Okinawa, Japan

Although I always had the intention of doing this sooner, I finally am posting about our AMAZING trip to Okinawa, Japan. Jordan, my brother, and his family live there, so we thought it was about that time to take a vacation. Even after being in Gunnison for a month, as well as having Christmas vacation for 2 weeks, we were not ready to go back to normal life. Danny had his 4 week break, so we decided to take advantage of the situation and head over to Japan. It was honestly one of the best decisions we have ever made.

So Okinawa is definitely not "real" Japan. I understood that and am still super sad that I flew half way across the world and didn't really get to see it, especially our family farm. But...I still am very grateful that I got to go. :) It was amazing! The food was incredible, the island is absolutely gorgeous, snorkeling almost every day was awesome, I loved seeing my family so much, and did I mention that the food was AMAZING?! Oh, to eat like that every day of my life?? It would be absolute heaven! Jordan and Nats were the best hosts and their kids are the cutest kids, ever. I miss them all so much. So does Charlie. So, if you ever have a chance to go over there, DO IT!!! And eat lots of food for me!!!

The best part of the trip was being with Jordan and his family and getting to know them better. Jordan and I are 8 years apart so we've never been able to spend a whole ton of time together. I was only 10 when he left home for BYU, and by the time I got to BYU, he was in med school down in Arizona. I think we've always had a special bond though because we apparently look the most alike. We have more of the "Lew" genes. Jordan is an amazing example to me and I've always looked up to him so much. Funny, I don't think I've ever told him that. I guess I should be telling him these things. We're just kind of an awkward family. :) Anyway, Nats is equally amazing. She is hands down, one of the kindest people I know. I am so grateful to have such wonderful siblings. I love them so much! I cannot wait for them to move back to Utah so we can spend every weekend together!!!! Jordan and Nats, if you read this, I love you!!!

Here are some of the highlights from our trip: (I uploaded a bunch of pictures, so feel free to stop whenever)

Sakura (Japanese Cherry Blossom). We barely missed the Festival. So sad.


My nephew, Yuki. One of the cutest boys, ever! You should hear him speak Japanese!


Me, Charlie(asleep under the blanket), Natsume(my sister-in-law), and my niece, Aisa.



Me, Danny, and Jordan truckin' out to go snorkeling. Please don't look to close at me in that wetsuit. Not the prettiest sight.


Charlie and Aisa eating apples together. They are only 6 months apart and had so much fun together! I'm not going to lie though, Charlie was a little nervous some of the time. Ai-chan is very strong willed.


Tonkatsu with a miso sauce. Oh, so delicious! My mouth is watering at this very moment.



Charlie and Aisa at another beach.


The hunter Danny has finally come home successful!! What kind of fish did he spear???


A beautiful, but nasty, Parrot-fish!





Jordan's family on the Suspension Bridge on our hike to the Falls pictured above.




Eating spam musubi for lunch. Look at these kids. Aren't they the cutest?



We happened to be there for Jordan's 32nd Birthday. Nats and I made the delicious chocolate cake. Yes, it was very delicious.









Danny and Yuki bonding. Yuki loves to watch himself on videos.

Almost 11 Months

My little guy will be 11 months in just 4 days, which means he'll be a one year old in a month. Why do they have to grow up!!!??? I love my little man. He's grown up so much in this past month. Here are some of the changes:

-FINALLY got his first tooth!!!
-started walking
-got his second tooth
-hung out with cousins and kind of started to play with them
-said Mama and meant to call me (he's already said Dada when he was 9 months old-didn't know what it meant though!!!)
-got freaked out by Totoro (Takasaki's dog) and hasn't recovered
-became super obsessed with animals even though he's terrified of them
-loves to empty the silverware in the dishwasher
-loves to empty out my towel drawer and my little cooking tools drawer
-LOVES to eat paper
-learned how to clap
-learned how to climb stairs
-skinned up Oh-Ya and up to the cornice
-skied for the second time with his Uncle Sambo
-and continues to scream and yelp when he wants anything, especially to get everyone's attention

Charlie's Weigh-In

So we went down to Gunnison for the weekend to my BFF's baby blessing. Little Jack is a cutie! While we were there, we went to the office to see if Charlie has grown any. His last check-up was at 6 months and he's now 10 months as of last Thursday. Here are the statistics:

6 Month Check-up: Length-25 inches Weight-16 lbs.
10 Month Check-up: Length-27 inches Weight-17 lbs. 12 oz.

As you can see, he's SMALL. Really small. Like less than 3rd percentile small. Almost off the charts small. Get the picture?? I love him all the same though. I just hope he doesn't develop a complex.

My two BFF's from the G-town. Sara, Jack, McKell, me, Charlie

Ethan's Baptism, Visiting John, Charlie's First Ski

January 2010

So I skipped Christmas and New Year's because for some weird reason, I can't find our pictures!! So sad! They're not on my computer so I don't know where they are.

