Adam Passed!

This Monday Adam endured two grueling hours of presenting his research--born from years of sweat and tears--to a board of skeptical, curmudgeonly professors. (Well, that's an exaggeration. His committee was actually quite good and I don't think he's shed too many tears over his research. But nevertheless...) The verdict? He passed! This means that the department will not grant him an apologetic master's and ask him to leave the program. Two years down, three to go!

To celebrate, the kids and I met him on campus and we took him out to lunch at Dos Reales. He took the next day off and we traveled to St. Louis with Jacob, Alysa, and little Benjamin Stewart. We toured the zoo (very beautiful; I especially loved the bird house) and then we went to the temple. It was quite a day trip. We had a good time!

Dental Diversions

What's the furthest you've ever traveled to visit the dentist? Five miles? Twenty miles? Well, not to brag but... I recently traveled a whopping two thousand miles to get my dental work done!

At the end of September, I left the boys with Grandma in Chicago and Allison and I flew out to Seattle. There I met Adam's sister, Jenny, and her darling 11-month-old, Lizzie. We hung out at their town home until the evening and then drove to her husband, Dave's, dental office. And there he (assisted by Jenny, who is a dental hygienist) filled my plethora of cavities... gratis!


Aside from completing my fillings meticulously, Jenny and Dave showed me around the impressive Puyallup Fair. We saw everything from artists carving tree stumps with chain saws to huge litters of piglets (no Wilburs, though) to a one thousand-pound pumpkin! We also enjoyed some scrumptious fair food and browsed the hundreds of vendors selling all sorts of bizarre contraptions.
It was great to see the Stevens family, and Allison had fun playing with her cousin Lizzie. I also enjoyed the mommy-daughter time we got together on the plane (she was actually really good on the plane--phew!). Thanks, Jenny and Dave, for a great weekend in Washington!

(Epilogue: Jared came with Adam to pick us up from the airport; he was excited to see me and even more excited to see Allison again. They laughed together the whole ride back! I gave him a souvenir: a "Curious George" stuffed monkey from the fair)

Summer o' Fun

Well! I do believe it's been a full three months since my last post. For shame! Here's an update on what has been taking priority over blogging (ironically, it's just when you're too busy to write that you have the most to blog about...)

Dickson Family Vacation
At the end of May my parents and siblings all drove from Utah to meet us in Nauvoo. This vacation was a very pleasant surprise (they decided on it just a few weeks before hand), and it turned out to be so much fun. They got to meet Allison and play with Jared, and we all enjoyed the sites of Old Nauvoo. After a few days we all drove to Savoy where they got to see our house and taste some Chicago pizza! Even three months afterward, Jared still talks about our "Mauvoo" vacation with the Dicksons.

Jared's Birthday Party
Jared turned two in June, and I decided to throw him a school bus birthday party. Thanks to Anne and Denny Anderson who provided the school bus, we were able to tour the town in style. After our bus ride, we ate cake and enjoyed the park. The party seemed like a lot of work, but Jared still remembers getting to ride (and eat) a school bus, so I think it was worth it. And now we have a two-year-old in the house. Yikes! :)



Washburn Family Vacation
Just a few weeks after our Nauvoo trip, we got to drive to Wisconsin with Adam's family for a vacation in Door County. The countryside up there is breathtaking, and we enjoyed staying in a lovely log home, biking, going to a fish boil, touring the state park on segways, and para sailing. It was so fun to have everyone there. We also got to attend the temple for Trevor's first time through. He is going to be a great missionary!


Our 4th Anniversary
On August 16th we celebrated four years of marriage! The weekend of our anniversary we enjoyed a romantic dinner at home (take-out from Olive Garden), and we also got to attend the wedding of one of Adam's lab mates. We got babysitters for Jared and Allison and enjoyed a whole day with just the two of us at the wedding. It was a beautiful Christian ceremony, and the reception afterward was very nice (they even had swing dancing, which was great fun!). It's been a wonderful four years, with lots of changes and adventures. I am so lucky to be married to Adam! He is my best friend.


Project I: The Bookshelf
So by the time all these spectacular events were through it was mid-July and I still hadn't cashed in on Adam's birthday gift to me: help creating a children's bookshelf. Now, this isn't any ordinary bookshelf. Inspired by Jim Trelease's The Read-Aloud Handbook (which I highly recommend to any parent or teacher), it displays the books face-out. The idea is that this provides better book advertising than does a shelf crammed full of book spines. I liked the idea, so we decided to turn our toy box shelf into a bookshelf. After a lot of sanding and painting and screwing, we had ourselves a bookshelf!


