Recent Pix

Okay--a final entry tonight. I have just a few recent random family pictures I love that I thought I'd include (since I seem to be using this blog as a scrapbook/journal, now!) Here goes:

The Next Dennis Brain?

Jen has become interested in the French horn. One day several weeks ago, Jessie picked up a mouthpiece and, almost instantly, figured out how to produce sound. Jennifer followed suit, and she's practiced almost every day since on Mike's horn!

Jonathan's Latest Cooking Adventures

Jonathan, as you can tell, has been having a grand ol' time in the kitchen lately. Here, I'll share a few of his recent triumphs:

This is an amazing 2-layer chocolate cake with fudge frosting:



This is a version of a recipe I got from Jenny in college! It's a strawberry and cream cheese delicacy!


(Jennifer helped with this next one...) We had German Pancakes with molded confectioner's sugar!




Ah, yes, and a detail of Jeremy's birthday cake:

Jer's Birthday

Jer had a wonderful birthday. Here are some highlights:


Jonathan created a breakfast fit for a king. Move over, IHOP! He made pancakes with cherry pie filling, fresh strawberries, whipped cream, bacon, and apple juice.


For lunch, Jer requested Chuck E. Cheese, where he and the other kids played for a couple of hours! Dinner consisted of Pokemon mac & cheese and grilled hot dogs.

For dessert, Jonathan made an AMAZING 6-layer Pokemon cake.

The day was also filled with phone calls, visits, and fun presents. He had such a fun day, but so much of the credit goes to his big bro Jonathan. He really went out of his way to make the day special. Jeremy said, "Jonathan was the champion of my birthday 'cause he gave me an awesome bubble blower and a SWEET Transformers kite!"

Jer finished the day in a comfy new bed (we finally finished his room!). I think he went to sleep happy!

Jer's Looth Teeth

While we were in St. George, Jer lost one of his front teeth...just in time for his 7th birthday! It happened on Sunday, during lunch at Care's house. Jer had just brought his plate to me. He said, "Hey, Mom, I've finished my hot dog...oh, look, it's my tooth!" His tooth was just lying there on his paper plate.

Three days later he turned 7.

The next day, he lotht ANOTHER one!!!

Jer was in the backyard playing with a whirly-gig. He launched it, and upon its return to the ground, it knocked out his other front tooth!

Here's what he wrote to the tooth fairy:

"Dear tooth fere

I Lost a tooth

But I can't give it

to you Because I

Lost it in the

grass Look in my

Mouth 6/18/09"

More Trip Pics

Here are a few more pics from the trip:


On Thursday, we spent time with my dad. Friday, we went swimming with cousins all afternoon! Mike flew into the St. George airport late Friday night (he surprised the kids in the morning!)

Saturday morning, we went to the airport for St. George Airport's Aviation Day (the "Air Fair"). We ate a great pancake breakfast together with my dad and my sister's family, then saw some COOL airplanes.

We headed from the airport out to Zion Canyon, where we enjoyed a great rainstorm and a beautiful hike.

After hiking, we returned to St. George for dinner and more playing at Pirate Island.

We went to church with Grampy on Sunday before wrapping up our trip. By the time we headed home, we felt like we had really had a vacation! It was wonderful!!

Vacation!

Well, it's summer, so we're off in Southern Utah again! We've had so much fun over the last couple of weeks, so I thought I'd post a smattering of photos (these are from Kirk and my dad--thanks, guys!) I still need to collect some, so this is just a sample.

Last week, we headed down to the cabin. We got to caravan with Mike's brother's family. On the way, we stopped to see Kirk's awesome art studio (it keeps getting cooler and cooler!), then continued on to the cabin, where we stayed and played together for a couple of days. (We also got to take some more furniture for the cabin in Kirk's trailer. He's so nice to have brought that for us!) We had so much fun! While we were there, Mike and Kirk took the little boys to Bryce Canyon.

We also got to take everyone to Mammoth Cave just before they headed home.

Our family stayed and enjoyed our next set of visitors: my sister, her family, and our dad came up next for the weekend! We played, the kids 4-wheeled with Uncle Mike, we relaxed, we made cotton candy together (thanks, Care!), and the kids took another trip to Mammoth Cave (it's a favorite!). It was great fun.

They headed back home, (and Mike also went home to work for a week,) but the kids and I were able to go meet them for an awesome feast at my dad's on Monday. We visited with them as well as my grandpa, my aunt and her friend, and my uncle and aunt!

We went back to the cabin that night to stay for a few more days. We read, played games, watched movies, did a little cabin maintenance, and viewed LOTS of wildlife (deer outside our window, woodpeckers, squirrels, roadrunners, chipmunks, jackrabbits, more deer...).

It's Thursday, now, and we're back in St. George for a weekend of visiting, swimming, and partying with family before going home. What a wonderful couple of weeks! I love summer! (Thanks to my darling husband Mike for making it possible! Love you!)