Sweet dreams. Good morning.

Last night I dreamed that I was shopping with my friend, Jen and I found the perfect, cutest diaper bag. I was really disappointed when I woke up...until I realized that Jake slept TWELVE hours! What bliss is mine.

Best. Joke. Ever.

I'll never forget the time I told this joke at the dinner table of my Uncle Rick and Aunt Joan... I'm pretty sure there were crickets singing and a big huge cane ready to pull me off stage. It stunk. And was apparently really inappropriate. I was so embarrassed and actually can't believe they still like me. That's true love for you. They love me in spite of my flair for inappropriate Sunday-dinner-table jokes. Thanks Kemptons. And, thanks Seth Green for putting my favorite joke on your genius show.

Epiphanies Galore

I've had four epiphanies today:
1. I remembered that I kind of dig exercise. Weird.
2. U2 rocks my world. "Rattle and Hum" has been in the car disc-changer for over a week now, and today while re-discovering my elliptical machine, I watched their "Slane Castle" concert DVD. Awesome. All the U2 love came back today for me in full force. I feel great.
3. I've discovered the secret to wanting more children: folding little, tiny clothes. It makes laundry bearable... and I get sad when the itty-bitty things get too tiny to wear and they have to be permanently folded and put away. He's just getting so big.
4. Fresh flowers by my kitchen sink make me happy. I'm on my second bouquet and so far, January doesn't suck so bad after all. Actually, January has been pretty great. We'll see how I feel come February, when I turn the dreaded 30.

What We've been up to Lately

Wow.
My friends, Candice and Lindsey were right: this show blew my mind. There's really no way to even describe it. It's that great. Seriously.

I am a bad mommy. We went to Vegas with nothing warm for baby Jacob. I don't know what I was thinking... clearly I wasn't. We had to hit The Gap while we were there.

Brent was awesome enough to come with us to help watch Jake while we went to "Beatles Love".

The fam.

Cousin, baby Kaiya. Isn't she pretty?

Seni and Jake. These two are destined to be buddies. See how she can't keep her hands off him?
Don't you love her hair?

Lee, Kempton and McConkie cousins:
Isabel, Kaiya, Seni, Jake and Oscar.

Guitar Hero World Tour:
Rock on guys, rock on.

Rock and Roll is singing with your eyes closed. Right, Sean?

Blaine, Markelle, Doug, Jen, Brent and Amy... with Rock Stars, Sean and Shad in the background.

Blaine's friend, Brian and his awesome wife, Christy (seriously, I love her!) were in town with their cute little dude, Spencer. Look at this kid--and he's only six months! ... I love it.

Put me on your "cool lists"!

Just so you know... We are now not a private blog anymore. I figure I don't need to hide from my Blaine-obsessed former students any longer, and let's face it--I want to be on all your "cool blog lists". I'm that vain. Really.

Happy Anniversary to Me

So, yesterday was our third anniversary and while we really aren't celebrating until this weekend, it was still a good day filled with laundry, baby-bathing, the dry-cleaners, baking/cooking, a romantic candle-lit dinner, and going to bed early.
I am so happy to be married to this man. He is everything I could have ever wished for and more. I love our life together. We have so much fun just being with each other. He totally gets me and lets me be me. We are so in sync (not the boy band) and crazy about each other. I love that we get along so well. Maybe it's because we each found someone as nerdy as we are.
Anyway, Blaine--I love your face off!

As for the picture... this is one of the pictures taken from our engagement shoot. I like it because Blaine is so handsome, I like remembering what it felt like to fit into a cute, fitted jacket (I hate big boobs), and I love that my brother-in-law, Brad is here in all his glory. Plus, it was conveniently on the server already.

New Year Top Tens

So, my cute friend, Alison did a great post about "ringing out the old and bringing in the new". It featured two top ten lists and well, I can't resist a top ten.

Top Ten Memories about 2008:
(in no particular order)

1. Having Jacob Blaine Carter
He is one great kid and the very smartest and cutest in the world.
2. Going to Washington D.C. with Blaine's parents
Blaine was in training during the days and it was just me, Steve and Chris marching through the streets and riding the Metro. Then, we'd meet up with their firstborn and hit the night-life. It was so fun!
3. Yellowstone
My parents rented a cabin for a few days. It was so fun basking in nature, playing volleyball, (Yeah, even me! Thanks for the tips, Scotty.) and shoving Q-tips up our nose, (Okay, just Blaine. Lee talent show '08. Awesome.)
4. Finishing up teaching at Alta
So sad it's over for now, but even happier that I get to stay at home with my little boy. I love teaching English; it truly was a great highlight for me.
5. Newport Beach House
Blaine claims he looks forward to this annual event more than Christmas. It's a great time. There's really nothing better than laying on the beach all day, and going to sleep listening to waves crashing.
6. Welcoming new babies Jackson Carter and Kaiya Walker
Markelle had darling,little Jack last January and Michelle just had her sweet, baby girl, Kaiya. I can't wait to get to know her more.
7. Discovering the greatest burger in the world
"Five Guys Burgers and Fries." Oh wow! This burger rocks my world. If you haven't tried it yet, you really should.
8. Our home projects
Nothing spectacular (like new counter-tops), but we made some improvements this past year that I'm pretty proud of.
9. My new car
I love my car. Plus, it was wonderful to get rid of our lease and buy something more family oriented. And, the extra 200 bucks a month is amazing. Never. Leasing. Again.
10. Blaine's job
Franklin-Covey has been so great for us and I can't tell you what a blessing it is that Blaine actually loves what he does. He takes such great pride in working hard and we are so lucky to have a boss who appreciates him.


Top Ten Things I'm excited about 2009:
(in no particular order)

1. Celebrating our third anniversary
It's tomorrow, actually, and we are taking off on Friday to celebrate "Vegas style". Okay, really that means taking Jake with us but we are going to "Beatles Love" and I can't freaking wait!
2. Watching little Jake grow up
He is already getting so big and I feel like it's all been a blur. He's just so much fun and is so interactive. I love it.
3. Not being pregnant and losing baby weight
Time for me to get my big butt back on my elliptical machine. Nuff said.
4. Gutting and organizing all the crap we call "our stuff"
When we moved in I thought I was a queen with all the storage space we had. Two and a half years later, there's more crap than we need, the attic is getting full and two of my "storage space" closets have mysteriously been vacated for computer server rooms.
5. Organizing all our pictures and music
This will be a huge job. But, is it weird that I'm kind of excited about it? I haven't printed any pictures since I went digital. And I have an obscene amount of music that is not on my ipod or computer. Duh.
6. Building and improving my relationships and friendships
I want to be a better... everything. Wife. Mom. Sister. Daughter. Friend. Ward member--this is a big one.
7. Beach House '09
See #3 for more information.
8. Writing
Not sure how I will do this one aside from my amazing blogging skills, but this is something I really want to work on.
9. Daily Scrips and Prayers
I'd like to be better at consistency with this one. I know I can do better.
10. New counter-tops?
This is a blatant attempt to get new ones.