So Wirth It!

Conference...

2011-10-06T13:59:00.000-07:00

I have been so anxious about seeing this sister again that
when my mission president's 10 year mission reunion (my 11th) set a date for this past
weekend I couldn't resist.

On Saturday we visited Wes's headstone.
It is beautiful with its blue Norwegian stone and Bountiful temple.

We watched the kids play on the oldest tree in Utah.
Marking his spot.

Then it was off for an adventure.
To Grasslands Park according to Lucy.

These two girls were loving being together.
Kate with her week old goose-egg covered by her hair camo-patch.
Lucy prepared for any snow storm that might come our way.

And Spencer truly braving the abrupt but short-lived wind storm.

We made it and rolled.

Dodged stray dogs and found a ladybug.

It was hungry stomachs that brought us home.

And directly behind their house is where they will dedicate
the Payson temple this weekend!

Spencer, thank you for sharing your bed.
Lucy, thank you for being the best cousin ever!
Lori, we love you and your sweet babies!

(p.s. wasn't conference perfect! :)

Wes

2011-07-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

Spencer Wesley Truman
BORN: February 15, 1981
DIED: July 4, 2011
LOCATION: Provo, UT

Wes passed away July 4, 2011 at age 30 after a 5 year battle with brain cancer. He treasured his relationships and was grateful for a life filled with opportunities to love and be loved. He was a dedicated husband and father, a devoted son and brother, a true friend, and a disciple of Jesus Christ. He impacted many lives through his kindness, his honesty, and his constant efforts to contribute, build and bless. His family and dear friends will miss his sense of humor, his winsome smile, and his helping hand, but will eternally treasure his example of faith, hope, and patient, long-suffering love.

Wes is loved by his wife Lori (daughter of Dee and DeAnna Packer, Bountiful, Utah), children Lucy and Spencer, parents Phillip and Lucinda (Las Vegas, Nevada), and siblings Zachary (Sandy), Mark (Maria), Michael (Marci), and Suzanne (Joe) Wirth. Extended family includes much loved nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents Spencer and HermaTruman.
Special thanks to Dr. Jensen, Dr. Cohen, Dr. Colman, Dr. Shrieve, Julia, Debi, Travis, Barbie, and Lisa at Huntsman Cancer Institute and Wes’s compassionate CSN caregivers Dana and Mary.
Funeral services will be held at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, July 9, 2011 at the Oak Hills Stake Center, 925 E. North Temple Drive, Provo, Utah. Friends may call at the church Friday evening from 6 until 8 p.m. and Saturday morning at 11:00 a.m. prior to services. Interment, Provo City Cemetery.

I love you little brother.

Little brother...

2011-07-03T11:06:00.001-07:00

I love this blog... westruman@blogspot.com

Conf. Weekend continued...

2011-04-02T10:10:00.001-07:00

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Conference weekend

2011-04-02T10:09:00.001-07:00

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2011-03-31T09:10:00.001-07:00

We love you Grey boy!!!

Grandma's birthday ...

2011-03-28T21:41:00.001-07:00

http://grandmalusbookshelf.blogspot.com/2011/03/faries-mothers-and-daughters.html

Christmas part 1

2011-03-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

I forgot our stockings. Good thing our Grammy had a few extra elf hats.

2011-03-23T23:50:00.001-07:00

This is what happens every time we go to Provo... it SNOWS.

Thanksgiving, the day after...

2011-03-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

Mom, are you feeling it?

2011-03-23T17:23:00.001-07:00

While listening to some of my favorite hymns the other day Kate turned to me and said "This song makes me feel something. Makes me think about my family and Jesus--like is there is no badness and all goodness."
And just a minute ago while listening to the same songs she looked over and with a wink asked if I was feeling it. Yes Love. I feel it.

Thanksgiving part 2

2011-03-21T10:53:00.001-07:00

Putting up grandma's Christmas tree

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-03-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

The feast...it was a good one!

Fun...

2011-03-20T19:59:00.000-07:00

I love hanging with my buddy.

8 is great part two

2011-03-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

The big day...

8 is great part two!!!

2011-03-18T18:17:00.000-07:00

2011-03-18T18:13:00.000-07:00

8 is great!!!

Birthday part one

2011-03-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

Truman had party number one with some of his favorite cousins...

Halloween

2011-03-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

Our Halloween went something like this...

Mackin, Mary J

2011-03-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

Guess who we saw this past fall in San Luis Obispo...yep! Mary Jane. And she's coming next month!!!

p.s. Our girls think they are best friends. Little do they know they are (at least if we have anything to do with it!!!)

2011-03-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Marci just taught me how to blog from my phone/email... Does this mean I'll actually document my life???

Sent from my iPhone

Grandma Lu

2011-03-17T17:14:00.001-07:00

Grandma Lu has a site... grandmalusbookshelf.blogspot.com

Check it out! Now you can have a taste of one of my greatest resources.

summer '10

2011-01-31T17:32:00.000-08:00

We spent quite a bit of time in

Provo this summer.

