Carver Family Photos

We went to New Zealand!

2011-03-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

And let me tell you it was pretty sweet! Seriously the most beautiful place I have EVER seen. :) There are more pics on Facebook, and I will post a full report on my personal family blog... eventually. :) Love ya!

Lauren

Child for sale(not really)

2011-02-04T15:05:00.000-08:00

Or maybe just for rent? Or maybe just a loan? a visit? something?! He is making me crazy. J is grouchy all the time. Nothing is good enough. If he actually smiles....... be careful as the world has just ended.

OK, not really, but still where is my happy boy?

-L.

Viva Espana!!

2010-08-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

Hey Family!
We took a much needed vacation to Spain....we had the time of our lives!! Here are some photos to help share the experience with all of you. Enjoy!

Summer Camping

2010-07-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

It is summer time (finally here in WA) again and the kids having been looking forward to a number of fun things that we have planned over the next few months. One of the things that they look forward to the most is our annual trip to Banks Lake. Banks Lake is located in eastern WA where there is always plenty of sun and fun! We head over there with about 100 or so good friends and create a "tent city" in a giant campsite and then proceed to have a great time here are just a few of the pics!!

Here is Landon playing on the monkey bars at the campsite.

Max played the role of the headless baby whenever we took him out in the boat! The good news was he didn't get sunburned on his face!!

Kaylee is rapidly becoming our adventerous one, here she is water skiing around the lake and having a great time!!

Jacob is really getting into fishing these days, he woke up early almost every morning we were there to head over to the docks with his buddies and go fishing. He was the only one of his friends to catch a fish. He is getting to where he can even take the hook out of the fish and release it back into to the lake on his own.

Jen and Kaylee making smores, a favorite activity for our kids.

Landon was determined to show me that he could man the kayak by himself. He had been watching many of the older kids paddle around the lake and he felt that he was more than capable and no matter how much I tried to help or even just ride in the boat I was promptly told, "No daddy, Ladon do it! Go away!" Even though at times it can be a little frustrating you have to admire his independence and fearlessness!

Just relaxing most of the time.

Obviously we had a great time and more importantly the kids are already talking about how excited they are to go again next year!

How Long?

2010-07-14T00:10:00.000-07:00

I just thought that it has been a long time since anyone posted anything on the family blog and an even longer time since I posted anything. In fact I think that that last thing that I posted may have been the reason that I was asked by many in the family not to post again (see photo)...well that ban is over and I am posting again.

My quesiton is how long will it take for someone to notice? Does anyone ever check this blog or is everything just about facebook? Will I be able to get a reponse from any of my brothers?

So once again I ask how long?

P.S. - What is is more dramatic my "stache" or Jen's "AF bangs"?

For Josh, Jen, Lauren, & Patrick-& their clans..

2009-12-27T20:19:00.001-08:00

We MISSED YOU in UTAH!!

When you aren't around, this is what happens...

**more pics to come**

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween to all you Carvers across the country! You were all missed & we hope you post your Halloween pics soon so we can see your cute kids!

Here are some of the fun moments from the Utah Halloween..

Alex's Pirate Birthday Bash!!

2009-10-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

PJ and Lorena, also known as the best parents in the world, set the bar really high with this birthday party for Alex! Everyone had a great time!

Here is the birthday boy with his Pirate Daddy. Alex was a little bit overwhelmed at first, but didn't take long to get into it.

Pirate PJ was welcoming the kids and explaining to them that in order to become a pirate like him, they had to walk the plank!!

Pirate PJ demonstrating the art of walking the plank!

Logan taking his turn.

Joshua

Dylan- The most adorable pirate at the party!

All of the children passed the initiation and were allowed to become pirates!

Next they had to throw huge gold coins into a treasure box in order to receive a chocolate gold coin from Pirate PJ's coin satchel.

Aubrie

Justin

Caleb

Caitlyn

Logan

Then we all had pizza! YUM!

Then all the kids went on a treasure hunt around the neighborhood.

Wouldn't you know, the treasure was back at the clubhouse all along! Pirate PJ helped to carry the bounty.

In the box was a mini treasure box for each of the kids.

This is Pirate Alex, the birthday boy! Soooo cute!

Then, the kids each had a turn taking a whack at the treasure pinata! This is Ellie putting more thought than muscle into it.

Logan

Watch out! They gave the big stick to Joshua and he wasn't holding anything back!

Caitlyn

Caleb. It looks like a light saber, it's moving so fast!

And then Aubrie finished off the pinata with her big muscles!

And then the hordes descended on the loot!

Pirate Alex waiting patiently to blow out the candles on his pirate cupcake tower made by his Mom and Grandma Carver.

Pirate Alex opening his presents and loving every minute of it! What a cute pirate! We all had a wonderful time! Thanks to PJ and Lorena for a great day and Happy Birthday Alex! We are all hoping our children quickly forget what fun it was, so the expectation will not be so high for the rest of us! :)

I posted something!!!!!!!!

2009-09-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

I posted pics of Ammon's surprise BBQ (from July.... I KNOW I am behind, sorry!) over on my family blog so head on over when you get a chance!!!!!!! :)

It's About Time

2009-08-10T20:01:00.001-07:00

After over 35 years of marriage, being parents for over 33 years..... all of us (their lovely 7 children) came to an agreement: they deserve a vacation!

Mom & Dad have never been out of the country. They have never "vacationed" at a resort, they have never gone on a "destination" vacation. It's completely WRONG! No one deserves a vacation more than them! A great opportunity came along to send them to MEXICO! Of course, we all jumped on the opportunity! Chris' family had a few extra units at the resort, so not only were mom & dad able to go--but so were PJ & Lorena. Mom & Dad were so excited to come -here are a few photos of their 7 day getaway!

One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the ancient Mayan ruins, one of the new 7 wonders of the world: Chichen Itza. Mom especially enjoyed this, as she studied the ruins in school and is very interested in them. We had great luck with the weather and were able to take our time walking through this ancient city.

Even though Dad got sick one night :(, he DID enjoy most of the food

they shopped...

we enjoyed the beautiful water

..rode in golf carts around the island "Isla Mujeres" off the coast of Cancun

*check out mom's sunburn

...they sailed the ocean blue

they still love each other & it shows

...they relaxed on the beach, check out their view!

Dad played volleyball with the boys

he enjoyed the occasional dip in the aqua blue water

We were lucky to have PJ & Lorena join us on this getaway! Here they are watching an incredible lightning storm over the ocean.....we won't talk about how scared Mom was!

Mom & Dad, you deserved this trip. I know all of us hope its the first of MANY more trips to come. After all, THIS is the time in your life where you should be kicking back & enjoying the fruits of your labor! Thank you for all you have done for us. We hope you had a good trip.

*a special thanks to Cim, Josh, & Ammon for your extra "love" to make this trip a possibility

Missing You...

2009-07-14T23:32:00.000-07:00

I am missing all you crazy fans aka the entire family. Remember our PJ & Ron discussions? Remember Patrick's Snape "Friend or Foe"? Crystal dressing up for the book release? Dad knitting for hours in long lines (we are such jerks). I love you crazy fanatics!!! I am sure you had movie marathons to prepare yourselves & I wish I could be apart of the excitement! I know you all are going to watch this sometime this weekend (Dad possibly a few times) It makes me miss you!

*now if only Chris would actually SEE a full movie or read one of these books he might understand...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!

2009-06-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!

THE BIG 60!!!!

We love you & hope you know how awesome you are!

HOPE YOU HAVE FUN IN CANCUN!!!!

Here is a little post dedicated to you!

SUCH A STUD!!!!

GRADUATES

2009-05-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to do a quick post on all of you recent graduates! Between Josh finishing his MBA, PJ, Reina, and Chris (in two days) our family has seen a lot of cap 'n gowns! [Patrick & Crystal aren't far behind!] CONGRATULATIONS to all of you!! Being the little sister [and the waste of space who hasn't done anything with her life :)] you make me PROUD! Way to go everyone!

Tahiti Trip!

2009-05-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

When you get a chance, head on over to My Family Blog to check out some pics of our recent Tahiti trip.

We are coming!!!

2009-04-23T09:25:00.000-07:00

So every one get ready!!!! Because we are cute and messy and ready to play!!! See all of you who live in UT on May 5th!! YAY!

Love,

Kailah and Jackson

CONGRATS AMMON!!!

2009-03-26T21:47:00.001-07:00

As we all know, Ammon is a ROCKSTAR at what he does. Today was a big day for him! He signed a contract with Matrix to be the Creative Artist (aka spokesperson) for their VAVOOM! line! CONGRATS AMMON! We are all so proud of you & how hard you have worked to get where you are!

Where did everybody go???

2009-03-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

OK, I KNOW we are all busy, and have LOTS going on.... but seriously WHERE did everybody go? I have now posted 3 of the last 4 blog updates. ME!?!? I am THE LAST person everyone wants to keep hearing from! haha. Anyway, I just updated on my family blog check it out! Oh and IF you actually read this and comment to prove it- YOU DO EXIST! :) Yay, for re-entering the world of family blogging!

Whats your Favorite?

2009-03-05T19:54:00.000-08:00

I am a Tivo Junkie. I admit it. My FAVORITE thing to do is put the kids to bed, and go curl up on the couch for some TV time! So in the name of all things TV- I ask you- WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHOW? Mine?! Well, currently I am in a Privileged phase; oooh and a Biggest Loser phase. But who knows?!? maybe tomorrow it will be more of Grey's thing. I love it all. Anyway whats your fav?

Dylan is Here!

2009-02-04T08:25:00.000-08:00

Dylan Vaughn Carver is here peeps! He was born on February 1st, 2009 (at around 11:30). At 6 lbs 12 oz and 20 in. he was just slightly bigger than Alex when he was born. So far he seems to be a pretty calm little guy and only makes noise when he wants some grub--we are crossing our fingers that this doesn't change any time soon! :) Alex is having fun playing with his little brother and likes to watch shows with him. Here are just a few pics of the little guy...more to follow later.

As you can see, our boys seem to be born with an unnatural amount of dark hair! Dilly Willey is excited to party with his cousins once he's big enough to hold up his own head, and he is bound to be another lady killer like his brother! :)

My new OBSESSION

2009-01-28T11:11:00.000-08:00

OK, it is time to admit it, out loud......I AM OBSESSED with coupons.

I had a friend show me a web site in the beginning of December called www.grocerygame.com. And that is how my obsession started. I am learning how to combine coupons with sales and other promos in order to get the best "deal" available. It is a fun challenge, and I love it! I have saved a ton of money over the past 8 weeks, have built up my food storage (I officially am no longer intimidated by all things food storage), and have felt like I am helping my family.

