Compton Crew

Resolutions for 2012

2012-01-03T17:12:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day of 2012. Apparently it is supposed to be the end of the world this year. I'm not holding my breath. Although the December snowfall was the lowest on record ever. Maybe the doomsdayers were right.

This year, I have several goals. First; I would like to lose 20 pounds. I'm about 195 but that's about 20 pounds too heavy. I don't look that fat but my cheeks get chubby and I certainly could lose some around the middle.

Second; I would like to be a lot nicer to Nicole. What I mean by that is not that I am mean to her, but simply that I don't complement her often. She deserves much more attention and much more encouragement than I give her. That should be my number one priority.

Third; I need to yell at my kids less often. God knows they deserve it sometimes. But its not that I yell at them that often. It's just that when I do yell at them, they remember it. And then they yell at each other because they think that it's okay for dad to do it. We learn by example I guess.

Fourth, I would love to learn to play the guitar better. I need to learn at least one new song each month with both lyrics and guitar. Not that I want to run off and join a rock band. But, it would be nice to be able to break out the guitar and play a song or two for the kids or at a party. In fact, Seth absolutely adores music. Anytime a song comes on you should see the grin on his face and head movements and the dancing. He absolutely loves music. I want to be the source of his entertainment.

Fifth, I want to run a triathlon. The Xterra race is in August and I would love to compete in that. It's a mountain bike, swim, and Trailrun that has become very popular here in Utah.

Sixth, for personal development, I want to be more in control. I want to have more focus, and be less subject to distraction. I realize that this is a lofty goal however at least I can take baby steps.

Happy new year! Let's go get em in 2012.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T16:47:00.001-07:00

Another Christmas in the books. Christmas Eve at the Compton in MT Green. Trip to St. Annes shelter to donate. Too many gifts as usual. Reminds me of a Bob and Tom sketch about the contrast between kids in Africa asking for a fork or a book and then spoiled US kids asking for a hundred different expensive electronic gadgets. JJ got an iPod Touch. Along with a double shot game and too many other gifts to remember. I made a photo book his year for everyone that I hope they liked.

Now we are at the Skyline High School Alumni basketball tournament watching Devin play for the championship. I've seen more basketball today than all the rest if the year combined. But I am enjoying the Wood family yell and scream at the refs...very entertaining.

Wind-ageddon 2011

2011-12-04T11:08:00.001-07:00

So...just when Nicole thought she could get on with her normal life after the never-ending vacation...mother nature decided to throw a curve ball.

Thursday morning around 3am the worst wind storm in two decades swept through Davis and Weber counties. Gusts of 102 mph were recorded. More than $30 million in damage was done. I was committed to travel to Boise for the annual Christmas party and to meet with an important customer.

I left around 630 am and the freeway was a mess. There were more than ten semi trucks tipped over. Debris was flying everywhere, and every once in a while, I could see the flash of a power transformer toppling over and flaming out. It was nuts. By noon, the power was out at our house and stayed out for 36 hours. School was cancelled on Friday (a power line fell on the fence near the playground) so the kids were home bouncing around the house driving Nicole nuts. And...there wasn't any power to cook anything so she used my backpack stove to cook soup. At night, they all huddled around the fireplace and spent the night in the living room, where it was warm from the fire.

Oh, the irony! She would have been better off stuck in Hawaii!! By the time I got back, everything was back to normal. Not sure what all the fuss was about. :-)

Update

2011-12-04T10:55:00.001-07:00

Update on Hawaii...

Tried the Friday flights. All oversold. Told us not to come back until Monday. So we got an extra weekend in Hawaii, which was nice (although out bags went to Los Angeles). On Monday, we tried again. Thought we'd be safe because the flight through San Francisco had 85 empty seats. Unfortunately there were 115 standby travellers trying to get on the same flight. So...Trevor was given a seat while the rest of the crew wasn't.

A decision was made based on work schedules that Trevor would fly home and then the rest of the family would fly back on Wednesday on Hawaiian Airlines on a full fare ticket. The good news is that they made the flight (despite heavy Honolulu traffic). The bad news is that she was left to go solo in terms of herding three kids under the age of 6 through two different airports. Not pretty. She pulled off a miracle, though, and made it home finally on Wednesday night.

Trevor had the house cleaned and laundry folded for her when she got home so she could relax a bit after the travel beatdown she took.

Phew. That was the never-ending vacation.

Sleeping in Seattle and Thanksgiving in Hawaii

2011-11-25T15:01:00.001-07:00

Our 2011 Thanksgiving Hawaii trip started in Seattle. $1200 Holiday airfare necessitated that we buy $200 Buddy Passes instead...which meant two nights in Seattle while we tried to make the list. It was a lucky break even after two days of trying that finally allowed us to get a seat. Nevertheless, we made it and we had a blast!

Things I will remember:

Nicole masterfully maneuvering the plush toy crane game at Dennys after a Thanksgiving Breakfast and winning a stuffed penguin for Cate. JJ was more than a little jealous.

Cate devouring six sausage links at breakfast, 3 full hotdogs for dinner, and then throwing all 9 linked meats up on the bed right before she fell asleep.

Seth giggling and grinning anytime he touched the water. And laughing like Beavis with a forced air chuckle.

JJ with no fear as he jumped in at Waimea Bay despite numerous warnings from the life guards about dangerous surf conditions.

Thanksgiving Dinner on the beach. Bbq steaks, microwave veggies, salad, and pumpkin pie with ice cream listening to the waves.

Definately one of the best Thanksgivings ever.

Nichole V Photography

2010-11-29T09:10:00.002-07:00

I know I haven't blogged forever...it is my new year's resolution to start blogging again, but I couldn't resist a great giveaway from one of my favorite websites and so I need to write about that right now. Nichole V Photography has some of the best tools possible to a photographer. I love them and wish I could buy everything out of her Flourish Emporium. She also teaches workshops...which I hope to win! The item at the top of my Christmas list this year is the Workshop in a Box. Hopefully I have dropped enough hints to my hubby so he will get it for me. If he doesn't, I might just have to buy it for myself. Do you think it is okay to buy yourself gifts? Check out her website here http://workshops.nicholeV.com

Thoughts While Driving

2010-03-26T16:48:00.002-06:00

I didn't have any kids in the car today while I was driving, and so I was left to my own thoughts. I didn't have to answer any of J.J.'s questions (they number in the thousands), and so I was left to ask my own questions.

Am I too old to wear hot pink?

Why is The Book Thief so good? (reading it for the third time)

Why do I crave hamburgers? Why can't I crave broccoli? Isn't your body supposed to crave what it needs? I definitely don't need hamburgers.

Why does it take me 3 weeks to lose 5 pounds, but it can take me 3 hours to gain 5 pounds? I am being serious...this has happened before

Is bribery and threats the best way to parent? Why doesn't anything work?

Why is J.J. already embarrassed to hug me? (He made me hug him before JeNeal answered the door, so she wouldn't see us.)

Why don't I live in San Diego where it never snows?!

Why can't I be more motivated?

Why do I feel like I am always falling short?

What do I need to do to feel adequate?

Does anyone have the answers? I didn't have my mommy riding in the car with me to answer all my questions.

Happy Birthday, Cate!

2010-03-07T11:16:00.005-07:00

Yesterday was Cate's birthday! I can't believe she is two. And she is sure acting like it. We went to the zoo and had a Cinderella birthday party for her. She kept singing Happy Birthday to Cate. I think she enjoyed herself. She adores her older brother and wants to do whatever he is doing. He is such a good big brother and is so gentle with her. Her favorite sayings are, "No way!", "I do it!", "Oh, no!". She has such a sassy attitude. I love it and hate it at the same time. She LOVES Cinderella and Dora. She goes around the house singing, "Cee-a-rellee, Cee-a-rellee," over and over and over. Here is what she got for her birthday. She has had it on ever since.
I don't know if she doesn't like me or if she absolutely loves her dad, but she could care less about me. Whenever I try to make her do something, she screams, "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" She won't give me hugs but she will give Trevor the biggest loves. She always wants her dad to put her to sleep at night. I am trying to be okay with it, but sometimes it hurts my feelings. I keep telling myself that it is just a stage.

We love you sweetie!!!

I hope to have my Costa Rica pictures posted next week. We had an awesome time! Thanks Travis and Teniel, and Jeremy and Nichole for being awesome travel friends. I hope there are more vacations in the future.

10 Things Trevor Loves About Being a Dad

2010-01-12T05:10:00.005-07:00

Good morning.

Trevor signing in.

It's early.

Before 5am.

I'm writing to you now because I can't sleep. I can't sleep because last night Nicole and I had a discussion (code for disagreement) about parenthood and how it consumes our lives and, for the moment, singularly defines us as people. We are no longer Trevor and Nicole...but...Mom and Dad. And because of that, we forget that for 30 years prior to being...Mom and Dad...we were individuals with needs, wants, personalities, dreams, and hopes. Our lives have in many ways become very routine and very focused on raising happy, healthy, and disciplined children and in some cases, what suffers is our relationship with each other.

