We certainly have been busy this year. Our first major change was our decision to move back to Utah from Hawaii. It was a difficult decision as we loved our home in Kailua so much & we had the best friends ever but we both felt that it would be the best thing for our little family. That move occurred in May & we moved in with Aaron's sister Connie & her husband Neal. At the time, I was about 10 weeks pregnant & just starting to feel the affects of morning sickness. What a blessing it was to have the extra help! Reese fell in love with her "surrogate grandparents" & calls them on her phone all the time to invite them over to our house.
Reese had her first birthday in June & she shared her birthday party with her cousin Livvy who is 5 days older than her. We had a princess party & they certainly were princesses. Everyone catered to them & still does. She started talking & now we can't stop her.....we just can't understand her. She speaks her own language still. She loves dogs, her best buddy is a yellow lab the same age as her named Harley. She loves to feed him treats & play ball. 
She also still loves any with a motor & often makes motor sounds for anything that she can push. Her dad loves that she shares his interests in 4-wheelers, snowmobiles, & our waverunner.We made it through the summer without anything really exciting happening. Aaron's dad, Ned, had just acquired his real estate license & was bound & determined to find us a house. He was super tenacious & would call me during the day to tell me he had some houses to show me.
We really weren't looking yet but it gave me the opportunity to get out of the house. We eventually found a house that I knew would be a great place for us the minute I walked in the front door. So, I called Aaron & after he looked at it we decided to make an offer. Home ownership came faster than we had anticipated but we are enjoying the space & our neighbors. Aaron will have plenty of yardwork & home improvement projects once things start to warm up.
Charley Kay Utley was born on November 28th & has been a complete joy. She is such an easy baby & loves to be cuddled. She is my "angel baby" because she is so sweet & hardly ever
cries. It has been quite an adjustment having two children versus one but we seem to be managing okay. We are going to bless her the 1st Sunday in February.About a week before Christmas we found out that my parents needed to come home from their mission in Brazil about 5 weeks early to take care of my sister who was put on complete bedrest only 15 weeks into her 2nd pregnancy. They were planning on living with us when they came home from their mission so we had to ready our home to accomodate them a lot faster. We have a fairly large room at the back of our house that we reserved for them but it needed some work. Aaron was so good about getting it ready so they would have a nice place to come home to. We have really enjoyed having them back & Reese & Charley have both loved the extra attention.
Being around our families has been the greatest blessing of moving back to Utah. We love to watch Reese & Charley interact with the Grandparents & cousins, all of which absolutely adore each one. We are so grateful for the many blessings that we have received in this last year & hope that this next year will be just as rewarding.
