Our Christmas Morning

Since things happened mostly on Christmas Eve we had a pretty quiet Christmas morning. Wyatt is still too young to be really excited about the whole thing but I think I managed to pick up the slack there. I asked Kayla if Santa had come at 6:30 am but she rolled over and said “no, he’ll be here in an hour. Go back to sleep.” So I did but right at 7:30 I got the dog out, woke up Wyatt and we gathered around the tree. Wyatt wasn’t fully awake so he was a little cranky. We gave him his 10 pack of Matchbox cars and that is all he needed. He could have cared less about anything else. We pretty much opened everything else for him because all he wanted to do was play with the cars. We gave him a jump-o-lene (an inflatable trampoline) and a pump. The pump didn’t work so I ended up blowing this 7-foot round tramp with my mouth. It took me about 25 minutes but I think Wyatt has enjoyed playing in it so far. Wyatt a lot more fun this year because he could make noises and somewhat understand what to do with the gifts and such. Next year it will be really fun because he will know all about Christmas and Santa.

Christmas Eve

This year most of our celebrating was on Christmas Eve. We had a party with the Anderson’s from 11 – 2:30 and then a party with the Farr’s from 5 – 9. We did the traditional dinner then we opened presents at both parties.
For Kayla’s side we went to the church where Jeff had a badminton, foosball, ping pong and basketball all available. It was actually quite nice because all of the grandkids could run free, throw the balls and make as much noise as they wanted without driving everybody nuts. At noon we at ham, rolls and several different salads, then it was time for the gifts. Things were great. We had purchased our own gift and then we gave it to Marc and Katherine to wrap and give back to us as our present. This why you get what you want and don’t have to burden somebody with the most frequently asked question “what should we get them?” Oh yeah we bought ourselves a food processor.
For my family we went to my mom and dad’s house and ate prime rib and sparkling potatoes. It is the same traditional meal that we every year. It was great. My grandparents joined us. After dinner we read out of the scriptures about the birth of Christ then the annual family newsletter. It was a tearful event just as in the years past. My mom does a great job of putting everybody’s yearly accomplishments and the presents received on the back of the news letter. Opening the presents was great. Mostly we just focused on Hadly and Wyatt because it is a new thing for them. Wyatt did manage to whack Hadly with a wooden puzzle right in the forehead. I think their favorite gifts were the child sized camping chairs that they could store their bottles in. It was another fun Christmas Eve party for both sides of our family.

Skiing with Justin and Brady

My friend Justin came down from Idaho for Christmas so we decided to go skiing, (I snowboard) to Snowbasin. It turned out to be an extremely awesome day. It was a little windy at the top of the lift but it was definitely a great day for skiing. I am a little slower than them but it was still fun. About 10 years ago we would have been going as fast as possible, hitting all the jumps, and not leaving a second before the resort closed. But this time we stayed on the same run about 85% of the time, took our time, screwed around a little and left about an hour early. But I still felt I got my monies worth. It was kind of like old times: Justin kept picking on Brady the entire day. The only thing that could have made it even more like high school days if Cody and Courtney would have came. Those are my other friends that couldn’t make it. Before this I hadn’t been snowboarding for two years. It came back fairly quickly but I did take a pretty hard crash about an hour before lunch. It was great to get a chance to hang out with friends that I don’t see that often and do something that I love.

Making Chocolate

So Kayla and I decided to make homemade chocolates to give away for Christmas this year. I went to Grandma Sherrod’s house and got her recipe. She gave me the one for fudge, almond joy and peanut butter cups. As she gave me the recipe she proceeded to tell me that it was for a double batch and it would make a lot of candy. Well even though I heard her I should have made just half of it because it made SOOOO much.
First off we decided to make the fudge. EASY as pie! But then we decided to make the peanut butter cups. First you have to make the peanut butter filling. This is where things went horribly arye. I had copied down the wrong kind of sugar. I wrote just sugar but it should have been powdered sugar. I called my grandma on Sunday morning to ask what I could do. She said to mix a little water with it to try and dissolve some of the sugar grit but as I did the peanut butter mixture lost its fluffiness. I ended up throwing all this mixture away and started over. I’ll just call this the practice run because it was edible but I just didn’t want people think that they were eating sand when finished. Overall, after all the mistakes, the peanut butter cups were my favorite, then the almond joys and fudge. It was cool to actually lean how to make candy but I don’t know if I will have the time or drive to do it again.

Sub for Santa

Every year my parents pick a family to help out or we go and find an Angel tree and donate to it. This year was no exception. We got together as a family and went shopping for a family who was in need. Of course like any other year the store was crowded but this year it was PARTICULLARY crowded. We all went in and found the things we wanted to buy for the person we were given and my dad stood in line about 4 different times just waiting for us to come and jump in with him. Afterward it was pretty good when we all went to eat at Crown Burger.
Once our bellies were full we went back to my parent’s house and started wrapping the presents. There were about a million. I was great to see them all especially when we left them all on the porch at the family’s house. It is better to give then receive.

Our Little Dipper

Not too long ago we went to Wendy's for dinner and Wyatt got the 99 cent chicken nuggets with BBQ sauce for dipping. We went to my mom's house where we put him in the high chair and let him eat and taught him how to dip. Let's just say he is a natural born dipper. Now if we can't get him to eat something we just put a blob of dipping sauce in front and show him what its for then we have a good eater. The video is from yesterday when we got him to eat some chicken. He, like most other kids, is a double dipper too. Or he'll just eat the sauce plain. We think it is hilarious but judge for yourself. Oh yeah, I love when Roxy is around because she will pick up all the left over food. She'll also take advantage of Wyatt if we aren't watching closely but she certainly is close by when Wyatt is eating.

The joys of ownership

I know that you probably know what I am going to write about from the title but here goes anyway...So ever since we moved into our house we have had this weird humming sound that comes from the showers when the hot water is on. We just recently we noticed that our water pressure was way low and our washer would not work on the hot water cycle. It would just get an error and stop working. So we looked in the owners manual to see what the error meant: "Low hot water pressure or leak" I was grateful it wasn't a leak. So my mom asked a plumber in her ward what the symptoms were if you have great cold water pressure and nothing for hot. He said we needed to shut off the water, take off the pipe and drill out the build up. So i did just that. My first impression was how did the water even get through all that junk in the first place. There was not even a small hole. Nothing and it was solid too. So needless to say i got it all fixed and drilled out. I actually felt quite accomplished because i saved myself some money by fixing it on my own. The washer works great now and there is no longer a humming sound in the shower. Now i have so much pressure i am going to have to clean the drain because it doesn't drain fast enough now. Oh the joys of home ownership!

