Happy 30th Birthday Snow!!!

Snow turns 30 (yikes!) on March 19th. I wanted to take a minute to celebrate him by sharing with you 30 things that I love about him. Here they are in no particular order:

1. He is an amazing dad. He puts in grueling 12 hour + days, then comes home and starts building towers with Saylor. He makes it a point to give her his undivided attention and makes her laugh like no one else can.

2. He is a hard worker. He gives everything 110%. He is successful in all of his educational/professional pursuits. He is driven and goal-oriented. He is the only person that I know who actually keeps his New Year's resolutions!

3. He is hot. It goes without saying that I have always thought that I married a good-lookin' man, but the icing on the cake is that lately he has been lifting weights....dang!

4. He is a spiritual leader in our home. He makes sure that we stay on track with the gospel essentials. He never misses a night reading his scriptures or saying his prayers. He motivates us to have FHE and attend the temple. I am so grateful that these things are important to him.

5. He is so intelligent. I am amazed at all of the different things that he knows and is interested in. I love to hear him talk about a topic--sometimes (especially when it is something medicine related)I don't know what he is talking about, but I am still impressed!

6. He is not stingy with the compliments. I think he has a 6th sense about these things because he always knows when I need to hear something nice about myself.

7. He is funny--I love his dry sense of humor. Sometimes he is funny when he isn't even trying. My college roommates and I affectionately refer to these moments as "Snow Stories".

8. He is assertive. I am always impressed at the way he stands up for himself and his beliefs.

9. He loves techno music and Mexican food. Just hearing a Cascada song makes me smile and think of him. I mention this because he has so many sides--I am always learning something new about him. I love all the quirks that make him Snow.

10. He is meticulous (maybe to a fault). I always know that if he is doing a job, it will be done right. He takes great care of everything: his clothes, his teeth, the yard, his car, and of course his family. As a side note he is exactly the kind of surgeon I would want working on my eyes!

11. He is a good teacher. No matter the situation, he has his "students" eating out of the palm of his hand. he is always reinventing the wheel to make his subject-matter more interesting.

12. He is generous with everything: his time, his talents, his resources, his forgiveness.

13. It may sound cliche but he makes me want to be a better person. He treats me like I am already my best self.

14. He is health conscious. Maybe it is silly, but I appreciate that healthy eating and exercise is important to him. I take it as a compliment to myself--he must want to be alive and around me a loooooooong time!

15. He likes trying new things. He even consented to taking dance lessons with me (now if only we can find the time to do it!)

16. He can tell when I feel stressed or overwhelmed and is quick to give me a hand.

17. He is a worthy priesthood holder--I have realized what a blessing this is even more now that we have Saylor. He also honors motherhood. He makes me feel that what I do--taking care of our home and daughter--is the most important work that there is.

18. Family time is important to him, when he has time off, he wants to spend it with us.

19. He is really handy and can fix things around the house or with our cars. I don't know if there is a secret guy handbook or something but, given the time, he can figure out anything.

20. He encourages me to develop my talents and boosts my confidence.

21. He is fun. He sees the value in having a good time.

22. He understands that sometimes I am an irrational, overly-sensitive girl and he doesn't make fun of me for it. He has become a great listener, and knows that most of the time I just need a sounding board and not advice.

23. He is good with people. He makes friends quickly and connects with others, be it a neighbor or a patient.

24. He can do anything!!! Seriously, anytime he is interested in something he can do it. Whether it is building a web site, fixing sprinklers, playing the harmonica. If he wants to (or has to, in the case of the sprinklers) he does it well.

25. He has an informed opinion about things and is willing to share it. Be it a political view or the decor of our house I can count on him for an honest opinion.

26. He has a tender, sensitive side. OK, so he hasn't cried in a movie since Charly, but he is still an amazingly kind and gentle husband and father. He is so good at taking care of the needs of others before himself.

27. He still holds my hand when we drive, snuggles me every night, and kisses me goodbye every morning. My eyes are welling up right now, but I love that he shows me daily affection. I am also grateful that he is a father who is affectionate with his child. Saylor knows that her daddy loves her!

28. He is creative. He has the ability to picture something in his head and then create it. It might be a sketch of a dog for Saylor, refinishing a piece of furniture, or a presentation for work--in every situation he is an artist.

29. He is loyal to the church, to his family, to BYU (go cougs!). I always know that we are a team and that he is on my side.

30. I know I already said it, but I think it is worth mentioning again--He is a HOTTIE!

I could go on and on but I am sure that you, and I hope that he gets the point. I love Snow very much. The other day I made homemade hot fudge sauce to go on top of dessert. He went on and on about the fudge, saying how it made the dessert amazing. Snow is the hot fudge in my life--he makes everything better and sweeter. Happy 30th Birthday babe!!!!!

