Christmas Traditions

Some of my favorite things about Christmas are the traditions. I've started a couple for our family that have been fun. I don't remember decorating ginger bread houses while I was growing up, but I love to do that with Chandler now. This is the first year, though, he's wanted to eat the candy off once the icing hardened. Scott got to help us this year so it was even more fun!

Wednesday night we bought and decorated the tree. It was kind of fun to have snow around us while we shopped at the tree lot. Scott jokes around with me every year about my wanting a Charlie Brown tree. I think it's kind of funny because that's the kind of tree my mom insisted to get every year. I understand the whole concept now...there needs to be room between branches for all of the fantastic ornaments! Besides, have you seen "A Charlie Brown's Christmas?" His tree is full and beautiful once its decorated by his friends! Our tree looks great every time, once the bare spots are filled in with twig stars and a collection of ornaments from all over the country and years of love. Chandler loves to put the star at the top, who needs a ladder when strong and handsome dad are around?

Sing Alongs and Christmas Lights

Our family decided to take part in the Larry H. Miller tradition this year, we attended the annual sing along at The Energy Solutions Arena. Despite the craziness for Scott with snowbike deadlines and real work stress, we made it downtown Monday night to enjoy a few of the "extras" of this holiday season. First of all, I have to thank Larry Miller and his family for their generosity. What a big event to offer the public! It really was fun to sit with a crowd of thousands and sing Christmas songs, salute the troops in Iraq and be entertained by the Jazz Bear. Chandler wasn't quite as thrilled about the experience as Scott and I, but he survived it. Luckily, the free hot dog and soda helped contribute to a fun evening.

After the sing along we headed east to the temple and Deseret Book. It was a chilly walk but we warmed up with hot chocolate and oohed and aahed the lights on Temple Square. I'm so amazed at the effort to string all of those lights so meticulously! I love the light pink ones. You wonder how the Salt Lake Temple can be more beautiful, but the lights make that happen at Christmas time. We had a great time.

The Best Birthday Boy!

Scott is officially 34, as of yesterday, December 7th. I am so blessed to have him in my life. He is the most loving and attentive father I've ever known. It's rare to see a dad who will spend hours at a time playing whatever his son wants to do, Scott does with Chandler all the time--Legos, cars, video games, biking. He also does well to teach Chandler the difference of right and wrong and the importance of doing what you say you'll do. Scott takes great care of me also and really works on finding ways to make my life easier and more enjoyable. He works hard everyday and is always looking for more ways to provide for our family. I laugh every day because of him and am so grateful we are married and "fighting the good fight" together.

Gratitude, Gratitude, Gratitude

The holidays seem to be coming and going much quicker than I really expected this year. Thanksgiving break was fantastic! We had so much fun with dinner at Grandma's, a cousins party and spending time with Chandler. My mom really outdid herself this year for dinner. She makes the best stuffing and cranberry sauce. I'm grateful for her willingness to share so much of her time and talent with me and my family. Tori was her assistant chef and helped to make things super fun for her younger cousins. She helped Stratton draw pictures on the place cards and arranged the play area for the little ones. Tori and my mom also did a bit of prize shopping in preparation for our BINGO game. We had a great time, I can say this because I won twice, Scott or Chandler may have a different recollection of the experience. All in all, it was really a great time together. I love being able to relax and eat good food and play fun games until it's time to call it a night.

I've had a few things really weighing on my spirit the last few weeks. I'm happy to say that Heavenly Father has really been helping me to understand how I can have joy and peace in the midst of difficulty. I really am grateful for Him and my Savior and the knowledge I have They know and love me. I'm grateful for my husband who makes my life so happy and fun. Chandler is a blessing and I'm grateful I have the opportunity to be a part of his life. I'm grateful for my fantastic family who help me when I ask and keep my perspective clear. I'm also very grateful for my ward and the willingness so many have to serve so wholeheartedly. I have great girlfriends and I'm grateful for their support and patience with me. I'm grateful for my health and the ability I have to work and play and take care of my family. Gratitude is really something that makes life better when it is acknowledged. I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving holiday and are making this Christmas best of all others!

