June 2009

"I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June."
- L. M. Montgomery

June 1, 2009: Austin's birthday was today. He is a whopping 25 years old. He's getting to be soooo old (but I guess that would make me three years older :)) I wanted to do something nice for him today because I was feeling bad for him. He's been going through some things with his girlfriend and with the padres and I just wanted to make sure this day was special for him. So I rounded up the family members and we surprised him at his work with a small cake, balloons and a gift card. We actually lucked out because he was just getting ready to leave when we pulled up. Any later and we would have missed him. I think he was surprised and happy that we had made an effort to celebrate his birthday. We tried to make plans to take him to dinner that night but he already had plans with his girlfriend. So instead my family came to my softball game, watched us lose miserably and then we all went to The Porcupine, up Little Cottonwood Canyon, and had great chicken and black bean nachos.

Austin blowing out a fake cake.


Austin and Erica on his birthday.

June 2, 2009: I thought I would add that little Jaderbug can officially use a fork by herself. She especially likes to use the fork with macaroni and cheese. That seems to be her favorite food right now. She also seems to eat better if she can navigate the fork by herself. It makes for a messy experience but in the end she always eats more. So as long as she has a bib, I'm okay with her using the fork by herself.

June 4, 2009: We met with our financial advisor Garen Winn and made some changes in our live insurance policy. We also made up a will in case anything happens to Aaron or I. We have down three seperate families to take Jade and any future children should something happen to us. We asked Jen and Jeremy if they would be the primary guardians and then added my parents and Aaron's parents to the list. It was kind of strange having to write out a will. I just feel too young to be doing something so responsible. But I guess when you have dependents, you have to make sure they are taken care of. If something were to happen though, Jade would be living the high life at a whopping 3 million dollars. Lucky kid! :)

June 5, 2009:

Aaron and Austin spooning while at the drive-in. We triple dated with Austin and Erica and Jamison and Auburn.

Auburn and Jade at the drive-in.

Jade really liked the drive-in. She watched the movie until about 10pm and then fell asleep in between Aaron and I.

June 6, 2009: Jade has learned to make a surprised face whenever something new, exciting or startling happens. She makes this long jawed face with her lips pursed together and then takes a deep breathe in, almost like a gasp. It is super funny. And now because we have all laughed when she does it, she thinks it's funny and so she does it all the time.

June 7, 2009: So because I am writing this way months ahead I can look back and make this entry. But it started raining around the 7th of June and continued to rain (almost non stop) for the entire month. There was so much rain this month that records were set, flooding happened down the hill from us as well as all over the state and the temperature only got to the 70's once the entire month.


The flooding down the hill from us.



June 8, 2009: Aaron left for Thailand today for work. He went with Nate Brown, his boss, and Brad from supplies. They are gone for two weeks on a "sourcing" trip but they sure have a lot of other touristy things planned. I must admit that I am super jealous. I can't appear that way on the outside because I know it would make Aaron feel guilty, especially because he will be gone during my birthday. But I can't help but feel a little bit of jealousy that he will be gone for two whole weeks to an exotic location without me. I wouldn't have a single problem with him going if he was taking me along, but alas I'm not invited. I kept hoping that somehow he would surprise me and say that he had a ticket for me and to meet him in a week after he was done with all his work. But he has assured me that that is not happening. Rats!!!! It will be hard to have him gone for two straight weeks. I guess I will be doing lots of hanging out with my family. Yeah!!!

Aaron with his boss Nate Brown and coworker Brad Bilnap in Thailand.