My average savings is about 57%. Sometimes it is higher (like 78%) and sometimes it is lower (48%), but it most often is around my average. I have been able to get things like shampoo, conditioner, styling gel, hair spray, hair putty, powerade, candy bars, bar soap, rice cakes, hand soap, cough drops, and children's medicine ALL for FREE. (not kidding!). Our grocery bill is down about 48%(that is TOTAL $ OUT OF POCKET) for January. In summary, we are saving money, being obedient to the prophets counsel, and ENJOYING the process.

Most people think I am crazy. (Maybe I am). They think it takes a TON of time, but in reality it doesn't take too much time at all. I spend about 1.5 hours cutting, sorting, and filing coupons(which I choose to do- there ARE faster options). I spend another 1/2 hour doing my shopping lists and getting coupons ready for the stores I am going to. Then maybe another 2 hours actually shopping (I am a bit of a "lynette" I go shopping alone- so I don't always hurry :). All this doesn't always happen on the same day, so it doesn't feel like too much time to me. But EVEN if it did, it is only about 4-5 hours a week. AND here are some VERY real examples of my receipts.......(please keep in mind that the SAVINGS build, meaning the LONGER you shop this way the BIGGER the savings get.)

Week 1- Albertsons spent: 90.32 SAVED 66.27
Kroger(like Smiths) spent: 56.01 SAVED 54.65

Week 2-Tom Thumb spent: 135.83 SAVED 130.79
Albertsons spent: 85.43 SAVED 100.89

Week 3- Walgreens spent: 29.89 SAVED 86.68
Kroger spent: 21.04 SAVED 23.17

Week 4- didn't shop****************************************

Week 5- Albertsons spent: 70.70 SAVED 90.56
Target spent: 7.31 SAVED 31.86

Week 6- Albertsons spent: 39.78 SAVED 60.16
Tom Thumb spent: 64.73 SAVED 120.72

Week 7- Kroger spent: 8.58 SAVED 17.99
Tom Thumb spent: 86.43 SAVED 125.80

Week 8- Albertsons spent: 43.43 SAVED 59.40
CVS spent: 0.43 SAVED 93.87

Now, I have just given a FEW examples every week. AND not always the best ones (although the CVS deal WAS pretty amazing). I have tried to show an average of what my receipts look like. Some times I go to 3 stores each week, sometimes all 5, and then sometimes its just 2. But that is my choice- I choose which deals I am willing to run after and which ones don't matter. These prices and savings totals also include ALL cleaning products, medicines, toiletries, ect... ANYTHING that you buy at the grocery store.

According to this web site- sales at grocery stores go in 12 week cycles. Patrick and I decided to keep our grocery budget the same for the whole first 12 weeks in order to build a well rounded "stockpile" (i.e. Food Storage). After that the name of the game will be "HOW low can your bill go". Even still, I am impressed with my efforts and accomplishments as far as our savings is going. At the end of the 12 weeks, I am going to do another post with pictures of my food storage, and $ totals.

I also want to mention, that we DON'T eat out anymore- Patrick takes a lunch everyday, and so does KK. We are going through Quite a few groceries this way- BUT when you calculate the savings of buying a few extra groceries THIS way, the savings is all the motivation we need. :)

Call me If you want to learn more about this! I would be happy to help you all save too!

Lauren

PS- A few "other" extras I have recieved because of this OBSESSION
* gas for 0.68 cents a gallon (on 1 ENTIRE fill up)
* a new WOK pan valued at 70.00 for FREE
* Restaurant gift certs (date night!) for 92% off

Don't you miss this guy????

2009-01-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

I KNOW you do.... just admit it already..... :)

New Year's Resolution

2009-01-05T19:46:00.000-08:00

Well it is that time of year again where we sit down and review our “bucket list” and resolutions of years past and realize that there is always this year to actually complete one of these items. So as I sit here and recommit myself to being a better person I have found my resolution for this year. It was not an easy decision or one that I came up with completely on my own, but with the help of my family and the scathing article I found about me and some of my friends I have made my decision…the article is attached below.

“The Dreaded Heartthrob-With-Pornstache: History is full of comical facial hair: muttonchops, the soul patch, the Tuff Man. But at least those whiskers possessed a whisper of sex appeal. (Say what you will, but muttonchops were hot, hot hot in the 1800s, and the "friendly muttonchop," which linked the burns with the 'stache, is like a cozy cardigan for the cheeks. Who doesn't get a little tingly over that?)
We cannot say the same about the pornstache, which littered the lips this year of at least four of Hollywood's hottest hunks: Brad Pitt, Robert Downey Jr., Orlando Bloom and Joshua Carver.

It also appeared on some sunken dreamboats, which only made matters worse for their languishing allure. (Will Ferrell, Seth Green, etc.)

We would never advocate violence, but we can certainly understand if someone perpetuated a drive-by shaving. It's DEFCON 1 for the Mach 3.”

So as you may have guessed the ‘stache’ is officially retired…or at least put in the back of my closet until it is once again safe to bare the badge of manhood!!

Yours Truly,

"The Stache"

We updated our blog...finally!

2008-12-26T09:54:00.000-08:00

So, with our move back to Utah and all the holidays our little family blog was a little neglected. I finally updated it yesterday with all the happenin's from the past month and a half. I included over 50 pics in the post so it is a whopper!

When you get a chance, waste some of your holiday vacation time by checking it out!

Click here to check out our blog!

Happy Birthday Lauren Irene!

2008-12-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

Lauren, We love you. You make us laugh, you make us cry (with your extremely hard punches to the arm) & most of all you make us HYPER! You have fed most of us, bathed some of us (kids only!), and loved all of us! Okay, so mostly you are extremely thoughtful & thorough..you always think of ways to cheer us up, include us, and show us you care! Thanks for being a fun sister, aunt & friend! You always know just how to spice things up & half of our Carver memories would be lost without you! You always make family a priority & you are an example to all of us with your giving heart. We LOVE YOU!!!
We hope you have a wonderful Birthday! You deserve it!!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-12-02T21:14:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend was a blast! Here are a few pictures from our time together (thanks to Lauren and Mari for most of the pictures...I only had my camera at Temple Square).

See you all again soon!

Jack Bauer's Training

2008-11-18T08:16:00.000-08:00

Just wanted you to all see the results of attending Jack Bauer's counterterrorism school. This guy is in his 2nd year demonstrating the "knock you out in less than a second by slapping your neck" move. Then he follows it up with the "wake you up by slapping your neck some more" move. Only Jack's training could make slapping seem manly.

Oh, and don't forget the 2-hour 24 movie this weekend! We are going to have a "fast" until Patrick gets here and then go buy the DVD (comes out on Tuesday) and watch it together, so if you are going to be in Utah for Thanksgiving, don't watch the show on Sunday, watch it with us on Tuesday!

MOVIES MOVIES MOVIES

2008-11-13T17:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, so Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I can't wait! One of my favorite things to do on Thanksgiving weekend is to go to the movies. Personally, I am extra excited because I haven't been to a movie in AGES (and NO high school musical 3 DOESN'T COUNT!). Anyway here are the movies I am hoping to see while in UT for the holiday...

I am SO excited to see this. Yes, I know I am a dork- but I really am excited! Who else wants to come with me?!? BECAUSE believe me I will go alone if I have to.....

OK and this movie looks good too! And Patrick is stoked to see it! But I will admit I am more excited for twilight-

What movies are YOU hoping to see?

Lauren

We Miss our Peeps

2008-11-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Let the Count Down begin! 2 weeks until we see y'all! We miss you!

Sexiest Man Alive

2008-11-05T22:05:00.000-08:00

You might not know, but you are all related to the most beautiful person on the planet...and I know what you are all thinking...Ammon, right? Wrong. To see some suprisingly sexy photos of PJ, go to our blog, you won't regret it...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!!!!

2008-10-01T08:53:00.001-07:00

ITS THE BIRTHDAY GIRL!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! JEN WE LOVE YOU!!! YOU ARE AN INCREDIBLE PERSON & WE ALL WISH WE COULD SEE YOU MORE! HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY!!!

( & THANKS FOR MARRYING THIS GUY!)

Ammon & Carlo had something to say (this is copied & pasted from my inbox):
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the things I find funniest about Jen is her super human ability to keep her house/yard/kids/husband neat, tidy and orderly...Seriously!!
I was lucky enough to spend some time with Josh and Jen (am I the only one who thinks they might be avoiding us?) a few weeks ago and I got to see their beautiful home. Immaculate would be an understatement. Not only were the lawns perfectly groomed and the carpets freshly vacuumed, the kids rooms were spotless, the kitchen looked like it was straight from a magazine, and jens computer/craft/creative room was like Martha Stewart paradise!!! I do not exaggerate people...perfection. So, how does a mother of three energetic kids (who each happen to look as if they were hand picked from a catalog to complete the "perfectness") keep everything so orderly? Freakish, I tell you, freakish. I havent even begun to describe how Jen made an incredible dinner that was ready seconds after my arrival AND (this is the best part) a breakfast with more pancakes than I could possibly eat...which is no easy feat you know.
I have developed 2 possible theories to help explain how Jen manages to maintain this level of amazingness:

1) She is secretly a meth addict and while the rest of us waste our time sleeping, Jen, in her cracked out state, takes care of everything we only dream about. In this theory, she most likely laughs at us "sleepers" while she contemplates world domination.

2) She is an incredible woman with amazing talents that most people only hope to develop. She has found an amazing balance in her life that makes others want to be like her (I know I do). :-)

Jen, all jokes aside, Carlo and I hope you have an amazing birthday and that you remember that even though we dont see eachother often, we love and miss you very much! Thanks for being a great sis in-law!!

Love,
Amms
and Carlo

Mari & Chris:
WE LOVE YOU! Chris says "HAPPY BIRTHDAY..I am finally going to get to know you!" Jen you rock! You are super talented & I only wish I lived closer to you so some of it would rub off onto me! haha. You are an awesome wife & mother & sister..I am so happy you are apart of this family!!!

More to come Jen, MORE to come!

Im an Old Lady..

