Fortress of Femininity

Because I have such an AWESOME friend (EMILY HATCH), I was able to make a very QUICK trip out to Orem,UT this weekend (Sat-Mon) to visit Andrea. I left Saturday morning and got in SLC around 12:30 and Kate picked me up on her way home from Bountiful. I was kind of sad because it was rainy and cold. I was hoping the weather would've been as nice as it was the whole week before I got there. My brother Greg let me borrow one of their cars to drive around, which was WONDERFUL. And so we went and picked it up and then I headed down to Orem to surprise Andrea. We often do iChat with each other, and haven't in a while- for obvious reasons, and so I called her after I'd pulled up to her house and parked near the end of the driveway. I asked her if she wanted to do a chat with each other since I hadn't seen her in so long. She didn't answer her phone the first 3 times I called it, so I had to get Travis to take her his phone. He was in on the surprise, so he helped a sista out. Andrea agreed to do the iChat, but what she didn't know was when she was sending the invite to chat, she was just sending it to Ryan in GA and I was at her front door! She said "hi" to Ryan, and just about the time she was about to ask where I was I had walked through the door and said "HI!". She was SO confused and said "WHAT THE HECK! What are you doing here!?!!!" Ryan got to see all of it, which he was super excited about since it was all his idea to do it that way.

We had a lovely time with each other. I am really glad I got to go out and spend time with her and talk and cry and laugh and see her family and listen to the funeral and talk about how wonderful Sister Green was. I really will miss her. She was such a bright influence in the lives of many. She was always so welcoming to me and all of our friends, and always, ALWAYS had a smile on her face. There is a quote they have hanging in a picture frame on their wall in the living room that says "Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened". I don't believe it could be more fitting for what they are going through. I know it will be especially hard in the next few weeks to come though... I can't change that. I wish I could make things easier, but I know they are relying on the Lord heavily and will be blessed with comfort and peace. We got to go to the grave site and there were still flowers from the funeral there and so Andrea and her sisters picked a few out they wanted to dry. And it was cloudy and gloomy and then all of a sudden, the sun came out and shown down on us and the grave and lit it up. It was a neat and special moment for me. I was glad I got to be there. We ate at Cafe Rio! YESSS! I also got to take some pictures of Travis and his CUTE fiance Tiffany, not with my own camera, but I borrowed Kate and Ryan Webb's and they turned out pretty good! (You can see a few of them here!) I got to spend some time with my Em, and even got to stay at the F.O.F. where I lived with her and two of her sisters and Jill W and Korina. It brought back a FLOOD of memories and it was fun to stay there again. I went to Church with Greg and Sam and the CUTE girls. So it was a good visit.

I did miss my boys like crazy, and we did iChats a couple times which was nice. Ryan is a wonderful husband and father and supported me going and being there for Andrea. I felt very strongly that I needed to be there for her (and Travis) and I'm grateful for all the help from Ryan while I was gone. I know it was good for he and Ben to have some Father and Son time- even though Sunday pretty much every diaper change was a poop! I can't wait to take my boys with me next time. I don't think Ryan will let me go anywhere alone again anytime soon either!

Ben is starting to associate pretty much ANY animal with Ally and calls anything that doesn't look human "Ayee". It's pretty cute. He's knows where his shoes go and when I go to put them on he'll grab the other and hold it up to his foot. He's also blowing kisses, and he makes a sound when he's doing it like I make when I do it. I asked him the other day if he wanted to go night-night, and he said back to me plain as day "nigh nigh". It was cute. He hasn't said it again... but I got excited anyway. When we leave the house he says "Bu bye" because we usually tell Ally that before we leave. I'm a little anxious to see how he does on the plane out to UT. He's a good kid, I'm just afraid he'll get a little antsy and claustrophobic. I guess we'll see!

I'm really in to this season of The Biggest Loser... I am so amazed with and proud of those people. Yeah, I know- they like lose that weight in an unnatural time frame... but still. They look so good. And I look so gross and huge. So why is it... that whenever I watch it, all I want to do is eat ice cream?

P.S. Does the first line of this post make you want to sing "Because I have been given much..." for a second? Because it makes me want to.

Blurb.com RULES!

