CF Auction

Hi everyone! As many of you know, my great friend Erin Jones and I have been putting together a dinner and benefit auction with all proceeds going to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for the past few months. The date is coming up quickly and both of us are very excited about it. The SnoValley Star, our local newspaper, just did an article about the event and the Snoqualmie CF Walk coming up as well. If you would like to read the article, go to the website below. Thank you all for your love and support in our efforts to help find a cure!

http://snovalleystar.com/2008/08/28/an-auction-for-a-cure

Buzz Cuts

So, this past week Teage and I finally decided that enough was enough and we needed to cut the boys' hair. :) Everyone seems to love their "long" hair ("how would I tell them apart if you cut their hair?"), but they were getting pretty shaggy. So we made an executive decision and sat them down to do the job. Well, Dylan didn't really like that too much. And not that he didn't like that we were cutting his hair, or that it scared him so much....more that he couldn't hold the scissors himself and wanted to know exactly what was going on. My inquisitive little men....Anyway, the outcome was not exactly what we planned, since Dylan kept turning his head every which way the whole time, so I suggested that we buzz them. And to my surprise, Teage agreed! Now even we are having a hard time telling them apart! :)

The "before" shot of Lucas....he was looking a little anxious after seeing his brother go first!

The finished product. Poor Lucas is trying to comb his non-existent hair.

Side note:

Some of the boys' favorites right now include dancing to just about anything (as well as conducting the music when it is soft and slow), playing with toys in the garage, pushing over their brother in their qwest for fish crackers, magnets on the fridge, and any type of technology available.

Stephenie Meyer Mania

If you know me well, you probably know that I have a passion for books and movies. I just can't seem to get enough when it comes to those two arts. And lately, like many many others, I have been pretty obsessed with the author Stephenie Meyer and her Twilight Series. I have now read the series through twice, think about it way too often, and have recommended it to everyone I know. I can't seem to get enough of Edward and Bella! :) I also think that Stephenie Meyer is just a genious when it comes to literature. She has a way of writing that brings you right into the story, to where you think that you are a part of the scene and know these characters as friends. I really admire her for her talent.

A little over a week ago I had the great pleasure of going to see her at the "Breaking Dawn Concert Series" and book signing at Beneroya Hall. I can't tell you how excited I was to see Stephenie Meyer face to face and listen to her talk more in depth about the book series that I love so much. And she definitely did not disappoint. The concert was amazing, I am so thankful that I was able to go. I went with my friends Bridget, Julie, Karine, and her friend Sarah, all of us huge fans of Stephenie Meyer. Our seats were amazing, I felt like we were only 10 feet from the stage. The lead singer of Blue October who inspired some of the characters in the Twilight books was there as well, and played many of his songs that were close to Stephenie Meyer's heart. Stephenie answered questions from the audience, and gave us a more in depth look into her mind, the characters, and the series in general. And after all of that, we each had our turn to have our book signed by the author. There were at least 2,400 people there and we were dead last, so I had quite a bit of time to think about what I would say to her when I had my chance. Finally when it was time for my book to be signed, I quickly just told her that I was thankful for her example of being a member of the church, and wife and mother, and also being able to follow her dreams. I know that wasn't much, but I was proud of myself that I said it when I had the chance. :) All in all, we had a wonderful night and I am very thankful to have had the chance to see her in person!

Bridget and I posing in front of the newest book in the series

Katers and Reesers

Justin Furstenfeld from Blue October

Stephenie Meyer answering questions from the audience...she was very humble and down to earth.

Life List- Complete a Triathlon

CHECK! :) Last weekend Teage and I had the opportunity to go to Bellingham to visit some college friends, and give me the opportunity to compete in a triathlon! OK, so it was a mini-triathlon, but it still counts! My friends Julie, Kim, and I have been training together for the past few months so all of us could compete together in all three events. We were thinking about doing the full tri as a team and have each one of us just do one event. But in the end we wanted to challenge ourselves, so we decided to do all three. The tri was held at Lake Padden in Bellingham and consisted of a 1/4 mile swim in the lake, a 5 mile bike, and a 2.7 mile run. Doesn't sound too menacing when you put it on paper like that, but it was tough! Even with our training, none of us had done all three in a row previously. But I am happy to say that I completed it! That was my goal, and I did it! I didn't even care about the time, I just wanted to get it done. All three of us completed and we felt great afterwards!

Teage, the boys, and I stayed with Kim for the weekend, and on Saturday (the day of our tri) morning we all woke up to find it pouring outside! All these beautiful sunny days, and the one day that we needed the sun, it was raining! :) Kim and I would not let that deter us though, we had been working too hard for this day. So we packed up our stuff and went to the lake to brave the weather. When we began the race it was still very cloudy and raining slightly on us as we swam across the lake. But by the time we ended our bike and began to run, the sun was coming out and it made for a beautiful finish to our day! The boys did fantastic as well. At the beginning they were a little cranky because of the rain and it was about nap-time. But Teage kept walking around with them in the stroller and by the end of the race, they were fast asleep. I was so thankful to have my family there with me as I finished!

Later that night, we had the great opportunity to go out to dinner with a lot of our buds from Bellingham that we don't get to see often. Kim, Julie, Peter and Lesha, and Kaitlyn and Trevor. We had a wonderful time with everyone reminiscing, relaxing, and just enjoying each other. Thanks for a great weekend everyone!

Kim and Julie, thank you both for your support and inspiration for our project! You both are great examples to me and I am so thankful to have completed this tri with you!

