More Fun At Home/ Aunt D's Home

Thursday we packed up the troops and headed to sunny, and hot, St. George. I haven't seen my sister nor my brother-in-law in a long time. I also haven't seen my little friend Pauline, (above). So we all decided to meet at the Cracker Barrel for lunch. It was so much fun to catch up with my friend and my sister. Thanks Pauline for coming to lunch and for the kiddo's gifts. You are a doll.
Danielle has been telling me about these splash parks that are all over the St. George area. So we got online and found one that was closest to us and headed to go and check it out. It was amazing. I want to build one of these in my back yard someday. What a treat! This particular one was out in Washington. It was this huge slab of concrete with all these different things sticking up out of it. This one had palm trees, and snakes, frogs that were water guns and then rings of water. To turn the park on, there was this black cylinder of metal sticking up on the far side and all you had to do was to put your hand on top of it and the park turned on for about 10 minutes and then it shut off again.
There were also random fountains that spit water from the concrete. Here is Tyson getting ready to run through one of them. I loved this park, not only because it was so cool, but the water turned off after a bit and that gave you a chance to rest and warm up and then you could turn it on again when you wanted to.
The bikini baby. Taryn really didn't like going through all the water, but she did enjoy sitting on the concrete and watching Tyson run around. Tyson would stop periodically to lay down and play with his little sister. We went to this park early enough in the morning that is wasn't so dreadfully hot. It felt great to get in the water and then lay on the warm concrete and dry off.Such a cute little button.Two happy sisters. We look and act a lot a like. I only wish we lived closer together. This day was a blast to be with my sister.Tyson didn't want to leave this park. He would have stayed the rest of the day, if I would have let him.Taryn and mom before we got soaked.

Aunt D and Tyson under one of the spouting palm trees.Here is Aunt D trying to coax Tyson into running underneath of the Palm Tree while the water is going. Tyson eventually ran underneath. He and Aunt D played with the frog water guns until they were both soaking wet!

That evening we went to Aunt D and Uncle Jesse's pool. Now Taryn actually liked the pool and even let me put her into the water. I guess because the water was warm was the reason for her liking to swim. Uncle Jesse played with Tyson in the water and the two of them were fast buddies. Tyson loved to play with Uncle Jesse. (I unfortunately forgot the camera at this point in time. What else is new)

The next day we spent shopping and then saw Aunt D's school classroom. My sister just completed her Bachelors degree at DSC, where she graduated with an Elementary teaching certificate. She procured a job at Bloomington Elementary where she is now one of 4 forth grade teachers. She is so excited to get started that she has been working on her room for most of the summer. This is her reading corner. She decided to theme her room to look like the tropics.

Her desk is a big hula skirt. She has bamboo hanging from the lights with grasses all over the place. It is really cool looking. I never spent that much time on my room, when I was teaching, of course, I was in high school not elementary.

Such sweet sisters. She is going to make such a good teacher. Her room was so colorful and exciting and new, that kids are going to love coming to class to see what new things she has in store for them. I would send my kids to her. Here is her white board complete with all manner of sea creatures.
Aunt D and her niece and nephew. She loves them so much and they love her.Aunt D couldn't believe that Taryn had grown so much. She last saw Taryn in April and she was still a little baby. Now she is a big little girl that is almost to crawl and one that babbles all of the time. This is Tyson's masterful picture taking. He kind of cropped off our heads, but he did a pretty good job. My mom, sister and I don't get to all be together that often, so when we do we have a great time and make the most of the time we get to hang out with each other.

Danielle is my only sibling, and I guess that is what makes us so close. Even though we are far apart, we call each other several times a week and keep up on what each other is doing. I love you sis.

The last day at Aunt D's house was spent shopping, and celebrating Tyson's birthday, a little early. We took him to the Texas Roadhouse Steakhouse for a birthday lunch. They brought out this saddle for him to sit on while they hollered and sang "Happy Birthday" to him. He was pretty proud of himself. Thanks Aunt D and Uncle Jesse for having us over to stay and play. We loved every minute of it and cannot wait until we can all come back to visit you.

