Smoothies and a Book

Here's a little story.  Mark's birthday was on Monday which means we needed to do a birthday activity.  Mark decided he wanted to do a hike on Saturday (which is today).  So that's what we had planned.  But then on Thursday night we got told about this Saturday morning football thing some men in the ward were going to do at the park.  Mark totally wanted to do it.  And I don't blame him at all - I wanted to do it!  It sounded like fun and they said that families were invited so we thought it would be a great thing to do. 

However, it would also mean...no hike.  Bummer.  Our Saturday was already pretty packed with things we needed/wanted to do and there just wasn't going to be time.  We were now faced with the possibility of having no birthday activity.  That would not have been fun.  But we still had Friday afternoon.  So, on a whim, we decided we would do one of Mark and I's favorite pastimes...stroll through the bookstore and get a tasty Jamba Juice. 

We would do this a lot when we were first married to finish off our "dates" (which were basically our weekly trips to Logan to go grocery shopping) before we headed back up the canyon.  It was great.  Now we have Jacob which basically just means that now I spend half my time in the children's section.  I love it!

It was totally relaxing and fun.  And we spent time together as a family.  Which is what it's all about, right?!

He LOVED it!  Can you tell? :)

Mark's 31st Birthday

Yesterday, was Mark's 31st Birthday!  WOOT WOOT! 

Seeing as it was Monday, he did have to go to school - bummer.  But when Mark got home in the afternoon we were able to do some fun things.  While Jacob was taking his nap we played an intense round of Mario Kart.  Yep, we still play this. 

Once Jacob got up we played blocks and made cookies.  It was pretty great. 

Mark decided that he wanted to go to Chipotle for dinner - but get take out so that we could have a little picnic at home.  So we went and picked it up and had a little picnic in our living room.  It was delicious and relaxing. 

We then opened cards and presents.  We are so lucky to have such wonderful family. 

We got Jacob all scrubbed and tubbed and off to bed.  Despite being STUFFED from our yummy dinner, you just have to have some sort of treat on your birthday.  We're not really big cake people around here so Mark decided that he wanted chocolate chip cookies and ice cream.  Done and done! 

I hope Mark had a good birthday.  I sure do love that man.  I hope that he was able to feel how much we love and appreciate him.  Happy Birthday, Mark!

P.S.  Birthday activity scheduled for Saturday.  Stay tuned :)

Abby

On Tuesday, my family made the difficult decision to put our dog, Abby, to rest.  I miss that adorable little pup already - and yet I know, in all honesty, it hasn't really hit me since I am so far removed from the situation.  I know it will be difficult when we go back home.

Now, although it may seem silly to some, Abby was very much a part of our family for the last ten years and so it really has been an emotional ride dealing with the thoughts and the actuality of losing her.  But, I have been blessed to be able to focus on all of the wonderful and endearing memories of Abby that we were able to create together over the last ten years.

For as long as I can remember, I wanted a dog.  Really bad.  I think I was kind of losing hope of it ever happening, until my fifteenth birthday rolled around.  This is a Clegg family story that's been told and retold over the years and never fails to get a reaction amongst ourselves.  When my family was moving to Utah my parents asked us if there was anything in particular we wanted (like our own room or something like that).  I asked for a dog.

A couple years went by and my Dad and Megan were talking about my upcoming birthday.  Megan then informed my Dad that he had made this "promise" to me and since he hadn't given me a dog, he was a "promise-breaker."  My poor Dad.  Well, my birthday arrives and a dog was the very last gift I was expecting to receive.  But for my last present I pulled out a dog collar and immediately started crying.  I am not sure if I thought it was some cruel joke or I was in complete shock, but I was then informed that we were getting a dog - today!

We piled in the car and I was able to pick out our adorable little Abby.  In all honesty, I was planning on getting a boy dog, after all, I thought my Dad deserved to have a boy for a dog since he was already swimming in a sea of estrogen.  But, Abby was just too perfect to pass up.  So we added another girl to the family.

The first day we brought Abby home with us...

I was on cloud nine for a good long while.  I actually really loved taking Abby on walks and taking care of her.  Although I always did find it amusing that she was the "family dog" most of the time, but then she would randomly be changed as "my dog" when she needed to be taken out.  :)  Either way, I loved having Abby.

Abby was never much of a cuddly dog.  She definitely had some attitude.  It was either her way or no way.  Let's be honest, she was high-maintenance.  But we loved her just the same.  I loved the way she would lean up against my door early in the morning when I was still asleep.  I loved how excited she would get the moment you would say "walk."  I loved when you walked into the house and she'd come bounding up to see you and give you "loves."  And no matter how long I had been away she always knew and loved me just the same.

And I loved how, despite her "attitude", she knew when you needed some loving.  Remember when I said Abby wasn't much of a cuddly dog?  Well, she would definitely pick her moments well though, and perhaps that made them mean even more.  She seemed to know when you were having a bad night and would come and put her head in your lap or lick your leg.

One tender memory, which is one of the very last memories I have of Abby, is from our trip there in July.  Abby's health was so poor at the time and she would often just lay down and cry.  It was heartbreaking to see and hear.  It was our first night there and Jacob had woken up in the middle of the night crying.  I walked up to the room he was in and was sitting on the floor in the dark trying to calm Jacob down.  I had left the door open slightly and I saw it open and in hobbled little Abby.  I felt so bad for waking her up as she really seemed to struggle at night.  But she came in and gave Jacob some "loves" on his head and then laid down against me.  It was so hard to watch her labored breathing and soft whimpers as I held Jacob.  I didn't want to move and cause her any distress but after ten minutes her crying became too much for me.  I went and asked my Mom if I could give her any medicine to help with the pain she was feeling.  I ended up moving Jacob to our room so that she wouldn't keep up Abby anymore.  But I don't think I'll ever forget the way she so tenderly came in when someone was sad, gave them some love, and laid there with them.  That's how I will remember, Abby.

