Long time, no blog...

Well, once again, it's time for my semi-annual blog update.  Haha.  I have about a million things to talk about here, but I'll focus just on one or two.  For the past 5 years I have been the Aquatics Director at Ivory Ridge Swim & Tennis Club.  Last night we closed for the season.  It's always a little bittersweet to me, mostly because I am such a swimmer at heart that it's hard for me to let go of the sunshine, the smell of the chlorine, the noise of splashes and people happy from play.  Something about a swimming pool has always filled me with a deep joy.  Maybe I was part fish in another life...who knows?!  Although my love for the pool and aquatics brings me so much satisfaction, the summer months ALWAYS fill me with extra anxiety.  For someone who struggles with clinical anxiety anyway, the added pressure of lessons, lifeguards, training, rescues, documentation, and money just about does me in every year.  From about 9 am to 9 pm everyday except Sunday I feel this pressure.  Pressure to make sure that everything is running according to plan...which most of the time it does...so worrying about it really doesn't do too much except make me crazy, along with the added measure of being a working mom as well.  I want to make sure that my children are happy, cared for, loved, played with, and safe all the time and I feel really lucky that my WONDERFUL mother has been so willing to take care of Austin and Kaya for the past few summers.  I know that they are doing great when they're with her and it brings me a lot of peace.  So THANKS MOM!!!  You're the BEST!!!
I feel so blessed to work with the people that I do.  I get frustrated sometimes with occasional lack of dedication because I employ teenagers (mostly), but I hope that my very occasional corrections are kind and provide my guards with love and direction.  I firmly believe that the best bosses are the ones that are willing to still get their hands dirty and really know what's going on with their employees.  That they aren't above anything, but that they provide guidance, help, direction, and discipline to their charges.  It's a chance to parent, in a way, to teach, and to prepare them for things to come.  I feel very lucky to have a great boss there in Tamara Vawdry.  She is AWESOME, and I'm totally not sucking up.  She has helped me be firm and compassionate as a boss and has set a great example to me of hard work.  I am very fortunate to work in a field that is so catered to me and my background.
I know this is a totally random post, but I've been thinking about how grateful I am for my position as an Aquatics Director and how I am SOOOOO grateful that I don't have to work at a desk (most of the time!)  I am a sunshine girl and am not looking forward to the winter months, but fast-forwarding to next summer when I get the chance to learn, stress, love, and play all over again.  ;)

My home away from home...LOVE!!!

December-January 2014

Well, here we are again with my monthly blog entry!  Sheesh, someday maybe I could go biweekly or something!  Anyway!  This week we celebrated 4 months with our sweet princess, Kaya!  She is getting so big so quick, it kills me!  Her stats at the 4 month appointment were: 26 inches tall (96%), 14lbs, 4.5 oz. (51%), and 42 cm for head circumfrence (95%).  So she's tall, skinny, and has a big noggin!  She's actually pretty chunky with the cutest little round belly I've ever seen, but I guess she's not as dense as Hammer was when he was her age.  He was always in the 95% for height and weight and 50% for head size.  Oh, well.  We love her beautiful, big cabesa!
A few things about Kaya over the past month:
1) This girl is a TALKER!  She loves to "sing" ahhhh's at us all the time and just beams when we sing or talk back to her!
2)  She is a FLIRT!  I coach Lone Peak swim team and she loves it when the guys on the team hold her.  She smiles at them and puts her hands up to her face like she's shy or something.  Cracks me up!
3) Kaya loves her brother!  I really thought Aus would be really competitive with her since he is with his cousin, Tate.  But he's really protective of her and she responds to him really well.  I hope their relationship stays close and happy!!!
4) We've had a few little adventures during Kaya's fourth month, mostly just going to Airborne (our favorite trampoline place).  She loves watching her brother bounce all over the place and the general chaos going on.  She's very alert and wants to see what's going on in the world.
5) She's been to the doctor a lot this past month...I'm seriously so sick of sickness!  At least all the nurses at Alpine Peds love her!

Our first time at Airborne.  Austin's new favorite place!

My Princess!  4 Months Old!

6) She's not quite sitting up on her own yet, but close!  And she HATES tummy time, so we might not see her crawl for a while!

Austin has had a pretty exciting month, too!