We got our Blog Book today! I am so glad that Jessica turned me on to this idea. The page quality is really good. I think there are a couple of things I will do different however. I don't think I'll do a black background for the front unless there is a jacket. And I'd do a bigger book then the Standard Landscape size next time, and watch my picture sizing. Other than that, I'm excited to work on the others I've got going on! It almost didn't make it here, supposedly the driver left it on our doorstep at 2pm yesterday- but Ryan was here all day. So I went to our neighbors house to see if they got it and they hadn't. I called FedEx though and they got it taken care of for me.

Since I've finally got clearance from my boss to take vacation I will let y'all know we'll be in UT the middle of June! I hope we can see some or all in the short time we're there! I am REALLY excited. I am very homesick for my family and mountains, and diverse landscape and my friends... not that I don't have great ones here. I would miss them if I was away from them too.
It's thundering outside and the sky is really weird and pink and it's not windy and humid outside. That's kind of a scary thing here in the South... that's tornado breeding weather. And that's one of the things I HATE about living here besides traffic. Other than that I'm good. There's something disturbing about the sound of the weather radio, and it's strange to me that my kids will grow up hearing that and knowing what it is. I had no idea what one was until I moved here... or rather, cared to know what it was. There's also something about gathering shoes, and blankets and pillows and extra sets of clothes and things that are important to us to take in to our hall bathroom so we can take cover if something were to happen. OH and lets not forget the sirens outside and how friggin' scary that is to me. The whole thing is just nerve racking. There were tornado watches and warnings (which is what you REALLY watch out for) and sirens going off on Sunday night at 11:30pm. Yeah... thanks... so much for sleep. I couldn't sleep until I knew it had passed. Ryan and I just sat on the floor by the front door and watched the lightning and rain. I got some cool pictures!!!! And in the video you can hear one of the reasons why I love living here and hearing the rain... FROGS! And in the middle picture- it wasn't day time out, that was at 9pm!

Today was a contemplative day for me. I wont go on and on about it, but my best friend Andrea and Travis's mom passed Monday and today was her funeral in Utah. I wished SO badly I could be there for it and for them. From what I've heard though it was beautiful and packed to the rim with people who loved her and that Andrea gave a wonderful talk filled with beautiful and funny memories of her sweet mother. Sources tell me people were crying from laughing so hard. To me that's what it should be like. I am so proud of The Greens and hope their recovery time is short and that the Lord will continue to bless them with comfort and peace.

A Red Hen

Ben did a cute little art project at daycare last week, I thought I'd share. Usually he's very opposed about putting his hands in paint, but he did it this time! And I think it's pretty adorable.Friday night we went to hang out with some friends and eat pizza. We brought the pack n play to see if Ben would fall asleep- and luckily he did. Even in the hallway where he could hear all 9 of us talking and carrying on. He's a good sleeper that kid. We had fun hanging out and then we got home (put Ben in his bed) and did some stuff for a little while before we went to bed, and by that time it was around 11:30pm. We were sound asleep when at 2:30am we heard a LOUD BUZZING sound coming from... the bathroom. Well, you know how it is when you're woken up from a nice deep sleep, especially if what it is that woke you up scared you... you run around like a chicken with it's head cut off! (ew... just had a visual.) Ryan ran around trying to figure out where it was coming from, but couldn't find it. He was looking out the window, feeling the walls, and he ran out of the room to see if it was coming from the other bathroom or to see if the A/C maybe broke. I got up out of bed and went in to the bathroom and found THIS had turned on, all by itself while sitting in it's charger.Creepy! So Ryan came back in the room, I handed to him and said "figure out how to turn it off" because (if you look at the picture) the on/off button became inverted somehow. Like it was just sucked right in! He couldn't get it off, so from bed I yelled "Put it on it's charger and plug it in!" so he did, and it turned off... and never turned back on. That's an expensive little gadget, so Ryan got on Norelco's website and did a live chat and they're sending him a replacement, for free! Great customer service, psycho little body groomer. Needless to say, it was a little bit hard to get back to sleep!
Yesterday morning Ashley came over to babysit and Ryan and I were able to go to the temple to do sealings. It was a really neat experience and it was an awesome reminder of the covenant we made with each other and Ben a little less than a year ago. I love being in the temple, and I'm reminded of that every time I go. We were able to do some family names for a couple of women in the room with us and it was neat to be able to help them accomplish their work and to assist them with that. That was the first time (besides are own) that we had ever done sealings, so it was a neat experience. I, of course, got a little misty eyed looking at my hubby there in the sealing room all over again.
We came home and did a little project with Ben... I missed out on doing it when he was born. We know for next time to do it when they're little. We were given two plaster hand print kits... so I thought since he just turned one we'd do it for that monumental occasion. Yeah... it didn't go as planned (which in the back of my mind I assumed it would be this way)- but it's so him and it's still cute. Don't worry, he didn't cry the whole time. He liked the feeling of it squishing between his fingers! Hence the way it turned out!
Last night we celebrated Poppy's (Ryan's dad) 60th birthday and Delinda getting her new job at SAIC. The Terry's came with us too! We went to Taco Mac (of course) and had a lovely time with each other. We laughed and ate and enjoyed the nice weather.
My best friend Andrea was supposed to be here with us this weekend, but her mom's health is failing and she needed to be at home with her and the family. Please pray for her mom's comfort and that she can be as pain free as possible. I love Sister Green and Andrea's family so much, they mean a lot to me. Here is a blog that Andrea and her family created to update all of us on what's going on with her. http://memoriesofmarilyn.blogspot.com/
Well, we bought tickets to go to UT to visit in June! We are so excited, and so are my parents!!! They get to see Ben! It's almost been a year! That's all for now- Happy Sabbath.

