MERRY CHRISTMAS

2009

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Since we've been married each Christmas I choose one of our fun pictures (mainly from some fun trip we took) to put in our Christmas Cards, well...the past couple years I've looked through my plethora of pictures and I can't seem to find one of the entire family. There's PLENTY of Jack, some more of Jack and me and then some of Jack and Rob, but all of us together- FORGET IT! Not that we don't do things as a family, we do, but capturing the moment with all three of us is not a task that usually gets crossed off the list. Anyhow, this year and last year the picture looks quite similar, it's taken in our home by our dear friend Becca (thanks again!). Next year I'll get on top of getting entire family pictures taken- before the Christmas Season starts and we can continue on the tradition Rob and I started as newlyweds. Here are some Christmas pictures from the past for your viewing pleasure!

2004 Jackson Hole, WY

2005 Red Castle, Uintas

2006 NYC

2007 Utah Football Game

2008

Split Personality

This child can be so charming, sweet, loving and kind...and then his EVIL twin comes out. Is this normal for a two year old, or does he seriously have a split personality?

Random Update/Pictures

Happy Thanksgiving and fun time hiking in Jackson Hole with Grandpa Gary!

Jeremy and Carrie decorating Gingerbread houses- Thanksgiving TRADITION!
Rob and Jack Rockin' out!

Jack and Luke with their Turkey hats!

Making the Turkey hats!

Hiking with Grandpa Gary.

You Know You're Pregnant When...

You know you're pregnant when...
- You start to put the cereal in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard.
- You start to get "emotional" watching Football with your husband.
- You drop just about everything!
- You can't remember simple words like, well I can't seem to remember :)
- Dill pickles dipped in ranch dressing tastes AWESOME!
- Your FAT pants become the ONLY pants.

Things I Can't Live Without!

Here are some things that I can't seem to live without lately...

- Eucerine lotion (I am applying at least twice a day, gotta love living in a desert).
- My Slippers. Don't be surprised if you see them on me while I'm at the grocery store-I LOVE them that much!
- My big, soft robe. It goes on first thing in the morning :)!
- The space heater in the kitchen. Old home=drafty cold kitchen in the morning and late at night. :)
- My stack of Books...right now I think I am reading 4 books. I should just focus on one and maybe I'd finish one of them right?
- My RED Blackberry...I had no idea last year when Rob got me one that I'd use it as much as I do. I LOVE having the Internet and my email on me at all times.
- My RED Laptop. It might be the color, but having a laptop is GREAT! I seem to be on it checking my favorite sites and blogs daily :)!

We Are Thrilled to Announce...

It's a BOY! Jack's going to have a little BROTHER! Baby Brother will be joining our family this Spring!

"But Mom, My Crib is Broken!!!"

The above quote came right out of Jack's mouth as soon as we showed him his new "crib". We are trying to ease him into a big-boy-bed. His crib turns into a toddler bed...we thought this was a good way to start the transition. He has been doing so well. The only difficulty has been nap time. We've adopted a new form of nap time from Aunt Cheryl. We now have "quite time" at our house. Jack gets to go into his room, he can play quietly with toys, read books or take a nap if he wants. This gives him the choice, but it still allows me some MUCH needed quite time :). Thanks Cheryl! Most of the time he still takes a nap, which he NEEDS. Now that he is mobile in and out of his bed we've found him sleeping all over his room. I really could care less where he sleeps, as long as he does it, but it is sort of fun to go and check to see where he has finally fallen. My favorite spot that he sleeps in is right by his little gate that I put up to keep him in his room (old home= no door on his room). Oh the changes- I have to admit that I thought this one would be much harder. I love to have him come into our room in the morning (when it's a reasonable hour) and climb into bed with me and have him tell me all about his sweet dreams. Here's hoping potty training will go as smoothly :)!

Fall Happenings

This Fall we've been from one end of the valley to the next. We've had LOTS of fun with friends exploring pumpkin patches and witches homes. I love Fall. I love the change in weather, the sound of the leaves crunching under your feet. I love pulling out the garden and harvesting the last bit of vegetables.

This Halloween was spent at the Utah Football game, but as you can see from the below picture Jack wasn't too excited about his Elephant costume. Some battles are just not worth it. He was MUCH happier at the game watching out for Swoop and eating candy than walking around Trick-Or-Treating, battling the costume. Happy Fall!

Ariyah, Jackson, Treyden & Rylan.

Jack, Olivia, Luke, Sophie & Cameron.

I'm Gonna Wash That Gray Right Outta My Hair!

