The Adventures of Shawn & Andy

Why this blog is neglected...

2012-01-22T18:35:00.000-08:00

I've got my hands full, people.

Here is "being a big sister" according to Evan:

"Hey mom, look! We both fit."

"I promise I didn't wake her up."

"tummy time?"

"I have an idea..."

"That was fun, wasn't it?!?"

"We're ready for church..."

"Are you crying?"

"I'll take care of that...forever."

"How did you expect to NOT climb in it mom?"

"I'm not sharing."

"Go to sleep Eme."

"I give up."

Introducing Miss Emerson Mae

2011-11-20T10:32:00.000-08:00

A girl named "Emerson"

I don't feel like I "picked" Eme's name, rather I think I was told, in a way that I just couldn't ignore, that this is what it was supposed to be. For those of you who aren't spiritually inclined I am sure it sounds silly, but I do believe that we exist before we come to this earth, that we live with God, our Heavenly Father, that we are his spirit children, and that as our father, He knows us. And so it was, with our little Miss Emerson, I didn't know she was coming to us, but HE did. And He let me know in undeniable ways that our next child would be Emerson...and strangely enough, a girl (because I wouldn't have named a son Emerson. lol).

"Mae"

My maternal grandmother's name: Beautiful, classy, loving, and artistic, I hope Eme will be honored to be named after my "Granny Strickland"

Party of 4 (and believe me, it is already a par-tay)

Evan is taking her role as "Big Sis" very seriously. In fact, when we were getting set to leave the hospital, the nurse came in and took a barcode off Eme's leg. It had been taped on, so she ripped it quick to minimize the discomfort, but Eme still let out a blood curdling scream. And Evy with an aggressive snarl on her face yelled at the nurse, "HEY! YOU HURT MY SISTER!" We had to reassure her that it was okay...but Evan was really upset and alarmed. I hope she will keep that resistance to causing Eme to cry...I know it's unlikely.

Yeah, Eme. With a sister and a Papa with these kind of wild eyes & correspondingly wild plans, you have a reason to be alarmed. I have an idea of what they are going to put you through...

Make yourself comfortable, you are going to be spending quite some time in here.

Uh oh, not a natural road tripper? I thought it was in the genes.

Off we go on our next big adventure. So far, we're loving it.

What we've been doing...

2011-06-14T20:32:00.001-07:00

Clearly I haven't been blogging, but I have been some taking pictures of our rapid-fire adventures.

Here is a little of what has been keeping us busy this spring...

Sundance skiing

...Quarry Climbing

...Outerbanks Beaching

...Great Basin Caving and hiking

(...Subaru loving)

...road-tripping

(to Las Vegas and California, sadly, no pics)

...City of Rocks Adventuring

....occasionally slumbering

...carb-loading (a.k.a. bad parenting-yes those are doughnuts in chocolate milk)

...Baby conceiving

(you're glad now that I didn't take pictures of everything, aren't you)

It's good to be Three

2011-03-17T21:46:00.001-07:00

It was a much-anticipated day of cupcakes, chocolate butterflies, friends and presents. How would it be to be three again? I'll be thirty-three next month...yikes. If I want chocolate butterflies, I'll have to make them for myself! Goodness knows I have enough melting chocolate left since I could only find to buy it in bulk.

Evy with Grandma Howell and Mama

butterflies and helium balloons were super-exciting, met with exclamation

sidewalk chalk with friends

and a push on the porch swing, building the anticipation of cupcakes!!!

As I asked Evan what kind of party she wanted, all she would say was "PINK"

Me: "What kind of cake do you want?" Ev: "pink"

Me: "What kind of balloons?" Ev: "pink"

I have to document this so that someday when she sees these pictures she won't think I was pushing "pink" on her...to the contrary she demanded it. Heaven knows I'm not tickled with pink. But I like how it all turned out, after all, she is three.

The sweets seemed to satisfy

And out to the playhouse

(or should I say Play-palace...more on that to come when it is completed.)

After the party, present time...

Thank you to everyone who loves my child and showers her, not only with stuff, but more importantly with love, attention, esteem, prayers, and patience.

Hey, I don't even have a laptop Evy!

And thank goodness your "Aunt" Shelley loves Disney...we should start calling her your Fairy God Mother Shelley. Evan, if you ever get to Disneyland it will be by the grace of Shelley.

Papa has in mind to get you to the X Games...

Watch out world...or at least east side of Provo...

And to finish the day, a Happy Birthday wish from Heavenly Father to my Angel girl...could it have been more perfect?

Peru Posible*

2011-02-13T16:44:00.000-08:00

(*Sorry Presidente Toldeo, your campaign slogan is so catchy, that I had to steal it.)

So Peru...yes, it is possible to visit, very doable, and totally worth it. I went with my good friend Libbey 7 years ago, but since Andy hadn't been, we ventured back. It was strangely familiar yet still foreign to be there. I am so glad to have been able to go and share my memories from my first trip, with Andy, and create new memories there with him.

We flew in to Lima and were graciously picked up by the Chuys. Andy and I were horrified as the plane was landing to realize that we had made zero effort to brush up on our Spanish...and that the Chuys don't speak English...but thankfully, my gringita spanish came rushing back and we got along splendidly. In fact, Mami Chuy told her daighter who called to check on all of us that, "everything is cool, Shawn speaks Spanish!" I don't know about that, but we did okay.

At home in the Chuy home

"talking" with Mami Chuy

Me & Mami

Fairly early on Saturday we caught a flight to Cuzco. When we got there we realized that we hadn't printed off the info for our hostel, but luckily, the sign is pretty distinctive for the franchise of hostel we generally stay in, so Andy spotted it. Whew!

In Cuzco the memories started rolling back, it was great to be there again.

Plaza de Armas

Time for dinner-Lomo Saltado

Lomo Brochetas-oh my yum

Sunday we toured the Valleo Sacrado (or "Sacred Valley"-at least it sounds appropriate for Sunday? even if it was basically a shopping spree inter-sprinkled with ruins)

Sacred Valley overlook

Empanadas that I had remembered from 7 years before-oh yummmmm!

Pisac market

Pisac ruins

Ollyantantambo

Kind of a weird tradition since Andy and I don't drink coffee, but I have always taken pictures of Starbucks that we've seen in other countries, I guess to marvel at the invasion of western culture. Anyways, I thought this was humorous.

Chinchero-the textile headquartes of the Sacred Valley, where we got a demonstration of how the Inca traditionally made their dyes and fabrics.

so tired of listening and having people try to sell me stuff...

The next day, we were on to Macchu Picchu. The Sacred Valley provides quantity ruins and MP provides a view of quality ruins. Both worth seeing, but I think in that order.

Hiking up to the Sun Gate

Huayna Picchu-no, we didn't get to hike it, but not because the 200 person limit had been reached...we were unfortunately 10 minutes late. We didn't know they cut off hikers from entering at 1 pm. Andy suggested I try to sweet talk the guy, so I tried, but no dice. I guess I am flattered that Andy thinks I am charming enough for it to have worked. It is a cool hike (I did it the first time I was there), but the Sun Gate did not disappoint with its spectacular overlook of MP, and we didn't have to worry about slipping and dying, so, I was okay with it.

A Bisctotchy(?). I have no idea how to spell it, or exactly what it is. I thought it was a chinchilla at first, but it was a cute Peruvian rat/squirrel/rabbit.

The Raven temple

A secret passage

Always fascinated by anything to do with water...

Another Temple, during the solstice the sun shines through some cut outs in the rock and makes the shadow of a cougar head on the wall. Very impressive.

I think because Andy and I love animals that we just naturally assume that they can sense that and will not be afraid of us or hurt us. In this instance we were right, but I laugh as I think of the many pictures that I have that could be formed into an album entitled "where we almost lost a digit or limb."

sooo soft, and he was sooo happy to be rubbed.

Andy and I made a concerted effort to really soak up MP, so after running all over and seeing everything, we actually (hold your breath) sat down...up at one of those huts...for (hold your breath) and entire half-hour. Whew, that was relaxing...back to Aguas Caliente.

Ciao MP!

Back in Aguas Caliente, Andy was lusting...

over the Urumbumba...look at that white water!

Then on Tuesday, back in Cusco we had an entire day to enjoy the city...

Grocery store? Is this where the lomo came from???

not sure what this fruit was, it was purchased from a wheel barrow...

Never ones to be afraid of street food,

fried pork skin (we think) made Andy a little sick (burp)

street art-purchased

Wednesday, boarding the train to Puno

The scenery changed from Andes to southern-Utah-esque.

A three-hour tour of Lake Titicaca

There about 40 man-made floating islands

We stopped at two. At the first one we were given a demonstration of how the islands are made. Literally of reeds. First a buoyant layer of reed roots, then the chunks of root are tethered together with rope, then covered with reeds layered on top.

Bonita

We got to go in their homes, but were expected to buy stuff. I took no part in the purchase of the mobile. I suggested that it appears Andy is ready for another baby--he told me to go jump in the lake! :)

A farewell song

Our reed boat ride to island number 2

on the top, of course

Do you see what I see?

Seriously my favorite part of the trip--of the 40 islands we somehow got on a tour that stopped at this island. I don't think it was by chance. We met the branch president and his family. It was seriously overwhelming and probably my favorite part of the trip. I took some unauthorized photos of the inside of the chapel (didn't know it was forbidden!), so I won't post them here, which is probably good because I was a crying mess. Like I said, it was really overwhelming, in a good way. I told the president's son "recuerdas, la iglesia is verdad." I saw his mom smiling.

