Family is the BEST!

This is Travis... You know Jenni's Husband who never does any of the posts on this site... Isn't my wife just swell!!!

Well I just wanted to say that blogs bring families together! I now have 2 sisters who are official Bloggers! Ingela and Andrea. Welcome guys! I love you and am so happy I can see pictures of the family and know what is happening in your lives since I'm so far away.

Since Blogs are better with pictures I thought I would add one with this posting. This picture is of my sister Ingela and her family... But I changed the faces of everyone just to add a little spice to it! My sister Ingela has turned into the midget in the middle of the picture. You won't be able to notice any changes unless you click on the picture to enlarge it. Hope you enjoy :)

President Hadfield

A few posts ago I talked about the great opportunity of meeting Travis' first Mission President, President Hadfield. On April 14, President Hadfield passed away. It was so sudden and so surprising. Travis and I felt so blessed to have been able to go to the reunion and that I was able to meet him before this happened. Yesterday we traveled to Brigham City and attended his Utah Funeral. The spirit there was so strong as the life of this amazing man was discussed. He was only a few months older then my parents! Travis and other attending missionaries were able to be honorary pallbearers.



Sister Hadfield was a pillar of strength. This is a very tender moment of her saying her last goodbyes to her sweetheart.



It really brought to my attention how precious life is and how we should take the time to tell those that we love how we feel. So, impersonal as this is I just want each of you to know how much we love and appreciate you. We are mindful of how blessed we are to have you apart of our lives and the circumstances that brought you into our lives. We appreciate past and present experiences that we have had that have resulted in you impacting our lives for the better. Thank you and we love you!

Killing Time

One of Kyler's favorite things to do is rough house with Travis. Travis is very inventive with his games and usually includes some sort of thing being thrown, around, or tossed at Kyler. Kyler of course wouldn't haven't it any other way. I don't think that this is cruel and unusual punishment . . .or is it?



I'm not quite sure who had more fun, us or Kyler, but it was pretty funny. The blankets, deflated mattress, and other female laughter is all due to the visit of my old roommate Michelle.

"3 Things" Tag

Three names you go by:
1. Jen- by close friends or realitives
2. Mama- by Kyler
3. Sis- Father and brothers
4. Loveliest Queen- Travis on special occasions or when he is in trouble

Three of your favorite things to do:
1. Sing
2. Read a good book
3. Cook- not bake but cook

Three favorite pets you have had/have:
Well I haven't had many pets in my life time but there was (in no particular order)
1. Gimpy the Frog that I had with my roomies in college
2. Fan the first fish/pet I ever owned
3. Gilbert our St. George Gecko (is that how you spell it?)

Three longest car/plane rides:
1. Drove to Nauvoo and surrounding areas- great trip just a long drive.
2. Flew to Georgia and back with a four month old- never again
3. Flew to Washington D.C. and back- including a night at the airport

Three favorite holidays:
1. Easter!!
2. Christmas
3. My Birthday- this counts right?

Three favorite beverages:
1. Water
2. Rootbeer
3. Strawberry Lemonade


I know quite the glamor shot. Gotta love Evanston wind!

Potty Training Triumph

Alright so this is not a big, big deal but . . . it really is! Today Kyler put the last sticker on his first Potty Chart. This means that Kyler had 28 successful experiences with the potty. Being promised a surprise for completing the chart, he recieved much to his utmost joy (drum roll please) his first doll (father not the happiest camper with this selection).



Yet watching Kyler hug it, stroke it's face, put in its binkie and put it to bed, is the sweetest! We still have a long ways to go as far as the potty thing goes but we are on our way. Cross your fingers for complete success before baby comes!! Hey a girl can dream can't she?

Mighty Monday

Travis actually gets Monday's off instead of Saturday's. So this is the day that we play. Today we went and flew our kite that the leprachauns left at our house on St. Patricks Day. Kyler thought it was a lot of fun!



Then we explored the river front, threw rocks in the river, and enjoyed the beauty of nature.



And Evanston always has trains going through and we have a two year old that LOVES trains. So we got up an upclose view of a passing train. The conductor really seemed happy to see us and leaned as far out the window as he could to wave at us!

While Papa is at Meetings

With Travis' new calling as the Young Mens President, he is gone a lot on Sunday! So we had to do something to keep ourselves entertained and we had so much fun I thought I'd share with you!





Tongues Grandpa Hogman would be proud of!





Our "we miss Papa!" face.

Crandall's Visit

Terina (Travis' sister), Jeremy, Larissa, and Kayla Crandall came and visited us during and after Conference.



It was great to have more girls in the house and not be out numbered by men! Kyler loved having playmates!



And it was great to watch him and Kayla who are only two months apart, play and interact. Of course I think that he got a little too into kissing her before she left!! Look at that! We are in for a ride if he is already kissing like this at the age of two!



Terina and I are both pregnant, in fact she is due only two weeks after me (both having boys!! So they are going to be buds!). So here we are in all our pregnant belly glory. And yep, the curses that I got from everyone from my last belly post, has come to pass! My belly is considerably larger (though the stripes hide it) . . .so watch out those that cursed me, revenge is sweet!!

Conference Adventures

Last Friday we had the opportunity to attend Travis' Mission Reunion. It was so great to meet some of his companions and here stories of their time together. The best part was being able to meet his first Mission President and wife and listen to their love for all the missionaries that they got to associate with (Travis included!!!)

