Christmastime!

One more week before we head out to Oregon, and we are all very excited. It is starting to feel more like Christmas and I am loving it. I love Christmastime and the magic that is in the air. Having a kid makes it extra special because you get to experience everything for the first time again. Jet loves the Christmas lights and whenever I light the tree up, he does these cute little ooohs and ahhs. I also love that we get to reflect on the Savior, his birth and life for us. There is a lyric to a Christmas Carol that describes the Savior's birth as "when Love came down to the earth". I love that imagery and it is exactly what it was, God's love through the gift of his son, the Savior came for us. It is easy to get caught up in the sales and commercialism of the holiday, but we can all find ways to remember the Savior. Even as we give gifts, we can remember that the ultimate gift was given to us that night in Bethlehem. Have a great Christmas everyone!

Fun Times in SLC

Yesterday we spent most of the day in Salt Lake doing fun things with Martin who is in town. We went to the BYU vs Utah Basketball game, went out to lunch, went to DI, and saw the lights on Temple Square. It was so much fun and Jet loved it too. He got so excited for the lights. I was impressed at how good he was for the basketball game too. He had a great time and would see everyone clapping and join in, even if it was for the other team. We also visited Rice-Eccles Stadium, which I found out last summer, is actually part of my family heritage. The name Rice is my great-grandfather's brother, Robert Rice, who was a major donor to the university. We got some good pictures and caught one of Jet, grinding a rail in his stroller.

My First Car....

That I have owned! Yes! It is paid for as of this past Monday. In July, the Odyssey van that had over 240,000 miles on it went kaput. My parents had generously let us use it for the past 4 years. I LOVED that van and I still would like to have one some day, the older version that is more like a wagon than a van. If I could design a car it would be pretty close to the 1996 Honda Odyssey. Being faithful Honda drivers we couldn't buy anything other than another Honda, and we got ourselves a 2004 CRV. It is nothing fancy, but we own it and that makes it even more fun to drive :)

Thankful

There is so much to be grateful for, and a lot of it we don't even realize. From my own experience traveling to different countries that are impoverished, we really don't know how good we have it. There are so many that would love to have a sliver of all that we enjoy. It is so important not to lose sight of the simple things that we take for granted like running water, electricity, food, and freedom. I am thankful for my loving husband and my son Jet that brings joy to everyone that sees him. I love taking him out and people smile my way and I know they are smiling because of him. He is so funny too, it is amazing the things he does on his own that leave me wondering, 'where did he get that from?". I am so thankful that Heavenly Father has given him to me to take care of.

Happy Halloween

Last night was Halloween, and Jet got all dressed up in his chicken costume. He makes such a cute chicken. We picked up some treats and the ward trunk or treat and had a great time even though we ended up missing most of it (mom's fault). Jet has started walking a lot more lately. It is so fun to watch him toddle around. When he walks he walks with his arms above his head. Sometimes he starts walking without a destination in mind and ends up at the wall or door. He is doing so great at it and keeps going even if he falls down. His latest favorite trick is 'clap hands' which is also so adorable. Enjoy the pics and video.

Birthday Party

We had a blast at Jet's 1st birthday party celebrating with friends and family. I made a special 'healthy' carrot cake for Jet. He loved all the balloons and we gave him more balls for his ball pit. I know he won't remember it, but someday we will show him pictures. Here are some pictures and a video of Jet enjoying his birthday cupcake.

1 year old!

YAY! We all survived the first year :) Jet turned one last Saturday is so much fun these days. We had a visit with the doctor for a well check on Monday and he is doing so well. Here are his stats:

Height: 30.25 in (66th %tile)
Weight: 20.81 lbs (20th%tile)
Head Circumference 18.5 in (68th%tile)

Some of the new things he is doing:

pointing
standing alone briefly
taking steps
throwing ball (or anything for that matter)
dances to music (his favorite song is "Never Say Never" by Justin Beiber
has the cheesiest grin
puts his blocks together
plays tug of war with Cody
opens drawers and cabinets
loves his ball pit
loves his tent and tunnel from grandma
waves 'bye-bye'
Has 10 teeth including two top molars coming through
Loves to climb the stairs

We are waiting to hear those first words from him, but I am sure they are coming soon. The picture is of Jet taking some of his first steps.

Birthday Bikeride

With the grandparents and Uncle Aaron in town for Jet's birthday and conference, we all decided to hit the trail between sessions and go for a bike ride. Jet got a bike seat for his birthday and I think he enjoys riding along with everyone and has a good view from up front. We had so much fun and enjoyed the summery weather. The bike seat is pretty awesome, it doesn't interfere with steering and you don't hit your knees. Jet looks pretty cute in his helmet too.

SMILE

I love Jet's smile, he uses his whole face and makes his teeth crooked. It is pretty cute and funny. We are doing well just chugging along. Getting ready for Jet's 1st birthday in less than 2 weeks. Can't believe it. Enjoy the picture for now!

Heber City Fly-in

This past weekend we went out to Heber to check out all the old planes at the Heber fly-in. It was fun to see some of the old planes that actually flew in combat. We got to step inside a couple of them and got a sneek peak at what it would be like to be flying back then. They had planes taking off and landing all morning and they were doing some exciting tricks too. The most interesting part was talking to a life-flight nurse that works on the emergency helicopters. They have a tough job, barely any room in those helicopters to move let alone try to save a life. We all had a great time, even Cody.

