Highlights from Life

Presenting our insta collage recap of March - May, with a few detailed points I'd like to remember. Thank you Landon for taking an especially long nap so I could get through this. 

Baking & Buys:

• This feels like an eternity ago! I went with a much simpler St. Patrick's Day treat, compared to last year. Landon was ridiculously ecstatic about the colorful cupcakes.  
• Bought all of the clothes pictured from Gap for $3 total; regular price $100. Combination 40% off storewide and credit card rewards = one happy momma. 
• Actually bought a new, hardcover book for myself. Haven't done that in about three years. Landon already has Chicka Chicka memorized and recites it often. He is obsessed with letters and numbers. Can count to 70 (while looking at the written numbers) and knows all the letter sounds, and examples of words that make those sounds.

Easter:

• I singlehandedly ate three bags of jelly beans in three days, along with candy for lunch the two weeks following Easter. Probably not the best idea. First time I've actually gained weight because of my sugar addiction. 
• Landon had a spectacular Easter. Went to a couple egg hunts and festivities at BYU, along with having my mom and brother here to visit.

26:

• This was the second time in my life that Easter has fallen on my birthday (March 31). What fun! And get this: We went to Park City that day and in a random used bookstore, I opened up to a random page in a book and this is what I found: A girl's journal entry about her birthday, which was on March 31! What on earth are the chances?! 
• My mom was amused by the fact that it could be 70 outside, yet still have snow on the ground. :)
• Went to see the progress on the Provo Tabernacle that is being rebuilt into a temple, after a fire a couple years ago gutted the place. 

Train Ride:

• We are all about Saturday adventures. Usually we head up to Salt Lake City for this or that. One Saturday, we found out a new Trax train line was opening that would run from downtown SLC to the airport. Free rides all day! It was Landon's first train ride and he loved it. They had fun activities at each of the stops. At the fairgrounds, Landon was enthralled by the magician, didn't want to leave the bounce house, and got a balloon sword. (Which of course lasted all of 10 minutes before he popped it.) 

Tulip Festival:

• Another fun Saturday outing. It's always so refreshing when it's warm outside and everything is in bloom. These long, cold winters have made me appreciate spring and summer so much more. 

Daddy Time:

• Landon just loves spending time with Scott. All morning long he asks me, "Is it time to wake Daddy up yet?" "Is it time now?" Scott tries to spend a little time in the morning before work playing with him, and they will ride bikes to various parks after dinner, while I hit up the gym to work off all that Easter candy fat. :) 

Faces of L:

• I'm was making dinner one night, and looked over to find Landon putting one colored pencil at a time into his shirt pocket until he could fit no more. He said, "Look Mom! I'm a doctor! These are my tools."

Our Days:

• Lately it has been gorgeous outside. And we're loving every minute of it. 
• We also love bubbles and squirt guns.
• Dress up. Landon has taken quite a liking to the pink princess dress; it was bound to happen, his best friends are all girls.
• Free cupcakes. Just this once! I really have been significantly cutting down my sugar intake -  which has been ridiculously difficult. 
• Walking all over Timbuktu.
• Reenacting scenes from Peter Pan, at least 20 times each. "K Mom, now you get on the chair and jump off saying, 'You can fly, you can fly, you can fly!'" 
• Landon loves to assign us new names. For a while I was always Daisy, Landon went by Donald, and Scott was Clarabelle Cow.
• Thank heavens we still get a good nap in too. 
• With the time and season changes, Landon has been going to bed around 9:00pm and waking up around 6:00am. It has been heavenly.

Family Fun:

• One of our favorite Saturday trips included an afternoon at City Creek in SLC. Landon loves anything and everything to do with water. He was nailed a couple of times in the face but shook it off and went back for more. And as a somewhat related side note, he insists on taking a shower with me every morning, followed by a bath while I finish getting ready, then a second shower with Scott afterward. Needless to say, he stays pretty clean.
• Last weekend Scott & Brendo had their first live show! They were the opening band, had a large crowd of fans there, and performed very well. Landon came to see Daddy play, and although it was quite loud and he made me cover his ears during each song, he loved it. Now he runs around the house playing his instruments, "just like daddy in the rock and roll band."

