Year in Review

Our Year in Review 2012

January

We start off the new year at the cabin with the Field crew, complete with snowmobiling, capture the flag, all night games of Pit, and lots of movies.

Spring semester starts.  Tyson is thinking about Civil Engineering as a major and takes two math classes at the same time.  We take a "Building an Eternal Marriage" institute class together.  Tyson is working as manager of two Cricket stores.

February

After 6 months on an imaginary waiting list, we finally get to upgrade from our tiny one-bedroom apartment to a less tiny two bedroom apartment.  Tyson's parents and Andy and William come up to help us move.  

March

Tyson has to work so Spring Break is spent at home.  Rachel turns 21.  

Tyson learns how to change the brakes on our car.

April

Easter and General Conference are spent with both families.  We seran wrap Tate's room and dye the Pearce's milk purple for April Fools' Day.  Tyson's mom includes a pineapple in our Easter basket because it is a sign of fertility.  

May

We both survive the semester and get out with good grades.  

We buy a new tent and enjoy the first camping trip of the summer with Mom and Dad Field, Kelli, Andy, William, Brady, Kai, and Alix in Logan Canyon.  We tested the strength of the rain fly and got really good at lighting fires in the rain.

Ready to hike the wind caves

We celebrate Baby Animal Days with Graci and Makenna and enjoy a family barbecue and baby shower for Trevor and Sherstin

Rachel gets a summer job at a call center called Opinionology.

Nephew Carter Scott Pearce is born! Congratulations Sherstin and Trevor.

June

Tyson's Grandma Rosie passes away.

Our first anniversary! We celebrate with a fancy dinner and pedicures for both of us.

We take a day trip up to Bear Lake with some of Tyson's old soccer friends and coach.  We take Tate rock climbing for his first time.

July

We celebrate the 4th of July in Kaysville and then head up to Bear Lake for the annual Croxford family reunion.  This year we rented a fancy cabin for the whole clan to stay in.

Rachel's Grandpa Croxford passes away shortly after Bear Lake. A bitter-sweet funeral celebrates his life and reunion with Grandma. 


August
We get to attend the wedding of two great friends, Tristan and Megan Tesch.

Robert gets home from his mission in Taiwan.  Tyson hadn't seen him for almost four years! We have to stop for gas and miss him getting off the plane.  Luckily Kelli and Andy drove separately and made it just in time.

We have the first of what we hope will be an annual Pearce family camping trip.  We camp in Logan Canyon so Tyson can drive back and forth for work.

Rachel quits her job at Opinionology.

We get hired to be Resident Assistants for USU Family Housing.  This means we get to move again, making this one our third apartment in Aggie Village within a year.  We are excited to work together and for the free rent.

School starts again.  Tyson is working on finishing his generals and is thinking about physical therapy.  Rachel will be student teaching in a 3-year-old preschool class this semester.

September
School is in full swing.  Rachel drops a class to keep up with preschool.  Tyson is taking calculus and chemistry.

Tyson runs his first marathon!  He races in the Top of Utah Marathon with brother-in-law Josh and gets a time of 4:10 with only five weeks of training.  Kelli, Andy, William, and Brady surprise him at the finish line. 

Before

During

After!

Tyson turns 23.  He still tells people he's 21 whenever he gets asked how old he is.  His parents come up and take us out to dinner.  We get to celebrate three more times later in the month with Brady, Kelli and Andy, and the Pearce's.

Nephew Truman Jace Beattie is born! Congratulations Krista and Josh and family!

Tyson quits his job at Cricket.  


October
We get tickets for the first session of General Conference.  This is Rachel's first time attending a session in the Conference Center.  Riley and his friend Avala join us.

Tyson crashes on his bicycle on his way home from class and gets to ride in an ambulance to the emergency room.  He is extremely lucky and gets out with only a broken cheekbone, torn up ear, and a concussion. He entertains the doctors and nurses by talking about how hot his wife is before Rachel can get to the hospital.  

This was AFTER the wounds were cleaned up.

A CAT Scan, couple of x-rays, and a couple dozen stitches later...

Kelli, Andy, and William joined us this year for the annual North Logan Pumpkin Walk.  We dress up as motorcycle gang members for the first couple parties, then as a mad scientist and his hunchbacked minion for the third.

