The Faurschou Family Blog

Family Photo's

2009-12-21T00:17:00.004-06:00

I love Family Picture time... The kids not cooperating, the parents threatening the children. Someone gets mud on their shirt before the first picture is snapped. Now I realize why we never had family group portraits growing up. And why I still hate getting them done. So here's the "fun" pictures from our most recent shoot.

Are we ready to take pictures?

After, with some help from CS4.

Parker would never hold still or look in the general direction of the camera...

Seriously, how could you not love a face like this, can't you tell he loves getting his picture taken?

Sometimes kids actually do what you want them to...!

New Blog...! Sort of...

2009-11-19T01:31:00.002-06:00

I started a side blog project..... Check it out

http://perfectionthroughfoto.blogspot.com/

Ti's the Season..

2009-11-17T23:34:00.006-06:00

Halloween is over and that means it's time to start the holidays. I love this time of year, I love the atmosphere, the smells, the yummy treats. Just everything about the holiday season is great. It'll be nice to be able to have a "White Christmas" again. Though, being able to go out on Christmas morning in shorts and a t-shirt still rocks. Here's some photos from Halloween.

The Boys, Caterpillar (Parker), Capt. Rex (Christian), Capt. Jack Sparrow (Brandt)

Jen and Brandt Carving Pumpkins

Christian and I destroying, I mean, Carving Pumpkins.

Parker and His Pumpkin.

The finished product.

Are you dead, Mon?

2009-10-23T21:53:00.003-05:00

No, we're not dead. I overheard someone saying that our blog was dead.... So it did die for a fews months, but we had very good reasons why. So maybe we'll update this thing a little better. Needless to say, a lot has happened in 5 months. Most importantly we moved to Colorado, I started a new job with my company, (Which I absolutely love) We bought a house. And it's starting to get cold again... BRRR! It's been a change adjusting to the altitude again, as well as the climate, the boys realize they can't just wear shorts and t-shirts all the time anymore. Christian was baptized in August along with his two cousins, that was a great experience for us all. Brandt Broke his collar bone falling off the neighbor's jungle gym, And Parker is just a little hellion. So we're doing good, We'll post some more pictures when we can... Hopefully it won't be five months from now....

Easter Weekend - Sea World

2009-04-29T15:41:00.024-05:00

So it's been awhile since I had some time to blog. Life is crazy with kids, and I just have been a little lazy with the whole thing. So I decided I would tell y'all about our Easter weekend. We had a blast! We went to Sea World with my mom. My mom decided since we are moving away that she was going to take the boys to Sea World and Jared and I could come along that way Parker would be able to go too. Mom can't handle all three boys by her self at Sea World. Plus Jared and I wanted go anyway. We had a blast Jared and I even got some time to our self and went on a couple of roller coasters. It was really cold one day so we skipped the water park. But we are hoping we can make it back one more time before we leave and do the water park. So here are some pictures we took at Sea World. Thanks mom or Grandma Starr as my boys would say.

Brandt's favorite part about the whole weekend was that he got to share a hotel room with grandma by himself and not Christian.

When we got home from Sea World, the boys searched for the Easter eggs that the Easter Bunny had hidden for them. They enjoyed the yummy treats he left them as well.

The weekend before Easter our neighborhood had a Easter egg hunt, and the Easter Bunny made a visit. As you can see Parker really loved the Easter Bunny.

As for other things that have been happening, Brandt has been playing baseball and loves it. He's a pretty good hitter but can't catch very well. His best friend Ryan and him are on the same team so that's great.

Christian is still swimming and working on his butterfly and breast strokes. Swim team started last week and Brandt and Christian will be doing it again this year.

Parker, what can I say about him I love him and he is my pain in my butt.

Off to the CO...

2009-03-13T18:46:00.003-05:00

So. By now most of of you have heard, if not then we're making it official now. We're moving to Denver this summer. I know this may come as a surprise to some. I originally turned down the offer to move, hoping we could find something here in Houston. But with the state of the economy and with the feeling it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. I was approached by a colleague of mine inquiring if I was still interested because they had one position still open and if I wanted it, it was mine. We jumped at the chance, so needless to say, as soon as I accepted I was thrown into fire. I was immediately sent out to Baltimore for a week to finish training and follow up with a new hire, and am planning on being back out there in two weeks. So they're keeping me busy.
We are going to miss all our friends that we have made in Texas, we have really enjoyed our short time here. The boys are going to be in for a shock come winter time when they get to play in the snow once again, and we'll miss the spring time in Houston, but you you guys can keep the heat from the summer! I'm looking forward to being able to play some golf in July without being soaked to the bone from the heat. Our plans will be have us moving the first part of July. So we plan to make the most of the time we have left.

We're still here!

2009-02-12T21:56:00.014-06:00

Parker tried to feed himself yogurt for breakfast. Not too shabby for his first try.

Just wanted to make sure everyone is aware that we're still breathing. This year is going by WAY too fast. Jared started back to school taking 14 credits, on top of working 50+ hours at work. And between Church callings, helping at the boys' school and the everyday challenges of life it seems that this New Year has already passed us by. Jen got to go back to Utah for a few days for her Birthday, We'll post some pics of that next time. Parker had Bronchitis at the beginning of Jan. and a really bad ear infection the last few weeks of Jan. He had to have Breathing treatments done every four hours for a couple of days, which he did not like one bit. After the Bronchitis cleared up one of the tubes that were put in his ears over the summer fell out, and that ear got infected. Finally after a few trips to the doctors and medicine it seems it had all cleared up. He's getting so big, he jabbers all the time, and his new thing is saying "OH, WOW!" at anything and everything. His favorite thing in the whole world is seeing Christian and Brandt off in the morning to the school bus, and you should see his face when they come home in the afternoon. As for the other two. Brandt had his 6th Birthday a few weeks back. We had a combined birthday party with his best friend since their birthdays are only few days apart. Altogether we had about 27 six year old's running around at the party place. That was a sight. As for Christian, he's getting so much older, he's growing like a weed, and I'm just waiting for the day when he's taller then me. He's still practicing his swimming and told us the other night that he wants to learn to play the Violin. So here a a few pictures from the past few weeks...

