Settling In

We've been settling into our new home and loving it. We feel so blessed to be here in Colorado, and grateful for all those who have made us feel welcome. Even a member of the RS presidency came by to welcome us to the ward, which was super nice. Here's a few highlights from our first couple weeks in Colorado. 

We love to go swimming. There is a really nice pool that we have access to through our HOA. It is rarely busy, has pretty warm water, and even a little kid pool for Jay. We got him a little floating device and a swimsuit so we could more easily go. He loves the pool, which makes us so happy! 

Friday night for our first date night, we went to the Rice Bistro. They do gluten free breaded chicken of any kind and it's delicious! M and I got sesame chicken and orange chicken and split it. We really liked it and will definitely go back, especially since it's only four minutes from our house. 

Saturday morning we went on our first family rollerblading adventure. We were on the trail a little before 10 and there were sooooo many people! Bikers going every direction and people walking every where too. When we were approaching a wooden bridge, I got a little nervous. I told myself to keep my skates pointing straight and I'd be just fine. Almost as soon as I hit this uneven wooden bridge, a biker passed me quickly. It scared me and I lost my footing. I was able to grab the side bar, but not without banging my knee on the edge of the bridge and a sliver lodged into my hand as I grappled for balance. That shook me up a bit, but we continued and a couple days later I got the sliver out and had a nice bruise for a few days. Needless to say, we decided Saturday mornings wouldn't happen again. 

Jay, Me, M

One of the best perks of living in Colorado is living near Grandma and Grandpa Blaylock! I really lucked out in the in-law department and feel blessed to be near them. We had them over for dinner and games last week. We made chicken salad and I tried a new muffin recipe, which luckily turned out well. We then played Forbidden Island, which we actually lost one time. We usually don't lose, so it was a fun new challenge. We had a great time and it was so fun to know when we said goodbye that we'd see them again soon. 

We continue to love on Mr. Jay. He brings a lot of joy to us every day. M takes such good care of him during the week while I am at work, which is such a huge blessing. He's now 7 months old, and starting to roll a little bit more. He's really discovering his voice, for good and bad (he can be very loud). 

He got this new toy from Kade, and loves it!

Sometimes you've got to destress with your baby by doing the happy baby yoga pose.

Naps on the floor will not work anymore, as we found Jay here this week. 

Hard to believe he's already 7 months! 

He's such a happy kiddo.

Family Time & New Adventures

We had two weeks left in Provo and we really made the most of them. Nathan and Michela came over a few times for games and talking, and on Wednesday, July 1st, Klaire arrived. I worked a half day, then took off the rest of the week and the following. It was the longest break I'd had since Jay, but really only half vacation. In the afternoon after Klaire arrived, we went out to Aunt GayLynn and Uncle David's. They made us dinner, and Klaire cut everyone's hair. It was windy, and she kept a calm and cool attitude with everything. She did an excellent job and everyone was beautified by the end of the evening. We also had yummy s'mores for dessert which was the perfect ending to the evening. 

I've never seen Clara be so still in her whole life.

Yummy s'mores for dessert!

Thursday we left for Grandpa Great's house. We knew it would be our last time for a while, so it was bitter sweet. We had a lot of fun playing Word on the Street, and several rounds of Pandemic. Grandpa let us wash our car, and we went for a run almost every morning we were there. The hill up to Grandpa Great's house is long and steep, it's a tough way to end a run! The Brady family reunion was limited to only Saturday afternoon because of the risks of COVID. It was so fun to introduce Jay to everyone, and to see those we haven't seen in a while. We talked a lot, M played a lot of football and then we all played wiffle-ball, volleyball, water balloon volleyball, and had popsicles. Yumm! Little Hugh (Lisa's son) loves Jay, and seemed to be mesmerized. In the evening after everyone left, Katey and Jason and their kiddos stayed for a winnie roast. Winnie roasts with s'mores are a classic Idaho summer tradition, and it was wonderful. 

Tummy Time

Huge Otter Pops to finish the celebrations

Klaire, Katie, Kylee, Jason, Randi, Alexa, Uncle David, Uncle John, Andy, Mikey, etc.

I always love me some sparklers & fireworks.

Fireworks

Kylee, Jay, and Hugh

Sunday was a special day. We enjoyed having the sacrament at Grandpa's house, and had a great Come Follow Me discussion following. Bob Studley's (Aunt Karen's father) funeral service was later in the afternoon. Bob passed away late March, and they were unable to have any services for him due to COVID-19. Bob would always stand up when he saw me and give me a hug. He'd tell me I was beautiful and proceed to ask me about all about my work, dating, marriage, baby, etc. He was such a gentleman. Seeing Donna at the service was quite shocking, her health had deteriorated immensely after Bob's passing. I don't know how long it will be until she follows. The service was very nice, and it was special to hear each of the Brady cousin's share their memories of Bob. 

Grandpa Great & Jay

Klaire, Jay, Oma - Jay loved playing with everyone

It was so fun to introduce Jay to Michelle!

