Chloe's First Swim

After what seemed like months of complaining about how summer just was being too slow to arrive here in Utah, it has hit with a vengeance. So much so that this past Saturday we couldn't resist going to Devon's mom and dad's house for a swim in their refreshing 80 degree pool. This was Chloe's first time, of course, and suprisingly she kinda liked it.

Happy Anniversary

Four years ago this Thursday, Devon gave me the greatest gift I could ever have hoped for: her hand in marriage. I thought I would take this opportunity to tell her and the whole world why I fell in love with her and why I will always love her.

Devon is the most genuinely good person I have ever known. I am embarrassed to admit that she is so much more a better person than I could ever even hope to be. She is always kind, always caring, always patient, always loving and always completely selfless.

She is so beautiful. I remember the first time I saw her, it was in a Sunday Sacrament Meeting just over five years ago and I was a strange, newly returned missionary. It was a Fast Sunday and she stood up and walked to the front of the room wearing a red Hawaiian print skirt and a white t-shirt. All the while, there I sat staring at her hanging on her every word. From that very first moment, I have always thought she is the most beautiful woman in the world.

She is such a sweet mommy, and I knew she would be long before we were blessed with our little Chloe. It never ceases to amaze me how I can spend just a few short hours alone watching Chloe and I am completely exhausted by the time Devon comes home, but Devon is with her all day long everyday and she never complains, just says how blessed she feels to be able be with her so much. When I watch Devon with Chloe and how happy Chloe is in her arms, I catch a glimpse of heaven and I think I begin to truly understand the divinity of motherhood.

And most of all, having her in my life simply makes me utterly and completely happy. Neither this life nor the eternities would ever be complete without her by my side.

Happy anniversary, Devon. I will always love and cherish you.

Fathers Day

For Fathers Day this year, we spent the afternoon at my parent's house and the evening at the Searle's. At my parent's we had a nice dinner and then played the game "Curses." I had to talk like Elemer Fudd the whole game and my dad had to copy everything Tawna did (she had to use her hands to dance everytime she talked); it was pretty funny. Afterwards, we went to the Searle's and had a yummy dessert. Aaron had to spend most of the time working on the jeep as some bolts were stripped and had to be replaced, but hey, it was Fathers Day and if that is what he wanted to do on his day then I was OK with that - even if it was on Sunday. I don't think he expected it to be as big and dirty of a job as it turned out to be, but it had to be done so the bumper wouldn't fall off going down I-15 =).

I also want to say how blessed I feel to have such great men in my life. I couldn't have asked for a better father for my little Chloe or better fathers who raised me. I'm also so thankful for such a great father-in-law who treats me like one of his own daughters.

Manti Pageant

This past Saturday we went to Manti, Utah to see the Mormon Miracle Pageant. Aaron had never gone before and my dad really wanted to go. We got there before my dad and Tawna so we thought we would go walk around the craft fair. Well, we got to the fair only to realize that the whole "fair" could probably fit inside a standard sized living room and that the few booths that were there weren't anything spectacular. Aaron teased me to no end about this because I made him drive us up way early so we had plenty of time to see all the fun stuff at the craft fair, but in the end we just sat at a picnic table in the heat waiting for my dad and Tawna to arrive.

When they finally got there, we went to a BBQ turkey dinner put on by the church and WOW it was yummy. After dinner we went back to save our seats for the show, but since we had some time before it started, Aaron and I went to get a treat. I got an ice cold lemonade and Aaron got a chocolate covered frozen banana.

Chloe has recently started trying to grab everything in sight and when she saw Aaron's chocolatey banana we watched her eyes get wide and we could tell she just had to have it. So, we thought we would give her her first little taste of real food. As you can see she really enjoyed it!

By the time the sun was setting, the mosquitoes were coming out in droves so we got all bundled up and ready for the pageant. It was great and we were so glad that we made the hour and a half drive to see it.

Picnic at the Park

It was so nice out yesterday that I decided it was too beautiful of a day to stay inside. So I thought it would be nice to pack a picnic dinner and go to a park to eat. When Aaron got home, we went to Provo's Bicentennial Park and enjoyed a fabulous Chinese chicken salad. Chloe loved being outside and watching the leaves blowing in the wind. She is such a happy baby; I think she must know how much her Mommy and Daddy love her.

