Vance-isms

I haven't done one of these posts in awhile so some of these stories are a little old, but definitely worth sharing.

The day after Vance's birthday I was getting ready while he was taking a bath. He had a boner in the bathtub (something I thought boys couldn't do until puberty until I had Vance). He got really excited and shouted "Mom! Mom! Did you just know when you turn 4 you get a bigger penis? Look!" Then he proceeded to do a little pelvic thrust action just in case I didn't notice what he was talking about. Oh how I wish for a daughter at times like this!

Vance is obsessed about everybody's age and getting older in general. He was talking to my dad about how he just turned 4 and how old is grandpa going to be. Grandpa said getting old isn't very fun. Vance then said, "You're already older. Too late."

We have recommitted to eating healthy at our house. It has sparked new conversations with Vance. We always tell him healthy food will help make you big and strong. Then he asked, "What does not healthy food do?" I told him it can give you a big belly. His follow up question was "Like your belly mom?" Yeah...that sucks.

Vance recently got a few immunizations. He was NOT a happy camper about it. He was definitely being overly dramatic about the whole ordeal. Two days after he gots his shots he asked, "If my arms are still all shotted and hurting at Christmas, will you just help me open my presents?" Yes Vance, if your arms (which probably don't even hurt now) still hurt in 9 months I will help open your presents.

These aren't really funny but I want to document.

Vance's most frequent response to what I tell him is "I know." He says it most frequently when I'm asking him to do something or reminding him how we are supposed to exact. It drives me nuts!

Vance, like most kids his age, loves to repeat himself and ask the same question over and over again. I normally give him a warning and say, "If you ask me that again, then ....(fill in with whatever logical consequence I can come up with)." He then replies with "I was just kidding" or "I was just telling myself that." Well tell yourself in your head then son!

Valentine's - Valenstein's

Stats

Vance:

40 inches tall = 25-50th percentile
37 pounds = 50-75th percentile

Keller:

27 inches tall = 25th percentile
15 lbs 10 oz = below 5th percentile
45 cm head circumference = 50th percentile

Tragedy

Tragedy struck my family March 17th, more specifically my cousin's family.

Before I get to the tragedy let me give you a little background on Julie and her little family. Julie and Sheldon have been marrried for 9 years. From the beginning they were anxious to start a family, but didn't have any luck. Julie graduated from college and started her career as a school teacher while Sheldon went earned a bachelor's degree and then continued on to optometry school. They always had one of those picture perfect marriages. They are one of those couples you would hope to be like. In 2009 their prayers were answered - a child came into their lives through adoption. Never have I known two people to love and adore their child more than them. Jace was the center of their universe. In 2011 Sheldon graduated optometry school and they moved to Shelton, WA where he began working as a doctor! Julie was a stay at home mom and seemed to thoroughly enjoy each day spent at home with Jace. They recently started the adoption process again and where hoping to make themselves a family of four.

I still can't wrap my head around the horrible details of March 17th so I decided it was best to include an early news report:

A 2 1/2 year old boy was found dead and his father is missing* after the two of them went out canoeing Saturday on Lake Limerick in Mason County and never returned. Mason County Coroner Wes Stockwell identified the dead boy Sunday as Jace S. Olsen and his father as Sheldon W. Olsen, 31. Officials were alerted to possible trouble at about 6:48 pm Saturday when they received a 911 call from the boy's mother, Julie Olsen, saying that her son and her husband were overdue from a canoe outing on the lake. The family lives in a home on the lake shore. Deputies and search teams responded to the scene, where witnesses told them that the two were seen in a canoe on the lake offshore from the clubhouse as late as 6:13 pm. The witnesses later saw the unoccupied canoe still on the lake, floating free, and the alarm was sounded. Mason County sheriff's deputies organized a search immediately using one of the department's three boats and divers, and Jace's body was found floating on the lake at about 9:20 pm Saturday. He was not wearing a life jacket. The search continued for the little boy's father until midnight, when it was called off. Searchers resumed their efforts at 9 am Sunday, this time using sonar gear in the murky lake, but still no sign of the father has been found. Deputies have not discovered any signs of foul play and characterized the incident as a father and son outing that turned tragic. Two life jackets were found in the empty canoe, leading investigators to conclude life jackets were not used by either victim. Byrd said Sheldon Olsen had recently finished optometry school, and his family had just moved to this area from Portland, Oregon after he found a job here. Saturday was Julie Olsen's birthday, and the father had taken his son out for a canoe ride on the lake because he wanted to give his wife a break and let her get some rest. But when they didn't return she realized something was wrong. Bishop Steve Taylor of the Church of Latter-day Saints said the family was active in the church and both often volunteered with youth at the church. Their son, Jace, was adopted.