1) He's starting to potty train a little more seriously.  I'm not going to push anything (just not wanting the fight right now with a small infant), but going on the potty has been in progress for a little while now, and we're going to go buy underwear here soon!
2) He LOVES Airborne.  Cannot get enough.
3) Aus has been playing with friends as much as possible with being sick this month.  At least most of his buddies have colds, too, so sharing germs hasn't been totally horrible!
4) Austin has been really helpful with cleaning up his own messes and helping me clean up the house.  He loves to vacuum and sweep the most!
5) He's my little singer!  He's always coming up with silly little songs and makes me smile all the time with them.  He's also got a great imagination and is constantly coming up with scenarios for his cars and toys.
6) He's constantly surprising me with his knowledge!  He can almost spell his name, counts to twenty, knows how to work pretty much any electronic device in the house, and loves building things.  He's my little genius!
7) Like I mentioned earlier, he takes his role as a big brother seriously.  He really loves Kaya and is always loving her up, asking if she's okay and wanting to entertain her.  It's awesome!

Gregor and I have been doing really well, too!  We've been setting some goals for our finances this year and have hopes to get into our own home.  Gregor's been interviewed for a new position at work and we find out tomorrow if he gets it!  Ugh!  I've been anxious for him for a couple weeks now and need the answer so I can finally go to sleep at night!  We'll see!  It would mean a lot of financial blessings for us, so hopefully!
Gregor's still doing a lot of crossfit and I'm back to running lots and lots.  I've gotten my mileage back up again to 15 miles for my long runs and about 4-5 for my shorts, so hopefully I can do some races this spring and summer.  I'm gearing up for my Dirty Thirty run on my 30th birthday in June.  Ugh.  30.  When did I get old?!
We celebrated Gregor's 30th in style on New Year's Eve by going shooting and eating dinner at Rodizio's.  So much good food, it's probably good we only go about once a year. I need that long to digest!  My handsome hubby had a great day and just gets more awesome with every year of his life!  LOVE HIM!!!
Well, I think I'm pretty caught up.  Life is good for us!  We're still getting over some yucky sickness, but for the most part we're healthy, happy, and loving being together!

Bouncin' with my baby!

Kaya and Daddy!

Kaya with her friend, Megan, at a swim meet in Kearns.

Beauty.  Perfection. Love.

Sometimes I actually get ready!  It's not THAT rare, but definitely picture worthy!

Last night at Airborne with the Lattin's

Gregor went skiing yesterday and Austin got to help!

I think he's a little crooked!

Dry Creek Trailhead.  I needed a break, so we took a drive! 

More Dry Creek.  So calm and peaceful.  And both kids were sleeping!!!

Kinda blurry, but this kid is ALL smiles at Airborne!  Sheer Joy!

