Random January Moments

The Boat Show came to Houston a few weeks ago. My little brother Tyler spent the night at our house (our first guest!) and we decided to walk around the show before we dropped him off and visited my parents.
It was really fun to wander around and see all the amazing options. It was even more fun to try not to laugh when salesmen approached Dan and I and asked what kind of boat we were in the market for. (um...free?)

Megan loved the little adirondack chairs.


Dan and Ty


Amber and Megan


Megan's hair is getting slightly (emphasis on slightly) longer. I used the old NICU styling techniques to get this cute little mohawk/bow combo. However it's much easier to style the hair of a sleeping newborn than a busy 14 month old.

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home...

Megan's little loop while waiting for Dad to pull in.






He's home! Hurray!

Shoe Fetish

Megan has this little thing with shoes.


She LOVES them. She loves to empty her little shoe shelf and carry them around with her all day long. She tried to steal the shoes off the baby behind us in church a few weeks ago.


*and here are her attempts to say "cheese" for the camera (more like chhhhhhhh-gasp)

She kicks her shoes off ALL THE TIME so she can hold them (especially in the car, at church, or while on the swing at the park). And incidentally, that habit means that she now only wears shoes that velcro. I let her wear buckle shoes to the park the other day and she kicked them off at least 10 times and I hate those teeny buckles.


My Aunt Pam has gotten Megan 2 pairs of "squeakers". They are both size 5 and she is just now really able to wear them. They are ADORABLE. And why are they called squeakers do you ask? Allow Megan to demonstrate.

Settling In

We spent Jan. 1 and 2 packing and finished early enough to enjoy an evening Rook tournament on Jan. 2 (and we won't mention who won..ahem, us...basically)
Jan. 3 was the big moving day. I brought some warm Shipley's donuts to spur the helpers on and my mom and I cleaned while the guys packed. It was HOT (who knew it could be hot when you move in January)--about 80 degrees and very humid.
We had 6 helpers from our ward (thanks to all who helped!) along with Dan, my dad, and my brother Shad and it took about 2 hours to get loaded up. Our new ward was scheduled to meet us at 1 pm but we got to the house around noon and Dan, Dad, Shad, and another friend, Taylor decided to get started. And the truck was emptied in about 45 minutes! When you don't have to take it down a story and across a lawn (like at our apartment), things go much faster. Right at 1 pm, 11 people from our new ward showed up only to be told we were done! That makes us excited to get to know everyone in it since they were so nice be willing to spend a Saturday afternoon helping us move.
By the time my Mom left on Saturday afternoon, we had the kitchen all unpacked and the beds up and made. We had to go buy a few temporary blinds (like for the window that looks into our shower) and then we were able to enjoy a homemade dinner in our new house!
We've only got about 5 boxes left to empty (mostly wall decorations). Every day we feel a little more settled and sleep a little more soundly. We are loving our new place. Megan especially loves to run and run and run from one end of the house to the other.

Our backyard view of a beautiful sunset


The master bedroom


The family room (as you can see, there's still lots to be done)


The game room upstairs


Megan on the kitchen island


The front of the house this afternoon--it was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm.

Closing Day/New Year's Eve

The rest of our Utah trip flew by and before we knew it, Dec. 30 arrived and we were heading back to Houston. We dropped Megan off at my parents' house early on New Year's Eve and drove out to the house for one more walk through. Everything looked great and we headed over to the title company to sign our lives away. It only took about an hour and we even got hot chocolate.
We went back to the house, picked up the keys, and VOILA! We were homeowners...or at least we call ourselves that but really we just have the privilege of making mortgage payments for a very long time :).
It was really nice to have all the paperwork and stress out of the way. We spent the afternoon at my parents' house and met some friends for dinner at the Olive Garden. I'd been craving their salad dressing for a week and it was every bit as good as I hoped.
After dinner, we all headed back to my parents' to play games. We hadn't really planned on staying up til midnight but we were having a good time with the crowd at my parents' house and made it all the way to the New Year.
New Year's eve is also the anniversary of the day Dan and I got engaged. It's been 4 years already!

The happy homeowners


Mom and Dad


Makala and Hoyt...and my crazy Dad

Even More Christmas Activities

Christmas afternoon we went to a party with my grandfather and his wife, a lot of my cousins, aunts, and uncles at my Aunt Tobi's home in Sandy. It was fun to see everyone and just talk and laugh and catch up.
We had Christmas with all of Dan's siblings on the 27th and it was another crazy fun-filled morning.

My cousins and Aunts Terri and Tobi


Grandfather and Mama Laney


My cousin's little boy Jace and Megan watching a movie. For some reason Megan LOVED Jace. She is usually so shy but would follow Jace around and sit by him and play with whatever he was playing with. It was pretty cute.


Opening presents with Dan's siblings. Megan loved the bow from her gift almost as much as the gift.