Brandt and Ryan the Big Six year Olds

Split B-day cake, Brandt wanted Indiana Jones theme, Ryan wanted Speed Racer.

All the kids eating Cake and Ice Cream.

So one night Parker was really in rare form. He was just running everywhere, happy as can be, so we got the video camera out to try and capture it. Wouldn't you know it he calms down for the camera. He was doing this thing where he'd run in place and then stop and fall backwards on his butt and just laugh and laugh. This was a very funny night.

Christmas Morning

2008-12-31T10:52:00.013-06:00

Christmas is very anti-climatic. You spend all this time getting ready, shopping, wrapping presents, decorating the house and it's over in a matter of hours. It's exhausting. My hat's off to Jen who did a wonderful job making sure everything was taken care of. All I had to do was sit on the couch and watch "A Christmas Story" (Best movie EVER!) and eat Milk and Cookies. It was great. The boys had a blast ripping through the paper to discover their treasures. The big gifts this year were roller blades for Christian, a Skateboard for Brandt, and a Car for Parker. All three enjoyed themselves so much.

You'd think that Parker was crying in this one, he's not, he's pulling his "Rockstar" face.

We always let the boys open one gift on Christmas eve, it's usually a game that we play as a family. This year it was Cadoo. This is a fun game that is great for any age, you can play as teams or individuals.

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and wish you all the best in the New year!

Christmas Boat Parade

2008-12-20T11:58:00.003-06:00

We went down to the Kemah Boardwalk to see the Boat Parade. Everyone adorns their sailboats and yachts with lights and decorations and they parade up and down the channel from the Marina, right in front of the boardwalk. It's something that ever since we have moved to Texas we wanted to see. Each year we had planned to go but something came up. This year we didn't think it was going to happen since Hurricane Ike had destroyed a good portion of the Boardwalk in September. But they still had it, a week later then normal, and it was fun to see. Most of the boardwalk was still closed only three rides were open and a handful of the restaurants as well. The kids like the big boats that threw candy and bead necklaces the most.

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-13T09:57:00.012-06:00

It was a perfect ending to a perfect day. I was home with my mom making Christmas cookies all day, listening to holiday music and the sweet smell of treats lofting in the air. We looked outside and to our surprise our Christmas wish was answered early this year, but it didn't last long. On Wednesday afternoon it started snowing! Parker loved it so much, that after being outside for a while we were freezing, so we came in, and he proceeded to pound on the door to be let back outside. So I opened the door and let him rome outside freely, he thought that was great seeing all the little snowflakes. Christian and Brandt liked it as well. Brandt was mad since it didn't snow enough to make snowmen or snowballs. Christian and Brandt were at school when the biggest flurry was happening, but the teachers let all the kids outside to see the snow falling. Christian said all the kids in his class were screaming and having so much fun running around in the snow. He said it was funny to watch everybody react to the snow. Though it didn't blanket the ground, it was still a nice suprise. When Jared got home he said it had snowed quite a bit at his office that his car was covered and since we got rid of our snowbrushes when we moved here he had to use his arm to scrape the snow off the car.
There's just something about seeing snow and Palm trees in the same picture.
Brandt, though you really can't see it, there are snowflakes in this picture.

Christian freezing from the cold.

See, it really did snow! This is what's left of it.

Finished Product.

2008-12-12T10:38:00.000-06:00

Here's our Tree, all decorated!

Wonderful Christmas Time...

2008-12-06T12:28:00.014-06:00

So we did something that we have never done as a married couple before, we bought a real tree for Christmas this year! Not only did we buy a real one, we went to the Old Time Christmas Tree Farm in Spring, and chopped it down ourselves. It was fun, the boys thought it was neat to be able to "hunt" for the perfect tree. Parker enjoyed wandering around seeing all the trees. G-ma and G-pa Starr came with us to help select the right tree. After walking through the forest for about thirty minutes we finally spotted it. The boys signed off on it, and we begun to cut. We dragged it to the end of the row and waited for the hay ride to pick us up. It was so nice, they load it on the wagon, take it over and measure it, shake the dead needles off, and bundle it all up for and you're on your way with a fresh cut tree. They had games and rides for the kids, as well as Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Waiting to be taken out to find our tree, Christian, Brandt, Parker G-ma and G-pa Starr

Parker searching for the Perfect Tree.

Christian and Brandt looking for our tree
The only snow you get in Texas.
Sawing down our tree.

TIMBER!Taking it to the Home.

Disney World...

2008-11-19T21:33:00.004-06:00

Alright, before we go on about Disney, Let me just clear the air about the whole Colorado thing. A few days before we left I found out my job was being moved to Broomfield, CO, which is NW of Denver. Long story short, if I want to stay with my company and keep my job we move, otherwise they're giving me six months and 12 weeks severance if I decide not to move. So we're just weighing our options at the moment. We love Texas, and we have so many good friends here that we'd hate to leave, so we are thinking and praying about an answer. As always we'll let you know what we decide.

On to Disney World...

We had a BLAST! It was the best vacation we've ever been on, we were very tired every night after coming home from the parks. The boys just absolutely loved it, to see their faces light up each day was just awesome! We definitely will be going again. Thanks for all the advice and tips that we received, it made our trip more enjoyable. We ended up spending 5 days total at the Four differnet parks, which was plenty, we got to see all the things we wanted to and re-visit the stuff we really liked. Here's a list of a few rides/shows we liked.

Animal Kingdom:

It's tough to Be a Bug. Funny 3D show, watch out for those cockroaches!

Finding Nemo: The musical. It made me cry, just a little.

Expedition Everest. I think I was the only one who liked it, But I love Roller Coasters!

Jungle Safari. It was just like being in Africa.

Hollywood Studios:

Indiana Jones Stunt Show. Brandt's Favorite

Tower of Terror. Jared's Favorite

Fantasmic! Jen's Favorite

Star Tours and Jedi Academy. Christian's favorite

Magic Kingdom:

Splash Mountain. Both the boys loved that one.

Space Mountain. Brandt liked, Christian Not so much.

