12 on 12 in October

01. Breakfast: Cheerios (after they went to a happy place)
02. Make-up thief
03. A never-ending cycle
04. Rainy day
05. Witness to a good Samaritan
06. Winco
07. Lunch: Turkey Caesar wrap
08. Best toys are free
09. Date night with my boys
10. Dinner: Chicken Scampi at Olive Garden (woot for gift cards)
11. Squeaky clean
12. Sweet snuggles before bed

Grateful, eh?

My parents are almost making Utah trips for General Conference a tradition (and I love it)!

Our first bit of fun was a Friday night football game (BYU vs. Utah State).  Originally my parents were stuck behind a group of crazy Aggie fans (not that I blame them, when you're a minority you have to be loud to be heard), but after the first quarter we found them a spot in front of us.  Final score: 6-3.   

Saturday afternoon was Canadian Thanksgiving (observed) with the Nielsons!  The food was amazing.  Unfortunately, I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I wanted.  I put Colby down for a nap in an adjoining room and didn't hear him wake up until the quiet that proceeds blessing the food.  At that point he was nearly hysterical (mother of the year award goes to me) and I spent the rest of the dinner trying to make amends. 

Sunday morning Conference session

Followed by family pictures...

I think they're making fun of me in this picture, but it's cute anyway :)

I love us.

Lately

What we're up to nowadays:

:: I finished a craft project that's been on my to-do list for almost a year (the empty picture frame sat on our shelf the whole time...an unsuccessful attempt to motivate myself).  Each heart is a map of a significant place for us and it makes me happy every time I look at it. 

:: Robb had two interviews after BYU's career fair.  We won't hear back for awhile (these are just first round interviews), but suddenly graduation doesn't seem that far away and we're weighing the benefits of one location over another.

:: Colby experienced bubbles for the first time and we're all big fans

:: Dermatologist appointments this month.  I'm now missing a chunk out of my leg and Robb has a burn on his nose, but woot for being cancer free!  

:: Robb and I went to the BYU vs. Hawaii football game for date night, it was a complete shut-out, final score 47-0.  Usually we have company (Robb's brother and his best friend have season passes with us), but we were alone this time and it was fun to be somewhere just the two of us.

:: Robb is learning to play Hushabye Mountain on the guitar and I melt a little every time he sings to our boy

:: And Sunday night we broke out a board game and had an intense battle complete with Lord of the Rings playlist (to make everything feel more epic).

Nothing huge, but still, life is good.

9 and 10 months

:: Weight: 19lbs. 12oz, 45%

:: Length: 29in., 75%

:: Head: 18in., 60%

 :: This kid is sleeping through the night (it involved four or five nights of crying himself to sleep and one episode where his leg got caught in the bars of his crib, but now we are getting 8 consecutive hours of sleep...and his crib has bumpers).

:: Uses a mixture of army-crawling (when he's highly motivated) and rolling to get around

:: Has two teeth 

:: Eats the same thing we're having for dinner, only in puree form

:: Attended his first BYU football game (BYU vs. Weber, final score 45-13)

:: Loves to dance, especially if there's a strong beat ("Another One Bites the Dust" is a favorite)

:: Favorite toys: the remote, our phones, pens, Wii controllers, my water bottle (basically anything that isn't his)
:: Finds random things funny (today I found him sitting in the corner cracking up while staring at my dry erase board)

:: His favorite seat in the house

:: Can stand for a minute or two before toppling over (for some reason he finds being on his feet hilarious)

Robb and I both agree this is the best age yet

Epic Road Trip Part III: Seattle to Provo

My parents came down to Portland to watch Colby and wish Kristen all the best, so the next day we got to caravan home together.  

And the next day was the 12th, so here's my 12 on 12:

01. A beautiful Seattle morning
02. My bridesmaid bouquet
03. Colby hangs out with Great-Uncle Matt
04. Dinner prep
05. Who knew you could cook eggs in the oven?
06. Quality time with the Hughes and Fraser families
07. Colby's dinner
08. Fascination with Elise's footwear
09. Skyping with Jory and Em
10. Grandpa leaves early for a business trip
11. Repacking
12. The best reward for a busy day

And Monday we started the 14 hour drive back to Provo.