June 9, 2009: Austin came up to my house and babysat Jade for me overnight while I worked. It's funny that both Jade and Austin really enjoy each others company. Austin actually gets pretty offended if I ask anyone else to babysit over night because he just thinks its great.
He told me that while he was babysitting her that it got to be around bedtime and that she grabbed Beary Bear off the floor and walked to the foot of the stairs. He said she made some kind of sound to get his attention and then waved for him to come upstairs with her. So he walked her up the stairs and she went right over to her bed and wanted "up." He put her in bed and she waved bye. He turned around, turned off the light, shut the door and he said she didn't make a peep for the rest of the night. He was completely amazed that she went to bed all on her own. What a great kid.
We had our fist diagnosed case of the Swine Flu at JVH today. The swine flu, or H1N1, started in Mexico and has supposedly killed millions. They are predicting that this flu could become pandemic and spread throughout the entire world. They are comparing it to the Spanish Flu pandemic that occured in the early 1900's. Supposedly this strain of flu hits a different demographic such as little kids, women in their third trimester and healthy adults in their early 20's. Not to mention the regular flu demographics of old, super young people and immunocompromised people. So far Utah has only seen 6 cases and most of them have been in Park City. But it has people really nervous, so much so that they have closed schools and public areas in Park City. So for us to see our first case of H1N1 at JVH makes everyone nervous. We'll see how it pans out.

June 11, 2009: I don't want to alarm anyone but my period is due today and I still haven't had it yet. Should I be nervous?

June 12, 2009: We have been teaching Jade to make animal sounds when we say a particular animals name. For instance, if I say horse she will blow a raspberry and shake her head back and forth mimicking a horse. It all started because we would read her a book, point out the animal and then make the sound. Well instead of saying the name of the animal, she mimicks the sound. She really has gotten good at it. Right now she can mimick the sound of a dog, cat, cow, and horse. Cierra has also recently taught her how to make the sound of an indian by patting her open mouth with her hand while making an Ah sound. Today she learned a new one, a bird. She says "cheap, cheap." It's adorable.

June 13, 2009: Today Jade and I went down to my parent's house for Summerfest. It is an annual event every June that Orem City puts on. They have a huge carnival, concerts, a parade and fireworks. Its really fun and we enjoy going every year. I think all of us kids have participated in Summerfest one way or the other while growing up. I know I was in the parade several years in a row during high school and so has Hudson, Auburn and the girls. Cierra and Paige were actually Junior Marshalls one year and got royal treatment.
Anyways, we always look forward to Summerfest. It's just one of those traditions that we do every year no matter what. This year, unfortunately, it rained the entire time. We got through most of the parade before it started to rain but it rained all the way until the fireworks. Then the heavens parted for a split second and they were able to launch the fireworks. Right after however, the rain started right back up again. Jade really seemed to enjoy the parade and fireworks. It was just too bad that she had to watch them through the car window. Maybe that's why she liked them so much, they weren't as loud and scary. :)

June 14, 2009: Today we celebrated my birthday at my mom's house with the grandparents. We had my birthday dinner that consisted of the usual; funeral potatoes, BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, canteloupe, spice cake and my ultimate favorite...homemade ice cream! I think I pick that every year. Why change a good thing, right?

Jade in the morning.

We were going to spend the night because my birthday is in the morning but Jade was really fussy. I think she might have a tummy ache, at least she acted like it. So I took her home. Good thing I did because as I was pulling into the drive way she just suddenly threw up. Poor thing. However, once she threw up she fell right back asleep and slept really well all night. Maybe she just had too much ice cream.

June 15, 2009: Happy Birthday to ME!!! I am officially 28 years young today! (groan) I don't feel as old as that sounds. It actually startles me to say that I am 28yo. I still feel 21. I wish I still looked 21. :)
Aaron is still in Thailand. It's only been a week but it seems like he has been gone forever. We are able to email each other though. It sounds like he is having a great time and doing as much site seeing as "working." He's sent me some pictures and they are just amazing. The area is so green and beautiful and the cities are much more urbanized then I thought they would be. He still says there's tons of poverty and filth but that in the major cities they do a good job of hiding that.
Jade and I woke up late this morning, which was a nice gift being able to sleep in later than 8am. I was going to get in and out of the shower quick because we were running behind but Jade decided she wanted to take a shower too. She loves taking a shower with because because we have two shower heads, one that comes off and she holds onto that and plays while I actually shower. It really works out well. So, I got her naked and was getting myself ready for the shower when I looked over and Jade was taking a poo on the carpet in my closet. She stood there for a second, squatted down and then out came a piece of poo. I quickly grabbed her and was carrying her onto the tile when she decided to go again. What a mess. However, she was quite fascinated with the whole thing and walked over to the first turd and stared at it. I actually have a picture on my phone that I sent to Aaron of her squatting in front of it pointing at it. She thought it was so amazing. Needless to say, that wasn't a very fun birthday gift.

