Here Comes Santa Claus

Last Friday night we took Dillan and Grandma to the Ward/Branch Christmas party. Grandma hadfun seeing old friends who came and Dillan had fun running around and meeting Santa! This isn't his first Christmas. At 1, he loved sitting on Santa's lap but not so much this year. Maybe it will be better next year again. His fear is why I am kneeling right there with him. He did get a sack full of "teats" aka treats from Santa and a leftover sack in Nursery on Sunday. All in all, it was a good night. Thank you to Mom and Dad Haddock for coming and helping with Grandma.

Then, on Saturday and Sunday it snowed all day long. Saturday is my only day to get out of the house and I feel bad, but sometimes I just have to sneak out or I get a guilt trip from Grandma. She had no idea I was gone. Jeremy stayed home while she and Dill slept. I got some Christmas shopping done and even got some things from the storage unit, like stockings for Christmas. You can't have Christmas without a stocking from Santa. It was very nice. I need lots more of that. It is so relaxing doing what I want to do for a change. Everything is always done on Grandma's time table.

Dillan learned a new bath trick on Saturday night. He can now officially be called "Super Dill!" He was took cutetoput his arms up in the air and keep the wash cloth on his back the whole time. Then when it would come off he would hand it back to you and say, "elp! elp!"meaning help me please.

Dill has also discovered a new love inside the house, instead of the basketball hoop outside (which he will never get to since the snow comes to his knees at least). He LOVES to color. We have had a few coloring mishaps, but daddy has cleaned them up. It is nice to have access to professional cleaning whenever you need it....and of course the chemist who developed all the products at your very disposal. The beloved police car no longer has purple crayon all over it. We found this great book that you color on and then a papertowel wipes the coloring right off. I was skeptical when I bought it, but for $1.99 I figured why not? It is the best thing ever! Seagull Book people. They have one for Sesame Street and one for Blues Clues.

And last but not least, Dillan loves to read with his Great Grandma. She thinks it is pretty funny because he gets up gives her a book, flips a couple pages, gets down and grabs another book, and the process starts all over again. Anyone that will hold a book and read to him is his best friend.

USU vs. Montana State-Northern

HRI (Harris Research Inc.) has season tickets to the USU basketball games. I guess they donated some money to the university and they got tickets and parking passes in return. It was the season opener that Jeremy and I got to attend. Thank you to Mom and Dad Haddock for baby/grandma sitting for us.

We got to park in the parking lot at the Spectrum, Jeremy didn't even wear a coat we were so close. Then when we got there we were on the 2nd row right behind the stats table and USU bench. The best seats ever! We had so much fun. There was one other couple from the office and then the CEO and one of his friends. So all 6 of us had a good time. Thank you to Craig, the CEO, for buying everyone drinks, snacks, and popcorn. It was a fabulous night!

Who knew that we were so mean though. I had never been to a basketball game before and even though the team is good, the crowd is ruthless. We ended up winning by over 20 points and we let them know that. I hope that we get another set of tickets before the season is up.

Halloween and the Monkey

For Halloween I took Dillan to Harris Research to go Trick or Treating around to everyone's desks and to see Daddy. I don't do dressing up, but at the office they had a costume contest and Jeremy actually made it to the top ten and won $10. Everyone thought Dillan was the cutest little monkey they had ever seen. I think so too. Plus, you just can't go wrong with a warm, cute, costume that was less than $15.

Then once Jeremy got home we took him to the ward/branch Trunk or Treat at the church. Dillan has this thing about eating snacks out of the "trunk" of his little police car so I am sure that getting candy from everyone's trunks at the church was no big deal. I am sure he thought he was the most normal person there. Side note, he does actually take any snack you give him and put it in the trunk of the foot car and eat it from there. He will promptly throw the wrapper away once the treat is in the trunk before eating too. It is amazing. I don't know where he learned it.

We also took him to the Haunted Woods at the TreeHouse museum the week before. He wasn't so keen on that. You really need to be able to sit through several stories at a time before going. They say 2+, but Iwould say more like 4+. He did get candy and we had fun anyway. It was a good chance to get out of the house. He got so hot that he ended up taking off his monkey top. The monkey is an outdoor costume for sure.

The move to Grandma's House

It all happened so fast. We still can't believe that I quit and we are living in Logan permanently. On top of that we can't believe what we got ourselves into sometimes taking care of Grandma Alta. I am happy to say that Dillan was great through the whole thing and it is over and done with. We still have tons of boxes to go through, but in time it will all work out.