The Speedway. Letting the boys drive cars on a track, once again they loved this.

Epcot Center:

Mission Space. Gary Sinise was on the instructional video, Lt. DAN!

Spaceship Earth. For some reason Brandt really liked this one. Surprising.

All in all we had a blast, though we did lose Jen's camera our first day there and never did recover it. I wish there were more honest people out there. I'll be posting pix over the next few days. We had fun at the condo, playing in the nice heated pool, and even jumping in the lake!

Here's some video I shot of Christian's favorite part of the whole trip. Fighting Darth Vader.

We're so excited...

2008-11-08T15:03:00.004-06:00

We're under the 24 hour mark.

We're checked in with the airline

The rental Car has been reserved

The Condo has been reserved

Our itinerary is printed out

Our bags are packed

We're ready to go!

Watch out DisneyWorld,

Here Come The Faurschou's

So, to say that we're excited would be an understatement. Jen and I are more excited then the boys, we are so (insert adjective here) Excited!

I feel like Clark W. Griswald, about to go to Wally World, I'm just greatful we aren't driving.

Oh, one more thing... we're moving to Denver......

Halloween..and few other things.

2008-11-04T23:46:00.007-06:00

Whew, we finally have made it through our Candy Hangover, so we're updating the blog now that we can move off the couch! The kids had fun Trick-o-Treating, first at the church for Trunk-or-treat, then, even though their bags were full, the neighborhood for more goodies. The Boys had a lot of fun, we went around the Neighborhood with one of Christian's friend from school. Here's Brandt (Batman) Christian (Capt. Rex from Clone Wars) and Kyan (Link) and Parker, he had already taken his costume off, he was a parrot this year. I found some other pix of us when we went camping a few weeks back I thought I'd share. We had a lot of fun, we went with a our friends Amy and Brad and Amy's brother and his wife, up to Double Lake for a few days. The boys had a blast, the weather was perfect and it was nice to get out of the city and into the countryside. This was Jared's favorite spot for the whole trip, and Christian's too.

Brandt found a broken pair of women sunglasses and popped the lenses out, he thought he looked so cool.

Eating Breakfast. Brian (back left), Jen (pouring milk), Amy (Cooking Pancakes), Christian (Waiting patiently), Garrett (Devouring pancakes), Isabel (Looking on).

We had a lot of fun camping and can't wait until we can go again. Now we're just counting the days until DisneyWorld.

Writers Block...

2008-10-26T02:01:00.000-05:00

Do you see the time of this post? Do you ever look at the time of other people's posts and wonder, "Do you people ever sleep!?!" It's 2:01 in the AM, and I'm wide awake, but yet have nothing to write about. Oh no, the baby is crying...

Twilight Lovers Beware...

2008-10-14T23:07:00.003-05:00

So I started reading the Twilight Books...I know, Shocking. Actually it's really not reading, more listening, I got all four of them as an audio book. Anyways, I got about half way through Twilight when I had to hit stop and rip the earphones outta my ears. I get it, Bella thinks Edward is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I thought since it was about vampires I could hang, but I was wrong. So I loaded them on Jen's iPod and now, we don't talk anymore. I figure I will talk to her again once she's made it through Breaking Dawn. Neither of us had really read anything about theses books and we saw the hysteria that others were making about them, that's why I was willing to give it a whirl. Now, I'm not saying I won't go back reading, err listening to it. I'll see how the movie is. After all, I never picked up a Harry Potter book until after I saw the first movie, which I saw for the first time when the third one was coming out. And I enjoyed all of them.

So for all you Twilighters out there... enjoy.

This guy always has some funny things.

Disney Daze.....I mean Days...

2008-10-10T08:33:00.005-05:00

We have a little less then a month before we head off to Florida to Disney World. We're excited since this will be our first trip there for us. The Boys have been really good with saving their money every chance they get. One night we decided to go grab something to eat, and Christian asks if we really should cause "we need to save all our money for Disney World." It was cute to see how he thought.

My question to all of you is this. For us First Timers, what would you recommend and not recommend doing while there? We've bought a Park Hopper pass and plan to visit all four parks, but have been told some are funner the others. So, if any of you have been there at all, please share what you think was the best thing to do and what to stay away from.

Catch Up

2008-10-03T10:11:00.010-05:00

So the hurricane really made September fly by. I can't believe it's October already. So we're going to play catch up with what's been happening BESIDES Ike.

Before the Storm we bought a new car. We were in dire need, our main source of transportation had some major electrical problems and it wasn't worth it to get fixed. So we traded it in for a Toyota Sienna. I told Jen now she really looks like a soccer mom. She loves it, we drove out to Lake Charles, LA two weekends ago (when we had no power) So we could stay with Jen's dad that had power. It was a very enjoyable drive. It's a pearl color, which is neat because in the sunlight it almost looks like it's sparkling.

I started back to school and am excited with a project that I'm going to have the opportunity to work on, through the Logistics Program I'm involved in. Each year NASA selects a few local high schools to build and develop things that will be used on the International Space Station. Two Years ago they built movable locker systems that can be transported between the shuttle and the space station quick and easily. This year they're doing it a bit different and are involving Lonestar College in the process. Our class (of about 10 students) will over see this years project and manage the High Schools in building a portable trainer mock-up of the Destiny Laboratory Module. They're using this as a way to be able to train astronauts at other NASA Facilities. I'm excited, we'll be starting this in about a week or two and it'll finish in early April. NASA holds a big ceremony with all involved and they invite the President to be there as well. I always dreamed about being an astronaut when I was younger, this is one step towards that dream.

We gave Parker his first haircut, he did so good. Jen had a hard time letting go of her baby. He looks so much like a big boy now. It's amazing how a little thing like a haircut can make a person look so much older.
Before

During... I had to hold him so he would sit still.

After

Something else that Parker has learned to do is climb up on the Trampoline all by himself. The little Dare Devil.

The boys are still doing swim once a week, to keep them in shape for swim season next summer. Christian's breast stroke is coming along beautifully. Next season he'll be able to swim that event as well as the freestyle and backstroke that he's done previously.