These girls did a lot of this.

We picked fresh peaches for the first

time in their lives. Sad.

And we walked with our grandma and grandpa.

(Or rode on our grandpa)

There were forts and binkies.

Our very first tart.

(That's what it's called, right?

I don't bake!)

And baby boys that loved to be together!

We miss being with them!

For Tammy...

2011-01-31T16:41:00.000-08:00

Halloween was supposed to in Provo this year...

but Grandpa needed a little recovery

time after his surgery.

So we crashed some parties in St. George.

Brynn was darling!

And of course Grandma Susan was too.

And Kate can hardly handle the fact that Aunt Tammy put "real" makeup on her!

(Mascara and all! So fun! And of course she wanted to

wear her witch costume from TWO years ago. There

was no persuading her to wear the new one we

got for this year!)

2010-11-09T18:41:00.000-08:00

Finally!

I can upload pictures!!!
Took Rachel's pictures--so fun!

BACKED UP!

2010-11-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging (duh) and it's not my fault.

In fact, it's making me crazy that I have things ready to document for the

said "blog book" and can't do it!

I purchased the extra space that it said I needed.

Nothing.

That's what I got.

I've already sent my third email off to google.

Fingers crossed!

2010-10-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

August 28

continued

We went to Temple Square on our way to Bountiful.

So beautiful.

It was so fun to be there all together.

We missed you D.C. cousins!

2010-10-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

August 29

(Provo trip continued)

We got to celebrate Lori's Birthday with her and all her family. So much fun!!!

Happy Birthday Lori.

Grey so prefers grandpa to me.

He also prefers his dad too.

(Sorta kinda...depends. I pull rank when he's sick or hurt. So that counts, right?)

The Cannon Center.

Nothing like my memory serves.

A kids paradise.

Grandpa.

We miss you.

Grandma too.

But glad you're there.

2010-10-12T16:44:00.000-07:00

September 4

The move.

Day 1.

Everyone minus D.C. Trumans came up to help Grandma and Grandpa

move it. It was a party!

Kate will pick your flowers.

And insist you smell.

Rachel and Maddy.

Truman and Sam.

Kate, Lucy and Jessica.

Megan and Emma.

Maria, Rachel and Lori.

It was so fun.

Something about the museum brings such great memories back.

Could it be the hot chocolate from the Museum Cafe, Mary?

Can you really call melted chocolate mixed with heavy cream and some sugar hot coco? Or shall we just call it heaven?

Harry, Truman, Tom and Ben.

I can't even believe how everyone is growing up!

2010-10-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

August 20

Mark and I met Mike and Wes in Provo for a quick siblings trip. Minus Zach, bummer.

It was fun to just hang out.

We took Lucy out to hit the ball.

Wes was an excellent pitcher.

We played in the park.

Then off to Salt Lake for the wedding.

My cousin Steven got married.

It was so nice to be up there.

Of course there was the Brick Oven stop.

The best part,besides the company,were the balloons.

Ariel and an elephant.

They were pretty sweet.

Then there's me taking pictures while the boys talk deep.

Did I mention the evening weather was beautiful.

Brought back many a memory of my college days.

And the ride home was a party with these guys!

And the milk shakes from Maverick!

Oh and the fresh veggies from Lars's house.

It was so much fun!

Sad Mom, Dad and Zach weren't there.

2010-10-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

August 2-9

Kaua'i

Joe and I took our first trip to Hawaii.

SOOO FUN!

Took my broken camera so I have no decent pictures.

BUT, we played hard!

Hiked, kayaked, snorkeled, tennis...

it was like we were young again!:)

My parents are saints and watched our kids!

p.s. Joe almost died and became the 78th notch on the wood sign of people who have died from the rip current right here.

No one, even locals, was out there body surfing and after our boat tour to the Napali coast and talking with locals did he realize how dangerous that was.

2010-10-03T20:44:00.000-07:00

August 30

First day of school!

It went pretty smoothly.

Day 2.

Poor Truman.

No pictures of his first day in class.

Oh well. Still love you boy.

2010-10-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

August 28

Last summer fun!

We went to Bellagio to see their fun exhibit.

The kids were in heaven.

Then we stopped for some Thai food.

Yum.

I can't believe these two are gone all day to school.

Sad.

The best part of the day was unexpected.

We stopped at the international market and decided to make it a field trip. My kids were loving the seafood section.

They wanted me to buy sardines.

No thanks.

It was a blast!

Such a great day!!!

2010-10-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

July 22

Mom and I went to meet baby Olive.

Such a doll and Laurie made her the cutest little booties.

Here are the sisters.

So fun.

2010-07-21T21:21:00.000-07:00

The Huddle.

Came upon this the other night.

Our Dad can even make cleaning fun.

Trying to regroup a little myself.

