Made of Glass

So last weekend we had a huge ice storm come through. People were so concerned about it that they cancelled our classes at church (but not sacrament meeting when I had to speak... darn. Ha ha), Ben's work was shut down Monday, and schools were cancelled for Monday and Tuesday. It was pretty crazy. It rained like crazy Sunday and Monday and then everything froze. It was pretty incredible to see actually. I was just super grateful we didn't have to go anywhere. On Tuesday everything was still frozen. We're not talking just a little ice. Not ice on one side of things. We are talking about things outside being entirely encased in ice. They looked like glass sculptures. Down to the single individual blades of grass. I love how there are certain things in this world that still manage to seem otherworldly. When you stepped outside you could hear the ice creaking as the wind was blowing in the trees. It was beautiful. Just a type of beauty I enjoyed through the windows. (Except to get some pictures.) And now you can enjoy it too.

2016 Year in Review

Wow. What a year of changes 2016 was for us. We have had such a busy but good year.

January sent Ben and I to Nebraska to do some house hunting since we made the decision to accept a job transfer out there. Colson stayed with my parents and got to see some pretty cool ice castles. We also found out we were expecting our second child. Ben started working in Nebraska at the end of January and would stay for the work week and fly home on weekends.

 In February we got the chance to take Colson on his first sledding excursion. (And possibly last for quite a while. Nebraska is flat and so far snowless this winter.) We said goodbye to Logan and made our way halfway across the country to our new home in Grand Island, Nebraska. We unpacked and put together our house. I had my first doctors appointment and got our first pictures (ultrasound) of our baby.

March had us experiencing crazy weather mood swings and getting used to wind, wind wind. Lots of wind.  My parents, Hannah, and CJ came out to see us for Easter. Colson loved having family visit. Colson enjoyed a big backyard Easter egg hunt with our ward. He loved making new friends and has adjusted well to living in Nebraska.

In April we enjoyed splashing in rain puddles and going to the library. Colson even found some favorite books and does a pretty good job of telling the stories from them. We started to meet some backyard animals such as rabbits, ground squirrels, birds, and snakes, frogs, and toads. We also found out that our baby was going to be a boy!

In May we celebrated Mother's Day. We continued to enjoy our backyard. Ben built us a fire pit that we are really excited to use again. We loved setting up our kiddie pool to play in. Colson learned that he loves taking pictures with our camera. He also learned that he could use library books to learn about anything he wanted. Animals, weather, space, you name it. He would be curious and we would get a book. We also loved that we could go play at the park a lot.

June saw us venturing around Nebraska more and heading to see some sights in Omaha. We went to the zoo and the Mormon Trail Center and Winter Quarters Temple grounds. We loved seeing all the animals and learning a bit more about the Winter Quarters area and pioneers. We also did some fun at home science experiments and art projects and started our countdown chain for the baby. We also got to see fireflies for the first time! That is a super cool thing to see (And super hard to photograph).

Josh and Braden got to come see us in July in between Josh getting home from his mission and Braden leaving on his. We celebrated the 4th of July with them. Colson loved spending time with his uncles. We also got to celebrate Colson's 3rd birthday. He had a Mario cake and had lots of fun having his friends over for a party. We also started a Mom and Tots swimming class and we had so much fun at the pool.

In August we decided to finally get around to fixing up Hunter's room before he came. We pulled out the tile and put in carpet, painted the walls, and replaced the trim. It turned out super nice. Hunter decided to play a trick on us and I ended up in the hospital for overnight observation about 3 weeks before he was due. We went into full on prep mode so we would be ready for whenever he finally decided to show up. We got the chance to go to the Nebraska State Fair which is right here in town.

September. Hunter joined our family in September and he fit right in. We love that little boy so much. Ben's mom came out a few days before he was born and we were praying he would come while she was still here so she could meet him. Luckily he complied. She stayed to help for a week and then the day she left, my mom flew in to help out for a few weeks too. At the end of her stay, my dad, and Grandma Connie and Grandpa Brent came to meet Hunter. What a fun month getting to know our new family member.

October signaled the start of fall here. We enjoyed a ward activity at a scarecrow patch. Colson and I had fun learning to make butter. We enjoyed it on our homemade cornbread. Colson loves helping make cornbread and muffins. We decided to redo our room and Colson's room this month as well. That was a little crazy. But they turned out nice. Colson loved getting to have a backyard campout. We enjoyed getting ready for Halloween. We carved pumpkins and had fun dressing up. Colson was a cowboy, I was a mad scientist, and Hunter was a skeleton. Hunter got so big so fast.

November was a busy month for us. Not long after we had Hunter they did some combining and rearranging of our wards in the area. I was called into Young Womens and Ben was called as a clerk. Things in the ward were finally settling down and getting back to normal come November so that gave us plenty to do. We also loved going back to Utah to see family for Thanksgiving and to bless Hunter. We tried to see as many people as we could. We also enjoyed going hiking in Zions and visiting a children's museum while we were there.

December. Hunter turned 3 months old. He is growing so fast! I can't believe it. He has already more than doubled his birth weight. He is getting chunky. We loved getting ready for Christmas. Seeing lights, setting up the tree, listening to and singing Christmas music, making gingerbread men and sugar cookies, wrapping presents, making snowflakes and other Christmas crafts, telling the nativity story. I finished Hunter's stocking with some help so now we all have one. I love Christmas and carrying on traditions that Ben and I love. It was a great end to a great year.

We really enjoyed 2016. We have learned to love Nebraska. We have loved serving in the ward and working with the missionaries out here. If you can't tell it is hard for me to pick a favorite thing. I love something about every time of year and I am always excited get out and do things no matter the time or season. To get out and make memories. We are looking forward to another great year in 2017. Colson just started sunbeams in primary and he is excited for that. He is looking forward to starting preschool later this year. I am looking forward to him getting potty trained so he can go to preschool. Hunter is growing up so fast. He is looking forward to continuing to learn to roll (he is already doing that from back to front), sit, crawl, walk, run, talk, and play. He is such a happy baby. We are excited to use the new tent we got for Christmas (Thanks Mom and Dad!) to go camping and explore more of the Midwest. We love you all and hope you all had a great 2016 and have a great 2017 as well.