Birthday Wishes

This past Friday was Cohen's 11-month-old birthday (if you can even consider that a birthday). I can't believe this kid is going to be one-year-old next month! This has been a fun month for Cohen. He now has his 2 bottom teeth & just the other day, he started to army crawl! He is now all over the place! Here's some pics of my little man from the past month...

Cohen & Nana...


Cohen's first airplane ride...


A big fan of swimming...


Tired, but still happy, boy at California Adventure...


Splashing in the pool with his best buddy, Poppy...


I love his eyes...


Cohen loves the grass, but doesn't like how it feels on his bare feet, so he does these crazy yoga poses in order to keep his feet off the ground...

His brothers are crazy about him...

And he's pretty crazy about them too...

I love my little Cocoa Bean!

Friday was also my mom's birthday. We had a birthday party for her at our house this past Sunday. We had a steak & salmon b-b-q for dinner & then went across the street to the park to play some Bocce Ball...

And, Cohen discovered that grass doesn't taste very good...

Then it was back to our house for presents...

And cake...

It was a fun night! Happy birthday Nana! Thanks for being such a great mom & Nana to us! We love you! --Lindsay

Catch Up Post

I haven't had ANY time to blog over the past few weeks! Even now, I only have a few minutes, so this will be a quick recap of a couple fun things we've been up to lately...

A few weekends ago, we headed to Orem for the annual Summerfest. We had a blast at the parade. Nana brought all sorts of yummy treats to eat, in addition to all the candy that was thrown by the floats. Cohen's favorite was the licorice again. Too cute...


Waiting for the parade to begin...


Paying respect to Old Glory. I thought this picture was cute because it looks like Cohen is trying to put his hand on his heart too...

It was a fun night! The thunderstorms held off until the very end of the parade. We walked back to my parents' house right after it ended & we started getting rained on just as we got to their house. Does timing get any better than that?

This past Sunday was Father's Day, of course. I have had to work on Father's Day for the past 5 years, but this year I was off (a benefit to my show being cancelled, I guess). I got up early and made breakfast for my little army of men. If you know me at all, you know this was a HUGE stretch for me! I have lots of things I am good at, but cooking isn't one of them. I decided just to do a simple breakfast, so I couldn't screw it up too bad. I made pancakes, eggs & cranberry muffins. Yes, I know...totally lame breakfast, but hey, I tried! :)

And, yes, I realize most my children are partially naked. Our rule on Sundays is that my boys can't put their shirts on until 10 minutes before we leave for church. We have had WAY too many last minute shirt changes...hence the nakedness.

And, here's my little Coconut enjoying a pancake. He ended up eating the whole thing & wanted more!

That night, we headed up to my sister's house for dinner with my parents. The kids had a blast playing in the backyard & going on walks around the neighborhood with Poppy. We ate Mexican Haystacks for dinner (yummy!) because that's what my dad chose. Then, pie, ice cream & chocolate-dipped strawberries for dessert. It was a fun night!

Okay, so now you're caught up on what's been happening with the Storrs' Family lately. Now back to my totally chaotic life! --Lindsay

Our Tribute to Our Dads

Lindsay's Dad

Dear Dad,

Just wanted to take a minute to tell you how grateful I am that you are my dad! You are a great dad & pretty cool too! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all that you have done for me!

Thank you, first of all, for indoctrinating me about classic rock from the time I was a baby. I can still sing the lyrics to most Beatles, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, & Led Zepplin songs because of you.

Thank you for doing those taped interviews with me when I was a toddler. They are hilarious to listen to!

Thank you for staying up late & listening to the radio, so that you could record "Jump" by Van Halen & "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield for me.

Thanks for teaching me the importance of keeping up with technology...including forcing me to buy "those stupid CD things" when I still wanted to buy cassette tapes. Whitney Houston really DID sound much better in digital!

Thank you for making Ashlee & I "Gem Guitars" so we could "rock out."

