Lots to Catch Up On!!!

Okay I promised like forever ago that I would update this darn thing and I'm just getting around to it - sorry! :D But better late than never - right??!!

Lots has happened since February when I last blogged.

First off - we don't live in the Salt Lake Valley anymore. We moved back to good ol' Carbon County and live in a home in Helper. Jeff's dad passed away in March of last year and he left us his house. While we wouldn't wish getting a house this way (we miss Mike more than words could ever say) - we are very lucky. We decided that paying $1200 a month for a tiny 3 bedroom apartment wasn't worth it anymore so we packed up and moved down. Jeff is still working for the HollyFrontier Refinery in Woods Cross and commutes back and forth on his days off. He is home for 4 days and works for 4 days (unless he is doing a turnaround then he works for a month straight). He is currently renting a room in Bountiful and comes home whenever he can. I miss him dearly but for me to be able to stay home with our boys we need to do this.  So here we are - back to where our roots are. Well most of our roots - not all of them! haha

In April Jeff celebrated his 34th Birthday and the boys colored eggs for the first time for Easter! That was interesting and fun at the same time. We also had Colt's 18 month checkup and he is in the high 90s for height and weight. He is my solid solid boy. Cash is my lean and mean boy! Also in April my best friend had her baby girl and named her Addison Aja Johnson. She is precious and I hate that I don't get to see her very often but that's what we get for living 2 hours away! haha We also celebrated 6 years together in April and I feel more blessed each and every year.

In May not much went on. I was able to celebrate Mother's Day with my boys - all 3 of them until Jeff had to go to work. Then on Memorial Day weekend we went and took flowers up to Mike's grave and Jeff's grandparents. The boys were able to go with us and we walked around the Helper Cemetery for a bit and looked at everything. They had a spot dedicating veterans and it was nice to see they had a cross and a flag up for Mike - he was a Navy Veteran.

June came and went fast! We celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary and although we didn't do anything it was nice to know that Jeff still loves me after all these years!! Don't know what I would do without that man sometimes. He completes me. On Father's Day I went to Manti to see my mom and dad and left the boys with them for a few days. Let me tell you how nice it was to have 2 days to myself!!!! I was in heaven! We also had some big fires going on in Utah and the one closest to us - the Seely Fire happened to ruin our camping trip but oh well what do you do. We will make it up sometime!

As for July not much has happened yet and it's almost over! haha The boys continuously keep me on my toes and are getting bigger by the day. They drive me nuts but I love them! Wouldn't trade them for the world!!!

I had something happen to me in August and finished in September but I will post about that another time. It's still a little raw in my life and I'm still trying to move past it. I will also write about our trip to Oakland that we took right before my birthday in another post as well.

One big thing that has happened though over the past few months is that my brother has been in jail since March. He and my cousin made a bad mistake and are currently serving time for stealing horse saddles and tackles in Heber City. They were sentenced in June and will probably be out by the end of September - December at the latest. My brother hit a low point in his life and turned to drugs instead of turning to family. Drugs are not good and he chose the one that really messes with you. Even though I would have liked to see him released in June the judge wants to make sure he is completely sober and drug free. We did find out that he will be out on October 14th and when he gets done he will be living with my parents for awhile. He needs to get out of Heber and the demons that he has there. Hopefully Manti will be a good new start for him.

Well I have a couple other posts to write so this is us in a nutshell. Hopefully this gets read. If not - then no feelings hurt on my end.

Keep Smilin!

Okay I am so so sorry I haven't updated this in awhile. I promise to get caught up as we have had a lot that has been going on.

I will work on this blog either tonight or tomorrow night once the boys have gone down for the evening!!!

I promise to get you guys caught up in our crazy life!!!

One Month Late - but better late then never!

So I am so behind I'm my blogging I think it's because I forget to blog. We have a lot going on here and I promise I will get better. But a month ago I went and had Colt's 15 month check up and he is doing awesome!

He is weighing in at 29 pounds and is in the 92% for weight. He is at 33 inches long and is in the 93% for height :D His head has finally evened out in growth as it was a super growth human head. I think it's because he has the Gressmen head - it's big! I was so happy to see where is at and the doctor was happy with my linebacker.

Colt has turned into the best little boy and we are so happy he is in our family. He is talking so much and is up to about 20-25 words depending on the day. He has the curliest hair and a smile that will light up a room. His giggle makes my heart melt and he loves his daddy more than anything. He loves to play with his brother and loves the dogs.

Also I will have to post it later but we found a picture of Jeff when he was around Colt's age and he and Colt could be identical twins!!! They look so much alike - minus Colt having blue eyes! haha

We love our little fooschinator!

