Happily Stranded

Day two in Utah, we woke up to Jake coming home and celebrated by going out to a delicous breakfast. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, all I know is I substituted a scone for a piece of toast and a plate with a huge scone that could have been my entire meal arrived. Matt had the same experience ordering a cinnamon roll- a plate appeared that could have fed six people a cinnamon role a piece! Good stuff. After breakfast we did what Matt loves to do- go look at houses and drive around fantasizing about moving. First stop was Jake's grandmother's house. Jake had to stop by and work on something with the watering system, a leaky valve I think, but before all of that we got a tour of the place. I loved the barn most of all, it was so picturesque. It was old, with a rock basement and weathered wood that nearly covered in green vines. And there was real hay inside, a photographers dream and I didn't get one picture! I think the house sits on 8 acres, and there are the coolest old structures all over it. While Jake got to work we went with Trisha and Davis and explored the property.

I love watching Davis, he is all boy! As soon as we got out in the pasture he headed for the sprinklers and danced around, and then fell and rolled around. Trisha just chuckles- every boy needs a big ol' pasture like that one. There were horses and everything. From the pasture there was a beautiful view of the mountains as well, Matt was in heaven. Poor Ollie, all he has is a pool.

After our tour Ollie woke up and we took him down to meet his first horse! So fun.

First time meeting a horse

Ollie and Davis hanging out

It's was all fn and games until the horse tried to bite Ollies toes! Matt didn't like that.

The boys talking about all the good times they could have together camping out, building forts, and sleding in the pasture.

After the farm, we headed around the corner and went on a walk on the trail behind Lagoon. It felt so good to be outside enjoying the sun and cool breeze. Everyone kept telling us how hot is this year but it felt incredible. (Although we were in the shade mostly and it was still morning.) The trail was fun becuase it is the back side of Lagoon so we could see some of the rides- like the white water rapids ride, and we were able to see some of the animals.

Ollie got to see his first reindeer and it isn't even Christmas time yet!

He also met his first Buffalo.

After our morning excursion we went back to Trisha's for a short time before taking off to meet up with Jess' family to watch Brave. The movie time we were going to was all sold out so we got to hang out and visit outside the theatre for a short while before the next one started. It was fun to see everyone, I love how excited they are to see us and to spend time with Ollie. He is such a lucky kid to be so loved by so many, what an impact he has already made on so many lives. The refreshing morning weather I kept talking about suddenly started to feel hot when I was standing outside in the afternoon sun with black wool shorts on! We weren't out there forever though an I did find some shade and got to hang out with Julien and his cousin while everyone else explored the dancing water or just hung out talking. The movie was fun, since I get to see Ollie all the time I was happy to share him and got to sit back and enjoy the movie. For the last six months we have still been to plenty of movies, but I have also spent plenty of time standing in the hall way with Ollie as well. This time he had his moment in the hall way but I wasn't the one with him, I got to see every minute of the movie. I thought of my niece Macey the whole time, she has been so excited for this movie to come out because she is also an adventerous red-head!

After the movie we headed out to visit Jess at work, she had contemplated calling in so she could go to the movies with everyone, but I admire her for being such a faithful employee and showing up for work. The store wasn't all that busy so she took a break and we got to visit and she got to introduce Ollie to some of her co-worker friends. Oh how I remember working in retail, all of my money went right back to the stores I worked for. Just walking around there I was already eyeing all the stuff I would have happily tried on. It's better to keep me out of malls, then I don't know what I'm missing!

After our visit we were able to catch up with Dad and Linda. It was fun to sit out on their back patio and visit while we once again soaked in the weather- just can't get enough of the cool breezes and actually getting to be outside! Ollie had fun entertaining us all.

After our visit they took us out for dinner at a local cafe. I got the meatloaf and Matt had some delicious chicken dish that they are known for. Good stuff. The stranges thing was when we asked our waitress about their desserts she said she actually hadn't tried any of them becuase the employees aren't allowed to get the desserts. I guess they sell out of their pies and desserts every day so they don't want them going to the employees but that doesn't really help the customers that need a recommendation! In the end we passed up the dessert. We went outside and got a history lesson about what used to be the whore houses and the underground right under our feet. Who would have ever guessed? We stood outside talking for quite some time before we finally had to say goodbye. So good to see Dad and Linda.

Day in Court

At nearly the last minute Matt and I decided to drive to Utah instead of fly. Primarily because we changed plans for the 4th. Since we would be spending it in Moab it made a little more sense to keep driving south than it did to drive back to Salt Lake just to fly home. I was reluctant to drive only because I was afraid of keeping Ollie in a car seat for that long, but as we started packing (also at the last minute) I started to realize that we had way too much stuff for him to try and fly. I held onto our tickets until we actually got on the road because I was leery of it getting too late and then being forced to fly because driving wouldn't get us there in time.