Other Notables: (and a couple completely random pictures)

• We've been house hunting since March. The "fun" stage lasted all of a couple weeks and now it's just tiresome. Don't get me wrong, I'm super excited about the ability to have our own home, but there just seems to be set back after set back preventing us from getting any house we deem a possibility. I'm sure it will happen eventually, but patience is not one of my better virtues, and the prospect of spending another scorching summer in our second floor apartment without AC is a little daunting. 
• Along with the music really taking off, Scott has been getting tons of offers for various projects from features to commercials all because of his youtube channel. Film opportunities with Fanta, AT&T, Virgin Mobile, Break Media, and the Travel Channel are currently in the works. It's going to be a busy summer!

My Spirited Little Miracle

Oh, Landon. I do love you so.

Like most blog posts, I procrastinated this long enough, that now, by the time I've sat down to record everything there is just way too much to write and no clear beginning. Excuse my thoughts if they are jumbled! 

Landon. Our Spirited Miracle. We've come to realize two very important things in the last few months. He is spirited. And he is a miracle.

First, Landon is without a doubt, one very spirited child. I never had a good word to describe the kind of boy he is. Every word traditionally used to depict his personality has negative connotations: demanding, stubborn, noisy, whiny, easily frustrated, wild, etc... All of which are most definitely true but they are lousy labels.

It wasn't until we were in a restaurant trying (and failing) to enjoy a nice dinner out, that we first heard the word "spirited." Landon went into one of his usual unending tantrums about a chair not being positioned correctly, or somebody looking at him for a second too long. I was literally at the end of my rope, physically and mentally exhausted. This wonderful mother next to us turned around and said, "I know exactly what you're going through. Does your son go into screams of bloody murder if his sock isn't on just right, or his sandwich is not cut in triangles, or if you turn the light off a second earlier than expected? Does putting him in his room alone just makes it 100 times worse?" "Yes, yes, yes YES!" I exclaimed.

She proceeded to explain how our children and just more. More intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, and energetic than other children. But, there is help. She told me about a book called, "Raising your Spirited Child" by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. She said is was (and still is) her bible for raising her daughter. I can't express how thankful I am for her reaching out to comfort and help me. I don't believe in coincidences, and there is not a doubt in my mind that we were at the same place at the same time, so that she could be that tender mercy I needed so much. I have since purchased and read through half of it. It. Is. Amazing. Best parenting book out there, for me at least.

I've included a little excerpt from the book. The quotes in each section describe Landon perfectly.

Characteristics of a Spirited Child:
1. Intensity "...the reactions of a spirited child are always powerful. There is rarely a middle of the road. They never wimper; they wail. They can skip into a room, smiling and laughing only to depart thirty seconds later inflamed. Their tantrums and raw and enduring."
2. Persistence "If an idea or activity is important to them, spirited children "lock" right in. They are committed to their task, goal-oriented, and unwilling to give up. Getting them to change their minds in a major undertaking."
3. Sensitivity "Keenly aware, spirited kids quickly respond to the slightest noises, smells, lights, textures, or changes in mood... A wayward string or a scratchy texture can render clothes intolerable."
4. Perceptiveness "It can take ten minutes to get them from the house to the car. They notice everything - the latest oil spill, the white feather in the bird's nest, and the dew in the spider web. They're often accused of not listening."
5. Adaptability "Spirited children are uncomfortable with change. They hate surprises and do not shift easily from one activity to another. If they're expecting hot dogs on the grill for supper, heaven forbid you come home and suggest going to a restaurant."

Bonus Characteristics: (Many, but not all, possess four additional characteristics that can make being their parent even more challenging.)
6. Regularity "Impossible to get them on any kind of schedule. An eight-hour night of undisturbed sleep is a mere memory lingering in your mind from the days before their birth."
7. Energy "Although sometimes viewed as wild, their energy is usually focused and has a purpose."
8. First Reaction "An unfamiliar idea, thing, place, or person may be met with a vehement, 'NO!'"
9. Mood (In regards to being very serious and critical of one's self; only trait one not applicable to Landon.)