Well, since that's what has been going through my head all night, and since we sometimes forget to pay attention to each other with everything else going on, I want Nicole to know that my relationship with her is just as important as my relationship with the kids. And at the risk of sounding like a cheap romance novel...I want to remind her here how much she means to me and how important she is in my life. I love you so much, Nicole!

I also need her to know that I love being a parent. Despite the loss of identity, lack of freedom, and postponement of dreams, I wouldn't trade my title of Dad for anything in the world. One of the things I look forward to every day is walking through the garage door and having both kids glad to see me. Sometimes they even open the door and run to my car excited to see me. So, because I write better than I talk, I'll put down here, as a reminder to all of my family, the top 10 things I love about being a Dad:

10. The kids thinking that I know everything in the world about every subject in the world. I feel like the smartest person in the world. But I already knew that. :-)
9. Family activities. Having everyone excited to go somewhere or do something energizes me.
8. Teaching life lessons. Trying to communicate lessons learned over 35 years to a child can be a challenge, but it's so fun when they remember the lesson you taught them and repeat it back to you when you least expect it. ("Never give up, remember Dad?")
7. Bath time. It's a nightly routine and I miss it terribly when I'm gone.
6. Reading to the kids. Especially Dr. Seuss Oh the Places You'll Go.
5. Seeing them learn to read, write, and draw. They want so much to make their mom and dad proud of them and I love that they do.
4. Tickle fights. Seeing them laugh is what I think is the best part.
3. The fact that they want me to play with them all the time. It can be exhausting, but it also helps put things in perspective when I get too wrapped up in work.
2. I already mentioned coming home every night to excited, smiling faces.
1. I know that whatever else happens in my day, that my kids still think that I'm the most important man in their lives.

JJ and Cate...you are two incredible people and I hope I can be who you need me to be for you. I love you both!

Where to begin...

2010-01-09T17:26:00.004-07:00

...maybe with the new year. I have been walking around in a haze the last couple of days. Nothing to get done and nothing to do. I don't know what to do with myself after the craziness of Christmas and my sister's wedding. Just so I remember what has happened since Thanksgiving...I am going to digress.

Went to Maui with the kids and Clint and Christie!!! Had J.J.'s Star Wars Themed party with 19 kids (WHAT WAS I THINKING)...Best part, the Darth Vador Pinata. My birthday was uneventful this year and that was perfectly fine with me. Up to Idaho for Christmas and 8 days of getting everything ready for my sister's wedding. Sister's wedding on the 30th (I was the photographer). I think everything turned out great except for me trying to get used to my new flash. Drive home...new years eve was at home. I think I was asleep before the ball even dropped. The last week we have all been sick with the cold and flu. I think we are all starting to feel better. So, I am now ready to start the new year.

Here is what we sent home with the kids for a thank you. (of course with their own picture).

HAWAII!!

Mike and Saundra...aren't they adorable?

I looked over my New Year Resolutions from last year, and I accomplished all of them except one (lose weight). Why is this always the bane of my existence? So this year, it isn't even going to be a resolution. Of course I am still going to be healthy and try, but I am NOT making it a resolution. This year, only one resolution. Find Joy in everyday, no matter how crazy. So, since i am behind, I have a few for today...

1. old school Sarah Mclaughlin. It reminds me of making out with my husband in college. JOY!
2. Cate saying "cupcake". It is adorable. i always ask her to say it because it is so cute.
3. How do you find joy in sick kids...I think the joy is that they will cuddle with you. Cate does not like to snuggle and so that is the joy...she will snuggle with me.
4. instead of getting irritated that my husband doesn't replace the trash bag when he takes the trash out, I am going to be happy that I have a husband that will take the trash out. Thank you honey!
5. I am even going to be joyful about the cold weather...How? hmmm...I am joyful because I can stay inside and finish a really good book in less than 24 hours. There, I did it.
6. J.J. learning to spell. Whenever he wants me, he says M-O-M. It makes me smile. I am not going to be sad that he is growing up so fast. Well, maybe a little.

More tomorrow.

Naughty or Nice

2009-11-25T09:00:00.003-07:00

I know I have been Naughty and have not posted in a few weeks or more. Naughty list for me! Everything is great. What has happened? Trevor's best friend got married, my sis is getting married, Trevor's step-grandma passed away, and J.J. and Cate are growing up. We had a great Halloween...Cate was a bumble bee and J.J. was Optimus Prime. Here is a little story that I do not want to forget that makes me smile.

One of J.J.'s friends was not sharing the other day, and after he went home he was complaining that his friend never shares and if it was his toy he would be nice and share. After explaining this to me he stood there for a second and let out a sigh and said very matter of factly, "I guess he is on the Naughty list." Then he shrugged his shoulders as if it was very sad that he was and there was nothing he could do about it. These are the moments that make all of the stressed-want-to-scream moments worth it.
Did I mention that Cate fell and hit her head again? Oi!

Same old, same old...

2009-10-02T10:14:00.013-06:00

Did I really think I would change? I guess this is how my updating goes. All or nothing! So, here it goes. Here is my ode to summer. We already miss you!

J.J.

We spent most of our time at Cherry Hill water park...probably 1-2 times a week. You would think I had some pictures. Well, here is the only one I took all summer. I am such a slacker.

J.J. and Jack at Cherry Hill

We also went boating. Not as much as we wanted, but we did get out a few times. We are still hoping there is one day left in the boat.

J.J. again with Jack

This summer J.J. grew up! He would go outside at 9:30 am and play until bedtime playing with Jack, Cade, and Connor. They would ride bikes at the rally, go to the park, sell lemonade or ottor pops, and play basketball. He learned how to ride his bike. Thanks Jack! He had a blast! He would also go to the driving range with dad and go flying with dad. It was hard for me to let him be outside by himself, but he would stay in his boundaries, and I would check on him every 20 minutes. He loved it! Now, all of his friends are in school and he is getting really bored...any good ideas for indoor activities with mom???

He would also go to the driving range with dad and go flying with dad. To be a kid again...

Cate

She grew up too. She is now walking, talking, and dancing. She loves to dance and sing. She also LOVES puppies. In fact, that was her first word. She is always carrying a little puppy around, and we had to visit the next door neighbors dog every day this summer. She has quite a few words now that she says; puppy, mommy, daddy, j.j., baby, eye, nose, ear, mouth, fingers, dance, bottle. She loves her bigger brother and always wants to do what he is doing. She is still climbing everything (even after her skull fracture). Oi!

Trevor

I think he enjoyed his summer too. He was golfing and flying a lot. He even competed in a flying competition and did pretty good. I think his favorite part of summer was his trip to Alaska with the boys. (I know. I bet you thought I was going to say Paris). I am sure he loved that too. He spent a lot of the summer studying for the GRE. He passed and is now getting his MBA. He has school every Tuesday and Thursday nights. It's only for two years. Only.

If you look closely, there are two brown bears right across the river from them

Me

I have had a great summer as well. I checked a few things off of my life list. Go to a tennis open...check. I was able to go to two tennis opens (French, US). Travel the world...check. I went to France and NYC. Run a half marathon...check. I ran the Mesa Falls Half Marathon in August. It was probably the hardest thing that I have ever done. But, it was definitely worth it. Now, I have to get the mindset to run a marathon so I can check that off my life list. As for the rest of the time, I played mom. Good thing I like being a mom. Only drawback...sometimes I am so busy being mom, I forget how to be Nicole. So, I am glad that this summer reminded me a little bit of how to be me.

THANK YOU, Crystal. I couldn't of done it without you.

See the Tetons behind me.

French Open-Federer accepting the trophy, and Andre Agassi there to present it to him.I wish I could say that our lives are going to slow down, but they aren't. J.J. has started preschool and soccer. I am now on a tennis league. First one in my life. I love it! Trevor is busy with work and going to school. As quoted in Spaceballs and by J.J., we are traveling at "ludicrous speed!"

Start Spreading the News

2009-09-09T15:20:00.003-06:00

Trevor is so glad that I am back from my girls trip to NYC. To all the girls...you are the greatest!! We had a wonderful time eating, shopping, going to plays, and of course the US Open. I already want to go again...maybe a beach next time. Only location pictures this time-I didn't take any group pictures...what was I thinking?!

Empire State Building

Times Square

US Open

We're Back!.

2009-06-15T13:41:00.018-06:00

I know, I have been a horrible updater. So, here is our last 2 1/2 months in review. Beware! We were very very busy. I will try and keep it short...yah right.

APRIL

DISNEYLAND

We had such a great time with Trevor's family in California. We of course loved the beach and Disneyland. J.J. loved hanging out with his cousins. We wore him out. We were out almost everyday from morning until midnight. We all did get sick with Strep throat and so that was miserable. Luckily it didn't really slow us down, but we all had to go on antibiotics when we got home, even Cate.