2010-07-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

posted this entry yesterday

on the wrong blog.

2010-07-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

Genetics...

Found this on Truman's door

the other day!

(I especially like how he spelled "wegges." And the "have fun" part.

Cause you better plan on having fun when you enter!

And the yelling and screaming...that would be our baby...

if Truman does not play with him the second he gets home

he's in sooo much trouble!)

And here is just a sample of

my in-laws house.

Joe and I laughed so hard when we found that on

his door!

2010-07-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

I'm having a surreal moment around here.

And I'm thinking any moment I'm going

to snap out of it and reality's going to hit.

This little one has decided he's potty trained.

Without any help mind you.

He tells me when it's time.

Saddles right on up

and get's his business done!

It's kind of freaky.

And makes him camera shy.

(Or is it that he's still sucking his bink while wearing big boy undies?)

Either way I'll take it.

2010-06-28T13:18:00.000-07:00

First things first,

I'd like to tell all my friends, family,

and roommates alike...

YOU ARE WELCOME!

These are some sweet pics!

Here we are Rach.

How old were we?

Seventeen?

And this would be a standard outfit.

Burks.

White v-neck.

Cutoffs.

And Grandma's beautiful backyard.

Makes me miss her.

And whose wedding was this?

Brooke's?

I actually do remember posing like this.

Why?

And finishing high school with Bret was

so much fun!

Look at those cheeks!

Here we are guys!

Look at our youth!

This would be fourth of July weekend of '96.

Remember all those fires driving back up to Provo?

And the dances...

and the curly hair.

Joe always asks me where it went.

Uh...have you seen your kids running around???

BYU freshman summer on the

basketball courts.

Remember that Bodyshop lipstick?

And the overalls.

Those would be mine.

And they were worn at all times by someone!

And there are still more to come!

2010-06-25T22:49:00.000-07:00

About stepped on this little pea-in-a-pod

this morning.

Who has his own personal servant(s)!

Who promptly brought him his own

personal frozen go-gurt.

And we do it for this....

because really...this is why they are so fun!

And sweet baby girl.

I'm sorry you have curly hair and

ask me to straighten it

EVERYDAY!

While your first pose is always pretend sleep.

Good thing you got that sweet headband for your birthday...

because you always sport it well.

And if you leave my house don't forget to

look back and wave.

He'll always be there.

And strictly for my benefit...

More frozen go-gurt!

And I had to make the chop...again! I tried, I really did to grow them but...

Mary's hair was so cute I couldn't resist. So why doesn't mine look like yours? :(

2010-06-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

I love the commercial with Gene Wilder singing

"pure imagination" from Charlie and the

Chocolate Factory.

I always stop and listen to it.

Makes me sentimental.

I know my posts have errors.

KNPR

thing instead of think

too instead of to

etc.

I'm just too lazy to correct them and

when I republish them they show up in

google readers twice.

Just know it's late and even though I preview

it...it's never till the next day I notice.

I remember in kindergarten my teacher took individual pictures of her students around the playground and made a slide show video. My picture was the very last one and I was sitting at the top of the slide holding onto the bar overhead right before you go down. I had jeans and a pink shirt on. I remember forgetting that she took a picture of me. As we watched she played the Rainbow Connection song.

I have always loved that song.

It's genetic.

Sara Mclaughlin's version is on my ipod and is requested daily from my girlie.

Her interpretive dance is awesome!

2010-06-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

Polar bears...

and he cut, stitched, and suffed

all by himself.

Boy, you are growing up.

Hum, not quite sure how I feel about that!

This was the happenings around here this morning.

And many a morning around here.

This baby knows he's the baby!

At the Dr. this morning (double pink eye!)

the nurse asked if he was a 'baby' or 'big boy'...

he replied BABY!

He's got it soooo good!

Kate cleaned this mirror yesterday...

once is enough, right?

(To her defense, she's an excellent mirror cleaner

who happened to be a little to enthralled with the new aerosol spray).

2010-06-20T22:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

We made gifts...

and opened them.

Then had a yummy meal and

great desserts!

Unfortunately the mousse looked

way better than it tasted.

Good thing Jody and Jerry saved the day!

Then there was the departure.

Everyone was running on no sleep and

Trum lost his DS...

And of course we had Grey

to scream at us every two seconds

at our slow response to

"find me!"

But Kate entertained herself quite nicely.

And only asked me to take a picture of

every single one of hers.

Good think I had it out and am trying to

keep up with my goals!

Such a great Dad!

Such a great weekend!

2010-06-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

Sunny St. George.

We met baby Thomas for

the first time.

Seriously?

So delicious!

And had such a good time

by the pool!

But who doesn't with

these girls!

And Dave...

need I say more?

It's good to have you guys back!

Together with Johnny Lukey!

And the nostril flare.

And all those cousins.

We'd forgotten how many there actually

are! It has been WAY to long!

