Christmas Time

We had a great Christmas this year with lots of festivities and parties to attend (too many if you ask Omai). We decided to do something a little different instead of exchanging gifts with our families--we did a Sub-4-Santa. On the Graybill side we helped Oakland Construction provide books, socks, and underwear for all the students at Edison Elementary (we provided gifts for 15 kids). My family provided Christmas for a family in my mom's ward for a single mom who has four boys ages 8, 7, 6, and three months old. We communicated with the grandma to get all their sizes and information. She told us that the little eight-year-old was very worried about Christmas coming because he didn't think Santa would find them. He wanted to spend Christmas at his grandmas' house because he was sure Santa would find them there. We were able to help Santa find them this year and it was so great to be a part of bringing a little joy to them. I think we all teared up a little when we read the note left by their grandma who thanked us profusely and said we were all now her best friends. It was a great experience.

Another fun thing was that my mom resurrected our old Christmas dresses for the little girls. We all gathered on Christmas day where the girls received their dresses and then we attempted to take pictures. The picture part created a bit of challenge--probably more so than the dresses. With six little kids; the youngest being less than 2 months old, the "photoshoot" was more entertaining than anything.


Overall it was a great Christmas and we especially loved the four-day weekend. Happy New Year's everyone!

Have You Ever...

I saw this on a friends blog and I thought it was fun to think and reminisce about my life and adventures. It's a little long, but fun! To participate just copy and paste in your own blog, and bold all of the things you have done. Happy remembering!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23.Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (how 'bout a half marathon)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (does a home video count?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
Give it a try!!!!!

Christmastime is Here

Omai and I went to the Messiah Sing-A-Long last night at Abravenel Hall and had a good time enjoying the music. We didn't take any sheet music so we just listened to everyone else sing. I'm not much of a singer anyway so I don't think music would've helped. Omai had a great attitude even though he doesn't care much for things like that. He would've rather been at the Jazz game, but he still came and didn't complain. He didn't have any leg room though--they weren't really thinking of the seating for those who are 6'3". Maybe on our next outing we'll head for the Jazz game instead. We had a great Thanksgiving--you can't beat three dinners huh. We had dinner with the Graybills a couple weeks ago, dinner at my dad's on Thursday, and then dinner at my mom's on Saturday. We have a fridge full of leftovers so we'll be set for at least a week. It provided many opportunities to think about all the things we're blessed with. What a great time of year!

babies and basketball...

will be the theme to our '08-'09 winter season. Bailey is already the most spoiled girl in our home and she's only the size of an orange. She has a new bed, dresser, paint for her walls, a new shelf, new outfits and I guarantee there's more to come. But that's okay because it's just a taste of how things will be for her on the outside. Well, we'll try to keep it in check.

She is growing a lot though now and kicks me all day. Most women say their babies are quiet during the day and only wake up at night, but not Bailey. She kicks and kicks all day, then at night she gives me a few good-night kicks and calls it a day. Hopefully she'll maintain that schedule after she's born. We're thinking she might like soccer or at least something active because I don't think she ever stops moving. I just can't wait til those kicks are coming from an 8 - 9 pounder--that will be so fun.

Omai's coaching basketball again this year for the Brighton High girls team. They have their first game this Wednesday at home against Viewmont if anyone wants to come. I'm thinking the Varsity play at 7, which is when Omai will be coaching. He says they'll have a good team this year because the girls are fast and have improved dramatically since last season. Most of them played through the spring and summer on various teams so their skills are much better.