After dinner we went on a walk down University Avenue in Provo--Aaron and I love looking at all the old buildings and houses and picturing what they must have looked like back when they were new and vibrant. While we were walking, we came upon some sprinklers that were shooting across the whole sidewalk. We didn't want to get Chloe wet so we walked around them on the grass. Aaron went first and took a big step onto what looked like a sturdy stepping stone only to find out that it was not set firm into the ground and that it had a big puddle of mud underneath it. Mud squished up around the edges and shot all over his feet, legs and shorts. I thought it was hilarious and couldn't help but crack up laughing since I was right next to him but only got one tiny little drop on my foot! I tried to help Aaron see the bright side by telling him that his feet would be nice and cool the rest of our walk. =)

At any rate, it was a wonderful evening together as a family, and it helped us feel like summer had finally arrived here in Utah.

Stay at Home Mom

Well, I just finished my first full week of being a stay at home mom (at least for the summer that is) and it was wonderful. It is so much fun just sitting around and playing with Chloe. It is hard to get anything done around the house though because I just can't quite seem to ignore her while she is awake. I love being able to be around her all day everyday and see all the little milestones that she is achieving--rolling over, finding her feet, making all kinds of new noises, etc.

I feel so blessed to be able to stay at home with her all summer and to only have to go back to work part-time next year--I will be teaching on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and every other Monday. It is going to be so nice because I wont have to go to work everyday for just part of the day, it will be just 2 days a week, and thats it! Thank you Aaron for letting me do this (I love you).

Well enough blabbering. Basically, what I just wanted to say is that life at home as a mommy is wonderful!

Just Too Cute Not to Share

I took these pictures of Chloe after a bath and decided that they were just too cute not to post on the blog. After all, what's cuter than a naked baby? I'm sure she is just going to love these shots when she grows up and we break out the scrapbook for all her friends to see!

These are my favorites, but I actually got off about 15 shots before I decided that I was pushing my luck and an "accident" was bound to happen all over the furniture if I didn't get her diaper on quick.

Chloe's Belly

Everytime Chloe wakes up from a nap she loves to take a big stretch. Recently, while she is stretching she has started arching her back in such a way that her cute little belly pokes up in the air as high as it can go. It is so funny to see since she is normally so small. Here is a picture of her sticking her fake little beer belly out and blowing bubbles at the same time...isn't she so ladylike.

Discovering Feet

Chloe discovered her feet for the first time today. She was just laying there and the next thing we knew her feet were in her mouth and she was going to town!

Moab!

We just returned from a great trip to Moab this past weekend. We were supposed to go over Memorial Day, but there was some confusion and we ended up going the weekend after. This actually worked out very well, however, as the weather Memorial Day weekend was miserable.

Bob and Barbara Ann actually headed down the day after Memorial Day and we joined them the following Friday. We were excited that Heather and her kids, Ashley and Owen, decided to join us also; they arrived on Saturday afternoon. Devon, Heather and the kids (minus Chloe, of course) were actually brave enough to venture out one of the trails with Aaron and Bob, and this left Heather thirsting for a little more danger. The highlight of the trip was when she got it later the same day when she went with Bob and Aaron on another trail run.

On the trail, she was apparently having a great time and asked if she could drive a little ways. She climbed into the driver's seat and away she went (she did great, by the way). Aaron was in the lead in his Jeep and he pulled up a short, but near vertical rock slope and had no problems getting over it. Heather pulled up next with Bob in the passenger seat and slowly worked her way up until she got to the point that her tires started to slip. Bob told her to give it some gas and did she ever; so much so that the momentum caused both front tires to come off the rock leaving the Jeep pointed skyward and nearly flipped over on its roof. She took her foot off the gas and after a few frightening seconds the Jeep came back down on all four wheels. Aaron was videotaping the whole thing, but didn't capture much of the major wheelie as he was busy running towards the Jeep yelling "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" After a couple minutes of everyone catching their breath, she tried the hill again and made it over. Aaron and Bob were proud of her for not giving up and sissying out.

Everyone had a great time and all were sad to see it come to an end Monday Afternoon.

Here's some pictures from the trip:

Chloe's Blessing

After a round of scheduled and cancelled dates for Chloe's blessing, it finally happened on April 13, 2008. We blessed her in our ward, the Kolob 11th Ward, and the following were in attendance:

• Bob and Barbara Ann Searle
• Heather, Travis, Ashley and Owen Cummings
• Robin, Jeremy, Sam, Jesse, Evie and David Friedbaum
• Ron Fowler
• Norman and Diane Dollahite
• Tawna Fowler
• Amber Fowler
• Aaron, Mara and Michael Dollahite
• Ricky, Erica and Emma Scott
• Sterling and Katie Hurd
• James and Megan Huntington

The following participated in Chloe's blessing:

• Aaron Searle
• Bob Searle
• Jeremy Friedbaum
• Norman Dollahite
• Aaron Dollahite
• Ricky Scott
• Sterling Hurd
• James Huntington
• Bishop Jeremy Hafen

Easter 2008

For her first Easter, Chloe got all dolled up in a pretty spring dress. We feel so blessed to have such a beautiful baby. We spent the day at Norman and Diane's visiting, hunting for Easter eggs and eating a big Easter feast.