So much fun! And thanks Deb for the stay! Love your house. And it was worth the travel even as I listen to Grey upstairs wide awake begging to get out. Sorry buddy...routine's back!

careers...

2010-06-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

Truman:

Secret Spy Agent

"...because of all the neat gadgets and cool cats."

That's why we love him.

2010-06-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

Why are our mornings

SOOOOOOOOOO

rushed?

And cereal, really?

I wish I were a morning person.

Then maybe you would ever

get your piano

practiced.

Princess and the frog.

He jumps off

everything!

And really likes his

personal space.

And she's usually good about

giving him everything he wants.

He's lucky to have such a

sweet big sister.

Can't I just keep her home

one more year?

2010-06-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

Every morning

I wake up to this.

Then comes the

demands.

With an occasional

"please."

And I'm up.

Truman brought this

home today.

He has such a great teacher!

2010-06-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

Someone got a hair cut.

Now it looks even messier than his long curly hair did.

Huh?

And sometimes when he brings me his bowl and asks for chocolate (broken up chunks of my 70% dark chocolate bar)I give it to him and call it "chocolate soup." And this happens everyday. Yah.

Lately I've found myself sitting in my car waiting for whatever it is on KMPR to end because I don't want to miss it. Tonight I pretended I was doing something really cool on my phone (cause I'm the LAST person to have an iphone or internet service on earth, hence pretended) while I sat in Sam's parking lot listening. My favorite part is that I pretended that I was on my phone. Like anyone notices/cares about me sitting in my car.

Awesome.

I was trying to document the life of my white floors and document how dirty they are right now! Then I took this picture and realized how sweet they translate in a photo. Nice and shiny! Total deception.

How can my big boy be soooo grown?

Does every carpool with little boys revolve around potty talk???

Time to edit.

Hemmmm...

no explanation...

2010-06-13T22:18:00.000-07:00

We had a great

lesson on journals

today.

I love that Grey loves

to watch Barbie

Movies!

It's those

catchy songs.

I got my

braces off in

March.

No one noticed the braces

gone just that

I "looked so good."

Could it be that my teeth

are no longer

covered in

yellow braces?

Yes,

it could.

That would make

anyone

look

good!

I love to watch my kids

play with their dad!

I don't know

who enjoys

it more.

But you should hear them go!

It's like the world's

loudest wrestle

match/stampede

EVER!

It's my

favorite.

Kate's award for preschool was

"being such a good sharer and friend"

She really is.

She's totally unaware

but her Sunday

school teacher tells me how

the boys fight to sit

by her.

That's what you get for

being sweet.

Should I be nervous?

Truman will do

ANYTHING

for DS privileges.

Why did we

wait so long

to get

one?

win.win.

Lot's to do

this week...

Let's hope

for the

BEST.

more pics...

2010-05-21T23:04:00.000-07:00

my cousin erica came got me

motivated to post.

maybe now i'll catch up on everything i've missed.

it was so fun!
thank you.
thank you.

blame...

2010-03-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

I've always thought

my kids got their foreheads

from their Dad.

I saw this picture at my mom's

and realized I might

have had some

part in it too.

Sorry Joe.

Wasn't Grandma Bowler an amazing photographer?
I wish she was still here.

tradition or training?

2010-03-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

Each of my kids go through

the same thing

at this stage.

They are fun.

And they learn a lot!

They fly.

(nice boogs)

They play peek-a-boo.

They flex.

But this is where I start to get worried.

Whenever Joe changes a diaper

(he's really good to do it...sometimes:)

he plays "stinky feet" with my kids.

He acts like they have super sonic stinky feet

which cause him to scream and duck out out of the way.

It's adorable.

(Sick but adorable.)

(Sometimes he changes diapers just so we

can listen to them laugh that deep

belly laugh.)

But our kids eventually end up the smellers.

And I swear they do it so they can listen

to our deep belly laughs.

First the shoe.

Then the sock.

(so sick!)

Seriously the most adorable thing ever.

And grossest!

The best was while Joe was eating dinner Grey climbed

on the top of the table pulled his real stinky foot to

his face, sniffed, and cringed with a little head shake.

Built in entertainment!

Off the subject:

I'm having a practice airbrush openhouse after my training on Sat. the 27th for a huge discount. If you want to try it out just email me. suzytwirth@yahoo With my skin issues self-tan has been my only solution for years and when I say this is amazing color I know because I've been them all! If only I had creamy fair skin like Marci I wouldn't have such an issue in the summer. Oh well :) Thank goodness for self-tan or I'd be brown and white polka dot! :)

uh hem....

2010-03-15T13:53:00.001-07:00

Can you guess who is

today?

(even though I bought the wrong number of candles today...

guess you can be 31 for another year :)

Can this really have been

years ago?

Months before we were to be wed FOREVER!

Can this really have been

years ago?

Love that Dixie High hair!

Were you an Mark really in that male calender?

Happy Birthday Joe!

I love you!

You are the best e.v.e.r.!!!

