Fathers

I am a bad daughter and I'm trying to make up for it. All week I've been thinking about Jeremy for Father's Day and then it hit me the other day, HELLO! What about your own father?!? So I thought I would talk about my dad and the other wonderful fathers in our lives.

Let's start with my dad. My dad is a great man. He's a CPA, a bishop, a father/grandfather, a sweet and attentive husband to my mom, a lover of sports, music, gardening (he loves his fruit trees) and many other things. He can be a little rough around the edges and we give him a hard time for it, but he really is so great. And he's under-appreciated. Sorry Dad. He is a super hard worker and instilled a strong work ethic in all of us, which I greatly appreciate. I know as a kid I definitely didn't always appreciate it (I was a bit of a procrastinator when it came to chores), but I'm so glad I had that example. He was always encouraging us to aim high and be the best we could possibly be. A lot of my love of art and creating comes from my dad and he taught me to pause and pay attention to the details in life. He was always interested in our hobbies and talents. I have a fond memory of practicing my tap dancing out on the back patio and my dad coming out to practice with me. His mom taught tap dance years ago and he remembered a couple shuffle-steps :). He also loved to hear us play the piano and sing and was at every sporting event screaming on the sidelines. Haha. I love you Dad!
I'm also very grateful for Jeremy's dad. I know Jeremy looks up to his dad a lot and he's always talking about things his dad taught him or experiences they shared. He is also is an extremely hard worker and has always shown Jeremy the importance of working hard to provide for your family. He has always been so warm and welcoming to me, and I really appreciate that. He loves to spend time with his grandkids and loves to teach them all sorts of things. One thing I love about both our dads is their love for their family. I know they would do anything to protect their families, and it's so great to have that in our lives.Last, but not least, Jeremy! It's so fun to get married and grow and learn together and then have a child and see how your sweetheart acts as a parent. Jeremy is a great dad and I know he loves Eli so much. Eli loves his daddy and it's so sweet to see him light up like crazy when Jeremy gets home from work or when he sees him on the stand at church.
We're so grateful for the wonderful fathers in our lives and for all they have taught us and all that their fathers taught them. I hope everyone enjoys this Father's Day! Thank you Dad, George, and Jeremy for being such a wonderful influence in my life! We love you!

And whose toys are these?

Right. Eli wasn't even in the same room. Haha. But he did come in a few minutes later and had a great time knocking it down. :)Ta-da! Very impressive, dear.

Anyway...I have not been blogging much lately because we are loving the summer!!! Well, not much changes for Jeremy in the summer - he still has to work all day, but Eli and I are having a grand time! Eli LOVES to be outside. When we're not outside, he points to the back door with his eyebrows raised - please, mom? It's so cute. He also loves balls. I went to Walmart and got him a couple of those bouncy balls ($1 each, suh-weet!) and now we have combined his two loves by playing with them outside!

It was pretty cute the first day we got them. First of all, he insisted on holding them in the shopping cart as I finished the shopping - one under each arm. Then he also insisted on holding them in his carseat on the way home. That was a little more tricky, but he managed. I snapped a picture with my phone at a stoplight - not the best, but it's still cute.He's also really into pointing to things. He points and has me tell him what the name for it is - and he loves to show me what he remembers. He knows light, nose, mouth, hair, eyes (sometimes), outside, ball, circle (referring to his circle block), shoes, bed, doggie (his stuffed animal), and when I ask him where Daddy is when he's not home, he points to the door to the garage. :) Because that's where he comes!

We've been spending a lot of time outside in the yard these days or out running around to the grocery store, the library, etc. When we're home inside he just likes to empty every cupboard and drawer, or hang on my leg if I'm trying to clean or cook or something, so I'm finding that we're both happier if we're out. :) We've still been walking every morning and it's so beautiful out! This morning was perfect. Blue skies, crisp cool air, (which felt plenty warm at the end of the walk) a teeny-tiny breeze, and great conversation (thanks Kristin!). It's supposed to be in the 80s with no storms (finally) for the next week! We're excited.

Oh, and here are some more pictures. They start out with Eli wearing shorts, but then he discovered the joy of the hose, and so the shorts were ditched.

Happy Anniversary to us!!!

It's hard to believe it's already been 5 years since we got married! Time has flown by and yet looking back it seems like it was a long time ago that I was single. Weird how that happens. I'm so grateful for my wonderful husband! Jeremy is such a great man. Here are some of my favorite things about him (there are more I'm sure, but these are off the top of my head):

• He is a worthy Priesthood holder
• He dedicates much of his time to serving in the church
• He has a solid testimony of the Gospel
  
• He is always cheerful
• He is handsome :)
• He is laid back and helps me to relax
• He works super hard to provide for our family
• He is funny (even his old man jokes)
• He is sensitive and tender-hearted
• He is an excellent father
• He can fix almost anything
  
• He likes to have a good time
• He is extremely intelligent
• He loves to learn
• He is always trying to improve and progress - when life gets easy he tells me it's time to change something and bring on a new challenge (okay babe! whatever you say!)
• He makes everyone feel at ease
• He is likeable and easy to get to know
• He is friendly and is never afraid to reach out to people
• He is passionate about things I'm not, like physics ???
  
• He likes everything I cook and isn't afraid to try new things :)
• He supports me 100% in everything I do
• He always tries to do the right thing
• He always lets me know how he feels
• He is honest, loyal, and full of integrity
  
• He loves Eli & I and we know it :)

So Happy Anniversary to us! I'm so glad Jeremy and I chose each other to spend life and all eternity with. It's crazy how different life was 5 years ago. It was warmer for one thing (haha; it's cold today, boo). We were young little students about ready to move into Wymount Terrace (married student housing at BYU) where we would live for the next 2.5 years. We haven't traveled very far from Provo, but we now have 2 degrees, a house, and a child! Who knows where we'll be in another 5 years? I'm just so glad that we continue to learn and grow together. I love you babe!Oakland Temple, June 11, 2005.

