Bees and Hippies and Hot Springs...OH MY!

A lot has been going on since I blogged last. Was any of it SUPER exciting...well, no. But we have been having fun together as a family and even though it wouldn't make the headlines of the Deseret News, we have enjoyed ourselves.

Last Thursday we got tickets to go a Salt Lake Bees baseball game with my parents and my sister Becca and her hubby Spencer. It was a lot of fun and I want to give a thanks to my Aunt Kathy for giving us the tickets.



Gabe, always being safety aware, knew that foul balls were a concern. So after finishing his popcorn, he turned the bucket into a helmet. Now he is "safe" and adorable!

And what game would be complete without a visit from Bumble, the Bee's mascot? If you ask Gabe, that would have made for a much happier baseball game! Eeep! Scary Bee!

And this past weekend our family made a trip to one of our favorite places to visit. HIPPY HOT SPRINGS! And this year was even better because Bubba was there and also because Mom and Dad's cabin actually had a door and not just a piece of tie-dyed fabric.

Gabe was having a good time despite his reservations about the water being hot. He was really enjoying himself until he slipped on the slick rock and went under the water for a second. Then he was kind of scared and mad at me for letting it happen. Clearly, this was my fault and so as punishment Gabe threw my cell phone into the hot spring. Androids are amazing phones but folks, they aren't waterproof by any means!
But Gabe was not the only person having a great time! Here are Spenny and Dad doing some fancy swimming. Excellent form in the arms Spencer! And Dad...nice swim trunks?
Here we have The Ladies enjoying the lovely surroundings along with the warm water.
I do have to praise Spencer for not only for his excellent dance form but also for his environmental awareness. As he was exiting the hot springs he almost stepped on this little guy but stopped himself just in time. And Ryan, not to be outsmarted by a frog, chased Walter (Yes, I named the frog.) because he wanted to show it to Gabe. Gabe was not impressed but the rest of us were!

This weekend is sure to be full of excitment with Byron and Holly's wedding carnival extravaganza! Not to mention Gabe's 2nd birthday next week, the rehersal dinner, and the wedding day. I am going to be busy so I may not post again for a little bit but I gave you 2 posts tonight so that should tide you over for a bit. Much love to you all!

Boot Scootin'

Gabe is considering a career in furniture moving. He is kind of lazy however and will only be available for rocking chairs. ENJOY!

P.S. Those marks on my parents floor came off...no worries!

Top 10 Things That Are Bugging Me Right Now

Please take this Top 10 with a grain of salt or perhaps a shot of whiskey. I have not had any coffee today so I am "in a mood."

Top 10 Things that Are Bugging Me Right Now

1. The snacks in my drawers. Right now, I really wish I had more food than a bag of Cheddar Cheese Rice Cakes. What the hell was I thinking? Why didn’t I buy something that would actually satisfy a craving? Oh but Rachel, they have 0 grams of Trans Fat and 13 grams of Whole Grains. You know what? All 13 of those whole grains can kiss my butt-I want a damn Snickers bar!

2. The pedometer on my side that reminds me of how much I hate walking.

3. The people walking across the street to go get coffee. You suck-unless you bring me an iced vanilla latte and then, you are AWESOME!

4. The fact that people assume I am in charge of a function simply because I made the sign-up sheet for it. No, it just means I know how to use clipart better than the person who really is in charge.

5. This itchy patch of dry skin on the side of my nose.

6. The fact that I am being so whiney. I hate it when I annoy myself.

7. The envelopes I have been helping to address. People, listen up. I love you and how crafty you can be. The cute handmade invites to things are fabulous! However, if you would like me to help address things in the future, make your invites with a normal size envelope. My handwriting blows and to try and make it tiny enough to fit on your cutesy envelopes…not happening. On second thought, the next time, I am buying sticker labels.

8. People who think I am a grump because I don’t love planning/attending wedding showers, baby showers, blah, blah, blah. I hate the little games you play and all the garbage. I am not saying that I don’t love you and that I am against your special event. But don’t expect me to get so excited over playing a game where you unscramble the names of household items or go all sappy over tiny little nut cups with pink and blue mints. Just let me show up, give you my gift, and smile and be grateful I am not drunk.

9. Thunder and lightening storms that keeps you up when you are trying to sleep.

10. Sisters that will not have a baby because your child needs a cousin. Who cares if you and your husband are career-minded and responsible? Get busy and give my son a playmate already!

