The Chariton Family

Christmas Came Early and New Years was fun!

2012-01-01T14:57:00.001-07:00

We had Christmas morning on the morning of Christmas Eve because of Logan and Dad's work schedules. It was better than having it in the middle of January. The babies and Brenna make Christmas morning just as fun as it used to be when we were all little kids. Brenna slept with Aunt Sarah and woke her up early. I made Sarah promise to come get us before letting Brenna go upstairs to see what Santa brought. Uncle Justin took some fantastic pictures of the look on her face when she saw all the princess barbies by the fireplace. I need to get those from him to post with these. We all enjoyed the morning together.

I got a wonderful coupon book from my husband with dates for the whole year and cowgirl boots!

No these were not for Emily. They were for Dad. Em likes to make fun of Dad. Obviously.

The saxophone player: we had a family band with Caleb on the drum, Walker on the piano, and Brenna on the sax.

Dad cutting down the tree in early December.

Caleb tearing apart the tree village.

Caleb is worn out from all the gift opening.

New Years was another huge family shin dig. This is Sarah on her way to pick up Greg at the airport.

This is the fiercest Wii dance competition EVER

I pretty much dominated.

Had to change into my sweats so I could move faster.

Yup we got Grandma and Grandpa out there.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I think this picture says: It's a lot more fun being the grandparents.

Caleb was sleeping during the one family photo.

Pacific University College of Optometry here we come!

2011-12-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

Introduction to Pacific University from Pacific University on Vimeo.

We just found out yesterday morning that Nick has been accepted to PUCO for Fall 2012. We couldn't be more excited. We can't wait to get back to the Northwest. We had a small miracle happen on our trip there last week that I would like to record for our family history.Nick had submitted all of his OPTOMCAS application at the beginning of November, and we were really hopeful that he would get an interview date on the last interview day of the year at Pacific: December 9th. Well we bought plane tickets to Boise to visit his mom and meet her new fiance (a whole other great story!) and decided we would also drive out to Portland and see the school that was our first choice and hope for that interview. Nick even called to see what the possibility was of getting the interview on that date. They let him know that it would be impossible as all the slots were already filled. We decided to go anyway.It was a long drive across Oregon, but we figured it was important to go for me to see the area and for Nick to show them how interested he was. Brooke decided to go with us on the long drive and every day we were grateful to have her help and company. It was beautiful and we were able to see many good friends and wonderful family members along the way. When Nick and I went for the tour he casually let the admissions person know that even though Pacific was his first choice, he had not heard from them about an interview appointment at all, but he already been accepted to one school (in Puerto Rico!) and had interview appointments at two others. She looked over his "stats" GPA, work experience, etc. and came right back with, "Well, what are you doing tomorrow?" And she let us know that she could not promise anything, but she would meet with the admissions committee that afternoon and let us know if Nick could have an interview the next day. She called that afternoon even earlier than she said she would and let Nick know they would really like to interview him that next day. We went out bought him a suit because he had not brought a suit coat (actually two suits-- thank you Men's Warehouse end of the year sale). He looked great, he interviewed well, and he loved the school just as much as he thought he would. I am looking forward to living in a small town with the kids while he's in school and we are only 50 miles from Seaside! We hope we will get some visitors to go with us to the beach.We will be moving to Oregon next August.

I love SVU!

2011-12-16T11:36:00.001-07:00

40 in 40 from Russ Dixon on Vimeo.

Click here to donate http://svualumni.com/

I did!

With Grateful Hearts: Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-02T22:06:00.001-07:00

Hanging out together is the best part of Thanksgiving, but this year we were all kind of scattered until the last minute. Some of us did the turkey trot at the Y in the morning, one of us had been camping out at BestBuy since WEDNESDAY for a TV, and Mom and dad flew in from California right before dinner. Emily, Sarah, and I had a hilarious time getting the turkey and some other things ready while our husbands were out shooting. Let's just say the neck didn't make it out of the turkey until right before it was carved. Once we were all safely home and sitting down together, we enjoyed all the food but were especially grateful to all be there. The two newest additions to our family made the time together even more fun. These little boys have such distinct personalities, and they seem to enjoy each other already!

The annual sister picture

After Thanksgiving day we headed to Cuchara and stayed in a cabin of some good friends. We had hoped to be able to do some cross-country skiing but even with the extreme cold there was no snow.

Can you see the baby boys in the strollers?

My sisters are crazy

Nick four wheeling with the Chariot

Back at the cabin we played cards (and tried to keep the babies from eating cards)

texted (just kidding that was only Sarah)

ate

and ate some more

and had wrestling matches (actually that was just Emily)

Brenna was saving her Grandpa

We loved the time away and the time to be together.

From Brenna's Perspective

2011-12-02T21:29:00.001-07:00

Brenna you are too fun.

The kids

2011-11-28T12:11:00.001-07:00

Brenna likes to "play the drums", be a ballerina, a princess, an explorer, and she loves to make Caleb laugh. She accomplishes this by hugging him to her and "steamrollering" him across the floor. The rougher she plays the harder he laughs, and it's a darn good thing.

Caleb doesn't want anything for Christmas except his two front teeth. They are giving him a hard time coming slowly and painfully, but he's the sweetest little boy and still smiles and tries to sleep for me.

Brenna wants something new every day. Here's the running list so far: A pony, pink cowgirl boots, a tea set, barbie dolls, a prince doll to go with the princess barbies, a castle for the barbies... We told her Santa only brings one toy per kid.

The best thing about two kids is watching them laugh and play together. Driving home the other day Brenna had Caleb chuckling so much that I had to laugh too. Brenna has really been missing her friends that moved away and is always pretending to talk to them, but I am hoping that as Caleb gets a little bigger the two of them will have just as much fun together.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-24T12:03:00.000-06:00

Brenna decided on a costume change for the real deal!

At the preschool party

Mr. Caleb has cut two teeth!

2011-10-15T21:37:00.000-06:00

Just as most of his life has gone along so far, Caleb made no noise or trouble at all, but has managed to cut his two bottom teeth already! Luckily Grandma Gloria was feeling around on his gums and noticed the little sharp points, otherwise they may have gone unnoticed until they fully emerged. He seemed quite proud of himself when Grandma and mom were exclaiming over him in amazement. I seem to to remember it being quite another story for Brenna... like two days of awfulness before the little white pokies finally came through. Thank goodness for Mr. Caleb.

Happy Birthday Nick! and "Dad, are you an eye doctor yet?"

2011-10-11T22:28:00.001-06:00

Doesn't he look handsome? Every time we go see Nick at work Brenna will ask him, "Dad, are you an eye doctor yet?"

We celebrated Nick's 30th birthday last month and his mom was able to come be with us for a week. We had decided to bless Caleb that same weekend so Brooke would be here for both AND we made a visit to the mountains and Pueblo's Chili and Frijoles Festival downtown.

But first I had to run a mile race for Pueblo's Corporate Cup competition. I was on the university's team and have not run a mile race since high school. Nick didn't mind coming to cheer me on, even though it was his birthday. When I see my husband and kids it always makes me run faster. I feel so lucky to belong to them. Here's everyone waiting around for me:

One of the guys on my team let me draft him for the entire last quarter mile. I came in 2nd place for females age 20-29 and broke 7 minutes (not bad for being 10 years out of practice). I was happy with the race, but glad I don't run like that very often anymore.

And this is what we found right after Brenna got up from rolling around in the grass. I guess they are all over Pueblo in the fall.

Then I nursed Caleb right after. I must have had a lot of lactic acid build-up because when we went out for Nick's birthday dinner, my parents had to call us to come home since they could not get Caleb to stop crying. He was upset all night from his poor tummy and screaming. We were at Latronica's (a great Italian place that's SO Pueblo) for dinner and hurried to finish our homemade noodles.

So this is us finally blowing out candles and having birthday cake the night AFTER Nick's birthday. Caleb was too upset for me to even set him down the night of. The Chili Festival was a hit and we tasted and tried several kinds of fire roasted chilis before buying some to freeze for the winter. The smell of the roasters and walking around downtown Pueblo made me think how much we will miss this and green chili with fresh Pueblo chilis next year when we are somewhere else.

Bishop's Castle and the fall leaves in the Wet Mountains

Caleb's blessing circle: Uncle Justin, Uncle Logan, Nick, Grandpa Shaun, and Bishop Cory Smith

Nick kept joking that Caleb was old enough to sit in the Bumbo chair for his blessing. And he was, but it was a perfect weekend and worth waiting a few months so we could celebrate so many things together and have Brooke here.

Little Birdie

2011-10-09T23:20:00.000-06:00

I just have to write a quick note about Caleb, so I don't forget this about him. There's lots of little things about both him and Brenna that I always think oh I need to write that down. He flaps his arms. He does it when he wants something, when he's excited, when he sees me come into the room. If he could fly he'd flap away right out the window because that's how hard he's moving his arms up and down all the time. This is him flapping his arms during general conference. They're flapping so fast that it's blurry! And below is him sleeping with one of his favorite people: Aunt Sarah.

Family Pictures 2011

2011-09-20T17:03:00.000-06:00

Thank you Jennifer!

American Discovery Marathon Relay

2011-09-12T21:51:00.000-06:00

I can call myself a runner once again. I ran the 8.5 mile leg of the relay on Labor day with some girls from my old ward in Parker. We called ourselves the Mormon Moms for obvious reasons. When all of us were standing with our jog strollers and assortment of kids, toddlers, and babies at the end of the race it was pretty hilarious and made me proud of every single one of us for finding time to run. Waking up before the kids and running has saved me these last few months. I can count a little bit of quiet thinking time and I love starting the day that way. I know it helps me be a better mom. Thanks for the invite, which provided the motivation to train, Heather! And thanks to my awesome sisters for watching my kids so I could race!

my hand-off at mile 15ish

After the race with the kids and playing in the fountain

I had given Brenna my race medal and she showed it to Nick and said, "Look dad, I got a medal for just runnin around!"

Brenna Ballerina

2011-09-12T21:34:00.000-06:00

Brenna took her first ballet lessons this past August. The lessons consisted mostly of Brenna's teacher giving instruction and Brenna doing whatever she felt like. She did learn a a few of the positions and then she would practice them over and over while the rest of the class waited quietly and held still waiting for what the teacher would do next. Her personality came through loud and clear: independent and strong-willed, definitely not a follower, and dancing to the beat of her own drummer. We are working on the following directions thing.