And....we're back!

We actually got back on Saturday, but things have been busy and I've been procrastinating because there's so much to blog about! But I finally got it done. Scroll down for two posts about our weekend in Idaho and our week in Park City.

It's nice to be home! Since we got back it has been so warm!!! It was beautiful in Park City, but it was in the 60s and overcast the whole time. Boo. We got back on Saturday and it was sunny and beautiful and Sunday it almost got to 90 degrees! I started walking in the mornings again with my friend Kristin (yea!) and it has been so nice! Of course this weekend it's supposed to drop 20 degrees and rain, but hey, it's okay.

So anyway, we're finally unpacked and getting used to summer. Jeremy has been working a ton (I mentioned that in the posts below) so I've been trying to step it up in the yard department. I mowed the lawn while he was at work on Saturday and went to the nursery to buy some more plants to replace those that died in our lovely snow storm a couple weeks ago. Amazingly, I only had to buy 4 plants and I think the rest are going to survive! I put some Miracle Grow on it on Saturday and that, combined with the warm weather, has really helped everything to shoot up! I'm getting super excited for fresh veggies in a couple months!!!

In other news, Eli is looking really grown up to me lately. I put him in this cute outfit he got for his birthday but hadn't been able to wear yet because of the weather, and I put a little "product" in his hair and he looked so old! I tried to snap a quick picture before he dove for the camera. See here:See what I mean? What a cutie. Anyway, I really need to stop blogging now. Check below to read about our trip and I'll be back later in the week!

May 31 - June 5: Park City

After catching up on sleep, we got up bright and early Monday morning, finished packing, went to the grocery store, and headed up to Park City! Jeremy's parents have a timeshare at the Mountainside Marriott Resort there and it is really nice. We usually go for Thanksgiving, but they traded in something or other to get it for last week. It's right on the mountain next to the ski lifts. So we spent the week there. Unfortunately, Jeremy was hardly there. He got Memorial Day off, but that was it. He had scheduled to take Thursday and Friday off, but things have been really crazy at work lately, so he had to work all week, including Saturday. He left by 5:30 every morning and came home (well, to the hotel) around 6. I felt so bad that I was vacationing with his family and he was working a ton!

But we had a good time anyway. Here's what we did.

We competed in a Guitar Hero tournament and lost (Jeremy got the farthest)...We "hiked" (not very far; yes, it was June 1st and that is snow)...We relaxed...
We swam in the pool and 6 or 7 hot tubs...
We enjoyed the wild life outside our window :) ....We walked around Main Street and ate ice cream...
And had a great time spending time with family!

May 27 - May 30: Idaho

So we left for Idaho on Thursday evening. I packed up everything and picked Jeremy up from work around 4:30 and we headed out! We only stopped once for a potty break and it was pretty much smooth sailing the whole time. We stayed at my sister Amy's house which was so fun! We felt so lucky to get to spend time with both of our families that weekend. Jeremy's brother Jared, his wife Mimi and their 2 kids (Ben & Lucy) also stayed at Amy's house, so it was a party! Amy and Rob are amazing hosts and we had such a good time hanging out with them. We stayed up way too late every night, but since we were gone during the day we had to see them some time! :)

So Friday we spent the day at the new in-laws house (Jonathan's in-laws). They fed us a great barbeque and we took some family pictures. They have a farm and so we took some grandkid pictures on a tractor and took family pictures in the front yard looking out at the fields. The wind was blowing pretty hard, so we'll see if any of the family pictures turn out. I know my hair was out of control! So then we went back to Amy's and she had a barbeque ready for us too! (We were seriously spoiled that weekend). Amy's kids had a blast playing with Jared & Mimi's kids, so it all worked out great.Then Saturday was the big day! Amy offered to watch Eli, Ben and Lucy during the sealing which was so sweet! Not only did she watch them, she got them all dressed and ready (hair and all) and drove them the 30 min. drive to the Boise temple. Here she is with 3 of her 4 kids plus the other 3. Thank you Amy!
Jon and Shannon were sealed in the Boise temple on Saturday, May 29th at 10:00 am. It was such a sweet experience to be in there with them. It was the first sibling wedding either of us had been to and it was so great! We can't wait for the next one! (Haha, no pressure anyone). After the wedding we of course took lots of pictures and then had a fabulous luncheon. Jeremy's family sure knows how to cook. His mom's sister and her family did all the food and it was great! It was the same thing we had at our wedding, but I sure enjoyed the food more this time around. :) I actually had time to eat! Eli scarfed his down too. I don't think I had ever seen him eat so much. It was a hit!
Anyway, then we spent a few hours at the hotel that Jeremy's family stayed at and then we got ready for the reception! It was at this clubhouse thing and it was really beautiful. We of course took more pictures, enjoyed the ice cream bar and said our goodbyes to the happy couple.
About 1.5 minutes after we left the reception:
The next morning we went to church (it was Jeremy's mom's cousin's ward - her 2 sons spoke. One just got home from a missions and one was just leaving. Pretty cool) and then we headed home, unpacked, did some laundry (I know, on Sunday, very bad), repacked to go to Park City the next day and went to bed nice and early to catch up on some much needed sleep.

To see more pictures from the wedding weekend, click here for a link to my facebook album.