Happy Birthday Archer

The best Christmas gift ever.

Archer greeted the world early this morning, and I've been on cloud nine all day. I'm in love already, and I know his parents are light years beyond me.

Congratulations Carrie & Bobby! You made one beautiful little boy, and I couldn't be happier for you.

"This is the best Christmas ever!" - Ben

Christmas + little kiddos = getting up really early. I guess when you tease a kid for months with talk of Santa and there are presents under the tree taunting them for weeks, it's to be expected. What a fun morning it was with our boys, sleepy and all. Joy spent the night with us, and we loved having her here with us this morning before she headed off for fun on the ski slopes.

 

Can you guess what the boys' latest obsession is???

We had a lot of generous help from family and friends to lighten our load and help us give the boys a great Christmas this year, and we can't express enough how grateful we are to all those wonderful people. You know who you are, and we sincerely thank you again!

Later in the day after visiting a very special person, we hosted a little pizza night for some of my family. My parents are here visiting from their mission for the week and they joined us as well as my brother Clair's family. We loved having them all over, and we have loved the opportunity we have had this year to see all of my family within a week's period of time. It's not very often anymore that that happens, and it's so great to see everyone and catch up.

 

As Ben has been saying all day, "This is the best Christmas ever!" I agree Ben, it's been an awesome day, a really awesome day.

Holiday Love to our Family & Friends

Make your own picture collage

Vist with St. Nick

Bouncing up and down and exclaiming, "I'm so excited!" That's what Ben and Zach were doing while waiting in line to visit Santa. Their excitement was palpable.

We made a stop to see the man in red while making treat deliveries a couple of days ago, and it was by far a much better visit than last year's. We had an inside tip that there was a very good Santa at the Sugar Shack in Sugarhouse. We weren't disappointed, and Ben was brave enough this year to sit on his lap. Zach did all the talking of course, and they were thrilled to get candy canes.

We will definitely be returning to the Sugar Shack next year!

Hug Your Kids

Tragic doesn't even begin to describe what awful things went on today in Newtown, CT. Heartbreak.

Hug your kids or someone else's. Hug them really tight.

Wood or a Trash Can

So for one's 5th wedding anniversay, the traditional gift to give your spouse is wood. Darius and I didn't exchange gifts this year, but we did treat ourselves to a new trash can. We love it!

Whenever we get a willing saint to watch our kids for the better part of a day, Darius and I think we're going to enjoy typical date activities like dinner and a movie. We never quite get there. The majority of our dates are spent shopping...ugh. It's not something we love doing, but we love the freedom of being able to do it in peace and quiet.

My friend Patti sent me a very fitting text this morning without even knowing what we had planned for the day. She sent me the quote that "shopping with kids is like trying to concentrate on 150 things at once while someone beats you over the head with a plank of wood." How nice that today this wasn't the case!

To our willing saint, Carrie - Thank you many times over! Not only did Carrie in her very pregnant and uncomfortable state watch our little gremlins, she also treated us with a Groupon for dinner. We throughly enjoyed some delish food at Pat's BBQ. Sooo good.

We may not possess much in the romance department, but Darius and I do love each other very much. Far more than our sweet new trash can. Cheers to 5 years!

Grandma Great

Have I mentioned before how sweet my Grandma Ruth is? I love this woman so very much! Seeing her face, hearing her voice, holding her soft hands, and watching my kids give her hugs and kisses...it all makes me so happy. She's good for my soul.

 

We headed up to Brigham City yesterday afternoon and enjoyed a simple meal with her. I want to take every opportunity possible to see her while she's still with us. She likes to remind me each time I see her how old she is and how she's the only one left alive in her family. She may be ready to go, but we're not ready to let her go. There are still more dinners to eat at her table, and more great grand babies for her to meet.

This, That & D's Birthday

The past week has sped up considerably from the week following Thanksgiving. The boys and I were cooped up for the better part of a week with colds, and since we've been feeling better there's been a lot going on. I wish I would have remembered to take more pictures!

 

Last Saturday marked our first Family Game Night! Growing up games were always a big hit with my family. After talking with some of my siblings, we thought it would be fun to plan a game night every month or two. With busy schedules it's hard to find the time to see each other, so this was a fun way to be able to get together, catch up, and have fun playing some games.

I must admit that I was a little worried Saturday morning! I didn't think anyone aside from Carrie was going to make it, but as the day went on a few more confirmed they were coming, and we ended up with a great turnout. Michel came with Elisabeth and Jarom, Eric came with Ian, Saffy, and Nigel; Clair came with his three girls, and Carrie came with her ninja baby in utero. We played some games, the kids made some crafts, we ate some pie and snacks, but mostly we visited with each other.

