac also (rose not included). He has two teeth now, on the front bottom and his eyes have started taking on their true color, brown. (Suprise! Just like his sisters) As Dan says, he is declaring himself. -M

2008-08-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe I'm dedicating a blog page to my 6 month old son. SIX MONTHS??!! How can that be. Obviously he looks the part, but it just passes too doggone fast! (At last weeks visit to the pediatrician his height and weight were both 95th percentile. After hearing that his head circumference was 50th percentile, I said, "yup, he may be a football player.") He is teething for the first time as of this week, and just to prove a point, he outgrew his infant carseat this week, as well. (the same one Lainie and Brinley used until about 9 months of age.)
They say time flies when your having fun. If that's true, then I worry that Isaac will cause our lives to pass by too quickly. He amazes us daily with his good nature and reminds us why parenting is such an entertaining specatator sport. Even when he finally loses patience with us and gets upset, he'll break halfway through a wail and go right to his cheesiest of cheesy grins. He loves to cuddle with his mommy and show off his big smile to her. It's been a blast to see him socialize with his two sisters. Once they enter the room his eyes go right to them, and they rarely leave them. He has learned to grab two fistfuls of hair everytime they get within reach and he loves to full out body hug their heads and giggle. I sure hope he's always so watchful and loving with his older sisters. It would be such a big help to a dad who already gets butterflies thinking about teenage daughters :) I am so excited to share father-son activities with my Isaac boy through the years ahead. We feel blessed everyday to have him.

2008-07-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

I thought this would be an appropriate time to post this picture. I know McCain has been disappointed at the imbalance in media coverage between him and his opponent, so here is a little boost. With all of my viewing audience we should be able to get a message out there that despite what you think of his "maverick" politics or the party he belongs to, John McCain was a really nice guy to us. Even when he was late getting off to Lake Powell with his buddy (physician I was working with at the time - to L of Maren) to meet their families, he took the time to talk and take a picture. There, that ought to even things up a bit, eh!?

I just added this photo cause I'm a dad and when I saw this photo I wished I had special time-travelling skills. Ever have those moments? Lainie got to come spend a few hours with me tonight while I'm "moonlighting" at an MRI center. I am just here to save people from allergic reactions to contrast and provide sedation for those afflicted with closterphobia. That really translates to a lot of time to work on logs, blogs, ESPN, and reading the latest orthopedic literature, which, depending on my recent schedule, often leads into catching up on naps. So that's why Lainie and I were able to lazily eat dinner out on the green grass under the sun with a nice, light breeze. We watched a herd of geese, several gold finches and two hummingbirds feeding on some bird feeders along the back lawn, and laughed. It was a perfect daddy-daughter date, as she loves to call them. When we finished eating I asked her what she wanted to do next. She said, "Let's play a game! How 'bout Duck, Duck, Goose.......well, but you'll have to be a duck a lot of times!" :) I didn't mind, at least there wasn't that wrenching feeling that I may play the entire game and never be a goose. As a side note, I'm not sure the real geese liked us imitating them because every time we ran close to them they all hissed at us. I told Lainie that if they came after us she should run and I would stay behind and try to slow them down. She stayed away from them after that.

Before Kari and Chris were married, Maren was able to leave New Orleans early and spend some time with our parents. I wanted to include some of those photos. These are some moments captured from a trip to Lagoon with Grandma Kristen and Aunt Jennie and her children. Amazingly Shelley and Chris and Joe and Emily were planning on going the same day and they all met up. Two things: this made me extremely jealous, but talk about the stars aligning! I figured I'd include the above picture now and then post it at some point when these two are somewhere in their teen years and thinking they are pretty untouchable. That'll give the rest of us a moment of delight. :)

Grandma Kristen with Owen, Isaac, and Brin.

Claire has been Lainie's best buddy as we have somehow moved in tandem with Jarv and Jennie, first to phoenix, and then to the midwest. We will miss them much now that they have returned to SLC, but we know from experience that the draw to be near to our extended family and "home" is great.

This picture left me feeling uneasy. Something about the idea of not one, but TWO teenage female drivers at the same time someday made my heart skip a beat.