We finally got on the road around 9:30pm. Our original plan was to leave at 5:00pm and stay the night in Vegas but when you're going to be away from work for nearly two weeks there were just too many things to take care of that kept us from an on-time start so we were forced to drive straight through the night. The only good thing about driving at night was that Ollie slept almost the entire way. Matt and I took turns driving (which is a first- usually he drives the entire way). He would do about 3 hours and then I would last about 2. The back seat of the truck was actually pretty comfortable to sleep in (for me anyway!) so it wasn't a horrific drive. We were planning on staying with Kris the first few nights but needed a place to shower and get ready for the big event. Luckily Trisha was around because her house was on the way and she was nice enough to let us take over her bathroom to get ourselves cleaned up, and it is always fun to see her. It was a bit like de ja voo because I remember leaving Trisha's house and her wishing us luck as we went to meet Jess the very first time. I wasn't nervous for court, mostly just excited and maybe a little too confident that everything was going to go well. I made sure we got out of the house in enough time to be a bit early and having achieved my goal of leaving on time my confidence only grew (anyone that knows me well knows that was truly a miraculous thing- that I was going to be early!). And then it happened, we got in the truck and started driving away and it was like the truck was barely responding, it was just slugging along. It felt like we were going less than 20 miles an hour, and when I looked over at the speedometer it showed us going 0 miles and hour. That's when we knew something was wrong. My big smile faded to worry, I couldn't believe it. We made it to the red light just before the freeway. Since we were stopped Matt decided to just try restarting the car to see if whatever was wrong would reset. He turned the truck off and then...it wouldn't turn back on at all. I started to sweat and tried not to panic. After a few attempts we knew we were stuck, Matt turned to me and asked me to say a prayer for us. So I did, when we were done he said "That's not the prayer I was expecting" I realized he wanted me to call down the powers and make it start, kind of like when the ox lays down in the movie "Legacy" and her prayers are answered and he stands back up. I had only prayed for help.

I called Trisha and told her what had happened and she said she would jump in the car and come get us so we could get to court. In the mean time some kid walked up to our window to tell us that we couldn't turn left there. He must have seen the out of state license and thought we had no clue how to drive! Lol, Matt explained that our car wouldn't start and as he quickly turned to get back to his car he must have missed me yelling out the window asking if he had any jumper cables. Matt and I were just sitting there looking at the freeway and trying to determine if it would be ok to push the truck to the side of the road and abandon it with all of our stuff in it in order to make it to court on time.  I knew I needed to call the lawyer, but I had no phone number, even his emails didn't have it. Luckily google did, and luckily he was still in his office. (We were 35 minutes from our court time and 25 minutes from court at this point, and the clock was ticking.) Then like a miracle as I was getting him on the phone a man stopped and asked if he could help. His name was Kipp and I will never forget him. I was embarrassed to tell our lawyer what was going on, it was like the many excuses I have made in my life for being late but this time it was all too real and this time being late could mean we would miss the date and have to come back weeks from now when we could get the judge again. I told him we were trying to jump the car right then and he said he would run across the street and see if they could move another case up in front of ours. This time he gave me his cell.

They boys couldn't get the truck started even with the jump, but luckily Kipp had ropes to tie to the front of the truck and he was able to tow us to the gas station where Trisha met us. We were able to leave our truck in a safe place and Kipp even offered to drive us to court himself. My heart was so full of gratitude, and just like the men that came and served us the sacrament on Christmas day we found out Kipp had adopted all three of his children as well. What are the odds? Why was it that he was the one that happened to be there right when we needed him? I will never understand but I will always be grateful for all the little tender mercies that have happened in our journey.

Trisha sped us along and got us there only 5 minutes after 2. I think I will always remember the crazy lady in front of us that was dressed in a bikini top and sweat shorts, she was older and not necessarily someone that even looked good in a bikini top which is why it was so odd. (Maybe it was her general lack of judgement that was taking her to court in the first place!) From the minute we walked in everyone was so nice to us. The security guy asked if we were there for an adoption and when we said yes, he beamed and congratulated us. We quickly realized that adoptions were about the only good thing that happens in court so us being there really was a bright spot in their day.