November
Tyson gets hired to bus tables at a Japanese restaurant called Kabuki's.

We have Thanksgiving dinner with the Pearce family on Wednesday and the Field family on Thursday. 

Ready to run the Thanksgiving relay!

Rachel successfully finishes her preschool student teaching.


December
We survive the end of the semester.  Tyson gets 100% on his calculus final and ends up with all A's and a B in chemistry.  Now he is thinking he likes the idea of Occupational Therapy more than Physical Therapy and registers for OT pre-requisites for spring semester. Rachel has easy finals and ends up with all A's.  

Rachel plans the program for the Ward Christmas Party. 

We inherit Grandma Rosy's Christmas tree and decorations and enjoy having a fully-decorated apartment for the month.

We enjoy a relaxing Christmas break full of family, including lots of games, a crazy nativity play, a powerful family testimony meeting, trips to the Road Home, Temple Square, and City Creek, and we actually took pictures this year!

Pearce Family Nativity

Brady and Robert came up to Logan to celebrate New Year's Eve with us.  We played games, watched TV, ate pizza, drank apple beer and sparkling cider, and counted down to midnight.


And thus it was.

Happy New Year!

Reunion

My beautiful grandmother passed away 10 1/2 years ago.  Ten years already sounds like a long time, but it seems even longer when put into the perspective of how much has happened in that decade.  I was in fifth grade and not quite eleven when she died.  In the last 10 1/2 years....

7 Grandchildren were added to the family,

3 Grandchildren served full-time missions,

10 More grandchildren were married, and

22 Great-Grandchildren were born.

There were 10 Annual Croxford Family Christmas parties,

10 trips to Bear Lake,

And many more get-togethers in between.

That's only a small sample of the life events that we have celebrated in our family in the last decade. That is a lot of life to live without your eternal companion by your side.

Today, after ten-and-a-half long years apart, my grandfather was finally reunited with the love of his life.

It is always sad to lose someone you love, but today I am also filled with joy that they are finally having their reunion in Heaven.  His heart broke when she died, and I imagine that today, it's finally full again.

See you later, Grandpa.

Love, 

Rachel

Addition

1 new HUSBAND

+

2 new PARENTS

+

4 new BROTHERS (and 1 sister-in-law)

(Robert, aka brother number 4, is currently serving a mission in Taiwan)

+ 

7 new SISTERS (and 6 brothers-in-law)

(Seventh sister, Jannah, was MIA when this picture was taken)

+

21 new NIECES AND NEPHEWS

(The oldest two nephews didn't make it into the picture, although Josh did eventually make it to the wedding.)

=

1 great big FAMILY I'm so lucky to be a part of!

P.S. I think my other family is pretty awesome, too. Aren't they all so attractive?

Birthday

Welcome to the world,

Legend Jack Vaitai Williams

Born Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 4:49 pm

7 lbs 6 oz

20 inches

Still Thinking of You

Patience (n.): the state or quality of being patient; the power of suffering with fortitude; uncomplaining endurance of evils or wrongs, as toil, pain, poverty, insult, oppression, calamity, etc.; the act or power of calmly or contentedly waiting for something due or hoped for

I pray you get the things you hope for.

I Actually Had to Dream of a White Christmas

As members of the LDS faith, we share a belief with many other Christians  that Jesus Christ was actually born in the springtime (April, specifically), and not in the dead of winter like we celebrate. I've heard that Christmas in December has something to do with ancient Pagan rituals and some king wanting to give Christians something un-blasphemous to do, etcetera, etcetera... But I think the REAL reason someone decided to celebrate the birth of Christ at the end of December is because winter needed a little light and joy. And oh how grateful I am to whoever made that decision! Christmas could not have come at a more perfect time this year.

