So great to see you!

Earlier this week we were treated to a quick visit from some dear friends that we have not see for several years. In fact, I think the last time I saw them they lived in Salt Lake City and their daughter who is 5 years old was just a few months old. Thanks to email we have been able to keep in touch.

Their family was driving from California to Utah. We met at In 'N Out for a bite and to try and catch up, as we tried to keep up with our kids.

Megan and I were Academy for Girls counselors together and eventually roommates in Provo at the Chatham Town condos. Meg and her mom were kind enough to provide the music at our wedding reception 7 years ago. Megan is an excellent harpist. Sure wish we lived closer!

Love you Meg and Clint!

He was a litte chunk-a-monk

As I confessed in an earlier post, I used to be worried that Jasper was gaining too much weight. He has really thinned out the last few months, and I have taken a little flack for once being so concerned.

This weekend Mike burned our family videos onto a DVD, and after watching them I am feeling a little vindicated by watching the videos of a younger Jasper. He was a chunky monkey!

Here's a photo of him at two and a half months old to prove my point.

It's all about the stairs...and the railing!

Jasper LOVES to climb stairs. Even more than the stairs, he LOVES what is at the top of our stairs, the railing. It is his favorite place in the entire house. If he disappears, we know right where to find him.

He loves it because he can pull himself up and has a 10 foot area to walk along. He likes it when I walk 1/2 way down the stairs and crouch down and then pop up and play peek-a-boo while he is upstairs gripping the railing. It is an easy entertainment option and sure to produce a lot of smiles.

Jasper is 10 Months Old

Jasper turned 10 months old this week! How is that even possible? He is so much fun! I used to think, "I don't want him to grow up. I want him to stay this way forever". Now I have learned that he just keeps getting to be more fun, so I quit fighting time.

I am also posting his 3 week and 5 month photos for comparison.

Happy 4th of July!

We had a fun 4th of July that started out with sleeping in and some Red, White and Blueberry waffles made by my wonderful husband. Mike usually makes us waffles every Saturday and Sunday, so any additional days we get them is a treat! My parents got him this wafflemaker that rotates for his birthday this year and he loves it. I always have Mike mine with the Costco Triple Berry Mix in my batter and then for my topping too. Delicious! The 4th of July is one of Mike's favorite holidays. We are very grateful for this country that we live in and the freedoms that we enjoy.

Of course I had to sneak in time for a Jasper holiday photo shoot.

Mike watched a real patriotic movie, Armageddon, this afternoon while he folded the clothes. No 4th of July is complete without a Bruce Willis action movie and a lot of explosions.

We mostly just hung out and enjoyed some time together. Mike has been working REALLY hard, so he was very ready for a day of R & R.

My friends told me that the neighborhoods in our area have competitions between the streets to see who has the biggest and best illegal fireworks. Wow, do they ever!

We put Jasper to bed at 7:30 PM. I can not believe that he slept through all of the noise. Way to go J-Man!I took a camp chair out back to see what I could see. It was amazing. It was the same caliber as a fireworks display for a small city. I am including a few photos I snapped so you can see how close the fireworks were to our house. We did have a large megabanger rocket fly through the air and our backyard. That was a little over the top for me.

On Our Way Home

Bonnie's younger brother Kevin coaches a T-ball team in Washington (right outside of St. George, Utah). Since I knew that we'd have to stop and nurse anyway, we decided to stop for the T-Ball game. This sounded like a great idea, as I knew Kevin's wife and Bonnie's parents would be there. The item that I did not factor in was the HEAT! I think is was 116 degrees. It felt way too hot to be outside for a ball game, especially after recently spending so much time in the cool Beaver mountains.

I called Mike to see if he minded that we prolong our return a little longer, as Bonnie's parents invited us to eat dinner with them in St. George. Mike said that it was fine and immediately guessed where we were headed --- Chuckarama! I could just eat the scones and honey butter there and be quite happy.

Not only did we get to visit with Kevin and Kim and Bonnie's parents, but I bumped into a couple that Mike and I worked with at the Salt Lake Temple and the mom of one of my childhood friends. What a great stop!

Singing and Dancing

In case you didn't know, I lived in Beaver from 1st grade through 7th grade. In the summer the community theater was held in this old courthouse. The floor with the courtroom was remodeled and served as a stage and seating. These were fun times and great memories. I even remember the song I sang for my first audition, "I Often Go Walking". I loved being in the shows each summer.

Love these guys!

The highlight of our trip was spending time with Bonnie and her family. Bonnie is a wonderful hostess. Among other things, she is a great housekeeper. It is just the example that I needed to get home and get excited about being more tidy and clean. Thanks Bonnie!Above is a classic shot of Brennan & Jaden playing with Jasper. They just adopted him and he loves them. Jasper likes to use their barstool as a walker, but he somehow manages to pull the stool down right on top of himself. In this photo the boys are supervising him, making sure he doesn't hurt himself. Thanks Brennan & Jaden you for all of your help!

