It's the Big Guy's Birthday!

So yes, today Lynn turns 52- and he doesn't seem a day over 40!! Tonight we went out to his favorite restaurant, Ruth's Chris, and all pigged out on steaks, fish, and dessert. It's been an awful, awful week for him- one of our superintendents was diagnosed with liver cancer and his phone has not stopped ringing, but he just carries on. So to honor him-

The Top Ten List of Why We Love the Big Guy:
10. He remains unfazed even when mass chaos is erupting all around him- and can I tell you how often that happens!
9. He never ever asks me what I've spent on something for the house or how much a wedding is costing him.
8. He will wear pastel gingham shirts, while still remaining masculine- need I say more?
7. He is incredibly sentimental when it comes to his children and grandchildren and loves them with every fiber of his being- how many men do you know that will tell a young man who has just asked to marry his daughter that as far as he was concerned that young man "completed her"?
7A. He loves his sons-in-law and respects them and loves to take them fishing.
6. He respects women and truly believes that they are the greatest thing the Lord created and that he is truly blessed to have so many in his life. It puzzles him when people ask him if he's sad he doesn't have a son and he just smiles and says no.
6A. He loves the dogs almost as much as his children- and even tolerates the cat.
5. When his fourth daughter was born he said "Thank God, it's another little girl" to which everyone teared up and laughed at the same time.
4. He is dedicated to his business and takes great pride in doing his best. He is not only ethical in his dealings but generous to his employees.
3. He looks smoking hot when he drives his new car with his sunglasses on and his cool goatee (sorry girls)!
3A. He has started working out and is dedicated to having a strong, healthy body.
2. He arranged so that every Thursday fresh flowers are delivered to our house. He tries hard to be a loving and romantic husband.
1. He is true to his beliefs and never wavers from his testimony of our Savior and sets a great example of the Priesthood.

The Ice Machine Does Indeed Work!!!

So today the dishwasher and ice machine were installed!! Lynn and I were at the office till after six and when we came home it had lots of ice in it. The ice is perfect- the right size, taste, and texture. Whit thinks it's pretty spectacular too! We have decided that we are going to package little plastic bags of ice and have Whitney sell it on the corner- people will come from miles around for the amazing ice. Tomorrow they are coming to install the gianourmous fridge- I can hardly wait to go shopping to fill it up- oh wait, I really just need to get diet coke and sugar snap peas! We are seriously melancholy cause it's still 8 or 9 days till I get to see baby Sophie and even more for Lynn- this is the pits!

SOPHIE HAS ARRIVED!!

As you can tell by my removal of the baby timeline, Sophie has finally decided to make an appearance. She was born this morning at 4:58 eastern time and weighed in at the whopping weight of 8 lbs 2 oz!! She's 20" long and hopefully Jon will get some pictures up on their blog this afternoon. Emma called this morning quite relived that yes, she really was a girl!!

The GIANOURMMOUS Fridge!

As you can see from the photos, the much anticipated refrigerator has arrived! I was at the office with Whit and Ryan and his mom doing the invitations (what a nightmare!!!) when Lynn called to tell us it was being delivered. All the appliances came together and we were supposed to put them in the garage cause we aren't quite ready for them but when Lynn went outside to look he got a little shocked. You see, the fridge simply did not look that big in the store. It was set in a nice little kitchen with cabinets and such and it just looked normal. But when he noticed them taking it off the truck that the carton was over 8' tall and on the side it said "Danger, Heavy- Over 800 lbs" (which is more weight than a volkswagen he informed me) he asked them if they would bring it in the house. He told me they asked him if he was the homeowner not the contractor cause contractors have been known to trick them into taking it into the house. His reply? "Do I look like a contractor?" So they said it would be an extra fee and he told them "Don't move, I'll get my checkbook" and in it came. Now it sits in the middle of the kitchen and Whit and I are terrified to touch it cause it could tip over! I love it and can't wait to see it in it's little cubbyhole. Whit just doesn't understand what I'm going to put in it because I never go shopping and Ryan thinks it looks like the refrigerators at the bakery and Lynn's just impressed it made it into the house!!

Two Days in a Row!

I can't believe I'm actually posting two days in a row but I go on each morning to see how many day's Mandy has left before the baby and decided to put this up from last night. This is a picture of my Laurels that received their YW Medallion. Bishop Nebeker is much nicer than he looks in this picture, I promise! I was really proud of the girls for the accomplishment, but I have to admit it made me so sad that my girls are grown and I don't get to have these things to go to anymore. But I am so looking forward to attending all these things for my dozens of granddaughters I will have!

