Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was really nice. We went to my mom’s house for dinner. Most of my mom’s siblings were there with all of their kids. I think I counted about 43 people all together. That is not all of us either there were 2 more families that were out of state or going to the other family for dinner. It was really nice to get together with those you don’t see that often. However, for my family, Thanksgiving can be a particularly hard time. My cousin committed suicide the day before Thanksgiving a few years ago and that probably resonates in my mind, and probably my whole family’s too, more than turkey, mashed potatoes and pie. This year before we even started to eat we watched Jeremy’s funeral video. I don’t know that I saw anybody that wasn’t crying. We certainly miss him.

After lunch at my family, riding four wheelers, watching Hancock and Fred Clause, we went to Kayla’s Aunt’s house in Syracuse for pie. We haven’t seen a lot of this side of the family because they are actually step-family but since Kayla’s Grandpa Anderson died unfortunately, we just haven’t seen too much of them. It was nice though because most of Kayla’s siblings were there and many of the other cousins and aunts and uncles. Above all I am thankful most for my family, especially my wife and Wyatt as well as my immediate and extended family too. They are all great!

Uneventful Month but there was a semi-date

Everything has been pretty much uneventful around our house. Hence, there have been no new posts of anything. Kayla continues to fight through her math class. There are only a few more weeks until it's over so it will be great once she is done!

Yesterday we did go on a semi-date. I use the word semi because I went to my parents house to take back a bunch of junk I borrowed and my mom said she would watch Wyatt for a while. So we got a free coulpe of hours together. (man those just seem so rare). We went and saw Twilight. I've read the books but Kayla hasn't but she still wanted to go see it with me. Overall we both liked it. We both though it was really slow at the first but got better as it went on. I do not think the characters of Edward and Bella are what I pictured from the books but I guess they'll have to do.

Anyways we are getting ready for the Holidays and we will be going shopping on Black Friday. I love it! It is almost more amusing at watching all the people fight over things than it is to get super deals! I will have to post about that next Friday after I set up our Christmas tree!

All Hallows Eve

The souls of the dead were left to roam the streets and villages at night as the Innocent sleep peacefully. The vile spirits were once thought to be friendly, so gifts and treats were left out to pacify the evil. From this custom has evolved - trick-or-treating... and PARTIES! Here are some fun pics a our 'all hallows eve' partay!

This year we are themed from the Shrek Movie! Josh is Shrek, Kayla -Princess Fiona, Wyatt is Donkey and Roxy the dragon. We were feelin crafty so Josh and I made our costumes. My wonderful husband who i love dearly thinks that because i can think up an idear i can execute it... not so much the case. The dress was a team effort inbetwixed me, Josh, and Momma Shar.. Let's just say it was a BEAST! It looks so awesome though.

Shrek, Fiona, Donkey and Dragon


Polygamists (travis & brooklin, nicole & nate)

Bubble Gum on the bottom of my shoe and partly cloudy.

prego rockstars (kendall & megan) Along side McCain and Palin (chris & kim)

More of the polygamist folk with the one who got away.. (nikki)

Maggie, Marge and Homer (ashley, mike & miley)


Ute fans eating dinner next to partly cloudy and a chance of showers. If you asked what they were Shay would say Partly Cloudy and Robbie would say with a chance of showers and spray you with is bottle.

Mid-Evil peeps (anna & shawn)

Weber State, Weber State, Great! Great! Great!

I attended Weber State University for 4 years and Kayla has gone there for about the last 6 and neither of us had been a football game…until their homecoming game this year. Katherine and Marc (Kayla’s sister and her husband) are the biggest Weber fans I know. They go to every game, of just about any sport, have all the free stuff they throw out, and sport their “Weber Wear” everywhere. The game was ok…nothing nail biting close but there were a few really good plays. My favorite was when the ref got smashed –HARD! My next favorite was when Kayla caught the Wildcat Claw. Wyatt seemed to enjoy himself too. Here are the pics so enjoy!

Happy Birthday

August is birthday month for us. We started with Jaxon and Wyatt on the 9th and 11th. Then it is my dads birthday on the 14th. One week later it is mine on the 21st. About another week later it is my mom's on the 30th and then my sister-in-law Jen's birthday is today. WHEW!! Happy birthday to all!!

Lucky Peak

This last weekend we packed our bags for a little vay-cay to Idaho...we went to visit Justin & Megan. These two are soley responsible for Josh+Kayla=Wyatt. They set us up on a blind date on New Years Eve 2002… and the rest is history, we’ve been together ever since. Anywho we decided to take out the boat to Lucky Peak Reservoir on Saturday and this are a few of the pictures of our fun in the sun. Thanks to JJ & MEG Patt - we love and miss you guys! It was a fun weekend – the drive not so much (there is only so much of scenic sagebrush one can handle!)

