Harry Potter must be on the brain

Tonight for Family Home Evening we were talking about water. I know - a basic subject, but we have a 3 year old.

We played with some water and bowls outside and we came inside and tried to explain to Gage that Heavenly Father created the water for us and why we need water for the lesson. (we need it to drink, play, clean ourselves etc.). Then we looked at some gospel pictures. One was of Christ being baptised and the other was when Christ walked on the water.

Wade was explaining that when Christ walked on the water it was a miracle because not everyone can do that.

Gage then looked at him and asked, "Not even Harry Potter?"

No Gage, not even Harry Potter can do that!

Christiansen Family Pictures

I found the CD! While we were in Utah we had some great Christiansen family pictures taken by Chandra's (my sister in law) friend, Kim. She did a great job and we all got copies of the pictures. We took them in Provo at the Tahitian Noni gardens and visitor center. It was such a perfect location.

We were so glad the whole family was there...and when I say whole family, I mean the whole family. You might notice Wade is holding a "special member" of the family in the second picture. He even made it into some of the best (serious) pictures of the entire group. Happy hunting Christiansens. He no longer lives in Iowa!

Wade and I finally saw the 5th HP movie today. I've heard mixed reviews about this. People seemed to either love it or hate it. Everyone agreed it was much darker then the other movies.

I liked it. It did leave a lot of the book out - but even then the movie was still 2 1/2 hours. It wasn't my favorite book and therefore I already know it won't be my favorite movie either. If you didn't know what to expect, yes the movie did probably seem pretty dark. I thought the book seemed a lot more dark then the movie.

I loath Umbridge. I did when I read the book and I thought they did such a great job casting her. She seemed like a President of those some crazy elite women's organization gone horribly horribly wrong.

I loved that I new the ending to the whole series. I see characters in a whole new light now. Wade and I have been watching movies 1-4 this week and it's so fun watching the kids grow up and mature. I absolutely loved the 6th and 7th books so I can hardly wait for the next couple movies to come out!

Below are some random pictures from Utah. We took family pictures with the Christiansens and then left our copy of the CD there, or else I would have posted them first thing after returning. These are a few random shots we took. The last one is just a random picture to make you laugh.

Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my mom's birthday. I won't say how old she is, but I will say that she is still young in my eyes. She is a great mom and one of my best friends. Ten years ago I never would have thought that I would call my mom each day, but here I am, a mom myself, and I call her pretty often! She is the mom to 6 kids and the grandma to 11! Happy Birthday Mom!

Thanksgiving Point

Two of the most fun things that we did while in Utah were at Thanksgiving Point. We spent one afternoon at the Children's Discovery Garden playing in the water and having fun running around outside. We also spent a different morning at the Museum of Ancient Life - or the dinosaur museum as Gage likes to call it. They were both so much fun to visit. The dinosaur museum had places the kids could dig in the sand for bones, play with toy dinosaurs, play in the sand and water and so much more! Wade and I had both been to the gardens before on a date...a very romantic and relaxing one I might add, but we had not been to the Children's garden before. It was a blast. The kids loved the water by Noah's arc and playing in the bear caves and lighthouse.

My sister in law bought a yearly family pass to Thanksgiving Point and was able to get all of us in 1/2 price as well! I know as soon as we will in Utah again I will be going to buy that pass!

Haircuts

Noah got his first hair cut this week. He looks so much older now. (the left picture is a before, the right side after) I am now the hair stylist of the three most handsome men (boys) I know. Each of them get buzz cuts - just with different numbers. Sometimes I even have a little helper.

Done

I've finished. Wow.


It looks like tomorrow I will be trying to write a non-spoiler post for the book blog.

Bakers

There is nothing like visiting old friends. We met the Bakers about 6 years ago when we lived in the same stair well at the University Village. Those were some very good times and we had a blast pulling pranks together. Greg is now a successful (but he would say humble) physical therapist in Utah and Steph gets to stay at home with their two kids. Steph and I both attribute Gage coming into the world because Wade loved holding Maddie so much in the hospital! Trent is a few weeks older than Noah and such a fun happy boy!

A Hike in the Mountains

As promised here are some more pictures of our trip to Utah. We can't visit there without visiting the mountains. Particularly American Fork Canyon. If Iowa only had mountains I just might be able to convince Wade to stay here!


Oh - and the top picture on the left hand side shows some wild turkeys we ran into. I had to grab the camera fast before they ran off - so they look really similar to black rocks...but I promise we did see them!

