In the Green

The Name Game

2011-04-07T19:48:00.002-06:00

At this moment we're still without a name for the baby who could be arriving at any moment. I thought I'd get the opinion of a true authority on the matter.

The Virus...

2011-03-30T16:23:00.006-06:00

There's a good reason this post doesn't have pictures.

Last week was my spring break, which meant project week. I was able to get a surprisingly good amount of things done the first couple days - making our back yard rabbit-proof for our upcoming garden experiment, putting shelves in the garage, shampoo the carpets, and Audra got a good amount of "deep cleaning" done as well.

During this time, Eva had been terribly whiny, much more so than her normal whiny self. Monday afternoon I found out why when she threw up 18 gallons of stuff all over herself, her car seat, and my truck seats. Audra was working so I was left to handle it myself. I told her to calm down as I raced home. The poor little thing was just kind of gasping and holding perfectly still with her arms out in front of her. She was absolutely soaked from head to toe with a week's worth of meals. She threw up several more times the next couple days, usually in her bed in the middle of the night.

Just when we thought all was well, I awoke with that terrible feeling around 2 am early Thursday morning and decided that my body didn't need the dinner I had eaten several hours earlier. My 10+ year long streak of no vomiting had abruptly come to an end. I topped that off with several more episodes throughout the night and the next day.

But wait, there's more. Audra decided to get in on the action Sunday morning while we were visiting my folks in Fort Collins. Thankfully, hers was a bit more minor and she was good to go the next day.

Bottom line, being sick sucks. I would have taken pictures for your enjoyment, but I was busy blowing chunks.

Baby Belly

2011-03-18T14:40:00.003-06:00

Here's the latest shot of Audra's belly. I originally thought of using the word "girth", but it didn't sound very attractive and she'd probably divorce me if I referred to her that way. So I came up with some other words like "spread", or "circumference", or "perimeter" but none of that sounds much better.

Anyway, the nameless baby is due exactly 32 days from today. I don't know how far along that makes Audra. I stink at math. The prognosticators and soothsayers (doctors) agree with my conclusion that we won't make it to the due date. Eva was 8 days early.

We're Back...

2011-03-07T18:50:00.004-07:00

Due to overwhelming demand, our blog is back up and running. Actually, I haven't had a single request, but for the good of our little family I vow to keep it at least somewhat up-to-date. After all, what kind of young Mormon family would we be if we didn't have a blog?

So much has happened in our lives that it'd be too hard to post it all. So, I'll keep this post short and sweet; just mentioning the more significant happenings.

First, we are expecting our second child, boy (YES!), towards the middle of April. I can't believe how fast the pregnancy has gone by. I haven't even gained much weight and I've been pretty comfortable. Audra's doing pretty well too. Our predicament is this: we don't know what to name the little dude. Our initial thought was "Charlie" (Charles) after my grandpa. We still like that name, but Audra hasn't fallen in love with anything yet. It's totally up in the air at this point. She quickly shot down my request to name him Jimmer (I'm still gonna call him that), so any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Some other potential posts for the near future:

Eva is in gymnastics. I may or may not post a short video of her work.
We have a woodpecker in our attic that I'll be taking care of during my spring break. Could get interesting.
I'm starting to see patients at school. Poor souls.

I'm pretty sure that no one reads this as we haven't had an update since August. No one read it then either. But if you happen to be reading this, leave a comment. Then I'll know that you're a faithful and true servant...I mean follower.

Until our next post, enjoy this family picture taken around Halloween of last year.

Summer

2010-08-15T12:46:00.025-06:00

It's been much too long since my last post, so there's lots to catch up on. First, the biggest change that happend this summer so far is we moved from our apartment into a cute little house in a much better area of town. We love it here, and especially love having a backyard for Eva to play in and a garage. Oh, how nice it is to have a garage.

You'd think by the view from our backyard that we moved to Kansas.

Eva can also cruise easily on her bikes in the driveway as opposed to playing in a parking lot at our old complex.

The second big event this summer was Eva's 2nd birthday! We filled the whole day with fun activities and we all had a blast!

After Eva woke up in the morning, Jeff put together Eva's birthday present and surprised her with it. She loved it!

We then took her to the reservior that's only about 4 miles from our house and we all had fun swimming and playing at the park.

After she woke up from her nap, she went on a sugar high with the cupcakes that we got for her.

For dinner, we went to chick-fil-A where she got to eat her chicken and fries and play in the kids play area.

From there we went straight to the county fair where she pet the dirty farm animals....

rode a horse....

and got her face painted. I think she had a fun day.

Just riding my new scooter! ( a birthday present from our neighbor)

About a week later, we had another celebration for her birthday because my mom and brother were going to be in town.

She got a snazzy wagon from her Grandpa and Mimi.

My attempt at a monkey birthday cake.

Opening presents with Uncle Jason.

Museum

2010-03-15T15:02:00.009-06:00

Here are just a few fun pictures of our day at the Museum of Nature and Science. It's a huge museum with lots to see and do. We didn't get to all of it, but here is a touch of what we did see. Next time we'll have to hit up the other half. Eva particularly like this man that was carrying a foam dinasaur on his back. Pretty cool.

Digging up fossils

Day trip to the Tropics

2010-03-15T13:47:00.010-06:00

A few weeks ago the Denver Botanic Gardens had a free day, so we decided to take advantage and see what it was all about. It was cold outside with snow on the ground, and this was a wonderful escape. All the pictures are of us inside the huge conservatory located inside the gardens. They also have many gardens and paths outside of the conservatory but there is not much to see during the winter. After visiting the gardens, I have decided that when I grow up, I want to have a greenhouse of my own, so that I can escape from the cold to the tropics whenever I want. I can dream can't I?

Just a few random, cute pictures.

A diaper and boots. Love it.

Up next......a free day at the Museum of Nature and Science.

Silly girl

2009-12-03T20:06:00.005-07:00

Ever since Eva started walking, she has loved to climb on anything and everything. A few months ago we bought a new DVD player and we set the old one aside on the floor while we set up the new one. Eva immediately became attached, constantly stepping up and down on it. We meant to take it to the thrift store but never got around to it. It has since become a permanent fixture in our living room. Most of the time when she is in there she is on her DVD player. She sits on it when she colors, snacks, and plays with toys. She also loves swiping things out of the fridge and taking them directly to her DVD player to play with. Thank goodness she has yet to learn how to open the syrup jar. I thought I'd take a picture. Silly girl.

