We're Ready for an Upgrade

It's official. After five years, I think we've finally outgrown apartment living. I know, I know. Shocker, huh? Who doesn't love, love, love living in an apartment? Well, the answer is me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm really grateful for apartment living. It's such a great and affordable option for many people and it has been a great option for Jason and me. We loved our little apartment in the heart of Northwest Washington, DC. The Envoy's apartment #702 came with an entire wall of windows (loved those), views of California Street (as well as our crazy neighbors), and was only a short walk to the metro and delicious and quaint restaurants. It also came with tons of quirks like a non-working disposal that often smelled like smoke, an archaic gas stove and oven, a refrigerator with a broken door, tile wood floors and lest I forget, awesome stainless steel butcher counters! And we loved it. How could we not? It was our first home as a married couple and we made lots of wonderful memories there.

Jason and I saying "goodbye" to our apartment. Such a sad day, as displayed by our awesome sad expressions.

The view from the top of The Envoy

The second we moved in, I painted the kitchen red, the bathroom pepto bismol pink and the bedroom apple green. It made me love that kitchen and apartment a lot more. I love color, okay? The pepto bismol bathroom got a facelift six months later to a pale yellow.

Did you get a glance at the butcher counters? They're so chic. :-)

The view from our wall of windows

Ahh, the memories!

Which brings us to the present. Nearly three years ago, we hauled our belongings to Tucson, moved into our current apartment and felt like we had hit the jackpot! Two whole bedrooms to our name, vaulted ceilings, three pools and a parking spot! And for $300 less! It was like the Taj Mahal. Then we had Lois and it instantly felt too small.

Then there is the fact that we live amongst a whole assortment of people. And in the past six months, I've started to notice things about these people that I'd just rather not know. For example:

1. The neighbor we share our bathroom wall with snores so loudly that we can hear him when we're in our bathroom. He also has a really yippy wiener dog that barks all. day. long. This guy also blasts random music at 2am.

2. The neighbors we share bedroom walls with like to argue with and scream at each other - usually very late in the evening. They often find a way to "make up." Lovely.

3. The neighbors we share living room wall with, our gay Latin friends, blast techno and other random music at all hours of the day. They also slam their doors a lot, which shakes our walls.

4. The neighbors below and to the left, I've already written about. Remember the poo bandits? Well, they are also chain smokers with a pile of cigarettes on their patio. I nearly pass out every time I walk by their apartment - especially if their sliding door is open! How do they live in there? And the girl is always talking about a friend's tumultuous relationship or watching the show, Friends.

5. And our late-night, door-banging, cologne-ridden college boys to our bottom right are currently being evicted for not paying rent. I'm really glad they'll be gone soon.

So, pretty please, can I get an upgrade? I've been a good girl this year! I'd like to be able to invite more than 10 people over to my place without it feeling as if we're going to bust at the seams. I'd love to be able to offer visitors a bedroom to sleep in and not just a floor and an aerobed. And I'd really love more privacy - and not a random knowledge of my next-wall neighbors' affairs.

Anyone else out there gotten to this point? Or am I the only one?

Smith Family Pictures!

We had some Smith Family pictures taken while we were in Utah a couple months ago. It's been a while since the whole family has been together due to missions. And an added bonus is that none of the girls were pregnant, either. So I think we're good for at least another year.

Here are the results! I think they turned out nicely, don't you think?

I love these guys.

Um...where did my feet go? Have these pants always looked that awful on me? Oh, well.

But I do like this all-girls picture!

My brother and his family

US!

My brother and his cute wife

The whole gang

Lois and Stella

My handsome younger *and single* brothers. Ladies, any takers out there?

And look, it's us again!

Stella and Lois were loving those leaves

And of course, the cute mama and papa that made this awesome family possible.

Like I said before, I love these peeps. A LOT.

The Spiky-Purple Goobladoodle

Once upon a time, the Wright gang was hanging out at Aunt Nancy's house and found this frightening and strange object called the spiky-purple goobladoodle. (Yes, I did just make that up. I'm pretty awesome like that.)

Because we were all slightly freaked out by this unearthly creation, we decided to conquer our fears and go where no man has gone before.

Bet you can't guess what we did...

That's right. We put it on our heads!

Nate was the first to take the plunge, but soon found out it was a little too small for his huge brains.

Then Jason decided to try. Apparently, it's an instant fix to those droopy Busath eyebrows!

