Silly Buddy

It's funny to think of the things that are important to an 18 month old.

Self image is definitely not one of them.

Finding Joy in the Journey

It was like icing on the cake after I walked in on Julian who was dipping Liam's pj shirt in the toilet with a huge grin on his face! It has definitely been a busy week with the boys and today was particularly challenging to get Liam asleep for his nap. I kept at it though and soon enough both boys were asleep and I was feeling great again!

After the boys fell asleep I began picking up the living room and noticed one of the boys fingerprints on our rocking chair:

I was touched and immediately thought of a talk that was given by President Monson:

"If you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.

If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.

Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love that do not show their love.”3 We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.

Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say “I love you” more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of “what if” and “if only.” Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.”

President Thomas S. Monson "Finding Joy in the Journey"

Right now I have 2 young and exciting healthy boys and I am so grateful to have them! They are so sweet and we are having so much fun with them. Raising a family is challenging but as President Monson said, "we must deal with [stresses] the best we can."

We can't always choose what happens to us but we can choose how we react. Life really is about the daily choices we make and those daily choices always add up to something big. I love how he finishes his talk:

"Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows... My sincere prayer is that we may adapt to the changes in our lives, that we may realize what is most important, that we may express our gratitude always and thus find joy in the journey."

I....Have....The....Candy!!

If you put all the Halloween costumes in a line and arrange them by subject matter you'll find He-Man on one side of the spectrum and an adorable cute little cuddly penguin on the total opposite end.

Since Liam is getting into awesome super hero stuff we thought we could try and pick a pretty funny looking one. Good thing Liam is crazy about old school super heroes. (Long live good cartoons!)

After packing my camera bag with suckers we were ready to suit this cutie up.

Tip: One way to get your kid in his huge costume and hat is to put mittens on his hands and have some bribery ready. The candy will distract them from the huge whatever being put on their head and the mittens will prevent them from pulling it off!

Check out Liam's back shot!

I was pretty proud of myself for sewing & coming up with the pattern for this pretty obviously homemade costume; Liam had at least 10 different pieces of velcro and snaps holding his costume together!

You have to have a pretty quick finger to get an 18 month old standing still. This gives a good head shot of Julian's huge penguin head I made.

Later in the evening we found this little lost Penguin running around with a big smile saying, "Dada? Dada?" His mother Penguin had been keeping an eye on him though.

I think I was really excited this year because Tanner was able to come. Just him being there had Liam feel like a real super hero.

Park City Highlights

We had an awesome trip visiting our family in Park City this past week. Here's a few highlights:

1. Seeing family we hardly get to see.

2. Being able to capture this picture!

(These two cousins just posed this way. You'll be able to see this picture on the front cover of GQ, kids edition next month.)

3. Visiting Tanner's old stomping ground as a kid.

This is the original 7 in front of their first house in Kamas, UT. Later on we ate at the old church property. It burned down while Tanner lived there. That church was 1 of 3 churches that has burned down in Tanner's parent's lifetime!

4. Enjoying beautiful weather and seeing the amazing fall leaves that came with it. Can't tell ya how much we love being in the fall season outdoors (who doesn't love this?!)

5. Meeting our new niece Belen (Baylynn) for the first time. Her name is Spanish and means "Bethlehem." She is beautiful.

6. Being with Hendrix and seeing him look so rockin awesome. This kid doubled his birth weight by 2 months. Yes!!

7. Watching Liam bond with his cousins Leia and Luke Skywalker. Liam is Darth Vader in this shot.

8. Leah's "Spiderghetti"

To create: Have your kids pick out their favorite package of turkey or hot dogs. Cut into slices and stick 8 spider legs (aka pasta) inside. Boil and serve with your favorite bugs (peas) or even blood (red sauce).

Let me tell you about my amazing and beautiful sister. I needed a break and wanted to take a trip with Tanner, so my sister drove 8 hours by herself only to get lost for a bit (the dreaded one way street curse), visit me a couple days and then help watch the boys for the rest of the time while we bailed. I felt like I had won the lottery. Thank you so much Mary!

Of course we had to take her to one of our most favorite trails. I love this place in the fall. (Crooked picture taken by a very excited Liam).

Upon driving up the mountain Liam exclaimed, "Look at my mountain! It's so awesome."

It was nice to have Mary there to snap a shot. Juggling the camera on the stroller is never good.

Although we live relatively close to our family (no pun intended) it's hard for visitor's to stop and stay comfortably as we are still in our small apartment. You all can start making plans to visit for next year when we get a house; we plan on having the most delux guest room ever!

I am grateful to have a middle ground where I can visit one of my brothers who lives 3 hours away. I miss my family so much!