Kaya's 3rd Month and Updates

Our Kaiju baby is 3 months!  (Yes, I know that a Kaiju is an big monster from Pacific Rim, but it's a term of endearment for our actually very charming Kaya Jane).  I can't believe how fast time is screaming by with our little girl.  She is such a joy to us and enlightens my life daily!
Kaya is quickly becoming a little lady.  She is a huge flirt with her daddy and smiles at him ALL the time!  She has the best smile in the world!  Her mouth opens up super wide and her whole face just crinkles up and the world has to just stop and smile with her!  She loves to laugh and is super ticklish on her tummy and thighs.  She can stand up with support and can almost sit up on her own!  Almost.  She's a rolly-polly girl and can roll from front to back pretty easily (and tends to do it every time mom wants to have some tummy time with her) and has rolled from back to front a couple times, but not as easily.  Kaya does NOT like the car seat, but loves going to Grandma and Papa's house where she gets smothered in loves and kisses from her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousin, Tate.  She is most definitely a red head and has an attitude to match when she's not happy!  Otherwise, she is SOOOOO mellow!  Although she likes to be held, she's usually okay with hanging out in the bouncer or swing while mom takes care of Austin or gets the house cleaned up.  She went on a long roadtrip up to Ogden to visit Great-Grandma and Papa Smith and actually travelled pretty well.  She's still a great sleeper and a perfect addition to our little family!
Austin is still my 2-and-a-half little monster!  Hammer is definitely the best nickname for him!  He's been dealing with a lot of sickness over the past couple months (which totally SUCKS) and has caused him to act out a lot more because he just doesn't feel good.  Things are finally on the upswing, though and the past two days have been wonderful with him!  He's been sleeping much better and coughing less (yea for croup, NOT!) and has been so much fun.  Back to the Austin we know and love, for sure!  He got totally hooked up for Christmas this year with a race track, an electric train, and a HUGE transformer robot that he's been asking for since summer.  Lately his favorite phrase is "please help us" when he wants me to do something for him.  It cracks me up because he sounds like he's channelling Gollum from LOTR, when actually he got it from saying prayers.  Kinda funny. Today we were able to have a pretty relaxed morning playing with toys and then we decided to go up to Salt Lake to check out a cool aquarium and go see the ZooLights.  It was absolutely FREEZING, but Austin was so much fun and was completely mesmerized by the Tiger who was roaring and pacing around his enclosure.  We went to dinner at the Olive Garden in SLC, too and Aus got to eat his favorite food, meatballs and broccoli.  Weird kid, I know.  Don't worry, he loves his chocolate, chips and candy, too!  Austin is the most beautiful boy on the planet!  He has these eyes that stare into your soul and a smile that melts my heart.  He is my baby boy and I love that kid with all my heart, even when he's hard.  I'm constantly seeking the council of my Heavenly Father in how to parent my children.  I'm so imperfect and I get frustrated with myself for being impatient.  I have such wonderful kids, I hope they can survive my parenting!!!
We had a great Christmas with our family here in Utah and were able to FaceTime with the Greiner's down in Texas.  I wish we could somehow get both sides of the family together for the holidays.  Maybe someday!!!
Flash back to Thanksgiving...We had a great day at my parent's house with my family, again, Karl Greiner, Gma and Gpa Vogl and the Goodwins.  It was such a wonderful day and it really made me grateful for all of my blessings.  The Goodwin's are in the process of adopting three boys from Haiti and man, has it been a PROCESS!  They've been working the adoption for over a year and the boys still aren't home with them yet.  I'm sure they are so frustrated, but they will have them so soon, I know it!
Candice and Collin got to go down to Haiti for 5 days to serve in the orphanage the Goodwin's are adopting from.  I don't know who was changed more, the kids or my siblings.  Unfortunately I can't post pictures of the Haitian kids on the internet for interferring with adoptions, but the light the iminated from my siblings faces was angelic!  The beautiful children down there are so incredible and I know the experiences Dice and Whack had with them will be forever remembered!  They came home with literally the clothes on their backs and a few gifts they had found in the markets.  Candice told me that she literally pulled her favorite pair of earrings out of her ears and put them into one of her friends down there because she had nothing.  They witnessed the pure love of Christ as they saw the caretakers in the orphanage eating less than the kids in many circumstances (one meal a day) and still giving all they could to care for 30 babies and 60 children and teens.  It makes me so excited to go and serve those around me and far away, too!  I get to serve around here while my babies are little and then I hope to get to help around the world a little, too!
We've had a lot of fun activities over the past month like setting up our Christmas tree, playing with friends, going sledding on Christmas Eve, Gregor and I getting a couple dates in, and growing together as a family.  I sure love this little group of mine, they're the best!  Photo dump to come!

Play hard, sleep harder.

Jumping on the bed with Kaya's headband on...

He totally cracks me up!

Keep on jumpin'

Baby Kaiju.  Look at those LIPS!!!

Mama's little Ginger!!!