Then the crazy mom put it on and thought to herself, "Dang, I look goooooood." And I really did. Can you argue with this? I mean, look how gooood I look!

And of course, it wouldn't be complete without involving the youngest of the bunch.

Who apparently was not too happy about it. And ironically, Ms. Lois had the same death stare as this dude...

who I think we kind of resembled when wearing the spiky-purple goobladoodle on our heads.

All in all, I think we conquered our fears, and we got a few good laughs out of it. Well, except Lois.

The End.

Christmas Galore!

For Christmas 2009, the Wright clan convened in San Jose! Mom and dad Wright flew in from Salt Lake and Jason, the babe and I flew in from Tucson to celebrate the holidays with Nate and Kristen. We had a wonderful time! And Nate and Kristen were such gracious hosts. We ate lots of good food, ate way too many sweets and enjoyed great company the whole time we were there. AND, I was the crappiest picture taker EVER. I didn't even get pictures from Christmas morning. Pathetic. Argh! Anyway, I digress.

Christmas Eve, my mother-in-law's two sisters (Kathy and Nancy) and their families came over and enjoyed a delicious meal of BBQ'd tri tip, mashed potatoes, salad and much, much more. It was fun to see everyone and spend time with extended family!

Jason and his cousins Clint and Eric

Mom Wright, Aunt Nancy and Mari (Clint's wife)

Our gracious hosts, Nate & Kristen and Aunt Kathy.

After the party was over, we all opened Christmas Eve pajamas. Here is Lois Christmas morning, enjoying herself on a cold, tile floor. Have no idea why she was one the floor. Who knows with an 18-month old? And check out my cool yellow moose PJ's from the corner of the picture! Yeah!

Just monkeying around Christmas morning. Again, 18-months old. They're a bit whacky at this age!

Then after all the Christmas morning presents, we convened at Nancy's house for a Christmas brunch. And boy, did it deliver. The food was delicious! This party included Jan's three sisters, Kathy, Claudia and Nancy and their families.

Here's a group shot!

On Saturday, we decided to drive up the coast to Carmel and see some of Big Sur. Our first stop was Dennis the Menace Park. Lois loved it. Too bad it was rainy and cold that day!

Here she is with dad.

Aunt Kristen guiding her through the maze

She loved all the slides!

We stopped at the little town, officially named "Carmel by the sea" and drove down to the beach front. By that time, it was getting dark and was much colder, but we had to see the ocean! It was beautiful. We snapped a few shots, although you can't exactly see anything but black behind us!

Cute Grandma, don't you think?

Not sure if she's screaming or laughing in this picture. I'll let you be the judge.

Our group shot!

The newlyweds with Lois

And a family shot. It's a miracle Lois isn't screaming...

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. I know this is a little late, but we are grateful for this season and its significance to the world. A Savior was born! Joy to the World, the Lord is come! What an incredible message. We love you all and wish you the best in 2010!

The Joys of Travel?

Allow me to complain? Why, thank you! I think I will. Sometimes I feel like this dude.

Here's why. I used to like traveling/flying a lot. To me, it meant that I was going someplace exciting, going on vacation, going to visit a good friend or going to see family. But now? Traveling means work, work, and slight mental anguish - because now, I have to cart a child along with me. I can't even imagine adding another one or two to the mix, which is most definitely inevitable, right? (Moms with more than one kid - you amaze me!) Anyway, any of you with children know that traveling with a child/children just makes life difficult. Plain and simple. I know Lois is quite mild and I realize that she could be a lot worse, but still. It's hard.

Here are a few thoughts that run through my head while preparing for a trip involving an airplane ride:

1. What if Lois decides to start screaming? What can I distract her with?

2. What if she suddenly barfs on herself? Not like she ever does, but what if? Do I need to pack a change of clothes?

3. Hmmm...what if halfway through our flight, she decides that this is the time she's going to poop? How should I handle that? Do I have a million diapers with me, JUST IN CASE?

4. Do I have enough snacks?

5. Do I have enough books?

6. Should I take stickers? Crayons? Extra paper?

7. Where am I going to find milk in an airport? (It's totally hit and miss.)

8. What cool new toy can I pull out when she's not cooperating?

9. Do I have enough treats? Yep. Still thinking about this one.

10. What if her ears are bothering her?

11. Does she feel hot? Is it a fever? Just in case, I need to bring my tylenol. Naturally.

12. We need at least two hours to get her and all her crap through security, right?

13. Wait, do I have enough snacks?

14. What about toys? What can I anticipate her wanting to play with at that exact moment?

15. What bag is going to be manageable enough and fit all these shenanigans?

16. The flight is right during her naptime. What if she won't go to sleep?

17. By the time we get to our destination, it will be nighttime. Should I bring her pajamas? When should I change her into them?