Update

2009-12-03T19:08:00.012-07:00

We've done some fun things since my last post, so I thought i'd do a quick run down of our latest adventures. First of all, Jeff and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary! Crazy how time flies by when you're having fun! Thanks to both of our parents, we were able to spend the weekend at the beautiful Estes Park. We stayed in my parents time share while Jeff's parents willingly cared for our little fiesty Eva. We were able to take in the fantastic scenery, shop, bowl, go to a movie, eat fantastic food, and best of all... hang out and relax. Here are a few pics of the trip.

Delicious BBQ

The pro bowler

A few weeks ago it was around 70 degrees outside, so Eva and I took full advantage of what would most likely be the last warm day of the year. Oh, how i'm tired of the cold weather already...please be spring soon. Our day at the park....

Man she is cute if I do say so myself!

Our Little Flower Girl

2009-11-04T12:29:00.002-07:00

Eva was the cutest flower for Halloween this year. She didn't get to wear her costume for very long though because we showed up late to the trunk-or-treat, right when everyone was packing up and leaving, but at least we got some fun pictures.

She didn't want anything to do with the hat at first, but she got used to it.

Family Pictures

2009-11-04T11:50:00.005-07:00

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-29T12:25:00.001-06:00

Follow the link to a little video from the Green Family.

Monster Mash-Up

Update...

2009-09-20T11:41:00.005-06:00

As usual, it's been awhile since we've posted anything to the blog. Not to mention, the previous two posts had nothing to do with Eva, which I hear is a cardinal sin in family blogging. Forgive me for hogging the blog space for my own adventures. By the way, I'll soon post about another testosterone packed outing.

It is now late September and we've been in Denver for 2 months. We regretfully had to leave my folks' house in Fort Collins so that I can attend dental school here.

As you can see, I'm the only professional looking one in this picture. These other two guys will clearly never make it through school. Slackers.

Alright, here are the promised pictures of Eva.

All she needs in this picture is a pipe and the look would be complete.

Classic hair and mesmerizing blue eyes.

Who doesn't love racing in the laundry basket?

Eva and Daddy at the zoo. I think we're looking at a pooping goat.

The carousel, which Eva loved. Apparently we weren't as prepared to go to the zoo as the two other girls in the picture. Audra is to blame for that. I did, however, wear my leopard print briefs, but we won't show that.

More hair and eyes. She uses those eyes to hypnotize you and make you feed her pretzels and popcorn.

Audra and Eva on a stroll through the forest in Utah. They look pretty happy, probably because Dad wasn't there.

Eva loves her sunglasses. Even though she looks a little malnourished, I can assure you that she is perfectly healthy. She just doesn't eat. Sometimes I wish we could just hook her up to an IV and pump some calories into her. Oh well.

More updates to follow...

Testosterone Festival 2009

2009-08-17T15:12:00.005-06:00

Being the proud Coloradoan that I am, I wanted to take the Ervin boys (my in-laws) on a little trip to get lost in the wilderness. So Darryll, Tristen, and Adam drove out from Utah and Jason flew out from Atlanta to take in the sights. Dad Green also graced us with his presence.

Our destination was Lake Constantine in the Holy Cross Wilderness area just south of Vail. During our trip we planned on hiking to the summit of Mt. of the Holy Cross, one of Colorado's many peaks over 14,000 ft. However, from the get go we realized that probably wasn't going to happen. The second we got out of the car in the parking lot it started to hail on us. Turns out, that would be the theme for the remainder of the trip.

The hail and rain let up and we decided to give it a go. Here we are at the trail head.

Tristen had seen better days.

The lone Green boys on the trip. As usual we realized that we packed way too much. Our packs were heavy. Better safe than sorry I guess.

A day hike to the Tuhare Lakes. This is the upper of the two lakes.

The waterfall from Upper Tuhare Lake to Lower Tuhare. Very impressive.

This was our viewing rock. We had a spectacular view of the lake and all the hikers passed us by without knowing we were there.

Funny thing when you try to fish tiny little streams, you get a lot of snags. Sometimes when you yank on your fishing line to release a snag, the lure frees itself and comes flying back at you at the speed of light. Apparently my reflexes aren't fast enough, as this lure caught me in the cheek. Fun stuff.

A magnificent view of the Gore Range from our campsite.

We all caught many fish. Naturally, I caught the most.

Dad was the king of the waterfall.

Our state flower, the Columbine.

The marmot is not our state animal, but they were plentiful. One of these guys attacked Jason's fishing pole while he wasn't around and ate the cork on the handle. I doubt these guys have seen that many people, but they were quite brave. We had to shoo them away from our bags several times on our day hike to the upper lakes.

The trip was fun and very wet. It rained several times a day and every night. Of course there wasn't a cloud in the sky while we hiked down.

Purple Mountain Majesty

2009-08-12T20:34:00.009-06:00

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of hiking my first Colorado 14er. I know I know, it's been hard to call myself a true Coloradoan having never hit one of our 56 peaks that reach 14,000 feet. Anyway, I picked a good one to start off on. This is Longs Peak up in Rocky Mountain National Park just a short drive from my parents' home in Fort Collins. The summit is 14,255 feet and it's a long hike to the top, over 8 miles each way. I've posted a bunch of pictures of my experience.

This is Longs from the road that leads up to the trailhead. It's a pretty spectacular mountain.

This is my friend James. We went to school together at CSU and he's summitted Longs several times so he knew what to do. Here we are in the parking lot at 4 am. We had to leave Fort Collins just after 2 am to put us there on time. Leaving early ensures that you'll be back down the mountain before the afternoon thunderstorms. Not a good place to get caught in nasty weather.

This was the sunrise from the mountain. We had just gotten above the tree line.

About half way up at around 6 am. That's a 2,000 foot sheer cliff on the east face of Longs. Some people use that rout to the summit. No thanks.

Break time before we cross the boulder field and start the real work. We're about 6 miles up at this point.

After crossing the giant boulder field, we had to climb up to that opening which is called the keyhole. It's a lot bigger than it looks. You can see some little people there in the keyhole, and a little stone shelter to the left of it.

