The Victors

Home

2010-09-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

Home. There are so many different ways to define home. Home is often where we have grown up. It is usually a place where we feel most comfortable. "Home is where the heart is." There are many places that we will still think of as home. We now have a new place that we call home, here in Sandusky, Ohio. We are now happily settled in this new place. We are already falling in love with the beautiful greenery, warm climate, and friendly people here. We love the thunder and lightning storms, that light up the evening sky. We love how well things grow here, and are excited to plant our first garden this next spring. We love the history that is out here in the East. We love our old home (most of the time). We love being right next to Lake Erie and being able to go to the beach whenever we want. We love watching the fireflies at night. We love the stars and the crickets at night. The boy's absolutely love it here, and have made some great friends already. We really do feel that this is our new home.

There have, however, been a few things that we have had to get used to, and some that we may never particularly enjoy. We have had a hard time adjusting to the high humidity here (especially me). We are still not used to the surprising rodents and insects that share our living space. Since living here, we have had 2 bats in our house, mice, cochroaches, lots and lots of spiders, ants in our house, bunnies living under our shed, a groundhog living in our crawl space, cecadas in our trees, rats in our yard, and poison ivy in our hedges. We're still figuring out how to deal with some of these. We have had a hard time being away from family, but have reaaly been able to start establishing our own family unit.

Oh Ohio, we look forward to the memories that we will build here with you!

The end is in sight!

2010-03-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that it's been almost 2 months now since Miles took off on his journey to find a job. It has been so hard to be apart for so long, but the end is now in sight. Miles flies in tomorrow to be here for two weeks, and I am scheduled to be induced next Wednesday morning. I have bought tickets to get over to Ohio on March 31st. We're still not quite done with being apart, as we will be apart for 2 weeks before I move over to Ohio with the boys, but 2 weeks is easier to handle than 2 months. I love Miles so much, and I am so grateful to him for being so willing to sacrifice so much for our family! I can't wait till we are no longer apart.

Much to be Thankful for!

2010-02-25T12:30:00.000-08:00

Starting around Thanksgiving time Miles and I felt like our world was falling apart. We had our lives mapped out, at least we thought we did. Miles had a full-time job lined up, we had a house, and we were excited to be living in Alaska. Well, when we found out that Miles no longer had a job (due to down sizing) all of that changed.

First off, we decided to come to Colorado to stay with my parents while Miles went out searching for a new job. We put our house on the market as a for sale by owner, and within one week we had a buyer. The sale went forth without complications, and we were able to come away with a little bit of a profit. We know that this was only possible through the blessings of Heavenly Father.

Miles set off on a "road trip" to search for a job. As we were planing out where Miles should go to start his search we felt very strongly that Miles should go to Ohio. We weren't sure why he should go there, or what would become of it, but nonetheless we knew that he should go there. So we set up an air-mattress in the back of the van, and he set out to Ohio. He spent many nights in a Wal*Mart parking lot, and showering at the YMCA (because apparently they allow the "homeless" to shower for free :). Well after a couple of weeks out in Ohio, and when he was preparing to come back to Colorado, he got an interview unexpectedly from a company that "wasn't hiring". They were very impressed with Miles resume and decided that he would be a great asset to their company. So, he got a job and started almost a week later. Again, another blessing from our loving Heavenly Father.

So during the week prior to starting his job, Miles took the time to look for a house for us. The housing market had been hit pretty hard with the economy out there. So right now it is a great buyers market. Miles found us a beautiful old home that is in incredible shape, and is actually an estate property, so it is being sold fully furnished. We are working on the paperwork to buy the house right now, and it looks like everything is going to work out really well. I'm so excited about this house. It has a lot of charm, and is really cute! Another huge blessing with this house, is that it is almost half the price of the house we bought in Alaska, and it comes with furniture, so we are all set up. It truly is amazing! I've actually never heard of someone buying a fully furnished home.

So I am now here in Colorado waiting for D-day. I have found a really good Dr. here and they are planing on inducing me about 2 weeks early so that this baby doesn't get as huge as Hyrum. I am very grateful for that, as I'm not sure I could have another baby almost 12 pounds. Miles is flying in the end of next week so that he can be here for the birth, then he will be here for about 2 weeks. My mom will then be flying over to Ohio with my and the 2 boys, about 3 weeks after we have the baby.