Mickey Mouse! J.J. was so excited to meet him. He went up to him and just started telling him all about his day like they were best friends. Cate could of cared less...just slept in the stroller.

Gotta have treats at Disneyland!

Cate didn't know if she liked the Ocean or not.

On the other hand, J.J. loved it!
PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER

I became a pro photographer in April. Did my first paid gig!! It was a blast and can't wait to do more and get better. Here are some pictures from that photo shoot. I have set up my professional photography blog and you can see it at Nicole Compton Photography. It will be updated within the next couple of days.

MAY

Dinosaur Park

We went to Dinosaur Park for J.J.s end of school party and they really had a good time. Cate's favorite thing is to swing and so of course I had to get pictures of it.

Here she is with Leah.

J.J. said the funniest thing the other day.

He said, "Mom, I am going to marry Olivia when I am a teenager. And we are going to live in your basement."
I replied, "I thought you were going to marry Ellie." (because that is what he told me the week before).
He said, "Nope, she's too bossy."
I laughed and replied, "So you aren't going to marry someone bossy, but you are going to get married when you are a teenager and live in my basement."
J.J. says, "Yep!"

So here's to you Olivia.
PRESCHOOL GRADUATION

J.J. attended his preschool graduation for his class. Of course he will still have one more year until Kindergarten, but he participated in the program and got to walk the stage. I guess it is practice for next year. Sorry, just a blurry picture of this one.
MARATHON

Trevor ran the Ogden Marathon on May 17th!! He did an awesome job. His time was a 4:18. It amazes me that he ran that many miles. Good job Trev! I am so proud of you!!

TEE BALL

J.J. has been playing Tee Ball this spring and he loves it! He gets a little bored when they are fielding, but he loves to bat. I think his favorite thing is when it is treat day and he can give the treats out to his teammates. Go J.J.!!

HEAD INJURY

We also were able to spend the night at Primary Children's Hospital. Cate climbed up on the counter and fell off onto the tile head first. So, I decided to bring her to the doctor. After multiple x-rays, one CAT scan, one ambulance ride from McKay Dee to Primary Children's, and one night stay at the hospital, we found out that she does not have a bleed on her brain and it is only a fractured skull. To make things worse, Trevor was out of town in Boise for work. He left at Midnight and arrived at the hospital at 4:30 am. It was a very traumatic experience, even for J.J. He told some stranger at the grocery store the other day, "My dad has a hole in his heart and my sister cracked her head open." I guess we have seen the ambulance twice in the last three months. I hope it is the last, but I know it probably won't be. Now we just need to make sure that she doesn't hit her head again for the next six weeks while her fracture is healing. Don't they know that I am already a worrier? We love you Cate!

Are we to June yet???

JUNE

10 YEARS!!!!!!

June 11th was Trevor and I's 10 year anniversary! I still can't believe it. We spontaneously decided to go to Paris. Yes, France not Texas!! It was amazing! I will blog about this later because it deserves a post of it's own. Trevor, thanks for the 10 years. We may be balder, fatter, wrinklier, but I love you even more today!

Here we are atop the Eiffel Tower.
ISLAND PARK

We just went and spent the weekend in Island Park with my family. This is one of my most favorite things to do is go to my families cabin and relax with the family. There are 20 in my family now! 4 of us married with 2 kids each, plus the 2 that aren't married and my Mom and Dad. Lots of fishing, card games, rain, and smores. We also went to Mesa Falls. We drove the 1/2 marathon route that I am planning on doing in August. I think I need to practice some hills. Oi! Here is our fish picture from this weekend. I think it is one of the only ones I took. They had great luck fishing. I think the limit is 2 a day over 16", and the brought home the limit both days. I think there were about 12 fish in all.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T18:31:00.004-06:00

Ok...Easter pictures were a joke. First, I tried to take them before church even when we were running late. That was my first mistake. Then, I was forcing J.J. to take pictures. That was my second mistake. Third mistake, putting him on a bench by a brick wall. He fell backwards off the bench hit his head on the brick and scraped his elbow on the cement. Of course, no pictures after that. So I abandoned the idea and we just went to church...a little frustrated, and I had to teach sharing time! So, I decided we would try our hand at pictures when we got home. So, here they are, after three hours of church, looking like they are absolutely annoyed that I am trying this again and wishing their mom would just stop taking their pictures already. I actually really like the one of them together. It puts a smile on my face. Look closely and you can see the bandaid from our first attempt.

So I did a different finish on this last picture...let me know what you think.

Photo Shoot

2009-04-09T09:38:00.002-06:00

Well it begins! I had my first guinea pig shoot on Monday with my nephew Rhett. He really didn't want his picture to be taken, but I think I was able to get a few good ones. Good thing his parents had some candy for him. Here are a few samples.

Sleeping Beauties

2009-03-27T15:46:00.004-06:00

So, when I take a shower, I usually put J.J. in front of the TV and Cate goes in the jumper. Today was no different, but I guess my kids were worn out. It was only 9:30 in the morning, but they both fell asleep. I guess we had been up for 3 hours. We don't sleep in at our house. Even if the kids do, I get up. I guess that is why i always fall asleep during movies at night. Anyways, the kids were adorable and so of course, had to take pics.

Here is Cate enjoying the jumper before my shower.
Here she is after my shower looking very bored.
She couldn't wait any longer. Isn't she sweet.
Even J.J. fell asleep. He doesn't take naps anymore and so it was funny that he did. He was in the piano room waiting for his cousins to show up. He had his coat, gloves and boots on all ready to go play outside. I guess he got bored of waiting and fell asleep. Notice the buzz cut. We cut all of his hair off last week. It was kind of sad for me because I loved his long hair, but J.J. loves it short. In fact, he wants to have a buzz party with his friends before summer starts and wants everyone to buzz their hair. Sounds like fun to me!

Hello Again!

2009-03-24T16:51:00.003-06:00

We have been really busy over hear for the past week and so I have not been able to post any posts. No pictures this time. I did put some pictures on my photo blog though if you want to see them. Update...Trevor is training for a marathon and hoping to get through it. He is up to 10 miles. I am training for a 1/2 marathon and I am up to 4 miles. Trying 5 this week. J.J. is the master negotiator. Here is a typical conversation...

"Mom, do you know how you said that you wanted me to have fun today?"
"Yes."
"Well, going to the store is not going to be fun for me. So, I think we need to stay home and play the Wii."
"But we will only be a few minutes."
"But it won't be fun for me."

What to you say to that...sorry, I lied, I don't want you to have fun? I did tell him I wanted him to have fun today. These kids...you gotta love them, but sometimes you just need a break. Can't wait for NYC 2009 with the girls! Counting down the days even though it is 5 months away.

Cate is getting her molars and is not very happy about it. I feel so bad for her because usually she is so laid back and calm...probably because her older brother is so high strung. I love her little hugs and always get sad to think that she is growing up way too fast.

We haven't heard anything back yet for Trevor's EKG results and hope to have results tomorrow. Thanks for all that were concerned and helped out. We really do live in the best neighborhood. Thank you!

Our House

2009-03-12T15:37:00.004-06:00

Update for the past week. I have been sick again and so I have not kept up on blogging. We had Cate's Birthday party on Saturday and we had a lot of fun. She loved her wrapping paper. She played with that more than what was inside the wrapping paper.
She was very prissy eating her cupcake. She didn't get nearly as dirty as J.J. She is such a cutie. We love her so much.
Trevor is training for the Ogden Marathon and runs a lot. Every time he goes, J.J. wants to go with him. So their ritual is that they will run around the cul-de-sac and then to the church on the corner and back. Then they come back. J.J. loves it and always says that he can run at "ludicrous speed" (a quote from spaceballs). If Trevor leaves him one time he gets so sad and cries. He really is quite dramatic.
J.J. had his friend Nash play today and they decided to dress up in the cowboy costumes. It was really cute and I couldn't resist taking a picture. They really are good friends...or worst enemies. I guess it depends on the day.
Yee haw!

Happy Birthday, Cate!

2009-03-06T13:34:00.003-07:00

I can't believe that Cate is 1 today. She is growing up way too fast. She is such an independent little girl with a quirky little sense of humor and attitude. She weighs a whopping 17.5 lbs (which I am happy about because J.J. was 15 lbs at a year). She never sits still. She is always in everything. She crawls as fast as she can everywhere. She loves her older brother. Yesterday, J.J. took all of the pillow off of the couches and was jumping in them. Cate got right in there and was laughing the whole time.

She LOVES her bottle! That is going to be a hard habit to break. Now that she is graduating to Milk, hopefully she will start to like the sippy cup.

My favorite thing about her right now is she is such a tease. She will tickle her Daddy and laugh, and she will pretend that she is going to give you a kiss only to reject you at the last second and then she smiles about it. She is hilarious!

