Family Togetherness

A lot has happened since the last post--no surprises there.  Lots of good and some sad. So I'll just jump right in.  

Though I was able to write something on Kayla's birthday, I didn't get a chance to talk about how we celebrated it and the events surrounding her awesome birthday.  My mom and Mike came into town that week to be with us and another grandson of theirs.  It was really fun having them here to celebrate with us.

So her BIG DAY came and we made sure to keep her super happy all day.  So she wore her favorite dress.

I had to add this one because I love her face in this pic!

And went to the park to play with her friends.We made these cakecicles and the kidos got to decorate and eat them.  Unfortunately I completely spaced the picture taking until after all the cake eating was done. Oh well. Just imagine lots of kids with chocolate on their faces and sprinkles everywhere.  It was awesome.

They all wanted to be on the swing so we engineered a 2 for 1 seat!

I love these girls! So sweet!

Grandpa Mike helping the girls out!

Then we got home, and Kayla opened her presents. She loved them all.  They were perfect for her! She's been having so much fun with all of them!

It's been a lot of fun having a 3-yr old.  She's talking more and better.  I'm pretty sure she understands everything I tell her, she just chooses not to listen.  That's the real joy of this age...She has the funnest laugh and does everything she can to get one out of us, too. She's a monster She's a princess.  It just depends on the day which she chooses to be. Regardless, I love all of her.

As part of her birthday present, we got Kayla a haircut.  She never likes it when I try to put up her hair.  And the few times she lets me, it's out within 5 minutes. So here's what it looks like now! I love it!

I think we've gone to the zoo more times this year than I have in my lifetime.  The great thing about kids this age is that they love doing the same things over and over again.  I've enjoyed it because every time we've gone, it's been with different people and we've seen different areas of the zoo at different times.  So it's like a different experience every time. It's been great!  But a few things stay the same. Like these:

The Giraffe Family Picture Place

The Splash Pad 

(Sorry for some there was no sound with this video)

And the Carousel 

It was a lot of fun spending this zoo trip with grandparents and other members of my family. I wouldn't be surprised if we found our way there again next year. 

Kayla can't have a successful birthday without the traditional HoBo birthday party for the "twins."  This year, we went for a Princess theme.  I think everyone enjoyed it.  There was lots of food, lots of balloons, and lots of family to talk and play with.

What was really special about this birthday was all the family that we had around us to celebrate.  This was my mom's first time in town during Kayla's birthday (huzzah for being retired), and that was a lot of fun.  We got to see all the Bobo's that are living in the Utah. That's always super fun, too.  Sometimes I miss our Bobo-Graham get togethers.  Growing up, I could always count on spending 4th of July and Thanksgiving with them. Good times. 

On a less happy note, one of the other occasions for family gatherings is for funerals. Brandon's Grandpa Talabock passed away in August.  I haven't been in the family long, but I know I'm going to miss him.  He was such a character.  Gruff on the outside, but a teddy bear on the inside.  He had a hard life, but I believe he found a lot of joy there, too.  Brandon and I were able to give him one of his first great-grandchildren, and I could tell how much he loved her.  I was looking at some baby blessing pictures of Kayla and found this:

The funeral service was very beautiful.  Brandon contributed by putting together a video and picture slideshow.  Everyone who watched it loved it.  Then we went to the Veteran's Memorial where his remains were buried.  They had an honor guard there who presented the flag and did taps.  I always tear up when the trumpet plays that tune.  They played it at my own grandfather's and father's funeral.  I think it will always touch my heart. In a few simple notes, it shows so much respect and honor for the soldiers who pass on from this life.

Though it wasn't for the best occasion, it was still really nice to see Brandon's parents while they were out here.  It was only for a weekend, but it's always good to see them.  Kayla loves and misses them a lot.  Both of her grandparents.  She talks about going to their house and talks to them on her phone. I'd love to put up a video, but Google just told me the file was too big.  I'll just have to send it to them personally. Needless to say, it's super cute.

The next fun thing that happened with our little family was the Salt Lake City ComicCon. Brandon was a panelist, so was able to get us all in for free. Best way to go, in my opinion. Brandon was there representing Cinema Book Trailers with this business partners and showed their newest book trailer, The Golden Cord.  I think it was well received.  

There was one section of ComicCon that was just for kids. I loved that. Kayla got to dress up and enjoy a nice tea party with Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother at one of the booths. 

Then she got to meet some of her favorite characters.  People here love to dress up, and I saw a lot of costumes that I recognized.  I don't know if that's a good thing or not...

And then Brandon found the perfect gift for Kayla there, too.  It's not just a Totoro.  It's a Totoro purse. Kayla loves stuffing things in it and carrying it around. 

Then next fun event that happened in September was our 7-year anniversary.  We've been working on redoing our bedroom (more news on that later) as our present to ourselves.  It's not done yet, but will be...soonish...I hope.  So I wasn't planning on doing anything else, but then Brandon goes and buys me a beautiful arrangement of flowers.  He got them at our friend's shop called Foxglove Flowers & Gifts down in Provo on Center Street.  They recently bought the business and are making it awesome.  Anyone who needs flowers should go down there.  They create awesome stuff like this:

Brandon told me that Kayla helped pick out the different flowers and then Courtney made it all work together.  She's got a gift. 

Then another amazing friend offered to take Kayla for a while so we can go out to dinner.  We went to Thai Drift in Orem and had massaman chicken in the first time in forever.  We used to go to this place called Thai Mango, but they moved to West Jordan and I was having massaman withdrawals.  We heard about this place and decided to check it out. Best idea ever.  

Close to our anniversary was the Logan Film Festival.  Brandon's film, Missed Connections, was playing there so we decided, as another gift to ourselves, to go for the weekend.  Kayla stayed at my sister's house (where she played until she dropped!) while we went up to Logan.  It was nice being there and was pretty relaxing.  We ate good food, slept in a nice hotel, and saw his film on the big screen again.  We also got rained on (a lot) and watched independent films.  It wasn't my favorite festival but I'll appreciate it for the excuse it gave us to get out of the house.  I also got to see the Logan Temple as I was driving around to find a church building so I could attend the Women's Broadcast.  That was an adventure.  I found one just in time and enjoyed the conference.  I think my favorite part was watching a group of young Korean girls all dressed in their traditional garb and singing "I Love to See the Temple." It was very beautiful and really touched my heart.

The biggest news that we've had for the last 12 weeks or so is that we are adding a new little Ho to our Ho family.  Coming to you sometime early April 2015:

The baby is between the two "x"s with a little halo on top

We are all very excited. Even Kayla. She's convinced that she's going to have a sister. At our first doctor's appointment she asked me if it was a boy or a girl and I told her that we don't know yet. She then said, "It's a girl. I know." Can't argue with that! But we'll really find out around Thanksgiving time if she's right or not. 

Kayla's been really good and understanding when I tell her when I'm feeling sick or tired. She's a real trooper. I think she'll be the best big sister this little baby could have.