Ezra's First Utah Trip

Five weeks after Ezra was born we flew to Utah for a fabulous, 10-day trip!

The night before we flew out I never made it to bed because of course I had procrastinated and was up all night trying on clothes (did they fit yet?) and figuring out what Ezra would need. (Would one outfit be enough, or would he have a blow-out and/or drench himself in spit-up and end up needing three outfits that day? Would he be warm enough? Too hot? And he has almost grown out of size Newborn so should I bring size 0-3 Months too?) I'm sure sleep deprivation didn't help this process go any faster. It seemed he needed everything and ended up having the largest suitcase.

I wasn't the only one trying on clothes that night. I had fun dressing Ezra in some of the warm outfits I had for him. I was happy we were going to Utah so I could justify buying a few buntings and cozy outfits for him. I don't know why, but I had this need to put my baby in these warm, snugly outfits and wrap him in some of the lovely, plush blankets we received at his baby shower.

Ezra did great on the flight to Salt Lake City. We were very relieved and grateful that Ezra was a peaceful baby during the flight. The only challenge was changing his diaper on Chris' lap which got a little exciting when we realized he wasn't done half-way through the change. :)

I had to laugh to myself as we gathered our baggage in the SLC airport because I was now part of the entertainment I had often observed in airports before we had a child of our own. I remember looking at the mothers with their babies and children and wondering how people traveled with babies and all their loot. (Just how did they carry everything and keep them entertained?) Well now my time had come. I put Ezra in a sling across the front of me, the diaper bag/purse over my shoulder, then pulled my suitcase and Ezra's suitcase behind me. Chris carried the car-seat, his laptop bag, the garment bag, and his suitcase. I guess we were too cool to use a luggage cart, or maybe we just wanted a little exercise. Maybe we will break down and use one of those handy carts whenever kid #2 comes along.

Our first destination was to my aunt Diana's house in The Colony at White Pine Canyon in the Park City area.

I had been to this area a few years ago and thought it was awesome. It had been early Fall at the time and I thought it looked like heaven. Little did I know that one day I would have the opportunity to drive up that road to stay in one of those beautiful homes. Thank you Diana!

A few reasons why this place is awesome: This community hosts ski-in/ski-out home sites nestled within aspen and fir trees and incredible views. The homes are tucked into the mountain, which creates the peaceful feeling that you are away from the rest of the world, and yet a great dinner and shopping are just 10 minutes away. My favorite quality is the easy access to year round mountain recreation and wildlife. It would be a dream to live somewhere with skiing, hiking, biking, and horseback riding trails right out my back door. And as if that weren't enough, we saw a heard of elk when we drove in one evening, and a buck from our bedroom window. How cool is that?! This location is definitely on my dream list of places to live. (Yes honey, emphasis on dream, I know, it's right up there with your hunting ranch.) To see pictures of this beautiful area, check out http://www.thecolonywpc.com/test/pdf/The%20Colony%20Brochure.pdf

Out every window were lovely views of the serenity that enveloped this home.

This place was the perfect get-a-way for us and to get to stay there was a once in a life time opportunity. Thank you again to my sweet aunt for being so gracious to let us stay in her lovely house. It was wonderful and we savored our time there.

Yes, I put my child in a brown bear bunting suit. Chris gave me flack for this, but I thought it was so cute! He was my cuddly little bear. He doesn't have to be dressing macho when he's only 5 weeks old.

My sweet, sleeping baby, and another great view.

The main event that brought us to Utah at this time was the joyous event of Kami (Chris' youngest sister) and Ty Kilgore getting married! We were so happy for Ty and Kami, so of course we wanted to be there to support them and celebrate this exciting time with them.

Such a beautiful couple.

Chris and I were so happy to be there for their sealing! (Thanks to my sister Chantal for driving up from Provo to tend Ezra so we could go in!) It was a special experience to be in the temple with Chris, his parents, all of their children and their spouses, and even a couple of nieces and their spouses, aunts, uncles, and cousins together for this sweet occasion. As my father-in-law Monte would say, "What a pay day!" Monte did an excellent job officiating their sealing and it was very touching. He sealed Chris and me also; so getting another opportunity to listen to him perform this ordinance is always special and gives family weddings an added bonus.


I really like weddings. I think it is great to have a big celebration for a new union, commitment, the beginning of a new family, and love and joy that can grow and multiply even more through time. I like the happiness and love that is in the air. I like to reflect, count my blessings (especially those of my family and my Savior), and smile that hope still exists in marriage and family. There is still love and tenderness in the world.

