Happy 11th Birthday Shay Shay Man!!!!!

11 years ago at 12:14 a.m. you were born into this world & into our family. You were in such a hurry that you wanted to come 9 weeks early, but the Dr's & Nurses said "Not yet!" So I did what I had to do to keep you inside me. It meant over 25 shots in each hip, a long stay in the hospital, needles in both arms & strict bed rest for another 5 weeks, but guess what???? It was all worth it! We let you arrive 4 weeks before your due date because you just wouldn't give up the fight. That fight continued on from the moment you said hello! You were born 5 lbs 3 oz, 19 inches long & you were the most handsome little guy! You were in such a hurry that you forgot how to breathe & getting those little breaths took a lot of hard work from those little lungs that hadn't developed fully. So they rushed you from my arms & down to the nursery where Life Flight met you & proceeded to do the work that you needed help with. Each time the nurse would come in to report to me about your condition is became less & less hopeful. They feared for the worst, but I prayed so hard to have you fight & stay with us. I was not ready to let you go. For hours they worked on you & finally took you for a little ride to UVRMC for more medical attention at the NICU! Dad & I were so sad to see you go, so I hurried to get released from the hospital & we hurried to your side once again. We were told this would be your place of residence for the next 4 weeks. After many hours, prayers & blessings you were finally taken off the respirator,....then the oxygen.....& then off the feeding tubes & finally home with us after only 9 days in the NICU!!!!! You fought a good fight & we are so glad that you won, because you have made our lives happy & complete! Remember Shay......don't rush life......it goes by quicker than you think!!

We love you so much!

Thanksgiving 09'

Me & my cute little nephew Cohen took a walk after all that dinner I ate. Just me & Cohen time.....so precious!!!!

Naomi bottom left stuffing her face, my neice Lexi, then Grandpa Kent, Uncle Eric, Aunt Heather, Uncle Joel, Aunt Breanna, Uncle Jeff & Grandma Merlene.

It's finally Thanksgiving Day!!!! We have had a great time on our family trip & now it's time to eat until we can't breathe. That we did.....and then shoved in homemade pies afterwards.

The food was delicious & we enjoyed hanging out with the family & spending time thinking about all the many things we were Thankful for. We have been blessed in so many ways this year. I am grateful for our health, my Dad's recovery, our business, the work that has come in, all our many material blessings that bring us comfort, but most importantly FAMILY!

Hoover Dam 09'

Rubbing the toes of the statue for "good luck."

On the North side of the Dam. You can see how low the water is by looking at the rocks.

This is the bridge that they're building that will go over the dam. This will help to eliminate all the congestion they get from traffic going back & forth between AZ & NV. Can't wait to see it complete.

Our family & Grandma Merlene with the bridge in the background.

Inside the Dam in the Generator room.

It's been a long time since we have taken a "dam" tour so we decided while we were visiting family for Thanksgiving that we'd take the kids and show them a "dam" good time. A "dam" good time is what we got!

Zions 09'

Darrick & I at the top of Observation Point. The view you get of Zion's Nat'l Park from that point is breath taking! This is the 2nd time Darrick & I have hiked this trail & we loved experiencing it again with our kids this time.

I think this pic says it all! Mission accomplished.

This pic was taken on the trail of Hidden Canyon. We took off on another trail before finishing up Observation Point.

Self taken pic we took at the end of the trail in Hidden Canyon. We spent some time checking out the arch (that's behind us) and laying around on the log. :)

On our way to G & G's house for Thanksgiving we decided to stop in St. George & spend a couple of days visiting Darrick's cousins that live in Hurricane & hiking in Zion's. We spend a lot of time as a family outdoors & hiking is one thing that we all enjoy together. Zion's is beautiful & we have to make a pit stop there at least once a year. Darrick & I hiked Observation Point for our anniversary a couple of years ago & we wanted to do it again. It's an 8 mile round trip hike & we weren't sure how far our kids would make it. We started up the trail & took off to Hidden Canyon (also a hike we had done in our previous hike together) which added 2 more miles to our journey. We had so much fun climbing on the rocks, hiking through sand & making it to the arch at the end of Hidden Canyon. We then headed back & resumed our hike to Observation Point. The kids were getting tired towards the top, but knowing we were only a mile away....they kept going. When reaching the top they had climbed over 2200 ft. in elevation. It's not an easy hike. They made it!!!! And they all got to enjoy a Mtn. Dew for their accomplished climb. :) As far as the coming down part???? We all sang songs (no one was around but us) and talked about the hike, our day, some memories & most importantly......Five Guys Burgers & Fries!!!! That's what we had bribed them with in the first place.