I am 30 now...I know sounds old, but I don't feel it. Well, a couple days ago I had just finished blow drying my hair and I had one renegade hair in the middle of my head right up front that would not lay down. I inched up closer to the mirror to get a better look and it was a HUGE GRAY HAIR! I've had some gray ones before- Rob's even helped me pull out a few :), but right smack-dab in the middle of my freakin' head for all the world to see!!! Not gonna happen- I yanked it right out. Let me get something straight- I am not afraid of going gray. My mother started going gray even before she turned 30- she has the most beautiful silver hair. If I new that mine would turn out that color, no problem, but here's the catch. Her hair is a LOT darker than mine- I'm afraid I'll look like one of the, bless their hearts, the blue haired old ladies.

I don't color my hair, I've gotten highlights like three or four times in my life. Does that count as coloring? Anyhow, like I said I'm not afraid to go gray...I would just like to choose the place that the gray comes in and what color of gray it's going to be. Is that too much to ask? I might have to take action if my gray hair doesn't live up to my requests!

Packing Peanut Party!

Ever since Jack was born I have been taking him to work with me a couple days a week. We only go for a couple hours at a time. For the most part he is really, really good. He gets to have time to play in "Grandma & Grandpa's Office", hang out with Aunt Abby and Uncle Bear. He helps me do my work by pushing buttons on the fax machine and getting any paper that comes out of the printer. He plays and watches shows on the computer- he has a good time and so do I. We both get an out for the day, I get adult interaction and he gets LOTS of attention.

A couple weeks ago he had been playing on the Dock with Uncle Bear and was having so much fun with the packing peanuts. I thought it would be a good idea to bring some of the peanuts up into the office and let him play while I was finishing up...GOOD IDEA, NO WAY! It was a MESS, total DISASTER, but he was SO HAPPY. So I guess the next hour that I spent cleaning it up was all worth it :).

Wallace & Gromit

I have always been a fan of the Wallace & Gromit movies. Whitty, funny, goofy and my personal favorite British humor disguised as a children's show. When perusing the video section of our grocery store a couple months ago I came across some great oldie but goodie ones. I bought all they had and put them on for Jack to watch. That child LAUGHED OUT LOUD through most of the 45 min. show! He talked about it for days after, asking to watch "Gromit". When he finishes watching one of the shows I can always count on him asking for some "Cheese and Crackers" and or "Toast Gromit".

One quick little story- a couple weeks ago I was getting Jack ready for the day and he put his hands up to his ears and pulled them out and said, "Mom, look I'm Wallace". How is it that at 2 years old you can pick out a distinctive feature on someone and them imitate it, curious? Needless to say, it is fun to share something that you enjoy with your children and have them enjoy it too.

Garden Delights

So I don't have a picture to document, but our garden has been so BOUNTEOUS this year. We were truly up to our eyeballs with produce. What did you do with all that produce you ask...well, we gave away a lot to our wonderful neighbors- I think our neighbors started to turn their lights off at night when they saw me coming with yet another grocery bag full :). We've eaten and eaten all that we could, but I turned A LOT of it into food storage. It is such a great feeling to know that you not only grew the food yourself, but canned and prepared it as well. So the list is...
- 3 batches of Salsa
- 1 batch of Chili Sauce
- 1 batch of Bread & Butter Pickles
- 1 batch of Freezer Jam
- 1 batch of Mustard Pickles

Not to forget all the delicious Caprese Salads, fresh green beans, Zucchini Breads, Bruschetta, and the list goes on. Good eats at our house this summer, and now were set for the winter too! Now I just need a recipe to use all my green tomatoes!

Baseball

Call me lazy or ingenious, but I was SO TIRED of hours and hours of throwing Jack the baseball that I found one to hook onto the back porch so that he could swing and swing away!

Weekend Wakeboarding in Wahweep!

We had SO much fun wakeboarding last year in Lake Powell that we decided to do a long weekend and repeat this year. The water was AMAZING, the company was FANTASTIC and we had a great time. Here are a couple pictures.

This was my Ab-workout while I was on the boat!

Go Rob!

Can't Stop Thinking...

There are just a handful of books that I've read that have really made an impact in my life. I just finished one that I can't stop thinking about. I know it is a good book when I think about the characters and wonder what they are doing, or I think what would so-and-so do in this situation. I have to admit when I read I want to escape and live in a alternate world for a while. "These is My Words" was such an incredible book, full of hardship, love, and great perseverance. Most of all I was impressed with Sarah the main character...she is such a ROCK. Knowing that there are women in the world who rise above all despite being given a lot more than their fair share of trials gives me power to know that truly anything is possible. If you need a good book to pick-up this is most definitely one!