Just a few more fun pictures from our visit to the homeland!

2008-07-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

An Eastern Boy and a Western Girl

2008-07-13T19:58:00.000-07:00

We were so fortunate to be at our sister Kari's wedding to our new brother-in-law, Chris Goellner, in Idaho earlier this month. What a blessing it is to have such a large and loving family (and surprisingly enough, an italian from New Jersey has always just fit right in).

Alaina and Brinley were asked to be flower girls along with their other beautiful little female cousins. They all looked gorgeous, and you could tell they kinda knew it :)

Hunter was the ring bearer. What a grin! I thought these two made a pretty cute couple. All the nieces and nephew (Hunter) did such a great job in the procession. Alaina didn't quite know when to stop throwing flowers, though. She continued past the groom and judge, past the decorative arch, and almost to the boundary of the property before turning around and realizing that she was alone. She quickly came back the way she'd come and the show went on. Kari and Chris looked so happy as they said their vows, and then it was time to celebrate.

Brinley lets loose after the ceremony. It's funny how they'll smile endlessly when they are doing what THEY want to do, but try to snap some formal pictures and it's like they can't even fake a happy appearance.

Isaac finds something to pass the time while he waits for the pictures to stop.

Watching Kari and Chris commit their lives to each other made me so grateful I'd found this girl to share our journey through life. She is the sweetest companion and mother! (even if she makes me do all the blogging in our house)

I don't think anyone logged as much time on the dance floor as our nephew, Ethan. He was posessed by his "happy feet." Here, Lainie was lucky enough partner with him on a two-step. YeeHaw!

Mike and Jen practice for their coming addition. Only she'll likely be wearing pink, and may not appreciate her delicate, chubby belly being displayed to the world. Don't worry, though, Mike. I don't think Isaac really took issue to it. He's comfortable with his 95th percentile body.

I had to include this picture of Carly Jean dreamily watching the bride and groom enjoying their first dance.

We had such an enjoyable time with the Goellner family! They were a pleasure to share such an occasion with, and we are grateful to have another member of the family! Congrats Chris and Kari Goellner!

2008-07-10T21:13:00.000-07:00

We have returned to Michigan safely from our Idaho/Utah vacation. It was a blessing to see family and a few friends. We had so much fun. Stay tuned to see some pictures from our trip.

Saying Goodbye to the Big Easy

2008-06-08T21:03:00.000-07:00

Grandma Kristen descended like an angel out the skies to help Maren drive back to Michigan and then fly on to Idaho. Maren had fun showing her around the Crescent City.

In front of the St. Charles cathedral with an alligator (for Lainie) and a little dolly (Brin's) that Grandma bought them in the French Quarter.

Ferry Boat on the Mississippi.

At the aquarium. I included this picture because of Brin's psycho smile (fond memories of her psycho cupcake look) and Isaac's open stare at the fish.

In rainforest room.

Hey, look! No sunburn. :)

At the New Orleans Zoo

Our little wild animal. She's so sweet and cuddly, but just when we think she's tame...

The most intimidating view at the zoo. It's a huge silverback gorilla. watchout!!

Lainie Day!!

2008-06-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

June 2nd may have been one month to the day before Lainie's Birthday, but it was HER DAY!! We took the girls swimming when I returned from work. Grandma Kristen napped poolside (she was overcoming a cold) while Maren and I swam with the three kids. As Isaac and I were making our rounds around the pool we happened upon Maren who was trying to convince Lainie to try to swim with her help, but without her little arm floatation devices. Lainie was resisting so we switched spots. After much further convincing and manipulative statements like, "don't you trust your dad...then why don't you show it by removing these?", we finally convinced Lainie to remove her airbladder sleeves. You do what you have to, sometimes, and just hope your kids don't remember it later, I guess. Well, Lainie practiced floating on her back for a bit, and then I set her on the stairs. I said, "Lainie, just swim to Daddy.." while I stood about 3 feet away. To our amazement Lainie began swimming! She swam the 3 feet and then, as daddy backed up more and more, it became 6 feet, and then 9 feet, and then 12! We were so proud and so was she. She wanted to keep swimming all night! She swam the entire length of the pool 3 or 4 times. She's now our little Mer-Lainie.

