photos

A fun shot of us...:)

Staycation in review

Oh what a week! I put Noel on a plane not too long ago and it reminds me again how difficult it is having an open adoption. In many ways these are the most precious times in my life...seeing her, knowing her, getting to know her as she grows, and having her relationships with her siblings develop....but saying goodbye....my heart is very full.

However we had a great time---She arrived last Sunday. Monday we drove down to Salt Lake to pick up Elijiah from his dads and have Breakfast with my dad. Good Grandpa time! After that I took her to Temple square and wanted to take a quick tour around and show her the conference center. But we got wrangled into the 30 min tour of the center which while great wasnt on the agenda and by the time we got through it was a blistering 102 degrees so a quick jaunt over to the visitors center and then home. We went for a swim and here was a sweet moment between these two. Now I should say that Noel is the best older sister EVER! So patient and loving to her two brothers...and patience?! That of a saint! Well we had lots of plans all week, but Tuesday came and she was sick as a dog- so couch time was the new plan. Wed--well still sick. Thursday?? Still not feeling great. But shes was tired of laying around and spending her vacation on the couch...

So we got out of the house and went to the Hill Air Force Museum. Id never been there before and I have to say- it was awesome! I was totally impressed. Elijiah who says he wants to grow up and be a pilot someday, I thought would be much happier to check it all out...but alas, the grumpy child was with us that morning so -not so much. After the museum we went back to the house and packed for our over night trip to Lava Hot Springs! I was super excited to get out of town and do something different.
We did a couple trips down the river! Such good sports Noel and Elijiah were in the VERY COLD WATER! ( baring my lovely butt sliding down the hill with the tube trying to get in the river-I had a great time!)
I think they had a pretty fun time- Jonathan did a much better time steering them down....I was on the front when I took them, and we were all over the place!
We swam in the hot pools...Elijiah was super hard core...he went into all the pools...
And when the sprinklers came on they did a few runs up and down the sidewalk to cool off. Tristan didnt want any help...cant you tell??
Our cabin was quite cozy...Tristan wasnt having any part of going to bed when he was supposed to...no sirree. He wanted to stay awake till he was pass loopy. I think this photo does some justice to his mood.
We stayed at the Koa campsite. The owners were great. Definitely recommend the place if your up for camping....
Well try as I might to get us all in a tent...I didnt think it would happen. I thought the cabin would be a good compromise. I think its adorable dont you?
Jonathan worked on the next couple photos...I think they turned out pretty nice. Hes had a break from school and so hes been playing around with photoshop. After we came home from Lava we had a family pool party, and some of the pics from that are posted on the previous blog posts...

Today, before Noel left, I had my step sister Wendy come up and take some family photos...she was kind enough to let Jonathan download a few before she left so he could play around..( I told you he was having fun :) Anyway here is a sneak peak at one of the shots! I cant wait till we see what she does with the shoot! www.wendyandersonphotography.blogspot.com( is her photography blog...you have to check it out...shes pretty awesome!!!!!!

Anyway that is what we did this past week. I had so much fun and miss my Noellie already...I love you sweetheart and we will see you again soon!!!!XOXOXO

Beautiful Women...

busy week...

its been a busy week...but tonight we had a swim party and Lauren stopped by. Had to get a quick picture as its not too often Elijiah has all his siblings with him. As for the rest of this past week...Ill have to post when Noel leaves and Ive caught up on all the rest of everything. :)

Built like a line backer but dad still has hope...

Too much fun!

There are few things more fun than water and kids...the other day while waiting for Jonathan to come home, Tristan and I were outside where we typically are on any given day. It was very hot so I got the hose out and immediately regretted that the video camera battery was dead. It was one of those precious moments that you want captured live on film. I had to settle for the camera and hopefully we will have lots more LIVE action in the weeks to come.

