Chuy News

Vacation Time!

2012-01-19T20:42:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful time on vacation this last week. We arrived in Long Beach, then boarded a 4 night, 3 day cruise (Catalina Island, Ensenada, Mexico) and ended our marathon trip with a day at Disneyland. Sooo fun, all of it. Lots of driving, lots of laughter, water, food and wonderful memories.

There is sooo much I could write or say, but I think pictures say more. So enjoy the show.

Long Beach - 1st night we arrived. Jacob was sooo excited.

Alexia wanted to draw too.

Lots of icecream on the Cruise - lots!

You still can watch the morning cartoons on a cruise!

Docked in the bay near Catalina Island. Early morning shot - beautiful!

Cousins, "fighting" over who can push the stroller! :)

Catalina Island

We rented bikes on Catalina Island in the afternoon -- I need to use those muscles more!

Dress-up/formal night.

Docked at Ensenada, Mexico.

Jacob got soaked at the natural blow-hole in Mexico. Everyone wanted to take his picture.

Not a super flattering family picture - but we got one. Blowhole in Mexico.

Alexia caught the Mexican-sombrero style.

One last family picture, docked in Long Beach, California.

Hardly took any pictures at Disney, having too much fun playing! :)

Went to the Lego Store in Downtown Disney on the way out.

15 Months and growing

2012-01-06T20:58:00.000-08:00

Alexia turned 15 months on Wednesday and I feel like my life has been turned upside down. To be honest, adding a second child had been relatively easy for Erick and I, much easier than when the first was born. Maybe it was being smarter parents, or at a different stage in life and probably even the different personalities played a part, but it has been wonderful.

However, this week, Miss A has turned her personality up a notch, she wants to do everything that Jacob is doing and more. When she's done with her food, she now throws her bowl, the left over food and politely smears her food-clad hands in her hair and face. She tears apart Jacob's legos (well, that has been going on for awhile) and has learned the word "pon," comes from "chupon" (Spanish) and is constantly looking and asking for her pacifier. But she is still pure joy. It's fun to watch her toughness.

This morning, I left Jacob and Alexia in the living room this morning for only a few minutes, and came back to find this . . .

It made me smile. In the three minutes I was gone, her pants, socks and hair clip were gone, but the two of them were all giggles and smiles. It really does make my heart swell, I am grateful, proud, and can't wait for the future. I dream that they will be the best of friends, and love, respect and watch over each other.

And I am hoping and praying that this picture provides a small glimpse of that dream.

Spring 2012

2012-01-03T19:05:00.000-08:00

At least that is what the weather in Utah has been feeling like. It's been beautiful weather the last few weeks, even month. There was an actual record made/broke in December, least amount of snow (0.1") since 1970-something. It's been beautiful, but also different. We normally spend Christmas break and the first few weeks in January sledding, making snowman and rolling in the snow. Although I am sure that will still come, instead we have played outside.

Today we went on a L-O-N-G walk, fed the ducks and soaked up as much sunshine as we could. I didn't take my camera with me, but I was able to snap a few pictures with my phone. The ducks also appaeared as if they were hungry, for the bread we dished out and the warm sun, they were swarming all around us and Jacob and Alexia clapped and giggled with all the clamor.

Who knows, maybe we will have summer tomorrow?

A Classic Christmas Moment

2011-12-14T23:12:00.000-08:00

Just a classic Christmas moment at the English Ward Christmas Party. J was sooo excited and could hardly stand the thought of having to wait in line for so long, to be able to talk to Santa. And when he got up to chat, he wouldn't stop talking, his Christmas wish list went on and on . . . . and on! And then A had her turn, instant tears and screaming, a c-l-a-s-s-i-c moment, we just had to take a picture. She will love us someday.

We have round two this next week, with a Christmas party and Santa at the Spanish Ward Party. Maybe we can get a happy picture with the two of them?! :)

A fall photo shoot!

2011-10-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

We tried to schedule a family photo shoot and it wasn't happening, so I grabbed my very unprofessional camera, cleaned up the kidlets and found the best street in our neighborhood for taking pictures. I only had an hour between picking Jacob up from school and time for lunch and nap time. I gave them apples, hoping that it would hold their hunger and also hoping it would play up the fall theme.

And here are the pictures!

And would know that Alexia was actually easier to photograph than Jacob, and that Jacob's "smile" has turned into a slight monster face . . . I am sure he will outgrow that too!

Which is your favorite?

Fall fun!

2011-10-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

Fall is my most favorite holiday. I love the colors, the clothes, the outdoor activities and most definitely the weather. Fall in Utah this year has been B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. Perfect weather, clear, crisp at night, and warm during the day.

We also celebrated Alexia's 1st birthday and hosted a fall-themed outdoor party in our backyard. I will have to steal some pictures from my sister (as I was running around making the party happened), but the night was perfect. We went with a fall them too, served both white and red Chile with all the fixings, set up a fire in our backyard and set up a pumpkin pinata for the kids. We had a blast and it was a beautiful perfect evening. Alexia took the first swing at the pinata and just enjoyed being outdoors in the mist of family friends.

Alexia taking the first swing at her 1st birthday party!

This fall, we also have been able to:

Hike
Visit the Bensen Mill with our good friends for a Dr. Seuss HHalloween-themed Halloween of fun.
Campfires at home
Millcreek (dinner and a bonfire)
Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point, and
Halloween kids parties (lots of them :)

A quick informal family picture, Millcreek Canyon

Keeping warm, Millcreek Canyon

Millcreek

Today we had more fall fun. We met up with my girlfriend Shawn and her little girl for a day of fun at Cornbelly's. Wow - what a fun place for kids and old alike. We spend 5 hours there and could have gone all day, except that we had a Science Night at school to race back to, and a Halloween Party at church for the kids!

First Day of School

2011-09-07T20:11:00.000-07:00

Mr. Jacob Chuy started school this past Tuesday, preschool. He was soooo excited and couldn't sleep well the first night. He asked if he could raise his hand to ask questions (yes), if he would get to ride a bus (yes, the Chuy-mobile) and eat lunch at school (no, just snacks).

Here he is, in all of his happy, excited (and not at all nervous), glory!

1st day of preschool, September 2011

9 Months

2011-07-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

I have sooo much catching up to do, it will probably never happen . . . but at least we are having fun.

We have had a whirlwind of a July, already, and there are still two weeks to do. Summer is sooo fun, tin foil dinners in the canyon, LOTS of swimming, park days, the zoo, BBQs and more.

For the 4th, we went to Provo for the BIG parade. It was sooo crowded, but very fun. Family and friends got to the parade so early and were kind to save seats for us all. My favorite float was ??, but there were 50 people decked out in REAL Star War costumes, each one holding a different state's flag, it was sooo cool.

Alexia waiting for the fireworks to start at Sugar House Park, Salt Lake City.

We enjoyed lunch at Cafe Rio's, headed home, took naps, played in the water at our home, watched the Peru/Uruguay game in the early evening, before heading to Sugar House Park at night. It was fun! We took a picnic dinner, had purchased glow sticks at the dollar store in advance and headed out. I LOVE fireworks and combined with a great summer night = life can't get any better.

July 4th was also Lexi's 9-month-celebration (can't believe it!)

Her well child-stat's made me a bit nervous . .

Height: 94%

Weight: 14% (This is the one that makes me nervous, she doesn't look skinny, but we need to get some more meat on that tall slender cute body of hers!)

And then my mom or a neighbor added the comment, "and 100% eyelashes." It's true, she has super-duper long eyelashes!

We had one dollar in cash between Erick and I to score Jacob a popcicle at Sugar House Park

A Littl' Cow-Milking Excitement.

2011-07-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

Jacob made the Deseret Newspaper, one of the two major papers in Utah. He has a real nack of being in the right place at the right time or hamming it for the camera. Because a little over a year ago, he was also in the Provo, Utah paper, found here.

The story behind the picture.
This summer I made myself a calendar of field trips, the "Chuy's Summer Camp." We alternate between exploring new parks and goingn on actual field trips. We have gone to lots of parks, checked out the new dinosaur exhibit at the zoo, played in the canals, gone to cool outdoor swimming pools and still have a candy factory tour and other fun things left on the list. About a month ago, we were on one of these "field trips" to Wheeler Farm, one of our favorite places to visit, (we often just go in the fall.) We had just gotten off the wagon ride and were running across the grounds to still make the 5pm cow milking when the "moment" happened. Just seconds after Jacob sat down to try his hand at milking, cameras started flashing and an older age reporter walked up to me, "Hi, my name is________, I am reporter with the Deseret News and we will be running a story about Wheeler Farm soon, can we get permission to use you son's pictures?" I gave her permission and even answered her questions for why we had come, never thinking she would quote me, but she she did! (I haven't been quoted since I left my Utah Department of Health job almost 4 years ago, but this was a MUCH more relaxing environment than media work for the state.) My official quote reads, "It was a repeated visit for Libbey Chuy, who brought her two children. "Once a week we do a field trip. This is one of their favorite places to come." They told us the story would run on a Monday in a week or two.

We faithfully checked the paper for the next three weeks, and when we didn't find anything, lost interest and really forgot about it. But then this morning, about 8:15 a.m., I started getting calls from friends in our neighborhood, "have you seen Jacob's picture in the paper?" Even the neighborhood boy came over and was soo proud, "I've never know someone personally that has appeared in the paper!"

And he actually appeared twice, the front page, the entire half above the fold (that's a premium spot in the media field) and a smaller photo inside with the continuation of the story.

And now I wonder, will he soon have a third newspaper appearance? What for?

The List

2011-07-16T22:58:00.000-07:00

My father left a legacy, a legacy of working hard and being proud of it. Every summer we could expect a list of jobs or chores awaiting us at the breakfast table. He would use scrap papers and would scribble out jobs that were suitable for our age but also jobs that would actually help around the home. He would also throw in some "funny" jobs, like "play with your sibling for 15 minutes" or "work on YW projects for 15 minutes." They were not "real" jobs in my mind, but they did help us reach goals and build a stronger family. These summer lists also made me feel as if I was a real contributor to the family, and that we were in it together.

Over the very few short year's of Jacob's life, I have told him about this legacy many times and how cool it was to get the list every morning. As he has gotten older, he has started to ask for his own list. I finally obliged him a few days ago. As tradition, I used scrap paper, the back of a receipt, and put it on the kitchen table for Jacob to find in the morning. Some jobs were real easy, other's a bit more difficult, and other's were those "fun" type, but most importantly, I wanted Jacob to feel as if he was a contributor and could be successful.

Here was his list:

Get dressed by yourself
Brush teeth
Pick up your dinosaurs
Pick up all the sandbox toys
Eat an apple
Go swimming
Eat a Popsicle

Like I said, some of the jobs are a bit funny, but you feel success when being able to mark anything off, and in turn, I am hoping (like it was for me) that he will feel success when being able to mark off the harder items too.

BTW - he finished the entire list, success!

The wonderous world of Lego's!

2011-07-08T21:34:00.000-07:00

L-E-G-O-S

It is fascinating to watch children move from one stage to the next. We were thick into Thomas the Train, and trucks for a long time, and although they are still around, LEGO's are slowly taking over Jacob's passion, thinking time, and ability to eat (we have to pry him away to eat meals, sometimes even after shedding a few tears.) But, I LOVE it! I love how creative he is, how determined he is to snap the pieces together and design and build a new creation. And although I do find Lego pieces all over, I get to come from work daily to his proud face, beaming to show me his latest creations.