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving turned out to be rather fun. We at with my family at 11:30 and then hosted Kayla’s family at our house at 3. It was actually quite nice to have it at our place because we were all able to sit around the same table. Kayla did an excellent job of putting all the place settings together and the table was packed with food. Katherine and Marc were the first to sit down at the table and first thing she did was knock over her drink. Oh well, no big deal we hurried to clean it up before it got on to the chairs and the floor. Then about half way through our meal, CRASH—BREAK—SCREECH and I thought the little kid table had been overturned by rowdy children but I was only half correct. On the half wall right beneath the little kids table was a clock that Kayla salvaged from her mom. It had fallen off of her wall about 4 years ago and Kayla fixed it. Well anyway, Jeffrey hit the wall with his head and needless to say, down came the clock. It was shattered, Kayla wanted to fix it but I plead with her just to throw it away which she did crying “it’s all in splinters” but it was time.
The other cool thing about thanksgiving was that we were able to have a webcam conversation with Trevor who is in Korea. We had a few technical difficulties to start with but after that it worked smoothly and we were all able to see Trevor and he us. It was really cool. Trevor said he really enjoyed it and thought that Grandma Taylor was scared of the new fangled technology because she sat down, said hello Trevor then said well I guess I will let you go so others can talk. That was all she wanted to do with that.
It was great to spend thanksgiving with my family as well. We at Lances then everybody played the Nintendo Wii. It was fun to see the “older” people play like my aunt Jodie and my dad. The Olympics were fun but it was most entertaining to watch the boxing. I played a few rounds of boxing and it definitely kicked my butt. My shoulders were sore the next day.

Pumkin cake

So any time Kayla or I make a cake for a work function or party, about this time of year, we always bake a cake that looks like a pumpkin. Well today for my class I make one of these cakes and it turned out to be a hit with everybody in my class. We made a process flow chart on how I made this cake. It was actually quite funny so we had a person take a picture of it so we could put it on our PowerPoint presentation. This cake is generally hit with everyone because it is so festive. All you do is bake two bundt cakes, trim off the tops to make them flat and then frost them. We usually spray it with Orange spray food coloring because our orange frosting generally turns out peach colored. Then we just use an ice cream cone for the stem. It is probably a tradition to make at least two of these per year. We are pretty much pros now. Just a tip if you want to try it: 1. use Duncan Hines spice cake mix, 2. substitute milk for water and this will make the cake much denser and easier to work with...if you don't then it will just fall apart and will not look like a pumpkin.

Halloween!

So this post is a little late compared to all the other blogs I have read but like the old addage goes: "better late than never" This year has been so hectic with school for both Kayla and I that I barely keep on top of things. So after reading the two comments from the Jackson Sisters and my mom's comment "I noticed you haven't updated your blog lately" well here I am.

Halloween is probably one of my most favorite holidays but this one was by far the worst. I had to go to school. We normally all dress up with a family theme but without a lot of time, failure to plan ahead and school we (Kayla and I) just didn't dress up. After looking at all the pictures I think I should have anyway.

Our theme, if we would have had one would have been barnyard animals. Both Wyatt and Roxy were chickens. I have noticed that the chicken costume is a popular one. I noticed a couple of kids at the 2 ward parties we went to that had them, and Halle from the Buxton's blog too. Then the other day when I took Wyatt to my brothers house I noticed that my niece Hadly had the same exact costume. I couldn't believe it. They are all so cute though. Anyway here are the pics. Enjoy

Sharleen's Birthday

So Sharleen had a birthday about a month ago (September 22nd) and I am just now posting the pictures from it. It was a fun party. We (the kids and their spouses) took charge and made her dinner. She is always so nice to invite everybody over about once a month to have dinner for people that had birthdays that month but this time we decided to make dinner for her. I made the chicken and I cooked it on my new grill and the others made food to go with it; salads, dessert, rolls, baked potatoes. It was quite nice and I am sure it was a welcome relief to her to eat a nice meal, with her family, and not have to cook it or clean up after. Anyway, happy birthday to Sharleen and sorry it took me so long to post the pics.

Hand prints in the cement

So we finally poured cement for the fence and we also poured a little bit of cement to put the hose on so it doesn't have to sit on the grass any longer. The pad for the hose was a last minute thing because we had so much left over. We decided to put our hand prints in it. It brought back lots of memories from my childhood when my parent poured cement and we got to put our hands in it. It was really quite fun. Kayla, Wyatt and I all did our hands (and Wyatt's feet) Roxy did her paw print by just wanting to be part of the action and my parents were there to place their hand prints too. It was just a fun thing to do.

I'm finally putting up a fence

So about a year ago we got a nice brick fence along the back of our property but it was only for 90% of my property. The owners of Sparrows put up a nice retaining wall fence but they stopped at their property line which was about 15 feet from my property line with my neighbor. So needless to say we have had a crappy chain link fence there that has been falling down with every gust of wind. I went and purchased the vinyl fencing now it is just the hassle of installing it. My dad and i have been working on it and we are to the point where we can pour the footing but it is supposed to rain so we are going to have to wait until after the weekend. BUMMER! But i will be so excited when it is all competed because then i wont have to go out there and keep picking it up and it will look so much better. Roxy will finally be able to run in the back yard and we wont have to worry about where she is. Your work always seems to be so much more worth it when you do it yourself.

Let the races begin

So i thought i would post a small clip of Wyatt learning to walk. This was taken about a week ago and since then he has gotten so much better and so much faster. It is kind of a pain to keep chasing him down but it is so fun to watch him grow and develop. He will definitely come almost running if you have food in your hand to bribe him with. He is so fun! PS ignore my voice. I sound like Kermit the Frog; I hate listening to myself speak because in my ears I don't sound like that.

Grandma Taylors Birthday, She turned 81 I think?

