My Other Life

Well, Paul just left this morning on a quick business trip to Williamsburg , Iowa. Back at the homestead, we're dealing with drainage problems in the kitchen sink, which has been going on since Sunday evening. Paul's been plunging it, "snaking" it, and dumping boiling, soapy water dawn, but nothing. Hence, we have piles of smelly, dirty dishes all over the place. So we finally had a plumber come out today. He at least reinstalled the poorly installed garbage disposal (which is missing the seal) that had fallen off when Paul was plunging, but couldn't do much more than that since the basement is finished, and the pipes he needed to get into were behind finished walls. We're going to have to go through the roof....Darn finished basements! We also have yards and yards of cable running through the middle of the room since the walls prevent any access to the electrical wires, but we won't go into that....

Anyways, now seems to be a good time to take a break from it all and blog. I decided to take this chance to show that I have other obsessions in life besides Benjamin and taking pictures of him.

I have a lot of creative energy that I have to burn somehow, so here are some of my latest projects. This is a tiny paper cut-out I did of "Goldbug," one of Benjamin's favorite fictional characters, for his room.

This one is a work in progress, but is also a paper cut-out. It's another favorite storybook character of Benjamin's, "Drummer Hoff." I plan on finishing it and framing this one for his room also.

This is a watercolor I did this past Spring for Paul during his business trip to Switzerland. It's an olive tree.

So I joined an FHE group since I've been out here with a bunch of other moms. We get together about once a month and prepare lessons to make copies of and swap. I made this one of The Fall out of paint swatches. We had about a zillion of them lying around the house, and I couldn't bear to just throw them away! Anyways, this is a color copy of that, laminated with velcro backs for kids to pull on and off to tell the story.

And last, this was the first FHE lesson I did of the Creation. It's also laminated with velcro backs. I feel like if I can at least make these now, then I can try to have FHE lessons every week when Benjamin is old enough to listen to me for more than two minutes.

I'm also of course scrap-booking all of Benjamin's zillions of pictures, plus the few that Paul and I have from pre-Ben days. Then I'm working on a square 2 1/2 foot acrylic/collage painting incorporating the alphabet and numbers, but it's just started, so I didn't include a picture of that. Anyways, now you know what I'm really up to during the few spare moments I feel blessed to have!

Silly Boy...

I just have to say how fun Benjamin is getting. Yeah, he can throw a royal temper tantrum, and he's still a baby in a lot of ways, but he's becoming such a fun little boy! He loves helping me cook in the kitchen, and smelling (putting his mouth on) all the spices. Here he is, tasting the pizza dough and all the other compontents to make sure they're ok before we put it all together.


So the other day, I was in the other room, when I heard Benjamin in the kitchen, gulping something down. Being the good parent that I am, I dashed in, only to find him chugging my soymilk. I couldn't stop laughing. He usually turns down any juice, normal milk, etc. that I give him, and only accepts water. But somehow he'd found his way into the fridge for this special little treat that even I won't drink by the glassful!


Benjamin loves his duck costume, and admiring himself in it in our gi-normous living room mirrors. He doesn't use words yet, but he's got the head shaking thing down pat for any decisions I present him with. On this particular day, all of my reasonable clothing options were rejected with a vigorous head shake, and the duck costume won. But he had a good time playing in the leaves and getting it nice and dirty! Hey, isn't it a good thing if the costume gets more than one night's use?

Pumpkins, Ducks and Frogs

Benjamin patiently awaits Daddy's return home from work.

Benjamin likes our pumpkin. We had three, but Paul cooked the pie pumpkins already and made scrumptious pies, waffles and bread out of them. I think we still have some puree leftover too.

Here are the boys, working hard in the yard. Paul's been out there almost every night after work and every Saturday, getting the dirt ready to plant grass. The process involved removing a ton of mulch, a bunch of rocks, a few prickly bushes, a lot of old rotten tree roots, a brick patio which had a lot of sand underneath, and some patchy grass that was full of pot-holes. Then he turned dirt--about 600 square feet of it. Yesterday we completed the process by tilling the dirt with a hoe and leveling the yard to a smooth graded slope, covering it with a top mixture we made using the sand and some fertilizer, and seeding it. It was a long day, but it looks amazing! We're so excited to see the grass come up. We're pretty sure it's going to be golf-course quality with how much work we put into it!

We never did take "before" pictures, which we regret, but here's the "after"!

