More Happenings

Its time again for another update. Summer is just flying by. We went with my family for a little camping trip up Fairview canyon. It was so nice to go and relax. It seems like we used to take quick trips all the time when I was little but they happen less often as we've gotten busier. Easton thoroughly enjoyed it. Especially his mini sprites. He refers to everything bubbly as "toke". Hmm. Weird.

Sweeping the dirt is always an enjoyable activity.

The cooler boss.

Helping Boppa with the dutch oven breakfast that I'm pretty sure almost stopped my heart from beating but was sooooooo good.

After that I was able to attend girls camp. It was a blast! We were able to go to the Heber Valley Girls camp that was gorgeous. So fun. I have no pictures. Sad. The day I got home from camp, we headed out to Lava Hot Springs to spend time with Randon's family. We went to the water park which was pretty fun. Easton liked playing in the pool but there wasn't really anywhere to get out of the sun, so we bailed early to try to get him to take a nap. (Unsuccessful.) When everyone got back, they were talking of floating down the river. Sooo.... um.... have you ever been there? Well none of his family had so we had no idea what to expect besides what we saw from the road which looked like a nice lazy river. So, Randon and I think, hey, they have little lifejackets, we can just get a double tube and sit Easton between us. People! Ah. If only I had gone with Jenny and Traci and Emily and known before. Turns out...its pretty much a river full of death rapids. And no one told us it might not be a good idea to take your BABY! (okay almost two year old.) Well we went and took Easton and hit the inevitable rapids. I hopped off to try and get us to the side and well, it was head over heels down the river for me. It was actually really scary, only because I didn't want Easton to get hurt or drown or get upset, but I look up and Randon's trying to keep his footing and keep Easton above water. Ah! We find our way to the side...our tube is gone, our shoes are gone, Easton is okay, but we are pretty scraped up. Randon's back was hamburger (pretty much how I imagine Traci's was when I heard that story so long ago...I don't know why it didn't click that this was the same event that caused it!) We climbed over some barbed wire into a field and luckily two of my sister in laws were there who had had enough and seen my flip flop floating along so they though it might be a good idea to see if we were okay. After walking through a prickly field with no shoes, we made it to safety. I felt like mother of the year, just sick to my stomach I had taken my child on that river, though Easton seemed just fine and happy to tell the story, "Fa! Wa Wa!!" over and over again. And he would see a tube and shout, "Big O!" So I was really grateful he was okay. Seriously though, no warning signs or anything? Really? That same day we saw a girl with a bloody head and one headed into an ambulance. You'd think someone might tell you of the possible risk... Anyway, of course I don't have any pictures of this either. But fortunately I'm a great artist. So....here you go.

Looks like we had a pretty rough go of it, huh? Anyway, it was great to spend time with the Russell fam and the rest of the trip was fun. Then, after some recoup, we headed off to Idaho for the Powell reunion. Randon had to work, so I was mean and left him behind. It was nice, I love it up there. So many of my memories of my Grandma and Grandpa are when we were at the reunion, so it was a little hard to be there without either of them. It was good to see my Grandma's siblings though. (We missed you Mel!!) Easton had fun and had no trouble finding the dirt. By the night before we were ready to leave he was filthy!

At the reunion, they have a raffle to raise money for the next year. I remember getting so excited for it clear on back when I was a youngin. Easton made a haul.


He even got a bag to carry all of his toys.

I love this pic, this is what Easton does when he sees a flower. Gotta smell it! Haha.

I guess that sums it up for the last little while. I can't believe summer will be over soon!

Happenings

I have so much catching up to do, it will have to be abbreviated. In the last little while we...

Visited the Living Planet Aquarium

Easton learned some colors...

...made many messes

...and exercised his cuteness

He got a new sandbox which he loves

and is continually asking to go play in the "dirt"

We broke out the good old kiddie pool,

which Easton lovingly refers to as the "poo"

Randon working on his gorgeous tan. Hehe.

We celebrated birthdays and Easton learned

the joy of "drinking" pop out of a can by himself...

We've learned that Easton's favorite place

is definitely "oushiii" and loves to go on walks

(Waiting for mommy in all his gear)

Easton helped Boppa take care of Abbey's pet turtle

We got away to Mt. Pleasant to enjoy the mountains

...and to get reacquainted with Bob and the farm animals

...and Randon's beloved four wheeler

We had a campfire up the canyon with some

of my fam that was very enjoyable.

Especially for Easton with his smore and water bottle...

...until he bit the dust. Poor little guy.

It was hard not to laugh at that cute little dirty face.

Not to worry. He is recovered 100%.

