And So the Story Goes

I have the Cutest Kids

The I'm Thinking Look

I cannot believe it’s mid January already! Baby Jace is now one month old. We have found that Jace is generally a good kid but loves to voice his opinions and concerns… loudly. He is also constantly in thought and although he appears to look worried all the time he is actually pondering and observing what is going on around him. If you take a moment to stare at Curtis, you will find that his face makes the same expression when in deep thought. Jace is slowly loosing his yellow color and is still attempting to poop comfortably without acting like it’s the hardest task to ever plague man.

Sage is currently working through a cold. She is doing very well in school and her teacher says she is one of the easiest kids to teach because of her thirst for knowledge. And of course it helps that she has a memory of 10 women combined! That’s right guys… women NEVER forget;). Sage has been a lot of help with Jace. She loves to hold him and rock him so I can get a few things done. I am grateful to have such a beautiful, bright and willing to please daughter.

Ashton is at the beginning of a cold. I do not know of another child who is as happy as Ashton even when his throat hurts. He is still as loving as ever. He is also my little helper and is always willing to stop whatever he is doing to lend me a hand. Even if that means touching a poopy (Strange this word was not in the computer dictionary) diaper (Dirty things disgust Ashton) and throwing it into the trash for me when I can not get to it right away.

Curtis… well Curtis is the best! He is the most devoted Father and Husband that there is. I’m sorry ladies… but I have the best Husband out there! Curtis is always willing to lend a hand with the kids. He tries his hardest to support me in anyway. And no other person ever made me feel so loved and appreciated. He bought me the perfect chair to rock my baby in, he got me a new dishwasher even though the old one technically “worked”, and get this… he turns the heat down for me when prego and up when I’m not. This makes for an either “too cold Curtis” or a “too hot Curtis.” But more than anything, he loves me and values me above all else and I can see that. Curtis continues to volunteer on the Search and Rescue Team where he has just recently become the new Dive Sergeant. What does that mean? I’m not 100% sure but from what I understand that means he is responsible for organizing dive training meetings and classes. If you know Curtis you know how much he loves to scuba dive… so its not surprising that he is excited to carry out this new roll in SAR. Besides that, Curtis has been keeping himself busy with organizing the basement, and working on our cars and other people’s cars.

Me… well… Due to the lack of sleep I have been getting not much comes to mind lol. I recently got a new vehicle. It’s a Toyota Land Cruiser and it seems like it’s going to be a great ride. I can’t wait to take it off paved roads on our first family adventure. Besides that, I have been keeping very busy with my newborn. Lots of holding, rocking, feeding… you know the normal motherly things. When I’m not dealing with Jace I’m taking care of the older kids and cleaning. Oh the life of a mom. And I would not give it up for the world. Now if you will excuse me I must go… Jace calls for me and I must check on the progress of Sage and Ashton’s rooms’… xoxo.

You Never Know What a Year Will Bring

“It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things.”
- Donald Miller

Change. Change is the one word that I feel best describes this year for our family. Both of our lives have changed drastically in different ways. Curtis had been single off and on for over five years and was living a fairly care free lifestyle playing hard and collecting lots of toys. I was recovering and working through the pain associated with my last marriage while taking care of my kids and trying to figure out a one year plan. Within one year, Curtis and I met, fell in love, got married, got pregnant and had a baby. Essentially the kids and I gained a husband, a friend, and a Dad. And Curtis received a wife who adores him, and three kids. Both of us needed each other and both of us needed these changes simply because it was right. Neither of us even anticipated that this much change would occur in our lives in such a short period of time.

Even though all these changes were welcome, they had their challenges. You see in order for change to occur you have to give things and people up… essentially sometimes you have to leave a life behind to start a new one. Curtis had to give up some of his playtime so that he could be the man the kids and I need him to be. I had to move my family out to Eagle Mountain and adjust to having a husband who was as active as Curtis. We both had to change certain aspects of our lifestyle to make the other feel more comfortable in the relationship. Some of these changes were difficult for us to make but at the same time they came with some ease because of the respect and immense love we have for each other.

Change. I always did welcome change. Its what keeps life interesting for me, but as I get older and wiser I realize that some things are better left unchanged. I can tell you one thing that has not changed at all for over a year now… I love my family, I love my husband and kids, and that will never change.