Moving Up in the Ranks

I'm so proud of Chandler for working so diligently, and happily, toward his Wolf badge. He has really been so positive when I've been a little over the top about scouting activities. It seems Wednesday afternoons are the best time to complete a little requirement or two before den meeting. I love that he is excited to set this goal and is willing to work to achieve it. He even figured out how many arrows he can earn until he is old enough to work on his Bear badge. Great job Kiddo!

A Halloween to Remember

So much fun! That was Halloween this year. I thought things could be a little different for this holiday for our family. I really wanted to have some of those traditions that I remember from my childhood. I asked Chandler if he would like me to make his costume this year. He wasn't thrilled about it, but he didn't have his heart set on anything specific so he humored me. Scott, Chandler and I visited JoAnn's and looked at different patterns. (I'm not the most creative seamstress but I can definitely follow a pattern.) Scott and Chandler's excitement didn't really begin until we came across the costume fabric...then the ideas came flowing. Chandler decided to be an alien, complete with a Mexican wrestler type mask, and Scott and I would be the MIB. Easy enough. Aside from sewing the pants together with one side right side out and one side right side in, there weren't a lot of frustrating moments. It was totally worth it though! Chandler was really excited to wear his costume and even asked if he could sleep in it. Scott was impressed with the final product (he was pretty nervous about my skills and kept asking me if I knew how to sew.) It was fun to dress up and be a family.

It seemed there was always something fun to do in October...parties, get togethers, pumpkin carving. We hosted the family pumpkin carving the Wednesday before Halloween. The weather was perfect! We built a fire and had treats set up in the courtyard.

Everyone had plenty of pumpkins to carve and the kids looked so great in their Halloween costumes. There were some real masterpieces this year! I can't wait for next year!

Catching Up

So much has happened this past month. I'll get to that later but I have a little dilemma that seems to keep occurring. This has been hard for me to talk about because I really want to become more positive in life and focus on the blessings that come to me so abundantly. But, here it is, I have a hard time with my husband's ex wife. It seems drama and pain are really the only way to live with her. I don't know how to change my attitude and feelings so my words and actions don't make matters worse than they are. I'm sorry to all of you that hear me talk about the same situation with her over and over. I'm sorry I've allowed myself to change for the worse because of all of it. I've let the difficulty with her really impact my life and my family's and I don't know how to climb out of this hole...
I guess the climbing out for this comes like it does for anything difficult--one step at a time, moving forward with faith, believing Heavenly Father will help the burden be lighter, counting blessings, living more abundantly with the spirit.
What lesson am I to be learning here? Any suggestions for me to learn it faster so I can just be done with this difficult part of life? I'm working on it but I'd really just like some rest from this hard part of my life.

Hilma Orabell Beesley

My grandmother passed away a couple of weeks ago. I was with her when she left this life and moved on to the next, to my grandpa and her parents, and others who loved her. She was a lovely grandmother who always wanted to teach something and laughed with her grandchildren. I often felt like her favorite as I sat on her sofa and neatly made my rows of X's on the pillowcases. She taught me to crosstitch, make apple pies (I wish I'd paid better attention) and always think "waste not, want not." I loved Grandma Beesley and often think of the fun times I had with her at her East Millcreek home. I learned to wash windows with vinegar water and newspaper, make fresh brussel sprouts, and keep a tidy house. Her funeral was a celebration of her life and I was happy to hear so many people talk of the wonderful time spent with Orabell. She is missed and I'm so grateful I am a part of her and she of me.

What the heck?

Sunday night was an interesting turning point for the Hoopes-Smith-Carr-Walker family. Chad, my older and sometimes wiser brother, proposed a new challenge...biggest loser. I had no idea he even watched reality tv. Of course Challey, my younger and sometimes wiser sister, instantly latched onto the idea and promoted it fiercely to the rest of us. It's kind of a joke to look at Amy (Chad's wife) and Spencer (Challey's husband) and imagine them being any lighter, but they were game for the challenge too. Supposedly everyone is kicking in $25 and the person with the greatest weight loss percentage gets the pot January 1st. Generally I try to maintain my weight and be somewhat healthy. Actually, I've never really tried to lose weight and I kind of sabotage any kind of efforts of it. I figure if I work out at the gym then I'm entitled to eat whatever I want, aka, rocky road brownies. But, now the brownies are gone and I really could make a conscious effort to work out more regularly and cut back on the sugar intake. Any suggestions to get your mind and body off the stuff? This should be an interesting 3 months and many of you may have little gifts on your doorsteps of fancy Halloween cupcakes and glorious pumpkin treats or apple creations. Lately I've been in the mood to bake and create.

