More busy August

I wasn't planning on visiting family in Utah for a while since I'd gone not too long ago. But, two of my best friends from school were getting married so it was the perfect excuse to head out there! Shayla Johnson Tuttle and Staci Barney Wright were married one week apart. They looked so beautiful! I'm so happy for them and wish them the best in their marriages.

Ashlyn, Shayla,Staci,me, and Mason walking into the picture

Staci and her new hubby, David, and their first dance.Yep, that pretty much sums up my friends :)

During this time it was also the Dwayne Bayles Family Reunion. It was held in Oak City this year. The first night we celebrated my Grandpas 70th birthday. Grandma had asked me to write a tribute about him to read there and so I did. All the other grand kids put together a little something too. They each colored a picture about one of his "stories" in his life. When they gave the picture to him, he had to tell the story to us. It was so much fun! The next day we all headed out just past the Nevada border to Lehman's Cave. The drive out there was so much fun! My brothers are hilarious and I always get an ab workout after I've visited because I've laughed so much! Anyway, we got to the cave, stopped at the visitors center for a bit, then soon headed in.

Mason kept on wandering farther...

...and farther away

Shaun, C.J. Mom, and Chellese waiting to go in the cave

Grandpa Kurt keeping Mason entertained

Grandma Stefs turn

Jerolynn and Jarom

Mason and Damon at the visitors center.

Damon loooved Mason and played with him so much! One time when I was changing Mase's diaper Damon said, (in more of a statement than a question) "Mason is a boy"!?! "Yep, he sure is", I said. "Oohhh" said Damon. And they continued playing

Just as we stopped in the first room of the cave Mason started screaming...not his normal thing to do...and I couldn't get him to stop. Just as I was about to leave with him, my dad took him out so I could continue to go through the cave. Thanks Dad! Afterwards we had a picnic lunch then headed back to our camping site.

Jerolynn, Jeff, Logan, Mom, Dad, Chellese, Shaun

Parker, Heather, Grandma Jill, Shaun, Jarom, Karalee, Calee, and Jeff

The reunion was so much fun! It was great to see the whole family!

Saturday morning we packed up early because mom had to get ready for Akelas Council the next week and she needed the trailer. So, it seemed, as soon as we got down the mountain she was off. What a busy woman she is!

Well, Mason and I had plenty of things to do, places to go, and people to visit. We made a trip to Salt Lake to take Chellese school shopping and visit my friend Emilee. It was so good to see her and catch up on everything that's been going on in her life.

Another night I was able to visit with Delaini. We went out to dinner then headed over to the cemetery where our friend, Danielle, had been laid to rest. She had passed away almost 2 years ago from a boating accident, so it was good to reminisce and talk about what a beautiful person she was. *Miss you Dani*

One of the days mom was gone, Mason and I went up and visited her. She was so proud to show off her grandson to all her friends ;D It was a quick visit, but much needed for her.

Leslie (Pretty Oflie...inside joke) and her little family were down visiting her parents, so we spent some time together too. They're expecting another little boy soon and I can't wait to see him! While she was down she even made time to do my hair! Woop woop! We went out to the Rez one night, and had to go get some Maui Wowie slushies with ice cream. Mmmmm.... fun fun!

When you go to Grandpas it's a given that he'll take you on a four wheeler ride. Mason was not disappointed!

One of C.J's best friends and Shaun's friend too,Ty Young, passed away from a tractor accident. It was so hard to see my little brothers go through loosing such a great friend. They were asked to be Pall Bearers which was such an honor for them. Hopefully they have some comfort knowing they'll be able to see Ty again.

On one of the Fridays I was there it was the Annual Red and White football fundraiser game for the Delta Football team. It's really just a scrimmage between the Varsity and J.V. teams, but it's fun to go watch and have a hamburger while you're there. After the game, the coaches introduce all the seniors on the team. I can't believe my baby brother is a SENIOR! That makes me feel so old!

