Crimson Kids Halloween Party!

I think that I am the only person in the Blogging World that has not yet posted about Halloween, so here goes. We started off our Halloween celebrations by going to "The Crimson Kids Halloween Party" at HBS. It couldn't have been more fun for the boys. Most of you know that I am helping my sister-in-law out with her kids during the week, so I packed up an IRON MAN, an Incredible Hulk, a Clone Wars Storm Trooper, a Fuzzy Tree Frog and a Peapod. Lets just say I had my hands full with some very excited boys. When we arrived, we had pizza, fruit and veggies for dinner. Then it was off to painting pumpkins, fishing for prizes, playing super hero's out in the court yard, getting our pictures taken and visiting Daddy's/Uncle Johnny's office to see if he needed any protecting from the evil education wizard. It was quite the SUGAR High, but lots of fun.

On Halloween we headed up to Beacon Hill to do our Trick-or-treating. The boys were very excited because they got to ride on the T. We met Jonathan there, while we waited for him, I took a couple of pictures of the boys which I think turned out pretty funny. After we met up with Jonathan we decided to have dinner at Upper Crust for some most delicious pizza. We ran into the same couple that was dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Incredible last year. I couldn't miss the opportunity to take a group picture again. Owen decided that he was going to be shy and not be in the picture. After a quick "Hey, How's it going", we made a date to meet again next year. It will be fun to see if we actually do run into them again. I am not sure that I would recognize them with out their masks on. Any how, we ended up at the Upper Crust and had some very delicious pizza, then we were on our way to meet up with the hoards of people that were out enjoying the ghoulish night air. The decorations were fun to see and we even ran into Sen. Kerry. He tends to only show up on election years. The other three years he had his assistant sit out on the steps and hand out the candy. No, he didn't have big candy bars like some people think he should, this year the spread was the little square packets of skittles. I have had quite a few people say: "You would think that the man could spring for some substantial sized candy with the amount of $$$ he has." I personally don't care one way or the other what size candy he chooses to give out, but I tend not to be too surprised by this actions seeings how during his race for the Senate he bagged on his components for the lack of charitable contributions they gave and when his financials were run he hadn't given one cent to any charity. What a guy!! But I digress, after our journey through the streets of Beacon Hill the boys' bags began to drag and Owen began his melt down, so we headed back to the warmth and comfort of our home.

Happy Birthday Babe!

What type of birthday party does every man in their 30ies want? A Lego Party of course!! Yes, I threw Jonathan a Surprise Lego Birthday Party, and I kept it a surprise, he had no idea. That was an accomplishment in and of itself for me. I don't think that I have ever kept anything from Jonathan for so long. It almost killed me to keep quiet about it.

I invited a few of his friends over to put together the Lego Mindstorm Robot. Isaac and Owen helped out a bit too until they realized that I had a huge pile of Lego's that they could make whatever they wanted. Lunch consisted of a 2 foot long sandwich that I whipped up, chips, and non other than fruit punch. My favorite was the cake. I thought that they turned out really cute. I know all of you manly men are thinking "cute" why would any man want a cute cake?? Well, that is a good question that I don't have an answer too, except that I don't think most men really care what the cake looks like, but more how it tastes. This one tasted pretty darn good. Homemade chocolate cake from scratch with homemade cream cheese frosting. Yummy, yummy good.

After the robot was mostly put together, we invited over the rest of the families for cake, good conversation and a test run demo of the Mindstorm. It was pretty cool watching the robot follow the commands. The best part was watching the kids react to the robot. I thought Isaac was going to jump out of his skin he was so excited. I wish I had a video of him trying to "YELL" the commands to the robot. At first he thought that he could just tell the robot what to do, but we had to explain to him that we had to program the robot with my computer. Children's minds are an amazing trip. The day turned out to be a success. Jonathan was surprised and everyone had a good time hanging out and enjoying each others company.

Happy Birthday Babe!

