Back to the Future

Me on one of my first P-days in my greeny area, Chinju

8 years and a few pounds later...

Leaving home to come home

Last weekend I arrived home from Korea and I am finally getting back into the groove of things. I am still feeling the effects of the time change, and the smell of Kimchi still lingers in my clothes. I don't know where to begin describing the wonderful experience it was to go back to where I served my mission and be immersed in the culture with the people I love. Alot has changed since I left 6 years ago, but there are also things that will never change, Korea will always be a part of my life. There is something magical about waking up early to see the sun come up over the Oh-Ryuk islands on Pusan's South-East coast, or sitting in the raised pavillion overlooking the South river in Jinju where thousands of Korean peasants and warrior monks faught to their deaths to defend the fortress from the invading Japanese in the 16th century, or climbing South mountain in Kyoungju surrounded by towering pine trees and the remains of tens of thousands of statues. I have many wonderful memories of my mission serving there, but after a few years those memories began to feel like distant dreams and it was wonderful to go and refresh some of those and make new ones independant of my missionary experiences. Being away from Logan and Amber for so long was definately one of the hardest things I have ever done, but I am grateful for the time spent back in the land of the morning calm, my home away from home.

Family Night

I had to post this picture so you could see the mini balls and pins. It was so cute.

Thanks for a fun night! We sure are going to miss all of you!

IT'Z

This was such a fun family night! Cam and Tiff told us about IT'Z so we all went together and tired it out. We had so much fun. We ate a good buffet and then you go into any room to eat. We ate in the Cartoon room so the kids were able to watch Tom & Jerry. The place was a blast! The bowling was the best, it was so cute Jade and Logan had a blast. Does anyone in Maryland know if we have a mini bowling for kids?? Then Grandma and Grandpa were such great sports and rode on this mini roller coaster. Don't let mini fool you it went pretty fast and Logan didn't know what to think but this is Jades favorite ride. They both went twice so it couldn't be to bad. It was a fun evening and can't wait to do it with all the family next time we are together!

Playing Horsey

Jade was such a good cousin and taught Logan how to ride a broom as a horse. It was so cute Logan at first really tried sitting on the broom like it should take him somewhere. He finally figured out that he was in control. They had a great time!

Pumpkin Seeds

Logan and Jade were great helpers in cleaning out the pumpkins for the seeds.

We don't have any finished pumpkins to show because we actually just cleaned out the inside and called it good. With our two little helpers we were really happy to just leave the pumpkins whole! :-) (We needed Spencer here to help carve he is so good at it.) It was a beautiful day and a fun time. The end product is always worth it. My mom has always made pumpkin seeds and they have been a favorite of mine for a long time. The seeds are the best part!!

I love being a mommy!

Today was just a great day with my little buddy. Grandma and Grandpa both had to work and everyone else was busy so Logan and I had a day together. We decided to go to the mall to walk around because it was to cold to go outside to the park. We just walked around and Logan had fun just looking and enjoyed being out of the house. Then we went to this cute little kid play area and he had a blast. There was this 1 year old little boy that kept chasing Logan around and he just laughed and laughed. It was so fun to see Logan enjoying himself so much. Then we were both hungry and we got a bite to eat. It was just so nice and enjoyable and Logan was just happy and relaxed. We had a great morning together. I love days like this! I am so grateful I have the opportunity to be a mom especially to my little Logan. He is so precious I am so blessed!

Tons of Pictures!

Lots of Fun!

We have been having so much fun. I am sorry I have to many pictures to choose so you get another slide show. We went to the Balloon Festival which was so cool. Logan loved watching the balloons. Grandpa took him out almost every morning. It is really amazing the sky is just covered in colorful balloons. In some of the pictures you will see there are balloons just right over our house. It is so pretty they are incredible.

We also had a great weekend with Aunt Thea, Aunt Lynell, and Uncle Duane. We watched Conference together and Logan helped Aunt Nell (Lynell) with her sewing projects. It was a nice relaxing time. He called Aunt Thea (Tia) he sure loved them both it was a fun time. He liked going down the stairs on his bum like Aunt Tia.

It was also really neat we went to a raspberry farm and picked raspberries. They are so delicious. Logan was a great little helper he would find good raspberries. Grandma was even able to get him to eat some. He also had a great time finding tons of snails. I couldn't believe he could see them they were pretty well hide from the leaves. He just had a blast but after an hour or so he came over to me and put his head on my shoulder and said "tired mommy". He is so dang cute! What a fun time we are having. We miss our daddy but are making lots of great memories with our family.

TRAINS, TRAINS, TRAINS!

We had a fun day out with Mom, Kally and her boys. We missed Jade she was home sick but we will go again. Logan just loved the TRAINS! We stayed and watched them forever! Logan loves being out and having a fun time with Grandma and friends. The train and the gardens were really beautiful and the weather was great.

