hApPy BiRtHdAy CaPtAiN!!

Captain Jack, Dad's little bear and Mom's cuddle, stink, or silly bug (depending on the circumstance)- just turned 1! We worry the next time we blink he'll be going into kindergarten! The past year has gone by too fast, but we have enjoyed every moment. Jack has brought us an increased amount of love, joy, and laughter. We love you so much little bug!

We've noticed Jack's little personality develop over the last year. He seems to be a happy, easy-going, fun-loving kiddo. He loves to interact with other people- everywhere! Whether we are at the grocery store, church, or at exercise class Jack knows how to get people's attention and make them smile. What a great quality! I think others will always been drawn to him because of this. My cuddle bug knows how to make me feel better on days when I'm stressed and how to make his dad laugh with his many different grunts and growls. The Captain is good at giving hugs and kisses. It makes us so happy to get a slobbery kiss on our cheek or tiny arms wrapped around our neck. 

Its true he is nearly 100% sweet, but lately Jack has got a bit of an attitude and temper. He seems to know what he wants or doesn't want and has figured out how to protest if it doesn't go his way. Jack is smart and witty too- He likes to play by the gate blocking the stairs, but knows its wrong. When we tell him "No Jack" he simply smiles and crawls away really fast trying not to let us catch him. Then looks back at us and laughs! Jack can say Da-Da-Da, Ma-Ma-Ma, Daw (which is dog), Mooo, and his own versions of ball and throw. He knows where people's nose, lips, eyes, and belly buttons are too. He is such a picky eater. Fruit, bread, yogurt, cereal and snacks are just about the only things he will eat. Balls are still his favorite things to play with. Heath taught him how to play pass and he loves it. Jack likes to brush his teeth and tries to brush his hair with my hair brush. He's got a lot of energy that keeps us on our toes!

For Jack's First Birthday we had a little party. Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa Bleazard, Grandma and Grandpa Lambert, Aunt Jamie and Uncle Keith, Aunt Heidi, cousins Landon, Kalli, Jake, Tanner, Brie, Easton, Mack, Ky, and Jarom, Great-Grandma and Grandpa Gundersen, and Uncle Zach Silva were all at the party. He was a popular kiddo that night. We opened presents and had cake and ice cream. Jack's cousins Jarom and Mack got more excited opening presents than he did. 

Jack's cake was too big of a project for me. I vowed never to do something that time-consuming again. I even simplified and didn't make the football I planned. But once it was finished I was happy with it. Thank goodness for my husband. There would not have been cake with out his help. 

Jack was confused when we set the cake in front of him. I don't think he realized he could eat it. After we cut open the baseball and gave him a nibble of it he dug right in. Scowls of confusion turned into smiles of a kid on a sugar-high. 

Thanks for being such a great kiddo! We LOVE you!!

hApPy BiRtHdAy!

Holidays with Family

We had a wonderful Christmas spent with our families. This last year I've become more and more grateful for Heavenly Father's wisdom in the purpose of the family. I feel incredibly blessed to have the family I do and to have married into a great family. I'm grateful for the privilege of being a mother. Within families we have opportunities to love, teach, give support, forgive- to become more Christlike. 

We spent Friday night before Christmas looking at the lights on Temple Square. How beautiful! The next day we had a fondu dinner at Heath's parents house. It was fun to see Jack with all his cousins. 14 grankids in all, and 16 by the end of July!

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was spent at my parents' house. All my sisters, except Hermana Lambert, were there. Having my nieces and nephew, Jed, Madi and Emily there made the entire holiday much more magical. Jack wasn't too sure what was going on, so we're counting on next year. 

I was eagerly waiting for the phone to ring all Christmas evening. Hearing Kristi's voice and all her experiences was a great present for us. When she comes back she'll have 3 new nieces or nephews! 

I'm so grateful to know families can be together forever. 

Merry Christmas and Good Bye 2012

2012 seemed to be a year of construction for us- physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual construction for our little family. So far all have been successful improvements.

The first construction of the year began on January 12, 2012, when our captain Jack became a new addition to our family. He has filled our life with so much joy! We love watching him grow and learn. Jack has an infectious smile and giggle, a fun-loving personality, and curiosity that keeps the house messy. Jack walks along furniture, loves playing with everything he shouldn’t, says da-da-da and ma-ma, and he knows where his nose is. Heavenly Father has put our hearts and spirits under construction, as Heath and I have learned the challenges and blessing of being parents. I’ve noticed we can better understand God’s divine qualities of love, sacrifice, and humility, as we become parents ourselves. No wonder families are central to His great Plan of Happiness!

