They are on their way!!

As I type this my parents are driving back from Las Vegas with my sister and nephew. They drove to Vegas this morning to pick them up and bring them home for their 2 week visit. I am so very excited to see them!! It has only been a couple of months but it feels like it has been a year. Ayden is talking so good now and I am sure he has gotten so big! I can't wait to see him and to plant some big, sloppy, Auntie Candi kisses on him. That kid will probably be extremely sick of me by the time they leave.

This next week is going to be great! Not only do I have the opportunity to spend some much needed time with my sister and my favorite little guy, Tuesday is my final day in my psychology class. I cannot tell you how relieved I am to finally have this class over with. Plus, if I do well on the final... it is a good possibility that I will come out of it with a big fat "A". Now, for the next 5 weeks I get to try to catch up on my other 2 online classes that were put on the back burner so that I could achieve that "A". It also means that I will be able to start taking some much needed lunch breaks at work. I have been working through lunch to make up for the time I have been spending in class. It will be so nice to get in some power naps at lunch time.

I will try to remember to take some pictures of my little buddy and post them. Here are some older pictures but you can see how stinkin' cute this kid is!!

His birthday October 2006, it was a scary day... we almost lost him.

He was a flirt from day one!

He loved his first pool.

Halloween 2007

What a cute family...

Father's Day

I know I am a week late on my Father's Day post. I have been so busy with school, work and our back yard that I haven't even been able to think about anything else! Let me just say my world is full of amazing fathers. My dad is the best, his faith is so strong and so inspiring, how could I not aspire to be like him? He has worked hard my whole life just to make sure that me and my siblings never went without. I have great memories of my dad teaching me to solemn ski, play catch, snow ski, along with so many other things. He is an amazing grandfather as well, he loves his grand kids so much and I love how he thinks of and mentions Avery when no one else does.
Skeet's dad reminds me a lot of my father. He too is hard working and would do anything for his kids and grand kids. He always has a smile and a hug for you and he tells the best jokes! He raised a great man who I know has made and will make a great dad.
I could go on and on about my grandfathers and my brother and brothers-in-law, but I can't put off mentioning the man that is the father of my child.
I married an amazing man. He has been nothing but supportive to me and to what I feel is best for us. He agreed to the In Vitro after undergoing all of the many tests and I believe it was as much because he wanted to make me happy as it was that he wanted a child too. Getting Skeet to go through with all the tests couldn't have been all that easy on him because he is scared to death of needles. He will actually pass out, which has always been a little funny to me because he is such a big tough guy!! There is only one other situation where the tough guy disappears and the big teddy bear takes over and that is when he plays with his nieces and nephews. I see him with them and I just know that he is meant to be a father.
One of the most difficult things I had to overcome when I said goodbye to my little girl was knowing that she would have had Skeet wrapped around her finger. He is such a softy when it comes to little girls and I saw that in his face when he held her for the first time. What a proud and heartbreaking moment that was. She looked so tiny in his strong arms and the heartbroken look on his face tore me apart. As we held her and prepared to say goodbye he said to me that he wished he could have seen her eyes. I don't know why but that moment, those words, will stick with me forever. He was the last to see her as he offered to walk her down to the nursery. It made me feel so much better to know that I didn't have to hand her over to a stranger, that he would do that for me. What an amazing man! He has been such a source of strength for me and has been so incredibly understanding. I know that his heart was broken as well but he made sure to take good care of me. I can never thank him enough for that.
We spent the weekend of Father's Day on the mountain enjoying the beautiful property that has been in our family for years and years. I decided to share some pictures of our trip! You'll notice my obsession with quaking aspen.











































Skeet doing what he loves, cutting down trees.














Callie learning to swim, she caught on fast and we couldn't get her out of the water.











Here is some video of Callie swimming. She did get a lot better at it and wasn't splashing around as much but I am bad at taking video and all the other videos I had made me sick because they were so shaky.

Life Ain't Always Beautiful

So this past weekend a couple of girlfriends and I made a trip to Las Vegas to see Gary Allan in concert. I have always been a fan of Gary's music but never really thought about seeing him in concert. Was I missing out!! He is an amazing performer, and oh my... he is extremely attractive. Needless to say we had a blast.
As I was standing there (right in front of the stage... we had great spots only one person between me and the barrier in front of the stage) listening to this hunky guy sing a song that I had heard probably a hundred times before I realized how beautiful that song really is. It has become my new favorite song, you might even call it my new theme song. If you haven't noticed I have added some music to my blog and if you want to hear the song it is included on my playlist. I am including the words in this post. Gary and I share something , we have both lost someone that means the world to us. (yea, I know, we aren't the only ones) I think he released this song after he lost his wife a few years ago. It's actually kind of heartbreaking to watch him perform it. I really did want to jump up there and give him a big hug... and maybe a kiss too! ;)

Life Ain't Always Beautiful

Life ain't always beautiful
Sometimes it's just plain hard
Life can knock you down
It can break your heart

Life ain't always beautiful
You think you're on your way
And it's just a dead end road
At the end of the day

But the struggles make you stronger
And the changes make you wise
And happiness has its own way
Of takin' its sweet time

No, life ain't always beautiful
Tears will fall sometimes
Life ain't always beautiful
But it's a beautiful ride

Life ain't always beautiful
Some days I miss your smile
I get tired of walking
All these lonely miles

And I wish for just one minute
I could see your pretty face
Guess I can dream
But life don't work that way

But the struggles make me stronger
And the changes make me wise
And happiness has its own way
Of takin' its sweet time

No, life ain't always beautiful
But I know I'll be fine
Hey, life ain't always beautiful
But it's a beautiful ride
What a beautiful ride