2008-09-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

I go to the craft store at least once a week....I go to the fabric store at least once a week...I spend any extra money I have on: yarn, needles, fabric, etc..Not only do I go to bed by 10pm everynight, but I usually spend my last hour knitting hats! I AM AN OLD LADY! The thing that kills me about all of this, is that I always said I would never become domestic. I would vow to mom that I would Never cook! Never sew! etc. etc. Look at me, such a traitor to my own beliefs! Why did I find out NOW that I love these things? Its karma, I'm telling you. Anyway~ as most of you know (and some of you share) I have a need to have a creative outlet...So I am currently making hats with Courtney, who will be selling them in UT. And I am continuing to dable with headbands 'n such. Anyway, this is your littlest sister being an old 22yr old granny!

Remodel Project At Mom's Place

2008-09-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

For those of you who didn't get to see what the latest project was at mom's house, here are a few pics of what happened. Enjoy!

Bronx Zoo!

2008-08-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

Well, as most of you know by now, we will be moving back to Utah this fall. We are excited to be going back, but will dearly miss our friends here in New York. We weren't quite ready to move, but there have been a lot of things happening as of late that have let us know it is what Heavenly Father wants us to do, so we are at peace with it and excited to be back in time for the holidays.

As we prepare to move, we have been starting to do a few things one more time before we leave. Over the past three years, we have done just about everything we initially wanted to do when we first came here and it is nice to look back and have all those memories.

Last week, we spent an afternoon in Central Park and at the Central Park Zoo. Just yesterday, we took the kids to the Bronx Zoo, which is an AMAZING place...this is coming from someone who only goes to zoo's because he has kids. Anyway, we wanted to share a few of the pictures with everyone.

Here is Ellie, looking fresh and excited about the day at the zoo...of course, we had just got there.

Aside from an amazing family, take a look at the grounds of the zoo behind them. Amazing.

Our first break. As you can see, Ellie has decided she is done with the zoo, unfortunately for her (and us), we still had four hours to go. The other three were having a blast though.

The kids had a great time at the Children's Zoo portion of the zoo. Here they are at the prairie dog holes where kids crawl through a tunnel and can pop up through little plastic tubes and look at the prairie dogs running around them. I was lucky enough to catch all three of them popping up at the same time in the same tube!

One of the kids favorite shows on TV is Zabomafu (I know that is spelled wrong, but I don't care that much). It is a show about a lemur..well, they finally got to meet the lemur face-to-face and they were pretty excited about it.

Joshua doing a little bit of tree climbing. He is a very good boy.

Joshua really isn't afraid of much, including animals. He loves to touch an animal he possibly can, luckily this sheep didn't seem to mind.

Well, initially I didn't think anything of this picture other than to be glad that I got one where Caleb was actually looking at the camera. Then Katie pointed out to me that he had a very 'surprised' look on his face, and, well...on first glance it looks like the lady to his left is, well, giving him a prostate exam...no wonder he looks surprised! "MOON RIVER...using the whole fist doc?"

Here are the kids at the Congo exhibit going CRAZY!!!

Yes dad, we are riding camels...Joshua loved it, he kept saying "dad, this is such a good camel" and patting its back.

Joshua started to get tired and was hiding under Katie's shirt towards the end of the day.

Last ride of the day...notice Ellie isn't quite as chipper as at first.

This is about 10 minutes after we got in the van. It was a long day, but a lot of fun. The kids were wasted and just collapsed in the van once we started driving.

It was a good day!

Thanksgiving Turkey Trot!

2008-08-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! I hope you are all well! As you already know, Chris and I are on our 'quest' to becoming healthier peeps & have started running...well, the summer took a toll on our goals and now that things are wrapping up we are trying to get back on course! I looked up a few different little 5ks (which you can run or walk) and found on in Sandy on Thanksgiving morning! What a perfect way to start out the day, healthy..then we can gorge ourselves & not even think twice! ha! So I wanted to throw it out there, so you can start walking/jogging..its only a 3.1mile thing, so you can even strap up your kids in strollers & we can push them!
I also wanted to know WHO is actually going to be home for Thanksgiving? I think we should have some fun things planned, and of course, some down time :) I was thinking if its not snowy yet (fat chance) we could do the Alpine Slide, Bachi Ball tournament etc. Anyway, COMMENT if you plan on participating & Ill get more info about it! We could be team CARVER..like for CARVING A TURKEY! Get it? Get it? lol!

Thank you everyone!!!

2008-07-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

Katie and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for such a great time in Utah. Our kids are still talking about it and it really was so good to see you and be with you. We love you all so much and miss living closer to you (some day soon, right?). We just did a quick post at our family blog about our time in Utah if you want to check it out.

We love you all!!

-Cim, Katie and Family....

Lily Is Here!!

2008-07-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

Lily Elizabeth Wright the third was born Saturday, June 5 at 1:45 p.m.
Weighing in at 7 lbs. 6 ounces and stretching 20 inches long.
She is friggin' BEAUTIFUL!

Hot mama of three!!

The official Wright fam

A bro's love...

I think that's a smile...

Lauren with KK and Jack and their presents. (Notice the lilies)

She looks tiny!

What does Lily look like?

2008-07-06T16:07:00.000-07:00

As we all know, Lauren gave birth to Lily recently. Having never seem Lily, we decided to propose a predictive contest. Below are a number of photos of random babies. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to vote for the child you believe most resembles Lily.

A)

B)

C)

D)

E)

F)

G)

H)

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

2008-07-03T13:54:00.001-07:00

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!! We are so grateful to you for all that you do and for brining this crazy family together. We love you!

Here are a few of the pictures that I have on my computer here of Mom and Dad throughout the ages. If you have pictures, make sure you log in and add them to this post!!!

Here is the earliest picture of mom that I have...it is the bottom of her mouth! This is also the only picture we have of me as a baby, so it is important to me!

Just a normal 70's Christmas!

Rockin' in the apartment in Provo. Yes, I do have an amazing belly.

Taken outside of Grandma and Grandpa Christensen's home in Arizona.

Thankfully, Ammon doesn't look anything like this baby picture...

The house in Gilbert, AZ

Tucson, AZ right before we moved to Utah

Tucson, AZ...PJ rocking the sweet belly pic!

10 minutes after I got off the plane coming home from my mission.

Family Reunion in Seattle! Mom with the kids!

Family Reunion in Seattle. Dad was swimming in the pool behind us...

Seattle Family Reunion, Ammon and Katie with some interesting looks on their faces

Priceless...such a serious look for such a silly hat!

Seattle Family Reunion, Mom and Jacob...

Family Reunion in Utah, riding horses...Mari, sweet hair!!!

Great picture...

The Man from Snowy (Provo) River....

Josh and Mom...

One of my favorite pictures. Dad crossing the finish line during the marathon we did to raise money for our attempted PGD/In-Vitro fertilazation to have more kids. Dad was amazing as he trained and ran for his grandkids, I will never forget it. To have Caitlyn run out to meet him as he finished was very fitting!!

Same race...thanks again Dad, I will never forget this day!

Sunday Dinner at Mom and Dad's...will we ever forget those?

Dad bustin' a move at PJ and Lorena's reception...it looks like Mom is busting a gut, apparently it has been a while since dad was on the dancefloor!

Mom and Dad in NY just outside my office...not a bad view!!!

Mom and Dad at the Statue of Liberty...nice mane Mom!!!

Mom and Dad at Trinity Church in NYC...Dad wasn't looking at the camera that day.

Mom and Dad at Ammon's old salon in NYC...

Christmas 2007!

Now, as you can see, there are a lot of things I don't have pictures of. Upload your pictures of Mom and Dad.

Happy Anniversary!!!

-Cim

The joys of being a boy...

2008-06-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

As Katie has already told everyone, Joshua is pretty much completely potty trained. He really tries hard to not have accidents and rarely has them. One day while Katie was at the park, Joshua needed to go pee and, with no restroom nearby, Katie helped him to the nearest set of bushes and there Joshua was introduced for the first time in his life to one of the major benefits of boyhood...peeing outside.

Now, Joshua takes full advantage of this. In fact, I think he actually prefers to pee outside. So, today as we were getting in the van to head to Caitlyn's birthday party at her school, Joshua, on his way to the van, decided he needed to take a little potty break on our front porch. Classic.

-Cim

Alex & Crew Update

2008-06-20T14:31:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since we have been able to post something on the blog, so we wanted to give everyone a quick update on our life. Lorena and I are both still plugging away at school at the soon to be Utah Valley University, and we are planning on graduating together in April 2009 (2 semesters). Lorena just got done kicking some serious booty in her Senior Capstone class where her group finished in first place by effectively managing an entire company and making the most profit in the end. She will graduate with a degree in Business Management with an emphasis in International Business while I plan on gradutating with a Technology Management/Construction Management degree. After graduating, Lorena hopes to take advantage of her education and pursue becoming an entrepreneur---running a business from home. Alex and I aren't complaining because we are looking forward to having a sugga-momma! :)Once I graduate, I hope to get a job in the industry either here in Utah or out of state---but eventually I want to have my own custom home building company.

Alex, on the other hand, is doing his best at becoming 2. However, despite his small tantrums and frequent use of the word "no!", he is still the cutest kid on the planet. We recently took him to the pool for the first time (where he had a blast) and he decided he never wanted to take off his "sweet" life vest because it was so cool. Here are some recent pictures (don't pay attention to the dates---they are wrong):

Joshua the clown!

2008-06-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

The picture really speaks for itself. Let's just say that Joshua found the lipstick!

Such a clumbsy fool!

2008-06-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

We had a great time for Carlo's birthday on thursday. We reserved a private room at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants and invited a lot of friends. I am gathering all of the photos from various friends' cameras and I promise to post some birthday party pics soon. BUT.....
As some of you may have already heard, the birthday celebration turned into an "all nighter" but not in the good, fun way. After four hours in the Emergency room and 30 stitches from a plastic surgeon, Carlo and I were ready to be done partying. lol

Here are some photos of me "the morning after" (beware, they are not pretty)

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Just to fill in the details, I tripped in the dark and landed face first on the corner of my dresser. OUCH! I looked like something out of a horror film as we walked to the nearby hospital (facial wounds bleed a LOT!) The best was after we left the emergency room, walking home we decided to stop at Mcdonalds for breakfast because we were starving. Im sure I was a sight to see, with my blood soaked shirt, dried blood on my neck, ears, face AND a big fat bandage over my chin. Happy Meal anyone?
All is well now, I am a little sore on my chin, but I am hoping for a quick recovery with as minimal scarring as possible. It could have been WAY worse and I am very grateful to have only suffered these injuries.

