Facebook killed my blog.

No, we didn't die. Or move. Or fall off the face of the earth. I am done with school and am now a non-working licensed dental hygienist. Josh is still with AGFA. Two boys boss me around all day long and I generally love it, but definitely have my fair share of 'those days'. Grayson is wicked smart, just finished his first year of preschool, and broke his first limb (right tibia) on May 9. He's 110% brilliant, bouncy, and boy and gives me a run for my money every. single. day. It's exhausting being his mother but oh, so fun as well.

I don't want Trevin growing up as the 'second child' even though he is. There have been fewer pictures and videos taken of his first six months of life than of Grayson's first six, and obviously far fewer blog entries. I want to fix that. Today is July 1, 2012 and he's nearly seven months old. He's a very busy, very happy, very sweet baby. He's crawling all over the house and crawled off my bed for the first time this morning (totally not my fault - I was sleeping!). We just returned from his first Lake Powell trip and he was a champ with the heat, the dirt, and the noise. He is so aware and focused on people and things, especially food, and I give him a lot more leeway than I ever did Grayson at this age. He will literally catapult himself out of my arms to get to whatever it is that caught his attention. He's a tough one to contain. Going to be an interesting couple of toddler years.

My goal is to publish one post per week to this blog. I want to share our pictures, Trevin's milestones, the funny things Grayson says on a near-hourly basis. I need Trevin to see he means as much to me as Grayson does. So my plan is to spend 30 minutes per day organizing the bazillion pictures and videos lying around on four different hard drives and turn them in to publishable tidbits about our lives that my children will cherish one day. I might even play a little catch-up and post some pics to fill in the gaps from the last two years as well. Wish me luck!

The latest on Family

My family had an awful lot of fun during November, but I didn't pull out the camera for any of it. Holly joined my brother in England for about five days since he was there for work and it would be years before they got another opportunity to go without the kiddies (they've another baby coming), so Hailey and Hunter stayed behind and were shuttled between Holly's mom and sisters for the week. Hailey is in kindergarten and we didn't want her to miss any school, so I got to help out with her as well. Hailey got to sleep over two different nights and Grayson and I picked her up from school one day, dropped her off again, and everything in between.

We had loads of fun while she was here. She's a very generous little girl. We went to Wendy's for lunch one day and she was nice enough to give Grayson the toy when I wouldn't let her share the fries. And she was insistent that we make cupcakes for all the cousins she was going to see over the weekend when she left my house to go to another aunt's. So we headed to the store in search of the perfect sprinkles and we found them! She helped mix the batter and pour it into the tins, and when the cupcakes were baked and cooled, I frosted and she sprinkled. They were super yummy and tons of fun to make together. I sure do love that girl.

Cupcakes! November 13

My folks came up that same weekend for Christy and Brett's wedding and stayed with us. Grayson couldn't get enough of all the attention, lucky kid. We met Maryann and her girls at the reception and everyone came back to our house for a quick game of Golf. We went for a walk the next morning, met Maryann's family for breakfast at IHOP (my first time there - it was good, but not good enough that I'll go back), came home, went to a neighbor's boutique, then my parents left that afternoon. Poor Grayson looked so confused after having been entertained by first Hailey and then Grandma and Grandpa, it almost made me want another baby just so he'd have a permanent playmate.

My parents also came up the following weekend for the BYU/Utah game and we all got together again. We played games Friday night at Don and Holly's, but having learned our lesson the week before, Josh and I had everyone over for breakfast Saturday morning at our house instead of going out. We made waffles, cinnamon and orange rolls, OJ and scrambled eggs. Mmm mmm good! Definitely more fun and much cheaper than IHOP.

After breakfast we cleaned off the kid's table so they could draw. I gave them some paper, stickers, and markers, and soon the big game's excitement crept into their artwork:
Hailey predicted the Utes would win because according to her calculations, there were more people cheering for them than for the Y. Josh and I have the luxury of not really favoring one team over the other, but I gravitate more toward the Utes because of my brother, and Josh gravitates more toward the Y because...well, all good Mormons cheer for the Cougars, right? So we purposefully dressed Grayson in a non-partisan onesie to show our support for both teams. (Sorry Don, but sometimes sacrifices such as this must be made in order to preserve harmony in a dual-faith household.)