Anyway, the book is 500 pages of brilliant ideas for how to work with spirit and really help your child succeed and learn to manage his emotions, energy, etc... Now the big undertaking is to apply them.

On to the second thing we came to realize... He is a miracle baby. Literally. A fertility doctor told us it would be a miracle if we were to get pregnant naturally. After going through test after test, we found our fertility problems stem from a very low sperm count. Since that was the only issue, we were perfect candidates for intrauterine insemination. Our doctor explained that after three inseminations, the chances of it working for a given couple drastically decreases, and other methods should be tried.

Well, our three months of inseminations came and went, each one with progressively better sperm counts, still low, but good for insemination. I responded really well to the Clomid and even had 3 healthy eggs on one attempt. None of them worked. And that's OK. Really. We're glad we did the inseminations, and now know that our "picture perfect" family of four to five kids, each two years apart is definitely not happening. But anyone who knows Landon knows that he has as much personality as five kids anyway. So we're pretty much covered.

The next step would be to start saving up for IVF, and the clinic I go to boasts a 70% success rate on it, but let's be honest here: the thought of doing IVF scares the crap out of me. I hate needles, surgery, doctors, etc... and the inseminations were bad enough. Not to mention that at this point in time, the thought of having a baby around and trying to take care of Landon scares me even more. I still am averaging 5 - 6 hours of sleep, people. Right now, I'm perfectly happy with one spirited miracle.

Happy Times
Landon does so many things that make me laugh throughout the day, but if I don't write them down, they are easily forgotten. I've been trying to make a point of recording those moments in my phone when they happen. Now I can finally transfer them all to the blog! They're super random but things I don't want to forget!

January 2013

• At church, Landon looked up at the speaker (who was quite an old fellow) and said, "Look mom! The prophet!"
• When he was still learning the song, "I am a Child of God," he would sing, "I am a prophet of God."
• One conversation about nursery: Landon: "Mom, read a book in nursery." Me: "Did you read a book about Jesus in nursery?" Landon: "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! (Slight tantrum ensues) READ THE BOOK OF MORMON!!!"
• One day he was feeling pretty sick and was laying in bed with me. I was rolling over to get comfortable and he said, "Mom, stop wiggling!" 

February 2013

• Loves to pretend to be asleep and will tap himself on the nose to wake up, then make some very great stretching and yawning sound effects.
• Speaking of sound effects, right now every toy he owns likes to "splash." He is very dramatic about reenacting the splash, and we usually have about 3-4 baths each day to really kick it up a notch.
• Landon has a baby doll that he rarely plays with. He found it the other day and I caught him gently rocking the baby and singing "Rock-a-bye-baby" (all three verses), then putting him on the floor with a blanket while saying, "Lay down your sleepy head, close your eyes." Of course the baby's eyes don't close so he resorted to just covering them quite forcefully with his fingers.

Artwork
Landon's becoming quite the photographer. Of course, when we took out the 5D to have his mini photo shoot, he wanted a turn as well:

The New Room
My January project was to turn Landon's room into a "big kid room." With all the flailing he does in his sleep, the little toddler bed just wasn't big enough. And his exponentially growing amount of toys were hidden away in all sorts of crevices, making it difficult for him to access and play with them on his own. So, after weeks of researching, mattress and furniture shopping, I finally ended up with this: (before/after)

I scrimped in every possible way, and splurged on a couple things. (I about died when I found that duvet cover and kitchen set!)  But I love having all his toys in organized, easy to reach bins. He also loves having his own table that we can do puzzles at, eat the food he "cooks," build a train track, and just play with all his cars. IKEA is our new favorite place. Landon and I took numerous trips up there and had a blast every time. :) I know the walls are really bare, but everything I wanted to put up creates big crater holes in the wall, and I didn't want to have to worry about fixing that up when we *hopefully* move into our own house soon.