Coming from a big family there's a wide variety of personalities, and it's really nice that we genuinely enjoy each other's company and have a good time when we get together. I'm hoping that our game nights will continue on a regular basis. It almost feels like a holiday when we come together.

With Carrie quickly approaching her due date, she has entered into the nesting phase (at least in my opinion). Her list of things to do is still a little lengthy, and I'm super proud of her for asking for help! It's hard enough to put on shoes, bend over, and waddle up the stairs in your last month of pregnancy, so needless to say, it's definitely not an easy task to clean house. I spent Monday cleaning the cleanest house I've ever cleaned! She claims it was gross...I say gross will take on a whole new meaning when little Archer starts leaving his mark!

After playing Mrs. Clean for the day we enjoyed a girls night with Joy. We stayed up late and talked like we usually do when we get together. This time it was different though. I didn't feel that underlying sadness and panic over the thought of leaving the next day because I knew I was only a short drive away. It feels so great to live nearby.

Joy and I played dress up courtesy of Carrie's closet the following morning before we headed out. Joy had class and I had a birthday hubby to attend to. Darius had been busy the day before with the boys while I was at Carrie's, and I came home to a beautiful Christmas tree that the boys had picked out and helped decorate. The apartment and boys were clean and we all headed out to meet up with Brandi and Jonas for story time and gingerbread men at their local library.

 

The boys had fun listening/participating in stories and songs which was followed by decorating gingerbread men. What little kid doesn't love to frost a cookie and stick on a bunch of marshmallows and candy? It was cute to watch them.

 

After story time Brandi was super sweet to watch the boys for us for a few hours. D and I enjoyed lunch together and a little thrifty Xmas shopping for the boys. The boys love playing at Jonas' house, and as soon as we leave they're already talking about when their next visit will be.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent at home. Joy came over and joined us for dinner and birthday pie. Unfortunately D's birthday dinner left some of us with upset stomachs which seems to be a growing trend with his birthday. Sore stomachs and all, we're glad for a reason to celebrate D. We love him!

"Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone." - Gladys Browyn Stern

The last couple of weeks have been stressful and delivered us blow after blow of unexpected crap to deal with. It happens, and I know we're not the only ones who struggle. Despite our less than desirable situation and what we may not have, I'm still acutely aware of how much we do have, and I'm grateful for those things. For those people who have listened and offered their love and support, thanks so much.

It's hard to focus in on the great stuff sometimes when we're worried about finding solutions to deal with the challenges we're facing, but we have two great reminders that greet us each morning with smiles on their faces, and they're the best form of motivation to keep us going.

To all our friends and family we may not have reached out to this past week, we hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving and the people you shared your day with. We're grateful for each of you, and to the Bruhn & Canfield families/members we shared our day with, thank you! We enjoyed a relaxing day with great people.

And to my family (specifically my husband) I'm blessed for each day we have with each other. I have not shown you that gratitude and support lately and I'm sorry for any hurt that may have caused you. We're a team and that's what I signed up for 5 years ago, and it's team JD-RA-BD-ZM for life. Love you.

Pre-Thanksgiving day of fun was spent with Bea and her handsome boys. Ben and Zach had loads of fun with their friends Jonas and Damon, I was treated to my annual haircut and other assorted goodies, and we wrapped it up with feeding the birds at Sugarhouse Park. LOTS of birds! (Thanks for the photo and awesome day Bea!)

Post-Thanksgiving Day fun continued at Carrie & Bobby's house (my memory card was missing in camera on T-Day). We helped put together Archer's room and their Christmas Tree. Ben organized his bulbs like he organizes everything else...tight and in a line.

Zach mostly followed Uncle Bobby and Skoog around but got in on a little tree fun.

 

The white stuff is here.

Remember that scene from The Wizard of Oz where the Witch of the East's feet shrivel up and disappear under Dorothy's house? That's basically my reaction to any contact with snow. I will admit though that it is very pretty to look at (from inside) at least until it starts to melt and turn brown.

Over the weekend we saw our first major snowfall since leaving AK. We were pretty sure early in the week it was coming, and come it did! I don't know what the final inch count was, but it was a lot. The morning it started to fall, I was still in bed and I could hear the boys in their room hooting about it. They were so excited.

I had every intention of being a good sport and taking the boys out to play in the fluff, but I unfortunately came down with a chest cold, (maybe not so unfortunate after all) so Darius wound up taking them out, and then this morning we all ventured out.