Thanks for always taking us on bike rides, even though we rode a lot slower than you wanted to go.

Thank you for always being a good example to me of scripture reading. I remember always seeing you sit in your brown recliner reading & marking them.

Thanks for all your fabulous "girl dances" in the car when we would listen to my "crappy girl music."

Thanks for being "cool" enough to make it into the Canyon View Jr. High School yearbook.

Thank you for all those times you embarrassed me growing up...yes, even the time when you found out I liked a boy, drove up in front of his house, started honking the horn & yelling, "Hey! Lindsay's right here! She likes you & thinks you're pretty cute!" I hated you at the time for it, but now I think it's pretty funny!

Thanks for freaking all my dates out when they came to the door by telling them that they would have to have a PPI with you before they could take me out, then laughing when you saw the look of terror on their faces.

Thanks for not killing me when I went to Las Vegas with a bunch of guys and no parental supervision for UEA.

Thanks for making me "stay vertical!"

Thanks for teaching me the importance of a beautiful yard & that a good bike is a thing of beauty (that you apparently can spend $7000 on without consulting your spouse first).

Thanks for encouraging me to marry Mike. BEST.ADVICE.EVER!!!

Thanks for helping me drive a moving van to Louisiana. I can't drive through Tucumcari, NM without thinking of you! :)

Thanks for teaching me that you really can do anything if you set your mind to it, even riding in a 207 mile bike race every year when you're in your 50s!

Thanks for being a great "Poppy" to my kids. I think they love you more than they love me!

Dad, you are such a great Dad & Poppy! I love you!

Love,

Lindsay

Mike's Dad

Happy Father's Day!!!

Thanks for being the greatest dad ever! I am so grateful for everything you have done. I can't imagine what I would be, or even how I would be, without you. Everything I love I learned from you.

You taught me to be kind and how to serve. In my life, I have never met anyone that has your patience and ability to love.

You taught me to work hard and to learn "by doing." I love to work with my hands because you showed me how. You always included me in you projects, and spent the extra time to teach me and allowed me to make mistakes so I could learn. I love cars, but that love started because I loved the time we spent working on them!

You taught me to serve others and showed me the joy that it brings. (I would have never thought that rubbing an old lady's feet with lotion could have ever brought any joy!) Thanks for teaching me to be humble.

You taught me the gospel by living it, and helped me to know my Savior by being like him. My testimony was built around the many experiences we had in service and the many, many late nights we spent talking.

You are honestly more amazing then I have words to say, but anyone that has ever even just met you knows what I can't put to words.

I love you dad! Thanks for everything!

Mike

Happy Father's Day Mike!

Mike is such a great husband and daddy! To let you know how great he is, I thought I would take the letters of his name to show you what an awesome guy he is! For those of you who don't know, Mike's real first name is John. Just didn't want you to get confused and think I was writing about some other guy. THAT would be awkward! :)

J-Jack of all trades. Mike can do it all! If an appliance is broken, most likely he can fix it. If a car is making a weird noise, most likely he can tell you what is wrong with it & then fix it. And, just recently, he's taken up new trades...furniture restoration, tile work, electric work, HVAC, cabinetry work, etc. Basically, he knows how to do almost everything...and if he doesn't know how to do something, he wants to learn how to do it.

O- Optimistic all the time. Mike is rarely negative about any situation he encounters. He's always "looking at the bright side of things". Seriously, the guy could get cancer & he would find the silver lining in it! This is wonderful most the time, but sometimes it can get on my nerves. When I'm upset about something, and having a pity party with myself, I don't want to be told how GREAT the situation is! Just let me be pessimistic already! :)

H- Hot, hot, hot! The guy is good looking (anyone can see that), but LITERALLY he is hot. He produces so much HEAT! This is great for cuddling in the winter, not so great in the summer.

N- Nice butt! Yes, I've said it before, but Mike has the nicest glutes around!