On Friday night, our ward had a Trunk-or-Treat party where all the kids were dressed up and we had dinner in the gym before heading out and going car to car. Benjamin was pretty excited about all the costumes, but this lion was especially appealing. The poor kid had Benjamin chasing him all night, trying to "pet" him. It does look like a pretty plush costume though!

Here is our cute little duckling. He was certainly a lucky duck too, staying out TWO hours past his bedtime--until 8:30!!!

He didn't quite get the hang of begging for candy, but he enjoyed chasing a remote controlled car with a demonic pumpkin on top, that was going all over the parking lot.

Look! A frog!

Benjamin wanted to "pet" the frog.

Nauvoo Campout

Our ward went up to Nauvoo for a camping trip this weekend. It was loads of fun. We still don't know folks very well, so this was a good opportunity to get to know them better. We were stoked when the Bishop pulled out his guitar and others brought out their fiddles. They had an extra mandolin which I was thrilled about; it's been a very long time since I've played with anyone. We had a regular old hootenanny until midnight or so.

This was Benjamin's first campout. Although he fell asleep on the way up and didn't get to enjoy the campfire, when we woke up in the morning he was gleefully surprised. He looked around in the tent with a curious grin. He loved the woods and running around with the older kids.
Benjamin woke up at 6:30 and he and Paul went on a walk down by a nearby reservoir and then up to the Temple. Nauvoo was breathtaking in the morning. The sky turned smokey red as the sun came up, and the Temple looked like it was on fire.

Neither of us have been to Nauvoo since we were kids, and it was quite an experience. We all walked down Parley's street which goes straight down to the Mississippi. It's the street the Saints walked down when they left the city for the last time. There was a calm reverence there like a cemetery, but it felt happy and peaceful with the rebuilt Temple gleaming in the hills above. It is a really special place, and everyone should come out to see it, and while you're at it you can visit us!

Tag, We're It!

Thanks, Karey for passing this along. We need to be better about keeping our blog updated!

What I Was Doing 10 Years Ago:
Sarah: Ten years ago, I had just turned 14, brace-faced and a whopping 80 pounds. I had just had my first Sunday in Mia Maids, but more importantly, I had just attended my very first Oakton Stake Dance. To help me feel comfortable, my 17-year-old sister Rachel took me around during the slow songs and asked various boys to dance with me. It was pretty awkward. I was in 8th grade at Thoreau Middle School, and vaguely remember a Halloween Dance where I showed up proudly wearing royal blue corduroys and a matching multi-colored, collared, short-sleeved sweater...and stalking a 7th grader who I had a huge crush on. I was obsessed with my cat, Misty, and was an occasional closet-Barbie player (I had 3 little sisters to play with, and wasn't too excited to grow up).
Paul: I was about to turn 17. I was probably furious to be back in school especially because my friend Travis and I just got back from a random trip to Tahiti. I was also probably furious because most of my friends had already graduated. I was also probably furious about some social injustice and pretending to be a communist.

What I Was Doing 5 Years Ago:
Sarah: Five years ago, I had just turned 19 and had started my first semester as a Freshman at BYU. I was living at 1206 Hinckley Hall with Alison Faulkner, and I had met my name-twin down the hall, Sarah Elizabeth Lowe from Orange County, California. I was having the time of my life, finally going on lots of dates and staying up playing ultimate frisbee with the guys' hall every night. I had an All-Sports-Pass and went to all the football games with my brother, Bryan, who was finishing his last semester there. I was serving as Hinckley Hall's Publicity Chair, and helped decorate our building for Homecoming. I was trying to figure out what direction to take as an art-major, whether I wanted to go into Illustration or Studio Art. It was a fun time of life!
Paul: I was back from my mission for 10 months, bright eyed and bushy tailed, looking to progress on the "Ordinance Path." I was probably considering changing my major to middle eastern studies because one math or stat class was kicking my trash. I was certainly anxiously awaiting the first snow fall and hanging out all night with friends, seriously crushing on a 28 year old. I think I was living with my brother, Brigham, in a swanky condo.

One Year Ago:
One year ago, we were living in Wymount 469, and Benjamin was 4 months old just learning how to sit up. Paul had just officially started in the Master's program at BYU, a.k.a., the hardest semester of his life. It was a happy time of life, and it was exciting watching Benjamin cross each milestone.