Ethan's Baptism-January 2, 2010
Ethan is the oldest grandchild on my side of the family. He gets a lot of pressure for it too. He has to be the example and is told that like at EVERY family gathering. Poor kid. I can't believe he is 8 years old. Time flies by so fast! Before I know it, Charlie will be getting baptized. Ethan is a great kid though. He's super talented, smart, and has a very tender heart. I love him and am so proud of him!

The Crew


Visiting John-January 3, 2010
We had the opportunity to go and visit our friend John Jones' resting place at the Nutty Putty Caves. We've been meaning to do it, but it's been hard getting out there. We went out as a little family with Danny and John's other buddy, Jake Jennings. The drive was longer than expected and it got a little crazy on the dirt roads, but in the end, we made it just fine and we were super happy we made the effort to go out. The whole time out there we kept saying, "In the spirit of John, let's go on an adventure!" We all miss John a lot, especially Danny, but we are very grateful for our memories of him. Even though this was an unexpected resting place for him, I think he is super happy with the view. It is truly beautiful out there.

Danny and Jake




Charlie's First Ski-January 5, 2010

A few days after visiting John, we decided to take Jake up to the cabin with Sam and Isaac. If you don't know, Jake is an intense skier and fully appreciates any kind of good powder. Those kind of people are always welcome at our cabin. Anyway, at the cabin, you can either ski/board down the road and have a snowmobile pick you up at the bottom or you can skin up hills(or whole mountains if you're my brothers) and then ski down. After the boys all went on an intense morning run, Sam came back and offered to take me and Charlie up "Oh Ya"(a run next to the cabin). Sam carried Charlie and I just skinned up after him. Some would say we were completely crazy but I think it was justifiably safe. :) Sam's a great skier and I completely trust him. Danny spent the whole time thinking about what he was going to say to Child Protective Services. Total worry wart in my opinion. So, we skinned up and skied down. It was super fun and I think Charlie enjoyed it.

Sam and Charlie skinning up.


Look how happy Charlie is!!


Our supporter and supervisor, Uncle Ziggy.


The First Ski!!!!



Completely Safe and Happy

Pre-Christmas with the Bennett's

December 2009

We spent the week before Christmas with Danny's family. We went to Hardware Ranch, ate lots of food, and had Christmas a day early. Woo woo!!

Grandpa Noall opening his sa-weet snowshoes. I don't know how cool he actually thought they were. Oh well.


Charlie opening one of his first presents.


Me, Charlie, and Grandpa at Hardware Ranch on our sleigh ride.


One of the largest elk in the herd. Check out his rack!


All boarding up

Gunnison-Family Practice Rotation

November-December 2009

We were lucky enough to be able to spend almost 4 weeks living with my parents in Gunnison while Danny did an away rotation with my dad. My brother, Sambo Bambo, happened to be doing his at the exact same time so that made it extra fun to be home. Overall, Charlie got super spoiled, I cooked a lot for Christmas with my mom (yes, we start that early), and Danny worked. Not too hard though. It was great to go home and be home for a long period of time. Sadly, I haven't spent that much continuous time at home since I graduated from high-school. I didn't realize then that once I moved out, I was really leaving. So sad! I love Gunnison and I love my parents. They are amazing!
Here are a few pictures from our stay.

The Doctor and the Future Doctors (Charlie included-don't worry, I'm not going to be some crazy pushy mom that say he has to be a doctor)
I bought these baby scrubs at Babinski's up here in Salt Lake. Amazing!! This picture made them totally worth it even though he only wore them this one time.


Charlie and his Gramps


Charlie and his Uncle Sambo Bambo


Charlie and Poh Poh

A Tribute To Our Dear Friend John Jones

John Jones was one of Danny's best friends from St. George. Danny roomed with John at BYU for about 3 years. He is honestly one of the best people we have ever known and we will miss him dearly. John and Emily have become some of our closest friends as couples. They are some of the greatest examples of those who are truly trying to live the gospel every day. In a way, John was too good for this world. He truly believed in the gospel and truly believed in his Savior. And because of his belief, he lived that way. We will be eternally grateful for the influence John has and will continue to be in our lives. We love him. Our hearts and prayers go out to Emily, Lizzy, and the little one.

We are so grateful that we were able to see John and Emily just 3 days before the caving accident. They called us on Sunday and we were able to visit with them for only a few hours. It was so short, yet those few hours are so precious to us. These pictures are the from that visit.

Charlie with his Uncle John and Auntie Emily. This was his first time meeting them.


John with little Lizzy


Lizzy and Charlie. She's definitely tall for her age and Charlie is a little shrimpie. They are just 5 months apart.


Lizzy and Charlie bonding...eating cheerios together.


We love you John!!!