Tonight while I put Lexi down, he asked if he could lie on his bed and "read" his Lego magazines. But in all reality, he is studying the little Lego pamphlets that accompany any new set, and he keeps ALL of them, big or little and reads them over and over and . . over. (I have taped many of them back together already.) The last few nights he has even requested that we forgo his regular book reading, except for his chapter from the scriptures, and instead "read" his Lego instructions together. It's pretty fascinating, but who wouldn't get excited about Lego's? Being able to create something is incredibly fun and exciting and I too have spent quite a few hours with this tyke creating my own Lego wonders.

And finally, his birthday is coming up and I am sure Lego's will be in the mix. While doing a search, I found a FREE Lego magazine here, that I am sure he will love. Jacob even spotted a sweet Lego watch at Target . . .

A Little Peter B

2011-06-27T23:05:00.000-07:00

We got the summer started off great tonight. It's finally warm and sunny (rather than the rain and gloom) and we took advantage by heading to a Peter B concert in the park . We had perfect seats right to the side of the band, thanks to my Mom getting there a few minutes before us, and took lawn chairs and blankets, a picnic, a frisbee, glow-in-the-dark bracelets and Thomas the Train go fish cards. We laughed, we played, we danced like crazies and had just a grand old time. My mom brought a yummy dessert for all and it was a PERFECT. SUMMER. NIGHT.

I am excited for the next two months.

Let me get this straight . . .

2011-06-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

Erick and I can't stop laughing over the latest Jacobism . .

I walked into the kitchen this morning and overhead Jacob ask Erick, "So Papi, how did you find Mommy in all of Peru?" Erick responded, "No, Mommy came to Peru and found me, the most handsome, funniest and greatest guy in all of Peru." Jacob responded, with his hands spread wide, while doing a bit of a goofy dance, "Let me get this straight. Mommy came to Peru, found you, you fell in love, got married and then had me?" He sounded like a teenager and all we could do was laugh and respond, "yep!" Love that kid.

Other thoughts, yesterday was Jacob's last soccer game. There was only one other kid that showed up for the last game, and Erick ended up "coaching," but they had a blast. It was such a good experience for Jacob and us. We will sign Jacob up again later in the fall, after it has cooled down a bit, and Erick and I are thinking we want to coach too!

{Friday Favorites}

2011-06-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

This was an amazing week, nothing particular jumps out, but the weather was perfect, there were many very relaxing days and I appreciate my family even more.

And on to some favorites:

1. Beautiful weather. It's been mid-70's the entire week. We have been able to play and exercise outside the entire week. And, it's July 17th, and we have yet to turn on the air conditioning, very abnormal . .

2. Yellow shoes. My sister showed me her adorable new flats, and they are YELLOW, a soft yellow and I LOVE them. And they're from Payless Shoes, I haven't been in that store for a super long time . . but I am going to go take advantage of the BOGO sale and pick up a pair.

3. In-laws. I also have loved spending time with my in-laws who have been here for a few months. It's a rare treat for anyone to get to know their in-laws really well, and I am having that opportunity. It will be a cherished memory. On Wednesday night, after sitting and sweating at Jacob's soccer game, we raced home, changed into swimwear and raced back to the rec center to swim for the last hour that it was open It was sooo fun, cool and a perfect way to end the evening. My mother-in-law hadn't set foot in a swimming pool for a very long time, she won't confess how long, but it's been awhile (I am imaging 15+ years), and she beamed from ear to ear as she walked around the pool.

{Friday Favorites}

2011-06-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

. . . but posting on Saturday. Well, we just too fun of a week and weekend. We started our weekly "field trip" schedule for the summer yesterday and had a blast. (If you want to join, email me and I will send out a schedule!)

But on to my favorites:

Old Navy Jersey Skirt -- LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this skirt. I had read a lot of reviews thought it would be the perfect addition to my wardrobe. It is, it can be dressed up or down, with flip flops or dressy sandles and it looks and wears great. (And it's on sale right now for $7.99 . .. I might just have to go get another color. :)

And I really love my sister, she is definitely a Friday Favorite every week. We had some great talks this week and I get energized listening to her creative ideas every time. Her latest and really great creative outlet is Food on my Blog. I really wish I had the energy she has for cooking, but I don't. Good thing we are sisters . . . I can just be her #1 taste tester.

First time camping . . .

2011-06-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

. . . for Miss Lexi and my in-laws over Memorial Day Weekend at Yuba Lake. Yes, we took almost 8-month-year old Lexi and two full-grown city-slickers camping. It was beautiful, wonderful and we had a wonderful time. Alexia slept amazingly well, I think even better than at home (if that is possible), Jacob was able to play in the freezing water, we all got fresh air and made wonderful memories.

**I LOVE these pants, I've had them forever, but they just fit oooo soo well. Since getting huge holes in each knee, they have been mostly reserved for my camping days, I just can't get rid of them.

**And my new camping trick . .
Cook tin-foil dinners at home, and take them piping hot to the campground. Nobody has to starve while the fire and coals get going and dinner is cooked. It's wonderful, dinner is ready, everybody is happy and then we can spend the evening cooking smores, popcorn (jiffy pop, is that what it is called), pigs in a blanket, and other yummy but unhealthy camping treats!

Where are the dinasaurs?

2011-06-07T22:02:00.000-07:00

I snagged some free tickets for Red Butte Garden and took the kidlets last week. I was excited to go on a short field trip, look at beautiful gardens (gather some ideas for my own) and especially excited to show Jacob the larger-than-life-dinosaurs . . . at least that is how I remembered the gardens from the last time we went, when Jacob was 1 month old.

We packed our backpack with snacks and water bottles and headed out. The gardens were just as beautiful as I remembered, but there were no dinosaurs. "Where-are-the-dinosaurs?" asked Jacob, about every 30 seconds. "Not sure," I replied, hoping that they were just around the corner. We visited the entire garden, stopped to smell many flowers, looked at other statues of animals, played in the water (of course) and skipped through the caterpillar display in the Kids Garden, but never found the dinosaurs. As we strolled back to our car, I asked at the admission's desk, "Did there used to be dinosaurs here at the Gardens?" And the two college students on duty, looked at each, fumbled with their words and then replied, "Um, yes, I think there was a special exhibit about four years ago." :)

In any case, we had a great time, even without the dinosaurs. And here is Jacob by his favorite place, WATER!

P.S. I think we might visit a REAL dinosaur exhibit in Ogden this summer!

{My Friday Favorites}

2011-06-03T09:57:00.000-07:00

Has anyone taken a look at Pinterest yet?

And here are {My Friday Favorites}.

Popsicles, -- all kinds and varieties. Love them! It's starting to feel like summer and I am starting to fill the freezer with all sorts of frozen, mostly fruit popsicles. Jacob also learned how to make kid-friendly on Popsicles on Curious George a few weeks ago and those have been a hit!

{Recipe} Kid-friendly Popsicles
1. Set out 4 small paper/plastic cups.
2. Place a 1" section of banana into the bottom of each cup.
3. Wedge a popsicle stick into each banana piece.
4. Cover the banana (fill the cup) with your favorite 100% juice (OJ has been our favorite!)
5. Freeze and enjoy.

More hair stuff . . I love this doily hair clip, find out how to make it here. But this one will be for me!

And love, love this American Flag made out of bead board. I might even try this project, but am thinking I will make it a bit bigger to put on our porch or hang on a shepard's hook outside my front door. We will see.

Little Miss Muffet!

2011-05-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

This picture reminds me of the classic nursery rhythm,

Little Miss Muffet, sat on a tuffet, Eating her curds and whey; Along came a spider, who sat down beside her. And frightened Miss Muffet away.

But really it was just little Lexi hanging out at Jacob's first soccer game, on Wednesday.

My SOCCER boy!

2011-05-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

Life is changing in our household. Jacob started soccer today, on the pre-k team. He has been so excited and the anticipation was almost too much. He invited all the neighbors to his game, and asked every few minutes when his game was started. I tried to live up to the "soccer mom" status and took lots of orange wedges, bottled water and sandwiches. All the kids were cute, we have an awesome neighbor coach and Jacob even kicked a goal. We gave him a thumbs up and he looked pretty proud of himself.

Other Jacob changes . . .

. . . he "scootted" in his very first 5K last Saturday in about 31 minutes. I was actually a bit stunded when I saw him come across the finish line. He was suppose to have stayed with my mom (also walking in her first 5K ever -- good job) and instead he came across the finished line a few minutes after Erick! So proud of my little athlete.

And after much debate, reading of literature, praying and talking, we have decided to wait a year to enroll Jacob in kindergarten, but instead will be sending him to pre-k in the fall. We are content, he is excited and I know it will be an awesome experience for all of us. And I just learned that there are several other mom's in the neighborhood that have kids with late-summer-birthdays that will be in his class . . . that makes me even feel better . . .

{My Friday Favorites}

2011-05-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

At anyone time, I have a million projects and to-do's that I would like to make, finish, start or just have a few minutes to doddle with, and then I will see more ideas in a magazine, blog, store or dream up something while I am exercising. And with so many thoughts, I struggle to keep them organized and even remember them. I am on the waiting list for an unique website called Pinterest that helps you store and organize, but until then, I am going to start to add pictures and links to projects that I like . . . and I am going to call it, My Friday Favorites, because I dont' work that day and I will actually have time to sit and think - at least we hope!

I was wondering through Pottery Barn on Wednesday while waiting for a meeting to start across the street and saw this table, LOVE IT!

And now that I have a little girl, I am clued into adorable accessories and I have been admiring the felt vintage style looks.

The NEW baby food - tamales.

2011-04-29T22:28:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy lately, life has been wonderful, so many fun memories, adventures, too many things to write them all up . . . but tonight we had a fun experience and even found the ultimate baby food, at least for our little Alexia.

While in Provo for the amazing Carl Bloch exhibit, we went to eat at an El Savadorian restaruant (it lived up to its raving reviews), and ordered yummy pupusas and tamales. Of course Alexia was hungry too and we fed her some tamale, she loved it . . . LEXI ended up eating 3/4 of a chicken tamale and loved every moment!!!!!! It was so funny to watch her, she was licking her lips, waving her hands around and was very much in to that chicken tamale. She was so happy and content and the tamale was the perfect consistency for an almost 7-month-year-old. Who knew . . . . .

Morale of the story - I will definitely be buying more tamales, maybe even from some of those adorable latinas that sell them in the Walmart parking lot.

March Madness

2011-04-06T21:30:00.000-07:00

We have had a bit of March Madness around the Chuy household, and not just basketball, although BYU's run to the Sweet 16 sure made March that much sweeter.

Here are a few of our March Madness experiences:
- A failed attempt to go to NYC for a very long weekend. We were headed out on buddy passes, the same weekend that the earthquake hit Japan, and that rocked the airline world, as worldwide people scrambled to get out or in and airfares went crazy. I feel for the people of Japan, and our small failure is nothing in comparison to their plight f- or the years to come. We made the most of our weekend and headed to Logan for the weekend. We had a wonderful time, went bowling, swimming, eat out and enjoyed the natural beauty of Cache Valley - gorgeous. And we are still planning another attempt at NYC, we still have our buddy passes in hand, and my cousin's FREE condo waiting for us to explore the city!

- Wedding plans, wedding plans, wedding plans! My sister-in-law (Erick's sister) got engaged the last week in February (?), and we have been in full wedding mode for the upcoming April 16th wedding. Her fiance is wonderful and we are happy to welcome him to the family. Our house is also starting to fill up as wedding guests start to arrive. Erick's parents flew in a week or so ago, a bit early to help finalize plans, and his brother, GERSON, will be coming for the first time (to the US) just a few days before the wedding. We ARE so excited to have him and everyone come. There are also family friends that we are scrambling to find places for them to stay . . . if you have a free bed, let us know!