It truly is amazing how much the Lord has directed our lives. Things are different than we planned, but really they are working out better than we had planned. It will be a great adventure to move over to Ohio and start that chapter of our lives. I have a testimony that if we will put our trust fully and completely in the Lord, that He will direct our paths for the better, and in the process, we will become more of the person that He would want us to be.

Here are just a couple pictures of our time here in Colorado.

2010-02-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

This Chirstmas we got the great opportunity to go to Mexico with all of Miles family. It was my first time ever having a tropical Christmas. I am so grateful to Miles parents for taking us here. We got to stay at a resort just north of Puerto Vallarta. It was so beautiful, and so warm.

Miles graduated from BYU right before we left. He graduated in Manufacturing Engineering Technology. I really am so proud of Miles, cause I know that it was not easy. His last semester he was taking 22 credits and was stretched to the max, but he did a great job! We had a "graduation ceremony" on the beach. It was pretty great!

Just enjoying one of the many beautiful sunsets on the beach!

Christmas morning was a fun time in Mexico! Hyrum was especially excited!

Hyrum loved the pools there, and as you can see, he did not lack any attention. :)

Karaoke night was lots of fun! Miles and I tried to sing a song, but it wasn't what we thought it was going to be, so pretty much we just had a good laugh.

The whole family enjoying the pools!

Hyrum spent a lot of time in the sand, and usually looked like this at the end of every day!

Hyrum absolutely Loved Horchotta!

2010-01-27T15:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I know that I have said this before, but I acknowledge that I have been a horrible blogger, and am resolving to do better. To make up for lost time, I think it would be easier to have everyone read our Christmas blog at http://victorsfamily.blogspot.com/. Now I will try to start where we are now.

A lot of changes have happened for us in the past couple of months. First of all, Miles has officially graduated from BYU in Manufacturing Engineering Technology. I am so proud of him, and how well he did in school. The job that we had lined up in Alaska unfortunately fell through. As of today we have sold our house in Alaska, and are very grateful for being able to find a buyer so quickly, and were actually able to make a small profit. It turns out that all our hard work in renovations this summer, really paid off. So now life has found us living with my parents in Grand Junction, Colorado. I am so grateful to them for them and their willingness to help us out.

Miles has been spending the days out searching for a job. Right now he is currently in Ohio, starting to understand the life of a homeless person. Before Miles left we set up a nice bed in the back of our van, and stocked him with groceries. He has definitely had some great adventures already out there while living in his van. Although he may not be parked "down by a river" (Chris Farley) he is parked most nights in places such as walmart. He tried parking one night out by some big open fields, where he was very abruptly awakened by a police officer, who had a hard time believing his story. He had to explain a couple of times why he had an Alaska Driver's Liscense, Utah plates, his wife and son were in Colorado, and he was out there looking for a job. I think that we will laugh about this experience and journey for a long time to come. In the mean time, Miles is continuing to go forth in the search, and we are praying that something will work out soon.

So, that's just a little update on the life of the Victors Family. I will do better and include pictures from here on out.

2009-09-29T09:54:00.001-07:00

That's right I'm Pregnant again! The due date is March 27th.

2009-09-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

Okay so I've become one of the worst bloggers over the past year, but I've decided it's time to fix that. I will try to do better from here on out. Here are just a few pictures from this summer from some of the major events that happened to us.

Hyrum is now almost 14 months old. He is such a happy wonderful little boy. He is crawling, walking, saying quite a few words, and eating whatever we eat. He is such a joy to Miles and I.

This summer started out with us having no idea what kind of internship or job Miles would be able to get and then turned into a great opportunity. Miles got a great job (that also counted for his internship) as a field engineer at AK Supply. He works at their branch out in Palmer. We also came across an amazing deal on a house out in Palmer. We decided that we just couldn't pass it up. We then spent the rest of our summer doing some major renovations and getting things ready to move in. We love how it turned out, and now can't wait to actually move into it.

So I know that this is very short for how much I have to catch up on, but it's a start. More to come later.

Hyrum's 1st Birthday!

Miles, my hot construction worker. Putting in the laminate flooring.

Our new house!

Happy Hyrum helping work on the house.

Hyrum and I after a long day's work.

Family Photos

2008-11-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

While Miles family was down here a couple of weeks ago, we were able to get family pictures with all the Victors. Miles and I were also able to get some pictures of our little family. I hope that you enjoy them. :)

Hyrum's Blessing

2008-09-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

On Sunday September 14th we had little Hyrum blessed. Miles gave the blessing and we were able to have a lot of our family there. It was a fun day. Here are some pictures of him in his adorable tuxedo that my mom made for him.