18. What if she gets stuff in her hair? Do I have a brush/comb to get it out?

19. What if a man/lady in 15B gives me total stink eye? What if?

Well, you get the idea. It's torture! Over and over and over again, I'm asking myself these stupid questions - some of which are totally irrelevant! And it doesn't end until I have landed on destination ground. And then it starts all over again when we go home. The irony of it all is that Lois travels like a champ. I really have no reason to worry. But it seems that the second I don't anticipate something...that something happens! Am I crazy, or are there others out there like this? Why do I obsess like this? And I only have one kid to worry about! Sheesh.

To add to the madness, ever since 9-11, airport security is a grade-A hassle. Thanks to moronic idiots who think it's cool to blow themselves up (and most recently, to a moron who put powder in his underpants in order to blow up a plane but rather blew up his man-parts instead), they had "heightened" security over the holidays. And yes, ladies and gentleman, I was wearing an underwire bra. AHHH! Do let me tell you my horror story.

Flying to San Jose went off without a hitch. The ride back...not so much. I did everything like I normally do: take my and Lois' shoes and jackets off, take my belt off, send through the stroller, my bag of Lois diversions, the diaper bag, my diabetic supplies, the sippy cup, the bottle and the children's tylenol, and then walk through hoping I don't send the detectors into a rage.

But this time, the detector did go off. "BEEP." Oh, no! With Lois in arms, the man asked me to step through again. And then a third time. "BEEP." Again. "BEEP!" Off I went to the holding area to wait for a female TSA worker. And somehow the whole pat down is less embarrassing and violating just because it's a woman doing it? Whatever.

I most definitely gave the TSA lady this exact crusty look.

So there I was, feet spread, arms out - while this woman patted down my entire body, including underneath and between my breasts. In. Front. Of. EVERYONE. Lovely. THEN, to add insult to injury, she started grilling me about my insulin pump that was attached to my upper buttocks and basically asked me to pull my pants down so that she could see it for a second and third time. For reals, I was so annoyed. And in between each time, she asked me if I could remove it, to which I replied that I could not. Hello! Do you speak English lady? Obviously not very well. After I insisted that I could not take it off, she finally let me go.

It reminded me of the time when I saw a 90-year-old lady who could barely walk being searched from top to bottom because she had knitting needles in her bag. How stupid! Last time I checked, 90 year olds were not blowing up and/or hijacking planes. Two words: COMMON SENSE. Ever heard of it? Why do all TSA workers seem to lack it? I'm just throwing that question out into the universe because I really need to know.

Anyway, then we had a short layover in San Diego. And I mean short - 20 minutes. We got off the plane and was directed towards our connecting gates, which required us to exit a secure area therefore necessitating a need to go through security again...for a connecting flight! How stupid! Jason and I were freaking out because time was of the essence and we were scared we weren't going to be able to sit together on a very full flight. While we got through without too much hassle and made our flight just fine, it was nuts that we had to go through security again. And I'm pretty sure Heavenly Father knew I couldn't have handled another pat down, lest I'd have an utter meltdown.

Now, more than ever, car travel *when it's a viable option* is very enticing to me. It may take more time, but no space and time constraints are a beautiful thing when traveling with a child. Plus, you don't have to have a random pat down because you've decided to wear a decent bra! Excellent!

Do any of you have horror stories involving flying and/or the airport? Do share! Or am I the only one out there? I'm guessing I'm not, but then again, I might just be delusional!

PS - I still love to go see people, so the hassle is all worth it! Really, it is. This story was written to vent a frustration, that's all. Don't take it too literally!

The Big FIVE!

On December 18th, Jason and I celebrated our fifth anniversary. Come to find out, getting married a week before Christmas tends to put a kink in any anniversary celebrations, but we've had a wonderful five years and life together couldn't be better. There are so many wonderful memories from our wedding day.