Meet Jace Mervin Dudley AKA mini Curtis

On Thursday December 16th Curtis and I took off at 6am heading for the hospital in Orem to get induced. About 12 hours later after the inducement was started Jace Mervin Dudley was born at 8:17PM weighing in at 8 lbs 3 ozs, and measuring 20 inches long. Jace immediately showed the entire room that he had lungs and let out a good cry. If you are wondering what he looks like, he looks just like Curtis. Not sure he got too much genetic material from mom.

We all stayed in the hospital till Saturday morning and then returned home. Jace is doing well but is a bit yellow and is having to undergo biliruben light treatment right now. We are hoping that he will recover soon because the poor boy must be tired of getting his heal poked and blood drained every day!

Mom has had her fastest recovery yet! She is still a bit tired and worries too much as always but is doing fine.

Ashton and Sage are loving the fact they have a new baby brother but are sad they cant really touch him much since he is on lights. Ashton tries to be as helpful as possible even though he is disgusted with dirty diapers, and Sage is just happy she has a baby in the house.

Finally Dad is LOVING his little baby boy like nothing else and is very willing to help out in anyway. He is very protective and loves to just hold Jace and bond.

CDud and JDud

Just after Jace was born. Mom is really tired... can you tell???

Look at those eyes!!! Ive been looking at those same eyes for a year now!!!

Look how sweet he looks... and look at those lips! So kissable.

Finding Perfection

The day after Thanksgiving, our family took off with Grandma and Grandpa Dudley to find our Christmas tree near Vernon. We all dressed warmly, packed some lunch, a toboggan, and a saw and made the hour drive. Unlike Heber there are no white firs in this area but plenty of Pinyon Pine and Juniper. Curtis wanted a pine that was not too tall yet pointed at the top and thick and full. The problem with this combination of traits is that Pinyon Pine tend to grow more round than pointy unless you get a very very young tree. But we were determined to find a good tree for our family.

We took the truck and set out in the slippery snowy roads till our road literally ended with no where to turn around. So back down we went in reverse directly next to an edge. A little nerve wracking for most of us in the car… a bit exciting for me. We finally parked on the edge of the road, took out the toboggan, put the kids on it and headed out to find the perfect tree. Almost three hours later none of us had found a tree that would do except Mom Dudley who said if she had a permit, one in particular was calling to her. So we packed everything up and headed to another location. As the gals and kids ate lunch, the guys set up the hill to scope out a tree. They came down with a few in mind, ate lunch themselves and then took me up there to look at the line up. We quickly chose one that was a little short but healthy, fat, and full with a point. Reminded me a bit of how men used to like their women before thin was considered beautiful. Curtis cut the tree down and carried it carefully over his head to the truck, tied it down and hauled it out.

Our tree may not have been very large… definitely not the typical Christmas tree, but for our family it’s perfect and its filling our house with the smell of Christmas.

Kids were content with being pulled around while eating baked goods.

Grandma and Ashton Looking for a tree. Ashton was a trooper and did very well in the snow.

My man is sooo studly with sharp cutting objects.

Cutting down the Christmas tree. Took Four hours to find it!!

Curtis and Grandpa happy to have finally found the perfect tree.

Little baby Dudley turns out to be big baby Dudley.

Yesterday I went in for a routine Ultra Sound to make sure the baby was doing well and growing like he should. Turns out our little baby boy is "big" for his age weighing in over 6 pounds. Doc thinks that if the baby is carried full term that he will be around 8 1/2 pounds maybe more. Because baby is ahead of schedule we went ahead and scheduled an inducement, a week before his due date, for the 17th of December so that we don't have him so close to Christmas( doctor is still confirming this date so it is subject to change). I'm personally hoping he comes on his own before that time. My body fights the drug that hospitals use for inducing mothers. Am I concerned about a big baby... heavens no. Ashton was born 9 lbs 10 oz. Big babies from my experience are easier to care for because they feed better, and sleep for longer periods of time. At least my Ashton did. Also I would like to comment on the baby floating to the right of this entry. After looking at the pictures produced by the ultra sound I have come to a conclusion that it does not represent the baby well. Our little baby is not Floating and bouncing around. In fact he is very much squished in everyway. One more thing about utrasounds... when the lady tells you that the picture on the screen is your babies face and you cant make it out... well its slightly concerning;). Nah im just kidding. Im sure this boy is just as handsome as his dad:).

