Things I’ve noticed.

1. I’m actually starting to like avocados. I’ve been eating a lot more salads lately (trying to shed some poundage) and I look forward to adding some avocados to them. I still remember meeting Steve’s cousin Jared and his fiance (or were they already married, I don’t remember) Mychael-Ann for the first time. They came over to my apartment to have dinner and they brought a truly BEAUTIFUL salad of avocados and tomatoes. I wouldn’t eat it. Lame huh? Mychael-Ann must have thought I was a snob. I would have thought I was a snob. But that is how much I didn’t like avocados at the time. I was strictly a guacamole girl. But now all that has changed. I would not be afraid to eat Mychael-Ann’s salad anymore. I would probably really love it now. So there’s still hope for my kids to over come their hate of potatoes right? One day…

2. Boot addiction is in full swing. My Valentine’s gift from my hubs. I finally got them and I don’t want to take them off.

3. Drawing during sacrament meeting. Ok, don’t judge me for taking pictures during sacrament meeting. I just HAD to capture how intent he was. And then he saw my camera/phone out and needed me to take a picture of his masterpiece and wanted me to text it to his dad! It was too funny. I promise I didn’t do anything else non-church related on my phone the rest of the time I was at church!

4. When I was training for the Carlsbad Half Marathon Steve and the kids would follow me on my long runs. They were on their bikes, of course. When I got to the 9 and 10 mile runs they would stop at a park part way through and wait for me to get some more mileage done then we’d run home. It really was a great way to spend our Saturday mornings. And it helped me stay motivated. One of the biggest challenges, for me, when I train for half marathons is feeling bad about leaving my family behind.  I don’t think Sadie really is thrilled about being in the trailer but really, it’s the best seat in the house! She has her uncle Clay to thank for documenting this picture for her. Time for half marathon number 5!

5. "Perfectionism is not the same thing as striving to be your best ... Perfectionism is the belief that if we live perfect, look perfect and act perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment and shame.  It's a shield.  Perfectionism is a twenty-ton shield that we lug around thinking it will protect us when, in fact, it's the thing that's really preventing us from taking flight." ~ Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

I got this quote off a daily email chain I’ve been receiving. I really love this. I’ve never thought of myself as a perfectionist. Perfectionists have to have sparkling clean houses ALL the time, perfect food ALL the time, perfect bodies ALL the time, kids who behave perfectly ALL the time…etc. I’m not like that (although I wouldn’t mind the perfect body one…ha!) But I’m slowly realizing that some of my expectations in life have a “perfect” stigma to them and its bringing me down. So when I read this quote and it separated perfectionism from striving to be your best I had an aha moment. I can drop the perfectionism. I want to strive to be the best mom I can be but some days I’m not. I want to strive to be the best wife I can be but some days I’m not. I want to strive to be the best version of me I can be but some days I’m just not. Each day is a perfect opportunity to try again, even if I don’t succeed its still worth the try. And thank goodness for another day to strive.

My Four Loves

My four loves are glorious, beautiful, and captivating. They enjoy the sweet things in life with me (especially after a day at Disneyland).

We dance together (I gotta feeling and So What are the current favorites).

We pray together (I know I cheated and opened my eyes but I just had to capture this wonderous moment).

We teach each other (Luke’s turn teaching us about bullets, the Nerf variety. Ethan has taught us about guns. Luke taught once about swords. I’m up next) important lessons on life.

We eat together. Especially standing on a chair, at the counter, with our hands on our hips. It makes the cheerios taste so much better.

We sleep together. Ethan is just like me, it needs to be somewhat dark in the room in order to completely relax.

And then we go out and have more fun!

Someone once said, love is not love unless you give it away. I have given my heart away four times. Each of my loves carries a piece of me with them and I am not whole without them. Happy Valentine’s Day, my loves!

It’s a catch up, yo! Not catsup.

Ok, how did a month ALREADY go by since the last time I blogged? Seriously? Whuuuut. You may have noticed that I’m giving non-privacy a chance right now. Honestly, I’m kind of sick of logging into my own blog to see where I left off so I’m going to give it a try. But don’t be bugged if I go private again, the next time I get spooked by a show on child predators or something of the sort. On to better topics…

Sadie. My darling little girl. Sometimes she likes wearing her sunglasses. Its adorable.

And so are her feet. How could you NOT like little feet like this. It makes me want to bite those little toes.

I got this conditioner for Christmas from one of my fantastical seeeeesters. Its amazing. My chemically processed, over-heated hair loves it.

My other Christmas present from the Hubs came a few weeks ago and I was thrilled. I immediately put it around my neck and took this picture with my phone so I could text it to my Hubs.

The Hubs…he’s so nice to me. He got me these boots. My first pair of boots. I really LOVE them. I know its bad to LOVE things but I really do LOVE these. I plan my church outfits around them, most of the time. Its so fun.

Again, my Sadie. She’s silly. She’s been making these faces and it cracks me up. I can’t capture the true hilarity of them on my iphone but I had to put them up here.

Ethan wanted to take a picture with my phone the other day. We’ll work on his photog skills.

I truly think the transformation from non-reader to reader is kind of magical. Ethan was reading this book on the way to church this morning and it gave me warm fuzzies. I’m so glad to be a mom.

Last, but not least, the Carlsbad Half Marathon. It was January 23rd. Training for this bad boy was not easy. I decided I don’t like training in the winter much, especially over the holidays. But I must have done something right because I ran the fastest time yet! I finished in 2 hours and 14 minutes (not counting my potty break at mile 12.5). My official finish time was 2:16. Throughout the race I would check my pace on my watch and I was constantly thinking, “this is crazy. I’m flying! Any moment now I’ll settle into my usual pace.”

