Tuesday, December 1, 2015

A November Update

We got our family pictures back. I'm the least photogenic person, so I'm glad the boys in my life can make up for what I lack!
I already posted about this, but Owen turned one. We are so blessed to have him in our lives, and so blessed that this first year we have all been happy and healthy.

We celebrated Thanksgiving by playing football for 3 hours. I love flag football so much I could hardly sleep the night before! Why do people only play this on Thanksgiving? We were so sore the next day! We also went up to my grandma's house and spent time with my whole fam damily. They're great! The next day we had a dinner with Gavin's grandparents.
Did all our Black Friday shopping online this year! Online shopping people, it's a blessing and a curse. 
Gavin was adamant that we start a new Black Friday tradition: Go to chick-fil-a for a peppermint shake, set up our Christmas tree, and make fudge. 
Owen and I hiked around Storm Mountain and up to stairs gulch. At one point I really had to pee, but because it's winter all the public bathrooms were locked! Most trees were missing leaves so there really wasn't anywhere to hide! The only bush I could find was on uneven ground and I wasn't about to squat with Owen on my back. So, I propped the backpack, and Owen's face up against a tree while I relieved myself. It was hilarious! Maybe you had to be there, but I'm so glad you weren't!

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

I Love You

Dear Owen,
Happy birthday this past week! I'm still amazed that it's been a whole year. There's been so much on my mind this past week that will be hard to sum up, but if you get anything from this message I hope it's that I love you.
I love how you squeeze my arm when I hold you on my hip.
I love how you'll twist your body to look right into my eyes.
I love that you yell when you're mad, instead of cry.
I love how your arms flail up high when you try to walk.
I love that you crack up whenever I pretend to eat you. That never gets old.
I love that you're easy to make laugh.
I love rocking you to sleep.
I love your curiosity
I love how you get so excited to see animals.
I love seeing you throw balls and push toys around, and use everything in our apartment as your jungle gym. Your dad and I sit back and watch you play by yourself multiple times a day.  
I love that you love splashing.
I love that you love to be outside.
I love your kisses.
I love the way your cheeks feel on my lips. 
I love that you've had a healthy first year, I don't want to take that for granted! 
It breaks my heart that something bad may (will) happen to you one day, because bad days are part of life. I'll be here for you when those bad days come. 
I'm so proud of you and so happy you joined our family.
I hope your first year of life was as good as my first year of being a mom.
I love you.
Love, Mom

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

An October Update

October went by so fast! There were so many plans on my mind that I couldn't keep the day straight. I'm glad it's over! I'm also glad that the month went smoothly and that there were good times along the way!

Megan and I attempted Lone Peak and got our butt's kicked. It was an awesome 12 miles nonetheless.
We also spent time at Rose Canyon, Lake Mary, and American Fork Canyon
Maci tore her ACL, poor girl! That's her 9th debilitating injury in 3 years!
We visited a pumpkin patch, of course!
Matt got married, and it's always fun to see everyone at big events!
Owen got his first haircut!
I spent a few days in Arches National Park with New Haven, and finally went outdoor climbling! 
Little Man dressed up as Prince Charming for Halloween! I CAN NOT believe this little stink is going to be one in a couple weeks! 
We also took family pictures, which I haven't gotten back yet, but I am so excited to! I didn't have time to edit any of the above pictures, but it's all documented, so we're good, right? 

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Kanarraville Falls

I love hiking as a family. I love friends. I love little road trips. I love Utah. Wrap these things all up in one box and you get a trip to Kanarraville! 
Kanarraville is a town just south of Cedar City. You hike through Kanarra Creek to get to Kanaraville falls. The hike was much easier than I thought it would be! This link has everything you need to know to DIY!  

