Goodbye Old Girl

I have owned a total of 5 cars in my life, including the one I currently drive.  My first car, a white Volkswagon Rabbit, got totaled when someone caused a wreck on the freeway when I was 17.  I drove my second car, a red Nissan Sentra, until I left on a mission then sold it to my brother Cory.  When I came home from my mission I bought a gray Honda Civic which I absolutely loved.  I kept it even when I bought my red Nissan Pathfinder from my brother Cory.  After being a two car "family" for awhile, my brother Craig finally convinced me to sell him the Civic.  He drove it through college in Utah and law school in Arizona and the Civic has only recently left the family.  We have done a lot of vehicle swapping in our family.  Shortly after we found out I was pregnant, we started talking about getting a new vehicle - none of the vehicles we had gave us enough seat belts when all the kids were with us.  We looked for a long time and tried out a lot of different vehicles before finally settling on our current blue Honda Pilot.  I was excited to have a newer, nicer vehicle and really love driving it, but I was super sad at the thought of having to sell the Pathfinder.  I get really attached to my vehicles and have a hard time with the idea of someone just driving off in a vehicle that has been part of life for so long.  It's silly, I know, but I blame it on my dad - he is the same way with his cars. After having the Pilot for about 7 months we decided it was finally time to get serious about selling the Pathfinder - well, at least Tim was serious about it.  So, meet Asher.  He came and test drove it one night then called a little later to say that he wanted to buy my baby.  I quizzed him about whether he would take good care of it and he said he could understand why I was so attached.  The next morning when he came to pick it up I was at work so I asked Tim to take a picture of it.  Not only was he a good sport about that, but told Tim he would text me pictures from time to time.  I might have cried a little to let it go, but at least am glad to know it went to a good home.

Firsts of the Season

Saturday we had several firsts for this Christmas season.  I have been anxious to go see some Christmas lights so Riverwoods seemed like a perfect place to start since it is 15 minutes away from home.  The fact that it was 50 degrees with no snow or rain made it a perfect plan.  Ada, Miles and Gavin came over earlier in the afternoon to hang out with me and Luke while Tim went to get the kids.  They started asking me when Brycen would be home the minute they walked in, and probably asked at least 10 more times before he finally made it - they think he is the coolest kid ever.  Once everyone made it home, we packed up all the kids and headed to Kneaders for a little dinner - six kids and two adults and no major mishaps.  After dinner we met Jarin and Jami at Riverwoods where we hung out for a long time, enjoying the lights and the live music.  The kids danced and ran around and I loved watching all of it. Tim and Luke found some fires to keep warm which Tim loved.  The line was short for Santa so we took advantage and Luke got his first chance to sit on Santa's lap.  He didn't seem to notice or care that a stranger was holding him, so it was fun to get some pictures.  Great night!

Thanksgiving 2012

I'm finally getting around to catching up on our long celebration of Thanksgiving.  It started last weekend when we went to Park City with Tim's family.  We stayed the weekend at a Marriott resort where the kids swam, played games, and ran wild while the adults spent a lot of time chatting and watching football.  With everything that we did over the weekend, this is the only picture I took.  Dave is Tim's brother in law and he loves Luke, if Dave is around I have a permanent baby sitter.  Sweet little Chloe was so cute, she is Tim's cousin's baby.  They are only a few weeks a part in age so we had to get a shot of the difference in size.

Thanksgiving morning I got up and went to the gym.  I am one of those weirdos who loves to go to the gym on holidays because I am not so rushed for time.  There were special, longer cycle and pump classes and they did not disappoint.  After getting showered and a few little jobs at home, we jumped in the car and headed to Kaysville to spend some time with Tim's family.  Technically we just went to have a little snack and socialize, but of course we had to enjoy all of the delicious food.  Luke was happy to oversee and be the literal center of attention.

I'm so thankful for this hot honey

After some visiting, we got back in the car and headed to Santaquin where we had dinner with my family.  There was a lot of visiting, hanging out, and of course, all of the favorites that my mom makes.

Friday afternoon the girls made the traditional visit to a craft fair in Spanish Fork.  This year we all found lots of treasures and I even got a few gifts purchased.  The trip was definitely a success once we found the mini donuts-the best part of the whole festival.

Friday night we bundled up and headed out to watch a little soccer.  BYU Women's soccer team has had a fabulous season and was playing North Carolina in the Elite 8.  My cousin's daughter (second cousin?), Paige Hunt is a Freshman and has had an incredible year.  We were super excited to go cheer her on and had a great time at the game despite the cold.  The game went into double overtime and North Carolina pulled out the win with just a few minutes to go.  It was a heartbreaking loss, but the team was incredible and has so much to be proud of.

