Steve Idaho Trip/Father's Day Weekend

The weekend of Father's Day, Steve went up to Idaho w/ his dad and Rob to go fishing w/ my dad and friend Mark Gasper.  They had planned to go for a couple months, and the purpose was to celebrate Zach Hannay's graduation from Paramedic School.  Ironically Zach found out a couple days before he wasn't able to go since they would be short staffed at the Fire Department.  Dave and Rob had already taken work off, so they figured they'd go anyway.  I also took work off Thursday and Friday so they could go up.  They left Thursday morning and got back Saturday afternoon.  They had a great time, even if the fishing was slow at times.

Dave fishing at the Talapia ponds shortly after getting up to the farm.
Dave hooked a Pacu fish.

My dad, Dave and Rob fishing at the ponds.

Caught a big Pacu!

Then they went Sturgeon fishing that night w/ Mark Gasper at the Snake River.  

Unfortunately they didn't catch any, but still had a good time.

The next morning they went fishing on my dad's boat at Anderson Dam.  

It was a little rainy and cold and again the fishing was slow, but they tried their best.

My dad, Dave and Rob on the boat.

Caught one!

That afternoon they went Sturgeon fishing again with no luck again.  Yet as the saying goes, "A bad day fishing is still better than a good day in the office!"

My Dad w/ his worm ball ;)

While Steve was gone, Nyles, Carter and I had some fun too.  We went to the Draper Park and fed the ducks and geese.  Then Nyles rode his bike around the park and I pushed Carter in the stroller.

The geese.

Feeding the ducks and geese at the pond.

Carter eating corn and peas.  Silly kid :)

Our neighbors were gone for a week and a half, so they asked us to feed their guinea pigs for them.  Nyles thought it was so fun!  He wanted to hold the lettuce instead of just putting it in their cage to eat on their own.  He sure does LOVE animals!

He also likes to help feed Carter.

On Friday we met up w/ Pauline at a splash pad here in Sandy.

Nyles rode his bike around once while Pauline was coming.  

 

Carter enjoyed being outside and watching Nyles at the splash pad.

Carter loves straws, chewing on them too!

We found out Carter not only likes Popsicles, but he can hold one and feed himself too!

Yumm Popsicles after a hot day!

When Steve got home we went to the park and played for a bit.  

We were all so happy to see him and be together again :)

That Sunday was Father's Day.  

A picture of Steve w/ Nyles and Carter right before church.

Cute things about Steve from Nyles.

After church and a nap, we went up to Melanie and Brandon's new house in Midway for a Father's Day dinner/get together.  It was a fun evening.  The kids loved playing on the swings, and of course the snow cones!

Carter enjoying a snow cone.

Fun swings.

 Carter having fun w/ dad.

Happy Father's Day!

Jeff, Steve, Ryan, Phill, Dave and Brandon.

The sign Joann made says, "Our dads are SNOW cool!" 

We are so thankful for our dads and all they do for us.  I'm thankful for my father, my father-in-law and especially for Steve as the father to our 2 cute boys.  We love you so much!

Gratitude June 2017

June was a fun eventful month, hard to believe it's over already.  Here are some highlights and things we were grateful for during the month of June.

Carter loves chewing on everything!

Nyles w/ his inflatable alligator and bubbles on his head during bath time.

Carter helping Steve put together the tile saw.  

Happy Birthday to Carter during family dinner night.

