Seize the Day

 Remember those teenage obsessions we all had?  Well one of mine was the movie Newsies.  I went to the movie on opening night with my cousin Laura and sister Julia.  We LOVED it!  We got these newspapers from the theater with info about the movie and cast and lots of great pictures (and yes, I still have my copy).  I plastered my locker with these pictures so that I could see the cute boys every day at school.  I'm guessing I saw the movie at least 10 times in the theater.  I remember riding my bike with friends to Movies 8 so that we could see it there.  I might have even been one of those super annoying girls that let out a little yell when the cute boy did something especially great (in this case it was when Spot Conlon arrived and said "never fear, Brooklyn is here).  I bought the cassette tape and memorized all the songs.  I bought the piano book and learned to play Santa Fe on the piano.  And I don't know how many times I rented the movie from Blockbuster, but I'm guessing between me and my friends it was 10-20 times. Yes, I was obsessed, and luckily I had a cousin, sister, and friends that were obsessed too.  So when Laura called me up in January and told me she wanted to go to New York in April to see the Broadway production of Newsies, how could I say no?  I almost did, thinking that I would be a bit crazy to go with a newborn, but I just couldn't miss out on the fun, so we made reservations, bought tickets, and planned a cousins retreat in the big apple.

 I am so glad I said yes and packed up my 5 week old baby to go to NYC.  Newsies was awesome.  We went to the play the first day we were there and it was a highlight of the trip.  I was a little worried about how it could compare to the original, but it really was so great.  The singing and dancing was fabulous.  My favorite was the tap number they did to King of New York.  It was especially fun to see some of our favorite dancers from So You Think You Can Dance (Jess, Evan, Alex) in the play.    I loved it so much, I would be willing to pay to see it again.  A big Thank You to my aunt Jimae for watching Lexi so that I could go.

 On our second day in New York we went to a fancy restaurant that had cool names for their entrees like the one I shared with my table called the "wah-zah".  Then we rented bikes to explore Central Park.  We thought we would only go a few miles and be gone for an hour...but a few of us missed the turnoff we were supposed to take and ended up doing the entire 6 mile loop around the park.  There were some intense hills on the north end of the park that we mistakenly went to, so we enjoyed some good exercise.  We saw some famous landmarks including this fountain and pond where we sang "How Does He Know You Love Him" from Enchanted.  Lexi had a bit more relaxing afternoon riding with my Aunt Jimae in the pedicab.

 After the park we made a trip to the Apple Store and FAO Schwarz,

 where Julia tried on the sorting hat and hoped to be placed in Gryffindor.

 We headed back to Grand Central Station for dinner and then the hotel for some jewelry stamping, which led to a few mistakes and a lot of laughter.

 The next day we took a few subways to get over to the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge (Spot Conlon's territory).  We were hoping for the famous ice cream and pizza...but we were there a bit too early.  So we had to settle for taking some fun pictures.

 Isn't this picture awesome?  Thanks to my sister Julia for always being up for a good jumping shot.  She was definitely inspired by the Newsies.  Probably one of my favorite pics from the trip.

Then we walked across the bridge on a parkway above the cars.  It was a fun walk with great views of the city.

 Then we headed to Ground Zero to the 9/11 Memorial.  Behind us is the new World Trade Center building.

 This is one of two memorials that stand in the footprints of the twin towers.  They are huge fountains that run into a big deep hole in the middle.  All of the names of people who died are written around the edges of the two fountains.  It was a touching memorial to all those people who lost their lives that day.

 Then we hurried to Battery Park to take one of the last ferries of the day to Ellis Island.  We didn't stop at the Statue of Liberty since most of us had been there, but we got a good view of it as the ship went by.

 Then we headed to Little Italy for an authentic Italian dinner, complete with a pushy Italian waiter and delicious pastries for dessert.

 We finished off the night by going to Rockefeller Center where we saw the ice rink and the studio where they film the Today Show.

 The next day was our last day to spend in the city before we flew out that evening.  We had some good family time in the morning, went to the Natural History Museum, got lunch at the famous Shake Shack (delicious), did some souvenier shopping, and walked through Times Square.