*Sheldon's body was found at the bottom of the lake on Saturday, March 24th a few hours after the funeral services ended.

That's it.

In a moment Julie's whole world was turned upside down. I cannot even begin to understand the horror of her reality. Whenever I think about it (which is a lot) I get a huge pit in the bottom of my stomach and my heart literally aches.

I was able to travel to Seattle with my mom and two sisters to attend the funeral. It was a very, very sad yet beautiful funeral which will I do a separate post about soon. Everyone who took part did an amazing job. The spirit was so strong.

Julie, as always, was inspiring. Of course she is overwhelmed with grief, but she managed everything with grace. She spoke at the funeral and I will never forget her message. She is such a strong woman.

In times like this, I am so grateful for my faith. I am grateful for my unwavering testimony of the plan of salvation. I can't imagine how much harder the grieving process would be without this knowledge.

That being said, this tragedy still makes you ask why. Why? Why do such horrible things happen to such great people? Why couldn't they have found Sheldon's body in time for the funeral services? It also makes you ask what if. What if they had not gone on that canoe ride? What if the water had been warmer? What if they had been wearing life jackets? The only answers I have to the why questions are that it must be part of God's sometimes incomprehensible plan. As to the what-if questions - it doesn't matter anymore. What's done is done and those questions don't do anything but cause more pain to an already painful situation.

I am grateful for the many prayers that have been offered this last week and for the prayers I hope will continue to be said on Julie's behalf. She needs them.

A blog has been set up to honor Jace and Sheldon at jaceandsheldon.blogspot.com. On that website there is also a place to give donations. They did not have life insurance and as you know the cost of one, let alone two, funerals is a heavy financial burden. If you feel like you have anything to give, I would be forever grateful for your generosity.

Grown Boy

Amy was showing us their new pool when Chad got really excited. I wasn't sure why he was so excited. This is all I saw -
It seems pretty ordinary right? Nothing too exciting? Well what I see as a tetherball pole next to the pool, Chad sees as a pole vault into the pool.

Yes in the middle of March when it was 50 degrees outside (it was one of the colder days that month) Chad decided to pole vault into the pool filled with coooooooold water. What a moron!

Much to his delight, his idea worked with a little assistance from Joe. Seconds after I snapped this picture Chad dropped into the water in perfect form. All of the kids were so excited to try this trick...nice going Uncle Chad.

Growing up without brothers has definitely sheltered me a little. I used to falsely believe that boys grew up to be men. Being married to Chad has taught me that boys grow up to be grown boys!

Chad's Weekend

Chad had a fun-filled weekend while I was in Texas. He acted like he was miserable without me, but I know better than that. :)

His sister was in town so some of his siblings went to breakfast at IHOP. Vance always loves hanging out with the Waldrons, especially Uncle Zach. Zach leaves for bootcamp with the Marines in about a week and Vance is going to be so sad when he realizes he is leaving.

After breakfast he headed out to Redrock. We've been trying to coordinate rapelling with my Aunt Laurie and Laurie for awhile now. He finally found a date that worked (I was sad I couldn't be there though). A lot of my family decided to go and enjoy the nice weather.

Chad said Laurie S. wasn't looking for quite as much of a thrill as Laurie P. It looks like Vance took advantage of that and found a little company on the rocks.

Chad showing Laurie P. how it's done. When Chad is really climbing or rapelling he makes me a little nervous. He is actually pretty good at it, but that just means he has more skills and can really push the envelope. He isn't happy until I am almost having a heart attack.

Chad tried out his GPS that I got him for Christmas and did a little geocaching. Vance always loves this!

They found the treasure - woohoo!