The ER
It was inevitable that this little guy would end up in the ER at point in time. We weren't even doing anything out of the ordinary. Just chasing each other around the house, like always. Except this time, he fell and landed with the back of his head on the corner of a wall. I knew we were in trouble when I saw the size of the cut before the blood started gushing. He wouldn't even let us clean it. Thankfully Scott was home, so I hysterically woke him up and we headed to the ER at 7:30am.

Sure enough the poor tike needed staples and boy was it the most traumatic experience for all of us. Then, to top it all off, exactly 24 hours after the incident he fell again. On the kitchen floor, right on the wound. It makes my stomach turn just thinking about it. Of course it started bleeding a ton, and the staples got a little messed up. We were advised to take him back to the ER and make sure it was ok. That wasn't fun. Thankfully they didn't have to do anything to it.

At least now he's a slight bit more careful and even will tell himself to slow down so he doesn't hurt his head and have to go back to the hospital.

A Jaunt to Washington

Since I'll be 26 in a month and off my parents insurance, I decided to fly up to WA and have a trip full of medical and dental appointments. I took Landon with and we made a little mini-vaca out of it. He was SOOOO excited to fly and did so well on the plane. We played at the park, visited the children's museum, and most importantly, went to the beach!

Geez I miss the beach!
We decided to hit up Seaside with my mom and brother. It was 60 and sunny, with only a slight breeze. Could not have asked for a more perfect day! Definitely worth the 3+ hour drive to get there. Landon absolutely loved it. Playing in the sand, watching the water, and literally running laps up and down the beach. I can't wait to go back.

Everyday Life

• Landon loves to "help" daddy work.
• He likes to line up all his cars and "watch a movie" (sound effects provided by mom). Have I mentioned he doesn't watch TV at home? We stopped around Thanksgiving and it's been one of the greatest decisions. The trade off is that when we are out and about running errands, if Scott's not using the iPad, Landon can bring it and play educational games or watch his movies.
• He loves to wear matching clothes with daddy.
• Sometimes he can play nice with others. :) This is his friend Trevor and they both had just woken up from naps.

More Daily Snapshots

• Since it's been getting up to a whooping 40 degrees here, this weekend Landon and I took a nice long walk to Toys R Us, Barnes & Noble, and finally the mall. He loves walking on the dino tail at the mall and even applied what he learned on the beam in gymnastics, (putting his  arms out). He just started a gymnastics class last week and although he was leery about it to begin with, by the end he did not want to stop. He had such a blast and loves showing us his "gymnastics moves" at home now.
• This weekend has also been eventful in that I started the wonderful task of potty training. After coming up with a sticker chart/rewards system and explaining it to him about 75 times, he was finally OK with going pee in the potty. The first few times were hard, he earned an M&M and sticker for his chart. After five times he got a big candy bar. Pretty soon, he got really excited when the potty timer went off and it was time to go. By ten trips to the potty, he even started initiating them himself, before the timer. (This boy drinks a ridiculous amount of water which makes going every 15 minutes quite easy.) On the first day we filled up his whole chart (20 spaces) and he didn't even remember/care that the goal was to fill it so he could get a new toy!
• Landon is obsessed with numbers. 10 is his favorite. He loves the Chicka Chicka 123 book, and can count by himself to 30. In the picture below he was showing me various two-digit numbers. (Look mommy! 73, 32, 14, etc...) We're missing the 9 but he thought a lowercase g makes a good replacement.

Whew! Can't tell you how good it feels to finally finish this! Have a great week! :)

Family Pictures and the Latest Happenings Around Here.

Getting family pictures each year is like pulling teeth, but after they're done I'm always so thankful we went through all the effort and hassle to make it happen.

Little things I don't want to forget about life at this point...

Involving Landon:
Landon wakes up at four in the morning and now, instead of just crying he shouts, "Mommy, where are you?" He has also realized he can turn on his light. After we tuck him in, turn out the light, and close the door, he jumps out of bed, flips on the light and plays for 30 minutes before crawling back to bed and falling asleep. (With the light still on, of course.) He usually sleeps from about 8 - 4. I feel like I've tried everything, but nothing works to get him to sleep longer. Any suggestions are welcome!

