I Can Die Happy Now

Disclaimer: This post (and title) was basically written by Nathaniel from my point of view.
He made it more entertaining, but also a little? more exaggerated.

On May 31st, at approximately 8:09pm, my life's dream was fullfilled when a little
(5' 4") Englishman stepped out onto the stage of the Scera Shell. Well, that may be
an exageration. But it was really, really great. The little Brit was
Davy Jones of The Monkees (pictured above).


Here we are waiting anxiously for him to appear. Anika, not able to fully appreciate
the import of the moment, slept through the whole show. Ben and Emily (below)
were more into the spirit of the occassion.


I think I was in middle school when my mom saw that The Monkees TV show
was going to be on as reruns one summer. She told me that she used to watch them,
and she recommended them to me. Well, I watched an episode, and I didn't like it.
I don't know how long it was until I gave it another try; then I thought they
weren't so bad. After a few more episodes I was really enjoying it. By the end
of that summer, I was recording episodes on VCR, splicing together tapes of
favorite sound clips, and generally turning into a Monkee Junkee.


I liked all the Monkees, but Davy was my favorite. Basically every episode involved Davy
falling in love with a girl and the rest of the Monkees helping him through some problem
that was in the way of his love. They had these great Sparkle-in-the-eyes effects to show
that Davy and the new girl had fallen in love. He was also the best dancer of the group.


Here is Davy playing the tambourine (above) and the maracas (above that). It was
just too funny when he started playing these at the concert. He can play other
instruments, but these are what he generally played (if anything) as a Monkee.
I think they tried to keep him front and center looking handsome.


After the concert, we didn't know if he would come out for autographs, but we waited
around and looked at the souvenirs. There were some other die-hards waiting
behind the stage, so we joined them. After half an hour, we were told that
he wouldn't be signing autographs. No one else left, so we stayed, too. Finally,
after more than an hour, Davy came out and said, "All right, I'll sign it." Most people
just took a picture of him, but he posed with me, asked how old Anika was, and patted me
on the shoulder. He also signed my program (I can't believe I forgot to bring any of my
cd's or dvd's! - I now own the entire show on dvd instead of my old vhs recordings.
It's a lot better than what you can find on TV now). All in all, a very fun night.


Anyone up for a Monkees Marathon? Yes, I'm serious.

Portland - Day 1

Anika's first airplane ride. She cried just a little and then fell asleep. Whew!

Our flight to Portland. (Nathaniel's paragraph) Sometimes on my mission people
would ask if I would come back to Chile to visit. I never promised anyone because
it is so expensive, but I did tell some people I would come back if they got sealed
in the temple. A few months ago, Victoria, whom I taught on my mission, invited us
to her sealing. She was getting married in the Portland, OR temple
(she was marrying a guy from Washington). Portland is a lot closer than Chile,
so we went ahead and made the trip. Lina was excited to go because she
had met Victoria when we did go back to Chile two years ago.

Portland Saturday Market

Rhododendrons

Victoria & Tyson

Victoria & Anika

Happy baby

Mad baby - She did this a number of times while on the trip (including while

we were in the Temple for the sealing, and she was being babysat by the groom's family)

Nathaniel & Victoria

Portland Temple

Portland - Day 2&3

We were so lucky to be able to stay with parents of a friend from Logan.

They were so wonderful, sweet and hospitable! There is a park right out their

backdoor. We went for a nice Sunday walk through it and the neighborhood.

Anika was fussy but fell asleep. The gray thing is called a "Bundle Me"

and it was soooo useful while we were in Portland (Thanks Melissa!)

A place called Papa Hyden's had been recommended to us by a couple

people for their desserts. We shared the St Mortiz German Chocolate Cake.

It is chocolate butterm ilk cake layered with coconut pecan praline,

and finished with milk chocolate ganache. It cost $8 + $2 tip = $10!

(We don't usually do things like that.)

The Rose Gardens

Our Little Family

The roses were mostly not in bloom, but it was still pretty.

"Betty Boop"

A Baobab tree in the zoo (from the "Little Prince")

An otter just taking it easy.

Portland and the Willamette River

Bumbo Chair

I've been wanting a bumbo chair for awhile because Anika is always acting like she
wants to sit up. She gets upset when she can't and topples over sometimes when
we prop her up. I checked for prices, bid on some chairs on e-bay, looked at KSL...
I gave up for a few days, and then I randomly decided to look at KSL again.
A chair had barely been posted for $20 with a tray! I called Than real quick
and then called to say I wanted it. I arranged for my mom to go pick it up
since they lived near her, and by the time she got there they had
had dozens of calls. I felt so blessed!


We think she looks so cute in it!

4-ish Months

Last week was Anika's 4-month appointment.
She weighs 13lbs 4 oz and is 23 1/2 inches long.


The doctor thinks that maybe she isn't colicky, but that the reason for her
fussiness is her temperament, and that it should get better around 6 months.


Soon after I got home, I picked up the book I've been reading
(Happiest Baby on the Block) and the very next thing I read was about
temperament. I think she is some combination of sensitive and intense.
Dr. Karp says babies don't necessarily outgrow their temperament,
but that they develop other skills to even things out.


He says that passionate infants become big laughers and very talkative.
Sensitive infants often become compassionate and perceptive children.
"So if you have a challenging baby, don't lose heart. These kids often
become the sweetest and most enthusiastic children on the block!"
I wouldn't have a problem with that :)


She loves her bath.
She has rolled over several times.
She tries to put everything in her mouth.
She loves to face outward and see everything.
She is smiling even more and has a sort of almost laugh.
She grabs at lots of things and brings her hands to midline.
She makes really funny faces when I burp her on my shoulder (see below).
When I lay her down she often tries to lift her head up so she can see better.
She gets upset sometimes because she wants to be sitting, so we prop her up a lot.


We are having so much fun with our little stinker!

Back to School

Nathaniel is officially back in school. He still works during the day
and is taking classes at night. He got his first degree from our beloved USU
in statistics. He is currently taking some prerequisites before starting an MBA program.
He was actually accepted into the U of U's Professional (night) MBA program, but we
decided against it because it costs A LOT more. The BYU programs don't work for him.
He is taking classes at UVU, and then we'll decide whether he should apply to the
USU extension program or to UVU's program. However, he has been sort of
distracted by all the recruiting letters he's getting from around the country. He let his
GMAT score be public (or something... I'm not sure how it works) and had it sent to a
few prestigious schools just for fun. But since his work is helping support him
through this, we can't just pick up and go somewhere crazy. :)

Tulip Festival

Warning: Lots of pictures

Last week we went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point.

My mom, grandma and sister came along.

A cute little stream.

Emily

Me & Than

So beautiful!


Probably my favorite

Poor girl just woke up. Doesn't look quite herself.

Our little family.

Anika wanted some ice cream too.

All that walking made me thirsty.

Grandma