Christmas Plans

Ladies-

I really hope to see you all more than once over Christmas break. I will be there for almost 3 weeks, so call me and let me know when you are available to hang out. Did you all see that Natalie's home on Monday, December 21. She is speaking in the La Mesa II Ward on Sunday, December 27 at 11:30 am. I will for sure go to that.

I love you all and can't wait to see you!

Happy Birthday Randilyn!

Today is Randilyn's 25th birthday! Hooray! So, let her know what your favorite thing about her is and help her to feel special on her day.

Happy Birthday Kristen

Ok, so this is a little late. But, I did not think of this idea until today, so we will do it anyways.

Since Kristen's birthday just passed, please make a comment about your favorite thing about Kristen, or a favorite memory.

We love you KRISTEN!!!

Are you all proud? I wrote. And I posted a pic.

grad school begins...

So, I sat down to do my homework...and that just didn't happen. Well, that's okay because now I can write about life which is so much more fulfilling anyway. So grad school is hard. Oh, and if you didn't know, I'm not in Kentucky. Yes, I managed to find myself back in Provo. AGAIN. I hope to one day get out. Actually sooner than later. But, BYU is a good place. I'm doing the MPP program. It's very time intensive and I have had many many second thoughts since starting. Alas, I continue to study and study, work, and run. Yes, I ran a marathon!! I was so proud that I did it. It meant a lot to me personally because I have felt so uncommitted lately, and this was something that I said I would do. And I did it. 26.2 miles later I had a hurt foot (which I found out later I pulled a major ligament during the first part of the race), swollen knees and ankles, aches and pains, and the priceless feeling of victory! It was great. Anyway, no more gloating. I realized life is great because I can do anything right now. It is quite liberating, although lonely at times. I am excited for Natalie's return. And for fall. Can I just say how much I love fall? I love fall. I love the seasons. and the leaves. and the colors. Summer is too warm, winter is too cold, but fall is perfect. That's all.

Conference Weekend!

Hey girls! Ok, I know we've been emailing/chatting/etc about Conference weekend, but I was thinking it might be easier for us all to make plans through the blog~ Heidi emailed me back, Randi, and she says she's coming! Yay! Calista, can you make it? You're still in Provo, right? Tara, I wish you weren't so far away!! :) I know I'm a horrible friend to not already know this, but when does Natalue get off her mission? I'm thinking probably Saturday would be the best day to get together, right? Give me your thoughts ladies! :)

I'm excited to see you!!

I'm Alive!

Hey Girls!
So...its been forever since I last blogged.
Kristen-congratulations!!! Nathan is a little cutie!
Tara-thanks for the random phone calls. It is always good to hear from you!
Randi-awwwww muchacha te extrano. Fue tan chevere poder verte aqui en Washington D.C.!
Calista-The tandem bike was a def SD highlight for me-hope you're living it up in our great home of La Mesa.
I am in Washington D.C. for the summer again. I am interning at the Institute of International Education (IIE) with their International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). I love it! We work with the State Department and embassies to organize programs for international leaders. They come for three weeks and are educated on different topics with the hope that they will take what they learned and implement it in their own countries.
I am living in Springfield, VA. I have great roommates-no worries all you guys still take the cake :).
Anyhow, after all the summer fun I will be back in Tucson in the fall to finish up the last year of my MPA program.
Here are some photos to give visual aid to my adventures the last little while (oh and the pic above is just cause I know Calista loves it so much, Randi, I wish we had gotten a picture together in D.C.!):

Calista's piano playing abilities continue strong. I got to stay with her while I visited Utah for a couple days during my spring break.

With my roommate, Joanna, at the Mesa temple after the Easter pageant. She has been a member less than a year and LOVED the pageant!














I got to help out with a "mini MTC" in my home ward. It was awesome-our ward's youth are amazing!














At a Refugee Job Fair with one of the clients I got to work with at the IRC where I interned during this last school year.




















With Catie, another IIE intern, at the D.C. 4th of July parade! We got to carry the "feather flags" which were really quite tricky to handle but so worth it cause I got to be in the parade at the nation's capitol!

Also, just as a treat, you guys have to listen to this:
http://abrandnewyear.lds.org/index.html
Listen to the song, "Say Yes" I'm a little obsessed with it....:)
Love you all and hope you are all having an amazing summer!

