Hippos

Last August, my super silly hubby had an idea. The boys had been digging (a LOT) in an area where we had removed an old tree, and it was just a nasty dirt pit. The boys referred to it as "The dirt area." I kept telling them to "enjoy it now, because next year I'll be planting something there, and you won't be able to dig there anymore." Well, they definitely enjoyed it. Jared filled it with water, made a big mud hole, and said "Okay boys! Jump in!"

They decided that they were "Hippos." My first thought was pigs, but I guess hippos works too.

They had SO MUCH FUN, and we all got a lot of laughs. I still can't believe it was Jared's idea!

Clean up was ALMOST as fun as getting dirty. We made them leave their clothes outside, where I used the high-powered nozzle to get as much of the mud out as I could, and they ran in and took a shower. I don't think they will ever forget this crazy but fun memory they made with their dad.

Back to Blogging!

I got on here this morning and realized how long it's been since I REALLY blogged. I saw my sister's latest post and realized she was feeling the same way, so I decided it's time to get better! I did a quick little crazy post a couple of months ago so I wouldn't forget something exciting that happened to us, but really I'm so far behind I'm about to LAP myself! I've got a renewed determination to catch up and get posting things in a more timely manner. Let's start off with one final post from last July! (Yes, people, that would be July 2011!!)

I thought I better post all the cute pictures I took of Hayden for his 6th birthday (official 6-yr-old portraits) before he has his 7th birthday (which he is already planning, by the way!)

We had so much fun going out to shoot these. We went all out, and even had a "shirt change" so there was more variety. I still can't believe he's six, let alone closing in on seven! 

A little bit about Hayden:

* LOVES Legos... is planning on having a Lego party for his next birthday (that or a Titanic party - LOL!!)

* Can build nearly anything you suggest. Whether it's out of Legos, aluminum foil, or whatever.

* Is getting REALLY good at drawing... draws machines like nobody's business.

* Just informed me that he's going "green." Made me chuckle a little. I just love kids!

* Still gives the best hugs in the world. I hope he's still giving me "Hayden Hugs" when he's all grown up.

* Loves to ride bikes, hop on his pogo stick, dig in the dirt, and of course play the Wii.

We are so glad to have Hayden in our family!

Who is My Neighbor?

I had to write this out so that I would never forget it. We had quite an adventurous weekend, and got some valuable reminders of what a neighbor really is.

Who is my neighbor? This weekend I had a few opportunities to find out. I was reminded of the story in the New Testament, when the Lawyer asks the Savior, “Who is my neighbor?” Of course, this is when the Savior tells the story of the Good Samaritan, but what we learn from the story is that EVERYONE is our neighbor. We live in a time when, in some places, the word “neighbor” really doesn’t mean much. People get busy with their lives, and often don’t even know who their neighbors are. They may possibly have never even spoken with them. In our LDS culture, because we spend time with some of them at church, or at mid-week activities, we often know our neighbors. But do we act like neighbors? Do we treat them like friends? Do they seem like family? Jared and I are blessed to live in a ward where neighbors truly care about each other. I have never witnessed the sense of community that we have in our neighborhood. We were the recipients of neighborly service on Saturday.

Friday night, around midnight, I heard a strange noise. At first I thought it was a train. We live near some tracks, and have heard trains go by so often that we actually don’t even notice them much anymore. This sound, although it sounded like a freight train zooming past, turned out to be a horrible wind storm. It sounded like what I would imagine hearing a tornado would be. We could hear strange ripping noises, and soon realized after seeing a garbage can blowing down the street, and noticing some weird looking shadows in our back yard, that it was shingles tearing from the roof. They were landing in our backyard. The yard was full of them, 50-60 of them in fact. We knew we were in for a long day come morning. Jared got up early and went to Home Depot. He bought 3 big packages of shingles and a large box of nails. Before he could even get out the door to set up the ladder, we heard a knock. We opened the door to see our neighbor there, holding a hammer, asking to help. Before long there were others there hammering away. I truly love our neighborhood. This kind brother had decided, before the morning even came, that he would need to survey the neighborhood. He was sure there would be damage to repair. After making sure his home was fine, he started walking down the street to check on others. Ours seemed to be the worst, so that’s where he ended up. I don’t know where Jared would have been without his help (and the help of a couple of other friends). Probably still on the roof! I am so grateful for such willing and helpful neighbors. They bless our lives!

