Happy Birthday to Jack . . .

So, we're a little late posting Jack's birthday photos. We actually celebrated a bit late. His birthday was Saturday, but we didn't really celebrate until Monday because we had friends in town and were busy doing things with them. But, Jack didn't mind and really partied it up . . .

The traditional cake photo . . .

Jack's new push-toy. We thought it might help him to be motivated to walk more. He can walk, but just chooses not to most of the time! He actually really loves the toy, but it kept getting away from him! Luckily he's small (25%ile) and it isn't far to the ground . . .

Aunt Jenny and Uncle Dave sent this car. Jack loves it now, but initially it scared him to death. You put the little man inside and the car drives on its own. The first time it took off on its own Jack totally freaked out. I know my child was in distress, but it was hilarious.

Hard to believe how fast he's grown up already . . .

Blessing Day

First Smiles

Daddy calls me "Little Dude"

City boy pretending to be a cowboy . . . Yee Haw!

Oh how he loves to stand . . .

A Visit From The Armstrong's

The Armstrongs visited us and we went to Fenway and Crane Beach on the North Shore. We had a great time and here are some pics.

Dustin Admiring the Deep Blue
James Modern Sand Art I
James Modern Sand Art II
Cute Jack
The Monster and the Green Monster



Jackson Hole

A Visit from Sue

We went into Boston last night to have dinner with Sue. It was fun to see Sue and meet her friend Lynn. We ate at a nice place and met Benjamin Franklin. On our way home at the "T" stop James said, "Look, there's a mouse." There was a rat the size of a possum on the tracks. It was nasty.

The Fam with Sue and Ben

(That's Ben on the right)

Johhny Appleseed

We are all proud of our $3 festival shirts.

(testing the timer on our camera)

So on Saturday we went to the Johnny Appleseed Festival in Leominster. We had fair food including a brazilian BBQ with marinated steak and chicken on skewers, hot dogs, apples, cotton candy, caramel apples, and fresh apple cider. James participated in games and won a football, a kite, some candy, a clapping hand, and a key ring.

Yummy lunch
Is he awake or asleep?
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!~
James' spinning paintwork
"Excuse me, I think I ordered the large cotton candy"

Futureman's Drumitar

Nuff Said #60 on my 101

Also Check out Blue Moon Revisited ( #45 on Becky's 101)on our playlist. You have to hear the blue moon part, it starts at about two minutes.

Becky's 101 (Jake talked me into it!)

