Thanksgiving

We had a good Thanksgiving. The kids were out of school the day before and the nice thing is they like to stay home so they just played in the basement for most of that day. We had planned to make a dinner at home but things didn't go as we planned. Jerry had strep throat on Monday and it took a few days for him to feel better. I wasn't feeling great either so we decided to find a place to go and eat dinner instead of cooking on our own. We went to the Cracker Barrel in Springville. We had a really nice meal. Landon wanted everyone to say their favorite thing about the Thanksgiving meal and his was the cranberry. I think everyone enjoyed being together although we would have rather been at home. On the way home Landon said he wasn't feeling great. We seem to have a car sickness problem in our family. I had given Avery some medicine before we left because she is usually the one that gets sick. We had to stop at Walgreen's in Heber to return a movie and that's when Landon threw up all over Avery (who was sleeping) and the van. Jerry was complaining he didn't want to drive home because the car smelled. I was just grateful we were in Heber and not further away. We spent the rest of the night cleaning up the kids and the van. So it wasn't our ideal Thanksgiving but we still found time before family prayer to talk about the things we were grateful for. I am grateful for family, health, home and the blessings of the gospel.

Snow

We finally have snow in Heber. We have had a beautiful fall but the snow is here. The kids were so excited this morning to see the snow. Jerry is actually officiating football games today in Park City. I am interested to hear how that goes with all the snow on the ground. He has had an extremely busy fall officiating at least one or two times a weekend. He has done a lot of Saturday games where he can do multiple games in a row. I am anxious for him to have a weekend home. We have missed him. We were planning to use all the officiating money to take trip to Alaska with my parents in June of next year but because of Jerry's work we are unable to go. He is managing a project at the University of Utah. Being a project manager requires a lot of time and not being able to plan any vacations. We are both sad we will miss out on the experience. Hopefully we will be able to go another year.

Scofield

We had a great weekend with the Wolford's at Amber's parents cabin. The kids had fall break on Thursday and Friday. Jerry was supposed to take these days off work but it didn't work out quite as we had planned. He had to go into work both days. We ended up leaving on Friday at noon and meeting up with the Wolford's in Spanish Fork. It took us close to two hours to get to the cabin. The kids had a great time playing out in the sagebrush. They moved wood and rocks around and all the other things kids do. They put together a rock shop where they gathered rocks and sold them to the adults. They all felt like they profited monetarily. We took turns making meals and on Saturday the boys went to Price and picked up some food from Wingers. Amber's sister owns the restaurant and was kind enough to give us free food. Jerry was excited about teaching all the adults to play Ueker. Unfortunately, we found out Andrew cannot play cards so I don't think the experience was quite what Jerry wanted it to be. Amber is expecting a baby and wasn't feeling great to her and I spent time looking at magazines and laying on the couch. It had a really good time. The cabin was beautiful and we were in great company. We came home on Saturday night so we could be at church on Sunday. Jerry and I are taking a family history class taught by Michael and Lynne McClean. They are amazing teachers and Jerry already has several names temple ready. We are really enjoying it and didn't want to miss a week.

SEP's

I had the opportunity to attend the kid's SEP's tonight. I didn't realize I was supposed to bring the kids so I left them home with Jerry and went on my own. It was such a good experience. I went first to Lauren's first grade teacher, Mrs. Hayter. She actually lives across the street from us and is in our ward. Her husband is the basketball coach at Wasatch High School. Lauren is doing great in her class. She said one of her strengths is math. She picks up on it extremely quick. I have been going to help in Lauren's class and she has a boy named Harley in her class who has some challenges. I have been asking Lauren how he is doing and to make sure she is always kind to him. Mrs. Hayter told me an experience that she had with Lauren that really touched her. Mrs. Hayter has her own kids come in after school to help Harley because he needs so much extra help. One day her kids were unable to come so she placed Harley strategically between two students she thought would help him. She looked over and noticed the two students weren't helping him but Lauren had her arm around him and was trying to help him. She said most of the other kids shy away fro him because he is different and they don't know how to respond to him. I actually started crying. It really touched my heart to learn more about the special person Lauren is. I came home and told her how proud I was of her for seeking out the one who needed help and not being afraid to help him. Landon is in the second grade and his teacher is Mrs. Smith. She is a young teacher with lots of energy. She told me Landon is actually reading at a sixth grade level. I felt a little foolish for not pushing him more in this area but I was unaware he was reading so well. She said not only is he reading at that level but he is reading fast and comprehending what he is reading. I think if I can get the right books in his hands he will start to absoutely love reading. He is doing great in all other subjects as well. He is also good at math. She said Landon also helps others and is kind to kids in his class. I think that teaching my kids to be kind is something I really hope they take to heart. I also talked to Landon's PE teacher who said Landon is one of the most athletic of the 2nd graders. I hope he can learn to love athletics and us this as a way to learn discipline and other life's lessons. I am grateful they have such good teachers and are doing so well. They are loving Heber Valley Elementary!

Weekend

We had a fun day today. Jerry ran a race in Coalville in the morning. He has been trying to run a 5k each month. He has been running with our friends Eric and Eliza Woodland and their daughter Halle. They got done and Jerry made a great breakfast for us here. He made his french toast with the apple topping. In the afternoon, Heidi Arave called and came to visit with her kids. Her husband was doing a casting competition in Midway so she came to watch. It was fun catching up with her. Kevin and Lindsay came up in the afternoon and we had dinner together. Jerry made his homemade spaghetti and meatballs and I made a herb focaccia loaf bread that we are loving right now. It tastes a little like the bread you get at Macaroni Grill. Then we drove over to Midway and got ice cream at the store. The kids love the superman ice cream there. We drove to the Homestead and listened to the outdoor concert. Lindsay spent a lot of time in Midway growing up because her family had a cabin there. We also went to Wasatch State Park to feed the ducks. Unfortunately we forgot our bug spray and it was getting dark so the visit was short lived. We had a busy but good day. We have had a really fun summer with lots of visitors.