I'm taking a Photogaphy class for my Art credit and am having alot of fun. It's Black and White, 35 MM prints. So we shoot, develop and print everything ourselves. It's great. I took this one of the boys.

I'll post more as I take 'em.

Pix from IKE

2008-09-26T21:57:00.010-05:00

Here's some photos of the main street just outside our subdivision the morning after the Hurricane. They're blurry, since we had to take them from our car. You can see the power lines twisted in the trees, this is why we were without power for 12 days.

yIKEs!

2008-09-26T10:43:00.010-05:00

12 days, 17 hours, 23 Minutes, and 13 seconds. That's the amount of time we were without power, after Hurricane Ike plowed into Galveston. This was definitely a new experience for us all. We were very prepared we felt, though, after a week without power you really realize how much you depend on a simple thing such as electricity. I was so proud of the boys, they handled this so well. We set up our "kitchen" in the backyard, with the BBQ and camp stove to cook our meals. We ate like kings the first few nights, with the freezer thawing out most of the meat and other treats, after about 5 days we had emptied it out. We were very thankful after the storm that a nice cool front came in and kept it nice and cool during the day and into the night. That made not having A/C a little bit more bearable. But it didn't last the whole time, the heat did return and it was hot! My old boss let us borrow his generator after his power was restored, that helped keep the house a little more inhabitable. But it still was too hot at night to sleep, and we're grateful for our friends in the neighborhood that had power that let us seek shelter in their homes in the meantime.

As for the storm itself. It was one of the more terrifying nights I've had in a long time. The winds started up around 7 or 8 at night, and lasted until the early afternoon the next day. You could hear the trees getting whipped and beaten by the mighty wind outside the windows. We huddled in the laundry room for safety. The power went out around 2:00 AM, with a vibrant green flash that lit up the darkened sky as large oak trees toppled the power lines making the transformers pop. Jen and I stayed up most of night, listening to the radio as they kept filling us in on all the details of the storm. There was a lull around 4 AM, as the eye passed over. And then, it was even more wind and driving rain. We felt the back half of the storm was more intense then the front half. The winds were blowing from the West now, and as we went outside that morning you could see all the trees that had blown over laying towards the East. Most of the damage in our neighborhood happened with the latter part of the storm. Little by little, the neighborhood sprang to life, neighbors were coming out to check on each other. As we surveyed the damage we knew we were blessed, we had only lost a few shingles but hadn't had any wind or water damage. Many people around us had large hole in their roofs, and water leaking in as well.

Its now been two weeks since it came, and life is starting to get back to normal. The kids returned to school this week, as did I. Businesses are starting to re-open, gas is available as well as food. This was a very bad storm and we feel truly blessed to have made it through without any major problems. We've decided when the next one hits, we're going to probably try to evacuate, especially if it is more then a Cat 2 storm. The city had done a very good job in maintaining order during the days leading up to it making landfall. The evacuation plan they set up worked very well, and there wasn't this mass exodus like we had back in '05 with Rita. Once again, thanks for all your thoughts and prayers during this time.

Hurricane Ike, Day three.

2008-09-16T16:57:00.004-05:00

We made it. We want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers, over the past few days. We are still without power, and will probably be until the first of next week, or so we're told. When we regain power we will post more. We know the Lord was watching over us and we are very grateful for that.

Hurricane IKE

2008-09-12T08:15:00.003-05:00

We just wanted everyone to know that we are ready and prepared for IKE to hit us. Right now it's estimated that landfall will happen sometime tonight, around 1:00 AM CDT. We're pretty much in the projected path, but luckily we're far enough inland that we should not be affected by the storm surge or any of the main flooding. We're expecting to get winds in excess of 75-85 MPH, for at least 10 straight hours. Thankfully, we are prepared with food and water in the event we lose power and other utilities and we hope we'll be able to ride this out. Please keep us in your prayers and we'll try to keep ya'll updated as soon as it has cleared.

First Day of School

2008-08-29T20:16:00.011-05:00

Christian started 1st grade and Brandt started kindergarten on August 25. It was a day that I have been anticipating. I was fine with Christian going back to school, he loved kindergarten he met lots of new friends and learned a lot . I remember being worried that Christian academically wasn't ready, but we had already keep him back a year and he was the tallest kid. Well to state the obvious, everything turned out okay and he was ready to be gone all day. Brandt on the other hand is my baby, well he was my baby for such a long time, and he plays the part very well. Brandt still take naps off and on. Last year he would come home from preschool and sleep and that was only 9:00 to 1:00 3 days a week. So of course my mind is thinking "how is he going to make it all day five days a week from 8:10 to when the bus drops them off at 4:10?" What will he do when he gets tired or if he just needs his quiet time or if he just needs his mommy, after all Brandt is a mommas boy. Plus I think he looks so small, well compared to christian who is tall. Anyways I wasn't ready to send Brandt off which is weird, you hear all this mom talk about how hard it is to send the 1st child off to school. Well I was OK with my first but not my second, I guess it's because Brandt always needed me more then Christian did. Christian is a very independent type of person compared to Brandt's personality. Plus I wasn't really happy about Brandt's teacher, he got the only one I didn't want. Well need less to say it was a hard Day.

Christian looking like a big boy for 1st grade(it's the only picture we took, don't you love his excitement?)

Brandt all ready for his Big Day as a Kindergartner.

Here are some observations from the days leading up to the first day of school.

We had "meet the teacher" on Friday and Brandt was happy and liking it plus he gets his new school shirt which he has been waiting for.

Brandt was worried Sunday night that he might not like his first day of kindergarten. Christian being the supportive big brother says, "Brandt, if you feel like crying, you can have your teacher call my teacher and I will come down and be with you. Will that make you feel better?" And of course Brandt said yes.

The morning of school he was so happy to wear his new shoes and outfit. He got to use his new lunchbox and backpack that he picked out, which you can pull it like a suitcase. He also said he was scared and that his tummy hurt so he wouldn't eat anything. I felt so sad to see how nervous he was, but he sure did look cute.