After washing off the chlorine, Alaina was ready to continue her night. She has had a loose tooth for about 1 week, and it was ready to come out this night. Daddy pulled one of her two central bottom teeth and she didn't even grimace. What a brave girl!! Out just in time for Kari and Chris's wedding!

As a side note, even with all the pride and excitement over new milestones reached , there was (and is) a feeling of real sadness somewhere down deep inside me. I guess it is that realization that father time is going to keep passing no matter what we do to try to trip him up. My little girl is getting bigger and I am left wishing I had her back as a baby, and a one year old, and a two year old... just once at each earlier stage of her life for one more hug. But...of course, that wouldn't be enough either, would it? I'm selfish, but I sure do love my children! As I write this, I'm reminded of a country song that talks about when tough guys have little girls they turn into big babies again. I need to take a break.

2008-05-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun on Destin, Florida's white sandy beach over Memorial Weekend. We did so many fun things all in one day on the beach and had a BLAST. Wave jumping, swimming, bodyboarding, sandcastles, kite flying, seashell collecting, child chasing, sand eating (Isaac got a surprise faceful from one of the girls shoes which was being excitedly kicked off in order to hit the waves) , saltwater tasting, and sunbathing (especially Isaac--see below). And we realized once again that we are not those perfect parents you see around. We thought we were so smart to keep Isaac shaded all day under an umbrella with a blanket around him. What we didn't know is that Florida's white sand is like a mirror, reflecting the suns rays back up at you. This can be wonderful if you are hoping for a golden brown tan on the under side of your chin, but not so much if you are trying to shade a baby. The short version--even in the shade, Isaac got a bad burn around his eyes, nose and forehead where he was not covered by his blanket. He developed some blisters and drainagethat night. Our hearts were torn apart watching him, even though it really didn't seem to bother him. He became swollen and his eyes looked like he had just descended through the birth canal all over again. Again, he just smiled through it all. What a tough kid! (he must be mine -- ha!ha!) I've struggled over whether to include a picture or not (due to the gruesome nature of it), but I think I will just to show what he's made of. I'm so happy to report that he is now healed, and hardly has any redness left in his face.

A perfect day for flying kites. A light breeze...

Look at my foot under 5 feet of water...yeah, it was that beautiful and clear!

If you look really hard straight above Lainie's head there are two dolphins swimming (we hope they were dolphins!)

The sand was so soft and fine! The girls couldn't get enough of playing with it, even after 7 hours!

Cap'n Lainiebugs turns the ship gently toward the portside and free of impending obstacles! With red splotches on our skin to show each spot that was missed by our spf-1000 sunblock (Lainie blocked her eyes with each application and had red raccoon-like circles around her eyes to prove it), we forwent the beach on our last day and went on a "dolphin cruise." The girls were so excited to see the dolphins that swim back and forth along the beaches. Turns out there is a literal swarm of boaters over memorial day weekend who like to throw anchor and drink various mood altering beverages on the very waters that we were to for dolphins on. We saw some sites, just no dolphins. The girls were disappointed, but loved driving the boat, and being out on the water. Dolphins would've been fun, but I prefer watching our little sea monkeys anytime!!

Ai, Ai matey! Brinley grabbed the steering wheel and immediately began cranking counterclockwise on it, and fast! I saw the captain's nervous look, and instantly knew that Brinley would not be as long in his seat as the other children.

The most stunning creatures on the seven seas! Who needs dolphins?!

Our accomodations....we wish. Beachfront hotels in Destin, FL

Building the Higbee empire. They always end up smaller and much simpler than my original plans call for. I was hoping to make it strong enough so that next time we visit we would have an inexpensive place to stay. I have never claimed to be the "wise man."