It is.

floating convenience store

Visions of Puno

Love this...it would never fly in the states (too unsafe), but so much fun

for travelers and locals alike!

yes, that's andy on his back

Even in a third-world country we are too cheap to take a taxi, so we walked along the railroad tracks for about 2 miles from the city back to our hotel. It was actualy nice, except for the moment we were haraunged by some dogs. Andy was quick to get a rock in hand and any potential disaster to human or canine was averted.

No trip to a foreign country would be complete without a trip to McDonald's.

Here with the Chuys.

Also, no trip would be complete without Guilt-Gifts

Are you tired of reading? I'm tired of writing. Until the next adventure...

P.S. The Holidays

2010-12-31T14:18:00.000-08:00

I shouldn't complain about having too many pictures to choose from but, man oh man, did we manage to take some pictures during November and December. I intended for this to be part of the previous post, but it was just getting too long.

So, here goes with the actual end of 2010. It was a good one...

November was beautiful and the color of the leaves seemed to last. Living in the East I thought we had a monopoly on beautiful falls; I was so wrong. Fall in Utah is gorgeous.

Believe it or not, she was actually being genuinely helpful.

Ran a 5k to Fight Cancer. It was the first competitive run (independent of a triathlon) that I had run since RAGNAR in February and since my arthritis diagnosis. It was alot of fun.

By Thanksgiving Andy I and were in need of some Howell-family style adventure, so we packed up and drove across the country to NC for Thanksgiving. We took more days to get there and back than we actually spent in NC, but saw some really cool stuff (National Parks, or course). *Disclaimer: please don't be offended if we didn't come to see you...we really were pushed for time. May I suggest that if you register with the National Park Service and offer a NPS Passport stamp at your home, we will make it a priority to stop by. :)

Somewhere in the midwest

Evy and Andy's favorite pastime...giving me a heart-attack

Doing yoga with mommy in our awesome motel...on second thought, maybe we shouldn't have been so close to that floor.

Becoming a Junior Ranger at Fort Smith, Arkansas

Terrorizing the gift shop

Next stop, Hot Springs National Park. What an awesomely strange place.

I got to take a "traditional bath" in the Buckstaff Bathhouse, while Andy and Evy clowned around outside.

Little Rock High School. NPS has a great visitors center with alot of historical information about desegregation. Absolutely fascinating.

At Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky, we had some time before our tour, so Evy and I dug around in a stream to see what we could find. Only rocks and mud, frankly, I'm a bit grateful.

Evy's favorite part was riding in a school bus to the cave opening.

Throwing rocks into a stream at Lincoln's Boyhood home(?) Can't remember which site this was at because we visited his birthplace, childhood home and boyhood homes on this road trip.

Howell Family trivia: President Lincoln is our favorite US president.

visiting Uncle Brian

The New River Gorge Bridge in WV

Papaw and Granny Sue. We finally made it to NC!

Visiting Granny Strickland with Nana and cousin Amber (4 generation picture)

Went to the NC Zoo in Asheboro

The sea lions were the best. I think they were mating/flirting...we didn't see any superfluous body parts so it was a great, g-rated show.

Always a great time with my mama, but never enough of it.

Thanksgiving day the gifts started. Thanks for this lifesaver Papaw and Granny Sue!

definitely a perfect gift for this girl

me and my dad...so glad to have my dad and for my girl to have a great dad too.

Back on the road again...and back on our NPS hunt: President Truman's home

Nicodemus, KS--a historical freed slave town

Brown v. The Board of Education site

Watching the video at Ulysses S. Grant's home (at least 2 of us were learning intently).

Another Lincoln site (boyhood home?)

How we survived a total of 7 days in the car ...

and really, this was what 90% of the trip was like...

Back in Utah, December was white (except on Christmas Day, BOOOOO!)

Singing at the ward party with the primary children (Evan is still in Nursery, but she tried to sing along anyway)

decorating the tree...

& Evan (it was her idea.) This picture makes me laugh out loud!

The Grinch, or the most awesome cat ever!

Christmas Day dinner with the Howell crew

Christmas gifts: Andy in his new coat and Jon Stewart book, Evy with the best gift ever. Andy made her a map/travel log to keep track of everywhere she has been (28 states so far). Thanks to Aunt Mary for making Andy's vision for the cover a reality. And you can "RUDY" the pony in the corner, Evy's other very exciting gift to bounce around the house on. And can't forget the playdough from Nana and Poppy. It was a bountiful Christmas!

To keep all of her future Junior Ranger badges in (she got three on the Thanksgiving trip)

We even had a Christmas mouse (Todd) that we mouse-sat for three weeks.

As I finish up this blog I hope it doesn't come across as a brag-a-thon. We don't take pictures of our tragedies, failures or crummy days. Likewise, i try not to remember them or dwell on them. Life is good and the future is bright depending on what lens we choose to view things through.

My sincerest wishes for your health, happiness, prosperity, and national parking in 2011.

The Fall & Demise of 2010

2010-12-31T12:51:00.000-08:00

Our fall season was just as busy as our summer, here are some favorite moments from our fall and winter of 2010.

I got certified to be a yoga instructor and a good friend painted my car in honor of my first class.

Spent a weekend up at the family cabin near Brighton. Always a great way to reconnect with family and nature.

While in Salt Lake, we went to the State Fair. Always an interesting time...

When you are an only child your parents can "pony-up" the $4 to ride a pony for 2 minutes. It made quite an impression and horses and ponies from here on out will be named Soda by Evan in honor of her fair friend.

I've long since begun the outdoors indoctrination of my child. We stopped by Bridal Veil Falls, just 15 min. from our house one day as we were out & about. Unfortunately when we got home and I asked her to tell here Papa what we did she excitedly replied, "We went to Target!"

Andy is quite the handyman and built Evy a giant playhouse, complete with a multi-faceted rock climbing wall, trap door, curly slide and second story. We did get it finished, but completion pictures will have to wait until Spring of 2011.

He also built me some garden boxes in our side yard and installed a sprinkler system. Lo and behold the seeds grew and we had quite an abundant harvest. Evy loved to go outside and see what we could pick and eat.

Evan seemed to grow as fast as a zucchini plant (at least in her independence).

Andy and I had a much needed getaway to the Channel Islands off of LA. It was a diving, camping and cheap motel trip. We had a great time. I hope to go back someday.

Channel island fox, an endangered, indigenous species

We saw several HUGE pods of dolphin and two blue whales! Crazy-cool amazing experience!

We've been on quite a few dives (over 50? can't remember) but this was the first one where we had to wear neoprene hoods. The water was sooooo cold. And yes, that guy behind me was puking, just in case you wanted to know.

Rockin' the wetsuit always makes me feel good about myself.

Can't imagine why there isn't a SI Wetsuit edition...

Underwater self-port, not easy to do. The dives were super cool and cold. Some folks actually opted out of their last dive because they were so cold...in fact most people did...but Andy and I are crazy, we have a reputation to uphold, so we did it. Burrrrrrrr. I'm still shivering.

An adventure in parenting, in fact, a highlight of my mothering abilities. Evy wanted to spin in the office chair. This is proof that sometimes adults know better than children...I say sometimes because obviously I got carried away with her "more, more!" And secondarily you might be asking yourself what kind of mother (1) makes her kid puke and (2) takes a picture of it...well, I guess now you know. (For the record, no one and nothing was permanently damaged from this incident)

The previous picture looked more Halloween-ish, but we decided to go with Bo Peep instead.

The End

Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous (the summer remix)

2010-11-07T17:48:00.000-08:00

Sup? Wha choo do this summer? We kicked it P-R-O-V-O style...Check it!

Setting new fashion trends

block par-tay

ditchin' the crib for a family excursion to Natural Bridges

Girls Camp (South Africa theme), gimme some dap!

berry pickin

local nature retreat

spa treatments, a la evie

Powell, 1987 Bayliner super-funk

Salt Lake African safari (Hogle Zoo)

Baby got back...and a personal trainer

so hot in cool shades

"Rodeo (row-day-oh) here I come!"

Private swimming pool

only homegrown organic veggies for us

automated sprinkler system

personal watercraft

Matisse in the making

The UK-Scotland

2010-09-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

Ahh Scotland. I LOVED Scotland. I love green, I love water and this was a place to love both.

And Andy loves hot dogs and such...so, Haggas was a treat for him.

Our secret castle we found in Oban.

A walk along the Oban shore

A trip out to Fingal's Cave-the sound of the waves crashing into the cave inspired one of Mendelssohn's compositions. It was an amazing site to both see and hear.

a "slippy" walk in

A walk in some green to look for puffin--the walk was not successful, but we did some from the boat.

The isle of Mull

View of Oban from the sea

We lucked out on our trip home and got upgraded to first-class for free on the flight from Chicago. Nice!

The UK-Wales

2010-09-24T21:22:00.001-07:00

Wales is a lovely little country. We drove out to see Conwy Castle. It was inside a great walled city that we greatly enjoyed walking around. Then we went on a drive through the country and almost got stuck in a narrow road at the top of a small mountain--fun times, we Howells always try to keep things interesting.

View of the city from the wall.

Monumental moment for us...we decided on a retirement plan (see below)

Interruption & Distraction

2010-09-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

So, if anyone is even still reading this blog and is even remotely anticipating my blogs about Ireland, Wales and Scotland, which I previously promised to post shortly...my apologies. Andy and I are headed off to the Channel Islands in California for the weekend (plus a few more days). So, sorry. Adventure is calling my name, blogging is not. Cheers!

The UK-Ireland

2010-09-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

We toured the UK "on the cheap"--packed super light and carried our luggage onto a RyanAir flight to Ireland.

