I Heart Celine

Not my favorite outfit...

Joni and me in the 14th row!

"But Benny, I have tickets tonight! Front row seats! You can smell the sweat..." -From How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
What's the best thing you could possibly do on a Monday night? (Besides family home evening of course...) Go to the Celine Dion concert! I'm just glad that Joni's husband Rocky was selfless enough to give his ticket up to me. I know he really wanted to go. :) I pretty much pried it out of his hands.
After battling traffic for about an hour to get there and walking about 20 miles to the Schottenstein Center, we arrived! We showed the usher our tickets, and we knew they'd be pretty bad seats since they were free, but we didn't realize how bad until we saw his reaction. "You head up this row and...oh..well, why don't you just wait a little while and I'll see what I can do for you." Our patience was rewarded. He hooked us up with a guy that gave us seats on the 14th row! It was sweet. We had to battle some obese old guy to let us get to our seats, and he was pretty unhappy about having to stand up (maybe he should swallow a tapeworm like Kelly on The Office...) and reprimanded us as we walked by about not arriving early enough. Oh well, Celine probably doesn't heart him like she hearts me.
The actual concert was GOOD. She's quite the performer. Aside from a few freaky outfits, a weird man/woman dancer (I'm not sure which), and the hour long wait in the parking lot afterward, I quite enjoyed it. Thanks for tending Emerson, Ben, and letting me act like a teenage girl again for a night.

House Pictures

Kitchen

Kitchen

Emerson's room

Emerson's room

Master bathroom

Upstairs bathroom

Master bedroom

Family room

Family room

Family room/dining room

Yucky office/multipurpose room

Downstairs bathroom

I know I promised awhile ago to post some pictures of our casa, and I finally got around to doing it. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Benny!

Ben requested that I make a 2-layer white cake with raspberry filling, buttercream frosting and coconut on the outside...and he would love it to be round. ;)

Ben laughing at his card from the Johnsons. It had 3 chia pets on the front that each said "Hooray!" and inside the card it said "Three chias for you on your birthday!" We both thought it was hilarious.

Ben in his snazzy new Italian soccer jersey.

My dear husband turned 25 yesterday. He feels really old being a quarter of a century, or halfway to 50...whichever makes him feel better. Since we weren't around family this year, we had a few friends over to celebrate. I decided to surprise Ben with balloons and a Happy Birthday banner so if felt more party-ish. It was worth it even though I had to struggle out to the car with Emerson and a nasty wind blowing the balloons into my face, and then frantically had to hold on to them like a little kid while trying to stuff them into my tiny ford focus with the air conditioning on so they didn't pop. It was fun and Ben was surprised. :)

Little E's First Haircut

Before: Slightly scraggly, yet still lovable little guy

I wish I had sound to go with this picture. This is the face Emerson makes when he coos and tries to talk. He can't make a sound without flaring his nostrils and thinning out his lips.

After: Ta-Da! My well-groomed full-head-of-hair boy.

I've found my calling in life. When I was a little girl, I always told my mom I wanted to be a haircut girl. But I didn't go to cosmetology school and merely settled for college instead. I was fairly sure my dreams were coming true when I got married...not for the reasons you might think... but mostly because I got to cut Ben's hair. Then after I'd practiced on him for awhile, my brother Scott decided that getting a free haircut from his oh-so-talented sister wasn't so bad, and then my other brother Brad got on the free haircut wagon. And yes, even my dear old Dad took advantage of my haircutting skillz. I didn't realize until now that all of those haircuts were just practice for the most difficult haircut of my life. Not only was I unable to use the clippers with the little attachments, but my little guy was wiggling and throwing himself all over the place. However, I emerged successful with a presentable looking baby with no cuts or stab-wounds and a little lock of hair to tape in his baby book. I am fulfilled.

Thanks, Ike

Of the many things that are different in Ohio, the weather is probably the most noticeable. I can't say that I've yet grown accustomed to the humidity, and I am definitely not comfortable with the possibility of tornadoes. Our downstairs bathroom qualifies as the innermost walls in our house since we have no basement, and this just reinforces once again the fact that the bathroom is a refuge from whatever storm, literal or figurative (feeling sick, trying to avoid a conversation, etc.), you may be trying to weather. (No pun intended.)

So I knew that tornadoes were a possibility, but I didn't expect to feel the effects of hurricanes as well. I thought the wind was pretty intense on Sunday, and I was secretly hoping it wasn't the norm for Ohio, especially when it started ripping siding off our neighbors' houses and overturning grills (propane tanks attached) and blowing away metal patio furniture. I was pretty glad that my mom sent an emergency preparedness kit with us when we moved to Ohio, because I kind of have a feeling we're going to need it one of these days. Our power went out for not even 30 seconds on Sunday and I didn't really think anything of it until I went to the library to take Emerson to baby laptime on Monday morning and it and every other business around it was closed due to no power. Then I caught word that pretty much every school in central Ohio (over 200 schools) is closed (except for Ben's of course...) until further notice. I remember when Murray High closed early one day due to no electricity. That was sweet. But honestly, the schools out here close for everything. We NEVER got school off in Utah. Ok like three times. But that's because it was like actively snowing and the snow plows couldn't get through. If they have an inch of snow on the ground and there's no more coming down or if it's even raining I swear they get a snow day. It's ridiculous. People out here have told us that they have yet to actually see a snow plow in Ohio. I guess we'll find out this winter.

But anyway, back to the current issue at hand. About 3/4 of Ben's med school class doesn't have power. The news said that the power company is trying to restore power to 90% of its customers by Sunday. Gee thanks guys...really so soon? No, I'm sure they're trying hard and I'm sure it's difficult with trees hanging all over the powerlines and stuff, but a week without power is a really long time! There's been a run on ice because people are trying to keep their food from spoiling, and the local bakery ran out of bread. Gas prices jumped about 60 cents in a day, and the gas stations are only accepting cash. So I guess the Church knows what's up when they talk about emergency preparedness. It's crazy! I feel a little more responsible for the well-being of our little family all the way out here away from our family in Utah. My food storage in Logan consisted of 1/4 a tank of gas to get me home to Murray. Oh how things have changed.

Mommy's Eyes

Ever since Emerson was born, people have said he's a carbon copy of Ben, except he has my eyes. So here are the pictures to prove it. He's my little guy too!

Look What I Caught Emerson Doing...

Oh hi Mom...I was just reading a pre-naptime story to myself

Can I just finish this chapter?

Ok fine, I'll go down for my nap

Can you help me get up?

Big Bathtime

I like this picture because you can see the aftermath of his big splash

E with his strategically-placed washcloth

This picture is for Ashley...cause she loves hooded towels and chubby babies!

Our little Muslim boy. He hasn't quite grasped the concept of the true church yet. But don't worry, we're working on him.

Tongue Boy

Emerson getting a kick out of himself

The other night during dinner Emerson was cooing to himself and sticking out his tongue really far. Ben and I looked at the same time and then looked at each other and said "Wow, he's got a really long tongue." So there you have it.

Wait...What Hat Did You Say I'm Wearing?!?

Dad, can't you see I'm already sad? I'm wearing a BYU hat now?

You're joking...right?

Oh no...anything but BYU! Ahhh!

If you couldn't tell from the commentary, I (Melinda) posted this. (All in good humor, I assure you.) I just couldn't help myself. I grew up in a die-hard U of U family and went to Utah State. Neither place has real warm, toasty feelings toward BYU. But my dear husband, who I love despite his imperfections, grew up in a die-hard BYU family, so that explains why the hat is even at our house. I agreed to take the pictures merely because Emerson was so cute in the hat. And at this time I just wanted to give a shout out because out here in Ohio if you're LDS, then most likely you attended BYU. But for the small minority out here (Ben, Joni, Candice, and me) I just wanna say GO AGGIES! And really, who doesn't love the spot where the sagebrush grows? (And don't worry, Scott, I'm not doing the arms with the song because I'm typing.)

Emerson's First Swing

This was his expression on the first push...He loved it!

Just chillin'

Ok, I honestly didn't pose him for this picture. He just knows what to do when he sees the camera!

Our neighborhood has a little park with swings, and we decided to see how Emerson liked them. He loved it! I was seriously laughing out loud when I posted these pictures because of his little chunky legs dangling out the bottom.

Happy Anniversary!

So in my excitement to update my blog, I totally forgot to write anything about our anniversary! It was on August 9th...so I'm just barely a month late. We've been married for 3 years now! I can't believe it. The time has gone by so slow and so fast all at the same time. We didn't do anything special for our anniversary because we spent the whole day putting our house together since we arrived at about 10:30 p.m. in Columbus the night before. Plus we'd been staying at 5 star hotels and eating out all week during the drive. (J/K about the 5 star hotels...)
So after a long day of hard work and running errands to get our house in somewhat working order, Ben braved the grocery store to get us some sustenance. I stayed home to get Emerson in bed. I'm sure you're dying to know the anniversary menu. Ok here it is: a frozen Totino's pizza. Yeah, it's the one you're thinking of with the cardboard crust. I don't know what it is with us and Totino's pizza late at night, but it oddly sounds good sometimes. You've just gotta have one every couple of months to remind yourself how bad they are. Ben was also a sweetie and brought home some flowers so it felt more anniversaryish. Thanks dear! I love you lots and think you're the greatest Hubby a girl could ask for. And even though there is some serious doubt as to whether I was even there when Emerson was conceived (because he looks like a carbon copy of you) I'm glad that we get to be parents together and enjoy our little guy.

I'm Officially a Mom

Yes, that's right--I'm officially a mom. I came to this realization when I found myself trying to get the boogers out of Emerson's nose with my bare hands. Don't pretend you're grossed out. If you're a parent, I'm sure you've done it. Before I was a mom, I swore I'd never touch anyone else's boogers, but it's different somehow when it's your own child. Don't get me wrong, there's no way I'd ever touch anyone else's boogers. In fact, just the thought of them makes me dry heave probably due to the fact that I had a bad experience in dance class when I was just a wee lass. But I think everyone is born with a natural dislike of boogers.

Ok, I know you're dying to hear the dance class story, so here it is. I was at dance class when I was like 6 or so, and there were little rumors flying that you were NEVER supposed to sit on the shag carpeted bench because that's where everyone wiped their boogers. I avoided said bench like the plague successfully until my dance teacher, who was a MAN, made us all sit on the bench while he talked to us. What did I come away from that talk with? A newfound knowledge of dance techniques? No. Someone else's nasty booger stuck to my finger. And guess who was first to dance across the floor? Me. I didn't have time to get rid of the thing. So I had to try to demonstrate whatever we learned for everyone while trying not to throw up with the nastiness stuck to my finger. What did I do with it when I reached the far wall, you ask? I did what any other 6-year-old would do. I wiped it on the wall and kept cautiously eyeing it so it didn't jump off the wall to get me.

Bounce Bounce Baby

The other night we bought Emerson a new toy. It's like an Exersaucer, but a little less expensive. He loves me to hold him up so he can stand and look around and he gets a little bored in his bouncer or laying on a blanket, but I obviously can't hold him all day, so we thought this was a good investment. He LOVES it. The other night he kept catching glimpses of himself in the little mirror while he was sucking on it and giggling. It was the cutest thing. Now it's Mommy and Emerson's favorite toy.