The Blairs

Addison's Blessing

2011-06-05T05:16:00.004-04:00

When I think about the blessings that have gone on in our family over the last few years, I get excited. I love these blessings. They are so special. I remember Amelia's. We all went to Provo. Even my aunt Pam even though she missed it because she was late...(I know, weird, right? That Pam would be late. So weird.) Amelia was so sweet and extra special, because well, she was first. There will always be something exceptional about her because she came almost four years before anyone else.

Gavin's was sweet because he was the first grandson. He was one of the cutest little boy babies I've ever seen. Also at his blessing, I'd just found out I was pregnant and was sick as a dog. I hated it and was still in denial to telling people I was pregnant. We'd come down from Utah for it and got to have a luncheon at the Hadfield home. I was so busy with school, working at the temple and throwing up that I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I should've.

Then there was Matthew's. Eight months later. So many memories from this one. Ammon gave a wonderful blessing that made me realize how lucky I am to have a husband who holds the priesthood who can bless our children. Cody came down for it and Cliff was able to be there. Ammon's family isn't active in the church so he didn't get to have any of his family in the circle, but it was nice having mine there. Chris was in Romania and we missed him very much. It was also so extremely hot that summer in 2008. We had a nice luncheon afterwards and we had a blue chocolate fountain. That was so much fun.

After nine months pass, it's time for another blessing. We were leaving for Kentucky soon so I don't remember much about Reese's blessing but that we were so close. Since we were living in Green Valley at the time, it didn't take us much time at all to get to Sloan and Zane's ward. We again had a nice luncheon at Zane's parents' house. I remember how sweet Reese looked. And now, here we are over two years later at another one. I wanted this to be special because Shaun and Gina will not be having any more kids (unless they adopt of course) and because they've been waiting so long for this little girl to come. I'd been wanting to make white cake pops for a long time and so when Gina asked me to make cake pops for the blessing, I was really excited. I told her exactly what I was going to do and she didn't even have a chance to tell me what she wanted. I LOVED the way they turned out and they could possibly be my most favorite cake pops I've ever made. I LOVED having a blue chocolate fountain at Matthew's, but this was so...pure. So sweet and precious. Perfect for a perfect little girl. I also made her a sweet white binky clip that went perfectly with the day.

Addison Cora Bailey (ACB, just like Amelia)

Shaun did a really good job on the blessing. It was quite long, but for anyone who knows Shaun, is this really surprising?! Really?! We missed my dad again on such a special occasion, but Sloan wasn't able to be there either so it didn't feel quite as weird since we had someone else missing other than him.

Matthew probably had 13 cake pops. Okay, he would've if I would've let him. But this kid has a serious sweet tooth and if asked, he can tell you all about cake pops, cupcakes and cakes. He watches me do them once a week so he's become quite pro. We went to the store and went down the cake isle. "You making more cake pops Mom? Again?"

Pam, Koldin, Kathan and my Grandma Elva were all able to be there at the Cokers' house for the luncheon. We had some great pasta with even better bread.

I seriously wonder how weird it would be to have another baby? I can't even think about!

Congrats Shaun and Gina! And Addison? We love you girly!

Matthew's last game and first trophy

2011-06-04T02:55:00.001-04:00

Matthew's soccer season seemed to go by so quickly. And let's just say that he was by far the smallest and youngest on the team. He never made a goal, but he did kick the ball. Watching 2 and 3 year olds kick a soccer ball and try to get a goal (on their side) is a hoot. It was really a good source of entertainment and I looked forward to it. The kids, including Matthew, looked forward to the "treats" afterwards and this bit of info was often used towards the kids as a bribe. "Hurry, go run and kick it in and you'll get a treat after!" I was so proud that Matthew was never whiny, never hurt and never cared when he fell. And let's be honest. When you're 2 and running in cleats, especially cleats that are a little too big for you, and your uniform is falling off of you, you're going to fall. And every time, he got right back up. He ran and ran and ran. He loved watching his shadow and was so excited to see his friends twice a week. Since they practiced Tuesdays, they got used to seeing each other every few days. He loved his coaches and he would go around at random times and say "Little Devils" because that's what his coach would say to them to get their attention. They were some patient and very fun for the kids. I was so sad to see the season go. Every time Matthew played, something miraculous happened. HE HAD AN APPETITE! I remember specifically leaving practice one day and he just kept asking for food. He ate every bite of his dinner. We couldn't believe it. And without even being asked. REALLY! It was truly amazing! He talked about it, wondered when he was going to go, and it was so good for him to get out and run with kids his age that weren't in the nursery and for him to get some exercise. I can't wait until he can play t-ball. Now THAT will be cute! His last game was June 4th and everyone decided to just have their little party with trophies right afterwards. It was good because Chris, Gina, Amelia and Addison all came along with us that day. Even though all the games were in Aliante, we had a fun time going every Saturday because that meant that it was nap time when we got home! It was so early for all of us (most games were either at 8 or 8:30 am meaning we had to leave at 7:20 or 7:45 which meant that Matthew woke up three hours early and I only got three hours sleep!).

I loved half time because they were always all so thirsty. It was so cute as they'd run to their parents to get a drink.

Matthew's support group! My mom came to EVERY game.

Go Little Devils! I never counted how many games they won or how many goals they got in a single game because at 2, who really cares anyway?

I brought RED velvet cupcakes to the party. They all had their numbers on them too.

Congratulations Matthew! Good job bud on a great season! You're the best!

One of my most favorite pictures I ever taken! This is so dang cute. I wish they could've been in better lighting. They were all so proud as their parents clapped and cheered.

Another good one!
Can you see how big his uniform is?

Matthew and his coaches. They both had daughters on the team.
Sad to see it end!

Official toddler.

2011-05-09T05:18:00.003-04:00

After one time of getting out of bed and me telling him that he needed to stay in until I came to get him in the mornings, we have an official toddler who stays put and every morning I come into "Mommm! I'm awake!" It really is no different than the crib for him. He didn't have a problem adjusting and never mentioned his crib after we told him he was getting a new bed. We got it for free from a neighbor who was moving and the bedding was from my parents last year for his birthday. I thought it was time to put it to some use before it came time to have another birthday present!

The saddest part? He's not a baby anymore.

May 3rd. Weird, random, sad, happy day.

2011-05-03T05:16:00.006-04:00

When I think to explain how my May 3rd this year went, I can't think of any better word to describe it but random. It was weird. Random. Sad. And mostly happy when looking at the outcome because we added another addition to our family. Addison Cora Bailey was born! This little girl has been rather impatiently and anxiously awaiting to come to her parents for years. I couldn't be happier for Shaun and Gina (and Amelia) that she is finally here. Even better is that she has a head full of curly dark hair that goes along with her cute face that looks exactly like Amelia's. She really is a little Amelia just with dark hair. Cody and Kaylynn happened to be in town that day (Cody always seems to be here on important family days. Coincidence? Don't know!) and Ammon had to work but we got to go to the hospital to see her and Shaun and Gina. Matthew couldn't have been happier. He was completely obsessed with her and wanted to be by her the whole time. He didn't want to leave. So excited to hold this sweet little thing anytime she's around. Cody, Kaylynn, Shaun, me with Addy, Gina, Matthew, Amelia, Chris and Amanda Had to represent before BYU got it!

GINGER

September 5, 2005-May 3, 2011

The sad part about May 3rd was unexpected but not. My dad's dog, Ginger was pregnant (much to our dismay and not being able to keep little dogs out of our yard--yes, she should've been spayed, but that's not my fault!) and we were expecting her to bring those puppies anyday. Her last few days she spent not eating, drinking and would hide in the bushes. We knew it was a possibility of her dying, but didn't really expect it to happen because we thought she'd deli ever the puppies. I've never seen a dog this big as when she died. Needless to say, she never delivered, we never knew how many puppies were in there, and we woke that morning to find her in the dirt. What's sad is taking a pregnant dead dog to the vet asking them to take care of it. Ammon and Chris got her in a box and the three of us took her in. We got a card a few weeks later from all the employees there expressing their "sorrow" for Ginger's death. Her last picture doesn't do her poor little body justice. She was in such pain. Matthew has missed her and asks about her all the time. It was sad for my dad too since that was his favorite little thing. He took her with him all the time. She loved him and followed him everywhere. He babied her and didn't even get to see her before she died. It's been weird with just Brooklyn and Pain around too.

Lincoln Blackwood

RIPA few months ago, we decided it was in our best interest to get rid of a few vehicles around my parents' house since we really didn't want to worry about the payments. Well, much to our dismay, we got rid of more than a few. The Mercedes, the Beast, the Blackwood, the Neon and the boat all went by the wayside. The driveway never looked so empty. We were all so sad to know nothing was the same and sad that we had to deal with the dumbest bank in the history of banks (Credit Union 1...aka Cumorah)! The night after we left the hospital, we were driving up Charleston and we saw our Blackwood, or what we thought was our Blackwood. Sure enough, we turned around and checked it out at the Mexican dealership selling about twenty vehicles. There it was. Our BACKWOOD (yes, the L was missing on the back and everything). Chris was sad of course. But it was good seeing it again. We wanted to buy it, but that would completely defeat the purpose right? We ended the night at Applebee's for dinner with the whole gang who went to the hospital. It was good spending that really weird day with them though. It's always good to see Cody. We just missed Ammon. Again. Like usual. (One day he'll be around for things.)

Goldie

2011-03-18T05:20:00.003-04:00

Matthew doesn't have many friends. Okay, I guess you aren't supposed to have a BFF when you're 2, and I guess he doesn't really go anywhere to meet "new" people like adults or teenagers do. But, one friend he has invited him to a party. What's hilarious about 2 and 3 year olds is that they don't really "play" with each other. They play around each other. This party was no different because well, it was at the park. Maddie, Tabby's daughter, invited us for her Little Mermaid party. Let me tell you what a good job Tabby did! She made the cake (never got a picture unfortunately) and had some great decorations for this Under the Sea theme. I think I had more fun than the kids. But isn't that the point of little kids' parties? I totally think it's for the adults, because the little toddlers will NEVER appreciate the hours you put into it!

Well, as the favor for this party, he got a new pet. He knew exactly who this pet was and what his name was going to be because of his favorite series of books. The Berenstain Bears have a goldfish, he says. Goldie. Before we even left the park, the fish was named. He was excited to go home and feed him. And he was a great pet. He lasted days longer than Gavin and Reese's. The reason he died? A certain little visitor put some weird stuff in his water. Never knew what it was and Matthew never really asked about him afterwards, but I'm convinced that we could've had this fish for years. Why? When I was a senior in 2004, I got my mom a goldfish for her birthday. He's still alive. Over 7 years old. His name is Nicky II and he sits on the counter to welcome anyone in the home. The one before that was also named Nicky and he lasted six years. I guess it's all about how you take care of them. (Note to anyone who has a goldfish, don't ask Margaret to babysit!)

RIP GOLDIE
March 16, 2011-March 22, 2011

Bryan gets married.

2011-03-12T05:21:00.006-05:00

There must be something in the air during March. At least in Vegas. Because people we know get married the second week in March. All. The. Time. Every year it seems. And that thing must be at my parents' house. It first started with Sloan who got married March 12, 2005 and had her reception here. Then Joanna came around four years later and wanted her reception on March 14th. Then when Bryan got engaged, he asked my mom if they could have their open house in the backyard. The day? March 12th. Well. That would have been fine if my dad would have been here to keep the yard up. But since he isn't, the yard was NOT in shape to have a little kids' party, much less a wedding open house. So, the Gines went to work. They are some of the hardest working people I know. Ammon was going to be gone for the army during the wedding and open house so he couldn't be much help. Chris worked crazy hours and my mom had to watch Evan. I decided that I needed to get out and do my part. The Gines brought dirt, sod and flowers in and we all went to work. I actually got experience in laying sod. Brandon taught me everything I learned and we ended up being outside that day until like 10 pm. We were under a major time crunch because the sod had to be in a certain amount of days before not watering, walking, etc. We brought dirt into all the flower beds and then Kris brought over a lot of gorgeous flowers. I went to work again and planted them all around. Chris and my mom got to plant some too. I learned how much I get done when Ammon is not in town. It must be a weird testosterone that kicks in or something. Because every time Ammon is gone, I always get SO MUCH MORE done than when he is in town. You would think that would be different since I'm a single parent when he's gone. But, none the less, I learned a lot this time around. I learned how to pull weeds with the best tool ever (where has that been all my life?), how to lay sod, rip out old grass and how to cut. The best part? I did most of it with red Crocs on. As ugly as they are and even though I never wear them in public, I learned they come in pretty handy (even if you get dirt in them). I shoveled and actually had a really fun time outside. We ended up benefiting from the sod because it looked absolutely gorgeous. It was sad that Steven couldn't come into town to see the wedding or the open house, but it was good to have a lot of the people we knew come to our house instead of us having to go somewhere else. They also asked us if we could make Oreo truffles for that day. Um. Hello. Those are amazing and I've never met anyone who doesn't like them. We dipped them in pink and I decided last minute to write a G on all of them with white chocolate. I'd say that the day, and the wedding the week before, turned out to be a big success. And Bryan? Good job in picking Makenzie. She sure is going to put up a lot (with him going to basic training May 3rd). Good luck Gines!We went to the sealing in the St. George temple on March 5th. Such a pretty temple and SO extremely white. I love it. I missed Ammon though!

Tate and Kelsie watched Matthew outside while we all went in. It was so funny because who did they have? Their nephews and niece and oh, Matthew. They were so nice to do it and Matthew sure loved it. He talked about it for weeks. He took his Angel Moroni with him this trip and lost it somewhere on the grounds. Oh well. I hope it made some little boy really excited. Or maybe it was a convert who found it and investigated the church. Then they got baptized. Then they became the next prophet. Okay. You get it. He lost his Moroni.

Always loves his Uncle Chris.

After the wedding, we stayed in St. George and went to Cracker Barrel and then we decided to go to Brigham Young's home and the Tabernacle. I'd never been before and my favorite part was being in Brigham Young's room upstairs. The stairs were so steep that he couldn't get up and down in them so his room became church headquarters too. People came from all around to meet with the prophet. I couldn't help but feel the spirit in that room. I wonder how many "visitors" he had that came from the other side. And my favorite thing in the room? His prayer stool. Can you imagine how much a prophet must've used that thing? I'm surprised it lasted this many years. I am glad that Matthew got to experience things like this too. I love that he gets to feel the spirit that I can feel and he's only 2. I know that one day he'll recognize what a wonderful place the temple is and have a testimony of the prophets too.

Oreo Truffles.

This is the table that Chelsey (Brandon's wife) did. She does a great job. They had a lot of food leftover and we got to keep some cream puffs and eclairs. We were kind of glad more people didn't show up (ha ha).

Matthew had the best time at the "party." He loves receptions, ward parties, you name it. If only he knew how much I don't really enjoy going! I guess I better become more like a little child!

No Ammon.

Here's the sod I helped with! The yard looked really good.

This was just such a sweet picture. President and Sister Anderson had no clue I was taking it, but I really watched them as they walked away. They immediately held hands and he led her. I loved this. He sealed Ammon and me on our wedding and I couldn't help but remember our sealing and what a great opportunity we had to have him as our sealer. He is a great example to my dad, to me and our family. We have really grown to love them over all the years he was in the Stake Presidency with my dad.

Good luck Bryan and Kenzie!

Matthew's very first soccer practice

2011-03-09T05:14:00.003-05:00

I was so excited to sign Matthew up for soccer this year. Right when I could in January, I decided it was time. The kid needed the exercise and needed to get out with the other "kids." I found the smallest cleats I've ever seen (on ebay since there was nothing that small in stores) and he was so excited to go play. Ammon got him a soccer ball last year for his birthday and we'd played with it since, but he didn't really understand that other people played too. It was a little cold this first practice and it was before the time change so it got dark pretty quickly. He made some cute friends the very first practice and asked about Baylie numerous times the next week until he could finally see her again.