Heath survived his first year of teaching Spanish at Hillcrest High School and is about half way through his second. Many people told us the first year of teaching can be rough- what a mental construction project for Heath. I think he learned a great deal of patience because several days of the year he would come home saying he felt like strangling a few of his not-so-mature students. I substituted at Hillcrest frequently before Jack was born and found out Heath is well respected and liked by the other staff and his students. No surprise there. Despite a rough season last spring, He really enjoys coaching the JV Baseball team. We’ll just say the Huskies have been going through some team rebuilding years… I was able to get on board coaching hurdles on the track team. It may be wrong to live vicariously through others, but I loved coaching something I can no longer do. It was an emotional “fix-it-up” project on a sore spot in my heart! It looks like I will be able to help with hurdles at Stansbury HS this spring as well. Go Stallions!

In April of 2012 we began looking into buying a home in Stansbury Park (near Grantsville and Tooele). After deciding building would be a smarter option for us, construction began mid-July. We coordinated with our builder to do some of the work ourselves. With the expertise help of our family and good friends, we successfully completed the roofing, electrical, tiling, hard wood floors, and painting. THANK YOU to everyone who helped us!!! What an exhausting adventure! I’m so glad we were able to be part of constructing the home where we will make great memories and raise our family. We moved in at the end of September and have found the construction projects never end with your own home. We love our neighborhood and ward. Everyone has made us feel so welcomed. I’ve had several experiences that reconfirmed to me this is where Heavenly Father wants us to be. 

We feel so blessed to have a home! It’s just the right size for now, and we have an unfinished basement when we need more room. That may be happening sooner than expected because our family will be expanding! Someone wiser than us wants two more little feet running across the carpet along side Jack. The estimated construction completion date is July 11, 2013. We couldn’t be happier! The week of Christmas I will be 12 weeks along. Because of its due date, Heath gave the baby the nickname Slurpee. We’ll let you know what flavor (boy or girl) when we find out!

We are grateful for the opportunities we’ve had in the last year to grow and change- to put our characters, our hearts, and spirits under construction so that we can become more like our Savior and accept His will. He provides this life with meaning and purpose. How grateful we are for Him and His Atonement. We hope you too can find ways to put yourself under construction to become more like him.

Merry Christmas!

A Sick Moo Cow

 This post is way over due... The Christmas spirit is in full swing, but I had to record Jack's first Halloween, even as uneventful as it was. Jack was a pretty sick with a yucky cold/cough. My little bug wasn't eating and not as giggly as usual. But for being sick he was still a fairly happy kiddo. We decorated our pumpkins following the theme of one of our favorite movies "Zorro". I loved how they turned out!

Of course Jack had to be a cow on his first Halloween. My mom found his cute costume. Heath was a little bothered he was a Holstein (milk cow) and not a Black Angus. (Surprised I know my cow breeds so well? haha). I had to remind Heath they don't make Black Angus cow costumes. At least I've never seen one... Holstein or not, Jack made for one cute moo cow. We made two stops to show off our little cow at Heath grandparents and parents' house. Then it was home to put our sick cow to bed.

Happy Halloween!!

My Big Boy's Birthday

I always get more excited about Heath's birthday than he does, and this year wasn't any different. I love planning something fun that I know he will enjoy (or hope he enjoys at least:) and my sister Bec got me hooked on making fun cakes. Heath's birthday theme was all about his boy-ish loves. Here's a review of our fun day.

At 2:30 when school got out Jack and I showed up at Hillcrest. I tied a happy birthday balloon to the back of Jack's pants and had him crawl into Heath's classroom by himself. I'm so sad I didn't get a picture of it, especially Heath's reaction. He looked so happy to see the Captain. Heath is such a great dad. Jack gets so excited when he comes home from work.

After taking care of some stuff in the classroom, we were off. First we picked up some burgers and fries at one of Heath's favorite places, Hires Big H. I think Heath has loved beef since before he could walk. Anything with beef is a favorite food- hamburgers, meatloaf, steak, ribs, roasts...We took them to Liberty Park and had a picnic. Delicious.