So I'm a little tired today- Chelsea text me about 1 am to tell me there was a really loud noise downstairs in her house and would I talk to her while she went to check it out. Then around 3:30 she text me again to tell me she was calling 911 cause she heard it again. She called after the police left and said her next door neighbor came out because whatever this strange noise was it woke them up to. Weird, huh? I was so proud of how calm she was and I never mind when she calls in the middle of the night when Dan's gone. But the big problem was that after that I started thinking about all the things that need to happen for Whit's wedding and I couldn't shut it off. It was so frustrating!!! Okay I feel better now, I'm heading off to make some lists and get things done. Mandy- get that baby here! Lindsey- study hard, but please get some sleep! Chelsea- enjoy the time off work, you deserve it! This is so fun that I can still tell my girls what to do!! I won't bother telling Whit anything here because she 1. Won't read it and 2. I see her everyday!

We Have Truly Lost Our Minds!!!

So for some reason Lynn and I decided the kitchen counters, appliances, and some cabinets MUST be replaced before the Fairbanks arrive for their extended visit and the wedding so last week it started. There are moments I look at Lynn and wonder why I picked someone who loves to rip buildings apart and then rebuild them- I couldn't have choosen a quiet accountant or possibly a safe businessman? Okay, I admit I like the challange too of fixing the house up after we destroy it. I can't wait- I'm getting an under the counter ice maker that makes the clear ice- no more trips to the grocery store to buy "store bought ice" cause I won't use the ice maker ice- does that make me sound a little strang cause I have the feeling it does (Debbie and Marcia keep your comments to yourself!). I've been promised by my contractor- did I tell you that I have an intimate relationship with him so I know he would never lie to me- that it will be done in two weeks, but I'll allow for issues and give him three. I'll keep you posted...

More Conference Pictures

I've been meaning to post these pictures of conference weekend forever and after spending the last hour catching up on everyones blogs I decided to take a few minutes to get these up. We went the brunch after the Sunday session at The Grand and Lynn's parents came down to meet us. It is one of my favorite things to do in Salt Lake so it was a nice addition to the weekend.

Yes, as a Matter of Fact, We are Going to the Dogs!

Chelsea has been staying here this week while Dan is in ground school in Salt Lake so she went to visit him this weekend and left us with the rat dog Nellie. Trixie DOES NOT like Nellie- she's pretty sure it's another rat coming to live in the house. Then Ryan came for the weekend and since his mom Karen is out of town he brought their dog MaiTai too. Trixie DOES NOT like MaiTai- she's pretty suspecious of why she wants to smell her bottom. AND they started the kitchen today- I'll post some pictures tomorrow, but it's a pretty big mess. The granite is on the bar and the new sink is in, but the rest is a mess!! Still no baby, but Jon's finished with the first day of boards and he's still standing!

A Shout Out to Dr. Fairbanks

So tonight I honor Jon by posting this picture of him standing on top of the world- okay, so it was at the top of some volcano in Maui, but close enough. I have been feeling very bad about myself the last few days cause I've been having some hard thoughts about my son-in-law. I felt like he needed to be doing more for my pregnant daughter and that his focus wasn't on her. And then I realized- IT"S TIME FOR HIS BOARDS!! The day has come that he has sacrificed for, studied for, dreamed and worried about for the last seven years- and it will all come down to the next three days!! Shame on me for not stopping to realize that in the midst of all my worries about the new baby, the wedding, and the office that I hadn't remembered how hard the next few days will be for him! So Lynn and I will being saying lots of prayers for him and all the great guys he's made friends with over the past four years as they take their Dental Boards. And Jon, even if Lynn would have been able to pick someone out for Mandy, it would have been you!! Love you lots, we know you'll do great, Dr. Fairbanks!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHELSEA!!