Creations by Chelsea

2011-03-02T05:10:00.002-05:00

I decided to start a business that had to do with my love for making cakes, cupcakes and cake pops. I designed my logo and have a blog up and running. It's just so much fun getting to do something you would do for free!
www.creationsbychels.blogspot.com

Matthew's longgggg hair

2011-03-01T04:58:00.000-05:00

This kid needs a haircut as often as Ammon. He better grow up to have amazing hair! We take him to base and he is always so good, never speaks, but sure loves getting a succor afterwards from the nice ladies. How cute is he?!

February 2011

2011-02-28T00:44:00.000-05:00

Well since we have 9000 birthdays just in February, it doesn't leave much time for anything else. I did get to squeeze in a shower for a good friend in our ward though. She had a little boy and we didn't get to have the shower until AFTER Baby Carter arrived, but it sure turned out great since he got to be there to show off his cute little cheeks. We had a blue chocolate fountain that I didn't get a good shot of, but I thought it turned out pretty cute and I am so excited for the Polks! I also am so grateful for my mother. We have done so many "events" (that's so...not a good word for the church activities, showers, birthdays, parties, luncheons, dinners, etc that we've done, but it seems like I've been her "on-call" or "honorary" counselor since I was in high school!). This was no different with us doing it together and good thing we know what to do!

Cutest little boy ever! Born 1/1/11 (how cool is that?!)

I had been wanting to make these baby cake pops for a long time. It took me MANY hours to do this and I told Jessica that night that she is lucky that I like her because there are only FOUR other people I would make these for again, for free (my sister, sister-in-law and future sister-in-law when Chris gets married and Joanna. That's it. And I mean it!). Bakerella actually used white as the baby's head color but I made them peach from trial and error. I didn't even get a shot of the inside--blue of course! I have to admit that it was the PERFECT decoration for the whole shower. I sure look up to the Polks! They're such a good family and I learn a lot from them and how they raise their children and how they are themselves. It's so nice when you can have good people who are still raising their children that the Lord would want them to. That's why we always joke that Matthew is going to marry Gigi. I would love that! Why? Because I know the Polks are awesome parents and that they are going to raise their children to be the spouses I want my children to end up with. (Okay, let's not talk too much about marriage. My son is only 2!)

Matthew and his future bride Georgia (Carter's older sister).

After church one Sunday, I caught both my boys lying the same way on the couches. Matthew sure loves his dad!

Matthew made these cookies for me in nursery one Sunday and I thought it was the cutest thing ever. Being a mom is the best feeling because you always feel special with the smallest hug, smile or any gesture they do.

Valentine's Day turned out to be a great day because I got a new iPhone. And Ammon made me chocolate-covered strawberries. I had a very good day and I got to make cake pops (red velvet of course!), got him Sees Candy and a massage.

Matthew's favorite part of his present? The M&Ms of course. He did love his little Brooklyn though.

One Monday night in February, we had FHE over at Shaun and Gina's house. Chris and I decided that we would be cool and wear our letterman jackets over there! Haven't worn it since I think 2005 at a football game for Chris. I sure loved my coat, but really? We really wore this?! It was fun and we liked to rub it in Shaun's face that the only letter he got was in CHOIR! (Oh yeah softball and even wrestling! ha)

February Happy Birthdays 2011

2011-02-25T04:21:00.001-05:00

I often complain about February when I really shouldn't or really need to. Here are some of the plus sides to having my whole family's birthdays in one month (other than my dad): 1. I don't have to worry about any other month. Okay that's it. But, it is a good point. At least I know when they all are and it's easy for me to plan that way. I know that a month after Christmas is going to be another tough month!

FEBRUARY 4th

We haven't gotten to celebrate Chris's birthday with him for the last two years so it was a nice different thing for us (and better not having to send things like pens clear across the world!). I got to make his cake and I have to say it is probably my most favorite one I've ever done. Was it because it was perfect? No. But this is why:

I ended up making the NY too big for the cake because you can't even see the NYC skyline or the pinstripes, but it's there. I think one of my favorite parts is the lettering. Edible pens are a great GREAT thing and I loved getting to do the baseball stitching on them. These are two of my most favorite people outside Ammon and Matthew. I'd have to say I'm closest to them over anyone else. (Followed closely by Sloan, Joanna and Cody).

We went to dinner at Claim Jumper and it is always a good choice except I can never decide what the heck I'm going to get. Ammon was a work (like usual--oh the joys of working swing shift on the strip. Never around when any activity is going on), but we got to go with Sloan, Zane and the kids. Fun night!

Matthew sure loves his Uncle Chris.

FEBRUARY 9th

Reesey Reesey. The Reesinator. My favorite little girl. I love her so much. Can she get any cuter? No. No way. She sure gives Gavin a fight that's for sure! I got to make her cupcakes for her adorable party Sloan threw for her that night. These were so much fun because they fit the Minnie Mouse theme perfectly. Black candy melts, a fondant bow and Junior Mint bites as polka dots. Had so much fun and I have been wanting to do them since! Her party was at the Hadfield's house and it looked SO SO SO COOL! Sloan did such a good job (like always).

One of my favorite parts was the tissue balls. And the Minnie Mouse balloon adds a lot.

Everyone had to wear pink. I looked in Matthew's closet. Nothing. Nothing even close. So, I texted Sloan. Please bring something pink for Matthew to wear. She responded. I have plenty of things from Gavin. Hello, look who his mother is! I thought that was funny. What does Matthew wear? Baseball. No Ammon again!

FEBRUARY 16th
My mom came next. She turned what? 32 again. Or was it 31? I think that was it. Yes, because she's the same age as Sloan and Shaun. I always forget! We had a good day for her because her friend Jennean always brings one thing: German Chocolate Cake. Amazing stuff. I didn't even need to make anything because we always know Jennean does not disappoint. Matthew loved giving Grandma her presents. I love my mom and I think she is the strongest person I know. I learn more from her every single day. FEBRUARY 18th
Sloan and Shaun turn the same age as my mom. Next year they'll be older. How does that work? I learned a long time ago not to ask!We took Sloan to lunch at Cafe Rio where Tabby met us. It was kind of crazy with a 9-month pregnant lady (Tabs), four toddlers and a lot of presents, but we had fun anyway. Especially the kids. I was going to make Sloan a cake then I remembered that her servings size would have to be that for a Barbie so I didn't think she would really care!

Shaun came over for his birthday that night since Gina couldn't do much for him either. We ate the rest of Jennean's cake and had pie since Shaun is more of a pie kind of guy (don't remember this other than this year, but you go with it right?!).

It was quite a month and I love all the members of my family, especially the grandkids and my siblings. Ammon wasn't around for any of them, but I am hoping that soon he will have a "real job" that allows him to have a "normal" schedule (which in Vegas is NOT common. I guess we'll just have to move!)

Happy Birthday!

Link-a-Bink

2011-02-01T05:01:00.000-05:00

Since before Matthew was born, I have been making binky clips for people when they have children. I finally decided that I would make a little home-based company and do them for money. It's nice because I get to do them while Matthew naps and they are so versitile and can be made in a million different ways. I'm thankful my cousin taught us how to do it! If you'd like one, they're 2 for $15!

January 2011

2011-01-31T00:44:00.001-05:00

The first Sunday of the year found Chris and Matthew matching. He also likes to make Chris's lunches for work. This was his first sandwich and he was so proud of himself.

My good friend Shawnta, a wife of Ammon's army buddy, had signed up to be a Beachbody coach at the beginning of the year and she asked me if I wanted to go and work out with Tony Horton at the Marriott in Summerlin. I knew I couldn't pass this up. Since I hadn't worked out in a while, I was SO SORE the next few days. It was a blast getting to see him in person (and meet him and get my book signed) but better to work out with him. He's EXACTLY the same in person as he is in P90X. I LOVED it.

The rarity of Matthew falling asleep in places other than his bed is even more erratic than snow in Las Vegas. This winter day had found the weather un-typically cold outside and he crawled up on the couch and put the pillow over his face and fell asleep. (Feet crossed of course!) Cody came into town with his parents and we decided to go to dinner. Macayo's it was. I hadn't been there in a while and I had forgotten how good it was. It's always good to see Cody and Dennis and Janice; we just wish it was for a reason other than her having to make a trip down here to see a doctor.

Since Las Vegas's fall does NOT come during the traditional autumn season, we got to take advantage of our leaves late in January. It's a sad day when we can wear short sleeves when the rest of the country is carving sculptures in the deep ice found on their windshields every morning and literally trekking to school 5 miles uphill (in the snow). We enjoyed it nonetheless, and especially Matthew, my mom and Brooklyn. Matthew got to take advantage of his new tractor from Grandma Moya and had to do it everyday afterwards.

My cake class

2011-01-30T03:59:00.003-05:00

So for Christmas, Ammon bought me the best presents. Cake decorating classes and everything that goes with it. He truly must have been inspired because he couldn't have done a better job (and I didn't even know I wanted this before I got it!). So I got to take a few hours on Tuesday and Thursday nights for two weeks to go to this decorating class. I learned a lot--about how much I thought I knew about cakes! I had always been so nervous doing "just frosting" and this class really helped me with getting over that fear. I learned about the different tips, what I am better at than I thought and ALL the many things that I need to practice. We got to make our own frosting, cupcakes and cakes, plus got to decorate all we wanted. I even met some fun ladies! Excited for all the birthdays that we have coming up!

No Ammon's name is not on here because I ran out of purple frosting (and room). I was not going to try to squeeze things in with a color that didn't "match." Yes, I'm weird. Shut up.

Thank you Ammon! You're such a good husband and a GREAT gift giver!

Amelia turns 7 (WHAT THE?)

2011-01-16T04:09:00.000-05:00

You know where I was in 2004? A senior in high school having the best time. Especially in January. It was Sadies and softball was starting. I had a boyfriend. That was the life. Then, my brother decided to make it that much more memorable and have the first grandchild that same time. We couldn't have been more thrilled to have Amelia. Since they were living at and going to BYU at the time, I didn't get close to her until I went to the U the next year (at her first birthday), but I sure got attached to her. I will always have a special place for her in my heart no matter how old she gets (which I can't believe she is already 7. Where has time gone really?). This year, since Gina was on bedrest, it was hard for her to do anything for her so we decided to have FHE and base it around Amelia's birthday. We went to Sloan's and it was so much fun getting to see her open presents. We got her some books (Tangled and Berenstain Bears New Baby--rather appropriate huh?!) and I love watching her learn. She is so smart and talented and I couldn't imagine our family without her!

(We miss you Dad)

I made her cakes (kind of!). I just bought some and added her name and some flowers. With more time, she'll have a better cake next year when she turns 8. Can't believe it!

That's our Hello Kitty bag. Does Amelia like this? No clue. But for some reason when we were buying her present, Matthew kept telling me that "A-me-wa likes that." I wonder if she had this one time with her or wore a shirt with this and he remembered it since. Well, he just wanted to buy her that bag and I couldn't resist. Too cute!

The kids playing. Matthew always loves seeing his cousins.

Our Christmas in January

2011-01-08T02:14:00.001-05:00

Because of Ammon's work schedule, we had to go to Utah January 4-7 to exchange presents with Ammon's family. I have to say it was SUCH a nice trip. I actually really enjoy getting to go up there and getting to visit since we don't get to do it often. This trip was a blast because it was actually winter there. I didn't have a warm enough jacket for Matthew and he ended up wearing my beanie a lot to keep his head from getting so cold. I can't even explain how spoiled this only grandchild is on Ammon's side. He got a million presents and everyone just loved him. He warmed up to everyone pretty quickly and called Bill Santa. Because Bill got a remote-control helicopter like Matthew did for Christmas, he would talk about "Santa's helicopter" the whole trip. We first went all the way to West Haven to stay with Moya, Bill, Patrick and Hailey. Moya always feeds us so well and thinks of others way before she thinks of herself. We stayed in the basement and Matthew had his very own twin bed all to himself. His nap schedules were all thrown out of whack this trip, so he slept well at night. He got a big tractor that he just loved. Since he loves it outside, I knew this would come in extra handy once it got a little warmer. We got spoiled as well, (even from Kevin who we didn't even get to see). Aunt Hailey sure loved him. And he sure loved her.

Patrick even got us all a giftcard to Best Buy and Hailey got me these great long-sleeved pj's that I love. Matthew liked to watch Elf with them in the mornings.

We always love seeing Nate. Mark was living with his sister at the time so we picked him up and all went to Nate's house in Sugar House. They got us thoughtful presents including Yankees and Utes beanies, earrings, a firetruck for Matthew and Superman pj's. We got a pizza and enjoyed the company. Ammon can talk to his dad and brother for hours and hours and I love getting him to see his family. He has this different kind of love for them than he does for anyone else. Their apartment is a one-bedroom so it was small enough that we sit on the floor the whole time. We didn't mind though (especially Matthew with Nate and Hilary's two dogs).I thought I had found the perfect present for Hilary this year. I got her a bunch of I Love Lucy stuff. Not sure if it was perfect, but I sure thought so! It's always nice when you know what people like so if you got them that every time, it would be great.

(Hint: Anything Yankees would ALWAYS work for a present for me!)Matthew and Nate watching trash trucks! What a way to win Matthew's heart!Watching Santa Clause.All the Blair boys!With Hailey and Patrick.Matthew sure loved throwing snowballs (like Elf!) at Ammon. With the help of Nate, of course!

We didn't get to see Tanisha this trip unfortunately, but we did get to go see the Gilberts and their BRAND NEW HOUSE! This was one of the highlights and I was anticipating this the whole trip. It's AMAZING! I am so happy for them. They'd been in their old house since the 70s (the only house they'd ever lived in since getting married). Nick and Amanda are living there now, which is cool for them. Nick and Patti did have to leave their (our) old ward which I'm sure was hard on both parties. It was so great seeing their new house in Lehi right across the street from Jenny. We got to meet her fiance and talk a little about her upcoming wedding and Nick and Amanda even came down to visit.The Gilberts got me this amazing baseball of the old Yankee Stadium. I was SO SO excited! She knows us all so well. She got Matthew this Disney Pixar storybook that he literally looked at for three hours on the way home to Vegas and got Ammon some food (ALWAYS a safe bet!).Big Nick had this great old slot machine that was the highlight of Matthew's trip. We got to stay the night and stay up late talking to Patti. LOVED IT!No one can replace Rogue, but Seri comes in a close second. Such a good dog (but she still doesn't know how to close the door!)

Their new amazing home. It made me wonder if I would ever be in anything this nice!

(But then I remembered them and how it took them 30+ years to finally get the courage to move!)We went to breakfast at Kneaders the morning we left. AWESOME place with the best rolls. It was sad leaving and we are so grateful we got to go and got so spoiled from our family.

****(I swear I went on this trip! There was not one shot of me in any of them! That's what happens when everyone is always in need of a photographer.)****

Happy New Year 2011

2011-01-01T02:01:00.001-05:00

He got to stay up and watch fireworks. He was thrilled and so excited. Ammon was at work (of course) and didn't make as good of money as was promised. It's okay though. We're used to this by now! We missed him though. I wonder when will be the next New Year's when I can actually have a kiss at midnight!With GumMa (he's her "bestest buddy")As tradition would have it (and since this was Chris's first New Year's home from his mission), he decided to be apart of the Polar Bear Club once again. He jumps in shortly after midnight into our pool. Mind you, it was about 30 degrees out. Brooklyn joined him (real shocker here! She'd still be in if I let her. No feelings of how cold it must have been).Our New Year's toast.

