We Love Our Cousins

Mike's cousin Taylor and his sweet wife Loralee came by for dinner before they headed back to Duke for Taylor to start his 2nd year of Law School. Taylor clerked at a firm in Vegas this summer.

We had a great visit and it was fun for the boys to meet each other. Cameron is a real cutie. He tried out Jasper's high chair, as he is 5 months now.

Thanks for coming by to visit! Hope to see you next summer if you are in town.

Jasper goes to EFY

My friend Erica came down from BYU to check in on the EFY session at UNLV.

We were so excited because she stayed at our house for a couple of nights, and we were so happy to see her! She is expecting a little girl in a few months and I talked her ear off about baby product recommendations.
















Jasper and I attended EFY on games night and then Friday morning for the Session Director Devotional and a few classes.

Jasper loved the group cheers on Thursday night and everyone loved Jasper! He had his EFY onesie on and was pretty much photographed for 2 hours non-stop. Everyone who saw him exclaimed -- Oh look, it's an EFY baby!

Even though Mike claims that Jasper is an advanced baby, the classes were a little too advanced even for his brain and he resorted to some time with his favorite mini monster truck to keep himself occupied. I am sure that in 13 years he will really be ready for EFY.

Thanks for a fun visit Erica! We love you!!!

I Love To See the Temple

If we need to stop on our way to and from Beaver, we stop at the St. George Temple. I love to show Jasper the displays in the Visitors Center and share my testimony of Jesus Christ with him as we walk around the Temple grounds.

When I was a counselor for Academy for Girls we would take our girls to the Salt Lake Temple every week and share a lesson about Temples with them on the Temple grounds. I knew that I wanted to repeat these spiritual experiences with my own children.

Jasper is doing "the Horse stance"on the Temple grounds. I found this amusing, as Mike loves to show us his Kung Fu moves, especially the Horse.

When Jasper reached the top of the stairs he tried to open the Temple doors. I thought it was cute because if you know Jasper you know that he LOVES doors. I hope he will always want to enter the Temple doors.

I made poster size prints of Jasper in front of the Temple and in front of the Christus. When we are in his room I show him the pictures and remind him of our special times there.

Beaver Wildlife

If you are headed back into town from Grandpa Dick's house at dusk you are sure to see deer on the road coming down from the mountains to feed in the fields. Here are two that we watched jump over the fences and play in the sunlight.

I also had to include a photo of a goat that we see every time we leave town. I am sure this goat has a story. If anyone from Beaver is reading this blog and wants to tell me how this family acquired a goat for a pet, I'd love to know. This goat is always on the same spot every time we drive by. Silly goat.

Granpda Dick

My grandpa's name is Richard, but he goes by Dick. I am not sure why. Maybe because it is an alliteration with his last name.

This our 2nd visit to see him this summer. Since he lives on a mountain, the winter is a big no go for going to his house. I can remember one Christmas day walking up the road to his house with my family and all of our presents in tow in big trash bags. Boy, we were ambitious.

My grandpa has an amazing green thumb. He can grow anything. In addition to peaches, apples, tomatoes and cherries, he is currently growing green table grapes. On a mountain in Southern Utah. I had to take the photos to prove it.

My grandpa is a volunteer extraordinaire. He has coached more baseball, softball, t-ball and football teams than anyone I know. And he has the awards, trophies and plaques to prove it. His living room is a bit of a hall of fame. Included are his awards as former Beaver School Board President and member, and community service awards.

Each trip I do a living history on video and record my grandpa answering questions about his life and family. So since I was documenting, I figured his awards deserved their own photo shoot. Please note that this is only a small portion. I am serious.

Thanks for your example granpda Dick.

Sleep Sweet Jasper, Sleep

Yesterday, after a busy day and no nap, Jasper finally crashed out as soon as we drove up the mountain to my grandpa's house. All alone on the great big lawn. He seemed so peaceful.

I could not resist capturing a worn out little foot and tiny curled fingers.

Sleep in Heavenly peace.

Small Town Memories

After breakfast with my grandpa, Jasper and I headed over to the park to visit and grab a snow cone. We had a great chat with my PTA softball coach, Elizabeth Yardley. She is from Scotland, and our team was affectionately named the "Sassie Lassies". I played on her team for 3 years, and then played on the "Funshine Gang" during 6th grade. The Funshine Gang won the sportsmanship award, but the Sassie Lassies, well we were Sassy, and played hard and won often.

Jasper finally fell asleep in his stroller, so we just walked back to Bonnie's mom's house, which is across the street from my old house. We had a nostalgic walk.

Past the library. Bonnie's grandma Wanda Roberts was the librarian, so we probably spent more time than most kids at the library. We also had dance, ballet, tap and even clogging in the basement of the library building. I am proud to say that for a few years we were instructed by the one and only Fred Adams.

Next we strolled past the Beaver 1st & 2nd Ward Building where I spent a lot of time growing up. I still remember walking home from school to the church to attend Primary on Wednesday afternoons.

Then we passed "Aunt" Kathleen Smith Farnsworth's home, which has since been renovated my her family members. And we saw the tire swing that we spend many hours in. We used to help Kathleen when it was her turn for water and we would rake her leaves in the fall, and then jump into the huge piles. Kathleen was an amazing woman, and was Mother of the Year in Utah in 1968.

Then onto the Browns' home. Note the pile of wood in the backyard. When I was younger the Brown's sold wood out of their backyard, and their were piles and piles and piles of it.

I also took a photo of our little home that used to be a golden yellow color. So many memories. Too many to post today.

Everyone Loves a Parade

My grandpa was asked to ride in one of the fire trucks that he procured from his old fire station for the city of Beaver. Last year he was one of the Grand Marshals of the parade, but we were unable to attend, as I was in the hospital 32 weeks pregnant with a subclavian blood clot. Those were rough times, and boy am I glad they are over.

Had to snap a shot of the Temple float by one of the Beaver LDS Wards. I really loved the water shooting out of the fire truck. All of the kids went out in the parade route and ended up soaking wet.

After the parade Jasper and I drove out to the fire station for a photo shoot and then my grandpa took us to breakfast at the El Bambi Cafe. In case you don't know, El Bambi is famous for their dinner rolls. People order them by the dozen (usually 4 dozen at a time). And no family party or social event in Beaver is complete without them. In November they publish an article in the Beaver Press about the guidelines on ordering your rolls for the holidays so that there is no confusion and no traumas over not getting your order in on time.

Baby Dog Whisperer on Location: Beaver, Utah

One of Jasper's favorite parts of the 24th of July parade was the dogs that were also watching the parade.

We met a sweet girl named Megan with a tiny little dog named Albert. Turns out that Jasper prefers dogs that are more than 1 pound.

We also met this nice guy in yellow shirt who obliged Jasper's need to play with his dogs every time we saw him today. Thank you kind sir!

24th of July Fireworks

We watched the Beaver city fireworks from Bonnie's backyard, and I snapped a few pictures. Jaden was a little nervous about the sparkler he was holding.

Two Straws Please

I hung out with all 3 boys in the Wal-mart video arcade while Bonnie finished shopping. Brennan & Jaden had fun playing a shoot 'em up game. Jasper was content hanging out in the shopping cart because he had his favorite shopping toys -- straws. As long as Jasper has his straws, he's good to go.