The Christensen Family

Comedic Therapy

2010-09-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

There is something so therapeutic about laughing your you know what off for an hour and a half straight. We got my dad tickets to the Brian Reagan show for Father's day. Brian Reagan rarely comes to California so we all had to go. Loved it! My favorite- "The ME Monster" (an oldie but goodie).

(Dad, Mom and their girls- we missed you Kristy)

It's time

2010-09-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

Don't you think IT's TIME we updated you on what the heck is going on with us. A special thanks to Julianne and Elise who haven't given up on blogging and have motivated me to start again. Did you know you can print your blogs into books?! That right there should get me going. What a novel idea- writing your family history as you go, but I was so looking forward to spending my senior citizen years doing that . . . NOT!

(August 22, 2010)

Kent is home from a motorcycle trip after being gone for three days. He survived (thank goodness) and we survived. I must have been blessed because the boys got along better than usual. It helped that Carter has a tree now. It's a puny tree, most wouldn't even consider it a tree. I can't help but think how sad it is that all he has to climb is this puny, barely a tree, tree with branches that promise to break every time he holds onto them. He doesn't seem to notice though. In fact he's quite thrilled with it. He's figured out how to sit in/on it in a number of ways and insists I witness every new position of his leg, bum, knee or hand. Anyway, the tree kept him occupied and in good spirits so he was nice to Tyson, even wanted Tyson to come and play in his "tree house". That was until he realized Tyson doesn't quite have the imagination required for this kind of thing. This led to some frustration for both boys, but I wouldn't have expected it to be any other way.

(Carter in his most favorite tree)

(September 19, 2010)

Today we thought we might strangle the rambunctious toe-head who yells instead of talking, runs instead of walking and whacks instead of hugging. I swear he LIKES to get in trouble and go to time out. The big grin that lit up his face as I sat him on the time out chair this afternoon clued me into that. He also thinks his toots, and trying to toot, are outrageously hilarious- they actually are, but I don't want him to know that! I knew it would be one of those exhausting days when during sacrament meeting he spit soggy cookie crumbs all over Kent and threw his zip lock bag of fishy crackers halfway across the chapel. His 3 hour nap after church offered some reprieve, but I swear he woke up with more vigor than humanly possible for a 1 1/2 year old. We hoped a walk and playing at the park might soothe his crazed soul. It didn't. Bath time ended early for him because he kept standing and then falling back onto his bum which sent waves of bubbly water over the side of the tub onto my bathroom floor. While Carter sat calmly on Kent's lap during story time, Tyson jumped and bounced all over the bed. While Carter sang along sweetly to one our favorite songs, "Popcorn Popping" Tyson put his fisted hands over his eyes waiting to explode when we got to the chorus. While Carter knelt reverently during family prayer, Tyson YELLED "Mommy" and climbed on and off the bed 30 times in 1 minute! And of course, when Carter willingly climbed into bed and snuggled up under his sheets, Tyson began kicking and protesting "No Daddy, no!"

Have mercy- Kent and I are beat. But, even as I write this I know that the things that make us want to strangle him are the things that make us LOVE him so.

In the last 4 months . . .

2009-08-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

(These are a bit out of order, oh well)

THE MEIKLE'S MADE A VISIT!

Kent's sister and her family came all the way from Boise for a week long beach house vacation. Lucky for us, we were on the way. We got to spend two days hanging out. Carter had so much fun with his two older cousins, Caleb and Luke. They were so good to play with him and let him tag a long. He kept talking about Luke and Caleb for days after saying, "you know those guys, my friends . . ." (pause). I'd say, "Caleb and Luke?", "ya, Caleb and Luke. I want to go to their house." It was really cute.

RYAN AND WHITNEY TIED THE KNOT!

On July 25th we added another member to our family. What a great day! Whitney was such a beautiful bride. I kept thinking, "Ryan is one lucky guy!" It was so much fun to be a part of it all. Everything from the sealing to the reception turned out perfectly. Welcome to the family Whitney.