On the third day Brandt got a new teacher because we had to many kids in kindergarten which turned out to be a good thing. Since Brandt had commented about his teacher was she kinda mean and she yelled at us on the first day. We now have Mrs. Gresh and we are liking her. She called me that night of their first day of their new class to see if Brandt was OK. Brandt went up to her about with about 2 hours left of school and let her know that he needed to go home now, he was tired and wanted to go home to sleep. She said that she then decide to have rest time and a few students including Brandt fell a sleep.S o Brandt is loving rest time because he falls a sleep everyday for about 20min then she wakes them up to keep learning. He also seems to be meeting new friends and got a birthday invite from a kid in his new class.

Christian also had "meet your teacher" Friday night and has a couple kids from kindergarten class that are in his 1st grade class. Most exciting thing is that his best friend Kyan is in his class this year. Turns out they even sit right by each other, We both told them they better be good or they won't be sitting by each other for long. Christian was so happy to start school because he thought he new everything and he already had friends. Plus he wanted to wear his new clothes and shoes. He also got a new Star Wars back pack, and we all know how Christian loves Star Wars. So when he got home I asked him how the first day was he said that 1st grade was "easy cheesy". The second day wasn't quite so easy the thought 1st grade was hard he had to write all day long with no center time. He to is also meeting new friends and has a new little girl in his class chasing him around at recces. How cute!

Jared and I drove the kids to school and walked them to their class the first day and I picked them up. Jared gave both of the boys a blessing that morning. I think it helped because Brandt seemed to be feeling a little better before we left. I am so happy to know we have our Father in Heaven watching over us. Well they both made it through their first week of school and is happy to have a three day weekend. Christian actually remembered that from last year because he told Brandt that was the cool thing about the first week you go 5 days and get 3 days off but only the first week.

Christian in his class (kinda blurry)
Brandt in his class
Brandt getting off the bus on his second day. He couldn't wait to ride the bus

Family Vacation

2008-08-17T00:50:00.023-05:00

What a week. We spent some time down in Galveston, TX on the beach for four days, soaking up the sun and relaxing in the warm Gulf Breeze. We went with some friends Brad and Amy and their kids. We had a lot of fun while we were there, we had been to Galveston a few times before, but they were all short day trips to the beach. This time we rented a condo that was right on the beach! (Well across the street from the beach) Still, we had a very nice view out our second story balcony. We all had a lot of fun, we went to Moody Gardens, and went through the rain forest pyramid, the kids thought that was neat. We saw all sorts of exotic animals and plant life, and the nice thing about it, it had Air Conditioning! We ate dinner one night at the Rainforest Cafe, If you have one nearby, I would highly suggest going, it's a lot of fun, and the food is very good. It's decorated inside to be like a rain forest, and it even rains every so often, (You don't get wet, but there are sounds of thunder and lightning and rainfall that make if feel like it rains) They have life size robotic animals, like elephants and gorillas that react when it rains. They also have a little river raft adventure that the whole family can go on, you float on rafts through the jungle, the boys enjoyed that one. And did I mention the food was good? The Coconut Shrimp was delicious. We spent our last day at the Beach, and Jared got a little sun burnt, well let's just say he looked like a tomato by the time we left. I warned him about the sunscreen. One of the funnest activities that we did while we were there was rent a bike car, and ride it up and down the sea wall. The kids had a blast, they all said that was the thing that they liked the most. Jared and I agreed it was pretty fun too, we rode almost 6 miles on that thing. I loved looking at the kids faces as we rode along the sidewalks.

Riding up and down Seawall Blvd

Christian and Parker at the rain forest PyramidParker, Jared and Jen outside the Rainforest Cafe

The outside of the Rainforest Cafe has a large Volcano that erupts every so often, you can sure feel the heat.

This was also Parker's first trip to the beach, he loves the water, but was a little hesitant when he stepped out into the water and once he got that salty taste from the water he didnt like it. But by the time we left he was like a little fish and loved the waves splashing on him and playing in the surf. All in all we had a great time, the boys enjoyed it and Jared and I had a really good time. This will be our last vacation for the year until we leave for Disney World on November 9th.

THE BIG ONE (1)

2008-08-06T19:25:00.012-05:00

I can't believe my baby is one today, we celebrated his birthday at Chuck E. Cheese with his two brothers, cousins, grandma and friends, he loved it! He got to have pizza, pasta and cake, he went on the rides and he laughed and smiled and walked around everywhere. He loved the music and the big Chuck E. Cheese on stage. We would walk over to Chuck E. and stand and watch him dance and sing, it was so cute. His best friend, Macy, who is 6 mo. older then him, but is smaller then him. They play together and see each other all the time. Her older two brothers are the same age as Parker's older brothers so we do get together a lot. Parker really enjoyed his fun day, and the presents that he got from everybody.

I do believe that Parker's favorite part of the whole day was getting to eat the birthday cake with no limitations. I sat the cake in front of him and he dug in with smiles and giggles. He couldn't get enough of the frosting. I have given all three of my boys there own cake when they turned one, Its been fun to see how each one reacts to their cake.

Singing Happy Birthday to Parker

Parker has made a lot of changes since the first day we brought him home from the hospital. Some of Parker's recent milestones are:

1. Playing Peek-a-Boo, he loves to put clothes, blankets or anything else on his head and take them off and laugh.

2. Throwing anything and everything in the garbage. He threw away the boys Leap Frog alphabet refrigerator magnet. I didn't realize it until Tuesday night, and the garbage man came that Tuesday morning, so we ain't getting that back.

3. Walking every where.

4. He has finally got rid of his ear infection that lasted almost 2 months. He had to go and get tubes put in his ears and get his adenoids taken out last week. I was so sad that he had have surgery at a young age. I know it could have be a lot worse.

5. Climbing up and down the stairs.

6. Playing with his toys. He will collects small toys and put them back and forth into containers.

7. He learned how to play catch, he likes to throw the ball back and forth a couple of times then he will get up with it and wants you to chase him. I do love the play time with him.

