Fall is for Fantasy

Yes, it is that time of year. Fantasy Football is up and running in my household. This past weekend marked the 4th year that I have been participating in my husband's family's fantasy football league. It all started as a way for me to show Brett support by participating in something he loves, but as it turns out, I really enjoy it as well. I also figured that as long as we would be watching every football game, I might as well have a reason to be invested in the games.

There's no telling how this season will go. I do know one thing, though: The family champion has never won two years in a row. So, instead of getting to do this again:

I will end up looking like this:



Here's hoping that I can break the champion losing streak!

7th Anniversary

I feel so out of it. I completely forgot to blog about one of the most exciting things that have happened to me in a while:

On August 6th, my hubby and I celebrated our 7th anniversary!

Now, I've heard of the 7-year itch, but for me, I think it's more like the "lucky 7." Every year, I realize more and more how lucky I am to be married to such a wonderful man. It's crazy to think about all that has happened in the last 7 years. Here's a little breakdown of just some of the exciting things we've done...

Times we've moved:
13

Number of states we've lived in:
6

Children:
2 silly boys

Number of times we were chased by a bear:
1

Visits to Seattle:
1 (but wish it were more)

Visits to San Diego:
2

Times we were stuck in Wyoming because of snow storms:
Once (and once was definitely enough for us)

Trips to Disneyland:
2

Times we've driven from Colorado to Utah:
too many to count

Amount of times we've driven across the country:
4

Visits to Cedar City, UT to Celebrate our Anniversary:
3

And that's where we got to spend this year. We left our two boys with Brett's parents and had 4 days to do whatever just the two of us felt like. It was so much fun and a much-needed getaway. It had been 4 years since we had a chance to do anything fun for our anniversary. We took full advantage of our freedom and saw plays, golfed, admired the natural beauty of the area, visited my old college stomping grounds, and visited with my family who happened to be in town with us.

It will be interesting to see what happens for us in the next 7 years. I know one thing is for certain, though: I wouldn't want to spend those years with anyone but my Brettsy.

Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take some family pictures for my sister-in-law and her sweet family. This was my first time ever doing this, and I think she put more confidence in my skills than I think they deserved. I'm happy with the way they turned out, even though I've realized there is still a lot for me to learn.

Here are a few of my favorites...

Happy Birthday, Cydles!!

Today, my baby sister is 20!

Happy Birthday, Cyd!!

I wish I could be there to celebrate with you! May you be blessed with Beatles music, Edward posters, and Jacob abs. Love you!!
I'll see you soon!




Coincidentally, this was taken on her birthday last year at the zoo. She wanted to visit her original home.
{wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Inside joke.}

Overwhelmingly Blessed

I am so thankful right now, I can't even adequately express my feelings. God has been pouring out blessings on my family lately, and it's quite overwhelming. I know that when you have faith, turn your heart toward God, and live the way He wants you to live, He will take care of you.

These are just a few of our many answered prayers:

- Brett and I found a great place to live in Maryland and we've been able to get in contact with members of our church who have been able to help us.
- My brother-in-law was given the position in his company that he has been wanting for quite some time.
- My brother got a wonderful job for the summer that he can do right up until he leaves for Air Force Basic Training in August, which in itself was an answer to a prayer; he got the AF job he wanted, also.
- My mom and dad will be able to come out to Florida to visit and help us move.
- My dad got a wonderful, stable job as chairman of visual communications within Brigham Young University's advertising firm. It couldn't be more perfect for him!
- My move and my sister's move worked out to where my parents will get to help both of us: They'll drive with me to Maryland, and then fly from Philadelphia to Utah with my sister's two boys so that they don't have to make that huge drive cross-country.
- My mom gets to have my sister back in Utah with her. :-)

I know I could go on and on. With all these wonderful things happening, I can't help agreeing with my mom when she told me earlier today, "I'm in a constant state of being choked up!"

A House of Boys

The other night, as my husband was getting ready to watch the Utah Jazz game, I overheard him talking to his brother over the phone. He was lovingly teasing his brother by asking how he keeps his manliness in a house full of women (he has a wife and two small girls). I guess he was opting to watch "The Tooth Fairy" with his girls instead of doing the "manly" thing and watching the Jazz game.

I had to chuckle to myself because I'm in the exact opposite situation. I'm surrounded by boys! Cars, trucks, dirt, and athletic paraphernalia rule my life. Oh, and chick flicks? Forgedduh 'bout it! It's sort of funny in a way because I grew up with two sisters and only one brother, and the poor guy got dragged into playing "house" more than I'm sure he'd care to admit. (Dave, if you're reading this, I got what was coming to me, don't you worry!) :-)

I certainly love my boys, though. I couldn't imagine life being any other way!

The Silver Lining

I can now say what has been going on this week. I really only had to keep this stuff from my mom (Sorry, Mom! But now you know why...), and now that she knows, I can explain more fully...

Just to give you a little back story, we've known since November that we would be moving to Maryland as soon as my husband's training was completed here in Florida. We were super excited for several reasons, but the main one was that my sister would be a short 2-hour drive from where we'd be at in Maryland. I can't tell you all the things I had to look forward to - birthdays, holidays, little trips here and there, my boys having cousins their age to play with, having my sister closer to me than we've ever lived during my married life. It was almost too good to be true!