Beep, beep....wha?

fly on the wall...

2010-03-11T09:50:00.000-08:00

Well not exactly a fly.

Chelsea invited me to the birth of her

beautiful baby girl

Juliet.

(fabulous name!)

Every woman needs to experience a child birth other than their own.

I had no idea it would have the impact on me that it did.

I was focusing trying to capture the emotion of it all,

only to be wiping my own tears as she arrived.

Serious.

Amazing.

Thank you Chelsea.

This last picture and the one of her hugging her brand

new baby for the first time are my favorites.

I'm blessed to have been there too.

It is so miraculous.

Ratchfords....

2010-03-10T16:10:00.001-08:00

Thank you for driving those extra hours to come see us.

It was so amazing how our kids got on!

Kinda freaky actually....the whole acting like they've known each other forever.

And it was so good to see the two of you.

Let's make this a tradition.

Next time we'll drive.

(I can't get the pics of Joe/Davy and Truman/Leah to upload :(

But here are the younger girls.

(Sweet face, Kate)

This dude is seriously 100% Irish...

and so adorable.

Look at you guys!

Do you want to come back and stay?

And here we are in the beginning.

That can't really be that long ago, right?

Thanks for coming! We love you guys!

Like anyone cares....

2010-03-07T12:57:00.000-08:00

but me. I am in love with my sewing machine. (And the awesome tutorials available thanks to Mr. Google himself.) binding + old t-shirt of mine with bad puffy sleeves = sweet new shirt for this little one! i.love.sewing.

(yes, I am aware that it looks home-grown. :)

But at least if I document it I can *hopefully* see progress, right?

seriously?

2010-03-05T13:02:00.000-08:00

After breakfast I was emptying the dishwasher and upon opening the cabinet to discard my goods Grey caught sight of my chocolate stash.

(Mind you it's 85% dark chocolate so you'd think I'd be safe from my kids, but oh no...)

So naturally I give him the smallest amount I could get away with and stick it directly in his mouth along with my "eat it quick" chant.

Only to have him track me down for more looking like this...

(I didn't even give him as much chocolate as was on his face in the first place!)

Seriously Dude?

It's nine in the morning.

And we kept the same outfit on all day long cause that's how I roll.

wrapping up + provo....

2010-02-24T21:18:00.000-08:00

Wrapping up our family trip...

Here we all circa 1983, right mom? We lived in Bountiful and I loved the rose on the front of that dress. My mom saved it for me. 3, 6, 8, 10. Can that really be that long ago? Passing time is such a strange thing. But here we all are still and for that I'm thankful.

There is a story about this pictures...I think it has to do with my mom being slightly ticked

by the time we got there and the camera guy with a stuffed animal. Right, mom?

Provo!

There is a particular little person in our household who consistently ( CONSISTENTLY) asked when we were going to Provo. Two reasons: Lucy and snow. It didn't help that Dad said we would sometime. Lest you doubt, this little one is NOT to be distracted! Give up?....

And here she is wearing my very first skirt I've ever made her!

(Can I get a whoop, whoop???)

With yellow pockets and a pattern I made by copying a skirt she has.

Can I tell you I love it? (And yes, I do realize I'm the only one but there is seriously something to be said about sewing!)

Ah...little girl! I do love you so.

So of course when the opportunity came we couldn't pass it up. Girls trip to Provo!

And the SNOW!!!

(It didn't matter to her that it was the only patch I could find...wet and dirty but SNOW!)

And of course LUCY!!!

Who let her borrow boots, too!

Little girls...I love them!

And baby Spencer...I cannot get enough of you baby!

But we came for Wes's Birthday! So glad we did!

Thanks for letting us come!

I love you guys!

Family...isn't it about time?

2010-02-20T23:14:00.000-08:00

Why yes it is! And thanks to Mark (and Maria) their gift to my parents for Christmas was (planning and making sure it happened) a family trip. So in Mike and Wes flew and off we went minus Zach for the first few days.

We had the best time! Eating, walking, and of course bike riding. It was sweet and I lost the bike ride pics on my card...so sad. My parents can still totally rock it.
Zach flew in and we went to Laguna to check out some tide pools. Did I tell you we're moving? Yep, California here we come! You can kind of see our house on the hillside just below....

After some serious scaling off the mountain Mark came across this little thing.
If you look really close you can see that little guy come out...it was so cool. Mark wanted to keep it. :)

After Mark slipped and fell in (I only laughed when I made sure he wasn't hurt :) he really was graceful) we went to the temple. Then we drove by the house my dad grew up in quickly since the owners thought we were stalkers.
We had so much Balderdash fun. It was such a great trip! Why has it taken us so long??? Thank you so much Mark for everything and all the spouses that stayed home so we could all go. Looks like we've got ourselves a new tradition. I love you all!

thelongestpostever . . .