Summer: These are a Few of our Favorite Things

2011-09-12T14:18:00.000-06:00

Riding bikes downtown for dinner at the pub. Sometimes the kids even fall asleep and Nick and I pretend like we are on a date.

Kiddie rides for 25 cents each at City Park

Going out on the boat at Pueblo Reservoir

Swimming at Hollydot

Bye-bye Summer! You will be missed.

Tub Time

2011-09-12T11:38:00.002-06:00

Airport Rendezvous

2011-09-12T11:36:00.000-06:00

Look who flew into DIA! We got to have lunch with two of our favorite people one Sunday afternoon in August at the Denver airport on their way home from Melaleuca convention.

Mr. Caleb 4 months

2011-09-12T10:26:00.002-06:00

Elder Oaks Devotional

2011-09-11T23:11:00.000-06:00

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” John Adams (2nd US President)

Tonight we listened to the CES broadcast by Elder Dallin H. Oaks and his wife. He gave some incredible instruction on our involvement in the "public square" as believers. He also used the above quote and it stood out to me. You can look at the text of his talk here.

Shout out to the Utah Princess Festival!

2011-09-11T18:41:00.000-06:00

Back in June, before we let Utah, I took Brenna to the Princess Festival at Thanksgiving Point. I was impressed with the event and pleased that our admission money went towards a clean drinking water project in Africa. Needless to say, she loved it!

The Queen of Hearts was, for some reason, Brenna's favorite character.

Beauty and the Beast and Brenna

Summer Vacation: Part 4

2011-08-23T22:42:00.000-06:00

Once we made it back to Utah from Idaho we had about two weeks left until Nick's class ended. Every day was filled with seeing people we love and going to favorite places. I think we got frozen yogurt at Red Mango almost every day.

We were able to go to Louise's one night and have dinner just like old times, except now the table is a lot more crowded! She is one amazing lady. We had her favorite, salmon, salad, and at least 2 other vegetables as sides! She now has a someone from BYU's dietetics program living in her basement so that's helpful.

We got to hang out with the Morris' family once for papoosas and once in their backyard and the whole time we were wishing we lived closer to them. They've done tons of work and their yard is looking amazing.

This is Brenna's "best next door friend" while we stayed in Orem: Abby

Our favorite place to hang out: Gabe & Amy's backyard

What a cutie!

Aunt Amy making Caleb crack up

Brothers and Best Friends

What a blessing to have the time we had to be together this summer. It will be one of my favorite memories. I loved being able to walk across the street and poke my head in Amy's door to see what she was up to or to borrow a kitchen utensil. I loved watching the cousins play during the afternoon and sneaking over late at night after all the kids were asleep (using our cell phones as baby monitors) and playing games with Gabe and Amy. Maybe Nick will have to take microbiology out there next summer?

Summer Vacation: Part 3

2011-08-22T22:34:00.001-06:00

The last few days of our time Idaho was extra wonderful because Nick got to come up for the weekend. We spent one morning at the temple and were able to do work for Nick's grandmother.

Then I took off on a quick overnighter to Pocatello to see my dear friend and favorite MTC companion Sister Ormond get hitched. She looked gorgeous and Mike (the new husband) was hilarious and handsome in his top hat. He also spoke some mean Chinese. I can't believe I didn't get one picture of them together.

We loved being with Grandma & Grandpa Haney and mom, but I am afraid we left them with a nasty cold. Brenna, Caleb, and I all got it first. We always feel so blessed to spend time with them and learn from their great examples of gospel living and their positive attitudes. One of my favorite times while we were there this time was a Sunday walk we took along the canyon.

Summer Vacation: Part 2

2011-07-27T11:53:00.000-06:00

After seeing Nick for a couple of days in Orem, Em and I took the kids to St. George to see Grandma and Grandpa Gogarty. I need to get the pictures from Grandpa because I guess I didn't take any! I think my hands were a little too full with both kids. We enjoyed visiting with them and introducing them to their two newest great-grandkids.

After returning from St. George, Em went home to CO and Nick and I were in Orem for Jenna's baptism. Brenna's older cousins have been such good examples to her, and we loved being there for this special day. Now Brenna talks to us about "when I get baptized..."

Then we headed up to Twin to spend a week with Grandma Chariton and Great-Grandma & Grandpa Haney. Nick had to stay in Utah and keep working hard on his class. We swam in the hot tub, took long walks, and played Quiddler in the evenings. In the middle of the week Brooke and I took a quick trip to Boise to see Shane and also hang out with my best friend and her two kiddos.

We got to have lunch at this great place in Boise with Shane ( I cannot remember the name) and see where his office is at Idaho Public Television.

Jillian and I had decided to meet in Boise because she was in Pendleton, OR and I was in Twin and that was as close as we were going to get this year. Boise is about the only good sized city that is somewhere in the middle. Well with four kids ages 6 months, 1 month, 2 years, and 3 years our only option was really to order food in and let the kids watch a movie while we visited. After we got them all to sleep we sat up and looked up all our old friends from college on facebook, told stories, and laughed our heads off (not at our friends don't worry ; ) just at how ridiculous we were in college). We love our kids, and we love each other's kids, but we decided next year will be a no kids trip so we can actually form complete sentences when speaking to each other, ok husbands?
Here is a fun picture from 2 years ago:

and now:

Another LONG Vacation: Part 1

2011-07-20T16:01:00.000-06:00

First Caleb was born at the very end of April, then Nick and I both had finals, then in the middle of finals my mom, Caleb, Brenna, and I all got in a horrible car accident, then three days after that Nick left for Utah to take a six week organic chemistry course. Brenna did not sleep well while her dad was gone and she often woke me up with nightmares. Between Caleb's eating and Brenna's screaming, we were not a well rested bunch. I think the combination of the accident, Nick all of sudden being gone, and a new baby was a bit much for her.

We recovered here in CO and as soon as we could the kids and I flew out to Utah to be with him. We were so blessed to have an basement apartment right across the street from Gabe & Amy while we were there. For the first couple weeks though, the kids and I traveled north, south, east, and west across Utah and Idaho to see friends and family while Nick studied hard and saw us on the weekends.

Brenna packed a fitness magazine, a pillow, some snacks, and toys as soon as she heard we were finally going to be with her dad. She wanted to go to the airport right then:

Red, White, & Blue

2011-07-20T15:27:00.000-06:00

Em & Justin have a perfect view of Falcon Stadium from their backyard, so we all got together and watched the AFA fireworks, let the kids play in the water, and ate and ate. Brenna actually loved the fireworks this year. Instead of crying and hiding, she cheered!

Happy Birthday Brenna!

2011-07-19T16:01:00.000-06:00

Because I am a big nerd and also because I have never thrown a real little kid birthday, I wrote up a plan for games. I also dressed up. This is Brenna's dream come true. She is always begging me to dress up like a princess and twirl around the living room with her. Her birthday was a lot of work but a lot of fun. I have now resolved to always do an outdoor water/pool party for her-- much simpler because no decorating, games, or special costuming required. Nick even had to take her out of the house for the morning to go fishing with her pink princess fishing pole, so I could set up without her taking everything apart.

1:00 Kids arrive and decorate bubble wand swords, tiaras, & goblets (set goblets at place settings for feast)

1:30 Poison apple game & Witch's cauldron with dry ice (person who finds green apple wins a prize)

1:45 Cinderella’s glass slipper matching game & Royal Ball musical chairs

(play enough times that everyone wins a prize)

2:00 Special Guest: Princess Sarah reads 2 books (Knight & Princess books)

2:15 quiz about being a real Knight and real Princess (everyone wins a prize)

2:20 Have a Royal Promenade into the Grand Feast and Announce each of the guests with trumpets
(Strawberries, Poison Apples sliced, Princess cupcakes, Pink sherbet & Raspberry lemonade

Dirty Hippie (No Shampoo Update)

2011-07-18T14:43:00.000-06:00

So I haven't gone completely without shampoo. I am using the shampoo when I go swimming because I don't know if the baking soda gets enough of the pool chemicals out. I use shampoo about every 2 weeks and use baking soda in between, usually every 3 days or so or when I have a really sweaty workout. The apple cider vinegar rinse is actually amazing. I love what it does to my hair, soft but not heavy. My husband calls me a dirty hippie but so what. He wasn't convinced my hair wasn't going to start stinking from the vinegar and turn to dreadlocks from not washing it. But he hasn't noticed a difference when I don't wash for a week or more so that's a good sign (at least he hasn't said anything-- maybe I DO stink!).

Caleb: The first 3 months

2011-07-18T14:09:00.001-06:00

Just a few shots to show how much this boy has already grown:

Almost 1 month

on Nick's baby blanket

on Grandma Layton's I SPY quilt

1st bath (ok actually 2nd because I didn't have hands free to take pictures of his first)

And then almost 2 months...

And now almost 3 months!

What a handsome boy!

Do you know why I spanked you?

2011-07-06T16:34:00.002-06:00

Nick was in the backyard working, and I told Brenna that after she got her shoes on she could go get her dad and we would leave to go to a party at a friend's house. Nick says that she came out and yelled, "Dad it's time to go!" and when he kept working and ignored her (trying to finish before we left) she started counting to five, "1, 2, 3, ...4, 5..." and he still kept working so she marched down the back porch steps and smacked him on the bum. Then she goes, "Do you know why I spanked you?" Nick was laughing too hard to answer. Then she pointed her little finger at him and said, "Because you didn't come when I called you." So after that Nick obediently came to the car.

Four years later...

2011-05-26T17:14:00.001-06:00

Today is our four year anniversary. And I'm in Colorado while Nick is Utah, but he sent me some beautiful flowers. Thankfully on Monday we will be together again. I'm so looking forward to that!

Family of Four

2011-05-09T15:48:00.001-06:00

Brenna loves to call Caleb "little brother" and HEY little BUDDY buddy buddy" (three times in a row just like that).

Brenna wants to hold Caleb for the family picture.

This was out in front of the car right before Nick left for Utah to take a 7 week organic chemistry course at UVU. We are missing him a lot, but luckily it has given us a good reason to go out to visit in June. We are looking forward to it!

More Caleb Pictures

2011-05-05T17:23:00.000-06:00

I can't help myself...

The rest of the pictures from the hospital:

Welcome to the World Caleb!

2011-05-01T19:12:00.001-06:00

Last family of 3 picture!

