The Rich Family

Little Linus

2010-05-10T21:23:00.007-04:00

There are precious few movies that Craig can stand to watch over and over again--the Bourne series, The Blind Side made the cut, Just Like Heaven (he probably thinks Reese Witherspoon is cute, but who doesn't? Seriously). Even with those, though, he has to have a minimum time lapse between viewings. I, on the other hand can watch the same movies again and again, and each time gets sweeter and sweeter. It's probably because I have better taste in movies... Pride and Prejudice (ONLY the Collin Firth one, Kiera what's-her-face ruined the other one for me as well as the fact that Darcy and Elizabeth's attraction was portrayed as being based entirely on chemistry rather than admiration for one another's characters as they gradually discovered them...but I don't have very strong feelings about it :), Sense and Sensibility, North and South--they just reach a whole new realm of wonderfulness, "scrumptialescense" as my Nat would say. I could start Pride and Prejudice from segment four and watch it to the end indefinitely--I could do the same with the train scene from North and South. It NEVER gets old. Nothing is old about falling in love for the first time. What's amazing is that I can hit instant replay on the whole bit. I don't even have to hit the rewind button and wait for the VHS to get to the right spot anymore.

So that was a huge ramble. Back to what I was trying to say from the beginning. As a child (and teenager) growing up, one movie I never tired of watching over and over was a ghetto VHS recording from TV of all the Christmas cartoon classics made with love by my Dad. A Charlie Brown Christmas was a favorite. I love Linus's speech about the true meaning of Christmas. It still gets me teary. Linus totally has a mature view of things when it comes to the holidays. But there's nothing mature about his blanky addiction. Totally childish. But cute, because he is a child.

Well, here's my little Linus. He LOVES this blanky. It's the one ("in nuetral colors") Tay and Gar gave to Craig and I our first Christmas married right before we announced that they were all going to be uncles. My sweet little boy picks it up, slings it over his shoulder and carries it around with him when he's tired and waiting for me to lay him down.

Today he managed to get it over to the rocking chair where he climbed up (all by himself) and sat down. Then I think he decided the floor was too far away.

So he got back down, and tried again.

This time he got it right...

Oh, and here's my not-as-little Linus.

We refer to them both as the "Blanky Boys." Catchy, huh? Someone should make a movie with that title. It definitely sounds like a classic.

;)

"Double Hunter"

2010-04-10T23:01:00.006-04:00

Gavin is such a funny boy. He is SO smart, too! Lately he just amazes us with some of the things he says like, "Don't you dare do dat, Bwanky (he LOVES his blanky, even enough to discipline it when it mis-behaves :). Or you will go to time-out!" and, after my mom promises to bring him all sorts of goodies when she comes, "Gwamma Pam will bring me some ea-ter eggs and some goldfissies and..." if she said it, he remembers it and he'll hold her to it!

Because he is so good at enunciating each word he says, and because, even when he finds a word he can't quite get right, I've mastered Gavin language after hours and hours of study and dedication, there's hardly a time when we can't figure out what he's talking about. About a month ago, however, he was running around jabbering on and on about "Double Hunter." Huh?

Me: "Hey Gavs, what is "double hunter"?

G: "No, DOUBLE hunter!"

Me: "Ok, what is DOUBLE hunter?"

I couldn't get an explanation out of him more than repeating over and over what I was saying (which he didn't think I was getting quite right). Hmm... So I finally gave up. Until the next time it came up. I asked him again what it was, and he answered the same way. I thought, maybe Aiden (one of his nursery friends) told him something about some character Double Hunter. Maybe its a new cartoon or something? I must be way out of the loop!

This went on and on, off and on, until an evening about a week ago when, after Gavin had again been running around chanting "double hunter, double hunter, double hunter...." all day I decided to ask Craig if he knew where Gavs had picked it up.

Me: "Do you know what 'double hunter' is?

Craig: "No, what is it?"

Me: "I have NO idea. Gavs came home from nursery one day chanting it and jabbering about it."

Craig: "From nursery? Hmmm..." Deep in thought... then, "Could it be Howard W. Hunter?"

My Sweetie is SO smart!!! He solved the "Double Hunter" mystery! It still cracks us up that, after some nursery lesson about President Hunter, all he came away with was "double hunter"! So funny. We love our silly boy!

We love our little Macy-Man too! He is such a little munchkin! Its been so fun seeing him figure out new things. He's quite the little walker these days! He started a couple weeks ago to take some tentative steps here and there in between furniture or walls. Now, he cruises across the room, no prob! Crazy!

I can't believe how fast my little boys are growing. The time really just flies!

Dichotomous Ramblings

2010-04-05T14:58:00.006-04:00

I'm such a bad blogger. It's kind of like exercising for me. Sometimes I'm WAY good at it. Driven, motivated, committed. But after I've been going for a couple months (or weeks) I burnout. The sad thing is that the burnout lasts MUCH longer than the commitment. I'm still committed to the idea, but, especially when I'm overwhelmed, the action just isn't in the equation. I've got to do better. In my mind I can picture exactly what I want my blog to be, but I don't have the time, the creativity, or the know-how to get it there. So the perfectionist in me becomes an enemy to doing anything with it. I really want to push past this and at least post an occasional picture or story for the grandmas and grandpas and all our family that are so far away.

Florida is beautiful. I can honestly say that I LOVE it here. It's been so good for us to have the automony, the independence and the experiences we've had since our move. Craig and I have made mutual friends, rather than our "his" and "hers" friends from before we were married (not that we don't love all of you still :), we've had to intesify our communication efforts and abilities to make things work, and we've had plenty of nucleus-family time during which to get to know one another and each of our boys better and to establish good family habits and traditions of our own. At the same time, there are moments when I miss our families, reunions, impromptu Sunday visits, the mountains, made-to-order fry sauce, weekly piano lessons, and hangin' out with my mom with nothing to do so much I'm almost paralyzed. This last weekend was really rough for me. I don't know if it was because of the holiday or General Conference or a combination of the two, but I was a wreck. A special thanks to Geoff and Bonnie for having us to dinner and pulling me out of a rut. And an even special-er thanks to my sweetheart for putting up with me and loving me through my prickles.

Our ward ROCKS!!! We have been embraced and loved by so many. We've also been put to work! Craig is the ward clerk and I just was called as Young Women's president, so we are definitely keeping busy. Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed and like I'm not doing all that needs to be done, but it has been such a lesson on truly relying on the Lord to make up the difference between the needs and demands of a calling and my best efforts. I realize how seldom in my life I've had to do that. Not that I shouldn't have been doing it all along, but it wasn't a necessity (motherhood excluded) because I could 'get by' on my own. Now there is no keeping my head above water without help, and I'm grateful that the Lord cares enough about me to compel me to learn this lesson at this point in life rather than years down the road. He is so patient and kind, easy to be entreated and full of love.

Anyway, enough of the random. I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! When we truly have an understanding of what it's all about we can't help but be grateful for a loving Savior and Father in Heaven that not only want us back, but provided a way for us to get there--back home.

This one's for Gar

2010-01-08T18:01:00.003-05:00

Bring back any memories? How about a closer look?

Gavin's shirt meets kitchen shears.
Another one of those things I just have to scratch my head at and think, "Why?" !!!

2010-01-05T20:39:00.004-05:00

So I know I should be posting about our Christmas and New Year's and all that's been going on, and I will, but... it's so overwhelming!!! We had a wonderful holiday season, one we will always remember and treasure. We are so grateful for the families in our ward who have taken us in. They have just been amazing!!! More to come on this, I promise :)

But to initiate my catch-up posts, I'll start by sharing one of my new hobbies. Taking after my mom, I've always enjoyed the triumph of making a "bargain" buy (which means I married into the right family too since my mom-in-law is right on board). There are few things that beat paying $2, for example, for something that normally would cost $20. Craig doesn't quite understand why this gives me such a high, but since I don't make any of the money being a stay at home mom, saving money by getting deals and being smart makes me feel like I'm contributing in the financial realm of our family living.

So, we have some big 'coupon'ers out here who have been great at showing me the ropes. I'm still learning, but I've already made a few purchases that make me proud. For example, I paid 7 1/2 dollars for everything pictured below: 8 boxes of cereal and 4 8-packs of juice boxes! All these products cost me a total of $7! Both packs of soap were free when all was said and done. It's really quite amazing. I mean, I shopped the deals back in Utah, but I never combined the deals with coupons, and they make much more of a difference than I ever imagined.
So there you have it! I'm converted. I'll hopefully get better and better at finding the deals! There are some great websites out there that lay them out nice and easy. Check them out if you want, I thing they're great -

iheartpublix.com (probably only good for those living in the Southeast)

iheartsavingmoney.com

Does anyone else...

2009-12-18T15:23:00.003-05:00

experience pure joy while blowing juicy, wet raspberries at a sparkling, shining, fleshly cleaned mirror?

If so, PLEASE help me understand! I tried it myself. I was left thrill-less, joy-less, and smile-less.

Maybe it's because I can't separate myself from the fact that I'll be the one cleaning it up later...

