Jack's Baby Blessing

A week after driving 10 hours to Houston for Brett's wedding, I drove 8 hours north to Indianapolis for John Joseph Naylor VI's baby blessing.  Little Jack is the son of John Joseph Naylor V, my best friend and old roommate.  I was flying solo for this trip and so I indulged in my guilty pleasure road trip food: Mountain Dew and Cheetos.

On a side note, this was my first time in Kentucky (driving through) and Indiana.  I had no idea Kentucky was so beautiful.  At least Western Kentucky was.  I made it to Indiana and met Jack for the first time.  He was so tiny compared to Emmy.  I forgot that Emmy was that small once.

Joseph and I got in a round of golf on Saturday before the blessing on Sunday.  Joseph did a great job and I was honored to stand in the circle to bless Little Six.  After church, everyone got together for some good food and visiting.  Joseph's parents gifted him and Abbey all six John Joseph Naylors in chronological order. Pretty cool legacy!

I'm glad I was able to make it to the blessing.  The Naylors are a great little family.  Jack is cute and Joseph and Abbey are already great parents.  Hopefully Jack has the game someday to woo Emmy.

Dad's 1st Birthday

Fiesta Forever!  It was Dad's birthday while we were in Houston for the wedding this weekend.  Since we were so busy with wedding festivities and getting geared up to drive back home, we decided to have Dad's birthday on Saturday night before his actual birthday on Sunday.  

We went out to eat, which I always love, and tried an awesome Mexican place in Houston.  Mom and Dad really love Mexican.  Dad's two friends Kyle and Trevor Anderson came with us.  They are fun, and Dad for some reason thinks they are quite hilarious!

Since we were at a Mexican restaurant they brought Dad out a sombrero to wear while they sang some crazy song in Spanish.  I don't understand Spanish, but Dad seems to always know whats going on.  Also, I found out that on your birthday you can get a free dessert!  Dad is the luckiest.  Hopefully when I get older he will share some of that ice cream with me!

A Houston Wedding

#BrettHollyWedding2015HoustonWeHaveAProblemSpectacular

One of my best buddies, Brett, tied the knot in Houston!  He married Holly Larson, who happened to be my mixed doubles partner on the BYU Intramural Tennis circuit of 2011.  We won the championship and a cool t-shirt.  It is humbling to know that I am the common bond between Brett and Holly, and basically am the reason they are even together.  You are welcome, guys.  They were married in the Houston Temple on a beautiful day.

It was a great weekend full of happiness and celebration.  It was also another reunion of the Forbidden Fruits!  Here we are in the traditional Flying V formation.  I loved seeing all my roommates again and goofing off like old times.  For Brett's bachelor party the night before we went to Top Golf and then got some Whataburger.

I brought my girls with me on the trip.  We drove to Houston from Memphis, which ended up being about 10 hours,  Emmy's first road trip!!!  We drove through the middle of the night so that Emmy could sleep most of the trip.  That was a very good decision.

She was so cute in her little dress.  

Once the ceremony was over and pictures were taken, we got a quick family photo in front of the temple.  It was a warm day but not unbearably hot.

After a quick nap for Emmy in the afternoon, it was time for the reception!  I just have to say at this point that Brett & Holly's reception was the fanciest of all the roommate weddings to date.  There was a cocktail hour before the actual reception, where we could get endless flavor combinations of Italian cream sodas.  Delicious.  Then there was an actual sit-down dinner provided.  Delicious.  Brett wrote and performed an original song for Holly.  Not as good as Two Dreams, but still a nice gesture.  My favorite part of the night though, had to be the unveiling of our party shirts.  Mama Anderson outdid herself and made each of us our custom shirt.  Mine featured Mickey Mouse.

I take it back.  My favorite part of the night was hanging out with this little girl!  She had so much fun dancing with Cory and me.  She really was a trooper through the whole day.

