Work

I know it was months ago that I posted about getting a spot on the UHP DUI Squad, but believe it or not it's taken until this last week to get released from Salt Lake County! It's taking some getting used to. The one and only responsibility I have at work now from the time I check on until I check off is to find impaired drivers and take them off the road. I get to work with such a talented group of guys. To say it's motivating is such an understatement. This story is from one who I have the privilege of working alongside each night:

Today (Sept 4th, 2009) is the one year anniversary of my ex-wife’s tragic death. She, Rebecca, was killed traveling home late from Hurricane to St. George, a trip she had made a hundred times before. In an instant, she, her unborn child (9 mos) and her small daughter Bo, age 2, were killed in a flash by an impaired driver who had taken the prescription drug “Ambien” prior to making a quick trip to the store. The driver, now, completely asleep on drugs, crossed over the two way road without slowing and ran head-on into Rebecca and her VW Jetta with his pickup truck, killing her and her unborn child instantly. She was literally crushed. A senseless moment that should have never of happened. Emergency crews arrived 20 minutes later and Bo died at the hospital a short time later. I remember getting the phone call late that night, which my wife Kristyn answered. On the other end of the phone was Rebecca’s Mother. She explained in a matter of fact way, to Kristyn about the incident. I could instantly tell there was something wrong by the look on Kristyn’s face. She turned to me and said in shock “Rebecca and Bo were just killed in a car crash”. I could feel the blood run from my head and drain to my feet. The energy was sucked out of my body in an instant and I sank to the floor in a crumpled mass. Never have I felt that kind of grief or loss in my life. Thank goodness for my understanding and loving wife Kristyn as she tried to give comfort to my shock. She was there helping me as we both had difficulty trying to understand what this meant. The next morning I had to tell my two daughters that their mother and baby sister were no longer with us, and their unborn brother would never see a day of sunshine. I comforted them as best as a father could. We cried together. In a year from now, most people will not give much thought to her death. In 5 years, even less people will remember. However, she should have lived another 50 years or longer, not including the years her children should have lived. I will remember.
I am a Trooper for the Utah Highway Patrol. I take people to jail every night for impaired driving, and yet, I could do nothing to stop this incident. I felt helpless. I still don’t completely understand it all, but, she will be missed by many, including me. May she rest in comfort and happiness in the presence of God.

This is what I get to go out and try to stop from happening. I love my job :)

6 Months Old

Our baby Holden is already 6 months old. I can't believe how much faster it goes by when you have 2 kids. I feel like he was just born and now he is half way to one. Crazy!!! Here are some facts about him right now:

- He rolls every where and scoots.

- He is going to be crawling anyday. He can push up onto his
knees and rocks back and forth.

- He still just has the 2 bottom teeth, but the dr. said the top
ones will be coming anytime.

-Loves playing with his sister. She is the only one that can
get him laughing really hard.

- Loves, loves, loves his mommy. If I'm in the room he keeps
his eyes on me. If I am holding him and then hand him to Zach
he starts crying and gets mad. Sometimes he will hold onto me
tight if Zach comes up to talk to him. Doesn't want Daddy
to take him away. So funny!

- Loves putting everything in his mouth. Anything he grabs or
you give to him goes straight to the mouth.

- He is a catnapper. 20 minutes here, 20 minutes there.
Not a good thing.

- He is eating big boy food. Loves Rice cereal, green beans, applesauce,

mixed fruits, and oatmeal.

- Six month Stats:

Height: 26.8" 65%
Weight: 16.3 lbs 25%

He is following in the steps of Ella-taller then average and underweight. He is such a joy to our family and we love him more and more everyday. Can't wait to make many more memories with him!

He rolled over to our table then got stuck so he decided to take a nap!

Ella thinks the nutcracker is her brother also so he took a nap.

Such an imagination she has.

Not too sure what was going on.

Found mommy! Love these two sweet kids!

I think you can totally tell they are brother and sister.

So cute!!

Christmas Jammies

The other day Ella asked if her and baby brother could have matching jammies. I went to Costco (since I love Costco Jammies) and found these Christmas ones with matching monkeys. Ella was so excited she wanted to wear them as soon as I bought them. We put them on and caught this cute picture of them.

So cute! They look so much alike.

