What has the year 2008 brought us…
I can't believe it was a whole year ago when Jared started the year of 2008 in California completing his out of state internship. We were so grateful to have him stay with family. They were so generous to keep him in their home for two months. The best part about him being away in California for two months was that my family used that as enough reasoning to travel to California for a vacation. I started a week early staying with Jared and visiting with two other great friends. Then 2 weeks later my family joined us for Disneyland and a family reunion. It was the BEST time of year to miss the winter weather in Utah. I will never forget the early morning phone call I received from a neighbor in the ward saying, "Church has been canceled because of the snow!" I couldn't have been happier wearing short sleeves and nothing better than flip flops! It was a very hard transition when we had to leave the palm trees, sunshine and fun to return to grey skies, snow piles and ice covered driveways. That's what we get for living in Utah.
A few months later Alayna turned 3 years old. Celebrating as any three year old would, "Disney Princess" style. She had a princess dress-up party. She was no other than "Belle" herself. It was a fun adventure for me to create a princess castle cake. Jacob one month later to the same day celebrated his first birthday. He is famous for making dinosaur screeches so his cake fit him well…a dinosaur.
The month of May was an exciting month for all. Jared finally completed and graduated his Doctorate degree in Physical Therapy. My parents and siblings were so kind to watch the kiddo's for a week so he and I could go and celebrate his accomplishment. We went on an ALL Jared trip. From start to finish he got to plan the food, entertainment and all the adventures. He introduced me to a new found thrill, mountain biking (especially the down hill part). I couldn't have enjoyed it more. We ate at buffets that included salad bars (I didn’t enjoy), we watch sports late at night on all the cable channels he wished we had, and we did very little swimming. (Not his first choice activity!) Either way I came home with a sun tan and a new found interest that I now share with my hubby…mountain biking. By the end of the month Jared had interviewed at several physical therapy clinics. Late one night we talked it out which one out of the three seemed to be exactly the perfect fit for a new grad out of school. With that being said, he accepted the offer "Would you like to be a part of our team?" Yes, was the answer to RPT – Registered Physical Therapists, Inc. We couldn't have been happier when we realized Jared would be working less than four miles from home and he even can come home for lunch most days.
June brought the completion of a long awaited project for me. I finally reached our family's one year supply of food. With the kind hearts of my sister and my parents, Jared and I have been able to store our supply at their houses. It's been a fun and semi-slow process, but there is not a better feeling to know that we have it. It might not be all around us, but all those pasta noodles and bags of wheat are bought and paid for!
The summer months were booked weekend after weekend with "My Food Storage Deals." I was excited to help my sister out with attending booths at several different local parades, town days, etc. We even made t-shirts! It really was fun to share in my new found passion for food storage. We had great success and we can't wait to do it again next year!!! Alayna was spoiled in July to go on a Grandparents Only trip with my parents. My parents took Olivia (age 5) and Alayna (age 3) to Lego Land and Sea World for a week. They had the best time. My parents quickly learned that Alayna requires A LOT of sleep or else the scary, "sleep deprivation monster" comes out, and there is nothing you can do to reason with it. They played hard from morning until night! These grandkids are so lucky to have such wonderful grandparents. Thanks, Mom and Dad!
Alayna managed to add to her wounds list…she got one single "stitch" on her bottom lip! So, she officially has had more injuries than I. A broken arm and a "stitch!" Hopefully, we won't have many more exciting accidents coming this New Year.
Jared and I rounded out 7 years of marriage! That's right; July 14th, 2008 was our 7 year wedding anniversary. It's all about patience, learning and growing and more patience. Oh, and a whole lot of laughter and fun times together. And our top favorite hobby is to love our little kids so much. We've truly been blessed.
Later in that month Jared, Riley, Krista (my sister & bro-in-law) and I were able to take a short mini trip to Zion’s National Park. We actually hiked the Narrows. This was a HUGE step forward out of my comfort box. I don't enjoy hiking very much and for a few moments on this trip I came to actually have fun.
One of the top highlights this year for me happened in August. It was the chance to attend a live comedy act by none other than, Brian Regan…literally the funniest & dorkiest comedian ever! My family & friends had the best time rolling with laughter and wishing it could go on all night long. It was worth every dollar we spent. Another top highlight was finally meeting one of my personal role models…Merrilee Boyack. I attended BYU Education week and I worked up the courage to talk to her in person. It turned out to be one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, because I was practically drooling over her…but, oh well. I did it and she will never remember me again! It was awesome.
In September we celebrated another birthday for my mom. This was a fantastic day. It was a day to celebrate her and to celebrate the great health that she has received this year. We have been on a roller coaster with her over the past year. But she is doing so well; we can only count our blessings. We are so thankful to a loving Heavenly Father who allows miracles to happen. She is a living testament of that. I love you, Mom!
Alayna has started in a Joy School group with 4 other neighboring kids. She is in heaven. She is little miss social butterfly. Everyday she asks what friends she will be able to play with. Her famous line is, "Mom, I still want to live in Herriman close to Livvy so I can still play with her, but I do want our own house and bunk beds for me and Jake." We will try to make her wish granted…all in good time.
Jacob has managed to find a huge interest in climbing, jumping, throwing balls, kicking balls and saying, "No!" This little guy couldn't have come any cuter. He really has become our little prized possession. Even Alayna wants to be there to sing him good night. He's developed an ever growing vocabulary and can run faster than any kid his age. We just love to teach him new words and see that adorable spaced teeth smile with dimples. We just adore this little guy.
November came and went just as fast as the entire year has. We celebrated Thanksgiving with all families and ate way too much. For those of you who endured reading this novel and tribute to our little family you will know that another announcement will be made.
We finally have broken the news to our family that we will be welcoming yet another
baby into our family, next year in June 2009. Yes, you heard me correctly --we are going at this baby thing again. We have this silly two year, one month space between each child. Alayna was born on April 11th, 2005 and Jacob was born on May 11th, 2007 and yes baby number three (it will remain a surprise until that due date, I know!) until June 3rd, 2009. I'm hoping to go late (I generally do) so this kiddo can be born on June 11th, 2009 – to keep with the tradition of the same birthday as its siblings.
There ya have it. A breakdown of fun things and many things to be grateful for! Here's to welcoming a new year…
a new baby…a new car…a new house….Okay, I won't get too excited…I'll just welcome a new baby! Bring on 2009!