We built three large towers. The largest, is Maren's so she can see over the entire castle and run the place efficiently. The wide one on the left is Isaacs and is seperated just a little so that when he is participating in knightly activities and rough housing it won't disturb the rest of the palace. The two adjacent towers to the right are Lainie's and Brin's. They are close together since they will have to share their collection of polly-pockets and other dolls in the middle (that room is off limits to Isaac). Not, to mention that they preferred it that way because "they are the best buddies in the whole world," according to both. I have my own little blacksmith shop in the back (not pictured) where I can create all kinds of innovative orthopedic implants and devices that will pay for such a grand (and pricey) stretch of beachfront property

Soaking in the salt

A view of Destin Beach

I look at this picture and just wish I was on there with him! I wish I was still that gifted at power relaxation!

Well, here it is. Cause of tears shed by us (definitely more than by him). Looks completely healed now. Please don't report us to child protective services!!

2008-05-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

The rest of Maren's Mother's Day Card.

2008-05-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

Isaac's first haircut...ok, maybe just more of an evening-out of sorts.

Isaac's first dip in the pool. He let out a little surprised squeal when he hit the water, then quickly adjusted to his surroundings. He was doing the backstroke after a few moments and then attempted a backflip from the railing. I had to stop him when he tried to throw in a triple sow-cow with a helicopter. It was a good start.

Maren's mother's day card was made up of miniature messages from some special little people.

2008-05-12T22:10:00.000-07:00

Isaac enjoys a little R & R poolside. Maybe we should call HIM the "Big Easy!"

For Mother's Day we celebrated (Saturday) by taking the trolley car to downtown New Orleans, watching an Imax movie, then catching the ferry across the river and back, returning to the Audubon park via trolley car, finding a little lost duckling and trying unsuccessfully to locate it's mother before releasing it next to a pond (much to the chagrin of two little girls), and finally eating dinner at one of areas oldest burger joints. Oh, and topping that off with a cold stone creamery ice cream dessert. We had to keep reminding ourselves that it was Mother's Day and not Daughter's Day. Isn't fun, though, to watch your kids have a ball!?

Waiting for the ferry to return in their new sunglasses. Downtown New Orleans across the mississippi.

On the Ferry, I suddenly realized what Lainie and Brinley were doing and sprinted to pull them down. They couldn't figure out why I didn't want them up there. I had to remind them that they didn't have their special floating "muscles" (as they call them) on.

2008-05-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

I just had to add this picture b/c I'm a guy. Enough said? This is the bridge across the Mississippi to the Naval base. I wonder where they're all going?

Believe it or not, Lainie found the exact flower used on "Horton Hears a Who!" Ironically she found it in the front yard of the local library. If there is a flower anywhere remotely nearby, Alaina will find it. Brinley soon found another and the search for little "who's" was on! Dr. Seuss would've been so proud.

Classic Brinley. She can get that swimming suit on in 6.3 seconds when she hears that we’re going to the pool.

Brinley is fearless when Daddy is around to catch her. She will swim laps around the pool alone with floaties on her arms, and is currently learning to blow bubbles out of her nose. She refers to herself as the "purple ballerina ducky" while in the water. I proposed that maybe she could be the "purple princess ballerina ducky" but she shot me down. Apparently water fowl, even colorful dancing ones, are not allowed into the circles of nobility.

We've been slowly letting the air out of Lainie's floatie-sleeves and she quickly makes up for it with extra paddling to stay above water. Is that ethical? Either way, she's learning to swim.

2008-05-07T20:23:00.000-07:00

Isaac and I were grateful this shark was not very hungry - I mean, who would've taken care of us?
In front of the Muddy Mississippi ("Too thick to drink, too thin to plow...") watching the HUGE boats in downtown New Orleans

2008-05-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

We have had some requests for more pictures of Isaac, the beloved boy. I say beloved because I don't think there has ever been a little brother more adored by his sisters (and parents). Yes, we suppose it is arguable, but we won't waiver. The girls have yet to utter a negative comment about this angel boy coming into our family and have been VERY patient and helpful.

2008-05-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

Here a few snapshots of our day at Audubon Zoo. It is a great zoo, located a few blocks away from the hospital where Dan works. We didn't make it all the way through so we can't wait to go back.

Brinley at Audubon Zoo, the petting zoo area

Dan and Isaac watch the monkeys...and mommy.

Alaina loved the turtles. Can you find a turtle in this picture?