At the keyhole.

This little shelter was built as a memorial for someone that died from exposure on the way down during a winter climb back in 1925.

After passing through the keyhole, you follow these little red and yellow bulls eyes painted on the rocks.

This is called the "trough" and the picture does it no justice. It is like a 60 degree incline of pure hell. You're over 13,000 feet at this point and the altitude really kills. I could go about 10 steps and I'd get so dizzy that I'd have to stop for a few deep breaths. The trough was really long. If you look hard you can see people up there to give some perspective.

A spot called "the narrows" just after the trough. Only a short steep climb called the homestretch before the summit.

The summit. The views during this entire hike were amazing and I took tons of pictures. I was in awe most of the day. Read on to see why that awe didn't last.

James packed up a glass bottle of Coke to celebrate the summit.

Here I am sharing lunch with one of the locals on the summit. That marmot practically ate from my hand.

This is my favorite picture of the trip. I'm sitting on a ledge there pondering the eternities. I had good reason to ponder too. Just as we left the summit, we came upon a group that we had passed just before we reached the top. They were on their way down. A 62 year old man was there hiking with his daughter. Shortly after we passed him he had a heart attack and died. As we came down, his body was there covered with jackets and his daughter was on a rock crying. James and I quietly passed and overheard a ranger that was there tell the girl that she needed to head back down the mountain and her father would be air-lifted out.

When James and I reached the shelter at the keyhole, the girl caught up to us with the person that was escorting her down. She asked to use a phone and another guy there obliged. As James and I rested and shed our jackets we listened as she called her mom and told her what had happened. I had to fight the tears and I felt so terrible for that girl. The rest of the hike back to the car was quiet and somber.

All in all, this hike was quite the experience, but I can't wait to do it again.

Summer Fun (Part Deux)

2009-07-21T20:45:00.002-06:00

Well, I guess it's my turn to update the blog on some of our summer festivities. This actually isn't the ideal time to do this because I should be packing (we're moving out of the folks' house and down to Denver, but that's for another post).

Audra and I decided that it would be fun to head on up to Rocky Mountain National Park and take a hike with Eva. The park is so close and we really haven't taken advantage of it. So, we took a 2 mile stroll up to Emerald lake. It was pretty nice but very crowded. Unfortunately, I decided to wear my new boots (see an earlier post for a picture) to try and break them in. This was not a good decision. My heels were shredded and I had blisters the size of a quarter on each foot.

Here I am with Eva. That's the back side of Long's Peak in the background. The views in the park are spectacular from any angle.

Audra was happy she didn't have to carry Eva on her back. Eva was happy she didn't have to look at the back of Daddy's head any longer.

The two cute girlies.

We've had a good summer thus far. Eva has enjoyed many pool trips, I have enjoyed many naps, and Audra has enjoyed changing Eva's diapers (I try to make her change the poopy ones).

Spriggy teaching Eva how to do the dog-paddle.

Eva and cousin Sophie at Water World. They're best friends.

This is Eva's "Eve" picture. After all, her name is a derivative.

Oh yeah, did I mention that Eva had her first birthday today? One year old and a total handful. Love you Eva!!

Summer Fun!

2009-07-14T21:02:00.009-06:00

It's been a while, so I thought I'd make a post summarizing what we have been up to so far this summer. It's mainly just a lot of pictures...enjoy.

Playing in grandpa's pond.

First trip out on the boat.

At the park.

Trip to Idaho to see my grandparents. Eva finally met her great grandma Eva.

Hiking with papaw in Utah.

Jeff went fishing in South Dakota with his dad and brothers.

Sporting the biker look in Deadwood, SD ( where Wild Bill Hickock was killed).

Fourth of July at Mt. Rushmore.

Just a cute swimsuit.

Pool time.

More activities are planned, so check back soon!

Pomp and Circumstance

2009-05-23T22:32:00.003-06:00

What the heck does that mean? I bet I could figure it out with Google. Oh well.

As many of you know, I'm currently completing my Master's degree at CSU in biomedical sciences. Technically I don't graduate until August but my classes are finished and the department strongly encouraged all of us to go through the motions and walk last Friday. The ceremony was extremely long and terribly boring, as most graduations are. Although I do remember attending a high school graduation where a bird was pooping on the graduates as he flew over. He certainly stole the show.

This time there would be no pooping of any kind (except for maybe some older folks in the stands). We did manage to get some good pictures...not of pooping, but of Eva. I think I've filled my quota for the word "poop" in this post.

Eva looks quite thrilled and excited to be there.

This one's a little better.

I do regret that I didn't get any pictures of the cool features of my robe. That green and yellow thing around my neck is the hood. Someone told me that when they hand you the diploma (nothing was in there) they pull that hood up over your head. Then we'd look like we were in some sort of secret society cult, kind of like those people that wear those Snuggie blanket things.

My robe also featured Harry Potter sleeves. Kind of like this guy, but my finger nails aren't quite as good looking. Link

Anyway, it feels good to be close to done. I have to take my comprehensive finals this coming week. Then dental school comes this fall. But I hear that's a cake walk, so I'm set.

Easter

2009-04-19T20:37:00.007-06:00

Jeff, his dad and I enjoyed celebrating Easter this year with Eva. I've discovered that the holidays are extra exciting now that we have a child. It's fun to see her get excited about her new holiday treats and gifts, even though she doesn't understand the meaning yet. The easter bunny still came of course, and Eva enjoyed playing with her new goodies. The easter bunny gave her a basket filled with plastic eggs with fruity cheerios inside along with a little stuffed animal. She had more fun playing with the plastic eggs rather than eating the cheerios.

Eva in her Easter dress

Class of 2013

2009-04-09T11:57:00.006-06:00

That's right, folks. Despite all odds, my dream came true this morning when Barbara Swedensky of the University of Colorado School of Dentistry called me to inform me that I have been accepted to this fall's class! I'm still at a loss for words because it didn't seem possible this year.

I interviewed with them last September in the first wave of interviews and thought that I had a pretty good shot. However, nothing materialized and I kept getting passed over. I actually got an email from them earlier this week saying that their class had been filled and that I was put on the alternate list, in case someone decided to go elsewhere. So, I sent an email to Barbara yesterday asking her where I was on the waitlist, or if she could tell me how many people were on the list. She didn't respond, and called me with the good news this morning.

