The end of October we headed off for a trip to Oregon with my parents. Definitely my favorite state to visit so far- so many trees and so green. We stayed about a week and then headed down through the very top so we could see the famous redwood forest-I can now cross that off my wish list. I am a plant person so this was amazing. You can see the size of the tree in the picture- and yes, those little people are us. The leaves from the trees were huge-pictures can never do it justice. Just try to avoid going when it is cold and rainy! I might have to go back one day in the spring or summer. That has probably been our favorite vacation so far.

In September Chad and I went to Disneyland (and left Miles behind, poor fellow!) Definitely the month to go- all the kids are back in school and the lines are a lot lot shorter. We both agreed that space mountain is still the greatest ride ever!

A lot of catching up to do!

So I haven't been on for 7 months and I'm sure you have all stopped checking this so if you just did- surprise! I thought I'd do a quick update of what we have all been up to.

We went to Vegas in August and had a lovely time- although it was quite hot. Our favorite part was the stage "jousting match" dinner we went to. If you haven't done one yet (they are not just in Vegas) you should definitely go!

We all had a great time relaxing mostly!

Brad's Wedding

I am a little slow to blog this but hey- it's my blog-- I'll be slow if I want to! My favorite brother Brad got married on May 16th. Chad was the best man and I was appointed last minute videographer (is that a word?)for the wedding. Miles was left to fend for himself with the aunts. It was a fun day and Miles was amazingly good for only getting a 30 minute nap for the whole day. Here are some pictures of the day. Brad and Tara live in Ogden so we get to see them a little more often. Miles did some service out on the lawn by picking their dandelions for them and passing them out to all my sisters, and passing out a few kisses!

Tales of the Widow

Getting used to Chad's new work schedule has been a little challenging. I think the hardest part is having to switch between being an independent, single mother to being a wife again! I must admit I think I am loving having Chad home for a whole week; it feels like a super long weekend. We just play together all day and go shopping too much! Miles is loving it too, he just follows Chad around all day and cries when he shuts the door to the bathroom or goes outside without him. Miles has become a little adventurer and has the injuries to prove it. He is always trying to climb everything or climb inside everything! He loves to pull out my cake pans and then sit in them. His new favorite phrase is "all gone". For him it means his snack is gone, he is done eating dinner and it also means he can't see the airplane in the sky any more. And- sometimes he just says it for fun I think!

My Mother's Day Present

I definitely got the best mother's day present last week. Chad is a little last minute on his surprises, mostly because he forgets until the day or two before, but he always finds the perfect thing. This last Saturday before mother's day he announced that he needed to take miles and he would be gone for a few hours. I love being a mother but I must admit it was nice to have a couple hours of freedom. I got the garden planted, fertilized the lawn and dug quite a few dandelions out of the lawn before they got back. They returned with flowers- who doesn't like getting flowers- and told me there was another surprise but I had to wait till Sunday. We went to a birthday party in Tooele and then he took Miles with him again to "finish the surprise". I went to the grocery store and wandered around for an hour since I am usually racing through the store hoping to get everything before Miles decides he's had enough! The surprise turned out to be a little handmade book, written by Miles, about why I am the best mom. There was a picture on each page and a little paragraph about different things that miles loves. It made me cry and it made us late for church since I had to read it again! It was definitely one of the nicest presents I have received! What a thoughtful husband I have! Thanks Chad and Miles- I love you both!

April Showers?

Well, I have not been on in a while so some serious updating is in order. Miles is growing like a weed and can say a few words- mostly only I can understand them though! He is definitely an outside boy- he loves rocks, dirt, sticks and leaves and loves to watch cars go by the house.

We have got the garden tilled up and just looking at that nice, soft brown dirt makes me anxious to plant but I know if I jump the gun a frost will come and kill it all. My seed starting operation is going well, I have doubled my capacity from last year and it still isn't enough. I have 2 fluorescent lights going and now some of my plants have to take turns getting direct light as there are now too many to fit. I have tomatoes, peppers, asparagas, tomatillos and a lot of flowers. The exciting plants this year are going to be the "flame" tomato- supposed to be yellow and red striped!, the tomatillo; which I have never grown and I am going to try carrots this year and see what happens. I have got my garden planned out so that not a foot is wasted- at the request of Chad. Hopefully that will mean less weeding too. I am also going to try a new thing this year- corn gluten. It is basically a byproduct of corn milling but they discovered it prevents things from sprouting and acts as a fertilizer too! So- I will be spreading it on the garden after all the vegetables have sprouted and we will see what happens. we are planning on using on the lawn this spring too, so I will spread the word when we have some results. Some other news, Chad is now working for Halliburton and so he goes to Rock Springs WY for 2 weeks and then gets to be home for a week. So we are going to plan some serious vacations!