Happy Birthday Craig

I knew that this day would be hard, but I guess I didn't know how hard.  I never know what emotions I will feel from one day to the next. Some days I feel like things are better and I will be ok, then other days I don't think I can survive the day. The day before his birthday I just bawled and bawled, which I haven't done for a while.  I feel so much sadness and pain.  I always talked to Craig  on August 31 about everything.  Craig was someone you could easily talk to for an hour about politics, sports, medicine, trips, recent new, life.  I miss those talks.  I miss him everyday.  I miss him managing the fantasy football league, I miss his sarcasm, I miss his wit and advice, I miss his knowledge, I miss his hugs, I miss his "I love you's," I miss his thoughtfulness.  Not a day goes by I don't think of him, I am always reminded of him by songs, things people say, or just random things I see or hear.  I always got him the same thing for his birthday, a gift card to Best Buy, and then 14 days later I would get a gift card for Chili's from him for my birthday.  I love you Craig. 

 Christmas in Hawaii

 We chose to go on a mud buggy tour, while the rest of the family went on a different tour. We had a blast!

 Before we got muddy

 My wonderful brothers! I love them so much!

 Craig and I in Montana (I'm like 6 months pregnant). Even though he was only able to be in Montana for 48 hours because he had to get back to school, he still made the effort to come be with the family.  He always made an effort to be with family.

Christmas morning. Craig and his beautiful fiance holding Izzy.  It makes me so sad that Izzy won't remember or get to grow up with Uncle Craig.  He was such a great uncle.

I know life is hard and it's not just me that experiences hard things in life.  We all have our challenges and I try not to get too down on myself. I am so blessed to have such a great family and friends who offer me support in my life.  I am so blessed to have the gospel in my life which uplifts me and comforts me. These are some of the things that have helped me through some tough days:

• I have a great family.  My sister and I talked for two hours tonight. She is an inspiration to me. 
• My cousin came to visit me with her husband and kids. It is so nice to talk to someone who knows my family, who knew Craig, and can somewhat understand some of the pain.
• Mike and Izzy.  There have been some mornings where I just want to lay in bed and cry.  Izzy will come and cuddle with me and give me hugs.  She is such a blessing in my life. 
• My best friend from high school called me randomly and we chatted for a couple hours.  Her brother and Craig were also best friends.  
• My other best friend from high school is starting medical school at the U and she came over and spent the day.  It was great to laugh about our memories of Craig.
• I have great in-laws.  There was one Sunday afternoon a few weeks after Craig's death and I didn't know how I would get through the day; I was able to talk to my sister-in-law and felt much better after.  There is something about just being able to talk to someone and know that they care.
• My two friends from work sent me flowers today.  They are so sweet and thoughtful.  They always send me texts to see how I'm doing and go out to lunch or dinner with me. 
• People from our new ward are absolutely amazing.  Everyone has made me feel so welcome.  Izzy and I always have playdates to go on and people to hang out with. 
• My friend from my old ward came over to can peaches with me today.  Her brother died about a year ago and she has been an answer to my prayers.  She came over the morning after I found out about Craig's death and she has been there for me ever since.

The list could go on and on. I am truly blessed by the outpouring of love from family, friends, neighbors.  I know the Lord does answer our prayers and often through other people.  There have been so many times when I was having a hard day when someone would call, text, invite Izzy and I over, or send a sweet note. I know those were all answers to my prayers.

Lake Powell

Mike, Izzy, Kathryn, my dad, and I went to Lake Powell for a few days.  It was  the first time for all of us and we had a great time. Izzy had never been on a car ride that long before, but she was a champ.  Luckily the truck has a tv and she watched her favorite DVD "Baby Animals" 10+ times and she didn't even care if the sound was on!

Feeding the ducks and the fish was Izzy's favorite part.  When we ran out of bread she fed them gold fish, cookies, chips, whatever she could find.

More feeding.

Dad and Mike

I loved the red rock!

Izzy getting ready for a nap

And she's out

This is when I leave her and go surf.  Then I don't hear, "mama" cry from the boat.

Trying to surf, but it looks like I'm about to fall

Looks a little better here.

When she wakes up she is all smiles

Going for a swim

This was the first time she would jump into the water by herself. She would laugh and laugh and say more, more.  It was really cute.

Izzy and Grandpa cuddling up.  She really warmed up to him this trip. I'm sure all the chocolate chip cookies he kept giving her helped.

Mike's the real pro.

Kathryn, my sister, was awesome too.  She completed her first 360.

Izzy started to wake up so Grandpa put her back to bed, impressive.

Cliff jumping

We had a great time on our trip!  We will definitely go again......maybe this weekend!

Neighbors

I love our neighborhood and our neighbors.  One thing I was worried about when we moved was that there wouldn't be any young families. Luckily, I was wrong.  I can think of at least five other woman who have just one kid about the same age as Izzy. It is so fun to hang out with them and let our kids play.  On Saturday we had a BBQ with 4 other families who have young kids.  It was fun to get to know some of our neighbors better.

The kids jumping on the trampoline. 

 More jumping.

 And more jumping.  They would have stayed all night if we let them.

