Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent the holiday with Eric's family... and we had a wonderful time eating and hanging out (the purpose of Thanksgiving, right?!) Just kidding! Actually since I didn't get a chance to say what I was thankful for this year, I wanted to do it here. There is SO much I have to be thankful for but my top three would be:

1. My Eric who is my soul's companion and who leads our family in the Gospel and provides so well for all of our needs.

2. Beautiful, healthy, happy little Gabe that brings so much happiness into our home.

3. Family, both my own and my husband's, that are loving and supportive and enrich our lives so much.

And I must add how thankful I am to the men and women who have sacrificed so much for my right to live in this beautiful, free country - in the past as well as now. My heart aches with appreciation when I pause in my busy life to remember what a blessing it is to live here!

GO UTES!!!!!!!

Despite the fact that every single family member on both sides are die-hard Y fans, Eric and I are loyal to our alma mater... the big RED University of Utah!! So that one football game (everyone knows what I'm referring to) was so much fun to watch! Even though I must say it was a little awkward to be cheering when everyone else was groaning... it was still a blast to be there with family when everyone is so into the same thing (if not the same team)! I must confess I am a BYU fan (gasp) but before anyone gets the wrong idea, the U always comes first. So I wasn't happy that the Y lost... more I was just so excited that the U won! :) An undefeated season too... Wahooooo! Look at all this blue...yikes! Eric, Gabe and I were the only REDS! (I'm so mad I don't have a picture of Gabe - oh well, you can imagine how cute he looked in his bright shirt surrounded by a sea of blue!)

TJ with baby Eliza...not looking so happy at the moment! But isn't she just adorable?! It is so fun having a little girl around - yeah!!

And our victory kiss!!

GABE IS WALKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah!! We are so excited - Eric and I are like little kids at Disneyland! Gabe has taken just a few shaky steps so far but nothing worth mentioning... until tonight! When Eric got home from work we decided to practice walking with Gabe (a regular but fruitless endeavor). He absolutely shocked us by all-of-a-sudden taking off! We were seriously freaking out! :) Tomorrow Gabe turns 18 months old... I guess he decided it would be too embarrassing not to walk by 18 months! Haha! He actually had his 18 month Dr appt last week and the Dr wanted him to visit a specialist to evaluate his "gross motor delay"... that obviously motivated him to show us all that he can walk, he just hasn't wanted to! What a big boy! We are so happy!!

And here is the Big Shot himself, showing off his new moves!!

Give me candy!

Isn't Halloween the best? I used to love dressing up and getting all that free candy!! Now I get to enjoy it vicariously through Gabe! :) He was the cutest little bear... I mean puppy this year! I honestly thought his costume was a bear until Halloween night when someone said "what a cute puppy!"... all of a sudden the long tail made sense! Haha, obviously I'm not too good at identifying animal suits! Either way, he was adorable. We have a tradition of meeting at Mel's so the Three Amigos can have their pictures taken together in costume. It was a little harder this year to get everyone to sit still, much less smile at the same time! Our busy bee Wesley was fascinated with the mouse on Dumbo's hat and Puppy Dog just wanted to get back to the toy box (but first tear off his costume)! Cannon, our little Dumbo, was the only one willing to pose for a photo shoot. Oh well, here are our best efforts!

More fun pictures from that night. We ended up at our house for dinner, treats and a scary vampire movie.. what a blast!

Someone is definitely done with pictures and just wants to be left alone to play!

Halloween snack

I was cleaning the kitchen this morning when I looked up to see Gabe picking the berries off my autumn garland and then proceeding to feed each one to Nali! Of course Nali was snarfing them as fast as they came (apparently she can't resist painted styrofoam balls). It was too funny to see my mischievous Gabe having a great time picking berries and feeding the dog...and see the dog devouring them like juicy steak bites!! Although I must say I wasn't too happy to see my fall decor being systematically destroyed and eaten by this sneaky tag team. Oh well, the joys of living with boys and a dog...

True courage

...is facing the horrifying reality of cancer full of faith and optimism. That's my Mom for you. Last month she was diagnosed with breast cancer... and despite being a very small area, it had apparently already progressed to invasive ductal carcinoma. I can't describe the terror I felt, much less my mom's! Needless to say, I could hardly bring myself to talk about it - and I certainly couldn't blog about it. Things are definitely looking up now so I feel more inclined to share. :) Now after 2 surgeries, she is "ready" to move on to radiation therapy. No chemotherapy - all the lymph nodes tested were negative for cancer so it is extremely unlikely that it spread to other parts of her body. What an answer to prayer! I don't think I have it in me to say more - I just feel so emotional and thankful. Honestly, I can't imagine life with out my Mom. She is truly the perfect mother for me, an inspiring example of womanhood, and a deeply cherished friend. I don't think I tell her enough (I know I don't) how much I love her and appreciate her. I know a large part of who I am today is from the understanding, love, and guidance she gave me throughout all those vital years of childhood and adolescence. I LOVE YOU MOM.... BIGGER THAN THE SKY!!!!! I also want to thank all the wonderful, kind, selfless, compassionate, friends and family that truly rallied around Mom in her time of need. The night we heard the bad news Dad was out of town so I immediately went to Mom so she wouldn't be alone. Well, someone was at the front door to give my mom a hug even before I arrived! I started crying then and have hardly stopped as I've witnessed the outpouring of support and love. Thank you everyone. You have no idea how much it meant to her... and to all of us. We love you!!

