...and then we MOVED!!

Tyson came across a great opportunity for our family with a new job in Salt Lake working at Dorsey & Whitney. After a long time waiting to hear back if he got the job, we were so excited when we got the news that he did - and we would be moving to Salt Lake in a few weeks. It was surreal knowing that we would need to sell our home, leave our neighborhood that we love and move in with the in-laws. Despite being very sad that we were leaving St George where we have loved living, we were so excited about the new opportunity and change for our family. We will be living with Tyson's parents while we look for a new home and sell our current one. It will definitely be nice not living at the home we're selling and constantly having to worry about it looking picture-perfect.

I snapped a few pictures of the kids right before our 4 hour drive up to our new house to document our new adventure!

Grandma Seymour's Funeral

My grandmother passed away last month after living 84 long great years. It was pretty unexpected - she had a mild heart attack late January which she was recovering from. She then developed a blood clot on her brain stem which her doctor successfully removed. We all thought she was going to only be in the hospital for about 2 weeks and was healing well when she contracted pneumonia. She chose to go into hospice care and passed away peacefully at home a few days later while in her sleep.

My grandmother was an amazing person! She was the one who taught most of us kids how to play the piano. I remember driving out to Orange County with my family and being super nervous to play what I'd practiced the few weeks before. She loved to garden and they had an amazing garden in their backyard. We would all rush to her blackberry bushes when we got there to pick the ripe blackberries to eat. If any were left over she would make blackberry pie which was always delicious.

Jayde and I drove down in two cars with my two brothers, sister, cousin, and Bre (Thomas' fiance). It was about an 8 hour drive from St George, so not bad. Jayde did amazing in the car and loved playing with Bre pretty much the whole time.

Here is Jayde and my brother Thomas before the funeral.

The viewing was at the mortuary by their home. It was fun seeing all of the cousins and extended family we rarely see. There were beautiful flowers everywhere! During the day when things were slower we would all play games together and socialize.

Mike & Thomas arm wrestling to see who won the pile of cards they slapped in Egyptian Rat (Bre looking on).

The ceremony was in Visalia the next morning. It was a beautiful day, and Bill gave the dedicatory prayer at the gravesite. My grandpa said a few words thanking everyone for coming out.

My grandpa Seymour 

Here is the casket which was beautiful! Grandma's favorite flowers were roses (she had them all over her yard and house), so it was neat to see them adorned on her casket and so many around.

After the grave ceremony we went to the church for the funeral service. It was a very musical funeral with cousins singing and playing the piano. My aunt Sharlet and uncle Steve gave the eulogies which were very enlightening to me as I didn't know a ton about her background. At the end all of the grandchildren went up and sang "Families Can Be Together Forever". I was pretty emotional while we were singing, but tried to focus on my nephew Lincoln who was trying to pull down the flowers in front of him.

Thomas and Bree (who are getting married this April)

 All of my parents kids lined up in order from oldest to youngest.

Everyone in my family who could make it.  Tyson and Rikki were missed...and I think Katelyn is sleeping somewhere in her car seat.

Despite the sad circumstances, it was good to see my family again and spend time with them. I know one day we will all be reunited with my grandmother, and know she is happy and looking down on us all.

20 Weeks {Jan 25} - halfway done!

At my half-way mark I'm definitely showing more than with Jayde's pregnancy. I'm past all the nausea and headaches I was getting before which is great. I weigh less this time around than at this stage with Jayde's which is nice because I can still fit my pre-pregnancy clothes even though my belly is bigger.

I REALLY wanted to wait to find out the baby's sex but Tyson was adamant to find out before the delivery date so I complied. 

I was about 90% sure it was going to be a boy because of how sick I felt, and Tyson (plus most of the family) thought it was going to be a girl. During our ultrasound we found out that baby Squishy is a:

BOY!!!

And by looking at the ultrasound pictures there is definitely no chance it is a girl... that's for sure! He was moving and kicking around the whole ultrasound and it was cool seeing him and watching his little hands and feet.