Christmas Post and Feelings

I rarely get the urge to write without feeling guilty about being behind on my journal-keeping, but tonight has sparked a desire to record my thoughts lately.
Today I found out that a distant friend of mine lost her 2-year old daughter yesterday due to a drowning incident.  My heart is absolutely broken for this sweet lady and her family.  To lose a child would be immensely devastating, but on Christmas just seems to add insult to injury.  I question why a loving Heavenly Father would take a child in that way, or take a child in any way for that matter?  In my limited opinion, children should bury their parents, not the other way around.  I look at my Grandmother who carried my mother and her twin sister for nine-months, getting excited to meet and raise two beautiful little girls, only to find that one of them would have fatal birth-defects and die only a month later.  My heart aches for families who lose children.  It seems so unfair in so many ways.
But, at the same moment, there is a small amount of envy for those children who get to go home to a loving Heavenly Father, who get to embrace our Master so soon after leaving His presence.  These angels don't have to experience many of the pains and anguish that rack us almost daily in our mortal exsistence.  They don't sin.  They don't fail.  They are pure and sweet and perfect and only needed a body to fulfill their mission in establishing their place in the Celestial Kingdom of God.  They will have families, and increase, and love, and experience, and opportunities for growth beyond anything we here on earth can comprehend!  Having this knowledge makes me so incredibly grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ.  In celebrating His birth only yesterday, I am reminded of His infinite love for each of His children.  For in His atonement we have all become His, we have been saved by His grace.  I know that He has provided a way that I can have my family for Eternity and that my sweet friend will be able to hold her daughter again in her arms, to look into her eyes, to smell her hair, to tickle her tummy, to laugh, and play, and grow together forever.  What joy and comfort can be taken in this knowledge!
I often scare myself with the thoughts of losing my family.  It's something that I don't like to think about as I am sure many don't as well.  It's a horrible thought.  But then, again, I think of my Savior.  I think of the Plan of Salvation and am comforted to know that no matter what happens, I am sealed to my family for Eternity and death CANNOT conquer that sealing.  What is mine here will be mine forever if I keep myself worthy of that supreme blessing.
This mortal exsistence is not easy.  In our heartaches we can seek out the comfort of our loved ones and that which the Lord provides for us, but it still hurts.  We still cry and feel and hurt.  That, my friends, is when we can get on our knees and admit to our loving, merciful, and perfect Heavenly Father that what we have been given, we cannot do alone.  We need to be willing in those hard moments to allow Him to take that burden for us and walk along side us, just like those in our lives who lift not only our burdens, but us as well when we can't go any further.  He will send us angels on both sides of the veil who will strengthen our hearts and our backs to pick up our loads and carry on.
Again, my heart goes out to this sweet family.  I love you, and even though we are not close, you reflect on my heart and mind at this time and always.  I know that God lives.  I know that His Son, Jesus Christ, IS the Savior of the World.  I know that we can be comforted by the Holy Ghost and that we are truly the children of a loving God.  He is the perfect parent and entrusts these little ones to us here on earth because He loves us enough to allow these perfect angels into our homes to teach us, to try us, and to love us unconditionally.  I will hold my children a little closer tonight and thank God for the opportunity I have of being their mother.  Remember the first gift of Christmas was a child.  The child.  The Son of God who came into the world to save us from sin and from death.  With this knowledge, I am happy and know that there can be peace even through our challenges.

Kaya's 2nd Month AND October/November Family Adventures

Whew!  October and November have been extremely busy for our little family!  Kaya is growing like a weed, Austin is quickly becoming more of a little boy than a toddler, and Gregor and I are constantly running around with work, church callings, family, and athletics.  How I love our crazy life!
Kaya's 2nd month of life has been full of fun and smiles!  She is a total doll and is showing more and more of her BIG personality every day.  We've been so blessed to have her in our home!  A few interesting things about Kaya this past month were:
-She has continued to be a great sleeper.  She loves to sleep more than eat sometimes!
-Kaya was throwing up a lot during her 2nd month.  We were really worried that she had pyloric stenosis (a condition where the pyloric sphincter of the stomach is closed off).  Gregor and his brother, Erik, both suffered with that when they were babies, so we were worried that she could have it, too.  We went to the doctor a few times about it and finally decided to have an infant ultrasound done on her little tummy.  I was so relieved when I could see liquid passing easily through her stomach to her intestine!  What a blessing!  She does have a little bit of reflux, though, so we have her on some medication for that.
-This chick is a SMILER!  She loves to be talked to and just smiles and smiles when you do.  She's had many coo-ing conversations with her family members and just about owns anybody who sees her.
-Her Mana made her a beautiful blessing gown for her baby blessing.  Her daddy, Papa, uncles, cousins, and great-grandpa stood in the circle and blessed her to be strong and healthy and happy.  It was a sweet day and we had a lot of family come and wish her well.
-Kaya Jane is a RED HEAD!!!  This is so awesome to me!  Her grandma, Mana Kathy, has this gorgeous red hair and between the couple red heads in my family and her grandma Kathy, Kaya has a really pretty shade of strawberry blondish, reddish hair.  Pretty, pretty!
-Austin absolutely ADORES his sister.  He loves to take care of her and has been very helpful in getting diapers and wipes for her, along with trying to hold her constantly.  He showers her with kisses and hugs and always says "Okay, baby Kaya, okay!!!" when she's crying.
-At her two-month appointment, she had gained almost 5 pounds from her birthweight!  This girl can EAT!  She was in the 98th percentile for height, 61st for weight and 90th for head circumfrence.  She's got a little melon-head, but it doesn't look out of proportion.  I think she's beautiful!
-She continues to be a strong baby.  She rolls all over the place, fights getting in the carseat and loves to 'stand-up' (with help, of course).  She also LOVES showers and baths, the sound of running water, her daddy, and of course, eating and sleeping.