Waiting for the race to start, braving the rain! :)

Kim and I finished with the swim, about to begin our bike ride

Kim and I at the finish line. I am on the left....can you tell we were a bit excited? I love how Kim is throwing her arms in the air! :)

Our little team at the end of the race...we did it! :)

Teage waiting for me at the end of the race, he was so supportive! :)

A Night at the Park

Tonight our little family went to the park to have a picnic dinner. There is a spot at one of our local parks that we have gone ever since the boys have been born. It isn't a spectacular view spot, or have a ton of toys nearby, it is just a little spot at the edge of the park, shaded by a few trees. We chose it once about a year ago, and have gone back there ever since. It is "our" nice little place. So tonight, Teage had a great idea of packing a picnic dinner and heading out to our spot, since the weather was so beautiful. Many times, the thought of packing up the boys, all of their stuff, all the food, etc gets a little overwhelming to me, but I agreed to go anyway. I am so thankful that I did. We had such a wonderful and beautiful time as a family just eating dinner, throwing the frizbee back and forth while the boys were laughing and trying to catch it, finding some free tennis balls at the court that someone left behind (something that Teage gets VERY excited about) :). It was beautiful weather, the boys were in a great mood, and we had a wonderful time together as a family. I just loved being there with them, in our little spot at the park.

Tawna's trip to Seattle

This last weekend Teage's sister Tawna and her daughter Maiya came to visit us for a few days. Tawna and her family live in Utah, so it was a great pleasure to be able to spend a few days with her and Maiya and relax a bit as a family. We didn't do much besides hang out with all of the family we could find around here, ate together, laughed together, and had tons of fun watching all of the cousins together. Tawna has three children, Ethan, Kiana, and Maiya, and Mrs M is just a few months older then the boys and Kai, our other nephew. The four kids had a lot of fun together, and all of us adults had a great time just watching them get to know each other better. One of the days Tawna was here, Teage, myself, and the boys went to the Cougar Mountain Zoo with them. In all of the years we have lived around here, and we had never gone. So, we had a ton of fun looking around at all the animals, seeing Maiya's face as she encountered something she had never seen before, and spending some quality time together. Other then that, we basically relaxed with family and enjoyed our time together.

Lucas bonking his Uncle Brett:

Maiya, Lucas, Dylan, and Kai

Our zoo experience:

Our last night together at Brett and Beth's:

Remotes, Phones, and Bonks

So, the boys are obsessed with anything that has to do with technology at the moment. They whine and scream when they see one of our cell phones out, they want to be holding a remote in their hands every minute possible, and though I don't let them near the computer, they would love nothing more then to pound on those keys as long as possible. I am not sure where they get their love for technology, but there it is.

Their other favorite at the moment is dancing. When they are in a really bad mood, or hurt in some way, all I have to do is turn on a song with a nice beat and they are up and moving. What is really funny is when I let them have the remotes to the radio and CD player....they love nothing more then to change the songs themselves (though they dont exactly know what buttons to push) and do a new little dance whenever a new one comes on. Dylan is a master at "getting low" as he bends his knees almost to the ground while shacking his arms. Lucas mainly loves to do a little "shimmy" with his hips and flail his arms in the air. It is so adorable to watch!

And, Teage and my personal favorite....the "bonks". I am not sure how Teage came up with this one, but the other day he told Dylan to give his brother a "bonk" (as a sign of love I guess), so Dylan went over and hit his forehead to his brother's head. So now, we "bonk" whenever we need to make up or say that we are sorry. The best is when they do it to their grandparents or aunts and uncles! They think they are just hilarious! I guess that is how we show love in the Christensen household!

You can't really tell in this picture, but Dylan actually has both mine and Teage's cell phones, one in each hand. He is talking on the one and holding the other just in case. :)

Dancing to their favorite show on TV....the "Ellen" show! Every time they hear her theme music come on, they start busting a move!

Changing the song choice on the CD player...or trying to at least

Giving "bonks" to Daddy and brother

Tagged...very quicky version :)

So, I decided that I couldn't put this off any longer. :) I have now been tagged three times, and figured that it was high time I got to it. I guess in a tag you are supposed to put 5 interesting facts about you, or something to that effect. So, I am doing a major quicky version before my boys wake up from their nap and start screaming to pound on the keyboard! :)

1) My husband calls me a recycle nazi. I just can't bare to see something that can be reused go into the trash! It is just not right!
2) I am obsessed about seatbelts. Even if I am driving to my friends' houses that are a few blocks away (why am I driving anyway?), I will put on my seatbelt. And I always make Teage put his on as well....I know, naggy wife. Better safe then sorry!
3) I can, and probably will, organize just about everything. If I had the time, I am sure that every drawer in my closet would be organized and sorted just so.
4) It seems that I have a talent for singing out of the windows in a car....
5) I have wonderful friends and family whom I love very much, and don't know where I would be without them. I love all of you!

Bellingham Reunion

As most of you know, Teage and I both went to Western Washington University for college, which is located in the beautiful city of Bellingham WA. We actually met while we were there studying there. We love Bellingham and really miss it at times, but know this is where we are supposed to be at the moment. So, it was really fun for us a few weekends ago to get together with a lot of our old friends from our college days. We all met at GasWorks Park in Seattle, had a BBQ, and just chatted and had fun for a few hours. It was so nice to catch up with everyone, and reminice about the "old" days. We hope to be able to do another one very soon! :)

The whole group :)

Dylan playing ball with his buddy Jackson