Our State Fair Is A Great State Fair!

Sunday, September 14th--Well, it's kind of a great state fair. Yes, our tradition has been to go to the State Fair on it's last day, which always falls on a Sunday. We don't usually do such things on Sunday but going on the last day means less crowds. We went with my sister, Alishia, and her kids. Elise & Brady enjoyed the rides and plenty of sights. Many of the animals were gone, being that we went later in the afternoon (that also means we didn't have to deal with the grotesque, farm animal, poopy smell as much either). The kids were so happy to find the bunnies were still around, Nate too! After looking at the farm animals, Nate took the kids to go to the interactive farm. They put on aprons, "picked" fruit & veggies, rode the tractor and many other things. They enjoy this activity every year! At the end they get to pick a free snack. The snacks consist of apples, string cheese, cracker packs and plenty more. Elise chose an apple and Brady chose cheese crackers. Next they were onto a few rides. While they were doing that the rest of us got some dinner and then walked around to all the bazillion vendors. It was fun to look and see all the many things available, some outrageous and ridiculous. I was on a quest to find the deep fried PB & J sandwich advertised on TV commercials. I found it and, eh, it was okay. Nothing to write home about. Had they left out the jelly it would have been pretty good. They were also selling deep fried Snickers and Oreos. Tempting, but I resisted. We all had fun. Done for another year........I'm gonna miss those carnies.......

Remembering.......

Thursday, September 11th--It is the 7th anniversary of that horrific day. I remember it like it was yesterday. I remember, even living so far away from it all, how so very personal the tragedies felt to me. I didn't know anyone who lost their lives but cried and mourned.

Nate and I were waking up for work. Our alarm is the radio. We tend to lay in bed for a few minutes as we wake up. The radio station was set on "The Chunga and Mister show" on "107.5, The End". Usually these two are just a barrel of laughs but on this day Nate and I could tell something was wrong. We turned on the TV and the second tower had just been hit. We both wanted to just stay home. What did this mean? Were we at war? Was this only the beginning? We got ready for work and reluctantly parted ways. I brought my little 13-inch TV to work. I knew the law firm I worked for wouldn't mind. I can tell you very little work gone done that day for our bankruptcy clients. We were grateful for the few phone calls received. None of us wanted to deal with whiny people not getting their way, something we dealt with daily. I walked up to the 3rd floor of our building (a realty office) to get a soda and found that the reception on the TV's was remarkable compared to my fuzzy 13-inch. I hadn't realized I had been up there watching for over a 1/2 hour till my boss came up to get a soda. I apologized to him and he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Stay here as long as you want."

A million thoughts went through my mind that day along with plenty of panic as to whether or not our country was safe anymore. The most important thought on my mind was the life I carried inside of me. I was pregnant with my first child, Elise. I was only 3 months along. Not knowing what to expect next, I questioned what kind of world I was bringing this little baby into. "Heavenly Father, keep my family safe."

The day seemed to last forever. I believe we all left early that day. We couldn't concentrate--that would kind of be the case for the next few days. I went home to a eerily empty house. Nate had school right after work so I wouldn't see him till 9:30 pm. I sat on the couch all night just flipping channels. Around 7:00 pm, I just couldn't take anymore news. I turned to KBYU. There was a live concert going on at the Tabernacle on Temple Square. The prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, spoke. He wasn't on the program but his words were so comforting. The things he said were what I needed to hear that night, I'm many felt the same. When he finished speaking I broke into uncontrollable sobs. My sweet kitty, Bart, found me. She did something I will never forget. She layed down next to me and put her paw on my forearm. She didn't move it till I was able to calm down. Bart use to always find me in my moments of tears. I miss her so much, she died of cancer in February, 2006.

Nate came home a little early. His professor told everyone to leave and go be with their families. I don't remember much after Nate got home. We went to bed. I was worried I wouldn't be able to sleep that night but then I remembered the words of the prophet and was comforted.

