Graduation Day(s)

Well, Jarom has finished his last semester of school and graduated with his Master's Degree this weekend. I don't know who is more relieved, but life is pretty happy at our house. No more long nights at school and driving to Provo and back every day. Jarom had fun with this group of fellow Master's students. They worked on projects together and had some pretty funny inside jokes. We got together with them on Tuesday for a BBQ. It was nice to meet some of the people that Jarom talks about (Michelle, Lois, Dave, Jethro, Jarom). Don't ask what Jarom is doing with his arm???We are so lucky to have such a great and supportive family. Jarom's Grammy and Papa came into town on Wednesday and we went to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner. Cannon loved every single minute there. He went on all the little kid rides and was fascinated. Not tears or tantrums. We were so impressed. He ESPECIALLY loved this monster truck:


The next day was the Convocation ceremony and Jarom's parents came for that. Most of my family was there for that as well. Cannon was a bit fussy. It was dinnertime and past bedtime. He did pretty well considering all that was going on. Here is Jarom sitting in the sea of graduates. He got to wear some pretty groovy apparel. Can you spot him? I gave you some help:This is my family and the graduate after the Convocation:Just the three of us:
After that we went to Red Robin for dinner. It was nice to get everyone together. My family and Jarom's family don't get to see one another very often. We chatted and laughed over some great food. Good times. On the way home, I didn't feel to great, but brushed it off as car sickness. When we pulled up to our home, I knew I was in trouble. Of course, I came down with the stomach flu. No fun. All night long, I got to spend time huddled over my porcelain friend. The next morning I was pretty devastated that I wouldn't be able to see Jarom receive his diploma at Commencement. I even tried to get up and go, but I was completely dizzy and nauseous. It was a no-go. Jarom was a trooper and got Cannon all ready to go and he and his grandparents left at 6:30 a.m. Thankfully, Cannon was a good boy and my sister, Megan, had the task of taking pictures with my camera. She did a great job. I hear it was a great ceremony. L. Tom Perry was the speaker and shook Jarom's hand after he received his diploma. He's the guy on the left:
This next picture is pretty special. I requested that Jarom get his picture by this sign. We have a picture of him when he was 10 by this sign. We also have one of the two of us when he got his Bachelor's. I will scan them and put them all together. Daddy and son:

My Grandma Stewart and sister, Megan:

Jarom's family:
I watched the video tonight and I'm feeling better. It figures that I was only really sick yesterday. All well. I'm still extremely happy for Jarom. We are so blessed.

Pardon My Grammar

I think there are some other teachers out there that will testify to this fact: Teaching made my grammar suck. I was once proud of my spelling/grammar/punctuation skills. After reading over 30 spelling tests and assignments, I would begin to rationalize certain spelling errors. I would have silent conversations in my mind that went something like: "Why ISN'T there a 'ch' at the beginning of the word truck. We say 'chruck' right?" After a year or two of making those excuses for my kids, I began to question all sorts of grammatical rules. Now it is nearly impossible to remember all the rules I knew before. Certain bad habits have been sneaking into my writing vocabulary. If it bothers you that I misplace a comma or vowel, please kindly excuse my mistakes. It is a sacrifice that I made to be a better teacher I suppose. It bothers me sometimes. I'll read through a post after hitting "publish" and I'll see a mistake and it will bug me, but not enough to change it (most of the time). I just figure that everyone knows what I mean and they'll forgive me.

So, I guess what I'm trying to say is please don't judge me and think I'm a complete imbecile. I try. Thank you.

Oh, and please don't leave a rude comment about how many mistakes I made. I don't know you and you don't know me. I have deleted said rude comment. :) Have a nice day.

Happy Birthday Daddio

It's my dad's birthday and he turns 49. 49 sounds cool. He's not quite 50. That sounds distinguished. He's almost distinguished. :)

My dad is great. He knows how to have a good time. He likes to laugh at silly things. He likes to make other people laugh. Sometimes he dresses up like Fred Flintstone and jumps off a stage in front of Junior high kids. Sometimes he likes to dance like Micheal Flatley to Celtic music. It's not that funny when your dad is the Vice Principal of your school. But it is funny when you are almost 25 and you think back on it.