Questions about me and my manly man....

Saw this on a friends blog and thought it was cute so I wanted to post it so you guys knew a little bit more about me and my best friend - Jefferey Michael Hawkins!

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Since April 2006

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

Well we have known each other since Junior High and High School but really didn't have much to do with each other. I had moved down to Salt Lake in 2006 and was searching on MySpace and came across Jeff's profile on a mutual friends' page and I emailed him. I about died when I realized it was him because I had a huge crush on him in high school. I ended up getting an email the next day and we started to talk. We talked for about two weeks and then agreed to meet up. The day I was supposed to meet him our internet went down and I couldn't get a hold of him. He made some other plans and went to dinner with some friends. I finally got on email and heard from him and we agreed to meet up for drinks. (Plus I had spent half the day getting ready and didn't want to waste the preparation haha). I met him at Iggy's in Fort Union and he was waiting for me outside. As soon as I saw him smile I knew I was in trouble. We had a couple drinks and talked for over 2 hours. I hugged him goodbye and we have been together ever since!  *Note that he almost was going to cancel but his friend Frank said this "what if this is your future wife? So he came*

3. If married, how long have you been married?

We have been married since June 6 2009

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?

We got married at a beautiful park in Sandy. It was up against the mountain and it was the backdrop of our wedding. It wasn't too big of a wedding we had a super quick ceremony - pictures - and a reception. It was under 100 people.

5. Do you have any nicknames that you call one another?

We have a lot of nicknames. He calls me his little Foosch a lot and I call him hun but we seriously have a ton of names.

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.

1. I love that he makes me feel like I'm worth something. I had a hard time finding a guy that wasn't intimidated by me and Jeff just makes me feel like I deserve to be loved.
2. I love that even though he didn't think he wanted kids - he is such a good dad. Our boys are obsessed with their dad and he is so good with them. It makes my heart melt when he is doing stuff with them.
3. I love that he makes me want to be a better person. He has really made an impact on my life and I would be completely lost without him.

7. Tell us how he proposed? Or your ideal proposal?

Well I found out that he was going to propose to me in Oakland at the Raiders game when we went but he didn't want to get caught with the ring through the airport. So on the day before my birthday I had gotten home from work and he went outside to get the present I had saw that was left. He came in - tossed me the present and I was in the kitchen. When I went to walk out he was down on one knee and asked me to marry him. This was on my 30th birthday. It seriously was the best birthday present I have ever received!!!

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

He is a flowers guy and a surprise gift guy. He doesn't need an occasion to get me something though he does it all the time randomly to surprise me.

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

Oh definitely a movie and relaxation kind of girl. But dinner on a beach sounds so romantic to me I would love to do that one day. Maybe when he takes me to Hawaii. :D

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

I can't wait til we can take a trip alone without kids! I have always wanted to go to Hawaii and he has promised me we will go in the future.

11. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love. 

Don't sweat the small stuff. When you fight just get over it as soon as you can and don't continue the argument. Half the time it was over something stupid anyways. Always communicate even if it's about something little. Always keep the lines of communication open and learn to be on the same page. It surprises me how much Jeff and I are on the same page. We always are thinking the same thing at the same time and we both have the same ideas when it comes to raising our kids - etc....

12.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.

I will hold on to him forever!

R.I.P Whitney

Alright, I usually don't post about actors or singers or athletes passing, but I have to post about this one. Whitney Houston died yesterday and I'm pretty much sad about it. I loved her music and The Bodyguard is one of my favorite movies. I almost started crying when I heard that she had passed away and it breaks my heart because so many people get in trouble with drugs. From what I hear she was cleaning herself up, but I am guessing she maybe could have relapsed.

When I was younger, if I was in a bad mood all someone had to do was play "I wanna dance with somebody" and it instantly put me in a good mood. It still puts me in a good mood to this day. Another one of my fav's is "Run to You". I can't sin worth a dang, but I still can belt out this song.

So to pay tribute to a true Diva, I would like to add this song and hope that all of you (well the 1 or 2 of you who actually read this) enjoy it!

Hopefully she is dancing and happy where she is now...

Fractured Clavical

I'm hoping one thing doesn't happen - my son has my injury proneness....

What a way to start a blog post, but I'm serious. The other day Cash and I took his first trip to the doctor's for a broken bone. Yes, he fell and ended up in the doctor's office.

Let me tell you that Cash is a daredevil. He will do anything and everything just to be able to climb, jump, run, twist, turn, etc... He loves adventure! Well, he decided that it was a good idea to put his shirt over his legs and rock really hard in my black rocking chair. Well, that resulted in him falling straight onto his shoulder. I didn't see it happen, but I heard it. It was a loud, "Crunch!"