After an extremely stressful semester and an extra few days of work to top it all off, I was nothing short of ecstatic to be home for the holidays. I honestly could have gotten dirt for Christmas and still have been perfectly satisfied. This Christmas, all I wanted was my home and my family and a break from the hectic life of work and school, and that's exactly what I got. My dad and the boys were off of school, Hilary and Brian were spending some time living in my parents' house while they were in-between places and Trevor and Sherstin stayed in Farmington for the holidays, meaning I got my whole family around me at nearly all times. We had the rockinest family Christmas party of all time with my mom's family (Seriously though. It was legendary.), we played lots of games, ate lots of food, made new ornaments for our over-sized Charlie Brown tree, and just enjoyed being together. I even got a bonus of being able to spend a lot of time with my best friend who is finally back in my life after two long years and his family. I didn't even mind that for the first time in my life (that I can remember anyway), the only snow on the ground was the occasional un-melted dirty black mound in a parking lot or on the side of the road. I didn't need a white Christmas--the amount of loving going on filled that void.

I will spare you the details of my winter break (at least for now) and simply state that I had one of the most wonderful and magical Christmases of my life. I probably would have (at least) come close to quitting work and school and life and resorting to being a bum for the rest of my life if it hadn't been for the perfect timing of Christmas. So thank you, Mr. King-man who put Christmas in December to show those dirty Pagans who's boss, you have made my winter a lot less bleak.

Happy Holidays!

Five

Five years ago, you came into my life.

You changed everything.

I would not be who I am today if it weren't for you.

You never cease to make me smile.

I love to watch you grow and learn,

And through doing so, I grow and learn as well.

Thank you for the lessons you've taught me

And for the love you've so freely given.

Your life is a gift.

Every day with you is a blessing.

Thank you for the endless laughs,

Adventures, and tender hugs.

Most of all,

Thank you for always loving me.

Happy birthday, Baby Girl!

God made you my sister, and you will always be my best friend.

These Girls Are Hilarious.

Seriously. I wish I was as funny as them. And as talented.

...And this is what happens on a boring Monday night when Hilary's husband is out of town. Don't we make such a great team? There will most likely be more where this came from... Dun dun dun!

I Love This Boy

Meet Tate:

14-year-old junior high heart-throb with a melt-your-heart smile (and dimples!). Not only is my little brother a complete stud and extremely talented in many fields (not to mention quite a bit taller than me now), but he has the biggest heart of anyone you'll ever meet. This boy loves everyone. He looks out for his family, respects girls, and is protective of his sisters. He never offends and is always willing to help. Tonight he reminded me of just why I love him and look up to him so much. He would go to the end of the world and back to protect or defend my sisters and me if needed. He is sensitive and tries his best to let nothing offend the spirit. Tate may be messy and a bit of an air head at times, but this boy would save the world if he could. I love him and someday I hope to be as strong as he is. 

Thank you, Tate, for always being your best and making me want to try harder. I love you.

Two Homes

First off, I would just like to apologize to the blogging world for my lack of substance in my blog entries as of late. There has definitely been a lot to write about, but for some reason all that's been coming out has to do with nail polish, hunger pains, and creepy duck songs. I'll try to stay away from those topics for a while. 


Right now I really miss Logan. It's taken me this long for it to sink in that I'm not just home for a weekend or holiday. I miss being in the mountains. I miss the smell. (Not the cow fart smell you get in Nibley and Wellsville that sometimes wafts in on windy days. I'm talking about the fresh mountain air smell.) I miss Merrill Hall. I miss the cinder block walls (which you're not allowed to lick because they have lead in them) decorated with Post-It Notes. I miss finding a giant fuzzy spider with a hilarious note attached to it in random places. But mostly, I miss the people.


I miss running barefoot down two flights of stairs to just sit on the couch with Kelsey and Angel and Lauren, late night chats with Emily about boys, drama, and TV shows, falling asleep to the sound of Lindsay and Christine laughing at something completely random in the next room, going to church with the most awesome student ward that there ever was, walking to class with Andrew, snuggling with Brooklin when Spencer wasn't around, watching everyone flinch when Benson kicked the door as he passed, hanging out with "the boys," laughing hysterically with Sara about something that no one else saw or heard, and everything else that went on in our tiny little world.


