He's 2!

Jacob had his birthday last week. Finally 2. Or should I say already 2?! He was lucky to be able to spend his birthday with all of his grandparents. Grandpa Carlile came over to give him his present and then we all went to lunch...

And after lunch we jumped in the car, picked up dad, and headed for St. George for more presents, cake and ice cream...

The Fire Station

Last week Jacob and I got to go to the fire station with Brooke's preschool class. It was fun to see all of the cute kids and hear all of their cute comments. Here is Jacob, just one of the boys...

The whole class...

Looks excited, doesn't he?

That's a little better. At least a half a smile...

Jacob and Brooke inside the fire truck. The kids were supposed to go in one side and out the other. Jacob went in, and never came out. He must have had fun in there. I retrieved him once all of the kids were out.

4 Years

Wow, 4 years. Some days it seems like it has been forever, some days it seems like yesterday.

A lot of things have happened in the past 4 years. A lot of GOOD things. Blake and Mary Ann had beautiful Tori..., moved 3 or 4 (or more) times, and springtime will bring baby #2 and Law School Graduation...Congrats Blake!

We moved here, and had Jacob, and are adding #4 next month...

Nolan left and came home from serving a mission in Germany, and is now on his way into the medical field...school school school...

Anne got married...

And had baby Allee...

And moved a bunch of times too.

And dad...he turned into a biker...a happy biker

It has been a fun 4 years watching everyone's families grow and their lives change. I just seems like when someone is missing, happy things come with just a tinge of sadness. I have decided today to remember some of the things I miss about my mom...

I miss coming home from college the night before Thanksgiving and the smell of my moms kitchen. She was happy as could be with her candle going, her Diet Pepsi with ice in a big ugly plastic cup, making roll dough and pies, and pie crust cookies.
I miss her laughing histerically until tears streamed down her face.
I miss calling her for random recipes that she could spout off the top of her head without even thinking.
I miss her chastising me for calling my one year old a "monster."
I miss her "oh, crapola."
But no "crap" that is a horribly naughty word.
I miss calling her on the phone to whine about how I just can't handle my kids. And I only had 1 or 2 then. Great.
I miss her singing Sons of the San Joquin which I HATED, oh, and the Beatles! Shoot me! And now I miss it. I think I only hated the Beatles because Blake liked them so much.
I miss her and my dad singing the Olivia Newton John duet together without missing a beat. I wish I had that recorded.
I miss her smell.
I miss her cooking and the family dinners she insisted on.
I miss her hands, she would always tell me she was getting old, and I would ask why, and she would have me pinch the skin on the back of her hand. It would stay up for a few seconds after I let go, and she would tell me that is how she new she was getting old. The skin on the back of her hands didn't snap back in place. I find myself pinching my hands every once in a while, just to be sure I'm not getting old.
I miss her love for Diet Pepsi, which I definately inherited. The night before she died she begged me for just a sip of my Diet Pepsi. And wow, she acted like she enjoyed it.
This one is weird, but I miss how she smelled early in the morning, right after she went walking, and she was wearing her black sweatpants and gray sweatshirt jacket, and she would wake me up for school. She always felt cold and smelled like the outside.
I miss shopping with her. She loved shopping. The longer she shopped the more into it she got. Wow, the enthusiam. I'm the opposite. I wear out. We didn't shop well together, but one thing we agreed on...going to lunch was the best part.
I miss how excited she would get when us kids would show up at her office. She acted like it made her day. She would even buy us a 35 cent drink out of the fridge in the warehouse.

I miss her telling me that "in your twenties, I promise, your cheeks will sink in." "You're still in your early twenties, just be patient, your cheeks will sink in." Well, I'm still hoping, but I'm 28 and a half, and some, and I'm running out of time for my cheeks to sink in. I just may have "a round face" forever. Maybe she should've just said, "if you lose weight, your cheeks will sink in." ;)

I miss her looking at my two beautiful baby girls and telling me that they "just look like one of ours!" I wish so badly she could've seen how much Tori looks like Blake did as a kid. I'm sure she would've said the same thing to them.

I miss her. I love her. I know that she is with us, and that she hand picked all of these beautiful babies for us (don't send me anymore, please. Save them for the other three. I'm happy with 4.) Hopefully someday this day will be easier. But for today, me and dad will go to lunch, and we'll wish the rest of you lived closer so you could come to, and then life will continue on. We will continue to have babies, graduate from college, move to new homes, and be a wonderful perfect big family, with just something missing. We love you mom!!

Not Bad!

I would have to say, not bad for the first snow storm of the year! Actually it is the second, but I don't really count the first, it barely covered the grass...no shoveling required. My kids were very excited. Brooke ran outside for a taste. Yum.

Going Private

After seeing a news story on the dangers of blogging, I have finally decided that it is time to go private. So as of November 10th you will have to have an invite to view our blog. Big pain, I know. Sorry! Anyway, leave me a comment with your email, or send me an email if you want an invite. Anyone is welcome!