Christmas Card 2009

Bryan put our Christmas Card into a video this year. Here it is, if you would like to see it:

Santa

Today we went to find our Christmas tree and decided to stop at WalMart. They had a Batman cave on sale and I want it for Ty for his birthday. Yes, I know his birthday is in May but I also know I won't find a better price! So anyway, we stop at WalMart and when we walk in we see Santa sitting at the entrance. The line was not long and the pictures were free! I couldn't believe it. We were even prepared to pay $5 because we didn't have a camera. I love the picture. Lucas is sitting and smiling, I'm laughing because Ty is trying really hard not to touch Santa, and Ty has the look on his face that says, 'I'm going to lose it if you make me touch this stranger.' I knew Ty would never sit quietly on Santa's lap and so I just got in the picture with him. Lucas still loves Santa (even though he told me this was not the real Santa because the real Santa is TOO busy right now to be at a store), and he asked for a blue Mongoose bike. After WalMart we found a beautiful Christmas tree and spent the afternoon decorating it. Now the questions is, 'How long before Ty breaks something?'

More Wildlife

So a few weeks ago I posted a couple of pictures of the fox we often see in the field behind our home. A few days later we looked out the window and these deer were back there. I love seeing wild animals running around close to our home. Of course, I don't think I'd like to see a bear or a cougar but the fox and deer are great!

BYU vs Utah

This year we had three military helicopters fly over the stadium. Always fun.
Sometimes it was a fun game. But the fourth quarter was miserable! I kept thinking, "It's Lucas' first time at a BYU, Utah game, please don't lose."
When we won in overtime we all went down on the field. It was a fun afternoon and night. Now if we can just get four seats together! We figure it will take us another four or five years to get four seats all together. It will be a great day when we all go, including Ty, and sit together as a family.

Girls Night Out Twice

LeShel came to visit family and friends at the beginning of November and I was sooo happy that she fit us in. It's been so long since the four of us have been together (LeShel, Me, Cristy, and Adi)! We ate WAY too much at the Olive Garden. (We each got a dessert as well) Then we played some Rock Band at Cristy's home. So much fun being together. I know I can say literally anything around these women and they are never surprised or shocked. Everyone needs to have friends like that!
Then I got together with a group of great women who all like Twilight. We went to dinner (Olive Garden again), saw the movie, then went out for dessert. These cardboard cutouts were at Red Robin and so we gathered around and had someone take our picture. It's not that I really wanted my picture taken with the cardboard cutouts--I just wanted a picture of us all together so I can remember our fun night. It was so great to be with my friends and enjoy a movie. I'm so lucky to have so many wonderful and supportive women in my life!

Lucas Turns 7

Lucas had his 7th birthday on Sunday. He was so excited that morning and church was extra hard to get through. He just wanted to come home and open his presents. We got home from church at noon and had his special birthday dinner. He chose ham, rolls, and rice (with soy sauce). Then we sang happy birthday to him and he got to open up all his presents.
Here he is with everything he got. He played all Sunday afternoon with his new army toys and can't wait to wear the BYU stocking hat to the game on Saturday. He is such a great kid and we are so happy to have him in our home! Happy birthday Lucas!

The Fox

One advantage of a field behind our home is the fox that comes to visit during snow storms. I don't know why it's always during a storm or right after but that's when he comes.
We love to watch him hunt for food. Last time he got into a stare down with a cat. It was pretty funny because I think the cat was winning! There was no fight though. The cat and the fox went there separate ways. I'm happy that he came back so early this year. Next year at this time there will probably be construction on the Mountain View Corridor behind our home and not the fox we love to watch.

Happy Halloween

Lucas and Ty had lots of fun this year for Halloween. Ty was a lion (a costume I had from when Lucas was little), and Lucas was a GI Joe ninja.
Lucas went trick or treating with some friends and came back with a full load of candy. He even came in at one point to dump his pumpkin and then he headed back out for more.
Ty did go to a few houses but spent most the night looking out of the window and waiting for kids to come to the door. He does know what chocolate is and was so excited to see some in his pumpkin.