Happy Birthday Grandpa

My dad’s birthday is today. He is such a nice man. He spent his afternoon with Wyatt. I called to see how it was going and he said: “fine we are just eating crackers and watching TV.” Wyatt definitely loves grandpa. He is always asking where’s grandpa. My dad loves to play with Wyatt and take him for rides on the 4-wheeler and mini-bike. Kayla and I both love him too because he is always so willing to help and he always knows what to do or how to do our silly projects. When I went to pick up Wyatt after work I went in and found him asleep in my dad’s lap, well sort of. I just had to take a picture before I woke him up! Thanks for all you do. We love you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Bear World

While in Yellowstone we didn't see any bears. We though we had but when we stopped and really looked closely---it was a buffalo. Kind of disapointing but oh well. So on the way home we stopped and went to Bear World. I was mostly a bear zoo with a few other things. They had some elk, we fed the fish and pet the other small animals like a goat, pig and deer. Not much to the place actually. Then when we were all done with that we got to play on their rides. The ride attendant looked to be about 12 or 13 so I wasn't so sure about how safe it would be. First we went on the small train. Safe enough. We went around a few times and Jaxon and Wyatt loved it. Next we went to the roller coaster. I was pretty sure Wyatt was going to fall out because it went faster than I though and the lap bar didn't even come close to touching him. Luckily Kayla was sitting with him and he didn't seem to mind. Then Wyatt and Jaxon rode on the cars. They looked to be pretty safe but when they came around in front of us the car started to buck like a horse. Wyat was oblivious to the danger and Jaxon "wanted off". If was funny to watch them. My overall thought of Bear World...The poor bears that have to be in there are so accustomed to humans it they would probably be more like a dog licking you to death if they ever got loose. It was fun for the kids but way to expensive.

Big Creek and Mesa Falls

So Yellowstone was quite an eventful day. A lot of driving so we decided to do some things by Island Park rather than driving back to Yellowstone. We went to Big Creek and fed the fish and seaguls. I brought a loaf of bread for the family. Wyatt decided he wanted to eat his piece rather than feed it to the fish and birds. Afterward we went to Mesa Falls. It was a nice little hike down a wooden trail and you ended up right on top of where the water started falling over the edge. It was so cool. It is amazing how we have seen so many beautiful things from mother nature this past week.

Island Park Cabin

So while Kayla's brother Trevor came to visit from Korea we decided to go on vacation to Yellowstone. Unfortunately everything in West Yellowstone was booked on that short of a notice so I found a cabin in Island Park. The cabin was awesome. After much deliberation and talking with the rest of the family I booked this cabin and I think everybody was pleased with what we got for the money. $105 for each family was a steal of a deal. It was perfect for the entire family and it was way cheaper than all of us renting our own hotel rooms. This way we were able to be together and make our own food so we wouldn't have to eat out every meal. It got a little hectic with all of the kids playing all the time but overall it was such a great layout so I think most everybody was comfortable. I took some video footage of the cabin so when i have a cabin one day I can make something similar. There were a few things I would change but it was actually really new, clean and well layed out to accommodate the entire family. It was just a really neat place and it could be that I have cabin fever and would love to own something like this for my family. Watch the video if you want but it was a nice place for a family vacation.

Cabin over the 4th

We decided to go to my uncle’s cabin for the fourth of July this year. Just like last year it was a “family reunion” but with no scheduled activities. We went up on Thursday came home on Saturday. We rode the 4-wheelers, watched some movies, played cards, and Kayla was re-taught how to crochet. Last year my Aunt Deana taught her how to do it so she has meddled in it for about a year, now this year she re-taught her because she had semi-forgotten. Anyway she is pretty much “old lady pro” now. When we originally decide to go we were only going to stay until Friday afternoon because we were going to come home and watch the fireworks. But we stayed until Saturday night instead. It was actually really nice to have a carefree schedule to allow us to stay if we wanted. One night me and Wyatt ate S’mores and it was fun to watch him try and roast marshmallows. While there my Cousin Brandon’s daughter, Loralie (not sure about the spelling), was blessed by my Grandpa. A cabin is kind of an unusual place for a blessing but it was still very nice. Maybe we can tell her she is one of the “pioneers”. I am sure that is where they did them. So no fireworks this Fourth of July but come this Sunday we’ll be sure to make it up to Weber State for theirs.

Baltimore

My cousin Michelle lives near Baltimore. Since I was so close I thought it would be nice to visit her and her family. It has been about 10 or 12 years since I had seen her so it was good to catch up and get to know her family. I didn't get to meet her husband because of his work schedule but her kids were fun. After we walked around DC all day we went to her house and talked until about midnight. The next morning she made us breakfast and we went to the Baltimore harbor. It was really nice. We ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. The pictures are at the harbor in front of the boats. You can pay to go on them but we didn't have enough time...Maybe next time!

Sam and Abby

The beginning of year 4

So today we have been married for 4 years. It is amazing how fast time flies. I cannot believe it. Our tradition is to watch our wedding video and then do something. (we were so skinny 4 years ago) For our honeymoon we went to Hawaii, year one was Park City, year two Las Vegas, year three Cirque du Soleil. This year we will watch the movie, eat Applebee’s To-Go and watch the season finale of American Idol. It seems it is getting much simpler as time goes by. However, we will be going to Washing ton DC in June so we’re going to count that as being our anniversary trip. I will actually be there for work from the 15-27 of June so Kayla is going to come out for the weekend and we’ll tour downtown DC and see all the sites. We can’t wait!