The poo.


Jade very proud of her poo!


Jade in the shower washing off the poo!

After we got ready we headed down to my parent's house and they took me to go get a refill for my Lovesac. They originally bought us a large love sac for our living room two Christmases ago but Addy (our old white cat) loved to pee on it while we were on vacation. So we had to get rid of all the stuffing but kept the outside shell. That was washable. I've just never replaced the insides because it cost so much money. So for my birthday present my parents went in on the stuffing with me so that I could have the love sac back.

Jade relaxing on a love sac her size.

Aaron left my present wrapped on the counter and told me I couldn't open it until my birthday and I must admit it was a real temptation but I held out until today. It ended up being a 15 inch digital picture frame. It is beautiful and I absolutely love it. It's exactly what I wanted. Funny how he picked up on all the hints I gave him. :)
For my birthday my family took me to Italian Village and we ate salads and pizza benders. Afterwards we went to Leatherby's and split a Granny split (9 scoops of ice cream with hot fudge and nuts. It's amazing!) After ice cream we all went over to my house and watched a movie and hung out until late and then they all went home.

Paige and I waiting for ice cream at Leatherby's.


Grandpa and Jade walking up and down the steps while waiting for our ice cream.

After everyone left, I decided that I was going to take a pregnancy test. I still hadn't had my period yet and I just had this feeling that it might be positive. So I had a few tests that I had stashed away for such situations and I took one. To my amazement it came back positive. So I sent a picture text to Aaron telling him thank you for the gift but that I had one for him that would completely one up that. He immediatley sent me one back saying that it did.

The positive test.

Crazy huh? I can't believe I got pregant so soon after having a miscarriage in January. I mean, we have been trying because we would like Jade and the new sibling to be about two years apart, ideally, but it just seemed so fast. I really believe that Aaron and I must be the most fertile people on the planet because we say we are going to start trying for another kid and bam! I'm pregnant.
I'm happy though. This little one and Jade will be about 22 months apart. That seems perfect. Hopefully I don't regret that decision. But it's obviously supposed to happen for a reason. Yeah! Happy birthday to me!

June 17, 2009: I just found out that Roanne and Kylee have been diagnosed with the Swine Flu. They haven't been feeling well for several days, hence the reason I really haven't been over to visit them lately because I didn't want Jade or I to get sick. But I guess they kept getting worse, to the point that Roanne was having a hard time breathing, so Clair took them to their PMD and he diagnosed them with the Swine Flu. He gave them Tamiflu and sent them home. Told them to stay inside and not come in contact with anyone. Poor things.
When Clair called me to wish me a happy birthday, he told me the news and then said they would have to post pone my birthday dinner until later when they felt better. I totally agreed and offered to take them dinner. Of course he refused but I insisted. So I took them over dinner and just left it on the porch, rang the doorbell and waved to them through their storm glass door. There's no way I was going to get even close to them and put myself and Jade in jeopardy of getting sick. Poor things. I hope they recover quickly. I hear you can be sick in bed up to 14 days and that they entire time you are completely miserable. It can be pretty awful. Hopefully the Tamiflu will help with that.

June 18, 2009:

Grandpa feeding Jade at Cierra and Paige's softball game.


Jade loves balloons. She calls them "boons".

June 20, 2009: Today we celebrated Father's Day with the whole Gunn Clan over at my parent's church. My parents were in charge of hosting the party but because of the rain (and it rained all day long) we couldn't house 50 people in my parent's house for the evening. It would have been okay if people were outside in the pool or playing in the backyard but with everyone home bound due to the rain, there just wasn't enough room. So my parents changed the location to their church, It actually worked out well because there was plenty of space for everyone to move around, eat and play games.
Jade loved playing with all of her cousins. It's been a while since we've been able to get together with the whole Gunn clan so at first she was a little intimidated by all the chaos but after about 10 minutes she was right in the middle of all the commotion and she loved every minute of it.

