7 Year Anniversary

So I totally stole this idea off of my friend Katie's blog. I thought it was brilliant. Especially since I have THE worst memory. I thought it would be a fun and free way for us to celebrate our Anniversary, as well as help preserve what little memories I have left! So this is for you, Charles. Happy 7 Years. I love you. :)

1. Where did you and your husband meet?

Well, depending on who you ask, you will get a different answer. I remember meeting, (or at least learning WHO he was) while we were in Junior High. I remember because even though we were on different tracks, he was a drummer in the band, and I was on the drill team and so we had marching practice after school. I remember Charles was the one always snogging his girlfriend on Mrs. Crounse's couch! Gross! But if you were to ask him, he would say our Freshman year of High School. Hmmph! Too cool to notice his future wife in Junior High! :)

2. First things said?

So this may be awkward... and I hope I don't embarrass anyone... but I actually remember talking to him in Junior High. My friend Michelle Rasch, (who was also on the drill team with me) told me she liked him and wanted me to ask him out for her. "Going out." LOL Back then that meant boyfriend/girlfriend status. I remember she said, "That Charles Socci is fiiiiiiiine!" LOL. Remember saying that? "Fine." Now we say "hot." "He's so hot." Anyway, I hope this doesn't embarrass Michelle now, but he said no, and I remember telling her later that he was a jerk. But I guess it all worked out, because he was just the wrong Socci boy for her. She ended up marrying his younger brother Forrest. And so now Michelle is my sister-in-law! (Love you, girl!) Charles, of course, doesn't remember any of this... too popular to remember the little people. :) Just kidding!

3. First Date?

Okay, before I tell you about our first date, I must first give a little background. So Charles and I had like 3 class together our Freshman year, and we liked each other almost the whole time. I invited him to a church dance when I was 14 and that is where he "asked me out." I had to tell him no, because I am LDS, and we don't date until we are 16. (Mom and Dad, be proud.. be very proud. Remember how proud you feel as I tell you the next part.)

Well, we stayed friends, until he decided he needed a girlfriend. Punk. Once that was over we started being friends again.

Just a month before I turned 16, he called me and asked me if I wanted to go to a JetHawks game with him. I was torn. I knew I still had a month to go, but I also didn't want to tell him no, and have him lose interest again. My family and I were supposed to be going to a Galexy game that night... so I played the Homework card. I told my parents I needed to stay home and work on a project. (*cringe*... sorry Mom and Dad!) Charles picked me up in his shiny new blue 1996 Pontiac Grand Am sedan.

We went to the game, then to Tommy's where the have the BEST French Fries, and then he took he home. I got there RIGHT before my family got back. I'm sorry I snuck out, but this was my future husband! The father of my unborn children! Who knows what kind of psycho I might have ended up with? I HAD to!... Right?

4. First Kiss

This happened after we had been dating for about 2 months. I was dropping Charles off at his house in the good ole' Ford Escort. I was telling him goodbye, when he looked at me and then asked me if it would be alright if he kissed me. I got really nervous and said, okay. He gave me a very nice "church kiss," and I was like panicking. Right before he closed the door, I told him to wait. I asked him if I was a bad kisser... He told me it was good, but that we could practice. :)

5. When “I love yous” were first said:

So this would be at 2 different times. I believe he told me after we had been dating for like 6 months or so. When he told me, I remember feeling so awkward. I knew I liked him a lot, but I wasn't sure if I was in love, or what that even was. I didn't want to lie to him by just saying it back, so I said, "thank you." He still won't let me forget that one. He says he had never felt so lame. I think it was another 6 months or so before I said it back.

6. Long or short courtship/engagement?

Definitely a long courtship, and a short engagement. We had a good 3 years from our first date till he left for his mission, plus 2 months afterwards. We had 2 homecoming dances... 2 Proms...

missionary discussions...

3 Christmases together...

his baptism...

our graduation...

then I went to BYU for college and he stayed in Lancaster and went to AVC. But he visited me every chance he got and even took me to my Homecoming game and dance at BYU.

Then he served a mission in Rome...

while I got 2 more years of school under my belt...

then he came home.

Our engagement was significantly shorter. Almost 3 months long.

