Landon's Blessing

Our Handsome Boy!

We capped off our fun 4th of July weekend with Landon's blessing on Sunday, July 5. We decided to do a private family blessing this time instead of doing it in our ward because most of our family was already up in the SLC/Provo area, and it was easier for us to come to them rather then having them all come down to us. I was a little bit worried about having it be less formal this time and not feeling like an actual baby blessing, but it ended up being very special. We were able to arrange to do the blessing at Jon's parent's church after the block ended on Sunday, and it was nice not having to sit through an hour meeting afterward. It was made even more special by the fact that we had so many of our family there to participate. We were lucky to have all of Jon and I's surviving grandparents there (we only have three left between the two of us). After the blessing we all went over to Jon's brother Loran's house and enjoyed some tasty grub in their backyard. It was a great day and we are so appreciative to everyone who made the effort to come!

Family Pics

"California" Grandma and Grandpa

Kids with Great Grandpa and Grandma Crosbie (Nicole's grandparents)

Kids with Great Grandma Christensen (Jon's grandma)

Happy 4th of July!

It was fun to be able to spend the 4th this year with family. Since all of my family were staying at different places and we had no common place to be all together, Stef and Mike came up with the idea to go to Park City for the day. We had a great time there doing a little shopping at the outlets, having lunch together, and then heading over to Park City Mountain Resort to ride the new Alpine Coaster and the older, more classic Alpine Slide. Jon had gone on the Alpine Slide a long time ago, but it was the first time the kids and I have ever done the Slide, and the first time any of us have ever done the Coaster. We had a blast! Brooklyn was so sad when the rides were all over and threw a fit when I told her that we couldn't ride again for awhile (we blew $70 in a few short minutes for us all to ride the the slide and coaster--not cheap!) We did promise to take the kids back again someday though. After we were done in Park City, we headed back to Stefani's in-laws house, where they graciously hosted the whole Mitchell clan for dinner, and then we headed over to Sugarhouse Park to watch the fireworks. It was a great day, and the baby did amazingly well being toted around all day away from home!

Ascending the mountain on the Alpine Coaster

The Alpine Slide
Riding the chairlift up the mountain!Brooklyn and I raced against. . .
Jacey and Jon! (Gee, I wonder who won?)

Brookie and Megan eagerly anticipating the fireworks!
Cute cousins!
Time to call it a night! California Grandma's getting a little tipsy!

Northern Utah Visit

Landon giving his most handsome smiles to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Amy

(**Note to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Amy--Do not be deceived. Babies aren't always THIS good!)

A couple of weeks ago the kids and I took off to Northern Utah for a little mini-vacation to Jon's parent's house. While we were there we had the opportunity to see most of both sides of our family, and we incorporated this visit with Landon's blessing at the end of the week. It was the first time most people in our extended family were able to see Landon, and it was fun to be able to spend time with each of them. My sister Stefani and her family were visiting from Arkansas, and it was the first time we have seen them in a year. Also Jon's sister Kristen and her kids were visiting from Colorado, so it was great to see them again as well. The kids had a good time playing with their cousins, and it was nice to be able to have the extra arms to hold Landon. He did surprisingly well considering that he was loved and passed around by so many new people. I think that he loves being the center of attention already! As usual, I didn't take enough pictures, but here are some of the highlights from our trip:

Loves from cousin Megan
Loves from cousin Noah
and lovin Aunt Steffy!
Brooklyn at Jump On It!Jacey was doing front flips on the trampolines--so brave!
Jacey and Brooklyn with cousins Adam and Jenna on the inflatables

Having a great time with the cousins!

Day at Zion National Park

For my birthday we decided to spend the day visiting Zion National Park. The kids and I had never been before, and it also happened to be free admission that day, so we were able to take advantage of going on the cheap. Although we didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked there (it rained off and on that day and we had a 6-week-old in tow), we did take the bus tour through the park and also did a couple of quick hikes with the kids. (On a side note, Jon got quite a few funny looks from people that day while he was carrying little Landon around in the baby carrier. Did they think it was cute or unmasculine for him to be wearing one of those?) All in all, we had a fun day and we would love to return there sometime soon. It is amazing that we have such spectacular surroundings right in our own backyard!Pooped!

Learning to Smile

Landon's First Smiles--5 weeks old

When Landon was about 5 weeks old I started to play that parent game of "Is this normal?" I couldn't remember when babies were supposed to make start making eye contact and smiling, but he wasn't yet and so I started to research the internet to make sure that nothing was wrong. I felt reassured when I read that it was usually around 2-3 months that babies started to do this. Landon must have felt my anxiety because lo and behold, just a couple of days later he began to finally look at us and even started to smile, well ahead of schedule. Now he is an old pro and has a ready smile first thing in the morning and after eating a satisfying meal. He has even started to "track" our movements, and is always on the lookout for Brooklyn so that he can prepare himself for her pounces!

Playing Catch-up/Visits with Grandparents!

Wow, I have been such a slacker at this blog thing lately. So much has happened in the past couple of months that I would like to post about, yet I struggle to even get the more basic things accomplished in life right now (like getting in a shower!). Taking care of the new baby and trying to entertain two girls who are perpetually bored is time consuming!

Working backwards a little, we were lucky to have my mom and brother Michael come out to visit at the end of May. The kids always enjoy seeing their "California Grandma" and playing with Uncle Michael, who is an uber-good sport and indulges them by playing the same games over and over and OVER again! They stayed for about 5 days and we had a lot of fun with them:

"California Grandma" and Landon

Landon with Uncle Michael
Saying goodbye!

About two weeks later Jon's mom was able to visit for a couple of days along with Jon's brother Loran and his wife Merilee. Their trip was short but sweet and the kids enjoyed seeing their "Red Grandma" as well.

"Red Grandma", the ultimate multi-tasker

This is really working backwards, but my parents and Michael also came to visit us a couple of weeks before Landon was born (they were passing through on their way back from my brother Jeff's college graduation). I love this picture of my parents with Brooklyn:

Even though we live further away from our family than we like, I'm glad that we still live close enough to see them from time to time. I am especially glad that my kids have been able to develop close relationships with their grandparents and extended family. They love each of you so much!