My dad is also pretty smart. He got his Master's degree when I was 10. He is going back to get his Doctorate this year. He is a math genius. We used to sit at the kitchen table and fight about math. He always knows a better way to solve a problem. I just want to do it the way my teacher taught me. He is usually right. But don't tell him I said that.

My dad is athletic. He taught me how to throw a softball like a boy. I still can. He coached baseball and loves football. He played on a Roy Hobbes (old man baseball) team and went to Florida to compete in a tournament as a pitcher. I think that's pretty cool.

My dad is spiritual. He loves the Lord. He loves his family. He loves the Gospel. He loves my mom. He still always knows a better way to solve my problems. I'm thankful for an amazing dad. Happy Birthday Daddio!

Just One More

I just played around with this one and I like how it turned out. I thought I'd share. :)

10 Months!

Hooray! I'm finally doing an update on the right day. I know I just did his 9 month 2 weeks ago, but I'm happy to report that this photo shoot was done on his actual 10 month anniversary (or whatever you want to call it).

I tried to do some of him playing in his natural element and then he kept trying to eat my tripod. That's why he's in the chair. He has enough experience to know that he can't go anywhere when he's on a chair. He sat still enough that my pictures weren't blurry. They do have a slight orangy hue to them. I tried my best to get rid of it in photoshop, but whatever. I'm over it. If anyone out wants to give me tips on how to get rid of orangy-yellow skin tones that would be awesome.

He has learned a few new things in the last 2 weeks. Some of these I forgot to mention on his 9 month post. At 10 months he:

*Loves his daddy. Mommy is okay, but he definitely prefers daddy.
*Pats his mouth to make yodeling noise.
*HATES his carseat.
*Loves chocolate (oops!)
*Weighs 20 lbs.
*Likes to throw things on the floor.
*Can empty a drawer in 10 seconds flat.
*Has enough hair to part.
*Takes a step and falls down.
*Wears 12 month size clothing.
*Loves being outside.
*Tears papers into little pieces and leaves them all over the house.
*Grunts and sounds like he is saying "hi" (Maybe he is??)
*Waves
*Gives High Fives.
*Still snuggles.

Here are some more from today. The last two totally crack me up. :)

Touchdown!

Friendship in a Vase

I have to preface this post by saying I have the best neighbors! We moved here 3 1/2 years ago and I have loved it here since we moved in. Every person I have met has made an impact on my life. My neighbors are genuinely nice and there have been times I have been stunned by the generosity and willingness to help.

That said, I haven't been out much since Cannon was born. By "out" I mean by myself. There is definitely a difference in leaving my house with a baby and leaving by myself. Jarom has offered to watch Cannon, I just haven't felt comfortable leaving him until now.

Friday night I got out. It was liberating. It was fun. I went with a group of neighborhood girls (Mandi, Jenny, Kelly, Emity and Brooke) to see Emma Smith: My Story which was an AWESOME movie. We also got cookies. Yum. On the way home we talked about gross bugs and spiders which really creeped me out. I hate bugs. I was kind of afraid of getting out of the car, but I was the first one to be dropped off so I gathered my courage and dug for my keys. They weren't there. Then I remembered that Jarom had used them and I didn't get them back. No worries, Jarom is not a heavy sleeper. I knew that he'd hear me if I rang the doorbell. I did. Nothing. I yelled and banged on the door. Nothing. Then someone suggested that I throw rocks at the bedroom window. I did. Nothing. I started panicking. I banged on the siding right beneath the window. Nothing. Crap. I'm locked out and I'm already freaked out about the bugs. Crap.

At this time, I got back into the car with the plans of being the last one dropped off. But, the others wanted to know what happened in the end. So, we drove around the the back of my house and this is where it gets interesting. We made a plan that they would boost my up so I could bang on the window. It took three of them to get me up there. Mostly because I was afraid. I started banging on the window and Jarom woke up. He yelled at the top of his lungs a slew of threats and warnings to the perpetrators below. We all stopped and looked at each other. I was a little scared myself. Then someone asked if he had a gun. Then I burst out laughing.