CHIRPING!

Most of you know that I really love Chandler and I would do practically anything for him...including allowing pets. About two years ago I agreed Chandler could use his birthday money to buy a gecko, Stripes. I was kind of outnumbered about this but consented as long as I didn't have to see or smell or deal with the yucky stuff that comes along with the lizard. Needless to say, I have seen and smelled and dealt with our little pet. My biggest "ewww" about having a gecko is that his diet consists mainly of live crickets. Right now I can hear chirping (usually the crickets are chirpless but every now and then, they aren't.) I don't know where it is coming from. I'm thinking that little bugger is in my kitchen or living room. I don't know how it happens, but crickets escape the cage somewhat regularly and I have found some--dead and alive. Usually I will call for Chandler or Scott to retrieve the escapee but there have been times I've handled it myself. I hate the thought of anything like this roaming the house, but, as I said in the beginning, I love Chandler. So, most of the time I ignore the incovenience and grossness of it all because he is happy and proud to be a gecko owner and I'm not ready for a dog. I'm getting closer...but I'm not quite there, I have to be ok to being a pooper scooper for as long as the dog shall live before we get one.

The D*%# Chairs

I don't know what I was thinking when I ripped the fabric off my kitchen chairs... All I could see when I looked at them was stains from a kid that sees no need for napkins and drippings from a battery bursting from the doorbell casing. I could not get my kitchen chairs to look clean and it drove me nuts every day! So, I started the project that would take a couple of months. I didn't remember this to be such a pain when I did them ten years ago. Thanks to Scott and moral support from my mom, I did get them finished. They turned out better than I expected so I thought I'd share. I vowed to Scott I would never do this project again. :)

One of Many

Chandler had a couple of extra races this past weekend. It was the 2008 ABA State Races on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. His mom took him to the races on Friday night and Saturday. Scott and I made it to the Saturday race and Chandler did awesome! He is getting used to riding his new bike, it is 12 pounds lighter than his other one. You wouldn't think 12 pounds would make such a difference but he was flying over those hills. There were only three kids in his moto so he did race in all three races. Saturday he came in 2nd for each one and placed 2nd over all. I was so proud that he set a goal for himself for the main race. He said he wanted to place second. He had to work pretty hard during the main race and caught up to the rider in 2nd place during the rhythm section. He pedaled really hard for the last part and met his goal. Chandler has three regular races left so that's where you'll find us the next three Thursday nights.

Kickin' it at the Track

Chandler's BMX race this past Thursday went really well. There were 8 kids in his moto (8 year old Novice.) Chandler had to place 1-4 for the first race or 1-3 in the second race to qualify for the main race. He's really been working with Scott on how to pump his arms over the hills (I don't know what they are really called) and to pedal consistently. He really has improved his time and seems to be getting a little more aggressive with racing ahead of the kids in front of him. On Thursday he placed 4th in the first race but the second race he place 1st. He beat out four other kids! He did well in the main race. He placed 4th again but was close to being 3rd most of the race. He was really cute when we were eating dinner before heading to the track. He gets really nervous to race but just told us he knows if he is just having fun that he'll do well. He gets his new bike this next Tuesday. I'm really proud of his willingness to contribute $50 towards the bike. I like to see him invested in things that he wants to do, he seems to stay more excited about it. Chandler would be so thrilled for any of you to watch him race so here's the 411:
Practice and Racing are at Rad Canyon BMX-- 5200 West Old Bingham Highway
Tuesdays: Practice 6:30-8:30 pm
Thursdays: Races start at 7:00 pm, Chandler's moto starts around 7:20 pm
Chandler will be racing September 11, 18, 25
We'd love to see you!

