Happy Halloween!!

My best buddy, Aubrey is an Uber-talented photographer. You should most definitely go check her out here. She rocks my world, and decided to take the Lee Family out for a little Halloween fun. This year, Hazen was a Fire Station Dalmation, with his parents, the two Fire Fighters.



Please, look, enjoy, and then hire her. Or, wait in anticipation until December, when you see our family pictures!

Wednesday Cousin Outing!

Heather called me on Wednesday, and asked me if I'd like to start a new tradition: "Wednesday Cousin Outings!" So, we decided to go to "Max and Cheese" for lunch. It didn't open until much later than we thought, so we killed some time at a local nursery. Looks like a pumpkin patch, doesn't it? Sure wasn't, though!

Hazen thinks Max is hilarious. He's either picking on him, or laughing at everything he does. I like it better when he laughs.

Jason has a major issue with this...

So, other Jason thinks it's really funny to do things to potentially corrupt our child. Sunday was no exception. Aubrey and I were nearly rolling with laughter while my Jason sat on the couch, in the fetal position saying, "No, NO! Not my boy." I personally think that Hazen rocks the purple. Isn't he darling??

Tooting his Horn

So, I realized that I blog a crap-load about Hazen, and a pretty decent amount about myself. There's one intrinsic family member that I don't write NEARLY enough about.

He's cute, isn't he?

Anyhoo, I'm going to toot his horn for a minute or two. Beep, beep! First- the other day, we were driving home from a family outing. We noticed that there was some traffic, and lo and behold, right by our house, there was a major car accident! There was a truck that had flipped, and another car that was totally crunched. There wasn't any emergency personnel on scene yet, so the accident had just happened. We pulled over, and Jason hopped out, and jogged over to the scene. There was a woman there in scrubs, so he asked her if she was a nurse. She answered that she was just starting training to become a CNA....um. Great. So, Jason politely told her that it would probably be a good idea if he took over. It was so cool, as I sat in the car with Hazen; I told him that his Daddy was a hero, and that we needed to be so proud of him, because his job is to help people and save lives. I think that it's SO COOL!! Jason did his thing until the FD showed up, helped get the woman in the ambulance, and then hopped back in our car. Just another day on the job. What a stud. Aren't you jealous that I'm married to such a babe? You should be.

In other news...... about 1 month ago, Jason went up to Park City to test for their Fire Department. There was over 200 people there, and they sat for an aptitude test. Later that night, we got the phone call saying that he had passed the test, and was invited to come back the next day for a physical exam at 8,000 ft elevation!! Jason passed with flying colors, and along with 60 other people moved on to the Oral Boards. This was the round that both Jason and I thought he would struggle with the most, as he's a little quiet when you first meet him, and sometimes it's hard to really GET the essence of Jason in 5 minutes! Well, after 2 weeks of waiting, tonight we received the letter saying that he was one of the 20 people who were invited to go on 2 ten-hour ride-alongs in November. After the ride alongs, they'll cut it to the top 15, who will be invited for seasonal employment. In APRIL, they'll hire 8-10 people for a full-time slot on the Park City Fire Department. The odds at this point, are incredible. Even if Jason doesn't get the spot, I can't begin to say enough how proud I am of him. He works HARD at a full-time job, getting up every morning at 5:00 am, and not getting home until nearly 7 pm. He's starting nursing school oh....tomorrow, he works part-time for Pleasant Grove FD, and in the midst of this, he's an impeccable father, and the husband I always dreamed of. I'm not trying to "sugar coat" our lives- marriage is hard, and we see our fair share of trials on a daily basis, but I am so blessed to have him in my life. Hazen is lucky, because he has the world's best dad to look up to. So, even though my opinion means nothing, I do believe that Park City would be lucky to have such a dependable, reliable, strong man working for their department. I'm lucky to have such a man in my home.

Hazen

Hazen is completely mobile. He walks like it's going out of style, which is so fun! The first casualty? Our dining table and chairs. Since he can walk all over the place, he likes to change the set-up of the kitchen around. It makes me tired.