Landon's curiosity and eagerness to learn. He's always asking me, "Wazzat?" (What's that?) when he doesn't know the name for something. He can count to 20 perfectly (seven and seventeen were being skipped for quite a while), and recognizes about two thirds of the alphabet letters. One of his favorite games involves sitting at the computer with Word open. Scott will type a letter or number and Landon will name it. He doesn't sign anymore but he talks in full sentences, and communicates so well.

Landon is very polite. He usually starts a sentence with "Oh! Excuse me..." He even tends to say, "You're welcome." to me before I've thanked him for something.

Landon's sense of direction is amazing. He recognizes locations when we are driving and can tell me what's near, even before it's in sight. (Library, Pizza Pie Cafe, Target, etc...)

Landon loves to sing! It's probably one of the most adorable things he does. He most often sings "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," which sounds like this: "Twinkle twinkle little star, how are you? ee eee aaaahh. Up up so high, like a diamond in the sky, twinkle twinkle little star, how are you agaaaaaain." He also sings, "Ring around the Rosie," "The ABC Song," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "If You're Happy and You Know It." and "The Clean Up Song"

Some other things Landon loves to do is help me cook, wash dishes, (AKA turn the kitchen into a swimming pool), play dough, mega blocks, play the piano or drums, and have friends over. I watch a one-year-old once a week and Landon just loves when he's here. Trevor will let out squeals of excitement in the morning and Landon will go over to him and say, "Trev, shhhhh. Daddy's sleeping." He's also getting much better at sharing.

I take for granted the fact that Landon really doesn't get into things. When his best friends come over (two year old twins, that live downstairs) I'm reminded of just how much of my child Landon is. If I'm not keeping a constant eye on them, the girls rummage through my jewelry box, color in books, etc... Things I know Landon would never do when he's playing on his own. I've even caught him after the girls dump a bunch of toys out, following after, cleaning up. :)

Landon loves the moon. Whenever we are outside and it's dark the first thing he says is "Find moon." He always says hello, goodbye, and how are you to the moon. And he usually tries to reach out and grab it, only to end up saying, "Uh uh uh, hmmm... too reach." (too far to reach)

He has moved on to watching other movies besides Cars 1 and 2! Although we still watch those and Mater's Tall Tales often, he also loves Up, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, A Bug's Life, Ratatouille, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Thomas & Friends, and Sesame Street. I'd say he's ready for a trip to Disneyland. :)

Landon definitely has his "terrible twos" moments, and I'd be lying if I didn't mention that at times, between tantrums, lack of sleep, and everything else that always seem to build in those moments of trouble, I'm concerned I'll have a nervous breakdown. Even so, I love him to pieces and being his mom is one of the greatest blessings in the whole wide world.

Involving Scott:
Right now, Scott has moved more toward writing music than filming. It's always a difficult question to answer when people ask him, "What do you do?" His current answer is, "I'm a YouTube Rapper." (And he's a darn good one, if I don't say so myself.) Scott started a YouTube channel as a joke, with a video of kittens flying in slow motion to a song him and a friend wrote. It went viral in a few weeks, and people loved the song. He just released a second video, a slip n' slide that launches people into kiddie pools, also put to a song him and Brenden wrote. This video hit half a million views in two days. Between making those videos, they've been busy writing music for a big YouTuber's channel. It's been great exposure for their music (Scott & Brendo is their band name) and their fan base is growing rapidly all across the world. It's always been Scott's dream to do music as a career but it's even more risky than photography or film. The fact that it's happening is surreal.

Here are some links to check out Scott's work:
Cute Kitten Fly in Slow Motion to Hip Hop Dubstep
Slip n' Slide Launches People into Kiddie Pools (1000 fps)
Scott & Brendo songs on iTunes
Scott & Brendo Facebook page (Regular updates on new songs, videos they are featured in etc... Go like it!)
Devin Super Tramp YouTube Channel (This is who Scott and Brenden have been writing music for. Their music is on "The Blob," "Dogs in Slow Motion," "Paramotor Sky Races" and "Unicycle Freestyle."

