the city of angels

surprise! josh is going to ucla. absolutely, positively, the final decision is finally made. not ONCE (since we've made this decision a few times by now) but definitely for ALL. that's right, we're leaving utah on friday, august 21st, to arrive in our new home in los angeles on saturday the 22nd. (the photos are of ucla's campus, from march when josh went out to visit and interview at ucla...)
some of you are imagining we're heading to duke and north carolina next month. yes, that was plan A. then, ucla complicated things by offering josh a sweet scholarship. so we thought about it and decided that it was already a close decision before, now the scales tipped in favor of the west coast. then, to complicate things FURTHER, we thought we'd wait and see if duke would pony up. of course, neither of us thought they would. these mba programs have about 20% acceptance rates, and given that they still admit about 400 students a year...well, they obviously don't exactly need to pay people to get them to show up. and competition is fierce for any funding they do offer. so we just threw that in for entertainment's sake. lo and behold, duke came back with lots of $$! i should have known better than to underestimate my hard-working 4.0/780-on-the-GMAT/Goldman Sachs-loves-him smarty-pants. of course they're willing to pay to get him there! unfortunately, they were willing to pay almost exactly what ucla was (despite having no idea of his other offer). that put us back to square one. good thing is by now we have housing and schools for the kids set up in both places. we've been in touch with people in josh's program and their spouses and people from church. etc. so we would be set either way...

so why ucla? who knows! honestly, it's one of those decisions between two great things you just have to make. we have no doubt both places would have been awesome and love so many things about each of them. one thing we did learn is that josh can get in-state tuition in california. random, since for the past 12 years he's lived in hawaii, mongolia, and utah. but since he went to all four years of high school in orange county, CA and graduated from fountain valley high--he still qualifies. so that will still save us $15k over the 2 years. not exactly petty cash. other bonuses: relative proximity to family and friends; perfect weather; close to beach (josh is a major warm weather/beach nut and already has our 6 year old joshua convinced that he needs to learn to surf ASAP); another HUGE factor is that we think california may be a good place for us long term. lots of job opportunities for josh, lots of great phd programs for me, etc. so it simply makes sense to network and build contacts there. of course we're also aware of the high cost of living and the crazy congestion...but i'm planning on winning the lottery, so we're not going to worry about the first one too much. and the second, well, lots of people also means lots of opportunities. and from living in salt lake (granted, a tiny fraction of the size of LA) we've learned that it doesn't matter if you're in a city, in fact we LOVE it, as long as you have your neighborhood, a reasonable commute, and have some escape to the outdoors (and we'll be super close to the beach and pretty close to mountains--sweet!) so that's the call.

we'll be out in exactly 10 weeks folks. FINALLY! woohoo! come visit!

and here's a little of my hippie girl joni mitchell singing the praises of california: "it's too old and cold and settled in it's way here...oh but california...california!...i might have stayed on with him there, but my heart cried out for you california...oh california...will you take me as i am, strung out on another man...california i'm a-comin home"

three men and a lady

lately i've been thinking how fun it is being the only girl in this family--me and my three boys. there's a few reasons for this. one is how much of our activities revolve around sports. joshua just finished jr. jazz, which was a major hit. he has started getting pretty aggressive and playing defensively--it's so fun to watch!

now he's back at soccer--practice starts up again this week (which i announced this afternoon to great cheers). and jacob has just started his first soccer team, which is the cutest thing ever.

Then there's all the basketball games,

(go byu!)

wrestling meets, bike riding, and of course march madness complete with in-house dunk contests...

(sorry, but i think this white boy can jump)

the fun never ends! i like sports well enough, but for me it's more of a social event. i don't really know or care much about what's going on on the field/court/etc unless it involves one of my boys scoring (or getting hurt--then i REALLY care.) right now march madness is in full gear, and the boys watch and play basketball while i'm off studying. it's so cute to me! and although i may miss out on some girl things, these boys definitely let me know i'm special. my favorite is when jacob says "i love you mom" out of the blue. then i say "i love you too jacob." without fail he responds "i love you too mom." cutest thing.

