Christmas Time

Well...all the pictures I loaded came up in reverse order so I guess I'm telling the story backwards. I'm just too lazy to correct it.

This is a picture of Torin after all the presents have been opened, relaxing and enjoying a new movie.Gavin checking out his new tool bench while talking on the phone.
The start of the opening of the presents!
This is a good representation of how Gavin felt on Christmas day. He didn't feel good when he woke up, didn't eat anything for breakfast and then went back to bed in less than an hour. We went to my dad's house later that day and Gavin threw up on me and then slept for the next 6 hours. He took about a week before he started feeling better.
The kids really loved their stocking stuffer-Pillow Pets. The make snoring noises too. The kids HAVE to have them in bed with them now.
The tree was OVERFLOWING! The kids got a lot of presents this year.
The family stockings.
JJ helping me be 'Santa'.
Torin put out cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve and even signed his own name.
We had a quiet Christmas. The kids got a lot of fun new toys. It was a good day.

Mount Timpanogos Cave

For those of you that didn't know, Steven (my brother) and Christy (his wife) had a baby girl in August. She was to be blessed in September. My mom came from Texas to Utah so that she could be there for the blessing. The Friday before the blessing, she wanted to go up to Timpanogos Cave. She went to BYU when she was in college but never got around to this hike. She thought it would be a fun family outing...

If you have ever been on this hike, sure its paved and everything but it is really steep and it takes about an hour and a half to walk to the top. It is tiring in and of itself. BUT if you want an extra workout, try carrying an 18 month old the whole way up then through the cave tour (that takes 45 minutes) THEN all the way back down. That was the most exhausting experience. To say the least. The very least.

The best part about doing things like this is laughing about it afterward and wondering what mom was thinking...or if she ever really does...

The very beginning. This is where Gavin could actually walk before it got too steep.Not 20 minutes in the kids needed a snack.
While everyone is still smiling.
I think Torin is going to get into rock climbing.
Amazing views.

Brothers

Sometimes they are just too cute together. I love my boys. I mean, look at those faces!!

Making Jam

This August and September we had our arms full of fresh fruit from our next door neighbor. We got plums, peaches and grapes. I thought that I would try to make jam for the first time ever since there was no way we would be able to eat all this fruit before it went bad. Torin helped me as much as he could by washing and picking grapes off the vine. We cooked the grapes and then strained it. Then we took the fresh grape juice and made grape jelly. We also made peach jam and red plum jam but I didn't take any pictures of it.





I guess I should have taken a picture of the finished product but I didn't. Oh well. Take my word for it, its good.

Get off my back already...here's another post!

These pictures are from September when we went to stay at our brother-in-law's family cabin up in the mountains. We went for walks, canoed, played on the beach, ATVed and hung out in Evanston, WY a couple mornings.

Huh...I guess I'm a little out of practice on describing what we've done. Anywho, here are some pictures and a video.

Looking Back

I was just thinking that so much time has past yet it hasn't been that long either. I remember right after Gavin was born, the pediatrician told me that there was clouding in Gavin's eyes. When he said that, I wasn't surprised because his father had cataracts as a baby too. It was a genetic thing and at least we knew early. I took Gavin to the ophthalmologist the next week to get his eyes checked out. For whatever reason it was a complete shock to me that he had to have surgery to have his lenses removed. I just cried in the doctor's office as I realized that my new baby was going to have surgery. It was a difficult time for me emotionally, knowing there is something wrong with your child but realizing that it is completely out of your hands. It was a struggle to feel so helpless.
Gavin had surgery on one of his eyes when he was 3 weeks old and surgery on the other at 4 weeks old. The surgeries went well but we had to stay in the hospital for 24 hours after so he could be monitored to make sure he did not have any adverse effects from the anesthesia. Those were really long nights for me.The most amazing part of this experience was realizing how blessed I am. For the support I received from family and friends and the appreciation of modern science that made it possible for my youngest son to see. Had he not had this surgery, he would have been blind. He will have a life of ophthalmologists visits, eyes exams under anesthesia, contacts, glasses, surgeries and the possibility of developing glaucoma BUT I am so thankful that he can see his family and the beautiful world around him.Life is beautiful.

Caribbean

My best friend, Chelsia, and I went on a cruise last week to the Caribbean. We set out from Miami and went to the Cayman Islands, Honduras, Belize and Cozumel before heading back to Miami. I got back late Sunday night. It was the first time since having kids that I have been on my own for a whole week. It was a much needed break and now I feel ready to get back to real life.
I took so many pictures and I don't want to put them all up so I am only doing a handful. If you want to see more, leave me a comment I can put up more.

This is a picture of me and Chelsia on the last night of the cruise. We are almost at Miami at this point.

This is a private beach that we went to after we finished snorkeling in Belize. It was so nice to be at a non-crowded beach. The other beaches we went to were public and a lot more crowded. It was nice for it to be quiet for a while.This is me and Chelsia about to go snorkeling. We went once in Belize and once in Cozumel. This one is from Belize. We stopped along the Great Barrier Reef and snorkeled in the middle of the ocean. And I am pretty sure we saw a little tornado in the distance.

Here we are at Tabyana Beach in Isle Roatan, Honduras. It was absolutely beautiful. Like the picture you have on your desktop on the computer. White beaches, clear waters, umbrellas and such. Amazing. I bought a handmade hammock from here. I am excited to put it up.

After the safety demonstration before we set sail, Chelsia and I thought we had better try on our life vests to make sure we knew how to put them on right. We are just goofy together. Something that I love about our friendship.

I am glad that I got the opportunity to go and am very grateful to the people that helped make it possible. This is a shout out to my amazing husband who took care of the kids while they were sick so I could have a much needed vacation. Also to my sister-in-law who watched the kids during the day while JJ was at work. You guys have no idea how grateful I am! Thank you so much!!