Clam Bake at Crane Beach

We had our Annual Church Clam Bake at Crane Beach this year. The past 10 years we have had it at Lake Cochituate, but this year we decided to go back to our roots and hold it at Crane Beach. I am so glad that we did. The beach was beautiful and so much fun. Isaac and Owen had a great time running around in the water and digging in the sand to make their Super Hero hideouts. Jonathan had a good time re-living his glory days by playing flag football with a bunch of the guys that showed up. I have to say it wasn't so much "Flag" as it was "Conquer and Tackle" I am just glad that we didn't have any broken bones this time!! I always love watching Jonathan play sports. He has so much talent, I wish that he had more time to play because he really enjoys the exercise and team work that sports bring. As for me I had a good time just catching up with a few of my girl friends. I feel like I am always on the go with an agenda, so when I get to just sit and shoot the breeze it is coveted time for me. I also had fun chasing the boys around by the water and throwing them in. They didn't think that it was very much fun when they hit the cold New England Atlantic Water, but once the shock wore off they would run out and try to get me wet. Isaac solidified his brotherhood with Owen by writing their names in the sand. It is official I have it documented on film for when they get older and want to dis own each other. The food was good, I just wish that I could have had some Lobster. If it weren't for the whole dieing thing I would have gotten one just for me. Oh well, I guess I will have to live vicariously through everyone else. It was such an amazing day spent relaxing with family and friends.

Rainy Day Chocolate Chip Cookies!

There is nothing better on a Rainy Day than curling up in a warm quilt with freshly baked Chocolate Chip Cookies. Which is precisely what the boys and I did today. It has been raining like cats and dogs and isn't scheduled to let up until Sunday so we warmed up our home and our hearts with my favorite C.C.C. recipe. If I wasn't so comfortable I would get you the recipe so that you could enjoy the warm goodness too, maybe later. Here's to the warmth and comfort of C.C.C. on a cold rainy day. Yummy, Yummy.

Liven' the Good Life at HBS!

Summer is officially over on the campus of HBS and School is in full swing. We had the "Fall Fling" which use to be the BIG FALL PARTY when Kim was around! The boys got their faces painted in very exciting characters, they both got balloon snakes made for them, which were so cute, they even had a tongue sticking out. Both Isaac and Owen stuffed their faces with heavily decorated sugar cookies (I seriously have never seen so much frosting on one cookie before in my life). Jonathan was in heaven when Isaac brought one over for him to eat. We ate our fair share of chicken fingers, pizza, veggies and dip and juice boxes. I got to see some of my friends from last year and catch up a bit in between "mommy I need this, or mommy I need that". We had a fun time. It is great to be back!!

Owen and I went to the Crimson Kids Fall Parade. It is so much fun. Last year both Isaac and Owen were able to go, but since Isaac is now an official full dayer at school. It was a mommy and Owen outing. We got to see old friends from last year and meet new ones. Owen helped me decorate his "Shrek" scooter with green and white streamers and a big green balloon. When we were finished decorating we headed over to the playground and had a good time on the swings, airplane seesaw, slides and everything else that was there. After a while on the playground we heard the melodious sound of the ice cream truck. Owen was so excited he started yelling "Mommy, we get ice cream, we get ice cream!!" at the top of his lungs. Needless to say he alerted all the other children and they ran over to the truck to commandeer there treats. Owen of course chose "Spider Man". I thought it a bit freaky with the white eye balls sicking out which were really gum balls, but he really enjoyed eating it as well as getting it all over his shirt and pants. When the treats were successfully consumed and safely tucked away in the toddler tummies, we paraded our magnificently decorated bikes and scooters all around campus for everyone to see. Owen and I broke rank and headed over to Jonathan's office to see how is day was going and to show him Owen's decorating job. I had a great time hangn' out with my little buddy.

First Day of School

I can't believe that school has once again begun. My babies are off cultivating their minds with letters, numbers and a plethora of significant knowledge that they will need later in their lives.

Isaac is having a great time in first grade his teacher is Mrs. Blanchard. She is very kind and loves her job. We have lucked out with teachers for Isaac, everyone of them has added to his curiosity for learning and have enriched his life. I am grateful to them for loving what they do and giving my little man the encouragement that he needs.

Owen on the other hand is just beginning his educational adventure and is loving it. One of my dear friends runs a little pre-k school on Fridays to teach letters and numbers to children that are getting ready to go to kindergarten. Even though Owen has two years before kindergarten she was nice enough to let him join this year. Ever since I picked him up on Friday afternoon he has been asking me when he gets to go back to Miss Mary's house.