1. I like being a stay-home mom (most of the time!)
2. I love to read so much that I usually am reading several books at the same time.
3. Running provides sanity . . . sometimes the only time of the day I am sane . . .
4. My favorite flowers are roses and gerber daisies
5. I love the color red
6. I like having a clean house but don’t always like to clean it
7. I’m addicted to the Gilmore Girls
8. I hate crude jokes
9. I hate rude people
10. I like seeing new places
11. I don’t like driving in new places
12. I love my new GPS (see #11!)
13. I like to entertain but it usually stresses me out!
14. I have the best family in the whole world
15. The Veigels are a close second!
16. I want a Viking stove
17. I’m tired of moving
18. I tend to overreact
19. I love that my husband is so smart
20. I love that my husband makes me feel good about myself
21. One of my favorite places is the Jerusalem Center in Israel
22. I like to have pictures, but I usually don’t take enough because I don’t want to miss out on what’s going on at the time!
23. I could eat fresh raspberries every day
24. I love to watch my husband be a dad
25. I really love to cook
26. It makes me happy to see people enjoy my cooking
27. Few things are better than Jake’s grilled burgers or ribs
28. You can’t buy cinnamon bears in Massachusetts (not that I’ve found yet!)
29. James is the greatest 6-year-old
30. Jack is the cutest little toddler
31. One of my most gratifying “mom” moments was when James picked up a book all on his own and started reading to himself.
32. I wish I had curly hair (I’d even take a little wave!)
33. I’m a terrible insomniac
34. Jake really knows how to find the greatest new music! If you ever need tips on a new band, he’s the one to ask!
35. Being a mom is the hardest thing I’ve ever done
36. I really want to run another marathon
37. I have a sweet tooth
38. I am munching on candy corn right now.
39. I miss the mountains
40. I will miss all the green out here when we move back west
41. I like to eat out
42. I get annoyed when I pay to eat out and the food is not very good
43. I just tried cannoli for the first time and think it’s one of the best foods ever
44. I’d rather eat at a local restaurant than a chain
45. I’ve always wanted to wear a slinky black dress and sing “Blue Moon” at a blues café
46. I could also sing “Sweet Jane”
47. If you want to hear good versions of both these songs check out the Cowboy Junkies
48. One of my favorite bands is Jimmy Eat World
49. Russet potatoes are expensive in Massachusetts
50. I would love to get some good old Idaho potatoes
51. I want to go sailing
52. I love Lake Powell
53. I hate potty training
54. I love Cadbury’s chocolate
55. I love the Cheesecake Factory (the exception that proves the rule-see #44)
56. I love to watch college football
57. I can’t eat store-bought jam or jelly
58. Food magazines are my favorite
59. I’m always on the lookout for a good new recipe
60. My dream is to consistently get more than six hours of sleep at a time
61. I wish I made friends as easily as James
62. I love shoes. Especially expensive shoes.
63. A girl can never have enough shoes
64. We’ve only had 2 cars for 2 years of our 10 years married.
65. We just got a second car. HURRAY!
66. My favorite contemporary author is Alexander McCall Smith
67. My favorite classical author is Jane Austen
68. Dumbledore is not gay
69. I was a closet Jacob fan, but I like the way Breaking Dawn ended
70. I always think the book is better than the movie
71. My favorite movies: Chariots of Fire and The Lord of the Rings movies
72. I also love old movies
73. Singing in the Rain
74. Casablanca
75. Indiscreet
76. I love Grace Kelly
77. I wish I had more time to quilt
78. I love to look at fabric (try purlsoho.com)
79. I like just about anything vintage
80. I’ve only been to 3 concerts: Peter Cetera, Dave Matthews, and the Fray
81. I would love to see Coldplay in concert
82. Jake just reminded me of the 4th concert we went to last year—Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
83. The house of blues in New Orleans is a very cool venue (see #82)
84. My favorite TV chefs are Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, and Ina Garten
85. I collect cookbooks
86. Sometimes I talk too much
87. I like to fold laundry but I hate to put it away
88. I love sharp Cheddar cheese
89. I love yams
90. I love bread and milk
91. I wish I could change my sheets every day
92. I love limes—they go with everything
93. I especially like to make fancy desserts
94. I miss my brother Zach on his mission
95. I hate scrapbooking and I’m terrible at it
96. There’s nothing like fresh seafood on the grill
97. I don’t like it when my kids are sick but I like how snuggly they are
98. I love the smell of lavender
99. I also love the smell of lilacs
100. I wish I could be a fly on the wall and watch Jake be a doctor
101. I’ve always been goal oriented, but I’m trying to learn to enjoy the journey :)

My 101 continued

96. I usually finish what I start.
97. I forgot louisiana. I saw Bela Fleck and the tones there on my birthday.
98. My Birthday is June 1 the same as Brigham Young and Marilyn Monroe.
99. I like Itunes Gift Cards see #98
100. I have promised my wife a prfect kitchen one day.
101. I keep my promises.

