Cousin Iris

Lizzie had a blast with cousin Iris today. Together they enjoyed a tea party in the bathtub, a local bounce house, swimming in the pool, and a playdate with Nana. We were worried that it would take some time for them to warm up to each other, but all it really took was a shooting session with the sticky dart guns Uncle Mike left behind. Nothing like a new toy to bring kids together. Lizzie and Iris during their 2006 visit to Nana and Papa's house. Lizzie and Iris at the end of today.

Time Out

Argh! Time out used to work so well with Liz. She would go straight to the designated spot and stay until we retrieved her. Now she initially refuses to go and, once in, sometimes tries to leave before we give her permission. Plus, instead of just crying to herself like she used to Lizzie now protests loudly. She's in time out right now yelling about how I am "yucky" and "a baby," and about how she "doesn't like mommy anymore."

The Uncles Arrive

We are still lounging in South Carolina and Lizzie is absolutely loving the attention from her uncles. My brother Scott arrived last night and Dave came this evening. Liz was immediately all over them. When we went to lunch today Lizzie had to hold Scott's hand and sit next to him, and when we got home she talked him into playing ponies with her. As soon as Dave arrived she walked up to him and asked "When are you going to play with me?" Within an hour Dave, his fiance Emily, and Liz were in the pool. We anticipate some more excitement tomorrow when Aunt Codi arrives with cousins Iris and Willa. I thought Liz would need a little time to warm up to my brothers since she only sees them once a year, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Liz has also been loving climbing up the opposite side of the stairs.

Swim Class

Lizzie really enjoyed swim class this summer. She didn't refuse to enter the pool or cling to the side like last year, so that was nice. Liz loved the kickboards and although she was apprehensive about putting her face in the water she worked up to it by the time classes ended. First Liz would just go in up to her eyes. Eventually she bobbed under the water and finally, on the last day of class, she tried swimming with her face down (video to come).

Stillbirth Post

My friend, Ryann, sent me a link to a great stillbirth post. I really appreciated it.

My brother Mike

I was planning to go to South Carolina sometime next week. Then I found out that my brother Michael was visiting my parents and leaving early Saturday. I don't get to see Mike much because he lives in Utah and is hard to get a hold of (no cell phone or email address). So, after Lizzie's doctor's appointment Friday morning we raced down and spent Friday evening with him and his girlfriend, Cat. It was really nice to see them, especially since they are contemplating a move to Oregon this fall. Mike and Cat are really into cooking and treated us all to a gourmet meal (thank you! it was delicious). Afterwards we enjoyed a late night swim, Liz especially. We enjoyed eating on the back porch. Cat is dishing out one of my favorites, miso soup. Yum.Mike grilled some tuna and fried breaded catfish. The catfish was my favorite. Liz even ate some when we called them "nuggets" and gave her ketchup for dip.Lizzie and Nana are playing with Nana's vast amounts of buttons. It's one of Lizzie's favorite things to do here. I also remember playing with buttons when I visited my grandmother. Since I don't sew the tradition will end with me and my grandkids will have to make do with something else.

Mike's hair is a little longer than when we saw him at Christmas. It's funny that just the day before our trip I had to explain to Lizzie that boys can have long hair too. She had been referring to a couple long-haired little boys at the pool as "she."

Lizzie loves her Nana. When she is upset with me she often cries: "I want my Nana!"Mike, it was so nice to see you. I appreciate you being so sweet to Lizzie. She enjoyed shooting your dart gun and putting on "shows" with you in the pool.

We celebrated Papa's birthday a couple days early (it's actually today) with chocolate cake. We'll have another celebration next week when Scott, Dave, and company are in town.

YELLOWSTONE RECAP DAY 1

We left our house at 3 a.m. Wednesday morning. Fourteen hours later we reached our destination, surprisingly hours before our before any of Drew's siblings. We drove through Yellowstone and Grand Teton on our way, but were too tired to stop and see anything. Still, we were quite taken back by how beautiful everything was. I didn't realize just how much I had been missing the mountains.

YELLOWSTONE RECAP DAY 2

On the second day of our trip we started out our site-seeing at Old Faithful (after all you wouldn't go to Paris without at least looking at the Eiffel tower). Liz was initially scared of the geyser (not too surprising). She was worried that she might be sprayed with the hot water we said would shoot out of the ground. Of course, as soon as the geyser actually erupted she was excited and couldn't wait to see more. On Thursday we also saw the historic Yellowstone Lodge, took a scenic walk along the boardwalk to see other geysers and geologic wonders, and went on a long drive on one of the parks loops (I slept through half of this and Liz slept through most of it). It was on the drive that we first saw bison and elk.

