I Hope They Call Me On A Mission

It has been a fairly slow week.  I spent the week in North Carolina working with my new boss and coworkers.  I really like Mooresville and told Jill that we will have to move.  She reminded me that we can't move and so we are staying put for a while.  Working with EnerBank North Carolina was fantastic.  We've been working together for a few years already and get along really well. Now we are all working as EnerBank employees.  

While in North Carolina I drove south to South Carolina so I can say I've been to that state.  Crossing the boarder and eating at Wendy's hardly qualifies as having "been" to South Carolina, but I'm going to count it.  Sure frosty's taste the same in all 50 states, but now I've eaten one in South Carolina and I can cross that state off of my list of state's I've visited.  5 states to go until I reach all 50!

Landon had his last basketball class this week.  He didn't really like it much so Jill's glad it's all behind him now.  In a few weeks Logan will begin Jr. Jazz basketball.  We have 6 kids from the neighborhood all on Logan's team and I'm going to officially begin my coaching career.  It's all for fun, and we are excited so many boys from his primary class are on his team.

Alyssa is rolling over now and really figuring out that she can reach for things with her hands. This week I brought her high chair up from the basement, she looks so small in it right now.

Saturday I mowed the lawn for hopefully the last time of the year.  The lawn wasn't so much long, rather I wanted to pick up the leaves with the mower.  As soon as I finished mowing, it began to snow.  We got about a  foot of snow which is a terrific 1st storm of the season.

The highlight of the week was Sunday's ward primary program.  Both grandma's and grandpa's come to see the boys perform, they are so supportave.  Logan knew all of the songs and he sang strong the entire program.  He was standing pretty close to the microphone so there were times everyone could really hear him belting out the songs.  Landon had a speaking part that he said into the microphone, "I can follow Jesus Christ's example by being quiet and going to church."  Logan sang a duet with his pal Hyrum.  Together they sang, "I hope they call me on a mission."  They nailed it and did a terrific job.  Many members of the ward all commented on how well Logan sang.

We look forward to Thanksgiving next week. We truly have much to be thankful for, 2010 has been a terrific year.

Happy 6th Birthday Logan

Birthday season is in full swing at our house. Yes we just celebrated Landon's birthday, my birthday, had a 10 year anniversary, and now we have Logan's 6th birthday. 

Logan is always so fun to buy things for.  He is always so grateful and just loves whatever we get him.  It's neat to see my son grow into such an independent young man.  He is the peacemaker in our house and loves to play and include everyone.  We bought him some Pokemon cards, something he has really been into thanks to his friends. He's been watching Super Hero Squad so we got some action figures from that show, some real tools just like the ones Landon got, and some clothes.

Jill really likes our children to wear nice clothes.  This of course isn't what the kids want to wear.  They would rather wear Transformer shoes, and Action Figure shirts.  For his Birthday we relented and gave in so he could wear something he likes to school every now and then.  

Rather than a friend party this year we opted for a smaller family gathering.  Our boys will always be forced to celebrate their birthdays together with the Bunkall's and the Bryant's.  It's so convenient and their Birthday's are so close together.  Jill prepared a tasty ravioli dish for both families.

Cousins Addison and Hudson got to sit with the birthday boys at the party table.

Of course the boys love present time.

Thanks to all the family who came to make the boys feel special on their birthday. For dessert Jill made a delicious birthday cake with a popular phrase from their show Super Hero Squad.  When there is a job to do they always so, "alright Squadies, it's time to Hero Up!"

 Other happenings this week include getting a text last Sunday from my brother telling me that he has received a new church calling.  He's now in the bishopric in his ward in Pleasant Grove.  Jake is an amazing man and I've been predicting it now for a while, so if has finally happened.  I'm sure it will change his already busy life in so many ways.  He will do a terrific job and I'm proud of him.  It sure is a sign that I'm getting older.

