What's happening in our world...

The Utah trip has come and gone, and unfortunately, as of today we are back to the daily grind. We flew into Salt Lake on Thursday, arriving at 11:30 pm. My little brother and his now wife, Janie, picked us up from the Airport and drove us back to his apartment. It was fun to see Salt Lake from the air, and then from the freeway, and we were able to easily see some changes that have taken place since we have moved.
We woke up early on Friday and cleaned Ryan's apartment for him, and completed small chores for him to help prepare for the wedding. We were able to get an hour or so away from chores and went to the Cheesecake factory (one of the greatest additions to the Salt Lake Valley) where I met a former co-worker (Anna) and caught up with her over lunch.
My family arrived later that afternoon and were anxious to see Ellison! We spent much of the afternoon catching up and then that evening had a family dinner with Janie's family at a church near her home. Ellison loved seeing her cousins, and basically loves any children around her same height!
The next morning was busy getting Ryan, myself and Ellison ready for the wedding. We spent time as a family and just hung out until the ceremony. Ryan got married in the Salt Lake Temple and thankfully we have such a great friend, Heather, who came to temple square and watched Ellison while we went to the ceremony. That night, Ryan and Janie had their reception at Cactus and Tropicals...such a pretty place! We had a good time seeing some old friends from Salt Lake at the reception and catching up with my dad's side of the family for a moment.
On Sunday Kam and I got together with Chad and Heather who so graciously invited us to lunch at their apartment. We had a great time visiting with them and catching up on all that they/we have missed since we moved. After lunch, Kam and I drove around the Holladay area, to see the places we used to live and work...it was fun to see how things have changed. Later that night, Kam and I drove to North Salt Lake and had dinner with a bunch of my friends I went to OT school with, it was so fun to see everyone (thanks Cailin and Val for getting things together)! It seemed that most of the people there had children around the same age, so Ellison had a great time playing with the other kids.
After dinner, Kam and I drove to Ephraim, Utah to visit Kory, Tiffini and Hailey. We were able to spend the night and visit. Ellison really enjoyed Hailey and tried to attack her (succeeding at times) and love on her. We were able to see their cute house, visit Kory at work and see some of the sights of Ephraim and Manti.
On Monday, Kam and I left Manti and drove to St. George where we attended a retirement party the school threw my mom. It was fun to visit with some of her co-workers. Throughout the rest of the week, we spent much of the time prepping for the open house at my sister's house that was held on Saturday. We were able to visit my sister a work for lunch a few times, and spent some time at the park with Shayla and her cute little boy Max.
On Saturday we had the open house, the weather mostly complied, and we had only a little bit of rain at the very end of the night. It was great to see some old friends from St. George, and I was really excited to see Chelsa and catch up with her. On Sunday we mostly hung out and relaxed at my mom's house, as we were all tired from the weeks activities. Early yesterday morning we woke up, drove to Vegas and flew back to Jackson.
We had a really great time in Utah and were glad we were able to visit, but are also glad to be home. We can't wait until the next opportunity to visit!

I can't believe I am celebrating my first Mother's Day! I hardly seem old enough to take care of myself, let alone another human being! I had to work this Mother's day while Kam and his mom spoke in church. I heard they did a great job. Kam and some other Elders were also sweet enough to take over primary so my teachers and counselors could attend Relief Society. When I got home from work, Kam had the house cleaned, flowers on the table and a gift from Ellison as well as him. I got a necklace, a homemade card and a portable DVD player for our upcoming trip to Utah (we leave on Thursday...yahoo)! I was so excited about these gifts...the house cleaning more than anything! We went to Kam's mom's house and had dinner with the family and gave Kam's mom and Kallee a gift basket full of chocolate...I think secretly we wished we would have kept some of it! We also gave Kam's mom a card from us, and one from Ellison, complete with her hand print. Even though I had to work on my first Mother's Day, it was a positive memorable Day.
I remember last Mother's Day, (I worked) I was talking with a co-worker who was telling me all about the gifts she received for Mother's Day, including home made cards. I was pregnant with Ellison and remember thinking how much I wished she were already here...365 days later, here she is and eight months old already! Ellison has made me realize how much I appreciate my own mother and how much she has done for our family. I don't know if I know a stronger woman than her. She has cared for her family both physically and emotionally. She had dealt with all the illness in our family, and for the most part was the strength to get the rest of us through it. She diligently went to work everyday, wishing she could be home with her babies, but knowing this was something she had to do to take care of the family (something I can also relate to). She has helped so many other people, and I have been told time and time again how much she means to other people, and I know that she means that much more to me. I can only hope that I become a mother to Ellison like my mother has become to me.
Kam says about his mom:
She has always supported me in my dreams and ideas...no matter how crazy. She fixes the best food and is always willing to do whatever it takes to make her family happy. She is always concerned about other people and wants everyone to be happy. She loves her children and grandchildren so much, she spends time away from dad to be with them. She is always willing to help out, and a lot of times doesn't have to be asked, but volunteers. She is fun loving, happy and supportive and I am glad she is my mother.
I hope everyone else had a great mothers day as well, whether you were celebrating it for yourself or for your mother!
P.S. I won't be posting again until we get back from Utah, so check back later!

This past week has seemed to go by fast and slow all at the same time. Kam had two finals earlier this week, and spent the rest of the week studying for the three more he has this coming week. Work has been busy as well, we have had a few other therapists out, so we have had over 12 patients each. For all my therapy buddies, you know how difficult it can be deciding who gets therapy and who doesn't.
Ellison has been busy as well, she is still trying to get the crawling thing down, but still hasn't fine tuned working her arms and legs together. She is so happy and such a good baby. We went out shopping on Saturday (just she and I), and I got stopped 6 times by people telling me how cute she is! Her Grandma, affectionately known as Mema, bought her a walker this week, so she has had fun enjoying that! She has also learned a new trick, every time we try to sit her on the ground, she straightens her legs to prevent this. She has a new found love for standing and will hold on to the back of something (couch, church bench, etc) to support herself while she stands. She gives the ward members quite a show when she does this!
On Saturday we took Ellison for a ride in the bike trailer, and took some cute, fun pictures which I have posted here. We also spent time at Kohl's, Old Navy, Belk (equivalent to Dillards or Meier and Frank), and Ross. I have been on the hunt for a new dress for Ryan's wedding. I looked all through Kohl's and couldn't find a thing, went to Old Navy...same thing. Everything at Belk was too expensive, and I finally found 5 dresses at Ross. I called Kam and told him I couldn't decide which dress to get, so he told me to buy all 5, (which I did) and then we would decide as soon as I got home. So last night, we took back the other dresses I didn't need! It has been so long since I have gone shopping for myself...way before I was pregnant! Anyhow, long story short, I have a dress for Ryan's wedding, Ellison is set with a dress for the wedding and Kam refuses to look for any type of clothing that is related to anything church like...come to think of it, any clothing altogether!
We are busy getting things together for our trip to Utah, and trying to get Kam through this next week until finals are over! Wish us luck!