Leaving for the hospital...

Brenna has a rock baby that she'll take care of at home while we are gone.
My mom said she kept putting it under her shirt and then popping it out and saying, "My baby came!"

Last belly picture! YAY. 8:30 PM check in at the hospital. One low dose of cytotec for the induction and trying to sleep through the night at the hospital while contractions increased in intensity. By 8:00 AM things were really happening. I had to call Nick and tell him to hurry and get there because he had stayed the night at home with Brenna to try and get some sleep. And by 11:08 AM Caleb was born. I almost didn't believe the nurse when she said we would have the baby before she finished her shift at noon!

This birth was so nice and easy compared to Brenna's.

Caleb screamed for the first 10 minutes of his life. He's got great lungs.

The neatest part was that Nick got to deliver Caleb. My doctor stood right next to him and guided him through it. Nick says it was one of the best experiences of his life. I also loved having Nick facing me instead of next to me because the doctor and nurses all had such poker faces! As I watched Nick I could tell exactly how things were going and that we were so close to holding our baby.

Because he delivered Caleb, Nick also got to be the one to tell everyone "It's a boy!"

When Brenna came into the delivery room and saw Nick in the gown she said to him, "You're the doctor??"

Cousins Caleb & Walker - 27 days apart

Ready to go home the next afternoon.

Home with big sister (before we knew how sick big sister was).

So happy to be home together! Now Nick just has to get through finals.

No Shampoo

2011-04-27T21:31:00.000-06:00

I am mostly reposting this article about not shampooing your hair, so I can easily reference it. But I am also very curious to give it a shot. I am thinking I will start right after the baby is born so that if I have bad hair it won't matter much since I won't be leaving home that much at first!

Happy Easter

2011-04-27T12:29:00.000-06:00

The two bobble heads getting ready for church (that's what Grandpa calls you when you have curlers in your hair).

Easter Sunday meant a lot more to me this year as we thought about those members of our family we cannot wait to see at the resurrection. I am so grateful for our Savior and the hope we can have in this life because we know that this is not all there is! We hope your Easter Sunday was wonderful too.

All Aboard! The Royal Gorge Scenic Railway

2011-04-27T12:03:00.000-06:00

So because I am 9 months pregnant and waiting for the baby to come any day, I keep wanting to plan all these fun things to do so that I have other things to look forward to besides labor and delivery. I also want to get Brenna out because I know it will be a little while before we are up and running again. She LOVES trains and Grandpa Gogarty planned this fun day for all of us to ride the train together and then found out he had to work. We really missed him. But we still managed to have a good time.

She was way more impressed with the conductor than the Easter Bunny.

And she loved having baby Walker there to visit with.

We had a really nice day together, and hopefully next time Grandpa can come.

Grandma Chariton Comes to Colorado!

2011-04-27T11:52:00.000-06:00

From the moment Grandma got off the plane with her red cowgirl boots, Brenna would not leave her side. They really understand each other, and Brenna loved to sneak upstairs in the morning and jump into bed with Grandma to snuggle.

Ready to go out for my birthday dinner!

Two peas in a pod.

The most beautiful birthday flowers ever, the best tasting lemon cake ever (I've craved citrus and spicy hot foods this pregnancy) and the best weekend together. Thank you so much for coming and being with us!
We love you.

Who's Who

2011-03-27T22:55:00.000-06:00

If you want to check out another perspective on our living situation, you can head on over to my dad's blog and this post in particular will get you acquainted with everyone: http://multigenfam.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/whos-who-in-the-multigenfam/

To further illustrate this point: Tonight I answered the phone, "Hello, Gogarty's" and Brenna looked at Nick and went, "Gogarty's? But I am Chariton Brenna."

A Thump in the Night

2011-03-27T22:43:00.000-06:00

Nick and I put Brenna to bed in her room downstairs the other night and were upstairs relaxing. After awhile we heard this thump, which scared me. I thought someone was trying to get in the front door, or maybe someone was in the garage. Nick goes to investigate and finds little Brenna smiling up at him from the bottom of the stairs, half peeking out from under her blanket. He asks, "Did you run into the wall?" She nods her head and says, "If I'm under the blanket you can't see me!" She had been wandering around the downstairs with her blanket over her head for probably the 30 minutes since we had put her down. Luckily she didn't do any other damage.

A Best Friend's Wedding

2011-03-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

Candy Table! YUM!

Only in Utah: A business that actually tents the cultural hall. It looked great.

Cupcakes with bavarian cream filling. YUM again.

Andrea & Adam were married on March 4th in the Bountiful, UT temple, and I got to be there. Andrea and I were mission companions in Taiwan and had the BEST time together. She is one of those people whom I love and admire even when we can't talk often or see each other. I didn't think I could make it work out to be in Utah on a day I had work and also have Brenna taken care of because Nick had so many tests. I found a reasonable plane ticket, my sweet sister took Brenna for me, and I found a substitute at work. I am so grateful for a husband who places importance on the right things. He was the one who told me I definitely should not miss it if there was any way I could help it and of course he was right. There are a few dear friends of who I have missed their weddings, and it still makes me sad. Being there to celebrate with Andrea and give her a hug was wonderful. Relationships are so important and truly make this life worth living.

Little Fish Video

2011-03-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

Little Fish

2011-02-24T09:00:00.001-07:00

This is like our family journal and I don't keep a journal for Brenna, but I wanted to write down another milestone for her: She knows how to swim! We got a YMCA membership last month for the new year. This month after going swimming several times a week together she has pulled it all together and can swim really well. She'll stay underwater forever and sometimes makes me nervous, but I am so glad she knows how. She likes to use goggles and looks hilarious. I will have to take pictures today when we go and post them later!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

2 minutes? I wish!

2011-02-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

When people ask Brenna when the baby is coming, she'll say "In 2 minutes!" because I had recently told her the baby will be here two months. Two minutes, two months, what's the diff? She also insists the baby is a sister and her name is Jack. Hmmmm...
In the mean time this is what Brenna is up to:

GoBA-GA

2011-02-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

Lately Brenna has been adding this word to the end of most sentences, specifically after she says "yes". So it sounds like this: "Yes-goBA-GA" and it's hilarious. When we ask her about it she just says, "It's Brenna's word!" and if anyone tries to imitate her by saying it in their own sentence, she'll also yell, "That's my word!" We have no idea where it came from.

Why We Love COLORADO

2011-01-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

55 degrees SUNNY and dry in Pueblo and we drove 30 minutes

to San Isabel and were able to cross-country ski.

Christmas in January

2011-01-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

I know everyone already thinks the Gogarty family is a little non-traditional, so this probably won't come as a surprise to anyone, but we didn't have Christmas until January 16th. Between everyone traveling to California during Christmas, Dad & Justin's work schedule, and Nick and my long trip-- January 17th was the first day we were all able to gather. The celebration was well worth the wait. I especially enjoyed not feeling as rushed to get Christmas ready this year, and we did hit some decent sale items after Christmas, mostly online on CyberMonday. Mom helped Em and I sew stockings to match the families' for Brenna, Nick, and Justin and that was a fun project. They each have their own little gingerbread person now! Hard to believe that next year we will be sewing two MORE! The only problem with this little tradition twist is that Brenna keeps thinking Santa Claus will come yet again this month. He came to California to bring a pillow pet and then to Grandma and Grandpa Gogarty's, so why not? We have to keep telling her that it's not for another year that he'll be back around.

Logan and Brenna love to torment each another.

And play together.

Everyone reading their traditional Christmas letter from dad. This is something he has done for us every year since we were young, and it is always my favorite gift.

Aprons from Grandma Layton! She used to sew all of us pajamas every year. She is amazing.

A fairy skirt and fairy wings were the only other items on her wish list.

Tri goggles from Nick for me! Hopefully I can use them this summer after the baby is born. We also finally replaced Nick's wedding ring that we had lost this past summer in Coeur d'Alene. I'm glad because now the girls in his classes at school won't even have to ask!

And this is ALL Brenna wants to do now.

What a wonderful time we had being with each other and sharing food and gifts. I love days like this one.

Our Winter Vacation 2010: Part Six

2011-01-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

NEW MEXICO
We made one final stop in Albuquerque to see our good friend Jeff Palmer. At that point we were only 4 hours from home so getting on the road our final day was exciting. We took a walk to the temple before hitting the road to get the wiggles out.

Our Winter Vacation 2010: Part Five

2011-01-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

ARIZONA

Our next stop was Phoenix to see the Lewis family. Brenna was so glad to finally see some other kids after a week of only adults in the Gogarty family. This was the first time that Nick and I had been to Phoenix (where he grew up) together. He showed me his old schools, the home they lived in, and it was fun to hear the stories that he remembered as we drove around and meet a lot of people in his old ward and neighborhood who he loves. We played games in the evening with Jess and Josh after the kids went to sleep and mostly caught up with a lot of Nick's friends. The highlight for me was doing his favorite hike up Camelback mountain on the last morning we were there. Jess Lewis kept Brenna at the house with her, so I only had to carry the baby in my tummy up the mountain. The view was incredible, but we failed to take a picture! Oh well. Next time.

Brenna LOVED baby Camrie

One of Nick's favorite spots to watch lightning storms

(I teased him about taking girls up there, but he swears he never did)

Three Monkeys eating bananas

Visiting Grandma Seago: Costco hotdogs and oranges from her tree.

Lights at the Mesa temple

Our Winter Vacation 2010: Part Four

2011-01-22T08:45:00.001-07:00

CALIFORNIA
Finally we were at the beach! Nick and Brenna wasted no time hopping in the water even though we arrived during a huge rainstorm. The weather cleared and we swam and played in the sand the only difference from the summer being that we ran to the hot tub a little more quickly. Nick even got in without his wetsuit the last morning when we did my traditional early morning last swim. I should have taken a picture of that!

Christmas Eve we were all in the ocean.

Christmas Morning Santa managed to find us and bring Pillow Pet

Giddyup Cowgirl

2011-01-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

Our Winter Vacation 2010: Part Three

2011-01-20T12:48:00.001-07:00

TWIN FALLS, ID
How did we get from southern Utah all the way to southern Idaho you might ask? We flew from Vegas thank goodness. We got to spend 3 days with Great-Grandma & Grandpa Haney and Grandma Chariton. Brenna's dream of riding a real horse came true. The horse was even named a Christmas name: Bell. We enjoyed sitting in the hot tub, playing games, looking at Christmas lights, and most of all being together.