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

August 27th

For the past 3 years, our little family has been living in the basement of the cutest, sweetest, retired couple. On Thursday, Harold- one of our landlords- unexpectedly passed away while gardening. A lot of the details are too tender to blog about but there are some things I need to remember, many of which I'd like to share. And I know this post is a lot of words, but I promise you'll benefit from reading it. 
  • Gavin was a big part of the events of that day. We have heard multiple times, from multiple people, that Gavin was supposed to be there, and that the family is so thankful for the way Gavin handled things. Even though it was hard on him, we too are glad Gavin was able to be a support to Harold's wife and family through the very sad experience. 
  • (This is the part that makes me cry) Wednesday night our power went out. It was about 7:00 pm. Harold and his wife were finishing up some yard work, and Gavin had run to the store to grab a forgotten dinner ingredient. It was too dark downstairs to hang out, so Owen and I went outside and sat in the yard until we got an update on the power situation. Gavin came home soon after the power went out. We didn't have electricity for a long time, so for about 30 minutes, Gavin, Owen, Harold, his wife, and I shot the breeze in their driveway. Such a tender mercy that we were able to spend time talking to him on his last day in this life. 
  • His funeral was so inspiring!  Harold's life was gospel and family focused! He was always trying to improve himself in the gospel. The soles of his temple shoes were worn out (and there are very few places, even in the temple, that you can wear your shoes). He took notes during every sacrament meeting and general conference. He apologized to the priests quorum for not living up to expectations of a high priest, and said he would try harder. A few years ago, Harold read a talk from and LDS apostle encouraging saints to keep a journal of things they are grateful for. Harold took this to heard and had only missed two nights of writing in this journal since reading the talk, up until his last day on earth! One of his daughters read from this journal over the pulpit. Some of his counted blessings were silly, others serious or thoughtful.
  • One night he wrote in his journal that he wishes he could afford to give everyone a Christmas gift, but since that wasn't possible, he would just have to give the gift of a smile and friendly "Hello" to everyone who crossed his path. He succeeded in giving this gift to us all!
  • He has 5 daughters. Every one of his daughters (and son-in-laws, and a few more family members) wore homemade necklaces to his viewing. These necklaces were the cutest, most sentimental thing I have every seen. They were ugly! They were chains full of representations of things. There were charms and pictures and beads all over these dad-made necklaces. And I'm sure he made them with things he found around the garage! That's right- Harold made all these necklaces for his family members and added something to them every year! 
  • When the casket was brought into the chapel and the congregation rose to honor the family, the family walked into the chapel and the line of people kept going and going. 5 daughters who all have families of their own! One speaker talked about Harold being rich. I loved being able to look around the chapel and see how rich he really was. His perspective on what really matters was incredible! 
Events like this make you REALLY REALLY THINK. Thanks for reading this post, if you've gotten this far. I know it wasn't well-written, I just put everything out there for my own future reading and references. We have been so blessed to know this man and we are thankful for the lessons he taught us! And you can't mention death without recognizing that the Savior has given all of us power to overcome the grave. So grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ! 

Monday, August 31, 2015

Straight Outta August

(The events I skipped blogging about that I want to remember)
Lacrosse games that kept me sane! 
A baby triathlon with my dad
 Gavin came home from a 10 week internship in Dallas- and was offered a full time job once he completes his master's degree
 A trip to Tibble Fork
 A 13 inch haircut!
 Owen at the Cabin
 A stroll around Mirror Lake
 A pit stop at Provo River Falls
 Xanni came home from a faithful 18 month mission in Boston, MA
Owen's 9 mo appointment!

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Fish Lake 2015

Fish Lake, UT wouldn't be my #1 choice for a weekend getaway because it isn't a place that is full of adventure. All there is to do there is fish, and I don't fish. However, it's in Gavin's blood to camp there every summer with his family, so we go. Things that I do love about Fish Lake are that we get to be outside all day, no cell phone service, quality time with family, and falling in love with Gavin every time we go. Here's a picture overload!
Big thanks to Gavin's parents for all the work they put into this family getaway! And thanks Tanner & Shay for making the t-shirts and helping with O!

Sunday, July 19, 2015

New Mexico

On our road trip to Dallas a couple weeks ago, we took the longest route possible through New Mexico. Let's be honest... New Mexico has very little to do and see! I think the only things we didn't do were visit Native American ruins, and the White Sand Dunes. I'm sure I will get to see these on some other trip so I wasn't too heart broken about it. 
We booked a hotel in Santa Fe for two nights. While we were there, we saw Walter White's house (for you Breaking Bad fans), hiked around some petroglyphs, toured the Turquoise Trail, ate at Rebel Donuts, and swam at the hotel.
On our way out of New Mexico we stopped in Roswell and at Carlsbad Caverns. These were by far the best things in the state! 
Roswell was hilarious. There were alien signs on every. single. building. Little known fact about me: my best friend and I were voted "most likely to be abducted by aliens class of 2008," so I had to capitalize on the photo ops!
Then the Carlsbad Caverns were as cool as every travel blog says! Holy smokes those caves are huge! Glad we finally checked that off our travel list!
New Mexico was about giving Wyoming a run for it's money in the "worst state to drive through" competition, until we stopped in Carlsbad! Totally worth the detour!

Let's end this post with a sad, short story: I filmed our trip through New Mexico on my action cam. I always put my footage together on my parent's Mac because I can't afford my own. Well, the past couple weeks I have been trying to make a little movie on New Mexico but the Mac at my parents house hasn't been very compliant... so pictures are sufficient for now... sigh...