I had been cleaning up Colt from breakfast when Cash came into the kitchen screaming. At first I though the just bonked his head because he ALWAYS bonks his head, but he just kept crying. He had this huge lump on his head behind his left ear so I made him show me what happened. He kept pointing at the chair, so I was like, "hmmm". I went and put Colt down for his nap and came back and started to rock Cash and he kept going "owie owie owie" on his shoulder. I then put him in the chair and started to inspect him. I got looking and could tell that one of his collarbones looked different then the other. I then called his pediatrician and they told me to bring him in and they would squeeze him in. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Erickson finally came in and said I was right to bring him in and we needed x-rays. He told me to call my insurance and see where I needed to go. After being on the phone for 10+ minutes I was told I couldn't go to the hospital 100 feet away and had to drive across town. Cash was so tired by this point, but at least we didn't have to go back to his doctor's office.

After getting checked in, we went and got his x-ray's done and then went home, sling and all. Cash was so tired he passed out about 20 minutes after we got home. He was such a trooper through all of this and I couldn't believe how much of a little boy he was. He was patient and didn't cry much. The only time he really cried was during the second picture of the x-ray. He finally realized something was going on and needed me (made me feel good).

We now have to keep his arm swaddled against his body for the next 3-6 weeks as it heals. We go back in two weeks for a checkup and then we will know more by then. Cash is doing extremely well for the circumstances and I'm shocked that he is taking it in strides. He has a little trouble sleeping, but other than that - what a trooper!

I know this probably won't be our last trip for x-ray's, but at least I know he can handle it.

It's a New Year

So much has happened this past year I don't know where to begin. All I can say is that so far 2012 has been good and we have a lot going on. So much so that I will make the officially announcement here.

We are moving.

To Helper.

And to Salt Lake.

We are going to be split up.

Why you ask? Because Jeff and I are going to be saving a lot of money this way, which will enable us to pay off our debts in about a year or two. We are sick of being poor. We are sick of not being able to do anything because of bills So, come March, the boys and I will be spending our days in Helper and four of the days Jeff will be up here in North Salt Lake working. He is going to get a small cheap studio apartment and he will come down on his days off (4 each week) now that he is a full-time operator at his work.

Am I looking forward to this? NO! Well, yes too. I don't want to be separated from Jeff, I hate being away from him. He is the butter to my bread and I don't know what I will do without him around all the time. Even if I only get to see if for a few hours each night before I pass out, he still is in bed with me. Four nights a week my bed will be lonely. I probably will make my dogs sleep with me just because of this. But on the brighter side of things, we will be getting our business taken care of. We will be able to get some bills paid and not have to stress from pay check to pay check. We will be able to start putting money in savings and eventually buy a house up in the Woods Cross/West Bountiful area. We will keep the house in Helper, but since Jeff has such a good job at the Holly Refinery, it makes no sense for him to leave his job. 

So with that said, here comes being a single mom for four days a week. I am lucky though because I do have family around in the Carbon County area that will probably be willing to help me out when I need a break. Plus, my parents just moved to Manti so they are just over the mountain if I need my kids to go to Grandma and Grandpa's for a weekend or so. Also, Jeff's mom and Uncle will be around as well.

We have thought over and over about this and if there is any chance of us getting out of debt, this is what we have to do. We have to sacrifice for us to be able to have a bright future. I hear a lot of families do this and it's going to be hard but Jeff and I have such a solid relationship I know we will make this work. We will just be doing a lot of skyping during the days he isn't home haha

Well, as for the boys, they are getting huge! They turn 27 months and 15 months old in a few weeks and they have fully come out with their personalities. Colt cracks us up daily and Cash is repeating EVERYTHING we say. They are monsters and I'm not going to lie, they wear on my patience, but I would not trade being a mom for the world. I may complain but I love 100x more than I complain and I'm so happy to have the little boys that I do. They can put a smile on any body's face and just make you crack up with a silly word or a silly face. I love my bugeal and jugeal.

As for me, I'm hanging in there. We have a lot to do in the next month or so so I will be extremely busy. Jeff has been working so much and I'm so thankful to have him in my life. He does so much for this family and we would be lost without him. The boys love their dad so much and sometimes I feel like they wouldn't survive without one of his wrestling matches haha they love to wrestle with their dad!

Well, that's all for now. I promise I will try to blog more, we have just been so busy and I've been trying to keep my head on straight.

Hope all is well with everyone! Here's to going back to our roots!

As always - smile!