One of Travis' sisters, Terina and her family came into town from Washington and met us at the reunion. They then caravaned with us up to our house where they have spent the last few days. They had tickets to Saturday afternoon conference so we watched their girls while they attended, and then we met them downtown. Ingela also met up with us and we spent some time together around temple square while the boys went to priesthood.



















While there we went to the Christus. People were taking turns getting up close and when it was our turn Kyler yelled, "No Jesus! No Jesus!" . . . evidently I have failed in some aspects :) It was just so wonderful to be close to family and spend time during such a sacred event, together.

Fun with the Martinson's

Last Wednesday Travis' sister Ingela and her family came and spent Wednesday and Thursday with us. We had a lot of fun! Kyler loved having so many friends to play with and couldn't get enough of all the adventure!



We had to let them see historic downtown Evanston! We walked around, played in the snow, and had a good time with the five minute tour.



I bet you haven't seen a seven month pregnant lady do this before!!



Fireworks are not illegal here and can be done all year round, as long as you are not in city limits. We had a fun time doing the fireworks, even Kyler got involved.




We had a great time with the Martinson's!! Kyler adored Nathan, his cousin that is three years older than him. Everything that Nathan did Kyler attempted to do. Nathan was so good to play and teach Kyler new things. Family is great and we wish that we lived closer to them!

Eight Things About Kyler

Thanks for tagging Kyler! It's fun to write a few things you may not know about him.

1. Kyler's favorite number is eight. When he counts it always sounds something like this "two, tee, seven, eight, eight, eight, twinkle, eight, ten." I asked him just the other day if eight was his favorite number and he said "zyes!!" So when you hear him count eight is brought up at least three times before he can get to ten.

2. Kyler loves to sing! When he hears music on he runs to where we keep the remotes and he takes one out and he proceeds in lip syncing the rest of the song while doing some great moves. If we are up stairs and music is on then he feels like it is his duty to sing louder then the radio. He does a great Stevie Wonder impersonation when he sings, he closes his eyes and shakes his head from side to side when ever he sings. Or if no music is on then he sings a song of his own then points to some one in the room and says "your turn." This can last a very long time.

3. One of Kyler's favorite things to do is kiss. While watching a show or commercial if he sees kissing of any kind then he has to kiss the nearest person, and it as to last as long as the person on the TV. He also loves to caress faces. He will climb up into my lap and get his face really close to mine and just take his hand and rub my face and talk to me in a whisper. This usually ends in a kiss. It is very sweet.

4. Dolls are one of Kyler's favorites! Whenever at either grandparents house he usually can be seen playing of carrying a "baby" which he kisses and holds. We haven't bought one for our house yet, but we probably should soon.

5. When Kyler throws a fit he doesn't throw himself on the ground, instead he covers his face in his hands and then lays his head on the closest thing; the fish tank, couch, wall, chair, table leg, dishwasher, anything. It's cute and I have a hard time not laughing out loud.

6. Kyler loves, loves, loves hot dogs. He can eat four hot dogs in one setting and would eat them every day if I let him . . .I don't.

7. Travis and Kyler . . .aren't they the same thing? Kyler acts a lot like Travis, always busy, always trying new things, climbing everything, and living out doors. Even when Kyler was a few days old we realized that he was the happiest when he was outside, this is often how we would do calm him down.

8. Kyler loves to pretend he is sleeping. Randomly he'll lay down his head and start to pretend snore. This happens occassionaly while he is being disciplined. As we are trying to talk to him or put him in time out he'll lay his head down and start to snore.

Kyler is pretty much the greatest Hogman ever! He'd really like to learn about Allison Wilwand, Schad Robison, and Raegan Bastian.

Dentist Visit and a Quiet Moment

So we all went to the dentist yesterday, including Kyler. It was Kyler's first experience and it was . . . an experience. He couldn't wait to go back until it was time to go back. When we got back there he wouldn't leave me. I sat in the chair and he sat on my lap. Then he laid his head on my chest and wouldn't budge unless bribed. He was bribed with a look in the little mirror, a new toothbrush, a chance to brush his teeth, and a prize. After a while he caught on to the point of the visit and proceeding to place his hand over his mouth so that nothing would go in and nothing could be seen. He left his hand there until we left the dentist office. Still I think pretty successful . . .no tears and no tantrums . . . well at least Kyler didn't do either of those.





This morning I was able to go to another doctors appointment. Everything is looking good and the babys' heartbeat was strong as ever. It's always good to go in and see that everything is as it should be. But then this afternoon after Kyler and I finished reading some stories before nap, we did our usual "sing off", which is I sing a song then he sings a song. This can go on for a good fifteen minutes, but today as I was singing the lullaby "I'm Glad that you were born", he feel asleep in my arms. I remembered some of the comments made on my last entry, so I sat there and cherished this moment with my only little boy. This doesn't happen very often, him falling asleep in my arms, and I let him sleep as I stroked his hair. In my mind the words of that lullaby that I had just sang kept coming back to me,

"Through you eyes I see clearer,
You bring God so much nearer.
Life's become so much dearer,
I'm glad that you were born."

It was such a tender moment that I had to share the beauty of it. Life has been so much dearer since his birth and I do feel as if I understand God better from being a mother. I am very glad that Kyler was born.