Family photos, Dec '09

Happy holidays everyone!

Ready, set, decorate!

One of the best things about buying a new home is decorating it! We broke out the Christmas tree just a couple days after Thanksgiving, and have been slowly decorating ever since! Now that we have more room; I feel like we need more stuff! And I love that Rowan is at the age where he can appreciate it. It's hard to think that last Christmas, he couldn't even crawl! My oh my he is growing fast! If you ask him what Santa says, he'll tell you "ho ho ho". He picked that one up form nona in about 5 seconds flat!

We decided to put the tree in fromt of the window in the upstairs family room, but will probably open our presents downstairs near the fire!


Aaron being brave and putting up the lights


I have re-decorated the mantel since this picture was taken, but I fell in love with this sign at Festival of Trees and had to have it. So funny!


And here is the house at night...so festive!


While we're at it, he is our picture of Rowan and Santa. I was secretly hoping he would cry, but he just plain wasn't impressed at all. I think he knew it wasn't the REAL Santa :)

Wow, look how little he was last year!!!! (I just had to add this one for comparison)

Gobble gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We hope that you had fun and were able to spend some time with family and friends. We had a wonderful feast at our new home, and were fortunate enough to spend the holiday with Aaron's parent, Rob and Linda, as well as my parents, Mickee, Aponi, and her brother Jed. I stiffed and roasted a turkey, and Aaron fried another turkey. I think we tied in the duel; they were both fantastic!

Here are some pictures of the dinner and the great time we had at the cabin towards the end of the weekend.

Twenty pounder!


Handsome boy!



His new toy...a turkey fryer!


Papa and Nona


Rob and Linda


Mickee and Aponi


I'm ready to ride the snowmobile! Let's go!


Cutest cousins


Chaos!


And all of the grandkids got to spend a little time with my Grandpa, who we haven't seen in a long time. It was very nice to be with him.

Happy Halloween!

We hope everyone had a happy Halloween! We sure did! Rowan was a pumpkin this year, and although he wasn't crazy about wearing his costume, he sure knows how to say "pumpkin" now! He is talking up a storm! Here are a few of his newest words:
Football
Broncos
Buckey (the broncos mascot)
set...go!
truck
bus
cereal
meme (pacifier)
monkey
lion
doggy

The list goes on and on, and he adds a new word everyday!

Anyway here a a few pics of our Halloween holiday. Enjoy!


The cutest dang pumpkin you ever did see!



We were clue characters, I was Ms. Peacock and Aaron was Mr. Green



Our 5 minute pumpkin masterpiece



We gave out good candy to the young kids, and soda to the older kids, and asked them not to toilet paper our house :)



A yummy pumpkin pizza!



Rowan loves candy!

Our new home!

Wow! Moving into a new home really is one of life greatest times! After 2 1/2 months of negotiation and waiting, we finally moved into our new home! We painted Rowan's room, our room, and the upstairs bathroom. Forest green just isn't our style. I must say, it feels so right. Nice and warm and cozy just like our last home. The only difference is now we have more room (1350 more square feet!) and luxuries such as a 2 car garage with a pad for Aaron's trailer, Rowan has his own playroom, 1 1/2 more bathrooms, 4 more bedrooms, I have my own workout area, and a park in our back yard. We also adopted a whole clan of birds who hang out on our patio. But the most important thing is that it is in a good area, and we are still living within our means. I will post more pictures as we put the final touches on the place, but here are just a few for you to enjoy.

Try a Tri

I did it! My very first sprint triathlon! I still haven't decided whether I will never do it again, or am completely hooked. This was a sprint version, so it was a 400 meter swim, 9 mile bike ride, and a 5k run. I am not sure what my exact time was because I took a couple wrong turns. But all in all, I finished and I feel I did pretty well! You would think that I would be a good swimmer, but I could definitly work on it!

Update

Hey everyone!

I really need to start updating this more often to keep all of you posted on what is going on. So that is my promise to you. Whether it be a big deal, or just a general update to keep you in the loop.

Today is pretty big, or at least I think so! We locked in on the loan, which brings us one step closer to our new home. This is taking forever but is worth the wait. We have been at my parents for about a month and a half now and it has actually gone by fast. Thanks again mom and dad for being so welcoming and generous!

So that's the news of the day. I will keep you posted!

Cheers,
Sarah

Rowan gets the operator

My little guy is so dang funny! He walks around with the phone talking to who-knows-who in his own language, I can only understand a few words but it is complete entertainment watching him. ENJOY!

