Home Again

Time has seriously escaped me.  I blinked and it is August already.  I will try and touch on the highlights.

Robert started his own company.  He now has a dealer for Direct TV and Dish.  He really loves his job and I am so grateful he does.  It has really been eye opening to see what it takes to get this business up and going.  It is constantly evolving.  Robert loves the daily problem solving and challenges. I am glad he loves that kind of thing because I sure don't.

Robert's new business venture has been so wonderful though.  It has allowed us to move back to Utah to be near family, which has been the best thing.  Our landlords of our home in Texas called us back in May to inform us that they were selling the house that we were living in.  They would honor our contract but we had to be out by July 1st.

And so the packing began.  Luckily I had saved some boxes from the first big move and only had to round up a few more.  Packing seemed easier this time around.  I don't know if it was because Drew was older or that I knew how to pack things but it went quickly.  With Roberts new job he has teams spread across the nation so we could live anywhere.  He would be traveling a lot so I figured it would be best to be near family to help me.

So goodbye Katy! It was so good while we were there.  We really did enjoy our time there.  However, Utah just holds a special place in my heart. We miss our friends back in Texas and I did love the city we were in.  I don't miss the cockroaches.  So gross!

The return trip was long but my mom was kind enough to fly out to help me drive back with Drew.  We were able to stop at Magnolia market again in Waco.  So that was worth it! We stocked up on cute home decor and ate the most delicious cupcakes from the bakery there.  It was so fun.  It took us three days to make it to Utah.  Drew did really well on the trip.  He is such a trooper.

Since we have been home it has been a busy whirl wind.  We were so excited though. Summers in Utah are so special  and we haven't been able to have one in a few years.  I am grateful for the summers we were gone though.  It truly makes you appreciate what you miss.

Fourth of July was perfect.  We spent the afternoon with my grandparents and Aunt and Uncle watching a parade (Drew's first).  And then we had a wonderful lunch at my grandparents beautiful home.  They are the best cooks and their garden looks like it is straight from a magazine.

Later that evening we had dinner with Robert's family and did fireworks.  It was a perfect day.  It was so nice that Robert didn't have to work the holiday.

Robert was able to attend his first Corry Reunion.  It was so nice being able to share one of my favorite summer traditions with him.  It was also nice to be surrounded by family I hadn't seen in years.

Also in July, Tay turned 17.  My mom and I threw her a surprise birthday party and it was perfect.   I believe everyone had a great time.  Taylor had no clue about it and it all was executed perfectly!

After the partry the next day we drove up to pick up Cait from the SLC Airport! She was finally home from her mission in Mexico. It's so nice having her home.

We are currently living at my parents house until our place is ready so things have been a little hectic.  Drew is so so so busy.  He loves to explore and climb.  He squacks and squeels quite a bit too making church a bit challenging.  But he is worth it.  I really wouldn't be surprised if he starts walking soon.

A Lot Has Happened!!!

I really can't believe that October was the last time I posted.  It's crazy how fast time has been flying by.  Drew is already 10 Weeks old!

So here is what has happened in the last few months.

We wrapped up October by having a Halloween party at our house.  It was a lot of fun.  A lot of our good friends were able to come hang out and eat!  I am always a sucker for a good costume party.  I can't help it. 

Halloween was great.  Before we knew it Thanksgiving was here.  We bounced back and forth between our parents house and ate a ton of Turkey.  We had a great time with all our family.  We absolutely love the Holidays in our home.

Well December 4th came and went and there was still no sign of our baby.  I had my final appointment and my Doctor decided that I needed to be induced.  December 10th became the day!

We went in at midnight and before I knew it things were rolling a long.  Later that evening our handsome little man had finally arrived.  Drew William Lawrence 8lbs. 10 oz. 20 1/2 inches long. He is oh so perfect and we couldn't have been more thrilled.

We love having this little boy in our family.  He truly has blessed our home.  I never could have imagined how such a small little person could fill our home.  There is no shortage of love when it comes to this sweet baby.

He really is the perfect baby though.  He eats like a champ, sleeps pretty much all through the night, and only cries when he is hungry.  He is content and as happy as can be.  

It has been so fun.  Being a mom is better then I ever could have predicted.  

4 Generations of Lawrence men!

Christmas was wonderful with a new little baby.  We spent time with both sides of the family and we were able to Skype with my sister Caitlin who is coming home from her mission in July! We are so excited! 