In the last 4 months (cont.). . .

2009-08-10T09:57:00.000-07:00

WE FOUND EMPLOYMENT!

In April, after 6 months of sending in resumes and doing interviews, Kent got a job! As you can imagine we were thrilled and soooo grateful, especially since it was with the firm he'd been most interested in and excited about. The firm is Call, Jensen and Ferrell and they are located at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. So far, Kent has loved it there. I would to if I had a view of the ocean from my office window!

WE LEFT THE NEST!

On June 6th we officially moved into our own place- a cute little condo in Irvine, only 10 miles north of Kent's office. It has been so awesome to be so close to Kent. His commute is only 15 minutes-no freeways. We love being able to meet him for lunch or picking him up after work to go down to the beach- things we never imagined doing when he was working in LA.

WE PARTIED IN POWELL!

We spent the last week in June on Lake Powell, eating, jet skiing, swimming, sleeping, eating, wakeboarding, playing games, watching movies, eating, sunbathing, boat cruising, hiking and eating. We always bring so many good treats we all feel fat and sick by the time we leave, but for us, it's part of the fun. Carter's favorite part of the trip were the jet ski rides. He was always begging someone to take him. The trip was over way too fast and it was hard to come back to reality.

Tyson's Blessing Day

2009-04-11T10:16:00.000-07:00

Ok- so we blessed Tyson over a month ago and I'm barely posting pictures. I'm obviously still adjusting to two kids. We blessed Tyson the first Sunday in March. Kent gave a beautiful blessing and Tyson was quiet the whole time. Carter however, was not. I think he felt a bit left out. He wanted to be in the circle with daddy and Tyson. So when I went up to bear my testimony he decided he was coming too. Kent held him back as long as he could, but when he lost his grip Carter fell to the ground and began crawling up the aisle turning his head to growl at the people in the pews (I'm sure he was channeling Scar from the Lion King). I was so focused on what I was saying I had no idea he had made his way up the stairs and was standing an inch a way from me at the pulpit. According to Kent Carter popped his head up looked out over the pulpit with a huge grin then disappeared and crawled all the way back to Kent. It wasn't until I was sitting back down that I learned about all of it- I really had no idea! Thanks to all the family that came to support us.

Cuddly,Chubby Ty!

2009-03-23T16:57:00.000-07:00

Tyson is plumpin' up, just how we like them.

Baby Tyson is Here!

2009-01-28T18:57:00.001-08:00

Baby Tyson, as Carter calls him, is already three weeks old! We can't believe it. The time has flown by. Tyson was born at 6:05 am on Tuesday January 13th. I was scheduled to get induced that morning, but around 2 am I started having regular contractions. By 4 am my contractions were five minutes apart so I woke Kent up and told him we better get to the hospital. I tend to be overly cautious and a bit dramatic when it comes to pain, so I don't think Kent took me too seriously. In fact he decided he had time to take a shower before we left. Meanwhile my contractions were getting closer together. We arrived at the hospital around 5, not a moment too soon. Before I knew it, and before I had any pain meds, I was pushing out a kid! The whole rest if the day Kent had this silly grin on his face. He thought it was so funny that me of all people would be forced to have a child all natural. Ya, real funny. Anyway, Tyson was born a healthy little boy, 8 lbs. 4 oz. and he has been such a pleasant, sweet baby. Carter has been so good with him. Whenever Tyson cries Carter says, "Tyson needs his mommy." We feel so blessed to have TWO amazing little boys now.

Some of our 2008 Highlights!

2009-01-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

6 years of wedded bliss . . .

4th of July with the Lancaster clan

Lake Powell

A sister-in-law!