These Boots are Meant for Walkin'

2008-06-05T21:13:00.001-07:00

Ever Heard of Tony Lama? Unless you are a Cowboy or have talked to Dad probably not. Well Patrick obviously had been listening to Dad, because when he was in TX for work he drove allllllllll the way out to a po-dunk town named Justin just to find dad these special boots. Dad had been telling everyone he wanted these ever since he found out that Lauren & Patrick were moving there. These boots are sooo cool & very nice. Apparently they are made of Iguana skin... fancy! Anyway, this was Lauren & Patricks gift to Dad for his birthday/fathers day & as you can see below, Dad was SO EXCITED!!! He was so surprised! Way to make the rest of us look bad Patrick!

My favorite is how Dad put them right on even though he was wearing board shorts, it was AWESOME! He wore them the very next day to church & my guess is he has worn them everyday since!

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

2008-06-05T21:03:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Dad!!! You are the best! We love you! The big ol' 59, next year we're gonna have to have a big party! Thanks for all you do Dad, you rock!

Happy Mothers Day!!

2008-05-11T19:15:00.001-07:00

Happy Mothers Day!!
All of us share a few things in common, one of the coolest & amazing is our mommy!! Thanks Mom for being the best mom any person could ask for! Whether it be one of your own kids, a daughter or son in law, a neighbor kid, or Im sure even a few of your students, we ALL agree, you ROCK!!! Thank you for being such an amazing example, a loving, caring, confidant, friend, teacher, beautiful person. You are looking great & we hope you are feeling great! Cheers to you Mom! WE LOVE YOU!!!

(sorry I only had these two pictures with her)
Also, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to: Katie, Jen, Crystal, Lauren, & Lorena! You guys have beautiful kids & are each unique in your parenting, but equal in the quality of mothering you give! I hope I can be like each one of you!!

HEADBANDS

2008-05-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

Over on our personal blog I've posted more headband pictures. Look what I do while Chris better educates himself; hence why he is so much smarter than me.! I love to just sit on the couch after work and work on things like this! I am going to look into a few upcoming boutiques, wish me luck!

Cim Multi-tasking!

2008-05-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

Did I mention that Cim is a workaholic? This is what I live with every day! I just feel sorry for whoever inherits his laptop when he gets a new one. :) By the way, you're welcome for the blur!

You Asked For It!

2008-04-29T09:56:00.000-07:00

I've been toying around again with the Morph idea and I wanted to show you all what I came up with. Since I know Chris is a big fan of our current Commander in Chief, I thought I'd name this first one THE PREZ

Next, "He's tried to make me go to rehab but I won't go go go..."

Meet Cim Winehouse

Last but not least, meet the yummy Joshelina...
Tomb Raider 2 anyone?

Thank you Merck!

2008-04-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, Ellie has Asthma. She was diagnosed a few months ago. A couple weeks ago I took her to the Doctor because her asthma was flaring up every day, especially at night and she wasn't sleeping well and neither was I. In the waiting room there was a pamphlet put out by Merck about the myths and facts of asthma. Well, by the time I was called back to see the Doctor almost all of my questions were answered by the pamphlet. Asthma can be aggravated by infections. Ellie at the time had a sinus infection and had had several ear infections previously. Also, I guess it's really common for the asthma to get worse at night. The only bad news from the pamphlet was that it is a myth that all kids outgrow their asthma. Some do, but not all. Anyway, we got her on an antibiotic for 3 weeks and she has to use a nebulizer to breath in her asthma medicine. In the beginning she had to do it before bed and in the morning. The asthma is under control, at least for now, so we haven't been doing the nebulizer lately. Ellie got to the point where she would get angry if I tried to help her hold the nebulizer, so she holds it herself. I thought it was cute, so here she is.

Check it Out

2008-04-26T08:28:00.000-07:00

READY TO RUN?

2008-04-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

Just want to let you all know we put some pics up on our blog of our latest 5k run. We are making slow, but steady progress. I have been looking at different races in UT over the time of Thanksgiving, since we will be there. I found one 5k on Thanksgiving morning at 9am. Anyone in? We are working towards a 10k this fall...We'd love it if any of you want to join our running train! Either way, its pretty much the only thing that motivates us to get off the couch & get in shape! This last race was in Santa Barbara, and I feel like no matter how much I ran trying to prepare for this, I was still so tired! I can't imagine what a 10k or more will do to me! We ran it with a friend from our ward Kevin, Chris' mom Linda, and about 200 other people. I placed 6 out of all women, all age groups, and 3rd in my own age group! The impressive thing was the power walkers who power walked it in less than 28min!

Some beach days

2008-03-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since we posted here. Mari and I have been enjoying some beautiful weather down here in CA. We even have had the chance to get in some beach days. First, we went with Crystal and the gang to Ventura. Then, a week later, we hit the beach with Bert and Keith. Here are some photos from our beach days.

Return to Rio

2008-02-17T15:43:00.001-08:00

Well, Carlo and I survived another crazy visit to Rio de Janeiro! We have just barely returned to our regular daily routine, but we're still having problems getting used to the cold weather again.
We had such a great time! I was happy to find myself communicating with our Brazilian friends with much more comfort. My portuguese is still really primitive, but its getting better. At least this time I didn't have to have Carlo (aka: translator) at my side at all times so that I could communicate. I could actually manage on my own a little.

What up What up!? A dogg and biggie C just arrived in Rio!!

Before the Carnaval celebrations began, Carlo and I went with some friends to visit the Cristo on Corcovado. Our driver was extremely knowledgeable and took us on a little tour of Rio before we arrived at the statue.

Group photo! Our driver stopped at a lookout spot in the middle of the forest where you could see the statue. See it behind us?

Even though it was my second time visiting the statue, I was still overwhelmed by how beautiful it is. It really is incredible.

Once the festivities start, Rio becomes CRAZY!! Seriously crazy! The streets everywhere are crammed full of people dancing, drinking and doing things most would rather not see!! (like urinating in public so they don't have to miss out on valuable party time)
The streets are packed!!

You have to be careful not to get separated from friends in these crowds.

As you can imagine, whenever crowds of this size gather, the weirdos start to surface!! Endless people watching entertainment!!

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After four days of celebration, we were very happy to have a few days left in Rio to relax and enjoy the best part: THE BEACH!! I have never seen beaches as beautiful as those in Rio. I may not be as well traveled as some of the other family members, but I would be willing to bet that the Brazilian beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world.
Look at that sunset!

I love these photos...the sunset made the lighting perfect, almost looks like a fake backdrop, right?

These are our best friends Kevin and Alex. They live in our same building in NYC, it was great sharing this vacation with such close friends

I love the way the mountains seem to flow gradually into the ocean, creating these cool little islands along the coast. Like the ones you can see behind Carlo and I here.

Every day at sunset, the Cariocas (people of Rio) stay at the beach until after the sun goes down. Then, they all stand and thank the sun for a beautiful day with a standing ovation! It gave me the chills the first time I experienced this. They are such a passionate people.

We cannot wait to go back!!
Amms

What it takes to feed a family...

2008-02-15T06:41:00.000-08:00

I thought this was pretty cool. I have no idea who put it together, but it is pretty telling, or, at the very least, interesting.

Here are some pictures from several different families across the globe showing what they eat in one week as a family. It is interesting to note not only the size and the cost they incur to feed their family (and how it differs from country to country), but also the types of foods that are avaliable in each country.

I don't know about you, but it really makes me grateful for what we have and at the same time it makes me feel gluttonous for having such abundance. I hope we never take what we have for granted and look for ways to help others and share what we have been so richly blessed with.

Ok, check this out:

Germany:
The Melander family of Bargteheide Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07

United States:
The Revis family of North Carolina (Sure hope most American families eat more fresh fruits and vegetables and less junk food than this family.) Food expenditure for one week $341.98

Italy:
The Manzo family of Sicily Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11

Mexico:
The Casales family of Cuernavaca Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09

Poland:
The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-JeziornaFood expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27

Egypt:
The Ahmed family of CairoFood expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53

Peru:
The Ayme family food expenditure for one week: $31.55

Bhutan:
The Namgay family of Shingkhey VillageFood expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03

Chad:
The Aboubakar family of Breidjing CampFood expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23

Makes you think a little bit doesn't it?

Air Carver

2008-02-08T13:43:00.000-08:00

We recently got a few of those large bean bag chairs and, well, we had to break them in...head over to our family blog to see some pictures Katie just posted...

...and yes, I do have mad skills.

-Cim

Vietnam

2008-01-28T21:33:00.000-08:00

Okay I figured that is about time that I share a little bit about my trip to Vietnam with everyone. After talking with Mari it appears that the email I sent upon returning to the States may have caused a little concern or something. So for the record I had a great time and I was amazed at the many different experiences I had in just under two weeks.

There is just no way for me to cover all of what went down back in 'Nam (I only took 598 pics), but here are just a few of the highlights.

One of the first things that we did was to meet with the owner/head editor of the Saigon Times, an english paper and magazine in Saigon. After our meeting with him and discussing the difficulties of trying to run a newspaper in a communist country we took a group photo with him, and much too our suprise we were in the paper and magazine a couple of days later. ( http://www.saigontimesweekly.saigonnet.vn/2008/issue03/3vietnam_scene.htm )
Now before you feel bad that part of my body is cut off in this picture you should know that there is a student to my left...sucks to be him.

After our meeting with the Saigon Times our professor told us he wanted us to experience the real Vietnam so he said goodbye and left us to wander by ourselves and for the record people don't speak english. In any event we wandered around Saigon in between meetings for about 4 days. One of the most fascinating things we noticed in Saigon was the traffic. Everyone rides scooters, on the sidewalks, the wrong way on a one way street, etc. It was not uncommon to see 4-6 people on a scooter (Mom, Dad, and 4 kids!!) We saw one guy riding with 4 chairs and a dining room table on the front...no ropes! We saw another guy pulling a water heater attached to a dolly!

In this picture, I bravely stuck my head out the window of our taxi and people were just driving underneath my arms while I was taking the picture it was nuts!! It made driving in downtown Rio like a Sunday drive on the Alpine Loop.

One of the most memorable experiences I had came on one of our last days in Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon). We had some free time and a couple went to a large War museum. I have to admit that I am somewhat ignorant to the details of the Vietnam war, but that being said this was an intense experience. The musuem was split into sections with some sections being filled with Vietnamese propaganda and the other with AP stories and photos. I don't want to be too graphic but some of the things I saw and read really affected me and will be things that are hard to forget.

We then took a hydrofoil boat out to a ocean resort town for a little R&R.