I'm trying to let go of my OCD ways, and allow him to solely feed himself. Did you know that this is a REALLY messy practice?


Hazen also loves to take baths in my bathroom. However, he makes a crazy mess of the place. Also however, his little laugh and smile kind of negates the annoyance factor from the eternal mess he gives me!
In not so cute news, Hazen bites. Still. It's really only when he's super excited, but ouch! Take note of today's bite mark!

Everyone Poops!

Everyone does not, however, poop in my tub. Oh wait, Hazen does! I've learned that if I take a shower while he's playing, and then put him in the tub while I get ready, everyone is happy! He's thrilled, because he gets to play for a good 1/2 hour, and I'm happy, because I don't look like I fell out of a garbage can like I do most days!

The other day, while I got ready, I noticed a little something accompanying Hazen in the tub. It was a fabulous log of poop. How can you get exasperated with such a darling face??

Hazen's Horrible, Terrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day

Sunday was a crappy day for my poor little boy. He woke many, many, many times in the night on Saturday night, and woke up. He was just fine for the first part of the day, but once the afternoon hit, it all went downhill. I guess it has to do with the fact that he's learning how to walk, but his balance in well....life, is rough.

He was playing with Mia Mia when his excitement got the better of him, and the coffee table won. Enter wound #1. No more than 20 minutes later, he came toppling down the stairs. I felt like the worst mom in humanity. It broke my heart. In fact, I still feel bad! Cue 5 minutes later. Hazen shuts his fingers in screen door. At this point, if you looked at him cross-eyed, he would bawl.

Today, he's got the beginnings of a shiner. My poor, poor baby boy.

They Say It's Your Birthday!!

I had such a great birthday! I dare say, it was one of my best!! Jason didn't have to work, so my day started by sleeping in without having to worry about getting up with the boy. Then, Jason took me to Kneaders for breakfast where we enjoyed French Toast and I even got a free birthday tart! (It's still in my fridge...shhhh, don't tell Kneaders!)

After, Heather and I went to Target, where she let me pick out a birthday present. I got a black necklace, and it is awesome! I wish I had places to go every day so I can wear it all the time. Then, we got pedicures, which we were both so badly in need of. I keep on looking down at my feet and feeling awesome because they look so fabulous.



After, Jason took the boy to do some errands, and I got to spend about 2 hours alone. ALONE....did you catch that? BY.MYSELF. It was awesome! I took a shower, blasted music, sat on my butt. It was perfect!

Then, we dropped Hazen off with Grandma and Grandpa, and Aubrey, Jason, Jason and I went to Happy Sumo for Sushi. The Robison's are troopers. They're not exactly Sushi lovers, but they went with us and provided us with fantastic entertainment, nonetheless!

We came home, and met up with the Malzers and their adorable 2 week old, Zoe, Heather and her family, my parents, and my good friend, Natalie. We ate the most delicious Costco chocolate cake, and had presents. The picture of me blowing out the candles I love and hate. I hate it because I look gross, but I love it because it shows why this day was so good and special for me. I was surrounded by people I love all day long, and I couldn't have asked for anything more!! I am so blessed. Seriously.... :)
As if it weren't a perfect enough day, I was showered with gifts! I can't remember the last birthday that I received so much!! Thank you everyone! I received a darling scarf in the mail from Ashley, beautiful orange flowers from Natalie, a pumpkin bundt bread pan from my parents, TWO cookbooks and Pumpkin Curry simmering sauce from the Robisons, and Roses, a cookbook and a Roasting pan from my darling husband. It looked as if Williams-Sonoma threw up in my living room. I likey. Let's not forget the texts, facebook messages, wall posts, e-mails, blog comments, and phone calls NEARLY REACHING 100 that I received. Yeah, I counted, but how can you not when you're so loved??


I am so grateful to have people who love me surrounding me. Can't wait 'till next year!