Jay, Me, Oma, Grandpa Great (4 Generations)

Monday we packed up and left Virginia. We have loved being close to Grandpa and will miss it so much, it's hard to describe. It was nice to leave before some of the company so we didn't have to be the last people to leave him alone. We were anxious to get back, as we knew we needed to start on our moving adventure. M had packed a lot, and we still had a bit of packing to go. I had to call into a couple of work meetings, and M started to pack. Once Oma, Papa, and Klaire arrived, they jumped in to help. In an hour or so, the rest of our packing was basically complete. We had dinner at Aunt GayLynn and Uncle David's house that night, which was a huge relief as we didn't have any kitchen supplies. 

Tuesday was a big day. Papa and I went for a doughnut run in the morning so the moving helpers could have a treat, and the truck was there by 9. Within an hour and 15 minutes, the truck was packed up. We had a couple ward members come, Nathan, and Tabitha. I was amazed at the speed, and we had plenty of room in the 16 foot truck. All night I was tossing and turning thinking about what I was going to get rid of that wouldn't fit, luckily I didn't have to decide. After the truck was loaded, M, Papa, and I started cleaning. As I am writing, I just realized, we forgot to clean the inside of the oven!! We got our full deposit back, so I guess they didn't care. The whole house was as sparkly as it could be, that's for sure. The biggest fiasco was the stove. It was dirty, very dirty, and we bought new pans for the burners because I knew we wouldn't be able to get them clean. As we went to put them in, the two small ones fit perfectly, but the big ones didn't fit. Yikes. We scrubbed, soaked, scrubbed, soaked, but still so stained and dark and dirty. Papa and M even took the new ones and tried to make the right cuts to make them fit...they got the cuts right, and realized the whole itself was too small. What a mess. We told the landlord when he came by and he told us to not worry about it, and he'd find some new ones. When he saw what Papa and M had done to the new pans, he said "Looks like something a farmer would do." Haha, he was so right. Anyways, we finally finished cleaning after about 6 hours straight, ordered pizza, and enjoyed the evening with Nathan and Michela. We played Catch Phrase and chatted, not staying up too late as we had a big day ahead. That night as we were going to bed, M and I heard some rattling. We were nervous about the truck, so M went out and checked, it all looked fine. About 3 AM, Papa woke up thinking the same thing, went out and all looked good. We still don't know what made all the noise, but luckily our truck was fine and so was our stuff. 

Getting all loaded up

M's map for where things go, lesson learned...purple and blue are too similar

Wednesday, July 8th, we rolled out on our way to Colorado. It was quite the feeling to walk out of that apartment knowing it was no longer home, and heading officially to Colorado. I started the drive with Papa and about two minutes onto the freeway a semi in front of us blew a tire. We narrowly missed the remains, and my heart went a-racing. I was on edge for a while after that, but eventually calmed enough to get a slight nap. We met up with M in Grand Junction, ate lunch at the park, and I moved over to be with M the rest of the drive. We made good time to Glenwood Springs, and then hit a dead stop on the highway 70. We learned there was a fire ahead and the road was closed, and we missed the last exit ramp. We stayed there for about an hour and a half. M got a good nap, I played with Jay and gave him some food. And, finally we were on our way! We rolled in about 7 PM, got the keys to the place and by 8:30, we were unloaded. Grandpa Blaylock, Mike, a cousin, Anna, and a couple people from the ward were there to help, and we were so grateful! Grandma Blaylock also helped watch Jay which was amazingly helpful. We ate dinner at about 10 o'clock, and hit the sack. 

984 S will always have a special place in our hearts!

Like father, like son - lunch break in Grand Junction

Daddy taking a nap while we played while stopped in Glenwood Springs

Thursday was a busy and special day. We unpacked the main floor and kitchen so things could be somewhat together. We also did a much needed grocery and Costco run. Katey, Jason, and their family arrived earlier in the afternoon and we had a great time with them. Katey brought dinner, which was so nice! And, later, Bishop Johnson, Grandma and Grandpa Blaylock, and Mike and Jenna and their family arrived. We FaceTimed Oma so she could listen to the blessing. It was such a special evening. We love Jay and he is such a miracle and blessing to our family. I hope he always knows we love him and that his Heavenly Father loves him. We had ice cream sundaes to top off the night. Katey and her kiddos stayed over, and she and Papa left early in the morning for Arizona. 

M, Me, Jay

Papa, Grandpa, M, Jay, Uncle Mike, and Uncle Jason

Me, M, Jay, Grandma, Grandpa

M, Jay, Me, Papa

Kylee, Me, Jay, Tia

Kylee, Tia, Aunt Katey, Jay, Me

Caden, Tanner, M, Me, Jay, Jenna, Emery, Uncle Mike, Brady, Cambrie

Jay

Jay

Very happy to be blessed

All the girls loving on Jay

The rest of the week/weekend, we unpacked and got situated in our new home. We have a pool in our community which is awesome, and rarely busy. We also have a path behind our house that leads to a big park that's really fun. Jay tried the swings for the first time, and LOVED them. He also tried the slides which he enjoyed too. We already really love where we are living and feel so blessed! 

Loving our time at the pool

Cuddles

Swinging

Sliding

Jay has been growing a ton and has been such a trooper the past two weeks. He has started to mimic lip smacking which is cute and fun. We also tried hamburger for the first time, and did pretty good eating it. He is so happy and is almost rolling over from back to belly.