It was a fun party, but Emmy was ready for bed when we got back to the hotel.  She has pretty much outgrown her little bassinet, but she slept well.

The next morning, while Brett and Holly were heading off to their honeymoon, the rest of us woke up for one more day in Houston.  We decided to head down to Johnson Space Center and check out what NASA was up to.  Emmy took her time getting ready in front of the mirror.

NASA!!!

NASA!!!

Mission Control for the Orion Missions to Mars!!!

Big Rocket at NASA!!!

So...NASA was alright.  You saw the highlights in the pictures, but I thought it was going to be a little bit cooler.  We didn't go see the astronaut training facilities because we had to drive Joseph to the airport, but Kyle and Trevor said those were pretty cool.  We let Emmy get acquainted with Kyle a little bit more since we agreed that if she turns 18 and Kyle still isn't married, we might try to arrange something.  This could be the start of something beautiful.

After a long day at NASA we just kind of lounged in the hotel room.  Emmy and I ate some Whataburger and watched playoff basketball.  When Kyle and Trevor got back from NASA we all went out for my birthday dinner.  Did I forget to mention that Brett planned his wedding on my birthday weekend?  Jerk.

In all seriousness, so many of my adolescent memories are great because of my friendship with Brett, Kyle, and Trevor.  Since leaving BYU, the chances for us to see each other are rare, which is why I cherish opportunities like this one.  I have always appreciated that we have the ability to get together and it feel like no time has passed.  I love these guys, and couldn't be prouder of Brett for marrying Holly.  He married up.

Congrats again to Brett and Holly!!!

BYU Kids

Emmy is a BYU girl, she comes from 2 recent BYU Alumni and has had both sides of the family buy her BYU gear to wear to represent her future alma mater.  Sean says she has already committed to BYU for the class of 2037!

I took this picture on a whim when she was looking cute one day, and Sean entered it into an Instagram contest called #byukids.  She is the only winner in our hearts, the cutest #byukid!

Say Hello To Seven Months

Emmy recently graduated to being able to sit in high chairs and shopping carts.  She is so surprised and shocked about how much she had been missing. 

Happy 7 months Emmy Rae!

Aunt Sarah & A Zoo Trip

Aunt Sarah Came for a visit this week.  It was super fun for us to see her and for her to come see us in Memphis.  We had a great few days and we were happy to show her around Memphis.  Aunt Sarah loved getting Emmy up from her naps, changing diapers and helping Mommy around the house.

One of our favorite stops was the Memphis zoo.  It was a perfect day to go, such great weather and the animals were out and about, which always makes for a fun time.

Aunt Sarah loved Emmy's sun hat, and couldn't believe how big she had gotten since the last time she visited.  She said it is so different seeing all those rolls and pudge in person than it is seeing it in pictures.  Now she understands why people are always commenting on how big she is.

We saw tons of fun animals, the elephants were still Emmy's favorite!  Dad came straight from work to spend some time at the zoo with us, too!  Aunt Sarah's ticket got all of us into the Panda exhibit for free!

Thanks Aunt Sarah for visiting and loving Emmy!  We loved having you and had tons of fun.

Mother's Day

Cory celebrated her first official Mother's Day this year.  We celebrated last year when she was pregnant, but this year was even better.  Emmy just absolutely adores her Momma.  I love my girls, and am grateful for all the things Cory does for Emmy and our little family.  Plus, if you are going to be a momma, it helps when you are ONE HOT MOMMA!!!

Methodist

My first year in the University of Memphis MHA program is in the books, and it was a success.  I worked as a research assistant on campus with flexible hours, which was great to spend mornings with Cory and Emmy.  With the semester ended, and summer starting, it was time for me to start my Summer Internship.  I landed an internship with Methodist University Hospital, and it will even become a graduate assistantship once school starts back up.  In other words, I will be working there for the next year until I graduate.

Emmy was born at Methodist Germantown Hospital, so it is fun to think about working for a hospital in the same system.  It should be a really great experience!