A philosophical thought I've been having of late has to do with time and space.  I have a theory that no matter the time, all 5 people who live in our home are no further away that a 5 foot radius.  It blows my mind that with separate bedrooms, a toy room, and a big family room, all 5 family members who reside in the home are all within such close proximity.  It's something I should count as a blessing because I'm sure in no time kids will want to be alone and away from their overbearing "mom and dad."  But for now it's exhausting.  I think I need a time out.

Now birthdays are over we are able to focus more on preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We've beautified our family room this week to finish it up for the beginning of Thanksgiving. Saturday was nice so I hung Christmas lights on the house, and with a few other preparations we look forward to having Thanksgiving and Christmas in our new home.

Decade of Decadence

November 11, 2000 Jill and I were married.  10 years later we are happier than ever.  With Grandma's funeral in Cedar City we used this trip as a way to celebrate how and where it all began.  Mom and Dad took the boys back to Salt Lake City, while Jill, Alyssa, and I first went to dinner at a stake house by our cabin.  Jill and I have eaten here a few times through the years and it's a place that's been a part of our 10 years of marriage so it seemed like a perfect restaurant for our 10 year anniversary dinner.

It was August of 2000 at the Bryce Canyon Rim Run that I proposed to Jill at Sunrise Point.  Of course it was at sunrise and I completely surprised Jill.  She had no idea a ring was coming, I had picked it out and blindsided her with a romantic proposal at this very bench.

Here is the view from that bench.  10 years ago it was at sunrise, this year didn't quite make it up that early, but it's still an amazing place. 

We walked around Bryce Canyon for a little while.  Because we had Alyssa we couldn't really hike, but were able to take in the beauty and remember how special that moment was 10 years ago.

Ruby's Inn is such an amazing place.  It was fun to walk around the shops and the hotel staff are all so friendly.  Every one of them wanted to see Alyssa and compliment us for making such pretty babies.

Driving home through Panguitch, we drove through this really cool tunnel.

Thursday we celebrated Landon's 4th birthday.  He was so excited.  Our boys are at such a fun selfish age, poor Logan sure was sad not to get any presents.

He "helped" as much as Landon would let him.

Landon always loves to help me with projects around the house.  He has had a fun set of play tools for a while, so for his birthday we decided to get him a set of real tools so he can help me even more around the house. We also got him a Super Hero Squad ship and some action figures from that T.V. show.  He still loves Pokemon so we got him some cards, and all in all it was a very fun birthday for him.  He picked out a dinner of chicken bbq sandwiches and we went to Wendy's that night for Frosty's.  Oh to be four again.

 

Grandma Bryant's Funeral

We began the week on a sad note attending Grandma Bryant's funeral.  Grandma passed away on a Thursday and her 2nd son Gary and his wife were leaving on a mission for the church the Monday of the funeral.  We attended their mission farewell on the same Sunday of Grandma's viewing.  Unfortunately Gary wasn't able to attend the Monday funeral.  Here is a picture with Grandma's sons, uncle Mike, Gary, and Dad. 

At the viewing before the funeral the boys found the nursery room and practiced public speaking.

The funeral was beautiful.  Cousin Colby filled in for his father and summed it up best.  "This would have been a very happy day for Grandma, Uncle Mike in a suite, George saying the prayer..." she would have very happy. There were some beautiful musical numbers, a duet of guitar and piano from Becky Jo and Kandis, and Jill played "Beyond the Sunset" on the piano, and some cousins sang.  Something I had learned was the Stake President gave Grandma a blessing and when he finished, Grandma said "well I guess I have 2 days left."  Neither Dad nor Uncle Mike had heard the Stake President say that in his blessing, and sure enough almost to the hour, Grandma passed away 2 days later.

The funeral was in Grandma's church in West Valley Utah, and we all drove to Cedar City for the internment.

Grandma had a lot of friends in Cedar City and there were a lot of people who attended the graveside service.

Grandma's brother Bud spoke about his sister.

Each brother had a few last words.

Grandma and Grandpa together forever.

The children got a bit restless and loved looking at the headstones in Cedar City's cemetery.

Grandma has meant a lot to me.  As her oldest grandchild I felt a special bond and I will miss her.