Our Top Resolutions for this year:

Chelsea: Read more. See a Yankees game. Start a business or two.

Ammon: Attend the temple 52 times this year. Go Active Duty and quit the casino industry once and for all. Start a business. Go to Hawaii.

Matthew: Go to Disneyland. And New York City ("like Elf"). These were literal answers when I asked him. With no obvious knowledge of what a resolution was, I was delighted by his goals (he never heard me say these before I swear!).

Christmastime

2010-12-05T03:17:00.001-05:00

Who can deny that Christmastime is the best time of year? There isn't anything not to love. I think one of the best parts is actually the music. I LOVE CHRISTMAS MUSIC! I love the movies! I love getting to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional and going to the Stake Youth Choir concert. I love the parties! I love shopping. I love the lights. I love the smells. I love the smiles and finding the perfect gifts. I love baking and visits. I love reading a story a day until Christmas with Matthew. A moment I will remember the rest of my life? I went into Matthew's room late one night after he was sleeping and sat in the chair. His little Christmas tree was aglow. The Christmas music was softly playing overhead. I looked at him silently sleeping in his Santa pj's. It was peaceful and happy. I remember thinking how lucky I was at that moment. It was a truly joyous time and one of the tender mercies. So simple but one of those times I was so grateful for. It's that feeling that makes Christmas so magical. It is a feeling kids and adults can't ignore.

We got to see Santa this year and Chris was able to go with us.
Chris and Ammon putting on Christmas lights. One night for FHE while Ammon was at work, I decided that Matthew and I would make rice krispies treats trains. He LOVED this! He had a great time decorating and it reminded him of when he made the train at Thanksgiving with his cousins. I just love watching him!

A huge thing for us every Christmas is the movies. There are so many. What made this year so much fun was that Matthew was so much more interested than he's ever been (obviously). He immediately took to loving Elf, Santa Clause and the Grinch. He likes to quote the movies.

humongous (Elf says that)

ginormous

nervous

candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup

New York City (Elf goes there)

And Matthew loves "spaggy" because Elf does. Such a fun movie!

"I'm in big trouble. Umhmm." (We watch that part over and over and over).

He loves this too because why? The innocence of the elves and of Charlie. I literally could watch this movie everyday myself at Christmastime too. I really don't mind that Matthew could either.

Although he doesn't like this one nearly as much as the other two, he really liked this one too. Another he loved? Charlie Brown Christmas.

Black Friday 2010

2010-11-26T02:54:00.001-05:00

Who doesn't like Black Friday deals? I mean really. And I would say who doesn't love Black Friday? but I know there are plenty that DON'T. In fact, every year I wonder why I am out. This Friday was no different as I went out in the middle of the night. It was 3:15 am as I went to go pick up Shaun with my mom. We went to Target and I thought we were in good shape until I saw the line wrapped around the building. (Side note: I am a girl who likes the cold. In fact, I love it. I wore my big coat that day and I was still shivering as I ran to the back of the line. It was literally 20° out, but it really got me in the mood for Christmas!) Luckily, we all got in, got some great deals and only waited at the check out line for an hour and a half. I left to go to Gap to wait another two hours in line to buy one stinking shirt that Ammon had been wanting for months. It was half off though and really worth it when he opened it. I got plenty of other Christmas gifts that morning for the family and will be out next year doing the same thing, still wondering what my problem is! I didn't snap a picture until 6 that morning, but this really was Vegas. Can you believe it?!

The back of my car after I got home at 11 am. What a morning! Thanks to Ammon for staying at home with Matthew. Not too long after I got home, he had to leave for work. It was a VERY VERY long day since I didn't sleep the night before! Good thing Matthew always takes such good naps!

That night, I decided that I'd let Matthew open his pj's because they were Christmas ones. I wanted him to be able to wear them all season.

Isn't having a 2-year-old the best thing ever? They get so excited about everything! This is such a classic picture! He's thrilled about Christmas socks! More sliding and running. Boys are the best!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T01:21:00.000-05:00

This year for Thanksgiving, we were supposed to be in Utah. But because of some circumstances, including Ammon having to work (shocker!), we ended up staying in Vegas. Everything about Thanksgiving was just as everyone pictures it. Great food, family, pies, a parade, a [losing] game...all the wonderful things that make Thanksgiving what it is. This year in particular, I realized a few blessings:

I am so not in charge of my life. That was actually a huge blessing or realization to me. No matter how much you plan or dream for, even things you may pray for, the Lord is in charge.
Tithing is one of the greatest blessings to me. It's never been a sacrifice.
Ammon might be one of the strongest people I know. He sticks through my problems and never waivers. His testimony stays strong, he continues to lead, pick up when he's needed and all along the way, he's serves others. I love him more, especially through any trial we face together.
I am more grateful for my health, and for Ammon's and Matthew's health (and the other family members' as well) everyday. I look at my son and I really REALLY am grateful for his perfectly good health.
I am so grateful for my mom. Other than Ammon, and even more than my dad, I think she is the strongest person I know. She doesn't falter, but continues to give everything.
For Matthew. No kidding. I mean, really the only thing I could ever complain about the kid is that I get frustrated about his eating habits. That's it. He is the most reverent, knowledgeable toddler I know, or ever have known. He was potty-trained in three days and never wets the bed. He is loving, giving, helpful and my best little bud. He's aware of my bad days and hugs me throughout any stressful time. He goes everywhere with me and I couldn't love him more!

There have been so many blessings I could go on and on about. I could be on my knees for an hour a day pouring out my gratitude and it still wouldn't be enough. It's odd that when you feel like you're at your worst, you recognize the Lord even more in your life.

I was just grateful that Ammon could be here with us that day (because Thursday is his off day every week. Otherwise, he'd be in the restaurant!).Sloan and I made pies at her house on Wednesday. Pumpkin, pecan, toll house, berry and a chocolate silk. We had seven pies and not a lot of leftovers after the weekend. (Isn't that the best part?!)

Shaun, Gina and Amelia came over and we watched the parade and Ammon's game (the Lions). They, OF COURSE, lost, but tradition is tradition and Ammon will always love a losing team!
Matthew and Amelia playing outside before dinner

My mom's annual cornucopia and great hors d'oeuvres. She is the best mom ever. Really. I learn so much from her and any girl would be lucky to live with their mom after she gets married when most people live alone!
Ammon's always a good sport and the hardest worker. Hence the reason he never complains about not getting to see his family as often as he'd like. Here he is talking to them.
Chris's first Thanksgiving back. We sure love FeFe.

Matthew anxiously and patiently waiting to eat dinner.

The kids' table! (Sorry for cutting your head off there Amelia!)
The Elders were there and everything. Another Bailey tradition!
Ammon and Matthew's favorite part of dinner? The stuffing of course. Ammon wants that all the time, not just on Thanksgiving or Christmas. Just cornbread, fresh sage, green onions, chicken stock, freshly ground black pepper and salt. It really is so good and a GREAT recipe. I love being in charge of making it!
The dessert table
Zane and Ammon cleaning up. So nice!!
Sloan brought over this gingerbread train that the kids got to do after dinner. They sure had a fun time. They ate more than ever got on the train, but it was still fun for them anyway! My Grandma Elva got to come over too. It was so great having so many people there with us that day.
A family shot (minus my dad)
So after Matthew got a nap, Ammon, Shaun and Chris all decided to go to a movie. I actually really enjoyed getting to spend the rest of the evening with Matthew and my mom (everyone else was gone). Matthew had a great time too can't you tell?!
He learned how to slide that night too. I showed him one time how to do it and he would do it over and over again. A future Yankee for sure!

I got to watch It's a Wonderful Life (another tradition) as I searched for Black Friday deals too. What a great holiday!!

You are kidding.

2010-11-23T06:11:00.000-05:00

Between my visiting teaching route, my mom's visiting teaching route, Ammon's home teaching families, Chris's home teaching families and my dad's families, we have 21 families every month we're visiting! The only time this seems like a problem? When the time rolls around to make treats for all of them! Most got either sweet or salty Chex mix, but I made mini pumpkin pies for my five ladies. Good thing I really enjoy doing things like this!

Matthew discovers YouTube (on the iPhone)

2010-11-20T06:01:00.000-05:00

I was making treats around Thanksgiving time and Matthew was really bugging me to let him watch trash trucks on the "big TV." I decided that while we were waiting for things to bake, I'd use my mom or dad's phones to let him watch it on his own personal screen! He couldn't have been happier knowing he could control it. He quickly learned what buttons to push to go back, repeat, adjust the volume, pick "other ones," play, pause...you name it. I still am in awe when I see the love in his eye at such a simple thing as watching trash men stuff couches in the "green trash truck." I love this little kid so much more everyday!

Air Show

2010-11-14T05:38:00.000-05:00

Although my camera died not too long after we got there, Ammon, Matthew and I got to go to the Air Show on Nellis Air Force Base. Since we go there a few times a week anyway to see the planes, it wasn't completely a new experience, but it was a different one. We got to eat some lunch, see the planes, watch people jump, visit with vendors, walk around and use the very busy port-a-potty (that WAS a new experience for Matthew though!) Matthew was not bothered in the least by the noise (or the cost of the chicken strips)! A fun Saturday and a great tradition indeed! (I was there I promise!)

Cousins

2010-11-10T05:00:00.002-05:00

The first part of November found us spending a lot of family time together. It was nice for a change and even better for us because we didn't have to drive to Green Valley all the time. Sloan was able to come over to us most of the time. And we even got to see Shaun and Amelia. One day, the rest of the family was inside while all the children were playing in the wonderful fall weather (a very chilly 75°). The next day, I noticed Matthew could not find his trash truck anywhere. He is very protective of that, but I figured we'd just misplaced it. When Ammon went to throw to Brooklyn a few days after that and couldn't find his lacrosse stick, we thought we'd simply misplaced it too. After I noticed a few more random toys days later, I decided they had to have gone somewhere. Finally on afternoon, Matthew told me that "Gavin threw toys." I didn't know what he was talking about until he went over and stood on the rock in the backyard. I looked over and found this:

I couldn't stop laughing; it was a much-needed break from the that particularly stressful day.

Matthew, Gavin and Reese at the mall. Matthew loves to go to the mall, eat corn dogs, go on the slide and see the ice cream truck. This day was better because Gavie and Reesey got to come along.
Matthew and Amelia. He always plays so well with her. I love that they get along so well. I hope it'll be like this forever and that he'll always stick up for her years down the road.
With Reesey. Only eight months separate them and you can tell by the way they get along. He's always always loved her.
One day, with the trash men knowing of their little fan living across the street from the church, they decided to park their trash truck there until they could get it fixed; another one came for backup. I couldn't resist but to take Matthew, Gavin and Reese out to see it. They'd been waiting for it all day, thanks to Matthew, and he couldn't wait to put on his "costume." Matthew actually really loves Chris and Shaun. It sure helps when he acts like he's interested in what he is.

Gav and Matthew rolling down the grass! Matthew follows everything Gavin does. He better remember that in fifteen years when Matthew still will look up to him!

Staring inside. He was so sad when he needed to go inside.

Matthew's love for Buzz and Woody

2010-11-08T05:44:00.000-05:00

One day, Evan brought over a $5 set of Buzz and Woody that his parents found at a yard sale. They talk to each other and everything. Matthew immediately became obsessed with them and we just crossed our fingers that he'd forget about them when he woke up from his nap everyday because Evan had to take them home. Graciously, his parents let Matthew play with them and left them at our house a few times, and it was so cute to watch him carry these things around just as Andy does on Toy Story. I have to say that the movies have saved me more times than I'd like to say, although Matthew only gets to watch it once a day. He sure has loved to have borrowed toys though and really made me know what he needs to ask Santa for this year!

We meet Don Larsen

2010-11-04T05:31:00.000-04:00

Chris got some great news while reading the paper one early November morning while working at his much-loved security job. DON LARSEN WAS COMING TO TOWN. Don Larsen, the Yankee. #18. Pitcher. Perfect Game in the World Series Don Larsen. 10-8-56. I took a break from doing a lot of work for my parents, to go down to the Forum Shops. I can't even say how lucky I am to have a best friend and brother who loves the Yankees like I do. Thankfully, Chris bought a ball, had him sign and we were able to meet him. It was a great experience and we got to talk to him after the Yankees had lost...a boost for our self esteem after watching them loose!

Happy Halloween 2010!

2010-10-31T03:49:00.000-04:00

I think Halloween this year will be unforgettable for so many reasons. On the good note though, it was nice because during the day on the 30th, Ammon, Matthew and I were able to go to the pumpkin patch. We'd wanted to go all that week, but that Saturday was the first time we could get there. Even though it was SO WINDY (they'd taken down all the rides and nothing was ready to "do" except look at pumpkins), we had a good time just the three of us.

He, of course, loved all the animals. I love this picture because it shows what I see everyday. It shows Ammon being a terrific dad to Matthew. This is truly what it's like to look through my eyes.

Can't remember why he's raising his hand...has something to do with the wind no doubt!
Next, we decided to go to the Moose's House (Bass Pro Shops) for a whole Halloween activity they had for kids. Matthew got to decorate with paint, color a Charlie Brown and Snoopy Great Pumpkin picture and get lunch. I loved that day because I wanted Ammon to get to spend time with Matthew because he had to work both that night and Halloween night too.

"Brooklyn"

After Ammon left for work and a nap, Matthew got up in time to get dressed for our Trunk-or-Treating turned Room-or-Treating at the church that night. He had the best costume of the night (with no bias at all of course). I found a Waste Management patch online, copied it, and had Margaret sew it on a $4 reflective vest I found on ebay. Pair that with a bright orange shirt ($8), black gloves ($1), cargo pants ($10) and a silver spray painted ($8) mini trash can, my two-year-old was the cutest trash man I've ever seen.

It was the most perfect thing for him to collect his treats in.

My mom and dad were out of town that day, so Chris and I took on decorating our room ourselves. Chris was a Yankee; I was a security guard (thanks to each other--we wore the other's clothes).

The cultural hall was filled with the two wards who were invited.

This poor little Buzz kept getting followed around by our trash man. He would ask me to take a picture just so he could look at it.

With Gigi, the cutest little M&M I've ever seen!
Her mom was the yellow peanut M&M because she was pregnant. Such a cute idea!

All the primary children. I can't believe Matthew is considered a primary child now.

That night--coming home to "count" candy. I always remember doing that after trick-or-treating so I wanted Matthew to have similar pictures of something I did when I was young.

This really could not be a better costume for him. Obsession with dumping? NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!

Halloween Morning. With Halloween pj's on, Matthew couldn't stop talking about getting candy and being a trash man.

Matthew took "franks" to nursery and I gave my class pumpkins with full size candy bars from the night before. Luckily, my dad bought plenty before he left town so I had enough for my class.

After church, I made a pumpkin chili, cornbread and hot dog mummies like I made last year. Matthew actually liked it.

A cauldron of candy.

Camren came over that night to trick-or-treat.

Since it was Sunday, we didn't go out to trick-or-treat, but Matthew couldn't have been happier to stay at home. He had a blast giving out candy and helping my mom. He loved seeing "the kids" and throwing a candy bar at them. Like usual, my parents had a million and a half kids and parents who came a-knocking at the infamous house who gives out full size candy bars. Finally my mom decided to tell the [Mexican] adults that it was only for kids!

He spent the night dumping when he wasn't handing out candy.

After all the candy was gone, we decided to go take some treats to Margaret (and to let her see Matthew's costume). It is so nice to have them so close!

We also went over to show James, Regina and Autumn his costume too.

It was such a great Halloween for us and Matthew sure loved being a trash man. I love this age because Matthew doesn't care about it being on a Sunday or how many pieces of candy he got. He just loves spending time with Mom and Dad and getting to be what he likes to be. I don't want him to grow up this fast!

