Flashback: Raptoberfest 2011

Way back in November...or was it October?...we attended the annual Raptoberfest for the 411 CTF.  This was our second Raptoberfest, but we didn't know it would be our last.  Kind of sad to think of that now...

We had a lot of fun!  We loved watching the promotional video of the F-22 Raptor in flight.  The camera work was amazing.  Not that awesome footage is hard to come by with such an awesome jet. :)  We enjoyed some good food and awesome company, and the kids especially loved the bouncy house and kid crafts.  Danny's job at the 411th was unique in that we never got to meet the people he spent most of his time with.  Raptoberfest provided us that opportunity, and it was fun to see where Daddy spent his time.

Since I'm documenting this well after we've left Edwards and moved to Utah for Danny's new job, I feel compelled to mention how good that job was.  Danny loved going to work, and loved every minute there.  He would come home smiling on so many days, and simply say "I love my job."  Not many people can say that.  When Danny notified them he had accepted a different job, they fought to keep him.  It is nice to know they valued him as much as he valued the job.  We appreciate the experience we had working there, and I know that Danny hopes to keep his relationships fresh with his colleagues back at Edwards.  

We're excited to see where this new adventure takes us, but it's always nostalgic to take a look at where you've been... 

Festival Of Trees

One of the perks of living in Utah again is being able to do the fun stuff with family.  Just a few days after getting back from Denver and sending Danny back to Cali, Grandma Call decided we should have a Girl's Night Out.  That sounded good to us girls! :)  We got the ladies together and headed to Sandy for dinner and the Festival of Trees.

We enjoyed dinner at Paradise Bakery, and it was delicious!  We had quite the group.  Both Great Grandma Call and Great Grandma Lovell were there, along with Aunt Suzie, Aunt Julie, Aunt Katie, Aunt Camillia, and Ruby.  And of course Claire, Sophie, me, and Grandma Call. 

And then it was time for the trees!  I've never been to the Festival of Trees before, and wasn't quite prepared for the amount of trees there.  The girls loved it!

Their favorite tree was the "Tangled" tree.  Claire literally couldn't take her eyes off of it...

But I did get her to pose with the "Snuggly Duckling" sign. :)

After walking the rows of trees for a while, the girls and I were starting to get a little tired.  So we stopped and watched some dance performances that were happening.  And Sophie hitched a ride with Great Grandma Lovell.  Smart girl!

We had so much fun with all the Ladies of the Call side.  But we missed our Johnny, who was having some fun at Grandma Candy's house.  So we called it a night and headed back home.  We're looking forward to many more fun family times now that we're back!  Bring on the holidays... :)

Thanksgiving Holiday Extravaganza!!

Wednesday morning we headed to Jeff and Jami's house.  On our way, we dropped off the U-haul. ;)  Seriously, the pace at which we have lived our lives from the time we accepted the job offer until after the Thanksgiving holiday is just plain insane.

We enjoyed a mostly uneventful drive there, and the kids did really well.  All the way until we were just over an hour from Jami's house and got stuck in stand-still traffic for almost an hour!  The kids went bonkers, I had to go to the bathroom, and Danny...well, Danny hates traffic.  We were all frazzled, but grateful, when we finally made it.  We got to bed as soon as we could.  Thanksgiving preparations were going to begin early!

This Thanksgiving was going to be epic.  The holiday was being joined with the occasions of Lily Mae's baptism and Chance's blessing.  Jeff's sister Nichole was also blessing her little girl, Lucelia.  So the entire Downs clan was gathering for the feast!  Jami and I literally spent hours on the phone during the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving planning out the food and table arrangements.  Jami was expecting...wait for it...53  people in her home for Thanksgiving!  And well over half that number would be teenagers and children.  :)  Oh yeah...epic to say the least. :)

We woke up early and finished some of the prep and got the turkeys in the oven.  Once the food prep was done, we started decorating.  There was so much to do!  Everyone needed a name card...

The crayons had to be arranged for the little kids table...

Chance made sure to look adorable at all times...(Isn't he cute?!)

And of course lights needed to be hung on the outdoor umbrella that was brought indoors.  You don't bring in your outdoor furniture at Thanksgiving? :)

But all the hard work was worth it!  Jami's house looked gorgeous!  She really does have a flair for the aesthetic things in life.  Behold...

The Kid's Table (ages 4-10)

Each kid had a place mat that was a page they could color.  What a good idea!

The Teenager's Table

And The Adult's Table (that seated 20 adults comfortably!)

Oops...I just realized that I didn't get a picture of The Little Kid's Table (Ages 2ish-3ish).  It was super cute, though!  The table cloth was butcher paper and each kid had their own crayons so they could color away.  Totally kept them occupied, too!

Well, as beautiful as the house was, Thanksgiving is mostly about the food, right? :)  And the food matched the house!  Over the top, for sure.  We had two Alton Brown roasted turkeys, but Jeff's smoked turkey stole the show.  We had mashed potatoes, funeral potatoes, green bean casserole, Caramelized Green Beans (thanks, OBB...total hit again!), rolls, fresh cranberry sauce (thanks again, Alton Brown!), gravy, stuffing, fruit salad, frog eye salad...EVERYTHING!  There was so much food!  Everyone was so excited to get to the grub...

Have you ever seen so many preschool age kids eating so nicely?  All by themselves?  It was a Thanksgiving Miracle! :)

And our John-boy got his very own seat. :)  He loved having all that yummy food at his fingertips!

After we had all eaten more than we needed to, in true American fashion, everyone settled into various conversations in different parts of the house.  We were really fortunate to have such beautiful fall weather in Denver that day, so before and after dinner we were able to spend some time outside.  It made the number of people we had over manageable.

Once our tummies had settled, it was time for pie.  We had some delicious options this year!  We had chocolate cream pies, Lime Desserts, caramel apple pie, cherry pie, and of course pumpkin pie.  The chocolate cream pies were a favorite of the kids.

Then it was time to find something to do while the pie settled. :)

Relaxin' and chillaxin'. :)  

It was a perfect Thanksgiving feast!  The dinner went off without a glitch, and was truly a memorable event!  The crowd slowly dispersed, with the Downs clan headed to respective hotels to prepare for Black Friday.  Danny and I were exhausted, and so headed to bed pretty much as soon as we could round up the kids.

Friday was a particularly special day.  It was the day Lily was being baptized and Chance was being blessed! We scurried around in the morning getting everyone ready and to the church by 10:00.  It was an absolutely beautiful meeting.  Lily asked her Uncle Matt to give the talk on baptism, and he did a great job.  She was then baptized by her dad.  I'm always amazed at how sweet and strong the spirit is at such an important, yet simple, ordinance.  My girls were wide-eyed watching Lily take this important step, and I'm so grateful for her example.  After she was dressed in her beautiful white dress, she had Danny give the talk on the Holy Ghost.  I know that Danny was humbled by this responsibility.  Lily has a tender place in Danny's heart.  Besides being such a sweet girl, she was just a toddler when Danny and I were married.  She would run up and say "Uncle Danny!  Uncle Danny!" when we would visit.  Since we've had our girls, Lily has been such an incredible cousin, friend, and example to our girls.  We love her to pieces!  After Danny's talk (which he did an incredible job on), Lily was confirmed a member of the church and given the gift of the Holy Ghost.  After her confirmation, the member of the bishopric that was presiding asked Lily to come and bear her testimony.  I will never forget how strong the spirit was, and how completely pure Lily was in her testimony of the gospel.  I was able to watch as her emotions started to get the best of her, as she was overcome by the Spirit.  It was truly incredible.

And if that wasn't enough, we also had the privilege of watching Jeff bless Chance.  I love baby blessings!  I love seeing that tiny baby be surrounded by the power of the priesthood, and the love of good men acting in behalf of our Savior and Heavenly Father.  Jeff gave Chance a beautiful blessing, which was followed by the sweet blessing of Lucelia Jannet Downs.  Once the blessings were finished, we also got to hear Jami bear her testimony.  Jami and I are particularly close, and I loved having the opportunity to hear her testimony.  I also felt Rachel really close throughout the meeting.  With it just being days from the second anniversary of her passing, that was a very sweet feeling.  It was a simply beautiful and memorable meeting.  We concluded with a light lunch and refreshments.  

Once the baptism and blessings were over, everyone scattered to do different things, with some people shopping and some people recovering from the day before on whatever soft surface they could find for their tired bodies.  I'll let you guess which set of people Danny and I were in! :)  In the afternoon, Jeff got a group together to go see "The Muppets" movie, and Claire really wanted to go with Lily.  So...I dragged my tired pregnant self off the couch and went to a movie with my little girl.  And I'm so glad I did!  Claire is at such a fun age, and her disposition lends itself to pure, unadulterated joy and wonder at the simplest things.  She loved the movie, as did I.  It was fun to get some one on one time, especially with how hectic our life had been as of late.

Friday evening, Jeff and Jami planned a family party.  They reserved the Cultural Hall at their church building, and we partied the night away!  There was a ton a food, fantastic music, and even some family movies on the big screen!  Danny and I were absolutely beat, so we took Sophie and Johnny home early and got them in bed.  Claire stayed to play with Lily.  That girl was in heaven.

Saturday was a quieter day.  We mostly just sat around and visited, and it was wonderful!  We watched "Thor" that evening, and called it a night.  Sunday was going to be an early morning with 8:30 am church!  Megan received her Young Womanhood in Recognition award, and Lily was recognized in Sacrament Meeting.  We all enjoyed some nap time after we got home from church, followed by another incredible meal for dinner.  Jeff was dying to try some new meat in his smoker, so we had an amazing brisket with baked potatoes.  Yum!  We watched "Captain America" that evening, and Danny and I packed up and loaded the car.  We had high hopes of leaving really early and getting home at a decent time.  Especially since Danny was leaving back to California early Tuesday morning to finish up some work at Edwards for the week.  However, Johnny had different plans.  That boy screamed for half the night, and Danny and I were without much sleep when morning came.  We slept an extra couple of hours before making our way back to Utah.  We made it home, and not much worse for the wear.

What an incredible trip it was!  While it was something of a sacrifice to make a trip like that literally on the heels of moving, we would gladly do it again.  We wouldn't have missed it for the world!  We're so grateful for our family, and for the restoration of the Gospel which allows us to be with those we love for eternity.  We're grateful for this amazing opportunity to be back in Utah and close to that family we love so much, and in an area that we can provide our growing children with the experiences we want for them.  Danny and I have always recognized the hand of the Lord in our life, and are humbled to see it still.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

"Hooo" Could Have Guessed?

Corny, I know.  But it's a pretty awesome picture of our owl friend, isn't it?  This cool guy, who we think is a horned owl, hung out in our tree for a few days.  And he was kind enough to allow me this neat picture. :)

Well, I'm so far behind on blogging that all of these events happened almost a month ago!  It's been an amazingly crazy month for a our family, with some pretty major changes.  And who could have guessed a month ago that any of this would have happened?

In a nut shell, Danny accepted a new job in Utah, and we moved our little family from our country home in Lancaster back home to Utah! :)  It all happened so fast.  Back in September, Danny submitted a resume to a company called GMRE here in the Layton area.  In fact, Danny's parents had been home teaching a brother in their ward who works for GMRE.  Somehow, it came up in conversation that Danny was an aerospace engineer and may be interested in moving us back to Utah.  Brother Salazar told Danny's Dad to have him send in his resume.  We did, and not much came of it.  Until we were in Carlsbad with Grandma Candy over Halloween weekend.  Danny got a call while we were playing with the kids at the playground, and ended up having his first interview over the phone.  Apparently, it went well, so he had his second phone interview the next afternoon, which was Friday, October 28th.  By Tuesday, November 1st, we had an offer.  Danny had a trip that week in Seattle, so we officially accepted the offer on Friday, November 4th and agreed on a start date of December 5th!!  

Before I get into how incredibly crazy the following weeks were, let me just say what an incredible blessing this job offer is.  Danny and I had been feeling like we wanted to get closer to family, and especially closer to his Mom's Montessori preschool.  We wanted the kids to have some opportunities that we didn't feel like we'd be able to provide for them if we stayed in Lancaster.  But we also knew just how amazing our situation was in California....especially with Danny's job.  This offer came in for a higher salary, and Danny would be working at Hill AFB, which meant we would be able to live next to our families and next to the preschool.  AND...it meant we could hopefully find some obstetric care that we were satisfied with, and early enough in this pregnancy to make a difference.  When we received this offer, I was overcome with the knowledge of how much my Heavenly Father loves me, and cares about the things I care about.  That He wants our family to succeed and be happy.  We are so incredibly blessed.

And when you're blessed with something amazing in your life, it often is accompanied by sacrifice of some sort.  In this case, we've sacrificed our sanity. :)  Because we had made plans to celebrate Thanksgiving in Denver with Jami and her family, the only way the move made sense was to get it done BEFORE we left for Denver.  That gave us 2 weeks from the time Danny accepted the offer to the day we loaded the U-haul.  A feat, to be sure.  But keep in mind that I needed to pack up our whole life while Danny finished work, and while being 12 weeks pregnant and still taking care of 3 little kids!  Good thing we had help. :)  I had dear friends take the kids for me many times over that two week span so that I could pack in peace (or take a much needed nap!), and other friends who brought dinner and a listening ear.

And then there was my sweet mother-in-law, who after 2 weeks of working on her own home in preparation of our arrival, flew to California on Thursday, November 17th to help us finish up the packing and help me drive the kids to Utah while Danny drove the U-haul.  My mother-in-law is one of the hardest working women I know, and definitely one of the most selfless.  I don't know how we would have pulled it off without her, and I didn't know how much I needed her help until she was there.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Even if Danny wasn't as amazing as he is, I might have married him just to get the family! :)

Well, needless to say, those 2 weeks of preparation flew by, and before we knew it (and before we were ready!) the day came to load up the truck.  I was overcome by the amount of help we had, and while it made the process a little chaotic and overwhelming for me, it was what allowed us to get it done in the time we needed.  We must have had 20 people traipsing in and out of our house, taking everything we owned out to the truck.  The kids had a blast with all their friends, and they seemed to feed off the chaos. :)

  Having so many people come and help really made Danny and I realize just what we were leaving behind, and it was hard.  After the truck was mostly loaded, and a lot of our help had already left, it was time to say goodbye to some of those I had grown closest to.  That was extremely difficult, and in my exhausted pregnant state the emotions of saying goodbye were too much for my body to take.  At this point, I was sick and really starting to lose my sanity, so Danny took the kids and I to the hotel we'd be staying at that night while my mother-in-law and sweet friend Beth stayed behind to start the cleaning process.  Thanks to their diligent work, the house was empty and clean by 10:00 pm.  Considering we didn't even start loading the truck until 4:00 pm, that's just plain impressive.  Before we left, we took one last family picture at our home.  It was really hard for me to leave, especially with it all empty.  This was only the second place that Danny and I have lived, and so much happened in that home.  I lost my little sister and mourned her passing while living in that home.  Both Sophie and Johnny took their first steps in that living room.  I labored for 24 hours in that home to get Johnny here, and eventually brought him home there.  There were so many memories and good times there.  It was such a wonderful home for us, the memories of which we will treasure forever.

