The Zoo Crew

We decided to buy a zoo membership this summer.  It has been so wonderful.  We have been many times and we don't have to be there all day, we can spend just a couple of hours at a time.  We really enjoy this time together as a family.  Steven really enjoys going.  As he gets older, he enjoys it more.  He LOVES the big cats area. 

 Steven loves the lions.  He knows how to do "lion" in sign language too!

 Takin it easy at the zoo.  Go ahead, put your feet up and enjoy the ride.

 We went to feed the Lorekeets.  Steven wasn't sure about it, but these little birds come and sit right on your hand and eat the nectar. 



Look at those cheeks!  I could kiss them all day long!



 There was a gorilla sitting right by the glass.  Steven and this gorilla sat and stared at each other for quite sometime.  I finally got Bug out of his stroller and put him right next to the glass....

They stood and talked together for quite sometime.  Seriously, the only thing that seperated this huge beast from my tiny baby was a pane of glass.  Quite intimidating to this mommy, but my little guy loved it.

Steven gave the gorilla kisses and high 5s.  He just kinda stared back at my bug.

He finally turned his back and that made Bug a bit upset.

Playin the bongo drums



Okay, maybe I am a crazy, obsessive mom, but he is really musically talented!  He can absolutely keep a rhythm and beat!

 Watching a bird show.  He absolutely loved it.  It made me laugh and smile.

Because I need to...

I have an entire of blog posts I need to do, but today, this is just for me. Today, I need to speak. Today, I need to write. I used to write all of the time. I am a published poet and I have won awards for some stories (okay, so that was all before high school, but still, I can say those things).

First of all, to say I am grateful for my little Bug would be an understatement. I absolutely LOVE being his mom! I thank my Heavenly Father about a hundred times a day for this little spirit in my life. I always ask, "What did I do so right to deserve this beautiful, perfect spirit in my life?" And I can never come up with an answer. I feel so complete, so happy, so warm and yummy inside with him around. Being gone for a few hours at night to work just feels like too much. It is time he is growing without me. He is growing so fast. Everyday is truly a new adventure with him. He watches everything we do and tries to do it too. Today he pulled my curling iron down from the cupboard in the bathroom and pretended to curl his little blonde locks in the back. What a smart boy! He folds his arms and has started bowing his head when we pray. He brings me books during the day and plops his beautiful little self on my lap and lets me read to him. (I have learned to read very fast because he wants to turn the pages. Usually, I shorten the story to just a couple of words each page). I am so grateful for this little boy.

This summer has been an interesting one, to say the least. My dear friend and her family moved here (YEAH!!!!) so she could go to massage school. I have been watching her two little girls. And then came cousin Emmett (7 months younger than Steven). Needless to say, it has been kind of a hectic summer for me. I don't get to play and cuddle and hold Steven like I really planned on doing all Summer, but I hope he has fun. I hope he won't resent me later in life. :)

I know I have said it before, but I really don't like being a grown up sometimes. I don't life having these grown up "experiences!" Our computer died about a month ago, so Matt brings his work laptop home for me and I do what I need to do late in the night or sometimes on weekends when a moment is afforded to me. Then, Matt's car died. We called a tow truck (I guess that is the benefit of insurance) and he is still working on fixing it after many parts and things later. Here is to hoping it is up and running soon. And now, not to be outdone, our furnace went out. $1,000 later we now have heat. (I guess it was better to find this out BEFORE it got super cold outside!) I sometimes feel like I am having an out of body experience as an adult, like I am watching myself doing these "grown up things." Some part of me feels like I should still be back in high school or college and playing my horn and hangin with my friends. Don't get me wrong, I love my husband and my baby and my life, but it just feels strange sometimes. I wish I could write a letter to myself when I was 16-19 and tell her not to stress, not to worry, not to let those little things pull her down. I would tell her to enjoy life because in reality, those were some pretty amazing times and my chemicals were so mixed up, I spent a lot of time being depressed and sorrowful.

I want to be I need to be better. I am walking in the mornings and trying to lose some of this extra poundage. I need to find a way to be better about scripture study and journal writing (and blogging) and house cleaning. I gotta change some things. We can get through this together. So grateful for our forever family. So thankful for the Temple, the Gospel, living in the United States, massage....the list could go on and on.

9/11, 10 Years

In some ways, it seems like only yesterday. In other ways, it seems as if this day was a lifetime ago. I remember the day very vividly. I had early morning Pep Band Practice at 7am. I didn't know it then, but the two planes would hit the towers while I was tooting that horn. After practice, I sat in this fish bowl of the Snow Building reading my scriptures as I did every morning in anticipation of my 9am religion class. I remember exactly where I was sitting. A student came running, screaming through the otherwise quiet fish bowl, "A plane has hit the World Trade Center in New York City. America is under attack." I guess I didn't really understand what was going on. I didn't understand what it meant. I packed up and headed up where my class was. There were a few students already in the classroom and the tv was turned on. We watched the devastation happening in New York, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania. We cried as a group. We prayed so very much. Later in the day in Symphonic Band Brother Nielsen said, "Let's Play." We couldn't do anything else. It seemed as if we were half a world away. As classes ended, I went home to be with my roommates. The tv was on, as I am sure every tv in the nation was on that day. We knelt together and prayed. The day was full of prayers and tears. The nation united. I hope I can always remember those two things, prayer and the sense of being unified.

10 years later, I watched tribute after tribute. My heart aches and I remember. I am so grateful for the firefighters, policeman, military who serve our country every day. I am grateful who give up their lives so I may live mine. I am grateful to live in America. I often wonder why I was so blessed to be born here, now...I am grateful beyond words for my blessings. I try not to take these freedoms for granted. 9/11/2001 is a day I will remember for the rest of my life.

I asked Matt if he would write his memories of that day, so without further ado, Matthew:

10 years ago I just moved to Utah to go to school. I worked late that night and woke up late. As I can up the stairs the TV was on and I saw a burning building. I didn't know what was going on. As soon as I found out it felt unreal, I thought it was movie stunt. Then I saw the second tower get hit. At that point I knew it was real. After a few minutes the towers fell. I felt all sorts of emotions. Most of all was shock and disbelief.

I heard of terrorists before, but I didn't really know what they were. This was quite a learning experience. I talked with my uncle that day about it and we had all sorts of ideas, none of them would be practical. We also noticed the skies went silent except for military jets. It was a very humbling time.

I feel sorry for those that lost their lives in this tradegy and also for those that lost family members. It hurts to think that children have to grow up without their parent(s).

I feel proud to be an American. I am glad that we have a strong and devote military. For any one that is or has served in any capacity in the military, thank you! For those that lost loved ones due to this attack, my heart is with you.