Teenager

Can you just see her in about 12 years with the same expression, totally annoyed?

To Balance out the last post...

Actually, I'm just trying to figure out how Windows Movie Maker works. I've got to make a slide show for the Young Women in Excellence program coming up in a couple of weeks, so I thought I would tinker with it using some of our photos. The song is by a group called Joshua Creek.

Are we in H-E-Double Hockey Sticks?

Seriously, is there any worse torture than family pictures?! And we only have two kids. I don't know how people with more do it!

Here we're even willing to bring out Bee if they'll just smile! Doesn't work.

Now we try to bribe them with popcorn balls that the photographer had in her car.

She still won't let go of the popcorn ball.

Okay.We're past the point of no return. Session over!

Thankfully, we did get a couple shots where at least they weren't crying, and no one was blinking! Look for our Christmas card coming soon.

(Will you email me your address if you don't think I have it? bradandsal[at]gmail[dot]com)

First Snow (a week or so ago)

It's snowing!

It's snowing!

The very first snow of the year!

It's the showiest, blowiest, snowiest snow--
The snow is finally here!

It's brisk and it's breezy;

It's frosty and freezy;

It's creamy and dreamy and clean.



It's drifty and sifty, and perfectly nifty;




It's the prettiest stuff that we've seen!

poem by Lori Peelen, 1998

Halloween

I had big plans for Halloween costumes, but I hurt my back, and Tyler got the flu, and those plans didn't come to fruition. That's okay, recycled costumes are still cute:

These are trunk-or-treat costumes

Tyler switched to Spiderman for Halloween night.

The Big 0-5

Our little Tyler isn't so little anymore. He recently celebrated his 5th birthday, and it was fun but a little tiring, too!

In the morning he got to open his presents from us, and he loved his new Pillow Pet. (It's a pillow. It's a pet. It's a PillowPet!) He had seen a commercial for them and wanted one so bad I couldn't say no. The rest of the day we kept hearing things like, "Mom, did you know that my PillowPet is machine washable?" and "Did you know that all it takes is one hug and you fall in love?" and "Dad, my PillowPet is the perfect travelling companion!" In any case, we need to make sure he doesn 't watch any more commercials. He's just like his Uncle Jared and remembers every word he sees.

For those of you who remember last year's Jesus Cake, I was able to get away with one a bit easier this year. He loved it because the road made a "5".

In the afternoon we had a "Cars" party at the park. It was great to have a bunch of his friends and also family there. We started with some relay races:

Next was "Pin the Wheel on Lightning McQueen":

We worked in some Playground time:

And some "Red Flag, Green Flag." (Notice Lauren's ahead on this one, cause she didn't stop when it was red flag.)

We're really proud of Tyler and the sweet boy he is. He is smart and clever, and really sweet to his sister (most of the time). He loves to make jokes and loves to be around people. He is the most honest person I've ever known, and his simple and strong faith is an example to us.

We love you, TyTy!

The Making of a Cowboy

I'm pretty tough stuff--I'll rope this bull in no time.

Umm...this isn't as easy as I thought it would be.


Ughhh...who needs a stupid bull anyway!!

Well, maybe I'll try one more time.

Good enough. Yee Haw!

Tyler's birthday is this week, so he gets to bring a special treat to Preschool. (Gotta love the preschools in people's basements. No worrying about OSHA there!) Anyway, he wanted to make these Mummy Cupcakes. I go back and forth between thinking they're really cute and pretty lame. Oh well. They were easy and now they're done! Now on to his Cars cake for his party.




We also made a trek down to Provo last week to see a BYU volleyball game. Brad and I used to go all the time when we were kidless, penniless, and living in CougarTown. We're still pinching our pennies, so this was a fun cheap family night. Of course we had to tour campus and show Ty and Lauren (who could pretty much care less) where we had different classes and where we lived and where we graduated; where we did the Funky Chicken, and which buildings have the best lounges in the women's bathrooms. We lucked out and were right by the Carrillon Bell Tower at the top of the hour, and that woke our captive audience up! Something must have gotten through to Ty, though, cause he said he wanted to come back every day. Too bad it's over an hour drive, or I would love to, kid.

Lauren wasn't too sure about Cosmo being that close. She warmed up to him later, though.

You win some, you lose some.

Lauren got a package today from her Grandma Marcie with the cutest little Halloween outfit in it. She was so excited to put it on, and once she did, she strutted around the house like she was the Queen of Halloween.

Of course I tried to get a picture of her in her new outfit, but sitting and smiling were not on her agenda today. So I'm just going to embrace the bad photos.