The Great Debate

Since Saylor's birth there has been a debate about who she most resembles. My family swears she is me in miniature while Snow's family says she is him made over. Personally I think she is a good mix.

lately I have realized that she is also a mix of our other characteristics.
Ways she is like Summer:

• She is a smidgen uncoordinated. When she dances it looks painful and she trips over things all of the time--especially when she is tired. Sorry angel bug, you got that from your mom!
• She has a real sweet tooth. Her favorite treat is chocolate, again, just like me. In fact, she does not realize that brown is a color. Instead she says things like look at the chocolate fence or I want the chocolate football. ( I swear I am not making this stuff up!)
• She also wants to read her favorite book over and over and over. I don't know why we read it anymore because she has Moo Baa La La La memorized. I cannot tell you the number of times that I have read Pride and Prejudice. I can, however, tell you that after finishing it (again) last week that all still works out well for Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Ways she is like Snow:

• Saylor is a little OCD. She shuts any cabinet doors and drawers that are left open, and she refuses to mix her toys. If I want to torture her, I will have Dora take a ride on an elephant from Noah's Ark...MELTDOWN! Snow is also a little OCD. I am sure that is why is he has been successful in school (and why his 10-year-old church shoes are still stored in their box, and why he compulsively rubs his hands together)
• Snow is really good with languages, he speaks Portuguese from the mission and used it to "pick up" Spanish while we lived in Tucson. Saylor is a really verbal kid who uses sign language and speaks Spanish (OK she is certainly not fluent, but she is always surprising me with a new word that she "picked up" from Dora)
• Saylor's other favorite food is cheese, any kind, any time. No paternity test needed here--Snows favorite snack growing up was cheese and sugar melted together--mmmm delicioso.

I know I am being a little facetious here, but it really is a pleasure and a little scary to watch our daughter act a little bit more like us each day. Poor kid!

Where do they come up with this stuff?

Saylor's imagination amazes me sometimes. Whether she is pretending the crust of her bread is a snake, or that the lid to her blocks is the steering wheel of a car, nothing is as it seems at our house. She recently told me her name was "baby kitty-cat," and truth be told, she is much more obedient when I call her by that appellation. She cracked me up the other day--She had been way too quiet for way too long so I went to investigate. She managed to open the rubber tote that holds all the baby toys and stacked them inside her old baby swing. I would have to say that her mounding skills rivaled that of my grandma at a salad bar (love you grams!!!). There are probably 15 toys in this picture.She also likes to "help" me clean the house. I usually send her into the living room with a dust mop while I work furiously to finish up the kitchen floor before she gets bored. The other day she was, again, way too quite. I walk in to see her hanging from the dust mop that she had propped up against the couch. When she saw me, she smiled and said"look Mom, I'm a sloth!" What?!
I really wish I had half her energy and half her ingenuity!

Grandma & Naomi Visit

We were lucky enough to have Snow's mom and sister out for a visit this last week. It was so fun. Naomi just got home from serving a mission in Hong Kong so we hadn't seen here for a long time. It took Saylor a little while to warm up to our visitors, but with a bribe of a big stuffed frog and bumble bee toy she was happy to embrace our company.

Saylor was spoiled by all of the attention. She loved having a new audience to show off all of her "tricks." As you can see from her unkempt appearance, she played pretty hard with Grandma!The day before they left we took them on a tour of the Moran Eye Center where Snow is doing his residency (I know how mean are we to make Snow go back on his first weekend off in months?!)

When we got inside Saylor was so impressed. She kept saying "Wow ! it is muy big!"

She was also really excited about the roundabout that is designed like a giant eye outside this window. Who says Ophthalmalogists don't have a sense of humor?I made Snow examine my eyes and let me tell you the results weren't pretty. He told me I am barely legal to drive! He was pretty anxious to get me under the knife (or laser?!), but I told him we would have to save that for another weekend excursion.

A fun new way to waste time

I have never been a big fan of video or computer games, but my sister-in-law sent us this room escape game (vision) and ever since I have been addicted to point-and-click room escape games. Here is a link to a bunch of different ones. The bonus is that they have a walk through cheat to help you out if you get stuck. Don't complain to me though if you start playing the computer during your kid's nap time instead of something productive!

http://jayisgames.com/tag/escape

Easter in Eggs Family Tradition

When Snow and I were first married my mother-in-law sent us this great family tradition and I thought I would share it with you. I love Easter candy as much as the next person (quick confession: I ate a whole family size of cadbury mini eggs myself this week), but I think it is really important to take some time to focus on the what we are really supposed to be celebrating--the resurrection of our Savior. So here is what my family likes to do: get 12 plastic Easter eggs and number them 1-12. Print out the scriptures and explanation and then get the 11 household objects together. Put each numbered slip of paper and corresponding object inside each egg (i.e. in egg number 1 you put in slip of paper number 1 and a sacrament cup). You can have a FHE where you do an actual egg hunt and then open each egg in order, read the scriptures together or, for younger kids, tell the story using the description. You could also use it as Family Scripture Study for the 12 days preceding Easter. Anyway, I hope you like it!

