Winter Cabin Trip

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of February!  This month has really flown by.  Let me catch up again.

For Valentines I made Steve a jar of "Riesens" why I love him.  Each candy Reisen had a reason why I love him.  I also gave him some cologne.  Steve and Nyles got me some Dove chocolate, some Riesens and a new pillow.  After putting Nyles down for bed Steve went and picked up a heart shaped pizza from Tenney's which we enjoyed.  We then packed for the cabin since we were leaving the next day after work for President's Day Weekend.

Steve's Valentines presents from me

Heart shaped pizza for Valentine's Day

Friday after work I hurried home to change and pack up a few more things to go to the cabin.  Steve actually left that afternoon at about 1pm w/ Phill in order to get all our gear brought in and warm up the cabin.  He dropped Nyles off at Dave and Joann's for Stacie to watch while they went up.  Stacie ended up going up w/ London and Conor after Dave got home though at about 3:30pm.  Zach and Rob also left a little after 5pm so they were headed up before us also.

Getting ready to go up to cabin

 

Still working on his rolling over skills also

 

Conor and Nyles playing at Grandma and Grandpa McGrath's house before going up to cabin

 Once I got my gear packed up and few more things for Nyles "just in case" I made it up to Dave/Joann's a little before 7pm.  I then fed and changed him and we were on our way.  We went through Wendy's drive-thru for dinner so we didn't have to stop since Nyles had been asleep since we got in the car.  Steve and Phill then met us at the parking lot outside of the cabins and helped up load up our gear in the toboggans and get into the cabin.  We just left Nyles in his carseat since he was still sleeping and put blankets around him and over him to keep him warm.  I then held onto the carseat in between Steve and I while Steve stood up on the ATV (w/ tracks) and drove us in.  After we got in I changed Nyles into his pajamas then fed Nyles again and he went right to bed.  We put up a pack and play in our room downstairs.  He did really well sleeping in it and even being in the same room with us; we were very happy with his cooperation ;)  We played a couple games then all went to bed as well.

Strawberry Lake frozen over

Snow!

The next morning we got up like normal, around 5:30am to feed Nyles, then put him back to bed until 7:30am.  We then all got up, had breakfast, then the men went out ice fishing.  London also went out w/ them for a while.  They had a good time.  Stacie and I stayed in the cabin w/ the baby boys and talked and read from our books a little.  They came in and warmed up a little bit then went back out to try it again.  We had pizza for dinner, then we warmed up some water and gave Nyles a bath, his favorite time of day :)

Zach catching a BIG fish ;)

Rob with his fish

Steve showing off his fish

London giving the fish a "hug"

Trying to get the fish unhooked

Nyles about to get into his bath but found this big bottle to suck on

Nyles was a little surprised w/ Grandpa McGrath interrupting his bath ;)

 
Sunday we took it easy.  We played several round of Dave's game of Ticket to Ride Germany.  We made tin foil dinners for lunch and then loaded potato soup for dinner.  I also made some regular popcorn and kettle corn for our afternoon snack.  Zach and Rob left after lunch to get back down.  We also took turns taking a ride on the ATV's.  London actually fell asleep while on her ride ;)

London asleep after a ride on the ATV

Nyles getting better at eating solids.  He likes to suck on the spoon.

Nyles loved the orange lion

Yummm

This looks good also

Stacie, Conor and Phill having so much fun at the cabin ;)

Nyles holding whoppers but not sure what they are

Nyles eating a bowl and hanging out w/ Grandpa McGrath

Steve w/ his windburn while feeding Nyles

Beautiful sunny day at the cabin

Stacie and Conor

Cousins Nyles and Conor just hanging out at the cabin

  
On Monday the guys were going to go out fishing again but we decided to pack up and head out instead.  We started cleaning up and taking stuff out at about 9am and didn't get all of us out until about noon.  Stacie, Conor, Nyles and I were the last to leave.

Dave and Steve getting their breakfast ready

 

Steve fixing me a bagel

Conor and Stacie ready to head out

Heading down the canyon from the cabin

Though it was fun to be up at the cabin, it was nice to get back home again.  Having heat, warm running water and taking a shower were probably the best part.  We also enjoyed sleeping in our own beds of course.  Overall though it was a very enjoyable weekend!

