2009, What's New!?!

Happy New Year everyone!  I knew I wouldn't be blogging during the holidays.  Too much going on to take the time to sit and do it, along with everything else.  I don't even really have a lot of time today, but I thought I would squeeze in a quick note about our holidays, along with some new pics, so that I don't have this nagging at me.

The Monday before Christmas, we took our family's annual trip to Temple Square to see the lights.  What a beautiful adventure this always is.  The children really enjoy the festivity and they are also always keen to talk about the Savior's birth.  I am happy we have this tradition and that we are blessed to live so close to Church headquarters so that we can do it every year.  My camera didn't have a memory card in it so I wasn't able to get pictures for you all.  I guess that means we take some next year.  I really am such a dork.

Christmas was wonderful!  We had my parents, sister Denise and her family, and brother Jeff and his wife Jen for Christmas Eve dinner and we had a great time opening presents, eating Honeybaked ham, and reflecting on the year together.  There were some really funny moments of note.  Denise's boy Roman, who is 7 weeks older than Logan, is just getting good at walking.  Logan is getting good at cruising.  So, while Roman struggled to walk around, Logan struggled to use Roman as an object to cruise on.  Sort of a mobile cruising device, if you will.  Watching the two of them struggle to remain upright and balance each other was a lot like watching a couple of Navy guys on shore leave coming out of a bar at the end of the night.  "Hey!  Hold me up man!"  "I am holding you up, hold me up!"  It was pretty funny.  Very cute too.  I hope my little analogy doesn't turn into a reality for those two, they are close in age and I am afraid that they could end up being partners in crime down the road a few years.  Logan, of course, was fascinated with wrapping paper.  He spent most of his present unwrapping time playing with the wrapping...

After Denise's family went home to see what the Elves brought them in jammies, my mom and dad, Jeff, and Jen, and the rest of Me Hardys found Elf gifts in our beds!

 After opening them to find a haul of awesome pajama wear, the boys bathed and showered and went off to bed and we stayed up a while playing Texas Hold 'Em and watching Jeff kick our butts.  Jeff and Jen stayed over Christmas Eve and we woke up early Christmas morning (the older boys were up at 5:00 am but we made them wait until 7:15 am) to fresh snow and Santa's haul!  Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Dorothy joined us for the festival of present opening and "passing out" because the gifts were so good.

They moved on to Denise's to witness her present festival around 9:30 am and we cooked a big breakfast and spent the rest of the day playing with new gifts, reorganizing old toys, cleaning up wrapping paper, and contemplating the Savior's birth.  

I love our family traditions because each Christmas Eve night we watch a short video on the Nativity and read the passages in Luke that describe the circumstances of Jesus' humble birth.  What a story!  To think that the greatest human being to ever live, and our personal Savior was born, like we are, to a woman, in a stable and slept in a manger of straw.  I'm sure it wasn't hay, hay is much too scratchy...unless it was grass hay, then maybe.  Anyway, somehow, for me to consider His birth in such a way causes me to feel hopeful that maybe I may be able to be more like Him.  Such a time of hope Christmas is.

After Crazy Christmas, we settled in for the 3 day preparation for Jeff's 9th birthday.  I can't believe my child is 9 years old.  He's super tall too.  He's up to my shoulders these days.  How in the heck did that happen?  Jeff lost the opportunity to have a big friend-invite birthday due to some behavior issues at home and school but we had lots of fun anyway.  Todd's parents (Nana and Papa, Lorna and Rick) came up to visit just for Jeff's birthday and what a great time we had!  After Jeff went scrambling around opening his multiple gifts (and "passed out" some more due to their fabulousness), we had a big breakfast at home and then went to Fat Cats for pizza, bowling, and arcade gaming.  Jeff went crazy.  I bowled the game of my life.

It was a good birthday for both of us.  Jackson is quite the bowler too...who knew?  Logan doesn't do so well.  Actually, he kind of sucks.  After a while we took off his bowling shoes and took the ball away and occupied him with other pursuits.  I'm kidding...Logan didn't bowl.  The afternoon of Jeff's birthday involved going to Barnes and Noble and picking out some new books (he reads at a 6th grade level) and going to dinner at Tepanyaki.  He loved it!  We had a great time.  My parents were there, Todd's parents were there, and there were the Me Hardys.  It was so much fun!  A more apt celebration for a special 9 year old boy was never had.  We love our Jeffrey and are so grateful for him.  I am sure, after his birthday celebration, there is no doubt of that.

