A Happy Halloween

We had a fabulous Halloween. Jorja was the cutest lady bug (thanks to my beautiful and talented cousin, Andrea) and Jess was a "special" Dragon Slayer.

First, we went with Grandma Pat for some Kodak moments (thanks mom for helping with Jorja's hair, setting up picture moments, sharing your picture card, bringing a wash clothe; you know essentially saving the day....again), then we tried to visit Grandma Ahleen but she wasn't home, we did get to visit with Grandma Pete but only for a minute, and then we went home and waited for Chris to take us all Trick or Treating. We put the kids in the wagon and hit a few houses in the neighborhood and then we headed to Grandma Lydia's; on our way down Jesse saw lots of scarry houses and kids but his favorite was Sponge Bob. Grandma Lydia was running out of candy so she ran me home and I gave her our candy since we don't get many kids. I then grabbed the Explorer and we all piled in the car to go to Lynsie's mom spook alley. Jesse loved it! It was another quick stop at my mom's and then we were home for the night. Kids were exhausted and in bed by 9 which gave Chris and I some time for Guitar Hero and a scarry movie with a rainstorm in the background. Ahh, the hustle, the bustle, the pictures, the running around; just another day of trying to enjoy the moment. My favorite part was watching Jess "trick treat". He was quite empowered when the door would open; he wasn't shy about grabbing an extra treat or two but he did remember to say thank you.

A great nanny

Jesse & Berk at Silver Lake

Jess & Berk looking at beavers

Jess & Berk reading about beavers

Following 3 pictures: Jess & Berk at planetarium

Thank you, Amanda, for being such a great mom to Berkley and such a great nanny to Jesse & Jorja. We love you!!!

Favorite time of the year

Nothing soothes the soul like spending time in the mountains on a beautiful fall day with your family. I have many fond childhood memories of family drives into the mountains to look at the leaves, walk the banks of a river, and have picnics off the tail gate. My dating years with Chris were spent flyfishing on the Provo, or camping on the Green or simply (and most significantly on September 22, 1996; the day Chris proposed) hiking to Ruth Lake. So is it the mountains and nature that put me at peace or is it because it is associated with so many wonderful memories? Either way, it's one tradition that we will continue to nurture for as many days we are blessed to have together.

I pledge allegiance to the flag

My dear friend Laura has the best blog and today she is asking her blog readers to share their 9/11 memories. I was so grateful for the opportunity to share our experiences. Although heart breaking to reflect on this day I think it demonstrates respect and so much love to our country and the families that lost so much that day.

My memory the moment it happened:
My mom called me and told me to turn on Today. Chris was in the tub and I was basically reporting to him the events as they happened. When the second plane hit we were both in shock. We had to turn off the tv at 7:30 because he was on his way to class and I was driving to Antimony with my aunt, uncle, and dad for my great grandpa's funeral. While driving we weren't able to see all of the images on TV but we did hear the reports on the radio. It hit me hardest when the plane crashed into the Pentagon since 2 days prior my mom and I flew home from DC (we were in DC for a conference I had attended).

Other 9/11 memories:
I wasn't at work the day it happened since I was en route to central Utah for my great grandpa's funeral but I was told that every was huddled around the tv's in trading. The market obviously closed that day and Jeff Cardon informed everyone that they were welcome to go home and spend time with their families. We worked with many people in the towers and were deeply sadded to discover how many friends we lost that day. Later in the week I remember being in a company meeting where Jeff shared his thoughts and I remember feeling so proud of the company I worked for and how they were handling the situation.

Approximately 9 months after 9/11, I had a conference in NYC. We stayed in the financial district but was a few blocks from ground zero. The building across from us had sustained some damage and had a lot of work being done to fix it. We noticed some men on the roof and then realized they were actually policeman. Later that day Chris and Levi found out that the policemen had discovered some unfortunate evidence related to that day.

Every time I'm in NYC I try and stay in the financial district but at the very least I visit ground zero. It's always a humbling, reverant experience.

Pictures I need to post:
Me in NYC by myself at the statue of liberty - a stranger took a picture of me with my camera and was able to get both towers in the background (picture taken summer of 01).
Pictures from my first trip to NYC. Melanie and I laying down on the ground of WTC and taking pictures of the 2 towers.
Pictures from my trip with Chris and Levi shortly after 9/11.

Buzz off!!!!

