Fall Break

UVU gives us something that BYU doesn’t. Fall Break. Its a wonderful thing. Oliver doesn’t have classes for two days, Evan didn’t have preschool on Thursday and I took time off so that we could all be together and do whatever we wanted. We had contemplated traveling to see friends in Colorado or family in Idaho, but ultimately decided we just needed to relax at home. That’s exactly what happened all day Thursday. Naps in the afternoon. A little bit of housecleaning. A lot of snuggle time and laziness in our own home. Beth joined in the fun when Oliver went to his Utah County Birder’s meeting.

Friday was a day of adventure. We spent a few hours getting lost and dreaming in the giant warehouse store of IKEA. That was fun, until Oliver got tired and I got a headache and neither one of us wanted to continue chasing Ryan around all of the fake living rooms and bedrooms. But that didn’t stop us from taking on another fun place…Hogle Zoo! It was a beautiful weekday and with the weather as sunny and warm as it was, we had to take advantage of going to see animals in the zoo. It was Ryan’s first trip (Oliver and I are still thinking on whether we’ve taken Evan before…is that sad that we don’t know?) and he thoroughly enjoyed it. We claimed both boys as “2 & under” because I didn’t want to try and explain things to the girl selling tickets. Evan did enjoy it. It was a 2 1/2 hour stroller ride! He did notice the animals at certain moments, but I wouldn’t say he enjoyed it the same way his 2 year old brother did. So after feeling a little guilty, at first, for lying to the ticket lady, I don’t feel bad right now about the decision I made. Back to the zoo…

We made our first stop at the playground and the prairie dog station. We saw a cougar and found the little duck pond. Then we went to see the monkeys. I had hoped Ryan, our little monkey, would have been more interested, but he was

 

 

only slightly pleased. But then we moved  on to the “Big Ape House” where we saw some “big apes.” Before leaving, Ryan even waved and said “Goodbye, big ape.” Evan also got out and looked at a gorilla for a few minutes. We walked around the whole zoo. Other highlights were the elephants, the   giraffes, and the tiger. I enjoyed the moments where Ryan was thoroughly fascinated with an animal, like when he crawled along the ground following a turtle on the other side of the glass. Or when, on  his way walking to me, Evan stopped to stare over the fence at the tall giraffe. I’m glad we were able to go.

And then came Saturday. Oliver started it early by going on a birding trip. He added a new bird to his list. He saw a creeper for the first time. A Brown Creeper. The boys & I played. Inside, outside…upside down. After Daddy came home, we had a late lunch and then bombarded great  grandma’s house where we played and relaxed some more. At the end of the day, we spoke to our cute family in Idaho via googlechat & the phone which the boys thought was hilarious.

To top the great weekend off, we had our happy Sunday. We were officially welcomed into our new ward, enjoyed our meetings, especially nursery & primary and Oliver made a fantastic dinner. This was no normal dinner.  This was slow cooked pulled pork with homemade coleslaw and pumpkin pie for dessert.

 

 

 

 

 

This was so good that we had to share it! Dinner turned into a party but it was a great end to a great weekend. 

I’m glad that I have a job and that Oliver has school. I’m glad that we enjoy them and learn from them. But I LOVE the times where we can just be together and discover new things and not feel rushed by our other responsibilities while doing all that. Yay for Fall Break!

10 10 10!

 

Joys of the Week

Inspired by LDS General Conference both from the words spoken and the family time given.

“What you want your children to know in 5 years, should be part of your conversation now.” –Sister Rosemary Wixom

Falling in love with Fall again.

Reading together.

Getting yelled at by a 2 year old because you’re not reading it right. (This was hilarious that’s why its a joy).

Being in a parade and having fun for my job. 

Being in a parade and seeing friends! (I hope its okay that I put your faces on my blog ladies.)

And at the end of the day, being able to find some joy amid our own frustration.

Receiving Inspiration

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I enjoyed relaxing this past weekend with the only goal of being inspired to be better and hear the words from the leaders of the Church. It also helped knowing that I needed such inspiration. I'd been feeling a bit "off" previous to the General Conference meetings, as if I was missing something, had neglected something. Whatever feeling it was, I felt inspired by the speakers who had thoughtfully and prayerfully prepared their words. It was a bit of a challenge to listen to all of the speakers in all of the sessions, but one thing that I love is that I am touched by things that others merely heard and I simply heard things while others decided to change themselves based on those same words. The two speakers that I wanted to mention being inspired by were David McConkie & Rosemary Wixom. Sister Wixom said, speaking in regards to children, "What we want them to know in 5 years, should be part of our conversations today." And then Brother McConkie focused on the scriptures. He shared a story about a Sunday School teacher who was able to bring to life certain scriptural characters. He first mentioned that "you cannot love what you do not know" and said "she could invite them into her classroom because she knew them" meaning that she had studied the topics, made the scriptures a priority in her life and thus better able to teach it to others. These words were things that inspired me to become better in one aspect of my life. And I appreciated all the words of those who spoke.