Then again, this isn't on my top ten, or even top hundred, actually I wouldn't even include it in my list of things I like to do!

Silly kid :)

I've been crying all afternoon...

2009-12-16T15:58:00.002-05:00

...ever since the UPS man dropped off this box...... and I opened it and found this...
...Christmas packages for my boys and me, a card for Craig and I, cute little shorts and hat for Mason to grow into, Christmas ornaments with a note that says "It won't hurt if the boys break these. They were cheapies!", cute decorative little Santas, a Christmas dish towel, a darling snowman and bear on sleigh decoration, a jar of Craig's favorite homemade blackberry syrup, and a container full of homemade chocolates.

I can't find the words to express what I feel. This is one of the most thoughtful packages I've ever received. Packaged by one of the sweetest people I know. She's been there for me, supported me and loved me (and my family) when I needed her most. She is kind, thoughtful and unassuming. She's come through the ups and downs of life smiling, not bitter. She loves her family. She's raised seven wonderful children. I married one of them.

Valarie, thank you for everything! I could not ask for a better mother-in-law. I hope you don't mind me posting about you, but I don't know if I'd be able to express my deep gratitude any better than in writing. You are, without a doubt, the BEST! And you are so loved!

Christmas Cards

2009-12-14T10:34:00.002-05:00

If any of you blog readers would like a Christmas card, please leave your address in a comment or email it to me at sharellejs@hotmail.com.

Family: I already have most of your addresses, unless you've moved in the past year.

Nat, I need yours, again... I'll try to remember to save it this time!

Dear Dad,

2009-12-11T16:00:00.005-05:00

You'll have to forgive us, but your birthday gift will be a 'cyber' gift first, until we get it mailed. We wanted to get you something this year that you couldn't just go pick up yourself. So I thought we'd make you some dark chocolate peppermint fudge (I'm drooling) with all the candy canes that used to hang on our tree until Gavin snapped them all at their crooks. But then I found out you were laying off the sugar... I almost still went with it, telling myself that you could just share it, but... then I put myself in your place and realized how LAME I would think that arrangement was. So we tried to get creative and this is the result:

The card reads:

We're sorry your package will be arriving so late,
Getting it sent in time sure would have been great!
But it wasn't in the cards for us, you see,
The first chain was smashed, unfortunately.

This second we made for this purpose quite clear--
So you can count down the rest of the days in the year
And continue on counting, at the same time we do,
The rest of the days till we get to see YOU!

We are thrilled as can be for the 12th day of next year;
We'll drive to the airport and wait for you to appear.
Your stay will be awesome, we'll do such fun things!
Gavin will show all his tricks--how he reads, how he sings!

We are so very glad you're our dad/"gyandpa"
The fact we can't see you today, well, it's BLAH!
We love you and miss you without any doubt.
Relationships like ours are what life's all about.

Happy 50th Birthday!!!

Love, Craig, Sharelle, Gavin and Mason

P.S. You'll be receiving this in a package sent via USPS hopefully soon!

And for your viewing pleasure:
Here's Gavin's Birthday smile for you!
Dad, I knew I loved you when I was a little girl and you took care of me, wiped away my tears when I was upset, held me close when I was scared, and beamed with joy when I did something you thought was cute. The day I found out that you could be married to only Mom and not me was a sad one indeed!

When I was a teenager, I realized you were an even better man than I had previously thought. I saw there was more to you - weakness as well as strength, heartache as well as joy, worry as well as security. You weren't the fairytale 'Prince Charming' of my childhood, you were better! Because even in the face of opposition, you chose faith and rose above it.

As the years have passed on, you've continued to make that choice. With your grey hairs has come greater wisdom, experience, and a softening of temperament. What a beautiful process! I see you, each day, becoming a more Christ-like person, and it amazes me. I only hope I can follow in your footsteps and continue in the legacy you and Mom have left for your posterity.

I am so eternally grateful to be your daughter! Thank you for loving me and my family. One of the things that brings me so much joy is knowing that some of the fruits of my labor (literally) bring you joy. I'm so grateful my boys have a grandpa as amazing as you!

Not all super-heroes are make believe ;)

Hope you have the best day EVER! If anyone deserves to, you do!

Love,

Sharelle

Christmas Spirit

2009-12-08T17:30:00.003-05:00

Everyone's been saying how much fun this Christmas will be with Gavin because he'll be excited about what's going on and the presents and Santa...I realized I hadn't been prepping him very well because, aside from the fact that the Christmas tree is up and he pulls all the ornaments (that he says are "so cute") off, he's been oblivious to anything else. So I talked to him about Santa and how, if he's really good, he'll get presents on Christmas day. He knows what presents are, and he was more than excited about that. So I asked him what he wanted Santa to bring him. He said, "Presents!!!" Hmmm...

"But G, what do you want to be in the presents?"

"Uh...Choo Choo Trains!"

"And what else?"

Pause.

Then excitedly, "A present for Macy-Man!!!"

Without any coaching from me, he'd captured the true spirit of Christmas.

Santa Babies :)

2009-12-01T15:56:00.008-05:00

I just couldn't resist taking pictures of my boys in their Santa suits when I realized I had one to fit both of them (well, pretty much...Mason was almost ripping the seams on his and Gavin's was drowning him)! They looked so adorable! We just couldn't quite get one with both of them looking...

Here's Mason's bestAnd here's Gavin's
These are cute too, though!

At this point Gavin was dismissed for his quiet time, and Mason was being so good I thought I'd snap a few of him. He is so jolly!!!

But even he hit his limit!

Calendar Page

2009-12-01T08:29:00.003-05:00

Here's how our page for the Rich Family calendar turned out. Getting it to this point was a little frustrating, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. This is my first attempt at digital scrapbooking. Sadly, after begging Craig to buy me scrapbook factory for Christmas last year, I have not used it until now. I think I was feeling a little overwhelmed, and I was waiting until I could sit down and figure it all out, but now I realize that that defeats the point of the software. Hello! That's why I wanted it! It could be called Scrapbooking for dummies. I like it!

I've already posted most of these pictures, but there are a couple gems that were glossed over. Who's the Hottie in the John Deere shirt? :) oh yeah, he's mine...

One of Those Days...

2009-11-30T23:25:00.007-05:00

So I feel like lately I haven't been very patient with Gavin. In all honesty, I wonder if I'll make it through his toddler years with my sanity. I have never felt so helpless. He recently weaned himself from naps. I thought a good solution would be 'quiet time,' when the only requirement is that he stay in his room so I can have some time to remember that I'm a calm, sane person. His response to this new set up is to open and close his door constantly, with a slammed door here and there, until I tell him quiet time is over. I'd be fibbing if I said that this doesn't bother me, especially since Mason is napping in the very next room (which happens to be the bathroom - in his carseat, with the fan on). And I'm no push-over, either. Depending on how deeply I'm committed to driving my point home, he'll be in his room for up to a couple of hours. Needless to say, "quiet time" has in NO way replaced "nap time." By the time Craig gets home, and often before, I'm at my wits end.

With all that in mind, yesterday, after a conversation with my sweet sister-in-law Heather who is one of the best moms ever to live, I re-committed myself to treating Gavin with kindness and love and trying harder to focus on all his good qualities. Today would mark a new beginning. I'm pleased to report that I came through with flying colors, and it wasn't easy. No, Gavin didn't just have a remarkably good day. I was the one who made the changes.

That is, until..........

I found him like this.

Covered in Vaseline aka Petroleum Jelly aka absolutely-non-water-soluble aka I had to call Craig immediately to come home from work while I scrubbed Gavin with Baking Soda for an hour then Baby Oil trying to get it off his skin and out of his hair!!!!!!!

Craig cleaned up everything else -- the carpet, the changing table and anything on top of it Gavin touched, Gavin's chair, the tub where I bathed him, and the cleaning bucket he used. What a guy!

Now I know where Dr. Suess got his inspiration for The Cat in the Hat Comes Back...

I'll be back at it again tomorrow. I just might have to watch Gavin while he sleeps for extra long tonight. He looks so angelic when he's sleeping...

A 'Thank'imony

2009-11-26T22:43:00.004-05:00

I'm grateful...