Grandma T's House In Circleville, Utah.

Time has been well spent at Grandma T's house. Tyson has been going non stop every day just playing outside and being with Grandma T. Here they are coming back from feeding the goats at Roxy's house. My mom has a HUGE apple tree out back and every year it produces a plethora of apples, which half of them end up on the ground. (These are the ones the goats get.) Tyson has been better about being around animals if they are on the other side of a fence. This is a shot of the landscape of my mom's house. She has the nicest lawns. I love my little home that I grew up in. Mom has been redecorating a lot and the changes are awesome. It is so nice to come home and feel at peace. Don't you just love the mountains?? I DO!!!!Tyson and Grandma T were inseparable. If she was going to the store, Tyson had to go. If she was just walking outside to turn off the water, he was right behind her headed out the door. I wasn't missed by my boy. He turned to Grandma before me. The time off was nice.....My mom's backyard with the new slip-n-slide. Ok, so I haven't even seen one of these since I was a kid. I used to have one and played many a summer days on it. Well......my mom bought this for Tyson to use when he comes to visit, and we set it up to slide on.....one problem....Tyson didn't know how to slide on it. SO........................I had to demonstrate! Now the picture doesn't do me justice. The video is much much funnier. But that won't be posted....Sorry....I put new meaning to "runs like a girl" and "Lurch".... Needless to say, I had a ball slipping and sliding with my son. He didn't ever get the whole slide on your tummy, so we ended up having to throw him down the slide.As you can see by the look on his face. He is having a ball. We played all afternoon on this thing. The funny part about it is, that night Tyson woke up with leg cramps and I was stiff and sore the next day. That is what I get for acting like a kid, oh well, it was worth it.
The next day we ventured over to my friend Heidi Sudweeks house for some more water fun. Her mom had this big blow up water slide that she was borrowing and she had some kids over for a play date. (Thanks Heidi for the invite) It was the coolest thing ever. I want one of these someday to have at my house. It has this big slide, plus water guns, and a water tube to climb through.The thing was massive. It took up a whole part of her lawn. The kids played and had a ball.

I put Taryn in her cute little bikini, but she wasn't at all pleased about being in the water. She had more fun in the baby swing. What a kid.We took an afternoon and went up to the Circleville Cemetery to see my dad's headstone. I have only seen pictures of it and I enjoyed seeing it in real life. It has a mountain scene on it with a big bull Elk bugling. There is a picture of the St. George Temple, where mom and dad where married, on the back with my sister's and my name next to it. It looks so nice and I am sure my dad would love it. It was good to feel a closeness to him again. Sunday dinner is always had at my MomaD's house. It was a treat to go there and enjoy in the good food. My kids and their Great Grandma and Grandma. This was the first time my grandparents have seen Taryn. She was an instant hit. She loved to be with MomaD and PopaD. This is a picture of Four Generations of the family. I have so enjoyed my time here and wish that we lived closer so that time like this could be spent more often. During our stay here, Taryn has turned into quite the little eater. She loves any kind of cracker she can get her hand on and for the most part doesn't choke too much. She is still learning the process of chewing. She prefers to swallow it whole, and is learning that it isn't the best idea. She is also developing a little personality all her own. She loves to grin and smile and laugh more and more. She is also, now, taking naps. FINALLY!! She is also almost to crawl. She can get on all fours but then just rocks back to the sitting position. It won't be long and she will take off, I just know it.Since she is trying new foods, we gave her a sour apple to try. By the looks of her face, I don't think she liked it. But what is comical is that she kept taking a bite of the apple and then making this same face. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!This is my Uncle Clayton. He is one of my mom's brothers. He just bought this bike not too long ago and came down to Circleville for a visit. I lived with his family for one summer while working for JB's Restaurant after graduating high school. He is a crack up and such a great guy. I loved getting a chance to see him.Two little monkeys in the tub. These two are hilarious in the bath tub. Some one is always laughing and usually it is Tyson making Taryn laugh.