On the side, Scott is the video guy for The Color Run. (The first and most successful of all the color runs going on right now.) He was just in San Diego this weekend shooting two back to back 5K runs for them. Scott ends up going to CA at least once a month for some film related project.

We honestly don't know what's in store for us in the next year, let alone five or ten. Scott's line of work is unpredictable and ever-changing. I used to be scared by not knowing, but now we look at it as a big adventure. It's exciting to think the possibilities are endless and there are surprises and new opportunities around every corner.

Involving Me:
Why is it so easy to write updates about Landon and Scott, but then when I get to myself, I have no idea what to jot down? Life is mostly the same I suppose. I do the mommy thing, running of the household thing, wifey thing, and once in a blue moon, squeeze in the me time thing. The days pass by, the seasons change, and we keep plugging along.

I just finished reading Palace of Stone, the Sequel to Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. Great book. I always feel a touch better, and less stressed, after finishing a good book. I've also been designing a few things; Thanksgiving decorations to replace the Halloween, the new blog layout (figured it would be incentive to start posting regularly again). This week, Scott's even going to babysit so a friend and I can get pedicures. Can you believe I've NEVER had a pedicure before?! I can't wait.

I just love this time of year, with holidays back to back. Landon and I like to hit up Tai Pan Trading at the mall, and look at all the Christmas decorations. (Of course we also have to go in Landon's two favorite stores, The Disney Store and Yankee Candle. He is obsessed with smelling candles. All the ladies that work there know and love him.)

Things are good. I love the stage of life we're in, love our apartment, neighbors, and Utah in general. Looking forward to snow, Christmas music, hot cider, and visiting family!

The Beach

This sucks. Being so behind on documenting our lives makes me a teeny bit sad. And overwhelmed. And crazy. There are so many pictures waiting to be posted, and words to be written, but there is just no time. Someday soon...

One thing we've done: The beach. Last time Landon was here, he was only two months old. Obviously he had a lot more fun this go around. When I took off his socks and shoes, he sat there with his feet in the air, no wanting them to touch the sand. (My cute little OCD boy.) After mommy did it too, he warmed up to the idea. In fact, he decided that pouring sand on his head was pretty dang fun. He even liked being in the water, until a big bad wave came crashing in and knocked him down.

Someday we will also live closer to the beach.

Recap

Ok. Here goes the daunting but necessary task of documenting the last three months. Life has reached an out-of-control-busy-season with family coming and going, birthdays and holidays, warm weather activities, vacations, and a crazy, energetic toddler making sure every minute is go, go go.

Some of these pictures are super random and *gasp* blurry and pixely, but alas, they are things I want to remember. So, without further ado:

Landon went through a short obsession with stuffed animals. While I was browsing around Urban Outfitters one day, he found these puppies and would not let go. When I told him it was time to leave, he placed them it his stroller, sat on top and gave me a look that said, "K Mom, but these guys are coming too!" Since I ended up being there an extra half hour while he played with the pups, I found this adorable art that I totally want hanging above my craft table someday.

Landon just loves his beads and is very protective of them if other kids come over and want to wear them. Often he doesn't even play with them, just pulls the four necklaces out of the box, separates each one on the floor and leaves them there. Heaven forbid if I touch them.

Festival of Colors! Landon and I went with Scott's sisters. (Scott was partying it up in Vegas at the time.)  We both got colored this year, which was a fun change from just watching last time. Landon would not touch the color himself though. He's just a little OCD...

We also went to the new City Creek Center in Salt Lake. Fantastic outdoor mall with multiple fountains, levels, river running throughout, great stores, and a cover for when the weather gets bad.

