A "Broad"er View

One Year...blame Facebook

2011-03-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

I haven't totally forgotten about the blog thing...well, actually I did. Anyway, thanks to E. Milmont I was reminded of it and felt it an appropriate time to update.

Many may know, and some may not, that Val was diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer 2 weeks ago. She has since gone through surgery, which entailed the removal of the tumor on her thyroid, the entire thyroid, and 34 lymph nodes. We were told 3 of the 34 lymph nodes had cancer, and her odds are good. She will undergo radioactive iodine ablation therapy soon which entails a week of being quarantined. After that, she will spend the better part of a year dealing with thyroid hormone deficiencies and excesses until we get her balanced out.

We have been approached by many who have been through similar circumstances and have had much support. Even though it is fairly common, this has been a very scary thing for us and our family. We have felt the faith and prayers of all and are very blessed in our lives right now with so much love and support. Cancer is becoming so commonplace in our world, and I admit to becoming quite numb and insensitive to the word. But I wish now, that I had been more sensitive to it and any other trials those around me have had because of what we are now going through. Cancer is common. But cancer is scary, always. So many have reached out to me, and my family, and I feel so overwhelmed by it that I hope I can be more like that from here on out. I really feel that cancer is not an 'if' but a 'when' for all of us. It will touch all of our lives very closely in some way or another.

On a lighter note, Val has been doing great and is a fighter. Even with minimal thyroid hormone, I still have to beg her to relax. We all are so lucky to have her in our lives! The rest of the family unit is as follows...

Gracee is miss popular in her 1st Grade class. She has developed quite an opinion and is sweet as sugar. She is very aware of her dental needs and approaches me frequently with "loose tooth" concerns.

Ellie is a devoted dancer and homework junkie. She's got serious rhythm and kills it at her dance recitals. She literally asks if she has homework that she can do. She loves it. She also has a smile that will prompt shotgun loading when she turns 16.

Livvy is developing speech quicker than we can get her what she is asking for. It goes about like this: "Mom, show." 2 seconds later: "Mom, a show." 2 seconds later: "Mom, I would like to watch a show on TV, please." OK, not exactly. But just about. She is growing too fast.

I, am just Dad. I go to work, and make money, and then the money disappears. Then I go back and do it again. I'm livin the dream. I love what I do, and I am very fortunate to be where I am. A highlight was taking Val to Kauai, Hawaii last October. Trip of a lifetime.

We Are Still Alive

2010-03-17T20:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the long hiatus of blog inactivity! We are still here in South Jordan, Utah, searching for a home. We are renting a townhome whose lease is up at the end of May. We plan to buy a home in the area for now. Livvy is now 6 months old and pretty much the cutest baby. She does not, however, sleep through the night yet. I really feel bad for my great wife, who also hasn't slept throught the night in a long time. We are hoping that Livvy can soon figure out a bottle, formula, and sleep. None of which she likes right now.

Ellie is 3 and a half and hilarious. The other day she came up with the following song..."I like my hole, I like my hole, I like my whole....family!" We still laugh about it daily! She is taking dance and doing preschool. She is also terrified of drains. It is serious. We have resorted to making her take a shower to avoid the histeria of the water going down the drain, along with anything else she is afraid will go down. And there is no reasoning with her. But she is a good little girl and has a KILLER smile. She likes eating "pocksiddles" (popsicles) at Grandma and "Crampahs" house, and sometimes she "acksolutely" (accidentally) spills her drink. Actually, she speaks extremely well. Just a few words that crack us up!

Gracee is getting too grown up! She is in kindergarten and loves to read. She is a really good older sister to her two younger sisters and always helps mom with the baby. She recently started tennis and LOVES it! She has a powerfull backhand! She is excited to finally have a yard when we buy a home. I just can't get over how grown up she is getting! It makes us a little sad...But we love her to death!

Val is rapidly growing in her knowledge of paying bills! We have a lot of them! Between student loans, business taxes and personal taxes, living expenses, and all of the other little things, I am just glad I have her! She is very good at keeping it all straight and keeping on top of it all! She too is very anxious to get into a home of our own. Hopefully soon! She is looking incredible these days and I can't believe she had a baby 6 months ago, not to mention 3 kids!!! Way to go Babe. You are one hot mama!

I just keep going to work in the morning and coming home at night. I love what I do and feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with people and improve their quality of life a little! I am learning so much from my dad and my other partners in the practice. They have all been so helpful in getting me going in my career. I can't believe that May 14th will mark one year since graduation. Time just never slows down. We miss so many of you and wish we could keep in better contact with all of you, but know that you are all in our thoughts.

-Austen

Announcing Livvy Jayne (and stuff, etc.)

2009-09-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

On September 13th, (yes that's Gracee's Birthday) we were blessed with the arrival of 6 Pound 6 Ounce Livvy Jayne. She's a wee mite but we love her to pieces. Gracee and Ellie are loving her too. 3 girls. I would have never thought...

Gracee had a great birthday! We spent the day (Sept 12th) at Cowabunga Bay for Gracee's party and had a blast with cousin's, aunts, uncles, and Grandpa and Grandma.
It was there on the Lazy River that seemed to get things movin for Livvy to come. We went to the hospital later that night and Livvy came at 9:45am the next morning. We have had a lot of help and are so thankful for family close by.

Grandma took Gracee and Ellie to the state fair and got a GREAT pumkin pic that I included. Enjoy!

Austen

Here Fishy Fishy

2009-08-10T20:44:00.000-07:00

I guess it's time to update.