I heard the garage door opening and I ran for it. I was afraid he would change his mind and make me sleep on the porch. With bugs. And spiders.

I still laugh every time I think about it. That night was more fun than I bargained for. I'm so grateful that I was invited because I needed it. Desperately.

If you want to read another (more humorous) account. Click here. She definitely tells it better than me.

Okay, fast forward to last night. We got a knock on the door and Jarom was handed a vase of beautiful fuchsia tulips. They were from my friend Kelly. It turns out they are going on a trip and she won't be able to enjoy them. They are really beautiful. I guess if you want to get technical, I'm babysitting them. But, I love them. Thank You!

I'm a Dash

I never really thought a dash was that exciting. Haha! It's a good thing I get along with exclamation points because that is Jarom to a T! Thanks to Allison for this idea.

You Are a Dash

Your life is fast paced and varied. You are realistic, down to earth, and very honest. You're often busy doing something interesting, and what you do changes quickly. You have many facets to your personality, and you connect them together well. You have a ton of interests. While some of them are a bit offbeat, they all tie together well. You friends rely on you to bring novelty and excitement to their lives. (And while you're the most interesting person they know, they can't help feeling like they don't know you well.) You excel in: Anything to do with money You get along best with: the Exclamation Point

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Long Lost Friends

Jarom got a phone call a few weeks ago from a friend from his hometown. Turns out there are lots of them from their hometown that live here in Utah. Go figure. They were initiating a big reunion with the kids he grew up with. Well, they aren't kids anymore. Now they HAVE kids.

We met them at Los Hermanos last night. It was fun to hear stories about Jarom's early years. Jarom and I had a lot of fun as he laughed and reminisced with good friends. I had fun talking to some of the wives about kids, dating stories, and life in general.

I'm glad I remembered to take my camera. But silly me, I forgot to charge the batteries. The watier took one picture and then it died. At least we got one. :)

We took it after some of them left, but this is most of us.

Conference Breakfast

This is the weekend we wait 6 long months for. I usually make a big yummy breakfast and we eat while we watch the first session of conference. I got this recipe for Overnight Caramel French Toast when we got married and I've been wanting to try it for the longest time. I saw it last night as I was pondering what to make for breakfast and I just couldn't wait any longer. Might I just say that I am now wondering why it took me so long to make it! It's SO good. This might just become a Conference breakfast staple.

The recipe calls for:
1 Cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 Cup butter
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
12 slices of sandwich bread or french bread
6 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 Cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Dash of cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

The night before:

Combine sugar, butter and corn syrup in a small saucepan; cook over medium heat until thickened, sirring constantly. Pour syrup mixture into a 9x13 inch pan. Place 6 slices of bread on top of syrup mixture. Top with remaining 6 slices of bread.

Combine eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt stirring until blended. Pour egg mixture evenly over bread slices. Cover and chill for 8 hours or overnight.

The next morning:

Bake uncovered at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Serve Immediately.

p.s. Don't forget to spoon the bubbly syrup onto your french toast for extra yumminess!

Oh, and you serve this kind of like an upside down cake. The bottom of the pan will be the top. There are 2 slices per serving and this makes 6 servings.

I served it with fried ham (left over from Sunday dinner) and scrambled eggs. Jarom also made us some freshly sqeezed orange juice because Grammy and Papa brought us 3 huge bags of oranges off their tree. This was a breakfast to die for!

Teeth

Wooo Hooo! Cannon finally has some chompers! Seriously I thought he would just be bald and toothless the rest of his life. He has had some growth in both areas recently. This picture doesn't really show it well, but it's as good as I could do with an uncooperative 9 month old. These are his bottom gums. Lucky for us (knock on wood) we couldn't even tell he was teething. He has two coming in on the top too. When it rains it pours.

Oh, and for those of you keeping track, I still haven't done a 9 month post. As you can see life has been a little busy for us. I will just count this as 9 months. I feel bad for not doing one. I haven't even taken pictures of him for a month. Here are some milestones he's accomplished.