(if you make this larger you can see Holden's 2 teeth)

These bottom pictures I just took last night. I was cleaning the house and walked in to see them both asleep holding hands. I thought it was so cute. It made me kind of tear up because of how precious they both are. I love these two sweet kids, and love that they love each other so much.

So precious!

Big boy food

Holden is slowly starting to eat big boy food. At his four month checkup his doctor said he could start eating rice cereal and baby food. He at first didn't like anything, but now he likes rice cereal, and certain food. We are still trying to introduce different kids of food to him, but so far his favorites are green beans, bananas, apples, and peaches. I can't believe he is already big enough to start eating food. Here are some current things he is doing:

- He is rolling over, and wants so bad to be mobile

- He tries to scoot on the floor. He digs his head into the carpet and pushes his

butt into the air with his legs. He doesn't make it anywhere, but still tries hard.

- He loves to spit and blow bubbles with his tongue.

- He loves his sister. She can make him laugh harder then anyone.

- He loves his mommy and if I'm in the room not holding him, he watches

my every move. He makes sure I don't leave.

- He loves pulling hair, and grabbing everything. He has a very tight grip.

- He is a very busy baby already. He tries hard every day to not go to sleep

so he doesn't miss anything going on.

He is the best boy and we love him so much! Can't wait to make more memories with him!

Halloween 2010

We had a such a fun halloween this year! Ella was a spider and Holden was a little dragon. During the day we went our ward's halloween party, and had fun at the trunk or treat! Then that night I went up to my sister's house with the kids so we could go trick or treating. Ella loved trick or treating this year, and got LOTS of candy (which she had a sugar overload the first day, since we don't have lots of candy around our house.) We missed Zach this year, he had to work this Halloween is a big holiday for them, but luckily he got to take her around the trunk or treat! Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

My little Spider Ella and dragon Holden!

Loved carving pumpkins!!!

These are our pumpkins we carved!

First Day of School and Dance

Ella started Preschool in October she goes two days a week from 9:45 until 12:00. I was going to wait until next year to get her in, but every time she would see a school bus or see someone with a backpack she would tell me she needed to go to school. She would get so sad, so I found a preschool that didn't start until the middle of October. She learned how to write her name the first day. They gave her a piece of paper that she could trace the letters in her name, she sat right down and traced them, then she wrote her name on a paper without tracing. She is definitely too smart! She loves going and loves her teacher Brittney!

Ella also started dance in September. She loves, loves, loves it! She is doing a Ballet/Tap combo class. She is learning so much and can't wait to show us what she learns. For Halloween they did a little performance in class for their families, and she totally loved performing. I can' wait until the big recital. I love watching the little girls, I think they are by far the cutest!



Posing at school after her first day!

She is showing off her first painting!

She is so silly!

This is her class uniform for dance!

Ella's Birthday Party

I know it has been almost two months since her birthday, but I am finally getting pictures from her little party up. We had a princess party and invited Ella's girl cousins. I didn't go all out this year like last year, but we still had fun. We first decorated Princess crowns, then we searched for Snow White's Poison Apple before she bit into it, then we played Cinderella's freeze dance, opened presents, and then had cake and ice cream. She of course was spoiled and loved every minute of it. Thanks to everyone that came to celebrate a special day for Ella. The list included: Grandma Keri, Grandpa Sheldon, Jade, Ryan, Grandpa Lonny, Grandma Sandy, McKaylee, Avery, Sadie, Jackson, Kayden, Kolton, Brittani, Alisa, and Misty!

Ella got a Princess bike for her birthday!

Of course can't end the party without a crown cupcake cake!

Pictures of the Kids

My friend Angela took some pictures of the kids. They are so cute. I love them! I can't believe how blessed Zach and I are to have such perfect little angels in our life. I don't thank Heavenly Father enough for these sweet spirits. When I get discouraged about stuff or get a little down, I try to think about how blessed I am to have my kids. I would be so lost without my kids and wouldn't change anything about them!

My wonderful husband

Just want to tell Zach thanks so much for my birthday! I was so shocked when I read that post he did about me. It was the sweetest thing, and I got teary-eyed when I read it. I have been depressed lately and broke down to him the other day, and he really knew how to make me feel better. I'm so greatful to have a husband that loves me and my kids. So thankful he took time to write a cute post about me. I fall more and more in love with him all the time. Thanks for being my best friend and always being there for me, especially when I am down. I love you babe!

