Fun Memories

Just came across this from my friend's blog and thought it sounded like fun! Give it a shot!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot...anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. :)

...and stay posted for some great stories from our Utah vacation!

Happy 4th!

I just can't believe that the 4th of July has already come and gone! In my head that means we are a week and a half away from my Utah vacation, a few months from fall AND half way to Christmas! I would have to say that fall is my favorite season because I just love the change of weather, colors and embarrassingly enough- wardrobe! I think fall to winter clothes are the cutest with all the fun jackets, dark colors and jeans with boots- don't get me started!

Back to 4th of July- Nick and I had so much fun this year with a FULL day of fun activities. I had to wake up early and start making 2 Texas Sheet Cakes. I don't know if you have ever had Texas Sheet Cake but it is extremely good, just don't ask how many sticks of butter or cups of sugar goes into it! Nick helped me make the sheet cakes, which was a treat because it is rare for him to be in the kitchen baking. After they cooled we took one of the cakes and Austin to our neighbors house for a craw fish boil. We just chatted for a bit and let people tell us how cute Austin was and then we were on our way to the BBQ and Nancy Weaver's house. We always have fun at Nancy's house and they always have the best food and activities. Laura was in town, so it was fun to see her and other couples like Rob & Jess, Brodie & Jennika, Brent & Kelly, Jake & Sabrina (the Nielsen's cousins) and all the little kids running around. Rob and Paul spent most of the day cooking up some good food like brisket, sausage, chicken and Nancy made all the great sides. Nick and I had to restrain ourselves from eating because we had originally made plans with Chris and Sally for that night- it was really hard! Everyone went swimming and I got a few fun pictures of the boys trying to catch things off the diving board.

Brodie and Brent

After a few hours at the Weavers we left to spend the rest of the evening with Chris and Sally, which is always fun. We ended up going out to dinner to Olive Garden and was so nice because the place was dead! Katelyn sat by me at dinner and kept my attention on her with random stories and funny comments. She dared me to eat the yellow peppers that come in the salad but I told her only if she took a bite and that girl can take a dare! Their kids are super picky so I thought I got myself out of eating that sick pepper but I looked over and Kate took a bite out of it and handed it to me! I just couldn't get out of it now- it was pretty sick. After dinner we headed out to Chris and Sally's undiscovered PERFECT spot for fireworks- I'm not going to say where it was so it stays that way! But the fireworks were literally right above our heads and the babies did so well! Austin just watched them all and I have to admit, I covered my ears a few times because we were so close. Here are some pictures from the night...

A picture of Austin laughing at Kate and Peyton running and slamming into each other. He must like violence because he laughs when they hit each other or Peyton is swinging his bat- I am not sure what to think about it all and his laugh is so adorable.

Nick and Austin enjoying the show.

Kate was a little freaked out and Peyton brought his elephant.

Overall it turned out to be a great day with our friends and family. It is fun to start making new traditions for our own little family!

Nick's Out of Town

Nick had to go out of town this last week for some training in Ohio and I was pretty upset when he left on Sunday. I hate when he leaves me, I guess I am not much of a loner. I figured that I would spend most of the week hangin out with Austin here at the house- I hate to make Nick feel bad but I had so much fun. I spent the whole week away from home hanging out with friends and family. My sister-in-law is in town with her four kids and my best friend Sara came home this week, so they kept me pretty busy. I spent many days at the pool with the kids and found out that Austin loves the water! I have this floaty for him and he just leans back with his arms propped up on each side wearing hat and sunglasses- not even a whine for over an hour, it was pretty entertaining! When we weren't swimming we would hang out with Ruthie and the kids, where Austin stayed amused with his cousins. We even stayed the night at Clark's house one night so Ruthie, Teresa, Lisa and I could have a girls movie night after we put Austin down- I loved chatting with Ruthie late into the night!

I think one of my favorite days was when Sally and I decided to run some errands together with ALL the kids- there were defiantly moments of "what were we thinking". Just imagine- in her Armada we had Kate and Peyton in booster seats in the way back of the car with Austin and Brooklyn's car seats in the bucket seats, plus strollers. Mine didn't fit into the back with her double stroller so we had to squeeze it on the floor between the two car seats, which had to be moved for Kate and Peyton to get out of the car. It was even better when it randomly started pouring as we walked out of Target and had to load all the kids and babies into the car as fast as possible- let's just say no one stayed dry. It turned out to be really fun though and her kids are so adorable, constantly saying the cutest things.

The last highlight of the week was spending time with Sara. I hadn't seen her since Christmas, so we had so much to catch up on. She hadn't even met Austin yet! We went out to dinner together and she spent the night with Austin and I at the house. From the time I picked her up at 6pm to when I dropped her off late the next afternoon we were just talking away. She is one of those friends that know you so well there isn't anything you can't share and no matter how long you go without speaking, nothing is different. I wish she could stay here longer cause I miss spending time with her!

Just a cute picture of Austin getting tangled in his blanket during tummy time.

Father's Day

So this is a bit late for a Father's Day post, but I have been wanting to do one all week! I was pretty bad this year cause I sent my dad a card in the mail that didn't even get to him on time and all the gifts Nick got he bought himself. But I am so very grateful for the Dads in my life- my Dad and now Nick! I grew up with the greatest Dad there is, who fondly referred to me as his Hugmuffin till this day. My dad has this dominant personality that often leads people to believe he is a bit hardcore and hard to talk to, but he is the biggest softy I have ever met who sends me really corny text messages and calls me often to say he loves me. He always makes me feel really important, I couldn't ask for a better Dad. Then there is Nick, who is such a good father and surprises me everyday. He is always so willing to do anything to help me out when he comes home from work that involves Austin. He always gives him his nightly bath and I love to listen to them "talk" to each other. I love that he will argue with me over who gets to pick Austin up from a nap because he loves how Austin cuddles. And most of all I love that when Austin falls asleep Nick can't help but give him a few extra goodnight kisses with an 'I love you'. He is so great. Here is the card he got. It spells out Happy Father's Day with golf greens- I thought it was cute!