Ireland was completely different from England-even more pastoral (which is hard to imagine), but it was obvious that the few freeways were very new; our GPS software (which we just bought last year) was outdated indicating roundabouts where there were now freeway exits. We had an interesting time of it.

It was also not as green as England--not what I had expected. But apparently there is a really bad drought there right now. Still, all in all, we had a lovely time.

Visiting the carrick-a-rede swinging bridge

Don't look down!

the Giant's Causeway

We love the self-portraits, can't you tell?!?

Northern Ireland was an additional culture shock inside of a culture shock. It really felt like a war-torn eastern European country, as far as I can imagine. Definitely the vibe was one of an injured city and the multitudinous murals spewing propaganda, while artistically amazing, were a bit creepy.

We had a few in mind that we wanted to see, so with map in hand,

we went on a jogging tour of Belfast.

Here's a fun story from Belfast. So, Andy and I stay in hostels when we travel abroad because we are frugal. In London we had actually stayed in dorm rooms with other members of the opposite sex and we were excited to be in Ireland because we had actually booked some hotel rooms. In Belfast though, we had booked dorm-hostel rooms again. When we received our keys we noticed that they were for the same room and we thought "Sweet! we just got totally hooked up with a private room...or maybe they thought "shawn" was a guy and we're going to be in a boys room..." We got to our room, turned the key, walked in to find 2 sets of bunk beds and some bags. "Maybe they thought "shawn" was a guy and we were going to be sharing with 2 other dudes." I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Well, turns out it didn't matter. When we came back from our jog, we entered our room to find a french couple spooning on the lower bunk. "What?!? We are sharing the room with another couple?" Okay, that was really weird. Probably the weirdest traveling experience I have ever had.

Back in Ireland, we visited the Marble Arch Caves-how could we resist a hole in the ground with an underwater river? Unfortunately water levels were 1" too high for us to go on the underground boat tour. Bummer.

We basically drove around the entire country, starting in Dublin, heading north, then west, down south so we could visit Skellig Michael. As luck would have it, weather was perfect for us to go out to Skellig rock.

I have no pictures, but this is also a great story. As we were riding out to the rocks, Andy and I had been relegated to the back of the boat where it was a bit cold (actually freezing) because this family of incompetent kids (you'll see what I mean) decided to rush onto the boat first so they could be in the cabin. It wasn't a big deal, just a little rude by my Southern standards. Anyway, it was a pretty bumpy ride and one of the kids, actually, a teenager...who should have been old enough to know to come outside if she was feeling sick...I say "should" because she didn't and she proceeded to vomit all over the inside of the boat's cabin. It smelled so bad that no one wanted to be in there anymore. But, to make matters worse...or maybe to make matters more humorous, several other people started puking too. Anyone seen The Office...the one where everyone starts throwing up? Well, it was kind of like that. And then, and then, oh and then...to top it all off...the girl's aunt asked if Andy and I could move and give up our seats to that chick..because she wasn't feeling well, which forced us to stand near the cabin door where the puke-smell was wafting our way. Of course, we said yes...begrudgingly.

FYI: Skellig Michael was a monastery built out on the rocks and is famous for its beehive-shaped stone houses. It is a world heritage site. Very very cool. For me it was up there with Macchu Picchu because of the fun boat ride out, the crashing ocean and the cool ruins.

View from the top.

A long, steep walk down

That is bird poop, not snow.

The Blarney Castle

complete with dungeon

I kissed the stone, but aside from the very unflattering angle from which they make you kiss it, a picture was expensive. So, I have no proof.

The UK-England

2010-09-14T20:20:00.000-07:00

In May, Andy and I went to the UK for a couple of weeks. We got to visit family and some really cool sites. Here are some pics:

Family time in Summerbridge

Brimham Rocks

Fountains Abbey

Pateley Bridge

London serenade

Trafalgar Square

Watching the new Prime Minister roll into his new residence!

London Tower

Thailand Elephant Art Exhibit throughout the city

Tate Modern from the Thames

How we can afford to travel--dinner in a bag

Tate Modern-Andy Warhol

Tate Modern- Andy Howell's kind of art...

Borough Food Market-a feast for the senses

A long walk to Harrod's, but worth it-what a ridiculous store!

To be continued...Ireland

Prioritizing

2010-09-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

So? What do I say after such a long silence? Hmmmm, anybody out there? :)

I have been waiting for the perfect moment to post perfect blogs of our perfect life. Alas, there have been no posts for nearly 6 months now. Oh well...

I was again reminded yesterday (by the lovely sister Julie Beck) that life is happening all around us, at all times, even when we are sitting in front of a computer screen. She said (I'm paraphrasing) "we have a need for prioritizing and precision, more than perfection, to align ourselves with the Lord. We can have full confidence in His promises when we align ourselves with Him." I love that...and I know it is true. In fact, I'm feeling a bit choked up just thinking about how eager our Heavenly Father is to bless us.

So, I actually have been very busy living for the last few months and just savoring life as it happens, without time to blog. If my silence has caused alarm, don't be worried, things have been good. Really good. I feel like I have been in a happy dreamland...almost like a sugar-shock after a cake-fest, but instead life has been the treat. Who doesn't just want to take a nap after "too much" of a good thing? (Lest you be jealous, there were parts of my dreamy summer that also felt like those dreams where you can't quite run fast enough no matter how hard you try!)

There are amazing women out there who can do it all...but, I'm not one of them (sigh). So, the blog has fallen a bit by the wayside. Thanks for allowing me a break (it was a good one).

I'll post some pics of our summer adventures shortly. But because of the difficulties of arranging so many pics, they will be in separate posts.

April Showers Love

2010-04-16T07:32:00.000-07:00

It has struck me this week how very blessed I am to have people in my life that love me, but maybe even more importantly, love my child. I'll be honest...I'm not a KID kind of person, so the fact that we have so many people that genuinely love my child and (gasp) remember her name and ask me about her, even though we don't even see them on a regular basis, kind of floors me...and me makes me a little ashamed that I am not more engaged in others around me. I'm selfish.

So, here are some pictures of a most-unselfish friend, Shelley. She is really Evie's godmother of sorts (though we're not catholic). She is certainly Evie's godmother in a fairy-like way in that she bestows all kinds of wonderful things on Evie, including hugs and kisses.

a build-a-bear, complete with a matching outfit and "single ladies" music box

The Tall & Short of 2010

2010-03-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

The Short is I have been waaaay too busy to post for the last 5 months...and a little lazy too. So, the purpose of this blog is to catch you up on the Howell Family adventures for the last few months.

December was probably like yours...that is, if your husband drove to Texas and you flew with your toddler to Houston, just to be picked up to drive to NC via 'Nawlins, Mississippi, the Gulf Coast, Florida, Alabama and Georgia! We had an amazing time.

Christmas was frankly amazingly great and amazingly bad all at the same time. If you were part of it, then you know this is no smack towards my NC fam. I love them dearly...we just happened to have some major disaster nearly every day for over a week. I am talkin' real disasters: people in the hospital, fraudulent credit card charges, cars breaking down, pinched nerve in my neck...I'll stop, but there is more. The good news is that with the bad, there was an overwhelming sense of peace and comfort for our Father in Heaven and it was a growing experience both personally and as a family.

In February I ran a 24+ hour relay race with 11 other crazy 30-something-year-old moms. It too was a mixed bag of emotions, triumphs, some girl drama and disorganization. But darn it if our memories don't just somehow drop the bad and turn everything golden. I look back and already a race that I swore I would never in my life EVER do again I am already conceding that, okay...I would.

Literally just an hour after crossing the finish line I got news that my dear Aunt Mitzi passed away. She had, I guess in the scheme of things, a brief (thankfully), but brave battle with cancer. She was and is amazing and her strength and courage astound me; as that of my family members who were on hand during her final days and hours. She will be deeply missed, but her example gave me the courage to face my own mortality with gusto. I was diagnosed with early onset osteo-arthritis just the day before my race. It was devastating for me as the Doc said "no more running. Period." When I heard about my Aunt Mitzi I just decided to give arthritis the "bird". I want to be healthy and live a good life, but I don't know how long I have, so I will do the things that make me happy and bring me joy. She certainly did and died with a clear conscience and touched countless lives with her courage and vision in her life and employment.

In March Evie turned 2. Wow. That is all I can say...and also, LOOK at the cute cake I made!(Thanks Elise for letting me borrow your stuff and giving me confidence...and thank you Al Gore for "inventing" the Internet on which I could research how to make a Nemo cake.)

Just prior to Evie's birthday, we ditched the kid and Andy and I spent some time on the Yucatan. It was a long over-due adventure as nearly everyone (it seems) that we know has already been there. What a great and relaxing trip. I highly recommend it to anyone with beach fever and a steel gut. I got some food poisoning and a tan.

Lastly, but certainly not least, we had a Howell Family reunion last weekend. Amazingly, everyone made it (except Hans who is faithfully serving his mission in Spokane). We had a wonderful time, great food, sledding, a new tradition the winter Howlympics, and fond memories already of our time together as a complete family. That is no small feat with 1 set of grandparents, 6 "kids", 1 son-in-law, 4 daughters-in-law, and 10 grandkids. Yowser!

Okay, I'll stop hanging my head in shame and try to post again...sometime this year.

OH, AND BTW--We did complete our 500 mile Adventure Challenge, early, with extra miles!!!