We're extremely excited that we get to move on and I now have a defined goal in sight. Thanks to Josh (brother) for helping me with the whole application process and introducing me to the folks at CU. Also, thanks to the many who fasted and prayed for me for this to happen. I love you guys.

I feel like I just won an award and gave my thankyou speech.

Disaster

2009-04-01T08:55:00.004-06:00

ALERT: This post is about a sports related topic.

I realize that 99% of the few people that read this blog do not, and will not care about what I'm about to say. I just feel the need to talk about it because, as many of you know, the sports world consumes a great portion of my time and interest (be that good or bad).

As some may know, I have been a die hard fan of the Denver Broncos since I was a little boy. I watched John Elway and the Broncos get hammered by the 49ers in Super Bowl XXIV by a score of 55 to 10. From that moment on, I was a Broncos fan.

I guess I felt sorry for Johnny Elway and they became my team. Coincidentally, we moved to Denver a couple years later where I could see every game on television. I was so emotionally involved that I would often cry and lock myself in my room if the Broncos lost. I can remember skipping Sunday School and listening to the game in the car, or taking my portable television to church to secretly watch the game. Occasionally my dad would nudge me and ask me what the score was. Just before my mission, the Broncos won two Super Bowls in a row, and I honestly couldn't imagine how life could get any better.

After John Elway retired the team has never been the same, and they've not returned to their former glory. A few months ago, their hall of fame coach (who many people think looks like this guy) was fired, and the new young "stud" was brought in. Here's where I get mad. The new coach has alienated the franchise quarterback, Jay Cutler, the best player on the team and one of the best young quarterbacks in the league.

Now Cutler refuses to play for the new coach and is demanding a trade. Basically, this classy organization which was once the cream of the crop in the pro football world has absolutely gone down the crapper.

You don't care? Well, I do, and it frustrates the crap out of me. It looks as though my beloved Broncos are doomed to become the next team in perennial disarray, just like the Oakland Raiders (a joke of a team). It makes me want to cry...I'm headed to my room.

Go Nuggets!

2009-03-30T19:12:00.006-06:00

On Saturday, Jeff and I went to a Nuggets/Warriors game with some friends in our ward. They had free tickets in the club seating area. We weren't super close, but since Jeff and I are used to sitting in the nose bleed section of any sports game we go to, this was quite a treat. We even had a waiter come and take our order of whatever food we wanted. I'm even proud to say that I ate an entire bag of cotton candy that night by myself. I don't think too many people can stand to do that, but I love my sugar! However, the best part was that the Nuggets won, so we had a pleasant ride home! We are so spoiled to live with Jeff's parents, who are always so willing to babysit for us so we can have an evening out. Thanks a ton! We love you!

Moab

2009-03-25T19:43:00.006-06:00

This past weekend Jeff, Eva and I drove down to Moab, Utah to run in a half marathon, hike, and spend time with family. On Friday, the day before the race, we strapped Eva onto Jeff's back and hiked up to the Delicate Arch. This was Eva's first hiking venture, and even being somewhat sleep deprived, she did surprisingly well. She did manage to fall asleep for about 20 minutes of the hike but spent the majority of the time contently watching her surroundings and playing with her hat. Following the hike, Jeff had a blast four-wheeling with a few others of the fam.

On Saturday, Jeff's two sisters, Sarah and Laura, along with brother Jake and his wife Annie, Laura's friend Jenny, and I all ran in the Canyonlands Half Marathon. It was a very tough run but we all did well, and I had a great time. I can say that now that the race is over. During every race I've run, I always think to myself, " This sucks! Why am I doing this?" About half way through this one I wanted to crawl into one of the EMS vehicles and be driven to the finish line. But even now, I'm searching to find what race I should do next. During the race, my amazing husband was in misery as well. He had the fun task of caring for Eva, who hated every minute of waiting at the finish line for her mother. Every time he calmed her down, someone would yell and cheer and she would start her screaming all over again. She's staying home with the sitters next time. Also, my wonderful parents came down just for the day to watch the race and more importanly to see their beloved grandchild. It was great to see them and I hope they had a good time. It was a fun trip and I look forward to our next little vacation.

The Speedy Beakies

Progress

2009-03-15T19:29:00.004-06:00

A small presentation on the progress of our posterity. Best viewed with high volume. Enjoy.

My, How Fast They Grow

2009-03-08T19:27:00.013-06:00

Well, Jeff has decided that it's finally time for me to contribute to making new posts on our blog. I am far from being computer literate, so this is a big step for me. I'm determined, however, to update our blog regularly, since I love reading everyone elses blogs and get excited when there are new posts. I feel as though we lead somewhat of a boring life, and I don't feel as though we do anything worth writing about, but I can at least use the updates to show off our little cutie, who I just constantly want to squeeze!

Here are a few tidbits of our life and our little Eva for your reading and viewing pleasure.

Over the past month we have been blessed by having family come out to Colorado to visit. Jeff's sister and her family came out around the midde of February, and then a couple of weeks after that his brother's family came to visit. I love to spend time with the fam, and since it's just Eva and I most of the time during the day it's especially nice to have more activity and noise for a change of pace. Although it takes her a little bit to get warmed up to unfamiliar faces, Eva really enjoyed playing with her cousins and aunts and uncles as well.

Eva playing with cousin, Sophie.

Eva chilling with cousins Nellie and Gracie.

We have found that it's like pulling teeth trying to get Eva to drink her bottle, however, she loves solid foods. So far, she has liked everything we have given her to eat. We have even given her food that is on our plate because she will just sit there and stare, druel and whine until we give her whatever we are eating. Things included are fries, chicken, and banana bread. She even enjoys all of her pureed baby foods of all kinds; veggies, fruits and meats alike. The latest I had her try was pureed beef. To me it looked and smelled like cat food, but she loved it. We can only hope that doesn't change.

Here she is enjoying her green beans.

Eva is a non-stop busy body. The only time she is calm and relaxed is when she is sleeping. She is constantly trying to climb on everything...

Squirm, roll, and the beginning phase of crawl....

And suck on anything and everything she can find to put in her mouth.

...again with the sucking.

Although she leaves me completely exhausted by the end of the day, I am so grateful she is a part of our family and I love her to pieces.