Our hotel was right on the beach, we swam in the ocean and visited some fishing villages. We also went to a restaurant where the food was farmed right next to the "hut"

That was it for the South, now it was time to fly to the capital of Hanoi. This brings me to one of the other most incredible experiences of the trip...Ha Long Bay. Ha Long Bay we were told has recently been made one of the seven wonders of the world. Just so you have an idea we were there for 24 hours and I took almost 100 pictures. We spent the night on a dragon boat and visited some famous caves. We had some of the best seafood I have ever eaten...it was amazing! It was here that some also showed me how to take pictures with my camera in the middle of the night when it is pitch black...take a look.

Here we are ferrying out of the city to our dragon boat...

Here are shots at night from the upper deck of the dragon boat. All the dragon boats spend the night in the same spot and then go out among the islands in the morning...And then as the day begins to break the bay begins to look so different...

Here we are on the top deck of the dragon boat...

Of course there were a few of us that felt we needed to join the "polar bear" club and go swimming in the bay and yes it was freezing! Being MBA students we collectively decided with our higher education that the best way to mitigate the effect of the cold water was to jump off the top of the boat...a dozen times!

Here are some shots from inside this gigantic cave that was made up of many rooms and rock formations...you can see the cave above my head and to the right...

Now for the food shots...

The last pic is from a place where we just picked what we were going to eat out of live tanks with sea creatures in them...don't ask!

Here are some random pics...there was a 60+ yr old lady that was riding this bike if you look close you can see her toes in the bottom of the pic and yes she is standing up...

This is Uncle Ho's tomb. To get inside you are not allowed to take cameras, you have to wear pants, you have to keeps your hands out of your pockets and at your sides. Once inside you can't stop, you just walk without talking and you walk around a glass casket with Ho Chi Minh's body preserved inside. Oh, and did I mention that there are armed guards everywhere and if you are doing anything that they don't approve of...well look out.

Finally, one of the last groups we met with over there was a group of foreign investors from Japan. They happened to be former students of our professor and they started a bowling alley. Which is about to be torn down to make room for a new venture that had caught their interest. However, we did get to bowl and of course there was money placed on who would win. The funny thing is that when the investors heard us placing bets on who was going to win they decided to donate a decorated bowling pin that they sell in their alley. Well the rules were simple he with the highest score in any of the 3 games walks with the money and the trophy pin.

Of course I couldn't bowl 3 games seriously so after some wicked sweet curves and slider balls I went for the between the legs shot...I got 8 pins, not bad.

But when crunch time came I stepped up and took the boys to town with a score of 186. So I got the trophy and a picture next to this wicked awesome disco ball, which is also the biggest disco ball I have ever seen!

I know that this was a school trip that was required in order for me to graduate, but I don't want anyone to feel too bad I made the sacrafice for my family and for all of you! HAHA are you kidding this was the trip of a lifetime...now I just have to find a way out of the dog house for leaving Jen home with the 3 kids for 10 days!!

Any suggestions?

Ellie's First Birthday!

2008-01-24T07:46:00.000-08:00

Well, I wanted to post something about Ellie's first birthday...and I couldn't stand looking at "Marlo" much longer.

It is hard to believe that Ellie is already one. Here is some birthday fun. Head over to my blog for more pics and vids if you are interested.

-Cim

Family Morph

2008-01-03T14:49:00.000-08:00

Cim started this a few years back when he decided to combine the boys' faces on the family picture together to see what would happen. I'd like to shake it up a bit.

Meet my first creation... MARLO--

Next, I decided to throw in a little fun on this next one and combine the family with a little bit of pop culture. Meet Aubbies Lavigne--

The craziest thing is thing is that this next superhero and myself are not only alike in mad fighting skills and terrorist plot thwarting, but we also look a lot alike. Meet the new and improved Jack Bauer...

Now, I am running out of time and must get back to my extremely demanding job (as you can see) but i wanted to give you one more. Usually, Mari is the one compared to Ashley Olsen; however, you can see below that maybe there was a third Olsen twin--named Josh...

More to come.....

More Carver Christmas

2007-12-25T17:14:00.000-08:00

What a great Christmas! We missed Josh and Jen and their kids so much, and wanted to make sure we posted a few clips here to share with them our time together.

Of course, we did our usual "3rd Degree Burn" festival, otherwise known as making Popcorn balls. It was fun to watch Grandma tutor Mari on the art of candy making!

On Sunday, we made a trip up to Temple Square to see the lights. It was pretty darn cold, but the kids really enjoyed seeing the lights and getting out with the holiday crowds.

Here is a quick video of Christmas morning (or, according to Caitlyn, "Tuesday"). Of course, we have the sheet, stockings, etc... Mom and Dad got two electric cars for the kids to play on and dad took them over the gym at the church and let them drive the cars around for hours!

Love you all!

Christmas Tree Time!!

2007-12-20T21:48:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to throw up a few videos from our traditional outing to get the family Christmas tree. As usual, we all went, but only Crystal and Mom actually focused on getting the tree, the rest of us just hung out. Then, we sprinted back (unecessarily of course) home to get the tree in water. It was a lot of fun!

Anyway, Ammon, Josh & Jen, since you aren't here with us, I wanted to make sure we included you as best as we could! Hope you are doing well, we will see Ammon in a few days!!!

Enjoy the videos!

Landon Knight Carver

2007-12-15T16:33:00.000-08:00

Hey all here a just a few pictures of baby Landon from the hospital. As I am sure that you can all imagine things are a little busy right now, but after things settle a little bit I will have some more pics to post. Both Landon and Jen are doing great, we are back home now and looking forward to the holidays!

In case you did get the particulars here is a review:

Weight: 7 lbs. 9 oz.
Height: 20.25 in.
Hair: Lots
Toes: 10
Fingers: 10
Eyes: 2 (we think, he has only opened them once or twice, but we are pretty confident)
Health: Good
Lakers Fan: Done, he has already watched a Lakers game with his old man, and they won so he is hooked already!!!

For Your Enjoyment...

2007-12-02T09:20:00.000-08:00

Well, as some of you may have noticed & Ammon just directly pointed out, I wore a hat for the majority of my time in Cancun. Now, being a laying-out-all-day type of girl this may strike you as odd, out of the norm, possibly even suspicious...Well...I thought I could hide it from you all, but I know that if I don't fess up Chris will do it for me. Being the butt of every family joke has been happening since that first hide-and-go-seek game with Ammong & Pj...in which I hid, and they left the house. I really thought for about 30min I had the best hiding place EVER!...This will launch me up to a new level Im afraid...So without further delay, I give you.... what-happens-when-you-don't-apply-sunscreen-your-first-day-in-Cancun. Cuz I wanted to get "TAN"...ya, that won't be happening again... AKA Elephantitus-Asian-Girl!

And For the Record I want you all to know that I noticed my face swelling & blurred vision and I asked Chris, does my face look diff? It feels full...and he said "No you are fine"...YUP, NOT THAT BAD???? Are you kidding me? I am worried if I ever get a disease he is going to ignore that too!

Hello?

2007-11-29T19:27:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to see if anyone is still alive out there? I just wanted to share my recent discovery about this blog. As I sit here in some class where I just gave my final presentation and I am doing my best to pay attention to the remaining presentation. The problem comes with the fact that there is a good football game on and the Lakers are about tip off. This problem is confounded by the fact that the room that my class is in is a computer lab where the computer screen is under dark glass under the desk so no one can see anything on your screen.
Alright the verdict is in I am no onger paying attention to anything relevant to my class. Which brings me t the point of this entry...no one else is paying attention to this blog except for me, Cim does make a token celebrity cameo once and awhile. In order to test my theory I am going to post this entry and not announce it on the email chain and see how long it takes for people to notice.
So here's the idea, once you notice this post make a comment that will time stamp when you became aware of this post. After a predetermined time has past if there have not been sufficient posts I will consider a hostile takeover of this blog and cram it full of things that are of no interest to anyone but me...for example...

By the way did you guys see the farts email that my wife sent me and I forwarded out to you all?

There is only one rule, you cannot inform anyone else of the post consider this a game of "blogging spoons" the object is to not be the person to make the final post...

the time begins now...

I'm baaaaack...!

2007-11-16T01:00:00.001-08:00

Ok, I know it has been a while...things have been just a little hectic as of late, but I am finally getting another post up.

Head on over to my blog to check out the pictures from our Halloween festivities as well as our recent trip to Tahiti!

We are looking forward to seeing everyone next month!!!

A quick halloween video...

Yes, Tahiti was fun...

Head on over to my blog for more!!

-Cim

Halloween Pics

2007-11-05T17:43:00.000-08:00

Here are a few Halloween pics. Sorry Mares, I lost my digital camera so I couldn't show you my awesome pumpkins...Josh easily won though. Enjoy!!

Aubrie pulling her pre-teen face...
the make-up and fake hair made her feel so "mature"!

He's a monkey...anyone who has seen him recently knows why!

Aubrie was a little scared of this Pumpkin Man!

Just for all of you wondering why all the pics are at the Haackes...
I lost my camera, ok! Chris took a bunch of shots so I could post
them.

Aubrie and Justin were soooo over the picture thing by now!

Ninja Justin!!! HiYAAAAAAA!

PS...Thanks to Lauren for letting me use her account to post.

Cim when you get I need your help to reset my own.

Time to catch up!

2007-11-04T22:17:00.000-08:00

Okay so it has been a little while since I have made a post so before Cim and Katie make this incredible post of Cim in his speedo on the beach in Tahiti I thought that I would get mine up.

First off, I thought I would send all of you a picture of the winning pumpkin. I don't really have a lot of extra time, but one night while Jen and Jacon were at the Hannah Montana concert Kaylee and I decided to whip out a quick little "spooky face" pumpkin. As you look at the finer details you will notice that every body part (eyes, nose, etc.) is a different Halloween symbol. So thanks in advance for all the congratulations and gift cards that you will be sending our way ($100 to Applebee's, right?).

Moving on, I thought it would be a good idea to add a few pics from Halloween. Jacob and Kaylee were entered into an online costume contest and won!! ($50). Jen and I didn't win any contests, but we did get pulled over by some copper while in our costumes and well lets just say that between our costumes and the Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf in granny's clothes, we got a couple of wierd looks and a "please just uhhh, be careful ahhhhh, and ahhhhh hurry home!" Just to clarify, Jen is an oven with a bun in it and well I am the "bun maker".

I mentioned in my last blog about the giant mini pumpkin sling shot, yet I failed to include the pictures so in response to the numerous requests here are the photos. As you can see I never miss an opportunity to teach my son the important concepts of physics!!

Jen thought I should include a picture of my creative side and my mad cookie frosting skills!!