Monday brought a different experience, learning what a neighbor is. We had just left Kaitlyn’s soccer game and were headed up to Cedar Hills to visit some friends we haven’t seen in a long time. As we drove up 5^th East in American Fork, we passed through my old neighborhood. My kids love to say “Hey, there’s Grama and Papa’s old house!” as we go by. This time, when we got about a block north of the home I grew up in, we heard Kaitlyn yell from the backseat, “There’s a house on fire!” I was certain that it had to just be smoke rising from someone’s chimney, but Jared turned the van around when she said, “Really guys. There is a HOUSE ON FIRE!” We could see smoke as we retraced our way back down the street. As we rounded the corner, we could see the flames shooting up from the side of a garage. Jared jumped out of the van, and I dialed 911 on my cell phone. I could hear him banging on the door and yelling for them to open up. The lady at the door was scared. She wondered who this crazy person was, and didn’t dare to open her front door to him! I noticed that she was Hispanic, and probably couldn’t understand what Jared was telling her. Soon she could see the panic on his face, and hesitantly opened the door. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her out to where she could see the fire. I was talking to the 911 dispatcher, when we heard her scream and run back inside. She had handed her little girl to Jared, who placed her on the sidewalk. I walked over to where this little girl was standing, because I could see her crying and knew she was afraid. Jared was back in the house trying to get everyone else out. Soon there was another tiny little girl standing next to her sister. I held the smaller of the two, and felt the arms of the other one wrap around my neck. I was still on the phone, and Eryn could see that this other little girl needed to be held as well, so she jumped out of our van and came to pick her up. We took them across the street, and soon everyone was out of the house. Jared was moving this family’s car away from the fire, and neighbors were coming out of their homes to see what was going on. It didn’t take long for these neighbors (some of which were MY old neighbors) to rally around each other, giving hugs of comfort, holding onto one another, knowing that this family needed them. Soon we could hear the sirens in the distance. The firemen got there quickly, hooked up to the hydrant, and had the flames put out in no time. There was significant damage to the garage and the nearby fence, but their living area had been spared. I was so grateful to have been driving by at that moment, and that Kaitlyn had noticed something that neither Jared or I had even seen. Although we didn’t know this little family, we felt like their neighbors. We thought about them the rest of the day, and neither of us slept very well that night. I’m glad they have neighbors all around them that care about them and that will take care of their needs.

We are all neighbors. We need to look out for each other, and care for one another. I’m so grateful to neighbors who are so willing to set aside what they are doing and help our little family, and I’m also very thankful for the opportunity to help someone else in need. My children were taught a valuable lesson about what it means to be a neighbor, and Jared and I were able to have a great reminder of that as well.

Virginia... the final post.

I don't know why it was so hard for me to get this final post on Virginia done! Maybe because I had a few other pictures that I would have loved to include, but just couldn't get to them... or maybe because I've been busy (always the excuse). At least I'm finally doing it. Then maybe over the next few months I'll actually be able to catch up, but don't bet on that!

We all met together at Jared's Grandmother's house to take a big, Stafford Family picture. Not everyone was happy about it. I wasn't sure I wanted to be the one in charge of it (especially since there were unhappy people involved), however, we don't know when we'll be back. We love Virginia, and getting to spend time with family, but good golly, it costs us a small FORTUNE to get our whole little family out there! We've got some major saving up to do before we can hop that plane again... and we've also promised our kids a trip to Disneyland at some point.

Since our last trip there, several marriages have taken place (including the one while we were there), several babies have made their debut, and all the other kids have grown by leaps and bounds. Everything changes. We had to document it! Not to mention the picture on my wall needed to be updated. Sorry to those of you who would have rather had forks stabbing your eyeballs. It may have been less painful. However, I do appreciate you at the very least standing or kneeling there, and being included in something I feel is so important. We miss Virginia and all the family out there. It's amazing how much I still expect Jared's dad to just walk through the door. We miss him. He leaves a hole in that big family picture. All these little grandkids that never got to know him are missing out. We are all missing out. It sure makes me thankful the Lord's plan and the knowledge we have that we will see him again.

Stafford Clan, we love and miss you all!

Birthday Boy!

While we were in Virginia, we had a BIRTHDAY! Hayden turned six. I still can't believe my baby is 6!! He was a little worried about not being home for his birthday, but he had a fantastic day. He loved every minute of it (well, all except for the part where he almost drowned... but we'll get to that in a minute!)

Since we were having a Stafford Family Reunion, the BIG reunion day with Jared's uncles, aunts, cousins, etc. just happened to be on Hayden's birthday. We went to a lake near Jared's uncle's house. Of course, when we got there we realized that Eryn was the only one to remember her bathing suit. Oops! So at first, we were just letting the boys put their feet in the water.

Kaitlyn and Austin (her "same age" cousin) hung out a little and chatted as they put their feet in. I still remember a trip to Virginia when the two of them were just little babies. It was interesting going to see sights, and having to find good diaper changing and feeding spots. Ah, memories. Now they are getting all grown up!

