Bryan, Angie, Lexie, Hoyt & Sabrie

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Back to Blogging

Last year I set a lofty goal to blog every week. You see, this is my way to keep a history of what goes on with our family...pretty much my journal. I started the year off great and kept up for several months, but our busy life got the best of me and I'm once again 7 months behind and having to play catch-up. But there is no time like the present to pick yourself up, and get back on track. It is important to me to write down and document what goes on in our family, so I am going to be working on as many catch-up blogs every week as I can; at the same time, I am going to do new posts as well so I don't get further behind. I know I can do it this time. :) 
 
2014 has started off with a lot of sickness, and a few car problems. On January 12, we tried to go to Kanab to my cousin McKenna's missionary farewell. Here is how I described the experience on FB:
So today was...well, let's just call it an adventure. Got up and tried to get out of town to my cousin's mission farewell. Baby got car sick on the mountain, but we decided to keep driving until we got to my parent's house to get her cleaned up. We stopped at said parent's house and it was completely locked up, so we decided to keep driving to make it to church. Oh wait, car suddenly would not start and we were stranded and had to patiently wait for help to arrive over an hour later. Amazing, awesome, mechanic Dad looked at the car and tried to track down a part, but no such luck. So we headed in the old 80s Ford van to the missionary luncheon where we ate and visited family, then headed back to make a plan to resurrect our car and get home. We realized we were super blessed we did not choose to stop on the top of the mountain to clean up baby, or we would have been stranded there in the freezing cold with no cell service. Realized we were even more blessed to break down at the house of the world's best mechanic. He took the starter apart, found the problem and fixed it, saving us $200, and letting us drive home tonight. So happy to be home now, kids in bed and me heading there now. Goodnight all...life is good and we are blessed!
There was so much going on, we didn't get a picture with the missionary; but here is one of her with my grandparents. She left on Wednesday, and is going to do so great on her mission!
Another good thing about breaking down, was that we noticed the front tires were worn to a point where it was dangerous. We knew the alignment seemed off after changing the front struts a few months ago and figured that is why they were worn. We decided to get an alignment done, then get new tires for the front (the back tires still looked great). After paying to get an alignment done, we found out there was a problem with the struts and we would have to get new ones again and then pay to get yet another alignment before getting the new tires. So we got all that done and the van seems to be running better than it has for a long time.
 
This past week, our entire family has been sick with a nasty cough and cold. I think we are finally on the mend, but that hasn't been much fun. It was especially sad when Sabrie got sick, because there was one night her breathing sounded so bad we thought we would have to take her to the hospital; luckily she is now getting better.
 
Having 3 kids is so much harder than just 2 for some reason, and I have been horrible at taking pictures the past year. There are so many times I should have gotten my camera out, but didn't. So the other night when Bryan was trying to vacuum, I got out my camera to show how the kids always "help". First here is the video. I feel bad Sabrie gets plowed over, but they were all having fun.
I love my husband for always helping me with housework.
 I love my silly kids too. I want to capture more of these small moments in life that make me smile.
 
So here is my new attempt to keep the blog up-to-date. My ultimate goal is to get books made of my blog posts to keep as our family journal/history. I have friends who have done this, and I think it is a great idea. Wish me luck for success in the New Year!