Gratitude

This November, I am thankful for many things.  Atop my list, my knowledge that I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves all of His children so much.  Our faith, Our family, Our friends bring me such comfort and joy.

I am also thankful for things not usually said around the dining room table during the Thanksgiving Feast:

"What?  Is this a problem?"

I'm thankful for messes. 

(That's a big leap for me to write that.  I love a clean house....to the extent of staying up very late to make sure things are in order.)  But messes, here and there, mean our family is active, my girls are healthy, and able-bodied. 

I had just cleaned sticky little hand prints off my stainless steel fridge, when within 10 minutes, the hand prints were again back.  I was a little frustrated at my wasted time.  But then I was overwhelmed with this feeling that someday those little hand prints won't be so little anymore...and in fact, one day they will be gone altogether.  I used to wipe them off as soon as I would spot them...but now I let them stick around a bit longer as evidence that I have precious little ones, and I am blessed. 

  

I am thankful for hearty laughing and a husband who plays with our kids.



I'm thankful for pictures where everybody is looking at the camera.



I'm thankful to have a front seat -- watching my kids in their joyful moments!

  

Gracie after her Thanksgiving Feast at Preschool



 

  

I'm thankful we haven't always been given everything we felt like we needed at the time.  I fondly remember a time when we thought eating Tuna Helper, multiple times a week, was a glorious meal.  Because we earned and budgeted for that $1.25 a box during our first year of marriage in Butte, MT.  I'm thankful we've had to say sorry.  Because it means we are growing.  I'm thankful my husband is a hard worker, I'm thankful that even when my 4-year-old can't quite write her letters the right way - she never gives up. I'm thankful my 2-year-old points and says,  "Jesus" when she sees pictures of our Savior.

Happy Thanksgiving!    

Little Spooks and Big Frights

Aunt LaMae was nice to let us borrow some costumes for the neighborhood Halloween party. Sienna was a Little Witch and Gracie dressed up as a Medieval Princess.

 

This pink costume has some history. LaMae made the costume in the late 70's.  Over the years, it got a little more blinged-out. Two of my cousins, Michelle and Nichole, wore this costume. And I went as the same fair princess when I was 4-years-old!  I found these pictures of Halloween 1985. 

  

 

Earlier in October, we helped throw a
Hallopalooza Party!

 Can you guess who we are??
  

    
Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski, of course from Saved by the Bell.  I loved that show growing up.

Jodes really hit it on the head with the giant BRICK cell phone and frosted blonde hair.  My pants are gross...and perfect for the part.  As I was about to leave the house for the party, I waited for Gracie to comment on my clothes and crazy hair.  She is always very articulate about the way I dress, so I was sure she would have something memorable to say. 

She said nothing. 

"Hey, do I look silly?"  I asked. 

"No," she said straight faced.   "You look normal."

Oh Boy...That's a problem.  
  

Halloween was busy! The night before I was scrambling to figure out what I could dress up as to teach school. Reason #48 why it is great to be a former Pageant Girl...you can find fancy selections like "this" dress just hanging in your closet. I threw this costume together, and Jody joined in on the Roaring 1920's theme.  

While Gracie was at her

preschool party, I took Sienna over to visit my parents. While at their house, my dad (who was off work because of knee surgery) helped me find some feathers and sequins..and we created my headpiece. What a great dad! 

I hadn't explained my whole flapper girl costume to Gracie.  So while Trick-or-Treating with the kids, another mom commented on how she liked Gracie's costume.  Gracie responded by saying,

"Thanks!  And look at my mom. She dressed up like an ALIEN!"

WHAT?!  I guess I totally blew it on wearing a recognizable costume.  Later, she kept talking about my feathers.  I'm guessing she thought I was dressed up like an Indian, but Alien came out instead. 

Halloween Goodies

Halloween at 2News

Gracie had a blast at her Preschool Party. She was dressed as the Queen of Hearts. We got Sienna ready in her Alice in Wonderland costume and headed off to trick-or-treat at IC Group. Jody and Papa Tait Loved seeing the girls in costume. Then I took the girls up to KUTV, where they gathered even more goodies from everyone in the sales department and my co-workers in the newsroom. Someone was passing out apples, instead of candy, and Gracie liked that. Then the girls were on TV. Producers put us on the bump out shot -- tagging off of the 4 o'clock news. Heidi Hatch & Cristina Florez spotlighted the girls in their costumes. By this time, the sun hadn't even gone down, and they already had tons of candy.

 

We stopped at Grandma and Papa Tait's house next. The girls hit a few houses there. Finally...home to our own neighborhood. Jody had been holding down the fort, passing out candy. We swapped and he took the girls Trick-or-Treating around the block.