A few fun things about Austin this past month:
-He can count to 16!  This caught me by surprise.  My sister was playing with him and started counting with him.  He just kept going!  I was so impressed because, although we work with letters and numbers daily, he hadn't shown me that he could go past 4 or 5.  So smart!
-Another smart thing he can do (which drives me CRAZY!) is take off all of his clothes.  Seriously, people!  I was so happy that I hadn't had a stripper baby, he never seemed to care about learning to take his own clothes off.  He liked putting on his own shirt, but never off.  So now, I get to re-dress him about 6 times a day and look for the clothes he hides in random places.  UGH!
-He LOVES to "help".  The other day, I went to take a quick shower while he was watching cartoons.  I called down to check on him and didn't get an answer.  All you mommy's out there know that silence is definitely NOT something you want to hear when looking for your 2-year old.  I ran downstairs to check on him and found him in the kitchen with the fridge open wide and the egg carton torn apart.  He was standing on a chair by the stove cracking eggs into a pan.  I decided not to get upset with him and instead taught him that he needed to ask to cook things and then helped him cook up his eggs (after we took about about 40 pieces of shell).  Maybe my little guy is gonna be a chef???  Who knows?
-Austin is still so much my baby.  He loves to snuggle mom and dad, always wants to show us something and gives the sweetest hugs and kisses.
-His common phrases lately are : "Come with me mom!" "Look at me!" "Wanna play cars" "Firetruck" "Opet da doors" "Thank you, MOM!" "Go outside!" "Carly's house?" "Wanna play with Oakley" and "Luf you, Mom (or Dad)".  Melt my heart, seriously...

The end of October/beginning of November have been busy for us.  We've had a lot of fun getting ready for Halloween, playing with friends, visiting family, and helping out here and there with different things.
We decided to be the Flintstones for Halloween.  Our costumes were handmade and super awesome!  I thought we looked pretty good for only spending about $15 on all four of us!  We went trick-or-treating at Bluehost and did a couple of trunk-or-treats around our neighborhood.  Aus didn't get a ton of candy, but that was completely fine by me!
Our family also went to Cornbelly's a couple times this year, too!  They do a great job with their Fall Fair and the cornmaze isn't too shabby either.  It's a little bit pricey, but I thought it was worth it for getting around 2-3 hours worth of stuff to do for both kids and adults.  We hit up just about everything we could that wasn't haunted and got some delicious hot cocoa and pumpkin spice donuts, too!  YUM!
Gregor and Austin had the chance to go down to Abilene a couple weeks ago to help Gutti and Opa move off their ranch and into town.  It was such a great trip for the two of them and I know it meant a lot to Gregor to get to see his grandparents.  Gutti hasn't been doing very well lately, so we don't know how much we'll get to see her before she passes away.  Gregor was pretty sad when he left because of that, but that's the beauty of the Plan of Salvation.  Neither of his grandparents are members of the church,  but it's going to be AWESOME to do their temple work.  I hope I get to be a part of it!
While they were gone, I got kinda crafty!  My bff came down and we made wreaths for Christmas, my sisters and I tried (yes, tried) to make tulle skirts.  They didn't really work out.  I've made a few headbands for Kaya, and have generally been WAY more domestic than ever.  Maybe it's having a girl...I dunno.
My grandparents celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary last weekend, too.  It was great to go to Ogden and see them and spend time with my dad's side of the family.  They are great people and I'm so proud of my Smith heritage.  They stuck it out through some MAJORLY hard times and have come out so well on the other side.  I'm so grateful for their examples and their love.  It was neat to see their posterity and realize that my children really are here because of their love for each other and then my parents meeting and having me and then Gregor and I having children.  Family is everything!
Other than the big standouts, things for us Greiners has been going well.  We've had a little bit of sickness pass through, but really we're doing great!  We are really looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas and a brand new year!  LOVES!