More Gabe to come soon! Much love to you all!

So Much Love

It has been a little while since I have posted and I appologize about that. We have had a busy month of July. I want to take this quick opportunity to say thanks to our families and friends for all your support. It was a hard month and Ryan and I were tested to our limits. But one thing we learned is that we have amazing families and incredible friends who will stick by us no matter what. Things may not have gone as well as we hoped but we know that some day Sera will see that we fought for her and always tried to help her be in the best situation. She will know we love her and always have.

That being said, Gabe is doing great! He is always keeping us smiling and we love him more and more every day.

As 2-years-old approaches we are seeing him be more and more of a little boy. He is getting stubborn and so independent. He is talking so much and trying to do everything by himself. And boy does he LOVE books! He cannot get enough books and Ryan and I are always reading to him. He is getting so big too-he wears a size 3 in clothes which is so hard to believe!

And just look at his cheesey smile! He loves the camera and is such a ham. But with a smile like that it is hard not to love him to pieces.

While Ryan's parents were in town at the end of July we decided to take Gabe to Jungle Jim's Playland in Midvale. It was hot outside and we wanted to let Gabe play so it was a good choice. Yes the place is old and a little rundown in some aspects but Gabe didn't care. It was clean and that was really all that mattered to me.

Gabe loved all the rides even though he wasn't sure at first. He may look like he is freaked out in the pictures but he never cried or made a scene. He even seemed to like the roller coaster but his eyes got as big as eggs when it started to go backwards!

On the Jeep ride he gave me a little bit of a half smile until the ride started. Once it was going he was concerned about the car behind him bumping his car. It was funny to watch him give the kid behind him the stink eye every time the cars bumped.

He really enjoyed the space ship ride but didn't really like pulling the handle to raise up the ship.
And what trip to Jungle Jim's would be complete without a ride on the merry-go-round. It was late so Gabe didn't want to smile but I still think this picture is really cute!
Gabe's favorite ride by far was the swings! He wanted to ride them over and over! And every time he did, we couldn't stop laughing. If you watch the movie below I think you will see why.

Thanks again to everyone for all your support and prayers. We love you all so much!

The End of An Era

Last night I was lucky enough to be invited to see an advanced screening of the final Harry Potter movie that is going to be released this Friday. Was it amazing? OF COURSE!

I have not always loved Harry Potter. I boycotted it at first because people were telling me that I absolutely had to read it. I refused and it wasn’t until after the first movie came out on DVD that I even bothered to pick up a copy.

After the first book, I WAS HOOKED! I fell in love with the characters and truly hated others. I can remember while reading Order of the Phoenix, “Is it right that I hate Delores Umbridge so much? She is a fictional character.” And I really did hate her. The emotion was so real even though she wasn’t.

But that is what great books will do for you. They come alive and the characters become people to root for, cry for, and sometimes hate. A good author can make you feel real emotions for fake people. And for me, that really is what those books did.

The books are wonderful and I was sad, as I am sure many others were, when I finished the last page of the Deathly Hallows. I felt sad that the story was over but at least I had the movies to look forward too.

Last night marked the end of that for me too. The movie was, well, it was simply spectacular. Of course I loved it because I love the story so much. It could be the biggest piece of technical trash with poor effects and bad acting and I would probably still love it. But in truth, I thought it was great.

It had parts that made me laugh, which was nice because Deathly Hallows Part 1 was such a serious movie. This one brought a little humor back and I loved it. Ron has some of the best dialog and the actor Rupert Grint has great facial expressions. It kept me smiling between the parts where I got choked up.

Yes, I did shed a tear at a couple parts-I know, LAME! And there were other parts where the entire theater cheered and clapped at. It was fun to be in a room full of people who loved it just as much as I did that when you see Ron and Hermione kiss, you can’t help but clap. (That does sound a little creepy now that I think about it but oh well.)

All I can say is that it was a fantastic movie and I am sad that it is over. I don’t want to go on and on because most of us know the story. And for those of you who don’t…have you been living under a rock? I won’t spoil it for those who don’t know how it ends but honestly, if you haven’t read the books and you don’t know what happens go to the library right now and check them out.