- Alexia turned 6 months old in the midst of all of this (well that was actually April 4th), and is sooo big. Her latest tricks are saying da, da, eating LOTS of solids (loves everything so far), went on her first swing ride at the park, loving bright colored toys and anything that Jacob is doing! And here she is modeling the crown left over from Lily's bridal shower, Jacob just had to try it on her, what a proud older brother.

- We also ordered some fencing, yeah!! I can't wait to work on our backyard a bit this summer. Fencing is the first step, but since it is sooo expensive, we are only doing a portion this year and then hopefully will finish the rest next year. Wait for future pictures.

5 months

2011-03-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

Miss Lexi is growing up, she's five months old today . . . and I think we'll keep her!

{3/3/2011 - already to go on a walk}

Hello's from Heaven

2011-02-18T22:03:00.000-08:00

(Disclosure, so tired, too tired to go back and edit my writing. I know there are lots of spelling and grammatical errors . . . enjoy! :)

hello's-from-heaven
n.

1. a reassurance
2. a feeling
3. the knowledge that the heaven's are aware of you and your needs.

A few week's ago, a lady in our church talked about the concept of getting reassurance's from heaven and appropriately named them "hello's from heaven." I love it and have noticed myself receiving my fair share, that knowledge that my Heavenly Father is paying attention to my needs and giving me a steady hand. I have had so many, and here is one from last week . . .

Two Friday's ago was CRAZY! Here was my day-off (ha) proposed schedule:

Normal house work in the morning.

10:30 a.m. Alexia wakes up from her morning nap, I feed and change her and head out to run errands and buy the ingredients for the feel i have to prepare for later in the evening. (See below).
3:30 p.m. - Alexia's 4 month check-up
5:00 p.m. - Work conference call with the "experts" from four time-zones. They were providing feedback on a project I was working on and I was the main focus of the call. YUCK! Erick was to come home early to watch the kidlets while I joined the call.
6:30 p.m. - I was in charge of the menu for the Young Women's (youth group in my church) and was preparing Beef Spring Rolls (sooo good, recipe will come another day.) that I was going to drop off (since i couldn't stay because of the following activity.) :)
7:30 p.m. - One of my best friend's from college was getting married the next day, and there was one more baccalaureate bash at a restaurant. I HAD to be there!

As you can see, my schedule was jammed pack, I hadn't even scheduled in the time to cook the Beef Spring Rolls or dinner for my own family, not even mentioning the feeding of my 4-month-year-old-baby and an occasional hello to my 4-year-old. And I was EXTREMELY nervous about the work conference call . . . I really just couldn't imagine how the day would turn out.

. . . and then I received my HELLO FROM HEAVEN. It was simple, but it was a huge HELLO! The day before, my pediatrician called to remind me of my appointment and for some unexpected reason (because this is never a possibility), I asked if there were any earlier openings for Alexia's wellness check-up. I could hear the reception's little fingers typing on the computer as she searched and then she said the magical words, "YES, there are two, at 11 and 1:30, which would you like?" (I don't know about your peds, but mine is so hard to book the wellness check-ups, we ALWAYS book our next one as we leave .. . even a year out for my oldest, to ensure that we get on the schedule.) And that was it, my HUGE Hello from Heaven! I felt it and knew it! I was being noticed and watched over . . . life was going to be okay. And I even made it through the day, the wellness visit went well, click here for stats, the dinner was sooo yummy, the conference call was bearable and the last bash was fantastic!

February and Beyond

2011-02-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

This has been a very busy week, filled with lots of highs and a few lows (but we'll just focus on the highs!) :) After any week, but especially this one, I am so grateful for Sundays, a day of physical rest and an opportunity to refill our spiritual tanks. Life is sooo good and we are happy for the many opportunities that we have. Here is a few of the things that we have been up to:

1. Admiring the two handsome kidlets above and how much they love each other. Jacob HAS to give Alexia a good morning hug and kiss (and mid-morning one too, and most definitely a lunch-time special, and of course a goodnight one as well.) And Alexia is very much distracted from nursing when she hears Jacob's voice, she is sooo eager to "find" him, and swirls her head around to find what she might be missing.

2. Alexia reached her four month mark on Friday and is long and skinny just like Jacob. She loves her IKEA gym (found at Kid-to-Kid brand new), reading (see the pictures below), singing, bath time, smiles a lot and LOVES seeing Jacob.

Her stats:
- Weight: 14.15 lbs - 64%

- Height: 26.5 inches - 99%

3. I have also really reading to Alexia, and she loves it. Jacob also is helping out and thinks her favorite book is Hungry Caterpillar, but I really think she loves any and most books. Her eyes get all focused, she puts on a very serious face, like her game/concentration face and gets "ready" to read. I love it. Here are pictures from a recent afternoon.

4. Went to my very good friend's, Jordan Call's, baccalaureate party and wedding this past weekend. It was wonderful for her and me/us. The guy she married is wonderful, we got to dress up (I LOVE dressing up and Erick is sooo handsome), go on a date and to the temple (all at the same time.) Jordan was beautiful, the day was the perfect late winter temperature and it was spiritual to see two good people decide to start a life together. The sealer also had quite the sense of humor and finished his comments by saying, "and now you will be married for 'infinity and beyond,'" and then under his breath he commented, "that's not quite doctrine, but I like the sound of it." :) I kinda of do too!!

Have a good February!

All good things come to an end . . .

2011-01-29T20:58:00.000-08:00

Somehow, we have managed to raise Jacob without a single ear infection for his first 4 1/2 years of life, how? Not sure. They even say that boys are more prone, but somehow we made it. I finally took Alexia to the doctor Tuesday and the doctor really wondered if she was sick with all her smiles and wild kicking feet. But he sent us home with an ear infection prescription. Wednesday night, after going to the amazing BYU vs SDSU basketball game, I got home about midnight and Jacob promptly woke up screaming (louder than the fans at BYU). Erick and I knew something was wrong, because Jacob NEVER wakes up. He is impossible to put to sleep, but once there, you can tickle him, change pull-ups and even drip water on his face (yes, we've tried all of those) and he still doesn't wake up. So I slept a few hours, got up, went to work and then took him to the doctors the next day, yep, two HUGE ear infections. And the funny thing, Jacob had wanted me to get him medicine when we went in for Alexia. When he finally had his prescription in the hand, all he would say is, "I told you so, I told you I needed medicine." So yes . . . all good things come to an end.

Other Chuy musings:
- Held the 2nd Annual Swap Til You Drop party. It all started last year and friends asked for a repeat. It was as fun as always and I got "stuck" with two new shirts, some running gear, a batman plate for Jacob, and I am sure some other cool stuff. And I got rid of lots of stuff that I didn't want anymore . . .

- Trying to get my body back into shape. Erick got me some gear for Christmas, and we went for a run this morning. I have one race planned for late summer, but need to get some others lined up. Let me know, I need some motivation!

She's THREE!

2011-01-04T21:26:00.001-08:00

{Alexia, three months, photograph taken by Lily Chuy}

Ms. Alexia Chuy is THREE months old today (well yesterday)! Time really has gone by way to fast. She is such a lovable, easy going baby, despite Jacob wanting to tackle her and play monster and dinosaur already. I have had to explain that he will have to wait at least one year to really get some good play-time out of her. He really is a patient older brother and loves her soooo much. He tells her, me, Erick and anyone that wishes to listen how much he loves and adores her. It makes my heart skip to hear and see Jacob love Alexia.

Alexia updates:

Smiling a lot.
Has been trying to sit up for the last week or so. I think she does more abdominal sit-ups than I do!
Definitely knows Jacob's voice and loves him, but also "gears" up for what crazy action he might do.
Sleeps soooo well. 8:30 p.m. - 7:00 a.m. right now at night!

Other Chuy updates:

Had a very fun New Year's eve with family and celebrated Mom's 65th birthday!
I have been crafting/projecting at home. Bought some after-Christmas-sale-item wrapping paper that I have set in white frames . . . it looks awesome.
Went to Kid-to-Kid's New Year's sale and found some AMAZING deals. Why pay more when you can find adorable children's clothing with tags still on it at super inexpensive prices?

And today, we will be going to Clark's Planetarium for our weekly field trip . . . it's FREE and soo fun, especially in the winter when we need to get out and move! Happy January!

Merry Christmas 2010!

2010-12-24T08:21:00.000-08:00

{Family at the lights at Temple Square, December 2010}

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We hope that this time and season is joyous, and a time of peace and reflection. We are grateful to know that Jesus is the Christ and is our Savior and Redeemer. We are so excited in anticipation to celebrate Christmas Eve and Christmas. We have felt the spirit of the season throughout the month and are overwhelmed in how we are blessed and loved by friends and family.

This morning on http://www.lds.org/, there was a quote that I just love:

If we look for the good, we can see this time of year with new eyes -
perhaps even with the eyes of a child.
- Elder Dieter F. Uchtdor

We want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas . . Chuy style and have prepared a little video for your enjoyment! Feliz Navidad Song - Enjoy!

Additionally this season we:

1. Started the season by attending the Hale Center Theatre's version of the Christmas Carole - amazing!

2. Visited the lights on Temple Square - beautiful!

3. Attended Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square, with special guest, David Archuleta (I love him!)

4. Drove around and looked at neighborhoods with lights (one of my most favorite traditions)! We visited the Christmas Street (love it) at about 17th south and 15th east, a street of ~ 20 houses that are all lit up. And then just down the street there is the "Christmas Story" street, each house has a big story board lit up with a portion in scripture of the birth of Christmas. That was a new tradition this year, but will be added to our traditions. The pictures were beautiful and the spirit was felt.

5. Went sledding in the mountains. We go multiple times a year, but yesterday we went for the first time this season. Sooo FUN! Alexia did wonderful, all bundled up in her snow outfit and Jacob was a daredevil yet again.

6. Made cookies and yummies in the kitchen. We participated in our first-ever family cookie exchange and it was a blast, although we ate ALL the cookies within a few days. I also tried out a new recipe this year, Oreo Truffles, delish and easy - a great combination!

7. Attended several work and ward parties. I feel like I have been able to go on sooo many dates without children, and that's amazing for many reasons . . . Alexia is only 2 months old and when do we get that much time alone? Thank you all that have watched our children.

8. Have invited friends over.

9. Prepared neighbor gifts and delivered them.

10. Attended/watched basketball games (isn't that part of the season)? Go COUGS!

We wish one and all a very Merry Christmas, from our home to yours!

Two months

2010-12-08T19:06:00.001-08:00

{Baby blessing dress, 28 November 2010}

{Isn't she beautiful?} Alexia is now two months old and is growing so very quickly. Maybe because I am older, or maybe it's just having a 2nd baby, but I feel like time is going so much faster this time around. Yesterday, Jacob and I took Alexia to her 2-month wellness appointment and had another round of immunization shots. This started a great conversation with Jacob about when he was a baby and if had also received shots, or cried and if too needed some extra love. {Yes, yes, yes to all the above.} I love watching how he is connecting his life with everything that Alexia is experiencing and doing. Jacob is constantly acting if "that is what he did when he was a baby" or "did we also change his diaper or give him hugs and kisses at night." Jacob is the perfect older brother.

And Alexia's 2-month stats:
Height: 24 1/4" (97%)
Weight: 11.75 lbs (72%)

She is following Jacob's pattern, long and skinny!

And some other pictures for your enjoyment . . .

{Four generation picture, Thanksgiving 2010}

{Random picture on the couch, November 2010}

Quick Updates

2010-11-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile, but we wanted to post some quick pictures from the last few weeks.

