Built to Last

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Blackberry Treats

Where we live in Washington blackberries grow abundantly. We have a decent production going on in our back yard, but they can really be found about everywhere you go in town.

If I was more ambitious I might endeavor to make blackberry jam or something - free berries, after all. But for now I'm not. Instead, we've devoted many a juicy blackberry this summer to a tasty concoction referred to in our house as "Blackberry Treats." Paul's mom shared this cobbler recipe with us when she came to visit this summer and we're sold on it. So simple. So quick. So, so tasty!

Easy Blackberry Cobbler

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place 4 cups fresh blackberries in a lightly greased 8-inch square baking dish; sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. lemon juice. In a medium bowl stir together 1 egg, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle over fruit. Drizzle 6 Tbsp. melted butter over topping. Bake for 35 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream. Makes 6 servings. (Or, if you live in our house, 3 or 4 servings.)

Could I say it any better than this?

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Baby Benjamin

I had the sincere intent of writing a heartfelt post on Benjamin's second birthday. But that was a week ago. It's been hard to find enough time in a day--especially a birthday--to write on the blog.

However, for the past week I have not ceased to be amazed by my two-year-old little boy. He's all grown up, or so it seems.

I look at three-month-old Rhett in my arms, and it seems as if just a few months ago that was Benjamin. And wasn't it just a few months ago? Just 24 short months?

It seems that 24 months is all it took to turn my little baby into a little man. And I know it's only going to go by more quickly from here.

He made a surprise, but oh-so-welcome, entrance into the world on a beautiful September morning. When the nurses in the delivery room announced that I was "ready to go," suddenly I didn't feel so ready. Tears came to my eyes as I realized that my life was about to change forever. And I wasn't sure I was ready for what was about to happen. Not because I didn't want to be, but because I already loved that baby boy so much that I knew I would have to be better than I was to deserve him.

He has been lighting up our lives ever since.

Seven weeks

Twenty-two months

He loves his dad and his brother, and he loves doing boy things.

Seven months

One year

Nineteen months

Twenty months

Twenty-three months

Two years

Like any little boy, he loves to explore his world. And he's usually not tidy about it.

Thirteen months

Fifteen months

Eighteen months

Twenty-three months

Two years
(Who needs food or dishes for a new kitchen when you've got a tool set and race cars?)

He is so sweet to his mama (with the obvious exception of those Terrible Two moments), and is my best helper.

Four months

Seven months

Ten months

Nineteen months
(This is actually when he stayed with his grandparents for a few days. Don't you love how he's putting real food in the shopping cart? I do.)

Twenty months

Two years

He loves the Cougars! This is obviously something that Paul and I have promoted, but he has run with it like I never expected! He loves to don his Cougar attire and can be heard several times a day cheering, "Rah rah rah rah... Cougars!"

This is his "Cougars Hat" which I made for him in case it was cold at the BYU vs. UW game (it wasn't). He is in love with it! On this particular day he insisted on wearing it while we went grocery shopping, and Paul said he looked like a homeless boy.

We celebrated the big day fairly quietly. With a coupon from Fred Meyer I brought home a free "fancy cupcake." When Paul came home for lunch we stuck two candles in it and let Benjamin practice the big blow-out.

Later we had some friends over to sing and help us eat the cake and ice cream.

He didn't eat any of it. Can you believe it?

So what can I say about this boy after 24 smile-filled, laughter-filled, love-filled months? Not nearly enough. Only that he really does light our lives.

Every single day.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Move Over, Soothie...

Unlike Benjamin, Rhett has been very fond of the pacifier. But recently he has discovered the self-soothing capabilities of his thumb. He's not consistent with it yet, so he still uses a pacifier, but I'm voting for the thumb. Like I said, self-soothing. Our kids will probably have braces anyway.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Snoozin' Update

Benjamin's sleep in his big-boy bed has gone so much better since the first nap! We think he just needed time to get used to it. Still, he doesn't always sleep soundly. And he doesn't sleep late anymore. The past few mornings he has been up early. And it's nearly impossible to get him to go back to sleep. This morning we wound up with the whole family in bed together: Rhett because he's always there anyway, and Benjamin because something woke him up early and he wouldn't go back to sleep by himself. He was like a little sleepwalker this morning, something I hope doesn't become a habit.

Today he was nearly falling asleep at his high chair at lunch so I put him down for a nap. I had to return him to his bed a few times before he finally fell asleep. About halfway through his nap I heard a loud thud, and a cry. I think he fell off the bed. But it was quiet after that. A while later I went to check on him and found this. Apparently when he fell off the bed he only made it part of the way back on.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Official

Also...

Paul forgot to mention that BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson was there with his wife Sharon! We were allerted to their entrance on the sidelines when a whole crowd of Cougar fans next to us started chanting "Cecil! Cecil! Cecil!" It reminded me of the "Cecil is my Homeboy" shirts seen on campus.

Okay, so maybe it's not that interesting, but I thought it was cool.