We have a beautiful inviting trail with stairs just off of our front entry that isn't frequented much since we are usually too bees-y to stop and smell the roses. But my adventure seeking toddler deviated from the normal routine and decided to explore this tempting path with his buddy Berkley. About 45 seconds into this mini-adventure he was interrupted by a most unpleasant pest that was not excited to see a couple of toddler's in it's territory. The little pest gathered about 100 of it's buddies and declared war.....in clearer terms, Jesse got swarmed by hornets. Jesse's battle wounds consisted of 8 stings, mostly all on his head since he was wearing adventure-appropriate head gear (a bicycle helmet). Jesse's younger counterpart, Berkley, unfortunately did not escape unscathed and was also stung twice. But the hero of the story was Amanda, who was quick enough and strong enough to grab and run both kids down the stairs and into the house...all while being chased by the swarm. She was rewarded with only one sting for her bravery but being a mom, experienced the most pain, by seeing her cute son (Berkley) and his buddy Jesse in tears while she stripped them of their battle gear and gave them a cold path to help ease the pain.

3 things (+1) I am thankful for:
1. Amanda for being a hero and for providing Jesse TLC until I could come home. (I left work as soon as I heard but it took me approximately 30 minutes to get home. I don't love my commute right now.)
2. Grandpa Don for finding the hive originally, (he was also a victim of the ornery pests), and warning us to take care of it. Obviously we didn't heed his wisdom in a timely manner and the guilt will stay with us for a long long time.
3. Lastly, and most importantly, I'm thankful that Jesse, Berkley, and Amanda didn't experience an allergic reaction. All had a rough day but were 95% better the next morning. Chris (yes, Chris was also a victim - he got stung once on the eyebrow when trying to eliminate the hive), on the other hand, didn't fair as well. Imagine Sloth from the Goonies, but again, luckily, only for a day.
+1. mamabeehoney, my bee-keeper buddy at work, for letting me borrow her bee suit.

Jesse is 1, 2, 3!!!!

I can't believe my baby is 3. We had a fun birthday party at the house with grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Everyone was there, well almost everyone; Jesse & Lydia were stranded in Australia on an unexpected extension to Jess' project. Jesse got a new plastic pool that he and his cousins played in. As always he got spoiled by his family with fun dinosaurs, tractors, coloring books, clothes and other crazy things but his favorite present had to be his batman pajamas (pictured) from grandma Pat; he wore them day and night for a week straight.

Jesse loves to play with his cars, climb and jump "to infinity and beyond", watch movies, visit grandma & grandpa, play with his cousins, play with his friends in the circle (Jake, Max & Isabel, Erin & Libby), go to church, run "I am speed", torment his sister, make his sister laugh, have his back tickled "ah, that feels good", and go anywhere and everywhere with "daddy".

The last thing I want to post regarding Jesse's birthday is that although we started using pull-ups several months ago and failed at a few attempts to get him potty trained, I am happy to report that Jesse is a big boy now. I explained to him that once he ran out of diapers that I wasn't going to buy them anymore. Even though he said he liked to go pee in his diaper he transitioned to underwear with relative ease. He especially enjoys the part about watering trees.

Our New Home?

Still weighing our options but absolutely considering a move to Baltimore.

These are all pictures from my trip earlier this month when I got the opportunity to interview with a huge, reputable, extremely "nice" investment management firm.

Jorja's Blessing

A beautiful day for a beautiful baby girl to get a special blessing. We chose July 7th for Jorja's blessing day in memory of my father; July 7th was his birthday. Although he couldn't be there in person, he was definitely there in spirit and actually had a significant part in her blessing: During the blessing Jorja was wide a wake and staring at the elders while they were unconsciously doing the "elder bounce" when about a 1/2 way through my sweet baby girl decided she wanted to sit up. Well being a 5 month old spirited little girl she knows how to throw her weight around and well, she, threw off the elders and started to slip and slide her way through 14 hands but thankfully due to some promptings by my dad she was caught and the prayer proceeded as if nothing had happened and this little "ride" that Jorja went on didn't seem to upset her one bit, in fact, she seemed to be in on it and just smiled the rest of the time. I also found it quite significant that this episode took place just as the bishop was addressing "the parents". So, yes dad, we heard you and yes dad, we will take very good care of your sweet baby grand daughter.

Memorial Day Tradition

Each year we have the pleasure of joining Chris' family in Wales, Utah for some SanPete County fun. Some of my favorite things: camping in a trailer, pa Jess & ma Lyd, gathering around the fire, playing softball in a freshly mowed field, taking Jesse on a walk up to the well and then continuing the walk with Aunt Elaine to the cemetery, the tree swing, Jesse making friends with his 2nd cousins, meeting new cousins, reconnecting with relatives that we haven't seen for a year, pa Jess & ma Lyd, visiting the Mt. Pleasant cemetery to visit Chris' grandpa, lying in bed and listening to rain on the trailer in the middle of the night, surving a WWF smackdown when tagging a 2nd base run, my husband running to the store to buy diapers, Levi tormenting Lynsie to take a swing ride, Jesse tormenting everyone else, grandma Lucille, and did I mention how great Lyd & Jess are?