Sweet Memories

Don and Holly had us up to their house for Thanksgiving dinner, and I'm lamenting the fact that I once again didn't pull out the camera to capture Grayson going to town on all that turkey. Dinner was so delicious and our contribution was a fruit pie and a pan of rainbow jello, both of which were fun and fairly simple to make. Instead of doing a regular rainbow, though, I used only red, yellow, and orange to keep a 'fall' theme for Thanksgiving. I also cut my usual 12 layers down to 10 (more room in the pan for whipped cream!):I wish I'd taken a picture of the kick-ass raspberry cream pie I made to share. Oh my, it was sooo good - the perfect balance of tart and sweet, yummiest pie crust ever, and it looked all professional cut and served on individual plates. I will definitely make it again, and I already know that I'm going to up the amount of fruit I use in the topping.

The last thing I'll share with you today is the video I started taking of Grayson climbing up Don and Holly's stairs. Hunter and Hailey were playing at the top and Grayson started heading up there to join them, but his pants were falling down and making him slip, so Josh went in to pull them up. Right when he did so, Hailey tumbled down the stairs and straight into Grayson. Thankfully Josh's presence broke her fall for the most part and Gray only fell off one step. It didn't hurt him, though, and everyone was okay. Whew!

Like Father, Like Son?

I've always wanted to post a baby pic of Grayson along with baby pics of Josh and I so we could determine who he really looks like once and for all. Unfortunately, Josh's mom doesn't have any pics of him until he started getting school photos taken, so I've never done it until now. But I can assure you he looks just like Josh. In fact, the only proof I have that he's my kid is that I watched him come out of my body.

My mommy and me, February 1, 1977

Me and my boy, February 2, 2008

My mom's a hottie! Too bad I look like a train wreck. And I don't think I was a big baby, but I look huge compared to my little Grayson.

Two days later, I look more like my mother and Grayson like me. Yay!

Daisy Paige, 7 months

Grayson Keith, 7 months

Maybe that's my nose and giant forehead, but he must look more like Josh did as an infant. Lucky for us, Grayson got Josh's cute little ears, and we're fairly certain his baby blues are going to stay that way. And even though his hair has lightened a lot, I'm pretty sure he won't go towhead like I did.

And just so Josh doesn't feel left out and lonely because there aren't any pics of him in this post, I am now going to dissect Grayson's personality. Following is a list of various traits Grayson has, in no particular order, and which of us I think donated them.

From Josh

1. Freakishly short second toe. I know this is a physical trait, but I have never seen someone whose second toe was shorter than the big toe as well as the third toe. And it's barely tied in length to the fourth toe. Sometimes I wonder why he's able to balance so well standing. Josh's sister told me a grandfather or uncle had the same weird toe.
2. Our silly baby thrives on minimal sleep. He doesn't get that from this sleeping beauty.
3. Speaking of sleep, Grayson is a light sleeper and will wake at the quietest noises. It drives me crazy about Josh, too.
   
4. Grayson has an obsession with electronics. He's playing with a mouse right now, with Josh's phone charger at his feet and the external hard drive on its side from him crawling on it. He heads straight for the mess of cords and routers under Josh's desk when he comes into the office, and he had a meltdown yesterday when I wouldn't let him pull on the printer cord. There's no question where his inner geek comes from.
5. Grayon shies away from PDA, just like his daddy.
6. Grayson will eat pretty much anything with little or no complaint, something I really appreciate about Josh.

From Me!

1. Now that both the top middle teeth are in, Grayson grinds them against the bottom ones. He gets this from my mom and my brother.
2. Grayson hates getting dressed, and seems to despise clothes in general. He's just plain happier when he's naked. Definitely comes from yours truly.
3. Grayson is a social bug. Forget eating or napping if there are people around to look at or play with. Cards, anyone?
4. Grayson isn't very good at taking naps. Neither is this mommy.
5. Grayson gets a big grin when he hears people talk. He loves the phone and he likes to jabber with me. Josh is relatively quiet, so even though he's always on the phone for work, I'm going to take this one as mine.
6. Grayson lunges for my Nalgenes and nearly drowns himself trying to get a drink of water. Been there, done that.
7. We've recently discovered that Grayson is a real whiner when he's sick. In the rare event that I don't feel well, everyone knows about it.
8. Grayson takes every opportunity to get his hands dirty and play with the houseplants.
   

That's all I can think of for now. I'm winning by two! I'll add more after Josh sees my list and comes up with some counter-arguments.

June recap

Before too much more time passes, there are a couple of June events I don't want to forget...

