All Good Things Must Come to an End

So... I am the WORST blogger, EVER.

I know.

Anyway, the last 6 months...

The past six months have been THE BEST months of our lives!!

After the RV trip we went to CALIFORNIA to watch Jason complete his IRONMAN TRIATHLON. He finished his 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and then finished off with a full marathon like it was no big deal. To put this into words everyone can understand: if the end of the world comes, Jason will be the last man standing (it also doesn't hurt that he can fix anything and happens to basically RUN Apple).

Ollie turned two. He didn't really know what was happening but someone (i.e. Eric) kept putting frosting on his toes which Ollie was most pleased to find.



We met up with Eric's family in Oregon for a little vacay... IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. Eric and I really took the time to just ENJOY NATURE with all of it's many scents and sounds...

Ok, but seriously, it was so pretty up there...

We met grandpa up in Island Park for a little Golf

and then eventually made our way to North Dakota! We worked in the bees with Pops for a couple weeks. Then we drove some honey back to Utah.

We stopped at Mount Rushmore and I reminisced all the happy memories I have from North Dakota. I got to see so many great people while we were there and spend some time with Jessica. I wish we could live there... and that is wasn't below ZERO there for 4 months of the year...

We came back to Utah... but only to say "good-bye" to some of our favorite people...

before we left we had to measure Ez to see just how much he'd grown
Poor kid.

Now, the BIGGEST news stories:

Jason & Gin had their baby boy:
Maxwell Miller

(I babysat him the other night and he cried the whole time)
I still love him. I'm a sucker for nephew's + 1 niece.

Eric and I went to a Boise State game when they played San Jose and I got a picture with Buster the Bronco. It was SOOOO cool.
Anyway, then I started doing this thing called work that I'm still trying to grasp the concept of... so far it's pretty tough.

After a few weeks of that Ezra came to visit!!!
Oh yeah... Jen came too...
She's the best sister ever!
and no one could hide their excitement... not even Eric, or Ezra!
Grandma came down to see her grandsons and they did some Christmas photos. The whole production was hilarious:

Other than that we have just enjoyed our family SO much. Mike came down for a week for Thanksgiving but I didn't manage to take a single picture. Don't worry Mike, we still love you too.
Lastly, here is a video of Ezra teaching us some SWEET dance moves:

RV TRIP

A few weeks ago Jen & Jeff + Ez and Eric & Me went on a massive RV trip. We traveled from our home in Orem, UT to Moab and then ventured to Colorado where we stopped in Durango, Ooray, and Telluride. Besides me being a little motion sick on occasion, it was REALLY FUN! Most of the trip is detailed on Jen's blog:

http://jeffandjenlee.blogspot.com/2010/08/rv-trip.html

The only thing I have to add is when the guy was telling us how to switch on the water heater after days of cold showers (by honestly just flipping a huge switch that really said "WATER HEATER" on it) he tried to empathize with us and said, "I remember how it was my first time. The renters are telling you all these things but you're just too excited to listen to them and you can't wait to get behind the wheel." Jen and I were just like "Uhhhh, right..."

Eric and I got the MASTER SUITE on the RV and we slept better in there than we do in our own bed... it was weird. Maybe it was due to the fact we were always parked on somewhat of a slant so maybe all our blood was pooling in our feet so there was limited brain activity available.

Eric looked SO GOOD in my skinny jeans... :/ I haven't eaten since the the trip... it isn't a good feeling when your husband just slides into your tightest jeans. ;)


Here's a few photos from our trip:
Arches
Delicate Arch
Needle Something Canyon... it was like a little Grand Canyon
Some Indian Ruins

Train ride from Durango to Silverton
Telluride

So we lacked a little on capturing some of our finest moments, like when people come up to tell me how cute Ez is when I happen to be holding him without Jen around and I just start GUSHING over how adorable he is so they probably think I'm the most self-absorbed mother EVER... or when Jen and I got massages from a 70 year-old man and the most disheveled 60 year-old woman ever. Don't worry, the man even commented on how cute Jen's "panties" were.

Lake Powell 2010

A couple weeks ago we got the chance to go to Lake Powell with my uncle Scott and his family on their house boat. Here's what you need to know about Lake Powell:

THIS IS MY FAVORITE VACATION, EVER!

We used to go every year, but we haven't been so lucky the past like 4 years!! :( So this year was especially exciting.

