Please don't let me forget...

There are a few stories or experiences that I have been thinking about recently that I don't ever want to forget. It breaks my heart when I think back on times in my life or the lives of my children and have blank pages where a story used to lie. I am hoping to fill in some of those blanks and leave the newer pages vibrant and full.

I have a favorite memory which pops up every Easter from when we lived in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Our dear neighbors, the Winters , who lived across the street had a young son named Nicholas. Even though he was three years older then Britton, they played together almost daily and were dear friends. Nicholas attended a christian pre-school and had come home from school on the Friday before Easter and informed his mom that he had learned about Jesus and the ressurection. Nicholas was usually a very kind and sweet little boy, but that day while Nicholas and Britton were playing, he hit Britton with a stick, which was really out of character for him. His mom though she would bring in some of his new-found christian teaching to understand it wasn't a good idea to hit, so she said to Nicholas, "Nicholas, how do you think it makes Jesus feel when you do that?" Nicholas responded, "He doesn't feel anything, mom, He's dead. He doesn't rise again for three more days."

Yesterday, I was driving with my kids to my mom's house, and Britton was telling Emily that they needed to get to bed as soon as possible so either the Easter Bunny, or the mom's and dad's had plenty of time to hide the Easter eggs. I said, "Britton, mom's and dad's? Don't you believe in the Easter Bunny?" He said, "Mom, I'm just saying it is a possibility, I mean every time you talk to parents about Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, they get all weird." "We do?" I said. (In an animated, high pitched voice.) "What do you mean?" He said, "I mean your voices get all high and you start moving your eyebrows up and down a lot." He is absolutely right. I am a terrible liar. I do start to talk high and move my eyebrows up and down a lot. I am afraid I am caught.

One last thing I have been thinking about lately that I don't want to forget...
When I put Brock down for a nap or for bed, we have a very set routine. I enjoy this time because it is really the only quiet one-on-one time I have with him. The routine is, he picks a story, I read . He then asks me to sing a song which usually directly relates to the story, so I am often making up songs such as "The truck on the road song" or "The extremely weird animal song" or "the daddy song" if nothing really sparks his attention in the story, he relies on the old stand-by, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". After songs, he lays down and I help him say a prayer which usually goes something like this: "Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for my family. Thank you for my blessings. Please help daddy have a good day/night at work. Please help me have a good night's sleep so I can be healthy and happy and kind. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen." (Brock's ability to be healthy, happy, and kind is directly tied to how much sleep he gets.)
Then comes my favorite part. I ask Brock what kind of hug and kiss he would like. He started out asking for just a hug and kiss (which is now known as "the regular"), an eskimo kiss, or a butterfly kiss, but now he has become more creative with his requests. Sometimes it is a snake hug and kiss, or an alligator hug and kiss or a spider hug and kiss. Tonight, he asked for a "bop" hug and kiss. Whatever it is, I usually figure something out and he usually laughs. Finally, as I am walking out the door, He says, "Wait, mom, I need to ask you a question. Can I leave the light on for just one more minute?" I say "Yes, Brock. I love you. Sweet dreams." He says back, "Sweet dreams to you too, mom." and I close the door.

My children are all young enough that they all still let me read them stories and sing to them and give them hugs and kisses, but I know it will not always be this way. Each stage of parenting brings with it new joys and new challenges, but I never want to forget the tender moments that make each day as a mother worth it.

Disneyland!

We took our kids to Disneyland in October. It was our first big family vacation and our first time visiting Disneyland as a family. I knew the kids would have fun, but I had no idea how much I would love it. It truly is a magical place. We spent three days in the park and were there from sun-up to sun-down. We couldn't get enough of it! I thought I would spend a lot of time waiting with Brock while the big kids rode the big rides, but Brock was tall enough (by a hair!) to ride nearly every ride, so he did Space Mountain, the Matterhorn, Thunder Mountain Railroad (his favorite), Splash Mountain, and even the Tower of Terror without batting an eye! He is one brave little boy!

Britton, Emily and Brock in the Magic Kingdom!

The kids and Kennedy! (side note: one of the biggest changes of the last few months is that our niece, Kennedy came to live with us! We initiated her into the family by taking a trip to Disneyland a few days after she came to live with us. We couldn't have done it without her! We love having her fun-loving personality in our home. She is in 8th grade and is doing well. We are doing our best to be parents to a teenager with an active social life and a busy schedule!)

Check out those muscles!

Catch-up, part two

Fall is our favorite time of year. This is a Sunday afternoon drive to Cedar mountain with the family.
Pie Fest 2009! I love pie and I love to make pie, so every year, we invite our family, friends, and neighbors over the weekend before Thanksgiving to eat pie! I love this event! I really loved hosting it in our new home. We had about 70 people at our house and we had room and pie for everyone!
Here is a picture from Expedition St. George. Jeff, Betty, Betty's sister-in-law and friend and I ran this fun race in St. George in December. It took us from downtown St. George, through Snow Canyon, down to the Arizona state line and back to the St. George tabernacle. This is a great race and I can't wait to do it again next year!
The beautiful ballerina! This is Emily's first ballet recital. Emily started taking ballet from our new neighbor in the fall and has turned into a graceful dancer!

Six months between blog posts is way too long!

Once again, here I am playing catch-up so I don't forget the big events that have happened in the past six months. I know my pictures are not facing the right way and they came through in the wrong order, but imagine I am good at this and hopefully I will do better next time. So... in opposite order, here are a few highlights from August, and September...
My old friend and roomate, Kelly Southwick Small miraculously got tickets to Oprah last September and had an extra! I was lucky enough to get to tag along! I haven't ever taken a "girl trip" and had such a great time. The show was probably my least favorite of the season, but it was fun to be in the actual studio and see Oprah in real life. We ate great food, saw beautiful architecture, strolled along Michigan Avenue and Navy Pier, took a riverboat tour of Chicago and just had a great time!
This is Brock's third birthday. My baby is no longer a baby! He requested a snake cake and I am pretty impressed with what I came up with. I love this little boy! He is so full of life and passionate about all he does. Our home wouldn't be the same without him!
This is the Bryce Canyon Rim run. Jeff and I ran the five mile race and Britton and Emily ran the one mile kids race. It was a beautiful loop along the canyon rim and through the ponderosa forests of Bryce Canyon. The biggest shocker was that I won my age division! I am usually happy to finish in the top half, but this summer I started to feel like a real runner.
Jeff and I traveled to Dallas Texas in September to watch BYU beat Oklahoma in the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. It was a quick trip, but we had a blast. We went to six flags all day before the game and rode roller coaster after roller coaster (we realized we might be getting too old for this stuff...), and walked over to the stadium early to buy tickets from scalpers. We were there for an hour before we found a person selling tickets, and we bought them without looking very closely at what we were getting. One of the tickets was in the stadium and one was in the box seats, which could have been a disaster, but we used that one box seat ticket to find Jeff's parents in their box seats, and they snuck us in, so we watched the game in leather seats with a buffet behind us a drinks in our hand. It was the most exciting football game I have ever been to! The stadium was incredible, and the game was even better! I didn't ever think I would ever really enjoy football, but the more I learn, the more I love it. I think I am an official fan.
This is our new home! We are so happy to be in and settled! Although the process of building was much more time and labor intensive then I had anticipated, I love being in a home that functions the way I want it to function and feels the way I want it to feel. We love being so close to the canyon and so close to Jeff's work. We love feeling like we can start to settle in to the community and start putting some roots down. I feel like I'm home.