Bryan carved our pumpkins from the garden. My favorite is the one that has fire eyes and a fire mouth. He does a great job every year!

Troublemaker

Each baby is so unique and different. Of course I know that. With Lucas we had no need to put baby locks on anything. It's not that he didn't get into things, but he didn't get into things much. The most we did was get outlet covers so he wouldn't electrocute himself. So, here comes Ty and I think, 'I don't need to get child locks, just outlet covers.' Ty is like a tornado. He goes from one thing to the next. One of his favorite things is to get into my pots and pans and play with them on the little table. He puts as many as he can on the table. Invariably they start to fall off, making lots of noise. Then he starts to throw them off the table to make even more noise. (This is usually when they get put up on the counter where he can't get them.) My cupboard starts to look bare as he continues to get more and more out through out the day.

We have now put the little table in the family room so that there is not so much noise from pans falling or being thrown on the floor.

This morning I went to visit an elderly lady in our ward boundaries. She is not a member but is a sweet lady who we help when we can. Ty found her stool and proceeded to drag it around her kitchen. There was nothing he could get into, right? I look over to find him pouring a cup of coffee down his front and all over her floor! There is never a dull moment at our home when he is awake.

Family Pictures

Today I was going to post the wonderful family pictures we did in the canyon by the river. BUT, Lucas got the flu Friday and so there are none. It really is a bummer because we've been planning to go for months AND Stephanie was here to help us. So we'll have to go by ourselves, use a tripod and hope that Ty smiles at the camera, or even looks at the camera. Of course it's supposed to snow tomorrow and this weekend might be too cold, too late for pictures. We'll see how it goes. Lucas is doing fine now. Both him and Ty had whatever it was--threw up for a day and then woke up the next morning feeling fine. I'm crossing my fingers I don't get it. We've had flu shots but it obviously doesn't protect you from everything.

Flag Football

This year we decided to let Lucas play flag football. He is having so much fun. He loves playing baseball but I think his real love is football. He wants to be a wide receiver one day and is always going in the backyard to practice catching the ball. During one game he caught the ball in the end zone and Bryan was able to get some great pictures of it.

Then he was given the ball on a reverse and ran it 90 yards for a touchdown.

Last night he came to me in tears after the game because he didn't get a touchdown, in fact, he didn't get the ball all night. He was so sad and said in the car, 'I used to think someday I could be a great wide receiver but now I know I can't." I had a talk with him about how lots of players have bad games and all we want him to do it have fun and try his best. I hope I got that through to him so that he won't be so hard on himself. What a funny kid!

Sneaky Mechanics

We had to take in the Accord for it's yearly safety and emissions testing. A few miles from our home was a new Tunex and we had a coupon to get the safety inspection done for free. So we took it in. First of all, they were slow. We had it in by 1 and Bryan called at 4. The guy told us we didn't pass the safety and that we had a leak in the power steering rack. The part alone would be $300, but he had to look up labor. I called back at 5--he was still looking up labor. Finally, he calls back, we're expecting a bill of $700. He tells us it will be over $1,200 to fix.

SHOCK!

I keep telling myself, it's okay, at least we don't have to put it on a credit card. We tell Tunex that we'll come get the car. We call a couple of other places to get quotes.

Matson Auto and Marine calls us back and gives us a total below $1,000. An improvement. But then he asks Bryan, "Does it leak?" Bryan replies, "No, not at all. We have a slow oil leak but nothing else." The guy at Matson (in Riverton by Albertsons) then tells Bryan you should only fail the safety if it's REALLY leaking. So we take the car in that night so he can check it in the morning.

The next morning I get a call from Matson saying, "There is no leak, just a little grease and that's not even leaking." He proceeds to tell me that there is an oil leak and a few other things wrong but it's probably not worth fixing because the car has over 180,000 miles on it. So our car passes the safety inspection.

Bryan goes to get the car and is told that we should report Tunex because this isn't a little mistake. It isn't a mistake at all. According to him the inspector at Tunex was dishonest and couldn't possibly have done this by accident. Matson doesn't charge us anything for checking. Bryan presents him with some doughnuts and our thanks. Bryan also mentions that we will be using him from now on for our auto repairs.