Andrew hates it when Lizzie puts her hands in his face like this.
This was possibly Lizzie's favorite aspect of our accommodations: the "slide" where a banister should have been.

YELLOWSTONE RECAP DAY 3

Andrew spent Friday golfing with his brother, Dan, and brother-in-law, Jim while Liz and I tagged along with Carrie, Jenn, and their families. We first found a stream for the kids to play in. Liz loved it and I loved that Jenn, Katie, and Abbey all helped Liz in the water so I didn't have to get in. Next we checked out some waterfalls and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone. The stone really was yellow. It's silly, but that surprised me. We also saw bison, elk, and coyotes. I was also surprised to see how much of the park was destroyed by the 1988 fire. Dead trees were everywhere. Friday evening we had an impromptu talent show. Lizzie was super excited about it and really wanted to participate, but each time she was offered a turn on stage she shrank in fear. Finally after the show ended Liz dissolved in tears because she wanted to perform. So Andrew held Liz and they sang the ABC's together. Initially I wasn't excited about having a talent show, but it turned out really cute and fun. I hope we have one at every family vacation (and I hope it is always optional because I prefer to be in the audience).

YELLOWSTONE RECAP DAY 4, PART 1

First thing Saturday morning we went to an Imax show about Yellowstone. Anyone who knows Liz knows that her fear of the dark has morphed into a fear of going to the movies. To keep her in the theater we bought her the kid's treat pack which we called her "brave girl, stay-in-the-movie treats." She started brave enough, but soon after the movie started she still jumped into daddy's arms. Drew held her treats for her and at one point she got nervous and bumped his arm sending popcorn all over the two fortunately-empty rows in front of us. I think the included toy was the highlight for Liz--she spent the rest of the day playing with it (often instead of looking at the scenery).

After the movie we did our own family picture then split up. Drew went on a bike ride with his brother, Dan. I went with Carrie and Jenn and their families to view more geysers (Beryl, Norris Basin, & Fountain Paint Pots) and Gibbon Water Fall.

YELLOWSTONE RECAP DAY 4, PART 2

Saturday evening Drew, Liz, and I went to a small local rodeo. I LOVE rodeos and I haven't been to one since moving to DC seven years ago. It was Lizzie first rodeo experience and she was pretty hyper about it. She kept jumping up and down on the bleachers and cheering. I thought it was pretty cute, but it seemed to annoy Drew (which was also kind of amusing).

YELLOWSTONE RECAP DAY 5

We went to church for Sacrement only. The place was packed to the back of the cultural hall, probably most of the people present were either tourists or just there for the summer. Then, we drove through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks (breathtaking) on our way to Jackson Hole, WY. In Jackson we wandered around just long enough to find a place to eat (with Carrie and her family) before we collapsed in exhaustion at our hotel. While we were at lunch Liz asked to hold her three-month cousin Clarissa. She was pretty excited about it.

Quick Change

Argh! I feel like I am running around like crazy. We got back into town late Monday night and I am leaving again early Friday morning so I have three days to unpack, wash all the clothes, clean the apartment, sort through a pile of mail, and repack along with the regular assortment of swim and dance classes, church responsibilities, social obligations, and occasional pregnancy rests/naps. I am looking forward to seeing my brothers in South Carolina, but right now I'm super stressed. I don't feel like three days has been enough turn around for me.

We're back from Yellowstone . . . . .

after six fun-filled, exhausting days. We really enjoyed seeing the park and it's geologic wonders, but best of all was the time spent with family. We can't wait for our next Nielson Family trip in 2010. Two of our six days were spent travelling. I ended up booking our tickets at different times so we were on separate flights. It was nice to travel alone. I was able to read a lot. Andrew flew with Liz, but she's pretty easy to fly with because she enjoys it and has done it a fair amount. We had to leave in the early morning both flight days so we just took Liz to the airport in her pajamas. I packed a change of clothes for her in Drew's carry-on, but was not too surprised to see that she was still in pajamas when I met them at the end of both flight days.

The above pictures are of Lizzie catching a ride on Drew's luggage. I don't blame her. I didn't want to walk either. The following videos were taken at our motel (past bedtime) the night before we flew home from Jackson, WY. Liz was super hyper. Andrew and I were completely exhausted.

