Won't you be my neighbor?

Three days out of the week, in the morning, I watch my two neices while Susan goes to work. And every day at 11:00, we watch Mr. Roger's Neighborhood! Elizabeth really likes it and I have grown to like it and look forward to it every day. I know, I know, it's just a children's show, but I find myself wondering, "What are they going to do today on Mr. Roger's?" The show is usually split up into two segments. The first part is when you take a "field trip" to somewhere (the zoo, a dance studio, a school, a factory, etc.) and the second part of the show is the "land of make believe" where there are puppets and you learn some sort of life lesson ( a little corny - but I suppose we have to teach kids some sort of lesson).
My favorite part is when they visit different factories. It is so interesting to see how different things are made! I am the type of person who is always wondering how things were invented, made, or how things work. So far, on Mr. Roger's, I have seen them make crayons, marbles, rollerskates, Cheerios (I thought of my sis. Jenny the whole time), and graham crackers. Those are only the ones I can remember off the top of my head, but a few of the episodes I haven't seen, they go to factories that make violins, wheelchairs, balloons, teddy bears, etc. I watch how they make these things and I am always thinking, "So that's how they make it!" You usually don't think about how graham crackers are made, so it's pretty fun to see how it's done.
It's sad to think that Mr. Roger's has passed away now and that he won't be making anymore shows. At least they are still playing the old shows. It's also such a relaxing show. It isn't wild and crazy like all the present day cartoons or children's shows.

Here is a picture of Jordyn, Elizabeth, Katherine, and Evan.... from biggest to smallest.

I looked up a few facts about Mr. Roger's and his show. Thought they were pretty interesting:

- 870 episodes of Mr. Roger's neighborhood have been produced. (20 down, only 850 to go!)

- During one year of Mr. Roger's show, the trolley travels about 5,000 miles.

- Michael Keaton (played Batman) once operated the trolley in the 70's when he was a production assistant for the company that produced the show.

- The cardigan sweaters he wore on the show were knitted by his mother.

- Mr. Roger's ACTUAL "neighbors" said this, "Settling down each afternoon to watch Mister Rogers' eponymous television show, my brother Peter and I would wait for him to ask his famous musical question, "Won't you be my neighbor?" and we would yell back at the set, laughing uproariously, "But we ARE your neighbors!"

- Mr. Roger's real neighbors said that he gave out whole candy bars on halloween.

Question of the week!

Tom and I both have our favorite "thing" to eat for lunch every day. Some days we eat leftovers from the night before. But, if there isn't any leftovers we know exactly what we are going to eat for lunch. So this inspired my question of the week:

What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?

Evan's first swim! (and misc. topics)

Saturday afternoon we ventured out to our apartment pool to take Evan for his first swim. The Kovich Family and their two friends who are visiting, also came. My neice, Katherine, got to go for her first swim too! Evan thought the water was pretty cold at first, but once he got used to it, he seemed to like it. We will have to try and get out to the pool a few more times before it closes for the season.
Sunday night we went over to Susan and Kurt's house and played our favorite game - Settlers of Catan. I wonder if we will ever get tired of playing that game?
On a totally different subject, our favorite show started it's new season tonight.... Prison Break! We have been anxiously awaiting it's return and finally got to see what happens. It's kind of funny because we love this show (I think it ties with LOST as our #1 favorite show) and we don't know anyone else who has ever watched it! I think we just happened to watch it one night and then totally got hooked! I am always telling myself that I watch way too much TV. So, most of the time I try to limit how much TV I watch because I don't want to revolve my schedule around what show is on at a certain time. But, the exception to the rule is Prison Break and Lost. Here are my excuses as to why I can watch these shows every week:
#1 Prison Break is on Monday night and nothing is going on Monday nights!
#2 Lost is on Wednesday nights. Tom has Young Men's Wednesday nights, so I am always at home taking care of the kids.
#3 It seems like the shows "season" only lasts a few months anyways!
What shows do you never miss?? You know you have them, even if you don't want to admit it!

You've come a long way Jordyn!

