Musings

Fall makes me think of dating Brad. We "met" at the end of summer, right before school started at BYU-Idaho. Today I've been musing about the four years that have passed since then.

As I've thought about that time - of late-night walks around campus, of meaningful and not so meaningful conversations, of completely understanding the term "twitterpated" for the first time in my life - I realize that as wonderful as those times were, I wouldn't go back to them.

I wouldn't even trade places with the newly-wed Traci and Brad - that period when the whole world seemed new and seemed to be sharing in our happy little union.

As wonderful as it was for it to be just Brad and I, with no medical school, no dirty diapers, no naughty mats, and no real worries of any kind, I wouldn't go back. I'd choose to be right where I am.

Because there's something wonderful about watching the man you love work really hard toward a goal. There's something amazing when he receives little (and big) hints that his hard work is paying off. There's something that happens as you pray and work together through difficult situations that leaves the two of you closer and more in love than ever.

And then there's the really amazing stuff. There's telling that man you love that he's going to be a Daddy. There's seeing him get teary-eyed when you go to the doctor for an ultrasound and hear a fast, tiny heartbeat. There's holding a brand-new baby together and looking at one another thinking, "What do we do now?". There are times when you wonder if that little baby knows how lucky she is to have him as her Daddy. There's watching him teach her how to pray. There's laughing with him outside her door at night when she's saying something hilarious instead of going to sleep.

Yup, there are all of those awesome little things that are happening right now in our lives. And I wouldn't trade them for anything. Because my heart and our love has grown so much during all those things, that the love I found on those Fall evenings four years ago simply pales in comparison.

Do any of you feel like that too?

Pics of us then...

and now...

Play-Doh

Lainy got some Play-Doh for her birthday. She loves it. She wants to play with it every day. She takes very good care of it, and doesn't like to make a mess. I appreciate that.

Lainy can be very creative with her Play-Doh. Today, when I asked her what she wanted to make she said, "A cowboy".

We had fun making him. We shouted "Yee-haw" and "Giddy-up" and other cowboy jargon.

Here he is complete with a hat, boots, bandanna, belt buckle, rope, horse, and cow. We named him Billy.

When we got done with Billy I thought, "I can be a pretty cool mom sometimes".

Lainy examined her completed cowboy. Then she said, "Clean up!" and carefully removed Billy's boots and put them in the correct colored Play-Doh jar. Next went the hat.

I guess she wasn't that impressed.

Oh well. Maybe I'll impress her more with a surfer dude, or one of my specialty snakes, or a cool fish. With Play-Doh, my hands, and a 2-year-old's imagination, the possibilities are endless...

Alaina Turns 2

Monday, August 31, our little girl turned 2! We had such a fun day celebrating her!

When asked (at various times) what she wanted for her birthday, Lainy replied: "Balloons! Cake! Pizza! Beach!" We did our best to fulfill her wishes.

Brad and I spent Sunday night decorating our house for the big day. We hung streamers, wrapped presents, and blew-up 22 balloons. Blowing-up balloons turned out to be pretty hard for me and my stretched-out tummy muscles, so Brad blew-up all but two of them. When he was done he said, "We're telling her about this when she's a teenager". He cracks me up sometimes.

Monday morning we anxiously waited for Alaina to wake up. When she finally did (at 9:00) we went in her room with a special balloon and sang "Happy Birthday". Then we opened her door so she could explore the house.

I don't think she really knew what was going on. Grandma Smith and Hayley called to sing to her, and she acted a little baffled. She just kind of wandered around for a while, then she finally yelled "Lainy birthday!" and did a little dance. For the rest of the day she was super excited about everything.

While I made pancakes (by request) Lainy and Brad made this birthday crown.

Just as we were finishing breakfast, Lainy's friends Reece and Benson came over bearing gifts. So we opened a few presents and let them play. They're so cute together! (Thanks Millers!)