then there's me, the sole female of the house. this means that i get to be something i never got to be growing up with a 3 sisters. i get to be the princess! i get to be the girl. when i get a pedicure, my boys are fascinated by my toes--the things girls do! when i wear fishnet stockings, it kind of creeps them out, but i tell them it's a girl thing. when i wear big earings, they say "cute earings mom!" when i buy new shoes or clothes, they say "girls just need a lot of stuff, huh mom?" i get to have the car warmed up for me, doors opened. i also get to be moody. sorry, but it's part of the package and sometimes mom needs alone time. i get to take bubble baths and eat gourmet chocolates. it's wonderful being a woman! the funny thing is, this is a new found joy for me. i've never been a tom boy, but never a girly-girl either. i'm pretty practical and down-to-earth. but i'll tell you what, some of the finest things in life are monopolized by woman kind, and i am taking full advantage.

so if i end up the lone girl in this family, i'm perfectly happy with that. my boys are FUN! besides, if a little girl ever comes along, i'm not sure i'll be ready to relinquish my princess status...

some things i love

christmas cards! it's so much work that every year i wonder if i'll ever do it again. but then seeing those smiling faces on my mantle--the faces of all those people i love--well worth it.

running! i know i talk about it, and it may be annoying because you're like "yes janell, you run, okay." but i can't really tell you how much i love it. it makes me happy, it calms me. i love how it makes me feel. i totally look forward to it. even when it's cold and icy and snowy and dark--still love it. it's part of me and i hope i can run into my grave.

optimism. i've been realizing lately that i am a happy, optimisistic person. i feel hopeful about the future even when things are hard. i love to smile and to laugh, and it comes very natural to me. i feel i have every reason to be happy, and so little reason not to be. even when things are very busy or really tough, i generally feel calm and happy about things. i'm not a big stresser. it's a mindset i hope i always retain.

the moon. i love full moons. especially when the mountains are covered in snow so that they glow and the sky looks midnight blue instead of black and the world looks lit up. i see this often when i drive home from studying at 12 or 1230 at night, listening to nighttime jazz or norah jones, and the world feels peaceful and calm and magical.

people. i love people and have no desire or inclination to judge them. i am not trying to say i'm awesome--i'm horribly flawed. but i pretty much like everyone, and can't think of anyone i hold any grudge against. i think i am blessed to be able to see people in the best light. i make every effort to try to understand others and not to question their motives or sincerity. i only mention this because it brings me great joy to be able to love people.

high heels, sweaters and coats. i'm grouping them together because i don't want to sound too materialistic! i LOVE high heels and would like to wear them most days and have a million fun pairs. i saw the cutest gold (not shiny, just yellowish) heels with very pointy toes and this big bow over the toe. so cute! don't worry, i didn't buy them. i couldn't because i DID buy my bright, shiny red 5 inch heels that i am in love with. i also love boots, especially knee-length boots. small joy. as for sweaters--who can have too many of them? v-neck, turtle neck, fitted, baggy--they are good for every occassion. i probably have 10 black sweaters alone. love it! and coats--for christmas i got the cutest black wool peacoat with a hood and it's stinkin cute. i love being a girl.

these two monkeys. aaaaahhhhh! can you even believe their cute/fun/silly-ness?! i'm crazy over them. really. i have the best kids EVER. that's right. this picture is them trying to be strong like their dad. some mornings he does sets of push ups, sit ups, etc--with his shirt off. so the boys have their shirts off and attempt to do some workout. jacob is holding his stomache since he couldn't get the 6 pack effect by flexing his gut. really, you can't blame them for wanting to look like their dad. i mean seriously, have you seen him with his shirt off lately?! todd should back me up on this one.

news and politics. the new york times makes me very happy. i'm a nerd. i especially love reading op-eds and the latest research. and i am forever grateful for those wonderful friends--like katie w and david b--who, although i may disagree with them more often than not, will have thoughtful discussions about things that matter, and yet STILL be able to laugh at the political craziness on both sides of the aisle. and lets not forget inauguration day is january 20th. sweet! barack obama is definitely something to love.

this family. it makes me happy to see us because i think we look as happy as we are. from christmas lights at temple square.