It just so happened that Chasey and Lyndsay were blessing their adorable little girl, Rylee, the last Sunday I was there. Back up to Payson I drove. Shaun and C.J. decided to come with Mason and I last minute so they could keep us company (and probably so they didn't have to sit through all of church) so as you can imagine it was another fun ride for me! Aunt Jenny, Lauren, and Hailey were also visiting them from Florida, so it was a treat to see them too! I'm sure they had a great time getting to know little Jean Bug! It was so good to see Chase and Lynds! I wish we lived closer so we could visit more often!

That Tuesday it was time to head home to San Diego!!! I missed my husband so much and couldn't wait to get home! I know Mason missed his daddy too! Two weeks is a long time to be away from home! Mom, Chellese, and Shaun took us to the airport. We said our goodbyes then hopped on the plane. What a fun visit it was!

Mom, Chellese, and a caterpillar come to visit

On the morning I was getting ready for my mom and Chellese to come and visit, I was out tending to my garden when I realized that about half of one of my tomato plants leaves had been eaten. Well, this was the culprit! Luckily I found it in time and my plant recovered. Mason loved playing with the squishy caterpillar and thought it was the coolest thing ever...a little scary...but awesome!

Where's the caterpillar?Oh, there it is!

After the yard was put together, we headed back inside for some lunch. We'd had spaghetti the night before, so of course leftovers would be on the menu.

The spaghetti aftermath! I know my child looks like he's in his diaper 90% of the time. Well, I'd rather get spaghetti sauce off of him rather than stains out of his clothes :)

Then the watermelon...I'll never let him have more than two pieces again. We paid for that for a a week.

That evening they finally arrived! We kicked off their stay with a trip to the O.B. Street Fair/Farmers Market. Mom bought some little summer squash to have with our steaks for dinner that night. Mmmmm...

The next day we headed to the Zoo. Mom hadn't been there since she was a kid, and I hadn't been there in a while so we were all looking forward to it.

You can't really see them, but there are hippos right behind them.

Chellese got picked as a volunteer to help with the Dr. Zoolittle program. Mason was terrified of that big orange tiger. We had to stand clear to the back so he wouldn't scream. Mason's favorite animals were the giraffes! Probably because they were so close up and BIG!

We also spent a day at the beach. Last year when Chellese was out here she tried boogie boarding and surfing. She did alright then, but this time she really picked up on it and was doing so well! She kept going farther and farther out. I was afraid that she was going to get wrecked by a wave, but she kept her ground-thank goodness! Mom even watched Mase for a bit while Bowen and I went surfing together. That doesn't happen too much so it was a lot of fun!

Mother daughter beach shot! Cute little sis!

All to soon mom had to head back to Utah. Chellese, on the other hand, stayed with us for another week and a half. It was so much fun to have my little sister here. It was sure nice to have and extra set of hands to help out. We went for lots of walks around PB (she did not like those to much) and of course got some Yogurtland (which she loved)!

We even made it down to Seaport Village. I'd never been there so it was a treat for both of us. Chellese found some presents for her friends, a postcard to send home, and we bought some delicious cookies to snack on while we walked around. This pic is right on the boardwalk and you can see the Coronado bridge in the background.There was a guy there with all of his birds and parrots just hanging out. For a little donation you could get your picture taken with them. Obviously she thought it was pretty cool.

I had won 2 tickets to Seaworld the week before. Mo LOVES Seaworld, so it was the perfect opportunity to go. Plus, it was FREE! woot woot!

Mason was thoroughly excited to wear his hat...can you tell?

We went to most of the shows, which are all so good. I love SeaWorld! This is us sitting in the soak zone for the Shamu show Believe. As you can tell, we are well prepared with our swimsuits on! Another cool thing for the littler kids is the Bay of Play there at Seaworld. It's Sesame Street themed so that's a bonus. When I found out we could take pictures the characters we had to go! Mason LOOOOVES Elmo but calls him Oh Oh. When he saw Oh Oh, he got soooo excited! He couldn't believe that Elmo was actually right there in front of him! He was giving him hugs and kisses, poking his big orange nose, and playing peek-a-boo! We could've stayed there all day just doing that and Mason wouldn't have cared.

There were some fun house mirrors just randomly placed on the sidewalk. Mason did not like them at all!