Yesterday we went to Grandma Taylor's trailer and had cake and ice cream for her birthday. It was really nice. They haven't lived up here in the northern part of the state for a while so it was really good for her to have all of her children and other family around her. I know she really enjoys that. I hope one day i live to be this old and still be able to move around like they do.

Labor Day, and we did just that.

So for labor day, Kayla and I both didn't have to work. It makes it nice to have some free time every once in a while so that you can catch up on the chores around the house. And that is what we did. I was able to clean out the garage a little bit and also work in the bathroom. I'll have to take some pictures of that for a later post. Well as part of our "labors" we went to Target and bought the Dyson DC17 Animal vacuum.

First off, let me just say YECK! We vacuumed our house with our old vacuum and then did it with our new Dyson and I thought i was going to puke with all the dirt and Roxy hair that it picked up. However, i was so impressed at all the power it has and how it left our carpet so soft and actually clean! I can't believe i put Wyatt on that stuff as filthy as it was. I would HIGHLY recommend buying one to anybody! They are expensive but worth every penny! And ladies if you are hesitating spending that much just think a guy becomes motivated to do more stuff around the house if you have a fun "toy" to use. I know i sure am!

Mom's Birthday and 4 Generation Pictures

Today is my mom’s 47th birthday. We celebrated by having a family dinner with everybody. It was quite nice. My dad made steaks, corn on the cob, sparkling potatoes and vegetables. My Grandma and Grandpa Sherrod were there and my Grandpa Farr showed up too. It was nice to see him. It has been about 3 years since I last saw him. I took advantage of the moment to take a few pics with my cell phone, (they are really hard to see) but at least g0t a 4 generation picture of Wyatt, Me, My Dad, and My Grandpa. Cody did the same thing with him and Hadly. It turned out to be a very nice evening. Kayla wasn’t able to go because she has started back to school. I am really proud of her for going back. If she can get over these dang math classes she’ll be home free.

Happy Birthday to me, I turned 26

So I guess you could say that I am getting older. But it will always be a relative term. By that I mean if you are older than me you'll always be older than me, and vice versa. This birthday just kind of felt like any another ordinary day. Although, it was nice to hear from friends and family wanting to wish me a special day. I didn't do anything to celebrate -- rather I was at work all day then school at night. I did take my office bagels and they devoured them. When I got home from work Kayla had made me a special birthday treat. It was a carmel corn cake. It looked really cool and it tasted good too. The only thing about living with two people is that you have to eat everything yourselves and you can't pawn it off on the kids yet because he can't eat it. So I ended up taking it to work and it was AGAIN devoured by them. Overall, my birthday was great although it was just another day.

Wyatt's 1 Year Pics

We went to Kiddie Kandids in the New Gate Mall on Saturday and got Wyatt's pictures taken. I was really impressed with their quality of service and friendliness. They were really nice. You have to pay a little more for the pictures but the quality is way better than Wal-Mart or Target. And in all actuality, since we got a free 8X10 we got the sheets for about the same price. We picked the one of him on the bench as the 8X10 and him on the beach as a 5X7 and him with the football as the other 5X7. Enjoy!

Wyatt's Birthday

Wyatt’s first birthday was a blast. We spent the day working around the house and making a cake for him. It was actually quite fun because to keep Wyatt entertained we gave him all kinds of junk food that he never had before. The picture with him all covered in blue is when he was eating a blue fruit roll-up. We had family over to the Herfordshire pool for hotdogs, salads, lemonade, cake and of course a dip in the pool. Since Wyatt is allergic to eggs Kayla made him his own special little cake without eggs. She used a Weight Watchers recipe. It calls for 12 ounces of diet soda verse all of the normal stuff like eggs, oil and water. It worked out pretty well but I didn’t care to eat it. Wyatt didn’t seem to mind. He got it all over him. It was great!!! After dinner and cake we opened some presents. Like most one-year-olds he could have cared less what was in the packages; but would rather play with the paper. All of his cousins were a big help in opening them. After presents most of us got in the pool and swam for about an hour. It was definitely a good first birthday. One I think that he’ll never remember but one we certainly will. I know I have written it before but I will write it again…It is amazing how fast he is grown up.

I Finished HARRY POTTER 7

So I have been in Port Hueneme California since the 24th of July for my job and i have been reading Harry Potter to pass the time when i get out of class. First off, to me, this was probably the best book I've read. It picked right up and started tying up all the loose ends. J.K. Rowling did a very good job with the series and especially this last book. I am not a reader but i have read all of these books. To prepare myself for this book i got online and read a cliff notes version of book 6 so i could remember what had gone on. I am really glad that i did. Also while online i decided to read a couple of spoilers (this was before the book was released) but none of the three that i read were true so it must of been a bunch of hype. So everyday after school i would come back to my hotel room and read the book in my chair. It would get so good that i wouldn't want to put it down. The book got a little slow for me in the middle because it felt like they kept doing the same thing over and over and over and over (i guess you get the point) And probably the one part i didn't really care for was the epilogue. Of course it was written 8 years ago or whatever but i just seemed like it wasn't part of the story line. I am really glad that it didn't get spoiled for me from the news or anything and that i could read it for myself. I am not going to give it away but those are just my thoughts. Highly recommended from me to anyone. I cant wait for Kayla to start reading it so we can talk about it!

HOLLYWOOD

So for the other half of our vacation in So Cal we went to Hollywood. YES! The traffic was horrible. We were hoping to be able to catch a movie down there before we had to get Kayla to LAX so she could go home but we spent over 2 hours waiting to go about 8 miles. It was horrible. But when we got down there we walked down the Walk of Fame. That was cool to see all those stars on the side walk that you only hear about on TV. We took a picture of a couple but mostly there were too many people to do anything like that. It reminded me of a mini version of the Las Vegas Strip. It only lasted for about 4 blocks but it was crazy.
They had entrepreneurs on the road dressed like characters (i.e. sponge Bob, and the Little Mermaid) that would take pictures for tips. The mermaid kept saying “I only take pictures for tips” So I didn’t want have her say anything to me because she looked scary. The Aladdin was caring a chi Wawa instead of a monkey. It was just weird. And most of them were dressed just enough that you could tell who they were and that was it. It wasn’t a very good costume. Anything to make a buck!
Then we walked inside the Kodak Theater where they do the finale of American Idol. That was cool, but again it is just like Vegas because it was a mall inside then the theater is at the top of the stairs. Also within the mall was a bridge to where you could take a picture of the Hollywood sign. That was really cool to see.
We also waked by the Chinese Theater. They usually hold lots of premiers here but they were doing anything like that when we were there. In front of the theater were cement pieces that had stars that had put their hand prints and wrote in the cement. It was cool too. We finished everything off by looking through the souvenir shops but that was just to see what they had.
We got Kayla to the airport on time but she called me when I was driving back to my hotel to tell me that her flight had been delayed an hour thanks to inclement weather in New York.

