Can you feel it?!

The winds of change have swept in. It is starting to get darker earlier. Our mornings stay cool a bit longer. The windows stay open longer. The winds of change have swept in and there is a new excitement in the the air. The thing is... I'm not sure it's because of "fall" per se. But what fall really means?! FOOTBALL SEASON!

The BYU Cougars had their opening game yesterday! Were you watching?! Wasn't it fun?! Nic and I are so blessed to have season tickets! We go with my in laws, Clyde and Marj. We love going to the games! Nic told Hannah he was going to get her a BYU Cougar shirt earlier this week and the next morning when I got clothes out for Hannah she said, "No, Cougar shirt!" Nic did venture out this week and had to get us all new BYU apparel. (I have a shirt that will fit over my belly, Thanks Nic for thinking of all of us!) And he got us stadium seats for the bleachers this year (yea, I know, we are going all out!...The reason being, I knew my back would really be hurting after sitting there that long. I was so, so grateful for the back support!) After Nic's encouragement, we decided not to take Hannah to this one, which I am also grateful for. She would have wanted to sit with me and would have been wiggly the entire time. But I'm sure she'll be going one of these times.

We look forward to seeing our Cougars all the way to a BCS bowl this year! We hope you'll be watching with us! Gooooo Cougars!

Yard Sale

I had my first ever yard sale yesterday. It sure is a lot of work to prepare for and if it was up to Nic everything would have just went to DI to begin with. However, I told him, "I'm a stay-at-home mom just trying to make us some money... so just let me do it!" It was definitely "my" thing but, yes, he really was very supportive of me, which I am appreciative of. He's especially appreciative when the house gets cleaned out and I've made us some money!

It was kind of like having a party at the house... it's a good motivator to clean up! It was great for me to have a date and get some things cleaned out. We still have a crazy basement storage room and too much clutter around the house, but this was a GREAT step.

We took down both of the desks in our office/craft room (which is now also "/boys room" too) to get them out to the yard sale. So for now I don't have a computer set up (I'm using Nic's laptop). We'll have to set it up on the card table for awhile until the built-in desk area is done in the basement. (We didn't end up selling either desk).

Our canyon winds were really blowing yesterday morning! I started with organized tables and clothes folded, but soon we had clothes all over the yard (which actually happened several times). In the morning, we needed sweatshirts to stay warm and then a few hours later I was sweating from the heat! Because of the wind, I didn't set up signs the night before. So at 8:05am I had finished hanging signs around town and rushed to pull out tables because 5 cars had already driven off and there were several more waiting in front of the house! All in all the yard sale was very successful. We made over $230 and got rid of a lot of unneeded stuff. Whew! I did it!

Imagination

Today we were downstairs in the basement for a little while (which is still a constructions zone) and Hannah was playing. As I realized what she was saying and doing I had to stop, take the time and really listen and play along with her. I was so impressed by her little imagination! There are all sorts of thing laying around down there from the vanity, sink and toilet that are in the process of getting put in. From those things Hannah had a cup, a couple forks, a spoon, a plate, a bowl, some eggs, a couple tomatoes, some carrots and some pretend ranch that she was dipping her carrots in. She later filled her cup with soup and found some bread. Then she put all her things in a vanity drawer, "the sink", to wash the dishes because they were dirty. She played with all these things for quite some time. I would sit back and watch, listen and be amazed and sometimes take some bites. When it was time to come upstairs, she was so sad. What a cute little girl Hannah is with a budding imagination!

End of season sales, Craigslist, and Yard sales

As I'm sure you know by now I love bargain shopping. There's a lot to get for a little baby and I've been trying to get ready for our little boy as cheaply as possible. ("Cheaply"... is that a word?!)Children's Place had an awesome end of season sale not too long ago. (The most expensive thing I got was probably $4.) I was able to get quite a few really cute things for next summer and some odds and ends for earlier. (Now we are just hoping he really will fit into 6-9 mo. clothes next year!) I'm also not above used clothing by any means! (Hey, that's what I grew up on! Indiana garage sales were great!) Nic has a different take on used... but over the last few years he's mellowed out and doesn't throw a fit about it anymore! (Ha, Ha.) He realizes I really do get some great stuff at some awesome prices! (I must say, no matter how nice and clean these strangers seem I always have to come straight home and put the clothes I buy in the wash.) I recently went on Craigslist for the first time and looked up baby boy clothes. I stopped at a few places and was able to get some great things. I also went garage sale hunting a few Saturdays ago. I went to probably 5 or 6, only buying at one, but came a way with a huge bag of clothes/blankets for our little boy for only $10. (Pictured are a few yard sale and craigslist items.) Although there are still some more things I need to get, I'm feeling really good and quite prepared so far. Yay for bargains!