New 3rd Grader

Chandler is a full fledged third grader at Bell View Elementary, he started Monday. Even though he said he didn't want to go back and that summer was too short, he was excited to start school again. I think if there is one thing that is constant for him among the chaos of two households, it's school. He seems so grown up now when he talks about learning cursive and keeping his assignments in a planner. He seems so happy when he comes home chatting about his day. This is such an exciting year for him and we are so proud of our big kid!

Cache Valley Vacation

We had a full, uninterrupted week with Chandler last week so we decided to take a little trip. Per my mom's suggestion, we traveled a short one and half hours to our friends, the Pierce's. They live in Providence, which is just outside of Logan. We get to see Bill and Sadie and their family just a few times a year, all of us would like it to be more. We had a great time at Bear Lake. Chandler and Scott both said it was better than the beach! We timed it right so the water was just a little chilly. We also timed it right for Rasberry Days! La Beau's is a great place for burgers and shakes, we even watched the parade. According to Bill and Sadie's oldest, Bryson, we had dinner and a show.Friday we started the day with a tour at "Weeks Berries of Paradise." This was our first stop on Logan's famous food tour. (Ok, I don't know if it's famous but it was on the Cache Valley Visitors website and it sounded fun.) We got to see the rasberry bushes and taste fresh blueberries right off the plant. The fruit was fantastic so we got a little bottle of jam to go. Next we headed to "Cox Honeyland and Gifts." We tasted about 20 different flavors of honey and watched the queen bee work along with the worker bees. That was a yummy stop too. We stopped by "Crumb Brothers Artisan Bread" but missed the 9:30 am tour. Their bread is delicious and picked up a loaf of sourdough for our little picnic. Next we headed to the "Aggie Ice Cream & True Blue Cheese" tour. We got special treatment for the cheese tour and learned some new facts about one of our favorite foods. Chandler handled the camera at that stop. I guess the ice cream is pretty famous at USU so we couldn't resist tasting this as well. I have to say it was pretty fresh!

We ended our Friday with a Big Horse Adventure at the American West Heritage Center. It was fun to ride (for about 15 minutes) in a covered wagon and play horseshoes and try to throw a tomahawk and attempt to lasso. The driver of the wagon was a true country boy who had his own team of horses (Babe & Sam) and mules. He cooked up a great dinner of steak and chicken in dutch ovens and we enjoyed funny music from "Whoa Molly!" It was a fun night.

Saturday we headed back to the American West Heritage Center for the live demonstrations and exhibits. It was really great to learn about life in the 1800's and talk to people who love that era. It's amazing what people could build and create with such limited tools and technology! Aside from feeding baby goats Chandler shot a black powder musket, we threw more tomahawks, and shot arrows with Shoshone Indians. This center really was a fun place to visit, and they sell Indiana Jones' whip. That was the best $2.25 we ever spent. Chandler spent the rest of the vacation cracking his whip!

That afternoon we took a dip at the Logan Aquatic Center. This great community pool has 2 diving boards, 2 mega slides, and 2 huge pools. For our family, this was the perfect vacation: great friends, great food, great swimming. So, if you need to get away but don't have much time or moolah, we recommend Cache Valley. Thanks Pierce's for living in such a fun place!

Hot Air

Thursday night Chandler participated in his first Raingutter Regatta with his Scout den. Although we didn't have a lot of time to work on his boat, he did a great job sanding and painting it to be ready for the races. Luckily Scott made it home in time to glue the rudder and mast before the event. Chandler used a lot of hot air to get his boat to win most of the races. It was a fun time. He also earned three belt loops from activities at Cub Country.

Butterflies and Such

Chandler started his BMX riding again this week. He practiced this past Tuesday for the first time on an outdoor track. He is pretty excited about starting up the sport again. I think the biking excitement is hereditary--Scott is just like a kid about it all. Chandler's first race was this past Thursday night. He did a great job sticking with it, even though he took a little tumble during the first race. He didn't qualify for the main races but he still wants to move forward with the sport. We took a bathroom break between his two races. When we were walking back to his bike I told him he'd have one less thing to think about at the start of the next race. He responded he always feels like he needs to use the bathroom while waiting at the gate. He also said he always gets butterflies. I teased him a little that he'll get butterflies when he likes a girl. He, of course, said "Ewwww." and I told him not to worry about it for about 20 years. He said he'd be 28 and probably won't be dating by then! :) I just want him to stay a true kid for as long as possible.