Bob

Oh how we love Bob( our cat ) or I shall say the boys do. I have grown to appreciate the animal I will admit. However when Tristan was born we immediately decided he would become an outside cat when we found him on more than one occasion curled up in the crib, or on top of Tristan in the bassinet.
Bob was happy as a clam to be outside during the day and in the furnace room to eat and sleep at night at our old house, but when we moved to my Moms 6 months ago with a dog in the house and in the backyard, Bobs life has been confined to the very large basement. What has been really funny though is Tristans discovery of Bob over the last few months. We have a baby gate separating the upstairs and downstairs for not only safety reasons, but also to keep the dog from getting into Bobs area as well. Tristan will stand at the top of the stairs, point and yell "Ba Ba" ( meaning Bob) and just INSIST on going down and visiting. He gets so excited to run around after him and Bob is a great cat. He and Elijiah sleep together most nights, and hes very loving and tolerant. He lets Tristan drool and smother him, and when hes had enough he just runs away with Tristan very sad running after him calling for him to return. It seems no day is complete without a visit to maul Bob(not really) and teach Tristan how to gently pet and care for our kind cat....These photos were taken on my phone the other day as I didnt have the camera...but you get the idea. Tristan LOVES animals....:)

( I think I have said the following hundreds of times:" be gentle!" No we dont sit on Bob, Tristan", No dont step on his Head!", K Bob doesnt like his whiskers pulled...", good Tristan, nice - gentle ...see how bob is purring? He likes that...", " dont squeeze too hard..", K Tristan time to let Bob go..." :)

10+ Year Dream Realized Today

When BYU rejected my admission request back in 1998 in spite of a clear ecclesiastical endorsement and a 3.7GPA Associate's Degree transfer, I allowed my pride and confidence to take a major hit. I moved from Happy Valley up to Salt Lake City and was welcomed with open arms at the University of Utah where I studied musical composition, theory, conducting, music history, etc... Those that know me well remember that it was somewhere in those two years at the U of U that my life fell apart and I began my decade of aimless wandering...

After working as a rent-a-cop at Trolley Square and Crossroads Mall, then as a Bouncer at Port 'o Call, I finally landed an entry level peon customer support role at eBay. Although I kept that job for 8 years, I spent the better part of five continuing to wander around aimlessly in the dark. Eventually, of my own vollition, I decided to try to get back to church and began changing my life. A year later, I made the decision to finish where I once left off and enrolled at the University of Phoenix.

Fast forward and in less than a week, I will have my Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. Last month I was offered and accepted a mid level business analyst role with L-3Communications. This morning, I was informed that I have been accepted to the Westminster College Gore School of Business and will begin coursework this fall towards an MBA. HELL YES!!!! Not that title is everything but I was so sick of being a "customer support rep" with half a degree in musical performance!!!!!! For the first time in many years, I've dedicated myself to years of hard work and am starting to see the fruits of my labors.

My love, thank you so much for allowing me to pursue these things knowing that in so doing, your vocational dreams would be put on the back burner, and we would all be sacrificing time, money, and sanity. You are my best friend, strongest support, and biggest fan and I love you eternally.

~jonathan

Happy Birthday Cindy!

To my wonderful mother in law- I hope you have a great birthday today- You are such a wonderful example of love, service, kindness and compassion. You have been there for me and our family with unconditional love and there are no words to thank you for the countless times you have rescued us in so many ways. Happy happy DAY!!!!

My baby girl!

Whos not so baby- (well actually 13)-will be coming to visit in two short weeks! Im soooooo excited to see her! There is something incredible that happens to me when I have all my kidlets with me...I cant describe it really. Im taking the whole week off work, and I dont have anything planned yet, but I know we will do lots of fun things.

