I want to be a loser too!!!

At the start of the new year my family decided to start our own "Biggest Loser" competition. Everyone put $20.00 into the pot and the person who loses the largest percentage of their body weight by May 1st gets to take it all. I must say that while I started the year off great, my weight loss has been at a total stand still since January 2nd. It really is time for me to kick it into gear (I say that every week) but with someone like Oliver around who makes eating look like so much fun it is easier said than done.

It's about time...

This past week we have all had horrible colds and I have avoided blogging just in case germs are transferable via the internet. Sam, Oliver and I all take turns coughing and keeping each other up at night. Just as we were beginning to contemplate forming our own coughing choir, "The Hacking Harmonizers", things started to get better.

Being sick is pretty time demanding so we don't have much to update you on, but I will do my best. To begin with, Oliver got his first tooth. As of right now it is a cute little white bump on his bottom gum. He also had his six month check up and is doing great. He is a whopping 17 pounds and is 26 and a half inches long. Once again those measurements place him in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. Ollie has quickly become the most popular baby in our new ward (and there is quite a bit of competition). Oliver smiles at absolutely everyone. His favorite past time during Sacrament Meeting is to turn around and make faces at everyone behind us. I get stopped at least ten times each week by people telling me what a cute and entertaining baby I have.

Since our last entry we made a trip up North to attend the funeral of two family friends who passed away from cancer. While they may not be enjoyable, funerals inspire a certain introspection. The first funeral was for Vickie Bigelow, who has been one of our closest friends and neighbors since my family moved to Riverton 16 years ago. Vickie was always serving others. She was a list maker and I am sure that my own name appeared on her lists more than once along with special things I was in need of. While we were sick I pulled some blankets out of the closet and realized that Vickie had quilted both of them almost entirely on her own. I remember her at my wedding shower and again at my baby shower working away at the quilts and staying late to make sure that they got done. She was a doer and has left her mark in many ways. I started to think about traces of love and service that I have left in my wake and realized that I am sadly lacking. I hope I can be more like Vickie.

The second funeral was for Seth Shaffer. To me Seth was alway the red-head who sat on the second row in the chapel every Sunday. While I was never close with Seth, I knew his wife well and taught his kids in primary. As I sat at his funeral and listened to the awesome stories that were shared about him I realized that I had truly missed out on something special by not getting to know him better. I made a commitment to myself that I wouldn't find myself in that situation again. I want to make more of an effort to get to know that people that I associate with everyday. After all, God put them in my path for a reason and I am only hurting myself by not loving them and learning from them as much as I can.

In the end I just want to say that I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has a plan for all of us. It is comforting to me to know that Seth and Vickie are still Seth and Vickie, we just can't see them.

Happy Valentines Day

We just want to wish all of our friends and family a very happy Valentines Day. We love you all so much and are so grateful for your friendship.

Unvelievable

Sam received his first acceptance to graduate school today. He got an email from the Colorado School of Mines where he applied to study Operational Research, i.e. Mathematical Engineering. The Colorado School of Mines was his first pick and he wasn't planning to get in so we are very excited. Way to go Sammy!!!

In a class all my own!

So, I saw this on a friends blog and thought that it was kind of fun. Of course, it was no shocker to find out that I am the only Janell Peay. Could there really be another one of me? Who cares if there is not one specialty key chain or other useless trinket engraved with my name at the gas station. I am original.

JANELL PEAY

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 0 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

SAMUEL PEAY

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 5 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

OLIVER PEAY

HowManyOfMe.com

There is 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

Time Marches On

So, last week I was updating some of our old family pictures (i.e. wedding pictures) with our new family pictures. When I saw them side by side I was shocked by the changes that I saw in Sam and I. We looked so much older (and chubbier), and it has only been a little over three years. In my mind I am still a young twenty-year-old. I can't imagine what I will think of myself when I hit forty. That is one thing I have noticed about growing older, every time I hit a certain age I really never feel as old or as mature as people that age always seemed to be. Is it just me?

The Superfan

Here is our "little t-bird" cheering for the SUU gymnastics team. Thank goodness SUU has at least one team worth cheering for. I must say that the football and basketball teams are pretty worthless (don't tell Sam I said so).

My dog ate my post!?!

Don't you just hate it when you keep checking in on people's blogs and they never update it. Geez, don't they understand that for some of us blogging is our connection to the outside world! Well, to anyone I may have annoyed with my long-time absence, I apologize. I tried to think of a good excuse as to why my blog was left to rot for a couple of weeks, but the truth is I just got lazy or busy, or both. Anyway, here is a little update on what we've been up to in our blogging absence.

1. We went up north to visit the grandparents. My parents purchased a Wii while we were there and Sam and I both came home with sore arms, backs, and necks from our intense bowling and tennis matches. Sheesh, how out of shape can you be.

2. We visited our new ward for the first time. We had the option of attending a family ward or returning to the married student ward. But, after our first time in the married student ward we were hooked. Don't you just love the feeling of walking into Sacrament Meeting and feeling home (even when you don't know anyone). Our church rocks!

3. In my blogging absence I sewed a quilt. That's right folks a genuine, pieced together quilt. Of course it was just a baby quilt. But it was my first attempt (if you don't count the one that I started back when I was twenty and my mom ended up finishing for me) and I am quite proud.

4. My little brother moved in with us and has become a permanent fixture on our living room floor where he sleeps with a camping pad and sleeping bag. He decided to attend SUU and we are so glad he is here. He and his girlfriend keep things fun and exciting (especially on game night!).

5. I cut my hair. Of course, if you have paid any attention to the pictures on this blog you may be wondering how that is possible when my hair was so short already. Somehow I managed to whack it even shorter. My intention was for it to look like Gweneth Paltrow's short hair cut in "Sliding Doors" but I haven't quite seen the resemblance yet. I guess I'll have to grow into it. Once I decide that I like it I may post a picture.

Well, that pretty much sums up our past couple of weeks. I'll try to be more consistent in the future so that I can avoid those "hate comments" that come in when I wait to long.

A New Adventure

This morning our neighbor "baby Kevin" started coming to our house while his mom goes to work. Oliver had a great time helping mom babysit. He thought it was great fun to have someone his own size to play with and fortunately, Kevin thought so too. While we had a great time and both babies were great, I still have to give kudos to any mother who has survived twins. Whew!!

A Farewell to Meetings

On Sunday Sam was officially released from his calling as the Second Counselor in the 9th Ward Bishopric. It was a bitter sweet experience for both of us. While we are ready to move on, the past two and a half years in the single-student ward have been and incredible experience for our family and we will miss all of our friends terribly. We couldn't imagine a better role model than Bishop Johnson and we want our family to be just like his when we grow up. On the other hand we are looking forward to making new friends and hearing other babies (not just Oliver) make noise during Sacrament Meeting.