Project II: Food Storage
I know I blogged about food storage last year, but I now see that what I had thought was a good start on a three-month supply was actually just a drop in the bucket. Since then I've discovered foodstoragemadeeasy.net. They have a three-month meal planning spreadsheet that I HIGHLY recommend. After getting a heavy-duty storage shelf for the food, picking up free Kraft storage buckets from a fellow ward member, filling out the spreadsheet, taking inventory of what we already have and what we'll need to buy, and ordering food from the Cannery and Walton Foods, I think I'm almost done! Now the trick is to learn how to rotate through it... Any ideas?

Freelance Editing
I'm still working as copy editor of the University of Illinois Press philosophy journal The Pluralist. This is a triannual journal that contains articles written by philosophy professors from around the country. Needless to say, this job has taught me many new words, shown me sentences as long as half a page, and given me a good dose of the "philosophies of men." :) I also edit and proofread book manuscripts for Publication Services (Champaign, IL). So now you know what I do at nap time!



And Last But Not Least...
Oh yeah--and then there's the kids! They have definitely claimed the majority of my attention this summer. Jared's speaking abilities have grown by leaps and bounds this summer; some of my favorite Jared phrases are "Speed. I am speed" (from the Cars movie), "Daddy is silly!" and "Jared loves Allison." He's also been working on potty training, and we've had a lot of success over the past few days... I hope that lasts!

Allison is almost six months, and she is a joy to take care of. She is good natured and smiles all the time. She likes her big brother, and it's been fun to see them getting more playful and interactive with each other. Allison's current hobbies are rolling all over, chewing on things, and splashing in her baths. I love these two kiddos!

A Reflection on Twins...

Today Lori and I turned twenty-four. This is a perfect day for a reflection on twins...

The other day when I was at the park, Jared wanted to play on the teeter-totter. I set him next to a little blonde toddler who was already on the toy. As they rocked, I looked up to see an identical blonde tot sliding down the slide--they were twins!

When I asked their father whether they were identical twins, he said yes. I was just sure he was thinking, "Yes, they're twins. I get this all the time." But when I said that I have a twin sister too, his demeanor changed. He looked curious and asked whether we were still friends. I said yes--definitely. We had always been best friends. He said he hoped the same for his girls.

As I watched those two sisters play near us at the park that day, I reflected on my own unique situation of being a twin. It's been great to always have a friend there. We made mud pies together ("biga batches"), flooded the sandbox together, climbed trees, and made a secret garden together. We shared twin pops together while lying under the wispy boughs of our weeping willow tree, and we made "rope inventions" in its branches. We "mud-wungled" and played hot lava and made forts with blankets. In the fall, we went to the first day of school--always together.

We shared the same birthday, and often shared a birthday cake and presents. In fact, the first time I blew out birthday candles by myself was two years ago, after Adam and I had moved to Illinois. It was a strange experience. I wasn't sure I'd have enough air to blow them all out myself. Today is our 24th birthday (Happy birthday, Lori!) Next week the Dicksons are all coming to Champaign, and Lori and I will share a cake then. That will feel much more natural!

My mother dressed me and Lori alike sometimes when we were little. But we have always very clearly been fraternal. In fact, I think we barely even look like sisters. Yet some people sware we look exactly alike. Either way, with the names "Lisa and Lori," many people got us confused at school. I got so used to it that I still turn my head when someone calls, "Lori!" (Since I got married and moved away, there have been at least two occasions when someone has called me Lori, not knowing my sister at all--or even that I had a twin. That was bizarre.) Still, we are similar in stature and especially in interests. We both graduated with BYU with a BA in English (though Lori got a BS in MFHD as well, and she is now almost through with her English MA). We both love playing the piano and keeping in contact with our high school friends. To them and others who knew us, we will always be "the twins."

Sometimes the fact that I'm a twin slips to the back of my mind now that we aren't living in the same place. I no longer have the benefit of going through new transitions with my best friend at my side (Ack! This is going to make me cry.) But we call every week, and we fly out to visit each other as often as we can. And there's always that telepathic "twin connection" that keeps us in touch. :)

I love my sister so much, I decided to name my daughter after her (Allison Lori). Allison couldn't have a better example to follow than her aunt. Lori is diligent, intelligent, dependable, wonderful with children, compassionate, and kind. Many have appreciated her friendship, but no one more than me. How grateful I am that my childhood has been blessed--and my life now continues to be blessed--by a wonderful twin sister.