Mommy, Megan, and Megan's stocking goodies

Christmas Morning

We had a pretty mellow Christmas morning. Ali, Ben, and Alonzo were at Dan's parents along with us and the babies were up pretty early so we headed up to open presents.
Megan got some cute PJs from us (she was supposed to open them Christmas eve but fell asleep). Dan's parents opened their gifts from us and other than that, we mostly watched Ali and Ben and Alonzo open their gifts and then had a YUMMY breakfast.
We figured what with getting Megan a house and a little sibling, she was pretty much set as far as presents from Mom and Dad go. Yup, that's right, a little sibling is on the way for Megan. I'm due on July 17! We're excited for a new little one and so far (13 weeks) I'm feeling good and the baby is healthy.We told my family when we did Christmas with them before we left and told Dan's parents on Christmas. It was a fun surprise to share.
We got to talk to Dan's brother Ben; he's on a mission in Spokane, WA. He was upbeat despite the freezing temperatures Spokane has had lately and it sounds like he is a great missionary.
It was a nice relaxed morning and we loved being with family.

Megan playing with her Christmas day favorite toy (an old game with buttons that beeps)


The whole fam on Christmas morning. We always look so lovely :)


Daddy and Megan ready for breakfast


The phone listeners in one room


The other room of listeners (some listeners were listening on Skype)

Christmas Eve with Grandma Great

We went to Dan's Grandma's home for Christmas Eve dinner. All of Dan's siblings and their kids were there along with many of his cousins, their kids, and a few aunts and uncles. It was a little crazy and a lot of fun. Dan's sister Michelle was in charge of the nativity play and most of the great grandkids participated. Megan was slated to be a sheep but unfortunately (for the play, great for us) she conked out before it began. We loved catching up with Dan's side of the family, especially the cousins we hadn't seen in a while.

Four generations (we were smart enough to do this at the beginning before Megan passed out)


Ali, Ben, and sweet Alonzo


Most of Megan's cousins on Dan's side


The cute Mary and Joseph

Fun Times

We spent an afternoon bowling with Ken and Jane. I thought Megan would have a great time watching all the people and wandering around the chairs, but NO! Who knew my child would have a phobia of bowling alleys? For most of the first game she was passed around whimpering and shaking whenever a ball hit the lane. By the time we left she had warmed up and was having fun but my goodness she was nervous at first!
I brought up the rear of the scores (but is it really fair for me to compete with Dan who took bowling at BYU and Ken and Jane who used to bowl competitively?)
Ken had the high score but I think Dan had the highest cumulative score after both games.

Nervous Megan


Team #1 and a slightly more comfortable Megan


Our competition :)


On Christmas Eve morning, Dan's parents, Dan, Megan, and I met up with Dan's cousin Bryan and Dan's sister Heather, her hubby Randy, and their boys Ty and Jakey. We went up to Gorgoza Park (near Park City) for some really fun tubing. I got a one-ride pass and Heather, Jane, and I stayed with Megan and Jake while everyone else used up their 2 hour passes. It was only 7 degrees when we got there but it was a beautiful day and we had a blast. Megan didn't love being totally bundled (I think she couldn't move) and had more fun when I stripped off a layer or 2. She refused to wear her gloves and would play happily with bare hands in the snow for about 5 minutes...then she would look shocked and cry because her hands HURT! So we'd go warm up for the next round.

Dan and I on my one run


Getting all bundled


Trying out the snow gear


Way more fun with less layers, but brrr!


Sporting her long johns in the "hot hut" (a warm room with tables and chairs to thaw)

Temple Square

I love to go see the lights on Temple Square. We lucked out this year and it wasn't too cold or icy on the roads. Ken and Jane came with us and we all enjoyed the beautiful sights and sounds. It definitely got me in the Christmas mood.

Megan stayed warm and happy the whole time. She fell asleep after about 20 minutes of walking around but loved seeing the lights while she was still up.


There was a nativity scene in the reflection pool this year and even though our picture isn't the greatest, it was BEAUTIFUL!


Our Family

Snow, snow, snow, snow, SNOW!

We arrived in Utah without any problems--Megan slept the whole flight and even slept in the next morning. It was COLD--we saw some single-digit weather and lots and lots of snow. It was so nice to see it...and so nice to come back to warmth!

Megan was quite curious about that cold white stuff. She was almost always smiling while she played in it, but would be done after about 10 minutes and walk back to the garage stairs to go inside.


Dan even had some fun with the snowblower--see the smile on his face? Obviously he doesn't have to do it everyday at home or I don't think he'd do it voluntarily while on vacation.


Here are Megan's tights/long-johns. Luckily we got to borrow coats and snow clothes from our Utah cousins so she didn't freeze! *This was her favorite spot at Grandma and Papa's--sitting on the bottom stair seemed like the perfect chair for her.