We are living in South Jordan in a rental townhome (it's nice but lots of stairs) and I am actually working now. We celebrated 7 years married approximately 2 weeks after I started my first real-family-supporting-type job. Val got almost too used to me being unemployed. Things are good though, and I am really enjoying being down in the mouth for pay. I'm practicing at Pioneer Valley Dental in West Valley City, and I have already done things THEY wouldn't let me do in Dental Pergatory i.e. School. Val is getting very ready to not be pregnant. We are anticipating excitedly the September arrival of more drama, and our third girl Livvy. Ellie makes us laugh a lot as she bosses us around, and Gracee started Kindergarten. Gracee also broke her arm on the monkey bars at school. She was determined to start things off with a bang.

In July, myself, my bro Colby, and my Dad got to go to Alaska fishing for a week. It was an incredible trip. We brought home approximately 300 pounds of fish between 6 of us. We like it grilled then put in tacos. Call me if you want the recipe. I actually came up with it myself.

We also spent time as a family in Island Park, Idaho at the cabin with our friends the Orr's, Marostica's, and my family. It was a lot of fun. I took Gracee with me and my family to Lake Powell for a couple of days too. She had a broken arm, but that didn't stop her from fishing. I am so proud.

Life is good out of school, but we miss Pennsylvania and our many friends in dental school. Crazy to think that chapter of our lives is over. Time flies when you are having fun.

Commencement (of realizing I'm monetarily really poor...)

2009-05-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

8 years later, and I finally have a skill that I can use to pay the bills! That's right, we just graduated from Kornberg School of Dentistry at Temple University (Philly). It was my first and last graduation being that I never graduated from the University of Utah, and I don't count high school.

It was really fun to have my brother/padawan Colby and my Mom and Dad here to help us celebrate. We had a lot of fun and ate out a lot. We rode bikes, my parents took us to the Baltimore Aquarium which the kids loved, we went fishing, we slept in, Ellie and Gracee got to ride the "flying carpet", which was Grandpa rolling them up in a kitchen rug and throwing them on the air mattress(it was hilarious and they still talk about the "flying carpet"), we had a plain old good time.

May 14th we headed downtown, and ate lunch at Fogo De Chao, which was an incredible display of beef/pork/chicken/brazilian salad bar, 3 story vaulted ceilings, and next to none service. No joke on the service. I never before experienced having 2-3 servers always there to get you drinks, clean plates, take your coat, take family pics, etc. It was great. Thanks Mom and Dad for that! We then walked about 2 blocks in downtown Philly to the Academy of Music for Commencement, which was LOOOONNNNNGGGG. Two and a half hours later it was official. Dr. Thomas Austen Broadbent DMD.

It still hasn't hit me that school is over. But alas, it is. And none too soon. Our house has sold and we close May 29th. Val and the girls (by the way, a third girl is on the way:) ) are flying out to Utah that day, and Colby and I are driving the Subaru and Lola the dog out. Should be quite a weekend. We are going to be renting a townhome in South Jordan for a year while we figure out how to pay for dental school. I am excited to be joining Pioneer Valley Dental with the illustrious Dr. Thomas K. Broadbent, aka my Dad, and beginning work.

I am so lucky for Val and her supporting me throughout this whole circus. She has always been so helpful and made me smile during the rough patches. She and Gracee and Ellie are my angels. I love you girls so much. Val and I both have felt so fortunate for the many friends we have made here in Pennsylvania. Valley Forge 1st Ward has been our second family and we are going to miss it the most I think. Thank you all for bringing us into your homes, and into your lives, even though we weren't going to be around permanently. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! You made such a difference in our lives the last 4 years. Please keep in touch. We'll miss you!

I'll Bill Her Insurance

2009-04-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

A milestone was passed this week by Gracee: tooth #O was extracted, by me, by hand, ungloved (but washed), unanesthetized, and she absolutely boiled over with pride! Her tooth had been wiggly for weeks, and she came and found me just before bed and said, "Dad, will you take my tooth out?" I was quick to disuade her, for, I was unlicensed. I explained to her that these sort of "back room services" get dentists and doctors alike into hot water with the law, and I just couldn't allow myself to be compromised in such a way and jeopardize my future. "Besides," I told her, "you don't have AIDS, Hepatitis, recent history of drug abuse, dual personalities, cross dressing tendencies, or any of the other conditions that I are usually present during teeth extractions that I do! I just really wouldn't know what to do with you! You wouldn't even ask for pain killers!"

Yet, as she always does, she smiled at me, with those big blue eyes, marched me into the bathroom, sat down, and said "take it out!"

And, with a flick of the wrist, #O was sitting on a tissue.

At that point, Gracee was so proud and surprised, she couldn't stop giggling and staring in the mirror at the now present gap in her lower front teeth.

Later that evening, the tooth fairy made a quick trade and that was that.

As for me, I am going to try and bill her insurance.

Oh, and P.S., the box of Wartner is Val's...

Coming of Age

2009-03-15T15:19:00.000-07:00

The title of this post might give you preconceived notions of what I am about to talk about. Given my situation, current employment status, age, etc...one might think I am about to discuss:

1. We are pregnant and expecting our third child in September!

2. I am about to finish 8 years of college AND graduate AND start working for pay!

3. Our house is under contract and we close May 28th and will be moving back to Utah!

While all of these, and perhaps other topics might have been, or should be, discussed on the family blog, you know me, and I leave most of that up to Val. What I would like to discuss is another facet of my life that has me feeling that I am coming of age. It has more to do with my current amount of gray hair, physique, and spare energy on tap at the end of a 30 mile commute and 8 hours of Kick Butt Temple Dental. I would like to talk about 2 things that have become oddly precious to me:

My 2 pairs of sweat pants.

I don't know when it happened, why, or how, but I freakin love sweat pants. Val gave me an oversized pair for Christmas, which I shortly found a companion for at Costco, and it was over.