Baby Shoes

I made Jet some new shoes the other day. I know he will start walking soon and wanted to get him a pair. They are so expensive at the store and soft soled shoes are hard to come by. I used corduroy for the soles and they were so fun to make.

New Dress

For the past couple of weeks I have been working on making myself a new temple dress. I decided to make one because it seems like the ones in the stores are kinda frumpy and matronly, no offense. They are also so expensive it seems. Anyway, I wanted to make one that was a little stylish, I mean not that it really matters in the temple, but I just don't like wearing dresses that are like bags. Here are some pictures of the new dress.

Demolition Derby

Last night we went to the demolition derby in Spanish Fork. It was a wild time. It was amazing to see some of the cars that look like they can't be driven an inch, somehow keep running without tires and all bashed up. The most amusing part was during the powder puff when the girls were driving. Three cars were left and two of them were stuck together. The third could barely go 3 miles per hour, but was able to make the required hits within the 2 minute marker to keep in the competition. She just kept backing up and hitting the 2 cars that couldn't move. Anyway, it was a blast and definitely something everyone should see at least once in their life.

3rd year Anniversary!

A week ago we celebrated 3 years of marriage. It has been so incredible this journey we have started together. I love and adore James and love and adore Jet, so what could be better! For the day of our anniversary we gave each other gifts and had a nice dinner together at home. James bought me 2 pairs of earrings and a cute skirt and cardigan. I let him buy the FAA pilots manual and put some money into his savings for his pilot's license. This weekend we are going to the Demolition derby as part of the anniversary celebration. Here are some pictures of our dinner!

Spanish Fork Celebrations

July 24th is a big deal around here, and since my mom was in town, I thought it would be fun to show her how it is celebrated. In the morning we went to the Grande Parade, later went and saw 17 miracles and later went to the Spanish Fork Rodeo. Unfortunately we only spent about 20 min at the rodeo because it started down pouring. I was soooooo dissapointed. Not only that Jet started crying anytime the crowd would cheer :(. He got used to it, but we didn't get used to the rain and left. It was still fun though! Maybe next year!

our little chicken

We entered Jet into a baby contest and he was sure cute. We entered him as a chicken and as himself. He was such a good sport. We made him dress up as a chicken and he just went with it.

4th of July

We had a great Fourth of July. We started it off with a 2 and half hour window job in Midway, UT. It was a pleasant drive up the canyon and by the time we had finished the job we were all pretty hungry. With the generous tip from the window job, we treated everyone to KFC. We took it to go and found a park nearby to have a picnic lunch. This is Jet and everyone else relaxing after lunch. Later that day we lit some fireworks and spent the rest of the evening enjoying each others company. Happy 4th of July!!

Jet 9 Months

Jet is doing so amazingly well, I can't believe he is sooo good. He is now a little over 9 months and he has come a long way in the past month. He has started crawling, and pulls up on furniture and anything else he can get his hands on. We visited the doctor for a very uneventful appointment. Here are the boy's stats:

29 in long- 73%tile
19 lbs- 24 %tile
18 in head circum- 62%tile

Here are some of the other things about him recently-

Has 4 teeth (two bottom and the lateral incisors up top poking through)
Love to shake his head
Razzes his tongue
Crawls
Pulls up in his crib and anywhere else
Went swimming for his first time, was a bit hesitant at first but near the end enjoyed it
Loves the dog's toys as much as his own
Loves to be chased
Bites (I now pump bottles for him and do formula because of this, drawing blood is no fun)
Loves to be outside
Sleeps 10-11 hours a night and takes 2 naps still during the day
Says baba, mama
Yells, loudly when he is focused on something or just for the heck of it.

He is growing up so fast and we are so happy to be a part of it.
Love you Jet!

Family Visit

My mom and brother Aaron are here and we have had so much fun with them. Turns out they are really good window washers :). Besides that we have visited Park City (did the Alpine Slide, Alpine Coaster, and Zipline), hiked Stewart Falls, watched the first commercial flight by Frontier land in Provo, rafted the Provo River, gone shopping, and have plans to do many other things. Fun to have family around, we are like tourists in our own backyard.

Updates from us

We are doing so well and loving the fact that summer has arrived in Utah, finally! A few weeks ago we had our family pictures taken. It was so much fun and I love being able to capture our little family and to think how our family pictures will evolve over time. Even with Jet growing and developing, things are always changing. We went to several locations all over Spanish Fork and got some taken here where we live and manage storage units. More pictures can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150274160736419.379960.674276418&l=88500c512f
Some good news is that James has landed a full time real world job(as I call it) with benefits and everything. I am so proud of him and hope that he enjoys his work. He will be working for a company called Tomax in Salt Lake. He has loaded up the ipod with audiobooks and music to get ready for the commute. He starts at the end of this month.
Jet is doing so awesome and is sooo close to crawling. He gets up on his hands and tip toes doing what I call pushups. Then he gets on all fours and lately he has been inching forward. He says 'ba, ba' and sometimes 'ma, ma' which is so totally cute. He is such a joy and funny too. Last night we were settling down to bed, I was holding him and he was sleepy with his head on my shoulder sucking his thumb. Out of nowhere he pops his head up, looks at me and gives me a big smile and laughs. What a faker :)!
As for me, well I have doing well, trying new recipes, learning how to use photoshop, taking care of everyone, managing things here with work, running, teaching relief society, and loving summer!