This is the Sound of Benny

I guess it's time to update. There isn't much to update about though. It's been a pretty mellow week for us so far. Luckily Wednesday has now come and is almost gone, which means one more day of dress up for work and then Friday marks jeans day and the weekend! Well, for Ryan it's jeans day everyday. Lucky guy.
Right now I can smell brownies cooking in the oven, hear the TV and probably snoring momentarily and the chirping of the birds outside and Ally barking at them. It's a small little bark though, more like a barklette. Ben's asleep so I figured I'd write. I decided last week, and felt really good about this decision, that I was only going to visit Ben at his daycare during the day on the days that Ryan and I carpooled. I don't have anywhere to go on those days- so I figure 1/2 hour for eating and 1/2 hour to visit Ben. So Monday and Tuesday I had the car and had errands to run and decided I would not go those days. The reason why I'm doing this is because Ben's starting to go through the separation anxiety phase, and every time I leave him he cries. Not for long, he gets over it pretty quick, but I can imagine it's probably a little on the traumatic side for him. PLUS... it's hard on me to see him upset like that, my natural motherly guilt turns on that I can't just be with him all day and in turn makes me want to cry. Which I have a good few times. I think it's particularly hard on the days I only have literally 2-3 mins to spend with him, I run in and then run out- and he says "hey! You just got here! Why aren't you playing with me- DON'T GO!!"... well that's what I imagine he's saying in his head anyway. He's not that well versed yet. Monday I was alright, I was proud of myself for handling it as well as I did. Yesterday was a little harder, I missed him- but I was alright. Today I went to see him, and he was REALLY happy to see me (and I of course was happy to see him)... he ran to me and hugged me and it felt good to be with him again. It's a fact that not seeing him everyday will be harder on ME than it will be on him...
He's singing the words to his first song... okay- well the chorus anyway. And it's not like they're incredibly HARD lyrics... but HEY! He's doing it! I'll have to take video sometime... the song is "The Sound of Settling" by Death Cab for Cutie and pretty much in the chorus they sing "Bah, bah... this is the sound of (we fill it in with) Benny. Bah, bah... bah, bah". He's got the "Bah, Bah's" down! It's pretty cute.
He is going through a growth spurt right now and is really enjoying eating. A LOT. BUT he's now 13 months old and STILL wearing 9 month old pants! His shirt size is right according to his age... he's just a shorty. That's alright, "great things come in small packages" as my 6th grade Student Teacher told me one time. (She was short like me!) He's a happy kid, and people everywhere are so surprised to see him walking because he's so little looking. They always ask "How old is your little boy?".
OH, my sister Delinda got the job in Chicago! She found out today and is quite relieved. I'm torn, I'm SUPER happy for her and this is going to be an incredible experience for her- but REALLY sad she wont be here anymore, which means I have no family near me anymore. BUT... it's a new place to visit as Ryan said. And we are all so happy for her and feel it as a HUGE blessing. She's SO great and we're all so proud of her. What an awesome accomplishment! That's my bis sis! We need to celebrate!
Well... I guess that's all for now. I'm pretty much obsessed with the website blurb.com. Why you ask? Well, I just completed my first "Blog Book", which means I was able to export all of the posts and pictures from everything I've written so far into a book format. (We're using it much like Jessica as a family history book.) I cut it down to a year-a-book, so I did 2008 and ordered it yesterday (should have it next week or so) and am now working on 2007. BUT I am also making a photography book, sort of a portfolio book of sorts to have to show potential "clients". It's quite affordable too which is a plus. And I love looking at all the people's books on the site that have chosen to allow for a preview. It's pretty awesome. Wow... for not much to update I sure wrote a lot. Okay, I'm done... for real. It's time for a warm brownie.

