Oh Baby Love!!

He's here...the man of our dreams!

This is Carter, born on November 30th at 8:29 pm, weighing in at 6 lbs 2 oz, 19 1/2" long.
He is absolutely perfect and we are totally in love! He has dark eyes (right now) and strawberry blonde hair,

Lauren went in to be induced early that morning, her Dr. broke her water at 8:30 and she was hooked up to the Pitocin about 9:00. Everything went well, she hung in there like a trooper until about 2:00, then she wanted the epidural. She was at a '4' so she was good to go. It seemed like she was taking forever to get anywhere and we thought there was going to be a December baby. Around 6:00 the nurse checked her and she was at a '6'. The nurse told her it would be an hour or two per centimeter from that point so we settled in for a long night.



At 7:15 she was feeling a lot of pressure, so the nurse checked her and wowza!! she was dilated to 9 1/2!! Everyone got really busy then...the Dr. was called, the warmer was brought in and a baby nurse was called for! Amy, Skyler's mom and I were lost in the shuffle! I was texting Rachel and Jeffrey the whole time with details, they both wished they were there.



This is about the time I started to cry. All Lauren has ever wanted is to be a Mom and in a short time her dream was to come true. It's overwhelming to watch your baby become a mother. I just prayed and prayed that all would go well and that everyone would be healthy and safe. My prayers were answered. After pushing for less than a hour, he just popped out. It was so fast! What a miracle, one second in the womb, the next breathing and crying. I don't have the words to describe the emotions and experience. Awe inspiring.



Since every birth has a little story to remember it by....so do we. Lauren did awesome, Skyler on the other hand was a mess. He had a terribly infected tooth and was in a ton of pain. He was so drugged on Vicodin that he was a little loopy. His left side of his face was all swollen and he could barely smile. When it came time to push they told him to count, he couldn't. 1..2...3..5...8...6, it was so funny.



Another funny thing was that Amy was totally taking birthing shots on her camera without Lauren knowing, later she was showing her and Lauren was just a little grossed out. Then Skyler told the Dr. he had brought a mason jar for the placenta. The
Dr. looked shocked and we all were hysterical laughing. (He didn't really....)



Later the nurses forgot to give Lauren pain medicine but they sure remembered to give Skyler contraband pain meds!!! It was funny, they were bringing him pillows and blankets and chicken noodle soup.





We are so happy to have him here, he is so precious and wonderful. I could look at him all day and never get bored. I think it is more fun than having your own, and you get more sleep!!!

The Evans Family

For more cute pictures go to Lauren's blog: http://blogginlolo.blogspot.com

Can you REALLY die of excitement?

She's going to pop!!!
Thanks to some high blood pressure....

MONDAY'S THE DAY!!!!!




Gramibelle is packed and just waiting for the 7:30 am plane flight!






My friend Margo made me a Grandma Survival Kit to help ease the process...
(Notice that she's thinking of ME...not the Mommy? That's a great friend!!!)



My sweet friend Marty is taking my Seminary class...thanks so much!!!



These are Carter's Great Aunties...they're all dying to see him too!!



Grandpa Byron is excited....
Uncle Scotty is excited....
Uncle Mitch is kind of excited...
Uncle Jeffy is very excited...
Great Grandpa & Grandma are excited....
All our relatives who have passed on are saying "good-bye" and giving Carter last minute blessings...

I think I might just burst!!

52 years and counting...

Today is Byron's birthday. He's 52 and probably really ticked that I put the number out there!!
Because people don't know much about the other half of me...

1. Byron is the third of four Byrons' in his family.
2. His nickname as a child was Barney.
3. Byron is very quiet.
4. Byron has an absolutely killer wicked sense of humor, and timing.
5. Byron totaled his parents car once. Totaled it. Only naughty thing he's ever done.
6. Byron doesn't really like water, like lakes etc... he's waiting for a creepy character to pop out.
7. Which brings me to...Byron loves scary movies. (I pretended to. )



8. Byron LOVES hot dogs.
9. Byron loves amusement parks.
10. Byron doesn't like to wear shoes.
11. Byron keeps a daily record of his doings. (impressive no?)
12. Byron's closet is VERY organized.
13. Byron watches TV in his underwear, (that was for you Andrea)
14. Byron loves to go on cruises.



15. Byron doesn't like chocolate. (what?)
16. Byron went to BYU on a full ride scholarship.
17. Byron scored a 760 out of 800 on his DAT. (smart boy)
18. Byron graduated in the top 10% in his Dental school class.



19. Byron loves the old TV show "The Avengers", ( we have a poster in our room...)
20. Byron LOVES music. His I-pod is close to full.
21. He has thousands and thousands of albums, 8-tracks, cassettes & CD's.
22. They are all in genre and alphabetical order.
23. Byron served a two year mission to Munich, Germany.
24. That's where he learned to love sausage, potatoes and cabbage.
25. Byron was a wild, wild, wild little boy.




26. Byron loves animals.
27. Byron loves to shop. (yes friends, you read that right...he LOVES to shop.)
28. Byron got three B's in college...Pearl of Great Price, Bowling and Organic Chemistry.
29. Byron can not tan. He burns very well however...
30. Byron likes to vacum and clean up.
31. Byron LOVES, LOVES, LOVES soda pop.
32. Byron is a fan of the SF Giants.



33. Byron is a night owl.
34. Byron is now a Science teacher.
35. Going places with Byron is like going places with Mr. Wizard.



36. Byron is very neat and tidy. (opposites attract.)
37. Byron is very gentle and soft spoken. (see above)
38. Byron is a very loyal son.
39. Byron has a mind of useless trivia.
40. No one likes to play games with him. He always wins.