The Haps on the Craps

2009-02-12T10:06:00.012-07:00

Just a little update on the happenings in the Green household. As most of you know, my parents have been gracious enough to let our little family stay with them for the foreseeable future, and this experience has actually been about as good as we could have hoped for. Grandpa and Mimi are always quick to take Eva when we need a little help or when we need a night off to spend alone. It's also fun just to be with the folks.

The other day was my 29th birthday (I can't believe how old I am). Anyway, Mom and Dad took Audra and me to the local Rodizio Grill for all the meat we could handle. It was a pricey meal, but it was nice. I must have eaten a couple pounds of beef, which tends to work wonders on my digestive system.

No, these aren't strangers in this next picture. I've just gained a little weight and have been faithfully attending the tanning salon.

I also got these fancy schmancy hiking boots. I intend to use them to conquer some Colorado fourteeners this summer. I'm ashamed to admit that I grew up in Colorado and have never summitted on of our infamous peaks.

In other family news, Eva has been sick the last week. She had a constant fever and was incredibly fussy all the time. Audra ended up taking her to the doctor to try and get a diagnosis, and they did all sorts of unpleasant things to her. They first checked her ears to see if she had an infection, but meant cleaning out her ears with a little metal hook thing. She responded by screaming bloody murder. For those of you that haven't heard Eva cry, you have no idea how loud it is. The nurses that were present when she was born were in awe of her set of pipes. So, after the ears turned out to be clear, they checked her for a UTI (urinary tract infection). How did they do this, you ask? They stuck a catheter up her hoo ha to get a urine sample. She absolutely loved that. That test came back positive so she was prescribed an antibiotic, which the doctor said might make her vomit.

Naturally, she threw up massive quantities while I was feeding her. My pants were soaked with white goodness, and I felt like I'd peed my pants when I walked away. The next night when she took it she didn't throw up until she was laying in bed. When we went to check on her she was swimming in a pool of slop. Poor thing. But the next day she seemed back to old self, and we're very grateful.

Here she is, happy as a clam.

In the meantime, Audra is currently training for a her second half-marathon which she'll be running in Moab, Utah next month. She's pretty dedicated and certainly has more discipline than I do. I hope Eva follows her mother's example.

This last picture is of my dad. The other night he decided that all the carpet in the house needed to be shampooed. He looked so impressive that I decided to capture the moment forever.

The Anatomy of a Mustache

2009-02-06T16:12:00.007-07:00

I can't believe my last post to this blog was in November of last year. I need not say that I'm lazy; that goes without saying. Since I'm just about the only male I know that makes posts to the family blog I guess I got a bit embarrassed. Pretty much all of Audra's friends blog like crazy and they use it in place of their scrapbooking. Audra, however, does not know how to post but she keeps saying she wants to learn. Until then, I'll be resuming my duties of being the family poster.

That being said, I have the right to post whatever I want. Normally one (Audra) wouldn't consider having a mustache a noteworthy happening in the life of this little family. But, I disagree. If you have read this blog before, you may have remembered a post I made a little over a year ago regarding one of my attempts to grow a mustache. Well, the images you're about to see are much different. This mustache, friends, is 100% real and 100% awesome.

Warning: These images are not for the faint of heart. Ladies, if you think mustaches are gross, tough.

The first image is the precursor to any good mustache, the full beard. I must say that I enjoyed having the beard. It's a great manifestation of pure testosterone.

The next images are the final result of the mustache building process. Notice that all my poses are what a typical cool guy with a mustache would do. Dudes with mustaches don't smile, unless they're from the 70s.

I hope this post has been sufficiently extravagant to make up for the lack of posting to this blog during the last few months. I promise to be better, but probably won't. But that doesn't matter to the casual blog reader that only checks in once every few months.

Hell Week

2008-11-08T15:59:00.008-07:00

Have you ever watched that show that documents the Navy SEAL training, and they have a week they call "hell week"? Well we had our own mini version of that this last week. I had two big exams and a presentation in another class, and the less than extraordinary election day to top it off. This meant that I wouldn't be home as much due to study and review, while Audra was to be home with a fussy baby that has recently taken to hating nap time. I think we were both at wit's end come Saturday. But, we made it through unscathed and are anxiously waiting for Thanksgiving break.

On a more positive note, we've amassed some great pictures of the little Eva over the last month or so. Please enjoy free of charge.

These next few shots were taken by my sister, Sarah, who has become quite the photographess. I call these the "glamour shots" (be sure to look at both links, each word "glamour" and "shots" is a separate link).

These next few are from Halloween. As you can see she was a bumble bee (amongst other things). I've never seen a cuter bee.

These are just a few random shots.

Hog Heaven...

2008-10-27T12:51:00.005-06:00

That's right. After years of nagging, I finally got Audra to crack and let me buy a motorcycle. I'm sure gas prices, and the thought of being stuck at home all day every day with a crying baby helped.

I actually bought this fancy schmancy little Honda in Utah about a week before we moved out to Colorado. My brother Jake found it for me in St. George and hauled it up for me. When he pulled up and unloaded the bike, I was a bit overwhelmed and couldn't help but question what the heck I was doing. I had very little motorcycle riding experience, and the experience I did have included me laying the motorcycle down on a dirt road at about 50 mph. I slid on my stomach with my hands out in front of me and the bike on my legs for like 30 yards. As I lay there, some people in a campsite on the side of the road just looked at me. I'm sure they were laughing. I think I still have some gravel in the palms of my hands.

Anyway, back to my current situation. Thoughts of death and bloody hamburger people came to mind as I took it for my first spin. For some reason, this never bothered me before. But, after a couple months of riding to and from school every day in Fort Collins, I am now quite comfortable and my bike handles ever so smoothly. The only problem is that it's usually so darn cold in the morning, that I freeze my nuggets off. I can't afford the nice riding gear so I put like three pairs of jeans on and several coats and jackets. That only keeps the cold out for a few hundred yards.

All in all, I think the bike's been a good purchase. I pay about 6 bucks every two weeks for gas which is nice. I get 60 miles to the gallon on this hog. I've only almost died twice, once by a dumb school bus that decided to merge into my lane, but because of my cat-like reflexes I avoided disaster. Let's hope no one decides to run me over...knock on wood.