My 101

1. I am 32.
2. I have the greatest wife. Who else would travel across the country on a whim. Besides Lehi's wife.
3. One day I am am going to have to settle down somewhere
4. I live in Leominster, Massachusetts... the birthplace of Johnny Appleseed.
5. I did not enjoy high school but loved college. The opposite of everyone else.
6. I have saved 3 lives, two of them in one night.
7. I love being a doctor.
8. I love adventures.
9. I love the sound a dishwasher makes. It is like the work is done. But even the sound by itslef is relaxing.
10. There is no Ward like your Home Ward.
11. I like being called Gary by Cade and Luke. Everyone should try it.
12. Of all the places I lived Utah has the best weather.
13. States I have been in: utah, california, idaho, washington, arizona, colorado, alaska, wyoming, nevada, new mexico, montana, south dakota, kansas, missouri, north carolina, georgia, ohio, wisconsin, indiana, illinois, iowa, nebraska, michigan, pennsylvania, new york, rhode island, new hampshire, maine, and massachusetts.
14. When I was on my mission I thought I could never be happier, I was wrong.
15. I think my kids are great.
16. James is my carbon copy. Poor kid
17. I hate rude people.
18. I love music and boast that I know every artist, popular or obscure.
19. If I couldn't be a doctor my dream job would be to pick songs to go in movies.
20. I like obscure musicans.
21. I will own a restaurant/music venue one day.
22. My wife thinks I'm weird and loves me for it.
23. I am weird.
24. I am happy.
25. My family totally rocks.
26. I have the best mother-in-law.
27. I like clavicles on women.
28. I like to diagnose strangers as they walk by.
29. If/when I get sued for malpractice I'm not sure if I can handle that emotionally.
30. I am learning the guitar.
31. I am lousy at the guitar.
32. I am lousy at golf. I needs lessons for my cousin Aaron.
33. I think Star Valley is the perfect place, but I couldn't live there. I would ruin it with a restaurant/music venue.
34. I think this is harder than it looks.
35. I am proud of my parents.
36. I wish I was smarter.
37. I wish I was more like my dad.
38. I wish I was more righteous, but repenting is hard.
39. I hate hearing the F-word.
40. I hate when I yell at James and he then cries.
41. I would like to have a daughter but I know for a fact I could not parent a teenage girl.
42. I love food.
43. I like to try weird food.
44. My wife is a great cook.
45. I have eaten goat.
46. Nothing beats Robintinos in Bountiful.
47. I proposed to my wife in Grey's River, Wyoming.
48. I have been married for 10 years.
49. I like the trees in New England.
50. I think Becky is frickin' hot.
51. Great musicians you should try: Alexi Murdoch, Mike Doughty, Keller Williams.
52. I am obsessed with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.
53. I like the corn fields of the midwest.
54. I love the desert.
55. One of my fondest memories is going to Canada with Grandpa Doyle, Larry and Cade when we were young on a fishing trip.
56. My family could have a conversation entirely from movie lines. . . and it would make sense.
57. Moab is my favorite vacation spot.
58. I treasure my memories of married life before kids.
59. I am good at relaxing.
60. I want to play Futureman's Drumitar.
61. I am a slob.
62. I am organized when I want to be, who wants that.
63. I could talk about music for hours.
64. I could talk about food for hours.
65. I am running a blank.
66. I like mountain biking
67. I have never done a triathalon but would like to.
68. I can be arrogant.
69. I have been in school for a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.
70. blank.
71. I am going to go back to my mission in London in four years when the Olympics are there.
72. Soccer is my favorite.
73. My favorite areas of medicine are sports medicine (obviously), adolescent health, and primary care.
74. I am going to write a book, Infertility and the LDS couple. I am going to try to get a general authority to edit it or write a preface to it.
75. I have supported my wife through 4 of her 5 marathons.
76. Moving to Massachusetts was harder than expected.
77. I like politics.
78. I like to be a liberal in Utah and a conservative in Massachusetts.
79. I am not good at arguing.
80. I wish Jackson would sleep at least 8 hours once in his life.
81. I have cute children.
82. I have never broken a bone, gotten stitches, or been in the hospital overnight, except when working.
83. Delivering babies is not as fun as it sounds.
84. I have been awake for 40 hours. It gives you a headache.
85. I have been blessed with good health.
86. I have seen some pretty gross things.
87. I should stop this.
88. For five consecutive years the bread I ate was only homeade.
89. In med school we used cloth diapers for James. It was foul.
90. My wife amazes me every day.
91. My in-laws are good good people.
92. I think James has a better vocabulary than me.
93. I once drank two cans of nonalcoholic beer for 20 pounds.. yes I was on my mission.
94. I cannot do any more.
95. I give up too easily.