Telling Stories

This is a photo of Grace while she told this very interesting story. If she wasn’t so cute and expressive while she was telling it, it might not have been so entertaining due to the graphic nature of the content. I’ll give you some of my favorite parts (And yes, everything ends with an exclamation point):… “The dinosaurs ate us ‘cause they were hungry! Again! Over and over and over and over again! And then there were six tigers! And six dinosaurs! And the tigers will ate us ‘cause they were hungry! And then there were a lot of tigers! And they were eating that house all gone (pointing to the next-door-neighbor’s house)! ‘Cause they were hungry! And they ate all the things in that house! Cause they were hungry! And then there was a baby. This baby (pointing to Jacob), and then… well, next… and then there was a big, big, big, daddy one! And it ate baby brother! (Then, responding to all our looks of shock and surprise) And we’ll be sad if it ate baby brother, and we got a new one. We’ll get a new one after the tiger ate this one, we’ll get another one, I promise. And then it will ate you (pointing to Emma) and… and then we’ll get another one for you. You guys will get more another Emma. Kay? And then your eyes (Emma’s)! And then they will eat your eyes! And well get more eyes, I promise. And then I saved the tigers with my foots! And then the tigers ate my foots.”

Sometimes I worry about the things she thinks about. Where did all this blood and gore come from? Well, at least she was clear about the animals intentions. “They were HUNGRY!” And at least all that was lost is easily replaceable. “We'll get another one, I PROMISE!”

Mid-Life Crisis?

This is my dad, George. He’s an interesting guy. The older he gets, the weirder he gets. He has a motorcycle now. He wore this riding it the other day. I asked him if he knew what “Wicked” was. (As in “Wicked,” the hot new Broadway musical about the Wicked Witch of the West.) I’m not sure if he really knew what it was, but he said he just liked the shirt, I guess. Well, to each their own, right? You go, Dad!

Pioneer Day Weekend

We went to the Rasmusons’ cabin in Duchesne over Pioneer Day Weekend. It was really a lot of fun. Matt and Kaylee Leitch came with us. Here are the kids in the tub. Grace got sunscreen in her eyes that morning and looked pitiful all day long.
Here are the kids with popsicles someone gave the AFTER their bath.
Grace getting chummy with Chase. She tried to get chummy with Kaylee after this, but then she saw that Kaylee had this cute clip in her hair and Grace wanted it, so she started throwing a fit. So much for being chummy.

Kaylee and Grace on the swing.

Here is Jacob with his Grampa Richard.
Grampa Richard like Jacob’s soft little toes.


I love the grin. He's getting pretty good at that now.

And here is the huge nasty beetle that came inside.
The beetle attempting to invade Maine before he is tossed outside.
And, finally, Jacob in the car on the way home. We were all tuckered out.

L.O.V.E.

There are really no words to describe it. I love the way she is holding his hand, or rather, letting him hold her fingers.
I can describe Grace’s hair, though. This is one of her new favorite things to do. She puts multiple headbands in her hair at the same time. Sometimes it’s every headband she owns. Doesn’t it look great?

Pool Party

We took Jacob for a swim in the pool at my parents’ house. He loved it. (I know he doesn’t exactly look excited in these photos, but he got to giggling after a minute or so.) He really takes after me. He’s constantly hot, and loves the water.

Grace always has fun too. Especially when Gramma Karen plays with her.

Rainbow Food

We spent the day at Gramma Karen's house the other day. While we were there, Grace's aunt, Hannah, made her "Rainbow Food" for lunch. Creative, eh?
I think Grace thought it was one of those things that is just too beautiful to eat. And in case you're wondering what it is: ketchup, hotdogs, carrots, cheese, green apples, blue Fruit Loops, & purple Fruit Loops.

Baby Raptor

My kids can scream. Seriously. From the very beginning, they know how to belt it out. Grace did it and earned the nickname, "Baby Raptor," because her cry really sounded like the Velociraptors from the movie, “Jurassic Park.” And now Jacob can do it too. Hooray!

And Jacob likes to add a few extra measures of pathetic desperation by turning his face bright red, holding his breath for long periods of time between screams, and clawing at his face.

Comfortable?

Jacob found a comfortable way to sleep. He really likes to be on his tummy.

Jacob's First Bath

Jacob’s stubborn umbilical cord took forever to fall off. So he didn’t get his first real bath until he was over a month old. But he really enjoyed it. And so did I.

I was remembering Grace’s first bath. She hated it. Then as we were drying her off, we got a knock on our door. It was one of our neighbors coming to ask if we had left our car door open. Turns out someone had tried to steal it. They couldn’t though, ‘cause it was a newer model. So instead, they stole my nice Graco stroller from the trunk. I was pissed. But it makes for a memorable first bath experience!
Anyway, Jacob’s first bath was nice.
I love his wrinkles. He looks like a little old man.

Father's Day Fun

Here’s my most favorite father on the whole planet: the father of my children. (Isn’t he handsome?)
We had a funny little experience at the Rasmuson family get-together. Ricky’s mom, Marilyn, got him a card, and as Ricky’s sister, Diana, was bringing it to him, she accidentally dropped it and it fell between the floor boards of the deck. Oops!
Then Marilyn informed us that there was a $50 gift card inside, so it had to be retrieved. Our first thought was to send the all-too-willing Chase under the deck after it. But it turned out he wouldn’t fit.
Now what? Well, after beginning to unscrew the boards, I think Mike was able to get it out using some tools and a lot of talented finesse. Then when Ricky opened the card, it was empty. Marilyn forgot to put the gift card in it after all. Oh, well. It was funny, right?
And here’s Ricky sitting back enjoying the show.

Tickle Torture

We love to tickle Grace. When she was a bit younger, she would say, “Tickle my torture!” She just has the greatest giggle.

"I Don't Want the Doggies Get Me!"

Ricky’s family loves dogs. Altogether there are 6 full-grown dogs. This black lab is the newest (and smallest) addition. His name is Armani. Grace takes after her mom, I guess. I’ve never liked dogs as much as the rest of the family. I blame it on several traumatic childhood experiences. Even after knowing Ricky for eight years or so, I can't seem to warm up to them. So, here’s Grace running away from the playful “puppy.” I thought it was a nice photo.

Little Ballerina

Grace is going to start ballet classes this fall. I’m so excited for her! She loves to dance. These pictures were taken the day I bought her dance clothes. She is such a natural.
It's modern interperative dance!