Traffic, MLB, and the Beach

Since I was going to be in California we decided to take advantage of the weekend and fly Kayla out. So when she flew in on Thursday night I went to get her and it took about 2.5 hours to get to LAX when it should have taken about just over an hour. LA traffic is HORRIBLE. It was fun because we got to go to a MLB game on Saturday (we ate a hot dog and everything). Of course the traffic was atrocious to get to the stadium but it was worth it. The Anaheim Angels played the Detroit Tigers. It was an afternoon game so pretty much the entire stadium was blasted by the sun. After about the 4th inning though, our seats finally got to be shaded and it was so much more bearable. It was fun to see it in real life. I don’t watch baseball at all but it was just fun to go in person. There were 43,122 people there so that made it better, especially when they hit a home run.





After the game we didn’t want to rush into traffic to get back to the hotel and sit so we went to Newport Beach and drove around that city and then parked and walked on Huntington Beach. Of course traffic was a “beach” getting out of there so we just took a short detour, ate some Asian food then worked our way back with fairly little traffic. That was a first. I am amazed at all the houses and glamour there is around this beach area. But I guess that is California for you.

Fun at Sandridge Park

We went and hung out with Kayla's childhood friends at Sandridge Park. We ate pizza, squirted each other with water guns, played catch and just sat in the shade. It was nice. We really don't spend time with these guys and it was good to get together with the. Wyatt hated being squirted and didn't care to be in the sand too much. He did like the swing though. As I watched the two and three-year-olds play I thought it would be fun for Wyatt to be that age but all in due time.

Block Party

So we have lived in our house for just a little over 2 years and we know about 4 of our neighbors. So our bishop and neighbor across the street

planned a BBQ with ribs and chicken for the entire block. The food was EXCELLENT. We took a fruit pizza that was a smash. (look at it...you'd of loved it too!!) It was pretty much the only dessert that was completely eaten. It was a really good opportunity to met all of the people we didn't know. They are all so nice I can't believe that we haven't gotten out to associate with them before. I hope that we get to do this every year.

Harry Potter 5, The movie!

So Kayla and I, along with Katherine and Marc, went to see HP5 at the new movie theaters in Ogden. First off the movie, I think, was the best out of all of the movies. I didn't really care for the book because it was such a downer the entire time -- and UMBRIDGE?? But the movie's special effects with the magic was excellent! I realized they couldn't fit everything into just two hours but that the directors did a great job. Kayla also liked it! Now we can't wait for HP7 to come out! We keep debating on who is going to read it first. I know it will be me because i will be traveling that week and I'll need something to do on the plane. She can read it when she comes to visit.

The new junction theater in downtown Ogden is exactly what they needed! That place was pretty busy so i don't think it will be going any where soon. The theater was clean and i really loved how they had assigned seating because it allowed us to get there right when it started and not have to wait in line for an hour! We did sit in the wrong seats to begin with but that was because i couldn't see what row we were on! I think i will go to this theater for my last couple summer must see (Hairspray, Transformers, and the Simpsons)!

Happy 11 months to Wyatt

Another month has passed and many more to come. Wyatt is so mobile now. He isn't walking but he is very close. The coffee tables are his best friend now. He loves to stand up with them, take everything off of them, smack them with his hands, then do it all again once we put everything back. Occasionally he will loose his balance and whack his head into it so if you see us out and about and he has a bruise on his head its most likely from the coffee table. He definitely has his own personality, and I would dare say it is a fun one but if your a stranger then he is instantly shy! He has successfully climbed all the way up the stairs by himself. I did stand on the side of him while he did it but that was just in case he decided to stand up then go tumbling down it backwards. So far he has only fell down them once and that was a couple of months ago before he could crawl. Like most parents can probably attest to your kids grow so fast and you wonder where and how has time gone by so quickly.

Yes I am still alive

I bet you might be thinking no posts…what happened to him. Well nothing has happened to me but I just have been extremely busy and I can no longer access my blog from work to update it. But I’ve made it up by going back for last weekend and writing a little about camping. After getting home from camping it was clean, laundry, school and fixing the water pump in the Jeep that has kept me so occupied. I love to go camping but you almost need to plan an extra day of vacation time to come home and get everything put back together. Besides that I needed to finish my mid-term for my class and in the back of my mind was that I needed to fix that stupid water pump. But everything now is going the way it should, at least for now.

Family Reunion

Most of my aunts and uncles went to the family reunion at Dean’s cabin. We are always so excited to see one another. At first everybody loved to look at Wyatt and play with him but I think by the end they were tired of him being so whiney. He is still fun though. My family is card players, always have been and always will be. They played Texas Hold’em and another really long game…I think called Rummy or something like that. I usually like to get in on them but this trip I felt like just relaxing so all I did was watch movies and go on 4-wheeler rides. My mom took Kayla and I to see Lilly Lake and then on another pretty good trail. It was really fun and we even went through the river. I was smart enough to lift up my feet but Kayla’s got soaked. She did say though that it was the best part of the ride. Wyatt didn’t care too much for the ride I gave him. But I think all in due time he’ll love it. We stayed in my parents trailer and Lance and his family stayed in his because the cabin was pretty full but I didn’t mind and it felt great because it was about 25 degrees cooler than home. I sleep so much better when it is cool! It was good to see all the family, crazy as we are, we just hung out on the back porch and let Lance and Deana cook for us. It was pretty good food. There is nothing like relaxing around the ones you love. There was talk of making it a yearly event so I guess we’ll see.