Hyrum's first weeks home

2008-09-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

As everyone know's the first couple weeks home from the hospital with your new baby can be a little bit nerve racking. I can't tell you how many times I would look at Hyrum while he was sleeping and wonder if he was alive. The first time he gaged, I almost had a heart attack thinking he was going to die. I don't think I really slept at all the first couple of nights, because I was so paranoyed that something was going to happen to him. Miles and I both worked ourselves up in worry quite a few times, just not knowing what was normal. We either called the pediatrician or went in about 3 times a week. But by some mirracle, he is still alive and all is well. We love this little boy so much. He has brought so much more depth to our own relationship as we figure out how to be new parents.

This is Hyrum in his coming home outfit (which barely fit him) on the changing table for the first time. We had to learn how to be fast and effective in the diaper changes as the window and our clothes have been drenched time and time again by our little man.

The first few days, all that Hyrum wanted to do was sleep, and sometimes this was about all we could get of him being awake.

So cute!

One of our first family pictures.

Hyrum really loves cuddling up on Daddy's chest. He has spent many hours in that position.

These are some pictures that Miles took just a few days after we brought him home.

Here was Hyrum's first bath. Needless to say he wasn't too thrilled.

2008-08-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

Well the long awaited day has finally come. On Saturday August 9, 2008 at 12:05 pm little Hyrum Miles Victors joined our family.

So here is a shot of just how big I got right before I had "little Hyrum"

After 38 hours of labor with an hour and a half of that straight pushing, little Hyrum finally came. This is a picture of the doctor and nurse that were key in the delivery.

Hyrum was born weighing in at 11 lbs 10 oz. As you can see his head was a little cone shaped when he first came out. Even the doctors were amazed at how big he was.
I love this picture of Hyrum when he's getting all cleaned up. I think he was a little bit shocked to come into this world.
Our first family candid with proud daddy and mommy!
He's a very strong little man, and on his first day he lifted his head up and looked right at me.
Proud Daddy!

Proud Mommy!

One of our first days home from the hospital.

Miles and I could not be more proud of our beautiful little boy. Each day has been bringing us new surprises and new things to learn about our little bundle of Joy. We'll keep you posted as he grows.

1 Year Anniversary!

2008-07-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

Though it's hard to believe, a year has already gone by since we got married! We had fun celebrating our 1 year anniversary, walking around the provo temple (where Miles "officially" proposed to me) going mini golfing, going to dinner at the Olive Garden, attending our final Lamaze class and than relaxing to look at our wedding pictures while eating icecream and having sparkling cider.

At Olive Garden

Provo Temple

Mini Golfing (even with a large belly in the way)

So yesterday, we were reflecting on all that has gone on the past year, and we would have to say a lot has happened. First of all, we got married last July, and finished out our summer jobs in Alaska with Miles working on the slope (the oil fields) and Me as a tour guide on the trains. We came back down here to Utah and moved into our first apartment in North Orem. We were kept busy there with our callings in the church, Miles was a scout leader, and me in the Releif Society. Miles completed two more semesters of school at BYU studying Manufacturing Engineering. He furthered his interest and passion of building things by building a tricycle from an old Honda Accord. I continued working as an office assistant for Professional Marketing International, while supporting the two of us. Miles is now attending another semester of school while working part-time at Home Depot (where everyone loves his charisma and charm) and finishing up his summer car project. I am now counting down the days till I get to be a stay at home mom with little Hyrum, who is due in just less than four weeks. We are excited to have him as an addition to our little family. We just recently moved into our second apartment at Wymount Terrace in Provo to be closer to BYU, so Miles can actually spend time with me and the baby during the school year. Though a year has flown by, we realize that we've already made a lot of memories together, and we look forward to many many more.

Recent Prego Pictures

2008-06-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

So Miles and I decided it was time to take some more recent pictures, especially of this large belly of mine. I'm now only 6 weeks out from my due date, and can't hardly wait for little Hyrum to arrive.

Our Trip To Massachusetts

2008-05-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

Here we are in Boston on the Freedom Trail. There sure is a lot of History right in the middle of the city there.

Miles and I on the subway. That was a fun experience.
Miles during our lunch break with a Mango seed in his mouth. :)

Miles and I walking down the freedom trail.

