I'm just trying to find the bridge...

A couple of weeks ago, we went out to the Golden Gate Bridge. We had a lovely time walking across, and enjoying the beautiful views from the bridge. San Francisco can be so gorgeous when its sunny! I spent the next few weeks having nightmares that I accidentally dropped one of my children over the bridge. I'm totally serious. Its only been a few days that I haven't woke up in terror from this image. Of course, now that I am thinking about it again, I'm sure the nightmares will return. Super. Aside from that, it really was fun.

One thousand eight hundred and twenty three days

...of wedded bliss. And on Friday, it will be one thousand eight hundred and twenty six. Five years!! A little early for the post, but Jake has the camera with the pictures for the post I intended to write, so you'll have to wait for that. Instead, I'm going to write about me. Shameless narcissism. Most of you reading this already know our story, but I'm writing it down our posterity. And for the lurkers. And because I like talking about myself.

Jake and I met 6 1/2 years ago. I was in my last semester at BYU. He came over to my house with some of his friends to hang out with my roommate, Jenn, whom he worked with. My cousin, Jeff, had told me he had a roommate that he wanted to set me up with, but nothing had come of it. When I met Jake, I put two and two together, and realized this was the roommate. Anyway, the first thing I noticed about Jake was his eyes. He has very soulful, kind of sad-puppy-dog eyes. Wyatt has the same eyes. The second thing I noticed was that he had a sense of humor. He demonstrated for the group at our house that day, how one does "the booty walk," which from his demonstration consists of convulsing legs and shaking your bum from side to side, while trying not to fall over. I'm still not sure what it was SUPPOSED to look like. But I figured any guy who can make himself look like that in front of a bunch of girls he has just met, must have a good sense of humor, and doesn't take himself too seriously. For my part, I did my best to flirt with him and convince him to ask me out. The result of which was, he never called and asked me out. A few weeks later, I asked Jenn to try and convince him to. She worked her magic, and we had a date shortly thereafter.

Jake picked me up for our first date in his truck with the Texas plates, with a little cowboy hat hanging from the rearview mirror, and country music blaring from the speakers. That was unexpected. I had no idea he was from Texas. I assumed since he was BFF with my surfer-dude cousin, he would be...not such a cowboy. It was a nice surprise. We went to "El Salvador," a restaurant serving food from...El Salvador, which is where Jake served his mission. Gold star for Jake. I love trying new food so that was a hit with me. OK, like every other girl I have ever met, I had a mental list tucked into my subconscious titled something like "stuff about my future husband." As we got to know each other on that first date, I felt like I was mentally going down the list, checking off one item, then the next, then the next. At one point I started to laugh to myself, because it seemed like every thing on the list got checked off! After our lunch, Jake took me skeet-shooting. I had never shot a gun in my like, and now this was part of the date? Hmm. Not the best way to impress this guy who I was developing a big crush on, but oh well. Well, it turns out I am a really good shot. I hit the first five targets, and then turned the gun over to Jake. He was duly impressed. Although, trust me, no one was more impressed by this than me. I am somewhat lacking in the athleticism department, so the fact that I was successful at anything requiring eye-hand coordination is still shocking to me.

After our first date, I knew I was going to marry Jake. While we were eating lunch I kept trying to get that thought out of my head, but I just couldn't shake it. I thought that I was surely jinxing everything by allowing myself to even consider the notion. But after our second date, I was absolutely sure. I came home and told my roommates what I knew. There were several sets of raised eyebrows, and "um, sure, ok" type reactions.

Well, we kept on dating and kept on dating. Jake did not receive the same early-warning notification that I did, so we kept on dating. Looking back, I realize that I needed that assurance from the beginning. I had been through some complicated dating situations, and was pretty cynical and non-commital at that point in my life. I truly believe the Holy Ghost was telling me I needed to be serious about this, give things a chance, and see it through to the end. I did.

Almost a year later, Jake and I went skeet-shooting one morning. He asked me to bring him a new box of shells. I did. Then another. I did. Finally, I saw what he was really asking me to bring. There was a ring box. I brought that over to him, he got on his knee and proceeded to make me laugh, like he has always been so good at.

"Erin, the day I met you, you shot a slug through my heart. I want you to be my cowgirl and ride off into the sunset with me. Will you marry me?" Or something to that effect. I was laughing and crying so I don't remember all the details. ***Jake wants everyone to know that these lines were delivered tongue-in-cheek. Said to make me laugh. Just in case you couldn't tell.***

I said yes.

We were married March 19, 2005, sealed for time and all eternity in the Fresno, California temple. It was raining that day. It was the happiest day of my life.

Jake is a wonderful husband. He is a wonderful father. He still makes me laugh every single day. I love him and I love being married to him. Happy fifth anniversary to us!

The teeth are here!

I have two little teeth, all shiny and bright;
They are tiny and meek, but they really can bite.
During all the long hours, 'til daylight is through
There is plenty indeed for my two teeth to chew!
-Michael A. Hart


Micah got his first two teeth a week ago. But he made sure to let us know that he wasn't happy about it. For several weeks. Very different experience than what Wyatt went through. Wyatt didn't get any teeth until he was ten months, and then within a week or two, he got six. But he didn't seem to mind too much. Mild fussiness for a day or two, and then he had a mouthful of teeth! Presto! Well, Micah is an entirely different boy. As he has constantly reminded us since he was in utero. He likes to let the world know EXACTLY how he feels. Loudly. (I know I complain about it a lot, but it truly is one of the things I LOVE about him. His dramatics crack me up. At least, they crack me up when I have ear plugs in).