My brother-in-law, Casey, was suppose to return from his mission, from Brazil, that week. We would not see him come home for another 1 1/2 weeks. Nate and I had tickets to Hawaii scheduled to fly out on September 18th. It was to be for my birthday weekend. We were too terrified to fly so we cancelled our trip. Little did we understand it would probably be the safest time to fly, only a week after the attacks.

In the middle of October I flew home to Washington to see my family. It was a great visit but everything was still so fresh. The flight back to Utah was awkward. An arab man was on the flight, close to front, where I was sitting. The feeling in that plane was incredibly tense. It was the most quiet flight I have ever been on. I know the arab man felt it. Large men stared him down as if to say, "Don't even make a move." I felt bad for him but couldn't help but feel the same.

The wound is still fresh for this country. I pray my children will never have to experience something like this.

Our Annual Drive to Silver Lake

Saturday, September 6th--Every year, usually on Labor Day, we drive up to Silver Lake. Silver Lake is at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon, right next to Brighton Ski Resort. The lake is so beautiful and there's a walking trail all the way around it. The kids love all the many chipmunks and squirrels you can see and sometimes we'll catch a glimpse of a moose or beaver.

We enjoyed a yummy picnic and watched as the chipmunks cautiously approached our table to see what kind of fancy viddles we were munching on. There are strict rules on not feeding the chipmunks and squirrels but Nate threw a Sour Cream and Onion chip anyway and the chipmunk, scoping us out, munched on it happily. Even letting me get pretty close to film video and take pics. Then as we read the reasons for not feeding them, Nate was feeling a little bad about throwing that chip but hopefully, it won't effect the little guy that much, if at all.

The funniest thing about this day was, as we were walking the trail around the lake, Brady kept whining and we didn't know why. We'd ask, "What is wrong?" and he'd point at an area and we'd ask him, "is it ..............?" and he would say, "no" and so on. Finally, about halfway around the lake, we had enough of the whining and had to discover what was making him so upset. He pointed again and Nate, jokingly, said, "Is it the pinecone?" (they were strung all over the trail). Brady said, "Yes, I don't like them." Both Nate and I tried very hard to hide our laughter. We tried to explain what pinecones are but I guess they looked a little freaky to him. So for the next 1/2 hour we tried to put Brady's phobia of pinecones to rest (is there even a scientific word for a phobia of pinecones?!?!?!). Elise jumped in and saved the day by giving Brady her walking stick so he could shew them aside. Once he was able to do that he was kicking them around and touching them. Cured! But still, something we will remind him of the rest of his life! ha ha ha Maybe he should have worn his super-hero cape!

The reason we go up on Labor Day Weekend (except this year the weather was bad so we went the next weekend) is to celebrate the eventful day of September 4, 1999, the day Nate proposed to me. He took me up to Silver Lake and we walked the trail, hand-in-hand. We took pictures, had a picnic, and enjoyed each others company. As we were almost all the way around the lake we sat down on a bench to rest a little. He took the opportunity and made it his moment to propose marriage. It was so sweet, he got on his knee and held my hand in his. He made promises he's been able to keep and then I happily said, "Yes!" So to memorialize that special moment we vandalized the very bench we sat on by carving our initials, "NA + AB", into the corner of the bench with a key. For a few years after, our initials were still there. When we moved back to Utah, in 2005, and went on Labor Day, the bench had been replaced and our initials gone. We thought about carving our initials again but it didn't seem as important anymore. The memories will always be in our hearts.

Nate, I still feel the way I did 9 years ago. I would gladly say "Yes!" again in a heartbeat. I'm so glad we have our special place we can visit every year and now we can bring our children and let them enjoy such a beautiful place for all it has to offer.

My Little Super Hero!

Saturday, September 6th--I've been wanting to get photos of him in his new, super-cool, cape for a few weeks now. Being a super hero is quite personal, and private, to Brady so every time I've asked him to let me take photos he's not very willing. Today, with a little bribbery, he let me.

