Humming Bird Nest

Michael found a humming bird nest in one of our trees. They let me get up close enough to snap this picture. This was the first time that Kristen had seen a humming bird nest... so we thought that it was pretty cool that we have one in our backyard. Aren't they so cute with their little heads poking out?

Jayla Walking Down the Stairs

So I have to brag about how precocious little Jayla is. Little Jayla loves being a big girl and has always loved trying to walk up the stairs like mommy and daddy, so she has gotten really good at it. Here is a video of her walking down the stairs. The Occupational Therapists, Annie, who has worked all over Utah County said that in her 25 year career she has never heard of a 12 month old walking up and down stairs by only holding on with one hand. She wanted me to video record it because she was so flabbergasted, so here it is...(Oh did I mention that she can also walk up the stairs backwards and forwards!)

Happy Father's Day!

So I'm a little late on the whole Father's Day thing, but here it goes...
One of the things that my Michael wanted most was to be a daddy! This past year has been nothing but bliss as I watch my husband love his little girl! He still cries when thinking about how blessed we are to have Jayla in our lives. He is such a good dad always chasing and hugging Jayla right when he gets home from work. He always pushes everything else aside to make plenty of time for Jayla. He is always trying to think of new things to teach Jayla. He is passionate about giving her every opportunity to learn, explore new things and develop new strengths. I have to brag... I do think that he is a great dad! He has truly loved being a daddy and he is so excited for the years to come spending time with our future children.

Michael singing to Jayla right before bedtime.

Nauvoo

This was how our trip started. We had only been traveling for about 6 hours when Nolan, Michael's dad stated, "I could drive all night long!" Then a huge doe hit the grill while we were driving 75 miles an hour on the free way. Thank goodness for the organization of the LDS Church. Nolan called their home bishop and he called the Bishop in Brush, Colorado (which is where we were stranded) and he rallied up a few men who were able to help fix the suburban by the very next day so that we could continue our trip!

This is the same size as the covered wagons the early saints took across the plains only it is about 2 feet longer.

Jayla giving grandpa hugs and kisses. She loves riding on everyone's shoulders... especially grandpa's.

Jamie found a toad and was showing it to Jayla. Jamie was a little shocked when Jayla grabbed it without hesitation. That Jayla girl is not afraid of anything!

These are the steps to the cemetery for Old Nauvoo. We were on our way to pay respect to those who died in Nauvoo. We were also on a quest to locate our ancestors. (Jayla was thrilled because she got to climb up her favorite thing in the world... stairs.)

This is Michael's great great great grandfather (Seymour Brunson), who was a body guard for Joseph Smith. On the day of his funeral Joseph Smith punlically announced the doctrine of baptisms for the dead.

We were able to take several oxen and horse rides around Nauvoo. We had so much!! Jayla loved petting the animals afterward.

Us on the Mississippi River. I couldn't imagine having to cross that river in the dead of winter. Those early saints had so much Faith!!

The boys (Micheal's youngest 3 brothers) at the Brick yard learning how to make bricks like the pioneers.

Jayla... dog piling on everyone. She always has to be the center of attention and there are always plenty of people around to give her that attention.

This was where we stayed. It was right in the middle of Nauvoo, so when Jayla got tired or when it got too hot outside (It was 97 degrees with 80% humidity!) we were able to come home. It was so convenient.

One of the sites at Nauvoo is the Trail of Hope or also known as the Trail of Tears. This was the route the saints took in the middle of February. The mobs were escalating and Brigham Young told them it was time to leave. It was bout 30 below zero outside when they left to cross the Mississippi.

The whole Fam is getting a lesson in rope making.

The Brass Band just drove by blaring their music so naturally Jayla stopped whatever she was doing to dance.

Grandma Ora Mae May... (Jayla Mae is named after her) playing her xylophone, in one of the musical production that the missionaries put together. She was really good!!

Here are all of us kids in the balcony of the Cultural Hall... most groups are not allowed up there, but we got special treatment since our grandma is a missionary in Nauvoo.

Daddy dancing with Jayla again... on the original floor that Joseph and Emma Smith danced on!

The rest of the clan resting on the benches in the Cultural Hall.

This is Jayla at the children's park dressed up as a little pioneer... and she makes it look good! She looks so cute in her little bonnet and the dress actually slowed her down a little bit so that she couldn't run away from us as fast. She loved playing in the cabin, knocking down the clothes line, throwing the dishes on the floor and holding the dolls.