Our Winter Vacation 2010: Part Two

2011-01-20T12:30:00.000-07:00

ST. GEORGE, UTAH at Grandma & Grandpa Gogarty's

We had to get a picture of Grandpa and Nick because Nick has been attending Grandpa's famous "Math/Science Camp" over the phone.

Our Winter Vacation 2010: Part One

2011-01-20T12:08:00.001-07:00

FOUR CORNERS
We started our trip heading south through Colorado. We planned it so we only needed to drive 6 hours a day. The first day we made it to Cortez, CO and stayed just northeast of Four Corners, so that was our first "exciting" stop.

Sensibly Styled

2011-01-11T15:59:00.003-07:00

Occasionally I like to look at style blogs because I have not a clue how to put outfits together on my own. I like Sensibly Styled because they feature generally modest and reasonably priced items. Recently our family photo by our favorite family photographer was featured! Check it out on their site here!

11 Step Program for those thinking of having kids

2011-01-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

I had to post this because I laughed so hard it hurt. Thanks Grandma Gogarty! I needed this today.

Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)
2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment
Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.
You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it! Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!

The Christmas Spirit

2010-12-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

I feel infused with the Christmas spirit when I watch this video of people in a mall singing about our Savior and like to think that those who were there felt that way too. You cannot help but feel the spirit when you hear the words of this song. I know this is why Christmas is so special. For once in a year most of us stop and recognize that Jesus Christ lived and He loves us. We sing about it and talk about it and celebrate it and for once in our politically correct society it is okay with most everyone because it is Christmas.

Address request

2010-12-02T11:26:00.001-07:00

I'm doing Christmas cards this weekend. If you'd like one via snail mail please send me your address in a comment or as email jessjean41@gmail.com. Thanks!

We Gather Together

2010-11-29T14:09:00.002-07:00

Emily's gorgeous creation

The spread and Mom the mastermind behind it all

Post bike ride. We got worried they weren't coming home so this was a picture of relief.

Brenna showing Logan all the things he can get her for Christmas.

Dad just really excited

Homemade pumpkin pie from Halloween pumpkins

Fresh whipped cream

Sarah somehow looks more pregnant than Em or me

Beautiful Thanksgiving weather and lots of time to be with people we love made this year's holiday wonderful for us. Emily set an amazing table, everyone helped with the food, and we ran a turkey trot and the husbands did a 56 mile bike ride as well. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it is truly about being together and doesn't have as much stress as some other holidays do.

I couldn't help but think about this time last year when Nick and I hosted our first Thanksgiving dinner at our house in South Jordan and then went with both of our families to temple square to see the Christmas lights. Some of the pictures from last year made me laugh and some made me cry. I've included a few of them here because I did not post any of them last year:

A mix of Charitons, Hamlers, Gogartys, Madsens

Billy, Brenna, and Grandpa hiding under the table

I am grateful for:

Forever families

Nick, Brenna, and a new baby coming our way

a loving Heavenly Father who takes such good care of our family

and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

A million and one other things come to mind, but these are the most important.

Just the Girls

2010-11-28T22:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the fun things you can do when you live near (or with) your best sisters and best mom.

Run Races (and hold up how many months pregnant you are).

And go to a carnival after.

Wear matching shirts in a race.

And again show how pregnant you are.

Place in all our age divisions and win pottery.

Dress up and have a tea party (and bust the button on your shirt because you are so pregnant).

And I am sure we will think up lots of other fun things in the months to come.

7 States in 2 Weeks: What We're Doing During Winter Vacation

2010-11-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

View Larger Map

What this map does not show is the quick plane ride we will also be taking from Las Vegas to Twin Falls, ID to see Grandma Chariton and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Haney. We're going to see Great-Grandma and Grandpa Gogarty in St. George, the Gogarty clan in Oceanside, the Lewis family in Phoenix, and Jeff Palmer in Albuquerque. We are looking forward to being with so many loved ones during the holiday season.

Callings

2010-11-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

I don't think I wrote about this before, but with our new move to Pueblo came new callings in the church. Nick is the assistant ward clerk, and I am the 2nd counselor in Young Women's. Nick's responsibilities fall mostly after church on Sundays which is great because of his school schedule. As for me, being in Young Women is honestly the most time consuming, and I would even say draining calling I have ever had. Wednesday nights after a full day of work at the school and mommying I need to be enthusiastic and energetic about things like "Glow in the Dark Volleyball" which I probably would not have even liked when I was in YWs myself, but at least I had energy to spare back then. Also preparing a lesson almost every Sunday is time consuming, and then there are all the girls that aren't coming or who are having a difficult time about who I am constantly wondering or trying to stop by and visit. Thankfully the young women I get to be with are wonderful, and I am also loving working on personal progress a second time around. I have had a lot of wonderful memories of my time in YW while beginning to serve in this calling, and I have to say THANK YOU to all my YW leaders. I had no clue what you were giving up and putting in all those years just because you loved me. I love each of you!

Happy Halloween 2010!

2010-10-31T19:45:00.002-06:00

Brenna and Nick pick out the perfect pumpkin.

Uncle Justin got us all together to carve pumpkins.

Brenna wanted a "my size" pumpkin.

Nick playing games while Brenna gets the job done.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM YOUR

FAVORITE FAMILY OF INSECTS !

Pueblo has a Children's Museum

2010-10-11T12:22:00.000-06:00

We spent the afternoon the other day at the Buell Children's Museum, and I was very impressed. Of course I forgot my camera, so the only pictures taken were by my friend's camera. For the price of admission the exhibits were excellent. We've been to the Denver Children's museum and with their high admission prices, we expected quite bit more. This exceeded our expectations. We are gradually finding out that Pueblo has a lot of hidden treasures.

Admission to the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center and Buell Children’s Museum is $4 for adults and $3 for children. Children 3 and under are free.

Trained!

2010-10-09T09:00:00.000-06:00

I know no one cares about this except for those who don't have to change her diapers anymore, but Brenna is completely potty trained! We had started working on it before we began traveling this summer and then all that training went down the toilet, so to speak, when life went crazy. Once were back into our routine here in Colorado, it took her less than a week and she is even waking up from nighttime and naptime dry too. Only downside was the other night when she woke up at 4:00 AM needing to go potty.

Pretty often when she's done going she'll come running out and expect everyone that's home to clap and cheer for her: Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Logan, Aunt Sarah, Mom, and Dad and any visitors. One time Grandpa wasn't cheering loudly enough, and boy did Brenna let him have it. The kid thinks every bowel movement needs a complete cheering section, but at least she's got it!

You've had a Birthday shout hurray! (Nick)

2010-10-06T14:48:00.000-06:00

Nick turned 29 on Wednesday, September 22, 2010. I gave him a list of 29 things he had to do that day, such as eat chocolate, take a nap, and go out to dinner with me. My mom made him fruit pizza for his birthday cake and babysat Brenna so we could go out to a quiet dinner at DC's on B Street (if anyone is ever visiting us in Pueblo we will likely go here because it is yummy). He wore his dad's cowboy boots and I actually wore heels, and it was so nice to sit and visit over good food, reminiscing about the past year of our lives.

Brenna helped hide all his presents and decorate the fruit pizza while we were out. She insisted on wearing "a party dress" too. Pretty thrilled when we walked in the door, she promptly showed her dad where all the presents were hidden. He has not had time to even enjoy his gifts because he is so busy studying but he got "The Hunger Games" trilogy. Awesome books, if you haven't heard of them, we highly recommend all three!

More Exciting News

2010-10-05T14:05:00.000-06:00

The "About 211 days to go" part of this ticker makes me feel ill because being pregnant is not my favorite thing, but we are excited. And this time we are waiting to find out if it is a boy or a girl.

Fall = Football

2010-10-05T13:21:00.001-06:00

Brenna the CHEERleader. We sat right in front of them at the game.

Cosmo the Cougar even poked her and she didn't stop talking about for weeks afterward.

BYU didn't play well against Air Force, but we still had fun. And on the way home dad decided he, I mean Brenna, needed a Mr. Potato head family. They played with it all afternoon.

Where We are Living: PUEBLO & What We are Doing: SCHOOL

2010-10-05T12:06:00.002-06:00

My mom insisted on a first day of school picture since we are all living at her house we complied.

When came home to Colorado at the end of the summer it was to Pueblo and not to Parker. I'd been waiting to write about our recent decisions and the move on the blog because you never know who will find out stuff once it's on the internet, and Nick had not yet told his work that he was quitting. He ended up calling them from Coeur d'Alene and had every intention of giving them two weeks notice, but under the circumstances, they were considerate enough to let him use up his remaining vacation and just come in for a few hours to wrap up when we returned to the state.

Exactly 6 months ago we were at my parents' for conference weekend and began visiting with their neighbors, Holly & Cory. Cory also happens to be the bishop of their ward and an optometrist. Usually when you talk with someone about their work you are being politely interested, but when Cory visited with us about his work it was like a light bulb flashed on over BOTH of our heads. That doesn't happen every day where you both think the exact same thing the same time. On the way home we decided to look into optometry schooling. The more we looked at it the more it felt right and made a lot of sense to both of us. We prayed about it and researched our options as much as we could and had a feeling of "Go ahead! Move forward." We were about to have an offer on a house go through in Parker and were thankfully able to back out without losing our earnest money because of a change that needed to be made in the contract. Our Realtor (my Aunt) called a day or two after we started making this big decision and the timing felt heaven sent.

Nick had a good job, but we'd increasingly been wondering where his career would be headed if he wasn't willing to work 70+ hours a week. The more he gave, the more they expected, and if he did get promoted it would not only mean more hours, but also more out of town responsibilities away from our family.We wondered if that was what we wanted to be "looking forward" to.

After we made the decision for him to go back to school, incredibly everything fell into place. My parents agreed to have us live in their basement, less than 2 miles from CSU-Pueblo, the least expensive state university in Colorado. Nick was able to enroll full time to begin working on his prerequisites and pay resident tuition because of the amount of time he'd been working already in the state. He has about a year now before he will take the Optometry Admissions Test and apply for schools. Optometry school takes four years, and we figure we'll be turning 34-35 either way. I also began teaching writing again, now at CSU-P and substitute in the ESL department. Really it's been amazing how we've been blessed to be able to do this, and we've enjoyed the change.