For the first month, we were oh so happy to be line drying out laundry in the basement because the house is so old it was never wired for a dryer. Grandma has her laundry done by her daughter who takes it to her house to do it and then brings it back. We weren't so fortunate. But, we finally have a dryer....so allis soft and well now.

Dillan did some exploring and found this great field in the neighbor's backyard. If only that silly red car weren't there...this would be an awesome picture. We still like it though.

Dillan found this rocking horse in Grandma's basement. He thinks it is great fun. We ended up bringing it upstairs for a bit until we got more toys unpacked. Now it is back in the laundry room. It needs to be repaired. After years and years of kids riding it, it is starting to come unattached from the base.

The Bryce Canyon/ Junction Trip

http://courthousevacations.com/

Every year over UEA the my family gets together and goes somewhere for the long weekend. This year we went to a little town about an hour NorthEast of Cedar City called Junction, UT. We rented the Courthouse Inn for the whole family and had a great time. Here are some pictures from the weekend in Bryce.

Tons of family and lots of fun over the weekend. I wish I had taken more pictures. The courthouse was amazing and was a fairly good deal for a lot of people. Plenty of room and a fully stocked kitchen and lots of stuff to do around the house. All we brought was food and ourselves.

These were taken at one of the stops in the park. Dillan loved to get out and walk around doing mini hikes.

This is a picture of the 3 grandkids that were all born within weeks of each other. They are the best of friends. If we had only had Logan in the picture too since he is counted in that group but born a few months later. From left to right you have Eli, Bradley, and Iris.

New Blog!!!

Come one come all to the newest blog on the block! I created a blog for things about Grandma. That way all of you can share in the years that she has left. Check it out. I will have Jeremy update the family blog with a link on the side for easy access for everyone. For now click on the link below.

http://adventuresingrandmasitting.blogspot.com

Wow, crazy times!

Sorry I haven't kept up with the blog lately. We were without internet for just over a month during the move to Logan. We have officially moved in with Jeremy's grandma, Alta. She is 91 and definitely the stereotypical old person who is set in their ways and forgets a lot. It is crazy, but it allows me to stay home with Dillan full time while I care for both of them. Though I do have to say that she takes ten times the effort that Dill does. People say it is like I have 2 kids, but I think it is more like 4 or 5 sometimes.

The house finally sold. We were set to move over thanksgiving weekend so that family could be with Alta while we were gone, but they moved the closing up by 10 days and we ended up having to move in a week which was incredibly hard since I work 24/7 with Alta and Jeremy is working full time too. The family helped out and we managed to get things packed on Friday and moved on Saturday. It was crazy! Now I am sifting through boxes and deciding what can stay in our little space upstairs at her house and what can go to storage. There wasn't time to do that before we packed like I had hoped.

Dillan is amazing and is handling everything in stride. He is the best little boy I think I have ever met. He is so good to stay upstairs playing with toys all by himself several times a day while I go down and help Alta. Sometimes the poor kids plays by himself for an hour before I can get back up there. He is truly a blessing from Heavenly Father, who I am sure knew that one day we would be doing this and wouldn't be able to handle a regular toddler.

I haven't found the converter for the memory card in my phone yet, so I don't have pictures to post quite yet. I hope to find it today and will put some up here from the last month. I will update everyone on the cool things we have done once I get pictures downloaded.

Moving Back to Logan

Just an FYI for anyone who cares:

Last week Martha and I began the process of moving back to Logan. I have been working there since March. We have not sold the house yet but my grandma (91) fell the previous week and so we have decided to move in with her for a while. This will allow Martha to stay at home with Dillan and Grandma while I work. It will allow Grandma to not have to go to a nursing home and be able to stay in the house where she is comfortable. We are moving in the upstairs. It also eliminates the daily commute for me which I have been loving. Martha quit her job and she has been here in Logan full time since last Wednesday.

Yesterday, we finally got an offer on the house. It was not a very strong offer, so we countered back. We should hear back today to see what happens. Hopefully, it will all work out. I'll try to keep you all posted.

Chargers vs. Broncos

I wish I had good news for Chargers fans, but I don't. I still think the game was definitely unfair. TWO fumbles should have gone San Diego's way, but the ref screwed up on one and there were"technical difficulties" with the other one that prevented a replay in the booth. Clearly the reply on TV showed it was a Charger ball. The ref error caused us the game in the last minute.

The good news is that Dillan sported his new Chargers gear for the game. He actually slept through almost the entire game, but as soon as he woke up we made sure to put his jersey on and root for the better of the two teams. Thank you to Uncle Ramiro and Auntie Sarah for sending us some good duds for Dillan.

