Big News

I'm probably the worst blogger in the world. But here's a quick update on some very big changes that have happened in our family this month:

1. First things first -
For those of you who have not heard (because I'm a terrible blogger & I never actually posted this on here)... Baby #2 will be joining us this August. Let's just say that our little 2-week rendezvous during Thanksgiving was very productive :) And... drumroll please... we found out this week that we are having a GIRL! YAY! We're pretty excited to have one of each. But we're also a little nervous since this will be a whole new kind of adventure for us. But we're looking forward to it. Now if we could just agree on a name!

2. Scott is home! To stay!
Man that was a looooooong year! I won't bore you with all the whiney details, but let me just say that it was very hard, but I feel like I've learned a lot from it & I now appreciate everything soooo much more!
Mason's reaction to Scott being home has really surprised us. From everything I've read it is pretty common for kids his age to have a very difficult time adjusting to the "new" parent. And to be honest, he was pretty hot & cold with Scott at Thanksgiving - sometimes he was excited to have him there & other times he was kind of mean to him :( So I was pretty worried about what things were going to be like when Scott came home to stay. BUT he has been WONDERFUL since Scott's been home! It's been about 3 weeks now & he honestly acts like Scott was never gone. They play together non-stop, he constantly gives him hugs & kisses, he lets Scott put him to bed, and if Scott goes anywhere Mason constantly asks about him. Aaaaahhhh... it's so nice to finally have my family back :)
And of course I have been thrilled to have him around! Being without your best friend for more than a year can get very lonely. And I really feel like year has brought us closer together. I feel so happy & blessed lately :)

3. We're on the hunt
We have been renting out our house in Springville since last January & although we have loved that house, we have decided that we're not going back. Instead we are going to take advantage of this awesome housing market & buy a 2nd bigger home that we can grow into. We've officially been house hunting for 1 week & it's been exciting, but also a little stressful. I haven't been able to sleep in a week because I am constantly thinking or dreaming about houses. I'm very antsy to get out of this apartment & back into my own house again!

Yep, lots of changes coming our way! It's going to be a very interesting/exciting/stressful year :) I can't wait!!! I feel like life is now back in session again :)

The Homecoming

I've been meaning to post this for a while now, but I've been SUPER busy for several reasons:
1. First there were the holidays & all the craziness that comes with them. Also, I made a few of my Christmas presents, they took a lot more time than I anticipated & that used up all my alone time during Mason's naps. (I'll post those later, I was pretty pleased with how they turned out)
2. We moved last month. Many hours have been spent packing, then unpacking everything. (More to come on that as well)
3. We've been sick A LOT this month!
4. My pictures were saved to the desktop, but I've been using the laptop at our new apartment.

But without further ado...
The Homecoming!!!
I had been anxiously awaiting this day for 7 months. It was wonderful & magical & unforgettable! Everything I had hoped it would be :)
See for yourself...
(Scott has a photographer friend from high school who met us at the airport to capture the magic of the day)

Everyone waiting for Scott

The kids waving their flags

Mason loves the flag (we talk about it a lot)

We see Scott for the 1st time


He sees us


Mason running to Daddy

Mason & Daddy

Mommy & Daddy

Sneaking a kiss :)

Together at last!

He kept grabbing us & making us hug like this all day. So cute :)

And just think, we get to do this again in one month! And this time it will be more keeps! I'm soooooo excited!!!

Some Extras:

The passer-bys at the airport were also pretty excited about our reunion. We had quite a few people stop to take pictures of us. One guy actually hung around for quite a while & even got pretty up-close & personal :) We didn't mind - I was glad our magical moment could rub off on people :)

Here are a few more pictures that I just couldn't leave out. There are a ton more, but these were some of my favorites. Enjoy!

Our very talented friend Brad designed & made this GREAT shirt for Mason - It says "R&R 2010 Afghanistan" (R&R is what they call the 2-week leave the soldiers get)

More posts to come... Eventually. Hopefully sooner than later :)

First things first

Before I post about Scott's 2-week leave (which was WONderful by the way), I decided I should probably post our Halloween pictures because Mason was super cute & because his costume was essentially a tribute to Daddy.

