Catching up!!

This is my sweet Charlie. He turned 4 a couple months ago. He is so lovable.
I love Charlie's smile.
His gorgeous brown eyes.
His spontaneous hugs and kisses.
The way he adores Meg.
Charlie is super smart. He always wants to keep up with his big sisters.










Charlie played soccer this year. He was most excited about the uniforms and the after-game snacks.

















Here I am trying to convince him to go back in the game.


















This is my baby girl Meg. She had her first birthday in August. She is my tiny, funny, happy, adorable little lady.

She has the prettiest eyes.

She only weighed 15 lbs at her 1 year appointment and now, at 15 1/2 months she is up to a whopping 17! She is still in the infant car seat.

She hasn't developed a need for walking quite yet. She will take a few steps but crawling is her preferred method of mobility.


She is a great talker though! Her vocabulary is growing everyday as she loves to mimic what she hears. Her favorite words are "milk", "uh-oh", "no-no", "papa".

She will only give her kisses to Charlie.


















This is my gorgeous firstborn, Paige. She turned 9 in October. Paige is a very determined little girl. She is very smart and excels at anything she tries. She is still thriving in piano. She started gymnastics this fall and has already moved up a level. She got a ukulele for her birthday from Auntie Annie and gets very focused on learning her chords. She is my right hand man. I know if I ask Paige to do something, it will get done well.

Haily did not have a birthday recently but I could not leave her out! My blond haired/blue eyed beauty. She recently won an art contest at her school. Her project is now going forward to the regional level.

Haily is such a sweetheart. She has a tiny little high voice. She LOVES to laugh and has recently developed the love of reading! She is my little snuggler. She is enjoying gymnastics as well.

Here we are on Halloween. Meg was a ladybug, Haily a zombie, Paige a Gothic rag doll, and Charlie chose this awesome astronaut costume but decided to go as Ironman instead.













Jon and I attended a fun amazing race party this year. We had a super fun team!



















I was asked to MC the talent show at our ward Christmas party this year. My friend Gingy helped me demonstrate several different methods of applause. It was fun dressing so festive!

Here we are discovering who has a talent for shaking their booty. Turns out the winner cheated. Sad. That kid is on my bad list.













Here is my lovely co-host, Michelle, in her stirrup pants and sweet sweater vest.




It's such a fun time of year with so many things happening. Lots of gatherings with family and friends. I feel so blessed and grateful.

MACHINE GUN FIRE

Sunday afternoon, Camp Williams was doing machine gun practice when a spark started a fire on the mountain behind our neighborhood. We could smell the smoke first and then we could see a cloud of smoke rising from behind the peak. We went to dinner at Jon's parents' house not really thinking much of it.
A few hours later, Jon's dad, a sergeant on a nearby city's police department, got called to go assist with traffic control and possible evacuations. Jon went along.
He didn't realize it but he had taken our car keys with him, so his mom drove the kids and me home. When we arrived at home, we could
see flames appearing on the crest of the mountaintop. I called Jon and he said they had just made the decision to evacuate our area so to start packing!
Here are the pictures I took from my front porch as we were preparing to leave:















I got 2 changes of clothes for everyone, computers, cameras, photos, Jon's work stuff, cell phones, ipod, toothbrushes. Paige started to worry when I began taking photos off the wall. I kept reassuring her that everything would be alright.
We drove back to my in-laws house, which is about 4 miles away. It was such a weird sight to see EVERYONE out in the streets loading their cars with things. The roads were packs but the police did a great job manging the traffic. It didn't feel panicked at all. Just surreal. The hillside was ablaze! By the time we left, the fire had surged halfway down the hill. I was making peace with the very real possibility that I was saying goodbye to my home and neighborhood for the last time. We spent the night wondering what we would come home to the next day.


We ended up staying evacuated until Tuesday night at about 8:30. This is a photo of the national guard and police keeping us from going up to our house:

This is a photo from my front porch the morning after we returned home:



You can see the trench dug is what prevented the fire from spreading and destroying homes.

This is another from my front porch:

The entire mountain is black.

The helicopters were dipping into the reservoir in an effort to douse the hot spots. It was so windy and dry Monday and Tuesday they were afraid the flames would kick up again.

Here is an aerial photo taken by the press:

You can see our house. On the bottom of the photo right in the middle is a culdesac. There is an empty lot and ours is the house to the left of it.

This is another photo from the AP. The light colored house on the right is next to ours.

Another aerial shot. This is up a block from our house. You can see the fire came close enough to melt the fence but didn't damage the home.




It's funny the things that came to my mind as I was packing. Some of the things that ran through my mind were

1. I just organized my master closet and kitchen pantry. What a waste! It's just going to burn up, whether it's organized or messy!