2010-01-11T20:16:00.001-08:00

I just got back in town (from the best siblings + parents weekend getaway) and know myself well enough that if I don't get these posted they won't ever be. Kind of like my New Year cards I printed and have sitting on my counter to send but won't because I've past the acceptable sending time frame. (Or am I just that lazy?) Anyway, this is our December as documented through still frames.

Here we are decorating our sweet tree. Just picture five feet of actual tree and one and a half feet of fake trunk and you've got the idea. Awesome. I vowed to do a real tree this year but our lazy selves caved to my kids wanted to put the tree up the Sunday we got back from Thanksgiving. In the end it actually grew on us and I stopped mocking it every time I saw it.

Our family Santa outing at Town Square. We dropped off the Grey boy at my parents and took off. And just like last year the line was way too long and the kids had other plans (merry-go-round, bridge races) to want to wait. So we saw him, made our peace, and once again took off. It was so fun!

Christmas Eve was at Grandma and Grandpa's house. We just had the added advantage of having Joe's parents there too. They spent the Holiday with us and it was wonderful!

Christmas morning brought Grandma Wirth waking us up at 7:30ish? (For some reason Christmas morning has been a sleep in morning at our house.) And Santa did deliver!

We stopped by to visit our dear friends Al and Judy. They are basically family and my kids think they have three sets of grandparents.

The day after Christmas brought my cousin's party in Gunlock at the city hall. (Is that what it's called now?)

So much fun!

I love this last picture of the group. We had a million cameras on timer and made the run back to the group a ton of times. This is my best one. And that would be Bronson's bum smack dab. (I have since set my timer with a little more time:) And I can't not mention my darling mom and aunts!

On our way back to home we stopped by Grandma Wirth's to visit her candy shop. Which some kids totally ate all her stuff. (I'm not claiming them!)

It was such a great holiday! Joe and I have decided that the week between Christmas and New Years should be a mandatory vacation!

Phew...now I'm done with 2009. I'm already a few posts behind for 2010. Wish me luck once again!

2009 ramblings...

2009-12-29T10:05:00.000-08:00

Shall I make a list? Okay.

(In random order of significance.)

1. Thanks you for the birthday shout-outs!!! Facebook really does make you feel special on your birthday. And Joe (who has never ever posted in his life) totally surprised me on this here blog. It was a fun birthday!

2. Top Chef Las Vegas. Any takers on that? I had grown tired of this show but was taken in by the brothers. I thought I recognized them from Vegas (because I think I recognize everyone) and was soon sold on how awesome this season was going to be. Those three finalists were all amazing!

3. Friday Night Lights. I won season one and couldn't force myself to watch it. That is until I told Kristen about my dilemma and she promptly text me to WATCH IT one night. So I did and three full seasons and one week later I was officially obsessed. Sad and true.

4. I've exercised regularly since March. Cardio and resistance. Followed my routines faithfully. Felt great. This was a first for me in my entire life. Thing is, I haven't done anything since Thanksgiving morning and I kinda like it. Other than the fact that I never have any energy and never get ready since I don't have to wash the nasty gym off, I'm loving it. And I'm NOT starving at eight in the morning anymore. It's pretty sweet.

5. Grey's favorite songs to sing are: 1. Who let the Dogs Out? 2. Wonder Pets theme song. 3. ABCs. One day we were driving in the car and Grey happened to be freaking out when all of the sudden KMPR played a clip of Who Let The Dogs Out. Grey froze and started barking and that's when I realized all that singing had not gone to waste.

6. Speaking of Grey . . . he did fall out of his pack'n'play before I took the bassinet part out and slept all night on the floor. How's that for awesome parents. We had no clue.

7. At Legoland this year Kate would ride even the scary rides thus forcing to Truman to do so. It was so funny. Truman was not pleased with the situation but complied to avoid wimping out to his sister!

8. My two best friends had babies two days apart! Hazel on Christmas Eve and baby boy the day after Christmas! Wish I could meet them both!

9. Joe got me a sewing machine for Christmas! Total surprise! Not that I hadn't asked for it . . .I broke mine in the process of reupholstering my couch. But surprised I was. So I guess it's time to learn how to sew for reals this time!

10. I actually hung things on my wall this month. CRAZY! It's only taken me 13 months to do so. Now it's upstairs time . . . I'm shaking up the bedroom situation and going to get things done! (It's a new year so I can say that stuff, right?)

11. I'm the WORST commenter ever no thanks to Google Reader. And for that I am sorry. I'm a slave to it! (You should be too.) But it makes me sad that I am lazy and don't click out of it to comment . . . just know I do in my head. And I've come to embrace the fact that I really do love this blogging world! It's such a connector and I love it!

Well I've got holiday pictures to post, New Years cards to send, and walls to paint. Wish me luck!

A VERY MERRY REAL BIRTHDAY, FOR WHO? FOR SUZE!!!

2009-12-08T19:28:00.000-08:00

SUZY HAS OFFICIALLY TURNED 32!