Here is a random picture, but I thought that each of should get fair warning that my wife is not as composed and proper as you think she is...I am not sure how to even introduce the picture or what the appropriate commentary should be...

Here are a couple of pics of Jake in his newest endevor, indoor soccer. Needless to say he is not Pele, but he sure looks good and has a great time playing with his buddies.

Finally I have also been getting a lot of requests to see some pictures of our new house. As such I have taken some photos of the inside of our house to give a general idea of what the house looks like so enjoy. As always if you click on the picture they will enlarge and you can get a better look.

This first picture is of our mud room that is right off the garage, we use it as Jen's scrapbook room.

From there this is the view into the kitchen and great room.

Here is more of the kitchen and great room.

Here is a picture of the dining room and then a couple of my office, both are right off the entry way into the house.

A view from the entry way and also one from the kitchen into the backyard. It is hard to tell but we have a much bigger bakyard than in our previous house and there is no one that lives behind us, there is just a little park for the kids to play on.

As you go upstairs you enter our bonus room/loft and then there is the laundry room and all the bedrooms.

Jake's room...

The hallway to Kaylee's room and Landon's/guest room...

Kaylee's room...

Landon's/Guest room...

Master bedroom...

view of master from master bath, as you can see the double doors open right into the bonus room...

Master bath...

Any way that is a little tour of our house, but of course it is not nearly as cool as seeing it in person. So if there is anyone out there that is needing to get away for awhile or is just itching to come visit the great northwest just give us a "holler" and we'll put you up for a night or two!!

Josh

Mari's creations

2007-10-31T21:07:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween! As you all know, i have a slight obsession with mini things...so I carved mini pumpkins! Aren't the cute? Its sad, but Chris and I are the only ones who participated. Way to go guys, way to let me down & not participate in family fun. Before you know it, we will all become "too busy" and all of this fun with the blog etc will fade out. Way to keep it alive. hahaha. Okay, enough of the guilt trip for the slackers! Im pretty sure Chris' skull is more artistic than my simple baby pumpkins, but I love them! But its up to the judges (and no ties mom!!) We hope you all had a wonderful Halloween, Im sure the kids all were adorable! Post some pics!

Alex Turns 1!!!!

2007-10-27T18:37:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Mr. Alex turned 1 on October 26th! We celebrated the big occasion by having a Halloween costume party with his cousins at grandma's house. The kids had a blast at the b-day party showing off their sweet threads! Here are some fun pics of the kids in their costumes.

Here is Alex sporting his Dragon outfit...ladykiller isn't he!

The cousins dressed up in their costumes...look closely and you can see Justin laying on the floor trying to be a "spider" and Jack is the turtle...

See....I told you it was Jack...

Here is our little family. Alex is supposed to be the deadly dragon that I slay (King Carver) while trying to protect Princess Lorena...

Dragon Boy chillin' with his buddy Monkey Boy...

Dragon Boy's wings fatigued....Princess Lorena had to come to the rescue...

I'm sorry ladies, this King is already taken...

The kids had fun painting their own pumpkins while wearing grandpa Carver's old t-shirts...hopefully they were clean :)

Oh sorry, I think my muscles were blocking KK's head from view...maybe I should slow it down at the gym a little...

All the cousins got to take turns releasing their aggression on a poor pumpkin pinata...which I have a suspicion was made out of steel (25 min. to break it).

Here is Alex's birthday cake...

This is Alex's personal cake that he could do whatever he wanted with it...

And this is what he did with it...the poor cupcake didn't stand a chance...

And this is what happens when you hang out with uncle Peej too long...

Love you guys! Hope you like the pictures! Alex (and us) missed all the cousins who couldn't be there...see you soon!

My sad, sad skul

2007-10-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

Well, here is my pathetic attempt at carving a skull. The sad part is that this is probably the best pumpkin I have ever carved. But hey, I am the only one to have actually carved an posted a pumpkin so far, which means that i am technically winning as of this point. Since i am winning i guess that means I am the best!

Australia!!!

2007-10-19T13:02:00.002-07:00

I finally have a free minute to sit and post some of the pictures we took down under!!! We had such an amazing time! We were in Sydney for most of our trip, climbing the Harbor bridge, visiting the local beaches, seeing the Opera House, and we even had time to visit the zoo (surprise surprise, Ammon wanted to go to the zoo)
We also spent some time in Port Douglas (northern Australia), where we walked the beautiful rainforest and had our first scuba diving experience at the Great Barrier Reef! Words cannot describe the beautiful things we saw, there's a reason why the Reef is considered the 7th Wonder of the World.
Cannot wait to tell you all the stories in person and show you the rest of the photos...but for now, ENJOY!!
love you all
Amms

Yay! Sydney!!!

This was taken at Bondi beach. All along the coast was a mixture of sandy beaches and jagged cliffs.

More Bondi beach.

This fountain was a gift to Australia from France (like the Statue of Liberty in the U.S., or the Christo in Brazil) I was doing a happy dance, because we had just arrived in Sydney before this pic was taken.

Looking upward through the canopy while walking through the rainforest. Beautiful, right?

Couldn't leave Australia without taking a photo with a Koala! These little guys are sooo boring, sleeping 20hrs a day. I was very excited to interact with the Koalas...what a let down!

Opera House view from the Ferry

We were literally standing INSIDE of the trunk of this tree. So cool.
Thats all for now! LOVE YOU ALL!!

Australia!!!

2007-10-19T13:02:00.001-07:00

Halloween Fun and Trivia

2007-10-11T15:32:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let all of you know what you are up against with this pumpkin carving contest. Lorena and I have developed a serious talent for creating masterpieces over the years...and below are just a few examples of past creations...some of you might want to back out now...

Hungry? Why wait...

Most pumpkins don't have hair, but we were lucky enough to find one that did...and it also came with a hat...

This one is trying to capture what my hair occasionally looks like in the morning...

Pumpkin cannibalism...

Here is a recreation of Lauren's infamous "plumb" incedent in the back of the Isuzu truck...

Lorena was inspired to create this one a few months after we were married...

This dragon only took a mere 40 minutes to complete...

This one was inspired by Ammon and Cim's "chocolate kiss" experience...

Alright, know that you know that you have no chance at winning, here are some fun trivia questions to fill up your time now that you won't be carving pumkins.

HALLOWEEN TRIVIA
1) What was the most popular Halloween candy in 2004?
Choose Your Answer: A: Snickers, B: Candy Corn, C: M&Ms, D: Tootsie Rolls

2) According to superstition, if you stare into a mirror at midnight on Halloween, what will you see?
Choose Your Answer: A: Bloody Mary, B: Your Future Spouse, C: Your Death, D: Dead Ancestors

3) The first Jack-o-Lanterns were made out of what?
Choose Your Answer: A: Watermelons, B: Coconuts, C: Turnips, D: Pumpkins

4) Halloween is generally considered to have evolved from what ancient festival?
Choose Your Answer: A: Lammas, B: Beltane, C: Samhain, D: Ostara

5) What was the most popular Halloween costume in 2004?
Choose Your Answer: A: Spiderman, B: Witch, C: Vampire, D: George W. Bush

6) How much does the world's biggest pumpkin weigh?
Choose Your Answer: A: 245 pounds, B: 485 pounds, C: 685 pounds, D: 1,385 pounds

7) According to legend, a unibrow, tattoos, and a long middle finger are all signs of what Halloween creature?
Choose Your Answer: A: a werewolf, B: a vampire, C: a witch, D: a golem

8) How many pounds of candy did the average American consume in 2002?
Choose Your Answer: A: 6 pounds, B: 12 pounds, C: 24 pounds, D: 48 pounds

9) How many "witches" were burned at the stake in the Salem Witch Trials?
Choose Your Answer: A: Twelve, B: Twenty, C: Thirty-three, D: None

10) What phobia do you suffer from if you have an intense fear of Halloween?
Choose Your Answer: A: Phasmophobia, B: Samhainophobia, C: Wiccaphobia, D: Halloweenophobia

I have the cheat sheet, so I'll give out the answers when everyone is finished. Happy Halloween!

CARVER CARV-OFF!

2007-10-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

Roll up them sleeve, grab a knife (& a cheat kit if you're PJ)and get ready to spill the guts! In honor of the season, I propose we have the first annual Carver Pumpkin Carving Contest! After all, we are 'Carvers' are we not? Anyone who wants to participate just has to take a picture & post it! We will have judging done by Mom & Dad (they don't know this yet..)the first of November! Now don't be lazy or lame, just carve a pumpkin & be apart of the fun okay!? I just want you all to know Im going to win, I know I am not known for my 'artistic' abilities like Cim, Crystal, or Ammon, but I have passion people! Just to get you all in the spirit of things, I will post my pumpkin from last year. Don't be afraid to try once you see it ;) HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Spooner Farms

2007-10-10T00:24:00.000-07:00

I have decided to officially change the name of this blog to Josh’s Blog. The way I see it I am the only one who is posting anything on here anymore.

That being said I wanted to share with you all some pictures of our annual trip to the pumpkin patch, Spooner Farms. It has become a family outing that we take every year, usually general conference weekend. As many of you know we are now entering into my wife’s favorite time of year and our house is starting to really look like something out of an autumn catalog.

Anyway we went down to the pumpkin patch between sessions of conference and had a great time. The kids enjoyed helping Jen pick out the different types of pumpkins that we "needed". There were lots of different themes going on at the patch, there was a kiddie corn maze and other activites. There was even my favorite, the pumpkin sling shot. I forgot to upload the photos, but in essence Jake and I bought 6 mini pumpkins for a couple of bucks and then there are these really big sling shots that you use to launch these mini pumpkins at these targets in the distance. It is a blast.

I hope you are all well and that you have a enjoyable holiday season! By the way you are all welcome to come to our place for Thanksgiving if you would like!! Enjoy the pictures!

Once Again!

2007-09-26T00:10:00.000-07:00

Well I am glad to see that once again it falls on me to post something on the blog. Just as a friendly reminder, you don't to have some live changing event to post something on the blog.

That being said here is another movie quiz! In celebration of me getting my new TV setup this weekend and with Halloween just around the corner here are some movie scenes that have the actors with masks on or as animals. Have fun!

Parley, no cheating!!

In My Free Time

2007-09-12T00:24:00.000-07:00

I just got back from an amazing conference that we had for work. I spent 4 days in team building activities and training sessions that were amazing!! Anyway, I know you all care about that but, one of the activities that we got to do in our down time was learn how to do shadow puppets with our hands. In order to make a long story short, let's just say that after a couple of hours of practice and some fancy equipment that was provided so that we could make our own videos, I was able to make a pretty cool movie. Check it out!