We didn't make it 10 min. down the road before I turned around & saw all 3 sound asleep!

We did eat Five Guys & we all fell asleep rather quickly that night. My kids hiked 10 miles that day.....we couldn't have been more proud of them! Especially Nate...and those little legs of his!

"We are the Champions"

Shay is the one closest to the sideline. Championship game!

Before leaving for the game! Go #32

Grandma Merlene & Grandpa Kent happened to be in town! We loved having G & G, Uncle Eric, Aunt Heather, Aunt Melissa (Jake, Nick & Ali,) Uncle Steve & Aunt Brenda all being there. This was Shay's first year playing & he can't wait for next year to come around. Congrats to the T-Wolves on their Championship WIN!!!

Halloween 09

We finally bought our pumpkins 2 days before Halloween. Life has been a little hectic, but Dad brought them home & the kids finally got to carve their pumpkins! Naomi had been to a dance halloween party....that's why she's all dressed up! :)

Ooooohhhhh, aren't they scary????

Naomi dressed up as an "aristrocat" this year for her dance studio's halloween party. She makes a cute little kitty!

The boys never smile anymore...they're too cool. Shay went as a "Harlem Globetrotter" & Nate went as a "Karate Kid."

A tradition in my family is to all gather at Grandma B's house for homemade soups & homemade cinnamon rolls on Halloween night. All the Aunts, Uncles & Cousins get together & spend the evening catching up while the kids eat all their candy! This year Grandma Merlene & Grandpa Kent were visiting.

Before leaving for Grandma B's house I took the boys trick or treating. Shay lasted 2 streets & Nate made it to 4. What??? I would trick or treat until my pillow case was full! Oh well, it makes it easy on us. :) They had gotten candy from our ward trunk or treat the night before so they still had full buckets. And the candy was gone quick....that's always a bonus!

Older brother, protecting younger brother.

Tues. night we watched Shay play football in his 1st Chamionship playoff game. Shay recovered a fumble, made some tackles & got to play in a lot of the game. Uncle Eric, Uncle Eric's friend (can't remember his name), Aunt Brenda & Uncle Steve were also there to cheer him on. It was a great evening for an exciting game! They won, and will play again next week. We gathered all our blankets, cameras, drinks, & etc..when we heard someone yell to us "Nate is all bloody!" Darrick & I turned around to see our neighbor/ friend carrying Nate in her arms. My first thought was that 5th time stitches was going to happen tonight. Darrick ran over & I followed right behind. After getting close to him & seeing that it was just a good puncture & that no stitches would be needed....we let our breath out. Our friends 4 year old had thrown a rock at Nate's head & this was the outcome. Knowing that we had to get it all cleaned up & washed out we turned around to find Shay standing there with tears in his eyes asking if he was ok. He kept asking if Nate needed stitches. I smiled & told him all was ok & that he should go huddle up with his team. He walked away hesitantly, looking back every few steps.

Darrick took Nate to the bathroom to clean him up & I walked over to the team to wait for Shay. Shay still teary eyed asked again if Nate was ok. I reassured him all was well.

After getting home & eating dinner...Darrick & I both noticed how Shay wouldn't let Nate out of his sight. We would find Shay sitting down next to him, putting his arm around him, & telling him that the cut looked better and that he would be ok.

I went to tuck them in for the night & found Shay in Nate's bed reading him a story. I found them hours later asleep in Nate's bed with Shay's arms around his little brother.

I guess they do love each other after all!

Out of the mouth of Nate

I had to hurry & write a couple of things down that Nate has said in the last week before I forget them. Nate keeps us laughing with all his many questions, and comments.

While we were at Strawberry Res. last weekend, we all hiked down to the river to see the salmon swimming upstream. While trying to find areas that had a lot of salmon in them, we hear Nate call to us. "Hey guys....there's a "buckload" of fish over here!" Naomi & I just laughed....I didn't know you could have a buckload of fish anywhere!!!