I feel so blessed to have two amazing little boys that love to learn and invent new things. I am truly excited to see what they choose to become. I'll have to keep you posted . . . . Can you tell that we are TRUE Red Sox fans?????

North and South!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am a huge sucker for a sappy love story, which is why Hannah suggested that I watch North and South. (Thank you Hannah) They also know that I LOVE Pride and Prejudice! Mr. Darcy is such a lovable character with his "faults that can't be laughed at" and he will always have a special place in my heart. But Mr. Thornton has captured another part of my heart. He shows his hard exterior, but his vulnerability is almost enough to make me cry. I just want to jump into the screen and tell him everything is going to be ok and that he will get Margaret in the end. I know, I know I need help. The great thing about love stories at least for me is that I fall in love with Jonathan all over again because I compare these characters to him and I always find the attributes in him that made me fall in love with him in the first place. The tenderness, patience, integrity, honesty, humor, soft kisses and passionate ones. I have so much to be thankful for in my husband. So I send out a thank you to Miss Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell for their talents of insights into the males psyche. I highly recommend watching this movie. Just make sure that you have your warm blanket or someone to snuggle with. Yep, it's that good. You can watch it on youtube if you don't want to wait to purchase it.

Blueberry and Peach Picking!

On Friday Jonathan took the day off so we headed out to the country with the boys to pick Blueberries and Peaches. We know that Fall is on its way when we get to start harvesting our favorite fruits. There is nothing like picking a handful of blueberries off the bush and popping them in your mouth. Isaac was an amazing picker as usual and Owen was a huge eater as usual. You will notice from the pictures that Isaac's bucket is almost full while Owen's is empty. I made a deal with the boys that if they picked 5 blueberries then they could eat the 6th one. Isaac did well with the deal, but Owen was 5 for me and the 6th for me. After a while the boys got tired so Jonathan took them over to the playground that is next to the farm house. I stayed behind in the trenches and ended up picking 10 pounds of blueberries. GO ME!!! After we refreshed ourselves with our vanilla ice cream cones w/ rainbow jimmies and blueberry donuts we headed out to the peach trees to pick our bushel. The boys had a better time picking the peaches due to the fact that they are 500 times larger than the blueberries and much easier to get at. The whole ordeal lasted about 20 minutes, which was perfect for the boys attention span. We had fabulous weather, very tasty fruit and an awesome family day.

The Tanner Sybling Reunion!

Jonathan and I headed out with the boys on Monday morning of the 4th, and after arriving at the air port and being told that our flight was canceled due to the fact that our pilot didn't show up for work, any guesses why?, then being booked on a new flight for later that afternoon and re arriving at the air port then being told that our flight was delayed for about 3 hours because of a part that needed to be flown in from NYC that could have been done the day before because that is when they found out it needed to be replaced, then being booked on another flight, we finally arrived in Las Vegas 23 hours from the time we started our trip. To reward the boys for being such AMAZING troopers we booked a night at the Excalibur. The boys thought that it was pretty cool that we got to sleep in a castle. The room was pretty nice and we had a rockn' buffet breakfast the next morning. Any of you who know Jonathan know that he has a passion for the "Buffet". After breakfast we took the boys out to the small water park that they had at the hotel. Isaac had a great time on the water slide and Owen loved the "Hot Pool". I took Owen up to the water slide kicking and screaming and made him come down with me. When we made it to the bottom he was yelling "I did it mommy, I did it. Let's go again". He is such a crack up. After we had our fill of water sports we packed up the car and headed up to St. George to the condo. We had two days to ourselves before everyone started heading in for the reunion. I'll give you one guess as to what Jonathan did, yup he golfed and we took the boys to the driving range. I bought them golfing gloves. They were so cute I could have gobbled them up. We also spent a good amount of time in the pool. It was so relaxing! A much needed break for both of us. I fear that I was a bit more relaxed because Jonathan was still fine tuning his notes for his paper that he had to present in CA. So, on Wednesday everyone started rolling in. . . .