The annual girls trip

St. George with Paul, Nat and Tate

Our boardwalk bike ride

Celine Dion concert at the Honda Center

A visit from Santa Claus

New Years Eve- "Wicked"

Carter the cowboy

Carter's 2nd Birthday

2008-12-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

We didn't really plan a birthday party for Carter this year. I just wasn't up for it, but we did celebrate with the family at a Chuck E. Cheese in Vegas of all places. We decided to drive up for the day to see my brother Blake's wife, Kristi, play in the Mountain West conference for woman's soccer. After the game we spent an hour driving around looking for a decent Chuck E. Cheese. We finally found one and Carter almost had as much fun as his dad who spent the whole night trying to beat the high score in "pop-a-shot". Carter made out pretty good in the gift department. His grandma and grandpa got him a new scooter, which he rides everywhere, we got him some action toys, and his uncles got him swords to fight with (He likes to pretend he's Peter Pan).

Scary Monster!!!

2008-11-17T15:50:00.000-08:00

I let Carter pick out his own halloween costume this year. I was surprised when he insisted on the monster costume, but as the month continued I could see how appropriate it was . . . he played the part well (must be those terrible two's!). My aunt Nancy had a fabulous Halloween party for all her favorite kiddies. Carter had so much fun and he loved seeing the other kids dressed up. He couldn't stop staring at my cousin's little boy Jackson dressed up like a dragon. Carter finished off the night in true monster form inhaling at least three cupcakes!

"Vroom Vrooms"and "Bas"

2008-10-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun during our most recent trip to Utah. Our first stop was Elk Meadows, a beautiful ski resort just up the canyon from Beaver. We were hoping for a sunny weekend so that Kent could finally get some use out of his motorcycle, but to our shock and horror it was SNOWING when we woke up Saturday morning. Luckily we had done some riding on Friday. Carter had sooooo much fun riding the "vroom, vroom" with his "Bampa". He talked about it for days!
Once it started snowing we decided to head to Sandy. During the rest of the week Kent interviewed with some Salt Lake firms. While he was gone we took the boys on little outings. One outing that ended up being not so "little" was our visit to the Hogle Zoo. Carter and his cousin Tate had fun cruising around the zoo in a wagon and riding the Merry-Go-Round. Carter's favorite part however, was seeing the "Bas" (translation- Gorillas). He's been obsessed with gorillas ever since he saw Tarzan. He even does the Tarzan yell while beating on his chest- it's pretty cute. Before we left the zoo Nainey treated the boys to an animal mask of their choice. When she gave Carter the Tiger he immediately got into character, growling and clawing at poor Tate. He continued to terrorize and annoy Tate the whole way home from the zoo- NOT so cute. Nainey and Tate
Carter and Aunt Natalie

Looking at the Gorillas

Terrorizing Tate

The torturous ride home

Baby Boy Christensen on the Way!

2008-08-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

I realized the other day when my neighbor asked me in a shocked voice, "Are you pregnant?!", that I haven't been very good about spreading the news. So now I'm spreadin' it . . . We're having a baby and it's a boy! Kent of course is thrilled. My mom and I were a little disappointed, but once our dreams of frills and bows were dashed, we got to thinking about how wonderful it will be for Carter to have a little brother (to beat up on), and how I wont have to buy any new clothes ('cause you know I just hate shopping), and how I already know how to do the whole boy thing (basketballs, cars, baseballs, cars, soccer balls, and more cars). All joking aside, I really am excited for the new addition to our family. He's due the middle of January so we're halfway there. Let the countdown begin!

Happy Birthday Elaine!

2008-08-26T14:53:00.000-07:00

We wont mention your age, but we can't let this day pass without wishing you a very happy birthday and telling you how much we love you! You are such an amazing woman. You've accomplished so much in your life and you continue to do amazing things, even with a smashed hand. It was so wonderful to get to spend a few days with you and it made us so happy to see how much Carter loved to be with you. We love to be with you too and we miss you lots. Thank you for being the mother and grandmother that you are. You are the best!

Love, Kent, Andrea and Carter

cousins, cousins, cats and cousins!

