It is finished

I've learned my whole life how God created the world in 7 days (no easy feat), and that the Salt Lake Temple took 40 yrs. to build (by hand no less). I shouldn't be surprised that accomplishing a goal like school takes years, running a marathon takes months and months, and making a baby takes 40 long weeks... well, Evan's educational goals despite work, balancing a family, and the help of modern techonology (at its greatest)....after 1494 days, he can finally say "It is Finished!"
We've been waiting for this since before we were married, and I honestly don't know what we'll do with all the time we'll have together! This Ph. D entailed: 56 post-grad credit hours, 3 publications in peer-reviewed journals, and his final dissertation (all 161 pages). Evan has worked so hard on this, and he deserves everything life brings to him for all his efforts. He has never complained, and his body is worn-out, his mind is tired, and he has put off so many vacations, camping, fishing, and any sort of guy-time he's needed. I love you, Babe! Thanks for putting up with me this whole time. I'll make it up to you!

Can't wait to post a picture in April in Cap and Gown.

sledding

Now that we had the snowmobile, we had to test it out. We trucked it up to WY, where the Zaugg cabin is located. Evan's two brothers came along and brought their old-enough kids. It was a blast! We never knew how fun it really is to sled down a LONG hill without getting tired from hiking it each time. I wish I had a picture of the "sled train". We attached the big sled to the back of the snowmobile with a rope, then, we attached a smaller sled, with a smaller body on it behind the first sled, sitting on the other 2 identical sleds. 2 kids rode on the seat behind Evan, 2-3 people rode in the big sled, and 2 kids in the smaller sled behind that. What a great time! The hill- aka the road- was about 1/3 mile up to the driveway of the cabin, which is where we were dropped off. It takes quite a while to sled down a hill that far, but once you get going...we all had an amazing time.

Me and P after we arrived

P, cold and bored looking for snacks
Me and Sarah at the bottom of the hill

what he's been up to...

Porter is so good at being a boy toddler. He's restless, engaging, happy, loud, and adventurous! Here's some of what he likes to do, and what he's been up to these last few months:

He's an avid reader, of all kinds

Pretty good climber, even with oven mitts!

I found him a while ago here: "just readin' my book"
Did I mention he likes to play dress up?

He's an ace at the computer

And loves to help mommy around the house

Christmas

Christmas was wonderful this year. It was nice and quiet. We slept in, P slept through the night, and we spent the morning with our little family, opening presents, and enjoying a day without much else to do. Porter loved opening what he got, and played endlessly with his new little people animals. He loved opening the wrapping, and didn't need a lot of help. We video-taped some of the morning, and got to take it easy. This is our last real "easy" Christmas, since P doesn't understand yet. We didn't have stockings, or candy, or a lot of "fluff", simply because we could get away with it. Next year will be different for sure! We headed to my parents house for the afternoon, so they could see P open up a gift. This was all part of the big surprise I was able to pull off for Evan...
You see, I didn't really know what to get him this year. I thought long and hard, and decided since we'd talked about it a while back, I would try to get him a snowmobile. I know I know, many of you wouldn't dare make a purchase like this without the approval of your spouse or letting him pick it out. But since our budget is small, and neither of us knows a thing about snowmobiles, I was able to get him just what we needed...

I started looking on Craig's list and KSL and limited my search to a couple sellers that looked pretty honest and well-priced. I took my dad with me to look at one, and with his approval, decided that was the one. We picked it up the next week, and stored it in my dad's shop. Hehe, "he'll never suspect". The only thing is, I thought Evan would know something was up. Nothing really ever gets past him, so I was kinda nervous for the big reveal.

First off, the reason we decided to get a snowmobile in the first place is so we can get into his family's cabin in the winter. The road up there is un-maintained, and impossible to get to without a snowmobile, plus we can do some awesome sledding up there with the whole family if we had that advantage. So....the only question was "how do I have him open it?"

