red white blue craftiness

I love the fourth, and I love decorating for it.  Here are the new things I did this year. A wood pallet door mat. Snap Crackle Pop fireworks. Sparkly patriotic gel nails get me all excited. I planted 3 festive pots that are on my front porch. I half way finished four red white and blue pleated fans.  And I made a RW&B ribbon wrapped wreath for my front door. 

thanksgiving pictures

This was our first Thanksgiving home since 2005. We absolutely loved spending time with our families in Utah. The boys couldn't get enough of their cousins and were super disappointed when it was time to go. I felt really sad for them, they just love their Utah families so much.

Pics taken by Brad.

Love.

 These are with the Sayer Family. Love them too.

pyro city

Our fourth of July was very low key this year. I got the boys cute red,white and blue shirts and tattoos to wear. They were all decked out and in the 4th of July spirit.  When we showed up at the ward breakfast, Ty got super embarrassed that nobody else had went all out. We really needed you there Uncle Chris to make Ty feel a little more comfortable in his tattoos. Heehee. He was so mad at me, and kept saying, "Nobody else is wearing this stuff!" Once he got over it, he and Bex participated in a fun run. Ty played in the water balloon tossing contest and Bex played in a soccer game. 

We went to a friend's house for a late afternoon BBQ, and then we all headed over to the fairgrounds to watch the city's firework show. Being in pyro city, they had a great show. Happy 4th!

new year, new place

2011. Brad and Marci and kids meant to come out to spend the new year with us, but after 2 hours into their drive to see us, they had to turn around because of snowy roads. We were super bummed, but glad they played it safe.  As much as we like eachother in our own little family, we had so much food, really a schmorgusboard, that we wanted to share it with others, so we tried to recruit people to our party. We only knew two people in town... our 80 year old neighbor, Margaret, and Matt's boss. We called Margaret up to come and party with us, but she denied us because she goes to bed at about 6pm.  Matthias attempted to call his boss, but right after he punched in her number, he put the phone down... it would be too weird. I tried to get my cousin to come up, but she had plans. So we stuffed our selves silly, continued our night making party hats with the boys and played the Wii. At about 11pm, I hurriedly changed the clock in the kitchen to read 6 minutes before midnight. Told the boys to hurry and get ready to bang pots and pans because the new year was minutes away! They rushed in and were so excited. We counted down, made a ruckus, then did our traditional sparkling cider toasts. Bex begged to do a glow-stick dance-a-thon like last year. We each took a turn choosing our favorite song and showed our best moves. The boys showed off their break-dance moves, I did the worm, and Matthias laughed at all of us.  It was a riot and there isn't any other group of people I would want to be with in 2011!

so thankful for...

family who comes to visit!

The entire Sayer crew came all the way up to Sheridan to spend Thanksgiving with us. All but Cynth and Just crammed into our tiny house and partied for 4 days! The cousins all slept together in the same room and played hard during the day. It was crazy fun! We took the kids to see Tangled, went on the famous Christmas Stroll. The kids went sledding, the guys watched the BYU game. I got a babysitter duo to watch all the grandkids so that the adults could go out to dinner with each other. I even snuck away at midnight to do some black friday shopping!

 Our Thanksgiving feast was fantastic, everyone was so great to help out. The turkey was a little dry, it may take me years to master that! We put together a vegetable platter, cheese and cracker platter and chips with clam dip for the appetizers. We had a herb-brined turkey, rustic mashed potatoes, grape salad with cream cheese and walnuts, rosemary/orange cranberry sauce, home-made rolls, rosemary gravy, salad, and I bought a couple of pies, but everyone was so full we couldn't even think of dessert. 

It meant so much to us that everyone would drive 9 hrs to come and see us. We love you all and will always remember our thanksgiving together in Sheridan! We are thankful for you!

whiz bang

Our 4th of July was very fun filled! My parents drove out (bless their hearts) to visit us, and we packed in as much as we could into their 4.5 day stay. To initiate them into our new state and town, we went shopping on main and hit the local Boot Barn where both Mom and Dad bought cowboy hats, and the boys got new cowboy belts with big buckles. Mom and Dad looked like they fit right in to this western town because they brought their very own cowboy boots (bought from Ream's when I was in 1st grade). Dad wore his snake skin boots and mom wore her cute gray ones. My mom also surprised me by bringing my Grandmother's cowboy hat. I love it.

Well, our state is known for fireworks, so Dad bought a mother load of illegal (to Utah) fireworks. We set less than half of them off that night, Hoosier D looming in the background, because apparently it is illegal to light off fireworks within She-town proper limits. Hoosier D didn't really want anything to do with the whole fiasco because he's gotta stay clean with the bar coming up. But Dad had a blast letting off the big ones and scaring the kids with the fire crackers. We all started getting a little nervous because of how big they were, and ended the shebang a little early, which was good because shorty thereafter a cop drove through the neighborhood just as we cleaned up the last of it. Shady town. So Dad took home a bunch of illegals, and we're hoping Chris "the daring one" will find a good place to light them off when we get to Utah.

On the fourth we watched the city's fireworks. We thought we were pretty clever by finding a nearby neighborhood outlook, but we didn't know the the retirees in that neighborhood also liked that spot. Mom ended up sitting next to some wine connoisseurs. One guy kept hitting on her and we had a good time hearing their conversation and how they had to keep "clearing their pallets" before tasting a new wine.

