I am grateful for a nice warm mug of oatmeal on a chilly morning.

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Cease vomiting

Right now I'm just grateful Russell isn't vomiting anymore. It was just a mild stomach bug, but I'm pretty sure cleaning up vomit is 1 of my top 10 least favorite things to do. Right up there with cleaning situations like -Poop in the bath tub, wet bed sheets and moldy leftovers gone terribly bad.(Should I admit I have left food in my fridge that long?)

I hope tomorrow I can be grateful no one else has vomited. Wishful thinking?

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Happy Birthday Rachel!

Happy Happy Birthday Rachel Dear! Happy Days will come to you all year! If I had a wish then it would be---a Happy Happy Birthday to you from me!

I love you Rachel. I am so grateful you're my sister.

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bye

I crawled out of bed this morning to say goodbye to my mother and sister before they left to go back home.

Then I crawled back into bed and tried not to think about how much I already miss them.

Thanks for coming.

I am so grateful you did.

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"If anyone needs a hero...

I AM THAT HERO!"

-Larry Boy



The Red Bobbin-



I'm so grateful for my super hero's.

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The Dentist

It has never been weird for me to have my husband be my dentist. I've never had a problem letting him fix my teeth. In fact, I was his very first patient in dental school and one of my teeth has his very first filling done in it.

Today I am grateful for pretty teeth.
I'm grateful Ryan can be my dentist.
I'm grateful my dentist is so good looking!

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Storm tossed seas

When I stand by the tumultuous ocean, watching the waves crash wildly against the rocks and shore, I feel small and overcome with awe at the power of the water and the forces that control it.

The words to the song Master the Tempest is Raging come to mind and I feel gratitude in my heart for the knowledge I have of God and his interest in someone as insignificant as me.

Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today
The depths of my sad heart are troubled
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o'er my sinking soul
And I perish! I perish! dear Master
Oh, hasten, and take control

Words and Music by- Mary A. Baker

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16 Hours in a car = real love

I am grateful for visitors. Having family in town is one of my favorite things.

Thanks for being willing to drive 16 hours to come visit.

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Fall

The sky was gray but the air was warm. The rain didn't come until later in the day, long after we picked out our pumpkins, painted our faces, decorated cookies and went on a hay ride. I am so grateful for a beautiful fall morning.

U-pick pumpkin patch-

Holding a very large & friendly rabbit-


Getting our faces painted-



Finding treasure-


Hayride-

Decorating cookies-

Cousin fun-

Evidence of a good time-

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You see flowers in these weeds

I am grateful for sweet gestures

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Happy Haunting GNO

(Girls Night Out)

Grateful for: - an excuse to play the villain


Also...that I can still wear my Jr. Prom dress.


(Me & Lia Lau)
Happy Haunting!

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Walmart at midnight

It is so great to go grocery shopping at night.

The store is generally deserted. Just me and the employees.
The lines...What? no lines! Inconceivable!

I am so grateful I was able to do my grocery shopping at night, alone, without 3 children.

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Garbage Disposal

I am so grateful that I have a garbage disposal.
It's something you don't even think about if you've had one for a while. It makes doing the dishes a cinch and it helps keep your drains unclogged. Ours wasn't working for 24 hours and I can't tell you how many times I missed that rip roaring shredding sound. -minus the tinny, spoon being mangled sound. Maybe it's just me who manages to do that.

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Red noses

We attempted to get some photographs taken of our family this evening. The lighting was great, the scenery amazing and the kids looked clean:) but though the sun was shinning and the sky clear, it was a bit chilly. I hope we managed to get a few good ones. I am grateful for red noses and cheeky grins. Fall is definitely in the air.

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The scent of fall

Ryan simmered up a lovely mix of apple, cinnamon and cloves today. It made the whole house smell like fall. The smell was almost as heavenly as drinking the cider was.

I am grateful my favorite time of year is here!

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I am grateful for...

...fizzy drinks, Jr Mints & Spaceballs.

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VIP

When you are VIP (Very important person) at Preschool it is your week to shine.

You get to lead the line when you go out to the play ground.
You get to help pass out papers and snacks during snack time.
You are first for show and tell.
You get a poster all about you to share with the class(The teachers ask the parents to do this)
You sit wherever you want during circle time.

It couldn't get any better could it?

Sam was VIP this week and I did my best to live up to the expectations of others and participate best I could. I made the poster, which was actually right up my alley. I even got out the old foam core just for sport. The teachers encouraged you to come in one of the days and do something with the kids. I am lucky enough that Ryan had Monday off this week and I was able to spend the whole Monday class with Sam. I did an art project with the children. Bubble art, an idea I got from a very creative mother's blog Here. It turned out well. Only one of the children tried to drink the bubble paint so I figure it was a success. The kids seemed to really like it.

I got a few photos of the action:





This is Sam with his teachers. Mrs. Mackenzie & Mrs. Sherry



As I went through all of the photos of Samuel for the poster I made I couldn't stop thinking about how Grateful I am for his silly, happy, enthusiasm in my life.

Seriously though-Where did my baby go?

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Annuals

I am grateful for beautiful Impatiens that are surviving the fall.
I guess it's not shocking they are still doing so well here on the coast but it still feels like a nice surprise.

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Eat your peas

Every 2 weeks I offer something new to Evelyn's diet. Today, it was peas.

I had my doubts. Both of my other children refused them even in the beginning.

But Evelyn continues on her charming, perfect child streak and had no issues whatsoever with eating her peas.

I am grateful to have at least one child who will eat their veggies.

For now.

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Long distance blues

Over the past 5 years we have lived at least 1,700 miles or more away from family. The initial transition and move was a bit of a pain, in the heart that is. I think it took me 6 months or more to be okay with the distance and not feel too sad when I spoke to everyone on the phone. After the 1st year ended I realized one day that I had become used to the separation. Although I always miss my family and that experience of living close by I also feel like my own family has grown together because of it.