Tamsen and Eric blessed one of Grayson's new cousins, Gabriella, on June 1 (Happy Birthday, Dana!). We had a great time visiting with lots of family at a nearby park afterward. It was a little windy, but always fun to get together and pig out.

Yay for me and my party!

Special thanks to Natalie for her bundt pan Rainbow Jell-o adventure!

Josh worked in southern Utah June 5-6, so Grayson and I tagged along to see family and meet another new cousin. Grandma had a softball game June 5 and Grayson really enjoyed watching it. And like all good Grandmas, when her team was at bat and she wasn't up any time soon, she would come out to sit with us.

Caleen, Grayson, Bailey, Grandma, Me

The next day we made up a couple of sandwiches and headed to Cedar City to picnic at a local park. The wind sucked, but it was nice to see Penny's family, even if we all ended up crowding her kitchen while the flooded carpet was pulled up in the living room.

Grayson & JosephI just like this pic. I have a hunch Grayson may be the favorite.

We spent an ominous Friday the 13th at Rich and Joni's for a bbq with some southern Utah friends. Russ and Hill came up from Vegas and it's the first time we've seen them since our quick trip down there last November. Grayson also got to meet Jeff and Alicia, Kasey and Monique, Darren and Leslie, Jed and Nicole, and everyone's kiddies. There was so much to talk about and catch up on - it's always worth the hassle of gathering everyone together.

June 14th was our busy day! We woke early to set tables, cut fruit and skewer it, and stuff croissant sandwiches for Maryann's Toquerville baby shower. Tons of ladies came out to support her, which is exactly what we wanted. I tried to get 'action shots' of the party, so unfortunately I just took random pics of no one in particular. Here's one of them:
That night was the entire family's birthday present to Les Miserables at Tuacahn (thanks Mom and Dad!). Grayson did well with all the people and music (I made ear plugs out of napkins for him and I think it helped). Josh felt him relieve what he thought was gas during the performance and took him to get changed. When he came back, Grayson was naked! Turns out Grayson had had his second blowout ever, and it was a bad one. It had leaked all over Josh's shirt as well. Go figure I hadn't taken a change of clothes or any jammies for the little guy, but Penny had an extra nightgown in her bag and let us borrow it. I did have to get up and help put him to sleep later on, but I didn't mind. I got to sing 'A Heart Full of Love' to him because we were away from everybody. He loved it.

Grayson and I got to get together for girls' dinner with Chazzie, Jen, Natalie, Erika and Kristine on June 17th. It was so much fun seeing Jen's baby, eating all that delicious food, and catching up on the last couple of years. Hopefully Chazzie will help Josh and me find our dream home when the time comes!

My I.O. came for a visit and met Grayson for the first time on June 18th. It was a covert operation, but everything went smoothly, even the carpet cleaning the next day. I miss our travel memories, inside jokes, casual conversations, and daily Dave Barry quotes, but I understand it must be this way in order to keep harmony in his marriage.

We had family dinner at Don and Holly's June 22 and I took this pic in the car on the way home. Believe it or not, Grayson has two more chins under that one. So cute to look at, such a pain to clean.
The first Lake Powell trip was June 24-28 but we didn't get to go. :-( One of Josh's coworkers asked those days off before Josh had the chance, so he couldn't get the time off work. Grayson and I thought about going without him, but I wasn't confident I could make a 6-hour drive alone with a 4 1/2 month old in the back seat without killing us both, so we stayed home and pretended to get extra sleep instead. And let's face it, we needed a break! We're still bummed we missed out, but thank goodness we have another one coming so soon!

July 4th recap

Grayson's first 4th of July made for a wonderful weekend, if I do say so myself. On July 3, Josh, Grayson and I met up with Maryann, Riley, and Preston to watch the Riverton parade. We caught tons of taffy candy, almost converted to Catholicism, and I accused an elected official of making too much money. Fun, fun!!

I'm so excited to get out of this chair and watch the parade, Mom!Grayson's two most patriotic cousinsEven I thought this was neato

Later that night, Don and his crew met us at the park to watch the annual 'Movie in the Park.' They showed Bee Movie. I wasn't very excited because I didn't love it the first time Josh and I saw it, but I was pleasantly surprised by how entertained I was this time around. Maybe it's because I had a baby distracting me during this viewing, and babies make life just *that* much better.