The Big Easy!

2008-04-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

I'll just mention quickly that soon after moving to Phoenix the Diamondbacks won the series. The year we arrived in Michigan we celebrated the Pistons return to champion status. And now the Hornets?? We'll see. (doubt it) I still have a hard time cheering for Chris Paul from his Wake Forest Days of playing our 'heels but he is amazing. Leave it to me to begin my post with sports talk.

So here we are and here is my first post on our new site. It's like moving into a new home (the website, I mean)...or maybe a new apartment that has the siding all ripped off for renovations and is strategically (insert sarcastic smirk here) located next to a water (ok...it's sewage, who am I kidding?!) treatment plant. Oops, guess I just described our situation. Actually, though, the area where the Childrens Hospital is located is very beautiful. It is just a few blocks from Loyola and Tulane Universities and lies on the banks of the Mississippi. The houses in the neighborhood are old and historic mansions that are kept up amazingly. There is a massive park next door (Audubon park) that houses a golf course, some large ponds with water fowl and turtles, the city zoo, playgrounds, and a large track that circumscribes the golf course. We have spent some very lovely afternoons chasing the girls around there, while they likewise chase lizards, turtles, ducks, and squirrels. Our "garments" as Brinley adorably calls our apartments are located about 20 minutes northwest of the hospital. They are being completely renovated (from Katrina damage), so Maren and the kids have been surrounded by Mexican laborers re-siding and painting, etc. The girls love the swimming pool, and have both recently learned to swim alone with arm floaties on. We are very careful in watching Brinley around the pool. Staying true to her personality she is somewhat less cautious than Lainie and loves to jump in the water whether I am ready to catch her or not. We usually usually only swim for 5 or 10 minutes, though, before they want to spend their time catching the many lizards around. Maren has been such a good sport about coming down here. We've enjoyed having more time to just be together as a family. I have more call here, but it is usually slower paced. It has been a blessing to relax and go to the zoo, the aquarium, the parks, and of course the wholesome family day we had in the French Quarter. Ha! It really was fun, though, and great for the family to visit in the light of day. Maren did flash several people...but only with our camera. She didn't get any beads for that. We've had a blast visiting the local eateries. That's probably why it doesn't show that I've been running 2 miles 4 times a week. Lainie stops to pick the flowers wherever we are. Even if they are weeds and not flowers. And sometimes even if they are just leaves and not even weed flowers. She is just so excited to have green and nice weather. She has also begun to exercise a new artistic streak. She's already filled one sketch book and is started on #2. I'm a little jealous, though, because most of her pictures are of her bear. Isaac is giggling now, and is a super content little man. Did I say "little"? I think we actually missed that stage. He is a joy. Brinley still misses her grandparents. She sure loved having both the Becksteads and then the Higbees visit us, demonstrated by her comment that "Grandma and Grandpa are missing us so much" everytime she sees and airplane.

We hope all of our loved ones know they are missed. We are super duper excited to travel west this summer and visit y'all!

New Orleans

2008-04-15T20:57:00.001-07:00

Welcome to our new blog site. Hopefully nobody has had a hard time finding us. All is well here with us. We are currently living in New Orleans, LA and will be here until sometime in June. Dan is doing a rotation for his residency here at Children's Hospital in pediatric orthopaedics. He is enjoying working with kids, but it breaks his heart to see them hurt. His call schedule is heavier, but the nights are lighter as far as the calls he receives when compared to Genesys. We are staying in some apartments provided by the hospital, so we are looking at this as a (nearly) free opportunity to check out another area of our beautiful United States. I think that our favorite thing about Louisiana is the delicious food. The odd thing is, our favorite restaurants happen to be Mexican. YUM. We also love the beautiful architecture. The homes are all so unique and colorful. Most of them have beautiful porches with white wooden rockers and a fan. We are going to take notes so that we can incorporate the style into our own home someday. So far we have visited the French Quarter and the Mississippi river. We have seen a little of the devastation from Katrina upon entering New Orleans on the north-east side, but plan on taking a mapped route around soon. We know some of you have visited the area, so let us know if you have any suggestions.