41. Byron loves to watch Chelsea Lately. (it's his one vice...)
42. Byron was never once grounded in his life. (see side bar of #36)
43. Byron doesn't like ice cream, or dessert in general. (CAN NOT Relate)
44. Byron has very nice, readable handwriting. He flunked chicken scratch in Dental school.
45. Byron used to run track.
46. Byron used to play club volleyball and racquetball.
47. Everyone loves Byron.
48. Byron loves his kids fiercely.



49. Byron would rather be with his family than anywhere in the world.
50. Byron is very tolerant of his family's reality TV addictions.



51. Byron is excited about being a Grandpa!
52. Byron is very brave.


And.....

53. Byron shares a birthday with our son-in-law Skyler! Happy Birthday to two of my favorite guys ever!!!

My little hidden talent...

It's official...I am officially burned out as a creative mother.
For years and years I sewed masterpiece costumes...
A killer tomato, a shark, Harry Potter, various Pokeman characters, princesses, purple dinosaurs, skunks, mice, Genie's, Cheerleaders, Little Bo Peep.....
nothing was too labor intensive for me.










This year?
Jeff was a nerd...loved it, didn't cost a dime or a minute of my time.
Scotty was a ghost. An old sheet, a pair of scissors and a Sharpie.
And I didn't do a thing. I even forgot to take pictures.
I'm not even a Good Enough Mom.

Carter...Grammibelle promises to get her Halloween Mojo back by next year!

In the meantime....

It's well documented that I can sew.
I can cook too, as evidenced by my backside.

I can organize events.
I can soothe angry, out of control teenagers.

I can garden and grow things.
I can laugh (ha!) at just about anything.

I have some talents.
But the one I secretly pat myself on the back for?


I can carve a pumpkin.


I know it's not curing cancer or bringing world peace,
but it requires patience
and that's something I have in short supply most days.

You don't have to be impressed,
I am impressed enough for the both of us.
Hope I don't break my arm patting myself on the back.




This one is for Jeff who is still devastated that his team isn't in the World Series.



Scotty carved this one!! Chip off the old block!!! Momma is so proud.



The little boy next door loved this one..."oooooh scawwy"





Love this one!

I'm trying to think what I can carve for Christmas.

Photography by Jeff

Royalty

Lauren...Homecoming 2005...Liberty High School

Skyler....who knows when...some alternate universe...he held out on us....we didn't know he was royalty also. Thank you Facebook

This is why I love my son in law.

I realize that this is probably only hysterical to me, I saw it on Facebook and nearly bust a gut laughing. Posterity post. Their kids are going to love this someday.

Four people...eight days...two continents....

Sounds very fun huh?

It's fall break around these parts, and per tradition...we leave Brentwood for a week.

This year we took two separate vacations, something new for us!

Scotty and Byron went to England and Scotland.



Scotty's grandparents take all their grandchildren on a 12 year old trip to anywhere they want to go. England has two of Scotty's most favorite things....Soccer and the Beatles. It was a "dream come true", (nice to have all your dreams come true at 12!)

Jeff and I went to Idaho; (which is like a foreign country isn't it?)

Just in time for the potato harvest and before the first snow. Have I mentioned that my daughter Lauren and her husband Skyler are having a baby in 9 weeks?



I went to help set up baby's room and to sew...to craft...and to help my daughter nest. A grandbaby!! All my dreams coming true at 50!!



Let's compare trips................

Byron and Scotty flew in a luxurious airplane for 22 total hours with instant drinks and snacks and movies.


Jeff and I traveled 28 hours across the Nevada desert at a leisurely pace of 55 mph. Thanks to the 164 miles of road construction and ample highway patrolmen to keep us honest. The slower than average speed allowed us to see the sagebrush and sand so much clearer than usual. Lucky us.

Road construction in Cali also.....

Scotty and Byron went to Harrod's department store. It is a full city block and five stories of wonderfulness.

Jeff and I went to the newly remodeled Rexburg Wal-Mart. And Porter's, three times.

Scotty got real English soccer jerseys and Beatle's apparel.
Jeff got a BYU-I sweatshirt.

Scotty visited Beatrix Potter's and Anne Hathaway's homes.
Jeff visited Deseret Books and a couple of quilt shops and Sno-Oasis.



Scotty and Byron visited castles and quaint little villages rich in history. They ate true fish and chips and pasties and meat pies and yummy chocolates.



Jeff and I went through Winnemucca, Elko, Wells and Pocatello where we visited the oh-so-delectable McDonald's. To be fair we did go to the Cocoa Bean in Rexburg for a cupcake, but Mill Hollow never had the right flavor of Fro-Yo so we missed out on that.

Byron and Scotty hob-nobbed with royalty and the British.




Jeff and I had dinner with the kids from home and lunch and dessert with Lisa Marie and family!! (we won on that one....)


Lisa Marie's little Meg after ice cream...too cute!!

Byron and Scotty visited and toured Soccer stadiums where Scotty's dreams of a career as the next Pele' or Beckham were fueled.



Jeff and I watched our beloved Giants go down in flames and dreams of a post-season doused.

Scotty got his picture taken a bazillion times.
Jeff's mom lost her camera and consequently did not take even one picture.



Scotty slept in fancy hotels on snuggly beds.
Jeff slept in a sleeping bag on Lauren's floor.

Byron and Scotty learned so much about English history!
Jeff and I learned about the potato harvest!

Scotty and Byron learned to understand the Queen's English and various cockney accents.
Jeff and I wondered when Idaho moved to the southern part of the US as we marveled at all the y'alls and southern talkin' in Idaho.

Scotty and Byron didn't see all they wanted to see which gives them something to look forward to someday on a return visit.

My return visit to Idaho will be complete with a new little yummy baby grandson.

I win.