Finally a Picture!

Sorry it took me so long girls - here's a picture of Nathan!

Baby Nathan is Here!

Little Nathan finally arrived May 14th at 6:20am. He was 5 days overdue, and after a 24 hour labor, we finally had him via c-section. He's 7lbs 2oz, and is absolutely perfect! I'll post some pictures soon!

Kentucky??

Yea, so a bit random but I went to Kentucky this week after graduating. I guess my life has always been random though, and my family always just supports my crazy ambitions to be a spy. But really, this has been the hardest decision of my life up to this point! But, I think I'm really going to be brave and leave Provo. I say that, and yet who knows :) But really, I think I'm going to Lexington in the fall. I got into the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce. I will probably do a major in intelligence, diplomacy, or development. Still deciding! Well, that's the latest.


Love you girls!

Sorry I don't write more often...

Natalie

Since Natalie has not had the opportunity to post I figured I would post this cute picture of her. Hopefully, you all get her emails already. Don't forget to write her.



Sister Natalie Glenn
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
JAPAN Kobe Mission
4-6-28 Shinohara Honmachi, Nada-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo 657-0067
JAPAN

Kristen...tell us about your progress

How are you feeling? When is your due date? Are you having any baby showers? Are you going to go natural or get an epidural? Have you taken any birthing classes? What about names? How about a picture of you!!! We want to hear all about it!!!

I'm going to Law School!

So far I have only been accepted to Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa, CA, but it's looking like a really good option... They offered me almost a half scholarship and I have family in Costa Mesa. :) (Less debt=much better)

Check out my blog

We are doing well. My parents will arrive in one hour and will spend a week with us. Dylan will be blessed next Sunday. He is already 7 weeks old and he is so adorable!! He has started cooing and smiling at us. I love my baby! Ethan is still great with him; he has not resented Dylan one bit except for the instance that I posted about on my blog.

I have started working out again, and can't wait to lose another 15 pounds to return to normal. However, with the amount of cookies I eat I better run a few miles a day in order to accomplish this goal. Once the weather is warmer the boys and I will get out biking and jogging with my new trailer/jogger. Kevin has been working out a ton and is finally getting rid of his post-marriage weight gain. His body could not handle the same amount of ice cream and cookies that my can without putting on weight (ooops)!

Kevin will spend the summer in New York without us, so if you have ever wanted to visit me in Michigan this is the summer to do it. We have an extra bed and an extra room. Feel free to stay all summer long. hehehe!

I love you and miss you all!

Blog Address: kevintarahenderson.blogspot.com

Thank you, Japan!

I LOVE Spring in DC! It is finally starting to get warmer and right now is "peak bloom" season for all the cherry blossoms! There are approximately 3, 750 cherry trees just along the Tidal Basin in DC. (Japan gifted the United States some 3,000 cherry trees in the early 1900's as a symbol of friendship.) Yesterday, my boss let me leave early from work to go wander around! It was so gorgeous! Even though it was an overcast day, the pictures are still pretty.

This picture is not from yesterday, but I like these blossoms best :)

Can't wait to hear updates from the rest of you! Besos!

Happy Birthday Calista

Oh, how our little girl has grown since that first birthday we spent together in 2003. What a celebration we had, eating fruit parfaits so as to maintain our challenge not to eat any sugar. Hopefully your celebratory dessert is much more satisfying this year!

I love you and miss you! Happy 25th Birthday!!!!

Dylan Scott has arrived!

On February 11 at 5:15 am the little guy joined our family. He was 8 pounds 9 ounces and 21.5 inches long, quite a big baby compared to Ethan.



He is a sweet little guy. Ethan loves him and tries to share everything with him; even managing to share his cold already. Poor Dylan is congested and coughs a lot. But, he is still in good spirits and sleeps well at night.

where are your updates

Kristen, Heidi, and even Calista (yours was not a true update)....where are those updates. I only have 1 week left until this baby should arrive, wish me good luck!

My first snow day EVER!

Big snowstorms in places like Utah hardly faze anyone, but it turns out that DC is not equipped for this kind of weather... Thus, yesterday I experienced my first snow day! I left work at noon and didn't have to come in until 11am this morning :) I swear I didn't even see any snow plowers out doing their job before I went to work yesterday. (I metro to work, so luckily I didn't have to worry about the roads...)

