The Summer Keeps Getting Better!

My parents made another visit out here to get a Kaylen fix before we take off for Australia. I still feel like we're in the middle of summer, but shortly after we get back from Australia, Leslie and my Mom will start back up with school and shortly thereafter, Gregg and the younger kiddos will start! So, we're really glad they were able to make it, it's always great to see them! Here they're taking a little stroll around the court outside our apartment.

My Mom has been asking since we moved out here to see the Great Salt Lake. So, we decided to take her to Antelope Island. It's about a 30+ minute drive and you jet out into the lake on this island. There are a few things to see and great views of the lake. Unfortunately, the last time Gregg and I went, years back, it must have been around May (not the dead of summer!) so it was MUCH more pleasant the first time around! Apparently, mid summer brings out all the biting deer flies, brine flies and lots of spiders! Ugh... bring out enough biting bugs and I start to lose ALL interest. But we made the most of our time on the island. We saw a ton of buffalo compared to the last time Gregg and I went. And this was Kaylen's first time seeing the lake... I'm sure she'll remember every minute of it, ha ha.

This was at the old ranch that has been on the island since the Mormon pioneers came to Utah. They have the old ranch house, etc all set up as it was in the beginning. In the pic, Gregg's roping himself quite a catch! :-)

Kaylen was actually in the salt lake with her Daddy, but this was a better picture of the both of them. The brine flies got a lot better the further you went out into the lake. It was quite the walk to get out there though due to the drop in the water level! But my parents were total troopers. I was the one with the bad attitude thanks to all the deer flies! Long story short, I don't plan on going back! So, I'm glad we took my parents out there!

There is a GREAT restaurant up the canyon from our apartment. We don't take the chance to go as often as we should. My Dad hadn't been yet and they have incredible outdoor seating, so we went up there for breakfast. Kaylen had her very own teddy bear pancake.

The next weekend, Gregg went camping/ backpacking with his Dad and brother, Ian. They had such a great time! It was so fun to go through all their pictures, but I picked just a few for the blog. They camped right on the edge of a beautiful lake up in the mountains and hiked to another one even further up one day. The campsite was at 10,000 ft!! They were prepared with all the necessary luxuries, tent, two different grills, steak for dinner, their air mattresses... the only thing they weren't as prepared for was the cold! It's a lot colder that high, so the 35 degree nights were a little shocking, but they made it through and made some great memories on top of it!

They did as much fishing as they could get in and went on some good hikes. Ian caught the biggest fish and if I remember correctly, they were able to eat about 10 of the caught fish while they were up there. They spotted quite a few bear tracks and tried to keep their eyes out for the mommy and baby bear that were across the lake from where they were camping, but no luck on getting a glimpse.

They got some really great quality time together. Even though Kaylen and I missed Gregg tremendously, we were very glad he had such a good time!

I had a feeling I was going to get a little lonely with Gregg gone, so my wonderful sis-in-law, Jay (Leslie) came down from Logan for a visit! We actually had a day off at work that Friday thanks to a Mormon state holiday, so we had a long weekend together. Minus Kaylen getting an ear infection that Friday, we had a great time hanging out!!

(Oops, wrong place in the blog... this was a pic from when my parents were in town. It goes with an Adorable video of her laughing hysterically that I can never manage to figure out how to get posted!)

(Oops! Ha ha... also random picture of my two cuddle bugs that probably should have gone somewhere else in the blog, but I can never figure out how to move pictures once they're in here!)

Okay! Here we are back to my two pretty girls! We had a little Subway lunch in the park near our apt. It was a great night and we got to take Goliath (Jay's Yorkie she brought down from Logan with her), too. We had a good time chancing Kaylen around the playground when she refused to sit down and just eat something... but as is life with a 1 yr old!

Jay was in town while our friend, Dane, celebrating his 1st birthday, which actually fell on 7/27, but it was great getting to celebrate with him! He is so good with the camera! Kaylen's new trick is to try her best to not look at the camera or you when you're putting on the whole show just to get a tiny bit of eye contact! Meanwhile, Dane shoots you the best smile ever when he sees the cameras come out! We'll have to get him to teach Kaylen how to do that.

The last day Jay was in town, we all went to the Bees game after Gregg got back from Wyoming from camping. It was Kaylen's first Bees game! We bought her a Kaylen size baseball, which she had fun throwing down the stairs any chance she got. There wasn't a crowd as it was a Sunday game after the big Utah state holiday and it was in the high 90's. So, we got a good deal on grass tickets, but sat in the shade in the stands and never got kicked out of our seats! So, it was a lot of fun!

We have had a lot of fun this summer and are preparing to head to Australia this week. Life has been crazy busy lately with everything fun, prep and work related. I just got a completely new job at work, so there will be a lot of training going on for me, not only getting trained on the new job, but training 3 people on all the things I was doing. So, it's been a very stressful week at work, but most things I won't be able to deal with until I get back. I will be one happy girl when we get on the plane and everything that's done, is done... with work, with travel prep and all we can do is live it all moment to moment! We are very excited! We have a lot of great things planned while we're there! We're just crossing all fingers and toes, sending up our prayers, and might even have to attempt spitting in one hand, wishing in the other that Kaylen will do as well as can be expected on this trip!

The next blog will be everything AUSTRALIA!

Making Memories!

I'm sure our trips to the Zoo are nothing new, but the Zoo was having military appreciation days over the 4th of July, so we went with some friends and got in for free! It was a great day to be there and our friends, Kat, Adam and his kids were a lot of fun to go with!

Being that our day at the Zoo was so gorgeous, we thought it would be a great time to head up to Jordanelle on the 4th, outside of Park City, with our friends, Ali, Jason and Dane. Well, the weather did not stay gorgeous. We paid the $10 (each car) to get into the park, then froze our butts off for two hours, let the kids run around in the sand, called it a day, and stopped for Mexican food on the way home! It wasn't quite the day we hoped it would be, but it was a nice chance to just hang out with the Harts.

Here is our girl in her 4th of July gear! Unfortunately, she didn't get to do anything very 4th of July-ish (too young to stay up for the fireworks!), but she did get to wear her very cool outfit the next day when we went up to Logan! She looked adorable as can be (thanks Grandma Ruby for the super cute clothes!)

We went up to Logan on the 5th to pick up Katie who we were lucky enough to have stay with us for the week! We got to celebrate Cherie's birthday (a little early as her birthday wasn't until the 9th) and got a chance to see Jay and the rest of the fam. The whole family came to Logan, so we had lunch, celebrated, and headed back so Gregg could get to work.

Jay bought Chez cheesecake (yum!) for the birthday celebration! Kaylen helped her blow out the candles!

Kaylen also thoroughly enjoyed the cheesecake! It was a lot of fun to see her eat it! She just dug right in and she wasn't even picky about the kind, she went for all of them, but she seemed to really love the one with raspberry swirls. Unfortunately, this picture was taken when the yummy cheese cake went in. Just outside of Logan was when she managed to purge it out all over herself and her car seat. I think we'll be going a little easier on the cheesecake in the future!

Kaylen ended up getting pneumonia, so we were very lucky to have Cherie come back through Salt Lake with Ian on her way back to Wyoming a couple days later. She took care of Kaylen for the day so we could take Katie and Ian to Raging Waters, the local water park! It was a gorgeous day to go and we had a lot of fun. Grandma Cherie got lots of good time with Kaylen, too. (The antibiotics kicked in right away and she got much better, very quickly.) Katie and I did some major shopping the first night, Gregg took her up to Park City to do the super awesome coaster at the resort, Katie and I went to a movie, we did Raging Waters and the two of them went to the Museum of Natural History as well. We had a GREAT time! It was a super special treat to get to spend some quality time with our Katie.

We had been planning a white water rafting trip along the Snake River just outside Star Valley for a while, which is why it was great timing to get Kates for the week. So, we all headed to Star Valley to deliver Katie home as well as make our trip down the rapids. Kaylen made good use of her car ride by sucking her toes (Sorry, it was too cute a picture to not include it!)

It was so much fun to have Warren and Ian come on the trip with us! It was our friend Mato that had all the equipment and the knowledge! Back in the day, he was a guide in Alaska. I had never been white water rafting, but being that he was bringing his 9 year old son, he made things very safe and continued to educate us on the way down. Some friends of his were visiting from Washington, so we had just enough people in the raft. It was a beautiful day and such a blast!! We were very grateful to Mato for the experience!

We seriously had a great couple weeks! And we still have so much left to look forward to!! My parents are actually coming for the weekend tomorrow. They need a Kaylen fix before we head off to Australia in a couple weeks! Sure... seeing us is probably okay, but we're glad Kaylen gets them to make the trip from Minnesota more often! Next week, Gregg is going to go backpacking with his Dad in Wyoming. So, he'll be gone for 5 days or so and is super looking forward to the time with Warren. Next up... Australia! Still feel like we have lots of things to do to prep for it, but most importantly pray that all goes well with Kaylen for the flights, routines, etc.!! But we are VERY excited! Gregg has found some super exciting things to do while we're there and we'll get to see a lot of family! We can't wait!

Bring on the sunshine!

We have already made some wonderful memories this summer and the great weather has helped! Gregg and I were able to have a super fun bocce ball date in the middle of the court one afternoon while Kaylen took a marathon nap (monitor close by!)! Also, the student apartment bought these little houses above for the kids. We went out to BBQ one evening and there weren't any other kids in it, so Kaylen had a ball her first time inside! The little doorbell actually dings! She loved it!

The downtown farmer's market is awesome! We've always thought so, but this year, it got even better! They have spread out a bit and now there is music!! We sat down and had a little lunch listening to a little blues band. Again, it was a gorgeous day to enjoy the weather and the farmer's market!

Gregg picked out some Chinese food for us to share for lunch. It appears as though Kaylen might be taking after her drummer Daddy with the chopsticks! If she's anything like her Daddy, she's going to be great!

As mentioned before, June is a huge birthday month! Our friends Jason and Ali celebrated both their birthdays in June and had a combined get together. It's always fun to get Kaylen together with her pal Dane. Although, they always seem to manage to find the ice!

Last Friday night, Gregg had to work a graveyard, so Kaylen and I got out of the apartment on Saturday so Daddy could nap. The court/ local ward was headed up to Pineview Reservoir for a camp out the night before and invited us up for the day. We got to go for a really nice boat ride and I even went tubing with my friend, Cheryl! It was a lot of fun and Kaylen enjoyed the water!

Here is our little peanut enjoying the beach and the water. I'm hoping to get her to more water as the summer goes on! Any chance to get that cute bod in a bathing suit!

Our friends, Carissa and Casey, are getting married on July 31st!! Unfortunately, we're going to miss the weekend because it's one day after we leave for Australia :-( We are super bummed, it's going to be an amazing wedding. This last Saturday, I got to go to Carissa's bridal shower and it was so so so much fun. Her friend put on such a great shower and we had a little gals night out at a bar close by after! I guess I had my dancing shoes on! Kaylen and Daddy got to have a little time together, which was also nice.

Downtown, there is a gorgeous building called the City and County Building. It is right next to the downtown library. There are quite a few festivals there in the summer and this summer, we finally went to our first one! We went to the Utah Arts Festival! It's a great place for people who have money to spend. Unfortunately, we don't, but they had some amazing art and some really good music! They had a little toddler play area where Kaylen got to run around! She had this alligator all figured out!

Gregg usually has to work Monday nights, but this last Monday, he didn't have to, so he was able to play his first softball game of the summer! It was about 97 degrees, but Kaylen and I sat in the shade and watched Daddy play!! He did GREAT! He had some great hits and some great catches! They won 10-5! It was a lot of fun for him to get out there and for us to watch!

Here's a picture of Daddy and his little girl after the big win!! We are both always so proud of him. While we're talking of pride, I will provide a little update as to the MCAT as most of you know he took it in May. He ended up not doing as well as he would've liked. It's so hard to believe because he did so incredibly well in all his classes and all the practice tests, it just didn't make sense that the score wasn't what we were hoping for. We know how hard he worked and how much he knows. We are so very proud of him. He will be taking it again in September after we get back from Australia to improve his score. Thanks for all your ongoing thoughts and prayers as he took it this last time! Please keep them coming as he's back to the studying grind hoping to improve his score by a bit! We are super grateful for our family and friends and all of your support.

So much to celebrate!

We had lots of family in town for Kaylen's big 1st Birthday Celebration! The weather didn't want to participate in the festivities, so it's a good thing we reserved the Community Center just a minute's walk from our apartment. Gregg did such a great job decorating and was really able to spruce up the place! My Mom and Mom-in-law did a wonderful job preparing all sorts of yummy things for us to eat! It was such a great party!

We weren't sure if a fight was going to break out between Kaylen's two boyfriends! Dane (on the left) is Jason and Ali's son... her non daycare boyfriend. And Weston, who came with his Mom, Jamie, is Kaylen's daycare boyfriend. It was fun to have babies her age to play with at her party! We also had Judy's 10 week old son, Henry there and our friend, Camille, brought her daughter Maddie. It was fun to have kids running around! Or in Kaylens, case, she was trying to work on her walking!

Kaylen and Dane finding everything in the room that was NOT a toy!

The new Fresh Market had a great deal that if you buy a sheet cake, baby's 1st year birthday cake comes FREE! And I love that word, so we had matching cakes. One just for Kaylen and a large sheet cake for the rest of us! They were very cute and the bakery gals did a great job!

Kaylen loved the frosting a little more than she loved the cake, but she did a great job! She was able to get it all over her face, in her hair, in her eyes and on her clothes. But it was a cake all to herself, what did we expect!

We opened some of the presents she was brought at the party, but we saved most of the family presents for home after the party. She is one VERY loved little girl! She got lots of great clothes, fun toys, two things she can ride on! She got a little lady bug she can ride on from the Koski side and a trike that we can push her on until she's able from the Jones side. Everyone was so generous with her.

I had a little tee pee growing up as a little girl, so my Mom and Dad re-created it for Kaylen! My parents put that whole thing together!! Kaylen wasn't quite sure what to think of it just yet, but she's going to warm up to it! Daddy even got in it to try to get her inside... but what kid doesn't love forts, etc! She'll come around!

It was so fun to have most of our family in town. We were missing my brother and sister, but we did just get to see them in Minnesota for my parents Anniversary bash. It's always nice to have lots of us together. One of the nicest gifts given was not just for Kaylen. Leslie was at the hospital with us the day Kaylen was born and took video footage of the days surrounding the event. She spend the week before coming down to Salt Lake editing all her footage and made the most wonderful video for us! It was seriously such an amazing gift. It was very beautiful and brought back the day Kaylen was born like it was yesterday. Jay gave a copy to us and to each set of parents. Thank you so much, Jay. You did such a great job. You melted our hearts and brought back all those wonderful memories for us to watch for years to come.

As I mentioned before, we celebrated on the 12th, which was also my Dad's birthday. He got some really nice cards and for the first time in a few years, we got to see him open our present... not that his polo was all that exciting! :-) I picked up a pie just for him, wanting him to have his own special desert. My Mom told me that his favorite pie was banana cream. Marie Calendars had a delicious fresh strawberry banana cream that I chose and it was delicious! The only problem was, when we were all having some birthday pie, it was then that my Dad answered that his favorite pie was actually coconut cream! Ahh, of course it is.... I tried! At least the pie I picked was super yummy and he enjoyed it anyway!

Gregg's family, minus Jay who stayed with us, stayed in the U's Marriot hotel since we had so much family in town. It gave us another chance to get Kaylen in the pool! She did good. Still not quite sure what to think in there. Not exactly excited, but didn't cry, so that was good! I would like to get her in water when possible this summer! I would love to have a little water baby of my very own! :-) Here is the pretty girl with her Daddy.

The Jones side had to head back to Star Valley Sunday afternoon, but Jay and Ian decided to stay one more night as were my parents. We took advantage of the cloudy day and headed to the Aquarium. Gregg, Ian and Kaylen had already been there a few months back, but enjoyed it the second time, too! I think I may have loved the penguins more than Kaylen! My Mom was pretty enthralled with the critter guy... he was showing off all kinds of gross things, like the tarantula, scorpion, centipede, etc.

Me and my sweet pea

Kaylen loving our reflection

We went to dinner after the aquarium at a restaurant nearby that has cliff jumpers that have shows while you eat. A little overpriced but it was kind of fun!! We were totally pushing Kaylen with her afternoon nap and she still did very well!

Because Jay and Ian stayed the extra day, they ended our really wonderful weekend with a trip to the Zoo with Kaylen. Unfortunately, I had to work, but it was the nicest afternoon of the weekend, so they took advantage of it!

Even though we didn't have very nice weather, we did have an incredibly wonderful weekend! It was the best 1 year birthday party. And although they say the 1st birthday is for the parents, I think Kaylen really enjoyed herself, too! She might not remember it, but we will! Thanks to all who made it such a great weekend!

Daddy's Birthday and 12 Month Check up

Gregg turned a ripe old age of 27 on the 6th! He's catching up to me! ;-) He seems to have come to accept that his birthday might not be as eventful in the future being so close to Kaylen's... BUT we did try to give him his day! (or two!) Saturday, we went bowling with some friends. We went earlier in the evening so Kaylen could come and bought our friends pizza. They're always super generous with us on our birthdays, so this time we thought we would give a little back!

Kaylen helping Daddy with his bowling technique.

We had a little family gift opening on Sunday. Kaylen wanted to help Daddy open his presents. It was very sweet of her considering she hasn't been able to open any of hers yet! They're all waiting for her birthday celebration this Saturday! She is a very patient... eh hem... girl! They're in a big pile, but the pile seems to be getting bigger and bigger!

Gregg's birthday came with gorgeous weather! We kind of let Kaylen's mood shape our day. She didn't go down for a nap early, so going to the local baseball game was out of the question. She played outside with us a little bit and then took one of her marathon naps! We put her monitor right on the outside of our window on the window sill and went outside to play some bocce ball. It was so nice outside! Gregg and I got to have a little date while she napped! And who knew the stud was going to kill me at bocce ball! When she did finally wake up, we played some more outside and we bbq'd some chicken on the grill with some corn on the cob! It was such a beautiful day and it was nice that we were able to enjoy so much of it!

June is quite the month for celebrations for us! We have Kaylen's birthday, Gregg's birthday, my Dad's birthday, both Gregg's sisters' birthdays, my parents Anniversary and of course, Father's Day!

Our big girl had her 12 month check up today! We always like to go to those together. Gregg is such a rock star. I can't handle looking at Kaylen's poor little face when she gets her shots and lucky for me, Daddy is our rock. So, Daddy hugs Kaylen and loves on her and I hug and love on Daddy... we form a little support chain! :-) But Kaylen did really well today. She got her MMR shot. Apparently she could break out in quite the rash in 10-13 days... poor baby. So, I guess we'll be on the look out for that!

These are her stats: Height- 29.75 inches (75%); Weight- 20.13 lbs (50%); Head- 25%. Ha ha... I just can't help but think she's chunky from the neck to her ankles... then she has this tiny head and tiny little feet! I'm sure the world of balancing to walk is coming a little slower for her thanks to those tiny feet! But she sure can try and get around quite a bit on those little babies!

The Dr. said we can start with the restricted foods, eggs, wheat, peanut butter, honey, etc in moderation. So, that should be fun! We have her big birthday party on Saturday (12th... thanks again Grandpa for sharing your birthday!). My Dad just got into town, my Mom will be coming tonight and the Joneses will all get here on Saturday. It's going to be fun to have everyone here for the weekend! Happy Birthdays all around!

Happy 1st Birthday our sweet Kaylen!!

Today, our beautiful, sweet girl turned 1!! It is so crazy to imagine a whole year ago today. It definitely doesn't feel like that much time has passed! Although, she has already grown into such an amazing little girl.

While Mommy was going crazy trying to tie these cute little pink bows in her hair, smart Daddy thought that it might be better to find some other bows that would be much easier to put in her hair! And boy, was he right!! Thank goodness for Daddy and picking out some perfect bows for her little pig tails! Last night, I made cupcakes for Kaylen to take to "school" for her birthday! Only her, her litte boyfriend, Weston, and one other baby can have the cupcakes, but a few of the teachers had one, too! She had a great day at school! Her friends made her a card with all their handprints on it and two of her teachers gave her birthday presents. We absolutely love how much they love her.

We went to dinner at Iggy's downtown because Leslie and her friend, Abbie came to Salt Lake just so Abbie could meet Kaylen! And how lucky for us, it was a mini celebration for Kaylen's birthday! Her big birthday party with family and friends is next weekend, which also happens to be my Dad's birthday! So, she will get a birthday week! She even had a onesie that Grandma Ruby bought her that said Baby's First Birthday... VERY cute!

It was very sweet of Auntie JJ and Abbie to come down from Logan while Abbie was visiting on Kaylen's birthday! It was a great excuse to go out to dinner! It was such a great day! Kaylen had a wonderful day with her friends and with us! We are so very blessed to have such an amazing little girl!! It's been an incredible 1st year and we're looking forward to each and every day to come! Happy Birthday our beautiful little princess! We love you so very very very much! XOXO

Celebrating 30 years!!

My beautiful, wonderful, amazing, hard working, generous, giving, fun, loving (the list goes on... and on... and on...) parents will be celebrating their 30th Wedding Anniversary June 14th!!!

AND to help them celebrate, I did my very best to plan a surprise party for them on May 28th. Gregg was not able to join in the festivities as he took the MCAT on the 27th (MAJOR shout out to my incredible husband for working so hard!), so I booked Kaylen and I on a flight for the long Memorial Day weekend months ago. Originally, the plan was for the whole visit to be a surprise, but a week before the big weekend, I got cold feet knowing I needed things to be more prepared for Kaylen. So, the week before, I told them that I booked a last minute trip to Minnesota as I got a great deal on the flight! :-)

To make a very long story shorter, her best friend, Carol, was AMAZING. I love that my Mom had a friend that was so capable of party planning like she is! Carol had all the decorations, bought most of the food, and helped me organize the whole thing. If it weren't for her, the party would've never happened! Although my parents seemed a little suspicious, it went off really well!

It wasn't until the parking lot that their suspicions were confirmed! I did my best to slow time on our way there knowing we left a little early, but my nosy father had to tell me each and every time I was driving under the speed limit... Mr. Backseat Driver! :-) We saw a friend of theirs in the parking lot when we pulled up. The good news is, as I found out later, my Mom id suspect a little party, but nothing like I pulled off! I think we had about 75 people... AND the best surprise of all, Julie and Doug flew in from San Francisco just for their party!! Yep, that one evoked tears... exactly the reaction I was going for! We had a huge turn-out! People changed their plans just to be able to attend! My parents thoroughly enjoyed themselves and Kaylen was awesome and never fussed! The party could not have gone any better!

Congratulations to my amazing parents for 30 years of memories, love and commitment! Thank you for each and every year. You are such wonderful parents. I am so proud to be your daughter and in my later life, I am also blessed to have you as friends. I am so grateful that you gave so much of yourselves to each other and to us. Thank you for always being there... for everyone. I love you so very much.

While Kaylen and I were in Minnesota, we were able to enjoy some GORGEOUS weather and great company! We were able to spend time with Jeff, Julie and Doug, our cousins and lots of friends. It was such a wonderful trip! The only thing that could've made it better was if Gregg could've been there with us.

Tomorrow, our sweet Kaylen turns 1. (BIG SIGH). Let me say, I am very much looking forward to all the fun days ahead of us as Kaylen continues to grow and come into her personality. She has been the most amazing gift in our lives and continues to be each and every day. She has been the most wonderful baby and although she always will be our baby, I guess our daycare friend/ provider is right... today is the last day of her being an "official" baby. It has been such an amazing first year experience to watch her grow and develop. It seems like just yesterday that we were holding her tiny 7 lb body in our arms at the hospital. The times really does fly. And I intend to cherish each and every possible minute of it.