Appreciation

Well I say! Sometimes you have to go without something to really appreciate an item.
I would like to say I am a person with gratitude (most of the time at least... I do have my snobby moments) but I am going to argue, from experience, that you can't really.. and I mean REALLY.. appreciate something until it is gone.
For instance..
When I lived in VA we didn't have a microwave for the first month. At first I thought.. "Eh! No biggie. We don't really use a microwave that much." But Lo-and-behold the very next day I wanted to re-heat some food and it wasn't so easy without a microwave. I also had problems with microwave popcorn, heating up canned veggies, boiling water quick, ECT ECT! Needless to say.. I only lasted a month B4 I gave in a bought a microwave.
Well... now we are in our new place in Herriman. It is a brand spaken new apt complex so NO internet company will provide for us. They will provide for the houses a block down the road from us but they need to get special permission to go a block higher. So we are stuck with SLOW crap-ole-A service that came with the building because NO ONE else provides service out here! ARG! Will I ever take for granted high-speed internet again?? I THINK NOT!!!!!
Also, in the move we lost our camera charger and then the camera. That is a sad story in it’s self because now I have a void in our pictures and lost frozen in time moments FOREVER.

SOOO.... to make my really long story short. Between crappy internet and no camera I haven't been on my blog for a while and I sure missed everyone!
Also.. I hope me being gone has made you appreciate me more... HAHAHA! Just kidding.
JEsS

Gonna miss the beach!

One of the nicest things about living in VA is being so close to the beach. The only problem is it is finally getting warm enough for us to really enjoy the beach and now we are moving :(



This last weekend it was 80 degrees so we decided to make it a beach day. Even though it was suppose pretty warm that day there was a cold breeze and it was foggy at the beach but we still had a lot of fun.




Ammon, Fiji and I kept running away from the waves and Ammon thought it was SO funny. He would actually get mad when we would stop.

We tried to bury Ammon but he wasn't to happy about it!

So then we tried to bury Fiji but he wouldn't hold still!

Then We burried Nate and I tried to make him look like a Mermaid.
and... Nate burried just right :)

Right next to the beach was a little carnival so we decided to take Ammon on a couple of rides.

The Helicopter ride! Nate got to impress us with his great helicopter skills lol

Then we got spin around in the Belly of a big monkey. (I don't want to hear about it Karlee)

This was Ammon's favorite ride but Nate wasn't so sure about it.

I ended up doing all the work too.

We had so much fun at the beach!

After playing all day we went home and dyed easter eggs and ate pizza and played some more.

Needless to say we all got a good night sleep that night.

Happy Saint Patty's Day!

We had such a good Saint Patty's Day!

We ate green food, washed our hair with green shampoo and conditioner bottles, we use green dove soap, dressed up in green clothes and even wore green make-up!

We also wore Saint Patty's green pj's!

We didn't think Nate would be home this week so we didn't buy him anything for our wonderful Irish holiday so Ammon and I cruised the town running errands in our stylin' Saint Patty's outfits and face paint (Which is a green eyeliner that I found ) trying to find Nate some little Irish trinkets so that the Leprechauns wouldn't get offend and then they might show us where the gold is?!?

That is why Nate's shirt doesn't match ours.

I told Nate when he came home he had to talk in an Irish accent the WHOLE time. But he only did it for a little bit... the stinker!

I would've done it but my Irish accent always turns out sounding Arabic.

Don't ask me how?

Ammon and I were so glad that Nate got to come home!

A Tribute to the Best Father-in-law EVER

I have such a great father-in-law!

He is always there for you when you need him.

He is a great father, friend, mentor and grandpa.

But...

The very best thing about my amazing dad-in-law is the

amazing women he married.

and...
the great job they did raising their children and
help raising their grandchildren.


Nate, Ammon and I sure love you Dad and all the
things you do for us

Gotta Love it When Mom Comes to Visit!

Free digital photo album customized with Smilebox

What's yours is mine! What's mine is mine!

Everytime we go to the bookstore we get ammon a book.

This last time I found a really cute little pop-up book and I just knew Ammon was going to love it.

Look the duck has horns and teeth! Oh! It is just so cute!

The problem is that Ammon does love it. He loves it with his destruct-o- side and he wants to tear all the poor little pop-outs out! I know! Can you believe it? A baby who wants to tear paper!

I am really not as dumb as I am sounding. I knew when I bought the book that he would probably try to tear the pop-outs but the book was soooooo cute and I just figured I could just keep a close eye on him.

NOPE

So I did the only thing expected to do.

I hid the book and I will give it to Ammon when he graduates high school.

