I'm grateful for...

At the end of a long, busy day, I can't help but look around me and reflect on the many things I'm grateful for...

*A messy house which means I've got a healthy, active, and inquisitive one year old boy who learns something new every time he unloads the kitchen drawers and cabinets.

*Dirty dishes in the sink which means there was food on the table.

*A husband home late from work which means that there is work to do and a job to provide for our family.

*Sore muscles which mean I was able to go on a run in the warm California sun with good friends.

*Laundry to fold which means we've got clean clothes to put on.

*A BYU sweatshirt laying on the couch reminding me that the Cougs beat the Utes on Saturday. Go Cougs!

*A phone bill to pay which means I have unlimited minutes to talk to my Favs.

*The lighted Christmas tree in the corner which means a wonderful season ahead of us to spend time with family, give gifts, and, most importantly, to reflect on the miraculous gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Birthday Boy!

I can't believe it's been a whole year since...

Now our little baby is walking and talking and making mischief (hard to believe, I'm sure)!

We celebrated his first birthday in 2 installations. First, last night was dinner and cake with the Orton's. Jake was the life of the party laughing, talking, smiling, and stealing all of the attention. The highlight for him was his very own piece of cake which he quickly gobbled up and smeared all over the place. (Here's a picture of the cake before Jake got to it.)





After cake and ice cream, we opened presents. Thanks for the cute Rebecca Raggs clothes (he's going to be so stylish) and the fun froggy toy.


For the second installment of the birthday party, we woke up this morning and had a yummy breakfast and more presents, since today (Monday, November 23) is his actual birthday. Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa, for the legos!





You hear this a lot when you become a parent, "Enjoy it while it lasts because he'll grow up too fast." I don't think you completely understand the reality of that statement until you have your own child. It's true! We've only had him a year, and yet, it amazes us at what he's learned and how much he's grown in that year! It's funny because as much as your life changes when you have a baby, it's hard to remember what it was like without him and you wouldn't change it for anything. We thank our Heavenly Father every day for the blessing he is to us and the wonderful addition he is to our family.

Happy 1st Birthday, Jake!

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween! Last night was our ward Halloween Party (and it was one of the best we've ever been to) so we got to get in our costumes early this year. Since it was Jake's first Halloween, I started off easy with a costume and we decided to go with a family football theme. As you can tell, I'm the cheerleader (yes, it's my 8th grade Clark uniform), Steve's the jock/football player, and Jake's the ball. There were only a few people who mistook Jake as a Hostess cupcake. Overall, though, I think it turned out pretty well. In fact, in my own unbiased opinion, I think if there was a competition, we would have won the cutest family award. (We were also impressed with the family that went as the Village People and the guy that went as Steve Prefontaine complete with the handlebar mustache and running shorts.) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures and happy trick-or-treating!


Here's the costume without the model in it. Thanks to Grandma's Orton and Wood for the extra help with the hat and lacing down the front. I did the rest by myself-not too shabby for a first try homemade costume!


One more picture of our favorite little guy. This one shows his teeth pretty well (about 6 with 2 more on the way.) We think he'll be walking full time by his 1st birthday which is in 3 weeks.

Light the Night

We just want to let you know about an opportunity to donate to a good cause. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society hold an annual fundraising event called Light the Night. Steve became involved with it through his team at work. Since all of us know someone (and are probably related to someone) fighting cancer, we felt it was a worthy cause to promote on our blog. We have added a gadget to our blog if you feel inclined to donate. (If you can't view it in Mozilla, try switching to Internet Explorer.) Thanks for a minute of your time!

Isn't it about...time?

We here at the Orton home decided it's about time to update our blog. Since A LOT has happened since the last post, I've decided to give a snapshot (literal and figurative) into our lives over the last few months. Hopefully, updates will come more frequently as we endeavor this week to get the internet set up in our house. So, without further ado, here's what's happened...

1) Steve grew a beard...and shaved it off in various stages. Any votes for your favorite?

2) We went to "That Famous Preston Night Rodeo." We'd never been to a rodeo before and thought it was a blast! A special thanks to our hosts-Em, Nate, Zach, Annie, Ty, and baby Rockstar.

3) We MOVED!!! We're renting a cute little house in San Jose, CA. We even have a spare room for guests!!

4) Steve started a new job. He enjoys the work and the people he works with.We are both very grateful that Steve has a great job at this point! (He even agreed to take a job in Fresno so that we could spend a few days with Grandma and Grandpa Barrus.)

5) We spent a fun 2 days with my best friend and old roommate Holly in San Diego.