Friday

Bridger is crawling! I missed the first crawl because he was home with Jerry. Our life with a baby is about to become very busy. Jerry actually moved his crib lower because he was starting to pull up on the side and we were worried he would fall out. It is no longer fun to change his diaper. He is such a wiggle worm and so busy. He is at a really fun stage. Let the babyproofing begin! Tonight I went with my girlfriends, Jill, Amy and Roz to Park City for dinner and shopping. Jill's birthday is next week and Amy is in town from St Louis. We had so much fun. We could have spent a few more days talking and catching up. We shopped at the outlets and ate at the Loco Lizard. We took Amy home to her sister's and were able to see her baby Henry and catch up with her sister Molly and parents. It was so much fun. I consider my friends to be one of my greatest blessings. These are girls I went to High School with and I consider them to be some of my closest friends. What a great night.

Bridger

This has been a big month for Bridger. He has hit lots of milestones. He now has two teeth. I can't even tell you how cute that is. It was a little uncomfortable but with some tylenol and sucking on wet washclothes we made it through. He also started clapping his hands. He loves to do patty cake. He is also fond of the itsy bitsy spider. I have been trying to get him to put his arms up over his head when I say how big is Bridger but we haven't had success. I just look like a crazy mom and he gives me a big smile. Last week he also figured out how to sleep on his tummy. He has been rolling since last month but isn't super happy on the tummy. Now he rolls and he actually took two little naps last week on his tummy. His usually floor routine goes like this...I sit him down, he leans over and pulls his legs out, scoots around on his tummy and then cries when he is tired of that. He has gotten himself into a few predicaments ie under the table, backing into the entertainment system and running out of room to slide backward in the crib. Every time I take him out people comment on how cute he is, how chubby his cheeks are and I even had a guy ask me if he were for sale. I told him he couldn't afford him. We love having this little guy in our home. He is super happy and so much fun.

Bridger

Bridger started making lots of noise this week. His favorite sound is ,"ba,ba,ba" but he did say "ba ba ma ma." I am documenting this to prove he said mama first even though it was just once. He is growing up so much. He has the best cheeks ever. He is eating solids. He love baby mum mum crackers. I use them to keep him busy while I am preparing his baby food. His favorites are bananas and sweet potatoes. His brother and sisters love him so much and give him loads of attention. Lauren carries his blankets or pieces of his clothes around when he is asleep because they smell like him. He is almost sitting up and rolls on his back if you put him on his tummy. He loves to wave his arms and suck on his fingers. We love Bridger!

Heber City

We moved to Heber City this weekend. Jerry ran the RAGNAR race in June of last year and ran in Heber. That was the beginning of his Heber obesession. That is the only thing I can call it is an obsession. He started asking people about it and found a few people at Jacobsen that live in Heber. He brought my Dad up in October in an attempt to visit Swiss Days but they had missed it by a day. Jerry was impressed with how friendly all the peope were and the general feel of the town. He also loved Midway. They have a hotel with german pastries and a carousel which was also a big draw. In January, Jerry got in touch with a realtor for Edge Homes. We came and met with her. It was so foggy we could barely see anything. We looked around and ate at Tony's Tacos. Then through a series of phone calls Jerry got connected with Gina Hubbard. She found a few homes, we made a few offers and we ended up with a Richmond American home in Wheeler Park. Jerry came home on my birthday and said he had made on offer on a home he loved. Honestly, I couldn't remember which one it was but I decided to start praying that if things were meant to be it would happen. Somehow it all worked out. We feel extremely blessed.

The Divine Gift of Gratitude

I have been thinking so much about gratitude lately. I have much to be grateful for. I have been listening to the General Conference talks and I love what President Monson said about gratitude. He said in his talk titled The Divine Gift of Gratitude: "Regardless of our circumstances, each of us has much for which to be grateful if we will but pause and contemplate our blessings. This is a wonderful time to be on earth. While there is much that is wrong in the world today, there are many things that are right and good. There are marriages that make it, parents who love their children and sacrifice for them, friends who care about us and help us, teachers who teach. Our lives are blessed in countless ways. We can lift ourselves and others as well when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues. Someone has said that “gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”

Lauren

So Lauren and I disagree every time she gets dressed. She tells me she wants me to pick out her clothes but complains and will only wear certain things. I have tried her picking the top and me picking the bottom or vice versa but we always seem to have issues. Yesterday we were once again not agreeing and she says to me, "Mom, when will you start to understand that I just love clothes?" Wow. I am in so much trouble when she becomes a teenager!

Landon

Landon lost another tooth this week. He is getting so grown up. When he wears his long sleeve shirts it is evident his arms are growing. He is stick skinny and getting taller. He has been playing basketball since January. I think he is really learning and starting to understand it better. It is fun to watch him play. He has been reading from the Book of Mormon to the family each day. It is awesome to watch him learn and grow. I love being his Mom.

FHE

So Jerry put Avery in charge of the song for FHE. She picked, "All the Single Ladies" by Beyonce. Well, you can imagine how that went. Clearly she should not be in charge of the songs anymore.

Blog

I finally have internet again so am hoping to slowly re-enter the blogging world. I have missed it! I have a question....has anyone printed off their blog and made a book and how have you done it? One of my goals for 2011 is to try and catch up my pics and journaling. Any advice or suggestions would be helpful. Of course, my other goal is to lose weight?! I can't remember not having that as a new year's resolution. Maybe 2011 will be my year :>