Salt Lake City

Our first week of living in Salt Lake City has come and gone, and we're really enjoying it. We got here last Saturday and have spent this first week unpacking, exploring and hanging out. We are living in a little apartment on the border of Murray and Salt Lake City - the boys are liking our new "home", it is very primitive because we only wanted to bring the bare minimim. We are using our empty boxes as end tables, night stands, and drawers! It amazed me at how much stuff we have that we really don't need. Our first night here we "christened" the house with a little Singstar action, Jack even joined in!

We hit the park, the Hogle Zoo, frosted sugar cookies with our Blake cousins, and visited Temple Square this week. The boys really loved the being outside because we're not used to not having a yard to play in. Jack is having the hardest time adjusting and his napping has been crazy! Yikes! Hopefully this is just a stage. Sam on the other hand was happy to be reunited with all of his toys from Iowa and put me to work on his Halloween costume the minute we got here. Isn't Robin Hood the cutest guy in Sherwood forest?

Yesterday we decided to try Ruth's Diner in Emigration Canyon and it was AWESOME! Not only was the drive great as we saw the beautiful fall colors in the mountains, but the food was the epitomy of comfort food. We then headed down to Temple Square, which was really great to see, and the boys again loved being outside and seeing all of the buildings. The older I get the more I'm in awe at the beauty of the Salt Lake Temple. Really is it amazing that my pioneer ancestors built such an amazing structure and sacrificed so much to see it built. We also visited the Beehive House (home of Brigham Young), which I'm happy to report have updated the candy treat you recieve at the end. The lemon drops are much better than the homemade molasses candy thing they used to give! I love this picture of the boys - it almost brought tears to my eyes.

Shawn is SUPER busy at the VA and really learning a lot. They have given him a lot of liberty here and pretty much let the students do whatever they feel comfortable doing. Kind of scary, but its been a great learning opportunity already, and I think he likes being busy, maybe not missing lunch basically everyday because of it! But the greatest part about being here is being together as a family again, and living like a family in our own home. I already can tell a difference in both boys - though we miss seeing our family in Idaho as much - it is nice to have some kind of normal life back!

The one great perk of the VA is Shawn gets all holidays off - so that's right Happy Columbus Day tomorrow, we'll be off playing with our Dad!!

All is Well!

Jack's surgery went great yesterday. We arrived at the hospital at 6:00 a.m. and the surgery got underway at 7:30. The doctor told us that everything went really well, and along with the orchiopexy they also repaired a hernia that he had! So that was nice to kill two birds with one stone. The surgery only took about 1 hour, and waiting was the worst part of the entire process. He really was at a great age to get this done because there was no fear, and we never had to see him "go out" - I am really grateful to the staff, they were very kind to us that morning. I only broke down when they took him away from me, but he was happy to be wrapped in a warm blanky and exploring the rest of the hospital.

Jack Pre-Surgery

Jack Post - Surgery

(as you can see he's acting pretty much the same)

Jack was incredibly good during the entire morning, and the nurses and staff kept commenting on how happy he was even after surgery. We stayed in post-op for a little longer than anticipated waiting for Jack to urinate! Geez, I guess the drugs were still lingering because after 2 sippies of juice and an IV drip he hadn't gone. They finally released us around noon, and he has acted like nothing happened the whole time. I was sure he'd be a little more timid to walk, crawl down stairs, etc. and expected for him to be feeling some pain, but he must have a super human pain tolerance because he hasn't slown down! Thanks for all of your nice comments and prayers - we greatly appreciated them.

In other news - Shawn got home to stay!! We are so happy to have him back, and happier still to have a little week of break to enjoy him before he starts his core rotation in SLC. We will move down Saturday, and I'm pretty excited to live in SLC for a few months. It will so much fun to take advantage of the fun activities there. Sam has also decided he wants to be a drummer and he and his cousins have formed a band. Any band name suggestions?

Say a Little Prayer for Jack

Tomorrow Jack will have a procedure, called an orchiopexy, done. It is to correct a testicle that is undecended. He was born with it like that and we had hoped it would come down on its own, but surgery is now required. The procedure is very low risk, simple, and rather standard. He will be an outpatient, so we will be able to take him home after the surgery, and the recovery is usually not too difficult. However - he does have to go under general anesthesia during the procedure which to us the most frightening part. So tonight and tomorrow say a little prayer for our Jack-Jack, poor little guy!

Fun at the Fair

We made a quick trip up to Othello, WA to see the Keele family and hit the Adam's County Fair which they are big supporters and participators of. Sam had a BLAST, and really we all did. It was the perfect size, not to big, but with plenty of fun rides, exhibits, activities, and FOOD! I had my fair share of funnel cake, elephant ears, spoon tacos, and roasted chicken to last me until next fair season.

Ryker, Cole, Sam

You have to enlarge this one - the look on his face is priceless, and it was like this the entire time!