June 21, 2009:

I took this picture on our way down to my parent's house. A truck was completely engulfed in flames on Bangeter Highway. It was so hot that I could feel the heat while driving by. Come to find out, this truck belonged to Shad McCurdy's dad, a friend from highschool. His dad, mom and sister were in the truck on the way back from a camping trip when the gas cans from their 4-wheelers caught on fire. They were lucky to make it out alive.

Today we only celebrated Father's Day at my parent's house due to Roanne and Kylee still being sick. We will do Father's Day next week. I actually called Clair and asked if I could bring over dinner before I went down to my parents and he said yes. So I went Saturday night and got all the food and prepared it and then Sunday morning he called to tell me that they really didn't need dinner. That so many people from their ward had brought over things that they were fine for dinner. I was a little miffed only because I had taken the time to make the food and they really didn't need it. Oh well. It's the idea that counts I guess.
We had a really good time giving my dad his present for Father's Day. He has been hinting that he wants a GPS unit for either Father's Day or his birthday but he wants to be able to pick one out because he can get the one he really wants and get it refurbished off the internet so that it doesn't cost as much. So us kids decided to give him money as his present and we played Deal or No Deal for him to win his present. He actually picked the suitcase that had the money in it. He couldn't have played it any better had he have cheated. It really was a fun way to give him his gift and he got to buy something that he really wanted.

We went for a walk to Bridal Veil Falls after dinner.

I felt bad that Aaron wasn't here to celebrate Father's Day. Jade and I sent him a text message telling him that we loved him and then we wrapped his present of white shirts and ties and Jade even made him one of her famous cards. He can open it when he gets home.

June 22, 2009: Aaron came home from Thailand today. He got home in the morning so we were able to spend the whole day together before he went to work the next day. He had lots of souvenirs to give us, one being a beautiful hand-painted oil painting of a famous temple. We spent the day doing laundry, looking at his pictures and letting him take a nap because he was so jet lagged. Jade and I gave him his Father's Day present and he loved her card. All in all it was a pleasant day and it was nice to have him home. I sure did miss him while he was gone.

June 23, 2009: Jade said DaDa for the first time so that it was very pronounced what she was saying. He came home from work today and she ran right up to him and said Dada. Boy, did he have the biggest chester cat grin on his face. You would have thought he won a million dollars. It was really cute.

June 24, 2009: Aaron is having a hard time adjusting after Thailand. He is still super jet lagged. He is tired during the day, almost to the point of exhaustion and then is wide awake in the middle of the night and can't sleep. So he came home early from work today so he could take a nap. It actually worked out well because I needed a babysitter so that I could go do a medical session at the Oquirrh Mtn temple open house. So he stayed home and watched Jade while I did a four hour shift. Afterwards we meet at the man made lake at Day Break and had Subway sandwiches and walked around the lake watching the sunset. It was a beautiful evening and Jade had a blast walking around by herself vs sitting in the stroller. We had a tennis ball and Jade would run ahead of us, turn around, and then throw the ball back to us. She has become a great little thrower. Cierra showed her how to do it. She holds it up to her ear and then releases. It works great and she has quite the arm for a 13 month old.

June 27, 2009: The cousins Boston and Ethan came over to check out Aaron's new pheasants. Aaron came home from work and decided to pick up some pheasants that a guy was selling on ksl.com. We have three baby pheasants that wonder around our backyard. They love all the bugs and spiders that hang out around our rock wall. Jade loves chasing them around.

Jade, Boston and Ethan eating popsicles out on the back patio.



One of Aaron's Yellow Golden pheasants.


West Jordan's Demolition Derby. Jade loved watching the cars crash and the people cheer around her. She also loved the cotton candy!


Ethan, Jade and I standing in front of a helicopter there at the Demolition Derby.


Jade and I enjoying the cotton candy.

June 28, 2009:

Jade playing in Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen's backyard.


Enjoying the nice Sunday weather out on the Sorensen's back porch.

June 30, 2009: Just a little side note on Jade's character. She loves to push her stroller when she's not sitting in it. Actually she loves to push anything with wheels, but especially her stroller. Funny kid.