Honoring Grandpa

Grandpa is the epitome of community service. He has spent countless hours with the youth sports programs in Beaver. Last week they named one of the ball fields after him, and he could not have been happier. I took Bonnie's boys over to the field for a photo shoot. While we were there we played in the park next door and also spotted some signs with the names of donors on them, and no surprise, there were a few my family's names. My grandpa, grandma, and their three kids.

We tried Jasper in the swing, but he just almost falls out. I tried him on the slide, and he didn't know what to think about it. Bonnie's boys had a fun time on the swings. I attempted to push Jaden while holding Jasper and my camera in the noon day sun. We were a little sweaty when we got back to Bonnie's.

Thank you grandpa for being a great example for us!

Busy Beavers

Bonnie married into a family that loves to spend time in the mountains. They all had their campers set up in the mountains for a family get together. Jasper and I were lucky enough to be invited up for a day of fun.

While we were on a 4wheel ride we drove by a beaver dam. Bonnie says that every year it gets bigger. We could easily see the trees that the beavers had used for their dam. It was beautiful in the mountains. Jasper had a lot of fun, and he especially like all of the dogs that were there at the camp. Jasper has quite an affinity for puppies, and his favorite was a little dog that was just about his size. When we arrived and got out of Bonnie's car, Jasper could hear all of the dogs barking. He immediately started flapping his arms and babbling with glee.

Jasper and I took a little nap in Bonnie's camper. It was such a treat to feel the cool mountain breeze and look out at the pine trees. We were having such a great time that I told Bonnie we should just sleep over, but her husband had already taken the generator home, so we had no way to turn the heater on at night. This is of course is a foreign concept to me, as it is so hot in Las Vegas right now.

First Tooth...gone!

While Jasper and I were home with Brennan and Jaden tonight, Bonnie's son Jaden lost his first tooth! Wahoo! He has been waiting a while for this loose tooth to finally come out.

Going to Grandpa's

Tonight I took Jasper up to my Grandpa's house for the first time. Grandpa took Jasper and I out to dinner at one of my favorite Beaver restaurant's, Maria's. It is only open during the summer. The salsa is great and I love the shredded beef taco salad. I ordered Jasper a side of refried beans, as he seems to really like them.

After dinner we headed up Grandpa's house with Bonnie's boys. Bonnie and her husband had a couple's club dinner to attend, and I was happy to take her boys. They are so great with Jasper! hey even help load and unload him from the car. Brennan fed Jasper an ice cream cone on the way to the mountains yesterday. I warned Brennan that once you start feeding Jasper ice cream he is very impatient between bites. Brennan soon learned this to be very true, as he just couldn't get the ice cream in his mouth fast enough.

My grandpa lives on a mountain outside town. He moved to Beaver almost 30 years ago when he retired as a firefighter in California. I have spent a lot of time at my Grandpa's house, so I was thrilled to take Jasper there.

Adventureland = Beaver

Jasper and I are staying with my very best friend growing up, Bonnie. Her two boys, Brennan and Jaden are so great to Jasper, and he loves them.

Yesterday we went up to Little Reservoir in the mountains. Bonnie's boys made boats out of 2 liter bottles and they were anxious to test them out. The shoreline was not the best for boat floating, but we had a great time anyway.

Parowan Pit Stop

We ALMOST made it all the way to Beaver from Vegas without stopping. But, Jasper started having a meltdown after Cedar City, so I knew we would need to stop in Parowan to nurse and stretch our legs. Lucky for us, Bonnie's grandparents, who I also affectionately refer to as Grandpma and Grandpa, live in Parowan. They have the kind of home where you know you are welcome anytime, day or night. With or without advance warning.

So we popped up on the steps and were greeted with a hearty hug from my adopted granpda. I snapped a picture of their front porch, just for memory sake. I have had a lot of good times visiting their house over the years. I remember once when I was attending SUU and had gone to visit my grandparents in Beaver for the weekend. I was driving back to Cedar City from Beaver late at night in a horrible snowstorm. When I left Beaver it was just lightly snowing. As I headed down the freeway the storm became fierce. I could not see the road and was really scared.

I got off in Parowan and spent the night in borrowed frilly nightgown . Even though everyone was already asleep by the time I pulled up, they happily got up to let me in and gave me a comfy bed and warm flannel quilt to sleep in that night.
I took a photo of some levi's on the clothes line because it reminded me of days gone by, when we used to hang our clothes on the line when I was younger. It also reminded me of a comment my mom kept making when she was in Vegas visiting us. She would always say, "Let's just hang the wet clothes out to in the backyard. It is hot enough that they would dry in 5 minutes". She is probably right.

Having a great time in Beaver

We are having a wonderful time in Beaver and are a little sad to leave tomorrow. Of course we miss Mike & we look forward to being home with him. The weather is perfect in the mountains and we spent most of the day up there today. It is so beautiful here.