Showered with Love

It was a Wednesday. It was probably the worst day of the year so far. I had spent all day at the vet, spending large amount of money and stressing/worrying that my dog was gonna die (which he didn't, ended up spending all that money to find out he was fine, just a wimp). The Young Women were just having a planning meeting to choose their activities for the year, and I considered calling in sick. But... alas, I am devoted and filled with a conscience the size of Arizona; so I went. As I walked in, I could tell that all of the leaders were already there, but there were no girls to be found yet. Until I got further in to the house and they all jumped out to yell SURPRISE!

My wonderful friends had planned a surprise baby shower for me, and it's a good thing I showed up (with unwashed hair and no make up... but still!) They had all brought gifts for me, there were blue balloons and blue cupcakes, games and all sorts of fun!
I don't think I will ever tire of getting new little clothes for my kids. No matter how many kids (or boys, for that matter) I have... who could resist these cute little snuggly outfits. Soon to be filled with a cute little snuggly dude!
The awesome ladies! Front row L-R: Whitney Smith, Shanna Liles Middle Row: Me, Bridget Back Row L-R: Erica Hanks, Sonja, Tori, Tatiana, Sarah, Amber, Kendal and parts of Cheyenne!
It was such a great ending to a not so great day. These girls really know how to throw a party, and how to cheer a girl up! Thanks so much, Brimhall Babes, for being so totally awesome!! Love you!

I'm Dreaming of a Humid Christmas!

We were blessed this year to travel to Florida and have Christmas with family! The winter has been a little unusual for me since I am accustomed to seeing white and feeling cold for 5 months of my years in UT. But it was GREAT to have nice enough weather that Scott could take full advantage of Grampy's 16 acres and get some energy out each day!!
We traveled EARLY Christmas eve morning and arrived in Florida by 3 pm. It was great to be able to make it in time for a delicious Christmas dinner and awesome spiritual program (which I got a copy of and will be using next year!)
Some highlights of the trip:
We got to meet the newest member of the Bori Family: Julia Pearl Duncan! She is just the sweetest little bundle of cute and we all took to her instantly! Scott loved to watch Uncle Mike give Julia her bottle, he was ALL ABOUT giving her kisses on the forehead, and even let her "kiss" his finger better when he hurt it once. We are so overjoyed for Michael and Elena, and couldn't have wished them any better gift this holiday season!
Scott was old enough to follow, imitate, play with, and torture his older cousin Alyssa Jade: He thought she was the coolest thing invented, and she tolerated his excitement pretty well! He always wanted her to be playing with him, and was often seen right on her tails when she was out and about doing big kid stuff! He wanted to be in the action, and it was awesome that she let him. Scott just loves his cousins!!
Scott on Christmas morning: His stocking was STUFFED to the brim with cool toys. Cars, playdough, a watch, coloring book, etc etc. BUT... the thing on top, happened to be a banana. And he wouldn't even consider touching the rest of his stocking til the banana had been devoured. He then proceeded through the stocking til he found a crunch bar. Again, progress was halted and the candy was eaten. Note to self: put edible items at the bottom of Scott's stockings!
The Gator: From the moment his eyes opened til the time I dragged him in from the dark kicking and screamin... he wanted to be on the gator. Grampy has a John Deere Gator that he uses to get everywhere on his huge property, and Scott is a FAN! Grampy has also purchased a gator power wheels, and this trip was the first time Scott was big enough and brave enough to push the pedal and drive it! (steering... we'll work on that next time)
A Walk down memory lane: Dude and I were able to go out on the town and leave Scott with his grammy and aunts. Downtown Disney, which is where many of our first dates were. Holding hands, drinking hot chocolate, watching magic shows, playing with legos... all the good stuff! It was nice to reminisce and spend some quality time with him back in the place where the memories began!
Conference call with Virgin Gorda: Despite being across the country from any Francis', we were lucky enough to get to listen in on my brother's missionary call home Christmas morning! He is a total Missionary Rock Star, and sounds like he's making the most of his time and having the time of his life! I am so blessed by his service and grateful for the things he is giving up to serve the Lord. Proud sister, what can I say?
Puzzles: I remember from my childhood there always being a puzzle up and going during the holidays. So, I inflicted that tradition upon the Bori's and bought, quite possibly the most difficult puzzle in the history of the world. It didn't get finished, and even if it did... Mike has a piece of the sky held hostage! I don't know if anyone ever took a picture of it, but I thought it was fun to do together! Thanks for bearing with me, Bori's!
Bounce House: We took Scott to a place that was like a big wearhouse with ~10 huge blow up playsets! Slides, trampolines, obstacle courses... you name it. Talk about an energy release! We all needed a nap after that!!
Christmas Crafts: Grammy totally rocks! She made every girl in the family their own, patchwork purse. Color coordinated with our personalities, designed to fit EVEN a sippy cup! I just love my new purse and totally wish I had that kind of talent! Thank you Grammy!
New Years Eve FIRE: unusual again to my idea of the months of Dec and Jan... we had a bonfire New Years Eve. We roasted hot dogs and mallows and had a great time visiting and staring at a fire! In my history of New Years, this is the first one spent outside for more than 5 minutes to bang on some pots and pans. So much fun!
Time out with my family: 10 days of 100% family time! Dude didnt have work, a meeting, a game night, a NOTHIN! We spent our time playing together and soaked it all in!! And as long as it was, we were ready to do it all over again when it ended!
Merry late Christmas, Happy late New Year. Love to you all!!