BYU vs. University of Washington

As you should know, Vicky and I have been looking forward to the weekend of Sept. 6, 2008 for a long time. Or at least I have. In this time of great anticipation we have been preparing Benjamin for this memorable weekend. "Ra Ra, Cougars!!" says Benjamin everytime he sees the BYU "Y." Vicky also taught him, "Goo Cougars!" He says it in his little boy Benjamin voice. It's really cute and we need to get it on tape. The moment I knew that Vicky and I had succeded as parents was game day morning. Wearing my cougar blue with a large Y on my chest I was ready for the day. I went to get Benjamin out of bed because I could hear him talking. As I approached him he excitedly pointed at me blue and white "Y" shirt and said, "COUGARS!"

That weekend we were also treated to the visit of a few of my friends who had come up to Washington to go to the BYU/UW game and site-see. They flew in on Thursday night. On Friday we drove down to Seattle and saw a number of the city's sites. We visited Chinatown, took a tour of Safeco Field (Mariners), visited Quest Field (Seahawks), went up the Space Needle, saw the Ballard Boat Locks, watched large salmon swim up stream from large underwater windows, ate at Ivars, rode a ferry to Whidby Island, and visited Anacortes. On Saturday we went to the game (I will get to this below), visited the Seattle Temple, and drove senic Chuckanut Drive at sunset. And on Sunday my buddies flew home.

Okay, now to the game. What a game! Wow. We were all very excited to support BYU at this harbor side stadium. Of the 60,000 plus fans there were 10,000 BYU fans in attendence. Even though I was a little disapointed in how BYU played, when the Cougars needed to make a play, they did. As many know, BYU preserved the win by blocking Washington's extra point attempt. And all I can say is that a win is a win.

The play previous to the blocked kick unfortunately is what everyone seems to remember. And as much as I LOVE ESPN (and my love has still not waned), they were completely wrong in how they treated the outcome of this game. UW's amazing sophomore quarterback ran five or so yards for the game tying touchdown and left only two seconds on the clock. What happened next is what ESPN and many many many many many others have gotten completely wrong and have made something out of nothing. Trust me, I was sitting on the same side of the field it happened on. After scoring the touchdown the very excited UW quaterback then threw the ball up into the air. Did anyone notice that ESPN, Fox, nor anyone else ever showed on TV how high that ball flew straight up in the air? I have seen each replay of the play at least 100 times (no joke) and never is it shown how high that ball went. It went at least 30+ feet into the air. Because of this, a celebration penalty was called on him. We need to remember here that the NCAA rule book says when a player throws the ball high into the air after a touchdown, this is a celebration penalty. A rule is rule and we all must live by the rules to make things fair. The penalty is a loss of 15 yards on the extra point attempt. So instead of Washington getting a PAT (point after attempt) at 20 yards it was pushed back to 35 yards. ESPN claims that UW lost the game because of the celebration penalty that pushed the PAT back. A field goal from 35 yards should be a piece of cake for any field goal unit. If you can't make a field goal from 35 yards, you shouldn't be playing high school ball. Jan Jorgenson of BYU said that he knew he had to make a play here. So on UW's PAT Jan Jorgenson blew through Washington's guards and while standing on his feet he blocked the PAT. STANDING ON HIS FEET!!! (ESPN has a sweet picture of it on their website. It also was the #1 top play of the day on ESPN that night.) Jan Jorgenson saved the day and this is why UW lost. Not because of a controversial call. HOG WASH! (If we want to talk about controversial calls, why not talk about the Pac 10 referee's home cooking and blantly missing at least six obvious calls that really helped UW. . . . I better stop here.)

Okay, I needed to get that off my chest, because I am sick of ESPN and everybody else not giving BYU any credit for the win.

Wasn't yesterdays kiester whooping of UCLA great! BYU went up from #18 to #14 in the polls because of it. (Not to mention that the Moutain West Conference played four Pac 10 teams yesterday and we ran the table! BYU over UCLA, TCU over Stanford, New Mexico over Arizona, and UNLV over #15 ASU!)

Below are some of our memories from the game. It was really fun to be there and loudly cheer our Cougars on to victory.

Excited Cougar Nation!

BYU Captains. (#74 is a Construction Management Major.)

BYU COUGARS!!!

HAKA!

Cosmo and the boys at halftime.

GO BYU!

Faithful CougarTown!

Victory! (You can see the score, and Bronco visiting with UW's coach.)

For the record, BYU has not lost a game when Benjamin has been in attendence (he's up to 9 wins including wins over Utah, Arizona, TCU, and Washington.) Nor has BYU lost to Utah since Benjamin has been born. I hope this continues. . .

Labor Day Weekend

Vicky, the boys, and I were treated to a fun and energetic weekend. Dad, Mom, the Segos, Vicky's Mom and older sister all came up to Bellingham to visit. As you know they each came for more than just a visit, they came for Rhett's baby blessing. Below are a bunch of memories from the visit.