After lunch and a nap, we took off to get a pizza and find a beach. Though the beach we found wasn't quite the soft, sandy beaches Lainy got used to in Hawaii, it definitely sufficed. We had a little pizza party on the shore, then headed out to play. We made sand castles, buried Lainy in sand like a mermaid, and waded in the water. It was just perfect! We played there until dark, then headed home to call grandparents and open more presents.

Skype is a wonderful thing on birthdays when you're far from family. Lainy got to see Grandpa Smith and Cassi first. They sang to her while she blew out her birthday candles, then watched as she opened their presents. We called Grandma and Grandpa Hansen next and did the same thing. She was showered with awesome gifts by them all. (Thank you so much!!)

All in all, it was a wonderful day. Lainy was such a sweetheart. She kept hugging my legs and saying "Thanks Momma!" I was impressed when she remembered to say "Thank you" (mostly without prompting) whenever she opened a present, and told all her family "I love you!" when she talked to them. Cute little thing.

So, with mixed feelings, we wished our little Lainy a Happy Birthday. Her 2nd birthday was more weird for Brad and I than her 1st - mostly because we realized she's not a baby anymore. She's a little girl! Crazy!

Happy, Happy Birthday Lainy Dear! We think you're awesome! We love you to pieces and don't know what we'd do without you!

Summer Highlights

Since Brad's been busy with Orientation, I've had oodles of time to catch up with the blog! I wanted to go back and record some of the things we did this summer. This is mostly for journaling purposes, so don't feel obligated to read all of it! So, without further ado, here are some highlights from our Summer 2009.


Brad's 26th Birthday


Brad's birthday was the day before we left Moscow. Going into it, we knew it wasn't going to be an ideal birthday because we really needed to finish packing for our move, and Brad was hurrying to finish his research. It ended up being even less than ideal because Lainy was super sick. Poor Brad woke up on his birthday to Lainy saying, "Happy Birthday!" then throwing up all over him. So instead of packing and finishing research, we spent the day taking care of our sick girl. It was all we could do to get her temperature below 102, and she couldn't keep anything down. Poor girl. She's never been that sick.

So Brad didn't have a sweet 25th birthday, but we celebrated him the best we could. I made his favorite breakfast while he held feverish little Lainy, he opened a few presents, and for dinner we ordered take-out from our favorite restaurant in Moscow. I guess that's life when you're parents, but I still wish we could have celebrated our favorite guy a little better! Happy Birthday Babe!
Brad's RUOP with Dr. Packer



For the month of July we went home to Rexburg. We counted it a huge blessing to get Brad's RUOP (I'll explain later) in Rexburg. Of all the places UW could have sent us, they chose our hometown so we got to hang out with family and friends for a month.


So, RUOP stands for Rural Underserved Opportunities Program. The program sends first-year medical students to rural and underserved locations in Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, and Montana. While there, the student basically shadows a Family Practice Dr., learning not only about practicing family medicine, but about health-care issues facing small communities.


Brad was assigned to Dr. Packer. He had a fabulous experience working in the clinic, doing 14-hour ER shifts, helping with C-sections and colonoscopies, and living the life of a doctor for a month. Dr. Packer was a really great teacher and mentor. Brad learned a lot from him. Besides a rather difficult situation involving a loved one and patient/doctor privacy issues, the whole experience was awesome. From our perspective, the RUOP couldn't have gone any better than it did.

Island Park with the Smith's

One weekend while in Rexburg, we went boating at the Island Park Reservoir with my family. Brad was doing an ER shift, so he wasn't able to come, but Lainy and I had a great time. My whole family was there, plus my Aunt and her family. It was a gorgeous day. We all got sunburned playing in the water and on the boat. Fun, fun, fun!

Camping with the Hansen's

Another weekend we went camping in Teton canyon with Brad's family. We found a gorgeous camping spot with plenty of room for the whole family. Our activities included repelling in the canyon, eating good food, singing around the campfire, and just being together. What a fun trip!

On a side note, while we were packing up to go, I slammed Lainy's hand in the door of the Hansen's suburban. It was awful! When I first looked at her hand, I thought I'd broken all her fingers. Because we'd already packed up everything, I just ran to the river with her and held her hand in the ice-cold water. Luckily I didn't do any permanent damage, but her poor hand was pretty sore for a few days.

