T-I-M-B-E-R

If it is not working on a remodeling project or the yard, then we must be getting firewood!  Mark and I have great memories of getting firewood with our families growing up.   We wanted to build some of those same memories with our boys so we decided we are going to take out one of our gas fireplaces and replace it with a wood burning fireplace. Our house is quite reliant on electricity so we wanted to make sure we had a way to heat our house if the power ever goes out. Plus I think mostly Mark wanted a good reason to buy a chainsaw!  We had a great day up Grey's River what a beautiful area.  They boys loved watching their dad fall some trees and they were such great little helpers.  The smell of fresh cut wood definitely took me back to my childhood.  I wonder if we will ever just sit home for a full day?  Would I like it? I don't know but I swear I am going to find out some time! Ha, Ha!

Take Me Out To the Ball Game!

Connor loves baseball and he loves having his dad coach.  We have the odds stacked against us this year.  They have been practicing hard for a month and it is paying off they are doing awesome and surprising a few people! Go Cardinals!  Connor had an awesome slide at home!  He is one of the best hitters on his team! Go Con!

Last Day of School!!! Happy day!

Fun, fun, fun!  Bubble blowing contest, popsicles, field day, movies, friends, Tai Kwon Do water party, baseball practice and games.  Mark told his baseball team if they got a home run or double play he would buy them all shakes!  Needless to say we had shakes at Red Baron!  Busy, fun day!

"Goo, goo" hanging out on the porch while mom weeds her gardens.

YEAH! The bathroom is done!

We finished the bathroom last week.  Now we are just waiting for the guy to come and measure for our counter top and sink!  Mark did an awesome job and the boys love showering so much they shower more then once a week and I don't have to hound them to get in! Thanks dad!

Our bird friends! (If you can call them that)

This yellow bird looks like an Oriole to me.  We call him 5 o'clock Charlie or Screwy Louie.  Every morning between 5 and 6am he comes knocking on our door.  We think he has some major problems.  We also had a stupid robin build its nest at boy level in our pine tree.  The mother bird gets a bit stressed out when little boys are constantly checking on her babies.  I hope they survive!

Connor enters double digits!! 10!

Where did 10 years go??  I can't believe Connor is ten!  It is all about Lego's and PSP games this birthday!  Connor has been with us through a lot.  He was born while we were going through under graduate school.  I was working full time in Logan at Western Surgery Center/Cache Valley Specialty Hospital.  I remember crying everyday I left him at the babysitters.  Mark would finish up with school and pick him up.  I also remember Mark going stir crazy babysitting Connor.  We had no money to do anything, we didn't even have money for cable TV.  Mark was stuck in our little condo with a baby and nothing to do.  We both would have loved to have traded each other places.  When Connor was 2 and 1/2 we moved him across the country to Cleveland, OH.  Connor loved it there.  When we moved back to the West after dental school, Connor was 6.  He asked us where all the trees were?  He wanted to know why we wanted to live in the desert.  I also remember him crying because we couldn't go to any more Indian baseball games.  Now we live in Wyoming and he loves it here.  Connor loves hunting, fishing, baseball, camping, hiking (especially the Wind Rivers).  Connor is sensitive to others feelings and is good to include everyone in games that he loves to make up. Connor is a big help with all his little brothers.  We love you Connor and we are excited to see what the next 10 years will bring. 

"Connor Star"

Connor did a great job playing the part of The Beetles in the school music review.  They sang "I Want to Hold Your Hand."  Grandma Jacobson came over to watch and spend the night!  We were proud of him.

Tough Kid!

I felt horrible when I saw the x-rays!  You could tell his arm had been fractured and was now healing.  About 4 weeks earlier, Cael fell all the way down our stairs in our house.  Mark and I just heard it happen!  Cael cried hard for about one minute and said my arm hurts.  Mark and I both said thought that it was possible that he broke his arm.  I thought, I would watch him the rest of the day to see if he favored it or said anything about it hurting.  He said nothing and he was his crazy, somersaulting self!  About two weeks later Mark was playing with him and grabbed both his wrist and he started crying.  We both were surprised that he cried.  So we thought lets watch it AGAIN!!!  Well, he said nothing unless we would squeeze his arm then he would say oooww!  Don't ask me what the final straw was that broke the camels back, but I decided to get him in to the doctor today.  It was quite a bad fracture it was angulated and the doctor said if it would have been an adult he would have probably  have to have had surgery to pin it!  After Cael had his x-rays he wanted to know why it still hurt?  He thought that the x-rays should fix his arm so it didn't hurt any more.  He was all smiles getting his cast on!(He only has to wear it for 2 weeks)  He was getting a cast like Jake!  Mom too, thinking that we have a good chance of meeting our $5000 insurance deductible this year again!

Wire Pass and the Wave in UT/AZ April 2009

Sometimes it is not too exciting to think about packing up for a camping trip and driving 9 hours.  Not knowing what you are going to be camping in.  Will it rain? Is the baby going to sleep?  Is it going to be too cold or too hot.  All of these thoughts ran through my head as I got ready for this trip!  It all paid off!  We had a wonderful time!  Great weather, temperatures in the high 70's.  The boys had a great time catching lizards, shooting at red ants with their BB guns, hiking through a slot canyon, climbing sand dunes, seeing a rattle snake, playing in the dirt with cousins, riding 4 wheelers, scaling cliffs, telling stories around the fire, eating great food and lots of time with family!  What a wonderful trip!  Kristi drew a pass for two people to hike up and see "the Wave".  Mark said it was the most amazing thing he has ever seen.  His brother, TJ said he had goosebumps!   Yes, it was a long ride, yes we were very dirty and there was no water in sight, and YES! we had a wonderful time camping and hiking with the Johnson family.