Yesterday I kept saying shh to calm her down and the rest of the day she was trying to say it. So all day long she would go around the house saying sssh. It was adorable. She can say dada, j.j, baba for bottle, pa cay for patty cake, but she will not say mama. I try to get her to say it and she just looks at me and says dada. I don't know if she is teasing me or if she doesn't know how to say it. Happy Birthday Sweetheart! We love you!

Overexposure

2009-03-03T21:59:00.003-07:00

So, I have been taking pictures and photoshopping all day long. I know...it sounds like bliss, but it is exhausting. I think it is more discouraging than anything else. I want my pictures to look a certain way, and it is not working. So, after talking to my friend, we decided that we need to overexpose our pictures just a little bit to get the effect we want. So this afternoon, I tried it. Here is the result. I like them. There is definitely more I need to do to them. I really only edited each picture for about 10 minutes, which is fast ( I usually take about 45 mins per picture). I guess just learning and practicing is all I can do. So, here are my kids at 4:30 in the afternoon...dirty clothes, messy hair, and food all over their face (and J.J. at the computer). Pretty true to color. This is how they look every afternoon. I still think they are adorable.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T16:51:00.003-07:00

My husband sent me these Tulips for Valentine's Day! One of the reasons I love him. He doesn't send me generic flowers. He remembers that I love spring flowers and he sends me Tulips. I love you sweetie! Happy Valentine's Day! Don't these make you ready for spring!!!! I planted about 350 bulbs of tulips, hyacinths, narcissus, and crocuses this fall and I am really ready for spring to be here so I can see all of them.

Sick of Being Sick

2009-01-28T21:43:00.002-07:00

We have been sick since December 29th. I am sick of being sick!!!! J.J. and I had Strep Throat at the end of December, then Cate was sick with the flu and an ear infection for 10 days, and then J.J. was sick with the flu and cold for a week, followed by me getting the flu and a horrible sinus infection which has lasted for the past two weeks, and now J.J. is sick again with a fever and a cough!!! I am going to scream. I am sick of the doctor's (About 5 visits in the last 3 weeks). I am sick of the inside of my house. I am sick of not being able to run (I thought I would never say that). Please, please, please, can we get better! Luckily for Trevor, he has avoided all of this sickness. What a way to start the new year.

Bad Hair Day

2009-01-22T14:52:00.003-07:00

Cate just woke up from her nap, and when I walked into her room to get her this is what I saw. Some crazy hair. So cute! I wish it were cute for me to have a bad hair day. So, of course we took pictures. Sorry about the pictures. I was playing with the white balance.

I love the look she has on her face here. It shows her personality. She is such a tease and so playful.

All Better. Such a cutie.

Thoughts

2009-01-18T20:14:00.003-07:00

It seems like when I get a chance to sit down and blog, i have a million things in my head and it is hard for me to concentrate and figure out what I want to write about. Yesterday started out great. I was able to go on a Photography expedition and take some pictures. It was a blast. But, I had to come home to the horrible news that my sister's boyfriend was killed in an Avalanche snowmobiling yesterday in Island Park. He had only been home from his mission a little over a month. It is hard to think of someone so young and vibrant being taken so suddenly. Saundra, I love you and I am here for you. Our hearts go out to the Jenkins family.

Photo Challenge

2009-01-15T20:16:00.003-07:00

I started a photo challenge today. I need to get creative and so I am going to try and take a photo a day. If you want to check the blog out, the website is http://nicolecomptonphotochallenge.blogspot.com/

Back to the Grind

2009-01-07T12:33:00.003-07:00

A few things today. I know that we hear all about J.J.'s comments but I need to record them or I will forget them. And since he is always saying the cutest things...i just can't resist. He asked me a few days ago why Santa was so smart and knew just what to get him for Christmas this year. I told him that he pays attention to every little thing that he does throughout the year and gets him his presents based on that. J.J.'s comment, "Wow! Santa is AMAZING!" Trevor and I laughed about that for quite a while. We were laughing about it again in bed last night and I said I would have to put that on the blog so I don't forget how cute it was. I love you J.J.! (Ever since we have cut his hair short, all he wants is a Mohawk like the one on Guitar Hero.) Good thing it only stays in his hair for a few minutes before it becomes a little tamer.

I feel bad that I haven't commented about Cate for the last few posts. She is adorable. She is sick right now and it is so sad to see her runny nose and hear her little cough. She is very mobile. She wants to be where her brother is at all times. She does not want to be weaned. We are having a battle. She will not take a bottle. Oh boy.

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to become a Professional Photographer. I have started taking photography classes from Jon Williams, a professional photographer here in Ogden. The first class was last night. Tons of information to start us out. I can't wait until we start applying the knowledge and taking pictures. I think next week I will get to start that. I also signed up for a Photoshop class and the end of the month. Pretty soon I will have all the knowledge I need to become a great Photographer. Now I just need tons of practice. When I am ready for that, I will let you know, and if people want to be my guinea pigs...i will let them.

Lost Pictures

2009-01-05T22:25:00.005-07:00

Here is the Lost pictures that everyone has been waiting for!!! I finally got them off my sister's camera. My Sister Saundra and I with Josh Holloway (Sawyer on Lost)! If you can't tell by our goofy looks, we were pretty psyched to get our picture with him. All you Lost fans out there, Enjoy!

Sawyer!!! He's so cute...and he had really soft hands!
The Trailers for the actors. You can't see it, but it says Sawyer and Hurley on the trailer on the right.

The "Other's Village". It is strange to see this place right off the side of the road since it is supposed to be on an Island in the middle of nowhere. The houses are actually a part of a Boys YMCA Camp. Can you see Hurley's van in the background?
Saundra in front of the Village. We got in trouble for taking some pictures. They were actually filming in the village while we were there. We could see them in the background and we heard the director say Cut!. I was told to put my camera away, but I snuck it out for a few pics.

Saundra, here is one just for fun. Thanks so much for the good times in Hawaii! I love you!!!

Compliment???

2008-12-31T14:58:00.003-07:00

J.J. told me the other day that my hair looks like Darth Vador's helmut! Usually, I would not like that comment, but coming from J.J. (who loves Star Wars and Darth Vador), it may be a compliment. It is a conundrum! What do you think? (the picture is with my mom, sisters, and sister in law.) The most recent one I could find.

I Love these Conversations

2008-12-18T11:23:00.003-07:00

Today, J.J. came up to me and said, "Mom, now that I am 4 I can do alot of things. I can be nice to you, I can always poop in the potty, I can be nice to Cate, and I can do what you ask me to do, and I can be nice to my friends and share." I said, "Awesome! Why couldn't you do those things when you were 3?" J.J. replied, "Because I wasn't 4 yet." Of course. Why didn't I think of that.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan

2008-12-16T15:28:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY J.J.!
It is Jonathan's fourth birthday today and I can't help but remember the day he was born. He should have been born on the 15th since I went into labor at 7:00 am that morning. But he wanted to wait until the 16th so he was born at 12:09 am in the morning on the 16th. He was three weeks early and so tiny. He weighed 4 lbs. 12 oz. His eyes were too big for his head and his hands were huge (like puppy paws), but I thought he was adorable. There is no feeling in the world like becoming a mother. It is the greatest experience along with the most terrifying. I don't think the word responsibility really means anything until you become a parent.

Jonathan, I am so glad that I am your mother. You make me smile everyday. I love how you are so generous and always want to share with everyone. I love how friendly you are and how sensitive you are to other's feelings. I love when you come up and give me hugs and kisses for no reason at all. I am going to miss those when you get bigger. I love how when I do something for you, you always thank me. "Thank you mommy for getting my shoes for me!" I love your imagination. You are so creative and are always thinking up the funniest games and sherades (and sound effects). I love that you are a crazy boy. Sometimes you make me a little bit frazzled, but I am glad that you have that side to you (Though I do wish you would stop climbing on the counter and jumping off...you are going to hurt yourself.) I love your sense of humor and I love that you love to laugh...especially when you come up to me and say, "Mommy, that was funny, let's laugh at it." And then we laugh. I am glad that you love primary and going to church. I am so glad that I can be your mom. You make me a better person and are teaching me everyday. Happy Birthday. Love, Mom

Hawaii

2008-12-15T21:36:00.007-07:00

We just got back from our trip to Hawaii. It was complete bliss. We went with our friends Travis and Teneil and brought my sister to be the nanny for Cate. We had a great time. We have been going to Hawaii the first week of December for the past 9 years and it is always nice to have that to look forward to, though I think I want to try somewhere else next year. I don't know though. I absolutely love Hawaii.

