Ollie turns 3!!

Our sweet little Ollie turned three on March 22nd. We had a great day together as a family. We started the day with cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs for breakfast and a couple of presents. At lunch time, we opened a few more presents. We took the plasma car out for a spin in the afternoon. The boys had a blast. Ollie did a great job taking turns with Mason, even with his exciting new toys. Thanks everyone for all the great gifts! All of this excitement was followed by a nap for one and all.

All week, Ollie reminded me that he wanted pizza and cake for his birthday dinner. At 4:30 I was sitting down to the computer to order the pizza. The boys ran in, just in the nick of time, to tell me that they actually wanted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. I can only imagine that they were thinking "the quicker we eat dinner, the sooner we eat cake!"
They were right. A few short minutes later we were singing, finishing the presents and eating chocolate cake. I was taken a little off guard by the sudden dinner/cake/celebration so as you can see in the picture I am still in my napping clothes :)

Thanks Grandma Girl and Pops for the plasma car! We figured out right after we took this that both boys can fit on the car at once. It was a REAL party after that!


Warning: Photo below contains disturbing images.
Namely, my huge 8 months pregnant, headless body.

Fortunately, the picture also contains two super cute little boys who had a great day!

Three things that we love about Oliver:

1. His big brown eyes.

2. His enthusiasm about everything. If you are ever feeling low, just come talk to Ollie. Yesterday while I was cleaning the bathroom he came in and said, "Mommy, this bathroom looks BEAUTIFUL!! Great job." I have never felt such a sense of accomplishment :)

3. He is my snuggler. Mason was always too on the go to snuggle. Matt is not much of a snuggler. But I can always count on Ollie to curl up on my lap and give me a squeeze (unless it is scripture time, then there is NO holding still!)

We love you Oliver and hope you had a great 3rd birthday!

Easter Egg Hunt

We had a little egg hunt at the church last friday. It was the first day of spring break, so we decided to make a day of it. The kids had a blast playing with their friends, the parachute, and the candy.

Some happy boys!

Amy and I told the boys no more candy. We were taking them out to lunch after the egg hunt. We tried to help clean up. Then we looked over and saw this. Three boys huddled in the corner of the gym. DEVOURING any candy they could find.

And they were pretty pleased with themselves!

Slumber Party

It was bedtime. Actually, it was about 2 hours past bedtime. The boys had been playing 'birthday party' in their bedroom for a couple of hours.

Mason: "Mom, we invited our toys, and our toys friends. But not all of them, we didn't want to make a big mess."

Mom: "That's great. Hey, why don't you make it a slumber party?"

Mason: "What's that?"

Mom: "That means you all get to go to sleep together, and the party can last ALL NIGHT!"

Mason: "COOL"

Three minutes later...

Worker Bees

The boys have been really great about helping around the house. They have a lot more jobs now than they have ever had before. For the most part, they love it! Here they are emptying the dryer. They are also getting pretty good at dusting, cleaning their room, and unloading the dishwasher.

They are all set to be mommy's helper's when the baby comes!

Blog Neglect

I have made a direct link between my belly and this blog. The bigger my belly gets, the more neglected this blog becomes. Mason is at school after a week of spring break. Oliver is happily watching the Backyardigans. I am going to type like mad and try to get all caught up!!
At least I have managed to take a few pictures...

Not what you'd expect...

...from your Mother in Law. This came in the mail yesterday.

The outside of the card:
and the inside:
What more can I say?

Hi, Old Friend

After 1 year, 7 months, and 12 days of living without, yesterday I bought this...



My life will never be the same. And I vow never to go without again.

Tagged...real quick

OK, so I was tagged a couple of weeks ago. Thank heavens it wasn't this tag or we would be here all day!

What is his full name? Mathew Gerald Lyman (spelled with one 'T', although the people at the DMV, Social Security Office and Home Depot have all been nice enough to 'correct' it for him)

How long have we been married? 7 years, this summer

How long did we date? Exactly 10 months from the day we met to the day we got married. Technically we started dating about two weeks after we met.

Who said I love you first? I did.

Who is taller? Matt

Who sings better? Sadly, we are both really bad singers. Our children have no hope whatsoever.

Who is smarter? Matt

Who pays the bills? I do.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? We have had to switch recently. Matt will sleep anywhere. I like to sleep closest to the bedroom door and the bathroom. (Especially now)

Who mows the lawn? Lawn. Hmmm. What is that again?

Who cooks dinner? I do. Sometimes.

Who drives? Matt. Whether he is behind the wheel or not.

Who’s more stubborn? Good question. We are both pretty stubborn.

Who kissed who first? Matt kissed me. In his apartment in Denver.

Who asked who out? It was a full six weeks of hanging out and making out before we ever actually 'went out'. I think it was a mutual decision to actually go out somewhere at that point.

Who proposed? Matt, at the Denver Art Museum. Also known as the DAM. Think that is a bad omen?

Who has more siblings? Me: one sister and one brother. Matt has one older brother.

Who wears the pants in the family? Depends on the situation.

So I guess I am supposed to tag some people: so I will tag anyone who needs a topic to update their blog and wants to think about the good ole dating days of their youth :)

Movie Time With A Science Dork

Kristin has officially allowed me to make my own posts on our family blog (I receive privileges with good behavior, not unlike our kids). Even after several years of marriage, my wife still has no idea what I do in the lab. Thus, she has encouraged me to put something on the blog that is an example of my work (share a little piece of Matt if you will). Well, it's close to midnight, the family is in bed, and I'm in the lab doing work. Now is as good a time as any.

I study viruses that infect your nervous system, and move around when they feel the need. See movie below. These are fluorescent virus particles that are moving in living neurons in a culture dish. Neurons have a round cell body, and then axons emanating out from them (in this movie you see 5 axons shooting out from the cell body). The little green dots are actual virus particles moving away from the cell so they can go on to infect another nearby neuron. Imaging technology allows us to watch this happen in "real-time", and we can figure out what controls this process. Okay, there it is in a nutshell. Thank you for letting me share.

By the way, please don't call me if you have a "raging infection" and need advice on a topical ointment. Your MD knows best, not a research scientist :).

Homemade Bread

Today, I baked bread. I was inspired by Lindesy's post on King Arthur flour. Only one problem now...I can't stop eating it.

By the way, if you haven't checked out Cafe Johnsonia (Lindsey's recipe blog) you are missing out. Some of my very favorite recipes have come from there. Also, cool kitchen stuff, great photography and tutorials.

I cant wait to try this Blackberries n Cream Ice Cream.

Mullet Mania

After much deliberation, and lots and lots of giggles, we were forced to choose a winner of the mullet contest. Again, I apologize for the delay, but anyone who has ever moved in the middle of winter, with two small kids, and while seven months pregnant...well, you get the idea! We are now settled and mostly unpacked and getting back to normal life.

So without further ado, I give Mullet Contest Winner 2008:

With this entry, titled the Gag-o-Mullet, the winner is Amy!


I would be remiss if I did not mention some of the other FANTASTIC entries for the contest.

Honorable mention goes to "Mullets: A Family Affair" posted by Jenn.

A few other mullets worth viewing:

"Best Mullet Story about a Family Member" goes to my sister Julie.
" Best Famous Person Mullet" goes to Scott.
"Best Mullet in a Movie" goes to Tyler.
Finally: for what almost was the "Best Live Action Mullet shot from 2008" see Sam & Anya's blog.

thanks everyone!