 Steve tickling Nyles after getting home

On Tuesday the 19th Steve and I went to the Jordan River Temple and did some initiatories since his Biology Lab was cancelled.  Joann was kind enough to come sit at our place while Nyles slept so we could go (thanks Bojam!).  It was great to get to the House of the Lord and serve therein.  The JR Temple initiatory area has been completely remodeled also, so it was neat to go through it this time.

Wednesday the 20th after Steve got home from class he surprised me with some flowers.  They are so pretty!  The Irises have finally blossomed as well.

Original bouquet 

Now w/ Irises bloomed

Thursday the 21st there was a combined RS/YW Stake Fireside.  A sister came and spoke to us about "Little Miracles" that happened w/ the Pioneers while in the valley and how we can relate and apply their history to us today.  We all need to have faith in our prophet and do what he says, though it might not make sense to us at the time he instructs us to.  Our faith requires us to ACT!  It was a really neat lesson.  I'll have to share more later.

Friday the 22nd I was only at work until 11am, then I rode the train back and went and took my Continuing Education test.  I arrived a little early but figured I'd get it over with so I just went in.  It took me 2 hours for the 4 sections, so only a 1/2 hr each one about.  I was done and home by 2pm on a Friday; it was awesome!  Both Steve and Nyles were REALLY surprised to see me walk through the front door so early, Nyles especially.  I then fed Nyles and played w/ him for the next hour.  He then got tired so I put him down for a nap, then Steve and I decided to lay down also.  We all ended up taking a 2 hour nap.  It was awesome!  I think we all could have slept longer but we knew we'd better get up so we could sleep that night, which we did.  We then went over to the store and got a few groceries, then put Nyles to down to bed.  It was so nice to have an afternoon as a family :)  That night we invited Zach over and got pizza and played Ticket to Ride.

Saturday the 23rd Steve went fly fishing w/ Carl Bertoch and Dave Thomas.  It was snowing pretty much the whole time they were gone, but they said they had a great time anyway.  I cleaned, did laundry and put things away while he was gone.  Nyles did really well taking his naps and didn't even wake up while I was vacuuming or making noise cleaning.  During his second nap I even got to exercise, eat and take a shower.  That night I worked on RS stuff and took it easy.

Nyles enjoying watching the snow come down

"How does it do that?"

The next morning, Sunday the 24th, I had a PEC at 7:30am at our Stake Building.  It was our Branch Conference so we went to the stake for some training.  It was really good.  The whole Branch Conference went well.  We also had a munch and mingle that we were in charge of afterwards.  We had BBQ chicken, chips and cookies (simple and easy).  I also had a VT/HT meeting a little after that, then we invited the couple we home teach over for games.  Since Nyles goes down at 7pm they said they'd just come over and we could give them a lesson.  We played some games after our thought and I made Molten Lava Cake for dessert, yummm!

 Nyles loves to take his socks off.  They end up in the funniest places, silly boy ;)

He loves Elmo!

And thinks TV remotes are tasty

And is mostly just happy!

Well things are going well here.  Life is pretty busy but we are loving every day with Nyles.  He is such a joy to us!  We can't imagine our lives w/out him.  Love you all ;)
 

February is here!

Ok I need to catch up from the past couple weeks.  Here it goes:

 

Saturday January 26^th we actually went to a movie.  We put Nyles down to bed a little bit early then had our neighbors come and sit at the house so we could go out.  We went and watched “The Hobbit” in 3D.  We met Dave and Rob there after getting Nyles down.  The movie was a little long, but I still really liked it.  I actually liked it more then the other “Lord of the Rings” movies, probably because there was a lot of humor and less fighting.

 

I’m so glad it’s February and the groundhog didn’t see his shadow.  I’m soooo ready for Spring and to see the sun again.  The good thing is the sun is up longer when I come home.  It’s nice not to come home in the dark anymore.

 

We also went over our budget.  At this point we’ve decided for me to keep working so we can of course pay our bills, but also be able to put some aside for savings as well.  Hopefully we can have more put aside before Steve start’s PA school so we can rely on that if we need to.

 

Friday the 1^st we invited our neighbors Greg and Lisa Morris over.  They have a little girl, Brynley, who is about 3 weeks younger than Nyles but she doesn’t go to bed until later so we could get together just fine.  Steve and Greg went and picked up Café Rio while I put Nyles down to bed.  We then had dinner, talked, and then played some games.  It was really fun.