I Love Sonograms!

I had my second official sonogram today (actually it was my sixth including the ones my docs did in their office). I LOVE SONOGRAMS. I love that the technology is available. I love finding out the sex. I love seeing the baby and the peace of mind that brings. I was nervous of course and as with all my baby-related appointments I barely slept last night.

When the technician first started the sono, the screen just looked like gray blurs to me so I focused on the tech's face to see if she frowned or widen her eyes or anything that could indicate she saw something wrong. I didn't detect any microexpressions and eventually the images started to make sense to me so I focused on them instead. It was pretty great.

The first thing I saw was a beating heart. Ah, relief. I also got see see her face and the tech confirmed that we are having a girl. As a parting gift she handed me a slew of face shots as well as one from between the legs which I could have done without. I'm not quite sure what to do with it. Do I save it to show the kid when she grows up? I am certainly not going to scrapbook a photo of genitalia.

Later in the day I had a regular appointment with the nurse practitioner to ease my mind before we take off for Yellowstone tomorrow morning. As far as we can tell everything is okay with the baby and thanks to Sharon and Wendi for providing babysitting for my appointments.

To celebrate (and to ease the pain of getting fatter) I bought myself some maternity clothes that actually fit. I also bought a baby food processor at Buy Buy Baby. The cashier asked when I was due and when I said September. She said, "Oh, are you having twins?" As soon as I got out to the parking lot I called the manager and complained. I mean, come on! This is a baby specialty store. I huge proportion of the customers have got to be pregos. "What not to say to a huge hormonal pregnant woman" should be part of their basic customer training.

Selling a car

Ugh. We finally sold my friend's car tonight. Thankfully Sharon Pomeroy offered to babysit Liz and have her spend the night. Because of Sharon's generosity, I was able to get a lot of packing and cleaning done before Drew got home and we set off for CarMax. I foolishly thought all the car stuff would take an hour tops (this was my first time selling a car). Of course I forgot it takes nearly that long just to get to CarMax in the first place. In the end the whole thing took nearly four hours including travel time. I had previously planned a whole bunch of errands and work around the house to do during our break tonight. I even thought we might squeeze in a late night movie. By the time we finished all the car paperwork we were starving and it was almost 10 p.m. so we nixed the errands and work and went to a nearby theater where we dined on hot dogs and popcorn while we watched Wall-E. It was super cute and the food was very satisfying. Last week I watched a documentary on hot dogs and after seeing how they are made I swore I wouldn't eat one again, but it sure tasted good tonight.

Already?

Last week my sister-in-law, Lisa, sent me some super cute handmade headbands and bows for our new baby. It was really exciting to get the package because it was so unexpected and it is the first fun thing for this baby. Before the package all I had purchased were name books, prego clothes, and yeah, that's it.

Lizzie was embarrassingly jealous. She got all pouty and said it was no fair, no one sent her bows or packages, the baby got everything, blah, blah, blah, and so on and so forth. It was pretty annoying, especially because Lisa had included a special surprise for Liz (which she was crazy about once she calmed down and realized it existed). I hadn't thought this jealousy would start even before the baby was born.

Incidentally the above picture was the "before" picture the morning Lizzie and I got haircuts (we have yet to take an "after" shot. I had four inches taken off, but as near as I can tell it's only noticeable to me. Lizzie's only got a couple, but I really love her new, shorter hair style. I wish I could put her in cute pigtails and braids, but she absolutely refuses. I told her it was either pig and pony tails for the hot summer or short hair. At first she started crying because she thought I meant short like daddy. I said "No, short like Emilie." That got her excited. I didn't really want her hair cut, but she pretty much called my bluff and then anxiously awaited her haircut for weeks so we had to follow through. It was her third haircut ever, her first by a professional.

Baby Prep

This weekend we bought a armchair glider/recliner. I wanted to get one when we had Liz, but there was NO way we could have afforded one (even buying the crib was a challenge). We picked one out to buy during my last pregnancy and actually planned to purchase it one Tuesday evening, but Drew had to work late. Two days later we learned that Jacob had died. I was so glad we had not ordered it. Now, I have until tomorrow to change or cancel my order. On the one hand, I feel a little nervous that something bad will happen with this pregnancy and we'll be stuck with the chair as an expensive reminder. Plus, I often have buyers remorse on expensive purchases. It's REALLY hard for me to decide to spend big chunks of money. Spending the equivalent on multiple small purchases is one thing, but a wad of money in one hit? Ouch. On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to using the chair and I know Andrew is glad that I finally made the decision. I was spurred on my a soon-to-expire coupon. Also, I have more on my purchase list so I need to move on.