Pretty awesome huh! You may be asking yourselves, "how is it that Josh is so talented and wickedly awesome?" You may even be thinking, "If only I could be like Josh, maybe just maybe, life would be great." I just want to let you all know it's okay to feel this way, most people who meet me struggle with these same feelings.

I will however make this offer to all of you, if anyone would like to come up and visit us, I will teach how to make shadow puppets. Depending on your commitment level, we can attempt to attain wicked awesome status (no guarantees).

So...

Everything that just posted is a complete lie. Believe it or not, that is not me in the video. I just thought it was a cool video and I couldn't just post it so I made up a story to go with it.

PS - Chris you got lucky last week! Wicked Awsome will get our revenge!

Josh

California Vacation

2007-09-07T19:34:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I just posted some pictures from our recent family vacation over on my other blog. When you get a second, please jump on over there and check it out!

Click HERE to go the blog.

A few pictures

2007-09-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,
Just wanted to share some pictures since its been a while since i have posted anything. Carlo and I got to go and see some of the matches at the U.S. Open recently with some friends. It was so much fun! We miss you all and cannot wait to see everyone for christmas!!
xoxo
Ammon

Jacob & Kaylee

2007-09-03T21:57:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I just wanted to take a moment and let you know that Jen and I have 2 kids, Jacob and Kaylee (Baby Landon is on the way). I know that it has been at least a year since we have seen most of you and for some it has been even longer. I know that I have been hiding myself and my family up here in the beautiful Northwest. As Jen and I were talking about how long it has been since anybody has seen us, I thought it might be a good idea to prove to everyone that we do still have two kids and although there have been offers we have decided against selling either of them to the gypsies. J/K!

Just as a quick update, Jacob (5)is about to start kindergarten and Kaylee (2) can't wait to follow. Both kids are very active and love to keep mom on her toes. Kaylee is trying her hardest to be just as big as Jake, she loves dressing up in princess clothes and wearing her princess shoes and dancing around the house all day long. Jake on the other hand has started riding his bike without training wheels, loves his scooter, and is starting soccer here soon. Jacob also loves playing XBOX, he just doesn't understand why I am so bad at it. The only thing that Jacob loves more that playing his video games is Hannah Montana. Jen and I thought that this may just be a phase, but when we caught him kissing the television when she came on the screen and then asking for a Hannah Montana singing toothbrush we knew we were in the middle of Jake's first crush.

Anyway here are a couple videos of the kids! Jake is riding his scooter and bike and Kaylee is baking a cake in her kitchen for Grandpa and Grandma.

One Whole Year!

2007-09-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, its been one year! Our year to celebrate 'softened edges', new jobs, 1year completion at law school, trip to Mexico, one new in-law, one year with Lauren & Patrick's big screen HD TV, new babies, several trips to the dentist, 'the belly', oh and getting married. Its been crazy, stressful & fun. All in all we had an incredible year, and are so grateful that you've all been apart of it. To celebrate the day, we went to Santa Monica beach and road beach cruisers down the paseo to Venice beach. Chris got Kings hockey tickets from me & I got a beach cruiser from him! (feel free to send food stamps because we won't be eating for a month now that we spent that money on gifts!) Here are a few pictures of my new bike, which of course I had to name. Everybody, meet Peach!

Caleb's Baptism

2007-08-26T18:09:00.001-07:00

Hey y'all!

Head on over to my blog when you get a chance and check out the info and pics from Caleb's baptism!

Love you all!!

-Cim

Fuimos a Mexico

2007-08-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

Mari and I went to Cancunfor a week. Here are some photos from our trip.

the beach

Mari and My Sisters

Mari, my belly, and I

My family

The veiw from our room

A bunch of my family got SCUBA certified in Mexico
Mari's view

We swam with the Dolphins at Ex Caret

Do You Know Your Movies?

2007-08-16T00:15:00.000-07:00

The following are all scenes in English-speaking movies where somebody's not speaking English. Or maybe they are speaking English, but they have such heavy accents that the film-makers figured they'd better add subtitles so we'd know what they're saying. But in most cases, it's not English, but rather Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, Atlantean, Gibberish or whatever. Name the movies.

1.2.
3.

4.

5.
6.
7.
8.

9.

10.
11.
12.
13.
Have fun with these, Parley stop cheating!!

Stache

A Whole Lot of Pictures....

2007-08-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, so this BLOG entry started with me looking back to our first family vacation ever.... fall of 2006. We had SO much fun!! Our next family vacation is a repeat, DISNEY again and we are very excited. We go in September. That is ALL the kids have been talking about for weeks... But as I looked through the pictures, a few "other" things got posted also. So in general this is Fall of last year- with most of the emphasis on our family vacation. Well here goes...

It all started with Mari's wedding....

The 3 little girls....

Beautiful KK....

At the California reception.

Mari is always "S'Macking" on my kids.

Jack's First look at the beach, EVER. He doesn't look too sure.

WOW! DAD! Did you see the water just MOVE like that...

KK's First time in the Ocean... She LOVED it!

Didn't take long for her to get used to it...

Yipee!! I love the Beach!

Jack getting ready to make a sand castle.

KK likes the sand...

The ONLY way Jack would go in was if Daddy held him.

The M&M factory in vegas.

Me and my Girl!

DISNEYLAND!! We went to a "Character" breakfast... It was Awesome!! The kids loved it!

Fairy Godmother and White Rabbit- our 1st visitors.

KK can't believe it's ACTUALLY Minnie Mouse!! (My favorite Picture.)

Yeah! Pooh Bear!

Hugs for Rabbit, whether he is ready or not.

Tigger- You're Kinda squishing us!

Jack on the Carousel. We had fun!

KK loved all of the Characters... she chased Goofy down!

Mickey Mouse!!

Aunt Mari- trying to convince Jack to touch her tongue! Gross!

Jack is ready for the parade! Good looking!

Hello!

Kailah gets a little excited.....

Family photo with our favorite Disney Family.

Going Home!!

Mom- Stop it with the Camera!

SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2006
Apparently a bad day for me to sleep in, Patrick is a slave driver!

Notice the footie Jammies still on...

Halloween 2006!!

Tigger!

Eeyore!

Costume day at TNI- P decided to be "creative"...

We are all dressed up to go Trick-or-Treating!

Thanksgiving 2006

Ammon, took KK on a walk up Provo Canyon!

Again, with Uncle Ammon!

WE MADE IT!! These are some of my favorite photos.

Well, I hope you enjoyed our family pictures!! Love ya- Lauren

Katie's attempt at blogging!

2007-08-10T16:50:00.000-07:00

Here's Caitlyn striking a pose. Ellie apparently thinks she is pretty funny. Joshua is not so sure.

In case you didn't know, Caleb loves Blue's Clues! Some people even think he looks like Steve. I personally think Caleb is much cuter. Here he is in his thinking chair with his notebook.

I am Ellie. I am 6 months old and I have 6 teeth! See!

Joshua is a monkey. He used that tiny chair to climb on the counter so he could get in the cupboard.

"Ooh, sprinkles!"

That's all for now! Love you all!

Movie Quiz

2007-08-08T23:37:00.000-07:00

This post is a little more difficult, but still not brain surgery. This time there are some word scrambles.

In each question, we've re-arranged the letters of an actress, actor or director, and three movies that the person starred in or directed. How many can you name?

For the movie names, the full titles are used (including every "the", "and", etc.), but no punctuation is included.

Actor/Actress is the number followed by 3 movies he/she starred in:

1. CORN MAIZE AD

- BRAVE THY DINGS

- SALIVA KYLN

- SUNGY NAY INVADE

2. GERMANY

- IRON TOASTER

- ANGELIC SOFTY

- LEOPARD MINDS

3. BONG SMILE

- WEIRDO BRAIN

- GOVERNOR FUEY

- PLEA NO WEALTH

4. CLONED HEAD

- VEAL SCENE ONE

- HEFTY MAILMAN

- OSMOSIS MARTIN

Our trip to Ecuador

2007-08-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

Last year Lorena and I had a chance to visit her home country---Ecuador. It was her first trip back after she had moved to the U.S. as a little girl (around 11 or 12 years old); and it was also my first time traveling outside the country. So, as you can probably guess, it was a pretty exciting trip for us. I was eager to find out more about my wife's childhood and where she came from, as well as getting to know her family. But more specifically, I wanted to show off my newly developed latin dancing skills (bachata, merengue...and salsa...oh yeah, you heard me right..) to the new fam! Who says white boys can't dance?! Pssht! Let's just say that you haven't seen salsa until you see me move it baby! Anyway, some of you may have seen these pics before, but we wanted to post them so that those who haven't seen them will have a chance to. Hope you enjoy them.

Here is some of her family that greeted us when we arrived. Everyone in this picture and the following pic showed up at the airport to welcome us with balloons and posters and stuff...it felt like we were celebrities or something!

If you couldn't tell on the previous pic, apparently I am a giant in Ecuador...a little hard to "blend" in..

The city behind these foxy ladies is Quito, the capital of Ecuador. This city has roughly 1.5 million people.

This is a ferreteria (hardware store) owned by Lorena's aunt.

The LDS temple in Guayaquil...cool eh?

This is a cathedral called "La Basilica del Voto Nacional" in Quito...

La Plaza de la Independencia in the colonial section of Quito..

Iglesia San Francisco in Quito...(this church was featured in the movie "The Negotiator" with Russell Crowe..FYI)

Goat milk anyone? This pic was taken in a small town outside of Quito...

This is Otavalo, a small city 3 hours from Quito. At the center of most cities in Ecuador you will find a plaza that contains a monument or statue, along with a fairly large church.

Another pic of Otavalo...

Here is where the President of Ecuador lives...in the colonial section of Quito..

This is me at a local market...as you can see, markets typically have various types of fresh meat available along with fruits, vegies, etc. You can't find food fresher than this...

Us trying an alfalfa concoction...which was surprisingly tasty!

This is Laguna San Pedro (we think)...a beautiful lake with a large mountain in the background...

One of the many fun waterfalls in Ecuador...also the place where Lorena and I were both hit on by locals on the same trail...

A tram ride called "teleferico" that takes people to one of the highest mountain peaks in Quito. As you can see, this is a very large city, and proves to be quite a spectacle to see from an airplane at night with city lights stretching as far as the eye can see...

Here is my beautiful wife sipping back on some coconut milk in Salinas beach (otherwise know as "Little South Beach")

Here I am stepping off the plane on our way to the Galapagos Islands...we know, you're jealous..