Them there are sheep in the road

My Grandpa Sherrod decided that it was time to have a Sherrod family reunion. I always remember doing stuff with my mom’s brothers and sisters but as everybody got older they kind of went their separate ways. Needless to say I rarely see them but I guess that is our own fault because we all live fairly close to one another. The majority of us went to Dean’s cabin at Manor Lands. We left on Thursday afternoon and on our way up we saw SERIOUSLY about 500 sheep just being herded down the Mirror Lake Highway. It was a sight to behold. Sheep had cars pinned in to where they cold not move and we were following them so we couldn’t just go around them either. Finally they got them to move to the side of the road but it seemed like about a half of an hour had passed I whish I had a better picture but this one will do I guess. Things like this give me more reason not to live on a farm or in Wyoming. And besides who wants to drive on a highway that is covered in sheep poop. Oh yeah, and on the way home we probably passed about 100 of those sheep again but this time they were just lying in the road like they had been hit. Since when do sheep have the right of way??

Wyatt's First Haircut

Wyatt's first first hair cut. At first our intentions were to just trim the fly-aways... then Josh decided to get the CLIPPERS so Wyatt got a buzz. His hair was surprisingly long about an inch and a half. He looks so much older now. :( my little punkin pie is growing up!!!

Independence Day

It was our first Independence day with Wyatt. After his fresh new haircut he was set for the night time festivities. He played with Kayla's cousins for a while before they actually started. The first initial bang was a shocker to him but after that he was mesmerized. But that only lasted about 8 minutes. He then got bored and tried standing up on his own. I was pretty impressed at his efforts. Overall I think he really liked the fireworks.

Swimming with Trevor

Well we hadn’t seen Trevor since October but he came home for a couple weeks. We only saw him a few times but it was fun to hang out with him. We went swimming at the pool and had a BBQ.

We went over and ate at the Anderson a couple of times as an “entire” family. You can look at the Treasure the Memories post for Natalie’s version of the same thing. We went with opening night with Trevor, Marc and Katherine to the drive-in and saw Ratatouille. It was pretty good. I am a fanatic for Disney Pixar movies. They are probably my favorites of all time. I wish however that I would have seen it at the regular theater because sometimes the drive in just looses your attention. But back to Trevor. We talked for quite a while about how Korea is and what he likes and all the same old stuff that he probably told everybody else. I bet he got sick of answering the same old questions. Anyway it was good to see him for a couple weeks and we are glad that he came to visit.

Top of Thousand Lake Mountain

We hiked to the peak of Thousand Lake Mountain, elevation approximately 11,300 feet. I am pretty sure we started at about sea level (there was a lake when we started so I think that counts) and it was straight uphill, practically vertical, from there. OK well maybe not that extreme but it was definitely steep! Once you got to the top it was a plateau and a nice walk to the peak. At the top of a pile of rocks there was a mail box and some paper where you could sign your name. We took Roxy with us and I think she made the hike about twice because she ran up and down the trail then out in the woods just sniffing like a Hoover vacuum. I packed Wyatt, in the Snugli, on my back the entire time. I didn’t think it would be that difficult, and it really wasn’t, until he fell asleep then I was just hauling dead weight. He didn’t cry or anything so I think that he enjoyed it ok. Kayla made it about ½ way before her asthma kicked in pretty bad and she just decided to sit and wait for us because she didn’t have an inhaler. It felt like it was only about 20 minutes to climb down after it took about 90 minutes to climb up. It was a fun hike but I won’t ever do it again. Sort of a been there done that attitude I guess, but I did enjoy it.















Marc and Katherine

The Stuart's and Megan

Anderson Family Reunion

We had the Anderson family reunion this weekend. We were going to take the Jeep and just sleep in a tent but when I left work on Thursday afternoon it began leaking anti-freeze all over. So I determined that my water pump has gone out, AGAIN! It is awful because I am not a mechanic and I just replaced it last April. Needless to say I wasn’t going to drive it down to Fish Lake National Forest. We ended up taking my parents truck so we decided to take their trailer too. Katherine and Marc came with us. It is a very long drive hauling a trailer but it was good because we could set Wyatt down on the floor and that way he wouldn’t have to play in the dirt the entire time. This was his first camping trip and I think he really was AMAZED with fire, DESPISED bug spray being sprayed on him and HATED sleeping in his pack n’ play…other than that it was awesome.

We were at Elkhorn campground which was a really NICE site but the first 3 miles of that dirt road are really, really bad (washboard) then the last mile is lots of switch backs on a narrow road. I was a little nervous pulling the trailer but it all worked out ok. Our directions were pretty clear on how to get there and where to turn but the sign that told us where to turn was broken so, needless to say we passed it by about 40 miles. It was awful but on our way back we found it no problem because the sign for those going south bound was in perfect condition. Anyway, there wasn’t as many people like in years past but it was still fun. We went geocaching on Saturday with Kayla’s aunt and uncle’s family. I think I found me a new hobby and both Kayla and I really liked it. It’s kind of like a modern day treasure hunt with a GPS. Sunday we went on a hike it was almost a straight up hill climb but it was good at the top, then we drove home.

Father’s Day Fun

So it was my first actual fathers day(last years counted but Wyatt wasn't born). It was good too. I got a bunch of new work clothes from Kayla and Wyatt. I haven’t purchased any new work clothes since we’ve been married so I figured it was time. I got 3 pairs of pants, 3 polo shirts, a button up shirt and a pair of army shorts. Kayla did a pretty good job of picking out my shirts, but I had to pick out my pants. I am generally very picky when it comes to clothes but I think I am getting to the point where I could care less (but I still care what I look like). Kayla went to girl’s camp on Thursday so Wyatt and I went and bought me a blower. You know a gift to me, from me. Kayla wasn’t too happy but I think it works great and saves me from sweeping up all the grass clippings and such. I love it.

Yesterday we celebrated with my family at our house. We had a BBQ and Grandpa and Grandma Sherrod came over. It was good. It was also Cody’s 25th birthday he is now the same age as I am, but only for 2 months. We gave my dad and grandpa a picture of Wyatt and Hadly. They were dressed in the camouflaged clothes that he gave them for Christmas. I’ve decided pictures are a great gift because they have to like them and it is something they don’t already have but they can replace them whenever they get new ones.

