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Lee Crookston

Hubby Tag:

1. Where did you meet? We knew of each other in junior high. I dated his best friend first, so we met in the hall by Jeff's locker. Lee was my first date after I turned sixteen, but it didn't go so well. We didn't really start dating until a year and a half later.

2. How long did you date before you were married? We dated our senior year of high school. Then he went on a mission and I attended Weber State. Three weeks after he got home from Mexico we got engaged (November 11, 1998-ten years ago today). We were married four months later.
3. How long have you been married? Over nine and a half years.
4. What is one thing he does that surprises you? He is pretty predictable. Even when he makes dinner or changes diapers, I'm not surprised.

5. What is your favorite feature about him? There are lots. I like that he learned how to wink for me.

6. What is your favorite quality about him? Again lots. I like that he takes care of me (better than I do). If my back aches, he will draw a me bath. If I have a headache, he will get me a drink of water...etc. I also like his sense of humor, he knows when I need a laugh.
7. Does he have a nickname for you? Hun or Sweetheart

8. What is his favorite color? Blue

9. What is his favorite food? He said pizza, but I don't think so. He likes apple pie with vanilla ice cream. If he can't figure it out, I guess it is OK that I don't know. He will eat anything.

10. What is his favorite sport? Does mountain biking count as a sport?

11. Who said "I love you" first? We don't remember.

12. Where was your first kiss? On my front porch.

13. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Ice cream dates after the kids are in bed.

14. Do you have any kids? Four. Tyler is 7, Andrew is 3, Emma is 2, and Laura is 4 weeks.

15. What is his hidden talent? He makes a mean German Pancake. I don't know how hidden that is, raise your hand if you have eaten Lee's German pancakes before. The kids won't let me make it anymore, they want dad to.
16. How old is he? 31

17. What do I admire most about him? That he loves his family.
18. What is his favorite past time? Mountain biking.

19. What is his favorite kind of music? Alternative rock, but he tolerates my liking of Country.

20. Do you think he will read this? Yes, because I send him an email when I update our blog.

Christina tagged me.

I tag: Heather, Jessica, Keri, Renae, Sarah, Tina, and Jamie.

Fourth

Picture Tag: Go to your pictures file. Open the fourth folder and post the fourth picture. Go ahead try it...

This is a picture of Lee and Becca on the Fourth of July 2007. Tyler was playing with the camera and taking pictures of the party. Not a bad shot for a five year old.

It's Autumn Time, It's Autumn Time...

Just for the fun of it we made a cake today. The kids decorated an Autumn tree. They got to put on all of the colored sprinkles to make the leaves. This was a very kid friendly activity since if the sprinkles got anywhere on the cake away from the branches, it made the leaves "falling".

Comfort in Numbers

My neighbor came to my door yesterday to see if I wanted her to pick up Tyler from school. The following is what she saw from my doorway: Laundry all over my living room (to the point that I couldn't get the door open on the first try because a basket was in the way), Becca in "pajama's", glasses, no make-up, and with bare feet. Andrew ran to the door with a big hole in the knee of his pants (it started the day small, but he ripped at it until it got bigger). And then Emma came running to the door, I had apparently not been watching her close enough.

"Show me your arms."

It was a washable marker and she rubbed her eyes.

Laura was not in sight because she was still upstairs sleeping, not in the car seat ready to go. Keep in mind this was at 2:25 in the afternoon, and about five minutes after I should have left to pick Tyler up on time. I, of course, told her yes to please pick him up. And she said she wanted a picture of my day right then because it matched some of her days. Doesn't it make you feel better to know that it happens to others too? At what time do you give up on the "getting in the shower" idea?

Trick or Treat

Tyler and Andrew of course remember Trick or Treating. For Emma however this was a whole new concept. At first she didn't want to hold her candy bucket. We went to a Trunk or Treat at our church. We started with a prayer inside, when we came back out to the parking lot, I couldn't find her bucket. She had left it inside the church sitting in the middle of the gym. But she quickly caught on. After the Trunking we went to the Valley View Tower (the single girls dorm on campus), Grandma and Grandpa Rich's, and to a few neighbors in Aggie Village. This was the first time Lee got to come with us, he had been working swing shift in years past. It was great to go adventuring together.

Tyler is Spiderman. Andrew is also Spiderman. Tyler made it very clear that Andrew was not Venom. He is the good Spiderman wearing the black suit instead of the red one.