We took another quick trip to see the Zoo Lights at Utah's Hogle Zoo on December 30th.  We went with Nana and Papa.  We all had a great time seeing the animals in fresh snow and marveling at the great job the zoo does making this event one we are definitely going to add to our yearly holiday traditions.  Rick and Lorna had recently been to San Diego Zoo and, if you've been you know that it is the BEST ZOO EVER, but I think Hogle Zoo impressed them with the Zoo Lights.  Way to go our little zoo!  In addition to this event, Logan got his first hair cut, and his first "being mobile" war wound.  You can see both here...our poor little carpet-rashed baby!  He's gonna be walking in days.  I am terrified!

New Year's Eve was spent at a party with our neighborhood plus at our dear friends' Brad and Stacey Jackson's home across the street.  We had so much fun eating grilled Bratwurst and Chicken and playing Texas Hold 'Em.  It was a lot of fun to ring in the New Year with neat friends and their abundant children.  At midnight, we set off some of Brad's impressive collection of illegal fireworks.  We brought 2009 in with a BANG!  It was funny to note that my horses are all completely conditioned to the fireworks now.  Living across the street from Brad has made the well-prepared for hunting, bombing, strafing, and general war use.  What a bonus!  I don't think any of them even opened an eye to see what the noise was about.

As we moved into the New Year, our beloved University of Utah Utes beat Alabama (yes, ALABAMA!) 31-17 in the 2009 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on January 2nd.  This means that they end their season 13-0, undefeated, and some of those games were against super tough teams.  We are so proud of our Utah Utes and await the verdict...will they get the #1 ranking they deserve, being as they are the ONLY undefeated team in the nation?  It's not likely, but it may, at least, cause the "powers that be" to reflect upon whether the current system for Championship College Football is working...I can only hope.  It was a great game and I love my Alma Mater!  One last note, Utah governor John Huntsman Jr. declared January 5th Utah Utes Day here in Utah.  How cool is that?  BYU doesn't have a day...  GO UTES!

Today, as I sit and relay the highlights of the last two weeks and our holiday and birthday celebrations, I have one last bit of not so good news.  Todd lost his Grandma Mary Lou Hardy this morning.  She has already been fighting off several different ailments over the past year and has been gradually deteriorating in her health.  It has been hard to watch such a strong, independent, and vibrant woman struggle with the ravages of time.  The day before Christmas Eve she suffered a fall when visiting Todd's aunt and had a serious head injury as a result.  Since she was in Salt Lake when she fell, we were able to see her regularly through out the holiday weeks as she struggled with her injuries and existing conditions.  Unfortunately, her health was poor enough and her injuries severe enough that she wasn't able to fight off a serious lung infection and ultimately passed with pneumonia.  We are so sad to see her go.  She will be greatly missed!  It is times like these that I am so grateful that we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that we know our families can be together forever.  I have no idea how people get through these times without that knowledge.  We will  be attending her funeral in Alamo, Nevada sometime within the next week.  I ask that you consider Todd and his family in your prayers and that you all remember to enjoy your loved ones while they are here for when they are gone, they will be missed!

Well, that's it!  I hope you are all having a wonderful New Year!  I hope you enjoyed Utah Utes Day and that you realize what a great team they are and that you just go ahead and join the fan club!  My New Year's Commitment this year is to get myself back in shape.  I am physically stressed with post-baby weight (and then some), too much worrying, and yummy (yet not so good) food.  I commit to get my body back to healthy and liveable and I challenge you to take on growth yourselves in this new opportunity 2009.   May you all be blessed with health and abundance this year!  Much love to you all!!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

I woke up this morning to see an awful lot of snow falling outside. Dare I get excited? Don't get me wrong, most of you know I'm not a die hard ski bunny (anymore) but once it gets cold, I figure it oughta just snow. My perennials won't grow or bloom, the leaves are off the trees, the horses are all fuzzy, and the dogs bring in dead leaves every time they go outside. It's time to cover that dead and yellowing grass and all of those leaves with beautiful, white, and cozy snow. Besides, I love watching my animals work with the snow. They often enjoy it the way we would, and sometimes they play in it. I love to watch that. My dogs will roll and roll in fresh snow. Especially Daisy. She enjoys it at 100%. The horses will weather it as it falls and then, once it has stopped, they get out and play in it. They run, buck, kick, and rear playing and playing. They like to watch it fly around. They love the crisp air. For now, they are weathering the storm.