While the girls were here, we had a fabulous hair dying party. We all bought cheap dye and took ridiculous before and after pictures. Mine is just slightly darker. Everyone got some very interesting and surprising results. Kind of like biting into a green Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Bean, expecting apple, and you get snot-flavored. Oh, and Landon and I love homemade popcorn. We're just two peas in a pod.
Whew, if you're still reading, kudos. Up next: Birthday time. 25 baby! Scott got me a new phone cover (very much needed!) and a trip to Disneyland. (Also very much needed!) We are Disney fanatics. I'm forcing myself to get all these older picts up before I delve into the trip pictures. Anyway, for my birthday, we had some very kind friends watch Landon and snag us some tickets, so we could go to conference. Last time my birthday fell on conference weekend I was able to go, so it was so fun to go again! The weather was beautiful, talks were great, and it was a wonderful start to the day. (Twice a year, the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints holds a general conference in Salt Lake City, which is broadcast all over the world. The prophet, apostles, and other leaders of the church instruct on a number of topics, such as faith, prayer, scriptures, family, love, etc...)

In the afternoon we went mini-golfing. Landon thoroughly enjoyed chasing after the golf balls and throwing them in the holes. I just love birthdays. (Is anyone else physically unable to take good pictures outside?! I have the worst squinting problem. So excuse the squinty eye pict.)
At the beginning of April we had Scott's mom and youngest sister, Melissa come visit for a week. Landon has gotten to such a fun age where he loves being with family. He is constantly asking for all of them.

Then, we went up to Rexburg for a different sister's graduation. We also celebrated Easter up there. (These pictures are from Easter Sunday.) The holidays are more and more fun, with Landon getting older. He went to his first big Easter Egg hunt and couldn't wait for them to yell, Go! Then when the time came he didn't want to pick up a single egg. Landon had a fun little Easter egg hunt with family (the eggs were way more enticing, as they looked like little soccer and basketballs), and enjoyed finding some goodies in his basket.
After Scott's fam went home, we stayed in Idaho Falls for a few more days on a little mini-vaca. Scott was going to start a shoot up there so it just worked out to hang with him for a while before it started. It was fun to relax, swim, walk around the falls, BYU-I, and have a seriously great hotel breakfast every morning.

When Landon and I got home, we passed the time with Scott gone by going to the library and the new Hang Time trampoline park. Life was so exhausting that he actually fell asleep in the chair like that.

The End!

Up next: Disneyland!

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

I have this fear that in my old age I will become a tragic victim of Alzheimer's or some other ailment that renders me without a memory of the past. Consequently, I take pictures of everything. Everything. Scott's been known to get on my case about it, and the other day Landon even said, "Come on, Mommy," when I got that snapping urge.

But I always want to remember how delicious hazelnut hot chocolate is, especially when coupled with an amazing book. Or how breathtaking all the flowers are in spring. Or the beautiful moment when my boys are cuddled up before bed. The little things matter. And I don't want them to float on forgotten.

A Deeper Look into Our Lives

With the start of a New Year it seems like everyone is on a nice healthy kick. We're joining the ranks. As some of you may already know, Scott has very severe Ulcerative Colitis. UC is an autoimmune disease which causes ulcers in the lining of the colon. As you can imagine, this makes going to the bathroom a horribly painful process. There is no cure but there are different options for meds that can keep it under control and help people to go into periods of remission. Half of those with it have very mild symptoms. Others, have it so bad that the only option is to remove the colon.

Since being diagnosed five years ago, Scott has never really been in remission. He has tried one new medicine after another and finally, just after I got pregnant with Landon, he found a couple meds that helped. He was doing fairly well, BUT (and isn't there always a but?) one of the meds causes infertility and the other causes serious birth defects so the doctor advised us to not try to have kids while he was taking them. Well, that's all fine and dandy but Landon's not going to be an only child forever. So, this past summer Scott went off all his meds. As you can guess, his symptoms all came back with a vengeance. Alternate meds didn't do a darn thing to help. The doc was seriously talking to him about colon removal.

And at that point when things looked horrendous, the Lord stepped in. The people in our lives are not placed there by happenstance. I firmly believe this. Over the past few months Scott has become close friends with a guy he worked with. Then at this critical time, Scott finds out he has similar digestive issues, and two sisters with UC. He traveled the country, researching, talking to doctors, and finding new methods of treatment for it. By a combination of diet, probiotics, supplements, and kefir, he has been able to combat and reverse his digestive problems.