 

Saturday February 2^nd was Ethan’s baptism.  It was a nice service.  After the service we went back to their place and had lunch.  We then went home so I could put Nyles down for a nap.  Steve then went with Greg Morris fishing up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  There was a lot of snow as you can imagine up the canyon but they still had a really good time.

 

Steve fly fishing up the canyon, even w/ 3 feet of snow.

 

 

Sunday February 3^rd we went over to LuDean’s for dinner and games with her, Diane, Dave and Joann.  We went over at about 4pm so we could get started earlier before it was time for Nyles to go to bed.  We played a new game of Diane’s called Telestrations.  It was a lot of fun.

 

Loves his toes

 

 

He also loves to play with my bunny

 

Tuesday the 5^th we had a Branch Activity.  Steve’s lab was cancelled so he thankfully got to come also.  We put Nyles down a little early and had Joann stay at the house with him while we ran over to the church for the activity.  We, the RS, were in charge of it.  Since we’ve had a lot of people move in and out the past couple months so we wanted to have an activity to get to know each other better.  We called it “Won’t you be my neighbor?”  We had fondue and had everyone bring something to dip, then played several games to get to know everyone better.  We played a M&M game where you get a couple M&Ms then you say something w/ that color, for instance red is your favorite food, green is your favorite hobby, etc.  We also played Never Have I Ever and 2 Truths and a Lie.  We had a really good turn out, about 40 adults and several kids.  Everyone said they had a good time and learned more about each other, so our purpose was fulfilled.

 

I also finally got my 5 years of Service Pyramid at work.  I actually hit 5 years the day I came back from maternity leave on November 12, 2012, but my manager kept forgetting to get it to me.  In January I switched to a new manager so she finally got it to me also.  I’m glad I’m fully vested (back in July actually), so all the money in my 401k is officially mine, yeah!  In addition to that I had a free lunch at work.  I was honored for my team as our December Power Lunch winner.  All the month’s winners got together w/ some of the upper management.  This is my 3^rd time being honored as such, pretty cool.

 

My 5 year pyramid

 

 

Nyles thought my work badge tasted good also :)

 

 

Wednesday the 6^th Steve went to IHOP with his mom, neiece London and Nyles.  It was free Pancake Day so he went and picked up Joann (who still can’t drive due to her arm) and London who she was watching since Stacie was sick and went and had some pancakes.  They had a great time they said and London really liked the pancakes.

 

Steve and Nyles at IHOP

 

 

 

Steve wasn’t feeling too well the next day, more of a sinus infection, so he had Duane Bates, a PA, call him in an antibiotic.  Thankfully after a day of so he was feeling better.

 

Nyles helping Steve get his meds, ready for a nap

 

 

 

Nyles found his toes this past week that will reach his mouth.  So now he takes off his socks and puts his toes in his mouth.  It’s a helpless cause keeping his socks off.

 

He found he can eat his toes :)

Saturday I had breakfast at IHOP w/ Pauline and Rose for my birthday and free meal there.  It was fun to catch up a little.  Steve stayed home since Nyles was napping and played a Xbox game w/ Dave Thomas, MindCraft.  I then cleaned up some, did laundry and got dinner ready so we could feed the missionaries at 5pm.  Steve went and helped Dave with a few things.  We had Autumn Soup and Cornbread for dinner w/ the missionaries.  We were going to go to the temple after that but Dave/Joann weren’t feeling well and it was snowing pretty hard, so we decided to postpone it.  Instead we hung out at home.

 

Nyles loving his new "bouncy" seat

 

 

Sunday was my 29^th Birthday.  I had PEC like normal at 9am, and then I went and picked up Steve and Nyles.  While the sacrament was being passed I lady whose son is autistic came and informed us she couldn’t find her son.  She was putting the younger boys coat up and the older one w/ autism ran off.  Steve and another sister went to help look for him then I went to go feed Nyles but they hadn’t seen him yet so I decided to help.  I stayed in one area to see if he’d come through the gym or down a set of stairs from upstairs.  Steve and another brother went and drove to the nearby school playground and also back to their apartment in case he went to there, but they didn’t see him there either.  Pretty soon we had about 10 of us looking but couldn’t find him.  After about 20 minutes we still hadn’t found him.  There is a lady police officer in our branch so Steve went and asked her what to do.  She said we should look one more time then we should call the police, especially since he is autistic.  I was still standing by the gym when I saw him come into gym ever so quietly then shut the door behind him.  I recognized him and called out his name and of course he took off running.  I then ran after him, still holding Nyles on my hip, the diaper bag on my other arm and running in heels.  I ran to another door which luckily there were others there from our branch.  I called out to one of the sisters to grab him, which she did just in time.  We then found his mom and let everyone know who was looking that he was found.  What a relief!  He sure scared us.