When I was a child, adolescent, and young adult, I hated sweat pants for two reasons:
gathered ankles, and gathered waists. This ill-conceived design flaw left you with a skin pattern resembling a skrunchy around your ankles and waist, and erythema. It also gave the coveted illusion that your pants were too short, and your waist was too fat. So, I never really wore them. Don't get me wrong, I am smart enough to realize that sweat pants in general where not for any given style, and where kind of the opposite of style, and to this day are not associated with any real kind of style. But I hated the way I looked in them so much growing up, that I wouldn't even dawn them too much on a Saturday morning, mowing the lawn.

All that has changed now.

6 days out of 7, if looking cleaned up is not required of me at eventide, I shower, and slip into my sweats, and that is that. It is almost therapeutic. No more need to suck in, staighten up, look professional, just relax, I'm in sweats. The particular brands are both oversized, ungathered, drawstring waist (which I never "draw"), and soft as a feather pillow. And the added bonus is, when it is time to retire for the day, no need to change out of them, I can just hit the sack! Sweet!

Val doesn't seem to mind (yet) and agrees with my clothing choice of comfort over fashion 100%. Though admittedly, I am no where near her level of dedication to comfort.

So, as I prepare for the many changes that lie ahead, I am comforted by, well, comfort, and realize that I have come of age. Long live 100% cotton!!!

You "Bette" ya!

2009-01-23T12:36:00.000-08:00

That's right ya'll! (that is a little lingo my friend Carlee says, its rubbing off on me!)
In the previous post, (I know they are few and far between, but I want you to think I actually have a life!) my husband mentioned that I was fortunate/blessed/lucky to see the one and only Bette Midler in person! Let's back up a bit... for those of you few folks who really know me, you also know that for as long as I can remember practically I have LOVED Bette Midler! I don't even really remember where or how this fettish started, but I remember being really young. I do remember however, one time sitting on the top of a house boat in Lake Powell watching my cool sisters lay out and they happened to be listening to the "Beaches" tape on their boombox, which I believe was a newer movie at the time. The rest is literally history. I remember getting my first boombox as a kid with a cassette deck and my first tape that I actually bought for myself was a Bette Midler one. I know, I know, most of you are wondering about me right about now. All I can say is that it must just be fate because I honestly don't know what draws me to her or any specific reason why she is my idol, she just is, so deal. Ok, so enough trying to get you to understand me, on to the story of my real life encounter with Bette! If only I could have been a tad bit closer! And I would have been if only her show had an intermission, because someone was stupid enough to buy a whole row of seats in the 4th, yes 4th row and not show up!? Ok, stupid might be a harsh word, maybe they were in a car accident or had a family emergency, I just hope it was a good enough excuse. Because once my tix were purchased, it would have to have been a huge thing like that for me not to go. Ok, pause for a min. I know there are a few of my dearest friends from high school right now reading this and chuckling to themselves because they have this visual of me at a Hypnotist show, obviously really hypnotized, I don't remember a thing, and frankly they can't prove anything. Supposedly there came a point in the show where I maybe thought I was Bette and sang a song for the audience!? I think they are making this up though, again like I said, they can't prove anything... If any of you really know me again, you know I don't sing in front of people, especially solos!
Moving on... so I knew we would probably be going down to St. George for part of our stint in Utah and so of course I checked to see if Bette's show would be running in Vegas! Sure enough! Jackpot! Now, all I needed was someone to go with me, Austen would probably rather eat his own arm first!:) So, knowing my auntie Carolyn is always up for a good time, and a bit of a fun gal like myself, I gave her a call! She was in! And my cute cous Amanda too! Can we say Girls Trip! They picked me up in St. George and it was off to Vegas for a weekend o' fun. Austen was gracious enough to stay with the girls, with the help of his fam! So, my dream of meeting Bette was finally about to come true! Well, unfortunately I didn't get to meet her, but WOW what a show! "The Showgirl Must Go On" was amazing, and yes I still LOVE Bette! Her stage, showgirls (the harlettes and ceasar salad girls as Bette calls them!), songs, dancing, comedy, and
stage production was amazing! I could hardly wait until the show started, though we had fun shopping like crazy until then! And yes, I will admit, I burst into tears when she finally made her debut on stage! The build up to her coming on stage was almost too much for me to handle. In all, it was a show and experience I will never forget!I might just have to go again! I laughed, cried and screamed like crazy for Bette! Unfortunately I only have one pic at the moment to prove that I did it, and it was taken my a former male (SHIM) who was a professional at the show, but the stage is in the background. I only had a film camera with me, so I have yet to develop those, but when I do, more pics will follow! Yes, we are all dolled up for the occasion, boas and all, and I must say we had a blast! Thanks so much auntie Carolyn and Amanda for humoring me and coming along! It was definitely a trip that was much needed, and one that will remain a favorite forever! Long live Bette!

Okay, what are we doing again?

2009-01-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

The blog took a back seat to, well, everything since Ellie's birthday. We had a great holiday season. Val's parents, oldest brother Bart and wife and their great 4 kids, older sister Alison, and older brother Darin and his daughter, all came to our house for Thanksgiving! 15 of us in all! It was a lot of fun. We saw Washington D.C., New York City, Geno's Steaks, and many other cools things. And while we weren't out sight-seeing, I was punishing Bart, Tanner, Hayden, and Kyle on the XBox game Project Gotham Racing. Which is easy to explain because Bart is used to driving cattle, Tanner had a hard time keeping his eyes on the road between texts, Hayden was pretty good but a little reckless, and Kyle was just elated to be driving.

After Thanksgiving, and all had returned to their respective corner's of the country,
I got to study for my last week of Final Exams! It went similar to the last 18 or so finals weeks I've had, and I am glad to finally be done with that sort of thing.