by the way, here is a link to more of our fabulous family photos. i LOVE them! there are some great family photos, amazing individual shots of both boys and adorable ones of the two of them together. there are even some shnazzy ones of a good lookin' couple. i love looking at them--it really makes me very happy. my friend kendi took them and she is wonderful, not only because she takes great photos but because there's nothing worse than having a photographer who gets impatient with your kids for being kids. argh! but kendi takes great photos AND is a lot of fun. check her out.

if this photo doesn't whet your appetite for more cuteness, you're hopeless!

need i say more?

what i'm happy about...

i've been sweetly commanded to blog, and it's just as well, since i'll be back to school on tuesday the 13th and don't imagine i'll be blogging for awhile. my final semester of school, and it will be a rough one. but four months and i'll be an MPA grad! even though i'm nervous about ALL i have to do before then, i think i'm about ready to go back. this break has been wonderful--just what i needed. i feel renewed. we had a relaxing and fun christmas and new years, and we got to spend good time with both of our families, and--yeah!--with each other.

now that it's 2009, my goals are very meager.
1) graduate
2) move
that's about it. sure there are all kinds of things i'd like to do, but in all honesty that's pretty much what i'm aiming for. finish and move on! it's time.

i feel unbelievably happy lately. i think part of that is that i'm getting sleep. the other part of that is that i've got the greatest family ever. we were sitting around playing cars with the boys on sunday and i felt like everything i need is right there. so happy. josh is amazing, and joshua and jacob are so much fun! really. i love being with them--they make me very happy. i am a lucky woman.

my big boy joshua. recently he and i have read james and the giant peach, ralph s. mouse, and sideways stories from wayside school together. right now it's boxcar children. it's one thing just he and i do together, and it's probably my favorite mom thing to do. i love it. joshua has taken to spontaneously giving me hugs and saying "i love you mom." such a sweet, sensitive boy.

i can't even say how happy this mischievious little boy makes me. he is a one compact bundle of joy. and he loves to give hugs and kisses. "i wanna give you a kiss mom! i wanna hug you!" he has the silliest giggle and, although he has a temper to run from, he so quickly recovers and gives you that killer smile that you can hardly hold it against him. and i don't. he's his mom's son, after all.

josh turns 30 next week--crazy! i'm close behind. we're moving on up. josh is too good to me, unbelievably thoughtful and forgiving and supportive. it has been so nice to relax with him and enjoy his company. he is one an amazing dad. i hope some day my boys know how lucky they are to have him. josh recently got a big promotion--goldman's latest associate! he deserves it, i don't know anyone who works harder. now he's applying to business schools and we both are so excited for it--somewhere new! we're ready to move on and see what life holds next. i love him, and feel very content with our life. i think we're where we want to be. i can't think of anything more i could need...

here's the big fam. my mom and frank-o were here for thanksgiving which made ALMOST a full crew. we still missed my bro john. i like this picture though--all those kids! and what is better is that they all LOVE each other! they get crazy and noisy together and we love to see it. their cousins are their best buddies, and i am quite attached to my niece and nephews as well. what a great family!

look at these beautiful women! my mom is the best, and i love my sisters. there is so much in them to admire, and i often feel woefully inadequate compared to them. it was great spending thanksgiving with them all, some christmas time, and a hilarious new years. i haven't laughed that hard in a long time! it is such a gift to be by family, and we are appreciating it extra as we know we may be leaving soon.

i'll admit--i've been choked up the whole time i've been writing this. nothing spectacular going on but i have felt SO HAPPY and so blessed lately. i adore my family. i have so much to be grateful for.

more on that later...

a list

i'll be honest. two kids, two classes, and working 20 hours a week is kind of a lot. but we do still manage to have a lot of fun, i just don't have much time to write about it! here is a quick list of some of what we've been up to over the last month or two...

1. firebirds soccer.

the star...

we loved going to joshua's saturday morning games. he is improving a lot, and had a great coach with excellent practices to help. it's been fun to see. one day joshua proudly said "dad, i was really focusing, and being agressive!"
the fan...

2. kindergarten fieldtrip to the zoo...

i was one of the chaperones, and so got to tag along with my little group of five for the afternoon. all i have to say is BOYS and GIRLS are so different! these cute little girls wanted to hold my hand and tell me everything. the boys are off and running. pretty fun.