Without further ado, Miss Bootiful:

The Saturday morning conference session started out like most other conferences sessions do: with the kids running around, interrupting, demanding this and that, while Brad and I kept shushing, entertaining, and sending kids to their room.

And then Elder Bednar spoke about love within families. So we all snuggled up together and hugged while listening to his talk. It felt good.

Then the choir sang not just a Primary Song, but a favorite that is often a Lullaby: My Heavenly Father Loves Me. We all sang along. I felt the Spirit. So following the admonition we had received earlier to identify the Spirit, I told Ty how I was feeling the Spirit during that song, and how I know that Heavenly Father loves him.

The Spirit truly was present because during Pres. Uchdorf's talk, Ty was all ears. No squirming, no hyperactivity, no demands. He was really listening. Listening to an Apostle testify about the attributes of God and His love for us.

That's when Ty, very quietly, told us, "I feel the Spirit saying that He loves me."

That was a great moment. Because out of all the important truths and skills I need to teach our children--from how to read to how to rebound, I believe the two most important are

1. To know that God loves them and has a plan for their future, and

2. To learn how to recognize and follow the promptings of the Spirit.

I was blessed to have parents that taught me early on how to listen to the Spirit, and to know that I was a Child of God. That knowledge has affected everything in my life. It has lifted me in hard times, given me peace and comfort, and helped me help others. If a person truly knows that God loves them and if they really know how to interpret and follow the Spirit, there is no problem that they can't get through.

So maybe I don't need to be so hard on myself the next time I get frustrated with my kids, or when my laundry doesn't get folded, or I put myself in a self-induced timeout. Like Elder Bednar said, it's consistency that matters.

And that one moment today let me know that we're on the right track.

Fall Means...

Waking up to the first snow on the mountains. I love, love, love this weather! Give me clouds and temps in the 40's & 50's any day of the week!

Inside fun, like playing Explorers to Antarctica. (Don't ask me why wearing his sister's hat is necessary for his expedition. :)

First day of long sleeves and long pants. Isn't she cute?

Figuring out this potty thing. Ty did a little regressing in this area when his sister came to our family, so here's hoping a Big Boy Bunk Bed is motivation. (One star for each day that he does these things. This pic was taken a few days ago--he's got a lot of stars now!)

Our Second Annual nightly Pumpkin light-up. Seriously, so fun. Mod-podge tissue paper onto glass vases (bought at DI for 50 cents each), use black paper for faces, and light up nightly for the month of October. We always sings songs, and take turns blowing our vases out. It's way cleaner than real pumpkins, and they last a lot longer, too.

The last few months of our lives have been interesting. We've added a beautiful little girl to our family, wrecked a car, lost a job, found a new better job, found renters for our house, said goodbye to our dear friends/family in San Antonio, moved across the country, lived in a hotel for two weeks, contracted the Swine flu, found a cute house to live in that has a yard that needs some TLC, started preschool and the new job, and worst of all, watched BYU lose grossly to Florida State.

Now that I've got a moment to breathe, I find myself a little homesick for S.A. I really like being back in Utah, and I think I'll grow to love our new little small town, but right now I miss the feeling of belonging that I had in good ole Texas. Kinda funny since I've spent many more years in Utah than Texas. But there was something special about our little corner of San Antonio--and we left so quickly without a lot of choice in the matter--I just need to say goodbye to:

Our little neighborhood "Mormon Village"

Playgroup on Tuesday mornings, where there was always a good--sometimes controversial--conversation to be had.

99 cent Only store on Delivery Day.

My little Primary kids, whom I grew to love so much. You've never heard better singers! I wish I could be there for your primary program.

The San Antonio Temple, where I was a real regular there for awhile. I wouldn't have made it through without the peace and inspiration gained there.

The Riverwalk and the Alamo--we had a real routine down when visitors came.

ABCD Pediatrics--Tyler actually loved going to the Dr's. And we went there quite regularly for awhile when they were figuring out his asthma.

H-E-B--I was frustrated that this was the only grocery store in town, but they did have fun combo Loco's, and Tyler will forever cherish his H-E-Buddy blanket that we got from the H-E-Buddy bucks.

Our gorgeous back yard and patio that was so peaceful. Our myrtle trees, weeping willow tree, and lemon tree will be missed.

The Windcrest Ward choir. Best ward choir ever.

Angel Food Ministries--they don't have it in Utah. Seriously, if you're not in Utah, look it up. What a great program!

Blue Bell Ice Cream. There were so many flavors that I had to try still!