Wait, is that DS Blair?

2010-10-28T01:03:00.000-04:00

Ammon was on the official cover of the military.com's daily newsletter today! He just randomly looked it up that day and saw his picture of when we were living in Fort Knox. It brought back many memories of our time--not all wonderful, but we've found that you always think the grass is greener on the other side when it never really is. He isn't mentioned in the article, he isn't the caption, but I love the picture because it really shows what he had to do. He gets letters almost on a weekly basis from all the privates that he trained in basic training those two cycles. They all really look up to him. They will remember him forever because he had a big impact on their lives. I fully know that he learned much more than I will ever know about himself in that year too. It was a great experience for us because we learned about army life, active duty, Ammon learned how hard it is to be a drill sergeant, I learned how hard it is when you don't have a husband, almost never, and we learned that we can do it. This is the link to the article, although it really is irrelevant to Ammon!

www.military.com/news/article/army-basic-tries-to-issue-brains-with-rifles.html

Carving Pumpkins

2010-10-27T03:37:00.000-04:00

One of the best things about Halloween is getting to do everything that goes with it. Ammon and I both love to carve pumpkins and since he couldn't do much of anything Halloween-related last year with us, we had fun getting to do more together. Matthew loves the fall time because he gets to see pumpkins everywhere. When we got to the store, he wanted to ride in the cart with the pumpkin. He was so excited to pick out his own. We got home and he wasn't quite sure of the seeds or the the feel, but he had fun watching us do it nonetheless.

Matthew also got an obsession with skeletons this season. When my mom was putting out decorations earlier in the month, he picked up this skull. I didn't want him to be afraid since he had a rather sinister laugh going on so I told him he was funny. He asked me who is was and I told him his name was Frank. Months later, he still calls them that. He wanted his pumpkin to turn into Frank that day!

Horse movie

2010-10-24T03:00:00.000-04:00

A few days after my birthday, Ammon, Chris and I all went to see Secretariat. We ended up seeing in at the theatre on the strip, paid a ridiculous price, paid an even more ridiculous price to park in a city that never charges and ended up paying more for my water than any meal I'd had that week. Good thing it was worth it. In fact, WE LOVED IT! We loved it so much that we all came home late that night and had to look up more information on him, see his stats and research all about horse racing. We realized how much all three of us wanted to own horses one day. It'd been a dream of all of ours for years, but this made it set in stone as a goal to achieve.

We knew my dad would be leaving on more legal business the last part of October so I told my mom and dad that they should go see it before he had to leave. And as wonderful of grandparents they are, they wanted to take Matthew. It was Saturday October 23rd. So, Matthew was able to go see "the horse mobie with Papa and Gama." If you asked him is favorite part? Eating popcorn of course. And he remembered parking in the garage there. So now, anytime we pass a garage, he thinks about the horse movie he watched with Papa and how they ate popcorn.

What good grandparents they are! And Matthew sure loves them!

Charlie Brown "kills" himself

2010-10-21T03:41:00.000-04:00

A big thing this October was Matthew's obsession with Charlie Brown. You have to understand that he does not like TV. He likes Buzz. And Woody. And sometimes Your Baby Can Read. So when we showed him It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and he liked it, it was weird. He wanted to watch it over and over and over again. Then, he started to go around and say "I kill myself." When I first heard him say it, it took me a minute to understand. I wasn't sure where he'd heard it. Then it finally clicked. Charlie Brown says "you want me to fall on my head and kill myself." They said kill about nine times that episode and after Matthew saying that about three or four times in public, I finally had to kick that habit to the curb. I told him it was a bad word. In fact, a few weeks after he realized it was "bad," I first put a half-pea-sized taste of kitchen soap on my finger and brushed in on his tongue. It wasn't long, and only one more soap fiasco, until he finally realized that he wasn't allowed to say it. I just really didn't want him going to nursery and telling Sister Casutt "I kill myself."

Baseball!

2010-10-20T02:55:00.000-04:00

I know I've said it before, but there really is nothing better than raising a son! They are just so much fun! And the best part is that you really have all the control on how much they can like things or what they like. For example. If you really hate the idea of the Teletubbies, then you really wouldn't play it nineteen times a day. Actually you wouldn't play it at all. If you hate the thought of Barney, anything on Nickelodeon, most things on Disney channel and you're WAYYY over PBS, the way to keep your kid from NOT liking it is by NOT showing it to them! What a concept! BUT. Then there's baseball. When the kid sees it on all the time, hears you talk about it, feels your passion, at this age (2), he will share that same zeal until he grows up to realize it on his own.

Here are some shots of baseball games in our house this year. Not all of course, but it is such a fun time because you really get to know a person when you watch sports. You get to see if they're a sore loser (which to be honest, if you really like any team, it's obviously hard to not be sometimes--especially playoffs), their knowledge, you can learn their dreams and aspirations and their likes and dislikes. I love to watch it with my family because I think it's a way to grow closer. Ammon wasn't here on most nights, which I'm sure he was grateful for, but we had fun until the Yankees lost to the Rangers.

Happy 55th Pops!

2010-10-18T03:08:00.000-04:00

There are so many good things I could say about my dad. He is the most spiritual, most influential, most trusting, most giving and the most forgiving person I know. He has taught me everything there is to know about the gospel. If I have any testimony now, it's because he and my mom taught me from a toddler's age about what I should know. He taught me that paying tithing comes first. It's no secret that my parents have been through many ups and downs during their 31 years of marriage. They started out poorer than I could really comprehend. Sloan and Shaun slept in a folded up bed that looked like a suitcase when they first came home from the hospital in their one bedroom condo in San Diego. My mom was just telling me not too long ago that they didn't eat much. They didn't buy cheese, didn't buy anything extra. They are such great examples of selflessness. They put their children first from day one. My mom has ALWAYS stayed home with her children no matter the money problems they had. My dad is the most influential because I can look at the dozens of young men he's worked with and know how much they love and adore him. He's trusting. He trusts ANYONE anytime anywhere. My mom and I joke about this one particular young man he was over who was just called to be the teachers' quorum advisor. Rumor had it that this 15-year-old had gotten a girl pregnant. My dad assured us that it wasn't true and listened to his boy's word right up until the day the baby was born. My dad would give the shirt off his back, every dime in his pocket then look to my mom for any extra. I can't name or even count the number of people he's given to over the years that I've even been old enough to realize what he is doing with that brand new neon (literally) that he buys for a 16-year-old. And my dad is the best person at NOT holding a grudge I know. I could tell you numerous stories of times I've seen my dad not care if someone takes advantage, not care if he's "mad" at them (my mom too!), or just have an eternal perspective on almost every situation he is in. Regardless of his faults, like his obvious oblivious nature (mankind, rather male trait I have to say) or his "give me a knife" syndrome he has every so often, he is the best guy I know. I am so glad that Matthew has such a great grandpa that can teach him and be an influence past the great dad that Ammon is.

I posted these few pictures of my dad with some young men because this has been his focus for so many years...the youth.

This year for my dad's birthday, he didn't want to go out. He didn't want to do anything but grill a steak and have his kids and grandkids there with him. Good thing because Ammon was at work and Gina is on bed rest, but other than that, the rest of us were there. The kids always have such a fun time when they get together. Matthew loves them all for different reasons. We had a fun relaxing night, despite the fact that we had to pause the game to eat dinner and visit!

Forget the food, bring on the cupcake and ice cream!

Moose's House (Bass Pro)

2010-10-16T02:43:00.001-04:00

On Ammon's days off, we like to try to do things that get us out of the house and find us in different places. I can't tell you how much Matthew has grown to like Bass Pro Shops. He just has the best time finding all the animals and thinks this black buffalo is Brooklyn. He cracks up and thinks it's hilarious that Brooklyn is on the wall! He has grown SO FOND of the moose, the lion, giraffe, fish, sharks...and it is so fun going because if we buy anything, it's a moon pie for Ammon! Such a fun [free] way to spend the day!
It's because of this place that made him grow to LOVE his book If You Give a Moose a Muffin again. Hailey had given this to Matthew for Christmas last year and he just remembered he had it again and wants me to read it nonstop. I memorized it in no time and when I'm tired at night (which is often!) and he wants story time before bed, I love when he picks this one. I can literally read it with my eyes closed and I even know when to turn the pages! Thanks Aunt Hailey for such a good investment!

Birthday Time

2010-10-14T18:20:00.000-04:00

I don't wear much else once October hits. Even if the Yankees aren't in the playoffs (like 2008 and that's like the only year!), I'm still decked out. Ammon decided that since he couldn't take me to New York, he take me to the closest thing--New York New York. That is one thing I've always loved about Ammon since before we even went out. While he was in Iraq and we would write, he would send me flowers--yellow roses, just because he would "find out" what one I type I liked best. If you can get him to put his mind to it, he really can be so creative and ties things together so nicely, especially if it's an important event! He told me to wear blue and that we'd be gone for probably five hours. After a nonchalent farewell from Matthew because he couldn't care less about us leaving him anymore, we were off. We ate New York pizza, rode the roller coaster, played games and toured the city. I walked hand-in-hand down the "streets" of New York admiring the miniature versions of my favorites across the country. I can't wait until Ammon gets to visit there. I think it's one of the best places in the world!

He has always folded his pizza for as long as I've known him!

The roller coaster was fun, especially in the front, and didn't compare to the nerves I remember from years ago the last time I went.

Then, we went to the other side of the strip to the Venetian to go to Legasse's Stadium to watch the game! WHAT A COOL PLACE!! The biggest screens and a great part about it was having other fans with us watching it too. We each got a burger, which I wasn't hungry in the least for, and got dessert that was amazing. We had such a fun day, and the Yankees won!

The Venetian and the Palazzo are gorgeous in the fall!

Sloan took me out for my birthday with her friends and I've really gotten to really appreciate all their invitations since I've gotten back from Kentucky. Kristie, Lacey, Julie, Tabby and Jessica all took me out to CPK at the District and I have a fun time when we go...probably because I never go anywhere with "friends" except Joanna (when I get to see her).

The 9th came and since Ammon has work every weekend, of course (which I can't complain--those are the best tip days), we went out that Saturday morning with Matthew. Ammon has been wanting to go to Hash House a Go Go for months because he heard the serving sizes are huge. He was right, and thank goodness. A great thing about us is that we NEVER share meals. I get one, he gets one. He scarfs his down within minutes and then eats the half of mine I couldn't. He's hilarious. In this case, he was in heaven.

My birthday flowers.

My HUGE meal with the BIGGEST hot cake I've ever even heard of!

Matthew ordered off the children's menu. Serious? This was definitely designed and created by a male, Ammon version.

He loves food. Understatement.

This is when I was done. Really.

Dumping.

Afterwards, we went to this running store and bought me some awesome new running shoes. It's a place where they film you run and then fit you to a shoe accordingly. I've been running a lot lately after I put Matthew down at night and the fastest mile I got was 5:42 minutes. Then I started doing another mile and so far, the fastest two-miler I got was 14:28 minutes. I am hoping to one day get a 13 minute two mile. After the shoes, we took Matthew to see the airplanes and go on the slide on base. We like to take him there at least once or twice a week because he loves it so much. I couldn't think of anything better than getting to spend time with Ammon and Matthew and getting to see Matthew get happy about such simple things in life!

Then it was time to open presents at home. Ammon got me a new camera since I'd lost mine somewhere and I love it! He also got me some new cookbooks, more baking things and a few Yankees shirts. He always does a good job! Joanna got me some Reese's (of course), a new hymnbook and the President Uchtdorf book. Chris got me the book by Elder Ballard about being a daughter of God. My parents gave me money and Sloan got me a great violin picture for our "new house" in Georgia (that we never moved into!)

That night after Ammon went to work, it was Stake Conference for the rest of us. My dad had to be away in California on business, so it was just my mom, Chris and me. As we were walking across the street, I told Chris that the Yankees would win that night because we were being obedient by attending stake conference instead of watching. And guess what? We beat the Twins, 3-0 for the series. All because we went. Sunday, Ammon got me a few cakes and we had a great dinner. What a good birthday week! I spent it with the people that matter most (although I didn't get to see Shaun)!

25th Birthday Dinner

2010-10-13T04:14:00.001-04:00

1985. A great year. Also a great song that always reminds me of myself when I hear it (ha). I think I came when I did because I knew I'd want to have a birthday around playoffs. This year was no different...actually it was hard on us Yankee fans. We had a World Series title to defend. Okay so they were beat out by the Rangers. We know. I don't want to hear about it. But I didn't know that at the time of course. There really is nothing like the adrenaline of watching a playoff game. Seriously. You know the feeling. Hating Joe Giradhi, screaming at A-Rod and cursing haters who say the same things as I do because they have NO right at saying anything negative...all those great things that come with MLB October. Okay, so unless you're a Yankee fan, a die hard Yankee fan, you really don't know what I'm talking about. A great thing though? MY BROTHER IS JUST LIKE ME! I didn't know how much I missed him these last two years until October hit. No one will know how hard it was last year to finally see them win the Series and with NO ONE to celebrate with--and having to scream in the street at 1 am because your husband and son were sleeping upstairs. It was great having Chris there with me almost every game to scream, yell and cheer. Another great thing? Having my parents there who say they care when I know my dad really doesn't. It was so nice having him there with me a few of the games. Yet another? Ammon and his understanding attitude. He knows. It's October. That means the Yankees and that means 3-4 hour games almost everyday. He steps up, bathes Matthew, worries about eating and never one time complains about me watching every game. He knows we probably won't have a date, probably won't do anything other than watch baseball. It's almost as good as him wanting to watch it with me. BUT I'd have to say one of the best parts is that I can finally teach Matthew all about the Yankees. A few weeks after playoffs ended and after the Giants won, we were reading scriptures and Matthew looked down at a Yankee calender he had in his room. He went off to tell me all about the Yankees. This is literally almost word-for-word of what he told me.

Matthew: "Mommy. Yankees run. Tripped."

Mom: "They tripped?"

Matt: "Tripped. Fell down. Hurt knees. Tex [Texiera]."

Mom: "Oh, Tex fell down and hurt his knees?" [When Tex hurt his hamstring sliding into first in one of the last games of the ALCS]

Matt: "Jeter hit."

Mom: "Jeter hit?"

Matt: "Yeah. Hit the ball. Jeter (screams) GOOD. Mom. Posada caught." [this one killed me! I couldn't believe he knew this one or how to say his name)

Mom: "Posada caught the ball yes. What about Cano?"

Matt: "Cano GOOD!"

Mom: "And A-Rod?"

Matt: "A-Rod BAD Mommy. A-Rod BAD."

What a proud mother moment let me tell you. So what is the point of all this? Just a little background about what October can be in my household. So when my birthday comes up, we know that the Yankees will be playing around that day. Since Ammon is off Wednesdays, we decided to go out for a family dinner on the 6th, a few days before my birthday. Originally we were going to go somewhere that didn't have a TV big enough to watch the game. We changed plans. Buffalo Wild Wings it was. Shaun, Gina and Amelia couldn't come because Gina had to go to the doctor, but everyone else came and dealt with the Yankees game. We ended up winning and hallelujah we did. I love my family and love that they are all understanding and so loving toward me. Special thanks to my parents for paying for everyone.

Grandpa loves his grandkids, especially Matthew. Not that he loves Matthew more, but since we've been back in Vegas, there's a special connection Matthew has gotten with both my mom and my dad. I am so grateful for this since I never have really had that with my grandparents, and neither has Ammon. We have great grandparents, but we've never been able to live close enough to get close to them.

Go Yankees.

October Conference!!