Wet, wet, wet

This morning started last night, when Jared woke up crying. We concluded that he was probably sick, since he woke up every hour after that until midnight. This morning I arose at 6am to the sound of pouring rain and a wakeful, congested Jared. Ironically, it's Allison who had the doctor's appointment today. Here's the morning from my perspective:

8:00 Call Julianne to tell her Jared can't come play with Justin--he's sick. I'll have to take him to the doctor with me.

9:25 Time to get ready for our ten o'clock appointment. "We're going to the doctor," I explain to Jared. When we get home we can have cheese sandwiches for lunch." He is excited to go out into the rain; he hands me his shoes. I get his jacket, my jacket, Allison's car seat cover and a blanket, the diaper bag, EXTRA special snacks for Jared to eat at the doctor's office, the umbrella stroller, the Moby wrap, and my wallet. Jared actually agrees to sit in the umbrella stroller: a miracle.

I flick Jared's hood over his head and close the peek hole on Allison's car seat cover. How to carry everything? I put the car seat handle in the crook of my right arm, hold the umbrella with my right hand, balance the diaper bag on my right shoulder, and try to steer the umbrella stroller with my left hand. Everyone ready? I open the front door and we stepped out into the deluge. I duck my head and push. Made it out the door. Made it down the front step. Made it--PUDDLE! Forgot about that one. It gets six feet long and an inch or two deep in heavy rain. (This is heavy rain.) Can't go over it, can't go under it, have to go through it. Splash, splosh! Splash splosh! (Hope Jared enjoyed that.) We make it the rest of the way to the car. Glance at Allison: she's covered well. Glance at Jared: his pants are soaked through! Wipe a wet strand of hair from my cheek and pull my keys from my pocket. Three minutes later we're loaded and driving out of the parking lot.

We have to take a detour from the normal route (you've gotta love construction), so getting there takes twice as long. But we left early--pat ourselves on the back. The rain pours down and runs off the streets. I'm grateful for our car.

Here's the clinic parking lot; we find a relatively close spot. I look back at the kids: they are both asleep. What a pity to wake a new baby and a sick toddler. Five minutes later, Allison is in the Moby wrap, wiggling from the wet and the wind. I promise pretzels, and a drippy Jared consents to get into the stroller. No point in bringing the umbrella now. We run toward the clinic doors, the diaper bag bouncing against my hip. Once inside, I get a glance of my reflection in a window. Nice just-out-of-the-shower look.

The appointment goes well. "She's so calm!" marvels the nurse. "She's so mellow! And what a perfect head shape." declares the doctor. Wiping Jared's nose, I thank them. Shots are hard on baby, harder on Mom. It is pitiful to see her cry--probably louder than she's ever cried in all her lifetime combined. But soon it's over. Allison gets kisses and Jared gets a sticker. Time to go home. We load up and get to the exit. Has it stopped raining yet? The automatic doors open. Nope. Still pouring. Out we go.

Once in our parking spot at home, I take a deep breath. Time to do the rigmarole once more. I pull out the wet--not damp--stroller, the diaper bag, and Allison, snug in her car seat. Walk around to Jared's side. He's fast asleep. I undo the buckles from around his sopping jacket and begin to pull him out. He wakes up and cries. I give him a kiss, then plop him into the puddled stroller seat and drive him onto the curb. I wonder how deep that big puddle is now... No matter. At least we have warm, dry clothes and cheese sandwiches waiting at home.

A Few More Blessing Photos ...

Allison's blessing day brought lots of family, love, and ... pictures! Between me and Adam's sister, Jenny, we were able to catch the highlights of the occasion.











It was so much fun to see Allison and her cousin, Lizzy, side by side. Lizzy loved being next to Allison, and the two of them looked so cute in their matching outfits!





Allison's Aunt Jenny made this darling summer dress for her. Isn't it so cute?



Jared had a great time with his uncles. They came down a day early so they could spend more time with him. Lucky boy!


And here are Adam's parents. They are now grandparents to THREE grandchildren!


I am so proud of our little girl. She is such a sweet baby. Adam and I are excited to see what the next year will bring as she learns and grows.

Baby Blessing

Today Allison was blessed by her father in Sacrament Meeting. The blessing was beautiful, and Allison looked lovely in her white blessing dress that Grandma Washburn made. Adam's family and some of his lab mates came to show their support; it was a special day for us!