 

After church we put Nyles down for his nap and got something to eat.  Then at 5pm we headed over to LuDean’s house where we had planned to have dinner w/ her, Diane, Dave and Joann again.  Along the way Grandma Hegerhorst called me so I was talked with her the whole time.  As we almost got there Steve pulled over and said he needed to get some ice off the windshield.  I didn’t pay him much attention because I was talking to my Grandma.  As we pulled up to his Grandma’s house Dave came and walked us up to the house.  As I came into the door Kim was there and said something about it not being a surprise anymore.  I then noticed the rest of Steve’s family there.  Apparently Steve had been telling me little “lies” the whole week as to what we were doing.  He had got a hold of his whole family and planned a surprise party for me.  I guess a few people were running a little late and hadn’t made it into the house when we pulled up.  Though they weren’t able to say “surprise!” all together, I was still very surprised!  My friend Eve and her husband Darrell and daughter Breanna also showed up, which was a great surprise.  We then had dinner (ham, potatoes, salad, rolls) then cake and ice cream.  It was all fantastic.  Everyone then had to leave to put kids to bed, but Melanie and Brandon and kids and Rob all stayed and played a couple games.  Dave brought his pack and play so we just put Nyles to bed in LuDean’s room while we played.  We played Telestrations again, and then after Melanie and Brandon had to leave we played a round of Ticket to Ride, which Dave won!  It was a lot of fun!  Steve still can’t believe he was actually able to surprise me.  I just took his word for whatever he told me and went along with everything.  It was truly a surprise party.  Thanks Steve!  Thanks everyone for making my birthday special.  It meant a lot to me.

 

                                                           Eve w/ Breanna and me w/ Nyles

 

Monday I made crepes for breakfast, and then we took Nyles to his 6 month appointment.  He weighed 15 pounds and was 24 ¾ inches long.  The Dr was a little concerned because he hasn’t gained much weight from his last appt, he weighed 14.55 pounds, so we’re going to need to bring him into get weighed in another month.  Other than that things looked good.  He then got his shots, which he didn’t like of course.  The good thing is that he can have ibuprofen now.  They gave us a sample so we used that once we got him home and fed him.  He then went down for a nap so we did too (since we stayed up late the night before).  When we got up we went to Red Robin for my free birthday burger.  After that we went and got a new work bag for me.  We also found a pair of khaki shorts for Steve on clearance for only $7!  Steve then had to study a little then went to class while I put Nyles to bed and cleaned up around the house.  We also rented Hotel Translvania, which was really cute!

 

 Nyles having fun eating his socks at Red Robin

 

He fell asleep while we were shopping, but had to push his feet out ;)

 

 

The next day Nyles wasn’t feeling too well, we think from the shots.  He had a slight fever and wasn’t really himself.  He didn’t want to play much, but just wanted to hold his blanket and suck on his binky while being held.  After I got home from work I fed him, gave him a bath, and put him to bed.  He was really tired and went right to bed.  Steve went to class while I was putting him to bed, then I had my RS Presidency come over for a meeting.  We went over some sisters who we haven’t seen in a while and made a plan on how to get them to church or help participate in our RS Birthday Dinner coming up in March.  We hope we can help them feel the Spirit and the need to come to church.

 

Nyles not feeling well after shots, 6 months old, just wants his blankey and binky

 

 

Today Nyles is mostly himself again.  He’s playful and happy again, which we are glad for.  He's such a joy to us and brightens every day of our lives.  It's crazy to think we've only had him in our family for 6 months now, yet it seems like only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital.  We love him sooo much and feel so blessed to have him in our lives!

 

Nyles feeling better today

 

 

 

 Well we hope all is well.  Hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow.  Love you all! ;)