The first, a picture of Alexia that I took with my cell last week. We can't find our "real" camera . . . I know it's somewhere in the house and it will be found, but the cell sure took a pretty cute picture. Today she is five weeks old -- time is sure flying by and we love her more every day. She sleeps well, a few nights she has even surprised us with sleeping until 6am. But unlike Jacob, she has cried all through church the couple of times we have taken her. She is also starting to smile (isn't this a bit early?) and to coo. Jacob and all of us LOVE her!

Her two week check-up stats are us follows:
23" long (99% percentile)
9 lbs 10 oz (85% percentile)

I think Erick and I make big babies, Jacob has always been in the upper 90% percentiles too.

And Halloween pictures - Jacob has been campaigning for the last two months to be Spiderman and he played the part well! And Alexia - I wasn't planning a costume, but a friend from work knitted a beautiful pumpkin hat . . . it was adorable. She wore for the three days leading up to Halloween and we got soooo many compliments. Take a look.

Welcome Senorita Chuy...

2010-10-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

We are happy to announce the birth of our daughter, Alexia Libbey Chuy. She was born October 4th, 2010 at 8:01 a.m. She weighed 8lbs 6oz and is 21inches long. We are so grateful for the many prayers and friendship offered by so many people, and are especially excited to have little Alexia in our family. She is absolutely beautiful and with her own bit of spunk. Jacob, the older brother has already "baked" her a cake and is quite concerned about her well-being. Libbey feels really good (epidurals are wonderful) and Erick is a very proud Papi . . . we would love to hear and see all of you!

Jacob steals the show . . . again!

2010-06-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

I took Jacob to work with me yesterday afternoon, to the ribbon-cutting ceremony and opening ceremony of a new clinic in Provo, Mountainlands Family Health Center. The building was beautiful and Jacob was even pretty well behaved. While touring the building, Jacob captured the hearts of everyone by personally checking out each and every doctor's chairs (to make sure it swirled sufficiently), the exam room tables, and asked why there weren't lollipops and stickers in the drawers. (You can tell what he looks forward to when going for his annual well-child check-up!) A Provo Examiner photographer captured many pictures of him and one made the news article this morning . . . it's the 2nd picture in the article below. Oh my Jacob is a funny one!

Mountainlands Family Health Center with pictures

More than a business trip . . .

2010-02-24T20:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am in hotel in Richfield, Utah, part of a business trip to visit a nearby clinic tomorrow morning. Although I do miss my family, I actually look forward to the occasional night away. I have actually time exercise more (went swimming tonight), get to experience new sites (tried a super yummy Mexican restaurant tonight), and have lots of time for thinking, planning and dreaming. Tonight I read President Monson's article, On Being Spiritually Prepared, a topic that Erick and I have discussed often as we build our family. The article pointed out that the best teachers don't ask, "What am I going to teach today?," but rather, "How will I help my students (or children) discover what they need to know today?" Not a new concept, but a very good reminder. We are quickly learning that three-year-olds need hands on experiences and feel the spirit and make connections in surprisingly ways. For example: his testimony of death and grandpa living with Jesus, or last summer when I took him to St. George, but this last Monday for Family Evening was another teachable moment. That morning I had a stroke of the spirit to talk about Samuel the Lamanite and discuss if we would have believed this crazy man/prophet who stood on the walls of the city, or if we would be the ones that threw sticks and stones. We dressed Jacob up as Samuel, put him up on a "wall" and Erick, his dad, his sister and I threw paper rocks at Jacob while he yelled over and over, "Jesus is the Christ." It was an amazing experience for all of us. We asked Jacob how he felt, "sad, 'cause you were all throwing things at us," and how each of us felt. "Do we often not want to listen to modern day prophets and throw "sticks" at them?

So as Erick and I continue to build our family, I hope we can remember to think, "How will I help my children discover what they need to know today?" :0

Swap Partying 101

2010-01-27T18:38:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I hosted a "Swap 'Til You Drop" party at my house. It was so fun, I was able to rid of items that had been piling up, got some adorable new items (I wore the earrings today) and was able to chit-chat with some of my closest friends. Everyone left happy and asking when we could have another . . . . and for the many that have asked me how to host their own, here is what I did.

I had first read about the idea in "Better Homes and Gardens" and "Real Simple," and was instantly hooked. I remember that I was in our basement family room and looking at Erick, said, "I want to hold a swap party!" He was so good and quickly joined my excitement.

To host my own swap party, I googled and found many sites with invitations, step-by-step instructions and other creative helpful hints. But this is what I did:

1. Choose a theme. Some have "toy swaps" or "clothing swaps" only. I choose to do a mixture, and suggested bringing up to 10 items in clean and good condition.

2. Invite guests. I used http://www.evite.com/, I love using that site. It's easy, fun and they even had a "swap party design."

Here's the text I used:

You're invited to a "Swap 'til you drop" party!

BRING, SWAP, ENJOY!
Here's how it works:
BRING up to 10 items in clean and good condition to swap. Clothing (all sexes and ages), accessories (belts, jewelry, hats, and bags), toys and household items are all welcome!
SWAP. For every item brought, a sticker will be provided to assist you "swap" other items on display. A name will be drawn for all items that wished to be "swapped" by more than one person.
ENJOY your new look or item swapped without spending anything.

3. Enjoy your party. I served very light snacks, actually popcorn and lemon water. I borrowed a standing clothes rack from a friend (definitely a plus), pulled out a full-length mirror and made little category signs for different areas in my home. The categories I used were: Movies and Books, Clothes, Kids Zone, Accessories (jewelry, scarves, watches, etc.), Shoes, Handbags, Household Items. I spread the categories around the home to ensure good flow. A Here is the schedule I used and it worked out wonderfully!

10 - 10:30 Guests arrived and placed their swap items in the appropriate category around my home. As the guests arrived, I also handed them the number of stickers that corresponded with the number of items they had brought. They were instructed to write their initials on each sticker.

10:30 - 11 Browse items and sticker desired items.

11 - 11:30 Distribute items and go home happy. If an item had more than one sticker, a name was drawn and those that "lost" the item, were given their sticker to choose another item. If after winning the 2nd item, the guest's name would automatically be removed from the 2nd item until all guests had "won" an item. I asked several guests afterwards if they felt this was fair, and all agreed it was. One guest even said, "well if someone has a problem, they need to remember that everything here is FREE."

The schedule worked well and most guests were well on their way before 11:30, happy and content. If anyone plans their own swap party, I would love to know and even be invited.

Happy Swapping!

Create!

2010-01-19T13:03:00.001-08:00

I love to create, I pore through magazines and the Internet, looking for ideas and how to combine color and textures to beautify. I love when Jacob wants to watercolor, because than I too will sit at the table and doodle, mix colors and create. I love beautifying our home, being resourceful and making something newer, better and impactful. I love trying new things, exploring new places and lifting others. I love gardening (with gloves), to see new growth, beauty and reap the harvest. It's sure joy when others feel at ease in our home, knowing that beauty has touched their soul. And as women, this is our divine nature and role.

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf spoke a few conferences ago about this subject and I absolutely loved his talk, and this video is great too.

Jacob's Testimony

2010-01-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

Although Jacob's Sunday Primary behavior is not up to par, this morning's experience (and many others) remind me that he does have a testimony of the Savior.

Here's the experience:

Today, I am working in Provo, Utah, and on these days, my sister-in-law Sonia, is often so kind to let me drop Jacob off for a super fun play date. As we were leaving the house, Jacob asked, "Mom, where does Sonia, Ben, Katrina, Samuel and Sarah live?" I replied, knowing that he wouldn't fully grasp the concept of distant (they live in Lehi), "Oh, a little past the Ikea," a landmark we use for trips going south.

"Oh," said Jacob, "Mommy, 'member the day when the abuelita (grandma), the old one (my grandmother) went to Ikea with us? I have a goo' idea, we can invite Grandpa (my dad), and Katrina, Samuel and Sarah and all go to Ikea. Mmm, but Grandpa is with Jesus."

With me just listening, Jacob rambled on . . .

"But we can pick up Grandpa and ask him, 'How was Jesus' house?'" -- using a different voice. And Grandpa would say, "Oh, it was fun," (still with the other voice), "and then we would go to Ikea. Don't you think that would be sooo much fun?"

I piped in, "yes, that would be great fun, and Jacob, where is Jesus' house?" "Oh, it's in the star's, mmm, maybe we could use a rocket ship and go get Grandpa, that would be fun . . . . " and on and on Jacob rambled about picking up Grandpa from Jesus' house to go to Ikea. What a pure testimony. I was grateful for that kick of spirit on the way to work this morning.

Let us all be like children.

First day of Primary

2010-01-06T20:04:00.000-08:00

Today was Jacob's first day of Primary, can you believe it? He's a sunbeam!! For all about 30 seconds he looked shy, unsure and told me he was scared. (I think he "thought" he was supposed to act that way from watching a cartoon or something.) But after walking him to his classroom and introducing him to his two new teachers, he was hooked. He wanted to answer all the questions in Sharing Time, laughed at the older kids goofing off and really enjoyed himself. He even really picked up on the Reverent Chocolate Chip Cookie theme. His teachers even told me, "Jacob is sooo smart and so adorable." The pictures I took after church tell the rest of the story. Enjoy!

A 3-year-old boy's life

2009-12-31T07:58:00.001-08:00

I shared the following with a good friend, to get her ready for having her first boy in a few months, and she encouraged me to post it . . . enjoy.

Email written 12/30/09
Here was my yesterday morning . . . .

We played Kung Fu Panda and Jacob “pinched” my finger (the hold), then the snake, bird and monkey all were killed multiple times and brought back to life by the “master” (Jacob.) We then drove by a construction zone and our conversation went something like this:

Jacob: “Mommy, I want one of those big trucks.”
Me: “But you already have lots of trucks.”
Jacob: “But not one of those BIG ones,” dramatically showing me the real size with his hands.
Me: “Oh . . . you want one of THOSE ones, a real one.” (I am finally developing the mommy interpretation skills required to fully-understand children.)
Jacob: “yes, a REAL one.”
Me: “where would you put it, because they wouldn't fit in the house.”
Jacob: “In the sandbox, please Mommy, please, please, please.”

Welcome to the world of boys: trucks, fighting, car noises and yelling real loud!

2009-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! What an exciting past year and we feel blessed to reflect on what we have experienced and felt. The top 10 2009 highlights for the Chuy's include:

10. Camping all summer long. We really got into camping this year, and Erick learned the art of dutch oven cooking. We ate some delicious meals and experienced new areas of Utah.

9. Road trip to Oregon in May to see Libbey's parents and the beautiful Oregon coast. It was a fantastic trip. However, shortly after the visit, Libbey's father passed away. He has been greatly missed and will continue to be. We are so happy that we were able to spend the last few days of his life with him. I was also asked to speak at his funeral and it was a great opportunity of reflection.

8. In April, Erick and Libbey turned 30! To celebrate we ran the Salt Lake City 1/2 marathon and held a massive party at our house . . . thanks for all those who came and celebrated and danced the night away with us! We also purchased ourselves bikes and a bike trailer for Jacob, and spent the summer biking our neighborhood. We hope to still bike downtown, but will have to save that for summer 2010.

7. Erick's parents received their US visas. They will now be able to visit us (yeah) . . . hopefully in Spring 2010.

6. Totally got into gardening this summer. We planted strawberries, blueberries, a peach and cherry tree, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, eggplant, green peppers, hot peppers, yellow-crooked neck squash, and enjoyed our efforts almost until Halloween. We even tried canning for the first time, apricot jam, apple slices, and apple sauce. It was oh sooo much fun and there isn't much left to show for our efforts. I guess that is a good sign.