A NEW DO!

Well I loved Logan's curls but it was time for a haircut. Thanks to Aunt TT he is a handsome little man. I think he looks so much older. If you ask him who cut your hair he will touch his hair and say "Aunt TT". It is pretty cute.

BYU vs. UNM

Saturday we went to the BYU & UNM football game. It was so much fun. It had been rainy and windy all day so we didn't know if we were going to go. We finally decided why not we will try it out. We are so glad we did the weather was just perfect! Logan had so much fun. He learned how to say "B-Y-U". It was awesome and he loved dancing with Jade to all the music and waving there blue and white pom poms. Kally's little boy Jaxon was there too and Logan and Jaxon had fun sharing snacks with each other. Uncle Cam fed Logan Good & Plentys for the first time and Logan loved them. (yeah for another black licorice fan) Grandma and Grandpa helped out a lot and we had a fun night out with the family. Our night was even better because BYU won and it was UNM's homecoming game!! Yeah for fall and football games.

More Fun Pictures!

I love Logan in this picture. He is so funny! What a great trip we had.

Santa Fe Ski Lift

So this weekend we went on a fun drive to Santa Fe. It was so pretty, the trees are starting to change colors and it is nice and cool. We didn't know we were going to be able to ride the ski lift and we weren't totally prepared with warm clothes. BUT we had a blast even being a little chilly. This was a first for Logan to ride a ski lift and he had a great time. I love the Fall, the smells and the beautiful trees. We just needed Spencer he would have loved this! I thought about you the whole time and when you took me to Snowbird to the big bowl!!! :-)

Grandma's Little Helper

 

 

Logan had so much fun wearing his own apron just like Grandma! He helped my mom make some apple breakfast cake for her Presidency Meeting. What a wonderful patient Grandma! Logan loves working in the kitchen with anyone that will let him. He is a great little helper.

Logan & Mommy

This was one of my favorite pictures this week.:-) We have a great time together. Logan I sure love you! And daddy we miss you.

J-E-L-L-O

We had so much fun with Grandma Dana making Jello jigglers. Logan and Jade sure had a blast. Logan as you can see has a whole mouth full and is very happy. He also loves feeding the babies. He loves those babies. Tiffany is pregnant and he says "Aunt TiTi baby and rubs his belly." Yes Aunt Tiffany has a baby in her belly. :-) It is just so cute. He also had fun playing peek a boo with my dad in his bag. Logan is changing and growing up everyday. Today on the phone he told Bri "wheezy can you hear me" I was laughing so hard. What a great kid!

We made it!

Logan and I made it to Albuquerque to visit Grandma and Grandpa. We have had such a great time so far. Sorry it took me so long to post. When we first arrived it was so cute Logan went running to my mom and dad. He was really happy to see them. We headed straight to Jade and Jaxons birthday party. Mom made a cool Curious George cake and Cam and Dallon rented a huge blow up jumpy thing for the kids and adults! They all had so much fun. Briana (whezzy as Logan calls her) was able to come visit us for a week and that was a blast. She is such a wonderful aunt full of new energy. She pulled Logan down the stairs and around the house on a sled I made her hide it once she left. Oh she taught Logan so many great things to like to pretend sneeze but he does it with food in his mouth. Needless to say she was cleaning up eggs one morning :-) Logan just yesterday went into the room she was sleeping in and looked under the blankets for wheezy. She will always be special to all of us, she was like Logans second mommy. We miss her already but are happy for the time we did have. Logan and Bri are good pals. We have also been going to the zoo, aquarium, going on train rides, playing with Jade, Grandma helped make cereal necklaces, we've played with play dough, jumped on the tramp..... We have just had a lot of fun!! BUT we sure do miss our daddy.

Labor Day at Arlington

I have always wanted to take Spencer to Arlington National Cemetery I knew he would love it. So on Labor Day we headed out with Map Quest but got kinda lost on the way there and on the way home!! D.C. signs are kinda hard to follow but we made it. But of course the whole time Spencer is saying see we just need a GPS...... Once we arrived we had a fabulous time and took lots of fun pictures. Logan loved taking the Tram he thought it was a choo-choo (train). It was cute to see him get so happy over the nice bus ride. He was so tired by the end of the hot day he fell asleep on Spencer and I couldn't resist taking his picture. I sure love my boys and so grateful for a fun day together. I am so thankful for all those who serve our country to keep us free.

What more do you need in life???

When you have Graham Crackers and a glass of milk..............

Amber Posted:

I just had to put this on because my sister-n-law wrote me this email about how my niece Emily loves Graham Crackers now. Well so does Logan and not only does he love the crackers but he has to have milk to dip it into. Every time I give them to him Spencer laughs and asks "Amber why, why??" I always say "Oh SPENCE he needs to have a little fun and get dirty once in a while." Yes he loves them and Spencer is right because while I am cleaning it up I ask myself why why but I decided I just love seeing him so happy and content. The things we do to make our kids happy! (The worst part is I forgot to at least put a bib on the little man! Oh well....)