Saying they were hyper, from all of the sugar, is an understatement!! They were wired, and weirdly exhausted at the same time. Once they closed their eyes, they slept so soundly! 

Now what to do with all of the candy filling up my house?!?!

Little Alice Just Wants a Piece of Pizza

Don't underestimate HOW funny Jody is...Look at the proof!

Whatever he was doing behind me to make them laugh...worked!

Celebrating Sienna

Sienna's 2nd Birthday fell on a Sunday. It was the day of the Brigham City Temple Dedication. I asked for work off, and I was able to attend the first session of the dedication with Jody. What a lovely event. Once we returned home, I started on Sienna's Birthday Cake. I made it all by myself - from start to finish. It took hours. Sienna thought it looked delicious. She wanted to have the first taste...errr....Lick.

Papa Wiscombe had Sienna laughing so hard. She thinks he is so funny.

Grandma and Papa Wiscombe gave Sienna a 'little people' Princess Castle. It has music and the voices of Cinderella and Snow White. Grandma and Papa Tait gave Sienna 5 onesies, some jeggings and a musical microphone.  Uncle Kerry, Aunt Stacy and the kids mailed Sienna a super nice gift (with treats!) all the way from Florida.  Uncle Jeff and Aunt Lacey gave her a cute sweater/pant combo. We surprised our two-year-old with a pink push car.

Sienna keeps us smiling with her developing personality. She really has a different demeanor now that she has made a full recovery after her Kidney Reflux Surgery. She is much more playful now compared to how she acted pre-surgery. This is evidence that her Kidney Troubles kept her from feeling 100%. What a blessing that she is happy and healthy.  Now she can focus more on doing crazy things like this...

 

Sienna loves to dance, wear bracelets, watch 'Little Einsteins', mimic her big sister, and run around. She thinks it is really funny to sneak up on people and yell 'BOO'. She repeats prayers, and she always wants to sleep in Mom and Dad's bed instead of her crib. She says all of her animals, can count to ten (with some coaxing), she says more than 50 words, and now she calls Gracie 'CC' but she used to call her 'Ace'.

We love you Sienna Bug!!

 

The Glamorous Life of a News Reporter

Glamorous.

Use that term loosely. 

Very loosely.

"Do you have hair and makeup people?"

"Does someone write your scripts for you?"

That would be a No and a No. If those magical hair and makeup people existed, maybe I wouldn't get the rude comments on KUTV's Facebook page talking about how my hair looks terrible. :)

I have the chance to work with some Incredible and Talented Journalists

Any television reporter will tell you Glamorous doesn't come to mind during those 7 hour stake-outs covering a hostage situation, in the middle of nowhere, when you are confined to a live truck with no hour lunch break...or any water or bathroom nearby for that matter. Or like two weekends ago, when the photographer said, as we were driving to a crime scene,

'This is neighborhood I refuse to do a live shot in once the sun goes down.'

Covering Mudslide Clean-Up in Saratoga Springs

Neither of us felt like getting shot or mugged that night. We could choose our live shot location, but you rarely get to choose your news story. The news of the moment chooses you. The past four days I have worked at channel 2; I have been in a different neighborhood, with different people -- same scenario. Murder. My job is to knock on as many doors as possible. Find out what neighbors heard, what they saw, and how they feel - all in order to paint a picture for viewers; getting the information out there so that a suspect can be caught.   As I was knocking on doors, walking around the crime scene tape in my 4-inch heels, I was thinking about BYU Broadcast Journalism Brittany.  She was excited and ready for a challenge.  However, She didn't have ANY idea that this is what it would be like.

It's taxing. It's hard.

And it's so much more than the glamorous surface stereotype. There's a huge responsibility to be accurate. Journalism is an amazing animal. I am intrigued with the ability to help and educate -- when stories are presented the right way. Two weeks ago, covering another homicide, I included pictures of the murder suspect and getaway car in my story.  Myself and other reporters flooded the television with this information. The suspect ended up turning himself in. Officers said he felt like he couldn't hide because the media was diligent in covering the story. It makes me feel good to know this man authorities call dangerous is in custody, and I was a small part of that. 