And as her husband, who's spent 8 or 9 of those years at her side, I feel I'm in a pretty solid position to offer some objective opinions about how friggin' awesome she is! (can you say "friggin'" on these blogs? First post.)

But rather than ooze on an on about how great she is like those newlyweds used to do in our first BYU married ward (eyes rolling), let me keep it short and simple by giving quick props to just two of the many things I love about my wife--her culinary acumen and her one-of-a-kind fun personality.

Just to help you understand her dedication to all things food--Suzy asks for cook books and kitchen appliances for Christmas and her Birthday and the best part is--she's sincere in her requests. How sweet is that, especially for a "what's in it for me" guy, like myself. She makes me (close your eyes during this part mom) NOT long for my mom's cooking, sorry mom. AND she cooks so well it's kind of taken the fun out of eating out at fancy restaurants. Thank you Suzy for teaching me what "capers" were at 24 and how to eat stinky expensive cheese at 30.

As for her personality, Suzy is not simply my comical equivalent or intellectual equal, she always seems to "one up" me, but in a good way--in a way where life never has a chance to get dull and the conversation is never boring. Suzy is totally unique and is always game when fun's to be had. And for that I love her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUZY and I think I speak for all of us who know you well enough to read your blog that the world would not be as bright and wonderful without you.

HAPPY 32!!!

Thanksgiving....

2009-11-29T16:54:00.000-08:00

(phew...finally caught up!)

Thanks to Joe, we have some documentation of Thanksgiving! It was a wonderful time spent with the Wirths!

Birthday boy!!!

2009-11-29T16:48:00.000-08:00

It was a party at the bounce house!

And there were only two teeth knocked out this time!

Happy Birthday Truman--we love you!

Grandma's house...

2009-11-29T16:43:00.001-08:00

Wes and his family came for the weekend so we all got together for breakfast!

We ate, played, and visited. Such fun times! We missed you Mike and family! (And Jessica and Maria.)

preschool times....

2009-11-29T16:39:00.000-08:00

We LOVE Miss Karilee! Kate's Halloween and Thanksgiving performances were so cute! I can't believe how big she's getting!

halloween....

2009-11-29T16:32:00.000-08:00

Went a little something like this:

I didn't even have a costume for this little guy...good thing my friend shelli had an extra one in her car. :)

This dude's an alien--minus the alien face (not his favorite). He has the best first grade teacher!

And this little one was . . . a fairy! Surprise! You cannot resist her though. She is that scrumptious!

lessons....

2009-11-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

Today I read this girl's post. I remembered the phone call from my mom. The flights back and forth. The prayers and feelings that accompanied the faith. I remember the later confidence and relief only to be chased away again by fear. And then I read her post. And sat and wondered how I have allowed this fear to enter and spread its grimy gloom to other aspects of my life too. Well, I'm done. I'm with you Lori. I'm choosing faith!

birthday boy!!!

2009-10-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

My cousin erica always does this for birthdays and i LOVE it...i'm a total copycat.

For Truman:

1. He was born with light blonde hair...huh?

2. He took a binky from day one.

3. Happy mellow infant.

4. Full of energy FUN toddler.

5. Happy happy happy.

6. When he was smaller, he'd walk up to the park and yell "hey friends!" to all the strangers there and left with them all saying "bye Truman!"

7. Tender hearted.

8. Loves to get cozy.

9. Will scratch your back without expecting a return scratch.

10. Makes his sister pay him money to read his Calvin and Hobbs.

11. The top reader in his second grade reading class.

12. Loves to draw.

13. Has bizarrely neat handwriting.

14. Is the tallest in his class.

15. He's been wearing size 8 slims since he turned six.

16. He has thick hair like Grandpa Truman.

17. His Grandpa is his buddy!

18. Could watch T.V. all day if I let him.

19. At two he would play with Thomas the Tank Engine and his track for hours.

20. Favorite food is Salmon and salad.

21. Always asks for a tuna in olive oil salad with vinegar and veggies.

22. When eating calamari, he prefers the rings to the mini octopi with the scary tentacles.

23. Will pass on baked goods.

24. Prefers hard sugar candy.

25. Has nine cavities . . . I know! But each cavity hit two surfaces and that's how we ended up with nine! (Bad mom!)

26. Wrestles his dad everyday.

27. He's the bug killer around here.

28. Scared of dogs (sorry dude, my bad.)

29. He can talk LOUD! (wonder where he gets that from . . . )

30. Loves to read.

31. He's a great friend.

32. LOVES his cousins!!!

33. His prayers never miss Wes, Grandpa, and Mia (Mark's dog that broke her leg . . . huh # 28??)

34. Loves his family.

35. Is a good brother.

36. Helps me out a ton!

37. The best sleeper.

38. Used to sleep till 10 am when he was a toddler with a three hour nap and going to bed at 8 pm.

39. Has always been big and tall.

40. Plays the piano really well.

41. Loves basketball.

42. Is a surprisingly fast swimmer.

43. Is very affectionate.

44. Always gives "best friends for hugs" with his cousins.

45. His fingernails grow like weeds!

46. Loves to hang with his dad.

47. Was potty-trained in two days and never wet at night. (Don't ask how old he was--not that old! ) :)

48. Learned to ride his bike in two days . . . again he was a tad older.

49. Loved the hydrotube in the st. george city pool this summer and came out screaming with joy as he fist-pumped the air after being held down by his cousin that came down on him.