It is something I can stand and watch for hours. It may look boring but, to me, it is not. I don't know if that makes me weird. It doesn't really matter to me if it does. It's one thing I love about living where I do with all that I have. Truly something that causes me to reflect on my blessings and to feel grateful. Who knew that the weather would call forth such a reflection? Either way, I am grateful for the weather change and all it brings.

This week has been standardly busy for us Hardys. Jeff and Jackson weathered another week of school with flying colors. They are getting along at school and making good grades. Things seem to be evening out. We attended another choir performance for Jeff on Thursday. They performed at Ogden City's Christmas Village and did 5 songs. He was in the front row and we could see him SO well! I am sorry I didn't bring the camera this time. He did a great job and was so much fun to watch. He is such a performer. Is there anything that kid doesn't do well? I guess sit quietly. He doesn't really sit quietly. I don't think any of us do though, I can't really point fingers. As Jackson tells me, "There are no faults Mom."

Jeff performed tonight at the Joseph Smith Memorial in Salt Lake and at Utah's Hogle Zoo for the Zoo Lights display. We went down to watch him and I took lots of pictures and video of this extravaganza. It was so much fun! For one thing, I think it's awesome that Jeff's choir teacher takes the time to set up such neat performance venues! What an awesome lady! The Joseph Smith Memorial was typically opulent and beautiful and our little choir made the vestibule ring with Christmas cheer. It was fun to see the kids gawking at the decorations as they sang. It also brought such warmth to my heart as I watched the passersby stop to partake of the season in such a beautiful place while they listened to the innocence and joy of these children as they sang. Considering the location, I would say it was a great missionary tool as well. My son Jeff has such a strong testimony. I know it was special to him that he got to sing in such an important place. It was also fun to listen to Jackson shout, "Look, it's the temple!" as we walked by the west windows. Our family still needs to make the time to walk Temple Square this season. It is an important tradition for us, maybe next Monday we will spend our FHE that way.

The Zoo Lights at Utah's Hogle Zoo were awesome! If you haven't been, you gotta go. They have begun to do it every year from December 1 to December 26th. It truly was magical. I know that sounds cliche, but it was! I told Todd that it was like a "Layla Christmas". Christmas lights and animals, how can it get any better. The new snow added a special magic to the whole scene and I really think it was as good as any Disney theme park. That's saying a lot. We are Disney junkies. Watching Jeff sing there was lots of fun but I know that the choir director set it up mostly to get the kids in for free because they didn't have many people to sing for and they spent an hour walking through the zoo to see the animals and the lights. What a special occasion. I can't wait to see the video I got of the whole thing. I hope it does the place justice. The best part was the segment I think I'll be sending to American's Funniest Home Videos. Jeff kept sticking the end of his electric candle in his mouth instead of singing and it was pretty dang funny. You'll have to watch AFV for him sometime in the next year.

Jackson is getting dang good at all of his letters and their sounds. He says he feels like the letters are "tricking" him sometimes. He tells me that "g" and "c" don't sound like they "should". I just tell him to be patient with the tricky letters, being able to read is a power he will have his whole life. He is hanging in there. He had quite the time at his last wrestling meet this weekend.

He took his first 1st place of the year! For someone who is wrestling for the first time against some kids who are their second year, that is impressive. I would say he's a chip off the old

block and I don't mean me. He pinned the first two boys he wrestled outright and then won on points with his third match. I am so proud of him. Even though his coach wasn't there (Todd) he wrestled better than I've ever seen him. Todd wondered to me if he needed to just stay away next year. I don't think that's the case. I think it was just a good day for Jack.