 Lexi was a champ.  Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better traveling baby.  She slept for most of both flights, slept 7-8 hours at night, and was happy and content to be pushed around in the stroller or carried in the pack.  Thanks to my cousins for planning a great retreat with uplifiting devotionals, fun activites, and time to reminisce, share quotes and stories, and exchange some of our favorite things.  It was such a fun trip with some of my favorite people.  I'm already hoping we can do it again someday.

Spring!

We are so excited to welcome Spring weather.  In April I started to venture out a few times with a toddler and infant.  So far it hasn't been disastarous.  We like Costco best because the samples and books keep Brigham busy and I can sit both of them in the front seat.

 Lexi sleeps like a champ.  She is already sleeping 8-9 hours at night.  She takes lots of naps during the day, and as you can see from this picture, she can sleep anywhere.

 Brigham is also a great sleeper.  I went to switch the laundry and came back to find him like this when he was supposed to be eating lunch.  Apparently our outdoor adventures had worn him out.

 Brigham continues to be a great eater.  He will try anything and likes most things.  This time he was trying a raw potato while helping me make potato salad, and he didn't stop after one bite.

 He loves to lounge in his chair and watch a little bit of Monsters Inc. after a hard busy day.

 He loves the new farm puzzle that he got for Easter.  He only says a few words consistently (door, zebra, ball) but he is great at identifying animals in his books and making all sorts of animal sounds.

 He also loved looking for Easter eggs and shaking them to hear the jelly bean inside.

 For the first time in years we didn't go on a trip over Aaron's spring break.  We used the time to get projects done around the house.  We painted Lexi's room and started moving around furniture, including putting a regular bed in Brigham's room and moving him out of the crib.  It is one my mom's old bunk beds and has this great bar that goes on the side to keep him from rolling off (or escaping).

 We took Brigham to the farm at This is the Place State Park.  He absolutely loved it.  One of his favorite things was riding the pony. I thought he would be afraid but he laughed and smiled the whole time.

 He enjoyed interacting with his shadow and trying to move these big boulders.

 His favorite animal was this pig lying on the ground.  He kept going back to it and petting it.

 He also enjoyed the goats, lambs, chicks, ducklings, and baby bunnies.  The farm is great because they let the kids get in the pen and interact with the baby animals.  They let you hold the chicks, ducks, and bunnies so the kids can pet them and see them up close.  It was such a fun experience.  He kept running around to all the different animals and couldn't get enough.  He could have stayed there all day.

 He enjoyed playing in a spring rainstorm for the first time.  He enjoyed it so much that he found the place where it drips off the roof and kept walking under that spot so he could get even more wet.

He enjoys playing in the bathroom for some reason, probably because the doors are always shut at home so it is a rare treat for him to be able to go inside one.  Grandma let him out of her sight for a few minutes and this was the result.

 We made our annual trip to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point.  As always, it was beautiful.  Brigham's favorite part was the Secret Garden with the spraying water.

 Lexi just enjoyed being carried around and sleeping.

 Brigham fell down the stairs a few months ago before he had learned to go down them backwards.  Now he is super afraid stepping down.  Even if it is only an inch or so from one walking surface to the next, he will turn around and go down it backwards.  We were at the top of the hill by the waterfall at Thanksgiving Point and he wanted to get down to the water, so he turned around and crawled down the hill backwards.

 We love spending time with grandma and appreciate that she is brave enough to babysit all three of these kids (1 month old, 9 months old, and 19 months old) on Wednesday while parents are working.  They are sweet, but it can be a bit crazy to have all three of them together.

 I love, love, love these two cuties.  Brigham is getting better with Lexi.  He says "baby" and pats her head and giver her a pacifier when it falls out.  He looks concerned when she cries and shushes her and pushes her in the swing.  It is pretty cute to watch.  I am so lucky to spend my days with them.

The Little Lady

 Our little Lexi is such an angel. She is so calm and peaceful.  As you can tell from the pics, she is an awesome sleeper!  She sleeps during much of the day, and most of the night.  She has managed to sleep through Brigham's high pitched squeals of happiness and crying tantrums as well as the busy streets of New York.  We love her so much.  Here are a few of my favorite pics of her.

Grandma Bodell

My sweet grandma passed away on March 19.