This is but a beginning to our fun times at Grandma T's house. There are lots more posts coming......

Vacation Time In The West: Grandma & Grandpa Jackson's

It has been 15 months since we have been back home to the West to see family and friends, and boy were we ready to come home. It is so nice to see mountains again. Aren't they beautiful? We flew into Albuquerque, New Mexico from Detroit. Surprisingly I don't' have a lot to tell about the plane ride other than the fact that it was uneventful. Taryn was an angel and Tyson has flown so much in his little life that it was nothing to him. When we arrived in ABQ Grandma Jackson was there to pick us up. All of Vaughn's brothers and sister were home for the 24th of July celebration, and since we were coming a day after the celebration they all decide to stay another couple of days for us to see everyone. I haven't seen my nieces and nephew since they were first born and they have changed so much.Here is Tyson, Jaelyn and Cole playing in the mountains at Platoro. (See the picture above) It was a little chilly but so enjoyable to be outside and see the beautiful mountains. The kids got to go fishing and played outside. This is Vaughn's brother Mark. He is just below Vaughn. He and his family were there to spend time with us. We are so glad they stayed to see us. Love you all.Taryn got to be reacquainted with her Papa Jackson. She was a bit nervous when we first arrived. She didn't know about all the new faces, but after a while she was better about letting someone else hold her as long as I was within seeing distance.
Tyson and his cousin Jaelyn are 1 week apart and they were like brother and sister the whole week. They would play and then fight and then two seconds later they were off playing again. I wish we lived closer so they could play every day.Here they are again. You would always find them together, in trouble or making trouble. HA HAGrandma Jackson was good at keeping Taryn's attention on something else other than me. It was nice to see them bond. It is so hard being so far away from family. The kids just grow up too fast.Taryn and my niece Grace Ann. Grace didn't quite know what to think when she first saw me. But after 5 minutes of me being at grandma's house she decided that I was ok and want to be everywhere I was. She could say "TYSON" but with a very long southern drawl. It was too funny. She called Taryn "Tyson" as well. I loved every minute of playing aunt to my nieces and nephew.Since we flew in on my birthday, my in laws threw me a birthday party and Grandma Karen made my favorite icing on the cake, her homemade icing. YUMMY! We also took lots of pictures of the cousins, since we are never all together.We tried many times to take pictures with all the kids, and with them all happy, but Taryn usually didn't like being happy at those points in time.We did manage to get all the kids together in a picture with Grandma and Grandpa Jackson and no one was crying....YET!I love this family picture we had taken. It is by one of Papa's tractors and in the high weeds. What could say "hometown" better than this shot.This shot is so gosh darn cute of my kiddos. Taryn was actually happy and Tyson always loves to take pictures. AHHH Love the green grass.Vaughn saddled up Buster for the kids to ride. They even had their own little saddle to ride on. Tyson had to be coaxed for about 30 minutes to get on the horse. He was afraid it was going to bite him, but after the 30 mins, he wanted to ride and then we couldn't get him off. He rode Buster all by himself. What a little cowboy.

We put Taryn on the horse with Tyson and you can see by the smile on her face she was so happy. She just giggled and laughed the whole time. I was for sure we were going to have a meltdown, but I was wrong. She loved it.Vaughn enjoying some time with the kids before he had to go back to work. Dad took us on a four wheeler ride down in the cotton woods by the ranch. Taryn giggled the whole time. She loved the ride and watching the dogs chase the wheeler. Tyson even got to drive the wheeler.(A river on the ranch.) My in laws have such a big, nice ranch to roam around on with the wheelers. We loved every minute of the week we got to spend there with family. On Saturday, Vaughn drove the kids and I to Grand Junction, CO and met up with my mom to take us to Circleville, Ut. Vaughn drove down to Albuquerque, NM on Sunday to start his Neuro Surgery rotation at their level one trauma hospital. The kids and I will spend 2 weeks in Utah and then 2 weeks in Colorado. I cannot wait to see all my family that I have missed so much. Thanks to the Jackson side of the family for all the fun times. I miss you all, already.