The moral of the story--don't go to the Tunex in Herriman off of 134,000 and Bangerter, and question mechanics if you're suspicious. I don't know that we were suspicious but we didn't want to pay $1,200. The funny thing--if Tunex had told us it was under $1,000 we probably would have just had them fix it and not called anyone else. That's where greed gets you!

Peeta or Gale

Back to 'Catching Fire'. Who should Katniss end up with? I'm really torn and usually I ALWAYS know who the girl should end up with. I really like Peeta but maybe he dies to save Katniss? I like Gale too, and I think he'll be in the final book a lot more than he's been in the first two, but maybe he falls for Madge?

So I'm curious, what do you think? Peeta or Gale? Or maybe neither? Maybe Katniss dies to save them both!

Twilight Again

Yes, I read Twilight again this week. I just finished Catching Fire and had to get it out of my mind because the last book in the series will not be out until next fall. I'm waiting for several books at the library but since I had nothing else to read I thought I might as well read Twilight again to get ready for the New Moon movie in November. My books are still all on hold, nothing ready to pick up, sooooo I guess it's on to New Moon.

Update

I took Ty to his 15 month exam last week. His height is in the 64th percentile and his head is in the 45th percentile. Not bad. His weight is in the 1.93 percentile. It makes me laugh because he eats like crazy. He eats his food and then whenever he sees anyone with food go goes and begs to have some. He is healthy, he just can't gain weight! We love him. He is a trouble maker who loves to get into everything, loves to climb, and loves to cry when you take away whatever he has that he is not supposed to have. He is down to one nap and we feel lucky when he sleeps until 7 in the morning. I wouldn't change him for anything.
Lucas is in 1st grade and so far is not too bored. His favorite part of the day is recess because he gets to play football and basketball. Recently we found BYU uniforms on sale at the BYU bookstore. The haven't made them for a few years so we snatched one up and he wears it all the time. He is playing flag football and aspires to be a wide receiver some day. His favorite players are Austen Collie, O'Neill Chambers, and McKay Jacobson. He is a great kid and we are proud of him and all he is learning and doing.

Yummy Doughnuts

We have tried to go to a new doughnut place called 'Beyond Glaze' but have been unlucky in our timing. For example, we went the day after the 24th of July and they were closed. We never remember how big a deal Pioneer Day is here. Anyway we finally made it in a few Saturdays ago and this is what we got. They were so sweet and yummy (and expensive)! Lucas had a grasshopper, Bryan had German chocolate, and I had coconut cream. I could barely eat all of mine because it was so rich.

1st Grade

Lucas started 1st grade yesterday. He was so excited and so nervous. I can always tell when he is nervous because his smile is a little bit different. He got to wear his Bulls t-shirt and use his new backpack and lunch bag.
I waited for him on the front porch. It is so nice that his new bus stop is at the top of our street. I can see him get off and I don't even have to leave the house! That will be especially nice this winter.
After school I surprised him with a giant "1" cookie that stood for 1st grade. He loved it and to may amazement ate almost the whole thing right then! He is such a great kid. He is fun, friendly, and smart!

Grandpa Cray

My grandpa Cray passed away on August 17th and Monday was his funeral. Growing up he was a wonderful grandpa and although I miss him I'm grateful he was here on this earth for so long.
It was so nice to see so much extended family. Not just my mom's brothers and sisters but my grandma's brothers and sisters as well. I grew up going to California and visiting all these wonderful people. The above picture is of my grandma Cray and her children.
After the funeral we all went to Aunt Joan's home in Logan (where grandpa was buried) where we could eat, play, and visit with each other.
Lucas even got to swim a little bit. He stayed there with grandma Garner for a while longer after Bryan and I had headed back home. That made his day!

