Another year older!

I can't believe I am 31! Don was quick to point out that now I am closer to 40 than 20. That is crazy! I don't like that I am getting older but I do love birthdays and had so much fun!

The night before my birthday Don and I went to Sundance to have dinner and see the play "The Fantastiks" in their outdoor theatre. The food was delicious and the play was a lot of fun! Sundance is one of my favorite places in Utah, partly because that is where we got engaged, and it is just so beautiful! The best part was having a night for just Don and me. I can't thank Diane enough for staying with the kids. They had so much fun with her, as always. She always brings books, puzzles and fun treats!

On my actual birthday, Don made a yummy breakfast with delicious chocolate cake after. He always makes it so fun!

The kids were so excited for me to open up their presents! It was so cute! I kept opening up boxes with things they had found around the house. Elle gave me a box of her plastic rings. Easton gave me a mouse from one of our games and then he said, "Mom, this is your girly one" and handed me a box with one of Elle's polly pocket pieces in it. I love kids! They are so funny!

We decided to take the kids to the Utah Olympic Park because we have never been there and live so close. It was so fun to see the skiers practice their jumps and tricks. They are amazing!

The museum there was really neat! Easton loved this bobsled and kept getting in it over and over again.

Easton was so excited to go on the alpine slide and kept saying "Woohoo! Go faster!" as we went down.

Elle is a little more cautious and was happy to sit and watch the skiers practice their jumps.


Jayne just loves to play with her feet! I couldn't help but laugh though when I looked over and she had fallen asleep holding one foot with the other straight up. She is so cute!

Fun on the Playset

At the beginning of the summer Don put together a playset for the kids. It started out as a pile of wood and took a lot longer than expected. Thankfully Don is really handy and loves a good project because the kids were so anxious for it to be done. They have had so much fun playing on it this summer!

The beginning of the playset...

Elle and Easton really wanted to help built it! Easton even got out his tools.

On the swing

The Dragonfly Club (Elle wanted to name it the Barbie Diamond Castle but we convinced her to name it something a little less girly for Easton. He is such a nice brother that he will go along with almost anything.)

Jayne loves to swing and just smiles and smiles

August Freeze

After having so much fun camping in the Uintas, we wanted to go back and do another hike there. We planned to make a day of it and invited Don's parents, Don and Diane to come along. We thought it would be neat for the kids if we went on a tour of the Kamas Fish Hatchery on our way to the Uintas and then go on a hike and have a picnic. What we didn't realize is that it would be 30 degrees colder than it was when we had camped. It was in the 40's and so cold! It made me hope that we have an indian summer because I am not ready for cold weather yet. It was pretty funny to be bundled up in August though.

In spite of the cold, we had such a fun day. The kids loved seeing the fish at the Hatchery and were amazed that they start out so small. We were so cold after that we went and had a hot breakfast at a fun place called the "Yolk" where we had the best hot chocolate and homemade turnovers ever! Then we hiked to Cliff Lake in our summer/winter gear and let the kids explore. Easton loved picking up frogs Grandpa found for him and Elle was excited to see the lily pads and pretty flowers. It was a short, easy hike but so fun to be outside and be with Grandma and Grandpa.

Easton with Grandpa at the Fish Hatchery

Bundled up in our winter gear at the trail head for Cliff Lake

Easton with a little frog

Elle and Easton with Grandma and Grandpa at Cliff Lake

The Lily pad flowers were blooming and so pretty

Swimming Lessons

Elle and Easton have had swimming lessons this past week and have done so great! I can't believe the improvement that both of them have made. Elle is very cautious and used to have a hard timed even putting her face in the water and always stayed pretty close to the steps. Now she will jump off the diving board, swim across the pool with her face in the water, and even dive for rings. She is learning all the swim strokes too. Easton is a little more brave and has no problem jumping in the water or putting his face in but he has improved too. Now he will swim across the pool with his head under the water the whole time. He can hold his breath for so long and has been the example for the class when their teacher wants to show them something new. The funny thing is that I don't think he realizes that he is doing anything different than the other kids. He will be a great swimmer!

