2015, That's A Wrap

What a big year this was for us. We finally finished grad school, and decided to start life in Idaho. But first we spent the new year in Colorado visiting the Hedbergs, then we moved to Twin Falls, spent a couple of weekends up in Sun Valley, went to a friend's cabin in Stanley, announced baby #3 on the way, got to fly over to Washington to spend Thanksgiving with the Robins crew, took Heber skiing a couple times, and went to Hawaii. 

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Hawaii, just us.

Eric and I went to Hawaii for a week in December. It was probably the most relaxing vacation I've been on. I was 25 weeks pregnant, so I was pretty much forced not to do much. We went for a run every morning along the ocean, ate lots of macadamia nut pancakes and hula pie, and then hung out at the beach all day. A few things I noticed, being away from the kids, was being able to sleep and eat whenever I wanted to, and us being able to talk to each other without being interrupted a million times. It was wonderful! And weird. 

Also, I'm including the middle picture of me wearing a lion shirt, because I want to remember that funny memory. I would basically bend and it looked like the lion was talking. Then Eric would talk in a funny voice. We laughed so hard, I don't think I'll ever throw that shirt away haha!

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Idaho Life

Well, our family moved to Twin Falls, Idaho in February. Eric got a job for Wright Physical Therapy. He loved the company so much that that is really the only thing that brought us here. We don't have any family here and I have to admit, it was hard for me to leave the mountains. In the beginning I had a hard time figuring out what to love about this area. I missed the green trees of Washington, the ocean of California and the mountains of Utah. What did Idaho have to offer? On a drive home one day the sky was cloudy and the sun was setting. The colors were brilliant and the clouds were so beautiful. I could see so much sky around me. Idaho offered amazing views of the sky. The sky! And the fresh air with that constant breeze. Slowly I have grown to love it here and have been able to meet some great friends. It has meant a great deal to me to feel a connection here and to feel like this is home. 

We've made some good memories here in Idaho. 

And there's just something about a field of cattle, any time of the year, that I find kinda pretty. :)

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2014 Year Review

2014: The boys growing, a New York Proctor sisters trip, Lake Powell, bike rides up the canyon, living in Washington for 4 months, a triathlon, being there for Jackie, Eric graduating, and spending the holidays in Utah close to family.

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PNW for a season

I've decided I need to blog more. For me and my family. I've noticed that there are very few places that I record my memories these days, and I need to be better at it. I love looking through my past posts and remembering all the great times with my family. I hope I can blog more for my family to look back on. And then maybe it will trickle into better journal writing and other kinds of record keeping. 

So... Here's some past entries I don't want to forget.


Washington! We spent roughly 4 months in Puyallup, Washington in the fall of 2014 for Eric to do a physical therapy rotation. This is actually a really neat story that I just can't forget, so I will try my hardest to remember the details. 
We had originally planned to go in the summer but last minute Eric's professor told us the internship had fallen through and our only other option was to go in the fall. We decided to go with it since my twin sister lived 10 minutes away and it would be a fun adventure that we probably would never be able to do again. 2 small kids, 2 cars packed with 4 months worth of living supplies, 12 hours of driving with Eric's brother and his wife to help us (they have no idea how much that meant to us), figuring out insurance, furniture and all the logistics, we finally made it to our tiny apartment. It was no beauty. Dark basement, sleeping on an aerobed, Seattle rain, weird neighbors that smoked all day- filtering into our apartment, Eric's awful work hours, kids getting pneumonia, etc, etc. BUT, we had a wonderful time, saw and did some amazing things, and learned a lot. With all of the hard, there is no doubt in my mind we were supposed to be there at that time. And that is what I want to remember most. That God directs our lives and knows exactly where and when we should be in life.


Alex and Lacee saved us. They helped us move up there and we got to hang out with them for a couple days.


We went to a Mariner's game. REI headquarters, space needle, lots of bike rides, hikes, museums, all the Seattle downtown sights, I did a triathlon in Bonney Lake, we made it to the Oregon coast, etc. We made some great memories.