Today we went to the animal farm.  It seems we go there a lot.  However, I learned something today, do NOT go on Tuesdays because they have $2 Tuesdays and it is a zoo.  I went with two other ladies from our ward and their kids, afterwards we went to lunch at Chick-fil-a.  We had a great time, even though lots of the time was spent chasing kids.  I love all the activities and fun stuff there is to do during the summer. 

Izzy counting to 10. 

I am so happy with our move, the people we have met, and that I can stay home with Izzy and enjoy all the fun activities.  Even though some days it's a little crazy, it's good overall.

Family comes to visit

Mike's uncle, Robert, and cousin, Antoine came to visit for a week.  We were really excited for them to come and had a great time. They got in late Thursday night.  We had been telling Izzy that Antoine was coming to visit so when she woke up Friday morning she kept saying, Antoine, Antoine.  Luckily he woke up soon after her.  

 They went straight to the trampoline still in their pajamas.

 Friday we went to the animal farm.  Izzy loves that place and so did Antoine.

 Izzy trying to feed the sheep.

 Izzy riding the horse.  Seriously she would be in heaven if we lived on a farm.  I walk along beside her, but she holds on by herself.

 Izzy and Antoine playing in the farm play area.

 That afternoon we went to the dinosaur museum.

 Izzy and Antoine.

 She is mad because she wanted to crawl in the area with the shark.

 Saturday we went boating.  I love that her sunglasses match her lifejacket.

 A boating trip would not be complete without Izzy sleeping.  She is the best little boater.

 Antoine LOVED surfing, he would ride on his stomach and knees.  I think Mike and I each went twice and the other 6 hours Antoine was out there.  It was a blast!

 Antoine and Izzy driving the boat

 Monday we went to Seven Peaks.  Izzy is taking her nap under a shade tree.  It's so nice she will sleep anywhere...boat, church, car, 7 Peaks, plane, it really doesn't matter.

 Antoine enjoyed the rides.

 Mike and Robert hung out with Izzy while she slept and Antoine and I rode some rides.

 We finished the evening at Tucanos.  Tuesday we went boating again and Wednesday they headed home.  We had such a fun week!  It always goes by too fast.

 Today we went to a baby blessing for Ayla Snarr.  Kellie and Greg were some of our closest friends in Provo; they live in Cali now.  They blessed their baby in Utah because their family lives here.  It was a beautiful blessing and we were glad to be there.  Afterward, they had a BBQ at a nearby park.  Izzy and Dylan played together on the slides.

Of course, Izzy found a dog and would not leave his side. She threw a fit when we had to leave and she had to tell the dog bye bye.

Family Reunion

Mike, Izzy, and I flew to Texas on Friday, July 22 for a Posey family reunion.  All of my cousins, plus kids, on my mom's side, except one were there.  There were 42 of us total.  We had two lakehouses, 2 boats, and 3 jetskis.  It was a blast! I realized I don't have any pictures from the water because I was too scared to drop my camera in the lake.  But there are plenty on facebook that Kathryn added.    

Saturday was supposed to be my brother's wedding.  Needless to say it was a difficult day, but not as bad as I anticipated.  I had moments where I would think, 'Craig is supposed to get married today,' but something would happen and I was quickly distracted.  On Friday when we were about to leave for the airport I had a breakdown telling Mike I couldn't go because I was supposed to be going for wedding, not a family reunion.  I got it together and the flight was good.  Saturday morning we gave Lindsey (Craig's fiance) a bracelet that we had bought her that had a sweet message engraved on it.  Of course, there were tears. 

 Dennis was even there for the moment.  With a Dr. Pepper of course.  If you know anything about my mom's family, they can drink their Dr. Pepper!

 Izzy wanted in on the Dr. Pepper action.  Really she just liked getting ice out of the cooler and eating it or giving it to Dude.

 Suzette and Jon grilled up some yummy burgers!

Izzy getting more ice, we couldn't keep her out of it. Granted it was 107 outside.

 Suzette and Dennis relaxing in the hammock.

 Izzy would not leave Dude alone.  I think she is licking ice off the porch like he does.  She followed him around nonstop, calling him Maggie.  About three weeks ago we were in Canada and there was a dog named Maggie, I guess she thought he was the same dog.

 Relaxing on the porch was a nightly event.  The sunsets were beautiful.

 Izzy LOVED having so many cousins to play with.  Izzy and Alexis playing together, which they did a lot.  There were about 17 kids between the ages 6-14.  They loved playing with her and Izzy loved them.

 On Sunday we went to the UT Co-op so people could get souvenirs.  The minute Izzy saw the Longhorn, she yelled, 'Bevo.'  She has a stuffed animal one at home.  Of course she wanted to pet him. It was pretty funny.

Playing with Dude's water.

Playing with my cousin, Amber.

Giving Grandma a kiss.

Giving Lindsey a kiss.

Lindsey and I.  She is such a sweetie.  All the kids loved her.
We had such a great trip and I am so glad I was able to be with family.  It was awesome that everyone was able to make it, some flew in from Alaska, and others drove 20+ hours, it was impressive!

Izzy loves her new shades and I think they're pretty cute too!

This past weekend we went out on the lake with some friends.  Izzy was Aislinn's little bud the whole boat trip.  I'm so lucky to have such great friends and family!