In the beginning of August I called up Grandma Rosemary and asked her a special favor for Brady. He's been quite into Buzz Lightyear (as most boys become interested at one time or another) and Woody, from "Toy Story". He plays with the two every day, taking them on all the adventures Brady's little imagination can come up with (I love to secretly listen!). I got an idea to have a cape made for Brady so he could join in on super-hero adventures. I asked him what he thought about it and he LOVED the idea. I called up Grandma Rosemary and asked her to make him a special super-hero cape. She's great at sewing and I knew she would do a wonderful job plus add lots of love to her creation. She asked what color and so I asked Brady and he said "Buzz Lightyear!". So then I asked him, "Green or Purple?" He said he likes purple. Yes, we know Buzz Lightyear does not have a cape but who gives a rats patoot!

A week later Grandma Rosemary had his cape all done and presented it to him. He wouldn't even touch it! What the......?!?! We were worried he rejected it without ever even trying it on to fully gain what super powers it has in store. Once we got home he grabbed that cape and put it on and was off searching for super adventures! Phew! Again, he needed his privacy, LOL!

He loves his cape. He'll run from front door to back door with his arm out, pretending to fly. It's so adorable! Even Elise has snuck a few moments with the amazing, purple cape.

Grandma Rosemary and I thought the cape needed some dressing up so I'm going to find some space stencils and green paint. I know Brady's super-hero cape will be used for a long time---and maybe he'll go public with it one of these days!

Truth be told, Brady is my super-hero. He endures so much on a day to day basis with finger pokes and shots galore. He deals with high and low glucose levels as we try and continue to figure out this disease. Once we think we've got it down the rules of the game change. He never asks "why" and rarely has a day that he's fed up with it all. He is still full of laughter and loves entertaining anyone he can. One day there will be a cure for Type 1 Diabetes and he will raise his super-hero arms triumphantly! And we're optimistic that day isn't too far away.

Brady the Builder

Thursday, September 4th--Brady saw me workin' on the blog and asked if I would take a pic of him building with his Legos. Then he asked me to "....tell a story about me on the computer." He's very proud of his Lego creations. He wanted to copy the pictures that come with the box and once he did he said, "Mom! Mom! Come take a picture of my blocks!" So, I did and here ya go! Brady is such an adorable goofball!

Elise Has Created A Monster!

Thursday, September 4th---Oy vey! Lets back track a little. I believe I planted flowers in early June. As the flowers began to thrive and do well I noticed a little plant growing in and had no clue what it was. It didn't look like a weed so I decided to give it a chance and see what it would produce. Slowly, at first, it was growing and my hunch was that the leaves looked kind of like pumpkin, watermelon or squash leaves. How could it be? "No way!", I said. My aunt, Maureen, came over for a visit. She looked at the odd plant and concluded it is a watermelon plant. Wha, What! Elise happened to be listening in and said, "Wow, my watermelon seeds are finally growing!" Huh? When did this happen? She told us she was eating watermelon last year and took the seeds and planted them. So we have this watermelon plant that I decided to let grow, just for kicks and giggles. Well now, this plant is out of control! We've cut it back a couple of times and it just grows back and attaches its vines to anything it can. I directed some of the vine up onto the porch. Two weeks ago I was sick of this pest-of-a-plant and decided to give it one more week to produce any kind of fruit (there were plenty of yellow flowers on it). It did not disappoint. We now have two watermelons growing, side-by-side. The larger one has grown quite rapidly and we hope it'll be done growing soon. Strangely, the vine on the porch is producing the fruit so I'm wondering if there is a connection. Weird, indeed.

Elise is tickled at the sight of her watermelons! Every day they get bigger. It's been fun to watch and experience but we did have a talk with her and pointed out areas that are okay to plant seeds---moms flower garden is not one of them! We'll be sure to take pics of a ripe watermelon being cut into. It won't be long now, that thing is already HUGE! I asked Elise to pose with her pride and joy but she said she didn't want to. She's worried about all the bees. Poor girl!