She was a wonderful member of our family and she will be greatly missed.

Love and miss you Abs. 

First Day of School

Monday was Mark's first day back at school.  It was a bitter sweet day.  I felt like he was gone forever - and it was only the morning!  It was interesting though to see how easily I fell into and liked the routine.  It will be good.  Plus, we are finally on the downward slope of being done with school.  WOOT WOOT!  I cannot wait!!!

I am so proud and thankful for this guy right here:

Oh my goodness - is he not the cutest?!  We saw everyone else taking pictures of their kids holding signs about their "first days" so we decided it would be fun/funny to do one of our own.  I love this guy. 

This has been an absolutely wonderful summer together - I know it is such a blessing and I am thankful.  These last two summers together have truly been some of the sweetest memories that I already cherish.  But I am glad that Mark is able to get the education that he is receiving and know that it will be such a blessing to our family in the future.  I am proud of you, Mark.  And miss you already.  Love you. 

Lazy Days

As I just wrote the title of this post, I started second-guessing myself.  We are definitely overall having some really lazy days, but in a lot of ways, they are not too lazy either.  This post has been on my mind for weeks but I have been lazy and haven't gotten around to doing it. 

We have officially entered toddler land.  Seriously.  Now, I know that Jacob was pretty much an incredible baby.  I know this.  He was so easy on us newbie parents.  And I am grateful.  But seriously, he turned thirteen months and I swear he was switched with some other child!  We, all of a sudden, were thrust into a world of tantrums, constant whining, hitting, and all sorts of naughty behavior.  Before, if Jacob got into some place he wasn't supposed to you would tell him "no" and he would move on and all would be well.  Now, Jacob seems to only like the forbidden places, all of the things he knows he shouldn't do or be - that is where he is!  It's a little exhuasting.

There were about two weeks there when I thought Mark and I were just going to go cooky.  Jacob was taking hours to go to sleep, waking up five or six time in the night, wasn't taking his naps, didn't want to be held, didn't want to be put down, uggg...it makes me tired even thinking about it.  I felt like I was saying "no" like a million times a day and I was tired of saying it and I know Jacob was tired of hearing it.  Of course, I just finally thought, "something has to change." 

We started praising like you wouldn't believe.  Any little thing that Jacob did that was good, we made a big deal about it.  We'd clap, say every "praise word" in the book, smile, the whole shebang. 

positive reinforcement = happiness 

Honestly, I feel stupid like, "duh, why weren't you doing this from the get-go?!"  But I guess we just got all worked up that we just forgot about it and who likes getting "in trouble" constantly?  Not me and I would guess, not Jacob either.  No wonder we were all a bunch of grumps. 

Things have gotten loads better.  There are still times when it just seems endless.  But then I just remind myself that he is just a totally normal toddler.  Jacob was an exceptional baby, really, he was.  I like to think of it as my little reward for having such a crummy pregnancy.  But he was just so good to us when he was a baby.  And now, he is just acting normal, it's not bad, it's just different and I think we were just wanting to keep him at that high standard and I am learning that this is all just apart of that great journey called parenting.  And I wouldn't change going on that journey at all.

So, since we have been in this time of transition, we haven't been going on many excursions.  We have gone on lots of walks and then just hanging out.  I feel like this last week or so we are definitely in this new phase where I think we are all ready to get back into a routine.  As much as it pains me to say, that is the one nice thing about Mark starting school again on Monday.  Routine will come back, and I think we need that right now.  So now we are just trying to soak in our last days of relative laziness.  

Cherry Creek

Last week we were going about our normal morning routine and we were listening to the news and lo and behold, it was a FREE State Parks day!  How did we not know about this before hand?!  So we, of course, decided that we had to enjoy this day outside - or at least the morning before the heat became too much!  So we decided we would head down to Cherry Creek State Park because it is pretty close and we hadn't gone to that one yet.

Apparently we were just moving and grooving because we finished our little trail SO FAST!  I almost wished that we had picked a longer one because we were done in about a half hour and we did two more trails along with our initial one!  We had tons of fun and ended up doing the Pipeline, Wetland Loop, and North Connector trails.  It was a beautiful summer morning, we couldn't have asked for better! 

Note:  My batteries died in our camera when I went to take the first picture, but luckily for us, Mark had his phone.  I think it did a pretty good job!

The Pipeline Trail

The "Jacob" Face

The Wetland Loop

Crossing Cherry Creek on the North Connector Trail

Missionary Work

This has taken me way too long to get out there but I definitely wanted to dedicate a post about my sweet and wonderful, Grandma Dixie.  Almost two weeks ago she left for the MTC to serve a mission in the Boston Massachusetts Mission working with the family history archives.

She has always been such an amazing example to me.  She is such a kind, patient and loving woman and I love her so very much.  I am so excited that she has chosen to do this and set this example for not only me, but for my little family as well.  I can't wait to hear about all of the adventures she will have and the things that she will learn.  I must admit, I am a little jealous of her mission - sign Mark and I up for one in forty years!

Elder David A. Bednar said:

"You and I, today and always, are to bless all peoples in all the nations of the earth.  Missionary work is a manifestation of our spiritual identity and heritage."

I felt like this completely stated what I feel my Grandma is doing.  She is going to help with missionary work through organizing and making available information so that temple work can be done.  She is paving the way for eternal families and the many other blessings of the temple.  It truly is a great work.  

Again, I love you so much Grandma.  Thank you for being you.  We love and miss you already!