Omai has also decided to start playing basketball every week with some old friends from high school. He'll probably play about 2 - 3 times a week. Like I said--babies and basketball.

it's a...

halloween (part 2)

Another fun thing we did for Halloween was had trick-or-treaters come to my work. One of my co-workers who is an awesome photographer brought a photo booth for everyone to get their pictures taken in. It was way cool. Here is Colley, Jaxon, and Taygen.

halloween

We had some fun parties for Halloween this year and most everyone was very festive when it came to dressing up. Omai's family came over the Friday before Halloween for pumpkin carving and Corn Chowder (which I made for the first time). It was good once it finally cooled down, but not until almost everyone had burnt their tongue. Eeek... sorry. I also made a nice looking, but not so nice tasting 3-layered pumpkin orange cake. Mostly it was just dry, but I think that's an easy fix for next year. There were some cool pumpkins carved as well. I attempted Jack Sparrow, but his eye broke while I was carving so it looked more like a retarded pirate. Omai's turned out really well though. Can you guess what he carved? Here are some pics from the fun night.

exciting news

Omai and I have some exciting news to share... I'm pregnant!! The due date is April 4th and now that I'm passed the first trimester, life is good again. My clothes already don't fit, but who needs to wear their skinny jeans to feel on top of the world right?

island park

This past weekend we took our annual trip to Island Park for Conference Weekend. Omai could hardly contain how excited he was for the vacation--he would dance around the house making up songs about Island Park for probably about two weeks prior to leaving. We had a great time despite the cold, rainy weather. Check out some pics from the trip.

We stopped in Rexburg to go through the temple with Omai's parents. On Friday, we went on a nature walk with the kiddies and found old, dead trees to push over. On Saturday, we drove into Yellowstone to see the geysers, wildlife, and Old Faithful.

first annual graybill campout

After many failed attempts at making the First Annual Graybill Campout a reality, we finally made it happen. We found a great little spot right in the heart of Salt Lake City--Wheeler Farm. Who woulda thought... The camp spot is tucked away in the back of the property surrounded by trees and dirt. Once the sun goes down, you would never think you were just a short distance from a major road. Campfires were prohibited due to the dry weather and we only had one flashlight for the 15 of us. Thank goodness for technology because we were able to find our way around nicely with the light from our cells phones. Garrett, Omai's nephew, Omai, and I decided to really rough it and slept out under the stars to enjoy the beautiful night sky. We all woke up early to the sound of roosters and enjoyed a hearty Mountain Man breakfast prepared by the boys. In addition to the flashlights, we forgot a few more vital things including matches, salt and pepper, and ketchup, but we still ate well and so did our neighbors--a swarm of bees. As soon as the bees were awake and caught a wiff of our delicious breakfast, they wanted to take part too. Most of us had already eaten by the time the bees started to stir, but Dion, Omai's dad, was intent on cleaning the grill before eating his breakfast. He battled the bees for a while and was determined to kill them all before he gave up and just tossed his plate of food. We had a great time and look forward to the 2nd Graybill Campout. Morning Oms. Omai and Gracie ready for breakfast. The sisters-in-law. Good morning Colt.

The cooks.

Colton enjoying cookies for breakfast.

Good morning Lils. Love the hair!

lake powell in september

We got to go to Lake Powell again for our last summer hurrah and we had a great time. Omai had to work so it was just me representing the Graybill clan. This trip was a little different in that all five of my neices and nephews were part of the mix (three 2-year olds, and two 3-year olds). Needless to say, the trip was all about life jackets, sun screen, and tantrums. What could be better?... It was a fun trip despite being woken up while the stars were still out with no sun rays to be seen--but who needs more than 5 hours of sleep anyways? I guess it was a little training for me and what being a parent really entails.

The five neices and nephews on a hike. Riggs testing out the stairs again--the first time he went down them he did a face plant at the bottom. They can be a doosy. Colley, the Fearless One!

big babies

I went to my cousin's baby shower this afternoon and in the midst of it we started to talk about the size of babies. My sister, Tyra, has small babies, her first weighing in barely over 5 lbs. Chelsea has medium sized babies with Colley coming in about 7 lbs. Well, I just found out that Omai weighed over 9 lbs. when he was born and his siblings came in close behind him. I was the largest baby in my family weighing in a little over 8 lbs. so to sum it up... our kids are going to be very, very large. What fun to look forward to.