Jeffrey wrestled his last tournament this past Saturday as well. He wrestled two boys he has already met up against (and beaten) and then a new kid. The new boy was a wrestling progeny. As I watched his family

line up around the mat I saw his brother, who wrestles for Weber High (state champs the last 3 years), and his dad who is an MMA fighter with a wrestling base. Jeff picked that moment to come to me, quite forlorn, and say, "Mom, this kid's been wrestling for 5 years!" I told him not to worry, to work as hard as he could, and to have fun. He gave it his best shot but in the last of his three bouts against this boy, he was pinned. It was his first time being pinned and meant that he finished this tournament with his first 2nd place medal. He was pretty frustrated, considering he's had 1st place medals every other week. I think it is good for him to find out what second place feels like though.

It gives him something to work toward for next year and supports him in learning that he isn't invincible. I say, overall, they both had a successful first season and they have told me that they want to do it again next year. I am happy to provide them with that. I, however, am very excited that this is the end of their sports until this summer when they go back into baseball. Mom needs a "sports" break.

Todd had his first "UTA" Drill Weekend at Hill AFB this past weekend. He was getting "oriented" on being in the military. Ha, ha. It was good fun for all. He was on Cloud 9 all weekend long as he was back in uniform and back in the boys' club. What more can I say? He got all the details of his military record/life organized, added Logan to his records, and reinstated our life insurance. So now we can all die and leave somebody something. You can

make a bid on who gets our life insurance. The will goes to the highest bidder. Good luck. Just kidding. What else can I say about it? It's nice to have that kind of security back in our lives again. I can't really overstate that at all. We have health insurance, we have life insurance, they are with a stable "company". It is (almost) all good. I think with the couple of "big" contracts that are still outstanding with Phoenix Alloys are signed and the guys are delivering on them every week, I will feel "totally" secure (whatever that means). Until then, I am grateful for my blessings, for the abundance we are experiencing every day, and for the continued blessings of the Lord.

We are headed out to Las Vegas this week. We are going down to our annual run at the National Finals Rodeo. Laurie got me tickets for my birthday this year and we are going with my parents and with Andrea and Jason (Andrea's fiancee'). I am really excited! This is the one really special thing I get to do EVERY year with my parents and Todd. It has become a tradition that we all enjoy and it truly is the best damn rodeo you have ever seen! I love rodeo, I love looking at horseflesh, and I LOVE shopping at the Cowboy Christmas trade show that happens at the Las Vegas Convention Center every year. It is Layla heaven. I am so grateful that my family "gets" me such that they support me in this thing that I love. I know they don't all love it, but they support me, and what more can I ask for? Besides, I think my parents and Todd have become quite the rodeo junkies anyway. Todd would say that he has always loved rodeo, and I know that's true, but he's way more invested now that he has surrendered to his roots. Bless him. We will see Laurie while we are there and kiss her face (and the baby Russ' face too!). Jeff and Jack will go with "Papa" to Alamo for a sleepover as Grandpa Rick will be watching them while we rodeo fan. We'll keep the Lolo with us. He needs to go to the NFR since he's free. It's gonna be a nice vacation and I am grateful for our babysitter/petsitter Courtney for taking care of our critters while we're gone.

As far as "The Chicken Letters" are concerned, there just isn't much to share. Our chickens are safely living in captivity now and, it seems, they don't have much drama unless they are roaming around "free range". They've been "cooped up" (ha, ha) since Thanksgiving week and all are healthy, happy, and fatter. We're getting 5 to 8 eggs per day (do you need any?) and they have worked out a semi-humane pecking order. Even our new ladies, Feathers Kaboom-Pellet and Parmesan, are getting along well though they are on the bottom rung. Sorry there just isn't more to tell. I am disappointed though relieved that I don't have more drama. I am sure this spring, when we are letting them range a bit again, there will be more to come. Who knows, maybe something else will happen? I pray they all stay alive and that all our critters stay healthy. We have to knock on wood around here, we have some old horses (25 and 18) and some old dogs (11 and 9). No one needs to head over Rainbow Bridge just yet.

Well, that's it. I will do more Christmas shopping when I get back from Vegas and intend to wrap up (I'm really hitting the puns today) my holiday preparations next week. I am sure we'll have stories to tell about our time down south. I hope this finds you well. If you want a Christmas Card/Letter, email me and I'll get you one. You can always catch me at laylahardy@gmail.com.

Love to you all!!