Some random memories from December 18th, 2004

1. Jason and I were waiting in the Celestial room forever. The reason was two-fold. The sealing room the temple workers had sent everyone to was not the room we had reserved nearly eight months before (it was too small), which caused a slight freaking out by my mother. Once they moved family and friends to a larger room, to my mother's horror, she realized that some of our wedding attendees (including my grandma and grandpa) were not yet in the room. After some searching, a sweet little temple worker came in and informed my mother that some of our party had gotten stuck in the elevator and were in the process of being lifted out! Of course, Jason and I didn't know what was going on at that time, but it was fun to hear about the slight heart attack my mother had minutes before our sealing. In the end, everyone was there and we were in a big enough room! Thank goodness!

2. When Jason and I kneeled over the alter and I leaned towards him, the zipper popped on my dress! That was just a little bit awkward and maybe slightly embarrassing, but nothing could ruin our special day. Before heading out of the temple, my mother had to sew me into my dress just to make sure it didn't happen again. And it didn't. Phew!

3. It was absolutely freezing the day we got married and by the time our reception started, a thick fog had descended on the Salt Lake valley. Some of our pictures look magical as they have a thin layer of fog rising from the bottom of the pictures.

4. The morning of our marriage, I woke up and couldn't believe that our day had finally come! We had patiently waited 14 months to get married and it felt surreal that all that waiting was finally up and that we were going to get married! It was such a magical day and I could not wait to make it official!

5. Elder Wickman sealed us in the Salt Lake Temple and he shared a few very special stories with us, including the Gift of the Magi. I've always loved that story, but now it has even more significance to me. I'm so glad he was able to marry us! And more importantly, I'm blessed I am sealed to Jason for all time and eternity. Wow! I'm so lucky.

At the San Diego Zoo, Christmas Day 2004

One week married!!

This year, we went on a for-real date, with a babysitter and all! It was totally awesome. Our good friends, Lindsay and Boyd, were kind enough to watch Lois. We had reservations at Hacienda Del Sol, a resort here in Tucson and it was total hoity-toity dining. You know, the kind of place where you can't pronounce several entrees and where menu options are like those you hear of while watching culinary shows like Top Chef? Yeah. We played it slightly safe (and didn't order squab or bone marrow!) and ordered a lamb sausage appetizer, a rack of lamb (Jason's choice), a filet mignon (I love me a good delicious piece of red meat!) and ended off the dinner with some decadent chocolate cake. It was delicious. The only down side? They only had Pepsi! Sick. For this hardcore Diet Coke lover, that was a huge deal.

After dinner, we hit up the movies and decided to go see A Christmas Carol. It's such a great story and since it was a week before Christmas, we thought it very appropriate for the season. And the best part was that there were only two other people in the theater with us. We made it home and relieved our awesome babysitters from their duties and called it a night.

A theater all to ourselves!

I can honestly say that I love Jason more today then I did five years ago. He's the most amazing husband and more importantly, is a remarkable human being. He is always reminding me of how I should live my life better. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect man for me. And I'm so glad he's mine - forever and ever. I look forward to my eternity with him and all my posterity. Pretty amazing.

Awww. We may be slightly chubbier five years later, but we're happy and still in love! :-)

I love you, babe.

For Your Entertainment

Happy New Year, everyone! 2010 is among us and we can tell it's going to be a great year! Since there has been some debate lately whether the world should all say, "TWENTY-TEN" or "TWO-THOUSAND, TEN" - we'd like to put it out there that Jason and I will be referring to this year (and all the following years) as "TWENTY-TEN (or eleven, twelve...)" - which I would like to inform you is the best and coolest way to say it. Any thoughts?

And now for some goods. Over Christmas break, we thought it might be nice to take a few family pictures for the history books. I'll let you be the judge of whether or not we were successful...

TAKE ONE

Whoa there. I look rather frightening, Jason's eyes are closed and Lois, well, she's just not having it.

Oh, wait, let's try the ground shot! Yes, that'll be better.

TAKE TWO!

Decent of the parents, but I'm afraid Lois spoiled this one...

Crap! She's trying to get away! Quick! Grab her!

TAKE THREE!

Wow, now I have "surprise" eyes, Jason looks apathetic and Lois looks like she's being punished.

After that last picture was taken, Lois decided to have a mini meltdown and planted her body and face down into the carpet and screamed. Jason and I decided to follow suit.

TAKE FOUR!

I think this will be a nice addition to 2009's history books, what do you think?

Phew! Lois is lucky, because Grandma came to the rescue!

Look at that big crocodile tear. The nerve of us trying to take a nice family picture!

Better luck next year!

Stay tuned for more goods!