Logan decided to stay home from BYU-I this semester and join the party, and he and Sarah both decided to attend CSU-P as well this semester. Every storage closet and bedroom is full, but we are having a wonderful time being together. As of this next Monday Em & Justin will be residing in Colorado Springs as well when Justin begins his new assignment at the Air Force Academy. And my parents thought things were quieting down!

Here's a few of the things we've done since moving to Pueblo that I actually got the camera out for:

Brenna's best Parker buds Eli & Isaac came to visit.

Camping at San Isabel with new friends.

Halle & Brenna

Hiking Wachob Trail with the family and enjoying the changing Aspens.

The Rest of Our Summer in Coeur d'Alene

2010-10-04T14:08:00.001-06:00

While everyone was able to stay around for another week, we were grateful to all be together. We even spent an evening going back down to Honeysuckle beach as a family.

The day after the funeral everyone pulled out of town except for Brad and Ari, who live in Spokane, and Nick and I were also able to stay. We had plans to work hard help mom get ready to move out of her house. Brenna was pretty upset when she realized that her cousins were not coming back to the house. She loved being with all of the every day, and they are such great kids.

Jarom, Cole, and Brenna

Sweet baby Camrie

Gabe & Amy get ready to head to Utah

Jess & Josh prepare the van to head for Arizona

Hunter & Jenna

It was too quiet after everyone left. The noise and amount of people almost made you crazy when we were all together every day for two weeks straight, but then when they were all gone it broke your heart. So Brad, Ari, Parker, Brooke, Nick, Brenna, and I all went to hike Tubbs and swim at Lake Coeur d'Alene.

Brenna and Parker are two peas in a pod!

Uncle Brad takes them swimming

This is how they helped with the three day estate sale we held.

They almost look like little twins with those crazy wigs!

Thankfully Aunt Sunni was able to come back from Seattle for a few days to help and be with us.

This is what cleaning out the garage looked like on day 1. By the time Nick was done with it, there was not a speck of dust or a stray tool anywhere. I think it was one thing he felt like he could do to help his dad out, and like everything Nick does, he did it with great care and attention to detail.

Brenna directing traffic while the rest of worked our tails off.

And here is one amazing woman.

Her faith and trust in God never wavers, and she refuses to be bitter about anything. She offers a strong foundation on which the rest of us can rely, and I am so grateful for her loving and Christlike example.

Saying goodbye to Honeysuckle Beach

We were able to accomplish miracles in the couple of weeks we stayed to help in Coeur d'Alene. I think we were all blessed with strength and organization skills beyond our natural abilities. Every day we were so grateful to be there together and that Brooke was not there doing it by herself. And doing that work, I think really helped us with the grieving process. You feel so helpless when something like this happens, but the more you can be involved and work at something, the more you feel like life will keep going. When we pulled out of Coeur d'Alene at the end of August it was a good thing we were in such a huge hurry and running late to get on the road to Utah because I think it otherwise would have been too hard to leave the place.

Coeur d'Alene Continued

2010-10-03T22:51:00.000-06:00

While Nick and I had been staying at the Mt. Carrol house in Coeur d'Alene, we had risen early almost every day to either run or ride the short 3 miles to Honeysuckle and enjoy the lake in the quiet early morning. One of the most peaceful ways to begin a morning is floating out on the lake in cold clear water. We would take turns with Brenna playing on the beach or sometimes all go out together to swim. The lake is spectacular when it is quiet and no one is out yet. Mt. Carrol St. is also a beautiful place because many of the homes are older, sitting on lots of acreage with mature trees and well kept yards. There are vegetable gardens and flower gardens and even some horses and deer out in the pastures. One thoughtful person must have sprinkled handfuls of wildflower seeds along their fence. I would look for that spot along the road every day, a reminder that God loves us. If we were driving past it, I would make Nick slow down. These quiet mornings together were wonderful and then we go have breakfast with everyone at the other house and begin the day being busy and having fun with family.

A little over two months ago yesterday morning on July 31st Nick, Jess Lewis, and I woke up early before any of our kids and hopped on our bikes to ride down Mt. Carrol to the Hayden View Triathlon at Honeysuckle Beach. Honeysuckle Beach sits on the shore of Hayden Lake at the end of a pine tree lined road. It's a small beach with nice soft sand and a beautiful view out across the lake to the surrounding hills. There are docks placed in a U-shape off of the beach and you can swim inside of the docks on any given day. For the triathlon one of the sides had been taken out so that participants could swim all the way out into the lake and back to shore. When we arrived early that morning the wind had been blowing and the rain had just barely stopped. The stormy morning had caused the water to have a few small whitecaps. The race announcer kept joking about putting sails on our backs instead of swimming.

Nick and I stood around in the transition area with Jess and dad readying all of our race supplies, bikes, helmets, running shoes, and wet suits. The weather began to calm down a bit. Jess was only 8 weeks out from just having Camrie and the athletic girl she is she had decided to jump in and keep her dad company in the race last minute. We joked and visited and looked out at the lake. I remember thinking dad looked a little nervous, but who wouldn't for the very first triathlon? No one was more prepared than he was. The previous week he and Nick had met one morning at 5:30 AM to swim down in the lake and then ride bikes home together. For Nick this is a treasured memory and he is so grateful he got up that morning and was just there. In the week after dad's death, when we would go down to the lake early in the morning, Nick would say how he just wanted to see him down there swimming back and forth.

This is something dad had been doing many mornings before work, riding the 5 miles down to the lake swimming the race distance or more and then riding home. Nick and I had cracked up one day when we were wondering out loud how far it was to swim a mile by going back and forth between the docks and Les said, "Oh it's 14 lengths. I took the tape measure out and strung it between the docks." We could just picture him out there doing that because he wanted to be sure he was preparing to swim the right distance and not short cutting anything. For the months before the race we had often visited by phone, email, and our favorite, skype, to discuss details of triathlon racing and preparation. Those conversations were a lot of fun for all of us. He was working so hard. On one evening the week before the race dad had also taken Nick and me on the bike course to show us where we would be going, a beautiful ride up and around the lake. He was leading us and in great shape getting up the steep climbs on the bike.

After the pre-race meeting, Nick and I headed to the water to take off with the first group. We'd talked with dad about it months before when we signed up and he assured us he did not want us hanging back or doing the race any differently, especially not to wait for him. In fact I know him well enough to know that kind of thing would've driven him crazy because he would push himself and do it well, but it would be in his own way and at his own speed. We'd decided us going ahead would be best so he wouldn't feel any pressure from us at all. I am so grateful Jess signed up last minute and was there with him at the start line standing there in the water together. I think about that all the time. When I said goodbye to him it was a hug around the shoulder and "Good luck." I told dad good luck back and that I'd see him at the finish.

I remember being in the water with Nick, kissing him goodbye and then having one of the best swims of my life in the middle of a pack of very aggressive men competitors. I was swimming so hard to get out of the middle of them, and I was hoping it would not be that tightly packed for Jess and dad. I ran right past Brooke and Shane on the beach and they yelled and cheered for me. I then went on to the bike course and also had an amazingly fast ride. I passed Nick coming back from his bike near the turn around and cheered him on. By this time dad was getting pulled out of the water by a kayaker. I like to think though that his spirit was gone in the water. He grew up swimming in that lake and loved to swim. He was good at it too. Floating out in that water is so peaceful and heaven feels pretty near. I'm sure he didn't want to leave all of us, but learned it was time to go and went. I also like to think about his spirit watching over Nick, Jess, and I as we rode out on our bikes, him knowing he would not finish that race, but being able to see each of us, and saying goodbye to us quietly as we flew down and up the hills. Now a part of me wonders if I did so well not because of me at all, but so I could get back to the beach in time to be there before Brooke and Shane were gone to the hospital.

When I came into the transition area, the first thing I saw was an ambulance just turning on its lights and leaving. For some reason I just knew and felt sick in my heart. I left my bike racked and ran to ask any volunteers I found if the person in the ambulance was "a man? a woman? young? old?" Nobody could tell me anything except that swimmer had heart trouble. I then ran right into Brooke and Shane hurrying up from the beach and as soon as I saw their faces I was even more certain. They were headed to the hospital. I'm sure a part of all of wanted to believe everything would be just fine, we'd get there and they'd work on him and it would be ok. Another part of us, well at least me, almost could feel like he was already gone, even though I hadn't seen what he looked like when they brought him out of the water. I wondered why none of us had felt like we should tell him not to race, or why we hadn't stayed with him in the water. All these things raced through my mind. I wanted to find Nick right away and at first hopped on my bike to go out on the run course, but I caught up to Brooke trying to get to her car, and she asked me to wait for Nick and Jess and let them know to come to the hospital. So I thought my time was better spent gathering our things and finding a ride back to house with all our bikes since we had ridden to the lake that morning.

I kept alternating between a strange rational calm and shaking and sobbing while I packed dad's, Nick, and Jess's race bags. I threw in someone else's Keen sandals on accident. I hope they got them back eventually. As I was packing, the kayaker who had pulled Les out of the water came up to me and gave me a hug, told me that he had been swimming slowly and everyone else had gone ahead. The patrol asked him if he was alright and he said, "Yeah I'm ok." and about 7 strokes later he went under, but they had him out quickly because they were right there. This woman gave me a big hug and just said, "It's going to be alright." And for some reason when she said that I thought Yeah, even if he is gone, we will be alright. Even though this is awful, we'll be alright and he's alright. She didn't give me any false hope. I think she knew it was bad. Meanwhile I had somehow recalled Jess & Nick's race numbers and found us a ride. Nick came sprinting into the finish, and right after that I turned around only to discover Jess sitting on the ground near our bikes crying. She'd seen her dad's bike still there and someone had told Nick at the finish. We hurried home saying a prayer in the car we were riding in and I remember a feeling of calm after that. Nick and Jess raced off to the hospital and I stayed with the kids at the house. It's a good thing the sitters stuck around because I was completely useless. I just cleaned and that was all could think to do for some reason.