Jordyn had her weekly physical therapy today. She did so awesome and I had to brag about it. Jordyn usually cries several times during her therapy. She can get very angry if they are making her do something difficult or something she doesn't like. But, today she made it through 45 min. of therapy without crying AT ALL! I couldn't believe it! I told the therapist that I thought it was the first time EVER that she hadn't cried during therapy! So we started talking about how much Jordyn has improved since we've been seeing this therapist (for the past 2 years) and how much she has changed. And when I got home, it got me thinking about the very first day we ever took her to physical therapy. I think she was about 6 months old. I dug out the photos Jordyn's first therapist took of her, on the very first day of therapy. I thought it would be fun to compare those pictures with pictures of her now.


Jordyn on her first day of therapy. (sorry the
quality isn't better)

Jordyn's most recent photo taken on Sunday.

Jordyn's muscle tone being evaluated
on her 1st day. Very floppy.

Jordyn's muscle tone being evaluated today.
Looking better! I thought it would be a good
idea to compare photos of the same pose, but
failed to realize that Jordyn is almost 25lbs.
heavier! You can't see in the photo that Tom
is having a hard time lifting her! She thought
it was pretty fun.  

The Critic's Corner

I haven't had much to blog about lately. It seems like sometimes you just have an uneventful week with not much going on. We had one of those weeks! So whenever we don't have anything to do, we usually end up watching a movie. We have a Blockbuster Online membership and we love it! We pay $10/month for them to mail us one movie at a time, unlimited for the month. It usually ends up being 4 movies/month considering that you have to mail the movies back and forth. And then we get two coupons for in-store rentals. So, we usually watch about 6 movies a month so that we will get our moneys worth! (We would really only have to watch about 3 movies to get our money's worth - good deal!)
Anyways, I'm not much of a critic, but I thought I would rate the past 5 movies we have seen. Maybe it will help you decide if you want to see them or not. But don't get mad at me if I like the movie and then you hate it! Sometimes I tend to like a lot of movies even if they aren't very high quality films. :) If you want to read more about the movies, go to www.imdb.com ! And I want to hear about the last movie you have seen and if you liked it or not!


#1 THE CAVE (Bloodthirsty creatures await a pack of divers who become trapped in an underwater cave network.)

I give this movie 2.5 out of 5 stars. It was an OK movie. It left me thinking about monsters while I was trying to fall asleep!

#2 THE BENCHWARMERS (A trio of guys try and make up for missed opportunities in childhood by forming a three-player baseball team to compete against standard little league squads.)

I give this movie 1 out of 5 stars. It was a pretty dumb movie. I give it one star because there was one funny character (a guy who is afraid of the sun - you'll have to see it to understand, but since I only gave it one star I don't know if you'll watch it now!) .

#3 AIRPLANE! (An airplane crew takes ill. Surely the only person capable of landing the plane is an ex-pilot afraid to fly. But don't call him Shirley.)

I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars. We watched this movie in Liberty Lake, WA at the outdoor theater in the park. It's a movie from 1980, one of those comedies that is so strange and crazy that it's really funny.

#4 GLORY ROAD (In 1966, Texas Western coach Don Haskins led the first all-black starting line-up for a college basketball team to the NCAA national championship)

I give this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars. Pretty good flick!

#5 FAILURE TO LAUNCH (A thirtysomething slacker suspects his parents of setting him up with his dream girl so he'll finally vacate their home.)

I give this movie 3.5 out of 5 stars. I am a total sucker for romantic comedies! And of course, like almost every husband, Tom hates them. But, I thought this was a cute movie.

Question of the week!

What is your favorite reality TV show?

A few new photos.

I took a whole bunch of photos of the kids last night. They were both very happy and actually seemed to like having their photo taken. They were being so cute with each other, too. They kept looking and smiling at each other. For some reason, Evan looks HUGE in the last photo! haha I think it may be his outfit or the angle he is sitting... he really isn't that chubby! 

I love my husband!