Becca's Wedding

July 28th Brad's youngest sister, Becca, married Craig Leavitt in the Rexburg Temple. Because we were living with the Hansens, we spent a lot of time helping them prepare for the big day. It was a little stressful for everyone, but it all came together beautifully in the end. We even finished Becca's quilt that Jessica had pieced together during a marathon event the night before the wedding. (Just for the record, there are stitches in that quilt from Dallin, Brad, Doug, Bryce, and Rick...pretty cool!)

Being in the temple with all of Brad's siblings was powerful. It made me cry. We told Brad's parents we need advice from them on how to raise six amazing kids who all end up sealed in the temple to six wonderful spouses.

Congratulations Becca and Craig! We're proud of you and think you make a perfect match!

Temple with the Smith's and Jeff's Farewell

We were also able to do a couple of sessions in the temple with my family. My little brother Jeff was preparing to leave for his mission to Paraguay, so we all wanted to go to the temple together. We were only missing my youngest sister, Cassi, in those sessions, and that was pretty awesome too.

The day before Jeff left for his mission, we did a session in the Idaho Falls Temple. Both sets of my grandparents were able to be there, even my Grandpa Smith who is battling cancer. It was neat to be there with them. What a blessing the temple is to our families!

As for Jeff, we're pretty darn proud of him. We're so glad we were able to spend some time with him before he left! He's going to be a wonderful missionary and we're excited for all the experiences he'll have as he serves the Lord. (He's the one crouching down in the middle.)

Boyer Reunion with the Hansen's

A few days after Becca's wedding we attended the Boyer Reunion. We've missed it for the past couple of years, so it was fun to see everyone this time. We went boating in Ririe reservoir, rented the climbing wall from BYU-I, played at the Splash Park, played card games into the wee hours of the morning, and hung-out at the reunion headquarters.

Perhaps the most anticipated event of the Boyer Reunion is the talent show. Talk about a talented family! I'm amazed every year at them all. This year the Hansen siblings did a pretty funny skit involving Harry Potter. I wish I'd gotten it on video, but this picture will have to suffice!

Lainy even did a number at the show. She went up with her dad and sang (or rather whispered) the song I Love to See the Temple. I don't know if anyone but Brad and I could understand her, but we were so proud of her!

Hawaii with the Smith's

I'll put a whole separate post for this one. Needless to say we had a fabulous time. It was one of the only vacations where we truly, honestly didn't want to go home when it came time to leave. Thanks so much for the wonderful memories Mom and Dad!

All in all, it was a wonderful and memorable summer. I think the real highlights, for us, were just those times we spent doing "nothing" with family and friends. We knew we probably wouldn't be coming home for Thanksgiving or Christmas (thanks to a certain baby due in early January), so we did our best to make the most of our time this summer. It was so nice to see everyone! It all went by way too quickly!

So there's our summer all summed up!

Things we LOVE about our 2-yr-old

1. She says "Goodness sakes!"
2. Whenever we mention people she loves (especially Kayt and Ella) she gets all excited and says, "Coming soon!". (Meaning she really wants to see them soon)

3. She says "Rodot" instead of "Robot"

4. She says "Dink of wata"

5. She's started singing actual songs like "I love to see the temple" and "Clean up, clean up everybody everywhere"

6. She not only likes baby dolls and dress-up, but she also loves cars, blocks, and dirt

7. She likes to help me cook and clean in the kitchen

8. She'll bring Brad his ukulele and say "play" so she can "hula"
9. She still likes to snuggle once in a while
10. She loves books and likes to read to us
11. Her hair is getting longer and curlier
12. Whenever I get her dressed for the day she looks in the mirror, inspects herself, and says "Cute!"
13. She kneels down, folds her arms, and says her prayers every night

14. She's the cutest, most fun, entertaining, and sweet little two-year-old her parents could have dreamed of!

Happy Birthday Lainy! We love you!