2008-08-24T09:14:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun on our trip to Idaho and Utah. Carter was in heaven surrounded by so many kids! All of the cousins were great to play with him and entertain him. In Idaho he jumped his little heart out on the trampoline, chased 20 kitties (no exaggeration) around my uncles farm, rode the wiggle scooter for miles and visited Tautphaus Park Zoo. In Utah he dug for hidden "fossils" at the Dinosaur museum, rode four wheelers every chance he got, made friends with a singing elk named Buck who lives in Nainy and Grandpa Roge's basement, became Luke and Caleb's shadow and swam in the big pool.

Our Idaho cousins, Krystal and Kaitlyn

Sidney was so good to Carter. She showed him all around Tautphaus Park.

Those poor kittens were so traumatized by Carter. He would not leave them alone. In his efforts to "cuddle" with the kitties he would squeeze and choke them. I could see the fear on their little faces when he caught one.

Utah cousins Rachel and Caleb! Caleb gave me a huge break. He pushed Carter all around the dinosaur museum.

Carter, Caleb and Sam digging for dinosaurs.

I think Carter and cousin Tate had the most fun uncovering dinosaur bones.
Gabe and Caleb sat on the same dinosaur six years ago when they were just toddlers .

Tate and Carter riding around on Grandpa's 4-wheelers. Carter loved the "vroom, vrooms"

Swimming and making soup!

More Visitors!

2008-08-20T13:39:00.000-07:00

The best part about living in southern California is that we get to see a lot of friends and family who come to vacation. Our good friends from law school, Micha and Eric, were here for a little getaway so we got to spend an evening with them. It was so fun to catch up and hang out.

We're Alive!

2008-07-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

I know some of you were wondering what happened to us. I've been wondering the same thing, but we're finally back on the blogging circuit and the following three posts are just quick recaps of some of the exciting things we've done the last three months.

July

2008-07-29T09:30:00.001-07:00

We had so much fun spending time with the Lancasters over the 4th of July! We loved seeing Carter and Sam in action and we can't believe how grown up Abby, Gabe and Rachel are.

On July 17th we celebrated Kent's 29th Birthday!He didn't trust my gift buying abilities so he went out and bought his own birthday present, a Wii.

Two days later we celebrated Blake and Kristi's wedding. What an amazing day! We love Kristi and are so thrilled to have her in our family.

June

2008-07-27T16:50:00.000-07:00

Kurt- Congratulations on your Graduation I can't believe my youngest brother is starting college.

A week in Lake Powell! We had a wonderful time and the best part was that Kent got to come for most of the trip!

I was so glad my brothers finally stepped up to the plate and brought girls. For once the girls outnumbered the boys!

We visited Rainbow Bridge.

Carter and his cute cousin, "baby"
Jackson.

We got to spend some time at the beach with my good friend from college and her cute little girl Kennedy.

May

2008-07-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

We were thrilled to get to spend an evening with some of our law school friends who were vacationing in California. We miss them a ton!

On May 11th Kent and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. I wanted to do something special for it, so we left Carter with my mom and stayed a couple of nights at a hotel in Hunington Beach. We did a lot of rollerblading down the boardwalk inspite of all the wierd looks (apparently rollerblading is soooo 1990's) and a lot of relaxing. We had so much fun doing what we wanted when we wanted. One night, after a day in the sun, we came back to our room and took a long evening nap. Then we walked around the hunington shops and peir and didn't eat dinner until 10 o'clock!

We had so much fun rollerblading at the beach, that we took Carter on a little rollerblading adventure when we got back. He loved going fast in his stroller, but he loved all his dad's "tricks" even more. I know, we are major dorks.

One Saturday in May we took a trip to the LA zoo. We thought Carter would be way into it because he loves animals, so we had to laugh when we were pointing out the giant elephant right in front of us and all he cared about was the red ball hanging next to the elephant.

Just Hanging

2008-05-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

We were at the park a few weeks ago and Carter discovered the monkey bars. It was amazing to me how he just figured it out. I never showed him. He must have seen another kid doing it. Anyway, I thought it was great and I wanted Kent to witness it so we came back on Saturday. NOT surprisingly, Carter refused to show his dad his new trick- we are continually amazed at his stubborness. Finally, once I had given up and we had both decided to just drop it, he walked over to the slide climbed up the stairs and swung from the bar. At first we had to act like we didn't care so he would keep doing it, but eventually he let us revel in his accomplishment.