Here is the list of this year's crew:
Eric & me
Grandma & Grandpa Horrocks
Mom
Jen & Jeff + EZRA :)
Uncle Scott & Aunt Michelle + Their Kids

• Charlie - 3 years old (but looks like he's about 5)
• Grace - actually is 5 years old (& looks age appropriate)
• Abbigail - 7 years old (but is about as tall as a 5 year old)
• Emily - 11 (looks age appropriate)

Emily & Grandpa

Here is a list of what we did:
wakeboarding
skiing
surfing (Even got Grandpa to try it! He was a natural.)
tubing
fishing
ATE LOTS OF GOOD FOOD (thanks aunt Michelle!)
read books
slept under the stars
jet skied
harassed children
jumped off rocks
and of course we did some swimming

So my little cousins ended up being the most fun things ever! Eric spent most of the days setting fishing lines for the kids. Lake Powell has mostly Carp :/ so I wasn't too thrilled BUT they ended up catching a lot of Catfish, Bluegill, and even a Bass!

This is a picture of Eric with "his" bass:
He made me take the picture at this angle so the fish would look bigger...
Truth be told though, it was actually these two gremlins that caught the fish, and this is a better representation of it's size:
Grace & Abby (plus fish, which still looks quite sizable)
They were always so excited when there was a fish on... I was mostly grossed out.

One day there was a wicked wind storm so we hung out mostly inside. This is Gracie and I watching Chicken Little - it was really a good movie (as far as kid movies go)... can I admit that here?

This is Eric and Charlie getting ready for a little nap together

This is Abby after a REALLY fun dunking session (for her anyway. "dunking session" = me getting dunked by both Abby & Grace, simultaneously. I soon put on a life-jacket cuz I'm not sure they fully grasp the concept of what happens when you drown). Look at this face:
She is so stinkin' cute!

Grace kept calling Eric her "buddy:"
"Have you seen my buddy?"
and later started referring to herself as "Ariel" from The Little Mermaid so her and Eric would go together. She really liked Eric:
but maybe not quite as much as Charlie did. Charlie refused to get in the water the whole week. He said the water "reeked." hahaha!
He wouldn't even get in with his mom,
BUT ON THE LAST DAY HE DECIDED IT WOULD BE OK TO GET IN WITH ERIC!
Charlie's thoughts:
"No Mom, I do not trust you with my life... but this guy I just met a few days ago with all that scruff... he looks like the embodiment of safety; never mind he was just the only one to jump off that cliff into the water."


This is a fair representation of about how much he enjoyed Jen & my company:

The whole trip was seriously SO MUCH FUN! I want to go back again this summer. I can't even explain how much I love Lake Powell (or how much Eric LOVES to endure looking at me for a whole week without any make-up).

The only sad part occurred when Eric, Jeff & I were "exploring" (Jeff's word) on jet skis and Eric and I may have had a collision WITH EACH OTHER! He T-boned me (Ok, some fault MAY have resided with me, but only like 90%)! Old White didn't fair so well, but Trusty Red pulled through the accident without a scratch. It's ok though, Scott didn't murder us & I think I may have just enabled the final retirement of an ailing machine. However, we are more than willing to provide adequate restitution (be it disposal fees or repair work).

DISCLAIMER: Most remaining pictures in this post taken by little Gracie

(surprisingly, however, most turned out pretty well).

EZRA TIME :)
Ez had LOTS of fun at Lake Powell. He got a nice rocking motion 24/7 & someone was ALWAYS willing to hold him...
even Eric!
my two faves in 1 picture!

Ez with his Great-Grandpa & Grandma. :)
Ez with his Grandma... she's pretty nice, but since she's skinnier than me I can't help but hold some animosity towards her... even if she did birth, cloth, feed, etc, me for the past 23 years.

Lastly, I just want to mention I have the BEST GRANDPA in the whole world. Honestly. I'd be willing to bet large sums that there has never been another one quite as great at this one right here.

NEGLECT

My poor blog has been feeling awfully neglected lately. Eric and I have just been using her as a means to see if anyone else has updated their blogs. Isn't that selfish? It's ok Buela (that's the blog's name now), I'll start paying a little more attention to you now... maybe... although if the past is any indication of the future, don't hold your breath Buela.

At first I thought about capturing all the events from the past 4 months in detail in an attempt to justify my long absence from the blogging world, but then I was realized A) no one really cares what I did 4 months ago (or even my current activities if we're being honest) & B) it wouldn't be the whole truth...

... so here is a consolidation of all events transpiring February til June:

1. We went to Las Vegas with my family + grandparents. I'd never been to Vegas but I knew that everyone at BYU LOVES taking trips there and justifies frequent excursions due to it's "close" proximity (close being 5 hours... yeah, I don't get it either). Well, it was still a pretty good time, but I think Vegas loses a little of it's appeal when you can't drink, smoke, gamble, or even look at all those little handouts they give you on every corner of those wholesome young ladies. ;)

my cute/fave grandparents

a disgusting pic of me being a total bad a** and playing the slots... I'm pretty sure I lost a dollar there...