Josh didn't have to work July 4th, so we spent his day off working in the yards and around the house. I declared freedom from clutter and cleaned out That Drawer; you know, the one in the kitchen where everything ends up. I also de-cluttered my desk in the office and Grayson's closet. Believe it or not, I'm a much happier person now. We were a little worried about taking Grayson to watch the fireworks that night because he startles quite easily, so we decided just to park at a local business and watch the fireworks from inside the car. Unfortunately, all the parking lots were taken with fellow firework watchers so we ended up on a street in some random neighborhood. I love fireworks, but I don't love watching them from a car near a bunch of people I don't know, so we drove home after a few minutes. I thought my first 4th of July back in Utah was ruined until we got home and saw that you can clearly see the fireworks from our own front yard! So we laid out a blanket and caught the last 15 minutes of the show in quiet splendor. Grayson loved it so much, he slept right through all the drama and sky sparkles. Why were we worried again?

We wrapped up the weekend with a picnic up Parley's Canyon with Josh's family Saturday afternoon. I took my camera, but the only picture I thought to take was one of all the sleeping babies. Of course Grayson woke up right when we started snapping photos, but rest assured the sight of three sleeping babies was quite beautiful while it lasted.

Wedding Bells, part 3

Nick and Natalie's marriage is the third one I've attended since starting this blog last year. Lucky for me, because I absolutely *love* weddings! Grayson got to make his first public appearance at Alina's wedding back in March, but this was his first temple wedding, and it was warm enough that we got to go outside to take some family pictures.

Waiting for the bride and groomReception photo - same day, different clothes

Nick and Natalie married in the Salt Lake Temple on May 17 and had one of the most beautiful outdoor receptions I've been to. Natalie nannies for a wonderful family that owns a stunning home way up behind the Capitol Building. You can catch a glimpse of their home's amazing view of the Salt Lake Valley in this cute picture of Josh and Grayson.

Father & Son

Grayson's Blessing

We blessed Grayson today. I think both Josh and I stressed ourselves out too much while preparing for it, but the meeting and family gathering afterward turned out just perfectly, so it was well worth our efforts.

Josh was impressed to say a lot of neat things when he blessed Grayson. He got the usual stuff, like good health, strong testimony of the gospel, mission, temple marriage, etc., but two things stood out to my listening ear. First, Grayson was blessed with a clear mind and the ability to learn quickly. I wouldn't have thought this would be a big deal, but when I heard it, I felt such a wave of relief run through me. I really like learning. I secretly love my college classes, even if I never reach the ultimate goal of becoming a dental hygienist and replacing Josh's income so he can take a different direction career-wise. I hope Grayson's learning ability creates an environment that will foster that same love for learning and carry him well into college so that he doesn't play catch-up the way Josh and I have since we married.

Grayson was also blessed to be a great example to both his family and friends, and was advised to remain compassionate, courteous and kind in dealing with them. I told Josh how he's already begun fulfilling this promise as we've stepped up our own efforts to welcome and keep the Spirit in our home. Both of us are quite lazy spiritually, but we've found the responsibility of raising this baby has really re-dedicated us to the Lord. I'm fairly certain we went to the temple more in the last six months of my pregnancy than we did the entire first two years we were married. I am a little worried about him needing a reminder to be nice to all of us, though. Perhaps his present gentle demeanor is all a facade and he's really going to have my temperament when he gets older. Yikes.

Poor Josh had sweat dripping down the side of his face when he sat back down after the blessing. He was so nervous! But no one noticed, and I was grateful he was willing to wait for a moment to really listen to what the Spirit was saying instead of letting his nerves rush him. We finished out the meeting with both of our testimonies and several others about the importance of family and how essential the family's role is to God's plan. I can't get over how great it is to be a mom. I just love my baby so much - it's hard to imagine life without him. In fact, I don't want to. I'm almost surprised at the level of fulfillment I've gained since having him join our family. Reading back on some of my blog posts during pregnancy, I just shake my head and wonder why I was so scared to embark on this great adventure. I can't believe he's here, and he's all mine. I can see it in his eyes that he loves me. There is no greater feeling than catching my baby's eye, seeing the recognition in his face, and getting a smile as reward. I don't even have to do anything but be there! And the greatest thing is that I am there, and he knows it. I hope he always knows it. I'm sure this is what it was like for Alison, Amanda's mom, when she adopted my little girl, and I'm so grateful I could give this feeling, this experience, to her. I thought I knew love when I had Amanda and placed her with her family, but now that I'm experiencing a different side to parenthood, I know a far deeper, unconditional love than I ever imagined possible. I'm so very happy.