Heather hearts Ryan

I'm grateful for date nights. I'm grateful to have family and friends around us that can watch Ben so this is possible. But more over, I am grateful for my husband. We had a WONDERFUL night last night. Delinda and Jen came over to hang out with Benny. And the Terry's gave us a gift card to a fancy-schmancy restaurant for Christmas, so we first went there for dinner. It was a NICE place... I think we may have been a tad bit under dressed, but luckily we fit with in the "Dress Code"! We had a wonderful dinner; calamari, cheeseburger, steak and the BEST Caesar salad I've EVER had... seriously. We sat close to each other and had good conversation and cuddled. Afterward we had tickets from my work to go to a Thrashers game (hockey) at Philips Arena in the Suite seats. I was a little "eh" at first about going to a hockey game, but it was actually A LOT of fun! It was cold in the arena so it gave Ryan and I a good excuse to cuddle a lot and enjoy each other. It was just a good reminder for me of why I love him so much and how important it is that we spend US time together. Yes, Ben is a our little sunshine- but our relationship is so important and it will determine the health of our family. It's also good for Ben to hang out with his Aunt and for her to be able to spend some one on one time with him. So... it was a $35 date (tip for the waiter and parking) and SO much fun. I am so grateful we had that time together... I can't explain how much it meant to me. I LOVE MY HUSBAND!I also got my hair cut yesterday, three inches! It feels great! I've decided that I need to not let it get that long again. And I've also decided it's hard (for me anyway) to find a good hair stylist. I had one I really liked and she upped and moved to UT... of all places. HA... just kidding. Luckily the other people in the salon she was at are still good and I can still go there. It's a swanky little hip place... so I enjoy going.
Also... sad, but understandable news... our "Week of Andrea" will have to postponed until a later unknown date. She has to tend to some family goings on- and not so great ones unfortunately. And that is MUCH more important and I only wish the best for her and her family. We love you Ang and Sister Green.
Today was a BEAUTIFUL Easter Sunday. We went to church and had a restless tired boy who couldn't sit still. Afterwards we went over to Ryan's parents house. Ben was somewhat grumpy today... ONE 20 MINUTE NAP IS NOT SUFFICIENT for a walking, busy, growing boy. Hence his bed time at 6:45pm tonight! He's usually a really good sleeper, but not today. Oh well, I count my blessings everyday for how well behaved and happy he usually is. He's walking really well now, and can get himself into a standing position all by his self. He's still a little drunken looking, but loves to get around!
I've been a little nostalgic this evening. I am looking for a picture of my mom from when she was about 3 years old, and I can't find it- BUT in the process of looking, I did find A LOT of old pictures from high school, of when I lived in my first apartment in Provo, Lilith Fair in my Bug (that's you Jessica)... I have to include it. That was a fun night... going like 20 MPH up the hill to Park City!!!! My poor VW Bug was running on 2 cylinders or something crazy like that and so we had to drive in the emergency lane because we were going TOO slow! But we made it! We got there!Anyway, that's all for now I guess. Happy Easter to all, and to all a good night!

April Snow Brings May Flowers??? HUH?

Friday night the Terry's came over, and by the time they got there Ben was in bed so it was a nice adult evening. We ate something... and then hung out and watched TV and talked. Saturday morning Ryan was invited to go play Ultimate Frisbee with some guys from Church and he enjoys doing that a lot. He asked if Benny and I could come along watch and enjoy being outside. Unfortunately it was a tad bit colder that morning than I would've liked. BUT, while they played Ben and I bundled up and went for a little walk by a lake near where they were playing and looked at the ducks and enjoyed the sunshine we could find. We listened and watched conference afterward and then that night Ashley and Hillary came over and hung out with us.
Sunday we enjoyed both sessions of conference at home with our friends by watching on the TV via the Internet. In between sessions we ate some spaghetti and went for a walk to the park by our house... it was SO nice. Ben was even in shorts and flip flops! Then after the last session we had homemade Cafe Rio (thanks to Jessica for divulging that AWESOME recipe!) and it was DELICIOUS. It was almost as if we were there.Today... it snowed. IT SNOWED! So annoying. Stupid cold fronts... here it was all nice and toasty Sunday and it's snowing Tuesday! Luckily it's supposed to warm back up again this week. Ryan and I are going on a date this weekend and DJ is going to hang out with Benny! The Terry's gave us a gift card to a really nice restaurant chain we finally get to use, and then I got free tickets from work to a hockey game at Philips Arena. So it should be fun.
We are preparing for the arrival of Andrea next week. I am SO excited. I will dub it the "Week of Andrea" even though she technically will only get to be here like 2 days. Tonight Ben & I cuddled on the couch and he must've been super comfy because he just bombed out! Must be all that walking around he's starting to do! He's getting pretty good at it! He'll be a pro by the end of the week! I'm tired, so I must go to bed now. See ya later.

Well, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I've been putting off writing because it seems there's a lot to write- but then the longer I wait, the more stuff there is to write. I don't even really remember it all so I'll just do my best.
Let's see...two weekends ago, we were able to visit with Nate & Erin and Ella Bunderson. We sure love and miss them being here and in our ward. Ella is BEAUTIFUL, and we're all convinced Ben's future girlfriend or possibly E.C.??? Ha, ha... he's got a lot of girlfriends- so only time will tell.
Last weekend we went to Columbus, GA with Jacob & Ashley to see Brandon and Ashley (now) Johnson getting married and go to their reception. They were married in this really cool old church. It was RAINING hard pretty much up until we left to come home. Made for a soggy and sometimes stressful and scary drive! (That was a lot of S's.) You gotta love the South! And if you've never been here, come and visit! Even if you have!
This weekend we're listening to and watching conference and doing house work. Ryan took on another much needed house improvement project. He decided a couple weekends ago while at Home Depot looking for molding for the bathroom, that he was instead going to tile a "back splash" of sorts in our kitchen. So he picked out and brought some tile home (that I liked thank goodness) and put it up! He grouted it today, and will put on new light switches and plugs. It looks AWESOME. We still need to figure out if we want to change the wall color, although he's really into the red and I'm kind of done with it. We'll see though. I don't hate it. We also need to someday get new cabinets, but a little at a time.
I was out in the garage doing laundry this afternoon and I had to throw something in the garbage can that was at the edge of the garage and saw our neighbor and her twin babies, Steven & Cecilia, sitting out on their front lawn. I went to go say hi, because we don't really have a relationship with any of our neighbors yet and I would really like to gain one with some at least. We've talked a few times, so we're getting there. She's really nice, she seems a little quiet. And we were both honestly surprised to find out they had babies because he's an older man and she doesn't look super young. In fact, I found out today he has three other children and the oldest is 34 and the others are in their 20's. Anyway, it was good to sit there with her and the babies and talk. They're really cute and fun to hold and it made me realize that I'm okay with where we're at in the kid department right now! I mean, yes, I want more kids- but I'm not ready for the baby stage again for a little while. I think Ryan feels the same way. Ben is at such a fun age, and he's starting to get around more and more and I just can't imagine having a little one and him to look after. I know it's possible, and if the Lord would want me to do it- I would. And I PRAISE those who can. And yes, I understand... it will always be "hard"... I'm just not ready yet. Speaking of Ben getting around really well, here's some video of his really good attempts to walking! He's also sucking through straws now, which is stinking cute. To me... his little lips are cute. He has 5 teeth now. He says "uh oh", "Ally" kind of, "hi", "ball", "dadda", "ya", "day" for yay, "mah, mah, mah" for more... I think that's it. He's said "bu-bye" before, but hasn't really said it again. He's chatty though... always making noises. He's going to be a "Vrrrroooom" kid for sure. He's eating all kinds of food now. LOVES chicken like his daddy, loves cooked squash and mini teddy grams. No candy yet... I'm going to hold off on that for as long as I can.
My brother Greg seems to be doing better, I'm really grateful for prayers and I'm sure he is too. Actually I know he is. I'm grateful for him too... he's a good brother and I love him so much.
I have also started a Grant Collier Family blog, in an attempt to gather some material of my mom and dad's lives both separately and together and to gather memories from them and us and the grandchildren. Our own family history that I can later publish. I decided only to maintain it a couple times a month- or when I get the chance, so I don't over do it and stress myself out with things to do. Things to do... oh so many of them, one of which is fold laundry... the immense amounts of laundry. Ech.