Since they were able to move another case in front of ours we had time to visit with Carrie (Jess' case worker) and to meet our lawyer for the first time. After a short visit they called us in. I don't exactly know what I was expecting court to be like, I guess I hadn't even taken the time to think about it at all it just seemed like another step/formality. All I know is I wasn't expecting the experience that awaited us. They called Carrie to the stand first and asked her some simple questions and then as she was asked to sign the papers in front of the judge that would make us his parents it all hit me at once. Matt was holding Ollie feeding him a bottle right next to me, I turned to look at him to see if he was feeling it too and there was my sweet husband sitting there with tears rolling down his cheeks dripping off onto his suit and my heart swelled even more. It was such a sweet experience. This whole journey has been filled with love and support from so many people, but truly it is one that we have walked together and there have been words said, and things that only the two of us could ever understand because we have felt/experienced them together. This was one of those moments that was just for the two of us, and words will never adequately describe what it means to us to have Ollie in our life, to be worthy to be his parents and to love him so completely and unconditionally, but it is a moment I will never forget.

They interviewed Matt next, but since his emotions had taken over they went easy on him and he didn't really have to do much talking before they asked him in a bunch of words if he would be his parent, to which Matt said yes and then proceeded to sign the paperwork. And then it was my turn. I thought I was going to get off easy as well, but then they asked me to tell the court how I felt about Ollie. I don't really remember what came out of my mouth except for the word "indescribable" and then a lame effort to try and put in words the love that I have for him. And then I had my opportunity to sign. After that the court was full of smiles, and it was over. Except of course our lawyer asked if we could have a picture with the judge that made everything official. (That wasn't even my idea but I was happy to get one!)

The judge also took the time to tell us how happy he was for us, and what an honor it was to do adoption hearings. He said unfortunately in court you spend so much time breaking families a part that it is refreshing to get to sit in on cases where families want to be together, that is what makes their day. We of course were grateful for the support. We headed downstairs to file the paperwork and pay whatever fees we needed to. It just felt like we were floating. Finally got to steal a kiss from Matt and soak in the moment together. Since we had to wait for our ride we talked Carrie into one last picture for us of our happy little family...

Trisha didn't take long to get to us, she was around the corner visiting Jake at the fire station. I didn't mind the wait though, it felt good to take off my shoes and feel the cool grass and enjoy the weather. (There is none of that at home right now unless I'm in the pool!) We hadn't eaten all day so we had a very late but delicious lunch, but only after we got the truck situation taken care of first. Matt had to get it towed to the dealership so we stopped and took out the essential items we were worried about. Trisha took us to Zupas, I have never eaten there before but I loved it! Especially after eating junk food on the drive up. Ollie loves to sit in the high chairs now and it was fun to have him eating right along side Davis. Trisha really was amazing, I don't know what we would have done without her.

After lunch/dinner we went by the dealership. We go there a little after 4:30pm but apparently that is when the workers stop so there would be no one looking at the truck today. Since we had no way to get to her Jess was nice enough to pick us up so we could visit her and her family. Always a good time, can hardly believe it has been six whole months since we were there last. Ollie was his happy little self, he loves to be the center of attention which is good because he usually is. He loves to sit and laugh and entertain us while we all watch and giggle. He took his turns with each person, and even Venus got a few good licks on his face (although I think she was a little jealous!)

Ollie getting a lick from Venus

Gabe loved being near Ollie and I loved how he grabbed his arm.

Two buds

Ollie happy to entertain

Julien is a hard one to get a picture of, he doesn't like to look at the camera! But I caught them looking at each other.

Ollie imitating Darrel

Learning to hang on his hands

Playing around

Crystal came by so Ollie could show her some love and vice versa

Gabe was excited to share a Mr. Potato head with him

Ollie making the rounds

Concert by Jess and Ollie

Singing was involved

Learning to play

Jess reluctantly letting go so Ollie could stand with her

Playing around

All too soon it was time to go. But not before they took us to their grandparents so hook us up with a vehicle to drive until ours was fixed- that was a super generous surprise. We were happy to see Jess' grandparents too, loved them from the first time we met them and her grandfather hadn't met Ollie yet so it was a sweet visit. Then we were back to Trisha's. Since it was so late we just spent the night with Trisha instead of heading over to Kris'. We thought we were going to get in a movie but Matt and I were out in minutes of turning on the tv, must have been something to do with the long drive!

Happy 6 Month Birthday!