3. the circus...

barnum and bailey at the center formerly known as delta. cotton candy. trapeze artists. clowns. motorcycles. elephants. good times.

4. jason mraz

my sister lorri, josh and i went to see jason mraz at the e-center. it was AMAZING. it's been too long since i've been to a good concert, but this one was well worth the wait. i love his music, his voice is incredible live, he's a super fun performer, and i loved having a serious dance party with lors! and yes, great seats. i took that photo, nice huh? there's something so incredible about live music so loud you can't even hear yourself singing along at the top of your lungs. the energy is just intoxicating.

5. halloween

joshua was a teenage mutant ninja turtle. jacoby a dragon. so cute. we had fun carving pumpkins the week before, seeing the witches at gardner village, and then the actual night was perfect. the weatherman gave us a perfect fall day--light breeze, beautiful leaves, but no coats needed for trick-or-treating! candy stash is still slowly dwindling

6. st. george marathon

we did it! josh and i ran 26.2 in st. george. it was freezing cold and rainy the entire time--we're talking SOAKING wet clothes, soggy feet, etc. my ipod died at mile 11 from getting too wet (luckily it revived the next day!). it was tough. but we finished it, and are so glad we did. we went down to st. george with my good friend from school/work lissy, and her husband dan ran it as well. such a fun weekend!

7. voting. and REVELING!

okay, i'm just going to say it...i love barack obama!

8. blogging about voting.
this was a cool little project. one of my professors does this election blog with some other collegues at caltech, MIT, reed college, and the european institue--called election updates. he asked myself and a PhD student at caltech to work on the blog the week around election day, since they were in new mexico observing election procedures. we read all the news we could possibly find about election administration, voting technology, any kind of polling place/pollworker problems, etc. it was CRAZY!! really busy. but the fun thing about it was that i felt very involved with what was going on around the nation. it was a great way to be really engaged in something i've been so excited about for so long.

here's a link to one of my my last posts. the blog got tens of thousands of hits that week, and is generally widely read by other election scholars and administrators--so kind of a big deal in academic nerd land.

9. the ER anyone who knows this adorable little guy will be sad to learn he needed 3 stitches on his eyebrow, but not at all surprised that he tripped at the playground and bonked his head. we've been anticipating this, and know it will not be our last trip to the ER. our pediatrician was AMAZED at how great the stitches look--and you probably are too because you can't even really tell they're there. bruise on the bridge of his nose, puffy left eye, three stitches on the end of his left eyebrow. when the accident happened i was pretty calm, despite blood everywhere, but i lost it when the stitches were put in and my sweet, happy little guy screamed and cried his head off. "hold me mommy! hold me!" rips your heart right out. after probably 5-10 minutes of screaming at the top of his lungs, he gave up and just said "i'm sad!" and sobbed his sweet little heart out. i was right there with him...

10. anniversary getaway at the beach!

7 years on monday. that's right. and we had the perfect celebration. a beautiful resort, perfect weather, a generous mother-in-law to watch the boys, and then days that pretty much went: run, pool, beach, beach, beach, get ready, fancy dinner out, hot tub. and again the next day. who could complain! i love you josh.

so you see we're still alive and kicking...

yee haw!

we went to rodeo. my first time, and i dressed for the ocassion. but even with a cowboy hat, tight jeans, a nice big belt buckle, i still felt like an observer. what can i say, it's not my thing. don't get me wrong--the bull riding is amazing, mutton busting is hilarious, the horses are magnificent. but i'm not a fan of the calf roping. and, more importantly, i just do not understand these people. i've never understood that "man vs. nature" mentality that would have you conquer an animal. and when they opened the event by saying "we dedicate this to the firemen, policemen, and those great men fighting over seas, not to the politician or the activist!" (with disdain dripping from those last words), i couldn't help thinking that, although i too love this country and am honored by those who serve in uniform, i also have profound respect for "politicians" ie george washington, thomas jefferson, abraham lincoln, FDR, JFK--to name but a few. and i also can't imagine a world without "activists"--those who believe in a cause and, though not in uniform, fight for it--people like martin luther king jr and susan b. anthony. i don't think the announcer meant to demean the efforts of such great people, but it's just that mentality in general that i have a hard time with. a mentality that thinks the job of a rodeo clown is to make crude jokes about wives and mother-in-laws. it's just foreign to me.
BUT it was fun. a cultural experience, no doubt. and, who knows, if i had met a cowboy as cute as these two, i could very well be a cowgirl!