How to Torture your Child

So.. Sometimes Nate and I wake up in the morning, stretch and then we start brain storming… “Hmmm how can we torture our child today?”
This one particular morning we decided that we were going to cut his shag. We were hoping we weren’t Samson-iting Ammon but how could we risk an opportunity to torture our child? We decided it was worth the risk. (Plus I just can’t handle the bed head look ALL day long!)
So we put Ammon in his high chair and Nate (yes Nate) Buzzed off Ammon’s hair. He gave him a “high and tight” which is a military style hair cut. I just kept telling myself that his hair will grow back. It’s a little choppy but I think it is pretty cute. Luckily Ammon is young enough that he PROBABLY won’t remember us emotionally scaring him with an electric razor for the rest of his life. (That’s why we took pictures j/k. actually the camera died right before we got any good pictures.)

Before

During

The Spit Shining

The Cute Result

Conclusion = Sometimes torturing pays off!

FEE FYE FOE THUM Watch Out Tennis Court Here I Come!

I've been bragging about how cute Ammon and Fiji are on the tennis court and I finally got some footage to prove it! :)

I especially love it because Ammon hasn't quite figured out how to walk his in shoes. He is just now starting to get the hang of it but he still kind of stomps around.

Bed-Time Fun

Every night before we go to bed Ammon and I brush our teeth, read a story, and then we have tickle time...
Tickle time is one of our favorite time of the day. Most of the time Ammon will start going into a laugh attack before I even touch him!
Also, Ammon has a laugh kind of like Pee Wee Herman sometimes. It is hilarious. I just had to show everyone because it is just so stinkin' CUTE!



After tickle time Ammon gets a little lethargic and he becomes super cute and cuddly and gives me tons of kisses and hugs. I personally think that that is a LITTLE better than tickle time :)
After laughing and snuggling we are both ready for lights out!

The I can't go to sleep so I am making up a new life plan in a post post

I've been staring at the ceiling and thinking because everyone knows that ceilings provoke great insightful thoughts. What I really need is a ceiling fan... I bet my thoughts would be even more captivating and perceptive if I had a ceiling fan! Anyways I was staring at the ceiling thinking about how i need to go back to school. I attempted to go back fall semester but then i moved to VA so then I tried to go this semester and with my Dad passing away and everything going on I dropped my classes at the beginning og the semester again. But I think it is more than bad timing. Ever since I switch my major and added the emphasis on Childhood education I just haven't had the desire to go back. I switched because I thought it would be more practical because I just couldn't make anything out of a regular FCS Major. If I needed to get a job it would be really hard to find one with just a BA in FCS and I don't like any of the jobs that major really has to offer but I really enjoy studying and taking the classes for that major. Once I switch it to a teaching degree all the classes changed and I haven't enjoyed the classes since one bit. I honestly don't think I would make a very good teacher anyways. I mean.. come on... I need Karlee to proof read my blog page LOL! But if I am just going to go school to get a degree and not do anything with it (because my job is going to be a mother unless life makes it otherwise) than maybe I should get a degree in something else...
so this is the new plan...
I'll finish my degree in FCS (without any emphasis) because I think it would make me a better Mom and I am half way there. Then I am going to get a cooking/nutrition degree. After that I might look into beauty school so I can cut my own kids hair and then maybe I'll go after a communication degree because that has always interest me and everyone can improve on communication. In fact! My communication skills could use some work right now so maybe that might be my second choice? Hmmm...
Well after I am done with those four I will get a travel agent degree (whatever kind of degree is that) so that I can be an expert of the world and then Nate and I will know all the best places to travel and the best ways to get there. Then I will get a nursing degree because by then I might be mature-ish and maybe I can handle blood and guts and then I will be licensed to take care of Nate when he is old. While I am at it I might as well become a doctor but I am not sure what kind of doctor I would want to be sooooo maybe not. The doctor thing is still a little fuzzy. Eh! No doctor! But I do want to be a vet tech and then i can take care of tons of animals and that will help with the nesting phase.
By the time I am done with school I will either die of old age or the second coming will come.
I think this is my best plan yet.
I definitely need a ceiling fan.
Maybe I should take interior design classes too. My house can use some major help in the decor category. Do you think my brain can handle all of this knowledge?
OH YA! I also want to be a seminary teacher.
I hope nobody actually read this or got this far. I feel like I am rambling now. LOL
Time to end this.
good night!

Ammon AKA My little Prince AKA Distruct-O-Child!

Every day I look my little son and I just think... How can I love him anymore than I do now? and everyday I somehow do. I just love him so much. I think everything he does is cute.
Every day I go to the tennis court with Ammon and Fiji and we play. Fiji runs around in circles and Ammon walks (tries to run) around in circles. It is so much fun (I am going to have to get a video to show everyone but I keep on forgetting my camera.. any who) Well, today I went to the tennis court with my friend Anna and her dog Rufus and it was colder than usual so I decided to bundle Ammon up a little more. I got his big poufy snow coat on and BOY oh BOY was he angry that he had to wear that (he looked like the little brother on "The Christmas Story"). So we get to the tennis court and he starts walking around and I noticed his hands and ears were getting cold so I put on his hat and gloves and then Ammon went to pick up a stick off the ground and he couldn't (I am laughing while I am writing this by the way) and he got so mad! He sits on the ground with his big lip sticking out and his arms fall to his side and he wines at me. I just look at him and say "I am really sorry bud but you gotta wear your gloves to stay warm." He stares at me tries to pick up a pine cone and then looks at his hands for a second and then lays down on the ground and goes WHAAAAA and then takes a deep breath and just lays there and then he refuse to walk around the rest of the time. I guess he was protesting. It was a battle of wills and I was not going to give in (I even told him so LOL)
Well, my friend Anna looks at me and says "I don't know how you do it sometimes. You are so patient with him." then she starts going on about how it is so frustrating how you can't reason with him and she can't wait until he gets to an age where you can. But while she was telling me this I didn't feel like I needed to have patients or that even had demonstrated any patients at that moment... I thought it was kind of funny and I also felt bad for Ammon because I think it would be very frustrating to have to wear big fuzzy things on your hands that make it so you can't pick anything up and you don't know why! I guess nobody loves your kids like you do but I hope you love these pictures I post anyways because I think they really show Ammon's spunky personality! :)

How do you know how much your child loves you? By how hard he head butts!

Proof of Ammon's Love

Ammon just loves to head butt and he only head butts the people he really LOVES! It is the true sign of his affection for you. The more black and blue your face is by the end of day the more Ammon loves you! HOW DO I MAKE IT STOP??? I wish there is a way for me to show him that he is going to hurt himself if he keeps on doing it! Maybe it's a boy thing?

Into the Rabbit's Hole and Out into the Scary World we Call Our Nations Capital Where a Queen Wants to Chop Off my Head!

Eva, Ammon and I took an adventure to our Great Nation's Capital! We woke up at five in the morning, hopped, skipped and jumped in the car and drove over to the nearest gas station and filled the car up with a yummy breakfast of petroleum goodness and filled our inner anatomy with the human petroleum (Energy drinks) to help keep us awake. Well... we almost made to DC when we took a wrong turn and got stuck in traffic going the wrong way and then guess what happened...? My internal emergency bladder alarm starting screaming (making me regret those two energy drinks I downed) and I wasn't sure if I could hold it! The next exit was only two miles so I told myself little words of encouragement that I could make it. Who would've guess two miles would take TWENTY FREAKIN MINUTES! Then when we get off the exit there is NO gas station to be found. Apparently the guys in the white house missed the common sense and courtesy memo, AYE? We might be the land of the “free” but we sure aren’t the land of the “let’s put gas stations off exits just in case there is an emergency and because that would be the smart and nice thing to do.” Well, at this point I have tears streaming down my face and I pull into the first available building I see. You'll never guess what building it was! If you look closely at the sign above me in the picture you might notice it says "Immanuel Christian School." I go running inside a Christian school with signs that say "Jesus loves me" and little kids in uniforms giving me funny looks.

After my little bathroom ordeal we finally found parking (it only took about an hour and a half) and packed up the baby just happy to be free of the car!

We are standing in front of the Holocaust Museum in this picture, which was our first and last museum of the day. All three of were tired and our stomachs were getting mad about the lack of substance so we decided to call it an early day and we got a hotel so that we could get our beauty sleep and get ready to explore the capital all day the next day.

This is a picture of what the houses looked like in DC. It is also a picture of my car.

This a picture of the outside of The Lincoln's Memorial and a traffic light.

Notice how both of the the pictures are on the road? That is because that is all we got to see of the D.C. the next day. I drove around for almost two hours trying to find parking. I almost went up a wrong way street twice and I never knew which way to turn. There were signs that would tell you to go one way but only during certain hours. My GPS would tell me to go left but there would be two or three lefts at an intersection. After being lost for two hours with a GPS I started crying and Eva and I decided to go home.

So Eva and I used a tank and a half a gas, drove for over ten hours, and got a hotel room and all we got to experience was one museum (which was a GREAT, jaw dropping museum) and the streets of D.C. oh ya! We also got to see a lot of scary homeless dudes and trash all over streets. By the time we got home I was feeling a little sheepish but it was still a fun adventure!

Just a Little Rewind in Time

This is inspired by Karlee Ericksen and dedicated to those who shared these memories with us.





Nate and Jessica got Married January 12, 2007




The coldest day EVER! I think I speak for everyone when I say our hearts were warm! :)




About a month into our marriage Fiji joined our family.






The next year we got a "Thing 3"





Karlee got with child 3 months later! That was fun to be sick and miserable with someone else. Nate enjoyed having a his brother going through cranky wife problems with him.



December 14, 2008 Ammon David Ericksen joined us in the world. Ammon has made life ten times better. He is worth every gray hair and balding head!





January 2009




We had to make Fiji pose for this picture. Can you tell? He wasn't to sure about Ammon at first. Now they are great buds!








February 2009. Ammon is always smiling!
















Ammon's first Easter! I did this picture also because Ammon looks so funny and cute but mostly funny with his balding hair.










We had so much fun the summer of '09!! We went hiking and bike riding every week! We also took Ammon on his first camping trip. Ammon also went to flamming Gorge for the first time.