For Lisa

My sister, Lisa, now serving a mission in Canada, recently graduated as a dental hygienist. In a few of her letters she continues to remind us to floss. I took this picture of Hannah faithfully brushing to send to her! After we brush Hannah's teeth, she always gets a turn to do it herself. Its been cute to see how she is picking up on the routine of brushing in each spot, including smiling to do her front teeth and sticking out her tongue to brush.

Isn't she doing a great job?!
(We love you, Sister Allen!)

Go'n Camp'n

Well we ventured out on our first camp trip... ever! For Family Month our ward planned a camp out to Payson Lakes. I figured if we were going to go camping this was the way to go because dinner was potluck and breakfast was provided (much less work for me!) Nic took most of Friday off of work, to really make it worth it, and we went up early (about 1) with our friends, the Lomenick family. Most of the ward didn't get up there until after 5 pm. It was great to find our camp spot, get our tent up, beds situated, eat some lunch together, then play on the lake. We borrowed a raft/boat from Nic's dad, which was really fun on the lake. Nic was the only adult who got totally in the water... it was freezing! He was great to take the kids out on the boat. It was sure beautiful out there!
Hannah loved playing in the dirt! She was filthy from head to toe and was loving every minute of it. There were lots of little friends there for her to play with, which she loved too (including her baby Megan).
We went to bed a little after 10 pm, after some fun visiting and marshmallow eating. Our tent was big enough that we brought Hannah's pack'n play for her to sleep in. That worked out great! She was so excited to sleep in a tent! She even slept in until 8am! As for Nic and I, well, we didn't sleep too well (especially me). But I went knowing that I wouldn't (I don't even sleep well in my own cozy bed!) It made for an exhausting next day... but I think we could do it again. We had a lot of fun!(A big thanks to the Lomenicks for coming up early with us and making it so fun!)

Here's to Four Years

Last week, Nic and I celebrated our four year anniversary. I told him in some ways it seems like it has gone by so quickly and in other ways it seems like we've been married forever, because Nic is part of who I am and always will be!

Nic sent me a beautiful bouquet of flowers and we were able to go out to dinner. We splurged a bit and went to Market Street Grill. Yum! I got King Crab! (I haven't had crab like that since my mission.) It was divine! We talked about some of our greatest memories for the last 5 years. We both said having Hannah was at the top... and yet it was so nice to get out just the two of us.


I am so lucky to have Nic as mine! I gave him a letter with a long list of some of the reasons I love him... I won't go into it all here, but boy am I lucky!

Outings

Yesterday was a fun day. Hannah and I met my sister, Ashley, and her two kids at Thanksgiving Point where we went to the Children's Garden. We talked around seeing all the animal statues and flowers, had a picnic lunch and then played in Noah's pond and fountain. We had a blast.


We also had a fun outing for Family Night yesterday. Nic, Hannah, and I went to Trafalga and did some miniture golfing. The weather was perfect. Hannah hit the ball with help a few times, but she mostly liked carrying her ball and club around. I have to sadly admit that Nic beat me (by 3)... but this is the very first time he's ever beat me in miniture golf!

Angels Among Us

Unfortunately sometimes it takes scheduling it on the calendar to make it happen (which is what we did since its 'Family Month'), but we finally went to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Baird last night. We do have lots of big family get togethers, so its not like we don't see them, but its wonderful to have a more personal visit. These two people are really indescribable! They are amazing! I'm not just saying that because they are my grandparents... okay, that might be part of it, but only because I get to see into their lives a little more than others may. And because they love me so much, each of us grandchildren must feel like we are their favorite!

As we sat and visited, I couldn't help but be amazed. Grandma told us stories of the recent people she'd met while at ShopKo. There was a young man she gave money and a poem to as wedding present... I heard another story of Grandma going up to a woman smoking, putting her arm around her, telling her how beautiful she was, and then how her (Grandma's) father used to smoke and how hard it was. She told this women she could be doing so much more or so much better. The woman cried knowing Grandma was right.

Grandpa told us how they volunteer to take the MTC missionaries on errands, such as to the doctor. Recently he took an elder to the doctors, and while there a prisoner was wheeled in with jail clothes, handcuffs, and all. Grandpa asked this prisoner wouldn't he rather be wearing a uniform like he and this elder had on! The prisoner said yes. Grandpa talked to him for a while and asked if he could do anything for him. This young man asked Grandpa to put his name in the temple. Later, Grandpa and Grandma looked him up and went and visited him in jail! The young man asked Grandpa if he could do one more thing for him, "Write me a letter."