But even though I hate that the people I'm used to seeing every day are now spread out all over the state, I do love being home. I love being with my family and sharing a room with my mom (her office and my bedroom got hitched). I love spending all day with the world's most beautiful little girls that remind me the world is fascinating and full of adventure. I love not having homework! I love having my meals cooked for me, not buying groceries, and knowing that when I put laundry in the hamper, it somehow magically appears clean and in my laundry basket in no time at all. (Thanks, Mom!) I love having a dishwasher and a garbage disposal and a microwave big enough to fit a full bag of popcorn. Most of all, I love that there isn't anyone here who I dread having to see. (Yeah, I know. I'm horrible and heartless. But I REALLY don't miss living with Thing One and Thing Two.) I love that this place will ALWAYS be my home.


I could keep going, but now I'm getting long and ramble-y. (Sorry. No happy medium.) I guess this is what happens when you have two places that feel like home. You can't be in one without missing the other. At least I know that Logan will still be there waiting for me in the fall. For now, I'm just waiting for summer to officially begin so I can hopefully have some adventures!

A Little Spring, a Little Birthday, and a Whole Lot of R&R

(Pretend I wrote this last week.)

Well, I waited all semester for this, and now spring break has come and gone. It wasn't particularly eventful (no beaches, swimming suits, or sand dunes), but it was still a break and that's all I wanted. (Okay lies. I'm not going to say that I didn't want to go to Mexico or California, but a trip to Kaysville was good enough for now.) The break started off with a trip to Hale Theatre with my daddy for a production of Fiddler on the Roof. Definitely a great father-daughter show. Trevor and Sherstin came up on Sunday evening and brought Grandpa for dinner and an early birthday celebration. The nineteen mismatched candles that were crammed into my New York style cheesecake were blown out by Makenna before I got a chance to make a wish. I think that's probably a bad omen for the year. Birthday presents included a new set of scriptures, a paper cutter, and a whole jar of chocolate covered raisins! Mmm..boy! I also got a crock pot from Trevor and Sherstin (Recycled wedding gift. I was there when they opened it.) and some homemade headbands from  Hilary.

Everyone else had school all week, so the rest of the break was spent playing at home with Diva and Miss Meka. Meka is in the middle of being potty trained, so I had my share of trips to the potty, handing out lifesavers, and changing wet pats. Days were spend playing, making mints with mom, looking for jobs, digging up the garden, and being completely and blissfully lazy. Evenings were spent going to movies, wandering the neighborhood with dad, visiting wonderful friends, playing games, and staying up late watching Cake Boss. The week concluded with a trip to Provo to see my bff Jon perform in BYU's production of As You Like It. The weekend didn't end up as planned, but the show was beautiful and playing with Tressa all weekend was a blast! I finished up a blissful spring break by modeling for Hilary and playing funny, crazy games with the family.

I may not have had my turn to get sunburned over the break, but I loved being able to spend some time with friends and family, especially with my best friend Mom. Maybe next year I'll be able to afford to go somewhere adventurous.

Speed Dial

Today, I called my mom nine different times. Nine. And then I talked to her on facebook chat tonight for another twenty minutes. She's probably sick of me, but boy do I love her! Thanks for taking care of me, Mommy!

Grateful

I think that sometimes God gives us trials in order to give other people the opportunity to serve us. What a humbling, filling experience it is. My heart is overflowing with gratitude for the many people who, even though they don't have much themselves, are giving what they can to help us do what we can't do alone. Thank you. May God open the floor of Heaven and poor blessings on you for years to come.

"For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Holiday Wrap-Up

'Tis the season to be jolly, fa la la la la...

This holiday season was wonderful. Let's recap:

*Note: My camera broke, so pictures are a little limited. Trust me, I'm much more disappointed than you are.

Christmas break started off with a princess tea party and a private premier viewing of Disney's The Princess and the Frog with the girls. It was so fun to see dozens of little girls dressed as princesses running around as they met Princess Tiana, had a magical tea party, and saw a movie they had all been waiting for in a theater reserved just for them.

I came home from school to discover that my bedroom had been turned into Santa's workshop/storage room. One night I was getting ready for bed while my mom was wrapping presents in my room. She made me keep my eyes closed so I wouldn't know what everyone was getting.