5. Jacob had his first big boy birthday party in August, turning 3. He invited lots of neighborhood friends, had a slip-n-slide, BBQ and made lots of memories. We built him a BIG sandbox for his birthday. It was such a hit and we were so proud of our efforts, we just wished that we had built in the year previously.

4. Jacob is also still a joyous little boy. He is smart, intelligent, funny, handsome and sensitive.

3. Lot's of home renovations . . . new windows, caulking, light fixtures and finished painting every room on our main floor. We will see what 2010 brings for home improvements . . .

2. Living life to the fullest. We are constantly on the go and love it. Swimming, day trips, community concerts and events, camping, hiking, and biking. We love it.

1. That we are a healthy, happy and content family.

We hope you have a very Merry Christmas, a happy New Year and pray that you will all enjoy an even better 2010! Please email or call when you have a chance . . .

Family Pictures

2009-12-01T20:16:00.000-08:00

The first week in November, one of the last pretty warm fall days, we had family pictures taken by Heather German Photography at Wheeler Farm. It was a beautiful day and we love the pictures. Below is a sampling. Which is your favorite?

Capital Reef Getaway

2009-10-27T19:50:00.001-07:00

Our family needed a weekend out of town, to break up the mundane of daily life, work, chores and other responbilities, and Capital Reef National Park, about three hours SW of Salt Lake, won out. We drove down Friday after work, stayed in a hotel, went swimming, jumped on the beds and just relaxed, ate a yummy breakfast in the morning (best hotel breakfast I have ever had with a beautiful kitchen) and then spent the day at Capital Reef. We hiked a few short hikes, toured the visitor center, ate lunch by the old pioneer homestead and fed horses our left over apple cores. Saturday evening we stayed with our good friends from Peru. They have a beautiful home and were amazing hosts. It was such a fun weekend and a great recharge . . . . we were amazed that we could accomplish so much, make so many memories and have so much fun in soo little of time, in less than 48 hours.

Here are a few pictures to explain our trip . . .

Jacob wanted to climb everything, he REALLY is a monkey.

I tried to find all the holes carved out by water and weather.

Jacob was a trooper most of the time, but occasionaly wanted to be carried . .

Aren't the Chuy boys handsome?I love this picture. (Click on it to enlarge it and enjoy it even more.) Erick was the photographer.

And I also love this picture too, guess who the photrapher was? The one and only, Jacob R. Chuy -- I think he has some hidden talents budding . . .

Choose How To React

2009-10-08T10:23:00.001-07:00

This morning was a moment of reflection, when at exactly 10 a.m., one friend was overseeing the funeral of his father, while some other friends were admitting themselves to the University of Utah hospital to experiment with best of modern medicine practices in hopes to have a successful embryo implantation and start a new life. And yet at the same time, another set of friends, a couple is striving to keep their marriage together. It's difficult to understand why good things happen to bad people or why bad things happen to good people, or why some things just seem "to come easy" for them, or why one sufers with a disease, while others that choose a poor lifestyle don't. Life is not fair, but I do know that we are on this earth to be happy although at times we will be tested, but those are learning opportunities and we can choose how to react. This was amplified this week when Jacob told me that he was "choosing to be mad," and dramatically crossed his arms, scrawled his face and stomped his feet. I almost laughed out loud at his theatrically display, but refrained myself and said, "well, tell me when you are ready to put on your happy face." About 15 seconds later he yelled, "Mommy, I am ready to be happy," and changed his face dramatically to an over-happy little boy. Both he and I knew that he was going to the extremes, but since then, our family has used that example to teach him, and to remind us, that our reactions are a choice, we choose to be happy, sad, irritated, excited, nervous, anxious, etc. I know that our friend who is suffering due to the loss of his father (I have been their recently), and it is a real and needed process, but how he progresses after, will be his choice. The same is true for our friends who are aching to have a child, they have waited a long time, and it has been delightful to see how they have enjoyed life to the fullest, despite their disappointments. And for the couple who is suffering maritial problems, I wish them the best, to choose their reactions carefully and to love with more patience

Fall is here!

2009-10-04T21:21:00.001-07:00

I love fall! I didn't realize how much I would love the changing of seasons while growing up in Oregon, but I love them. The beginning of fall is refreshing after the hot, hot, long summer days. It also brings gorgeous colors, cooler weather, and pumpkins. I also love that it starts the season of decorating the house, earlier darker nights that force us inside to a warm house to play hide-and-go seek, Candy Land, dinosaurs, "monsters" and lots of other games that are created through the imagination of our adorable 3-year-old. Fall also brings rain (I still am an Oregon girl), figuring out cute costumes and getting creative with apples. There's baked apples, apple cider, apple crisp, apple pie, carmeled apples or just plain crisp apples with a tall glass of milk.

The beginning of Fall also means that we get to participate in the LDS General Conference, and this fall's was very fulfilling and peaceful. I am excited to re-listen to the talks in the coming weeks and read (and mark them up) when they come out next month.

Some of my favorite talks included: E. Hollands (Sunday PM), Pres. Monson's (Sunday AM), E. Bendars (Sat. AM), Pres Uchdorf (Sat AM), and E. Oaks (Sat. PM). What were your favorites?

I also love that since we have been married, we have had at least one person stay the night while here for our conference. I love it! Our house guests bring extra excitement, energy and more spirit. I commented to Erick, a bit disappointed, on Saturday afternoon that it didn't look like anybody would be with us this year. But about 10pm Saturday night, we got a call, a weary traveler, looking for a place to stay. We quickly invited them in and once again our home was filled with that special spirit that only someone from out of town brings, a spirit of pure excitement to be in Utah and experiencing General Conference in person for the first person! I love it and hope that we can continue to provide a bed or spot on the floor for our friends and family for years to come on General Conference weekend . . .

Apple Picking

2009-09-01T13:48:00.001-07:00

We have really enjoyed having a garden this year. Lot's of fresh veggies, learned to cook new foods (planted eggplant this year and have tried lots of new recipes) and been able to give fresh produce to friends and family. We have also frozen lots of zucchini for winter breads and muffins and I even canned by myself for the first time this summer. Erick thought I was a bit crazy to try the canning idea, but has already really enjoyed my efforts (we are almost out of the apricot jam from the beginning of the summer) and he has even helped on the last couple of projects. I remember canning while growing up in Oregon, peaches, jam, applesauce, and juices, but this was the first time I had canned on my own, and I was a bit nervous. I think I called my brother and mom 5-10 times over the course of the first two canning experiences. So far we have canned apricot jam (thanks Ben for the produce), whole apricots, apple sauce, salsa, and will give apple butter, salsa verde (with the season-end tomatoes) and grape juice (my neighbor has already begged me to take some of her grapes) a try too. It's been really fun to learn and do something new (successfully), fill our pantry with clean jars filled with produce, and have a happy family already enjoying the food.

A couple of weeks ago, a co-worker mentioned that she had an apple tree that she had never picked, and was wondering if we were interested. Of course we were!! And so last Thursday, Jacob and I spent an hour picking apples and having a great time. The next night we made our first batch of apple sauce (6 quarts) and have about half the apples left to try making apple butter, a new found favorite of Erick's.

Here's a few pics of Jacob helping me pick apples . . .

Looking a pit scared up the ladder, which surprised me. Jacob always wants to climb everything.
Jacob was a very good helper, he made sure all the apples had their leaves removed and picked up all the random apples that fell to the ground.

Trying to explain to Jacob how to get one of the apples up past his reach.

My baby turned 3!

2009-08-07T08:55:00.000-07:00

Jacob turned three-years old this past Sunday! I love this kid, he is adorable, has a strong brilliant personality, is so sensitive, athletic and makes me want to be a better person. He has accomplished a lot for a three-year-old gentleman and can't wait what he grows up to be and do.

Erick and I had been talking for awhile to build him a sandbox for his birthday. We have had since he was about six months old, a small plastic, sand and water sandbox. But after he got really mobile, he preferred to be "in" the box and not standing by it's side. He was always asking to go to our neighbor's large box where you could really build "san' cadstles" and coover your feet. And so we googled the art of building sandboxes, watched a video on YouTube and went to work. Each night, leading up to his birthday, we worked a bit on the sandbox. We marked the area with spray painted, rototilled, dug down about a foot, leveled, laid weed barriers, ran around to Lowes, Home Depot, Sutherlands and other lumber yards to find the wood that was wide enough (we wanted at least 12" wide), framed the sandbox, borrowed our neighbor's truck to hall 2500 lbs (yep 1.25 tons for a whole ton of fun) of sand from the landscaping yard and halled it by the wheelbarrow into the back yard. We finally finished about midnight on Friday night, we were so proud of ourselves and eager to see Jacob's reaction, and he didn't disappoint us. Saturday morning, we casually opened the backdoor, Jacob stepped out and squealed, "Wow, wo, wow, wo, who did that, who did that?? I love it, I love it, I love it!!" I wish we had a video camera, his reaction was priceless. (I was a bit surprised by his reaction, because Jacob had helped us with much of the process, I guess he just didn't ever put it all together.) He immediately went to work, digging holes, roads for his backhoes and tractors, and making san' cadstles.

Picture taken a few days later with many of his Talisman Drive friends, ranging in age from 2 1/2 - 12 years old. I am so glad we made a big sandbox. This particular night I counted 10 kids.
This year's birthday also called for his first BIG BOY party. He was so excited to invite all his buddies from our street (the Talisman posy), cousins and Evey from nursery to come to his HAPPY BIRTHDAY (as Jacob calls it) water-party. It was very hot and so much fun. We found a sweet deal on a slip 'n slide, borrowed a big pool and slide from the neighbors, filled our wading pool with water and had buckets of water balloons. Food was easy too, grilled hot dogs, corn-on-the cob, frozen fruit boxes, watermelon and lots of popsicles. The party went so fast and Jacob was sooo excited to have all his buddies at his house to play. And he even behaved pretty well.

We didn't capture very many pictures, I guess that is a sign of a fun party, but here is Jacob with the two kids his age from nursery. They were taking a swim break and eating!

Riding Bikes is a Summer Must

2009-07-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Erick and I bought ourselves bikes and a bike trailer for our birthdays in April, but since we couldn't figure out (even with instructions) how to attach the trailer, we have only gone cruising a handful of times at night, after Jacob was asleep. But on Tuesday, our awesome neighbors, Robbie and Regina, helped me figure out the problem. Only after 30 minutes (using three university-educated adults), we figured it out. Now it's a piece of cake to attach or detach the trailer. I put the attachment on Erick's bike, thinking that he would pull Jacob more often, and I could just ride his bike when he's not around, but my neighbor thought we could probably buy another attachment and have it fit both bikes. (I still need to look into that.)

Since Tuesday, we have gone biking every night, it really is a summer must. We have explored the neighborhood, given all the kids on our street, under 5 years old, rides, and even went up the Jordan River pathway. (That was beautiful, but next time we need to bring bug spray, wear our glasses and keep our mouths closed.)

Here are a few pics of Jacob hanging out in his new "bike," ready for a pre-bed bike rid. He loves the rides he gets to eat snacks and still move fast. Who wouldn't love that lifestyle?

(And don't worry, Jacob does wear a helmet, I just didn't think about it on the first ride.)

Superman

2009-06-26T09:51:00.001-07:00

Jacob had a fun day at story hour a few weeks ago. They read superman books, made superman capes and played like they really were superman. Last night, Jacob ran around the house yelling, "Superman saves the day" over and over and over. He was so proud of himself, jumping off chairs while he saved the world!

He really is a SUPERman and I love him!

A 2-year-old's teachable moments.