Five Generations and Swinging with Great Grandpa

So cute!! Poor Holden is glowing white for some reason!

Five Generations: Great-Great Grandpa Dale, Great-Grandpa Larry,

Grandma Keri, Zach, and Holden

While we were down in St. George for the marathon we got a five generation picture with Holden. We got one with Ella when she was a baby so I wanted one with Holden. It is so neat that they have so many grandmas, and grandpas. I grew up with only one Grandma, so I love that my kids have lots!

Then Zach and I ran an errand really quick so we left Holden and Ella with Zach's grandparents. Grandma-Great captured that cute picture of Holden, Ella, and Grandpa-Great swinging! They are lucky to have such sweet Great grandparents who love them so much!

Three Years Old

Ella is getting to be quite the little girl! She is so much fun and so full of life. Here are some facts about her:

-She loves her little brother, and always wants to hold him.

-She talks like she is an adult, and is so smart. She loves to say, "how original."

"Is this really necessary?" etc.

-When she wants to be held she always tells us her leggies are tired, or

if you ask her to pick up something she will say her arms are tired.

-She loves dance and can't wait to go every week

-She is going to start preschool in a couple weeks, so everyday she tells us that

she needs to go to school after breakfast.

-She gets really mad if Zach and I play fight. She doesn't like Zach to get me.

-She has a hard time with being patient.

-She loves playing make believe. She has a lot of imaginary friends.

-She loves coloring, doing puzzles, playing babies, playing barbies, and reading books.

-She loves making messes.

-She loves dressing and undressing herself. She wants to show everyone.

-She tells us everyday that she is growing her hair to her bum like her cousin

Avery. She only has about 3 more inches and it will be to her bum.

-She has growing pains. If you tell her she has growing pains she gets really sad,

and starts crying. She will tell us, "I don't want to grow big. I just want to stay

little big, and turn 2 again." It is so cute!

-She knows her shapes, colors, counts things, and can spell her name.

-Ella weighs 32 lbs. 35%

-Ella's height 37.4 inches 60%

Those are only a few things about Ellabug. She is so much fun, and we are so proud of her. I told Zach she is going to be smarter then us before we know it! We love you our big 3 year old.

Four Months Old

Our cute little Holden is four months old! I can't believe what a big boy he is becoming. Here are some fun facts about him:

-He loves to talk. He has a low, raspy voice. It is the cutest!

-He rolled over for a couple of days, but now he's over it.

-He tries really hard to sit up. If you lay him down he does little crunches.

-He is becoming more of a mommy's boy.

-He doesn't want to eat anything besides my milk. We just have to keep trying.

-He is already getting his first tooth! I was shocked when Zach felt it.

-He has clogged tear ducts. Poor boy always has gunk in his eyes, or when

he wakes up his eye will be stuck together. Hopefully by 6 months it will be

gone or we have to start thinking about getting them fixed.

-He weighs 15 lbs. and 1 oz. 65%

-He is 25.8 inches 75%

He is our big boy and we love him more and more everyday! He is such a happy baby now and loves to be held. He is more and more alert, and loves his toys. I'm so glad he is a part of our family. He truly is a blessing!

Happy Birthday Lauren!!!

Happy 28th Birthday sweetie! Thanks so much for being the best wife and mom to me and your kiddos! We hope you have the best birthday ever! Since you're 28 today, here's 28 thrilling never-before-revealed facts about you for everyone else!

1- She's the baby of her family, the youngest of four girls.

2- She shares her birthday with her dad.

3- She was born and raised in Salt Lake, and gets mad when I even mention the idea of moving away from the Wasatch Front.

4- She's very talented at doing hair.

5-She's a backseat driver.

6- If she eats a hamburger, she won't eat all of the meat. She eats about half, then takes the meat out and finishes the bun and whatever else was on it.

7- She will never jump off a high dive or diving board, or go cliff jumping at Lake Powell because of an "incident" she had when she was in middle school.

8- She has the biggest, prettiest eyes. Luckily, she passed them on to Ella and Holden too.