Next, Heath kicked my butt in the golf toss, one of our favorite yard games I brought. Of course I had to let Heath win on his birthday. He grew up playing in the back yard- baseball, pepper, football, croquet, bocci ball. You name it. Since we don't have a yard yet, a park was the next best thing. Jack was on Heath's team and they celebrated after their victory.

It was so fun to relax and play at the park. Jack loved the musical toys they have there. Crawling through tunnels was a big hit and we discovered Jack knows how to go down a slide by himself. He loved it! And Heath loved watching his little boy have so much fun. 

After we were all a bit chilly, we took off to pick up Heath's present. Home Depot provided him endless of options to choose from. Ever since we moved into our house, Heath comments that he needs some "man" tools to put in the garage. I thought I better help him grow up. His $30 shopping spree at Home Depot was like watching a little kid in a candy store. He paced up and down the tool isles several times. I frequently heard, "Oh wife, I need one these." or "This bla bla bla saw would be so nice to have." or "I should get me some of these bla bla blas...". I'm just glad we left with something. He was tempted to wait and think about what to get, which would have meant 2-3 more trips pacing the tools isles. 

I was trying to gently coax him to the check out line, because I knew he had something exciting waiting at home... We got home and usually Heath takes his time getting out of the car and I head into the house. This time I waited patiently and slowly unloaded our things from the car. He walked into the kitchen from the mud room and the noise errupted. "Surprise!!!" Heath's mom, dad, and most of our nieces and nephews on his side were there for the big surprise. We had a great time eating cake and ice cream. 

The inspiration for the Tractor Cake came from Heath's biggest passion in life- ranching. I didn't really want to make a cow, so this was the next best thing I could think of. We recently went into Cal-Ranch and spent about a half hour looking at all the toys. It was adorable how similar Heath and Jack's reactions were to the farm toys. Tractors, trucks, cows, panels, hay bales, horses, and much more got awe-struck "OOOoooo!" from Jack and Heath was close to drooling while saying, "Look little bear, it's a John Deere! We need one of those!" Heath has been a little cowboy ever since he was old enough to go feed the cows with his Grandpa Max. By the way things look Jack is going to be like his pops.

Happy Birthday Heath!

Thanks for being a wonderful father, husband, and friend. TQM.

Captain Jack's Log : 9-10 months

Our silly little Captain is 10 months. Time has gone by too fast! I thought I better record a few memories of him before I forget the changes he has made and he starts into new accomplishments.

Little Flirt 

That's exactly what Jack is- a flirt. Grocery stores seem to be his favorite place to give hi-5's, wave to strangers, and make any lady ooo and awe over him. We make half a dozen new friends when we go grocery shopping. Church is his second flirting spot. Its difficult for anyone sitting behind us to pay attention with Jackster playing peek-a-boo, grinning, or sharing his cheerios with them. 

Mom's Little Helper...

The Captain seems to think he needs to supervise everything I do- dishes, folding laundry, cooking, brushing teeth, doing my make up, sweeping the floor, exercising...the list can go on and on. One day I was cutting up broccoli and carrots for our trip to Lake Powell. Jack pulled up on my legs and bit my knees until I put him on the counter to "help". He is so curious about EVERYTHING. He thought he needed to taste test every veggie and he liked each one he picked up. Glad he likes his vegetables! Not so glad he likes my make-up...

Little Man on the Move...

Jack is all boy. It is a rare occasion for him to sit still. He pulls up on anything he can reach and is starting to walk along furniture. He is pretty proud of himself when he gets to walk with our help. Although he can crawl on his hands and knees, his preferred method of travel is the good old fashion army crawl because he can cruise around with his treasured ping pong ball or any other little toy. We don't understand why but he loves door knobs. Dogs and cats always get a "OOoooo!!!" And moving sprinklers with Heath while taking a ride in the hiking back pack always goes over well with the Captain. He loves playing chase, going to the park, being tickled, tossed in the air, and playing in the tub, and playing the guitar with Dad. Smacking his lips and clicking his tongue have been his latest tricks for the last few months. After making me think he would eat just about anything, Jack decided to throw me for a loop and refused all his favorite foods. Cereal, grapes, bananas, and fig newtons are the only things this stinker will eat lately!

Not So Little Smiles...

Jack has 8 teeth and working on his 9th. He's usually not afraid to show them off either and like to brush them daily. I can already tell he has a fun-loving personality. He makes anyone around happy. I feel so lucky to have Jack as my Captain. He keeps me smiling... and sweeping his crumbs off the floor. I'm grateful to have been entrusted with such a happy little kiddo. I can't imagine life without him. 