Brady's First Day of Pre-School

Wednesday, August 20th--Much like Elise, Brady was pretty wired this morning. He got up early and must have asked 20 different times when we were going to leave to go to "his pre-school". I sent Elise off to school, jumped in the shower, got Brady dressed and then we were off. On the way, Brady and I had a nice chat about how to behaive in his class and to listen to Mrs. Peterson. We pulled up to Learning Dynamics and saw nothing but chaos in the parking lot. There were cars, parents, and children everywhere. Some of the parents parked a little on the retarded side so it made it difficult for us all to squeeze in. Anyhoo, I walked Brady into his classroom where Mrs. Peterson was there greeting us with a big smile. I love that she and Brady already have a relationship due to the time we spent with her going over his diabetic needs. Brady seems to like her a lot. She's due to have her baby in 3 weeks so she'll be gone for a little while and then be back around Halloween, I believe. We were also able to meet the lady who will be filling in for her and she seems quite nice as well.

Mrs. Peterson asked Brady to find his name on a nametag, posted on the door, and he did so then she put it on his chest. From there, he was not a happy person. He wanted that nametag off and wouldn't go play with the kids until it was off. In typical "desperate times" fashion, I convinced Brady to keep the nametag on and then, when I picked him up, we'd go get a treat. After that he was good to go and went over to play with the other kids in his class. He looked at me and said, "You can go now, mom." I gave him a kiss and a hug and then I left. Surprisingly, I didn't get emotional this time. I drove home and realized I had 2 hours all to myself. Hmmmm, what to do, what to do? Today, I chose to be lazy. Usually, when he's at pre-school and Elise is in school I'll either be cleaning or exercising.

I picked Brady up at 11:15 am and he seemed so much happier, even with the nametag still on! He loved his first day of pre-school and really enjoyed meeting new friends and spending time with Mrs. Peterson. He said Mrs. Peterson sang one of our favorite pre-school songs "Days of the Week" (sung to the tune of the Adaams Family theme song). At the end of class he got a Hershey's kiss from his teacher and then we left. He was content with that being his special treat for wearing his nametag the whole time. As a comfort, for me, I checked Brady's glucose level when we got home and it was perfect. A sure sign all will be well and, for the most part, his diabetes won't be an issue for pre-school. Hooray!

Happy 33rd Birthday Nate!

Tuesday, August 19th--We celebrated Nate's birthday today. He took the day off so I tried to make it special for him, giving him the quiet time he wanted and making him a special dinner, etc. Earlier in the day I took him to lunch, along with Brady. He chose to go to Arby's and seemed to enjoy every bite of his lunch there. From there we went to Wal-Mart to get the rest of the items needed for his birthday dinner. The dinner of choice---my homemade beef stew. It must be pretty tasty considering he use to salivate over my homemade lasagna. He picked out a small white cake for his birthday cake. We'll be celebrating all the Armstrong, August birthdays (there are 4) on Saturday and so there will be a BIG cake for all to enjoy.

The kids and I picked out a few presents and I hope he likes them. While at the Museum of Flight, in Seattle, I found a fleece vest that I thought he might like so I got it. The fact is, I think he looks pretty good in a fleece vest---one of my little quirks! And again, while in Washington, I was shopping at the mall and found a simulated aquarium that lights up and looks like the real deal. Eventually, I think it would be great to have a real aquarium, as does Nate, but for now, this will do. He's been showing interest in a book called: "Presidents and Prophets" by Michael K. Winder. It's a book on the relationship of LDS prophets and US presidents over the years. Michael Winder also went to school with Nate so he wanted to see how great of an author he might be. I look forward to glancing at it as well! And finally, his last gift will come later on tonight. He requested a massage. You'd think, being married to a massage therapist, he would get a massage on a regular basis but no, not the case. I'm usually too tired or too achy or whatever else so he gets neglected. Sorry Nate!