The holidays came and went much too soon. Drew turned one month old and we were able to bless him in our ward before the big move.  Unfortunately Drew had a big blow out before I was able to get any pictures of him in his outfit and with the craziness of the move and the rate at which he is growing I wasn't even able to fake a picture... Oh well I will work on photographing important moments.

 Before we knew it it was time to pack up our things in to a Uhaul and move across the country.  It was so hard to say goodbye to all our loved ones.  We knew that we needed to move to Texas though.  Goodbyes are always the hardest part.  Now that we are out here it isn't as terrible as I thought it would be. ;)

My wonderful mother drove with the baby and I while Rob and his Dad took the Uhaul. It took us two and a half days to make it to our new home in Katy but we made it.  My mom and I may have taken a small detour to Wacco just to go to the famous Magnolia Market! It was worth the extra 40 minutes.  We were in home decor heaven! If you are ever near that neck of the woods you must go there.  

PS isn't my mom stunning!

We finally made it to Texas and we actually enjoy it quite a bit.  We love our Ward one hundred percent! They have been so welcoming and we already have quite a few friends.  Our neighborhood is awesome.  We have parks near by and every store we could ever need is within a ten minute drive from our house.

It has taken me awhile to get the house the way I like it but it is coming along.  I do have an adorable baby that distracts me from doing my chores like I should.

Life is good so far.  We honestly can't complain.  I am going to try and be better at this blogging thing especially because it's kind of my journal.  Any how that's all for now.  The baby is waking up from his nap!

Back in Utah...For Now

Well we have been back in Utah for awhile now but it has taken Some time to get back in to the swing of things.

I've started back work at the optometry office until the baby comes and Robert is still doing Vivint but not knocking doors currently. There is a lot of prep work that is done in the off season. 

Since we have been home, life has been crazy and we are still playing catch up. 

While Rob was in Washington in September our poor Camry got hit by a tire that was flying across the highway. Rob took it to a shop where they zip tied it together to help him make it back to Utah. We just barely got our car back this last weekend after it had been in the shop for forever. Luckily we still had Robert trusty old car from High School affectionately name Harvey Dent. I'm so glad that the tire didn't cause Robert to wreck.

It has been so nice being home and being able to spend time with family and friends though. That is what we live for in the off season of work. 

We have been able to go and watch Tay play tennis for her school. She is pretty dang good and it's fun to cheer her on. Robert is still working on his Tennis etiquette however. 

Over the LDS General Conference weekend we were able to watch conference with our families and spend time with them. Conference was so great. I'm so grateful for the reminder to constantly strive to be better in all aspects of life. Even in simple things like being more friendly. 

A couple of weekends ago, Vivint had there annual company party. They had a private carnival and rodeo for us at the Spanish Fork Fair grounds. It was fun even though I wasn't able to go on most of the rides. Robert got to swing from a trapeze and do some other thrill seeking things. We ate tons a fair food, played games, and rode the Ferris wheel. We had a blast. 

The trip also happen to allow us to spend time with Rob's brothers and their families. We love seeing them. And one evening we were able to sneak away to Robert's mission reunion. It was fun seeing friends there that we haven't seen in a long time. 

Ken and Breaunna

When we got home from that exciting weekend apparently we didn't think we had partied hard enough so we rented a car and drove down to Vegas for a couple of days just Rob and I. We ate a lot of great food and saw the Cirque Du Soleil show Mystere. We loved every second of it. We still can't believe the strength and talent of those performers. 

The following weekend we headed up North again. Our good friend Joe and his Fiancé got married in Bountiful. It was fun to be there for their big day. We spent more time with Rob's fam. Just hanging out. And we drove up to Brigham City to spend time with my cousins and see my cousin Clark who just got home from his mission in Florida. 

Rob and Joe went Go Karting for Joe's bachelor party.

It's been an eventful month so far but we have had so much fun. Now it's time to calm things down for a little bit and get ready for the arrival of our baby. We have 6 weeks left to get a nursery thrown together and some other to do's done. We are so excited and feel so blessed. 

Breaking News!

Well we finally found the time to take a picture to announce that we are expecting.

We have known for quite sometime but wanted to keep it a secret until my sister McKenna got home from her mission. Since her mission aloud her to get on Facebook we couldn't put anything on any social media account because we couldn't risk having Facebook break the news to her before we did. 

We are due Dec. 4th and couldn't be more thrilled!  The first 20 weeks were rough between exhaustion and bad morning sickness. I am so grateful that I didn't have to work during that time. But the last 5 weeks have been really great. 

So there you have it! Baby boy Lawrence coming very soon!