Flowers for mommy

We went to our 2 year old playgroup today and Logan had a great time. (Thanks to Corinne for putting it together.) The weather was just perfect we stayed long after most people, probably because it was my kind of day to be out and Logan loves being outdoors. He likes playing with all the other kids and it was cute he has a friend named Dalton and he calls him "Dalt". Just a couple days ago Logan picked a flower and brought it to me I thought oh that was cute. Then today he picked another flower and gave it to me "here mommy" it was so great. How does he already know that girls especially mommies love flowers. It just made me smile. I wish I would have brought my camera but next time. We sure are going to miss all of our friends while we are gone.

Mommies Little Helper

Amber posted:

Logan wants to help me anytime I am in the kitchen. He is actually great at listening and helping out. Some of his favorite jobs are turning on the Bosch and dumping in the ingredients. It is an activity I have a great time doing with him. I have really fond memories with my mom in the kitchen and I hope Logan will too. He is my little but big helper and it is so fun! I hope he grows up to enjoy baking like I do. We made some yummy banana bread and he couldn't resist taking a bite out of each banana before we put them in. Oh how I love that kid!

Airplane Park

Amber Posted:

This was one of our Labor Day activities and it was just awesome. We had such a great time. Logan loves airplanes and the Airplane Park it next to BWI and we were so close to the airplanes. It was beautiful weather and we all had fun. One of the things I love about living here is there is always so many fun activities. It is great! What a beautiful, fun place we live in.

My Handy Man

Try to ignore the storage all around and under.....this is what happens when we have no space. But I think it turned out great. Thanks Spencer you are the best! (we are going to try hanging his name on the underside so his cars won't cover up his name...any ideas on how we should do it?)

Amber Posted:

So I have been wanting to do Logans name for so long but it was kinda pricey and just never happened. Spencer the great man that he is decided he would just stain and paint it himself! Yes, it might not be the fanciest but I think it is perfect. Spencer worked hard and it is awesome. Now we have a shelf for all of Logans favorite cars and it makes it seem more like Logans room than just a place for storage.

Cottrell Family Picture

Amber Posted:

Well we tried taking our own family photo on Sunday......it was kinda rough. Spencer's head is kinda cut off but this was the cutest picture of Logan. We figure who really cares about us anyways. Just imagine Spencer's hair looking perfect. I decided this is better than nothing and we will try again when our family is back together in 6 weeks.

Of all the places!

Amber Posted:

Logan decided to cuddle up in the corner by the sliding glass door and the blinds?? You've got me? I saw him go round up his monkey, Lightning, blankets and go lay in the corner. I just had to take a picture he is so silly! He thought it was pretty cool that I would take his picture.

Logarella

Amber posted:

I was doing my hair today and Logan wanted me to do his with mousse, hairspray and the diffuser. It was so cute he wanted the whole works. His hair as you can see is curly! He is so cute. He would of liked me to blow dry his hair all day if I would have.

Daddy's Home Sick

Amber posted:

So Spencer was up all night with a migraine and didn't get back to sleep until 5:00 am so he stayed home from work. When Logan was ready for his nap he just went and curled up with daddy on the love sac. I sure love my boys. Spencer is feeling much better now. Yeah!

P.S. Happy Birthday Aunt Alyson!

Life with 4 kids

Amber Posted:

I watched Preston, Xavier, and Matthew today. It was a lot of fun and the kids all did really great. We played with toys in the morning and then went out to the playground. Getting 4 kids ready to go outside definitely took more time shoes, potty, drinks etc. They all really enjoyed each others company as did I. We had a fun time and Logan really enjoyed having friends to play with. They all wanted to wear hats and so I couldn't resist taking there picture. Life was a little bit more crazy with 4 rather than 1 but it was awesome and I was just really organized and did things my way. At lunch they probably all thought I was crazy but we all had to wash hands before and not leave the table until I wiped them all. What a great day!


Chicken Nuggetts and Grean beans yummy yummy!

Game of Tag!

Tracy tagged me to play this game of sevens:
A. List 7 habits/quirks/facts about yourself.
B. Tag 7 people to do the same.
C. Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag whoever wants to do it.

Posted by Amber:

Well, Well, I have so many which ones to share......
1- Spencer and I met at EFY in Provo Utah when I was 16 and he was 17. He has been my best friend ever since. We just have a great time together and I love just being with him.

2- I am a clean freak....it might not always show since Logan has been born but deep down I just love a clean house. I am so much happier with a life of cleanliness and order.