50. Gets his nervousness from me . . . but he's getting better.

51. Could stay up all night!

52. Loves all the bands his dad does and prefers rock-n-roll (go figure).

53. Had chronic ear infections as a toddler which lead to tubes in his ears.

54. Has always had allergies.

55. Has blue eyes.

56. Grew two inches in the last four months.

57. He is a magnet for friends.

58. Can talk to anyone.

59. Eats as fast as Zach . . . or maybe faster.

60. Eats a ton of food!!!

61. Has to have his own down time.

62. Loves his grandma and grandpa and going to their house.

63. Loves veggies but won't touch oatmeal.

64. Wants whipped cream every morning on his breakfast.

65. Doesn't really snack (just has solid meals and pounds that food!)

66. He will always clean with a bribe.

67. Wishes I let him watch Spongebob.

68. Loves his butter fresh and straight from the fridge to his toast (or anything else that requires butter...but who doesn't??)

69. Loves saltines and butter (thanks to me, my mom, and grandma Bowler)

70. As a baby he was always dancing, excited and happy.

71. Is still that.

77. Was born during the wee hours of Halloween morning.

78. Was a week over his due date.

79. He was 21 lbs. at 5 months.

80. Always tells me when he likes my hair, or outfit, or when I get dressed up. He totally notices that stuff.

81. Constantly surprises us at what he can do whether it's piano, school work, or sports.

82. Loves Subway.

83. Loves pickles just like his grandpa.

84. Sat down with him one morning to teach him to tie his shoes and he's never asked me since.

85. Didn't walk till he was just over sixteen months old...he was huge!

86. Always wants to know which team is the good team so he can cheer for them.

87. Always puts random objects under his pillow each night.

88. Has lost two teeth.

89. He's easy to get along with.

90. He loves the comics section of the paper.

91. Didn't get his first tooth until 11 months.

92. Loves to play the computer.

93. Had RSV and croup at two months old, but other than the ear infections he's always been really healthy.

94. I remember driving in the car and Truman saying, "mom, I want to be good just like Jesus."

95. He's the one who reads the scriptures to us each night.

96. Still has his favorite baby blanket that Maria got him, which he hides because Grey gets pretty territorial when it comes to blankets.

97. He's seven years old and in first grade.

98. He cut a neighbor girl's hair when he was three...(They collaborated together and I was just glad I wasn't the one tending...)

99. Can never find a matching flip flop...makes me crazy.

100. Is the best boy we could ever ask for!!! We LOVE you Truman!!!

we love you truman!

happy birthday!!!

sneak peek...

2009-10-17T23:28:00.001-07:00

Had the best time today! This wedding was beautiful...and so were the people!!! Many more of these two to come but for now...sleep.:) Thank you Chelsea and Cameron!

maternity pics...

2009-10-16T21:20:00.000-07:00

Mary got an awesome new bike! We planned on doing maternity pics when I came out and of course we left that task to be done in the twenty minutes before we had to leave for the airport. Why? Why are we both so much the same and we leave ourselves 20 minutes??? Ahhhh! Twenty minutes or not she still looks awesome!

san francisco....

2009-10-16T20:33:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm finally getting caught up (somewhat) here's recap of my sweet girl's trip!

Oh--the shopping the city and the eating!!! We felt young and hip for a second until we realized: a)one of us is pregnant. b)one has braces (which might be confused into feeling young--but does just the opposite when you're 15 years late!) c)we're old!!! And just a little confused on how we got this old and why we still feel 18. wierd. (d)Mary was/is always the hip one.) And lastly e)we got so dang tired! What the??? I'm not even pregnant!

Joe and Jason...Thanks for making it happen! And Mare...seriously mare, thank you a million times over!!! :)

shout out!

2009-10-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!!

For the most FABULOUS weekend friend!

(more pics to come...)

wrapping it up!

2009-09-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

No lines + cool breeze + weekend before school started = BEST DAY EVER!!!

(why would anyone ever go when it's hot and busy???)

wish list....

2009-08-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

Cowboy boots. Glasses. Braces. All I wanted at six years old. And why not? These were/are sweet accessories. And finally at thirty-something one came true...

It's not these.

Or some sweet glasses...

Oh no--it's the one wish I totally outgrew.

voila!

(can you tell? hopefully the filter and/or messy utility room distracts)

Thanks Mark!

And if you're in Henderson this guy's great too!