Inaguration here in DC was crazy! But, it was really neat to be a part of it. My friend lives by the Pentagon, so I spent the night (Mon night) at her place and then we ran into DC for the inaguration festivities last Tuesday. Memorial Bridge was closed to everyone except pedestirans so that was pretty cool. We initially wanted to run all the way to the Capitol, but there were too many people and the detour would have probably added an additional 3 miles to our already long run. We chose to stay by the Washington Monument and watch the proceedings on the giant screens. It was super-cold and there was mucha gente--I think there were an estimated 2 million! Security was pretty high, but I am still grateful that there were no terrorist attacks on all of the civicly-minded people who wanted to go to the inaguration. I had ensured that I made everything right in my life before heading there just to be safe ;)

As far as other updates go, I am currently applying to law school for the fall. (I HATE writing my personal statement, ugh.) I am only applying to CA schools because I decided that if I'm going to put myself through the h*** (sorry) of law school, at least I'm going to be WARM! (Did I mention that this is the coldest winter of my life?!) What I end up doing this summer is largely dependent on where I get accepted... but I am for sure moving back to CA this summer! Work is still the same; I've finished reading my 8th book while working at this job... Everything else is going fine... oh, and I'm single again as well. I love you all and think about you often! Besos y abrazos!

I'm finally here!

So I really don't know what I'm doing, but whatever...hopefully this works. anyway, I feel like this is the new way to keep in touch?? well, I am alive despite beliefs to the contrary among our friends, just busy that is all. I am graduating in April, and then life should be interesting because I don't know what I'll be doing, or where I will be. Anyway, that is my short piece for now. And yes, I am still single.

UPDATE TIME FOR EVERYONE!

Ladies, I am eager to hear how all of you are doing. So I will be the first to give an update. I tell ya, you really become a parent when all day you talk about pee and poop and you clap and shout hooray when your child poops in the toilet. It is quite an exciting event, we even wave goodbye as the poop gets flushed down the toilet. I thought about posting a picture of that, but thought you would prefer if I didn't.

I am huge!!!! And even my maternity clothes are getting snug. I feel bad for Kevin because most days I stay in his pajama pants and an oversize Michigan T-shirt. I put jeans on the other day and we were joking about how I actually made an effort, pretty sad. He is a sweetheart about it though. We just laugh about pregnancy.

We have decided that Kevin will live in New York by himself this summer. It is cheaper and smarter for me to stay with the 2 boys here in Michigan. We will have more space, all of our baby gear, and not have to get used to a brand new city while I am still getting used to a brand new baby. So, please feel free to come and visit me anytime this summer. Michigan is a beautiful place in the spring, summer, and fall (just not the winter).

I am still the Laurel advisor, which is a lot of fun. Kevin just got called as Gospel Doctrine teacher and I love sitting in his lessons and listening to him teach and bear his testimony! Ethan LOVES nursery and cries when we come to pick him up (the opposite of every other kid).

For Christmas my parents got us a webcam, so if you ever want to have a video chat let me know. We talk to all of my siblings on Skype weekly now. It is a fun way for the cousins to remember each other. Ethan lasts about 2 minutes, but it is still fun! I also learned how to crochet in order to make Kevin a scarf for Christmas, and now I have made 3 total and am working on a 4th and 5th scarf. You know me, I like to stay busy. This way I can stay busy while Kevin and I watch a movie or a show at night. I feel productive but am relaxing at the same time. If you want a scarf, send me what colors and pattern and I can try it for you!

We went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner last night night and I got a Miso Seafood Salad, it was amazing, my new favorite. If you ever go there, try it! The snow is so thick on the ground, but it has actually been sunny for a few days now, sunny but below freezing. Winter lasts forever here, so I won't be expecting anything warmer until April, and even then we still get snow occasionally until May or June even.

I still update my blog occasionally, kevintarahenderson.blogspot.com and that is probably the first place we will post news about the baby when he comes.

I think that is everything. I love you all and miss you so much!!! I am not joking about visiting me...I would love it!

Christmas Present!

We found out on Christmas day... it's a BOY!!