1. To have been able to go to the store all by myself this morning. No screams (at least none I had to be responsible for), no rushing, no scolding when a certain toddler starts throwing all the groceries out of the cart, no frantic searching for a binky when the shopping lasts too long, no tears at the checkout, no sweating profusely while carrying two babies and as many of the groceries as I can up two flights of stairs, and no extra trips up the said stairs.
2. For a kitchen with a sink, a dishwasher, and an oven all to myself in which to create "culinary masterpieces, the likes of which [were] only glimpsed" today.
3. To have only had to make a relish tray and a dessert and still have been able to enjoy all components of a Thanksgiving meal.
4. For President and Sister Darrington for inviting us to eat Thanksgiving dinner with them and all the senior missionaries.
5. To Elder Swain for taking Gavin for a walk around the pond outside, giving Craig and I a break from a busy boy and Gavin a chance at some Grandpa Time, even though all his grandpas are still in Utah.
6. For adult conversation.
7. For a husband who changed all the day's dirty diapers, every last one.
8. For a husband who went with me to get Christmas lights at the equivalent of a craft store, only bigger...
9. For a husband who told me to rent whichever movie I wanted and meant it, even after I walked out of Blockbuster with An Ideal Husband.
10. To have our Christmas decorations up.
11. For Craig who put up the tree even after a long day because he knew I really wanted it up. He also strung the lights (not quite the way I wanted them :), admired his work, and exclaimed with absolute self-satisfaction, "Tum-dah!" when he was finished. He may have even done this more than once...
12. That even though we only have like 8 ornaments total Craig still thinks the tree looks good.
13. That our boys sleep well at night, and always have.
14. For "chuggles" as Gavin calls them. I'm grateful that he finally is understanding that they aren't meant to be stifling, but endearing. He even asks to be snuggled these days. Mason has never not liked to be.
15. For the temple. For the power that unites families - old and young, near or FAR, dead or alive - as long as we keep our end of the bargain.
16. For Music. Its uplifting power, even on down days.
17. For my family, the one I was raised in, the one I married into, and the one my sweet husband and I are creating. Never in all my wildest dreams would I have imagined the blood, sweat and tears that goes into family life. Even when I wonder on the surface, though, deep down I know that it's worth it.
18. To know the purpose of life. Without that knowledge, I don't know if I'd put forth the effort. It sure does wear on ya...
19. For the profound lessons taught by children. Anger, frustration, and impatience are met with love, submissiveness, and forgiveness.
20. For unconditional love. For the atonement that gives me the strength and ability to work toward something better. For those who believe that someday I'll have it, and love me even when I don't, unconditionally.

Little Fish

2009-11-20T13:31:00.000-05:00

We sure have been enjoying our apartment complex! Just to the West of our building is a pond. Gavin loves it, along with all its inhabitants. Thank goodness we live on the third floor so we can avoid some of them getting inside, ie lizards, snakes, frogs. They're cute enough when we see them in the great outdoors, but I can't say I'd be thrilled having to share my habitation with them.

Gavin also likes the ducks and the fish, but his favorite are the "Tooties." If you've never heard of tooties, let me enlighten you. They're green, they have a hard shell, and they look a lot (in fact, exactly) like this:

For Floridians, these may be commonplace, but to us they are a novelty. And they LIVE in our backyard!

These next few pics are for the Grandmas. I just can't get enough of my little Mason!!! He is so quiet, but he communicates a lot through his adorable expressions.

There is nothing that melts my heart more than a content baby. Especially when that baby is mine.

The real fish of this post, however, is our little G-man. He is loving our pool these days, especially since he can swim all by himself. At least he thinks so...

You decide.

One of the best dollars I've ever spent = Floaties!

The game (a Daddy original):

1. Throw Daddy's sandals in the water

2. Admire work. (oh, and smile for the camera, if needed)

3. Go get the sandals.

4. Repeat, a thousand times if needed.

Halloween

2009-11-17T11:16:00.000-05:00

Although Halloween is one of my, hmmm, okay it's my very least favorite holiday, we sure had a great time! It's so much more fun with little kids because they look so stinkin' cute in their costumes. The fun started the weekend before when we went to a party at our friends Geoff and Bonnie's. We played games, ate treats and enjoyed visiting with each other, finding out how small a world it really is. About a thousand connections were made, including the fact that Bonnie actually taught theater in good ol' Morgan! Gavin was an elephant and super cute in spite of the costume issues....more coming on that... Mason was the cutest little giraffe I have ever seen.
Here's a picture of our festive contribution to the snack table. Yeah, you creative people are probably snickering at such shoddy work, but I'm pretty proud of my original creation!

On the Friday before Halloween, we went to two parties. The first was for our apartment complex and we only stayed for a few minutes.

So, about Gavin's costume. I actually bought it last year because I thought it was so cute. I figured since it was size 2-4T, we would be safe. All I can say is that it definitely runs SMALL. Gavin still fit in it, but I don't think he was very comfortable. Here's why:

Let's just say it was a good thing he hadn't been potty trained yet!

Here's our complex director Miritza and her daughter with G. She's awesome! She worked hard and maybe even pulled a few strings to help us get into our apartment, since at the time we were basically unemployed.

Gavin looks so happy to be in his costume...

Of course, Mason really was happy, costume or not!

We took a thousand pictures of the two of them, and these are still the best we got :( Oh well, right?

After our complex party, we headed to our ward one where Gavin found his new friend Liz. She was the cutest little butterfly!

He must've been excited to see her!

Liz's parents Dawn and Chris with...

cute little Paul! He and Mason are 10 days apart in age. They are both the BEST babies!

Mason was very tired.

What a cute little cherub!At the party, Gavin went fishing for a prize

and caught a really cool spider ring!

Then he decorated a bag and went trick or treating to all the classrooms around the church. I'm pretty sure this is when he decided he didn't mind his costume...

He got to choose one to eat that night. I think these mini tootsie pops are a great invention - they're the perfect size and oh so cute!

His spoilsOur ward also had dancing. What a hoot! Everyone, young and older (is that tasteful enough?) participated.

Gavin liked dancing with mommy!

He even got a dance in with Liz!

We had a great holiday. We didn't even have to take Gavin out the next day. I'm afraid next year he'll be too smart to let us pull that stunt again... Instead we ate a festive meal of mummy pizza, corn on the cob, mini caramel apples and wassail at home with Geoff and Bonnie. Can I just add too that it's sooooooooooooooo nice to have my own kitchen again. I've been cooking and baking up a storm! And I love it!!!

As Promised...

2009-11-13T15:14:00.000-05:00

Pictures of the apartment!

So a couple wednesdays ago we made our move-in official by unpacking the last box. Hooray! I was beyond happy when we finally finished. That night, we put the babies to bed, drank hot chocolate, and played some games. It was like a walk in the clouds. While Craig was brushing his teeth, I went in to check on the boys. They looked so sweet and peaceful. It was just one of those moments, you know. Everything was so perfect. Then, BANG!!! What in the world? Did one of the pictures fall off the wall? I ran out to find Craig running out of our room asking me if I was alright.

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"Just Fine."

Then WHAT was that?!? A peek in our closet told all. Both of our wardrobes were on the floor where once they had been hanging. The shelf had literally ripped through the sheetrock. Whoever installed it hadn't done it right with attaching it in the right place, etc. (I don't do the technical lingo, even though my dad and my husband did construction), so we had to pull everything back out and wait for management to come fix it. I guess perfect moments really are but moments...

Anyway, on with the tour. Our family room. We don't have a couch yet, so our camp chair currently provide us with very comfortable seating...

The baker's rack tv stand was NOT in our plans, but when the tv didn't fit in the armoire we had to improvise. A new tv is also on our wishlist.

The kitchen

and dining

And another shot of our closet with a new, sturdy shelf installation complete. It is stuffed to the rafters!

Master bath - the boys have their own bathroom, but I didn't take a picture. It's exactly the same.

Master Bedroom

And the boys' room

Gavin's "gyeat, BIG bed." He loves it! And I love it because it houses all our food storage that we had nowhere else to put. Thanks to Grandma T, Gavin gets a really tall bed!

And here's what Gavin did while I was unpacking. What's under all those toys?

Poor little guy!

The culprit!!!

Our First Visitor!!!

2009-11-11T15:36:00.001-05:00

We have a winner! Less than two weeks after making it to Florida, we were thrilled to have our first official visitor. We have yet to have someone come stay with us, but Uncle Kirk flew out to attend a conference in town and took us out to dinner. It was so great to see a familiar face! Thank you so much, Uncle Kirk!!! We went to the Olive Garden, and it was so yummy! Gavin fell asleep on our way to the restaurant, and when he woke up, he was ornery.

This is how he looked most of the evening........oh, give me strength. Then Uncle Kirk worked his uncle magic, and Gavin actually stopped screaming and was, well, happy. Not happy enough to smile for a picture, though. It looks like he was too busy figuring out his "shocka!"

Then there was Mace. The picture says it all.

I'm so grateful for both my boys. I'm grateful for all that Gavin has to teach me of patience, long-suffering, and intensity of purpose. He is the greatest kid - I just haven't figured out how to help him channel his energy yet. I know a lot of it just has to do with his stage in life. On the other hand, I'm so thankful for a boy like Mason who makes me feel so validated in all my efforts as a mom. I knew I loved him long before he was born, and he shows me every day that that love is reciprocated.

Hmm....

2009-11-10T14:51:00.000-05:00

For some reason, my latest got posted out of order. So, anyone interested in reading about our drive out to Florida (I know you're all dying...:), scroll down a post.

