Colorado 2010 Part Deux

We decided to head out to Colorado last week as a last minute getaway before things start getting hectic again.  Jon starts school again in three weeks and so does Jonah!  He'll be going to preschool two days a week and he can't wait (neither can I!).

It was so nice to spend time with my parents and with Laura and Olive (I can't get enough of that little chunk).  We took it easy and mostly hung out at my parents house and ran a few errands around town.  My mom treated Laura and I to pedicures (tradition) and also to a micro-derm abrasion treatment (I'd like this to become a tradition ;) ).

Laura spent most of her time doing hair.  She's the best sport.  After finding my second gray hair (and I'm sure there were more), I decided it was OK to dye my hair again.  It was the natural color for about 3 months...that's a record. 

After days of afternoon thunderstorms typical of Colorado--which I LOVE--we decided to take our chances and head out on the boat for an afternoon of tubing and fishing.  Jonah was excited at the thought of wakeboarding but our wakeboard has long been broken and gone.  I was sad about this too.  Jonah had his plastic golf club positioned in such a way that mimicked the position of a rope used for wakeboarding and he talked about it our whole drive to CO.  Tubing was a blast though.  I can't help but giggle the whole time.

I love this sequence of "jammie" pictures.  Mimi bought the kids matching jammies and they looked so cute!

I did go faster than this...we were in the no wake zone, I promise.

 Uh-oh...she's losing her patience!!!

 Oh good, I remembered some candy.  This kept her happy for a long, long time.

 

From Augusts Past

I thought it'd be fun to do a rewind and show a few pictures from the Augusts past.  Jon and I have known each other now for about 8 years and we've shared many Augusts together...almost all of them in that time.

2002 - Jon IS wearing a do-rag.  We were not yet dating.  This trip is where it all began...can you feel the tension?

2004 - Backpacking in the Uintas.  This is where I taught Jon to gut a fish.

2006 - Jon just found out he's going to be a daddy!

Here's to my Honey and many more Augusts to come.

a day on the farm

We saddled up and took the kids to Farm Country a few weeks ago.  Laura and Olive came, too.  We ate free Meadow Gold ice cream sandwiches and walked around looking at all the animals.  Jonah and Sophie road the ponies and we all got to ride the cow train (yes!).  It didn't take long to visit all the animals which was good because it was just too hot.

A Special Visit

Last weekend we headed up to the Wasatch mountains for a little camping.  Just a one-nighter (all you can handle with kids).  We drove quite a while to find the most beautiful spot.  It was in the middle of a clearing with loads of wild flowers, tall pine trees, and nothing but huge mountains surrounding us.  We were the only people for a few miles.

A view on the way to our site.

We roasted marshmallows and sat by the fire.  Jon and I put the kids to bed and listened to Sophie chatter to Jonah for about an hour before we decided to go to bed as well.

Jonah was fast asleep when we got in the tent but Sophie was as awake as ever.  It only took a moment to discover the thing keeping her awake--a giant poop.  We changed her and put her back down and tried to get some sleep.

I tossed and turned for about an hour trying to calm down when I finally decided to lean over to ask Jon if he was sleeping.  He said no.  I told him, "I'm terrified."  And he said, "Me too."  That was about the point we knew we wouldn't be getting any sleep that night.  We both thought we heard noises outside and couldn't relax enough to sleep.

The moon was extremely bright and I threw another log on the fire during a midnight potty break to keep up the illusion of safety.  Jon said, "Les Stroud always keeps a fire burning at night to keep the critters away."  And that made us feel better.

I feel in and out of sleep until I was woken up by a bear-like moan.  The noise seemed to be about 10 yards from the tent.  I sat straight up and listened for any other signs I should fear.  About 30 seconds later, just outside our tent I heard loud breathing--sort of "huffing" noises.  It was obviously coming from a very large animal.  Then the footsteps came, loud and heavy--displacing a lot of grass and weeds.  I was mortified.  I woke Jon up and whispered and pointed, "There's something out there."  When he sat up and listened, sure enough, we heard the same breathing and large footsteps.  I began to panic and reached for the key fob to turn the alarm on to frighten whatever it was away.  We were too far from our car, though, and it wouldn't work.  This didn't stop me from methodically and quickly continuing to press all the buttons hoping it would magically decide to turn on.  Jon opened the hatchet and held it ready in his hand.

I prayed aloud that Heavenly Father would make it go away and that we'd be safe.  I asked Jon what we should do.  I was ready to get up and scream and make noise to get it to leave.  But after Jon said a prayer of his own he looked calm and said, "We need to be quiet."  So we were.  We waited in absolute fear and terror for whatever it was to leave.  I was sure at any moment, the tent would be invaded and one of us wouldn't be going home later.  All I could think about were my sleeping babies who had no idea what was going on.  I thought of that 11 year old boy from American Fork that was dragged out of his tent by a black bear 3 years ago and eaten.