Thanksgiving at our Home

2009-11-26T19:01:00.000-08:00

How un-adventurous right? We've spent at least 6 out of the last 9 Thanksgivings we've been married on the road eating turkey sandwiches and Chinese for Thanksgiving. But this year, with no other plans in mind (really, can you believe it?), we decided not only to have a traditional meal, but to host it too. So, maybe that was the adventurous part. I asked myself, "How can I turn a single meal into the equivalent of hiking 20 miles in one day or visiting 16 national park sites in one weekend?" The only answer was to run a 4-mile turkey trot, brine and cook a turkey AND make decorations.

The surprise was that it wasn't bad at all.
In fact, it was absolutely great.

We had a lovely time and gave much heartfelt thanks for...

And after yesterday shennanigans,
Grandma so aptly considered that Evan
had to be most grateful today...

Hope you had a filling and feeling holiday!

Things that have been on my floor today...

2009-11-25T12:38:00.001-08:00

1. chocolate milk

2. table salt

3. kosher salt

4. turkey brine

5. turkey blood

6. laundry

7. a dirty diaper

8. rice-a-roni

9. dirty animal feet

10. water. from the faucet. sprayer.

11. a broom (thankfully)

12. my knees, in prayer,
thanking Heavenly Father
for the opportunity to be a mom

The Scariest Haloween Costume EVER

2009-11-13T21:22:00.000-08:00

This was the scariest thing I could think of...and the CDC agrees.

Just in case you don't get it...she was Swine "Flew"

Aren't homemade costumes the best?!?

Evan Inspiration

2009-09-24T19:22:00.001-07:00

Feeling ho-hum?

Allow yourself to recapture the joy and wonder of childhood

500 Adventure Mile Challenge

2009-09-24T19:01:00.001-07:00

Yes, we are insane. We have ADD. And, now we have various injured body parts.

We set out this year (we have a little over three months left) to do 200 miles of hiking, 200 miles of biking, and 100 miles of boating this year. So far we've completed the boating, only 20 miles short on biking and still have a whopping 80 miles left of hiking. Too bad we didn't include hitchhiking in the challenge because different logistical challenges inherent in long hikes and boating have led me to do at least 20 miles of that so far! Here are a few pics from a few of our trips to get it done.

P.S. This is partly why I've been so bad about blogging; the other part is because we have been slaving away on our back yard--I'll post pics soon.

The mighty watercraft

Can you see the switchbacks in the picture below? We hiked down 'em!

P.P.S. Zion is definitely in my top two favorite national parks!

Swim, Swim

2009-07-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

"Swim, swim!" That's what we say to Evan, but probably all she hears is "blurbbbbbbb" because she is underwater. This kid is insane. What you are about to see happens over and over and over again when we take her to the pool. She gets in to her nose, goes under, "swims", we rescue her and back she goes for more.

Europe

2009-05-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

Europe-that is the most creative I can get with this jet lag. So, bear with the stiff commentary as you peruse the pics. There is a bigger album on Facebook, but these are my faves and the stories behind them.

Here's my lame photo of a Buckingham Palace Guard. They no longer stand out front for you to get a close shot. This picture is the very type of picture Andy was philosophically talking about one evening asking "why is it that someone else's pictures aren't good enough? We have to take our own crappy picture like we are trying to prove that we were here." Maybe so. See!

Holding my breath. I thought, "Oh, these are so cute. Take a picture of me inside one." Big mistake. I thought it was a telephone booth, but in reality it was a toilet.

The British Museum. Super cool with way too much to see. We saw the mummies first and everything else just didn't seem to measure up. I mean how can you compete with this guy?

Big WHO?

My favorite shot of Stone Henge.

This is the closest we go to it because it hadn't opened yet. It appeared to be opening as we were leaving, but at that point I just didn't want to pay to go walk in the stones. They were cool, but I'm no mystic, I'm a cheapskate.Danny & Emily took us to Yorkshire. It was a super cool town with it's wall still intact.
It was great to spend time with family.

Skipton Castle (not in Yorkshire)

A real live dungeon that housed prisoners! At my house we like to call it the nursery.

This is a mid evil toilet...and my two nieces...and you know what is going to happen next, right?

Gotta love kids. Nap time with Uncle Andy was a big hit, though there wasn't much of a nap.

Cricket. Why do they play in white? Obviously they don't do their own laundry.

From England we flew into Paris, got out of there and drove to Belgium to see Brugge (or Brugges). On the way we entered a toll portion of the freeway and realized we had no Euros. Small panic. Thankfully, the way they have rest stop/exits we were able to get off and visit an ATM before we came to the pay station. Whew! You'd think as much as we've traveled that we wouldn't do stupid stuff like that, but actually maybe that is the product of so much traveling.

We went on a canal tour. It was really lovely.

Belgium has probably my favorite cuisine: chocolate and waffles

Frankfurt at night..this is when we arrived. I really liked Frankfurt. I can't adequately explain it, but it had this awesome Euro-trashy atmosphere that was just what I thought a big city in Europe would/should be like. It was great.

Frankfurt hostel-competing for the top spot in worst Hostel experiences. Fortunately we got our money back. It wasn't the building, it was the crazy European "kids" who apparently don't need sleep. We went to sleep (and I use that term very loosely) and woke up (as if we were asleep) to them partying. Speaking of immature people, I couldn't help myself. I just thought these exit signs were funny.

Driving the Romantic Road

Rothenberg, Germany

View from the city tower

Neuschwanstein-This is the castle that purportedly inspired the Disneyland castle. I've never been there. But, it was a dream of andy's to visit, so we did. It was very cool. The King that built it was insane (maybe) and there are mysterious circumstances surrounding his death, maybe suicide, maybe murder. The sad thing is that he only got to live in the castle for like 40 days before his death and it wasn't fully completed.

In this pic I am standing in the castle that Kind Ludwig (the builder of Neuschwanstein) grew up in--his boyhood "home."

We walked across this bridge as you will in a few pictures. Unfortunately the side of the castle was being renovated.My cute husband--isn't he handsome?

You can see the yellow castle in this pic. Scenery fit for a king.

We decided to hike out down a waterfall gorge. It was really fun and not as treacherous as it looks, just a little slippery.

Dachau Concentraion Camp. It was a sobering experience. The saying means sometihng like "Work makes us free." It was a taunt to the prisoners because they were told that if they worked hard enough they could gain their freedom and reference to the Nazi regime's mentality that the world needed to be freed of the Jews.

Apparently the crematorium was kept going 24/7 and in the few months before the camp was liberated by US troops things backed up, so when the soldiers arrived there were just piles nad piles of bodies. Not until those last few months did the locals start to suspect that something was amiss. Linderhof-another palace built by Kind Ludwig. He wanted it to be like a mini-Versaille.

No wonder people questioned his sanity. He had this grotto built. It is actually pretty cool and people do stranger things with their money today, but back in the day i can see how people would have been thinking he was cuckoo.

After leaving Linderhof (which is outside Munich) we drove through the Austrian Alps to Lucern, Switzerland.Waterfalls everywhere. It was like a fairyland this time of year.

Famous bridge in Lucern. I absolutely loved Switerland.
It was beautiful, clean, and the temperature was just perfect.

After Lucerne, we went and stayed in Lauterbrunnen. It is up a canyon and gorgeous. We took gondolas up to the Schilthorn. There is a rotating restaurant where a James Bond flick was filmed. along the way there are stops at little carless towns.

Dizzying sight.

We actually stayed in a hotel in Lauterbrunnen, but we could only afford the attic room. Hilarious, huh. It was actually cozy and just perfect for what we needed. See the seperate beds. That was par for the course our entire trip, but I can't complain. But for noisy neighbors I actually slept really well! :)

We ahd some time on our hands so we thought, "Let's go out to eat somewhere nice and have some authentic swiss food." We got a referral to this place, acnned the menu and saw that they specialized in Rostee-a traditional swiss meal consisting of different variations of potatoes and cheese. I found one with swiss cheese and an egg, "great" I thought. (If you can't tell, this is going to go very poorly.) When the waiter walked out I thought, Ihope that smell I am suddenly being assaulted with is not our food. It smelled kind of like sweat. Of course it was our dinner. Their definition of "swiss" cheese is not the kind I get at the store. I tried to hold my breath and I did eat some, but it was just really unsatisfying. Andy loved it and ate mine too. For those of you who know me, I'm not a picky eater, so this should be saying something.

Ah Paris. Unlike Lucerne, not clean andvery crowded. It was cool though and I'm glad we spent 2.5 days there so I could appreciate it.

We got our food stolen at the hostel. This is the other experience that competes for Worst Hostel Experience and ehre our complaints were met with a shrug. So, I think the Paris hostel takes top honors. I had purchased us a yummy dessert (cream puffs in chocolate mousse) and we'd eaten half of it Saturday night at dinner. I decided I would be mature and exercise some self restraint and save the rest for Sunday. When I was making dinner, Andy asked me, "hey, shawn where did you put that Coke you bought me? And, how much dessert did we have left yesterday?" Me, "Oh no...You have got to be kidding me!" I was pretty much as mad as I am capable of getting. No one takes my chocolate! Monday morning I wasn't suprised to find that our sandwich bread had been eaten too.

Visiting the Lourve. I was suprised at how I felt about actually seeing the Mona Lisa. It was complicated. It was more awe inspiring than I thought it would be. However, the portrait is quite small and you can only get as close to it as I am in this picture, so I am sure some of the artistic genius that makes it the most famous painting in the world was lost on me.

Arc 'd Triumph. Crazy small world...I met a girl here who went to East Forsyth High School.

The Statue of Liberty Sister Statue. It was suprisingly small, but cool to see the symbol of friendship between our countries reaching out to one another across the ocean.