M- MacGyver! Seriously, give this boy some duct tape, a paper clip & a safety pin and he can fix anything!

I- Incredibly intelligent! Mike is one of the smartest people I have ever met in my entire life! The guy can breeze through calculus problems like nobody's business. And, he whizzed through his MBA program too!

C- Cool, calm & collected. Mike rarely gets mad! He can handle just about anything...and with a big smile on his face too! He is much more patient with the kids than I am...and he's extremely patient with me too!

H-Happy all the time. The boy always has a smile on his face!

A- Assistant Enrichment Leader. Mike is always so willing to help me with my calling, in addition to doing his 3 callings. He's always the first to volunteer to help print posters, deliver invitations (something I hate), help set up the church or volunteer to work in the nursery.

E- Excellent Engineer. He's worked on everything from missile defence systems for humvees in Iraq, to the rockets that shoot missiles off of nuclear submarines, to whatever classified spy equipment he works on now that he can't say anything about.

L- Leader. Mike is a natural leader...both at home & at work! But, he doesn't ever demand that people follow him, he just leads by example & attitude and people just naturally want to follow him.

S- Sleep deprived. Mike is so great at getting up with the kids at night when they need something. It's not rare for me to wake up in the morning & say how happy I am that everyone slept through the night, only to have him say something like, "Well...actually...Cohen woke up at 1:00 am & was awake for about an hour, then Connor needed a drink at about 2:30 and had a hard time going back to sleep, and...oh yeah...Aiden has been throwing up since 4:00 am." And, he's smiling about it as he says it! He's amazing!

T- "Totally Awesome!" This was Aiden's one he came up with. I love that my 3-year-old says the words "totally awesome!"

O- Open-minded. Mike is accepting of everyone he comes into contact with, regardless of race, religion, social class, economic situation, etc. It's not uncommon for him to strike up some sort of conversation with some random person on the street & have them be friends for life after just a few minutes!

R- Restoring vintage cars. Mike's greatest love (besides me of course) is restoring old cars. He would have 4 of them sitting outside of our house if I would let him! But, since he's married to me, and and I'm slightly opposed to looking like COMPLETE white trash (partial white trash is okay), he only has 1 right now.

R- (He) rocks! This was Connor's word to describe Mike. Another "R" word Connor thought of was "He rides on bike rides with me."

S- Super cool all-around husband & daddy!!!

WE LOVE YOU MIKE! THANKS FOR BEING YOU! --Lindsay, Connor, Aiden & Cohen

Chicken Soup for the Soul

We had our 2nd quarter enrichment this past week. The theme was "Chicken Soup for the Soul". It was a night that was centered around de-stressing our lives. There's no pictures because...I forgot. What's new, right?

We started out the evening with...whatelse...chicken soup! We had a huge variety of chicken soups to choose from (and some non-chicken ones too...in case someone wasn't a chicken fan).

After dinner, we had 3 mini classes. One was on "De-stressing Your Finances" (a debt & budgeting class taught by Alisa Ottesen); another was on "De-stressing Your Body" (a health & nutrition class taught by the physical therapist that Alicia works for); & another on "De-stressing Your Marriage" (an effective communication course taught by Aimee Francom).

After the classes, we all got back together in the gym to eat dessert. While we were eating, Audra Armstrong gave us some self-massage & stretching techniques that help relieve tension headaches & back pain. And, at the end of the night, we had a presidency message about the importance of simplifying our lives & taking our burdens to the Lord.

Then, we sent each of the girls home with a "De-stressing Kit." Each kit was a little bag that included scented bath salts, a tea light, a CD of instumental church hyms & (of course) some chocolate!

It was a good night. Very simple...but good. --Lindsay

How Do You Judge Beauty?

Yes, I know it's late, but I'm still trying to get caught up on posts. And, since the hub is making all sorts of ruckus downstairs working on the basement, I am still awake. So, I decided I would write a quick post.