Mom and I played tennis and went walking almost every day. We also got to go see Eclipse which was a super fun girly time. The boys went fishing up in the mountains twice, and they loved it. I'll post some pics about that tomorrow.

Thanks for coming all that way Nan and Pop. We loved having you here with us and can't wait for the cabin!

cabin fever

I call it cabin fever, not because we were cooped up indoors, but because we couldn't wait to go to the Moose Creek Cabin! Usually only the guys go over Memorial to open the cabin and fish, but I couldn't pass up the chance to get outta town, which was great because Mom, Karrie and baby Cash came too!

Our trip began with a very unfortunate event. We were heading to the East Gate of Yellowstone to cut through the park, as it makes our drive a bit shorter. At the entrance, only one lane was open, so we headed for it. As we approached, the gate guard walked right in front of us and slapped an orange cone down. He stated the park was closed - snow and ice on the roads. NOOOOOOOO! Just like that, our anticipated 6 hour drive turned into a 13 hour drive. The only option was to go up and around the park or head home. I wanted to bag the whole trip, but Matthias insisted we trek on. - after all, he wanted to use his new rod on the Madison. So he drove the night through and we arrived at 4am. My dad was waiting up for us, the fire roaring. Mom had our beds made, it was perfect. They are so good to us.

The weather was not desirable, but we had a great time. The girls went walking and talking every day - even while snowing! The guys fished the Madison every day and all were successful. The Moose Creek was beautiful, the boys had a great time exploring, playing games, tying flies, and "cried moose" about 5 times a day. Ty was on a mission to see a bat. We told him that bats are only found in the log cabin (which is the truth!), where Uncle Dave and Nick stayed. Dave was so awesome and rigged up a "bat" on a fishing line. When he pulled the line, it made the bat appear to be flying. The boys walked around the log cabin with their hands over their necks. It was hilarious!

We did not escape the Moose Creek without a doosy. I was taking some shots of the boys on the bridge. When - SPLASH! Bex took a nose dive, the creek swept him under the bridge and he scrambled out on the other side. He was so sad and COLD!Quite a shocking experience!

Next year's contest: the Ugliest Family Photo

splitting up is hard to do

Rewind.
Thanksgiving weekend.
DC.
We drove out to VA to spend the holiday with the Bruncliks, and are thankful to have good friends that help make the holidays bright. The other purpose of driving out was to drop Matthias off in DC to start working. He landed a legal fellowship working for a Congressman and started the week after Thanksgiving. He is living with a relative who very generously is allowing Matthias to stay with them until the time is right for all of us to move out there. (Call me paranoid, but this was the reason I had intended to make my blog private. I didn't want any crazies knowing the kids and I were without Matthias, alone in B-town.)

Most of the details from the trip have faded from my memory. The few I do remember are:

• Running the Williamsburg Turkey Trot with Linnea (my old running partner and very good friend) Thanksgiving morning. It was the fastest I have ever run (which isn't that fast). My only goal was to keep up with Linnea, and I did - until the last half mile where I ran out of gas. I came in only 30 seconds behind her. I love that lady, she brings out some of the best in me.
• Taking the boys and Meg to the National Zoo.
• Visiting the Air and Space Museum.
• Ty, Beckham, and I taking turns crying during the lonely drive back to Indiana. I don't know why I played all our favorite Christmas songs on the way home. They just made us cry.
  

Dad, this picture is for you. A Fishing Cat Ty found just for you at the Nat'l Zoo.

Our first visit to the Air and Space Museum.

Chris, this picture is for you - the Wright Brother's airplane.

Fast Forward.
Bloomington, IN.
After the boys and I got back to Indiana, I began substituting. I had wonderful friends help me with the boys. Nights were lonely, days were a blur. We tried our hardest to smile, and we generally did, yet our hearts ached for our daddy in DC. Matthias came home for Christmas and we had THE BEST time lounging around, eating holiday food, and playing games with each other. As it came time for him to leave again, I panicked a bit. We were making it work - being apart, yet it was so hard, me working and taking care of the boys without the support of family close by.

And so, call it our craziness, spontaneity or just out of need, we decided it would be better for the kids and I to head out to Utah to camp out while Matthias and I are apart. Two and a half days later we had all of our belongings packed up in a 10x20 storage unit and began the long drive out to Utah to stay. Let's call it an extended vacation, that's what I keep telling myself.

Today.
Sundance, UT.
Matthias is working part time as an attorney for a Tax Law Firm in DC and part time at the Congressman's office. Things are looking up and he is getting closer to catching a full time job. He flew home to UT for a long weekend and we are enjoying our time together at a cozy cabin in Sundance. He leaves tomorrow to go back to DC.

And there you have it. We are living up the time we have in Utah with family. They have been so supportive and fun. Thank you all so much for your love. We, especially Ty, miss Bloomington and all our friends there. It was difficult to leave our life of three and a half years behind so quickly, but it was time to move on and I feel, I think, that we made the right move. Hopefully it won't be too long before we are together again, wherever that might be. Keep us in your prayers.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year y'all! We had a great night with the Russians. We ate lots of pizza, drank lots of root, and had the coolest dance party ever. The best dance parties are the ones not planned but spontaneous. We bought some glow sticks for the kids to play with, and right before our early evening ended, we turned up the jams and hit off the lights and they boogied hard with their glow sticks. Mikey had some crazy moves including the worm. Andre had sweet moves for a kid with stitches and a massive boot. Natalia was simply adorable as always. Ty and Natalia love being with each other. They are always whispering secrets to eachother and laughing at each other. So cute.