Well, Helllooooo!
Nice to see you again, blog. It's been what, 10, 11 months? Is that all? Geeze!
Well, since Deagan turned the ripe old age of 2, my life has consisted of following him around to make sure he doesn't climb on the roof or take a swim in the toilet, which hasn't left much room for blogging.
However! I have found a trick to make my kids eat their ENTIRE meal, and that it to stick them at the table with a movie to watch. Which not only forces them to sit at the table the whole time, but they end up eating everything off their plate AND affords about about 45 minutes of me time. So, lets get too it and recap on 2015!
January:
Nothing happened in January that I can recall. Isn't January the worst? It's cold, the snow is frozen and crunchy, and nothing goes on in January. I always get antsy for Summer in January.
February:
I got a call from my family who had taken a weekend trip to Bryce Canyon when their truck died, and wouldn't be fixed for a week. Bryant had to work, so I packed up the kids and headed down to rescue them, after we spent the next day hiking.
^Also, my Mom accidentally put Deagan's size 18 month pants on Savannah and they fit!
March:
For Christmas last year, my parents took the whole family on a trip to Disneyland!
It was the kid's first plane ride and their first trip to the beach! And the kids ask just about every day when we get to go back. Savannah was so brave and went on everything. Her favorite ride was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Deagan's favorite was Autopia.
We also celebrated this wild things 4th birthday! We kept it low-key and invited a few friends over to play.
April:
In April, we celebrated Easter!
And went to the Tulip Festival
May:
In May, we went to the annual Art Access 500 Plates show, where my dad had a few paintings for sale and one for auction!
And Savannah graduated from her first year of preschool!
And Bryant and I celebrated our 6th anniversary by attending my brother's first annual charity dinner for MMHC!
June:
In June, we celebrated this goober's 2nd birthday, and he gave a whole new meaning to the term "terrible twos".
We celebrated by taking him to build-a-bear where he made an Olaf, and then to my parent's house for cake and a pinata.
We went to the Scottish festival at Thanksgiving point.
And we went to Strawberry Days
It was a little hot...
July:
We normally go to Mt. Shasta for the 4th, but we ended up celebrating it here in Utah with my family.
At the end of July, we went out to Mt. Shasta for a family reunion!
We spent a lot of time at the lake, playing garbage, and took a day trip to the Redwoods!
August:
In August, Savannah started rec soccer!
And we celebrated Bryant's big THREE-ZERO
And Savannah started her 2nd year of preschool!
sporting a very cute new haircut!
September:
September was the most stressful month I think we've ever had in our married life. We had been renting my parents old house at the time, and they decided that they were going to sell it to buy a condo in St. George, so we were on the hunt for a new place. We started the process of buying a condo that we LOVED in Provo, but the bank came back and said, despite the fact that we have amazing credit, and a decent down payment, and steady, reliable work, that our debt (read: student loans) were preventing us from getting a decent loan. We didn't have a lot of time to shop around and start over at other banks, as we needed to be out pretty quickly, so we started scrambling for a place to rent. At this same time, Bryant got a call from the corporate offices for Nike, and asked if he would do a phone interview. He passed the interview and then had a panel interview scheduled with the Jordan Landing, Lehi, and Park City Nike stores. So as we were nearing the date that we needed to be out, we weren't sure if/where he would be getting this job. I did NOT want to leave Utah County. It was so stressful not knowing if he got the job, and if so, where we would be going, or having a place to live. One night, I got down and prayed, and I remember saying "Please direct us to where we are supposed to be. But please, please, please let that be in Utah County..." One Saturday evening, he got a call and was told he got the job in Park City! I was less than thrilled. I was excited that Bryant got a new job, but I knew that moving there was going to be extra pricey. The next day, we found a listing for a basement apartment in Heber, about 25 minutes from Park City, in our price range. After having been originally planning to buy, the idea of renting a basement apartment was not thrilling, but we went up that day to look at it.
It. Was. Gorgeous.
This apartment was perfect! It was double the square footage we had been in, it is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom with a HUGE living room, and very high ceilings, and we immediately put in our application. A few days later, we got word that we were accepted and would be able to move in the next week. It was amazing going from not knowing where we would be living, to moving into a beautiful apartment and Bryant starting a new job within just a couple of weeks!
Our landlords are the best! They are an older couple who have family back east, so it's just them out here. They have been so sweet and have become like surrogate grandparents to us. Our landlady told us that after we looked at the apartment, they had several other people come look at it, and they kept turning them down, and she kept praying that we would be the ones to move there. It's worked out so perfectly and I've come to really love Heber. Originally they wanted us to sign a year lease, but I was nervous about renting in an area that I wasn't sure I'd like, and I wanted us to get back to trying to buy a house, this time in Salt Lake, so we talked them down to a 6 month lease. But now, I've decided that I really love it here, and I'm thinking we may need to stay longer while we work on that stupid student loan debt. (That's my new years resolution: Pay those suckers down!) We've been here 3 1/2 months and I feel like we are finally settled in. We love it here, Bryant loves his job and he comes home so much happier than he used too, and I'm just so glad that September came and went.
The kids love the huge backyard they have to play in!
October:
In October, we celebrated Halloween. We went to Park City in the afternoon where we went trick-or-treating on Main Street, and then went to the ward Trunk-or-treat that evening.
Deagan was Spider Man, and Savannah was Jack Skellington
November:
For my birthday, my in-laws had gifted me tickets to Disney-on-ice, and we took the kids with us! They had a blast!