Visiting Versaille with everyone else in France.

By this time I was really quite over looking at palaces. The grounds were amazing though.

Famous Hall of Mirrors

One last look at the sparkling Eiffel tower. I will say that this did not fail to impress; it was amazing. The first time I saw it, it was night and I was standing at the base and I heard a loud gasp from all of the people as it started to sparkle-unforgettable.

Easter

2009-05-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

Okay folks, I know it has been a while since Easter, but if you've read the previous two blogs you will understand why I have no time to blog. Anytime I take my eyes off the kid, something marvelous/disastrous happens (depending on whether your perspective is from 2' off the ground or 5' 3" off the ground). So, I post now while Evan is sleeping (or sneaking out of her bedroom window...who knows.)

No Really...Evan was here!

2009-05-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

And the messes never end. Actually I am sure they will and when they do someday I will look back and miss all of the evidences of having my sweet little child living in my home.

I suppose I could have grabbed a switch, but I grabbed my camera instead. :)

Evan Wuz Here

2009-03-22T19:09:00.000-07:00

now if only there was something to say "the Maid wuz here."

San Fran-cation

2009-03-13T08:43:00.000-07:00

Do you like that title? That is a shout-out to Andy. Anybody who's been around Andy knows that he likes to create words by smushing them all together. Don't ask me for examples because I usually try to forget them as soon as I've heard them. :)

Anywho, we went on a little trip a few weeks ago to what is probably my favorite city: San Francisco. Ah, I love it. We had a great time.

Biked across the Golden Gate. Beautiful!

Strolled through China Town, of course!

Took more pictures of our baby than you care to see!

Went to the famous Pier 39 and watched the Sea Lions

Went sailing (Thank you Botts!)

Clowned around a bit:

Future world traveler!

Future downhill skier (they didn't have any baby snowboards)

And we left when the weather turned bad. What a great trip!

Conquered

2009-02-23T14:53:00.000-08:00

If I were the regimented mother I set out to be ("I will not sleep with my child-ever!"), I would have missed the reassuring pats with chubby little hands on my face and neck, the thick dark lashes parting to reveal an ocean-blue peek for confirmation of mama's presence, sweet warm sighs in my face, and a completely undeniable feeling of being loved...no strings attached...except for maybe from my apron.

A True Visit Home

2009-02-09T08:30:00.000-08:00

(Okay, I know this seriously is not a particularly good pic of any of us, but I love seeing the progression of blue eyes! :) )

Going to NC always makes me reflect on the meaning of "home." I currently live in Utah. I love it here. I have a great job, good friends, wide open spaces to explore, yet the southerner in me yearns for the homeland. I do have to say that I get sad pretty much every single time I go "home" to NC because so much changes. I guess if you live there and never leave it isn't as startling, but for me, each time I return I see the footprint of progress... and I do mean footprint. Rarely do I see something that I think looks better. Everytime I go home I see more trees being leveled and more shopping centers rising, and for what?

Well, despite viewing the depleted landscape of my childhood, this trip home was really great. I did get to experience the part of NC that remains remarkably unchanged--family. It is funny to say that given some very obvious restructuring that has occurred in my family over the years. However, everyone is mostly still there in NC and though family lines and grouping may change, new members have been introduced, in this last visit it somehow felt like a trip back in time. Though I had quite a bit of time to spend in NC I really just relished time with my family, particularly because I am blessed to have all of my blood-grandparents living (sadly, I had a step-grandmother pass away). I tried to spend as much time as I could with them and my parents, their spouses and my aunts and uncles, cousins, and brother. Despite major changes in landscape and family trees, I really felt "Home" this trip.

Here are some pics, but I must disclaim that despite my best efforts to document my trip, I failed to get pictures of the following awesome people that I love and must mention: My brother Brandon and his darling wife Hannah with her baby bump, to be named Braden; also, my crazy-cool Aunt Yvonne with whom I got to spend some lovely time; My uncle Johnny, Aunt Renee and two 2nd cousins who stopped by to get a peek at baby Evan.

Evan enjoyed spending time with her cousin Amber,
though they had some challenges in sharing, love carried the day!

If only the world had a Nana, there would be no need for wars...
there is enough popcorn for everyone!

Sticker-head (courtesy of cousin Amber)

Sweet Amber (I love this kid)

Visiting Papaw's dog lot

The"original" papaw

Evan and her "great" Granny Rice

With Granny Strickland (who I am sure would be super mad at me for posting this pic-I have to say that among other things, I got her sense of vanity. :) )

My Aunt Vicki threw a lasagna feast for us. It was like so many dinners we've had as a family through the years. It was wonderful.

Okay, somehow I did not get a picture of my Aunt Vicki (probably because she was working so hard in the kitchen), but do you see her in the background with the big smile on her face? Doesn't she just look like a lovely person?

Of course, Aunt Mitzi is lovely too. And it strikes me that she somehow always has perfect nails.
I say "somehow" because she is a very hardworking lady.

Evan and her second-cousin, Brendon, had a chuckle-fest.

Evan's maternal grandparents:
A Nana

A Papaw

A Poppy (married to the Nana)

And, a Granny Sue (married to the Papaw)

Farewell until I can gird up my loins for another flight with this child!

Oh Christmas Card, Oh Christmas Card

2008-12-27T14:37:00.000-08:00

Yosemite Valley Overlook-2008

Each year I have such drama trying to get a card together and this year is no different. Costco lost my order, then they printed them too dark, they finally got it right on Christmas Eve. Then I am missing addresses. The waste of paper and the cost of stamps makes me grumpy. But alas, they are out (to those of you whose addresses I have) and once again I am glad I made the effort. It is kind of nice to use them as a marker for time-a quick way to see how our family is changing. Here is this year's card picture (for those of you who didn't get one-sorry) and the pictures of years past.

White Sands National Monument-New Mexico-2007

Glacier Bay-Alaska-2006

Lake Arenal-Costa Rica-2005

Our Old Living Room (so exotic that you can't go there anymore)-2004

Provo Center Street-2003
Okay, this wasn't our card picture, but look how young we WERE!

And this tour takes me to back before when we had a digital camera, okay, that makes us really old. I'm not sure I can even remember not having a digital camera. No more pics.

Thanks for walking down memory lane with me. Have a happy new year!

Speaking of the new year, I wonder where 2009 will take the Howell family? We've got some ideas, but we're taking suggestions!

Complete Honesty

2008-11-30T18:24:00.000-08:00

I totally stink at blogging. There. I said it. Are you happy now?

Not too great at my child's hygiene. You are certain to notice in your perusal of these pics that I apparently stink at wiping the food out from underneath my child's double chin and wiping the boogers from her nose. Oh well.

But I do believe I have at least one redeeming quality...I make a darn cute baby. Here are some of my more recent favorite pics of Evie. (And my recently cropped hair-completely unrelated to the cute baby pics other than its untimely posting.)

An Adventure to Say the Least

2008-10-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

How's this for a vacation orientation: "you might notice you have a big red button in your bungalow. Don't push it, or only push it in the case of an emergency (like someone is in your room) because it will bring the entire military. Also, if you see men riding around on boats with guns, don't worry, it's just the military." Ah Borneo, they weren't just guns, they were assault rifles.

Well, as you can surmise, it was truly an adventure.

Andy and I had a great time, but certainly it was tempered for me with the constant fear that we might actually be kidnapped or killed. That is the start of a relaxing vacation, right?!?

So, the itinerary was this: Tokyo, Japan for 2 days, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia (Borneo) for 3 days, 5 days in Kapali (the resort), 1 day in Kuala Lumpur, 1 day in Seoul, Korea and then alot of flights (9 total) to fill the rest of 14 days. Oh man, we were worn out, so it is a good thing we did it now instead of waiting for retirement.

What did we do? Walked and walked and walked around, ate ALOT, shopped in markets, snorkeled and scuba dived until our ears were sore to the touch, got ripped off by taxi drivers, got sick of eating weird food, missed our baby, actually got some sleep, and enjoyed one another's company. Muy Bueno, I hope you enjoy the pics.

Japan

Compare and contrast: two Tokyo temples

Malaysian Borneo-Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Snorkeling on Sulug, a deserted island. I was a little worried they would forget to come pick us back up.

Sapi

I told my mom that I would use good judgment...

Locals at Poring, a rainforest, hotsprings waterpark.

Why they call it a "rain" forest Mmmm, lunch. Warning, you can only eat so many fried noodles, for so many days in a row.

Kapali:

This place is scuba diving heaven. We went on 16 dives-each! Amazing.

A sea cave called "turtle tomb." I left when it occurred to me that both of Evan's parents weren't just scuba diving half-way around the world from her, but that both were at that moment in an underwater cave. Geniuses!

This barracuda was hanging out at the steps one night as we finished our night dive. I was really afraid to get out of the water for fear that it might get me. Look at those teeth.

I'm not kidding, this eel was as big around as my leg and at least as long.

Not a fish you would want to tango with.

A squid (cuttlefish) or as I like to call them "cuddlefish." I just want to squeeze one, but that would probably not be advisable. Did you know that they change colors to camouflage themselves?
Can you see this fish in this pick? We were constantly warned to control our buoyancy and stay off the bottom because there are tons of stone and scorpion fish hidden on the bottom.

a cool anemone

Kuala Lumpur:

Petronas Towers

Batu Caves-A very famous Hindu temple built in the limestone caves on the outskirts of KL.

Monkies in the temple/cave of course!

Andy's favorite picture-superflous breasts

The end.