2010-10-06T03:16:00.000-04:00

Conference time again! It seems like time passes more quickly in between every six months. We were lucky to get to come this time since Ammon, of course, had to stay and work. But, my dad, mom, Chris and I all got to go up because Chris got off work. My dad had made reservations for the Sheraton for a steal of a deal and when we arrived, they had messed up our room. So, they gave us this great suite with a bathtub in the room and a connecting room where everyone could have their own bed. It was a great roomy area for a kid who had to stay and "watch" four sessions of conference!

So many sleeping-in-the-car-pictures

"Big bath" he'd call it.

I wonder who'd been playing here. How weird!

Our seating area. My mom and dad's bed was in the one side of the room and we watched it mostly on this TV. Scratch that. We had three TVs all watching the same thing!

My dad got to watch some of it on his computer too.

Has always loved playing on beds.

Saturday morning we ordered room service and ate our breakfast watching conference. Matthew loved LOVED to lead the music. It's funny because I remember Amelia always loving to do the same thing when she was younger at conference. Every time they sang, which is a ton obviously, Matthew loved to lead.

That night, we met Joanna and went to Gateway. Years back I remember going to the ZCMI Center and to Crossroads, buying a Berenstain Bears book through the crowds at Deseret Book, seeing my mom get a rose for "Ladies' Night," meeting the Ponds and Yarbroughs to go to the Lion House to eat. It's similar now, but so different. We don't buy a lot, if anything the night while all the guys are the Priesthood session, and hardly none of the "kids" come to dinner anymore. The Yarbroughs come alone a lot of the time and the Ponds have children all over the country so not all of them can come either. Shaun and Sloan hardly ever come at all, so it is nice to know that Chris and I have gone has much as possible. I figured I've only missed about four or five times my whole life. It is so nice to get to have this wonderful tradition in our family and I love that Joanna has picked up on it too. It is great getting to see her everytime I go up there! And Matthew loves her too.

Chris, Joanna, Matt and I eating at our traditional table.

All the grown-ups. I think it is SO cool thinking they were all on a mission together. My mom and dad got to go to President Merrill's 90th birthday this summer and I can be a witness to say that he was a great mission president. It says something if your dad is STILL talking and remembering things his mission president says all those thirty years ago. He had some good missionaries in the Houston mission and I'm glad that my dad has continued seeing Jeff and Tally.

My blond child

My best friend forever. So cliche, but so true. Love Joanna more than she knows.

It was so cool because Jared Pond drove ALL THE WAY from Texas for this conference. Their little girl was about nine months younger than Matthew and he just loved her. He would hug and kiss her and we figured they could continue the tradition years down the road!

Our great room.

Leading the music more on Sunday morning.

By the way, how great was the Sunday morning session? And how great is President Packer?! I really gained a strong testimony of President Monson this conference and I really needed that. I am so grateful for a prophet that can lead our church. And I always love Elder Bednar's talks.

In between Sunday sessions, my dad got a bath going for Matthew and he absolutely loved it!

I've never even been in a tub this big.

We packed up and while we got our things ready, Matthew waited at the door with his suitcase wondering why we took so long. We got home pretty late Sunday after eating at Chuck-a-Rama in Provo, but I have to say it was a great trip and I love getting to go and feel of the conference spirit. I get a reassurance of my testimony every six months.

Gavin is 3?!

2010-09-26T21:21:00.000-04:00

I really remember pretty much every detail about Gavin being born. He was really one of the cutest newborns I'd ever seen. I really can't believe that it was three years ago. Sloan had a great party for all of our family and the Hadfields. Since it was at the park, all the kids got to play outside and the weather was just great. September is a good time for birthdays when you're a kid because you can have so many options outside. Everyone was there except for Ammon (working) and GG (even we missed her!) and it was a lot of fun seeing everyone and getting to see Gavin's face when he opened all his presents. AND, since he's obsessed with Thomas the Train, Ammon, Matthew and I got him a new Wooden Railway Percy (there is a difference in the different trains, thanks for teaching me that Gav!) and a Thomas toothbrush that played the song and a whole bunch of other Thomas goodies all wrapped in Thomas wrapping paper. I have to say I thought it was cooler than Gavin ever would appreciate! The party was fun, the food was good and the cakes looked great. Sloan came over the day before and we made his cake. I still love doing cakes.

I got to [handcut] all the letters and stars. You would think that I would get a life and not do that since they have cookie cutters for that type of thing. But, I actually really really enjoy doing that. The cake turned out really good though I thought.

Sloan made these with some great frosting. Rings were on top.

Some of the kiddies.

It was so sweet because Shaun, Gina and Amelia got Gavin a Buzz and Woody and they brought Matthew a Buzz too. Now everytime he plays with it, he says, "Gina gave you that." He played with it the rest of the night. That was so nice of them. Who says it has to be your birthday to get fun things?!

The Thomas pinata. So much fun and a big hit!

Matthew goes to heaven [aka THE DUMP]

2010-09-25T04:37:00.000-04:00

After dinner at Texas Station, my dad took a slight detour home. He decided to do something that no one else would and take a self-guided tour of the dump after hours amidst the DO NOT ENTER signs. My poor son was so enthralled, he couldn't speak. He had never seen so many trash trucks in one place, let alone knew a place like this existed. He couldn't stop talking about it. I have to admit, I thought it was pretty neat seeing that many trash trucks all together, completely lined up in a row because I got to see how happy Matthew became. He hasn't stopped talking about it since. Really. He wants me to tell him the trash truck/trash men/dump story every single night before I put him in bed. (The made-up tale is a simple yet genius story that always, ALWAYS ends with the trash men telling Matthew to be a good boy and listen to his mommy and daddy so he can help them the next time it's trash day!) His obsession only grows with the brilliant way of getting YouTube on my parents' new TV which allows him to really watch the "trash trucks dump" anytime he asks. He's even met a few other little boys exactly like him. Really. Check them out. Matthew can tell you all about Griffin who sits on the curb to wait for the trash men and Parker who likes to take the trash out then grows to show off his own collection of front, side and rear loaders.

He is obsessed with Grandpa and Grandpa gives him his way, um ALWAYS. What an example of pure love (my dad, that is. I mean come on. What grown person, male or female, really just likes taking the trash to the curb even when the cans are empty? Or how about just simply going outside to look at them. Maybe dumping back and forth? None. My dad does it with him though!)

One day when he owns his own fleet and has enough money so that he doesn't have to have a route but does it simply because he loves it, this will be a great picture to have inside his very own BIG TRASH TRUCK.

Never ever EVER thought I'd really be posing in front of a trash truck. Have to admit.

Gina turns 30

2010-09-25T04:02:00.003-04:00

We had a special treat this year when Gina turned 30. My parents like to take the family out to dinner when someone has a birthday and it seems like we can never get people together at the same time. Ammon's always working, Chris is usually, Zane always has something else, Gina's sick, Shaun's busy, yadiyadiya. This night, everyone but Ammon and Zane were there. We were so excited though because we found out that Gina was pregnant! After almost six years of trying to have another baby, we were so happy to hear the news! Shaun is so thrilled and keeps the ultrasound picture on his wallpaper and even though Gina has been a little sick, we are so excited for her because that means she is finally having another baby!

We went to dinner at Texas Station and when we got there, our waiter informed us that Shaun's boss had completely comped the entire meal. I couldn't believe it. We had a great Italian dinner while eating almost completely in peace. Only a few other people were in and out of the restaurant the whole time. Thank you Shaun for working at Stations (that and getting cheap[er] movie tickets gives even us, his siblings, the perks) and Happy Birthday to Gina and Gavie!

Adorable even with a messy face.

Just proof that my mom actually was there since she is the most anti-picture-taking-person you'll ever meet.

Everyone loved the food, especially the kids.

Matthew's favorite? The dessert of course. This kid has the biggest sweet tooth of any 2-year-old I've ever known (other than me, my mom says).

No Ammon. :( Free food and no Ammon is criminal.

Chris and his blonde neice and nephew.

The kids always have so much fun together.

Fall means...

2010-09-21T04:56:00.000-04:00

...doing things like raking leaves, wearing sweaters and drinking apple cider. But since we live in Vegas where fall means nothing really ever changes at all, we have to do other things that make it seem like the season actually transitioned. My mom and dad have a great apple tree in their backyard that I remember always picking with Chris when we were young. We had the best time in our yard out back and I love that Matthew gets to be outside all day long, rain or shine, freaking hot or still too hot even when we have a "cold spell." He had a great time getting all the apples and putting them in his shopping cart. Maybe when Christmas hits and we can finally play in the leaves, he'll like fall that much more. But for now, he's enjoying all the benefits the new season can bring (including apple pie in a bag).

Gotta love the Army

2010-09-18T22:39:00.000-04:00

There are things I should blog about. Ammon's days off, how I lost my camera somewhere and can't get my 900 pictures off of it, my feelings on 9/11 and the total and complete opposite feeling I get nine years after it happened, random facts that make us who we are, birthdays, family, oh, and what a joy it is to be a mother. It seems like the past month has been the biggest roller coaster ride we (Ammon included) have ever been on, emotionally and mentally.

I think the word to sum up August and September is FRUSTRATION. I don't think I ever understood that word until I became a mother. Scratch that. Until I got married. Since then, I've felt it many times. When you first get married wondering what the heck he just did that for, after Matthew was born and I was so tired I couldn't walk and unfortunately, with a lovely, great, very organized association we've (Ammon) dealt with now for almost eleven years. (please sense the sarcasm!)

I've talked about it before and how being in the military has its definite perks and its obvious hindrances. Usually, as Reservists or with being in the National Guard, we don't deal much with paperwork (or loss thereof), people or "active duty," or whatever that may entail. That is what makes a person want to be in the Reserves I guess. We have had more lost paperwork than anyone I have ever heard of. We are owed more money than a lot of people get in a month. And we are whipped and tossed around like we are dolls, uneducated ones who must not have any life, much less employers or landlords.

The beginning of August, we got news that we wouldn't be moving anywhere [out of Nevada] for the time being. Ammon had started to do real estate and we thought we had a good system going. We looked for days for houses and ended up finding a great little house in an awesome neighborhood in Summerlin, only about thirty seconds to the freeway and about five minutes to Ammon's new "job" working with foreclosed homes. We paid money, signed paperwork and set the move-in date for September 1st, after Ed Week, to give us time to move in. I was so excited! Ammon was excited. The house was so cute and had GRASS in the backyard. Can you believe it? A house in Vegas with grass in the front and backyards? Unheard of. I told everyone. Church, friends, family.

Then, a few days before we left for Utah, Ammon's job became halted. Okay, completely put off. The company was going through legal issues themselves and so all of Ammon's hopes in making money there ended. We figured we still liked the house though and felt great about the move, and since Ammon would have much more time to spend with us, I liked the idea. (He would literally leave at 9 am everyday to go across town to Summerlin, stay there until 4 pm when he'd have to leave to go to the Wynn for his shift at the restaurant. He'd get home at 2 am and start it all over again seven hours later.)

We left for Utah and that Tuesday, Ammon called me to tell me the update. He'd gotten an email and phone call that we were supposed to be in Fort Benning, Georgia by September 1st for an Operations NCO for the Manueuver Center of Excellence there. I was in class when he got the call and I have to say I was quite surprised. Ammon was elated though so it made me realize it'd be okay and that even though we weren't crazy about going to Kentucky, it didn't take us long to like it and we ended up being sad to leave. We mentally got prepared to leave since there wasn't much for me to do with being out of town. Ammon called the man who owned the house right away and told him we couldn't meet him the next day to pay him the rest of the security deposit and apologized that we (the Army) had screwed him over. Ammon told his job and within two days, by Thursday the 19th, guess what, things changed. The guy in Benning told him that because of paperwork and active duty changes, they were changing our report date from September 1st to November 1st. Needless to say, Ammon wasn't thrilled to have to tell his job or return to work at all for that matter, but we realized at least we were going, getting more money at this job, and that we'd live in a house with even more grass in the backyard.

We were set. We were leaving. We told more people. At church, we told people that we were still leaving, a little later than originally planned, and much much farther than originally thought. I got a little excited looking at homes and finding out more information about Phenix City (yes, pronounced like Pheonix), Alabama and Columbus, Georgia. We had prices for homes, moving trucks and plane tickets for my mom and Matthew.

September 3rd came and while Ammon was at work, they informed him that due to funding, Ammon and twelve others whom they also ripped apart to and fro, were no longer offered the jobs and that we were no longer leaving. Ammon was devastated. I don't think hate is a word to describe his feelings of working at the Wynn. He had seriously prepared everything to go and his job was surprisingly okay with it. (Side note: I know we are SO blessed to have a home where we don't have to inform landlords, sell with a realtor or pay extra fees like those other eleven people who also had this "very important but obviously not important enough for the army to afford it" job. I will never know how to pay my parents back for their hospitality, generosity, love, kindness and open arms. Everyone of those eleven other families would be so lucky. Also, I thank Heavenly Father numerous times a day for the job Ammon hates so much.) So, there we were, back to square one.

Tuesday the 7th came and Ammon got an email. Another one. "Um, SSG Blair, you've had an assignment in Fort Benning, GA since July 30th and we've never heard from you. Wondering when you're going to sign paperwork to work at the Warrior Transition Unit for two to three years?" YOU'RE KIDDING. Seriously. But, another relief for Ammon and I must admit myself. We'd already prepared ourselves to move, although not physically, but prepared nonetheless. So, the report date this time was October 1st. Okay, cool. This one seemed a lot more promising and it made us understand why we felt like we were still to move to Georgia even after we heard about us not having to go anymore. So, off we went to prepare some more and tell more people. (I've since learned NOT to tell a single soul any of our "plans." They'll change the next day and you'll seem that much more unorganized and that much more of a loser since you're in the same place what seems like every year!)

Three weeks before the job was to start, still no orders. Okay. Well, things might still look up. A few days later, still nothing. How were we really supposed to give a job two weeks notice without military orders? After many phone calls, including a few to the Utah governor's office, and after a deleted job meaning we'd have to get approval from the dozen signatures he needed again, we tried to stay patient through it all.

I hadn't packed much (okay, practically nothing) by the time we got to the countdown day 14. I've also learned through all this not to count your chickens before they hatch. I think I asked Ammon three or four dozen times if this was really going to happen. He always assured me that this was real and that this job hand picked him out of all these other people. Again, sounded promising I have to admit. Two weeks before we were set to pull out of town, still no orders, still no word. Ammon had given the Wynn a letter terminating his employment as of Saturday the 18th. Finally on the 14th, after a few more [slightly angry] phone calls to the state of Utah, they told us we WERE NOT GOING. The Utah National Guard said that since Ammon is in an 88N slot, they had no one to replace him when he left and that he'd have to go get MOS qualified for it before they were to give him a Tag Release. (In lamans terms, they weren't letting him go because they "claimed" he wasn't qualified and they were too lazy to get someone else to fill the slot.)

Fortunately, the Wynn has let him work since and even more fortunately, we still have a place to live, unlike others who don't have wonderful parents to live with.

So, life right now is in limbo as if there is anyone who wouldn't be able to tell. I have to say I can look at the past seven months and both count my blessings and feel [very] sorry for myself. Number one reason is my family. I know that people have this humane sense that others think of them way more than they do. It's hard for me NOT to think that people look at me and silently say "Look at Chelsea, almost 25, living at home, with a husband and kid. Can't those people pay their own bills and get their own home?" Now, I don't have any idea what people think, and most days, I have to remind myself that I shouldn't care, and most days, I don't. I've had my ups and downs of course, but I also have to remind myself that there is not one person who really understands our situation unless you've been there. I'm part of a military wives email group and there are so many of us in similar situations. Is it ideal? Of course not. Would I really PICK living with my mom and dad and not having my own home, even if that meant that I had to pay my own rent? Not at all. But, on the other hand, I feel SO lucky. I think that Heavenly Father really looks out for his military families. I feel we are one of them. On days where I really want my own home and really wish that I could be "normal," I go downstairs and see Matthew's relationship with my mom and dad. I see him light up when they come in the room and when "PAPA" takes him to the trash and when "GA" plays with him constantly. I couldn't ask for a better situation, really. I know it's not easy for them, but I also know that it makes me think they are some of the best people in the entire world. I hope one day that if Matthew ever has to live with me when he's older and if he decides to serve his country like Ammon has, that he will feel half as appreciative as I do for my parents. Everyday I hope for a better situation. Everyday I think about what I could do in my own home. But everyday I also look at how lucky I am to have a home in the first place.