*Claps when we say "YAY".
*Says Mama (finally) Dada, Baba, and other babblings.
*Eats 3 meals a day.
*Sleeps through the night.
*Stands unassisted for 10 seconds.
*Loves the walker.
*Loves the piano.
*Finally interested in Baby Einstein. (Although they drive me nuts!)
*Gives kisses and hugs.
*Plays pattycake.
*Eats lots of solids including pizza crust and chicken.
*Takes 2 naps a day.

A Visit and Ammon is a Missionary!

Whew! What a week we have just had! We have been working our tails off trying to get the basement ready for Jarom's family. Let me start by saying that we will NEVER do a basement again. Ever. We got carpet on Friday at 3:00 p.m. and the first wave of Becars arrived on Saturday at 6:00 a.m. Jarom's brother surprised us by arriving a day early with his family. They came all the way from Hawaii. Aaron and UB live there and have two kids; Khuslen and Khulan. They brought UB's father with them. He is visiting from Mongolia. We got to meet the newest little addition Khulan. She's 5 months old. She's absolutely adorable. Khuslen is getting so big. He loves chips (shipies) and watching Monsters Inc. I think we saw it 40+ times. He was really attached to this little toy drill that he found in Cannon's stuff. He was hilarious as he tried to drill every thing and every person in his path.

That night Jarom's Mom, Dad, two brothers and sister arrived. Ammon is going to be serving in the Spokane WA mission. They came to bring him to the MTC. We had pizza for dinner and we got to talk to everyone. Jarom had a play at his school so they got to see that.

On Sunday everyone came to our church. We had a blast together and had a yummy ham dinner. Grammy and Papa showed up later that day and our family was all together.

Monday we had a BBQ and hung out. Aaron and UB went shopping and I got to play with the kids. Cannon and Khuslen are too fun together.

Tuesday was a blast. We went to Brick Oven for dinner and celebrated Ammon. We also got to see Grandma and Grandpa Becar and Aunt Elizabeth. Cousins Adam and Nicole and their kids came too. I took a million pictures so here are a few. You can click on the picture to make it bigger. There was a balloon artist that made some really amazing creations for the kids. Cannon got a little football that went over a goalpost. We also went to Cabelas to see the fish. Cannon was so amazed. He was pounding on the glass and saying "Ooo" It was so cute. Khuslen liked the plane and the 4 wheeler.

Wednesday Ammon went in to the MTC. He was so excited. He has been waiting for this for a long time. He watched his two older brothers and sister go. I know he was anxious for his turn. He's such a sweet kid and he'll be amazing. Here is my favorite picture that I got of him getting ready to go inside. He was all smiles as he got his luggage and gave some hugs.

Here are some other pictures of him before we left.

I know it's so cliche, but it was such a bittersweet day. It's sweet because we know he's where he should be. He's doing what he should be doing. He's happy and full of energy. But, it's hard because we will miss him. Two years seems like such a long time when you're at this end of it.

The MTC is a hard experience too. You just have to give a hug and walk away for two years. We did surprisingly well although we all cried a little. We were the last family to leave but we were also the biggest family. If you think about it, it makes sense. We hung out for a little while afterward and talked. The kids were restless after sitting for an hour so we let them get their wiggles out. That cheered us up. You have to click on this and look at Dave's face in the bottom right picture. He's behind the tree and I laugh every time I see it!

We went to Fuddrucker's and had lunch before we all went our separate ways. This picture just cracked me up. Jarom and his brother are playing the racing game and of course the boys are there to cheer them on.

Chrissy's trainer, Hermana Goepel, showed up and we got to talk to her about Uruguay and Hermana Becar. She told us some great stories and we loved talking to her. She seems like a great missionary and perfect trainer for Chrissy. We miss our Chrissy girl. She's only got a year and we can't wait to see her and hear all the amazing stories. Hermana Goepel is the one in the middle in the brown jacket.

Now the Becar family has two missionaries out. It was a great visit and we never feel like we have enough time with them. We love our family and we're excited to see a few of them in a few weeks for Jarom's graduation. :)

Go AMMON!