6) Jake is getting so big and so smart. He loves to unload the book shelves and cupboards. He's pulling himself up on everything and walking (practically running) around all of the furniture. We think he'll probably be walking before his first birthday. What a cutie! I love when he pulls himself up between my legs so I look down and see his cute little face smiling up at me.

We've even taken him to his first professional baseball game at AT&T Park to watch the San Francisco Giants play.

7) We are looking forward to welcoming 2 little nephews to our family in February. My sisters Emily and Katie told us that they are both due to have little boys within a week of each other. Congrats and good luck!

We're still alive...

Despite popular belief, we have NOT dropped off the face of the planet. We finally moved in to our new place in San Jose, CA, but haven't set up internet connection there yet. We have TONS to report from our summer, but it will have to wait a little longer. We do have a cute little house we're renting with a spare room for those of you who want to come visit! Anyway, we hope all is well and will get a real update as soon as we can!

A family that sweats together, sticks together...

My dad used to say this when I was younger: "A family that sweats together, sticks together." Thus, the 4 original Barrus kids and our spouses joined forces a few weeks ago to run the To Bone and Back relay in Idaho Falls. It was a 40 mile round trip run where each of the 8 runners ran a 5 mile leg. (Why choose this over the Wasatch Back Relay? 1-We still liked each other at the end. 2-When we finished our leg, we didn't have to get out and run again. 3-We slept in comfy beds, ran our race, went back home and showered, and were done. Period.) Anyway, we ran the 40 miles in 5 hours 18 minutes to finish second in the mixed division. We owe most of our success to Steve and Sunny for hosting us in a pre-race carbo loading dinner and to Emily for making our official 'Off Balance' team t-shirts. Great job, team! Next year's official team uniforms--mullets, beards, and running skirts!!

We're BAAACCCKKK!!!

Washington, D.C...it was AWESOME! We would have made Grandpa Barrus proud with the long days we spent touring and yet, we still could have used a few more days. We spent the first day in Gettysburg, days 2-6 in Washington, D.C., day 7 in Williamsburg, day 8 at Mount Vernon, and, BONUS DAY 9 in the Denver Airport. Jake was the traveler of the century drawing attention by smiling at anyone who would look at him. I guess once you get outside of Provo it's not quite as common to see babies because he was the star of the show everywhere we took him. He even cut his first tooth while we were there but didn't get one bit fussy!! Listed below is a breakdown of all we saw and experienced while we were gone.

*Tuesday-Fly out to D.C.
Drive 2ish hours to Gettysburg.
Woke up that night to a monster thunderstorm

*Wednesday-Spent the day touring the battlefield and monuments at Gettysburg


*Thursday-Tour of Capitol, Supreme Court Building, Library of Congress, Ford's Theater, National Archives (Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence), Washington Memorial


*Friday-Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, Holocaust Museum, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, American History Smithsonian, WWII, Vietnam, and Korean War Memorials, Lincoln Memorial

*Saturday-American History Smithsonian, WWII Memorial (65th anniversary of D-Day), White House, Air & Space Smithsonian, lunch on the Mall


*Sunday-Arlington National Cemetary
Drive to Williamsburg via Quantico to visit Cousin Kelly and Dale and kids

*Monday-Colonial Williamsburg
Spent the night with the Dossett family in Fredericksburg**Thanks so much!!


*Tuesday-Marine Corps Museum, Mount Vernon, head to airport and home?


**Bonus Day-Because of a thunderstorm our flight ended up leaving at 1:15 am and, subsequently, we missed our connection in Denver so spent the night in the Denver Airport. We figured after all was said and done our return trip took around 21 hours!

Overall, we had a WONDERFUL trip -- everything worked out as well as we could have hoped for and better. It was inspiring to be in so many places where history has been made and to walk where so many great people have walked. We feel a renewed sense of gratitude for the great sacrifices that so many men and women have made to protect the freedoms we enjoy and a greater feeling of responsibility to do our part as well.

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

We're going to Washington, D.C.! Happy summer vacation...I finished school on Friday so we're celebrating! We'll give you the low down when we get back! Much love to you all.

It's done!

So big news! I'm a geek! And I'm done with the CPA exam! Most of you who are reading this probably already knew -- I've pretty much been telling everybody I talk to... It's such a relief to have it finished so that I don't have to stress about it down the road, when things are likely to get more (rather than less) busy. I technically won't know my score on this last section for a month or so but I'm telling myself that I'm done. :)

Anyway, that's all. I just thought y'all should know!