“I've learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.” -Andy Rooney

A combination of summer, me being stir crazy, and a father without a job for the first time in almost 40 years united for some great mountain hiking opportunities. My father and I went on several hikes around Salt Lake and enjoyed the beautiful nature our part of the world has to offer.
We took my nephew, Carter, with us a couple of times…he did great, and always has some hilarious comments to add to the trip. Some of my favorites were: “Grandpa, I’m doing good at not complaining huh?!” which was followed only minutes later by “Man, why do there have to be so many rocks?” and “I wish I was sitting down and eating pizza”. We can always count on him for quotes worthy of recording.
We also went on one with my mom, Carter, and his sister (my one and only niece) Aniston.
Sawyer did fabulous.
He already has a love for the outdoors and seemed to thoroughly enjoy each of our outings. Good thing!

What the heck is this stuff??

Sawyer's horizons have expanded! He got his first taste of “solid” food (really just ‘not totally liquid’ food). You can tell he is thrilled about it…or he’s just looking at us and wondering what all of the excitement is about. We had a dinner at my parents’ house and had Rob’s parents and sister come over to meet our friend Sean (from Rob’s MBA school group) and watch this fun event. It was fun to have everyone there and I think Sawyer got enough food!
Is that a look of satisfaction or what!? Mmmm, milk with a little bit of oatmeal! What a life!

The splendor of sporting events

I was raised to enjoy all that sporting events have to offer. Rob and I are kindred spirits in this regard and we didn’t even have to discuss whether or not we would raise our children in the same manner. So when our friends Brooke, Jared, and their little boy Ryker invited us to a Salt Lake Bees baseball game, we were game.
It was on the 23rd so not only were we able to watch the game, which we regrettably lost, but we got a bonus of a fireworks display at the end.
We were quite impressed! It was a lot longer and grandiose than we had expected, and once again, Sawyer thoroughly enjoyed it all! Thanks McArthur family! We also finally went on a “date”, and brought our son along, on the 31st of July. We got a “groupon” for passes to a Real Salt Lake game.
What else could you want, soccer, a winning team, and a good deal! Needless to say it was a thrilling game that our boys won. We lucked out with our seats too. Not only was it a good view but when the impending rainstorm unleashed we were 5 rows up from getting drenched. We comfortably watched the entire game warm and protected by the “wings” of the stadium. We were treated to a spectacular sunset after the storm as the cherry on the top of it all!

Fireworks and Freedom

Oh how I love the month of July! Honestly, the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. I don't know exactly what it is but there's just something about the whole day. Whether it's a heightened pride in this great country, being with family, eating watermelon and barbeque all day long, or the thrill of the fireworks at night, there is just a pleasant, carefree feeling in the air on this day (and pretty much through the whole month in Utah thanks to the 24th celebrations too). I was so excited to introduce Sawyer to this holiday and all of the wonder of it. This year we celebrated on the 3rd, since the 4th was a Sunday. We met up with my brother's Scott, and Mike, and their families at the good ol' Kaysville parade, my parents where having a rough life exploring Europe for three weeks...much to my mother's dismay. Then did a swim and b.b.q. with them at my parents. We parted ways in the evening for fireworks at different events.
We took Sawyer home and did a few sparklers with him, put him down to bed and watched the Layton and Kaysville fireworks from our back porch...we have a sweet backyard. On the actual 4th we got to know some of our neighbors better through explosive pyrotechnics. One neighbor, I won't mention who, got a truck load of fireworks and firecrackers from Evanston a couple of years ago, so we were fortunate enough to be privy to the lighting off of the last of his stash. Sawyer thought we were all nuts but did pretty well with it all and actually seemed to enjoy much of it...even the endless strand of "Chinese" firecrackers that shook the entire neighborhood. Hurray for the dear ol' U.S of A.!

Summertime firsts

The month of June was spent soaking up, bathing in, and loving the sun...when it wasn't raining. Sawyer had his first experience in Grandma and Grandpa Jeppson's pool; he's definitely going to be a pool shark :)





We also had the privilege of seeing my brother Matt.
He came to Utah from Kansas City to hunt for reptiles, fish (I think), and pick up some furniture from my parents house. Since he and his family live so far away none of them have been able to meet Sawyer, so it was fun to have at least Matt come for a visit, though we wish the whole family could have come. While he was here he was able to find and catch the highly sought after, Utah mountain kingsnake (yes, my family is weird). This allowed Sawyer to have another very important first, holding his first snake.
They bonded right away as Sawyer tried to grab the snake and shove him into his mouth...don't worry, we stopped him and the snake and Sawyer would still be friends to this day if he were still around.
We are so looking forward to introducing Sawyer to all the the summer has to offer!

Fun times at the cabin

We made it and all is well! We had an enjoyable time at the cabin. Tons of people showed up so it was fun to have Sawyer meet so many of his relatives.
At the last minute we even got our friends, the Adams, to come with us.
It was nice to have them there so Amber, her son Lincoln, and Sawyer and I could go on little walks with them
while the boys were out ridding 4-wheelers or shooting at the shooting range. The 6 of us packed up one morning and headed to Bryce Canyon. What a beautiful place! We did some "sight seeing" and took a short but pleasant 3 mile hike.
Unfortunately, Matt and Lincoln only joined us on the first half mile...Lincoln was super tired and wasn't a fan of hanging out in the backpack. So, Amber, Rob (with Sawyer on front), and I hiked down into Bryce and back out all the while getting some pretty interesting looks and comments.
I'm pretty sure some people thought we were a little polygamist family with Amber and me being "sister wives". Oh, good times. We also got the mixture of looks and comments of "I can't believe those people would take their baby out and do this!" or "Good for you guys for taking your baby our and doing this!". We even got some Chinese people grinning at us and jovially stating "Oh, xiao pengyo!" (meaning "oh, little friend"). It's always humorous to me that people think that your life is over when you have a baby. Guess what?! You CAN take them along and it IS good for them to get out and experience new and different things (always within reason of course)! It IS possible to have a fun family life! Anyway, we had a good time learning how to lasso, hanging out at Panguitch Lake, and just enjoying the outdoors.

P.S. Sawyer HATES long car rides in his car seat...shocker, I know. But other than that all went quite well.

A whole lotta shakin' goin' on!

Whew! It's been like a whirlwind around here lately. On the 11th, Rob and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary with a quiet dinner out; can't believe all that we have been through in 3 short years! We've definitely lived every moment to the fullest: Costa Rican honeymoon, living in Hawaii, spring break on the Big Island, Jeppson family vacation on Maui, life in China with our weekend trips to Hong Kong and Macau, 3 week trip with my mom and Rob's parents all around China, my random India/South Africa job, trips to the Stephenson family cabin, having a BABY, new jobs, and now a new house! And those are just the major highlights! Thanks for an already full married life Robert!

We moved in to OUR house on the 15th, with the 17th being our first night there. Thank everyone who helped us move! With so many willing and able hands it went a lot smoother and faster than I expected! We are incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such a strong support group!
We have a lot of unpacking to do but I was able to get quite a bit done since we didn't have T.V. or internet for the first week (just barely got...boy, have I felt disconnected!)! I've been surprised at how well Sawyer has done with the adjustment, sleeping in his own room all by himself. Now we're packing up for the cabin, Sawyer's first trip away from home! I'm a little nervous!