1. Luke 22: 40-44 Jesus went to Gethsemane to pray and atone for the sins of the world. He asked Heavenly Father to bless him. He did not want to suffer. He said to Heavenly Father: “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” But Jesus wanted to obey Heavenly Father and he loved each of Heavenly Father’s children. He would suffer for all the people who repented of their sins. (Object: Sacrament cup)

2. Matt 26:14-16, 47-50 One of Jesus’ 12 apostles, Judas Iscariot, made a deal with some wicked Jewish rulers who wanted to hurt Jesus. They said they would give Judas 30 pieces of silver (the cost of a slave) if he would show them where Jesus was. (Object 3 dimes)

3. Matt 27:1-2 The wicked men took Jesus to the Caiaphas the High Priest. They held an illegal trial against him (Matt 26:57-68) and found him guilty of blasphemy. The next morning they tied him up and took him to Pontius Pilate the Roman leader who had the authority to put criminals to death. (Object: piece of rope)

4. Matt 27:22-25 Pilate asked Jesus many questions (John 18:29-38), then told the Jewish rulers that Jesus had done nothing wrong. Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, the vassal ruler of Galilee. Jesus did not speak to Herod and he was sent back to Pilate. Pilate wanted to let Jesus go, but the chief priests and elders hated Jesus. They mingled among the multitude (Matt 27:20) and encouraged them to ask Pilate to “Crucify him!” Pilate didn’t want trouble with the Jews, so he washed his hands in front of the people, saying, “I am free of the blood of this just person.” Pilate let the Roman soldiers take Jesus away and crucify him. (Object: Piece of Soap)

5. Mark 15:15-20 The Roman soldiers took Jesus, removed his outer clothes, and put a purple robe on him. They put a crown of thorns on his head and a reed in his hand. They called him names, spit on him, hit him, and scourged him. (Object: piece purple cloth)

6. John 19:16-19; 3 Nephi 11:4 After doing all of these terrible things to Jesus, they made him carry a wooden cross to Calvary’s hill. They nailed his hands and feet to the cross, and then raised it. (Object cross made out of trimmed matchsticks and hot glue and a nail)


7. John 19:23-24 As Jesus hung on the cross he prayed for Heavenly Father to forgive the people who had hurt him because they didn’t realize that he was the Savior. The soldiers took Jesus’ clothes and played a game called “casting lots” to see who would win them. (Object: Dice)

8. Matt 27: 46, 50-54 Jesus’ mother, friends, and followers were very sad. Jesus suffered on the cross for many hours. Once he had completed his atoning sacrifice, he voluntarily allowed his spirit to leave his body and died. The sky was dark, there were earthquakes in Jerusalem and in the Americas. Rocks broke into pieces and the veil in the temple was torn. Many people were afraid. (Object: Small rocks like gravel)

9. Matt 27:57-59 A follower of Jesus named Joseph asked Pilate for Jesus’ body. He wrapped it in clean cloth. (Object: white cloth)

10. Matt 27:60-66 Joseph then laid Jesus’ body in his own tomb and rolled a great stone in front of the door. At the request of the Jewish rulers, Pilate placed soldiers to watch the tomb to make sure nothing happened to the body. (Object large rock)

11. Luke 23:55-56, 24:1 Jesus’ body was in the tomb for 3 days (Friday afternoon, Saturday, Sunday morning). Mary Magdalene and some other women came to the tomb to finish anointing Jesus’ body with spices (a tradition the Jews had for taking care of their dead before they were buried). (Object: Some kind of spice --I use a piece of a cinnamon stick)

12. Luke 24:2-8; John 20:11-16 When the women got to the tomb the stone was rolled away from the door and the soldiers sent to watch the tomb were gone. They looked inside and Jesus’ body was not there. They saw an angel who told them “Jesus is not here, for he is risen as he said” Jesus was resurrected—his perfected body was reunited with his spirit and he would never die again. Jesus appeared to Mary, to many of his followers, and to the Nephites in America. Jesus promised that we too will be resurrected as a special gift from him. Every Easter we celebrate that Sunday morning when Jesus Christ was resurrected. (Empty egg)