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Would you believe it if I told you we moved again? Some of you probably would, some of you would probably just think we are crazy. I'm not going to lie though, I'm grateful to be back in Mountinous regions. Those Tornado warnings are scary stuff. 

Before we get to Albuquerque though we will back track a couple of weeks. 

So much has happened this summer it's crazy! One of the most exciting things though is that my beautiful sister McKenna is back from serving an incredible LDS mission in Halifax, Canada!

We missed her like crazy while she was gone for 18 months but we couldn't be more proud of her hard work. It's so fun to have her home. 

I was suppose to fly home from Kansas to be in Utah in time to hear her speak in church. As it got closer to my departure date, Rob got word that the team would be moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

I somehow managed to talk my husband into adding 14 hours to his drive to New Mexico in order to surprise our families for the weekend. 

The morning of my flight I texted my mom at 4:00 in the morning telling her that my flight had been rescheduled, and that I had a friend that would drive me into town so she didn't need to worry about picking me up. Little did she know that Robert and I already had the majority of our car packed up and we're getting ready to embark on our 16 hour drive through Kansas and Colorado. I have to apologize to my mom for adding more stress to her plate with her already preparing for tons of extended family and friends coming over. I'm sure now she will tell you it was worth it though.  

It was so fun sneaking into my parents house and having Robert with me. They had no idea! Plus, we got to see a lot of cousins from my mom's side of the family.

Afterwards, we went to Robert's parents new house that they bought while we were gone to surprise them! Rob's brother Ken answered the door! Turns out his family was there too! It was the perfect weekend for Robert to make a quick trip home!

We went over to my sister-in-laws Heidi's house to say Hi the following evening, and to our surprise Jamie and her daughters were there on a surprise visit from Arkansas! It was like a little family reunion. 

Before I knew it, the weekend was over and Robert was headed back to work. I was going to stay home for the remainder of the summer but we found out that Robert had an Apartment in New Mexico instead of just a hotel, so I booked a flight to go and spend more time with him. 

We like New Mexico quite a bit. It's quite a bit like Southern Utah but dustier. I also had no idea how huge the city of Albuquerque really was. There is no way I'll see the whole city in my few weeks here. We did take a few hours to explore Old Town Albuquerque. It's such a fun little shopping area. The buildings are mostly old Adobe buildings painted bright colors. They have everything to buy from pottery to jewelry to extremely hot Hot Sauces. 

There was a really pretty old chapel near the center of the shopping area. 

And they also had the Gazebo in a little park where the Albuquerque Tango team was dancing. So we stopped and watched them for a minute. 

It was a really fun little touristy place to go and visit. 

One other thing that I have loved about my stay here is that we found a Bahama Bucks! When I lived in Arizona, my roommate Amanda and I use to go there and get the best shaved ice you have ever had. Seriously, it is absolutely perfection. If you ever get a chance to go you have to get a Bahama Rama Mama. It's your choice of flavor shaved ice with Vanilla Ice Cream on the bottom and their Tropic Creme on top. It's soooo good!

I will try to get out and explore a bit more before I head back to home and back to reality. But that's all for now. 

Boredom Killers

So not working during the summer has its advantages and disadvantages but it really is all how you look at it.

"There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so." -Shakespeare

I love that when I am at home I am able to keep the house clean and make good meals.  Laundry gets done and so do the dishes.  I have a lot of fun out here hanging out with the other girls exploring the town and trying new things.  Also Vivint has a women's club that we are all part of called Elevate and it helps us plan a monthly activity and usually involves prizes.  We have had book clubs and service projects and I try to stay busy.  Sometimes the days can seem a little long when Robert works from 12:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

This month for elevate we had to put together a little service project.  We decided to do random acts of kindness.  It was a lot of fun.  We made little notes and drove around town doing different things.

Leaving a code for a Free Red Box rental

Putting dollars in the dollar bins at target

Leaving quarters in the candy machines

A free car freshener for some one at the car wash

It always brightens my day when I do something to brighten someone else's.  It was also fun seeing how excited the kids were to do something nice too.

Other things I do out here to stay busy include:

1. Blogging :)
2. Reading

Current reads

3. Going to the pool

4. Journaling

5. Trying new recipes

6. Going to the gym

7. Making posters to hang on the wall 

   (It makes the apartment walls less bare)

8. Calling family

9. And lately I have been enjoying listening to TED talks

I really think there should be no reason to be bored. Most of the time you just need an attitude change.  I love the summer because I feel like I get to grow and stretch a little.  What do you do to kill boredom?