For me other baby prep includes picking a name and birth announcement. We met with some pregnant friends this weekend and I was surprised that they have pretty much finalized name choices for a boy or girl at 12 weeks! I asked Andrew afterwards if he thought they were fast at making a decision or I was slow. Andrew said that definitely I was slow. Speaking decisions, I have recently been trolling etsy to find cute birth announcements. A couple weeks ago I downloaded a bunch (25) after an initial purge with Drew. I wanted him to look at them with me last night to do another purge, but he refused to look again until I got them down to five or less so I went through on my own was able to cut three.Lizzie is super excited about the new baby. She is constantly hugging and kissing my belly (the above picture was from my last pregnancy). On one hand I'm glad she is excited. On the other hand, I feel a little nervous. She was like this with Jacob (after an initial, spectacular tantrum when we told her it was a boy) and of course, there was a huge let down in the end.

I wish pregnancy wasn't so obvious. I wish I didn't have to "show." It be so great if I could just come home with a baby one day and be like, "Oh by the way, I was pregnant. Meet your new sibling." That way if things didn't work out I wouldn't have to tell Liz about another dead sibling. Last time was so heartbreaking. I know that's how life is and I think in general we approached it well, and Liz took it well, and is learning from it and so on and blah, blah, blah. I just don't want to do it again. Sometimes Lizzie still talks about how she misses Jacob in her prayers. I'm glad she remembers and thinks of him. She also asks Heavenly Father to please not let the new baby die. In both cases it's bittersweet.

Vomit and Mold

Well, it's mid afternoon and my day has basically consisted of cleaning up vomit, cuddling with Lizzie, and doing laundry. She got up again at 5 a.m. to go to the bathroom whereupon she puked (again). We had her sleeping in bed with us because she wasn't feeling well (maybe not the best idea since our bedding is all-white, but we were lucky) so Andrew was able to get her to the bathroom in time. Of course we had to bathe her and brush her teeth again.

I dropped Drew off at work downtown and when Liz and I were about 2/3 of the way home she threw up yet again. She was sitting right behind me so I couldn't see the damage till I got home. I just heard her retching and saying things like "I can't help it" and "All I can do is throw up." In hind sight we should have brought her little throw up bucket with us. Luckily I had pulled her hair back in a rubber band after her 5 a.m. bath so she didn't have hair hanging in her face to vomit on. This time I only had to hose off her body (and carseat).
Shortly after we got home the duct cleaners arrived. I had our ducts cleaned yesterday by what I'm pretty sure was a disreputable company. Luckily it didn't cost too much. They told me they saw mold in our air ducts and it would cost $800 to treat it. Naturally I panicked. I went straight to the internet and did google searches for "mold and miscarriage" and "mold and stillbirth" which left me feeling even more anxious. What if it was mold that killed Jacob? What if it kills this new baby? I called other mold removal companies to compare prices. After talking to the owner of what seemed like a much better company I concluded that the mold sighting was probably just a scare tactic (he said his company had cleaned thousands of ducts and only seen mold in a handful of them). Still, I had this new company come clean the ducts again today (for a fraction of $800). The technicians/cleaners were super nice. They checked out all the vents. No mold, just dirt. Ah, relief--worth every penny.
Now Liz and I are back to the endless laundry cycle. She hasn't vomited for about five hours, but she hasn't eaten much either. I have basically confined her to the couch to watch movies and color. I made her some simple chicken soup which I ended up eating (yum). Now we are waiting for our brownies to finish cooking. It's not exactly sick-person food, but I'm tired of sitting home, washing laundry, and doing dishes. I want to treat myself and brownies sound mighty good right now. I just hope Lizzie's stomach has settled enough for them.

Parenthood

So, it's 1:30 in the morning and we just finished dealing with Lizzie's surprise throw up. I say surprise because we had no idea she wasn't feeling well. She woke up in the middle of the night and said she had to go to the bathroom. Cool. We were really glad she knew that she needed to pee--usually she is disoriented, crying, and hollering "I want to go home!" while Andrew carries her to the toilet.

Tonight when she left the bathroom Lizzie collapsed to the floor crying. I sat down to hug her and she threw up on me. Andrew whisked her off to the bathroom in case she had more to release. I tried to clean up the floor, but I started to gag so in the end Andrew scrubbed vomit out of the carpet while I gave Liz a bath and scrubbed the vomit out of her hair. Ah, parenthood.