I could go on and tell you how perfect the weather was for our outdoor luncheon afterward and rave about the dozens of wonderful family members that drove a long way to come support us, but instead I'll leave it as simply being one of the happiest days of my life. Here we are, back at the house. I see so much of Josh in him now. I just love it.

My eternal family

Hey Babe

Josh is training out in New Jersey all this week and told me he's been watching the last couple of Grayson videos over and over again every night because he misses him so much. So I'm posting this as his honorary second life.

My Mom wanted me to tell you "We saw your kid and you didn't, sucka!" when they drove up last-minute for the Jazz game Monday night.Of course, that's not 'exactly' what she said, but close enough. I'm sure she'll call me right away to protest when she reads that.

Nothing exciting happened yesterday, but today has been a riot. Occasionally when he eats, Grayson will fall off to take a breather - usually when he's concentrating on expelling gas. Well, during his first feeding today, he fell off as expected but what happened next was anything but ordinary. I heard something suspicious so checked him out, and oh my, lookit what I found!Yes, that is our baby's poop smeared out of the top of his diaper and up his back. Lucky for everyone reading, I didn't take any detailed pictures. This was his worst blowout to date, hands down. Somehow I managed to get Grayson's jammies off without creating too big of a mess and threw him in the bath. Unfortunately, he doesn't like to do anything but eat when he's hungry, so he did not have a good time getting cleaned up.Still feel like you're missing out?

Anyway, I got Grayson cleaned up, fed him and dressed him for the day. I purposefully put him in the blue outfit that you love because I knew I would write you your own blog entry tonight. After he was dressed, I asked Grayson if he wanted to take over your half of the bed while you're out of town. He thought that was a great idea and wasted no time settling in. Finally, I asked him if there was anything he wanted to tell you, darlin', and true to "H" form, he went on and on and on and... (Sorry if I ruined it by talking over him at times - I was just trying to encourage him!)

I know we just spoke on the phone, and I need to get this published so you can read it tonight before you go to bed, but I thought I'd let you know that I narrowly escaped rolling over the soybean that popped out of its shell while we were talking. Grayson is done eating, burped like a champ, and fell fast asleep on my chest. Just like it was yours.
I guess Grayson gets his double chin from me, eh? We love you and can't wait for you to come home!

Happy Easter!

For Grayson's first Easter, Don & Holly invited us to their house for Easter dinner and Easter Egg hunt with the Heaps. It was so much fun seeing them all and they were genuinely excited to finally meet Grayson. Even though he's too little to carry his Easter basket, Holly helped him find an egg just his size with three Cadbury mini-eggs inside! I couldn't believe they would band together and tease me like that! I'm so going to pay her back when she has another one.

Grayson's big find during the hunt!

My hilarious baby kept good watch over his Easter treasure. I think he knew I had my eye on the treats inside. It's easy to resist the big bags of eggs because they're not open, but if I could eat "just one" (or two or three), well, let's just say the temptation is almost too great to bear.

Uh, you're not taking my mini-eggs, lady. No way, no how.

Such a serious little guy

Week in Review

Last Sunday, Lacie came over for dinner and we had a fabulous time catching up. I don't get to see her as often as I used to since Grayson was born. I owe her an awful lot of visits and lunches when I start taking him out of the house.

Paige, Lacie, Grayson

On March 12, Jed came all the way from New York to visit! He is such a natural with kids, so I shouldn't have been surprised when he lovingly held a sleepy Grayson for over an hour while we played Treasure Hunt with Lily and ate a grilled cheese sandwich and peach for lunch. It was so great seeing him again, but I'm disappointed I didn't get to meet Chris while he was here.

Jed, Lily, Grayson

On March 13, we all went over to IMC to welcome the newest member on Josh's side of the family. Gabriella was born on March 11, but we waited a few days to visit so that Grayson would be bigger than she is. Even though he's six weeks older, they're both about 8 1/2 pounds in this photo. But he definitely doesn't look like a newborn anymore. He's changing so much!

Grayson & Gabriella

Just relaxin' with Grandpa Keith

On March 16, Grayson attended his first sacrament meeting and Josh took him home afterward so I could teach my Primary class. Grayson really seemed to enjoy the song Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King. He loves it when Josh sings to him, but prefers actual singing with words to just humming a tune, so we've begun memorizing the words so we can sing it to him at night when he's fussy. What a lucky baby!