I didn't get a picture of the two ballerinas together. Aunt Sarah made both of the tutus. (To see other cool things she makes look at the "Check It Out" links in the left column.)
It is hard to get four kids to look at the camera at the same time. This was the best we got.

Not pictured (because he was taking the pictures): Lee was Super Dad (a shirt Tyler pick out for Father's Day a few years ago).

Pumpkin Walk, well the bus ride...

So, I guess it is hard to take pictures of pumpkins, in the dark, with a crowded line of people, while keeping four kids from wandering off. Laura wasn't doing much wandering...Emma wasn't either come to think of it, she was usually up on someones shoulders. And, um, we did have six neighbors helping us. I guess I really just forgot to take pictures while we were there. But, I did take some pictures of the shuttle bus ride. We had a fun time, and the pumpkins were cool, but I guess you will just have to believe me, since I have no proof.

Mellow Yellow

We were discharged from the hospital on Wednesday. At the hospital they tested Laura's bilirubin (jaundise) twice (the first time they didn't collect enough blood). It came back in the high intermediate risk zone, but because we had an appointment set with our doctor for Monday, they let us leave. After we got home, at 9:40 pm an on-call doctor from McKay Dee called and said we needed to come back the next day to have another test done. Lee had him send the lab order to the Logan Regional Hospital.
We had the test done daily, but then it turned into quite an ordeal to get the results. I couldn't get them from Logan because I am not a doctor and did not have the reference number from a doctor. I couldn't get the results from my doctor because 1) he was not the doctor that ordered the test and 2) he was out of town. I couldn't get the results from McKay because 1) they told me to call my doctor or 2) because the doctor on-call was now different than the one that ordered the test or 3) the doctor was busy and he would call me back or 4) the person that answered the phone "was just clerical and even though she can see the results in the computer and has worked there for 14 years and understands them, she is not a doctor and can not tell me the results".
In the meantime...Laura's results came back higher and a different on-call doctor at McKay sent the Logan Home Healthcare guy over to bring us a "bilibed" and a "biliblanket". (For $100 a day rental). (Tyler and Andrew thought the guy was saying "belly bed" so they thought it was to take off the rest of the umbilical cord and "fix her belly button".) We just had to check back each day to see the test results of that day, to find out if she could come off the lights (see above ordeal). Laura spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning on the bilibed. It is essentially a UV light box that she lays on with a gown that velcros to the box to keep the UVs on her and out of the rest of the room. She also had a biliblanket that straped to her stomach, so she got UVs from the bottom and top. We could only pick her up to feed her. Otherwise she just had to cry it out. She has learned to fall asleep on her own, and she can sleep through the noise of the machines. (So can Emma, who is in the same bedroom.) We do another test on Monday but for now she is off the machines!

Happy Birthday Laura!

On Tuesday, October 14th, Laura Jane Crookston was born. She was born at McKay Dee hospital in Ogden after four hours of labor at 6:21 am. She was 21 inches long and weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces. (That is small for my babies, the other three have all been over 8 pounds, but I am not complaining!) She has what I call "old bald man hair" that is dark...Tyler says it is black, but it is probably just dark brown. The kids have been very gentle with her and all want turns holding and kissing her. Laura has loved the attention. Tyler sang her her first lullaby when he came to visit her at the hospital, he sang it so quiet that only she could here it. My mom later asked him what he sang and he said "Happy Birthday". I asked Andrew if he loved Laura and he said, "yeah, because she is in my family now." Emma loves to sit on my lap and hold Laura in her lap. She gets mommy time and Laura time all at once. Lee has been off work all week and it has been fun to have him home. Special thanks to Sarah, Grandma Crookston, Grandma Gibby, and Bryan & Lisa for watching the kids while we were in the hospital.

Stephen and Catalyn

On Saturday, October 11th, Lee's brother, Stephen, married Catalyn Cummings in the Salt Lake Temple. They had a luncheon on Friday night. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins, and Tyler said that the chocolate cake was so-so-so-so-soooo good. Tyler and Andrew got to spend the night and the wedding day with Lee's cousin Aaron (who just turned six, so he is closer to Tyler's age than Lee's) and Becca's brother Brian tended Emma while Lee and Becca went to the temple in Salt Lake. It was iffy that we would be able to go, with the wedding on the 11th and Laura's due date on the 12th, but we made it.
After pictures we went to lunch with some of Lee's siblings and had a great time together. Then we gathered the kids and got ready for the reception. Again the kids loved being with cousins and had a fun night. Lee got to give an update about himself and our family over and over since lots of people from his old neighborhood where he grew up were there. Becca got to answer the question "Any baby yet?" all night long, to family, friends, and yes even strangers.