Covering Wildfires in Summit County

There was a time when I worked full time as a television news reporter. It was before I had kids. Having children has made me more sensitive to the news (which is often sad...at times --tragic) that I cover. When I was pregnant with Sienna, I covered the recovery of a body from a river. A woman had fallen to her death, while hiking. She was young, single and an inspirational school teacher. It was days before authorities found her body. Once she was discovered, it offered some closure to her grieving family. There was a press conference, and the girl's father spoke to the media. He was heartbroken. Soul shattered. I remember holding the stick mic, watching him sob as he spoke about the loss of his daughter. Hot tears swelled up in my eyes. One tear rolled down my cheek, as I tried to comprehend the tragic reality facing this family. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the photographer I was working with, shake his head with disgust. When the interview was over, the photog looked me in the eye and said,

"You're weak. I have covered dozens of other stories much sadder than this. That wasn't sad. You shouldn't have cried."

We went on to do two live shots. As I drove home that day, I really questioned if I was a good reporter. My heart was heavy for that family. I cared more about their loss, than the emotional soundbite that would hit air. I think journalism is more than facts and figures. It's about sharing a feeling. I got into this business with the belief that I could educate and inspire -- even change lives! And then the reality of crime and house fires slapped me in the face. But that doesn't mean I don't believe in my career path. I do. I will continue to care....continue to fight back tears on those difficult stories...and continue to grow, and hopefully help people along the way. 

Bear Hollow Preschool



First Day of School

Gracie started her second year as a Bear Hollow Bear.

Gracie adores her teacher, Miss Molly.

Miss Molly had a Western Theme last year. And this year, for the 4 turning 5-year-olds, the theme is "Clowning Around with Learning Found." I was able to stay on her first day and help her work on an art project. Gracie has never been worried to have me leave. She is an independent little girl. When I waved goodbye on her first day, I blew kisses to a little girl. BUT when I came for pick-up...this is what I discovered! Red Clown Nose and all. For those of you who know Gracie's obsession with 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer', you can understand HOW excited she was to be showcasing a red nose!

Gracie has homework each night. She writes her name quite well, and is learning the phonetics of basic reading. I had a Parent/Teacher Conference earlier this week with Molly. She said Gracie is SO obedient in class. That's great to hear, because at times, we struggle with that at home. (But hey, she's four. So that's to be expected.) Molly also told me Gracie was the kindest and nicest student she has this year. I was so happy to hear that! Molly said that Gracie is almost too nice for her own good. Apparently, some of the other little ones make fun or exclude some students -- including Gracie. When this has happened Molly told me Gracie replies by saying,

"Please don't say those things. I just want to be your friend."

Melts my heart. After the Parent/Teacher Conference, I couldn't stop thinking about how a four-year-old would have to deal with bullying...in PRESCHOOL!! I remember kids being cruel from 4th grade on - Jr. High was terrible; but it seems our little ones have to deal with more and more at a younger age. We love Gracie, and we are happy she wants to include everyone.

Miss Grace has such an imagination. Last year, after coming home from teaching High School, our darling nanny we had at the time was giving me a rundown of what happened while I was away. After a long list of activities they had done she crinkled her nose a bit and said, "And we also played the Dinosaur Hatching Game. " (This is a Gracie original game.) Grace loves dinosaurs. She also loves to pretend to hatch out of an egg. So she had instructed our kind nanny to sit on top of her. Gracie, meanwhile, was curled up in a ball -- her back facing the ceiling. Gracie would then start wiggling to indicate she was about to hatch. Bahaaaa!! I was laughing just thinking of this 20-something babysitter going along with this. Surprisingly, she didn't even ask for a pay raise....and that was after Gracie forced her to watch our Wedding DVD two times in a row.

Our preschooler gets frustrated when she doesn't get her way. She got mad at me when I wouldn't let her eat a huge handful of Halloween Candy before dinner. She said,

"Mom (big dramatic sigh) you need to be sanitized!"

She obviously didn't understand what she was saying. She was really mad and thought that would get the point across. ;) She keeps us chuckling with her constant narrative. She is at a fun age.

Oceanside

Our Beach Baby -- Sienna
 

This little doll loved the sand.  It was difficult to get a picture of her looking up, because she was too busy taking it all in. 

We hit the marina with Michael for some Fish n' Chips.

Jody and I drove to La Jolla for a date out on the town. All you can eat Sushi. It was so delicious





Jody loved swimming in the ocean. I loved splashing in the waves.   But I made sure to not go out too far....because of my "Jaws" phobia. Jodes kept telling me I needed to go out far in the ocean, dunk myself, and enjoy how amazing it felt to be covered head to toe with Salt Water. I wasn't buying into the sales pitch...so he picked me up, swam me out there, and threw me into the giant waves. I was laughing so hard.  Then he said, "You can thank me anytime..."  Bahhaaa!
 

While playing at the pool -- this happened. 

Did you hear the praise from our 4-year-old? Oh yes, she thinks we're awesome!