8. This one is not fun, he's not sleeping at night anymore, he wakes up and wants to be with mom and dad in our bed. When he had his ear infection, he did not feel the best and always wanted to be with mom or dad, now that's it cleared up he still feels the need. Can you say Exhaustion?
9. He hate's wearing shoes, grandma bought him his first pair of walking shoes and he HATES them. We bought him a pair of sandels as well and he pulls them off each time. He prefers to walk around barefoot.

The Magnificent Seven

2008-08-03T19:47:00.007-05:00

Christian turned 7 on July 31st, and he had his birthday at the roller rink. The kids had a lot of fun skating, and I can't believe I have a 7 year-old. We are so proud of you, Christian, and all the accomplishment you've made so far in life. Mom and Dad love you very much.

The Birthday Boy, Olivia and GarrettOur Birthday BoyThe birthday Bash, Christian and all his friends at the roller rink

Wall-E cake

Opening the presents from Grandma Faurschou and Aunt Kellie (Jen threatened me with my life if I took a photo of her since this was really early in the morning, the package came after the kids had gone to bed so, first thing in the morning they had to open it.) So I had to decapitate her.

Splashtown

2008-08-02T17:19:00.000-05:00

We bought season passes this year to Splashtown, which is only a few minutes from our house. The boys have really loved having this as a regular activity throughout the summer.Here's Christian going on "The Toilet" (I'm not sure what the real name of it is, but that's what all the kids call it.) It shoots you out in to this big bowl that you swirl around until you drop out the middle, 8 FT into the pool below. I tried it, and all I can say is, I'm getting too old for this stuff.L-R Tyson, Christian, Brandt and McKenna.
The boys with their cousins from Utah.

Christian after coming off the tube run

Brandt coming off the tube run

Parker enjoying the sun.

Tagged

2008-07-27T16:09:00.005-05:00

So we were tagged by My sister, Kellie. So here it goes....This is for both of us.

Where were you 10 years ago? **

Jared- I was in Kingston, Jamaica, dodging bullets, ill-tempered dogs, and riding my bicycle up insane hills, preaching the Restored Gospel to the wonderful Jamaican people.

Jen- I had just graduated from High School, and was heading to Mazatlan, Mexico for my senior trip with two of my friends. And one friend got stopped by the customs official for tying to smuggle a pipe back home. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

Five things on today's to-do list? **

Jen - Church, Laundry, Spend time with the family, Change Poopy diapers, watch Army Wives

Jared - Sleep, Nap, Snooze, Church, Slumber

A snack I enjoy: **

Jared - Bread Pudding

Jen - A Big Bowl of Blue Bell Ice Cream, once the kids are fast asleep each night. Yes, I'm fat, but Jared's stuck with me for Eternity!

Things I would do if I were a millionaire: **

Jen - Buy myself a big ol' house, with a pool, a nice car and send all my kids to private school. And go shopping, of course.

Jared - I'm not going to be so vain, like Jen is. I would buy a house suitable for our needs, but it would still have a pool. Pay off our debts and buy my wife a brand new Toyota Sienna, fully loaded with the GPS thingy so she doesn't have to call me when she is lost. Then what's left over I would Invest it. Or maybe give it away.

Places I have lived: **

Jared - Utah, Jamaica, and the greatest state in the union, Texas.

Jen - California, Utah, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania. And the best state of all, Texas.

We tag anyone else who has not done this yet.

These are a few of my Favorite Things...

2008-07-12T22:05:00.010-05:00

Rain drops on roses, and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens...

Sorry I couldn't resist. I'm a closet Julie Andrews fan. Anyways, We were sitting around the other day talking about our favorite movie of all time. I had to think for a while, and I finally concluded that my favorite movie of all time would have to be Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I know, I know...I can already see the eyes rolling at me, it's the same look I get from Jen all the time, I'm used to it. I have my nerd armour on and you can't hurt me. I started to think what some of my other favorite things are, and I'm calling Jen out to post hers as well, because I'm sure I might know a few things on her list, but not all. So here is my list of things I like, love, care about, cherish... well you get the idea.

Slapstick Comedies
Cricket (The sport, but the insect is okay in my book too.)
Playing in the rain
A good bowl of homemade soup, no matter what kind it is.
Cooking for my family
Mystery Science Theater 3000
People Watching (I love sitting in crowded places and just watch people. You can see the funniest stuff)
Listening to good music all day
Coming home from a business trip and being tackled by my boys.
Coming home from a business trip and being tackled by my wife. (Boom-chica-wa-wa)
Watching a child learn something new.
Roller coasters (The bigger and faster, the better)
Haunted Houses, Spook Alleys
Alton Brown
Jamaica
The ocean
The mountains
Making home movies, and wedding videos.
Jumping on a Trampoline
Watching a good documentary on the Discovery Channel, Nat Geo, History Channel, etc.
The Food Network
Naps in my hammock on a Sunday afternoon (These are rare, but I do love them when they happen!)
Chinese Food
A blank Canvas
Building with Lego's (I know, there goes those eyes again.)
Shopping for toys
Going for Drives
Fixing things
Ska Music
WWII Movies
Broadway Musicals
A sleeping baby
A sleeping baby in my arms
Sailing
Getting Dressed up
Being silly

Of course this list could go on and on... Jen, you're up.

Happy Birthday America (Belated)

2008-07-07T11:20:00.015-05:00

What a weekend. We spent a lot of time in the pool and with each other. Our neighborhood had a parade in the morning with a fire Engine and a Harris County Constable to lead us down the street to the clubhouse. The kids decorated their bikes and scooters and they all thought that was pretty cool! The Engine blared the siren the whole way. Afterwards they hooked the engine up to a hydrant and sprayed the children, and some adults too.

We've had my neice and nephew from Utah staying with us during the summer and they all had fun getting sprayed by the firehose and running around at the park. This is all the kids, minus Parker, before they turned on the hose.

This is them getting drenched... Doesn't it look fun?!?!?

And this is them after, they were all soaked to the bone, but they had fun. The nice firemen thought it would be funny to turn the hose on the group of parents standing just out of the way of the spray. I have never seen so many middle aged people run so fast. It looked like the start of the Boston Marathon.
We had a BBQ that evening and went into Tomball City to watch the fireworks in the Parking lot. All in all it was a nice relaxing holiday.