Mom with her tour guide book trying to find the statue of Paul Revere.

We had fun feeding the squirels in the park.

We stayed at an amazing resort in the Berkshires, Miles favorite area of his mission.

We not only went all over Massachusetts, but we went into Vermont to see some of the church history sites there (birth placeof Brigham Young and Joseph Smith).

This 381/2 foot monument marks the birth place of Joseph Smith. It is the largest single shaft of granite, and each foot represents a year of the Prophet's life. There was also an amazing visitor's center here.

And you can't be so close to Palmyra without taking some time to over there. We went to a bunch of the church history sites while we were in New York. (those pics are coming soon, I was having computer problems)

How fast I can type :)

2008-04-14T11:22:00.001-07:00

99 words

Speed test

Baby Hyrum's room in progress

2008-04-09T14:19:00.001-07:00

Last night I was able to work on some of the decorations for Hyrum's room. We have decided to decorate in blue and brown with mokey's. My mom is making the crib set but I have been working on idea's for the rest. This is the first part that has been completed and I'm excited to do more. :)

She tagged me

2008-03-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

So Monica "tagged" me and I don't know where to respond now....I guess I'll do it here, since most everyone doesn't see my page anymore because it needs a lot of TLC. Here goes:

A - Attached or Single: Attached
B - Best Friends: Monica, Matt, and Becka
C - Cake or Pie: Hmm...... I think pie, but that's tough
D - Day of choice: Saturday, because it can be a day that I have to work on big projects!
E - Essential Item: I love gadgets. Being a guy, I couldn't survive without them to fascinate me!
F - Favorite Color: Blue
G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Probably worms
H - Hometown: Eagle River, AK
I - Indulgence(s): Cars and Motorcycles (these are time indulgences for the moment, but doomed to become financial ones, I'm afraid.)
J - January or July: July. Its a better time to enjoy the outdoors. AND I was married in July.
K - Kids: One coming to a home near you
L - Life is incomplete without: My wife and my passions (I think she calls them obsessions behind my back....I'm sure she does. :) )
M - Marriage Date: 07/07/07
N - Number of Siblings: 1 Brother, 1 Sister, 3 Brother-in-Laws, 2 Sister-in-Laws
O - Oranges or Apples: Oranges, for sure. You can peel them in creative ways, too!
P - Phobias or Fears: I really have a phobia of Monica being hurt somewhere and me not knowing about it.
Q - Quotes: "Every man dies, but not every man truly lives." -William Wallace, Braveheart
R- Reason to smile: My wife and unborn child, and working on projects that I am passionate about.
S - Season: Hmm....probably spring or fall. Summer can be way too hot.
T - Tag 4 Friends: Well, Monica already tagged people, and I think everyone I know has been tagged at some point, so I will stop part of the cycle here, as sacrilegious as that might seem to some.
U - Unknown fact about me: I have cadaver tissues in my leg from a knee reconstruction
V - Very favorite store: Probably Shucks/Checker/Kragen(Same store chain)
W - Worst habit: Not paying enough attention to my wife when I'm working on a project.
X - X-ray or Ultrasound or Mammogram: Ultrasounds are pretty cool, but I've had more X-Rays.
Y- Your favorite food: Probably boneless chicken wings! The best are either at Wingers, or now my favorite: Wright Brothers in the BYU Bowling Alley.
Z - Zodiac: Pisces!

Hyrum's most recent Ultrasound Pictures

2008-03-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged!

