He So Smart!!

Scott had to take a qualifying exam in order to be a PhD candidate. The pass rate for Stanford hovers just below 50% so it's kind of a big deal. Many hours and even more late nights were spent cramming for subjects he may or may not be tested on. Needless to say, he felt a little pressure to put on a good show. HE DID! Now, as he told me this afternoon, "I can spend all my time on Cecilie!" Who's excited?

And I'm back...

So I was making great progress on my blog until Thanksgiving. I planned to update it the Monday after but my dad had other plans. At work that day he had a massive heart attack that almost killed him. Thankfully his co-workers knew CPR and saved his life. He spent a week on a ventilator because his lungs were full of fluid and then another week in the hospital to see what to do next so this won't happen again. Turns out: his heart is very healthy except for one small blockage right near the electrical conduction. That blockage caused his heart to go into vfib (vibrate) instead of normal sinus rhythm (pumping). Basically his heart wasn't doing anything during the episode and he should have died. People who have vfib not in a hospital have less than a 5% chance of survival. The fact that he survived and has no damage at all is more than a miracle, it's a gift from God. He's been home ever since but will start back at work on Monday. Needless to say, I've had other things on my mind that blogging. One of the many blessings during this last while was that all of my siblings could come out for New Year's. Only one sister was supposed to come but my other sister and brother decided to come out as well and it was such a blast. We did all the typical family fun things: eat, play games, play RockBand, eat, set up a BB gun range in the backyard, eat, jump on the trampoline, take family pictures, eat. It was so awesome.The Bain Family 2010
Dad, Mom, Jenny, Macey, Eric, Maren, Jake, Rushton, Melissa
Cecilie, Caleb, Parker, LauraHow proud do my parents look? Are they not the cutest grandbabies ever?This is one of my favorite pictures from the break!
Maren LOVED being jumped on the trampoline but she's a little too flexible to do it without some help. It was so fun.
Parker could think of nothing else but being jumped on the trampoline. Maybe next time we can jump him to the moon...
Who do you think is having the most fun in this picture? I'll give you a clue: they're 4 and full of mishev.
No I do not live in the country but I guess this is what happens when too many boys are bored.
Orange peels anyone?And the sweetest little baby ever. She loved to lay on the floor and laugh. It was adorable. Tune in throughout to week as I update you on other adventures I've had lately...

Whiskey Chicken

Eric, my brother, was in town this weekend and treated everyone to dinner at Claim Jumper. It was a nice treat especially since we could order everything our hearts desired. Going to restaurants is stressful for me since I'm a fairly picky eater and I usually can't decide what to eat. When the waiter came around I quickly decided on Whiskey Chicken. It looked delicious and I love BBQ sauce. The plate came and instead of BBQ sauce I had apples marinated in whiskey as my sauce. Apparently Whiskey Chicken doesn't mean Whiskey River BBQ sauce Chicken. Next time I go out to eat I think I'll read the entire description and not just assume that it will be what I want.

When's the last time you visited the dentist? I went yesterday and I'm still feeling it. It's been a while since I slobbered all over myself while eating dinner; good thing I was alone. Although I work in the OR and deal with shots, etc daily it's still different to have those things aimed at me. Sadly enough, the fun has only just begun. I'm going back soon for a root canal and new bridge placement. Sad day. Until then, I'll nurse my bruised lip and missing tooth.

Fish Tremble When They Hear My Name!

Last Saturday Scott and I went fishing with a friend of his from school. We went off a really long pier in Pacifica and it was super fun. It was incredibly foggy driving over but once we dropped to ocean level the fog lifted and it was beautiful. We had so much fun but only caught things that had to go back. I guess the crab season doesn't really begin until this week so we had to throw back the crabs we caught. It was still so awesome though.

The pier we went fishing off.


A crab that Scott had to throw back, minus a leg. Scott wasn't holding it far enough back so the crab tried to pinch his fingers. When Scott dropped the crab a leg fell off. Woops!
(Good luck Sebastian! I hope you find Ariel.)

This is my idea of fishing. Sleeping works out best for the group anyway,
it's about the only way I sit still and stay quiet!

(PS Anyone know how to make the photo rotate so I don't have to put sideways ones up again?)

Halloween Celebration

In April Scott and I dyed Easter eggs with Rachel and Westin. It was a fun disaster. We waited until the last minute to buy the supplies and then drove to 3 stores to get everything. Once we started it was almost 10 and we quickly got bored. (Scott was happy to have egg salad sandwiches for the next week though.) For Halloween we decided to do better. We bought the pumpkins in advance and even got a book full of patterns to carve. Everything went great until we started to work. If you've never used a pattern before be warned: they're hard and a LOT of work.
Scott chose the hardest pattern but also probably had the best turnout. He spent almost 3 hours to get his haunted house just right. I chose a much easier pattern and it turned out alright.

Rachel carved a spider but Westin decided to make his own pattern and ended up with a scary Jack-o-lantern.

In order of appearance: Rachel, Westin, Scott, Cecilie
And here's our pimpkins! (I realize I spelled that incorrectly but it's too funny to edit.) Hope you had a spooky Halloween!

ABCs

So I just spoke to my brother's kids and we had an awesome time on the phone. While 'speaking' to my niece Maren, age 2, I started singing the ABCs for her. The next thing I know: Maren (2), Caleb (4), and Parker (5) are all taking turns laughing while I sing to them. It was hilarious to hear them laugh so hard. However, do you think it's a reflection on my ability to carry a tune?