All in the Family

This is the reason we couldn't name this kid. Every time I look at him, all I can think of is my father.

Grandpa Doug and his Mini-me

It's funny because we look at Grayson and say to ourselves, "He's my father, through and through!" but before my father's name carried these genes, they belonged to his mother's line. My father told me that his mother just looked at him one day and started to cry, because he looked just like her father. What's even wilder to think about is where these genes came from before they reached her family line. And Grayson's body shape actually comes from my mom's mom, and yet I always attribute it to being my current family's trait because that's what I am. And one day, when Grayson has kids, his traits will hang on Josh's last name and mine will join my grandmothers' as inconsequential maiden names that carry no meaning.

No wonder people do genealogy. I'm absolutely fascinated, just looking at this baby, and wondering how many traits of people I've never met he carries with him.

Baby shower

Well, Josh is sick. It hit him the worst on Friday while he was traveling to and working in Dixie, but he's fallen asleep by 10pm the last couple of nights, and it seems to be helping him recover. I'm also finally on the mend, so hopefully we'll soon be rid of all the sick germs floating around our house.

Saturday morning I woke up at 4:11am to the baby's hiccups and I could not fall back asleep. The hiccups stopped at 4:48am, but I still lay there, wide awake, until well after 5am. My sleepless night left me very tired for my nutrition class Saturday morning and my baby shower that afternoon. Lots of friends and family came to support me. My mom and two sisters even left southern Utah at 8am to make it here on time, then drove back home later that afternoon. So, so, sweet are they!

Even though my energy level was down a bit, I still had a wonderful time. Here's proof:

Getting bigger! Lacie & Paige, 37 weeks pregnant My sweet mother and I

(My silly computer crashed while I was uploading photos, and I don't have them saved on Josh's computer, so I'll have to post more another time.)

New Year's recap

We spent New Year's Eve at Don & Holly's this year. We've almost spent more time at Don & Holly's the last few days than our own home because my folks came up Dec 29 for the long weekend. We all got together Saturday night for tacos and a late Christmas party (which really meant my folks brought up the northern Utah kids' and grandkids' presents, as we'd already given them theirs in time for Christmas morning). Anyway, my silly mother was adamant that she wasn't going to spoil anyone this year, then went ahead and did it anyway. She gave us all pajama pants, warm socks, a very generous Costco gift card, and the gift of Mexican Train dominoes - complete with instructions, a sack of plastic 'pennies,' a Double Fifteen Dominoes set, and a hand-painted board to keep everyone's trains on track. It was awesome. My mom is so cute.

My parents came to church with us Sunday morning, then we all trucked back up to Don & Holly's for a Heaps family dinner and games with Isaac & Shama before they went back to Texas. Shama and I pulled out a narrow victory over Josh and Mom at Hand & Foot, then totally bombed a round of Golf, go figure.

We stayed up way too late Saturday and Sunday nights, and my body doesn't know how to sleep in, so I wasn't too surprised that my throat was a little tender yesterday morning when I got up. My doc said some extra Zinc and Vitamin C are safe at this stage of my pregnancy, so I'm hoping to thwart off any illness that may be coming on. I did a little shopping with my mom and Holly while Josh worked, and got some great deals at Target on their closeout holiday decorations. I also swung by Deseret Book and picked up Our Gift, a super-cute Willow Tree wooden statue of a couple holding their baby. I can't wait to display it in the baby's room when it's all set up. Then my mom surprised me with a swing for an early baby-shower gift - nicey! I feel like we're really moving along on getting things ready for the little guy, and I'm so grateful for all the things we've been given to help us prepare for his arrival.

Josh and I went back up to Don & Holly's to ring in the new year with everyone. We played plenty more games (of which I only won Mormon Bridge), ate lots of food, and had ourselves a ball. Holly set Hailey's tent up in the living room for a giant slumber party and all the kiddies rang in the new year at 10pm so they could get to bed. Both Maryann and I (the pregnant chicks) were jealous that they got to go to sleep and we had to wait until the real midnight - I started yawning at 9:30pm! But I somehow made it all the way to midnight and gave my Joshey a kiss to welcome 2008. It was a lot more fun than watching Dick Clark in Vegas last year (we were too scared of drunk drivers to go any further than the couch in our living room).

