Miscellaneous July fun

Tim is Jackson's soccer coach. I thought this was an adorable picture of Jackson and Daddy. This was the "team meeting" before the first game.


Mason's 2nd Birthday...all Thomas, all the time, super fun. One of the activities was to give Percy and James a new paint job.


Little "twin" train-buddy bros.


The other afternoon I was downstairs talking on the phone with my friend and I realized I hadn't heard a noise from Broder for awhile. Sensing impeding doom, I ran upstairs to find this...

Isn't he cute!?!

Park City

Over the 24th of July, great-Grandma and Grandpa Harris invited us up to Park City to stay at their condo. We had a great time. Tim and I did the Apline Slide which was all right. But if I had to choose, I would totally do the Alpine Coaster.

This is a picture of Jackson and I on our way to the top of the mountain. They pull you up and then once you are at the top, you release the breaks and speed all the way down. So fun. I was a little worried that Jackson would be a little scared and not enjoy it, but he giggled the entire way down. If you are ever up there, go for the Coaster...trust me.


This is Jackson and Broder in the airplanes. I was waiting for Bubba to stand up and jump out since the "seatbelt" was not that at all, but he just laughed.


Who knows what he's doing...but it's pretty typical.


Thanks G&G!! We had a lot of fun!

Zoo Day!

Earlier this month, we were able to go to the Zoo for Dad's work party. Super fun, SUPER hot.

The VERY first thing we had to do was ride the Zoo train.


Later, as we made our way around the snake/lizard/bug exhibit, a cry was heard all around. "What caused the ruckus?" you may ask. Jackson had found the meerkat exhibit, and this pretty much made his day...if not his life. (We LOVE Meerkat Manor around here.)

(The little meerkat is just underneath the flash reflection.)

Broder trying to get the best possible look at an exhibit...probably had no idea what he's looking at or for; he just likes to climb things.


The family on the Carousel.


The boys climbing on the rhino statue in one of the grassy areas.


Bubba about 5 seconds after we got in the car. It was a good day.")

Fancy new blog

Hey everyone. I've finally figured out how to change my blog background and so I will probably change it fairly frequently. Keep checking in! I was trying to find one that's fairly "manly" but still cute. What do you think?
P.S. It sometimes takes a little bit to load...give it a minute to sort itself out.
P.P.S. OK, on some internet services a LOT more than a minute. If it never comes up for you, like it sometimes doesn't for me on Internet Explorer, try another web browser. Our Mozilla browser works nicely.

Why we probably won't be swimming this summer...

This, my friends, is the reason. This is the cryptosporidium bug that totally took over Utah pools and our family's stomach last summer. It looks like fun, doesn't it? It is definitely one of those things that looks as bad as it is. I know I'm probably being over-paranoid and over-protective, but if you went through what we went through last summer, you wouldn't go back in the water either...cue Jaws music...and it's probably worse than being attacked by a shark. I'm serious. It was awful and it stayed and stayed and stayed. Nope, I think this summer we will content ourselves with the front sprinklers and baby-pool. At least we know where "those" kids have been.

Summer book club #2

Well, since it is now July, it's time for a new book. I hope those of you who read "North and South" enjoyed it. It's one of my favorites. This month I thought I'd share "The Moonspinners" with you. Don't be fooled by the cover...it's not one of those Fabio romances stories. It's a mystery novel and it's way fun. Disney made a movie a while ago very loosely "based" on the book. It's really not at all like it if anyone has seen it. This book is really good and this author has written a lot of these kind of books set in all sorts of exoctic locations. This one is set in Crete. Here is the summary from Google books...

Young, beautiful, and adventurous Nicola Ferris loves her life as a secretary at the British Embassy on the lush island of Crete. Then on her day off, she links up with two hiking companions who have inadvertently stumbled upon a scene of blood vengeance. And suddenly the life Nicola adores is in danger of coming to an abrupt, brutal, and terrifying end . . .

Like I said, it's a mystery and it's fun. Let me know if you want to borrow my copy and let me know if you read it. Talk to you soon!

Guess who was at our parade???

Can you tell who it is? One hint: I don't think it would go over well, say, in Provo...

Happy 4th of July!!

So I am playing a bit of catch up here. Obviously, the 4th has come and gone, but I thought that I'd share some of what we did with our family...

It is a deeply held tradition (for me) to go to a parade on the 4th. When I was growing up, it was always the Provo parade. Since Grandma moved and sold her house we have not gone to that parade, but there is a parade in Murray that has since taken that "traditional" spot.

Here are the three cousins munching on some suckers. (This parade is awesome and the people throw candy.)

Jackson and Bubba with Grandpa.


After the parade, we went back to Grandma and Grandpa and played in the water a bit with Mason.

That night, Grammy and Papa came to our house to do fireworks because they are not allowed where they live. After dinner, when it finally got dark, we started shooting them off. Now, I had thought that this would be an activity that would completely interest Broder. In fact, I thought I would spend the evening pulling him away and stopping him from grabbing onto a lit firecracker or something. Surprisingly, not so. He was quite freaked out by the noise or the lights or something. He didn't cry though. He just quietly got up out of the lap of the person holding him and took himself and his blanket as far away from the situation as possible. Sometime it was to the back of the garage, sometimes it was up to the front porch. At one point, when it was over, he got up and went into the house. Mom went to look for him and came out laughing. She said that Broder had gone into Jackson's room, which was completely empty and dark, crawled into his bed and was holding his blanket, sucking his thumb. I went in to find him. There he was in his own quiet space, safe from the "Booms." I asked him if the "booms" were scary and loud and all he could muster was a soft "Yeah." I asked him if he wanted to go to bed now...softly, quietly he answered, "Yeah." It was so cute, but so sad at the same time.


Here is the picture of him in Jackson's bed. Unfortunately, the flash lit up the room, but when I took it, he was laying there in the pitch-dark.
Umm...Happy 4th of July...I guess.")

Yesterday...

...I got released from my calling as Young Women President in my ward. It was a really sad, hard day. I have been working and serving in that position for 2 1/2 years. We had so much fun together and I appreciate and loved the girls and all the leaders that I worked with; they are all the very best!!!