Saturday Luke and I were on our own for the day while Tim went to Logan.  I got an 11 mile run in on the treadmill while Luke was sleeping, then started the long task of bringing out the Christmas decorations.  Between naps, feedings, changings, etc., it took a lot longer than I am used to.  I think I finally got a shower at about ten but it felt great to go to bed with the house looking and feeling so festive.

 Whew, it was quite the Thanksgiving and I'm thankful for the celebrations of thanks.  I'm not sure that I'm ready to go back to work, but it will be good to get back to some routine.

Seven Months

"The day you became mine, I became yours"  I don't even remember where I saw this quote but as soon as I read it, I immediately thought of my boy.  It's crazy how once you have a baby, nearly everything reminds you of him in some way.  But the quote is perfect, this boy is mine and has become my world.  The seven months have still passed too quickly, but I am really just trying to enjoy every minute I have with him.  He's growing so quickly though, tonight I noticed that his toe had poked through another pair of his pajamas.  Tim calls him gorilla arms because his limbs are so long and all of his long sleeves come part way up his arms.  We knew he was growing, but at his last doctor's visit, this was confirmed.  He weighed 18lb 12 oz and was in the 65% of weight and the 99% of height.  Wow!  Not bad for a boy with my genetics.  Lately I have had several people try to give him cookies and other treats, they are shocked to find out he is still so young.  Developmentally he continues to progress, he rolls over easily now and is starting to get some teeth trying to push through.  He "talks" and "sings" a lot and always wants to be a part of what is going on.

He's super curious about everything around him

He has discovered his toes and
Loves to put them in his mouth 

I'm not sure where he gets it,
But he's getting a little bit of an attitude
And isn't shy about letting you know when
He doesn't like something

He sits....just needs a little help some times

First Halloween
We didn't go out but loved having
People come to our door and see him

Another set of shots,
They are rough on everyone

Loves being read to
Especially by his big brother

Went on his first plane ride

He slept nearly the entire ride home
And charmed everyone on the plane

Love Y'All

On October 17th, this girl turned 18 years old.  She told me that she kept having dreams that I came to visit for her birthday.  The more she talked about it, the better the idea sounded.  I did some checking and was surprised to find a reasonable flight, so what better way to celebrate...

It took a little convincing for Tim to let the two of us out of his sight for a few days, but Luke and I packed our bags, and were on our way.

I was a little nervous to fly by myself with him, but he did great.  He completely charmed everyone in the airport and the plane and only fussed for a few minutes on the flight there.  It definitely was a new experience traveling with a baby - I never quite got to the book that I planned to read, and found it almost comical how much stuff I had - luggage, stroller, car seat, car seat base, etc.  For once I didn't overpack for myself - too much already in the suitcase for him.

Jess and Tad picked me up at the airport and lucky for me it was almost dinner time so we headed to Agave Azul to meet up with everyone and have dinner.  The guacamole and queso were amazing, I had been thinking about Mexican food all day and it didn't disappoint.  The kids were dying to take me to see Pitch Perfect so after dinner we hurried over to the theater and laughed for the next two hours.  Even Luke was entertained, he didn't sleep at all, just stared, wide eyed at the movie.

After I booked my flight, Sean told me that he was signed up for a 5k on Saturday and asked if I wanted to run....of course, what better way to spend time with my brother.  Both of us were wanting to get in a longer run so we ran from his house to the race start - a little over 5 miles, then met up with some his friends were were also racing.  I decided I wanted to race on my own, see where I was on time.  I ended up at just over 31 minutes, a 10:07 mile and was very happy with that.

The rest of the weekend was just spent hanging out, bumming around....a perfect way to relax for the weekend.  Luke was completely spoiled by everyone and loved every minute of it.  The kids were so great with him, I wanted to bring them all home with me for built in nannies.

Tad was great and making Luke laugh,

For some reason he loved watching Tad kick a soccer ball.

Pictures of Luke that Tad put on Instagram

Were instant hits.

We were so glad that Josh was able to come home from

Austin for the weekend.

The girl who had a birthday and

Inspired the whole trip.

Others may know her as Jessica, 

But to me, she will always be my Jesse Girl

Somehow we didn't get a picture of Luke with Julie

Until he was already in his carseat

The baby whisperer continued to work his magic

Luke was enthralled by Sean all weekend.

Before we knew it, it was Monday afternoon and we were headed back to the airport and on our way home.  We were both sad to leave after having such a great time, but were super excited to get home and see Tim.

Luke maintained his reputation as the best baby ever by sleeping almost the entire flight home.  When he did wake up right before landing, he looked around, gave some smiles and started putting on a show, laughing and talking for everyone.  He's already looking forward to another trip, next time though, he doesn't want to go without his daddy.