9- She owns TONS of clothes. Too many actually. Her clothes take up our entire walk-in closet. I get the small closet in our guest bedroom.

10- She's so nice to share her hair with her kids on a nightly basis in bed. (See the picture above if you're wondering what i'm talking about.)

11- Her nieces and nephews call her "Lolo".

12-She hopes to get LASIK someday so she can stop having to wear contacts.

13- She has extra bones in each of her feet.

14- She likes watching some of the worst shows on TV (The Hills, Dr. Phil, Teen Mom, etc...)

15- She's the best mom in the world to her two kids. They love her to death.

16- She's deathly afraid of spiders.

17- She loves to eat bread. She would go to Texas Roadhouse for the rolls alone.

18- Luckily for her husband, she's very good and keeping track of money and handling finances.

19- She was in singing and dancing groups for years and years as a little girl.

20-She doesn't really like camping. Her idea of roughing it is staying in a cabin or fifth-wheel.

21- She knows how to play the piano.

22- She can be so funny without even trying.

23- She's worked at a credit union since before we met.

24- She loves shoes, and has lots of them. She could probably go months without wearing the same pair twice.

25- Only two more years until she's 30! :)

26- Even though she disagrees, she has such a pretty singing voice. You have to catch her singing along to the radio to be able to hear it though!

27- She has soooooo many people who love her so much!

28- Happy Birthdway sweetie. I love you!

St. George Marathon

We went down to St. George last weekend so I could run my last marathon ever :) We had a great time getting away from home and spending time with family. The marathon on the other hand wasn't as great. I finished in 4 hours and 26 minutes, almost 25 minutes slower than last year. It was rediculously hot this year, which didn't help. I was just glad I actually finished it, becuase I felt like dying. I got a massage in the park right after I finished, and it really helped. My mom also got me an hour long massage that same evening, which was a miracle. Thanks Mom :) Lauren doesn't believe me, but I have no plans of running a marathon again anytime in the near future. Apparently I said the same thing after last years STG Marathon. I'm going to stick to half marathons now. I guess it was the feeling sick to my stomach and throwing up after this years race that sort of turned me off of it. Thanks to everyone who was there to cheer me on at the halfway point and finish line!


A small part of the greatest cheering section
at the marathon.

So glad to finally be done.

A 15 minute massage after the race. This was

without a doubt the best 15 minutes of my

entire life.

Rolling Over

My cutest little boy rolled over for the first time a couple of days ago. He will do it from his tummy to his back, and will only do it 3 times in a row then he gets mad. He gets so happy when we clap and cheer for him it is so cute. Zach tried to get him to do it while I was at work, but said Holden wouldn't do it at all. Then I tried and he instantly does it. I guess Zach doesn't have the touch. Just kidding! Holden is just becoming more and more a little mommy's boy, which is ok with me! I have more pictures to post and will do it soon. Just wanted to make sure I posted about him rolling over so I remember.

Happy 3rd Birthday Princess Ella!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLA ANN!!!

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH.

THANKS FOR BEING THE CUTEST GIRL AND

SO FULL OF LIFE!

YOU ARE SUCH A BLESSING TO OUR FAMILY.

HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY!

LOVE YOU!

Busy bees

It was such a fun summer! I had the whole summer off and enjoyed every minute I was a stay at home mom. We went to Lake Powell, St. George, Park City, the pool (almost everyday), the park, shopping, etc. We took lots of naps, ate lots of food, and enjoyed our time together!

I sure got used to staying home, but sadly had to go back to work in the middle of August. It is still as hard as the first time leaving your kids to go back to work. I am thankful though this time Zach is able to stay home with them when I am working, and I only work 2 full days a week. Then half day on Fridays. Its not bad, and it helps that my manager works with me. He is flexible with me and understands that me being a mom is number one. I am also trying to start running. Believe me I hate running with a passion, but I have gone a few times and its not as bad as I thought. I told Zach that I would love to run the Ogden Half Marathon next May with him. So I am going to try and keep up with running so I can do that. I know its not a full marathon, but for now starting out I am going to stick to "trying" the half! Other than that I am just busy being a mom to the cutest kids!