Not only did we get to attend their wedding that day, and catch up with our Brough family members, but we also got to visit with Chantal who is attending BYU, and my dad, Steve, who was in town for business. Lucky timing to catch him on our trip to Utah! We were only able to fit in a short visit between the wedding ceremony and the reception, but we were happy Grandpa Grimaud got to meet Ezra, although I think Ezra slept the majority of the time.

Joe, Dalene, Lanelle, Chris, Mona, Brian and Kami.

Another reason I like weddings: I get the all too rare opportunity of getting my hubby to dance with me!!

The next day was Sunday and we were invited to spend the day with the Butterfields. So we drove to Morgan and met up with them at church, just in time to see Caden and Bridger in their Primary program, although Ezra only lasted a few minutes before needing to go out to make some noise. After church we enjoyed a delicious dinner and great visiting in Lanelle and Troy's home. Monte and Lanette were there too and Ezra got to spend some quality time with his Grandpa Brough.


The next two days we just enjoyed hanging out in Park City. We tried to catch up on sleep when Ezra napped, watched a few movies and explored the area a little bit. One day was spent leisurely walking up and down Park City's Main Street, enjoying the different shops and galleries, lunch at Zona Rosa, and The Village Candy Shoppe. (For all of you Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory fans, you need to experience The Village Candy Shoppe.) We wanted to bring a little bit of Utah back with us and decided on this photo:
Merry Christmas to us!

To see more of Gary Crandall's photography go to www.dancingcrane.com

One night we had Chris A., Mona, and their four kids up to the house for pizza and cookies. We enjoyed their visit and some shopping at the outlets with them as well.

Can't you just feel their excitement to be shopping? Well at least Chris had Ezra to entertain him while I looked around. :)
Ezra was a little worn out though from all the excitement.

Random recommendation: If you are ever in the Park City area and want a bite to eat, I have to recommend the Red Rock Brewing Company restaurant in the Redstone Center. It was casual, family friendly and we thought it was very tasty. I especially liked the Brushetta; yum!

After a couple of relaxing days in Park City we packed up and drove to Chris' parents house in Kaysville. Thank you to Lanette and Monte for having us to stay in their home! We always enjoy our stays with them and appreciate their welcome. The next day was my favorite holiday; Thanksgiving!! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the Christmas season and other holidays, but I like Thanksgiving because we get together and give thanks without all of the commercialism that distracts and busies other holidays. It seems more centered around those simple things that are most important, and having an attitude of gratitude always puts life into a better perspective. I can't count my blessings without feeling gratitude for my Savior Jesus Christ and the greatest gift he gave to all of us, and all that he has made possible for everyone of us.

My sweet boys, napping after a big turkey dinner.

Thanksgiving was pretty successful for the Brough family this year, considering we almost had everyone in the family at Lanette and Monte's house, which provided a great family photo opp! Kami and Ty were on their honeymoon and Joe's daughter Whittney, and her family, were juggling other family dinners, but Robin was able to work a little magic and created a great family photo for all of us. Thank you Robin! It was sure nice for Chris and me to have two events on this trip that brought most of the family together in one place!

This Thanksgiving was also special for our little family because we were able to have Ezra's baby blessing in the Brough's home after the big Thanksgiving meal and family pictures were taken. Everyone had on white shirts from taking the family photo, which tied in nicely for our family's following event. Thank you to our family members who all showed sweet support by reverently participating and contributing with prayer, song, shared testimonies, and of course, Ezra's blessing. Even the children were reverant, and there was a sweet spirit to our meeting. This simple gathering was more reverant, sprititual and special than I ever expected it would be.

Thanksgiving 2007 - The Day Ezra was blessed


The day after Thanksgiving Robin invited us over so she could take more pictures of Chris and Ezra. I wasn't planning on taking more pictures, but we ended up taking more family photos as well, which then led to us creating our birth announcement and Christmas card with Robin.

A few pictures you didn't see in our Christmas card:

I know that's a sad face, but it is a cute frown too!

We were sure glad Robin was the one to come over to the Brough's house to photograph the extended family on Thanksgiving Day. Otherwise we probably wouldn't have had pictures taken of our family, or had the beautiful birth announcement and Christmas card that we ended up with. It was all quite unplanned but we were happy things worked out the way they did.

You can check out more of Robin's photography at www.Robinjohnsonphotography.com


We spent the rest of the day up at the Brough's cabin with several other family members. It was a little chilly so of course I had to put Ezra in another warm bunting!




On Saturday I did some Christmas shopping with Tora at the Distribution Center and later at the Deseret Book store . Yay for the return of snap-close quads!