Mothers Day

So I am behind a few days but at least I keep posting. Mother’s Day was nice. We ate with my family then went and visited Kayla’s. At my parents house we rode the 4-wheelers and played outside. At Kayla’s aunts house we sat and talked outside while Wyatt entertained himself with a croquet mallet. He is becoming so much more fun. We gave my mom and Grandma a family picture. The first one ever of all of us together. It was taken at Grandma Steed’s funeral and I cropped out the background and put it on a photo studio backdrop to make it look like we went and had them taken somewhere. We gave Kayla’s mom and Grandma a planter to hang outside. They were really cool. Kayla got the Demdaco statue (you know the ones without the face) and laser hair removal for the underarms. She is really excited about both. All of the motherly influences I’ve had in my life are all for the positive. I am grateful them!!

Farewell to Grandma Steed

Seems like just yesterday that I posted about my Great Grandma Steed turning 87 years old. Today I post a farewell post in her memory. I remember her always telling me she never expected to live this long. For the most part she was a very independent and healthy woman. She lived on her own up until the day she passed. On Sunday night my mom called and told me I needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible to give her a blessing. So we packed up and went there immediately. My dad anointed her with oil and I gave her a blessing. I told her she had lived a good life, she was a choice spirit of our Heavenly Father and that she would be comforted. Amidst all the tears, emotions and noises from the hospital machines I think she felt comforted. When we were done she took my hand, looked up at me and said in the most faint voice “you take care of yourself, OK” I couldn’t say anything. I knew and I am positive that she knew too this was it. All of my family made it up to see her as well as Betsy’s family. I think we are all glad we did. The doctors tried several times to keep her heart rate down but to no avail. Kayla, Wyatt and I left the Intensive Care Unit at about 9:05 pm. Mom called at about 4:45 am Monday morning and said she had passed about 20 minutes ago. I again was overcome with emotions. They were filled with tears but I was excited for her because she could finally rest, feel no pain and see Great Grandpa Steed, my Grandma Farr (her daughter) and all the others she has been waiting to see for a long time. The viewing will be Friday night and the funeral Saturday morning. I am sure it will be emotional again but I am honored to be a pallbearer and a speaker. Grandma Steed – I love you and you will be greatly missed by everyone.

http://www.webfh.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=171881&fh_id=11049

Happy Early Valentines Day

Kayla and I have a couple of busy weekends a head of us so we decided that we aren't going to celebrate Valentine's Day. In the past I tend to have gone overboard, and for some unknown reason end up at Kayla's work with flowers and candy. But this year I am really not going to do that. This year the day after Valentine's Day we will be on a plane heading to Florida to go on our cruise so any flowers that I purchase would just sit in our unattended house to die. Totally not worth the $50.00 to not enjoy them. So to make it up to Kayla I made her chocolate covered strawberries, pretzles, cinnamon lips and straberry flavored peeps (shaped like hearts of course.) Even though we don't need these delicious treats I couldn't help but let them get the best of me. I ate 3 tonight and will probalby eat several more tomorrow. I love my valentine.

Here's the picture of how they turned out. They are sooooooo good. I am hoping to be able to save some to take on our trip to Idaho this weekend. but my sarcastic, yet practical, inner-self says YEAH RIGHT!!

Happy Birthday to GREAT GREAT GRANDMA STEED!!

So generally we have a birthday dinner for all those in my family in the month that there is a birthday. Well my family is a bit unique, in that EVERYBODY has a birthday in January or August, except for Cody who is in June. On the 27th we celebrated Hadly, Kayla, Sandi, Weston and Great Grandma Steed's birthday. It was actually quite good. We ate ham and potatoes at my parents then all went to see Grandma Steed. It was actually her birthday and it was quite squishy in her little apartment with 9 people. First off she doesn't have that many chairs so we had to pull two in from the hall and secondly there is barely room for the stuff she has without having to add 4 chairs from what is already there. I think it was everything an 87 year old woman could want. We all don't get over there as often as we should and to have us all there at once was great for her. She loves our family very much. Enjoy the pictures of her and her GREAT GREAT GRANDCHILDREN...... It's almost a miracle she can handle both of them on her lap but you can tell she loves it.

When we got home from Grandma's we turned on the TV and saw that President Hinckley had passed. It was with great shock to me but I thought it was great to have had him as president of the Church. I really don't ever remember any other one because I was either inactive or didn't care really about what was going on in the church. A great thought I heard at church went something like this...

When I die I want to buried with my fork. My fork, because you have to "keep your fork for dessert." So it can be said that the best is yet to come. Lucky for him he can be with his wife and other family. Oh the greatness he has set forth and blessing we enjoy because of him.

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.