The highlights of this trip

1. Meeting Josh Holloway(Sawyer on Lost)!!!!! Me and my sister were freaking out. We are big Lost fans and so when we saw him outside his trailer, we screamed and made Trevor stop the car. I will post the picture when my sister sends it to me. Still waiting Saundra! He is as cute in person as he is on the show...maybe cuter, and really nice. It is funny because I usually don't act like a crazy fan, but if there was anyone I could meet off of Lost it would have been him and so that was fun.
2. Swimming with Sharks! Crazy, I know! Everyone picked something out that everyone else had to do, and our crazy friend Travis picked swimming in a cage in the middle of 15 huge sharks. The scariest part was standing on the boat and seeing all of their dorsal fins in the water and your thinking, "Am I really going to get in there? I must be crazy!" I am glad that I did it though because if Travis didn't make me, I would have never done it.
3. The North Shore. The waves were huge and so we were able to do a lot of boogie boarding. We even got to watch some of the surfing world championship. We watched the world champion compete. I really don't understand surfing or the scoring, but it was cool to see these guys ride huge waves. They don't look big in the picture, but most of them were twice as tall as the surfers out there.

4. The Sun! It is always nice to warm up a bit before the cold winter hits.

5. Our condo. It was awesome! It was probably the nicest that we have stayed in. The Ko Olina on Oahu. Highly recommend it!
6. Having our friends and sister there to share in the fun. You guys really aren't last. I should have put you second...yes, you lose to Josh, sorry. This picture is the 4 of us. The only one I have. Travis on the left, Me, Teneil in the middle, and Trevor on the pink boogie board (we bought it for 5 bucks at the swap meet). The boys had to suck it up and ride a pink boogie board all week. Good job boys.

7. Our very muddy hike to a waterfall. I only had flip flops on and so I had mud up to my knees by the time we were done.

Thanks for the great times!!!

My little Vampire child. I just had to share.

Addresses

2008-12-03T13:25:00.001-07:00

I want to send Christmas cards to all that would like one. Please send me your address so I can send you one. Email them to nicolecompton@msn.com. Thanks!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-03T12:17:00.007-07:00

We had a really good time with my family at the cabin in Island Park this Thanksgiving. The things that I will remember...

1. The cabin was always burning hot (because Grandpa would wear a sweatshirt on the sun!)
2. The play that the kids put on...especially J.J. and Little T's costume. -J.J. wore his little cousins black leggins, a baggy shirt with a tie around his waste with a curling iron as a sword. He was prince charming. Picture follows.
3. Taking pictures of my sister's family. My first photo shoot. It turned out, i think.
4. Pies, Pies, Pies.
5. The telephone game that Saundra made us play. So many laughs...tears to the eyes laughs.
6. Poor David getting sick.
7. Quiddler
8. Talking for hours with the family.
9. Cate waking up every hour every night.
10. Staying up until 2:00 in the morning to watch Moulin Rouge for the 12th time.

I am so thankful for families! I love you guys!!! All 20 of you!

Here is J.J. in his costume.

The tire swing. The favorite place for the grandkids.Isn't he cute?

J.J. and Calyn letting me take a few pictures of them.
Here are some of my sister's family. I think they are pretty good. I still need to photoshop them. I photoshopped one, but I don't know if I like it. So, now back to the tweaking and learning. I can say that I love, love, love, my new prime lens. Best purchase ever.

Before
AfterA little too bright. I am trying to figure out how to change that. But I love the saturation of color.

A Free Quilt Giveaway

2008-11-14T15:15:00.002-07:00

You need to check this website out. It has the cutest quilts. She is having a giveaway and so hurry and go enter before the 23rd. My favorite quilts are Bloom and Drama Queen.
http://camilleroskelley.typepad.com/simplify/2008/11/feeling-lucky.html?cid=139180506#comment-139180506

Tagged

2008-11-13T18:35:00.005-07:00

Sorry Hillari that it has taken me so long. Read more to learn about the wonderful and amazing Trevor!

What is your husband's name? Trevor Brooke Compton (He is going to be so mad at me for revealing his middle name...he hates it).
How long have you been married? 9 1/2 years. 10 in June...crazy!
How long did you date? 8 months
How old is he? 33
Who eats more sweets? He does. I have a bigger sweet tooth though. I would probably eat more if I wasn't always dieting.
Who said I love you first? He did. I still remember him saying it. I said it right back. We were engaged about a month later.
Who is taller? Trevor, like by a 7 inches. I know, I know, I am short. Oh well, I can't change that.
Who can sing best? Trevor. He is quite the crooner when he has his guitar in hand. I love it when he plays and sings.
Who is smarter? Trevor. I like to think I am smart, but he is so much smarter than I am. I am glad that he can teach me things.
Who does the laundry? Me. He never does the laundry and I never mow the lawn. I guess that is our little agreement.
Who pays the bills? He does. This is a sore subject. He gets mad because I never do, so I told him I would, but he couldn't relinquish control. He is going to love me for that comment!
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Trevor
Who mows the lawn? Trevor. See above statement.
Who cooks dinner? I mostly do, but Trevor is really good at helping out. He always helps with the dishes or grills the meat for me. Thanks Hon!
Who drives? Trevor drives 60% of the time. Whenever we drive to Idaho Falls, we each take a leg.
Who kissed who first? It was a joint effort.
Who asked who out first? Trevor asked me out. Then he pulled "The Shun". He didn't call me for three days. So I called him and questioned him. Oh, the games...I really don't miss that at all.
Who wears the pants? Trevor thinks he does. :)

Family Pictures

2008-11-08T14:42:00.003-07:00

So we had our family pictures taken yesterday. She did AMAZING!!!! I would highly recommend her to anyone. If you want to check some of them out, her website is veronicareeve.blogspot.com. I don't know why I can't make links. Her link is under my favorite blogs. Check her out. She's the best.

This is the Post that Never Ends...

2008-11-04T12:54:00.019-07:00

I am going to apologize in advance for this post. It is all of October in one. Once you see the post, maybe you will understand why I didn't have any time to post until now.

Idaho Falls

So Trevor had to go to Orlando for work October 13th-18th and so we decided to go up and hang out with my family. We went to My little brother's cross country meet, picked apples and made apple juice. We had a really good time. My little brother is such a good runner. He is only a 9th grader and is on the Varsity cross country team. He ran a little over 18 minute 5K. Way to go Trev!

J.J. LOVES his Uncle Trevor. He calls him Little "T" since we have three Trevor's in our family and it is cute to see our little J.J. call him Little "T" with his mickey mouse voice.

The craziest thing though happened on my run. I wanted to run a 5K one morning and so I decided to run to my sister's house. She lives about 1 1/2 miles away from my parents so I thought, run there run back...perfect. For all of you I.F.ers, my parents still live in the same home and my sister lives out in Osgood. When I was about 20 yards from her house, I passed an animal that scared me half to death. I sprinted the rest of the way back to my sister's house. Here is what I saw...

Yes, a beaver!! I thought it was alive when I first ran passed. My sister, brother-in-law and I went to check it out and it was dead. I don't know why it was there. There was no damn near by or even a river. At least I was able to get a little sprint in for 200 yards.

Lagoon

We decided to go to Lagoon one last time before the season was over. Frightmares is my favorite time at Lagoon. The only problem is that we decided to go on the same day that everyone else in Utah went. We only stayed for about 2 hours because it was so crowded. I got some really cute pics of the kids though.

Pumpkin Patch

We decided to go to the pumpkin patch for Family Home Evening. We went with some friends and were able to have a few photo ops.

Halloween Carnival

Our ward had their annual Halloween Carnival. J.J. had a great time. I bought him two costumes this year so he decided to be Spiderman for the carnival and be Batman for halloween. I made Cate's costume. It was pretty fun. Here are the little cuties...again.

Halloween Party

Trevor and I were able to get rid of the little monsters and go to an adult halloween party. Costumes required. Trevor was Borat and I was Sarah Palin. It was really fun. We Played some Rock Band, ate too much food, and enjoyed some adult time. Sorry I don't have any pictures. I didn't bring my camera. Great Times!

Saturday Projects

Trevor and I decided we weren't busy enough and so we decided to start three projects and finish them before I had my big Christmas boutique at my House on Tuesday. We finished the backsplash for the downstairs kitchenette, rocked the fireplace, and painted the front door. It was a lot of work and I think they turned out great. Especially since we have never done them before (except the painting). Here are the after pics.

Primary Program

Yes, we had our primary program. Since I was the one who wrote and was in charge of it, lets just say that I was a nervous wreck...make sure all the kids were there, the soloists knew their parts, all the teachers would be there, would it be long enough or too long. It went without a hitch. J.J. memorized his part and he did a great job. He does such a good job in Primary. He is the youngest one in there and so I am glad when he can do things that the older kids can do. And the best part...we ended with two minutes to spare. Perfect.

Preschool Program
J.J. had his little halloween program for preschool. It was really cute. He practiced all of the songs before and he was really excited about it. He is always talking about this little girl named Gentry. I figured out why when I saw her at the program. She was Ironman for halloween. Not a fairy or a princess. His first little crush.

Halloween

Halloween was a great day. It was pretty relaxed compared to the past few weeks. We went to the Harris' Halloween Weeny Roast and then went trick or treating with friends around the neighborhood and then we went up to Mountain Green to see Grandma and Grandpa. I love halloween.

