12.24.2014 Star on the Tree

So, it's been over two years since our last post on here.  I'll leave it up to Meg to tell how many days it's been exactly.  Seems odd now to have the blog titled "H. Ray Today" considering that Hawkes now makes up only 1/5 of our family, but we will go with it for now.

It is Christmas Eve, and the holiday season is in full force.  We have tried our best to make it a Christ centered Christmas and to avoid the lure of a gift filled consumer Christmas.  The other day we set up our Christmas tree.  It is made entirely of gold tinsel and the only adornment is a connected string of white lights.  During the day it looks a little kitschy, but at night it glows, and truly gives the impression of what it is meant to symbolize.  A tree that is ever alive and glowing with the light of Christ.  This year we decided to add one more piece to it, a star.  We found one we thought would work.  I explained to Hawkes the significance of the star.  That Heavenly Father put it in the sky on the night Jesus was born so that everyone would know something special had just happened, and that we put it on our tree so that when we see it we will remember Jesus.  Then I got out a stool, and lifted Hawkes (in his standard underwear only outfit) up to put the star on top of the tree.

You always hope that the lessons you teach your kids at a young age have some lasting impact on them.  Although it's probably too early to tell, there have been a couple of moments since putting the star on our tree that give me hope that the meaning of Christmas connected with Hawkes.

A few days after putting the star on the tree, Hawkes came with me to do home teaching.  On the way there I asked him if he could help give the lesson and tell the family we were teaching about what the star on the top of our Christmas trees was for.  He agreed, but had his usual nervous smile, and I could see in his eyes that the wheels in his head were turning.  When it was time to give his part of the lesson he stood up and then got too nervous and turned to me.  I told him he could give the lesson by just looking at me, but that he needed to speak loud so that the family could hear.  He started, "when Jesus was born..."  and then he got stuck.  He hadn't made it very far, but he grabbed me around the neck and pulled me close and in his awkward super loud whisper right into my ear asked "who was that guy who put the star in the sky for Jesus?".  I told him it was Heavenly Father.  He nodded, smiled, and stood back up to continue his lesson.  He had remembered.

About a week after that Hawkes looked at me and out of the blue said, "Dad, I'm thinking about the star on our tree and remembering Jesus."  He is such a sweet boy, and I hope he always remembers and can always help remind me what Christmas is really about.

Lp 

Lagoon

 We got season passes to Lagoon this year and definitely enjoyed them. Hawkes' favorite part was the train that went past the animals. Every time I would ask him if he wanted to go bye bye he would say choo choo.

It took him a few trips to warm up to any other ride, but eventually he was even riding the big kid rides. This one had him a little scared, but he didn't even cry.

I kind of felt like a bad mom the first few bigger rides he went on because they looked a little terrifying. He seemed to enjoy himself once it started, so we both warmed up to them pretty quickly.

He got really good at posing for us once he was on the ride.

 

 

 

Here is his signature smile once again.

 

 

In October they add some Halloween themed events. Hawkes loved getting his yellow bag and walking through the trick or treat area where the employees were all dressed up. He was very prepared by the time Halloween rolled around.

  

 Just another train ride

 

Still Growing

Here we are at 35 weeks. I will actually be 38 weeks tomorrow so as usual I am a little behind. I can't believe I only have 2 weeks left to go. It does not seem real. I am feeling pretty good other than the exhaustion and being a bit uncomfortable. Baby boy could be here any day and we could not be more excited to welcome him to our little family.

Projects

One of the things that I'm sure Meg finds most annoying about me is that when I get a project in my head its hard for me to concentrate on anything else until I get it done.  Lately Hawkes wants to be involved in everything going on around him, which includes my projects.  He is becoming quite the little sidekick.  Helping me with everything from changing out smoke detectors to raking leaves.  He is always ready to help.

Here is Hawkes deciding he could do a better job changing an external motion light better than me.

Dishes have never been more fun than with Hawkes looking over my shoulder and helping me know where everything goes.

Here we are changing smoke detectors (which by the way, is apparently a clothes optional project)

Today we raked some leaves. 

Hawkes thought it would work better to spread the leaves, rather than gather them 

Hard at work.

Happy 3 Years

Our 3 year anniversary was back in August. We got to leave the little one with grandma and grandpa and head to park city for the day and night. We got to spend the first couple hours at the spa where Landon enjoyed his first pedicure, manicure, and facial. It was so relaxing. Then we went for some dinner. My pizza was so delicious and the view from our table was so pretty. 

Then we got to just relax in our hotel and hang out. So nice to have a break from being mommy and daddy. And of course we took a walk up main street to get some ice cream to complete my night. 

It was a perfect little overnight getaway. I mean who wouldn't want to be married to this guy with his amazing modeling skills. I just can't get him to stop posing for pictures. But really he is an amazing husband and an even better dad. Thanks for a fun night away and a great 3 years. Love you!

Jackson Hole

As soon as we got home from Texas we were lucky enough to join the Ballam side of the family in Jackson Hole. Landon's grandparents were so generous to treat all of us to a lovely weekend filled with family and fun activities. The drive was absolutely beautiful and I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery. I probably took a million pictures before we even got there.

 One of the days we went on a river raft trip. I went on the first half which was just scenic while Cassie stayed home with our babies. Then we switched and I stayed home while she did the white water portion.

We went on a few hikes. It was so beautiful and Hawkes did pretty good for his first time in the back pack.

Landon's cute grandparents joined us for our Yellowstone day. We loved having their company! 

We even got to see Old Faithful go off twice.

There were some horses across the street from our cabin and Hawkes asked for them every single day. His animal obsession has really taken off.

There was also a river right by the cabin that he loved going down to and throwing rocks in.

The only down side was the lack of sleep from sleeping next to this guy. Hard to be mad at this cute face though. Landon was not very amused by my use of the flash that early in the morning, but I couldn't help myself. They both just look so much cuter when they are asleep.

One of the nights we went to a chuck wagon dinner. It was a lot of fun to get to hang out with the whole family and the performers were pretty entertaining. We got to spend most of our time outside looking at the horses though thanks to Mr Hawkes. He couldn't get enough.

We were so excited to finally get to use Landon's old cowboy boots from when he was a baby. They were so cute on him. Everyone thought he was "the cutest little cowgirl". Maybe one day people will figure out he is a boy. I'm still refusing to cut his hair though.

 We also made it into town for the fair. Hawkes loved seeing all the animals and lights.

He was less impressed by the creepy bear ride.

Excuse the awful quality and blurriness, but I love his expressions in these pictures.

Such a fun trip! Thanks again to Oral and Tacy for treating us and Landon's cousin Nicole for putting it all together. We loved it.