Dance class breakdown

The fit continued, but I didn't manage to record it all (and this is a little shaky because I was laughing). Turns out Liz was upset that she couldn't dance like her teacher.

Thank you Aunt Lisa!

Thank you take 1.

Thank you take 2.

Bon Voyage Murphy Family!

We will miss you!

I've been tagged

Lea tagged me awhile ago and I'm finally getting around to responding.

How To Play This Game of Tag: List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 facts about yourself. Tag people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

JOYS
1. My little family. I love being Lizzie's mom. I like to see her learn and grow. Lately I have enjoyed her spontaneous expressions of affection and have even been amused by her constant drama. In addition I like to see how she and Andrew dote on each other. Of course I also love being married to Drew. Years ago my brother asked me how I knew Andrew was "the one." I told him that Drew was the first guy I didn't get bored of after two months. Maybe it doesn't sound terribly romantic, but that's just how it is with me. I really enjoy being with him and look forward to many more years together.
2. Organizing and purging things from my home (or the homes of others--thanks for indulging me Mom), and checking things off my to-do list (I'm an obsessive list maker--problem is I sometimes lose the precious lists).
3. Traveling and doing touristy things in the area (and checking them off my travel "to do" list).

FEARS
1. That this baby will die.
2. That something will happen to Drew or Liz. I worry about their safety. I also worry about the unpleasant things Liz may encounter in life (it's a scary world for girls and women). Currently I'm a little nervous about sending her to public school. It's so big and she's so small.
3. Physical pain.

GOALS
1. Travel. I want to experience each of the 50 states (experience, not just drive through) and I have 29 to go. I also want to go each of the continents (2 left) and visit 20 countries (5 left). Somehow I think it will be easier for me to get my 20 countries, than my 50 states.
2. Develop healthy eating and exercise habits (and LOSE BABY WEIGHT).
3. Continually work on my genealogy and write my life story.

CURRENT OBSESSIONS
1. Record keeping (Costco photo books, blogging, genealogy)
2. Baby planning (names lists, things to maybe buy, and announcement selection). Andrew has been participating in some of this, but yesterday he said that he finds my decision making process "excruciatingly laborious" so I guess I need to back off for a bit.
3. Organizing (this is not to say that I am an organized person, I am just obsessed with the constant, never-ending process).

FACTS
1. Pet peeves - when people tell me "should" do something (maybe they mean well, but who are they to tell me what I SHOULD do?), knuckle cracking (Drew is normally the culprit), and when people clip their nails or pick their teeth in public (even if I am the only person present I think I count as "public").
2. I love to read and when I start a book I cannot put it down. I don't clean or parent very well during these times or sleep much. I just finished the Lonesome Dove series and I'm taking a little break before I start on something else.
3. I taught sex ed to junior high students in South Africa. That was not intimidating, figuring out how to talk to Lizzie about it is. I have explained how babies come out their mommies, but we have not covered how they get there in the first place.

I tag my family: CODI, JULIE, LISA, & DREW.

Because Rachael asked (awhile ago) . . .

28 weeks done.
12 more weeks to grow.

Fourth of July Part II

We spent the afternoon of the 4th at our friends, the Stearns, home. We enjoyed some really great food. My favorites were: kabobs, grilled pineapple, fruit salad, pasta salad, and corn on the cob. Yum. After eating we spent hours playing Rock Star. Lizzie especially enjoyed the doing the drums--I think she was better at them than I was at the guitar. Andrew tried his hand at everything.

Later we went to Pentagon City to watch the Fireworks. Fortunately we only got there 15 minutes before the show began, because for us it was a total flop. As it was, the situation was just funny to us. If we had waited a long time we might have been disappointed. We saw the first two or three fireworks and then a smoke cloud formed that was so big it virtually blocked out all the other fireworks. We just saw hints of color in the smoke which is exactly what we saw during the 1999 New Years Eve firework show in Salt Lake City because the fog was so thick (I enjoyed laughing at the "remember when" moment). So, this year we haven't had the best luck with normally phenomenal DC events--the cherry blossoms and the fireworks. Andrew did not want to go to either but was humoring me (thanks again Babe). I hope our experiences this year don't make him less inclined to participate next year.