Just A Few Pics

2008-09-17T19:46:00.007-06:00

So many people have been bothering us to put some more pics of the little lady Eva on the blog. So, here they are.

She's been smiling quite a bit lately. Unfortunately that usually means she's about to cry too.

This is her preferred sleeping position when she's not in her bed.

Just starting to find some things intriguing, like the little bubbles on this bouncer.

Dad with Eva in the Baby Bjorn. She didn't like it one bit. Maybe when she grows a little.

The classic puzzled look.

This is perhaps the greatest smile we've captured. Kudos to Audra for being ready.

A little tummy time.

More updates to follow.

We're Lazy

2008-09-07T20:54:00.003-06:00

Yes, folks, we know that it's been quite awhile since our last post, and actually quite a bit has happened in the lives of this little Green Family. I think that the most obvious detail would be that we no longer live in Utah. That's right, on August 19th we packed up and headed east to the most awesomest and bestest state in the union...Colorado.

We now are living with the Green folks for a time. I (Jeff) am attending Colorado State University in pursuit of a Master's program in the biomedical sciences. Audra will be tending to little Eva.

Utah was good to us. We both lived there for about 7 years, which was a little longer that I had planned. Usually people who go to school that long are called doctors, but oh well. I think we were ready to move on to something new, and there will definitely be things that we'll miss.

This was our humble house where we lived from day one. It sure is ugly, especially that missing piece of siding under the window.

Here is our rig all set up and ready to roll. The normally 7.5 hour drive was not fun at all, and we made it in about 11 hours. Eva was great until we got to Rock Springs, WY where she soon threw up and cried till she was blue in the face. I echo her sentiments about southern Wyoming.

After resisting driving off a cliff because of all the crying, we made it to beautiful Fort Collins, Colorado. Dad's dog Spriggy immediately found a comfortable place to take a nap as soon as the truck was unloaded.

We'll be sure to keep the updates coming with many pictures of our little lady.

Bath Time

2008-07-29T21:03:00.006-06:00

So, after a few days out of the hospital little Eva needed some quality time with her mother and the bathroom sink. As you can probably imagine, she didn't exactly enjoy her bath. I think she's still a little embarrassed to be naked in front of us.

For a better idea of how much she loved bath time, check out the small video.

Recovery time.

Thankfully she has this little hooded towel and a mommy that loves her. Don't worry, Eva, I hate taking baths too.

Introducing Eva Angelynn Green

2008-07-25T11:05:00.005-06:00

I realize that the little video in the post before this was not too informative, so here are the details.

Eva Angelynn Green was born on Monday the 21st of July at 4:17 am. Labor lasted 7 hours, the last hour and a half of which were quite tough on Mom. But she was a real trooper and did the whole thing unmedicated. How - I'll never know. Child birth is only one of countless reasons I'm glad I have a thing, rather than no thing.

Eva weighed in at 7 pounds 7 ounces and was 20 inches long. As you can see in the pictures, she has a lot of hair. And, naturally, her parents think she is quite beautiful.

...And in case you were wondering, both names Eva and Angelynn are Audra's gradma's names.

She's Finally Here

2008-07-24T19:41:00.005-06:00

Please enjoy this complimentary video. But first make sure you turn off the music on the player on the right column of this blog.

Almost There...

2008-07-05T18:37:00.004-06:00

Audra is now officially at 36.5 weeks and looking quite fantastic. We've been spending loads of time and cash on all things baby. My office/man room has been completely transformed into the baby clothing/paraphernalia holding area.

On another note, we spent the 4th of July as usual with Jon and Sarah. We had a nice fattening bucket of KFC chicken and watched the fireworks outside LaVell Edwards Stadium. The only thing that would have made it better would have been seeing Miley Cyrus, but not really.

Baby Jonah (nephew)

Audra lounging on the blanket.

Tagged Again

2008-06-29T17:41:00.003-06:00

Due to the overwhelming lack of response to my last post, I've decided to break my trend of one post per month and respond to Laura's photo tag. You're all in for a treat.

The name of the game is Google Tag. Therefore, only google images can be used. For all you kids trying this at home, be sure to put the safe search mode on or you'll run into all sorts of smut.

1. Concerts I've been to:

2. Name of past/present pet:

3. College Major:

4. First Job:

5. Nicknames I've had:

6. Favorite places:

(Above: Nice, France)

7. Favorite foods:

(Above: Grilled Salmon)

(Above: Beau Jo's Colorado Mountain Pies)
8. Places I want to visit:

9. Favorite things:

10. Age on my next birthday:

(This guy looks like Ryan Grange)

Lamaze

2008-06-23T21:36:00.007-06:00

So Audra and I have just returned from our second of four sessions of Lamaze. Since Audra wants to attempt a natural birth she thought it best that we attend this class. I just couldn't help but be reminded of one of my favorite clips on the subject.

Warning: There is mention of certain anatomy.

Welcome to HOTlanta...

2008-06-14T13:54:00.006-06:00

...and when I say hot I mean HOT! Audra and I took our biennial (every 2 years) to Atlanta last week. Of course they had to have the heat wave hit when we were there. Upper 90's mixed with humidity does not do a body good. Naturally the heat wave subsided the day we left.

Apparently I haven't been posting enough pictures on this thing so I've included quite a few this time; each of which will be presented with it's own little explanation below. Hurray!This here is known as "The Incline" found in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It's hard to tell by this picture but it is very steep and was once a primary form of transportation from town to the top of lookout mountain. This mountain played host to a famous Civil War battle called The Battle Above the Clouds. Of course we didn't ride the trolley because it was ridiculously expensive.

We spent a couple days up in Telico Plains, TN at Audra's grandpa's farm. Jason, Audra's brother came along to shoot some skeet. It's quite peaceful up there, especially with all of our gunfire. I couldn't miss.

This is quite possibly my most favorite picture of the whole trip. Verlin (grandpa) was out doing some chores and was kind enough to let Audra take a picture. He's quite a funny guy and is incredibly nice. Elaine (Verlin's wife) made us biscuits and gravy with bacon for breakfast. It was most triumphant.

Here we are with the grandparents on the farm. It is so remote and quiet up there, it was great. We also got to see their neighbors trying to get a chicken snake out of their car. Only in the south.