Chad got 4 free tickets to Nascar from work. He took Vance, Colton, and my dad. They didn't stay the whole time (how long can you sit and watch cars drive in a school?) but Vance was very excited to tell me all about it that night.

Sunday was FHE and the birthday celebration. We got my dad some new slacks and a tie. I really like it and almost bought another set for Chad.

They celebrated Chad's birthday too. He got a Big 5 gift card, some money, a game, and a cup he has been wanting.

I was feeling guilty about being gone over Chad's birthday so I had a little surprise celebration before I left. I decorated the door and living room, gave him his gifts, and made his favorite dinner and dessert.

I missed Chad and Vance so much while I was away, but I was glad they were able to do so many fun things. Chad is seriously such an awesome dad!

Trip to Texas

Keller and I went to Texas to visit the Ogden's. I have seen my sister once a month, but I haven't seen her husband or kids since they left in August. It was so nice to see them!!! I got in really late Thursday night, but the kids had school the next day so they were already asleep. They quietly crept in and gave me a kiss before they left for school on Friday. It was really cute!

I decided it would be fun to take them their favorite lunch to school. Jennie and I spent all Friday buying food and dropping it off to the kids. Apparently this isn't uncommon in Texas because each school had a reserved section for visitors to eat with the students.

It was nice to meet some of their friends and to see their new schools. It seems Texas has been a great move for the kiddos!

Once we finished delivering lunch to all the kids Jennie and I met up with one of her friends for lunch at a delicious cafe.

That night we went to Babe's Chicken Dinner House. I didn't take my camera so the picture below is from Jennie's phone and you don't quite the feel of the restaurant. It was basically a barn. The sides were all served family style and their were 5 options for meat: fried chicken, smoked chicken, chicken fried steak, chicken fingers, and fried catfish. It felt SOOO Texan. It was kinda funny.The next day the weather was bad but we didn't let that stop us. We laid Keller down for a nap while the boys were at home hanging out and gave them strict instructions to call us as soon as he woke up. Then Jennie and I headed to the mall - oh how I love shopping with no kids!

After doing a little shopping we went back to the house to get the kids and eat lunch. Next up was round 2 of shopping. It was pouring rain, but once again that didn't keep us home. I got some new clothes that I can't wait to wear. Nothing beats shopping with your mom and/or sisters!

The rest of the day we just chilled at home. We visited and played games. It was simple but perfect!

Sunday we went to church where I watched Jennie do junior primary sharing time. It was awesome! After church we tried a few Pinterest recipes. We made bacon guacamole grilled cheese for lunch and it was phenomenal. So yummy! The night before I had started making Red Velvet Cheesecake. One of the hardest parts of this cake was assembling it, but with Jennie, Rob, me and 3 spatulas we were able to do it.

The final result was AMAZING! It tastes exactly like the cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. It was a labor of love most definitely, but worth making it again.

We took dessert over to my cousin's house to visit with them for awhile. It was great to see them again!

Monday we went to the 6th Floor Museum and the Grassy Knoll which is all about JFK and his assassination. It was actually more interesting than I thought it was going to be.

Visiting this museum was the last thing Mason needed to do to earn his Wolf for scouts. Here he is pointing to the "X" on the road that marks the spot were the fatal shot occurred.

Keller was pretty good most the trip. I forgot how hard it is to be away from home when you have a baby, but it went better than I expected (largely thanks to all the help from Jennie and Rob).

The only bad part of the trip was the trip home. I had a layover in San Francisco. Unfortunately the weather was foggy in San Fran so my first flight was delayed 6 hours and the 2nd flight was delayed 4 hours. It took 17 hours to get home. You think Keller slept a lot considering we arrived in Las Vegas at 5 am Texas time? Nope - out of 17 hours he slept for less than 3. Amazingly enough he was really good, but exhausting nonetheless. I made friends with some people on my flight, particularly a couple celebrating their 50 year wedding anniversary. They were so inspiring and I hope to be as youthful and smitten as them when Chad and I are celebrating 50 years!

Ogden Family Pictures

I took a trip to Texas (more pictures coming soon) and Jennie wanted me to take their family pictures. They turned out so cute that I couldn't wait to post them. It was really crappy weather, but we managed to get some good ones.