Thanks to my Mom for taking me with you. Thanks to my Dad for not wanting to go and letting me have your ticket. And thanks to Ryan and Becca who were cool with me going even though I know they both wanted to see it too.

And remember, help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.

Boys of Summer

We love summer time here at Homestead Farms. As I have mentioned before, we have some awesome neighbors/friends and when summer time rolls around, we get to spend many evenings outside just hanging out and letting the kids play. (And by kids, that often includes the husbands along with the children.)

Here we have J and his lovely little girl TaylorAnn. TaylorAnn and Gabe are just over a year apart and I am sure as the days go by, they will become good friends. And the other night as Gabe was scooting around on his fire truck TaylorAnn wanted a ride too. It was so cute to watch the 2 of them rolling around on the truck together and TaylorAnn could not stop smiling.

Also in my previous blog I mentioned that Gabe has turned into quite the little Picasso at times by way of coloring on my living room walls. There were some doubts that my sweet little boy could do such a thing....

BAM! Doesn't he look proud? Here is my little artist sitting below his "work of art." Of course I had him help me clean it off but not before getting proof for you, Internet.

Here is a close-up of his art. I wish his creative outlet wasn't released on my white walls.

Also this summer we have taken Gabe swimming a couple times. We wanted to find a pool more suitable for little kids and we scored big time with the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center.

I have already allowed a picture of myself in my swimsuit once so you will not be seeing one of me again. Did Ryan take some? Yes. But you will not see them. They are just too sexy for a family blog. If I were to post them on here, I would have to give this site an Over 18 Warning and I really don't want to start a sex riot over my blog.

This past holiday weekend we had the pleasure of having Ryan's parents Scott and Linda in town. We always love it when his family can come down and spend time with Gabe. Gabe gets to see my family all the time and he loves it. We want him to have the same relationship with Ryan's family too.

On the 4th of July we took everyone down to the Tracy Aviary. Gabe loves birds and Ry and I have wanted to take him but we are lazy no-fun poops and it took having special company in town to get us down there.

Gabe was running around like a chicken with his head cut off...a little bird humor for you there. He was having so much fun feeding ducks, peeking into cages, and yes, chasing pigeons. He did occasionally stand still long enough to get his picture taken. Above we have Gabe, Grandma Linda, and Grandpa Scott.

The aviary had a few of these wooden cutouts and Gabe loved them all. He loved getting his picture taken and when we would try to walk away, he would get a little cranky until he saw something with feathers and then he would forget. Phew for short attention spans.

It has been a great summer so far. We love being able to get out in the sunshine and spend time together as a family. We wish Sera could be here with us and miss her fun-loving spirit. We know that she wishes she could be here with us too.

Sorry for the long blog but you should see what I didn't put in! I will try to not be such a slacker and post more frequently but honestly I say that all the time. Much love to you all!

Top 10 Things I Have Recently Discovered

Here is my newest Top 10. These are things that I have recently learned or discovered about myself. I am sure many of you will see where I am coming from. Enjoy!


1. Whatever comes after the DVD I am going to boycott. Who is with me? I am not restarting my collection.
2. My child blows on his ice cream is cool it off-I don’t have the heart to correct him which proves that I really am a good mom.
3. How many times can I apply sunscreen before someone stops me and tells me I am obsessed?
4. It is easier for “You” to put on a jacket to warm up than it is for me too turn off the air conditioner and remain cool. Unless you want to see me naked, better start bringing a sweater with you!
5. I must have a cutoff time for coffee consumption.
6. There are 2 moments that I dread: The first is the moment when I am arguing with Ryan and realize that I am wrong and the second is the moment is when I realize I have leaned too far back in my chair.
7. I have put certain phone numbers in my phone before so that I can be sure I don’t pick up when you call. Question is, are you one of those people?
8. Why is it that it is when you think you can finally trust your child not to do something, they do it? I am obvisouly too trusting.
9. I hate it when people assume that I am a bitch because I like to be loud and sarcastic…wait…Nevermind. I get it now.
10. Have you ever walked out of a public bathroom smelling your hands because you like the scent of the soap and had someone stare at you? I have and let me tell you how awkward it was trying to explain that one. “No no! This isn’t what it looks like. I really did wash my hands! I just like the smell of the soap. Smells like Fruit Loops.” They never believe you and will never again ask to borrow your pen. I need to work on my timing.

P.S. More Gabe to come soon. Much love to you all!