2009-06-26T09:11:00.000-07:00

Jacob is an amazing boy. He is energetic, outgoing, handsome, playful, but also spiritual, kind and sensitive to the spirit. Below are a few "moments" in which Jacob has taught us in the last couple of months.

Stay with me Papi
- A couple of months ago, as Erick was getting away for work, Jacob came into his room and said, "Papi, stay home and play with me," repeating it multiple times. Erick replied that he had to go with work. "No stay and play with me Papi." And then Erick responded, "Jacob, I have to go to work to earn money for our family." Jacob's eyes lit up, "Money, money, I have money Papi," and went running into his room. He quickly returned with his cute little wallet (a gift from Aunt Beth and her travels to Taiwan). "Here Papi, here's money . . . all money, take all money," and opened the wallet to reveal 3-4 pennies. If only life could be satisfied with just a few cents . . .

Grandpa is Sick
- Jacob did not go to Oregon with Erick and I for Dad's funeral. We figured since we had just been there the week before, and due to the high emotion and lots of people, it would be easier for him to be at home with Erick's sisters. And it was, he had a great weekend with them, went to Eli and Charlie's birthday party (his adorable friends) and was able to sleep in his own bed. However, his sensitivity to the situation truly amazes me and confirms how close children are to eternal happenings. Friday at lunch, the day before the funeral, Madeleine shared that Jacob was sitting at the kitchen table eating his lunch. Her back was turned at the sink when she heard Jacob slowly start to cry, not a hurt or an angry cry, but a soft, sad, sensitive cry. Madeleine went over to comfort him and asked what was wrong. Jacob responded, "Grandpa is sick, very sick." Madeleine responded with words of wisdom, "Jacob, it's okay, Grandpa now lives with Heavenly Father and Jesus, he is happy and we should be happy too." "Happy?" questioned Jacob, "Grandpa lives Jesus? Happy?" "Yes," responded Madeleine, "Grandpa is happy." "Okay," responded Jacob and returned to his sandwich. Jacob still asks about Grandpa constantly, but then always responds that he is sick and happy, and lives with Heavenly Father and Jesus.

A trip to St. George
- Last week I had a business trip to St. George and took Jacob, Kyle and Lily with me. (Might us well make it fun, right?) We swam in the hotel's swimming pool, ate at a yummy restaurant for Kyle's birthday and then on our way back to the hotel, drove by the St. George temple. It is beautiful against the bright red/orange rock of St. George and looked especially gorgeous at dusk. As we rounded the corner, we saw the visitor's center on the corner and Jacob spotted the Christis, "Mami, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus." We quickly parked and got out to take pictures and explore. Jacob and I separated ourselves from the others to find "Jesus." We walked through the visitor's center until we found the statue of Christ, sat down and accepted an invitation from the missionaries to listen to the audio presentation. Of course I was filled with spirit as I listened and felt great appreciation and love, but I knew Jacob felt it too. As he sat in my lap, perfectly calm and quiet, Jacob whispered, "Mami, Jesus loves me." All I could do was nod and whisper back, "yes he does."

Dad's Funeral

2009-06-08T13:36:00.001-07:00

Dad's funeral was beautiful, it was peaceful (yes, there were tears), but it confirmed that we will see our father again, and our family will be together. It was amazing to rub shoulders with all those that loved my dad, mom and our family and hear their stories about my father. (I will try to get some pictures up soon, but I wanted to post a few things.) The first is a quote our cousin sent our family, that quickly between a family favorite and was used on the funeral program.

Through tears and trials, through fears and sorrows, through the heartache and loneliness of losing loved ones, there is assurance that life is everlasting. Our Lord and Savior is the living witness that such is so.

- Thomas S. Monson

I was also asked to speak about who my dad was. It was a wonderful experience, and I enjoyed talking to each of my siblings, mother's and inlaws to get their input. We laughed, cried, shared stories, and just enjoyed remembering my father and being grateful for the legacy that he has left us. Here is a copy of my talk.

I have the great honor to speak for our family in describing who our dad was, but first I want to thank each of you for coming. You are here, because my Dad impacted your lives in some way.
Who was Gary Alton Mathews?

Dad was a father, husband, grandpa, brother, a best friend to a few, but friendly to all, home-teacher, bishop, teacher, neighbor, a comforter, and a faithful and valiant follower of Christ. He loved his family, reading (we visited LOTS of used book stores as a family), was an avid sports fan, loved the outdoors, traveling, exploring, trying new things, genealogy, and learning. Dad taught us how to work and the value of it. Every week day during the summer, we had a job list, some of which were very creative, but we were responsible to complete that list of jobs before lunch. Dad loved sweets and would sneak us hard candy during church meetings and red licorice vines quickly became a road trip staple for our family. Dad also loved my mom and expressed it often. He backed up his love by often surprising her with a single carnation or other flower.

To prepare for this talk, I asked each of my siblings and mother, “Who was Dad for them? As we talked, we laughed, cried, told stories and felt great love for my dad. The following are a few of the legacies that Dad left us.

Teacher – Dad loved teaching; he actually started his bachelor studies in engineering until his Junior year, switching to Elementary Education, knowing that was where his heart was. Dad taught three years in Alaska and 31 years here in Lincoln County. He was known as the creative teacher and made learning fun. He used Portland Trailblazer statistics, the NCAA tournament, and more to entice students to learn and grow. Our Labor Days as a family were spent at Dad’s classroom, prepping it for the new school year. We would ready the bulletin boards, wash book shelves, and make copies of handouts. His co-workers became our family too (Mr. Steel, Mooney, Whetstone, and more), many of which are in the audience today. Thank you for loving and supporting my father and becoming our family. Dad taught more than 1000 students over his career. Past student’s of Dad’s expressed that his classroom was always open and they loved hanging out there during and after school. He could take almost any child and over the school year, shape them to reach their full potential. He loved the challenge of teaching every year and never really retired. Dad taught constantly, not only professionally, but in his life and by example. He was more of a listener than a talker, but when he spoke, it was often profound. When Erick and I visited just two weeks ago, Erick asked, “Dad, if you were to move today, what would you take with you?” With just a moment of thought, Dad answered, “Your mother (long pause) and my children.” He taught us where our priorities should be.

Serviceable – Dad lived a life of service. My brothers cringed every time my dad raised his hand volunteering his time and theirs yet again. My dad would say, “Me and my boys will be there,” and they were, to help families move, to clean a widow’s home, or work in someone’s yard, they were always there. Dad was serving yet another family three days after Christmas in 2005 when he fell down a flight of stairs causing the major brain trauma. But Dad also naturally served and performed random acts of service. Sonia, my sister-in-law and married to Ben, shared that when she first met dad, on a visit before they were engaged, she had fallen asleep on the living room floor, Dad walked by, noticed she was asleep and found a blanket to drape around her. Sonia commented, “Dad’s thoughtfulness very much impressed me.”

Family man – He lived to please and serve our family. I remember many years ago during his birthday, us kids were complaining that he didn’t have any hobbies (like golfing or fishing) that would make it easier for us to buy a present. His response still is etched in my memory when he said, “My family is my hobby.” And we really were. Joel remembers the interviews he had with each of us on Fast Sundays, and how we looked forward to having one-on-one time to make goals and share our fears.

Dad was our biggest fan and cheerleader.

Ben remembers Dad standing in pouring down rain at each of his cross-country meets (not a high spectator sport), cheering him on. Dad was the loudest fan at each of our basketball, track, volleyball and other sporting events. At times it was even a bit embarrassing. My Senior Year, I had a basketball game at Sweet Home over the Christmas break, my two older brothers were home from college and it was the first time they were able to see me play in high school. The boys drove out to Sweet Home to see me play and I was so excited. Well, they were sooooo loud, embarrassingly loud, everyone in the stands knew who my family was, but I knew my dad loved and supported me.

Another example, in high school, Kyle got very interested in gardening, and my dad took him all over the northwest, up to Portland and into Washington to visit specialty gardening stores, conferences and classes. Now Kyle is our family’s go-to man for gardening expertise.

Beth remembers that Dad would drive her and her friends all over, before she could drive. He took them to the movies in Lincoln City, swimming at Olaha Lake, each time, taking a book and waiting patiently in the car until they were finished. Beth
also cherishes the many times she danced swing with Dad in our living room.

Our family was so important to Dad. The summer after Ben graduated from high school, Dad realized that it would be the last time that our family would be together for a long time (maybe always) and so our parents planned the ultra of trips. We traveled along the northern states of the US, returning through the southern states. That summer we spent about 1 ½ months traveling, visited 31 states and two providences in Canada, drove 13,000 miles, experienced every weather pattern, and made memories for generations to come. That trip bonded us as no others could or have.

Beth also noted that the Christmas before my dad's original accident my family was all together at home. My Dad (and Mom) had felt that it was important for us all be together that particular Christmas. Then this past Christmas my family was all together once again, the last Christmas that we could, in this life, before my dad passed away. We are so grateful for those two rare occasions.

Avid Sports Fan -My dad loved sports, especially Brigham Young University sports. Our family was constants at church on Saturday mornings (along with the Taylor family) during football season to watch BYU games on the satellite. Dad and Bro. Taylor corrected their school papers during the games, and then we would play pick-up game during half time. All through basketball season, we could find dad out in the car the only place he could pick up the Utah based KSL 1160 radio station that carried the BYU basketball games. Throughout the years, Nathan remembers dad taking us to the University of Oregon versus BYU football game in Eugene, the Tournament of the Americas in Portland (the Original Dream Team), and multiple Oregon State games. Each of us participated in sports during our school years, thanks to my dad’s encouragement.

Devout follower of Christ – My dad loved Christ and was so firmly rooted in the gospel, but he lived it quietly. His mission to Argentina was a central point of his life and ours. He used stories from his experiences there to teach our family. His service as a bishop for six years was a honor and he took the stewardship in
that position very seriously. Many people still called him Bishop because of the great love they felt from him at that time. He served in each calling faithfully
and dutifully, Kyle expressed that Dad was such a good example as a home teacher during their years as companions.

But Dad was also had a sense of humor. Again, when Erick and I were here two weeks ago, Erick asked Dad where the most sacred place in the world was, and dad replied, “Navahoo, Ilinois” (carries meaning in our faith), and then Erick asked, “but what about Peru?” and Dad answered without missing a beat, “Well, I guess if you are a Peruvian.”

To finish, I want to read a brief blurb from his patriartical blessing, it reads, “Your life will be preserved to accept all the Lord has for you to do, and your life will be filled with activities that will give you joy.” I know that Dad finished what he needed to accomplish on this earth, and that it was filled with joy, even these past 3 ½ difficult years, there was joy for our family. Dad will leave a legacy to his family, his students, the ward and all those that knew him. We love him and will miss him deeply, but know that we will be together again someday.

In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

My father

2009-05-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

Picture taken on Saturday evening, 5/23/09, my dad went to sleep after we left on Sunday and has since not woken up or spoken. We have been told that people who are dying store energy for something that they feel is important and lose energy very quickly after that.

We pulled into town about 3am late last night after having a joyous but emotional trip to visit my parents. The last couple of years have been a roller coaster for our family. In December 2005, my dad fell down a flight of stairs causing major brain trama and a new way of life for my mother, me and my siblings. And then about 1 1/2 years ago he was diagnosed with cancer, which became terminal earlier this year, with less than a year to live. I felt like I still had time . . . but while in route back to Utah, my mother called, saying that he had had a seizure, indicating the cancer had spread. This morning, the nurse visited and explained that his behavior patterns were showing a body's natural preperation to shut down, and thought he had less than a month. Grieving has come at different times for me, tears and gentle assurances here and there, but tonight I just cried. I tried to explain to Jacob that Grandpa was sick, very sick, but that I loved him very much. Hundreds of memories flooded my mind as I thought of my father. He is a gentle giant, serviciable, always the listerner, and made a pretty darn good pillow on a lazy warm Sunday afternoon! :) He is a spiritual giant and still manges to teach me/us. When Erick asked this past week, what he would take with him if he were moving, dad answered without any hestitation, "My wife." My mother and us (his children) are his life and always were, his priorities are in the right order. I love him and will miss him, but am so grateful for the legacy of character he has left me.