On Darryl's birthday celebration in Vegas I made cupcakes to announce to the family what we were having during dinner. Pink would be girl and blue would be boy (obviously). They all bit into their cupcake at the same time and found out that we were having a boy! It was a fun way of telling people, and most of them were shocked when they found out. We are super excited to add a little boy to our family, and now we're just trying to decide on a name and figure out what this kid's nursery is going to look like!

Grandpa Don Horrocks

Tyson's grandpa Don passed away in December. He was 78 years old but had a stroke that led him to the hospital, and passed away about a week after that surrounded by family. I was lucky enough to meet him a few times, and he also met Jayde a couple times as well at family gatherings. Although I did not know him very well, he was always very sweet and caring whenever we spent time with him.

We were able to drive down to Phoenix for the viewing and funeral which both went very well. Jayde did great in the car, and great the entire weekend and enjoyed having family around.

 Playing with purses at the viewing.

 Grandpa Don specifically asked Craig (one of his sons) if he would make his casket and he agreed. It turned out really neat! Above are all of Don's kids (7 boys and 1 girl). It was nice to see everyone there. We know that Don is in a better place now, and were lucky to have known him.

While we were there poor Jayde got a form of croup which was sad! One of the nights was really rough where she wasn't breathing very well at all and spiked a fever. We got that under control and she slept most of the day of the funeral. I'm just glad that's over - it was very scary! 

Christmas Card with a hidden message

It's pretty funny announcing on a Christmas Card - you can tell who actually reads them and who doesn't! We showed this to Tyson's family after Thanksgiving and it was fun seeing their reactions.

We're due in June with baby #2!

...just bring me to the church on-time!

This holiday season, there was lots of exciting news including two of our siblings getting engaged!

Jessi Horrocks and Ryan Timmerman are going to be married on June 19th. They were generous enough to not have the wedding too close to when Jayde is going to be born. (I'm just hoping to fit into the bridesmaid dress!)

It will be fun to have Ryan added to the Horrocks' clan to share in all of our craziness as our newest brother-in-law addition. Now they just need to move to St. George so we can see them more! *hint *hint




While my parents & brother were in town visiting us in St. George we were able to accompany Robert (my bro) to the jewelers and give a little input in his ring deciding, and it was awesome to be there when he 'unnoficially' proposed, and see her wearing the ring he picked out.

Tyson and I were able to meet Rikki awhile back and fell in love with her because they are perfect for each other. They will be sealed on July 31st, and we are excited to have her as the newest addition to the Seymour family.

Yay for Weddings!!

Our soon-to-be new house

This is a picture of the model home, but ours is essentially the same colors and design as this one. We signed on the home last Wednesday and picked out all our colors and upgrades. We never imagined how difficult it would be to choose colors, tile, and granite. It is hard to see what the overall project is going to look like from a few little swatches of paint.

We really loved the fact that you can't tell the home has a 3-car garage because it's off to the side.

This is a picture of our lot with the view behind it. In phase 2 of the development they are going to build behind us, but for now we get this view. They are going to start building the home around President's Day and it should be finished in early April for us to move in. That should work well because we will be in before the baby gets here and Laura can set up the nursery.

IT'S A.....

At 15 weeks {Nov 17} I could start feeling the baby moving which was awesome. It felt like little flutterings at certain times of the day and I couldn't wait until Tyson was able to feel it. Every week I could tell that the baby was getting stronger and stronger which was so neat to think about. The first trimester went by with a breeze. The only real symptoms were around weeks 12 through 15 where I would get nauseous in the car or on an empty stomach. I only threw up once and I think that was because I ate too quickly one morning, so it was pretty easy for us to keep it a secret until we told our families.

15 weeks - 3 days {Nov 20}:
Tyson and I scheduled an appointment at a place called Fetal Imaging to find out what the sex of the baby was. We figured why not right?! We didn't want to wait until our next ultrasound in early January to find out what we were having because Christmas and Black Friday sales were coming up shortly. The guy that did it was really nice and pretty funny. Ty and I thought for sure it was going to be a boy and had no doubt in our minds that's what it was going to be. Well guess what?!

...IT'S A GIRL!!