This was an amazing rib dinner at a little dumpy establishment called Fat Mac's BBQ. Ever so savory.

After dinner we attended a Braves game against the Phillies. I was secretly wanting the Phillies to win just because I hate Chipper Jones. I'm sure he's a great guy and all but his name makes him a weiner in my book.

Stephen, Audra's uncle was nice enough to let us stay with him and taxi us around to all the local spots. This is Raccoon Mountain Caverns, voted the 8th best cave in the country. Our tour guide was this know-it-all kid that specialized in cave formations as well as acupuncture, cephalopods (octopus), and balloon animals. I'd say he was quite the guy and has an amazing future ahead of him.

This is a real life covered bridge at Stone Mountain. Simply breathtaking.

Here we are on the top of Stone Mountain, which is a giant chunk of granite sticking out of the ground. It almost looks like a giant turtle shell, kind of like that one in Never Ending Story, but bigger...and made out of granite...and this one doesn't talk.

We went to the Georgia Aquarium right after we got off the plane. It was actually cooler than I thought it would be. They have whale sharks there. Hear that? Whale sharks. Whale sharks = pure awesomeness.

Since it was so blazing hot we went boating on Lake Allatoona. This was only my second time wake boarding, and I'd say I'm getting the hang of it. Poor little Audra couldn't do anything but watch and do a little swimming. She looks amazing for being 33 weeks along! I just hope that "inny" doesn't become an "outy". Gross.

Overall, it was a fun trip and we had a great time. Who knows how much traveling we'll be doing the next couple years.

Up next...our little lady!

Who'd Have Thought...

2008-04-27T21:06:00.003-06:00

Yes, it's true. After seven long years at BYU I've finally earned my degree, and I must say that it feels quite good. Although much can't be done with a degree in Exercise Science except being a seventh grade P.E. teacher, I feel like I've learned quite a bit and I'm on my way. I can now sleep comfortably knowing that the best way to build muscle is by breaking the actin and myosin crossbridges in skeletal muscle tissue during the eccentric contraction of the muscle during isotonic weight-bearing exercise.

If you think I look like I've put on a few pounds in this picture you're right. You'd think that an exercise science major could master the art of eating healthy. But I just can't pass up a great red steak and a real Coke (none of that diet crap). I probably ought to get my cholesterol checked! Actually the truth is that I vowed to gain weight with Audra as she prepares to deliver our first child in July...at least that's what I tell people.

It's a Girl!

2008-04-05T14:32:00.005-06:00

I'd first like to apologize to the few people who read this blog and have been waiting for an update. If you know me at all, this should come as no surprise to you. Anyway, it's been a few weeks since we have known that we're having a little girl so most of you know this by now. But, we're excited and would like to share some pictures of our little lady. Be advised that I am not posting the picture of her showing her "girl parts" due to the obviously inappropriate nature. We try to keep this blog rated "A" for awesome.
You can kind of see her little face in this picture. She was moving all around and sticking out her tongue during the ultrasound. We're comforted that you can't see the red hair (we have this sneeking suspicion that she'll have red hair, even though neither of us do).Here is her little foot with all toes present. Maybe she'll have webbed toes like my brother Jake. Let's hope not. But, no matter how she comes out we're sure she'll be absolutely beautiful!

Update

2008-02-27T14:50:00.003-07:00

Audra is now at 18 weeks and feeling quite comfortable. Most signs of morning sickness have long passed, except for the occasional headache.

As you can see, there is an ever so slight bulge growing there but it's hardly noticeable unless she's wearing very form-fitting clothes, and that's against our religion. We're pretty excited to find out what little Skeezix is...unit or no unit. Two more weeks!

More updates to follow as the belly grows.

Tagging. Yay!!

2008-02-26T11:26:00.002-07:00

First off I'd like to apologize for not posting for awhile. I've been pretty busy, and apparently people are a little tired of looking at ol' Darryll with his spectacular fish. I for one find it quite fascinating, but to appease the masses I've decided to give in.

I for one am not really into the whole tagging thing and would normally let Audra take over. However, she has yet to make a post (we're still working on that), she says that I'm in charge of spreading the intimate details of our lives to all those psychos in cyberspace. So, here goes...

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves
C. At the end of the post, the player tags 4 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know they are tagged.

10 years ago I was: 18 and finishing my last semester of high school. I still had braces after five miserable years (my teeth still aren't fixed). My face was littered with zits and I was deathly afraid of the opposite sex. I think I've made some progress.

5 things on my to do list today:
1) Take my Pearl of Great Price midterm
2) Take a physics quiz
3) Finish my physics homework
4) Watch BYU kill New Mexico tonight in men's hoops
5) Poop at least three times....wait, make that two. I just went.

Things I would do if I became a billionaire:
First things first, I would outfit myself with a very large black truck. I'm sick of going fishing in a little Honda and having all the other rednecks laugh at me. I'd then start my dream business of owning/operating a hunting and fishing lodge somewhere in remote Alaska. Summers would be spent running sport fishing charters somewhere in Mexico. If Audra doesn't agree with this we'll have some issues to sort out. I'd have my own box at all Broncos games. John Elway would regularly join me and we'd chat about how awesome we are. Oh yeah, I'd consider paying for my kids to go to college. That depends on how well they behave. I'd also pay my tithing and buy my dad the fishing boat of his dreams.

3 of my bad habits:
1) Procrastination is by far my biggest fault
2) I'm too humble
3) I work too hard...hah!

5 places I've lived:
1) The U.S. Sheep Experiment Station, Idaho
2) Littleton, Colorado
3) Santiago, Chile
4) Provo, Utah
5) Soon to be Fort Collins, Colorado

5 jobs I've had:
1) Golf course staff
2) Garbage Man (not kidding)
3) Paperboy
4) Insulation paraphernalia
5) Dental Lab Technician

Something most people don't know about me:
I played the trumpet in elementary school and middle school. I was pretty good too. First chair to be exact. That all ended after one summer practice for marching band. I didn't like the way they made me walk. Plus, the flag girls couldn't keep their hands off me. Eeewwww.

I tag Jon Boy, aka the Cap'n, Josh, Johnny, and Ryan. Let's see if any more males participate in this tomfoolery.