Yesterday:
Paul went to work, and Sarah took care of Benjamin who has a cold and slight ear infection. He hasn't been sleeping well at all the past few nights; he's had a blazing fever and a few isolated vomiting episodes in the middle of the night. The house became miraculously clean for Sarah's Visiting Teachers yesterday morning. We had a chicken broccoli casserole for dinner, and afterward Paul went to work in the backyard leveling the dirt to prepare for planting grass. Once Benjamin was asleep, we had a bowl of ice cream and watched some HGTV.

Five Snacks I Enjoy:
Sarah: 1. Kirkland Vanilla Ice Cream, 2. Any in-season fruit-especially strawberries and peaches, 3. Our Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, 4. Our Homemade Oreo Cookies, 5. Homemade Caramel Corn.
Paul: Stork Chocolate Reisens, 2. Hot Tamales, 3. Carrot Sticks, 4. Any of our homemade cookies, 5. Pumpkin Bread.

Five Things I Would Do With 1 Million Dollars:
Sarah: 1. Invest most if not all of it, 2. Buy a Honda Odyssey, 3. Get nice furniture and make-over our home, 4. Start a bank account for Benjamin's college fund, 5. Travel the world.
Paul: 1. Live off the interest, 2. Sod, instead of Seed our lawn, 3. Buy all the tools I want to do all of our home improvement projects, and that's all.

Five TV Shows I Like:
Sarah: Lets see...five shows I watch...hmmm...my new favorite is "Find Your Style" on HGTV, but I've also been known to be a succor for "So You Think You Can Dance" and "American Idol."
Paul: 1. "Psych"...

Five Things I Hate Doing:
Sarah: 1. Driving with talk-radio on, 2. Waking up multiple times a night with Benjamin, 3. Dishes that never seem to end...but we have a dishwasher now, so this isn't really relevant anymore!
Paul: 1. Dishes, 2. Washing Lettuce, 3. Chain emails/forwards....that's it.

Five Biggest Joys Of The Moment:
Sarah: 1. Benjamin's adorable fits of giggles when we do something ridiculous, 2. Paul coming through the door after a long day (or any day!), 3. Going to a pumpkin patch on a brisk fall day, 4. Making some part of our home or yard more attractive or livable, 5. Benjamin's hugs and kisses.
Paul: 1. When Sarah talks in her silly voices (it's true... she has silly voices), 2. when Benjamin was very young we gave him a car to play with and he began making loud, rumbling noises with his mouth, 3. how excited Benjamin gets when it's time for me to read one of his favorite bedtime stories, 4. when Benjamin lights up when I come home (which isn't everyday unfortunately,) and 5. any work in the yard anytime.

Five People I Tag:
Um...whoever is reading this and has an hour to kill and/or someone who needs to update their blog.

Ben in the Backyard

We've been here about a month now and are loving this yard! It's little and brambly and needs a lot of work, but we're really enjoying it. Benjamin helps out a lot. Here he's helping Mom sweep the deck. He especially loves all the big, heavy, dangerous garden tools and loves to follow Daddy around with them.

Paul really enjoys what he's doing at work. We're all still getting used to the normal office hours instead his old flexible thesis hours on campus.

The area is really beautiful. It was really hot and muggy when we got here, but then one day, it was like someone hit a light switch and it was really chilly. It's back to hot now. Benjamin loves to play outside and we were lucky enough to find a steal on Craig's List for a kid basketball hoop, a little race car, a table sand box with sand toys and a few Tonka backhoe loaders all for $25! So now we practically have a playground back there. Well, nothing to compare to the swanky, huge, modern playground down the road, but it's something!

We miss all our family and friends! But we're doing well. It's kind of fun being just us.

Leaving Utah!

So after almost 3 years together here in Provo, we're finally moving on! Paul accepted a job with Monsanto in St. Louis, Missouri, and we're both really excited about it. Benjamin has no idea what he's in for, but he may just have suspected something when we dismantled his crib in front of him and showed him our totally vacant apartment after the movers had gotten everything out. He really liked the moving truck, and especially walking up and down the ramp about 100 times. It was pretty funny to see our stuff in the enormous truck, filling up MAYBE a quarter of it.
So this is our house! With a fenced-in yard, and a garage and a washer and dryer and dishwasher and air-conditioning and everything! It's about 50 years old, so we've got a few fixer-upper projects ahead of us, but it's an adorable house. We're excited to be living on our own, but will miss all of our good friends and family. There's an open guest room for anyone going on a church-history trip, driving across the country, or perhaps even coming just to visit us.