Ok, so our reunion ROCKED! We didn't camp like everyone else did because it would have been quite the interesting task to get all of our camping gear on the air plane, so we opted for the "pansy" out which was sleep at the posh family condo with AC, kitchen, soft beds, electricity, hot water and pool. We did have some company after a night or two, so I guess we weren't too pansy. It was great we went hiking, swimming, had some good laughs, more swimming, good food, more laughs, more swimming and then there was the Talent Show. Hannah and Eve thought that it would be good to have everyone tell a little bit about what we have all been doing over the years to get reacquainted since we haven't seen each other in so long. It was fun, we learned about new talents that we have acquired over the years, but the best was when Mike, Scott and Jonathan got a jiggn'. Here is a link to my sisters blog http://www.theshakespearskinny.blogspot.com/ once you watch this video you will never be the same again. On Friday Jonathan left to go to California for the Academy of Management Conference where he presented his paper on "Organizational Scope and the Returns to Focused Experience: Evidence of Complementarity from the Hospital Industry". Yah, long title and long paper. I was told that he did a good job, I just wish that I could have been there to watch him. But I was in St. George with the boys having a blast and living it up in the pool and relaxing. The boys and I flew home without a hitch. it was a great vacation.

July!

I know, I know, I have been a bad blogger this last little while. Shame on me. July was a crazy month, it was one of those months that so much went on that it feels like a year and a half ago that it all happened.

The month started out wild and crazy. The 4th of July weekend was jam packed with tons and I mean tons of events for us. In addition to the trip down to the Charles's River, with some of our good friends from HBS, for the famous "Boston Pops" music and fire works celebration and our annual drive down to Pawtucket, RI for our "Paw Sox" game and fire works, we had Jonathan's family and Rebekah's (J's sister-in-law) family in town for little Rachel's baby blessing. which was a lot of fun to see everyone. In addition to all of that family I also had a long lost Aunt which I must refer to as "My FAVORITE" Aunt or she will cut me out of her will, drive up from CT with two of my cousins and their family that I haven't seen in 15 years or never met before. Like I said it was a whirl wind of a weekend.

Later in the month Jonathan and I took the boys up to Tangle Wood to watch the John Williams concert. I had been wanting to go to this for the last 3 years so I was happy that we got to go this year. It was great to hear all of the music from our childhood movies like E.T., Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Jaws etc. etc. The big focus was on Indiana Jones because of the movie that came out this year, which I have yet to see. Steven Spielberg even showed up to do some readings and put his spin on things. The night was very entertaining and I hope that we get to do it again next year. Now on to August!

New Hampshire was Super Sonic!

After Jonathan finished up his week long General Exam, we packed up our camping gear and headed for the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We arrived on Wednesday and set up camp, which was pretty easy since Jonathan wanted to rent a cabin instead of roughing it in a tent. The cabin was really nice. We rolled our sleeping bags out on the beds and unloaded the rest of our gear into the cabin. Then we drove into North Conway to grab a few things at Wal-Mart.

The next morning we headed out to Story Land! This was the first time we had been, but I have been hearing great things about it for years. It lived up to all of the hype! The boys had such a great time running from one ride to the next. Isaac was tall enough to ride every single ride in the park, there were only a few that Owen wasn't tall enough to ride. Owen's favorite ride was the family water raft, we sat in a huge inter tube with seats and rode on a lazy river while water was sprayed on us. Owen kept saying "Mom that was awesome." Isaac's favorite ride was the Polar Coaster. After his first time on the ride he got off and said; "Mom, that ride is Super Sonic. Can I go again?" He was cracking me up. Jonathan's favorite ride was the Flume ride. It gave Isaac really bad butterflies so he wouldn't go on it again, which made Jonathan a bit sad, but the Polar Coaster made up for it a bit. The boys got there faces painted like the "Incredible Hulk" and we went to the circus. They got to meet Cinderella in her castle and we got some really yummy fried dough and ice cream. After we got back to our camp site we roasted hot dogs and made s'mores. It was a fun day.