Goodbye Utah

2009-11-09T00:32:00.001-05:00

One of the things I'll miss most about Utah is the changing of the seasons. Summers are hot and winters are cold, but by the time I'm sick of one or the other, change is in the air. Fall and Spring go by way too fast, but I love the assurance that, even if they went too quickly, they'll be back again next year. I was thrilled that before we headed out, we got to see the leaves change. It even snowed while we were still there. In fact, it was wet, cold, and slushy just about the whole time we were loading up the truck. I blame myself entirely. Come October, one of the things I wait for with joyful anticipation is the first snow fall of the winter. I don't care if it happens in August, I'll pull out the Osmonds' Christmas album! I'd been lamenting that we'd miss this event to Craig, and I'll admit that it's very possible that I whispered some prayers that I could be there for it just one more time. What do you know, the Lord gave me a tender mercy! (Along with it came a cold, but it was WORTH IT!)

I've grown up in the shadow of this mountain - a simple glance at its majesty always brings feelings of safety and security. My boys and I went to one last Thursday lunch with the fam. We went to Olive Garden! Gavin and Kaylee had fun together.
I can't believe how fast Brenna has grown. I swear, it seems like just a few months ago we were hearing her cry in the night and Nate's comforting voice, "Brenna, SHUT UP!" ha ha

Kaylee's got mad camera skills, she must take after her mom...

The poor waiter that has to take care of all of us when we go out!

Aunt Blenda and Jaron

Aunt Doni, Mom and Mason

Sarah (who's pregnant, but hides it so well. I NEVER would have guessed - she didn't even look sick!) and a very tired Brenna

The Tuesday after General Conference, we were packed and ready to go. But we never would have made it to this point without so many others' help--my mom and dad, brothers, Tay and Sara, Brad and Valarie who came to say goodbye and ended up staying to help for several hours, Angi and Dave, the Drennan/Dicou clan--we couldn't have done it without you!!!

Gavin really didn't have a clear understanding of what was coming, but he was thrilled to ride in the BIG truck!

A family shot - don't I just look lovely? But my boys are so cute, as always.

Gavin will miss his Paba!

Mama Wanne sent Gavin with an entire box of bunny rabbit crackers!

I only wish Sara's belly had been a little bigger by the time we left...I'm so sad to miss her being pregnant.

We don't know if we'll get to see Ash before he leaves on his mission. Hopefully we'll be able to visit before then, but we can't be too certain - it all depends on how the business is doing by then. We'll definitely miss being able to see our family whenever we want, but at the same time, we're excited to be out on our own.
But I will miss my Utah and long for times I can visit HOME.

The Trek East

2009-11-09T00:05:00.000-05:00

Once the packing was done, the truck was loaded, and we were on the road, I really started to enjoy myself. Our long drive felt more like a mini-vacation than what I'd been dreading it might be. Maybe it was because Gavin was in the big truck with his daddy. Thank you, Craig!!! I had the most peaceful week! Of course the down side was that it was actually quiet enough for me to get sleepy, so I spent a lot of time on the phone (we had to purchase 3-100 minute packages of extra minutes so our bill wouldn't be a million dollars), but I felt the pros WAY outweighed the cons!

This first photo pretty much sums up everything I saw for the first day going through Wyoming...let's just say there wasn't much with regards to scenery. We stayed at a Little America the first night. We made a little bed for Gavin in the closet. Yeah, I know it sounds bad, but everyone slept so much better that way. It was pretty cute because we ended up shutting the doors to block out some of the light while he got to sleep, and in the morning, instead of just pushing them open and walking out, we woke up to "Daddy, get out." He didn't come out until we went and opened the doors. If only that were the case these days...
On day 2, we got to stop and see Kyle, Charise and Damon in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was so fun! Reese has the cutest little pregnant belly - I'm so glad I got to see it! Too bad the camera got left in the car so we don't have a picture.

Then we pushed on to Kansas City and stayed the night at Bret and Vicki's. It was so nice to be able to stop and see family along the way. It really was a treat. We left before the kids got home from school, but were able to visit with Vicki for a little while. Gavin was smitten!

Especially when Aunt Vicki helped him build a "gyaet, big tower" pictured in the bottom left. He's been talking about it ever since.

The boys did phenomenal! Aside from the pit-stops every three hours so I could nurse Mace, we could change daipers, and load up on snacks and water, we just cruised. Gavin did appreciate getting out to run around a bit...and drink his juice box.

Mace also felt better after a snack.

Yummy hand!

The scenery once we hit Kansas City was just gorgeous!

In Birmingham, we stayed with one of the families Garrett taught on his mission. They recently were sealed in the temple - such a great family! G liked their dog...

even gave Sister Stanley a big hug

and showed her his muscles!

Let's just say he got spoiled while we were there.

It was so green!

We also got to meet Garrett's mission president and his wife, the Tate's, while in town. Gavin made himself right at home - played with their toys, ate their food, threw a couple tantrums. The usual.

This one's for Gar.

Then it was back on the road. It's kind of a strange feeling to know that you're carting everything you own in one little caravan. I'm very glad we're not still living out of our cars.

Coming soon: pictures of our apartment. We officially unpacked the last box a couple Wednesdays ago!

Utah State Fair

2009-11-06T10:24:00.000-05:00

Before Craig made his first drive out to Florida, Brad and Valarie invited us to go to the State Fair. It'd been a long time since I'd been to the fair, and I've never really gone for longer than to play in the Talent Find and leave. So it was a new and exciting thing to do. I'm starting to feel bad that every picture I've posted of Mason is in the stroller - he does actually get held - but when you're chasing a Gavin... let's just say you need your hands free!

He's such a happy little guy! And oh, so cute!
Gavin loved seeing all the animals with Grandma and Grandpa

This bull was HUGE!

This is the butter sculpture. I guess they make one every year and just recycle the butter from the year before. Wow!

Gavin took a horsey ride on Grandma while we stopped so I could feed Mason. Here he's telling me "No" as I try to coax a smile out of him. What a funny kid!

Cruisin'!!

2009-11-06T09:39:00.001-05:00

My parents took us on a cruise in September. It was so fun! They wanted to squeeze a family trip in between Garrett getting home from his mission and Ashton leaving, so we could all go together. Gavin stayed with Grandma Valarie and Grandpa Brad for most of the time we were gone, then with Uncle Alan and Aunt Teresa for the rest. When we got home, he looked so grown up. He had learned so many different things while we were gone, and still to this day asks to be sung "Ay-die-bice" (trans. Eidelweiss) and "Sunshine" (aka You are My Sunshine) at bedtime. We had initially planned on taking Mason with us, but found out that the cruise ship didn't allow babies under 6 months onboard. As he was only 4 1/2 months, we had to leave him with Grandma Teresa and Grandpa Deareld. I missed my boys like crazy (especially Mason as I was thinking about him so often, pumping every three hours), but was so grateful to know that they were in such capable, loving hands. Miraculously, Mason took me right back after over two weeks of being bottle fed. I love my baby!

We embarked from Philadelphia. Craig and I had gone out a day early to check in on one of the franchises out there, then the fam followed so we could get on the ship together.

Waiting for the cabs at the hotel - my mom's gonna love this one! Me and my sweetie (oh, and Ashton...:)
Our ship was a smaller one called the Majesty We cruised up the New England/New Brunswick coast, and it was beautiful. Some days were a little chilly, so the only thing the trip lacked was hot, sunny days for laying out. I would have liked to have gotten a tan...

Our first stop was St. John/Bay of Fundy.

We took a wild ride in a jet boat! It was crazy - we all got soaked!

The crew - love Garrett's face in this one. Ashton and Tan's are pretty good too.

The architecture was definitely a highlight for me. There were so many cool homes and buildings.

So surreal...

After the jet boat ride, we headed out for some shopping. The guys and even Sara humored my mom and I while we had a blast looking for some finds!

The food was awesome!!! What's not to like about all-you-can-eat, none-you-have-to-cook cuisine? I was in heaven...

In Sydney, we were able to take it easy and just walk around the town. We stopped at a church where Mom gave everyone (especially Craig) a good laugh by reading this headstone aloud, "Here heth the body... Heth the body? Hmmm, I wonder if that's something they say around here." !!!! Close, Mom... he he

Garrett following his post-mission motto, Flirt to Convert.

The boys had fun being boys... Their escapades included leap frog, climbing very tall trees, and trying various feats of strength.

Another stop was Charlottetown, PEI where we visited the Lucy Maude Montgomery historic site which included the house that inspired Green Gables (as in Anne of Green Gables). Here's "Anne's room"

I don't have any pictures from our other two stops Peggy's Cove and Portland, Maine because my camera died. :(

I loved feeling so pampered on the ship. Not only did we not have to make our bed, we didn't have to turn down our own covers at night. Along with the turn-down service came lots of fun creatures...

Thanks for a great trip, Dad and Mom!

August Rush

2009-11-04T11:15:00.000-05:00

For us, August is a busy month. Half of our special days so far occur in August. First is Gavin's birthday on the 10th. I can't believe another year came and went so FAST! He is such a fun guy, very smart and very BUSY. He definitely keeps me on my toes! This year, he was much more into the presents thing. He got an awesome John Deere truck, tractor and trailor from Grandma Valarie and Grandpa Brad.