Ward Fourth of July Breakfast

This morning when Liz got up I told her she had to wear red, white, and/or blue in honor of America's birthday. She refused to wear the shirt we bought last night (special trip to two stores to find one--thanks for humoring me Drew) because it was "too long," but luckily last years shirt still fit. I guess I should loosen up with the clothing. I imagine Andrew's relieved that I have Liz to dress up because before she came along I sometimes bought him Old Navy flag shirts.We really enjoyed our ward breakfast. After the food and flag ceremony we had a kick ball, soft ball, and baseball game. Liz really enjoyed playing kick ball with Drew. Her favorite part was running the bases. When her team was in field she danced or drew in the sand with a stick. Once the guys moved on to baseball Andrew didn't want Lizzie on the field (safety concerns) so she played with other children and practiced her swing a bit. I think Andrew also really enjoyed playing ball (in part because he hit a homerun). He's had a pretty fun holiday so far. Yesterday he spent most of the day playing golf with friends, then enjoyed a long, leisurely meal. In the evening he said, "I have had a really nice day. Hasn't today been a nice day?" Uh, yeah it's nice when you spend it playing with friends.

Daddy is Right

Yesterday out of the blue Liz said, "Daddy is right. Closing your eyes does help you fall asleep at night." Yeah, duh.

Growing Food

The other day Liz asked me, "Mommy, why am growing even though I don't eat my growing food?" Oops. I had told her if she didn't eat vegetables she would not grow, but lately have run into some old friends and acquaintances who have remarked on how big she has gotten. I told Liz she was growing because I hid growing food in her regular food. Yesterday when I served her pancakes full of bananas, she looked at them suspiciously and asked, "Did you hide growing food in there?" Oh, no. Those are regular pancakes.

Melting Pot

I went to the Melting Pot with six friends Monday night to say goodbye to our friend Ryann (moving to England in one week). It was such a fun night. The food was absolutely delicious and it was so fun to be there with friends. I think the Melting Pot is a great place for a girls night because it is easy to linger. It was great to be there with Ryann. I'm going to miss her so much!

Favorite Weekend Moments

Great Moment #1 - I saw Mama Mia (pictures to follow) with friends Luz and Janie. It was so fun. I really liked the show and can't wait to get the soundtrack. One of my favorite moments was during intermission when I said "I just love ABBA's music" and Luz said "Who's ABBA?" She had never heard of them! I originally wanted to go to the show with Andrew. I invited him several times and each time he refused. The last time I asked if he wanted to go, he sweetly said "No, but you can keep asking me if you want."

Great Moment #2 - I'm the chair of the Family History committee at church and this weekend we were in charge of the joint Priesthood/Relief Society 5th Sunday meeting. I was SO happy with how it turned out. My amazing committee members volunteered to speak with only one week notice which was such a relief because I dread public speaking. My job was to conduct and make some handouts. My favorite was a list of the various ways people can become involved in family history work (I think most people are already doing one of these):

1. Write a personal history
2. Keep a personal journal (whether private or public, such as a blog)
3. Compile and maintain current family or personal photo albums or scrapbooks
4. Compile scrapbooks on ancestors
5. Gather additional details on known ancestors (appearance, occupation, siblings names, military service information, migration history, & so on)
6. Write life stories or short biological sketches of ancestors
7. Interview living family members to preserve their stories
8. Collect and maintain information on living generations (such as marriages, births, missionary & military service information & so on)
9. Organize family reunions to maintain family relationships
10. Maintain family newsletters, websites, or blogs to share information & maintain relationships
11. Compile family videos (most formats can be digitized allowing for sharing amongst family members)
12. Travel to your family's historical sites
13. Work to protect family heirlooms
14. Volunteer at local Family History Centers
15. Help others with their genealogical efforts (help them learn the computer programs, assist in research, translate documents, provide childcare)
16. Indexing – help extract family history information from digital images of historical documents to create searchable indexes, all from the comfort of your own home
17. Share the information you have with other family members (through blogs, chatrooms, genealogical societies, the church website, or providing specific individuals with copies of your information)
18. Check your genealogical records for accuracy
19. Find original records to ensure accurate documentation
20. Genealogy is never really complete—expand whatever research has already been completed (take the research back another generation, gather information on your direct ancestor’s siblings, do descendancy research & so on)

Great Moment #3 - Watching Drew and Liz play together. Andrew is a very hands-on dad and Lizzie has developed into quite a daddy's girl so it's really fun to see them interact. They have lots of special things that they do just the two of them: wrestle, see who can give the biggest hug or kiss, sing bedtime songs, and so on. Thanks for being so great Drew!