7. Where did you get engaged?

We got engaged at Julianne and Bryce's house on the morning of April 18, 2002... Exactly 5 years after our first date. Charles had been home from his mission almost 2 months, and he drove up to Utah and stayed with Julianne and Bryce.

One thing I will never hear the end of is... I put the down payment on my own ring. I didn't mean to! Charles asked Julianne to take me looking to try and get an idea of what I liked and what I didn't like. Well I found the perfect one, and the salesman totally took advantage of me! How was I supposed to know? I had never bought anything where the sticker price wasn't actually the price! He told me that if I didn't secure the diamond, that I would never find a better deal... and I thought I would be saving Charles some money... so I did it. My mom was POed. And Charles was also a little frustrated. Oops!

8. Where did you get married?

We were married in the Los Angeles temple on July 27, 2002. Our Luncheon was at the AV Inn, and our Reception was held in my parents' backyard, and it was perfect. Maybe a little crowded, because we didn't really think that so many people would show up, but we were pleasantly surprised. :) I loved everything about that day. Everyone worked so hard to help us have such an amazing day.

9. Where did you go on your honeymoon?

Ummm... I know we went to Park City. And I know I got sick. That's about all I remember. Oh! And we shopped the Outlet Mall and I bought 2 skirts. Charles? You may have to fill in here.

10. Where did you make your first home?

Our first home was a one bedroom apartment in south Provo called the Villa Maria. We paid like $470 a month. It had no dishwasher, and no washer/dryer hookups. I guess it wasn't so bad considering it was just the 2 of us... but man, I can't imagine going without those things now! We rode the bus to campus each day, and it was so much fun. We lived there until April 2004 when we had Jaden. After that we lived with my parents in Lancaster for a summer then we moved back to Provo into a 2 bedroom apartment called the Diamar III.

Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting!

BIG NEWS, BIG NEWS! After what... 5 or 6 months... Jaden and I are no longer a "bottom of the food chain-- White Belt." Woot-Woot! We were pretty nervous when we were called to test for our yellow belts. We didn't know what to expect, but we drove to Ogden (where everyone from all other Hapkido classes go to test) and did our thing. (Punches, Kicks, Rolls & Jumps) Jaden was the youngest one to test, and I, surprisingly, was NOT the oldest. There were 3 people older than me. Whew!

After we tested in front of Master Lim in Ogden, we finished the rest of our test in our own class. There, we were awarded... Dun da-da DUN!... our Yellow Belts. In case you are wondering, the order of belts goes: White, Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, Red-Black, Black-Red, Black, and then a million more degrees of Black. Jaden has been very anxious since day 1 to "be on the Green Team!" One more belt to go, Jaden. :)

Here we are switching from White to Yellow.

After that we had to lead the class in stretches.

Hmmm... not quite as flexible as I was 10 years ago! But look at Jaden go!

Thank goodness we didn't have to do the Korean counting! Our instructor did that for us. I think it isn't until we get the Green or Blue belts before we are required to do that... yikes... I may have to "resign" before then.

Then we also led the class in a few kicks.

So there you have it... Jaden got his Yellow Belt at age 5, and I got mine at age... 28.

That makes 3 Yellow Belts in the family.....What? You think I miscounted? Well here's the one who started it all. Charles got his at age 12 or 13.

Love, Hate, Lost and Found

So I realize this will be random, but I haven't blogged in a while and these were just a few things I wanted to record.

We'll start with Kaleb. I love Kaleb. He has definitely been my most challenging kid thusfar... but there are times when he is equally just as sweet. Here is a picture of him when he is almost at his peak of sweetness. (Yes, the peak would be those times when he is super-sweet but CONSCIOUS!)


Seriously... who doesn't love a sleeping kid? Awwww... these are the moments. :)


But on more humorous note, here is the Kaleb we see a little more frequently. Terrible twos... gotta love 'em! So in this video, I had already put Jaden and Kaleb to bed and was just playing with Bradley a little before putting him to bed as well. Kaleb has this habit of always coming back downstairs for a few minutes afterwards. I can't decide whether to ignore him or put the smack down on him. Anyway, listen to Kaleb... it's pretty funny.




Next we have a story... So one day I was cleaning the bedrooms upstairs. Now usually when I do this, I like to keep the kids DOWNstairs, so as not to have them mess everything up before I can vacuum.