For my father-in-law we ate dinner at their house and he got a new swing set. He never wants presents so he just buys himself whatever he thinks everybody else would enjoy. All of the grandkids were so excited about this one!! I helped put some of it together. Wyatt is too young to play on it right now but one day he’ll join the others in being as loud and carefree as possible while playing on the new swings.

Brushing at an early age

Every night before I go to bed I brush my teeth. Wyatt is usually lying on the bed staring at me with the deer in the head lights look like WHAT are you doing. So of course he wants to play with my toothbrush. When I give it to him he wants to chew on it for a second then he wants to brush my teeth for me. So we take turns brushing each others teeth. It is so much fun to watch. I think maybe his next toy will be a toothbrush. It always calms him down, he thinks it is the funniest thing in the world and it will give him incentive to brush (when he gets teeth).

10 Months for Wyatt

First off -- Happy 3rd Birthday to Cousin Jeffrey yesterday and Happy 70th Birthday to Grandma Sherrod today. And Happy 10 Months to Wyatt. Things are flying by so fast and he is one of them.
It seems like just yesterday, but it was actually 10 months ago, that we were getting things ready for Wyatt. We had the room ready and all we needed was a little body to put in it. At first he was so fragile and so precious but now he is so mobile, not as fragile and still as precious. On Saturday I had to lower his crib because he was able to sit up in there and we were afraid he might just pull himself up and over.
Wyatt is crawling and trying to pull himself up on everything. The only problem is that he doesn’t get his knees close enough to do it. All he does is get within arms length of whatever, pulls himself up, then is stuck because he doesn’t have enough strength to pull himself up to his feet and closer at the same time. At this point it is sheer chaos because now he can’t go up to his feet and he can’t let go because he will fall to his face. That is exacly what happend last night while at Jeffrey’s birthday party. He let go, fell down and whacked his head on the leg of the chair. He has a small bruise but it will go away soon. I guess we just need to keep an eye on him and make sure he is blocked off from falling down the stairs AGAIN or falling off the bed AGAIN! That little wiggle worm!

Reading to Wyatt

I read a book to Wyatt before going to bed. Well, he was already in bed then he wouldn’t go to sleep, so I took him out and read it to him. One fish, Two fish, Red fish Blue fish is such a fun book with a great message at the end:

Today is gone.
Today was fun.
Tomorrow is another one.

Everyday from here to there,
Funny things are everywhere.

Kayla came in when I started reading it and wanted a blanket. So while she “fished” the blanket out of the clothes basket Wyatt caught her through the corner of his eye then it was down hill from there. He wanted to stare at her the entire time. Kayla’s solution to the problem was to hide under the blanket. (because if he can't see your face then you really aren't there). It was one of those “funny things everywhere.” I laid him back down in is crib but he started to cry again but it only lasted a few minutes then he finally fell asleep.

Wyatt rides in a Mustang Convertible

Wyatt ridin' shotgun with Eli behind the wheel in the Mustang. There are not many five year olds I would trust behind the wheel with my only child riding shotgun. But I must say for being five Eli does very well - and the fact that his little car doesn't go much over a maybe .5 mph is comforting. Wyatt loves playing with Dak, Porter and Eli they are the best "cousins" ever! Wouldn't it be nice to pick and choose our relatives? Well, we were lucky enough to be dubbed part of the Cave Family - and they part of ours. We love our Families - blood or not and all they do for us. We hope all is well with everyone who reads this silly little blog.

Cry yourself to sleep

When Kayla was pregnant and we were going to the OB every other day to do stress tests, I picked up a magazine and read about the different kinds of baby cries. Oh how I wish I would have remembered what all of them meant (like they really tell you for certain) or that Wyatt could talk so I could understand what he wants. Just recently, Wyatt has started these melt downs. I am talking about major crying (no it’s more like SERIOUS weeping) and we don’t know why. We’ve tried all the obvious things like feeding, changing and playing with him, but to no avail the crisis prevails. Sometimes if you pick him up he stops but the second you’re done holding him, sit down, stop walking around or have to set him down to do something WHAM it is as loud as ever. A bottle always seems to get him to calm down for the few minutes it takes him to drink it. We have been trying to feed him more "regular" food so he usually gets a bottle in the morning, one in the afternoon and then one right before bed. So last night after about 20 minutes of constant crying I tried giving him some more baby oatmeal mixed with bananas and yogurt. At first I just shoved it in his mouth while it is open from crying. The second he felt it on his tongue he stopped crying and started wondering: “What the heck is this stuff?” then calmed down enough to eat it (well some of it). But last night he wore himself right out. About half way through feeding him he just fell asleep. You can tell when he has finally given in, and let the sleep take over, when his eyes start getting so heavy and he tries to put his head down. It was just so stinkin’ cute when he fell asleep because he still had the food on his face, spoon in hand and bib around his neck like he was having a feast! Kayla and I just laughed at him quietly so as not to wake him, then took some pictures. Needless to say I put him in his crib and he took about a 1 hour nap which is rare for him but it made him much more fun for the rest of the night. I guess he just likes to fight back the sleep.

Natural Born Swimmer

It was Wyatt’s first time in a swimming pool. I think his overall reaction was, as cousin Jeffrey would say, “WHY?” We bought him that floating thingy so he could just sit there and watch as we played. I am sure he was pretty bored and just wondering when he could get out of that dumb tube. As in any public pool there are always the rowdy ones. These kids were splashing up a storm and Wyatt hated every second of getting splashed by somebody else so he’d cry a little bit but not too bad. He loves to splash around in the tub at home so I was a little surprised. Actually he did really well and at one point he almost fell asleep because he was so comfortable. He looked rather content playing with the water and pool toys we bought him. I personally love the water and could spend days just swimming and water skiing or wake boarding so I guess having a pool so close to us is a great advantage. I bet Wyatt will love it too and he certainly will if he takes after me.

We took Wyatt’s Anderson cousins with us and they really enjoyed it too. Well, at lease Jayne and Jeffrey did. Iaasic was too scared to be in his floating thingy like Wyatt's but he stayed in the pool as long as Natalie held him. I can’t wait until Wyatt gets to be Jayne or Jeffrey’s age so we can splash around and have a lot more fun rather than just sitting there waiting to be splashed so he can cry. I guess all in due time we will have all the joys of getting him excited to do fun activities like swimming.