This past Saturday, I was a judge for the Miss Lehi Pageant. A good friend of mine, Tracy, is one of the co-directors of the pageant this year. She passed my name along to the judges coordinator & voila!, I was all the sudden judging something that I knew absolutely NOTHING about. The closest I've ever been to a pageant was when my sister was an attendant to Miss Orem (and I couldn't even go to the pageant because I was living thousands of miles away in Louisiana). Yep, that's my extent of experience in the beauty pageant world! I have no clue why Tracy picked me! But, despite my lack of knowledge on the subject, it was actually a very fun experience! Each of the girls were so beautiful & so talented...each in their own way. Sounds cheesy, but it's true & there's no other way to say it that doesn't sound like a Hallmark card! Sorry...

We started out the afternoon with the personal interviews. Each girl was given 10 minutes to answer questions from the panel of judges. They were asked everything from questions on their specific platforms to current events to personal questions about themselves & their goals. Talk about nerve racking...and I wasn't even a contestant!

After the interviews, all the judges went out to dinner at Harvest Restaurant at Thanksgiving Point. Yummy! Then, it was on to the pageant. Here's the panel of judges (pictured below). I wish I could remember their names, but I am drawing a serious blank right now. Both the other girls were former beauty queens. The one on the far right was a former Miss Utah & top 20 finalist on the show "So You Think You Can Dance?". The other girl (to the right of me) was a former Miss Provo and is now a concert pianist. The man on the far left was the former director of the Utah High School Athletic Association. And, the guy standing next to me...well, to be honest, I can't remember what that guy does (sorry, it's late & the brain has turned off for the evening. See, this is what I get for writing a post at 11:30 at night).


The pageant was awesome! The emcee was hilarious, the outgoing Miss Lehi was cute as could be & a very talented singer (seriously, watch for her in the Miss Utah Pageant in a few weeks. I would not be surprised if she won), and the contestants did great! In the end, a girl named Kenzie Norris won the title. She is an awesome dancer, great public speaker & beautiful to boot! Right after the results were announced, we (the judges) were whisked out of the building very quickly so as to shield us from family members who thought their daughter, sister, granddaughter, etc. should have won. How funny is that! People crack me up!

My mom & sister came to watch the pageant, so here's a picture of us afterwards. Thanks for coming girls it was fun to have you there!


Overall, it was such a fun event, but boy was it hard to judge those girls & pick a winner! All of them were so stinkin' cute! But, I'm happy that I got to be a part of it!

Okay, one post down, several more to go. But, for now...husband or no husband...I'm going to bed! Goodnight! --Lindsay

Disneyland '09

Our family took a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth last week. Nana & Poppy (my Mom and Dad) came with us to double the fun. Here's a rundown of the week in pictures (lots of pictures)...

Day 1:

We began the trip with our flight into Long Beach. It was $100 cheaper to fly into Long Beach than into Orange County (hence our choice in airports). Heck, I'll drive the extra 15 miles to save $100 a ticket! Here's some pics from the flight...

It was Cohen's first flight & he did great! He didn't make a peep the entire time...

First thing we did when we touched down was to stop at an In-and-Out Burger (just for my gal pals, Amy & Abby, who requested that I eat there for them)...

After lunch, we checked into our favorite little hotel on the planet (Candy Cane Inn...TOTALLY recommend it...right next door to Disney and well priced too) & then headed straight over to Disneyland to start on a few rides. It was obviously a great week to go to Disney...the weather was cloudy & cool everyday, which must have kept a lot of people away. The longest we waited in line for anything was about 45 minutes (that was the new Nemo ride). For everything else, the wait was usually only 5 - 15 minutes. It was awesome! Here we are just inside the entrance of the park...

Me, Nana & Cohen going into the Buzz Lightyear ride. Cohen didn't know what to think of it...

Mike & Aiden waiting in the 45 minute line for the Nemo ride. I'm not sure if it was worth it or not...

By the end of the evening, we had gone on lots of rides. I think we really wore the kids out, wouldn't you say?