It all started when I sent the following picture to my brother-in-law, an avid Chargers fan. He would not stand for his nephew to be in such awful clothing, so he made sure to go out and buy some good stuff right away and send it fedex so we had it for the game. Plus, mommy decided not to do laundry on purpose so that the shirt of the "team that shall not be named" was still dirty on sunday.

Jeremy went nuetral and didn't wear chargers or broncos stuff. I am slowly but surely converting him to the good side. He figured that he would like to see his home team win and go 2-0 for the season, but he really didn't want the Chargers to be 0-2, so he said he didn't care who won. He has been gracious and hasn't rubbed it in my face, or Ramiro's for that matter.

Utah State Fair

We drove down to Sandy Friday night to stay with my mom. We wanted to take Dillan to the fair so he could see the animals. We thought he might like that...and we were right. We saw all sorts of farm animals: pigs, sheep, goats, cows, steer and horses. I will let the pictures show for themselves. He absolutely loved petting the animals. He face would just light up as soon as his little hands felt something.

We also saw many other fun things at the fair. There were lots of booths with people selling things, lots of food stops, and of course lots of people. We walked through the craft halls and listened in on numerous food demonstrations as we walked past.

Jeremy had to have a funnel cake, because what would a fair be without a good funnel cake? He got it with Bavarian creme, chocolate topping, and whipped cream. We liked it, but it got to be too much at the end. Dillan really enjoyed it, but even he started to refuse to eat it half way through.

Overall we had a really great time and maybe next year we will be brave enough to let him have a pony ride rather than just pet the ponnies having a rest. It was nice to get out, walk aimlessly, and enjoy the company of my mom as well.

JDRF Walk

Harris Research, Inc. sponsored a JDRF (juvenille diabetes research fund) 5K walk on Saturday up in Logan. The whole company was given shirts and all the families showed up to walk it. The funny part about it is that HRI had shirts printed for their employees and families, but the printer screwed up and printed some of the logos opposite of what they should be (ie. the back logo on the front and the front on the back). Then some of them had double logos (ie. the back logo on the front and back). Then, they ran out of the shirt color and just started printing them on any color blue they could get. It was pretty funny, but no one seemed to care that much.

Some people also brought their dogs with them. Dillan loves dogs! He just thinks they are the greatest thing ever. Good thing all our neighbors have nice dogs. He gets his fill that way and I don't have to clean up after it.

Dillan happily rode in the stroller the entire time and munched on treats they had at the beginning, end, and half-way points. With a quick stop at the park for some swings and then back in the car to go home we had a pretty good morning.

I don't have pictures to show it, I should have thought about that, but Saturday night the branch had an International Night at the church. Even thought our records aren't technically in the branch we still got invited since I play the organ for them every Sunday in sacrament meeting. I am so glad that we went. It was supposed to start at 6...which if you have hispanic friends you know really means 7. "It starts at 6, that is 7 branch time" is what the high council rep told me.

The food was amazing! They had people representing several countries, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Aregentina, and Colombia. Tons of food, lots of music, and tons of people equal a really good time.

We learned that Dillan can eat corn on the cobb or elote. After each bite he would look at me and say, "Mmmmm!" It was so dang cute. The members of the branch thought he was a hoot because he would get up and dance like crazy and then when each song would end he would clap because he thought it was the proper thing to do. He just wandered around the gym with the other little kids. We love the branch and even thought I don't speak fluent spanish I really enjoy going. There is definitely a spirit about their meetings that I don't get in our ward.

Colorado Balloon Classic

For the holiday weekend Jeremy, Dillan, and I...along with Jeremy's family went to the Balloon Classic in Colorado Springs, CO. It is kind of a tradition for his family since that is where they are from (for the most part). It was a super long drive, 12 hours there and 10 hours back. It isn't something that I would want do all the time. Dillan was a great traveller for the most part.




We had Dunkin Donuts for breakfast both mornings we went to see the balloons. Dillan enjoyed the sugar rush for the morning. On Monday, he ate almost a full donut and then hung out for a while. The rest of us ate all the donuts and about an hour later he found a donut box and pulled it down and was checking to see if there were any left. To his dismay, there wasn't. He was sure he would find something in that box. Once he realized he wasn't going to find anything he put the box on the grass and started to step on it. The pictures were funny, but watching the whole process was hilarious.