Elle

Easton and his buddy Drake

Elle swimming across the pool (This is huge for her!)

Easton swimming with his face in the water

Easton loved jumping off the diving board!

Elle loved it too! I am so proud of them both!

Camping in the Uintahs

Last weekend we went camping with our friends, the Hansens, in the Uintas. It was so beautiful and really fun to be up in the mountains and let the kids just explore. It was the first time we have camped with our kids in the mountains and they loved it! We will definitely do it again. I love being outside and taking advantage of all the fun things there are to do in Utah.

We hiked to Ruth's Lake and the wildflowers were amazing! The pictures just don't do it justice. Elle and her friend, Ellie, loved seeing all the flowers and insisted that this must be where the 'Barbie Diamond Castle' is because it was so pretty.

Ruth's Lake was so pretty. The kids had fun throwing rocks into it. Elle and Easton are such good friends.

Jayne seems to like hiking and just smiles and looks around until it rocks her to sleep.

It was fun to hang out with Cory and Angie. Our kids are all about the same ages too so they have a lot of fun together.

We took the kids fishing. Elle caught one right away but as soon as she reeled it in, she wanted it as far away as possible from her, which is why the pole is so far away from her in the picture. Easton was so patient and had a few bites but never actually caught one. He loved it though and even laughed when he fell in the water up to his waist, which is amazing considering that he is so sensitive. He and Don had fun together. I know Grandpa Don would be proud.

Don and Cory built in Indian Teepee for Easton, Elle, Ellie and Cooper with dead trees. The kids loved it and got really into it. We made tomahawks for them and even painted their faces with ash.

Don and Jayne

The weather was perfect during the day but it got really cold at night. We all had on sweatshirts and beanies inside our sleeping bags and even had a heater going in our tent. It was so fun though! We had a great time.

Remembering Jay

It has been a year since Don's brother Jay went missing while he was hiking in his favorite place, the Lakeside Mountains near Tooele. On July 30, 2009, one year to the day that he died, all the Adamson family hiked to the spot where Jay was found and then Don, his dad and Ken mounted a plaque to a rock nearby. It was a lot harder hike than most of us expected and gave us all a new appreciation for Jay; he used to hike up at full speed with Riley. Don, his dad, Ken, Glenn, Devin and David were the only ones that had been there during the search. The terrain is very steep and rugged but the little kids even made it, thanks to great cousins and uncles who carried them when it got rough. Cousin Tyler and Uncle Ken carried Easton and Elle got to ride on Uncle Glenn's back. She now teases and calls him her 'pink pony.' It also made us all so grateful to the hundreds of volunteers, many who didn't know him, who came and searched in 100+ degree weather and rough terrain, one year ago. People really are amazing!

It was sad knowing why we were there but nice to be together and so peaceful on the mountain. Even though it is the desert, it really is beautiful. I can see why Jay liked it so much. We love you Jay! You are greatly missed!

The mountain range


Easton with his cousin Tyler

Hiking up the mountain

Marcie and her kids, minus Riley on his mission in Sweden

All the Adamsons with the plaque

Our family, with baby Jayne, who is named after her Uncle Jay.

There were sunflowers growing along the road leading to the mountain and hiking up, which was really neat because sunflowers are Diane's favorite.

All Smiles

Jayne is the sweetest little baby! She is always so happy and smiley. When I go in to check on her when she is having a nap, she goes from this...

To this...

Batman

Cute little Easton loves Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Ironman--pretty much any Superhero. He loves to "fly" around in his cape. The other day Elle was asking why we don't see her cousins Jonathon and Sami that much. I told her that it is because they live far away in Chicago and it is expensive to fly there. Then Easton got really excited and said, "I know Elle. I have two Batman capes and you can use one and we can fly there!" It was so cute! He just adores his sister and thought that they could really fly there together. I was taking his picture a few days later and he started to get frustrated and cry. When I asked him what was wrong, he said he wanted to fly. I told him he was flying and then he pointed up in the sky and said "No, I want to fly up there!" I love my little boy! I don't want him to grow up...