The Everyday

Church in the morning, visited friends in the afternoon, and we were back to Denver in the evening. So glad to be home!  We tried very hard to get a picture with everyone smiling at the camera. It was nigh to impossible.haha. Here are all our girls! If only our high school selves could see what awaited us in our futures. So grateful for my besties our friendships! 

Emi, Marty, and I went to Nick's Rugby game. It was so fun to see everyone as we all roasted in the sun. haha. Nick played great and his team won by a landslide!  Mom was supposed to leave this afternoon, but her flight to JFK got delayed, which means that she wouldn't be able to make her connection. After some bumps in the road, she finally secured a spot on a flight for tomorrow. Because of this, Mom and Bubs were able to join us for a picnic at Holladay park with Dan and Angela. It was beautiful out, Emi was being so cute, and the food was delicious. This made me want to do picnics more often! 

I can't believe Marty and I graduated just last year! Well technically Marty graduated in December and I taught my last year of college so I didn't even feel like a student haha. But still! Last Year This Year...in the same spot!

She did it! So proud of my little sis.  Bubs came to BYU on a full ride music scholarship. She was one of the only 2 people accepted her year into the harp program! As she progressed further in her major and after talking with grads in her major she decided that it may be a good idea to have something else in her back pocket coming out of college. This lead her to consider double majoring. She applied to the finance, accounting, and business strategy programs (all very competitive) and was accepted to all of them! Then a big bummer came her way when she found out that BYU would not let her double major in harp and one of the other majors. She eventually made the decision to pursue finance. In the finance program she worked really hard and landed an internship at Goldman Sachs and also got to be one of the students to help manage the BYU Silver Fund. I also forgot to mention along the way that she was also accepted into John Hopkin's Harp Program but turned down the offer. In additi

Mom, Bubs, and Emi dropped me off to get my hair done. Getting my hair done is one of my favorite things. I don't know how to curl my hair haha so it's one of the rare times it gets curled. (One day I'll learn...). I also love getting fresh highlights and the smell of the hair products. My hair stylist, Abby, is also the nicest and so good at what she does!  While I was getting my hair done, the rest of the crew went to visit a friend from our ward who is now in a nursing home. What my mom told me was that her friend was so surprised to see her (my mom), she threw her hands up in the air and it scared Emi half to death. She cried for 5 minutes straight and the only thing that could calm her down was some Ritz Crackers. Poor girl! And poor friend! After getting my hair done, we went out to eat at this yummy grilled cheese place and then grabbed some dessert at the sister restaurant to the grilled cheese place. Afterwards we FaceTime'd Ingi Bear for her second birthday. T

In the morning we went to the greenhouse because Erika will be attempting to garden while my parents are gone. You can tell my mom's been to the green house many, many times because she knew where to get different plants and when to plant them, etc. As she and Bubs walked around the green house picking out different plants, I sat there thinking how good the lighting is for taking pictures.haha. So I of course had to take pictures of my adorable daughter.  Then for quite a few hours, Mom and Bubs planted things while Emi took a nap and I looked for pictures to go above Marty's and my bed.  In the afternoon, we headed to the rec center for some swimming.  Bubs walked on the track (because of her broken arm) and mom, Emi, and I swam. Emi loved the water at first, but became very serious as she was trying to take the whole experience in.  The evening consisted of looking at more house things. 

Today we ran a bunch of errands! Costco, Post Office, Macey's. Mom's been busy getting little gifts for the staff and other random things.  In the afternoon Emi and I went and hung out with Lesley, Blake, and Kit. Kit is just close to a month old and it was so fun to get to hold her. There's nothing quite like newborn baby snuggles. It was also fun to see Lesley (and Blake too!) and catch up. We talked about all the mom things and did a lot of watching our little ones and making sure they weren't getting into too much trouble. Today was a good day!

My mom took Emi out on a walk this morning so I could sleep some more. It was heavenly. I think that's going to be the theme of this week. But for reals, it's so nice being at home and just getting to relax and have mom and Bubs here. We mostly laid low today and ran a few errands. Emi took a 3 hour nap and it was...heavenly.haha.  I've been wanting to get some recipes printed to add to the Rosen Family Cookbook but have been waiting until this trip to print them. We don't have a printer at home so I intend to take full advantage of a printer while I have access to one ;) I got my recipes printed and am excited to go home and put them in the cookbook! I love expanding my cooking repertoire.  I also printed out some calendars for Bubs and I to make our marathon plans on. Up until this point, I haven't started my training, and I've blamed it on the fact that I need a printer to print my plan. No excuses now. In the past when training for races, I've really enj

