Solar Eclipse

I just can't help but share how in awe of God that I've felt since witnessing the solar eclipse last night.  It truly was an inspiring sight to see.  I feel so grateful that I know that God is there and is aware of each one of us.  He is a kind and loving being and I'm so grateful for the many beauties and marvels that he has created for us to experience.  They really do remind me that God loves us.  I'm truly grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It brings peace and comfort to my soul and meaning to my life.  

We are truly blessed to be His children!

Another year . . .

Well, it's now obvious what kind of blogger I am. Yes, pretty much a non-existent one. But, just in case there's anyone that keeps on checking, I thought I'd do a recap of the last year. (Sorry it's been that long.)

Brig turned 4 years old last May. He had a his first "friend" birthday party that had a pirate theme and loved every minute of it. He is such a cute 4 year old and has been so much easier this year. Hooray!!!

A random, yet, oh so cute picture of Jessa. I just can't get enough of those chocolate brown eyes - Yummy! What a princess!

Another fantastic trip to Lake Powell. It is so beautiful down there and the kids loved playing in the water and sand.

Hiking Bryce Canyon on the way home from Lake Powell. (Love Brig's sunglasses!!!)

And, plenty of camping trips during the summer. The kids really love exploring the outdoors and think it's so much fun to sleep in a tent, eat smores, and build a fire!

Brig learned to ride his bike without training wheels early this summer too. He was so proud of himself and picked it up really quickly. He's really good at obeying our rules for wearing a helmet and loves riding on our street with his friends!

Our darling kiddos on the 4th of July. We got all dressed up and went to a parade this year. (Jared even seemed to enjoy it ;) or at least put on a happy face while there.) The kids loved the fireworks and bbq with family that evening too.

I can't get enough of those smiles!

Jessa turned 2 years old at the end of July. She is growing up so fast. She loves princesses, baby dolls, playing with Brigham and being a big girl. She is a little chatterbox just like her brother and wears big-girl underpants. (Successfully most of the time. :))

Such a cute 2-year-old!

Jessa also figured out how to climb out of her crib and has enjoyed her big-girl bed.

Brig started soccer in the fall and had a lot of fun with it. He isn't the fastest, but sure can elbow his way in to try to get the ball back. GO FIREBALLS!

He also started preschool. It's his first and only year of "official" preschool without mommy doing the teaching. He's really enjoyed it and loves his two teachers and all the fun that he has with his class.

We had a fun Halloween together and the kids had so much fun dressing up as a Bat and Minnie Mouse. I think Brigham dressed up 5 or 6 times this year for Halloween - it was a crazy, fun week!

After much shopping around on KSL classified, I found a steal of a deal on a gently used piano. We have LOVED having a piano back in our home and felt really blessed to find one that felt like it fit so well for an awesome price. Yay!

p.s. My brother, Mike, (in the picture on the piano) is currently deployed in Bahrain.

We're so proud of him and miss Uncle Mike so much!

Christmas was fantastic this year! The kids were so full of excitement and loved everything about the holidays. It's fun to see their faces light up with all of the magic of that season. We're so lucky to have them!

Just another random picture, but they looked so darling that I just couldn't help myself!

We also loved Valentines again this year. They looked so cute all dressed up for the holiday!

We had a FANTASTIC family vacation to Mexico recently too. It was 10 full days (including travel) and we totally could have stayed a whole lot longer. The kids were so good and had so much fun and it was wonderful as parents to enjoy focusing entirely on our family. It was so fun and relaxing!!!

Jessa chillin' at the beach

Brig holding a snake at the Crococun Zoo - what a brave kid!

Visiting El Meco ruins just north of Cancun

And last, but not least, having a reunion with my freshman year roommates from college. We had everyone but Lexie come over. (We missed you Lex!) It was fun to see all the gals, meet husbands, and their darling little kids. It was like we had never been apart. That was a GREAT year!

I love you gals!

Well, there you have it - or at least a brief version of it. We've had another wonderful year! Hope you enjoyed the update. And, who knows... maybe I'll post again before another year has passed! ;) He he he

What a blessed life!

Happy Valentines Day!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

My brother, Mike, the MARINE!