Congratulations Steve and Cat!

Happy Birthday Emma!

On Thursday, October 9th, Emma turned 2!
She had some help opening her presents. She got a movie, some new clothes, and some toy horses.
She also had some help blowing out her candles.

Tom-Boy or Girly-Girl?

That is quite the tool box!

Happy Birthday Lee!

On September 29th, Lee celebrated his birthday!

"The Greatest Show on Earth"

We went to the circus to celebrate Tyler's birthday. There was something for everyone! Emma's favorite was the horses and sitting on grandpa's lap eating popcorn. (That is just a guess, she didn't tell me that...but she looked pretty happy.) Andrew's favorite was the clown that had to staple the spotlight to the ground because it kept moving. Tyler's favorite was the seven motorcycles driving inside the sphere cage. Becca's favorite was the guys bouncing on the great big tires. Lee's favorite was also the motorcycles in the cage.

Emma was sitting on grandma's lap and kept grabbing grandma's chin and aiming it where she wanted her to look. Then she would point as if to say, "are you seeing this grandma? something cool is happening!"

During the part when the performers were doing tricks on the horses, I asked Tyler if he could do that. He said no, I said I couldn't either. Tyler said, "That's because you're pregnant!" ...So I guess in about two weeks I will be doing fancy tricks on horses.

Top Of Utah Marathon

Saturday, September 20th, was the Top of Utah Marathon. We got to watch our old neighbor, Rand Holyoak, cross the finish line. We looked for Emily and Paul Schumann, who also ran, but we didn't find them. We had such a great time, Lee is planning on running next year!

Happy Birthday Tyler!

On Thursday, September, 18th Tyler turned 7.

On Sunday, we had a cake at grandma and grandpa's house.

Before school, he got to open his presents; a new movie, a new game, and some lego sets.

Instead of a party, Tyler picked to go to the circus. (We go on Saturday the 27th.)

Andrew and Emma helped make the cake.

Tyler invited some neighbors over for cake and ice cream after dinner.

The Missing Month...

What have the Crookston's been up to? I know it is hard to continue your daily life without knowing how cute my family has been. Here are some of the things we have done in the last month.*We went camping with the extended Gibby Family in Mantua at the Box Elder Campground.