We then jumped on an airplane the afternoon of my last final (Dec. 17th), and arrived in Salt Lake City for Christmas. Somewhere over a cornfield Ellie picked up Strep throat, which manifested itself as a fever from the point we reached cruising altitude, until Friday the 19th when we finally got her to an insta care, and got some Bubble Gum Penicillin. Basically, Val, Gracee, and Ellie have managed to keep insta cares in business, all by themselves. We had a great time in the many almost daily snow storms in Utah. We slept in 4 different beds, in 4 different houses, and loved all the time we spent with family. I got to ski at Snowbird one day for free, thanks to my awesome brother Colby and his magic he worked with his ex-girlfriend's mom. :) Let's just say I had'nt gone snow skiing since probably 6 years ago, but I still got it (we left at lunch due to the catastrophic failure of my quadriceps). It was a great stress relief. Thanks Colby! My mom and dad took our whole family on the Polar Express (Heber Creeper) to see Santa Claus! The kids loved the hot chocolate and the bell Santa gave them. It was a lot of fun (except for two twelve year old "elves" that I almost turned into railroad kill due to their over-excitement for their "jobs" and maybe too much hot chocolate). Val spent 2 days helping her brother with an indoor motorcross event he was in charge of in Heber, which was a big success. We had many family dinners and lunches, and I plain ate too much chocolate. The girls were beside themselves when, on Christmas morning, Santa had actually eaten the cookies and milk, and the reindeer had eaten the carrots the girls left! It was so fun to watch. What a fun time to be parents. We finished off the 3 week stay with a trip down south to St. George. We ate a lot, again, and watched my Utah Utes destroy Alabama (for me the BEST part of this Christmas). Val had the chance of a lifetime to see her "no one knows why, including her" lifelong idol Bette Midler on stage in Vegas. She cried tears when the curtain opened, just ask her. Her aunt Caroline and cousin Amanda accompanied her, and I stayed in St. George and rode 4-wheelers with Gracee and Ellie. I am just glad Val FINALLY got to see Bette. Now it's time to move on Val! :) Anyway, we left Salt Lake on Jan. 6th and somewhere over a cornfield, right as we reached cruising altitude, Ellie picked up a raging case of pink eye, which we are treating, and Gracee was diagnosed this morning with Strep throat. Life isn't like a box of chocolates, if Ellie gets it, I know exactly what Gracee is going to get. Ellie is like our little carrier monkey. She brings in all the diseases and passes them on.:)

Val and I feel so lucky we both have such kind and generous and loving families. We want to thank you all for the love we felt as we have spent time with you this past holiday season. As for me, I will be graduating May 14th, and we will hopefully be moving back to Utah sometime between then and July. Can't wait!

As a sidenote, between the 5 suitcases that were lugged cross country twice, we had exactly no room for a camera, so recent pics are rare. Any I come across in the next while, I will post.

--- Austen ---

"Happy Birthday to Me!!!"

2008-11-09T19:37:00.000-08:00

That's what she said all day yesterday when she realized what November 8th meant!

Ellie girl, Mini me, Ellzabell, and Baby are just some of the names regularly used in reference to our blossoming 2 year old. Yesterday we celebrated her birthday and took her to Monkey Joe's, which is one of those really fun (germ infested) indoor inflatable-everything playgrounds. And she LOVED it! She is a climber, of playgrounds, couches, dining room tables, car seats, kitchen counters, book shelves, and her favorite, inside the refridgerator. At her age she is talking a lot, but emphasizes what she wants to eat, which is usually something she has grabbed out of the fridge. Most of the day it is something like this:

"Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom...etc"

and then..

"I want some cheese, duice, stawbees, cukees, meat, bread, wadduh, hot gog, moatmeal, apple, pear, owenge, wakkle, lollipop (this one is automatic when we even drive by the bank!), molk, nuggets, brawkee, beans, wice..." and pretty much anything else. She loves to eat/snack.

She is always saying things that catch us off guard like: "Hey Mom, I shaken my booty." Or, "I poop Mom, Mom, I poop." She loves to say that one during the administration of the sacrament in church when it's really quiet. She always asks for her simmin suit when we drive by the YMCA or take Gracee to her lessons.

And Ellie loves baby dolls! Anything baby dolls! She also has a huge fettish with the Backyardigans, she watches at least one show every single day! When we are in Target, we will go over to the card aisle and she will immediately find a Backyardigan card and carry it around the whole store! She also loves playing whatever Gracee is playing. Ellie also loves to read stories, play with puzzles, play with her kitchen, drive toy cars around, and push around her stroller. She can usually be found with a baby doll wrapped in one of her own diapers. Ellie also loves to brush her teeth and wash her hands. I think mostly she just loves playing in the sink and turning it off and on.

I can't believe how fast our baby is growing up. She is learning the art of coloring, just not quite grasping the concept of "ONLY ON PAPER!" I have cleaned a few murals off of my walls so far.

She is such a little fireball with an attitude and agenda all her own. Still, with all her energy, there is not a day that goes by without her making us laugh! She is such a funny girl, and even can be super sweet at times. Ellie keeps us on our feet all the time, she is super busy and always into things. Child proof medicine caps mean nothing to her, and she is already asking things like "what does that say mom?"

2 years ago I would have never imagined I would have two of the most beautiful girls who are the best sisters, yet so different. Ellie is constantly looking up to Gracee and Gracee couldn't be a better big sister. Even though these past two years have flown by, I am so glad they can play together now. I love watching them interact with each other. Ellie calls Gracee "sissy" and I love it!