St. George and Zion's National Park

After Halloween on Friday, we decided to head down to St. George. Trevor had some work there and so The family decided to tag along. We had a great time. It was beautiful weather and very relaxing. I am sorry for all of the photos, but I couldn't decide which ones to post. We came home late last night to have rain and snow. I am not too excited about that.

And that's all she wrote. Sorry for the longest post ever. On the list this week, waiting for my sister's baby to get here, family pictures on friday, and photo class on Saturday.

J.J.

2008-10-11T19:08:00.003-06:00

J.J. has been tagged. I need to tell 5 things that you might not know about J.J..

1. He loves airplanes and always goes flying with his dad. He has learned that a Hangar is somewhere to store an airplane and so for hangars (the ones in your closet), he calls them hookers. Makes sense I guess.
2. J.J. has traveled to more places before the age of 4 than I have before I was 20. He has been to Hawaii 3 times, NYC 2 times, Washington D.C., Virginia, California 3 times, Texas, and all other Western States.
3. He will not drink regular milk! Only Soy milk. He won't eat anything with milk in it. No cheese, yogurt, or even ice cream. If we go out for ice cream, he orders a cone.
4. He is a superhero junkie (and he remembers all of their names too). The other day I was trying to remember Ironman's name and he said, "It's Tony Stark, Mom." He wants all of their costumes too.
5. He hides his shoes in random places. I can never find his shoes because he is always hiding them. He says that he doesn't want to put them in the closet because the monsters will get them. The best hiding place...in the goldfish container. I opened it one day and his flip-flops were in there.

I tag Ellie, Cade, and Olivia. Have fun.

Why Women Should Vote

2008-10-09T15:53:00.006-06:00

'The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what we want the most for what we want at the moment.'

This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 90 years ago. Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of
'obstructing sidewalk traffic'.

(Lucy Burns)
They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.

(Dora Lewis)
They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging,
beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women. Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote.
For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.

(Alice Paul)
When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/prisoners.pdf

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because-why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining?

HBO released a video to DVD called 'Iron Jawed Angels' about the women that fought for our right to vote. I have not yet seen the movie, but I am going to go rent it tonight. I encourage all women to go and watch this video and VOTE!!!

Free Handbags

2008-10-07T15:20:00.002-06:00

Thanks Michelle for the link. You can get a free handbag here. www.handbagplanet.com .

Crazy 8s

2008-10-07T14:42:00.002-06:00

Crazy Eights!

I have been tagged! Enjoy!

8 t.v. shows I love to watch:
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. Amazing Race
3. Lipstick Jungle
4. Lost
5. 30 Rock
6. The Office
7. ER
8. Desperate Housewives

Favorite Restaurants:
1. Rickenbacher's
2. Morton's
3. Z Tejas
4. Anywhere with good Sushi
5. Pipi's- awesome place in Puerto Vallarta
6. Paradise Bakery
7. PF Chang's
8. Thaiphoon

8 Things that happened yesterday:
1. went to healthfood store
2. went to Winco with my Mom
3. Made raw cookies
4. Came up with list of best love songs ever! :)
5. Visited with Melissa and Brittney
6. Drove home from Idaho Falls
7. Put the kids to bed
8. Watched dancing with the stars

8 things I am looking forward to:
1. Halloween
2. Tiffany's new baby
3. Hawaii in December
4. Taking photography classes
5. Losing more weight!!
6. Being done with Christmas shopping
7. The Holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas)
8. Seeing who our next president will be.

8 things I love about fall:
1. The Leaves changing
2. Football season
3. The cooler air
4. J.J.'s soccer games
5. School starting
6. Warmer food
7. Fall Fashion. I love jackets and scarves!
8. Trick or Treating

8 things on my wish list:
1. Go to Australia or Italy
2. To be healthier
3. To be a better Mom
4. A New front Door
5. Utah Jazz season tickets
6. To become a great photographer
7. To run a 1/2 marathon
8. 75-300 mm lens, wide angle lens, for camera

8 people I am tagging
1. Brittney W
2. Brittany R
3. JeNeal
4. Stacie
5. Stephanie B
6. Tiffany or David
7. Jessica W
8. Anyone else who wants to!

Sunday naps, Soccer, and Salsa

2008-09-30T15:39:00.005-06:00

J.J. is learning all about letters in preschool and so we are really into what letters things begin with at our house, so for the weekly update...here are three things that start with S that happened at our house this week.

Sunday Naps
I love Sunday Naps. Too bad I am the photographer and not the napper. But I really do love this one of Trevor and Cate. She was sick and sad and she cried herself to sleep by Trevor. And I love pictures of J.J. sleeping because it is the only time he looks so peaceful. He is always going 110 miles an hour.

Soccer

JJ's first soccer game was last week. He did better than I thought he would.
Here he is kicking the ball, and then one with his friends Ellie and Nash.

Salsa

Yesterday, from Noon until Midnight, was dedicated to Salsa. It is delicious and I am glad to have it in my food storage, but it takes tons of work. I can't say thank you enough to JeNeal for helping me. Thank you!!!! I think after the peaches and salsa, I am done preserving food until next year...I hope.

Shout out to my Girls!

2008-09-19T09:51:00.005-06:00

It is always hard when Trevor goes out of town. It is hard taking care of the kids at night in the evening without his help, J.J. is always sad that he doesn't see his dad at night, and it is hard to fall asleep...especially when you freak yourself out about alien abductions. No, I don't worry about the real and practical like someone breaking into your house...I worry about alien abductions. That's what I get for watching late night TV about UFOs. Anyways, I need to thank my friends Stacie, Mel, Tammy, and JeNeal for keeping me company the last two days. We made tutus on Wednesday for 4 hours. We had I think 100 kids running around so I only got one done. See below picture. They are adorable! I am making about three for Cate. This is the first one I made. Then Last night after we got all the kids to bed, we got together to scrapbook. Guess how much scrapbooking we got done? I hope you said none because you would be correct. I don't even think Tammy got her computer out of her bag. We just talked, laughed and had fun. We all want to go to Audrey Woulard Photography school. She is amazing! Unfortunately it costs close to $3000 for three days. Someday. Thanks guys! No horrible fascination about aliens last night. I was able to go right to sleep. You are the best!

GO AGGIES!!!!

2008-09-14T17:50:00.005-06:00

I know, I know. They lost to the Utes, but I still have to cheer for them! Trevor and I went up to Logan to the Utah State football game last night. We were a little early and so we decided to go up on campus. I haven't been on campus for years (about 7) and so it was really fun to see our old stomping ground. A little nostalgic because it is of course the place where Trevor and I fell in love. Ahhhhh. We took some pictures on the "A". Thanks Ryan for the tickets!! Enjoy!

Catching up

2008-09-11T14:12:00.006-06:00

Well, since it has been awhile since I wrote I guess I need to catch up on my postings...imagine that. Since I use this as my journal, it may sound like ramblings, so my apologies.

1. We were able to take one last trip over Labor Day weekend. We went up to Bear Lake for some fun in the sun, but ended up going to a cave. It was really cold and so we decided to go up to Minatonka Cave. It actually was really cool and J.J. walked all of the way. There are 444 stairs (which you have to take out too) so 888 all together. He did great! I would have pictures for you, but my personal photographer has not gotten them to me yet. :)

2. J.J.'s first day of school. He loves his teacher Miss Julie! The first day they had to bring their name spelled out with things that started with the same letter. I decided he had to do his whole name instead of just J.J. 3 hours later I wish I would have only done J.J.

3. I took this picture the other day of the books I have on my night stand to read. Trevor laughs at me and says that it will take me years to read all of them (that's because I only have about 10 minutes a day to do what I want to do). Well, I have now read Breaking Dawn and The Book Thief. Only 12 more to go (except that I just added three more to the stack).

4. Now here is the big dilemma. the Book Thief is probably the best book I have ever read, or one of. I don't want to put it too high up on a pedestal. How do you start another book after reading such a good book? I recommend it to everyone! Maybe I will have to read it again. Stacie, you said it is better the second time, right?

5. I am typing up my Grandpa Johnson's WWII letters!!!! Since getting my degree in History, this is the first thing that even remotely resembles doing something with it. Most of the letters are from my Grandpa to my Grandma and it is amazing to see his Journey from North Africa to Tunisia to Italy. I took a picture of one of the letters. It was written on New Years Day 1944 in Italy. Read the P.S. If you can't see it, it says, "Could I just hold you in my arms for a minute."

6.My TO DO LIST: Write Primary Program (Yes, as the 1st counselor in the Primary, this is my calling. So, if any of you don't like the program, you can complain to me). Plan Sharing time for Sunday, Call people for the Stake Baptism, Plant bulbs and weed yard. Clean house (Always). I know I am forgetting something...