I bought a gas can, since we'll need one anyway, and I wrapped it and left it at my parent's house, as one of "Porter's" gifts. WHen he opened it up, he would wonder what it's for...perfect segway, right? Well, it worked! Only, he didn't have a clue! I've been on this emergency preparedness kick for the past year, and I strung him along for a good minute while he set the gas can aside...

Dialogue:

Evan: "Porter, why did we give you a gas can?"

Toni: "Well, it's not exactly Porter's"

Evan: "Oh"

Toni: "It's for you!"

Evan: "Oh. Thanks."

Toni: "I just thought it would be good to have around in case of emergencies"

Evan: "Well, I guess you're right. It could come in handy some day"

(Long pause as he sets it aside, still staring at the can.)

Toni: "Or...you could use it for your new snowmobile!"

Evan: (Ponderingly) "I don't have a snowmobile" (as the news slowly sets in)

Toni: "You do now!"

Evan: (Jumping up) "WHAT! I wanna see it!"

I couldn't have asked for a more perfect surprise. I love you, babe!

California

One of the perks of Evan's job are his "business" trips. His boss makes sure I know I'm invited to go wherever Evan goes, every time. I opted to head to Cali in the middle of December with P, simply for a little warm vacation with my boy.
We stayed in Pismo Beach, and played in San Luis Obispo, which I LOVED! Why do I live in Utah? The weather was so nice and warm, and all in all, it was great to get away. Some things we did while there were:

Play at the park

Porter did his baby jobs of untidying everything he could

And we watched the Pelicans just outside the Hotel, no less! It was pretty exciting!

Then we went home. Goodbye warm California, hello snowy Utah. I wish the two of you would get acquainted!

Go Cougars!

We LOVE BYU football. Is there anything more patriotic? We have had season tickets since we met, and we will ALWAYS have season tickets! (I guess our kids will be cougar fans by default!?!!) I look forward to all the games. Except-the only game I don't look forward to is the Utah game-but only when it's on our home turf. I don't like bundling up to go, and I don't like how mean the fans can get (on both sides). I especially dreaded taking P this year. (Those of you with Toddlers know just what I mean). We decided to go early and enjoy the crowds and excitement by the stadium before the game. P loved the marching band, and enjoyed their little "parade". Here we are at the game.

On a side note, I have a little boy who loves to dress up. He knows right where the necklaces go, and loves to wear our shoes. One sunday morning, I came out of my bedroom to find this:

He is a boy in every other sense of the word! I love this little guy!

Park City

As our construction project was under-way, we went to Park City for the week. We stayed at the Westgate resort and almost had the place to ourselves. I guess no one is vacationing the week before Thanksgiving! It was a much needed family together time, after Evan spent 2 months working on his dissertation without getting to see us much. I carefully planned out our meals in advance and had everything chopped up, frozen, in bags, or quickly assembleable. I didn't want to spend our vacation cooking, and eating out is, well, not so much fun with a toddler (especially in PC where there are no childrens' playplaces!) The only problem? I had 3 wonderful crockpot meals ready to go, and I forgot my crockpot! The stove worked just fine. We worked out everyday, swam everyday, and I even got a pedicure! It was a great week!

Here Porter got to:

Play

Learn to drive

swim

And watch his favorite TV show (Super Why)!

Many changes...

Just to start, our computer has been "hybernating" for the last month at least. That's why I'm so behind. (Really it was just a really, really, good excuse. until...I realized my pictures are still on my camera. sigh.) Here goes:

In November we decided to do a home-improvement project by opening up the wall that separates our kitchen and front room. Since we didn't have the time to do it ourselves, we hired an awesome contractor from our ward to come do it. We figured since it was a small job, we'd give him more to do: tile the bathrooms, and install a new vanity and mirror in one of those. There was a little hesitation about opening up the wall, since we didn't know what was in it. There were drain and water pipes from the unit above us, so we settled for picture windows. We still love it, and it serves its purpose, allowing me to see P from the kitchen. We went out of town for the week while he did this, and our house magically transformed from this:

Kitchen:

Bathroom #1

Bathroom #2

To this:

Kitchen

bathroom #1

bathroom #2