Posts about my father by other siblings: Ben, Beth

Update: My father passed away Friday evening, May 29th, peacefully at my parent's home in Oregon. His obituary and a place to leave memories and thoughts are at the following link: http://familyhistory.mathews2000.com/drupal/gary-alton-mathews-1944-obituary#comment-22. Thank you all for all your prayers over the years. We love and appreciate them oh so much.

Old Navy adventures and more!

2009-04-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned how funny Jacob is? Last week we stopped by Old Navy in Sugar House. While looking at a pair of shorts for Erick, Jacob dissapeared. We looked around for a few minutes, looked down some eisles, and called his name. It took us a few minutes to find him, and when we did, all I could do was laugh and of course take some pictures. We have a nutter for a 2 year old and we LOVE him!

Isn't he adorable! I love that he is hugging his new friend.

And Jacob said the guy with the baby blue/white stripped polo in the back left is Erick and that "Mommy no here." Got to love kids.

And a few days later, Jacob further showed off his modeling capabilities by trying on my shoes and requesting "piture Mommy, piture Mommy."

Spring showers bring May flowers . . .

2009-03-30T14:32:00.001-07:00

I have heard lots of complaining about the weather as of lately, all the snow and rain, it's too cold, not enough sun, I already packed away my sweaters, what happened to the SPRING, etc, etc., but I love it. I love cooler tempetures and really don't like when late July and August roll around and I am sweating through any clothing item that I own. Lots of rain and snow now also means less water usage, greener grass and more beautiful flowers in May. And lastly, I don't think this year is any different than most. My birthday is April 7th and every year while a student at BYU, we had a new fresh load of snow fall on my birthday. I loved it. It was a great white, pure present from above. I remember one year there was a biology class retreat scheduled up near Sundance and we got snowed it while there. We were there all afternoon and all evening, through dinner AND all evening. We didn't make it back down until 11pm, long after guests for my suprise party had come and gone. For days after the party, friends complimented on what a great party I had missed :) . . . all due to a little snow. Moral of the story . . . enjoy the fun white stuff following from above.

The life of a two-year old.

2009-03-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

I love my little two-year-old. He is sooo boy, brilliant and oh soo funny. I don't think he can be any more boy than he is. He has lots of energy and likes anything that hits, makes noice, can be kicked or is somewhat gross. A couple of weeks ago in church, an older couple leaned forward after sacrament meeting and commented, "It's so good to see a real 'boy' in the ward, it has been so long since one has come through." I am not sure what they meant, but they said it with a smile and so I took it as a compliment. Jacob is fearless, confident, friendly and looks for a challenge boy, all characteristics that parents would be proud to instill in their children. I am curious to see what he will do professionally and the type of man that he will grow up to be, but for now, I am pretty darn proud of his crazy antics.

Here are just a few pictures from over the past few months that show his true boyhood colors.

Playing with the sand and water station at the "Discovery Gateway" Children's Museum.
Of course we need a picture of train, that is his favorite down-town site. When we pick up Erick from work, he always looks for the BIG TRAINS. Chug-a-chug-a-toot-toot.

Driving the BIG MACHINE at Discovery Gateway.

And he even likes to help with the household chores in his Sunday-clothes.

This picture is from last August, I can't find anything more current, but it definitely depicts Jacob's style and it's amazing to see the difference in our house after finishing the floors and molding. Wow!Once again . . driving a car.

Driving . . . do we need to say more?

Playing with his remote control car.

And if we had some more pictures of the last couple of weeks, they would show him playing in his san' box (as he calls it) or dirt pile in the backyard or on his tummy in the driveway looking for bugs. The life of a two-year old, boy do we love this kid!

In my lifetime . . .

2009-02-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

In my lifetime...
I have done a few things. Here is a list of things to do in a lifetime. Those ones in bold black are the ones I have already done. I stole this from a friends blog . . . happy reading.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (does a family band during FHE count?)
4. Visited Hawaii - someday
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (both Disneyland and Disneyworld -- I liked the first best.)
8. Climbed a mountain (many)
9. Held a praying mantis (the first couple months of my mission.)
10. Sang a solo (scary I know, 6th grade in front of the entire school, "It's a grand old flag." Never again!)
11. Bungee jumped (never -- this will never get crossed off the list.)
12. Visited Paris (Definitely someday, this is on Erick's top 5 to-do's.)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (from the Coast.)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (unfortunately)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (I have driven by . . . )
18. Grown your own vegetables (yesiree and will do it again this summer)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight (I have a two-year old, this is part of our daily play-time.)
22. Hitch hiked (Yes. Last day of our "pay period" in the mission and we were out of money for a taxi. It was also during the Carnival season, i.e. people throw paint and water balloons at random people in the street. We had already been the target multiple times that month for water balloons and didn't want to become the victims of the paint buckets that were allowed the last day. We were saved by a taxi driver who let us ride for free. :)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (I am sure I have, but can't remember a specific day.)
24. Built a snow fort (Yes. Many times, but the latest was this winter with all the neighbor kids in our front yard . . it was so fun.)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (Shawn, do you remember in Moab with Sarah Pancari?)
27. Run a Marathon (Just 1/2s)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (Some of the most beautiful creations.)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise (No -- but family reunion, here we come.)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (How far back do they want us to go?)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Spanish and now baby-talk mixed with Spanglish.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (I think a dollar amount doesn't determine satisfaction or happiness . . . and of course I would love to earn more, but I love my life.)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (Yes - and now I need to take Erick, he would love it.)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant (On the street.)
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing (No - and I grew up on the Oregon coast . . )
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud (Of course, how do you play outside in Oregon, if not in the mud?)
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (family home videos?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (Weren't we all part of Mom's stamping business?)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (Everyday from Shilo Inn's windows where I was a hostess. I probably saw more than 20 that summer.)
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I tried once, but after not being able to accept my blood, I haven't had the nerve to try again . . . )
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp (No, but I went to the museum in DC and was very moved. Amazing.)
67. Bounced a check (many while in college. I also shed many tears.)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (Unfortunately, they scare me.)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person (I think we went when I was younger.)
80. Published a book (In elementary, we "published" lots of books.)
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (Thanks to growing up in a small community, I had several opportunities . . . )
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (A turkey)
88. Had chickenpox (Yep -- and still have some scars.)
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury (No, but I have always wanted to.)
91. Met someone famous (Lot's of LDS church leaders.)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby (See the next post for a highlight of Jacob)
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Cave Tubing in Belize

Being Grateful

2009-02-04T05:45:00.000-08:00

It's 6:45 a.m., and I have been up since 5am, wide-awake, rested and ready to go for the day, a very rare moment. I use to be a morning person before I got married (Erick is not much of a morning person) and when Jacob came around, I slipped further from my previous early-morning days. But today, after being sick for the past four days and sleeping on and off for all of that, I am rested. I don't feel 100% better, but actually feel like doing something, that is an improvement. And for this I am very grateful. It takes the bitter, to enjoy the sweet, and it takes being sick to appreciate being healthy and strong. And this morning, I just feel grateful, grateful for so many things. Here is a quick list of the first 25 things that come to mind.

1. Erick - for keeping the family together the last few days.
2. Sister-in-laws who also kept the family together the last few days.
3. Family
4. Good friends
5. Ability to type (how many people don't know how?)
6. Education
7. Songs, music, singing - a good tune always inspires me and puts me in good spirits
8. Computers - there is sooo much information out there
9. Jacob - he is one SMART, adorable little boy
10. Church/the gospel - I need/want the constant reminders to be a better person
11. Cold sunny days - we have had many the last couple of days and I love the half cold, half warm feeling, especially depending if you are standing in the shade or not.
12. Food - simple pleasures
13. Comfortable clothes
14. A good bra, sorry men, but a good bra feels amazing
15. Laughter
16. Midnight mini-dates with my husband. Last night we ran and got Maverick's Frozen Yogurt at midnight. Ummm, yummy.
17. House projects. We bought a fixer-upper home and it's been sooo much work, but Erick and I will forever have those memories, and we have been forced to learn some great new skills.
18. A clean kitchen.
19. Clean clothes
20. Clothes in general - what if you had very few?
21. Fresh air - to smell fresh air is an instant mood adjuster for me.
22. Different perspectives
23. Book of Mormon
24. Stars - they are one of my favorite things, they are happy, simple, beautiful and magical.
25. Quiet time

Christmas Letter 2008

2008-12-17T14:37:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! What an exciting past year and we feel blessed to reflect on what we have experienced and felt. We visited family (March - Libbey’s parents in Oregon, July - Erick’s family in Peru), went to Portland to celebrate Libbey’s brother’s wedding, welcomed Erick’s sister to move in with us managed to visit Washington DC over Thanksgiving without Jacob. We also continue to work long hours on our cute little bungalow and enjoyed other family adventures.

Additionally . . .

ERICK started working for Target Bank in April, a part of Target Corporation (and yes the store that all women love), as an accountant and has loved it. He has gotten to travel some and has enjoyed the new job responsibilities. In September, Erick was also called as the 2nd councilor in a new bishopric and as with any sacrifice, there are also lots of blessings and moments of joy, and we have already seen our fair share. Erick also continues to work on his educational goals (when? —we are not sure, but he does) . . .

LIBBEY continues to work for the Association for Utah Community Health and is enjoying the learning curve as the Telemedicine coordinator. She helps community health clinics implement telemedicine capabilities. She also keeps busy with Jacob and all of his 2-year-old interests. They have taken a mother-and-me art class, spent numerous days at the park, riden the train (TRAX) downtown multiple times and enjoyed other fun two-year-old activities.

JACOB turned two in August and is loving life! His favorite things to do are, cooking, playing with trains, playing in the dirt in the backyard and copying anything that he sees others do. "I do it," has quickly become his favorite phrase.

We feel so blessed and grateful for this past year and of course for all of our family and friends and how you have enriched our lives. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas, a happy New Year and pray that you will all enjoy an even better 2009! Please email or call when you have a chance . . .

Cooking??! Yeah right!

2008-11-12T12:47:00.001-08:00

As many of you know, cooking is not a favorite past time of mine. I do it because we need to eat, and food does taste good. And because I studied Public Health and took several nutrition classes, I am very passionate at getting the 5-a-day fruits and vegetables as recommended, I sometimes even hide them in other foods for the "benefit" of my family. But I am not the type to spend hours on one meal, well, maybe every once in awhile. What I am trying to say is that I don't feel like my cooking could claim any bragging rights, but maybe so after today!! :) So when Erick called me from work late yesterday afternoon, telling me that he had signed up to participate in a soup kick-off at work. I thought, "What??" I really didn't have the time and I especially didn't want to disappoint my husband by not having something spectacular to send, but really, my cooking skills, they are a bit limited. (I feel like what President Uchtdorf described in his talk during the last Relief Society General Meeting, his wife always apologizes for her cooking. :) But, anyway, Erick is very enthusiastic and asked, "Libbey, can you make the 'White Chile?'" Insert: We were first introduced to this now family favorite about a year ago, shortly after moving into our new ward, Tanya our good friend from the ward had brought it to some gathering and we fell in love immediately. I asked for the recipe and have since made it a few times, each with huge success.