Uncle Ryan Wannabe

2008-05-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

Carter LOVES his uncles and he gets so pumped when they are in town. He wants to do everything just like them. Ryan was walking around the house with a hat on the other day and a few minutes later we saw Carter come around the corner with a hat on too. We don't know where he found it but we thought it was pretty cute. I love that he adores them so much.

So serious . . .

2008-05-04T14:56:00.001-07:00

We were outside for Carter's morning basketball practice (Kent has us on a grueling schedule) and for some reason Carter was being so serious. Usually he's all smiles, but I think his dad must of had a talk with him about focusing more during practice.

My Hardworking Man

2008-05-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been over a month since my last blog. Where does the time go? Kent and I are still plugging away at life. It didn't take us long to discover that Kent chose an extremely demanding career, but just when we think he couldn't possible work another minute of the day, he manages to squeeze in a couple more hours! He's amazing! Most of you reading this already know that. Unfortunately this means that some weeks we don't see each other much. I'm sure Kent feels like he's being torn in too many directions, but he still manages to be the best hubby and daddy. My saving grace these last couple of months has been my family- they are so great to help out with Carter and give me breaks throughout the day. Kent's saving graces have been Carter and his parents- Carter makes Kent's long days totally worth it, and Kent's parents continue to be so optimitistic and encouraging. They have an ability to make Kent feel better after a long day. We have so much to be grateful for and we continue to receive blessing after blessing. Besides, it doesn't matter how busy we get, we always manage to fit in quite a bit of fun.

The hunt for the orange colored eggs

2008-03-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

This year carter did an Easter egg hunt with my cousins kids. We wanted to keep it "fair" so everyone was assigned a certain color egg. I knew this was going to be a bit of a challenge for Carter, but I thought, hey it's never too early to start teaching colors. Well, he figured out that the orange eggs were his with some help from Kent, but he was determined to get the pink eggs too. (Didn't care about the blue, green or yellow eggs, just the pink eggs, hmmm). It wasn't long before one of the eggs split open and candy spilled out. From that point on all Carter cared about was getting the candy out of the eggs. Eventually we gave up on coaxing him to find those dang orange eggs, so Kent finished Carter's Easter egg hunt for him.

Cousins: Tucker, Payton and Chandler

He discovered the candy inside the eggs

Still trying to get the wrapper off the chocolate egg

A visit from the Easter Bunny. Carter was unsure about the giant bunny.

While the boys are away, the girls will play . . .

2008-03-24T21:14:00.001-07:00

Kent, along with my dad and brothers, went on their annual Mexico trip to ride dirt bikes and watch the Baja 250. Kent wasn't sure if he'd be able to go because of some work deadlines, but he somehow managed to pull it off last minute. The girls have never been invited on this trip, but I can't say that we mind. We manage to have our own fun while they're away. This year we treated ourselves to dinner out every night, took Carter to Disneyland (which was more of a treat for him than us), and enjoyed a few chick flicks. As always, we were relieved that the boys all came back in one piece 'cause even though it was a nice, relaxing few days without them, we really couldn't give them up completely.

Blake, Kent, Ryan, Kurt

New Shoes

2008-03-12T22:55:00.000-07:00

My mom got Carter these new shoes and he thinks they are the greatest things ever. He walks around staring at them and smiling. I have to admit I'm a little concerned my son has taken such an interest in shoes.

Carter holding a ball- I know, shocking.

Shootin' Hoops

2008-03-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

As you know, Carter loves basketballs. What you may not know however, is that he's also obsessed with hoops. Everytime he gets near a hoop, like in the cultural hall at church or out on the driveway, he stands under it and jumps. Really he just goes through the motion of jumping, his feet never actually leave the ground. Then, he insists on being held up so he can drop a ball through the net. So a couple months ago Kent brought home a hoop especially for Carter and he's been throwing balls, among other things, into it ever since.

