I had the chance this last weekend to get together with some amazing women who I went to high school with in California. Most of us hadn't seen each other for 15 years, but we picked right up where we left off. We had a fantastic time! We laughed a WHOLE lot, there were some tears(I won't say who, haha!), and the food was awesome. I'm just sad that the weekend went by so quickly and everyone had to go home so soon. I just hope that it doesn't take another 15 years for another reunion.
So, I know I have been a bit of a lazy bum about posting in the last few months. I don't know why I feel like I need to have pictures to post, but I actually don't have any this time around. I found this post on my friend, Kim's blog. She is extremely talented in the crafty department and I realized how awesome it would be to have something made by her. (How selfish am I?) Anyway, I craft a little here and there and thought this would be a lot of fun, it would help me get back into doing things I really enjoy doing, but haven't felt like I had the time to do it.
How it works: The FIRST THREE people to leave a comment on this post will receive at some point during this year a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive will be a total surprise--to both of us.The CATCH is that YOU MUST PLAY TOO! Before you leave your comment here, write a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (you can cut and paste these instructions). Then come back and let me know that you are going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift. It's THAT easy!Remember, only the FIRST THREE comments will qualify. Good luck!
Tuesday, January 13th was CJ's first birthday. I can't believe how quickly this year has come and gone. SO MUCH has happened, it's been a bit of a whirlwind for our family. My baby is one! It won't be long before he is walking and talking and ready to do everything on his own. He was been such a sweet addition to our family, he belongs! He melts all of hearts and has us all wrapped around his finger. He definitely has his own little, strong personality. He knows how to get what he wants at ALL times. 
CJ dug right in. He was not afraid. I'm surprised he didn't end up eating the whole cake! I'm in trouble, he definitely has a bit of a sweet tooth!
We're glad that we could celebrate with all of Jeff's family. Mom & Dad, Amy and kids, Becky & Todd & kids, and Brian, Debbie and Crue, thank you so much for the fun presents. Also, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedules to come hang out for the evening. We love you!!
Last weekend, we took the kids out of school and drove to Heber for the weekend. Jeff wanted to race in the arenacross and Parker decided he wanted to race his motorcycle too. This was his first race! He put on a brave face, but I could tell that he was nervous.
He did such a great job! He was even more thrilled when he walked away with a trophy. He kept it close! He was so proud. He has already committed to the next two races. (The addiction has started!)
Dad and his boys.
The girls and CJ putting on a happy face. They were troopers! The race took forever. It started at about 7:30. Parker's race was #4 and Jeff was #23 & #37. We made it to the #23 race that started about 10:30pm. Jeff did awesome and took 2nd. The kids and I left after his first race, we were exhausted!
I just got in from spending almost 2 hours shoveling the driveway that looks like no shoveling was done at all. The snow is beautiful, and white. The lights on the houses and the trees seem to sparkle and shine just a little bit brighter. I love it! It made me start thinking about last Saturday, when it made another grand entrance as we were moving boxes from the other house. I realized that I haven't had a chance to formally thank all of you who took time out from this busy time of year to help us with moving and cleaning. You don't know how grateful we are for all the time that you gave to us. I'm sure it was the last thing you wanted to be doing on a friday and saturday so close to Christmas, but what a wonderful gift you all gave us. We had movers, cleaners, babysitters, and so many offers for help. My thanks seems so inadequate to what you all truly deserve, but I hope you know it comes from the bottom of my heart.
I caught a couple of these pictures when the trailer showed up to be unpacked. The snow started about 30 minutes before Brett, Randall, Chad, Jeff, Nat, and Nick showed up to help unload. They hauled butt and got the trailer unloaded in record time. Thanks again to everyone!! I love you all!
So, I know. I definitely have not done well in keeping up with the blog. I'm sure you are no pins and needles waiting for pictures from Hawaii...and I have just a nibble...
Since we got back, things have been a bit crazy for us. So, you all know that we have been here in Kaysville for about a year and a half now. I just knew this was where I wanted to be probably for 12 years now. This was it, this was where we were going to stay for the long haul. I love my home, my yard, the neighborhood, etc. Everything about it was just good. But, in just a matter of moments...things change.
Unfortunately, we were never sucessful at getting our house sold up in NSL. We had people rent from us for about 9 months, but it was still difficult to get them to pay the rent in a timely manner, let alone at all. Well, they moved out the end of September and the house has been empty since. So, around that time Jeff and I feel like maybe we should just put this house on the MLS and just see what happens. We didn't have too much longer until we just couldn't pay two mortgages anymore. We ran many options back and forth to each other, but we just didn't know what to do. We just decided to see what happened.
Well, we head to Hawaii and have such a fantastic time. It was beautiful, peaceful, and trouble free. I kept saying to Jeff that we should just sell everything we own, get the kids, and move to Hawaii. There was just a feeling there that I will never forget.We could live in a hut, sell shells on the beach, Jeff could become a divemaster. What could be better than that? HA. Of course, that's not really realistic, but it was an idea. That seven days ended so quickly, we were back to real life before you know it.
In a nutshell...we get back, someone comes through the house here in Kaysville, decides they like it, put an offer in, we accept it. Now, we are off on another adventure. We're heading back to NSL. I'm excited to be back with old friends, the kids are familiar with the school, we have a nice home there. I know this was a huge blessing for us. How lucky are we in this market?
I'm very sad though, too. I just want to tell all you girls that I haven't gotten to know here, how grateful I am to have crossed paths with you. You are wonderful women, whom I love. You've all made an impact in my life and for that I am grateful. I know, I'm not moving out of state or across the globe, it's just 20 or so miles down the road. I do know how hard it is to keep in close touch when we are so wrapped up in our immediate lives, our family, school, ward callings, etc. that it's hard to keep the effort up. I'm guilty of that, I'm not good at that, so forgive me now! :)
I've started packing up now and we'll be finishing up next weekend. I want to be somewhat settled before Christmas. I'm going to have the kids start at the new/old school the week before school gets out for the holidays so they can get the nerves out and feel comfortable when the go back in January.
Crazy times! Bare with me...I may or may not get Christmas cards out. I may not write here again for awhile. Love me anyway! :)
OK...so I know these pictures are so last month, but with my recent jaunt to the beautiful Kauai, HI I was not able to post them in a timely manner. They were so cute though, I wanted to show them off! By the Way...thank you Amy and Ray for such a fun Halloween night. The food was awesome and the Haunted House ruled! It was a blast!!