Well, Jaden is my eyes during those times. Every few minutes I call down to him for a report on what everyone is doing. As long as everyone is alive and well, that's all I need to know.

So this one particular time, I called down to Jaden.
"Jaden!"
"What?"
"How's Bradley doing?"
"Good!.... But I don't know where he is."

Hmm. Okay, so I figured he was behind a couch or under a table or something, so I decided to just go downstairs real quick, catch my visual then return to work. I went down and he was no where. Seriously. I started to panic just a little, but thought... Okay... Kaleb's not around either, so they must be together... the doors are all still locked, they're not upstairs... what the heck? So I decided to check the little toy closet under the stairs. I opened it, scanned it quickly and was about to close it because,

A. the light was turned off.
and
B. I couldn't hear anything (I mean come on... does a 2 and a half year old and an 11 month old really know how to play together quietly?)

Well... apparently so. There they were. Tucked way in the back, in the dark, not making a peep. I took a picture, and the only reason you can see them is because of the flash.

I asked them if they were okay, Kaleb said yes. I asked him if he wanted the light on and he said no. I started to walk away and Kaleb told me to close the door. Okay... whatever.. as long as they are alive and well, right?


On to the next one:
So. What would one get with a fly swatter, Captain Hook's hook, and some thread? A fishing pole, of course! Our little resourceful Jaden has been wanting to go fishing in the small pool for weeks. But we have no fishing pole. He created one all on his own. He instructed Charles on how to do it, and here it is.


Next question: What would one fish for in a tiny pool? (Well if you're like me and you always scroll down to look at pictures before reading, then you already know.) A fish? A duck? An old boot? No no... UNDERPANTS! Again, this is what Jaden came up with. So here are the boys fishing for underpants.



And yes... that smack you hear at the end of this video IS what you think.



And just in case anyone wanted to see a cute baby rolling around... here you go.



And lastly...
Someone (I will not mention names) said that I NEVER post pictures of myself, because I never allow any pictures to be taken. Well just to prove that certain someone wrong... THERE!

Strolling Around

Maybe it's because it's summertime, but lately it has just been pointless dressing the kids in the morning. Between swimming, playing "tougher" and... well just their normal play, they always seem to loose their shirts, and then eventually their pants. Oh well... at least they are staying cool.


A recent game that they like to play is "Babies." This is where Jaden and Kaleb alternate who gets to be the Daddy while the other one and Bradley are the babies. Sometimes I get to play. I am always designated the role of "Grandma." Many times the Daddy takes his babies to Grandma for babysitting. I have to say I really enjoy this game. Whenever they need something they always turn to the "Daddy." Kinda nice! Especially when Kaleb gets into one of his whiney moods, I'll just tell him to talk to his "Daddy" and... man... Jaden works wonders!

Now they have started including the stroller in their play. This is a stroller for a doll or in their case, their bears. Bradley can fit in it, and even our scrawny little Kaleb can fit. AND Kaleb can hold Bradley on his lap in it! But I try not to let them do that... don't want the thing to break now! Anyway, I took a few videos of the boys playing... enjoy!

Happy 4th of July! "Where there's never a ghost or braid"

So... what can you get with 10 dollars at Walmart and a whole lot of sunscreen ? Hours and hours of summer fun. This is how the boys have been spending their days. They LOVE this pool. It's big enough for the 3 of them to fit comfortably, but small enough to stay warm in the sun. It has been GREAT for me to be able to send them outside again, so I can get some things done, and they can wear themselves out! One day, after about 3 hours, and 3 applications of sunscreen, I seriously had to drag them back inside. They were so upset! Ahhhh... good times.





Here's Charles joining them after his shift at the Temple.




Another thing the boys love to do is play with our new couches. Since the cushions are removable, the boys have found all sorts of uses for them...

This one is their boat...


Here is Bradley in his boat... (we didn't know he could climb up onto the couch by himself till we found him like this)


A bed...


A fort!!



And here's Kaleb pretending to be Jaden's Dad. I don't know why he opted for the Mr. Potato glasses over some that actually fit, but... they worked!


And now... in honor of today... the boys would like to sing you a song: