To Grandpa...

Love, Johnny

A Shower for Johnny

I have such wonderful friends!  They have all been such a blessing to me since we moved here.  They're latest way of blessing my life?  Jackie White and Shelly Tolman threw Johnny and I a shower.  Mostly so we could clothe this baby boy of ours!

A special thanks to Jason White 

We got so many cute outfits for Johnny, in sizes ranging from 3 months to 4T!  Seriously, this kid is outfitted to look like a stud for a long time.  And I'm only a little bit proud of that... ;)

Thank you to all our wonderful friends who care so much and have taken such good care of us during my pregnancy, birth, and recovery.  We were truly led here by the Lord, and are so grateful for the blessing that has been.  

More of Our Trip to Utah

We had birthdays and baby blessings.  Danny spent a good part of the week working.  But you had better believe we found a way to work in more fun!

To be honest, Danny's work trip was only a cover for the real reason we were in Utah.  Kenny and Susie planned their wedding for that week.  And I have to add, it was kind of just for us!  They would have been married in August had it not been for my unpredictable delivery.  We so appreciated them scheduling their big day so we could share it with them.  

It was a wonderful event!  There are SO many wonderful pictures, but most were taken by the actual photographer! :)  The luncheon was wonderful, the ceremony was amazing, and the reception was a blast!  I'm thinking this family is getting pretty good at throwing weddings now...right in time to take a break for at least a few years while Julie and Katie finish growing up!  We're so excited for Kenny and Susie, and for their boys Braxton and Taven.  Their union has strengthen so many testimonies and witnessed for everyone involved the deep love Heavenly Father has for his children.

Great Grandma Lovell came back from the Island Park a little earlier than she had planned in order to be there for Kenny's big day.  We were glad, since it afforded us the opportunity to see her and show off her newest great grandson!  Great Grandma and Johnny took to each other quite nicely!

The last adventure of the week was special for Danny.  September in Utah means one thing to him...BYU Football!  Since we were there over a Saturday, and there was a home game that weekend, we just HAD to get tickets.  And Danny being the daddy he is, even got tickets for his little girls.  Claire and Sophie are quite the Cougar Fans!  Grandpa Call, Uncle David, and Uncle Robbie went as well, and everyone had a wonderful time!

Well, everyone had a great time right up until it was obvious we were going to lose.  That put a slight damper on things... :)

While Danny and the girls were at the game, Johnny and I went to go visit Grandpa Richard and Ruth Ann.  Unfortunately, I sent Danny with the camera, so I don't have photographic evidence of the visit, but trust me, it happened and was fun!  Grandpa Richard loved holding Johnny, and so did Ruth Ann.  We watched the first half of the game together before I had to head home.  I'm looking forward to Christmas when the whole family can go visit, and Grandpa Richard can see how much the girls have grown.

That about sums up our trip home.  It's always so wonderful to be there.  I'm glad it'll only be a few months before we're back for Christmas!

September Birthdays

It's already been noted that Sophie had a birthday in September.  But what we haven't documented yet is that Danny also has his birthday in September!  Unfortunately, this year I wasn't able to figure out a way to get him out of work or school early so we could truly celebrate.  He's got a real career now, so it's harder to play hookie.  ;)  Danny spent a large majority of his day at the BYU Career Fair, screening potential applicants for Edwards.  It's karma really.  The same Career Fair is what got us our job here. 

After working all day, Danny was hungry.  And it was his birthday.  And we were in Utah.  Here's some math for you:

Danny + Hunger + Birthday + Utah = TUCANOS!

We were so tired from our time in Utah that we could barely keep our eyes open (as you can tell!)  But it was nice to be out together for a couple of hours.  We kind of pretended that it was our anniversary celebration as well, since we spent our anniversary trying to get Johnny here.  Kind of lame for both a birthday and an anniversary celebration, but what do you do? We made up for it, though, with Danny's birthday present...

Yup!  Danny got an iPad for his birthday!  And money and iTunes gift cards to app it out.  He couldn't be happier!  And I have to admit, it's pretty fun!  So, maybe we'll call that our birthday/anniversary present.  That feels better!

Sophie also had quite the birthday when it came to the gifts...

And we love to have an excuse to have our entire family together.  We're so fortunate that we have both sides of the family in the same town...even if it makes for incredibly hectic visits and a couple of extra tanks of gas. :)

As with every typical American birthday celebration, cake followed gifts.  Danny is such a good Dad, and he let Sophie pick the cake for the both of them.

He even let her blow out the candle first...

And if you look really closely, we sneaked in an extra candle...just for Daddy.  Happy 28th Birthday, Danny!

Terrible or not...I'M TWO!

That's right!  Sophie is officially a two year old!  These will be some good times... :)

We had Sophie's big birthday party with her presents and a bigger cake at Grandma Candy's (to be documented in a forthcoming post).  So we went a bit smaller tonight.  I think she understood it was her birthday a little more this time around than at the big family party.  She was loving that it was her day and every fight her and Claire had ended up with Sophie getting what she wanted.  I'm going to pay for that for a couple of days. :)

Claire was good enough to give her a few pointers on getting that last candle out.

After we ate our cake and cleaned the green frosting off almost every surface in the kitchen, we gave Sophie her birthday cards to open.  She got a card from her Nursery leaders and friends, and a card from Grandpa Richard and Ruth Ann.  

Thanks, Grandpa Richard and Ruth Ann!

We're so glad you're in our family, Sophie!  Happy Birthday!