On his actual birthday, we went to the Splash Pad in Ogden with Aunt Chelsea, Avery, Uncle Dave, Aunt Angi and Brighton. He had a really great time. On the way home, we were passing an Arctic Circle so I decided I'd spoil him and get him a cone (and of course I couldn't pass up getting myself one as well since they're so cheap; plus, the flavor of the day was blackberry...need I say more?). Well, I discovered that Gavin is allergic to ice cream - he broke out in hives. They weren't too severe, though, they seemed to have cleared up by the time his nap was over.

Then we just did presents at home with my brothers and parents. I didn't get any after shots, but these bags held a tool belt with tools (like paba) and a few church books to help him be reverent (wishful thinking on my part).

His big gift was his bike. The official name is a TOUGH trike...appropriate.

My parents gave him a stylin' new outfit complete with bomber jacket and new shoes! You can barely see it in the background...

Daddy showed him how it all worked.

Then he discovered the compartment under the seat/his own private junk drawer.

I think he liked it!

Mace was a happy camper in his bouncer.

He loved watching Gavin open his presents. He'd get all excited and his little hands would quiver with anticipation!

Then my sweetie turned 26 on the 17th! I surprised him by taking him to dinner at a yummy BBQ place, then we came home for CHOCOLATE cake and ice cream!

How'd I score such a HOTTIE?!

Our anniversary was on the 23rd. It's been a full three years!!! Who knew that life could be so great? I'm so grateful for Craig. He's such a good man. He takes such good care of us and makes it possible for me to be a stay-at-home mom. I've ALWAYS wanted that; now I can live the dream! We actually celebrated the day by going to the Oquirrh Mountain temple dedication. We were down at Brad and Valarie's and they watched our boys so we could go. It was a great meeting and a great visit down south (as always).

Pioneer Day at the Park

2009-11-03T14:48:00.000-05:00

For the 24th of July, we went down to the park where the community put on a little fair of sorts with the booths and concessions and everything like that. We had a lot of fun seeing our friends and family, and Gavin had a ball doing all the activities. Just as we were getting there, they turned on the hose of the fire truck and Gavin ran through the water and got pretty wet. It was a super hot day, though, so he didn't mind.

Then he went fishing for a goldfish.Our little Mace was fine just hanging out in the stroller (again). Oh, he's so CUTE! Look at those lips!!!
Gavin caught several fish before he decided he wanted to keep the one he got. He loved it!

And here's the lucky winner!

Then it was off to get a tattoo. He chose a boat.

What a cheeser!

Then he got to sit on an authentic John Deere tricycle - he couldn't ride it because his legs were too short.

Even Mace got a tattoo.

But he would have been happy either way!!!

Notice all the little scabbies he has on his face in these pictures. This is what happens when you're baby loves his little hands up by his face ALL the time. He developed this habit in womb...I remember it well.

For lunch, Brad and Valarie took us to Chili's - YUM! I love this 2 for 20 deal....with molten chocolate cake for dessert!!! Aaron and Chelsea and Avery also came. I only got one picture, though, because I forgot I owned a camera until we were on our way out to the car. Typical.

Lagoon

2009-11-02T13:49:00.000-05:00

The end of June, Craig's office had a Lagoon day. We took our boys so they could enjoy a day out. It was a lot of fun. But...Gavin didn't care too much for the rides. I think it's because he's kind of a control freak. Plus he was going through a separation anxiety stage so he didn't like that he had to go by himself. I know it's hard to believe, but both Craig and I are too tall to go on any of the kiddie rides :)

Gavin's favorite part of the park was the water show/splash pad. At first he just sat and watched all the other kids run through the water, but eventually he got brave... And got his sandal wet!

By the end, we had to drag his soaked little toosh outta there!

Our little Mace did great in the stroller. He's just such a happy, content guy. Everyone should have a kid like this - I just LOVE him!

Craig and Gavin on the Carousel

And here's Gavin during the ONLY ride he liked. Top 2 reasons the tug-boats were a hit:

1. Each boat came equipped with a bell to ring incessantly for the duration of the ride, and

2. Gavin had a co-pilot.

We thought the cars might measure up because Gavin LOVES anything with a motor. But this was what G thought of them!

I'm fairly certain, he wasn't a fan.

So we tried the boats again, only this time Gavin didn't have a ride buddy. But the bell kept his attention for a while...

but not long enough.

Not pictured: Gavin getting back out of the boats before the ride had even started.

So after about five attempts at the rides, we decided to walk around the pond and look at the animals, then head to the pavillion where Craig's co-workers met for a yummy dinner.

Isn't having kids great? They turn a could-be-boring day at a park we've been to almost a thousand times into a grand adventure with unexpected twists and turns all along the way! Wouldn't have it any other way...

Mason's Blessing

2009-10-30T14:06:00.000-04:00

So one of my goals for the week is to update our blog...I set it BEFORE I saw how many pictures I've blogged nothing about. Two downloads plus more still on the camera. Wow! I am a slacker.

Well, gotta start somewhere. So here are some pics from Mason's blessing. He was blessed on June 14,2009. Thanks to Chelsea (who was pregnant but hadn't told anyone) for trying to get some with all our faces at least visible. A smile was just too much to ask for from Gavin... It was a beautiful, sunny day, and thank goodness! because we had TONS of friends and family come over to my parent's house (which was also our house at the time) after church. My brother Garrett had just come home from his mission to Alabama and we were able to have Mason's blessing on the same day he reported. What a great meeting! Garrett really did a great job (at least on everything I heard from the mother's room while nursing Mason). Gavin was all for the pictures. Especially when he heard everyone's oohs and ahhs over him hugging his baby bro.
So he went for a kiss... and made sure everyone was still watching!
We got so many cute ones of Mason in his tux, but here are some of my favorites.

Happy Boy!

Sleepy boy... with extremely kissable cheeks and lips!

Handsome boy!

Like I said, we had lots of people come out to support us. It was so awesome! But, I didn't get very many pictures of those that came. Here are the very few I did catch.

Everyone eating all the great food that I did hardly anything to prepare. In fact, I was in charge of picking up the cookies. Yeah, I know, I'm so domestic. Thanks everyone for bringing stuff. Big thanks to my mom for making all the great teriyaki chicken and gravy. YUM!

My awesome piano teacher/mentor/second mother and her husband. They're so awesome!

Uncles Tay and Tan love their nephew!

Grandma T (she's so cute)

Grandma and Grandpa Smith

Uncle Gar (formerly Elder Smith) - doesn't he look so good?

The proud, sweaty (I speak only for myself) parents!

Cutest daddy in the world

My boys will get far more kisses than they want from me, but I can't help it!

It was a great Smith reunion. I'm so glad we could all be back together. We've grown by three since Garrett left, and we'll just keep on growing! Can't wait for my little niece from Tay and Sara!

Orlando

2009-09-29T15:24:00.000-04:00

We spent August 18-21 in Orlando and had a blast! It was such a fun trip. We left Gavin with Grandma and Grandpa Smith and took Mason with us. He is the BEST baby ever! He did awesome! We did a lot of driving around to just kind of get a feel for the area. There is so much to do there, but hanging out in the car and enjoying the beautiful scenery made the trip for me. There's something about road-trippin' with my sweetie that beats pretty much anything else (maybe because I started really falling for him on a road trip to Cedar City to visit my brother Taylor during Spring Break :o).

We did spend a day at the beach, and the drive there was gorgeous. We thought it was funny that they actually mow the grass on the sides of the road in Florida. It is so green!

Most of the road we took went right through a HUGE cattle ranch that the church owns out there. I think we heard this is the largest cattle ranch in the U.S. Pretty impressive...

And here we are at Cocoa Beach! There's something about lounging on the beach with nothing to do and the sound of the waves in the background that is beyond wonderful. I can understand to some extent why my bro Ashton's aspiration is to be a beach bum. Sort of...

Mason really did like the beach, but we stopped pretty much right in the middle of nap time because we were trying to enjoy the sun before a storm came in.

I love his chubs! He BARELY fit into his swim suit - it had to be retired after this trip...

Don't we look good in Florida?

I sure hope you said "yes" because that's where we're going to be spending the next few years of our lives. Craig's starting up a business out in Orlando and we move a week from today! Kind of crazy - when we moved in with my parents, I thought that when we left we'd be going across the county, maybe, but not across the country. I'm incredibly grateful to know that the Lord is leading us where He would have us be. Also I'm very grateful to know that the church will be the same there as it is here, and we will still enjoy the blessing of having a temple close by.

And since I have no guarantee of coming back here to visit very often, here's my pitch to whoever wants to hear it (I guess read it). Should any of you wish to enjoy all the innumerable pleasures of Orlando, including but not limited to DISNEYWORLD!, let us know and we'd be happy to have you stay with us. We can't make any promises about the comfort or quality of the available accomodation, but hey, it'll be FREE!!!

Anyone interested?