I've always remembered a quote I heard in primary for the first time. "I never said it would be easy, I just said it would be worth it." Thank goodness for the gospel and the Atonement so I can be reassured, one day, it'll be worth it.

A bigger FHE

2010-09-14T01:06:00.003-04:00

Every year in September, my mom's cousin Tina comes to town with her husband Jeff for a conference his work holds at the MGM. We have been able to get together with them the last few years and since I missed it last year, it was nice to get to see them this time. They are always so nice to us, and since Jeff had his experience with the military, he and Ammon were able to talk and compare crazy stories about drill sergeants. We had my dad's favorite, steak of course, and all the things to go along with it. What made it nice this time was that we had my uncle James and Regina come over and it was weird for us to be around my mom's side of the family instead of my dad's. That is one thing about my mom that we don't know too well. We don't and haven't gotten to see and get to know her family like we have my dad's side. This was a nice night and Matthew always loves to get to see new people who give him more attention. Plus, he loves to play with his cousins.

(again, lost camera, so borrowed pictures. They acctually came again a few nights later and we got to talk some more since neither Chris or Ammon could be there for this FHE. Another night of work for both of them.)

James, Tina and my mom

James, Gina, me, Matthew, Shaun, Amelia, Tina, Jeff

Fun Facts About Us

2010-09-09T02:42:00.006-04:00

Actual answers when asked the following questions:

FAVE CHILDHOOD BAND

C: Backstreet of course!
A: Michael Jackson

FAVE TV SHOW

C: Bachelor, Chopped
A: King of Queens

CRAZIEST SCAR

C: On my left knee, I have a scar from a license plate on my 2nd birthday party at McDonald's when I was walking too close to someone's parked car
A: Scar on my knee from surgery on mission

WORST DATING EXPERIENCE

C: When [one] said he wanted to marry me on the first date and as soon as I was ready.
A: When the girl wanted to stay at the dance the whole time, so I danced for three hours straight and they went to Trading Table for dinner.

FUNNEST PRANKS

C: My junior year, Joanna and I "decorated" Kameron Hymer's truck in the middle of the night dressed in dark with hats and black paint and everything!
A: When I scared my stepmom so bad that I made her cry

FAVE FOODS

C: Mexican, ice cream, pizza
A: Triple Whopper with cheese

WE'VE NEVER

C: Seen a Red Sox/Yankees game
A: Skydived

PEP PEEVES

C: wet towels left on the bed, unsorted laundry, picking things for dinner, THE ARMY
A: a big one is when I [Chelsea] give him the silent treatment, being late

MISSIONS

C: Belgium Brussels 2006-2008 (Okay, I'd like to say I went on one, but sadly, no past mission for me. Just looking forward to the future!)
A: Singapore Mission 2001-2003

PHOBIAS

C: anything that crawls that isn't a baby, Obama
A: heights

WE WANT TO BE BETTER AT

C: patience
A: swimming

THINGS WE WANT TO TRY

C: running a marathon,
A: skydiving

MOST DESIRED PLACE TO VACATION

C: (already been to and want to return) Hawaii and New York City (never been to) Australia, Jerusalem and Tahiti
A: Hawaii

FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR

C: Fall because...World Series, conference, my birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, the smells, the things you can cook, the colors [when you're in a place that changes seasons that is]
A: summer, I love the heat

FUN THINGS IN 2010

Move from Kentucky, Disneyland, San Diego, Matthew's 2nd birthday, Education Week, BSB, Nick's, Nate's, and Jeff's weddings, and much more to come!

On Ammon's days off...

2010-09-04T22:02:00.004-04:00

Ammon gets a few days off a week like most people. It's just that they aren't the normal days that most people get off. We have been dealing with him working sucky hours now for so long though, so that we have gotten so great at adapting to weird schedules. It has been so nice for us to get to go on dates again, but mostly that we get to spend some great times as a family doing things during the day. One of my favorite things to do was when we went to the batting cages. (*note: I had so many other cute pictures from this day, but since then, I have lost my camera and all 900 pictures that were on it. A sad, sad, sad thing). Matthew had a really fun time gathering all the balls and surprisingly enough, I did so well! I hit more balls than Ammon at a faster speed than Ammon. Pretty good if I do say so myself.

Matthew loves his dad and dog. It is so cute what a good relationship Brooklyn and Matthew have. I love it. "Hi Brooklyn. Hi Sweet-heart. Sweet. Heart. Hug her. Kiss." He goes around saying that and sits on her, stands on her, pulls her and they run together outside. When Matthew pushes the cart or goes to grab his car, Brooklyn gets her ball and they run back and forth. Matthew thinks it's hysterical.

Education Week 2010

2010-08-29T22:39:00.009-04:00

I honestly think there are only two bad things about Education Week. Out of the entire week, only two bad things. Number one, Ammon's birthday always falls sometime during the week and number two? I can't go to more classes. With Matthew with me in Utah, there isn't any way for me to go to as many classes as I'd like. I have grown to LOVE Ed Week so much. This year was my 11th year. It makes me feel so old. What makes it so great is that there are classes to fit every stage of life. I went every year as a teenager and I loved the youth classes. I went when I was in college. There were some for that. There are some for newlyweds and for new parents plus all the amazing gospel-oriented topics you can learn about. This year, my mom, Sloan, Gav, Reese, Matt and I loaded up in the beast and and left Monday morning as usual, stopping in Cove Fort for the kids to eat and, since this was the first time they had been on a trip and were potty-trained, they got to use the potty.
I wasn't sure how it would be for the two boys, but they both traveled so well. We only stopped on the side of the road once! We stayed at the Joseph's house, right across the street from the Provo temple and the MTC and right down the road from BYU. We couldn't ask for a better place to stay. Bishop and Jean are some of the nicest people and I am so grateful for their hospitality. This was our third time staying there for Ed Week and I think it's the most perfect place for us, even with our children. They were nice enough to put up with our kids being there during the day while we went to class and they've even done so much to the house since the last time we went there. We arrived Monday afternoon, unloaded our vanful of stuff, let the kids play for a minute then left to go to Ikea. I got some great deals on some furniture and we even ate dinner there. Man, what a great place!

Places we ate during Ed Week

Monday: Ikea
Tuesday: Macaroni Grill
Wednesday: Texas Road House
Thursday: Red Robin
Friday: Cracker Barrel

About a month before we left, we asked Sister Joseph the names of a few girls in their ward who would be able, and willing, to babysit the kids while we went to class every afternoon. We were able to get them all day Tuesday so we could go to devotional by Elder Steven Snow of the Presidency of the Seventy. I would love to write down on our blog all the inspirational things I heard that week. Elder Snow talked about how important it was for us to participate and come prepared to meetings because that is how the spirit talks best to us. I found that very comforting because I am one to NEVER comment in Relief Society (even though I haven't been in there in a very long time) and I don't say much when I am in class either. He also told a really cute story about when he took his sons camping when they were just young boys. He lost his son one long day after no luck and no fish. He came back telling his dad that he went to pray that he'd catch a fish and told Heavenly Father that if he did catch one, he'd never do drugs (he was five)! His dad (Elder Snow) told his son that Heavenly Father probably didn't care if they caught fish that day. Well, hours passed, but at the end of the day, they caught one fish. And it was that same son who had prayed for that. That story was great because it really made me think how important it is to teach our children the gospel. I hope one day that Matthew will have enough faith to pray for even the simple things.

Teachers I really liked this year

Randal Wright
Margaret Pickard
Merilee Boyack
Brad Wilcox
S. Michael Wilcox

BYU Campus is so pretty
(I'm still a Ute at heart though!)

Tuesday night's dinner at Macaroni Grill. I haven't been there in so long and I have to say, I love their bread. Matthew had some "bathroom problems" that night, so I was literally in and out of the bathroom 16 times. There are so many good things about being a mom, that night and the bathroom breaks just wasn't one of them.

Grandma and her two grandsons. They both LOVE LOVE LOVE her.

A highlight of our time there was that we were able to take the kids to the Wilkinson Center to eat lunch with us on Wednesday because we didn't have the babysitters until 1:00 that day. I LOVE THE WILKINSON CENTER and the Bookstore. I could stay in the Bookstore for hours and hours. The whole feel of Education Week makes it. It's not just the classes, or the different restaurants every night, but just being in the Wilk with the thousands of other people going for the same reasons you are makes the entire experience. I have already made it a priority that I'll be going every year, even if Ammon's birthday is smack dab in the middle. (I don't think it's selfish because I'm going to better my family and I'll justify that one until the day I die!)

Last year was a little different in the fact that we went to meet my mom for lunch everyday. We only brought the kids once this time, but it was that much better because that meant we were there by ourselves everyday!

My mom's favorite teacher, by a million miles, is Randal Wright. She's been going to him for two decades. She always tells us we were raised by what he taught at Ed Week. I first went to see him my second year when it was just my mom and me. We found out some great news this year too. Next year, he'll be teaching his parenting classes again! It is perfect for us who were raised by him to raise our children now.

Last October while we were in Kentucky, my mom had Randal Wright come to her stake and speak in a fireside and he was able to eat at my parents' house and meet my family. That was a great experience for them and I wish I could've been here to hear him. What did I learn from him this year? "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." That is a huge thing for him. That is hard for me actually. I take after my mother. I could seriously be dead tired during the day and still stay up until 3 am, no sweat. I have really tried to be better since coming home and I actually notice a big difference. I get a lot more done, feel better rested and much more patient and calm if I go to bed earlier.

So, a big complaint that most people have about Ed Week is the parking. That used to matter to us, but this year, NO MORE! Sloan and I have come up with a remarkable plan on how to park and how to park at the Wilkinson Center, no less. Since we drove the beast this year, it was not easy to park and we had to help the other person park almost like we were missionaries. First, we'd drive to the walkway where everyone would come to get to their cars. We'd ask them where they were parked, and one of us would get out and walk with them to their car so we could stand in the spot until the other got there with the van. It was a fabulous system and it never took us longer than three minutes to find a spot!

People I saw this year at Ed Week

Tabby
Kenzi, Joni and Becci
Blake's mom, Heather Fronk
(she actually approached me telling me how I looked familiar. It was good seeing her again though)
The Josephs
Joanna
Mom
Sloan
Micki (although I never got to talk to her)

I love seeing people I know actually. Normally, I don't. I'm unfortunately not the type who likes to run into people at the grocery store or see people at the car wash. But, while at BYU, I don't mind. Probably because I know they're there doing the exact same thing I am, and for some reason, no negative feelings exist while attending Ed Week.

Wednesday night's dinner at Texas Road House where Cody met us in Lehi. It is ALWAYS good to see Cody. I think you know someone is a real friend of yours if you don't see them for a long time and you can still talk to them like you never left each other at all. Cody is one of them. He is one of the most hilarious people you'll know and I think about our memories together often. I will never forget what a great person he really is.

After dinner that night, we ran into the store and Sloan told Gavin to count to five and we'd be out. Well, obviously, we weren't out in five seconds and when we got back in the van, he told us that when we got home, we were to go to time out. He held us to it, and made us stay there. Needless to say, we were sad.

Loves to say CHEESE and immediately see the picture right after. (Children now and their instant gratification!)

No bathtub at the Joseph's so the kids had to take showers. They actually really liked it!

Thursday we went to Wilk and I had to get a Jamba Juice in memory of Chris. Chris always got one everyday when we would go and I never get one other than a few times a year. We ate in between classes on the days we were there and my mom gets Taco Bell everyday.

Things I have to get to eat every year
Jamba Juice
Ice cream
Brownies
Donuts
Chocolate-covered Almonds
Chocolate-covered Cinnamon Bears
(interesting fact: During Womens' Conference this year at BYU, in two days, BYU sold over 12,000 brownies. I have no idea how many they sold during the FIVE days of Ed Week, but I'm sure it had to be a ton!)

I love getting to spend so much time with Sloan. I am actually both sad and grateful that she is my only sister. Grateful because I think that she is the best sister for me. She's taught me so much. Sad because I think that if there was another one of us, we'd have that much more fun. I am so excited that Sloan is going to come to Ed Week every year too. We have so much fun together. It is just so easy having a sister that you're close to. You don't have to worry about anything. We can just go to Target and hang out, not get ready, do whatever. We had a lot of fun because we could get ready together, get the kids ready, park easily and go to most of the same classes. I can really see us in twenty years doing this exact same thing with my mom. No kids though! That's what dads are for!

Thursday was a great treat too because Joanna came down to Provo and took two days off of work. It is always good to see her. Just like Cody, I am reminded what a good friend she is. She's my best friend for a reason. I've known her since I was five. We've done everything together and I couldn't ask for a better friend. She is the most caring, patient, sweetest, most charitable person I know and I learn so much from her. She was able to stay with us that night and even though I was dead tired the next day from staying up and talking and laughing even with Matthew in the room.

Walking into Red Robin for Thursday night's dinner.

The kids love throwing coins into any fountain and this day at Provo Town Center was no different. How cute does Reese look here?!

Joanna bought Matthew this shirt for his birthday and he just so happened to wear it the day she was with us. He warmed up to her well and can now look at her picture and tell you who she is! I am excited for her to have babies (in the future) so they can play and one day get married!

The children were SO GOOD this trip. Honestly, they were. Sara and Beth, the babysitters, had nothing but good things to say about them. I LOVE that Matthew gets to have his cousins near him. He loves them so much. He asks for them all the time. He learns everything from Gavin and does everything he does. I just hope that Gavin stays a good role model forever because I think Matthew will always look up to him. We had fun with the kids this time too because we planned out beforehand all we need to buy for them for meals and had everything prepared. We even made rice krispies treats and got them cones. Meals were no problem this time around! They also got to go play outside and watch Toy Story and Cinderella a hundred times.

Friday was a sad sad day. Why? Because it is the last day. Joanna, Sloan and I got to go to a lot of the same classes. Probably one of mine and Sloan's favorite teachers this year was Margaret Pickard. We learned a lot from her and got to buy two new books that we have already learned from. The 5 Love Languages and a Love and Logic book for children under the age of six. I have actually found that I have a lot more patience and am a lot more calm after returning. I realized, It's NOT A PROBLEM! :)

The kids, us and Sara and Beth. The kids loved them and since the are 12 and 15, we told them we'd want them next year too! They said they wouldn't mind and we want to hold them to that!

Friday night's dinner was at Cracker Barrel. That is always a fun place to go. And since the weather the whole week was so great, we had a fun time rocking and sitting outside. Another great thing we got to do was after we put the kids to bed every night, we got to stay up and talk about all the different things we learned that day. I learned so much about the Atonement this year and even more about the creation. S. Michael and Brad Wilcox are such amazing teachers and I am even more excited to see them both again.

Saturday we packed up, cleaned up and headed home. We got home in good time and even though it went by way too fast, it was a great week full of inspiration, fun and great memories!