She is transitioning from a baby to a "big girl" so fast! She loves to tell me she is a "big girl!" She is constantly trying to put on Gracee's panties, and has told me she wants to wear panties, especially when she and Gracee and getting dressed at the same time. But unfortunately she has no desire whatsoever to sit on the potty! But hey, she is only 2 right! Maybe we should work on her "beebee" (binky) first!:) I'm sure the potty training will be a post in and of itself, but in due time.

What a blessing this little girl has been in our lives thus far.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ellie Girl, we love you sooooo much!

Lions and Tigers and Sheep, Oh My!

2008-11-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

This year Halloween took on a whole new meaning for Ellie girl! She discovered the new found fun of trick or treating! Let's just say Ellie would full on run from door to door and keep knocking until someone came with the candy! Gracee on the other hand, was a bit shy and bashful and would politely go up, get her candy, practically whisper "thanks" and run back to me. Ellie loved yelling "trick or treat!" I had a blast this year going door to door with the girls. We went all around Orchard court (our development) which is not all that big, but boy did the girls end up with a haul! I recall many people commenting on how cute they looked and would then say something like "here you need a few more!" That is why we ended up with WAY more candy than will ever be consumed by these two. But... more for me!:) Well, here a few pics of the night, Gracee was none other than Dorothy, and Ellie was Little Bo Peep!

29 and younger than ever!

2008-10-16T19:02:00.000-07:00

Just 29 short years ago, the world became a better place!...
I can't very well post two large blogs on my little Gracee Sue for her birthday and leave her awesome Daddy in the dust. So even though the day is almost over, I have to give a little shout out to my incredible, sweet, funny, handsome, grill master, manly, smart, hard-working husband on his 29th Birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUST! I know its kinda cheesy to talk to your spouse or others through the blog world, but I did want to recognize him on his last year of being a "young adult!" A couple of years ago, Austen told me one of his main goals was to be graduated from all of school, including Dental school and be working before he turned thirty! He graduates in May! So, congrats Aust, you just made it! We couldn't be prouder of our daddy in our home. Unfortunately we have a sick kid in the home, and Austen had mid-terms today so we didn't have much of a celebration, just a little Boston Market for dinner and a trip to Target! Exciting I know! But hopefully if Ellie is feeling better, we have the opportunity to chaperone a few of our awesome ward youth to Dorney Park tomorrow night, and then have a date night planned for Saturday, so the celebrating will continue throughout the weekend! If you can't tell, we long to drag out birthday celebrations for at least a few days out here. Hopefully this weekend will be so fun it will have to go up on another post! And we still have haircuts and Ricketts Glen to blog about! Whew, I better get workin' on that... tomorrow!
Happy Birthday Austen, your an incredible husband and the best daddy ever! I know this post is not a big tribute and there is not some lengthy slideshow to music, but we love you all the same!

A Few more...

2008-10-02T20:06:00.001-07:00

Normally, I would just do a slide show, but I'm too lazy tonight. So instead, you get three posts! Now how long has it been since I've done three posts in one month!:)

Create Your Own Barbie Fashion Show at FAO Schwartz!
Austen snuck this pic of the stage before the play starts.
After the show, just outside.
Austen's car he picked out for his Sweet 16!?

More Pics of NYC!!

2008-10-02T19:55:00.001-07:00

Gracee and Austen in front of this Star Wars character made entirely out of Legos!

More fun on the Big Piano!

Austen took this pic because as we were walking you could see the Empire State building in the skyline!
We walked by this Ferrari dealership and Gracee picked out this little red number for her Sweet 16!
After the show!

NYC or Bust!

2008-10-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know its been over two weeks now since Gracee's Birthday trip to NYC. But even being a little late in the blogging world, I still wanted to post about it.

To begin, I will begin in the beginning!?:) It all started last October when my mom and dad, sisters, aunt and cousin were out visiting and participating in the Breast Cancer 3 day walk. While they were out here we decided to take a girls trip up to NYC for a day or two. We ended up seeing Wicked while we were there, and I totally loved it!! I bought the soundtrack before we left and we listen to it still quite often. To make a long story short, Gracee absolutely loves the music as well! We sing to it in the car frequently. During Easter break this year, Austen's family came out for a visit and again we went to NYC to see Wicked! It's just as good the second time you see it!... and the third... Anyways, to make a long story short, after Gracee missing out twice on trips to NYC to see the play she decided to take it up with me... "Mom, when do I get to go see Wicked?"
Well, being the kind, great listener of a mother that I am, I replied quickly, when you're five. Ok, let me clarify quickly that I actually did notice a sign or something somewhere in the theater the first time I saw it that "children under the age of 5 were not permitted." So, no, I was not just making that up. But I did think it would be enough for her to forget about it and move on. Well one day about a week or so later, while driving in the car and listening to our tunes, Gracee stopped singing and became kinda quiet for a minute. This is how it went down...
Picture Gracee with her big blue eyes and a look on her face like she just got it!
Gracee: "Mom, in September I'm going to be five!:)"
Me: blink, blink, hmmm. "yep that's right"
Gracee: "That means I get to go to New York to see Wicked!"
Me: blink, blink, hmmm.
Gracee: "Remember mom, you said when I was five I could go see Wicked!"
Me: "umm yeah honey, that's right, that's what mommy said." All the while me thinking how in the world does she remember this stuff, and trying to figure out what to do next or what I can say to change her mind and do something for a five year olds birthday, maybe lets say a little "more in my price range!"
Me: "Well Gracee, if you go to see Wicked for your birthday, than you cannot have a birthday party too. You would have to choose one or the other, because we would not be able to do both." I figured by saying this I had had her and she would definitely not want to give up a birthday party for NYC. But, alas, I was wrong...
Gracee: "That's okay mom, I don't need a birthday party, I really want to go see Wicked!"
So, that's how it came to be... I would think a trip to NYC to see Wicked would be a birthday gift for say a 14 year old, not a 5 year old! All I can say is that I'm in trouble if this is going to start a pattern for birthday ideas from Gracee!
At any rate, we did end up getting a killer deal on 3 tix to see Wicked in NYC, not exactly on her birthday, but just a few days later. Sometimes it pays to be the high bidder on ebay! We had a great day in NYC with Gracee, and I think she loved every minute of it. I would say her only complaint would be that the time to go to the theater couldn't come fast enough, and she had to walk a lot! But I have to say, to watch her face during the play made it all worth it!