He had Scott come right over to his house (and in the meantime, went to the heath food store to buy Scott all the supplements, probiotics and things he would need.) He taught him how to make kefir, instructed him on diet restrictions (gluten free, dairy free, low sugar, steamed veggies) and sent him home with a car full of "goodies" including a nice freezer stash of organic, grass-fed, no hormones, all-natural beef.

This was a couple weeks ago and so far things are looking hopeful. We will be giving it a good three months to see...

"But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things with God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

Back to Blogging... and an alleyway photo shoot

I hate that bittersweet feeling you get after returning home from vacation. Although, being gone for a few weeks has made me realize how much I need blogging. My fingers have been itching to get back to plunking out posts. I've been going through withdrawals. Really. So, here begins our Christmas vaca in Washington...

First stop if you are ever in the Olympia area: Old School Pizzeria. I'm kicking myself now for not taking some food pictures for the blog. C'est la vie. At least we got some ridiculously adorable pictures of Landon outside the place. (If I don't say so myself.) He can be such a ham.

Let the Christmas Festivities Begin!

I love love LOVE Christmastime! I'm one of those people who proudly plays Christmas music the day after Halloween. We got our tree the week before Thanksgiving. Why not make the most magical time of the year last a little longer?

The Perfect Tree
Since we were seriously the first people at Lowes to get a tree, we scored on a really nice one. There was one tree in the 3 - 5 foot section ($20) that was taller than Scott. (Obviously incorrectly marked.) Nice! While we were waiting for them to cut the bottom, Landon occupied us by putting his hands in his pockets then pulling them out. Over and over and over. He thought it was hilarious.

Christmas Lights
One night we had dinner over at the Riverwoods, and got to check out their sweet lights. Seriously, that outdoor mall is just covered. They are beautiful, but my phone pictures didn't do them justice so here's what you get...

The Grand America Hotel
Last year we had so much fun looking at all the gingerbread houses at the Grand America in Salt Lake. Naturally, I was stoked to go again. What did we find? One. ONE gingerbread house. Yes, it was huge. (We're talking the size of a small walk-in closet. But that's it?! It was basically just four walls with a stained candy door. Apparently all the bakers who normally contribute decided not to this year. How rude. Thankfully they had a piano and a new toy store that kept us entertained.

A few words about the pictures below...

• The top right picture is looking up at a chandelier. (I was having a blast playing with Instagram on my phone.)
• The framed monsters were moving. They looked so real - it was a total Harry Potter moment.
• They had THE CUTEST pillows ever at the toy store.
• Landon loves to stack, or line up anything.
• After the hotel we went to the Gateway (outdoor mall in Salt Lake) and I found an Olympia Beer shirt at Urban Outfitters. I couldn't believe it!

Fall

Fall has always been my least favorite season. Yes, the red, orange, and yellow leaves are beautiful, but I can't stop thinking about how those leaves used to be green (and the weather warm!), and soon they will be gone altogether. Growing up in Washington is probably a big factor in why fall hasn't been appealing to me. The Pacific Northwest sure isn't known for deciduous trees, and when those few trees did shed their leaves, they quickly turned to wet mush. Well, if living in Utah has taught me nothing else, it has taught me to appreciate fall. Landon and I took quite a few walks out in the brisk, fresh air with the sun warming our backs, while stomping on all those crunchy leaves. If we ever get out of this dang place, it will truly be one thing I miss.

Happy Thanksgiving All!

Rock Climbing

Last week I had to take a photo for the next Humor U Poster. Since Scott was still filming Fubalous, Landon came with. Of course this one was conveniently located up in the canyon; with a nice 10 minute hike to get there. And it would have been nice... had I not been running late and trying to wobble/jog up the trail with Landon struggling to get out of his carrier, only to find when I got there that the guy wouldn't arrive for another 30 minutes. Good. Grief. At least that meant I had some time for a Landon photo shoot:

And here's the poster to thank for the whole excursion: