The other day we went to a neighbor's house for playgroup. They had just put in this new rock structure with a water slide. Some of the bigger kids were jumping off the top into the pool. Jared took one look and didn't want anything to do with it. The next thing I knew Kaitlyn was up there ready to jump. It actually made me really nervous to watch her jump the first time since I'm not too fond of heights. This girl has no fear though, especially when it comes to water!
Everyone in Utah loves to go to the local amusement park, Lagoon. We only live 15 minutes away and a lot of our friends have season passes. And my kids had never even been there. Sometimes I feel guilty about that because I remember as a kid Lagoon being one of my favorite day trips in the summer. But as I got older I learned to hate Lagoon. The reason...I get motion sick. My last trip to Lagoon was about 20 years ago on 9th grade Lagoon Day when I went home early because I'd gotten sick. I watch everyone else having fun and really wish I could go on all those rides but I can't. So Lagoon is expensive and I really don't want to spend the day watching everyone else have fun while I get sick. Last week my father-in-law had some extra tickets to go to Lagoon and invited us to go with him Saturday. Jason had a church meeting in the morning so Earl picked the kids up and took them to Lagoon and Jason met them later. My kids were so excited they were bouncing off the walls while they waited for their grandpa to get here. Unfortunately, Jared takes after me but they avoided the big rides that might make him sick and still had a great time. I did find myself wishing I could go watch the kids have fun but it was way too hot to have Skyler out all day so I enjoyed a quiet day at home. Now that my kids know about Lagoon I probably won't be able to avoid going but everyone had a fantastic day!
The 24th of July is pioneer day in Utah. We'd been promising the kids all summer we would take them to the parade in Ogden. Jason went to Salt Lake to run a 10k and I loaded all the kids, water bottles, snacks, chairs, stroller, diaper bag, and umbrellas (since it looked stormy) in the car. Not to mention getting kids fed and dressed just looking at that list helps me understand why it takes me so long to get out the door these days! We got to the parade just as it started only to find the streets packed with no where to sit and the rain just starting. Jason came and found us and we found some friends to sit by and pulled out the umbrellas. The rain actually cooled things off but I didn't pull out the camera with my hands full of umbrellas. We usually spend summer holidays outside doing something like hiking, fishing, or camping. In order to find something we could take Skyler to do we decided to find something indoors to do. We finally settled on going bowling. Jason was disappointed that Andrew just beat him, but it doesn't really count since Andrew was using the bumpers!
Skyler is now 6 weeks old. He's started to smile and I managed to capture one on camera the other day. I love this picture! He loves bath time now and this cute hippo robe is from my brother and his wife.
Yesterday at church we had Skyler's baby blessing. My pictures aren't fantastic due to the craziness of the afternoon with so many people here and the fact that Skyler wasn't being to cooperative! The little outfit I bought him was the smallest blessing outfit I could find and it drown him! I may have to put it on him again in another month or two just to take a picture when it fits! I thought the bow tie was cute though anyway.
This might be the first picture of all six of us together. We had to make Jared go put his church clothes back on since he had already changed by the time I walked in the door. (Hence, no tie!) The fact that all three of the older kids are looking at the camera and smiling is an accomplishment!
We had wonderful support from our family with over 30 people there for the blessing. Andrew was asked to give his first youth talk in sacrament meeting (on SATURDAY afternoon!) I was slightly annoyed and stressed out about how in the world I was going to find time to help him prepare for it with everything going on. He pretty much did it on his own though and gave a great report on scout camp. It probably made him a little more nervous with all the family there watching him! Andrew also got to hold the microphone for his dad while he gave the blessing. He was grinning ear to ear standing up in the circle with all the men! Skyler was just passed around from person to person all afternoon.
Skyler with his Grandma Thacker
Skyler with his Grandma Brown
Jason gave a wonderful blessing. I'm not much of a crier but I do cry whenever my babies are blessed. I love this picture! What do you think? Does Skyler have his dad's hair?!
This month my Grandma and Grandpa Daines celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary. What a great accomplishment! I know everyone thinks they have the best grandparents but I really do. I always loved going to Grandma's house when I was little. I really thought I had the nicest grandma and of course you could never leave without Grandpa giving you ice cream. You can see how much my grandma loves these great grandchildren in this picture with Skyler!