Chloe's First Happy Bath

On April 6, 2008 (just around two and a half months old), Chloe had her first happy bath (and by happy, we simply mean that it was void of screaming)! Here are some pictures to celebrate:

Still Catching Up...

OK, here are some more pictures to bring the Searle Family Blog up to speed:

Chloe and Daddy at four days old

Being precious at just over two weeks old

Chloe's first "real" bath on February 13, 2008

She was not a happy camper

Fast asleep at three weeks old

Chloe holding her head up at just one month

Chloe at just over two months with Great Grandma and Grandpa Huntington

Chloe just under three months old

Tired Chloe at just over three months old

Aaron's New Toy

Well, we all know that coveting is wrong, and there are basically two ways to overcome a coveting problem: work really hard mentally and emotionally until you finally stop being covetous, or get one of your own of whatever you're coveting. Aaron Decided to go with the second option. Back in March, three years after his dad bought his Jeep, Aaron finally talked Devon into letting him get one of his own, and here it is.

It didn't look quite this good when he bought it, but after a lot of hard work, and a lot of emptying of the wallet, it's ready to go. It came with a seven inch lift, but Aaron and Bob replaced the soft top and the windshield, added new 35 inch tires, differential lockers, 4.56 gears, a winch, offroad lighting, new tail lights, new shocks, new brake lines and a host of other add-ons...not to mention a lot of good ol' fashion elbow grease.

With a trip to Moab in the works, the boys needed to test out the new Jeep. So they went out to a little spot west of Utah Lake affectionately known as "Little Moab" to make sure that it was ready for the abuse it would have to endure down South. The jeep did great and they decided it was Moab ready!

Baby Chloe Has Arrived...Four Months Ago

Since we are just now starting this blog, we thought we'd step back in time and talk about one of the greatest events of our lives, the birth of our daughter Chloe Marie Searle.

The big day was January 23, 2008. After a gruelling two days of the hospital calling us and telling us that we're the next couple on the list to be induced, and then telling us that we'd have to wait, and then telling us we'd have to wait, and then telling us we'd have to wait, and then telling us we'd have to wait, we finally got the go-ahead, we were being called up to the big leagues...parenthood. Devon began being induced at noon and by 2:30 p.m., our little girl had arrived. The birth went better than we ever could have imagined, as did the pregancy as a whole. We feel very blessed that everything went as well as it did.

Here are some funny sidenotes from the big day:

• As the anesthesiologist came in to give Devon the epidural, he noticed Diane, Devon’s mom, shy away. He asked, “Is this your first grandchild?” “No this is my third,” she replied. Standing over Devon with a big needle he said, “Oh, what a coincidence, this is my third epidural!” We were all a little startled until he said with a smile,” Just kidding…that’s an old anesthesiologist joke.” We all breathed a sigh of relief.
  
• After Devon's induction began, the doctor thought he had plenty of time to check on another patient one floor up from where we were. However, he was wrong for when the nurse came in to check on Devon, she called out to another nurse, "Go get Dr. Gamette, he needs to come down here now!" The other nurse promptly responded, "Does he need to run?" "Yes!" yelled our nurse. The nurse then told Devon to stop pushing until the doctor came in. Just then our favorite anesthesiologist/comedian walked in to top off her epidural and whispered to us, “Nah, go ahead and push, it’s been years since I’ve gotten to deliver a baby.” We waited for the doctor.


• As Chloe came into the world, the doctor was expecting her shoulders to follow her head out as would be the norm, but was surprised when it was one of her hands that she slipped out and stretched skyward before her shoulders. The doctor called this a credit card birth and said that it was a sign of things to come.

And here are some pictures:

It's almost time

Brand spankin' new

Beautiful Chloe

The proud new parents

Grandma Searle and Grandma Dollahite


Grandpa Dollahite and Grandpa Searle


Grandpa Fowler


Baby feet


Sleeping peacefully after a hard days work


Coming home for the very first time


Welcome home, Chloe!


Home sweet home

Devon would get to spend five weeks at home with the new little one until she had to return to work to finish the school year. Summer break or bust!