Nathan, Nate, Natey-pooh,

You are everything to me. In six months we will have known each other for 10 years! I'm so happy we've been able to grow and mature together and create a family together. My life is fulfilled with you and I look forward to many more years and eternity with you. You are an amazing dad, I enjoy watching you interact with Elise and Brady. I can see there is true love and true joy when they are with you. I hope you have a wonderful year, full of great times, memories and surprises! Happy Birthday, my love!

Love always and forever, Audra

Elise's First Day of 1st Grade

Monday, August 18th--Our alarms clocks were set for 7:00 am but Elise was up at 6:00 am, unable to sleep because she was so excited. She and I quickly got dressed and ready to go and then we were off. I was happy to find that the school was kind of quiet. We chose to have Elise do "A Track", which starts at 8:00 am. There is also a "B Track", which starts a little after 9:00 am. With the two tracks it seems to break up the chaos, somewhat, and the large number of crowds. Elise and I went through the front entrance of Pony Express Elementary and, from there, I asked her to walk me to her classroom. I wanted to see if she remembered how to get to her classroom. It took her a minute but she found her way to room #103, Mrs. Mair's room. Mrs. Mair was in the room along with two of the students in Elise's class. We put Elise's backpack and lunchbox in her cubby and then I took a pic of her with Mrs. Mair. From there we went over to her desk and she sat down to begin a coloring page Mrs. Mair had prepared for all her students. I gave Elise a kiss and a hug then that's when the tears began to flow. No, not from Elise's eyes, she wanted me to just go so she could start coloring. I had tears coming down my face and so I waved good-bye and quickly left. Once I got in the car I just let the tears come. Like I said in my last post, where has the time gone? I am baffled at how quickly life just flies on by. It makes me kind of sad but I'm also excited to see my children grow and learn and experience everything life has to offer them.

On Wednesday, Brady begins his first day of pre-school at Learning Dynamics in Saratoga Springs. Friday, we went in to meet with his teacher, Mrs. Peterson, and the director of the pre-school, to go over his diabetic needs. We were greatly comforted to find that two members of the staff, including the director, had gone to a class concerning Type 1 Diabetes and how to handle a child with the disease, in a pre-school/school setting. Mrs. Peterson's husband is a nurse and he has been going over some things she needs to be aware of, for Brady's sake. Brady will be attending pre-school every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.

Today, right after I dropped off Elise, we went over to Learning Dynamics for an open house. Brady was happy to see Mrs. Peterson again and I was happy to see a familiar face in one of the moms bringing her daughter to be in the same class as Brady.

I picked Elise up from school and she said she had a great day. She got to see a lot of her Kindergarten friends at recess time. She loved eating her lunch in the cafeteria. She said she forgot to read my note but saved it to be read at home.

An hour after she got home I asked her if she was tired, considering she got up way too early today. She said she wasn't tired but then I went to check on her and found her sound asleep. My sweet, little girl! What a great, exhausting, first day!

More to come on Wednesday when I have to be emotional all over again for Brady's first day of pre-school. Ay yi yi!

Where has the time gone?

Sunday, August 17th--Oh wow! My baby, my first born, is starting 1st grade tomorrow! I thought Kindergarten was rough for me......no, no, 1st grade has got me far more emotional. Elise will be in school full time now! She'll be responsible for eating lunch on her own and making sure she gets to and from recess. She'll be walking the halls with older children. Kindergarten was in the same building but they still seemed a little secluded. I know we'll all get through this and do beautifully. I know Elise will do well and all will be fine. This is just another milestone and I'm grateful for it but so incredibly nervous and anxious. More to come tomorrow as we drop Elise off for her first full day of school.......well, actually, Mondays are early release but it's only an hour earlier.

Call me cheesy, I dunno, but I packed Elise's first school lunch and then took a pic of it. I always heard about moms sending little notes with their kids lunches and so I did just that. Okay, I'm off to bed. Gotta get up early....blech!