2009-08-06T12:20:00.001-04:00

For all you piano lovers, I must sell my piano. So I guess this is a moving announcement as well. But instead of staying around here like we were planning, we'll be heading out-of-state for a few years. This is something I've never wanted to do, but I'm sure that's one of the reasons things have worked out this way. I know it will be a great experience. One of the many sad things about leaving is that I can't take my piano with me :( So here's the info if you or anyone you know is interested:

This beautiful cream-colored grand piano is from the late 1910s or early 1920s. I had some work done on the sound board when I first bought it, and the technician said that it's the closest steinway model A knock-off he's ever seen. It's not in perfect condition, but it has a great, full sound, intricate detail flourishes, and tons of potential for anyone interested in doing some restoration work. It's also great 'as is' seeing how I've had it for over a year and loved it. This is the PERFECT starter grand!

It's Official...

2009-06-22T18:54:00.000-04:00

I'm a slacker. My baby is 2 months old and I'm just barely posting about his birth! But I haven't just been laying around being lazy--I've kept busy. More busy than ever, but the best kind of busy I've ever been. I can NOT believe I have two kids!!! Hopefully I will get the blog caught up soon with all we've been doing these last 2 months, but for now, here's the birth announcement my sister-in-law Chelsea made for Mason (she also took the pictures). Thank you so much Chelsea! You're so talented!

I may be a little biased, but I think he is just the cutest baby in the world!!!

Waiting...Among Other Things

2009-04-08T14:12:00.000-04:00

So...no baby yet. I'd probably be pretty depressed in different circumstances - I had Gavin a week before his due date, and I'm just 6 days out now. But I'm actually okay with not having had him by now because we ended up moving this past weekend. For anyone who may not have known, we were house-sitting my Grandma T's house while she was in Hong Kong serving a mission. She got home on the 23rd of March and initially our plan was to stay in her house until after the baby was born and Craig had finished school (she had generously made the offer and it seemed like the more logical thing to do). However, we started feeling super unsettled and out of place once she was actually home and just waiting for us to move out before she could move back into her own house! So even though it's been a crazy, stressful time to pack up and move, I feel like this is the right decision and a better place to be. You should know,though, I'm typing this in the middle of a bombshell of a half-kitchen/family room/game room/ piano studio a.k.a. my parent's basement that is now loaded full of all our stuff. It makes me laugh like a maniac that I would consider this as better, but given all the circumstances, that's the way it is. We're hoping that we can get out of their hair and into a place of our own soon, but we'll have to see what comes up and, more importantly, how we feel about what comes up. I think we'll be here for a good couple months, though, what with the new baby and all. But I could be wrong about that too. I'm learning more and more that I can't totally plot out my life - most times the Lord has other plans. And looking back, I've always been better for having done things His way.

Picture Purge

2009-03-26T11:54:00.000-04:00

It's been so long since I've posted pictures, so I decided that I would just do them all at once. So, beware, there are a LOT of pictures - and this will probably become a long post!

The first part of February, Gavin had what I figured out was Fifth's disease and it wiped him out. I thought it was another ear infection, but his fever only lasted about a day, then he got the rosy cheeks followed by the rash. His skin is just now getting back to normal. It's so sad when he doesn't feel good! And here are our Valentines Day pics... none of me and my Valentine. I was NOT feeling good. We stayed the night before down at Brad and Valarie's, which was a blast as always. They just spoil us when we're down there. I was starting to feel a little yucky in the morning, but by the time we got home that night I felt horrible. Plus, I had one of my unexplainable pregnancy melt-downs. Poor Craig, not much of a romantic evening...

Gavin loves his little chair we bought him at Ikea. He pushes it all around the kitchen and uses it for a stepping stool to get up to where he wants to be.

I love letting him feed himself as well. We can all eat at once now!

A couple Fridays ago, cousin Avery got to come and spend the day with us. It was so much fun to have her - she was so good and so cute! Gavin turned into quite the character, though. I'm sure we'll have a fun time helping him transition into having a brother... He kept taking Avery's binky from her, so I ended up pulling out one of the ones he NEVER liked before so he could have his own.

It was so funny because he didn't even suck on it, he just held it awkwardly in his mouth.

And of course he wanted Avery's lunch more than his own.

They were so cute together! And I love the food stuffed in Avery's mouth in this one...

My little cheeser :)

This is what Craig and I found one night when we went to check on Gavin before we went to bed. What a funny guy!

And here are a few things Gavin's been up to...

Opening and closing doors,

helping mom ALL DAY vaccuum the floor,

(he'll get it out of the closet and everything)

and dipping his food in just about anything - he just loves the idea of dipping. He's eating asparagus here which he loves because he gets to dip it in mayo.

And here's a little something of what Craig's been up to. He used a paper clip to form this little gadget that holds the water button down so we don't have to stand there while our water fills up. You may be thinking, "Wow! Are they impatient or what?" but really, although we probably both fall under the category of impatience, you've got to cut us some slack here. It takes more than NINETY seconds for our fridge to fill up a glass of water!!! We're hoping that replacing the filter will speed things up, but c'mon people! That is way too long to wait for a glass of water!!! Especially when you consider that I'm supposed to drink half my WEIGHT in ounces per day!

Praises be sung to my innovative husband!

And these last few are from this past Sunday. I love Sundays! Not only does Craig get to stay home with us, but he doesn't have to do any homework. He spoils me. After church, he made me pancakes and eggs for lunch, did about a thousand dishes, cleaned the griddle and the grill, and watched Gavin while I took a long, lazy nap. Days like this make me even more excited that he'll be graduating in May and have one less thing to worry about and occupy his time.

I think these pics are so cute of my little cheesy face. I love that he actually smiles when we prompt him to nowadays.

Just ignore the poor camera skills... what an adorable face!

And we went on a walk. Gavin was much more interested in pushing the stroller than in riding in it. (And sorry Nat, this is the only recent picture I have of my belly. I'll try to get some better ones soon)

At first he tried to reach up where mom and dad push the stroller, but it was too high and he kept getting mad so we told him that he had his very own push place down below and that seemed to satisfy him.

I just love G-man's face here, although I couldn't tell you what he's doing...

Pushing from the side was also a hit.

My two boys... they are just so darn cute!

Update

2009-03-16T14:56:00.000-04:00

So I'm too lazy to upload any pictures to this post, but I think I'm due for an update, so here it goes...I made it to 36 weeks!!! Almost done. All I can say is that this pregnancy has been 1000% better (at least emotionally) than the last one. Not that I haven't had my melt-downs, but I have been a lot less angry about everything. Actually, I mostly have felt happy! Amazing. I'm hoping that I won't have to wait all four weeks before this little guy decides to show up, but I at least have to make it 'til the 23rd. My parents are in Hong Kong picking up Grandma T from her mission until then. Not that it wouldn't work out if he came this week, but I'd prefer he wait, so that things can go how I've worked them out in my mind - since my mom is supposed to come and be labor support for Craig and me. In other words, I'll have two people (Mom and Craig) doing whatever I ask them to do while I'm bent over in pain. :) I really feel like it will all go really well, and my midwife says that the labor and delivery for a second compared to a first baby is not only shorter, but also much less work. I have high hopes.

Lately, Gavin is keeping as busy as ever. He learned how to open and close doors this last week, and I've had to start locking the NO-zone areas to keep him out, otherwise I spend the whole day chasing him around to make sure he's not into anything he's not supposed to be, like the toilet or the garbage. If only I could figure out the reason he loves those places so much; I bet it has to do with the fact that he knows its against the rules to be in them. My favorite thing that he says is "high, Dadda" when he wants Craig to throw him up in the air. It is so cute! The second Craig gets home, Gavin says "high" and "go" as soon as Craig is holding him. In fact, he talks about it all day and just can't wait til Daddy gets home to play with him. Gavin's also pretty into himself (we have no idea where he got that from...:). He loves his reflection - in the mirror, the tv, the oven, any reflective surface - and says "hi" and jabbers and laughs and says "ba-bye" as he is walking away. What a funny little guy. We took him to the park on Saturday and he loved it. He went crazy with the sand, picking it up and throwing it back down. It kept him busy for at least 15 minutes (which is equivalent to days for him). We think he just couldn't get over how awesome it was that he wasn't getting in trouble for touching the dirt (last summer he always tried to grab the dirt out of the flower pots and we'd have to constantly be on the look-out). He only stopped when he got mad at us that his hands were cold! Silly boy.

No real complaints here. We are having a great time and so happy that it's getting warmer outside! We're on the count-down for the baby, Craig to be finished with school, and to hopefully get into a house or someplace of our own, but we know that we're being blessed in every way. Thanks to everyone who has hung out with us lately (Westin and Chelsea, Sarah and Nate) and kept us from being totally anti-social. We really need to plan fun things more often, we just get lazy :) Have a good one!

My 32 Week Relley-Belly...