Ammon's new calling

2010-08-22T22:04:00.001-04:00

I guess our callings in life are to teach. Both by parenthood and in church. I've been in primary since I was 19. 2005: achievement day girls in between semesters during the summer back here at home. 2006: 6-7 year-olds, 8 months while I lived here and worked. 2007: Sandy ward team teaching 9 year-olds with Ammon. 2008: Sunbeams and 12 year-olds. 2009: While in Kentucky, primary secretary. And 2010? 8 year-olds back here in Vegas. Ammon was teaching all the youth in Kentucky and they finally decided they'd use him in Elders' Quorum so he could be their teacher. I've never actually seen Ammon teach a class (because you and I both know when there's a husband-wife who team teach, it's the wife who does the actual teaching. The husband is the enforcer and stands over the kids to make sure they lsiten), I know he does a great job in there. He always wants to bring ice scupltures (he got that from RM) and "doilies," but I know that from what I hear about any Elders' Quorum he's ever talked about, anything would be better than what he's had before! All I can say is that I need to count my blessings as to why I'm a woman!

Happy 28th Ammon

2010-08-16T04:58:00.006-04:00

With Ammon's undesirable work schedule of the swing shift Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and then double shifts on Friday and Saturday, we never have a chance to go out on anything other than a Wednesday night. Since we left for Education Week on Ammon's actual birthday, we decided we'd go out and celebrate the Wednesday before. I always love going out on dates. We got so out of the habit while living in Kentucky, I almost forgot how nice it was to be with just Ammon. We have been so spoiled having my parents be so willing to watch Matthew whenever we need and this night was no different. I wanted to take Ammon to a place I knew he'd like and since we are both burger people, Burger Bar it was. I first went there with Mytae and couldn't want to go back. The best part? Ammon got filled up* on his burger and fries and didn't even want a shake or anything! I couldn't believe it.

(*filled up in Ammon's terms means the following: so stuffed that he couldn't possibly even eat my final two bites that I couldn't eat, but then after we pay the bill and by the time we're to the car, he's hungry again. I'm really not kidding. Even after leaving a buffet, you can count on Ammon to be hungry and want food by the time he gets home. Something you'll always find him doing? Opening the fridge and staring. A must, especially if he just got home from work at 2 am.)

I like to take pictures of people's grammar and spelling mistakes on these so-called professionally made signs. I always wonder if these companies who make these things notice these egregious errors and choose to skip over them to make the person they're making it for look completely uneducated and stupid. Or maybe they don't see them themselves. If that's the case, then maybe I should go get myself a job! This is the same reason I can't stand watching movies with subtitles. My brain instantly finds these mistakes and looks for them. I LOVE finding them. I do that in anything I read. You really wouldn't believe how many there actually are, especially in official publications or bulletins at church.

(Dumb as it is, Frid should not be there. And if you do want Frid, then it should be Satu, and that just sounds ridiculous.)

We got to go to an MMA shop at the Luxor, another of Ammon's favorite things to do. Maybe one day, he'll work a normal schedule so he'll be able to watch UFC on the night it was meant to be watched.

We then got to go see Grown Ups at Town Square. Earlier, Ammon had been working with some guys for a real estate company here in town, and he was "forced" out and came home early that day. They had been doing some [questionable] business and so he was on the phone while I watched this billboard. You wouldn't believe what I found. WANG CHUNG EXISTS! For anyone who knows Ammon, you'll know he says this about and for everything (i.e. hand me that wang chung right there. HEY WANG CHUNG, come here. I hate this wang chung). Once when we were around Heidi, he called something that and she started laughing. She actually knew a person named Wang Chung. Too funny.

While Ammon worked the next few days, I was able to go and get him something I just knew he'd want, without really ever saying so. (When I ask him his answer? "Nothing honey. Just your love." You know that lie cause we all do it.) I got him an IPHONE! I was so excited to finally get it for him. I wrapped it up along with what Matthew picked out for him. (Does he know his dad or what?) A new shaker cup and about ten protein bars. We also got him a new BCAA drink and a new phone cover and shield, a Nike+ sensor to use with his shoes and phone, and a new arm band for the gym that fits money, an id and anything else. I also made him some S'more cupcakes all for his love of s'mores. It was a graham cracker cake on the bottom with a layer of chocolate cake, topped with a graham cracker mixture to make it crunchy. I inserted a marshmallow cream frosting into the cake and topped it with a homemade ganache, a marshmallow and more graham crackers. I had fun making them and learned what will definitely be better next time!

(Another funny story about Ammon. One of my dad's old mission buddies started a rice krispies treats packaged and sold in stores and later sold the company for millions. When Ammon found that out, he said he could do the same thing and now says he wants to "Yarbrough it" with all these simple things. He says all they did was sell rice krispies treats and so for the past two years, he has wanted to Yarbrough s'mores. Really. Ask him about it. He's passionate about the burnt marshmallow taste, the gooey chocolate and crunch of the graham cracker. He's picky too, but he thinks that there is a way for him to Yarbrough s'mores.)

We woke up Monday the 16th and I made him some spam and eggs (with toast and of course a Rockstar). He loves spam and it instantly takes him to Hawaii. The great thing? Matthew actually eats it too! He's made it for him a few times since and he'll actually eat a whole egg and three slices of spam for breakfast. If you know Matthew, him eating breakfast at all is a great thing!

He opened his presents right after since we had to get on the road to head to Utah and opened everything but the phone. I told him he could open it once I called and gave him the okay after we'd left. He didn't understand, but we said goodbye, gave hugs and kisses and we left to be gone for the week. I set up the phone with customized apps and the IZ Over the Rainbow song as the ringtone and called him as we were pulling onto Nellis with my mom, Sloan, Gav and Reese in the beast with us. It was great to hear the excitement in his voice when he finally realized what was going on and once he answered the phone. I LOVE giving gifts to people you know they'll love. There's not much of a better feeling!

We are so lucky to have Ammon as our husband and dad. He is the hardest worker I know and it's kind of scary to say or think about, but he is becoming more and more like my dad as time passes. That's good though, because I think my dad is one of the best people on the planet. Ammon works so hard and is so dedicated to serving people. I can't believe he is 28 considering I met him when he was 23! I'm excited for more birthdays and even better gifts I can surprise him with! Happy Birthday Ammon. We love you!

Nick and Amanda's Wedding

2010-08-13T22:38:00.008-04:00

So August 7th marked another wedding for us to attend. The third of the summer and the third in four weeks. All very important people for Ammon and ones we could never miss. Nick Gilbert has been Ammon's friend since 2nd grade. He and his twin sister, Heidi, were the number one reason that Ammon started going to church and why he got baptized. Big Nick and Patti have been some of our biggest supporters and since we were in their ward when we first got married, we got to see them at least once a week at church and for dinner afterward. We love the Gilberts. It was great news when we heard that Nick was getting married and because he wanted Ammon to be one of his groomsmen. But, you also know what that means. Another trip in the wee hours of the morning, just like the week before. At least we knew what to expect this time. Up 40 out of 48 hours! YAY for weddings!

Brooklyn thought she was going.

Deja vu? Oh wait. We have done this before!

There was one problem this week though. Jeff's wedding was at 2:00. Nick's? 10:00. So, no shower and no "getting ready." At least not really. We stopped by the Gilberts' while they were at the temple (cool story: David Christensen gave Nick his instruction. Patti has always loved him and so it was a sweet tender mercy for her when she realized that Nick got to talk to him) and we got to check another temple off. OQUIRRH MOUNTAIN. Gorgeous temple, but an even prettier neighborhood and great views. If I were to live in Utah, I think I'd want to live by the Oquirrh Moutain temple. It is so beautiful there and we heard that when the temple was built there, the home prices tripled!

Their sealing was just like Nick's. So nice. It was neat that Patti's deaf mom was able to be in the sealing and was able to get an interpreter for her so that Patti could hear for herself. Heidi wasn't in the temple with us, but we know she'll be next getting married!

Mr. and Mrs. Nick Gilbert!

Beautiful neighborhood.

Wedding party. Missing Jenny and Heidi!

Ammon got to see some people that he hasn't seen since high school. Mike and Shaun were some of the other groomsmen.

Ammon was best friends with Heidi for so many years. And I have grown to love her and Nick! Heidi worked for Disney for a year and is one of the best artists you'll ever meet! She graduated from Cal-Arts and did her own movie and everything.

Can you believe that Nick and Heidi are twins?!

After the sealing was the amazing luncheon put on by Mo, one of Patti's closest friends. She helped raise Nick and Heidi and saw Ammon constantly when he was growing up. She told me that she considers him one of her own and that she loves him so much. Do you know why Ammon loves her? She's Hawaiian. And proud of it. He LOVES it. He couldn't wait to go to the luncheon and eat her amazing cooking of pulled pork and all the trimmings. She's a fabulous cook and had some great entertainment arranged. Of course, Ammon was a part of it and he was hilarious to watch as he tried to dance like a true Hawaiian!

Mo.

Nick and Amanda dancing.

The reception was that night at the Olsen's house. Can I say what a great house it was?! Spencer and Mary Ann were also in our ward when we lived in Utah and they came all the way to Vegas for our sealing. We got pretty close to them in 2007. they had completely redone their whole house and it was the most perfect place for the reception. Inside was tremendous and there was so much detail put into it that it really made me wonder if Ammon and I will ever be able to buy, let alone build, our own home! There are so many possibilities and Spencer and Mary Ann have such great taste! It was so WONDERFUL to see them.

I think one of the best highlights of the whole trip was getting to see Steve and Jamie McCleary. Steve was another HUGE reason for Ammon getting active and baptized. He was his scout master, then his bishop when he went on his mission, went to Iraq, when we got married, and when we were in their ward afterward. He is now the first counselor in the stake presidency and Jamie just got put in as the Stake Relief Society President! They have four kids and we used to teach one of them when we were teachers in primary. IT WAS SOOOO GOOD TO SEE THEM and Ammon couldn't stop talking about it after we left.

Other people it was great seeing after all these years:
President and Sister Kunz (my fellow Yankees fan)
Kara Aina (we always looked at their family on an example on how to raise ours)
Andrew Mismash
Tashina (Mary Ann's daughter who joined the Navy. We love her!)
The Fairbanks
The Crapos
The Broadheads

Ammon loved getting to see everyone and I got to see him in a new light around so many people he grew up with. It was so good to see him happy and so relaxed around people he knew instead of people that know me.

At the reception, they had a great ice cream sundae bar, which was so good. Their cake tasted great! I loved their decorations and we actually didn't mind helping put up and take down. We knew that Nick would do that for us in an instant.

Congratulations Nick and Amanda. We love you guys and we are so glad we got to go and got to experience your day with you. We got asked where Matthew was two dozen times, and we had to unfortunately leave him AGAIN, but we're glad we got to go none the less. 24 hours in the car with Ammon in eight days' time. Not too shabby!

At 2...

2010-08-11T19:26:00.005-04:00

I still can't believe that Matthew has been two now for two months. It makes me so sad knowing that time flies by so fast. He went to the doctor in July and he was:

35 inches (50-75%)
27.7 lbs (25-50%)

He now:

Is in NO DIAPERS!
Wears 2T clothes
Size 6-7 shoes
is speaking so well in the last little while. He repeats everything we say, but whispers "candy" to Grandma and Grandpa because he knows I don't let him have it like they do.
Loves the color purple and will always pick the purple one over anything. He randomly asks for purple grapes on a regular basis.
Loves Toy Story and could watch the first movie twelve times a day. He spots Buzz, Rex, Woody, Slink, Hamm, Jessie...the whole gang anywhere we go.
Is obsessed with the word "scared." He says that he's scared of the robot, moose, bear, Shrek, scared when Rex growls at Woody and goes around saying that Rex scares everyone.
Can count to ten and knows a few letters.
Loves everything but food that's good for you. So, that means he goes around asking for 1.) a popsicle, 2.) an [ice cream] cone, 3.) candy, 4.) corn dogs, 5.) cake, 6.) gum, 7.) poptarts
Knows all the prophets. You point to one and he'll tell you Snow, Hinckley, Monson, Grant, etc. It amazes me at how fast he learns.
Loves to wrestle Ammon and will roll around on the ground when Ammon asks him what he wants to do, even if that means that he talking to him on the phone.
Continues to LOVE trash and wants to see them wherever we go.
He knows the way home and the way to the freeway and the exit to get corn dogs. Every Tuesday is dollar days at Hot Dog on a Stick and he knows if we pass the exit on the 95. Whenever we pass a school or park, he asks where the kids are and when we pass the temple, he gets so excited!
Has quite the temper. Squeezes, hits, screams, the whole kit-n-kaboodle. Anyone with a 2 year old knows this exact attitude.
Loves to sing songs and read stories at night. His favorite book? I'll Love you Forever and loves to sing from his Children's hymnbook.
Looks forward to nursery every week and asks two or three times during the week if he can go to church.
Has gotten to be best friends with Brooklyn. They chase each other around constantly.
Calls me Chelsea through the baby monitor and randomly says that if he can't get my attention with Mom or mama.
Knows Romanian. Really. Knows six words fluently. deents (for teeth and only asks to brush his deents, not teeth). laba (for paw, as in shake for Brooklyn). pontof (for shoes). oak (eye). pa (bye). nas (nose).
Found the great iphone apps that allows him to build his own ice cream cone and he asks for that all the time and has gotten to be a pro at unlocking Ammon's new phone and Chris's and my mom's. He knows it better than I do.
There is this app on the iphone that goes to different noises that some people may or may not hear. Chris did that to Matthew one time and now he always goes up to Chris and tells him he still hears it even when it's not even on.
Asks for things "one more time" all the time, even if it's the tenth time of doing it.
Has a southern accent on a few words, but it comes out mostly when he tells me he's "tar-d" for tired and that he wants to take a nap.
We were filling out some military paperwork and we needed his social security number. I really didn't want to get up and get it at the time so I asked Matthew what his social security number was and he simply said, "2." Too funny.
DUMPS EVERYTHING. Water in the bathtub, toys from one bucket to the next, trash from any can, laundry in one basket to another...anything that can be dumped will be "dumped." Even if something is empty, he will get the smallest piece of trash to dump it.
LOVES airplanes and helicopters and asks Ammon to go see them on base everyday.
Holds great conversations with you, can answer questions and laughs when he thinks something is funny.
His prayers: Bless Dad, Mom, Papa (Grandpa), Nd-ma (Grandma), Chris, Rookwyn, Oan (Sloan), A-in (Gavin), Eese (Reese), Ane (Zane), Aun (Shaun), Ena (Gina), E-a (Amelia), Ark (Grandpa Mark), Oya (Grandma Moya), Ha (Tanisha), I'n (Bryan), Nate, Hil-ry (Hilary), Pat, Ha-wy (Hailey) and is thankful for the food in every prayer. He is thankful for the temple, church, nursery, Jesus and the scriptures too.
Loves stickers and has completely filled up his potty chart
Cheers for the Yankees and it's the coolest thing ever!

I know there must be many more things, but with a growing age comes a lot more things to write about.

With Evan, the little boy my mom babysits.

Saying "PLEASE" to me to get some ice cream I'm sure!

There are days when I will look at Matthew when he's sleeping and know that he is the best little boy on the planet. I can't imagine life without him! Matthew, we are so blessed to have you as our son! You make us so happy!

Jeff and Kelly's Wedding

2010-08-08T22:37:00.006-04:00

Once upon a time Ammon had friends. I promise. You'd never know it now because he NEVER gets to hang out with anyone or do much of anything but work, but I promise you he has them. One of those friends is Jeff Stephens. Ammon and Jeff were best buds in high school. They got their mission calls the same time, went through the temple on the same day and Ammon did the army route while Jeff graduated from BYU and went to law school at UCLA. We haven't seen Jeff much. In fact, I didn't meet him until he came to our sealing. I saw him once when we went to Disneyland. I've only met the guy like two, three, four times, but I know so much about him. When he told us he was [finally] getting married (we tried setting him up like three times!), we knew we would be going no matter what. That "no matter what" actually wasn't as easy as we wished it could be. It would mean Ammon would have to take off work at the restaurant, lose that tip money and we'd have to drive to Utah AFTER he got off work Friday night and be back in time for him to go back to work Sunday night. So, every Friday, Ammon gets up, is at work at 10, works a double shift and gets off and home around 2 am. He gets up and does the exact same thing the next day. So this particular Friday (the 30th of July), we were really hoping for an early night. I packed and got three hours sleep before Ammon got home at 2:20 am [not early]. We pulled out of Shell Gas exactly at 3:00 am with a big blessing of having such a great mother who is always so willing to watch Matthew. I don't know how this trip would have been possible if we would have had to take him that late and that fast of a trip.