Day 2:

Time for more Disney fun. Here we are waiting in line for the Matterhorn...

And, we tried to pull the sword out of the stone, but were unsuccessful...

We took a ride on King Arthur's Carousel...

Cohen was a big fan...

And then Connor went on the Indiana Jones ride with Mike & Poppy. I think all the creepy stuff that you walk by while you're waiting in line freaked him out, as you can see by his face in this picture...

We all went on the Jungle Cruise, which is a family favorite...

And then it was on to Splash Mountain. Here's my mom, me & Aiden on it. We're in the back. Aiden is sitting right next to me, but you can't see him because he's too short...

In fact, TECHNICALLY, Aiden was too short to go on Splash Mountain...along with all the other "fun rides". You TECHNICALLY have to be 40" to go on them. But when you are 39" (even with your big-soled shoes on) & you have an engineer as a dad that can make you some "special socks", then you can breeze on all of them! Shhhh! Don't tell our little secret!

After lunch, the sun decided to come out for a little bit. So, we decided to head back to the hotel & do some swimming. Cohen had a blast, even though he looks freaked out in this picture...

And, the big boys had fun bopping back and forth between the big pool, the hot tub & the kids pool. Here they are hanging out in the kids' pool...

Then that evening, we headed back over to Disney for some more rides. We ran into some really scary aliens while we were there...

And, once again, we wore the kids out...

Day 3:

On our third day there, the kids started out the morning with a little swimming, while the adults ate breakfast by the pool. It was pretty cool outside, but the pool water was really warm, so the kids had a blast...

Afterwards, we loaded onto the hotel's shuttle & headed back over to Disney...

We decided to head into California Adventure for this day. We met lots of friends while we were there. First, we ran into Pluto...


Next, it was Mr. Incredible...

And then Handy Manny...

Then we decided to go on Tower of Terror. Connor went on it last year at Disneyworld, and hasn't fully recovered yet. So, he chose to stay on the ground & watch. His little bro went though, thanks to his "special socks". Here's Poppy, Aiden, me, & Mike on the ride. We're in the back on the left side. Again, you can't really see Aiden...too short. Love those "special socks"...

Unfortunately, I think we've now scarred Aiden for life too. When we got off the ride, he announced that it was "totally awesome", but when he was asked if he wanted to go again, he firmly replied "NO". I still think it's cool that he tried it though...

Afterwards, we headed over to "A Bug's Land" to go on some of the kiddie rides. And, while we were there, we found someone who reminded us of someone in our family. Hmmmm...

Here we are on the "Chew Chew Train"...

And then, we ran into Aiden's two best friends in the whole world. Lightning McQueen...

And Mater...

Then we went on the river rapids ride. Here's Poppy, Connor & Mike...

And then Mike, Connor & I went on it...with a little protection for me. What?!? The hair was in jeopardy!!! I will do anything to protect it, including buying a $6.50 poncho...

As always, we wore the kids out again! This time, by 5:00 pm. Are you sensing a trend here?

We decided that, despite the fact that we had a sleeping child, we would hang out and wait for the Pixar Play Parade...

It was well worth it! Quite the little production! Disney can put on a good show, that's for sure...

Aiden woke up halfway through the parade, so we decided to go on more rides afterwards. The adults took turns going on the California Screamer & the kids had fun going on King Tritan's Undersea Carousel...

And, I know I talked about it last year, but I have to once again give Disney props for the Toy Story ride. So well done & so fun too! Love it! And, totally worth the 30 minute wait! Oh, by the way, I should mention that Aiden was famous this trip for needing to go to the bathroom right as we got to the front of a line! Seriously, it happened at least 63 times over the course of the week. Luckily, Disney is very understanding about this & will let your party wait off to the side while your child & an adult go to the bathroom. Then, when they return, your party is the first to get on the ride. Thanks for being so kid-friendly Disney!