Marriage isn't always easy and my grandparents are a great example of love and service to each other. Grandma has had poor health as long as I can remember and Grandpa has always been so good to her! Grandma is an amazing pianist although her health has kept her from playing much as she's gotten older. She is a wonderful cook and we could never go to her house with out being fed a fabulous meal! When Jason and I were first married she would love to feed the poor starving college students a meal. She wouldn't let Jason out of the house until he had eaten at least three helpings! I have wonderful memories of the best homemade Thanksgiving dinners at Grandma's. In the past several years Grandma and Grandpa took up making chocolates for Christmas. They would give a box to each of their children and grandchildren. Jason asked Grandma one year to put coconut in all the chocolates. He figures since I didn't like coconut that way he would get them all. Grandma said the only problem with that is she doesn't like coconut either so I still got lots of chocolates to eat. Grandpa is a wonderful gardener. As soon as it is late enough in the spring to start planting he's out in his yard until frost in the fall unless he's inside helping Grandma preserve the fruit and vegetables. We've always been lucky to benefit from his huge garden since they grow way more than two people can possibly eat. They are always sending us home with raspberries, corn, tomatoes, peas, really anything you can grow in a garden! Some of my best memories of growing up are of their cabin in Island Park that Grandpa built. He even built a Barbie house for me that looks just like the cabin he built that Kaitlyn plays with now. One day a repair man was in my house working on something in the basement and asked about the Barbie house. He said, "My daughter would love one of those! Where can I get one?!" Only Grandpa's granddaughters were lucky enough to get one of those! I feel fortunate to be one of the oldest grandchildren. My dad's parents were both older and had both passed away by the time I was starting college. While it is getting really hard to watch my grandparents age I'm grateful that I have had so much time with them! Thanks for the great legacy Grandma and Grandpa!
We celebrated with a party at my Uncle Clifford's house this weekend. It was fun to see cousins I don't get to see very often anymore. I suddenly realized my mom was sitting next to her three siblings and that I probably don't have any pictures of all four of them so against their protests I grabbed a picture.
The oldest girl in this picture is my youngest cousin Natalie. She's only four years older than my son Andrew so they've grown up thinking of each other more as cousins. She is such a fun girl and my kids love playing with her!
Skyler is one month old already! I can't figure out where the time has gone except that the days just all seem to blur together when I'm not getting any sleep for more than two or three hours at a time. He really is a good baby and adored by everyone.
By the 4th of July I was feeling like I wanted to get out of the house a little and the kids were really ready to get out and have some fun. Jason got up at the crack of dawn to take his new wheels for a spin up at Snowbasin with some friends. His Father's day present was a fancy new mountain bike. Later that morning he took the older three kids up to Middle Fork Canyon east of Huntsville to fish and hike. I packed a picnic and headed to Huntsville with Skyler. Alright, packing a picnic actually ended up being a stop at Kentucky Fried Chicken but it still counts, right? This was Skyler's first trip outside of Ogden and he spent the entire exciting trip...sleeping. It was fun to go celebrate the holiday as a family. I should have taken some pictures but I guess all I was up to was stopping at KFC so you'll have to take my word for it!
After lunch, Kaitlyn came home with Skyler and me and the boys went back up to Snowbasin for some more mountain biking on some easier trails. Jason came through on a picture here.
Later that evening we had a barbecue and went down to Riverdale to watch the firework show. Skyler didn't like all the noise from the fireworks too much. It probably wasn't our most exciting 4th of July but everyone had a fun day.
It's been a hot summer in Utah this year and the kids have been enjoying the pool trying to stay cool.
The kids finished off their season with the track club. Here are pictures of Jared and Kaitlyn. I didn't actually get any pictures of Andrew. I'm obviously not doing a very good job of juggling a camera and a baby at the same time. Andrew ran a 6:05 mile this year! That's impressive for a 6th grader considering the amount of training he has been doing and that it was run in the heat!
All my other kids had their pictures taken at the hospital. They were set on the blanket and had one picture taken. I paid for them before I ever saw them and even though I felt like I had to have their first picture they really weren't very cute. I was surprised when Skyler was born and the photographer walked into the room with all her props and took tons of pictures. Andrew was there and she asked if we got a photo shoot like this for him. I laughed and told her what they did and she said, "back then it was just the mug shot!" Photography has come a long way in the last 12 years! Here are the darling pictures she took of Skyler.
Thursday June 14th at 3:07 pm our little boy Skyler Lee was born weighing 7 lbs. 3 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. Labor was short and fairly easy. (In case you are wondering I'm a firm believer in modern medicine!) Words really can't explain the joy of seeing him for the first time. Here are a few pictures from our special day.
Proud Dad
Meeting the siblings for the first time.
Now we are all home and doing well even though recovery has had some rocky moments for me. This little guy is adored by everyone and is constantly being fought over for who's turn it is to hold him. I've really forgotten how hard it is not to sleep and the kids are all having their bad moments adjusting to life being turned upside down. But we couldn't be happier than we are with this sweet little guy. Welcome Skyler!