When I didn't get a phone call from Nick, but heard him come home I knew. I heard him come in the house. I saw Gabe's face, and then Nick told me out loud that dad was gone. We went back over to the hospital and said goodbye before they took his body away. When we were out in public that afternoon I remember thinking if other people could tell at all that we were in shock. That night we were supposed to have celebrated his 60th birthday as a family and none of us had eaten all day long. You feel so strange eating or doing anything that is so alive when someone you love isn't there anymore to do that with you. And grief is exhausting in every way. We grilled steaks and had his birthday cake and just missed him being there so terribly. At night Nick and I laid in bed and cried and held each other. I wanted to know why he didn't get to finish that race. I wanted to be sitting there as a family and celebrating with him. I wanted to hear Brenna yell, "Papa!" and run to be on his lap. And hear his deep laugh or gruff but only in teasing voice he would use with the grandkids. I missed him, yes, but a huge part of my grief was for Nick and his siblings, being without their amazing dad to visit and counsel with and for Brenna and her cousins, who love their Grandpa so much that they always wants to be right by him if he is anywhere in the room, and especially for Brooke, who was the only half left of an amazing team and marriage, their greatest gift and legacy left to us their children.

Thankfully the next day was fast Sunday. Nick and I were up early and the first thing we did was go down to Honeysuckle and sit and look out across the water. We agreed that we could not think of a more peaceful and lovely place to move on from this life. To us it also felt like a sacred place, and I think it always will. I'd rather go there than to the cemetery to remember dad. We felt close to him, and we also felt a reassurance that it was his time to go and be back with Heavenly Father. We were grateful he wasn't on life support in the hospital, not really there, but just hanging on because of machines. We were grateful to be there together as a family and with Brooke Sometimes in the following weeks it was so comforting to feel his spirit so near, but then extra difficult to not be able to see or hear him when I was so sure he was right there with us. Spiritually and physically exhausted, the whole family went to church together. Some people in the ward expressed surprise that we would show up, but there where else would we go? We needed comfort and strength, and from the first opening hymn, Nick and I truly felt both.The grief still surfaced here and there, but underneath it there was a sure knowledge of where dad's spirit was and a feeling of joy and even relief for him because his life was in such a good place when he left it. He was a master of himself and a disciple of Christ. And we also felt an overwhelming feeling of love from the Savior, a whisper almost that we needed to trust God that this was His will, His way, and His timing.

After he was gone we saw all the recent things that had happened as such precious gifts: the previous week of making wonderful family memories and all being together, even Gabe & Amy coming those few days early, the family photos, even the fact that we could all stay one more unplanned week to be with Brooke and make funeral arrangements. Nick and I even realized that his not being able to get the time off for Utah was a blessing because now we could stay even longer after the funeral when everyone else had to go home and continue to help his mom.

The church was amazing because they fed all 10 of us adults and all our kids almost every night that week. The nicest thing they did for us was take our kids a few mornings that week so we could have some quiet with just the adults to prepare the talks for the funeral and make arrangements and plans together. I was so grateful for the support and strength the ward provided. We felt incredibly loved and cared for every single day. I hope I can go back sometime and thank those amazing people.

The grandkids asked for him and missed him, but they kept life going. Kids don't let you stop and feel sorry for yourself for long. One day Brenna asked me where grandpa was and I told her she was heaven, but I was crying when I told her. She asked, "Mommy are you hurt?" and I said, "No, just in my heart." and I put my hand over my heart. She then bent down her little head and kissed my heart and said, "Grandpa is in heaven!" like Why would you be sad about something like that mom? Heaven is such a great place! Ember asked her mom and dad if Grandpa was going to be gone for a long time, "Even longer than a week?" and Jarom asked, "Why can't Grandma go with him?" We hope Heavenly Father knows how much we still need her here, especially with Grandpa gone.

The amazing part about this is how much it deepened our testimony of the gospel and our faith in the Savior. I love the plan of salvation and the knowledge that we will be resurrected, and that we can be with those we love after this life. Families are really forever. The temple has a new depth of meaning for me every time I attend now. I am more sure of these things I always knew, but know better now than I was before we lost someone we love so much. And I am more grateful.

Coeur d'Alene: Family Reunion

2010-09-30T22:41:00.002-06:00

On a Sunday evening, July 25th, three cars full of family pulled into the Chariton home in Sunshine Meadows at about the same time. Gabe and Amy had decided to arrive about 4 days ahead of schedule. Nick and I, Jess Lewis, and Brooke all had driven up from the Haney's that day. When we came through the front door, we could smell that Nick's dad had a huge pot of soup simmering on the stove waiting for our arrival. After all day in the car just snacking it was wonderful to come home to that! With a lot of the family together that evening it was fun to anticipate the week ahead of spending time together doing many of our favorite activities. I like to think about our next family reunion in heaven and how dad is there first again, just waiting on all of us to walk through the door. I'm sure there will be a quite similar feeling as there was that evening of all being right and peaceful simply because we were together and we could feel how excited he was for our arrival.

Most everyone stayed at Sunshine Meadows house that night, but Nick and I decided to go over to Grandma Chariton's old home on Mt. Carrol which Les had been renovating and preparing for him and Brooke to move into. Grandma Chariton had passed away in February, and the house was unrecognizable because of the all the work he had done. This home was the home Les had built with his dad, Cecil, and his brother, Larry and their family had lived in it for many years. Being there you can't help but think about Grandma & Grandpa Chariton. Nick has many fond memories of sleeping out on the deck or running around the backyard and climbing the huge trees. Many years there was a garden that took up a lot of the yard. Grandma Chariton had the bathroom done in pink and blue and lots of other things that had not changed for almost all the years she lived there.

Now we saw new wood floors, new carpet, paint, a completely remodeled and re-tiled bathroom all done with amazing craftsmanship. There was even a small room under the stairs where he had rigged lower light fixtures and dry-walled and painted just for the grandkids to have a little secret spot to play. Every bedroom had been immaculately prepared with a comfortable queen bed, chair, lamp and nightstand for the adult children to stay in during our family reunion. A few weeks later, one of the hardest moments for me was actually while I was unmaking all the beds and cleaning up the house after everyone had left. I could not stop picturing mom and dad going through all the preparations in anticipation of our arrival, and the excitement they felt knowing we were all going to be there together. You could tell they had made every detail just so for us because they love us. That day I also couldn't help but think about how hard Les had worked on every detail of the home to make it a beautiful place for Brooke and the rest of his family to gather. It broke my heart that we wouldn't be making future memories there. I cried while I ripped sheets off the beds.

After everything happened, Nick and I have often talked about how if his dad could've picked and chosen the last week of his life it likely would not have been any different than it was. We were together. We did things he loved and went to many of his favorite places in and around Coeur d'Alene where he grew up. We spent many of the afternoons at the beach at Coeur d'Alene Lakeand Hayden Lake and even had a huge picnic at Coeur d'Alene Lake. Several times that week I found myself looking around thinking I was so grateful to be part of such a fun and wonderful family.

Grandma and Brenna paddle out to the middle of the lake!

Fun with Cousins!

When Grandpa's around all the kids want to be right where he is.

When they weren't sitting on the hot tub to eat, they were swimming in it!

On Thursday night we drove way up into the mountains to the family's secret huckleberry picking spot. The drive took at least an hour and a half. Usually we come home with buckets loaded full of the small dark berries, but not this year. This year we were meant to just enjoy the view "on top of the world" as dad put it and each other's company. We found maybe 20 huckleberries total! Really strange. But we were glad we got to be there together one last time.

This is what you do when you go huckleberry picking and don't find any huckleberries. Stay WARM.

On Friday mom and dad had a special treat planned for us with some help from Jess and Ari. Because Jess was nursing and Ari's pregnant, they had volunteered to stay with all 7 of the youngest grandkids while the rest of us went gallivanting off to the river to do some rafting. How their day went with that many little ones is a whole other story. But the rest of us had a beautiful day being outside and watching some of the amazing scenery as we floated by. At one point dad asked Nick and I if we saw the family getting together, like we had done that week, every summer or at least every other summer. We both agreed that we hoped that would be the case. We knew by the way he brought it up that it was so important to him, and we were incredibly grateful that we'd all finally made it to a family reunion.

Friday, July 30th after river rafting the Clark Fork. A day we are grateful to have as a memory.

After pulling off the river and racing home to the kids, we all hurried to look presentable for family pictures. I remember Les asking Brooke in the truck on they way home if we really had to pack that much in to one day. Even the photographer asked us if we wanted to reschedule. But there was no time the next day and it was good that Brooke stuck to her guns, and we got these amazing family photos the night before dad passed away. When I look at these it reminds me of the day finally pausing so we could all sit there together as the sun set and how nice that was. Families are so important and you can't replace those times you get to be together with anything else in the world.

This family is forever.

The team

What a beautiful family!

And what an amazing man. We love you and are so grateful we belong to you for eternity.

Cracking up Cousins

2010-09-30T18:58:00.000-06:00

I forgot to include these in the Utah post, but these two are too cute not to show off. Brenna and Cannon had a great time eating Oreos and cracking up with each other in Provo Canyon while we visited with Gabe and Amy.

Great Grandma & Grandpa Haney's

2010-09-29T13:58:00.001-06:00

Look at this beautiful couple, would you believe they're both almost hitting 90? They've got more pizazz and spunk than most 20 year olds I know and are such a great example to their kids, grandkids, and even 40 something (think it's around that) GREAT grandkids. Jarom, Cole, Brenna, and Camrie sure had a good time visiting Great-Grandma and Grandpa Haney on our way up to Coeur d'Alene. Aunt Jess brought a slip in slide and even Nick and I put on our suits and slid across the backyard with all the kids. That was the most fun I'd had in awhile! Here are some quick shots before church:

We sure love you Grandma & Grandpa Haney. Visiting your home in southern Idaho is always one of the highlights of any road trip.Thanks for showing all of us how to "Be a Tiger!"

Return to Happy Valley

2010-09-28T10:50:00.000-06:00

After Nick completed the tri we were able to spend the weekend with him in Provo. Sunday he had to fly back to be in Denver by Monday morning because his work had been unwilling to give him more than one week off and we needed the one week for Idaho later. At first we were super bummed about this, but it turned out to be a huge blessing. As always Heavenly Father knows best and it's a good thing we don't always get what we want when we want it. We loved seeing friends and family in Utah and revisiting the days not so long ago when Nick was a student at BYU.

Once Nick flew out, Brenna and I stayed on to have a party all week with at the Cheney house! But first we visited our old home in Provo and spent time with Louise. Brenna calls he "Weeze" but Louise never seems to mind. It was so nice to spend time visiting with her and showing Brenna around her old neighborhood. We walked at the Provo temple a couple of times and even got to see how small our old apartment really is!