Grandpas Memorial

What a week and what a trip! Elijiah returned from TX from a week long adventure with his Dad Tuesday night and we left Wed morning 6am to drive down to San Diego. Everything was packed and ready to go. We had Tristan to drop off at Grandmas and things looked fine. However not a few hours into the trip did another Migraine headache come on and I was not in good shape. Lucky for me I was able to zone out( something I shouldnt have shared with my loved ones) and once my meds kicked in 8 hours into the car ride I was sane again. Needless to say it was a VERY difficult journey. Elijiah was a great companion and was a joy to have with me. I was happy to have a couple days with him- just the two of us-as that doesnt happen all that often. As we pulled into the hotel it was perfect timing. About 30 minutes later we were all going to meet up for a family dinner.....
Grandma looking so beautiful as usual and holding it together for us all. I hope that when I am her age I have her same boundless energy.
Elijiah loves his great grandma ....there is a bond between these two...perhaps its because I love my grandparents so much and they are always a topic of conversation and i make an effort to see them when I can, but Elijiah has always had such a fondness for both Grandma and Grandpa....
Grandpa and Grandma have both decided to donate their bodies to the medical center and to science, and thus there was no funeral just a memorial. The services were wonderful and there came a time in which those that wanted to step up and share a memory of Grandpa could do so....I felt it would almost be a bad thing not to share with those there a fond memory of my loved grandpa...I knew it wouldnt be easy....I was very emotional, but I wanted them to know I cared deeply for this man...however I made a funny mistake...being my DADs oldest and I said that I was the oldest grandchild, (knowing that wasnt true- duh- Gary- Grandpas oldest child has to be in his 60's) anyway thats what happens when you arent thinking clearly LOL) Anyway I shared one of my memories of Grandpa when I was visiting them for the weekend prior to Elijiah being born, and playing Golf with them both. Grandpa was driving the Golf Cart and grandma and I were heading home in the car...Grandpa said something to the effect of "see who could get home first - or Ill race you" and he proceeded to put his leg out of the cart and push it along. He had a big smile on his face and I was cracking up at how funny he was being...and he was doing things like that all weekend. I never knew until I was older that he had such a sense of humor.
At the reception after the service there was a big poster board full of photos that my sister Jessica helped Grandma put together( she was there last weekend) and I tried to take pictures but I had the crappy camera so nothing came out too well. But I wanted to put them up anyway. The below photo is of my grandparents on their wedding day. My grandmother was 48.

My Grandparents were married for 39 years...and were eachothers soul mates. While not their first marriages, they found eachother and made the second marriage and with it every year count.They both lit up when they looked at eachother and it was obvious that they loved eachother so very much....
Some of the photos below are from the reception after the services.....however the couple below...DAD and Nancy---finally have set a DATE!!!! August 2, 2009---YIPEE! We are very excited--


Grandma is showing off Grandpas football memories and additional photos which never did come out well on camera and it was such a shame....
On our last day I took Elijiah to the pool however he said that it was too cold. What a silly kid. However what I didnt know was that he was getting sick....after that swim we went to grandmas house to enjoy spending time with family as the next day we were heading home. Elijiah quickly went downhill and spent most of the day on the couch watching TV.
The night before we left I started to get another migraine but with only one pill with me I thought I should try and sleep it off( yea right) and if I still didnt feel better in the morning take it for the drive...well thats exactly what I did. I got up, feeling like hell and took my medication and got on the road at 5:30 am. Elijiah was asleep in the car and we were in a rough spot...however I started to feel better for about an hour but then the headache returned with a vengeance about the time I hit Vegas. Jonathan had been calling me on and off through out the trip and was getting angry at my insistence of driving. But I really didnt feel like I had a choice. Id rather keep trying to get home than stop on the side of the road etc. My mother was calling me, they said they would come get me etc. Well eventually I couldnt keep my eyes open and I was in so much pain that I pulled over and rested. I actually fell asleep for about 30 minutes...and truly a miracle happened. When I woke up my migraine wasnt gone but almost gone. My mom said they were all praying and I really believe that everyones prayers worked. Typically when I have a migraine I usually have to go to the ER and driving is impossible. Everyone was worried that I would kill myself and Elijiah and infact Jonathan ended up leaving work, filling my medication ( as I was out of my prescription) and getting his dad and driving several hours south to meet me. He was so worried about my state. Luckily I had such a miraculous change because I really wouldnt have been able to continue on. Jonathan has been my knight on the white horse on so many occasions, and this is just one example of the lengths he will go to to make sure I am safe, and taken care of. I cannot express my appreciation for a man that will go to such measures to ensure that I am okay. I love him with all my heart, and each fiber of my being. The return trip was a long one, but we made it home. It was a long exhausting trip, but one worth it to celebrate the life of my beloved Grandfather. I will never forget the quiet strength of a man that lived and loved my grandmother, stood by her side, supported her, made her smile, loved each of us, and in turn made me feel important. I know where you are Grandpa and I hope you are looking down proud of all that you have done with your 91 years......