Well, that of course meant that Ammon was exhausted. He stayed awake until Cedar though. I couldn't believe it! I drove the whole way and got a lot of thinking time in. Not sure how I made it without running off the road, but we got there, in good time, and got to see Ammon's mom since the wedding was at the Ogden temple.
At first glance for anyone who does not know Matthew, this picture would mean nothing. In fact, you can barely see anything worth taking a shot of. Well, not Matthew. As his mom, I spot things immediately that I know he's looking for and look for things I know will make him get excited. We saw about fifty trash cans in a park. In honor of Matt not being there, we figured we'd take him a present. One that didn't cost anything. Just a capture of blue trash cans!

We were about five minutes from Ogden and it hit me. I forgot my temple recommend. Serious? Yeah. Luckily, we have an amazing thing in our church called bishops and wonderful and understanding recorders at the temples who can easily access information with only my ward name! We got to shower and get to the 2 pm sealing in the Ogden temple, one I've never been to! I was so excited to scratch another one off my list. (okay, so I only have about 120 left to go!)

I have to say that it was such a great sealing. The spirit was so comforting and calming that day. Kelly's tears almost got to me, even without knowing her. Weddings have a way of making even the most stone-hearted person smile a sigh of relief for the couple of finally making it to the temple and the joyful ordinance that comes with it.

You know, I've been to a lot of weddings in my life. Since my dad was in the stake presidency and a bishop, I remember getting dozens of wedding announcements and invitations from people he barely knew asking for their "presence at a reception held in their honor." Not being bias at all of course, I have to say that my wedding was the best one I've ever been to. Honestly. The main reason was because I did EVERYTHING. I chose EVERYTHING. I didn't let anyone do anything for me. I guess that was comes with being anal about even the smallest detail. Jeff's wedding was definitely number two. The reception was at Kelly's parents' house and the home was one of the most immaculate ones I've ever been to in Utah. A huge property right on the mountains of North Ogden sits a home with an eight-car garage, basketball and tennis courts, waterfalls, a guest house, a playground for [future] grandchildren, gardens, an amazing yard with a spectacular three story house with a huge deck perfect for a wedding reception. I tried everything I could so Chris could marry Kelly's little sister!

We were welcomed by the carriage to take our gifts after we were ushered to our parking spots.

We got our bookmark place cards directing us to our tables where we were urged to participate in the "Saturday evening crossword" at each place setting.

The BEST scones I've ever tasted in my entire life.

We welcome Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Stephens! On the wedding invitation, the name Jeff was on there three times. Jeff's dad's name is Jeff and so is Kelly's.

Best buds. They call each other hodad. Don't ask! Really, because I don't even understand!

As good-looking as Jeff is, this one is better don't you think?! Especially with that cute flower!

There was rain that night, but it was actually not a problem! AND, there came a double rainbow out to make it that much more beautiful. It really proved to me how man can never duplicate the beauty of God's creations. Everything at this wedding was gorgeous, but the best parts were the flowers, plants, the mountains and the rainbows.

Great food and great dessert.

Mr. and Mrs. Cute idea and this went over so well at the dessert table.

Dancing upstairs on the deck.

We got home that night and we were both so tired. Ammon fell asleep within twenty minutes of being back at his mom's and so I got to stay up and get to talk to his mom. I learned so much more about her and realized what a strong person she really is. She's gone through a lot and I gained a lot of respect for her and am so grateful for the person that made Ammon who he is.

We got up early the next day and got to go down to Salt Lake and go to church with Joanna and Shayler. It's always great to see Joanna. And we must think at least a little bit the same since we pretty much dressed the same that day!

It was a long drive home, but it was so good to see Jeff get married, his wonderful sealing, their beautiful reception and spend some time with Ammon. We missed Matthew but I know he had a much better time at home with Grandma and Grandpa!

24th of July

2010-08-02T22:36:00.005-04:00

We, as Fairytale Wishes, were fortunate enough to be a part of the 24th day of July parade in Henderson. Sloan asked me to be in the float with her and Tabby and Chris drove us in Tyson's truck. My mom, Regina and Autumn sat with Matthew, Reese and Gavin on blankets to watch the parade. They had little pioneers with handcarts and a lot of other floats with great things for the families. They had breakfast and games like water balloons and volleyball and I wish that Ammon would have been able to be there so we could've stayed and had a fun family day. The little girls especially, love seeing Snow White, Cinderella and Ariel. It was so fun throwing candy to the kids and we got to see a bunch of people we knew from over there.

I really like Green Valley. We loved living there for the few months we got to last year before we left for Kentucky. I hope that one day I'll be able to live in a place that is that pretty and that has so many things so close to EVERYTHING! The best part about it was that I was so close to Sloan. I got to see her everyday when I lived over there. Now, I see her and the kids three days a week and I'm so glad I get that considering I lived far away for so long.

I really thought that day as we were driving home how fortunate we are that we are born now. I know you hear all the time how people "are saved for our day" but I don't know if I believe all that. I think they were much stronger than I ever could be. They had to deal with death and weather and moving WAYYYY more than I ever have and ever will. Plus, their husbands went on missions and joined the Mormon Batallion and left them with five kids, half sick. When I was in Nauvoo, Brother Ed [Pinegar] talked to us about his favorite word, REMEMBER. He told us how important it was to remember those that came before us and that is a perfect time to do so on the 24th of July!

That night, since Ammon works a double shift every single Friday and Saturday, I went with my mom and dad to the North Stake's 24th of July Celebration and I always think they do such a good job. I do have to say that they put on the more fabulous fireworks displays ever. I think only Disneyland can do a better job, and I'm sure that is only because everything seems more magical at Disneyland! Matthew had a lot of fun watching them and we got to see Full Scale sing (Shaun's group. Chris was in it with him too) the National anthem again. What a great day we had with our families!

The kids waiting for their moms to pass. These children will never believe in princesses because they'll always know them as their moms!

We all made one sign. I think they turned out pretty good!

We love Fe since all our husbands were, of course, working.

Autumn and Gina came too!

That night at the North Stake's Celebration. Matthew loved the jump houses.

Watching Full Scale perform.

Great fireworks!

Matt = POTTY TRAINED!

2010-07-29T03:43:00.004-04:00

So it finally happened. Our son is potty trained! I actually can't believe it happened as fast and as easy (knock on wood) as it did. I just have to say that Matthew must be brilliant. Okay, maybe just sick and tired of having a wet diaper. But, I can officially say he has not had an accident in ONE WEEK!

The last week and half has not been easy for one reason. That is because we have only left the house about three times (other than our normal, church and playdate). We didn't even see Sloan. We didn't go to Target. No store and only swam two or three times. I'd do whatever I had to during his naps. He ran around without pants on all day long. He would ask me to go, that's how desperate he was to get out of the house. I can say that wasn't easy, but it has been so worth it. I really think that is what has given him the hang of the feeling and what to do. Thank goodness we're at a point where we can leave and he'll go potty outside the house!

Last Monday, the 19th, I decided it was time. I had bought him underwear before, but I got some new ones and told him we were going to start going in his potty. Monday he did pretty good and better than I thought he would. Only two accidents on the floor. Tuesday, two. Wednesday, one. Thursday, one. And he woke up dry after every nap since last Monday and hasn't even gone in his pull up in the mornings before I get him out of bed.

We started by giving him a lot to drink. I asked him if he had to go potty and he would say yes. So, we'd sit on his potty FOREVER. He sat down for 45 minutes that first day before he finally went. I really wanted him to remember that feeling so I sat in the bathroom for almost an hour doing anything I could imagine to let him keep his mind off "getting down." We sang Popcorn Popping probably thirty times. We sang Piggies, Wiseman, Spider, etc. etc. etc. I asked him every question he would know the answer to. We talked about the soap, the towels, their colors, what color he was (he now says he's WHITE, it's too cute. And hilarious), what Brooklyn was doing, and anything else I could think of. We did that a few times that day. Things were going really well. Then Tuesday happened. Same progress. He started to go less often and go more. He then even got familiar with the "number two" feel on Thursdays when we went to our weekly playdate. I can say that that day was his last accident.

By the way, I know he won't want to read about this when he's 13, but he looks so cute running around in these tiny little underwear. He always picks Buzz and Woody to wear, but whatever is on him, he looks adorable and like such a big boy!

I have been so proud of him though! I was expecting this to be the longest process of my life. I thought he would not get it and we'd have to try it again in a few months. I thought he wouldn't like it and that he'd rather be in diapers. How wrong I was! I love the smile he gives me after he knows he's gone because he looks at me and knows I'm going to be proud of him and he gets that gasp and says, "I DID!" I never want that to go away. (okay, I hope I don't have to be proud of him when he goes potty when he is 16 but still). I want him to want to please his mom! I want him to want me to be proud of him. He and I have gotten this great connection down in the past two years. He is so attached to me and I love when I walk in the door and he runs to me and holds on to my legs. He gets so excited to see me every morning and only wants me to hold him during scripture time. He asks me to sit down next to him when he's playing or watching Toy Story. He loves going with Mom. He is SO good (most of the time!) and I can honestly say that I love having a two-year-old be my best friend!

I am so proud of you Matthew and I love you more than you know! I am so excited to see what we have coming for us!

Nate & Hilary's Wedding

2010-07-27T03:04:00.008-04:00

We lucked out. Nate and Hilary decided to get married in Vegas. We didn't even have to go anywhere for it. We were so happy that they were finally going to do it. They've been together such a long time and it was so time that they did so. Nate is joining the Navy and it is just better that they are married. So they came down to Vegas and Ammon took Nate, Chris and Hilary's brother, Jake out for a "guy's night." It wasn't so much what Ammon had in mind at first, but things turned out okay and he was glad to have been able to spend time with his brother the night before he got married. We lucked out a second time. Ammon's days off are Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday just happened to be the day of the wedding and so Ammon had plenty of time to spend with his family, even though not many of them came.

They asked Matthew to be the ring bearer and he was the cutest thing I have ever seen! He carried the little pillow and they bought him a red tie and black vest and did such a good job. They actually had the ceremony on film so we got to watch it after the wedding and it was adorable to see such a little boy walk down the aisle.

The ceremony was at The Chapel of the Flowers on the strip. It was BY FAR the most amazing "Vegas chapel" I've ever seen. Nothing like you have in mind when you imagine all those weddings on the strip. I was so impressed by the place and the class it had. It wasn't a big ceremony with a lot of people, but it was so nice!

Grandma Moya was beyond excited to see her only grandchild!

Matt and Uncle Nate.

Aunt Hilary!

Waiting for the ceremony to begin. (We weren't allowed to take pictures during it, but I can say that Hilary looked SO SO SO SO stunning that day! And I loved to see how excited Nate was to see her when she started walking down the aisle. Us Mormons don't get to do that, and not that I would rather have it that way than the temple, but it was good getting to see someone we're close to have such a great reaction to their new bride.)

Pretty room!

The only picture I could get of Matthew with his pillow before they told me to turn my camera off. So cute.

Kevin (Ammon's stepdad), Matthew, me, Ammon, Moya, Patrick, Chris

Matthew spotted the trash truck at Carl's Jr.! Chris is such a good Uncle and one of Matthew's favorite people!

The wedding party (how pretty is Hilary's dress?!)

Everyone, including Bill, Moya's wife. It was so good getting to see everyone, even though everyone had to go back home to go back to work. Tanisha and Bryan, Hailey and Mark couldn't be there unfortunately, but it was good seeing those that could come, including getting to meet all of Hilary's family that I never got a shot of. Her mom, sister, brother and grandparents all got to come! It was so nice!

Matthew saw that we were taking pictures in the gazebo so he decided to be in the photo shoot.

Moya and her two daughters-in-law. I am so excited to have another sister in law in the family! It's been over three years now and I'm glad that it's Hilary! She is so nice and we are glad to welcome her to the Blair clan! She and Nate spoil Matthew almost more than anyone and I can't wait until they have kids so I can do the same!

Moya and her sons and grandson!

The beautiful couple! They seem so happy and I am so excited for their life together!

While everyone was in town, we went to Nate's favorite place, McMullin's off of Trop. Anytime he and Hilary come to Vegas, they have to eat there. It was great this time to have so many people there and Matthew loves being the center of attention.

With Kevin, one of the most giving people I know! We love him and Matthew did too (he did give him as much gum as he could get in his mouth).

CONGRATULATIONS NATE AND HILARY BLAIR!!!
Welcome to the family Hilary! We love you guys and can't wait to go through a lot together!

Our son the trash man

2010-07-27T01:07:00.004-04:00

I know that I've talked about Matthew's obsession with trash and the trash trucks before, but it really deserves a whole post just for itself. He really is a smart kid. I mean, he is pro at transferring trash from one can to another (even the big ones). He knows when it's full and that it needs to go "OUT" and can carry, push or pull it to the curb. He knows what day is trash day and the first thing he asks when he wakes up is if he can go bring the empty trash cans back in. His favorite is when he gets to see the trash truck and gets the trash men to wave and honk at him. He spots trash trucks miles away and wants to see "another one" right when he sees it go past. If there is an empty trash can in the house, he'll find a tiny piece just to so he can take it out. And another favorite? Just looking at them and getting to pull them about, to and fro, back and forth. He's too short to see over them, but he drives them better than most people drive a car. We were joking the other day that Sloan was obsessed with makeup and asked for that on her 3rd birthday. Now, 27 years later, she owns a makeup company and loves it just as much. What does that mean? I think Matthew will grow up to own his own trash dump and line of trucks. As long as he gets his own route, he'll be in heaven. And I think he'll be the first billionaire trash man!

He loves Toy Story. We always go down the Toy Story aisle when we go into Target. One day, he picked up a Buzz and he was loving him until all the sudden, he yells, "TRASH!" I looked around to see a TRASH TRUCK! He was so excited and didn't put it down. I couldn't break his heart and not buy it for him. My mom was too excited and gave me money just so she could be the one that bought him his favorite toy. It even has Lotso on the front, authentic to Toy Story 3, and he carries it everywhere, including bed.

He came home right away and tried to dump the trash into the truck. He also got a coloring book from Toy Story 3 and gets to color the pictures of the dump and talks about all the trash trucks taking the trash to the dump.

He used to ride on this handy dandy dolly until he realized, he puts trash on it and pushes it himself. He never needs or wants help at all. I can't believe it!

There's that floating trash can. I wonder where it's coming from!

Uncle James comes to visit

2010-07-26T12:39:00.003-04:00

The first week in July, my Mom's older brother, James brought his wife, Regina and daughter Autumn to Vegas to visit. I haven't seen James since we all took a trip to Texas in 2006, but Gina and Autumn came with my Aunt Loretta to Vegas when I was eight months pregnant and we got to know them a lot better. They came to find James a job and lucky him, he got a great paying job and they are now moving here from Jal, Texas, population 800. I am so excited for them, but I can say that Matthew is even more excited. He knows exactly how to milk every person to get all the attention he can and the three of them are no different. He loves James the most and gets to go to the trash with him ten times a day. They found a house in my mom and dad's ward (they aren't members though), so Matthew gets to see them a lot more often! It is great to get closer to my mom's side of the family since we never get to see much of them and I am excited that Matthew gets to see more of them too!