Also while we were there he was finding all these flat rocks, and when I asked what he was going to do with them he said "Mom,....I'm going to skip them in the water." Like duh, what else would I do with them? He then skipped rock after rock 4-5 times up the river. When I asked him how he learned to do that neat trick, he said "I just did it." So simple...I guess I should have thought of that. :)

Last, while I was cooking chili this past week I found a post-it next to the pot of chili that read..... "From Nate- to Mom. Never Ever will I eat Chily." I had to leave the room to laugh. Later on, Dad did make him eat his whole bowl of chili although he wasn't happy about it. Tears & pleading to Mom didn't help....Dad had already made it clear that the chili would be gone! So sad! :(

Conference Weekend 09

Drive up to Strawberry Res. to see the Kokonese Salmon. I don't know how the boys fell asleep like that. We ended up grabbing pillows & saving them from kinked necks.

Uncle Darrick & Levi.

Always time for a quick family pic. :)

Extended Despain family checking out the Kokonese Salmon.

Darrick's catch of the day....or 1 out of many. Too many to take pics of.

Naomi's catch of the day. I had one, but it slipped out of my hands before Darrick could get a picture. Oh well, there's always next year.

When leaving we came across all these deer off the side of the road. We had to stop & get a picture.

We had a great time with Darrick's family. Brenda & Steve had all of us over for breakfast Sun. morning & we all watched conference together. All meaning....Steve & Brenda, Darren & Melissa & kids, Travis & Betsy & kids, and then our family!

Our family drives up to Strawberry each year to see the Salmon swim upstream to lay their eggs. They turn a brilliant red during this time. It has been a fun family tradition & the rest of the family joined us this year.

Camp Yuba Tri.......#4

Swim - Darrick & Chris started together in the swim. This will be Darrick's 4th tri & Chris's 1st. This is the part that makes me sick....when I see them run up the boat dock, that's when I relax a little. So nervous...but here they go!

Darrick running up the boat dock. Whew, the swim is over! (Darrick was 61st out of the water)

Soon after.....Chris arrives, running towards the transition station.

Bike - This pic. was taken when Darrick was coming back from the bike ride & into the transition station. (Darrick was 14th on the bike.....moving ahead)

Chris coming in to transition from the bike ride. No scrapes on either of them...both doing great!

Run - This is Darrick's strength. This is him finishing, but the time on the right is for the Olympic time not Sprint. Darrick's finish time was 1:16. (6th overall....and 1st in his age division.) Amazing, considering it's his 4th! Way to go, great job!

Chris right after his finish. Chris got a 1:30. Both did great & I admire them for racing in these events. I would drown out there. :)

Chris & Darrick right after Chris finished. These two have been through a lot together. More adventures ahead, I'm sure of it!

Darrick with his 1st place medal.

Spanish Fork 1/2 Marathon

Sept. 5th, 09.

This race was a fun one.

On the drive down it started to rain. My thoughts were "great, here we go." I love to run in the rain, but not without a hat on. The weather cleared up soon after the start of the race. In fact it turned into a beautiful race day. It stayed cloudy, keeping the sun from shining in our eyes. It was perfect.

The course was great. I love running on quiet farming roads where there is a sense of peace & a view so beautiful that you forget you're running. I am so happy to be living in this valley where mountains surround us.

I have found a love of running 1/2 marathons. I can still run them with very little training....and I'm not sore the next day! :)

Football Season begins!

This is Shay's 1st year playing tackle football. I tried to talk him in to playing flag football for his 1st year, but it was a big NO........so here we are. :) I have to admit...he looks really cute in his little football pants & pads! He has enjoyed it so far, playing 3 games...winning all 3 games & having lots & lots of practices. A little crazy on the schedule, but anything to see him smile.

Sr. Dance Company

Naomi finally made Sr. Dance Company at her dance studio this year. We're looking forward to another great year of dance & seeing her progress even more!

Jordanelle Tri

SWIM, BIKE, RUN = Darrick's 3rd Triathlon

Darrick did an amazing job in this race. With over 1100 participants he placed 23rd overall in the men's & 2nd in his age division! Way to go Darrick!!! He finished with a time of 1:22:15. After 3 tri's he splurged and bought his own road bike so that he doesn't have to borrow his friends any longer. He will be doing another tri this weekend & is looking for more to do in the winter time. Of course for those races...we'll be heading south where it's still warm!!!