Once we were all at the hotel, we got some much needed rest before our big drive.  Danny drove with Jack in the U-haul, and I'm pleased to report that Jack did great!  And Danny made excellent time.  He actually made it home about 2 1/2 minutes before Grandma, the kids, and me.  I am also pleased to say that Grandma and I had no vomit and no snow, which were the two things we were most worried about! :)  The kids did amazingly well, especially considering the craziness in their lives.  I was again reminded how amazing my sweet children are.  Something I've been reminded of quite a few times since then.

We officially made it home to Grandma and Papa Call's house at about 9:00 pm on Saturday, November 19th.  We left the U-haul loaded and enjoyed the Sabbath the next day.  We made it up to Grandma Candy's that evening to say hi to everyone and meet Uncle Nick's new girlfriend, Khushboo.  But our day of "rest" was over all too soon, with Monday and Tuesday being spent unpacking and trying to get settled, as well as doing laundry and re-packing for Denver.  After all, we were leaving for our Thanksgiving Holiday Extravaganza with the Downs on Wednesday morning!

Halloween At The Beach

After our first couple of days of fun, it was finally time for the kids to don their costumes!  This was a much anticipated event, since we bought their costumes almost 6 weeks earlier, and the girls were just dying to get them on!  

Claire was Snow White this year, and I think she looked absolutely adorable!  Claire thought so, too... :)

Sophie was Ariel, in mermaid form.  Again, the costume suited her.  This girl is just too cute!

Our little princesses.

Johnny was our little Lightening McQueen.  He totally dug the fact that he had a cape, so I could only get a picture of him running away.  Running makes the cape cooler, after all!

The city of Carlsbad was having a Halloween festival in their downtown area, and it included trick-or-treating, so we headed there.  It was so fun!  And it was totally what you would expect from a little beach town in California.  I totally loved it!  So did Grandma Candy.  It was totally her thing.

Claire was even able to get in some craft time.  

Because she's so stinkin' cute, Sophie's costume got a lot of attention.  There was this woman at a beauty salon that was also dressed up as a mermaid.  She grabbed Sophie by the hand and dragged her toward the back of the salon to where her friends were drinking so she could get a picture with Sophie.  Yeah, I know.  Creepy.  I was right behind her the whole time, thinking "What is this crazy woman doing running away with my little girl?!"  But, Sophie loved the attention, and it made for a funny (albeit a little disconcerting) story. :)

After our trick-or-treaters were done trick-or-treating, we headed to the farmer's market in search of something delicious to take back to the hotel.  Grandma Candy found just the thing...kettle corn!  Then, at Grandma Candy's insistence, we went to the beach before calling it a day.  She didn't have to do much to persuade us.  It was our last evening, and we hadn't made it to the ocean thus far.  I am so glad we went!  It was the highlight of the trip for me.

The tide was low, but the waves were nice and full.  The sun was setting and the beach was beautiful!  The kids and Danny immediately ran toward the water, playing and kicking as they went.  We even saw dolphins in the water!  There were pelicans flying low and diving into the water.  It was incredible.

And then the real games began.  The timeless game of running away from the tide!  I've rarely seen our kids so completely happy.

Or Grandma Candy, for that matter! :)

I've decided the ocean is a magical place.  The kids were in a magical place, playing and laughing and just being kids.  They've needed that so much lately.  My Mom was right in the mess of them, playing just like my Mom does.  And Danny?  He was my biggest kid of all.  The pictures only communicate a portion of the feeling that was there.  This evening will definitely be one of my more treasured memories.

We were able to stay and watch the sun set into the water.  The perfect end to a perfect weekend.  

After shaking the sand out of everything, we got back in the car and headed to the resort.  Once there, Grandma Candy ordered some pizza for dinner and we begrudgingly starting packing for everyone's departure early the next morning.  It was hard to say goodbye.  Especially since this was such a unique time to have Grandma Candy all to ourselves.  She loved the chance to get to know our kids away from their cousins and the chaos that usually ensues at our family functions.  We're so grateful that she got the chance to come to our neck of the woods, and we're grateful that she hooked us up with such awesome accommodations!  

What a fabulous Halloween weekend!