A Conversation with Avery & Thomas

2008-08-26T10:54:00.000-07:00

So, I was talking on the phone with my dad the other day when I walked up to my friend's house, so I lingered outside to finish things up. Her 4-year old and her 2-year old were outside and happily greeted me and Evan. As I thought about my conversation later I had to laugh at how the conversation must have sounded from his end.

Me talking to my dad

Avery: (pointing to Evan) "Is she a girl or a boy?"

Me: "She's a girl" (me noticing that Evan was wearing a pink onesie with a butterfly on the front).

Me still talking to my dad and looking down to see Thomas thumping Evan on the head, suprisingly Evan is laughing.

Me: "Oh no, don't thump her on the head!" (said in a very kind tone)

Continuing to talk to my dad and looking down to see Thomas walking towards Evan with a handful of dirt and a very suspicious looking face

Me: "OH NO! Uh, don't rub dirt on her!" (Again, said very cheerfully).

Finally my dad: "I think I better let you go."

Our First Vacation

2008-08-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we've taken Evie some places, but this was the first time that we went just the three of us. Like real grown-up parents. Crazy, huh? It was actually wonderful. I think we'll do it again sometime. :)

We went to Giant Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks, Yosemite, Devils Postpile and Great Basin. All in all I think we hiked about 46.5 miles (with Evan taboot), but who's counting?

It was quite an adventure with all the bears and hiking and driving and scary motels. But we made it back to tell our tale.

Actually I don't have too much to say, here are some of the choicest pics of the (no lie) 500+ we took.

Giant Sequoia was beautiful. The trees are giant. Strain your eyes and see if you can even see us standing next to them.

General Sherman is the largest known living tree.

some big roots

Can you see me and Evan on the right?

There was also a cave. We got Evie all suited up to stay warm. Funny story: the guide stopped our group in a room and started talking about all of the features. All of the sudden we smelled this awful aroma and we could hear the little culprit grunting on the front of me. It was dark but not dark enough to cover Evie's pooping face. It was all Andy and I could do to not just totally lose it laughing. It smelled so bad and you could totally hear her grunting it out, in a cave no less.

Ahh relief!

This is pretty much how Evan spent all of the hikes.

On to King's Canyon:

Playing with "Leonard" the rabbit. Another funny story: our friend named Evan's rabbit Leonard without knowing that it is Andy's middle name and the name of Grandpa Howell. So, Leonard it is. She loves it!

Me jumping off of Muir Rock. Super cold water, Super good time!

Born to hike...

but don't let the bears bite!
We didn't make her sleep in the bear box, though it was tempting after I saw a bear run through our campsite. We saw 5 bears!

Yosemite:

Star trails

wildflower trails

Great Basin:

Bristlecone Pine. what's so great about this trees? There are about 3 groves (that I know of) in Great Basin and the trees are literally THOUSANDS of years old. They accidentally cut one down in the sixties and discovered it was 5900 years old. so it started growing when the pyramids were being built. Needless to say, these are now protected. How cool is that?

And that's our trip folks!

Dear John, How Could You?

2008-08-08T23:55:00.001-07:00

Dear John Edwards,

It is with a heavy heart that I lament, "how could you?" I truly do not understand. Honestly I am somewhat shocked at how deeply this affects me. I can not say that I have necessarily supported you in your high political aspirations, though we belong to the same party; however, I have never previously been offended by you either. So, why I am reeling at the news of your infidelity? What does it matter to me? Isn't this a "family matter" for you and your wife?

I have spent considerable time pondering this and here is what I've concluded. It matters to me because I have a hope for leaders who are true and virtuous. I guess that is somewhat naive of me. Even our great founding fathers had moral weaknesses. As I visited Monticello and partook of the estate Thomas Jefferson created with slave labor I realized that I cannot abide a lack of integrity in leaders. No one is perfect, but a complete lack of integrity regarding ideals that one espouses is intolerable to me.

I am actually one who does not believe in legislating morality despite my own strict moral compass. I think morals come from within. So, how could you? One who has held himself out as a moral family man. One who has criticised others for this very conduct? This isn't about sex; it's about trust. How could you be so senseless, reckless, entitled, selfish, momentary? Vote for you? How could I put my trust in your decisions as a leader expecting you to do what is right for many when you choose only to do what is right for yourself? Your remorse is well-placed. But how could this country repair itself and progress with a leader who leads his own family and self down a road of regrets. You could have been great, but now you are only a disappointment by your own choosing. America deserves better; I deserve better.

I am an idealist to be sure, but despite having men, not immortals for leaders, I think men in power can do better. I believe men and women in high offices can be clean. I believe leaders can practice what they preach. I won't stop voting. I won't stop hoping for leaders with integrity. And I am sure that I won't stop hurting.

Sincerely,
Shawn Howell

Evan's First National Park

2008-07-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

We went to Zion National Park for the Fourth and had a great time. It was Evie's first camping trip. She did great. There will definitely be more camping in her future.

We hiked Angel's Landing all the way to the top( with no stops). I carried Evan 5 steep miles round-trip. As we came off the Devil's back bone, a group of about 20 hikers applauded and one exclaimed, "Now there's a woman!" Of course Evan slept the entire time, woke up for a picture at the top, and snoozed the entire time down. What a life!

From breast to CamelBack, that's my girl!

First public swim: in a frog pond of course!

My lovely scratch thanks to the swim-hole trail.

Oh Blessed Day

2008-07-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

We finally got this baby blessed and Andy did not name her "Dave" as he had threatened to do. If you know Andy, you know he will do just about anything for a laugh, but I guess I successfully persuaded him that even though I am sure Heavenly Father has a sense of humor, I am also sure he wants ordinances performed in a reverent manner.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the Mormon church, we don't do infant baptisms. Children are baptized typically when they are 8 years old (or later, but never before). However, when a baby is born the child's father (again typically it is the child's father) gives the baby a name and a blessing. So, in this instance, Andy gave our baby the name "Evan Alice Howell" to be known by for the rest of her life and then proceeded to "bless" her with gifts, talents, and protections that he felt inspired to give her. When I was an infant I was blessed and given the name "Shawn Diane Rice."

Andy did an amazing job. It truly almost took my breath away to hear him pronounce such a beautiful and well thought-out blessing on our daughter's head. He is truly coming into his own as a father.

Howell family members in attendance Emily (Andy's sister and her 4 kids), Grandma and Granpa Howell, Rusty, Hans, and Danny (Andy's brothers) and Danny's wife and kids.

Thanks Nana (Dean) for the beautiful "princess" dress.

Disclaimer: if this seems like an obnoxious number of pictures of Evan, you are apparently NOT one of her grandparents. :)

So What Did You Do This Weekend-Part 2

2008-06-08T20:34:00.000-07:00

The second canyon we did is called "The Subway." You will probably be able to tell from the pictures where it got its name. It is a less technical canyon than Pine Creek, but no less challenging as it is probably 3 times as long (9+ miles). For 2/3 of the hike you are pretty much walking in a river bed. It was super fun!

So What Did You Do This Weekend?

2008-06-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

Finally, something that would actually qualify as an adventure. You were probably beginning to think that the name of this blog was misnamed, false advertising, but alas, we finally had a real post-baby adventure.Andy and I went down with some friends and family to Zion National Park and did some canyoneering. What is canyoneering you might ask? It is a sport truly specific to Colorado, Utah and Arizona. Basically it is hiking to the extreme. It involves swimming through extremely cold water, rappelling, boulder scrambling, and the like. I have to say that I LOVE it. It's probably my favorite outdoors thing to do because it involves your entire body.Andy and I did our first canyon last year when I was pregnant (very early on), but Evan couldn't come this year for what you will are obvious reasons. It was a great experience for me to feel so strong and capable, particularly after having a baby.

I love the problem-solving aspect of canyoneering. We have guide books, but you really don't have anyone to tell you how to get down, you just have to figure it out and it makes you feel awesome.

It also makes me feel awesome about my husband. Andy is amazing. He has incredible problem-solving skills and a keen understanding of how to just about everything outdoors.

The first canyon we did is called Pine Creek. It involves 2 swims, 1 deep wade, 6 rappels (including a 100 ft free rappel).

Save Some Green-Cloth Diapering

2008-05-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

So, I am absolutely in love with cloth diapering. I was warned by my sister-in-law that people who do cloth diapering get addicted and become quite fanatical about it. Well, she was right. So, count me in as one of the crazy people.

I thought I would write about it because I just love it so much. I was a little apprehensive about the whole process: how to get started, what do I need, is it going to be disgusting and/or complicated? Luckily there are some really good Internet resources and the aforementioned awesome sister-in-law that got me started.

About being disgusting. Let's face it. I would rather be getting brownie batter on my fingers than baby poop, but dirty hands are going to happen regardless of what you put on your baby's bum. I will say that Evan has actually only had blow-outs in her plastic diapers. So far, no diaper rash either.

It makes me feel good to know that I am not adding all of the trash to the landfills. And with an HE washer and dryer, washing is a breeze. Right now since she is only breastfeeding I don't do anything to the dirty diapers before I wash them. I don't rinse them, soak them, pre-treat them. I just chuck them in the diaper pail until I am ready to wash them and they go straight into the machine. I know it will get more disgusting as she gets older, but again that is unavoidable whether or not we use plastic or cloth. I wash her diapers every 2-3 days. I think driving to Walmart to buy plastic diapers is alot more complicated. I even ordered my diapers online and they came straight to my door. Believe me, if this was difficult I would not be doing it. I love the earth, but even I have my limits.