2009-02-19T14:54:00.000-05:00

So here are pictures of my ever-growing belly. I finally figured I'd just take them myself because I'm never ready for the day before Craig leaves for school or work, and I'm always frazzled by the time he gets home! My poor sweetie...but he still tells me I'm beautiful. What an awesome hubby! I already had a hard time believing him, though, and now I'm pert-near positive he's at least stretching the truth after watching "Liar, Liar" with my parents on Tuesday. Quoting Jim Carrey, "All grown-ups have to lie sometimes," and the example he shared was of when he used to tell his wife that she didn't look fat while she was pregnant-so she wouldn't feel bad! As long as we get another baby at the end of it all, I guess it's worth it.

And this is what I see... :)

Everything's going well with the pregnancy, which is a blessing. I'm anemic again this time around so I've had to start back on the iron supplements. And this little guy likes to hang out with his head up in my ribs, instead of kicking them like Gavin used to. So I'm also trying to get him to turn around - I'm not excited at the thought of delivering a breech baby. If only it was a little more comfortable laying with my face on the ground and my rear in the air! The play-back in heaven should make for some good laughs, though!

And Chelsea and Natalie, you girls feel free to post some belly shots of your own - I want to see!

Proof...

2009-01-29T12:14:00.001-05:00

I really was that skinny once! This picture is from 2 1/2 years ago, and 1 3/4 pregnancies ago. My mom took it the day of my bridals. We recently got our wedding pictures from my parent's computer, and it's been a lot of fun to look through all of them. Yea for Jeff Hodges!!! We LOVE our pictures! For me, now that I have a growing belly bump, looking at these is almost therapuetic. My "large" feelings are comforted by the fact that I was once thin (even though I don't think it's possible to EVER get my pre-baby body back). Good thing babies are so darn cute - it makes all the sacrifice (physical being only one aspect of it - I find my brain power is diminishing by the second!) worth it! I know I'm way past due for posting another belly shot, but I keep forgetting to take one, and Craig has the camera today at school so even though I'm thinking of it now, I can't take a picture. So, hopefully soon...at least before the baby comes! :)

And kudos to all the great parents in the world! There's just no way to fathom what parenting entails until you experience it!

SnOw Fun!

2009-01-21T15:20:00.001-05:00

Despite the cold, Gavin still loves to go outside (he doesn't get this from me). I always worry about him getting too cold, though, so I have to bundle him up. He looks so cute! It's so much fun to watch him play. His favorite thing is to walk on top of the snow and hear it crunch under his boots. Slipping on the snow even makes him laugh, as long as he doesn't fall...
The ensemble.
It takes almost as long to get ready to go outside as it does to finish playing outside.

So Sad :(

2009-01-21T15:06:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks back, Gavin had an ear infection. It was NOT fun! Poor guy ran a fever of 102 degrees (sometimes higher, sometimes a little lower) for about 4 days. It wiped him out! No eating, playing or even talking - he was just too weak. He'd wake up every once in a while and I'd try to coax him into drinking some water or juice. He hated getting his temperature taken, but I had to monitor him closely to make sure it didn't get too high. I ended up putting him in the bath several times in order to cool his fever, and after he got back out, all he wanted was to lay back down on his tummy...
And go to sleep! Thanks Aunt Chelsea for his dino blanky - it kept him company while he felt so yucky. I'm so glad it's over now!!!

I LOVE Christmas

2009-01-14T03:08:00.000-05:00

This year's Christmas was the best ever! And what's so exciting is that I'm sure they'll just keep getting more and more fun as Gavin gets bigger. There's something so special about putting up the tree and singing Christmas carols and decorating the house. It all adds to the special spirit that is already the reason for the season in the first place. Thank you Mom for most of our decorations, it's so nice when you decide to get rid of some of yours, they turned out really cute. And what's great about not having that many is that they don't take very long to put up or take down!

We did have all our stockings, and I can't believe that there are already four of us (well, almost)!

This is Gavin's decoration arranging job. He did pretty good about not touching most things, but he always wanted to move baby Jesus around from our big nativity. So I usually just ended putting him up out of reach during the day. Gavin must've thought the manger looked a little empty though because, as you can see, Mary, the Shepherd, a Wise Man, and one sheep (from the unbreakable Nativity that Gavin can play with) all ended up nice and cozy in there!

And my favorite Christmas addition of all...our tree! I love it so much! Thanks again, Grandma JoAnn (not that she'll ever read this) for this gift. We love it! It's just so beautiful!

We had Christmas morning at our house, and it was so cute to see how Gavin reacted to "Ta-ta's" delivery. As soon as he saw his tent he plopped down on his knees and crawled right on in to get to his other toys! And, terrible as it is, this is the only picture of Craig I took on Christmas day. I've got to get better at remembering to get more shots!

Gavin loves his dino. I think it makes him feel big.

This is probably my favorite picture of the morning. And yes, the books got his biggest grin!

After we finished up at our house, we headed up to my parents to hang out for the rest of the day. It wasn't even snowing on our side of the mountain, but we drove up to a blizzard. There was tons of snow, we couldn't make it up 1/4 of Highland Dr. My dad came to rescue us in his 4 wheel drive vehicle (notice his appropriate attire), but it still took us at least a half hour just to get our car over to the church parking lot and into a parking space! We ended up staying the night because the roads were so bad.

Tanner decided to make it an annual tradition to jump in the snow in nothing but his undies! No one else had any desire to join him, go figure!

The day after Christmas we went to Brad and Valarie's to spend some time with them. It was wonderful as always! So relaxing. And Gavin sure liked Grandma's toys.

Oops, I didn't rotate this...Gavin loves his Grandpa's, and it's no wonder when they spoil him so much!

Cancun!!!

2009-01-14T02:33:00.000-05:00

Craig and I finally took our first official vacation! We found a great excuse to spoil ourselves - a good deal. We got to stay at an all-inclusive beachfront resort; I loved it! Mostly we just loafed around all day in the sun, sipping pina coladas and getting tan (I mean burned), but we did plan one excursion to Tulum - one of the ancient Mayan ruins. It's one of the only cities they've found that is right on the coast, and it was beautiful! Our tour was organized through our resort, so we didn't have any choice about who our tour guide would be (not that we had any connections anyway), but we definitely felt blessed when our guide ended up being a Latter-Day Saint. The things she chose to share were definitely more of the things that we had interest in. This is the temple. The people used to gather twice a year to worship "the descending God" who had once come down from heaven and taught them, and also to receive instruction.

My Sweetie on the coast behind the city ruins

Different person, same shot :)

On the bus back to the resort with our shopping spoils - a cute little T-shirt for Gavin. We didn't realize until later that the shirt we bought him which said "Tulum" actually has a picture of the pyramid at Chicha Nitza! Ha ha, joke's on us!

I couldn't resist posting this picture because I get a kick out of it. Our suitcases by the end of the trip - mine's on the right, and Craig's is on the left! Ha ha, it makes me laugh so hard!

Recitals

2009-01-14T02:01:00.000-05:00

If my calculations are correct, I've made it through my 15th December Recital Season! Wow! I'm getting older way faster than I used to! And I believe this is my 8th Season having students of my own play in a recital. Overall, I thought each recital went well. I was proud of all the personal victories that took place--for my students, myself, Ashton, and especially my mom. She played Grieg's Concerto and did AWESOME, even after all her hours of volunteer work at home and in the community. Way to go Mom! I keep forgetting that blogger uploads my pictures in the exact opposite order I want them in, so this is actually the last of the recitals - our students' Senior recital. Sorry so dark...

And the Junior Recital - they're all so cute!

My big smile and shiny face (resulting from the major heat flash I experienced through the entirety of my piece - gotta love pregnancy hormones) after my recital was over with one of my biggest (and probably most biased) supporters, Grandma JoAnn. I played the final movement of Tchiakovsky's Concerto in Bb minor. I've now performed, in different recitals, all eighty-something pages of that piece. Maybe someday (in the far distant future) I'll do the three movements all at once!

Me and my Sweetie! He's soooooooo darn cute! And always so supportive - thank you, Craig!

All of us in the "Marrieds" recital with our amazing teacher (and psychiatrist) Madalyn at the far left. It's kind of a funny picture of everyone else, but it was my best, and, what can I say? I'm vain... :)

Thanksgiving!!!

2009-01-14T01:38:00.000-05:00

Oh, this is terrible! I'm so far behind in my posts, but here I go to try to get this back up to date... Thanksgiving (you know the holiday that happened like two MONTHS ago), was awesome! We went down to Craig's mom's the night before the big meal and spent the night there. Most of Craig's siblings (even Heather and Spencer who were down from WA) were there and we loved spending time with everyone - the games were classic! Alan's Michael Jackson impersonation will forever be imbedded in my memory...too bad I'm not the kind of on the ball person who has their camera on hand for moments like those! And as far as the meal went, it was the best I've ever had! I probably say that every year, but it's always true. Thank you Valarie for hosting all of us, and feeding us so well! My meager contribution, but I was quite proud of it! Yummy banana parfait (thanks to mom for the dish and Grandma JoAnn for the recipe) that always seems to taste that much better because it looks so pretty!
The Cool Whip container is not mine--I used real whipped cream :)

Since there were so many cousins staying there already, Gavin didn't have an official "bed," but he slept really well on one we made him on the floor and even went down for a nap on just a regular bed. I'm still feeling a little proud about that one! What a good boy!