This is my brother, Michael. He spent September through December down in San Diego as a Recruit at basic training for the Marine Corps. I'm pretty confident that it was the hardest thing he's ever done, but he's said that he'd do it all over again. I mentioned Mike's graduation in my last post, but didn't expound further because I thought it deserved a post all it's own.

So, meet my brother, Mike, a United States Marine. We're so proud of him!

We were able to go on base the day before graduation for Family Day. It was so wonderful to see Mike again after all of these months away. He looked great! Unfortunately for us, we only saw him from a distance before they all had to head off for a run. We were able to see them come back and then we were taken in to learn more about what our loved ones had been doing all of these month during basic training. It was really neat to see all of that and learn more about their training, but I have to say that the wait seemed way too long since we were so eager to be reunited again.

This is my sister, Rachelle, & I while we waited to see Mike again.

And here is an eager father watching for his son.

(I wish I had more pictures of the others waiting. My Mom and Dad were there with my brother Jon, and Rachelle & hubby Ira and kids were there. I also had Jared and kids with me. We were all so eager to see Mike again. Mom was especially ready. I think she would have run out into the crowd of recruits to grab onto Mike if she could have.)

It was really awesome to see all of the recruits come out in uniform and to watch how they all responded to commands so precisely together. It was so exciting to spot Mike in the crowd (back row middle).

He looked so handsome and it was wonderful when they were given time with their families. Here are some of the shots that I got of his reunion with some of us. My only regret is that there wasn't anyone taking a shot when I got to hug him. Oh well - it still doesn't change the way it felt to finally hug my brother again. I felt so proud of him!

Mike with Mom - Mike with brother Jon - Mike with Dad

Here are some other pictures of us all together that afternoon. We went and had lunch with his LDS branch and enjoyed the afternoon's events together and touring the base (atleast the portion we were allowed to be on). ;) I loved hearing Michael recount some of his experiences and feelings about the whole thing. I really don't think I could have ever done what was required of him and I'm so thrilled that he was so determined and successful. He surely was blessed!

Here's Brig so excited to stand next to his Uncle Mike the soldier. :)

It was hard to leave him that evening on base, but it was okay because we knew that we would be able to go back the following morning and see him again. The traffic approaching the base was awful Friday morning and I was seriously concerned that we'd miss Mike's graduation. Fortunately, we made it in time and I'm so glad that we did too.

The music by the band was excellent - I love patriotic music - and it was so incredible to see Mike dressed up in uniform once again.

I'm not really sure how to explain the graduation ceremony except to say that it was AWESOME! My favorite part was the very end when the commanding officers gave their final command to the new Marines.

If I had realized how amazing it was going to be I would have recorded it. Thankfully I did get photos of it. This is Mike & his platoon responding to their final command. It was incredible to be there to witness!

So, now Michael is officially a Marine!

We're so proud of him!

He is such a great example to us of someone who wants to make a difference, loves his country, and is honorable. I loved spending those few days in California with him and this last month while he's been back at home before heading out for more training. The awesome guy Mike was before is still there, but I have to say that he came out of training as a gentleman.

We love you, Mike, and are so proud of you!

Update Time

Here's what we've been up to lately, plus just a few super cute ones of the kids:

Jessa & Brig with our first ever pumpkin crop.

They were so excited about these pumpkins!

(and very patient waiting for them to turn orange before picking :))

Our darling little Lady Bug & Buzz Lightyear all dressed up for Halloween!

Jessa is definitely Daddy's little girl - she can't get enough of her dad!

We headed to CA early in December to support uncle Mike

and have stay for a few more days of family fun.

We attended Uncle Mike's graduation from Marine Corps basic training, visited the beach, Mormon Battalion site, Legoland, and Sea World.

We had a wonderful time together as a family.

The kids loved decorating Christmas Candy trains

with Grandma & Grandpa.

Thanks to Great Grandma & Grandpa we also got to have a nice visit with Santa.

Brigham loves him - Jessa cried! :)

Our darling little children participating in the family nativity.

Couldn't you just eat them up?

Of course, Christmas morning was amazing!

The kids were in heaven!

One of the snowmen that we built this year.

and super fun sledding with cousins!

It's been a great few months! We are so grateful for our many blessings and for the chance to be parents to such sweet, energetic, and fun-loving kids. We love you all, our dear family and friends!

