Day One of our Trip Across the Country

Day one felt like fifty all wrapped in one. I didn't think we would EVER get everything out of that place. We took like fifty trips to my Dads house (who's kindly storing all our stuff), and then we still ended up making last minute trips to my Moms, not to mention all the stuff we threw away just because we didn't want to deal with it. Sigh...but it's over, and we are now ON OUR WAY!! WAHOO!!

I am so tired of packing and un-packing and packing again. I tried to pack the crib as a favor to Tiffany...that didn't work out. I barely got everything else in. Now that we are packed the hard part is behind us...only 36 hours of easy driving awaits. ---Brian

Kyler is starting to climb! He always wants to see the doggy outside at grandma and grandpa Smiths house, so we've put a stool by the window so he can look when he want. I think this is what started it. He had a blast playing with his crib bars, up down, up down, up down.


We got everything in the car, and I don't think we could have fit one more ounce of food or anything else we might have needed. Kyler was lucky to find a spot :)

We finally got on the road about 2:00, Kyler did pretty well, he slept for about 45 min, and then had fun playing with his bag of animals he got in Vegas. We entered our first state about 5:00!

We were so excited when we got to Grand Junction. We were originally staying in some budget hotel, but I decided to try out priceline. The budget hotel was going to cost us about 70 dollars, but priceline got us a three star hotel for only 45 bucks! And they had an indoor pool!

Our only disappointment was that the pool ended up being closed. I was so sad, I was looking forward to some fun family time in the pool. Oh well, we had fun running around the room and playing with Kyler in the tub.

This is Kylers room :) We put the pack and play in the entry way and used the comforter from the bed to separate it from the room. It actually worked really well, he didn't even cry when I put him down. He talked to himself for a while and then went right to sleep. And now Brian and I are enjoying catching up on blogs, myfamily, and reading. Ahhhh...this is the life. Tomorrow.....Denver and staying with the Pollary's. Can't wait!

Las Vegas Here We Come!

So Brian had a national PT conference in Vegas last week. Our good friends happened to have connections, and we were able to stay in a time share resort just off the strip for FREE! Needless to say we jumped at the chance and enjoyed a great few days in Vegas.

Brian had classes during the day, so we had to find things to keep us entertained while he was gone. The temp was in the 50's and I thought "Way to cold to go swimming" But Kyler wanted to dip his feet in anyway.

All bundled up at the pool. And then....

Yup, we're crazy! We decided to get in. The pool was heated and oh so warm, it was torture getting out and back to the room, but it was SO nice to be in the pool and feel the sun on our faces, even if it was a little cold.

This is the botanical Gardens and Belagio. It was decorated for the Chinese New Year. The panda bears in the background were all made out of flowers. It was pretty cool.

The ceiling in the lobby of the Belagio was all done by Dale Chihuly COOL!

I think seeing the fountains outside the Belagio was my favorite. They are just so neet. Brian has never been to Vegas so it was fun to watch him see them for the first time. Kyler liked them until they blew air through the pipes to make the big BOOM. Then he just wanted to go home :(

We went and saw the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay during Brian and Tylers lunch break. Kyler kept pointing at the fish and going "OH!!" It was way cute.

Out side of Excalibur. Brian and I ventured out on our own this night, with only my memories from 10 yrs before. Based on such, we totally got lost. But we had a good time none the less and saw some fun things.

The statues in the Forum Shops at Ceasers Palace. They actually are animated and move to a laser show of sorts.


Brian and Kyler spent some quality time at the hotel playground.

On our last day we went to M&M world. Kyler was totally freaked of the people in costumes. He behaved long enough for us to get a picture though.

On our way back to the car, we walked through MGM Grand, and the Rainforest Cafe called our name. It was WAY fun, and much more family friendly then some of the places we ate. Though a kids meal (mac and cheese) was $10!!! Highway robbery if you ask me. But the atmosphere was worth it. Kyler loved all the fish tanks, and the animals.

Brian got these toys at the conference, Kyler would run around the hotel bouncing them all over, he thought it was great. Thanks Tyler and Ashley for letting us stay with you and helping us have a wonderful weekend!