Parker's First Steps

2008-06-28T10:53:00.002-05:00

Well let me tell you that 10 month's has been a big one for Parker. He has been a busy little boy, first of all he learned how to stand up for a couple of seconds, then he started to climb up the stairs, he has got 3 teeth in and on June 19 he took his first step! Then he made it to two steps, and twice he has made it to three steps. (What a big boy). I can't believe how fast they grow up. With having two older brothers I think he feels he can do what they can. He crawls right on them when they're wreslting on the floor. He loves playing cars with them and making a mess out of their Legos.

Parker trying to walk

On day I was on the computer in the office and he was playing with the older boys in the living room. I could hear them playing and a couple minutes later I coundn't. So I got up and he was no where to be found. I ran up the stairs and there he was in the boy's room playing with their dinosaurs. When he saw me he just smiled like "Oh no! I just got caught!" He sure is a fast one. My friend Amy thinks we should put him in a crawling contest because he could win he's so fast.

At the begining of the summer Christian had a friend over and I blew up the pool for the boys. Parker saw how much fun they were having and had to play with them. You can see from the pictures that he thinks he is the same age. Boy, does he love his brothers. Parker has no fear of water, he just puts his head right in. I think he missed the memo that you need to know how to swim before you just jump in. Oh well, he'll get there one day.
The Royal Rumble: Christian, Parker and Kyan.

Fun in the Sun

2008-06-26T22:24:00.002-05:00

I saw this on a really funny site, graphjam.com Funny thing is, this is relatively true.

Sick, Sick and Sick

2008-06-23T22:08:00.006-05:00

Well let me tell ya'll that we have been sick around here. At first it was no sleep due to a crying baby for 3 nights straight. So I took Parker to the Dr.'s and he was diagnosed with an Ear Infection in his right ear, he was given some antibiotics and we were sent home. Then Jared started not feeling good, and was really congested. Then I started to not feel well, I had a sinus infection. Jared ended up going to the Dr.'s, and so did Parker again this time it was for his left Ear, it too had an infection. So Parker ended up with double ear infection, a chest cold and to top it all off he was teething with two teeth coming in on top. It was not to much fun for me since I was down with very bad headache, from the sinus infection. Jared ended up with bronchitis and missed 3 days of work and school and didn't move from the bed and slept almost the whole 3 days. Then to top it off Christian's ear started hurting. He had swimmers ear from being in the pool every day. But he wasn't able to stay out of the water until yesterday, so he went a week with ear pain until we got some ear drops from the Dr. His last swim meet was Saturday, and it was the divisionals. He was one of the fastest swimmers for the backstroke in his age group, so he really wanted to be there. He ended up swimming even though his ear was hurting him. He was a trooper and ended up placing in the top four for two of his four events. Lets not forget about Brandt, he has been a trooper as well dealing with his sick family and staying out of the clear of the sick bug. He did however get a little cranky since we all didn't feel up to to doing much last week. So swim team was his only outing last week. So anyways we're all feeling much better now, and the between the prescriptions and Doctor's copays we've spent quite abit of $$ the past few weeks.

Random Pictures

2008-06-13T23:17:00.015-05:00

So I was looking at our multitude of photos on my Camera, as well as Jen's. Seeing as we seem to take a plethora of pixelated pictures, but never seem to clear them off the memory card. So I thought I'd post a few of them and see what ya'll think.

Christian had to be the letter "F" for one of his last days @ school, they sent home a letter with suggestions. So with help from Grand-ma Faurschou we drew all these F things on a shirt. Jen and I joked that it was Christian's "F'in Shirt."

Note to self: Baby's and Markers don't mix. If you think he's bad, you should of seen the carpet. Who's watching these kids?!?! (Good thing it was non-toxic and washable....)

Me and Jen came in to check on our little angel, and, well... He was sleeping just great...

Brandt loves the monkey bars, I told him he needs to try out for American Gladiators.The 4 most important people in my life.

Time Flys By

2008-06-03T15:22:00.009-05:00

Well, Christian has finished his last day of kindergarten on Friday, May 30. I can't believe its been a whole school year, time sure flys by. Sometimes I just look at him and think what happened to my little boy? I was teaching his Primary Class last Sunday and we were doing a hidden picture search and I was amazed at how the whole class helped each other out. I just watched and thought, what a good boy I have, and how grown up he is. I am so proud of all the accomplishments that he has made. I really couldn't ask for a better kid. He's a big help to me and I love spending one on one time with him. I am going to miss my one day a week that I went and helped out in his class, It was fun to see him with his friends. Christian, I love you and am so proud of the big boy you are turning into.

So now that I have all the kids home everyday, all day I can say is SUMMER'S HERE! I have been thinking what in the world am I going to do? As much as I love my children, I love that I get "Me" time when they are at school. Plus it's quiet when Christian and Brandt aren't together. Guess I better enjoy the loud noise while it's there, because next year will be even more quiet with Brandt starting Kindergarten, and Christian being in 1st grade, they'll both be gone all day long. Well, we bought some season passes to the local water park, Splash Town, we all know that my boys love water so that made them very happy. Plus, our niece and nephew are coming to visit for awhile, and we are trying to get a beach house for a week in August with some friends. Swim team will continue though June and I signed the older two up for a reading class that is in June and July. So we will be staying busy alll summer long, because the boys love it when we're on the go.

I wanted to let everyone know how blessed I am to have three handsome boys, and a loving husband that works so hard so that I am able to stay home with my boys. Thank You Jared, for the love you have for me and our kids.

Memorial Day

2008-05-27T11:34:00.009-05:00

I always think of Memorial Day as the un-official start of summer, with Labor Day, being the End. We went to our friends house for a pool party and BBQ. The boys had a blast, Brandt only left the pool to eat and use the bathroom, He loved the diving board, we had to drag him out when we left to go home. Parker enjoyed himself, floating in the kiddie boat, and splashing. Christian loved using his snorkel to explore.

I believe I can Fly... Brandt, has no fear.

The future Jacques Cousteau

It's Perfect Cruisin' Weather.