Two for Togetherness:
When I first saw this on my sister's and her husband's blog, I knew I HAD to fill it out when I started up my own blog. So here it is...

Two things you compliment your husband on while in his presence:
1. His piercing big, blue eyes!
2. I always seem to be laughing and telling him how funny he is.

Two compliments you make about your spouse to your friends:
1. During the school year, he goes to school and does homework, etc and NEVER complains about it! He also NEVER complains about work.
2. That he likes to cook with me. We love trying new things to eat and he always wants to help and make the food perfect! I also call him the "Master Griller" because he is so good at grilling! I have never once even touched our grill because that is his area of expertise!

Two (or more) traits you married him/her for:
1. His good looks.
2. How well he treated me. (and he was always buying me stuff and surprising me!)
3. His spirituality.
4. He was great with kids.
5. How funny he was and fun to be with.
(these are not in any particular order :) )

Two days you cherished the most with your husband being together:
1. The days we had Jordyn and Evan. I can't even begin to imagine if he hadn't been there. (He was supposed to go out of town the day Evan was born!) I'm so glad I had him there to support me and help me through the pain (until I got drugs!) and then sharing the experience of holding your newborn baby in your arms. Nothing can bring you closer to your spouse!
2. I would have to say our entire honeymoon. We went to Glacier Nat. Park and Banff, Canada. We had so much fun for an entire week with no stress or interruptions. Just the two of us having fun and talking and spending every minute together. What I wouldn't do for another vacation like that! :)

Two (ok, I did three) material things you could give your husband if you just inherited a fortune: 1. A large home on a few hundred acres of mountainous Montana real estate with a creek running near by.
2. Any new vehicle he wanted.
3. Any piece of electronic equipment he wanted!

Two things you would miss the most if she/he left for two weeks:
1. Snuggling! Ok, this might sound very sappy and I'm sure no one wants to hear this. We are the biggest snuggling freaks in the world! I love that Tom is so affectionate and loves to snuggle all the time. And of course we always talk while we are snuggling and I love that too.
2. Feeling safe. Whenever he is gone, it just doesn't feel the same! I always hear tiny noises outside or in the other room and get scared! When he is at home, it just feels safe.

Two thoughts that crossed your mind when you first met/saw your spouse:
1. Who is the cute new guy? I first SAW him in the "singles ward" in Billings. I thought he was cute, but I already had a boyfriend! (shame on me!)
2. I also thought Tom was kind of shy and quiet. The first time I MET Tom, was at 24 Hour Fitness. He was with a friend and the three of us recognized each other from church. Tom and his friend came over and introduced themselves and started talking to me. I just remember his friend dominated the conversation and Tom didn't say much. But, we became really good friends after that and the rest is history!

Two favorite dates:
1. When Tom took me to the Outback Steakhouse and then to a Diamond Rio concert. I loved that he payed attention to what I liked (we weren't even an official couple at this time...just friends). I loved steak and country music!
2. When we went to his house in Wyoming for the first time. We went 4-wheeling, then went hiking up to a small waterfall, then went horseback riding, then looked at the stars that night on the dock at their pond. It couldn't have been any more fun and romantic.

Two funny odd things you love:
1. How often he tells me that he loves me and how good looking or hot he thinks I am. Sometimes he says it sooo much that I have to tell him to stop! I have to say, "Ok, I know you love me and like the way I look, so you don't have to keep telling me!" But I still love it no matter how many times he says it... who wouldn't?
2. When he does his "fake" laugh... it sounds like a little girl laughing. Ok, kind of hard to explain what I am talking about. Hopefully Tom will know what I'm talking about!

Two places you have lived with your spouse:
1. Colton Heights Apartments in Billings. Actually a pretty good place to live for newlyweds who have no money and no kids! We paid $345.00 a month for a 1.5 bedroom apartment... that is virtually UNHEARD of these days! At least for a decent place!
2. Winter Village Apartments. Down by the hospitals in Billings. We liked living here too. I guess we have gotten pretty lucky with apartments we have lived in! But I supposed we have had our share of weird experiences while living in these places too!