Enjoying one day at a time.: July 2010

7/30/10

Jamaica

Thanks to Tommy's sky miles we were able to take a very inexpensive trip to Jamaica. The one and only reason we went to Jamaica was timing and cheap flights. We left really late on June 27th (yes, we celebrated Noah's birthday and took off). We just stayed 5 days and 4 nights, which was actually perfect I was ready to come home. The trip was a lot of fun, however we both agree that Cozumel is the place to go on a budget. Jamaica is a little on the crazy side to say the least. We really enjoyed our hotel on the cliffs though. It was different from any place we had stayed before. There is no beach for mile, just all cliffs... so you just jump in the water. They do have some ladders, which were nice for getting out, but it was easier to just jump in. The weather was perfect for us and the break away was just what we need. Jamaica also made me truly appreciate the things we have, they are a very poor country and it really made me grateful for all that we have! I'm also so thankful for my wonderful Mom and Kiara for being willing to rearrange their lives to watch the boys!!!

The view from our hotel

This lady would walk up and down the beach selling fresh fruit. She would just slice it right there on the beach into a bag. I had to get over some of my germaphobness, but it was delicious.

This was the market. It was obnoxious because everyone wanted you to come in their shop. We finally found and old lady in a shop at the very back to buy two things from and she said we were her first customers of the day... how can they make any sort of living?!

Tommy took this picture purely for the bathroom behind me. Yes it is just two pieces of wood with a sliding door. I was okay just holding it....

We have a ton of pictures so here's a slideshow:

7/27/10

Noah's Baptism

Noah's Baptism was such a wonderful experience. As a parent there's nothing better than watching your child's testimony grow and watching them make right choices and knowing they're right. Noah was so excited for this day! And he looks like an incredibly handsome little boy preparing to someday serve a mission. I just love this kid!!!

We were lucky enough to have a ton of Tommy's family in town, but all of my family was out of town. The next possible date was Sept and Noah couldn't make it that long. Even though Tommy was constantly teasing him about 'worthiness issues', he was ready to go! So my Mom proudly represented my family. We had a great program. Roma played the piano, my Mom spoke, and Aaron gave the prayer (it was nice to only have 2 others getting baptised). He was then baptised by his Dad and confirm by his Grandpa Paul. I'm so thankful that Paul was willing to confirm him even though it took a tiny bit longer than normal (because of his brain surgery). It was such an amazing experience, you could feel the spirit so strong. Once again I'm just so grateful for wonderful worthy presithood holders in my life. All the cousins and kids got to gather in front of the font to watch and the bishop said they sarted clapping when he was baptised, the bishop thought that was the greatest thing ever, it just shows how much they feel the spirit and that's the only way they know how to show it.

The night before Tommy and I (let's be honest Tommy did all the cooking) made 6 batches of crepes for the brunch afterwards. We had another food feast on our hands. Thanks to all the family for your help in making Noah's baptism a wonderful day!

Noah and his proud Dad

Love that smile!

Noah with his Dad and Mom

Noah with his Dad and Grandpa. Those are some incredible men!

The group shot. Thank you everyone who came. We're so grateful for you!

Noah with Grandma Leslie

Noah with Grandma and Grandpa Pete

Noah with Grandma and Grandpa Great

Noah's 8th Birthday

Seriously my little boy just turned 8 years old. It's beyond my comprehension that Noah is 8 years old now! Since it's his birthday I get to brag about him...

We are so grateful to have Noah in our family. He has always been the sweet, sensitive, caring one. This last year he's really started to be more like his Dad, he has a very funny sarcastic side to him and gets the cutest smile when he makes people laugh. I think more than anything he wants to be just like his Dad... and who wouldn't want to be! He also started reading like crazy this year, he went from reading small 15 page stories right into 400 page Fable Haven books. Those who know me know I'm not a reader, but I just love watching Noah sit on the couch and read for hours on end. He's also such a wonderful big brother and has so much fun playing with Cooper. For Noah's birthday we had his party on Saturday June 26th. He had 9 friends come over for a Star Wars party, all he wanted for his birthday is to watch a movie outside on the big screen. Since it doesn't get dark until late we decided we needed to have a Jedi Training to pass the time. Those boys were hilarious and we had so much fun. For dinner we had 'Galactic Pizza', 'Yoda Soda' (green colored sprite), and 'Wookie cookies' for dessert. It's so nice that Noah is surround by such great friends!

The next day Sunday June 27th was Noah's actual birthday so we had the family out for dinner. We've been so lucky to have so much family in town lately that it really was quiet the party! Noah's Grandma Roma makes each of the grandkids a quilt when they turn 8... you'll have to look at the picture in the slide show, it's an incredible quilt! All in all Noah had a great birthday and we are so thankful to have him in our family.

7/17/10

Tyson's 1st Birthday

I can't believe my baby is 1...

Tyson is the happiest kid ever. We have just loved every min of having Tyson part of our family. His smile is contagious and can light up a room. He's so easy going and really only flips out if there is food near by and he doesn't have any of it to eat, especially cookies and ice cream, he takes after his mom for sure! We were lucky enough to have 2 of our nieces visiting for Tyson's birthday. Riley was such a big help getting everything ready and helping me make the dirt cake. I know Tyson will never remember it, but at least we have some fun pictures to show him. We love you Tyce!!!

Boating

My Dad was nice enough to take us out boating for the day. Dave and Jodi and their kids came out with us and we just had a blast. We mainly just spent the whole day on the tube... we couldn't get enough of it. My nephew Abe stayed on the tube the entire time except for two rides, even the wild crazy rides he loved! After some convincing we finally got Noah and Cooper out, to which Cooper responded, "This is my most favorite day ever!". Let's see if next time he'll just go out and have fun.

7/11/10

Where has the time gone???

The month of June has been a crazy one for us. Many of you know my Father-in-Law Paul was diagnosed with a brain mass on Wednesday June 2nd, he was scheduled for surgery on Saturday June 5th. We celebrated Tyson's 1st birthday on June 3rd. Then went through a roller coaster of emotions for the next week as Paul had surgery and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. That week was one of the hardest weeks of our lives, but it's also been a time for us to come closer as a family and closer to the Lord. We have felt the prayers and fasting of so many people, it has truly been an amazing experience and Paul is such a strong and amazing man. If you have some time go check out his blog, you'll get the full story there (http://remeberwhoyouare.blogspot.com/) there's also a link to it on the right side called 'Caught in the middle'. We have been so blessed to have so much of Tommy's family coming to visit and the boys have had a ton of fun seeing all of their cousins. It's also made the month fly by and I haven't had a lot of extra time to keep up with my blog. I will try to keep posting some of the fun things we've been up to.