Mom had surgery on both of her wrists the Monday before Christmas, meaning she couldn't use her hands very much for a couple of weeks. My dad was great at stepping in as Mommy, but I got plenty of babysitting time of my own. I actually enjoyed it though. I liked being able to take care of my mom a little bit for a change because she is always taking care of me. We also got lots of talking time and movie watching time together which is always wonderful.

You can't have Christmas without the annual family Christmas parties. The 23rd was, as always, spent with the Croxfords. Bryce and Mary hosted this year at their church building. There were so many babies! The party was crazy, out of control, full of delicious food (including my aunt Surang's famous wontons! Mmmm boy!), and perfect. I love my crazy family. Christmas Eve involved a trip to my Grandma Pearce's house where we had dinner with the whole family. More great food followed by a short "talent show" in the basement. Grandma gave us all gift cards for movie tickets.

My family did the impossible last year and killed our artificial Christmas tree. This meant we had a small tree in the living room, but no Santa tree in the basement. This problem was solved with the purchase of a live tree on Christmas Eve which we decorated by putting hooks in candy and hanging it on the tree. It was the first time we've ever had a live tree in my life. It smelled soooo good! We made gingerbread cookies, opened our new pajamas, and took the traditional pictures by the tree. Graci and Makenna were so hyper and wound up! It was way fun to see them so excited and into all of the magic of Christmas. Well, fun until I was given the impossible task of getting them to sleep, and then keeping them that way. Hilary and Brian spent the night so everyone was there when we woke up in the morning.

Christmas morning was full of the usual excitement. Makenna was terrified by the fact that Santa had been in our house, (My parents took her to meet Santa earlier in the month. Apparently it wasn't a very good experience.) but as soon as she saw the presents she was thrilled. This was the first time in several years that I haven't known every single present that everyone was getting, including myself. In fact, I was COMPLETELY surprised. Santa brought me a new keyboard, complete with customized headphones so I can play at school! Woot woot! I also got a nice new down coat to keep me warm in Logan.
Over the break I actually completed one thing off of my to-do list, which was to learn how to crochet hats. I've been wanting to make some for a long time now because it's so much cheaper than buying them. So far I have made four hats, flowers, and a scarf, with more to come.

New Year's Eve was spent at home with my family. I watched High School Musical 3 with my mom and my little sisters, went to bed early, and listened to the neighbors light fireworks at midnight while lying in bed.

So basically, my break was spent doing lots of sleeping, playing with the girls, crocheting, driving back and forth to relatives' houses, reading, enjoying not having anything to do with school, reunions with old friends, and a whole lot of chillaxin. It wasn't very eventful, but you know what? I loved every minute of it.

Quotes heard around the house (that would probably ONLY be heard at my house):

"Um... there's a pickle on the back porch."

"Woops! I just sat on Cinderella."

"Sounds like someone's got the headless duck."

And... Graci's new favorite word: Knucklehead.

Welp. There you go. Hope your break was as wonderful as mine!

"Look at Me! Look at Me!"

I think I've found where the wild things are--my house. This afternoon I sat down to enjoy a quiet lunch with my latest read to keep me company, but I'm pretty sure there's an unwritten law at my house against that very thing. No sooner had I cracked open my book when I have a little 2-year-old monkey named Makenna climbing up the back of my chair. And smearing her cheese on the table. And eating my food. And stealing my bookmark. And asking for her own plate of rice. And asking for a glass of milk. And throwing her rice on the floor. And closing my book. And climbing on the table. And spilling her milk. And climbing under the table. Now, she is a very talented little bugger and managed to do all of these things while still continuously saying (or shouting, more like) "Rachel, Rachel! Watch this!" "Rachel! Look at me!" "Rachel! What are you doing?" "Rachel come here!" "Rachel! I'm hiding!" "Rachel come get me!" "Rachel!" "Rachel!" "RACHEL!"

Ever since the moment I got home for the break, I've felt like a mother duck with my two little ducklings following my every move, or maybe even a celebrity who is constantly being hounded by fans and paparazzi. I have played more imaginary games than I can count, changed lots of clothes and diapers, helped Graci and Kenna feed the goldfish, been called "Grandpa" for a whole hour, listened to all sorts of stories about dinosaurs or Santa Claus, been the constant human playground, and have even had Graci sleep in my bed. I can't comprehend how such little bodies can house so much energy.