Day 4:

It was back to the Magic Kingdom for this day in order to try to get Connor into Jedi Training. Last year, we had to go to the show 4 times at Disneyworld before Connor was picked. This time, he was picked on his first try. Maybe his Star Wars shirt helped him. Here he is fighting the evil Darth Vader...

And, here are all the graduates waiting to get their diplomas...

After Jedi Training, we ran into the Mad Hatter, who had the biggest nose I've ever seen...

And then headed over to Small World...

In Toon Town, we went into Mickey's house and, to our surprise, found Mickey himself...

As we were leaving, Aiden felt the need to give Mickey a kiss. Unfortunately, Aiden's lips only come up to about Mickey's crotch. Sorry Mickey.

After some time in Toon Town, we headed back into Fantasy Land & took a ride on the Teacups...

And, once again, wore our kids out. This picture cracks me up! Look how he's sleeping! Hilarious!!!

Day 5:

On Day 5, we drove down the coast about an hour to Carlsbad to go to the beach. When we were in California a few years ago, we stayed in a condo down there that belongs to one of my parents' co-workers & we just fell in love with the area. The beaches there are 164% better than the ones in Orange County & not nearly as crowded either. The boys had a blast...

Aiden was only 9-months-old the last time he was at a beach, so he had fun rediscovering sand...

The boys (Poppy & Mike included) built a sand castle, complete with protective dikes & moats, & reinforced with seaweed too (another Mike invention)...

Then the boys ventured out into the waves. It surprised me how brave both Connor & Aiden were! They both went pretty far out into the ocean & had a blast. Oh, by the way, you can see the sand castle in this picture too...

This was Cohen's first time at a beach, & he had a blast playing in the sand...

And eating it too. Yummy!!!

Then the boys took turns getting buried in the sand...

It was such a fun day! We even saw some dolphins too! I tried to get a picture, but you couldn't see them very good. Eventually, some thunderstorms rolled in, so we had to leave, but it was a great day! There was one casualty of the day though. When we first got to the beach, Mike started putting sunscreen on himself. He asked me if I would put sunscreen on the top of his back. He specifically asked for the TOP of his back, not the bottom. So, I put sunscreen on the TOP of his back. The result later that night was priceless. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Sorry Mike...

Day 6:

This was our last day at Disneyland. We just tried to do the few things we hadn't done yet & we re-did some of our favorities. Here are the boys on the Dumbo ride...

We ran into Peter Pan & Wendy. Wendy is looking very pregnant (bad costume design) & Peter Pan is apparently VERY gay (but, what can you expect from a grown man in tights?)...

We then decided to head over to Tom Sawyer Island so the boys could run around & explore a little bit. They've actually turned it into more of a Pirate Island lately. Here's the boys pulling a treasure chest (and accompaning skeleton) out of a shipwreck...

Coconut found some treasure of his own...

And Connor decided to do this fancy little pose on his treasure. Interesting. Maybe we spent a little too much time with Peter Pan...

We decided that we should probably get a family picture in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle. Cohen was sleeping though, so it's only a partial family picture...

We bought the boys some mouse ears. Connor's are pirate ears, Aiden's are Toy Story ears, & Cohen's are the classic ears...

We took a ride on the monorail over to Downtown Disney so the kids could play in the Lego Store. Here they are with Lego Darth Vader...

That night, we went on a few more rides in California Adventure & then headed back over to Magic Kingdom for a few last rides. We ended with Small World. Why do I love that ride so much?

Day 7:

This was our last day in California. We apparently were sick of taking pictures because we didn't take any all day long. We let the kids swim again that morning & then we drove down to Newport Beach to go shopping at Fashion Island (the greatest mall in the history of the world). After shopping for a few hours, it was time to head to the airport for our flight home.

It was such a fun vacation! Thanks to Nana & Poppy for coming with us! You guys are awesome! We all had a great time & decided that Disneyland really is the Happiest Place on Earth! --Lindsay