Last Week in Pictures

We had a totally fun week last week. It was busy, but we had lots of fun play-dates and family-fun-nights. USA vs. El Salvidor World Cup Qualifying Soccer Match, hanging at the Driving Range...Jack's new love, Zoo with Taylor, Emma and Clara and the Children's Garden with April and Aryiah. Not to forget fun Birthday lunch with Becca and Steph for Becca's Birthday and our nephew Isaiah's Baptism, oh and the UTAH game! Great week and a fun what to start of September!

GAME DAY

A long awaited season has arrived. We started it off right with a win...here's hoping for many more to come!

Jack, Swoop (Jack's new best friend) & Rob before kickoff.
Luke and Jack showing their game day faces!

"Living the life you've imagined" (a la Henry David Thoreau)

I just came across a blog from a friends...blog stalking I know, but I was so touched. You know in olden days that women used to sit in a RED TENT and talk and rally around one another. Women in the 1950's had their friends/neighbors that they would chat with over the fence. Now we have moved to a whole new age where we rally together and glean from one another via our computers. I know the intimacy of face-to-face communication is less, but we are still being connected and uplifted. I am grateful for inspiring words from real women who want to better not only their lives but all women.

The title of this post is a quote I grabbed off of this new Blog, BLOOM. "Living the life you've imagined". Are you living the life you've imagined? I've been contemplating those words...and I can honestly answer, YES! I have been so blessed with so many things, but most important to me is my family, friends and my beliefs. I'm excited to rally with a new set of women, who I don't know, but will soon come to through this new and exciting age of technology. To quote BLOOM again, "we believe in evolution - that getting from where we are to what we imagine is a process." May you all be blessed in the process that we call life...and may we all grow the life that we imagined!

Summer of Golf...

- Over 20 golf balls LOST in our backyard bushes
- 3 broken golf clubs (not just the plastic ones...real metal golf clubs)
- One broken sprinkler head from being used as a "T"
- I can't count the times the golf clubs have been put in TIME OUT
- One downed pepper plant from an over anxious golfer
- All clubs are named with correct corresponding names (Driver, Putter, Iron etc.)
- Not enough trips to the driving range, but we did get there


Am I raising a golfer? Does your two year old know what a Birdie or Par means? Does your two year old have an obsession with Golf, mine does!

Weekend Camping

We spent the weekend Camping with the Morley's...we had a ton of fun. We colored, ate snacks and helped set up the tents. Seriously though, it was a blast! Good Times!

Lunchtime Retreat

One of my favorite things right now is meeting Rob for lunch. He works so hard and sometimes is away late :( so we make a trip out of it and we go see him for a quick lunch break. Our dining experience is not always clam, but we are together as a family. Thanks Rob for taking your wife and son out to lunch on a regular basis. It sure is fun for us to see you and spend time with you during your busy day.

Weekend Getaway

Thanks to our friends the Hess' we spent part of the weekend in Midway enjoying great friends and lovely surroundings. 1 cabin, 8 adults, 12 kids lots of sugar and rain make for one fun-filled weekend. We spent our time eating, playing games, building forts, eating some more, doing some twist exercising, fishing and finish it all off with...you guessed it eating some more. We had lots of fun and thanks again Hess Family!

Rob helping Haley reel in a fish!

Angry Eyes

Jack's into doing this funny face that we have so lovingly entitled ANGRY EYES. He'll do them when he's mad at something or just to pass the time in the car. He thinks he is so funny while he's doing them. We can't help but laugh at him and give him the attention a two year old SO craves.

JULY 24th aka Pioneer Day

Bountiful City really knows how to celebrate Pioneer Day! They have all the festivities on the 23rd...which is nice not to compete with all the other celebrations on the 24th. This year was a ton of fun. Went to the Parade, had a BBQ and watched fireworks. It's fun to have a couple days to celebrate our heritage. Hope you all had fun one!

Parade Watching!!

Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Gary enjoying the Parade.

July 4th

I know I am a little behind on the blogging scene, but here are some from the 4th of July. We had a fun time watching the Real game on the 3rd and watching fireworks after. On the 4th we woke up early and attended our neighborhood Parade and Breakfast. Later that night we played with our families and ate some yummy Dutch Oven grub. Happy 4th of July!

Jack and Abby playing under the tree!

Neighborhood Parade!

Go REAL!