 It wasn't a long visit, but I'm so glad we got to squeeze a little time in with them.

And this mini-van is awesome.

Epic Road Trip Part II: Kristen Brady and the Bridesmaid dress

It wasn't until we'd driven six hours on our way to my best friend, Kristen's, wedding that I realized the new roominess in the car wasn't just because we left a 4 foot rocket behind in Montana. We also left our garment bag--and my bridesmaid dress.

The next 24 hours went as follows:

:: I wanted to turn the car around and drive back.  Robb vetoed this because a) we would have ended up pulling an all-nighter and b) we would have missed the temple sealing.    

:: Called the Hays family to see if anyone could drive it out to us, but no one could make it.

:: Investigated the possibility of shipping it via Grey Hound Bus, but it would have arrived too late.

:: Spent an hour on hold waiting to speak with a Delta representative to determine if the dress could be flown in; got disconnected.

:: Waited an additional two and a half hours on the phone, but it wasn't the right department. 

:: Called the new number, waited 20 minutes and got a hold of a very nice lady who promised me if the dress was under a pound it could take a flight from Missoula, MT at 6:00am to Salt Lake City, UT and arrive in Portland, OR around 9:40am.  She also assured me the package could stay overnight as long as someone got it there before the desk closed at 11:00pm.

:: My amazing sister-in-law, Brooke, and her husband, Al, drove an hour to the airport and were told by the heartless guy at the desk (I know he was heartless because I told him my whole sob story and it didn't sway him at all) that it was against airport policy to leave packages overnight.

:: Brooke and Al drove home and then drove back at four the next morning (not because we asked them to) in time for the dress to make the flight.

:: Dress made the flight to Utah on time.

:: Robb and I left for the temple and my dad went to the airport to wait for the dress (he also made friends with the girls who manned the Delta DASH desk).

::The plane landed in Oregon on schedule and those two amazing girls rushed over, grabbed the dress, and made the hand-off to my dad.

:: After a quick stop at the hotel to get it ironed, my dad arrived at the temple just as Kristen and Brady made their first public appearance as newlyweds.

:: Quick sprint into a changing room and I joined the other bridesmaids before pictures started.

So my tale has a happy ending and I will owe Brooke and Al for as long as I live (and something about their note makes me think they agree :) ):

I love this girl.

She moved to Medford during my freshman year of high school and we've been friends ever since.  She is one of the best people I know. (I heard the person you become is influenced most by the five friends you spend the most time with and if that's the case, I'm grateful for the eight some-odd years I had to learn from her.)  

I've never seen her this happy before and if you know Kristen at all, that's saying something.  I'm thrilled she found Kendall and watching them together I can tell he knows what a lucky guy he is.

I snagged the following pictures, taken by Lindsay Brady Zook, from Kristen's Facebook:

Congratulations, Kristen and Kendall!

Epic Road Trip Part I: Hays Family Reunion

Our journey began with a short 5 hour drive to Robb's grandparents in Idaho.  I read somewhere the best way to survive road trips with small children is night travel.  Bad idea. Colby went to sleep around 6:00pm like he normally does, woke up an hour later, and screamed/cried/stared at me with horrified eyes until we hit Rexburg (we traveled the rest of the time by day and it wasn't a problem, so lesson learned). 

We spent a chunk of the next day with Grandma and Grandpa Wilson (thank you for room and board!) and then continued our trek to Montana.

Here's a small glimpse of our action packed week:

Rocket Launches 

(Robb made a 4-foot rocket especially for the reunion)

Cousin Bonding 

Exotic Cuisine

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the food, but all the guys made dishes from where they served missions 

Ziplining through trees

Family Olympics

Play time at the Pond

A little fly-fishing 

Hopefully this is a family tradition that sticks.