*We went to the USU First Ward camp out in Logan Canyon at the Spring Hollow Campground. We went for dinner and the night entertainment (including my kids dancing) and then we went back up for breakfast. *We had our last snow cone party of the season.
*We also had our last Movie Night in the Triad. It is too cold to do them now, even if we still lived in Aggie Village.
*We moved into a house. We had a lot of help moving everything. (Thanks everyone!) It took us six loads in our trailer, plus my parents also brought up their old couches and some tables on another trailer.
*Tyler started at a new school. He attends first grade at Adams and has Mrs. Sorenson as his teacher. He said he has made some new friends. He says school is "boring". (He says it enough that I told him I was going to ground him from saying that word.) But after two and a half weeks the letter sent home said they are finished with the "Dibbles Assessment" (a test to determine reading levels), a review of colors, and a review of numbers 1-10. No wonder he said boring. I told him it will get better and now he can start learning new things. (I hope that is true.)
*We cleaned our apartment in Aggie Village and turned in the key. (Thanks Emily and Jeff for your help!)
*We unpacked our new house. (Thanks Curtis and Sarah, and Matt and Katie for your help!)
*We got pets. We got a blue Betta fish and named him Gonzo, and a dwarf frog and named him Kermit. (Thanks to Rob and Lil for feeding them for Labor Day weekend!) Kermit ended up being a cheep lesson on eating your dinner...he didn't eat, he died. The people at Petsmart said he would eat the same food as the fish, but he didn't. We are not replacing Kermit anytime soon.
*We attended our new ward. Tyler and Andrew are now in different Primary classes. (CTR 7 and Sunbeams are not combined!) They both said they have four kids in their classes.
*We went to the Gibby Hideaway cabin for Labor Day. We helped sand and stain the front deck on Saturday. We ran out of stain, so then it was time to play.
*At the cabin, Lee went on an "awesome ride." (Remember, he had a broken foot all summer, so this was a first for the season and it was the end of August.) He wanted to be dropped off at the top of the mountain and picked up at the bottom. But, let's make this fun for everybody. (I didn't want to just pick him up in the van!) Becca and Shauna (Becca's mom) rode the ATVs down the same trail Lee biked. We just strapped his bike onto the back of one of the ATVs with bungee cords and up we went. Let me just say, Lee had to wait at the bottom for quite a while because he was way faster than us. It was a great adventure. Just don't tell my doctor.
*The kids all went to the dentist. I promise that is an exciting thing for them. If you live anywhere near Logan and need a great dentist experience for kids let me recommend Dr. Doug at Small Smiles. The exciting thing for mom and dad is that they were all three cavity free.
*We went to a BBQ back at Aggie Village and hung out with friends. When it got too cold to be outside, a group came down to our house (it is bigger than AV apartments) and we played games.
*We had our first house guests. The Jorgensen's came to stay with us for a weekend. On Saturday, Becca, Christina Jorgensen, and Lil Severinsen took the kids to Adams park, Locker 42 (discount USU apparel), and Wal-Mart. We made a yummy dinner and then played games again that night.
*Lee, Arik Jorgensen, and Rob Severinsen went mountain biking to Snowbasin on Saturday. Apparently don't go down trail eight. Arik and Lee both got flat tires. And Rob wore out his brakes. They had a great time anyway. It definitely wore them all out.
*Lee and Arik sorted the boxes in the basement. I just pointed to where I wanted each section, food storage, holiday, crafts, camping, misc, and kids clothes.
*Kent and Pat (Lee's parents) brought us Sunday dinner. It was the first time they got to see the house. Kent is usually very busy with Sunday meetings, so it was a great treat to have him here.
*We went on a walk and found a park really close to our house and met the Bishop.
*Tyler got two teeth pulled out. His mouth must be like Lee's. He has had two bottom teeth come out. But the teeth that were trying to come in were too big for the space. Dr. Doug pulled out two teeth, one on each side of the existing hole. Tyler got to bring both teeth home and the tooth fairy gave him Inspector Gadget 2, the movie he was watching at the dentist office!
*We went bowling for Family Home Evening. It ended up being "Cosmic Bowling" (with black lights on), it cost a little more that we expected, but we had fun. Becca won with a score of 124. Not bad for a start of three gutter balls in a row. Emma had a great time pushing the ball down the ramp and then running back to give everyone a high five without even watching what happened to the ball or pins. Andrew also used the ramp and he had a great game of 122. Tyler and Lee tied with a score of 94. Tyler was funny to watch. He said putting his fingers in the holes was too hard, so he would just hold the ball, walk up to the line, and throw the ball like he was passing someone a basketball (not a bounce pass). He didn't use the bumpers very much, and did great. Lee has learned that a broken foot affects lots of things, even his bowling score.
*Becca went to an Enrichment activity (that she wasn't in charge of) and met some other women from the ward that also have kids. They serve in Primary or Young Women's, so I wouldn't have met them in Relief Society on a Sunday.
*We went on another walk and met a neighbor that gave us a lawn mower. (Thanks Dan!) He had two and was trying to clean out his garage. (Thanks to Andrew for insisting we go on a walk.)

*Lee cleaned out the deep freezer and the garage. I can park my van in the garage now. It will be great in the winter snow. It is a close fit to get through the door though, I have three inches of clearance on each side.
*We went and introduced ourselves to the neighbor across the street. They have four kids and they seem to play well with our kids. She offered to pick up Tyler from school after I have the baby, if it was OK that they play at Adams park for a half hour before she brings him home. Until Laura is born, we now meet at the park and Andrew and Emma get to play too.
*We resorted all of the kids clothes storage bins. Everything is in the right bin, labled the right size and stacked so they are accessable. Laura's 0-3 month clothes are being washed and will soon be hung up and ready for her.
*We went to Stake Conference at the Logan Tabernacle. Elder Quentin L. Cook spoke. It was very hot, and two hours is a long time for kids to sit still, but they did really good.