3 Years

It's been a wild ride!  Our family has grown and it's now the 3 of us.  We have had the best 3 years as husband and wife.  Couldn't have imagined it any better.

 That was then...

This is now!

Emmy Turns Six Months

Emmy waiting patiently at her 6 month appt.  

She destroyed the paper they put down on the exam table. Oops!

Mom's 1st Birthday!

My first birthday as a Mom!  Surprising how not excited I was about my birthday this year.  Seemed to come and then go so quickly.  Having a baby around definitely changes priorities!

We spent my birthday afternoon at a local adventure park.  It really is one of the neatest kids play parks I have ever seen.  There were tons of kids there and Emmy enjoyed watching everyone play.  She even rode a slide for the first time and got pushed in the swing with Dad.

Sean and I went out to eat and to Cinderella while Grandma Paula babysat Emmy.  Even though I had fun and it's always nice to be able to leave behind your responsibility for  a while, I was ready to come home to my little girl.

We celebrated with yummy pineapple angel food cake and lots of presents!!! Ok not really, but all my gifts were awesome, and practical and very mommish.  New "mom" jeans, new "mom" swimsuit and a pretty glass beverage dispenser...that a mom would have.

Happy First Birthday to me as "Mom"!

Easter 2015

We had a pretty low-key Easter this year.  Church in the morning and then a quiet day at home.  We are grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and the promise He made possible to live eternally as a family! 

Emmy In A Swing

Since Emmy is still a baby and can't crawl or walk yet, it is hard to get out of the house and keep her entertained.  She mostly just sits in the stroller.  I have found though, that she enjoys watching little kids.  Anytime there are kids around playing, laughing, running and screaming she gets all smiley and giggley.

I took her to the park to see if she would enjoy the fresh air and people watching.  She was all smiles and very curious.  I saw a few little kids playing on the swings, and was hesitant at first, wondering how Emmy would handle it.  We walked over and I plopped her down in one of the baby swings.

After a few gentle pushes she lit up!  I think we found her new favorite thing!

We Have a 5 Month Old

These months seem to be flying by!

Grandpa Mike Comes to Town

The visits just keep on coming and this time it was Grandpa Mike!!!  We spent a great few days with Grandpa here in Memphis.  Emmy hadn't seen him in a few months and was excited to show Grandpa how good she had gotten at smiling.

Grandpa took us all to the Rendezvous, a famous BBQ place in downtown Memphis.  It was fun to try a new place, but I still think Central BBQ is king in Memphis.

Most of the trip was spent relaxing at home, but my dad and I did get out to see a Memphis Grizzlies game at FedEx Forum.  It was an added bonus that they played the Lakers, our favorite team.

  

After taking Dad to the team store for a Grizzlies hat, we headed to our seats, which were pretty great!  We were heading up the escalator to the upper deck when we saw a nice door with velvet ropes blocking it called the Tennessee First Club.  It looked very V.I.P. and exclusive.  We joked about how we wished we could go in.  Well, once we got to the top we couldn't find our section and an usher pointed us back down the escalator because our seats...WERE IN THE TENNESSEE FIRST CLUB!  We were such high rollers.

We actually are huge Lakers fans, and there were a lot of people wearing Lakers gear around us, but we wore the Grizzlies gear for one specific reason:  THE LAKERS NEED TO TANK THIS SEASON TO KEEP THEIR UNPROTECTED DRAFT PICK!  The more they lose, the better for the franchise at this point.  We caught ourselves a few times cheering for the Purple & Gold and had to hurriedly hush ourselves before we blew our cover.  The Grizzlies ended up winning, and we had a great time.

We also went with Grandpa to the National Civil Rights museum at the Lorraine Motel.  The wreath on the balcony behind us is the spot where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.  To be honest, I was not expected the museum to be so well done.  It was a really great experience.  Thanks Grandpa Mike for the fun trip!  Come back soon!