lake powell

(Tyra, Dad, Chris, and me) We had our vacation of the summer last week at Lake Powell and it was great. We went down on Sunday with my dad and were joined by the rest of the family on Wednesday. The weather was HOT!! and so was the water (about 83 degrees). It was a nice and relaxing week. My legs got fried during an hour long boat ride down the river, which kind of put a damper on the trip. I'm still peeling and my skin's still purple so I think I achieved a second-degree burn. I have to relearn the lesson every year that I can't tan no matter how much I want to and how much the sun burns my skin. Here are some more pics from the trip.

it's been fun

Well... I'm sitting at work right now with a broken computer and with nothing to do so I thought I would write a bit. Well, to answer a few questions, our new house is in Riverton right on the border of Herriman. And yes, we celebrated our anniversary/my birthday about one month ago. The big 1st and 28th respectively. It took us about a week of scheduling and rescheduling to actually get a day off work because of Omai's promotion, but we finally got a day off to celebrate. We've had a few adventures lately... I found a HUGE spider in our garage. I should've taken a picture, but I was too worried about it running up my leg or into the house that all I could do was try smashing it with the broom. I was unsuccessful and it found refuge in a nearby corner. The next day it was out and about again and this time I employed the help of Omai to be the spider smasher. It was hiding under my car so I quickly pulled my car out while Omai stood guard with an old sandle ready to smash away. He was successful and I had to clean up the guts that were smeared all over the garage floor. It's okay--no more huge spider. Another fun adventure recently was locking ourselves out of our house while we took a trip up to the Maverik for a treat. The locksmith said he'd be to our house in a half hour to let us in so weren't too worried. Two hours later and after getting to know our neighbors, the locksmith arrived and within 2 minutes and a $85 check later, viola, we were in. Let this be a lesson to anyone who is no longer living with their parents and are responsible for securing your own home, have a spare key or some equivelant. This summer has also been full of a lot of soccer... both playing and watching. We (and by we, I mean I) are playing on an outdoor co-ed soccer team with some people from our old singles ward. It's been fun, but a continual reminder that I'm older than I was in high school and my muscles have gone through a period of atrophy as well. Isn't that fun. The soccer watching has been mostly of Real Salt Lake. They have a great team and are improving a lot making it fun to watch. Mostly I go for the Kettle Corn, but watching the matches is fun too. Omai's totally stoked for the new stadium to be completed. He can see it from work so he sees the progress everyday. Well, that's all for now. I'm going to go see if I can get back to work on a computer that's actually working. I love technology...

it's been a long time

As you know, we moved into our house and are enjoying all the space, our neighbors, and the change in weather. Omai recently got promoted at The Cad Store to Regional Manager. He's excited but a bit overwhelmed with the new responsibility. He has some great ideas already to increase sales. He'll do a great job. I'm still at PRMI despite many interviews for a new position. I have a new boss, which has made a huge difference and has put our team on track. I'll keep looking for a new position, but it's not as urgent as it was before. We are looking forward to some fun summer activities. We are going to start playing soccer next week on a co-ed outdoor team. We will probably both die because we're really out of shape, but it'll be fun anyway. We also are planning on a trip to Lake Powell at the end of July. We saw a sign for the Fort Herriman Rodeo in a couple weeks that we're excited to go to.

we're moved in

We moved into our new house last weekend and we've had a week full of unpacking boxes and taking many trips to Home Depot. We both feel like there's so much more room than we're used to--we have a choice of which room to hang out in. We love our new house and the neighborhood. It's very quiet and the neighbors we've met are very nice. There's a large park just down the road that we've run to a few times to play soccer and watch the neighborhood kids play soccer. Andy Williams (player on Real Salt Lake) coaches a neighborhood team and we got to spy on the drills he was running with his kids. We've really enjoyed our first week in our new house.