2. We had just landscaped our yard this summer after 3 years of being at this house. I didn't want my trees to burn! I wondered if the one year warranty covered fire damage?

3. We had borrowed an air mattress from my sister a few weeks prior for our camping trip and I wanted to be sure we got that!

I told the kids that one day they would be driving their kids to dance class and their kids would say, "tell me a story about when you were a kid!" and they would tell about the fire. So, I began to tell the story up to the point where we spent the night at grandma's house. Then Haily said, "but we don't know how it will end." We decided to take turns making up endings to the story. It started out with:

"The firemen got the fire out during the night and we went home in the morning and everything was back to normal."

And it ended up with:

"our house burned to the ground and we got to live in St George for a year while we built a new house with a pool and jetted tubs in all the bathrooms"...and on and on.

At that point I began to think of things that I wouldn't mind offering to the fire. My wardrobe for starters. It would be awesome to start from scratch and create a whole new (paid for) wardrobe! Haily's dresser with the top drawer missing. My washer and dryer (the first and only ones we've owned that we bought just before Paige was born). Meg's crib that we have rigged with bungee cords to keep the railing up, also purchased 9 years ago and used by 4 babies. Our kitchen table. Although it isn't old, it is well worn.

I learned a few things in this experience. First, I'm proud to be a part of a community that is so well prepared for disaster. I feel more at ease knowing that.

Second, I know that if the time ever comes that my family and I do have to leave our home forever, we will be OK. I know there would be emotional moments and that it wouldn't be easy, but I know we would be able to do it. It wouldn't break us.

Third, I learned what a home is. The thought of the house burning seemed survivable. It's just a structure. It's the life that happened in the house that makes it a home. The memories that live in the halls and rooms. The laughter, the tears, the celebrations, the sorrows, the love. The moments of life that are the real value. Those things are the soul of the home. And those things cannot be destroyed!

That being said, I recognized the value of having your own little piece of the world to call your own. I place that you've spent your life creating, building, and setting up. A place that reflects who you are. A place where you can be yourself. A place you have ownership in. As my friend said, I've never been more grateful to come home to a messy house!

What an experience! One I will never forget. And in the end, am grateful to have gone through.

Grassroots Music Night

I've had an idea for a few months now to host a concert in my backyard. Jon and I are big fans of live music and I always love to throw a party! I started asking around the people I know who are musically inclined and we ended up with a great little program! We decided to call it Grassroots Music Blend since the performers were amateurs among us! Here were the performers:

This is my sister, Annie:

She is a totally talented singer with really cool taste in music! She plays the ukulele too. It's so relaxing to listen to. She played some covers, like Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and then did a few songs that she wrote herself. It was awesome!

This is our friend Daren:

and his brother, Jared:

They are in a band but performed just the two of them at Grassroots. I have very fond memories of Daren playing guitar and all of us singing Blackbird back in the glory days of Utah State! They played stuff they wrote and it was so impressive!

These are my cousins, Jade and Jaron:

They are so rad. They played a bit of Journey, Muse, and some others too. I don't know why I got such a sparse endowment of musical talent when the rest of my family was doused in it! Anyway, the crowd loved these guys!

This is my friend and neighbor, Aubrey:and her sister, Janessa:

They did some numbers solo and some duet. My favorite was Maybe by Ingred Michaelson. Both are so talented and easy to listen to!

Some pictures from the night:

We had such a great time! I'm so lucky to be surrounded by so many talented people who are willing to share their talents! We've decided to make this an annual event! So, look for details next summer because you're all invited!

Camping at Bear Lake

Over labor day weekend we went camping with some friends at Bear Lake. We had such a fun time! We drove up Friday afternoon and set up camp. It was our first time camping in a tent! I was nervous about how our family would do, especially Meg. Everyone did great! Meg slept inside the sleeping bag with me to keep warm. She woke up quite a bit the first night, and a little less the second.

Of course, we had to enjoy a raspberry shake!

I brought these finger lights and everyone had fun with them!

Fishing was probably the favorite activity of the kids. Jon brought all the stuff and taught them. They didn't catch anything despite their efforts! Oh, wait! I almost forgot! The last night they caught a frog. They were setting up traps for crawdads and brought back a frog.

They loved playing in the water all afternoon. The water wasn't as cold as we anticipated, which was nice.

The highlight of the trip had to be the bedtime story read by Lance. Ira Sleeps Over. The kids were so entertained! As were the adults, to be honest. He did a great job! In fact, Paige said she wants him to come to her birthday party and read books to her guests!

Meg enjoyed splashing in the water and sand too. I gave her a bath in the sink, which she did not appreciate as much.

There's our tent, in the top left corner!

I think the kids made some great memories with their friends.

Beautiful scenery, good company, delicious food! It was a fun adventure for our family that I hope we get the chance to do again soon!