The success story --
I called my sister-in-law to put the beans to soak for the afternoon, and when I got home I through the rest of the ingredients in the crock pot and hoped for the best. I turned the crock pot off about 10pm before going to bed and found the beans were still hard . . . uh oh. I told Erick to plug the crock pot in and turn it to high as soon as he got to work (this morning that was 7am for both of us --yes, a very long day), to ensure that the beans would be soft before lunch and the round of voting. Erick called me hourly with bean updates. He was so excited to participate in the cook-off and even provided his reports on the other competing soups. There were two red-based soups (definitely not in the competition) and three cream based. He thought we really only had one competitor, a cream based with bacon and vegetables.

The noon hour arrived and the competition began. Meanwhile, I too was participating in a staff lunch and was away from my email and office phone for more than an hour. When I returned, I had received one voice mail and three emails from Erick with bits and pieces of the news . . . .

WE WON -- can you believe it? I have never entered a cooking contest and never really wanted to, and now Erick had won first place in the soup cook-off. He even received prizes, a very cute soup bowl, a Target Cook Book (it actually has some easy yummy recipes - my favorite) and some crazy magnet. Here is Erick with his victory prizes at his office.

And for those wishing to try the winning recipe, here you go:

WHITE CHILE

6 c. chicken broth
1 lb. white beans
1 tsp. chicken stock base
2 chopped onions
1 tbsp. oil
6-8 cloves garlic
3 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
7 oz. diced green chiles
2-3 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cayenne
4 c. chicken, diced
1 c. sour cream

Cook broth, beans and base 2 hours. Saute onions and garlic briefly in oil. Add onions, garlic, chiles, cumin, oregano, cayenne, chicken. Simmer 30 minutes. Add sour cream and cheese. Heat through. Garnish. Serve.

Fall Fun

2008-11-04T21:32:00.000-08:00

Fall has to be one of my favorite seasons, and this year was an exceptional one. The weather was beautiful, extended cooler, sunny days, which made for plenty of fun moments and beautiful landscapes. However, those times are changing . . . today was cold, rainy and mixed with a bit of snow . . . just in time for the holidays! Here are a few pictures of what we have done and enjoyed over the last several weeks.

A picture of our street - isn't it gorgeous? I love how the trees change colors here. I am still an Oregon-girl at heart, but I would miss this natural beauty if we ever moved away.

A few weeks ago, we visited Wheeler Farm in Midvale. It was soo fun. Our plan had been to go to the zoo, but I think every mother and child in the Salt Lake Valley had planned an outing for the zoo -- it was sooo crowded. We opted out, but Wheeler Farm was a blast, Jacob was happy as a lark. We looked at all the cows, horses, chickens, geese, climbed on tractors and milked the cow. And the best part -- it's FREE. We will definitely go back there again.

Of course Jacob found the water . . .
. . . and the tractors (they are almost like a truck, right?!)

But the cow didn't go over too well for Jacob, he spent three seconds at Erick's side, enough time for me to get this picture. On the other hand, Erick loved it. If we had the time and space, we would be managing a mini-farm. He loves his chickens and now cows.

For Halloween, Jacob was a construction worker, do you see his thin mustache?? We were shooting for the whole Spaniard look. He looked so cute. I even made his candy bucket, I didn't get a close-up, but it says's "Jacob's Paint Bucket." The first few homes were a mystery to Jacob on what he was suppose to do, but after realizing that if he mustered the magic words of "trick or treat," that people would give you "dulces" - (sweets) then he really got into the door knocking and getting more "dulces." He ended the night with plenty of candy, some of which we gave back out at home because we ran out of our own. It was a great night, beautiful weather, good friends (we walked around with our good friends Carrie, Jim and their daughter Evey). I even dressed up as an "Oregon Coast Witch," and Erick agreed to dress up next year.

Renovations, renovations and more . . . renovations!

2008-10-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

Many have asked to see pictures of our house renovations -- so here goes. We have scraped paneling and wallpaper off walls, replaced the living room and hallway floors, painted, painted, and painted some more, cut out walls, built stairs (well this part we hired out), put up base boards and crown molding, found the wonders of caulking and much more. Remember it is a work in progress, but we are still pretty darn proud proud of ourselves. At times the projects have been really fun as we read and researched how to do something, at other times we have wanted to pull each other's hair out, and still other moments we wandered why we had bought the house. But that all being said, we love our home and just love our neighborhood. Yes, we live in ROSE PARK, but it is beautiful and the people are amazing.
The two big holes that were cut. The picture below will eventually have a built in bench with a cushion, hooks to hang "cloaks" and a shelf with baskets -- super cute. Can you image??

Our living room, looking at the front window with Jacob in the forefront (with his very cool bike helmet!)
Another view of the front room, looking toward the front window. We still need to get a side table for our poor lamp sitting in the corner. We saw one that we really like, it will be added to the wish list.

Our kitchen. Do you remember all the wall paper and funky fruit titles? How about the dark brown paneling? Erick put in the over-the-range microwave all by himself. I am so proud of him!

A close up of the crown molding.

Summer 2008

2008-08-13T12:39:00.000-07:00

We have had a blast this summer . . . . . we have camped in our backyard with friends, visited family and friends in Peru, went swimming, worked on the house (an ongoing process), spent lots of times with our neighbors (we have the best neighbors in the whole world -- we couldn't have hand-picked better ones) and just enjoyed ourselves. Way too much has happened this summer to put it all down in writing. However, they say a picture says a thousand words - right?! So . . grab a cold lemonade (the prefered summer beverage), sit back and enjoy a "snap-shot" of what the Chuy Clan has been up to the last several months.

April -- a quick trip to LA to pick up Erick's sister-in-law from the LA LDS mission (of course she loved her experience.) And while we were there, we had to go to Disneyland. It really is magical . . . just magical.

In July, we went to Peru.

And in late July, we flew to Oregon for Nathan and Sallee's wedding.

An afternoon walk at work . . .

2008-08-06T14:43:00.000-07:00

I love to walk! It's good exercise, it relieves stress, saves you money (you don't have to buy bigger clothes) and somedays can be quite entertaining. That was exactly the case today, Wednesday, August 6, 2008. At work, I try to go on a 10-15 de-stressing, clear-the-mind, see-the-sites walk on a regular base. This afternoon I headed out about 2:02 p.m. I walked south on 900 East from about 4500 south. About 5 minutes into the walk, a sleek, new, black, sporty Lexus car pulled up next to me. I was quite startled, but admired the beauty of such car. A rather handsome guy rolled down his window and with a big smile asked, "Hey, would you like a ride?" That was not at all what I was expecting, and I mumbled "oh, uh, no, actually I don't, I work around here and am out on a walk." "Well, okay," replied the mysterious driver. He flashed another smile, rolled up the window and was off. "Wow," I thought, "I guess I still have the spark/kick to attract handsome men, and thought, "I would love the car, but with cute hubby Erick driving," and I continued my walk. Two minutes later, I turned into the K-Mart parking lot and I hear another, "hey." But this time it was a, "Hey, do you have a lighter?" Once again I found myself quite surprised and not at all expecting a question quite like that. I mumbled something back, like, "umm, actually no . . ." with a second thought of, ". . . . and you shouldn't smoke anyway." Now that was odd -- two pick-ups within five minutes and not at all alike. An experience that was quite odd, somewhat surprising, but never the less provided a good laugh for the afternoon.

Who knows what tomorrow's afternoon walk will bring?

Vive la vida loca -- en Mexico!

2008-06-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

Sunday night, Erick and I were discussing our trip to Peru, from July 2nd-20th. In the process, we pulled up our itinerary on Cheap Tickets to get the specific details, and to our surprise, found a completely different itinerary. As it read, we would not land in Lima until the 4th, almost 36 hours of travel, with a major layover in Mexico City. We were quite shocked, and immediately called Cheap Tickets to straighten out our trip. Over the next 2 1/2 hours, yes, 2 1/2 hours, we found out that our original connecting flight in Mexico City had been canceled, and they had booked us on another flight that left 5 hours before we even got there. What was worse? Cheap Tickets reassured us that they would refund our entire ticket if we wished, but, that wasn't the point. We wanted to go to Peru, just not have it take 36 hours. We asked them to hold 5 minutes while we checked other fares, we thought was fair after having been put on hold for multiple long extended periods of time. We checked flights and all that was left was about as crazy, yet with layovers in less exciting places, like LA or Atlanta. Erick and I quickly discussed our options, and decided to spend the time in Mexico, and get another stamp in our passport. So here is our itinerary, we arrive to Mexico City on July 3rd at 5:30 a.m., and catch our connecting flight at 5:30pm to Lima. We have 12 hours in Mexico, subtract an hour to get through customs, and another 2 hours to get back through security and catch a flight, and we are still left with 8-9 hours to play in the city. We have already looked up some places and plan on visiting a good park for Jacob to run, maybe Chapultepec Park, the largest park within a city in the world and the famous Zocalo plaza, the 2nd largest Plaza in the world. It will be a fun adventure and an added bonus to our trip. And it doesn't make our plane tickets seem quite as expensive, when you get too visit two countries for the price of one! :)

Nursery Rhymes

2008-06-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

I was reading a friend's blog a few days ago and she had written, "How many nursery songs do you remember the actual words to? ( We are starting to realize not many) :)" Wow -- I thought I was the only one that started a nursery or primary song, only to start humming the melody instead of singing a few seconds in because I couldn't remember the words. I have gotten very creative with some of my new versions, it's like choose-your-own-nursery rhyme, in both Spanish and English. Erick seems to remember lots of nursery rhymes, but all in Spanish -- that's not any help, because I can't even hum the melodies of those songs, they are all unfamiliar, and he doesn't know the English songs . . . oh well, Jacob and all of our future children will have an expanded library of nursery rhymes to choose from, made-up, English and Spanish versions.

But now after almost two years, I finally looked up a web site that could provide me with the original words. Here is a good one, http://www.rhymes.org.uk/ and it even comes with some history. Enjoy!

Jacob's Birthday Present

2008-05-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

Jacob has been eyeing the older neighborhood kids' bikes/scooters/trikes for sometime. So we thought, "Let's buy him his birthday present now to enjoy all summer long." (His birthday is August 2nd.)

He loves the bike, but wasn't too fond of the helmet at first. I begged a few of the older kids to "model" their helmets and how cool it is. Now Jacob goes and gets his helmet before we go outside. It's fun to watch Jacob get excited about riding his bike. He likes to "work" on his bike by using a screw driver or the pump and try to "fix" the wheels. When he thinks the bike is "fixed," he will throw the tools down, hop on the bike and off he goes . . . well, not super fast. He can't peddle yet, but can foot-push (?) himself pretty well. I imagine it will be only another month or so until he is peddling along side the other kids.

2008-05-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

This blog is slow in starting . . . is one entry every two months okay?

Just a few minutes ago, I thought, "oh, I should add a family picture to our blog," a silly though, because I don't think about our blog too much. Can you tell from the frequency of posts. This picture was taken in February in our neighborhood. Jacob had just woken up from a nap and looks quite grumpy, but he is normally a happy, and VERY ACTIVE toddler.

The Beginning

2008-03-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading another "new" blog site of some friends and finally felt, "it's time." I love reading our friends' blogs, seeing pictures, reading their crazy encounters and just feeling like I keep up with their lives. I really hope that the Chuy News Blog will accomplish the same for others.

As a side note -- Erick and I recently ate Chinese, and my fortune cookie read, "Try a new look this year . . . ," I am thinking this blog is my new look. Enjoy!!