      

It was fun for me to be able to look through many of her pictures as I created a slideshow for the viewing/funeral.  She was so beautiful.  I love this wedding picture of her and my grandpa.  They had such a short time together after they were married and before he had to leave for the war.  It reminds me of how hard that must of been on my grandma and how much she must have worried while he was away.  

 She was so kind and loving.  She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother.  For years she moved with my grandpa to many different homes as they built his construction business.  She raised eight kids and supported my grandpa as he worked and was a bishop (twice).  She spent much of her time worrying about her loved ones and doing what she could to take care of them.  

I loved to go and stay with my grandparents.  One of my favorite things to do with my grandma was listen to her tell stories.  Sometimes they were made up stories, but most often they were stories about her children.

 My grandma was a great example of someone who loved to learn.  She spent much of her free time reading and had an extensive collection of magazine articles and books that she had read.  She also made it a priority to be there for important milestones in her grandkids' lives whenever she could.

 In many ways it has been a long goodbye as she suffered from Alzheimer's for the last few years.  Over time she stopped talking and didn't appear to recognize many of her loved ones, but her eyes would light up when I brought Brigham to visit.  I'm so grateful for the time Brigham and I have had to visit her this last year.  She put up with him moving her bed and up and down.  She would look very concerned if he ever started to cry.  They took naps together.  They played peek-a-boo together.  On our last visit in early March she had been tired and quiet, but as we left and Brigham waved goodbye to her, she looked right at him and waved goodbye, something I hadn't seen her do in months.  It is such a sweet memory I have of our last visit.

 I am so grateful for my grandma for teaching me so many things through her example.  I'm grateful for her love and devotion to her family.  I think she is one of the biggest reasons that our family has been and continues to be so close.  She always made family a priority.

We were able to celebrate her life for a couple of days with friends and family.  It was fun to hear stories about her and share our memories.  It was hard to see my grandpa say goodbye and start to learn how to live without her by his side.  He has been sitting or lying next to her and holding her hand for much of the last year.  They are such an example to me of unselfish love and devotion.

 One of my favorite parts of the funeral was when my Aunt Jimae shared a poem my grandma wrote about the joys of motherhood.  I hadn't read it since becoming a mom, so it meant much more to me when I heard it this time.  I love reading it now and thinking about raising my own children.  I love you grandma!

You and I
As surely as I live I feel
That life can be so good
For those who know the blessings
And joys of motherhood.

When first I held you in my arms
And felt your baby skin,
I loved the way your fuzzy head
Fit underneath my chin.

I knew there must be more to this
Than just the toil and strife
When I tucked my finger in your fist
And you held on for life!

Your first time in the big bathtub
You looked so round and fat!
You kicked and splashed and swam away.
I couldn’t have missed that!

All during that first year with you
I really passed a test.
Of all the people in the world
You seemed to like me best.

You tried to walk, your hand in mine.
Your eyes with glory shone.
Then one day you let go of me
And tottered off alone.

Much later, when we took our walks,
You had so much to say.
You asked me all about the things
We saw along the way.

I still remember those bouquets
Of dandelions you brought.
“Which hand?” you’d ask, then hold them out,
(A proud and precious tot.)

One Sunday you stood up in church
To say a poem aloud.
I sat there in the audience,
And my, but I was proud!

Remember when you ran away?
I couldn’t reprimand!
You looked so small and helpless
With your suitcase in your hand,

As just inside the door you stood,
A haughty little elf;
So stubborn, and so willful, too,
And, oh, so like myself!

And when I tucked you in each night
And touched your tousled head,
I always was surprised to find
An angel in your bed!

That first day you went off to school
As if you hadn’t cared.
But that same day you sneaked right back.
“I’m homesick,” you declared.

How many things you seemed to learn!
How very fast you grew!
And just as surely as you did
Your world grew bigger, too.

It will be just as well
If you never know
How very, very hard it was
For me to let you go.

I haven’t been an opera star,
But memories I keep
Of times I sang you lullabies
Until you fell asleep.

If I said I was an artist,
The truth would be quite tainted,
But think of all the lovely pictures
You and I have painted.

I’ve made no contribution here
That man will eulogize.
I haven’t written any book;
But you’re my Nobel prize!

Inside me, ‘til the end of time
A special wish there’ll be:
That I can give you back the joy
That you have given me.