great weekend

Another great weekend has come to an end. We had a great two days enjoying the warmer weather and the sunshine. We took a drive out to Saratoga Springs to check out a washer and dryer we are thinking of buying from a guy off KSL. It was quite a drive out there, but the area is beautiful with fantastic views of the Utah lake. We went out to dinner and then saw Leatherheads. We didn't think it was too great--I think you have to be from an older generation to enjoy it because my dad really liked it. It turns out that KSL classifieds has many great deals. We found three lift tickets to Park City for $100.00 so my dad, Chelsea, and I spent Saturday on the slopes. It was the greatest day of Spring skiing ever!! The snow was perfect and it wasn't too hot or too cold. Despite my two layers of sunblock though, my face got lots of sun. It was a great day. After skiing we took a short bikeride up to the neighbors with Riki, Erin, and Lily to see the horses and to feed them apples. I rode Maryanne's old school bike that has no gears and foot brakes. My legs were burning after riding up our short hill, but I made it. We finished out the night at the Real game where they slaughtered DC United 4-0. The team played great and were very enjoyable to watch. Hopefully this is the start of some good things for the team. It's been a long road of losses, but it's always fun just to be out enjoying the sunshine, or in our case Saturday night, the cold and wind. We went to our new ward again today and were entertained during Sacrament Meeting as we watched kid after kid try to escape from their parents into the hallway. Many were successful--we were routing for the kids. We met a few new people including some of our neighbors. There's a big mix of old and young families, which will make the ward really great. We found out the ward was organized a little over a month ago so almost everyone's new to each other. They are having the first ward activity this Saturday--we're moving in at just the right time. And finally... we are closing on our house tomorrow morning and only one week later than expected--ugh! Oh well. Underwriting lines are long everywhere, which is the reason for our delay. We're not ready to pull our hair out yet, but we can hardly walk around our house because of all the boxes. Soon enough we'll be moved in enjoying tons of space and a two-car garage. What could be better?

Are you ready for some Futebol?

Omai here...my first blog entry. I just stepped outside my office to get the mail and the spring weather hit me. I'm ready to start playing some soccer. Please feel free to join me. Good Day!

sin city

This past week we went to expensive Las Vegas. Luckily we had a crummy hotel room, which made Omai want to do something other than just sit in the hotel. We went and saw a bunch of the big hotels on the strip, had some good food from the Rio Carnival buffet, and saw some basketball at the Thomas & Mack Center. Too bad the Cougs lost in the title game. We had a great time on our short trip and found that you can still leave with lighter wallets even without having gambled. Omai says "Screw it. Next time we're gambling if we're losing that much money." I say we're never going there again. Here are some pics from the trip.

Overlooking the strip from the bridge connecting New York New York and MGM Grand Casinos.

The outside of the Planet Hollywood Casino.

The race car at the M&M Factory.

In front of the Bellagio.

The watershow at the Bellagio.

The Eiffel Tower.

The escalators at the Venetian on the way to the Madame Taussaud Wax Museum.

Pillars at the Venetian.

Outside the Venetian.

Omai and Master Chief.
The Thomas & Mack Center before the championship game where BYU lost to UNLV.

Before the game.




BYU warming up for the game.

our house (cont'd)

After a little bit of bartering with the sellers, they agreed to our offer and we signed the final papers. The house is ours! We close on April 7th and can start moving in then. I couldn't fall asleep last night because I was so excited thinking about our new house. I have plans for the master bedroom, family room, guest room, eventual baby room... okay, every room in the house. I can't wait and Omai's very excited too.

I talked to Omai today who's in Las Vegas for an AutoDesk software convention. He's pretty bored with the meetings, but he's enjoying his view from the top story at the Mandalay Bay Casino. I'm flying to Vegas tomorrow to join him for some site-seeing and for some MW basketball games.

I also just had a surprising visit from Brother Jacobson who's in the bishopbric--they are re-organizing the YW Presidency in the ward so I've been released from my calling as the 2nd Counselor. I'm pretty bummed and I feel like so many changes are all hitting at once--some good and some bad. On to a new chapter of life.