So for Father's Day I gave Nick some golf stuff- you can't go wrong. We had found a bunch of nice golf shirts at Marshall's and Nick got like 4, so I said that 2 of them would be for Father's Day. Well I had also planned to buy him a magazine subscription and possibly something else until he came home from work that week with a rather interesting comment. "Julie, I accidentally won a putter on ebay today." Well, it just so happened to be the putter he really, really wanted and been talking about for months and he somehow accidentally won it on ebay. I wasn't really sure how this could be labelled an accident- you bid on it with the intention to win the auction, which he did. And he just looked so upset and heartbroken about it- NOT. I sarcastically answered that it was probably best to cancel his ebay account because I would hate for ebay to accidentally win him another golf club that we would pay for. Honestly, I really didn't care cause Nick really never buys anything for himself and he is so strict with money that I figure if he thinks we can afford it, we can. I like for him to have things that he loves. So when the putter arrived I tortured Nick and refused to let him open it until Father's Day (which was all of 1 day away) but on Saturday night at midnight he convinced me to let him open his presents. You can only guess we went to bed late that night cause I had to sit in the living room watching him practice with the new putter.

Here he is with the new shirts and putter that has a little bow tied around it.

Life is Precious

Tonight as I was hosting our first family dinner at the new house I got some really bad news. Forrest had called me multiple times and I didn't answer right away- as soon as I talked to him I could immediately tell that something was very wrong. One of my closest friends and family members Julie had gotten in a car wreck while driving from her home in Boise to Provo. It was raining and her car hydroplaned and rolled over three times across the highway- the car was completely smashed in and totalled. Luckily she was wearing her seat belt and able to walk away from the accident with some cuts and bruises. The paramedics checked her thoroughly and found nothing wrong but kept reminding her how lucky she was for wearing her seat belt- I guess one of the paramedics had been on a scene where a boy rolled his car three times without his seat belt and is now paralyzed. It brings me to tears to just think about Julie being hurt or seriously injured- I just don't know what I would do without her. She is one of the strongest people I have ever met, holding true to herself and always putting others first. I love her so much. It just puts such a reality check on life; you never know if it could be your time or someone close to you. I love my family so much and need to remember to enjoy every moment I spend with them.

Nick's Week Off

After Austin and I came home, Nick had to whole week off from work so we spent time with his family and started sprucing up the new home. I wanted first to see the newest member of our family, Chris and Sally's new baby Brooklyn! She was just three weeks old and Austin sure does look huge compared to her. Kate and Peyton have so much fun with the babies, smothering them in kisses and attention. Kate always tries to get Austin to smile at her but I have noticed that as soon as Peyton gets his face in there Austin loves it. The other day in their living room Nick was pitching a ball to Peyton and Austin was watching on my lap. Every time Peyton would hit the ball across the room Austin would start cracking up, which was so much fun to watch- but Peyton also hasn't always been so lucky. Another time Peyton walked up to give Austin a kiss, but just in time to catch his spit up all down his arm, shirt and pants. He then ran across the room to his mom upset and as she was trying to wipe up the mess Peyton started dry heaving- it was pretty entertaining.
We decided that we should spend his week off painting, which was a huge project. I am pretty sure that picking out the paint colors was more frustrating then the actual painting. I must have spent hours debating between different colors and driving Nick insane- by the end he refused to give any opinion or comment on paint colors! We ended up painting the main living room and hallways a grayish brown, which looks pretty against our white trim, our office is a lighter shade and the kitchen in a very faint bluish gray. It took us most of the week to paint with all the taping, multiple coats and trips back to Home Depot. Austin was also delighted for us to be done because between his naps he got minimal attention and was usually in the room next to us to keep him away from the fumes. Thankfully I can say that we finished happy with the work on our house but also learned alot- I will never pick out paint colors again.

Trip to Utah!

Austin and I took our first trip together to visit family in Utah! It was my 21st birthday and my mom used it as an excuse to play with her grandson. I was pretty nervous to fly out with Austin, worried I would turn out to be that horror story eveyone hears about. But Austin did so great- we sat next to a group of women that were all young grandmas eager to pass Austin between them. We arrived in Vegas and he met my mom's family there, including his Great Grandma and Great GREAT Grandma! We spent a few days there shopping and then made our way up to Cedar City, my parent's new truck stop they call home! Actually I must admit, visiting Utah again made me miss the mountains and beautiful weather cause here in Houston Nick was enduring temps in the 90's with humidity.
While in Cedar it was great for Austin and I to spend time with his grandparents. They tend to his every cry and whimper while I sit back and enjoy! My mom gave me a great birthday- a decorated house, yummy cake and dinner at Costa Vida, who could ask for more?! We spent a few weeks in Cedar shopping, running errands and hitting every gas station in town for a Diet Coke. I tell ya, that five minute drive through the town of Cedar can keep you busy. The last few days of the trip were spent in our old home town of Provo! We stayed with Houston and Cristina and Austin loved hanging out with his family- Uncle Fofo's faces keep a smile on his face and Uncle Houston watched some sports with him. Aunt Cristina fed and pushed him all through our day of shopping in Park City- he is one lucky dude. I loved seeing all my old friends and catching up- we can't wait to go back this July!