couldn't you just eat them?

first day of school

it's been a few weeks, but here's my big guy on his first day of kindergarten. isn't he handsome? he loves school. the other day i was taking him and his buddy carter to school. joshua gets more and more excited the closer we get, and then he just bursts out of the car once i stop. carter asks "joshua, WHY do you like school so much?" but joshua was already off, running to line up. maybe it has something to do with his mom and dad's love for school. although i'm sure it's mostly because of one of my favorite aspects of joshua's personality: he loves EVERYTHING. he'll try anything, go anywhere, be friends with anyone. he gets excited about everything and is always up for any kind of adventure. he never gets tired. what a guy!

and he's off...

retrospect: the 4th of july

lucky for us, the timing of our family reunion worked out so that my family was still here for the fourth. although josh worked most of the day (sad--i know! he's almost done with this crazy project), the rest of the group spent the afternoon at the pool, where josh met us at the tail end. then we all barbequed at my house before going over to sugarhouse park for fireworks. we all had our 4th of july t-shirts on, and i went to the store earlier and bought a few packages of glow-sticks for my kids and their cousins. i love how the kids get so excited about little things like that.

now, i love fireworks, but only if you can be right underneath them. you have to feel like they're going to fall on you or the magic effect is just lost. well we got it--they were great! joshua of course loved them, but jacob wasn't quite so sure. as soon as they started he came right by me and said "mommy tuddle, tuddle mommy" (he says his c's with a t sound, so translated that's an irresistable plea to cuddle.) he laid right beside me the whole time. he was a little nervous and at first he said "doh home mommy." but soon enough he got into it, and since then he hasn't stopped talking about fireworks. it's a late night for the kiddies, but definitely well worth it.

once again, for my family's sake, i'm including all the photos in a slide. the good lookin' guy with the faux, my bro john. the cute couple back to back--my mom and stepdad frank. the family of five--my sisters'. the rest are me and my boys. there's some sweet pics here. so take a break from the olympics and check them out. i'm off to soccer camp, followed by swimming lessons. you've got to love summer...

mountain madness: timberlakes 2008

last month we had our family reunion up at timberlakes, in the mountains above heber. it was a blast--just perfect. we went up thursday night and stayed until sunday afternoon. in the meantime we played games, went for a hike, went into park city for some swimming, had a talent show, did our own family sacrament meeting, had great food, and just laughed a lot. the kids loved playing with their cousins and, of course, being with their grandma vicki. we missed heide, steve and ethan, but were so glad to finally have my brother john join us! he is pretty much hilarious, and my boys think he's the coolest. i agree.

i decided to make a slide show (like lis) because i know my family is anxious to see ALL the photos. it's probably overkill for the rest of you, so for that i apologize.

number one thing i came away from that with: i have an awesome family. so talented, so caring, so helpful and supportive and loving, and SO FUN!
love you guys. enjoy the photos.

we like each other

i always get lots of good pictures of my cute boys, as i should. they're cute. but i was just looking at pictures, and was pleasantly surprised to see that we've got a few good ones of me and my hubby lately...

when we ran the slc half marathon together. early a.m.

swimming in provo river.

hiking to stuart falls.

there were a few more good ones, largely thanks to our friends mike and mandie who were just in town. (more about that later.) i'll spare you more. but that's me and josh. 7 years.

as far as cuteness goes, we're not too bad ourselves.