On Friday we headed over to Attitash where we rode on the alpine slides, the water slides, jumped on the euro-trampoline, and played in the toddler water park. Isaac's exclamations were; "Mom, this place is RECORD". When I asked Owen what he thought of the rides, he said; "Yeah, sure mom this place is Awesome". Jonathan and I had a great time as well. The only annoying part of the day was when we were going down the alpine slides and the people in front of us didn't understand the meaning of "Alpine Slide", they thought that it meant go as slow as you can so that 25 people get backed up behind you and it takes 15 minutes to get down instead of the 4 minutes that it is suppose to.

Saturday we hiked up to Arethusa Falls, which is the tallest water fall in New Hampshire. It was a 1.4 mile hike each way and Jonathan ended up hauling Owen most of the way. I back packed him for a while, but the credit must go to Jonathan. When we got there it was well worth the hike. The falls were so beautiful. It was a perfect day to hike, we had over cast skies and a bit of drizzle, which helped cool us off while we were climbing the mountain. After we made our way back down we decided to reward ourselves with a movie. We had promised the boys that we would take them to a movie theatre to watch "Wall-e", so we climbed in to the car, got some lunch and then made our way over to the theatre. The movie was really cute and the boys loved it. The day had been a success.

Sunday morning we started to pack up, but the weather made it difficult because it was raining so hard. We had so much lightening and thunder. It was so amazing. We just sat on our front porch and watched for about an hour and a half before we could start loading up the car. It was such a great vacation. A much needed and long anticipated one as well.

Happy Father's Day!

This one goes out to the one I love. The most amazing husband and father that I will ever know. Jonathan and I were recently having a conversation and I asked him what he has sacrificed for me and the boys. He thought for a while and then said that he guessed that he hadn't sacrificed much for us. Since then I have been thinking about our conversation and ALL of the things that he has sacrificed. Here are a few of them. Every day for the past eleven years he has sacrificed his time and energies by working towards his Ph.D. so that we can have a better life. He sacrifices his time and talents by serving in our church and teaching the boys that it is better to give than receive. Every day when he gets home from school no matter how tired he is, he will wrestle, play baseball, super hero's and many other games with the boys. He takes on extra work so that we can have a little extra money to enjoy a little family fun. He has always made sure that we are taken care of before his needs are met. Jonathan is the most wonderful person that I will ever know. He is kind, generous, funny, full of integrity, compassionate, extremely talented, an amazing father and the list goes on and on. I am grateful to have him in my life. He is always anchored and steadfast in the gospel. He has this calmness that radiates to whom ever he is around. When ever I am in his arms all of my cares melt away and I know that I am safe and nothing can hurt me while he is there. The boys adore him as their father and can't wait to grow up and "be just like their daddy". We are grateful that he is ALL ours. We love you babe.

Relaxation in Phoenix!

I flew out to Sunny Phoenix a few weeks back. It was a very fun, relaxing and eventful trip. I actually killed three birds with one stone. I was able to meet my new nephew Reagan for the first time. He is such an adorable little tike. We got to have some real bonding time while Bekah and Scott had some alone time. I have convinced him that I am the coolest and most favorite Auntie. He agreed whole heartedly because I wouldn't give him his bottle until he did agree. I know I can be mean, but very persuasive. No really, I just showered him with kisses and that reeled him right in. He really is a very sweet boy and loves to snuggle the way my boys do. You did done real good Bekah and Scott. Also thanks for introducing me to "Guitar Hero". I am now "Pink Ranger, Rock Princess". I have Owen to thank for the name. Every time I play Super Hero's with he and Isaac I am the Pink Ranger Princess, so hence the name "Pink Ranger, Rock Princess". I even have a t-shirt, it is pretty awesome!

The second bird I killed was watching my stepbrother Greg get married to his fiancee. He looked very handsome and she looked really beautiful. They were so happy, a bit nervous, but very happy. It made me think about when Jonathan and I got married. We were both very calm and ready to be together, but I was also worried about weather or not Jonathan would really want to stay with me forever. I guess the glue they used at our ceremony was pretty good, because we are still together and we love each other more now than then. I also got to meet the rest of my step siblings which was so much fun. They are awesome people. I just wish we could have had more time to visit. Greg was the last of the bunch to get married so I guess we will have to make up reasons to get together. Congratulations Greg and Kristen.

The third bird I killed was getting some rest and relaxation since Jonathan will be traveling this summer to do research for his dissertation. Also to give the boys some time with their dad. They have missed him so much lately because he has been studying for his General exam which will be over in the next two weeks. Monday he has his "written part", Tuesday he has his "take home part" and next Monday he has his "oral part" of the exam. I have to say that Jonathan is truly my HERO! The man is a machine. He just keeps going and going. Every time he gets shot down he gets back up and goes. The Ph.D programs at Harvard are like firing squads, they blast you with so much force that you are not sure if you can get back up, it is brutal, but if you can clean and patch your wounds and let them heal. You emerge on the top of your field. I guess that is how the "Best Minds" are born and Jonathan has an amazing mind and perspective. It will be nice to have the General Exam over so we can move on to the next mountain in the Doctoral world.

Isaac Turns 6!

I can't believe that my little boy is no more a little boy.

As you can tell my boys are obsessed with Super Hero's. Isaac wanted a Power Ranger Birthday Party, so that is what he got. We had 17 wild and crazy boys running all over for 2 hours fighting off the evil of the world and saving everything around them including themselves. It was quite comical and a lot of fun. I made balloon swords, super dogs and a number of other configurations that I am not sure what exactly they were.

Jonathan made up a few games for them to play. He had them play the quiet game, it actually worked for about 15 minutes. Kids crack me up, they are so funny. After the games and fun we sang "Happy Birthday" and had cake. The cake was really good, it was chocolate cake with strawberry moose in the middle. I wouldn't mind having a piece right now. The most important part though is that Isaac had a great birthday with his family and friends.

Euphoria!

Jonathan has had his last class as a Student, the next time he steps into a classroom, he will be the PROFESSOR!! It is pretty crazy to think about. I personally soaked in the nostalgia of it. I don't think that Jonathan was quite as excited because he still has his General Exam, Special Fields Exam, Dissertation Proposal, The Dissertation, and Defending still to do. We'll have to take it one day at a time and over celebrate the small accomplishments. I love this picture that Isaac took of Jonathan, he was so relaxed on the hammock just enjoying the peace of the moment, that doesn't happen very often. I still have to ask him what he was thinking about, if you notice he has a bit of a smile . . . . :)

HBS 1/2 Marathon and Closing Social

We had the HBS 1/2 Marathon a few weeks ago. This is one of my favorite events that the LDSSA does. I love the feel of the pavment under my feet and the rythum that my body gets into when I run. It feels so good the feel all of the stress just melt away. I was bummbed this year because I wasn't able to run on account of my shinsplints, I have never had shinspints before, but one of my girlfriends that is finishing up her Ph.D. in sports medicine said that because I have had two babies my body has shifted and my muscles need to become realigned. So insdead of running this year, I helped out with the goodies at the finish line and cheered everyone on. I plan on being there next year. I am actually running a 10K in a couple of weeks, so I will blog about that later.

We also had the LDSSA Closing Social. We had good food and great company. It was fun to see all of the MBA's, we were the only Ph.D's that came. It will be sad to see all of the second year's leave, because we have made some good friends. I guess that is the nature of education, though. The positive is that we will have friends all over the country so when we travel we will be able to see them.

11 Years Baby!

Time flies when you are having fun! It seems like yesterday that we were walking out of the Salt Lake Temple greeting all of our family and friends for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan R. Clark, but the fact that Jonathan has been in school for 10 years and has a few more grey hairs and I have given birth to Isaac and Owen and have gained a few pounds keeps my mind from playing tricks on me.

Our wedding day was so perfect it was a beautiful April morning; the sky was Utah blue and the sun kept us nice and warm. I was with the man I loved and we finally belonged to one another. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

The best part is the fact that I love Jonathan more now than I did then. Oh, sure he has fallen off his trusty stead and his knightly armor has been tarnished a bit and I am not the perfect princess that he thought I was. But I prefer the rugged tarnished knight as appose to the shiny one, there is more wisdom and depth and love with the tarnish. Besides the real test is looking past our faults and failings and just loving ALL of the good that each of us posses. And Jonathan truly posses all that is good. He is my comfort, my strength, my lover and friend. He will always be my everything!