We got to spend a few weeks with Jackie's family before everything went crazy. We even took a trip to the coast one weekend and did family pictures. Washington was beautiful, and it was just so fun to have cousins playing together almost everyday.
Then one day Jack dropped her kids off at my place for a routine checkup and found out she had a lump in her breast. It was surreal. We didn't believe it. A couple weeks went by before they confirmed it was indeed breast cancer. And that's when everything changed. No more frolicking around in Washington. (Not that that was what we were doing, but we realized we were there for a reason). It all clicked. We knew we were meant to be there for her since we were their only family close by. The next couple months were constant dr's. appointments and babysitting her kids, making meals, and just being there for her. It was crazy because I know if I was living someplace else at the time, my twin sister bond would have ached to be next to her the entire time, and I think God knew that, so he put me there ahead of time. I am still sooo grateful for that. Jack did awesome with surgery, chemo and radiation. She is now fine and is a giant of a person I hope to be like some day. 



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Remember 2013?

This is way way late, but I decided I need to do it for my family's records anyway. I really need to be better at blogging this next year. Hopefully this kickstarts me into blogging action.

2013 was a crazy, never-would-have-expected-that, fun, adventurous year. First of all, Heber was just a baby at the beginning of the year, and then we had Simon by the end of the year. Looking at those photos it's almost hard to tell which baby is which. lol.

Starting the year off, we moved from our condo to my parent's old house to fix up and do a million projects. We found out we were pregnant with #2 on our 5yr anniversary and Heber had his first birthday in the spring. We went on several adventures: Capitol Reef, Bear Lake, girl's trip to San Juan Islands with my sisters and mom, and Monterey where Eric had a school rotation. We welcomed baby Simon to our family in the fall and celebrated Eric's younger brother's wedding with all the Williams family together. Eric and I learned how to make Swiss Bratzeli cookies for Christmas and we got in a few good ski trips to Sundance. We went to a Bob Dylan concert, our first family Giants game, and several bike rides this summer.

It was a wonderful year. I feel like it was the year for growing this family, and keeping everyone healthy and strong. We kept Simon home most of the winter because he was in the NICU for a bit and we wanted him healthy. I am so glad 2013 happened the way it did, because I couldn't imagine my life any other way than how it is right now.

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Baby Simon

He's here. Baby Simon is here.
My water broke at 5:30am, and I called my mom to come over and stay with Heber. About 10 minutes later I told Eric that we needed to head right away and that I couldn't wait for her to get here, so we called a neighbor in the meantime. We got to the hospital and checked in around 6:15. The doctor wasn't there nor was the anesthesiologist. The nurses started to get me set up and get all my information in the computer, all while I was having pretty intense contractions. They were slowly going about their business and didn't seem to understand that I was in so much pain. Finally they decided to check me and were shocked to find me dialated to a 7. They looked at each other and said we needed to get this doctor here asap. The next 30 minutes were a blur. I was just trying to breathe through each contraction and keep my mind off the pain. The doctor still wasn't there and I remember saying that I needed to push. The nurse begged me not too and said that would be a whole lot of paperwork. Finally, at about 6:45 the anesthesiologist showed up and somehow got an epidural in my back. Then the doctor showed up right after. He hurried and sat down and coached me through 2 pushes and baby Simon was born at 6:55am. Wow. I hardly had time to realize what just happened. But goodness, that was fast. The epidural was so wonderful for those few intense moments, but later discovered that the hardest part of labor was what I had already done. So I wonder if I would have gotten it if I knew that before hand.
Simon was sent to the NICU the next morning because of low oxygen levels. They did a bunch of tests on him and tried to discover what was wrong. But after a few days, and intense prayers, he was released with just an apnea monitor. We still don't understand what happened, but believe it was a miracle that our little guy's oxygen levels climbed back to normal. We are so grateful for this little soul in our lives, and feel like he is such a fighter, wanting to be here so badly.
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Monterey, CA