The theater shelves are finally done!

So ever since the Parade of Home 2006 I got this wild idea to turn our basement into a home theater. Every one of the new houses we walked through had one and I loved it. Hence I wanted to build my own and it has been approximately 1 year in the making. My brother-in-law helped me build a wall and hang sheet rock and my dad helped me finish the sheet rock and start the shelves. The shelves were the finishing touch and really pull the room together. I love the room so much and would probably spend all of my time down there if I could. Come over and lets watch a movie in my finally finished home theater (You’re all invited)
At first I thought that I had tons of DVDs but these shelves are barely filled, so I guess I’ll have to buy more. It seems like every Black Friday I always end up with about 10 new ones. I guess the morale of the story is that always get these wild ideas after seeing something I want. Next stop…I’m thinking the kitchen cabinets :)

Gone but never forgotten!

Memorial Day was a quick trip down memory lane as we visited the gravesites of those we loved so dearly. We made our way to visit my great grandparents Sherrod and Thomas in Ogden then to see my Aunt Kim, Grandma Farr and Great Grandpa Steed in Farmington. Also while in Ogden, at the same cemetery, we visited Kayla’s Grandparents Anderson and Kayla’s other grandma Mary (she was married to Kayla’s grandpa Anderson). Unfortunately, none of them met Wyatt in this world but we let him have the chance to see their graves. The cemetery looked so cool with all of the flowers that were there. It always makes me want to cry (yes I am being serious). I probably wear my heart on my sleeve but I don’t care because I will probably just blame it on allergies or something. I guess since this is the only time that we make it to see these graves, I thought I’d write a blog entry about it and post a picture of Wyatt with it. We love those in our family both watching down on us from heaven and those here on the earth.

Hopefully there is not a fourth!

DISCLAIMER: Somebody told me that I ruined these movies for them because I gave away the ending...so beware you could find out the ending. But don't worry they'll probably make a fourth and it will all make no matter!
For the last three weeks Kayla and I have gone opening night to the three main blockbusters; Spider Man 3, Shrek the Third, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End. All of these movies have made over $100 million each.
There is a theory of movie sequels and it goes something like this:

1. One really big hit makes lots of money for Hollywood and fans love it

2. Hollywood will try to capitalize and to make more $$$ off a sequel

3. Sequel is released and not even close to being as good as the original but fans see it because they loved the first; Hollywood makes their millions.

4. The story line was left wide open so there has to be a third and every fan will see it because they have to know how it ends; Hollywood makes more millions

5. The third ties up the story but is as bad or worse than the second; Hollywood knows how to play the game and they make more millions; The story ends but could possibly be interpreted or left open for another movie if Hollywood wants

Without doubt this has been the conspiracy of all three of these movies and I have not been impressed to say the least. I loved all of the originals so I saw the second ones -- and now obviously the third ones too. I guess I had too high of expectations. Of them I like Pirates the most, Shrek second and Spider Man 3 the least. I was so excited to see all of these movies because the previews make them look so wonderful. (WRONG!!) One thing is for sure; if another sequel in any of these series comes out I will not go opening night to see it. But I will still want to know … Do Peter Parker and Mary Jane get married? What about Shrek? He wasn’t next in line because there was a Queen; but if she dies then he will fight Prince Charming for the throne? And poor Elizabeth is torn between two loves, her husband Will Turner who is stuck on a boat for eternity so does she go after Jack Sparrow? So far this summer of movies gets two thumbs down!

Finally sleeping better!!

A couple of posts back I wrote about Wyatt not sleeping at night. Thing have changed. He sleeps through the night now and has been pretty good about it for the last week or so. Wyatt went to the doctor for his 9 month well baby check and Dr. Eberhard asked about how he was sleeping. So Kayla proceeded to tell him that he wakes up every night and the only way to get him to sleep is to feed him. Well, Dr. Eberhard told her that, nutritionally speaking, he didn’t need to eat in the middle of the night. He also told her that we shouldn’t run right in there when he starts to cry but rather to wait for at least 20 minutes of him crying before we went in there. So the first couple of nights it was really hard because he cried for about an hour and both Kayla and I went in there with him but didn’t feed him, just held him. It has been totally worth it because now he is sleeping so well and sometimes he wants to sleep even later than before. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the sleepless nights are over but they have definitely been better the last couple weeks and WE LOVE IT and HIM!
Dr. Eberhard also said that Wyatt is in the 95th percentile for his head size, 15th for his weight (18 lbs) and 15th for his height. So I guess he just has a huge noggin. But he’ll grow into it. The doctor also told us to feed him more table food so we have been trying to give him more solid foods. He seems to love just about everything we put in his mouth. If he doesn’t he’ll gag and then it will all come back up. And occasionally he will forget to chew it and it will get stuck in his throat and he gags then too but he is getting it down. He does pretty well for not having any teeth.

Josh and Kayla Chapter 3

The last 3 years has past by so fast. I cannot believe how fast it has gone. Our lives are completely different but in a good way. We have made it a tradition to watch our wedding video every May 21st. It is about an hour long with all the pictures, temple footage and advice. It was definitely fun to listen and see that day over. Sometimes we forget how much we change or what we sounded like on that day. One thing is for sure that both Kayla and I agreed on is that we have gained a lot of weight. We were skinny once and have the pictures to prove it! Maybe this will be the motivation that we need to lose it. Another thing that I noticed for me is that I have all the same close as I did in 2004 so I guess I need to go and buy some new clothes. That’s a good excuse, right? I probably won’t but it would be nice. Other than watching that video our day was pretty uneventful. Kayla did buy some éclairs for dessert which were good. (Probably part of the reason we are heavier) But we are enjoying our years together. And now that we have a kid and a dog we stay quite busy. As we continue our lives together we will grow and change but one thing will remain constant is the love we share each day.

