Catching Up

Wow has it been a long time since I posted. We lost internet service at the end of October so that it the reason. Now I need to catch up. I won't go into alot of detail cuz that would be a novel.

Halloween was great fun for the kids. Kayla was Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Ricky was Buzz Lightyear. He walked around with his back open in front of him the whole time. He couldn't believe people were putting candy in it and he didn't have to do anything! I don't have the pictures on this new computer but will post some when I get them transferred over.

Thanksgiving was really low key, spent here at home. The kids didn't really care for any of the dishes prepared except for the rolls and the horseradish mashed potatoes so Rick and I had to eat ALOT of leftovers.

Christmas was a bittersweet time for us. We spent it up in Kaysville at my brother, Cory's home. My youngest brother, Bryce and his family flew over from Hawaii and we all got to spend the holiday together. This was such a treat. It was the first time some of the cousins met. Our children had so much fun together and Christmas morning was a riot. Lots of chaos and noise but so much fun. We had family portraits taken, which I will post.

Unfortunately, we learned on Christmas morning that our Grandmother had passed away. I am certain she didn't want to spend another Christmas without her sweetheart. I feel great comfort knowing that, while I may miss her, she is with her husband again and she was so lonely without him. Since that time, I have grown certain that Kayla is my connection on this earth to my Grandma. I inherited a few pieces of flatware that were Grandma's and Kayla loves to eat with them and tells me each time that Grandma Winn gave them to her. She talked about her everyday for quite a while as well, keeping her close in my heart. It is so sweet to hear her talk about seeing Grandma Winn in heaven again.

Rick and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary January 11. What a journey we have been on! I look forward to many more years with this wonderful man. We celebrated with a trip to Cedar City......to the doctor. Poor Rick ended up with the flu! Not a fun way to celebrate but it didn't much matter cuz we were together.

As for now, Kayla is still in preschool and loving it. She learns new things all the time. She is really into playing Hide and Seek right now and will try to con anyone she can into counting while she hides. She does make the mistake of asking where she should hide sometimes, defeating the purpose a bit, but its fun.

Ricky is talking more and more all the time. He can have whole conversations now. Granted they aren't deep, thought provoking conversations, but he is getting better all the time. He has developed a love for hugs and kisses. His kisses are fishy-face kisses and he makes a great big "MUAW" when he does it. Such enthusiasm is great for the heart and ego of a Mother under stress.

Rick is still working for the bank and doing great. He is currently taking an EMT course which has him away from home several nights a week but he is loving the classes and everything he learns. When he first started practicing on us here at home, Kayla would ask if he would play doctor with her every night. It was hard for us not to laugh. He also still works as a volunteer firefighter.

As for me, I got a treadmill in January and started off really good until everyone in my family got sick. And then got sick again. And then got sick again. Hopefully we are past all the sickness and I can get back on track again. I find I am missing the endorphins. Rick is missing them too, as he quotes the movie Legally Blonde and says "happy people don't kill their husbands."

I will post a few of our family pictures here and sign off for now. Until next time......