About 5 minutes passed and we heard no more noises so we decided we'd get up, start the fire quickly and begin to pack our bags.  It was only 4:30am.  Sophie woke when she heard us leaving the tent so I grabbed her and brought her out with us.  Jonah woke up just a few minutes later saying, "Guys, it's morning time!"  I didn't bother trying to get them back to sleep and started packing up the tent and chairs while Jon kept watch.

Jon pulled the car closer (but started the alarm several times on the way to get it to make sure nothing was lurking) and we loaded up.  By 5:45 we were in the car heading home.  We didn't talk about whatever it was until we were safely in the car.  We both concluded it was a bear.

When we got home at 7am we put the kids in bed (they were exhausted) and Jon started researching bear noises.  He found this noise (listen under "Apprehensive expressions"), which is exactly what we heard outside our tent (except for the chattering teeth).

Not my idea of a fun night.

 Glad all our shoes made it home, if you know what I mean.

Bastille Day

This year in celebration of Bastille Day, or La Fête Nationale, we gathered with family and friends at the park and had a picnic.  The weather cooled off just enough to be able to sit comfortably and mingle.  I made homemade baguettes and we bought salami (the closest thing to saussison) and a little brie and made sandwiches.  It was delicious!  The company wasn't too bad either. ;)

3 priceless facial expressions

Mamou oogling the newest baby to the Bush fam.

My niece, Norah.

 

Mid-conversation---NICE!

Sophie's tantrums

Sophie's personality has certainly developed in the last six months.  She's very sassy (where'd she get that??).  She loves to tease Jonah and since he doesn't know any better, he let's it get to him.  She knows what she wants and when she wants it.  If she doesn't get it, she throws herself to the floor, face down, and screams/cries.  The funny thing about it all is that I think it's the most hilarious thing!  I just have to giggle and watch until she decides to get up and give me her dirty look and continue on with her business as usual. 

And OH the looks that girl can give!  Many have been witness to her scowls.  

On the other hand, she's a very lively and happy girl.  She LOVES to dance and has quite good rhythm.  She loves to give goofy grins on command and already has quite the vocabulary--taking after her brother.

fireworks and stuff

It was pretty much your typical 4th of July weekend here at the Bush res.  We barbecued, bought fireworks, took a walk around the hood, etc.

Nice smile

 I LOVE this picture!

 Always plugging the ears.  I'm pretty sure he was warning Sophie to plug hers, too!

Jonah has also been practicing riding his big bike with no training wheels.  He's getting it and building his courage each time!

 

We are grateful to live in such a beautiful country and to have the freedoms that we do.  I took a few minutes to read the Gettysburg address a few days ago and remembered and love this part:

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Just out for a walk.

We've been trying to fill our summer with cheap family fun which inspired a little walk up Provo Canyon to Bridal Veil Falls.  Every time I go up that canyon, running or not, I'm amazed that such a majestic, beautiful place is just out our back door.  I'm sure going to miss it should we ever leave.

Pre-walk. Dry.

 

We decided to let the kids walk instead of taking the stroller.  I'd imagine a half-mile walk for Sophie is equivalent to something like a three mile walk for me.  She loved every second, though.  She had her popcorn to snack on and took her sweet time meandering up the path.

The kids played in the water for a bit and then we headed home with half-naked kids (soaked) for dinner.

Classic pout face from Sophie.

 

Check out my man's beard.  That's right, BYU.

The bug goes around.

A few weeks ago we found our sweet Sophie covered in her own vomit when we went to get her out of bed in the morning.  That was the first of many sheet cleanings that would happen over the next two weeks.  She made it through the day without another episode and seemed happy when we went to get her the next morning from her crib.  We brought her to our bed to snuggle, as we often do, where she proceeded to complain about her teeth.  I wasn't sure what was ailing her so I moved to look into her mouth and was covered by a large amount of vomit the color of chocolate milk (the only thing she ingested the day before).  Yay!  Let the fun begin! 

So amidst cleaning our sheets, her sheets, and her, Jonah decides he doesn't want to eat his breakfast and instead throws up all over himself, his plate of food, his chair, and the floor.  Jon and I laughed as we realized what we were in for.

The great thing about Jonah is that once he knew what it felt like to throw up, he could run to the potty or do it in a bowl.  This saved us a LOT of cleanup and I was able to play the nurturing role and comfort him after each episode.  Soph didn't throw up again but continued to have blow-out diarrhea for the next week (more sheet cleaning).  The diarrhea episodes cut a little bit into our Las Vegas vacation, making it a little more stressful all around. 

I must have a killer immune system because I never got sick.  Jon did, though, and that wasn't fun to see him down and out.

Chairs for lounging, tile for easy cleanup, bowls to catch the puke, blankets and a movie.

Just what I needed to hear.

It's been a rollercoaster ride for us this summer and things we thought were happening haven't worked out exactly as we planned.  We've been a little discouraged but when I opened an email this morning with this video attached, I knew it was meant for me to see.

I'm thankful for my knowledge of my Savior and Heavenly Father and that they have a plan for me and for our family.