Ice Fishing at Strawberry

2008-01-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

For most people ice fishing is not something they'd find too entertaining. The weather's always freezing cold, most of the other people out there are a bit on the blue collar side with Carhart coveralls and colorful language, and you're not even guaranteed to catch anything. In fact, Audra came with me one time and absolutely hated it. She sat in the car for most of the time, and now she swears to never come again. So why do I enjoy it so much? Who knows.

This last weekend Darryll, my father in law, and I headed up to Strawberry Reservoir and tried our luck. I guess you could say I'm not too different than the rest of the rednecks up there because I now have one of those little pop-up ice shacks to sit in while fishing. This was the inaugural run with the new shack and Darryll and I were both quite pleased with how warm we were.

We caught several nice fish and even got a couple pictures. As Darryll was trying to take a picture of one of my fish it flopped out of my hands and landed back in the hole where it quickly disappeared. That's no fish story either.

Oh Dear. What Have We Done?

2008-01-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it would appear that the rumors are true. We went in to the doctor's office on Monday and they confirmed that Audra does indeed have a small human-looking object growing inside her. They used a fascinating state-of-the-art device called the "Ultrasound" to display the image you see now before you. They even moved it around Audra's stomach, and by golly, that little thing has a heart; and get this, it's actually beating! The doctor says that it will continue to act like a parasite and feed off of the nutrients that Audra takes into her body, until one day it will be too large for Audra to sustain inside her. It will then be "discharged" from her body in a most disgusting and painful manner. The doctors predict that that day will be July 29th of this year.
Here comes the scariest part; after discharge, Audra and I are going to have to take care of this miniature human.

All I can say is...what on earth have we gotten ourselves into?

People have been asking if Audra and I have any preference as to whether or not this little creature is male or female. In fact, many of my family members have predicted that it will be a little girl. All I can say is that we'll be happy with whatever sex, as long as it's not a mixture of both. Also, it better be a boy. Just kidding...but not really. As for now, we're just referring to the little thing as Skeezix.

Navidad En La Playa

2008-01-09T21:39:00.000-07:00

So, we spent our Christmas this year with the Green family in Rocky Point, Mexico. This was our third trip for the holidays south of the border in the last seven years, and it has become somewhat of a Green family tradition.

The sunsets were as pretty as ever, but the weather was quite frigid; yet still much warmer than Utah. Daily activities included shopping in the local market for "luchador" wrestling masks, fake Cuban cigars, and the most profane t-shirts you can imagine.

We also organized a service project for six families with the local branch president. We went shopping at the Super Ley and bought ingredients for the typical Mexican Christmas dinner and brought them to the families. They sure needed it too. I think we're all too often a bit quick to forget how good we have it here.

Mustaches = Awesome

2007-11-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

I finally found an excuse to grow out my mustache! November is prostate cancer awareness month in New Zealand, and to show your support you're supposed to grow a mustache. I bet you didn't know that prostate cancer kills more men than any other cancer except lung cancer. 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed sometime in their life. So, this is certainly a worthy cause.

However, after one day at school I've just about had enough of it. I scare myself every time I look in the mirror, and no one wants to talk to me. Small children go running, along with some adults. I've never felt so dirty.

Go Cougs!

2007-11-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday Audra and I watched BYU blow out Colorado State. We have season tickets with the students. Sometimes I feel rather old in that section, but I'd like to think that I'm still hip (or whatever the kids are calling it these days). Maybe not though. Why do they always think that they have to stand up the entire game? My joints can't take that kind of pounding. Anyway, that's about the only thing that's going well in my world of sports. The most lopsided World Series ever was an embarrassment, and don't even get me started on the Broncos. Audra thinks I'm a total loser watching so many games and hitting the ESPN so much. Maybe she's right, but it's a heck of a lot better than watching Dr. 90210 or the Food Network.

3 Years Already?

2007-10-27T17:02:00.000-06:00

Sheesh! Audra and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary last weekend in beautiful Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We really had our hopes set on spending a romantic weekend in Rawlins, WY but they were all booked out. Maybe next year.

The weather didn't exactly cooperate with us while we were there; it was butt cold and snowy the whole time. This did, however, make for some great scenery and pictures throughout Yellowstone and Teton National Park. We never did see the Grand Teton because it was behind the clouds the whole time, and the wildlife was as sparse as the hair on my chest (excluding my hairy nipples). Gross. Sorry.

I can't believe it's been three years already! Circumstances haven't changed much either. No kids, I'm still in school with no end in sight, still in Utah. But, life is good and we can't complain.

San Fran & "The Rock"

2007-10-20T08:42:00.001-06:00

Audra and I took a trip with her family to California in July. It was the first time we've all been together at the same time, and it was a lot of fun. My father in law, Darryll, is terribly competitive, so many things turn into little competitions. The game of choice while at the condo was to see who could hold their breath the longest in the pool while Audra had the exciting job of timing us. Darryll took second place with 2:18 falling short of yours truly at an astounding 2:40! Someday I'll break 3 minutes.

One of the trip highlights was our tour of Alacatraz. It was really cold and stormy, which seemed to add to the eerie atmosphere of the place. As you can see, I made myself quite at home in what I'd like to think was Al Capone's personal cell.

We also attempted a deep sea fishing trip with the whole fam. The swells were 20 feet and the boat was all over the place, leaving several of us on the verge of tossing our lunch. This was obviously Audra's favorite day of the trip.

St. George Misery Day

2007-10-08T17:12:00.001-06:00

Well, this is officially the first post to our blog. I'm sure we'll try to put some other extraordinary events from the last several months up here soon. But, I thought I'd start off with our weekend in St. George, UT.

Audra and I have been training for the St. George Marathon for the last four months and it has been terribly miserable. Personally, I don't know why I did it because I hated every minute of it. That being said, I think I'll do it again next year. I know I can put together a better time. I finished a minute over 4 hours and Audra came hobbling in about 18 minutes later. I think we'd both agree that it was probably the hardest physical activity that we've ever done.

All in all it was a fun experience, except for the people that kept saying, "Only a couple more miles!", and that number two I did at mile 23. If it weren't for that, I believe I would have achieved my goal of a time under four hours.

In case you're wondering, Audra and I are on the left and my sister, Sarah, and her hubby, Jon are with us. Several members of my family ran and are now experiencing the post-marathon immobility phase. Walking has never hurt so much.