General Conference

I won't lie. Watching Conference with a 1 year old alone while your husband works is hard. I missed a lot, and am looking forward to the Ensign coming out so I can actually read the talks over again. HOWEVER, the starts aligned, heaven intervened, and I was able to watch ALL of President Monson's talk. Uninterrupted.

To sum it up, he spent the first main chunk of his talk speaking about wishing away our todays. He spoke directly to those of us still in the process of raising their children (hey, that's me!!). He spoke extensively on how when we spend our time waiting for tomorrow, we end up with a lot of empty yesterdays. All too soon the eternally dirty kitchen floor, piles of laundry, sticky surfaces everywhere disappear; with that, taking my baby.

Since this is my journal, I'm rededicating myself to my family. No more "I will...when...." If I want to do it, it gets done. Now. This not only applies to spending good, quality time with the two people I love most in the planet, but also in self-improvement. When I get caught up in waiting until tomorrow to do something, be something, achieve something, not only do I hinder myself by giving me with empty, unfulfilled yesterdays, but I cheated my family out of enriched todays.

I think this goes hand in hand with the call we've been given to fortify our homes. What's one of the most important things we can be? Grateful. What better way to show our gratitude than make the most of the time we have.

Thanks, Pres. Monson. You've given me a lot to think about.

A birthday Miracle!

Hazen had been teasing us all day yesterday, making us think that at any moment he would be a bi-ped. Well, moments before his bedtime, he did it. He walked across the room (further than the video depicts) time and again!

Finally, as he was reaching the end of his rope, we caught it on film. I'm so proud of my baby boy. He is such a stud, and I am so very much madly in love with him!! Thanks Hazen for a GREAT birthday present!

Grandpa's Helper!

Last week, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house to hang out for a little while. Grandpa was there getting ready to sweep the garage floor. Hazen has seen his daddy do it many times, and has started to push the broom around, which is so funny. Saturday was no exception!! Grandpa found Hazen a little broom of his own, and he pushed it around the garage helping Papa.

No one was around to help ME clean up my baby though, when it was all said and done!

Canning!

On Monday, Aubrey and I were at the mall when we received a phone call from Heather telling us that the Lindon Cannery was giving away palate after palate of peaches. She told us to get there immediately, which we did. We showed up and were greeted with mass chaos. It was if there was a mass casualty situation that had occurred, and the only thing that was left was peaches. Women were pushing, throwing elbows, glaring JUST to make sure they got the perfect peach.

Aubrey and I filled up our car with more than 200 lbs of peaches, and got ready to begin. Begin we did. We made peach salsa, freezer jam, cooked jam, pie filling, and barbecue sauce until peaches were coming out of our ears.


At first, the boys were just on hand for busy work such as dishes. We've decided that in order to REALLY can in my kitchen, we need one more sink, another 8 stovetops, and about 20 more feet of counter space. Sometimes there just wasn't room to even do dishes. I was teased mercilessly when I asked my Jason to go wash dishes in the shower. For the record: he didn't.

Aubrey and I sure took a lot on, and we were grateful to our husbands for putting up with our antics. We're looking forward to next year when we are able to can more than just peaches!!

Birthday

Tomorrow is my birthday. This is your invitation to write all of the beautiful things about me you can think of.


Oh, and express your undying, while platonic, love about me.

Farm Country

Last week Jason had a lot of time off work (can you believe it? I almost couldn't!) On one of those days, we decided to have a fun little family outing and go to Thanksgiving Point to Farm Country. It was so much fun, and Hazen was so cute with all of the animals. He really liked the chickens, didn't so much love the goats- they made him feel shy.


We were able to go on a wagon ride, and also have a pony ride. Mommy DID have to hold him on to the pony and dodge the pony dookies along the way, but it was still fun! We were able to feed the geese, and luckily no one bit my fingers off.



After we went to Animal Country, we enjoyed some of the most delicious Sundaes we've had in a long long time!! What a fun day!