The balloons were great. The weather was decent so they actually flew in the sky. They said there were 73 balloons there this year. It was pretty cool on Saturday, but Monday was kind of a bust since not very many went up due to weather conditions. Dillan loved to see them up close. You were actually on the grass with the balloons and could touch them blowing up and see everything first hand up close. At first the loud noise of the fire and hot air blowing into the balloon scared Dillan, but he realized what it was and then was mezmorized by it. He just wanted someone to walk him all over and see all the balloons, or boons as he calls them.



Dillan was fun to watch through the whole thing. He would wonder from balloon to balloon and then when one would start to take off he would hurry over to that balloon and stand under it as it flew up.


Seeing all his cousins was fun too. At one point a reporter came up and asked Jeremy what was going on because he noticed all the red heads and wanted to know if we were from around there. We told him we were from all over and met here every year for the balloons. There were 7 red heads there that morning...and that isn't even all of them. We had Jeremy, Dillan, Allison, Cassie, Tracie, Lindsey, and Tanner. We were missing Clara, Calvin, and Mason.


We took a small car trip to Garden of the Gods. It reminds me of somewhere in Moab with all the red and dark green vegitation. There were hiking trails and lookouts. Also reminded me of driving through Arches....similar scenery, but without the arches of course. It is strange because it is right in the middle of the city.


We got to see Jeremy's best friend Kyle, and his fiance and new baby. Aubrey is sooo cute and tiny. She is smaller at 6 weeks than Dillan was when he was born (not to mention he was 2 weeks early!). We stayed with them one night and Dillan showed off his "skills" to Uncle Kyle and Aunt Beth.


The trip was short for how long the drive was. It was nice to get out, but I still can't get over the drive. We shall see what happens next year.

Long time no Post!

Okay, so I am really sorry to all those who get a kick out of reading our blog. I just can't find the time or energy to do it consistently right now. Let me give everyone an update on what has been going on the last few months and you might understand why.

No, we are not living in Logan....YET. The house still has not sold. The market is slower than a snail right now. We have high hopes that this fall things will pick up. In the mean time Jeremy is still commuting to work every day, 90 miles. So, with gas prices above $4 a gallon you can only imagine what that does to our bank account. We figured it out this week and it costs an average of $12.50 per day to get to work and back just for him.

The good news is that Jeremy loves his job and we are glad that we made the decision to accept it. Once the house sells and we move things will be a lot more easy going. In fact, Jeremy's boss is giving him some options as far as helping out until the move happens. The issued him a cell phone and wireless connection for his laptop and told him to try working for home a couple days a week. Then if he wants he can try and work 4 ten hour days for a few weeks and see which one works better until we are in Logan permanently. I thought that was really nice of the company to take the innitiative to come to Jeremy about it knowing that it was costing a fortune to come to work. I guess that means that they like him enough to keep him around and not make him want to quit due to the commute. We will see how the new schedule goes.

I am still at Convergys, ugh, until the house sells. I am doing recruiting and I like the idea of recruiting, but the office I work in is not the greatest environment. Some people are really hard to work with..ie they have bad attitudes, treat me and others like crap, and there is way to much back biting. I can't wait until I can quit and be in Logan. I am drained by the time I get home from work and by the time we Dillan in the bath at 7:30 and in bed at 8, I am in bed too.

Dillan is doing amazing through the whole process. He loves the day care we use and Jeremy and I can't complain with it at all. That has been the one thing we can rely on to always work out. He enjoys it there, but that doesn't mean he isn't ready for Mommy to pick him up and go home at the end of the day. We try to spend some time outside each evening, which is Dillan's favorite place to be. He will literally scream and throw a fit when you bring him back in or shut a door before he can escape to the outside world. Then, on Friday evenings we like to head the the TreeHouse Museum. If you have kids and haven't been there...you need to. It is ten times cheaper than Discovery Gateway and tons less crowded. They stay open late Friday evenings for Alphabet Soup night. Check it out! It is right inbetween the Ogden Temple and the new movie theater/sports complex downtown Ogden on 22nd.

Dillan continues to amaze us. He is still a skinny peanut with a giant head. The doctor is impressed by his verbal skills and dexterity with his hands and arms. He was vacinated for the Chicken Pox...hallelujiah we won't have to deal with that, fingers crossed. We love the little guy and he continues to be super sweet and happy go lucky.

I will try and keep posting more often, but the never ending cleaning of the house each and every day, work full time, and an 18 month old curious little boy keeps me pretty busy. Love you guys!

The good ole' days

The day care did pictures about a month ago for everyone that came that day. There was no obligation to purchase anything, but they had a photographer come in and do all the kids. We couldn't resist getting some of Dillan since he is so dang cute! Here are a few that turned out pretty well.