We started off playing around a little in Central park at a playground.

Then we walked over to FAO Schwartz so Gracee could try out the giant piano!
They actually sale them there for a mere $25,000! Gracee was pretty good at it though, so we though maybe in a few years!

Next we walked down to Dylan's candy bar! What a wonderland of candy! Gracee was in awe, I think her dad was as well! We picked out some treats for the show.

And finally we made it back to the Gershwin theater! Gracee could hardly wait, we tried to get her to eat some dinner before going in, but between the candy she had just picked out that was in my bag, and her excitement I think she had all of two bites!
In all I must say it was a pretty successful trip. Gracee loved the show, and asked to go back when she is 6! That might be a little harder to do, especially considering we won't be living so close to NYC! Maybe she'll settle for Build-A-Bear or somewhere like that next year!

5 Years Ago Today...

2008-09-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe that its been five whole years since the time I gave birth to my little Gracee. As she told me today, she is not so little anymore!:( My how time flies so fast! Words cannot express the feelings I have for this special little girl and all the joy she has brought to my life. Gracee may be five years old in age, but most of the time she acts like a teenager. But one who still kinda likes her mom! Hopefully she will forever. For her birthday this year she decided to give up a birthday party and instead go to NYC and see WICKED! What five year old besides her would do that?! She loves the music, I'm pretty sure she knows the whole musical by heart. We are going on Wednesday night, so I'm sure I'll update about that.
We did however go bowling today and then out to dinner for steak and shrimp, her two most favorite foods, besides ice cream! Yes, That is a birthday Scone!

Gracee loves Barbies, Hannah Montana, Jonas Brothers (she knows the words to most of their songs!), dancing, gymnastics, swimming, & playing dress up with her friends or sister. She is a great big sister and my big helper, most of the time, though occasionally she'll roll her eyes at me as she is doing it! :) She loves to play with her daddy and her dog, and she is totally boy crazy already!! I'm in for it I tell ya! Gracee also loves Primary, singing songs, and anything pink or green. She is my little peacemaker, which is nice considering her little sister is lucky she "looks" angelic! She loves spending time with her grandparents, cousins, aunties, uncles, etc.
Gracee also loves anything that has to do with animals, if she could she just might live in a zoo or an aquarium!
I am so excited to see what Gracee becomes and am so proud to be her mom. I love you Gracee Sue, Happy 5th Birthday!
P.S. This slide show is a modge podge, so as you can see the pics are not in chronological order!...

Back To School!

2008-09-05T11:19:00.001-07:00

So, I know it seems like forever since I myself have posted. But I must give credit to my husband, he is a great writer, really good at keeping up the blog, and we all know he is way more interesting than I am. Especially when it comes to blogging. But I know there are a few (very few) of you out there that occasionally want to hear whats going on from my point of view! So I will not start out with any excuses about why I am not one of those post every day or every week, or every month for that matter, bloggers. It is what it is! I wish I could say I was super busy all the time with really important stuff and being super mom at the same time, but alas again, no excuses. We spent much of the last month in Utah, or as some call it Zion! I have really mixed feelings right now about it, I love it, I am proud to be from there. But when I go back, I'm not going to lie to you, my anxiety level goes through the roof! I'm not sure if its trying to juggle between two families with lots of drama, (at least my side has lots of drama!) or the feeling that there are a whole lot of people in Utah doing the same thing and they all look scaringly similar. My sister keeps telling me that I love it and I can't wait to get back! True, but I still can't put my finger on the nagging feeling of why I get anxious. Maybe its just because I truly love the east coast and could stay here forever, that is if I could have a mom fix every month or so! But its true that I can't wait to get back there and dive into the life of friends and family...

Well, there is one more reason why I'm not the best blogger, I rant and rave about nothing! So, moving on.

The day after we returned to "the real world" Gracee and Austen both started school. I can't believe its the first real day for Gracee, with many many more first days to come, and the first day for Austen and the last one forever!!! Bitter/sweet I tell ya! I forgot to snap a pic of Austen in his hot school attire, scrubs! Disappointing, I know! I will admit at first I thought they were a little sexy!:) But I did take a few of my sweet little Gracee before we headed off to her school which happens to be on the corner and I can see it from my home! I actually like being that close to her. She goes five whole days a week for almost three hours! Now, if only I could find that kind of set up for Ellie right now!

If you can't tell, she likes to pose. I had a close up of her, but of course she blinked! Austen informed me that he feels old now that he has a child in school. She actually isn't even in a public Kindergarten! She will start Kindergarten next year, she misses the cutoff by two weeks. She is however, in what is called a Pre-K+ class which is pretty much like kindergarten and just as long. I feel it is to her advantage, it will be like she is taking Kindergarten twice, once private, once public! I have to admit though, I did get a little teary sending her off, though I am also so excited for her. She was getting kinda bored and lonely towards the end of this summer until we went to Utah. We sure miss all our friends from out here in good ole' Royersford!

Well, I know I have much more to catch up on... I know you are all dying to hear about my summer vacation. And with my little girl turning "5" next week I better get on the ball! I'm sure I should at least post about that event! After all, you are only 5 year old once. And I must admit, I think five is one of the best ages ever, still innocent and sweet, very helpful, independent and full of life! I guess I will be posting more than usual in the next little while! :)

Is it Halloween yet?!?!