The teeth are here now. Micah is much more pleasant to be around. And I love (LOVE!) seeing his little tiny teeth every time he gives me his sweet Micah smile. He has such expressive eyes, and a giant smile. He loves to smile and crow at everyone, charming the masses when we go to Costco (and other places, but mostly we go to Costco a lot, okay?). He is entering that magical baby stage where it just seems like development is exploding, smiling constantly, wiggly, and giggly, and just cuter than ever.

He's a keeper. Even if he is loud.

WHY?

What am I, 15? No! I am not! I am 29 years old, for heaven's sake. So why am I sitting here, on the verge of tears, telling myself "It doesn't matter what ______ thinks!" over and over again? Why do these stupid, petty little things still get to me? Why are there certain people who have that ability bring this out in me? One of the joys of being a grown up is that I am supposed to have grown out of this crap. And for 99% of the time, I have. But then stuff like this happens, and I feel like I've flown in a time machine back to 1995, and all my dumb teenage anxiety and insecurities surface (minus the acne, thank goodness). Argh!

Sorry this is so vague and whiny. I know its annoying, I just had to get it out there, out of my system. I really can't and don't want to be more specific. Its not you.

"I'm a confident, grown-up woman. This person has no significance in my life. This does not matter. I am better than this." I'm just going to keep saying this until I believe it again. Which will be soon. Loud sigh.

Scary Thomas: Our Trip to the Zoo

We went to the San Francisco Zoo the other day. The clouds parted for like 4 hours, so we decided to get outside. I feel sort of sorry for the animals at this zoo. Its cold, foggy, and rainy, year-round. They have an exhibit for "savanna animals" and all these signs explaining how, really, the animals love it here. Even though its not warm, sunny, and is absolutely nothing like their natural environment, they really love it and are totally happy. Mmm-hmm. Anyway, its a lovely zoo. Its close by, full of monkeys and zebras, and has free street parking. So we got a season pass. Wait, actually, its a "Zoological Society Membership."

Wyatt was in a mood when we went, so we tried to cheer him up by having Jake take him on this little steam engine that goes around the zoo. He was super excited when he saw it go racing by and hearing the choo-chooing. He was not super excited to ride it. He was screaming the whole time. Micah was asleep in the stroller, so I stayed with him, and snapped pictures. Of the screaming. Poor Wyatt. He has such a hard life.

***This is where I would include pictures/proof, but when I went to load the pics, I realized that, yet again, my camera is not cooperating. I am starting to hate this camera. For no reason, it just poops out on me, deleting all my pictures, telling me there is a "card error." We just got this camera a year ago, and this is the third time this has happened. Does anyone have recommendations for a good camera that works? I'm in the market.***

But he liked the rest of the zoo.

That night, he was having a hard time sleeping. He kept waking up sobbing. I asked him what was wrong, if he was having bad dreams? "Scary Thomas!!" Sometimes I wish I could see inside his head. I think I might find this:

Happy Birthday, Dear!

Happy Birthday Jake!!!

Today Jake is 31. Holy shoot! That's old! I guess that makes me his young, twenty-something trophy wife, right? ;)

Jake is pretty much the best guy in the whole world. I have never met anyone who doesn't like him. He makes everyone feel good about themselves. He is incredibly personable, funny, and relates to people so well. Everyone thinks he is their best friend, because that's how he treats everyone he knows. He is kind, non-judgmental, and generous with the compliments. When we started dating, one of the first things I loved about him was how at ease he is in public situations. I do not have that gift, so it is something I have always admired about him. I don't have to have social anxiety when I am with him, because he can talk to anyone. That might not sound like a big deal to you, but it is to me! Jake always laughs at my jokes, and understands my lame attempts at wittiness and humor. He is also quite funny himself, and makes me laugh every day.

Jake is the mellow to my frenetic. He is calm, the voice of reason, and yet is patient and understanding with my emotional drama. He is sensitive to my needs, a great listener when I ramble. He is loving, and giving, and open. He is always there to reassure me and build me up.

He is a hard worker, and never shies away from a difficult or lengthy task. He is a creative problem solver, and extremely intelligent, but the thing that impresses me the most is how diligent he is. He puts in long hours to provide for us, and to allow me to stay at home with our kids.

He is a righteous man. He is a wonderful example to our boys of how a Priesthood holder should act. He serves in the church in whatever capacity is asked of him, and is faithful and perseverent (Blogger is telling me I misspelled this. This is a real word, right? I have spelling issues).

He is a loving and fun father. He loves to play with the kids and helps out with all the less-glamorous parenting responsibilities whenever he is home. He is a great parent, and the boys adore him. I hope that they grow up to be just like him.

He likes to eat. The reason I love this about him is that I like to cook. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to watch Jake eat. The first time I cooked for him, I made some enchiladas, and Jake ate almost the entire pan. And then couldn't stop talking about how much he enjoyed the meal (that's when I knew he was a keeper). He appreciates my experimentation, and will eat just about anything. He likes to try new things and is very open minded. Not just with food, but with all kinds of different situations.

He is very handy around the house and with the cars. There is nothing he can't fix. He is clever and smart and has an understanding of how things work. He isn't afraid to tackle any project, big or small.

Jake is a good husband because everything I am not, he is. Where I lack, he gives. Where I fail, he excels. He is the yin to my yang (or is it the other way around?). He is my perfect match. He is an amazing, fantastic human being, and I love him.

Happy Birthday Jake!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Wyatt giving Micah a kiss at lunch.


Wyatt leaning into a curved viewing hole: "too scary!!"


Overlooking the beautiful Monterey Bay.


At one of the great children's exhibits. Wyatt was way past tired at this point, so he kept licking everything. Gross doesn't even begin to describe it.


A little hole to view the fishies. Wyatt didn't want to come out.



On Cannery Row there are these two old traincars. Big hit with Wyatt, as you can tell from his ear-to-ear smile.