Well, you can't keep two active boys out of the water for long. We told them to just go ahead and get in. A little wet denim never hurt anyone! Woohoo!!!

ERYN

It's fun to have a big kid that can hang out and help watch the little kids one minute, then swim out to the middle of the lake with the grown-ups the next. Eryn had a great time!

KAITLYN

K had fun "swimming" with the tiny people too. She didn't even mind that she was wearing scrounged up, mismatched clothes from everyone and anyone just so she could swim without getting her OWN clothes soaked!

BRYSON

Our funny B-man! He spent the majority of his time in the water floating on his back and saying "Look mom!" He was in 7th Heaven!

HAYDEN

Oh, Hayds. The birthday boy. Too bad he nearly drowned on his 6th birthday! He was having a great time, floating around on a raft, when he got a little further than he could touch. I told him to paddle back (I was on the dock). But instead of paddling back, he decided to bail off. No bueno! He immediately just sunk down into the water. My brother in law was about a foot away, and I told him to grab Hayd and pull him up, but before he could even move his hand, I heard a huge splash and noticed that Jared was in the water already pulling Hayden up. He had come running from the pavillion (which was a good 50 feet away), shoes on and everything, and leaped over the dock into the water. Sheesh! Nothing can get in the way of a Dad rescuing his kid. He didn't realize that Matthew was inches away and was about to grab Hayden. Needless to say, Jared's new nickname for the day was "Baywatch." Glad I have such a fast moving hubby!! LOL. And glad Hayden came out of it in one piece. Phew! 

It was a BEAUTIFUL day. It was so fun to see family that we don't get to see very often. It was fun to eat the yummy Stafford potluck. It was fun to hang out and watch the cousins having a blast. It was just plain FUN!

Mostly it was fun to celebrate the fact that we've had this handsome little devil for six whole years!!

Aunt Debbie provided the birthday cakes...

Cakes, as in PLURAL, you say? Cakes, as in, MORE THAN ONE? Yep, because Hayden shares his birthday with his cute cousin Kylee! She was born the day after we left Virginia the last time we visited. On Hayden's third birthday! So she turned three. It was awesome to celebrate TWO birthdays!

Sweet Hayden: We are so happy that you came to join our family 6 years ago. We are even happier that you DIDN'T turn out to be a girl, like the Dr. thought you were. I can't imagine not having my little boy!!

Six things I LOVE about Hayden:

1. I love how creative he is. Give him a big box of legos, and that kid can build anything (including the Titanic!) Give him a shovel or any other tool, and he is in HEAVEN! And he can draw construction vehicles, trains, cars, and boats like nobody's business!

2. I love "Hayden Hugs." This kid can hug! And they are tight! He tells me "I love you, mom" a million times a day, and I never get tired of it!

3. I love his big, giant, sparkley blue eyes. You've seen them... you know what I'm talking about. They are CrAzY amazing. They've saved him on more than one occasion... saved him from being given away! LOL! They are also a huge indicator of his mischevous demeanor. ;)

4. I love that he wants to play with his big bro more than anyone else. If Bryson would let him, he'd go EVERYWHERE with him!

5. I love that he still wants me to play with him. He's not too cool yet! I always feel bad when I'm busy and can't play with him. I'd just sit and play with Legos with him all the time if I could!

6. I love his laugh. There is no better sound in the world.

LOVE YOU BUDDY! I can't wait to see what the next 6 years bring. Actually, don't let it go by too fast. Six years will make you a DEACON! It will be here way before I'm ready. ;)

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time I was a great blogger. I never let even a week go by without a post. Now I notice that I'm EXTREMELY far behind on my blogging. I still have VIRGINIA posts to write, for Pete's sake! I do have great excuses. Really, I do! Right now I'm in the midst of my 2nd photography workshop in just 2 little months. The weather has gone from hot to FrEeZiNg without my permission. We've had birthdays, soccer games, and fun times. The kids are fully immersed in school, homework, and sports. Yep, you could say we are busy, but the term that truly fits right now is CrAzY!! Jared and I crash into bed completely exhausted. And time just keeps marching on. We feel like we are chasing it, running to catch up, and it just doesn't seem to slow down. But somehow we are managing to tread the water and keep our heads above just enough to breathe. I'm crossing my fingers that I will find a spare hour to do a great blog post soon. And if not, well, life will still go on. We will still get up way too early every morning and go through the usual routine just to get to school on time, and the dishes will still get dirty, and the laundry will keep piling up. Stuff will just keep happening. And I will TRY to enjoy as much of it as I can.