bring on the summer

at last it feels like summer is here. the past few weeks have been fun but crazy--with josh's sister's wedding and a family reunion and finals and joshua finishing up school and karate and baseball starting up and josh off to san fran and figuring out my new schedule...but at last i think we've got some sort of a routine. i'm only taking one class over the summer and i feel like it gives me a LOT more fun time with josh and the boys. this is great because in the summer there's SO MUCH fun stuff to do. i love it. this weekend we spent saturday at my sister lorri's pool, and the evening we went with some friends to the park for dinner and then to a Real Salt Lake soccer game. fun! it's nice to be able to be together--i mean, i still have to study some, but it's a lot more flexible. i am also working one day a week, which i really enjoy. my wonderful mother-in-law comes up from provo on tuesday's and stays with the boys. they adore her, and i'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual! so we've got a good summer coming our way.
below are a few pictures...
the first few are from the wedding at the salt lake temple. jodi is beautiful, and looked so great, but unfortunately i didn't get any great photos of the bride. when some are emailed my way i'll have to post. it was a lot of fun, and we love justin. they are such a sweet, happy couple.

this is our own sweet, happy family. i like us.

these are our silly boys. joshua is trying to make jacob smile a real smile. at the ripe age of two jacob has perfected the photo-op smile. it's pretty cute and silly, but i prefer the closer-to-real thing.

buffalo! isn't he huge? this of course is at yellowstone. we spent almost a week up in northeast idaho, right by west yellowstone. we stayed in our sister-in-law's family "cabin" which is a huge beautiful home that fit all of josh's siblings and families great (except for the honeymooners, of course). i have great in-laws and we all had so much fun with them. we spent one day in yellowstone, which i always love. we saw TONS of buffalo and got stopped in the road by crossings several times. we also saw two grizzly bears, tons of elk, some pelicans, and i can't remember what else. the animals are fun, but my favorite is just the beautiful mountains and open fields and rivers and canyons. it is SO beautiful! and while i used to be opposed to such superficial outdoor enjoyment (hopping in and out of cars, "hikes" on paved trails, etc), with two young ones i now think it is a great way to go! we loved it.

joshua looking cute at geyser basin. these things never cease to amaze me.


the family at geyser basin. that's opal pool behind us. because the water's so hot and it was kind of a chilly day, the steam made it hard to get a great look at my favorite--grand prismatic spring. but all still very cool.


awaiting old faithful's timely eruption. we bought both of the boys junior ranger binoculaurs which were a hit. i think my kids are so fun to hang around with. they're so silly, not to mention adorable.


josh and joshua intently watching. after the eruption we asked joshua what he thought. "i liked it." then, after a long pause: "but i thought GUYS were going to come out."
what a disappointment! we told him it was a geyser that erupted out of the ground and shot up into the sky. he was awaiting something much more exciting than water and steam. can't blame him.


i ran to the restroom, and had to find the boys when i returned.


this has got to be the happiest, silliest, cutest boy around. he cracks us up.


the crew at yellowstone grand canyon--which i love. it is so amazing! well worth the trip to the east side of the park (especially if you have three boys who will all nap in the car on the way there!)

me, joshua, jacob. they love it. they were troopers. we think they are so fun because they will go and go and go with us. they are little adventurers.

jacob holding a worm. fascinating.

this isn't yellowstone, it's maybe 10 miles outside of ashton, idaho. this is called mesa falls and it is beautiful. and the rainbow was spectacular. jacob kept pointing and saying "green, orange, yellow."

small though we are--that's the four of us down by the falls.

here's a random photo josh took. there i am in the grey fleece talking to josh's sister jerilie in the blue sweatshirt and his mom close by in red. over the guard railings is juliana (other sister) and her great boyfriend (we FINALLY got to meet!) Scott. isn't it beautiful? the cliffs and the trees and the green. plus all the kids got smokey the bear frisbees which were a huge hit.

this sweetness is real, but also hides some serious mischief. don't be too fooled!

my boys! and they are all saying "cheese!" for some reason, it really DOES work to get the kids to smile. who ever figured that out was a genius. this is at lower mesa falls. it started raining and so everyone left. we stayed. as josh and i like to say, a litte rain never hurt nobody!

me and my big boy joshua.

hope you enjoy the photos. josh and i loved having the camera around, especially after i realized it does have a zoom. i SHOULD have already known this, but here i was thinking--we spent $200 on this thing and it doesn't even zoom! what a waste! good thing for josh. he set me straight. i also learned some other cool features. josh researched and looked at camera reviews and picked this one out for us for christmas--small, does a lot of cool things, easy to use, not too technical. good choice

and now, we're ready for summer!