Scott loves everything about BMXing. He was so excited to put together Chandler's bike and rooted for him like no other parent. It's fun to see Chandler enjoy something like this and I hope we can encourage him to just have fun and do his best.

Bloom Time!

We have been enjoying some of the produce from our garden the last few weeks. The lettuce has continued to grow after harvesting and has been really great for summer salads. We picked a few green beans for Sunday dinner. I love to see the flowers in bloom, they make me feel happy every day. We have quite a few green tomatoes and I'm looking forward to fresh salsa soon. Does anyone have a fried green tomatoe recipe?

Crack of the Bat

I guess I really shouldn't be surprised when we get back what we put out there, good or bad...

Scott and I enjoyed a little outing with The Bees last night, thanks to my broker Gaynell. It was a great night for a baseball game, even though the Bees lost. It was nice to be out with my hubby and just enjoy watching players play and be entertained by the fans. Thanks again Gaynell!

Cub Country

Chandler's first experience with Cub Country was today. It's a little day camp for the 8-9 year old cub scouts. I'm not sure of everything that occurs there. Growing up I was jealous of my brother's scouting adventures, partly because they were always such a mystery. It is still a mystery to me as my own eight year old didn't say much about today's adventure. He was very excited this morning and was all shiny and clean at the beginning of the day. I found out they did a little bit of archery, Chandler was the first to hit the bulls-eye. He had lunch and played on an obstacle course and bought some sort of knife at the trading post. All I can say is that he seemed to have a good time and he is still looking forward to another day of it tomorrow. He'll be shiny and clean again, and come back with the fun on his face and shoes!

Summer = Rodeo

I don't think anyone who knows us would peg us to be a very "western" kind of family. But every once in a while it is great fun to observe and participate in a good, home town rodeo. Challey and Spencer invited us to go to the Draper Days rodeo this past Saturday. I think the motivation behind it was so Scott and Spencer and some other unnamed fool could attempt the crazy cow milking contest. I'm happy to say they didn't enter, but Chandler tried the Cash Calf and Stratton was tough enough for Mutton Bustin'. You'll have to see Challey's blog for the video on Stratton's adventure. We had a good time and I felt all kinds of American during the special flag presentation. Chandler was very excited about the Cash Calf. His goal was to get $4, I'm not sure how he arrived at that number but we applauded his enthusiasm. There were two groups of kids for this event, Chandler was with the bigger kids. I'm not sure how many there were, about 60, I'm guessing. If you ask Chandler, the number gets bigger each time he talks about it. There was one poor calf with money attached in plastic baggys to a cover over its back. The whole thing took less than five minutes. Chandler was pretty tough but did say the calf stepped on his arm when he tried to trip its front legs. Needless to say, he didn't grab any cash but he had a good story to tell later!

It seems there is always something fun to do as a family in the summer time! However, I don't know how to fit it all in. I'd love to make it to a Bees game this year, and I know Scott and Chandler want to see how the BMX action is happening.

Life.Liberty.Happiness

I wore a t-shirt this last 4th of July with the above statement. I think that pretty much sums up the point of celebrating our country's independence. Our little family had a great time for the holiday weekend. Chandler got to come home Thursday night and we had a little fireworks show with Tori, Brooklyn, Aubrey, and Amy. What is it with boys and matches, fire, fireworks, etc? I think it was more entertaining watching Chandler quickly light "flowers" and get out of the way than the fireworks themselves. Friday started kind of early with a great breakfast at mom's house. It's tradition to gather as much family and friends possible to enjoy homemade scones, and all the breakfast fixins'. Our group shrunk a little this year. I think we need to round up new (and possibly younger) blood to keep the fun tradition going. Of course the morning ended with the obligatory water fight. Chandler was soaked. Scott and I stayed relatively dry. One of these days the kids really need to plan a new way to drench my brother. He seems to be the center of the activity and remains pretty dry throughout. It's always fun to get the cousins together, they love to spend time with each other.Scott and Chandler spent the afternoon with Uncle Mike at the golf course. Scott was able to relax a little while Chandler drove crazy on the golf cart. Later we cooled off by swimming for a bit at a neighbor's house. We love living close to the Carlisle's! They are so nice to let us enjoy the fruits of their labors. After a little BBQ we had more fireworks. I love to watch Scott do this kind of thing. It's a good balance for my "sometimes over the top safety at all times" attitude.

