Cute Joseph

Joseph is now 18 months old and I almost don't recognize him as the tiny baby I once had. He loves his food, is a good eater, and quite the chubby little guy. He is also about the biggest handful I could ever have! I kept saying I needed a girl because my boys just gotten busier and busier and he continues the trend. If I am not awake when he is, watch out! He enjoys nursery, playing in water, music (singing and dancing), keeping up with his siblings, praying, and tormenting the cat. He loves the cat. I don't know that the feeling is mutual, but we're blessed in that Kreacher has always been quite tolerant towards the kids.

Anyway, here are a couple of videos of him in all his cuteness.

In this first one we're on our way back from Conroe and he is trying desperately to stay awake. He is making noises with his tongue and I thought it was cute how he wasn't just moving his tongue in and out, but from side to side as well.

In this second one, we had him in the car seat to go to sleep (hey, whatever works) and the kids were watching a Disney movie in the other room. One of the songs came on and he started "singing" too. He was opening and closing his hands and from what I could tell, he was trying to "sing" "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree." (Please excuse my terrible singing and just look at his sweet smile)

Busy Weeks

These past few weeks have been busy ones! First, 2 Saturdays ago we went to Conroe for my Uncle's 50th birthday. It was lots of fun. We went swimming in the lake (and in a kiddie pool), played pool and fooseball, visited, ate, and just had a good time. We want to go back real soon. David wants to learn to water ski.

Joseph chilling on the porch

Jacob watching the action from the top of the boat slip.

Then, last weekend, I was lucky enough to go to Frisco, Colorado to visit my cousin. We had origionally planned it to be kind of a cousins' reunion with all of us female cousins who were old enough to go. But, various obsticles got in the way and it ended up being my cousin who was hosting us, my sister, and myself. We still had tons of fun. Thank you Aaron for watching the kids so I could go and I'm sorry for those who couldn't make it.

January and Cora enjoying their sushi (I'm glad they had it before I got there)

I had quite the adventure in getting there. First, my flight had been oversold. Luckily, I had been assigned a seat so it was all good. Then, after boarding being late because of the confusion, we sat on the runway awhile. Apparently there was something wrong with one of the fuel guages and there was paperwork involved. Whatever. We finally took off.

I had to admire the clouds around us and the sunset. It really was awesome. I enjoyed it. While it was peaceful that is. It turns out that we had to be diverted around two really big storms, delaying us even further. I have to admit that even the storm clouds were pretty cool to watch.

When we landed in Denver, I called my cousin, who in turn called the shuttle bus I had a seat reserved on. I had like five minutes to catch it and we hadn't even started unboarding yet. If any of you have ever flown through Denver, you know what a nightmare scenario this is. So, I got off the plane and started quickly heading to the train to go to the area where ground transportation is. I take the train and have to locate the shuttle booth. I'm now ten to fifteen minutes late. I along with two other people get to the booth only to find out that the shuttle had left about five to ten minutes earlier. The last shuttle for the day. So now I am stuck. I start trying to find an alternative mode of transportation. Everything is way expensive or leaves later than I want. Long story short, my cousin ends up driving from Frisco to pick me up. We get back to her place at 1:15 in the morning and crash.

The next morning we wake up and eat yummy yogurt parfaits before heading out to Copper Mountain. We get to Copper where we take the lift up to the summit. The views were amazing! It was a long way up there though. We took a very short hike down to the little resteraunt and gazebo and on the way back up to the lift took quite a bit out of me. I felt better when my cousin said that she was having a tough time too, that it was the altitude.

Cora and I headed down the lift

The view from the lift



The mountains around Copper

We went back to her place for lunch. Amazing chicken salad! I'm going to have to find out again what all she put in it. Then her neighbor/land lord came over and asked if we wanted to go to the lake with him and his daughter that afternoon to ride the jet ski and personal watercraft. It sounded fun so we agreed.

We made it to the campground at the lake, again amazing views that made me miss the mountains. We walked around a little and then when they got there and had gotten the crafts ready, we took turns going out on the water. It was so much fun! I never could stand up on the jet ski, but that's ok. Some of us are made for water sports and some of us aren't. I still had a great time. Thank you again for inviting us!

The mountains by the lake...They resemble the Tetons slightly

January, our awesome host, getting a ride

Cora and January

When we got back we ate dinner and just had fun visiting. I had a very early ride to catch so, after ice cream for dessert, we called it a night.

The trip back was pretty uneventful. I didn't have a lot of time from the time I got to the Denver airport before I caught my flight. Just enough time to go through security and board. But, at least things went smoothly. And now I'm home. I fell in love with that area and can't wait to go back! I plan on making it a longer trip next time. And maybe more will make it to our next reunion.

Oh, just to note, when I got home from the airport, I was expecting Aaron to be heading out the door with the kids to go to church. Instead, I found them eating lunch and the house was a bit of a tornado zone. It turns out that mid-morning he noticed it was awfully warm so he checked the AC and found some wires had come loose. He had to take 2 hours to work on it and had just got it done right before I walked in. Luckily it was something obvious and simple he could handle and it is cooling like it is supposed to now. Unfortunately the kids took advantage of him being out of the house and made a mess of things. I quickly set out their clothes, had them getting dressed as they finished lunch and cleaned up, and they were out the door in time to catch the end of sacrament meeting.

It's a good thing they went to church because Aaron was able to meet one of the new families. It turns out that it is the older brother of one of his high school classmates! How fun to have a connection with someone new.

We had a primary activity yesterday and I was able to visit with her some. They have kids about the same ages as ours, so hopefully we get to spend some time together. The primary activity was a blast for everyone. They had some blow-up, bouncy water slides and other water games and the kids enjoyed getting soaked and staying cool in this hot weather.

Tomorrow the roofers deliver the material and on Saturday they will do the work getting us a new roof. Hooray!

In between everything, I have to get the supplies and other things ready for Isaiah and Carissa to start school and prepare for David's baptism and the family that will be here. We are really excited for the busy-ness that the next few weeks will bring and can't wait for everyone to get here!

I know this was a long post, but hopefully it will do until the next one. (although the next one will be just a couple of quick, cute videos we've taken of Joseph recently)