Gavin and cousin Kian in the tub. They were so cute!

Christmas Tag!

2008-12-11T15:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been tagged, by Aunt Doni, so here it is:
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags for Christmas presents? mostly wrapping paper
2. Real tree or artificial? artificial, predecorated from Festival of Trees! Thank you Grandma JoAnn! We love it!
3. When do you put up the tree? We put it up a couple days before Thanksgiving this year since we were going out of town.
4. When do you take the tree down? Last year it was March...hopefully we'll be sooner this year now that we have a set place to store it!
5. Do you like egg nog? Yes, but it has to be diluted and only a little bit.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Dad made me a play kitchen one year with a sink, cupboards, even a phone. I still love it. Mom, please don't throw it away!
7. Do you have a nativity scene? We have three. I'm most excited about the plastic one that Gavin can play with. He really likes it too.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My sweetie :) I know he likes the electronics, but I know nothing about them and I don't want to get him something that's less than what he's already decided he likes.
9. Easiest person to buy for? Gavin...it's a little too easy, I have to control myself!
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? We're lucky if our cards get made before Christmas.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Even if I could think of one, I probably wouldn't list it.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? White Christmas, I think
13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? yes
14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Dad's gingersnaps and Lindt truffles...mmmm!
15. Clear lights or colored on the tree? definitely like the clear
16. Favorite Christmas song? Sleigh Ride by the Osmonds, it's better with Garrett home to dance around fifties style with me.
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home for the morning, then go to either Craig's mom's or mine.
18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolf
19. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? one on Christmas eve, the rest on Christmas morning
20. Most annoying thing about this time of year? traffic
21. Favorite ornament theme or color? Anything Aunt Blenda puts together!
22. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? We just eat junk all day
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? for Gavin to sleep in so we can, oooh, and Santa knows how I want Scrapbook Factory :)
24. Who is most likely to respond to this? Maybe Natalie
25. Who is least likely to respond to this? Mom, unless she actually starts a blog!

And they are the ones I tag...Mom and Natalie

Merry Christmas, it's the best holiday ever!!!!

I'll Always Be My Daddy's Girl, Even Though I've Already Made Him a Grandpa!

2008-12-11T14:15:00.000-05:00

Today is my dad's 49th birthday! I still don't believe he's turning 49, but that's what both Mom and Dad told me so I guess it must be true. It is hard to keep track, though, seeing how he's looked the same way for the past 5 years. I swear he hasn't aged. On the other hand, a lot has happened to help mature me in the last few years, and I'm finally beginning to truly realize just how blessed I am to have the parents I do. I blame it on the hormones, but yesterday this song on the radio had me in tears pulling into Smith's parking lot. I'm choked up now just thinking about it. Today I dedicate it to my dad who never HAD to be as great as he always was and still is, but who did it anyway. I pray that I can carry his legacy on as I try to be a Christlike parent with my children. Thank you, Dad, from the very bottom of my heart! I love you tons!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVFmHHxXCVg

Family Calendar

2008-12-03T02:55:00.000-05:00

Yea!!! This year we weren't the dilinquents who kept calendar printing on hold because our page wasn't yet started, let alone finished. Whew! What a relief that this is done, and, in my totally non-biased opinion, pretty cute. Craig's family puts together a calendar each year with pictures of the last year's events. Our year was full of fun and DISCOVERY :) I loved all these pics of Gavin learning the mysteries of the world - like how dirt tastes, how far a plastic wrapped mega candy cane can fit in a little mouth, how long a roll of toilet paper really is, and how driving a four-wheeler isn't as easy as Daddy makes it look (he could've just asked me on that one!). It's been a great year - the best I've ever had. I'm so grateful for all the memories, for Craig, our growing family, and whoever invented cute scrapbook templates for the creatively challenged!

Another Boy!

2008-11-29T14:07:00.000-05:00

So we went in on Monday for our ultrasound to find out the baby's gender and check measurements, and although I was almost positive it would be a girl, it is a BOY! We are so excited for Gavin to have a little brother that's so close in age - they will only be 20 months apart. I know they will be buddies. Like I said, I've been thinking it's a girl all along, but as soon as this ultrasound was actually scheduled I started having all sorts of funny, bizarre pregnancy dreams that it would be a boy, so I really wasn't totally surprised when she confirmed the wacky dreams. Here I am before leaving to drop Gavin off at Aunt Chelsea's (thank you so much, Chelsea, for watching him, I'm positive he wouldn't have appreciated being there :), then it was on to the hospital. This is my halfway-through-being-pregnant belly, and I think it's smaller than it was at this point with Gavin.
His little profile. I love profile ultrasound shots! Gavin's looked very similar to this with his matching button nose and cute little lips! I can't wait to see what he looks like.

The little guy had his arms up next to his face with his hands clasped like he was praying. So cute! He's measuring right on schedule and all his organs look healthy! Even though we've already been through this, it's still such a miracle. I'm so grateful to be a mom!

Haircuts...Finally!

2008-11-12T14:30:00.000-05:00

The finished product! Can you get any more handsome than this?

My boys were in dire need of haircuts. We finally got them done this past Sunday. Nothing like a Sabbath day of rest to get us looking our best! Craig's the only one I got a pre-cut shot of, but his do says enough for the both of them, wouldn't you say? Wow-zah! "Mommy, look what Daddy did to me!" Sometimes Craig's idea of fun is not the same as Gavin's, but this time Gavin actually thought Daddy's gimmick was rockin'. It definitely gave him a rhythm to his walk!

This face is Gavin's prepare for picture face. For a while he actually smiled after the 0ne-two-three. Now he's in must-protect-eyes! mode when he hears the countdown.

Yea for haircuts!!!

Dress Shopping!!!

2008-11-12T14:15:00.000-05:00

Last Friday I went up with my mom, Taylor's fiancee Sara and her mom to Logan to look at wedding dresses. I love dress shopping! It's kind of sad that we only get to do it once for ourselves...but then again, maybe it would just be too depressing to try to stick a post-having-a-baby body in one of those beautiful dresses. I don't think it would have the same effect...

Here is one of the many dresses she tried on. She made all of them look stunning!!! I love her face in this picture, so I had to include it in my post. Check out those gorgeous, naturally colored lips and cheeks! Just a cute shot overall, I think.And......THE dress!!!!! Everyone but Taylor should be falling out of their chairs with how beautiful this is - and Taylor will too, soon enough.
I'm so happy that Taylor found someone so sweet and kind to spend eternity with. I can't wait 'til they get married...not only because Craig and I will no longer be the only ones pestered to have more babies, but because I know they will be awesome together. Thanks, Sara, for making my bro so happy!

Harvest Party

2008-11-12T13:54:00.000-05:00

A couple of Saturdays ago, Aunt Blenda hosted a Harvest party at her house. It was a ton of fun! Really what a "Harvest party" ends up being on my mom's side of the family is a Halloween party with costumes, but we don't really like Halloween because it is such a spooky holiday, so we call it something else!

Here is cute little Kaylee in her ladybug costume. Craig worked his buddy magic with her and we actually got a smile!
Here's another of the Kay-ster with another of her buddies Uncle Darrin. These are the kinds of faces I manage to pull out of Kaylee, but at least she's not crying...

My sweetie and me - how cute! We should have taken this picture before 11:00, I think we look tired

Formerly costume-less Ash-dog with my mom-dog genie-dog

Thanks to costume-less Aubrey, costume-less Ashtey got a makeover that not only changed the way he felt about himself, but prompted a more festive attitude (refer to above photo).

The G-man with Grandpa Bret. Where he usually is, whenever we get together.

Our favorite neighbors! Sarah and Brenna in their cute, adorable, creative costumes!

Thanks Aunt Beenda and everyone who went for all the fun, the great food and the even greater party! We can't wait for the next one!

Holloween

2008-11-12T13:17:00.000-05:00

So I'm finally posting halloween pictures...Gavin was a little China man - the cutest one at that! I realized that I don't have any pictures of Craig and me in our costumes because the one time we wore them, I couldn't find the camera (happens often). Craig was one hottie of a Zorro and I did the Chinese motif with the G-man.

Here's Gavin with two of his loves...the phone and Grandpa!

Here's a shot of his braid of honor - the best shot, but still hard to see.
My little electronic-loving China man!

Craig's Holloween breakfast

The Cleverness of Me!

2008-10-26T01:09:00.000-04:00

I am SOOOOO proud of myself right now! I actually figured out how to set up this blog and make it pretty cute! I signed up for the blog site a couple of weeks ago, more as a wishful gesture than anything else. I was dreaming that I had a blog like everyone else and wasn't inept with computers, and... my wish came true! I put both my boys down at 8:00 (Gavin because that's his real bedtime and Craig because he did a number on his ankle this morning at stake flag football and it is now the size of a large grapefruit - poor guy). I was way too wound up to just go to bed, so in my down time I immersed myself in the blog world and came out on top!!! Sometimes I just amaze myself...