After a few years passed by, we started thinking about where our family wanted to live more permanently. Closer to family was #1 on the list, although after some research it became very apparent that NEXT door(as in the same city) was not going to happen. We expanded our search and came to the realization that living even in the same STATE was going to be impossible unless we wanted to give up number 2 and 3 on the list and maybe even 4 and 5. I think this was one of the hardest decisions Ryan and I have ever made together. How do you weigh all your options when it comes to family? Isn't it #1 for a reason? I had many sleepless nights worrying about what we should do.

To be honest, even after making the decision I still worry about it.

It is helpful to be united in our decision. Which was to move "closer" to family but also somewhere where we felt we could accomplish our goals in Ryan's professional career AND our family goals. "Closer" of course, is relative. So, although we are now within a day's drive, that day is kind of long. This in and of itself was not a shock. Of course we knew how far away it was, but what I didn't realize was how inherently final it would feel when we moved somewhere permanent.

-I am not close enough to attend All birthday celebrations.
-Sunday night dinners with everyone will never be a tradition for us.
-Grandma & Grandpa are not available to babysit when we need a date night.
-Hanging out with my siblings, just because, is a dream that for now, isn't coming true.

This list can get long so I'll stop there. It can also become my little black rain cloud if I let it, but I don't. I don't know if it's because we don't regularly see our family but the time that we DO get together is pretty special. Parties, and get-together's, celebrating holiday's and spending precious time together can be pretty magical and heartwarming.

Although at times I get the long distance blues for my family I am so grateful to live close enough to go and visit more regularly and to live in a vacation destination so that visiting us is a good time too:)

I've been meaning to write in more detail about our recent trip to visit family but I've been putting it off till I got those long distance blues. I get them after every trip. So this time I delayed going over these memories until I needed the boost in moral. Today it hit me and all I needed was to look at these photos and the blues disappeared...

The reason for the trip was for Ryan to go hunting with his dad and brothers. We went up and visited their campsite for a day before the hunt started. We saw the sights, shot some guns, and ate some yummy food.

Here's Sam digging Grandpa a pool.

Sam learning the art of rifle shooting

Russell snuggling with Grandpa while sitting around a smoldering fire pit. Have I mentioned Russell is frightened of anything unpredictable? (dogs, fire, strangers, playing Don't Eat Pete)

Evelyn chillin' with Grandma.

Russell is also slightly obsessed with DVDs and video game cases. He likes to carry them around with him. If he looks unhappy in this photo that's because he IS. That dang smoking pit was terrifying.

A pretty view from our explorations in the hills.

Russell did eventually calm down and play in the dirt. A completely predictable substance.

I am pretty sure this is the cutest dirty boy I know. That hair is rockin' awesome.

Why not get even messier with smores?

He just eats the chocolate off. He is definitely a chocolate fiend like his Dad.

Sam was so excited to teach Grandma Jeri how to play Mario Cart. He had been practicing for weeks. I love this picture because their faces are pretty serious about this race they're racing:)

Evelyn and I picnicking at the "Train" park in Brigham City.

Sam making faces at the camera.

Russell and Grandma Jeri enjoying the picnic too.

Sam doesn't really like to drink milk. These cups at Grandma Janet's were perfect for blowing milk bubbles.

Visiting our neighbor's the Olsen's is exciting. They have a beautiful pond and quite a few Koi fish. They were pretty incredible and if you stuck your hand into the water they would suck on your fingers. It was both weird and fascinatingly fun.

Dave showing Sam not to be afraid of the fish.

Miss Sophie & Miss Evelyn lounging together on the floor.

Evie & Aunt Belle

One of the best parts of our trip was that fact that we got to be there for Christa's Golden birthday. She turned 30 on the 30Th of September. We had a Fiesta with family and friends. It turned out really well. I think she had a great time.

Colorful cupcakes for the birthday girl.

Cupcake detail

Tent decorations made the party feel festive.

In true fiesta form we served chicken tacos and Nachos! The food was fabulous-Thanks Mom for making that possible.

Even the boys thought the food was good.

There was dancing, done mostly by Sophie Bean. This girl has got some kickin' moves.

Sam enjoying his 2ND cupcake.

Russell whined all day for this cupcake...was it as good as he hoped...I think the eyes say it all.

Rachel and Christa. My beautiful sisters.

Christa blowing out her birthday candles. Audrey was her helper.

Christa is a runner. Not like I am a runner, no. She runs half marathons, full marathons and other races. I run up the street and back.

Miss Audrey likes her picture taken. "Take a picture of me with these pretty roses Aunt Jessica." -Audrey
I think she looks beautiful.

Grandma Janet holding Evelyn. She did this for most of the party that night. It made it easier for me to take care of things for the party. Thanks Mom.

What is a fiesta without a pinata?

The kids carrying around the burrow's head full of candy. Morbidly funny.

Me with the birthday girl.

Sophie and the sombrero.

Nate and the sombrero... with Christa.

Ole!

Sam and Audrey enjoying their cupcakes. It was Sam's 3rd(maybe 4th) can you tell?

Christa Belle with all the cousins.

Another shot of Christa Belle with Evie.

My sisters and I. Thanks Rachel for co-throwing the best fiesta I've ever been to.

Audrey holding burrito Evelyn.

Lauren holding burrito Evelyn. Love the scrunched nose smile Lauren Lou. She was my little helper the entire trip. She loved baby Evie and was almost always by her side.

This is a great shot of all the cousins eating popcorn and watching a movie together.

Last, but not least. Getting to see BFF's. I've known these girls since 4th? 5th? grade. Seriously. Love you.

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