Yard Sale Theft

In pursuit of our move to London, we had a yard sale to raise funds and clean out our storage unit. We advertised only a little and had a tremendous turnout. Having posted the start time at 9, we found ourselves scrambling to get everything out on the front lawn for everyone arriving by 8. We sold almost half of everything we had out before 9.

Feeling successful and pretty good about our day, I had the urge to take a picture, only to find that where I had last left the camera, on a chair by the cash box, there was no longer a camera. My heart dropped and I asked everyone if they'd seen it. We looked for a while until the inevitable realization came upon us suddenly; someone had stolen it. I guess they read our signs as, "buy a $2 shirt and get a $200 camera for free!" Who are these sick people? The worst part was how violated I felt. Luckily there weren't more than 10-20 new pictures of Maya that I hadn't uploaded. Brett kept reassuring me by telling me that whoever took it will have to spend a lot of money to keep it working.

At least we made enough money to buy a new camera and have a little leftover.

Our advice to all: don't take pictures of your yard sale!

visas & allergies

It is August and we are finalizing all of our preparations for the big move. I can't believe it is already here. This summer has flown by and Maya is already 6 months old and almost crawling! She's still very small for her age (5th percentile) but is so active and happy. Brett calls her his little capuchin monkey.

We took her to an allergist last Friday for concerns about hives and allergic reactions she was getting from milk products (formula). She was so funny at the doctor's office; smiling and happy, completely unaffected by the nurse scratching her back with common allergens; she just wanted to play. Everybody loved her. She is always bringing out the best in people with her magnetic, charming personality and crazy attitude about life. I hope that continues throughout her life. On to the bad/disappointing news: dad's childhood food allergies were passed on! We found out she is allergic to milk, egg, peanut, and dog.

{sigh}

"She'll grow out of it," is everyone's response, and I can only hope that comes true and that they don't become worse. So, yes, my baby girl has an Epipen Jr. and it makes me so sad. All kinds of thoughts keep running through my head...what do I make her for her 1st birthday without eggs and milk? How will she survive her young childhood without Grandma's famous chocolate cake and a (real) warm chocolate chip cookie? I know I'm probably over-reacting, so we're taking it one day at a time. I am not supposed to wean her off nursing as soon as I would have liked, but I know that's probably a good thing. We just have to be careful of what we eat and hopefully it won't last forever! At least she doesn't realize what she's missing, me on the other hand....

We are looking forward to a British holiday season. Hopefully we'll receive our visas soon, (so we can actually go!) which will be the last big thing we need to do. Overwhelmed...anxious...nervous...excited...happy...all of the above, we actually can't wait to have our own place again! It will be sad to say good bye to family and friends, but hopefully we can convince people to come visit...any takers? We do have a one-bedroom apartment!

summer

family reunions...4th of july...baseball...swimming...bear lake...grandma's house...friends...

The Last Frontier

We finally made it to Alaska! It was awesome. We were so happy that we were able to go. I loved showing Brett and Maya around all the places that I grew up visiting. We went fishing, hiking, took the Moku (our newly acquired family boat) out in the ocean, and saw eagles, bear, and a ton of moose! I was really nervous about taking Maya that far on an airplane, but we figured it would be good practice for London. She did so great too. She slept through most of both flights and endured a 10-mile hike, hanging out by the side of a river while we tried to catch fish and a lot of long car rides. Here is a small preview of our ten days in Alaska

Mine is the biggest :) 60 pounds!!! I couldn't even reel him in by myself.

It was a beautiful day, but we didn't catch any big ones.

Hiking the Russian River twice in one day! (The things we do for fish!) Dad carried Maya in the Moby and it was so cute. We even caught some fish!

Fishing off of Moku. It was BEAUTIFUL!

Brett's proud catch

Maya driving the Moku!

Her first ocean experience.

We're officially moving to London in September. We just received baby Maya's passport, cutest thing, and we finalized our living accommodations. We're becoming very anxious and excited!

We are going to...

Maya is very excited!!!

Having fun in Pine Valley with Wade, Hil and Grandma

3 Months

Maya is now 3 months old! I know so many people who say that it goes by so fast, and I agree (kind of). I can't believe she's already 3 months, but it also feels like we've had her forever.

Maya...

weighs 11 lbs. 1 oz.

is an avid thumb-sucker

sleeps through the night now

finally getting better at eating!!!

talks, smiles and laughs at just about anyone when she's in a good mood

talks to her hands

is constantly moving about (why we think she's not fatter)

blows bubbles

loves watching TV

is growing out of all her clothes only vertically

twirls her hair

Oh we love the Papaya!

Looking forward to a trip to Alaska this summer and a new chapter starting graduate school! (whereabouts still unknown)

Maya's Blessing, the big move, etc.

Maya's blessing day, March 7, 2010

We really wanted to bless her in our home ward in Salt Lake before we moved. We met some incredible friends there and will really miss it. It was an amazing day and Maya did so well. She didn't cry at all and looked at her daddy during the whole blessing. We had so many family members and friends come to support her. It was a beautiful and very perfect day.

Hanging out in the crib while we were moving out.

She loves her AntHil! It was convenient having a lot of family around for the blessing to help with the big move to Vernal!!!

I just love her little body.

She starts school next week.... :)

She sucks her wrist and fingers sometimes...the thumb was a one time thing, I think. I almost died, it was so cute.

Gotta love her

Seven weeks old! She was so excited about it :) She smiles and talks to us all the time. It is so much fun. She has the funniest personality.

Brett has heard back from almost all of the graduate schools, and he's been accepted to BYU, University of Albany, NY, one in California and the London School of Economics. We have some big decisions to make and are so excited. We will be moving to one of these places this fall, or late summer.

We're letting Maya decide :)