Looks like the Flamingos were excited to see Chellese

The last day she was here we were packing and getting ready to head to Utah. I had some friends that were getting married one week after the other, so it was the perfect excuse to come out! Hopefully Mom and Chellese had a good time while they were here. We sure did!

Our back yard adventures

In order to save a bit of money each month I line dry as much as I can. I like to think I'm doing my part, even if it's only a couple dollars here and there that I'm really saving. Mason loves when the sheets, blankets, and towels get washed because he knows he can play in them when they're hung up to dry. We've kind of made a game out of it. He runs through the laundry thinking that I'm going to chase him. Then he's so surprised when he turns around and i'm still there on the other side. What a silly baby! This particular day he'd had yogurt as a snack while I was doing the laundry. When he decided he was done I got him down. Normally I would wash him off right away but somehow I got a bit distracted. In that short period of time he ran to the nice clean laundry hanging in the sweet sunshine and managed to get blueberry yogurt all over it. So much for that! Oh well, I stripped him down and we played some more. We were having so much fun and I didn't want to take that away from him. He just looked so dang cute! In the end I just threw the blanket back in the wash. No big deal!

You know he's thinking

Mason was pretty obsessed with my tomatoes. They weren't ripe at all, but that didn't stop him from picking and eating the green ones.

Saturday Surf Days

Pretty much every Saturday in the Summer we go to the beach. It's our little family activity that we look forward to every week. After a looooong day at the beach, though, little Mason is very tired. This is what happens almost every time, so i thought I would get it on camera.

He would NOT let go of the lolly pop even though he was pretty much just chewing on the stick.

Lunch time!

Mason enjoying a calzone and a cup of milk. Mmmm!

Just another day in paradise

Well, there's not to much to say, but this is what's been going on the past couple of days...

A few days ago Mason and I met some friends from the church at the beach. Our kids had so much fun playing together. I know Mason was loving every moment of it; being the only guy and all.

It was our good friends, Kari and Dave, anniversary yesterday. Well, Dave surprised Kari with breakfast and a mariachi band. It was all set up on Sunset Cliffs right where they had their ring ceremony. Since he didn't want them to be there by themselves just hanging out with the band, he invited a bunch of people to come enjoy the music and breakfast burritos. Shout out to Dave! Woop woop! We had a great time. Mase especially enjoyed it!

Wendy and Kari

The band. Just 3 of 14 (i think) Anyway, they were really good!

Mason and Bowen

It's so funny how Mason's attention span ranges drastically. This morning he watched about 45 minutes of Sesame Street. The only other time he holds still that long is when he's sleeping. Silly boy!

Happy Birthday Mason!

Mason turned 1! I can't believe a whole year has gone by since our little boy was born. Every new milestone has been so much fun to watch. From his first smile to rolling over, crawling to walking, and baby babble to words. I'm so grateful for my precious, happy, and healthy little boy.

We had his party last Saturday. There was a pretty good turnout with about 30 people. A lot of our friends still don't have kids (ya'll might want to get on that, Mason needs some guy buddies to play with) so there were more adult's than children, but he had a great time anyway. There was a good mix of people from church and Bowens work. He grilled up some fierce burgers and hotdogs for everyone and they were deeeelicious! mmmmm.... After everyone had pretty much eaten, it was cake time. We all sang Happy Birthday while I brought out the cake with one candle to Mason. He was grinning from ear to ear because he knew that this was all about him. We set him down with the cake in front of him and instead of digging in like most kids would, he poked it, licked the frosting off his finger, poked it again, lick, poke, lick...you get the picture.

Well, Bowen got a little impatient with that so he grabbed Masons hands and stuck them in the cake. He started BAWLING! He was so upset that his dad did that to his cake. So I cleaned off his hands and handed him a fork. After he got that he was just fine and finished eating as much cake as he wanted. Soon after, it was present time! He loves all the presents he got. One in particular was a 4 foot stuffed teddy bear. Where the heck are we going to put that? Oh, but Mason loves it and loves to jump on it and kiss it's nose.

We spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out, playing washers, football, and volleyball. We all had a great time and I think Mase really enjoyed his first birthday.

Mason got this huge card that played the chicken dance song. Every time he would open it he would start dancing. It was pretty funny!