Road Trip

When I was a teenager there wasn't anything more fun than a road trip, but now - I'd rather sleep in my own bed. Still, this was a really important trip for our family. My mom is taking out her endowment tomorrow in the St. George Temple, so Jason, Alicia, Mom, and I loaded into Jason's subaru and headed South. Imagine our family trapped in a car for four hours with nothing to do but talk - could be scary.

Overall, the trip went pretty well. Stops were made in Orem (Krispy Kreme - for Alicia's wheat glazed), Beaver(a much needed potty stop ), and Panguich (for gas at the TA). We spent most of the trip down talking about politics and the way our world is headed. Let's just say that I don't agree with much of my sibling's positions, but that's ok.

Now that we're down in New Harmony, it's about time for bed. I will say that one of my favorite parts of being away from home is Skype. I was able to video conference with Tara and the kids - until Kennedy decided that she'd rather use the computer to watch Peter Pan for the 400th time. Oh well, we survived the road trip - so far.

Mommy's Special Day

As much as I tried to make this day as easy as possible for Tara, circumstances don't always work out that way. Our morning starting early, with Alex waking up before 6 am and needing some "Mama Love." I wanted to get up with him, but Tara was able to get more sleep by taking Alex downstairs and going back to sleep with him. Kennedy woke up a few minutes later and, as is par for her, immediately wanted M-O-M. I held her at bay, as we talked about the fun presents we had bought for Mommy. As soon as Tara came upstairs Kennedy rushed to the presents and bestowed them upon Mommy. Nothing much, a book, a massage at a spa, and a fun little movie of "The One and Only - Mommy."

As I was getting ready to make breakfast, Tara took Kennedy and Alex into the tub to get clean. It didn't happen. I heard a cry for help as Tara screamed, "We have an emergency in here." This is not what you want to hear when kids are in the tub. Let's just say we had "dooty" in the tub. Alex left his mark, and the kids were sitting in some nasty water. We rushed the kids into triage, and then Tara set to work cleaning up the bio-hazard. She won some major points for that one, as that job goes above and beyond. In the end, everyone surived and as the kids reentered the tub Kennedy exclaimed, "Alex, no more pooping in the tub."





After an eventful morning, the rest of the day went more according to plan. We went down to Mapleton and spent a few hours with June. We came home and went to wish my mom a Happy Mother's Day. We had a great end to a busy day. It's fun to see how excited everyone is about Tara being a mother. I know she is a wonderful mom and I can't tell her often enough how much I appreciate everything that she does for our family. Happy Mother's Day Tara - I love you.

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A Big Day

We've waited for this day for 9 1/2 months and I have to say that it was worth the wait. Alex is officially a part of the family-for better or worse. We started off the day rushing to get to the court on time. Once we got there, the lawyer met with us for a few minutes to prep us for what to expect in the courtroom. Then we waited and waited. It was only about 20-25 minutes, but it seemed like forever to me. It was a good chance to get some good pics with family members, though.

Once we were in the courtroom, things went smoothly. We were asked a few questions by the lawyer and then our DCFS caseworker answered a few questions about us-vouching that we could handle this parenting thing. (Sometimes I think everyone should go through all the fun stuff us adoptive parents have to go through to prove we can be good parents). Anyway, the judge addressed us, specifically to let us know that this adoption would be final and we couldn't just change our minds when Alex is 15. I think he will be okay, but Kennedy on the other hand...


The judge was very serious and professional but at the end, when she announced that Braiden would now be known as Alex and that he was ours, I felt the tears come and I held Alex close. What an amazing feeling. I'm not sure what it is like to give birth, but I know that I can't imagine a better feeling than knowing this little child will be ours forever. He really is meant to be with us. I couldn't ask for a better Mother's Day present than this.

After the formal stuff, the judge asked us to approach the bench. She actually motioned us to come behind the bench. When we got there, she held Alex and presented him with a stuffed teddy bear. She was really cute with him and it was fun to see her open up. She had Kennedy come up and we took some pictures. She really made it special for our little family.



This will be a day that I will never forget. We always knew that Alex would eventually be in our family forever, but now the paperwork says it is official. Paperwork or not, we love you Alex-welcome to our little family!

Click to see all the pics from Alex's adoption

Book Review: U2 by U2

I was in a real groove a few months ago reading books on the bus, then I started reading U2 by U2. There was no way I'd be able to take this one to work with me, since the book is more a coffee table book. It's about 330 pages and is full of wonderful pictures of the band. Needless to say, with the size of the book - this one was read at night before going to bed. I guess that's why it took me three months to finish.

I really enjoyed the book. This is U2's story as told by the band themselves. It is written in a round table format, with each member of the band telling their version of different parts of the band's history. U2 by U2 is broken up into chapters which coincide with different albums representing the various stages of the band's career. I loved revisiting the old U2, then watching them progress to the World's biggest band.

I would say that this book isn't for the casual U2 fan. It is a long read, and goes into a lot of detail about the creation of U2's albums. As someone who's followed U2 since the late 80's I absolutely loved reading this book. I grew up with U2 and this book was like taking a trip into my past. So many memories of riding around with friends listening to Joshua Tree, arguing about whether or not the band had lost their souls with Achtung Baby (now my favorite U2 album), and wondering if the boys had lost their minds with Zooropa and Pop. U2 is my band and I'm glad they let the fans into their rather unique world.

Now Announcing...

As we get closer to the big day I couldn't resist posting Alex's blessing announcement.