Surprise getaway

I am such a lucky woman!!!

A few weeks ago Jared shocked me with a surprised getaway. He gave me three days notice and then off we went to New York City.

Jared had a work conference that he had to attend during the day Monday and part of the day Tuesday and had decided to take me along. I thought it was so great that he planned the whole trip and even lined up sitters for the kids.

Monday while Jared was at his conference I headed out to go and see ground zero. It was a really neat experience for me and I really enjoyed walking the block and taking some time to ponder on the events of 9/11 and the lives lost and families affected. It was really touching and I was glad to have devoted some of my day to being down there. After that I spent quite a few hours wandering around the city and shopping. It was surprisingly fun to shop on my own, take my own pace, take no extra potty or snack breaks than needed, and have to deal with no tantrums. :) Monday evening we enjoyed delicious Indian food and spent time walking around Time Square and visiting the M&M & Hersheys stores - they're quite a sight to see.

Tuesday morning was spent with more city exploration. I really am amazed when I walk through cities where you can't see anything beyond the vast see of skyscrapers. It's pretty awe inspiring and also makes me grateful for our beautiful mountains here at home. Jared joined me that afternoon and we headed out to Liberty Island to visit the Statue of Liberty. What an inspiring site to see. I absolutely loved it and was touched as I thought about the experience that so many immigrants had coming to America and seeing Lady Liberty. So cool!

Later that afternoon we did a little shopping for the kiddos, and got ready for our incredible evening ahead. After freshening up we headed to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse - Yummy! - and then on to see Wicked on Broadway. I LOVED the show and was so touched by the music and message of the story. I highly recommend this show to anyone who hasn't yet seen it! We talked about it for days and bought the cd which we've listened to over and over again.

After the show we headed to the Empire State Building. We hadn't yet visited there because of cloud cover and storminess and were thrilled that it had cleared up. The view from the top of the building of all the city lights amazed me. It was totally worth staying up late to see that site!

Jared took Wednesday and Thursday off work so Wednesday morning we rented a car and took a drive up to Palmyra. We only had one afternoon to do Palmyra in so we started with what was most important to us - the Smith family homestead and Sacred Grove. We had such a spiritual experience together in the grove both individually and as a couple. I was so touched by my time there and will never forget the spirit that I felt there. I was also thrilled that we missed the summer crowds - it gave us a wonderful opportunity to experience the grove in total serenity and have time for meditation and prayer. The grove was also still all leafed out and thankfully dry from the previously rainy days. It was beautiful! After our time there we were also able to visit the printing press that printed the first copies of the Book of Mormon and also the Hill Cumorah. Our experiences in Palmyra, although short, made for a very precious part of our getaway.

Thursday morning after breakfast we jumped back in the car to drive on to Niagara Falls. We took the ride on the Maid of the Mist boat to get an up close view. I never realized that the falls were in a horseshoe shape - it really felt like we were in the center of an almost complete circle of falling water and was so awe inspiring. I loved it! I also loved doing the Tunnel of the Winds. After paying your fees you receive a rain poncho and the most utterly stylish sandles you've ever seen. ;) Then you take a ride down an elevator carved out of the cliff on the island between the American falls and Niagara Falls. Once at the bottom you can walk along platforms at the base of the side of the American falls. The water runs over portions of the platforms and presents an up close view of the falls which was awesome! Jared & I especially loved the "hurricane" platform. I've never felt so much force coming down from water falling - it was amazing and so much fun to do with Jared. I felt like we were back in high school just hanging out and being goofy! If you walk all the way forward to the railing on that platform, you pretty much end up under the edge of one of the falls. The force of the water was so strong that I couldn't even look up. We thought it was so much fun that we went back to that platform multiple times and braved it over and over. I was shocked at how many people opted to skip that platform. It was definitely a highlight for me. (Note: It's definitely a good idea to wear their fancy sandles and to roll up your pant legs. I still got soaked part way up my thighs even with my pants rolled up to my knees and a poncho on on top. :))

That afternoon we headed to Rochester and caught our flights home. It was a rush of a trip, but one I'll never forget. I love that Jared went to so much work to surprise me and take me somewhere I've never been before.

Thanks, Baby! I love you!