For the record: the Captain is still an avid thumb sucker and he no longer has to wear his helmet. 

More Lake Powell Fun

Besides intense Survivor Lake Powell competition there was of course a fishing competition. Keith with his spearfishing took the title of top fisherman. Way to go Bro.

Heath put up a good fight for the title. All the boys were jealous when he reeled in a good sized Walleye from the shore. He showed his naive-ness to fishing by saying- "I don't know what I caught- - a large mouth??" But all the other fishermen's jaws dropped. Walleye are quite sought after, mostly for their taste. .. . I think.  . . I'm not really into fishing, but the rest of my family still loves me. Needless to say Heath was envied by all. 

We also held the 4th Annual Jamie Hubbard Triathlon in honor of Jamie's birthday. We had loads of fun. Beach run, transition off the slide, swim and cliff jump. Happy Birthday Big J. 

Beach time was loved by all especially the kiddos. Jack ate handfuls of sand, we couldn't keep Emmers on the houseboat, and the salties built a traditional mini Lake Powell. 

Lizards were caught. Indian ruins explored. Babies were wide awake at night. Bocci ball was played.

I'll wrap up our trip with my all time favorites. Slalom skiing and cliff jumping. Lake Powell doesn't get better than this...

(Copywrite of pictures is owed my FROZEN IN TIME PHOTOGRAPHY. Any reproduction or duplication without written consent is prohibited. :) 

Thanks for taking so many great pics Bec!

Survivor Lake Powell 2012

After much persistence, my sisters and I convinced my parents our next family reunion needed to be at Lake Powell on the houseboat. Over UEA we all headed to Bullfrog Bay. Most of my favorite memories of vacations as a child are of being on the houseboat at Powell. There have been many trips with awful weather and problems. High-winds, boats coming off trailers, boats breaking down in the middle of the lake- just to name a few. I could see why my parents (especially my mom) were a little cautious about the idea. But this trip did not go down in the 'Book of Disastrous Trips to Powell'. In fact just the opposite. Beautiful weather, no boat issues, good fishing, and lots of friendly competition. All that was missing was Hermanita Lambert, but we all knew she is on a much more important fishing trip.

Survivor Lake Powell: Out Fish, Out Play, Out Compete.

All the brotha'-in-laws seem to think we are really competitive. They may be right because at each family reunion we have a friendly competition. Each family can score points through different games/challenges and the winners at the end of our get-to-together gets their name on the Lambert Family Reunion Rock and gets to keep it until the next year. Last year the Hubbards won and this year at Powell the Hatchs barely beat the Bleazards, who dominated until the last challenge. . . I'm not bitter.

     Sand Castle Building- Sponsored by the Swallows:

Each couple could earn cups to help them build a sand castle that touched a rope above. It wasn't much of a competition because we finished several minutes before any other couple. Domination.

     Family/Lake Powell Trivia- Sponsored by the Hatchs:

Teams were required to answer a series of questions about other family members and trivia about the lake. Needless to say we won. Domination.

     Lake Powell Map- Sponsored by Mom & Dad:

This was a good old memory game. Teams ran back and forth from an official map of Powell to their blank map, filling in as many names of canyons, bays, and land formations as they could in certain time limit. The Swallows outwit us, but I was happy with 2nd. Near Domination.

     Chubby Bunny Obstacle Course- Sponsored by the Bleazards:

Because we were in charge of this competition we didn't compete. Everyone would have been blown away if we did haha. Couples had to eat 2 jumbo marshmallows each, chug a cup of water, shimmy along the outside of the houseboat, go up to the top, off the slide, swim to a rope, dive down untie a sunken pop bottle, swim to shore, use the rope to do a three-legged race on the beach. Intense. Hubbards won.

     Fire Building-Sponsored by the Hubbards:

Here's where our domination goes down hill....couples had to build a fire with flames high enough to burn through a small rope hanging horizontally above. Keith taught us all how to build a fire using only materials from nature. This is the true Survivor skill. We had a bow, spindle, flint, tee pee etc etc. During practice time Heath and I got a fire going so I thought we wouldn't have trouble adding one more win to our score. When the real competition began, we choked. No ember, no flame, no fire, no win.

Congratulations Hatchs on being the Survivor Lake Powell champs.. Thank you for stealing our victory out from under us. Don't cover the rock with your name. Ours will be on it next year.