A little background - we are Halloween crazies! We always do a group theme for the family and so this year was no different - we were all soldiers :)

I was going to make Mason's costume again this year, but then we found a 2T uniform at Ft Bliss (Texas) for $30 & I decided that my time was totally worth $30!!! My costume wasn't nearly as cute, but it was very comfortable & it served it's purpose.

The uniform was supposed to be 2T but it was HUMONGOUS! The hat actually fit MY head!

This was the whole costume with the hat (came with it) & the boots (randomly found them at the DI for $3 - score!) He doesn't look very happy here because it was waaaaay past naptime!

This last picture is just for fun :)

Stay tuned... the next post will be dedicated to the 2-weeks we spent with our real soldier!

Two fun-filled weeks!!!

Scott will be home in less than 2 WEEKS! and I am sooooooo excited!
We will be staying at this cute little suite in Provo. It's an old mansion, gutted & renovated into 5 separate suites. I'm very excited! We're staying in the European Loft if you want to check it out.

Anyway, he should be here from about Nov 18th-Dec 2nd. (But that's not concrete. Nothing in the Army every is.) I know he'll want to spend some days just relaxing & feeling normal, but I've also made a list of some fun things going on around the state during or close to those dates. That way when we are feeling up to it, we'll have lots of choices so we can make the most of our time. BUT I know there are always things I don't think of.

Do you know of any fun things going on close to those dates?
What would you do if you're husband was coming home for 2 weeks?

Vote

I have been wanting to make an advent calendar garland for a while now, but I'm torn between 2 different kinds so I need your help. Please vote on the one you like the best.

Option 1

This was the one I was originally going to make. Although I would do it a little different - make it a little more modern looking. This one would last for a long time & I could change out the ribbon anytime I want to.

Option 2

I found this one this morning & I think it's super cute. I really like the look of this, but it's made with paper matchboxes so I can forsee it getting destryoed by little hands or crushed in storage.

What do you think?

Thumbs Up 7 Up

Does anyone remember playing this game as a kid?

I've been writing my personal history (another idea that was prompted by Activity Days) & I'm answering all these funny questions about my childhood. One of the questions is "What games did you play as a child - inside & out?" This was one of the 1st games that came to mind.

In California we had to walk outside to go to class, lunch, recess, ect. So on rainy days we had to stay inside for recess & lunch, & this was one of our favorite games to play. Did anyone else play this game? Do you remember any other funny childhood games that I'm not thinking of?

The sweetest things

My newest calling in church is Activity Days - we do a bi-weekly activity with the 8-12 year old girls at church. It's a super fun calling! I really love it! Today I was online looking for activities to do over the next couple of months & I stumbled across a Thanksgiving activity called "Pebble in my shoe"

You give each girl a pebble & a piece of candy - They go on a walk (however far we decide to send them), the pebble goes in their shoe (hence the name) & they get to eat the candy as they walk. When they reach the end you ask the girls how their walk was. According to this website all the girls ever comment on is how painful it was & all they could think about was the pebble. They never even consider the sweet candy in their mouth. The lesson of course is on the importance of focusing on the sweet things is our lives instead of focusing on all the pebbles.

With that in mind - Here are the top 5 sweet things in my life (in no particular order):

1. This is my most favorite picture on the planet! It was taken on our last day together. These 2 are by far the sweetest things in my life!!!
2. My extended family (even my in-laws who I adore & who are sooooo good to us!). But especially my parents. They let us live in their house (even though I'm a HUGE pain in the butt!); they LOVE my son & babysit all the time; they taught me to be a good person & they are wonderful examples of the kind of values & standards I try to live.
3. My friends. They've been so supportive, fun, loving, and just all around wonderful this year. They're pretty much always wonderful, but it's really meant the most this year.
4. The Ensign/scriptures - they give me a spiritual boost everyday. No matter how ornery, impatient, unhappy, ungrateful (etc) I am feeling, my bad attitude is no match for the spiritual high I get from reading these words. There's nothing like a little inspiration & perspective to get your attitude back on track.
5. Christ. He brings direction, purpose, & hope to my life. He's made it all possible.

I love my life (I'll love it even more in 6 weeks! Horray!!!)