Zach is still busy working hard. He still works weekend graves, which he will be doing for at least a couple more years. He is still working out everyday and keeping fit. He is going to run the St. George Marathon for the second time in a month. He says that it is his last marathon, but he said that last year after the St. George marathon so we will see. He is also busy playing Mr. Mom on his days off while I am at work. I am thankful that I have such a great husband who loves his kids more than anything, and loves being with them. He really is an equal partner when it comes to the kids, and I love it. Helps me out so much.

Ella is always busy doing something. She is still sassy and too smart for her own good. She is full of life and makes us laugh everyday! Ella has an opinion about everything, and well let you know. She is the biggest helper with Holden and loves making him smile. She is also into picking out her own clothes now, and will tell you if it matches or not. She is growing to fast. The other night in bed she started crying because she didn't want to grow up anymore, she wanted to stay little, and be with mom and dad forever. It was the most precious thing. We love her so much!

Holden is busy being the cutest baby ever! He has grown out of the colic stage, which I am very thankful for. He also is taking a bottle while I am at work. He wouldn't take one until my mom found one that has a nipple like a breast and the flow is more natural. It is actually really cool and so glad that we found it or Zach would have been coming into my work 3 times a day so Holden could eat. Holden is busy smiling, being chubby, cooing, and trying to laugh. He loves his mommy and loves cuddling. He loves his daddy to, but is already becoming a mommy's boy. He is changing everyday and is the highlight of the house!



So sweet!!

All the adventures can wear a little girl out!

Kind of a sleepy smile.

Holden loves my hair just like Ella. There are a lot of times when Holden is holding one side and Ella has the other. Instead of a security blanket they have my hair!!

They both love taking a bath together.

Holden's Blessing

We blessed Holden on Sunday August 8th. Zach did such an awesome job and gave Holden a wonderful blessing. Holden woke up right before and I was so nervous he was going to cry. I told Zach to be ready to yell over the crying, but Holden did great and didn't cry. My brother-in-law told me he looked at him at one point in the blessing and Holden was smiling and happy as can be. We had a lot of family come and support us for this special day. Thank you to all that came and showed us how much our little family is loved. We love you all!

Discovery at Gateway and Park City

We have been busy this summer spending lots of time together, and having lots of fun. We took Ella to Discovery at Gateway for the first time. She loved doing everything. Her favorite by far was the life flight helicopter you could sit in. She also loved dressing up like Snow White and playing the stage. It was a lot of fun and we want to take her back maybe when Holden gets bigger and can play with her.


Then we took another adventure to Park City. We took Ella on the Alpine Slide which she loved, and also on the new Alpine Coaster. My mom and dad went up with us so we could take turns watching Holden. We enjoyed every minute we were up there. Thanks mom and dad for a fun day!





Cowgirl Ella riding her horse!
Grandpa-great would be so proud!

Ella and Holden riding in the car

The helicopter... Ella's favorite!

Ella and Zach Randall reporting to you live!!

So natural!!!

Loving the Alpine slide with daddy!

Zach's New Assignment With UHP!

Zach has accepted a new position on the Utah Highway Patrol's DUI Squad! Zach submitted his resume and interviewed for the position over a month ago and yesterday he got the phone call to let him know he had made it. Zach couldn't be more excited to get started. The DUI Squad is generally a two year assignment. Ever since Zach has been out on his own he's become so passionate about DUI enforcement. It's been the biggest reason Zach has chosen to work nights for over a year now. In the past year alone he's taken over 110 impaired drivers off the road. Now that he's on the DUI Squad Zach's only responsibility will be enforcing DUI laws and taking more impaired drivers off the road. He's pretty excited about no more snow days filled with handling crash after crash for the next couple of years! The DUI Squad is based out of Salt Lake and works primarily along the Wasatch Front, but they also travel around the state pretty often to work different areas. We just wanted to let everyone know the good news!!!

Two Months Old

One week

Two months old

I can't believe our little Holden is already two months old. The time is already going by way to fast for me. We took him to his two month check up today. Here are his stats:

Weight: 12 lbs. 6 oz. 75%

Height: 24 inches 90%

So he is tall like his sister and chubby! He is smiling lots and talks evey once in a while. He is still colic, but my doctor said he should hopefully grow out of it by 3 or 4 months. So let's keep our fingers cross for that. All in all we love our little man, and are glad he is in our family!