Carnival Rides

Big Ryan was in a Wild Cow ride at the rodeo the first night and sang the second day we were there, so we cheered our little hearts out for him. Thank you Keele family for the fun weekend it was worth the drive anytime!

The biggest hit of by far was the Tractor Pull! Sam went above my expectations and made it into the 2nd round each time he participated. Its neat because the kids compete against themselves, trying to pull more and more weight 25 feet. Sam's cousin Cole pulled the most for any 4 year old almost 200 lbs! Seriously, but he's got a little size advantage over most other 4 year olds. Sam looked like such a little cowboy with his hat and boots - I love this look on him.

Face Painting - Bringing out the tiger in Sam

To start the week off right Jack had his immunizations, five total, and I think his face says exactly what he is feeling about that! He weighs 20.5 lbs and is 28.5 inches long, a shorty! He has nearly all of his teeth in, and is still Mr. get-into-everything! He love this little guy.

We head down to Utah this weekend for our niece's baptism, and then Shawn will be home on Sunday!!! Yea! Yea! Yea! We can hardly wait.

Oh yeah, I do have a husband!

This past weekend I had the great opportunity (thanks to wonderful family who watched my boys) to visit Shawn out in Allentown, PA. We had a great weekend and were able to see a lot of neat things. Did I mention that I have a husband again, I think I've almost manage to forget what that was like, so it was a nice refresher of what will come in TWO more weeks!! We can't wait. Here are some pictures of our adventures. We went to NYC and Gettysburg and had a great time at both places. What a fun vacation for me! Shawn insisted that he would be in all the photos (j/k I've already been to these places, so I didn't need anymore of me, so Shawn was the subject.

Our 3rd ticket from getting lost, and relost on the New Jersey Turnpike, I think we met their annual quota for tolls that night.

The Staten Island Ferry took us right by Lady Liberty!

Empire State Building

Ground Zero at the World Trade Center block

The Bull on Wall Street

Time Square

Bethsada Fountain in Central Park

The Museum of Natural History -

Shawn was posing with me and the boys in Pre-homosapien form

Me and my two wondeful, beautiful roommates Emily and Erin who we met up with for dinner and dessert.

Gettysburg National Park

Little Round Top

Baby Summers - oops how did that get in there?

Arrival April 2010

Gettysburg Address Site

Our trip was great, and it was even better knowing that boys were being well taken care of. We are all really excited about our newest little adventure on the way, and so far everything is going well. Many of you already knew about the baby, but for those of you who don't there you go! We hope you have a great week!

Jack - The Cake Monster

I made a mini-tractor just for Jack to tear apart for his birthday and sat in on a chocolate cake for all the family who came to celebrate. Jack was PERFECT, really he did exactly if not more than what you want your 1 year old to do with his cake. He ate nearly half of it, and that is no exaggeration. He thought he was the bee's knees though as the cousins giggled at him tearing into the cake and burying his face into it. What a sweet boy, and what a Happy Birthday.

Jack was incredibly spoiled with gifts and toys, thank you all for the presents and birthday wishes. We decided to get him a Tonka Dump Truck, which he (and SAM) loved!

Sam started his first day of Preschool on Tuesday and he is loving it! Here's a first day of school picture. He loves school, maybe not the learning as much as being with kids. He is getting so big!

Happy Birthday Jack!

Since we are heading up to the cabin for Jack's birthday, I'm going to celebrate a few days early.

September 6, 2008 - 2:05 a.m. Jack Rick came into the world, a little unexpectedly, but oh were we so happy to have him. We continue to be amazed at what a wondeful, Happy, Handsome, Fun, Adventurous Boy he is. Jack we love you so much, and are grateful everyday for all the love and happiness you radiate in that little body of yours. Happy 1st Birthday! Here are some fun facts about Jack:

1. He loves to eat! a favorite quote at our house - "no one eats alone in Jack's presence"

2. He loves to get into EVERYTHING! I mean everything: dirt, toilets, cupboards, flour sacks, garbages, book shelves, shoe closets. You name it, he's eaten and/or destroyed it.

3. He is Walking - it is fun to see this again and how shakey they are on their legs, and how proud they are for accomplishing even a few steps.

4. He loves to cuddle and will lay his head on almost anyone's shoulder

5. He has the most true blue eyes I've ever seen - almost too pretty to be a boy's

6. He laughs over simple things, and I love this quality - he finds pleasure in the smallest things

7. He was an anwer to many prayers and two years of waiting! Talk about being worth the wait.

8. He has ten teeth, love to play in the toy car, and has started to throw fits if I take something away - usually closing the dishwasher door!

9. He delivery was the best - only 3 hours of labor and 5 minutes of pushing!

10. He says "mama" and that is about it for now, hopefully dada will follow when his dada arrives back on the scene!

12 hours old 6 weeks old 3 months old

5 months old 9 months old "typical Jack"

1 year old - aren't those blue eyes blue!