My sister in law, Anna, actually convinced some of her family members to run with us. They drove down from Vegas for the race. This is us, freezing, pre-race. I was really impressed by Anna’s parents, who both finished the race. Way to go Christensens!

I was under a bit of a time crunch the day of the race so I couldn’t stay very long. There were so many people in this race that I never did find any of my group afterwards but I heard they all did a great job! Anna even finished while nursing an injury!

So that’s my catch up. Hope you liked it. I really am going to try not to wait another month before I blog. Really.

Quick Trip for a Special Day and a See You Later

Just a couple days before Christmas we packed up the car and drove up to Mesquite, NV. Our Whitaker cousins were getting ready for a big move and Tyler was getting ready to turn 8 and be baptized! We knew we couldn’t miss this opportunity to support Tyler and spend some time with them all before they headed off to Tennessee. The Whitaker’s have a fun tradition of getting bb guns and pocket knives for their 8th birthday. My boys were THRILLED to try them out (thanks so much Jax and Ty for sharing!).

Luke got his shots in.

Ethan was surprisingly meticulous about his shots.

Tyler with our family

The youngest three Rasmussens.

Sadie and Alyssa got along really well. Alyssa had the perfect toys to play with and they just went to town!

We are going to miss having the Whitakers just a hop, skip and a jump away but we’re so excited to hear about what life in the East is like! We’re so glad we got to spend some time with you and we love all!

Christmas time is here!

I love December. I love the Christmas trees. The stockings. The hussle and bussle. The Christmas songs. The school programs. Its all so busy but so wonderful. It’s a great way to follow Thanksgiving (which I didn’t take ANY pictures of…Mae…hint. hint.)

Breakfast with Santa. This is about as close as Sadie would get, especially since he hadn’t given her her candy cane yet. She needs sugar to get over her inhibitions.

The ward’s Christmas program was so sweet. Luke and Ethan were excited to be shepherds. I cried. I’m emotional like that in December. Or maybe is all year round…hmmm.

Luke’s school Christmas program came first. Its kind of a bummer that he’s one of the tallest kids in his grade because he always gets put on the back row. Again, I cried. It was too cute.

He also lost his first tooth in December. He was pretty excited that the Tooth Fairy was going to come. But since he forgot his tooth at Vovo’s house the first night the Tooth Fairy couldn’t come back around for a couple nights. That’s her story and she’s sticking too it.

Ethan changed schools mid semester. He’s now attending Davis Magnet School. We’re hoping Luke will get in next year. So Ethan’s school program came the week after Luke’s. I had Sadie and she would not let me take a picture unless I was holding her. Hence the fuzzy picture. But I thought it was cute that Ethan was throwing me the I Love You sign. Or maybe it’s the Rock On sign…its too fuzzy to tell.

Last, but not least, we got to take some family pictures! Mae did a great job and we got some fantastic shots. Merry Christmas!

 

 

The bathroom remodel continues

Steve’s brother Brian stopped by for a weekend of fun work on our bathroom. This is usually exciting enough but this time he brought Porter along for the ride…bam! Excellence. Not that you aren’t excellent yourself, Brian. It was a whirlwind weekend but they accomplished some major work. Thank. You. I can’t say it enough. Especially to you, Denice and Anna. You were husbandless so that I could have some work done on my bathroom. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Now, lest you begin to question whether there was really “work” done…here’s the proof!

Lots of dry wall went up that weekend. Its amazing how dry wall makes it feel like it’s a room. It will be a room…eventually. And dry wall gets us closer.

Do you know how heavy dry wall is? I do. And I was glad this wasn’t me and Steve in this picture but Allen and Steve instead.

The last time Brian was here he left a big hole in my wall. What’s another hole right? Well, that hole looks much better now that its closed up with dry wall. One day it will be a fancy closet. Put on your imagination caps and envision it with me.

Brian is hard at work. He always keeps the pace steady, steady…does not waste a minute.

And this is what Porter did. Ethan and Luke loved having a cousin to visit them. I really didn’t want to send him home!

Y’all come back now, ya hear?

Penryn, CA. Oh the memories!

We made a quick trip to Sacramento the first weekend in October (I know I already did an October post but this one deserved a post all its own) for a wedding. Steve took the opportunity to revisit his old stomping grounds in Penryn, CA. Yes, we’re putting Penryn back on the map people! It’s a quaint little place. I’ll show you around.

Here’s the exit you take from the freeway. Quite exciting right?

Penryn is so cool, they have this restaurant that’s a club! Steve couldn’t tell me if the food was any good, he hadn’t ever eaten there but it must be because it was still around.

This is the old. It was kind of a let down seeing it. I’ve heard so many fond memories of this home. The lawn that needed to be mowed with a ride-on mower. The pond in the front. The spacious house. The projects that upgraded it.

This is what was left of the pond.

This is the garage Daddy Dan expanded.

We left the house and drove right on over to the elementary school Steve attended. This is the bench that Uncle Dave put in for his Eagle project. Go Dave!

The kids had fun on the play ground. I think Steve shed a tear…ok, not really. But it sounded good.

Penryn School, ladies and gentlemen.

Steve wanted to drive by the high school he remembers his brothers attending. Del Oro high left some impressions, I’m told.

While we were in Sacramento we got to hang out at our cousin’s grandparent’s house, affectionately called Bubba and ‘nuther Bubba. They are some of the best people. Thank you Ralph and LaVeta!

Sara’s wedding was beautiful! Mae did a great job on her first wedding as a pro photog. I loved the backyard setting. Congrats to Sara!

Unfortunately, we had to come home RIGHT away because Sunday morning Steve was sustained and set apart as second counselor in our ward’s Bishopric. We were so glad to have Mom and Dad come for the special occasion. Our O-side family came up too and it was a party! Steve hasn’t worn a suit since we got married…aw, the irony.