Well we were way off. When he told us my first reaction was, "Are you sure?!" He was positive. Tyson was just standing there with the video camera chuckling to himself. He says his first thought was, just Wow - and that he was excited to have a daddy's girl. We got to see her move around on the little screen as it sunk in that we were indeed going to be having a little girl. Here's some of the thoughts that went through my head:

• Holy cow now we're going to have to deal with a girl in High School - don't they always say girls are harder than boys?
• I'm going to have to change my whole perspective of what I would have as a first kid...and actually pay attention in the girl section of the stores and not just the boys.
• Girl things are SOO much cuter than boy things!
• She'd better not end up being a spoiled brat.
• She's going to be so cute!
• I wonder if she will be a mini-me or if Tyson will dominate all of the genes...
• I hope Tyson doesn't dominate all the jeans, I would love to have a blond curly haired blue-eyed baby girl.
• Ty is going to be completely wrapped around her little finger!
• Dangit now we have to agree on a girl name (we had the boy names narrowed down already and could not decide on a girl one).
  

We are so excited that we are adding a cute little girly addition to our family and can't wait to see what she looks like when she's born this May. Bring on the pink!

St. George here we come!

As most of you know Tyson was laid off a few months ago from the firm here in Salt Lake (clients weren't paying). Since then he has been super motivated and determined to find another job quickly especially with the baby on the way and all. With this legal job market it was difficult because most firms aren't hiring. However, he just accepted a job offer from a REALLY great firm in St. George, UT (about 4 hours south of Salt Lake) called Snow Jensen and Reece. He starts December 1st which we are both excited about. I was even able to meet with the attorneys there and they all seemed very honest and genuinely great people which I'm glad about. I know he will do very well there, and I'm SUPER excited that we will be living in the warm weather of St. George!

We are going to be moving out there this Monday which is crazy; and we are spending Thanksgiving with Tyson's family down there as well. I think we are both getting used to the fact that we will be able to look for a house again, and that the house hunting will be in St. George instead of Salt Lake. Nonetheless we are very excited for this move, and thank you all for your thoughts and prayers for us and make sure to come visit!!

So... a new chapter begins!

my husband....the attorney

October 20th we witnessed Tyson raise his right hand and state the oath to be an attorney...well we tried to see him but he was standing in the front so there were a bunch of people obscuring our view, but it was a cool experience none-the-less, and man that oath was long! I think the neatest part was when they declared them attorney's and then they all had to sign their lives away pretty much. Oh, and they gave them all stress balls at some point heh. I guess it's just a sign of things to come. It was fun having family there including both sets of grandparents. Jessi even came up for the day from St. George to be there (thanks girl!).

...so now my husband is officially an attorney and I'm so proud of him for all of his hard work these past three adventure-filled years...

NOW BRING ON THE LAWYER JOKES!!!

birthday, football, and BAR PASSING

Glen (Tyson's grandpa) turned 80 in August so we went to celebrate with family which was fun.

We've had the opportunity to go to quite a few...well all of the Utah home games with Tyson's family. Thanks parents!! They are always a blast, especially since we haven't lost since we've been. Here's us with his cousin Ashley.

..and TYSON PASSED THE BAR!!! We actually found this out last month, but were very excited about it! I had no doubts that he would pass but he was constantly worrying about it. I'm glad we finally got the results so he would be non-stressed again :0)

Undergrad - check. Law School - check.

Finishing the Bar - DOUBLE CHECK!!

As of 4pm on July 29th, Tyson was officially declared finished with the Utah bar. This is something he knew he would have to take for a long time, and quite frankly was probably not very excited about it. The first month he was busy non-stop leaving for work at 7:30am to return home after his bar class and studying was over at 10pm. I tried to make sure he had everything he needed and made him breakfast, lunch, and dinner every morning to take with him.