Brenna and Lousie are dear friends. Lousie even pushed Brenna in the walker. She still loved the swing set in the backyard. I told her about how when she was a baby not sleeping and screaming at night I would take her out to this swing set and rock her in the swing until she fell asleep.

Then we moved on to South Jordan where we visited Breydon and his mom Jennifer.

Katie and Joe who we used to rent from in South Jordan.

And we spent the rest of the week occupying Emily & Kieth Cheney's empty basement apartment and Brenna and Cyrus began to adore one another (when they weren't arguing over who got to sit in which chair, use a certain spoon, and drink out of a certain cup)

This is what happens when a two year old takes the picture.

BFFs since 2000.

Spending time in Utah made me think of all the things I miss about living there (in no particular order):

1. The nearness of the mountains

2. Seeing temples literally "dot the land"

3. Emily (yes Emily you made the list)

4. Hanging out with Gabe and Amy, Hunter, and watching Jenna, Ember, and Cannon grow up

5. Walking around Temple Square on a Sunday evening

6. Driving or riding bikes up Provo Canyon

7. Chocolate Malts at the charbroiled burger place in Provo

8. Red Mango Frozen Yogurt

and the number one thing I don't miss?

The insane drivers.

Nick triumphs at Escape from Scofield

2010-09-27T11:59:00.001-06:00

Nick completed his first half iron man at Scofield Reservior and state park on July 17th, 2010. He said it was hard, but he loved it. The altitude was at 7,600 ft in altitude and you could really feel it. I jumped in and did the sprint last minute. Thankfully my mom was there to play with Brenna. I did the sprint so I could be done by the time Nick and my dad got back from their long and grueling climb of a bike ride and watch the rest of their race. Scofield is probably one of the best swims that I have experienced. The lake is a perfect temperature and the water is clear and clean. The escape distance that Nick and my dad did is extra cool because the escapees get dropped off at an island in the middle of the reservoir and have to swim back. Here's my amazing husband after a 1.75 mile swim:

After climbing thousands of feet in elevation on his bike:

Post-race relief!

Now here's my dad:

If you look really closely in the background as he's finishing Brenna and I are chasing him.

Now here's what we did while we waited the 4 hours for them:

Brenna does her own race.

Brenna wearing her dad's medal.

If you look closely in the next photo you can see the island that dad and Nick swam back from between their heads:

Attempting to update our blog...

2010-09-26T18:47:00.001-06:00

I've been so overwhelmed with all of the changes and new adventures in our lives the past 3 months that I haven't even attempted to update our blog. I am going to begin today, but it may take me all week to catch up. I think if I try for one post a day for the rest of this week then I will be able to fill in most of the big blanks. I think of this blog as our family history, so when I don't keep it updated I feel like there will be a piece of our history missing. Some of these posts to come I am looking forward to because it will update everyone with all our big news and some of them are what have kept me from blogging at all. I just was not quite sure how to begin to write about some quite tender experiences we have recently had. But I am going to try. Here's a quick list (mostly so I don't forget anything) of what's to come:

1. Nick's 1st Half Ironman Triathlon in Scofield, UT
2. Brenna and me visiting friends in UT
3. Grandma & Grandpa Haney's in Twin Falls, ID
4. Coeur d'Alene
5. Our big change: what we are doing and where we are living now
6. BYU vs. Air Force football game
7. More exciting news
8. Nick's 29th Birthday
9. New callings

Some of the posts may be quite long, but I am determined to record what I can. Wish me luck!

Obituary: Leslie (Les) Clark Chariton, age 60

2010-08-03T14:30:00.000-06:00

Les passed away Saturday, July 31st, 2010 in Coeur d’Alene, ID. Born to Cecil and Laverne Chariton June 12th, 1950 in Coeur d’Alene, Les grew up swimming in the surrounding lakes, fishing, hunting, mushrooming, and huckleberry picking in the forests. A graduate of Coeur d’Alene High School, he also attended NIC and University of Idaho. Les loyally served his country in the Army for two years as a young man and in 1983 served as the President of the Idaho State Homebuilders Association. An Eagle Scout and active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than 30 years, he served faithfully in many church callings and continued to be an avid scouter leading the young men in his church. On May 19th, 1979 in Twin Falls he married Brooke Haney. They resided in Twin Falls, ID, Phoenix and Flagstaff, AZ and returned and for the last five years they lived in Coeur d’Alene where Les was most recently employed by Edwards Smith Construction. A hardworking man of great integrity, Les was an incredible builder, but his greatest accomplishments in this life were his loving marriage and sweet friendship with wife Brooke and the joy he experienced in the roles of father and grandfather. He is survived by his brother Larry (Syl) Chariton, sister Kathy (Steve) Bostwick, wife Brooke Chariton, children Shane Chariton, Sunni Chariton, Gabe (Amy) Chariton and their four children, Nick (Jessica) Chariton and their daughter, Jessica (Josh) Lewis and their three children, and Arianne (Brad) Onstot and their son. Viewings will be held Thursday, August 5th from 5-7 p.m. at Yates Funeral Home, Hayden Chapel and on Friday, August 6th, 2010 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the LDS church 2293 W. Hanley Coeur D’Alene, ID where the funeral service will also be held Friday August 6th, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. Graveside services will immediately follow the funeral at Coeur d’Alene Memorial Gardens Cemetery. Memorial donations can be made in Brooke Chariton’s name at Mountain West Bank by mail PO Box 2227 Hayden, Idaho 83835 or phone 208-772-0602.

4th of July

2010-07-11T18:09:00.000-06:00

Too tired from all the festivities.

Neighborhood friends visiting before th fireworks. When the fireworks actually started we had to run home because Brenna was crying so hard from fright. Guess we'll try again next year!

Happy Birthday to Brenna!

2010-07-11T17:58:00.001-06:00

Brenna had a wonderful birthday with a few of her favorite things: water, friends, pink cupcakes, and princess shoes!

Directing everyone as usual!Peeking into her presents.Money (That's actually what she said when she opened the card and check from Grandma & Grandpa Chariton)Pretty princess high heels and tiaras from mom and dad. Don't dad and grandpa look good?

Sharing a birthday with both Grandma Gogarty & Grandma Chariton makes July an extra special month. Last night before Brenna went to sleep she wanted me to sing "Happy Birthday to Brenna" instead of the usual "Rock-a-bye Brenna". Next year we may have to teach her that her birthday is not the whole month of July, but just one day in it!

Lake to Lake Olympic Tri in Loveland, CO

2010-06-27T18:13:00.002-06:00

This race started EARLY at 6:30 AM which meant that we had to arrive to set up around 5:15. You can see the sun still rising in the pictures even as we were exiting the swim. The Lake to Lake is one of the most well organized triathlons I have ever done. The bike racks were sturdy (often I've wondered if the race organizers use popsicle sticks to construct the bike racks), the port-a-potties plentiful, and the parking lot close to the transition area. They did the body marking for race numbers right as you brought your bike in so you didn't have to wait in any additional lines. Lots of things that have bugged me about other races were thought through and taken care of at this race. Keeping 850 participants all doing the olympic distance going in the right direction and safe was no small feat. Additionally, the course was fantastic.

Here I am trying to fight the wetsuit on.And this is my wave right before splashing in.The lake had a great entrance and exit for the swim, not too cold of a water temp. and because the whole race was olympic distance, you didn't have to wonder how many laps to do around the buoys-- everyone was doing the same 1500 meters. My one regret of the race was not warming up my swim more. It took me about 500 meters into the race to get into a good rhythm. And my swim to bike transition was a whopping 3 minutes. Super slow so I need to practice taking the wetsuit off more.

Leaving on the bike.

A BEAUTIFUL 30 miles later hopping off the bike (one of my most favorite rides I have ever done. There were several times when I wanted to yell, "YAHOOO" because it was so fun and so pretty).Running for what seemed like forever (but at least it felt shady and flat for a lot of the course) and ...

FINISHING!

3 hours and 13 minutes

Swim 35 minutes (a couple minutes of that was running 1/4 mile to the transition)

Transition 1 3:25 min.

Bike 1:36 hours

Transition 2 1:38 min.

Run 56 min.

And Brenna made a little friend.

Besides all the pictures of me racing I was wishing I would've taken a picture of Nick. He's the best, watching Brenna all morning, riding the bike with her in the trailer out to the middle of the run course so he could cheer me on right when it was the hottest made my race. He's my training partner, coach, and biggest fan and I couldn't have done it without him.

"I Love to See the Temple..."

2010-06-14T15:05:00.000-06:00

Brenna has been learning the song "I Love to See the Temple" in nursery every Sunday, and we also sing it at home after scriptures to practice. If you're familiar with the song (if not click on the title to play it) you know the lines: I love to see the temple. I'll go inside someday.

On Wednesday when we went to the temple for Em's wedding, I headed inside with Em to help her carry her things, and Brenna comes racing after me. She'd been saying the lines of the song ever since we were preparing to leave that morning, and I'm sure she thought, Here we are! I love to see the temple. I go inside someday! as we pulled into the parking lot and walked up the steps.

Well I was already in standing in the lobby with Em, Nick was chasing Brenna who was chasing me, and then the poor kid ran smack into the polished clean glass door of the temple and banged her nose. Causing quite the scene as she fell to the ground sobbing, Nick tried to explain to her that she couldn't go in the temple until she was older. But how do you explain "someday" to a two year old? Brenna just kept saying, "I go inside! I love to see temple!" through her tears.

I guess we taught her that primary song a little too well.

Emily & Justin's Wedding

2010-06-11T18:30:00.002-06:00

I wish I would have taken more pictures. Em was absolutely stunning. I made the flower that is in her hair and am very proud of myself because usually that kind of creativity-craftiness totally escapes me. Brenna called her "Princess Emily" all day. Being with our family and friends in the temple and then all afternoon up at Red Rocks was wonderful. I am so happy for my sister and excited to have Justin as a brother-in-law; he's an awesome guy, and he takes such good care of her that it makes me love him as a brother already.

More pictures that Grandpa Gogarty took of Em's wedding.

Steamboat Springs

2010-06-11T15:02:00.000-06:00

We had a two night stay in a condo at Steamboat Springs to use, and so we took a little family vacation. What a beautiful place! We went on a 25 mile bike ride on these rolling country roads, swam in the mineral hot springs, and ran up the mountain to the base of the ski resort. Brenna is such a good kid about being in the stroller/bike trailer for such long stretches. She has seen a lot of places for such a tiny kid! If you ever hit Steamboat we reccommend Winona's for breakfast and Mahogany Ridge for dinner. Both were decided on after much contemplation and each place passed the tasetbud test with flying colors. It was the perfect short and sweet getaway to begin our summer.