Happy 6 Month Birthday Ollie! I can hardly believe 6 months ago today he came into our lives. Since he was born on Christmas Eve we have debated over how we will celebrate his birthday, we just don't want him to feel jipped that his birthday will be essentially overshadowed by Christmas and want to pick another day during the year to celebrate but haven't really made an official plan yet. (Today happens to be my father's birthday also) So far we have pretty much celebrated every month, week, and every day that he has been alive! Haha! Even as we speak Matt is planning out the cake he is going to bake for him today...His plans were just interrupted by Ollie throwing up, I haven't seen it yet but from the sounds of it it was a lot! I sit and chuckle in here while I hear him scurrying around in the other room, telling Ollie how disgusting it is while Ollie jabbers back at him. Even these are the moments we celebrate, because if we didn't have spit up we wouldn't have Ollie! We still wake up and pinch ourselves and every day we comment to each other how lucky we are to have him, and we are still completely humbled by the sacrifice that Jess and so many others made so that he could be with us. I don't think we will ever get over it, we'll always be eternally grateful and hold onto him just a little tighter, and pause to celebrate the sweet moments a little longer because he truly is a miracle. Here is one last picture of Ollie celebrating his first six months of life...

...Ollie, I hope you always love life, and live it so fully! Happy 6 Month Birthday son!

Pool Time

One of my favorite things has always been hanging out in our pool on a warm, make that HOT, Saturday afternoon. For so many years it was just Matt and I (minus the times we invite the whole family over.) Even with just the two of us and our dogs it was always a fun time, floating around, swimming on Matt's back, trying new lifting stunts, teasing the dogs and getting them to jump in with us. These were always good times. Today was one of those days, but this time Matt and I turned all our attention to Ollie and laughed together as we watch him learning to hold his breath under water, be mesmerized by the waterfall and the feel of slashing water, and the center of all of Matt's new stunts! I was entertained by both of them and pulled out my new hobby- the camera of course. 140 pictures later this is what I have to show for it...

Learning to hold his breath. One, Two, Three...

Down he goes...

"You did it!" Followed by the proud/reward kiss from daddy.

Reaching for the waterfall.

Splashing with his feet in the waterfall.

Throw me higher!

A big smile for Momma

Learning to float

Time to practice new tricks

Getting so good at his balance

So happy to play along

Every time he lost his balance he would fall onto Daddy's neck laughing!

Playing with Rocky, he even jumped off the waterfall for his toy (harder to get him to do it in his old age!)

Taking a ride back to shore!

When all the picture taking was done, I jumped in and played with my boys. Sweet summer days, I will love you forever!

25 Weeks Old

One of the first presents we got for Ollie was from Aunt Barbara before he was ever born. Mixed in with all the BYU stuff was this cute pair of shoes that I have been waiting for him to be big enough to wear, on Sunday he got to wear them for the first time. I love putting shoes on him even though he doesn't keep them on very long. These ones actually stayed on his feet and it is funny to see him at the stage where he is so much more aware, he kept looking at them and touching them and wiggling his toes around in them trying to figure it out. Can't wait to see Barb again next week so she can see how big the little man is now!

First encounter with peas

After a few days of oatmeal cereal it was time to introduce his first veggie. I had organized the pantry with veggies first and then fruits and decided that I would just start in the order that they were in the pantry, which put peas first. I have to admit that I felt bad that one of the first things he ever tasted would be peas but I have to admit that I am one of those people that tastes everything on my plate and then I start with the item I like the least and eat it first to get it out of the way so I can savor the good stuff at the end. So in the end I thought to myself maybe it would make him appreciate the other good stuff even more if he tasted peas first! Matt wasn't home for the show, just Ollie and I and I wish that I had had the camera going for his very first taste, his reaction was immediate! He had a scowl like you get when you suck on a lemon and I laughed out loud over it. To his credit he did try to continue and we did make it through everything I had in the spoon- a total of 1 oz. I couldn't help but grab the camera because he was making faces I had never seen before. My favorite one being a crease that appeared between his eyes along the ridge of his nose- where did that come from?!

 He did a lot of fake gagging- I know that trick buddy!

In the end he started crying like I have never seen and was truly unconsoleable until I got him out of the high chair and held him, bib and all. I can safely conclude that HE HATES PEAS!!! The sad thing was I had given all fruits and veggies equal representation on the shelf and I had a lot more for him to eat. But feeling like it was just too cruel and comfortable that there are other veggies for him to eat I decided not to make him eat peas again. The next meal we moved onto green beans, which he loved and made me happy. The funny thing is my nanny didn't know I had made this decision and she fed him other 1oz that was left in the peas container in the fridge, luckily for him she also mixed it with greenbeans which must have made it bearable for him because when I came in to check on him while she was feeding him and discovered what had happened he stopped and gave me big smiles and a laugh- what a little booger!

If you want a good laugh, here is the video of his first encounter...