After that month was over and he took a break from working to just focus on the bar it got a TON easier for me! I was able to see him a lot more because he had an extra 4 hours per day to either add to his study time or take a break. He made sure to warn me that since he wasn't working he would be able to grow out his 'good luck' beard, and wasn't going to shave until after the bar was over...which was something I figured he would do. Let me tell you that beard was getting super scruffy!! However, he was determined that his Sampson-esque beard wouldn't bring him good luck even if it was trimmed. I just thought, "Whatever...it's your face". haha kidding

Tyson has always been a very motivated person but it amazed me at how determined he was to wake up early knowing he would be studying all day and exhausted that night. The week before the bar he kept thinking how only yesterday it seemed it was 7 weeks away, and now it's only 7! I was honestly also getting a little nervous for the event to take place. I wanted to make sure he had everything he needed, and the continuous support from me so he could really focus on the task at hand.

The night before the bar he got all of things together making sure he wasn't forgetting anything. I'm sure he read over his packet of information 10 times to make sure everything was right...and even had me read over it to double check. He wanted to make cookies which we did, including eating the dough off the beaters (hey I figure we don't have kids yet so we CAN still do it ourselves and don't have to share).

That morning he woke up at 6:15 and got ready. He woke me up at 6:45 to be his emotional support before leaving that day. I was so nervous for him, and he seemed composed! We wished him good luck and he was on his merry way. That night when he got home he was all smiles. I always ask how he does after a test and he always says, "Well I either nailed it or I failed it." which is not something you want to hear but I figure he just says it to cover his butt in case he didn't pass. The second day he was even less nervous as he left the house. He was going to nail the multiple choice, and we both knew it. He was scoring very high on those practice tests, and we are proud to say that Tyson is DONE with all school, and all tests for the rest of his life! (If he chooses). And has a clean shaven face ;0)

He of course wanted lobster to celebrate so we went to Market Street to celebrate with his parents.

So CONGRATULATIONS Tyson!!!! I knew you could do it, and I know that you will pass it with flying colors. Thank you for all the hard work you put in so we will have a wonderful life in the future for us and our family. You rock...I love you so much!

"I hope they call me on a mission"

My younger brother Thomas and I had a fun time laughing and telling stupid jokes as we flew from DC to Utah. He was to report to the Missionary Training Center the day after we got back to Utah and I was lucky enough to be his family support and drop him off. As we were driving around doing the few last errands, he went down his "people to call" list to say bye to his friends one last time, and remind them to write to him while he was on his mission. We drove up to the MTC and were led around by the leaders telling him where to put his luggage, and where the families will go. There was a group of 'non-newbee' elders who had been there for a few weeks asking him if he was nervous, and reassured him that he was going to have a blast and meet some amazing people. I was glad about that because I know he was a little nervous about this huge experience in his life that was about to unfold.

As we met up in the reception area they asked everyone if they were or had been sick recently (swine flu and all). I said no, and was hoping that Thomas didn't tell them that he just spent a week touring around Mexico City. They let us in and I got to put his tag on him which was fun. I made sure to have a random lady take a picture of it to send to my mom because she couldn't be there for her last son to go on a mission. (A week after this they didn't let families come in because 4 elders got the Swine Flu - they had to drop them off at the curb! Haha we just missed it!)

We heard some great speakers; some were very spiritual and some were funny and light-hearted. They showed a short clip about the MTC and people going on missions, which was where I started getting a little teary-eyed. It didn't help that there were grown men sitting next to me crying! After that we went to get him set apart which was amazing, and was when I really broke down because I knew I wasn't going to see him for two years! Then he started getting teary-eyed... Anyways, today marks the day that Thomas flies to the New Jersey, Morristown Spanish speaking mission. We have written him a few times and sent him some fun packages at the MTC, and I know that he will be an awesome missionary serving the Lord these next few years. I love getting letters from him that tell me about the experiences he is having and know that he will have many more amazing stories to come!

and then we packed up our things...

...and left our wonderful DC apartment which has so many fun memories of superbowl parties, very late girl's nights, and game nights galore!...and moved...to Utah. (Well at least me and Tyson's parents packed up all our things. Thanks to their help we were out of there in time and ready to head out. I think Tyson specifically left to Utah the day before so he wouldn't have to pack. I'm onto you honey!)

Here's the aftermath of all the packing and cleaning.

Crystal Plaza has been an awesome place to live the past 2 years! I loved everything about living there except for the pet fee...if not for that we would have a dog by now, but oh well. I guess it's for the best :)