Christmas recap

Josh and I spent Christmas in northern Utah this year, since we spent Thanksgiving with my family in southern Utah. His family Christmas party was Friday, Dec 21, so we spent this Christmas morning without any fanfare. We slept in until after 8am, then Josh finally got up to shovel the "White Christmas" driveway and sidewalks while I made us breakfast. Josh got me a Presto Professional Salad Shooter for Christmas this year, but let me open it early to make au gratin potatoes for the non-denominational holiday feast we shared at Lacie's Christmas Eve, so I used it to make homemade hashbrowns. They were so yummy! We feasted on potatoes, scrambled eggs with cheese and salsa, raspberry muffins and hot chocolate. It was so nice to sit down and enjoy a hearty breakfast together. I can't remember the last time we were able to enjoy a morning together like that.

Santa didn't quite make it to our house this year, and in addition to my Presto, we already bought and installed flat screen computer monitors and this headboard for Christmas, so we weren't expecting to have many gifts waiting under the tree. We were so wrong! Maryann's family gave us Blokus, Josh's folks generously gave us "Dinner & a Movie", Nate & Holly gave us the Scene It? movie trivia game, Penny sent up a beautiful Christmas plaque, Duane & Amanda sent up a super-cute photo calendar set, and Holly gave us a book of her family's top recipes. We totally made out like bandits! We felt so loved. The spirit of Christmas filled our home and we felt all warm and tingly inside.

We spent part of the afternoon visiting at Josh's folks' house, then on to Gary & Wendy's to visit with the Heaps family, and finished the day off at Jon & Maryann's where I got to put together a huge fire engine puzzle with Riley, Preston, Hailey and Hunter. It was such a beautiful day and I loved every minute of it. It was the perfect Christmas.

Vacation highlights

We finally returned from our 2-week excursion all over Hell's half-acre during the end of November. Here are some highlights (in no particular order):

• Pam's homemade black forest banana cream pie
• The new kid-sized 4-wheelers and all the crashing and dirt that ensued
• Cards, cards, and more cards - including a magical win for Josh and I at hand and foot!
• Seeing my father sealed to his parents
• Zeno, Sapheneous, and Milo - my ancestors
• Maryann's pregnancy announcement over dinner
• Grandma's reaction to said announcement
• Don's Lake Powell response
• Target's rain check and our new monitors
• Family Flag Football
• Dice with Dennis and Raleigh
• Finally seeing Bourne Ultimatum at the dollar show
• Staying up 'til 2am with Russ and Hill
• Lots o' rain in Las Vegas - it never poured like that while we lived there!
• Inheriting a crib, dresser, Boppy, and Moses basket for the coming addition
• Coming up with a name (but we're not telling anyone what it is)
• Family pictures!
  
• Jon Schmidt at Tuacahn, even though it almost rained out
• Hot chocolate that made the concert bearable
• Emily's blessing and the party afterward
• Perfect weather for driving home with a trailer carrying all our junk

All the pics are still in southern Utah on my Mom's camera and computer, so I've no proof that we had a great time. You'll just have to take my word for it.

Family Flag Football game, Thanksgiving Day, 2007

The Tigersvs.

The Panthers

The game was fierce and highly competitive. Every player was there to win, no matter the cost. Even Grandma was beat down by an opponent twice her size! The Panthers eventually succombed to the brute strength and experience of the Tigers, but gave them one heck of a catfight in the process. I didn't play because I used my pregnancy as a copout and hung out on the sidelines to take pictures of all the action instead. Below are the fruits of my labors.

Pam blocks as Grandpa hands the ball off to Josh.

I can't remember if they scored on this play or not, but I was sure proud of this photo! This was by far the best action shot I took. You'd never guess my Dad has a bum knee, and Josh looks like he takes ballet lessons!

Grandma and Duane let Holly slip by

Don, Penny, Grandpa, and Josh, quarterback extraordinaire

Great "D" Tigers!

That white girl, Penny, sure can jump!

Pam, Greg, Steve, Josh, Grandpa

Josh and Grandma are open, Cade!

Holly, Steve, Pam, Grandpa, Grandma

Grandpa, Duane, Grandma talk strategy

I also took some short video clips with my mom's camera. Below are my first and second attempts at posting video on my blog (sorry for the poor quality - not sure what to do).

Amanda rallies for a First Down!

Hailey makes a run for it!