Chase's 30th

Chase HATES attention... especially on his birthday. I kept teasing him that there was a big surprise coming. He was mortified at the thought of a surprise party. I kept fishing him lines leading up to his actual birthday and he was racking his brain as to what I had up my sleeve. So the day before his birthday, I took him to dinner and handed him a poem that revealed the surprise:

July is the best, we wait all year long for,
Independence day, fireworks, and swimming galore!
Then our 8th anniversary, oh how time flies,
Remembering the day, with great love in our eyes!
Then there’s your birthday, that shortly follows,
But this year is different; it might be hard to swallow.
You’re leaving your 20’s, there’s no looking back,
For now you’re a man with a bucket list to attack.
Temple marriage.  Check.  And two kids to boot.
A diploma (almost) and church callings, you’ve had a hoot!
As you enter this new era, it’s time to ponder,
No looking back, just look out yonder.
Think of the things you’ve always dreamt to do,
And today one of those dreams will come true!

Have any guesses?  Have any clue?
Sure you’d like to travel or scuba dive too.
And you’ve talked about Australia, or a safari, how fun,
Or getting a motorcycle, or a concealed handgun.
These are all great things, but they’ll have to wait,
For today is a different dream I hope to create.
You’ll be moving really fast, and soaring so high,
Look up.  Look up.  High in the sky!
Not far from home, you’ll get squared away,
To meet with your pilot, he’ll teach you the ways.
You’ll hop in a plane and shortly learn to fly,
A sunset flight, a sure dream for my guy.

Happy Birthday Chase and have a fun flight,
For tomorrow you’re 30, oh what a sight! 

He was nervous and excited.  We arrived at the Bountiful Flight School and met our pilot.  We hoped in the small, rickety plane, and he went over a few basics.  And then it was time to take-off...

... Chase was a natural and pretty much flew the whole time.  We played around with positive and negative g-forces (of which made both of us motion sick)... but overall it was so fun flying over the wasatch mountain range at sunset.  Definitely a birthday, and experience, to remember.

Enjoy this highlight video of the flight-


Take Off from Katie Oborn on Vimeo.

party and ice skating

we attended chase's first christmas party for fluid.
we had a catered dinner (famous dave's bbq) and played "minute to win it" games.
chase and dean went head-to-head shaking the bells out of their booty boxes!
hilarious.

afterwards, we went ice skating at the gallivan center.

this was a first for tatum.
i love experiencing "firsts" with him.
we got his mini skates on and hit the ice.
he held tight to our hands and screamed "weeeeeeeeeeee" as we skated round and round.
LOVE that boy!

he also wanted a picture "all by myself" next to the "big christmas tree."
i happily obliged!

a great night to kick of the final 12 days before christmas!

putting him to work

We stopped by daddy's new work today to say hi, and Tate instinctively hopped-up into dad's chair and starting "working" (these photos were not posed).

We couldn't stop laughing.

I've been underestimating him...

... come Monday, I'm handing over my tedious paperwork.

just a little update.

kinda boring without a photo, but i felt an update was necessary.

first, finding the time to blog is becoming more and more difficult. 
maybe its because any free online time i get, i'm spending it on pinterest.
not sure how i'm going to keep this little ol blog moving along...

february was a crazy month for us. couldn't be happier to turn the page over to march.
chase and i had some pretty big decisions to make... one of which was accepting a new job.
chase officially starting working for fluid studios yesterday.
it's another local advertising/design agency and he'll be the business development/sales rep.
awesome opportunity.  we're both really excited!

i've been up to my elbows working for my dad's new company, inet solutions.
i've also been immersed in producing this year's sterling scholar awards ceremony for ksl.
throw in photo shoots, enrichment activities, and a two year old... busy is an understatement.
free time has been few and far between, but i thrive on busy (and those bonus paychecks aren't too bad either), so i'm not complaining (too much, i think).

how did i fail to mention that i tried potty training tate a few weeks ago?  yes, it's true.  we gave it a valiant two-week effort... made some great progress the first week, then totally regressed.  he's a smart little cookie.  too smart.  he was manipulative about the whole thing (like saying "potty" a million times to try to get out of taking a nap).... so, i tossed in the towel and will try again later.  pull-ups and a few potty trips per day is where we're at now.  like i said earlier, glad to have turned the page on the calendar.  potty training just about did me in.

anyways... tate is talking like crazy these days.  i really need to record his darling voice and words (and his slight lisp is quite frankly the cutest thing ever).  he's a crack up.  he's our little sponge and soaks up everything we're teaching him (aren't kids amazing that way?).   he loves his friends/cousins, church, riding his bike, playing "sharks" on our bed, helping mom with chores, popsicles, asking what's "that" all day, books, and just being an independent two year old.  he's a lot of work, but boy do we love that boy.

so there you have it.  one big boring update.
until next time...

Three records

Three December records today for SLC:

*Driest ever (.03" of water)

*Least amount of snow ever (.1")

*Record hottest for Dec. 30th (57 degrees!)

Chase couldn't grab his clubs and cousin Taylor fast enough.  Kid in a candy store I tell ya.

The Aftermath

After the big windstorm on Thursday, and a scare for a second, our ward and neighbors came together Sunday and worked until dark.  Church was cut short and assignments were given out.  The National Guard was called in to assist our area, but they were soon overwelmed at the number of volunteers ready and willing to help with clean up.  What city officials said would typically take 2-3 months to clean up, took only 2-3 days!  It truly was a miracle.  The law of obedience in action, I tell ya.

I couldn't be more impressed with our family, friends and neighbors who came together and got the job done.  Props to Chase who gathered, organized and worked alongside many neighbors, day after day.  He definitely stepped up to the plate.  He's amazing.


A quick drive through the neighborhood.

 

new direction

After three years, Chase was just released from YM's as Priest Quorum Adviser.  He was called to be the Second Counselor in the Elder's Quorum.  He had a hard time moving on and leaving the boys, but I know he'll do great in this new calling.  He's great at whatever he invests his heart into.

27

 

chase turns 27 today.

we're playing hard this birthday... while our young bodies can handle it:)

27 sounds old to me (sorry mom and dad) and i'm not far off from hitting that number myself.

i guess it's because we're nearing the end of our 20's and 30 is fast approaching.

nonetheless, each age comes and goes and brings its unique lessons and surprises.

so here's to the big 2-7.

it's going to be a good year.

happy birthday lover boy.

rusty portuguese

we're very grateful for the internet.
it's allowed us to stay connected with friends and family, we may otherwise lose contact with.

chase skyped a brazilian family he taught last night.
he hasn't seen them since his mission.
they were overjoyed to see him (and our little family)
chase was overjoyed to see them; still strong in the church.
he also brushed-up on some very rusty portuguese.

so today, we're very grateful for modern technology. mainly the web.