But you know what? I love it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love having these girls in my life. I love that they completely idolize me. I love listening to Makenna learn to talk. I love watching Graci pretend to be so many different things. I love watching them play together and seeing them learn and grow. I am astounded every day at how much they know and can do. I absolutely love that I can be a part of their lives and I hope that by playing games and wrestling with them, or even just fixing them sandwhiches, that they will know that I love them more than anything in the world, because even though they are wild things, they are MY wild things, and I can't imagine my life any other way.

Finding Neverland

A few months ago, I had the magical experience of being in J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up. It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. I won't get into details, but the main concept or theme behind our show was that of rediscovering your inner child and letting that part of you play a role in your life. Throughout our rehearsal process and the actual production, the whole cast planned and participated in "inner child activities" where we indulged in fun playtimes of our past. The experience was definitely a fun one, but not entirely unique. It was unique in the fact that I was getting to do it every day with a wonderful group of people who I love dearly, but unoriginal in the sense that I've always held on to that aspect of myself. I've never been afraid to allow myself to be a child-- to play silly games, color with crayons, carry around coloring books and play-doh, and use my imagination.

Through my experiences with Peter Pan, I was reminded of how to find Neverland, but the best adventures I have there are when Neverland finds me. Let me explain.

Yesterday when I came home from work, I ended up in the backyard with my two little sisters-- Graci who is almost 4 and Makenna who is 2 1/2. I pushed them in the swings for a while and sat in the grass, but pretty soon I found myself chasing hyenas and dinosaurs, fighting pirates, and flying through the sky as Graci's imagination worked freely and quickly. We were Peter Pan, Wendy, and Michael for one minute, then pirates or Indians the next. A soccer net quickly became a cave when we were being chased by rampaging hippopotamuses, and the grass transformed into the ocean as we flipped our mermaid tails and sang "Part of Your World." We fought off monsters and beasts of every variety, and even had a brief Spiderman sighting. I was saved my magic drops of potion more than once, with Graci as Peter Pan (or sometimes Wendy) leading the way. The adventures went on and on, and only paused when it was time for dinner.

It didn't take an organized activity to take me away to far off places. Instead, all it took was my little playmate allowing me to have a peek into her constantly moving, creative mind. Thank you, Graci, for always bringing me back to Neverland.

-hiding in the cave-

-killed by pirates-

-fighting the dinosaurs-

-being a lion-

-flying through Neverland-

Quotes of the Day

Rachel: Hey Graci! Can I take a picture of your pretty hair?
Graci: Yeah. I wanna make a silly face!!
(Pulls sides of mouth with fingers and rolls her eyes)
Graci: ...Those were my crazy eyes.

Makenna: RAAAAACHEL!!!

Graci: What, Kenna?

Makenna: I want Rachel!

Graci: I AM Rachel!!

The Future Mr. and Mrs. Bishop

On Monday, my cousin, Jenny, and her fiance were nice enough to let me hike up Ensign peak with them and take some pictures. They hired a real photographer to do their engagements, but wanted some pictures of them where they got engaged. It was a blast! I am definitely not the best photographer in the world, but they turned out all right. It was kind of weird to see my cousin kissing a boy, but it was great to be able to spend some time with Jenny and Tyler (and my dad who came along to help!) and to get to know my future cousin-in-law a little better. Here are a few of my favorites (I have a really hard time just picking a couple. Obviously.):

Like I said... I couldn't pick just one or two. Even this was hard!

I absolutely love taking pictures, and I kind of like my cousin (Just kidding, Jen. I love you!) so it was pretty much a heavenly experience for me. The one thing we did have to work around was the fact that none of us were smart enough to realize that Monday is probably the most crowded day at Ensign Peak, but we managed to work around the masses pretty well. We did have to ask a couple of girls if they could sit somewhere else for a minute so we could take pictures by the monument, but I made my dad do the dirty work so that wasn't bad. Jenny and Tyler are both a lot of fun, and Tyler was a good sport and even reenacted his proposal for the sake of the camera. Just going to Ensign Peak was fun too because I had never been there before. I liked being able to go with my dad so he could tell me all about it. It was a fun day!