Well, we found out on Monday - and more officially on Wednesday - that it really WAS too good to be true. My brother-in-law's company has decided they need him back in Utah. Not only do they need him to move back, but they need him to do it soon! Like, end-of-June soon. With my husband's course being extended by two weeks, thus keeping us in Florida until the middle of June, that will only give us 2 weeks (if even that long) to get a chance to see them. Needless to say, I was heartbroken. I cried and bawled on Monday whenever I thought about it, and then when everything was finalized on Wednesday, I was a zombie. I think I had cried so much already that my body was just numb.

All week I've been trying to come to terms with it and reminding myself that it will all be okay. I have to tell myself that I really don't know what I'm missing, not having had this kind of experience before, anyway. I've also had to realize that I have a lot more to worry about right now than what "could have been." I guess I should be happy that they're moving back to where all our family and my husband's family is. That way, whenever we get to visit home, we will get to see my sister, too.

But here's where the silver lining lies...

Yesterday, as I was talking to my mom about the whole thing, we got on the subject of how Brett and I can't decide on whether we should move ourselves or not. We would make a lot more money moving ourselves, which would allow us to take a trip to Utah in the next few months, but it is such an overwhelming task that's it's hard to know if the money is worth it. Without any hinting from me, my mom volunteered to help us move if that meant that we could come home to visit. We haven't seen her since September, so we've all been missing each other pretty badly. I had been praying for an answer as to what we should do move-wise, and my mom answered my prayer right then. If she could help us, we could do it. We could move ourselves, have that extra money that we'd need, and we'd get to see her even sooner!

But it gets better!

Because my sister is moving so close to when we will be moving, my mom would fly out to Florida, drive with us to Maryland, and then help my sister by flying back with her and her two boys to Utah. I would buy my mom's ticket here and Paige would buy the return flight home. I don't think it could have worked out more perfectly.

Everybody wins!

Happy Birthday, Paigey!

My sister told me yesterday that it's time for a new post.

So, what better topic to post about than her!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PAIGEY!!







No one could ask for a better sister, mommy, wife, daughter, and friend. I hope you have a wonderful day and all your wildest dreams come true. :-)

I LOVE YOU!!
- Am

A.P.E.

I'll get to your questions in a bit, but first I thought I would post this little tid-bit while I was thinking about it.

I was looking at my cousin's blog this morning, reading about her holiday escapades and her design genius, and started thinking about the fun she, my sister, and I had as kids. She lived in Arizona, my sister and I in Utah, so it was very seldom that we got to be together. Whenever we did, though, we were best buds.

Around the ages of 10-12, we created a club for just the three of us. Oh, how creative we were. So creative, in fact, that our club name came from our names: Amber, Paige, and Erica. A.P.E., for short. Sure, we could have been P.E.A., or E.A.P., but then we wouldn't be able to draw pretty vines around our club documents and have some sort of theme to follow along with the whole ape-iness thing.

We had appointed offices - President, Vice President, and Secretary. We thought it fair to just go by order of age, so I was President, Erica was V.P., and my sister was Secretary. We held meetings and created agendas according to what we wanted to do with our day. It involved a lot of playing.

I don't know when we eventually gave up the club, but man, it sure was fun while it lasted! (Hey, Er, you haven't run across any of our old documents, have you? That would be HILARIOUS!)

More Fall Photos...

These pictures come courtesy of my baby sister, Cyd. She is the last one of the four of us kids to still live at home. She played "only child" this last week and took some family photos - just her and my parents. They were such beautiful pictures that I had to re-post them here.

I feel so lucky to have such wonderful parents that love each other so much!


My beautiful mama. It's only been a week since I saw her and I already miss her!


I love this photo of Cyd and my mom. Gorgeous!


This is my dad. Great picture of him as well! (I miss you, Dad! Come visit soon!)


The view up the canyon, just 20 minutes from the home I grew up in.
Man, I miss it during this time of year (or I guess any time of year, for that matter).


This was one of my favorites.

To see more of Cyd's photos, she's posted them here.

Photos

I feel like posting some photos I've taken over the last little while. Even after all these months, I'm still trying to get the hang of my camera. Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

The sunset last night was so pretty. Unfortunately, this picture doesn't do it justice. I grabbed my camera a little too late and the colors had already started to fade. I still love the subtle gradation of colors I was able to capture, though.


On the other side of the sky, there was a giant full moon. So beautiful!


This is my 1-year-old. He's my little angel.


This is my 3-year-old. This face says it all, but, heaven help me, I love this kid more than life itself.


My sweet little man.


This guy's a sweetheart, too, even when he's caught with his hand in the sugar jar.

Family Blog Private

I'm switching my other blog to "private." If you want to be put on the "allow list," please let me know! You can contact me via e-mail, Facebook, or the comments section of this post. I will make the switch in one week. Just a heads-up! This blog will still stay public.

So Excited!

I'm heading to Utah tomorrow to be with my family. It's been so long since everyone has been in the same place (extended family and immediate family)! I'm really, really excited to see everyone. I'm going to be taking lots and lots of pictures, and I might even bring back photo albums of past pictures 'cause I've really wanted to do some posts of my early existence, especially my existence as it deals with Alopecia. (You'll just have to bear with me on that subject.) :-) If you're at all interested, stay tuned in the coming days/weeks!