Not only is it great for the green earth, but it is good for the ecological environment of your wallet. Evie is pretty much outfitted at this point for her diapering life for under $200. I probably could have done it for even cheaper, but I over-ordered some things because I just didn't know what I liked best. I even use baby washcloths for wipes, so there is one more thing I don't have to buy repeatedly.

I have actually found a surprising amount of joy in doing it. It somehow feels like a really organic mothering experience to fold the diaper and put it on my little baby. It just feels really nurturing like trimming the crust off of your kid's PB&J sandwich.

If anyone is interested here are some resources and ideas:
I really like unbleached chinese prefold diapers. Then I use a "Snappi" fastener and a "Bummis Super Whisper Wrap" diaper cover. My sister-in-law like Thirsties covers. There are lots of products and it can be overwhelming, so I got started by ordering the "Try It" kit off of www.cottonbabies.com. I have found that site to be very useful. Also, www.diaperpin.com is the mother of all cloth diapering websites.

Here are some pictures of my little hippie in the making.

Okay, I don't know how to un-rotate this picture, sorry. Anyway, this is a chinese prefold with a twist-type fold on Evie. The twist helps soak up more pee. The green thingy is a "snappi" fastener. It doesn't snap, so I can only imagine that it is named a snappie because it is a "snap" to use. This is the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap diaper cover. This goes over the cloth diaper and provides the waterproof barrier. The cool thing about this is that this doesn't have to be washed everytime you use it unless it got really dirty in a blow-out type situation. You can reuse it like 5-6 times before you wash it. Bottomline, this saves you ALOT of money because you don't need tons of these. I only have 3. And you don't have to get frogs, I just thought, "Hey, why not?"

Is this the picture of a happy baby or what?!?

Is blogging weird or what?

2008-05-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

So, I was just embarking on what I had intended to be a quick perusal of my friends and family's blogs and got totally captured. I was actually stunned (in a good way) at the realization of what people are sharing.

It occurred to me that blogging might be a bit weird. Here we are, all spilling our guts and our lives onto a website for everyone to see. I have to say I love it. It would be great if I could sit down with all of you and find out the intimate details of your lives, but honestly no one has the time. And even if we did have the time, would we really talk about some of the things we are writing about? I don't think we would. I love looking at pictures of friend's kids growing up, moms sharing their ideas and woes and inspirations, folks heartaches and triumphs. When you look at all of this you can really see that life is complicated, but it really is beautiful. Wow. I am grateful that all of y'all let me take a peek into what is going on with you. When I read your blogs I hear your voices as if you were speaking to me. And then when I see you at church or wherever and you give me a quick "I'm fine." I feel like I know a little more about why that may or may not be completely true.

Well, I just wanted to say thanks for sharing friends!

Life is...a blur!

2008-05-12T12:40:00.001-07:00

Wow, until I saw Tisha's prompt for a new post I hadn't realized it has been a whole month since I last wrote. Life is a blur, but hopefully you can tell, it is a happy one! Alot has been going on as you can imagine, so here is a brief update:

Evan- Has had a lot of firsts: bike ride, sunburn (it didn't occur to me that I needed to put sunblock on her, yeah "mom of the year!"), night away from mommy and daddy, purposeful smile.

Shawn-has started running again. My mind and surprisingly my heart and muscles have been in decent shape, but my ligaments not so much with all that relaxin still in my body. The first night away from Evie wasn't so bad. She is cute, but her daddy is pretty cute too. :) Celebrated my 30th birthday. Andy really surprised me this year with all kinds of goodies: a new mountain bike, surprise dinner with friends, some spa treatments for mother's day. What a guy!

Andy-is probably really looking forward to me going back to work in two weeks. Don't feel too sorry for him though, he is having alot of fun. He is playing softball, biking, shooting terrorists and hiring out his chores. Again, what a guy! :)

But Tisha didn't ask for an update on what we've been doing, she asked for what I am thinking. Hmmm, well, Tisha you know I will be visiting you soon and will give you TMI, but truthfully things are really good for the Howells. We're all really happy. Settling into a routine and a new life is kind of interesting and very tiring, but I think we've made the shift well. After all of the years of trying, I have to say, that Evie could not have come at a better time for me or Andy.

It is an interesting thing to have any birthday, but your 30th gives cause for evaluation and retrospection. I can say this wasn't too bad of a birthday. In fact, I wasn't sad at all. There was no reason to be sad because I feel like I've got a good life. I've got an amazing husband, a sweet little baby, we have good jobs, a nice house and great friends. Lest I sound like a braggart, let me add, we've got plenty of things and people to worry about, aches and pains, and unmet wishes. However, I think as we hone our ability to focus on what is truly important we are happier. Could I have a bigger house, nicer car, sexier body? Well, I don't know about the body...aren't stretch marks like racers' stripes? :) Hopefully you get what I'm saying. There will always be room for improvement, but I feel pretty dang happy right now. I feel excited about the challenges that lie ahead. And I have to say with complete confidence that the Lord will provide. Maybe I will write more about that in another post, but I know He will. I feel complete peace and confidence in that. I hope everyone reading this post is having peace and happiness in their lives despite heartaches and disappointments. I went to Womens' conference two weeks ago and one of the speakers at the beginning of her talk, I believe completely unplanned said, "I know the Lord loves you and is concerned about the things you are concerned about." I know that is true. Here are some pictures to just make you stupid happy:

A Random Assortment of Pictures for Grandparents

2008-04-11T14:42:00.000-07:00

See # 3 on the list of things I said I would never do. I feel entitled though because 2/3 of Evan's grandparents live in NC so this is the only way for them to see her...and the only way I can justify taking pictures of her nearly every day.

Does it look like I am getting enough to eat?

Preparing for my favorite pastime.

Never Say Never

2008-04-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

All of the things I said I would never do:

1. Let my baby sleep in my bed
2. Buy Burt's Bees baby products (too expensive)
3. Impose my baby's pictures on other people
4. Become a germ-a-phobe
5. Declare that my child is the cutest ever
6. Buy anything pink (and actually like it)
7. Baby talk
8. Call myself "mama" or Andy "daddy"
9. Let the cats get too close to the baby (see below, don't worry they don't like her, just the sun)
9. (for Andy) Admit that everyone was right when they said, "it will be different with your own kid; you might not like other people's kids, but you'll like yours."

The list could go on, but I will stop, lest y'all think I am a jerk. Kids do sort of turn your world upside down, or maybe it is right-side up.

I am happy to say that Evan has moved out of our bed, that only lasted about a week and I decided that I needed some sleep. She is now snoozing happily in her laundry basket turned bassinet (thanks, Rian).

Andy is an awesome dad. I'm not just saying that, in fact, he has never even looked at our blog, so, I am being truthful when I say he is doing a great job. He is very attentive, helpful, and very much in love with the new girl in his life.

"God has shown favor"

2008-03-18T08:06:00.000-07:00

Evan
God has shown Favor
also a Welsh derivative of "John" like the name "Shawn"

Alice
Sweet

Andy and I pretty much picked out the name Evan within a few hours of finding out she was a girl. That might seem strange since it is traditionally a boy's name, but my only association with the name was a childhood girlfriend, so to me it is a girl's name. It was pretty much only one of two names we even discussed and the other name was summarily dismissed by Andy upon my suggestion of it, so Evan it is. I finalized the decision to name her Evan when I found out what it meant, "God has shown favor." To me that is just perfect for how I feel about her. I don't know why I have been so highly favored to have such a sweet baby, but I have to express my overwhelming gratitude.

The name Alice comes from Evan's great-grandmother Howell. Grandma Howell died this last summer. I won't go into my experience completely, but I will say that at her funeral I felt very strongly that the time had come that we would finally have a baby. I found out two days later that I was pregnant. At Grandma Howell's funeral I felt so proud to be a Howell. What an amazing family and lineage that Evan now has!

Thank you Lord for showing us such sweet favor.

Introducing...Evan Alice

2008-03-17T21:49:00.000-07:00

She's here, and what a good girl, two weeks early! She weighed in at 5lbs. and 13 oz., measuring 18 inches long. I really can't even begin to describe how overjoyed I am with such a precious daughter. Andy is over the moon. She came last wednesday and I would have posted sooner, but we are too busy just looking at her...and taking pictures of her. Here a couple of the over 200 hundred we have taken so far. Thank goodness for digital cameras!

Pregnancy meltdown

2008-03-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

Wow, I have officially hit the emotional stage of pregnancy. I am a pretty emotinal person anyway, so I thought I would have gotten here alot sooner. I was actually beginning to think that I might skate through this whole experience without a great deal of emotinoal instability. Well, the past two weeks have proven that to have been a false hope. My oh my.

I had a baby shower the other night (thanks again Alyson and Wendy) and it was what I will remember as the official beginning of my meltdown. A few friends gave me some diapers they had leftover that their babies have now outgrown. It really hadn't hit me before that night that my baby is going to grow, really fast! Yikes. I don't think have thought much about that. That is probably a good thing because ever since I started thinking about it I have been an emotional wreck.

Then on Saturday I went to the hospital to pre-register. I know this is TMI, but on Tuesday I was dialated to 1cm and 80% effaced. Anyway, I was there just checking in and they told me, "Suprise, your doctor doesn't deliver at this hospital." What! I almost melted down right there, but I quickly became so angry that no one had bothered to tell me this, that being mad carried the day. That was atleast until today. After I talked to the nurse at my doctor's office I had a nice long sob fest. It really isn't a big deal other than feeling like I thought I knew how things were going to go down and now all of the sudden I have no idea and feel like I have no control over anything. That really stinks. I don't know exactly which doctor will be at the delivery because it is just whoever is on call that day. I asked the nurse about who I should discuss my birth plan with and she responded with "what do you mean by birth plan?" It turns out she knew exactly what I was talking about but apparently just wanted to take the opportunity to make me feel stupid. Fun stuff. S

I am feeling a little better now, but gees, no wonder pregnant get a little emotional. Hormones are going crazy, you feel like a whale, people act like your questions are stupid, and you are going to have a major change in life responsibilities in no less than 3 weeks (if I go over-due). Someone please tell me I am not going crazy. I know this is just another of life's adventures, but wow!