I'm grateful for the different topics approached but, more importantly, for the moments when I felt the Spirit and allowed the words spoken to mean more to me.

Because we watched Conference at home on a BYU PBS station, the shows that were on in between each conference session was somehow associated with the Church. One that I enjoyed was about the process of creating the new version of scriptures that we now use, including the creation of something I've always taken for granted, the Topical Guide in the Bible. It has been very helpful as of late and I'm grateful for the inspiration to create it and for those who helped in making it a reality.

Happy Fall!

All of a sudden it feels like fall! How exciting! A few days ago, we decided to go for a drive. It was late at night, therefore it was dark, but it was still fall inspiring. We drove up a mountain along a gravel road. The trees were a myriad of the bright, yet dying, colors. There were fenced off meadows and the stars shone brightly away from the city lights. It made me romanticize the whole thing. Suddenly I wanted to be wearing jeans and boots and a sweater instead of the capris and sandals that I had on. Now, a few days later, its been rainy and beautiful and reminiscent of what fall feels like to me. I am sad that I missed a big bonfire at home this weekend, but I'm still enjoying my fall weather. Ryan found a beautiful acorn the other day and some leaves. And Evan loves the puddles for reasons that have nothing to do with fall.

Monday Morning Sign Humor

Here is a little something to cheer you up.

Life

Evan is our handsome blue-eyed Angel. He is our energetic hands on little boy. He is curious. He likes repetition. He likes noises. He likes water. He likes doors. Evan is our happy handful. We love him. He teaches us a lot of things. We love to watch him hold someone's hand and walk away in his happy gait. Yesterday, he ran away from me toward his aunt walking in front of us to grab her hand and walk happily with her. We love to see how thrilled he gets to see an old familiar face. With all those positives, just like any toddler, there are negatives. He is energetic. He is hands on. He likes repetition, noises, water, doors, whether we like it or not.

We were given a bit of a reassurance in our views in raising Evan earlier this week. Evan started preschool last week and the plan was to have him go Mondays and Wednesdays. He's doing great by the way. But the story is that his teacher asked us to switch to Tuesdays and Thursdays because another child needs to attend on the days the nurse is present and she wants to have the necessary hands available for both children to give them the attention they need. It just assured me, as a mother, that Evan IS more of a handful than a regular almost 4 year old.

With all of the challenges and lessons that he offers us, we still love our handsome son with all our hearts.

Today, while sitting in an empty classroom at church, with my back against the door so that Evan wouldn't escape, I watched his face that was so intent on opening that door. I was reminded of something. Evan made a choice. Before he was born, he made a decision. He chose to come to this earth to get a body according to the plan offered by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. During the process of his body developing, one tiny little chromosome was altered. This tiny alteration made a difference in the way his body and mind continued to develop. Heavenly Father allowed that alteration to happen.

One of the songs in the Primary Songbook is entitled "Every Star is Different."

Every star is different and so is every child. Some are bright and happy and some are meek and mild. Everyone is needed for just what he can do. You're the only person who ever can be you.

Evan is a blessing and like every child he is a challenge in his own way. We don't have anything figured out in how we raise him, but at least I know that he is our son and we love him. Heavenly Father allowed him to have this alteration and he is a beautiful son of God. He is needed for just what he can do. And that is a lot more than we may think.

Firsts

First time playing Ker Plunk

First day of school

First hang-out in the laundry room

First time drawing a letter (D for Daddy). He was over in the corner drawing with his little magnet writer thingy when he started yelling “D FOR DADDY!” Sure enough, he made a D.

Annual Camping Trip 2010

Oliver has had an exciting summer full of camping and hiking and adventure. Labor Day weekend finally made a possibility for all four of us to go on a camping trip together. Of course, the trip started off with some drama. We drove south to get some more camping stuff, but started late and traffic was horrible and so we delayed our trip to the next morning. But the next day was beautiful and we had nice drive up the Mirror Lake Highway having an adventure driving in Grandpa’s truck. We made it to Evanston, went east a little bit then came back south to Utah and ended up camping at the East Marsh Lake Campground. Hopefully, if we keep attempting it year after year, eventually we'll be pros and as the boys get older, it'll get easier(I'll keep my fingers crossed).

Lessons we learned from our adventure.

1. Nature is beautiful.

2. Squirrels are funny.

3. Camping cooking doesn’t always work out the way you'd hoped.

4. Sometimes birds eat pancakes.

5. Evan would enjoy camping more if it involved more people.

6. Always plan for colder temps than you think.

7. Ryan is cute in his very own sleeping bag.

8. The Uintas are sad right now with the infected trees.

9. It’s a blessing to have a family who loves each other.

Beth – the photographer

My sister is an amazing photographer. This is a plug for her and her new website. She has her B.A. in Photography and has experience shooting individual and family portraits, events, engagement photos, weddings, etc. Check out her website to see some examples of her work. If you know anyone in need of a professional photographer you can contact her through her website.

bethhansenphotography.com