2008-09-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

To all my fans out there (silence followed by chirping crickets...), I have finally received more inspiration for my next blog entry. No, I don't do a whole lot of the what we've been up to material, just stuff that I find noteworthy of my analysis. Not that my analysis is at all noteworthy. I just like to draw attention to things that would at most other times be swept under the rug that sits on the floor in the back of my brain.

So, with that said, it was a warm summer night. Being an avid tennis fan, I had just watched the end of the Venus/Serena Williams match on tv, so I was already a little weirded out. Ended kinda late, 10:45ish. I got up to put the dog in her kennel for the night. As I put her in, I realized she hadn't been out for awhile. So I let her back out and headed for the back sliding door. She walked out and I flipped on the motion detector light, which has about a 2 second delay. A split second before I walked through the doorway, the light kicked on, and pictured below is what was staring me in the face...eye level, and oh so nasty, just waiting to wrap me up Frodo style.

If you can't tell, it as an arachnid, and a very large web. Now, to make the story National Geographic material, me and the girls and Val had been in and out of that doorway at about 7 pm. Mr. Arachnid did his work in about 3.5 hours or less. Something about big spiders makes me freeze up. With broom in hand, I carefully ducked under the world wide web, doubled back carefully to slide the door closed, and basically froze as I stared at this thing in the blinding light of the motion detector. Got way creeped out when this thing got all excited and started running around the web as a moth got close. I probably would have stared at it for half the night if I hadn't started feeling that heebee geebee sensation like things were crawling all over me. So, I carefully assassinated the demon, swept it between the deck planks, and now I can't stop thinking about it

Oh, and this is a picture of me waterskiing, just to help take your mind off of the bug.

Nope, it's not working for me either.

BHS 10 Yr. Reunion

2008-07-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is a quick post for anyone following the link posted on the 10 year Brighton High School reunion website. If anyone is wondering where I am, and you don't know, I am in Philly at Temple U. in my senior year of dental school. Got two kids, an awesome wife, and a mountain of student loans, oh, and a dog. Wish I could attend the festivities but I'll be doing tooth stuff. -Austen

"She Who Dies With The Most Shoes, Wins!"

2008-07-23T08:31:00.001-07:00

So Ellie has this new tradition, or maybe she's going through a phase. But whatever it is, it is quite halarious. Every morning after she wakes up and I change her diaper, she then goes to her shoe basket and puts on a pair of shoes! She is obviously up and ready to go. This morning she opted for a pair of church shoes, I guess she was feeling particularly pretty today! Usually is is a pair of squeaky shoes, which I might say are a lot easier to get on, but I guess it was worth the work for her this morning. Don't mind that she is still in her pj's, hair everywhere, and she is ravishly starving! What is it with kids who wake up and immediately NEED breakfast? Our morning routine usually consists of after a diaper change and shoes, we go downstairs and I try to lay on the couch for a few more minutes while Ellie watches a show or plays with her toys or reads some books, usually she does all at once. But give her a few seconds and she's pounding on me insisting she needs to "EAT." Well, at least she is ready to run outside in case I set the kitchen on fire or something!...

If anyone knows me well, they know I have a thing for shoes. I guess Ellie is a girl after my own heart!
Oh and by the way, the purple socks on her were only because she had cold feet in the middle of the night so I just grabbed a pair and put them on her. She doesn't like to sleep with blankets on her.

Sunday's Haul

2008-07-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

We'd taken naps, eaten dinner, cleaned up, and had dessert twice. What else to do but harvest carrots! Ellie loved yelling out "kehwwatts!!!" everytime I yanked one out. She does the same thing when I get a "Keenie!!!" out (Zucchini). Her daily meal routine consists of a breakfast Eggo "wakkle", for lunch a "sannich", and dinner usually "keenie" because she loves it and we are quite overrun with the green wonder. I swear you can harvest "keenie" 3 times a day. Gracee on the other hand speaks perfectly, but always enlightens us with her logic. After dinner we were talking about how good it was that Gracee had eaten all of her food, which is a rare occurrance for our little Somalian. She asked us if it made Heavenly Father happy when she ate all of her food. We told her yes. To which she added, "and when you're good Heavenly Father makes the rides at the park (amusment park) go faster right?!" To which Val and I could not help but replay "Yes, Gracee." What do ya say?!?!?!?!? So flippin cute and innocent. Another bit of logic that she brought out yesterday goes as follows. And honestly, we don't know how she came up with this, or where. We were walking out to our car after leaving the YMCA pool. As we passed through the parking lot Gracee says, "Mom, we don't park in the handicapped spots because we're Mormon, right?!" Val and I both began to giggle, as you can imagine. Then, before we can correct her, she repeats the statement even louder just as we stroll by another family entering the pool. I would love to be there when the Elders knock on their door one day.

Oh, Gracee. The brain juice is flowing...

6th Year Anniversary

2008-07-16T08:44:00.001-07:00

6 years ago today, I got up, put on a suit and tie, loaded up the suburban, and drove to the Salt Lake City Temple where I married Val and became the luckiest guy on the planet. I wanted to do something different to express how eternally fortunate I am to have found her and to have spent the last six years with her. So, I decided to blog. Why am I doing this instead of an extra cheesy premeditated card from Hallmark? A. I wanted to share how awesome Val is as my wife and mom to my girls. B. It’s better than doing it in fast and testimony meeting (in my opinion!) and C. Fast and testimony meeting isn’t for a couple of weeks.

