da da.

Chris gets home late on Thursdays.

Carly and I have really long days.

Fun days.

But long days.

~

Today around 7:00 (a bit after he usually gets home), Carly laid back on my stomach, distractedly looked up at the ceiling, and out of the blue said, "da da."

She was missing him.

I was missing him.

~

We sure love our man.

happy weekend.

We are certainly happy the weekend is here.

We are wiped out.

Chris sat on the couch today and said "Wow, first full week of PhD school wore me out."

Whats funny?

It wasn't even a full week.

And we'll leave you with another funny story, though it may be funny only to me. A while ago I read an interview by Sidney Crosby where he was asked his favorite hockey movie. His response was "Slap Shot", and I've seen several other hockey players agree. I had never heard of the movie, but the other day we saw it on the $5 rack at Target. We joked about getting it, but when I went back today and saw it had gone down to $4, I thought, what the heck, that's about how much it would cost to rent. So I buy it and bring it home. Chris starts reading the summary on the back and then says "Ummmm . . . this movie is rated R."

You see, I have never seen a rated R movie. The Prophets have always warned against unwholesome media, and they have specifically mentioned rated R movies, so I've made it a goal, no matter how good a movie is, to never see a rated R movie unedited. Personal opinion. I couldn't believe Slap Shot was rated R. Seriously, the cover makes it look like a hockey version of Rudy. I didn't even think to look. Rated R? For reals? Chris and I talked about how it probably has nothing in it, that its the 1975 version of rated R. But we don't do exceptions in the C house. So I dug the receipt out of the garbage, and I will be getting our $4 back. Will I look crazy returning a $4 movie? Probably. But Carly is in need of some new socks. I will use the $4 on that.

Happy Weekend.

the daddy monster.

Carly loves running from the daddy monster.

She gets so riled up, she can hardly stay standing.

And she really loves getting caught by the daddy monster.

Enjoy the part at the very end when she tries to run out the window and smacks her head on the glass. A lot of crying took place afterwards, but its hilarious.

{Oh, and enjoy our new kitchen floor, which used to be carpet and old white linoleum}

~

P.S.

Oooo . . . and a sneak peek at our bedroom.

Things are coming together.

It's starting to look like a home.

going green.

Since Chris had a break from his super-exciting orientation on Friday, Carly and I journeyed up to campus to check things out. MSU's campus is a lot bit beautiful, nestled in the middle of a forest with a river running through it. We walked the path along the river from Chris's building to the bookstore. It was a beautiful morning in a beautiful place.

I am loving Michigan. I can't really explain. Knoxville was a nice place. We made some wonderful lifelong friends there, and it was a great two years. But it always felt like a step along the way. Chris's Masters degree was a good one, but he probably could have gotten a similar degree at a few other locations. Why did the Lord take us to Tennessee? I think I know now. Chris's thesis advisor at UT was a MSU graduate. Shortly after our ultrasound with Carly, Chris felt strongly that he wanted to do research on the positive effects of exercise on pregnant women. He talked to his advisor about it, and the advisor's advisor at MSU (following me?) happened to be one of the leading researchers on exercise and pregnancy. And he happened to be coming to UT to give a guest lecture. Chris met him then, and then applied to MSU unsure whether or not he would get in to study with such a distinguished researcher. But he did. And we are here. Where I know we are supposed to be. In a place that I feel more at home in than I have in a long time. This is the place. Tennessee was our path to reach Michigan. We wouldn't have found it any other way.

I feel very blessed.

sideways stories.

We went to the nearby park the other day and, I kid you not, our Wild Thing climbed up the entire slide all on her own. She is wild. And strong. She didn't like going down, but she sure loved going up.

I just love this. Proof of the aforementioned old bib she likes to wear.

We call it her Superbib.

~

We went to a little get-together last night for Chris's program. We met a great deal of wonderful people, as well as some llamas, sheep, and bunnies. A nice thing about this program is it is a bit like an extended family. We are excited to be a part of it. And Carly was a huge hit. She always is. Even at Lowe's today the child walked up and down the isles knocking things off the shelves and smiling and waving at her adoring fans as they told her how pretty she was. Anyway, we're at this party last night and out of the blue this girl asks "So what ward are you guys in?". Ummmm, where am I again? At the Michigan State party, right? I'm a bit thrown off, but I awkwardly answer her question. Later the story comes together. She saw my CTR ring, had heard someone joking about Chris going to a bar, heard we went to BYU, I was from Idaho, and we are younger and married and have a kid. This girl is not dumb.

Anyway, turns out she is LDS as well, just returned from a mission, and is in two classes with Chris.

Its nice to have that connection, even if she is a Redwings fan.

~

Oh, and how about a girl from my graduating class is in our new Ward here?

I saw her in sacrament meeting and couldn't believe it.

Small world.

~

Our home is slowly but surely coming together.

There will be pictures when its all done in about a month.

~

Its 2 am.

What in the world.

~

Have I mentioned yet I'm pretty sure I'm a Minnesota Twins fan?

As an Idahoan I pretty much feel like I can pick any team I very well please to be a fan of, though I do avoid bandwagon teams at all cost (Yankees, Laker, you know.)

As for the Twins?

You see, we started getting to know each other a while before the All-Star break, and everything is going so well. Our relationship has been getting pretty serious and all the sudden I'm DVRing their games when on TV and watching the dots on ESPN.com when they're not. They are so fun. They have great stories. I like a team with great stories and nice boys. Thats how I fell for the Penguins.

A few final signs that showed our relationship was fate?

Their brand new field is Target Field, and Target happens to be my favorite store on earth.

Their All-Star catcher, Joe Mauer Power Hour, well I could write a whole blog on him, but most important, other than he only struck out once his entire high school career, is that his middle name is Patrick.

Joseph Patrick Mauer.

And my boy Sid?

Sidney Patrick Crosby.

And my eternal comp?

Christopher Patrick C.

Its fate, you see.

And it doesn't hurt that Mauer Power looks like this:

I'm just saying.

~

Did you know my husband is a super hero?

I always knew.

But he keeps reminding me.

Like how its now 2:15 am and I'm still blogging and he is doing the dishes.

I won quite the prize when I caught him in my snare.

I sure love him

~

I'm freezing.

It gets cold here in Michigan at night.

Quite the phenomenon.

~

Goodnight.

Or morning.

xoxox.