On Sunday we drove down to Orem to meet up with a friend of mine. Ashley and I have known each other since we were eleven! I was so glad she was in town visiting her husband's family at the same time so that we could get together with her and Tim, and their son Jalen, who is just six months older than Ezra. I have appreciated her friendship, advice and example as we go through motherhood and life's experiences at similar times. Even though it was a short visit, I was so glad we got to see each other!

That day we were also able to visit Aunt Arla! She was so cute with Ezra and we enjoyed catching up with her. As always, she sent us home loaded with gifts for the family. She is always giving to others.

We had a great time on this trip. Although we didn't get to see all of our friends and we always wish we had more time with each family member, we were grateful for the time we had. It is hard to fit everything in but we enjoyed what we could, and best of all, Ezra was healthy and happy during the trip. :)

Our First Weeks With Ezra

Ezra is 4 days old in this picture! We called this his one-eyed smirk. He'd be sleepy, and this one eye would look at you as if you were disturbing him so be quiet and still already! We probably should have put him in his bed, but especially during those first days home from the hospital, we wanted to hold him all the time. We are glad we did, because we already miss him curling up and falling asleep in our arms. He seemed so tiny (6.5 lbs. when we left the hospital) so it was easy to hold him for hours.










These were fun too; his sleepy grins. He'd be sleeping in your arms, and then randomly make a cute sound and have this great grin to go along with it. But then we were told babies did this when they have gas. Well I thought it was more fun to believe he was happy and having pleasant dreams. :)

And you'll have to (please) excuse the poor quality of some of these photos. I took too many pictures with my cell phone instead of using our digital camera. It just seemed to be close and handy at these moments. I'm trying to break this habit and go get the camera instead.








He loved sleeping with his arms up under his chin.













11 days old. Another sleepy smile.











When we moved into the Brushy Creek ward, I was fortunate enough to meet a very friendly and talented woman; Kristen Duke. She was so kind to put a baby shower together for me, even though I hardly knew anyone in the ward. And, best of all, she came over when Ezra was 17 days old and took these precious pictures for us. These have become more valuable to us as time has passed. If you would like to see more of Kristen's talent, check out her photo blog: www.kristendukephotography.blogspot.com

Much better than my cell phone photography. :)

Chris went on a great fishing trip with the men in his family, 3 weeks after Ezra was born. So I let Ezra come in my bed and snuggle with me. Even though I could have used more restful sleep, I just couldn't get enough of him!









We were dreaming of daddy, while he was catching big fish off the coast of Mexico. Here is Chris, holding up the Sailfish he caught. We too benefited from this fishing trip when he came home with an ice-chest of fresh caught Tuna, Mahi Mahi, and Marlin. Yum!

Our Wonderful Mothers

I have to give a shout out to our mothers, Lanette and Kristine, to thank them again for their support and help! We felt so blessed to have such caring mothers who left their busy lives to fly out to Texas and help our little family. Lanette came a week after Ezra was born, when Chris first went back to work. Kristine came out when Chris went on his fishing trip. I felt very well taken care of by these two amazing women. They cooked and prepared meals, did dishes, grocery shopped, bought dinner, cleaned, mopped, laundered sheets, etc. They also held Ezra of course, which helped me get a few things done, including a few extra hours of sleep here and there! (Ah, the good old days when he would take a bottle. Sigh.) Thank you again for coming and for all that you did for us! It was humbling to let my mothers clean my house, buy me groceries/dinner, and cook for me, because I like to do those things for them and serve them when they come to visit. But instead they tired themselves with service on our behalf. We did appreciate all of their help and felt very loved. Thank you; we love you!






Ezra is about 4 weeks old in these photos.


Chris had recently returned from Mexico and was anxious to continue our hunt for furniture. (We moved into this house without a lot of furniture, so looking for furniture had become one of our weekend activities before Ezra was born). Having visitors made us realize we needed more seating in our family room. So we took my mom to our favorite furniture store in Austin; Primitives. So that is why there is a parking lot in the back. I know, it's kind of a random place for the photo opp it turned into.



I love this little face! His little nose, those lips, and his furrowed brow, as if he's thinking "Oh mom, not more kisses." I'm addicted to kissing his cheeks. I'm sure I'll have to quit some day when it embarrasses him, but until then, I'm going to get all the snuggles and kisses I can!




I should have taken a picture without his bib and burp rag, but with his reflux he spewed so often and so much, (we called them little volcano eruptions) they were part of his regular attire.




We missed Chris and were so happy to have him back home with us!

*****

At Ezra's 1 month visit he weighed 9 pounds and was 20.5 inches in length.