The famous gigantic turtles of the Galapagos...chowing down on some food...

This is a "Blue Footed Boobie". Obviously they get their name from the color of their feet...its hard to see in this pic, but just click on the photo to enlarge it.

This rock is called the "Sleeping Lion" and it is also located in the Galapagos. Our local "guide" wanted me to swim with sharks between the rocks..."its okay, the sharks get plenty to eat, they won't bother you..." Naturally, I gratefully declined...

We decided that this would be a better spot to swim rather than with the sharks...so we took out our snorkel gear and swam with sea lions!

These were the sea lions that we swam with, and they were found everywhere in the Galapagos...

Here are more "lobos". There are typically 20-30 females for every male (sounds like high school all over again for me! jk). These are females...males are much larger...and meaner...

Also famous in the Galapagos are the large Iguanas...

Most of the time the Iguanas like to hang out on the rocks as they can blend in perfectly and they like to get warm...you can see it on the bottom of the pic.

Bananas are the #1 export for Ecuador. There are miles and miles of banana fields throughout the country...this bushel of bananas cost around $.75-$1.00.

Banana fields...

And don't forget...also commonly found in Ecuador are hot, buff, dead-sexy men with beautiful hair...

THE END! :)

Change of Pace

2007-08-06T22:16:00.000-07:00

Alright enough already!! So much time spent on the email, not nearly enough time given to the blog. Come on people, I know that Cim and I are not the only ones who can multi-task, well kind of anyway.

As a change of pace, I am going to be regularly testing everyone on one of my favorite topics (not hoops, that would be to easy the Lakers would answer about every question). Actually one of my favorite things to do is to watch movies. I watch just about anything and everything that is not R, unless its edited of course. I don't recommend movies, except Transformers, very often because I like just about everything, hence the reason I have about 175 DVD's. And yes I am OCD, I have them sorted by themes and I keep an updated list of all the movies I own, want and still haven't seen on my laptop.

Anyway to start off I thought I would give you guys some easy ones, baby steps if you will. The trivia will come in the form of quotes, scenes, famous lines, etc. Have fun with it! This time will be scenes from famous movies, PJ you may remeber some of these from your email a long time ago. I will give it a couple of days and then I'll give the answers if needed and then post some more.

'Stache'

1. ? 2. ?

3. ? 4. ?

FREE trip to NY...with a catch

2007-07-28T09:31:00.000-07:00

Attention any members of the Carver and Tomsik family clans!

I am very happy to announce that Katie and I are giving away two FREE trips to our home here in New York. These two lucky winners will get free, round-trip airfare, lodging, food, and other expenses paid for during their trip. They will have ulimited use of our amazing, 6-speaker CD stereo, power window and door, leather seated Honda Odyssey van and a GPS that will allow them to go whereever their desire leads them.

There is only one catch...we need you to watch our kids.

Katie and I are heading to Tahiti (yeah, I know life is rough) for about 10 days. Caleb and Caitlyn are in school and really can't leave home to go anywhere, so we need to have people come to our house if at all possible.

We will be leaving on Saturday, November 3rd and will be back home Monday, November 12th. I know it is a long time...but we need some help if possible. I mean, take a look at the picture below, how could you pass up an opportunity like this?

Please call Katie or I if you are interested... :-)

Big News!!

2007-07-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

Once again you all have to suffer through my ranting, however tonight I actually have some news of note. As all of you know, I hope everyone knows, that we are expecting a new addition to our family. I am not sure how many of the details everyone has heard so I'll just recap the adventures up to this point ( I know that the wives like to know all the details).

The official due date is Dec. 17th, yes I know that December is going to be even more expensive now with 3 birthdays (Jacob, New Baby, and Dale). As many of you also know, we got a little scare a few weeks ago when the doctor called to let us know that Jen's blood work came back positive for "downs".

Well, today we went to get her ultrasound and they did what is known as a level 2 ultrasound. This scan lets them check not only the sex of the baby, but they also look at the anatomy of the baby. They check to see if the organs are developing correctly; heart chambers and valves, brain size, bone growth, kidney function, etc. During this ultrasound they also check for what are called "soft markers" which can start to give an indication of whether or not the child could have "downs". Well I am happy to say that they were unable to find any of the soft markers that usually accompany a child that has "downs". Nothing is definitive until the baby is born, but at this point there is no real concern on the doctor's part about the health of the baby.

Now, for the part that everyone cares about...the sex of the next member of our clan. I am happy to annouce that the "stache" will live on!!! The males have now taken control of the house 3 to 2. I have included pictures as proof of what I say is true. And for those of you novices, I included a red arrow to illustrate the "boys" in the second picture.

So I am now going to supercede the topic of the day tomorrow and as for votes on some of the names that we are thinking of our baby boy. So please check you emails and feel free to include names that aren't mentioned.

Fun in Upstate NY

2007-07-23T23:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am really tired...it is 3am and I just finished uploaded a bunch of pictures and video to my other blog...so, please look at all of them there!

Now, because I know some of you may be too lazy to actually click on a link to see them, let me give you a preview of what you will find to entice you to check them out.

Now, get on over there!

-Cim

Important Thoughts...by Josh

2007-07-23T23:18:00.000-07:00

Alright folks there are a few thing that I need to get off my mind now that my Econ class is over! On a side note though if anyone is looking for some great reading material that is guaranteed to make you smarter faster, i.e. fall asleep faster, I am willing to part ways with my econ books. I do this as a favor to all of you on a quest for knowledge and for a small fee for myself of course, nothing outrageous, just 50% of what I paid making it a bargain at $150 for any of you! Now no one can say I never sacraficed for the family!

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. First, enough of this Harry Potter mumbo jumbo, I mean a wizard is a wizard, right? PJ you should ask for some royalties or something, and according to Cim's last email, there is a chance that Mr. Weasly used to drive a UPS truck before becoming a wizard.

Sorry there I go again, really people there is only one movie we should be discussing at this point.

I took a much needed break last week and saw Transformers and not having seen Harry Potter, of which I am a fan, there is no way it is as good as Transformers. Case in piont, in only its second week Harry and the gang were replaced by "I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry" (another on my list to see). Transformers although in 4th place this week is awesome! If you haven't seen it you must. If you have seen it and liked it, see it again. And if you saw it and weren't impressed, see it again!

As an expert in all things movie (I own about 200+ dvd's, thus I'm an expert), I feel it necessary to appreciate Harry and the crew and there trickery (Spoiler Alert!! They're not real wizards!), but to annoint Transformers (Spoiler Alert!! They're real cars!!) the best movie of the summer. That is until I see any other movie this summer.

Congratulations on getting through this entry, I really didn't have any thing important to talk about and I still need a cable to upload my videos so I just wanted to ramble for a bit.

Stay tuned, up next will be my revealing look at the most storied basketball team in NBA history, no PJ not the Spazz, the LAKERS!!

PS In case you forgot.....I am the "Stache"

The Final Book...

2007-07-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, I realize I might be a tad over zealous about Harry Potter, but when in the history of BOOKS has anything even compared to this!!! I decided to venture out for the release of the final book in the most popular book series to date. I discovered that I am NOT alone in my enthusiasim for all things Harry Potter! While you all were probably sleeping soundly in your beds, I was bravely the mile-long lines to purchase our copies of Deathly Hallows. Im exhausted and am not allowed to read the lovely book until I finish the one I'm currently on...I suddenly curse all the nights I've spent sleeping this week... Here are some pictures of our adventures last night, I wish you all could have seen it in person!!

Love,
Crystal

Rumor: Are PJ and Ron twin brothers?

2007-07-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

During the Harry Potter weekend a rumor began to spread---was PJ adopted from the Weasley family? Are PJ and Ron secretly twin brothers? Who's to know? You be the judge. Compare the pictures below to see which family PJ truly belongs to---you may be surprised!

Mom....Dad....is there something you aren't telling me?

-PJ

We LOVE Chile!!! by Kk and Jack

2007-07-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

Well, as you can see my kids are of two different opinions about Chile. I thought it would be funny to let them tell you how they feel in their own words. I will just type exactly as dictated too, the bold font is their answers. Hopefully you like the interviews!
Jack.
How do you like Chile?.......Like forty half.....
What does that mean?.......It means that I am not bigger yet.
Oh, do you mean 40.5 inches, how tall you are? .....yes, for Disneyland.
But what about Chile?....I want to go home to Utah, member what daddy said, we get to go home in July.....
Jack it is July- no July only is in Utah......
How come you miss Utah...Because I never went there, I mean, I never wanted to come to Chile. I don't like Emma (neighbor).
Do you miss Grandpa?.........Is he coming to Disney land?
No.......Grandma?
No........Only us?
Maybe Aunt Mari.......YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!
Emma not coming?...........No shes not.
Utah? .... I miss my Blue house, cause blue is my color..... blue house, blue house....
What about Justin? He gets to wash the car with Grandpa...(crying)....I miss Grandma.....She loves me, huh?
Yes.
Everybody loves me?.....Yeah they do, but Justin always hits me..........
Justin is just playing, right?........Yea he plays with toys, but I say No to HIDE and SEEK, I don't like it.
Do you want to say anything else?......I miss uncle Spike....and....I want to play with baby Joshua, and I miss my best Friend Justin- He is my Brother...... I just don't like Chile, and everyone is Spanish........I want Utah!!!!!
Kailah.
How do you like Chile?..Really, really good.
What do you like about it? Because it has lots of parks, and new friends, big buildings, and I like church and nursery, and because I like the restaurant California Creations..(yep- the one she puked in!)
Is there something you like the best? There are a lot of things I like best....pizza, friends, and I like the computer games.
Tell me about your new friends. They are really, really, nice-they play games, Emma and Kate. Sometimes we go to their house. We go to the park.
Are you learning to speak Spanish? yea, Un Poquito.
What is different here? Different food, and everybody speaks Spanish, our house looks different, there are lots of elevators, lots more buildings, lots of people, lots of cars- just everything, that's cause it's a Big City.
Do you miss Utah? Yes.
Do you miss your cousins? Yes. I love Aubrie.
What about your house and bedroom? I miss them lots, I had a pink room.
Do you want to say any thing else?....Don't worry family I will be back in Sept. I love you, I miss grandma and miss grandpa, and miss Aubrie, and Aunt crystal....I love everybody.
Are you Happy? Yea.
Should we move to Chile? Sometimes yes, but I will miss Aubrie, so- I don't know.... Utah is home.