Andy

2008-02-15T08:15:00.001-08:00

My husband survey:

1. What is his name? Anthony Leonard Howell. He never goes by Tony, it is Andy. His Mom didn't like the Andrew, but liked the name Andy, so she just made up her own rules. I'm glad she did.

2. How long have we been together? We celebrate our 8 year anniversary in May!

3. How long did you date? Not very long. I met Andy Thanksgiving week on 1999. We went out on about two dates and did alot of hanging out before Christmas and I just knew that we would get married. Shortly thereafter we broke up and Andy would say we never got back together, we were just friends who got married 5 months later.

4. Who eats more? Right now it is tough to say. I like to eat. I definitely have much more of a sweet tooth and Andy has a bigger appetite for Whoppers. Unfortunately, I always appear to be the one who eats more--why can guys get away with it?

5.Who said I love you first? I think Andy. I think it was after I told him I thought we were going to get married that he said, "So, I guess it is safe now to tell you that I love you?"

6. Who has more speeding tickets? Shawn 0, Andy 10+?

7. Who is smarter? Andy. he is seriously the most intelligent person I know. I know I am partial, but he is really a genius. It makes me mad sometimes.

8.Who is more sensitive? Duh. I am definitely the crier in the family.

9. Who usually wins the fights? Answering this may cause a fight. I would say we don't have fights, we have negotiations. It really can get quite ridiculous sometimes. "Andy, I would ask you to qualify the statement you just made." "Please clarify your apology." "What exactly do you mean when you use that word?" It would probably make pretty good reality tv. Actually our last real fight was about two years ago that I can remember. It was a doozey that is why I remember it. As I recall, I would have to say that Andy "won" in that we went with the plan he was supporting, however, I think it should be set for a review 6 months from now for us to determine if his plan is still best.

10. Who does the laundry? I do.

11. Who does the dishes? Mostly I do.

12. Who sleeps on the right? Andy

13. Who pays the bills? We both do in that I bring home some bacon too. However, Andy actually sends in the checks. It would be too stressful for me. All I know is that I bring home a paycheck and the bills magically get paid.

14. Who mows the lawn? The boy across the street. Maybe I can farm out some of my domestic responsibilities, Andy!

15. Who cooks? MMM, McDonald's? I do. Except for french toast. That is Andy's favorite and I think it's gross, so he is on his own.

16. Who drives when we're together? Always Andy.

17. Who is more stubborn? Hmm, that is tough. We are both pretty stubborn, but luckily neither of us like fighting or not talking.

18. Who kissed who first? I think it was mutual, but Andy was the one who initiated it.

19. Who asked who out first? Andy asked me out first, but I gave him my number.

20. Who proposed? That is kind of a tricky question. Technically I am the crazy person who brought up marriage first. Then Andy actually asked me later, twice, when I wouldn't answer him the first time. I was actually pretty mad he was asking because as I mentioned before we were "broken up." We had a pretty stressful engagement.

21. Who has more siblings? Andy. He has 1 sister and 5 brothers. I have three brothers.

22. Who wears the pants? I wear the stretchy pants.

Much Ado About Something

2008-02-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

Here are some tummy pics, finally. As I am looking at these I am realizing why it has taken me so long to want to go public with these. Yikes! It is alot easier just to look at yourself in the mirror than to look at pictures of yourself. I hope all you skinny people out there enjoy these! :) I think I was 31 weeks when these were taken.

That feeling just before guilt

2008-02-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

This has nothing to do with me not being a very punctual blogger. :) I was having an interesting conversation with a friend the other night that I have thought alot about and wanted to write about, particularly because I think most of my blog readers are women, this is for you!

We were talking about the broadcast on Saturday and I mentioned how I just love Sister Beck (the General Relief Society President). I think she is just perfect for women today-professional, yet grounded in the gospel. For me personally, she is a woman that I think actually understands what it is like to be me. This conversation led my friend and I to discuss her conference talk "Mothers Who Know" and the ensuing controversy. (For those of you who don't live in Utah, maybe you don't know, but there was a big brouhaha here because there were alot of women offended by what she had to say. Sorry if you were one of them, I'm not trying to make you feel bad). Anywho, I wasn't offended and was actually shocked to find that some women were because I think that of all the people who could have been offended by a talk about motherly duties, I could be a frontrunner-I don't have kids, I plan to keep working once my little bundle of heartburn gets here, etc. However, I wasn't offended because I realized at the beginning of the talk that I had a choice to make-get offended or take what she was saying and apply it to the unique circumsatnces of my life and learn, not take offense. My friend had a similar experience as she is a working mother of two. She described the feeling the talk left her with as "that feeling just before guilt." I thought that was an interesting way of describing it. It made me want to ponder, "What is that feeling right before guilt?" I decided that it is a positive feeling of facing a challenge. It is a feeling where we acknowledge that we could be doing more or doing somethings better, but instead of giving into guilt, we refuse to feel guilty and turn that into positive motivation. I think it is truly within our power to make the choice not to slide into guilt.

As we talked I realized that guilt really is a product of pride. That may not be obvious at first (it wasn't to me) because it seems so completely the opposite. But really we are being prideful when we say "I can't do any better and if you tell me that I can, then I'm going to feel guilty and offended." Guilt is an emotion without motivation. It robs us of the thrill of standing up and meeting a challenge. I guess in writing about this, my challenge to myself and others is to not give into guilt, but keep challenges to improve in a positive light so that you feel up to the task. Don't be overwhelmed by a feeling that you must do it all. You can't. But you don't need to feel guilty about it. Be honest with yourself though and be positively motivated. Maybe at this time in your life you really can't do more or better. More isn't always better. Maybe what you can do is recognize a need to be more centered and calm so that as you go about your life duties you are really experiencing the moments of your life.

The combination of the "Mothers" talk and other things discussed at Saturday's broadcast made me also realize that when we give into guilt and offense, we are acutally judging others. The thought that was shared Saturday about not judging those with big families (or small families) made me realize that we do often judge others negatively when we see them doing presumably more than we are. We feel guilty that we either can not or choose not to do as much. But instead of helping, we remove ourselves from the pool of resources to that person. We won't all have big families, but we shouldn't not help those with more kids simply because we feel their family is a statement against our own worthiness. We're not in a contest. Whoever has the most kids doesn't win, but whoever has the least doesn't either. We only "win" if we all "win" together and that is accomplished not by asking "why" ("why did that person make that choice?") but "what" ("What can I do to help you?").

Well, this is all really a rambling lecture to myself, but I wanted to write about this and tell all of you wonderful women out there to stop at the feeling just before guilt.

Hell (Ahm, I mean)... House pics

2008-01-28T15:27:00.000-08:00

Wonders never cease, I had some house pics at work and I was able to pry my disk drive open. Here are some house pics in no particular order. These are all really old, so don't worry, we are actually really close to being done.

Coming to a mailbox near you

2007-12-31T14:06:00.000-08:00

Now that the holiday season is almost completely over, you might be receiving one of our Christmas cards. My address book is kind of hit-or-miss, so if you don't get one, don't be sad, you didn't miss much. Here is our Christmas letter and picture:

Christmas is now past and I’ve been waiting for clever writing inspiration to strike so I could complete these holiday cards. Alas, it has not, so you are stuck with this sorry excuse for an update.

Needless to say, we’ve been busy. The past few months have been kind of a blur of back problems (Andy), morning sickness (me), and drywall dust (we’ve been remodeling our house for the last year). So, it may be sad to admit, but we’re not sad to see 2007 go.
In reflection it has been a year of extremes. A year of extreme joys and fun. We did actually do some really fun things including travel with trips to Thailand, DC, and 116 National Park sites. We’re elated of course with the joy of a new baby on the way. And the opposite extreme of some fairly intense physical labor, exertion, and pain. But you don’t want to hear about that and honestly we don’t want to think about it anymore. The good news is that the new year looks promising and we are delighted to think our house might actually get finished and that we also might actually finally become parents.

We are truly in awe at how blessed we’ve been over the entire course of our lives, but certainly during the past year, even during or maybe even especially during the difficult times we’ve truly seen the hand of the Lord in our lives as we’ve grown as individuals and as a family. We hope you will have a blessed new year and experience joy and prosperity in 2008.

Love, The Howells

We've got a floor, maybe now a life

2007-12-19T16:27:00.000-08:00

Wow, my track record as a blogger is terrible, but I am going to try to do better. As most of you know we've been remodeling. Honestly the last 4 months have been a nightmare of house delays, morning sickness, and back problems. I don't want to jinx us, but, we may be getting somewhere on all of the aforementioned problems. I will try to take some pictures of where things are and post them in the next week. Also, I guess it is about time to start taking some tummy pictures!

Hello everyone!

2007-08-10T14:10:00.000-07:00

I thought it was about time that we find a way to share our ordeals, (ahmm) I mean, "adventures" with everyone. Now you can see pictures of our house and see why we have seemingly fallen off the face of the earth this last year. Hopefully you'll get to see the finished product pretty soon and we can move on to more fun things.