2. Breanna Steven/Baker (http://bsquaredlove.blogspot.com/) got married and I got to be a bridesmaid and go home for the wedding! It was so fun/beautiful and I can't wait to get outta Utah & back to CA!

I guess none of us are too familiar with how cameras work... or maybe we just all thought we had a "good side" we wanted to work for this picture.

3. We celebrated our FIRST anniversary! We went to the Grand America in SLC for a couple nights and just hung out together. It was so nice to get a little break from school. I'm still really happy I married Eric and I am so lucky to have him. It is so great to live with my best friend and have someone that continues to make me laugh every day with his ridiculous antics.

Another free picture slideshow by Smilebox

Please ignore the fruitiness of this video and the opening scene of bugs... Blogger wouldn't let me upload the video normal...

4. I graduated! I officially have my Masters of Accountancy degree. My job doesn't start until October so I'm having a wonderful relaxing summer and studying for the CPA exam (which makes me want to die sometimes... it's pretty discouraging when you're taking an exam with a LESS THAN 50% pass rate).

5. John (Eric's counsin) & Gracie got married!! We went to their wedding in Visalia, CA. Eric was the best man. :) It was really cold that day so I'm wearing a jacket in all their photos (I'm sure they love that, I'd show you a pic of my atrocious outfit but I didn't have my camera that day) or maybe I wore the jacket cuz I'm just really white trash so I have no idea what's appropriate at a wedding. I think the next wedding I attend I'll wear my tapered Cherokee-brand jeans from K-Mart? You know, from the 80's? Black? That's cute, right? I just hope those butt pockets still sit really high so my bum looks extra long. :)

This is John & Gracie... aren't they just the cutest?

6. Finished off CA with a stop in Campbell to see my brother Jason, his wife Gin, and son Oliver. We also stopped to see Mom in Newcastle. We're obsessed with Oliver. As you can tell, the feeling is mutual (don't mind those disgruntled looks on his face):

7. Traveled to Boise to see Eric's family and did a little fishing. The only proof I have of this is on Aubrey's blog: http://thehappymills.blogspot.com/2010/05/fishing-trip-to-brownlee-reservoir.html I made HUGE strides on this outing. I even helped unhook the fish towards the end. Addi, Ruger, and Lincoln were there too and we LOVE seeing them so it was basically the best fishing trip EVER!

8. My family has been out here (in Utah) a ton... including Oliver. He actually liked me on this visit:

It's a lot easier to make him love you when you feed him s'mores first... when his mom isn't looking.

And then you chase him around on the trampoline even though it's like 100 degrees outside and you're sweating bullets.

And then your husband plays whatever game Ollie wants at exactly the moment he wants (although in this particular photograph they both look equally bored with each other).

Now, all of that stuff was all fine & good and could almost justify Buela's neglect... but the real reason I haven't been getting ANYTHING done (i.e. studying/blogging/housekeeping/shopping/etc) is this guy:

Ezra Jason Lee

Born March 19, 2010

My sister had her first little baby and I basically can't function without him. It's really pathetic. I'm constantly making up excuses to go see Jen basically EVERY DAY,

ME:

"No Eric, I HAVE to go up to Jen's today because I think I left my... umm... nail polish there."

ERIC:

"Didn't you just paint your nails yesterday?"

ME:

"What? I can't hear you... I have to leave immediately... I'll call you later!"

Me feeding Ez at the hospital after he was born.

I'm sure Jen loved that I was there before the delivery, immediately after, and then haven't left her side since. "Oh what? You need to shower/have 20 minutes alone/Ez could use some time to himself too? I don't get it. I'll just wait here for Ez to wake up... and here's your towel, but I think you might have missed a little section between your bum cheeks... here, I'll get it, hold still."

Eric LOVES Ez... mostly when he's asleep though...

Great-Grandpa & Ez... They're buddies.

Mom & Ez... he loves his mom so much... he always smiles the second she comes into view. He's too young for candy so I'm at a loss on how to win him over completely.

Ez and me on the boat at Utah Lake... He actually quite enjoyed himself. I was trying to find a water sport for him to enjoy... can you imagine how little his wakeboard would be?!

Anyway, that is why I am currently SO BUSY! I guess I haven't seen Ez since Sunday though so maybe I'm having a break through. My dependency is starting to dwindle; however, I have been experiencing a lot of hot/cold episodes, nausea, shaking, and can't stop thinking about my next fix... I mean, my next babysitting assignment...

Is this normal?