This is a statue of Hyrum and Joseph Smith as they were leaving Nauvoo for Carthage Jail. Joseph knew that this would be his last look down at the city and the temple that the saints worked so hard to build.

We had the opportunity to go through a session at the Nauvoo Temple. It has such a different feeling about it because of the amazing things that took place there and the sacrifices that the early saints had to make to built it! We are so glad that we had the opportunity to go to Nauvoo. We learned about great faith, obedience, and sacrifice. Most importantly we learned that God will always provide a way. Although things don't always turn out how we would like them too... in the end everything turns out far better than we could ever imagine if we just put our trust in Him. Sometimes he allows us to go through difficult things in order to protect us from worse things... such as, commanding the saints to leave their beloved Nauvoo and suffer hardships in order to find peace, freedom, and safety from the mobs as they settled in the Salt Lake Valley.

A Night at the Museum

Michael decided to take me out on a date...only now a days we are usually accompanied by a certain little girl. We decided to go to the museum that is by our house so that Jayla could see all of the animals, which she loves.

Jayla loved making all of the animal noises that she knows and kept pointing at everything.

Some of the animals she wasn't too sure of..like this baboon. We wanted to get a good picture of her looking at it only she didn't want to get too close (She kept arching her back so that she could get as far away from it as she could.)

She was a little more afraid of the Leaopard...so we ditched the idea of trying to get a picture of her pointing and smiling at it.


Afterwards we went to go get ice cream. Jayla loved it. She almost ate all of Michale's ice cream cone and whenever we would take it away from her she would scream until we would give it back to her. She must take after her mom.

Intermural Baseball

Here is Michael at his city league softball game. They won this game 20 to 5. They slaughtered the other team. Jayla helped me cheer him on and actually sat on my lap for the whole game.

Michael running home.

This was right before Michael hit a triple.

Reading with Daddy

Whenever Michael lays on the ground here comes Jayla running. She loves to sit on him and then bounce and climb all over him. She loves her books too, so it is no surprise that she has to bring them with her wherever she goes....even to go sit on daddy. As you can tell, Michael isn't complaining.

Boating with the family

Yesterday we went boating on the Lake with Kristen's family. We go several times a year, but this was Jayla's first boating trip! She seemed to feel right at home in the boat.

Kristen's family are all self-taught wake-boarders (they just bought a board one year and figured it out on their own). When Michael and Kristen were dating they decided that he had to learn to wake-board too.

The lake was so glassy! It made the ride so smooth.
Here Michael is trying to get some air (check out that farmers tan!!).


Kristen enjoying the glassy conditions.


Kristen in the middle of pulling her patented 180!


This is how Kristen's Dad, Clark, Wake-boards!!

OK... He really knows what he's doing.
He can get pretty high up there and often pulls the occasional trick too!

This is Michael and Clark on the "Sassy Saucer." The Sassy Saucer is a
piece of round plywood that Kristen's family has taken to the lake since
Kristen was small. It took some acrobatics and a well planned balancing
act but they got up and got SASSY!

The newly-weds (Brittany and Matt) holding Jayla
while Grandma tickles her feet.

Jayla was beat by the time we were heading to the docks.
It was all she could do to keep her eyes open.

We couldn't find the pump to blow up the famous -Water Weenie-.
Next time we'll get some amazing Water-Weenie pictures.

What a fun day on the lake!

Mowing the Cement

Jayla, feeling a little better, wanted to play with her lawn mower that her Birth-Mom, Chauntel, gave her. Jayla loves it!! She played with it for an hour and when we had to go see daddy she got very upset that we had to leave her mower behind. (For some reason she would rather stay on the concrete than mow the grass.) I love these pictures! Thanks Chauntel!

My Sick Jayla

What is wrong with this picture?

For those of you who know Jayla...nothing is wrong with this picture. My sweet little Jayla, with a temperature of nearly 101 degrees is still smiling! After stripping her down to her diaper (to cool her down a bit), a little food and plenty of fluids and rest, she was smiling even more.

During Christmas break she got sick with a high fever and I could tell that she was hotter than normal. I kept telling everyone that I thought she was sick. Nobody believed me (until I showed them her temperature of 102) because she hardly ever cries, or is grumpy when she is sick. She just keeps on smiling and playing. In fact, I have to hold her and read her stories just so that she will slow down a little and recover. She is a tough cookie!

I guess there will be plenty of stories and long baths today.