Oh Baby!

We are VERY excited to announce we are expecting baby boy #2! Caleb enjoys announcing he is going to be a "big bruder". I jokingly told Chris the Lott family must feel the need to repopulate the earth with boys (ours will be the 8th boy in 10 grandchildren). Honestly it doesn't matter to us what the gender is, we just want him to be healthy.

You may or may not know we have struggled with infertility in the past. Before Caleb came we didn't share too much because it was a painful subject for me, especially among family and friends who seemed to have no trouble having all the babies they wanted. When we moved to Arizona 5 years ago we made several close friends who have struggled, and some that still are, to have children. Their support and strength has taught me a lot. Long story short after more than 4 years of tests, treatments, surgery, and more tests we were blessed with Caleb. 

It was looking like we would have to travel down the same path with all of our children. We put off infertility treatments this time for many reasons mostly due to the lack of insurance coverage and Chris being gone to Alaska for 6 months. Finally this spring I was overwhelmed with the feeling that baby #2 needed to come to our family and it was our responsibility to get him/her here. I knew from experience it wouldn't be easy emotionally or financially but it was something we needed to do NOW. As it happens I found out a few weeks later I was pregnant. To say we were shocked and surprised is an understatement! In more than 6 years I have NEVER gotten pregnant on my own, and many times not even with IUI treatments. I didn't think it was possible. I am so grateful for this new little one, and feel the miracle of answered prayers in our lives. 

Summer Camping

We've finally made it out of the heat of the city to do some camping last weekend. We went to the Dixie National Forrest and had a blast. There are some beautiful sights and lots to do- we'll definitely be going back!

The origin of the Virgin River

The trail

the view

Motorcycles

While we were in Utah this May Chris and Caleb had some good old boy fun. This was his first time on a motorcycle and Caleb was so excited he could hardly stand it! 

10 years!

Wow, time sure does fly! If you had asked me 10 years ago where we would be today I would have given a completely different answer from where we are now. That doesn't mean it's bad, it's just different. One lesson I've learned is life doesn't turn out how you expect. For example, when we got married Chris wanted to be a dentist so I thought we'd be a year or two settled into his practice, own a home, and have a few more kids by this point. I thought I'd be an RN and work very part time while I stayed busy with our kids. I have to tease Chris about his drastic career change but I admit I did the same. Reality: we have one child and are extremely grateful for him, I've returned to school and still have a few years ahead of me, and we are temporarily settled in Las Vegas where Chris flys helicopter tours. I think Chris said it best when he said we've had ups, downs, and all arounds. Hopefully we've come through stronger and better people because of it. Here's to the future!

Seal Beach at Sunset

Caleb's photography of the boats in the harbor 

3 musketeers, top deck of our boat

Corona Del Mar

For our 10th wedding anniversary we packed up for a few days and headed to Cali to escape the heat. We spent 1 full day at the beach and had a great time. C loves the sand and water and was in heaven. He asked multiple times in the days preceding to go to the beach. The day of he was so excited and announced "It's beachy time!"

Dolphin watching

Kangaroo Zoo

We had a blast with the cousins at a place called Kangaroo Zoo. It's filled with slides and bounce houses of all shapes and sizes. The kids had a great time jumping, sliding, falling, ect. It's awesome for any age!

Birthday Boy

Caleb turned 3 a few weeks ago while we were in UT with family. We choose to celebrate at Chucky Cheese in true kid fashion and it was a success! His birthday "cake" was an ice cream sandwich made in a waffle iron, pinetrest is awesome! Happy Birthday Caleb!

The Melting Pot

We had our first Melting Pot experience the other night. Caleb and I made it back home so we had a bit of a celebration fondue style. We would agree that the food is good but not really worth the price, if you go just get desert. C loved eating his food off sticks! Happy to be home again.

Red Rock

 Caleb and I moved to Las Vegas at the beginning of April, just in time to celebrate Easter with Chris! We are enjoying our new place and being together as a family. We are so grateful for this new job and the chance we have to be together! One of our favorite places so far is Red Rock Canyon. We spent the day there this past week and LOVED it! It's a beautiful place with lots of hiking, plant life and animal life, ect. We savored our time outdoors before the hot summer hits.

Visit to the Farm

Before Caleb and I left Utah to join Chris in Sin City we headed up to Idaho for a quick visit. Like most boys Caleb loves tractors, trucks, 4-wheelers, ect. We had a great time as always, thank you Grandpa Moon and Grandma Jeri!

New job, new home,.,

Chris got a new job!!! We were thinking we were destined for Alaska for another season but at the last minute Chris got an offer in Las Vegas. He is now a tour pilot for Heli USA and is loving it!

Happy Valentines!

We made the cupcakes I made Chris 10 years ago when we were dating, a little sappy I know. But Caleb loves trains and we had fun putting them together. The smoke says "I choo-choo-choose you".

Tubing in Heber

I purchased a Groupon to go tubing at Soldier Hollow and we waited and waited for a good snow fall. Finally we just had to go without a big storm but it was still a lot of fun. You ride the "lift" up to the top and choose one of the runs to go down. It was Caleb's first tubing experience and we were really excited to take him because he has so much fun playing in the snow this winter. He love to eat it, roll in it, jump on it, ect.

riding up the slope

Caleb riding solo

Our Funniest Home Video

My youngest sister is a ballet dancer and is always twirling and dancing around the room. Caleb has learned from her example and taken to "spinning" as he calls it.

This doesn't make us awful parents, right?

Christmas!

Since we were in Utah this year we were able to squeeze in many family Christmas parties. We had a great time, thanks to everyone who hosted!

Caleb gets play dough from Nonna and Papa, he loves it!

peeking from under the Eagle Gate Bridge

Annie and Marcus

going gagga over gifts

December Activities

Until now winter has been relatively mild in Utah, so thankful for that! I discovered the zoo has 1 free day a month during the winter and we've been twice. A portion is under construction but we were still able to see some wildlife and Caleb loved it! The elephants, giraffes, and tigers were definitely the highlights of our visits.



We have also been to visit Grandma Jeri and Grandpa Moon, we always love our visits. Caleb has learned a new way to eat jello from his cousins and thinks he's pretty cool.

Celebrating Life

Chris's father passed away in December 18 years ago. Just after Chris and I were married the family started to remember this day by celebrating his life. It's a tradition we have missed the last 4 years we were in Arizona and were really happy to be able to participate this year. I never had the opportunity to meet Stan but he has an amazing wife and children! They all love and appreciate his example so much. I look forward to meeting him in the next life.

The Fam

The Girls

Brothers

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Festivities

In short we had a great day of food, family, and fun. This year we celebrated with Chris's family and stayed with his brother and family for the weekend. Caleb loved driving the jeep and we loved the relatively warm weather in Utah.

All ready for bed

Polar Express

We got to experience our very own Polar Express train ride on the Heber Creeper. Caleb loves trains and was so excited to ride on one. We stopped at the "North Pole" where Santa got on the train and handed out reindeer bells to each child.