Eric had a rotation for school out in Monterey. Heber and I went with him but came home a couple weeks early. It was such a fun adventure to have as a little family. We stayed in an extended stay hotel and were within 10 minutes walking distance from the ocean. Heber and I would drop Eric off at the hospital every morning and then find something fun to do. We went on lots of walks and played at the beach a ton. Heber looooved the rocks sand! We were lucky to have some friends out there. My good friend growing up (Karalee McNeil) happened to be living there with here little family, so it was fun to hang around with them. We had to get creative with dinners since our little place didn't have much to cook with. Lots of frozen dinners and simple meals. Weekends were the best because we could all go and do something. We drove up to San Francisco and went to a Giants game. We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We got together with Eric's uncle Paul and Anna and went on a hike. Eric's parents were there at the beginning and then my parents came at the end to take me and Heber home. I was 36 weeks pregnant, so I wanted to be home in Utah that late in my pregnancy. Luckily nothing happened, but it was nice for the peace of mind.
We had such a great time in that beautiful area. It was great to just have all that time together and get a little adventure in with Heber before the new baby.
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2012 wrap up

This year was the best year of my life. How could it not be? Our sweet little Heber came into our lives. At the beginning of the year I was working full time up until Heber was born in April, and then my world changed. Eric started school for Physical Therapy, and I learned how to be a stay-at-home mother. It was a year for so much learning and growing. Wow, some days were hard. But I am soooo grateful for it. 

We were able to visit my sisters this year in Washington and Colorado and also took a little vacation to California and introduced Heber to the beach. We got back on our bikes and took Heber along with us. We went skiing, of course, and I went to Wicked with all my sisters and mom. I worked hard on a family history book and Eric spent many long hours studying his eyes out. I'm so proud of him for all he fits on his plate and still has room for us. I love my little family more than anything in this world, and I am so grateful for this past year I've had to grow closer to them.

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Christmas 2012

Christmas was so lovely this year. After all the festivities on Christmas Eve, we drove home in a winter wonderland and tucked Heber in bed. Eric and I relaxed in our cozy home with warm socks from Nana and Pops, and then watched Home Alone 2. I then somehow convinced Eric to let us open a few presents. 
In the morning we made breakfast for Nana and then skied a few runs at Sundance. We headed to the Proctor party and got to visit with all my siblings. It was fun to have everyone together again. We had a great day and feel very blessed that we got to share it with each other and our favorite person of all... Heber. We really love him.

We even managed to snap a silly photo for the books.

(I'm starting to get pretty good at getting Eric to do things he doesn't want to).

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Tis the season

Christmas time is so much fun with little Heber. He may be a tad young for it all, but he gives me that little excuse to do certain things..."because I have a kid" now. He just makes it all the more magical here, and it's only going to get better.

Joshua James' pretty version of Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel.
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their story—collected

This summer I spent many long hours helping my mom, along with her brothers and sisters, put together a family history book. We had a big family reunion in July, so felt it appropriate to finally document my grandparents' lives. 

I thought I knew all about my grandma's story, but I kept getting all the facts and dates mixed up. When I put this book together I couldn't believe how much I was missing. It was so neat to discover her childhood and the stories I've never even heard before. Goodness, my grandma was rock solid! She went through a lot, but never really talked about any of the hardships. Grandma Wanda passed away from cancer while my sister and I were working in Alaska one summer. I remember it being really hard for me, yet so grateful that I was able to grow up with her in my life.

On the other hand, I never knew my grandpa. He died from a heart attack when my oldest brother was only a toddler. I always wanted to know more about him, so when I compiled all his stuff I finally felt a connection that I've never really had. I learned so many things about his childhood, his service in the war, and the struggles he and my grandma went through with employment and raising their kids. Grandpa Wayne served his God, his family, and his country.
I finished this project with a stronger love for my grandparents and a grateful heart for the blessing of family.

Pages from the book: 

I'm so grateful I was able to put this collection of photos, dates, and stories together for future generations to enjoy.
My new favorite quote:

“God is the designer of the family. He intended that the greatest of happiness, the most satisfying aspects of life, the deepest joys should come in our associations together and our concerns one for another as fathers and mothers and children.” 

(Gordon B. Hinckley, in Conference Report, April 1991, 98; or Ensign, May 1991, 74).

also, special thanks to my sissies for their photo skills in the book.

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