Things that make you go "Hmmmm."

When we got home, I snapped this pic of Parker sleeping in his car seat. He looked like he was in deep thought, contemplating the perplexities of the universe.

Swim Meet Video's

2008-05-25T15:28:00.008-05:00

Our Team Logo: The Canyon Gate Shockwaves

Brandt's 25 Yard Freestyle

Christian's 25 Yard Freestyle

Brandt's 25 YD backstroke, he's in Lane #2

Christian's 25 YD backstroke, he's in Lane #3

Mr. Mom

2008-05-25T13:10:00.001-05:00

Jen left me all alone for four days, while she went to Colorado to see her youngest brother graduate from High School. I admit, I was a bit nervous, me, alone with the three boys for four days. But I have made it, She comes home tonight and have actually enjoyed it. I took the time off of work, and let's just say that my stress level is relatively low, I turned off my cell phone, and haven't even bothered to check my company e-mail since last Friday. It's been great! I can tell the boys miss Jen, especially our little mommas boy, Parker. He crawled up to me earlier today and I picked him up, he laid his head on my shoulder like he was tired, and I said, "You miss your mommy, don't you, Parker?" as soon as the word "Mommy" left my mouth, his head shot up and looked at me and started looking around the room for Jen. The boys have all had fun hanging with their old man. I took them all out to dinner last night and we all got milkshakes, (except Parker). I told them if they swam really well at the swim meet they'd get Ice Cream. I'm a man of my word. I'm in the process of uploading video of their swim meet, which I'll post later. Both of them improved on their time in both events from last week. Christian's Relay team took 1st again this week, Christian placed 2nd in Freestyle and 1st in Backstroke, Brandt improved a lot this week, He shaved nearly 20 seconds off his freestyle, and another 10 off his backstroke. We're very proud of our "little swimmers".

No, seriously, It's hot.

2008-05-22T21:57:00.004-05:00

I remember the first summer we lived in Texas, I just thought it was hell-fire hot because we weren't acclimated yet. But it seems every year the heat comes around faster and stays longer. It sure came quickly this year. We've been having perfect weather for the past few months, in the low 70's, and the humidity was just perfect, in fact, it would get a bit chilly at night, so we'd turn the A/C off and crack the windows. But now, for the past week it's been very hot, with the humidity in the +90% range every day, and temp's in the low to mid 90's. It's not the heat, but the humidity! Needless to say it's hot.

Today was Brandt's last day of preschool. I can't believe he starts Kindergarten next year. I'm too young for this. Jen made little "graduation" caps for his class this year and they presented them to the class today.

Pomp and Circumstance
The Train Class 2008 Mrs. Strain and Miss Juliet

The Class of 2021, of course, my son is the one pulling the faces on every picture I took.

Feeling Hot, Hot, HOT!!!

2008-05-20T16:22:00.005-05:00

Ok, summer has arrived. G-ma and G-pa Faurschou came to visit this weekend, and the weather was just perfect. As soon as they left, the heatwave came. We went to Hermann Park and let the boys play in the Splash Pad, and we gave Parker a Faux-Hawk, after he played in the water. He had his first taste of a Snow-cone, as well. He really enjoyed it.

Parker, Pre-Fauxhawk

Parker, Post-Fauxhawk

G-ma and G-pa Faurschou and the boys.

Swim Team

2008-05-17T17:00:00.003-05:00

Here's Brandt doing his 25 YD Freestyle, we still need to work on his diving. Christian is sitting crossedlegged in the lane next to him, he was in the next heat.

We had our first official meet today, against the team we were on last year, Colony Creek Mariners. We are so proud of our boys, they both swam very well. Christian's relay team took first place for their age group, Brandt's took 3rd (There were only 3 teams to begin with, so everyone was walking away with a ribbon.) Christian took 3rd place overall for his freestyle, and 1st for his backstroke. G-ma and G-pa Faurschou were lucky enough to be with us today to see them swim.

Christian and friends filling time between events.

Christian doing his Backstroke, he swam a 29.58 overall, he came in 1st place for his age group.

Long Days

2008-05-14T21:52:00.012-05:00

Let me just tell you it's been a long couple of days. The boy's summer swim team started the end of April and that's almost every night but Sundays and Mondays, along with that I'm in charge of getting all the drinks donated for the team for our meets on Saturdays. Also, I volunteer for Christian's and Brandt's school and with the end of the year coming around the corner, there is alot of activites going on. My new church calling has also been keeping me busy, I was recently called as the Compassionate Serivce Leader in our Ward, and that has kept me on my toes! And to top it all off we've had sick kids for the past two weeks, with fever's of 102! So can we say it's just been a little crazy? Most of you may not know that Jared is gone from 8:30AM until 11:00PM, so I do alot of things solo around here. Well, good thing I am very blessed to stay home with my children and have the opportunity to get involed in a lot things. It's better than working! (well most of the time)

Brandt's first swim meet, Christian was @ home sick, so he missed the first swim meet of the year. Brandt said it was his best day ever, he loved the swim meets, but not getting up so early. (6:30AM)

I don't know what to say...

2008-05-09T22:57:00.002-05:00

You might want to stop the music, and Turn up the speakers for this one.

The Great Outdoors...

2008-05-06T11:18:00.015-05:00

Parker Enjoying the Sun

We were invited to go camping with our friends this past weekend, though we weren't able to spend the night, we spent saturday with them. We went to Somerville Lake, which is about an hour and half north of Houston. The Boys had fun Swimming and Hiking.

Brandt out on the lake.
Christian's First attempt @ Smores
Jen and Parker,
Somerville Lake, Somerville, TX 2008

At night we made Smores, and the boys loved 'em. They were saddened when we had to leave, and Christian began to cry because he said "we're never going to go camping again." Though Jen and I both decided that we're going to buy a pop-up trailer because we had so much fun.

Stop Screaming

2008-04-21T11:38:00.002-05:00

If you're a teacher, strop screaming at your students, you're ruining my day @ work.

New Digs

2008-04-17T00:06:00.001-05:00

I decided to move. I'm wanting a little more freedom then what Microsoft had to offer.