Friends Adopting

Some friends of ours are in the process of adopting 2 kids from Russia, and are having a raffle to earn money for the costs. Donate $5 to be entered to win a big screen TV and help an orphan get a home!!

Cracker Line-Up

Do any of these crackers look familiar? Are any of them the cracker who committed the crime?

Take your time....

Scott took one bite out of each of his crackers, then lined them up... and left. They were still sitting there when I went to set the table for dinner. Guess one whole cracker would have done the trick.

HO HO HO!

Scott was SO excited to go see Santa last week. We talked about it for days before hand (mommy wanted to be sure he fully understood what would be happening... sitting on lap, talking to Santa, etc etc) We got to the mall and stood in line, and as soon as we were close enough to see Santa, Scott pointed him out and kept referring to his "hat". I asked him if he wanted to go see Santa: Yea. I asked him if he wanted to sit on Santa's lap: Yea. I was gaining confidence that all would be well.

Our friend Colin was up first, and his visit with Santa was not so successful. I worried then that Scott would see Colin's reaction and be afraid himself, but he willingly (yet timidly) released his grip on me as I sat him in Santa's lap. He was in a state of shock for the first 3 minutes (which is, of course, when they took the picture) but Im just proud he isnt screaming, crying, or reaching for me. Before the visit was over, I got Scott to say that he wanted a "guck" (truck) and he reached up to point out Santa's hat. Santa humored us with a HO HO HO (been teaching Scott to say it, when asked what Santa says) and gave Scott a little booklet to hold his picture as we left. Two more of Scott's friends sat with Santa after Scott, and none of them had the success that Scott and i had. I was so proud of my chill, too cool for school, son and his nice visit with Santa...

The kid asked for a truck... a truck the kid will get!!

Jump for Joy

As stated earlier, we started Christmas about 30 minutes after our Thanksgiving Dinner Feast was eaten... we were still digesting even!!
This gift wasn't opened that day, because it was so big that it needed to be shipped straight to AZ (through friends who were kind enough to let it ride in the backseat)

Scott is in love with it, and I forsee many hours in the backyard for he and I. Good thing our December is in Arizona, so we don't have to worry about a blizzard keeping us inside!!



Thanks CiCi and Bubba, you have given the gift of endless entertainment for a toddler. Not an easy task!!

Leavin on a JetPlane

Just wanted to post this awesome story from our flight back to AZ after our TG vacation. As we boarded the plane, we had bags and a stroller that needed to be checked at the gate. The lady who was writing out our tags said "I think you guys are on a row alone, so your son will have a seat to himself. Let me check" She asked for our names and looked it up. She was mistaken, there was a lady in the seat next to me. The worker decided she would try to call the lady up and reseat her so that we could have the whole row. She called, but as she was calling, realized that the lady had already boarded. So she told US what seat was empty and said we should ask the lady to move once we boarded...
Well, the seat she wanted us to move the lady to was about 15 rows back from the seat she was in, and we didnt feel like asking that of her, so we had decided not to say anything and just deal with the 2 seats we had paid for. As we stood waiting in the breezeway to get on the plane, the airline worker who had tried to help rearrange seats before came to find us. She had found a whole row in the back of the plane that was empty and had printed us all new boarding passes so that Scott would have his own seat.
As many of you know, my lap is deteriorating fast, so a lap child on a plane isnt the most convenient thing. This kind act was the PERFECT end to our Thanksgiving vacation! Thankful for people who go out of their way to do nice things for other people! Thanks airline lady, you made our day!!!