Christmas in Cali and New Years in Utah

2008-03-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

(Like I said in the last post, I'm backtracking in my effort to catch up) Christmas this year was so fun for us because we had this little person to buy and wrap gifts for. When we put together his toys and arranged his gifts on his "designated chair" Christmas Eve, we were kind of giddy. Even though we were now on the other end, taking on the role of Santa, it felt like we were kids again. Silly, I know. Carter was so thrilled with his little bike he spent most of the day on it.

We went to the mall to do some last minute Christmas shopping and we walked by this indoor train ride. Carter went nuts for it so Kent took him on the ride. Now everytime we go to the mall he insists on riding the train.

Our New Years in Utah was so much fun! We flew in from California and Kate and Jesse drove down from Boise so the whole family was together. Because of Kent's work schedule we only had a few days, but we made the most of everyday. Saturday night we all went to a Flash basketball game. Carter got to sit on the front with his dad- he was in heaven. Monday morning we took a family portrait. It was hilarious to watch the three little boys sitting there with their extremely serious faces (at least they were still). Monday night Roger and Elaine threw a crazy New Years bash and we partied to the wee hours of the morning. It was awesome to see the cousins having so much fun together. Before we knew it, the weekend was over and we had to say goodbye, which we hated to do not knowing when we'd see everyong again. Carter was especially sad to say goodbye to his cousin Caleb who had been so cute with him during those few days. They had become real buddies.

Thanksgiving at Disneyland

2008-02-29T11:14:00.000-08:00

I decided to backtrack a little and post some pictures from last year. These pictures were taken on Thanksgiving day. Since my mom and I refused to spend the day in the kitchen cooking while all the boys spent the day lounging on the couch in front of a football game, (I'm mean come on, is that in the least bit fair?) we suggested that we spend the day at Disneyland. As expected our idea was met with all sorts of objections, but in the end we w0n out and despite all the grumbling from the boys that morning, we ended up having a maaaauuuvelous time! The weather was wonderful. The lines were considerably shorter. Carter had a blast on the rides and the best part of course, we didn't have to cook one ounce of turkey or mash one bit of potato!

Our Trip to the Beach

2008-02-21T15:28:00.001-08:00

A few Saturdays back we decided to spend the day at the beach. Carter hadn't been since he'd learned to walk, but he loves being outside so we were sure he would have a blast running around in the sand. We didn't expect him to be afraid of the sand! For the first 20 minutes he would not let us put him down. Whenever he got close to touching the ground he'd curl his toes, lift his legs and cry. Eventually however, he got over it- we made sure of that- and he decided that it felt pretty
cool to have the sand in between his toes. He even admired the waves and the birds, that is until he saw a group nearby playing volleyball. From that point on all he cared about was "the ball" they were playing with. Kent and I finally got tired of pulling him away from their game so we walked down to the pier and had lunch. As you can see from the last two pictures Carter chowed down on a corn dog. And we wonder why he still has those amazingly chubby
cheeks.

Carter turns one

2007-12-07T14:06:00.000-08:00

Carter is one year old!

For Carter's 1st birthday party we invited friends and family over for pizza, cake and games. Of course every game revolved around balls in some way. We kicked balls around cones, we shot balls into the hoop, we threw balls to knock over pins and we played hot potato with a ball instead of a potato. I thought Carter would really get into the games, but he was much more interested in watching the other kids play.

Once he understood that the cake was for him he thoroughly enjoyed it. Though he never actually got to the cake part. He got hung up on the frosting.

It's amazing how much work goes into a little kids birthday party. After it was all over I wondered if it was even worth it. We enjoyed it, but it was a bit overwhelming for Carter. He never could quite decide if "this" was fun or just plain torture.

He got so many gifts that we decided to save some for the next day. As you can see he's still not sure about it. What kid doesn't get excited over presents?!

We captured the birthday cake trauma on video.