Mom's birthday! When she told me her age (59) I almost couldn't believe it. Time goes way fast! She seems younger than that to me. In the morning she opened presents. We got her a bunch of books (as per her request) and a gardening pot with the grandkids names on it (I have been looking forward to getting that for her for months). She also got calls from my siblings and dad throughout the day which also made it feel celebratory. In the evening we had a big party at grandmas too. And she got to see all our neighbors at church, and even though many of them didn't know it was her birthday, I know she enjoyed seeing them.  My mom is one of my best friends. I love talking with my mom and I admire her qualities so much. She is a renaissance woman (IYKYK). My mom is such a great listener. I love to talk (too much sometimes haha) and she is always willing to listen. She is a hard worker. She is an amazing cook and baker. I have called her numerous times to ask her cooking/baking re

Emi and I flew out to Utah this morning. It felt like we were leaving Marty way too soon, and although I was super excited to see my mom, I was also bummed that Marty and I would be apart again.  This time at the airport I decided to time myself to see how long it'd take Emi and I to get through. It took us 32 minutes from the car to our gate--and that was with a busy security line. I'm thinking arriving 45-50 minutes before boarding time gives the perfect amount of time to get through security and also change Emi's diaper before heading on a flight.  The flight went okay. Emi was kind of grumpy and needed a nap badly but she couldn't sleep. She made high pitched screams and was bobbing her head all over the place. I was so worried that people were annoyed by the sounds she was making. We got upgraded which is awesome, but sometimes I worry that people who pay more for their tickets expect to have a flight with less disruptions (which leaves me feeling more bad when Emi

Today was very monumental and underwhelming. We bought a house!!! We can't get into the house for a couple months but we own it. haha. We made sure to go get our key cards so we can use the rec centers  from here on out. (Highlands Ranch is unique in that the city is an HOA, and they have 4 rec centers you can have access to once you buy in HR. Definitely one of the biggest selling points in my opinion).  Conversations today have consisted of painting, carpet cleaning, pest control, and security systems...feeling very adulty!

As I was thinking about what I did throughout the day, I realized almost everything started with an M.haha. Kind of random. In the morning we had My Gym. This week the babies got to go through a "car wash" and it was so adorable. They rode on little cars, drove through pom poms, the teachers blew bubbles along the way, and they also drove through vertical long mats.  I learned something interesting from one of my mission companions today, BrinDee C. She's working on her midwife certificate and we've been chatting back and forth on Marco Polo. I learned from her video that there's different types of midwives--ones that are RNs first and then have a midwife certification on top of that, and midwives that just have the certification. I never new that! BrinDee is doing the certification at a Birthing Center. I was also very curious if her center took insurance because I know of people who've had their babies at a birthing center and their insurance didn't cove

Today's Schedule: -Family History -Settlement Money at the Bank -Talk with Mom -Young Mom's Institute Family Social -Ted Lasso Although it doesn't look like there was much going on today, it felt like a lot! Once a month-ish Brother L, Kate D, Deanna B, and I get together to do Family History. Brother L makes us personalized lessons and we kind of just work on our own and ask him when we need additional help. Right now I'm working on finding family members on my Furner side of the family and attaching sources to prove that they were missing from my tree, that they actually existed, etc. It's very satisfying and interesting. Brother L basically figures out how to do the work ahead of time, and creates a step-by-step lesson plan for each of us. So nice of him! Today, Deanna couldn't make it so it was just Kate and I from the regular crew, and then the sister missionaries joined us too. Brother L brought pizza too which was very delicious. After doing FH for a few

The morning was very chill. Peter took off lab in the morning and we ate blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Peter made a cute penguin shaped pancake and I asked Isaac if he knew what it was. He responded "a buue berry pancake" haha. Not quite what I was going for, but also very true:)  The rest of the morning/early afternoon was spent packing and with the little ones taking naps. Around 3 we headed over to the shuttle pick up place. I was really nervous that no one but Emi and I would be on the shuttle, but luckily there were a few people there--all 60+ and male. The majority of the ride was dead silent which was actually very peaceful. I was enjoying it...until Emi started to fuss a little bit at which point I felt embarrassed. We made it to the airport in just enough time for me to grab some dinner and nurse Emi. The gate agent was also really nice and let me bring on Emi's car seat in the plane. Although Emi was fussy for the first little bit of the flight, after she fe