Canyons

One of the main reasons that we vacation in Utah (besides family) is that Wade plans a hiking trip with his brother and his dad each year in Zion's National Park. For a day or two he is able to get away and hike, repel, sometimes swim, and hang out. He sees park of the country most people have never seen. He fights heat exhaustion in over 110 degree heat. He repeals over 100 feet cliffs. And he loves every minute of it.

Some people have asked me why I let him go do this, but after the test he took for boards I think he can go do whatever he wants. Besides there is a greater risk something would happen to him driving to school then canyonerring. He started clinic today, but maybe later today I can get him to write something to post about his trip. This is one of his favorite websites he loves to read.

Backyard

Playing in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard was a favorite. Four-wheeler rides, big trucks, water hoses, and a rope swing you can lose your pants on - what more could a three year old ask for?

I'll post our trip a little each day this week. I hope you enjoy.

And We're Back

We made it home from UT last night - or early this morning - however you want to put it. (more about this later) The boys were very good little travelers and were both so happy to see their room and their toys. Despite the fact it was 1am both of them just sat in their room with big grins on their faces and wouldn't sleep.

I picked up Harry Potter at the airport. I decided I just couldn't wait until my name came up on the waiting list at the library. I started it on the flight home but had one sleeping boy and one crazy 3 year old jumping around so didn't get too far. I can't wait until nap and bed time so I can really dive in! If you are farther than me (not that hard at this point) or already (gasp) finished it....please don't spoil it!

I'll post pictures of our fun trip to Utah soon. We had a blast doing all sorts of fun activities. I had a dial up connection while there - so I apologize for the lack of posts. It really was a great visit and there will be lots of fun posts this week, so stay tuned!

Good Bye!

Boards are over and we leave tomorrow. (We won't know scores for 2 or 3 weeks.) Now we are spending the next week and half in Utah for much needed break. Rotations start again on the 23, so I probably won't post again until then!
Toodles!

We'll be back soon!

Good Luck!

I would like to wish a good luck to Wade (and all his friends at DMU, our friend Nate in Miami, and my bro-in-law Evan) for their boards tomorrow. It's big test and Wade has put so much effort into the past two years. He has studied a lot for this test and I know it will pay off. Everyone will be in our prayers!


(These are NOT my feet)

Our Loss

This weekend our family suffered a sad loss. Fish boy, Gage's blue gill fish, passed on while we were at church yesterday. A quick burial outside followed.

Fish boy joined our family two weeks ago after Wade and Gage had been fishing again at our Bishops pond. He came home and loved his new clean environment. He enjoyed eating worms every few days and also bread. Unfortunately, we were not able to keep up with his demand for worms, which later caused his sad illness, and then ultimately lead to his untimely death. He will be missed. Below is a picture of Fish Boy on one of his better days.

The Bravest Boy I Know

Gage had his annual visit to the cardiologist today and he is one of the most brave boys I know! He went without us for his x-ray and the technitian said he did very well and followed all the directions. He then sat so still for both the echo-cardiogram and the EKG. We found out that his patent foramen ovale (the hole between the two atriums) closed. He still has pulmonary valve stenosis and left pulmonary artery stenosis.

Fun Week

Happy Fourth of July

Science Center of Iowa

We had a great time this past week with my sister Jeni. She flew in from California to spend the week with us while our dear hubbies spent time studying their lives away for the podiatry boards. We had fun at the Science Center, shopping at the Mall, swimming in the pool, celebrating the fourth of July, visiting the farmers market, having lunch at DMU, shopping at the local scrapbook stores, making cookies and hanging out with the kiddies. Gage adored Aunt Jeni and wanted her to read to him each night at bed time. Every once in a while Noah would even let her hold him! (He really is such a mama's boy it's silly!)

Before My Blogging Sabbatical

My sister flight lands in an hour and I am so excited. But before I go I want to share something I've been working on for a while.

My Reading Spot.

One of my good friends Kelly mentioned to me once that she was thinking of starting a book review blog. I couldn't get my mind off this idea. I started reading book blogs and couldn't get myself away from them. So, I attribute all of this idea to her. She just had her 3rd baby a few weeks ago. It was her first girl and she is an awesome mom. She has a great blog and also is a contributor to Tastes of Home. When she does start a book review blog it will rock.

My site is a place I can share books I've read and either enjoyed or not. It is still a work in progress I have so many books I want to post about, but I feel good about the start and want to share it. I hope you all enjoy.

I am now off to play with my sister. She will leave Friday and then we will have 4 days until the biggest test of Wade's (and our) lives. (Boards are July 11th). No pressure Wade. We leave the day after for Utah so I'm not sure when I will post again. Hope you all have a great summer and enjoy some good books!