Easter 2005

It's been a nice break this past long weekend. I finished school on thursday at 1:00pm and didn't have to go back until 2:00pm today. It was great. Most of the weekend was spent relaxing, hanging out with family, and eating fantastic amounts of turkey dinner. In my book of meals there is none ranked higher than the turkey dinner.

We had the Olsen family dinner on Saturday at the Masons house and the Bourne family dinner on Sunday at my parents house. Both were great. It's getting to be quite an ordeal to feed our growing families but the people who prepare the meals always come through.

The rest of the weekend was pretty fun-filled as well. Thursday night Tammy went out to dinner at Tony Roma's with the girls in my family while I went out to do some home teaching. I spent Friday morning helping Iain pick up some office furniture from Simo and then we all went to Airdrie to go see that Robots movie with the kids. Kimberly and Kelly came too. That night we hung out at the Masons house and played Scene-it and Cranium along with Philip Rowling and his girlfriend. Philip is one of Tammy and Iain's co-workers at Simo who is leaving to go back to England soon. Saturday I had a primary party in the morning and then we had the Olsen family Easter dinner that afternoon. That night we went over to my Uncle Grahams house to watch The Return of the King extended edition on the big screen. My brother Trevor hadn't seen it yet so he wanted to make a night of it. You really have to make a night of it because the movie is over 4 hours long. My cousins Joe, Steve, and Chris were there too. We ordered pizza but Tammy and I were still pretty stuffed from the turkey dinner we ate earlier. Sunday we had church and then the Bourne family Easter dinner. We ended up staying at my parents house pretty late, as we always do, but Tammy falls asleep on their couch every time we're there anyways so it's no big deal. Tammy was back to work on Monday and I spent the better part of the day doing all the homework I had avoided doing earlier in the weekend.

Life seems so busy these days. Even our holiday weekend seemed jam packed now that I've written it all out. I'm sure once the baby arrives it will all slow down....

Belly-up

Heather and Tammy took the time this weekend to compare their respective girth. Heather is due April 28th and Tammy isn't due untill June 10th, but I think Tammy might be the one winning the circumferance trophy.

Soon after Heather and Tyler's baby is born they are heading down to San Diego with my brother Trevor to work for the summer. I hope everything goes well for them down there with having a newborn and all. I think it will be hardest on the grandparents, not seeing the baby for the first few months of its life, but I'm sure it will go by quickly. It just means more attention for our little one. Tammy and I are not too particular about whether or not we have a boy or a girl, but we think it will be awesome if both Heather and Tyler's baby and our baby are the same gender, since they'll be so close in age. I'm sure they'll get along great either way though.

New Calling

This past Sunday I was released as a primary teacher in our ward. I believe I have been in the primary since we moved into the ward 2 years ago. I was first teaching the 11 and 12 year old class and then I was teaching the 9 and 10 year old class. I really enjoyed my time there and I'm going to miss the primary and the kids that I've built friendships with.

My new calling is as the Gospel Doctrine teacher. I'm excited about it but also a bit nervous. I think I can count on my hand the number of times I've been able to go to a Gospel Doctrine class let alone teach it. I'm sure it will be a great experience for me, and it will give me a chance to really get back to thorough study of the gospel. I've been reading the Doctrine and Covenants again this year but I've never read it along with any other resource materials like the Gospel Doctrine manual or the Institute manual, so I'm sure to get even more out of it this time.

Arlen's Birthday

Just over a week ago, on March 19th, was my brother's 26th birthday. He had a lot of plans for the day, but I managed to get a hold of him at 11:30 at night to wish him a "Happy Birthday" and to find out how his day went. I really enjoy talking to him, and even more so - seeing him - because it seems like the older we both get the less we see each other. Hopefully that will change someday soon. We didn't end up doing something specifically for his birthday, but at least our whole family was able to attend an Easter dinner at Kristie's house the weekend after his birthday. It was a lot of fun! It's amazing how fast time flies sometimes. It seems like only a few years ago that we were playing baseball together in our parents' back yard, or playing card games with our younger sister Amanda and always kicking her butt because she was so young. Good times...good times. He turned out pretty good considering the 6 to 1 ratio of girls to boys in our family. Happy Birthday Arlen!

3 to 30

This past Thursday, March 10th, was my 27th birthday. It seems so weird to say that. I'm not going to go as far as to say that 27 is old, but it just feels a bit odd to be in my late twenties already.

I spent most of the day on Thursday in school and then at home working on a couple of assignments. There wasn't much time to celebrate; however, some friends from school took me out for some food, folks, and fun after class. We went to Classic Jacks down on 17th Avenue. Although we couldn't stay long (because we all had a lot of work to do on some projects due the next day) we had a good time, and I'm glad that they wanted to do that for me.

Last night, after I got home from school and Tammy got home from work, we got a call from Heather and Tyler and we all decided to go out for dinner. It was getting later in the evening by the time everyone was ready to go, so we decided that Swiss Chalet would probably be the quietest and easiest place for family and pregnant people to eat on a friday night. I enjoyed my half chicken meal with mashed potatoes, but I think there were a couple people who ended up not being satisfied with their food. Most of my family was there: Mom and Dad, Heather and Tyler, Trevor and Stephanie (his girlfriend), and Sam. Tammy's sister Kelly was over at our house when we made the plans so she decided to come too. Afterwards we went back to my parents place and hung out there untill it was time to go home. It was low key but a fun night with a lot of laughs.

All in all, I'd say it was a great way to celebrate the 27th anniversary of the end of the dark times.

Belly +

Tammy had one of her doctors appointments today where they measure her tummy to see how things are "sizing up". She measured in at a healthy size for 31 weeks. The thing is, she is only 26 weeks along! The doctor reassured her that it's not because the baby is big, but that there is just a lot of amniotic fluid. When she told me tonight, I had to snap a picture and post it up. I think she looks great, and most importantly, she feels great. She feels lucky that she hasn't really put on any weight anywhere but the tummy region, and so far, no stretch marks. The baby has been kicking a lot lately too, probably because it has all that room to swim around. I'm getting more and more excited about the arrival and I love Tammy for being so amazing during this whole process. She is going to make an excellent mother.

Sam's B-day

Yesterday, the 28th of February, was my youngest sister Samantha's 15th birthday. We had a pretty casual family dinner over at my parents but not a real "party" by any teenagers standards. Sam is quite a few years younger than the rest of us so I don't think she would want to boogey with a bunch of tired adults anyways. She had a real party with all her friends on Saturday night and then they all went to the youth dance afterwards. I remember the early teenage years being the beginning of some pretty fun times, and I hope Sam has the best of times this year. Happy Birthday Sam!