Ayres Insanity

  Russ is a car guy. He doesn't really watch sports or go golfing or play video games, but he LOVES cars! In fact, we were driving home from Moab a few years ago and he was asleep in the back seat when suddenly he sat straight up and said "STI!" (As in Subaru STI, his fav), he had heard the motor and knew what it was without even seeing it, and all this while sleeping! I don't get the obsession with cars, I probably never will, but I do try. In fact sometimes when he's talking about cars I think in my head "shoes", and that helps me to understand his passion.   Anyway, last Friday, Russ brother Josh (who shares his undying love for fancy schmancy vehicles) had somehow gotten ahold of "The Dream Car", a Nissan GTR, supposedly these things will run you about $90,000 and can go about a bazillion MPH. Anyway, they were going to take it for a spin. I couldn't figure out why Russ would take time out of his day off to simply drive a car, but agai...

  Happy New Year! It is officially 2012, in fact it's just after midnight and I'm sitting in bed listening to the fireworks outside grateful that I'm not out there freezing!   I can't believe another year has gone by, I'm excited for the next.   Christmas was great, my mom has been in town so it made it a little easier to deal with Russ working Christmas eve and Christmas day. We took about 30 min to do the Santa thing while he was home and waited until the 29th to really celebrate. It was actually kind of nice, it allowed the holiday to linger for a few more days.   Anyway, Taevin got a pogo stick and a snowboard (daddy's excited to show him the ropes), Ryler got a penguin race game and a little trampoline so he can bounce to his hearts content, and Zoey got a little four wheeler and a shopping cart. Russ got tools, and I got shoes (Santa knows me well!) and thanks to Grandpa and Uncle Dan, we all got a Wii, and since I'm a master at the original Mari...

    What a weird year this has been, it's so hard to believe that so many storms can take place within one little family. So many trials, equally as many blessings, but as the year is coming to a close I can't help but hope for some calmer weather for the upcoming year.   Russ is still working 2 full time jobs but luckily that will be changing come January, this has been to say the least, challenging, but as I'll point out more than once throughout this post, with every trial comes a blessing. So with lots of work, comes lots of money. Is the money worth living without my husband? Definitely not, but I will admit, the financial flexibility has been nice.   Now speaking of money, we're lucky to have a little extra right now given that we've had a few expenses come up this month. The first being the expense of a court ordered name change. When we decided to change Zoey's name, we assumed the cost would be the same $20.00 we paid when we changed the spe...

  Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, for many reasons. I love the opportunity we have to reflect on our blessings and the things that we're thankful for. I love that it's a low pressure holiday, no stress about finances or the obligation to purchase crap we don't need. I love the family time, and last but definitely not least, I LOVE the feast.   On rare occasion I've met people who don't like thanksgiving food and I don't get it, it's shameful really. I mean what kind of person doesn't love turkey, stuffing and fresh baked rolls? To "those people" I say, come to my house, I'll convert you.   What's almost as fun as eating the meal is cooking it, I love spending the day cooking the amazing meal that I know everyone will enjoy. I especially enjoy the pies, so for the last few years, that has been my assignment.   This year I'll be making six pies, Pecan, Banana Cream, Coconut Cream, Cranberry, Lemon Meringue, and of cour...

  I probably shouldn't admit to this random act of stupidity that I'm about to confess, but it's funny so here goes.   Yesterday a friend of mine had posted on Facebook that she'd been rear ended and gotten whiplash, so tonight I decided to take her some of the soup I had made for dinner. As I pulled up in front of her house I noticed that the bumper of her car was dented and scratched. I knocked on the door prepared to ask "what happened to your car?" and then it hit me... DUH!   Is there a treatment for chronic airhead syndrome?

  My mom always said that four was her favorite age, and in my experience with Taevin, I concur. I think most parents would agree that 2 and 3 year olds are tough, but 4 year olds are absolutely delightful and a welcome change from the world of daily tantrums .   Two days ago Ryler turned four and I'm so excited! I'm sure he will always be my little firecracker but I have noticed a few improvements. He is becoming slightly more compliant (ever so slightly) and a bit easier to communicate with, and I'm thrilled and looking forward to all of the cuteness that this age brings!   Yesterday we had a fun party for him, we went to the Living Planet Aquarium and saw lots of fun sea creatures and even penguins! After our fun with the fishes, we came back home and had pizza, cupcakes and presents, it was a great day!   We're so grateful for our little Ryler, he makes life interesting and I can't (and wouldn't want to) imagine life without him. ...

  Yesterday I sent Russ off to work at about 1:00pm, he came home at 7:30 this morning, showered and was in bed by 8:00am. I took the kids to church and came home at noon, woke up Russ and sent him off to work at 1:00pm again. He'll do this again tomorrow and the next day.    While Russ was getting ready I overheard Taevin asking him why he doesn't come to church, he said "because I have to work", Taevin said "but all the other dad's are there". Just then, the knife in my heart started to twist. Russ just said "I know buddy, I wish I could be there", I could tell it was killing him too. Just as he was about to leave he kissed me and said "I hope you know that this isn't easy for me either", I managed to fight back the tears until he walked out the door.   Where the hell is an easy button when you need one?