7. My WANT TO DO LIST: Take a Nap, Read a book, Make Tutus, get a pedicure, take a girls weekend (I'm with you on this one Stacie...NYC 2009), Go on a date with my husband, laugh with my kids (I hate always being a drill sargeant...I wish they(he) would listen to me the first time.), Get 8 hours of sleep at night.

8. The thing that has defined our lives for the past two weeks is the death of a very close friend. I haven't been able to write about it until now because of all of the emotions. John was in Guatemala on a humanitarian project when his charter flight crashed. He leaves behind his wife and three kids aged 9,5, and 3. He was one of Trevor's best friends from Grade School through College. They remained close friends after they were both married and soon we were all good friends. Something like this always puts your life into perspective. The thing that you were mad at your husband the day before just doesn't seem that important anymore. You give out as many hugs as you can to your family. You are relieved when they walk through the door in the evening. You cry when you hear songs on the radio. You cry when you write your blog. The thing that gets you through the sadness though is knowing that you will be able to see your loved ones again, that there is a life after this life and that you can be with your family forever. Our prayers are with his family and we truly miss you, John.

Cate's Talking and J.J.'s listening

2008-08-22T11:44:00.003-06:00

Cate was being such a Ham the other day. Just sitting there talking as loud as she could. I was able to get this cute little picture. She is so much fun. She has been the easiest baby and always makes me laugh.
I can't believe that J.J. is getting so old. He will be 4 in a couple of months, but he says the cutest things. Just when you don't think he is listening, he blows you away. My two favorite for the week...
1. We were driving home from Trevor's parents last Sunday evening and J.J. says, "Mom, can you make sure that I get baptized when I turn 8? Don't forget, K?" I promised him that I wouldn't forget and we would make sure that he would have a special day. They learned about baptism in Primary, and I thought that he wasn't listening. Way to make momma proud!
2. Trevor has been gone for the last 2 weeks in Boston again. He just got home again last night. J.J. was so excited to see him that he has been talking non-stop about everything that he did while daddy was gone. Well, while he was gone, I had a bit too much fun buying clothes for the kids (I just couldn't pass up the deals). Anyways, I guess when I was checking out one day, I said something like, Dad is going to be mad at me." Well, this morning he was showing all of his new clothes to his dad, especially his plane shirt, and he said. "Dad, are you mad at Mommy?" Trevor replied, "No, I'm not mad at Mommy, why?" Then J.J. said, "Don't be mad at Mommy for buying me these clothes. I really like my plane shirt." How cute. Daddy will probably be mad at Mommy when he finds out how much I spent. Really, how many dresses does a 6 month little girl need?

Olympic Fever!

2008-08-11T18:52:00.003-06:00

We love the Olympics at our house and so we are so excited that one of our Friend's sister-in-law is an Olympian this year. Her name is Lindsey Anderson and she runs the Women's Steeplechase. She will be running on Aug. 15th and then again in the finals (hopefully) on the 17th. If you want to check her blog out it is www.easysite.com/markandlinds. It is great to see her behind the scenes pictures and listen to her stories. Go USA!

2 Weeks in Review

2008-07-31T17:07:00.009-06:00

Trevor has been out of town for the last two weeks and while he was gone he wanted me to send him a picture of the kids everyday. Here are the pictures that I sent to him while he was gone. They were taken with my phone and so they might be pretty blurry. We are glad that he is back and really sad that he has to go back to Boston for two more weeks! :(

At the Raptors baseball game Saturday night

All ready for church Sunday morning

Goofing around Monday afternoon

All ready for bed Tuesday Night

Taking a nap on Wednesday. Isn't she cute?

Loaded up in the car to go to the club on Thursday. Can't miss my tennis lesson!!

Cheeser smiles on Friday! I love my kids!

Blasting off on Saturday at the Wood family reunion! J.J. loved these rockets.

Going through the car wash Saturday night to wash off all the bugs and dirt.

Relaxing on Sunday.

Cate waiting for her shots at the doctor's office on Monday. Poor girl. I can't believe she is already for months.

J.J. goofing around on Monday...Like usual. I wouldn't have it any other way.

J.J. in his Jazz shirt on Tuesday. He would wear his Jersey every day if I let him. He knows all of the Jazz players names. You should hear him say Kirilenko. Cute!

Cate taking a bath on Tuesday night. She wasn't too happy. Her legs were hurting her.

Lagoon on Wednesday! J.J. with his cousin Sarah.

J.J. posing at Lagoon-a-beach.

Me trying to take a picture of me and Cate.

Getting ready to go to Great Grandma and Grandpa Johnsons house on Thursday!

Grandma Wood holding Cate at G & G's house.

Cate sleeping on Friday afternoon.

J.J. sleeping on Friday afternoon. Amazingly this was at the same time! I had so many things I could have done, but I just sat there and enjoyed the silence, and waited for Trevor to get home. We are so glad he is home!

Memory Tag!

2008-07-20T23:34:00.000-06:00

Memory Tag!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Playmates

2008-07-09T17:16:00.003-06:00

J.J. really loves his little sister and wants her to grow up so she will play with him. He always says, "Mom, why won't she talk to me. I want her to talk to me." It is pretty cute. The other day he was trying to play with her and I came in and saw these glasses on her. I have a picture of him in the same glasses when he was about 18 months old. I hope my kids are good friends growing up.

Hangin' around

2008-07-09T17:10:00.004-06:00

Summertime is always so busy for us. It seems like we are always going, going, going. We were able to just relax and hang out the other day in our backyard. It was a very nice evening not worrying about having to be anywhere. Here are a few pics for your enjoyment.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

2008-07-09T17:02:00.004-06:00

It was my Grandpa Johnson's 90th Birthday on July 4th! We were able to go up to Idaho Falls and hang out with the family and celebrate with my grandparents at a big birthday party for my grandpa. My grandpa is the cutest grandpa and always has a joke for every occasion. I hope I am able to be as healthy as he is when I am 90. Happy birthday Grandpa! We love you!

Here is our whole Wood family! It is amazing when we have everyone together and so we had to take the family pic at the party.

California

2008-07-07T16:17:00.009-06:00

We just went to California a few weeks ago for a 4 day weekend with our friends Adam and Lucy. They have never been to California, since they just moved to the U.S. from England and so we decided to go. We took J.J. to disneyland and spent a few days on the beach. We had a great time! It is always fun to get away from the tedium of every day and relax. I think we all enjoyed it! Enjoy the few (ha ha) pictures that we have.

J.J. just had to get his picture taken with Spiderman. Creepy if you ask me! This was in front of the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Chinese Theatre

Fountain Fun

Mom and Cate

The Observatory

Coby, J.J., Ammeron, and Barnaby

J.J. and Cate hanging out in hotel room

Disneyland

J.J. at the beach. He loved the beach. He would be a beach bum if we lived by the ocean.

Cate at the beach

Mom and J.J. on Balboa Island

Family minus Cate. She was sleeping.

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T12:55:00.004-06:00

Happy Father's Day!

We love you daddy and love all of the fun things you do with us! Thank you for being such a good dadddy!
Love, Cate and J.J.

Happy Anniversary!

2008-06-15T12:45:00.002-06:00

Happy Anniversary Trevor! I know it was on Wednesday, but I wanted to thank you for a wonderful 9 years and I hope we have many more. I love you!

Stop the Presses!!! 6 New Posts!

2008-06-06T18:51:00.003-06:00

Seriously?! Seriously...

I just get really busy and I just don't get around to blogging. I truly am sorry to all of you who went through withdrawals. :)

Happy Birthday, Linda!

2008-06-06T18:44:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday, Linda! We hope you had a great day yesterday. We love you!

At the River

2008-06-06T18:32:00.003-06:00

When we were in Idaho Falls last weekend, we went to the river to enjoy the sunshine and fresh air and feed the ducks (and Trevor went for a 7 mile run!). The geese are mean! My Mom, Saundra, and Little T came with us. I always loved to walk around the river when I lived in Idaho Falls and so we had a nice time. They have a great Farmer's Market in the Key Bank parking lot on Saturdays. There's great Kettle corn and Tamales. It is only open until Noon, though.

Smiles!

2008-06-06T18:21:00.005-06:00

Cate has been smiling for about a month now and I have been trying to catch her in the act. I finally was able to get a few smiles. Enjoy! Of course J.J. had to join in the fun.

Fun in the Sun

2008-06-06T18:16:00.003-06:00

About a week ago, we had some amazing weather. So nice that J.J. and his friend Cade were able to run through the sprinklers. It makes us hope that the nice weather will come back soon.

Fashion Sense

2008-06-06T18:12:00.003-06:00

I was in a hurry yesterday and asked J.J. to hurry and go and get his coat and shoes on. This is what he came out wearing...his life Jacket and Spiderman underwear (on his head). He is always making me laugh!

Mom's B-Day

2008-06-06T18:00:00.005-06:00

We had a really fun time at my Mom's "surprise" birthday party. She told us later that she knew about it. First there was 4-wheeling.

