A New Car!

I don't know what got into me, but one day I decided to allow Hans to buy a Land Cruiser.  I know, it's crazy.  I must really love him.  So, he drove up to Evanston last night and came back with this.  I have to admit that I do like it.  It definitely needs a new paint job and a better smell, but it is pretty sweet.  It's a 1977 and it's really in pretty good shape.  There are just a few problems.  I'm no good with a stick and there's no back seats.  So, I won't be driving it until I get some serious lessons and James won't be able to come along for a while.  

James already acts like he knows just what to do.  Doesn't Hans look so proud that his little boy already shares one of his great loves?

Hans wasted no time.  As soon as he got home from work today he went to work on the car.  This is something he really loves and he hasn't had a chance to do much car stuff in a long time, so it's fun for him to finally be able to practice his hobby.

Just another cute picture of James behind the wheel.  He really seemed to get the hang of things quick.  We didn't have to show him anything.  We just sat him in the seat and he knew what to do.

Jazz Shout Out!

I'm going to deviate from my usual format for a moment here and vent.  First, I want to send a big shout out to my Utah Jazz.  Yes, they lost in LA last night, but can you really blame them.  I mean they struggled in the first quarter, but then seemed to kind of get things together and played up to the Lakers level, even, in my opinion, outplaying them for much of the second half.  However, it seemed quite obvious to me that the omnipotent officiating crew had it in for my beloved Jazz. 

Did it seem strange to anybody else that as soon we start really getting opportunities to start taking the lead, outrageous calls start coming from the officials.  Not to mention the blatant fouls on the Lakers that seemed to slip by.  In my opinion, the NBA wants to protect their precious MVP.  I mean, he is the MVP, so wouldn't it be a shame if he didn't win a championship this year?  NO!  If the Lakers don't earn a win, they shouldn't be given preferential treatment to make sure they get it, no matter who they have playing on their team.  All I'm asking for is a little fairness here.  I've watched the Jazz for years and I'm tired of them getting the short end of the stick when it comes to the calls.  They're an incredibly talented team and I think they could really do great things if the officials quit betting on games and put their prejudices aside.  So, they're not the most popular team out there.  We don't have a Kobe Bryant or a LeBron James, but don't we deserve just as much of a chance as any other team out there?

Ok!  All that being said, I still believe in my Jazz.  Every article I've read completely discounts the possibility of a game 7.  Come on, show a little faith.  The Jazz have too much pride to let the Lakers take a game 6 in the ESA.  And I think the Lakers should be very worried about a game 7.  Yes, it's in the Staples Center, but why can't they win?  Stranger things have happened in the playoffs.  Game 5 proves to me that the Jazz can outplay the Lakers in the Staples Center.  It's just a matter of whether or not they can outplay them enough to overcome the preferential treatment that Kobe and the rest of the team receive from the officials.

For those of you who are still reading, thanks for letting me vent.  I hope you all tune in tomorrow night at 8:30 on KJZZ to watch the Jazz stomp on the Lakers.  GO JAZZ!!

There Can Only Be One: Derek Fisher and Deron Williams

I love this commercial!

Baby Bryton!

On Tuesday, little Bryton finally came into the world.  A big congrats to Reed and Megan.  It was a race to see who's birthday he would be born on.  I was betting it would be mine, but he came a little slower than we thought (and much slower than Megan would have liked).  So, in the end, Marissa was the winner.  Lucky her.  We were able to visit at a rare moment when his eyes were open.  Isn't he so cute.  It's easy to forget how little brand new babies are when I have this huge kid crawling all over the house.  It's so fun to just hold a baby who will lay still and not try to go somewhere every second.

This is the closest we let James get.  He thought the baby was pretty cool, but we thought it best to keep them apart.  James has a new fascination with noses, ears, hair, and anything else he can pull so it looks like Bryton will be off limits until he has gotten well past this stage.

I love being an aunt.  It's so fun to be able to hold cute babies and do fun stuff with nieces and nephews and then let their parents do the dirty stuff.  I have my own dirty diapers to deal with.

Here's the birthday girl with the brand new birthday boy.

Birthdays, Flowers, and Spring!!

It's May!!  That means it's Spring.  I know it has actually been Spring for a while now, but now it actually feels like it.  I am so excited!  My family has four birthdays in May (as of 4:00 this morning, the count is up to 5) so on Sunday we held a big birthday party for everyone.  Hans and I were among the birthday kids.  My birthday was yesterday and Hans' is on the 25th.  Here's Hans with one of his favorite birthday desserts, homemade cheesecake.  Hmm, that doesn't look like enough candles.  Between the four birthdays, we would have needed 89 candles, so it's probably a good thing we scaled things down a little.

James was being a stinker for the entire party, so he had to sit on my lap the whole time.  He sure thought those candles were fascinating though.

Here's James with another birthday girl.  Marissa is turning the big 2-0.  Happy Birthday today, Marissa!!

James loves playing with his aunt Katie.  This is one of his favorite things to do with her.  He kind of looks like a monkey, huh?

Yesterday, I planted flowers!!!  I got a few pots for my birthday and a bunch of flowers from my mother-in-law.  I stayed out way past daylight to get them planted while Hans sat and looked on.  He wants nothing to do with anything that involves flowers.  James thought the flowers were pretty cool, but he definitely likes the dirt better.  I think he prefers the taste.