Happy Day, Turkey!

A few of these pictures are from my trip to UT in October (the one above and the one below, to be specific), but my sister JUST posted them online, so here they are... in the post where I talk about being at CiCi and Bubba's house for Thanksgiving. See, if I hadn't told you you would never know and just assume they were all from Thanksgiving. I guess accuracy is vital to blog quality...

We were lucky enough to travel to UT for Thanksgiving by AIRPLANE!! This trip was the first time that Dude and I have flown together to UT since moving to AZ. Usually, we drive, or one drives earlier and the other flies in later (since that other is the one working til the holiday is HERE) The fact that we got to fly this time made our trip 10x better, because there wasn't a long drive involved at all! I could see the relief of stress in Dude's face and we were able to enjoy ourselves much more knowing that we didnt face a 10 hour drive to top it all off!
My cousins and grandparents came up from Vegas and St George, and we had 16 people crashing in my parents house!!! So much fun! I love that the family is growing and expanding!

We ate, we played games in the church (most fun ever!), we ate more, we watched football, we played the Wii (mario kart), watched Cars, started Christmas early, went shopping, saw movies, played board games and ate some more!!

If anyone in my family took more pictures of Thanksgiving than I did, send em my way... cause all Ive got are some randoms of Scott doing cute things. Such is my life!

Luckily enough, there are Francis' AND Bori's in Utah, and we were able to see them all! We spent an evening shopping for Aunt Nattie's new dog, eating nummy food (yet again) and watching a movie with Dude's sister. Had a photo shoot and played board games with Aunt TT, and still had time to eat sushi with friends! All in all, a great trip. Full of family, more family, friends and TONS of fun!

Yes, this picture is of Scott watching Elmo on the Iphone in just his diaper. He just rested his little chin on the counter and loved every second of it. What a cutie!
Everyone loved playing with Scott, teaching him new and "oh so fun" words, and chasing around the kitchen over and over. He was never unable to reach someone's finger to lead them... wherever he wanted to go. I have officially started the "post vacation detox" and we are re-learning how to not be entertained 100% of the day. Thank you Francis, Bori, McCall and Brinkerhoff Families for that gift. I can't thank you enough for spoiling my son ROTTEN!! ;)

Love and miss you all already! So thankful for family!!!

PB&J W/ A

I never thought I would see the day when Scott would sit still at a table and just eat. He always seems to have the uncontrollable desire to be RUNNING! But, having an eating buddy worked miracles. Scott and Anderson shared their apples, ate their sandwiches, and sat like two big boys just hangin out and eating their grub!

Scott is such a people person! Our playdate buddies have helped achieve that, Im certain, and I am so grateful! Scott will play with just about anyone, and is so relaxed about sharing toys and kids "in his bubble". I thank my moms group for that, and all the toddlers who steal Scott's toys and let him steal theirs back. That's what friends are for, right??

Happy Birthday Daddy

We celebrated our awesome Daddy on Nov 11, and got to shower him with love and attention (not that he isnt smothered with that every day of his life)
Scott and mommy went to daddy's work and had lunch with him, then made one of his favorite meals for dinner. Follow that up with gifts and key lime pie, and I dont think the man had a complaint! Here's... well, mommy singing Happy Birthday while Scott and Daddy look cute and blow out the candles. You have received your warning and can now mute your speakers before hitting play!

Daddy came out of the day with lots of good food in his tummy, a new headset, a new dvd collection of Dexter's Laboratory, a gift card to take his girlfriend to dinner, and some cash (that he still hasnt figured out what to buy with... would have burned a hole in mommy's pocket by now).
And, we weren't even done celebrating. Since daddy's birthday was mid-week, we had a celebration dinner with friends over the weekend, where we ate mountains of wings and had a great time! How could anyone not love this guy?! And I'M the one who claims his left ring finger... I'm totally lucky and i KNOW IT! Love you, Dude!

p.s. if anyone has ideas on how to get my son disinterested in wearing his mom's jewelry, please share... he sees me with a "pee" (pretty) on and immediately wants it on himself... never to be seen again by mommy!