These are simplified stories without all the details and I hope Grandma and Grandpa don't mind me sharing them. The thing is, there are literally thousands of stories like this! These are not rare occurrences or events, this is how they live their lives. They reach out and touch people everyday. And they can tell people things in a way no one else can. They do it with such love. They really are angels among us that have touched the lives of numerous people, including me!

Where do you like to go for dessert?!

Last night I really wanted some ice cream from Leatherbys. They have this awesome brownies, ice cream, delicious hot fudge, and pecans dessert that is one of my very favorites! So after dinner we drove all the way to Provo just to find out that this Leatherbys had gone out of business. (We even called the SLC location to see if they had moved... no luck.) Of course regular ice cream wouldn't cut it, not even Cold Stone, which I love. I had my mind set on this brownie/ice cream dessert. We ended up at TGI Fridays, where I got my dessert... but it just wasn't the same.

One of my other favorite places for dessert used to be Cinnabon in the University Mall. Its no longer there either. Although we don't go out for dessert a whole lot... it looks like I'm going to need a new favorite. So what's your favorite place to go out for dessert?!

Stool from Papa Park

Papa Park, Nic's grandpa, made Hannah a fun little stool... just her size! She has loved it! They have one at their house that Granny used as a foot stool and Hannah has loved sitting on it when we go over.

Papa Park always has projects going on. He's so good at making things and loves to keep himself busy. We are so glad he'll share his talent with us!

Missionary Tiff

Nic's step-sister, Tiffany, headed into the MTC on Wednesday. We loved being part of her setting apart the night before and then going over for breakfast on Wednesday morning. Tiffany is such a spiritual giant and will make an awesome missionary! We will miss you Tiff!

Ranger Ride'n As a Family

Each year Hunter Industries, one of the two largest sprinkler manufactures, sponsors a family-friendly four-wheeler ride for contractors, suppliers, and their families. We went yesterday, along with several of Nic's coworkers. We lent out our four-wheeler and were able to borrow a Ranger so that all of us, including Hannah, could come along. The ride was about 44 miles long and took nearly 4 1/2 hours. It was a lot of fun (except by the last 1/2 hour, I was done!)


Here's a fun picture of all of us and one of Hannah getting to drive. You can also see how dirty she got! We were all extremely dirty and that was with going through almost an entire package of wipes along the way!

The ride was beautiful. It was up Daniel's Summit. There were lots of wild flowers. Also you can see a picture of the Ranger we rode. It had a windshield, which at least saved us from the direct dust, and a bench seat with seat belts.

Hannah fell asleep after 3 hours and slept for nearly an hour. That was probably the hardest part on me though, because I was trying to take all the bumps for her. She was very pleasant the entire time. I'm glad she got a nap in!
Here we are at the end of our journey: tired, hungry, with a headache, sore back and legs, and absolutely filthy... but boy, did we have fun!

Family Month

The month of August in our ward is designated as "Family Month." We aren't supposed to have presidency meetings, mutual, etc. Of course we still hold our 3 hour Sunday meetings, but that is about it. During this month we are suppose to really focusing on our families, planning activities, making sure we are 'perfect' at having prayer, scripture study, and FHE (at least for this month). All those other meetings and organizations of the Church are so important, but its nice to take a step back, have a little break, and really focus on the most important "organization" or unit of the Church and the world, our families. The key to the month, I believe, is really planning ahead and for success. We did this last year as well and I really enjoyed it. We are excited to play and work together this month. Feel free to join in and make it a family month for you too!

Girls Camp

This week was girls camp. Whew... we made it! Really its all the preparation part that is stressful and a lot of work (and I'm not even the camp director!) The camp part is always a little miracle! I know that Young Women's Camp is inspired. There really are so many little miracles, including so much unity and testimony building, that takes place.

Nic was a huge help, taking the girls up on Tuesday, being the priesthood leader on Thursday to Friday (8pm to noon!), and then driving them home on Friday. I went up all day Wednesday and most of the day Thursday (coming home just after 11pm both nights). I was so glad to sleep in my own bed. I was soo warn out! And I didn't even stay up til the wee hours of the morning and sleep on a hard surface! I am so grateful to family who helped take care of our Hannah (Ashley M, Alecia, Tiff!) Thank you! THANK YOU!

I am also so grateful to have been able to go up to camp with these amazing girls. I love them!