Loaded Fun in St. George

We had so much fun in St. George. Troy did suprisingly well in the car on the way down and back. He only had a couple moments of, "Get me out of this carseat!" Saturday morning the boys woke up at 5:30 am to leave to Zion's National Park to hike the narrows. It took 2 1/2 hours for Melissa Kitchen's Father to drive them to where they needed to start (at the top). Thank you Thank you Brother Kitchen. Here are the boys on their hike down the river.

These guys are pretty tough (Ben, Reed, Brock, & Josh.) The narrows is a 16 mile hike down a river. They also went on a very tough weekend. If the river were going just a little faster they would not have been allowed to go. The pictures do not show the difficult areas of the hike because they couldn't take pictures during those times. When the water is high you can't see the rocks or your feet, so you can fall or slip alot. There legs were so scraped and banged up by the time they were done. But they felt triumphant in their accomplishment.

The girls had lunch, went to Old Navy, and dropped off the guys car in Zion. I have never been to Zion so we drove through it a little. The empire state building has nothing on those massive red rock mountains. On Sunday we went to church and heard the most beautiful talk by a newly returned missionary. He had made mistakes in his past and so humbly talked of the importance of repentance and being worthy to serve a mission. What a great example to us all. Sunday night we had dinner at the Kitchen's home. Sister Kitchen is such a good cook. On Monday we chipped a few golfballs in the morning in the backyard of the Mathews. Brother and Sister Mathews showed us all up. We gladly took some of there advice and started to improve. Also a quick thanks to them for making us breakfast each morning and introducing us to Rotel and jam on breakfast sandwiches. In the afternoon we got to go to paradise. Paradise in someone's backyard. We went swimming for a few hours and got fried. I'll show you a pic of Ben's back later. We had so much fun though.

(Ben, Char, Melissa, Brock, Melissa, Reed) Josh is taking the picture.

Ode to Grandmothers

Troy is the first grandchild on both sides. Therefore, when he was born two mothers became grandmothers. Ben and I are so grateful for our moms. We wanted to take a second and thank them for all of their help, shared experiences, and love. These two women are the most patient and sweet women Ben and I have ever met. They truly represent the Lord and his work. We love you moms and are so grateful you are Troy's grandmothers!

I know they both look too young to be grandmothers, but they are! And they both love it.

Figuring It Out

Only three months ago I felt like I had figured things out. I was married, pregnant, finishing up my Bachelors, and working. I had figured out how to get good grades, have a good marriage, and waddle like the best of pregnant women. I still have a great marriage, but now I have to figure out how to actually cook (sweet, patient Ben), how to garden, and most importantly how to be a good mom. I think it will help to start with what I do know. I do know how to cook some things and I have a trusty cookbook that I can experiment with (sorry Ben). I have never had a garden, but I know how to weed and I have resources such as the internet to help me. Finally, being a mom. I have no experience, but I love my son more than he could ever understand. That's a good start.

Cabin Fun

This past weekend Ben, Troy, and I got to go to a beautiful cabin in Midway or just past Midway, somewhere in there. We drove up Friday after work with our friends the Kitchens, Mariannos, and Garzas. Melissa Garza's sister-n-law, Anna, and nephew, Jay, came as well (so glad they did). This was such a fun group. First we sat down to eat a hearty meal of salad, bread, fruit, and meat cooked on a grill that could feed Noah's Ark. The boys cooked the meat and it was so incredibly good. They even grilled the pineapple like Tucanos.

After dinner the boys retreated to the basement to play the Wii that Matt and Ash brought, while the girls just talked. I love girl talk, especially with this group. I always come away learning something. We then watched Paycheck, a movie with Uma something and Ben something. Wow I have a bad memory of actor names, but the movie was good. The next day we went to Park City and did some shopping. I got some cute shirts and we almost got some Sketchers but sadly they lost our business because they wanted us to spend less money... longer story that is too confusing to explain. We also went on a little hike that was beautiful. We got to try out our Eddie Bauer carrier that holds Troy against your chest. Troy was a good sport to be carried in it, even if his arms don't quite reach the armholes yet :) Here are a couple pictures at the cabin.

For those of you who don't know Ben, he loves to clean. He got so excited when he discovered the ever-so-easy to use Clorox wipes you see in the picture. If you ever want your cabin, boat, car, or whatever cleaned, just let us use it and Ben will eventually have it spotless. Another reason why I know I married a gem :)

The boys (Reed, Brock, Matt, Troy, and Ben) standing in front of the largest grill I have ever laid eyes on. Sorry I don't have any pictures of the ladies, I will surely have some soon since we are heading to St. George this weekend with them. We work hard and party hard, what can I say.

Troy Faces

Troy could entertain me with his faces for hours. I love to see his personality throughout the day during different activities. Here are three that I particularly love.

"I want to play mom!"

"I like the bath, but then I get so cold."

"ZZZZzzzzzzz"

Beginner Blogger

I have started a blog. A simple, odd colored, blog. I am hoping this blog will be my journal in a way. I have many thoughts, pictures, and events that need remembering and this is the place that all of these things can come together. I have been inspired by fellow bloggers that I secretly follow, such as Lindsay Weston, Rachel Poulsen, Elise Roberts, Melissa Kitchen, and others. I love seeing what others have learned, seen, or done that I can learn from. Thanks ladies, and keep posting!

I want to start by reporting on the two people which make my life the happiest it has ever been.
Troy and Ben.

Daddy's favorite baby gift, a football he can hold onto. He is also currently doing his famous Zoolander face, I don't care for the movie, but gotta love "blue steel."


It's as if he knows I'm taking a picture, what a pose!

My man. My wonderful, sweet, hott man.

My Two Guys

I met Ben the third day of Fall Semester in the BYU library in 2005. Our first date was after the Priesthood session of General Conference in October, 2005. He held my hand after the 5th date and kissed me after the 10th. After I realized he was the most humble, sweet, and caring guy I had ever met, I knew he was the guy I wanted to be with forever. Three and a half years later, here we are, graduated from BYU with our Bachelors in Nursing and Civil Engineering and he is still humble, sweet, and makes me laugh all the time.

After Winter semester of 2008, we began talking about having children. I then got pregnant with Troy. I was so excited to be pregnant, but I did not start showing till 6 months! However, after my third trimester, I was glad I was a late bloomer. Early morning of March 16, 2009 (four weeks before my due date) I began to feel a strange tightening and painful sensation. It is funny how you can study contractions for months in school, and then not recognize it when you actually do have one. I called my mom at 8 am and she told me to not let Ben go to class and go to the hospital immediately, she then proceeded to call Ben and tell him the same thing... thanks mom.

I was dilated to a 6 by the time I got to the hospital (pretty far along for a first timer) and after a pretty quick labor, Troy arrived at 5:59 that night. He is the most adorable thing I have ever layed eyes on and I love him so much. I still can't believe he is really here, healthy, and the sweetest baby ever. If you don't believe me, see for yourself!