Then there was dinner. (I guess I need to teach J.J. some etiquette. What's with the feet on the table??)

Then there was dress-up. And here is where J.J. made Dad real proud. What do you do when you are the only boy?

We had a great time and loved having the whole family there. There are 19 now with #20 here in November. Wow!

Happy Birthday Mom!

2008-05-20T18:18:00.001-06:00

HAPPY 50th Mom!! You look younger than ever! We love you so much!

Wisdom

2008-05-16T17:51:00.003-06:00

Being a Mother, I don't think there is a day that goes by that you have to remember to have patience. A few days ago, I was losing my patience with J.J. I had asked him to put his shoes in his room and he was ignoring me. Using a line my Mom would say to me, I said, "Jonathan, I am not going to ask you again. Put your shoes in your room!" With such wisdom, he replied, "Yes, you will ask me again." He knew with certainty that it was not my last time asking him. It caught me so off guard that I just started laughing and I gave him a big hug. I did not ask him again because I decided to just put his shoes in his room for him. I know it is a tough job, but I love being a Mom!

Scrapbooking at Midnight

2008-05-15T23:56:00.003-06:00

Look what I learned to do!! Trevor is out of town tonight and so I had JeNeal come over and scrapbook. How many pages did I get done? Zero. But, I did learn how to do this! I am not Adobe savvy yet, and so I was very happy. A big accomplishment! Thanks JeNeal! One day I will learn to use that crazy program. Anyone up for taking some classes with me?

Happy Mother's Day 2008

2008-05-11T09:15:00.006-06:00

The kids and I would be missing out on tremendous opportunity to tell Nicole just how important she is to us on Mother's Day if we didn't add a note to the blog today. We love her and couldn't imagine life without her. She's the reason we have such an organized life and the reason the kids are going to have happy childhood memories. THANK YOU Nicole for all that you do for our family!

Love,
Trev, JJ, Cate

Sad, Sad Day

2008-05-10T11:32:00.003-06:00

Had to fill up the Tahoe yesterday...topped off at $100. I never thought I would live to see the day. And it happened before I turned 30. Sad, sad day.

Conversations of a Three Year Old

2008-05-09T15:30:00.003-06:00

A few days ago I overheard a conversation that J.J. was having with his friends Ellie and Cade Harris and this is how it went...

Cade: Santa Claus isn't real

Ellie: Yah, It's your Mom.

J.J.: No it's not. He is real.

Cade: No, your Mom is Santa Claus.

Ellie: Yah, she really is.

J.J. (with a little bit of anger): He is real! He gave me a Spiderman toothbrush!!

I had to laugh. Not because they were discussing if Santa Claus was real, but because J.J. was adamant that he was real because of the Spiderman Toothbrush!

Worst Blogger ever!

2008-05-08T15:50:00.003-06:00

Yep, that would be me. I just did a month's worth in one day. I should promise that I will do better, but I know I won't. Sorry.

Ol' Ball Game!

2008-05-08T15:44:00.003-06:00

One of our favorite things to do in the spring is watch Daddy's softball games. J.J. wishes he could play in them.

Cate's Blessing Day!

2008-05-08T15:18:00.006-06:00

Cate was blessed on April 27th, 2008 by her Grandpa Wood. She was such a good baby during Sacrament Meeting and was adorable too. Here are just a few of the thousands of pictures we took. She was exhausted by the end of the day.

Bath Time

2008-05-08T15:07:00.004-06:00

Bath time is one of our favorite times at our house. Trevor and I hope that it will calm the two little ones for bed, but you can see by the picture of J.J. jumping off the couch that this does not happen very often.

Tautphaus Park Zoo

2008-05-08T14:44:00.008-06:00

We went to the park on a beautiful Idaho Falls day a few weeks ago, and I think the kids had a great time. J.J. was with his cousins, Andrea, Brooklyn, and Sarah. Grandma and Aunt Tiffany and Saundra were there as well. And of course Uncle David and Uncle Trevor. Trevor C. and Aunt Melissa were running 10 miles while we gawked at animals...yuck! The kids made pennies with imprints and had a good time. I love the portrait of all of them together. You can just tell their personality. (Brooklyn had fallen off the fence right before I took this picture).

Growing Up!

2008-05-08T14:05:00.006-06:00

Cate is growing up so fast. I can't believe she is already two months!!! Wow.

For all the Moms out there!!

2008-04-01T15:17:00.005-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sumoyp61rGg

Probably one of the funniest things I have seen for awhile.

Happy Easter!!

2008-03-31T15:44:00.007-06:00

We had a good Easter this year. We were able to hang out a Grandma Compton's on Saturday and have an Easter Egg hunt. Clara and J.J. were so cute together and had tons of fun together. On Sunday, we went to Nicole's Grandparents house and had dinner with Grandma Wood and Great Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. It was fun to see all of the family. J.J. really enjoyed the 3 easter egg hunts that he went on, and Mommy had fun dressing a girl. Poor Cate, her dress was too big.

BREAKING NEWS...Cate Nicole Compton is here!

2008-03-08T15:09:00.004-07:00

After starting labor at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 6, 2008, it was only 9 short (short for Trevor...not Nicole) hours until Cate arrived. She was happy to be here after only 5 minutes of pushing and was wide-eyed from the start. We took bets on the weight of the baby, and we were all way off...she tipped the scales at 5 lbs 12 oz and we all were expecting at least 7 lbs of baby. Of course I had to add some of J.J. too.

Bath Time

2005-11-02T16:56:00.000-07:00

This is Jonathan's favorite part of the day. He hates it when it is over. Maybe it is because he knows it is bedtime right after.

Our New Backyard

2005-11-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

Devin and Brittney came down and helped us with the huge project of finishing our backyard. Here are the after pictures. I really wish I had before pictures so you could appreciate how far along it has come. Thanks Devin and Britt!

Calyn and Me

2005-11-02T16:48:00.000-07:00

Here are Jonathan and Calyn. They were trying to play nicely while we worked in the backyard. All was fine until Jonathan started stealing Calyn's binky. Sorry Calyn.

Halloween!

2005-11-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

This was Jonathan's first halloween. He didn't really know what to think. He kept pulling on his mane and he didn't like it when I was painting his nose. At least we got some pics.

More of Jonathan

2005-11-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

Are you sick of seeing my picture yet? Here I am playing with my dad's hat.

Me and Daddy

2005-11-02T16:40:00.000-07:00

Here I am with my Daddy at the wedding.

Me and Mommy

2005-11-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here I am with my Mommy at Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Lori's wedding.

GQ in my Tux

2005-11-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from Jeremy's wedding. We think that J.J. was adorable in his tuxedo and so we had to post a few more pics.

Central Park

2005-09-06T12:22:00.000-06:00

Here I am with Mommy and Daddy. Central Park was one of my favorite places in New York.

I am so bored!

2005-09-06T12:20:00.000-06:00

This is what I did most of the time in New York. It was kind of boring.

New Friend

2005-09-06T12:17:00.000-06:00

This is my new friend that I met at the coolest place in the world. FAO Schwarz...the biggest toy store! Too bad I couldn't take him home with me. Mommy and Daddy didn't want to spend $8,000 on him.

I Love Mommy!

2005-09-06T12:16:00.000-06:00

My mom was holding on to me really tight when we were on the Empire State building. We were really high up. It was kind of scary.

I Love Daddy!

2005-09-06T12:14:00.000-06:00

Here I am with Daddy. He was making me laugh.

I Love New York!

2005-09-06T12:03:00.000-06:00

J.J.'s first trip to New York. We had ton's of fun. Here we are on a Harbor Cruise. You can see the Empire State building in the background.

My Favorite Past Time

2005-08-24T10:00:00.000-06:00

Look! I can jump really high. This is my favorite thing to do. No wonder it is called the Johnny Jumper.

4th of July

2005-08-24T09:56:00.000-06:00

Here I am with Daddy waiting for the Idaho Falls Firework Show to start. I didn't get scared at all.

Redfish

2005-08-24T09:55:00.000-06:00

This year at Redfish we were so glad that we were with the family. It was J.J.'s first trip and it was fun to introduce him to one of our favorite places. Too bad the trip was cut short because of weather and back injuries.

Redfish

2005-08-24T09:36:00.000-06:00

I love my bath time! This time Andrea and Calyn joined me. I splashed too much and scared Calyn. Sorry!

J.J.'s first plane ride

2005-08-24T09:01:00.000-06:00

Daddy really wanted to take me on a plane ride, and so we went to Wyoming in the Super Cub. Mommy was really scared for my ears and so Grandpa Compton found me a headset. It really helped even though it squished my cheeks together.

The Family

2005-08-24T08:58:00.000-06:00

Here is our latest family picture.

Tiffany and David's Wedding 7/30/2005

2005-08-24T08:53:00.000-06:00

Don't you think he is adorable? I don't think J.J. could get any cuter in his tuxedo. At least, that's what mommy and daddy think.