So today is Chelsea's 24th birthday!! This picture is from Conference Weekend when she took the time to color and cut Whit's hair and cut both Lynn's and my hair. I'm sure the hotel wondered what we had been doing in the bathroom!! She put a great list on her blog of her 100 for her birthday-it was so fun to read!! So in honor of birthday's this year I thought I'd do "The Top Ten Reasons I'm Glad You're My Child/Spouse/Friend"

THE TOP TEN REASONS I'M GLAD CHELSEA'S MY CHILD:
10. She loves to sing out- even though she's pretty much tone-deaf
9. She always makes such positive comments on everyone's blog
8. She loves her dog (more than I love my dogs!!)
7. She always remembers to call her Grandma Waalkes and to visit her
6. She has grown into a great wife
5. She is working hard at losing weight
4. She has overcome depression
3. She is a good sister and the best auntie
2. She always makes everyones hair look great
1. Our family would not be complete without her!!!

Love you Chelsea and we hope you have a year filled with much joy, laughter, and growth!!

An Easter Mess!!

I'm sure you're wondering why the pictures of these awful looking pies are on my blog- because they are the result of a great "Lynn" moment. I made two strawberry pies, a bananna creme, and a german chocolate pie for Easter dinner at Aunt Marcia. Our fridge is very small and the one in the garage doesn't work so it was Lynn's job as I finished the pies to fit them into the fridge. He thought he was being very creative by stacking them on top of the chinese food leftovers and then on top of the milk cartons and then he ran out of room for the chocolate pie. So he did what any good builder would do- he double stacked on top of one of the straberry pies- how I'm not sure, I only witnessed the aftermath. He kept telling us all to not slam the fridge door and it would be okay, but when he opened the door later he said "Oops!" which you really never want to hear him say. I walked over and the chocolate pie had tipped into the strawberry pie and then ALL OVER THE FRIDGE. I stayed calm and no swear words were uttered cause thankfully the missionaries were standing there to go to dinner with us. It only took about 1/2 hour and a dismantling of the fridge, but we sorta saved the pies.

On a more spiritual note, my lesson for Young Women's went really well. I love Easter and all it portrays- the love of our Savior Jesus Christ and the sacrifice he made for us. We placed the events of the last week in Jesus's life in order and talked about each of them. I made a packet for each girl that is called "A Fourteen Day Walk with Christ" that has a letter for each day of the next two weeks that they open in the morning and read and think about during the day. It's supposed to help them understand Christ better and to help them see that how he lived his life can help them live theirs. It also passes off about a dozen personal progress goals. I hope the girls really take the time to read and ponder the things in the letters- it was so nice cause we had a couple of girls there that rarely come so hopefully it will touch them. My sweet family stayed up till 2am to help me get them together- which is tough for Lynn. I hope you all had a joyous Easter- still waiting for our sweet baby- poor Mandy went to the doctor today and he won't start her so she's pretty down. Say a prayer for her!

Easter Bunny S'mores

A friend of Mandy's made these and she was telling me how cute they were so Whit and I decided to make them for friends, visiting teachers, home teachers, and so on- in fact we made 28 jars in all! They turned out so cute and we made a jar of them into the s'mores last night for the missionaries and they were very tasty. So thanks Mandy for pointing them out to me! Now go and do some more jumping jacks and march around the room- we want that baby here!!

Conference Weekend

We flew up to Utah for the weekend to go to General Conference- it was a great time. Whitney came with us, Dan was already there for ground school so Chels flew up from Arizona, and Lizzy came up from Provo. The only one missing was Mandy, but with the baby almost here she had to miss it- we really missed her!! There's so much to tell about it, so I'll just post today about going to conference. We only had 3 tickets to the Sunday morning session so Lizzy was going to stand in line to see if she could get in. We left the hotel at 7:15 worried that she wouldn't get in- TRAXS never came so we walked all the way from The Grand to the Conference Center- IN HEELS! Lynn went to the door with her while Whit and I were still walking and the nice guy he talked to let us have one more ticket. It was a good thing because there were no extra tickets anywhere- someone told us people had been scalping tickets for money at Temple Square on Saturday! It was wonderful to be there when President Hinkley walked in and everyone stood in total silence. He seemed so healthy and his talk had some great points. I loved Elder Pace's talk and the sister from Primary gave such a sweet talk that I really related to. We sat right by our stake president and one of his counselors and our old Laurel advisor who moved to Iowa was there so that was fun. When we left the conference center I thought we would see more protesters but there were only a few. I loved when I saw that lining both sides of the sidewalk as you enter Temple Square young adults had lined up and were singing hymns to keep your focus off what people were shouting and to help you keep the spirit from the meeting. I would love to start the tradition of going to conference as a family every other year or maybe taking the grandchildren when they turn 8- we'll have to work on that.