Oceanside

2010-06-11T14:54:00.000-06:00

This post is a little late, but Brenna and I got to go play on the beach in May with Grandma & Grandpa Gogarty. Brenna's favorite place is the beach and for a few weeks afterward she kept asking to go. I had to explain that we live very far away from the beach. I'm glad a third generation loves the beach.

Brenna Loves Shoes

2010-06-11T14:49:00.002-06:00

This is what I find little Brenna doing a lot of times: hiding in my closet, trying on shoes that are way too big for her, then hobbling down the hall in them.

BolderBoulder

2010-06-01T16:26:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we ran the race voted America's All Time Best 10k by Runner's World. And we didn't take a single photo, but we did have a great time. My cousin Bryan convinced Nick and me to give it a try. His lovely girlfriend Emily kept an eye on Brenna for us (Brenna loves "Emiwees" because she has a lot of great ones in her life). She waved an American flag for Memorial day and we ran. We ran it in 59 minutes which I felt great about with Nick, Bryan, and I sticking together the whole way. The crazy part was we had to walk at least 2.5 miles to even get to the start line, so it was more like a 10 mile day than a 10 kilometer day. Boulder is a beautiful place, and we thoroughly enjoyed the course with it's wide open streets and varied hills, the sideline bands, and the crazy spectators. It was almost like we weren't even working at running because we were so distracted by everything around us.

Jessica Jean Chariton
overall place: 13943
division: F28 division place: 187 out of 724
gender place: 4568 out of 25851
mile 1: 0:08:56.33
mile 2: 0:09:17.98
mile 3: 0:10:29.79
mile 4: 0:09:39.10
mile 5: 0:09:22.98
mile 6: 0:09:05.54
net time: 0:58:59.68
pace: 9:30 (based on net time)

Nick Jordan Chariton
overall place: 13944
division: M28 division place: 271 out of 509
gender place: 9374 out of 22554
mile 1: 0:08:55.53
mile 2: 0:09:19.49
mile 3: 0:10:29.04
mile 4: 0:09:39.08
mile 5: 0:09:22.54
mile 6: 0:09:05.84
net time: 0:58:59.73
pace: 9:30 (based on net time)

Happy Anniversary #3

2010-05-26T09:14:00.001-06:00

Yes we're a little more tired and we'd rather go to bed early than go out. But we'd rather be together than be anywhere else.

And no we haven't made our millions yet, but we'd never trade the richness of love and memories for anything else.

We're stronger, better looking, and a whole lot smarter than we were three years ago and the best part of it all has been getting there together.

To All Parents of Toddlers & Preschoolers

2010-05-02T17:02:00.001-06:00

My cousin posted this on her blog and it had Nick and I laughing so hard that I had to repost it for the benefit of any other parents. Thanks Christina!

Grandma & Grandpa Chariton Come to Visit!

2010-04-30T14:13:00.000-06:00

I wish I would have taken out the camera more, but we were having too much fun bike riding, playing at the park, swimming, and rolling around on the floor!

Brenna Likes Smoothies

2010-04-30T14:09:00.000-06:00

This pretty much sums up how I feel about the "climate change" debate

2010-04-15T19:28:00.000-06:00

Easter and Conference Weekend

2010-04-11T09:19:00.001-06:00

Because we have neither a TV nor cable, we spent the weekend of general conference and Easter at my mom and dad's. Brenna participated in her first Easter egg hunt and for the next two days repeated the word "egg" about a million times. Her other favorite word of the weekend was "cake" because she heard that it was my birthday.

In fact that is Brenna's new favorite thing to do. She hears us say a word and then she repeats it over and over until my brain is on overload. Grocery shopping about made me insane. I would say a word off of my list and then she would continue saying it until I said the next word.

Ummm, Nick sorry I didn't remember to buy you and Easter hat. I didn't know you wanted one!

The whole family together again (except for Justin)

Sarah's Birthday Party

My Grandpa Gogarty's Forwards

2010-04-10T21:39:00.000-06:00

My Grandpa Gogarty loves to send forwards. Sometimes they are educational, sometimes nostalgic, and sometimes they are just plain hilarious. This was one of my most recent favorites. Thanks for keeping me learning and laughing Grandpa!

Utah Census Form
1. (Given name)_____________________
2. (SURNAME)_____________________
3. Descendant of:
A. Brigham Young _____
B. Heber C. Kimball _____
C. Laman and Lemuel _____
D. Cain _____
4. Tribe of Israel : _____________________
5. Number of occupants residing in home in each category:
(Listed in chronological order)
A. Nursery _____
B. Junior Primary _____
C. Senior Primary _____
D. Young Women's _____
E. Young Men's _____
F. Relief Society _____
G. Elder _____
H. High Priest _____
6. Occupation [Please select all that apply.]:
A. Amway dealer _____
B. Shaklee dealer _____
C. Noni juice dealer _____
D. NuSkin dealer _____
E. Melaleuca dealer _____
7. Automobile:
A. Station Wagon _____
B. Van _____
C. Suburban _____
D. School Bus _____
E. BMW (Big Mormon Wagon) ________
8. Favorite place to eat the night before Fast Sunday:
A. Chuck-A-Rama _____
B. Hometown Buffet _____
C. Sumo Sam's All You Can Eat Feeding Trough _____
9. Favorite Hero:
A. Nephi _____
B. Abinadi _____
C. Samuel the Lamanite_____
D. Steve Young _____
E. Johnny Lingo _____
10. Which of the following do you bring to church [check all that apply.]:
A. Scriptures _____
B. Franklin Planner/ Daytimer _____
C. Pen/Pencil _____
D. Lifesavers/ Cheerios _____
E. Tic Tacs _____
F. Game Boy _____
G. Big Gulp _____
H. Cooler _____
I. Sony Walkman _____
J. TV Watch _____
K. All of the above _____
11. Do you prepare your church lessons:
A. A month in advance _____
B. A week in advance _____
C. While in the bathtub _____
D. While on the toilet _____
E. During Sacrament Meeting _____
F. Just wing it [according to the promptings of the Spirit]
12. Do you think pews should be permanently equipped with Big Gulp holders?: yes___ no ___
13. How many years has your family sat in the same place for Sacrament Meeting:
A. 10-20 years _____
B. 20-30 years _____
C. Over 3 generations _____
14. How much time does it take for you to fall asleep during a high council talk:
A. 1 minute _____
B. 1 second _____
C. 1/10th of a second _____
15. Which day of the month do you go home/visiting teaching:
A. 31st ______B. 30th ______C. 28th ______D. 29th ______
16. How many church basketball fights were you in last year:
A. 1-10 _____B. 10-20 _____C. 20-30 _____D. You'll have to ask my lawyer _____
17. Which of the following has been your most effective Family Home Evening:
A. Arguing about getting along
B. Having an opening and closing prayer with dinner
C. Gathering around the television to watch, "Dancing with the Stars?"
18. How many times a year do you make:
A. Green Jell-O salad _____B. Funeral potatoes _____
C. Cabbage and Top Ramen salad _____D. Turkey , cashews and grape-stuffed croissants_____
19. How many water-filled two-liter bottles do you own:
A. 1-2 thousand _____B. 2-3 thousand _____
C. 3-4 thousand _____D. Enough to fill the Great Salt Lake _____
20. Which of the following do you feel is the most secure facility in the nation:
A. Alcatraz B. Fort Knox C. Ward Libraries
21. How many structural engineers do you hire annually to insure you'll win the pinewood derby: _________
22. Keeping the Word of Wisdom in mind, how much of the following do you consume:
A. Chocolate: ___ pounds daily X 365 days annually= ____
B. Cola: ____gallons daily X 365 days annually = ____
23. If you had to choose between witnessing the Second Coming or attending a BYU/UofU football game, which would you choose?
A. Second Coming _____ B. Football game _____

Logan is home from his mission to Spain!

2010-03-26T10:35:00.003-06:00

So glad you are home brother! We sure missed you.

Brenna mostly stuck close to Grandpa. Not so sure about Uncle Logan yet, but soon they will be best buds.

Brenna's Best Friends

2010-03-26T10:32:00.001-06:00

Daddy

and Frannie

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T15:45:00.002-06:00

This is the Gogarty's traditional Irish meal:

3 lb. corned beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic minced
2 bay leaves
1 medium head cabbage cored and cut into wedges
1 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup prepared mustard
1 Tbsp horseradish

Place meat in large pan with onion, garlic, and bay leaves, add water until just covered cover with lid and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium low simmer for 1 hr. then drain. Cover with fresh water and cover with lid then simmer 2-3 hours until meat is tender. Remove meat from pan reserving liquid in pan, add cabbage to reserved liquid in pan and cook until tender.

Meanwhile mix syrup, mustard, and horseradish. place meat in a shallow baking pan, spoon 1/2 of syrup mixture over meat. Reserve remaining syrup for serving with meat.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until meat is well glazed, brushing frequently with remaining syrup mixture. Heat pan drippings; pour over meat and serve with cabbage.

Serve with creamed peas, carrots, and potatoes.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Nick is awesome!

2010-03-17T15:42:00.003-06:00

Last week Nick's old office in Utah called because they were in a bind. The guy he used to work with was stuck in Phildelphia (while his wife had their baby six weeks early), and a huge bid for the University of Utah was due in a couple of days. So Nick stayed late and took care of it, and the best part: He won the bid! Big job for ValleyCrest's Utah branch. I am proud of how hard he works and how he is such a team player.

Compassion

2010-03-17T15:38:00.002-06:00

Last week I had to get a minor surgical procedure done at the ob-gyn and it was not very fun. The after effects of the drugs they gave me were even less fun, so I was pretty sick for about 24 hours. Thankfully my mom came and helped with Brenna. On the second afternoon, my mom went out to run a few errands while Brenna took a nap, and Brenna woke up before mom made it back. She comes into my room, climbs up into my bed with me and begins to stroke my hair and say, "ok mom?" "Doctor hurts?" and gives me kisses and pats on the face. I didn't know that she was so aware of how crummy I was feeling. Her little hands, words, and kisses were so comforting to me. I love my Brenna.