Messages to Heaven

Last Friday would have been my dad's 70th birthday. Before he died he ordered a bridge, and for his birthday we had the bridge installed with a plaque commemorating his life. We had a little ceremony to say a few words about him, and then we all wrote messages which we attached to a balloon. After singing "Happy Birthday" to him, we let the balloons float to heaven. One of my nieces wrote on her message: Grandpa, Happy birthday! I really like your birthday and I hope you like your balloon.

Pajama Buddies

Chase's favorite thing to do lately...




















































Ryder was calling her "Buddy" (a combination of Woody and Buzz).

2 posts in 1 day--oh my!

Blonde (modeling for a project of Rocky's).

Brunette.

Exhibit A.

Exhibit B.

Gloating

Don't you hate it when people post their awesome pictures from Hawaii? Well, that's why it took me so long to put these up. I felt smug doing it. But, with this crappy weather, I guess I just want to go back in time.

So here are some pics from February when Rocky's amazing parents took us with them to Hawaii! Don't be hater. :)

<---Someone had to tame this beast.

<----These flamingos were on our hotel grounds.

I'm still trying to teach Rocky how to ride like a cowboy. :)

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Susan and Kent. Rocky's parents. They are the best!

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We went snorkeling and the boat also had 2 slides and a diving board. We whipped up a routine for the passengers.

<---- :)

<---How did this picture get in here?

LUAU!!

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The Nuggets of Motherhood

*Pun intended.

You know those shining moments of motherhood? When you get that warm fuzzy feeling, and think to yourself, "I just love my kids!" This...was not one of them.

Today started out well. The kids were playing well. Usual routine. But, when we arrived at my sister's house, Ryder's inner beast was unleashed. I won't get into specifics, but I'll summarize by saying that 2 changes of underwear (see title above if you're confused), and 3 time outs later I was at a crossroads. Should I use the boxing gloves or the broomstick? Broomstick.

No, it wasn't pretty folks, but I tell you this so that when you and your husband are observing little Timmy playing quietly with his chemistry set and Sally re-reading the encyclopedia {those are your kids names, right? :)} you can think to yourself, "Wow, we really are great parents. We never have to raise our voices, and our children listen intently to ever word we utter."

Now, before I get out of hand, let me just say: I did learn something today. I learned that motherhood is the hardest job I've ever had. I used to think I was patient, kind, understanding, and loving. But, now I know I'm not any of those. Not perfectly, I mean. But, I guess that's why motherhood is the most rewarding job I've ever had, too. Because it's not about controlling your child and molding them into the perfect version of yourself. It's watching them grow and make choices and help them become the best version of themselves.

The Bad, The Very Bad, The Good, and The Ugly!

The Bad:

January 3rd we received a call from our neighbors in Spanish Fork informing us that our smoke alarms were going off. They told us that they would use our spare key to investigate. We thought (hoped & wished) that it was a fluke. Nope. It was $10,000 worth of damage they were hearing!
Our neighbor, Russell, went inside to find that our kitchen floor was flooded. A pipe had frozen and was draining from under the sink into our dishwasher, which in turn flooded the entire kitchen and bathroom floor and seeped into 2 bedrooms and a bathroom in the basement. Was the basement finished? You might be asking--yup. {Insert vomiting sound here.}

The Very Bad:

The 2 questions that ran through our mind were: 1) How did this happen? 2) Will our insurance cover it? OH BOY...well, this is where it gets VERY bad because question 2 is determined by question 1. The answer to question 1 is: Our pipes froze because of the temperature. Rocky's face drained of all color when he realized that he had turned off our heat!!!! Will the insurance cover that? NO. No, they won't cover that teeny mistake. We were sick, sick, sick. Where would we come up with $10,000 (or more)?

The Good: {Insert sigh of relief here--if you've read this far you may be emotionally invested.}

Rocky talked to the insurance adjuster and answered all his questions honestly. I was feeling bitter because I felt we were going to be punished for Rocky's honesty. We could have lied and said the heat was on, and the insurance would have happily paid. But, when Rocky told the guy that he had turned the heat off--things were NOT looking good. (Why is this in the good section?!)
So, we prayed, and prayed, and fasted and called relatives and friends and connections who we thought could help. Then, a miracle happened! It turns out that after talking to our neighbor, and a different neighbor, and the restoration guy they all said that when they went into our house that the heat was, in fact, on. We wondered who had turned it back on. Maybe someone who had walked through our house, a realtor, or an angel! :) But, that simple fact changed everything because now: OUR INSURANCE WILL COVER IT!!
We are thrilled and we feel very blessed! It's quite amazing, really.

The Ugly:
Well, this is going to seem so trivial after that epic disaster, but I had a sore throat/cold/man voice for a full week. It was NOT pretty! That's all on that one. Seriously.

This all adds up to an eventful January, and I feel like I need a vacation--which I will be going on in 3 weeks! Hurray! Pictures to come. :)

Exciting News!!

NOPE...I'm not pregnant.
It's bittersweet news actually. After much consideration, prayers, pondering, contemplation, etc. we decided to sign with a realtor. (If you want more specifics why, we'll have a chat later). So, because we made that decision we are heading up to Idaho before the house is sold. We are hoping to be there before Thanksgiving!
It will be very quick, and we will be SO sad to leave our awesome ward and the wonderful friends we have made. But, we are so excited to be by my family and friends up in Idaho...at least for the short few months until we make the BIG move to North Carolina for Rocky's job.
So, Idaho prepare yourself for a party, and Spanish Fork ladies--get nice and sick of me while you can!