BYU Football Again

Last night was the "Cougar Kick Off", or as we affectionately call it, "Meet the Team". We went to the Brick Oven for dinner and then the sale inside the indoor practice facility. We didn't find anything really great but Lucas and I got t-shirts just like the ones the players are wearing in these pictures. The above picture is Lucas with Jan Jorganson. Jan Jorganson served his mission in Boise Idaho and met Scott and Brian. He had dinner several times with Grandma and Grandpa Jeppsen, and I think Ben even went on splits with him.
McKay Jacobsen is back from his mission and looked great at the scrimmage we went to. We were happy to find him. No one else was around him because I don't think people recognise him yet.
Lucas was so excited to find O'Neil Chambers. We were about ready to leave when we spotted him. He was the last player Lucas took a picture with. He also had some of the players sign his football.
Bronco spoke about the team. There was one thing that stood out to me. He said he is getting questions about the offensive line and should we be losing sleep. He said that he was losing sleep about it so we probably should be as well. Then he followed it up by saying, "Somebody will step up." Let's hope so. I've never heard Bronco say he was losing sleep about the team--scary!!
Here is Lucas with a real BYU football helmet on. We could buy one but they are $250.00. So not this year, but maybe next time.

BYU Football

Last Saturday we had the chance to go watch a BYU practice/scrimmage. We belong to Cougar Club and the Salt Lake County members were invited to watch from the President's box. None of us had been in there before and it was lots of fun.
Lucas' favorite part was the pop they had for us. He got bored watching them practice but then enjoyed the scrimmage.



The team didn't look too bad but we'll see if they can even hang with Oklahoma in a week and a half.

RSL Game

A week or so ago Scott and Brian came down for a Salt Lake Real soccer game. They took Bryan and Lucas and they all had a great time.
Lucas loves Uncle Scott and Uncle Brian, and now he loves soccer also.
It makes me happy to see them have a good time. Real even won the game, 1 to 0.

Friends

Thursday Lucas, Ty, and myself went to the park for lunch and some fun with friends. Lucas played and played on the toys and in the splash park. Ty kept close to me and ate lots of Cheetos and Nutter Butters.
I got to visit with my friends Adi and Cristy. Our goal is to get together once a month but it usually takes us three months to find a day when we are all free for a few hours. That sounds so silly but life is just too busy sometimes.
We always do find the time eventually to get together and I'm grateful for that. Yesterday, as I was thinking of my day I realized how grateful I am for such wonderful women in my life. I have only known these friends for five years and yet, I feel like we are life long friends. I know that is a precious thing and it doesn't always happen that way or so fast, at least not for me. I am so grateful to them (LeShel is included in all of this of course, and yes we missed you tons) and to all of you out there who have been my friend (including my sisters). I'm grateful for blogs and that one Christmas card a year. It makes me feel a part of your lives even when we all live all over the country. I'm grateful for life long friendship.

Funny Ty

Ty is so cute right now. He loves to get out all my pots and he stands on anything he can.

He doesn't talk yet but can say mama. When we tell him no his reply is usually to scream or cry. He falls down a lot but gets right back up and continues to do whatever he was doing before he fell. It has been a lot of fun watching him grow this summer.

Lagoon

Friday we met Uncle Scott, Uncle Ben, and Uncle Kevin and his family at Lagoon. Lucas has never been and so he had a great time. He loved being with his uncles and wanted to do everything with them.
We got Lucas to go on the Colossus roller coaster but not Wicked. He loved the bumper cars so much that they did them twice.
It was great to be with family and to have fun. Kellie had Ty while we were gone and it made things so much easier. Thanks Kellie!

Ty's First Hair Cut

Here is Ty with his shaggy hair. We loved it because it was curly in the back and it was just so cute. BUT, it was time to get it cut. He is not a girl and it was getting long. I didn't want to cut it. I messed up Lucas' hair enough times that the most I would do for Ty is trim it a little around his ears and on top. Aunt Diana had given him a trim also but today was the day for his first real hair cut.
Doesn't he look so big and cute! We went to the local Great Clips and the lady did a good job. He sat on my lap and cried the whole time. Once in a while he would try to get away but he did okay for his first time.

He is such a fun baby. He is already driving us crazy getting into anything and everything. Luckily for us he can't open the toilet lid yet and toilet paper can be put up while not in use. He can go down the stairs but keeps trying to walk down like we do. He sleeps through the night and still takes two naps!