Scrub a dub dub, 2 boys in a tub!

Mel's little boys came over to play on Saturday and since Gabe had to take a bath anyway, I popped Cannon in to join the fun! Those two are so cute together! As I was taking a shower earlier, I had them both locked in the bathroom with me so I could keep an eye on them... it ended up being an extra long shower because I couldn't stop watching those two hooligans! They both wanted the same toys of course and since Gabe (as an only child) isn't used to anyone taking things from him but Cannon (with 4 older brothers) knows to make his claim fast and loud...it was quite the battle! At one point they were both crying and yelling, literally rolling on the ground, each with a strong grip on a big stuffed bunny! I was dying laughing!! Maybe I should have broken it up but I was in the shower and they eventually worked it out. I wish I could have gotten a picture - I'm sure they would have gotten a kick out of it someday! For the most part they play great together and Gabe always gets a big smile on his face when he sees his cousins Cannon or Wesley. However, the memory of an emotional wrestling match over a fluffy Easter bunny will always be a favorite of mine! Haha!

Uncle Jed came for a visit - unfortunately just a few days but we were so happy to see him! Even when Gabe and I went to Detroit to visit them in January (when baby Eliza was born) we hardly got to see Jed. He is a hard working medical student right now... even Erin hardly gets to see him! It was fun to catch up and hang out with him though. Erin gets to come for a nice long visit in November with Ben and Eliza... I am so excited to see my little sister!

The Ball Hog

Yes, that's my little munchkin! Notice how in every picture he as a ball in his arms - sometimes even two! Gabe's obsession with balls takes no vacation...
Gabe and I went on a little getaway last weekend with my parents and Mel's family to the Zermatt (in Midway) where my brother owns a town home. (Maybe the word "getaway" gives the wrong idea since Eric didn't come! :) We definitely missed him!!) It was so much fun hanging out, playing games, swimming, playing ball... and just enjoying each others company! It is gorgeous up there and we spent lots of time outside. Through it all Gabe had a ball clutched in his hand... I'm not joking! It was very difficult (bordering on traumatic) for him to have to watch the big boys throw the football back and forth! Poor little guy wanted that ball SO BAD! :) Luckily he had his Grandma there to play with him by the stream tossing leaves into the current...almost as good as throwing a ball! It was wonderful to have that one-on-one time with Grandma and Grandpa. And it was so fun for me to be able to just hang out with Mom and Melanie. Our lives are so busy (mostly theirs) that although we get to see each other a lot, it's rarely to play games and talk! What a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend!!

Gabe and Cannon swimming...yeah!

Brad's idea of fun at the pool!Connor and little Cannon...Bridger riding a bear! Is that not the cutest smile?!

Party on!

We had a surprise party for my Dad's 60th birthday...he loved it! We had dinner and cake and lots of fun! Mom put together a wonderful slide show on the computer of pictures starting with Dad as an infant... it was great. Mindy and Amy created an incredible scrapbook that everyone contributed to by writing up their favorite memories of Dad. I know he will treasure it - Dad is a very sentimental guy! We love you Dad!!

Body Worlds 3 Exhibit

This was quite the experience! I know some people are a little weirded out by the whole thing but I thought it was tastefully done for the most part. (Although the sound of a loud beating heart through the whole thing really creeped us out after awhile!) It was very informative and fascinating - especially seeing a smokers lung compared to a nonsmoker - it is positively BLACK! The highlight for me was seeing the different stages of the fetus (I read that they were initially preserved in the early 1900's and these scientists plasticized them recently). It sounds awfully morbid but for some reason it wasn't to me at the time. Unfortunately I've seen and gently handled deceased babies as early as 18 weeks so it wasn't shocking for me - it was actually quite peaceful. It was absolutely mind boggling to see a teensy 9 week old fetus with fingers and toes! I found it so humbling. That was just a small part though. Primarily the exhibit was focused on the heart and the cardiovascular system. Most of the full body exhibits were in motion - like balancing on a ball or throwing a spear. The lighting was fantastic - pitch dark with bright spotlights on each exhibit. It just made you want to whisper... so you can imagine how loud Gabe sounded yelling "BALL!" when he would see one! It was quite funny, actually! Luckily there were no stuffy people that got offended by his exuberance! Overall, it was a great experience...definitely worth $23 for both of us -luckily I had a free ticket for being a health care professional. (I'm not sure about paying almost $50 for both of us though!) It was great just to be downtown too. It brought back lots of good memories for Eric and I since we spent our first 18 months being married living right behind the Conference Center. Body Worlds was actually in the Leonardo by the library...I really miss that library, it is so cool!