Blinded by Search and Rescue Trick Or Treaters

Halloween was fun for the family. Both kids decided on what they wanted carved in their pumpkin, and then had Dad carve it for them. Sage being the little future Biologist and animal lover that she is, chose a bat. Ashton of course chose Jack the Pumpkin King from Nightmare Before Christmas (One of his all time favorite movies). Using a paring Knife Curtis did a marvelous job carving out all the details in both pumpkins. We however found that we neglected to get the small candles that go into Jack o’ lanterns so we improvised and put candles in them that were just about as tall as the pumpkins themselves. Needless to say our porch smelled like burning squash.

The kids then got dressed in their costumes. Both of them decided that they wanted to be Search and Rescuers like their dad. The costume was pretty simple. We put climbing harnesses on them, a backpack, and a hard helmet that was labeled Search and Rescue with an attached light.

Now the kids were ready to go… but the skies were grumpy that day and were dumping rain on everything. No trick or treaters were out… seemed that no one wanted to brave the storm. And then… there was a break in the clouds. Kids including our own stormed out into the roads with parents following close behind with umbrellas. Ashton and Sage both had rather large bags that they insisted on carrying themselves. As Ashton’s bag got fuller I could tell he was having a hard time with it but he refused to even let me help a little (thanks to Curtis for teaching him be more independent.) But as the night wore on Ashton began to trip over his bag because he was tired and as stated before the bag was too big for him. He finally let me hold half of the bag. The night sky had darkened by that time… so on came the helmet lights. Ashtons light was about dead due to long bat nights but Sages had fresh batteries. As sage knocked on doors she was always answered with a surprised adult that was blinded by her overwhelming bright light. Once they regained their site they were always overjoyed to see a costume that was “different”. That night they were called, Miners, Cavers, and Rock Climbers. Sage and Ashton always corrected each person by telling them they were indeed Search and Rescue in which everyone replied, “Well that’s even better”.

As the night came to a close both kids were content with the number of houses visited so we set home to have soup and go to bed. Dad carefully went though each piece of candy for safety purposes and collected his tax by choosing one piece of candy per bag. And that was the end of a day where dozens of people were blinded by out two little trick or treaters.

Hurry Hurry its Getting Cold!!!!

As the cold weather is creeping in our little family is trying hard to get so much done before its too late or too uncomfortable. Curtis has been busy with his garage project. He now has a four point hydraulic post lift in the garage that he uses to lift the 69 convertible mustang up in the air making it possible to park three cars in the garage. It is a dream come true for Curtis! Not only does it allow us to put more things in the garage, it also allows Curtis to work on the mustang's undercarriage with more ease. Now all he has to do is more organizational tasks in his man cave and he will be momentarily done (He will always find something else to do in that garage).

Becky has been making sure that the family gets out and does a few activities while the weather is still nice. This last week we visited Pumpkin Land in Orem and the Hogle Zoo. The weather was perfect for both occasions. No rain just perfect temperatures and lots of sun. Here are a few pictures of October's ventures.

LIFT

It speaks for itself

ZOO

My little Gorillas

She is filling out the turtle nicely!

Kids on the Elephant trunk that sneezes and makes all sorts of noise.

This Male Gorilla was separated from their other Gorilla because they had been fighting... sounds familiar...

This room is one of my favorites! It has the large fruit bats and all sorts of cool creepy things.

Ashton was scared but managed to give us a smile.

And Curtis calls me a Gorilla!

These guys were a lot of fun. Curtis now wants one.

Ashton LOVES drinking fountains but this one he adored.

PUMPKIN LAND

While at Pumpkin Land Ashton tried the Monkey bars. You would think he was in a nightmare.

It said for 4-10 year old... so who cares if Ashton is 3. He can do it!!!

Sage Climbing as usual.

We ended up being in the corn maze for way too long. The kids and I started to get frustrated and wanted to take shortcuts. Curtis made us do it the right way. On top of it all while stuck in the maze Ashton about peed his pants.

Kids with Casper in the Corn maze.