And we enjoyed the Mt. Pleasant 4th of July parade

Easton was a little concerned with the noise.

All that day we heard about it being loud.

"OUD! Gun! Boom Boom Boom!"

But he made a haul with the candy so he was all good.

And of course, we've all been mourning Michael.

Thank you to all my dear friends for the kind words and condolences. ;)

{Insert Sentimental Song Here}

My goodness, my baby is growing up so fast! I can't believe it. A few weeks ago, we made the milestone of attending nursery for the first time. Our block is at 1:00, right during his nap. Heaven help me. He was so tired, but he was distracted by the toys long enough for me to slip out. I didn't realize how paranoid of a mother I am until then, when I just couldn't leave the hallway where I could peek into the door window to check on him. As I stood there watching him with these strangers, a little piece of my heart broke. I was so proud of him and how he was growing, but it was a major step for me. No longer would I be there at every moment to give him a reassuring smile and a kiss and tell him that everything was fine, that his mom loved him no matter what. He was on his own. Well kinda. It kinda sounds like I sent him off to college or on a mission here, but hey, I'm a mom and I can be dramatic if I want. He was in a new environment where he had to fend for himself and I was proud and sad and excited all in the same moment. Then I saw a bigger kid steal the bowl Easton was holding from right out of his hands. Dun dun dun. Grrrrr. Okay, okay, I'm not going to be one of THOSE parents. Kids will be kids. I let it be. Then this same kid grabs Easton in a headlock and tried to take him down. I'm not kidding. Poor Easton is looking around like, "What is this place? Who is this kid being so mean and taking my bowl?". This kid didn't stop and the nursery leaders didn't notice so I turned into one of THOSE parents and opened the door to alert the leaders that my poor son was being taken down. They hurried over to help and I left. Oh man. I wanted to yell at that kid. But from what I could tell from the rest of my frequent trips to check on him, Easton did fine. I went to pick him up and they said he had fallen asleep right at the snack table. Poor thing. The next Sunday, I received this and bawled like a baby. Its my right as a mother to do that...right?

** Edited: This past Sunday did not go so smoothly. He was very upset when I left. :( That is hard to leave your crying child! I hope he gets used to it soon...

Moving Day!

Who doesn't love moving day?! WooHoo! Party! Its especially fun when you have a lot of crap. Big, heavy, awkward... crap. That's what is really comes down to. When I start packing, I want to pack every last little scrap and screw in newspaper and bubble wrap and write "FRAGILE!!! AH!! BE SO GENTLE!!! " on every visible surface. But by the end of the day, I want to throw everything against the wall and throw it away, well I don't want to throw it anywhere. I don't want to touch anything and I don't care if I ever see it again. The day was sometime in the middle of April, and we were set to move everything to my dear Grandparents' house who had room in their basement. We rented this lovely monster...

I was quite surprised at how fast we filled it up. Then it was off to unload. The space my grandparents have is perfect and roomy, the hallway and door to get there is just a little narrow, and presented a little challenge.

I think at this point its a little stuck. Also at this point, I think my husband is having a great time and enjoying the whole experience.

Oh, on second thought, I think he wants to kill me for ever thinking we ever needed a single piece of furniture.

Thankfully we had lots of family there to help us out and make the move much less painful. Here we have my father-in-law, Bruce. Chantel was also there to help with my parents and Cass and Braiden. Thanks you guys!

"Now, babe, lets get a picture to document and remember this wonderful day!"

"No, seriously! A happy face!"

Okay... nevermind. Yikes. I don't think Randon likes moving.

Overdue Easter

I wasn't sure how Easter would work this year, if it all would still go over Easton's head. Well, he turned out to be an avid fan of the activities and quite a skilled Easter egg hunter. Our Easter bunny leaves candy on the floor in a trail to the Easter baskets. Easton was first in awe, then overjoyed. He is a big fan of candy and he wasn't losing any opportunity to grab all the jellybeans he could from the piles at his feet. Once he got the idea that you were supposed to go find the eggs, he was all over it. Once he realized there was more candy inside the eggs, he was a man on a mission. We ended up having a lovely Easter. Easton looked so handsome! (Notice the handful of jellybeans...I'm sure there are several in his mouth too.)

On the hunt...

The loot!

Hello Again.

Crikey. Once you get behind in blogging, it seems quite the daunting task to catch up. But I will try. In the meantime, let us all listen to the brilliance that is Paul McCartney and watch Easton get down with his groovy self. But not at the same time. Or maybe... if you live on the edge like that.

This was during our Cinco de Mayo fiesta. Cass turned on some lovely tunes and Easton turned on his boogie. I love his serious face... there is no messing around people. We gotsta dance.