Of course, Chandler's best buddy, Sam, spent a lot of time with us this weekend enjoying the festivities. We capped off our adventures by going to one of Uncle Travis' races at Rocky Mountain Raceway. I've been there once before but it was a new experience for Scott, Chandler, and Sam. I'm glad we brought earplugs! It was great fun to cheer on Uncle Travis. He did really well in his races and he inspired Chandler to state he wants to race cars when he grows up. Scott said the same thing, but luckily he put in a quantifier that he won't do it until we're rich! Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the time we got home, and it was really difficult to be close to on time for 9 am church. I hope your holiday was as fun as ours! I'm grateful to have the opportunity to live in this incredible country and know it all comes from God. What a blessing!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Thank you all for wishing me a happy birthday yesterday!
My very cute husband made the perfect breakfast of french toast (with bread from Hagerman's) & Chacon (my version of bacon, which means it's very crispy.) He also set the mood with a lovely bouquet of flowers from our garden. Tori, my oldest niece, sang to me in Spanish and French. I got several phone calls and text messages throughout the day and felt very blessed. So, thank you very much. I did feel a bit spoiled because I really just got to relax and enjoy the day. Scott was sweet enough to take the afternoon off work so we could play at Lagoon and just be goofy and carefree. It was great fun to be there with a smaller crowd and scream my head off while riding "Wicked" and "Jet Star 2." We love the rollercoasters!
Many of you may not know how old I am, and that is ok, unless you think I'm older than my actual age. I asked my Grandma Bee how old she thought I was. She looked at me and seemed to be calculating something in her head and then said, "47." What?!!! Where did she get that number? No, I'm not 47, not even close...I should mention that Grandma Bee will be 91 in August, so I'll give her a break. But, I'll stick with what my mom thinks, 31. I could be 31 forever. :) Yeah birthdays!

Where to begin...

This blogging thing really is an all or nothing activity. I want to be better about making it an all activity for me and my family.

June has been a busy month. Chandler finished 2nd grade and we're so proud of his hard work and efforts! He made lots of friends and he's the kid everyone seems to know at school. I love to run errands around our neighborhood with him because he always runs into kids he knows from school. He sure has grown a lot this year!

Above is the 2nd day of 2nd grade, Chandler and his best buddy next door, Sam. The next picture is the 2nd to last day of 2nd grade. He received his second ever Gold Mustang award, as well as other recognition. You can't really tell from the group picture but he has been growing like crazy, I predict he'll be taller than me by the time he's in 5th grade!

We bought Chandler his first suit this month. It's funny to think back to the time that he was five and I had to negotiate with him to wear a white shirt and tie. Now, he seems so grown up and loves to get dressed and go to church. He looks like a mini missionary. :)

We love our "big kid!"

Happy Go Lucky

I love the weather we've been having! It is great to see my spring flowers last a little longer. It has also been wonderful to not have to water our little vegetable gardens more than the prescribed sprinkler time. This year we are trying a couple of new vegetables...mini carrots, bush beans. I've yet to really learn how to vertically garden but it's on my list of things to do for next year. Some day I expect to grow pumpkins (mini ones anyway) from some kind of trellis or teepee. Right now, we'll see if our little 4x4 boxes will do the trick to provide yummy tomoatoes and lettuce and beans and carrots and cukes. Happy gardening to all of you!

A Clean Slate

May 31st was an eventful day for the Carr family. Chandler chose to be baptized. Thank you to our great family who came with all of their love and support. Chandler was a little nervous and really didn't have much to say, but he seemed happy and excited about it all. I'm so proud of him for making this great choice and feel it a privilege to be a part of this learning process together. Scott did a great job managing the affair and really staying focused on Chandler. I'm grateful he holds the priesthood and recognizes the importance of using it to bless our family.