September

It's the last day of September. This month was definitely less stressful than September last year.  We started off the month with our trip to Utah.

Love these mountains!

The day we left for our trip to Utah my car started leaking, no gushing, water/coolant. We couldn't take it very far or when it was extremely hot for a couple of weeks till we got it fixed. Cost us a pretty penny but less than it could have been.

I started babysitting an almost 2 year old on Wednesdays for an hour and a half in the morning and then again in the afternoon. Only in the afternoon sometimes his older brother (9) , sister (7) and cousin (3) come over too.  The first time I had all 4 kids it was crazy and fun. The kids have a single story home, so my stairs became the main attraction.  The 9 year old kept sliding down head first. They also kept chasing my cats around, well, one of the cats. The other cat was smart enough to hide where they couldn't get her.  After they left, all Tracy said was "wow".  James kept asking our cat if she was OK.  Lol. James really enjoys having someone to play with him.

After our Utah trip, Tracy started looking into PhD programs. Sadly going back to Utah isn't going to be an option. Felt pretty bummed about it, but we will end up where we're suppose to be. So far he has a couple for sure places he'll apply to and few possibles.

On the 12th my little sister received her mission call.  James and I watched her open it over Skype. She's going to Mexico Puebla North mission leaving February 5th. She'll be missed, especially by James. He always asks to Skype with her.

On the 14th my niece, McKenzie (11) and nephew, Benten (9) were baptized a member of the LDS church. Glad to see them making this choice in their life.  Wish the baptism and the mission call had happened when we were in Utah, but it is what it is. Glad we could be apart of what we could even miles away.
 
The 18th marked the one year anniversary of me handing over my job of apartment manager to someone else and became a full time stay at home mom.  Love not having the extra stress of work, but I miss being able to pick my neighbors.

The 21st was the holy war (UTAH vs. BYU). I had planned on pizza for dinner and it soon evolved into this:

A U shaped pizza (Tracy's idea. I was just going to do a round pizza with pepperonis in a U), red frosted cupcakes, red soda and we had buffalo chicken wings. It was a fun night and it got even better with a win against BYU.

The 22nd marked our one year anniversary of moving to California. It was a stressful week prior to moving here, but has been worth it. We have enjoyed exploring our new area and taking plenty of trips to the beach. Now we just have to make the most of this next year. Who knows where we'll end up next. I made a special dinner to celebrate this special day. I didn't get a picture, but this one is from the website the recipe is from.

Chicken Gloria

The 26th, Tracy started school. One school year left in his Master's program. Boo-Ya!

The rest of the month has been pretty uneventful. James has started going up and down the stairs with one hand holding the rail. He can also step on and off a curb with no help. He even has become more talkative, if that seemed even possible. The nice thing is he's gotten a lot better about not throwing a huge fit if he doesn't get what he wants right away, and he's gotten better at saying please. He really loves to help with dishes, getting things out of the fridge for me and getting his own snacks. He just keeps growing up. :(

That's about all that happened in September. Looking forward to more adventures in October and cooler weather.

A Quick Trip to Utah

Once upon a time, it was Labor Day in the year 2013. Tracy was helping a family in our ward load up their moving truck. Soon the family realized they would need a second moving truck. Jokingly they asked those helping if anyone wanted to take a drive to Utah. Tracy immediately answered, "I might. Let me make a phone call."

Across town, I was getting James ready for his quiet time when the phone rang. Tracy was on the other side.
"Would you like to take a trip to Utah this week?"
"Umm... Sure."
The conversation went on with making plans for the trip.

Two days later, we picked up the moving truck, piled into it and away we went about 4:30 pm. About 45 miles later we heard a loud noise and discovered one of the back tires of the truck has blown. Pulled off the freeway ibti a city called Victorville, CA. Feeling fairly fortunate to still be in an area with cities. After an hour delay, a nice snack at the Arby's, away we went. Around 10:30 we arrived in Las Vegas for the night.

The next morning we left Vegas around 9:30 towards Utah. James and I passed the time playing the alphabet game. He didn't quite understand the concept of the game. He just kept finding the x's. We made a couple of stops, one for lunch in St. George and another in Nephi to pick up Tracy's car (the one he left behind, so he could bring me my new baby). I took over the driving of the moving truck as we headed toward Eagle Mountain to drop it off. Around 8:30 pm. we finally dropped off the moving truck. After dinner we settled into my little sister, Kellie's, place for the night.

The next morning we picked up my other little sister, Clarissa, to spend the day in downtown Salt Lake City. We played at City Creek and a little at Gateway and had a delicious lunch at the Blue Lemon. We also got to visit my friend, Analee, and James got to play with his old friend, her son, James. It was a short visit and hopefully next time we'll be able to hang out longer. That evening we had a BBQ at my brother, Allen's place. He seriously is an amazing cook. Not all of my family was able to make it, so hopefully next time we'll get to see everyone. Afterwards we spent the night at Tracy's parent's house.

The next morning James and I slept in till 11. We took our sweet little time getting back on the road. I believe it was 2:00 pm. Had some dinner at a little cafe in St. George called Twenty-five and Main. James noticed they had cupcakes, so we had to get him one for dessert. With full bellies, we headed on home. Arriving just after midnight.

It was a whirlwind trip, but we had a great time. Poor James had several way too late nights, but he got to play with cousins, aunts and his friend. Looking forward to returning to Utah at Christmas time.

We didn't take many pictures. Here's the few that we do have.

All excited to be riding in a big truck.

Having lunch at Freddy's.
James didn't want to smile or look at me.

Playing at Gateway.

Nothing stops my brother from grilling and I mean nothing.

James and his favorite aunt, Kandace.
He will sure miss her when she leaves for her mission.
Her call should arrive any time. Exciting!