2008-03-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

A - Attached or Single: Definatly Attached :)
B - Best Friends: MILES, Mom, and family
C - Cake or Pie: Ohh cake for sure!
D - Day of choice: I have come to love Sundays (not only cause it's the sabbath, but it's the one day a week that Miles and I actually get to spend it together all day)
E - Essential Item: Food
F - Favorite Color: Blue for sure (it's a good thing that we're having a boy)
G - Gummy Bears or Worms: hmm, I like the sour gummy worms
H - Hometown: Wasilla, Alaska :)
I - Indulgence(s): Hmm well that's changed through out the past couple of months, I would say right now, it's anything with chocolate and peanut butter. :)
J - January or July: July of course, cause that's when we got married :)
K - Kids: One really active little boy on the way
L - Life is incomplete without: Family and the Gospel.
M - Marriage Date: 07/07/07
N - Number of Siblings: 3 Brothers 1 Sister and 2 Sisters-in-law and 1 Brother-in-law.
O - Oranges or Apples: Hmm, well I love them both, apples are easier to eat so I do eat them more often, but both are great.
P - Phobias or Fears: I really don't like snakes and big bugs, and I would say my biggest fear is being left alone
Q - Quotes: "Live well, laugh often, and love much!"
R- Reason to smile:My love Miles and for life in general.
S - Season: I would say that I love the spring because of all the pretty flowers.
T - Tag 4 Friends:Libby, Cortney, Miles & Lori
U - Unknown fact about me: I don't like cheesecake (and for those who did not know me in high school I was a cheerleader)
V - Very favorite store: I would say Ross for clothes, Costco for food and other fun stuff, and Target for cute baby stuff :)
W - Worst habit: Not getting up until I absolutely have no time left to get ready
X - X-ray or Ultrasound or Mammogram: Ultrasound for sure (it's so cool to see little Hyrum in there!)
Y- Your favorite food: Well I just love food in general. I would probably say pasta is my favorite though.
Z - Zodiac: Aries (yeah that's right I'm a ram)

2008-03-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

We just found out last Thursday that we're having a baby boy!!!!! :) We are so excited!!!! We have decided that we will name him Hyrum Miles Victors. The doctor said that he looks great and everything seems to be right on track.

Baby's 1st picture:)

2008-02-19T12:54:00.000-08:00

I am now 16 weeks along, and in the second trimester. Miles and I are getting more excited all the time. We got this picture taken at our last Dr's appointment. We still don't know what it is, but we're thinking that it might be a boy. We'll know on March 15. We can't hardly wait.

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!!

2007-12-13T12:20:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to find out that we are going to have a baby!! The one on top was the first one that we took. The line is a little faint so at first we thought it was negative, but a closer look proved that wrong. A few days later we took the second one just to be sure, and there was no mistaking a positive from that one. The baby is due on August 4 2008, however, we think it may be coming a little bit sooner than that. We can't hardly wait. :)

Playground Fun!

2007-12-13T12:15:00.001-08:00

Miles and I were having a lot of fun at the park by my parents house when we were there for Thanksgiving (as you can probably tell by the pictures). We thought we were gonna get stuck in the slide, but no worries, we got out just fine. :)

Thanksgiving Fun

2007-12-13T11:50:00.000-08:00

Natalie

2007-12-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

This is my favorite cutest little niece in the world Natalie Louise Rogers. We all love being with her and watching her grow.

2007-12-13T09:43:00.001-08:00

Miles and I got the chance to go to my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. This was at the breakfast with all of the family the day of. We had a great time!

Our Story

2007-10-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

Boy meets girl, it happens every day, it could happen to you. :) So at least that's what the commercial says. Their story began in Alaska in the Wasilla, AK stake. They got to know eachother through a lot of different activities such as stake dances, youth conferences, choir groups, and mutual friends. They were friends for quite a while when Monica's senior prom came and she decided that she would like to go with her friend Miles because she knew that they would have a lot of fun together. The day of prom came and there was a pretty big group of them that were going together. They made it into basically a whole day date, first they hiked thunderbird falls in Eagle River, the girls made dinner for the boys, they went to the dance and danced the night away then watched a movie and stayed up really late playing games and trying on skunk hats (well that was just Miles :). Through out the course of the date Monica and Miles realized they had feelings for each other and a new relationship began. They dated for a while and had a lot of fun but after Monica graduated they decided that it would be best to go their separate ways. Monica went off to BYU-Idaho and eventually Miles went off to BYU in provo. They kept in touch every once in a while as friends, and then even while they were both on their missions they wrote each other now and then. They never lost the friendship they had. After Monica returned home from her mission she felt inclined to call Miles up. They started talking on the phone more often, and before they knew it they were once again dating. This time things turned into something beautiful. After just 3 wonderful weeks of seeing each other everyday they knew that things were right. They had gone up to Boise for Easter with Monica's family and on the way home to Provo the wheel of her car went flying into the ditch with sparks flying everywhere. They were only about 15 miles outside of Boise and had to wait for a tow truck to come pick them up. While waiting Miles spread out his coat on a hill on the Side of the road and they ate their picnic lunch. While eating they watched the sunset and the stars come out and Miles sang to Monica "I wanna grow old with you" from the wedding singer, then asked Monica to marry her. She was taken a little by surprise but with excitement answered YES! (to be continued...)