We're Here!

In case any of you were wondering, we have safely arrived to our destination. I have officially left hell, and arrived in hell frozen over! Ha ha ha. No seriously, my butt has not thawed out since we arrived!!!

Our current residence is a Holiday Inn Express. We found an itty bitty apartment (unfurnished) that we will hopefully move into this weekend. If any of you need gift ideas for me for Christmas, I would recommend gift certificates for massages or chiropractic visits since I am facing weeks of sleeping on the floor. Ouchy!! What a Merry Christmas this is shaping up to be! We miss you all!

Kutter's BD party, #2...Colorado

On our long trek to Iowa from Arizona, we stopped for the night in one of our favorite places on earth, Colorado!!! We stayed at our parents away from our parents house, the Jenkins. They were so excited to see us and had not met Maggie yet. They were very prepared for our arrival and had set up a mini-birthday party for Kutter. Dale picked out a giant cookie and they had it decorated for Kutter. They had plenty of gifts for all the kids. We came away totally outfitted for the upcoming colder climate of Iowa. We are so blessed to have Sharon and Dale in our lives. Our kids are really lucky to have so many people who love them and consider them family. I know and have always known that the reason we went to Colorado was to meet Sharon and Dale. I cannot imagine my life being complete without have them in it.

WWF- The Wright Way

Whenever the Wright family gets together, a wrestling match always seems to erupt between the boys. I say boys because when these guys get into each other's company, they immediately revert back to when they were boys. I have said it since the day we got married, Ryan turns into a 14 year-old every time we walk into his house. He has to be constantly reminded he has a wife and kids. I would be the one to unload the car, take care of the kids, pretty much everything since he was caught in La-La land. I have since started being a bit meaner and have begun nagging him until he helps out. I am sure his family things I am quite the beast but a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do.

I have wandered off the subject, where was I.........okay, I remember. So Thanksgiving was no different. We were staying at John and Stacey's house and everyone had left from a full day of baby blessings and food. I am never sure how these things begin but all I remember is looking down and seeing Ryan on top of John. These things can get out of control so us mom's have to immediately go into protect mode so the kids don't get hit with flying bodies. Here is how the wrestling match usually goes:

Ryan starts the fight

Ryan pretends he is in 7th grade wrestling again and shows off all his moves.

John cannot move......only because he is laughing too hard.

John regains his composure

John throws his weight around and gets on top of Ryan

Ryan gives up immediately

Game over

Since this is my blog and I have to "support" my husband. I have withheld the pictures of Ryan actually losing and only posted the pictures in which it looks like he is dominating the competition. (You're welcome honey, sorry John!)

Babies, Blessings, and Baby Blessings

Our extremely busy and eventful week continued in Logan on November 30th. There have been a lot of babies born into the Wright Clan this past year. Three of which came very recently. Ryan's sister, Kathy, had twins in September and Ryan's brother John, well his wife, had a baby girl in Oct. They were all so kind as to have the baby blessings while we were in town. We were so excited that we got to be there and even more excited that we got to meet these little bundles of joy.

With baby blessings, comes food and we sure had a lot of it. We had a full on meal at Kathy and Todd's house for their blessings and another one at Stacey's house for hers. It was a very tasty day and such a great day to be all together again. We miss our families so much and just relish in the times that we do get to be around each other.

Going on an Adventure!

Before Thanksgiving dinner was served, we sent Kutter and Gage (his cousin that is 2 weeks older than him) out to play. Kutter was dying to play outside, even though it was freezing cold to our Arizona blood. We bundled them the best we could with what we had and sent them on their way. Later, I went to get them for dinner and found that they wandered into a field behind Gage's house and was a good 200 yards away. I had to travel a good distance before they could hear my voice calling their name. They came running back and were so excited to tell me about their adventure. They made me promise they could go on another adventure after dinner. It was a deal!



So dinner was served and before the last bite was swallowed, the boys were harassing us to let them go on their adventure. Seeing the distance they had traveled before, I felt it necessary to send Ryan with them. One thing led to another and somehow all the boys were heading out. Well, all the boys and me and Payton. We probably should have left the princess home (Payton, not me!) because she was cold and miserable in the elements. She demanded to be carried everywhere. I guess that is the proper transportation for a princess!



We were off! I was actually mortified when I discovered where the boys had traveled to earlier in the day. There was a creek with rushing water that they crossed on their own. I had sudden images of one of them falling in so I was glad we all decided to come along this time. The two travel guides took off ahead of us, having their own little expedition. They were throwing rocks, picking up sticks, and hiding in bushes. By the end of the journey, they were filthy, muddy little creatures.....all boy!! It turned out to be a pretty fun, freezing but fun little hike. It definitely made the Thanksgiving Day a memorable one. By the end of the trek, I have never wanted hot chocolate and a hot tubber more in my entire life. Brrrrr!

Thanks boys for taking us on your little adventure!

Maggie's First Thanksgiving

So I failed to get any pictures of Maggie actually eating her first Thanksgiving meal, but Maggie had a very significant day besides the food. This was the first time the majority of Ryan's family had actually met Maggie. Ryan parents and brother, Nate, came down when she was blessed but no one else had met her yet. The most significant introduction for the day came when Maggie met one of her namesake, Ryan's Grandma Wright. Maggie was also named after Sharmae, Ryan's sister. But it was a special moment when Maggie and Grandma Wright met. You see, Grandma Wright never liked me much but I think I finally made great strides in that department when I helped produce a child that carries her name. It does not take much to please that lady, right? I think we had solidified that Maggie was her favorite great-grandchild for about 6-months. Then Kathy had to steal our thunder and have Lanie Mae. Oh well, can't win em' all! I am totally kidding Kathy, I love that our kids have the same middle name.

I also snapped a cute picture of a granddad-granddaughter moment. I love sitting back and watching people spend time with my kids. Such important memories being made.
This last picture is just of Maggie in an army hat. Kutter finds all sorts of hats and always puts them on Maggie. So far, she does not seem to mind. I think Kutter could do whatever he wanted to her and she would be fine. She sure does love her big brother!

Traveling to Utah

We started our move to Iowa by heading to Utah for the Thanksgiving holiday. We made it as far as Page, AZ the first night then made the rest of the trip the next morning. The car was packed to the gills and each child only had a small hole dug out of stuff for them to squeeze into. Kutter even managed to smuggle a few extra things into the car which he then had to carry on his lap. Our fantastic neighbors, the Gibasons, bought the kids some movies for the road. Here they are enjoying Journey to the Center of the Earth, in 3-D. Thanks Kimmy and Eric, your gift was a hit....and a lifesaver!

All three kids were such troopers on the entire trip. I complained about the 3 hour drive to Salt Lake City from Vernal when I was a kid. We used to have to stop in Duschesne and Heber to take a break and get a drink. My kids can sit in the car for an entire day and not even complain. I think they just must be used to it. We have been traveling since they were itty bitty babies, maybe they don't know life any different. Let's just hope they don't figure out how to complain in the car. If that happens, our family may never see us again because we won't be driving long distances any more!