3- I really love a made bed. In fact I usually always make my bed and if I don't I have to make it up before I get into it at night. I just enjoy tight sheets. So needless to say I love the first night on CLEAN SHEETS!!! Yeah.

4- I love going on vacations! It is so fun to get away from all of normal home obligations. Our family really enjoys DISNEYLAND!! We all go to this happiest place on earth and leave all our worries at home. We all become kids again. One of the reasons I love being on vacation is that Spencer doesn't have to go to work! Happy days and great memories that last a lifetime.

5- I am not very crafty or good at decorating, (I wish I was) so my poor hubby ends up being my Martha Stewart!

6- I hate having dirty dishes out on the counter. I would much rather just load them right into the dishwasher. Mom look what you did to me........ :-)

7- I always wanted to be a mom but I never knew how great it really was going to be. I was always worried it would be like babysitting when I was growing up and I would be done after a couple of hours. But it is different when they are your own. Yes we all have hard days but I absolutely love being a mother. It is the greatest blessing I could have been given. What great joy Logan brings into my life. I love that kid.

So now that I have just gone on and on I tag Chelsea, Kendra, Emily, Cami, Corinne, Ben & Alyson, and Spencer.

Temple trip with the Garners

The Washington D.C. Temple is quite a sight. It is cleverly situated on a hill that overlooks the 495 beltway, so that when you are heading south it looks like you are going to drive right into it. We went to a ward primary activity a couple of weeks ago and then went with the Garners to the visitor center to watch the Joseph Smith movie. It was a very beautiful, but hot day and for me, it was nice to come in and sit in the waiting room and be surrounded by the beauty of the temple. It kind of felt like being home.

Just as we walked in, Logan started saying, "Jesus, Jesus!" and he and Matthew ran off to the Christ statue. I had to run to stop him from climbing up the pedistool to give the statue a hug... The Elders were happy to come along because the temple was technically out of their area and they got a chance to talk to some of the sisters that were serving there. We went into the movie and we were pretty much the only people in the huge theater. This was my second time seeing the movie, and I think I liked it better this time. I could definately feel the spirit and by the end of the movie, both Matthew and Logan were asleep. I was glad that we could go and see it with our friends.

The temple is such a special place. Whether we are in Hawaii, Utah or here in Maryland, it stands as a familiar beacon of light and a testimony of the restoration of truth. It is through the blessings of the temple that I get to be with my family forever, and some day, run with Logan up to Christ and we can give him a big hug together.

Logan's birthday bash

Logan's party was so much fun. I am sorry that it took so long to put up the pictures, but I was trying to get that slideshow with music thing to work and my computer for some reason didn't want to cooperate. Anyways, imagine that there is music playing in the background, maybe I will have better luck in the future. Logan's birthday marks our first year of living in Maryland. His party made us realize how many great friends we have been able to make during our time here. When family is far away it is nice to have such great friends. Thanks to everyone who helped make this day special for Logan and for all of us!

Look Mommy!

Amber Posted:
So I don't even know if me writing this story will do it justice but I have to try. I was putting clothes in the dryer and saw Logan over playing with his cars. He came in and kept motioning with his hand for me to come or so I thought that was what he was saying. I said "just a minute go play and I will be right there". A second later he is back again "uh, uh" which means come on......Well he was being pretty persistent ant but I didn't pay much attention. Finally he decided if she isn't going to come to me I guess I will bring it to her. He brought me the wet wipes container in which we keep the little cars. I figured he just couldn't get a car out because the lid was on. I about put my hand down in there to get the car out and all I see is this huge spider wiggling his legs so fast I screamed and threw it onto the floor. I about had a heart attack. I absolutely hate spiders and I just wasn't expecting the spider so it made it that much worse. Poor kid about died thought he was in trouble or something. I had to try to cover up and told him he was so great to bring it to mommy. He then got on the floor and did the same hand motion he was doing in the air. It was like a spider crawling on the floor.... duh.....come on mom. He was so cute like mom I tried telling you. I asked him if he touched it he said yes but who knows!! I have probably made him afraid of spiders which I didn't mean to do. I hope not but man I was surprised. I wasn't about to flip it over and kill it so we put a shoe on it so we could show daddy. Spencer gets home and he is laughing at my story and says oh the spider wasn't that big, but it sure was big enough for me. Not to mention this is probably the 2nd spider we have ever seen in our apartment it just shocked me I guess. Little Logan what a big helper. It kinda made me think that Heavenly Father probably feels like that with us when he is trying to tell us something but we are to busy to stop and listen!!

Birthday picture

This might not be your typical picture but we couldn't resist. This just shows who Logan is at the moment. He loves adventure and climbing. We went to Toys R Us just the other day to look for birthday gifts and we turned our backs for two seconds and Logan had climbed half way up a 10 foot ladder they had in the store. He sure keeps us on our toes.

Logan