	Steve	Penny	Nyles
6/1/2017	Put Can/LED lights put in our shower.	Steve is working hard on our shower, and it's coming together.	Stayed w/ my family.
6/2/2017	Our neighbor Hayley took Nyles to play w/ her son Ryder (his birthday party).	Our shower is coming together. Steve is feeling better.	Went w/ Ryder to Boondocks for his birthday party.
6/3/2017	Rob paid for dump fees.	Found cheaper Mosaic tile for shower.	New truck. Went w/ dad to the dump.
6/4/2017	New tile saw.	A/C on a hot day. Gifts of the Spirit.	Aunt Diane's fun games at family dinner.
6/5/2017	New flange.	Google.	Strawberries.
6/6/2017	Hole for the piping done correctly.	The Book of Mormon.	Conor's house has grass now, not just dirt.
6/7/2017	Got to work on our shower.	More Dahlia flowers are coming up.	Lynsie came over to play.
6/8/2017	Penny cleaned the house.	Carter is in our family. His 1st birthday. We love him so much!	Carter's birthday.
6/9/2017	ATV ride w/ Nyles.	Steve took the boys to the cabin so I could study.	Cabin.
6/10/2017	Scottish Festival.	Beautiful flowers in our yard to look at and enjoy.	Got a new sword at the Scottish Festival.
6/11/2017	I got to sleep in today.	Leslie came to visit (my old roommate from college).	Saw hummingbirds at our feeder.
6/12/2017	Got shower floor tiled.	The Gift of the Holy Ghost.	Played w/ neighbor Caitlyn.
6/13/2017	Relaxing evening w/ Penny.	The rain.	Found a fish.
6/14/2017	Penny made cookies.	Our cars/vehicles.	Fed Guinea Pigs.
6/15/2017	Fishing w/ my dad and Grant.	Had a fun day w/ Nyles and Carter.	Rode bikes w/ Tyler.
6/16/2017	Sturgeon fishing w/ family/friends.	Our views and proximity to so many of God's Temples.	Mom charged the battery to the Jeep so I could ride it.
6/17/2017	My ties being cleaned.	Steve came home from Idaho.	Went to park as a family, rode bike.
6/18/2017	For all the hard work Penny put in to make Father's Day special.	Our dads.	Snow cones.
6/19/2017	No more squeaky floor in our room.	Fresh fruit in the Summer- Watermelon, peaches, strawberries.	Played w/ Ryder.
6/20/2017	First layer of tile in shower done.	Steve's working on the tile in the shower.	We built a repair shop out of a cardboard box.
6/21/2017	A/C on a hot day- 100 degrees.	Our health insurance paid a big hospital bill we thought they weren't going to.	New Friend Magazine came in the mail to read.
6/22/2017	Grateful for my handgun.	Prayer.	Played w/ neighborhood friends in water.
6/23/2017	Boat came today.	Nyles graduated from Upstart!	Done w/ Upstart; got new toys.
6/24/2017	Shower tile is almost done.	Steve worked hard on tile in shower.	Played in dad's boat.
6/25/2017	Nyles doesn't have a fever.	The Standard works/ scriptures to read.	Got new costumes.
6/26/2017	Ron came to help me w/ the sprinklers.	Took my CFP review test, made good progress.	Played in the boat.
6/27/2017	Motor plate came.	Steve got the shower tile and grout done in shower!	Read new books.
6/28/2017	Sprinklers fixed.	On top of things at work.	Tomatoes and Strawberries are growing in our garden.
6/29/2017	A/C to cool me off.	Summer nights; watermelon in season!	Played in daddy's boat.
6/30/2017	Movie night w/ Penny.	The grass is coming in really thick in the front yard; looks great!	Got good sleep the night before.

Carter's 1st Birthday

Carter turned one on Thursday, June 8th.  I took the day off work so we could celebrate and spend it together as a family.  That morning we met Pauline and Ezra at a new splash pad in Bluffdale.  It's a pretty big splash pad/play ground, but with all the people there it sure got busy fast.  Even though it was crowded (since it was new), and they didn't turn the water on for an hour (due to the wind), it was still fun.

Nyles going on the zip-line swing at the Splash Pad while waiting for the water to turn on.

Carter hanging out in the stroller then in the swing.  He LOVES swings!

Carter and Ezra on the swings waiting for the water to start.

 The water was finally turned on! 

Lots of people!

After the splash pad we hurried home so I could make his cake.  

I decided to make cupcake Octopuses.  So fun!  

I used gummy worms, dots and googly eyes.

 Carter w/ his birthday balloon!  Cute Nyles and Carter.

Playing in the ball pit (swimming pool) before the party.

We had everyone over for dinner: spaghetti and yummy bread-sticks from Aunt Diane!  

Thanks everyone who brought something for the dinner; much appreciated!

LuDean, Diane, Kim, Stacie, Rob and Cameron.

Joann, Lynsie, Carrie, LuDean and Rob.

Now for Carter's cake, a BIG CUPCAKE!  

Singing Happy Birthday to Carter!!!

He's so excited!

Sophia, Charlotte and Ala watching as Carter digs in.

He mostly just poked his finger at it and licked the frosting.  So cute!

    

Want some?

More frosting! 

Octopus cupcakes again.  The kids ate them first; imagine that :)

Ezra w/ a blue tongue from the frosting.

And Carter has frosting on his ear.

More frosting!

Now present time!  Conor, London and Nyles helping.

Opening presents.

Cute birthday boy!  He loved the puppy, thanks Rose!

 He kept biting its nose, too funny!

Thanks again everyone for coming and supporting Carter for his birthday.  We really appreciate it.  We are so blessed to have him in our family.  He brings us such joy!