Nana's Memorial

What a memorial! What a wonderful person! What a great family we have!
I just wanted to share the pictures of my Nana's memorial. We had a family BBQ on Saturday night, and the memorial at Storm Mountain on Sunday, where we looked through pictures and reminisced about al the fun times we had with Nana and growing up in her presence. A bunch of us trekked up the mountain to spread her ashes, while the rest of the family stayed at the bottom. We both released balloons at the same time just as we were about to spread the ashes. We buried the box nice and secure at the top. Now, everytime we look to the east and see the mountains, we can rest assured that she is watching over us and is in a better beautiful place, pain free and happy as always, surrounded by beauty. Her beauty!

Ruth M Brown "Nana"

I still can't believe it. I will miss my Nana so much! She taught me so many things and set such a great example of love and strength. She never hesitated to say what was on her mind, and will take that lesson to heart. I will be forever grateful for having her in my life and know that she is still with us. I love you Nana.






Ruth M. Brown "Nana" RIVERTON- It is with great love and sorrow that the family of Ruth M. Brown announces the passing of a wonderfully unique woman. She left us on July 7, 2009 of natural causes. Born January 8, 1930 in Ogden, Utah to Jesse C. Merrihew and Ruth M. Green Merrihew. Married Frank W. Venneri, later divorced. Married Darrell H. Brown, who preceded her in death. She leaves behind six children, Shauna (John) Jones, Vickie Heaps, Randy Venneri, April McDonald, Tere (Chuck) Hoffhine, Robyn (Scott) Neal; three step children, MarJean (Gus) Boyd, Robert (Marsha) Brown, and Dick (Sherie) Brown; 21 grandchildren, 22.5 great-grandchildren, and loving dog and companion Callie. Ruth raised her children in her image with love and humor. They were her greatest pride and joy. She had an unbelievable connection with her grandchildren. She was always ready to laugh, and "oh boy, did she laugh". She loved hearing and telling jokes and for those who knew her well you'd never grow tired of hearing about her mouse tattoo (or lack thereof). Ruth loved to socialize and made many friends throughout her life that she infected with laughter and smiles. Ruth was often seen all dressed up, always the classy lady. At her home she was surrounded by a colorful garden of her own creation, which mirrored her personality. Her yard art was described as 'obnoxious' by her grandchildren, as were her outgoing approaches to strangers. She never met a child she didn't like and in a grocery store would embarrass those that she walked with by asking others "What isle did you find that baby on?" Ruth is now free to return to her youth and laugh with the passion that once defined her. She will now, and forever, enjoy a bottomless cup of coffee with Carolans Irish Cream, her newspaper in her lap, bent knees, and a pain-free peace of mind. Per Ruth's request she was cremated. A family memorial will be held in her beloved mountains. Donations can be made in her name to your favorite charity. She would appreciate your condolences through prayer, by planting a tree, or sharing a pack of spearmint lifesavers. Mom - Stop washing windows and run naked!

Goodbye Pioneer Avenue!

Sorry I don't update this as much. Things are crazy as we move out of our house THIS WEEKND! And no, we still don't have a new place to move into. Are we being too picky? I don't think so. I know there is no such thing as perfection, but the house that we will move into is where we will be for a long time (if not forever) so I want to make sure it is as close to perfection as possible. So far, no dice. In the meantime, we will be living with my parents. Thank you so much for opening up your house to us. We truly appreciate it. So long Pioneer Avenue! We will miss you! We have so many fun memories of decorating, building, bbq's and burning christmas trees in the backyard fire-pit! Not to mention when Aaron and I set foot in the house as newlyweds, or the day we brought Rowan home from the hospital! I hope the new owner takes care of it and it's sentimental garden that Aaron's grandparents originally planted.

Facebook withdrawals

Oh man, I had no idea how addicted I was to Facebook until they decided to deactivate my account; claiming that I had violated their terms of use. I am certain it was an accident, but we'll see. I might just have to get another account. But in the meantime; look at the opportunity! I didn't realize how long it had been since I have posted a blog entry!

Well where do I start? Rowan is almost 15 months already! Is this not the best birthday cake picture EVER?!?!
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We have listed the house for sale and are searching for our dream home; within our means, of course. Aaron is still working away landscaping yards and I am now working downtown from the new Children's Miracle Network office that they have been renovating for 2 years. It is gorgeous and fun working where all the action is!

We had Lagoon Day at work, and found that Rowan is not afraid of the rides at all!