Delirium at the E Center

Happy 3 year anniversary. The 21st is actually our anniversary but we celebrated today because Kayla wanted to see Cirque Du Soleil. It was really entertaining. I didn't really know what to expect but it was good. I paid $63.50 each for these tickets. When we found our actual seats, I paid lower bowl prices for upper bowl seats. So I called to complain and their response was there are only single seats so I thought OK I will sit by Kayla in the upper bowl. When we found our actual seats they were off to the corner so we decided to move to the middle. When we got there two other couples were doing the same thing as we were. One girl paid $130.00 each and the other paid $85.00 each. So all in all I think we got good seats and apparently at a good price. So as for the show I wish it would have been in English and that it wasn't so loud. Does that make me sound like I am 50? All the circus freaks were really good at their acrobatics and singing but I didn't understand what was going on. The only words that I understood were "my dream is weird" hence delirium i guess. Overall it was a great way to spend an anniversary date as far as entertainment goes.
Now for the food part of the date; YUCK!!! will sum it up nicely. First off Kayla had found a list on Google of restaurants close to the E Center. So we crossed off all of the chain restaurants and decided that we'd try something new called the Copper Kettle. So we drive to this address and low and behold it was a popcorn place in the Valley Fair mall. So we drove to down town hoping to go to the Melting Pot or PF Changs. But everything was like an hour to hour and a half wait. So we drove really slow around the Gateway searching for something but didn't have any luck. So we drove back to West Valley to go to the Red Robin out there. On the way back down 3300 South Kayla found a restaurant called Koolums Chinese American and the parking lot was full. So we pulled in. We got seated in this GHETTO room and got some menus. We decided on the Chinese meal for two and also ordered some sweet and sour chicken on a stick (thinking they were like skewers of meat) CLEARLY not the case. So out come these seven deep fried balls of something with a chicken bone sticking out of them. It was awful! Mostly cartilage, skin and bone and 2 inches of deep fried goodness. Neither of us ate even a whole one. At that point Kayla was ready to leave. She said lets just pay for this and go. But i guess i am too nice because i had already ordered so we stayed for the other half of the meal. It was slightly better but when you are slightly better than the worst most awful thing then it is still bad. Needless to say it was icky and very disappointing. We are going to have to have another try at it the coming weekend. Happy Anniversary, 3 YEARS!

Wyatt is learning to feed himself!

Wyatt tries everyday to feed himself. He is still getting used to the fact that you don't need to use all four finger and the thumb to pick something up. He can pick everything up just fine, it is just that he cant get his whole hand in his mouth then let go of whatever he is eating. Sometimes he is successful and snarfs down what ever he put in but most of the time it ends up falling back on to his tray. We have bought him other things to learn how to feed himself but they are so messy. He has these biscuits called "biter biscuits" He really enjoys them but they get so soggy that they get all over him and everything he touches. But they are good to learn off because he can put it down then pick it back up again. The whole idea about putting stuff inside his mouth is not hard; he puts anything he can in there. It is just figuring out that you don't need to use all four fingers to do so.

pickled pigs feet and jellybeans...

Josh won't leave me alone about posting something in this silly blog - so here i am posting my thoughts on life. Everything at the Farr house is just splended. Wyatt keeps us busy as ever and we love it! I recently purchased a jogging stroller and it is wicked cool... now i just need to use it more often and get myself out of these fat clothes. I am still working for Reeve & Associates, Inc. It really does help keep me sane .. changing up my daily schedule - I love being a Mom and I also like working ~ so it is a happy medium. Well until next time peace & love to all. -kk

Up and running!

I finally have my pond going. It had a huge crack in the plastic liner and it kept draining itself. But I've sealed it and filled it back up. So far so good. We'll see in a few days if it is still holding water. My dad helped me build this pond last year. When we bought our house we had dead grass, dead trees and ugly landscaping. Now it is almost the way we want it. The only things I need to finish are the fence and pour a cement pad for Roxy's kennel so we can leave her outside during the day. But that will take all summer guaranteed. I love to do these kinds of projects around my house but sometimes after they are started I don't have the drive to finish them. I have tons of plans for both outside and inside the house. One day I will have enough money and time to finish everything I want to do. I think probably when I get everything done, and the way we like it, it will be time to sell the house and move. Oh the joys of home ownership.
The fence project is going to take a lot of time and money to complete. Last fall the businesses behind our house put in a nice 8' cement sound barrier wall but little did we know that this wall was going to end 15' from our property line. So we 90% of a nice fence and 10% crap. Kayla and I tried and tried to get them to finish the extra 15' but they wouldn't. We went to the city, we called the builder, and even offered to pay for it. The company was not very accommodating. We would have had to pay about $3000 for this extra chunk of fence. I could do so much more with that kind of money so we opted not to do it. We are going to fix it with a vinyl but again it is all about time and money -- and in this case the know how. One day!

Marathon day for our mothers

Yesterday was hectic. We were moving all day long. I started at 6:45 am and finally fell asleep at about 10:30 pm just to get up this morning at 4:45. So my new calling is the Elders quorum president and I was supposed to be at a meeting at 7:30. But nobody told me it was cancelled so I just went back home to my family. (oh those precious hours of sleep that I could have had!) Anyway, we went to sacrament meeting and Sunday school at our ward then we went to sacrament with my mom then ate lunch/dinner at the Anderson's. Oh yeah and I made homemade ice cream sandwiches and they were GOOD!! And everybody said they were good so thanks for being honest! Wyatt was so tired he was falling asleep while sitting on Grandpa Jeff's lap at the table. Those few seconds of head bobbing and about 20 minutes in the car for traveling is all the nap he had. Yes that makes a 9 month old CRANKY!

I love giving gifts but I hate giving useless junk for the sake of giving a gift. I am of the philosophy that they are established enough that if they need it or want it then they buy it for themselves. So for me to buy them just any old thing is pointless so we tried to make it more personable and something that they could cherish. PICTURES of Wyatt and Hadly (my brothers daughter) for my side and a scrapbook for Kayla’s.

Kayla got a bunch of new clothes for work.
Kellie (My mom) got the picture attached (one copy for the house and one for her desk)
Sharleen (Mother-in-law) got a new scrapbook of pictures. We took plastic tote full of photos from the 1990’s put them on scrapbook paper. Only about a million more to go!!
Grandma Sherrod got a copy of the picture attached
Great-grandma Steed got a copy of the picture attached
Grandma Taylor got …did we get her anything? Not that I can remember. I’ll have to go fix her TV for sure now. ( I would do it regardless)

The influence of these women is so wonderful and I loved every second visiting with them yesterday. We would not be her today if it were not for them. They are so great and we love them to death.