I also hosted my first-ever Thanksgiving! Bryant's parents, brother Tyler and sister Chantel came out and stayed with us. I was so nervous because I'm sort of a terrible cook! But, the turkey came out perfect! It was so fun having them all out here!
April:
In April, we celebrated Easter!
And went to the Tulip Festival
May:
In May, we went to the annual Art Access 500 Plates show, where my dad had a few paintings for sale and one for auction!
And Savannah graduated from her first year of preschool!
And Bryant and I celebrated our 6th anniversary by attending my brother's first annual charity dinner for MMHC!
June:
In June, we celebrated this goober's 2nd birthday, and he gave a whole new meaning to the term "terrible twos".
We went to the Scottish festival at Thanksgiving point.
And we went to Strawberry Days
July:
We normally go to Mt. Shasta for the 4th, but we ended up celebrating it here in Utah with my family.
At the end of July, we went out to Mt. Shasta for a family reunion!
August:
In August, Savannah started rec soccer!
And we celebrated Bryant's big THREE-ZERO
And Savannah started her 2nd year of preschool!
September:
September was the most stressful month I think we've ever had in our married life. We had been renting my parents old house at the time, and they decided that they were going to sell it to buy a condo in St. George, so we were on the hunt for a new place. We started the process of buying a condo that we LOVED in Provo, but the bank came back and said, despite the fact that we have amazing credit, and a decent down payment, and steady, reliable work, that our debt (read: student loans) were preventing us from getting a decent loan. We didn't have a lot of time to shop around and start over at other banks, as we needed to be out pretty quickly, so we started scrambling for a place to rent. At this same time, Bryant got a call from the corporate offices for Nike, and asked if he would do a phone interview. He passed the interview and then had a panel interview scheduled with the Jordan Landing, Lehi, and Park City Nike stores. So as we were nearing the date that we needed to be out, we weren't sure if/where he would be getting this job. I did NOT want to leave Utah County. It was so stressful not knowing if he got the job, and if so, where we would be going, or having a place to live. One night, I got down and prayed, and I remember saying "Please direct us to where we are supposed to be. But please, please, please let that be in Utah County..." One Saturday evening, he got a call and was told he got the job in Park City! I was less than thrilled. I was excited that Bryant got a new job, but I knew that moving there was going to be extra pricey. The next day, we found a listing for a basement apartment in Heber, about 25 minutes from Park City, in our price range. After having been originally planning to buy, the idea of renting a basement apartment was not thrilling, but we went up that day to look at it.
It. Was. Gorgeous.
This apartment was perfect! It was double the square footage we had been in, it is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom with a HUGE living room, and very high ceilings, and we immediately put in our application. A few days later, we got word that we were accepted and would be able to move in the next week. It was amazing going from not knowing where we would be living, to moving into a beautiful apartment and Bryant starting a new job within just a couple of weeks!
Our landlords are the best! They are an older couple who have family back east, so it's just them out here. They have been so sweet and have become like surrogate grandparents to us. Our landlady told us that after we looked at the apartment, they had several other people come look at it, and they kept turning them down, and she kept praying that we would be the ones to move there. It's worked out so perfectly and I've come to really love Heber. Originally they wanted us to sign a year lease, but I was nervous about renting in an area that I wasn't sure I'd like, and I wanted us to get back to trying to buy a house, this time in Salt Lake, so we talked them down to a 6 month lease. But now, I've decided that I really love it here, and I'm thinking we may need to stay longer while we work on that stupid student loan debt. (That's my new years resolution: Pay those suckers down!) We've been here 3 1/2 months and I feel like we are finally settled in. We love it here, Bryant loves his job and he comes home so much happier than he used too, and I'm just so glad that September came and went.
October:
In October, we celebrated Halloween. We went to Park City in the afternoon where we went trick-or-treating on Main Street, and then went to the ward Trunk-or-treat that evening.
Deagan was Spider Man, and Savannah was Jack Skellington
November:
For my birthday, my in-laws had gifted me tickets to Disney-on-ice, and we took the kids with us! They had a blast!
I also hosted my first-ever Thanksgiving! Bryant's parents, brother Tyler and sister Chantel came out and stayed with us. I was so nervous because I'm sort of a terrible cook! But, the turkey came out perfect! It was so fun having them all out here!
December:
We started December by going down to St. George and helping my parents renovate their new condo!
And do some swimming!
And we ended December with a great Christmas! Chantel came down from Idaho to spend the break with us.
We started December by going down to St. George and helping my parents renovate their new condo!
And do some swimming!
And we ended December with a great Christmas! Chantel came down from Idaho to spend the break with us.
New Years Eve was spent at home, just the 4 of us. We did "midnight" at 11, when the kids were starting to get very tired and grumpy. And then Bryant and I watched a movie until 12:30 and went to bed. Hopefully next year we will have made some good friends in the area and will get to party a bit more.
So, there we go. A year in review!
We were not expecting the last 3 months of the year to go as they did, it was a complete shock and a huge change for us, and although September was awful, everything just fell so perfectly into place and I couldn't be more grateful and happy at where we are at in our life right at this moment.
I have no idea what will happen in 2016. I don't have any definitive plans for this year, which is strange for me. But that also leaves a lot of room for opportunity!
I have chosen 2 words to focus on this year: Kind and Growth
Kind: I will be more kind to myself physically and mentally, and I will be more kind to others.
Growth: I will grow as a person, we will grow our opportunities as a family, and I will grow my business to my next goal.
Let's do this 2016!
Happy New Year!