Texas pride. It's contagious.

Most of all, our dear friends and family there. We miss you tons!

Now, if you'll please excuse me, we're off to do something that I used to dream of while in Texas: take a Sunday drive in the Canyons. (There's definitely some positives to Utah living!)

Adventures in Eating

Alternate Title: Yougurt, A Girl's Best Friend

Making up for lost time

Where do I begin?

It's been well over a month since my last post, and with good reason. The last couple of months have brought the highest highs and the lowest lows of our lives. The sweet addition to our family, Lauren, has been such a blessing to us. She can throw a tantrum like no other, but boy is she cute, too! We love her so much and are so thankful to have her in our fam. She has brought so much joy to us in the midst of our trials.

The main trial we've been facing revolves around Brad's job. I've wanted to share all that's been going on, but haven't been able to. Things aren't over yet, but we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. And things are turning out much better than expected. Brad and I are so grateful for the growth we've been able to achieve, and are so thankful that we feel like we're passing the test of this refiner's fire. We've become so much closer to the Lord and to each other. We've also come to appreciate the incredible support given by family and true friends.

Now on to the fun stuff. In between the stress and prayers and phone calls and crying, we've managed to have some real fun.

We took a weekend trip up to Brenham and College Station with Spencer, Sara, and the girls. I love that they're family, and I love that we're in this Texas Experiment together. Of course you can't go through Brenham without stopping at the Blue Bell Creamery. Honestly, if you haven't tasted Blue Bell, you need to take a trip to one of the 17 states that sell it. You will thank me.

Our little Blue Bell Darlin'

Moving on to College Station, we ate at Free Bird Burrito, toured Texas A&M's campus, swam in the hotel pool, and visited the George Herbert Walker Bush Presidential Library. It was cool.

I didn't exactly know why they had a bunch of stuff about space shuttles, but we liked it nonetheless.


Future astronauts?



Tyler giving a Presidential Speech.





We also took a fun trip to Utah/Oregon. I missed so many photo ops, but did remember to get some. One of the highlights was stopping off in Ontario, Oregon to see Grandma Schultz. My sweet Grammy, how I love her.





In between these two pictures was a whole lot of action that I didn't capture on film. We had a family reunion up at Eagle Crest in Central Oregon, and it was so fun. Little Lauren was such a trooper, meeting so many new faces and being in such strange surroundings.



Ty had a lot of firsts this trip. He caught his first fish, played his first round of mini-golf, went in his first cave (oh wait--we did do a cave in Texas, I guess it's his second cave), his first hike up a mountain, his first climbing a tree, and tons more.






Poor little Lorzy. We stopped in the middle of nowhere during our long drive for a little break. I think she got tired of her carseat for hours on end. I had to show this picture of her in her little BYU outfit, though. So cute! (Thanks for the bubbles, Suz! They were a hit:)



Sweet little girl. You would never guess she had just thrown up in the car. That's when we decided to stop in Twin Falls, get some 7-Up for her stomach, and take a break from the car.






We decided to visit Shoshone Falls. It's kind of a joke because almost every time Brad and I have made the trip to and from Oregon, we have stopped at Shoshone Falls. His Grandma, an Idaho Native, always talked about how they're the Niagara of the West. Only we never ever saw much to the falls. In fact here's what they looked like on one of our trips several years ago:


Not much, huh? But here's what they looked like this trip:

Much better! I will no longer make fun of Brad's Grandma for calling them the Niagara of the West.

Lorzy getting into mischief.

She would not put that 7-Up down!



Back in Utah, we had a lot more fun. Time spent with Brad's siblings and their families was, of course, special. Ty loved playing with his Grandparents and cousins on both sides.

We also got to spend a day with Ty's birth family. One thing that has totally impressed me with both our birth families, is how much they love and accept the other child. Am I making any sense? Both families are so sweet to treat their birth-child's sibling as their own. It's like both my kids have two birth families now. How awesome is that? Hopefully some day we can all get together. What a great party that would be!

Ty and Granpa Dave checking out the Elk. There's an elk and bison farm just in the middle of the city! Pretty fun!

Ty, with TJ in the background



We tried to get a sibling shot, but this is honestly the best we could get! They were pretty wasted by the end of the day.

To top off a great trip, Brad was able to get bumped on the flight back, so now we have a free ticket to use in the future! Only wish they needed more! Brad and Lauren stayed in Denver, and got assigned to First Class on the flight into San Antonio today. Not bad!

Next up: Swimming lessons start tomorrow!