In the morning we had a community class for Isaac. We showed up at the school and all the kids got to play with toys for a little bit, and then after doing introductions, songs, and a snack the parents headed out for a parent class while the kids stayed with the teachers. It was a lot of fun and a well-designed program. After going there, I looked up to see if they have anything like that in HR but no such luck. haha.  The rest of the day we hung out and talked. Peter got off work at the lab early which was a fun surprise. In the evening we went to a restaurant in downtown Rochester. It was a cute Italian place (Terza) that Peter and Alex had been to before. Unfortunately, the seating arrangements were not ideal and we ended up on a high-off-the-ground table next to the bar. At one point, Isaac fell off the seat under the table with a thud. It was so scary and he could've easily hit his head hard on the table, but by some miracle he was okay. The rest of the meal we were a little p

Today we had church and it's been snowing a ton. It's literally a blizzard outside. Welcome to Minnesota I guess? At church literally almost everyone is a doctor of some sort which is kind of interesting/funny. I enjoy asking Peter which types of doctors different people in their ward are. Church went well, and Emi was able to sleep for some of it which was a win. After church, we stayed for an hour because Peter is unofficially the choir director in addition to his other calling. He was at the church from 6:30 am-12:30 pm today. Talk about dedication! Also I was very impressed that Alex waits with 2 kids while Peter does choir. Also dedication!  Then we spent the afternoon hanging out and chatting. I talked with Marty on FaceTime and Emi loved seeing him. We also said "hi" to both sets of grandparents and Nick which was nice.  This evening we had a delicious dinner of meatloaf, homemade bread, cantaloupe, and salad. It was definitely a comfort meal with the weather b

Last night was rough for the babies, which means it was also rough for the adults in the household. They had trouble sleeping most of the night and took turns crying. After a rough night, it's always a little hard the next day. We spent the day mostly hanging out and went to ice cream in the evening. I know we haven't been doing much but it's been so fun just chatting and spending time together! Peter has been struggling with food poisoning so that has not been the most fun for him. I talked with Marty this evening and heard about his adventures the past few days. He, his dad, and Chris have been doing a boys trip. They went to the Dodgers game last night (they got creamed!) and went golfing and to the Grand Prix today. He sounds like he's having a good time and I love getting to talk with him. They head home to Salt Lake tonight and then he has a game night planned with his friends.

The weather has been beautiful here! We're trying to soak it all in. Today we spent most of the day outside. Some repairmen were supposed to come between 11-1 today to fix some foundation issues in the basement so we hung out near the house so we could be there when they came. Unfortunately they didn't show up until 4 so it limited where we could go. However, we had lots of fun blowing bubbles in the back yard and going to the park nearby.  Emi took one of her naps upstairs in Isaac's old crib (because we thought the repair people would be coming during her nap), and she fell asleep instantly. Poor girl is so used to her Pack n Play thin "mattress."haha Sleeping on an actual mattress must've been heavenly!  I just have to say as a side note that Isaac is such a cutie. The whole trip he's been repeating everything his mom says, but adding Lizzie to the front of it. For example, "Lizzie, we need to take a nap." "Lizzie, it's time to go ins

Went to library story time in the morning. The Rochester library is so cute and the story time facilitator was so good with the kiddos. Emi enjoyed trying to eat Alex's shoes and the story time mats. After story time, we hung out at the library as Isaac played in the library's kid section and chose some new books for this week.  The rest of the afternoon is a blur but we played in the backyard at some point. In the evening we played a couple rounds of Exploding Kittens and then headed to bed!

This morning Marty and I woke up early to watch Courtney's defense. She did a great job (even though I didn't catch 99% of the material she was presenting about) and I was in awe of how much preparation must have gone into making her presentation...let alone all the time and effort she's spent on her research these past years. Then we all headed to the airport. Emi and I are headed to Minnesota for the week (and Marty is headed to SL/LA for the weekend). I found cheap tickets a couple weeks ago and couldn't resist. I've flown alone with Emi before but this time I decided I'd attempt to gate check her car seat and stroller which would add a little element of difficulty. However, there were so many nice people who helped! This younger grandma (I am now learning the difference between old grandparents and young grandparents.haha) offered to hold Emi while I was assembling things after TSA, another lady helped me bring my items down the airbridge, and the gentleman

Emi and I went to My Gym in the morning. Then we came home and I got a text from Marty asking if we'd like to do Torchy's for lunch (I'll never turn down Torchy's). We went to Torchy's after Emi's long nap, and then Emi and I headed from there to talk to the inspector. There are a couple things that need to be fixed on the house and I was particularly worried about a bedroom and furnace situation, but after talking with Marty I'm feeling better about it. I was excited to measure the pantry and linen closet so I can start figuring out organization things :) I love that kind of stuff!  In the evening I packed for Minnesota, Marty had Young Men's, and then we watched an episode of Shrinking.

Today was go, go, go. Emi and I spent the morning doing dishes/laundry around the house and then headed off to My Gym. After My Gym we ran to Target to get cottage cheese for a friend in the ward. I offered to bring her a smoothie after her teeth extraction and she asked if I could grab some cottage cheese too. Hence the cottage cheese. While at Target I grabbed a Lunchable because I was starving. I always think they're better than they are.haha. I ate the Lunchable on the way to Tropical Smoothie Cafe. Then I grabbed my friend a smoothie--and of course I had to get one too! We dropped off the food items and I chatted for a bit with my friend and then back to the apartment.  At the apartment I read through house documents and signed them after calling my mom, Marty, and my father in law to make sure some items on the documents were okay. Meanwhile Emi took a nap. Then we headed to Marty's work to have him sign a check for our Earnest money. From there, I dropped the check off a

Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays. I just love the spring atmosphere and the traditions around Easter. As I've gotten older I've also come to appreciate the meaning of Easter and the hope that Christ brings in my life.  This year Easter was different than the past Easters. Marty and I were on our own for a bigger holiday for the first time in our lives. I definitely missed being the recipient of an Easter Egg hunt, yummy dinner, etc. But it was also sweet being in a new role and gaining appreciation for Mom and Dad and starting to navigate how we want to do things in our family. I got some treats for Marty and I and we ate those throughout the day. Emi and I got matching Easter dresses for church (thanks mom;)) and we also got some gift cards from Grandma and Grandpa Shaeffer. We dyed eggs and Marty and I did a hunt for each other--which was surprisingly lots of fun. Emi had a little Easter basket with a bunny and Peter Rabbit Board book in it. We had a ham and

Marty and I have been wanting to do the Manitou Incline for awhile now and decided to finally make the trek to Colorado Springs today. Basically it's a mile straight up a mountain on steps and looks super cool. In the past when I've told people I want to do this hike they're like "Ooo that's a hard one." But I haven't really believed them because a mile hike? Yeah, piece of cake.  Nope. Not a piece of cake. This was a tough hike! Especially with a baby. Marty and I took turns carrying Emi and she was not the happiest campier on the way up. But we made it! And Marty and I were both happy we did the hike. It was a lot of fun getting out. We also haven't ventured out many places since we've moved here so it was refreshing to try something new. Hoping to do more adventures like this in the future!  House stuff is moving right along. We decided on our inspector today! Marty and I are also starting to think about furnishing the house and budgeting and al

I am very excited about this post because I had a guest writer. haha. My husband:) I've been wanting us to write about the same day and then compile them to see our different viewpoints. I loved getting to read what Marty wrote. My Perspective: Talked with my mom this morning. It was much needed! Marty came home early today because of Easter weekend. That was a fun surprise! We went to My Gym for their Easter celebration with Emi. It was cute, but Marty and I both agreed it wasn't a "must do" activity. It felt a lot like regular classes and so we don't feel the need to go back in the future. One of my church friends asked if we could bring pancakes by for her kiddos for dinner because she just had 6 (?) teeth extracted. When I asked if we could put chocolate chips in them, she said her kids just like plain pancakes. That's it. Talk about easy to please!  In the evening I got a call from Bubs. She was crying and sounded frantic. My big sister mode turned on. As

After putting in 2 more offers the other week and losing both houses I thought we were done with house hunting for awhile. But...I was looking on the market today and saw some good inventory come up so Marty and I decided we wanted to schedule 4 showings this evening. When our real estate agent went to set up the showings, only 1 showing was available this evening so I decided it would be best just to see them all together tomorrow. Well Marty came home and saw the house that was available for a showing tonight he was impressed with how nice it looked and thought it would be best if we saw it tonight just in case. Our real estate agent got us in quickly (like within 20 minutes of calling her)...and good thing because we decided to put in an offer tonight!

Last night it snowed again. This weather is crazy! When I went to my car to take Emi to My Gym in the morning Marty had already cleaned it off. Such a nice surprise:)  Other than My Gym, we spent the rest of the afternoon at home. I finished listening to "The Rosie Project" as Emi and I played together and cleaned. We also got to talk to Grandma and Grandpa Rosen which was nice. I honestly feel like I talk to my parents more now that they're in Jerusalem. When my mom was working I could only call most days in the evenings or early mornings, but now she can talk in the middle of the day which works best for my schedule as a SAHM.  In the evening, Marty came home and we ate dinner. Then he took care of Emi while I headed to running club (softball was cancelled today). It was windy, a little snowy, and cold but I had a blast. I got to talk to a couple of moms and ask them questions about breastfeeding while training for a race and they gave me some good tips. The workout tod

Monday: Laundry day! Take off bed sheets and bring them downstairs to be cleaned. Make bed. Tuesday: Bathroom (Once every 5 weeks you got a break because there were only 4 bathrooms but 5 kids)  Fold and put away laundry. Wednesday: Vacuum 2 rooms (This was not speedy vacuuming...this was slowly get the job done well--although when we reached high school age I think all of our standard of work went downhill) Thursday: Vacuum 2 rooms Friday: Kitchen Chore (mop, vacuum, sweep, or clean chairs) Saturday: Cubby Extra Chore (usually a longer chore that Mom chooses. Picking grapes, planting things, etc) Bathroom. On Saturdays we also cleaned the floors of the bathrooms (The best was when you were assigned toilets and just cleaned the inside of each toilet on each floor). Fingerprints. This meant you would walk around on the floor of the bathroom you were assigned and wipe down all the walls and the light switches with a damp cloth.  Clean Room Dust (piano, coffee table/mirror, Dad's offi

Today was snowy and cold so Emi and I spent most of the day inside. I took the opportunity to do some cleaning in our apartment. Got the dishes done, cleaned the bathroom (including the tub!), vacuumed, and did dishes. Emi was content playing in her activity center and her pack n play as I cleaned. I also managed to do some meal planning. I was so proud of myself. haha. Call me housewife of the year;) As I was cleaning, I was reminded of our cleaning schedule growing up and I think that schedule deserves a post of it's own. haha Cleaning in the Rosen house was no joke! But I feel highly skilled in effective cleaning thanks to my upbringing.  While I was meal planning I called Grandma to ask her a couple questions. 1. How does she make her funeral potatoes? 2. If I get 2 pounds of ham is that too much/how could I save it? She answered my questions and we also got to chat for awhile which was fun. At the end of the call we resolved to catch up more often. Right after I ended the call

My Gym this morning! Emi was being so cute during the warm up she had everyone smiling. Emi is blessed with the cutest, widest smile and it just brightens everyone's day around her. She enjoyed the swings as usual and loved scooting around. In the afternoon Emi and I went on a walk with Katye and Easton. Easton is having some teeth come in which is crazy! The weather was so nice and Katye and I always have lots to talk about. On our way home from our walk we picked up Marty and headed to Texas Roadhouse. As we were picking Marty up Emi started making the "buh" sound. I was so proud of her. Up to this point in her life she has blown raspberries and gurgled so this was something new! Tonight we were celebrating Deanna, who passed her boards and is now able to practice as a Nurse Practitioner. Deanna, Kate, and I do family history with Brother Lathen once a month and Brother Lathen arranged this dinner. Kate and Brother Lathen brought their spouses so there was 8 of us total

Before conference we talked with Dave, Steph, and Ingi. They just got back from Reno and Vegas. Dave will be finishing up with residency next year and they were interviewing with some different practices there. They have worked so hard these past several years and I hope they get in with the practice they are hoping for! So good catching up with them.  After we got off the phone with them we hopped onto conference. I loved President Nelson's talk about being Peacemakers. It was beautiful. I need to go back and listen to that one...and while I'm at it I also need to go listen to Saturday afternoon session because I fell asleep near the beginning. I was telling Marty the tricky thing about having a baby during conference is one of us has to be awake at all times because someone has to keep an eye on Emi. haha. Luckily she was napping so I felt like I had the go ahead to fall asleep as well. I woke up in time to hear Elder Stanfill's talk. I'm glad I did. He talked about p

My Gym in the morning! There were only a few kids today because I think it's spring break in Douglas Co. Still lots of fun. In fact, it was actually nice that it wasn't so crowded today! Then it was General Conference! Conference is definitely different with a child who can move. haha. Last conference Emi was just 2 weeks old. This conference she was all over the place. The talks were all really good...but now that I'm writing about it they're all starting to mesh together. Some standouts for me were Elder Stevensons talking about making Easter special (thanks mom and dad for sending us ideas for holy week!) and Carl B. Cook talking about his first experience as a general authority (Elder Packer had him give 6 talks in the course of one day at Stake Conference Sessions). I was excited to find out that Emily Belle Freeman is the new Young Womens General President. I've heard some of her stuff from "Don't Miss This" and so I feel like I "know"