What a Great Weekend

We had such a great weekend!! It feels like we haven't done much lately, with all the moving and new "jobs" and such. Brian has also been working a lot on the weekend to make up for the days he missed when we moved. But this weekend was great!
It started Friday night going to the Draper Temple open house with our friends Rachel and Cole. It was so neat. What a beautiful place. It was really fun to go with Rachel and Cole because they've never been inside a temple, so it was a great opportunity to teach them a little bit about what makes the temple so important to us. I think my favorite part was showing Rachel the sealing room, explaining how special a sealing really is, and showing her the eternal mirrors. It makes me want to be there every day!!

Then the next morning we got out in the beautiful mountain air and went snow shoeing. We were a little hesitant to take Kyler. We haven't taken him on a hike since he's been really able to walk on his own. I was worried he'd hate being carried around when he feels perfectly capable walking on his own. But he did great!!! As long as we kept moving he was happy.

We took the Dog Lake trail up Big Cottonwood Canyon, we go about a fourth of the way up the packed trail, then we blaze our own trail down into the ravine, and follow that out of the canyon. It was a beautiful day, and the powder was perfect! This picture was perfect, because Cole was teasing Rachel about falling not two seconds earlier, and then he totally biffed it himself...Karma.

Stopping for a snack.

The cutest couple ever...Rachel and Cole

Brian and Kyler, as cute as ever!

We came across this pretty steep hill. We all had a pretty good time getting down it. Technically I guess this isn't really snow shoeing....more like skiing.

Motherly Advice

Ok all you mothers out there with more experience then me. I need some help. For some reason Kyler has decided he wants to wake up at 5:00 in the morning. He's always kind of done this. I'd say that it use to happen about once a week, maybe less, but at least a few times a month. But lately it's been EVERY MORNING!! I've tried letting him cry it out, but he cries till 6:30 and then Brian is up and getting ready for work, so no more quiet house. I don't know what to do. He's kind of at that stage where he was giving up his morning nap for a while, but now that's he's waking up at 5, there's now way we get through the day with out two naps. So currently he's going back to bed at about 8am sleeps till 9:30, then afternoon nap at 1, wakes around 2:30, and to bed for the night at 7pm. I've started trying to ween him off his bottle so I'm only giving him two ounces of milk before bedtime....do you think he's waking because he's hungry??? Anyway, I was just hoping all you wonderful moms might have some ideas, or have been through something similar.

Yours frustratingly,
Tiff

Wrapping up 2008

All right....lets try this again :) By the way, this is the cute face I found when I went in to get Kyler. I love that his hair on the one side is always crazy. I think it's because he plays with it when he falls asleep. The end of 2008 ended up being really nice. We spent Christmas eve and Christmas morning with Brian's family this year. We all got Christmas jammies the day before. Here's our cute fam.

Then we proceeded to my Dads, and then on to my Moms, and we couldn't have done any of it with out the newest member of our family. Our new Honda Pilot was wonderful. The roads were terrible all day, as I'm sure some of you know. How we ever survived without 4 wheel drive is a mystery to me.
Then we all settled down for a long winters nap. This is at my moms house. Brian loves lying here by the fire, and often falls asleep no matter what time of day. I thought the glass over the fire reflecting the Christmas tree lights was especially picturesque. Then the moving commenced. I hadn't done a THING, so thank you to all the friends and family who helped us pack, move, and clean all in three days. We couldn't have done it without you. We are now all moved in, and adjusting. We've all gotten a little cold, of which Brian is currently suffering, but it passes quickly so that's nice. Kylers favorite game lately has been putting the bowls and colander on his head. Brian thought he'd join.

Then we brought in the new year at Brian's cousins house with family and friends. We had a great time, and Kyler even managed to wake up 10 min before midnight, so we let him join in the celebrations. All in all 2008 has been a great year and we look forward to new adventures in 2009.

Doh!

Well, I finally got the camera software installed on the lap top. So now I can attach photo's along with the update. Well, we are all moved in in American Fork, and the duplex in SL is cleaned had Amy and Mike are now enjoying it (i hope). The transition continues to be ruff, but I've had lots of offers to play sense my last post, and I look forward to getting together with some old friends. Today promises to be a good one, Kyler has now been sleeping for an hour and 45 min.....your kidding....I knew it! I knew if I typed that he'd wake up!!!! LOL, not that that's a bad thing, it was a perfect nap, I'm just in the middle of a post. LOL, I guess the rest will have to come later!