Ben and Zach are definitely at the age now where they enjoy playing in the snow. Instead of whining about getting ready, they're chomping at the bits to get all their gear on and get outside. Zach was all about shoveling snow into his mouth and Ben did his best to clean and organize the snow. They both had fun sliding down the hill and snow slide, and Darius even got in on the action a little bit.

I doubt I'll ever be a fan of winter, but I can appreciate how much fun it is for the boys, and for their sake I'll get with the program and help them get as much enjoyment out of the season as I can.

Dinner

After a fun and busy day of running around, we headed up to Brigham City last night to have dinner with Grandma Ruth. The last time I was in Utah visiting, before our move here, I spent an afternoon/evening with her. She was concerned that I eat dinner, so we fixed a meal together and sat down at the table to eat. It was just a simple meal, but the fact that we set the table and sat down together to eat was significant to her.

Grandma lives with her son and his wife, and because of their work schedules, Grandma sometimes eats alone or has dinner brought to her in the living room. Now that we're here and able to, I wanted to make the effort to drive up and have dinner with her at least a couple times a month.

Joy was able to come with us, and she brought the movie Hugo, and we all watched it together while dinner was in the oven, and after taking a break to eat, we finished watching it before we left. Grandma just happened to be on her own last night, so we know she appreciated having the company. If we lived a little closer, I'd love her company over dinner every night!

"Dark Mater" & Pirate

We started the Halloween fun a week out with Trunk-or-Treating at the Strate's church in South Ogden. Elisabeth took the boys to all the trunks, and Zach informed me after three trunks that he had enough treats and was all done, very unlike him but I wasn't going to complain!

Karissa, Jarom, Kylee, Elisabeth, Brenton, and Zach

After the trunks, we enjoyed choosing from a wide variety of chili with warm fry bread and honey butter. It reminded me of a meal my mom would make for us when we were kids at this time of year. Following dinner there were fun games for the kids to play. The big hit was the fishing game. I lost count how many times Ben went through the line. It was a fun night for both the kiddies and the adults!

Last night we were a little disorganized and didn't know where we were taking the boys to Trick-or-Treat. We ended up in Ogden to visit Connie at work so Joy could retrieve her giant bear head, and while we were at it we got the boys stocked up with winter clothes. Since we were at the mall, Joy took the boys to T-or-T at the stores while Darius and I shopped for their clothes. I knew people visited malls to T-or-T, but I'd never actually been to one to participate. It was fun to see all the costumes in a well-lit area.

As we headed out, we got in touch with Clair and met up with him and his girls and the girl's cousins on Stacey's side. It was fun to walk around their neighborhood with a group. The boys definitely love to T-or-T, and it was very amusing to watch them and their cousins run up to doors and see how excited they were when they'd come away with a treat. Zach was his usual outgoing and very un-shy self and a number of times he'd invite himself into houses (probably to scope out the toy situation). Ben's highlight of the night was the set of vampire teeth he got from one house. He had a pair from the Trunk-or-Treat the week before and unfortunately dropped them in the toilet while doing his business. He was upset to say the least when they promptly got tossed.

 

Sarah was the cutest little witch!

I forget what Hope was, but I loved her costume.

Growing up it was the norm to have snow on the ground by the time Halloween rolled around. I remember being disappointed that we'd have to wear winter coats over our costumes. This year the snow hit last week, so I thought it would be no different for the boys. We were all surprised with a very warm and mild Halloween. It was definitely a treat!

 

Another year older.

My birthday friend Dylan just recently turned 11, and the boys and I were lucky to be able to attend his party this past weekend. We flew in on Friday night and were able to watch Dylan's last football game of the season on Saturday...an exciting nail biter! The final score didn't favor his team, but they definitely outplayed their opponents.

Dylan's party was a really good time! The Bacon's know how to throw a seriously fun party! They rented a mobile gaming unit equipped with XBOXs connected to 5 flat screens and 2 rows of seating. On the outside there was another pair of screens connected to Wii consoles. There were some very loud and happy young men in that trailer including one on the much younger side. :)

 

 

 

In addition to the trailer, there was also the big hamster ball in the backyard. I don't think there was ever a time there wasn't a line to get into the thing. It was so funny to watch all the kids get in and roll up and down the yard. Ben had a blast in it and would turn around and get in line as soon as he finished his turn.

 

Between watching the boys have so much fun, I also enjoyed myself and all the great company they had at the party. I thought it might be awhile before I saw a lot of those faces there, so it was an extra bonus to be able to see everyone all together at the same time.