Val married me knowing only that we would end up just about anywhere but Utah going to school for 4 years (hmmm, Mark Hackingish. Scary!). I can’t thank her enough for the faith she had in me to board that train and, still be riding it. Val has been there to experience the bliss of 17 final’s weeks, 2 rounds of the Dental Aptitude Test, National Boards Part I, and will experience the wonders of National Boards II and the Western Regional Board exam in the coming months. The type of bliss mentioned is the kind where I get home from school with a panicked/glazed look on my face, offer little conversation, study into the late hours, get up early, leave again, and return home with the same look. She loves it! Val was there to experience the stiff suspension of a Penske Truck for over 2000 miles from SLC to Philly, only to move into an apartment she saw for the first time as she brought the first box in from the truck. Val has to let me spend my days in the most dangerous part of Philadelphia, working on some of the dirtiest mouths there as well. She has been an awesome mom, dealing with our two little pecking ducks like a champ. She works a little at the local ice cream shop to help pay for gas. She does it all.

And, the whole the reason I can write this without her knowing: Val, at this very moment, is sitting as a juror down at the county courthouse. The only reason for this is because we moved into a house 2 years ago in an attempt to establish residency and gain in-state tuition (would’ve saved us $12K a year). Instead, we were denied in-state tuition, and Val got jury duty because we were now registered voters. All so I could go to school. Which, I can’t do at the moment, because I am at home with the kids.

So, on our anniversary, as I sit here as Mr. Mom and you sit there as Mrs. Juror, I just want to say thanks Val, for all you’ve done and do. I promise that the school train is on the last leg of the journey. I am so very lucky to have you, and I love you more than a juror loves a verdict.

Austen's Debut Blog Post

2008-07-10T19:36:00.000-07:00

Well, my first blog post. I've been waiting for the right inspiration to start my blogging career and tonight I received it. Let me begin by asking the question, and by doing so do not wish to offend, belittle, or criticize any other faiths different from my own, but nonetheless ask: What is the difference between a LDS ward or stake activity and a Sacred Heart Catholic Parish Summer Carnival?

Val and I and the girls live approximately 1/2 mile from the local Catholic church (Sacred Heart Parish). Once a year at this time the Parish throws a carnival complete with rides, food, cotton candy and funnel cake (the two main reasons for Val's intense desire to attend this year), a band, and many other "subtlties" that for me were very helpful in answering the above question. Again, I emphasize that I am not interested in poking fun at the Catholic religion, I am only pointing out differences.

First, I noticed the Coor's Light Beer Garden. Very large sign, very large sponsor (that's right, the sign said sponsor!). A comparable sign next to that said "18 yrs. and Up Only." At this point, I double checked our location. Yep, we are on church grounds. Okay, moving on. Next, I noticed that there was a dress code for all young women between the years of 9-17: tube top or halter (believe it or not mostly tubes), miniskirt or short short (short) shorts, and sandals (not important). Pressing on I noticed an interesting way to show ones spiritual devotion: 12 inch angel wings tatooed to the shoulder blades of a young women easily visualized with the dawning of the tube top. Do I classify this as A. Ironic B. Devoted C. Hot D. Just Plain Bad A**? That question remains unanswered. Now it was game time. Football toss, ring toss, and the ever popular Wine and Spirits Wheel! Pay a little cash, put your chip on a number, spin the wheel, and with a little luck you get a sip of your choice of a fine display of "Wine and Spirits!" Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this what a bar is? Now, let me enhance the situation. As we strolled on by, we were blown away at how many parents were telling their kids which number to put the chip on! And even better was the guy standing inside the Beer Garden (it was fenced off ya know) yelling across the way to his son to "put the chip on the 10!" I can only assume that in the event of a win the gentleman would have exited the Garden, to claim his prize. Rounding the corner we almost walked right into the "18 and Over Only Casino". Back towards the rides we noticed a ride operator throwing buckets of water on a spaghetti dinner that was successfully rinsed off the ride, onto the ground for everyone to look at. No, spaghetti was not being served. Last, we heard the band playing the chicken song, and singing the lyrics. Neither Val or I were aware of lyrics but they go "and a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, cluck cluck cluck cluck."

If I ever get called to the ward activities committee I am going to have a lot of good ideas.

In the end Val got her funnel cake and cotton candy, and I am cool with that.

Memory Tag

2008-07-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the best high school friends ever, I decided to do this myself. Mostly because it's been way too funny reading all of theirs! This blog has been the best thing for keeping in touch with them! Good times, Good times!... Sigh. Well, I hope you have as much fun as I do!...

But first, some flashbacks for ya'all! Oh, and Lindsie, that last one of me and you is because you for some odd reason are not in the "Brady Bunch" T-shirt pics, and I wanted to dig to find a nice one of you and I!:) Girls camp summer after 7th grade! We are hot! Ha ha! I look a little bit happier to be friends than you do! Oh, Ashlee is not in it either, I will have to dig up a good pic of us!

Memory Tag

Here's the fun tag everyone is doing. Don't leave me hangin'!
1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary... How Does Your Garden Grow?!

2008-07-01T13:42:00.000-07:00

So, once again, its been forever since my last post...
It's not like I've been busy, after all this is by far the loooongest summer of my life, but I guess we've been keeping semi-busy.
So, this year we decided to try out our green thumbs and grow a garden...
This is the beginning...

And now, well... let's just say next year if we do it again, we will plan for a lot more space!...

In our fast growing little garden we have carrots, tomatoes, zucchini (its coming out our ears!), peppers (red and green), beans, and pumpkins.

Apparently our green thumbs are more green than we thought! So if anyone reading this needs some fresh, home grown veggies, let me know...

Here are a few pics of our girls and the "fruits (or veggies) of our labors."

Don't mind Ellie's half smile, she has this new thing where if you tell her to smile she purses her lips together and tries not to, it's halarious! Oh, and its the end of the day, hence why they look like they do.