Patti killed another cake. She made Dylan an XBOX cake and everyone was very, very impressed. I think it was a friend or a parent that called Patti the Cake Boss of Florida.

 

I definitely didn't think we'd be able to get back to Florida so soon, but I'm so glad it worked out to where we could. It was such a fun weekend! We were able to get our Bacon fix to hold us over until our next visit. Thanks again Team Bacon for putting us up and giving us a great weekend! Love you all so much!

 

Monster Baby Bash

I forget if I've mentioned it before, but my sister Carrie is expecting an extra special Christmas present this year! A large bird or a fat man in a red suit won't be delivering it, she'll have to do that herself.

 

Last weekend I threw Carrie a baby shower with my excellent co-hosts, Joy and DJ. A few months back Carrie found a photo of a cute crib mobile with little dangling monsters. It was a little on the expensive side, so she asked me if it was something I could duplicate. I went off in a slightly different direction, but monsters is what she got. It was the monster mobile that gave me the idea for the monster theme of her shower.

 

I found lots of great ideas online and before, during, and after our move I started piecing it all together. I had so much fun with all the planning and, in my opinion, the shower was lots of fun! Carrie had a great turnout and got a good jump on a lot of the things she'll need for her little guy.

 

 

 

I'm thrilled that I was able to be here and had the help and time to put a fun party together for her! She's done so much to spoil my boys that it only seemed fitting for me to kick off the spoiling of her little one. I speak for many...we're all so excited to meet him!

Utah

We've now been in Utah just shy of 3 weeks, and it's been a very busy 3 weeks! Darius started working at the SL airport on the 1st, just a couple days after we arrived. I spent the same day looking around the SL area for a new place for us to call home (which luckily I did) with Joy and Carrie in tow. A day later I flew to Louisiana and back again to pick up Ben and Zach from Nini and Papaw...thanks again for watching them for us Margaret & Alfred!

While waiting to move into our apartment, we were fortunate to be able to stay with my sister Michel's family in our parent's room (Thanks again for opening your home to us!). The boys thoroughly enjoyed their cousins and their cousin's toys! We made dinner for everyone a few nights, and the boys and I went with Michel and her family on a beautiful hike and enjoyed some beautiful colors in the foliage.

 

 

This is the first year we've really experienced a traditional Autumn with the boys. Even when we lived in Alaska, there wasn't that distinct change in season. When we visited Joy's place last week, the boys were curious about the leaves in the driveway, and I was caught a little off guard when I tried to explain Autumn to them.

After a week of staying with family, we moved into our apartment in North Salt Lake last week. We're really happy with our apartment, but the one downfall is that it's on the third floor. I had come down with a cold from the trip out to get the boys, and Darius loaded up the rental truck the morning of our move by himself. Once it came time to haul everything up three flights of stairs, we were both already dreading it. Lucky for us we had Joy to help us out and two extremely nice neighbors that pitched in to help us. All the extra hands easily cut our time in half.

The days following the move were full of unpacking and getting settled into our new place mixed with getting ready for my sister Carrie's baby shower this past weekend...another post.

This week started out with a visit to Black Island Farms. My sister-in-law Stacey invited the boys and I along on a field trip her daughter Hope's preschool class was having there. It was a massive farm with corn mazes, fields of pumpkins, farm animals, tractor rids, and lots of fun stuff for the kids to do. We had a great time, and the boys were very sad when it came time to leave.

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to all the help Joy's given us with the move-in and unpacking, she's also been over to hang out a lot. She's my workout buddy, company at night when Darius is at work, and is now my cooking/baking student. I'm no expert in the kitchen, but she wants to learn, so I'm game to teach her what I know. Yesterday was pie 101. We made 3 apple pies here, 2 for our helpful neighbors and 1 to keep. We then moved on to Clair & Stacey's where we made 4 more, 2 apple and 2 banana cream. She did most of the work, and her pies came out beautiful and super tasty! Awesome work Joy!

If you would have asked me a couple of years ago if I'd ever live in Utah again, I would have firmly said no. When I first moved away over 10 years ago, I thought that there were better options out there. It wasn't until marriage and kids entered the picture that I began to realize the importance that family plays when raising kids. Knowing this I still had my reservations about living in Utah until this past Spring/Summer. After the trips I took with family this year to some of the national/state parks, I realized that Utah has so much more to offer than I ever thought it did. It's sad I grew up here and never appreciated all the great stuff to see and do here. I'm glad that I have the opportunity now to rediscover this state with my own family.